Dǒumǔ (), also known as Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn ( "Lady Mother of the Chariot"), Dòulǎo Yuánjūn ( "Lady Ancestress of the Chariot") and Tàiyī Yuánjūn ( "Lady of the Great One"), is a goddess in Chinese religion and

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

. She is also named through the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

Tiānhòu ( "Queen of Heaven"), shared with other Chinese goddesses, especially

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. ...

, who are perhaps conceived as her aspects. Other names of her are Dàomǔ ( "Mother of the

Way Way may refer to: Paths * a road, route, 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 in shipbuildi ...

") and Tiānmǔ ( "Mother of Heaven"). She is the feminine aspect of the cosmic God of Heaven. The seven stars of the Big Dipper, in addition to two not visible to the naked eye, are conceived as her sons, the ''Jiǔhuángshén'' ( "Nine God-Kings"), themselves regarded as the ninefold manifestation of ''Jiǔhuángdàdì'' (, "Great Deity of the Nine Kings") or ''Dòufù'' ( "Father of the Great Chariot"), another name of the God of Heaven. She is therefore both wife and mother of the God of Heaven. In certain Taoist accounts she is identified as the ambiguous goddess of life and death

Xiwangmu The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most importan ...

In religious doctrines

Taoist esotericism

In the esoteric teachings of

she is identified as the same as Jiutian Xuannü ( "Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens") and

( "Queen Mother of the West"), representing the mother of the immortal "red infant" ( ''chìzǐ'') Dao enshrined at the centre of the human body. This links her directly to the myths about the birth and initiation of

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

and the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

(whose mother Fubao became pregnant of him after she was aroused after she saw a lightning from, or turning around, the Big Dipper), as attested, among others, by

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

(283-343).ctext.org
See translation in "Humans, Spirits, and Sages in Chinese Late Antiquity: Ge Hong's Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Baopuzi)", in ''Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident'', 2007, N°29, pp. 95-119
Academia.edu

Buddhist interpretation

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

traditions of

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

( Tangmi), Doumu was conflated with Bodhisattva Marici at least by the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. Marici too is described as the mother of the Way and the Dipper, at the centre of

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

's Heaven of primal energy. Marici's chariot is dragged by seven pigs. Ironically, the incantation used in the Taoist scripture dedicated to Doumu is the same as one of the longer Buddhist dharanis used for Marici, but with eight verses in Han Chinese added in the beginning to praise her.

Artistic depictions

File:Hall of Goddess Doumu.jpg, Hall of Doumu at the Green Ram Temple in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

File:Doumu altar and statue at the Doumugong of Butterworth, Penang.jpg, Doumu altar at a temple in

Butterworth, Penang Butterworth is the largest urban town in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies about east of George Town, the capital city of Penang, across the Penang Strait. , Butterworth has a total population of 107,591 residents. Butter ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

File:Goddess Doumu.jpg, Statue of Doumu at the Green Ram Temple File:B-Doumou.JPG,

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

statue of Doumu File:Kunming Oct 2007 138.jpg, Statue of Doumu in

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

, China File:华阳观斗姆元君.jpg, Doumu behind another god at Huayang Taoist Temple in

Jieyang Jieyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as th ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

, China File:斗姆元君.JPG, Statue of Doumu in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

File:Tou Mu, Goddess of the North Star.jpg, Illustration of Doumu (1922)

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
'. * * Two volumes: 1) A-L; 2) L-Z. * {{Chinese mythology Chinese goddesses Solar goddesses Deities in Taoism