Chinese gods and immortals are beings in various Chinese religions seen in a variety of ways and mythological contexts. Many are worshiped as deities because

traditional Chinese religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of '' shen'' ('spirits') and ancestors, and worship devoted to deities and immortals, wh ...

polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one Deity, god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, ...

, stemming from a

pantheistic Pantheism can refer to a number of Philosophy, philosophical and Religion, religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arise ...

view that divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating, and propagating the way of heaven (, ''

Tian Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...

''), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault of the skies and its order. Many gods are ancestors or men who became deities for their heavenly achievements. Most gods are also identified with stars and constellations. Ancestors are regarded as the equivalent of Heaven within human society, and therefore, as the means of connecting back to Heaven, which is the "utmost ancestral father" (, ). There are a variety of immortals in Chinese thought, and one major type is the ''

xian Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

'', which is thought in some religious Taoism movements to be a human given long or infinite life. In China, "gods"(

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

) are often referred to together with "xian"(immortals). Gods are innumerable, as every phenomenon has or is one or more gods, and they are organised in a complex celestial hierarchy. Besides the traditional worship of these entities,

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, and formal thinkers in general give theological interpretations affirming a

monistic Monism attributes oneness or singleness () to a concept, such as to existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonis ...

essence of divinity.

Overview

Polytheism Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, or whet ...

" and "

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

" are categories derived from Western religion and do not fit Chinese religion, which has never conceived the two things as opposites. ''Tian'' bridges the gap between supernatural phenomena and many kinds of beings, giving them a single source from spiritual energy in some Chinese belief systems. However, there is a significant belief in Taoism which differentiates ''tian'' from the forces of

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

and water, which are held to be equally powerful. Since all gods are considered manifestations of '' qì'' (), the "power" or ''

pneuma ''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breathing, breath", and in a religious context for "spirit (animating force), spirit". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in rega ...

'' of Heaven, in some views of ''tian'', some scholars have employed the term "polypneumatism" or "(poly)pneumatolatry", first coined by Walter Medhurst (1796–1857), to describe the practice of Chinese polytheism. Some

Taoists Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

consider deities the manifestation of the

Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

. In the theology of the classic texts and Confucianism, "Heaven is the lord of the hundreds of deities". Modern Confucian theology sometimes compares them to substantial forms or entelechies (inner purposes) as described by

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...

as a force that generates all types of beings, so that "even mountains and rivers are worshipped as something capable of enjoying sacrificial offerings". Unlike in Hinduism, the deification of historical persons and ancestors is not traditionally the duty of Confucians or Taoists. Rather, it depends on the choices of common people; persons are deified when they have made extraordinary deeds and have left an efficacious legacy. Yet, Confucians and Taoists traditionally may demand that state honours be granted to a particular deity. Each deity has a cult centre and ancestral temple where he or she, or the parents, lived their mortal life. There are frequently disputes over which is the original place and source temple of the cult of a deity. The gods and immortals（） believed in by Taoism and Chinese mythology can be roughly divided into two categories, namely "gods" and "xian" (immortals). "Gods" are also called

and there are many kinds, that is, god of heaven（), god of ground（), wuling（: animism, the spirit of all things), god of netherworld（), god of human body（), god of human ghost（）etc. Among these "gods" such as god of heaven（), god of ground（), god of netherworld（), god of human body（） are innate beings. "Xian" (immortals) is acquired the cultivation of the Tao，persons with vast supernatural powers, unpredictable changes and immortality.

God of Heaven

Chinese traditional theology, which comes in different interpretations according to the classic texts, and specifically Confucian, Taoist, and other philosophical formulations, is fundamentally

, that is to say, it sees the world and the gods who produce it as an organic whole, or

cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

. The universal principle that gives origin to the world is conceived as transcendent and

immanent The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheist ...

to creation, at the same time. The Chinese idea of the universal

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

is expressed in different ways. There are many

names of God There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various Quality (philosophy), qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''God (word), god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to ref ...

from the different sources of Chinese tradition. The radical Chinese terms for the universal God are ''

'' () and ''

Shangdi Shangdi (), also called simply Di (), is the name of the Chinese Highest Deity or "Lord Above" in the Chinese theology, theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang dynasty, Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the lat ...

'' (, "Highest Deity") or simply, (, "Deity"). There is also the concept of (, "Great Deity"). ' is a title expressing dominance over the all-under-Heaven, that is, all things generated by Heaven and ordered by its cycles and by the stars. ''Tian'' is usually translated as "Heaven", but by graphical etymology, it means "Great One" and a number of scholars relate it to the same ' through phonetic etymology and trace their common root, through their archaic forms, respectively ''*Teeŋ'' and ''*Tees'', to the symbols of the squared north

celestial pole The north and south celestial poles are the two points in the sky where Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere. The north and south celestial poles appear permanently directly overhead to observers at ...

godhead (, '). These names are combined in different ways in Chinese theological literature, often interchanged in the same paragraph, if not in the same sentence.

Names of the God of Heaven

Besides and , other names include '' Yudi'' ("Jade Deity") and ("Great Oneness") who, in mythical imagery, holds the ladle of the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper (American English, US, Canadian English, Canada) or the Plough (British English, UK, Hiberno-English, Ireland) is an asterism (astronomy), asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them ar ...

(Great Chariot), providing the movement of life to the world. As the hub of the skies, the north celestial pole constellations are known, among various names, as (, "Gate of Heaven") p. 190. and (, "Pivot of Heaven"). p. 343, note 17. Other names of the God of Heaven are attested in the vast Chinese religio-philosophical literary tradition: * ' (), "Deity of Heaven" or "Emperor of Heaven": "On Rectification" (') of the '' Xunzi'' uses this term to refer to the active God of Heaven setting creation in motion. * '' Tianzhu'' (), the "Lord of Heaven": In "The Document of Offering Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth on the Mountain Tai" (''Fengshan shu'') of the ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

,'' it is used as the title of the first God from whom all the other gods derive. * ' (), the "August Personage of Heaven": In the "Poem of Fathoming Profundity" ('), transcribed in "The History of the Later Han Dynasty" ('), Zhang Heng ornately writes: «I ask the superintendent of the Heavenly Gate to open the door and let me visit the King of Heaven at the Jade Palace». * '' Tianwang'' (), the "King of Heaven" or "Monarch of Heaven". * ' (), the "Duke of Heaven" or "General of Heaven". * ' (), the "Prince of Heaven" or "Lord of Heaven". * ' (), the "Heavenly Venerable", also a title for high gods in Taoist theologies. * ' (), the "God of Heaven", interpreted in the ''

Shuowen Jiezi The ''Shuowen Jiezi'' is a Chinese dictionary compiled by Xu Shen , during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE). While prefigured by earlier reference works for Chinese characters like the ''Erya'' (), the ''Shuowen Jiezi'' contains the ...

'' as "the being that gives birth to all things". * ' (), "God the August", attested in ''Taihong'' ("The Origin of Vital Breath"). * ' (), the "Olden Heavenly Father". ''Tian'' is both transcendent and

, manifesting in the three forms of dominance, destiny, and nature of things. In the ''Wujing yiyi'' (, "Different Meanings in the

Five Classics The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. S ...

"),

Xu Shen Xu Shen () was a Chinese calligrapher, philologist, politician, and writer of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–189 CE). During his own lifetime, Xu was recognized as a preeminent scholar of the Five Classics. He was the author of ''Shuowen Jiezi'' ...

explains that the designation of Heaven is quintuple: * (), "August Heaven" or "Imperial Heaven", when it is venerated as the lord of creation. * ' (), "Vast Heaven", with regard to the vastness of its vital breath (''qi''). * ' (), "Compassionate Heaven", for it hears and corresponds with justice to the all-under-Heaven. * ' (), "Highest Heaven" or "First Heaven", for it is the primordial being supervising all-under-Heaven. * ' (), "Deep-Green Heaven", for it being unfathomably deep. All these designations reflect a hierarchical, multiperspective experience of divinity.

Lists of gods, deities and immortals

Many classical books have lists and hierarchies of gods and immortals, among which are the "Completed Record of Deities and Immortals" (, ') of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, and the '' Biographies of the Deities and Immortals'' (''Shenxian Zhuan'') by

Ge Hong Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characters'', the '' Baopu ...

(284–343). The older ''

Collected Biographies of the Immortals The ''Liexian Zhuan'', sometimes translated as ''Biographies of Immortals'', is the oldest extant Chinese hagiography of Daoist ''xian'' "transcendents; immortals; saints; alchemists". The text, which compiles the life stories of about 70 mytholo ...

'' (''Liexian Zhuan'') also serves the same purpose. Couplets or polarities, such as Fuxi and Nuwa, Xiwangmu and Dongwanggong, and the highest couple of Heaven and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, all embody

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

and are at once the originators and maintainers of the ordering process of space and time. Immortals, or ''

'', are seen as a variety of different types of beings, including the souls of virtuous Taoists, gods, ''

zhenren ''Zhenren'' ( zh, c=真人, p=zhēnrén, w=chen-jen, l=true/ upright/ genuine person or 'person of truth') is a Chinese term that first appeared in the '' Zhuangzi'' meaning "a Taoist spiritual master" in those writings, as in one who has mastered ...

'', and/or a type of supernatural spiritual being who understood heaven. Taoists historically worshiped them the most and

practitioners during the Tang dynasty also worshiped them, although there was more skepticism about the goodness, and even the existence, of ''xian'' among them. Chinese folk religion that incorporates elements of the

three teachings In Chinese philosophy, the ''three teachings'' (; , Chữ Hán: 三教) are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The learning and the understanding of the three teachings are traditionally considered to be a harmonious aggregate within Chinese ...

in modern times and prior eras sometimes viewed

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

and

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

as immortals or beings synonymous to them. In Taoism and Chinese folk religion, gods and ''xian'' are often seen as embodiments of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. Water gods and ''xian'' were often thought to ensure good grain harvests, mild weather and seas, and rivers with abundant water. Some ''xian'' were thought to be humans who gained power by drinking "

charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

water".'''' Some gods were based on previously existing Taoist immortals,

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

s, or historical figures.

Cosmic gods

* Yudi (, "Jade Deity") or Yuhuang (, "Jade Emperor" or "Jade King"), is the popular human-like representation of the God of Heaven.

Jade Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

traditionally represents purity, so it is a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

for the unfathomable source of creation. *

Doumu Dǒumǔ (), also known as , and , is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. She is also named through the honorific Tiānhòu ( "Queen of Heaven"), shared with other Chinese goddesses, especially Mazu, who are perhaps conceived as her aspect ...

(, "Mother of the Great Chariot"), often entitled with the honorific Tianhou (, "Queen of Heaven") is the heavenly goddess portrayed as the mother of the

(Great Chariot), whose seven stars, in addition to two invisible ones, are conceived as her sons, the Jiuhuangshen (, "Nine God-Kings"), themselves regarded as the ninefold manifestation of Jiuhuangdadi (, "Great Deity of the Nine Kings") or Doufu , "Father of the Great Chariot"), another name of the God of Heaven. She is, therefore, both wife and mother of the God of Heaven. *

Pangu Pangu or Pan Gu (also sometimes spelled Peng Gu and P’an-ku) ( zh, t=盤古, ) is a primordial being and creation figure in Chinese mythology and in Taoism. According to legend, Pangu separated heaven and earth, and his body later became ge ...

(), a macranthropic metaphor of the cosmos. He separated yin and yang, creating the earth (murky ''yin'') and the sky (clear ''yang''). All things were made from his body after he died. *

Xiwangmu The Queen Mother of the West, known by #Names, various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient ...

(, "Queen Mother of the West"), identified with the Kunlun Mountain, shamanic inspiration, death, and immortality. She is the dark,

chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

goddess, pure ''yin'', at the same time terrifying and benign, both creation and destruction, associated with the tiger and weaving. Her male counterpart is

Dongwanggong King Father of the East, also known as Dongwanggong (), is the tutelary deity of the Taoist immortals. Legends say that the King Father of the East is the consort of Queen Mother of the West. He is the manifestation of yang energy. Legends Whe ...

(, "King Duke of the East"; also called Mugong, "Duke of the Woods"), who represents the ''yang'' principle. ** '' Hòuyì'' (, "Yi the Archer"), was a man who sought for immortality, reaching Xiwangmu on her mountain, Kunlun. * Yanwang (, "Purgatory King") the ruler of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, assisted by the

Heibai Wuchang The Heibai Wuchang, or Hak Bak Mo Seong, literally "Black and White Impermanence", are two deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. As their names suggest, they are dressed in black ...

(, "Black and White Impermanence"), representing the alternation of yin and yang principles, alongside

Ox-Head and Horse-Face Ox-Head () and Horse-Face () are two guardians or types of guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by their names, both have the bodies of men, but Ox-Head has the head of an ox while Horse-Face has the face of a horse. The ...

, who escort spirits to his realm. *

Yinyanggong Yinyanggong (), also known as Yinyangsi (), is a Taoism, Taoist deity and the personification of the union of yin and yang. He often assisted the gods of the underworld such as the Emperor Dongyue, , and Lord City God (China), Chenghuang. Lord Chen ...

(, "Yinyang Duke") or Yinyangsi (, "Yinyang Controller"), the personification of the union of yin and yang.

Three Patrons and Five Deities

* ' ('','' "Three Patrons or Augusts") or ' (, "Three Potencies"); they are the "vertical" manifestation of Heaven, spatially corresponding to the ' (, "Three Realms"), representing the yin and yang and the medium between them, that is the human being: ** ''

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi ( zh, c=伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking, as well as the Cangjie syste ...

'' () '','' the patron of heaven (, '), also called ' (, "Venerable Inventor of the

Bagua The ''bagua'' ( zh, c=八卦, p=bāguà, l=eight trigrams) is a set of symbols from China intended to illustrate the nature of reality as being composed of mutually opposing forces reinforcing one another. ''Bagua'' is a group of trigrams—co ...

") by the Taoists, is a divine man reputed to have taught to humanity writing, fishing, and hunting. ** ''

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humani ...

'' ()'','' the patroness of earth (, '), is a goddess attributed for the creation of mankind and mending the order of the world when it was broken. ** ''

Shennong Shennong ( zh, c=神農, p=Shénnóng), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born , was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. H ...

'' (), "Peasant God", the patron of humanity (, '), identified as '' Yandi'' (, "Flame Deity" or "Fiery Deity"), a divine man said to have taught the techniques of farming, herbal medicine, and marketing. He is often represented as a human with horns and other features of an ox. * '' Wǔdì'' (, "Five Deities"), also ' (, "Five Manifestations of the Highest Deity"), ' (, "Five Manifestations of the Heavenly God"), ' (, "Five Forms Deity"), ' (, "Five Heavenly Deities"), ' (, "Five Ancient Lords"), ' (, "Five Ways God ); they are the five main "horizontal" manifestations of Heaven, and along with the Three Potencies, they have a celestial, a terrestrial, and a

form. They correspond to the five phases of creation, the five constellations rotating around the celestial pole and five planets, the

five sacred mountains The Sacred Mountains of China are divided into several groups. The ''Five Great Mountains'' () refers to five of the most renowned mountains in Chinese history, which have been the subjects of imperial pilgrimage by emperors throughout ages. The ...

and five directions of space (their terrestrial form), and the five Dragon Gods which represent their mounts, that is to say, the material forces they preside over (their chthonic form). ** '' Huangdi'' (, "Yellow Emperor" or "Yellow Deity"); or ' (, "Yellow God"), also known as ' (, "Yellow Deity of the

Chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

Shaft"), is the ' (, "Great Deity of the Central Peak"): he represents the essence of earth and the Yellow Dragon, and is associated with

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

. The character (', "yellow"), by

homophony In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that provide ...

and shared

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

with ('), also means "august", "creator", and "radiant", identifying the Yellow Emperor with ''

'' ("Highest Deity"). Huangdi represents the heart of creation, the ''

axis mundi In astronomy, is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the is the axis of ...

'' (Kunlun) that is the manifestation of the divine order in physical reality, opening the way to immortality. As the deity of the centre, intersecting the Three Patrons and the Five Deities, in the '' Shizi'' he is described as "Yellow Emperor with Four Faces" (, '). As a human, he is said to have been the fruit of a virginal birth, as his mother Fubao conceived him as she was aroused, while walking in the country, by a lightning from the Big Dipper (Great Chariot). She delivered her son after twenty-four months on the mount of ''Shou'' (Longevity) or mount Xuanyuan (Chariot Shaft), after which he was named. He is reputed to be the founder of the ''

Huaxia ''Huaxia'' is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation, and came from the self-awareness of a common cultural ancestry by ancestral populations of the Han people. Etymology The earliest extant authentic attestation of the ''H ...

'' civilisation, and the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

identify themselves as the descendants of Yandi and Huangdi. ** '' Cangdi'' (, "Green Deity); or ' (, "Blue Deity" or "Bluegreen Deity", the ' (, "East Deity") or ' (, "Great Deity of the Eastern Peak"): he is ' (), associated with the essence of wood and with

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, and is the god of fertility and spring. The Bluegreen Dragon is both his animal form and constellation. His female consort is the goddess of fertility, Bixia. ** ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' () and ''Heidi: How She Used What She Learned'' ( ...

'' (, "Black Deity), the ' (, "North Deity") or ' (, "Great Deity of the Northern Peak"): he is ''

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu (), also known as Gaoyang (), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhuanxu was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Association with Four Barbarians At the age of ten with Shao ...

'' (), today frequently worshiped as '' Xuanwu'' (, "Dark Warrior") or ' (), and is associated with the essence of water and winter, and with Mercury. His animal form is the Black Dragon and his stellar animal is the tortoise-snake. ** ''

Chidi Chidi may refer to: *Chidi (god), an ancient Chinese deity People Given name *Chidi Ahanotu, American football player *Chidi Edeh, Nigerian footballer *Chidi Imoh, Nigerian sprinter *Chidi Iwuoma, American football player *Chidi Ngwaba, British m ...

'' (, "Red Deity"), the ' (, "South Deity") or ' (, "Great Deity of the Southern Peak"): he is ''Shennong'' (the "Divine Farmer"), the ''Yandi'' ("Fiery Deity"), associated with the essence of fire and summer, and with

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. His animal form is the Red Dragon and his stellar animal is the phoenix. He is the god of agriculture, animal husbandry, medicinal plants, and market. ** '' Baidi'' (, "White Deity"), the ' (, "West Deity") or ' (, "Great Deity of the Western Peak"): he is

Shaohao Shaohao (), also known as Jin Tian (), was a legendary Chinese sovereign, usually identified as a son of the Yellow Emperor. According to some traditions, such as that within the ''Book of Documents'', Shaohao is one of the Five Emperors. His pla ...

(), and is the god of the essence of metal and autumn, associated with

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

. His animal form is the White Dragon and his stellar animal is the tiger. * The

Three Great Emperor-Officials The Three Great Emperor-Officials (), Sanguan, or the Three Officials are three of the highest ''shen'' in some branches of religious Taoism, and subordinate only to the Jade Emperor (玉帝 yùdì). The Three Great Emperor-Officials are the , t ...

: the ' (, "Official of Heaven"), the ' (, "Official of Earth"), and the ' (, "Official of Water"). In mythology, Huangdi and Yandi fought a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

against each other, and Huang finally defeated Yan with the help of the Dragon (the controller of water, who is Huangdi himself). pp. 156-157 This myth symbolizes the equipoise of yin and yang, here the fire of knowledge (reason and craft) and earthly stability. ''Yan'' () is flame, scorching fire, or an excess of it (Graphically, it is a double (''huo'', "fire"). As an excess of fire brings destruction to the earth, it has to be controlled by a ruling principle. Nothing is good in itself, without limits; good outcomes depend on the proportion in the composition of things and their interactions, never on extremes in absolute terms. Huangdi and Yandi are complementary opposites, necessary for the existence of one another, and they are powers that exist together within the human being.

Gods of celestial and terrestrial phenomena

* '' Longshen'' (, "Dragon Gods") or ', (, "Dragon Kings"), also ' (, "Dragon Kings of the Four Seas"), are gods of watery sources, usually reduced to four, patrons of the

Four Seas The Four Seas () were four bodies of water that metaphorically made up the boundaries of ancient China. There is a sea for each for the four cardinal directions. The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the East Sea is the East China Sea, the North Sea is ...

(, ''sihai'') and the four

cardinal direction The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The ...

s. They are the White Dragon (, '), the Black Dragon (, '), the Red Dragon (, '), and the Bluegreen Dragon (, '). Corresponding with the Five Deities as the

forces that they sublimate (the Dragon Gods are often represented as the "mount" of the Five Deities), they inscribe the land of China into an ideal sacred squared boundary. The fifth dragon, the Yellow Dragon (, '), is the dragon of the centre, representing the Yellow God. ** In

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

, Liu Heng, the fifth

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

, is worshiped as the Dragon King. This is because Liu Heng once served as the

Prince of Dai Prince or King of Dai was an ancient and medieval Chinese title. King of Dai is sometimes used to describe the heads of the Baidi state of Dai north of the Zhou Kingdom that was conquered by the Zhao clan of Jin. It was used as the title for t ...

of the area and was welcomed by the local people. Every year, local villagers hold a sacrifice to him on the

Longtaitou Festival The Longtaitou Festival (), conflated with the Zhonghe Festival beginning one day earlier (), is a traditional Chinese festival held on the second day of the second month of the Chinese calendar. Its name means "Dragon raising its head" becaus ...

. * ' (, "Hail God") * ' ''(''), the ' (, "Insect God") or ' (, "Insect King"): the gods of insects. * ' (, "Landlord God"). *' (, "Smallpox God"). * ''

Fei Lian Feilian ( zh, t=飛廉, s=飞廉, first=t, p=fēilián) or () is a Chinese wind spirit from a southern tradition, later identified with and subsumed under the primary wind deity Fengbo. Feilian has also been identified with a late Shang dynasty ...

'' (), the ' (, "Wind God").' * ' (, "Sea God"); also ' (, "Sea Lord"). * ''

Hebo Hebo (), also known as Bingyi (), is the god of the Yellow River (''Huang He''). The Yellow River is the main river of northern China, one of the world's major rivers and a river of great cultural importance in China. This is reflected in Chinese ...

'' (, "River Lord") or ' (, "River God"): any

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

god, among which, one of the most revered is the god of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

. * ' (, "Valley God"): in the ''

Daodejing The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated po ...

,'' a name used to refer to the

Way Way or WAY may refer to: Paths * a road, route, trail, path or pathway, including long-distance paths * a straight rail or track on a machine tool (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides * Ways, large slipway ...

* ' (, "Fire God"), often personified as ''

Zhurong Zhurong (), also known as Chongli (), is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the ''Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. The ...

'' () * ' (, "Lake God") * ' (, "Soil God") * ' (, "Grain God") * ' (, "Gold God"), often identified as the ' (, "Autumn God") and personified as '' Rùshōu'' () * ' (, "Waterspring God"). * ''

Leishen Leigong () or Leishen (), is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and Taoism. In Taoism, when so ordered by heaven, Leigong punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their kno ...

'' (, "Thunder God") or ' (, "Thunder Duke"); his consort is ' (, "Lightning Mother"). * ' (, "Woodland God"), usually the same as the ' (, "Spring God"), and as ' (). * ' (, "Mountain God") * ' (, "Water God") * ''

Tudishen A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in ...

'' (, "God of the Local Land"), also ' (, "Earth God"), or ''

Tudigong A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in ...

'' (, "Duke of the Local Land"): the

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

of any locality. Their Overlord is ''

Houtu Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also known as Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of all land and earth in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all t ...

'' (, "Queen of the Earth"). * '' Wen Shen'' (, "Plague God") * ''

Xiangshuishen The Xiangshuishen or Xiang River Goddesses are goddesses (or spirits and sometimes gods) of the Xiang River in Chinese folk religion. The Xiang flowed into Dongting Lake through the ancient kingdom of Chu, whose songs in their worship have been re ...

'' (, "Xiang Waters' Goddesses"): the patrons of the

Xiang River The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the second-largest tributary (after the Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the fifth-largest ...

. * ' (, "Snow God") * ' (, "Rain God") * '' Xihe'' ()'','' the ' (, "Great Sun Goddess") or ' (, "Mother of the Ten Suns"). * ' (, "Moon Goddesses"): ' () or ' (, "Mother of the Twelve Moons"), and

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; ), originally known as Heng'e (), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. Renowned for her beauty, Chang'e is also known for her ascending to the Moon with her pet Yu Tu, the Moon Rabbit and living in the Mo ...

().

Gods of human virtues and crafts

Some Taoist gods were thought to affect human morality and the consequences of it in certain traditions. Some Taoists beseeched gods, multiple gods, and/or pantheons to aid them in life and/or abolish their sins. * Civil and military (''

wen and wu ''Wén'' ( zh, c= ) and ''wǔ'' ( zh, c= ) are a conceptual pair in Chinese philosophy and political culture describing opposition and complementarity of civil and military realms of government. Differentiation between ''wen'' and ''wu'' was eng ...

'') deities: ** '' Wendi'' (, "Culture Deity"), also ' (, "Deity who Makes Culture Thrive") or ' (, "King who Makes Culture Thrive"): in southern provinces, this deity takes the identity of various historical persons, while in the north, he is more frequently identified as being the same as

(, ') *** '' Kuixing'' (, "Chief Star"): another god of culture and literature, but specifically, examination, is a personification of the man who awakens to the order of the Great Chariot. ** ' (, "Military Deity"): '' Guandì'' (, "''Divus'' Guan"), also called ' (, "Duke Guan"), and popularly ' (). *** Another class is the ' (, "Fight God"), who may be personified by ''

Chiyou Chiyou () is a mythological being that appears in Chinese mythology. He was a tribal leader of the Nine Li tribe () in ancient China. He is best known as a king who lost against the future Yellow Emperor during the Three Sovereigns and Five Empero ...

'' () or '' Xingtian'' (), who was decapitated for fighting against ''Tian''. * ''

Baoshengdadi Poh Seng Tai Tay (), also known as ''Taitokong'' (), is the God of Medicine worshiped among the Hoklo people in Fujian, Taiwan, and the Hokkien communities in Southeast Asia. Legends Early years Gô͘ Tho () was born in the year 979 in Pehta ...

'' (, "Great Deity who Protects Life"). * '' Baxian'' (, "Eight Immortals"). * ''

Canshen Cánshén ( Chinese: , "Silkworm God") or Cánwáng ( "Silkworm Ruler") is the deity of silkworm and sericulture in Chinese religion. There are two main Canshen, who are two deified mytho-historical personalities who contributed to the invention ...

'' (, "Silkworm God"), who may be: ** ' (, "Silkworm Mother"), also called ' (, "Silkworm Maiden"), who is identified as ''

Leizu Leizu (), also known as Xi Ling-shi (, Wade–Giles Hsi Ling-shih), was a legendary Chinese empress and wife of the Yellow Emperor. According to tradition, she discovered sericulture, and invented the silk loom, in the 27th century BC. Myt ...

'' (), the wife of the Yellow Emperor: the invention of

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

is attributed primarily to her. ** ' (, "Bluegreen-Clad God"): his name as a human was ' (, "Silkworm Twig"), and he is the first ruler and ancestor of the Shu state and promoter of sericulture among his people. * ''

Caishen Caishen () is the mythological figure worshipped in the Chinese folk religion and Taoism. He has been identified with many historical figures, viewed as his embodied forms, among whom Zhao Gongming (, Wade–Giles: ''Chao Kung-ming''; also kn ...

'' (, "Wealth God"). * ' (, "Salt God"): a pantheon of salt deities that bring wealth to their adherents, including ''ChiYou'' for his blood turned into a pool of salt after he died in some tellings, ''Sushashi'' for being the first to extract salt from seawater in mythology, ''

Guan Zhong Guan Zhong (; c. 720–645 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and politician. He served as chancellor and was a reformer of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. His given name was Yiwu (). ''Zhong'' was his courtes ...

'' for he gave his state an official monopoly on salt operations, and animals of all types, such as

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

s and

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, which were credited with leading humans to salt and thus granted divinity. Many of the salt gods can be worshipped as wealth gods. * ''

Cangjie Cangjie is a legendary figure in Chinese mythology, said to have been an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes, and that when he invented the characters, the deities ...

'' (), the four-eyed inventor of the

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

. * ' (, "Granary God"). * ' (, "Lord of Sichuan") * ''

Chenghuangshen A City God (), is a tutelary deity in Chinese folk religion who is believed to protect the people and the affairs of the particular village, town or city of great dimension, and the corresponding location in the afterlife. City God cults appeare ...

'' (, "Moat and Walls God", or "Boundary God"): the god of the sacred boundaries of a human agglomeration, he is often personified by founding fathers or noble personalities from each city or town. * ''

Chen Jinggu Chen Jinggu () is a Chinese protective goddess of women, children, and pregnancy, and is believed by her worshippers to be a former Taoist priestess. She is also known as Lady Linshui (臨水夫人 Linshui furen). Chen Jinggu is a deity worship ...

'' (, "Old Quiet Lady"), also called ' (, "Waterside Dame"). * ' (, "Gate God"). * ' (, "Vehicle God") * ''

Erlangshen Erlang Shen, or simply Erlang, is a god in Chinese folk religion and Daoism, associated with water (flood control), justice, warriorhood, hunting, and demon subdual. He is commonly depicted as a young man with a third, truth-seeing eye in the mi ...

'' (, "Twice Young God"), the god of engineering. * ' (, "Honorific King of Great Compassion"). * ''

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

'' (, "She who Hears the Cries of the World"), the goddess of

mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

. * ''

Huang Daxian Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian () is a Chinese Taoist deity popular in Jinhua, Zhejiang, and Hong Kong with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great Immortal Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (; c. 32 ...

'' (, "Great Immortal Huang"). * ''

Jigong Daoji (, 22 December 1130 – 16 May 1209, born Li Xiuyuan), popularly known as Ji Gong (), was a Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the Southern Song. He purportedly possessed supernatural powers through Buddhist practice, which he used to hel ...

'' (, "Help Lord"). * ' (, "Wine God"), personified as ''Yidi'' (). * ''

Jiutian Xuannü Jiutian Xuannü is the goddess of war, sex, and longevity in Chinese mythology.. The swordswoman Yuenü is a reincarnation of Jiutian Xuannü. Etymology This goddess was initially known as .. The name has been variously translated as the "Dark L ...

'' (, "Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens"), a disciple of

and initiator of Huangdi. * '' Longmu'' (, "Dragon Mother"). * ''

Lu Ban Lu Ban (–444BC). was a Chinese architect or master carpenter, structural engineer, and inventor, during the Zhou Dynasty. He is revered as the Chinese Deity (Patron) of builders and contractors. Life Lu Ban was born in the state of Lu; a fe ...

'' (), the god of carpentry. * ' (, "Road God"). * ' (, "Walking God"). * ''

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

'' (, "Ancestral Mother"), often entitled the "Queen of Heaven". * ' (, "Judging Official"). * ' (, "Peace God"), an embodiment of whom is considered to have been

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

. * '' Qingshui Zushi'' (, "Venerable Patriarch of the Clear Stream") * ' (, "Pottery God") * ''

Tuershen Tu'er Shen (, The Leveret Spirit), Hu Tianbao or Tu Shen (, The Rabbit God), is a Chinese deity who manages love and sex between men. His name literally means "rabbit deity". His adherents refer to him as Ta Yeh (, The Master). In a folk tale f ...

'' (, "Leveret God"), the god of love among males. * ' (, "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King"), also known as Li Jing (). He has three sons, the warlike protector deities ''

Jinzha Jinzha () is a figure in Chinese mythology, appearing in works such as ''Investiture of the Gods''. A disciple of the superiorman Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun, he is the eldest brother of Nezha and Muzha. Belief According to the ', it is stated that ...

'' (), '' Muzha'' (), and ''

Nezha Nezha (, Nézhā) or sometimes Nezha the Crown Prince (, ), is a protection deity in Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk religion. His official Taoism, Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prin ...

'' (). * ' (, "Five Shining Ones"), possibly a popular form of the cosmological Five Deities. * ' (, "Joy God"). * ' (, "Medicine God") or frequently ' (, "Medicine King"). * ''

Yuexia Laoren Yue Lao () is a god of marriage and love in Chinese mythology. He appears as an old man under the moon. Yue Lao appears at night and "unites with a silken cord all predestined couples, after which nothing can prevent their union."Zaoshen Kitchen gods are mythical beings that represent abstract concepts such as luck or just propel the minor changes of everyday life. Little things that cannot be explained, such as losing small objects like socks in the laundry, are often attribut ...

'' (, "Hearth God"), the master of the household deities, including the " Bed God" (, '), the " Gate Gods" (, '), and the "

Toilet god A toilet god is a deity associated with latrines and toilets. Belief in toilet gods – a type of household deity – has been known from both modern and ancient cultures, ranging from Japan to ancient Rome. Such deities have been associated with h ...

" (, '), often personified as

Zigu Zigu (), also known as Maogu, is a goddess representing toilets in Chinese folk religion. She was believed to be the spirit of a concubine who had been physically abused by a vengeful wife and died in the latrine. It is believed that her cult orig ...

. * ''

Zhong Kui Zhong Kui (; ; ; ) is a Taoist deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings. He is depicted as a large man with a big black beard, bulging eyes, and a wrathful expression. Zhong Kui is able to comm ...

'' (), the vanquisher of

ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

and evil beings. * '' Sanxing'' (, "Three Stars"), a cluster of three astral gods of well-being: ** '' Fuxing'' (, "Prosperity Star"), god of happiness. ** '' Luxing'' (, "Firmness Star"), god of firmness and success in life and examinations. ** ''

Shouxing The Old Man of the South Pole (Chinese language, Chinese & ), also called the Old Xian (Daoism), Immortal of the South Pole (), Xian of Longevity (), or Star of Longevity (), is the Taoism, Taoist :wikt:deify, deification of Canopus, the brighte ...

'' (, "Longevity Star"), who stands for a healthy and long life.

Gods of animal and vegetal life

* ' (, "Flower Goddess"). * ''

Huxian Húxiān (), also called or is a deity in Chinese religion whose cult is present in provinces of north China (from Henan and Shandong northwards), but especially in northeast China where it can be said to be the most popular deity. The deity c ...

'' (, "Fox God ess) or ' (, "Fox Immortal"), also called ' (, "Fox Immortal Lady"). ** Two other great fox deities, peculiar to northeast China, are the "Great Lord of the Three Foxes" (, ') and the "Great Lady of the Three Foxes" (, '), representing the yin and yang. * ' (, "Horse God") or ' (, "Horse King"). * ' (, "Cattle God" or "Ox God"), also called ' (, "Cattle King"). * ' (, "Wolf God"). * ' (, "Tree God ). * ' (, "Five Cereals God"), another name for ''

''. * ' (, "Monkey God") or ' (, "Monkey King"), who is identified as ''

Sun Wukong Sun Wukong (, Mandarin pronunciation: ), also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. In the novel, Sun Wukong is a monk ...

'' (). * ' (, "Sesame God")

''Bixia'' mother goddess worship

The worship of

mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

es for the cultivation of offspring is present all over China, but predominantly in northern provinces. There are nine main goddesses, and all of them tend to be considered as manifestations or attendant forces of a singular goddess identified variously as

Bixia Yuanjun Bixia Yuanjun (), also known as Taishan Niangniang (, 'The Lady of Mount Tai'), is the goddess of Mount Tai, childbirth and destiny in Chinese traditional religion (Taoism). Bixia Yunjun became an important deity in China, particularly in the nor ...

(, "Lady of the Blue Dawn"), also known as the ' (, "Heavenly Immortal Lady") or ' (, "Lady of Mount Tai"), or also ' (, "Holy Mother of the Nine Skies") or

, the goddess of the earth. Bixia herself is identified by Taoists as the more ancient goddess

. The general Chinese term for "goddess" is ' (), and goddesses may receive many qualifying titles, including ' (, "mother"), ' (, "old mother"), ' (, "holy mother"), ' (, "lady"), ' (, "granny"). The additional eight main goddesses of fertility, reproduction, and growth are: * ' (), the goddess who protects children from illness. * ' (), the goddess who gives swift childbirth and protects midwives. * ' (), the goddess who presides over maternal milk and protects nursing. * ' (), the goddess who cultivates children. * ' (), the goddess who protects the upbringing of children. * ''

Songzi Niangniang Songzi Niangniang (, "The Maiden Who Brings Children"), also referred to in Taiwan as Zhusheng Niangniang (), is a Taoist fertility goddess. She has been identified with many historical figures. She is often depicted as Guan Yin herself in drawi ...

'' () or ' (), the goddess who presides over offspring. * ' (), the goddess who protects eyesight. * ' (), the goddess who guides young children. Altars of goddess worship are usually arranged with Bixia at the center and two goddesses at her sides, most frequently the "Lady of Eyesight" and the "Lady of Offspring". A different figure, but with the same astral connections as Bixia is the "Goddess of the Seven Stars" (, '). There is also the cluster of the "Holy Mothers of the Three Skies" (, '; or , ', "Ladies of the Three Stars"), composed of '' Yunxiao Guniang'', '' Qiongxiao Guniang,'' and '' Bixiao Guniang''. The cult of Chenjinggu, present in southeast China, is identified by some scholars as an emanation of the northern cult of Bixia. Other goddesses worshipped in China include ' (, "Silkworm Mother") or ' (, "Silkworm Maiden"), identified with ''

'' (, the wife of the Yellow Emperor), '' Magu'' (, "Hemp Maiden"), ' (, "Goddess who Sweeps Clean"), ' (, "Goddess of the Three Isles"), and

Wusheng Laomu The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient times. The first historical information on her ...

. The mother goddess is central in the theology of many folk religious sects.

Gods of northeast China

Northeast China has clusters of deities which are peculiar to the area, deriving from the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

and broader Tungusic substratum of the local population.

Animal deities Animal worship (also zoolatry or theriolatry) is an umbrella term designating religious or ritual practices involving animals. This includes the worship of animal deities or animal sacrifice. An animal 'cult' is formed when a species is taken ...

related to

shamanic Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spiri ...

practices are characteristic of the area and reflect wider Chinese cosmology. Besides the aforementioned Fox Gods (, ''Húxiān''), they include: * ' (, "Yellow Immortal", the Weasel God. * ' (, "Snake Immortal"), also variously called ' (, "Immortal Liu"), or ' (, "Viper Immortal") or also ' (, "Python or Boa Immortal"). * ' (, "White Immortal"), the Hedgehog God. * ' (, "Black Immortal"), who may be the ' (, "Crow Immortal"), or the ' (, "Rat Immortal"), with the latter considered a misinterpretation of the former.

Gods of Indian origin

Gods who have been adopted into Chinese religion but who have their origins in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

: * ''

'' (, "She who Hears the Cries of the World"), a Chinese goddess of mercy modeled after the

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...

'' * ' (, "Four-Faced God"), but also a metaphor for "Ubiquitous God": The recent cult has its origin in the Thai transmission of the Hindu god

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

, but it is also an epithet of the indigenous Chinese god Huangdi who, as the deity of the centre of the cosmos, is described in the '' Shizi'' as "Yellow Emperor with Four Faces" (, '). * ' (, "Elephant-Head God"), is the Indian god

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

. p. 311.

Gods of North China and Mongolia

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

(, '), worshipped by Mongols and Chinese under a variety of divinity titles, including ' (, "Holy Military Sovereign Deity"), ' (, "Starter of the Transmission of the Law of Heaven"), and ' (, "Great Ancestor") of the Yuan and the Mongols.

Gods of folk and Local

* ''

Heng and Ha Heng and Ha () are two generals of the Shang dynasty in Chinese mythology, featured within the 16th-century Chinese fantasy novel ''Investiture of the Gods''. These two fictional characters were created by the author of ''Investiture of the Gods'' ...

'' (), two generals of the Shang dynasty, guards of Buddhist temples in East Asia. * ''

Menshen ''Menshen'', or door gods, are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu () and Yulü () under ...

'' (, "Door Gods"), divine guardians of doors and gates. * ''

Shentu and Yulü Shentu may refer to: *Shentu, Fujian, town in Zhangpu County, Fujian, China * Shentu (surname), Chinese surname * Shentu (deity) or Shenshu, Chinese guardian deity *Tianzhu (India) Tianzhu () is one of the historical ancient Chinese names f ...

'' (), a pair of deities who punished evil spirits. * ''

Luoshen Luoshen () is a well-known figure in Chinese literature and folklore. She is the central character in the famous poem "" (Chinese: 洛神賦; pinyin: Luòshén fù, also alternatively translated as Rhapsody on the luo river goddess) written by Cao ...

'' (), the goddess of the Luo River.

Notes

;Notes about the deities and their names

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * *
Volume I: The Ancient Eurasian World and the Celestial Pivot
',
Volume II: Representations and Identities of High Powers in Neolithic and Bronze China
',
Volume III: Terrestrial and Celestial Transformations in Zhou and Early-Imperial China
'. * * * * * * * Original preserved at The British Library. Digitalised in 2014. * * Two volumes: 1) A-L; 2) L-Z. * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese gods and immortals Lists of deities Religion-related lists Chinese gods