Worshiping the Three Sage Kings and Fine Virtoous Emperors

　　In ancient times， people could not explain a great number of natural occurrences and their causes， always feeling they were too mysterious to understand， that people imagined that between the heaven and the earth there were supernatural beings， who created everything and dominated the heaven and earth. Every time they were confronted by natural disasters such as earthquakes， strong winds， heavy storms， inundating floods， ravaging beasts and fires， people would think that these deities were angry， and thus would grow very frightened. Then at times of propitious winds and rains， as well as abundant harvests of all food crops， people would think the gods were blessing them. In a word， out of awe， gratitude and admiration， people would offer a variety of sacrifices to these deities， praying for their protection and blessing. The worship of deities became rituals to demonstrate people's respect and gratitude to various deities and to pray for their protection.

暂缺《Worshiping the Three Sage Kings and Fine Virtoous Emperors》作者简介

Legendary Period of
the Three Sage Kings
Legendary Period of
the Five Virtuous Emperors
Xia
Shang
Zhou
　Western Zhou
　Eastern Zhou
Qin
Han
　Western Han
　Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms
　Kingdom of Wei
　Kingdom of Shu-Han
　Kingdom of Wu
Jin
　Western Jin
　Eastern Jin
Southern and Northern
Dynasties
　Song
　Qi
　Liang
　Chen
　Northern Wei
　Eastern Wei
　Northern Qi
　Western Wei
　Northern Zhou
Sui
Tang
Five Dynasties
　Later Liang
　Later Tang
　Later Jin
　Later Han
　Later Zhou
Song
　Northern Song
　Southern Song
Liao
Jin (Kin)
Yuan
Ming
Qing
Republic of China
People's Republic of China