五路财神是怎么来的它的来历和传说又是怎样的呢
据说元末有一何五路，为抵御外寇而死，人们因此祀他为神，名“五路神”。但此五路神似乎与作为财神的路头五路神无涉。或又以五路神实为五圣神，或曰五通神，在康熙年间汤斌毁禁上方山五通寺以后，民间不敢祀五通神，故改其名为路头而祀之。一般以此路头为古 五 祀中的行 神，所谓 五 路乃东西南北中也;财货无不凭 路 而行，故人们以行 神 为 财 神，谨加祭祀，冀求它引 财 入门，或出 行 获 利。
在《封 神 演义》中，《赵 公 元帅、招宝天尊萧升、纳珍天尊曹宝、招财使者陈九公和利市仙官姚少司被称作了“ 五 路 财 神”。民间所供的财 神 中，不管是赵公元帅还是赐福天官身边总要配以利市仙官( 五 路 之一)，因此利市仙官可说是地地道道的偏 财 神。
关于利市仙官的来历，在《封 神 演义》中有记载：利市仙 官 本名姚少司，是大 财 神 赵公明 的徒弟后被姜子牙封为迎祥纳福之生。这所谓“利 市”包含三重含义：一指做买卖时得到的利润;二指吉 利 和运气;三指喜庆或节日的喜钱如压岁钱等。人们信奉他，是希望得 利 市 uren保佑生活幸福美满万事如意。一到新年，有的人特别是商人，还把利市仙 官 图贴到门上，并配以招财童子，对联写道：“招才童子至”与“利 市 uren 来”，隐喻发家致富吉祥如意。
"Five Roads God of Wealth" is how it came to be? What's the story behind its origin and legends?
According to history, during the late Yuan dynasty, there were five heroes known as "How Five Roads." These heroes died fighting against foreign invaders, and people therefore deified them as gods. They named these gods "Five Roads Gods." However, this Five Roads God seems unrelated to the Road Head Five Roads God who is commonly considered a god of wealth.
Or maybe the Five Roads God was actually one of the five saints or a god of knowledge in ancient times. After Emperor Kangxi banned worship at Mount Wutong Temple in Qing Dynasty, people stopped praying to these gods out of fear. So they changed their names from Five Saints or Knowledge Gods to Road Heads and continued their worship.
People generally consider Road Head as an ancient deity associated with traveling. Since all forms of commerce move along roads, people believe that Road Head controls all financial matters. Thus they offer sacrifices hoping for prosperity.
In "The Investiture of the Gods," there are five deities called Zhao Gongming (the General Who Pacifies Bandits), Zuo Bingren (the Lord Who Calls Forth Treasures), Cao Baozhen (the Lord Who Stores Treasures), Chen Jiugong (the Officer Who Attracts Prosperity), and Yao Shaoshi (Lishi Xianjun). These are referred to as "The Five Gods Of Wealth."
In folklore about Lishi Xianjun's origins in "The Investiture Of The Gods," he was originally named Yao Shaoshi - a disciple under Zhao Gongming - later appointed by Jiang Ziya as a god welcoming blessings and good fortune. The term 'Lishi' has three meanings: one refers to profits gained through business deals; two refers to luck and good fortune; three refers to festive money like New Year gifts such as red envelopes filled with money given by parents or elders during Chinese New Year celebrations. People venerate him hoping for happiness in life and success in everything.
During Chinese New Year celebrations, some merchants place Lishi Xianjun's image on doors alongside figures representing Childs That Bring In Wealth with matching couplets reading “Childs That Bring In Wealth Arrive” & “Lishi Xianjun Comes.” This represents prospering businesses bringing wealth into families throughout the year.
Thus we see how over time what began as honoring soldiers who fought bravely evolved into beliefs about gods controlling finance based on observations that trade happens on roads leading up various directions hence East West South North Middle which became associated with prosperity thus turning road head into road head while changing belief systems reflecting changes over time due societal changes but ultimately serving same purpose faith-based hope for better future
