Japan has something similar. The god of education, Tenjin, was originally a poet named Sugawara no Michizane who lived 1000 years ago. During a regime change, he got ousted and exiled and died in shame. After his death, a bunch of calamities befell the government, leading people to believe that Michizane's vengeful spirit was cursing them, so they started worshipping him as a god to placate him.
Fast_Moon t1_je01vvl wrote
Reply to TIL that in Chinese Folk Religion, a mortal human being could ascend into godhood not through the decisions of a clergy/church, but by the sheer number of people who believe that their extraordinary achievements led to apotheosis, which forced Confucian/Taoists clerics to canonize a person as a God. by Khysamgathys
Japan has something similar. The god of education, Tenjin, was originally a poet named Sugawara no Michizane who lived 1000 years ago. During a regime change, he got ousted and exiled and died in shame. After his death, a bunch of calamities befell the government, leading people to believe that Michizane's vengeful spirit was cursing them, so they started worshipping him as a god to placate him.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenjin_(kami)