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  • Chinese Gods

    I was wondering what were the ancient chinese gods? I was just wondering because I think there was a god in Egypt that was the rain god. I was wondering what his counterpart in china was.

    Another thought that was interesting was what if these gods were the same god(or being), but were know by different names?
    "If you want pure self-defense buy a can of mace." Grandmaster Villari (I think that is it).

  • #2
    ???

    why the connection between China and Egypt?
    practice wu de

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    • #3
      Chinese gods


      Alongside the development of Taoism as a philosophy, another more strictly religious interpretation of Taoism was evolving. This 'religious' Taoism had its own temples, priests, rites and symbolic images. Lao Tzu was venerated as a 'saint' and imperial sacrifices were made to him. It drew strongly upon the ideas of yin-yang and of the Five elements (metal, wood, water, fire & earth).
      During this time there began to develop a pantheon of Taoist Deities which were often venerated as gods. These Taoist deities, like the Buddhist or Hindu pantheon, represented different qualities and attributes and various ceremonies, depending on circumstances were conducted to appeal to them. A lot of these Dieties were incorporated from Chinese folklore. Some of the major ones were;

      Yu-Huang - The Jade Emperor

      Yu-Huang is the great High God of the Taoists -- the Jade Emperor. He rules Heaven as the Emperor doe Earth. All other gods must report to him. His chief function is to distribute justice, which he does through the court system of Hell where evil deeds and thoughts are punished. Yu-Huang is the Lord of the living and the dead and of all the Buddhas, all the gods, all the spectres and all the demons.

      According to legend he was the son of an emperor Ch'ing-te and his wife Pao Yueh-kuang who from his birth exhibited great compassion. When he had been a few years on the throne he abdicated and retired as a hermit spending his time dispensing medicine and knowledge of the Taoist texts. Some scholars see in this a myth of the sacred union of the sun and the moon, their son being the ruler of all Nature.

      Yuan-shih T'ien-tsun - The First Principle

      Although Yu-Huang is the High God, there are other abstract deities above him. He rules; they simply exist and instruct. First and foremost is Yuan-shih T'ien-tsun - the First Principal.

      He has no beginning and no end. He existed "before the void and the silence, before primordial chaos." He is self-existing, changeless, limitless, invisible, contains all virtues, is present in all places and is the source of all truth.

      San-ch'ing - The Three Pure Ones

      These are the so-called Three Pure Ones. They are Yu-ch'ing (Jade Pure), Shang-ch'ing (Upper Pure) and T'ai-ch'ing (Great Pure). They are believed to be different manifestations of Lao Tzu. They are not rulers, but rather seek to save mankind by teaching and benevolence.

      In a place with Yu-ch'ing lives Yuan-shih T'ien-tsun and the Holy Men (sheng-jen). With Shang-ch'ing lives Ling-pao T'ien-tsun (Spiritual Treasure Honoured by Heaven) and the Heroes. T'ai-ch'ing is the direct manifestation of Lao Tzu. He holds a fan, symbol of his powers, on which are written the yin-yang symbol and the Big Dipper.

      San-kuan - The Three Officials

      The San-kuan rule over all things in the three regions of the Universe, keep a register of good and evil deeds and award good or bad fortune accordingly. T'ien-kuan, the Ruler of Heaven, grants happiness. Ti-kuan, Ruler of Earth, grants remissions of sins, and Shui-kuan, Ruler of Water, averts all evil. Their compassion for all people is unbounded. The San-kuan originated in a rite from the time of the Yellow-Turban Taoists.

      San-yuan - Three Epochs (or principles)

      The San-yuan originate from a time in the Eastern Chin Dynasty (317-420 A.D.) when the year was divided into three unequal periods. Shang- yuan ruled the first six moons (winter and spring); Hsia-yuan ruled the 7th and 8th moons (summer); and Chung-yuan ruled the 9th to 11th moons (fall). It was believed that they dwelled in the North Star (Tzu Wei).

      T'ien-shih

      T'ien-shih was the title awarded to Chang Tao-ling (157-178 A.D.), the founder of the Yellow Turban Taoists (he is also claimed as founder by the Cheng-I and Five Bushels of Rice sects). It is believed that he received the Ling-pao (spiritual Treasure) Scripture written on golden tablets, from the Gods. He succeeded in finding the elixir of immortality, swallowed it, and ascended to Heaven, leaving his secrets, including his seals and demon-dispelling sword, with his son.

      Since then the title T'ien-shih has passed through the family for generations. The current (63rd) Chang T'ien-shih lives in Taiwan and heads the Five Bushels of Rice Taoist sect. He continues to retain the sword and seals of Chang Tao-ling.

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      • #4
        just something interesting I thought of.
        "If you want pure self-defense buy a can of mace." Grandmaster Villari (I think that is it).

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        • #5
          Blue sky: Did you write that last post or was it reduplicated from some place else?

          If you didn't write it, it's nice to give credit to those who did, unless of course the website is yours or you wrote it for them.

          g

          By the way, I came across an interesting article on the religions/ make-up of Taiwan, which includes many of the deities celebrated here.

          ZhongwenMovies.com

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          • #6
            onesp1ng

            Sorry, guy, I got that information from some of my old notes. Can't remember who wrote the original information - there are many sources of my notes. This is a short compulation - but it's only a small portion of the stuff I have on Chinese Gods. There are many, many more Gods than what I wrote about. Almost all I have refers to Taoism, I don't know to much about Buddhist Gods - or if Confucius refered to them. I have tons of notes from tons of books I have on Taoism. If you want, I can refer you to some books and authors if you have a particular subject in mind. Just off hand, Eva Wong has a couple of books on religious Taoism and writes quite a bit about Chinese Gods.

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            • #7
              So I guess you and some of your peers wrote that info and it was included in a website. The reason I mentioned it is simply because it stuck out to me as being something I had read before, the first time I read over your post. Then I was doing some searches on the subject and located that site again.

              tai chi chuan tajiquan yang halifax nova scotia canada taoism tao


              be well,

              g
              ZhongwenMovies.com

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              • #8
                I checked out the website you mentioned - It very well may be where I got this information. But I noticed it didn't have an author - which is probably why I did not cite anyone as the original author - there isn't one listed. I almost always denote where I get any of my information. Believe me, there's no way I would say I know anything that hasn't already been said.
                I do have a lot of other information on Chinese Gods written by Eva Wong - she's one of the best resources I've found on Religious Taoism.

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                • #9
                  Interesting, is there a chinese god Rayden? Is that just well... stuff from a mortal combat. Because I know alot of times that stuff is based on real legends.

                  I could help but take remember something from the bible. About a man being taken up from to the sky because god loved him so much.
                  "If you want pure self-defense buy a can of mace." Grandmaster Villari (I think that is it).

                  Comment

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