The Daoist God Zhenwu

Zhenwu, the Perfected Warrior, demonstrates his force in a compelling martial guise and his fierce stare at the viewer. This rubbing from a Daoist monastery preserves the earliest extant, full-sized portrait of the god with a specific date. His cosmological significance is represented by the intertwined tortoise and snake, the symbols of the North quadrant, under his bare feet. His sword bearing the seven stars of the Northern Dipper represents his astral origin. Ancient Chinese believed their emperors were astrologically associated with the Northern Dipper. Therefore Zhenwu was not only the god of healing and exorcism, but also the celestial protector of emperors and the state. By the 15th century, Zhenwu had become the most important god in the Daoist pantheon.