The Jade Emperor in Chinese culture, traditional religions and myth is one of
the representations of the first god. In Taoist theology he is Yuanshi Tianzun,
one of the Three Pure Ones, the three primordial emanations of the Tao. He is
also the Cao Đài of Caodaism. The Jade Emperor is known by many names,
including Heavenly Grandfather, which originally meant "Heavenly Duke", which
is used by commoners; the Jade Lord the Highest Emperor, Great Emperor of Jade.
Chinese mythology There are many stories in Chinese
mythology involving the Jade Emperor. = Origin=
It was said that the Jade Emperor was originally the crown prince of the
kingdom of Pure Felicity and Majestic Heavenly Lights and Ornaments. At birth,
he emitted a wondrous light that filled the entire kingdom. When he was young,
he was kind, intelligent and wise. He devoted his entire childhood to helping
the needy. Furthermore, he showed respect and benevolence to both men and
creatures. After his father died, he ascended the throne. He made sure that
everyone in his kingdom found peace and contentment. After that, he told his
ministers that he wished to cultivate Tao on the Bright and Fragrant Cliff.
After 1,750 kalpas, each kalpa lasting for 129,600 years, he attained Golden
Immortality. After another one hundred million years of cultivation, he finally
became the Jade Emperor = Vanquishing evil=
One of the myths describes how the Jade Emperor became the monarch of all the
deities in heaven. It is one of the few myths in which the Jade Emperor really
shows his might. In the beginning of time, the earth was
a very difficult place to live, much harsher than it is now. People had to
deal with a variety of monstrous beings, and they didn’t have many gods to
protect them; in addition, many powerful demons were 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 powers could only ease the
suffering of humans. He retreated to a mountain cave to cultivate his Tao. He
passed 3,200 trials, each trial lasting about 3 million years.
On earth at this time, a powerful, evil entity had the ambition to conquer the
immortals and gods in heaven and proclaim sovereignty over the entire
universe. This evil entity also went into retreat and meditation to expand
its power, though later than the Jade Emperor did. He passed through 3,000
trials, each trial lasting about 3 million years. After its final trial, it
felt confident that no one could defeat it. It re-entered the world and
recruited an army of demons with the purpose of attacking heaven.
The immortals, being aware of the threat, gathered themselves and prepared
for war. The gods were unable to stop the powerful demon and it defeated them
all. The Jade Emperor finished his
cultivation during this war. When he was changing the land to make it more
liveable for men and repelling a variety of monsters, he saw an evil glow
emitting from heaven and knew something was amiss. He ascended and saw that the
evil entity was too powerful to be stopped by the gods. He challenged it,
and they fought. Mountains shook and rivers and seas toppled. Due to his
deeper and wiser cultivation, his benevolence instead of his might, the
Jade Emperor won the battle. After defeating the evil entity, its army was
scattered by the gods and immortals. Because of his noble and benevolent
deeds, the gods, immortals and humans proclaimed the Jade Emperor the supreme
sovereign of all. = Creation=
The world started with wuji according to the Chinese creation myth. The Jade
Emperor was the head of the pantheon, but not responsible for creation.
In another creation myth, the Jade Emperor fashioned the first humans from
clay and left them to harden in the sun. Rain deformed some of the figures, which
gave rise to human sickness and physical abnormalities.
In another myth, Nüwa fashions men out of the mud from the Yellow River by
hand. Those she made became the richer people of the earth. After getting lazy,
she dipped her scarf into the mud and swung it around. The drops that fell
from the scarf became the poorer humans. = In The Journey to the West=
In the popular novel by Wu Cheng'en, the Jade Emperor is featured many times in
the story. = The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd=
In another story, popular throughout Asia and with many differing versions,
the Jade Emperor has a daughter named Zhinü. She is most often represented as
responsible for weaving colorful clouds in the heaven. In some versions she is
the Goddess Weaver, daughter of the Jade Emperor and the Celestial Queen Mother,
who weaves the Silver River, which gives light to heaven and earth. In other
versions, she is a seamstress who works for the Jade Emperor.
Every day Zhinü descended to earth with the aid of a magical robe to bathe. One
day, a lowly cowherd named Niu Lang spotted Zhinü as she bathed in a stream.
Niu Lang fell instantly in love with her and stole her magic robe which she had
left on the bank of the stream, leaving her unable to escape back to Heaven.
When Zhinü emerged from the water, Niu Lang grabbed her and carried her back to
his home. When the Jade Emperor heard of this
matter, he was furious but unable to intercede, since in the meantime his
daughter had fallen in love and married the cowherd. As time passed, Zhinü grew
homesick and began to miss her father. One day, she came across a box
containing her magic robe which her husband had hidden. She decided to visit
her father back in Heaven, but once she returned, the Jade Emperor summoned a
river to flow across the sky, which Zhinü was unable to cross to return to
her husband. The Emperor took pity on the young lovers, and so once a year on
the seventh day of the seventh 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. Zhinü is the star Vega in the constellation of Lyra east of the
Milky Way, and Niu Lang is the star Altair in the constellation of Aquila
west of the Milky Way. Under the first quarter moon of the seventh lunar month,
the lighting condition in the sky causes the Milky Way to appear dimmer, hence
the story that the two lovers are no longer separated on that one particular
day each year. The seventh day of the seventh 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 is called
Tanabata. In Korea, it is called Chilseok. In Vietnam, it is called Thất
Tịch In If it rains on that day, it is said to be Zhinü crying tears of
happiness for being reunited with her husband.
= The zodiac= There are several stories as to how the
twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were chosen. In one, the Jade Emperor,
although having ruled Heaven and Earth justly and 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. Thus, he asked all the animals to visit him in
heaven. The cat, being the most handsome of all 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, however, 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 and was replaced by the Pig. The Jade Emperor was delighted with the
animals and so decided to divide the years up amongst them. When the cat
learned of what had happened, he was furious with the Rat and that, according
to the story, is why cats and rats are enemies to this day.
The cat however, does have a place in the Vietnamese zodiac, replacing the
Rabbit. = His predecessor and successor=
The Jade Emperor was originally the assistant of the Divine Master of the
Heavenly Origin, Yuanshi Tianzun. Yuanshi Tianzun is said to be the
supreme beginning, the limitless and eternal creator of Heaven and Earth, who
picked Yu-huang, or the Jade Emperor, as his personal successor. The Jade Emperor
will 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. In two folk automatic writing texts in 1925 and 1972, Guan Yu
became the 18th Jade Emperor in about 1840 AD; however, some have disagreed
that Guan Yu has succeeded, and thus the Jade Emperor and Guan Yu are often
worshiped separately. In Tienti teachings, the current jade emperor has
55 predecessors. Worship and festivals
The Jade Emperor's Birthday is said to be the ninth day of the first lunar
month. On this day Taoist temples hold a Jade Emperor ritual at which priests and
laymen prostrate themselves, burn incense and make food offerings.
In the morning of this birthday, Chinese and Taiwanese households set up an altar
table with 3 layers: one top, noodles, fruits, cakes, tangyuan, vegetable
bowls, and unripe betel, all decorated with paper lanterns) and two lower
levels to honor the deities below the Jade Emperor. The household then kneels
three times and kowtows nine times to pay homage and wish him a long life.
Yuk Wong Kung Tin a.k.a. Yuk Wong Po Tin is a temple in A Kung Ngam, Hong Kong,
dedicated to the Jade Emperor. In the mid 19th century, people from Huizhou
and Chaozhou mined stones in the hill for the development of the central urban
area. They set up a shrine to worship Yuk Wong. At the beginning of the 20th
century, the shrine was developed into a small temple and was renovated many
times. The latest renovation was in 1992.
Toponyms A crater on Saturn's moon Rhea,
discovered by Voyager 2 spacecraft, is named after him.
See also Chinese mythology in popular culture
Jade Śakra, the Jade Emperor's Buddhist
counterpart Jade Emperor Pagoda
References External links
Media related to Jade Emperor at Wikimedia Commons