Jiashen Tai Sui General Fang Zhang

Jiashen Tai Sui General Fang Zhang is one of the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities who rotate annual duty according to the sexagenary cycle, assuming office during Jiashen years—such as 2004 and 2064—and overseeing human fortune, misfortune, auspiciousness, and calamity for that year. The Jiashen year corresponds to the Year of the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac. Folk belief holds that individuals born in the Year of the Monkey experience ‘zhi tai sui’ (direct alignment with the Tai Sui) during this year, while those born in the Year of the Tiger encounter ‘chong tai sui’ (clashing with the Tai Sui); both groups are advised to visit Daoist temples to perform the ‘An Tai Sui’ (pacifying the Tai Sui) and ‘Bai Tai Sui’ (worshipping the Tai Sui) rituals, offering reverence to the Tai Sui Star Lord to neutralise adverse influences of the year. The Tai Sui cult originates in ancient stellar chronology centred on Jupiter (the ‘Sui Xing’, or Year Star) and the taboo against disturbing earth directly beneath the Tai Sui’s celestial position—hence the saying ‘do not dig soil where the Tai Sui stands’. It is believed that the sixty Tai Sui deities rotate yearly, each serving as celestial overseers who monitor human virtue and vice; thus, during years of ‘fan tai sui’ (conflict with the Tai Sui), devotees observe sincere prayers and rituals to dispel disasters, transform misfortune into blessing, and ensure peace and smooth progress throughout the year.