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Plate 15.7 The first three deities shown in the British Library Plate 15.8 The seventh to ninth deities shown in the British Library
edition of the Collected Glosses, 15th or 16th century. Patriarch of edition of the Collected Glosses, 15th or 16th century. From right to
Myriad Methods (Zhenwu) on the far right. Accordion-bound left: Celestial Lords Deng, Xin and Zhang. Accordion-bound
woodblock printed book. British Library, London, ORB.99/161 woodblock printed book. British Library, London, ORB.99/161

master can request Zhenwu to exercise his power as the Golden Writings). Scholars have noted that Zhou inserted the
Ancestral Master (Zushi 祖師) to force unruly thunder gods of thunder into the most exalted liturgies in the Golden
marshals to obey and undertake the tasks of generating Writings. On most occasions, however, Zhou invokes
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thunderbolts and bequeathing rain. As mentioned earlier, thunder marshals collectively as ‘Officials and Generals of
thunder marshals were all originally derived from demonic All Departments of the Thunderbolt’ (Leibu zhusi guanjiang
gods and described in Daoist ritual manuals as violent and 雷部諸司官將). He only mentions the names of individual
savage beings demanding bloody sacrifices (see Pl. 15.8). thunder marshals in a few cases, such as in the jiao 醮
They only transformed into gods through the Daoist ritual (offering) ritual dedicated to the Dark Emperor Zhenwu.
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of sublimation. Their demonic origins and immense Documents used in the ritual invoke thunder marshals,
martial power are explicitly visible when they are namely Deng, Xin, Zhang and Tao, referred to as the Four
represented in colour, with red hair and blue bodies, Great Celestial Lords of Thunderclap (Leiting sida tianjun
wielding ritual weapons. In liturgical manuals codified in 雷霆四大天君), and Gou, Bi, Pang and Liu, the Four Great
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the 13th and 14th centuries, Zhenwu was one of the supreme Celestial Lords of the Thunder Gate (Leimen sida tianjun 雷門
authorities who could command violent thunder deities. 四大天君) (see Table 1c). This is the same group of eight
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The demonic nature of thunder marshals may well have thunder marshals that can be found attending to the Jade
accounted for their low profile in the imperial accounts of Emperor in the frontispiece of the 1424 edition of the Scripture
the Yongle period. Although the worship of thunder of the Jade Emperor, discussed earlier. Unlike the frontispiece,
marshals as the dark troops of Zhenwu might have begun to however, the offering document subsumes all eight marshals
flourish in the early 15th century, the Yongle emperor never under the authority of Zhenwu. It also combines the eight
explicitly associated himself with the military power of marshals with Marshals Ma, Zhao, Wen and Guan, who
thunder marshals. His trusted Daoist master Zhou Side 周思得 were the only four subordinates of Zhenwu in the earlier
(1359–1451), however, was a master of thunder rites and scripture. This group of 12 thunder marshals would soon
famous for his command over one particular thunder become the standard composition of the dark troops of
marshal called Numinous Official Wang (Wang lingguan Zhenwu, as evident when wooden statues of them were sent
王靈官) or Marshal Wang. Zhou is said to have by the Hongzhi 弘治 emperor (r. 1488–1505) to Mount
accompanied the Yongle emperor on his northern Wudang in 1494 (see Table 1g). A painting dated to the
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expeditions to Mongolia between 1410 and 1424, early 15th century, now in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of
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contributing to their success. In 1420, Zhou built a Temple Art, Cornell University, portrays Zhenwu accompanied by
of Heavenly General (Tianjiang miao 天將廟) with a Hall of eight of the 12 standard thunder marshals, including Celestial
the Ancestral Master (Zushi dian 祖師殿) at the emperor’s Lords Deng, Xin, Zhang and Tao and Marshals Ma, Zhao,
request, to venerate Marshal Wang and his master Sa Wen and Guan (Pl. 15.9). It seems that the incorporation of
Shoujian 薩守堅 (fl. 1141–78?), respectively. This temple thunder marshals into the dark troops of Zhenwu had almost
formed the basis of the later expanded Dade guan 大德觀 reached its final stage when Zhou Side completed the Golden
(Temple of Great Virtue), one of the most important Daoist Writings in 1433, with variations only in one or two of the
compounds in Beijing. Zhou continued to receive the marshals on different occasions.
imperial support of the Xuande 宣德 emperor (r. 1426–35), The 45th Heavenly Master Zhang Maocheng 張懋丞
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who appointed him as head of Dade Temple in 1426. (1388–1447) wrote in his preface to the Golden Writings that
In 1433, Zhou funded the printing of a 40-volume ritual Zhou Side had repeatedly performed the Ritual Offering of
compendium entitled Golden Writings on the Great Achievement of the Golden Register (Jinlu jiao 金籙醮), the most prestigious
Deliverance of the Numinous Treasure of Highest Clarity (Shangqing Daoist offering ritual, for the imperial court in accordance
lingbao jidu dacheng jinshu 上清靈寶濟度大成金書, hereafter with the liturgical manuals laid down in the Golden Writings. 38

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