Renchen Tai Sui General Peng Tai

Renchen Tai Sui General Peng Tai is one of the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities who rotate annually in accordance with the sexagenary cycle; he assumes office during Renchen years—such as 2012 and 2072—and oversees human fortune, misfortune, blessings, and calamities throughout that year. The zodiac animal associated with the Renchen year is the Dragon; folk belief holds that those born in the Year of the Dragon experience benming nian (their zodiac birth year) during Renchen, thereby directly encountering the Tai Sui, while those born in the Year of the Dog clash with the Tai Sui (chong Tai Sui). Both groups are advised to visit Daoist temples to perform the An Tai Sui (‘Stabilising the Tai Sui’) and Bai Tai Sui (‘Worshipping the Tai Sui’) rituals, offering reverence to the Tai Sui Star Lord to mitigate adverse influences of the year. The Tai Sui cult originates in ancient Chinese astronomy—specifically the Jupiter-based sexagenary calendar—and the taboo against ‘disturbing the earth beneath the Tai Sui’ (a phrase denoting grave inauspiciousness); people believe the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities take turns presiding over each year, observing human conduct and judging virtue and vice. Thus, during years when one clashes with or encounters the Tai Sui, devotees engage in sincere prayer and ritual observance to dispel disasters, transform misfortune into fortune, and ensure peace, safety, and smooth passage through the year.