Question about Chinese Pantheon

A lot has been written about the philosophies of China (Taoism and Confucianism) but I have never seen much attention paid to the gods and goddesses of the Chinese pantheon. Were they conceived as entities to whom sacrifices or prayers were due, or were they just a cosmological backstory to explain "how we (Chinese) got here". Off the top of my head I can name divinities from Japan to Ireland to Mesoamerica, but had to go to Wikipedia to find a list of Chinese deities, none of whom I recognized.
 
A lot has been written about the philosophies of China (Taoism and Confucianism) but I have never seen much attention paid to the gods and goddesses of the Chinese pantheon. Were they conceived as entities to whom sacrifices or prayers were due, or were they just a cosmological backstory to explain "how we (Chinese) got here". Off the top of my head I can name divinities from Japan to Ireland to Mesoamerica, but had to go to Wikipedia to find a list of Chinese deities, none of whom I recognized.

You should at Wikipedia articles about "Chinese Folk Religion", "Chinese Theology" and read the entire story about the "Yellow Emperor" and its semi-legendaries successors...

My reading about chinese religion is that religion in China is not about what you believe but about the community or the family you are a member and whose religious traditions are yours. It's more about worshiping your prestigious ancestors or the local divinity.
 
People do pray and make sacrifices to Chinese Deities, but like Japanese religion is pretty laid back, you go to temple/shrine/pilgrimage if you want something.

Worshipping City Gods or Ancestors would be more ceremonial, with ceremony at specific date. Its a bit more social than private worship, with attending as showing you are member.

I think popularity Japan gods are due to influence of anime, while gods from death religion (mesoamerica/ireland/etc) are exploited by various fiction writer. Using Chinese or Indian or other Living Religion in fiction is a bit risky and exploitative if you are outsiders.
 
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