China is a Humanist country. Many Chinese believe in the existence of supernatural beings so they are not atheists; however, a supernatural being, be it a ghost, a spirit, a god, or a supernatural phenomenon, never has a position higher than Human Beings in the universe. If there is a powerful god, the powerful god is only a perfect Human. Supernatural beings may be dangerous or powerful, just like tigers are dangerous and powerful, but they play a role not superior to Human Being in the universe.
Many Chinese restaurants worship Guan Yu (關公), a Confucian God. Guan Yu was an actual historical figure that is famous for his faithfulness to his friend. Business people worship him because business relation is built on faithful relationships. The people in Fujian Province, Taiwan Province, and the Ryukyu Islands worship Mazu (媽祖). Mazu, the Goddess, was a real girl in Song Dynasty. Her name is Lin Mo and she was good at weather forecasts that saved the lives of a lot of fishermen. So she became the Goddess.
Zhong Kui （鍾馗）was a talented, knowledgeable, and honest man of the Tang Dynasty. He was ugly. He deserved the champion of the imperial examination, but he didn’t because of unfair treatment. He was so angry that he committed suicide. Chinese believe that an honest man died to become a God and devils are afraid of the Honest God. They worship Zhong Kui as the Honest God who can drive away devils. Chinese also do not afraid of ghosts or the devil. They will fight ghosts and the devil. They post Zhong Kui’s portrait on their doors to drive devils out. They fire firecrackers in the Spring Festival to drive devils away. They dance devil-driven dance (儺戲) to dismiss devils.
Confucianism believes that a perfectly moral man is a Saint. Taoism believes that a perfectly healthy man becomes a fairy that lives in eternality. Buddhism believes that the man of awareness is the Buddha. Chinese is not an atheist. Chinese believe in God and the God is the ideal of Man. Chinese have legends and stories that fairies and angels descend from heaven to marry a man on earth as they love Human life better than the life of a god.
Chinese also believe in Fengshui, a supernatural force that can bring people good and bad.
Confucius said that respect supernatural beings and keep a distance from them. Confucius didn’t give supernatural beings any chance to mess up with Human society and politics. But it does not mean Confucius does not believe in the existence of a variety of gods.
Chinese do worship some gods; however, gods do not have authority over Human affairs. Chinese deal with gods, should they believe that there is a god, just as they a dealing with other natural phenomena without scientific means. Chinese negotiate with supernatural beings, trade with them, make love with them, and drive them out of life, through a variety of ceremonies. But man is always in charge of the universe. Human is in the center of the universe.
China is a humanist country, not an atheist country. They believe in the existence of gods; however, they believe in Man ultimately.
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