Shangdi
/ʂɑ̌ŋ.tì/noun
Shangdi is an ancient Chinese high deity, often translated as the Supreme Deity or Lord on High.
Did you know?Oracle-bone inscriptions from the Shang dynasty record sacrifices and prayers to Shangdi, showing that early Chinese rulers treated access to this deity as a source of political legitimacy.
Etymological Timeline
Late 2nd Millennium BCE
Old Chinese
上帝 (*ʔaŋ-s tˤeks)
“The high lord or deity above; a supreme divine power in Shang-era religious inscriptions.”
c. 1200–1046 BCE
Shang Chinese
帝 (*tˤeks)
“A high deity or divine ruler, especially the power invoked in oracle-bone sacrifices.”
11th Century BCE
Zhou Chinese
上帝
“The high god retained in Zhou religious language, increasingly discussed alongside Heaven as a cosmic and moral authority.”
Classical Chinese
Literary Chinese
Shàngdì
“The Supreme Deity or Lord on High in classical religious and philosophical texts.”
19th Century
English loanword
Shangdi
“A transliterated name for the ancient Chinese supreme deity, used in academic, missionary, and comparative-religion writing.”
Modern English
English
Shangdi
“A proper name for the ancient Chinese high god, also rendered as Supreme Deity or Lord on High.”