|
Yuan Shi Tian Zun (元始天尊)
Chinese.
‘Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning’. Name of
one of the highest deities of the
Chinese Taoist
pantheon,
who resides in the Heaven of Jade Purity. It is sometimes said
that he is without beginning and that he
–as
the Divine Master of the Heavenly Origin–
created heaven and earth. Though, it is by
some believed that he actually came to being at the beginning of the universe,
as a result of the merging of pure breaths. Initially, he headed the
administration of heaven, but later entrusted this task to his assistant
Yu Huang, i.e. the
‘Jade
Emperor’ (fig.),
who
rules over
heaven and earth, and whose importance in
Taoism
later came to exceed that of
Yuan Shi Tian Zun.
At the beginning of each eon, he
transmits the Scriptures of the Magic Jewel to his subordinates, deities who in
turn instruct mankind in the teachings of the
Tao,
of which he is the pure manifestation, i.e. the
representative of the principle of all being, from whom all things arose, and
both eternal, limitless, and invisible. In popular culture, Yuan Shi Tian Zun is
worshipped on the same level as
Lao Jun
(fig.),
i.e. the deified form of
Lao Tzu (fig.),
the founder of
Taoism
and author of the
Tao-te Ching.
He is
also believed to rescue and release wretched souls from the various hells. He is
one of the Three Pure Ones, known in Chinese as San Qing (三清), together with
Ling Bao Tian Zun and Dao De Tian Zun, and he is also known as Tian Bao Jun
(天寳君), i.e. the ‘Lord
of the Heavenly Jewel’.
In
iconography,
he
is usually portrayed with a long black
moustache and a long Chinese-style beard, seated on a
dragon
throne, while wearing an often predominantly red, kingly robe, and
sometimes holding
a pearl between his thumb and middle finger, which represents long
life, perfection, incorruptibility, and wisdom, akin to the
flaming pearl.
His
attribute,
as well as the colour of his robe, distinguish him from the other
two San Qing, i.e. Ling Bao Tian Zun, who is often
clothed in blue and holds a
ruyi,
and Dao De Tian Zun, who often wears a yellow robe and holds a
fan.
回
|
