Ancient Chinese philosophies show little or even negligible signs of deity worship in the country. Though the masses feared the wrath of the supernatural, they were yet to develop images of Ancient Chinese Gods and goddesses related to the same. Some of the old Chinese philosophies which believed in the cycle of life preached the worship of their forefathers rather than deities.
However, the mythological tales had to begin someday and China indeed saw the birth of such tales in the late Wei and Jin Dynasties. In the beginning, they were carried forth by merely the word of mouth but the printed versions of the same started coming out in the middle of the reign of the Tang Dynasty.
Renowned poets and writers started dedicating time to the writing of these tales. The protagonists in almost all these stories were Ancient Chinese Gods and goddesses. These tales seemed to have a well-structured study of human character and behavior. Such mythological stories started appealing to the taste buds of the masses and became instant hits.
The concept of Ancient Chinese Gods and goddesses started slowly creeping into the minds of the ancient Chinese masses. The fear of the supernatural added to the advantage of the deities. The common people started associating every natural and supernatural power with some of the popular deities of the ancient Chinese era being:
Ancient Chinese Gods
Cheng Huang
This particular deity was associated with moats and walls. The interesting fact here is that every village had their own Cheng Huang. The deity was mostly a highly placed person of the village who after his death was promoted to godhood. His wishes were usually communicated to the masses via dreams. The prime objective of this deity was protecting the community from both insiders and outsiders.
Chu Jung
He was the god of fire and was believed to maintain discipline in heaven.
Kuan Ti
Perhaps one of the most feared gods of ancient China was the god of war. His appearance itself spoke the same with a red face dressed in green apparels. His devotees constructed about 1600 temples dedicated to him all across China. It is often said that Kuan Ti was a real Han general renowned for his justice.
Kwan Yin
She was the goddess associated with mercy and compassion. Her appearance was that of a calm lady dressed in white and seated on a lotus with a child in her lap.
Other popular ancient China gods included Shi-Tien Yen-Wang the god of death and T’ Shai-Shen the god of wealth. Tu-Ti, i.e. the local gods of every village also worshipped all across China.