Shamanism in the Shang Dynasty Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay (Essay Sample)

Shamanism in the Shang Dynasty
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Abstract
Shamanism, which is synonymous with the Chinese culture is a vital concept in from the olden days to date. There arise diverse beliefs as regards the question of god to the Shamans. While the various realms are in one way or the other affected by the culture of the people, their medicine has usually remained independent of religion. Rather than life being considered as some form of fate, the Shamans tend to believe otherwise. This paper outlines the various ways the beliefs of the community are based on Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, as opposed to the western perspectives.
Shamanism in the Shang Dynasty
Introduction
The Shang religion in the Chinese community had different beliefs in relation to attaining power and wellness. The Shang believed in divination, animism, controlling the spirits, worship and respect for the people which included giving of different forms of sacrifices. The connection of the Shang and the gods were based on different mythological and natural symbols such wind, rain, sun, moon, phoenix and the dragon. The peasant in the Shang dynasty believed that they had to worship and offer sacrifices to these gods to attain bountiful harvest. Furthermore, the kings within the dynasty considered themselves to be the supreme and divine rulers who had the ability of consulting the gods such as Shangdi who was the supreme ruler of all the nature and humanity (Pittman & Wisdomkeeper, 2017). The belief of the Shang community was that the ancestors had the ability to offer good fortunes which led to the living to consult the dead ancestors with the use of the oracle bones who established approval of any decision. The people in the community would not do anything before consulting the ancestors who gave them the leeway to go for battle, hunting and harvesting.