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Three Great Emperors-Officials

The Three Great Emperors - Officials of the Sky, Earth, and Water (Sanguandadi 三官大帝) are Taoist G*ds that come from the school of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice founded by a Han Chinese, named Zhang DaoLing. According to the Book of Rites or Liji, the rituals associated with Sky, Earth and Water were originally a privilege granted to royals.

At the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, these three G*ds were mistaken with the three other divinities, where one-third of the year was called shangyuan (beginning portion of the year), zhongyuan (middle portion) , and xiayuan (ending portion). In other words, the upper, middle and lower parts of a year, divided into threes.

Yu the Great, Water Governor The governor of Heaven (Tianguan 天官), a first-degree celestial mandarin, governs the first third of the year and oversees celestial deities. He is identified with the stellar deity Ziwei (紫微), a personification of the Chinese zodiac. His birthday is on the 15th of the first lunar month, which became the Feast of the Lanterns. The governor of the Earth (Diguan 地官), a second-third celestial mandarin, governs the second third of the year and oversees the terrestrial gods, including those of the five sacred mountains. He is identified as the Emperor Shun, who is supposed to have retired to hunt in the mountains on the end of his days; He would have divided the land into twelve sectors to facilitate the occupation by men. It is celebrated on the 15th of the 7th month, the day of the Ghost Feast The Governor of Waters (Shuiguan 官 官) governs the last third of the year and oversees the divinities of the seas and rivers. He is usually identified with the legendary sovereign Yu the Great, who struggled against the floods. His birthday is the 15th of the 10th month.