"Ancestor of the Great Balance" is a deity in Chinese folk religion and Taoism, teacher of the Three Pure Ones in Taoist mythology.
Daoists mythologize Hongjun Laozu as the ancestor of xian "trancendents; immortals"[1] and use the honorific name Hongyuan Laozu (鸿元老祖; 鴻元老祖; Hóngyuán Lǎozǔ; Hung-yuan Lao-tsu) "Great Primal Ancestor".
In Chinese creation myths, hongyuan 鸿元 or 洪元 is a cosmological term for "the universe before the separation of heaven and earth".
Hongjun Laozu has hardly been the subject of academic studies and the role assigned to it may vary according to the faithful.
The Cihui Tang temple (慈惠堂) in Zhonggang, Taichung[5] offers the faithful three interpretations: Hongjun Laozu was also told about in the myth of Chinese New Year.
He was the person who captured Nian, the great beast that terrorised the people of China every Chinese New Year.
Every Chinese New Year was a time of suffering and fear for the people of China because of Nian, the great beast.
One Chinese New Year's Eve, the monk, Hongjun Laozu, came to a village in China.
The old man went into the town on top of Nian and said, "Dear villagers, do not be afraid.
From now on each house must paste red on each of their doors to prevent Nian creating havoc."
After that, the people started to paste red paper on their front doors before New Year's Day.