Yin Jiao

Yin Jiao is the eldest legitimate son of King Zhou of the Shang dynasty in the classic mythological novel Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods). Accused by the treacherous Daji and sentenced to death alongside his younger brother Yin Hong, he was rescued by Guangchengzi of Taoyuan Cave and taken to Kunlun Mountain to become his disciple. After consuming immortal beans, Yin Jiao transformed into a divine warrior with three heads and six arms, his face turning azure and his hair blazing crimson; he then wielded a celestial halberd to aid the Zhou forces in overthrowing the Shang. His brother Yin Hong later betrayed the Zhou and perished, while Yin Jiao himself, beguiled by Shen Gongbao, broke his sacred oath and turned against the Zhou—ultimately meeting his end in the gruesome 'plough-and-harrow' execution. Though his life ended tragically, his formidable powers and solemn destiny earned him posthumous investiture by Jiang Ziya as Zhinian Suijun Taishui Zhi Shen (the Yearly Age-Regulating Taishui Deity), commander-in-chief of the Sixty Jiazi Yearly Deities—the celestial officials who preside over each year in the sexagenary cycle. As the Taishui Deity is traditionally believed to govern annual fortune and calamity, Yin Jiao became the central figure venerated in the folk custom of bowing to the Taishui, and his image is enshrined in Taishui Halls throughout China.