About the gods worshipped in temples in Chaoshan area

Gods worshipped in Chaoshan

The Chaoshan people worship many gods and buddhas, and in addition to Buddhist temples and shrines in all counties, they also have their own gods worshipped in both urban and rural areas. Moreover, they do not worship a single Buddha or Taoist, but the Buddha and Taoist together.

The most commonly worshipped deities are: God of Xuan Tian (Heavenly God), the three righteous emperors (Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu), Master Guan, the King of Three Mountains, the Sage of Wind and Rain (in charge of the wind and the rain), the Master of Land, the Sage King of An Ji, the Master of Fortune (usually placed in stores or at home), the Lady of Compassion, the Lady of the Seven Saints, the Lady of Jisheng, the Lady of Pearls, the Lady of the Sacred Mother, the Heaven and Earth, Parent of Heaven and Earth (in front of the temple gate in the open), the Lord of Articles (in charge of knowledge), the Master of Tian Yuan (in charge of knowledge), and the Master of the Earth and Heaven. (in charge of knowledge), Tian Yuanshuai (in charge of the theater troupe), the Fire God (the god of the kiln), and the gods of the family: the Landlord (behind the door), Heaven and Earth, the God of the Stove (at the head of the stove), the Goddess of the House (at the head of the bed), the God of the Well (the God of the Well, at the edge of the well), the God of the Door, the Goddess of the Grains (in charge of the crops, at the head of the table or the bucket of rice), these deities belong to the Taoist religion, and there are also Buddhist gods, the Goddess of Mercy, and the Goddess of Mercy, the Goddess of Mercy, the Goddess of Mercy, the Goddess of Water (at the side of the river). The Water Buddha (placed by the river). These are the gods that have been commonly worshipped by the Chaoshan people since ancient times, and they can be worshipped every day by offering incense, on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, on festivals, or on the birthdays of certain gods. However, the deities worshipped in each place are not all the same, like the deities in Caowei: Master Gusheng, Master Dagong, Old Uncle Gong, Mother Goddess, Mother Pearl, Goddess Guanyin, and the deities worshipped in Chengdexiantang are: Master Sung Dafeng, Buddha Rulai and other deities and buddhas.

These gods also have their own management (blessing) range, some of them are to protect a certain city and countryside or a section of the territory of the peace of people and animals, and some of them for a certain industry or a certain type of things to protect the god, so the Chaoshan has a saying: "can sleep in the graveyard can not sleep in the temple," meaning that the ghosts of the graveyard will be treated as a guest to see the visitor, and the temple of the gods because it has a certain range of management. God because it has a certain scope of management, for outsiders are not welcome, by which is the temple of the King of Sanshan is even more can not stay. Oh! I also heard from the old generation. In fact, the Chaoshan region to worship God is not entirely feudal superstition, but also a traditional custom, because of the unique geographical location of Chaoshan, the territory is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, so long-term isolation from the outside, before the opening of the Guangzhou-Meishan Railway, there is only a 324 national highway connected to the outside and bordering the sea, the people and land, so a lot of people in order to make a living, had to leave their hometowns, to the outside of the livelihood, business, or fishing, and to stay at home people can only pray to the gods, but not to the gods. Home people can only pray to the gods to bless their loved ones outside to be safe and sound, their own care for their loved ones, thoughts of the gods on the blessing, for many years has never ended, so the temples in the Chaoshan area incense are very strong.