What are the classifications of gods?

What are the classifications of "God"?

The interpretation of "God" in Shuo Wen Jie Zi is: "God leads to all things." This is the original meaning of God.

Myths and legends are a very important part of China's traditional culture. Generally, it is created orally or in writing by the people's collective, showing the worship of super power, the pursuit of ideals and the understanding and imagination of cultural phenomena. They belong to the category of folk literature, are special social ideologies, and are highly philosophical and artistic.

For thousands of years, it has been the immortal creative source of literati and folk artists, and has a far-reaching impact on future generations.

China myth system can be roughly divided into: ancient myths, Taoist myths, Buddhist myths, Confucian myths, literary myths and so on.

ancient myth

China's ancient myths in a narrow sense refer to the myths and legends from Xia Dynasty to ancient times in China, and also include the myths from Xia Dynasty to Han Dynasty in a broad sense.

Because there was no direct written record at that time in ancient times, the events or characters that happened at that time could not be directly verified, and they were generally passed on by word of mouth.

A large number of ancient myths and stories are recorded in classic books such as Shan Hai Jing, Huai Nan Zi and Yi Shu Ji. Such as: Pangu opened the sky, Nu Wa created man, Zhuolu battle, Jingwei reclamation, Kuafu chasing the sun and so on. In ancient mythology, Pangu and Nu Wa were both creation gods, generally recognized as the highest god Pangu, and Nu Wa was the ancestor of human beings.

Taoist myth

Taoism is a traditional religion in China and a mythological system that many people are most familiar with. Now, all kinds of myth systems take Taoist myth as the core of China's myth system.

The immortal system of Taoism is very complicated, which has transformed countless ancient myths, including "Sanqing, Four Religions, Five Old and Six Divisions, Seven Yuan, Eight Extremes, Nine Prostitutes and Ten Capitals" and other gods, which are divided into Ba Shen, among which Sanqing Tianzun is the highest god of Taoism.

Buddhist mythology

Buddhism, one of the three major religions in the world, was founded in ancient India. Since its introduction into China, autobiography has spread widely, and combined with China culture, it has had a great influence on later cultures.

The founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni, is the highest god of Buddhism, which is what we call Tathagata.

Confucian mythology

Confucianism originated in China. Based on the ritual system of the five religions in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the ancestors described Yao and Shun, mapped civil and military affairs, and established religion with poems, books, rites and music, and Yi Chunqiu.

The creator of Confucianism is the god, the highest god of all dynasties and Confucianism, representing or being equal to heaven.

Literary myth

The emergence of myth has a great influence on later literature, and it is the immortal creative source of literati and folk artists for thousands of years.

Among them, The Journey to the West and The Romance of Gods are the most famous. Among them, the highest god is different. For example, in The Romance of Gods, Hong Jun's bodhi old zu is regarded as the highest god, and there are three disciples under his name, namely Taishang Laojun, Yuanshi Tianzun and Hetian Tongzu. Together, it is "Sanqing".

In The Journey to the West, Sanqing is the highest god, the Jade Emperor is the Lord of the Three Realms, and the old gentleman on the throne is his subordinate.

For example, Sun God, Moon God, Mountain God, Hebo and so on. This should be a remnant of primitive worship. "Zhuangzi. "Happy Travel" said: The mountain in the dark, living in spirit, skin like ice and snow, like a virgin, not eating grains, sucking wind and drinking dew.

The largest number of gods, that is, ghosts and gods, are usually recommended as gods by worshippers or believers after death, or officially canonized as gods. For example, Wu Zixu is regarded as the Qiantang God. The novel The Legend of the Immortal is about this kind of immortal.

In a serial studio, he was named as a city god after his death, and there are countless land gods.