| Three Great Emperor-Officials | |
| Pic: | 三官大帝.jpg |
| Piccap: | Painting of the Three Great Emperor-Officials in the White Cloud Temple of Beijing |
| C: | 三官大帝 |
| L: | Three Great Emperor-Officials |
| P: | sānguān dàdì |
The Three Great Emperor-Officials, Sanguan,[1] or the Three Officials are three of the highest shen in some branches of religious Taoism, and subordinate only to the Jade Emperor (玉帝 yùdì).The Three Great Emperor-Officials are the Heavenly Official (天官 tiānguān), the Earthly Official (地官 dìguān) and the Water Official (水官 shuǐguān). They administer all phenomena in the three spheres, and were thought to be able to take away sin.
Chinese playwrights popularized the worship of these gods by including a skit before plays with shared themes between each performance called The Official of Heaven Brings Happiness.
They have been worshipped since the second century CE.[2]
Tiānguān was thought to have power over Tiān or heaven and grant happiness to believers.
Dìguān was the official of earth who took away sin in popular belief,[4] although all the Sanguan were thought to be able to pardon sin to some extent, especially with their powers combined.
Shuǐguān was the ruler of the ocean in some Taoist belief systems, and in others, he shared the same position as the Dragon King or did not exist. He was often held to "avert misfortune".