Home›Chinese Deities›Theology›Polytheistic: many godsBrowse ByPolytheistic: many godsThis page groups deities by the theological framework used to describe their nature, since traditions disagree about whether a god is a distinct being, an aspect of a single divine reality, or something else again. Wikipedia describes theology as "the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity and the history behind religion." Browsing this way lets a visitor compare how differently two traditions can explain what a deity actually is.FactsLearn MorePolytheistic: many godsSourcesComments (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.Polytheistic: many godsFilter Results47 entriesPlanetary FaceAllChiron (1)Jupiter (1)Mars (1)Mercury (1)Moon (1)Neptune (1)Pluto (1)Saturn (1)Sun (1)Venus (1)Member OfAllThe Eight Immortals (8)Interpretatio OfAllApollo (1)Jupiter (1)Mars (1)Mercury (1)Saturn (1)Sukunabikona (1)Venus (1)HistoricityAllHistorically attested (4)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (15)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (28)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Hero (1)The Innocent (1)The Lover (1)The Magician (2)The Orphan (1)The Ruler (2)The Sage (1)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (45)Historically attested; no continuous cult (2)Era Attested Start YearAll-400 (1)-350 (4)-139 (3)80 (1)200 (1)220 (1)502 (1)901 (1)960 (1)1000 (1)Worshipped InAllChinese Folk Religion (27)Taoism (9)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (2)Ancestors (2)Awakening and liberation (9)Chaos and adversary (1)Childbirth (1)Commerce and wealth (2)Compassion and mercy (1)Cosmic order and truth (1)Creation and cosmogony (3)Death (1)Disease and plague (2)Earth (1)Fate and time (3)Fire (1)Fortune and luck (2)Healing and medicine (3)Hearth and domestic fire (1)Justice, law and oaths (5)Kingship and sovereignty (3)Love and desire (1)Marriage and the household (3)Moon (1)Motherhood (1)Mountains (1)Primordial being (1)Prophecy and divination (1)Protection and guardianship (8)Rain and weather (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (3)Sea and ocean (1)Seafaring and fishing (1)Stars and planets (3)Storm and thunder (1)Sun (2)The underworld (3)Trickster (1)Tutelary of a place or community (2)War and battle (4)Wisdom and counsel (1)Writing, scribes and learning (2)GenderAllCollective / plural, not a single figure (3)Female (9)Gender-fluid across the tradition (1)Male (34)PantheonAllBuddhist (1)Chinese (39)Taoist (7)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 47Baosheng DadiPolytheistic: many godsBixia YuanjunPolytheistic: many godsCaishenPolytheistic: many godsCao GuojiuPolytheistic: many godsChang ePolytheistic: many godsCity GodPolytheistic: many godsDoumuPolytheistic: many godsDragon KingPolytheistic: many godsErlang ShenPolytheistic: many godsFuxiPolytheistic: many godsGonggongPolytheistic: many godsGuan YuPolytheistic: many godsHan XiangziPolytheistic: many godsHe XianguPolytheistic: many godsHou YiPolytheistic: many godsHuangdiPolytheistic: many godsJade EmperorPolytheistic: many godsJigongPolytheistic: many godsKitchen GodPolytheistic: many godsLan CaihePolytheistic: many godsLei GongPolytheistic: many godsLi TieguaiPolytheistic: many godsLü DongbinPolytheistic: many godsMazuPolytheistic: many godsMeng PoPolytheistic: many godsNezhaPolytheistic: many godsNuwaPolytheistic: many godsPanguPolytheistic: many godsQueen Mother of the WestPolytheistic: many godsSanguan Dadi (The Three Officials)Polytheistic: many godsShennongPolytheistic: many godsTai SuiPolytheistic: many godsTaibai JinxingPolytheistic: many godsThe Eight ImmortalsPolytheistic: many godsTudigongPolytheistic: many godsWang Ye (Royal Lords)Polytheistic: many godsWenchang Wang (Wenchang Dijun)Polytheistic: many godsXihePolytheistic: many godsXuantian Shangdi (Zhenwu)Polytheistic: many godsYanluoPolytheistic: many godsYue FeiPolytheistic: many godsYue LaoPolytheistic: many godsZhang GuolaoPolytheistic: many godsZhong KuiPolytheistic: many godsZhongli QuanPolytheistic: many godsZhuanxuPolytheistic: many godsZhurongPolytheistic: many godsSources1. 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.