Early Chinese astronomy was influenced to a large extend by religious, cultural as well as the political views of that prevailing time. To the Chinese, their early religion was such that god was the maker of the world and they rarely speak beyond it. The religious view as early as around 2 BC was that the Emperor of China was a devine appointment and that he was the "son of God" and ruler of "all under the heavens". China was thought to be at the centre of a flat and square earth (because of the 4 cardinal points, N,S,E and W) and the middle of the Chinese empire under the emperor's rule corresponds to the North Celestial Pole which is supposingly also located at the center of a spherical heaven above.
The concept was that the Chinese god "Shang-ti" ( meaning "upper earth" - strictly "ti" here could also be translated as ground or land but it’s use in this instance refers to "earth") was in control of the heavens, while the Emperor, who was supposingly "the son of God", rules the corresponding land under the heaven. The emperor's rule and events happening on Earth was thought to have a direct influence on the of events in heaven. The Chinese interpreted heavenly consequences as changes in the sky, sometimes with sudden sightings and appearances of new stars, comets or eclipses. The emperor is thought to maintain harmony of both heaven and earth - this is because heaven and earth are thought in such a way that all in it including the emperor, the people, the land, the god and the cosmos are intimately connected like a single living organism. Chaos in one brings about chaos in the other. As an example, it is widely believed among the Chinese that if an emperor is unjust or have governed badly and unwisely, the heavens will be affected by his bad behaviour on earth and will show it by sudden appearance of "Kho hxing" (Guest Star) or by unpredicted changes in the sky.
On the other hand, "When a wise prince occupies the throne, the moon follows the right way" in accordance to the work of Shih-shen in 4 BC. Thus, the fate of man was not simply ruled by the Gods ; good or bad luck in accordance to Chinese culture was determined by virtue and by following correctly the commands of the heavens. Heaven was thus regarded as the highest god with the Emperor as heaven's son and also the head of the state religion.
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