Four Heavenly Ministers (Si4 Yu4 Da4 Di5)
Origin of the Four Heavenly Ministers
The Four Heavenly Ministers, including the Heavenly Lord Zi Wei of
the Northern Polar in the Middle Heaven, the Great Heavenly Lord of
the Highest Palace of Polaris, Heavenly Lord of the Southern Polar
of Longevity and the Imperial Goddess of Earth(Hou Tu), are four
deities in charge of all things in Heaven and Earth under the Three
Pure Ones(San Qing) and they assist the Great Jade Emperor in all
administrative work.
The Great Jade Emperor is the master of the ten thousand
spirits.
Heavenly Lord Zi Wi, as the Stellar Sovereign is the master of all
the stars.
The Great Heavenly Lord of the Highest Palace of Polaris, which is
composed of four stars left of the Imperial Polar Constellation, is
located at the Pole Star as the pivot of heaven, in charge of the
Three Powers in Heaven.
The Imperial Goddess of Earth is the center of Heaven and Earth; it
had a a male form before the Tang dynasty and acquired a female
form during Wu Zetian's reign.
Functions
The Great Jade Emperor, subordinate only to the Three PureOnes, is
in charge of the Tao of heaven.
The Heavenly Lord Zi Wei assists the Jade Emperor in administering
the longitudes and latitudes of Heaven and Earth, the sun, the moon
and stars, as well as the climate of the four seasons. He is
honored as the "master of all stars and assistant sovereign of the
three realms"
The Great Heavenly Lord of the Highest Palace of Polaris, aka
Heavenly Lord Tian Huang is in charge of the Three Powers of
Heaven, Earth and Man, and of wars in the human world.
The Imperial Goddess of Earth is in charge of births, land, rivers,
and mountains.
The Heavenly Lord of the Southern Polar of Longevity is in charge
of all spirits and life and death of all beings
In large scale Taoist rituals and ceremonies, it is common to see
the altar having the Four Heavenly Ministers(Si Yu), either beside
or just under the Jade Emperor. These four divines ranked just
below the Jade Emperor and they are similar to the deputy Prime
Minister in modern days. Therefore they are highly respect in the
Taoist religion.