The Resolution of the Conflict

Just like the rest of Yu Huang's life, his battle with the demon is long an difficult.  He is facing an impending foe, but he is still fully confident in his powers.  After a long time of strenuous mental meditation, the conflict ends with Yu Huang conquering the monster.  When Yu is proclaimed as victorious, the Gods elect him as ruler over all the heavens.  Yu is given the new title of Jade Emperor and everything ends happily, well not for the demon... But the rest of China was finally at peace, and the just new ruler, the Jade Emperor, is brought to his high heavenly throne.

The Climax of the Conflict

In the myth of the Jade Emperor, the dark and evil demon rears his ugly head.  When it seems that the Gods' great powers are futile against him and all of China is doomed, the immortal Yu Huang comes the save the day.  The climax is when Yu confronts the demon and the battle turn into a crazy frenzy!  Well, actually they fought with their minds...  So there wasn't any Kung Fu, but it was still really intense!  This is the deciding moment; can Yu Huang conquer the demon inside and use the power of the Tao to defeat the beast????

The Conflict

In the myth of the Jade Emperor, the conflict is when the evil demon upsets the peaceful land and defeats the Gods.  He is an unstoppable force that could bring the destruction of China!  Not even the Gods had a chance against this powerful satanic being.  But, perhaps Yu Huang just might have what it takes to put an end to the monster's reign of terror.

Character Development

While the only characters who have a pertinent role in the Jade Emperor myth are Yu Huang and the demon, the high Gods also make a small appearance.

Yu Huang (The Jade Emperor)
Yu Huang is the main character of the myth, which is centered around his life. Throughout the tale he grows and develops.  At the beginning he is just a baby without any purpose, but as he ages, Yu realizes the importance of following the Tao.  He becomes an inherently good person and begins a life of servitude.  After he also spends an eternity in a cliff meditating, Yu Huang develops a stupendous intelligence and powers.  As for his physical features he has long black hair and a mustache.





The Demon
In the myth the demon is a super powerful being that defeated the gods.  It is quite apparent that the monster must be incredibly strong and skilled.  While there isn't any direct evidence for the demon's physical appearance, it might be something like this.



The Gods
At the end of the myth all of the gods proclaimed that the Yu Huang should become the ruler of all deities. The most important of the gods was the Three Pure Ones.  They are the divine trinity of the Taoist religion.  Their titles are Jade Pure, Upper Pure, and Great Pure.  They are believed to be manifestations of the legendary Lao Tzu.

Setting of the Jade Emperor

While the tale of the Jade Emperor is purely fictional, many of its details correlate to real life characteristics.  Many of these examples pertain to physical locations that occur both in the myth and in reality.  In fact, this story, which was compiled during the Tang Dynasty, has details based on the nearby landmarks.  One of these includes the birthplace of Yu Huang.  As the legend has it, the future Jade Emperor was born in a kingdom of China.  Based on the time of the myths origin, one can hypothesize that Yu's hometown would be similar to a kingdom from the Tang Dynasty.  The modern day Tang Dynasty Village in Singapore is a theme park that shows what the village of Chang'An would have looked like in the Tang Dynasty.  The Jade Emperor would have grown up in a town such as this.

Using details from the story, the more information on the physical setting of the myth can be determined.  To find out the geographical location of the myth, one can examine the time when Yu Huang went to meditate on a cliff.  The fabled Bright and Fragrant Cliffs might not exist, but it was based off of nearby landmarks, such as Mt. Hua.

 Thus, it can be concluded that the setting of the tale must be near cliffs and inside the Tang Boundary.  This leads to the conclusion that the Jade Emperor myth took place in a village near the Loess Plateau during the Tang Dynasty.

Three Cultural Pieces

While the Jade Emperor and his myths were most prominent in ancient times, there are many appearances of him in more recent culture.

Jade Emperor Painting

This ink on silk work depicts the Jade Emperor ruling over the worlds from his high heavenly throne.  The author but unknown, but this paint is from the sixteenth century Ming dynasty.  Currently this scroll is at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Jade Emperor Puppet Show

Pandora Gestulam and the Mudlark Puppeteers perform the puppet show "The Monkey King."  This work includes the Jade Emperor as one of the characters.  Here he is pictured with his wife, the empress.

Journey to the West

The Jade Emperor also makes an appearance in the piece of literature "Journey West"  This was a Chinese novel written during the Ming Dynasty.  One of the myths inside the book is the Monkey King tale, which includes the Jade Emperor.

How The Jade Emperor Earned His Title

    
 Once there was a Kingdom in ancient China where the King of Pure Felicity and the Empress of Precious Moonlight lived happily.  Then they had a child and that dream was over!  When the little bundle of joy was born radiant beams burst forth from him enveloping the city. It was clear that Yu Huang would be a handful.

      At an early age Yu's parents put the little prince to work.  to teach him compassion they had him feed the hungry, to learn learn selflessness he tended to the ill, and to master kindness he had to care for the disabled.  All of this good fashioned upbringing resulted in Yu Huang becoming a pious child and prepared him for his next challenge.

     Older and wiser, Yu decided to follow his religion of Taoism and he pursued the greatest achievement: realization of the Tao. He shut himself away, isolated in the Bright and Fragrant Cliffs, a popular tourist attraction.  Then you spent many a year there until he finally ascended with the clarity of the Tao, thus gaining immortality.  However, he was not finished training.  He spent millions of further years perfecting his intellectual abilities through meditation.

     While Yu Huang finished studying, a demon was rampaging through the land.  None of the gods could stop the monstrous beast.  It was a job for Yu!  Having completed his mental practices, he confronted the demon.  It was not a battle of swords but rather a strenuous contest of minds.  To the common observer it would appear to be a constipated man squatting in front of Satan.  After many hours the man with indigestion problems won, much to the observers' surprise.

     When Yu Huang slayed the demon with his brain, the Gods were so impressed that they made him God over all deities.   This new promotion came with the title of Jade Emperor. In the end, a simple commoner achieved high ruling power, just like Kate Middleton did.  Now the Jade Emperor watches over the Earth from his divine bureaucracy.