Answers to these questions lie in the fundamental distinction between the ancient Egyptian and Shang religions. It has been pointed out that, regardless to what extent the Egyptian king was merged with the sacred world as a king, he had to become god to fully realize his spiritual potential. The anthropomorphized deities had their distinct divinity, which, different from that of the king, was not acquired. But the supernatural spirits in Shang people's mind were different: ancestor spirits were the most important divine force, and various natural spirits, like the wind and the river, were also prominent. The ancestors resided in "heaven" the same way as they did on earth, retaining their individuality and even their complicated family relationships.…show more content… While both cultures attached great significance to funerals, different religious rationales behind them require different interpretations. The soul of a Shang king resided in heaven with his kin, but Shang people believed that the deceased king would also visit his buried body. To make the tomb agreeable to him, constant offering and ceremonies were centered at the king's tomb. While to please the deceased was certainly also a component of the Egyptian funerary cult, its religious implications had more subtleness. The king was identified with Osiris, the passive god of the dead in the netherworld, who, paradoxically, also had the power to regenerate the deceased. And to facilitate the king's cyclical renewal as he merged with Amun-Re, the sun god's journey, which had its basis on various funerary texts, decorated tombs or temples of the pharaohs. At night the sun god went through the dark of the underworld, fought against the chaos of the nonbeing, sometimes merged with Osiris and eventually rose into full existence from the horizon when the day came. Painted scenes from funerary texts were carefully orientated to ensure the deceased royal spirit took part in the journey together with sun god. Example could be found in the burial chamber of King Amenhotep II and Sety, and the tomb of Nefertari commissioned by Ramses II. The constant march from life to death would lead to triumph over death, and usually architectural structure in which this expedition was depicted served as a microcosm, where the cyclical rebirth would take