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Construction of the Yongle Palace (永乐宫), a Daoist temple (道观), started in 1247 during the early Yuan Dynasty to worship Lü Dongbin (吕洞宾, born 796), one of Daosim’s Eight Immortals (八仙). The construction, including the creation of the murals inside the temple, took a total of 110 years and the names of the painters are not found in any record. Art critics and historians have called the 960-square-meter frescoes in the palace the greatest mural painting in China. Between 1959 and 1966, the Yongle Palace was moved brick by brick to a new location 20 kilometers away to allow for the construction of the Sanmenxia Dam (三门峡大坝) on the Yellow River (黄河), as the temple’s original location would have been submerged in the reservoir.

Inside the temple’s Sanqing Hall (三清殿), the Procession of Deities (朝元图), the most magnificent and well-preserved of the Yongle murals, depicts a grand assembly of Daoist deities paying homage to the Three Pure Ones (三清), the highest Daoist deities. The assembly of nearly 300 deities, immortals, and sages is led by the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝), the supreme ruler of the universe, and his Four Ministers (四御): the Empress of the Earth (后土娘娘), the Emperor of the North Pole (北极紫微大帝), the Emperor of the South Pole (南极长生大帝), and the Emperor of the Celestial Palace (勾陈上宫天皇大帝). Arranged in four tiers from front to back according to hierarchy, other immortals include the gods of celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and planets of the solar system; the gods of China’s five sacred mountains and four rivers, the 12 gods of the Chinese Zodiac, folk deities like the Fortune God (财神) and Longevity God (寿星老), sages such as Confucius (孔子) and Laozi (老子), originators of China’s two indigenous philosophies, and Cang Jie (仓颉), the mythical inventor of Chinese writing. These figures were meticulously painted with a range of emotions and facial expressions, hand gestures, and flowing robes with intricate folds, symbolizing their divine hierarchy, cosmic order of Daoism, and the unity of heaven and earth. The Procession is not just a masterpiece of religious art, it is a visual liturgy of Daoism, encapsulating its theology and cosmology and reinforcing the Daoist vision of harmony among humanity, nature, and the divine.

The Daoist theological principle behind the inclusion of many deities and immortals stems from the belief in harmonizing with nature through cultivation, virtue, and transcendence. Having achieved longevity, spiritual power, and divine status through practices of meditation and ethical living, Daoist deities and immortals serve as embodiments of perfected harmony with nature. They are deeply rooted in Chinese mythology, ancient folk beliefs, and Daoist philosophical traditions. For example, the Jade Emperor and his four ministers are from pre-Daoist folk religion and mythology. The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary figures from different historical period who attained immortality through internal cultivation and ethical living. Moreover, the Daoist religion has also absorbed and transformed some Buddhist figures, such as Guanyin (观音), into its pantheon. Over time, Daoist theology organized these deities and immortals into a complex hierarchy that is represented in the Procession mural.