美国网友问：为什么这么多中国人都是无神论者？他们信仰什么？

美国专家亚瑟•戴恩的回答

The main belief of the Chinese people is their ancestors. They worship heroes and respect the embodiment of kindness and kindness. It is their duty to continue and inherit their spirit.

中国人的主要信仰是祖先，他们崇拜英雄人物，也敬重善良与仁慈的化身，以延续和继承他们的精神为己任。

During the Ming Dynasty, Western missionaries came to China's Guangdong Province to preach. No matter how he described the greatness and love of God, the Chinese people were not interested in it at all. The churches he built were often empty.

明朝时期，西方传教士来到中国广东省传教，无论他如何描述上帝的伟大和爱，中国人对它根本不感兴趣，他建起教堂里常常空无一人。

But one day, by a very accidental chance, many Chinese people who passed here fell down and expressed their pious respect to the statue of the Virgin Mary. The missionary was very surprised and curious. He asked: why do you suddenly pray to the Virgin Mary?

但有一天，一个非常偶然的机会，许多路过这里的中国人轰然跪倒，向圣母玛利亚像表达了他们虔诚的敬意。传教士非常惊讶，同时也很好奇，他问道：为什么你们突然向圣母玛利亚祷告？

These Chinese said they saw a loving mother holding her child. They thought she was similar to Guanyin Bodhisattva, the God of Chinese Buddhism. Giving birth to Guanyin can protect parents without children to conceive their children as soon as possible. After this, he finally understood the Chinese people's view of religion.

这些中国人说，他们看到一位慈爱的母亲抱着自己的孩子，他们认为她与中国佛教的神—观音菩萨相似，慈爱符合他们的传统，送子观音可以保佑没有孩子的父母尽快怀上自己的子女，经此一事，他终于稍微理解了中国人的宗教观。

There are many religions in Chinese History:

中国历史上有许多宗教：

Confucianism is the most firm belief of Chinese nobles and intellectuals. In fact, it is not a religion in the strict sense. Confucius said: One does not speak and strange forces confuse gods.

儒学是中国贵族和知识分子最坚定的信仰。事实上，它不是严格意义上的宗教，孔子说：子不语，怪力乱神。

It only advocates the divine grant of monarchical power, but basically denies the existence of all ghosts and gods. Confucianism is the code of conduct and the concept of governing the country for intellectuals, and it is also an enlightening Maxim.

它只主张君权神授，而基本上否认一切鬼神的存在，儒学是知识分子约束自己的行为准则和治国理念，也是给人以启发的至理名言。

Buddhism originated in India and was introduced into China in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Buddhism was not a religion at first, but a theory. The Buddha is a person whose name is Sakyamuni, not God. In order to spread more widely, Buddhism created a god system and world outlook, and Sakyamuni became the greatest God in Buddhism.

佛教起源于印度，东汉时期传入中国。佛教起初也不是一种宗教，而是一种理论。佛陀是一个人，他的名字叫释迦牟尼，而不是神。为了更广泛地传播，佛教创造了一个神的体系和世界观，释迦牟尼成为佛教中最伟大的神。

Taoism. At first, it was also a theory similar to Confucianism, not a religion. This theory advocates "conforming to nature and governing by inaction".

道教。最初，它也是一种类似儒家思想的理论，而不是一种宗教。这一理论主张“顺应自然，无为而治”。

At the end of the Han Dynasty, they specially studied the teaching methods of Buddhism and created a fairy system that developed into religion. There are many religious factions, but they all respect the supreme old gentleman, that is, Lao Tzu, a famous Chinese thinker two thousand years ago.

汉朝末年，他们专门学习佛教的教学方法，创造了一个发展成宗教的神仙体系。这个宗教派系繁多，但他们都以太上老君为尊，也就是两千年前中国著名的思想家老子。

Christianity was introduced into China in the Tang Dynasty about 1400 years ago. At that time, it was called "Beijing religion" in China, and its Chinese pronunciation was similar to Christianity. Xi'an, the most famous ancient capital of China, has a museum with Christian stone tablets 1400 years ago.

大约1400年前的唐代，基督教传入中国，当时，它在中国被称为“京教”，汉语发音与基督教相似。中国最著名的古都西安有一座博物馆，里面有1400年前的基督教石碑。

The Tang Dynasty allowed Christianity to establish churches, but the Chinese did not accept this theory. Christianity did not develop and grow in China until missionaries came to China again in the Ming Dynasty 400 years later.

唐朝允许基督教建立教堂，但中国人没有接受这一理论，基督教没有在中国发展壮大，直到四百年后明朝时传教士再次来华。

In China, people can find almost all religions with more followers in the world. Nevertheless, the proportion of religious population in China is still low. China has never excluded or discriminated against people with religious beliefs, because they believe that religious activities can exist legally as long as they comply with laws and moral customs.

在中国，人们可以找到世界上几乎所有信众较多的宗教，尽管如此，中国的宗教人口比例还是偏低。中国从不排斥也不歧视有宗教信仰的人，因为他们认为只要符合法律和道德风俗，宗教活动就可以合法存在。

In addition, the Chinese people have one of the most unique awe, that is, the importance they attach to their ancestors.

此外，中国人有一种最独特的敬畏，那就是对祖先的重视。

In China's creation myth, mankind was created by an ancient great God "Nu Wa". She is a beautiful, loving and great goddess. She molded her children one by one with clay, and finally died of fatigue. Ancient Chinese people used their common mother to express their worship of reproduction and ancestors.

在中国的创世神话中，人类是由一位上古大神“女娲”创造的，她是一位美丽、慈爱、伟大的女神。她用泥土一个接一个地把自己的孩子塑造出来，最后因疲劳而死。古代中国人用他们共同的母亲来表达他们对生殖和祖先的崇拜。

Influenced by factors such as the distribution of means of production, China has formed a national system - patriarchy, which has continued to the Qing Dynasty since the primitive society.

受生产资料分配等因素的影响，中国自原始社会就形成了一个延续到清朝的国家制度——父权制。

During the feudal dynasty, they advocated the three cardinal principles and five permanent principles, monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons. On this basis, the Chinese seriously strengthened their family values. They feared their elders and respected their ancestors.

他们在封建王朝时期提倡三纲五常，君君、臣臣、父父、子子，在此基础上，中国人认真强化了他们的家庭价值观，他们敬畏长辈，尊敬祖先。

China's worship of national history is beyond the imagination of Westerners. In the history of China's Ming Dynasty, the number of existing books is tens of millions of words, and there are millions of words in the Han Dynasty more than 2000 years ago.

中国对民族历史的崇拜超出了西方人的想象，在中国明朝历史上，现存的图书数量有几千万字，两千多年前的汉朝，也有数百万字。

In each dynasty, officials recorded in detail the emperor's life and work, as well as the origin and career of hundreds of thousands of officials, as well as the important events that took place in that dynasty.

在每个朝代，官员都会详细记录皇帝的生活和工作，以及数十万官员的出身和职业生涯，以及该朝代发生过的重要的事件。

Historical celebrities such as Huo Qubing against the Huns, Liu Guan, Zhang Taoyuan, and Yue Fei against Jin have left a strong mark in the history books, which has always been the spiritual sustenance and national example of the Chinese people.

霍去病抗击匈奴，刘关张桃园三结义，岳飞抗金等历史名人都在史书上留下了浓墨重彩的一笔，一直是中国人的精神寄托和民族榜样。