STUDENT SELF-DIRECTED PROJECT
Kaohsiung American School
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Great
Emperor
Baosheng
Life
Emperor Baosheng was named Wu Tao, also known as Hua-Ji and Yun-Dong. Wu Tao was clever and hardworking. At the age of 17, he ever traveled over Kunlun Mountain to learn magic and medicine from West Wang-Mu.
During the Ming Dynasty, the queen suffered from a breast disease that the royal physician was not able to cure. Thus, Wu Tao pretended to be a priest in order to treat the queen. Shortly after the queen was cured, Wu Tao died. The royalty sent people to known who cured the queen, after a basic investigation, they realized that Wu Tao. However, he was no longer living. Because of this, they built a temple, gave him a dragon robe (only emperors are allowed to wear those robes), and named him “Emperor Baosheng.”
保生大帝本名為吳夲，字華基，別號雲東。吳夲自幼聰敏，勤讀詩書，十七歲時由西王母授以醫術與平妖除魔道術；從此專注醫理且慈悲為懷、懸壺濟世。
明成祖永樂年間，皇后罹患乳疾，御醫束手無策，大帝化為道士前往醫治，由於皇后的貞操自古就不容懷疑，因此以懸絲診脈方式診療。大帝隔屏風以絲線過脈，懸絲行針為其治療。皇后乳疾痊癒後，大帝即昇天而去，仁宗極為感念其恩德，派人查訪後得知是大帝之功，乃晉封為「保生大帝」，並賜龍袍一套，為其建造宮殿。
Relation with Tiger God
One day, Emperor Baosheng day was collecting herbs in the mountains. He met a tiger that was in pain because human bones were stuck in its throat. Baosheng removed the bones and used a magic potion to help the tiger. The tiger thanked Baosheng for his help, it then vowed to no longer hurt humans, it also volunteered to let Emperor Baosheng’s use it for general riding. The tiger later became the patron saint of the Great Emperor Baosheng’s temples, local people address him as "Tiger God."
一日保生大帝在山中採藥，遇見一隻老虎，因吃人而被骨頭哽住咽喉痛苦難當，大帝即取出骨頭並以咒水為其治療；老虎跪地答謝，立誓不再傷人，並自願作為大帝的坐騎，後來也成為保生大帝廟的守護神，民間奉之為「虎爺」。
Relation with Matsu
After Emperor Baosheng saw Matsu’s beauty, he started to pursue Matsu. At the same time, because of Baosheng’s sincerity, Matsu started to gain interest in Baosheng. However, one day she decided to stop contact with Baosheng. Baosheng reacted in a negative way; he used magic to make it rain during Matsu’s birthday, causing the makeup to smodge. Afterwards, Matsu seeked revenge by using magic to blow off Baosheng’s hat during his birthday. Because of this, it often rains on Matsu’s birthday, and it’s often windy on Baosheng’s birthday.
民間傳說保生大帝見媽祖端莊賢淑後，便展開追求，而媽祖見其宅心仁厚，也萌生愛意。一日，媽祖乍見母羊產子之苦，毅然慧劍斬情絲與保生大帝斷絕往來。大帝因被拋棄，乃在媽祖誕辰遶境時施法下雨，淋洗媽祖臉上脂粉；媽祖不甘示弱，也在保生大帝誕辰神駕出巡時作法刮風，要吹落大帝頭上的帽子。因此每逢媽祖誕辰便經常下雨，而保生大帝誕辰則常會颳風，此即民間氣象諺語：「大道公風，媽祖婆雨」的由來；若當天無風無雨，信徒就說：今年大道公和媽祖婆和解了。