Jade emperor

The Emperor of jade or Yuhuang Dadi 玉皇大帝 is a Chinese god of origin taoist considered as the chief of the other gods, been dependant on the Sky and sovereignty. He provides in fact this function in competition with Tiangong, the Lord of the sky, divinity much older than he tends to absorb; Tiangong becomes one of its names then. Like all the important gods, it has other less current names, titles given by the clergy taoist or the imperial administration.

Deity taoist

The jade Emperor appears after the Dynastie Han in the panthéons taoists who summarize the philosophical and mystical speculations various schools. Its position was not always preeminent. Thus, the alchemist of Ve and 6th centuries CAT Hongjing mention it like the ninth, even the tenth in the hierarchy of the deities. Later, it becomes one of the Four Majesties directly placed under the three supreme principles called Three Pure. Yuhuang represents the sky and governs the gods, Ziwei represents stars and governs the calendar and the climate, Gouchen is the axis of the sky and governs the human events, Houtu represents the ground and governs deaths and births as well as the landscape, entity alive. Under the Song, it is placed just after the Three Pure ones and supervises the Four Majesties. He is regarded as the full one born from the vacuum with the Three Pure ones, the action generated by their absolute inaction.

Its legend, filled like all the myths taoists of names to value symbolic system, makes of it the prince of the Pays of the majestic light and the extreme happiness located in the Monde of the skies . After several years without heir, the king Pure virtue and the queen Lumière lunar-jewel asked for the ritual assistance of Masters taoists. A little later the queen lives in dream Laozi carrying a red child. One year afterwards, Yuhuang was born whereas a great light invaded the room. Young prince, it showed generosity by distributing the money of the royal treasure to the poor, then with died from his/her father withdrew itself to live in Ermite, giving up the administration of the kingdom to the ministers. After 3200 kalpas of asceticism it became immortal the natural Eveil , after 100 million more, it became god under the name of Empereur of jade . (the exact duration, always immense, varies)

Many divinities taoists, too abstract, was not adopted by the unit practitioners the Chinese religion, but the jade Emperor enjoys a great popularity. He indeed constitutes an ideal lining for the Lord of the sky, whose worship old and is well anchored but the badly defined personality, and profits from the influence of the taoism on the fantastic and legendary literature.

Imperial and popular divinity

As a supreme and main god of the celestial palate, it was selected like guardian divinity of the imperial family as from the 9th century. In the popular religion, vêtu as an emperor, it naturally takes place with the head of the celestial Bureaucratie, always in competition with the Lord of the sky. It can replace this last (or its wife) in the old legends such as that of the herdsman and the tisserande; in the more recent legends, that of the animal of the Chinese horoscope for example, the Lord of the sky, the jade Emperor and the Bouddha Gautama is replaced mutually with the liking of the storyteller in the role of the principal god.

The Exorcism S being a speciality taoist, Yuhuangdadi is the supreme exorcist.

Like all the Chinese divinities, it also has a terrestrial identity under the name of Zhang Jian 張堅, perhaps inspired by the famous founders of schools taoists of the time Han, Zhang Daoling and Zhang Jiao. Its birthday is celebrated the 9 of the first lunar month, date on which one celebrates the Lord of the sky. In certain areas, one claims that it goes down on ground to make a round of inspection the 25 of the 12th lunar month, towards the end of the Chinese year.

Effect of the competition between Buddhist taoists and , the latter sometimes tried to recover it by identifying it with the Hindu god Indra.

Worship with the Sky

The ceremonies in the honor of the Lord of the Sky begin traditionally with a domestic worship and detonators at the beginning of the ninth day, i.e. as from eleven hours of the evening according to the traditional calculation of the hours. The faithful ones prepared while abstaining from meat during all the day of the eighth day and by taking a bath. This evening, the god will lean his glance on the house, the neighborhoods are thus carefully arranged; formerly the female underclothing drying outside were collected. Two tables of offerings were prepared: a higher table without meat because the god is supposed to be vegetarian, a coffee table carrying the usual flesh-colored offerings for its assistants. The members of the household offer each one in its turn, in hierarchical order, an incense stick and incline themselves. As at the end of each ceremony to the gods, paper money is flaring. That which one uses for the Lord of the Sky, much larger than the others, is also called money of longevity (大壽金). It is said that if time is lenient this day the year will be peaceful. A ceremony with the lord of the Sky can also take place the first day of the year, the 25 of the twelfth month, or at the time of the important family events such as the marriages.

Moreover

A crater of Rhéa photographed by Voyager 2 received the name of the god.

See too

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