Si Zhi Gong Cao (四值功曹) aka The Four Inspectors of Year (值年), Month (值月), Day (值日) and Hour (值時).
According to Taoist Records, these Four Inspectors will travel around the whole Three Realms (遊行三界) to do inspections and records on things happened, Mortal Encounters and any other Abnormal Issues.
Besides that, their tasks are to receive Spiritual Petitions (疏文奏牒) send by Taoist Priests and/or Taoist Spiritual Masters for Jade Emperor (玉皇大天尊) to do reviews and other Celestial Departments for approval.
And so, these Four Inspectors can consider as a group of very important Deities in Taoism.
For Higher Res Pictures, please proceed to think link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taoism_deity_singapore_2007/photos/album/1839406572/pic/list
Shifu what are their names?
ReplyDeleteIn some contexts, the Four Inspectors are known as followed:
ReplyDelete值年神李丙 - Year Inspector Li Bing
值月神黃承乙 - Month Inspector Huang Cheng Yi
值日神周登 - Day Inspector Zhou Deng
值時神劉洪 - Hour Inspector Liu Hong
This Inspectors should be respected, can I also honor them in the temple? Where should I put them, under Dou Mu altar?
ReplyDeleteYup, definitely they need our offering and honouring.
ReplyDeleteYou can placed them near to Lord Tai Sui.
Shifu in the picture who is who?
ReplyDeleteThe pics too small, cant really tell, usually by looking at the petition on their hands, we will be able to know who is who.
ReplyDeleteOh I see. Too Bad.
ReplyDeleteBut we'll just do the dottings for them as a group is this ok?
ReplyDeleteNo, doing dotting for such Deities need some special skills, for the moment, you just need to place them on the altar and call upon their official titles - not name.
ReplyDeleteOnce their are being evoke, they will know.
Roger to that shifu. Can do on february 4 too right?
ReplyDeleteThis one can do earlier, its ok.
ReplyDeleteOk Shifu Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNew pics added (sizhigongcao_new21052010_01.jpg - sizhigongcao_new21052010_05.jpg)
ReplyDeleteNew pics added (gongcao01.jpg - gongcao04.jpg)
ReplyDelete