Chinese Gods

In the beginning, the universe was a black egg where heaven and earth were mixed together, and in this egg was contained Pangu. He felt suffocated, so he cracked the egg with a broadax, and the light, clear part of the egg floated up to form Heaven while the cold, heavy part stayed down and formed Earth. Pangu stood in the middle, and he and the egg's two parts grew and grew until he was nine million li in height.

When Pangu died, his breath became the wind and clouds, his voice the rolling thunder, and his eyes the sun and the moon. His hair and beard became the stars in the sky, the flowers and trees from his skin, the marrow in his bones became jade and pearls, and his sweat the good rain that nurtured the Earth. There are several versions of the Pangu legend, but one that is common in southern China is that of King Fang and King Gao Xin. Pangu was King Gao Xin's dog, and King Gao Xin had a great enmity with King Fang. He proclaimed, "Anyone who can bring me King Fang's head will have my daughter's hand in marriage," but no one would try because of King Fang's fearsome army.

One day Pangu slipped away and went to King Fang's court. King Fang was happy to see that he had deserted King Gao Xin, and welcomed him with a banquet. However, that night, Pangu sneaked into the king's chambers and bit off his head, returning back to King Gao Xin with it.
King Gao Xin was overjoyed to see that Pangu had brought King Fang's head, but did not think to marry his daughter to a dog. Pangu would not eat for three days, and the king asked, "Why do you not eat? Are you angry that I would not marry my daughter to you?" Pangu said, "No, just cover me with your golden bell for seven days and I'll turn into a man." The king did so, but the princess peeked under on the sixth day. She found that Pangu already had man's body but retained a dog's head. However, once the bell had been raised the magic change stopped, and he remained a man with a dog's head. The princess married him and the settled in southern China, where they had four children, who became the ancestors of mankind.

Historians have conjectured that the Chinese mythology began in the 12th century BC. The myths and legends were passed down in oral form for over a thousand years, before being written in books such as Shan Hai Jing. Other myths continued to be passed down through oral traditions like theater and song, before being recorded as novels such as Hei'an Zhuan - Epic of Darkness (literally Epic of the Darkness). This collection of epic legends is preserved by a community of Chinese Han nationality, inhabitants of the Shennongjia mountain area in Hubei, and contains accounts from the birth of Pangu up to the historical era. Imperial historical documents and philosophical canons such as Shangshu, Shiji, Liji, Lüshi Chunqiu, and others, all contain Chinese myths.

The Jade Emperor is charged with running of the three realms: heaven, hell and that of the living. The Jade Emperor adjudicates and metes out rewards and remedies to actions of saints, the living and the deceased according to a merit system loosely called the Jade Principles Golden Script. When judgments proposed were objected to, usually by other saints, the administration would occasionally resort to the counsels of the advisory elders. The Chinese dragon is one of the most important mythical creatures in Chinese mythology. The Chinese dragon is considered to be the most powerful and divine creature and is believed to be the controller of all waters. The dragon symbolised great power and was very supportive of heroes and gods. One of the most famous dragons in Chinese mythology is Yinglong "Responding Dragon", said to be the god of rain. Many people in different places pray to Yinglong in order to receive rain. In Chinese mythology, dragons are believed to be able to create clouds with their breath. Chinese people sometimes use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" as a sign of their ethnic identity.
For the most part, Chinese myths involve moral issues which inform people of their culture and values.

There has been extensive interaction between Chinese mythology and the major belief systems of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. On the one hand, elements of pre-Han dynasty mythologies such as those in Shan Hai Jing were adapted into these belief systems as they developed (in the case of Taoism), or were assimilated into Chinese culture (in the case of Buddhism). On the other hand, elements from the teachings and beliefs of these systems became incorporated into Chinese mythology. For example, the Taoist belief of a spiritual paradise became incorporated into mythology, as the place where immortals and deities dwell.

The Chinese had a god for everything and as a result well over a thousand different ones. Presented here are a small selection of game related ones.. a very small selection..

 

Some Chinese Gods;

Aizen-Myoo - A deity, who despite his terrible appearance, is full of compassion for mankind. He is pictured with six arms, three eyes, a lion's head with bristling mane, and atop his head a thunder-bolt (Vajra), with which he calms evil passions and forbidden desires.

Au-Co - Vietnamese creator of humanity.

Ba - Goddess of drought.

Caishen - God of wealth.

Chang Fei - God of butchers.

Chang Hsien - God of dreams and god of pregnancy.

Ch'ang-O - Originally a woman who lived on earth and became a goddess when she drank all the water of immortality that was given to her husband by the gods as an award, thereby cheating him of that honor. She became goddess of the moon.

Chang Pan - God of masons.

Ch'ang Tsai - God of the spleen.

Chao san-Niang - Goddess of wig salesmen.

Chao T'eng-k'ang - God of the bowels.

Ch'eng Huang - God responsible for the land, its moats, ditches, and walls, and the people.

Cheng San-Kung - God of fishing.

Cheng Yuan-ho - God of strolling singers.

Chen Kao - God of the ears.

Chien-Ti - A Chinese ancestral mother who accidentally swallowed a multi-colored swallow's egg and gave birth thereafter to the ancestors of the Shang dynasty.

Chih Jih - God of the day.

Chih Nii - Goddess of spinning.

Chih Nu - She wove the beautiful robes of all the other divinities. Goddess of weaving.

Ch'ih Sung-tzu - Lord of the rain.

Ching Ling Tzu - God of tea.

Ch'ing Lung - God of the lungs.

Chin-hua Niang-niang - God of drums and violins.

Chio Yuan-Tzu - God of the brain.

Chi Po - God of the winds.

Chou Wang - God of sodomy.

Chuang-Mu - Goddess of the bedroom.

Chu-jung - God of fire and celestial executioner.

Chung-kuei - Protector of those who travel. God of examinations.

Chung-li Ch'üan - One of the Eight Immortals of Taoism.

Ch'ung Ling-yu - God of the nose.

Chung Liu - God of eaves.

Chu Niao - God of the heart.

Chun T'i - Goddess of the dawn.

Chu Ying - God of the eyes.

Di Jun - God of the eastern sky.

Fan K'uei - A god of butchers.

Fei Lien - A god of the wind.

Fengbo - Another god of the wind.

Feng Pho-Pho - Goddess of the winds of China, Feng Pho-Pho was pictured as riding a tiger for her steed and with clouds for her roadway. She was depicted as an old, wrinkled woman. On calm days, it was thought she rounded up the winds and stuffed them into the bag she carried on her shoulder.

Fu-Hsi - The god of vegetation and the inventor of writing.

Fu Hsing - He was one of the three divinities known as Fu-Shou-Lu. He was considered a spirit of happiness.

Fu-Pao - The Yellow Emperor of China was another hero with an unusual conception. His mother, Fu-Pao, sat outdoors one night watching an unearthly light play across the sky, and she became inpregnated. Her child Huang-Ti, the Yellow Emperor, gestated for two years (another common phenomenon among heroes) before his birth.

Gaomei - Originally an ancient Chinese goddess whose name, means "first mother". She was later changed into a male divinity.

Guan Di - A god of war.

Hao Ch'iu - A god of the heart.

Hariti - She had been a cannibal devourer of children until converted by Buddha, at which time she became the protectress of children.

Heng-o - Goddess of the moon. Consort of Yi the Archer.

Ho Po (Ping-I) - God of the Yellow River. Foremost among the river gods.

Hou Chi - Lord of abundant harvests. He was miraculously conceived when his childless mother stepped on the footprint of a god.

Hou T'u - A god of the earth.

Hsiao Wu - God of prisons.

Hsieh T'ien-chun - God personification of the planet Saturn.

Hsien Nung - A god of agriculture.

Hsi Ling-su - God of silk.

Hsi-shen - God of joy.

Hsi Shih - Goddess of face cream.

Hsi Wang Mu - Mother goddess of the Western Paradise.

Hsuan Wen-hua - The god of hair.

Hsu Ch'ang - God of archery.

Huang Ti - God of architecture.

Huang T'ing - God of the spleen.

Huo Pu - A god of fire.

Hu-Shen - God of hail.

Jen An - God of robbers.

Jizo Bosatsu - The great protector of suffering humanity. He averts fires, facilitates childbirth, and is especially honored as a protector of children.

Keng Yen-cheng - Another god of robbers and thieves.

King Wan - A god of luck.

Ko Hsien-Weng - God of jugglers.

Kongo-Myoo - Depicted as surrounded by fire; has three heads and six arms. His front face has five eyes.

Kuan Ti - God of war, literature, fortune-telling and upholder of justice.

Kuei-ku Tzu - Another god of fortune-telling.

Kujaku-Myoo - He is always shown seated on a peacock. He gives protection against drought.

Kuo Tzu-i - Another god of happiness.

Lai Cho - A god of agriculture.

Lao Lang - God of actors.

Lei Kung - God of thunder.

Lei Tsu - God of innkeepers.

Li Lao-chun - God of leatherworkers.

Li Tien - God of firecrackers.

Liu Meng - God of agriculture.

Liu Pei - God of basket-makers.

Lo Shen - Goddess of rivers.

Lo-Tsu Ta-Hsien - God of barbers and beggars.

Lo Yu - God of tea.

Lu Hsing - Another of the three gods who were known as Fu-Shou-Lu. God of justice.

Lung Yen - God of the liver.

Lu-pan - God of carpenters.

Ma-Ku - Goddess of springtime.

Mang Chin-i - Goddess of the womb.

Mang Shen) - God of agriculture.

Mao Meng - God of the planets Jupiter and Mercury.

Men Shen - The two guardians of doorways, who protect against evil spirits and hostile influences.

Miao Hu - A god of agriculture.

Mi-lo Fo - The coming Buddha.

Ming Shang - God of the eyes.

Mulhalmoni - Goddess of water.

Nan-chi Hsien-weng - God of longevity.

Ni-O - The protector of the Buddhist faith.

Niu Wang - God of oxen.

Nu-kua - Goddess inventor of marriage. In some myths the one who created mankind.

Nu Wa - Goddess of those who arrange marriages.

Pa - Goddess of drought.

Pa Cha - Goddess of grasshoppers.

Pai Chung - Another god of agriculture.

Pai Liu-Fang - God of the throat.

Pai Yu - God of guitars.

P'an-Chin-Lien - Goddess of brothels, prostitution, and sex.

P'an Niang - Goddess of vaccination.

Pao Yuan-ch'uan - God of the spleen.

Phan Ku - The creator who formed the mountains, valleys, rivers and oceans. When he died, his skull became the sky, his breath the wind, his voice thunder, his legs and arms the four directions, his flesh the soil, and his blood the rivers. Then the fleas in his hair became the people.

P'i Chia-Ma - God of the ribs.

Pien Ho - God of jewellers.

Po Yan Dari - (Cambodia) Goddess of disease.

Quan Yin (Kuan Yin) - Quan Yin is a mother/protectress type Goddess. She died in life but was made a Goddess, and because she saw a lot of pain while she was living, she swore to protect all humans, and would not rest until the suffering of man-kind ended.

Samanta-Bhadra - Sanskrit name of Kuntu-bzang-mo, mother goddess in BARDO mysticism.

San Kuan - Collective name for the Three Officials, who were T'ien Kuan (official of heaven), Ti Kuan (official of earth) and Shui Kuan (official of water).

Sao-ch'ing Niang - Goddess of good weather.

Sarudahiko - The god of the crossroads and the embodiment of male sexuality. He is shown with a large nose, which is of phallic significance.

Sengdroma - (Tibet) A lion-faced goddess called upon as a protector of herds.

Sgeg-mo-ma - (Tibet) Goddess of beauty, often depicted as holding a mirror.

Shang Chien - God of the neck.

Shang - Ti Originally the supreme god. He was later known as T'ien (Sky).

She chi - Another god of agriculture, especially of grain and the land.

Sheng Mu - Goddess of black magic.

Shen Hsui-Chih - God of medicine.

Shen Nung - Another agriculture god.

Shih Liang - God of the tongue.

Shiu Fang - God of embankments.

Shou-lao - God who determines man's longevity.

Shun I Fu-jen - Goddess of famine and floods.

Sien-Tsang - Goddess of silk cultivation.

Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju - God of wine sellers.

Sung-Chiang - God of thieves.

Sun Pin - God of shoemakers.

Sun Ssu-miao - God of druggists.

Tan Chu - God of the teeth.

T'ang Ming Huang - God of the theater.

Tankun - (Korea) The sun god and founder of Korea.

Tao Kung - God of the diaphragm.

Tengri - (Mongolia) God of the sky.

Tho-og - (Tibet) Mother goddess, first of the gods to exist.

T'ien Fei - Goddess of sailing.

Tien Hou - Ocean goddess who rode across the sky on clouds and, with her wind servants, looked for sailors in danger. She then hastened to their rescue.

Tien Mu - Goddess of lightning.

Ti-tsang - Deity who protects mankind; is able to rescue souls from hell and bring them to paradise.

Tsai Shen - God of wealth.

Ts'ang Chien - God of writing.

Ts'an Nu - Goddess of silkworms.

Tsao Chun - The kitchen god. The most important god of the family and home.

Tsao-Wang - God of the hearth.

T'shai-Shen - A god of wealth.

Tung Chun - God of the day.

T'ung Chung-chung - God of the skin.

T'ung Lai-yu - God of the stomach.

Tung Lu - God of snow.

T'ung Ming - God of the tongue.

Tzu-ku Shen - God of toilets.

Ui Tango - One of three creator goddesses. The other two are Nguntre and Ninguerre.

Wa - A divine woman who, in ancient times, "produced the ten thousand beings through metamorphosis." It is difficult to tell from the writings about her exactly how this creator goddess populated the world.

Wang-Mu-Niang-Niang - Goddess of female energy.

Wang Ta-hsien - God of white ants.

Weiwobo - Another goddess of female energy.

Wen-ch'ang - God of literature.

Wu-tai Yuan-shuai - God of musicians.

Xi Hou - Goddess who gave birth to ten suns. Each morning she bathes the ten suns, and then places the one which is to light that day into a chariot drawn by dragons for the day's journey.

Xi Wangmu - Personification of the female principle (yin), who with Mu Kung (yang), created heaven and earth, and all living beings.

Xiu Wenyin - Goddess of lightning and thunder.

Yanwang - A god of death.

Yaoji - This goddess was said to have been worshiped in the form of a sacred rock at the summit of a hill called the Mount of the Sorceress. According to an old legend, a king encountered her on that hill in a dream in which she revealed not only her name but the location of a plant to be used in love magic.

Yen-lo - Ruler of the underworld.

Yen-Lo-Wang - God of the earth.

Yi - Husband of Chang-o. He saved the earth from destruction when all ten of its suns appeared in the sky at the same time. Yi, an expert archer with a magic bow, shot down nine of the suns.

Yu - The engineer hero who measured the world from east to west and from north to south in order to lay it out. Yu, the son of K'un, the emperor of China, was a thin, reedy man who was ill and crippled causing him to hop about on one foot. He dug out the mountains and allowed waters to flow from a catastrophic flood. He worked at it for 13 years without returning home. When he became a god, Yu travelled the world in order to plan it. He stabilized five sacred mountains at the four cardinal points and at the center of the earth. Yu's wife was the daughter of T'u-chan the mountain of the earth. Yu was the first emperor of the Hsia Dynasty.

Yu Ch'iang - God of the ocean winds. He appears as a giant sea bird or a whale, or any other sea creature, but he always has the face, hands, and feet of a human male.

Yu Huang - Emperor of the gods. God of purity. God of nature. The Jade God.

Yum-chen-mo - (Tibet) Goddess of wisdom.

Yun-T'ung - God of the clouds.

Yu-Tzu - A god of the rain.

Zaoshen - God of kitchens.

Zas-ster-ma-dmar-mo - (Tibet) Goddess of wealth.

Zhang Xi - A creator goddess who gave birth to twelve moons.

Zhinü - A goddess of marriage and a patron of weavers.

Zhongguei - God of examinations.

Zigu Shen - Bathroom goddess

Zisun - Goddess of weddings.

 

 

Pantheons Index