China is officially atheist. The Communist Party has legislated it so, but the Chinese culture is not atheist. The Chinese language is imbued with expressions that assert the existence of a higher superior being(s) that for the people who speak it, there is definitely a god. For instance, there’s no word in Chinese that means accident as in not by anyone’s design. A coincidence is the closest term in Chinese, which implies a predetermined design by a higher spiritual being. Idioms such as “justice be served” is literally in Chinese “may the gods have eyes”, or a consolation to an actual food spill, “don’t cry over spilled milk” becomes in Chinese “may we pay respect to the Soil God”. Just a list of the most popular Chinese gods is one that easily hits 200 names. The best explanation I have read is that for a language that doesn’t distinguish singular or plural forms, the concept of one god vs. multideism is a difficult question to pose to a Chinese mind. However, whether there is a god or isn’t, the answer is a very resounding yes.
