d worship of a thing
or being in which a spirit has taken up its abode in place of or in
addition to worship of the spirit itself. Thus Heaven (T'ien) itself
came to be personified and worshipped in addition to Shang Ti, the
Emperor who had gone to Heaven, and who was considered as the chief
ruler in the spiritual world. The worship of Shang Ti was in existence
before that of T'ien was introduced. Shang Ti was worshipped by the
emperor and his family as their ancestor, or the head of the hierarchy
of their ancestors. The people could not worship Shang Ti, for to do so
would imply a familiarity or a claim of relationship punishable with
death. The emperor worshipped his ancestors, the officials theirs,
the people theirs. But, in the same way and sense that the people
worshipped the emperor on earth, as the 'father' of the nation,
namely, by adoration and obeisance, so also could they in this way
and this sense worship Shang Ti. An Englishman may take off his hat
as the king passes in the street to his coronation without taking any
part in the official service in Westminster Abbey. So the 'worship'
of Shang Ti by the people was not done officially or with any special
ceremonial or on fixed State occasions, as in the case of the worship
of Shang Ti by the emperor. This, subject to a qualification to be
mentioned later, is really all that is meant (or should be meant)
when it is said that the Chinese worship Shang Ti.

As regards sacrifices to Shang Ti, these could be offered officially
only by the emperor, as High Priest on earth, who was attended or
assisted in the ceremonies by members of his own family or clan or
the proper State officials (often, even in comparatively modern times,
members of the imperial family or clan). In these official sacrifices,
which formed part of the State worship, the people could not take part;
nor did they at first offer sacrifices to Shang Ti in their own homes
or elsewhere. In what way and to what extent they did so later will
be shown presently.

Worship of T'ien

Owing to T'ien, Heaven, the abode of the spirits, becoming personified,
it came to be worshipped not only by the emperor, but by the people
also. But there was a difference between these two worships, because
the emperor performed his worship of Heaven officially at the great
altar of the Temple of Heaven at Peking (in early times at the altar
in the suburb of the capital), whereas the people (continuing always
to worship