Once every year he proceeds in state to the Temple of Heaven at Peking; and after the due performance of sacrificial worship he enters alone the central raised building with circular blue-tiled roof, and there places himself in communication with the Supreme Being, submitting for approval or otherwise his stewardship during the preceding twelve months.

Chinese records go so far as to mention letters received from God.

There is a legend of the sixth century A.D., which claims that God revealed Himself to a hermit in a retired valley, and bestowed on him a tablet of jade with a mysterious inscription.

But there is a much more circumstantial account of a written communication which in A.D.1008 descended from heaven upon mount T'ai, the famous mountain in Shantung, where a temple has been built to mark the very spot.

The emperor and his courtiers regarded this letter with profound reverence and awe, which roused the ire of a learned statesman of the day.