Religion-Huang+He

__**Oracle Bones**__

Oracle bones were the earliest known system of writing in China. People often used them to tell the fortune and what they believed was going to happen in the future. Diviners wrote questions in the bones and when the bones were applyed to heat they would crack. Fortune tellers then read and studied the cracks to give them an answer to the question. Oracle bones were used by scribes to keep track of important events and dates in the royal court. Ancient Chinese religion was based on pleasuring and living up to your ancestors' expectations. People often asked questions about if their actions would please their ancestors in hope of getting a positive response from the bones.

__**EMPERORS**__

Emperors in ancient China were looked at as sons of Heaven, or people sent down from Heaven to rule over the world. They had the most power and respect given to them out of everyone in their country. Emperor positions were given out hereditarily through the family blood line instead of by democracy vote. The emperor's godly status resulted in them being treated like one of the divine. This was of course if they contained the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven was a accepted idea that was believed to free China of unworthy and undependable rulers. One aspect of the mandate was that there is only one Heaven, resulting in only one ruling leader. Without the Mandate of Heaven emperors lost control and superiority over their nation.

__**SHAMAN**__

A Shaman is a person in the Chinese religion who acts as a connection between the supernatural world and the regular world as a healer. The Shaman is nicknamed the "Medicine Man" because of the healing powers that he or she has. They are able to communicate with spirits and perform "magic" by shifting their state of awareness through meditation or other ways. Messages from the spirits are given to the Shaman and those messages are then used to heal a person or animal. A Shaman believes that the reason one may become ill is because they have lost some of their internal power during their life. Being healed by a Shaman means that the power is being restored.