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Goullart in his description of the monastery in Kiangsi in which he spent several holidays, describes in one hall 'Shang Ti smiling benevolently and enigmatically from his canopied throne'. He then refers, in his description of another temple, to the Jade Emperor and speaks of him as Shang Ti. There are various explanations offered as to why this deity is called the Jade Emperor. One suggests that the reference in the Book of Changes to '. . . heaven being the ruler, and is... jade' is its origin; Goullart however gives, in translation, an invocation from the abbot to Shang Ti in which he refers to him by title as 'the Mightiest Emperor over all Heavenly Kings, who lives in the Jade Hall of the Western Heaven'. This, surely, is a clue. The supreme deity, Shang Ti, lives in the Jade Hall, hence his title the Jade Emperor. This title is a relatively recent development in Chinese chronology having only become prominent during the 11th century AD. However, popular recognition of and interest in the cult became apparent during the Manchu (Ch'ing) dynasty.
The title of the sovereign divinity of the Chinese State religion until 1911 was Huang T'ien Shang Ti, the First Rank Supreme Deity in the 17th century regulations of the Ch'ing dynasty. Shang Ti, as the All-highest, was never portrayed in image form, and in a number of temples in South-East Asia the title of Huang T'ien Shang Ti is still given for the supreme deity, usually carved on plaques, and in one temple in Singapore an image of the Jade Emperor even bore a vertical slip of paper inscribed with this title.
Many Chinese myths and legends involve the Jade Emperor; those surrounding his origins are shrouded in mystery and probably his genesis will never be known. China has a rich popular tradition incorporating local tales from every corner of the vast empire, and it is no wonder that numerous and varied explanations have been given by devotees of how and when the Jade Emperor became the senior deity. The earliest known reference to him is from the T'ang but he could have existed long before that. Since then it has commonly been believed that he was either an incarnation of, or given the task of Supreme Deity by Yuan Shih T'ien Chun, the senior deity of the Taoist trinity, the Three Pure Ones (San Ch'ing). His popularity declined somewhat during the Ming. Although a Taoist deity, his image is to be found on altars in several Buddhist temples and some Buddhists even claim that he is really just an adaptation of Indra. To the man in the street all Buddhist, Taoist and folk religion deities are his subordinates, and well timed worship will
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2
Goullart in his description of the monastery in Kiangsi in which he spent several holidays, describes in one hall 'Shang Ti smiling benevolently and enigmatically from his canopied throne'. He then refers, in his description of another temple, to the Jade Emperor and speaks of him as Shang Ti. There are various explanations offered as to why this deity is called the Jade Emperor. One suggests that the reference in the Book of Changes to '. . . heaven being the ruler, and is... jade' is its origin; Goullart however gives, in translation, an invocation from the abbot to Shang Ti in which he refers to him by title as 'the Mightiest Emperor over all Heavenly Kings, who lives in the Jade Hall of the Western Heaven'. This, surely, is a clue. The supreme deity, Shang Ti, lives in the Jade Hall, hence his title the Jade Emperor. This title is a relatively recent development in Chinese chronology having only become prominent during the 11th century AD. However, popular recognition of and interest in the cult became apparent during the Manchu (Ch'ing) dynasty.
The title of the sovereign divinity of the Chinese State religion until 1911 was Huang T'ien Shang Ti, the First Rank Supreme Deity in the 17th century regulations of the Ch'ing dynasty. Shang Ti, as the All- highest, was never portrayed in image form, and in a number of temples in South-East Asia the title of Huang T'ien Shang Ti is still given for the supreme deity, usually carved on plaques, and in one temple in Singapore an image of the Jade Emperor even bore a vertical slip of paper inscribed with this title.
Many Chinese myths and legends involve the Jade Emperor; those surrounding his origins are shrouded in mystery and probably his genesis will never be known. China has a rich popular tradition incorporating local tales from every corner of the vast empire, and it is no wonder that numerous and varied explanations have been given by devotees of how and when the Jade Emperor became the senior deity. The earliest known reference to him is from the T'ang but he could have existed long before that. Since then it has commonly been believed that he was either an incarnation of, or given the task of Supreme Deity by Yuan Shih T'ien Chun, the senior deity of the Taoist trinity, the Three Pure Ones (San Ch'ing 4W). His popularity declined somewhat during the Ming. Although a Taoist deity, his image is to be found on altars in several Buddhist temples and some Buddhists even claim that he is really just an adaptation of Indra. To the man in the street all Buddhist, Taoist and folk religion deities are his subordinates, and well timed worship will
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