The Discovery of Genesis Read Online Free PDF Page A

to offer the first imperial sacrifices to the additional spurious Tis , contrary to the teachings of antiquity. Thus a polytheistic service supplanted the original worship of the one God, Shang Ti. Because of this meddling with the ancient rites, the chief of censors accused Sin Hwan-p’ing of treason, writing in a memorial:
I venture to say that nothing is more foolish than this new figment of the spirits ShangTi , of which he says that there are five. It is indeed certain, that from the most ancient times, all who have been wise, and deemed masters of the nation, on account of their reputation for distinguished wisdom, have known but one ShangTi , eminent over all, on whom all things depend, from whom is to be sought whatever is for the advantage of the empire, and to whom it is the duty and custom of the emperors to sacrifice. 12
     
    Not long after the presentation of this memorial, Sin Hwan-p’ing was put to death, but the corrupt practice continued on unchanged for more than 12 centuries. 13
    During the Ming dynasty an investigation was carried out regarding the imperial sacrificial system. Two committees of historians were appointed about A.D. 1369 to delve into the existing ancient records to ascertain the original rituals. By so doing, they discovered the Taoist-inspired error and deviation from the original ritual of the first three dynasties of Hsia, Shang, and Chou (2205–255 B. C). They abolished these practices and returned once again to the ritual of Chou, by which the emperor worshiped a solitary heavenly ruler, Shang Ti. 14
    So it appears that the primitive religion of China was monotheistic with worship of a heavenly Creator and living God whose benevolent blessing was sought by the emperor as high priest and by the mediatorial invocation of worthy deceased ancestors. However, with the introduction of Taoist and Buddhist concepts, all original meaning of their rituals was lost and religious appellations were falsely applied to expanding mystical ideas of spirit deities. Many ancient records had been burned, and religious worship was altered, revised, and blurred with the passage of time.
    Over a hundred years ago, as the Bible was being translated into Chinese by Protestant missionaries, debate arose among them as to what Chinese term should be used for “God” ( Elohim, Jehovah, Theos ). With the research that emanated on the subject at this time, a real appreciation resulted for the original religious concepts of the Chinese. They found that, in truth, the ancient Chinese worshiped a God of Heaven with attributes identical to those of the Christians’ deity. Declared one distinguished translator of the Chinese classics:
Do the Chinese know the true God? … The evidence supplied by Chinese literature and history appears to me so strong, that I find it difficult to conceive how anyone, who has studied it, can come to the opposite conclusion. 15
     
    This same researcher into the Chinese religion declared:

     
     
Have ever the Chinese, during the four thousand years over which their history extends, fashioned an image of ShangTi ? They have not. ShangTi is self-existent. He existed before the heaven and the earth and sun. He created them. He rules over them. His years have no end. 16
     

     
     

     
     
    The terms decided upon to designate “God” in the Chinese versions of the Bible are Shen 17 and ShangTi , and for the Holy Spirit Sheng Ling , this latter a Christian combination of two ancient characters: holy and spirit .
    In summary, we find that the written language of China was conceived during the primeval, monotheistic period , when the religious concepts were still pristine and the history of earlier ages unmuddied by later innovations. This ancient pictographic and ideographic language has survived unscathed, and we believe bears a witness to the original beliefs of the Chinese, handed down by oral tradition. The record contained by many specific characters carries such a close