Tai Sui

｜Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition ｜

Tai Sui started in Chinese astrology, and it appeared opposite from Jupiter in the sky. Tai Sui became a popular belief later on.

The ancient Chinese calendar used ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly stems to denote the year. People believed there was a god for every heavenly and earthly stem combination, and the god who was on duty for the year would be Tai Sui. There are sixty of them, and they take turns to be Tai Sui every year. They are in charge of people’s wellbeing. Ever since the Qin Dynasty, people believed the direction where Tai Sui resides is not auspicious. Anyone who did things in that direction would turn out bad. Therefore, people formed the tradition of appeasing Tai Sui if their birth year clash with Tai Sui. For example, in the year of pig, those who were born in the years of snake and pig must appease Tai gSui by praying at temples to seek for calmness throughout the year.

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Photos: The Wondrous Temple Expedition ｜

There were many folk tales as to the origin of Tai Sui. In Taoism, Tai Sui was a military general. One faction believed Tai Sui to be a ferocious god from heaven. Another faction believed Tai Sui was the counterpart of the ferocious god from heaven and the demon on earth. From the Qin Dynasty, people believed that all auspicious things, such as getting married, moving to a new house, or building a new house, must stay away from the direction of Tai Sui. Therefore, before and after the lunar New Year, besides house cleaning and New Year shopping, Taiwanese treat appeasing Tai Sui as a national sport. People must appease Tai Sui before the fifteenth day of the New Year to make sure the rest of the year could go smoothly without a hitch.

Text and pictures: Delta Lee｜Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition ｜Head of Taoism Temples – Sanching Temple http://www.sanching.org.tw/me64