The Emperor of the Three Officials is the three gods worshiped by Taoism, referring to the heavenly officials, the earth officials and the water officials.
The Emperor of Tianguan, that is, the Emperor Ziwei, who was blessed by Shangyuan Yipin, is one of the three emperors respected by Taoism. He is composed of green, yellow and white qi, and is the chief ruler of the Heavenly Emperor, and belongs to the Yuqing Realm. The duty of the Emperor of Heaven is to go down to the world on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, that is, to determine the sins and blessings of people, so it is known as "the blessing of heavenly officials". In the old days, Chinese folk often pasted the portrait of the Emperor Tianguan in the house as an auspicious word to pray for blessings and ward off disasters. In the Taoist palace view, the statue of the Emperor of Tianguan is usually hung on the left side of the main hall, holding a banner with four big characters of "Heavenly Official Blessing", surrounded by auspicious clouds above his head, surrounded by five bats around him, symbolizing "good fortune".
Diguan Emperor, the full name of "Zhongyuan Erpin Qiqi Forgiveness of Sins Diguan Cave Lingqing Void Emperor Qingling Emperor", is one of the three official emperors respected by Taoism, by the Yuandong mixed spirit qi and the clear condensation of the yellow knot, the chief lord of the Wuyue Emperor, the five Yue Zhuzhen and the gods who cherish the land have attained the Tao。His duty is to come to earth on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of each year, to abstain from sins and blessings, forgive sins, and release the spirits of the underworld. In the Taoist belief system, the Diguan Emperor is considered to be an immortal in charge of all underworld affairs, with extremely high divine power and majesty.
There are various theories about the origin of the Diguan Emperor. One is said to be born of congenital earth qi; One is said that the first Tianzun of the Yuan Dynasty turned Qi into the god of the heavenly officials of the upper yuan, the god of the local officials of the middle yuan, and the god of the water officials of the lower yuan, and the last three gods descended to the earth, that is, the three emperors of Yao, Shun and Yu; One is said to be Lingbao Tianzun, turning Qi into the god of Zhongyuan and local officials to dominate the underworld; The other is said to be the son of Chen Guangrui and the Dragon Girl, who later cultivated and became an immortal, and was named the general leader of the Diguan Emperor. In folk beliefs, the Diguan Emperor is also regarded as an important deity to ward off disasters and overhaul the dead, and many palaces will worship his idol to pray for peace and well-being.
Shuiguan Emperor is one of the three official emperors respected by Taoism, the full name is "Xiayuan Sanpin Jiesha Shuiguan Dongyin Emperor Yanggu Emperor", which is condensed by the spirit of wind and the essence of Chenhao, and the main water gods and immortals and immortal books. The duty of the Emperor is to come to the world on October 15 every year, that is, to abstain from sins and blessings, and to eliminate disasters and misfortunes for people, so it is also called "Water Official Relief".
In the Taoist belief system, the Emperor Shuiguan is considered to be an immortal in charge of all water affairs, with extremely high divine power and majesty. At the same time, the Emperor is also an important deity in folk beliefs, and people believe that he can eliminate disasters and solve difficulties, so they often pray to him for protection and help when they encounter difficulties.
There are various theories about the origin of the Emperor Shuiguan. One is said to be born of congenital water qi; One is said that the first Tianzun of the Yuan Dynasty turned Qi into the god of the heavenly officials of the upper yuan, the god of the local officials of the middle yuan, and the god of the water officials of the lower yuan, and the last three gods descended to the earth, that is, the three emperors of Yao, Shun and Yu; One is said to be the god of morality, Tianzun, turning Qi into the god of the lower Yuan water officials to dominate the waters; One said that he was the son of Chen Guangrui and the Dragon Girl, and later became an immortal, and was named the chief leader of the Emperor Shuiguan. In folk beliefs, the Emperor is also regarded as a deity associated with water gods such as the Dragon King, and temples are often established near the water area to worship.
In short, Shuiguan the Great is one of the important gods revered by Taoism, and his beliefs and worship have a wide influence on both Chinese folk and Taoist circles. On October 15 every year, that is, the Xia Yuan Festival, various sacrificial activities are held by the people to pray for the protection of the Emperor Shuiguan and to ward off disasters and misfortunes.
The belief of the Emperor of the Three Officials has a long history, as early as the Han Dynasty, there are records, such as the Han Dynasty's "Three Yuan Theory" believes that the three officials of heaven, earth and water use heaven as the upper yuan to bless the heavenly officials, the earth as the middle yuan to forgive sins and the local officials, and the water as the lower yuan to relieve misfortune and water officials, and control the blessings and misfortunes of the three realms. At the same time, the Sanguan Emperor is also one of the important gods in folk beliefs, and many palaces will worship the statue of the Sanguan Emperor to pray for peace, longevity, and disaster relief.
In addition, the Sanguan Emperor has other priesthoods and divine ranks in Taoism, such as Tianguan Ziwei Emperor is one of the four emperors of Taoism, Diguan Qingxu Emperor is one of the five mountain gods, and Shuiguan Dongyin Emperor is one of the water gods. At the same time, the Emperor Sanguan is also regarded as one of the important objects of Taoist practice, and many Taoists will pray and repent in front of the statue of the Emperor Sanguan in order to purify their souls and improve their cultivation.