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The Jade Emperor

In Taoist theology, he’s the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who’s 1 of the 3 Pure Ones, the 3 primordial emanations of the Tao. He’s often identified with Sakra in Chinese Buddhist cosmology.

The Jade Emperor is known by many names. Including Yu, Heavenly Grandfather (Tiangong), which originally meant “Heavenly Duke,” which is used by commoners; the Jade Lord; the Highest Emperor; Great Emperor of Jade (Yu Huang Shangdi or Yu Huang Dadi).

Legend says he was born the prince of the Kingdom of Pure Felicity & Majetic Heavenly Lights & Ornaments. At birth, he emitted a wondrous light that filled the entire kingdom. When he was young, he was kind, intelligent, & wise. He devoted his entire childhood to helping the needy. He showed respect & benevolence to men & creatures.

After his dad passed away, he ascended the throne. He made sure that everyone in his kingdom found peace & contentment. After that, he told his ministers that he wished to cultivate Tao on the Bright & Fragrant Cliff. He soon abdicated to live as a hermit.

He spent eons, specifically 3,200 kalpas (Each kalpa millions of years. This is 1,750 eons, each eon lasting for 129,600 years (360 years squared)), he attained Golden Immortality. He then spent another 100 million years cultivating his virtue to save all beings. Thus becoming the Jade Emperor. Using the given numbers, this period before his becoming the Jade Emperor lasted for a total of about 327 million years.

One myth describes how the Jade Emperor became THE monarch of ALL the deities. It’s 1 of the myths where the Jade Emperor’s power is shown.

In the beginning of time, the earth was not a great place to live. There were a variety of monstrous beings. There weren’t many gods to protect people. THere were also many powerful demons defying the immortals of Heaven.

The Jade Emperor was an ordinary immortal who roamed the earth helping as many people as he could. He was saddened because his people could only ease the suffering of humans. He went to a mountain cave to cultivate his Tao. He passed 3,200 trials, each trial lasting about 3 million years.

The Jade Emperor’s status as supreme ruler was cemented during a battle against a powerful Primordial Evil. While other gods, & immortals, faltered, the Jade Emperor’s millennia of cultivation allowed him to defeat the entity. For this, the 3 Pure Ones (the highest Taoist deities) proclaimed him the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe.

According to the Chinese creation myth, the world started with wuji (nothingness). The Jade Emperor was the head of the pantheon.

In another myth, the Jade Emperor fashioned the 1st humans from clay & left them to harden in the sun. Rain deformed some of the figures, which gave rise to human sickness & physical abnormalities. The most common alternative Chinese creation myth states that human beings were once fleas on the body of Pangu.

In another myth, Nuwa fashions men out of the mud from the Yellow River by hand. Those she made became the richer people of the earth. After getting tired of it, she dipped her scarf into the mud & swung it around. The drops that fell from the scarf became the poorer humans.

In another story, the Jade Emperor has a daughter named Zhinu (literally “weaver girl”). She’s often represented as responsible for waving coloring clouds in Heaven. In some versions, she’s the Goddess Weaver, daughter of the Jade Emperor & the Celestial Queen Mother, who weaves the Silver River (known in the West as the Milky Way), which gives light to Heaven & earth. In other versions, she’s a seamstress who works from the Jade Emperor.

Every day, Zhinu descended to Earth with the aid of a magical robe to bathe. One day, a “lowly” cowherd named Niu Lang spotted Zhinu as she bathed in a stream. Niu Lang fell instantly in love with her & stole her magic robe, which she had left on the bank of the stream, leaving her unable to escape back to Heaven. When Zhinu emerged from the water, Niu Lang grabbed her & carried her back to his home. (This reminds us of the stories of the Selkies.)

The Jade Emperor heard of this matter, he was furious but unable to intercede. Since his daughter had fallen in love & married the cowherd. Time passed, Zhinu grew homesick & began to miss her dad. One day, she came across a box. In this box was her magic robe, which her husband had hidden.

She decided to visit her dad in Heaven. But once she returned, the Jade Emperor summoned a river to flow across the sky (the Milky Way), which Zhinu was unable to cross to return to her husband. The Emperor took pity on the young lovers.

So once a year on the 7th day of the 7h month of the lunar calendar, he allows them to meet on a bridge over the river. The story refers to constellations in the night sky. Zhinu is the star Vega in the constellation of Lyra, east of the Milky Way. Niu Lang is the star Altair in the constellation of Aquila, west of the Milky Way.

Under the 1st quarter moon (7th day) of the 7th lunar month (around August), the lighting conditions in the sky cause the Milky Way to appear dimmer. Hence, the story that the 2 lovers are no longer separated on that 1 particular day each year.

The 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar is a holiday in China called Qixi Festival, which is a day for young lovers much like Valentine’s Day in the West.

In Japan, it’s called Tanabata (star day). In Korea, it’s called Chilseok. In Vietnam, it’s called That Tich & if it rains that day, it’s said to be Zhinu’s tears of happiness for being reunited with her husband.

In 1 story of how the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac were picked, the Jade Emperor (although having ruled Heaven & Earth justly & wisely for many years) had never had the time to actually visit the Earth personally. He grew curious as to what the creatures looked like.

He asked all the animals to visit him in Heaven. The cat, being the most handsome of all the animals, asked his friend, the Rat, to wake him on the day they were to go to Heaven so he wouldn’t oversleep. The Rat was worried that he would seem ugly compared to the Cat. So he didn’t wake the Cat. Consequently, the Cat missed the meeting with the Jade Emperor & was replaced by the Pig.

The Jade Emperor was delighted with the animals & so decided to divide the years up amongst them. When the Cat learned of what had happened, he was furious with the Rat. So this is why, even to this day, that cats & rats are enemies.

Once a great drought had spread across the land. 4 dragons from the sea saw the people’s plight. The dragons traveled to beg the Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Palace to bring the rains to the people. The Jade Emperor was VERY busy ruling the heavens, earth, & sea.

The Jade Emperor distractedly agreed to send the rains on the next day if they would return to the sea. But soon after the dragons left, the Jade Emperor forgot his promise. After 10 days, the rains still didn’t come & the people began to die of starvation.

The dragons couldn’t idly stand by & do nothing. So they took matters into their own hands. They decided to use their bodies to capture bug amounts of water from the sea, taking it upon themselves to bring the rain. The people were grateful & prayed their thanks to the Jade Emperor, who quickly found out what the dragons had done. The Jade Emperor became quite angry that they intervened without his blessing.

The Jade Emperor ordered the Mountain God to trap the dragons. From each mountain that trapped a dragon, a new river sprang up. The Yellow Dragon spran up the Yellow River. From the Long Dragon came the Yangtze River. From the Black Dragon, the Amur River. And from the Pearl Dragon, the Pearl River. The rivers thereafter flowed from west to east & north to south, the dragons ensuring that the Chinese people would never be without water again.

The Jade Emperor originally was the assistant to the Divine Master of the Heavenly Origin, Yuanshi Tianzun. Tianzun is said to be the supreme beginning, the limitless & eternal creator of Heaven & Earth. Tianzun picked Yuhuang (the Jade Emperor) as his personal successor.

The Jade Emperor would eventually be succeeded by the Heavenly Master of the Dawn of Jade of the Golden Door. The characters for both are stamped on the front of the arms of his throne.

The Jade Emperor’s birthday is said to be the 9th day of the 1st lunar month. On this day, Taoist Temples hold a Jade Emperor ritual at which priests & laymen prostrate themselves, burn incense, & make food offerings.

In the morning of this birthday, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hokkien, Peranakan Malaysian Chinese, & Singaporean Chinese who practice Buddhism, Taoism, & other Chinese religions set up an altar table with 3 layers: 1 top (containing offerings of 6 veggies, noodles, fruits, cakes, tangyuan (a rice-based dessert), veggie bowls, & unripe bethel, all decorated with paper lanterns) & 2 lower levels (containing the 5 sacrifices & wines) to honor the deities below the Jade Emperor. The household kneels 3x & kowtows 9x to pay homage & wish him a long life.

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Spirituality & Religious Studies Oct 10

Three Pure Ones

These entities are also known as: Three Pellucid Ones, Three Pristine Ones, Three Divine Teachers, Three Clarities, or Three Purities.

They’re the 3 highest gods in the Taoist pantheon. They’re considered as pure manifestations of the Tao & the origin of all sentient beings. Along with the “Lord’s of the Three Principles,” or qi. Also they were gods associated with the sky, the earth, & the underworld.

They were thought to be able to control, & have power over time in different ways. Sometimes they were literally seen as past, present, & future.

From the Tao Te Ching, it was held that “the Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things.” It’s generally agreed that Tao produced One means Wuji produced Taiji. One produced Two means Taiji produced Yin & Yang (or Liangyi). Many believe Yin & Yang, with the presence of Chi, or life force.

In religious Taoism, how Tao produces One, Two, & Three is explained. In Tao produces One – Wuji produces Taiji, which represents the Great Tao. This is embodied by Hundun (pinyin: Hundun Wiyi Yuanshi Tianwang, “Heavenly King of the Never-ending Primordial Beginning”) at a time of pre-Creation.

Manifesting into the 1st of the Taoist Trinity, Yuanshi Tianzun. Yuanshi Tianzun oversees the earliest phase of Creation of the Universe. And is henceforth called Daobao (“Treasure of the Tao”).

In One produces Two – Taiji produces Yin Yang. Yuanshi Tianzun manifests into Lingbao Tianzun who separated the Yang from the Yin, the clear from the murky, & classified the elements into their rightful groups. He’s known as Jingbao (“Treasure of the Law/Scripture”).

In the final phase of Creation, Daode Tianzun is manifested from Lingbao Tianzun to bring civilization & preach the Law to all living beings. He’s known as Shibao (“Treasure of the Master”).

The Three Pure Ones represent both a primordial deity & a heaven. They’re often depicted seated on thrones, each holding a distinct symbol.

Yuanshi Tianzun, the first & highest of the Three Pure Ones, rules the first Heaven, Yu-Qing, which is found in the Jade Mountain. The entrance to this heaven is called the Golden Door. He represents the beginning of all existence & is associated with the formless & primordial chaos that existed before the universe. He’s believed to have created Heaven & Earth. His symbol is a pearl or a globe. This represents the cosmic egg from which the universe emerged. He’s known as the Jade Pure One. Known as the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning.

Lingbao Tianzun rules over the Heaven of Shang-Qing. He represents the beginning of time & the revelation of the Dao’s teachings to the world. He is associated with the transition from primordial chaos to a structure universe & is said to be the keeper of the sacred scriptures & the master of rituals. His symbol is a ruyi scepter, signifying cosmic power & authority. He’s also known as the Supreme Pure Ones. Also known as the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure.

Daode Tianzun rules over the Heaven of Tai-Qing. He’s the 3rd & most widely known of the 3. He’s believed to be the deified form of Laozi, the reputed author of the Daode Jing. He’s associated with the communication of the Dao’s teachings to humanity & is the master of compassion & ethics. His symbol is a fan, which he used to spread the teachings of the Tao/Dao, or a deer, a symbol of longevity & wisdom. He’s also known as the Great Pure One & the Celestial Worthy of the Way & its Virtue.

Schools of Taoist thought developed around each of these deities. Taoist Alchemy was a large part of these schools. Each of the Three Pure Ones represented 1 of 3 essential fields of the body: jing, qi, & shen. The congregation of all Three Pure Ones resulted in the return of Tao.

The 1st Pure One in universal/heavenly chi. The Second Pure One is human-plane chi. The Third Pure One is earth chi. Heavenly chi includes the chi, or energy, of all the planets, stars, & constellations. As well as the energy of God (the force of creation & universal love).

Human chi is the energy that exists on the surface of our planet & sustains human life. The earth force includes all of the forces inside the planet, as well as the 5 elemental forces.

Since the Three Pure Ones are manifestations of Primordial Energy, they are formless. However, to illustrate their role in Creation, they’re often pictured as elderly deities, robed in three basic colors, from which all colors originated: red, blue, & yellow (or green).

Each of them holds onto a divine object associated with their tasks. Yuanshi Tianzun is usually depicted holding the Pearl of Creation, signifying his role in recreating the Universe.

The Ruyi held by Lingbao Tianzun represents authority: the 2nd phase of Creation where the Yang was separated from the Yin & the Law of Things was ordered in place.

Lingbao Tianzun then took his seat on the left of Yuanshi Tianzun. Later, when all was complete, Daode Tianzun took his place on the right, with the fan symbolizing the completion of Creation. The act of fanning represents the spreading of Tao to all Mankind.

Some believe depictions & thought of the Three Pure Ones from the Tang Dynasty & were influenced by the Church of the East conception about the Trinity. Because of the heavy Christian – Taoist contact & mutual influence of the time.

Others believe that another Taoist trinity of gods evolved into the Pure Ones. Beliefs in the Jade Emperor were taken from other Chinese religious traditions. He was seen as their assistant who managed all of creation.