Chinese ReligionThe China region is large and deep. “In China, lay people did not belong to an institutionalized sect, nor did their religious life have anything to do with signing articles of faith. Religion in China was so woven into the broad fabric of family and social life that there was not even a special word for it until modern times, when one that corresponded to the Western term was coined” (Thompson, 1). In China, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism are all mixed. In the oldest period, the Shang Dynasty (2000 BC), people in China worshiped many different gods (polytheism) such as the weather god and the river god. The people of the Shang Dynasty believed that their ancestors became like gods after their death, so people worshiped their ancestors. The fundamental characteristics of ancient Chinese philosophy consist of five key points: spiritual existence, practice, morality, harmony and intuition. Philosophy in the pre-Qin era was marked by the emergence of various ancient philosophical views. The most influential schools were Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, and Legalism. In China, lay people did not belong to an institutionalized sect, nor did their religious life have anything to do with signing articles of faith. Religion in China was so woven into the broad fabric of family and social life that there was not even a special word for it until modern times, when one was coined to match the Western term (Thompson, 1). The school regards the teachings of Confucius as the core of its thinking and regards the words and deeds of Confucius as the highest code of behavior. It supports benevolence and justice, loyalty and tolerance, the doctrine of the golden path and values ​​the ethical relationships of men. In the Chinese worldview there was a... middle of paper... they hoped to avoid plagues, to ensure rain in the right season and to have children. Believing that their livelihood, present and future, was guaranteed by the favor of the sacred place of their assemblies, the members of the local community felt linked to it by a relationship full of benefits, which pushed them to join it as faithful vassals of a powerful lord ” (Liu, 30). Liu, James TC China Turning Inward Political-Intellectual Changes in the Early Twelfth Century. 4th ed. vol. 23. Council on Ast Asian Studies, 1919. Print. Shankman, Steven and Stephen W. Durrant. Ancient China/Ancient Greece. Albany: State University of New York, 2001. Print.Thompson, Laurence G. Chinese Religion: An Introduction. Belmont: Dickenson Company, Inc, 1969. Print.Thompson, Laurence G. The Religious Life of Man. Belmont: Dickenson Company, Inc, 1973. Print.