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Forms of religion in China throughout history have included animism during the Xia dynasty, which evolved into the state religion of the Shang and Zhou.Alongside an ever-present undercurrent of Chinese folk religion, highly literary, systematised currents related to Taoism and Confucianism emerged during the Spring and Autumn period.
The religion of the Predynastic and Western Zhou was a complex set of religious beliefs and activities adhered to by the early Zhou dynasty in China (c. 13th century BCE – 771 BCE). Strongly influenced by the Shang dynasty 's religion , it developed gradually throughout the Predynastic Zhou period and flourished during the Western Zhou period.
Chinese popular or folk religion, usually referred to as traditional faith (chuantong xinyang) [197]: 49 is the "background" religious tradition of the Chinese, whose practices and beliefs are shared by both the elites and the common people. This tradition includes veneration of forces of nature and ancestors, exorcism of harmful forces, and a ...
Han calls for the acknowledgment of the ancient Chinese religion for what it really is, the 'core and soul of popular culture' (俗文化的核心與靈魂). [37] According to Chen Jinguo (陳進國), the ancient Chinese religion is a core element of Chinese 'cultural and religious self-awareness' (文化自覺，信仰自覺). [36]
Certain characteristics of the Shang state religion have been identified as prefiguring later elements of Chinese bureaucratic culture. [16] [17] The Shang articulated an image of a supreme being that simultaneously led a body of lesser deities, including both ancestor and nature spirits, while also being a composite of all of them.
Chinese tradition describes the first Shang king, Tang as a religious and perspicacious figure in Chinese history. There is a story recorded by both the philosopher Xunzi and the historian Sima Qian about Tang's religious sentiments. For seven years after Tang's accession to the throne, (1766−1760 BCE according to the traditional chronology ...
Ancient Chinese traditions described three ancient dynasties that predated the unification under the Qin and Han dynasties. These were the Xia, the Shang, and the Zhou. It was not until the later 20th century that many historians considered the Shang or Xia to be anything other than legendary. [138]
While the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty adopted substantially to Chinese culture, their sinicization was of lesser extent compared to earlier conquest dynasties in Chinese history. For preserving racial superiority as the conqueror and ruling class, traditional nomadic customs and heritage from the Mongolian Steppe were held in high regard.