The word 上帝 is formed by combining two characters: 上 (shàng), meaning "above" or "supreme", and 帝 (dì), an ancient term for a divine ruler or the highest deity. Historically, 帝 referred to a supreme celestial power in early Chinese cosmology and ancestor worship. By joining them, the compound creates the concept of the "Supreme Ruler Above", a term used in ancient Chinese texts to denote the highest god of the heavens. This concept was later adopted by Christian missionaries to translate the God of the Bible, effectively grafting the foreign monotheistic deity onto this pre-existing indigenous idea of a paramount, sovereign heavenly authority.