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Shangdi (上帝, pinyin: Shàngdì, Wade-Giles Shang Ti) is the Supreme God in the original religious system of the Han Chinese people (see traditional Chinese religion), a term used from the second millennium BC to the present day, as pronounced according to the modern Mandarin dialect. Literally the term means "Above Emperor" or "Above Sovereign", which is taken to mean "Lord On High", "Highest Lord", "the God above", "the Supreme God", "Above ", or "Celestial Lord". Another title of Shangdi is simply Di (帝). Shangdi is chiefly associated with Heaven. From the earliest times of Chinese history, and especially from the Zhou Dynasty (周朝, 1122 BC to 256 BC) onwards, another name, Tian (天), is also used to refer to the Supreme God of the Chinese people (see Heaven worship). Tian is a word with multiple meanings in the ancient Chinese language; it can either mean the physical sky or the presiding God of Heaven. When Tian is used in the latter sense, it has the same meaning as Shangdi. By the time of the Han dynasty, the influential Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan declared that "Shangdi is another name for Tian." Shangdi is never represented with images or idols in Chinese tradition.
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The earliest references to Shangdi are found in Oracle Bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600 BC – ca. 1046 BC). Shangdi is first mentioned in Chinese Literature in the Five Classics, (五經, pinyin: Wǔjīng) allegedly compiled by Confucius in the 6th century BC. The Wujing was a collection of five books that represented the pinnacle of Chinese culture at that time. The oldest parts of the Wujing were first written around 1000 BC, apparently relying on older texts. All of the five classics include references to Shangdi:
This is just a sampling, and alternate translations and compilations will yield slightly different numbers. The total for the Wujing collection alone totals over 85 references.
Other classics mention Shangdi as well (a formalized analysis showing the development of the term over time would be useful). Another "Classic" collection, the Four Books (四書, pinyin: Sì Shū), mentions Shangdi also, but it is a later compilation and the references are much more sparse and abstract. The highest amount of occurrences appear to be in the earliest references; and this may reflect the cultural development (or rejection) towards ShangDi as a whole over time.
One of the five books in the Wujing is the Classic of History, (書經, pinyin: Shujing), aka Book of History, aka Esteemed Book (尚書, pinyin: Shangshu). The Shujing is possibly the earliest narrative of China, and may predate the European historian Herodotus (about 440 BC) as a history by many centuries. This implies that Shangdi is the oldest deity directly referenced in China by any Chinese narrative literature. The Shujing itself is also divided into 5 parts, and those parts were actually considered books as well. However, the number of books or "documents" is a division that varies largely on the version or compilation; thus quoted references may not match unless you use the same compilation.
The 2nd of the 5 "books" inside the Shujing is called the "Book of Yu" (虞書, pinyin: Yushu). Yu, in this title, is a location, not the popular hero 禹 Yu. This "book" has 4 "chapters"; and the 1st "chapter" is called the "Canon of Shun" (舜典, pinyin: ShunDian). Emperor Shun was the predecessor to the heroic Da Yu (大禹), or Great Yu, the first emperor of the Xia Dynasty. About the third sentence is the first mention of ShangDi. And, as it was mentioned in the previous section how yearly sacrifices to ShangDi were made by Emperor Shun, it appears that, according to Confucius, the Chinese belief in ShangDi predates the Xia Dynasty.
The many references to Shangdi assign attributes to his character, including: maleness, emotion, compassion, intellect, judgement, mastery, and greatness. A few examples follow below; please note quoted references vary (usually by verse number) due to the variety of compilations:
These portrayals appear to predate Daoist or Buddhist interpretations by anywhere from 500 to 2000 years.
Shangdi is considered by some to be the Creator of the universe. If this is true, he would predate the later Daoist creation myth of Pangu (which dates to around 200 AD) by at least 500 years.
However, a trend of "depersonalization" of Shangdi began to appear, or at least grow, after the Warring States (戰國) period with the ascension of Daoism. Oddly, later Daoism appears to restore personality traits to Heaven around 900 AD:
The Mohist philosopher Mozi (墨子), of the Warring States, in the philosophical text 'Mozi', explicitly mentions Shangdi 26 times. For example, in paragraph 8, Book 7, Chapter 27 of "Will of Heaven," Mozi writes: "I know Heaven loves men dearly not without reason. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow the five grains and flax and silk so that the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and river, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man’s good or bring him evil."
Ma Rong (馬融), an East Han Dynasty (東漢朝) scholar, in one of his works, claimed Shangdi (or more precisely 上帝太一神, pinyin: Shangdi Taiyishen) is the personification of "the Supreme Ultimate", which is the Ultimate Origin and Ground of Being for all existence. See also Taiyi Shengshui. Another East Han Dynasty Confucian scholar, Zheng Xuan (鄭玄), in one of his works, said: "Shangdi is the parent of all peoples." In his annotations of the Shangshu (aka Shujing), Zheng says: "Everyone is a child of Heaven."
By the 10th century AD, the Song Dynasty (宋朝) began reintroducing personality traits to Heaven in various Daoist incarnations as the Yu Huang (玉皇, or Jade Emperor), the Pure August Jade Emperor (玉皇上帝), and Yuanshi Tianzun (元始天尊).
Later, the Ming Dynasty (明朝) records in the Statutes of the Ming Dynasty regulations note the words spoken to Shangdi by Ming Emperor Jiajing (嘉靖) in the Temple of Heaven. The specific words are recorded in the Text of the Border Sacrifice, depicting the 1538 AD Annual Sacrifice Ritual.
From the earliest eras of Chinese history, Shangdi was officially worshipped through sacrificial rituals. Shangdi is believed to rule over natural and ancestral spirits, who act as His ministers. Shangdi is thought to be the Supreme Guide of both the natural order and the human order. The ruler of China in every Chinese dynasty would perform annual sacrificial rituals to Shangdi at the great Temple of Heaven in the imperial capital. During the ritual a completely healthy bull would be slaughtered and presented as an animal sacrifice to Shangdi. It is important to note that Shangdi is never represented with either images or idols. Instead, in the center building of the Temple of Heaven, in a structure called the "Imperial Vault of Heaven", a "spirit tablet" (神位, or shénwèi) inscribed with the name of God is stored on the throne. That name is "Supreme Sovereign God of Heaven" (皇天上帝, Huangtian Shangdi). During an annual sacrifice, the emperor would carry these tablets to the north part of the Temple of Heaven, a place called the "Prayer Hall For Good Harvests", and place them on that throne.
Shang Di (上地）is also the phonetic name for a high tech region in Beijing, which locally is known as China's Silicon Valley. The Zhongguancun Science Park is one of China's premier research and technology campuses which includes companies like IBM, Worksoft, and Oracle. Shang Di is also the headquarters of two of China's largest technology firms - PC manufacturer Lenovo and search firm Baidu. Less than a couple of decades ago Shang Di district in Beijing was little more than a rural village. Today international dignitaries from Europe, America and Africa visit technology centers in Shang Di to witness China's rising place in Research and Technology. A few kilometers from Shang Di are two of China's top engineering and business universities, Tsinghua University and Peking University.