Wenchang Wang ( Chinese : 文昌王 ; pinyin : Wénchāng Wáng ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Bûn-chhiong Ông ), also known as Wenchang Dijun ( Chinese : 文昌帝君 ; pinyin : Wénchāng Dìjūn ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Bûn-chhiong Tè-kun ), is a Taoist deity in Chinese mythology , known as the God of Culture and Literature. He is also at times referred to simply as Wen Qu, or Wen. The literal translation of his name would be King ( 王 ) of Flourishing ( 昌 ) Culture/Language ( 文 ). Wenchang Wang is physically represented by a constellation of six stars near the Big Dipper . The stars all had names of their own: Shangjiang ( 上將 ), Cijiang ( 次將 ), Guixiang ( 貴相 ), Siming ( 司命 ), Sizhong ( 司中 ), and Silu ( 司祿 ). Wenchang Wang is often depicted as an elderly scholar accompanied by two attendants, Tianlong ( 天聾 or Heaven-Deaf) and Diya ( 地啞 or Earth-Mute). He sometimes holds a pen and a book that says "Heaven determines literary achievement". He has historically been called upon by scholars and writers who need inspiration or help right before an exam.
18-787: Wenchang Temple is a common name given to temples dedicated to Wenchang Wang , the Chinese deity of culture and literature. Temples with the name include: Beitun Wenchang Temple in Beitun District, Taichung, Taiwan Miaoli Wenchang Temple in Miaoli City, Miaoli County, Taiwan Jhen Wen Academy , formerly known as Wenchang Temple, in Xiluo Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan See also [ edit ] Wen Chang (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
36-527: A period of 3,000 years. A notable account of an appearance of Wenchang Wang was as the Spirit of Zitong, during the suppression of a rebellion in Chengdu , Sichuan, in 1000 A.D. A man allegedly climbed a ladder in midst of battle and declared that the Spirit of Zitong told him the "town [of rebels] would fall on the twentieth day of the ninth moon." The town fell on the day indicated, and the general in charge of repressing
54-599: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Wenchang Wang There are quite a few accounts of Wenchang Wang; most depict him as a man by the name Zhang Yazi ( 張亞子 ), of a county in Sichuan Province called Zitong . A particular account cites him as a war hero, having died an honorable death in a rebellion against Emperor Fú Jiān in 374. Other accounts of Wenchang Wang appear rather sporadically at different time periods; he has been given seventeen reincarnations over
72-603: Is located) is mainly in the south, there is a saying, "In the North there is Confucius and in the South there is Wenchang." There are also two notable temples dedicated to worshiping Wenchang Di Jun in Taichung: one is in the Beitun District of Taichung , apparently constructed in 1863 as a means of facilitating learning in the developing groups of people there. The other temple is in
90-506: Is often called upon by scholars and students for academic help. There are many different temples and shrines dedicated to worshiping Wenchang Wang, the most notable being the Wenchang temple of Zitong, located at modern-day Qiqu Mountain ( 七曲山 ). This famous mountain is both the location of the largest cypress forest in China as well as the origin of the Wenchang culture. As Sichuan (where Qiqu Mountain
108-512: Is praised for other noble virtues. The book Wenchang Emperor and the States He Stabilized states: "He descended into the mortal world seventy-three times as a shidafu " (a scholar-bureaucrat position in the emperor's government of feudal China). Wenchang was uncorrupted, upright and just, and never dealt out harsh punishments to the people. He allegedly helps people when they have hardships, saves those who are in trouble, has compassion for
126-486: Is the birthday of Wenchang. People generally celebrated his birthday by visiting his temples, the officials and scholars of the county all had to go to the Temple of Wenchang to make offerings, sacrifices or recite poems. Kui Xing Kui Xing ( Chinese : 魁星 ; pinyin : kuí xīng ; Wade–Giles : K'uei Hsing ), originally called 奎星 (also kuí xīng ), also known as 大魁夫子 "Great Master Kui" or 大魁星君 "Great Kui
144-541: Is the original name of the star in the Big Dipper located furthest from the 'handle' - Dubhe . In Daoist tradition, Kui Xing is said to have been "bent and hunchbacked, as if he were an actual calligraphy character", and came to be viewed as a saint of human fortune, particularly with regard to imperial examinations . Late Ming Dynasty scholar Gu Yan-Wu , often referred to as Gu Ting-Lin, wrote of Kui Xing in his Records of Daily[-gained] Knowledge ( 日知錄 ): "The date of
162-464: The Nantun district of Taichung, built in 1825. Both temples face south, which is apparently due to a principle of feng shui . The practice of worshiping Wenchang Wang has a long history; it was popular in the past because he was allowed to be venerated by the rich and poor alike. He is still often worshiped now for essentially the same reasons. The third day of the second month of the Chinese lunar calendar
180-651: The Star Lord", is a character in Chinese religion , the Deity of Examinations, and one of the Five Gods of Literature, Wu Wen Chang . The name 'Kui Xing' literally means "Chief Star(s)", and anciently referred to the 'spoon' of the Big Dipper. The Chun Qiu Yun Dou Shu defines the ‘Kui Xing' as "The four stars in the first section of the dipper". The 'handle' was referred to as the 杓 shao , or ladle/spoon. Kui Xing's original name, 奎星,
198-409: The actual position of Wenchang, despite common practice of attributing him to Zhang Yazi. Many point out that the stories on Zhang Yazi are attributed mainly to honor and heroism, having nothing to do with actual literature. In his Myths and Legends of China , E.T.C. Werner points out that "Wherever Wenchang is worshiped there will also be found a separate representation of Kui Xing , showing that while
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#1732859409751216-507: The beginning of modern people's veneration of Kui Xing is unknown. Since Kui (奎) was taken to be the master of composition, therefore the people established shrines to venerate him. Being unable to sculpt an image of the star (奎), his name was thus changed to [the homophonous character] 魁. Again being unable to directly construct an image of 魁, the character was split into its constituent radicals [鬼 Gui - Ghost/Spirit and 斗 Dou - Ladle/Gourd ] and illustrated as such." Gu's statement suggests
234-454: The lonely, forgives people's mistakes, and leaves peace and stability everywhere he goes. Because of this, the Jade Emperor put him in charge of the elections of village leaders. Besides that, structures dedicated to the high god Wenchang and his subordinate Kuixing were a pervasive feature of cityscapes in late imperial China, as represented in local gazetteers. There is controversy over
252-518: The name change was a creative measure designed to facilitate Kui Xing's veneration. As his form developed, people depicted Kui Xing's right foot standing on a character 鰲 ( ao ), a giant turtle, in reference to a traditional saying, 獨佔鰲頭, "to stand lonely on the ao' s head", meaning coming in first in examinations ), his left foot support a ladle, a writing brush in his hand, and his body full of vigor and life. Stylized calligraphy of Confucian adages often compose his torso. Artists have also depicted
270-734: The ocean, and ascended into the heavens as a star. Initially, scholars worshiped this star, Kui Xing, as the God of Literature, but with time, he was eventually linked to the Dipper (constellation) or Great Bear, and assimilated into Wenchang Jundi. Wenchang has had various titles, but was officially apotheosized by Yen Yu of the Mongol Dynasty in 1314 A.D as the Supporter of the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty, Diffuser of Renovating Influences, Ssu-lu of Wenchang, God and Lord. He
288-462: The official deity has been allowed to 'borrow glory' from the popular god, and even to assume his personality, the independent existence of the stellar spirit is nevertheless sedulously maintained." The story being that Zhang Kui (Kui Xing) was a brilliant scholar who was, because of his unsightly face, not recognized by the Emperor when he passed the top examinations. Feeling dejected, he threw himself into
306-484: The rebellion had the temple repaired. In addition to being a respected warrior, Wenchang Wang was well respected as a model for filiality. The Book of Emperor Zi Tong records: "Wenchang was had a mature mind at birth. His mother breastfed him even though she was perilously ill and malnourished. In the middle of the night, Wenchang cut flesh from his own thighs and fed it to his mother. She was then cured of her illness." Wenchang Wang also appears in other texts, where he
324-426: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Wenchang Temple . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wenchang_Temple&oldid=990460857 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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