Chinese religious beliefs are wide-ranging and eclectic, deriving from Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism. Some beliefs, such as ideas about the afterlife or a spiritual realm, are shared with other religions, while others are unique to the expressions of Chinese religion.
The worldview found in Chinese religion is generally dualistic, emphasizing the two opposed and complimentary principles of the universe: yin and yang. But the yin and yang are the double manifestation of the single, eternal cosmic principle: the Tao.
Also important is the concept of Heaven (T'ien), which is sometimes described in terms of an impersonal power or fate, other times as a personal deity, and can also be equated with the Tao.
In Chinese thought, the world is populated by a vast number of spirits, both good and evil. One common type of Chinese folk deity is the "place god" or T'u-ti (Pinyin: Tudi).
Bodhisattvas and other religious figures from Mahayana Buddhism are also incorporated into Chinese religion.