Cāngdì (蒼帝 "Green Deity" or "Green Emperor") of Dōngyuèdàdì (东岳大帝 "Great Deity of the Eastern Peak") is the manifestation of the supreme God associated with the essence of wood and spring, for which he is worshipped as the god of fertility. The Bluegreen Dragon (青龙Qīnglóng) is both his animal form and constellation, and as a human, he was Tàihào太昊 (Fu Xi).[1] His female consort is the goddess of fertility Bixia. His astral body is Jupiter.[2]
Cāngdì (蒼帝 "Green Deity" or "Green Emperor") goes by several other names, such as Cāngshén (蒼神 "Green God"), also known as Qīngdì (青帝 "Blue Deity" or "Bluegreen Deity") or Qīngshén (青神 "Bluegreen God"), and cosmologically as the Dōngdì (东帝 "East Deity") or Dōngyuèdàdì (东岳大帝 "Great Deity of the Eastern Peak").[1]
The Confucian text, the Rites of Zhou, discusses the concept of the so-called "Wufang Shangdi". The History, quoted in the Kokuyo, refers to the following: Cangdi (orQingdi), Huangdi, Heidi, Chidi, and Baidi. The names of the five emperors are not specified in the literature. The name of the Green Emperor is judged to be "Ling Wei Yang".[3]
Since ancient times, Mount Tai has been seen as a place where the spirits of the dead gather, so the god of Mount Tai was thought to be the supreme deity of the underworld and governs the lifespan and status of humans in this world.[6] In Daoism, it is often said that he is the grandson of the Jade Emperor.[6]
During the Han dynasty, Emperors performed the Feng Shan ceremony on Mount Tai.[7] At this time, the ceremony was considered highly important and completing Feng Shan allowed the emperor to receive the mandate of heaven.[8] It was started in 219 BC, by Qin Shihuang, after unifying China.[9]
Over time, the role of the Dongyue Emperor expanded, moving from a local deity to a deity associated with life and death as a whole.[5]
The ritual of the storming of the city (打城) is performed in Taiwan and associated Dongyue Emperor, demonstrating this shift.[5][10]
Main hall of the Dai Temple (岱庙Dàimiào) at Mount Tai. As the major one of the Eastern Peak Temples, dedicated to the Bluegreen Deity, the spring aspect of the Highest Deity, identified with Jupiter,[11] it has been a site of fire sacrifice to Di since prehistoric times.[12] Mount Tai is the holiest of China's sacred mountains. According to mythology, it formed from Pangu's head after his body's dissection.
The Etiquette and Ceremonial notes state that Jiang Shu, a later concubine of Emperor Xuan, became pregnant when she stepped on the giant footprints of Emperor Qing and gave birth to Huji, who became the founder of the Zhou dynasty.
^Jing, Wang (1992). The Story of Stone: Intertextuality, Ancient Chinese Stone Lore, and the Stone Symbolism in Dream of the Red Chamber, Water Margin, and The Journey to the West. Durham, North Carolina: Duke Press. pp. 66–69. ISBN082231195X.
^Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Mount Taishan". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
^"打城" [Beat the city]. nrch.culture.tw. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
