Home›Chinese Deities›PantheonBrowse ByPantheonThis page groups deities by the named pantheon or deity type they belong to, the specific cultural system of gods such as the Greek, Norse or Egyptian pantheon. Wikipedia defines a pantheon as "the particular set of all gods of any individual polytheistic religion, mythology, or tradition." Browsing this way lets a visitor stay inside one mythological system, or compare the same role, such as a sky god, across several pantheons at once.FactsLearn MorePantheonSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedDivine names appear in the Shang oracle-bone inscriptions of about 1250 to 1050 BCE, the earliest Chinese writing. The pantheon is documented continuously thereafter and is in worship today. 3Veneration TodayWell-attestedWorshipped today in temples, at domestic altars and at festivals across the Chinese-speaking world. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of Chinese religion taken across its parts rather than within one of them: the Taoist canonical pantheon, the deities of the imperial state cult, buddhas and bodhisattvas naturalised into popular worship, and the local and household gods of folk religion. The pantheon is ordered like a bureaucracy, with rank, office and promotion, and many of its members are deified humans. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1Learn MoreThe gods of Chinese religion This group gathers the deities of Chinese folk religion, Taoism and the state cult, a pantheon organised much like an imperial bureaucracy, with a supreme heaven, ranked officials and local gods answerable upward. Figures move between Taoist, Buddhist and popular contexts, and many are deified humans elevated for merit. The browser will find the Jade Emperor at the head of the celestial administration, the Three Pure Ones of Taoist cosmology, the Queen Mother of the West, city gods and kitchen gods, and popular protectors such as Mazu and Guan Yu. The tradition is syncretic and living, and the entries note where a figure belongs to Taoist, Buddhist or folk contexts.PantheonFilter Results3 entriesDivine HeadshipAllA single sovereign god rules the others (1)Different communities within the tradition name a different deity as supreme (1)No sovereign; the gods act as peers (1)Era of Attestation End YearAll2026 (2)Era of Attestation Start YearAll1200 BCE (1)500 BCE (1)How Mortals Enter the PantheonAllAny person may reach the state the tradition venerates, by practice rather than by grant (2)Mortals are enrolled in the celestial administration by decree (1)Membership of the PantheonAllA fixed roster, named and counted (1)Foreign gods are adopted and identified with gods already held (2)Structure of the PantheonAllA celestial bureaucracy of ranked offices, modelled on a human state (1)Many deities understood as forms of one supreme reality (2)Succession Between Divine GenerationsAllOne divine generation; no succession between generations is recorded (1)Power dissolves and is renewed on a cosmic cycle rather than inherited (1)Rank is granted, promoted or withdrawn by decree (1)The Creator and the Ruling GodsAllThe world was formed from pre-existing matter or from a slain being, with no creator god (3)Veneration TodayAllActively venerated in a living tradition (3)Show ResultsBrowseCompareBuddhistPantheon1 entryChinesePantheon40 entriesTaoistPantheon8 entriesSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. Chinese ReligionView the Source3. Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age Chinatier 1David N. Keightley, University of California Press, 1978chs. 1-2View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.