Water and Land Ritual painting from Baoning Temple, Ming Dynasty.

The Great Emperor of the North Star,[lower-alpha 1] also called the Ziwei Emperor[lower-alpha 2] and the Beiji Emperor,[lower-alpha 3] is one of the highest sky deities and one of the Four Sovereigns (四御; sì yù) of Taoism.

Chinese mythology

The Ziwei Emperor resides in the middle of Heaven and assists the Jade Emperor in administrative duties of Heaven and Earth; Sun and Moon; four seasons and weather. He commands all deities of constellations, mountains, and rivers. He is the highest deity in charge of all the natural phenomenon in the universe. In Chinese culture and Chinese theology, the Ziwei Emperor is also the symbol of the emperor in the human world.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Full title: Great Emperor of the North Star in the Purple Forbidden enclosure at the center of Heaven (Chinese: 中天紫微北極太皇大帝; pinyin: Zhōngtiān Zǐwēi Běijí Tàihuáng Dàdì).
  2. ↑ Chinese: 紫微大帝; pinyin: Zǐwēi Dàdì; lit. 'Great Emperor of the Purple Forbidden enclosure'.
  3. ↑ Chinese: 北極大帝; pinyin: Běijí Dàdì; lit. 'Great Emperor of the North Pole'; full title: Lord of the North Pole at the center of Heaven (Chinese: 北極中天星主; pinyin: Běijí Zhōngtiān Xingzhu).

References

  1. ↑ 《文獻通考_(四庫全書本)》  (in Chinese) – via Wikisource.


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