| Three Great Emperor-Officials | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 三官大帝 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Three Great Emperor-Officials | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TheThree Great Emperor-Officials (Chinese:三官大帝;pinyin:Sānguān Dàdì),Sanguan,[1] or theThree Officials[1] are three of the highestshen in some branches ofreligious Taoism, and subordinate only to theJade Emperor (玉帝;Yùdì). The Three Great Emperor-Officials are the "Heavenly Official" (天官;Tiānguān), the "Earthly Official" (地官;Dìguān) and the "Water Official" (水官;Shuǐguān). They administer all phenomena in the three spheres[citation needed] and were thought to be able to take away sin.
Chinese playwrights popularized the worship of these gods by including a skit before plays with shared themes between each performance calledThe Official of Heaven Brings Happiness.[1]
They have been worshipped since thesecond century CE.[2][1]
The Ming dynasty textComprehensive Collection of Deities from the Three Religions (三教源流搜神大全;Sānjiào Yuánliú Shōushén Dàquán) states that the Three Officials are the three sons born to Chen Zidao and the Dragon Girl. They were enfeoffed byYuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning) as follows: the eldest son was titled "Shangyuan Yipin Jiuqi Tianguan Zifu Dadi" (Heavenly Official of the Upper Prime, First Rank, Nine Qi, Purple Subtlety Emperor); the second son was titled "Zhongyuan Erpin Qiqi Diguan Qingxu Dadi" (Earthly Official of the Middle Prime, Second Rank, Seven Qi, Pure Void Emperor); and the third son was titled "Xiayuan Sanpin Wuqi Shuiguan Dongyin Dadi" (Water Official of the Lower Prime, Third Rank, Five Qi, Cavernous Darkness Emperor).[4]
The Qing dynasty textShenxian Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals) identifies the Three Officials as the ancient sage-kingsYao,Shun andYu. It states: "The Heavenly Official is Yao; the Earthly Official is Shun; and the Water Official is Yu."
Tianguan was thought to have power overTian or heaven and grant happiness to believers.[1]
Diguan was the official of earth who took awaysin in popular belief,[1][5] although all the Sanguan were thought to be able to pardon sin to some extent, especially with their powers combined.[1][2]
Shuiguan was the ruler of the ocean in some Taoist belief systems,[1][2] and in others, he shared the same position as theDragon King[2] or did not exist.[citation needed] He was often held to "avert misfortune".[1]
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