Jade Emperor

Origin

The iconographic origin is the decisive origin canon of the Heavenly Emperor (Tiandi) and Lord (Shangdi) faith of the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE), and the decisive textual canon is the decisive origin canon of the Heavenly Emperor and Lord of the Taiping Jing (Taiping Jing) of the Han dynasty c. 2nd century CE and the decisive Taoist canon of the Jade Emperor Sutra (Yuhuang Jing, Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Jijing) of the Tang dynasty (618-907). The decisive canon is the canon as the official imperial object of worship through the title 'Taishang Kaitian Zhifu Yuli Hanzhen Tidao Yuhuang Datian Di' bestowed by Emperor Zhenzong of Song (reigned 997-1022) in 1012 of the Song dynasty (960-1279), and the title 'Taishang Kaitian Zhifu Yuli Hanzhen Tidao Haotian Yuhuang Shangdi' bestowed by Emperor Huizong of Song (reigned 1100-1126) in 1116. Before then, he was called by names such as Tiandi (Heavenly Emperor), Shangdi (Lord), and Haotian Shangdi (Lord of Vast Heaven), and the decisive canon of the Sanjiao Soushen Daquan (Compendium of the Three Religions) of the Ming dynasty of 1417 and the Journey to the West (Xiyou Ji, c. 1592) by Wu Cheng en (Wu Cheng en, c. 1500-1582) of the Ming dynasty of the late 16th century chapters 4-7 of the Jade Emperor and Sun Wukong, and the Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi) by Xu Zhonglin of the Ming dynasty of c. 1567-1620.

Features

• Emperor in yellow dragon robe with the mianliu crown
• Resides in the heavenly palace of Yujing (Jade Capital)
• Commands countless gods, immortals, and bureaucrats
• Lunar 1st month 9th day — Tianggong Sheng (Birthday of the Jade Emperor)
• Lunar 12th month 25th day — Tianshen Xiajiang (gods descend to inspect the mortal world)
• Main worship — Jade Emperor faith of Chengdu, Sichuan, and Tiangong Temples of Taiwan

Stories

The Han dynasty Heavenly Emperor and Lord faith is the decisive origin, and the decisive textual canon is the Taiping Jing of c. 2nd century CE Han dynasty, the Jade Emperor Sutra of the Tang dynasty, the title 'Yuhuang Datian Di' bestowed by Emperor Zhenzong of Song in 1012, the title 'Yuhuang Shangdi' bestowed by Emperor Huizong of Song in 1116, the Journey to the West chapters 4-7 by Wu Cheng en of the late 16th century Ming dynasty, and the Investiture of the Gods by Xu Zhonglin of c. 1567-1620. The decisive canon as the supreme god most commonly invoked in folk religion, and the decisive canon of the lunar 1st month 9th day being his birthday (Tianggong Sheng), when major rituals are held in Taoist temples. The decisive canon invoked for the well-being of the household, the prosperity of the nation, and natural disasters such as droughts and floods, and the decisive canon of the lunar 12th month 25th day Tianshen Xiajiang in which gods descend to inspect the mortal world. The decisive temple is the decisive canon of the Tiangong Temple (Yuhuang Gong) of Taiwan and the Jade Emperor faith of Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The decisive 21st-century canon is the Jade Emperor played by Wang Chongren of the Chinese CCTV TV series Journey to the West (25 episodes + sequel) from 1986 to 2000, and the Jade Emperor played by Collin Chou (Zou Zhaolong Collin Chou) of the film The Forbidden Kingdom (directed by Rob Minkoff) released in the USA on 24 April 2008 — the 21st-century decisive global video canon.

Weakness

Jade Emperor's weaknesses are: (1) bureaucratic emperor — the decisive canonical weakness — the decisive canon of the bureaucratic emperor who issues orders to his subordinate gods rather than fighting directly in the late 16th century Ming dynasty Wu Cheng en Journey to the West chapters 4-7; (2) headache with Sun Wukong — the decisive canonical weakness — the decisive canon of Journey to the West chapters 4-7 in which he was troubled by Sun Wukong's (Sun Wukong) Havoc in Heaven and had to ask Buddha for help to imprison Sun Wukong under the Five Elements Mountain; (3) lower authority than Buddha — the decisive canonical weakness — the decisive canon of Journey to the West chapter 7 in which the Jade Emperor asked Shakyamuni (Buddha) for help; (4) binding of imperial formality — the decisive canon; (5) binding of commands — the decisive canon of issuing orders rather than acting directly; (6) binding of Yujing — the decisive canon of residing in the heavenly palace of Yujing (Jade Capital); (7) binding of the sacred domain — the decisive canon; (8) distance from the human world — the decisive canon. The decisive canonical finale is the decisive mythological canon of the late 16th century Ming dynasty Wu Cheng en Journey to the West chapter 7 — the Jade Emperor could not stop Sun Wukong's Havoc in Heaven and asked Shakyamuni for help, imprisoning Sun Wukong under the Five Elements Mountain (Wuxing Shan) for 500 years.

Cultural Significance

Jade Emperor is not merely a heavenly-emperor icon but the canonical iconographic figure of the decisive Taoist and Chinese canon, traversing the Han dynasty Heavenly Emperor and Lord faith, the Han dynasty c. 2nd century CE Taiping Jing, the Tang dynasty Jade Emperor Sutra, the Song dynasty 1012 Emperor Zhenzong of Song's title 'Yuhuang Datian Di', the 1116 Emperor Huizong of Song's title 'Yuhuang Shangdi', the 1417 Ming dynasty Sanjiao Soushen Daquan, the c. 1567-1620 Ming dynasty Xu Zhonglin's Investiture of the Gods, the late 16th century Ming dynasty Wu Cheng en's Journey to the West chapters 4-7, the 1986 CCTV Journey to the West, and the 2008 film The Forbidden Kingdom. The Heavenly Emperor (Tiandi) and Lord (Shangdi) faith of the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) settled as the decisive origin canon in the Taiping Jing (Taiping Jing) of the Han dynasty c. 2nd century CE. The decisive mythological canon is the 'Havoc in Heaven (Da nao tian gong)' in chapters 4-7 of the about 100 chapters of the Journey to the West (Xiyou Ji, c. 1592) by Wu Cheng en (Wu Cheng en, c. 1500-1582) of the Ming dynasty of the late 16th century — the decisive canon in which Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Jade Emperor's heavenly palace, after which the Jade Emperor asked Shakyamuni for help, and Sun Wukong was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain — and the Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi) by Xu Zhonglin of the Ming dynasty of c. 1567-1620. The decisive religious canon is the decisive canon of the lunar 1st month 9th day Tianggong Sheng — the birthday of the Jade Emperor — and the major rituals in Taoist temples, and the lunar 12th month 25th day Tianshen Xiajiang — gods inspecting the mortal world. The decisive 21st-century canon is the Jade Emperor played by Wang Chongren of the Chinese CCTV TV series Journey to the West (directed by Yang Jie, 25 episodes + sequel 16 episodes) from 1986 to 2000, and the Jade Emperor played by Collin Chou (Zou Zhaolong Collin Chou, born 13 August 1967 in Taipei, Taiwan) of the film The Forbidden Kingdom (directed by Rob Minkoff, Lionsgate, worldwide box office about 128 million dollars) released in the USA on 24 April 2008 — the 21st-century decisive global video canon.

In Popular Culture

Han dynasty Heavenly Emperor and Lord faith (202 BCE-220 CE) — decisive origin canonTaiping Jing (Han dynasty, c. 2nd century CE) — decisive origin canonJade Emperor Sutra (Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Jijing) (Tang dynasty, 618-907) — decisive Taoist canonEmperor Zhenzong of Song title 'Yuhuang Datian Di' (1012) — decisive imperial canonEmperor Huizong of Song title 'Yuhuang Shangdi' (1116) — decisive imperial canonSanjiao Soushen Daquan (Ming dynasty, 1417) — decisive religious canonXu Zhonglin Investiture of the Gods (Ming dynasty, c. 1567-1620) — decisive shenmo novel canonWu Cheng en Journey to the West chapters 4-7 'Havoc in Heaven' (c. 1592) — decisive shenmo novel canonCCTV TV series Journey to the West (1986) — decisive 21st-century video canonFilm The Forbidden Kingdom, Jade Emperor Collin Chou (2008) — 21st-century decisive film canon