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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