Renshen Tai Sui General Liu Wang

Renshen Tai Sui General Liu Wang is one of the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities who rotate annually to preside over human affairs. He assumes stewardship during Renshen years—such as 1992 and 2052—overseeing auspicious and inauspicious events, blessings and calamities, throughout the year. The zodiac sign associated with Renshen is the Monkey; folk belief holds that those born in the Year of the Monkey experience benming nian (their natal year) during Renshen, while those born in the Year of the Tiger encounter 'clashing Tai Sui' (chong tai sui). Both groups are traditionally advised to visit Daoist temples to perform the An Tai Sui (‘settling Tai Sui’) and Bai Tai Sui (‘worshipping Tai Sui’) rituals, offering reverence to the Tai Sui Xingjun to neutralise adverse stellar influences. The Tai Sui cult originates in ancient Chinese astronomy—particularly the Jupiter-based sexagenary cycle—and the taboo against disturbing earth where Tai Sui ‘resides’ (as expressed in the saying ‘disturbing earth above Tai Sui’). It is believed that the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities take turns serving as celestial overseers, monitoring human virtue and vice; thus, during years of clashing or offending Tai Sui, devotees engage in sincere prayer and ritual observance to avert misfortune, transform adversity into opportunity, and ensure peace, safety, and smooth passage through the year.