Chinese celebrate the birthday of the God of Wealth on the fifth day of Chinese New Year. Firecrackers are exploded as a sign of welcoming
the God of Wealth. Shops hang red cloth banner over the top of the main door.
Every home will hang a picture of the God of Wealth for Chinese New Year. Originally only merchants practise this custom but soon others took on the practice. Soon people of different times
and regions worship their own concepts of God of Wealth. There is the traditional one Zhao Gongming, then the Martial God of Wealth , the Civil God
of Wealth, the Deities of Wealth of Five Directions
and the Angel of Fortune. The concept of God of Wealth is not one but more than one.
According to Chinese culture. com, the five main gods of wealth are as follows
The primary god of wealth is Zhao Gongming, also known as
Marshal Zhao or Altar Zhao. He was originally one of the gods in the hell before
the Jade Emperor appointed him as marshal or general responsible
for trading, business and wealth in the human world. He is depicted with a dark face with
a full beard and dons an iron helmet and battle robe. He holds a precious scepter and
rides a tiger. Around him, there are treasure-amassing basins, big gold and
silver ingots, precious pearls and wealth enhancing corals.
Guan Yu, a famous general of the State of Shu during the
Three Kingdoms Period. He was loyal and courageous. He would not be lured by gold, silver and treasure and was loyal. He could not be bribed. People especially businessmen admire and respect Master Guan Yu's loyalty and
integrity and he became a saint of fortune making and business. He is thus a god of wealth.
Fan Li, a civil god of wealth was an outstanding statesman,
thinker and strategist of the Spring and Autumn Period. He was also a
businessman good at making money. Later, he lived with his family in Taodi and continued to amass wealth though
farming, livestock raising and doing business. He distributed his wealth to local people. His generosity was highly acclaimed and many worshiped him as the God
of Wealth.
Another civil god of wealth is Bi Gan. Bi Gan, the uncle of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty was a loyal and righteous minister. It is recorded in Fengshen Yanyi or The
Creation of the Gods that Bi Gan's heart was dug out by Daji, King Zhou's concubine, but he didn't die due to the incense paper offered by a certain sage Jiang
Ziya. There after, Bi Gan retreated into the midst of the common people to distribute treasure. Merchants under the blessing of Bi Gan did honest
business. That's why Bi Gan came to be worshiped as civil god of wealth. He is depicted dressed like a civil official
who wears a minister's head gear and robe, with a ruyi (an S-shaped
ornamental jade, a symbol of good luck) in his
hand and gold or silver ingots under his feet.
Apart from two martial and two civil gods of wealth, the side god is
also worshiped among the people. The name of the god comes from the position
of the portrait, which is often placed on the side of a house or shop. It is believed that with the blessing
of the side god, good fortune will come to someone when he or
she goes out of his home, office or shop, where ever he goes, be it north, south, east, west or middle. The side god is sometimes referred to as "Five-Road God".
But the term the Five Directional Gods of Wealth or Wu Lu Cai Shen often refer to all five and not just to the side god.
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