See Also: Caishen(encyclopedia)

Caishen (sh)




or Ts'ai-shen

Chinese god of wealth, believed to bestow on his devotees the riches carried about by his attendants.

A Ming-dynasty novel relates that a hermit, Zhao Gongming, employed magic to support the collapsing Shang dynasty. He was killed by Jiang Ziya, a supporter of the Zhou dynasty. Rebuked for causing the death of a virtuous man, Jiang apologized in a temple, extolled Zhao's virtues, and canonized him as the god of wealth. During Chinese New Year, incense is burned in Caishen's temple and the greeting "May you become rich" is exchanged.