东皇太一

东皇太一，简称太一，又称太乙，有些文献中写作泰一。是先秦楚国神话中的最高位大神，汉武帝以后成为汉朝官方最高神。传说屈原所作的《东皇太一》被编入《楚辞·九歌》中。

身份

东皇太一是战国时期楚国的祀神曲《楚辞·九歌》中的一个最高神，持有此意见的人较多，其代表者为闻一多，他认为“其实东皇太一即上帝，祭东皇太一即郊祀上帝”。关于东皇太一的身份另有多种说法，分别为：

楚怀王为战胜秦国而祠祀的战神。

齐国方士薄诱忌所奏祠，是齐国的上帝。

前身为成汤大乙。

一名社神。

Taiyi, also known as Donghuang Taiyi, is an ancient Chinese deity or concept associated with the North Star in Chinese astronomy. He was the highest deity of certain pre-Qin and Han dynasties and was worshiped as the emperor of the heavens. In philosophy, Taiyi is a symbolism of the Tao, or the origin of the universe. During the period of Emperor Wu of Han, worship of Taiyi was an official belief, ranked above the Wufang Shangdi and worshipped by the emperor himself.

Taiyi

Taiyi is regarded as the god of the North Star, the most honored star god in Chinese folk religion. The North Star is now Polaris but would have likely often referred to Kochab 2000 years ago and always Thuban at the beginning of Chinese civilization. The pole star is called Donghuang Taiyi in the poetry of the Chuci. In Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian it is stated that "Zhongguang, the star of the heavenly pole, whose one is bright, is also the permanent residence of Taiyi". The late Han dynasty writer Zheng Xuan wrote "Taiyi: the name of the god in the North Star (Beichen). He lives there and is called Taiyi." Zhang Shoujie wrote in the Tang dynasty: "Taiyi, another name of the Tiandi".

Taiyi manipulates good and bad fortune in the human world. The Weishu writes: "Taiyi is the master of wind and rain, water and drought, war and revolution, famine and plague". By worshipping Taiyi, one can invoke the gods and goddesses. During worship, the faithful entertained the gods with songs and dances.

Taoism in the Han dynasty also worshipped Taiyi, and at the end of the Han dynasty, the Taoist fraction known as the Taiping Dao honored Taiyi. Cultivators of the Tao medicate about Taiyi. One of its foundational texts, the Taipingjing, writes "Entering the room to contemplate the Tao...... is the way to ascend to Taiyi from Heaven." Taiyi was also transformed into one of the Shenshen deities of Taoism.

Donghuang Taiyi

Donghuang Taiyi (Chinese: 东皇太一; pinyin: Dōnghuáng Tàiyī; lit. 'East Star Taiyi') is the name of the opening hymn of Chuci’s Jiuge, a collection of ceremonial hymns for the Chu dynasty emperor. It describes the worship of Donghuang Taiyi. Although it is never specified whether Donghuang is a title or a name, many modern depictions use it as his surname.

Taiyi Creates Water

Taiyi Shengshui (Chinese: 太一生水; pinyin: Tàiyī Shēngshuǐ; lit. 'Taiyi Gave Birth to Water') is an ancient Chinese text written around 300 BC during the Warring States period. It is part of the Guodian Chu Slips.

It is a Taoist creation myth. According to the transcription and translation by professors Wen Xing and Robert G. Henricks of Dartmouth College, the opening lines are

太一生水，

水反輔太一，

是以成天。天反輔太一，是以成地。

天地（復相輔）也，

是以成神明。

神明復相輔也，

是以成陰陽。

The Great One (Taiyi) gave birth to water.

Water returned and assisted Taiyi, in this way developing heaven. Heaven returned and assisted Taiyi, in this way developing the earth.

Heaven and earth [repeatedly assisted each other], in this way developing the "gods above and below."

The "gods above and below" repeatedly assisted each other, in this way developing Yin and Yang.

The Taiyi Shengshui was written on 14 bamboo strips and was discovered among the Guodian Chu Slips in 1993 in Hubei, Jingmen, and has not been discovered anywhere else. The text's inclusion in the Laozi C section of the Guodian Chujian from the Warring States Period has led some scholars to suggest it may have been considered part of the Tao Te Ching.