Cánshén (
Chinese: 蚕神, "Silkworm God") or Cánwáng (蚕王 "Silkworm Ruler") is the
deity of
silkworm and
sericulture in
Chinese religion. There are two main Canshen, who are two deified mytho-historical personalities who contributed to the invention and diffusion of sericulture in
China.
Cánmǔ (蚕母, the "Silkworm Mother"), is a goddess whose cult is related to that of
Houtu (the "Queen of the Earth") and to that of the Sanxiao ("Three Skies") goddesses.[1] She is also called Cángū (蚕姑 the "Silkworm Maiden [or Lady]"),[2] and is identified as Léizǔ (嫘祖), the wife of
Huangdi, the deity of the centre of the cosmos and
god progenitor of all the Chinese. The worship of Canmu is typical of central-northern and eastern China.[3]
Qīngyīshén (青衣神 the "Bluegreen-Clad God") is the same as Cáncóng (蚕丛 the "Silkworm Twig"), the first ruler and ancestor of the
Shu kingdom, and promoter of sericulture among his people. He was worshipped in
Sichuan, the modern Chinese province descending from the Shu kingdom.
Jones, Stephen (2013). In Search of the Folk Daoists of North China. Ashgate Publishing.
ISBN978-1409481300.
Fan, Lizhu (2003). "The Cult of the Silkworm Mother as a Core of Local Community Religion in a North China Village: Field Study in Zhiwuying, Boading, Hebei". The China Quarterly. 174. Cambridge University Press: 359–372.
doi:
10.1017/S0009443903000226.