Way of the Chinese Masters

China has religious roots long before outside influences, such as Buddhism or Islam, arrived. Many of these most ancient forms of worshipped were multiple gods, idols, and forces of nature. Daoism is an illustrative example of this tendency toward multiple deities. Enter any Daoist temple and you will discover many images and statues representing various gods, goddesses, and spiritual beings, which are actively worshiped. Yet, the Chinese religion of Daoism had its origin in one small book of poems, called the Dao De Jing, or "The Way of Life," supposedly authored by Lao Tze (Lao Zi). The words, "Lao Tze," mean "Master Lao" or "Old Master." The subject of his eighty-one poems is to describe the unique Way of Heaven and how to put it into practice. Consider a few paraphrased, but valid interpretations of the original Chinese version.

Poem One begins: "The many ways of man are not the true Way. There are many names, but these are not the original Name." It was understood by Lao Tze that humans constantly promote new ways of finding ultimate reality. According to this ancient Chinese sage, human notions are not the best way to understand the truth. The many named images and idols are claimed to represent something divine. Nevertheless, the Dao De Jing states that these do not represent the true God.

Poem Thirty-two states that, "The Way was thought to have no name... But as soon as it proceeded to action, its true Name was known. When people know to rest in this, they can be free from all risk of failure and error." Realizing that all the ways identified by man are inadequate, it often becomes a cause of doubt whether there really is an abiding truth. Like a promise fulfilled however, Lao Tze proclaims that the truth can be identified in a specific way because of its unique activity. In this "Name" alone, there is an amazing source of "rest" and confidence for anyone accepting it.

In Poem Seventy-eight the Way's actions and titles are described. "Only he who accepts the nation's shame, is the holy Lord; and he that bears the world's evils deserves the title of King." The term "holy Lord" here literally means "Lord of the altar," which refers to the place where shed blood offerings were made. The sacrificial bearing of the people's shame and punishment is the necessary and identifying action that merits the honorable titles of "Lord" and "King."

The last verse of the last poem of the Dao De Jing implies that the true way of heaven must be accepted without compromise to be actually acquired. "Heaven's Way is gain, without harm, and the wise will not strive against his work." The little book by Lao Tze contains many other mysterious concepts. Yet, the few passages quoted above present truly humbling revelations from one of China's earliest philosophical treatise.

Sacrifice To Shang-Di

Another of the revered teachers in China was Confucius (Kong Fu Zi). He collected and edited many ancient documents of Chinese history and philosophy. In his famous historical work, the Shu Jing, Confucius described the religious activities of the first Chinese dynasty. It is recorded that "By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, they served Shang-Di"—Doctrine of the Means. This refers to a period of time more than four thousand years ago. Confucius also commented that the understanding of those sacrifices was a necessity for good government. The implication is that as the true meaning of the ordained ceremonies diminished, kingdom tranquility deteriorated.

The term, "Shang-Di," or "Supreme Emperor," is the exclusive title for the original and almighty God of ancient China. Until the early 1900's, it is a fact of history that sacrifices to Shang-Di had been officially practiced in China for thousands of years. This ceremony was so important that only the emperor could perform it. The exalted Chinese emperor was known as the "Son of Heaven" when performing this religious ceremony. With humility, prayers, and sacrifices, the Chinese emperor came to the unique Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan). Only a blue placard bearing four golden Chinese characters represented God: "the Ruler of Heaven, the Supreme Emperor" (Huang Tian Shang-Di).

Chinese Calligraphy of Sacrifice

The stylized Chinese characters of today were originally picture writing, in conception, very similar to ancient Sumerian and Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is regrettable that the current simplified version of Chinese writing used in Mainland China has lost much of the original symbolic imagery. The traditional style is still used in Taiwan. Over the millennia, Chinese calligraphy has developed a well-defined structure. Often, complex characters are formed from common characters called radicals. The descriptive multi-picture Chinese characters usually have an intricate and fascinating story to tell.

Gentleness is illustrated further with the ancient combination character for "righteousness." Here the "sheep" radical is drawn above the character representing "I/me." The interpretation is that a person has the right attitude when resembling the gentleness and submission of a lamb. Amazingly, the character for "I/me" is formed from a combination of the "hand" and the "spear" radicals. The hand is definitely grasping the spear with the obvious intention of striking, i.e., the drop of blood at the tip. So, the significance of the "spear" is similar to its use in the "sacrificial animal" character discussed above. The "spear" is the instrument used to kill the animal. The "hand" and "I/me" characters reveal that the sacrificial animal’s death had a very personal cause. The modern meaning of the "righteousness" character has evolved into the idea of "friendship." Still, when approaching God, a gift would be appropriate, as with any new "friend." In this case, the gift of an innocent lamb's death denotes true respect and friendship.

Sacrificial Substitution

These are reasonable interpretations of the incredible pictographic nature of the ancient characters. The attitude of desired submission is strengthened when looking at another Chinese combination character. The radical for "word, speech" combined with the character for "righteousness," forms the idea of "reason." The meaning is that only words spoken in the context of humble and personal sacrificial substitution are considered reasonable and trustworthy.

Concerning the concept of substitution, the character for "covering" is demonstrative. Here again the "sheep" is drawn above, but this time, with the "box" radical underneath. The implication is that it is the skin of a dead sheep that is an acceptable covering for the box, or any other object, for that matter. Generally, "covering for fault or protection" is the symbolic purpose of the "sheep" radical used in many other complex Chinese characters.

Because of the sincere religious importance of sacrifice, the ancient Chinese often used the substitution concept in positive ways. Consider the character for "beautiful." The symbolic significance of the "sheep" radical drawn above any other character cannot be denied. In such a character with the "great man" radical drawn below, it demands the conclusion that everyone must have a sacrificial substitute to be declared spiritually, and truly beautiful.

There are additional significant characters like "happiness," "consider," "pattern," among many others, all of which include the "sheep" radical. Each of these lends support to the important Chinese concept and requirement of sacrificial substitution.

Along with the writings of the sages and actual writing characters themselves, it is undeniable that the ancient Chinese had a marvelous and clear revelation of the symbolic purpose and relational need of sacrifice. However, it seems that the necessity of blood offerings in order to approach the supreme God has been abrogated during the turmoil of the early Twentieth century. Yet, the original significance of those sacrifices is impossible to deny. Today, well over a billion people are still influenced by the rich cultural heritage of ancient China.

See "The Chinese Tian-Tan" for more about the Son of Heaven, ceremonies to Shang-Di, and

their ultimate meaning. For more information about ancient sacrifice see “Historical Sacrifice.”

A pdf file about The Lamb of God hidden in the ancient Chinese characters.