Religion:Fengdu Dadi

Qing dynasty painting of Fengdu Dadi

Fengdu Dadi (Chinese: 酆都大帝; pinyin: Fēngdū Dàdì), also known as the Great Emperor of Fengdu, the Great Emperor of Beiyin (北陰大帝), or Beidi (北帝), is a supreme deity in Daoist mythology and Chinese folk religion. He is revered as the supreme ruler of the Underworld and the overlord of all ghosts and spirits. His mythological capital is situated at Mount Luofeng (羅酆山), a conceptual realm in the extreme north, which later became conflated with the real-world county of Fengdu Ghost City in Sichuan, giving rise to the famous "Ghost City" (鬼城) of Fengdu.

Like other Underworld deities such as the Great Emperor of Dongyue, Kṣitigarbha (Dizang), and Yanluo Wang, Fengdu Dadi rules the Underworld. However, he represents the Daoist administrative view of the afterlife.

Origins

The mythological origins of Fengdu Dadi come from early Daoist beliefs about Mount Luofeng (羅酆山). The Eastern Jin dynasty text Records of the Supreme Perfected and Hosts of Immortals of the Primordial Beginning (元始上真眾仙記), attributed to Ge Hong, describes the Underworld as being ruled by the Five Directional Ghost Emperors (五方鬼帝). The Northern Ghost Emperors, Zhang Heng (張衡) and Yang Yun (楊雲), ruled from Mount Luofeng.

During the Southern Dynasties, the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) school of Daoism expanded and organized the concept of Mount Luofeng and its ruler. The scholar and alchemist Tao Hongjing described the structure of this Underworld in detail in the Zhen'gao (真誥; Declarations of the Perfected). In the Zhen'gao, Tao described the Underworld as a bureaucracy based on the imperial government. He wrote that Mount Luofeng had six outer palaces and six inner palaces, together called the Six Heavens (六天). He identified Fengdu Dadi, called Beiyin Dadi in the text, as the highest ruler of this Underworld. He also included historical figures in its administration. According to the text, rulers such as King Wen of Zhou and Duke Huan of Qi served as officials under Fengdu Dadi.

In early Chinese folk religion, many deities were believed to be deified historical or mythological figures rather than formless spirits. In the Zhenling Weiye Tu (真靈位業圖), Tao Hongjing defined Fengdu Dadi's place in the Daoist pantheon. He placed the Great Emperor of Beiyin at the center of the seventh and lowest rank of the celestial hierarchy. This position corresponded to his rule over the Underworld. Despite this low rank, Tao identified him as Yan Di Dating-shi (炎帝大庭氏), an incarnation of the legendary Yan Emperor. He also called him the "Ancestor of all ghosts and spirits under Heaven" (天下鬼神之宗) and stated that he ruled for 3,000 years before being succeeded by the next emperor.

Mount Luofeng was originally described as a mythical mountain in the far north. By the Tang and Song dynasties, however, people began to identify Fengdu Dadi's capital with Fengdu County in present-day Chongqing (formerly part of Sichuan). According to Daoist tradition, Mount Pingdu (平都山) in Fengdu County was a blessed land (福地). It was also believed to be the place where the Han dynasty alchemists Yin Changsheng (陰長生) and Wang Fangping (王方平) attained immortality. Over time, the surnames of the two immortals, Yin and Wang, were combined in popular folklore. People misinterpreted them as Yin Wang (陰王), meaning the "King of the Underworld".

This misunderstanding, together with the similar names Luofeng and Fengdu, led many people to believe that Fengdu County was the entrance to the Underworld. Over time, many temples dedicated to the Underworld, including the Palace of the Son of Heaven (天子殿), which is dedicated to Fengdu Dadi, were built on Mount Pingdu. This gave Fengdu its reputation as the "Ghost City."

See also

• Dongyue Dadi
• Kṣitigarbha
• Yanluo Wang
• Diyu (Chinese concept of Hell)
• Fengdu Ghost City
• Chinese folk religion