The Chinese Pantheon (not)

© 1995-2002 Untangle Incorporated
Last Updated: Sunday February 3, 2002

There is really no fixed pantheon in Chinese Mythology. Basically different texts give different main gods and differing geneologies.

The earlier renditons, like Classics of Mountain and Seas, the more powerful and prevasive are the female gods. As has been said elsewhere, this does not mean that the worship was once matriarchal instead of patriarchal but rather a realitic protrayal of how some people have more talent that others regardles of gender. But creation and child bearing would likely by linked by many people and therefore often associated with females.

Bureaucracies are often very unrealistic and since the Confucian bureaucracy was around for millenia not just a few decades it mistook longevity with immortality. The male bureaucrats preferred Fu-Xi, Yan Di, Huang Di (Great Yellow), Shao Hao (Young Brightsky, god of light), Zhuan Xu (Fond Care, sky god), Ku (Tellquickly) and the semi-mortal trio Yao, Shun, Yu.

In the earliest texts male gods like Fu-Xi do not even appear, although as A. Birrell mentions there are 204 deities and characters mentioned in the Classics of Sky and Mountain.

In this text foremost are Jun (which means 'foremost'!) and Zhuan Xu then the females Xi-He (sun mother) who gave birth to the ten suns (one for each day of the ancient chinese week), and Xi Wang Mu (Queen Mother West [Mountains]). Xi Wang Mu sends plagues and other punishments to earth, but rules the western mountain paradise. As befitting a goddess of retribution she has wild hair, fangs of a tiger, and a panther's tale.

Then there is Chang Xi (Forever Breath) who gives birth to and nutures the 12 moons of the 12 nights of a week in the lunar calendar. Of course there is Nu Gua creator and hero and many myths.

Here is another list of most important gods from the Classic of History (which was a self admitted reworking (i.e. revision) of old and scattered myths).
Firstly there is Yao and his two daughters. He bypassed his son, and gave the premiership of heaven to Shun, his vizier. Shun in turn controlled Yu (Minister of Flood Control), Kui (Director of Music), Xi (Breath) and He (Blend) regulators of the Agricultureal Calendar for the Board of Astronomy (notice how the female god Xi-He has been transformed into two men with mior functions). Finally Shun also was the manager of Huo Ji (Fu-Xi) Minister of Agriculture.






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