[A-Z April Blogging] [W] Welkin Lords

Mother Golden Light

The Welkin Lords (Tiānjūn 天君) are a group of ten very powerful Daoist Immortals (xiān 仙) who side with the Shāng camp in the Míng historico-mythological novel The Investiture of the Gods (Fēngshén Yǎnyì 封神演義) that narrates the war between the Shāng and the Zhōu, in the 11th century BC, which supposedly saw the involvement of mythological beings (xiān, vixen spirits, dragons, tǔxíng...) on each side of the conflict.

The Welkin Lords usually reside on Golden Turtle Island (Jīn'áo Dǎo 金鰲島). Each of them owns a magical weapon called a 'trap' that is able to dispatch whole armies. In The Investiture of the Gods, the Welkin Lords are nonetheless defeated by the Daoist Immortals who side with the Zhōu camp. For The Celestial Empire, we shall assume that, in spite of their defeat during the Shāng‒Zhōu conflict, the Welkin Lords were able to resume their place amongst the Daoist Immortals.

Here is the complete list of the ten Welkin Lords:


Qín Wán (秦完), owner of the Heavenly Destruction Trap
Mother Golden Light (Jīnguāng Shèngmǔ 金光聖母), owner of the Golden Light Trap
Dǒng Quán (董全), owner of the Roaring Typhoon Trap
Yuán Jué (袁角), owner of the Frigid Ice Trap
Zhào Jiāng (趙江), owner of the Earthly Fury Trap
Sūn Liáng (孫良), owner of the Bleeding Blood Trap
Bái Lǐ (白禮), owner of the Vehement Flame Trap
Yáo Bīn (姚賓), owner of the Soul Snatching Trap
Wáng Biàn (王變), owner of Red Water Trap
Zhāng Shào (張紹), owner of Red Sand Trap

In later times, the Welkin Lords are considered as being allied with Heterodoxy and/or with the Xié sect.

See also p98-9 of The Celestial Empire, under Xié Sect.