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Chinese Goddesses

Ba
A daughter of Heaven, in Chinese mythology. She signified drought.

Bixia Yuanjin
This Chinese Taoist Goddess is responsible for dawn and childbirth, as well as destiny. Dawn and childbirth are two concepts often, and quite understandably, linked in world mythology: the rising of the sun, the bringing of light to the earth, is equated with the child emerging from the darkness of the womb to the light of the world.

 

Ch'ang-O
Originally a woman who lived on earth and became a goddess when she drank all the water of immortality that was given to her husband by the gods as an award, thereby cheating him of that honor. She became goddess of the moon.

Chao san-Niang
Goddess of wig salesmen

Chien-Ti
A Chinese ancestral mother who accidentally swallowed a multi-colored swallow's egg and gave birth thereafter to the ancestors of the Shang dynasty.

Chih Nii
("heavenly weaver-girl") Goddess of the star Alpha in the Lyre. She is the daughter of the August Personage of Jade, for whom she wove seamless robes. When she neglected her weaving duties in favour of her husband, her father banished her to the Lyre, separated from her husband by the Milky Way with permisison to meet him once per year. Her festival was celebrated on the 7th of July.

Chih Nu
She was the daughter of Yu-huang, a Jade Emperor of China (High God of China). One day she left the heavens to bathe. While she bathed a cowherd took her clothes, after being told to do so by his ox (who is also his guardian spirit). Chih Nu was unable to return to the heavens without them so she married the cowherd. They had two children, and seven years later she found her clothes and returned to the heavens. The cowherd asked what to do and his ox told him how to get to the heavens. Chih Nu confessed that she was the wife of the cowherd and he was made immortal. The cowherd and Chih Nu became gods of two separate stars and could only meet on the seventh month of the seventh year.

Chiu T'ien Hsuan-nu
("dark maiden from the ninth heaven") A popular goddess and the protagonist of many plays. A mortal man fell in love with a picture of a beautiful girl, she came to life and married him, bearing him a daughter and then returning to the picture. She taught him the art of love and the art of fighting.
Chuang-Mu
Goddess of the bedroom.



Chun T'I
Goddess of the dawn.


Dark Maid, the
The Chinese goddess who sends the rain and snow.


Dha-shi-zhi
A female bodhisattva of Chinese Buddhism, whose name means "the Strongest". Through the power of her love she managed to break the circle of rebirth for everyone. In the heavenly paradise the souls appear before her in the shape of flowers.



Dou-mu
The Chinese goddess who supervises the register in which the life and death of each person is recorded. She is venerated by those who wish a long life and personal compassion. Her name means "Mother of the Great Wagon". Dou-mu is portrayed sitting on a lotus throne and has four heads, with three eyes in each, and eight arms -- four on each side of her body. In Taoist temples a hall is often dedicated to her. She is also venerated by Chinese Buddhists.

Eastern Mother, the
The Eastern Mother and the Western Mother were early Chinese goddesses connected with Shamanism.
Feng Po-po
The Chinese goddess of the winds, literally "Madam Wind". She is represented as an old, wrinkled woman, sitting on a tiger riding on a path made of clouds. On quiet days she placed the winds back in the bag she carries over her shoulder.

Fu-Pao
The Yellow Emperor of China was another hero with an unusual conception. His mother, Fu-Pao, sat outdoors one night watching an unearthly light play across the sky, and she became inpregnated. Her child Huang-Ti, the Yellow Emperor, gestated for two years (another common phenomenon among heroes) before his birth.

Ganomai
Originally an ancient Chinese goddess whose name, means "first mother". She was later changed into a male divinity.

Gong De Tian
The Chinese goddess of luck. In her left hand she holds a 'wish-fulfilling' pearl. With her right hand she makes a gesture of boldness. She shows many similarities with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.

He Xian-gu
(He Hsien-ku, Ho Hsien-ku) One of the Ba Xian, the Eight Immortals, and the only female among them. They acheived immortality through Taoist practices. She lived during the Tang Dynasty and spent her life as a hermit in the mountains. A spirit appeared to her in a dream when she was fourteen. He told her to grind a stone known as the "mother of clouds" into powder and eat that powder. She would then become as light as a feather and attain immortality. She followed these instructions and also vowed never to marry. Soon after she was able to fly from one mountain peak to the next, gathering fruit and berries for her mother. She herself had no longer any need of nourishment. One day the emperor summoned her to his court but she disappeared along the way and became an immortal. According to another myth she had lost her way in the mountains while gathering tea. There she met a scholar (rumored to have been Lu Dong-bin) who gave her a peach to eat. After that she never felt hungry again. She was portrayed as a girl wearing a lotus on her shoulder

Heng O
The Chinese moon goddess, symbol of the cold and dark principle yin. She tried to steal the draught of immortality from her husband, the celestial archer Shen Yi, but he caught her before she could drink all of it. The draught gave her the power to ascend to Heaven, but, since she had drunk only part of it, she only got halfway up and had to settle on the moon. Heng O is portrayed in beautiful robes with in her right hand the lunar disc, sometimes sitting on a tree-legged toad. She is the younger sister of the river god He Bo.

Hsi Wang Mu
Originally a goddess of plague and pestilence, with a human head, a tiger's teeth and a leopard's tail. She became the Taoist Mother goddess of the western paradise, a gracious goddess with a palace on Khunlun, the mountain at the far west of the Other World. A herb of immortality grew there; as well as a magical peach tree whose fruit took 3000 years to ripen; she would serve this fruit to gods and immortals at a Peach Festival. She was depicted as a beautiful woman, sometimes winged, with unkempt hair to represent her powers of sorcery.
Ji Nu
(Chi Nu) A Chinese stellar goddess.

Jian Di
(Chien Ti) Chinese ancestral mother who accidentally swallowed a multi-colored swallow's egg and gave birth thereafter to the ancestors of the Shang dynasty.

K'un
The Chinese earth mother, the Receptive, who nourishes all things and to whom all things return in the end. Her name is also that of the I-Ching trigam of three Yin (broken) lines.


Kuan-Yin

Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Her distinctly androgynous features emphasize the tao of yin and yang, the dance of opposites in balance, which creates inner peace. Kuan-Yin corresponds with Artemis, Greek goddess of field and forest, and to the healing Celtic water-goddess Sequana.

This Goddess of Compassion was the most beloved of Tibetan Buddhism's ancient deities. She exudes the equipoise to which we aspire to while immersed in our daily round, relieves suffering, heals and protects those in need, while radiating calm serenity. Kwan Yin's gentle features emphasize the Tao of yin and yang, the dance of opposites in balance, which creates inner peace.

This Goddess of Compassion was the most beloved of Tibetan Buddhism's ancient deities. She exudes the equipoise to which we aspire while immersed in our daily rounds, relieves suffering, heals and protects those in need, while radiating calm serenity. Kwan Yin's gentle features emphasize the Tao of yin and yang, the dance of opposites in balance, which creates inner peace.

Chinese Goddess of Compassion whose name means "she who hears the weeping world". Kuan-Yin was willing to keep her human form even after reaching enlightenment because of her deep concern for human life. She never turned away from anyone's cries, no matter how often she was asked for mercy and wisdom. The lotus sceptre in her right hand contains the nectar of wisdom.

After attaining enlightenment, she decided to remain in her human form until all earth's inhabitants gained enlightenment as well. Her followers exercised compassion toward all beings, never eating the flesh of any creature, and lived completely non-violent lives. She was often portrayed holding a willow branch accompanied by Lung, the celestial dragon. Lung is a beneficent creature, bringing rain for the crops in the spring. Some say that the reason the moon changes phases is because Lung slowly swallows the moon and then slowly releases it. It is a Buddhist belief that water sprinkled with a willow branch can bring purifying energy.



Lady Meng
A goddess who lives just outside the exit from Hell; responsible for preparing the Broth of Oblivion from which all reincarnating souls must drink on their way to their new incarnation. This Broth makes them forget their previous lives, their speech and their existence in Hell.




Lei-zi
(Lei-tzu) The Chinese goddess of thunder. She taught the Chinese the art of breeding silkworms. She is the consort of Huang-di.



Lo Shen
Goddess of rivers.



Ma-Ku
Goddess of springtime.

Mang Chin-I
Goddess of the womb.

Nü-gua
(Nü-kua) The Chinese creator goddess who created the first humans from yellow earth, after Heaven and Earth had separated. Since this process was too tedious and time-consuming she dipped a rope into mud and then swung it about her. Soon the earth around her was covered with lumps of mud. The handmade figurines became the wealthy and the noble; those that arose from the splashes of mud were the poor and the common.

Nü-gua is one of the most popular goddesses and is worshipped both as the intermediary between men and women, and as the goddess who grants children. She invented the whistle, instituted marriage and instructed mankind in the art of building dams and channels for irrigation. Nü-gua is also credited with the restoration of the universe after it had been devastated by the monster Gong Gong. A particular myth tells that at a certain time the cardinal points where no longer in the proper place, exposing the nine realms. Nü-gua melted colored stones to mend the azure skies, cut off the lags of a turtle to support the cardinal points, and slayed a black dragon to save the land of Qi. Another myths states that beyond the northwesters ocean there live ten ghosts who were fashioned from her bowels. Her alleged husband (and brother) is the god Fu Xi. Like her brother, the lower part of her body is portrayed as that of a dragon. When they are represented together, their tails are intertwined. She holds a compass, the symbol of Earth, and her husband holds a set square, the symbol of Heaven.

Nu Wa
Goddess of those who arrange marriages.

Pa
Goddess of drought.

Pa Cha
Goddess of grasshoppers.

Pan Jin Lian
(P'an Chin Lien) The Chinese goddess of fornication and prostitution. According to myth, she was a young widow caught making love by her brother-in-law. He killed her lover. The widow became the patroness of prostitutes, who frequently make obeisance to her as they enter their places of business.


P'an Niang
Goddess of vaccination.

Qui Gu-niang
(Ch'i Ku-niang) A daughter of the Jade Emperor, Yu-huang. She is known as the "Seventh Lady" and is venerated by all girls wanting to know whom they will marry.

Ran-deng
(Jan-teng) A Chinese beggar-woman and a future Buddha.

Sao-ch'ing Niang
Goddess of good weather.

Sheng Mu
Goddess of black magic.

Shun I Fu-jen
Goddess of famine and floods.

Sien-Tsang
Goddess of silk cultivation.

Song-zi niang-niang
(Sung-tzu niang-niang) In Chinese myth, the "Lady Who Bestows Children". She is sometimes found in the company of Zhang Xian.

T'ien Fei
Goddess of sailing.

Tian Hou
(T'ien Hou, or Tin Hau in Cantonese), literally Empress of the Sky, is a goddess said to protect fishermen. Many temples in her honor can be found along the coastline of China where there are, or were, fishing communities. Ocean goddess who rode across the sky on clouds and, with her wind servants, looked for sailors in danger. She then hastened to their rescue.

Tian-mu
(T'ien-mu) The Chinese goddess of lightning whose name means "Mother of Lightning".

Ts'an Nu
Goddess of silkworms.

Wa
A divine woman who, in ancient times, "produced the ten thousand beings through metamorphosis." It is difficult to tell from the writings about her exactly how this creator goddess populated the world.

Wang Mu Niang-Niang
A Goddess of female energy, keeper of the peaches of immortality. Her husband is the great god Yu-huang and together they have nine daughters, one in each of the nine heavens, among which the goddess Xi Wang-mu.

Weiwobo
A goddess of female energy.

Xi Hou
Goddess who gave birth to ten suns. Each morning she bathes the ten suns, and then places the one which is to light that day into a chariot drawn by dragons for the day's journey.

Xi Wang-mu
The Chinese goddess of immortality and the personification of the feminine element yin The Taoist Xi Wang-mu is referred to as the 'Royal Mother of the West', and rules over the western paradise of the immortals. She is the daughter of the god Yu-huang and her husband is Mu Gong (yang). Originally she was a terrifying tiger-woman who brought the plague, but under the influence of Taoism she became a benign goddess.

Her nine-stories palace of jade lies in the mythical Kun-lun mountains, near the Lake of Jewels. It is surrounded by a wall of over a thousand miles long and of pure gold. The male immortals reside in the right wing and the female immortals reside in the left wing of this palace. In her garden she cultivates the peach of immortality. This peach tree forms only one peach every three thousand years, which then takes another three thousand years to ripen. When it is ripe, Hsi Wang-mu invites the immortals to a feast to celebrate their birthday and to partake ot the miraculous peach which bestows another lease of immortality. She is portrayed as a young beautiful woman wearing a royal gown, sometimes riding a peacock. He favorite animal is Feng-huang, the symbol of immortality.

Xiu Wenyin
Goddess of lightning and thunder.

Yaoji
This goddess was said to have been worshiped in the form of a sacred rock at the summit of a hill called the Mount of the Sorceress. According to an old legend, a king encountered her on that hill in a dream in which she revealed not only her name but the location of a plant to be used in love magic.

Zhi-ni
(Chih-Ni) The Chinese goddess of spinners. She wove the beautiful robes worn by all the other divinities.

Zhang Xi
A creator goddess who gave birth to twelve moons.

Zhinü
A goddess of marriage and a patron of weavers.

Zisun
Goddess of weddings.

 

 
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