Main Taoist immortals

Taoism is a religion that worships many gods, which is different from the so-called "monotheism" such as Christianity. There are many kinds of gods worshipped by Taoism. The following can only introduce some of those with higher status and more influence. 1. Sanqing refers to Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun and Moral Tianzun. They are the supreme gods of Taoism, and they are really the trinity of "Tao". The term "Sanqing" began in the Six Dynasties, but at this time, "Sanqing" mostly refers to "Sanqing", namely, Taiqing, Yuqing and Shangqing, which are inhabited by three great gods, namely, Shenbao, Tianbao and Lingbao. Later, "Sanqing" gradually became the popular name of the Yuanshi Heavenly Buddha, Lingbao Heavenly Buddha, and Moral Heavenly Buddha, and "Sanqingjing" also became its residence. 2. The four emperors and four emperors are the four emperors in the second place in the Sanqing Dynasty, specifically, the Jade Emperor (who is in charge of the heavenly path), the Central Purple Micro Arctic Emperor (who is in charge of the longitude and latitude of the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, and the four seasons of the climate), the Emperor of the Supreme Court (who is in charge of the northern and southern poles, the three talents of the heaven, the earth and the people, the stars, and the military revolution between the hosts), and the Emperor of the Later Earth (who is in charge of the fertility of yin and yang, and the beauty of all things). In addition, there is also the saying that the Great Emperor of the Four Poles is the four emperors. Specifically, the Great Emperor of the North Pole (the Great Emperor of the Ten Thousand Stars), the Great Emperor of the South Pole (the Great Emperor of the Ten Thousand Spirits), the Great Emperor of the West Tai Chi (the Great Emperor of the Ten Thousand Spirits), and the Great Emperor of the East Pole of the East (the Great Emperor of the Ten Thousand Spirits). 3. The gods of the stars and gods of the stars have a very high position in Taoism, mainly including the five obsidian (five stars) -- Venus (Jupiter), Zhenxing (Saturn), Taibai (Venus), Chenxing (Mercury), and Yingfuxing (Mars). In addition, there are the "Five Stars" in the east, west, north and south, as well as the Twenty-eight Constellations, the Stars of Ziweiyuan, the Stars of Taiweiyuan, and the Stars of Tianshiyuan. Among them, Doumu is the most revered. "Doumu" is a female figure. It is said that she gave birth to the Big Dipper, which can be used for healing. In addition, the Big Dipper and the Star of the Southern Dipper are also highly respected by the world. According to the Duren Sutra, the Big Dipper is responsible for death and the Southern Dipper is responsible for life. Therefore, people hold "Big Dipper" and "Southern Dipper". Among the stars and gods, the Twenty-eight Constellations of the Four Directions have a greater influence. In the Twenty-eight Constellations, the Eastern Seven Constellations (Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, Ji) form the dragon shape, which is called Qinglong; The southern seven constellations (well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing, and Zhen) form a bird shape, which is called the rosefinch; The western seven constellations (Kui, Lou, Wei, Ang, Bi, Zhi and Shen) form a tiger shape, called the white tiger; The northern seven constellations (Dou, Niu, Wu, Xu, Wei, Shi, Bi) form a tortoise shape, called Xuanwu. Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque and Xuanwu are collectively known as the "gods of the four directions". 4. The Three Officials Emperor is the "Three Officials" of heaven, earth and water. There are many theories about its origin, or that it originated from the natural worship of heaven, earth and water in ancient Chinese religions, or that it originated from the three elements of the Five Elements, namely, gold (main generation), earth (main formation), and water (main transformation), or that it was Yao, Shun, Yu, and so on. "Three officials" have played a very important role in early Taoism. For example, in the late Han Dynasty, when the Heavenly Teacher Taoism prayed for patients, it was necessary to hold a ceremony of "three officials handwriting", that is, to write the patient's name and the meaning of serving sin on paper and send them to the three officials of heaven, earth and water respectively. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "three officials" matched with the "three yuan" and became the "Ziwei Emperor of the Heavenly Officials of the Shangyuan Dynasty", the "Empress of the Earthly Officials of the Zhongyuan Dynasty", and the "Empress of the Water Officials of the Xiayuan Dynasty". It is said that the heavenly powers bestow blessings, the earthly powers sin, and the water powers relieve adversity were born on the fifteenth day of the first month, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and the fifteenth day of the tenth month; In order to pray for blessings, remove sins and avert disasters, people from all over the world hold "Shangyuan Meeting", "Zhongyuan Meeting" and "Xiayuan Meeting" on these three days respectively. 5. The Jade Emperor seems to be the highest god in the world in the eyes of ordinary people. Some people think it is developed from the highest god "Emperor" or "God" in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. In the early Taoist "True Spiritual Position and Karma Map", there are the names of "Jade Emperor, Taoist King" and "Supreme Jade Emperor", but their rank is not high, and only ranks the 11th and 19th on the right of the Yuqing Sanyuan Palace. In the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong said that his ancestor Zhao Xuanlang had been ordered by the Jade Emperor to bestow the Heavenly Book on Zhao Song. Therefore, the name of the Jade Emperor was specially named "The Supreme Emperor of Heaven, the Great Jade Emperor of Taoism". Later, Emperor Huizong added the title "The Supreme Emperor of Heaven, the Great Jade Emperor of Taoism, the Great Jade Emperor of Taoism", which greatly improved the popularity of the Jade Emperor among the people and made the belief of the Jade Emperor popular. Taoism often regards the Jade Emperor as one of the "Four Kings" under the "Three Purities", and thinks that he is the "Master of the Universe", whose position is only inferior to the "Three Purities". Its function is to "follow the orders of the Three Purities, observe the court of Ziwei", and "take charge of small matters, and submit major events". On Christmas Day of the Jade Emperor on the ninth day of the first month of each year, Taoist temples and the people hold more "Jade Emperor Meetings". 6. Wenchang, the emperor of Wenchang, was originally a star name, also known as Wenqu Star or Wenxing. In ancient times, it was considered to be the star that presided over the fame of the literary movement. In the Han Dynasty, it specifically referred to the fourth star of the Wenchang Palace in the sky -- the star of destiny. It is related to Zhang Yazi (also known as Zhang Ezi or Zhang Chalzi), the Zitong god in Sichuan, that he became the Emperor of Wenchang believed by Taoism and the people. During the An-Shi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty avoided chaos and entered Sichuan. He dreamed that Zhang Yazi had appeared and made him the prime minister of the left; At the end of the Tang Dynasty, in order to avoid the chaos of Huangchao, Tang Xizong entered Sichuan and worshipped Zitong God himself, and granted Zhang Yazi the title of King Jishun. After being worshipped by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Yazi, the Zitong god, was transformed from a local god into a great god of universal worship. In the Song Dynasty, the Zitong god was awarded by the emperor many times, and was highly trusted by scholars because of his prediction of the success of the imperial examination. In the third year of Yuan Yanyou (1316), Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty appointed Zhang Yazi as "Emperor Lu Hongren of Wenchang Division in the Yuan Dynasty", and appointed him as the god of loyalty to the country, filial piety to the family, benefiting the people and integrity. So far, the Zitong God and the Wenchang Star God have become one and become known as the Emperor of Wenchang. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Wenchang Palace and Wenchang Temple were built in many places, and people held "Wenchang Meeting" on the third day of February on the birthday of Wenchang Emperor. The above are only a small part of the gods worshipped by Taoism. In fact, there are thousands of gods worshipped by Taoism. Most of them are invited to attend the religious ceremony. For example, a large number of Taoist deities are included in the Taoist scientific classics such as the Complete Collection of Taoist Scientific Models in the Tang and Song Dynasties and the Taoist Custom. In addition, the deeds of various immortals are also recorded in Taoist classics, such as the Biography of Immortals in the Han Dynasty, the Biography of Immortals in the Jin Dynasty, and the Biography of Immortals in the Yuan Dynasty.