Heaven worship
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Heaven worship is a Chinese religious belief that predates Taoism and Confucianism, but was later eventually incorporated into both Taoism and Confucianism.
Ancient Chinese believed in a non-corporeal entity called Shangdi, an omnipotent, just, monotheistic and supreme being. Over time Shangdi became synonymous with Tian, or Heaven. Worship of Heaven is highly ritualistic, and the emperor has to hold official sacrifices and worship at an altar of heaven, the most famous of which is the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. There are no idols allowed in Heaven worship.
Heaven worship is closely linked with ancestor veneration, as ancestors are seen as the medium between Heaven and humans. Rulers of China, also known as Sons of Heaven, derived their Mandate of Heaven, and thus legitimacy, from their supposed ability to commune with Heaven on behalf of his nation.
Early Abrahamic missionaries saw similarities between Shangdi/Tian and the Abrahamic God, and therefore translated their God into "Shangdi" in Chinese. Some Chinese Christian scholars assert that the Christian God and Chinese Shangdi are in fact the same entity.
