Dōngyuèdàdì

deity underworld Taoist single tradition · 4

Dōngyuèdàdì, meaning "Great Deity of the Eastern Peak" (Mount Tai), is worshipped as a Daoist deity of the sacred mountain Mount Tai and is also considered significant in Chinese Buddhism. He is thought to be the supreme deity of the underworld, governing the lifespan and status of humans in this world, as Mount Tai has been seen since ancient times as a place where the spirits of the dead gather. In Daoism, it is often said that he is the grandson of the Jade Emperor.

↻ synthesized from 4 sources

When

First attested
219 BCE
Attested period
-219 – 2020
Historical notes
The Feng Shan ceremony on Mount Tai was started in 219 BC by Qin Shihuang after unifying China, and the deity's role expanded over time from local deity to deity associated with life and death as a whole.

Relationships

aspect of
Cāngdì
consort of
Bixia Yuanjun
serves
Jade Emperor
manifested by
Cāngdì

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“Dōngyuèdàdì (东岳大帝 "Great Deity of the Eastern Peak", which is Mount Tai), Cangdi is worshipped as a Daoist deity of the sacred mountain Mount Tai...the god of Mount Tai was thought to be the supreme deity of the underworld and governs the lifespan and status of humans”

#21132 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5