Goddess: The Goddess of Mercy
The deity held most dear by the Chinese everywhere is Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, who was originally the male Buddhist Bodhisattva, Avalokitsvara. This saint, whose name translated into Chinese means one who hears the cries of the world is also the patron saint of Tibetan Buddhism. Guan Yin is ofter portyayed as a madonna wearing a white veil and with a child in her arms. She is worshipped by those hoping for a child. Fishermen consider her to keep particular watch over those in peril at sea, and she is sometimes identified with Mazu, whose cult has spread out from the coastal region of south China. There are not only images of Guan Yin in temples and shrines, but also in homes and publics please; her figure has been excected in all manner of media. She is the most revered of all gods in the popular pantheon.
God: Guan Di, the God of War
Guan Di, in whose honour more than 1,600 official temples, to say nothing of countless minor shrines, were dedicated in Manchu times, was originally a kind of Ribin Hood figure, He was one of three heroes whose adventures are recounted in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a pseudo-historical account of events at the endsof the Later Han dyansty, written at the beginning of the Ming period.Guan Zhong was a native of Shanxi who was forced to flee through the pass to Shaanxi after killing an officialfor the act of sexual tyranny. There he fell in with a butcher, Zhang Fei and a pedlar of straw sandals, Liu Bei, who was to be the founder of the Shu Han dyanasty of Sichuan. In a peach orchard belonging to Zhong Fei, the three took oath of loyalty to one another and of service to the state. The story tells of their adventuring and crusading together and the virtues of Guan Zhong until in the end he was captured and eceuted by one of his opponents, Sun Chuan. The virtes of Guan Zhong were later recognised and he was awared the rank of duke posthumously by ab imperial decree in 1120, a rank whcih was upgrade to that of prince in 1128.
posted by msANNAL @ 6:43 PM
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