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Thunder God
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He
is in charge of thunder.
This belief is derived
from the creed on
the natural thunder
and lightening and
other phenomena of
the ancient people.
The original image
of Thunder God was
a beast, then half
beast and half man,
at last evolved into
the present humanized
god.
It is said that the
residence of Zhenwu
is called the capital
of Thunder, for God
Thunder, with other
gods such as God Lightning,
Wind, Rain, Dragon
and River, lives there
as a dependent God
to Zhenwu.
The image of God Thunder
is enshrined and worshipped
on Wudang Mountain.
With three eyes, claws
of bird, feet of human
beings, face of monkey,
mouth of hawk, helmet
of animal on his body
and two wings on his
shoulder, he looks
so particular, valorous
and frightening. |
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He
is thought to be the
God to keep these mountain
gates of palaces and
temples in Wudang Mountain
in Taoism. His hatred
to evil doings, uprightness
and unselfishness are
so much canonized by
civic people.
He wears armor, a scarlet
face, three eyes and
a ferocious countenance,
with a golden whip in
his hand, having an
appearance to punish
anyone sternly that
dare to behave wickedly,
which makes everyone
frightened. |
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Lady
Xuan of the Ninth Heaven
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She
is also called Lady
Origin. The Ninth Heaven
refers to the highest
position in Heaven,
which means that the
goddess has a very high
official rank. So she
is called Lady Xuan
of the Ninth Heaven.
Her earliest image was
an immortal bird called
Bird Xuan. It was said
that Emperor Xuan ordered
her to fall into the
earth and gave birth
to a baby whose name
was Qi who established
the Shang Dynasty. Therefore,
she was respected as
the ancestor of Shang
clan. Later, her image
became a celestial bird
with a head of mankind's.
Eventually, she becomes
a goddess who is one
of the most beautiful
and the highest divine
goddess. In the following
times, by using her
name, some people wrote
a book named Book of
Lady Xuan narrating
the skills of sexual
intercourse, prepotency
of delivering and ways
to preserve one's health,
so the folk also called
her Mother of Bringing
Babies. In the family
of the Chinese celestial
beings, her position
is next to Nova and
the Western Queen. |
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Gods of Cynosure
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The belief in cynosure
originated from
the worshipping
to the constellations.
In Taoist books,
Mother of Cynosure
has nine sons totally
called Lords of
Cynosure, or Gods
of Cynosure. According
to the astrological
book, it is said,
" in the key
position of the
middle sky, all
the gods in charge
of the stars in
the Cynosure can
control the all
the people on the
earth, the distribution
of fortune, official
position life and
death. If people
pray sincerely,
all the wishes can
be achieved."
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Gods of Taoism-protecting
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The four Gods of Taoism-protecting,
also called Four Celestial
Generals, are among
the divine 36 generals
of Emperor Zhenwu.
They wear armors and
helmets, stately and
valorous.
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Emperor
of Three Elements
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Three Chargers also
called Three Elements,
is the whole term for
Charger of sky, Charger
of ground and Charger
of water, which are
the earliest gods worshipped
by Taoists. This kind
of belief derived from
the natural oblation
to sky, ground and water.
Taoism thinks that the
Three Chargers can offer
happiness to people,
forgive the sin, and
wipe out the trouble;
in other words, the
Charger of Sky can offer
happiness to people,
the Charger of ground
can absolve people from
guilt and the charger
can release people from
the unlucky situation.
The various rulers had
always cried up the
belief on the Three
Chargers so that the
temples for the Three
Chargers were set up
everywhere. Even the
governments set up the
taboo for sacrificing
the Three Chargers.
For example, in the
Tang Dynasty, during
the fete there must
be no animal killing,
nor fishing, nor hunting.
In the Song Dynasty,
in the ceremony of memorizing
the three chargers,
the officials can neither
cross-examine nor execute
the death-doomed criminals.
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Super God
of Misery-curing
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This
God has many titles.
The most commonly accepted
are Taiyi Super God
of Misery-curing, Voice-tracing
Super God of Misery-curing,
and All-direction Super
God of Misery-curing
and so like. He is a
god rich in transformations.
According to Taoist
books, he is extremely
kind, powerful and full
of miracles. If meeting
people suffering from
trouble or misery, he
would chant the script
of Taoism to save people
from apprehension or
endangered situation.
Among Taoists and the
folk, he is not only
a god to save people
from the misery and
disaster but also a
god to save suffering
and wronged ghosts in
the hell. |
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(1)(2)(3)(4)
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