Immortals refer to beings that are “extraordinary” and “transcendent,” possessing “supernatural powers.” Immortals can generally be categorized into two types: “Gods” and “Immortals” themselves. These beings are immortal, can change their forms at will, possess great magical powers, and exist in a world beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
The origins of Chinese immortal beings stem from ancient mythology, marking the initial phase of the Chinese immortal system. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, immortal figures gradually began to appear in the writings of various scholars, such as those recorded in the “Classic of Mountains and Rivers,” which includes Nüwa, Kuafu, Hou Yi, Gonggong, Xiangliu, Jingwei, and the Queen Mother of the West; and in “Zhuangzi,” which mentions Guang Chengzi, Peng Zu, Kunpeng, River Lord, and Sea God. The Qin and Han dynasties saw further development, with more immortal figures and legends documented in “Huainanzi,” “Records of the Grand Historian,” “Biographies of Immortals,” and “Tales of Immortals.”
Taoism later proposed that through cultivation, one could achieve immortality and become an Immortal. In the Taoist text “Zhuangzi,” a true person is described as being able to enter water without getting wet and walk through fire without feeling heat. They can roam the skies and live as long as heaven and earth. This concept evolved into the basic supernatural powers of immortals as described by later Taoism. The supernatural powers of immortals also include the ability to live without food, withstand extreme temperatures, move as fast as a running horse, and at the highest level, dissolve into Qi and reassemble at will, reside anywhere between heaven and earth, free from the constraints of life and death.
Currently, China does not have a very clear and complete system or sects of immortals. The existing celestial, terrestrial, and Underworld immortal systems are a confluence of some ancient Chinese mythological figures, Taoist immortals, and deities introduced with Buddhism into China.
Ge Hong of the Jin dynasty referenced the “Immortal Scriptures” in his work “Baopuzi Inner Chapter: On Immortals,” where Immortals are categorized into three levels: Celestial Immortals, Earth Immortals, and Corpse-untied Immortals. He stated, “The superior ones lift their form and ascend into the void, known as Celestial Immortals; those of middling virtue wander famous mountains, known as Earth Immortals; the inferior ones die before they shed their mortal coil, referred to as Corpse-untied Immortals.”
During the Liang dynasty, Tao Hongjing in his “Chart of the True Spirit’s Rank and Profession” divided Immortals into seven grades: Jade Pure, Supreme Pure, Grand Ultimate, Great Pure, Nine Palaces, Grotto-Heavens, and Grand Yin.
The “Supreme Secret Essentials” from the Northern Zhou dynasty, based on the levels of achieving immortality through Taoism, classified Immortals into: those who attain the path through ghostly offices, Earth Immortals, True Earth beings, Nine Palaces beings, Great Pure beings, Grand Ultimate beings, Supreme Pure beings, and Jade Pure beings.
In the Tang dynasty, Sima Chengzhen in his “Hidden Master” text divided Immortals into five categories: Human Immortals, Earth Immortals, Celestial Immortals, Water Immortals, and Immortals.
Celestial Immortals are of the highest order, residing in heaven. Taoist scriptures declare: A Celestial Immortal achieves success within the three teachings, transcends these teachings, is not confined by laws or mired by the path, contributes significantly to heaven and earth, and has a distinguished record through ancient and modern times.
Immortals, the second order, reside in various blessed grotto-heavens. Earth Immortals, weary of the earthly world and tirelessly practicing, connect joints, extract lead, add mercury, and refine the essence of gold. They rejuvenate the elixir, refine their form into spirit, gather the five energies to the origin, and collect the three yangs at the crown.
Earth Immortals are the third order, dwelling as Immortals among humans. They possess half the essence of heaven and earth and the talents of Immortals. Not fully enlightened in the great Dao, they stop at lesser achievements. Their merits are unseen; they live long in the world without dying among humans, known as the leisurely wandering Immortals of the land.
Human Immortals rank fourth and reside in the human world, possessing certain magic spells. Those who cultivate truth without comprehending the great Tao focus on mastering one law from the Tao and one technique from the law. They maintain unwavering faith and perseverance throughout their lives. Governed by the elements, they avoid miscommunications and maintain a firm physical form; thus, they are unaffected by the eight malignant influences, enjoy peace, and suffer from few illnesses, hence they are called Human Immortals.
Ghost Immortals rank fifth and are spirits who have mastered magic spells. Ghost Immortals transcend within the ghostly realm; their divine forms are obscure, they bear no surnames at ghostly portals, and the three mountains remain nameless. Although they do not reincarnate, they find it difficult to return to the mythical islands of Penglai.
The seven ranks, from lowest to highest, are: Spirit Sovereign, Divine Sovereign, Celestial Sovereign, Star Sovereign, True Sovereign, Emperor Sovereign, and Dao Sovereign.
The seventh rank: Spirit Sovereign is the lowest among all Immortals.
Lower tier of Spirit Sovereign: Spirit Soldiers are the lowest tier in the Immortal hierarchy, including Celestial Soldiers in heaven and Ghostly Servants on earth. For instance, Jia Baoyu’s past life as a celestial servant in the Chamber of Red Blemishes, serving as a servant to the beautiful jade officer.
Mid-tier of Spirit Sovereign: Spirit Officials are commissioned spirit soldiers who may command dozens or hundreds of spirit soldiers, performing Divine Duties such as safeguarding and security, yet not quite reaching the status of “Celestial General.” They are the lower-level officers under a Celestial General. An exception is the first grand hall on Mount Wudang, named the Hall of Spirit Officials, which enshrines five hundred spirit officials under the command of Emperor Zhenwu. These five hundred spirit officials, each bearing the title of marshal, are special spirit officials at the level of Divine Sovereign, serving as guardians. The chief among them is named Wang Lingguan (other divine titles include: Mighty Spirit Manifesting Heaven’s Honor, and Magnanimous True Sovereign), representing the pinnacle of combat power among the Taoism’s guardian deities, comparable in strength to Buddhism’s chief guardian Bodhisattva, Weituo, and is a great deity at the True Sovereign level.
Spirit Sovereign Ascension: The Spirit Sovereign is a chief deity among the spirit officials, wielding a great seal and governing the life and death within a realm. Most representative are the Tudigong at the Ting and Xiang levels. Tudigong are divided into seven ranks: Ting, Xiang, County, Prefecture, Capital, and Imperial Capital, with the Tudigong of the Ting and Xiang levels being seventh-ranked Spirit Sovereigns.
Sixth Rank: Divine Sovereign, also known as Zhengshen, marks the transition from spirit to deity and represents the orthodox path of the divine way. This is the ceiling for ordinary earth deities.
Lower Tier of Divine Sovereign: Among the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, the “Divine General” serves as the main force across the Three Realms. When high-ranking practitioners fail in their efforts to exorcise demons and subdue guai, it is often the Divine Generals who are summoned. An example is the Giant Spirit God, who serves as the vanguard under Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.
Middle Tier of Divine Sovereign: Divine Marshal, a senior officer among the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals and the commander of the Divine Generals. Most of the deities in Chinese mythology with “Marshal” in their names belong to this rank, such as the Five Hundred Spirit Officials of Mount Wudang and the Five Hundred Arhats of the Western Spirit Mountain.
Upper Tier of Divine Sovereign: Divine Sovereigns hold the official fruit position of Zhengshen, are listed in the Investiture of the Gods, can establish temples and celestial mansions, and command a complete roster of divine beings. They mark the divide between lower and middle-tier Immortals, with everyone above being middle to high-tier, recognized by name, and frequent characters in ancient literary works. Examples include the County-level City God, County-level Tudigong, Kitchen God, Door Gods, and other household deities.
Fifth Rank: Celestial Sovereign, a middle-tier deity of the Heaven realm.
Lower Tier of Celestial Sovereign: Heavenly King, the monarch among the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals. Examples include the Four Heavenly Kings guarding the Southern Heavenly Gate. This does not include Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who holds the real military power of the Celestial Court.
Middle-tier Celestial Sovereign: The Celestial Master, who serves as a divine teacher and mentor to emperors and celestial beings, possesses the spiritual cultivation to guide Immortals. Typically, they have a lineage of teachings on earth with countless disciples, such as the great masters in the history of Taoism. This does not include Zhang Daoling and the other three great Celestial Masters, who are revered as chief divine beings in the Celestial Court’s Taixuan Province and are often referred to as the Prime Ministers of the Celestial Court, holding the rank of True Sovereign.
Upper-tier Celestial Sovereign: Celestial Sovereigns, like the twenty-four Sovereigns of the Thunder Department,
Fourth tier – Star Sovereigns, officially titled: Supreme Celestial Beings of the Taiji Great Dao Star System, are mid-level Immortals, mostly revered in the Constellation Department, holding high authority and in vast numbers, nearly controlling the entire cosmic void of the universe beyond the Heaven realm.
Lower-tier Star Sovereign: Star Officials, each governing a less significant star. Although supreme celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and the five elements are single stars, they are regarded as Star Sovereigns.
Mid-tier Star Sovereign: Star Lords, who control several stars. For example, Kui Xing, with Bao Zheng descending as Kui Xing.
Upper-tier Star Sovereign: Star Sovereigns, controlling more than ten stars, such as the Five Dou, Nine Luminaries, Twenty-Eight Constellations, Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, and the Sixty Jiazi of the Tai Sui Department.
Third tier – True Sovereigns, who can be considered as regional overlords.
Lower-tier True Sovereign: True Persons, whose cultivation is sufficient to create their own paradisiacal realms with their own moral and spiritual laws, as seen with the Twelve Golden Immortals like Huang Long, Tai Yi, Pu Xian, and Yu Ding.
Mid-tier True Sovereign: True Saints, who have attained true enlightenment and transcended the ordinary, entering sainthood. In Chinese mythology, most beings with “Saint” in their names belong to this level.
Upper Tier of True Sovereigns: True Sovereign (male)/Yuan Sovereign (female), represents the pinnacle that human cultivators can achieve. The “Higher Scriptures” state: “When a man attains the Dao, he reaches the position of a True Sovereign; when a woman attains the Dao, she reaches the position of a Yuan Sovereign.” For example, the four Celestial Masters, the founder of the Mao Shan Sect, San Mao True Sovereign, and the founder of the Upper Pure Sect, Wei Hua, hold the revered title: Purple Void Yuan Sovereign.
The second tier, Emperor Sovereign, is the highest level all Immortals can reach, equivalent to a feudal lord in the human imperial court. They possess an independent small Heaven realm, a small Celestial Court, and a complete set of Immortal officials. This is related to the Daoist cosmology, which divides the Heaven realm into thirteen major directions and thirty-six heavens. The thirteen major directions are divided into one main position, five principal positions, and seven secondary positions. Depending on the different weights of each direction, titles such as Celestial Emperor, Great Emperor, and Supreme Emperor are conferred.
Lower Tier of Emperor Sovereigns: Celestial Emperor, with each of the thirty-six heavens having a Celestial Emperor.
Middle Tier of Emperor Sovereigns: Great Emperor, the seven secondary positions are held by Great Emperors, namely Southeast, Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Life and Death, Lower Realm, Supreme Sovereign of the Underworld, and Supreme Lord of the Underworld are also Great Emperors.
Upper Tier of Emperor Sovereigns: Supreme Emperor, the five principal directions of East, South, West, North are held by the Five Directional Supreme Emperors.
The highest rank is Dao Sovereign, the tier within the Immortals. Cultivation has reached the realm of union with the Dao itself.
Lower Tier of Dao Sovereigns: Celestial Master. Examples include the Lord of the Thunder Department, Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunderous Splendor Celestial Master; the Lord of the Dipper Department, Dipper Mother Celestial Master; and the Lord of the Underworld, Supreme Relief from Suffering Celestial Master.
Middle-tier Dao Sovereigns: The Grand Celestial Honors, referring to the most revered among the Celestial Honors, the ultimate supreme of the Dao. There are only three Immortals (Qi), namely the Grand Celestial Honor of Haotian (who presides over the ancient Purple Weave Celestial Court), the Grand Celestial Honor of the Jade Emperor (who presides over the new Celestial Court of Daluo), and the Grand Celestial Honor of Xuantian (the true martial deity after his promotion to Lord Xuantian, rumored to be the next ruler of the Three Realms, presiding over the future). These three deities respectively represent the past, present, and future, and are considered the supreme rulers of the Three Realms.
Upper-tier Dao Sovereigns: Dao Ancestors, which are the Dao itself, externally manifesting as the primordial Qi of Chaos, also known as the Primordial Primogenital Taiyi Ancestor Qi, the initial source of all things. Later, as the Taiji gave rise to the universe, it transformed into the Ancestral Qi of the Three Pure Ones, which then evolved into three great deities, known as the Three Pure Ones, also called the Dao Ancestors of the Three Pure Ones. Thus, having descended from the Dao itself by a half-grade, the Three Pure Ones are also referred to as the Grand Celestial Honors.
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