Title
Health Protecting God
Creator
Year/Period
2001-2002
Region
Taiwan, Republic of China
Material
High-Fired Enamel Glazed Stoneware
Technique
Hand-sculpting
Dimension
Object size: H42.3cm x L20.5cm x W8.5cm
Accession No.
2002-00817
Collection of
NLB Type
Ceramic
The Grand Emperor of Life Protection, Baosheng Dadi 保生大帝 is the protector of health. He is believed to have existed in the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE) as a famous doctor named Wu Ben 吴本. He received the Dao (Way) of curing the sick through medicine and exorcism from the Queen Mother of the West at Mount Kunlun at the age of seventeen. Since the Song dynasty, his cult has spread beyond his birthplace in Fujian. Today, he is extremely popular in Taiwan, where his birthday is celebrated grandiosely on the fifteen day of the third lunar month.