The Three Great Emperor-Officials (), Sanguan,
or the Three Officials
are three of the highest
''shen'' in some branches of
religious Taoism, and subordinate only to the
Jade Emperor
In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god.
In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...
(玉帝 yùdì).
The Three Great Emperor-Officials are the , the and the . They administer all phenomena in the three spheres, and were thought to be able to take away sin.
Chinese playwrights popularized the worship of these gods by including a skit before plays with shared themes between each performance called ''The Official of Heaven Brings Happiness''.
They have been worshipped since the
second century CE.
Full titles
:*The Heavenly Official, full title: , also known as the .
:*The Earthly Official, full title: , also known as the .
:*The Water Official, full title: , also known as the
Legend
The Ming dynasty text
Comprehensive Collection of Deities from the Three Religions (Sanjiao Soushen Daquan) states that the Three Officials (Sanguan Dadi) are the three sons born to Chen Zidao and the Dragon Girl. They were enfeoffed by
Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning) as follows: the eldest son was titled "Shangyuan Yipin Jiuqi Tianguan Zifu Dadi" (Heavenly Official of the Upper Prime, First Rank, Nine Qi, Purple Subtlety Emperor); the second son was titled "Zhongyuan Erpin Qiqi Diguan Qingxu Dadi" (Earthly Official of the Middle Prime, Second Rank, Seven Qi, Pure Void Emperor); and the third son was titled "Xiayuan Sanpin Wuqi Shuiguan Dongyin Dadi" (Water Official of the Lower Prime, Third Rank, Five Qi, Cavernous Darkness Emperor).
The Qing dynasty text ''Shenxian Tongjian'' (Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals) identifies the Three Officials (Sanguan Dadi) as the ancient sage-kings
Yao,
Shun, and
Yu. It states: "The Heavenly Official is Yao; the Earthly Official is Shun; and the Water Official is Yu."
''Tiānguān''
''Tiānguān'' was thought to have power over ''
Tiān
Tian () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and cosmology. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their highest god as '' Shangdi'' or ''Di'' (, ...
'' or heaven and grant happiness to believers.
''Dìguān''
''Dìguān'' was the official of earth who took away
sin
In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
in popular belief,
although all the Sanguan were thought to be able to pardon sin to some extent, especially with their powers combined.
''Shuǐguān''
''Shuǐguān'' was the ruler of the ocean in some Taoist belief systems,
and in others, he shared the same position as the
Dragon King or did not exist. He was often held to "avert misfortune".
References
External links
道教文化资料库神祇列傳-紫微大帝神祇列傳-三官大帝
Chinese gods
Sky and weather gods
Taoist deities
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