Shuixian Zunwang

Shuixian Zunwang

A temple to the Five Kings of the Water Immortals in Hsinchu, Taiwan
Chinese 水仙尊王
Literal meaning Illustrious King(s) of the Water Immortals
A shrine to the five kings in the Anping Tianhou Temple in Tainan on Taiwan.

The Shuixian Zunwang are five Taoist immortals worshipped as water and sea gods.

Names

The Chinese title Shuǐxiān Zūnwáng is variously translated into English as the Illustrious Kings of the Water Immortals and as the Shuexian Dieites.[1]

The head of the five is Yu the Great, the legendary first emperor of the Xia Dynasty in prehistoric China.[1] Within China, the Xia are now generally associated with the historical Erlitou culture along the Wei and middle Yellow Rivers, while foreign scholarship often continues to dismiss it as legendary. Yu became regarded as a water deity through his involvement with controlling the Great Flood of Chinese myth,[1] which may have preserved aspects of the Yellow River's massive flooding c. 1920 BC.

Worship

The Shuixian Zunwang are worshipped as protectors of ships in transit.[1]

See also

References

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