How China once received the ‘Religion of God’: A search into Chinese origin, its pictogram & tribal lore

7/29/2019 How China once received the ‘Religion of God’: A search into Chinese origin, its pictogram & tribal lore

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How China once received the ‘Religion of God’: A

search into Chinese origin, its pictogram & tribal

lore

By Dr. P. R. Palodhi

Summary: Chinese pictograms are the legacies of old world which stand in sharp contrast to thealphabet scripts of the modern world. Several scholars have shown that many of the Chinesesymbols/characters are unique in depicting the events of „Genesis‟. If „God revealed signs‟ remain tacit in the Chinese pictograms - this indicate that once upon a time some ethnic factionwithin among Chinese has followed the Tradition of God. To comprehend how ancient Chinareceived the „Words of God‟ - this article goes back to the historical juncture of Chinese origin;its oldest continuously used system of writing which contains information for us from the veryearliest time; and then focuses upon its ancient religious texts and tribal lore that tend to

gravitate towards the „Tradition of God‟.

PROLOGUE

Every nation has received the message of God (Qur‟an, 16:36) – which God hath spoken by themouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began (Bible: Acts, 3: 21). In present world the„Religion emanating from One Supreme God‟ is found to be registered in two successiverevealed scriptures i.e. the Bible and the Qur‟an. These scriptures inform us the pre-mentaltruths (Arabic: Mutashaabihaat ) of creation: How God created pre-human Jinn race fromwhere Satan appeared to defy God’s Will. Then God created Adam and Eve who werebeing tended in a special Garden where Satan entered and beguiled them with falsepromises. Under Satan’s spell Adam and Eve committed sin by eating the fruits of theforbidden Tree. Hence they were expelled from the Garden and began to live on earthalong with pre-Adamic races. From Adam’s children onward God began to raise humankind (Insaan ) upon earth. But intermixing of Adamic and pre-Adamic racesresulted in abnormal progenies which God abhorred. Hence He caused a catastrophicFlood on earth to destroy many of those aberrant races. After Flood, Adamic racespreads more profusely on earth through descendants of Prophet Noah. Successivegenerations of Judeo-Christians and Muslims have been enlightened by many such revealedprecepts of Bible and Qur‟an – which are written in the alphabetic language of newer world. Butbefore development of alphabets, there had been many more ancient generations of the oldworld who as well received the Words of God. And how did they keep records of those? Qur‟an(26: 196) reminded us about Zubu-ril – ‘awwaliin’ i.e. the writings of former generations -- which implies to the pre-matured writings of very ancient people. These are the forms of various

„pictorial symbols‟ in which religious records must have taken its early root. The earliest writtenlanguages like Indus, Mesopotamia, Egyptian and Chinese were various forms of ancientpicture writing. Scientific linguistics affirmed that early mankind expressed through picturesymbols. „Symbol‟ sanctions more free expression of imagination, while „Word‟ limits suchfreedom and goes typographically to explain ideas and intents with more factual information.From esoteric religious viewpoint it is apparent that in prolonged Trials of ancient generations,God has allowed more freedom of imagination and its expression via modes of Symbol. Butimagination (Arabic: Zaan) alone is not enough, expression requires more grounds of proof



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(Arabic: Burhan) to translate the ideas on paper or other surface. Hence, gradually the processof enfolding began by changing the mode of expression from picture „symbols‟ to alphabetic„words‟.

We must be aware that, initially „the whole earth was of one language and of one speech‟ (Gen,11: 1-8). And this remotely archaic world was peopled by both Adamites and pre-Adamic races

i.e. Jinns (who often exalted as various pagan gods & goddesses); and their mode of symbols/picture writings continued up to early post Flood world. After Flood, God began toreshape the world through His Law bearing Prophet Noah; this religion of Noah must have comein pre-alphabetic archaic symbols and picture writings. Afterwards, the Semites originated fromShem (one of Noah‟s three sons), who were the primary upholders of Prophetic tradition of God.While other miscellaneous populations were mostly adherent to the old world paganism. Gradually people of the post Flood world wanted to build cities and towers. God allowed their aspirations to go unrestrained, but confounded their language into very many dialects (Genesis11. 1-9). Thus a newer world of diverse civilizations began to emerge with different generationsseparated distinctly by their respective language and culture. Writing developed after 3000 BC[1]; written Chinese is dated at approximately 2500 BC (Acc. to Harvard‟s Chinese-JapaneseYenching Library) - which correlates closely the post Flood beginning of civilizations. Eventually

the development of „alphabet' from pictograms took place around 1700-1500 BC in Sinaiticworld (see The Guinness Book of Records). The Semitic Hebrew letter Aleph (א) is derived frompictograph is that of the „Ram‟s head‟ ( ) found in Proto-Sinaitic inscription [2] at old Negev(incidentally, Ram is the first sign of the Zodiacal constellations); and also it has been relatedlater to the Bull‟s head (the Age of Taurus, the primordial beginnings of human consciousness).

According to traditional belief, the original twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet werederived from groups of stars, i.e. the starry handwriting on the wall of the heavens (see Psalm:8:3, 19:1, 147:4).

From ancient pictorial when new world‟s Semites and Aryans were developing the alphabeticlanguages, China did not respond quite so to this linguistic change; rather they developed their own method of picture writing which, as per Bible, must have its start sometime after the

construction of the tower of Babel. The majority of Bible commentators identify China with("the land of the Sinim"), whence the deported sons of Israel shall return to their land

(Isa. xlix. 12). As we turn to linguistic development of the Hebrews, in some way it is related tothe ancient Chinese writing system. Like Chinese writing character the Hebrew alphabet is alsoread from right to left. The Semitic letter Aleph is the “father” of the all Aleph-Bet. Hebrewalphabet begins with Aleph or „the „ox‟ also is followed by Beth or „a daughter‟. Interestingly,Chinese lunar zodiac also contains „the ox‟ and is followed by „woman, daughter‟. Now fromreligious point of view Chinese pictogram Yi-Yang demands special attention because of itsintriguing similarity with Semitic Hebrew letter Aleph . There are reasons to assume that boththese signs have roots in the same „Tradition of God‟ which China must have received in itsbygone past.

A. CHINESE YIN-YANG & SEMITIC ALEPH SIGNS ARE ROOTED IN GOD’S TRADITION

The Semitic letter „Aleph ‟ is the most primordial alphabetic writing from where God‟s nameensues; and the pictogram of „Yin-Yang ‟ sign is fundamental to Chinese religion and to the IChing or Book of Change. Upon examination of the letter Aleph, one cannot dismiss the intrinsicsimilarity of this sign with that of the Chinese Yin-Yang pictogram. If a circle is placed aroundthe Aleph it becomes analogous to the Yin-Yang sign. Both signs are pre-eminent in its order



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and allude to the ineffable mysteries of duality (for the world cannot exist without duality) --emanating from the Oneness of God.

Yin-Yang Aleph

The Yin-Yang pictogram represents the world in its state of harmony and in a state of interchanging opposites (good-evil; day-night; heaven-earth; Jinns-Humans etc). It has twoseeds in reversed position such that if the seed of Yin placed in the side of Yang expands andgrows, so the Yang will change and become Yin, and vice versa. Simplistically, throughcultivation of the seed a person who is good can turn evil, and a person who is bad can turn togood; and more pertinent is that the Earth always contains a seed of Heaven and Heavencontains a seed of Earth. Likewise the Hebrew Aleph goes to convey the same. If we see theletter Aleph carefully it is actually a composite of three letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Where

the letter Yod is on the upper right side and lower left side, and both are linked by the letter Vav ,across the centre. Hence the pictogram of the letter Aleph represents the Yod in heaven and theYod of the earth drawn together by a hook, or two forces that are held together by the hook.Ultimately the letter Aleph represents the world in a state of harmony and the interdependenceand co-joining of the two opposites, heaven and earth through the Vav, the hook. So, althoughthe Aleph has the value of singularity, there is already incorporated in the form of the letter thestate of duality. This duality is the key to the process of creation.

Our reflection to Chinese Yin-Yang and Hebrew Aleph must not ignore Arabic Alif ( ) fromreligious stand of Oneness of God – where we find a singularity rather than duality. Here wemust make a note that this world of Humans (Insaan) has come after a process of unificationbetween the facets of two primal creations: Jinns (created from fire) and Adamites (created from

clay). Hence in early Revelations „duality‟ remained the most vital issue when Anakim, Nephilimand Gibborim etc used to walk upon earth as the arch rival of the Adamites. But by the timeGod‟s Revelation to humanity culminated in the Arabic Qur‟an - then the duality between pre-

Adamic and Adamic races faded away and unification had been completed in Insaan; and thisperhaps reflected in the singularity of Arabic Alif !!

Scientific linguistic could discern that Hebrew „ Aleph‟ is derived from ancient pictograph „ox‟,„bull‟ or „strength‟. But as we try to know the origin of the Chinese pictogram „Yin-Yang’ – wecome across one after another theses and anti-theses. There have been many attempts to dateYin-Yang to the times of the primordial period of Chinese civilisation during the Xia Dynasty(2205-1570 BC) as per the symbols found on stone carvings. But these could hardly besubstantiated. Since time immemorial China has been ruled by successive Emperors who

depicted themselves as sons of Heaven; ages after age different rulers invented stories tosatiate their egocentric ideas - and thereby the future generations are disengaged from the rootsof causality. The ancient stock like Chinese race inherited many legacies of the pre-humanJinns who used to exalt by denying the God (see Qur‟an, surah 72). The Prophetic heritage of

Adamites would remain in China only as insignificant minority.



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B. TRACES OF ‘REVEALED AXIOMS’ IN CHINESE SYMBOLS / CHARACTER

Chinese writing system is a unique phenomenon in the modern world of alphabet scripts.Instead of a few dozen letters, it has developed thousands of complex signs or "characters" thatrepresent morphemes and words - which do however demonstrate a history of sign use in theYellow River valley during the Neolithic through to the Shang period. [3] Thus while the present

world turned to developing the alphabet, Chinese race continued with the modes of old worldlanguage in the form of pictograms, ideograms and rebus principles etc. Such writing in Chinahas ensued from earlier non-linguistic symbolic systems followed by evolution from a nascentpictographic and ambiguous writing script to a standardized modern system. Chinesecharacters are logograms currently used in the writing of Chinese (hanzi ), Japanese (kanji ),Korean (hanja) and Vietnamese (chữ Nôm) etc. When Sir William Dawson broke the earlyChinese language into its monosyllable roots, in the late nineteenth century, he found themtraceable to all stocks of European speech. [4] Since Chinese characters constitute the oldestcontinuously used system of writing in the world, these must contain information for us from thevery earliest time.

There have been over 600 symbols /Chinese characters, and although some are changed by

the 20th century, still most are essentially the same as they were thousands of years ago. Nowscholars are finding that there are many puzzling pictorial Chinese characters which can beexplained only with the help of Bible and Qur‟an. Several scholars like C.H. Chang, Ethel R.Nelson and Will Durant etc [5] have shown how the Chinese symbols/characters inherit severalprecepts of „Genesis‟ whereby many aspects of „God revealed signs‟ have remained hidden inChinese language (characters). Bible‟s „Tree of life‟ and „Tree of knowledge of good and evil ‟were known to China. Lan or „greed‟ is written as „Woman under two Trees‟ in vivid picture of this ancient story. „The forbidden fruit ‟ is called in Chinese as ‘Jin Fruit’ (and we come to knowfrom Qur‟an that Satan Iblis was a Jinn). „Righteousness‟ a basic precept of revealed doctrine;Prophets (Noah, Abraham etc) have sacrificed lamb to God, a sacrifice to impart righteousnesson sinful people. The ancient Chinese word for „righteousness‟ is „Yi ‟ which is comprised of a„lamb‟ over the symbol of „I ‟ or me – a picture of a person offering a lamb, also conveying the

idea of the „lamb of God ‟. Let us have more insight into Chinese „characters‟ from Dr. Thiel.(China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters.www.cogwriter.com (c) 2006, 2009, 2010 0715) [6]:

The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden...(Gen, 2: 8); The „tree of life‟ was also in themidst of the garden...(Gen, 2:9); Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and fromthere it parted and became four riverheads (Gen, 2: 10). The English term „garden‟ can berepresented by the Chinese symbol shown below:

Garden

There were two famous trees in the Garden of Eden: The tree of life was also in the midst of thegarden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9). Recall that God gave Adam one command after placing him in the garden: [Gen 2:15] Then the LORD God took theman and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. [16] And the LORD God commandedthe man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; [17] but of the tree of the



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knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."(Genesis 2:15-17).

It is of interest to note that a Chinese symbol for Prohibition is the combination of the symbols for two trees (mù) and command:

ProhibitionTo Prohibit

= Tree + (Divine) Command

It should be noted that God, while He originally prohibited one tree, later prohibited access to thesecond tree (see Genesis 3:22-24). In Genesis Eve stated: [2] We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:2). It is also of interest to note that the Chinese symbol for Fruit is thecombination of the symbols for tree and garden:

Fruit Tree Garden

While Adam and Eve were in the garden, the devil decided to implement his plan to alienatehumans from God. His plan was to suggest that God withheld secret information for the humansin the garden. [1] Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LordGod had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every treeof the garden'?" [2] And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of thegarden; [3] but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shallnot eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" [4] Then the serpent said to the woman, "You willnot surely die. [5] For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and youwill be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5).

Notice that the Chinese symbol for Devil is composed of the characters for secret, person, andgarden:

Devil = Secret + Person + Garden



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Sadly, Eve seemed to believe the devil as she desired to benefit from the fruit of the tree that wasprohibited: [6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to theeyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate (Genesis 3:6). Goddecided later to prohibit the second tree lest Eve and others desired it so much that they would go

for it as well (see Genesis 3:22-24). Notice the symbol for the Chinese word lán for desire or greed is a combination of the symbols for woman and two trees:

Desire,Greed

= Woman + Trees

After succumbing to temptation, humans noticed that they were naked: [7] Then the eyes of bothof them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Genesis 3:7). Notice that the Chinese symbol for being nakedhas to do with clothing, one tree (the one that Adam and Eve were originally told not to eat fromperhaps), and a garden with four irrigation canals:

Naked + Garden

after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden they had children. One of their sons was Abel, who raised and sacrificed sheep: [2] Now Abel was a keeper of sheep...4 Abel also broughtof the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering(Genesis 4:2, 4). Notice what a Chinese character meaning righteous is made of:

Righteous(ness) = Sheep



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Interestingly, the New Testament account of Abel refers to: [35]...the blood of righteous Abel(Matthew 23:35). Notice how the Chinese symbol agrees with the New Testament account thatessentially the sacrifice of sheep (by Abel, for example) was righteous.

Since Christ was our Passover lamb sacrificed us, and that through Him we attain righteousness,at least one has speculated that perhaps that is why the following symbol for righteousness was

somehow chosen (since the combination of the symbol for hand and lance can mean us):

Righteous(ness) = Sheep + I, Us

And while it is NOT likely that this was determined by the Chinese after Jesus' crucifixion, it is afact that Abel and Noah, who the Bible calls righteous, sacrificed clean animals such as sheep.

Many know that Chinese history contains an account of some type of worldwide flood. There maybe a couple of aspects of it preserved in its characters. Notice a couple of statements in the Bibleconcerning the flood: [1] Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. (Genesis7:1). [20]...in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eightsouls, were saved through water (1 Peter 3:20).

A Chinese word chuán for a type of boat is:

Boat = 8 + Mouth + Little Boat, Vessel

It may be of interest to note that one of the Chinese symbols for flood (chong) is a combination of an inverted symbol meaning "first Earthly branch" and eight (the term for eight may instead mean"person remaining""--that of itself is interesting as that the symbol for eight and "personremaining" look about the same--recall that on the ark there were only eight persons remainingalive).

After the flood, humans stayed together and built a tower: [1] Now the whole earth had onelanguage and one speech. [2] And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that theyfound a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. [3] Then they said to one another,"Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they hadasphalt for mortar. [4] And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose topis in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:1-4).



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But God did not care for this: [5] But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower whichthe sons of men had built. [6] And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all haveone language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will bewithheld from them. [7] Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they maynot understand one another's speech." (Genesis 11:5-7).

It is highly likely that when people saw others speaking foreign languages, that they thought thatsomehow something at this tower affected their mouths. Notice the following Chinese symbol of atower.

Tower = Grass + Clay + Mankind + 1 + Mouth

The tower of Babel was built with bricks (grass and clay) and humans originally had one language(or mouth). It is possible that this symbol is showing that the ancient Chinese recognized a

connection to the biblical tower of Babel.

All such findings indicate that once upon a time China had received the „Religion of God‟ byvirtue of their ties to the area of Babel; and those early Chinese were famil iar with the „Traditionof God‟ due to exposure to some of the events as recorded in the Book of Genesis.

C. ABOUT THE CHINESE ORIGIN

Biblical origin:Biblical origin is especially relevant because the ancient Chinese accounts are eloquent aboutthe catastrophic Flood event. They recorded devastation so great that the survivors were

reduced to living like beasts eating raw meat and recognizing their mothers but not their fathers.In Li-Chi (Book of Rites) [7] – the ancient collection of canonical writing in Chinese Shang

bronze (14-12th century BC) tradition, we find expressions in sublime languages:

„And now the pillars of heaven are broken, the earth shook to its very foundation; the sun and thestars changed their motion; the earth fell into pieces, and waters enclosed within its bosom burstforth with violence; and overflowed. Man having rebelled against heaven, the system of universewas totally disordered and the grand harmony of nature destroyed. All these evils arose fromman‟s despising the Supreme power of the Universe. Man fixed his looks upon terrestrial objectsand loved them to excess until gradually he became transformed into objects he loved, andcelestial reason entirely abandoned him‟.

The Bible, the ancient Sumerians and the Chinese all cite a chronology of ten rulers; similar legends from Egypt (ten shining ones), India (ten pitris) and Greece etc have pointed to thetradition of Adamic faction within among them and unity of these distant genealogies whose lastmember was the hero of a Great Flood epoch. Genesis 11:2 states that after the Flood mankindfound a plain in the land of Sinar (Samaria). From Sumaria, mankind spread out across theearth and numerous archaeological remains and retained customs testify to the Sumerian andJaphetic origins of Chinese civilization. The identity of a great body of astronomical legends andastrological superstitions, the use of methods of measurement, the cycle of sixty and decimalsystem, the belief in interrelation and correspondence of five elements, of five colors and the



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harmony of numbers, together with a multitude of other customs on the part of both the Chineseand Chaldeans cannot be explained as merely co-incidences.[8] The Caucasian and Mongolianraces have long been recognized as close genetic relatives.[9] The painted urns of one of China's earliest Neolithic cultures (the Yang Shao) have no other correspondents in China, butare strikingly like "similar painted wares" from Turkestan, the Caucasus, the Ukraine and theBalkans.

In following Biblical origin of the Chinese we must be aware of the fact that last two revealedscriptures (Bible and Qur‟an) are primarily didactic for Adamic races; while the ancientcommunities were mixed up with both Adamic and pre-Adamic races and intermarriagesbetween them were very common. But the scripture is not the chronicle of ethnic evolutions;instead its concern is only the Chinese faction arising from Adamic root. Ad am‟s descendantNoah had three sons, and one of them, Japheth, is believed to be the father of the orientalraces, which would include the faction of Chinese. The Bible teaches: The sons of Japheth wereGomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz,Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Fromthese the coastland peoples, the Gentiles (non-Hebrews) were separated into their lands,everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations (Gen, 10: 2-5).Prophetic tradition of Islam and other legends inform: Noah gave his eldest son Japheth „a

stone (called Giude Tasch and Seuk Jede, long preserved in the country of the Mogul), uponwhich was inscribed the name of God, and which enabled him to cause rain at pleasure. Theycall him Aboultierk, and ascribe to him eleven sons, among whom are Sin, father of the BiblicalChinese, Turk of the Turks, and Ros of the Russians -- nations unknown to the ancientHebrews. They ascribe to his sons‟ great wisdom‟. [10] Besides Japhetic Chinese, the SemiticJews in Persia from early times were connected to China with the silk trade, and, as aconsequence, entered into direct relations with the "silken". The Chinese everywhere call theJews "Tiao Kiu Kiaou" (the sect which extracts the sinews, after Gen. xxxii. 33). [11]

Conventional history; As the Chinese migrated away from their Mesopotamian origins into the Yellow River basin,they found themselves geographically isolated by mountain ranges, deserts, and oceans. They

became isolated, free from outside influences, developed their own culture, undisturbed for 2000 years. E.T.C. Werner [12] wrote in Myths and Legends of China:

Pending the discovery of decisive evidence, the following provisional conclusion has much torecommend it - namely, that the ancestors of the Chinese people came from the west, from Akkadia or Elam (Mesopotamia or Modern Iran), or from Khotan, or (more probably) from Akkadiaor Elam via Khotan, as one nomad or pastoral tribe or group of nomad or pastoral tribes, or assuccessive waves of immigrants, reached what is now China Proper at its north-west corner,settled round the elbow of the Yellow River, spread north-eastward, eastward and southward,conquering, absorbing, or pushing before them the aborigines into what is now South and South-west China. These aboriginal races, who represent a wave or waves of Neolithic immigrants fromWestern Asia earlier than the relatively high-headed immigrants into North China (who arrivedabout the twenty-fifth or twenty-fourth century B.C.), and who have left so deep an impress on the

Japanese, mixed and intermarried with the Chinese in the south, eventually producing thepronounced differences, in physical, mental, and emotional traits, in sentiments, ideas,languages, processes, and products, from the Northern Chinese which are so conspicuous at thepresent day (p. 17).

Early China was a comparatively small region. This territory round the elbow of the Yellow River had an area of about 50,000 square miles, and was gradually extended to the sea-coast on thenorth-east as far as longitude 119

o, when its area was about doubled. It had a population of

perhaps a million, increasing with the expansion to two millions. This may be called infant China.



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Its period (the Feudal Period) was in the two thousand years between the twenty-fourth and thirdcenturies B.C. (E.T.C. Werner, p. 18).

From lore of ancient Chinese people:

Now as we turn to legends of various tribes (Miao, Juili and Korean etc) it becomes apparentthat the „Miao race‟ could have migrated into China prior to the Chinese. Chi - You, the thirdemperor, was the chieftain of the Li tribes who are part of the Miao race. Miao traditionmentioned about a Flood hero and stated that mankind grew numerous after the flood, but thendispersed after the "confusion of the tongues". Chi-You turns out to be a logical candidate for leading the post Flood migration to China, who established the Hsia dynasty after the Flood [13]and said to have casted nine caldrons which became symbolic of his dynasty. Then came theBattle of Zhuolu, the second battle in Chinese history as recorded in the ''Records of the GrandHistorian'', fought in the 26th century BC between Ch‟ih Yu and Huang Ti who eventually ruledas emperor in 2697 BC throughout the Huang Ho (Yellow river) plain. Some later writtenChinese mythological book ''Shan Hai Jing'' purposefully depicted Chi-You with the Giants andmalevolent spirits, who rebelled against Huang Ti at Zhuolu plains. Both sides used magical

powers, but Chi-You had the advantage of forged swords and halberds. Using his powers, Chi-You covered the battle field in thick fog. Only with the help of a magical compass chariot couldHuang Ti's troops find their way through the mist, and he also used his daughter Nü Ba, the„goddess of drought‟, to harm Chi-You's troops. Later on, Chi-You suffered more defeats andwas captured. Only Yinglong, the winged dragon, being a brave servant of Huang Ti, dared toslay him. Chi-You's chains were transformed into oak trees, while Yinglong was cursed toremain on earth forever. Huang Ti's overthrow of Ch'ih Yu, must be regarded as a Miao/Chinesestruggle. The victory for the Yellow Emperor Huang Ti is often credited as the establishment of the Han Chinese civilization. By calling the emperor as the "Son of Heaven" the Chineseegocentric ideas came to distort the traditional chronologies of beginnings; and almosteverything from that time period is considered mythical legends.

The Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor were often credited for allowing the Han Chinesecivilization to thrive due to the battle, and many Chinese people call themselves "descendantsof Yan and Huang" to this day. The Jiuli tribe, however, were chased out of the central region of China, and was split into two smaller splinter tribes, the Miao and the Li. The Miao movedsouthwest and the Li moved southeast as the Huaxia race expanded southwards. In other versions of post-Jiuli, the people of Jiuli fragmented in 3 different directions. It is said that Chi-You had 3 sons, and after the fall of Jiuli, his oldest son led some people south, his middle sonled some people north, and his youngest son remained in Zhuolu and was assimilated into theHuaxia culture. Those who were led to the south established the Sanmiao nation. Perhaps dueto this splitting into multiple groups, many far Eastern people regard Chi-You as their ancestor,and by the same token, many question the ethnicity of Chi You as exclusively Hmong or otherwise. They also acknowledge Chi-You as an ethnic ancestor. Chi-You is also regarded as

one of China's forefathers alongside the ethnic Han ancestors, Huang and Yan. During thecourse of Chinese history, the Miao and the Li were regarded as "barbarians" by theincreasingly advancing Han Chinese.



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D. RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE

Since the dawn of Chinese civilization, alongside Shenism and Shamanic paganism an earlyindigenous form of religious practice in Chinese history was known as Taoism. As we look atextant Taoism, it is found to inherit a concept of „Heaven‟ along with „Xian‟ gods that corroboratethe reminders about „Jinns‟ in Qur‟anic revelation. In every civilization, the Jinn race has

invented pagan cosmology and gave rise to religiose deformities by corrupting the heaven‟struth.

The formal introduction of the Indo-Aryan time cosmology appears to have taken place in thereign of Shen Tsung (1068-86 CE) and was continued during the remainder of the MonarchicalPeriod as the worship of T'ai Sui, a dangerous spirit. The Eight Trigrams of the I Ching seems tohave been trivialized and with the Five Elements and Five Colours, used in conjunction with aShamanistic tree of twelve terrestrial branches and ten celestial trunks to locate his presence inany one year (Werner, p. 197). T'ai Sui equates with Jupiter, presiding over the year and passingthrough the twelve sidereal mansions. The diviners gave the title "Grand Marshal" to this deityfollowing the example of the usurper Wang Mang (9-23 CE) of the Western Han Dynasty whogave that title to the year-star (E.T.C. Werner, 1922, p. 195).[12]

Although some factions of Chinese and the Indo-Aryans are said to have descended fromProphet Noah, but both ancient Chinese Taoism and Indian Vedas were also rooted in thetradition of pre-Adamic generations that include pagan gods like „xians‟ and „devas‟ respectively.Shamanic paganism has the longest recorded history in China which is still practiced bynumerous ethnic groups around China, including the Han Chinese. Chinese folk religion or

Shenism comprises Chinese mythology and includes the worship of shens (神, shén; "deities")

which can be nature deities, clan deities, city deities, national deities, cultural heroes anddemigods, dragons and ancestors.

In contrast to Shamanic paganism, early Taoism tended to gravitate toward the „ways of Heaven‟. In Chinese modes of reflection the name „Tao‟ is more an adjective than noun, asense of ratio, the supreme Reason of the Divine, the Creator and Governor. Origin of Taoism is

much more ancient than its usually acclaimed founder Lao-tzu (b. 604 BC). The keystone workof literature in Taoism is the Tao Te Ching, a compact and ambiguous book containing

teachings attributed to Lao Tzu (Chinese: 老子). Lao-tzu wrote the Tao-Te-Ching in two parts

consisting of > 5000 characters. The extant other most significant works of Taoism is ChuangTzu. The 33 books of Chuang-Tzu are divided into 3 parts called Nei or the inner, Wai - theouter and Za - the miscellaneous. Together with the writings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, thesetexts build the philosophical foundation of Taoism. In Lao-tzu‟s Tao-Te-Ching we could hear:‘The Primal Unity, testing by it everything under heaven’ (Tao Te Ching 22); and in ChuangTzu: ‘The Truth is that which is received from Heaven, by nature it is the way it is and c annot be changed’ (Chuang Tzu 31). Bible says: „in the beginning was the „Word‟ and the„Word‟ was God who created the heaven and earth; and the creation in it from nothing. Lao-Tzusays: ‘Tao is the beginning of heaven and earth… creating from nothing ’. Tao means

„logos‟ in Greece, which translates as the „Word‟. In „Shi Jing‟ an ancient collection of poems,there are 421 proclamations of ‘Hao Tian Shang Di’ meaning „Heavenly God‟. Confuciusobserved in all 300 poems „Purity‟ as the common theme. As we turn to works of importantsages like Confucius (551-479 BC), Mencius (b.372 BC) and Mo-Tzu (b. 470? BC) etc theyhave attempted to re-orient their inherited religion according to the demands of time. Confuciusused the word „Tao‟ in obvious theistic implication which instead of personal name, is usuallytranslated as „Heaven‟: „Heaven entrusted me with a mission‟. In Confucianism we come across:„The superior man, taking his stance as righteousness requires, adheres firmly to



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Heaven’s decrees‟ (I Ching 50); and then: „there is no place in the highest h eavens above or in th e deepest waters below wh ere the Moral Law is not to be found ‟ (Doctrine of theMean 12). The Analects were not compiled until after the death of Confucius. The Mores("behavior" include an aversion for societal taboos, such as incest or pederasty) background of

the Chinese people is deeply shaped by the Confucian philosophy (儒家; Rujia) [14]. Grandson

of Confucius Tzu-Ssu is an outstanding figure to whom the compilation of the Doctrine of Mean

is traditionally ascribed. Mencius is said to have been a disciple of Tzu-Ssu school. Confusionscholars for centuries have opposed the use of images in the cult of the „teachers of a thousandgeneration‟. During the „Warring States Period‟ which lasted 500 years, China changed for theworse. Prayers and hymns were eliminated, purity and simplicity vanished, and anarchy andbloodshed were encouraged. In the hand of philosophers „Tao‟ became as if an Impersonaldeity. In other respects it resembles „The Absolute‟ of modern idealist philosophers. AncientTaoism antedates the „later Neo-Taoist superstitions‟ of aging Chinese tradition that tended tosubsist later by misinterpreting the metaphorical images of early sages.

Taoism is considered a traditional Chinese religion along with Confucianism and other Chinesefolk religions with a constituency of almost 400 million followers in China alone. Buddhism

(called佛教, Fojiao) was introduced from India during the Han Dynasty. In Han China (206 BC –

220 AD) although Confusion ideas were popular in the beginning, towards the end of thisdynasty Buddhism became more widely recognized religion. Buddhism could make inroad uponthe atrophied grounds of Taoism and Confucianism which were reduced to mere fatalism.Following the ancient Shamanic pagan predecessors Buddhism again began to corrupt thebase of Taoism more than anything else. The entry of Buddhism into China was marked byinteraction and syncretism with Taoism in particular [15]. But Buddhism in China was never ableto replace its Taoist and Confucian rivals completely; in 845 AD the emperor Wu-tsung began amajor persecution, 4600 Buddhist temples and 40,000 shrines were destroyed, and 260,500monks, and nuns were forced to return to lay life. Present restoration work in „forbidden city‟ of Beijing are unfolding more mysteries when Buddhist scriptures (In Tibetan) are found hiddeninside the domes of Taoist temples. Buddhism did maintain infiltration and played a significantrole in religious life of China by coalescing with the Confucian – neo-Confucian, and Taoist

traditions to form a complex multi-religious ethos. The last most curious Buddhist sect Zenintroduced from China by an obscured half legendary teacher called Bodhidharma, where againTao was amalgamated with Buddhism.

In later empires, Buddhism would remain dominant, until the Song Empire when Taoism againbecame widespread, and the first Muslim and Jewish minorities could emerge as the part of itspopulation. Some Franciscan friars found Church in China and Jesuits, Anglicans etc reformedit. The first mosque was built at Canton. It should be noted that in the 1950s China nearlydecided to abolish characters and even now most Chinese are not taught the history andtradition behind their writing system. The Cultural Revolution (1966 &1967) led to a policy of elimination of religions; a massive number of places of worship were destroyed. Several times inthe past Taoism had been nominated as state religion; after the 17th century, however, it fell

much from favour. During the 18th century, the imperial library was constituted, but excludedvirtually all Taoist books. By the beginning of the 20th century, Taoism had fallen much fromfavour, for example, only one complete copy of the Daozang still remained, at the White CloudMonastery in Beijing. (Schipper. 1993, p. 19 & p.220) [16] In modern China there are fivereligions recognized by the state, namely Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, andProtestantism Schipper. 1993, p. 220).



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TRIBAL - LORE

The Karen tribes of Burma: As we turn to far descendants of ancient Chinese, Karen tribes of Burma demands a specialmention. Karen legends refer to a 'river of running sand' which ancestors reputedly crossed.Many Karen think this refers to the Gobi Desert, although they have lived in Burma for centuries.

Here is some selections ancient Karen lore from Don Richardson‟s „Eternity in the Hearts‟ [17]where author states: "The Karen story of man's falling away from God contains stunningparallels to Genesis Chapter 1”:

"Y'wa formed the world originally.He appointed food and drink.

He appointed the "fruit of trial." He gave detailed order.

Mu-kaw-lee deceived two persons.He caused them to eat the fruit of the tree of trial.

They obeyed not; they believed not Y'wa ...When they ate the fruit of trial,

they became subject to sickness, aging, and death ..."

Don Richardson also called on their hymns that are clearly consistent with the theology of onetrue God and His name:

"Y'wa is eternal, his life is long.One aeon - he dies not!Two aeons - he dies not!

He is perfect in meritorious attributes. Aeons follow aeons - he dies not!"

Such people actually refer to Him as Creator. Another hymn extolled Y'wa as Creator:

"Who created the world in the beginning?Y'wa created the world in the beginning!

Y'wa appointed everything.Y'wa is unsearchable!"

Still another hymn conveyed deep appreciation for Y'wa's omnipotence and omniscience,combined with acknowledgment of a lack of relationship with Him:

"The omnipotent is Y'wa; him have we not believed.Y'wa created men anciently;

He has a perfect knowledge of all things!Y'wa created men at the beginning;

He knows all things to the present time!O my children and grandchildren!The earth is the treading place of the feet of Y'wa.

And heaven is the place where he sits.He sees all things, and we are manifest to him."

“These Karen people in the past had obstinately adhered to their own folk religion despite highpressured attempts by the Burmese to convert them to Buddhism" ... and they had, throughouttheir generations, from the inception of their history, expected a white brother, one who would



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bring a book authored by Y'wa the Supreme God” (from: „Monotheism original religion of man‟by Zenith Harris Merrill). The persecution of Karen tribe has been well reflected in the famousmovie John Rambo. The Buddhist influence came from the Mon who were dominant in Lower Burma until the middle of the 18th century. Now many of Karens have become TheravadaBuddhists who also practice animism, while approximately 25% are Christian. [18]

References:1. Denise Schmandt-Besserat, 1992. Before writing . Vol.1

2. [In 1990 the Archaeological Survey of Israel, project of the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the direction of Yeshua„yahu Lender, published a two volume series on the findings of their survey. The first Volume was titled, Map of Har Nafha (196), and Vol. 2, titled, ANCIENT ROCKINSCRIPTIONS, SUPPLEMENT TO MAP OF HAR NAFHA (196) 12-01]

3. Paul Rincon (2003-04-17). "‟Earliest writing' which was found in China". BBC News.

4. Arthur Custance, Time and Eternity (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich, 1977), pp. 184-185

5. [Author C.H. Chang in his book „Genesis and the Chinese‟ (1950), and later in collaborationwith Ethel R. Nelson „The Discovery of Genesis‟ (1979) explored the evidences of Chinese rootand its relation with the Genesis accounts. Historian Will Durant in „Our Oriental Heritage‟(1954) also investigated the Chinese beliefs in the past. Beijing Television Station spent four years to produce documentary „Lou Lan‟ unveiling its historical events.]

6. Dr. Thiel. (China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters.www.cogwriter.com (c) 2006, 2009, 2010 0715)

7. [Li-Chi or Book of rites: (Trans. The Sacred Books of the East’ xxvii; by Max Muller). One of the five classics (Wu-Ching) of Chinese Confucian literature, the original text of which is said tohave been compiled by Confucius (551- 479 BC). Afterwards it was reworked during 1st BC byElder Tai and his cousin Younger Tai.]

8. Kiang Kang Hsi. 1935. Chinese Civilization (Chung Hwa Book Co., Shanghai), p.5

9. Franz Boas. 1965. The Mind of Primitive Man (Free Press paperback), p. 110

10. Kitto, John; Alexander, William Lindsay., „ A Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature‟, p. 465, (3rdEdition. Black, 1876)

11. http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4338-china



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12. E.T.C. Werner was to write in 1922 in Myths and Legends of China, Graham Brash (Pte)Ltd, Singapore, 1988 reprint

13. The Shan Hai Ching cited Kiang Kung Hsi p4; Kiang Kung Hsi pp. 4 & 8; MacGowan, pp. 6-8; Campbell, p.383 & 391,392.

14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_China15. Maspero, Henri. 1981.Translated by Frank A. Kierman, Jr. Taoism and Chinese Religion. pg46. University of Massachusetts

16. Schipper, Kristopher. The Taoist Body (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993[original French version 1982). 17. Don Richardson. „Eternity in the Hearts‟

18. Keenan, Paul. "Faith at a Crossroads". Karen Heritage: Volume 1 - Issue 1, Beliefs.

Documents

How China once received the ‘Religion of God’: A search into Chinese origin, its pictogram & tribal lore