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. The mythology of all races. Fig. 38. The Taoist TrinityTien Pao, Ling Pao, Shen Pao SUPERNATURAL BEINGS 109 At the head of the Holy beings are The Three Purities (San Ching) who compose the Taoist Trinity. This Trinityis not an imitation of the Buddhist Trinity, but was probablyalso taken from classical tradition. The Tso Chuan refers to The Three Venerable Ones (San Lao, Kung Lao, ShangLao, Lung Lao). The Li Ki mentions The Three Officials. Fig. 39. Yuan Shih Tien Tsun (San Kuan); the Sku King speaks of The Three Notables (San Kung, Tai-shih, Tai-fu, Tai-pao)j and there wasalso th
. The mythology of all races. Fig. 38. The Taoist TrinityTien Pao, Ling Pao, Shen Pao SUPERNATURAL BEINGS 109 At the head of the Holy beings are The Three Purities (San Ching) who compose the Taoist Trinity. This Trinityis not an imitation of the Buddhist Trinity, but was probablyalso taken from classical tradition. The Tso Chuan refers to The Three Venerable Ones (San Lao, Kung Lao, ShangLao, Lung Lao). The Li Ki mentions The Three Officials. Fig. 39. Yuan Shih Tien Tsun (San Kuan); the Sku King speaks of The Three Notables (San Kung, Tai-shih, Tai-fu, Tai-pao)j and there wasalso the tradition of The Three Emperors (San Huang). The Three Purities are also frequently interpreted as TheThree Heavens, viz., Yu (jade), Shang (superior),and Tai (highest). In the Taoist pantheon the ThreePurities are (i) Yiian Shih Tien Tsun, the Eternal, popu-larly known as Tien Pao, (2) Tao Chiin, chief of all super-natural beings, who is popularly known as Ling Pao, and (3) no CHINESE MYTHOLOGY Lao Tzu, who in this connection is popularly spoken of asShen Pao. The first of these is sovereign of the JadeHeaven (Yii Ching) the second is sovereign of the Supe-rior Heaven (Shang Ching), and the third is sovereign ofthe Highest Heaven (Tai Ching). In enumerations ofthis Taoist Trinity the place of the first Divinity, Yuan Shih,
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Keywords: ., bookauthor, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectmythology