Read the Taisui Bureau first as a time office
The most important thing in the Taisui Bureau is not one deity name, but yearly rotation. Heavenly stems and earthly branches form the sixty Jiazi; each year has a Year-Ruling Taisui who inspects merits and faults; folk practice then develops rituals such as pacifying, worshiping or offending Taisui. Clarifying that order prevents the bureau from becoming a mere list of taboos.
A yearly rotating narrative framework for inspecting annual fortune and evaluating merits and faults.
The sixty Jiazi combine years, stems-and-branches and divine-office rotation.
Day Patrol God, Night Patrol God and related offices can serve as linked posts in the time-inspection system.
Offending Taisui and worshiping Taisui belong to seasonal custom and belief practice and should be explained separately.
Main divine offices
Yin Jiao
In the Investiture system, Yin Jiao often serves as a Year-Ruling Taisui entry. Writing Yin Jiao should cover both his novel biography and his enfeoffed annual-fortune function.
Yang Ren
Yang Ren can serve as a Jiazi Taisui entry and is suitable for organization together with the Sixty Jiazi Gods table.
Sixty Jiazi Gods, Day Patrol God and Night Patrol God
These offices show that the Taisui Bureau is not a single-person post, but an office network formed around time inspection.
Common misunderstandings
Do not write the Taisui Bureau as an instruction manual for offending Taisui
Offending Taisui is a later folk entry; the Taisui Bureau itself should first cover annual fortune, Jiazi and rotating inspection.
Distinguish the Taisui star and Taisui deity
The year star in ancient astronomy, Taisui in directional taboos and personified Year-Ruling Taisui deities are related, but not the same layer.
Sources
- Taisui materials: used to organize the Taisui concept, annual fortune and folk-boundary issues.
- Investiture of the Gods: used to organize the Taisui Bureau enfeoffment system.