Multiple choice

What is the thematic highlight of the passage?

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage:

There are two terms in ancient Chinese literature which seem to be used indiscriminately for God. One is T'ien, which has come to include the material heavens, the sky; and the other is Shang Ti, which has come to include the spirits of deceased Emperors. These two terms appear simultaneously, so to speak, in the earliest documents which have come down to us, dating back to something like the twentieth century before Christ. Priority, however, belongs beyond all doubt to T'ien, which it would have been more natural to find meaning, first the visible heavens, and secondly the Deity, whose existence beyond the sky would be inferred from such phenomena as lightning, thunder, wind, and rain.

But the process appears to have been the other way, so far at any rate as the written language is concerned. The Chinese script, when it first came into existence, was purely pictorial, and confined to visible objects which were comparatively easy to depict.

There does not seem to have been any attempt to draw a picture of the sky. On the other hand, the character T'ien was just such a representation of a human being as would be expected rom the hand of a prehistoric artist; and under this unmistakable shape the character appears.

Distinction between T'ien and Shang Ti.-The term Shang Ti means literally Supreme Ruler. It is not quite so vague as T'ien, which seems to be more of an abstraction, while Shang Ti is a genuinely personal God. Reference to T'ien is usually associated with fate or destiny, calamities, blessings, prayers for help, etc. The commandments of T'ien are hard to obey; He is compassionate, to be feared. Shang Ti lives in heaven, walks, leaves tracks on the ground, enjoys the sweet savor of sacrifice, approves or disapproves of conduct, deals with rewards and punishments in a more particular way, and comes more actually into touch with the human race. Thus Shang Ti would be the God who walked in the garden in the cool of the day, the God who smelled the sweet savor of Noah's sacrifice, and the God who allowed Moses to see His back. T'ien would be the God of Gods of the Psalms, whose mercy endures for ever; the everlasting God of Isaiah, who faints not, neither is weary.

  1. To depict the significance of extinct dynasties in Chinese literature

  2. To project the visible powers of heaven

  3. To discuss interfusion of two divine terms in Chinese literature and their independent attributes

  4. To elucidate intricately the attributes of T'ien as a form of worship as distinct from Shang Ti

  5. To showcase the superstitions and the intricate nuances of T'ien and Shang Ti

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Option (1): The passage is not about dynasties in Chinese literature; it is about interfusion of two divine terms T'ien and Shang Ti. Option (2): This option is too vague and general. Visible powers like rain, wind, thunder, etc. have been discussed as manifestations of T'ien, but they do not provide the central theme of the passage. Option (3): The passage portrays an amalgam of T'ien and Shang Ti though they have distinctive features. Thus, this is the correct answer. Option (4): The passage talks about independent attributes of these two terms. The option incorrectly puts focus on one form at the cost of the other. Option (5): Nothing about superstitions has been discussed in the passage.

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