Taiwan: The Dark or Mysterious Heavenly Upper Emperor (Xuan Tian Shang Di), Pei Chi Pavilion (Yuan Di Temple), Lotus Lake, Kaohsiung.

Taiwan: The Dark or Mysterious Heavenly Upper Emperor (Xuan Tian Shang Di), Pei Chi Pavilion (Yuan Di Temple), Lotus Lake, Kaohsiung.

Xuan Wu (The Dark Martial or The Mysterious Martial), posthumously known as The Dark or Mysterious Heavenly Upper Emperor (Xuan Tian Shang Di), as well as True Warrior Grand Emperor (Zhen Wu Da Di), and commonly known as The Northern Emperor (Bei Di) or Emperor Lord (Di Gong) is one of the higher ranking Taoist deities, and one of the more revered deities in China. He is revered as a powerful god, able to control the elements (worshipped by those wishing to avoid fires), and capable of great magic. He is particularly revered by martial artists, and is the patron saint of Hebei, Manchuria and Mongolia. Since the third Ming Emperor, Zhu Di, claimed the help of Zhen Wu in his war to take over the Ming Empire, monasteries were built under the Imperial Decree in Wudang Mountains, in China's Hubei Province, where he allegedly attained immortality. Xuan Wu is also the patron saint of Cantonese and Min Nan speakers (particularly those of Hokkien ancestry) in southern China, whose ancestors fled south following the Song Imperial House of Zhao. Lotus Pond or Lotus Lake (Chinese: ???; pinyin: Liánchí Tán; Pe?h-oe-ji: Liân-tî-thâm) opened in 1951, and is famous for the lotus plants on the lake and the numerous temples around the lake, including the Spring and Autumn Pavilions (???), the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (???), and the Confucian Temple (??).

Album / David Henley/Pictures from History/Universal Images Group

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40.0 x 27.9 cm | 15.8 x 11.0 in (300 dpi)