Religion
Nezha is regarded as a deity in Taiwanese folk religion and is called "Marshal of the Central Altar" (Chinese: 中壇元帥) or "Prince Nezha", the "Third Prince".
As in traditional folklore, Nezha flies around swiftly on his Wind Fire Wheels, so he is also regarded as the tutelary god of many professional drivers, like truck, taxi, or sightseeing bus drivers. They tend to place a small statue of Nezha in the vehicles for a safe drive.
The Xinying Prince's Temple in Tainan City, built in 1728, is the founding temple of the Prince's Temple in Taiwan.
Taiwan's Techno Prince Nezha dance groups (Chinese: 電音三太子) were invited to perform in the opening ceremonies of the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung and the Deaflympics 2009 in Taipei, presenting a fusion of popular culture and Taiwanese traditional art.
Nezha is a well-known Taoist deity in Japan. The Japanese refer to Nezha as Nataku or Nata, which came from the readings of Xiyouji or Seiyuki (西遊記) in Japanese.
Read more about this topic: Nezha (deity)
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“I fancy it must be the quantity of animal food eaten by the English which renders their character insusceptible of civilisation. I suspect it is in their kitchens and not in their churches that their reformation must be worked, and that Missionaries of that description from [France] would avail more than those who should endeavor to tame them by precepts of religion or philosophy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“If there were only one religion in England there would be danger of despotism, if there were two, they would cut each other’s throats, but there are thirty, and they live in peace and happiness.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)
“I read ... an article by a highly educated man wherein he told with what conscientious pains he had brought up all his children to be skeptical of everything, never to believe anything in life or religion or their own feelings without submitting it to many rational doubts, to have a persistent, thoroughly skeptical, doubting attitude toward everything.... I think he might as well have taken them out in the backyard and killed them with an ax.”
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)