Introduction to the Deities and Route for Pilgrimage

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 12th day of the 1st lunar month♦



Given name “Shiyou,” he is the Millennium Lord (Qiansui) of the Hai year. His sacred idol is depicted as pink faced and clean-shaven, wearing an armor and a two-dragon headdress. His sacred bureaucratic duty is as a deity for the faithful pleading for commercial success and a thriving business. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 15th day of the 3rd lunar month♦



Great Emperor Baosheng was originally named Wu Tao, and is referred to with honorifics such as Wu the Enlightened One. Wu the Immortal Lord, or Lord Sedan Chair. His informal name is “Hua Ji,”  and literary name is “Yun Zhong.” He was legendary for medical miracles such as applying eyedrops to a dragon and treating a tiger’s throat condition. Numerous miracles appeared after his ascension to heaven to protect the country and comfort the people. When Emperor Gaozhong was enthroned, he ordered the construction of a temple for Great Emperor Baosheng, and bestowed the title of “Dadao Immortal.” In gratitude for curing an ailment in the empress’s breasts, Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty bestowed the honorific title of “Imperial Inspector at Heavenly Gate, Miracle Doctor of Compassion Relief, Great Taoist Immortal, and the Long-lived, Unbounded, Life Protection Emperor,” with a gift of a royal dragon robe and constructing a palace in his name. He was known as the god of medicine by future generations. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month♦



The Marshal of the Central Altar is also known as “Prince Marshal,” and colloquially as “Lord Prince,” or “Prince Nezha.” According to legend, Prince Nezha is the Daluo saint and divine general    leading the charge for the Jade Emperor. He commands the five heavenly battalions in the north, south, east, west, and center, and hence is referred to as “Marshal of the Central Altar,” “Divine General of the Central Battalion,” or “Great General of the Central Battalion. The Marshal of the Central Altar is worshipped as the chief protector of Taoism, and possesses a high level of Taoist method and power. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 3rd day of the second lunar month♦

“Frost Gentleman” is a deity who enshrined for generation in the Zhongpuo Homestead of Songshan. He is the Huating scholar She Eh of the Song dynasty. His faithful pray to him for blessings in career success.

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month♦

Ruler of the Celestial Worthy of the Thunderclap of Universal Salvation that Resonates with the Primal Essence of the Nine Heavens, reverentially regarded colloquially as “the Ancestor of Thunder,” and recorded in ancient books as “Master of Thunder.” He is a deity of innate yang essence. According to the Tao Sutra, the Ancestor of Thunder lives above the nine heavens, and commands the five thunders, responds to the nine heavens, operates the three realms, and oversees the Thunder Capital with its two ministries and three bureaus (the two ministries are the Five Thunder Ministry and the Exorcism Ministry; the three bureaus are the Lightning Bureau of Ten Thousand Deities, the Thunderclap Capital Bureau, and the Thunderclap Division Bureau). He is responsible for punishing perpetrators of evil, destroyers of living things, and those who ruin the crops.

♦Sacred birth celebrated on 9th day of the 10th lunar month♦

The term Lei Gung originated in the national strategies of the Warring States Period. According to legend, he was the deity in charge of thunder. He is also referred to as “Fenglong,” “Thunder Master,” and “God of Thunder,” or “Lei Gung Jiantianjun.” He is often mentioned with “Dianmu,” the Goddess of Lightning. Lei Gung embodies yang energy so is referred to as “gung.”

♦Sacred birth celebrated on 9th day of the 10th lunar month♦



Dianmu is the goddess in charge of lightning, and is colloquially known as Mistress of Lightning or Mother of the Golden Light. In early folk beliefs, the Lord of Thunder was also responsible for lightning, hence, the Lord of Thunder is portrayed with eyes like mirrors. Later, the Lord of Thunder and the Father of Lightning divided the responsibilities. By the Han dynasty, there were references to the Father of Lightning. The Father of Lightning became a duo, and the Father of Lightning had become the Mother of Lightning. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 9th day of the tenth lunar month♦



Fengbo is the deity of the wind. He is one of the seven mansions in the east among the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Chinese constellations system. As the fourth “Chi” star in the Wenchang (Sagittarius) Constellation, he is responsible for controlling, judging, and allocating wind. He is also called “Duke Chi.” People from the Chu area in the south refer to him as “Feilian”. He is depicted as a divine bird with the body of a deer, and a matter like a leopard. His head resembles the mythical ancient Jue beast with a pair of horns on his head and a snake-like tail. He is adept at raising wind. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 9th day of the 10th lunar month ♦



In Daoism, the God of Rain is regarded as a god, a dragon, as the mythical bird Shangyang, or as Master Red Pine (Chisongzi). In the Huitu Sanjiao yuanliu soushen daquan, a Ming Dynasty collection of illustrations of popular deities and immortals, it is written: The Rain Master God is a Shangyang. She Shangyang is a mythical bird, one of its foot is mutable in size. It can drink the oceans dry. He is the God of Rain. In the Jin Dynasty book “In Search of the Sacred (Soushengji): Master Red Pine was a master of rain during the time of the God of Agriculture. In the Ching Dynasty book Jishuo quanzhen, it is written: the raven-bearded strong man holds a vessel in his left hand that contains a dragon, while his right hand gestures to sprinkle water. He is called Heavenly Lord Chen, the Rain Master. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month♦



Lin Muo Niang is the secular name of the Sacred Mother of Heaven. A native of Meizhou Island in Putian County, Xinghua Prefecture in Fujian Province, she often revealed her divinity by flying over the seas to save mortals. To memorialize her gracious deeds, the people of Meizhou constructed temples to worship her and honored her with the title “A Woman of Spirituality and Virtue.” In winter of the 25th year of the Emperor Gaozong of Song’s Shaoxing Era, she was given the title of “Lady Chonggu” by imperial decree, and established by later dynasties as imperial consort, heavenly consort, heavenly empress, and the Sacred Mother of Heaven with 24 lives. In many regions in Taiwan, the Sacred Mother is known as “Mazu.”

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the same day as the Sacred Mother of Heaven ♦

A guardian deity guarding the throne of the Sacred Mother of Heaven, Qianliyan has a blue face, and fangs. He assists Mazu in keeping watch for crises among mortals across great distances. 

♦Sacred birth celebrated on the same day as the Sacred Mother of Heaven♦

A guardian deity guarding the throne of the Sacred Mother of Heaven, Shunfeng’er has a rubicund face and fangs, his ears listen for the pleas from the mortal realm that are carried in the wind.