How did the rulers of the Shang and Zhou dynasties use religions or quasi-religions to justify and strengthen their powers respectively? What is the similarity
and difference between those two political theologies”?
Read the following quotations to answer this question.
Scholars have reconstructed the major features of Shang religion from the oracle bones. The supreme god, Di (dee), who resides in the sky and unleashes
the power of storms, is felt to be dis- tant and unconcerned with the fate of humans, and cannot be approached directly. When people die, their spirits survive
in the same supernatural sphere as Di and other gods of nature. These ancestral spirits, organized in a heavenly hierarchy that mirrors the social hierarchy on
earth, can intervene in human affairs. The Shang ruler has direct access to his more recent ancestors, who have access to earlier generations, who can, in
turn, intercede with Di. Thus the ruler is the crucial link between Heaven and earth, using his unrivaled access to higher powers to promote agricultural
productivity and protect his people from natural and man-made disasters. This belief was an extremely effective rationale for authoritarian rule.
Wu justified his achievement in a manner that became the norm throughout subsequent Chinese history. Claiming that the last Shang ruler was depraved and
tyrannical, neglecting to honor gods and ancestors and killing and abusing his subjects, he invoked the highest Zhou deity, Tian (tian) (“Heaven”), who was
more compassionate than the aloof Di of the Shang. Wu declared that Heaven granted authority and legitimacy to a ruler as long as he looked out for the
welfare of his subjects; the monarch, accordingly, was called the “Son of Heaven.” The proof of divine favor was the prosperity and stability of the kingdom.
But if the ruler persistently failed in these duties and neglected the warning signs of flood, famine, invasion, or other disasters, Heaven could withdraw this
“Mandate” and transfer it to another, more worthy ruler and family. This theory of the Mandate of Heaven, which validated the institution of monarchy by
connecting the religious and political spheres, served as the foundation of Chinese political thought for 3,000 years.