Renzi Tai Sui General Qiu De

Renzi Tai Sui General Qiu De is one of the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities who take turns presiding over each year in the sexagenary cycle; his term of office falls in Renzi years—such as 2032 and 2092—and he oversees human fortune, misfortune, auspiciousness, and calamity throughout that year. The zodiac sign associated with Renzi is the Rat; folk belief holds that those born in the Year of the Rat experience benming nian (their natal year) during Renzi, while those born in the Year of the Horse encounter chong tai sui (direct astrological conflict with the Tai Sui). Both groups are advised to visit Daoist temples to perform the An Tai Sui (‘settling the Tai Sui’) and Bai Tai Sui (‘worshipping the Tai Sui’) rituals, offering reverence to the Tai Sui Xingjun to neutralise adverse influences of the year. The Tai Sui cult originates in ancient Chinese astronomy—particularly the Jupiter-based ‘Sui Xing’ (Year Star) calendrical system—and the taboo against disturbing earth where the invisible Tai Sui ‘resides’, epitomised by the saying ‘Do not dig soil where the Tai Sui stands’. It is believed that the Sixty Jiazi Tai Sui deities rotate annually, serving as celestial overseers who monitor human conduct and moral conduct; thus, during years of tai sui conflict, devotees earnestly pray and make offerings to avert disaster, transform misfortune into blessing, and ensure peace, safety, and smooth passage through the year.