General of the Five Paths

Paper print depicting the General of the Five Paths

(Image: digitalarchives.tw)

According to the Taoist tradition, the Birthday of the General of the Five Paths (五道將軍聖誕) is observed on the 12th day of the 3rd Chinese lunar month. The General of the Five Paths (五道將軍 Wudao Jiangjun) is a general in the retinue of the Ten Kings of the Underworld Courts (十殿閻王 Shidian Yanwang) who assists in maintaining the records of life and death [the Ten Kings of the Underworld Courts are also mentioned here].

The General of the Five Paths is also an assistant to the Taoist god Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak (Mount Tai) (泰山東嶽大帝 Taishan Dongyue Dadi) who is a mountain god that is also in charge of overseeing the life and death of mortal beings on earth. In the scheme of the Ten Kings of the Underworld Courts, the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak also happens to be the king in charge of the seventh court where particular punishments are meted out to those that have committed certain sins.

A scroll depicting the 7th Court of the Underworld/Purgatory

(Image: academic.reed.edu)

Both of the roles of the general in the underworld courts and as an assistant to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak are similar. He helps to monitor the register of life and death that records the good and bad deeds of all human beings and he is also in charge of maintaining law and order and preventing the spirits of the dead from causing havoc and chaos in the netherworld and in the world of the living.

His title of General of the Five Paths can be explained in the context of his role as an assistant monitor and enforcer of the karmic destinies of the spirits of the deceased after they have been judged in the courts of the underworld. The five paths refer to the following:

1) Path to rebirth in the heaven realms
[as reward for living a very virtuous life]

2) Path to rebirth in the human realm in a fortunate position
[as a consequence of living a somewhat virtuous life]

3) Path to rebirth in the human realm in an ordinary position
[as a consequence of living a neutral life]

4) Path to rebirth in the human realm in an unfortunate position
[as a consequence of living a somewhat non-virtuous life]

5) Path to rebirth in the nether realms or hell realms
[as retribution for living a very non-virtuous life]

It is interesting to note that the General of the Five Paths also exists in Buddhist literature about the hell realms. From an anthropological point of view, this is due to the result of inter-religious exchange between the Taoist and Buddhist traditions in China. From a metaphysical point of view, there is also no contradiction because the two traditions are perhaps just recognizing the same realities about the underworld/purgatory/hell realms.

Text © 2011 Harry Leong