The Chinese as Believers

Abstract

The first thing that any new comer from a western country notices about Chinese religious beliefs is their great variety. As is true of all peoples, innumerable beliefs and religious practices have their origin in animism. Animism really means the worship of all natural objects, including heaven and earth, the sun, moon and stars, great mountains and rivers, manifestations of natural forces such as lightening, thunder, wind, and rain, quite a proportion of animals and plants, particularly those which are noted for age, real or alleged, such as big trees and tortoises, for weird and unusual appearances, such as snakes and hedgehogs, for great utility and benefit to human life, such as at one time of Chinese history cats, horses, cattle, and even tigers, for mythical and legendary values, such as the dragon, the phoenix, and the unicorn, approaching in appearance to the mythical animals bearing the same names in the West since the time of the Egyptians. The worship of ancestors and illustrious men is really of the same category. While most of these beliefs are nationwide, some are quite local; the religious awe expressed in confronting a hedgehog, for instance, is perhaps only found in parts of north China. Again, in point of time, some of the beliefs have long outlived their usefulness, such as the respect paid to the cats and cattle largely out of a sense of gratitude. A complete inventory of animistic beliefs obviously cannot be made, but examples like these will suffice.

(Originally published in Kunming, [American] Red Cross Town Club (ed.), July, 1945, by the name of: Quentin Pan)