Chinese folk religion

===Theory of hierarchy and divinity===
{{Further|Chinese gods and immortals}}
Chinese religions are [[polytheism|polytheistic]], meaning that many deities are worshipped as part of what has been defined as ''yǔzhòu shénlùn'' ({{lang-zh|宇宙神論}}), translated as "[[Pantheism|cosmotheism]]", a worldview in which divinity is inherent to the world itself.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 71"/> The gods (''[[shen (Chinese religion)|shen]]'' {{lang-zh|神}}; "growth", "beings that give birth"<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 63">Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 63</ref>) are interwoven energies or principles that generate phenomena which reveal or reproduce the way of Heaven, that is to say the order (''[[li (Confucianism)|li]]'') of the Greatnine(''[[Tian]]'').{{refn|group=note|name=names of Heaven}}

In Chinese tradition, there is not a clear distinction between the gods and their physical body or bodies (from stars to trees and animals);{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} the qualitative difference between the two seems not to have ever been emphasised.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} Rather, the disparity is said to be more quantitative than qualitative.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} In doctrinal terms, the Chinese view of gods is related to the understanding of ''[[qi]]'', the life force,{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} as the gods and their phenomenal productions are manifestations of it.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} In this way, all natural bodies are believed to be able to attain supernatural attributes by acting according to the universal oneness.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} Meanwhile, acting wickedly (that is to say against the Tian and its order) brings to disgrace and disaster.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=165}}

In folk religions, gods (''shen'') and immortals (''[[xian (Taoism)|xian]]'' {{lang-zh|仙}}) are not specifically distinguished from each other.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=161}} Gods can incarnate in human form and human beings can reach immortality, which means to attain higher spirituality, since all the spiritual principles (gods) are begotten of the primordial ''qi'' before any physical manifestation.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=159}}

In the ''[[Doctrine of the Mean]]'', one of the Confucian four books, the ''[[zhenren]]'' (wise) is the man who has achieved a spiritual status developing his true sincere nature.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=162}} This status, in turn, enables him to fully develop the true nature of others and of all things.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=162}} The sage is able to "assist the transforming and nourishing process of Heaven and Earth", forming a trinity (三才 ''Sāncái'', the "Three Powers") with them.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=162}} In other words, in the Chinese tradition humans are or can be the medium between Heaven and Earth, and have the role of completing what had been initiated.{{refn|group=note|name=Sancai}}

Taoist schools in particular espouse an explicit spiritual pathway which pushes the earthly beings to the edge of eternity.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=164}} Since the human body is a microcosm, enlivened by the universal order of yin and yang like the whole cosmos, the means of immortality can be found within oneself.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=164}}

Among those worshipped as immortal heroes (''xian'', exalted beings) are historical individuals distinguished for their worth or bravery, those who taught crafts to others and formed societies establishing the order of Heaven, ancestors or progenitors (''zu'' {{lang-zh|祖}}), and the creators of a spiritual tradition.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|pp=162, 165}}<ref>Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 38: ''Xian'' are described as individuals who achieve mastery of the way of Heaven and emulate it.</ref> The concept of "human divinity" is not self-contradictory, as there is no unbridgeable gap between the two realms; rather, the divine and the human are mutually contained.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=162}}

In comparison with gods of an environmental nature, who tend to remain stable throughout human experience and history, individual human deities change in time. Some endure for centuries, while others remain localised cults, or vanish after a short time.{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=158}} Immortal beings are conceived as "constellations of [[qi]]", which is so vibrant in certain historical individuals that, upon the person's death, this ''qi'' nexus does not dissipate but persists, and is reinforced by living people's worship.<ref name="Barnett">Raymond Barnett. ''Relax, You're Already Home: Everyday Taoist Habits For A Richer Life''. J. P. Tarcher, 2004. {{ISBN|1585423661}}</ref> The energetic power of a god is thought to reverberate on the worshipers influencing their fortune.<ref name="Barnett"/>

====Deities and immortals====
{{Further|Yellow God incarnation theology}}
[[File:Doumu altar and statue at the Doumugong of Butterworth, Penang.jpg|thumb|Main altar and statue of [[Doumu]] inside the Temple of Doumu in [[Butterworth, Penang]], [[Malaysia]].]]
[[File:炎黄二帝巨型塑像正面视角.JPG|thumb|Statue and ceremonial complex of the Yellow and Red Gods, from whom the [[Han Chinese]] are [[Yan Huang Zisun|said to be the descendants]], in [[Zhengzhou]], [[Henan]].]]
Gods and immortals (collectively {{lang-zh|神仙}} ''shénxiān'') in the Chinese cultural tradition reflect a hierarchical, [[multiperspectivity|multiperspective]] experience of divinity.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 63"/> In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between {{lang-zh|神}} ''shén'', {{lang-zh|帝}} ''dì'' and {{lang-zh|仙}} ''xiān''. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity", Latin ''[[genius (mythology)|genius]]'' (meaning a generative principle, "spirit") and ''[[deus]]'' or ''divus''; ''dì'', sometimes translated as "[[:wiktionary:thearch|thearch]]", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power.{{refn|group=note|The term "thearch" is from Greek ''theos'' ("deity"), with ''[[arche]]'' ("principle", "origin"), thus meaning "divine principle", "divine origin". In sinology it has been used to designate the incarnated gods who, according to Chinese tradition, sustain the world order and originated China. It is one of the alternating translations of {{lang-zh|帝}} ''dì'', together with "emperor" and "god".{{sfnb|Pregadio|2013|p=504, vol. 2 A-L|ps=: Each sector of heaven (the four points of the compass and the center) was personified by a ''di'' {{lang-zh|帝}} (a term which indicates not only an emperor but also an ancestral "thearch" and "god").}}}}{{sfnb|Medhurst|1847|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kw1gAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA260 260]}} It is etymologically and figuratively analogous to the concept of ''di'' as the base of a fruit, which falls and produces other fruits. This analogy is attested in the ''[[Shuowen jiezi]]'' explaining "deity" as "what faces the base of a melon fruit".{{sfnb|Zhao|2012|p=51}}

Many classical books have lists and hierarchies of gods and immortals, among which the "Completed Record of Deities and Immortals" ({{lang-zh|神仙通鑒}} ''Shénxiān tōngjiàn'') of the [[Ming dynasty]],{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=159}} and the "[[Biographies of Deities and Immortals]]" ({{lang-zh|神仙傳}} ''Shénxiān zhuán'') by [[Ge Hong]] (284–343).{{sfnp|Yao|2010|p=161}} There's also the older ''[[Liexian zhuan]]'' ({{lang-zh|列仙傳}} "Collected Biographies of Immortals").

There are the great cosmic gods representing the first principle in its unmanifested state or its creative order—[[Jade Emperor|Yudi]] ({{lang-zh|玉帝}} "Jade Deity"){{refn|group=note|name=king-emperor-shaman-axis}} and [[Doumu]] ({{lang-zh|斗母}} "Mother of the Meaning" or "Great Chariot"), [[Pangu]] ({{lang-zh|盤古}}, the [[macranthropy|macranthropic]] metaphor of the cosmos), [[Xiwangmu]] ({{lang-zh|西王母}} "Queen Mother of the West") and [[Dongwanggong]] ({{lang-zh|東王公}} "King Duke of the East") who personificate respectively the yin and the yang,{{sfnb|Fowler|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9wi-ZDdmaqEC&q=Xiwangmu 206–207]}} as well as the dimensional Three Patrons and the [[Wufang Shangdi|Five Deities]]; then there are the sky and weather gods, the scenery gods,  the vegetal and animal gods, and gods of human virtues and crafts.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 71"/> These are interpreted in different ways in Taoism and [[Chinese salvationist religions|folk sects]], the former conferring them long [[kataphatic]] names.<ref name="Lu, Gong. 2014. p. 71"/> Below the great deities, there is the unquantifiable number of gods of nature, as every phenomena have or are gods.

The Three Patrons ({{lang-zh|三皇}} ''Sānhuáng'')—[[Fuxi]], [[Nüwa]] and [[Shennong]]—are the "vertical" manifestation of the primordial God corresponding to the Three Realms ({{lang-zh|三界}} ''Sānjiè''), representing the yin and yang and the medium between them, that is the human being.<ref>''Journal of Chinese Religions'', 24–25, 1996. p. 6</ref>

The Five Deities ({{lang-zh|五帝}} ''Wǔdì'') or "Five Forms of the Highest Deity" ({{lang-zh|五方上帝}} ''Wǔfāng Shàngdì'')—the Yellow, Green or Blue, [[Heidi (god)|Black]], Red and White Deities{{sfnb|Medhurst|1847|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kw1gAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA260 260]}}—are the five "horizontal" manifestations of the primordial God and according with the Three Realms they have a celestial, a terrestrial and a chthonic form.{{refn|group=note|The natural order emanating from the primordial God (Tian-Shangdi) inscribing and designing worlds as ''tán'' {{lang-zh|壇}}, "altar", the Chinese concept equivalent of the Indian ''[[mandala]]''. The traditional Chinese religious cosmology shows Huangdi, embodiment of Shangdi, as the hub of the universe and the Wudi (four gods of the directions and the seasons) as his emanations. The diagram illustrated above is based on the ''[[Huainanzi]]''.{{sfnb|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|p=121}}}} They correspond to the [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|five phases of creation]], the [[Four Symbols (China)|five constellations rotating around the celestial pole]], the [[Sacred Mountains of China|five sacred mountains]] and the five directions of space (the four [[cardinal direction]]s and the centre), and the five Dragon Gods ({{lang-zh|龍神}} ''Lóngshén'') which represent their mounts, that is to say the chthonic forces they preside over.{{sfnb|Little|Eichman|2000|p=250|ps=. It describes a [[Ming dynasty]] painting representing (among other figures) the Wudi: "In the foreground are the gods of the Five Directions, dressed as emperors of high antiquity, holding tablets of rank in front of them.&nbsp;... These gods are significant because they reflect the cosmic structure of the world, in which ''yin'', ''yang'' and the Five Phases (Elements) are in balance. They predate religious Taoism, and may have originated as chthonic gods of the Neolithic period. Governing all directions (east, south, west, north and center), they correspond not only to the Five Elements, but to the seasons, the Five Sacred Peaks, the Five Planets, and zodiac symbols as well."}}{{sfnb|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=87lvBoFi8A0C&q=Huangdi 120–123]}}

The [[Yellow God]] ({{lang-zh|黃神}} ''Huángshén'') or "Yellow God of the [[Big Dipper|Northern Dipper]]" ({{lang-zh|黃神北斗}} ''Huángshén Běidǒu''{{refn|group=note|A {{lang-zh|斗}} ''dǒu'' in Chinese is an entire semantic field meaning the shape of a "dipper", as the [[Big Dipper]] ({{lang-zh|北斗}} ''Běidǒu''), or a "cup", signifying a "whirl", and also has martial connotations meaning "fight", "struggle", "battle".}}) is of peculiar importance, as he is a form of the universal God ([[Chinese theology|Tian or Shangdi]]){{sfnb|Lagerwey|Kalinowski|2008|p=1080}}{{sfnb|Pregadio|2013|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=R3Sp6TfzhpIC&q=Huangdi 504–505], vol. 2 A-L}} symbolising the ''[[axis mundi]]'' ([[Kunlun Mountain (mythology)|Kunlun]]), or the intersection between the Three Patrons and the Five Deities, that is the center of the cosmos.{{sfnb|Fowler|2005|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9wi-ZDdmaqEC&q=Huangdi 200–201]}} He is therefore described in the ''[[Shizi (book)|Shizi]]'' as the "Yellow Emperor with Four Faces" ({{lang-zh|黃帝四面}} ''Huángdì Sìmiàn'').{{sfnb|Sun|Kistemaker|1997|p=120}} His human incarnation, the "Yellow Emperor (or Deity) of the Mysterious Origin" ({{lang-zh|軒轅黃帝}} ''Xuānyuán Huángdì''), is said to be the creator of the ''[[Huaxia]]'' civility, of marriage and morality, language and lineage, and [[Yan Huang Zisun|patriarch of all the Chinese]] together with the Red Deity.{{sfnb|Chamberlain|2009|p=222}} Xuanyuan was the fruit of virginal birth, as his mother Fubao conceived him as she was aroused, while walking in the country, by a lightning from the Big Dipper.<ref>Yves Bonnefoy,  ''Asian Mythologies''. University of Chicago Press, 1993. {{ISBN|0226064565}}. p. 246</ref>

====Mother goddess worship====
[[File:碧霞祠.jpg|thumb|Shrine of Bixia at [[Mount Tai]], [[Shandong]].]]
The worship of [[mother goddess]]es for the cultivation of offspring is present all over China, but predominantly in northern provinces. There are nine main goddesses, and all of them tend to be considered as manifestations or attendant forces of a singular goddess identified variously as Bixia ({{lang-zh|碧霞}} "Blue Dawn"), the daughter or female consort of the Green God of Mount Tai, or [[Houtu]] ({{lang-zh|后土}} the "Queen of the Earth").<ref name="Jones, 2013. pp. 166-167">Jones, 2013. pp. 166–167</ref> Bixia herself is identified by Taoists as the more ancient goddess [[Xiwangmu]],<ref>Louis Komjathy. ''The Daoist Tradition: An Introduction''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013. {{ISBN|1441196455}}. Chapter: ''Daoist deities and pantheons''.</ref> Goddesses are commonly entitled ''mǔ'' ({{lang-zh|母}} "mother"), ''lǎomǔ'' ({{lang-zh|老母}} "old mother"), ''shèngmǔ'' ({{lang-zh|聖母}} "holy mother"), ''niángniáng'' ({{lang-zh|娘娘}} "lady"), ''nǎinai'' ({{lang-zh|奶奶}} "granny").

Altars of goddess worship are usually arranged with Bixia at the center and two goddesses at her sides, most frequently the Lady of Eyesight and the Lady of Offspring.<ref name="Wicks">Ann Elizabeth Barrott Wicks. ''Children in Chinese Art''. University of Hawaii Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0824823591}}. pp. 149–150; some goddesses are enlisted in the note 18 at p. 191</ref> A different figure but with the same astral connections as Bixia is the Qixing Niangniang ({{lang-zh|七星娘娘}} "Goddess of the Seven Stars"). There is also the cluster of the Holy Mothers of the Three Skies ({{lang-zh|三霄聖母}} ''Sanxiao Shengmu''; or "Ladies of the Three Skies", {{lang-zh|三霄娘娘}} ''Sanxiao Niangniang''), composed of ''[[Yunxiao Niangniang|Yunxiao Guniang]]'', ''[[Qiongxiao Niangniang|Qiongxiao Guniang]]'' and ''[[Bixiao Niangniang|Bixiao Guniang]]''.{{sfnb|Overmyer|2009|p=135}} In southeastern provinces the cult of [[Chen Jinggu]] ({{lang-zh|陳靖姑}}) is identified by some scholars as an emanation of the northern cult of Bixia.<ref>J. Hackin. ''Asiatic Mythology: A Detailed Description and Explanation of the Mythologies of All the Great Nations of Asia''. Asian Educational Services, 1932. {{ISBN|8120609204}}. pp. 349.350</ref>

There are other local goddesses with motherly features, including the northern Canmu ({{lang-zh|蠶母}} "Silkworm Mother") and [[Mazu (goddess)|Mazu]] ({{lang-zh|媽祖}} "Ancestral Mother"), popular in provinces along the eastern coast and in Taiwan. The title of "Queen of Heaven" ({{lang-zh|天后}} ''Tiānhòu'') is most frequently attributed to Mazu and Doumu (the cosmic goddess).