White, yellow and gray willow five immortals.
The white, yellow and gray five immortals of willow, namely fox, snake, hedgehog, weasel and mouse, are also the most common wild animals in rural areas. In the belief of fairy halls in Northeast China, they are considered to be the most easily cultivated creatures and often deal with people, and they are regarded as "fairy families" (wizards and others call them grass immortals).
The Five Immortals, as the objects of worship in the Northeast Fairy Hall belief, are subdivided into several categories. For example, "cool breeze" refers to ghosts and gods, which is similar to the saying of "praising" gods in Tibet, but it also introduces some concepts of Taoist ghosts and gods and the worship of gods in Nuo belief in the Central Plains. And "Huang Hu" is the development of fox worship, including the worship of fox spirits of Han nationality, and adding a new member-weasel; "Liu Xian" and "Python" come from the worship of snake god, and also have the shadow of dragon totem; "White Fairy" and "Grey Fairy" are hedgehogs and mice. Their origins are difficult to verify, but their influence is equally profound. As early as some documents in the Ming Dynasty, the existence of the belief of "white fairy" was mentioned.
"Great Grandpa and Too Milk" and Four "Fairy Families"
Grandpa Tai Nai is a kind of honorific title for people in the family immortals, including Grandpa Hu Xian, Grandpa Hu Xian Tai Nai, Grandpa Huang Xian, Grandpa Huang Xian Tai Nai and Grandpa Chang Xian Tai Nai. This is an ominous record because of the differences in the "immortal list" believed by various tangkou.
In the three northeastern provinces, Hebei, Shandong and other places, temples were specially built to worship Grandpa Hu San. Some people say that Great-grandfather Hu San has a high position in the belief of Baojiaxian, and is regarded as the elder of the Fox Fairy family, and has the ability to bring misfortune and happiness to others. According to legend, Hu San, a great grandfather, was a scholar of Shandong Province in the early Qing Dynasty. He believed in Taoism and was good at changing the number, and was respected as a fairy by later generations.
The four immortals are Hu (fox), Huang (weasel), Chang (snake) and Python (python). In this fairy hall, there are four kinds of tablet gods: Long Tianlong, Python Tianlong and Hu Cuihua.
There are other gods, such as stuttering fairy, black old lady, big fairy with long eyebrows and Shandong big fairy, but I don't know the source.
Baojiaxian Belief and Shamanism
Immortal belief is closely related to primitive shamanism. In the ceremony, it inherited the tradition of "hiding gods" in Shamanism, but the "shaman mage" in traditional Shamanism was replaced by "immortals" and "brothers". In the belief theory, animism is also emphasized, which is more vital under the modification of Buddhism and Taoism. In terms of musical instruments, the tradition of shamanism is still preserved, and musical instruments with shamanism characteristics such as bells, drums and mirrors are still in use.
Baojia Line and Folk Life
Generally speaking, people worship Bao Jiaxian, just as they worship Liu Zhonghe Kitchen God. They offer sacrifices at festivals, and the slates of books are still yellow. If it is red, it means that all the elves have not arrived yet.
Its genealogy and worldview are a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism, and its followers are either inclined to Buddhism or Taoism. Some Buddhist and Taoist temples in Northeast China were formerly temples dedicated to Baojiaxian. In the world of faith, Bao Jiaxian's belief naturally has no conflict with Taoism and Buddhism, and they both use the same language and way of thinking, which is the biggest feature and advantage of his belief as a Chinese folk belief.