The Heavenly Emperor 天皇大帝 The Great Emperor of the Western Taiji Heaven
Paul Peng
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The Heavenly Emperor, also known as "the Great Emperor of the Western Taiji Heaven" "the Great Emperor of the Gouchen Upper Palace" "Emperor Gouchen" and so on, is one of the "Six Imperial Gods". Like the Ziwei Emperor, the Heavenly Emperor originated from the ancient Chinese worship of stars.The Supreme Numinous Treasure Great Lawstates of the Heavenly Emperor: "To the left of the imperial throne of the North Pole, there are four stars, their forms connected and slightly curved like a hook, which is named Gouchen. Under them, a large star lies right in the middle, and this is the Heavenly Emperor." In fact, "Gouchen" is the same as "Gouchen", a constellation in the Purple Forbidden Enclosure in the sky, close to the North Star, consisting of six stars in total.The Star Classicsays: "The six stars of Gouchen are under the Five Emperors, representing the imperial harem and the legitimate consort of the Great Emperor. They also govern the six military commanders of the Son of Heaven and the three dukes." Therefore, later generations also regarded Gouchen as the imperial harem.
The function of the Heavenly Emperor is to assist the Jade Emperor in governing the North and South Poles, the three realms of heaven, earth and humanity, to command all stars, and to preside over military affairs in the human world. The birthday of the Heavenly Emperor is the second day of the second lunar month.
This article is part of our comprehensive guide covering all core Taoist philosophies, concepts, and practices — curated from the classic Encyclopedia of Taoism.
Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is the curator of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.
