The worship of the sun, moon, and stars has ancient origins. Before the Western Han Dynasty, Yongzhou already had temples specifically for their worship. The "Records of the Grand Historian: Treatise on Feng and Shan Sacrifices" states: "Yong has over a hundred temples for the sun, moon, Shen, Chen, the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and the twenty-eight constellations." Taoism believes that stars are the essence of all things, and that the sun, moon, and stars each have their own deities and domains, which must not be offended. In its pantheon, the star deities hold a very high status and are numerous. Examples include the Five Planets and Seven Luminaries, the Northern and Southern Dipper Star Lords, the Star Lords of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, the Star Lords of the Supreme Palace Enclosure, the Star Lords of the Celestial Market Enclosure, the Star Lords of the Outer Seats of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, and the Star Lords of the Twenty-Eight Constellations. They are respectively under the jurisdiction of Ziwei, Tianhuang, and Doumu.
