Jade Emperor 玉皇大帝
The Jade Emperor's celestial court is organised the way the Chinese have imagined imperial power for centuries. The Emperor has his officials and military commanders, and he is free to bestow offices as he pleases. This structure is especially clear in Journey to the West. The court first tries to find Sun Wu-Kong a place in its service, and when he raises a rebellion, it discovers that it cannot deal with him on its own.
The Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝) is also known as Yuhuang and Yudi. In popular belief, he rules Heaven, and the deities at his court conduct affairs much like officials of an earthly empire. Under the Song, veneration of Yuhuang received support from the court. In the early eleventh century, Emperor Zhenzong ordered his statue placed in the Zifu Palace and bestowed an honorary title upon him. Yuhuang also belongs to the broader Daoist pantheon, in which the highest deities also include the Three Pure Ones. In Taiwanese temples, the Jade Emperor's birthday is celebrated on the ninth day of the first lunar month.
In Journey to the West, Yuhuang appoints Sun Wu-Kong keeper of the heavenly stables. Sun considers the post humiliating, leaves, and proclaims himself Great Sage Equal to Heaven. After the clash with the heavenly army, the court agrees to recognize the title and later assigns Wu-Kong to watch over the peach orchard. The orchard and Queen Mother of the West's banquet become the occasion for a new quarrel, and when the heavenly troops again fail to subdue the Monkey King, the emperor turns to the Buddha. He imprisons Wu-Kong beneath the Five Elements Mountain.
The animated film Havoc in Heaven (1964) shows the Jade Emperor at the time when Wu-Kong is still at war with the court. In the TV series Journey to the West (1986), he was played by Zhang Yu-Shan. In Lotus Lantern (2005), the role was performed by Wang Wei-Guo, who had already played Yuhuang in Journey to the West: Season 2 (2000).
