Three Great Emperor Officials (三官大帝 Sanguan Dadi), also called the Great Emperors of the Three Primordials

China is home to some of the world's most fascinating deities and like many other cultures, there are several groups of three deities that were worshipped together. One of these groups is the San Guan Dadi, who are also known as the San Kuan Ta-ti, the San Ch'ing or the San Yuan Dadi. In all cases, their names translate as the "Three Great Primordial Rulers" and "Controllers of Heaven, Earth and the Waters".



he Three Great Emperor Officials (三官大帝 Sanguan Dadi), also called the Great Emperors of the Three Primordials (三元大帝 Sanyuan Dadi), are a trinity of supreme Taoist deities that embody the essence of the primordial energies of the universe. This divine triumvirate are comprised of the Heaven Official (天官 Tianguan), Earth Official (地官 Diguan), and Water Official (水官 Shuiguan).

The Three Great Emperor Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water

(Image: Source unknown)

The Heaven Official

The Great Emperor Heaven Official is correlated with the Jade Clarity Realm (玉清境 Yuqing Jing) and embodies the essence of the green, yellow, and white energies. He is in charge of all the other sovereign deities in the heavenly regions (i.e. celestial deities with the title “emperor” that reside in the heaven realms). His full title is The Great Emperor Heaven Official of Purple Subtlety of the Upper Primordial & Primary Grade Who Confers Blessings (上元一品賜福天官紫微大帝 Shangyuan Yipin Cifu Tianguan Ziwei Dadi).

The 15th day of the 1st Chinese lunar month, coinciding with the Yuanxiao/Lantern Festival, is observed as his birthday and is also known as the Shangyuan (Upper Primordial) Festival (上元節 Shangyuan Jie). It is believed that on this day, the Heaven Official descends to earth to inspect the world of mortals and to confer his blessings on them.

The Earth Official

The Great Emperor Earth Official is correlated with the Supreme Clarity Realm (上清境 Shangqing Jing) and embodies the essence of the energies of the primordial grotto and consolidated spirit and that of the extreme yellow. He is in charge of the five emperors of the Five Sacred Taoist Mountains, as well as all the other deities of the earth (i.e. terrestrial and locality gods). His full title is The Great Emperor Earth Official of Pristine Emptiness of the Middle Primordial & Secondary Grade Who Pardons Sins (中元二品赦罪地官清虛大帝 Zhongyuan Erpin Shezui Diguan Qingxu Dadi).

The 15th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month, coinciding with the Ghost Festival, is observed as his birthday and is also known as the Zhongyuan (Middle Primordial) Festival (中元節 Zhongyuan Jie). It is believed that on this day, the Earth Official descends to earth to inspect and assess the sins of mortals and to pardon them if he sees it is fit to do so.

The Water Official

The Great Emperor Water Official is correlated with the Jade Clarity Realm (玉清境 Yuqing Jing) and embodies the essence of the energies of wind and water and that of the vast dawn. He is in charge of all deities that reside in or are related to water. His full title is The Great Emperor Water Official of Pervasive Yin of Lower Primordial & Tertiary Grade Who Eliminates Distress (下元三品解厄水官洞陰大帝 Xiayuan Sanpin Jie E Shuiguan Dongyin Dadi).

The 15th day of the 10th Chinese lunar month is observed as his birthday and is also known as the Xiayuan (Lower Primordial) Festival (下元節 Xiayuan Jie). It is believed that on this day, the Water Official descends to earth to inspect and assess the sins of mortals and to eliminate their misfortune and distress if he sees it is fit to do so.

The Three Great Emperor Officials of Heaven (center), Earth (right), and Water (left)

(Image: Source unknown)

Taoist followers hold ceremonies in honor of the three emperor-officials on their respective birthdays to pray for good fortune and blessings and to eliminate calamities and disasters.

The San Guan Dadi belong to the Taoist faith and are considered to be the source of all happiness and forgiveness of sins. They were also believed to be able to avert disasters and sickness. It is said that they each live in separate heavens, their names being Lao-tzu, Tao Chun and Yu Huang.

Lao-Tzu is perhaps one of the most recognises deities in Chinese mythology. He was said to have been born under a plum tree from a virgin birth that was to have lasted for 60, 70 or 80 years. On his birth, he already had grey hair. There are other sources which claim he was born from his mother's left side in 1321 BCE.

The founder of Taoism and the god of alchemists and potters, he was originally born as Li Erh and later deified as Lao Chun, recognised as an incarnation of T'ai Shan or Shen P'ao, living in the Azure Palace.

The second of the trinity is Tao Chun and the mortal form of the San Guan Dadi. He is believed to dwell in the Higher Azure Palace, Shang Ch'ing, where he regulates time and controls the yang and yin of the world.

The third of the San Guan Dadi is Yu Huang, who is the Taoist supreme god. Known as the Jade Emperor, it is said that when he was born a glowing light was emitted by his body. He was raised by mortal foster parents, the emperor Ching Te and his wife, Pao Yueh. He gave up his right to take his foster-father's throne and instead set out on a life of meditation and was finally translated to heaven.

He visited earth 800 times to help cure the sick and help the poor and then followed this up with another 800 visits to help spread goodness throughout the world. He visited earth another 800 times later when the world found itself full of much suffering. Yu Huang is said to live in a jade palace which is situated in the constellation Ta Wei (the Great Bear).

The trinity of gods were considered as the Taoist Officials of Heaven, Earth and Water. Reflecting a symmetrically organized space that is standard for any Daoist altar, Heaven is usually placed in the centre, Earth on the right, and Water on the left.

The worship of the San Guan Dadi can be traced back as far as the 2nd century CE to the Daoists of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect (wudou mi jiao). "After the patients had confessed their sins, Daoist masters prescribed their cure in the form of written documents. Called "Documents to the Three Officials" or "sanguans houshu," one document was placed on a mountain to represent its delivery into heaven, the other was buried in the earth, and another was thrown into water".

Bibliography:

Shih-Shan, Susan Huang (2001) Summoning the Gods: Paintings of Three Officials of Heaven, Earth and Water and Their Association with Daoist Ritual Performance in the Southern Song Period (1127-1279), Artibus Asiae, Artibus Asiae Publishers.