草稿:Fengshen Bang(Magic Vessel)

此頁面介紹的是Key Magic Vessel from Investiture of the Gods。關於The Ming-dynasty fantasy novel，請見「Investiture of the Gods」。

Fengshen Bang (Chinese: 《封神榜》, meaning a register of deities) is a key magic vessel in the Ming-dynasty fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods (Chinese: 《封神演義》). Jointly drafted by the Chan Sect (Chinese: 闡教), the Jie Sect (Chinese: 截教) and the human realm (Chinese: 人道), Fengshen Bang records the deities chosen for appointment to the celestial bureaucracy. Execution of its provisions is entrusted to Jiang Ziya (Chinese: 姜子牙).

Altogether, 365 righteous deities are registered, arranged in eight departments. The upper division comprises the Departments of Thunder, Fire, Plague and the Stellars. The lower division lists the Mansions, the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, Cloud-and-Rain and the Gods of Virtue and Vice. Seven heroes who attain sainthood with human flesh—Li Jing, Jinzha, Muzha, Nezha, Yang Jian, Wei Hu and Lei Zhenzi—stand outside the register's tally.

Background

In Yuxu Palace (Chinese: 玉虛宮) atop Mount Kunlun, the Chan-sect patriarch Yuanshi Tianzun (Chinese: 元始天尊, the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning), alarmed that many of his disciples had become tainted by worldly dust and that a bloody calamity was drawing near, shut the palace gates, and suspended his lecturings about the Dao. At the same time, the upper realm was short-handed; Haotian Shangdi (Chinese: 昊天上帝, the Highest Deity) commanded the twelve leading immortals to return to the Celestial Court and take charge, yet capable candidates were few, and turbulence began to ripple through the Three Realms.

Fengshen happened to coincide with the mortal transition from Shang to Zhou: the Shang mandate had run its course, and Zhou virtue was poised to ascend. To restore order across the Three Realms, the Chan Sect, the Jie Sect and the human realm met in council and agreed upon a grand scheme of deification. Working in concert, the Chan Sect, the Jie Sect and the human realm drew up the "Fengshen Bang", enrolling three hundred and sixty-five righteous deities. These were assigned to eight departments—the upper division comprises the Departments of Thunder, Fire, Plague and the Stellars. The lower division lists the Mansions, the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, Cloud-and-Rain and the Gods of Virtue and Vice.

Those to be deified included loyal ministers and righteous men, and cultivators who, having failed to attain immortality, were instead moved to divine rank; some, whose foundations were deep, rose to immortal status, while others, whose fortune was slight, returned to the human realm. Rank and station were fixed, life and death allotted: all followed the heavenly order and could not be altered at will. Jiang Ziya descended the mountain by command. The God of Longevity (Chinese: 南極仙翁) entrusted him with the Fengshen Bang (Chinese:《封神榜》, meaning a register of deities) and the God-Punishing Whip (Chinese: 打神鞭). On Mount Qi (Chinese: 岐山) he raised the Fengshen Altar (Chinese: 封神台), hung the register, and broadly welcomed heroic spirits. All officers fallen in the Shang–Zhou wars and patriots who died for their realm were guided to the altar by Bai Jian (Chinese: 柏鑒) bearing the Banner of a Hundred Spirits (Chinese: 百靈幡); according to their merit, they were invested with divine offices, charged with governing the heavenly order, discerning good and evil, and safeguarding the Three Realms.

List of gods

主條目：List of gods in the Investiture of the Gods