It is not only in ancient Greece that the seed of atheism started to materialized. In China there were some known personalities that began to disbelief the existence of the supernatural.
Zhu Xi (1130-1200 BCE) the most distinguished rationalist Neo-Confucian thinker downplayed the role of the supernatural in human affair.
Wang Chong (27-97 CE) ridiculed the idea that humans have a special place in the cosmos, did not believe in life after death and that the mind can exist independently to the body. He also wrote Lun-heng, a book of criticism against superstitious beliefs.
Xun Zi (1130-1200) recommended the study of nature rather than its worship.
