Four heavenly ministers

The Four Heavenly Ministers (Chinese: 四御; pinyin: Sì yù), also translated as the Four Sovereigns, are four of the highest sky deities of Daoism and subordinate only to the Three Pure Ones (Chinese: 三清; pinyin: Sān qīng). They assist the Three Pure Ones in administering all phenomenon of the universe.

Four Sovereigns

The Four Heavenly Ministers are:

1. the Great Jade Emperor
2. the Great Emperor of the North Star (Polaris) in the Purple Forbidden enclosure at the center of Heaven (Tian)
3. the Great Heavenly Emperor of the Highest Palace of the Curved Array (Little Dipper)
4. the Empress of the Earth (Houtu)

The Great Jade Emperor is the head of all sky deities and presides over the heaven. The Great Emperor of the North Star assists the Jade Emperor in managing the sun, the moon, stars, and the climate of the four seasons. The Great Emperor of the Curved Array/Little Dipper oversees all matters in heaven, earth, and the human world. The Empress of the Earth is in charge of fertility, land, rivers, and mountains. The four heavenly ministers are often worshiped in Daoist temples.

Six Sovereigns

In some later Daoist accounts, this group is extended to six. The Six Heavenly Ministers (六御) include, in addition to the prior four:

• the King Father of the East, also called the Sovereign of the Eastern Florescence
• the Queen Mother of the West, also called the Primordial Lady Golden Mother

Other accounts instead add:

• the Old Man of the South Pole
• the Heavenly Lord of Supreme Oneness and Salvation from Misery, also called the East Pole Emperor of Blue Essence

See also

• Chinese mythology

External links

• 道教文化资料库
• 玉皇大帝
• 道法会元卷之三 Archived 2017-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
• 星座探奇
• 神祇列傳-紫微大帝 Archived 2017-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
• 道教之音
• 地母
• 后土皇地祇－地母元君