Pantheon of Daoism
The pantheon of Daoism describes the world of gods and spirits of the Daoist religion in China. The Daoist pantheon has changed constantly over time. Since the early days of Daoism, new deities have been added again and again, while others have disappeared from the pantheon. The ranking of the deities has also changed frequently, so that a fixed world of gods does not exist in Daoism.
The pantheon was seen as the imperial court of the supreme ruler Shangdi in heaven, and the Chinese imperial court was seen as a reflection of that heavenly court. The Chinese emperor determined which deities were considered Orthodox and which deities were to be worshiped at court, and therefore the pantheon could change depending on the ruler. In the late period of Taoism, popular folk deities were also included in the pantheon.
Basically, Daoist deities are seen as the embodiment of the Dao .
One of the earliest Daoist deities worshiped by the sky masters was Laozi . A later important deity was Huanglao Jun, a connection between Huangdi and Laozi. In the Daoist school of Lingbao Pai , from the 5th century onwards, the Yuanshi Tianzun , the Venerable Heaven of the early days, was especially venerated as the highest deity and personification of the Dao . Another important Daoist deity who appeared very early in Chinese history was the Queen Mother of the West . Other gods still popular today are z. B. Mazu , Doumu , the Dark Warrior and the guardian deity Wang Lingguan .
In Shangqing Daoism , Tao Hongjing later systematized a pantheon from different schools and directions of Daoism. Confucian saints such as Yao and Shun also appear in this pantheon , and emperors and historical figures of Daoism are also listed as deities. The lowest level of the pantheon is made up of demon officials (guiguan), who are seen as bureaucrats of the realms of hell .
From the reign of Emperor Huizong , Buddhist and Confucian deities or demigods, such as B. Bodhisattvas accepted into the Daoist pantheon.
A special feature of the Daoist world of gods is that there are inner deities who are associated with the human body or reside in it. These deities represent e.g. B. Yin and Yang or the five elements . Daoist meditations on these inner deities are said to lead to health, longevity and immortality.
Historical personalities who are considered gods in the pantheon of Daoism are e.g. B. the so-called immortals like Lü Dongbin and the eight immortals . Also, demons and ghosts playing in the Taoist pantheon a role, and the gods and spirits of the world is equal to the Chinese officials state as bureaucracy viewed.
Fulu , talismans and registers, contain the diagrams, lists and names of deities, spirits and demons important for ritual practice .
See also: Chinese mythology
literature
- Fabrizio Pregadio (Ed.): The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism. 2 volumes. Routledge, London et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-7007-1200-7 .