When is the birthday of the God of Wealth?

Every year, July 22nd of the lunar calendar is the birthday of the legendary God of Wealth.

In the eyes of China people, "God of Wealth" is a god with deep pockets who can make money. People are eager to live a good life like the God of Wealth. With all kinds of money, they will always be millionaires. Therefore, "God of Wealth" has become the goal that people yearn for and pursue. Especially those who do business worship Yujia, the god of wealth, as their ancestors and gods. In the south, all merchants' shops and doorways have statues of "God of Wealth", and exquisite shrines are brightly lit. Every year on the 22nd day of the seventh lunar month, the God of Wealth celebrates his birthday. During the Spring Festival, we not only worship our ancestors, but also worship the "God of Wealth". It seems that people want to get rich by the God of Wealth and be as rich as the God of Wealth for a long time.

There was no "God of Wealth" in ancient China, but with the continuous development of commodity economy, the God of Wealth appeared. At the same time, due to the imbalance of economic development in different regions and the differences of economic development in different times, it is reflected in the belief that there are many gods of wealth, and different times and regions have their own advantages. Generally speaking, there have been different gods of wealth in different periods of China's history. Such as: Bigan,,, Chai Rong, Wuxian God of Wealth, Yuan Daodao, the fifth son of Chen Dynasty Feng, Cai Gongcai, Hehe Xianguan, and many other names, such as Wenchang Emperor, Shen Wansan, the living God of Wealth, and the messenger of God of Wealth. As far as the universality of belief is concerned, it belongs to Wu Caishen, Hei Hu Zhao Xuantan Gong Ming and the Five Gods. Some places also worship Chai Rong, Hehe Xianguan, Wenchang Dijun and Shen Wansan, the living god of wealth.

Zhao Gongming, Marshal Zhao Xuantan of Zhao Gong, was originally a Taoist five-element god or ghost, that is, a goalkeeper posted on the gate during the Spring Festival, responsible for supervising ghosts and eliminating evil for the people. He looks like a man with a thick black beard, wearing an iron crown and holding an iron whip, passing through the black beard, so he is also called "Black Hu Tan Xuan". Legend has it that he reached the end of Nanshan in the Qin Dynasty, and Taoism honored him as the Marshal of Justice Tan Xuan. It is said that he can drive thunder and electricity, call for rain, save epidemics and diseases, eliminate diseases and disasters, and uphold justice. All lawsuits involving unjust imprisonment and money transactions can be properly harmonized. But if there is injustice, pray for it and everything will come true. Probably for this reason, Zhao Gongming became the God of Wealth. In fact, before the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Gongming was not a god of wealth. Although there are temples everywhere, it is only called Tan Xuan Temple. It is said that it is Zhao Zilong's younger brother. Due to the development of commodity economy in Ming Dynasty, the belief in God of Wealth became popular. Zhao Gongming taught people how to manage money and made them rich. It was probably at this time that he became the God of Wealth. Later, he said that he was a Muslim, and he could only worship with beef shochu, accompanied by four messengers of the God of Wealth. The establishment of Zhao Gongming's image of God of Wealth owes much to the novel Romance of the Gods in Ming Dynasty.

There was a belief in the five saints in the Song Dynasty, and then there were five signs, five connections, five roads, five thieves, five sons and five roads. There are many legends about their origin, and one of them is more credible. It is said that in the Five Dynasties, a group of robbers became sworn brothers and made a fortune by robbery. Later, their conscience found that they were sorry for not being filial. So I found a very poor old lady as my mother. She is very filial and will listen to everything she says. Since then, they have changed from evil to good, offered incense after their death, and frequently performed miracles. In the Ming Dynasty, there must be an old woman in the worship of Wu Tong, which is the holy land of these five robbers. So although there are many names, they probably all evolved from this belief. At the same time, because these five robbers are very rich and can do some good things, they are worshipped as the god of wealth.

There are also a pair of harmonious immortals, who symbolize the love between husband and wife in China mythology. I often draw two images, with a smile on my head, a lotus flower and a round frame, meaning harmony. In the past, when people held weddings, they liked to show and take photos for good luck. Some people hung them in the hall all the year round. Whoever hangs this painting will be safe thousands of miles away, so say: ten thousand times. Occasionally, it means that if you want to live at home, you should be loving and united between husband and wife, do housework together and work hard, which is a way to make money. As the saying goes, harmony between husband and wife means making money, or everything goes well at home.

The old days were also dedicated to Chai Rong. Chai Rong, namely Zhou Shizong, was born in Longgang, Xingzhou, and was adopted by Guo Wei. He was in office from 954 to 959. He reformed politics, reorganized the army, and rewarded production. He successively won fourteen states, including Houshujie and Qin Cheng, and attacked three states, including Qidan, in the north, which laid the foundation for the unification of China in the Northern Song Dynasty. The main reason for worshipping him is that he supports production, expands the territory, the world is at peace, the people can have a bumper harvest, the country can be safe and the country's economy develops. It is said that he is very capable and can make money, so he is also regarded as the god of wealth.

In the vast rural areas of our country, most farmers regard Shen Wansan as the richest god of wealth. According to legend, Jinling (now Nanjing) in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty was extremely rich, with the word Zhongrong, ranking third. The Biography of Emperor Ming Taizu's Filial Piety called it "Enriching the People and Harmony" ("Xiu" was the name of bureaucratic children and rich and powerful people at that time). He helped build a third of the capital city (Hongwumen to Shuiximen) and invited soldiers to fight. Mao wanted to kill him, and later he was exiled to Yunnan. Legend has it that he has a touch of gold and keeps a "cornucopia" at home. These are absurd superstitions. The real Shen Wansan is a fisherman. In the old days, there was a folk saying: "There are many fish in Shen Wansan in the south of the Yangtze River, and the fish are piled up like Mount Tai." One day, I hit a "cornucopia" from the river, which is inexhaustible. In fact, he made a fortune by fishing. The more fish you catch, the more money you earn. Rivers are his "cornucopia", but he mainly relies on hard work to get rich. It is recognized by society that such people respect the God of Wealth.

Some people think that Emperor Wenchang is the God of Wealth. Wenchang Emperor, also known as Wenquxing, is the god who dominates fame and fortune in China mythology. In the old society, most of them believed in Confucianism and Confucian scholars, and many schools set up shrines, which almost replaced Confucius' position. Yuan Renzong extended your life for three years (13 16), and Emperor Zitong was named "Emperor Hongren of Wenchang Lu Si, Auxiliary Yuan", and the two became one. If you study well, you will be an official, and if you are an official, you will get rich. Therefore, all the students study hard, strive for fame, and get an official position, so that officials can earn money to support people. Therefore, in the eyes of literati, Emperor Wenchang is more important than God of Wealth.

The belief in the god of wealth flourished in the Ming Dynasty, while Taoism absorbed a large number of folk shrines in the Ming Dynasty. Zhao Gongming was originally a Taoist god, and some other God of Wealth beliefs are also related to Taoism, so it is not groundless for God of Wealth beliefs to be incorporated into Taoism. It's just that the god of wealth has not become a great god of Taoism, so it is not so prominent in Taoism.