Taoism is the indigenous religion of the mainland, who is its supreme goddess?
Taoism is a native Chinese religion, with "Tao" as the highest belief, and the Taoist system of gods and immortals is more complex, and there are many gods. Among them are one mother, two saints, three qing, four imperial five elders; six divisions, seven yuan, eight poles, nine yao, ten gods and other gods.
The Queen Mother Niangniang is the immortal goddess in ancient Chinese myths and legends who is in charge of immortal medicine, punishing evil, and warning of disasters. In Taoist mythology, the Queen Mother of the West lives in the Kunlun Mountains in the West and is the leader of the female immortals, dominating yin qi, as opposed to the eastern prince, the head of the male immortals. She is the creator goddess who gives birth to all things. The ancestor of the Quanzhen Sect. After the founding of Taoism, the Queen Mother of the West was incorporated into the divine system and became the supreme goddess of Taoism.
Due to the influence of some divine and demonic film and television works, many people mistakenly believe that the Taoist immortal West Queen Mother is a husband and sister with the Jade Emperor God, or even a mother-son relationship, but the West Queen Mother is not the spouse, sister or mother of the Jade Emperor God.
The Queen Mother of the West, also known as the Golden Mother of Yaochi and the Golden Mother of Yuanjun in Taoism, is known as "Great Compassion and Great Wish Great Sage Great Compassion Great Mercy Wuji Yaochi Great Sage Nine Lights Tai Miao GuiTai West King Golden Mother Great Heavenly Dignity", folk referred to as The Queen Mother Niangniang or Golden Mother.
The image of the West Queen Mother in the version of the Classic of Mountains and Seas is: "The West Queen Mother is like a human, a leopard-tailed tiger with tiger teeth and a good whistle, a fluffy hair and a victory, and is the strength of Si Tianzhi and the five remnants." This means that the Queen Mother of the West looks like a human, with a leopard tail and tiger teeth, will roar and roar in a voice like a beast, with her hair scattered, and wear this headdress, and is the god sent by heaven to control plague, disease, death and torture, living in the jade mountain.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Taoism arose, incorporating the Western Queen Mother as an ancient ancestor god into the Taoist mythological system, and gradually evolved into a noble goddess. In many later ancient Chinese writings, she began to become an emperor in the heavens, the god of human happiness and longevity, and it is also said that she possessed a miracle medicine that could make people immortal, and the famous moon fairy Chang'e flew to the moon because she ate her magic medicine.
Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty referred to her in the Book of Pillows as the daughter born after the Yuanshi Heavenly King and the Lady of Taixuan were breathing and sperm, and the "Queen Mother of the Taizhen West" was the Lady of the Western Han Dynasty, "the immortals who ruled the group were immeasurable". Later, volume 222 of the Ancient and Modern Book Integration divine heterogeneity also claimed that she was incarnated from the "Xihua Zhi miao qi", "born and flying, with the main Yu Shen Yuan Ao in the burial, divided into the mellow qi of the dao, and formed into qi". The essence of the Taiyin, the Sect of the Immortals, matches the essence of the sun, the Prince of the East, "to manage the two qi together, and to nurture the heavens and the earth, tao jun all things" . Heaven and heaven, the Three Realms and Ten Directions, the woman who ascends to the Immortal Path, xian is subordinate. All those who have become immortals in the world and enter the heavenly court must "first see the Queen Mother of the West, and then the Prince of the East", and then they can enter the Three Qing Realms and meet the Yuan Shi Tianzun.
It is said that the Yellow Emperor was furious with You, and Xian did not forbid it, and when the Yellow Emperor returned to the top of the Taishan Mountain, the Queen Mother sent emissaries to give him the true charm of guang three inches, one foot long, green as jade, and Dan blood as the true charm of the text, and cut his strategic secret: "Taiyi is in front, Tianyi is in the back, the winner wins, and the battle is overcome." And ordered the Nine Heavenly Xuan Daughters to teach the Yellow Emperor the Three Palaces and Five Meanings, the Strategy of Yin and Yang, the Art of Taiyi's Six Steps, the Opportunity of Yin Runes, and the Five Charms of Lingbao. After the Yellow Emperor carefully studied the art of Xuanzi, Sui Kexuan was especially in the Central Plains. When Yu Shun took the throne of Zuo Yao, the Queen Mother sent an envoy to grant Shun the Jade Ring. After Shun ascended the throne, he also gave Shun a map of Shenzhou, so that Shun jian made meritorious achievements. On the basis of the Territory of the Yellow Emperor jiuzhou, the territory was expanded to twelve thirty. At this time, the Queen Mother also sent envoys to present Shun with an elegant musical instrument, the white jade pipe, which Shun blew and the eight winds.
During the Wei Dynasty, Cao Zhi wrote the "Immortal Chapter" to praise the day: "East over the Queen Mother's Lu, overlooking the Five Mountains." This "Queen Mother Lu" is the Queen Mother Pond at the foot of Mount Tai in present-day Shandong Province, which was called Yao Pond during the Tang Dynasty. According to reports, the Queen Mother once gathered a group of immortals in the Taishan Queen Mother Pond, so she later created a Taoist temple to be sacrificed, and the Sui Dynasty Li Chen had a literary day: the former Yellow Emperor built the Dai Yue Temple, sent seven jade women, yun crown feather clothes, and cultivated incense to welcome the queen mother.
In addition, the content of worshipping the Queen Mother of the West is also reflected in the murals of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.
In the minds of the world, the Queen Mother of the West is the fairy who reconciles yin and yang, summons all souls, and unifies the true saints, "if looming, transporting the lark and getting to the present". There are "three thousand handmaidens, playing the yuan music of the sheng spring, the centennial peach, and the spiritual garden of the golden and green". Its divine might makes "the ten high saints support it, and the Nine Immortals really plan and act together." Such a high level of immortality will of course win universal respect and belief.
According to the "Complete Biography of the Immortals", she was condensed from the Qi of Xihua zhimiao in the Chaotic Dao Qi, with the position of the West, with The Kunyuan, the master of the Yin Spirit True Qi, is the supreme of Dongyin, is the leader of all the female immortals in the Three Realms, and the women in the heavens, the world, and the three realms and the ten directions of the Dao Immortals are under her jurisdiction. Its divine personality is second only to sanqing and is very noble.
According to the Taoist records, the Queen Mother of the West lived in the hanging garden on Kunlun Mountain, which was a hanging garden called "Langfeng", with a total of nine floors of jade buildings, around Yaochi on the left and Cuishui on the right. There are five daughters, named "Hualin", "Melanie", "Qing'e", "Yaoji" and "Yujie". The Queen Mother has a treasure, which is to eat the immortal peach (also known as the peach), which blooms once in three thousand years and bears fruit once in three thousand years, and can increase life expectancy by eating it. Whenever the peach is ripe, the Queen Mother will gather a group of immortals and open a birthday feast, called "Yaochi Jiqing". Therefore, the folk use the Queen Mother as a symbol of immortality.
Taoism celebrates the birth of the Queen Mother of the West on the third day of March every year, and holds a grand festival, commonly known as the "Peach Festival". The number of devotees who go to the temple to incense is particularly large, especially the women who are infertile after marriage and who have died repeatedly, who burn incense most sincerely and beg for blessings and blessings.
Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the status of the Queen Mother of the West among the folk good men and women is very high, and the influence of the Christmas celebrations of the Three Queen Mothers in early March has spread throughout China. The reason why the Queen Mother is so popular with folk beliefs is because she has the medicine of immortality, which can make people immortal, and also blesses, gives children, and eliminates disasters. For example, the Han Dynasty Jiao Yanshou's "Yi Lin" volume 1 contains: "Ji is the envoy of Yao, and the queen mother of the west is seen." Please, blessed, and give me a good son. Lead the ship, although there is no worry. The Queen Mother prays well, and misfortune does not become a disaster. ”
It is said that the birthday of the Queen Mother of the West is July 18, but every year on the third day of march, all the gods and immortals in the celestial realm will gather in Yaochi to celebrate the birthday of the Queen Mother, which is called the "Peach Society". At the same time, she often went in and out of the heavenly court to bless good men and women who lived on earth.