Sunday, November 13, 2011

Gods And Goddesses: Tai Yi

Tai Yi is the supreme god whose name means “The Great Unity” or “Primordial Unity of Yin And Yang”, whom is also refered to as Taiyi Zhenren, where Zhenren means “True Person”. His attendants are a total of sixteen dragons, along with the Tai Sui. Also appearing in The Creation of the Gods, he is the teacher of the deity Nezha.

Originally ruling over all, the Jade Emperor took his place eventually. When the ruler of Heaven, he controlled the destiny of the earth; where he would use his attendants to inflict droughts, storms and the like to the mortal realm. The Lantern Festival is thought to originate because of Tai Yi, as it is the day most appropriate to ask for good weather and health from this deity (due to reports on the mortal realm would be given to Tai Yi before the new year).  Just as worship occurred on the Lantern Festival, it also occurred every fifteenth day of the lunar month.

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