Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism
The Supreme Sovereign Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole in the Central Heaven is also called the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole in the Central Heaven, the Great Emperor of the North Pole, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity (Ziwei Dadi), and the Star Lord of the North Pole, or simply the Northern Emperor (Beidi). He is the second of the Four Sovereigns (Siyu), the honored deities of Taoism, ranking just below the highest deities, the Three Pure Ones, and the Jade Emperor. His duties are to hold the warp of heaven and the weft of earth and to command the star deities of the Three Realms and the gods of the mountains and rivers. He is the lord of all phenomena, able to summon wind and rain and to command thunder, lightning, ghosts, and spirits.
The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity holds an important place in Chinese popular religion. As one of the Four Sovereigns of Taoism, he ranks below the Jade Emperor and assists him in governing the realm of the stars.
The Ziwei star stands at the very center of the heavens, never moving, the highest of all stars, and is therefore the most honored: “the lord of all stars, the revered master of all phenomena.” For this reason he is held in the highest reverence. The Ziwei Palace, also called the Purple Palace or the Ziwei star, lies in the Central Enclosure among the Three Enclosures and is the dwelling of the emperor among the constellations. This is the origin of such names as the Weiyang Palace of the Western Han, the Ziwei City of the Sui and Tang palace in Luoyang, and the Forbidden City (literally “Purple Forbidden City”) of the Ming and Qing.
The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity dwells at the center of heaven. The Numinous Book of the Black Statutes for Subduing Demons, of the Grand Mystery of Fengdu in Northern Yin (Beiyin Fengdu Taixuan Zhimo Heilü Lingshu) says: “In ancient times the Divine Lord of Jade Emptiness of Purple Tenuity at the North Pole dwelt in the Purple Tenuity Enclosure. He was the revered master of all phenomena, encircled by all the stars, the imperial lord of the golden immortals of all the ten thousand methods; above he attends court at the Golden Gate, below he commands Fengdu.” The Biography of the One Like a Dragon (Youlong Zhuan) says: “The Great Emperor of Jade Emptiness of Purple Tenuity at the North Pole governs all the stars above, commands the ten thousand methods in the middle, and rules Fengdu below. He is the lord of the stars and constellations of all the heavens. The Bureau for Expelling Evil of the North Pole is under his direct charge.”
He commands the Four Saints of the North Pole and their hosts, and also the eleven great luminaries of Highest Clarity (the Seven Governors and Four Remainders), the Seven Primordials of the Northern Dipper, the Left Assistant and Right Helper, the Star Lords of the Three Terraces, the Six Bureaus of the Southern Dipper, the Three Perfected of the Central Dipper, the two envoys Qingyang and Tuoluo, the natal star lords of the twelve earthly branches, the Tai Sui star lords of the sixty-year cycle (jiazi), the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions of the cloudy heavens, the thirty-six Heavenly Ladle (Tiangang) stars and seventy-two Earthly Fiend (Disha) stars within the Dipper, the immortals and numinous officers within the Dipper, the star lords of the luminaries around the heavens, the Great Sage Tiangang, the Star Lord Kuigang, and all such stars across the heavens and the host of Perfected of the Milky Way.
High in rank and great in power, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity holds the warp of heaven and the weft of earth and commands all the stars of the heavens. His charge extends from examining and regulating the cosmic cycles of kalpas, to the rise and fall of states under heaven, to the promotion and demotion of immortals and Perfected in the Three Realms, and to the fortune, misfortune, long life, and early death of all living beings. His divine powers are boundless, able in an instant to overthrow all the demons and monsters of the Three Realms; his majesty and virtue are vast, holding ghosts, spirits, and thunder in check.
In the Taoist pantheon the highest deities are the Three Pure Ones. The term refers both to the three sublime realms where the heavenly deities dwell—the Sacred Realm of Jade Clarity, the Perfected Realm of Highest Clarity, and the Immortal Realm of Grand Clarity, together called the Realms of the Three Pure Ones—and to the three supreme deities who dwell in them: the Great Emperor of Jade Clarity, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun); the Great Emperor of Highest Clarity, the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun); and the Great Emperor of Grand Clarity, the Heavenly Worthy of the Tao and Its Virtue (Daode Tianzun). The Three Pure Ones have four assisting heavenly deities: the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole in the Central Heaven, the Great Emperor of Longevity of the South Pole in the south, the Great Emperor of the Curved Array (Gouchen Tianhuang Dadi) of the Upper Palace, and Empress Earth (Houtu).
The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity assists the Jade Emperor in holding the warp of heaven and the weft of earth, the movement of the stars, and the climate of the four seasons; he can summon wind and rain and command ghosts and spirits, and he is the revered master of all phenomena and the teaching lord of all the stars. The Great Emperor of Longevity of the South Pole assists the Jade Emperor in governing the thunder of the nine heavens; the Great Emperor of the Curved Array of the Upper Palace assists the Jade Emperor in governing the two poles and the Three Powers, and presides over warfare in the human world; and Empress Earth, who receives heaven and follows its model, assists the Jade Emperor in governing the mountains, rivers, peaks, and waterways.
The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity is worshipped in many parts of China. His cult arose from ancient Chinese star worship. “North Pole” is short for the Pole Star, also called “the Northern Chronogram” and “the Pivot of Heaven,” which lies within the Purple Tenuity Enclosure. Scroll 4 of the Great Rites of Highest Clarity and Numinous Treasure (Shangqing Lingbao Dafa) says: “The Great Emperor of the North Pole is the imperial seat within the Purple Tenuity Enclosure. According to the ‘Treatise on Astronomy’: the South Pole lies thirty-six degrees below the earth and the North Pole thirty-six degrees above it, so the shape of heaven is tilted. Half of it is above the earth and half returns beneath it. The myriad stars and myriad qi all revolve to the left; only the pivots of the south and north poles do not move, and so heaven is able to turn. People see it in the north and call it the North Pole, but in truth it stands at the very center of heaven. He is the ancestral lord of the myriad stars and the second sovereign of the Three Realms, next only to Vast Heaven, and above he corresponds to primordial qi: this is the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole.”
As for the origin of the Supreme Sovereign Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole in the Central Heaven, the True Scripture of the Original Birth of the Northern Dipper, of the Unsurpassed and Spontaneous Numinous Treasure of Jade Clarity (Beidou Bensheng Zhenjing) says: “Long ago, in the Longhan kalpa, there was a king named Zhouyu whose sage virtue was boundless; the people of his time were endowed with lifespans of eighty-four thousand great kalpas. The king had a jade consort, wise and compassionate, called Lady Purple Light. Through kalpas as countless as dust she had made the utmost vow: to give birth to sage sons who would assist heaven and earth and aid the work of creation. Three thousand kalpas later she was born in the time of this king. One spring day, when the hundred flowers were in full bloom, she was strolling in the rear garden. Coming to the side of the Warm Jade Pool of golden lotuses, she took off her clothes to bathe, and suddenly felt a stirring. Nine lotus buds opened at that moment and gave birth to nine sons. The two eldest became the Great Emperor of Heaven and the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity; the seven younger became the stars Tanlang, Jumen, Lucun, Wenqu, Lianzhen, Wuqu, and Pojun, some benevolent and some malevolent, who transform and guide the feelings of beings. In the jade pool, after seven days and seven nights, they condensed into light and flew to dwell at the central pole, ninety million li from the earth, where they transformed into nine great precious palaces. The two eldest Divine Lords dwell in the Palace of Great Emptiness in the Purple Tenuity Enclosure, at the position of the Curved Array; they hold the talismans and charts, order the primordial transformations, and are the leaders of all the stars.”
The Dipper Mother (Doumu), “Doumu Yuanjun,” is also written with a different character for “mother,” or called the Dipper Mother Primordial Sovereign of Brahma Qi of the Central Heaven. She is the spirit of the grandest and most noble ancestral-mother qi of the cosmos at the beginning of the present universe, the grandmother of the time and space of the present cosmos and of the spiritual nature of the stars. In Chinese civilization, “dou” (Dipper) refers to the division of the heavens into the Three Enclosures, the Five Dippers, and the many stars; “mu” means grandmother. The Taoist scriptures say that the Dipper Mother “is the mother of all the stars.” The Heart Scripture on Natal Destiny and Prolonging Life of the Most High Mysterious Numinous Dipper Mother, Great Sage Primordial Sovereign says: “The Dipper Mother ascended the precious throne, nourished her spirit and perfection, and refined her essence and soul. Serenely she gathered qi, and the qi entered the mystery of mysteries. Moving in harmony with the numinous wind, the Purple Void grew luxuriant, and she attained the fruit of mysterious numinosity. The wondrous Tao emitted the subtle and wondrous light of the limitless, penetrating the Flowery Pool. There she gave birth to nine golden lotus buds. After seven days and nights in the human world, the light in the Flowery Pool grew ever brighter and stronger. Then all at once it rose into the Nine Florescences and, out of nothing, formed nine great precious towers and pavilions. Within the precious towers the Nine Perfected coalesced, and the Brahma qi spontaneously formed patterned writings. Before them the light of the Dipper spread out, and nine Tao-bodies appeared in response: first, the Emperor of Heaven; second, Ziwei; third, Tanlang; fourth, Jumen; fifth, Lucun; sixth, Wenqu; seventh, Lianzhen; eighth, Wuqu; ninth, Pojun.”
The Dipper Mother manifested nine Tao-bodies and gave birth to nine sons. The two eldest were the Great Emperor of the Curved Array and the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole. These two eldest Divine Lords dwell in the Palace of Great Emptiness in the Purple Tenuity Enclosure, at the position of the Curved Array; they hold the talismans and charts, order the primordial transformations, and lead all the stars. This account is found in the scripture True Scripture of the Original Birth of the Northern Dipper.
The Great Emperor of Heaven is the eldest son; he orders the upper palace of Purple Tenuity and leads the stars in the primordial transformations. The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity is the second son; he assists the North Pole in the Bright Hall of the Central Heaven and spreads its governance over the lower earth.
The Numinous Book of the Black Statutes for Subduing Demons records: “In the first year of the Longhan era, the ghost soldiers of the six caverns of Fengdu in Northern Yin and the demon kings among the spirits roamed the human world, killing living beings, and none could restrain them. The Jade Emperor summoned the Northern Emperor to lead divine generals, officers, and soldiers. He expounded the Great Black Statutes against demons, issued the Fengdu Nine Springs command talismans, and used the seal for investigating the ghosts and spirits of the Three Realms. He subdued the hosts of demons, swept away the evil vapors, and saved and protected the common people. His merit complete and his deeds fulfilled, he ascended to the throne of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, the Spontaneous Supreme Pole of the North Pole in the Central Heaven.”
The Dongyuan Collection (Dongyuan Ji) says: “The Divine Lord of the Five Numina of Purple Tenuity at the North Pole dwells in the Purple Tenuity Enclosure of the Central Heaven. He is the revered master of all phenomena, and all the stars encircle him. Long ago, in the first year of the Longhan era, the ghosts, spirits, and demons of the six caverns of Mount Luofeng in Fengdu of Northern Yin went out among humankind and killed the living, most grievously, and none could restrain them. The Supreme Emperor summoned the Northern Emperor to lead divine generals and heavenly soldiers to sweep away the evil vapors and save the multitudes. His merit accomplished, he was raised to emperor and entered the Central Heaven, at the throne of the Spontaneous Supreme Pole of Purple Tenuity. The Seven Perfected said: Our Patriarch of the North Pole, through kalpa after kalpa, diligently tended incense and lamps and made offerings to the Three Pure Ones; his merit full and his virtue complete, he ascended to the imperial throne of Purple Tenuity. Wherever he goes a flowery canopy follows him, and the starlight of the seven treasures is dazzling. It reaches up through all the heavens and shines down on all nations. On the twenty-seventh day of every month he descends to examine the sins and blessings of the people of the world.”
Scroll 48 of the Book of the Later Han (Hou Hanshu) says: “Heaven has the Purple Tenuity Palace; it is the dwelling of the Supreme Emperor.” Hence the Purple Tenuity Enclosure is also called the Purple Tenuity Palace, and the later residence of the emperors was called the Forbidden City. Taoism holds that the Northern Chronogram is the eternally unmoving star, located at the very center of heaven, the highest in position and the most honored—“the lord of all stars” and “the root of all gods”—and therefore reveres it greatly. The “Treatise on Astronomy, Part One” of the Book of Jin says: “The five stars of the North Pole and the six stars of the Curved Array are all within the Purple Tenuity Palace. The North Pole is the most honored of the Northern Chronogram; its faint star is the pivot of heaven.” It regards it as “the seat of the Great Emperor” and “the constant dwelling of the Son of Heaven.” Kong Yingda of the Tang dynasty, in his subcommentary on “Charge to Yue, Part Two” of the Book of Documents, writes: “The Northern Dipper circles the North Pole just as the ministers guard the Son of Heaven; the five planets travel among the lunar mansions just as the provincial governors inspect the feudal lords; the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions are spread across the four directions just as the feudal lords guard the land for the Son of Heaven. The heavenly phenomena all embody the law of rank, high and low, keeping one another in order.” The Taoist scriptures describe the duties of the Supreme Sovereign Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole in the Central Heaven as holding the warp of heaven and the weft of earth, commanding the star deities of the Three Realms and the gods of the mountains and rivers; he is the lord of all phenomena, able to summon wind and rain and to command thunder, lightning, ghosts, and spirits. As the first part of the Collected Commentaries on the Jade Pivot Scripture of the Heavenly Worthy of Thunder, Response of the Primordial of the Nine Heavens says: “The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole holds the five thunders.” The Jade Pivot Scripture (Yushu Jing) also says: “Within the Dipper there are also the two stars of the Honored Emperors, as large as cartwheels. Those who see them will keep their bodies in the world and become long-lived divine immortals.”
For this reason the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity was worshipped by emperors of successive dynasties. In the Song dynasty in particular he was often worshipped together with the Jade Emperor. Statues of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity made in the Song can still be seen at Dazu in Sichuan and elsewhere. The “Treatise on Rites, Part Four” of the History of Ming records that in the Ming the court built a Ziwei Hall by imperial order, “setting up an image and offering sacrifices and announcements.” He is depicted in the dress of an emperor, flanked by majestic warrior guardians, noble and awe-inspiring. His birthday is traditionally the eighteenth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. Influenced by the worship of emperors through the ages, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity was greatly revered among the common people of ancient China.
Sacred Proclamation of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, Lord of the Stars (1)
With utmost sincerity I take refuge and pay homage!
At the heavenly gate of Daluo, in the Star Palace of Purple Tenuity (2). Honored, he dwells at the height of the North Pole; in rank, he stands right above the Central Heaven (3). His dharma name is Blazing Golden Wheel; in the Tao he is called Mysterious Worshipful One of the Jade Dipper (4). With Xuanji and Yuheng he orders the Seven Governors, and commands the warp of heaven and the weft of earth (5). Sun, moon, stars, and mansions he binds to the four seasons, moving along the ecliptic and the Purple Enclosure (6). Revered master of all phenomena, ruler of all the heavens (7). Of great compassion and great vows, great sage of great mercy (8). Teaching lord of the myriad stars, Primordial Sovereign of the Ultimate of Nothingness (9). Purple Tenuity of the Central Heaven, Great Emperor of the North Pole (10).
Notes
(1) Sacred Proclamation of the Lord of the Stars: also called the Ziwei Proclamation. “Lord of the Stars” refers to the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole; because he governs the myriad stars, he is called Lord of the Stars.
(2) At the heavenly gate of Daluo, in the Star Palace of Purple Tenuity: Daluo is the Daluo Heaven, above all the heavens of the Three Realms. “Heavenly gate” means palace gates, and also the gate of heaven. The Star Palace of Purple Tenuity, also called the Purple Tenuity Palace, is the name of a star group in the sky, north of the Northern Dipper; according to the Song of Pacing the Heavens it has 15 stars and, with the North Pole as its pivot, forms two screen-like walls. Here it refers to the dwelling of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole.
(3) Honored, he dwells at the height of the North Pole; in rank, he stands right above the Central Heaven: “Honored” means of the highest standing. The North Pole is the Pole Star, at the north pole of the sky. (In fact the Pole Star is not exactly at the north celestial pole; it is currently about 1° away.) Here it refers to the highest point in the north. Scroll 28 of the Correct Meaning of the Rites of Zhou says: “The exact center of the North Pole is the center of heaven; the ancients called it the Pole of Heaven.” Hence the words “in rank, he stands right above the Central Heaven.”
(4) His dharma name is Blazing Golden Wheel; in the Tao he is called Mysterious Worshipful One of the Jade Dipper: Blazing Golden Wheel is the dharma name of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole. Mysterious Worshipful One of the Jade Dipper is the honorific by which the Taoist tradition addresses the Great Emperor of the North Pole.
(5) With Xuanji and Yuheng he orders the Seven Governors, and commands the warp of heaven and the weft of earth: Xuanji are names of stars of the Northern Dipper; the Chunqiu Yundou Shu says that of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, the second is Xuan and the third is Ji. Yuheng is the fifth star of the Dipper. “Orders” means regulates. The Seven Governors refer to the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. The “Canon of Shun” in the Book of Documents speaks of “the sun, the moon, and the five planets, each with its own governance”; the Book of Documents commentary says, “The seven stars of the Northern Dipper each have their own charge… the sun, moon, and five planets each differ, hence they are called the Seven Governors.” “Commands” means governs. “Warp of heaven and weft of earth”: originally the lengthwise threads of a fabric were called the warp and the crosswise threads the weft; here it refers to heaven and earth.
(6) Sun, moon, stars, and mansions he binds to the four seasons, moving along the ecliptic and the Purple Enclosure: “Sun, moon” means the sun and the moon. “Stars and mansions” refers to the stars of the sky in general. “Binds” means restrains and controls. The four seasons are spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The ecliptic: the ancients believed the sun traveled around the earth, and the ecliptic was the path of the sun around the earth. The Purple Enclosure is the Purple Tenuity Enclosure or Purple Tenuity Palace.
(7) Revered master of all phenomena, ruler of all the heavens: “All phenomena” means all things and phenomena in the universe. “Revered master” means one who is honored and taken as a teacher and model. “Ruler of all the heavens” means one who rules over all the heavens. Because the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole commands the star deities of all the heavens and is the lord of all phenomena, he is called “revered master of all phenomena, ruler of all the heavens.”
(8) Of great compassion and great vows, great sage of great mercy: Great compassion means pity for the people of the world. Great vows are the vast vows to save all beings. Great sage means surpassing wisdom, penetrating the true and reaching the numinous. Great mercy means kindly protecting all beings. This praises the abundant virtue of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole.
(9) Teaching lord of the myriad stars, Primordial Sovereign of the Ultimate of Nothingness: “Teaching lord” originally means the founder of a religion, and also one of the highest standing in a religion; here it means the lord who governs all the stars. The Ultimate of Nothingness (Wuji) means the formless and imageless primal state of the universe. “Primordial Sovereign” refers to the time when heaven, earth, and humanity first divided.
(10) Purple Tenuity of the Central Heaven, Great Emperor of the North Pole: this is the honorific title of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity. His full title is the Supreme Sovereign Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity of the North Pole in the Central Heaven, one of the Four Sovereigns, the honored deities of Taoism. The Taoist scriptures say that the Great Emperor of the North Pole is a manifestation of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy, answerable only to the Jade Emperor; he commands the star deities of the Three Realms and the gods of the mountains and rivers, is the lord of all phenomena, and can summon wind and rain and command thunder, lightning, ghosts, and spirits. This shows how exalted the rank of the Great Emperor of the North Pole is.