After discussing the historical context, this Element reconstructs representations of the High Deity – variously named Di, Shangdi, Tian – in early Chinese thought. The textual analysis begins with the Oracle Bones of the Shang Dynasty as background to the Zhou Dynasty. It then turns to the Classics, focusing on the Documents, the Songs, and the Ritual. The two claims– that the Chinese had no notion of a transcendent High God at all, and that the Chinese High God devolved in the Zhou period into a mere natural force (Nature) – are rejected. The Element then discusses the so-called Confucians, with a careful examination of the Analects and the Mencius. It concludes with 'the Daoists,' Laozi and Zhuangzi, arguing that they held a version of ultimism – of the Dao as a godlike but impersonal source of reality and its power. This Element is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.