Some say that mankind's trepidation toward nature is the origin of religion. That certainly is a fitting concept for the Three Lordly Magistrates--those of heaven, earth, and of water. In ancient times, when knowledge was still poor, natural disasters and changes would incite all manner of speculation. As a result, heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and the sea were all objects of our ancestors' worship. Add to this that our ancestors saw heaven, earth, and water as the three major elements making up the world; this gave later beliefs in the three Magistrates an even firmer foundation.
Yao, Shun, and Yu as the Lords of the Three Realms?!: At the end of the Han dynasty, with the rise of Taoism and the "ideology of divinities" which it promoted, traditional worship of nature became "deitized." In records from the Three kingdoms period, it is noted that Chang Tien-shih, founder of "Five Pecks of Rice Taoism," treated the ill while proselytizing in Szechuan. His method was to ask the patient's family to write the name and symptoms of the patient on three sheets of paper. They also had tclearly confess their sins and sincerely appeal for absolution. Thereafter, one piece of paper was sent skyward, one buried in the ground, and one submerged in water. These were called the "petitions to the Three Magistrates." There was a fee of five pecks of rice per ceremony.
Taoism believes in "worship of the deceased," and worships especially those persons who have become "deified."s a result, in the Taoist classic The Complete History of the Deities, the Three Magistrates of heaven, earth, and water, have-- somewhat incredibly--become the deified transformations of the ancient emperors Yao, Shun, and Yu.
Yao, Shun, and Yu taking charge of heaven, earth, and water?! Yet the Complete History Of the Deities provides an explanation. It is said that Yao "set the times of Heaven." It is said that he is the one who divided the year into four seasons and 365 days. Shun, extolled as the "Magistrate of the Earth," tilled the fields in Li-shan, fished in Leitze, and made pottery in Ho-pin. These diverse contributions to improving the people's living conditions fit rather well with the image of "earth sustaining the ten thousand things." After Shun became the emperor, he also "marked the boundaries of the twelve states," setting the foundation for the geographic division of the Central Plains. As for the Emperor Yu, he developed water conservancy and irrigation, and is thus admired as the Magistrate of Water.
It is said that after Shun, Yao, and Yu died, they were invited by the Jade Emperor to serve as the Three Magistrates. However, their jurisdictions were not to be limited to heaven, earth, and water. They divided up control of the Realm of Heaven (deities), the Realm of the Manifest (ordinary persons), and the Realm of Darkness (ghosts and demons). Thus they are also known as the "Lords of the Three Realms." Along with the "Rulers of the Five Directions," who are charged with the east, south, west, north, and center, they are the "ministers" of the Jade Emperor with the highest moral standing and reputation.
A Case of Mistaken Identity?: It's interesting that there are two other theories about the origins of the Three Magistrates which are widely believed, and they are not very compatible with the legend of the honorary titles of the Three Magistrates being awarded to Yao, Shun, and Yu. One of these states that the Dragon King had three daughters. These three daughters met a handsome young man, Chen Tzu-tao, and all became Chen's wives. After marriage, each bore a son, and each of the sons had fantastic powers; they were consequently ordained as the Three Magistrates by the Jade Emperor and charged with overseeing the Three Realms.
The other proposal is that there were three Imperial Censors of the Chou dynasty known as Tang Hung, Ko Yung, and Chou Shih. Because the emperor was infatuated with his brother's wife, he ignored national affairs and paid no heed to the frequent remonstrances of the three censors. The three censors, beyond disappointment, had no choice but to abandon their posts. A thousand years later, during the Sung dynasty, when the Sung emperor Chen-tsung, a deep believer in Taoism, went to Tai Mountain to worship nature and cultivate himself, the three censors manifested themselves to act as his guardians. Besides feeling profound gratitude, Chen-tsung also appointed them as the Lordly Magistrates of heaven, earth, and water.
Perhaps from the point of view of popular believers, the Three Lordly Magistrates are high ranking positions, and the believers worship the roles; there is no need to worry about which gods after all are actually holding the posts. Nevertheless, since these three are considered royalty in the divine world, those who had relatively glorious careers as human emperors are more suitable, so the most "logical" theory is still that Yao, Shun, and Yu were appointed the Three Lordly Magistrates because of their benevolence to the people.
Benevolence, Absolution, and Disaster Prevention: The statues of the three respected magistrates are all wearing regal clothing. In Taoism, they are the only ones besides the Jade Emperor himself to enjoy this type of attire. Their birthdays, the fifteenth of the first, seventh, and tenth months in the lunar calendar, all have extremely important places among customary Chinese celebrations.
The fifteenth of the first month is also known as "Lantern Festival." On this day, besides eating the traditional rice flour dumplings and admiring the decorative lanterns, it is necessary to give praise to the Three Magistrates and pray for heavenly benevolence.
The fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which is Ghost Festival, is also known as "Filial Son Day." This is because, although when the Emperor Shun was young his mother died and he was badly treated by his father and stepmother, he nevertheless became renowned for his continual filial piety to his father. Thus when the fifteenth day of the seventh month rolls around, the common people in turn extend a hand to lost, roaming souls of the dead who are commonly called "the good fellows." Those temples which perform special rituals will erect a twenty-or thirty-foot-high lantern pole, and stick on bamboo leaves, and inscriptions honoring the Three Magistrates are written on the lanterns. The higher the lantern tower and the more lost souls attracted, the greater the merit accrued. Naturally, it is not merely essential to spread a magnificent feast of offerings on the altar for the ghosts to consume; the master conducting the ritual must have profound attainment in Taoism.
Yet since the Magistrate of the Earth is in control of the realm of ordinary human activity, how is it that he has relationships with the spirits from the realm of darkness? In fact, this is an example of the mixture of Buddhism and Taoism in popular belief. In Buddhism, there is a monk renowned for his filial piety, who promised to read the sutras to the spirits as a way to save his mother; this tradition has been blended in with the filial magistrate of the earth who is also in charge of atoning for sins. A Buddhist tradition whereby one can accumulate great merit by assisting the spirits has, under the influence of Taoism, become the " ceremony for saving the souls of the dead" by sacrificial offerings of food.
The tenth month in the lunar calendar is also called the "Day of Forestalling Calamity." On this day, believers worship the Emperor Yu, Magistrate of Water, who is charged with preventing calamity, and seek relief from all kinds of danger. It is necessary to put paper reproductions of malignant deities and gods of misfortune on the altar, and after offerings and reading of the scriptures are completed, these malevolent deities are burned, and the ashes cast into water, representing the departure of ill fortune and the achievement of tranquility in all things.
A Significance Beyond the Religious: Because it is commonly believed that the Three Lordly Magistrates are the metamorphosed Yao, Shun, and Yua and Yao, Shun and Yu are responsible for founding all the dynasties and skills which have come down through the generations, belief in the Three Magistrates is not only significant in religious terms; it has deep significance in terms of cultural transmission and for the thoroughgoing worship of all ancestors.
It is interesting to note that following the southward migration of peoples of the Central Plain, believers in the three magistrates in North China--where Yao, Shun, and Yu arose--gradually disappeared. On the other hand, such believers are numerous in the southeast coastal belt, where every home has an incense burner devoted to these "Lords of the Three Realms." This is especially true for Hakka people, who have held on to the most customs from the Central Plain and still burn incense in homage to these gods to this day. There are eight or ten temples which mainly worship the Three Lordly Magistrates in Taiwan. Moreover, in areas with a high concentration of Hakka people, such as Tahsi and Lungtan in Taoyuan County or Kuanhsi in Hsinchu County, one can see temples with inscriptions to the Three Magistrates everywhere.
To come back to where we started, in the vast bureaucratic structure of Taoist deities, the status of the Three Magistrates is high, and they have important powers. But Chinese have always held that "there is less to fear in someone of high official position than there is to fear in someone who can intervene directly in your life." There are a great many such spirits in the earthly realm, and in the realm of darkness the King of Hell and the fierce judges in the court of the afterlife are masters--and that's not to mention all the other deities in heaven! The "Lord of the Realm" is, in the final analysis, an honorary title, without decisive authority. Given this situation, the Three Lordly Magistrates, sitting magisterially in the temple in their imperial dress, yet unable to get out on "inspection tours," are still somewhat removed from the ordinary believer.
Still, the worship of deities and spirits which followed the rise of Taoism, which replaced the animistic religion of our ancestors, has its many regulations and "standard-operating procedures." Although the followers of the Three Magistrates lack the tales of supernatural feats and miracles of divine manifestation common to other gods, nevertheless they have a natural, straightforward sense of genuine propriety.
[Picture Caption]
For a long time, believers in the Three Magistrates have worshipped the thrones, rather than representations of the gods themselves.
Statues of the Magistrates only appeared in the Ch'ing dynasty.
(photo by Arthur Cheng)
In rural villages in Taiwan you can often see incense burners of the Three Realms hung outside traditional enclosed residential compounds. (photo by vincent Chang)
There are quite a few followers of the Three Lordly Magistrates in Taiwan. The photo is of the Jen-teh Temple in Taoyuan. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)
In rural villages in Taiwan you can often see incense burners of the Three Realms hung outside traditional enclosed residential compounds. （photo by vincent Chang）
There are quite a few followers of the Three Lordly Magistrates in Taiwan. The photo is of the Jen-teh Temple in Taoyuan. （photo by Pu Hua-chih）
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