ABSTRACT
This chapter explores early notions of the term di, or earth, and explores the related term tu, or land. One might presuppose that in pre-modern agriculturally based societies such as those described in early Chinese texts that the earth and land would be understood as sacred, life-giving powers that sustain human existence. Exploring classical Chinese texts from the perspective of comparative religious studies, this chapter examines the divergent range of views about the earth and land found in pre-Han texts. The chapter presents notions about early Chinese conceptualizations of the earth tended toward the romantic. It also reveals that earth and land are now imbued with a sense of numinous sacrality: At the she altar they made offerings to the land and thus set up an axial point for the yin qi The she is the way the earth is treated as numinous. Earth supports the ten thousand things, and heaven arrays its signs.
