Is “The Jade Emperor is the supreme deity of heaven who has undergone countless kalpas for billions of years.” true?
According to the 'History of Song, Volume 7, Rituals', the 'Jade Emperor' is a Taoist deity. It was only in the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu of Emperor Zhenzong of Song that the 'honorific title of the Jade Emperor was conferred as Taishang Kai Tian Zhi Fu Yu Li Han Zhen Ti Dao Yu Huang Da Tian Di'. Emperor Huizong further enshrined him in the sacrificial canon. In 'Journey to the West', Chapter 7, the Buddha says of the Jade Emperor: 'He has cultivated himself since childhood and has undergone 1,750 kalpas. Each kalpa lasts 129,600 years.' This depicts him as the primordial supreme deity who has undergone countless kalpas and rules the three realms, which is a fictional creation of a mythological novel.
In official history, the Jade Emperor is a deity honored with a title by the Song dynasty, while the novel deifies him as the supreme ruler of heaven who has undergone 1,750 kalpas.
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