Caishen
Caishen is a title more than a single god. The martial wealth god is Zhao Gongming, a Daoist marshal of the Dark Altar (Xuantan) with origins in plague-quelling, who was folded into the Ming novel Fengshen Yanyi and given the four attendants who make up the Five Directions of Wealth.
There is no single canonical Caishen: this entry covers Zhao Gongming and the civil wealth gods Bi Gan and Fan Li, who have separate cults and should not be merged in ritual. The Fengshen Yanyi is a Ming novel, not scripture, although temple liturgy follows it. Jupiter and Thursday are a Western overlay; the tradition's own timing is the fifth day of the first lunar month.
Correspondences
Offerings
- Offerings
- IncenseOrangesRice wineSweet cakesPaper ingotsA coin kept from the first saleThe first banknote of the year
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Cai ShenGod of WealthZhao GongmingZhao XuantanMarshal of the Dark Altar
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- God of WealthMarshal of the Dark AltarPerfected Lord of the Golden DragonLord of the Five Directions of Wealth
- Symbols
- Gold ingotBlack tigerCoin swordAbacusRed envelopeFive direction banner
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneBrisk courteous transactionalAddressCaishenLord of WealthZhao GongmingMarshal of the Dark AltarRelationshipA shopkeeper greeting a patron who reads the ledgerWarningWealth asked for unjustly is booked against youResonanceShopkeepers traders those opening a business at the new year
- Modern Practice
Shops keep him at the counter with oranges, incense and a red envelope, and the working form of the offering is the first coin or note taken in the new year, kept and not spent. Popular practice distinguishes the martial (business, risk) from the civil (salary, steady income) form and keeps them at separate altars.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- WealthCommerceProsperityTradeLuck in moneyProtection of shopsThe five directionsJust gain
- Mythology Summary
Caishen is a title more than a single god. The martial wealth god is Zhao Gongming, a Daoist marshal of the Dark Altar (Xuantan) with origins in plague-quelling, who was folded into the Ming novel Fengshen Yanyi and given the four attendants who make up the Five Directions of Wealth; the civil wealth god is usually Bi Gan, the loyal minister of the Shang, or Fan Li, the strategist who retired rich. He is welcomed on the fifth day of the first lunar month, when shops reopen, and his image stands at the counter with a black tiger and a heap of ingots.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsGoldRedBlackYellowScentsSandalwoodCinnamonBenzoinMetalsGoldBronzeCopperAnimalsTigerToadHorse
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Referenced by 6
Every entry that names Caishen, grouped by the system it comes from.
☥ Deities 6
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- Guan Yu Related Deities
- Ebisu Related Deities
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