Conclusion

The political role of religion in the traditional Chinese state, as C. K. Yang suggested, ‘was somewhat obscured by the dominance of Confucian orthodoxy in the function and structure of the state, for Confucianism had very prominent nonreligious, secular features’. ¹ However, it is by no means the case that religion played an insignificant role in traditional Chinese politics. In the early period of ancient China (the Shang and Zhou dynasties), religion, the state political system and daily life were integrated as one. The classic religion, which mainly consisted of ancestor worship, the worship of heaven and its subordinate system of naturalistic deities, divination and sacrifices, ² served feudal rulers as an integrative force to stabilise the ancient political order, deify government decree and the power of monarch, and guide people’s social behaviour. Although the dominant position of religion in state ideology was later replaced by Confucianism after imperialism was established and religion and state were institutionally separated, the political function of classic religion was not dramatically reduced. Strictly speaking, Confucianism is not a religion in the sense of man relating to an overarching deity, but it nonetheless adopted significant elements of classic religion into its doctrine that served the practical purposes of endorsing political power and maintaining a moral order. As Yao pointed out, ‘Confucianism transformed the religious practices prevailing in the Shang and Zhou times’ and ‘Confucian scholars/officials had great influence in the understanding and performance of ceremonies, and contributed to the formation of a political-ethical-religious society essentially based on moral and religious rites.’ ³ Thus, while traditional Chinese government was never purely secular, there was always an intimate interplay between religious and political forces, ⁴ and the Confucianism adopted by China’s Imperial rulers was never atheistic.