太陽是人類能直接感知偉大的自然力之一。它象徵光明、溫暖，是生命和力量的 源泉，也是原始信仰中多神崇拜的對象之一。 　　人類文明史上的原生性文明，大體都是農業文明。不同穀物的主人賦予太陽神不同的內 涵。東亞是稻粟的故鄉，玉、絲、漆都出現在新石器時代，其中隱藏著古人對於光或光明敬 仰、崇拜的社會心理，是東方太陽崇拜的物化。 　　東方太陽崇拜經歷了單體太陽圖形；太陽與鳥獸植物等形象圖畫，介字形、三尖峰、橫 弓形等抽象符號組合；人形化太陽神三個發展階段。人形化說明太陽神取得了主神或主神之 一的地位，處於由自然崇拜向祖先崇拜過渡，標幟著文明曙光曙光時代的到來。商周的帝、 天概念，可能與此有關。 　　不同的太陽神是不同觀念形態的產物，它植根於不同的生產方式。東方太陽神的形態、 功能，都和西方的阿波羅、古埃及的「拉」以及美洲以人血供奉的太陽神，存在著明顯的區 別，彼此間不存在聯繫和認同。東方的太陽神是東方文明獨立起源的有力明証。

　　　　　The Sun is one of nature's greatest powers capable of being directly sensed by humans. It symbolizes brightness and warmth and is the source of life and energy. It is also one of the earliests of worship in the polytheistic societies of primitive man. The first civilizations of humankind were based on agriculture and the mean- ing and significance ascribed to the Sun varied from culture to culture. In the grainbased societies of Asia, jade, silk, and lacquer all appear as early as the Neolithic period. These all belie ancient people's respect for brightness, which is a reflection of their worship of the Sun. The symbol of the Sun passed through three early stages: (1) a direct pictorial representation of the Sun; (2) a combination of the Sun and other elements, such as birds, plants, and animals, from nature, and (3) an anthropomorphication. The anthropomorphosis of the Sun signifies its becoming one deity among many, as opposed to being the main deity, and the shift toward ancestor worship, as opposed to the worship of nature. The Ti and Tien of the Shang and Chou dynasties are most likely related to this trend. Different Sun gods are products of different conceptions of nature and the world and result from different modes of production. Thus, the Sun gods found throughout Asian cultures vary considerably from those of American natives and ancient Western cultures. They are products unique to Asia.