#JourneysToTheUnderWorld (#traditionalChinese: 地獄遊記; #simplifiedChinese: 地狱游记; #pinyin: Dìyù Yóujì), also known as #VoyagesToHell, is a #Taiwanese novel describing what Yangsheng (楊生), a #planchette handler, saw and heard when he followed his master #JiGong to hell on the instruction of the #JadeEmperor. The story is about the consequences resulting from actions during the life of a person. It contains journeys made by Ji Gong.

Leigong

Leigong, or Leishen, is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology, & Taoism.

In Taoism, when ordered by Heaven, Leigong punishes both earthly morals guilty of secret crimes & evil spirits who have used their knowledge of Taoism to harm human beings. He carries a drum & mallet to produce thunder, & a chisel to punish evildoers. Leigong rides a chariot driven by a young boy named A Xiang.

Since Leigong’s power is thunder. He has assistants capable of producing other types of heavenly phenomena. Leigong’s wife, Dianmu, is the goddess of lightning across the sky. Other companions are Yun Tong (“Cloud Youth”), who whips up clouds, & Yu Shi (“Rain Master”), who causes downpours by dipping his sword into a pot. Roaring winds rush forth from a type of goatskin bag manipulated by Fengbo (“Earl of Wind”), who was later transformed into Fang Po Po (“Lady Wind”).

Leigong is pictured as a fearsome creature with claws, bat wings, & a blue face with a bird’s beak who wears only a loincloth. Temples dedicated to him are rare. Some people honor him, in the hope he’ll take revenge on their personal enemies.

Leigong began life as a mortal. While on Earth, he encounters a peach tree that originated from Heaven during the struggle between the Fox Demon & 1 of the Celestial Warriors. When Leigong took a bite out of 1 of its fruits, he was transformed into his godly form. Soon he received a mace & a hammer that could create thunder.

The Jade Emperor instructed Leigong to kill only bad people. But the sky got really dark whenever he struck people. Sometimes he killed the wrong people, since he couldn’t find his target. Dianmu, his wife, was 1 such victim. (We’re about to get into some dark territory here.)

Dianmu lived with her mom in the countryside, where they worked as rice farmers. One day, she dumped a husk of rice into a river because it was too hard for her mom to eat. When Leigong witnessed this, he got enraged. He thought that she was wasting food. So when he saw her dumping the husk out, he killed with 1 of his lightning bolts.

The Jade Emperor found out what Leigong had done & was furious that he killed the wrong person again. So the Jade Emperor revived Dianmu & made her into a goddess. He also told Diamnu to marry Leigong as punishment for her murder. He killed her, so it was his fault, & responsibility to take care of her. (So yes, you read that right. She had to marry her murderer.)

Dianmu’s job is to work with Leigong. She uses mirrors to shine light onto Earth so Leigong can see who he hits & makes sure they can’t innocent. This is why lightning comes before thunder.

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#aXiang #celestialWarriors #chineseFolkReligion #chineseMythology #dianmu #fangPoPo #fengbo #foxDemon #jadeEmperor #leigong #lightning #mirrors #peachTree #taoism #thunder #yuShi #yunTong

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.

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#Chi #Christian #Dao #Daobao #DaodeJIng #DaodeTiansun #DaodeTianzun #Globe #GoldenDoor #GreatPureOne #GreatTao #Heaven #Hundun #HundunWijiYuanshiTianwang #JadeEmperor #JadeMountain #JadePureOne #Jing #Jingbao #Laozi #Liangyi #LifeForce #LingbaoTianzun #Pearl #PearlOfCreation #Pinyin #PreCreation #PrimordialDeity #PrimordialEnergy #Qi #RuyiScepter #ShangQing #Shen #Shibao #SupremePureOnes #TaiQing #Taiji #TangDynasty #Tao #TaoTeChing #Taoism #TaoistAlchemy #TaoistPantheon #TaoistTrinity #ThreeClairites #ThreeDivineTeachers #ThreePristineOnes #ThreePureOnes #ThreePurePellucidOnes #ThreePurities #Trinity #Wuji #YinYang #YuanshiTianzun

According to Vietnamese folklore, the Jade Emperor was so impressed by the courage demonstrated by Toad when he traveled all the way to Heaven in order to plead for rain to end a drought that he bestowed the title of “Uncle of Heaven” upon the amphibian. #MythologyMonday

📷: John Cameron

#Folklore #Folktale #Mythology #Vietnam #VietnameseFolklore #Toad #JadeEmperor #Heaven @mythologymonday

@RickiTarr

I'm currently doing a super-casual series on the Chinese zodiac. It's based on the story of the race between the animals to get to Jade Emperor's castle, where he gives each animal a beautiful gift for their attendance.

I'm doing one in each in their corresponding year. I still have to do Rabbit but had some major mega glitches in the Matrix where I just couldn't get it done.

#JadeEmperor
#Zodiac
#art
#digitalart
#YearoftheRat
#YearoftheOx
#YearoftheTiger

Jade artifacts and icons are almost synonymous with the Chinese culture going back thousands of years.https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1328/liangzhu-culture-jade/ #Jade #JadeEmperor #History