Li Jing (deity)

This is because the worship of Vaisravana was prevalent during the Tang dynasty, with the belief that he helped the nation defeat enemy forces.

It wasn't until the Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West that the image of Duke Li Jing as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King appeared.

[1] Li Jing is renowned throughout the Shang dynasty as a high ranking commander officer of the Old Pond Pass.

Nezha would cause untold chaos and trouble in the future, such as that with the Eastern Sea Dragon King Ao Guang.

Following the bitter luck attained with his third son, Li Jing burned the sacrificial temple that had been built for Nezha's spirit.

After the Tang dynasty general Li Jing was revered as a deity by the people, he became commonly known as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King in folk culture.

[2] Legend has it that in 1528 (according to one account, it was the eleventh year of Yongle, 1413),[3] there was a county magistrate named Zheng Xi from Fujian in Yongfu.

Due to acclimatization and the decline of his family, he returned to his old home in Fujian to invite the deity statue and memorial tablet of Ling Gong, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, back for worship to ward off evil and epidemics.

At the same time, activities such as "singing wéndēng (文灯) and performing wǔdēng (武灯)" are carried out to show reverence.

The Ling Gong Festival has been included in the list of representative intangible cultural heritage projects in Guilin City.