Cánshén (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: , "Silkworm God") or Cánwáng ( "Silkworm Ruler") is the
deity of
silkworm and
sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...
in
Chinese religion. There are two main Canshen, who are two deified mytho-historical personalities who contributed to the invention and diffusion of sericulture in
China.
* ''Cánmǔ'' (, the "Silkworm Mother"), is a goddess whose cult is related to that of
Houtu
Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tu Di ...
(the "Queen of the Earth") and to that of the Sanxiao ("Three Skies") goddesses. She is also called ''Cángū'' ( the "Silkworm Maiden
r Lady), and is identified as ''
Léizǔ'' (), the wife of
Huangdi, the deity of the centre of the cosmos and
god progenitor of all the Chinese. The worship of Canmu is typical of central-northern and eastern China.
* ''Qīngyīshén'' ( the "Bluegreen-Clad God") is the same as ''Cáncóng'' ( the "Silkworm Twig"), the first ruler and ancestor of the
Shu kingdom, and promoter of sericulture among his people. He was worshipped in
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, the modern Chinese province descending from the Shu kingdom.
See also
*
Chinese gods and immortals
Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world. The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven ('' Tian'' ), wh ...
*
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 ...
Citations
References
Sources
*
* {{cite journal , last = Fan , first = Lizhu , title = The Cult of the Silkworm Mother as a Core of Local Community Religion in a North China Village: Field Study in Zhiwuying, Boading, Hebei , journal = The China Quarterly , volume = 174 , pages = 359-372 , publisher = Cambridge University Press , date = 2003 , doi = 10.1017/S0009443903000226
Chinese deities
Sericulture
Silk production