Everyone in Ancient China knew that the world consists of the underground kingdom, the earth on which everything living and mortal exists, and thirty-six heavens. In the uppermost, thirty-sixth heaven, the Supreme Lord, the Jade Sovereign, lives in a luxurious palace. There he sits on the throne. His face, framed by a beard and mustache, expresses nothing. This is a sign of true greatness. So none of his countless subordinates will ever guess whether the Jade Sovereign is kind, angry, cheerful, sad or filled with rage. He pronounces both the kind word and the word followed by execution dispassionately. He never sleeps and rules the heavens, the underworld and the Celestial Empire. China is closest to God.
The palace gates are constantly guarded by Wang Lingguan, which means “wonderful official Wang.” He is the most important of the 36 generals of the Jade Sovereign. On earth, his statues are always placed at the gates of temples. Van is not very handsome. His face is red, with three eyes. In his hands is a whip or a knotted stick to ward off spirits. He can whip even the gods.
At the court of the Jade Sovereign there are ministries of thunder, fire, pestilence and the five sacred peaks, whose peaks rise above the Celestial Empire. Nobody knows how many officials there are in the ministries. There must be countless numbers. After all, the more officials, the more great and inaccessible the sovereign. And the Jade Emperor is the greatest and most inaccessible to everyone who lives in the Celestial Empire.
Four sacred peaks are located along the cardinal points, and the fifth is in the center. Spirits live on them. They bear the titles of shendi - holy sovereigns. And everyone also has many spirits - managers, officials.
The holy sovereigns each had their own duties. The deity of the eastern peak was in charge of the destinies of people. For every Chinese child born there, a jade tablet is made and placed in a golden box. The tablet records the entire upcoming life and its duration.
The holy sovereign of the western peak owned all metals, as well as birds, the northern - rivers, as well as wild animals, reptiles and insects, the southern - fields on the earth, stars in the sky, fish and dragons. And on the middle peak sat the sovereign, who was in charge of rivers, canals, swamps, and also all the trees.
In Ancient China they were sure that in heaven there was a hierarchy similar to that on earth. Emperors inherit supreme power. Spirits “promote in service” by receiving titles.
Earthly emperors were considered sons of heaven. And their commanders, managers and officials had unlimited power over ordinary people...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru