5 replies to this topic

[Belken]

As you can see,I have another post asking for info on chinese curses to write a fan fiction or possibly even a movie script. So were there any evil gods in Taoism?All I could dig up was this most clear cut question and answer


http://answers.yahoo...15200534AASHQfH

(I'm not the one who asked the question in that link)

[ghostexorcist]

As you can see,I have another post asking for info on chinese curses to write a fan fiction or possibly even a movie script. So were there any evil gods in Taoism?All I could dig up was this most clear cut question and answer


http://answers.yahoo...15200534AASHQfH

(I'm not the one who asked the question in that link)

Well, that depends on what you view a god as. The 2,000 year old Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas, c. 200 BCE) lists a whole host of men that went toe-to-toe with the gods, but ended up getting killed in some way. One of them, Xing Tian, was decapitated, but his nipples became his eyes and his navel, his mouth. He continued to war against the gods despite this. I guess you could call them demi-gods. I suggest getting the book A Chinese Bestiary to read about such men. A lot of gods associated with Daoism or just plain folk religion look evil because they have to fight fire with fire when dealing with evil forces. Zhong Kui is a good example of this ...

I can't recall a flat out evil god, though. No one would worship him or her. Even much feared gods like King Yama (more of a Buddhist deity) are considered part of the accepted pantheon. However, novels like Xiyouji (Journey to the West, 1592 CE) mention evil creatures that practiced Daoist arts to prolong their lives or to gain powers like flight and transformation. I think that would be your best bet.

Edited by ghostexorcist, 16 August 2011 - 07:56 AM.

[yaoguai]

As you can see,I have another post asking for info on chinese curses to write a fan fiction or possibly even a movie script. So were there any evil gods in Taoism?All I could dig up was this most clear cut question and answer


http://answers.yahoo...15200534AASHQfH

(I'm not the one who asked the question in that link)

Nice, laconic reply in the Yahoo question, but highly arguable.

五通, Wǔtōng, can be considered an evil god. Richard von Glahn has an excellent book about him, The Sinister Way: the Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture.

The 天狗, Tiāngǒu, or celestial dog, isn't necessarily a god but it's definitely godlike. It's a fiery, moving star that incinerates whatever it touches. It supposedly had followers who cut out people's livers to sacrifice to it.

旱魃, Hànbá, while not precisely evil, afflicts whole regions with drought. For an agricultural society, that was about as bad as things can get. People prayed to her to stay away.

Edited by yaoguai, 11 August 2011 - 07:20 PM.

[ghostexorcist]

五通, Wǔtōng, can be considered an evil god. Richard von Glahn has an excellent book about him, The Sinister Way: the Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture.

Thanks for mentioning that, I'll have to get that book.

[General_Zhaoyun]

As you can see,I have another post asking for info on chinese curses to write a fan fiction or possibly even a movie script. So were there any evil gods in Taoism?All I could dig up was this most clear cut question and answer


http://answers.yahoo...15200534AASHQfH

(I'm not the one who asked the question in that link)

In Taoism, deities are usually good. The evil 'higher beings' are associated with ghosts or evil spirits.

However, there is a "fierce deity 兇神" known as Taisui 太歲 (although Taoist historical research pointed out that he was in fact a protector deity). He is not necessarily "evil". In Taoism religion, if your Chinese Zodiac happens to coincide with the year of Taisui (i.e. your Zodiac year, e.g. 12, 24, 36 etc. ), it is believed that you will have clashes with the Taisui and misfortune will arrive. Most Chinese Taoist will ask the Taoist temple to carry out prayer service in order to pacify the Taisui (known as "An Tai Sui 安太歲 ").

For more info, refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taisui



Taisui

[Loong]

Is that two hands from his eye socket? It is a very enlightening picture.