Hsüan-tʾien Shang-ti

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Hsüan-tʾien Shang-ti. (Lord of the Dark Heaven). A Chinese deity. One of a family of five deities in antiquity, each in charge of a cardinal direction of the cosmos: Lord Green (East), Lord Red (South), Lord White (West), Lord Dark (North), Lord Yellow (Centre). Lord Dark has the power of driving away evil spirits. The religious Taoists, desirous of physical immortality, prayed to the stellar divinities for assistance for the making of the elixirs. According to them, the North Pole Star (Plough or Dipper) is the central residence for the stellar deities headed by Hsüan-tʾien Shang-ti.