What gods are there in Taoism? When did you become a god?

Taoism is a polytheism. There are many kinds of gods worshipped by Taoism. Here are only some of them with high status and influence.

1. Sanqing refers to the Buddha of Yuan Dynasty, the Buddha of Lingbao and the Buddha of morality. They are the supreme gods of Taoism, and they are actually the trinity of Taoism. The concept of "Sanqing" began in the Six Dynasties, but at this time, "Sanqing" mostly refers to "Sanqing realm", that is, Taiqing realm, Yuqing realm and Shangqing realm, where three great gods, Shenbaojun, Tianbaojun and Lingbaojun, lived respectively. Later, "Sanqing" gradually became the popular name of Buddha, Lingbao Buddha and Moral Buddha in Yuan Dynasty, and "Sanqing Land" became its residence.

2. Four Emperors Four Emperors are the four heavenly emperors second only to Sanqing, specifically: Jade Emperor (in charge of heaven), Zhongwei Zibei Emperor (in charge of celestial latitude, the sun, the moon, the stars and the four seasons), Gouchen Shanggong Emperor God (in charge of the three talents of the south and north poles, heaven and earth, governing the stars and presiding over the military revolution on earth), and Thick Earth Emperor only (in charge of the fertility of yin and yang and everything). Specifically, it is: the Emperor Wei Zi in the Arctic (ruling all the stars forever), the immortal emperor in the Antarctic (ruling all the gods forever), the Taiji emperor in the West (ruling all the gods forever), and the polar emperor Tsinghua in the East (ruling all kinds forever).

3. The God of the Stars has a high position in Taoism, and there are mainly five obsidians (five stars)-Suixing (Star), Zhenxing (Saturn), Taibai (Venus), Chen Xing (Mercury) and Huo Xing (Mars). In addition, there are five stars in the east, west, north and south, as well as 28 stars, all stars in Ziweiyuan, all stars in Taiweiyuan and all stars in Tianshiyuan. Among them, the most respected is "Doum". "Doum" is a female figure. According to legend, she gave birth to the Big Dipper, which can cure diseases. In addition, Beidou and Nanxing are also highly respected by the world. According to Du, Beidou is the master of death and Nandou is the master of life. Therefore, many people hold the "Beidou Club" and "Nandou Club". Among the four star gods, there is also the influential Quartet Twenty-eight Star King. Among the 28 lodgings, seven lodgings in the east (horn, horn, fork, room, heart, tail and dustpan) form a dragon, which is called Qinglong; The seven nights in the south (well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and bird) form a bird shape, which is called Suzaku; Seven huts in the west (Kui, Lou, Stomach, Ang, Bi, Dog and God) make up a tiger, which is called White Tiger. The seven northern lodges (barrels, cows, women, emptiness, danger, houses and walls) form a turtle shape, which is called Xuanwu. Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu are collectively called the "Gods of the Four Sides".

The "three officials" of the great emperor are the "three officials" of heaven, earth and water. There are many stories about their origins, either from the natural worship of heaven, earth and water by ancient religions in China, or from the three gases of gold (the main life), earth (the main life) and water (the main life) in the five elements, or that they are Yao, Shun and Yu. "Three Officials" played a very important role in early Taoism. For example, at the end of the Han Dynasty, Taoism in Shi Tian held a ceremony of "Three Officials Calligraphy" when praying for patients, that is, the patient's name and confession were written on paper and presented to the three officials of heaven, earth and water respectively. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "three officials" and "three yuan" were collocated to become "Heaven Emperor in Shang Yuan", "Earth Emperor in Middle Yuan" and "Water Emperor in Xia Yuan". According to legend, Heaven can bless, Earth can condemn and Water can help Eritrea, born on the 15th of the first month, 15th of July and 15th of October respectively. People all over the world often hold "Shangyuan Fair", "Zhongyuan Fair" and "Xiayuan Fair" in these three days to pray for blessings, eliminate evils and avoid disasters.

Jade Emperor Jade Emperor seems to be the highest god in the sky in the eyes of ordinary people. Some people think that it was developed from the highest god "Emperor" or "God" in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. In the map of the true spiritual position of early Taoism, there were the names of "Jade Emperor Daojun" and "Gao Jade Emperor", but their ranks were not high, only ranked 1 1 and 19 on the right side of the Jade Qing Sanyuan Palace. Emperor Song Zhenzong claimed that Zhao, his distant ancestor, had been ordered by the Jade Emperor to award the gobbledygook to Zhao and Song. Therefore, he specially named the Jade Emperor as "Emperor Tai's father Tian Kai holds a royal calendar with a real body", and later Huizong added it as "Emperor Tai's father Tian Kai holds a royal calendar with a real body", which greatly improved the prestige of the Jade Emperor among the people and made the belief of the Jade Emperor deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Taoism often regards the Jade Emperor as one of the "Four Emperors" under the "Sanqing", and thinks that he is the "king who will always lead the universe" after the "Sanqing", and his function is to "accept the orders of Sanqing, obey the court of Wei Zi" and "take charge of minor matters and present major events". On the ninth day of the first month of each year, on the Christmas day of the Jade Emperor, Taoist temples and people often hold a "Jade Emperor's Meeting".

6. Wenchang Emperor Wenchang is a star name, also known as Wenquxing or Wenxing. In ancient times, it was regarded as the star that dominated moire's reputation. In Han Dynasty, it refers to the fourth star in Wenchang Palace-Four Stars. Emperor Wenchang, who became a Taoist and folk belief, was related to Zhang Yazi (also known as Zhang Xiezi or Zhang Zi), a zitong god in Shu. During the Anshi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty avoided the rebellion and entered Shu. He dreamed that Zhang Yazi appeared and made him the left prime minister. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, in order to avoid the chaos in Huang Chao, Tang Xizong personally worshipped Zitong God and made Zhang Yazi King of Jishun. After the worship of Emperor Taizong, Zitong God Zhang Yazi changed from a local god to a god worshipped by the world. In the Song Dynasty, Zitong God was sealed by the emperor many times, and won the trust of scholars for predicting the fame of the imperial examination. In the third year of Yuanyou (13 16), Zhang Yazi was named "Fuyuan Wenchang Dilu" and was appointed as the God of Loyalty, Filial Piety and Integrity. At this point, Zitong God and wenchang star God became one, and they were called Wenchang Emperor. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Wenchang Palace and Wenchang Temple were built in many places, and people held a "Wenchang Fair" on the third day of February on the birthday of Emperor Wenchang.

These are only a small part of the gods worshipped by Taoism. In fact, there are thousands of gods worshipped by Taoism, and most of them are respectfully invited during fasting ceremonies. For example, a large number of Taoist immortals are included in Taoist classics such as The Complete Collection of Taoist Models and The Customization of Taoist Schools in Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition, Taoist classics also record the deeds of various immortals, such as The Legend of the Immortal in the Han Dynasty, The Legend of the Immortal in the Jin Dynasty, The Immortal Style and a Mirror of Taoism in the Yuan Dynasty, etc., all of which record the deeds of immortals in past dynasties.

Similarities and differences of gods in Taoism, Confucianism, mythology and folklore

The levels of Taoist gods: Sanqing, Yu Di and Yusi.

The order of Confucian gods: heaven, ancestors (three emperors and five emperors) and saints (Confucius, Mencius and Guan Yu)

The ranking of gods in some myths and folklore: Pangu, Hong Jun, Sanqing, Nuwa, Huang San, Jade Emperor and Yusi.

There are no Pangu and Hong Jun in Taoism. In fairy tales and folklore, some legends say that Pangu, Hong Jun and Yuan Shi Tian Zun are the same person, while others say that Pangu is his brother and Hong Jun is his brother. After the fall of Pangu, Yuan deified to Sanqing and respected him as a teacher.

Nu Wa's position often changes, sometimes above Huang San, sometimes within Huang San, and sometimes below Huang San.

It is said that there are three reasons:

First, in myths and legends, Nu Wa incarnates everything and has a high status, above Huang San;

Second, the legendary Fuxi and Nuwa are both brother and sister and husband and wife, and they belong to the same family. When listing in Huang San, sometimes both are selected, and sometimes only one person is selected as the representative, which is in Huang San;

Thirdly, the prominent position of Shangshu (a pseudo Shangshu) in Confucian classics has made the views advocated by Fuxi, Shennong and Huangdi Huang San recognized by most people, while Nu Wa is in matriarchal society, followed by paternal society, and men are respected, so she is under Huang San.

Huang San is highly respected for his Confucianism, especially Confucianism. As the saying goes, you restrain me, so there is not much publicity in Taoism.

The origin of Taoist immortals

1. Worship originated from ancient primitive religion in China.

1, nature worship

Heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, thunder, electricity, wind, rain, mountains, rivers, etc. They are all regarded as objects of faith, deified and worshipped.

Such as Land, Xing Jun, Leigong, Dian Mu, Fengbo, Rain God, Mountain God and River God.

The influence of traditional theology is the primary factor to understand and study the lineage of Taoist immortals. The natural religion in China's primitive society gradually changed into man-made religion (that is, theological religion). Roughly in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, Yin people advocated ghosts and gods, such as divination, leaving a large number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin ruins. The worship of ghosts and gods in the Zhou Dynasty is recorded in Uncle Zhou Li: "Uncle's duty is to be in charge of the founding of the country, and man is a ghost?" "Li", whose gods are the gods, the sun, the moon and the stars, the wind master, the rain master, the country, the five mountains, mountains and rivers, in all directions, people and ghosts worship their ancestors first. On this basis, ancient religions in China gradually enriched and formed a worship system of gods, earth, people and ghosts, which is the main source of Taoist worship of gods.

2. Totem worship

Take animals or plants as objects of worship.

For example, dragons, phoenixes, bears, tigers, blackbirds, flowers, Sophora japonica and so on. Become a dragon god and a fairy.

For example, the Oroqen call the male bear "Yaya", which means grandpa, and the female bear is called "Taitie", which means grandma. Ewenki people call the male bear "Heke" (grandpa) and the female bear "hates me" (grandma). Pan Hu legends of Miao, Yao and She nationalities.

3. Ghost worship

For example, Rebecca, Black and White Impermanence, Ghost King and so on.

It is said that it is the main content of Li national religion and the most important content of primitive religious belief of Tujia people in Enshi. Under the influence of Taoist belief, the ghost worship of Yao people in Yunnan is obviously authentic. Whether it is individual praying for exorcism or collective exorcism, its religious ceremony, ceremony host, praying god and people who help them exorcise exorcism have become important parts of Yao Taoism.

4. Reproduction and ancestor worship

For example, the Yellow Emperor, Three Emperors and Five Emperors.

Yi, Yao, Jinuo, Han and many other ethnic groups.

Second, the inheritance of sage worship.

Confucius, Mencius, Guan Gong and Yue Fei.

The early Taoist classic Taiping Jing had the worship of "saints" and "saints". As well as "Taoist masterpieces" such as The True Record of Immortals on the Qing Dynasty, The Bitmap of True Spirit and The Supreme Secret, three kings of Yao, Shun and Yu, emperors such as Tang Yin, Han Gaozu and Liu Bei, and sages such as Kong Qiu, Yan Hui and Mo Zhai.

Thirdly, sectarian factors also have an important influence on the construction of Taoist immortal pedigree.

There are many schools of Taoism, and from the very beginning, they have different opinions on the Supreme God.

When the early Wudou Midao was founded, Taishang Laojun was the ally to worship the "three officials". Therefore, in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Kou's Daoism in the Northern Wei Dynasty won 20 volumes of "The precept of reciting new subjects in the clouds" because of his "heavenly teacher status" and "clearing the way", all of which were pseudonyms of "too old gentleman". Therefore, he

When Taiping Road began to establish religion, the latter worshipped Huang Lao and offered "Chinese Huang Taiyi". In the middle and late Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Shangqing School and the Lingbao School appeared one after another, and the newly emerging classic of Shangqing School and Lingbao School no longer respected the old gentleman as the supreme god. In the Shangqing school, Chen Yu, the King of Yuan or the Grand Priest, is the most respected, while in the Lingbao school, the King of Yuan and the Grand Priest are the most prominent, and some classics are also listed as the Grand Priest, but their ranking position is slightly lower.

Later, in the negotiation and integration of various factions, it was put forward that "Tao cannot be without teachers and teaching cannot be without ancestors." Therefore, Laojun's teacher is on Chen Yu Avenue, and Daojun is also a disciple of yuanshi county Tianzun. " It is under this mentoring relationship that their understanding of * * * has become the trinity of "respecting gods in Sanqing" and the highest god in the Taoist immortal pedigree.

In addition, each faction has its own founder, priest and god.

On the basis of absorbing various primitive religions, folk religions, myths and legends, Taoism gradually formed its own immortal pedigree, and merged with the original local religions or formed a general branch form.

Taoism is also constantly developing and changing, and it often interacts with other religions and people's inclinations and desires.

For thousands of years, although there have been contradictions among Taoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity in China, fortunately, no major religious war broke out.

Taoist figures

Huangdi Laozi Zhuangzi Liezi Guan Yinzi Mao Ying Gong Yanjun Ping Zhang Ling Wei Boyang

Yuji Zuo Ci Pavilion Xu Xuanxun Pavilion Hongkou Qian Lu Xiujing Tao Wang Hongjing Sun Jia Si Miao

Cheng Xuan visited Sima Wu Guangting and Lv Dongbin Liu Hai Chan Guang.

Chen Tuan Zhang Boduan Shitai Xue Daoguang Chen Nan Bai Yuchan Liu Yongnian Weng Baoguang Xiao Tingzhi Peng Yi

Ma Chuji Wang Chuyi Sun Buer Cao Wenyi Li Daochun

Zhang Junfang Wang Zhijin Zhang Sanfeng Sun Xuanqing Sun Ruzhong Lu Xixing Wu Huangshouzhong Min Xiaogen

Liu Fujinquan Liu Huayang Li Huang Yuanji Wang Dongting Xu Liu Mingrui Zhao Yingning