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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 the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide. In Taoism, Houtu is one of the Four Heavenly Ministers, which are four of the highest-ranking gods in Taoism. Role Houtu was originally the god of all land and earth in early Chinese mythology, before being absorbed into Taoism as one of the Four Heavenly Ministers. In early mythology According to early Chinese classics '' Zuo Zhuan'' (late 4th century BC), '' Book of Rites'' and '' Classic of Mountains and Seas'', Houtu is the son of Gonggong, being able to control the flood by installing mountains of Earth. She is also the assistant god to one of the Great Five Emperors, the Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil And Grain
__NOTOC__ Soil and grain was a common Chinese political term in the Sinosphere for the state. Shejitan, the altars of soil and grain, were constructed alongside ancestral altars. Chinese monarchs of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed ceremonies of soil and grain to affirm their sovereignty at the Beijing Shejitan. During the Chinese Warring States period, ministers defied their rulers by claiming a greater loyalty to the "soil and grain". A similar concept to ''sheji'' is that of the earth deities Tudi and Houtu. It is also linked to Sheshen or deities which are sometimes directly called soil () Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide. In other cultures Korean monarchs of the Joseon dynasty did so at the Seoul Sajikdan. It has also been rendered "gods of soil and grain" in English, owing to its associations of prayer and supernat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 certain regions. They are tutelary (i.e. guardian or patron) deities of locations and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. Religions & Beliefs, edited by Prof. Dr M. Kamal Hassan & Dr. Ghazali bin Basri. They are portrayed as old men with long beards. The definitive characteristic of Tudigongs is that they are limited to their specific geographical locations. The Tudigong of one location is not the Tudigong of another location. They are considered to be among the lowest ranked divinities, just below City Gods ("God of Local City"), and above landlord gods. Often, a specific person who did a great service to their local community will be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Heavenly Ministers
The Four Heavenly Ministers (), also translated as the Four Sovereigns, are four of the highest sky deities of Daoism and subordinate only to the The Great Jade Emperor (). They assist the Jade Emperor in administering all phenomenon of the universe. The Four Heavenly Ministers ( Si Yu), are four deputies assisting the Heavenly Jade Emperor in governing the heaven and earth. They are highly revered in Taoism and positioned just after the Heavenly Jade Emperor. Four Sovereigns The Four Heavenly Ministers are: # the Great Emperor of the Southern Polar of Longevity # the Great Emperor of the North Star (Polaris) in the Purple Forbidden enclosure at the center of Heaven (''Tian'') # the Great Heavenly Emperor of the Highest Palace of the Curved Array (Little Dipper) # the Empress of the Earth (Houtu) The Great Emperor of the Southern Polar of Longevity ( Nan Ji Chang Sheng Da Di) is in charge of all spirits. He oversees the destiny and fate of humanity, commands over the v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers, these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies, Chinese mythology has historically been regarded, at least partially, as a factual record of the past. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion and Taoism, especially older popular forms of it. Many narratives recounting characters and events from ancient times exhibit a dual tradition: one that presents a more historicized or euhemerized interpretation, and another that offers a more mythological perspective. Numerous myths delve into the creation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shanshen
Mountain Gods () are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to landlord deities and tudigongs and City Gods. They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shrines to similar deities in the Daoist traditions, called ''Shanshen''. The Japanese equivalent is the ''Yama-no-Kami'' (; also pronounced as ''yamagami'') and the Vietnamese equivalent is ). Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide. China In China, legends about ''Shanshen'' () have a long history. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (), which was written more than 2,000 years ago, has already recorded various legends about ''Shanshen''; specifically the Wuzang Shanjing () part contains a detailed description of the appearance of the mountain gods. The Taiping Guangji () also contains the story of Dayu, who imprisoned the Shangzhang c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landlord Gods
Landlord deities () are a type of tutelary deity worshipped in the East Asian cultural sphere. They are low level deities that are considered below Sheshen and City Gods. When people move into a new location they will ask the landlord deity for permission to move there. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide. In China In China, Dizhushen () are considered deities below Sheshen and City Gods. The Landlord God () is a deity worshipped in Chinese folk beliefs who is analogous but is not to be confused with Tudigong. The tablet for the Landlord God is typically inscribed with two rows: On the left: (in Singapore and Malaysia) "The Landlord Wealth God of the Overseas Tang People" () or (in Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora elsewhere) "The Landlord Wealth God from Front to Back" () On the right: The Dragon God of the Five Directions and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, ancestors, and worship devoted to Chinese deities and immortals, deities and immortals, who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or progenitors of Chinese kin, family lineages. Stories surrounding these gods form a loose canon of Chinese mythology. By the Song dynasty (960–1279), these practices had been Religious syncretism, blended with Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. The government of China, government of modern China generally tolerates popular religious organizations, but has suppressed or persecuted those that they fear would undermine social stability. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, governments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth (wuxing)
In Chinese philosophy, earth or soil () is one of the five concepts that conform the ''wuxing''. Earth is the Qi balance of both yin and yang in the Wuxing philosophy, as well as the changing or central point of physical matter or a subject. Its motion is centralising, and its energy is stabilizing and conserving. Earth is associated with the colour yellow or ochre and the planet Saturn (not to be confused with planet Earth), and it lies at the centre of the four directions of the compass in Chinese cosmology. It is associated with late summer and the turn of each of the four seasons, as Earth is prone to being over burdened. Its climate is that of dampness causing the mind to be clouded through a deficiency of yang qi. In traditional Chinese medicine, earth governs the yin, Zang organ the spleen, and the yang, Fu organ stomach, mouth and muscles. Its Primal Spirit is the Yi, and emotion of happiness and is represented by the Yellow Dragon or Qilin, color yellow and Golden ( S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuxing (Chinese Philosophy)
( zh, c=五行, p=wǔxíng), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, including terrestrial and celestial relationships, influences, and cycles, that characterise the interactions and relationships within Science and technology in China, science, Traditional Chinese medicine, medicine, Confucianism, politics, Taoism, religion and social relationships and education within Chinese culture. The five agents are traditionally associated with the classical planets Mars, Mercury (planet), Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn as depicted in the #Etymology, etymological section below. In ancient Chinese astronomy and Chinese astrology, astrology, that spread throughout East Asia, was a reflection of the seven-day planetary order of Fire (wuxing), Fire, Water (wuxing), Water, Wood (wuxing), Wood, Metal (wuxing), Metal, Earth (wuxing), Earth.), they are Wood, Fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Shaohao, he was said to have led the Shi clan in an eastward migration to present-day Shandong, where intermarriages with the Dongyi clan enlarged and augmented their tribal influences. He also was associated with a religious reform of the Jiuli (九黎) people, banishing witchcraft practised by the people. Family Zhuanxu was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and his wife Leizu by way of his father Changyi (). His mother was named Changpu () from the Shushan clan (), according to Sima Qian, and Niuqu () according to the '' Bamboo Annals''. Zhuanxu is also alternatively said to be the son of Hanliu () in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. However, it is recorded in suspicious part Haineijing () that was written last. Zhuanxu was cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jade Emperor
In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the three primordial emanations of the Tao. However, some Taoists in history were skeptical of his benevolence because his buildings and infrastructure in heaven and earth were sometimes seen as interfering with the many natural laws or Tao, dao. He is often identified with Śakra (Buddhism), Śakra in Chinese Buddhist cosmology and identified with Yu the Great in Chinese mythology. The Jade Emperor is known by many names, including Yu, Heavenly Grandfather (, '), which originally meant "Heavenly Duke", which is used by commoners; the Jade Lord; the Highest Emperor; Great Emperor of Jade ( , or ). Chinese mythology There are many stories in Chinese mythology involving the Jade Empe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a Cultural artifact, human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit or Daimon, daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Greece and Rome, and Hinduism, cult images in a temple may undergo a daily routine of being washed, dressed, and having food left for them. Processions outside the temple on special feast days are often a feature. Religious images cover a wider range of all types of images made with a religious purpose, subject, or connection. In many contexts "cult image" specifically means the most important image in a temple, kept in an inner space, as opposed to what may be many other images decorating the temple. The term idol is an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship, while idolatry is the worship of an "idol" as though it were God. Ancient Near East and E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
