Tian

Tian
Chinese Bronze script character for tiān.
Chinese name
Chinese	天
Literal meaning	heaven(s)
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin tiān Wade–Giles t'ien1 IPA [ti̯ɛn] Wu Romanization thi (T1) Gan Romanization tien1 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping tin1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ thiⁿ Middle Chinese Middle Chinese tʰen Old Chinese Zhengzhang /*qʰl'iːn/
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	thiên
Chữ Hán	天
Korean name
Hangul	천
Hanja	天
Transcriptions Revised Romanization cheon
Japanese name
Kanji	天
Kana	てん
Transcriptions Romanization ten

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v t e

Tian (Heaven, 天) is a very old idea in Chinese culture. It was important in Chinese stories, ideas and religion a long time ago. During the Shang dynasty (17th to 11th centuries BCE), the Chinese people worshiped a god called Shàngdì, which means "Lord on High". During the Zhou dynasty, the same god was called Tiān. For many centuries, worshiping Heaven was a big part of the official religion in China.

Taoism and Confucianism talk about Tiān (天), which is the part of the universe that is up in the sky, and is often called "Heaven." They also talk about Dì (地), which is the part of the universe that is on the ground and is often called "Earth." These two things are connected and work together.^[1]Taoism and Confucianism talk about Tiān and Dì. Tiān is in the sky and is called Heaven. Dì is on the ground and is called Earth. These two parts of the world make up the Three Realms. The middle part is where people live. The lower part is where demons and ghosts are found.^[2]

1. ↑ Woodhead, Linda; Partridge, Christopher; Kawanami, Hiroko (2016). Religions in the Modern World (Third ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 147–148. ISBN 978-0-415-85881-6.
2. ↑ Woolf, Greg (2007). Ancient civilizations: the illustrated guide to belief, mythology, and art. Barnes & Noble. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-4351-0121-0.