The cult of Bixia yuanjun (碧霞元君, Goddess of the Morning Clouds) began in the Song with the discovery of a statue on Mount Tai, and during the Ming she was venerated as the daughter of Dongyue dadi (東岳大帝, Great Deity of Mount Tai), and merciful helper of dead souls (Naquin 1992: 334-345). As documented in the Bixia yuanjun huguo baosheng jing (碧霞元君護國保生經, Scripture on the Guarding of Life and Protection of the Country through the Goddess of the Morning Clouds), she was officially integrated into the pantheon through formal empowerment by Yuanshi Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning), who reportedly gave her the necessary spells and talismans for helping people (Despeux 2000: 393).