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Title: Religions of Ancient China

Author: Herbert A. Giles

Release Date: March 25, 2006 [EBook #2330]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CHINA ***

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RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CHINA

by Herbert A. Giles

Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge,
Author of "Historic China," "A History of Chinese
Literature," "China and the Chinese," etc., etc.

First Published 1906 by Constable and Company Ltd., London.

PREPARER'S NOTE

This book was published as part of the series Religions: Ancient
and Modern.

The Psychological Origin and Nature of Religion, by J. H. Leuba.
Judaism, by Israel Abraham.
Celtic Religion, by Professor E. Anwye.
Shinto: The Ancient Religion of Japan, by W. G. Aston, C.M.G.
The Religion of Ancient Rome, by Cyril Bailey, M.A.
Hinduism, by Dr. L. D. Barnett.
The Religion of Ancient Palestine, by Stanley A. Cook.
Animism, by Edward Clodd.
Scandinavian Religion, by William A. Craigie.
Early Buddhism, by Prof. T. W. Rhys Davids, LL.D.
The Religions of Ancient China, by Prof. Giles, LL.D.
Magic and Fetishism, by Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S.
The Religion of Ancient Greece, by Jane Harrison.
The Religion of Ancient Egypt, by W. M. Flinders Petrie, F.R.S.
Pantheism, by James Allanson Picton.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, by Theophilus G. Pinches.
Early Christianity (Paul to Origen), by S. B. Slack.
The Mythologies of Ancient Mexico and Peru, by Lewis Spence, M.A.
The Mythology of Ancient Britain and Island, by Charles Squire.
Islam, by Ameer Ali, Syed, M.A., C.I.E.
Mithraism, by W. G. Pythian-Adams.

The publishers were: Constable and Company Ltd, London; Open Court
Company, Chicago. The 1918 edition was printed in Great Britain by
Butler & Tanner, Frome and London.

RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CHINA

CHAPTER I -- THE ANCIENT FAITH

Philosophical Theory of the Universe.--The problem of