Who is the Emperor of Heaven?

Heaven emperor refers to the emperor who rules all things in the three realms. Since ancient times, China has only officially recognized the "God" as the real master of the three realms, and the imperial edicts on the worship ceremonies in previous dynasties only wrote the name of the God. After Song Zhenzong called the jade emperor a dream, Taoism respected the gods as the jade emperor for the sake of prosperity. With the wide spread of The Journey to the West, the Jade Emperor Haotian became a household name.

In ancient times, people liked to refer to the leaders of tribal alliances as the Emperor of Heaven, such as Fuxi, Shennong, Huangdi, Zhuan Xu, Di Ku and Tang Yao, and they were honored as the Emperor of Heaven in various pre-Qin history books.

During the Yu Shun period, Emperor Tiandi was regarded as Emperor Tiandi, but Yu Shun himself was also regarded as Emperor Tiandi. During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, kings of all previous dynasties respected their ancestors as Heaven Emperor, such as Dayu in Xia Dynasty and Di Ku in Shang Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, in view of Chinese civilization, Haotian God officially became the highest god in China. Haotian exists as the standard sacrificial object of the rulers of Chinese civilization, and he is a national myth and belief. At the same time, the Zhou Dynasty also liked to respect his ancestor Hou Ji as the Emperor of Heaven.

"Sui Shu Etiquette": "The greeting at five o'clock belongs to the emperor, worshiping the five elements, not worshiping heaven. Heaven is called the emperor, also known as God, and also called the emperor. " The Five Elements Emperor can also be called God, but not Heaven. "