The Four Duty Officers 四值功曹

The Four Duty Officers are the four gods in the heavenly court worshipped by Taoism, who are in charge of the year, month, day, and hour respectively, equivalent to the on-duty gods in the heavenly realm. They are: Li Bing, the God of the Year; Huang Chengyi, the God of the Month; Zhou Deng, the God of the Day; and Liu Hong, the God of the Hour.

"Gongcao" (Duty Officer) was originally a minor official position in ancient China, and later it was adopted into Taoist mythology as a subordinate of the Jade Emperor. Their main tasks are to record the merits and virtues of humans and gods, and they also serve as guardian gods. According to Taoist beliefs, all the prayer texts of Taoists, after being burned, are presented to various great gods by them. Therefore, they are important figures in various Taoist rituals and religious occasions.