David W. Pankenier

Forms of religion in China throughout history have included animism during the Xia dynasty, which evolved into the state religion of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Alongside an ever-present undercurrent of Chinese folk religion, highly literary, systematized currents related to Taoism and Confucianism emerged during the Spring and Autumn period. Buddhism began to influence China during the Han dynasty, and Christianity and Islam appeared during the Tang. Today, the government of the People's Repu…