Relationships Between Politics And Religion In Shang And Western Zhou Dynasties

Most of the scholars consider Shang (16 century B.C. 1027 B.C.) and Western Zhou (1027-772 B.C. ) dynasties as an age of the "Divine Authority". Yet, no concerted attempt was made to define the meaning of this "Divine Authority", This question is subjected to thorough discussion in the present study.We consider the politics of Shang and Western Zhou period as theocracy. That is to indicate basic identity between political and religious realms. The dissertation analyses four major aspects of this identity.First, there was an identity between political and religious thought. There was apparently a universal acceptance of gods' power , yet there were neither priests, nor the Holy Scriptures. People worshipped natural objects and phenomena, ancestors and the Supreme God- Shang Di ( 上帝) - the Ruler of deities and spirits ( shen gui 神鬼). Shang Di was supposed to be a creator of the Universe and the supreme ruler of human society. Thus, to obtain prosperous life people should follow Shang Di's will. The Zhou Dynasty rulers renovated the aforementioned concept by combining the idea of "reverence to Heaven" (jing tian, 敬天), that is following God's will, with "protecting the people" (bao min, 保民) principle, namely providing good living conditions to the populace.Second, there was an identity between political and religious structures. Both were based on kinship organization, the so-called zu(族), which originated from the pre-historical period. These kinship ties laid a foundation to social hierarchy between the...