Hongjun Laozu () lit. "Ancestor of the Great Balance" is a

deity 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 ...

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 ...

and

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', ' ...

, teacher of the Three Pure Ones in Taoist mythology. ''Hongjun'' is a graphic variant of ''hungjun'' () "primordial nature", as used in the Chinese idiom ''Xian you hongjun hou you tian'' "First there was Hongjun and then there was Heaven". Daoists mythologize Hongjun Laozu as the ancestor of ''

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 ...

'' "trancendents; immortals" and use the honorific name Hongyuan Laozu () "Great Primal Ancestor". In

Chinese creation myth Chinese creation myths are symbolic narratives about the origins of the universe, earth, and life. Myths in China vary from culture to culture. In Chinese mythology, the term " cosmogonic myth" or "origin myth" is more accurate than "creation myth ...

s, ''hongyuan'' or is a

cosmological Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

term for "the universe before the separation of heaven and earth". Some myths about the creator

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 ...

refer to Hongjun Laozu as Xuanxuan Shangren () "Mystery of Mysteries Saint" (a reference to 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 ...

'', "Mystery or mysteries, the gate of all wonders!"). Hongjun Laozu is also referred to as Hunyuan Laozu ( - "Ancestor of Original Chaos").

Myth

Hongjun Laozu has hardly been the subject of academic studies and the role assigned to it may vary according to the faithful. Some only know his interpretations in fiction. Hongjun Laozu makes his first major appearance in Chinese literature in the popular novel The Investiture of the Gods, under the name of Hongjun Daoren (). According to ''The Investiture of the Gods'', he is the eldest of the four beings created by the Spirit of Creation (Chuangshi Yuanling; ), the others being Hunkun Zushi (), Nüwa Niangniang, and Luya Daojun (). His disciples are the Three Purities: Daode Tianzun () alias

Laozi Laozi (), also romanized as Lao Tzu #Name, among other ways, was a semi-legendary Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and author of the ''Tao Te Ching'' (''Laozi''), one of the foundational texts of Taoism alongside the ''Zhuangzi (book) ...

, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Tongtian Jiaozhu (), assimilated to Lingbao Tianzun. The first two are found in the novel in conflict with the last. According to the Wujihongjun Gong temple () in Taipei, he is the principle behind the universe. The Cihui Tang temple () in Zhonggang,

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

offers the faithful three interpretations: *He is the origin of the universe, from him are born the Three Pure Ones and then the Five Ancients (''wulao'' ), rulers associated with the five elements and the five directions. He is also the ancestor of all immortals. * The original chaos (''hunyuangui'' ) gave birth to the celestial order (''tiangui'' ) embodied by Haotian Laozu (; "Ancestor of the Boundless Sky") and the earthly order (''digui'' ) embodied by Hongjun Laozu. * He is a form of

and also goes by the name Xuanxuan Shangren (). Hongjun Laozu was also told about in the myth of

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

. He was the person who captured Nian, the great beast that terrorised the people of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

every Chinese New Year. Every Chinese New Year was a time of suffering and fear for the people of China because of Nian, the great beast. One Chinese New Year's Eve, the monk, Hongjun Laozu, came to a village in

. He saw how everyone looked sad and frightened, so he went to a young man and said, "Why are you so sad? It is

, a time for celebration." The man replied, "Do you not know? Have you not heard about Nian? He comes every New Year and terrorises us, even eats us." The monk said, "I will go and reason with Nian." So off he went, to find Nian. When Hongjun Laozu came to Nian, he said, "Nian, I have come to reason with you. Stop eating and terrorising the people of

." But Nian said, "Haha. You have delivered yourself to me, old man, so now I will eat you." The man replied, "Oh, but what will that prove? Eating me isn't great! Would you dare to eat the poisonous snakes on the mountains?" "Bah! What's so difficult about that?" So Nian went to the poisonous snakes and ate them up. "How is this? Am I not great?" "At the back of the mountain there are many great beasts. Can you subdue them?" So Nian went and scared all of the dangerous beasts out of the back of the mountain. "Old man, now it's time for me to eat you!" "Sure, but just wait while I take my clothes off, I will taste much better then". So the old man took his clothes off to reveal his undergarments, which were red. "OK, you can eat me now." But Nian said, "Ah! a red undergarment! I dearly hate red, get out of my sight quickly." "Haha! I knew you were afraid of red!" The old man went into the town on top of Nian and said, "Dear villagers, do not be afraid. Nian is most terrified of red. From now on each house must paste red on each of their doors to prevent Nian creating havoc." After that, the people started to paste red paper on their front doors before

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

. After that incident, Nian never came to the village again. Hongjun Laozu eventually captured Nian and after that, Nian retreated to a nearby mountain. The name of the mountain has long been lost over the years.

References

*Mair, Victor H. 1990. ''Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way, by Lao Tzu; an entirely new translation based on the recently discovered Ma-wang-tui manuscripts''. Bantam Books. *Werner, E.T.C. 1922
''Myths & Legends of China''
Graham Brash. {{Chinese mythology Chinese gods Creation myths Taoist deities Taoist immortals

Myth

See also

References