Worshiping the Three Sage Kings and Fine Virtoous Emperors

　　In ancient times， people could not explain a great number of natural occurrences and their causes， always feeling they were too mysterious to understand， that people imagined that between the heaven and the earth there were supernatural beings， who created everything and dominated the heaven and earth. Every time they were confronted by natural disasters such as earthquakes， strong winds， heavy storms， inundating floods， ravaging beasts and fires， people would think that these deities were angry， and thus would grow very frightened. Then at times of propitious winds and rains， as well as abundant harvests of all food crops， people would think the gods were blessing them. In a word， out of awe， gratitude and admiration， people would offer a variety of sacrifices to these deities， praying for their protection and blessing. The worship of deities became rituals to demonstrate people's respect and gratitude to various deities and to pray for their protection.

暫缺《Worshiping the Three Sage Kings and Fine Virtoous Emperors》作者簡介