Guanyin was the goddess of mercy and compassion who became the patron of sailors and fishermen. She is the wife of Mugong, Lord of the Spirits, who watches over male spirits in the land of Donghua ("East Flower") but is sometimes seen as the wife of Shangti. During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) her cult was very popular and shrines were built for her by the government. She rewarded her followers with eternal life but punished those who angered her. Xiwangmu is shown as a beautiful woman with sharp teeth and a leopard's tail, or as an old, unattractive woman with a hunched back, tiger's teeth and a leopard's tail, depending on her mood. This moat served as protection for her Imperial Peach Orchard where the juices of the fruit of the trees gave immortality. She is also known as Xiwangmu or Xi-Wang-Mu and lived in a castle of gold in the Kunlun Mountains, surrounded by a moat which was so sensitive that even a hair dropped on the waters would sink. She was the queen of the immortal gods and spirits, especially female spirits who lived in the mystical land of Xihua ("West Flower"), and goddess of immortality. OAC Press (Public Domain) Queen Mother of the West Tian judged who was worthy to rule and for how long, and when a dynasty was no longer fit, it fell and another took its place. The Zhou developed the concept of the Mandate of Heaven which legitimized the rule of a certain dynasty. ![]() 1046-226 BCE) Shangti was replaced by the concept of Tian (Heaven) but re-emerged as Shangti during the Warring States Period (476-221 BCE). 2697-2597 BCE and was included in the mythical or semi-mythical grouping of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, demi-gods who ruled China between c. He was worshipped primarily during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) when he was considered a deified king who ruled c. ![]() Shangti was considered the great ancestor of all Chinese, who gave the people culture, architecture, skill in battle, agriculture, controlled the weather, regulated the seasons, and was king over the other gods, human beings, and nature. ![]() He is also known as Jade Emperor, Yellow Emperor, or Yu Huang Shang-Ti, although there are sometimes important distinctions made between these names and Jade Emperor can mean another deity. Shangti was the supreme god of law, order, justice, and creation. He is also shown in human form as a wise man with the full sun behind his head watching over a boat full of people. As god of the sea, he was known as Hong Shen and was prayed to regularly by sailors and fishermen, but farmers who needed rain for their crops worshipped Dragon as well. The dragon Yinglong was known as The Dragon King and god of rain and waters. Dragon was considered a composite of yin and yang energies and was originally seen as a balancing force who was wise and just. The dragon symbol appears on pottery found at the Neolithic site of Banpo Village dating from between c. The dragon is the oldest symbol of a deity found in China. These deities are selected because they were all very important to the people of ancient China even though some were more prominent at certain times in history than at others. Most likely, deities like Nuwa, Fuxi, and P'an Ku were recognized much earlier than written records indicate, and the same is probably true of most of the gods and goddesses on the list. The gods and goddesses listed below are given in the order they appear in Chinese writings. ![]() However, one can single out those deities who had national prominence, are among the oldest, or are without question the most popular as shown through ancient writings and evidence from archaeological excavations. All of the gods, goddesses, and spirits were important to the people of ancient China, and remain so today, and selecting a certain small group leaves out many, many others who remain just as significant.
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