Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian () is a Chinese Taoist Deity popular in

Jinhua , alternately romanized as Kinhwa, is a prefecture-level city in central Zhejiang province in eastern China. It borders the provincial capital of Hangzhou to the northwest, Quzhou to the southwest, Lishui to the south, Taizhou to the east ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (; c. 328 – c. 386), a Taoist hermit from Jinhua during the

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

.Geertz, Armin W. McCutcheon, Russell T. Elliot Scott S. McCutcheon, Russell. 000(2000) Perspectives on Method and Theory in the Study of Religion. Brill Academic Publishers.

Legend

202001 Main Hall of Chisong Huang Daxian Palace

According to the text ''Self-Description of Chisongzi'' (; "Master Red Pine"), Wong Tai Sin was born Huang Chuping (Wong Cho Ping in Cantonese) in 328 in Lanxi,

province.Self-Descriptions of Chisongzi at the temple Western sources have him listed at c. 284 to 364 CE. Wong Cho Ping is said to have experienced poverty and hunger, becoming a

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, ...

when he was eight years old.Siksikyuen.
Siksikyuen
" "Bio." Retrieved on 007-04-18 He began practising

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 ...

at the age of fifteen after meeting an

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

or saintly person on Red Pine Mountain in his hometown. Legend has it that he was able to transform

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s into sheep forty years later. Wong Tai Sin later became known as the Red Pine Immortal (), after the mountain where he had his hermitage, and his birthday is celebrated on the 23rd of the eighth lunar month.

Influence in Hong Kong

Today, Sik Sik Yuen is an educational and charitable foundation that, true to Leung's origins as a healer, runs a free clinic and a number of schools and colleges. In Hong Kong, the

Wong Tai Sin Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian () is a Chinese Taoist Deity popular in Jinhua, Zhejiang, and Hong Kong with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great Immortal Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (; c. 32 ...

area and

Wong Tai Sin district Wong Tai Sin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is the only landlocked district in Hong Kong. It is located in Kowloon, and is the northernmost district in Kowloon. It borders the districts of Kwun Tong to its southeast, Ko ...

are named after the deity. There is also one MTR station that is named as

Wong Tai Sin station Wong Tai Sin () is a station on the Hong Kong MTR . It is named after the Wong Tai Sin Temple, which is managed by Taoist organisation Sik Sik Yuen. Livery The station's livery is yellow to reflect the character "Wong" in Chinese (), whic ...

. Many worshippers and tourists from all over the world visit Wong Tai Sin Temple everyday.

Education

Wong Tai Sin is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 43. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and Wong Tai Sin Government Primary School.

In popular culture

Adam Cheng Adam Cheng Siu-chow (born 24 February 1947) is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer. Career Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB ''Wuxia'' drama series based on the works ...

has the role of the TVB's tv series,

The Legend of Wong Tai Sin ''The Legend of Wong Tai Sin'' (黃大仙) is a TVB television series premiered in 1986 based on the story of Wong Tai Sin. Music Theme song "The Illumination of a Thousand World" (光照萬世) and sub theme song "Passing With the Wind" (隨風 ...

in the eighties. *

Lam Ching Ying Lam Ching-ying (; born Lam Gun-bo (); 27 December 1947 – 8 November 1997) was a Hong Kong stuntman, actor, and action director. As a practitioner of martial arts Lam starred in a number of notable films that found recognition outside Hong Kong ...

is another role for the movie of TVB's same title in 1992, depicting the life story of Wong Tai Sin.

References

External links