Who are the five saints? Why is it mentioned twice in Water Margin?

The word "Five Saints" originally refers to the five Confucian saints, whose main members are Confucius, Mencius, Ceng Zi, Yan Zi and Zi Si. The Five Saints are also mentioned in the Water Margin, combining some ghosts and gods in the Water Margin. It can be seen that the five saints here obviously do not refer to the five saints of Confucianism. In the Water Margin, the Five Saints appeared twice. For the first time, Yan Poxi found a letter written by Classical to Song Jiang, hoping to get rid of Song Jiang, which was mentioned when discussing the matter with his lover. The second time, Lu Junyi was framed. He once said that there is no room for you in the Five Temples, which shows that the Five Temples refer to ghosts and gods.

There is a saying in the Tang Dynasty that there are five saints in a painting once painted by the painter Wu Daozi, but the five saints here refer to the five emperors of the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the theory of the Five Saints was deified and became several true kings and great immortals. But obviously this is not consistent with the five saints in the Water Margin. The five saints in the Water Margin should refer to the five gods.

Legend has it that in Wuyuan, Jiangxi, five immortals descended from the sky, dressed in yellow clothes and black belts, looking very dignified. The local county magistrate built a temple for five great gods, hoping that the great gods would bless the local people.

They were named Tong Youhou, Tong Youhou, Tong Zehou, Tong Huihou and Tong Hou Ji. At that time, they were not called Wu Sheng, but Wu Tong. In A.D. 1 174, Wu Tong was named as "Showing Gong, Showing Gong, Showing Gong, Showing Gong, Showing Gong" and became a five-show. These five symbols were gradually transformed into five saints. In Feng Menglong's book, it is mentioned that the Five Gods like to live in a low-rise house with five daughters-in-law. Most temples are built under big trees or in open places. These great gods are greedy for money and lust, so they gave them to some women. It seems that these five saints should be evil spirits.

However, in the Ming dynasty, the five saints became the land gods again. Later, with the continuous improvement of the beliefs of later generations, the status of the five saints became higher and higher, especially in the south. Shi Naian, the author of the Water Margin, is also a southerner, so he wrote the Five Saints into the Water Margin.