Shuixian Zunwang

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Shuixian Zunwang
Hanyu Pinyin
Shuǐxiān Zūnwáng
Wade–GilesShui-hsien Tsun-wang
The main altar of the water immortal temple in Tainan on Taiwan.
Anping Tianhou Temple
in Tainan.
A shrine to the five kings in the Grand Matsu Temple in Tainan.

The Shuixian Zunwang are five

water
and sea deities. They have various names in English including the Honorable Water Immortal Kings and the Lords of the Water. All five deities were formerly famous heroes and are related to water in certain ways. They are also believed to protect vessels in transit.

Names

The Chinese title Shuǐxiān Zūnwáng is variously translated into English as the Honorable Water Immortal Kings,[1] the Illustrious, Revered,[2] or Eminent Kings of the Water Immortals,[3] the Noble King Water Spirits,[4] the Shuexian Deities,[5] the Five Water-Gods,[2] and the Gods of the Waters.[4]

The head of the five is

Chinese myth,[5] which may have preserved aspects of the Yellow River's massive flooding c. 1920 BCE. As Chinese generally fails to distinguish between singular and plural nouns, zūnwáng is sometimes considered to refer to a single Illustrious King. In such cases, it is usually identified with Yu alone.[3]

The existence of a quintet of gods, however, is thought to derive from a misunderstanding of Wu Zixu's surname 伍 (p Wǔ) as intending its usual sense as a synonym for the Chinese word for "five" (五, p wǔ) in its appearance in his divine title "King Wu" (伍王, p Wǔwáng).[1] However, there are several water deities apart from Wu.

waterwheel.[5]

Han beside the Wu River in Anhui in 202 BC. He is usually said to have slit his throat and had his body torn to pieces by his enemies, but he became regarded as a water deity from a separate legend that his body miraculously remained standing in the waters of the Wu after his suicide.[5]

Duanwu by various the traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival, although some believe this to have been a misplaced bit of Wu Zixu's legacy.[10]

The fifth figure variously appears as "King" Ao (奡王, Àowáng)[5] or as the inventor Lu Ban.[1]

The "King" Ao—literally the "Arrogant King"—is the

King Shaokang.[5]

square, the planer, the drill, the shovel, and an ink marking tool—to complete his many projects more quickly.[17]

A temple of the water immortals in Wuxi on the mainland, preserved as a museum.

History

Statue of Shuixian Zunwang at Bangka Lungshan Temple, Taipei.

The worship of the Shuixian Zunwang as a quintet of

Taiwan and moved from a base at Xiamen to the area around Tainan, which they ruled as the Kingdom of Tungning. They appear to have been responsible for the introduction of the worship of Fujian's five kings there.[1]

Worship

Bengang Shuixian Temple in Chiayi County, Taiwan

The Shuixian Zunwang are worshipped as protectors of ships in transit.[5] A shrine in their honor was included on most Taiwanese vessels during the imperial era; even today, most Taiwanese harbors include temples to them.[1] There are shrines dedicated to the deities in many Mazu temples.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Huang A-yu (December 2010), "臺灣水仙尊王崇祀之溯源 [Táiwān Shuǐxiān Zūnwáng Chóngsì zhī Sùyuán, Tracing the Worship of the Honorable Water Immortal Kings]", 人文研究期刊 [Rénwén Yánjiū Qīkān, Humanities Periodical], No. 8, pp. 81–112. (in Chinese) & (in English)
  2. ^ a b Studies in Central and East Asian Religions, Vols. 12–13, Copenhagen: Seminar for Buddhist Studies, 1996, p. 115.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781438106489
    .
  4. ^ a b Taiwan Literature, English translation series, Santa Barbara: University of California Forum for the Study of World Literatures in Chinese, 1999, p. 62.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Shuexian Deities", Official site, Tainan: Grand Matsu Temple, 2007. (in Chinese) & (in English)
  6. Ch. 66, Biography 6
    . (in Chinese)
  7. ISBN 9780231528511{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )    .
  8. ^ a b Records of the Grand Historian,[6] cited in Nienhauser.[7]
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780674007826
    .
  10. ^ a b c "Legend for Wu Zixu", eBeijing, Beijing: Beijing Foreign Affairs Information Center, archived from the original on 13 August 2010, retrieved 15 December 2016. (in Chinese) & (in English)
  11. ^ Lee, L.F. (1995), "Chu Yuan", Dragon Boat!, Taipei: NTNU's Mandarin Training Center, archived from the original on 2009-04-17{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).
  12. ISBN 9789629371401
    .
  13. ISBN 9789622095014
    .
  14. ^ The Zuo Zhuan, translated in Selby.[13]
  15. ISBN 9781438442846
    .
  16. ^ a b Bamboo Annals.
  17. ISBN 9781402064609
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shuixian_Zunwang&oldid=1197390513"