China: The Asian Civilization - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 238

young bullock was sacrificed on the altar of heaven to ensure the return of light and warmth
to the earth.
Dressed in an embroidered robe, the emperor climbed to the top of a great stone altar.
There, officials called out to royal ancestors and Heaven in a loud, slow monotone,
asking for their aid and assuring them of the ruler's devoted support. The ancestors,
and deities of the sun, moon, stars, planets, wind, and rain were represented by in-
scribed tablets. Food was offered before these tablets… [206]
GODS AND SPIRITS IN IMPERIAL CHINA
As might be expected, religious beliefs shifted and changed during the centuries of Chinese
history. A popular saying has it that every Chinese is born 3,000 years old. That is, he car-
ries in his mind and in his heart customs and ideas of polytheism and animism that were
formed in antiquity. From earliest times, his ancestors would have honored T'ien (Heaven),
the supreme power that created the universe and all its components. Even today, despite the
teaching of the Communist regime, proper respect must be shown to a multitude of gods.
Dead heroes can be called on for assistance. Prayers of intercession are offered to K'wan
Yin , goddess of mercy and bringer of fertility to childless women. Every household had
a shrine to the kitchen god, Tsao Shen . In Manchu times, each new year, women of the
household would put honey and opium on the mouth of Tsao Shen's statue to sweeten his
report to higher gods and to seal his lips against reporting “family transgressions.” [207] Men
especially must be mindful of good spirits and wary of evil ones—spirits that emanate from
mountains, trees, streams, wind, and water. The cosmos itself is organized around two fun-
damental life forces, Yang (male) and Yin (female). Yang is associated with light, warmth,
and righteousness. Yin is associated with darkness and evil. The organic unity of the Yang-
Yin principle is manifest in the familiar symbol—a circle, half dark, half light, each with a
small inner circle of the opposing principle.
The most prevalent Chinese beliefs are centered on the family. Prayers along with
flowers, incense, and food are offered to the spirit of one's ancestors partly as supplication
and partly as prayers for intercession with gods and spirits. Ancestors are guardians of the
living family, warding off evil and assisting in its prosperity. Only sons may supplicate and
pray to ancestors. A son, when he dies, leaves unbroken the great chain of ancestors and
ancestor prayers, thus assuring family longevity and prosperity. This is a cornerstone of the
Chinese desire for male children. The son's place in the hierarchy of family values is at the
heart of Confucian values and teachings.
Confucius likened the ruler to the polar star, suggesting that all the other stars revolve
around it. He further suggested that one should not do to others what one would not want
done to them. [208] Kung fu-tse, Master Kung (Latinized as Confucius by the first Jesuits to