In the Song Dynasty, people once called portraits of people "Western Gods", and later someone wrote "Plum Blossom Western Gods", calling the contents of plum blossoms "Western Gods", which obviously has nothing to do with Western Gods being gods.
But who is the "Western God" has always been different. But to sum up, there are two main arguments. One is to flaunt oneself as the ancient emperor of China. It is said that the Western God is Shang Zhouwang. This sentence comes from the Romance of Gods, in which Jiang Ziya named Tian Xing. Jingzhong Temple outside Chongwenmen in Beijing was once called "Tianxi Palace" during Guangxu period.
Some people also say that the Western God is a post-Tang Zhuang Sect. Zhuang Zong, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was a famous opera-loving emperor in history. He is good at exorcism, knowing temperament and measuring music, and is regarded as the founder of drama by later generations.
However, since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the most common saying is that the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was the founder of China traditional opera, especially since the Song Dynasty, when Ming Taizu visited the Moon Palace, he wrote down the myths and legends of colorful feathers, which were widely circulated among the people and talked about by the disciples of Liyuan. In the late Ming Dynasty, it was put on the stage. In the early Qing Dynasty, this legend was painted on the murals of Xi Hall in Jingzhong Hall.
According to the tradition of our country, the emperor on earth is the descendant of the stars in the sky, so Ming Taizu, who is proficient in melody, became the reincarnation of Isu Xing Jun. As the third son of Tang Ruizong, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty often took the stage in person, which was inconvenient to be commensurate with the monarch and his subjects, so he was also called "Saburo" or "Lao Lang". There is also a saying that is said by the children of the western gods. Some say that the Western God is a prop doll for performance, while others say that it is a doll with braids in the backstage shrine. According to legend, in the past, some people learned to play, but they couldn't for a long time. They dreamed that a child would come to teach, and it came true immediately, so they called the child the Western God.
On both sides of the icon of the West God in Dongyue Temple in Beijing, there are memorial tablets dedicated to twelve-tone gods, namely: Shengu Zhenjun, Zhenjun, Qin Muslim Zhenjun, Yunyin Han E Zhenjun, Luoyuan Zhenjun, Juzhenjun, Ape Yinshi Cunzhenzhenjun, Sun Deng Zhenzhenjun, Long Yin Wangbao's Zhenjun, Huang Yi's Zhenjun, Ye Fashan's Zhenjun, and others.
Some scholars have done textual research on the origin of the twelve-tone god. Huang Zan, Ye Fashan and Luo were all closely related to the Tang emperor. Huang Lan was a famous actress in Tang Dynasty. He is good at performing the drama of joining the army and won the favor of Ming Chengzu. If he doesn't see you for a day, he will frown. On weekdays, the emperor's attendants often play some fake jokes to alert their masters and solve problems, so they are called "funny heroes". Ye Fashan and Luo were regarded as the gods of music, probably because they brought the Ming emperor to the Moon Palace. The other nine are ancient singers who are good at whistling and singing.
Mianju was a famous folk song and dance artist in Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, and the first national-level "singer" recorded in history. He has many disciples, forming a huge folk song team, which has played a decisive role in the development of ancient folk songs and dances. It was called "the saint of songs" by later generations and later regarded as "the god of sound".
In the folk, XiShen, together with the God of expediency and the God of Blessing, is regarded as an auspicious god, enshrined on the memorial tablet, with no specific image. Its orientation should change according to the astronomical phenomena, just meet the western gods.