View source for Canshen

{{Short description|Silk deity in Chinese folk religion}}
{{Chinese folk religion}}
'''Cánshén''' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: {{lang|zh|蚕神}}, "Silkworm God") or '''Cánwáng''' ({{lang|zh|蚕王}} "Silkworm Ruler") is the [[deity]] of [[silkworm]] and [[sericulture]] in [[Chinese folk religion|Chinese religion]]. There are two main Canshen, who are two deified mytho-historical personalities who contributed to the invention and diffusion of sericulture in [[China]].
* ''Cánmǔ'' ({{lang|zh|蚕母}}, the "Silkworm Mother"), is a goddess whose cult is related to that of [[Houtu]] (the "Queen of the Earth") and to that of the Sanxiao ("Three Skies") goddesses.{{sfnb|Jones|2013|p=167}} She is also called ''Cángū'' ({{lang|zh|蚕姑}} the "Silkworm Maiden [or Lady]"),{{sfnb|Jones|2013|p=166-167}} and is identified as ''[[Leizu|Léizǔ]]'' ({{lang|zh|嫘祖}}), the wife of [[Yellow Emperor|Huangdi]], the deity of the centre of the cosmos and [[Yan Huang Zisun|god progenitor of all the Chinese]]. The worship of Canmu is typical of central-northern and eastern China.{{sfnb|Fan|2003}}
* ''Qīngyīshén'' ({{lang|zh|青衣神}} the "Bluegreen-Clad God") is the same as ''Cáncóng'' ({{lang|zh|蚕丛}} the "Silkworm Twig"), the first ruler and ancestor of the [[Shu (state)|Shu kingdom]], and promoter of sericulture among his people. He was worshipped in [[Sichuan]], the modern Chinese province descending from the Shu kingdom.
==See also==
* [[Chinese gods and immortals]]
* [[Chinese folk religion]]
==Citations==
===References===
{{reflist}}
===Sources===
* {{cite book | last = Jones | first = Stephen | year = 2013 | title = In Search of the Folk Daoists of North China | publisher = Ashgate Publishing |isbn = 978-1409481300 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Fan | first = Lizhu | title = The Cult of the Silkworm Mother as a Core of Local Community Religion in a North China Village: Field Study in Zhiwuying, Boarding, Hebei | journal = The China Quarterly | volume = 174 | pages = 359–372 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 2003 | doi = 10.1017/S0009443903000226 }}
[[Category:Chinese deities]]
[[Category:Sericulture]]
[[Category:Silk production]]
[[Category:Animals in Chinese mythology]]
[[Category:Insects in religion]]