Deities of Taiwan

Taiwanese religion does not come from a single source. Taoist, Buddhist, Hoklo folk, Hakka and Indigenous traditions have shared this island for centuries. 52 deities, grouped into five traditions.

Taoist Deities 15 deities

The Jade Emperor, Mazu, Guan Yu — the gods Taiwanese people pray to on an ordinary day.

Guanyin, Kshitigarbha, the Medicine Buddha — enshrined in monasteries and home altars alike.

Folk Beliefs 12 deities

Tudigong, the City God, the door gods — guardians of the village and of the doorway.

The Three Mountain Kings, the Yimin martyrs, Bogong — the belief system of Hakka townships.

Atayal utux, the Paiwan hundred-pacer, Ali ancestral spirits — the island of Taiwan before Han settlement.

Deity Stories 10 stories

Every god was once a person. These long-form stories are about the part before they became gods.