In the myths and folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi[1] is one of the representations of the primordial god.

However, some Taoists in history were skeptical of his benevolence because his buildings and infrastructure in heaven and earth were sometimes seen as interfering with the many natural laws or dao.

It was said that Jade Emperor was originally the crown prince of the kingdom of Pure Felicity and Majestic Heavenly Lights and Ornaments.

He devoted his entire childhood to helping the needy (the poor and suffering, the deserted and single, the hungry and disabled).

People had to deal with a variety of monstrous beings, and they did not have many gods to protect them; in addition, many powerful demons were defying the immortals of heaven.

On earth at this time, a powerful, evil entity had the ambition to conquer the immortals and gods in heaven and proclaim sovereignty over the entire universe.

When he was changing the land to make it more liveable for men and repelling a variety of monsters, he saw an evil glow radiating from heaven and knew something was amiss.

Because of his noble and benevolent deeds, the gods, immortals, and humans proclaimed the Jade Emperor the supreme sovereign of all.

(The most common alternative Chinese creation myth states that human beings were once fleas on the body of Pangu.)

In another story,[citation needed] popular throughout Asia and with many differing versions, the Jade Emperor has a daughter named Zhinü (simplified Chinese: 织女; traditional Chinese: 織女; pinyin: zhī nǚ or Chih'nü, literally: weaver girl).

In some versions, she is the Goddess Weaver, daughter of the Jade Emperor and the Celestial Queen Mother, who weaves the Silver River (known in the West as the Milky Way), which gives light to heaven and earth.

One day, a lowly cowherd named Niu Lang (Chinese: 牛郎; pinyin: niú láng) spotted Zhinü as she bathed in a stream.

Niu Lang fell instantly in love with her and stole her magic robe which she had left on the bank of the stream, leaving her unable to escape back to Heaven.

When the Jade Emperor heard of this matter, he was furious but unable to intercede, since in the meantime his daughter had fallen in love and married the cowherd.

The Cat, being the most handsome of all animals, asked his friend the Rat to wake him on the day they were to go to Heaven so he wouldn't oversleep.

The dragons could not simply stand by and do nothing, and so they decided to use their bodies to capture great masses of water from the sea, taking it upon themselves to bring the rain.

The rivers thereafter flowed from west to east and north to south, the dragons ensuring that the people of China would never be without water again.

Yuanshi Tianzun is said to be the supreme beginning, the limitless and eternal creator of Heaven and Earth, who picked Yu-huang, or the Jade Emperor, as his personal successor.

[11] However this is from the point of view of Chinese Folk religion, and many orthodox Taoists do not believe these claims to be true.

[14] On this day, Taoist temples hold a Jade Emperor ritual (拜天公, Mandarin: bài Tiāngōng; Hokkien: pài Thinn-kong, literally "heaven worship") at which priests and laymen prostrate themselves, burn incense and make food offerings.

[14] In Penang, Malaysia, a focal point of the Jade Emperor's Birthday celebrations is Thni Kong Tnua, which gained worldwide fame as one of the featured locations for The Amazing Race 16.

[16] Aside from Thni Kong Tnua, the Chew Jetty in the heart of George Town is another focal point of the Jade Emperor's Birthday celebrations; the festivities in this particular location was captured for a 2014 Malaysian film, The Journey.

In the mid 19th century, people from Huizhou and Chaozhou mined stones in the hill for the development of the central urban area.