Three Pure Ones

The Three Pure Ones (Chinese: 三清; pinyin: Sānqīng), also translated as the Three Pure Pellucid Ones, the Three Pristine Ones, the Three Divine Teachers, the Three Clarities, or the Three Purities, are the three highest gods in the Taoist pantheon. They are regarded as pure manifestations of the Tao and the origin of all sentient beings, along with the "lords of the Three Life Principles or 'Breaths' (qi)". They were also gods who were "associated with the sky, the earth and the underworld."

They were thought to be able to control and have power over time in various ways. They were sometimes seen as literally the "Past, Present, and Future".