Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 229

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Term for Elohim and Thens.

APRIL,

gion, viz. the imperial canonized ti. The worship of these ranks with that paid to imperial ancestors, and is performed by the Emperor. But of all the ti only one is presented in a light which leaves the im- pression on the mind that he is regarded as a God, a divine, powerful, and glorious Being. Where is there evidence that this one Being is ever worshiped at all by any class of Chinese! All below the Emperor are by the ritual prohibited from worshiping him. The Middle Kingdom tells us this prohibition is sanctioned by the penalty of death. All shin are regarded as deriving their authority from this great tí, as being subject to him, and accountable to him, not as inferior gods to a greater God, but as servants and ministers to their sovereign and lord. Does the Emperor himself worship this one 上帝 Shángti? The religious province of the Emperor is to sacrifice to t'ien F and ti Who or what are these? We do find this one Shángti occasionally styled t'ien F, but never t'ien ti. Moreover, we do not find any provision made for the worship of the highest class of shin above noticed, the t'ien shin and ti k'i

? unless that worship is to be performed by the Emperor. The highest officers of government are required and allowed to worship only a class of inferior grade. In the Essay (page 31), it is said, no beings called ti are mentioned with the shin for the worship of whom national rites are established. The author conjectures the reason to be, because Shángti is included among the t'ien shin. Arguing from the genius of the Chinese institutions, the more reasonable con- jecture is, that no Shángti is worshiped. As the Emperor himself can not be approached except through his high ministers, so he himself can not approach the Supreme of all, except through the medium of his ministers, the highest family of shin or spiritual beings, i. e. through t'iena contraction for t'ien shin, angels belonging to heaven, and tia contraction for tikit angels belong- ing to, or whose province relates to earth.

'There are some difficulties connected with the use of shin as an appellative for Deity, which should be considered. The specific use of shin as a designation of their objects of worship in the minds of the Chinese renders it necessarily of the plural number. It will always convey, when specifically used, the idea of plurality, unless expressly, definitely and very, carefully guarded. The genius of the Chinese language is such as to render this, it may be feared, in frequent in- stances impossible. Again, shin is the only word in the Chinese lau- guage which properly signifies spirit and spiritual, as opposed to matter and material. Use it definitely and distinctively for God, and how is