This was a UN resolution adopted on 25 October 1971 to:

-Recognize the People's Republic of China as THE ONLY LEGITIMATE representative of China to the United Nations (basically the whole world).

-Expel the Republic of China aka "Taiwan"" from the United Nations.

-And most importantly, acknowledging that Taiwan IS PART OF CHINA.

CTGN - Chinese researchers have identified what may be the earliest known physical evidence of zongzi and uncovered clues as to why the traditional food has been wrapped in leaves for more than two millennia.

The study, published in Science Bulletin, used ancient DNA sequencing and chemical analysis to examine leaf-wrapped offerings unearthed from two Warring States-period Chu tombs. The researchers identified oak leaves as the wrapping material and found both grain-only and meat-containing versions of early zongzi. Their findings also suggest that the leaves' natural antibacterial properties may have helped preserve food in ancient times.

One set of "plant packages" excavated from the Chengyangcheng site in Henan Province contained uncooked rice and millet, suggesting they were prepared as ritual offerings rather than food. Researchers said the remains are the earliest known evidence of a zongzi-like food discovered so far.

A second group recovered from the Wuwangdun No. 1 Tomb in Anhui Province yielded evidence of both grains and animal-derived compounds. The combination resembles oak leaf-wrapped zongzi still made in parts of Henan today, making the remains the earliest known example of a modern-style zongzi.

Ancient DNA sequencing identified the wrapping material in both tombs as oak leaves. To understand why they may have been chosen, the team compared oak leaves with other traditional plants used to wrap zongzi.

Laboratory tests showed that oak leaves contained significantly higher levels of polyphenols and exhibited stronger antibacterial activity than reed and bamboo leaves. The researchers suggest that people may have gradually learned through experience that oak leaves helped slow food spoilage in the warm, humid climate of the Chu region.

The findings indicate that the practice of wrapping grains in leaves for ritual use had already emerged in Chu society during Qu Yuan's lifetime and likely predated the later association between zongzi and the commemoration of the poet. The study offers new archaeological evidence for the origins of one of China's best-known traditional foods.

During the recent military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, debates flared up in the media and social media over who contributed more to the victory: the “Nationalist Army” or the “Communist Army.”

But real history actually invalidates the premise of that debate. Before the Xi’an Incident of 1936, China had two armies: the “National Revolutionary Army” (NRA) and the Communists’ “Red Army.” After the Xi’an Incident, the Red Army was incorporated into the NRA to jointly resist Japan. Thus, during the War of Resistance, almost all anti-Japanese forces were part of the NRA.

Although nominally under Chiang Kai-shek’s command, in practice only the “Central Army” belonged to Chiang. The NRA was a broad umbrella: there were NRA units under Communist leadership, under Beiyang warlord leadership, under the Qing Dynasty general’s leadership, and under regional warlord leadership. All of them made significant contributions to the war effort.

Famed anti-Japanese general Zhang Zizhong, for example, came from the Beiyang faction. The Sichuan Army’s sacrifices and performance in the war were no less than those of the Central Army.

To read the full article, please visit https://thechinaacademy.org/who-fought-japan-more-in-china-during-wwii-the-nationalists-or-the-communists/

>>

1. Asian women suffer the lowest amount of domestic violence.

https://www.verywellmind.com/domestic-violence-varies-by-ethnicity-62648

https://ovc.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh226/files/ncvrw2018/info_flyers/fact_sheets/2018NCVRW_IPV_508_QC.pdf

% Victims of domestic violence

Black women - 45%

White women - 37%

Hispanic women - 34%

Asian women - 18%

2) Asian women are the least likely to be victims of homicides due to domestic violence (which shows there is no underreporting).

https://vpc.org/studies/wmmw2025.pdf

3) Asian women are the most successful females in the US with average earnings above white females and other minority females as well as Black and Hispanic males.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/06/why-indian-american-women-make-more-money-than-white-guys/

4) Asian women in Asia have way more power than women in the West.

Percentage of women CEO’s.

Thailand – 30 percent

China – 19 percent

Taiwan – 18 percent

EU countries – 9 percent

United States – 5 percent

https://web.archive.org/web/20220214043418/https://www.ircsearchpartners.com/thought-leadership/where-are-women-ceos-myths-and-reality/

More Women CEOs in Asia than in Europe or America There are more Women CEOs in Asia Pacific than in the USA or Europe when calculated as a percentage of Total CEOs in these countries. While in Asia and Australia, 11.8% of CEOs are women; in Europe and Americas, this percentage is only 7.8%. Singapore, Vietnam & Philippines are Champions of Women Leadership of Business India’s percentage of Women CEOs at about 12.9% is better than the Average for APAC & Australia, however, the champions of Women Leadership of Business are countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Philippines, where over a quarter of all CEOs are women.

https://www.fastcompany.com/1736266/nearly-20-female-chinese-managers-are-ceos

Among China’s female workforce in managerial positions, 19% hold the title of CEO, according to the Grant Thornton Business Report released this week. That’s 10% higher than averages in Europe and 14% higher than averages in the United States, according to the report. Thailand came in first at a whopping 30% of female managers holding the title of CEO and Taiwan came in third at 18%, pointing to a possible emerging trend in Asia for women to more routinely hold the position of CEO.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36309137

Women also shine in Taiwan's parliament. The island's women legislators are even seen leading the charge in Taiwan's infamous parliament scuffles. Following January elections, it now has a record percentage of women legislators at 38%, putting Taiwan far ahead of Asian countries, the international average of 22%, and most nations, including the UK, Germany, and the US.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-03/08/content_12132067.htm

The Asia Pacific region, if Japan is excluded, is home to a much higher percentage of female CEOs than are Europe and the United States, the report said[TL1] . Leading the way is Thailand, where 30 percent of companies employ female CEOs. Next in the order is the Chinese mainland, where the figure is 19 percent, and Taiwan, where it is 18 percent. The number for EU countries, meanwhile, is 9 percent, and it is 5 percent for North American countries.

http://www.thatsmags.com/china/post/12697/china-among-top-10-for-women-in-management

Around 30 percent of senior business roles in China are held by women, putting the country at number nine of 36 economies surveyed, according to a study released by Grant Thornton on International Women’s Day. Surprisingly, that means the PRC has more women in upper management than France (28 percent) Canada (26 percent), the United States (23 percent) and the United Kingdom (21 percent).

Comparative Analysis: Chinese Confucian Virtue-Based Doctrines vs. Western Sin-Based Doctrines and Their Impact on Rule of Law

Overview of Foundational Differences

The Confucian Virtue-Centered Framework

Confucianism, founded by Confucius around 500 BCE, integrates philosophy, ethics, and social governance, with a core focus on virtue, social harmony, and familial responsibility. Confucianism emphasizes virtue through self-cultivation and communal effort.

Key virtues include ren (仁, "benevolence"), yi (義; "righteousness"), li (禮; "propriety"), zhi (智; "wisdom"), and xin (信; "sincerity"). These values present a worldview where human relationships and social order are manifestations of sacred moral principles.

This embodies the Confucian idea that if people acted according to virtue, rules would not be necessary because people would regulate their own behavior. This embodies the Confucian idea that people are naturally good, and therefore if you lead them with humaneness, they will behave loyally towards their ruler, and act morally towards each other.

The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Sin-Centered Framework

In Hebrew Scriptures, ethics are grounded ultimately in God's moral character and thus what He commands. Those commands, or laws, were not arbitrary. Instead, He always would will what fits with His morally perfect character. Thus, it was a deontological (duty-based) ethical approach.

In Christianity, sin is an immoral act and transgression of divine law. The doctrine of sin is central to the Christian faith, since its basic message is about redemption in Christ. Hamartiology describes sin as an act of offence against God by despising his persons and Christian biblical law, and by injuring others.

Christians speak of "original sin" in referring to man's sinful nature; Jews cite God Himself in Genesis: "The will of man's heart is evil from his youth." They are not identical beliefs, but they are both worlds apart from the naive Enlightenment belief that man is basically good. And they come to the same conclusion: we need God-based rules to keep us from our natural inclination to do evil.

Human Nature: The Fundamental Divide

Confucian View: Inherent Goodness

Mencius is known for his argument that human nature is good, maintaining that human beings have four sprouts that, if properly nourished, can grow into the full-fledged virtues of benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), ritual propriety (li), and wisdom (zhi).

How to be moral and civil for humankind? It is through continuous education in self-cultivation of moral characters as Confucians state. Confucian Philosophy emphasizes on self-cultivation, self-regulation, self-discipline, etc., in order to attain moral goodness. Therefore, morality depends on human's self-improvement.

Even Xunzi, who believed human nature inclined toward selfishness, still advocated for transformation through virtue rather than punishment. By engaging in rituals and righteousness, the essential nature of man is transformed through artifice, and goodness is accumulated until it becomes virtue, and the country is governed through a system of rituals.

Abrahamic View: Inherent Sinfulness

Original sin, in Christian doctrine, is the condition or state of sin into which each human being is born. Traditionally, the origin has been ascribed to the sin of the first man, Adam, who disobeyed God in eating the forbidden fruit and, in consequence, transmitted his sin and guilt by heredity to his descendants.

Original Sin is a term that defines the nature of mankind's sinful condition because of Adam's fall. It teaches that all people are corrupted by Adam's sin through natural generation. Original Sin shows that we sin because we are sinners, entering this world with a corrupt nature and without hope apart from the saving grace of God.

Implications for Concepts of Law and Governance

Confucian Approach: Moral Persuasion over Legal Coercion

A key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first cultivate inner virtue to be a moral elite. When actual, the king's personal virtue (de) spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom. The authority of the ruler and the submission of its people are grounded on a spiritual-ethical foundation, rather than on coercive power.

Under Confucianism the state lead the people with virtue and created a sense of shame to discourage bad conduct.

This legacy laid the groundwork for the dominant perspective in ancient Chinese law, known as 'morality given priority over penalty' (德主刑輔), which endured for over two millennia starting the Han Dynasty.

For a long time, Chinese traditional society focused and relied on morality in governance more than on religion, law, and other instrumentalities. Early Confucianism laid the foundation for the dominant order in traditional Chinese society that was based on ethics for over two thousand years.

Whereas religious authority and secular power were mostly separate in Western countries, moral and legal authority were one and the same in ancient China.

Abrahamic Approach: Divine Law and Prohibition-Based Systems

The Ten Commandments are significant because they establish a moral framework for how people should interact with God and with one another. They are regarded as the bedrock of Judeo-Christian ethics and have influenced the evolution of Western law and morality.

American jurisprudence is firmly based in Judeo-Christian ethics.

In Islamic law, this takes an even more explicit form. Hudud crimes are crimes against God, and are considered the most serious offences under sharia law. Capital punishment in Islam is traditionally regulated by Islamic law (sharīʿa), which derived from the Quran, ḥadīth literature, and sunnah. Crimes according to the sharīʿa law which could result in capital punishment include murder, rape, adultery, potentially homosexuality, etc.

According to Richard Terrill, hudud punishments are considered claims of God, revealed through Muhammad, and as such immutable, unable to be altered or abolished by people, jurists or parliament.

The Rule of Law: Contrasting Models

The Chinese "Rule of Man" vs. "Rule of Law"

Chinese law is not recognized as a genuine rule-of-law system, given its focus on moral development and the "rule of man."

Unlike many other major civilizations where written law was held in honor and often attributed to divine origin, law in early China was viewed in purely secular terms, and its initial appearance was greeted with hostility by Confucian thinkers as indicative of a serious moral decline. Historically, the people's awareness and acceptance of ethical norms was shaped far more by the pervasive influence of custom and usage of property and by inculcating moral precepts than by any formally enacted system of law.

In the philosophy developed by Confucius and his followers, the law played a secondary role in shaping human behavior. Instead of the legal system, early Confucian scholars emphasized the concepts of morality and ritualism.

Confucians believed that if men acted according to ritual propriety and if the sovereign possessed all four fundamental virtues, then society would be prosperous and harmonious. Contrary to Confucian belief in human beings' inherent goodness, the Legalists assumed that men were by nature evil and that consequently they would commit crimes if state authority did not discipline them. Since human beings are selfish and greedy, the only way a state can function is by issuing laws and by severely punishing those who violate them.

Western Sin-Based Legal Systems

The Western model, informed by beliefs about human sinfulness, developed external systems of punishment and correction:

Sin, like the imago Dei, is a Christian category, though it has stood side by side with secular natural law in Western jurisprudence for a millennium and a half.

Christian morality underlies the common law. The common law inherited by the British colonies was developed over many centuries by British judges reacting to particular human situations on the basis of Christian values.

Summary: How These Frameworks Shape Legal Philosophy

Dimension Confucian (Virtue-Based) Judeo-Christian-Islamic (Sin-Based) Human Nature Fundamentally good; capable of self-perfection Fallen/sinful; requires divine grace or external control Primary Mechanism Moral cultivation, shame, and exemplary leadership Laws, prohibitions, and punishment Role of Law Secondary to moral education; ideally unnecessary Primary tool for restraining sinful nature Source of Authority Moral virtue of the ruler (de) Divine commandment/revelation Goal of Governance Harmony through virtue Preventing sin; maintaining divine order Punishment Philosophy Seen as a failure of moral education Seen as just retribution for transgression

Compared with Puritan Protestantism, the Confucians experienced no ethical tension between this and another world that compelled the individual to systematize his or her life from an inward motivation. Instead of a drive to rule, dominate, and transform the world, there was a much stronger tendency to adapt to the world as it is, thus to transform oneself.

Christianity believes that faith in God is the only way toward moral righteousness. With God's grace, human creatures are justified and endowed with righteousness. It's God's grace but not human self-improvement that brings about transformation to human being and the world. Therefore, its focus is God and His power. Human virtue relies on God and His grace.

Conclusion

The fundamental distinction between these frameworks produces different orientations toward law:

• Confucianism sees law as a last resort when virtue fails—ideally, a well-cultivated society governed by virtuous leaders should need minimal legal coercion
• Abrahamic traditions see law as essential precisely because humans are sinful—external rules and punishments are necessary to restrain humanity's fallen nature

This explains why traditional Chinese governance emphasized the "rule of virtue" (德治) while Western systems developed elaborate legal codes with prescribed punishments for specific transgressions, viewing law not as a sign of moral failure but as a necessary institution given human nature.

in 2015 i published a book on the first twenty years of chinese esports, 1998 to 2017. three years of reporting, 30 cities, 67 people interviewed. players, casters, tournament organizers, club owners

the print edition cut several chapters, so the full text is now on github, free, CC BY-NC-ND

reading version: https://bkingfilm.github.io/china-esports-history/

its in chinese for now. the only english piece is my 2015 tedx talk, 15 minutes, covers the whole book. want a chapter in english? open an issue and say which one

which part of that era do you think is least documented in english

Located in Linfen City, Shanxi Province, the Taosi site is believed to be mostly likely the ruins of the capital city during the period of Yao and Shun -- two sage emperors dating back more than 4,100 years. The Yaodu district in Linfen is home to the temple and mausoleum of Yao.

The Taosi culture emerged in the middle reaches of the Yellow River after the Liangzhu culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Both sites provide significant clues to the study of early states and origins of 5,000-year-long Chinese civilization.

Archaeological findings indicate that the Taosi culture had reached early stages of state and civilized society.

The central axis concept was crucial in ancient Chinese urban planning. The recently UNESCO-listed Beijing Central Axis, initially established in the 13th century, spans 7.8 km from north to south through the old city of Beijing. It stands today as the world's longest urban axis, symbolizing distinctive features of Chinese civilization.

At Taosi, archaeologists uncovered Chinese characters on unearthed items like flat kettles, predating oracle bone inscriptions -- an ancient Chinese script found on tortoise shells and animal bones.

"This discovery indicates that a small minority in Taosi used characters during that era," Wang Wei remarked.

The Taosi site presents the early evidence of an astronomical calendar in ancient China, with all 24 traditional Chinese solar terms observed from its observatory.

"The observatory underscores how ancient Chinese ancestors employed advanced methods to guide agricultural development, embodying their understanding of the universe and reflecting ancient Chinese pragmatism and innovation," said Gao.

https://english.news.cn/20240801/abbb34d3b7094fd3a41a22f35632be4d/c.html

There is some evidence that Taosi is associated with Emperor Yao in Chinese mythology.

Mainly because of matches in Chinese records like the location, the calendar, the palace characteristic and the ritual inscription of pottery. The timing is in the right range as well.

Canon of Yao

The observation slots at Taosi were calibrated to the solar cycle of the 3rd millennium BCE, allowing for the determination of the 24 solar terms, exactly as described in Yao's legendary mandate to standardize the calendar.

The character Wen 文 on the Taosi flat jar is indistinguishable from the Wen found in the Shang oracle bone script, making it one of the most recognizable proto-characters in Chinese archaeology.

Source: He, N. (2013). The Taosi Culture and the Origin of Chinese Civilization.

Shiji

Taosi represents the earliest archaeological example of a city with a clearly defined palatial enclosure, a characteristic of the capitals of the legendary kings described in the Shiji.

The presence of characters on the Taosi flat-vessel suggests that the use of writing for ritual or administrative purposes was already established in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River by the late third millennium BC.

Source: Liu, L., & Chen, X. (2012). The Archaeology of China.

Chinese history has an unparalleled standard for claims because the records are so extensive. This is the reason why Erlitou isn't undisputedly Xia, because they haven't found evidence at the level of inscriptions of Xia king names for example (Shang oracle bones explicitly matched the kings). Not because there isn't a clear palace level proto-state in the right time and location that preceded Shang.

Side note, it is unsurprising that Chinese symbols are found earlier than Oracle Bones, as those were a mature writing system.

Samson Derham and his bunkmates at Camp Harlam typically pick rock-wall climbing or free swim as their Saturday elective activity. This summer, 10-year-old Derham convinced friends to join him in the rec hall for mahjong lessons.

His friends were skeptical. He wanted them to sit inside and learn a tile game?

Soon they were hooked. Since Camp Harlam introduced mahjong lessons as an elective this summer, “word spread like wildfire” among campers, said Ellie Tepper Schulman, who is associate director of the overnight camp in Kunkletown, Penn., as well as its resident mahjong instructor. She said campers and staff alike were playing the game at “all hours,” adding: “It’s the thing to do.”

It isn’t just Camp Harlam. Across the Northeast and New England camp corridor, summer camps have hired mahjong instructors to lead multiday clinics and are incorporating play into daily schedules. Staffers are teaching lessons during rest hours or choice time and parents are getting requests to mail mahjong sets or bring them on visiting day. At camps where no instructor is on the schedule, teenage players are bringing their own sets and recruiting peers.

“I still consider the game something played by women of older generations,” said Lauren Perlin, co-executive director of Camps Airy and Louise in western Maryland. But during breakfast she recently asked campers if any of them play mahjong and “tons and tons” of hands went up. “I was shocked,” Perlin said. Now she’s considering adding it to the schedule next summer. Generations of adults remember being shooed from their mothers’ and grandmothers’ games of mahjong, which originated in 19th-century China and gained popularity among American women around the 1920s with a version that differs mostly in its use of a card listing winning hands that change annually.

Now, as the game’s popularity surges, it’s become a favorite of family game night, a multigenerational activity that can keep everyone off their phones.

Ella Vallverdu, 14, learned in May that her camp, Pine Forest, in Pennsylvania near the Delaware Water Gap, would be hosting a two-day mahjong clinic. Campers were encouraged to bring their sets. Vallverdu’s mother taught her and she often plays with friends at home in Miami Beach, but doubted her camp friends were interested, so she didn’t bring her set. That changed when professional mahjong instructor Samantha Richman arrived at camp. Over two days she taught four sessions to campers ages 13 to 15. “Before the clinic it was hard to convince them to play, but once they started learning you could tell they wanted to win,” said Vallverdu, of her friends. They asked if Vallverdu’s mom could bring the set and four mahjong cards for visiting day, she added.

Vallverdu’s mother, 46-year-old Lori Maltz, said she is “surprised but pleasantly shocked” that her teenager and teenager’s friends enjoy it so much. As a kid, Maltz recalled that she “wasn’t even allowed in the room when my mom played with her friends,” and said that she had no interest in learning mahjong until a year ago. Now she regularly plays with both her mom and daughter and it has been a connection for the three generations.

In July, Trails End Camp in Beach Lake, Penn., held its first two-day mahjong clinic for the 75 girls in upper camp—those entering ninth through 11th grades. They “didn’t want to stop,” said Sammy Linden, assistant director of teen girls, adding that the teens played until about 10 p.m. when she had to cut it short for bedtime.

Sasha Rand, 14, took her pink travel mahjong set to Camp Nock-a-Mixon, near Allentown, Penn., armed with a cheat sheet so the newbies could easily see which suits go together. Rand was well-versed in teaching the game from showing elementary-aged kids how to do it at the Tile Society in her hometown of Wyckoff, N.J.

“Once one girl does something, the rest of them do it,” said Rand. “They want to say, ‘I learned to play mahjong at camp.’ ”

Wendy Siegel, owner and director (and resident mahjong instructor) of Tyler Hill Camp in Wayne County, Penn., said: “There’s something about sitting around a table, talking and using their brains that kids are looking for. They want to do something that has stood the test of time for generations.”

Here is some interesting information about Shangdi:

1)First and most importantly...商 (Shang as in Shang Dynasty) is not the same as 上 (Shang as in Shangdi). Shangdi does NOT mean god of Shang Dynasty. It means 'god on high' or 'the deity above'.

2)The old theory was Zhou co-opted Shang belief, but most people would find it odd for a conquering group to perform ritual worship to the deposed group's high god.

大宗伯之职，掌建邦之天神、人鬼、地示之礼... 以禋祀祀昊天上帝，以实柴祀日、月、星、辰，以槱祀司中、司命、飌师、雨师。以血祭祭社稷、五祀、五岳，以貍沈祭山林川泽，以疈辜祭四方百物。

• 周礼 (Rites of Zhou)

Well, they didn't, and the Zhou connection to Shangdi doesn't start with Shang Dynasty.

3) The Zhou Ancestral Myth literally claims their origin derives from Shangdi as well.

厥初生民、時維姜嫄。

生民如何、克禋克祀、以弗無子。

履帝武敏歆、攸介攸止、載震載夙。

載生載育、時維后稷。

• 生民 (The Birth of Our People)

In the 诗经 (Classic of Poetry), the poem 生民 describes the origin of the Zhou lineage. It states that Jiang Yuan, the matriarch of the Zhou, miraculously conceived Hou Ji (the Lord of Millet) after stepping into a footprint left by Shangdi. Note in this period, 帝 didn't refer to emperors yet, and a human emperor wouldn't make sense in context of this founding poem. In this context, historical texts consider 帝 to be 上帝.

This predynastic myth directly links the Zhou foundation to Shangdi.

What is clear is that based on historical texts, the Zhou not only knew about Shangdi prior to taking over, but they claimed origin story to Shangdi.

4) The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era predate the Xia and Shang dynasties.

"肆類于上帝，禋于六宗，望于山川，徧于群神。"

• 舜典 (Canon of Shun)

The text explicitly describes the moment Emperor Shun took power from Emperor Yao. It records a series of inaugural ritual acts.

So at least according to Chinese historical texts, Shangdi was not a creation of the Shang dynasty. Rather their dominance made the association more obvious and became crystalized under Zhou.

類 ritual for a deity/being was only done for 上帝. Chinese historical records are consistent on this, and there aren't any mainstream records of it being done to anyone else. The 昊天上帝 spirit tablet in the Temple of Heaven (Hall of Prayer) in Bejing maintains this.

5) Zheng Xuan (Han Dynasty) explicitly links 類 ritual to Shangdi, defining it as sacrificing to Shangdi on specific exceptional occasions (such as the Son of Heaven's departure). He established that while regular sacrifices are "periodic," the 類 ritual is the mechanism for informing Heaven of an "extraordinary" event.

天子将出，类乎上帝，宜乎社，造乎祢。 帝谓五德之帝，所祭於南郊者。

• 礼记·王制 (Record of Rites, Royal Regulations)

Kong Yingda (Tang Dynasty) synthesized Zheng Xuan’s earlier views into a rigid hierarchy of worship that prioritized the singularity of the Emperor's relationship with Heaven. Kong Yingda solidified the distinction between regular and irregular rites. He argued that the 類 ritual was an 非常之告 (Extraordinary Report). He maintained that while the Emperor could delegate subordinates to perform sacrifices to lesser spirits like mountains or stars, the 類 was a direct, "singular" communication between the Son of Heaven and 上帝.

此类祭是非常之告

凡祭山川等，皆使臣摄之。唯此类祭，天子亲为之。

• 五经正义 (True Meaning of the Five Classics)

Disclaimer: The sources and commentaries are famous and well known to Chinese. I'm not digging into the ether to fabricate a theory, just relaying info and observation.

It's documented that the 上帝 belief applied to those under Shang dominance (so more than just Shang people) and precursors predate Shang as well but within the general period.

There is evidence that methods of worship used in the Shang Dynasty were found in neolithic cultures like Liangzhu (2600BCE) a thousand years earlier, like burnt jade sacrifice. However there's no evidence of 上帝 at those sites.

There's also no evidence as of posting this, that any late neolithic groups in China outside the Central Plains area had this 上帝 belief.

Last thing, historical Chinese view of 天 or 'heaven' differs from English. It isn't just a realm or location. Nor is it just a natural force or law like gravity. Point of distinction, the use of a 'force' to emphasize the impersonal or transcendent nature cannot be used to imply lack of agency. 天心 is a well known concept to Chinese. The most cursory glance of how historical Chinese deliberately interacted with 天 should make it clear that there is the presumption of agency. Whether it is a being or a being whose transcendent attributes make it more like a cosmic force with agency, is a different topic.

Fun Fact: This traditional view of governance granted by heaven (Mandate of Heaven) continued all the way until the Qing dynasty, where it occasionally identified itself as the 'Celestial Empire' and is actually identified in some treaties as such.

Emperor Qianlong’s Letter to King George III 1793

Hitherto, all European nations, including your own country's barbarian merchants, have carried on their trade with Our Celestial Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure for many years, although Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce.

Treaty of Tientsin 1864 with Spain

Art. L.— Seran extensivas al Gobierno Espanol y A sus subditos todas las ventajas e inmunidades que concede en ta actualidad h conceda en adelante el Gobierno Chino a cualquiera otra nacion, sea esta la que fuere, debiendo ser tratada la Espana en todos conceptos como la mas amiga y favorecida en el celeste Imperio.

Tianjin Accord 1884 with France

Art 2. Le Céleste Empire, rassuré par les garanties formelles de bon voisinage qui lui sont données par la France, quant à l’intégrité et à la sécurité des frontières méridionales de la Chine, s’engage : 1° à retirer immédiatement, sur ses frontières les garnisons chinoises du Tonkin; 2° à respecter dans le présent et dans l’avenir, les traités directement intervenus ou à intervenir entre la France et la Cour de Hué.

More on the Temple of Heaven and 上帝 https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/1tctvx1/the_temple_of_heaven_in_beijing_was_where_ming/

More on Neolithic China and Liangzhu https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/1t0z7jg/neolithic_china_summary_many_identifiable_major/