What Is My Status?

The origins of the Five-Path Gods could no longer be specifically verified.

People in the Huangyan region of Zhejiang said they were five brothers surnamed Chai from the Southern Qi dynasty. By the time one reached the Qiantang region, the Five-Path Gods had changed surnames and become the Lin family, and people firmly believed they could help members of the Lin clan pass the imperial examinations with high honors. People from Suzhou said they were all wrong—the Five-Path Gods were clearly the five sons of Gu Yewang, a Palace Gentleman Attendant of the Chen dynasty. People from the Mianzhu region said the Five-Path Gods were the five sons of Xiao Yongfu of the Song dynasty, and that the five brothers were quintuplets.

As early as the Tang dynasty, the Five-Path Gods already existed in the Jiangnan region. For instance, Tea Fragrance Chamber Notes, quoting Records of Dragon City, stated: "Liuzhou has long had a ghost named Five-Path." Supplementary Records of Yijian also called them "Gods of Peace and Joy," saying that they often dwelled atop pagodas and came and went while speaking with monks, yet could not be seen. Their voices sounded like those of five- or six-year-old children. By that account, "Five-Path" was in fact a general term for demons and ghosts.

Others said the "Five-Path Gods" originated during the Ming dynasty. Notes Left in the Green Days recorded that after Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang, pacified the realm, ascended the throne in Nanjing, and lavishly rewarded his meritorious officials, he dreamed that night of countless dead soldiers demanding rewards. Because there were too many of them, Taizu promised to group them in fives, build temples for them in various places, and offer them blood sacrifices. He also ordered every household in Jiangnan to erect a small