Other Deities or Holy One

This picture is an impressionistic representation of a Chinese Demon.

While Heaven is the Chinese 'Absolute' there are other symbols of Deity in Confucianism. It's probably important to differentiate between the generic concept of 'Chinese religion' and the Confucian strain of Chinese religion in this discussion.

"Chinese religion' is what I am calling all the common practices and beliefs in China. These concepts are not separate, but combined in any Chinese household depending on the region, the degree of traditional practice in that household, and class or education level. Certain beliefs, such as Heaven, Ancestor Worship, Ghosts and Demons, Qi and Yin and Yang are a part of the larger landscape of Chinese religion.

Ghosts, local Gods and Demons don't play a large part in classical Confucianism, but they are a part of the Chinese religious landscape, and a household that practices Confucianism may have a statue of a local Deity on their home altar right next to their pictures of ancestors. The Kitchen God, Zào Shén, is one Deity that American author, Amy Tan, made famous but there are many others.

As part of Confucianism, a household would have an altar to honor their ancestors. The more remote the ancestor is in time, the more remote and God-like the ancestor. This altar would have pictures of the families ancestors and an ancestral stone which lists the generations and ties the family to a particular village and lineage. Maintaining this altar and performing the family rituals is an important element of Confucianism.

Ancestor worship predates Confucianism, but for Confucius honoring family, lineage and rituals that supported the family were paramount.

The Kitchen God

Ancestral Stone