The term 'religion' in Imperial China has a different denotation than it does in the West. In China, religion refers to Buddhism, Daoism, and various other regional and national religions, that are all connected with idols or spirits and demons. Moism (Of course, not that of Chairman Mao) that lasted for about 250 years, until the second century BCE will be discussed separately. Buddhism and Daoism (and also Moism, in its time) were based on writings and theories. Confucianism is a moral code that served as a basis for life in Imperial China, beginning in theeven before second century BCE. The founder of Taoism established a number of gods that corresponded to the range of traditions, and Daoist priests were permitted to add gods, in defined roles, and varied hierarchical positions. Every political figure in the Chinese government possessed a spiritual-pagan twin whose bureaucratic function paralleled that of the actual political ruler, and whose existence strengthened the rule of the actual leader. Already, during the period of the Sheng Dynasty, from the 16th century BCE until the 119th century, the accepted belief was that the spiritual world operated according to established rules that served as basic conditions for the existence of bureaucratic rule in the physical world. National religions had a hierarchy of spirits and demons, just as there was a hierarchy of gods in Daoism. A spirit could be attached to a particular family and some had established temples that were open to the public. Buddhism seemed almost modern, in contrast to all these religions, but Buddhism, itself, was associated with an idol - the Buddha. The roots of Buddhism were found in the ancient religions of the Indian sub-continent Hinduism -, polytheistic religions that did not speak of pure transcendentalism. It was based on dharma, a concept that fuses the physical world with the transcendental world. Buddhists in China performed ceremonies reminiscent of the bureaucratic operation of government institutions. The primary moral system that the Imperial state generally recognizes, did not emerge from the religions that were mentioned - though Daoism and Buddhism do contain moral principles - but rather from Confucian moral philosophy. Daoism and Buddhism have holy writings, and in this respect they are progressive religions. The Chinese, like the Japanese and Thai, did and do not consider it inconsistent to accept all the religions and philosophies that one is familiar with. Thus, it is quite common that a Chinese person will be simultaneously a Buddhist, Daoist, follower of Confucianism, and a believer in spirits and demons. The situation in Japan is similar, as Ben-Ami Shiloni writes on page 301 of his book, 'Modern Japan,' "The nature of Shintuist ceremonies is on the whole communal nature, while that of Buddhist ceremonies is familial. Most couples perform only a civil ceremony of marriage, though there are some who conduct also a religious ceremony in a Shintu temple or Christian Church. Most of those who marry in a Church opt to do so only because of its beauty and the organ music that is played, without any connection to Christianity. Thus, it happens that many Japanese will celebrate their birth in a Shintu temple, marry in a Christian Church, and be brought to burial in a Buddhist ceremony - without viewing their actions as inherently inconsistent." The dominant religion in the West is Christianity, a religion rooted in Judaism. In its early stages, Christianity was Catholic and afterwards also Protestant It is based on the Jewish belief in an unseen God who transcends reality, who is not corporeal and has no body, fused, from its inception, with a belief in a son of God, Jesus - a belief with definite pagan influence in the idols of Jesus and the Holy Virgin. The Pravoslavic sect even added certain pagan symbols and images from different Eastern countries in which the Pravoslavic religion had spread. With the advent of the Protestant reformation, the various offshoots of this sect of Christianity became less pagan, more transcendental, though they retained their faith in Jesus, the son of God. Despite the pagan impurities that adhere to Christianity, it is a religion that is less pagan than Chinese religions. Christianity is absolute and severe in its demands, in contrast to Chinese religions. Confucius' philosophical-moral teaching, the central moral system in China throughout most of the imperial periods, is considered a secular philosophy, though it teaches that a spiritual world parallels our own. As Bodde explains, such a belief is convenient for the ruling powers because it lends support for the existence of hierarchical privileges and it values literary culture. Confucianism, known in China as 'the intellectuals' school of thought,' was from the outset popular primarily among Chinese elite. This system propounded respect and deference for the emperor, and was adopted by many imperial books of law. In this manner, and in accordance with imperial directives, this system expanded its influence in popular circles too, though national religions still remained dominant in these groups. Confucianism's rival philosophical system for approximately 250 years, was Moism. It spread primarily among populist circles, and in its time, was as widespread as Confucianism. Moism was a moral code of behavior, established in China by Mozi Tzu (5th century381-479 BCE) that always had a spiritual leader, a community of loyal believers, holy writings, and an explicit code of law. It taught that man should love all his fellow men equally, though politically, inequality existed in the form of higher and lower classes. It called for belief in spirits and demons that observe man's actions, and reward those who believe in them, primarily Maoists, and punish those who deny their existence. It promoted the value of honest labor and efficiency, extreme asceticism, and concentration on logic and on very specific topics, including the science of light, mechanics, biology, and defensive military technology. Imperialism rejected Moism apparently, because of the asceticism and economic equality that it promoted, its uncompromising nature, its logical inconsistencies and lack of realism. During the early imperial era - the Qin and Han dynasties - Moism was uprooted as popular movement because of the threat it pose to the centralized bureaucratic system and its Chinese society and its partiality for the upper social-political class of intellectuals over the social class of merchants. anti-Confucionists ideas. With the exception of Moism, there was separation of religion and State in China, aside from short limited episodes, the most prominent ones being the rise to power of two messianic Daoist movements after the fall of the unified Han dynasty, in the year 184. One of these movements lasted a mere few months, while the other survived 31 years. Derk Bodde discusses the role religions in China played in preventing an Industrial Revolution. Buddhism, especially, is thought to have played a significant role, since it is based on a distinct world perspective that can be harmed through study of the universe. Bodde claims otherwise, suggesting that Buddhism was never a serious force in China. He quotes C.K. Yang, an anthropologist who discovered that traditional Chinese in the 19th-20th centuries, in Southeast Asia and Latin America demonstrated an ability to develop industrial and commercial factories. Bodde presents this as proof that the roots of the lag in China's industrial growth lie not only in the Chinese system of values, but also in the makeup of social class of merchants.