Da Siming

The 'Da Siming' section of the 'Jiu Ge' in the 'Chu Ci' ('Songs of Chu') declares: 'I widely open the Celestial Gate; I ride dark clouds in abundance. I command the whirling winds to precede me; I bid the icy rain to cleanse the dust.' Da Siming is a majestic deity who governs human life, death, longevity, and premature demise—soaring aloft on dark clouds, driving whirlwinds, and commanding freezing rain as he ascends into the Ninth Heaven. The hymn not only depicts his descent—'You circle back and descend; I cross the sacred Kongsang Mountain to follow you'—but also voices a profound lament: 'Truly, human life has its appointed course; who can alter separation or reunion?' Human longevity is preordained; it cannot be forced by mortal will. The people of Chu worshipped him, hoping he would witness their sincere devotion and thereby grant extended years and dispel illness—yet this veneration also embodied their philosophical acceptance of heavenly decree and reverence for the preciousness of human connection and parting.