Jade Emperor

After the Wu–Yao war, when the old Heavenly Court held by the Yao clan had fallen apart, Haotian was invested for that work by Hongjun’s decree and took the authority of the Heavenly Court together with the Jade Pool, entering the Numinous Empyrean Hall to govern the departments of the three realms.

The new Heavenly Court was only beginning: its halls were rough and its bureaus and offices not yet filled. Haotian set the offices afresh on what the Wu and Yao clans had left, dividing the thunder, fire, water and Dipper departments and the stellar posts, and left the places empty for those who should earn them.

In the last years of Shang, with Shang and Zhou at war and the divine offices long vacant, Haotian took counsel with the three teachings, ordered Jiang Shang to set up the investiture terrace and gather the loyal dead, and to enfeoff them one by one when the calamity was over.

After the battle of Muye, when Shang had fallen and Zhou risen, Jiang Shang read out the Investiture List before the terrace and Haotian, following the roll, invested the gods of the thunder, fire and water departments and all the stars of heaven, each in his own place; from then the Heavenly Court was fully staffed and worked as it should.

Some centuries later, when the stone monkey of Mount Huaguo came home from his studies, he first broke into the dragon palace and took the Ruyi Jingu Bang, then broke into the underworld and struck out the register of life and death. The dragon king and the Ten Kings both submitted memorials, and Haotian read them and was angry at this disturbance of the order of the three realms.

Taibai Jinxing proposed an amnesty, and Haotian approved it, calling Wukong up to receive an office; he was first made Bimawen with charge of the imperial stables.

When Wukong took offence at so low a post and went down in anger, Haotian sent troops that failed, and again followed Taibai’s advice, adding the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven and setting up an office for him beside the peach garden.

When Wukong had ruined the peach banquet and eaten the golden elixir of the Tushita Palace, Haotian in fury sent Li Jing, Nezha, the nine luminaries and the Four Heavenly Kings with the host to besiege Mount Huaguo.

The host failed for a long time, and Haotian then issued an order summoning the Manifest Sage Erlang Zhenjun of Guanjiangkou, who with his six brothers of Meishan took Wukong at last, so that he was bound and brought to heaven and led to the demon-executing platform.

Neither blade, axe, thunder nor fire could hurt Wukong, and Haotian ordered him thrown into Taishang Laojun’s eight-trigram furnace; when the furnace was opened Wukong broke out of it and fought his way to the doors of the Hall of Universal Brightness.

With the gods of the hall unable to hold him, Haotian sent for Rulai of the western heaven. Rulai came before the Numinous Empyrean Hall and pinned Wukong under Five Elements Mountain, and the Heavenly Court was quiet again.

Once the pilgrimage had been settled, Haotian allowed Guanyin to arrange the help of gods of water and land along the road, and where monsters blocked the way or an ordeal could not be lifted, he issued orders on petition and sent stars, dragon gods and thunder generals below to help.

At Lion Camel Ridge, the Heaven-Reaching River and other ordeals, when the pilgrims sent up petitions again and again, Haotian ordered the god on duty to establish where each monster had come from and to take it or pardon it accordingly, so that the codes of heaven were not thrown into confusion.

On the day the scriptures were obtained and the calamity of the three realms was over, Haotian remained in the Numinous Empyrean Hall governing the Heavenly Court; the offices fixed at the investiture and the gods sent out along the pilgrimage road all returned to their places, and the order of heaven stood as before.