Tian

Tian is Heaven in Chinese thought: an impersonal cosmic power and moral order associated with the regulation of nature and the legitimacy of human rule.

Mandate of Heaven: The doctrine that Heaven grants rulers authority conditionally and withdraws it when they govern unjustly. It makes Tian’s moral judgment the basis for dynastic legitimacy.
Shang dynasty: The earliest Chinese dynasty supported by extensive archaeological and written evidence, conventionally dated about 1600–1046 BCE. Shang royal religion provides the setting for early references to Tian.
Shangdi: A high deity in Shang and early Chinese religious traditions, often translated as the Supreme Deity or Lord on High. The relation between Shangdi and Tian reveals a shift in conceptions of divine authority.
Confucius: A Chinese teacher and thinker traditionally dated to 551–479 BCE, whose teachings shaped Confucian traditions. The Analects portray him reflecting on Tian as a source of vocation and moral authority.
Tianren ganying: The doctrine that Heaven and humanity resonate, with events in one realm corresponding to changes in the other. It gives a specific account of how Tian’s order may register in human affairs.
Chinese cosmology: Chinese accounts of the structure and processes governing the cosmos and its relation to human life. Tian belongs to a cosmos understood through interacting patterns rather than a separate divine realm.
Zhou dynasty: A Chinese dynasty that ruled from the eleventh century to 256 BCE and shaped enduring political and philosophical traditions. Zhou rulers developed Tian’s authority into a justification for replacing the Shang.
Chinese religion: The diverse ritual, philosophical, and devotional traditions that developed in China. Tian’s meanings emerged within changing practices and accounts of sacred power.
Mencius: A Confucian philosopher of the fourth century BCE who argued that human nature tends toward goodness. He connected Tian’s moral order with human nature and the people’s political judgment.
Naturalism: The view that reality is explained through natural causes without invoking supernatural entities. Some accounts of Tian approach naturalism, while others retain moral or sacred force.

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