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In imperial China the mandarins, i.e. the official class,1 as well as Daoists honoured Taisui at the beginning of Spring. This was an element of the official religion, with Taisui being an early deity who appears to have been first offered official sacrifices during the Yuan [Mongol] dynasty. The cult of Taisui, referred to as far back as the Han dynasty, was linked with the planet Jupiter2 which during its twelve year orbit of the Sun moves through the 28 Constellations.
The Ministry of Time in the spirit world is ruled over by the President, Yin Jiao, a deified hero, - also known as Marshal Yin, though more frequently and popularly referred to as Taisui, reflecting his canonisation by Jiang Ziya in the popular historico-novel The Deification of the Gods [Fengshen Yanyi]. It was only after his popularisation in The Deification of the Gods that Taisui was identified with Yin Jiao. In the novel Taisui is portrayed as both a good human and a very ugly demonic deity with a face described as blue as indigo and with long protruding fangs. He is also referred to in another well-known novel of the same era, the Journey to the West [Xiyou Ji] where again he is described as blue-faced and with fangs.
The Composition of the Ministry
The Deification of the Gods3 lists the composition of the Ministry of Time. Apart from the President, identified as Yin Jiao, the others do not seem to appear by these names anywhere other than in The Deification of the Gods.
Yin Jiao 殷郊 President Members: Wen Liang 溫良 Chiao Kun 喬坤 Han Dulong 韓毒龍 Xue E'hu 薛惡虎 Fang Bi 方弼 The Day Duty Spirit The Night Duty Spirit The Spirit who stores up Blessedness The Spirit who Shoulders Misfortunes The Spirit who Shows the Way