What are the "Four Empires"?

In Taoism, the Four Emperors refer to the four three gods who assist the Jade Emperor, so they are also called "four assistants". They are: the Great Immortal Emperor of the North Pole, the Great Immortal Emperor of the South Pole, the Great Emperor of the Shanggong Palace, and the Emperor of the Earth.

In some Taoist temples, besides Sanqing Hall and Yuhuang Pavilion, there are four royal halls dedicated to four emperors in the main hall. The statues of the four emperors, dressed in robes, are elegant and graceful, and are the images of emperors on earth.

Sanqing and Yusi, as Taoist deities, are often called Sanqing together.

The Four Emperors refer to the Northern Emperors of Zhongtian Weizi, the Immortal Emperors of Antarctica, the Shanggong Emperors of Gouchen and the Emperors of Houtu (Goddess).

Wei Zi, the Great Emperor of the Arctic, assisted the Jade Emperor in charge of heaven, ranking second only to the Jade Emperor and belonging to Wei Zixing.

The belief of Arctic Emperor Wei Zi originated from the worship of stars in ancient China. The North Pole is the abbreviation of Polaris, and the shrine where "Beichen" and "Shu Tian" live is located in the Zhongtian Wei Zi Palace in the North Pole.

According to Taoist scriptures, the function of Emperor Wei Zi was to be in charge of latitude and longitude, the sun, the moon and the stars, and to command the three stars and the gods of mountains and rivers. Emperor Wei Zi can call the shots and serve lightning and ghosts.

For example, the volume "Notes on Nine Days' Ying Yuanlei Popularizing Tianzun's Imperial Books and Preserving Classics" says: "The Arctic Han Emperor mastered five thunders. Therefore, Wei Zi was worshipped by emperors, especially in the Song Dynasty, and people often worshipped him together with the Jade Emperor.

In Dazu, Sichuan and other places, you can also see the statue of Emperor Wei Zi, which was shaped in the Song Dynasty. "Book of Rites IV" contains: In the Ming Dynasty, the court also built Wei Zitang, which is a "statue monument". Its image is that the emperor is dressed up and there is a commander-in-chief around him, which is very noble and dignified.

Gouchen Shanggong Jade Emperor:

The duty is to assist the Jade Emperor in weighing the North and South poles, manage the talents of heaven, earth and people, and preside over the military reform of the imperial power on earth.

Emperor Gouchen's visit to the Palace originated from the worship of stars in ancient China, just like Emperor Wei Zi in the Arctic. "Gouchen" and "Gouchen" are the constellation names of Wei Zi Garden in the sky. They are close to Polaris and consist of six stars.

Shanggong Emperor Gou Chen, referred to as "Gou Chen Emperor" or "Emperor Huang". His duty is to help the Jade Emperor balance the talents of the North and South Poles, heaven, earth and people, and to help the Midheaven and the North Pole to balance the host and the army.

After three local emperors:

Is the empress dowager, with the jade emperor to manage the world, dominate the earth mountains and rivers, become the mother of the earth. Also known as the queen of the earth. The belief in thick soil originated from the land worship in ancient China.

"Book of Rites Suburb Special Festival" Day: "The earth contains everything, and the sky hangs like an elephant. Borrowing money from the earth, taking the method of heaven, is to respect heaven and love the earth. Old Christian American newspaper

What? "

In ancient times, people's lives depended on the earth, so they were "close to the earth" and "rewarded and sacrificed", so the worship of "Houtu" began in the Spring and Autumn Period. The post-local tyrant is the god who dominates mountains and rivers, and his duty is to take charge of the changes of mountains and rivers and other gods, such as the gods of three mountains and five mountains, and control disasters.

The immortal emperor of Antarctica:

In charge of climate change in four seasons, it can call the wind and call the rain, and all lightning ghosts and gods obey his orders.

Shen Yuan, the original Buddha, was in two places at the same time.

According to the Taoist Scripture "Da Fan Wei Zi Du Xuan Lei Yuyu Sutra", Yuan Di's ninth son is "the immortal emperor, the god of jade, who is in charge of the thirty-six emperors for thirty-six days". He helped the Jade Emperor to be in charge of the gods of the four seasons. He was able to call the shots and serve the gods of Raytheon, and he was also the cardinal who controlled the fate of all things. Therefore, he was named the founder of Thunder.

The throne holds the title of King Yu Qing Zhen, commanding thirty-two days and eight districts, and the title is Tianyuan Shengtian Zun; In the catastrophe, he was able to help many people and help all sentient beings. He incarnated for nine days, was the ancestor of Raytheon, and ranked first among the gods.