Home> Culture>Heritages

Worship of Baosheng God

xiamen.chinadaily.com.cn| Updated: May 6, 2019

1557305576717029001.jpg

Wu Ben, a native of Tongan county in today's Xiamen city, Fujian province, offered medical services to locals in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). He plunged from a sheer rock and died when collecting Chinese medicinal herbs. The imperial court allowed the local people to build a temple to commemorate him. Wu was also honored as "Dadao Saint" and "Baosheng God" for his noble morality and help to the poor and sick.

The worship of Baosheng God features the promotion of a moral view and is widely practiced in southwest Fujian, Taiwan, eastern Guangdong province and the Chinese expatriate communities living in Southeast Asia, where more than 1,000 temples to him are scattered. Taiwan has more than 500 temples.

At sacrificial ceremonies, people usually pray and draw divination sticks, bow to the god, burn joss sticks piously and stage parades at the temples.