1. Who is the Jade Emperor?
According to the folklore of the Han nationality, the Jade Emperor, Zhang Jian, was born on the ninth day of the first month. It is said that a long time ago there was a country called Guangyan miaolu. King Jingde and queen baoyueyue were old and childless. They were very upset. They invited Taoists to hold prayer activities. After half a year, I still feel weak under my knees. One night, the queen suddenly dreamt that the emperor and many gods came down from the sky with a red baby in their arms. The queen begged the old king to give her the baby. The old gentleman smiles and agrees. The queen is full of love to take in the baby. When she wakes up, she feels pregnant. A year later, that is, the ninth day of the first month in the year of Bingwu, the baby was born and the room was full of light. This child is the later Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor was wise and kind. When he grew up, he was kind and compassionate. He sent all the treasures stored in the palace warehouse to the poor people. After King Jingde died, he succeeded to the throne and governed the country. Soon, he gave up his throne to the minister, lived in the mountains, practiced devoutly, and became the jade emperor after 1320 robberies. In addition, during the period of emperor Zhenzong in the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong faked the God of dreams.
2. Why to receive the Jade Emperor
The old custom believed that the God of kitchen went up to heaven and the Jade Emperor himself went down on December 25 of the lunar calendar to investigate the good and evil of the world and determine the misfortune of the next year. Therefore, the family sacrifices to pray for blessings, which is called "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, we should be careful in our daily life and in our speech, and strive for good performance, so as to win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring down blessings for the coming year.
3. Why do you take the Jade Emperor to make tofu?
The reason is that after the local legend Zao Wang reported to heaven, the Jade Emperor would visit the lower kingdom to see if each household was as the Zao Wang played, so each household would eat tofu dregs to show their suffering and hide the punishment from the Jade Emperor. According to the legend, eating tofu dregs is actually a reflection of the ancient low productivity, not so much delicious, but also the virtue of diligence and thrift of the Han ancestors.
The above is the origin of the Jade Emperor on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month! Please collect!