Draft:Superstition in China

The origin of Chinese superstition can be traced back to ancient times and is closely related to primitive society's nature worship, belief in spirits and deities, and shamanistic culture.

The totem existed in the minds of tribe members as a deified image, serving functions such as uniting the group, strengthening kinship ties, maintaining social organization, and distinguishing different communities. At the same time, people also identified with their totems and sought protection in life through them.

The first totem that emerged in people’s awareness was the "bear totem." Bears had a profound influence in ancient times. The leader of the Huaxia tribe, the Yellow Emperor, who was the foremost of the Five Emperors, established his capital in Youxiong and was also known as the "Youxiong Clan." Fuxi, one of the Three Sovereigns and the cultural progenitor of the Chinese people in ancient legends, was also known as "Huangxiong" , making him the earliest recorded creator god in Chinese history.

Moreover, the ancestors of the Xia Dynasty—Gun, Yu, and Qi—were all said to have transformed into bears after death. In The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing), one of its nine sections states: "One hundred and fifty li eastward lies Bear Mountain. There is a cave called the Bear’s Den, where divine beings come and go. In summer, it opens; in winter, it closes. When this cave opens in winter, war is inevitable." The descriptions of "closing in winter" and "opening in summer" actually record the hibernation behavior of bears.

By observing bears’ habits, ancient people noticed their hibernation in winter and re-emergence in summer, giving them an illusion of "death and resurrection." This cyclical behavior gradually endowed bears with divine significance in the minds of early humans.{{Cite web |title=浅析中国图腾的起源与演变，龙图腾与熊图腾，谁才是图腾始祖？_先民 |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/486614980_121069505 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=www.sohu.com}}

The Yangshao Culture (circa 5000–3000 BCE) was one of the core cultures of China's Neolithic period. Its painted pottery designs, settlement remains, and burial customs contain rich traces of totemic beliefs.

File:Yangshao Culture Pottery 10.jpg

A totem is a form of belief in which a primitive clan regards a certain animal, plant, or natural object as its ancestor or guardian deity. Archaeological discoveries from the Yangshao Culture provide important evidence for studying early totem worship in China.{{Cite web |title=联播+｜百年发掘 揭秘"仰韶文化"-新华网 |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2021-10/20/c_1127976692.htm |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=www.xinhuanet.com}}

During the Xia Dynasty, religious beliefs mainly continued the witchcraft tradition of primitive religion, emphasizing the mysterious connection between man, nature and ancestors. Sacrificial activities were frequent, and ancestor worship became an important part of the national religion. The Analects of Confucius: Taibo records that Xia Yu "showed filial piety to ghosts and gods", indicating that the belief in ghosts and gods had been incorporated into the national ritual system at that time.{{Cite web |last=chen |first=lai |author-link=https://www.chinafolklore.org/web/index.php?Author=%B3%C2%C0%B4 |title=殷商的祭祀宗教与西周的天命信仰 |trans-title=The sacrificial religion of the Shang Dynasty and the belief in the Mandate of Heaven of the Western Zhou Dynasty |url=https://www.chinafolklore.org/web/index.php?NewsID=16140&utm_source=chatgpt.com |website=https://www.chinafolklore.org/}}

"Book of Rites: Biaoji" records: "The Xia Dynasty respected destiny, served ghosts, revered gods but kept them at a distance, and was close to people but loyal to them." This shows that although the Xia Dynasty respected gods, it emphasized human affairs and morality more, and advocated "respecting ghosts and gods but keeping them at a distance", which reflected the awe of gods while paying attention to practical human relations.{{Cite web |last=LIN |first=MING |author-link=https://s.wanfangdata.com.cn/paper?q=%E4%BD%9C%E8%80%85%3A%22%E6%9E%97%E6%98%8E%22%20%E4%BD%9C%E8%80%85%E5%8D%95%E4%BD%8D%3A%20%E5%A4%A9%E6%B4%A5%E5%B8%88%E8%8C%83%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%A6 |title=商周信仰崇拜的演变 |trans-title=The Evolution of Beliefs and Worship in Shang and Zhou Dynasties |url=https://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/thesis/J0075013?utm_source=chatgpt.com}}

The Shang Dynasty worshipped the "Emperor" as the supreme god. The "Emperor" had extensive powers. He not only controlled the wind, clouds, thunder and rain in nature, but also controlled the disasters and blessings in the world. With the development of civilization and the improvement of productivity, the worship of the supreme god "Emperor" was replaced by the worship of ancestor gods. The concept of human king gradually became clear and prominent.

The Zhou people proposed the concept of "Heaven's Mandate", believing that "Heaven" was the supreme god who gave the monarch the legitimacy of rule. "The Book of Documents: Zhoushu" states: "Heaven's Mandate is not constant, only virtue is its support." This emphasizes that virtue is the key to obtaining Heaven's Mandate, reflecting the combination of politics and morality. The Zhou Dynasty also developed a ritual system, using the ritual and music system to regulate social order, institutionalizing and ethicalizing the concept of Heaven's Mandate.{{Cite journal |last=xie |first=naihe |title=周秦之际天命观的多重内涵及其演变 |journal=华东师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版) |date=15 March 2024 |volume=56 |issue=2 |page=72 |doi=10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5579.2024.02.007 |trans-title=The Multiple Connotations and Evolution of the Concept of Heaven's Mandate during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties |url=https://xbzs.ecnu.edu.cn/CN/10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5579.2024.02.007?utm_source=chatgpt.com}}

After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he strongly advocated the concept of divine authority and destiny to consolidate the legitimacy of his rule. He frequently offered sacrifices to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, and sent alchemists such as Xu Fu to the east to seek immortality, trying to achieve immortality through the protection of the gods. At the same time, the theory of "prophecy" {{Cite book |last=GU |first=ZHEGANG |title=中国上古史研宄讲义 |date=1999 |language=zh |trans-title=Lecture Notes on the Study of Ancient Chinese History}}was prevalent during the Qin Dynasty, that is, to prove the destiny of the imperial power through mysterious prophecies and auspicious signs.

As a cultural phenomenon that combines mysterious prophecies and political propaganda, prophecy showed a strong function of social mobilization and public opinion guidance during the Qin Dynasty. Although the Qin Dynasty was short-lived, it produced a large number of prophecies of the country's demise. These prophecies are mainly divided into three categories: curse type, deification type, and vague type. They were spread by cursing Qin Shihuang, deifying anti-Qin figures, and implicitly hinting at the ownership of the future regime, which played an important role in inciting people to resist and gathering anti-Qin forces. {{Cite web |last=LI |first=SHU JIA |title="不问苍生问鬼神" ——浅析"谶纬"对秦灭亡的影响 |trans-title=“Don’t ask about the common people, ask about ghosts and gods” ——A brief analysis of the impact of “prophecies and divinations” on the fall of Qin |url=https://history.qdu.edu.cn/info/1077/4410.htm#:~:text= |website=https://history.qdu.edu.cn/}}

Feng Shui, also known as Kan Yu{{Cite web |title=风水观念弥漫地方官场 成官商勾结新载体--时政--人民网 |url=http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0418/c70731-21181383.html |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=politics.people.com.cn}}, is an ancient Chinese philosophy of environmental planning and spatial arrangement, aimed at harmonizing the relationship between humans and their natural surroundings to attract good fortune and avoid misfortune. It originated from the observation of natural laws and integrates concepts such as Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), and the flow of qi (energy). Feng Shui is defined as an environmental healing art based on the flow and balance of qi, rather than merely a technique for arranging furniture or buildings. It emphasizes that Feng Shui is not just about adjusting external spaces, but also a means to achieve holistic harmony of the body, mind, and spirit.{{Cite book |last=Ole |first=Bruun |author-link=https://search.worldcat.org/zh-cn/search?q=au=%22Bruun%2C%20Ole%22 |url=https://books.google.co.kr/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=yzORSD5yJjAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=fengshui&ots=sD3dzJh1V2&sig=V9wl_8tOc4u4hSzmmn9_j9cmaks&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Fengshui in China : geomantic divination between state orthodoxy and popular religion |year=2002 |isbn=9780824826727 |oclc=1081045752}}

Bazi, also known as the Four Pillars of Destiny, is an important tool in traditional Chinese metaphysics used to analyze a person's fate and character. The term "Bazi" refers to the eight characters derived from the year, month, day, and hour of a person's birth, with each time point consisting of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch. Therefore, it is called "Bazi" or "Eight Characters."{{Cite book |last=Serge |first=Augier |author-link=https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Augier%2C+Serge%2C+author%22 |url=https://archive.org/details/bazifourpillarso0000augi |title=Ba zi, the four pillars of destiny : understanding character, relationships and potential through Chinese astrology |year=2017 |oclc=1391169014}}

Sacrifice, originating from the belief in the harmonious coexistence of heaven and earth, is rooted in ancient faith. According to the findings of modern anthropology and archaeology, the two most primitive beliefs in human history are the belief in heaven and earth, and the belief in ancestors. These beliefs arose from early humans' reverence for nature and their ancestors, which led to various forms of worship and sacrificial rituals. Festivals like the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qingming Festival, and Chongyang Festival are holidays that originated from these primitive beliefs, dedicated to sacrificing to the gods of heaven and earth and to ancestors. {{Cite web |title=传承弘扬春节的文化传统-光明日报-光明网 |url=https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2017-02/15/nw.D110000gmrb_20170215_3-11.htm |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=epaper.gmw.cn}}The grand sacrificial ceremonies to heaven and earth are, in the ultimate sense of human thinking, a spiritual experience of communication between humans and deities, connecting the upper and lower realms, and realizing the harmonious coexistence of humans, deities, and nature. Sacrificial activities involve offerings, burning incense, and bowing with solemnity and precision. The rituals and offerings have specific guidelines. Traditional customs dictate that offerings are presented to deities or ancestors as a sign of reverence, seeking their protection and blessings.{{Cite book |last=覃 |first=延佳 |author-link=https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3A%25E8%25A6%2583%25E5%25BB%25B6%25E4%25BD%25B3%25E3%2580%2580%25E8%2591%2597&s=relevancerank&text=%E8%A6%83%E5%BB%B6%E4%BD%B3%E3%80%80%E8%91%97&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 |url=https://www.amazon.com/%E4%BB%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%A0%E7%BB%9F%E4%B8%8E%E5%9C%B0%E6%96%B9%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E5%BB%BA%E6%9E%84-%E5%B9%BF%E8%A5%BF%E4%B8%8A%E6%9E%97%E5%B8%88%E5%85%AC%E7%9A%84%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2%E4%BA%BA%E7%B1%BB%E5%AD%A6%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6-%E8%A6%83%E5%BB%B6%E4%BD%B3/dp/7509785421 |title=仪式传统与地方文化建构(广西上林师公的历史人类学研究) |isbn=7509785421 |language=zh |trans-title=Ritual Tradition and Construction of Local culture：A study of Historical Anthropology of the Shigong in Shanglin Guangxi}}

The root of Chinese superstition lies in human beings' fear of the unknown and desire for control, from the nature worship in primitive society to the belief in ghosts and gods in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, to the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and finally forming a complex folk belief system. Although modern science has deconstructed many superstitious concepts, their cultural influence is still deeply rooted in folk customs.