Asian Art

Jade Emperor

In the myths and folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the three primordial emanations of the Tao. However, some Taoists in history were skeptical of his benevolence because his buildings and infrastructure in heaven and earth were sometimes seen as interfering with the many natural laws or dao. He is often identified with Śakra in Chinese Buddhist cosmology and identified with Yu the Great in Chinese mythology. The Jade Emperor is known by many names, including Yu; Heavenly Grandfather (Chinese: 天公, romanized: Tiāngōng), which originally meant "Heavenly Duke" (and which is used by commoners); the Jade Lord; the Highest Emperor; and Great Emperor of Jade (玉皇上帝, Yu Huang Shangdi, or 玉皇大帝, Yu Huang Dadi).

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See also

• ▸Damnatio memoriae
• ▸Circaea
• ▸Foreign relations of China

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