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Paper short abstract:

The topic is the place and the meaning of rituals identified as magical in the cults of the supreme deity represented in competing conceptions of deity in five forms and holistic idea of Oneness. The result of research shows magical therefore metaphysical characterof Chinese culture.

Paper long abstract:

The topic of the speech will be the place and meaning of rituals identified as magical in the cult of the supreme deity in ancient Chinese religion, from the times of the first historical royal dynasty Shang/Yin (1766-1122 BC), to the imperial dynasties: Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC). -222 AD). The author examines religious issues from the period of antiquity, which was crucial for the development of China, when the foundations of the culture of the everlasting organism of the Middle Kingdom were created. In his work, the author relies on the works of recognized sinologists from China and the West. He puts forward a hypothesis about the dominant, distinguished cult of a specific deity, different in different periods, and proves its truth by presenting various forms of magical practices related to these cults. The research shows that two concepts of the Supreme God have been arguing with each other since the beginning of time in China: deities in five forms and the holistic idea of the Absolute as One, complementing the polytheistic concept. The author briefly presents the development and changes taking place over time in both variants, doing so during the reign of four historical dynasties from antiquity. The dynamic nature of the concept of the supreme deity can be seen in the context of the main theme as the technology of magical thinking, which is an element of metaphysical thinking. As a result, the author confirms the assumed thesis about the metaphysical character of Chinese culture.