水仙尊王，按照學者的研究，最早的記載是宋朝劉克莊的〈重修水仙廟疏〉，水仙神本來應該是「嘉應惠利候父子」，但詳細名籍已經無從考察。到元朝時，水仙所指則為媽祖的助手，包括馮璿兄弟三人及蔡某、丁仲修等五人。其中馮璿、丁仲修是儒生和官員，在世時有功於世人，死後成為襄助漕運的水神。因為不明的原因，到清朝時，水仙尊王已經是完全不同的組合，分別是大禹、伍員、屈原，這三位是不變的。另者，項羽、魯班、李白、伯益、奡王、王勃等則在不同組合裡，輪替其它兩位水仙王。
關於水仙尊王的神祗組合，在台灣有一帝、二王、二大夫的說法，這個組合包括大禹，即一帝，二王即奡王和項王，二大夫即伍員和屈原。水仙尊王的不同組合中，他們在世時大都和水的災難事件、水的資源利用等有關。其中大禹治水；奡王是夏朝時寒浞之子，一說因為他力大無窮，能陸地行舟，一說他發明船隻，後來少康中興時將其殺害。伍員即伍子胥，傳說他發明了水車，後來含冤而死，成為錢塘江的潮神以向吳王示威；屈原因為楚懷王的放逐，憂心國事乃投江自盡；項羽在烏江自刎；李白因酒後向水中撈月而死。因此，水仙宮或水神的廟大都設於水邊、臨海地區等，這和鎮壓水煞、防止水患、船難有關。
台灣奉祀水仙尊王與台灣早期的移民史和貿易史有關，因為早期往來皆賴船運，加上台灣海峽的海象險惡，因此尊奉水神以護祐交通往返平安和貿易得利。據郁永河（1645-）的《采硫日記》記載，先民遇到風雨險阻不得近岸時，有划水仙的儀式，其儀式是眾人皆拿筷子，虛作划船姿勢，如端午節划龍舟比賽，並同聲作鉦鼓聲。台灣較有歷史的水仙宮有台南水仙宮，新港水仙宮等。台北市原本也有一座水仙宮，在1908年被拆除，廟中的水仙尊王於是移祀到龍山寺。台南水仙宮位在神農街的市場內，建築的特色之一是有別於一般廟宇於門上繪以門神，台南市水仙宮的大門上是以門釘裝飾，這是因為所祀主神大禹，乃三皇五帝之一，所以採用皇宮的飾物。民間每年10月10日祭水仙神。
關鍵詞：水仙尊王、水仙宮、大禹、伍員、屈原、奡王、項王
參考書目：
1.不著撰人。《三教源流搜神大全》
2.蔡相煇。1993。《台灣的祠祀與宗教》。台北：臺原。
Shuixian zunwang are five gods of water. Regarding to the Chongxiu Shuixian miao shu (重修水仙廟疏, The Essay of Rebuilding Shuixian temple), written by Liu Kezhuang (劉克莊) in Song dynasty, they were father and sons titled Jiaying Huili hou (嘉應惠利候父子), the Duke of Jiaying Huili at first. Their name was lost. In Yuan dynasty, the identity of Shuixian zunwang was changed. Shuixian zunwang were five persons. They were Feng Xuan (馮璿)and his brother , Ding Zhongxiu (丁仲修), a surname Cai person, and a certain person. Feng Xuan brothers and Ding Zhongxiu were Confucian scholars. When they were alive, they made some achievement on the canal transport. They were enshrined as the god of water transport by people after they were dead.
By unclear reason, Shuixian zunwang’s combinations was changed again in Qing (清) dynasty. There are various kinds of combination. Among these combinations, Day U (大禹), Wu Yuan (伍員) and Qu Yuan (屈原)are the same elements. The different elements are Xiang Yu (項羽), Lu Ban (魯班), Li Bai (李白), Bo Yi (伯益), Ao Wang (奡王), and Wang Bo (王勃). These six persons are alternatively enlisted in the combination depended on the location where the temple is situated in.
It seems that there are two kind of combination in Taiwan. About the combination, a saying is mentioned. It is “one emperoe, two king and two senior officials in imperial China (一帝、二王、二大夫)”. No doubt the emperor is Day U who regulated the watercourses of Yellow River to control the great flood in ancient China. As a result, he became an emperor with the appellation “the Great”. Two kings are Ao and Xiang Yu or Lu Ban and Xiang Yu. Ao was a legendary figure in Xia dynasty. It is said that he invented the boat and he was a Hercules who could sailing on the land. He was executed by Shao kang (少康), a emperor reviving the state in Xia dynasty. Lu Ban was an outstanding craftman. It was credited that he made a wooden bird which could fly and stay in the air for three days without power system. Xiang Yu was failed in combating with Liu Bang (劉邦) and committed suicide by the side of Wu River (烏江). Two senior officials denote either two of Wu Yuan, Qu Yuan, Li Bai and Wang Bo. Wu Yuan was called Wu Zixu (伍子胥) also. He was the senior official of Wu state in the Spring and Autumn era (722 BC - 481 BC). Because King of Wu state did not trust him, he committed suicide and sweared to see the end of the Wu by the side of Qiantang river (錢塘江) after he was dead. As a result, he became the “god of Waves”. Qu Yuan was also a senior official of Chu (楚) in the Spring and Autumn era and committed suicide by drown himself because of monarch’s untrust. Li Bai and Wang Bo were famous poets in Tang dynasty. They were drowned to death by accident. Apparently, most of above figures are in relation of water. Their lifes are all in connetion with a catastrophe or a tragedy except Lu Ban. Regarding them as Shuixian zunwang, the gods of water, is standing on an idea of Chinese popular religion. The idea is “zhen sha” (鎮煞), to calm an evil spirit. Chinese believed enshrining a tragic soul not only pacifying them but also guarding against the evil spirit. All of the temples dedicated to Shuixian zunwang established closed to the port, riverside, and seaside is to prevent people from floods and shipwreck.
The worship to Shuixian zunwang in Taiwan is in relation with early migrating and trading history. Because sailing on the Taiwan straits was risky at early stage, all the sailors and passengers would pray to the water god for blessing them. Regarding to the Cailiu riji (采硫日記), the Journal of Gathering Sulfur by Yu Yonghe (郁永河, 1645-?), when it was happened to typhoon or billows on sailing across the Taiwan straits, there was a ritul named hua shuixian (划水仙) would be held by the sailors and passengers on the boat. The ritual is took place by all of the people in the boad handing chopsticks in both hands and imitating to movement of paddling boat. At the same time, they had to mimic the sound of bronze drum and drum.
There are some temples dedicated to Shuixian zunwang and most of them are named Shuixian temple (水仙宮). The Shuixian temple in Tainan has a feature. The doors of the temple is not painted with the patron god like most of the temples in Taiwan but decorated with nail like decoration , men ding (門釘) . Men ding is a decoration specific to emperor during the imperial era. The reson is Day U as the main god in Shuixian temple who was one of the thress emperors in Ancient China. On tenth, October, in Chinese lunar calendar, Worshiping to Shuixian zunwang is taken place.
Keywords: Shuixian zunwang, Shuixian temple, Day U, Xiang Yu, Ao Wang, Qu Yuan ,Wu Zixu
References:
1.不著撰人。《三教源流搜神大全》
2.蔡相煇。1993。《台灣的祠祀與宗教》。台北：臺原。