Caishen () is the
mythological figure
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
worshipped in the
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
and
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
. He has been identified with many historical figures, viewed as his embodied forms, among whom Zhao Gongming (,
Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...
: ''Chao Kung-ming''; also known as Zhao Gong
Yuanshuai
() was a Chinese military rank that corresponds to a marshal in other nations. It was given to distinguished generals during China's dynastic and republican periods. A higher level rank of '' Dayuanshuai'' (), which corresponds to '' generali ...
"Lord Zhao the Marshal"),
Fan Li
Fan Li () from the Spring and Autumn period, was an ancient Chinese military strategist, politician, and businessman. Fàn Li was an important political and military advisor to Goujian, the king of Yue. He later was known as Tao Zhu Gong (陶 ...
, and
Bi Gan.
['']Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
''
"Ts'ai Shen"
/ref> A large temple of Caishen has been built in the 2000s in Zhouzhi, Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
.
Caishen's name is often invoked during the Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...
celebrations. He is often depicted riding a black tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...
and holding a golden rod. He may also be depicted with an iron tool capable of turning stone and iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...
into gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
.
Historical personages
Several versions of Caishen's incarnations' political affiliation and way of deification are circulated. It is unclear whether they are genuine historical figures, though most of the stories agree that Caishen's most popular incarnation lived during the early Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
. Most probably it represents the merging of several heterogeneous legends, the one of Bi Gan being the most ancient.
Legend has it that Bi Gan had a wife with the surname Chen. His son was Quan (). After Bi Gan was put to death by his nephew King Zhou of Shang
King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse c ...
, Bi Gan's wife and son escaped into the woods. His death eventually marked the collapse of the Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...
. Later on, Quan was honoured as the ancestor of all Lins by King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC.
King Wu's ancestral name was ...
.
Notwithstanding the above, there is another legendary character of the Chinese God of Wealth which is generally known as Caibo Xingjun () amongst Chinese communities. Li Guizu () was born in the Zichuan District
The Zichuan District () is one of eight divisions within the city of Zibo in the Chinese province of Shandong. As the largest district of Zibo, it is composed of an urban area of over 23 square kilometers, in Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in His ...
Province and held position as a country magistrate. Li Guizu contributed significantly to the district, whilst people built a temple to worship Li Guizu after his death. The late Li Guizu was then conferred the title Caibo Xingjun by the Wude Emperor of Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
.
The Caishen of all directions
Caishen sometimes appears as a door god
Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu ( ) and Yulü () under the ...
in Chinese and Taoist temple
A Taoist temple (, also called ''dàoguàn'' and , is a place where the Tao is observed and cultivated it is a place of worship in Taoism.
Structure and function can vary according to the Taoist school the temple belongs to. For example, ''guà ...
s, usually in partnership with the Burning-Lamp Taoist
Randeng Daoren () is a character in the famed classic Chinese novel '' Fengshen Yanyi''. He was renowned as the Superiorman of Mount Condor, Intuition Cave. His role originated from Dipankara Buddha of Buddhist lore, who was a past enlightened bein ...
.
Buddhism
Though Caishen is a Chinese folk deity, many Pure Land Buddhists venerate him as a buddha. In esoteric Buddhist schools he is identified as Jambhala Jambhala (also known as Dzambhala, Dzambala, Zambala or Jambala) is the God of Fortune and Wealth and appropriately a member of the Jewel Family (see Ratnasambhava). He is sometimes equated with the Hindu deity Kubera. Jambhala is also believed t ...
.
Notes
External links
* {{commonscat-inline, God of Wealth
Chinese gods
Fortune gods
Holiday characters
Deified Chinese people