Tianhuang Dadi is a deity of ancient Chinese star worship and of Daoism. Wikidata classes him as a deity and lists the other names Gouchen Emperor and Tianhuang Emperor, and the Chinese Wikipedia article is titled Tianhuang Dadi. It is a divine title, not a personal name, so the heading stays the original title.[1][2]
In Daoism
The Chinese Wikipedia article says that Tianhuang Dadi, in full the Supreme Emperor of the Curved Array's Upper Palace, also called the Gouchen Emperor, is the lord of the Tianhuang star, one of the Four Sovereigns of Daoism, the eldest son of Doumu Yuanjun and the elder brother of the Ziwei Emperor of the north pole. He assists the Jade Emperor in governing the three powers of heaven, earth and humanity, presides over the affairs of war on earth, including all arms and fighting, and also over the change of regimes and the choosing of worthy rulers. In Chinese astrology, the Curved Array star to which he belongs, like the Ziwei star, stands for the fortunes of earthly emperors. Like the Ziwei Emperor, he comes from the ancient worship of the stars. The article quotes the Great Rite of the Numinous Treasure of Highest Clarity, which says that to the left of the pole star's throne are four stars that curve together like a hook and are called the Curved Array, and that the large star centered below them is Tianhuang Dadi. It also says that in Taiwan he has no temples of his own, and is usually enshrined as a companion deity of Doumu Yuanjun or together with the other Four or Six Sovereigns.[2]
Old texts and the Confucian view
The article quotes the Treatise on Astronomy in the Book of Jin, which says that the six stars of the Curved Array are all in the Ziwei Palace, that the star in its mouth is called Tianhuang Dadi, and that his divine name is Yaopobao, who rules the host of spirits and holds the chart of the myriad gods. It also notes that on the Rites' sentence about sacrificing to the August Heaven, Zheng Xuan took Tianhuang Dadi to be Yaopobao, and that the Old Book of Tang says the August Heaven worshipped at the round mound was the polar star Yaopobao.[2]
The stars
The article says that the Curved Array is an ancient Chinese star group near the north celestial pole made up of six stars, four of which lie in Ursa Minor and two in Cepheus in Western astronomy. Gouchen One is Alpha Ursae Minoris, the pole star. The six stars are bent like a hook and were once regarded as the Yellow Emperor's rear palace and the heavenly emperor's principal consort.[2]
Basic facts
- Category: deity, associated with the Curved Array star group[1]
- Other names: Gouchen Emperor, Tianhuang (deity)[1]
- Work linked on this entry: Journey to the West