Myths & Legends of China

 By

 E. T. C. Werner

 H. B. M. Consul Foochow (Retired) Barrister-at-law Middle Temple Late Member of The Chinese Government Historiographical Bureau Peking Author of "Descriptive Sociology: Chinese" "China of the Chinese" Etc. 

 George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. London Bombay Sydney

In Memoriam

_Gladys Nina Chalmers Werner_

Preface

The chief literary sources of Chinese myths are the _Li tai shên hsient'ung chien_, in thirty-two volumes, the _Shên hsien lieh chuan_, in eight volumes, the _Fêng shên yen i_, in eight volumes, and the_Sou shên chi_, in ten volumes. In writing the following pages Ihave translated or paraphrased largely from these works. I have alsoconsulted and at times quoted from the excellent volumes on ChineseSuperstitions by Père Henri Doré, comprised in the valuable series_Variétés Sinologiques_, published by the Catholic Mission Pressat Shanghai. The native works contained in the Ssu K'u Ch'üan Shu, one of the few public libraries in Peking, have proved useful forpurposes of reference. My heartiest thanks are due to my good friendMr Mu Hsüeh-hsün, a scholar of wide learning and generous disposition, for having kindly allowed me to use his very large and useful libraryof Chinese books. The late Dr G. E. Morrison also, until he sold itto a Japanese baron, was good enough to let me consult his extensivecollection of foreign works relating to China whenever I wished, butowing to the fact that so very little work has been done in Chinesemythology by Western writers I found it better in dealing with thissubject to go direct to the original Chinese texts. I am indebted toProfessor H. A. Giles, and to his publishers, Messrs Kelly and Walsh, Shanghai, for permission to reprint from _Strange Stories from aChinese Studio_ the fox legends given in Chapter XV. 

This is, so far as I know, the only monograph on Chinese mythologyin any non-Chinese language. Nor do the native works include anyscientific analysis or philosophical treatment of their myths. 

My aim, after summarizing the sociology of the Chinese as aprerequisite to the understanding of their ideas and sentiments, and dealing as fully as possible, consistently with limitations ofspace (limitations which have necessitated the presentation of avery large and intricate topic in a highly compressed form), withthe philosophy of the subject, has been to set forth in English dressthose myths which may be regarded as the accredited representativesof Chinese mythology--those which live in the minds of the people andare referred to most frequently in their literature, not those whichare merely diverting without being typical or instructive--in short, a true, not a distorted image. 

_Edward Theodore Chalmers Werner_

_Peking__February_ 1922

Contents

Chapter

I. The Sociology of the ChineseII. On Chinese MythologyIII. Cosmogony--P'an Ku and the Creation MythIV. The Gods of ChinaV. Myths of the StarsVI. Myths of Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and RainVII. Myths of the WatersVIII. Myths of FireIX. Myths of Epidemics, Medicine, Exorcism, Etc. X. The Goddess of MercyXI. The Eight ImmortalsXII. The Guardian of the Gate of HeavenXIII. A Battle of the GodsXIV. How the Monkey Became a GodXV. Fox LegendsXVI. Miscellaneous Legends The Pronunciation of Chinese Words

_Mais cet Orient, cette Asie, quelles en sont, enfin, les frontièresréelles?... Ces frontières sont d'une netteté qui ne permet aucuneerreur. L'Asie est là où cesse la vulgarité, où naît la dignité, et où commence l'élégance intellectuelle. Et l'Orient est là où sontles sources débordantes de poésie. _

_Mardrus_, _La Reine de Saba_

CHAPTER I

The Sociology of the Chinese

Racial Origin

In spite of much research and conjecture, the origin of the Chinesepeople remains undetermined. We do not know who they were nor whencethey came. Such evidence as there is points to their immigrationfrom elsewhere; the Chinese themselves have a tradition of a Westernorigin. The first picture we have of their actual history shows us, nota people behaving as if long settled in a land which was their home andthat of their forefathers, but an alien race fighting with wild beasts, clearing dense forests, and driving back the aboriginal inhabitants. 

Setting aside several theories (including the one that the Chineseare autochthonous and their civilization indigenous) now regardedby the best authorities as untenable, the researches of sinologistsseem to indicate an origin (1) in early Akkadia; or (2) in Khotan, the Tarim valley (generally what is now known as Eastern Turkestan), or the K'un-lun Mountains (concerning which more presently). Thesecond hypothesis may relate only to a sojourn of longer or shorterduration on the way from Akkadia to the ultimate settlement in China, especially since the Khotan civilization has been shown to havebeen imported from the Punjab in the third century B. C. The factthat serious mistakes have been made regarding the identificationsof early Chinese rulers with Babylonian kings, and of the Chinese_po-hsing_ (Cantonese _bak-sing_) 'people' with the Bak Sing or Baktribes, does not exclude the possibility of an Akkadian origin. Butin either case the immigration into China was probably gradual, andmay have taken the route from Western or Central Asia direct to thebanks of the Yellow River, or may possibly have followed that to thesouth-east through Burma and then to the north-east through what isnow China--the settlement of the latter country having thus spreadfrom south-west to north-east, or in a north-easterly direction alongthe Yangtzu River, and so north, instead of, as is generally supposed, from north to south. 

Southern Origin Improbable

But this latter route would present many difficulties; it would seemto have been put forward merely as ancillary to the theory that theChinese originated in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. This theory isbased upon the assumptions that the ancient Chinese ideograms includerepresentations of tropical animals and plants; that the oldest andpurest forms of the language are found in the south; and that theChinese and the Indo-Chinese groups of languages are both tonal. Butall of these facts or alleged facts are as easily or better accountedfor by the supposition that the Chinese arrived from the northor north-west in successive waves of migration, the later arrivalspushing the earlier farther and farther toward the south, so that theoldest and purest forms of Chinese would be found just where they are, the tonal languages of the Indo-Chinese peninsula being in that caseregarded as the languages of the vanguard of the migration. Also, theideograms referred to represent animals and plants of the temperatezone rather than of the tropics, but even if it could be shown, whichit cannot, that these animals and plants now belong exclusively to thetropics, that would be no proof of the tropical origin of the Chinese, for in the earliest times the climate of North China was much milderthan it is now, and animals such as tigers and elephants existed in thedense jungles which are later found only in more southern latitudes. 

Expansion of Races from North to South

The theory of a southern origin (to which a further serious objectionwill be stated presently) implies a gradual infiltration of Chineseimmigrants through South or Mid-China (as above indicated) towardthe north, but there is little doubt that the movement of the raceshas been from north to south and not _vice versa_. In what are nowthe provinces of Western Kansu and Ssuch'uan there lived a peoplerelated to the Chinese (as proved by the study of Indo-Chinesecomparative philology) who moved into the present territory of Tibetand are known as Tibetans; in what is now the province of Yünnan werethe Shan or Ai-lao (modern Laos), who, forced by Mongol invasions, emigrated to the peninsula in the south and became the Siamese; and inIndo-China, not related to the Chinese, were the Annamese, Khmer, Mon, Khasi, Colarains (whose remnants are dispersed over the hill tractsof Central India), and other tribes, extending in prehistoric timesinto Southern China, but subsequently driven back by the expansionof the Chinese in that direction. 

Arrival of the Chinese in China

Taking into consideration all the existing evidence, the objections toall other theories of the origin of the Chinese seem to be greaterthan any yet raised to the theory that immigrants from the Tarimvalley or beyond (_i. E. _ from Elam or Akkadia, either direct or _via_Eastern Turkestan) struck the banks of the Yellow River in theireastward journey and followed its course until they reached thelocalities where we first find them settled, namely, in the regioncovered by parts of the three modern provinces of Shansi, Shensi, and Honan where their frontiers join. They were then (about 2500 or3000 B. C. ) in a relatively advanced state of civilization. The countryeast and south of this district was inhabited by aboriginal tribes, with whom the Chinese fought, as they did with the wild animals and thedense vegetation, but with whom they also commingled and intermarried, and among whom they planted colonies as centres from which to spreadtheir civilization. 

The K'un-lun Mountains

With reference to the K'un-lun Mountains, designated in Chinesemythology as the abode of the gods--the ancestors of the Chineserace--it should be noted that these are identified not with the rangedividing Tibet from Chinese Turkestan, but with the Hindu Kush. Thatbrings us somewhat nearer to Babylon, and the apparent convergenceof the two theories, the Central Asian and the Western Asian, wouldseem to point to a possible solution of the problem. Nü Kua, one ofthe alleged creators of human beings, and Nü and Kua, the first twohuman beings (according to a variation of the legend), are placedin the K'un-lun Mountains. That looks hopeful. Unfortunately, theK'un-lun legend is proved to be of Taoist origin. K'un-lun is thecentral mountain of the world, and 3000 miles in height. There isthe fountain of immortality, and thence flow the four great riversof the world. In other words, it is the Sumêru of Hindu mythologytransplanted into Chinese legend, and for our present purpose withouthistorical value. 

It would take up too much space to go into details of this interestingproblem of the origin of the Chinese and their civilization, thecultural connexions or similarities of China and Western Asia inpre-Babylonian times, the origin of the two distinct culture-areasso marked throughout the greater part of Chinese history, etc. , andit will be sufficient for our present purpose to state the conclusionto which the evidence points. 

Provisional Conclusion

Pending the discovery of decisive evidence, the following provisionalconclusion has much to recommend it--namely, that the ancestorsof the Chinese people came from the west, from Akkadia or Elam, or from Khotan, or (more probably) from Akkadia or Elam _via_Khotan, as one nomad or pastoral tribe or group of nomad or pastoraltribes, or as successive waves of immigrants, reached what is nowChina Proper at its north-west corner, settled round the elbow ofthe Yellow River, spread north-eastward, eastward, and southward, conquering, absorbing, or pushing before them the aborigines intowhat is now South and South-west China. These aboriginal races, whorepresent a wave or waves of neolithic immigrants from Western Asiaearlier than the relatively high-headed immigrants into North China(who arrived about the twenty-fifth or twenty-fourth century B. C. ), and who have left so deep an impress on the Japanese, mixed andintermarried with the Chinese in the south, eventually producing thepronounced differences, in physical, mental, and emotional traits, in sentiments, ideas, languages, processes, and products, from theNorthern Chinese which are so conspicuous at the present day. 

Inorganic Environment

At the beginning of their known history the country occupied by theChinese was the comparatively small region above mentioned. It wasthen a tract of an irregular oblong shape, lying between latitude 34°and 40° N. And longitude 107° and 114° E. This territory round theelbow of the Yellow River had an area of about 50, 000 square miles, and was gradually extended to the sea-coast on the north-east as far aslongitude 119°, when its area was about doubled. It had a population ofperhaps a million, increasing with the expansion to two millions. Thismay be called infant China. Its period (the Feudal Period) was inthe two thousand years between the twenty-fourth and third centuriesB. C. During the first centuries of the Monarchical Period, which lastedfrom 221 B. C. To A. D. 1912, it had expanded to the south to such anextent that it included all of the Eighteen Provinces constitutingwhat is known as China Proper of modern times, with the exception ofa portion of the west of Kansu and the greater portions of Ssuch'uanand Yünnan. At the time of the Manchu conquest at the beginning of theseventeenth century A. D. It embraced all the territory lying betweenlatitude 18° and 40° N. And longitude 98° and 122° E. (the EighteenProvinces or China Proper), with the addition of the vast outlyingterritories of Manchuria, Mongolia, Ili, Koko-nor, Tibet, and Corea, with suzerainty over Burma and Annam--an area of more than 5, 000, 000square miles, including the 2, 000, 000 square miles covered by theEighteen Provinces. Generally, this territory is mountainous in thewest, sloping gradually down toward the sea on the east. It containsthree chief ranges of mountains and large alluvial plains in the north, east, and south. Three great and about thirty large rivers intersectthe country, their numerous tributaries reaching every part of it. 

As regards geological features, the great alluvial plains rest upongranite, new red sandstone, or limestone. In the north is found thepeculiar loess formation, having its origin probably in the accumulateddust of ages blown from the Mongolian plateau. The passage from northto south is generally from the older to the newer rocks; from east towest a similar series is found, with some volcanic features in thewest and south. Coal and iron are the chief minerals, gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, jade, etc. , being also mined. 

The climate of this vast area is not uniform. In the north the winteris long and rigorous, the summer hot and dry, with a short rainy seasonin July and August; in the south the summer is long, hot, and moist, the winter short. The mean temperature is 50. 3° F. And 70° F. In thenorth and south respectively. Generally, the thermometer is low forthe latitude, though perhaps it is more correct to say that the GulfStream raises the temperature of the west coast of Europe above theaverage. The mean rainfall in the north is 16, in the south 70 inches, with variations in other parts. Typhoons blow in the south betweenJuly and October. 

Organic Environment

The vegetal productions are abundant and most varied. The rice-zone(significant in relation to the cultural distinctions above noted)embraces the southern half of the country. Tea, first cultivatedfor its infusion in A. D. 350, is grown in the southern and centralprovinces between the twenty-third and thirty-fifth degrees oflatitude, though it is also found as far north as Shantung, the chief'tea district, ' however, being the large area south of the YangtzuRiver, east of the Tungting Lake and great Siang River, and north ofthe Kuangtung Province. The other chief vegetal products are wheat, barley, maize, millet, the bean, yam, sweet and common potato, tomato, eggplant, ginseng, cabbage, bamboo, indigo, pepper, tobacco, camphor, tallow, ground-nut, poppy, water-melon, sugar, cotton, hemp, andsilk. Among the fruits grown are the date, mulberry, orange, lemon, pumelo, persimmon, lichi, pomegranate, pineapple, fig, coconut, mango, and banana, besides the usual kinds common in Western countries. 

The wild animals include the tiger, panther, leopard, bear, sable, otter, monkey, wolf, fox, twenty-seven or more species of ruminants, and numerous species of rodents. The rhinoceros, elephant, and tapirstill exist in Yünnan. The domestic animals include the camel and thewater-buffalo. There are about 700 species of birds, and innumerablespecies of fishes and insects. 

Sociological Environment

On their arrival in what is now known as China the Chinese, as alreadynoted, fought with the aboriginal tribes. The latter were exterminated, absorbed, or driven south with the spread of Chinese rule. The Chinese"picked out the eyes of the land, " and consequently the non-Chinesetribes now live in the unhealthy forests or marshes of the south, or in mountain regions difficult of access, some even in trees (avoluntary, not compulsory promotion), though several, such as the DogJung in Fukien, retain settlements like islands among the ruling race. 

In the third century B. C. Began the hostile relations of the Chinesewith the northern nomads, which continued throughout the greaterpart of their history. During the first six centuries A. D. There wasintercourse with Rome, Parthia, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Ceylon, India, and Indo-China, and in the seventh century with the Arabs. Europewas brought within the sociological environment by Christiantravellers. From the tenth to the thirteenth century the northwas occupied by Kitans and Nüchêns, and the whole Empire was underMongol sway for eighty-eight years in the thirteenth and fourteenthcenturies. Relations of a commercial and religious nature were heldwith neighbours during the following four hundred years. Regulardiplomatic intercourse with Western nations was established as a resultof a series of wars in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Untilrecently the nation held aloof from alliances and was generally averseto foreign intercourse. From 1537 onward, as a sequel of war or treaty, concessions, settlements, etc. , were obtained by foreign Powers. Chinahas now lost some of her border countries and large adjacent islands, the military and commercial pressure of Western nations and Japanhaving taken the place of the military pressure of the Tartars alreadyreferred to. The great problem for her, an agricultural nation, ishow to find means and the military spirit to maintain her integrity, the further violation of which could not but be regarded by the studentof sociological history as a great tragedy and a world-wide calamity. 

Physical, Emotional, and Intellectual Characters

The physical characters of the Chinese are too well known to needdetailed recital. The original immigrants into North China allbelonged to blond races, but the modern Chinese have little left ofthe immigrant stock. The oblique, almond-shaped eyes, with black irisand the orbits far apart, have a vertical fold of skin over the innercanthus, concealing a part of the iris, a peculiarity distinguishingthe eastern races of Asia from all other families of man. The statureand weight of brain are generally below the average. The hair is black, coarse, and cylindrical; the beard scanty or absent. The colour ofthe skin is darker in the south than in the north. 

Emotionally the Chinese are sober, industrious, of remarkableendurance, grateful, courteous, and ceremonious, with a high senseof mercantile honour, but timorous, cruel, unsympathetic, mendacious, and libidinous. 

Intellectually they were until recently, and to a large extentstill are, non-progressive, in bondage to uniformity and mechanismin culture, imitative, unimaginative, torpid, indirect, suspicious, and superstitious. 

The character is being modified by intercourse with other peoplesof the earth and by the strong force of physical, intellectual, and moral education. 

Marriage in Early Times

Certain parts of the marriage ceremonial of China as now existingindicate that the original form of marriage was by capture--of which, indeed, there is evidence in the classical _Book of Odes_. But aregular form of marriage (in reality a contract of sale) is shownto have existed in the earliest historical times. The form was notmonogamous, though it seems soon to have assumed that of a qualifiedmonogamy consisting of one wife and one or more concubines, thenumber of the latter being as a rule limited only by the means of thehusband. The higher the rank the larger was the number of concubinesand handmaids in addition to the wife proper, the palaces of thekings and princes containing several hundreds of them. This form ithas retained to the present day, though associations now exist forthe abolition of concubinage. In early times, as well as throughoutthe whole of Chinese history, concubinage was in fact universal, and there is some evidence also of polyandry (which, however, cannothave prevailed to any great extent). The age for marriage was twentyfor the man and fifteen for the girl, celibacy after thirty and twentyrespectively being officially discouraged. In the province of Shantungit was usual for the wives to be older than their husbands. Theparents' consent to the betrothal was sought through the interventionof a matchmaker, the proposal originating with the parents, andthe wishes of the future bride and bridegroom not being taken intoconsideration. The conclusion of the marriage was the progress of thebride from the house of her parents to that of the bridegroom, whereafter various ceremonies she and he worshipped his ancestors together, the worship amounting to little more than an announcement of the unionto the ancestral spirits. After a short sojourn with her husband thebride revisited her parents, and the marriage was not considered asfinally consummated until after this visit had taken place. 

The status of women was low, and the power of the husband great--sogreat that he could kill his wife with impunity. Divorce was common, and all in favour of the husband, who, while he could not bedivorced by her, could put his wife away for disobedience or evenfor loquaciousness. A widower remarried immediately, but refusalto remarry by a widow was esteemed an act of chastity. She oftenmutilated herself or even committed suicide to prevent remarriage, and was posthumously honoured for doing so. Being her husband's asmuch in the Otherworld as in this, remarriage would partake of thecharacter of unchastity and insubordination; the argument, of course, not applying to the case of the husband, who by remarriage simplyadds another member to his clan without infringing on anyone's rights. 

Marriage in Monarchical and Republican Periods

The marital system of the early classical times, of which the abovewere the essentials, changed but little during the long period ofmonarchical rule lasting from 221 B. C. To A. D. 1912. The principalobject, as before, was to secure an heir to sacrifice to the spirits ofdeceased progenitors. Marriage was not compulsory, but old bachelorsand old maids were very scarce. The concubines were subject to thewife, who was considered to be the mother of their children as wellas her own. Her status, however, was not greatly superior. Implicitobedience was exacted from her. She could not possess property, butcould not be hired out for prostitution. The latter vice was common, in spite of the early age at which marriage took place and in spiteof the system of concubinage--which is after all but a legalizedtransfer of prostitutional cohabitation to the domestic circle. 

Since the establishment of the Republic in 1912 the 'landslide' in thedirection of Western progress has had its effect also on the domesticinstitutions. But while the essentials of the marriage contract remainpractically the same as before, the most conspicuous changes have beenin the accompanying ceremonial--now sometimes quite foreign, but in avery large, perhaps the greatest, number of cases that odious thing, half foreign, half Chinese; as, for instance, when the procession, otherwise native, includes foreign glass-panelled carriages, or thebridegroom wears a 'bowler' or top-hat with his Chinese dress--andin the greater freedom allowed to women, who are seen out of doorsmuch more than formerly, sit at table with their husbands, attendpublic functions and dinners, dress largely in foreign fashion, and play tennis and other games, instead of being prisoners of the'inner apartment' and household drudges little better than slaves. 

One unexpected result of this increased freedom is certainlyremarkable, and is one not likely to have been predicted by the mostfar-sighted sociologist. Many of the 'progressive' Chinese, now thatit is the fashion for Chinese wives to be seen in public with theirhusbands, finding the uneducated, _gauche_, small-footed householddrudge unable to compete with the smarter foreign-educated wivesof their neighbours, have actually repudiated them and taken untothemselves spouses whom they can exhibit in public without 'lossof face'! It is, however, only fair to add that the total numberof these cases, though by no means inconsiderable, appears to beproportionately small. 

Parents and Children

As was the power of the husband over the wife, so was that of thefather over his children. Infanticide (due chiefly to poverty, and varying with it) was frequent, especially in the case of femalechildren, who were but slightly esteemed; the practice prevailingextensively in three or four provinces, less extensively in others, and being practically absent in a large number. Beyond the fact thatsome penalties were enacted against it by the Emperor Ch'ien Lung(A. D. 1736-96), and that by statute it was a capital offence to murderchildren in order to use parts of their bodies for medicine, it wasnot legally prohibited. When the abuse became too scandalous in anydistrict proclamations condemning it would be issued by the localofficials. A man might, by purchase and contract, adopt a personas son, daughter, or grandchild, such person acquiring thereby allthe rights of a son or daughter. Descent, both of real and personalproperty, was to all the sons of wives and concubines as joint heirs, irrespective of seniority. Bastards received half shares. Estates werenot divisible by the children during the lifetime of their parentsor grandparents. 

The head of the family being but the life-renter of the familyproperty, bound by fixed rules, wills were superfluous, and were usedonly where the customary respect for the parents gave them a voicein arranging the details of the succession. For this purpose verbalor written instructions were commonly given. 

In the absence of the father, the male relatives of the same surnameassumed the guardianship of the young. The guardian exercised fullauthority and enjoyed the surplus revenues of his ward's estate, but might not alienate the property. 

There are many instances in Chinese history of extreme devotion ofchildren to parents taking the form of self-wounding and even ofsuicide in the hope of curing parents' illnesses or saving their lives. 

Political History

The country inhabited by the Chinese on their arrival from the Westwas, as we saw, the district where the modern provinces of Shansi, Shensi, and Honan join. This they extended in an easterly directionto the shores of the Gulf of Chihli--a stretch of territory about 600miles long by 300 broad. The population, as already stated, was betweenone and two millions. During the first two thousand years of theirknown history the boundaries of this region were not greatly enlarged, but beyond the more or less undefined borderland to the south were_chou_ or colonies, nuclei of Chinese population, which continuallyincreased in size through conquest of the neighbouring territory. In221 B. C. All the feudal states into which this territory had beenparcelled out, and which fought with one another, were subjugatedand absorbed by the state of Ch'in, which in that year instituted themonarchical form of government--the form which obtained in China forthe next twenty-one centuries. 

Though the origin of the name 'China' has not yet been finally decided, the best authorities regard it as derived from the name of this feudalstate of Ch'in. 

Under this short-lived dynasty of Ch'in and the famous Han dynasty(221 B. C. To A. D. 221) which followed it, the Empire expanded untilit embraced almost all the territory now known as China Proper(the Eighteen Provinces of Manchu times). To these were addedin order between 194 B. C. And A. D. 1414: Corea, Sinkiang (theNew Territory or Eastern Turkestan), Manchuria, Formosa, Tibet, and Mongolia--Formosa and Corea being annexed by Japan in 1895 and1910 respectively. Numerous other extra-China countries and islands, acquired and lost during the long course of Chinese history (at onetime, from 73 to 48 B. C. , "all Asia from Japan to the Caspian Sea wastributary to the Middle Kingdom, " _i. E. _ China), it is not necessaryto mention here. During the Southern Sung dynasty (1127-1280) theTartars owned the northern half of China, as far down as the YangtzuRiver, and in the Yüan dynasty (1280-1368) they conquered the wholecountry. During the period 1644-1912 it was in the possession ofthe Manchus. At present the five chief component peoples of China arerepresented in the striped national flag (from the top downward) by red(Manchus), yellow (Chinese), blue (Mongolians), white (Mohammedans), and black (Tibetans). This flag was adopted on the establishment of theRepublic in 1912, and supplanted the triangular Dragon flag previouslyin use. By this time the population--which had varied considerably atdifferent periods owing to war, famine, and pestilence--had increasedto about 400, 000, 000. 

General Government

The general division of the nation was into the King and the People, The former was regarded as appointed by the will of Heaven andas the parent of the latter. Besides being king, he was alsolaw-giver, commander-in-chief of the armies, high priest, andmaster of ceremonies. The people were divided into four classes: (1)_Shih_, Officers (later Scholars), consisting of _Ch'ên_, Officials(a few of whom were ennobled), and _Shên Shih_, Gentry; (2) _Nung_, Agriculturists; (3) _Kung_, Artisans; and (4) _Shang_, Merchants. 

For administrative purposes there were at the seat of centralgovernment (which, first at P'ing-yang--in modern Shansi--wasmoved eleven times during the Feudal Period, and was finallyat Yin) ministers, or ministers and a hierarchy of officials, the country being divided into provinces, varying in number fromnine in the earliest times to thirty-six under the First Emperor, 221 B. C. , and finally twenty-two at the present day. At first theseprovinces contained states, which were models of the central state, the ruler's 'Middle Kingdom. ' The provincial administration wasin the hands of twelve Pastors or Lord-Lieutenants. They were thechiefs of all the nobles in a province. Civil and military officeswere not differentiated. The feudal lords or princes of states oftenresided at the king's court, officers of that court being also sentforth as princes of states. The king was the source of legislationand administered justice. The princes in their several states hadthe power of rewards and punishments. Revenue was derived from atithe on the land, from the income of artisans, merchants, fishermen, foresters, and from the tribute brought by savage tribes. 

The general structure and principles of this system of administrationremained the same, with few variations, down to the end of theMonarchical Period in 1912. At the end of that period we find theemperor still considered as of divine descent, still the head ofthe civil, legislative, military, ecclesiastical, and ceremonialadministration, with the nation still divided into the same fourclasses. The chief ministries at the capital, Peking, could in mostcases trace their descent from their prototypes of feudal times, andthe principal provincial administrative officials--the Governor-Generalor Viceroy, governor, provincial treasurer, judge, etc. --had similarlya pedigree running back to offices then existing--a continuous durationof adherence to type which is probably unique. 

Appointment to office was at first by selection, followed by anexamination to test proficiency; later was introduced the system ofpublic competitive literary examinations for office, fully organizedin the seventeenth century, and abolished in 1903, when officialpositions were thrown open to the graduates of colleges establishedon a modern basis. 

In 1912, on the overthrow of the Manchu monarchy, China became arepublic, with an elected President, and a Parliament consistingof a Senate and House of Representatives. The various governmentdepartments were reorganized on Western lines, and a large numberof new offices instituted. Up to the present year the Law of theConstitution, owing to political dissension between the North andthe South, has not been put into force. 

Laws

Chinese law, like primitive law generally, was not institutedin order to ensure justice between man and man; its object wasto enforce subordination of the ruled to the ruler. The laws werepunitive and vindictive rather than reformatory or remedial, criminalrather than civil. Punishments were cruel: branding, cutting off thenose, the legs at the knees, castration, and death, the latter notnecessarily, or indeed ordinarily, for taking life. They included insome cases punishment of the family, the clan, and the neighbours ofthe offender. The _lex talionis_ was in full force. 

Nevertheless, in spite of the harsh nature of the punishments, possiblyadapted, more or less, to a harsh state of society, though the "properend of punishments"--to "make an end of punishing"--was missed, theChinese evolved a series of excellent legal codes. This series beganwith the revision of King Mu's _Punishments_ in 950 B. C. , the firstregular code being issued in 650 B. C. , and ended with the well-known_Ta Ch'ing lü li_ (_Laws and Statutes of the Great Ch'ing Dynasty_), issued in A. D. 1647. Of these codes the great exemplar was the _LawClassic_ drawn up by Li K'uei (_Li K'uei fa ching_), a statesmanin the service of the first ruler of the Wei State, in the fourthcentury B. C. The _Ta Ch'ing lü li_ has been highly praised by competentjudges. Originally it sanctioned only two kinds of punishment, deathand flogging, but others were in use, and the barbarous _ling ch'ih_, 'lingering death' or 'slicing to pieces, ' invented about A. D. 1000and abolished in 1905, was inflicted for high treason, parricide, on women who killed their husbands, and murderers of three personsof one family. In fact, until some first-hand knowledge of Westernsystems and procedure was obtained, the vindictive as opposed to thereformatory idea of punishments continued to obtain in China down toquite recent years, and has not yet entirely disappeared. Though thecrueller forms of punishment had been legally abolished, they continuedto be used in many parts. Having been joint judge at Chinese trialsat which, in spite of my protests, prisoners were hung up by theirthumbs and made to kneel on chains in order to extort confession(without which no accused person could be punished), I can testifythat the true meaning of the "proper end of punishments" had no moreentered into the Chinese mind at the close of the monarchical _régime_than it had 4000 years before. 

As a result of the reform movement into which China was forced asan alternative to foreign domination toward the end of the ManchuPeriod, but chiefly owing to the bait held out by Western Powers, that extraterritoriality would be abolished when China had reformedher judicial system, a new Provisional Criminal Code was published. Itsubstituted death by hanging or strangulation for decapitation, andimprisonment for various lengths of time for bambooing. It was adoptedin large measure by the Republican _régime_, and is the chief legalinstrument in use at the present time. But close examination revealsthe fact that it is almost an exact copy of the Japanese penal code, which in turn was modelled upon that of Germany. It is, in fact, aWestern code imitated, and as it stands is quite out of harmony withpresent conditions in China. It will have to be modified and recastto be a suitable, just, and practicable national legal instrumentfor the Chinese people. Moreover, it is frequently overridden in ahigh-handed manner by the police, who often keep a person acquittedby the Courts of Justice in custody until they have 'squeezed' himof all they can hope to get out of him. And it is noteworthy that, though provision was made in the Draft Code for trial by jury, thisprovision never went into effect; and the slavish imitation of alienmethods is shown by the curiously inconsistent reason given--that "thefact that jury trials have been abolished in Japan is indicative of theinadvisability of transplanting this Western institution into China!"

Local Government

The central administration being a far-flung network of officialdom, there was hardly any room for local government apart from it. Wefind it only in the village elder and those associated with him, whotook up what government was necessary where the jurisdiction of theunit of the central administration--the district magistracy--ceased, or at least did not concern itself in meddling much. 

Military System

The peace-loving agricultural settlers in early China had at firstno army. When occasion arose, all the farmers exchanged theirploughshares for swords and bows and arrows, and went forth tofight. In the intervals between the harvests, when the fields wereclear, they held manoeuvres and practised the arts of warfare. Theking, who had his Six Armies, under the Six High Nobles, formingthe royal military force, led the troops in person, accompanied bythe spirit-tablets of his ancestors and of the gods of the land andgrain. Chariots, drawn by four horses and containing soldiers armedwith spears and javelins and archers, were much in use. A thousandchariots was the regular force. Warriors wore buskins on their legs, and were sometimes gagged in order to prevent the alarm being given tothe enemy. In action the chariots occupied the centre, the bowmen theleft, the spearmen the right flank. Elephants were sometimes used inattack. Spy-kites, signal-flags, hook-ladders, horns, cymbals, drums, and beacon-fires were in use. The ears of the vanquished were takento the king, quarter being rarely if ever given. 

After the establishment of absolute monarchical government standingarmies became the rule. Military science was taught, and soldierssometimes trained for seven years. Chariots with upper storeys orspy-towers were used for fighting in narrow defiles, and hollow squareswere formed of mixed chariots, infantry, and dragoons. The weakness ofdisunion of forces was well understood. In the sixth century A. D. Themassed troops numbered about a million and a quarter. In A. D. 627there was an efficient standing army of 900, 000 men, the term ofservice being from the ages of twenty to sixty. During the Mongoldynasty (1280-1368) there was a navy of 5000 ships manned by 70, 000trained fighters. The Mongols completely revolutionized tactics andimproved on all the military knowledge of the time. In 1614 the Manchu'Eight Banners, ' composed of Manchus, Mongolians, and Chinese, wereinstituted. The provincial forces, designated the Army of the GreenStandard, were divided into land forces and marine forces, supersededon active service by 'braves' (_yung_), or irregulars, enlisted anddischarged according to circumstances. After the war with Japan in1894 reforms were seriously undertaken, with the result that the armyhas now been modernized in dress, weapons, tactics, etc. , and is byno means a negligible quantity in the world's fighting forces. Amodern navy is also being acquired by building and purchase. Formany centuries the soldier, being, like the priest, unproductive, was regarded with disdain, and now that his indispensableness fordefensive purposes is recognized he has to fight not only any actualenemy who may attack him, but those far subtler forces from over thesea which seem likely to obtain supremacy in his military councils, if not actual control of his whole military system. It is, in my view, the duty of Western nations to take steps before it is too late toavert this great disaster. 

Ecclesiastical Institutions

The dancing and chanting exorcists called _wu_ were the first Chinesepriests, with temples containing gods worshipped and sacrificedto, but there was no special sacerdotal class. Worship of Heavencould only be performed by the king or emperor. Ecclesiastical andpolitical functions were not completely separated. The king was_pontifex maximus_, the nobles, statesmen, and civil and militaryofficers acted as priests, the ranks being similar to those of thepolitical hierarchy. Worship took place in the 'Hall of Light, 'which was also a palace and audience and council chamber. Sacrificeswere offered to Heaven, the hills and rivers, ancestors, and all thespirits. Dancing held a conspicuous place in worship. Idols are spokenof in the earliest times. 

Of course, each religion, as it formed itself out of the originalancestor-worship, had its own sacred places, functionaries, observances, ceremonial. Thus, at the State worship of Heaven, Nature, etc. , there were the 'Great, ' 'Medium, ' and 'Inferior' sacrifices, consisting of animals, silk, grain, jade, etc. Panegyrics were sung, and robes of appropriate colour worn. In spring, summer, autumn, and winter there were the seasonal sacrifices at the appropriatealtars. Taoism and Buddhism had their temples, monasteries, priests, sacrifices, and ritual; and there were village and wayside templesand shrines to ancestors, the gods of thunder, rain, wind, grain, agriculture, and many others. Now encouraged, now tolerated, nowpersecuted, the ecclesiastical _personnel_ and structure of Taoism andBuddhism survived into modern times, when we find complete schemesof ecclesiastical gradations of rank and authority grafted uponthese two priestly hierarchies, and their temples, priests, etc. , fulfilling generally, with worship of ancestors, State or official(Confucianism) and private or unofficial, and the observance of variousannual festivals, such as 'All Souls' Day' for wandering and hungryghosts, the spiritual needs of the people as the 'Three Religions'(_San Chiao_). The emperor, as high priest, took the responsibilityfor calamities, etc. , making confession to Heaven and praying thatas a punishment the evil be diverted from the people to his ownperson. Statesmen, nobles, and officials discharged, as already noted, priestly functions in connexion with the State religion in additionto their ordinary duties. As a rule, priests proper, frowned upon asnon-producers, were recruited from the lower classes, were celibate, unintellectual, idle, and immoral. There was nothing, even in theelaborate ceremonies on special occasions in the Buddhist temples, which could be likened to what is known as 'public worship' and'common prayer' in the West. Worship had for its sole object eitherthe attainment of some good or the prevention of some evil. 

Generally this represents the state of things under the Republican_régime_; the chief differences being greater neglect of ecclesiasticalmatters and the conversion of a large number of temples into schools. 

Professional Institutions

We read of physicians, blind musicians, poets, teachers, prayer-makers, architects, scribes, painters, diviners, ceremonialists, orators, and others during the Feudal Period, These professions were ofecclesiastical origin, not yet completely differentiated from the'Church, ' and both in earlier and later times not always or oftendifferentiated from each other. Thus the historiographers combined theduties of statesmen, scholars, authors, and generals. The professionsof authors and teachers, musicians and poets, were united in oneperson. And so it continued to the present day. Priests dischargemedical functions, poets still sing their verses. But experiencedmedical specialists, though few, are to be found, as well as womendoctors; there are veterinary surgeons, musicians (chiefly belongingto the poorest classes and often blind), actors, teachers, attorneys, diviners, artists, letter-writers, and many others, men of lettersbeing perhaps the most prominent and most esteemed. 

Accessory Institutions

A system of schools, academies, colleges, and universities obtained invillages, districts, departments, and principalities. The instructionwas divided into 'Primary Learning' and 'Great Learning. ' There werespecial schools of dancing and music. Libraries and almshouses forold men are mentioned. Associations of scholars for literary purposesseem to have been numerous. 

Whatever form and direction education might have taken, it becamestereotyped at an early age by the road to office being made tolead through a knowledge of the classical writings of the ancientsages. It became not only 'the thing' to be well versed in the sayingsof Confucius, Mencius; etc. , and to be able to compose good essays onthem containing not a single wrongly written character, but uselessfor aspirants to office--who constituted practically the whole of theliterary class--to acquire any other knowledge. So obsessed was thenational mind by this literary mania that even infants' spines weremade to bend so as to produce when adult the 'scholarly stoop. ' Andfrom the fact that besides the scholar class the rest of the communityconsisted of agriculturists, artisans, and merchants, whose knowledgewas that of their fathers and grandfathers, inculcated in the sonsand grandsons as it had been in them, showing them how to carry onin the same groove the calling to which Fate had assigned them, adeparture from which would have been considered 'unfilial'--unless, of course (as it very rarely did), it went the length of attainingthrough study of the classics a place in the official class, and thusshedding eternal lustre on the family--it will readily be seen thatthere was nothing to cause education to be concerned with any but oneor two of the subjects which are included by Western peoples underthat designation. It became at an early age, and remained for manycenturies, a rote-learning of the elementary text-books, followed bya similar acquisition by heart of the texts of the works of Confuciusand other classical writers. And so it remained until the abolition, in1905, of the old competitive examination system, and the substitutionof all that is included in the term 'modern education' at schools, colleges, and universities all over the country, in which there israpidly growing up a force that is regenerating the Chinese people, and will make itself felt throughout the whole world. 

It is this keen and shrewd appreciation of the learned, and this lustfor knowledge, which, barring the tragedy of foreign domination, willmake China, in the truest and best sense of the word, a great nation, where, as in the United States of America, the rigid class status andundervaluation, if not disdaining, of knowledge which are proving sodisastrous in England and other European countries will be avoided, and the aristocracy of learning established in its place. 

Besides educational institutions, we find institutions for poor relief, hospitals, foundling hospitals, orphan asylums, banking, insurance, and loan associations, travellers' clubs, mercantile corporations, anti-opium societies, co-operative burial societies, as well as manyothers, some imitated from Western models. 

Bodily Mutilations

Compared with the practices found to exist among most primitive races, the mutilations the Chinese were in the habit of inflicting were butfew. They flattened the skulls of their babies by means of stones, soas to cause them to taper at the top, and we have already seen whatthey did to their spines; also the mutilations in warfare, and thepunishments inflicted both within and without the law; and how filialchildren and loyal wives mutilated themselves for the sake of theirparents and to prevent remarriage. Eunuchs, of course, existed in greatnumbers. People bit, cut, or marked their arms to pledge oaths. Butthe practices which are more peculiarly associated with the Chineseare the compressing of women's feet and the wearing of the queue, misnamed 'pigtail. ' The former is known to have been in force aboutA. D. 934, though it may have been introduced as early as 583. It didnot, however, become firmly established for more than a century. This'extremely painful mutilation, ' begun in infancy, illustrates thetyranny of fashion, for it is supposed to have arisen in the imitationby the women generally of the small feet of an imperial concubineadmired by one of the emperors from ten to fifteen centuries ago(the books differ as to his identity). The second was a badge ofservitude inflicted by the Manchus on the Chinese when they conqueredChina at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Discountenanced bygovernmental edicts, both of these practices are now tending towardextinction, though, of course, compressed feet and 'pigtails' arestill to be seen in every town and village. Legally, the queue wasabolished when the Chinese rid themselves of the Manchu yoke in 1912. 

Funeral Rites

Not understanding the real nature of death, the Chinese believedit was merely a state of suspended animation, in which the soulhad failed to return to the body, though it might yet do so, even after long intervals. Consequently they delayed burial, andfed the corpse, and went on to the house-tops and called aloudto the spirit to return. When at length they were convinced thatthe absent spirit could not be induced to re-enter the body, theyplaced the latter in a coffin and buried it--providing it, however, with all that it had found necessary in this life (food, clothing, wives, servants, etc. ), which it would require also in the next (intheir view rather a continuation of the present existence than thebeginning of another)--and, having inducted or persuaded the spiritto enter the 'soul-tablet' which accompanied the funeral procession(which took place the moment the tablet was 'dotted, ' _i. E. _ whenthe character _wang_, 'prince, ' was changed into _chu_, 'lord'), carried it back home again, set it up in a shrine in the main hall, and fell down and worshipped it. Thus was the spirit propitiated, and as long as occasional offerings were not overlooked the powerfor evil possessed by it would not be exerted against the survivinginmates of the house, whom it had so thoughtlessly deserted. 

The latter mourned by screaming, wailing, stamping their feet, and beating their breasts, renouncing (in the earliest times) eventheir clothes, dwelling, and belongings to the dead, removing tomourning-sheds of clay, fasting, or eating only rice gruel, sleepingon straw with a clod for a pillow, and speaking only on subjects ofdeath and burial. Office and public duties were resigned, and marriage, music, and separation from the clan prohibited. 

During the lapse of the long ages of monarchical rule funeral ritesbecame more elaborate and magnificent, but, though less rigid andceremonious since the institution of the Republic, they have retainedtheir essential character down to the present day. 

Funeral ceremonial was more exacting than that connected with mostother observances, including those of marriage. Invitations ornotifications were sent to friends, and after receipt of these _fu_, on the various days appointed therein, the guest was obliged to sendpresents, such as money, paper horses, slaves, etc. , and go and joinin the lamentations of the hired mourners and attend at the prayersrecited by the priests. Funeral etiquette could not be _pu'd, i. E. _made good, if overlooked or neglected at the right time, as it couldin the case of the marriage ceremonial. 

Instead of symmetrical public graveyards, as in the West, theChinese cemeteries belong to the family or clan of the deceased, and are generally beautiful and peaceful places planted with treesand surrounded by artistic walls enclosing the grave-mounds andmonumental tablets. The cemeteries themselves are the metonyms of thevillages, and the graves of the houses. In the north especially thegrave is very often surmounted by a huge marble tortoise bearing theinscribed tablet, or what we call the gravestone, on its back. Thetombs of the last two lines of emperors, the Ming and the Manchu, are magnificent structures, spread over enormous areas, and alwaysartistically situated on hillsides facing natural or artificial lakesor seas. Contrary to the practice in Egypt, with the two exceptionsabove mentioned the conquering dynasties have always destroyed thetombs of their predecessors. But for this savage vandalism, Chinawould probably possess the most magnificent assembly of imperialtombs in the world's records. 

Laws of Intercourse

Throughout the whole course of their existence as a social aggregatethe Chinese have pushed ceremonial observances to an extremelimit. "Ceremonies, " says the _Li chi_, the great classic of ceremonialusages, "are the greatest of all things by which men live. " Ranks weredistinguished by different headdresses, garments, badges, weapons, writing-tablets, number of attendants, carriages, horses, height ofwalls, etc. Daily as well as official life was regulated by minuteobservances. There were written codes embracing almost every attitudeand act of inferiors toward superiors, of superiors toward inferiors, and of equals toward equals. Visits, forms of address, and givingof presents had each their set of formulae, known and observed byevery one as strictly and regularly as each child in China learned byheart and repeated aloud the three-word sentences of the elementary_Trimetrical Classic_. But while the school text-book was extremelysimple, ceremonial observances were extremely elaborate. A Chinesewas in this respect as much a slave to the living as in his funeralrites he was a slave to the dead. Only now, in the rush of 'modernprogress, ' is the doffing of the hat taking the place of the 'kowtow'(_k'o-t'ou_). 

It is in this matter of ceremonial observances that the Eastand the West have misunderstood each other perhaps more than inall others. Where rules of etiquette are not only different, but are diametrically opposed, there is every opportunity formisunderstanding, if not estrangement. The points at issue insuch questions as 'kowtowing' to the emperor and the worshippingof ancestors are generally known, but the Westerner, as a rule, isignorant of the fact that if he wishes to conform to Chinese etiquettewhen in China (instead of to those Western customs which are in manycases unfortunately taking their place) he should not, for instance, take off his hat when entering a house or a temple, should not shakehands with his host, nor, if he wishes to express approval, should heclap his hands. Clapping of hands in China (_i. E. _ non-EuropeanizedChina) is used to drive away the _sha ch'i_, or deathly influence ofevil spirits, and to clap the hands at the close of the remarks of aChinese host (as I have seen prominent, well-meaning, but ill-guidedmen of the West do) is equivalent to disapproval, if not insult. Hadour diplomatists been sociologists instead of only commercial agents, more than one war might have been avoided. 

Habits and Customs

At intervals during the year the Chinese make holiday. Their publicfestivals begin with the celebration of the advent of the newyear. They let off innumerable firecrackers, and make much merrimentin their homes, drinking and feasting, and visiting their friendsfor several days. Accounts are squared, houses cleaned, fresh paper'door-gods' pasted on the front doors, strips of red paper withcharacters implying happiness, wealth, good fortune, longevity, etc. , stuck on the doorposts or the lintel, tables, etc. , covered with redcloth, and flowers and decorations displayed everywhere. Businessis suspended, and the merriment, dressing in new clothes, feasting, visiting, offerings to gods and ancestors, and idling continue prettyconsistently during the first half of the first moon, the vacationending with the Feast of Lanterns, which occupies the last threedays. It originated in the Han dynasty 2000 years ago. Innumerablelanterns of all sizes, shapes, colours (except wholly white, or ratherundyed material, the colour of mourning), and designs are lit in frontof public and private buildings, but the use of these was an additionabout 800 years later, _i. E. _ about 1200 years ago. Paper dragons, hundreds of yards long, are moved along the streets at a slow pace, supported on the heads of men whose legs only are visible, givingthe impression of huge serpents winding through the thoroughfares. 

Of the other chief festivals, about eight in number (not counting thefestivals of the four seasons with their equinoxes and solstices), fourare specially concerned with the propitiation of the spirits--namely, the Earlier Spirit Festival (fifteenth day of second moon), theFestival of the Tombs (about the third day of the third moon), whengraves are put in order and special offerings made to the dead, theMiddle Spirit Festival (fifteenth day of seventh moon), and the LaterSpirit Festival (fifteenth day of tenth moon). The Dragon-boat Festival(fifth day of fifth moon) is said to have originated as a commemorationof the death of the poet Ch'ü Yüan, who drowned himself in disgustat the official intrigue and corruption of which he was the victim, but the object is the procuring of sufficient rain to ensure a goodharvest. It is celebrated by racing with long narrow boats shaped torepresent dragons and propelled by scores of rowers, pasting of charmson the doors of dwellings, and eating a special kind of rice-cake, with a liquor as a beverage. 

The fifteenth day of the eighth moon is the Mid-autumn Festival, knownby foreigners as All Souls' Day. On this occasion the women worship themoon, offering cakes, fruit, etc. The gates of Purgatory are opened, and the hungry ghosts troop forth to enjoy themselves for a month onthe good things provided for them by the pious. The ninth day of theninth moon is the Chung Yang Festival, when every one who possiblycan ascends to a high place--a hill or temple-tower. This inauguratesthe kite-flying season, and is supposed to promote longevity. Duringthat season, which lasts several months, the Chinese people the skywith dragons, centipedes, frogs, butterflies, and hundreds of othercleverly devised creatures, which, by means of simple mechanisms workedby the wind, roll their eyes, make appropriate sounds, and move theirpaws, wings, tails, etc. , in a most realistic manner. The festivaloriginated in a warning received by a scholar named Huan Ching fromhis master Fei Ch'ang-fang, a native of Ju-nan in Honan, who livedduring the Han dynasty, that a terrible calamity was about to happen, and enjoining him to escape with his family to a high place. On hisreturn he found all his domestic animals dead, and was told thatthey had died instead of himself and his relatives. On New Year's Eve(_Tuan Nien_ or _Chu Hsi_) the Kitchen-god ascends to Heaven to makehis annual report, the wise feasting him with honey and other stickyfood before his departure, so that his lips may be sealed and he beunable to 'let on' too much to the powers that be in the regions above!

Sports and Games

The first sports of the Chinese were festival gatherings for purposesof archery, to which succeeded exercises partaking of a militarycharacter. Hunting was a favourite amusement. They played games ofcalculation, chess (or the 'game of war'), shuttlecock with the feet, pitch-pot (throwing arrows from a distance into a narrow-necked jar), and 'horn-goring' (fighting on the shoulders of others with hornedmasks on their heads). Stilts, football, dice-throwing, boat-racing, dog-racing, cock-fighting, kite-flying, as well as singing and dancingmarionettes, afforded recreation and amusement. 

Many of these games became obsolete in course of time, and new oneswere invented. At the end of the Monarchical Period, during the Manchudynasty, we find those most in use to be foot-shuttlecock, lifting ofbeams headed with heavy stones--dumb-bells four feet long and weighingthirty or forty pounds--kite-flying, quail-fighting, cricket-fighting, sending birds after seeds thrown into the air, sauntering throughfields, playing chess or 'morra, ' or gambling with cards, dice, orover the cricket- and quail-fights or seed-catching birds. There werenumerous and varied children's games tending to develop strength, skill, quickness of action, parental instinct, accuracy, andsagacity. Theatricals were performed by strolling troupes on stageserected opposite temples, though permanent theatres also existed, female parts until recently being taken by male actors. Peep-shows, conjurers, ventriloquists, acrobats, fortune-tellers, and story-tellerskept crowds amused or interested. Generally, 'young China' of thepresent day, identified with the party of progress, seems to haveadopted most of the outdoor but very few of the indoor games ofWestern nations. 

Domestic Life

In domestic or private life, observances at birth, betrothal, andmarriage were elaborate, and retained superstitious elements. Earlyrising was general. Shaving of the head and beard, as well as cleaningof the ears and massage, was done by barbers. There were publicbaths in all cities and towns. Shops were closed at nightfall, and, the streets being until recent times ill-lit or unlit, passengers ortheir attendants carried lanterns. Most houses, except the poorest, had private watchmen. Generally two meals a day were taken. Dinners tofriends were served at inns or restaurants, accompanied or followedby musical or theatrical performances. The place of honour is statedin Western books on China to be on the left, but the fact is that theplace of honour is the one which shows the utmost solicitude for thesafety of the guest. It is therefore not necessarily one fixed place, but would usually be the one facing the door, so that the guest mightbe in a position to see an enemy enter, and take measures accordingly. 

Lap-dogs and cage-birds were kept as pets; 'wonks, ' the _huang kou_, or 'yellow dog, ' were guards of houses and street scavengers. Aquariawith goldfish were often to be seen in the houses of the upper andmiddle classes, the gardens and courtyards of which usually containedrockeries and artistic shrubs and flowers. 

Whiskers were never worn, and moustaches and beards only after forty, before which age the hair grew, if at all, very scantily. Full, thick beards, as in the West, were practically never seen, even onthe aged. Snuff-bottles, tobacco-pipes, and fans were carried by bothsexes. Nails were worn long by members of the literary and leisuredclasses. Non-Manchu women and girls had cramped feet, and both Manchuand Chinese women used cosmetics freely. 

Industrial Institutions

While the men attended to farm-work, women took care of themulberry-orchards and silkworms, and did spinning, weaving, andembroidery. This, the primitive division of labour, held throughout, though added to on both sides, so that eventually the men did mostof the agriculture, arts, production, distribution, fighting, etc. , and the women, besides the duties above named and some field-labour, mended old clothes, drilled and sharpened needles, pasted tin-foil, made shoes, and gathered and sorted the leaves of the tea-plant. Incourse of time trades became highly specialized--their number beinglegion--and localized, bankers, for instance, congregating in Shansi, carpenters in Chi Chou, and porcelain-manufacturers in Jao Chou, in Kiangsi. 

As to land, it became at an early age the property of the sovereign, who farmed it out to his relatives or favourites. It was arranged onthe _ching_, or 'well' system--eight private squares round a ninthpublic square cultivated by the eight farmer families in common for thebenefit of the State. From the beginning to the end of the MonarchicalPeriod tenure continued to be of the Crown, land being unallodial, andmostly held in clans or families, and not entailed, the conditionsof tenure being payment of an annual tax, a fee for alienation, and money compensation for personal services to the Government, generally incorporated into the direct tax as scutage. Slavery, unknown in the earliest times, existed as a recognized institutionduring the whole of the Monarchical Period. 

Production was chiefly confined to human and animal labour, machinerybeing only now in use on a large scale. Internal distributionwas carried on from numerous centres and at fairs, shops, markets, etc. With few exceptions, the great trade-routes by land and sea haveremained the same during the last two thousand years. Foreign trade waswith Western Asia, Greece, Rome, Carthage, Arabia, etc. , and from theseventeenth century A. D. More generally with European countries. Theusual primitive means of conveyance, such as human beings, animals, carts, boats, etc. , were partly displaced by steam-vessels from1861 onward. 

Exchange was effected by barter, cowries of different values being theprototype of coins, which were cast in greater or less quantity undereach reign. But until within recent years there was only one coin, the copper cash, in use, bullion and paper notes being the othermedia of exchange. Silver Mexican dollars and subsidiary coins cameinto use with the advent of foreign commerce. Weights and measures(which generally decreased from north to south), officially arrangedpartly on the decimal system, were discarded by the people in ordinarycommercial transactions for the more convenient duodecimal subdivision. 

Arts

Hunting, fishing, cooking, weaving, dyeing, carpentry, metallurgy, glass-, brick-, and paper-making, printing, and book-binding werein a more or less primitive stage, the mechanical arts showing muchservile imitation and simplicity in design; but pottery, carving, and lacquer-work were in an exceptionally high state of development, the articles produced being surpassed in quality and beauty by noothers in the world. 

Agriculture and Rearing of Livestock

From the earliest times the greater portion of the available land wasunder cultivation. Except when the country has been devastated by war, the Chinese have devoted close attention to the cultivation of thesoil continuously for forty centuries. Even the hills are terraced forextra growing-room. But poverty and governmental inaction caused muchto lie idle. There were two annual crops in the north, and five in twoyears in the south. Perhaps two-thirds of the population cultivated thesoil. The methods, however, remained primitive; but the great fertilityof the soil and the great industry of the farmer, with generous butcareful use of fertilizers, enabled the vast territory to support anenormous population. Rice, wheat, barley, buckwheat, maize, kaoliang, several millets, and oats were the chief grains cultivated. Beans, peas, oil-bearing seeds (sesame, rape, etc. ), fibre-plants (hemp, ramie, jute, cotton, etc. ), starch-roots (taros, yams, sweet potatoes, etc. ), tobacco, indigo, tea, sugar, fruits, were among the moreimportant crops produced. Fruit-growing, however, lacked scientificmethod. The rotation of crops was not a usual practice, but grafting, pruning, dwarfing, enlarging, selecting, and varying species were wellunderstood. Vegetable-culture had reached a high state of perfection, the smallest patches of land being made to bring forth abundantly. Thisis the more creditable inasmuch as most small farmers could not affordto purchase expensive foreign machinery, which, in many cases, wouldbe too large or complicated for their purposes. 

The principal animals, birds, etc. , reared were the pig, ass, horse, mule, cow, sheep, goat, buffalo, yak, fowl, duck, goose, pigeon, silkworm, and bee. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, the successor to the Boardof Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce, instituted during recentyears, is now adapting Western methods to the cultivation of thefertile soil of China, and even greater results than in the past maybe expected in the future. 

Sentiments and Moral Ideas

The Chinese have always shown a keen delight in the beautiful--inflowers, music, poetry, literature, embroidery, paintings, porcelain. They cultivated ornamental plants, almost every house, as we saw, having its garden, large or small, and tables were oftendecorated with flowers in vases or ornamental wire baskets or fruits orsweetmeats. Confucius made music an instrument of government. Paperbearing the written character was so respected that it might notbe thrown on the ground or trodden on. Delight was always shown inbeautiful scenery or tales of the marvellous. Commanding or agreeablesituations were chosen for temples. But until within the last fewyears streets and houses were generally unclean, and decency in publicfrequently absent. 

Morality was favoured by public opinion, but in spite of earlymarriages and concubinage there was much laxity. Cruelty bothto human beings and animals has always been a marked trait inthe Chinese character. Savagery in warfare, cannibalism, luxury, drunkenness, and corruption prevailed in the earliest times. Theattitude toward women was despotic. But moral principles pervaded theclassical writings, and formed the basis of law. In spite of these, the inferior sentiment of revenge was, as we have seen, approved andpreached as a sacred duty. As a result of the universal _yin-yang_dualistic doctrines, immorality was leniently regarded. In moderntimes, at least, mercantile honour was high, "a merchant's wordis as good as his bond" being truer in China than in many othercountries. Intemperance was rare. Opium-smoking was much indulged inuntil the use of the drug was forcibly suppressed (1906-16). Even nowmuch is smuggled into the country, or its growth overlooked by bribedofficials. Clan quarrels and fights were common, vendettas sometimescontinuing for generations. Suicide under depressing circumstanceswas approved and honoured; it was frequently resorted to under thesting of great injustice. There was a deep reverence for parentsand superiors. Disregard of the truth, when useful, was universal, and unattended by a sense of shame, even on detection. Thieving wascommon. The illegal exactions of rulers were burdensome. In timesof prosperity pride and satisfaction in material matters was notconcealed, and was often short-sighted. Politeness was practicallyuniversal, though said to be often superficial; but gratitude was amarked characteristic, and was heartfelt. Mutual conjugal affectionwas strong. The love of gambling was universal. 

But little has occurred in recent years to modify the abovecharacters. Nevertheless the inferior traits are certainly beingchanged by education and by the formation of societies whose membersbind themselves against immorality, concubinage, gambling, drinking, smoking, etc. 

Religious Ideas

Chinese religion is inherently an attitude toward the spirits or godswith the object of obtaining a benefit or averting a calamity. Weshall deal with it more fully in another chapter. Suffice it to sayhere that it originated in ancestor-worship, and that the greaterpart of it remains ancestor-worship to the present day. The Statereligion, which was Confucianism, was ancestor-worship. Taoism, originally a philosophy, became a worship of spirits--of the souls ofdead men supposed to have taken up their abode in animals, reptiles, insects, trees, stones, etc. --borrowed the cloak of religion fromBuddhism, which eventually outshone it, and degenerated into a systemof exorcism and magic. Buddhism, a religion originating in India, inwhich Buddha, once a man, is worshipped, in which no beings are knownwith greater power than can be attained to by man, and according towhich at death the soul migrates into anything from a deified humanbeing to an elephant, a bird, a plant, a wall, a broom, or any pieceof inorganic matter, was imported ready made into China and took theside of popular superstition and Taoism against the orthodox belief, finding that its power lay in the influence on the popular mind of itsdoctrine respecting a future state, in contrast to the indifferenceof Confucianism. Its pleading for compassion and preservation of lifemet a crying need, and but for it the state of things in this respectwould be worse than it is. 

Religion, apart from ancestor-worship, does not enter largelyinto Chinese life. There is none of the real 'love of God' found, for example, in the fervent as distinguished from the conventionalChristian. And as ancestor-worship gradually loses its hold and diesout agnosticism will take its place. 

Superstitions

An almost infinite variety of superstitious practices, due to thebelief in the good or evil influences of departed spirits, exists inall parts of China. Days are lucky or unlucky. Eclipses are due to adragon trying to eat the sun or the moon. The rainbow is supposed to bethe result of a meeting between the impure vapours of the sun and theearth. Amulets are worn, and charms hung up, sprigs of artemisia orof peach-blossom are placed near beds and over lintels respectively, children and adults are 'locked to life' by means of locks on chainsor cords worn round the neck, old brass mirrors are supposed to cureinsanity, figures of gourds, tigers' claws, or the unicorn are wornto ensure good fortune or ward off sickness, fire, etc. , spells ofmany kinds, composed mostly of the written characters for happinessand longevity, are worn, or written on paper, cloth, leaves, etc. , and burned, the ashes being made into a decoction and drunk by theyoung or sick. 

Divination by means of the divining stalks (the divining plant, milfoil or yarrow) and the tortoiseshell has been carried on fromtime immemorial, but was not originally practised with the object ofascertaining future events, but in order to decide doubts, much aslots are drawn or a coin tossed in the West. _Fêng-shui_, "the art ofadapting the residence of the living and the dead so as to co-operateand harmonize with the local currents of the cosmic breath" (the _yin_and the _yang_: see Chapter III), a doctrine which had its root inancestor-worship, has exercised an enormous influence on Chinesethought and life from the earliest times, and especially from thoseof Chu Hsi and other philosophers of the Sung dynasty. 

Knowledge

Having noted that Chinese education was mainly literary, and why itwas so, it is easy to see that there would be little or no demandfor the kind of knowledge classified in the West under the head ofscience. In so far as any demand existed, it did so, at any rate atfirst, only because it subserved vital needs. Thus, astronomy, or moreproperly astrology, was studied in order that the calendar might beregulated, and so the routine of agriculture correctly followed, foron that depended the people's daily rice, or rather, in the beginning, the various fruits and kinds of flesh which constituted their means ofsustentation before their now universal food was known. In philosophythey have had two periods of great activity, the first beginning withLao Tzu and Confucius in the sixth century B. C. And ending with theBurning of the Books by the First Emperor, Shih Huang Ti, in 213 B. C. ;the second beginning with Chou Tzu (A. D. 1017-73) and ending with ChuHsi (1130-1200). The department of philosophy in the imperial librarycontained in 190 B. C. 2705 volumes by 137 authors. There can be nodoubt that this zeal for the orthodox learning, combined with theliterary test for office, was the reason why scientific knowledge wasprevented from developing; so much so, that after four thousand or moreyears of national life we find, during the Manchu Period, which endedthe monarchical _régime_, few of the educated class, giants though theywere in knowledge of all departments of their literature and history(the continuity of their traditions laid down in their twenty-fourDynastic Annals has been described as one of the great wonders of theworld), with even the elementary scientific learning of a schoolboyin the West. 'Crude, ' 'primitive, ' 'mediocre, ' 'vague, ' 'inaccurate, ''want of analysis and generalization, ' are terms we find applied totheir knowledge of such leading sciences as geography, mathematics, chemistry, botany, and geology. Their medicine was much hamperedby superstition, and perhaps more so by such beliefs as that theseat of the intellect is in the stomach, that thoughts proceed fromthe heart, that the pit of the stomach is the seat of the breath, that the soul resides in the liver, etc. --the result partly of theidea that dissection of the body would maim it permanently duringits existence in the Otherworld. What progress was made was due toEuropean instruction; and this again is the _causa causans_ of thegreat wave of progress in scientific and philosophical knowledgewhich is rolling over the whole country and will have marked effectson the history of the world during the coming century. 

Language

Originally polysyllabic, the Chinese language later assumed amonosyllabic, isolating, uninflected form, grammatical relationsbeing indicated by position. From the earliest forms of speech severalsubordinate vernacular languages arose in various districts, and fromthese sprang local dialects, etc. Tone-distinctions arose--_i. E. _the same words pronounced with a different intonation came tomean different things. Development of these distinctions led tocarelessness of articulation, and multiplication of what would behomonyms but for these tones. It is incorrect to assume that the toneswere invented to distinguish similar sounds. So that, at the presentday, anyone who says _ma_ will mean either an exclamation, hemp, horse, or curse according to the quality he gives to the sound. Thelanguage remains in a primitive state, without inflexion, declension, or distinction of parts of speech. The order in a sentence is: subject, verb, complement direct, complement indirect. Gender is formed bydistinctive particles; number by prefixing numerals, etc. ; casesby position or appropriate prepositions. Adjectives precede nouns;position determines comparison; and absence of punctuation causesambiguity. The latter is now introduced into most newly publishedworks. The new education is bringing with it innumerable words andphrases not found in the old literature or dictionaries. Japaneseidioms which are now being imported into the language are making itless pure. 

The written language, too well known to need detailed description, athing of beauty and a joy for ever to those able to appreciate it, saidto have taken originally the form of knotted cords and then of notcheson wood (though this was more probably the origin of numeration than ofwriting proper), took later that of rude outlines of natural objects, and then went on to the phonetic system, under which each character iscomposed of two parts, the radical, indicating the meaning, and thephonetic, indicating the sound. They were symbols, non-agglutinativeand non-inflexional, and were written in vertical columns, probablyfrom having in early times been painted or cut on strips of bark. 

Achievements of the Chinese

As the result of all this fitful fever during so many centuries, we find that the Chinese, after having lived in nests "in order toavoid the animals, " and then in caves, have built themselves housesand palaces which are still made after the pattern of their prototype, with a flat wall behind, the openings in front, the walls put in afterthe pillars and roof-tree have been fixed, and out-buildings added onas side extensions. The _k'ang_, or 'stove-bed' (now a platform madeof bricks), found all over the northern provinces, was a place scoopedout of the side of the cave, with an opening underneath in which (asnow) a fire was lit in winter. Windows and shutters opened upward, being a survival of the mat or shade hung in front of the aperturesin the walls of the primitive cave-dwelling. Four of these buildingsfacing each other round a square made the courtyard, and one or morecourtyards made the compound. They have fed themselves on almosteverything edible to be found on, under, or above land or water, except milk, but live chiefly on rice, chicken, fish, vegetables, including garlic, and tea, though at one time they ate flesh anddrank wine, sometimes to excess, before tea was cultivated. Theyhave clothed themselves in skins and feathers, and then in silksand satins, but mostly in cotton, and hardly ever in wool. Underthe Manchu _régime_ the type of dress adopted was that of thishorse-riding race, showing the chief characteristics of that nobleanimal, the broad sleeves representing the hoofs, the queue the mane, etc. This queue was formed of the hair growing from the back partof the scalp, the front of which was shaved. Unlike the Egyptians, they did not wear wigs. They have nearly always had the decency towear their coats long, and have despised the Westerner for wearinghis too short. They are now paradoxical enough to make the mistakeof adopting the Westerner's costume. 

They have made to themselves great canals, bridges, aqueducts, andthe longest wall there has ever been on the face of the earth (whichcould not be seen from the moon, as some sinologists have erroneouslysupposed, any more than a hair, however long, could be seen at adistance of a hundred yards). They have made long and wide roads, butfailed to keep them in repair during the last few centuries, thoughmuch zeal, possibly due to commerce on oil- or electricity-drivenwheels, is now being shown in this direction. They have built honoraryportals to chaste widows, pagodas, and arched bridges of great beauty, not forgetting to surround each city with a high and substantial wallto keep out unfriendly people. They have made innumerable implementsand weapons, from pens and fans and chopsticks to ploughs and cartsand ships; from fiery darts, 'flame elephants, ' bows and spears, spiked chariots, battering-rams, and hurling-engines to mangonels, trebuchets, matchlocks of wrought iron and plain bore with longbarrels resting on a stock, and gingals fourteen feet long resting ona tripod, cuirasses of quilted cotton cloth covered with brass knobs, and helmets of iron or polished steel, sometimes inlaid, with neck-and ear-lappets. And they have been content not to improve upon theseto any appreciable extent; but have lately shown a tendency to makethe later patterns imported from the West in their own factories. 

They have produced one of the greatest and most remarkableaccumulations of literature the world has ever seen, and the finestporcelain; some music, not very fine; and some magnificent painting, though hardly any sculpture, and little architecture that will live. 

CHAPTER II

On Chinese Mythology

Mythology and Intellectual Progress

The Manichæst, _yin-yang_ (dualist), idea of existence, to whichfurther reference will be made in the next chapter, finds itsillustration in the dual life, real and imaginary, of all thepeoples of the earth. They have both real histories and mythologicalhistories. In the preceding chapter I have dealt briefly with thefirst--the life of reality--in China from the earliest times to thepresent day; the succeeding chapters are concerned with the second--thelife of imagination. A survey of the first was necessary for a completeunderstanding of the second. The two react upon each other, affectingthe national character and through it the history of the world. 

Mythology is the science of the unscientific man's explanationof what we call the Otherworld--itself and its denizens, theirmysterious habits and surprising actions both there and here, usuallyincluding the creation of this world also. By the Otherworld he doesnot necessarily mean anything distant or even invisible, though thethings he explains would mostly be included by us under those terms. Insome countries myths are abundant, in others scarce. Why should thisbe? Why should some peoples tell many and marvellous tales about theirgods and others say little about them, though they may say a great dealto them? We recall the 'great' myths of Greece and Scandinavia. Otherraces are 'poor' in myths. The difference is to be explained by themental characters of the peoples as moulded by their surroundings andhereditary tendencies. The problem is of course a psychological one, for it is, as already noted, in imagination that myths have theirroot. Now imagination grows with each stage of intellectual progress, for intellectual progress implies increasing representativeness ofthought. In the lower stages of human development imagination is feebleand unproductive; in the highest stages it is strong and constructive. 

The Chinese Intellect

The Chinese are not unimaginative, but their minds did not go on to theconstruction of any myths which should be world-great and immortal;and one reason why they did not construct such myths was that theirintellectual progress was arrested at a comparatively early stage. Itwas arrested because there was not that contact and competitionwith other peoples which demands brain-work of an active kind as thealternative of subjugation, inferiority, or extinction, and because, as we have already seen, the knowledge required of them was mainlythe parrot-like repetition of the old instead of the thinking-out ofthe new [1]--a state of things rendered possible by the isolationjust referred to. Confucius discountenanced discussion about thesupernatural, and just as it is probable that the exhortations of WênWang, the virtual founder of the Chou dynasty (1121-255 B. C. ), againstdrunkenness, in a time before tea was known to them, helped to makethe Chinese the sober people that they are, so it is probable--morethan probable--that this attitude of Confucius may have nipped inthe bud much that might have developed a vigorous mythology, thoughfor a reason to be stated later it may be doubted if he therebydeprived the world of any beautiful and marvellous results of thehighest flights of poetical creativeness. There are times, such asthose of any great political upheaval, when human nature will assertitself and break through its shackles in spite of all artificialor conventional restraints. Considering the enormous influence ofConfucianism throughout the latter half of Chinese history--_i. E. _the last two thousand years--it is surprising that the Chinese daredto think about supernatural matters at all, except in the matter ofpropitiating their dead ancestors. That they did so is evidence notonly of human nature's inherent tendency to tell stories, but alsoof the irrepressible strength of feeling which breaks all laws andcommandments under great stimulus. On the opposing unæsthetic sidethis may be compared to the feeling which prompts the unpremeditatedassassination of a man who is guilty of great injustice, even thoughit be certain that in due course he would have met his deserts atthe hands of the public executioner. 

The Influence of Religion

Apart from this, the influence of Confucianism would have been evengreater than it was, but for the imperial partiality periodicallyshown for rival doctrines, such as Buddhism and Taoism, which threwtheir weight on the side of the supernatural, and which at timeswere exalted to such great heights as to be officially recognized asState religions. These, Buddhism especially, appealed to the popularimagination and love of the marvellous. Buddhism spoke of the futurestate and the nature of the gods in no uncertain tones. It showedmen how to reach the one and attain to the other. Its founder wasvirtuous; his commandments pure and life-sustaining. It supplied ingreat part what Confucianism lacked. And, as in the fifth and sixthcenturies A. D. , when Buddhism and Taoism joined forces and a workingunion existed between them, they practically excluded for the timeall the "chilly growth of Confucian classicism. "

Other opponents of myth, including a critical philosopher of greatability, we shall have occasion to notice presently. 

History and Myth

The sobriety and accuracy of Chinese historians is proverbial. Ihave dilated upon this in another work, and need add here only whatI inadvertently omitted there--a point hitherto unnoticed or at leastunremarked--that the very word for history in Chinese (_shih_) meansimpartiality or an impartial annalist. It has been said that wherethere is much myth there is little history, and _vice versa_, andthough this may not be universally true, undoubtedly the persistentlytruthful recording of facts, events, and sayings, even at the riskof loss, yea, and actual loss of life of the historian as the resultof his refusal to make false entries in his chronicle at the biddingof the emperor (as in the case of the historiographers of Ch'i in547 B. C. ), indicates a type of mind which would require some verystrong stimulus to cause it to soar very far into the hazy realms offanciful imagination. 

Chinese Rigidity

A further cause, already hinted at above, for the arrest ofintellectual progress is to be found in the growth of the nationin size during many centuries of isolation from the main streamof world-civilization, without that increase in heterogeneitywhich comes from the moulding by forces external to itself. "Asiron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of hisfriend. " Consequently we find China what is known to sociology as an'aggregate of the first order, ' which during its evolution has partedwith its internal life-heat without absorbing enough from externalsources to enable it to retain the plastic condition necessary tofurther, or at least rapid, development. It is in a state of rigidity, a state recognized and understood by the sociologist in his study ofthe evolution of nations. 

The Prerequisites to Myth

But the mere increase of constructive imagination is not sufficientto produce myth. If it were, it would be reasonable to argue thatas intellectual progress goes on myths become more numerous, and thegreater the progress the greater the number of myths. This we do notfind. In fact, if constructive imagination went on increasing withoutthe intervention of any further factor, there need not necessarily beany myth at all. We might almost say that the reverse is the case. Weconnect myth with primitive folk, not with the greatest philosophersor the most advanced nations--not, that is, with the most advancedstages of national progress wherein constructive imagination makesthe nation great and strong. In these stages the philosopher studiesor criticizes myth, he does not make it. 

In order that there may be myth, three further conditions must befulfilled. There must, as we have seen, be constructive imagination, but, nevertheless, there must not be too much of it. As stated above, mythology, or rather myth, is the _unscientific_ man's explanation. Ifthe constructive imagination is so great that it becomes self-critical, if the story-teller doubts his own story, if, in short, his mind isscientific enough to see that his explanation is no explanation at all, then there can be no myth properly so called. As in religion, unlessthe myth-maker believes in his myth with all his heart and soul andstrength, and each new disciple, as it is cared for and grows underhis hands during the course of years, holds that he must put his shoesfrom off his feet because the place whereon he treads is holy ground, the faith will not be propagated, for it will lack the vital sparkwhich alone can make it a living thing. 

Stimulus Necessary

The next condition is that there must be a stimulus. It is not ideas, but feelings, which govern the world, and in the history of mythologywhere feeling is absent we find either weak imitation or repetitionof the myths of other peoples (though this must not be confusedwith certain elements which seem to be common to the myths of allraces), or concoction, contamination, or "genealogical tree-making, "or myths originated by "leisurely, peaceful tradition" and lackingthe essential qualities which appeal to the human soul and make theirpossessors very careful to preserve them among their most loved andvalued treasures. But, on the other hand, where feeling is stirred, where the requisite stimulus exists, where the people are in greatdanger, or allured by the prize of some breathless adventure, thecontact produces the spark of divine poetry, the myths are full ofartistic, philosophic, and religious suggestiveness, and have abidingsignificance and charm. They are the children, the poetic fruit, ofgreat labour and serious struggles, revealing the most fundamentalforces, hopes, and cravings of the human soul. Nations highly strung, undergoing strenuous emotion, intensely energized by constant conflictwith other nations, have their imagination stimulated to exceptionalpoetic creativeness. The background of the Danaïds is Egyptian, not Greek, but it was the danger in which the Greeks were placed intheir wars with the sons of the land of the Pharaohs that stimulatedthe Greek imagination to the creation of that great myth. 

This explains why so many of the greatest myths have their staging, not in the country itself whose treasured possessions they are, butwhere that country is 'playing the great game, ' is carrying on warsdecisive of far-reaching national events, which arouse to the greatestpitch of excitement the feelings both of the combatants and of thosewho are watching them from their homes. It is by such great events, not by the romance-writer in his peaceful study, that mythology, likeliterature, is "incisively determined. " Imagination, we saw, goes_pari passu_ with intellectual progress, and intellectual progress, in early times, is furthered not so much by the mere contact asby the actual conflict of nations. And we see also that myths may, and very frequently do, have a character quite different from thatof the nation to which they appertain, for environment plays a mostimportant part both in their inception and subsequent growth--a truthtoo obvious to need detailed elaboration. 

Persistent Soul-expression

A third condition is that the type of imagination must be persistentthrough fairly long periods of time, otherwise not only will therebe an absence of sufficient feeling or momentum to cause the mythsto be repeated and kept alive and transmitted to posterity, but theinducement to add to them and so enable them to mature and becomecomplete and finished off and sufficiently attractive to appeal tothe human mind in spite of the foreign character they often bear willbe lacking. In other words, myths and legends grow. They resemble notso much the narrative of the story-teller or novelist as a graduallydeveloping art like music, or a body of ideas like philosophy. Theyare human and natural, though they express the thought not of any oneindividual mind, but of the folk-soul, exemplifying in poetical formsome great psychological or physiographical truth. 

The Character of Chinese Myth

The nature of the case thus forbids us to expect to find the Chinesemyths exhibiting the advanced state and brilliant heterogeneity ofthose which have become part of the world's permanent literature. Wemust expect them to be true to type and conditions, as we expect theother ideas of the Chinese to be, and looking for them in the lightof this knowledge we shall find them just where we should expect tofind them. 

The great sagas and eddas exalted among the world's literarymasterpieces, and forming part of the very life of a large number ofits inhabitants, are absent in China. "The Chinese people, " says onewell-known sinologist, "are not prone to mythological invention. " "Hewho expects to find in Tibet, " says another writer, "the poeticalcharm of Greek or Germanic mythology will be disappointed. There isa striking poverty of imagination in all the myths and legends. Agreat monotony pervades them all. Many of their stories, taken fromthe sacred texts, are quite puerile and insipid. It may be notedthat the Chinese mythology labours under the same defect. " Andthen there comes the crushing judgment of an over-zealous Christianmissionary sinologist: "There is no hierarchy of gods brought in torule and inhabit the world they made, no conclave on Mount Olympus, nor judgment of the mortal soul by Osiris, no transfer of human loveand hate, passions and hopes, to the powers above; all here is ascribedto disembodied agencies or principles, and their works are representedas moving on in quiet order. There is no religion [!], no imagination;all is impassible, passionless, uninteresting.... It has not, as inGreece and Egypt, been explained in sublime poetry, shadowed forth ingorgeous ritual and magnificent festivals, represented in exquisitesculptures, nor preserved in faultless, imposing fanes and temples, filled with ideal creations. " Besides being incorrect as to manyof its alleged facts, this view would certainly be shown by furtherstudy to be greatly exaggerated. 

Periods Fertile in Myth

What we should expect, then, to find from our philosophical study ofthe Chinese mind as affected by its surroundings would be barrenness ofconstructive imagination, except when birth was given to myth throughthe operation of some external agency. And this we do find. The periodof the overthrow of the Yin dynasty and the establishment of thegreat house of Chou in 1122 B. C. , or of the Wars of the Three States, for example, in the third century after Christ, a time of terribleanarchy, a medieval age of epic heroism, sung in a hundred forms ofprose and verse, which has entered as motive into a dozen dramas, or the advent of Buddhism, which opened up a new world of thought andlife to the simple, sober, peace-loving agricultural folk of China, were stimuli not by any means devoid of result. In China there are godsmany and heroes many, and the very fact of the existence of so greata multitude of gods would logically imply a wealth of mythologicallore inseparable from their apotheosis. You cannot--and the Chinesecannot--get behind reason. A man is not made a god without somecause being assigned for so important and far-reaching a step; andin matters of this sort the stated cause is apt to take the form ofa narrative more or less marvellous or miraculous. These resultingmyths may, of course, be born and grow at a later time than thatin which the circumstances giving rise to them took place, but, if so, that merely proves the persistent power of the originatingstimulus. That in China these narratives always or often reach thehighest flights of constructive imagination is not maintained--themaintenance of that argument would indeed be contradictory; but evenin those countries where the mythological garden has produced some ofthe finest flowers millions of seeds must have been sown which eitherdid not spring up at all or at least failed to bring forth fruit. Andin the realm of mythology it is not only those gods who sit in thehighest seats--creators of the world or heads of great religions--whodominate mankind; the humbler, though often no less powerful godsor spirits--those even who run on all fours and live in holes in theground, or buzz through the air and have their thrones in the shadowof a leaf--have often made a deeper impress on the minds and in thehearts of the people, and through that impress, for good or evil, have, in greater or less degree, modified the life of the visible universe. 

Sources of Chinese Myth

"So, if we ask whence comes the heroic and the romantic, which suppliesthe story-teller's stock-in-trade, the answer is easy. The legends andhistory of early China furnish abundance of material for them. To theChinese mind their ancient world was crowded with heroes, fairies, anddevils, who played their part in the mixed-up drama, and left a nameand fame both remarkable and piquant. Every one who is familiar withthe ways and the language of the people knows that the country is fullof common objects to which poetic names have been given, and with manyof them there is associated a legend or a myth. A deep river's gorge iscalled 'the Blind Man's Pass, ' because a peculiar bit of rock, lookedat from a certain angle, assumes the outline of the human form, andthere comes to be connected therewith a pleasing story which reachesits climax in the petrifaction of the hero. A mountain's crest shapedlike a swooping eagle will from some one have received the name of'Eagle Mountain, ' whilst by its side another shaped like a couchantlion will have a name to match. There is no lack of poetry among thepeople, and most striking objects claim a poetic name, and not a fewof them are associated with curious legends. It is, however, to theirnational history that the story-teller goes for his most interestingsubjects, and as the so-called history of China imperceptibly passesinto the legendary period, and this again fades into the mythical, and as all this is assuredly believed by the masses of the people, it is obvious that in the national life of China there is no dearthof heroes whose deeds of prowess will command the rapt attention ofthe crowds who listen. " [2]

The soul in China is everywhere in evidence, and if myths have "firstand foremost to do with the life of the soul" it would appear strangethat the Chinese, having spiritualized everything from a stone to thesky, have not been creative of myth. Why they have not the foregoingconsiderations show us clearly enough. We must take them and theirmyths as we find them. Let us, then, note briefly the result of theirmental workings as reacted on by their environment. 

Phases of Chinese Myth

We cannot identify the earliest mythology of the Chinese with that ofany primitive race. The myths, if any, of their place of origin mayhave faded and been forgotten in their slow migration eastward. Wecannot say that when they came from the West (which they probablydid) they brought their myths with them, for in spite of certainconjectural derivations from Babylon we do not find them possessedof any which we can identify as imported by them at that time. Butresearch seems to have gone at least as far as this--namely, thatwhile we cannot say that Chinese myth was derived from Indian myth, there is good reason to believe that Chinese and Indian myth had acommon origin, which was of course outside of China. 

To set forth in detail the various phases through which Chinese mythhas passed would involve a technical description foreign to the purposeof a popular work. It will sufficiently serve our present purpose tooutline its most prominent features. 

In the earliest times there was an 'age of magic' followed by an'heroic age, ' but myths were very rare before 800 B. C. , and what isknown as primitive mythology is said to have been invented or imitatedfrom foreign sources after 820 B. C. In the eighth century B. C. Mythsof an astrological character began to attract attention. In the ageof Lao Tzu (604 B. C. ), the reputed founder of the Taoist religion, fresh legends appear, though Lao Tzu himself, absorbed in the abstract, records none. Neither did Confucius (551-479 B. C. ) nor Mencius, wholived two hundred years later, add any legends to history. But in thePeriod of the Warring States (500-100 B. C. ) fresh stimuli and greatemotion prompted to mythological creation. 

Tso-ch'iu Ming and Lieh Tzu

Tso-ch'iu Ming, commentator on Confucius's _Annals_, frequentlyintroduced legend into his history. Lieh Tzu (fifth and fourthcenturies B. C. ), a metaphysician, is one of the earliest authors whodeal in myths. He is the first to mention the story of Hsi Wang Mu, theWestern Queen, and from his day onward the fabulists have vied with oneanother in fantastic descriptions of the wonders of her fairyland. Hewas the first to mention the islands of the immortals in the ocean, the kingdoms of the dwarfs and giants, the fruit of immortality, therepairing of the heavens by Nü Kua Shih with five-coloured stones, and the great tortoise which supports the universe. 

The T'ang and Sung Epochs

Religious romance began at this time. The T'ang epoch (A. B. 618-907)was one of the resurrection of the arts of peace after a long period ofdissension. A purer and more enduring form of intellect was graduallyovercoming the grosser but less solid superstition. Nevertheless theintellectual movement which now manifested itself was not strongenough to prevail against the powers of mythological darkness. Itwas reserved for the scholars of the Sung Period (A. D. 960-1280)to carry through to victory a strong and sustained offensive againstthe spiritualistic obsessions which had weighed upon the Chinese mindmore or less persistently from the Han Period (206 B. C. -A. D. 221)onward. The dogma of materialism was specially cultivated at thistime. The struggle of sober reason against superstition or imaginativeinvention was largely a struggle of Confucianism against Taoism. Thoughmany centuries had elapsed since the great Master walked the earth, the anti-myth movement of the T'ang and Sung Periods was in reality thelong arm and heavy fist of Confucius emphasizing a truer rationalismthan that of his opponents and denouncing the danger of leaving thefirm earth to soar into the unknown hazy regions of fantasy. It wasSung scholarship that gave the death-blow to Chinese mythology. 

It is unnecessary to labour the point further, because after the Sungepoch we do not meet with any period of new mythological creation, and its absence can be ascribed to no other cause than its defeat atthe hands of the Sung philosophers. After their time the tender plantwas always in danger of being stunted or killed by the withering blastof philosophical criticism. Anything in the nature of myth ascribableto post-Sung times can at best be regarded only as a late blossomborn when summer days are past. 

Myth and Doubt

It will bear repetition to say that unless the myth-builder firmlybelieves in his myth, be he the layer of the foundation-stone or oneof the raisers of the superstructure, he will hardly make it a livingthing. Once he believes in reincarnation and the suspension of naturallaws, the boundless vistas of space and the limitless æons of time areopened to him. He can perform miracles which astound the world. Butif he allow his mind to inquire, for instance, why it should have beennecessary for Elijah to part the waters of the Jordan with his garmentin order that he and Elisha might pass over dryshod, or for Bodhidharmato stand on a reed to cross the great Yangtzu River, or for innumerableImmortals to sit on 'favourable clouds' to make their journeys throughspace, he spoils myth--his child is stillborn or does not survive tomaturity. Though the growth of philosophy and decay of superstitionmay be good for a nation, the process is certainly conducive to thedestruction of its myth and much of its poetry. The true mythologisttakes myth for myth, enters into its spirit, and enjoys it. 

We may thus expect to find in the realm of Chinese mythology a largenumber of little hills rather than a few great mountains, but thelittle hills are very good ones after their kind; and the object ofthis work is to present Chinese myth as it is, not as it might havebeen had the universe been differently constituted. Nevertheless, if, as we may rightly do, we judge of myth by the sentiments pervadingit and the ideals upheld and taught by it, we shall find that Chinesemyth must be ranked among the greatest. 

Myth and Legend

The general principles considered above, while they explain the paucityof myth in China, explain also the abundance of legend there. The sixhundred years during which the Mongols, Mings, and Manchus sat uponthe throne of China are barren of myth, but like all periods of theChinese national life are fertile in legend. And this chiefly for thereason that myths are more general, national, divine, while legends aremore local, individual, human. And since, in China as elsewhere, thelower classes are as a rule less educated and more superstitious thanthe upper classes--have a certain amount of constructive imagination, but not enough to be self-critical--legends, rejected or even ridiculedby the scholarly class when their knowledge has become sufficientlyscientific, continue to be invented and believed in by the peasant andthe dweller in districts far from the madding crowd long after myth, properly so called, has exhaled its last breath. 

CHAPTER III

Cosmogony-p'an Ku and the Creation Myth

The Fashioner of the Universe

The most conspicuous figure in Chinese cosmogony is P'an Ku. He it waswho chiselled the universe out of Chaos. According to Chinese ideas, he was the offspring of the original dual powers of Nature, the _yin_and the _yang_ (to be considered presently), which, having in someincomprehensible way produced him, set him the task of giving formto Chaos and "making the heavens and the earth. "

Some accounts describe him as the actual creator of the universe--"theancestor of Heaven and earth and all that live and move and have theirbeing. " 'P'an' means 'the shell of an egg, ' and 'Ku' 'to secure, ''solid, ' referring to P'an Ku being hatched from out of Chaos andto his settling the arrangement of the causes to which his originwas due. The characters themselves may, however, mean nothing morethan 'Researches into antiquity, ' though some bolder translatorshave assigned to them the significance if not the literal sense of'aboriginal abyss, ' or the Babylonian Tiamat, 'the Deep. '

P'an Ku is pictured as a man of dwarfish stature clothed in bearskin, or merely in leaves or with an apron of leaves. He has two horns onhis head. In his right hand he holds a hammer and in his left a chisel(sometimes these are reversed), the only implements he used in carryingout his great task. Other pictures show him attended in his laboursby the four supernatural creatures--the unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, and dragon; others again with the sun in one hand and the moon in theother, some of the firstfruits of his stupendous labours. (The reasonfor these being there will be apparent presently. ) His task occupiedeighteen thousand years, during which he formed the sun, moon, andstars, the heavens and the earth, himself increasing in stature dayby day, being daily six feet taller than the day before, until, hislabours ended, he died that his works might live. His head became themountains, his breath the wind and clouds, his voice the thunder, his limbs the four quarters of the earth, his blood the rivers, his flesh the soil, his beard the constellations, his skin and hairthe herbs and trees, his teeth, bones, and marrow the metals, rocks, and precious stones, his sweat the rain, and the insects creepingover his body human beings, who thus had a lowlier origin even thanthe tears of Khepera in Egyptian cosmology. [3]

This account of P'an Ku and his achievements is of Taoist origin. TheBuddhists have given a somewhat different account of him, which isa late adaptation from the Taoist myth, and must not be mistaken forBuddhist cosmogony proper. [4]

The Sun and the Moon

In some of the pictures of P'an Ku he is represented, as already noted, as holding the sun in one hand and the moon in the other. Sometimesthey are in the form of those bodies, sometimes in the classiccharacter. The legend says that when P'an Ku put things in order inthe lower world, he did not put these two luminaries in their propercourses, so they retired into the Han Sea, and the people dwelt indarkness. The Terrestrial Emperor sent an officer, Terrestrial Time, with orders that they should come forth and take their places inthe heavens and give the world day and night. They refused to obeythe order. They were reported to Ju Lai; P'an Ku was called, and, at the divine direction of Buddha, wrote the character for 'sun'in his left hand, and that for 'moon' in his right hand; and went tothe Han Sea, and stretched forth his left hand and called the sun, and then stretched forth his right hand and called the moon, at thesame time repeating a charm devoutly seven times; and they forthwithascended on high, and separated time into day and night. [5]

Other legends recount that P'an Ku had the head of a dragon andthe body of a serpent; and that by breathing he caused the wind, by opening his eyes he created day, his voice made the thunder, etc. 

P'an Ku and Ymer

Thus we have the heavens and the earth fashioned by this wonderfulbeing in eighteen thousand years. With regard to him we may adaptthe Scandinavian ballad:

 It was Time's morning When P'an Ku lived; There was no sand, no sea, Nor cooling billows;

 Earth there was none, No lofty Heaven; No spot of living green; Only a deep profound. 

And it is interesting to note, in passing, the similarity between thisChinese artificer of the universe and Ymer, the giant, who dischargesthe same functions in Scandinavian mythology. Though P'an Ku did nothave the same kind of birth nor meet with the violent death of thelatter, the results as regards the origin of the universe seem tohave been pretty much the same. [6]

P'an Ku a Late Creation

But though the Chinese creation myth deals with primeval things itdoes not itself belong to a primitive time. According to some writerswhose views are entitled to respect, it was invented during the fourthcentury A. D. By the Taoist recluse, Magistrate Ko Hung, author of the_Shên hsien chuan_ (_Biographies of the Gods_). The picturesque personof P'an Ku is said to have been a concession to the popular dislikeof, or inability to comprehend, the abstract. He was conceived, someChinese writers say, because the philosophical explanations of theCosmos were too recondite for the ordinary mind to grasp. That hedid fulfil the purpose of furnishing the ordinary mind with a fairlyeasily comprehensible picture of the creation may be admitted; but, as will presently be seen, it is over-stating the case to say that hewas conceived with the set purpose of furnishing the ordinary mind witha concrete solution or illustration of this great problem. There isno evidence that P'an Ku had existed as a tradition before the timewhen we meet with the written account of him; and, what is more, there is no evidence that there existed any demand on the part ofthe popular mind for any such solution or illustration. The ordinarymind would seem to have been either indifferent to or satisfiedwith the abstruse cosmogonical and cosmological theories of theearly sages for at least a thousand years. The cosmogonies of the _Iching_, of Lao Tzu, Confucius (such as it was), Kuan Tzu, Mencius, Chuang Tzu, were impersonal. P'an Ku and his myth must be regardedrather as an accident than as a creation resulting from any suddenflow of psychological forces or wind of discontent ruffling theplacid Chinese mind. If the Chinese brought with them from Babylonor anywhere else the elements of a cosmogony, whether of a more orless abstruse scientific nature or a personal mythological narrative, it must have been subsequently forgotten or at least has not survivedin China. But for Ko Hung's eccentricity and his wish to experimentwith cinnabar from Cochin-China in order to find the elixir of life, P'an Ku would probably never have been invented, and the Chinese mindwould have been content to go on ignoring the problem or would havequietly acquiesced in the abstract philosophical explanations of thelearned which it did not understand. Chinese cosmogony would thenhave consisted exclusively of the recondite impersonal metaphysicswhich the Chinese mind had entertained or been fed on for the ninehundred or more years preceding the invention of the P'an Ku myth. 

Nü Kua Shih, the Repairer of the Heavens

It is true that there exist one or two other explanations of theorigin of things which introduce a personal creator. There is, for instance, the legend--first mentioned by Lieh Tzu (to whom weshall revert later)--which represents Nü Kua Shih (also called NüWa and Nü Hsi), said to have been the sister and successor of FuHsi, the mythical sovereign whose reign is ascribed to the years2953-2838 B. C. , as having been the creator of human beings whenthe earth first emerged from Chaos. She (or he, for the sex seemsuncertain), who had the "body of a serpent and head of an ox" (or ahuman head and horns of an ox, according to some writers), "mouldedyellow earth and made man. " Ssu-ma Chêng, of the eighth century A. D. , author of the _Historical Records_ and of another work on the threegreat legendary emperors, Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti, givesthe following account of her: "Fu Hsi was succeeded by Nü Kua, wholike him had the surname Fêng. Nü Kua had the body of a serpent anda human head, with the virtuous endowments of a divine sage. Towardthe end of her reign there was among the feudatory princes Kung Kung, whose functions were the administration of punishment. Violent andambitious, he became a rebel, and sought by the influence of waterto overcome that of wood [under which Nü Kua reigned]. He did battlewith Chu Jung [said to have been one of the ministers of Huang Ti, and later the God of Fire], but was not victorious; whereupon hestruck his head against the Imperfect Mountain, Pu Chou Shan, andbrought it down. The pillars of Heaven were broken and the corners ofthe earth gave way. Hereupon Nü Kua melted stones of the five coloursto repair the heavens, and cut off the feet of the tortoise to setupright the four extremities of the earth. [7] Gathering the ashesof reeds she stopped the flooding waters, and thus rescued the landof Chi, Chi Chou [the early seat of the Chinese sovereignty]. "

Another account separates the name and makes Nü and Kua brotherand sister, describing them as the only two human beings inexistence. At the creation they were placed at the foot of the K'un-lunMountains. Then they prayed, saying, "If thou, O God, hast sent us tobe man and wife, the smoke of our sacrifice will stay in one place;but if not, it will be scattered. " The smoke remained stationary. 

But though Nü Kua is said to have moulded the first man (or the firsthuman beings) out of clay, it is to be noted that, being only thesuccessor of Fu Hsi, long lines of rulers had preceded her of whom noaccount is given, and also that, as regards the heavens and the earthat least, she is regarded as the repairer and not the creator of them. 

Heaven-deaf (T'ien-lung) and Earth-dumb (Ti-ya), the two attendantsof Wên Ch'ang, the God of Literature (see following chapter), havealso been drawn into the cosmogonical net. From their union came theheavens and the earth, mankind, and all living things. 

These and other brief and unelaborated personal cosmogonies, even ifnot to be regarded as spurious imitations, certainly have not becomeestablished in the Chinese mind as the explanation of the way in whichthe universe came to be: in this sphere the P'an Ku legend reignssupreme; and, owing to its concrete, easily apprehensible nature, has probably done so ever since the time of its invention. 

Early Cosmogony Dualistic

The period before the appearance of the P'an Ku myth may be dividedinto two parts; that from some early unknown date up to about themiddle of the Confucian epoch, say 500 B. C. , and that from 500 B. C. ToA. D. 400. We know that during the latter period the minds of Chinesescholars were frequently occupied with speculations as to the originof the universe. Before 500 B. C. We have no documentary remainstelling us what the Chinese believed about the origin of things;but it is exceedingly unlikely that no theories or speculations atall concerning the origin of themselves and their surroundings wereformed by this intelligent people during the eighteen centuries ormore which preceded the date at which we find the views held by themput into written form. It is safe to assume that the dualism whichlater occupied their philosophical thoughts to so great an extentas almost to seem inseparable from them, and exercised so powerfulan influence throughout the course of their history, was not onlyformulating itself during that long period, but had gradually reachedan advanced stage. We may even go so far as to say that dualism, orits beginnings, existed in the very earliest times, for the belief inthe second self or ghost or double of the dead is in reality nothingelse. And we find it operating with apparently undiminished energyafter the Chinese mind had reached its maturity in the Sung dynasty. 

The Canon of Changes

The Bible of Chinese dualism is the _I ching_, the _Canon of Changes_(or _Permutations_). It is held in great veneration both on accountof its antiquity and also because of the "unfathomable wisdom whichis supposed to lie concealed under its mysterious symbols. " It isplaced first in the list of the classics, or Sacred Books, thoughit is not the oldest of them. When exactly the work itself on whichthe subsequent elaborations were founded was composed is not nowknown. Its origin is attributed to the legendary emperor Fu Hsi(2953-2838 B. C. ). It does not furnish a cosmogony proper, but merelya dualistic system as an explanation, or attempted explanation, or even perhaps orly a record, of the constant changes (in modernphilosophical language the "redistribution of matter and motion")going on everywhere. That explanation or record was used for purposesof divination. This dualistic system, by a simple addition, becamea monism, and at the same time furnished the Chinese with a cosmogony. 

The Five Elements

The Five Elements or Forces (_wu hsing_)--which, according tothe Chinese, are metal, air, fire, water, and wood--are firstmentioned in Chinese literature in a chapter of the classic _Bookof History_. [8] They play a very important part in Chinese thought:'elements' meaning generally not so much the actual substances as theforces essential to human, life. They have to be noticed in passing, because they were involved in the development of the cosmogonicalideas which took place in the eleventh and twelfth centuries A. D. 

Monism

As their imagination grew, it was natural that the Chinese shouldbegin to ask themselves what, if the _yang_ and the _yin_ bytheir permutations produced, or gave shape to, all things, was itthat produced the _yang_ and the _yin_. When we see traces of thisinquisitive tendency we find ourselves on the borderland of dualismwhere the transition is taking place into the realm of monism. Butthough there may have been a tendency toward monism in early times, itwas only in the Sung dynasty that the philosophers definitely placedbehind the _yang_ and the _yin_ a First Cause--the Grand Origin, Grand Extreme, Grand Terminus, or Ultimate Ground of Existence. [9]They gave to it the name _t'ai chi_, and represented it by a concretesign, the symbol of a circle. The complete scheme shows the evolutionof the Sixty-four Diagrams (_kua_) from the _t'ai chi_ through the_yang_ and the _yin_, the Four, Eight, Sixteen, and Thirty-twoDiagrams successively. This conception was the work of the Sungphilosopher Chou Tun-i (A. D. 1017-73), commonly known as Chou Tzu, and his disciple Chu Hsi (A. D. 1130-1200), known as Chu Tzu or ChuFu Tzu, the famous historian and Confucian commentator--two of thegreatest names in Chinese philosophy. It was at this time that thetide of constructive imagination in China, tinged though it alwayswas with classical Confucianism, rose to its greatest height. Thereis the philosopher's seeking for causes. Yet in this matter of theFirst Cause we detect, in the full flood of Confucianism, the potentinfluence of Taoist and Buddhist speculations. It has even been saidthat the Sung philosophy, which grew, not from the _I ching_ itself, but from the appendixes to it, is more Taoistic than Confucian. As itwas with the P'an Ku legend, so was it with this more philosophicalcosmogony. The more fertile Taoist and Buddhist imaginations led to thepreservation of what the Confucianists, distrusting the marvellous, would have allowed to die a natural death. It was, after all, themystical foreign elements which gave point to--we may rightly sayrounded off--the early dualism by converting it into monism, carryingphilosophical speculation from the Knowable to the Unknowable, andfurnishing the Chinese with their first scientific theory of theorigin, not of the changes going on in the universe (on which theyhad already formed their opinions), but of the universe itself. 

Chou Tzu's "T'ai Chi T'u"

Chou Tun-i, appropriately apotheosized as 'Prince in the Empire ofReason, ' completed and systematized the philosophical world-conceptionwhich had hitherto obtained in the Chinese mind. He did not ask hisfellow-countrymen to discard any part of what they had long held inhigh esteem: he raised the old theories from the sphere of science tothat of philosophy by unifying them and bringing them to a focus. Andhe made this unification intelligible to the Chinese mind by his famous_T'ai chi t'u_, or Diagram of the Great Origin (or Grand Terminus), showing that the Grand Original Cause, itself uncaused, produces the_yang_ and the _yin_, these the Five Elements, and so on, throughthe male and female norms (_tao_), to the production of all things. 

Chu Hsi's Monistic Philosophy

The writings of Chu Hsi, especially his treatise on _The ImmaterialPrinciple [li] and Primary Matter [ch'i]_, leave no doubt as to themonism of his philosophy. In this work occurs the passage: "In theuniverse there exists no primary matter devoid of the immaterialprinciple; and no immaterial principle apart from primary matter";and although the two are never separated "the immaterial principle[as Chou Tzu explains] is what is previous to form, while primarymatter is what is subsequent to form, " the idea being that the twoare different manifestations of the same mysterious force from whichall things proceed. 

It is unnecessary to follow this philosophy along all the differentbranches which grew out of it, for we are here concerned only withthe seed. We have observed how Chinese dualism became a monism, andhow while the monism was established the dualism was retained. It isthis mono-dualistic theory, combining the older and newer philosophy, which in China, then as now, constitutes the accepted explanation ofthe origin of things, of the universe itself and all that it contains. 

Lao Tzu's "Tao"

There are other cosmogonies in Chinese philosophy, but they need notdetain us long. Lao Tzu (sixth century B. C. ), in his _Tao-tê ching, The Canon of Reason and Virtue_ (at first entitled simply _Lao Tzu_), gave to the then existing scattered sporadic conceptions of theuniverse a literary form. His _tao_, or 'Way, ' is the originatorof Heaven and earth, it is "the mother of all things. " His Way, which was "before God, " is but a metaphorical expression for themanner in which things came at first into being out of the primalnothingness, and how the phenomena of nature continue to go on, "in stillness and quietness, without striving or crying. " Lao Tzu isthus so far monistic, but he is also mystical, transcendental, evenpantheistic. The way that can be walked is not the Eternal Way; thename that can be named is not the Eternal Name. The Unnameable is theoriginator of Heaven and earth; manifesting itself as the Nameable, it is "the mother of all things. " "In Eternal Non-Being I see theSpirituality of Things; in Eternal Being their limitation. Thoughdifferent under these two aspects, they are the same in origin;it is when development takes place that different names have to beused. It is while they are in the condition of sameness that themystery concerning them exists. This mystery is indeed the mysteryof mysteries. It is the door of all spirituality. "

This _tao_, indefinable and in its essence unknowable, is "thefountain-head of all beings, and the norm of all actions. But it isnot only the formative principle of the universe; it also seems to beprimordial matter: chaotic in its composition, born prior to Heavenand earth, noiseless, formless, standing alone in its solitude, andnot changing, universal in its activity, and unrelaxing, without beingexhausted, it is capable of becoming the mother of the universe. " Andthere we may leave it. There is no scheme of creation, properly socalled. The Unwalkable Way leads us to nothing further in the way ofa cosmogony. 

Confucius's Agnosticism

Confucius (551-479 B. C. ) did not throw any light on the problem oforigin. He did not speculate on the creation of things nor the endof them. He was not troubled to account for the origin of man, nordid he seek to know about his hereafter. He meddled neither withphysics nor metaphysics. There might, he thought, be something onthe other side of life, for he admitted the existence of spiritualbeings. They had an influence on the living, because they causedthem to clothe themselves in ceremonious dress and attend to thesacrificial ceremonies. But we should not trouble ourselves aboutthem, any more than about supernatural things, or physical prowess, or monstrosities. How can we serve spiritual beings while we do notknow how to serve men? We feel the existence of something invisibleand mysterious, but its nature and meaning are too deep for thehuman understanding to grasp. The safest, indeed the only reasonable, course is that of the agnostic--to leave alone the unknowable, whileacknowledging its existence and its mystery, and to try to understandknowable phenomena and guide our actions accordingly. 

Between the monism of Lao Tzu and the positivism of Confucius onthe one hand, and the landmark of the Taoistic transcendentalism ofChuang Tzu (fourth and third centuries B. C. ) on the other, we findseveral "guesses at the riddle of existence" which must be brieflynoted as links in the chain of Chinese speculative thought on thisimportant subject. 

Mo Tzu and Creation

In the philosophy of Mo Ti (fifth and fourth centuries B. C. ), generally known as Mo Tzu or Mu Tzu, the philosopher of humanism andutilitarianism, we find the idea of creation. It was, he says, Heaven(which was anthropomorphically regarded by him as a personal SupremeBeing) who "created the sun, moon, and innumerable stars. " His systemclosely resembles Christianity, but the great power of Confucianism asa weapon wielded against all opponents by its doughty defender Mencius(372-289 B. C. ) is shown by the complete suppression of the influenceof Mo Tzuism at his hands. He even went so far as to describe Mo Tzuand those who thought with him as "wild animals. "

Mencius and the First Cause

Mencius himself regarded Heaven as the First Cause, or Cause of Causes, but it was not the same personal Heaven as that of Mo Tzu. Nor doeshe hang any cosmogony upon it. His chief concern was to eulogize thedoctrines of the great Confucius, and like him he preferred to letthe origin of the universe look after itself. 

Lieh Tzu's Absolute

Lieh Tzu (said to have lived in the fifth century B. C. ), oneof the brightest stars in the Taoist constellation, consideredthis nameable world as having evolved from an unnameable absolutebeing. The evolution did not take place through the direction ofa personal will working out a plan of creation: "In the beginningthere was Chaos [_hun tun_]. It was a mingled potentiality of Form[_hsing_], Pneuma [_ch'i_], and Substance [_chih_]. A Great Change[_t'ai i_] took place in it, and there was a Great Starting [_t'aich'u_] which is the beginning of Form. The Great Starting evolved aGreat Beginning [_t'ai shih_], which is the inception of Pneuma. TheGreat Beginning was followed by the Great Blank [_t'ai su_], whichis the first formation of Substance. Substance, Pneuma, and Formbeing all evolved out of the primordial chaotic mass, this materialworld as it lies before us came into existence. " And that whichmade it possible for Chaos to evolve was the Solitary Indeterminate(_i tu_ or the _tao_), which is not created, but is able to createeverlastingly. And being both Solitary and Indeterminate it tells usnothing determinate about itself. 

Chuang Tzu's Super-tao

Chuang Chou (fourth and third centuries B. C. ), generally knownas Chuang Tzu, the most brilliant Taoist of all, maintained withLao Tzu that the universe started from the Nameless, but it was ifpossible a more absolute and transcendental Nameless than that ofLao Tzu. He dwells on the relativity of knowledge; as when asleep hedid not know that he was a man dreaming that he was a butterfly, sowhen awake he did not know that he was not a butterfly dreaming thathe was a man. [10] But "all is embraced in the obliterating unity ofthe _tao_, and the wise man, passing into the realm of the Infinite, finds rest therein. " And this _tao_, of which we hear so much inChinese philosophy, was before the Great Ultimate or Grand Terminus(_t'ai chi_), and "from it came the mysterious existence of God[_ti_]. It produced Heaven, it produced earth. "

Popular Cosmogony still Personal or Dualistic

These and other cosmogonies which the Chinese have devised, thoughit is necessary to note their existence in order to give a just ideaof their cosmological speculations, need not, as I said, detain uslong; and the reason why they need not do so is that, in the matterof cosmogony, the P'an Ku legend and the _yin-yang_ system with itsmonistic elaboration occupy virtually the whole field of the Chinesemental vision. It is these two--the popular and the scientific--thatwe mean when we speak of Chinese cosmogony. Though here and there astern sectarian might deny that the universe originated in one or theother of these two ways, still, the general rule holds good. And Ihave dealt with them in this order because, though the P'an Ku legendbelongs to the fourth century A. D. , the _I ching_ dualism was not, rightly speaking, a cosmogony until Chou Tun-i made it one by thepublication of his _T'ai chi t'u_ in the eleventh century A. D. Overthe unscientific and the scientific minds of the Chinese these twoare paramount. 

Applying the general principles stated in the preceding chapter, we find the same cause which operated to restrict the growth ofmythology in general in China operated also in like manner in thisparticular branch of it. With one exception Chinese cosmogony isnon-mythological. The careful and studiously accurate historians(whose work aimed at being _ex veritate_, 'made of truth'), thesober literature, the vast influence of agnostic, matter-of-factConfucianism, supported by the heavy Mencian artillery, areindisputable indications of a constructive imagination which grew tooquickly and became too rapidly scientific to admit of much soaringinto the realms of fantasy. Unaroused by any strong stimulus intheir ponderings over the riddle of the universe, the sober, ploddingscientists and the calm, truth-loving philosophers gained a peacefulvictory over the mythologists. 

CHAPTER IV

The Gods of China

The Birth of the Soul

The dualism noted in the last chapter is well illustrated by theChinese pantheon. Whether as the result of the co-operation of the_yin_ and the _yang_ or of the final dissolution of P'an Ku, humanbeings came into existence. To the primitive mind the body and itsshadow, an object and its reflection in water, real life and dreamlife, sensibility and insensibility (as in fainting, etc. ), suggest theidea of another life parallel with this life and of the doings of the'other self' in it. This 'other self, ' this spirit, which leaves thebody for longer or shorter intervals in dreams, swoons, death, mayreturn or be brought back, and the body revive. Spirits which do notreturn or are not brought back may cause mischief, either alone, or byentry into another human or animal body or even an inanimate object, and should therefore be propitiated. Hence worship and deification. 

The Populous Otherworld

The Chinese pantheon has gradually become so multitudinous that thereis scarcely a being or thing which is not, or has not been at some timeor other, propitiated or worshipped. As there are good and evil peoplein this world, so there are gods and demons in the Otherworld: we finda polytheism limited only by a polydemonism. The dualistic hierarchy isalmost all-embracing. To get a clear idea of this populous Otherworld, of the supernal and infernal hosts and their organizations, it needsbut to imagine the social structure in its main features as it existedthroughout the greater part of Chinese history, and to make certainadditions. The social structure consisted of the ruler, his court, his civil, military, and ecclesiastical officials, and his subjects(classed as Scholars--officials and gentry--Agriculturists, Artisans, and Merchants, in that order). 

Worship of Shang Ti

When these died, their other selves continued to exist and to holdthe same rank in the spirit world as they did in this one. The _ti_, emperor, became the _Shang Ti_, Emperor on High, who dwelt in _T'ien_, Heaven (originally the great dome). [11] And Shang Ti, the Emperoron High, was worshipped by _ti_, the emperor here below, in order topacify or please him--to ensure a continuance of his benevolence onhis behalf in the world of spirits. Confusion of ideas and paucityof primitive language lead to personification and worship of a thingor being in which a spirit has taken up its abode in place of or inaddition to worship of the spirit itself. Thus Heaven (T'ien) itselfcame to be personified and worshipped in addition to Shang Ti, theEmperor who had gone to Heaven, and who was considered as the chiefruler in the spiritual world. The worship of Shang Ti was in existencebefore that of T'ien was introduced. Shang Ti was worshipped by theemperor and his family as their ancestor, or the head of the hierarchyof their ancestors. The people could not worship Shang Ti, for to do sowould imply a familiarity or a claim of relationship punishable withdeath. The emperor worshipped his ancestors, the officials theirs, the people theirs. But, in the same way and sense that the peopleworshipped the emperor on earth, as the 'father' of the nation, namely, by adoration and obeisance, so also could they in this wayand this sense worship Shang Ti. An Englishman may take off his hatas the king passes in the street to his coronation without taking anypart in the official service in Westminster Abbey. So the 'worship'of Shang Ti by the people was not done officially or with any specialceremonial or on fixed State occasions, as in the case of the worshipof Shang Ti by the emperor. This, subject to a qualification to bementioned later, is really all that is meant (or should be meant)when it is said that the Chinese worship Shang Ti. 

As regards sacrifices to Shang Ti, these could be offered officiallyonly by the emperor, as High Priest on earth, who was attended orassisted in the ceremonies by members of his own family or clan orthe proper State officials (often, even in comparatively modern times, members of the imperial family or clan). In these official sacrifices, which formed part of the State worship, the people could not take part;nor did they at first offer sacrifices to Shang Ti in their own homesor elsewhere. In what way and to what extent they did so later willbe shown presently. 

Worship of T'ien

Owing to T'ien, Heaven, the abode of the spirits, becoming personified, it came to be worshipped not only by the emperor, but by the peoplealso. But there was a difference between these two worships, becausethe emperor performed his worship of Heaven officially at the greataltar of the Temple of Heaven at Peking (in early times at the altarin the suburb of the capital), whereas the people (continuing alwaysto worship their ancestors) worshipped Heaven, when they did soat all--the custom being observed by some and not by others, justas in Western countries some people go to church, while others stayaway--usually at the time of the New Year, in a simple, unceremoniousway, by lighting some incense-sticks and waving them toward the skyin the courtyards of their own houses or in the street just outsidetheir doors. 

Confusion of Shang Ti and T'ien

The qualification necessary to the above description is that, astime went on and especially since the Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1280), much confusion arose regarding Shang Ti and T'ien, and thus it cameabout that the terms became mixed and their definitions obscure. Thisconfusion of ideas has prevailed down to the present time. One resultof this is that the people may sometimes state, when they wave theirincense-sticks or light their candles, that their humble sacrificeis made to Shang Ti, whom in reality they have no right either toworship or to offer sacrifice to, but whom they may unofficially payrespect and make obeisance to, as they might and did to the emperorbehind the high boards on the roadsides which shielded him from theirview as he was borne along in his elaborate procession on the fewoccasions when he came forth from the imperial city. 

Thus we find that, while only the emperor could worship and sacrificeto Shang Ti, and only he could officially worship and sacrifice toT'ien, the people who early personified and worshipped T'ien, asalready shown, came, owing to confusion of the meanings of Shang Tiand T'ien, unofficially to 'worship' both, but only in the sense and tothe extent indicated, and to offer 'sacrifices' to both, also only inthe sense and to the extent indicated. But for these qualifications, the statement that the Chinese worship and sacrifice to Shang Ti andT'ien would be apt to convey an incorrect idea. 

From this it will be apparent that Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler on High, and T'ien, Heaven (later personified), do not mean 'God' in the sensethat the word is used in the Christian religion. To state that theydo, as so many writers on China have done, without pointing out theessential differences, is misleading. That Chinese religion was or is"a monotheistic worship of God" is further disproved by the fact thatShang Ti and T'ien do not appear in the list of the popular pantheon atall, though all the other gods are there represented. Neither Shang Tinor T'ien mean the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost of the New Testament. Did they mean this, theefforts of the Christian missionaries to convert the Chinese would belargely superfluous. The Christian religion, even the Holy Trinity, is a monotheism. That the Chinese religion (even though a summaryof extracts from the majority of foreign books on China might pointto its being so) is not a monotheism, but a polytheism or even apantheism (as long as that term is taken in the sense of universaldeification and not in that of one spiritual being immanent in allthings), the rest of this chapter will abundantly prove. 

There have been three periods in which gods have been created inunusually large numbers: that of the mythical emperor Hsien Yüan(2698-2598 B. C. ), that of Chiang Tzu-ya (in the twelfth century B. C. ), and that of the first emperor of the Ming dynasty (in the fourteenthcentury A. D. ). 

The Otherworld Similar to this World

The similarity of the Otherworld to this world above alluded to iswell shown by Du Bose in his _Dragon, Image, and, Demon_, from whichI quote the following passages:

"The world of spirits is an exact counterpart of the Chinese Empire, or, as has been remarked, it is 'China ploughed under'; this is theworld of light; put out the lights and you have Tartarus. China haseighteen [now twenty-two] provinces, so has Hades; each province haseight or nine prefects, or departments; so each province in Hadeshas eight or nine departments; every prefect or department averagesten counties, so every department in Hades has ten counties. InSoochow the Governor, the provincial Treasurer, the Criminal Judge, the Intendant of Circuit, the Prefect or Departmental Governor, andthe three District Magistrates or County Governors each have templeswith their apotheoses in the other world. Not only these, but every_yamên_ secretary, runner, executioner, policeman, and constablehas his counterpart in the land of darkness. The market-towns havealso mandarins of lesser rank in charge, besides a host of revenuecollectors, the bureau of government works and other departments, with several hundred thousand officials, who all rank as gods beyondthe grave. These deities are civilians; the military having a similargradation for the armies of Hades, whose captains are gods, and whosebattalions are devils. 

"The framers of this wonderful scheme for the spirits of the dead, having no higher standard, transferred to the authorities ofthat world the etiquette, tastes, and venality of their correlateofficials in the Chinese Government, thus making it necessary touse similar means to appease the one which are found necessary tomove the other. All the State gods have their assistants, attendants, door-keepers, runners, horses, horsemen, detectives, and executioners, corresponding in every particular to those of Chinese officials ofthe same rank. " (Pp. 358-359. )

This likeness explains also why the hierarchy of beings in theOtherworld concerns itself not only with the affairs of the Otherworld, but with those of this world as well. So faithful is the likenessthat we find the gods (the term is used in this chapter to includegoddesses, who are, however, relatively few) subjected to many ofthe rules and conditions existing on this earth. Not only do they, asalready shown, differ in rank, but they hold _levées_ and audiencesand may be promoted for distinguished services, just as the Chineseofficials are. They "may rise from an humble position to one near thePearly Emperor, who gives them the reward of merit for ruling well theaffairs of men. The correlative deities of the mandarins are only ofequal rank, yet the fact that they have been apotheosized makes themtheir superiors and fit objects of worship. Chinese mandarins rotate inoffice, generally every three years, and then there is a correspondingchange in Hades. The image in the temple remains the same, but thespirit which dwells in the clay tabernacle changes, so the idol hasa different name, birthday, and tenant. The priests are informed bythe Great Wizard of the Dragon Tiger Mountain, but how can the peopleknow gods which are not the same to-day as yesterday?" (Pp. 360-361. )

The gods also indulge in amusements, marry, sin, are punished, die, are resurrected, or die and are transformed, or die finally. [12]

The Three Religions

We have in China the universal worship of ancestors, which constitutes(or did until A. D. 1912) the State religion, usually known asConfucianism, and in addition we have the gods of the specificreligions (which also originally took their rise in ancestor-worship), namely, Buddhism and Taoism. (Other religions, though tolerated, are not recognized as Chinese religions. ) It is with a brief accountof this great hierarchy and its mythology that we will now concernourselves. 

Besides the ordinary ancestor-worship (as distinct from the Stateworship) the people took to Buddhism and Taoism, which becamethe popular religions, and the _literati_ also honoured the godsof these two sects. Buddhist deities gradually became installed inTaoist temples, and the Taoist immortals were given seats beside theBuddhas in their sanctuaries. Every one patronized the god who seemedto him the most popular and the most lucrative. There even came tobe united in the same temple and worshipped at the same altar thethree religious founders or figure-heads, Confucius, Buddha, and LaoTzu. The three religions were even regarded as forming one whole, or at least, though different, as having one and the same object:_san êrh i yeh_, or _han san wei i_, "the three are one, " or "thethree unite to form one" (a quotation from the phrase _T'ai chi hansan wei i_ of Fang Yü-lu: "When they reach the extreme the three areseen to be one"). In the popular pictorial representations of thepantheon this impartiality is clearly shown. 

The Super-triad

The toleration, fraternity, or co-mixture of the threereligions--ancestor-worship or Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Taoism--explains the compound nature of the triune head ofthe Chinese pantheon. The numerous deities of Buddhism and Taoismculminate each in a triad of gods (the Three Precious Ones and theThree Pure Ones respectively), but the three religions jointly havealso a triad compounded of one representative member of each. Thisgeneral or super-triad is, of course, composed of Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Buddha. This is the officially decreed order, though it is variedoccasionally by Buddha being placed in the centre (the place of honour)as an act of ceremonial deference shown to a 'stranger' or 'guest'from another country. 

Worship of the Living

Before proceeding to consider the gods of China in detail, it isnecessary to note that ancestor-worship, which, as before stated, is worship of the ghosts of deceased persons, who are usually butnot invariably relatives of the worshipper, has at times a sort ofpreliminary stage in this world consisting of the worship of livingbeings. Emperors, viceroys, popular officials, or people beloved fortheir good deeds have had altars, temples, and images erected to them, where they are worshipped in the same way as those who have already"shuffled off this mortal coil. " The most usual cases are perhaps thoseof the worship of living emperors and those in which some high officialwho has gained the gratitude of the people is transferred to anotherpost. The explanation is simple. The second self which exists afterdeath is identical with the second self inhabiting the body duringlife. Therefore it may be propitiated or gratified by sacrificesof food, drink, etc. , or theatricals performed in its honour, andcontinue its protection and good offices even though now far away. 

Confucianism

Confucianism (_Ju Chiao_) is said to be the religion of the learned, and the learned were the officials and the _literati_ or letteredclass, which includes scholars waiting for posts, those who have failedto get posts (or, though qualified, prefer to live in retirement), andthose who have retired from posts. Of this 'religion' it has been said:

"The name embraces education, letters, ethics, and politicalphilosophy. Its head was not a religious man, practised few religiousrites, and taught nothing about religion. In its usual acceptation theterm Confucianist means 'a gentleman and a scholar'; he may worshiponly once a year, yet he belongs to the Church. Unlike its two sisters, it has no priesthood, and fundamentally is not a religion at all;yet with the many rites grafted on the original tree it becomes areligion, and the one most difficult to deal with. Considered as aChurch, the classics are its scriptures, the schools its churches, theteachers its priests, ethics its theology, and the written character, so sacred, its symbol. " [13]

Confucius not a God

It should be noted that Confucius himself is not a god, though hehas been and is worshipped (66, 000 animals used to be offered to himevery year; probably the number is about the same now). Suggestionshave been made to make him the God of China and Confucianism thereligion of China, so that he and his religion would hold the samerelative positions that Christ and Christianity do in the West. Iwas present at the lengthy debate which took place on this subjectin the Chinese Parliament in February 1917, but in spite of manylong, learned, and eloquent speeches, chiefly by scholars of theold school, the motion was not carried. Nevertheless, the worshipaccorded to Confucius was and is (except by 'new' or 'young' China)of so extreme a nature that he may almost be described as the greatunapotheosized god of China. [14] Some of his portraits even ascribe tohim superhuman attributes. But in spite of all this the fact remainsthat Confucius has not been appointed a god and holds no _exequatur_entitling him to that rank. 

If we inquire into the reason of this we find that, astonishingthough it may seem, Confucius is classed by the Chinese not as a god(_shên_), but as a demon (_kuei_). A short historical statement willmake the matter clear. 

In the classical _Li chi, Book of Ceremonial_, we find the categoricalassignment of the worship of certain objects to certain subjectivebeings: the emperor worshipped Heaven and earth, the feudal princes themountains and rivers, the officials the hearth, and the _literati_their ancestors. Heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and hearthwere called _shên_ (gods), and ancestors _kuei_ (demons). Thisdistinction is due to Heaven being regarded as the god and thepeople as demons--the upper is the god, the lower the evil spirit ordemon. Though _kuei_ were usually bad, the term in Chinese includesboth good and evil spirits. In ancient times those who had by theirmeritorious virtue while in the world averted calamities from thepeople were posthumously worshipped and called gods, but those who wereworshipped by their descendants only were called spirits or demons. 

In the worship of Confucius by emperors of various dynasties (detailsof which need not be given here) the highest titles conferred on himwere _Hsien Shêng_, 'Former or Ancestral Saint, ' and even _Win HsüanWang_, 'Accomplished and Illustrious Prince, ' and others containinglike epithets. When for his image or idol there was (in the eleventhyear--A. D. 1307--of the reign-period Ta Tê of the Emperor Ch'êngTsung of the Yüan dynasty) substituted the tablet now seen in theConfucian temples, these were the inscriptions engraved on it. In theinscriptions authoritatively placed on the tablets the word _shên_does not occur; in those cases where it does occur it has beenplaced there (as by the Taoists) illegally and without authorityby too ardent devotees. Confucius may not be called a _shên_, sincethere is no record showing that the great ethical teacher was everapotheosized, or that any order was given that the character _shên_was to be applied to him. 

The God of Literature

In addition to the ancestors of whose worship it really consists, Confucianism has in its pantheon the specialized gods worshipped bythe _literati_. Naturally the chief of these is Wên Ch'ang, the God ofLiterature. The account of him (which varies in several particularsin different Chinese works) relates that he was a man of the nameof Chang Ya, who was born during the T'ang dynasty in the kingdom ofYüeh (modern Chêkiang), and went to live at Tzu T'ung in Ssuch'uan, where his intelligence raised him to the position of President of theBoard of Ceremonies. Another account refers to him as Chang Ya Tzu, the Soul or Spirit of Tzu T'ung, and states that he held office in theChin dynasty (A. D. 265-316), and was killed in a fight. Another againstates that under the Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1280), in the third year(A. D. 1000) of the reign-period Hsien P'ing of the Emperor Chên Tsung, he repressed the revolt of Wang Chün at Ch'êng Tu in Ssuch'uan. GeneralLei Yu-chung caused to be shot into the besieged town arrows to whichnotices were attached inviting the inhabitants to surrender. Suddenlya man mounted a ladder, and pointing to the rebels cried in a loudvoice: "The Spirit of Tzu T'ung has sent me to inform you that thetown will fall into the hands of the enemy on the twentieth day ofthe ninth moon, and not a single person will escape death. " Attemptsto strike down this prophet of evil were in vain, for he had alreadydisappeared. The town was captured on the day indicated. The general, as a reward, caused the temple of Tzu T'ung's Spirit to be repaired, and sacrifices offered to it. 

The object of worship nowadays in the temples dedicated to Wên Ch'angis Tzu T'ung Ti Chün, the God of Tzu T'ung. The convenient elasticityof dualism enabled Chang to have as many as seventeen reincarnations, which ranged over a period of some three thousand years. 

Various emperors at various times bestowed upon Wên Ch'ang honorifictitles, until ultimately, in the Yüan, or Mongol, dynasty, in the reignYen Yu, in A. D. 1314, the title was conferred on him of Supporter ofthe Yüan Dynasty, Diffuser of Renovating Influences, Ssu-lu of WênCh'ang, God and Lord. He was thus apotheosized, and took his placeamong the gods of China. By steps few or many a man in China hasoften become a god. 

Wên Ch'ang and the Great Bear

Thus we have the God of Literature, Wên Ch'ang Ti Chün, duly installedin the Chinese pantheon, and sacrifices were offered to him in theschools. 

But scholars, especially those about to enter for the publiccompetitive examinations, worshipped as the God of Literature, or ashis palace or abode (Wên Ch'ang), the star K'uei in the Great Bear, or Dipper, or Bushel--the latter name derived from its resemblance inshape to the measure used by the Chinese and called _tou_. The termK'uei was more generally applied to the four stars forming the bodyor square part of the Dipper, the three forming the tail or handlebeing called Shao or Piao. How all this came about is another story. 

A scholar, as famous for his literary skill as his facial deformities, had been admitted as first academician at the metropolitanexaminations. It was the custom that the Emperor should give withhis own hand a rose of gold to the fortunate candidate. This scholar, whose name was Chung K'uei, presented himself according to custom toreceive the reward which by right was due to him. At the sight ofhis repulsive face the Emperor refused the golden rose. In despairthe miserable rejected one went and threw himself into the sea. Atthe moment when he was being choked by the waters a mysterious fishor monster called _ao_ raised him on its back and brought him to thesurface. K'uei ascended to Heaven and became arbiter of the destiniesof men of letters. His abode was said to be the star K'uei, a namegiven by the Chinese to the sixteen stars of the constellation or'mansion' of Andromeda and Pisces. The scholars quite soon beganto worship K'uei as the God of Literature, and to represent it on acolumn in the temples. Then sacrifices were offered to it. This staror constellation was regarded as the palace of the god. The legendgave rise to an expression frequently used in Chinese of one whocomes out first in an examination, namely, _tu chan ao t'ou_, "tostand alone on the sea-monster's head. " It is especially to be notedthat though the two K'ueis have the same sound they are representedby different characters, and that the two constellations are not thesame, but are situated in widely different parts of the heavens. 

How then did it come about that scholars worshipped the K'uei inthe Great Bear as the abode of the God of Literature? (It may beremarked in passing that a literary people could not have chosena more appropriate palace for this god, since the Great Bear, the 'Chariot of Heaven, ' is regarded as the centre and governorof the whole universe. ) The worship, we saw, was at first that ofthe star K'uei, the apotheosized 'homely, ' successful, but rejectedcandidate. As time went on, there was a general demand for a sensible, concrete representation of this star-god: a simple character did notsatisfy the popular taste. But it was no easy matter to comply with thedemand. Eventually, guided doubtless by the community of pronunciation, they substituted for the star or group of stars K'uei (1), venerated in ancient times, a new star or group of stars K'uei (2), forming the square part of the Bushel, Dipper, or Great Bear. But forthis again no bodily image could be found, so the form of the writtencharacter itself was taken, and so drawn as to represent a _kuei_(3) (disembodied spirit, or ghost) with its foot raised, and bearingaloft a _tou_ (4) (bushel-measure). The adoration was thus misplaced, for the constellation K'uei (2) was mistaken for K'uei (1), the properobject of worship. It was due to this confusion by the scholars thatthe Northern Bushel came to be worshipped as the God of Literature. 

Wên Ch'ang and Tzu T'ung

This worship had nothing whatever to do with the Spirit of Tzu T'ung, but the Taoists have connected Chang Ya with the constellation inanother way by saying that Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler, entrusted ChangYa's son with the management of the palace of Wên Ch'ang. And scholarsgradually acquired the habit of saying that they owed their successto the Spirit of Tzu T'ung, which they falsely represented as being anincarnation of the star Wên Ch'ang. This is how Chang Ya came to havethe honorific title of Wên Ch'ang, but, as a Chinese author pointsout, Chang belonged properly to Ssuch'uan, and his worship shouldbe confined to that province. The _literati_ there venerated him astheir master, and as a mark of affection and gratitude built a templeto him; but in doing so they had no intention of making him the God ofLiterature. "There being no real connexion between Chang Ya and K'uei, the worship should be stopped. " The device of combining the personalityof the patron of literature enthroned among the stars with that of thedeified mortal canonized as the Spirit of Tzu T'ung was essentially aTaoist trick. "The thaumaturgic reputation assigned to the Spirit ofChang Ya Tzu was confined for centuries to the valleys of Ssuch'uan, until at some period antecedent to the reign Yen Yu, in A. D. 1314, a combination was arranged between the functions of the local godand those of the stellar patron of literature. Imperial sanctionwas obtained for this stroke of priestly cunning; and notwithstandingprotests continually repeated by orthodox sticklers for accuracy in thereligious canon, the composite deity has maintained his claims intact, and an inseparable connexion between the God of Literature created byimperial patent and the spirit lodged among the stars of Ursa Major isfully recognized in the State ceremonial of the present day. " A templededicated to this divinity by the State exists in every city of China, besides others erected as private benefactions or speculations. 

Wherever Wên Ch'ang is worshipped there will also be found a separaterepresentation of K'uei Hsing, showing that while the official deityhas been allowed to 'borrow glory' from the popular god, and evento assume his personality, the independent existence of the stellarspirit is nevertheless sedulously maintained. The place of the latterin the heavens above is invariably symbolized by the lodgment of hisidol in an upper storey or tower, known as the K'uei Hsing Ko or K'ueiHsing Lou. Here students worship the patron of their profession withincense and prayers. Thus the ancient stellar divinity still largelymonopolizes the popular idea of a guardian of literature and study, notwithstanding that the deified recluse of Tzu T'ung has been added inthis capacity to the State pantheon for more than five hundred years. 

Heaven-deaf and Earth-dumb

The popular representations of Wên Ch'ang depict the god himself andfour other figures. The central and largest is the demure portrait ofthe god, clothed in blue and holding a sceptre in his left hand. Behindhim stand two youthful attendants. They are the servant and groomwho always accompany him on his journeys (on which he rides a whitehorse). Their names are respectively Hsüan T'ung-tzu and Ti-mu, 'SombreYouth' and 'Earth-mother'; more commonly they are called T'ien-lung, 'Deaf Celestial, ' and Ti-ya, 'Mute Terrestrial, ' or 'Deaf as Heaven'and 'Mute as Earth. ' Thus they cannot divulge the secrets of theirmaster's administration as he distributes intellectual gifts, literaryskill, etc. Their cosmogonical connexion has already been referredto in a previous chapter. 

Image of K'uei Hsing

In front of Wên Ch'ang, on his left, stands K'uei Hsing. He isrepresented as of diminutive stature, with the visage of a demon, holding a writing-brush in his right hand and a _tou_ in his left, one of his legs kicking up behind--the figure being obviously intendedas an impersonation of the character _k'uei_ (2). [16] He is regardedas the distributor of literary degrees, and was invoked above allin order to obtain success at the competitive examinations. Hisimages and temples are found in all towns. In the temples dedicatedto Wên Ch'ang there are always two secondary altars, one of which isconsecrated to his worship. 

Mr Redcoat

The other is dedicated to Chu I, 'Mr Redcoat. ' He and K'uei Hsingare represented as the two inseparable companions of the God ofLiterature. The legend related of Chu I is as follows:

During the T'ang dynasty, in the reign-period Chien Chung (A. D. 780-4)of the Emperor Tê Tsung, the Princess T'ai Yin noticed that Lu Ch'i, a native of Hua Chou, had the bones of an Immortal, and wished tomarry him. 

Ma P'o, her neighbour, introduced him one day into the CrystalPalace for an interview with his future wife. The Princess gave himthe choice of three careers: to live in the Dragon Prince's Palace, with the guarantee of immortal life, to enjoy immortality among thepeople on the earth, or to have the honour of becoming a minister ofthe Empire. Lu Ch'i first answered that he would like to live in theCrystal Palace. The young lady, overjoyed, said to him: "I am PrincessT'ai Yin. I will at once inform Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler. " A momentlater the arrival of a celestial messenger was announced. Two officersbearing flags preceded him and conducted him to the foot of the flightof steps. He then presented himself as Chu I, the envoy of Shang Ti. 

Addressing himself to Lu Ch'i, he asked: "Do you wish to live in theCrystal Palace?" The latter did not reply. T'ai Yin urged him to givehis answer, but he persisted in keeping silent. The Princess in despairretired to her apartment, and brought out five pieces of preciouscloth, which she presented to the divine envoy, begging him to havepatience a little longer and wait for the answer. After some time, Chu I repeated his question. Then Lu Ch'i in a firm voice answered:"I have consecrated my life to the hard labour of study, and wish toattain to the dignity of minister on this earth. "

T'ai Yin ordered Ma P'o to conduct Lu Ch'i from the palace. From thatday his face became transformed: he acquired the lips of a dragon, the head of a panther, the green face of an Immortal, etc. He tookhis degree, and was promoted to be Director of the Censorate. TheEmperor, appreciating the good sense shown in his advice, appointedhim a minister of the Empire. 

From this legend it would seem that Chu I is the purveyor of officialposts; however, in practice, he is more generally regarded as theprotector of weak candidates, as the God of Good Luck for those whopresent themselves at the examinations with a somewhat light equipmentof literary knowledge. The special legend relating to this _rôle_is known everywhere in China. It is as follows:

Mr Redcoat nods his Head

An examiner, engaged in correcting the essays of the candidates, after a superficial scrutiny of one of the essays, put it on oneside as manifestly inferior, being quite determined not to pass thecandidate who had composed it. The essay, moved by some mysteriouspower, was replaced in front of his eyes, as if to invite him toexamine it more attentively. At the same time a reverend old man, clothed in a red garment, suddenly appeared before him, and by a nodof his head gave him to understand that he should pass the essay. Theexaminer, surprised at the novelty of the incident, and fortified bythe approval of his supernatural visitor, admitted the author of theessay to the literary degree. 

Chu I, like K'uei Hsing, is invoked by the _literati_ as a powerfulprotector and aid to success. When anyone with but a poor chance ofpassing presents himself at an examination, his friends encouragehim by the popular saying: "Who knows but that Mr Redcoat will nodhis head?"

Mr Golden Cuirass

Chu I is sometimes accompanied by another personage, named Chin Chia, 'Mr Golden Cuirass. ' Like K'uei Hsing and Chu I he has charge of theinterests of scholars, but differs from them in that he holds a flag, which he has only to wave in front of a house for the family inhabitingit to be assured that among their descendants will be some who willwin literary honours and be promoted to high offices under the State. 

Though Chin Chia is the protector of scholars, he is also theredoubtable avenger of their evil actions: his flag is saluted as agood omen, but his sword is the terror of the wicked. 

The God of War

Still another patron deity of literature is the God of War. "How, "it may be asked, "can so peaceful a people as the Chinese put sopeaceful an occupation as literature under the patronage of so warlikea deity as the God of War?" But that question betrays ignorance of thecharacter of the Chinese Kuan Ti. He is not a cruel tyrant delightingin battle and the slaying of enemies: he is the god who can _avertwar and protect the people from its horrors_. 

A youth, whose name was originally Chang-shêng, afterward changed toShou-chang, and then to Yün-chang, who was born near Chieh Liang, in Ho Tung (now the town of Chieh Chou in Shansi), and was of anintractable nature, having exasperated his parents, was shut up in aroom from which he escaped by breaking through the window. In one ofthe neighbouring houses he heard a young lady and an old man weepingand lamenting. Running to the foot of the wall of the compound, heinquired the reason of their grief. The old man replied that thoughhis daughter was already engaged, the uncle of the local official, smitten by her beauty, wished to make her his concubine. His petitionsto the official had only been rejected with curses. 

Beside himself with rage, the youth seized a sword and went and killedboth the official and his uncle. He escaped through the T'ung Kuan, thepass to Shensi. Having with difficulty avoided capture by the barrierofficials, he knelt down at the side of a brook to wash his face;when lo! his appearance was completely transformed. His complexionhad become reddish-grey, and he was absolutely unrecognizable. Hethen presented himself with assurance before the officers, who askedhim his name. "My name is Kuan, " he replied. It was by that name thathe was thereafter known. 

The Meat-seller's Challenge

One day he arrived at Chu-chou, a dependent sub-prefecture of Peking, in Chihli. There Chang Fei, a butcher, who had been selling his meatall the morning, at noon lowered what remained into a well, placedover the mouth of the well a stone weighing twenty-five pounds, andsaid with a sneer: "If anyone can lift that stone and take my meat, I will make him a present of it!" Kuan Yü, going up to the edge ofthe well, lifted the stone with the same ease as he would a tile, took the meat, and made off. Chang Fei pursued him, and eventuallythe two came to blows, but no one dared to separate them. Just thenLiu Pei, a hawker of straw shoes, arrived, interposed, and put a stopto the fight. The community of ideas which they found they possessedsoon gave rise to a firm friendship between the three men. 

The Oath in the Peach-orchard

Another account represents Liu Pei and Chang Fei as having entereda village inn to drink wine, when a man of gigantic stature pushinga wheelbarrow stopped at the door to rest. As he seated himself, he hailed the waiter, saying: "Bring me some wine quickly, becauseI have to hasten to reach the town to enlist in the army. "

Liu Pei looked at this man, nine feet in height, with a beard two feetlong. His face was the colour of the fruit of the jujube-tree, andhis lips carmine. Eyebrows like sleeping silkworms shaded his phoenixeyes, which were a scarlet red. Terrible indeed was his bearing. 

"What is your name?" asked Liu Pei. "My family name is Kuan, my ownname is Yü, my surname Yün Chang, " he replied. "I am from the Ho Tungcountry. For the last five or six years I have been wandering aboutthe world as a fugitive, to escape from my pursuers, because I killeda powerful man of my country who was oppressing the poor people. Ihear that they are collecting a body of troops to crush the brigands, and I should like to join the expedition. "

Chang Fêi, also named Chang I Tê, is described as eight feet inheight, with round shining eyes in a panther's head, and a pointedchin bristling with a tiger's beard. His voice resembled the rumblingof thunder. His ardour was like that of a fiery steed. He was a nativeof Cho Chün, where he possessed some fertile farms, and was a butcherand wine-merchant. 

Liu Pei, surnamed Hsüan Tê, otherwise Hsien Chu, was the third memberof the group. 

The three men went to Chang Fei's farm, and on the morrow met togetherin his peach-orchard, and sealed their friendship with an oath. Havingprocured a black ox and a white horse, with the various accessoriesto a sacrifice, they immolated the victims, burnt the incense offriendship, and after twice prostrating themselves took this oath:

"We three, Liu Pei, Kuan Yû, and Chang Fei, already united by mutualfriendship, although belonging to different clans, now bind ourselvesby the union of our hearts, and join our forces in order to help eachother in times of danger. 

"We wish to pay to the State our debt of loyal citizens and give peaceto our black-haired compatriots. We do not inquire if we were bornin the same year, the same month, or on the same day, but we desireonly that the same year, the same month, and the same day may find usunited in death. May Heaven our King and Earth our Queen see clearlyour hearts! If any one of us violate justice or forget benefits, may Heaven and Man unite to punish him!"

The oath having been formally taken, Liu Pei was saluted as elderbrother, Kuan Yü as the second, and Chang Fei as the youngest. Theirsacrifice to Heaven and earth ended, they killed an ox and serveda feast, to which the soldiers of the district were invited to thenumber of three hundred or more. They all drank copiously until theywere intoxicated. Liu Pei enrolled the peasants; Chang Fei procuredfor them horses and arms; and then they set out to make war on theYellow Turbans (Huang Chin Tsei). Kuan Yü proved himself worthyof the affection which Liu Pei showed him; brave and generous, henever turned aside from danger. His fidelity was shown especiallyon one occasion when, having been taken prisoner by Ts'ao Ts'ao, together with two of Liu Pei's wives, and having been allotted a commonsleeping-apartment with his fellow-captives, he preserved the ladies'reputation and his own trustworthiness by standing all night at thedoor of the room with a lighted lantern in his hand. 

Into details of the various exploits of the three Brothers of thePeach-orchard we need not enter here. They are written in full in thebook of the _Story of the Three Kingdoms_, a romance in which everyChinese who can read takes keen delight. Kuan Yü remained faithful tohis oath, even though tempted with a marquisate by the great Ts'aoTs'ao, but he was at length captured by Sun Ch'üan and put to death(A. D. 219). Long celebrated as the most renowned of China's militaryheroes, he was ennobled in A. D. 1120 as Faithful and Loyal Duke. Eightyears later he had conferred on him by letters patent the still moreglorious title of Magnificent Prince and Pacificator. The Emperor Wên(A. D. 1330-3) of the Yüan dynasty added the appellation Warrior Princeand Civilizer, and, finally, the Emperor Wan Li of the Ming dynasty, in 1594, conferred on him the title of Faithful and Loyal Great _Ti_, Supporter of Heaven and Protector of the Kingdom. He thus became a god, a _ti_, and has ever since received worship as Kuan Ti or Wu Ti, theGod of War. Temples (1600 State temples and thousands of smaller ones)erected in his honour are to be seen in all parts of the country. Heis one of the most popular gods of China. During the last half-centuryof the Manchu Period his fame greatly increased. In 1856 he is saidto have appeared in the heavens and successfully turned the tide ofbattle in favour of the Imperialists. His portrait hangs in every tent, but his worship is not confined to the officials and the army, formany trades and professions have elected him as a patron saint. Thesword of the public executioner used to be kept within the precinctsof his temple, and after an execution the presiding magistrate wouldstop there to worship for fear the ghost of the criminal might followhim home. He knew that the spirit would not dare to enter Kuan Ti'spresence. 

Thus the Chinese have no fewer than three gods of literature--perhapsnot too many for so literary a people. A fourth, a Taoist god, willbe mentioned later. 

Buddhism in China

Buddhism and its mythology have formed an important part of Chinesethought for nearly two thousand years. The religion was broughtto China about A. D. 65, ready-made in its Mahayanistic form, inconsequence of a dream of the Emperor Ming Ti (A. D. 58-76) of theEastern Han dynasty in or about the year 63; though some knowledgeof Buddha and his doctrines existed as early as 217 B. C. As Buddha, the chief deity of Buddhism, was a man and became a god, the religionoriginated, like the others, in ancestor-worship. When a man dies, saysthis religion, his other self reappears in one form or another, "from aclod to a divinity. " The way for Buddhism in China was paved by Taoism, and Buddhism reciprocally affected Taoism by helpful development ofits doctrines of sanctity and immortalization. Buddhism also, as it hasbeen well put by Dr De Groot, [17] "contributed much to the ceremonialadornment of ancestor-worship. Its salvation work on behalf of thedead saved its place in Confucian China; for of Confucianism itself, piety and devotion towards parents and ancestors, and the promotion oftheir happiness, were the core, and, consequently, their worship withsacrifices and ceremonies was always a sacred duty. " It was thus thatit was possible for the gods of Buddhism to be introduced into Chinaand to maintain their special characters and fulfil their specialfunctions without being absorbed into or submerged by the existingnative religions. The result was, as we have seen, in the end apartnership rather than a relation of master and servant; and I say'in the end' because, contrary to popular belief, the Chinese havenot been tolerant of foreign religious faiths, and at various timeshave persecuted Buddhism as relentlessly as they have other rivalsto orthodox Confucianism. 

Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood

At the head of the Buddhist gods in China we find the triadknown as Buddha, the Law, and the Church, or Priesthood, which arepersonified as Shih-chia Fo (Shâkya), O-mi-t'o Fo (Amita), and Ju-laiFo (Tathagata); otherwise Fo Pao, Fa Pao, and Sêng Pao (the _San Pao_, 'Three Precious Ones')--that is, Buddha, the prophet who came into theworld to teach the Law, Dharma, the Law Everlasting, and Samgha, itsmystical body, Priesthood, or Church. Dharma is an entity underived, containing the spiritual elements and material constituents of theuniverse. From it the other two evolve: Buddha (Shâkyamuni), thecreative energy, Samgha, the totality of existence and of life. To thepeople these are three personal Buddhas, whom they worship withoutconcerning themselves about their origin. To the priests they aresimply the Buddha, past, present, or future. There are also severalother of these groups or triads, ten or more, composed of differentdeities, or sometimes containing one or two of the triad alreadynamed. Shâkyamuni heads the list, having a place in at least six. 

The legend of the Buddha belongs rather to Indian than to Chinesemythology, and is too long to be reproduced here. [18]

The principal gods of Buddhism are Jan-têng Fo, the Light-lampBuddha, Mi-lo Fo (Maitrêya), the expected Messiah of the Buddhists, O-mi-t'o Fo (Amitabha or Amita), the guide who conducts his devoteesto the Western Paradise, Yüeh-shih Fo, the Master-physician Buddha, Ta-shih-chih P'u-sa (Mahastama), companion of Amitabha, P'i-lu Fo(Vairotchana), the highest of the Threefold Embodiments, Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, Ti-tsang Wang, the God of Hades, Wei-t'o(Vihârapâla), the Dêva protector of the Law of Buddha and Buddhisttemples, the Four Diamond Kings of Heaven, and Bodhidharma, the firstof the six Patriarchs of Eastern or Chinese Buddhism. 

Diamond Kings of Heaven

On the right and left sides of the entrance hall of Buddhist temples, two on each side, are the gigantic figures of the four great _Ssu TaChin-kang_ or _T'ien-wang_, the Diamond Kings of Heaven, protectorsor governors of the continents lying in the direction of the fourcardinal points from Mount Sumêru, the centre of the world. They arefour brothers named respectively Mo-li Ch'ing (Pure), or Tsêng Chang, Mo-li Hung (Vast), or Kuang Mu, Mo-li Hai (Sea), or To Wên, and Mo-liShou (Age), or Ch'ih Kuo. The _Chin kuang ming_ states that they bestowall kinds of happiness on those who honour the Three Treasures, Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood. Kings and nations who neglect the Lawlose their protection. They are described and represented as follows:

Mo-li Ch'ing, the eldest, is twenty-four feet in height, with a beardthe hairs of which are like copper wire. He carries a magnificentjade ring and a spear, and always fights on foot. He has also a magicsword, 'Blue Cloud, ' on the blade of which are engraved the characters_Ti, Shui, Huo, Fêng_ (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind). When brandished, it causes a black wind, which produces tens of thousands of spears, which pierce the bodies of men and turn them to dust. The wind isfollowed by a fire, which fills the air with tens of thousands ofgolden fiery serpents. A thick smoke also rises out of the ground, which blinds and burns men, none being able to escape. 

Mo-li Hung carries in his hand an umbrella, called the Umbrella ofChaos, formed of pearls possessed of spiritual properties. Openingthis marvellous implement causes the heavens and earth to be coveredwith thick darkness, and turning it upside down produces violentstorms of wind and thunder and universal earthquakes. 

Mo-li Hai holds a four-stringed guitar, the twanging of whichsupernaturally affects the earth, water, fire, or wind. When it isplayed all the world listens, and the camps of the enemy take fire. 

Mo-li Shou has two whips and a panther-skin bag, the home of a creatureresembling a white rat, known as Hua-hu Tiao. When at large thiscreature assumes the form of a white winged elephant, which devoursmen. He sometimes has also a snake or other man-eating creature, always ready to obey his behests. 

Legend of the Diamond Kings

The legend of the Four Diamond Kings given in the _Fêng shên yen i_is as follows: At the time of the consolidation of the Chou dynastyin the twelfth and eleventh centuries B. C. , Chiang Tzu-ya, chiefcounsellor to Wên Wang, and General Huang Fei-hu were defendingthe town and mountain of Hsi-ch'i. The supporters of the house ofShang appealed to the four genii Mo, who lived at Chia-mêng Kuan, praying them to come to their aid. They agreed, raised an armyof 100, 000 celestial soldiers, and traversing towns, fields, andmountains arrived in less than a day at the north gate of Hsi-ch'i, where Mo-li Ch'ing pitched his camp and entrenched his soldiers. 

Hearing of this, Huang Fei-hu hastened to warn Chiang Tzu-ya of thedanger which threatened him. "The four great generals who have justarrived at the north gate, " he said, "are marvellously powerful genii, experts in all the mysteries of magic and use of wonderful charms. Itis much to be feared that we shall not be able to resist them. "

Many fierce battles ensued. At first these went in favour of the_Chin-kang_, thanks to their magical weapons and especially to Mo-liShou's Hua-hu Tiao, who terrorized the enemy by devouring theirbravest warriors. 

Hua-hu Tiao devours Yang Chien

Unfortunately for the _Chin-kang_, the brute attacked and swallowedYang Chien, the nephew of Yü Huang. This genie, on entering the bodyof the monster, rent his heart asunder and cut him in two. As he couldtransform himself at will, he assumed the shape of Hua-hu Tiao, andwent off to Mo-li Shou, who unsuspectingly put him back into his bag. 

The Four Kings held a festival to celebrate their triumph, and havingdrunk copiously gave themselves over to sleep. During the night YangChien came out of the bag, with the intention of possessing himself ofthe three magical weapons of the _Chin-kang_. But he succeeded only incarrying off the umbrella of Mo-li Hung. In a subsequent engagementNo-cha, the son of Vadjrâ-pani, the God of Thunder, broke the jadering of Mo-li Ch'ing. Misfortune followed misfortune. The _Chin-kang_, deprived of their magical weapons, began to lose heart. To completetheir discomfiture, Huang T'ien Hua brought to the attack a matchlessmagical weapon. This was a spike 7 1/2 inches long, enclosed in asilk sheath, and called 'Heart-piercer. ' It projected so strong aray of light that eyes were blinded by it. 

Huang T'ien Hua, hard pressed by Mo-li Ch'ing, drew the mysteriousspike from its sheath, and hurled it at his adversary. It enteredhis neck, and with a deep groan the giant fell dead. 

Mo-li Hung and Mo-li Hai hastened to avenge their brother, but erethey could come within striking distance of Huang Ti'en Hua hisredoubtable spike reached their hearts, and they lay prone at his feet. 

The one remaining hope for the sole survivor was in Hua-hu Tiao. Mo-liShou, not knowing that the creature had been slain, put his hand intothe bag to pull him out, whereupon Yang Chien, who had re-entered thebag, bit his hand off at the wrist, so that there remained nothingbut a stump of bone. 

In this moment of intense agony Mo-li Shou fell an easy prey to HuangT'ien Hua, the magical spike pierced his heart, and he fell bathedin his blood. Thus perished the last of the _Chin-kang_. 

The Three Pure Ones

Turning to the gods of Taoism, we find that the triad or trinity, already noted as forming the head of that hierarchy, consists ofthree Supreme Gods, each in his own Heaven. These three Heavens, the _San Ch'ing_, 'Three Pure Ones' (this name being also appliedto the sovereigns ruling in them), were formed from the three airs, which are subdivisions of the one primordial air. 

The first Heaven is Yü Ch'ing. In it reigns the first member ofthe Taoist triad. He inhabits the Jade Mountain. The entrance tohis palace is named the Golden Door. He is the source of all truth, as the sun is the source of all light. 

Various authorities give his name differently--Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun, or Lo Ching Hsin, and call him T'ien Pao, 'the Treasure of Heaven, 'Some state that the name of the ruler of this first Heaven is YüHuang, and in the popular mind he it is who occupies this supremeposition. The Three Pure Ones are above him in rank, but to him, thePearly Emperor, is entrusted the superintendence of the world. He hasall the power of Heaven and earth in his hands. He is the correlativeof Heaven, or rather Heaven itself. 

The second Heaven, Shang Ch'ing, is ruled by the second person ofthe triad, named Ling-pao T'ien-tsun, or Tao Chün. No information isgiven as to his origin. He is the custodian of the sacred books. He hasexisted from the beginning of the world. He calculates time, dividingit into different epochs. He occupies the upper pole of the world, anddetermines the movements and interaction, or regulates the relationsof the _yin_ and the _yang_, the two great principles of nature. 

In the third Heaven, T'ai Ch'ing, the Taoists place Lao Tzu, thepromulgator of the true doctrine drawn up by Ling-pao T'ien-tsun. Heis alternatively called Shên Pao, 'the Treasure of the Spirits, 'and T'ai-shang Lao-chûn, 'the Most Eminent Aged Ruler. ' Under variousassumed names he has appeared as the teacher of kings and emperors, the reformer of successive generations. 

This three-storied Taoist Heaven, or three Heavens, is the result ofthe wish of the Taoists not to be out-rivalled by the Buddhists. ForBuddha, the Law, and the Priesthood they substitute the _Tao_, orReason, the Classics, and the Priesthood. 

As regards the organization of the Taoist Heavens, Yü Huang has on hisregister the name of eight hundred Taoist divinities and a multitudeof Immortals. These are all divided into three categories: Saints(_Shêng-jên_), Heroes (_Chên-jên_), and Immortals (_Hsien-jên_), occupying the three Heavens respectively in that order. 

The Three Causes

Connected with Taoism, but not exclusively associated with thatreligion, is the worship of the Three Causes, the deities presidingover three departments of physical nature, Heaven, earth, andwater. They are known by various designations: _San Kuan_, 'the ThreeAgents'; _San Yüan_, 'the Three Origins'; _San Kuan Ta Ti_, 'the ThreeGreat Emperor Agents'; and _T'ai Shang San Kuan_, 'the Three SupremeAgents. ' This worship has passed through four chief phases, as follows:

The first comprises Heaven, earth, and water, _T'ien, Ti, Shui_, the sources of happiness, forgiveness of sins, and deliverance fromevil respectively. Each of these is called King-emperor. Their names, written on labels and offered to Heaven (on a mountain), earth (byburial), and water (by immersion), are supposed to cure sickness. Thisidea dates from the Han dynasty, being first noted about A. D. 172. 

The second, _San Yüan_ dating from A. D. 407 under the Wei dynasty, identified the Three Agents with three dates of which they wererespectively made the patrons. The year was divided into three unequalparts: the first to the seventh moon; the seventh to the tenth; andthe tenth to the twelfth. Of these, the fifteenth day of the first, seventh, and tenth moons respectively became the three principal datesof these periods. Thus the Agent of Heaven became the principal patronof the first division, honoured on the fifteenth day of the first moon, and so on. 

The third phase, _San Kuan_, resulted from the first two being foundtoo complicated for popular favour. The _San Kuan_ were the threesons of a man, Ch'ên Tzu-ch'un, who was so handsome and intelligentthat the three daughters of Lung Wang, the Dragon-king, fell inlove with him and went to live with him. The eldest girl was themother of the Superior Cause, the second of the Medium Cause, and thethird of the Inferior Cause. All these were gifted with supernaturalpowers. Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun canonized them as the Three Great EmperorAgents of Heaven, earth, and water, governors of all beings, devilsor gods, in the three regions of the universe. As in the first phase, the _T'ien Kuan_ confers happiness, the _Ti Kuan_ grants remissionof sins, and the _Shui Kuan_ delivers from evil or misfortune. 

The fourth phase consisted simply in the substitution by the priestsfor the abstract or time-principles of the three great sovereignsof ancient times, Yao, Shun, and Yü. The _literati_, proud of theapotheosis of their ancient rulers, hastened to offer incense to them, and temples, _San Yüan Kung_, arose in very many parts of the Empire. 

A variation of this phase is the canonization, with the title of _SanYüan_ or Three Causes, of _Wu-k'o San Chên Chün_, 'the Three TrueSovereigns, Guests of the Kingdom of Wu. ' They were three Censorswho lived in the reign of King Li (Li Wang, 878-841 B. C. ) of the Choudynasty. Leaving the service of the Chou on account of Li's dissoluteliving, they went to live in Wu, and brought victory to that state inits war with the Ch'u State, then returned to their own country, andbecame pillars of the Chou State under Li's successor. They appearedto protect the Emperor Chên Tsung when he was offering the _Fêng-shan_sacrifices on T'ai Shan in A. D. 1008, on which occasion they werecanonized with the titles of Superior, Medium, and Inferior Causes, as before, conferring upon them the regencies of Heaven, earth, and water respectively. 

Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun

Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun, or the First Cause, the Highest in Heaven, generally placed at the head of the Taoist triad, is said neverto have existed but in the fertile imagination of the Lao Tzuistsectarians. According to them Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun had neither originnor master, but is himself the cause of all beings, which is why heis called the First Cause. 

As first member of the triad, and sovereign ruler of the First Heaven, Yü Ch'ing, where reign the saints, he is raised in rank above allthe other gods. The name assigned to him is Lo Ching Hsin. He wasborn before all beginnings; his substance is imperishable; it isformed essentially of uncreated air, air _a se_, invisible and withoutperceptible limits. No one has been able to penetrate to the beginningsof his existence. The source of all truth, he at each renovation ofthe worlds--that is, at each new _kalpa_--gives out the mysteriousdoctrine which confers immortality. All who reach this knowledgeattain by degrees to life eternal, become refined like the spirits, or instantly become Immortals, even while upon earth. 

Originally, Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun was not a member of the Taoisttriad. He resided above the Three Heavens, above the Three PureOnes, surviving the destructions and renovations of the universe, as an immovable rock in the midst of a stormy sea. He set the starsin motion, and caused the planets to revolve. The chief of his secretpolice was Tsao Chün, the Kitchen-god, who rendered to him an accountof the good and evil deeds of each family. His executive agent wasLei Tsu, the God of Thunder, and his subordinates. The seven starsof the North Pole were the palace of his ministers, whose officeswere on the various sacred mountains. Nowadays, however, Yüan-shihT'ien-tsun is generally neglected for Yü Huang. 

An Avatar of P'an Ku

According to the tradition of Chin Hung, the God of T'ai Shanof the fifth generation from P'an Ku, this being, then calledYüan-shih T'ien-wang, was an avatar of P'an Ku. It came about inthis wise. In remote ages there lived on the mountains an old man, Yüan-shih T'ien-wang, who used to sit on a rock and preach to themultitude. He spoke of the highest antiquity as if from personalexperience. When Chin Hung asked him where he lived, he just raisedhis hand toward Heaven, iridescent clouds enveloped his body, and hereplied: "Whoso wishes to know where I dwell must rise to impenetrableheights. " "But how, " said Chin Hung, "was he to be found in thisimmense emptiness?" Two genii, Ch'ih Ching-tzu and Huang Lao, thendescended on the summit of T'ai Shan and said: "Let us go and visitthis Yüan-shih. To do so, we must cross the boundaries of the universeand pass beyond the farthest stars. " Chin Hung begged them to givehim their instructions, to which he listened attentively. They thenascended the highest of the sacred peaks, and thence mounted into theheavens, calling to him from the misty heights: "If you wish to knowthe origin of Yüan-shih, you must pass beyond the confines of Heavenand earth, because he lives beyond the limits of the worlds. You mustascend and ascend until you reach the sphere of nothingness and ofbeing, in the plains of the luminous shadows. "

Having reached these ethereal heights, the two genii saw a brightlight, and Hsüan-hsüan Shang-jên appeared before them. The twogenii bowed to do him homage and to express their gratitude. "Youcannot better show your gratitude, " he replied, "than by making mydoctrine known among men. You desire, " he added, "to know the historyof Yüan-shih. I will tell it you. When P'an Ku had completed hiswork in the primitive Chaos, his spirit left its mortal envelopeand found itself tossed about in empty space without any fixedsupport. 'I must, ' it said, 'get reborn in visible form; until I cango through a new birth I shall remain empty and unsettled, ' His soul, carried on the wings of the wind, reached Fu-yü T'ai. There it sawa saintly lady named T'ai Yüan, forty years of age, still a virgin, and living alone on Mount Ts'u-o. Air and variegated clouds werethe sole nourishment of her vital spirits. An hermaphrodite, atonce both the active and the passive principle, she daily scaled thehighest peak of the mountain to gather there the flowery quintessenceof the sun and the moon. P'an Ku, captivated by her virgin purity, took advantage of a moment when she was breathing to enter her mouthin the form of a ray of light. She was _enceinte_ for twelve years, at the end of which period the fruit of her womb came out through herspinal column. From its first moment the child could walk and speak, and its body was surrounded by a five-coloured cloud. The newly-borntook the name of Yüan-shih T'ien-wang, and his mother was generallyknown as T'ai-yüan Shêng-mu, 'the Holy Mother of the First Cause. '"

Yü Huang

Yü Huang means 'the Jade Emperor, ' or 'the Pure August One, ' jadesymbolizing purity. He is also known by the name Yü-huang Shang-ti, 'the Pure August Emperor on High. '

The history of this deity, who later received many honorific titlesand became the most popular god, a very Chinese Jupiter, seems to besomewhat as follows: The Emperor Ch'êng Tsung of the Sung dynastyhaving been obliged in A. D. 1005 to sign a disgraceful peace withthe Tunguses or Kitans, the dynasty was in danger of losing thesupport of the nation. In order to hoodwink the people the Emperorconstituted himself a seer, and announced with great pomp that hewas in direct communication with the gods of Heaven. In doing thishe was following the advice of his crafty and unreliable ministerWang Ch'in-jo, who had often tried to persuade him that the pretendedrevelations attributed to Fu Hsi, Yü Wang, and others were only pureinventions to induce obedience. The Emperor, having studied his partwell, assembled his ministers in the tenth moon of the year 1012, and made to them the following declaration: "In a dream I had a visitfrom an Immortal, who brought me a letter from Yü Huang, the purportof which was as follows: 'I have already sent you by your ancestorChao [T'ai Tsu] two celestial missives. Now I am going to send him inperson to visit you. '" A little while after his ancestor T'ai Tsu, the founder of the dynasty, came according to Yü Huang's promise, and Ch'êng Tsung hastened to inform his ministers of it. This is theorigin of Yü Huang. He was born of a fraud, and came ready-made fromthe brain of an emperor. 

The Cask of Pearls

Fearing to be admonished for the fraud by another of his ministers, the scholar Wang Tan, the Emperor resolved to put a golden gag in hismouth. So one day, having invited him to a banquet, he overwhelmedhim with flattery and made him drunk with good wine. "I would likethe members of your family also to taste this wine, " he added, "so Iam making you a present of a cask of it. " When Wang Tan returned home, he found the cask filled with precious pearls. Out of gratitude to theEmperor he kept silent as to the fraud, and made no further oppositionto his plans, but when on his death-bed he asked that his head beshaved like a priest's and that he be clothed in priestly robes sothat he might expiate his crime of feebleness before the Emperor. 

K'ang Hsi, the great Emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty, who had alreadydeclared that if it is wrong to impute deceit to a man it is stillmore reprehensible to impute a fraud to Heaven, stigmatized him asfollows: "Wang Tan committed two faults: the first was in showinghimself a vile flatterer of his Prince during his life; the secondwas in becoming a worshipper of Buddha at his death. "

The Legend of Yü Huang

So much for historical record. The legend of Yü Huang relates that inancient times there existed a kingdom named Kuang Yen Miao Lo Kuo, whose king was Ching Tê, his queen being called Pao Yüeh. Thoughgetting on in years, the latter had no son. The Taoist priests weresummoned by edict to the palace to perform their rites. They recitedprayers with the object of obtaining an heir to the throne. Duringthe ensuing night the Queen had a vision. Lao Chün appeared to her, riding a dragon, and carrying a male child in his arms. He floated downthrough the air in her direction. The Queen begged him to give her thechild as an heir to the throne. "I am quite willing, " he said. "Hereit is. " She fell on her knees and thanked him. On waking she foundherself _enceinte_. At the end of a year the Prince was born. Froman early age he showed himself compassionate and generous to thepoor. On the death of his father he ascended the throne, but afterreigning only a few days abdicated in favour of his chief minister, and became a hermit at P'u-ming, in Shensi, and also on Mount Hsiu Yen, in Yünnan. Having attained to perfection, he passed the rest of hisdays in curing sickness and saving life; and it was in the exerciseof these charitable deeds that he died. The emperors Ch'êng Tsungand Hui Tsung, of the Sung dynasty, loaded him with all the varioustitles associated with his name at the present day. 

Both Buddhists and Taoists claim him as their own, the formeridentifying him with Indra, in which case Yü Huang is a Buddhist deityincorporated into the Taoist pantheon. He has also been taken to bethe subject of a 'nature myth. ' The Emperor Ching Tê, his father, is the sun, the Queen Pao Yüeh the moon, and the marriage symbolizesthe rebirth of the vivifying power which clothes nature with greenplants and beautiful flowers. 

T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu

In modern Taoism T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu is regarded as the first ofthe Patriarchs and one of the most powerful genii of the sect. Hismaster was Hung-chün Lao-tsu. He wore a red robe embroidered withwhite cranes, and rode a _k'uei niu_, a monster resembling a buffalo, with one long horn like a unicorn. His palace, the Pi Yu Kung, wassituated on Mount Tzu Chih Yai. 

This genie took the part of Chou Wang and helped him to resist WuWang's armies. First, he sent his disciple To-pao Tao-jên to Chieh-p'aiKuan. He gave him four precious swords and the plan of a fort whichhe was to construct and to name Chu-hsien Chên, 'the Citadel of allthe Immortals. '

To-pao Tao-jên carried out his orders, but he had to fight a battlewith Kuang Ch'êng-tzu, and the latter, armed with a celestial seal, struck his adversary so hard that he fell to the ground and had totake refuge in flight. 

T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu came to the defence of his disciple and torestore the morale of his forces. Unfortunately, a posse of godsarrived to aid Wu Wang's powerful general, Chiang Tzu-ya. The firstwho attacked T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu was Lao Tzu, who struck him severaltimes with his stick. Then came Chun T'i, armed with his cane. Thebuffalo of T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu stamped him under foot, and ChunT'i was thrown to the earth, and only just had time to rise quicklyand mount into the air amid a great cloud of dust. 

There could be no doubt that the fight was going against T'ung-t'ienChiao-chu; to complete his discomfiture Jan-têng Tao-jên cleft the airand fell upon him unexpectedly. With a violent blow of his 'Fix-sea'staff he cast him down and compelled him to give up the struggle. 

T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu then prepared plans for a new fortified campbeyond T'ung Kuan, and tried to take the offensive again, but againLao Tzu stopped him with a blow of his stick. Yüan-shih T'ien-tsunwounded his shoulder with his precious stone Ju-i, and Chun-t'iTao-jên waved his 'Branch of the Seven Virtues. ' Immediately themagic sword of T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu was reduced to splinters, andhe saved himself only by flight. 

Hung-chün Lao-tsu, the master of these three genii, seeing his threebeloved disciples in the _mêlée_, resolved to make peace betweenthem. He assembled all three in a tent in Chiang Tzu-ya's camp, madethem kneel before him, then reproached T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu at lengthfor having taken the part of the tyrant Chou, and recommended themin future to live in harmony. After finishing his speech, he producedthree pills, and ordered each of the genii to swallow one. When theyhad done so, Hung-chün Lao-tsu said to them: "I have given you thesepills to ensure an inviolable truce among you. Know that the firstwho entertains a thought of discord in his heart will find that thepill will explode in his stomach and cause his instant death. "

Hung-chün Lao-tsu then took T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu away with him onhis cloud to Heaven. 

Immortals, Heroes, Saints

An Immortal, according to Taoist lore, is a solitary man of themountains. He appears to die, but does not. After 'death' his bodyretains all the qualities of the living. The body or corpse is forhim only a means of transition, a phase of metamorphosis--a cocoonor chrysalis, the temporary abode of the butterfly. 

To reach this state a hygienic regimen both of the body and mind mustbe observed. All luxury, greed, and ambition must be avoided. Butnegation is not enough. In the system of nourishment all the elementswhich strengthen the essence of the constituent _yin_ and _yang_principles must be found by means of medicine, chemistry, gymnasticexercises, etc. When the maximum vital force has been acquired themeans of preserving it and keeping it from the attacks of deathand disease must be discovered; in a word, he must spiritualizehimself--render himself completely independent of matter. Allthe experiments have for their object the storing in the pills ofimmortality the elements necessary for the development of the vitalforce and for the constitution of a new spiritual and super-humanizedbeing. In this ascending perfection there are several grades:

(1) The Immortal (_Hsien_). The first stage consists in bringingabout the birth of the superhuman in the ascetic's person, whichreaching perfection leaves the earthly body, like the grasshopperits sheath. This first stage attained, the Immortal travels at willthroughout the universe, enjoys all the advantages of perfect healthwithout dreading disease or death, eats and drinks copiously--nothingis wanting to complete his happiness. 

(2) The Perfect Man, or Hero (_Chên-jên_). The second stage is a higherone. The whole body is spiritualized. It has become so subtile, sospiritual, that it can fly in the air. Borne on the wings of the wind, seated on the clouds of Heaven, it travels from one world to anotherand fixes its habitation in the stars. It is freed from all laws ofmatter, but is, however, not completely changed into pure spirit. 

(3) The Saint (_Shêng-jên_). The third stage is that of the superhumanbeings or saints. They are those who have attained to extraordinaryintelligence and virtue. 

The God of the Immortals

Mu Kung or Tung Wang Kung, the God of the Immortals, was also calledI Chün Ming and Yü Huang Chün, the Prince Yü Huang. 

The primitive vapour congealed, remained inactive for a time, andthen produced living beings, beginning with the formation of Mu Kung, the purest substance of the Eastern Air, and sovereign of the activemale principle _yang_ and of all the countries of the East. Hispalace is in the misty heavens, violet clouds form its dome, blueclouds its walls. Hsien T'ung, 'the Immortal Youth, ' and Yü Nü, 'the Jade Maiden, ' are his servants. He keeps the register of allthe Immortals, male and female. 

Hsi Wang Mu

Hsi Wang Mu was formed of the pure quintessence of the Western Air, in the legendary continent of Shên Chou. She is often called theGolden Mother of the Tortoise. 

Her family name is variously given as Hou, Yang, and Ho. Her own namewas Hui, and first name Wan-chin. She had nine sons and twenty-fourdaughters. 

As Mu Kung, formed of the Eastern Air, is the active principle ofthe male air and sovereign of the Eastern Air, so Hsi Wang Mu, bornof the Western Air, is the passive or female principle (_yin_) andsovereign of the Western Air. These two principles, co-operating, engender Heaven and earth and all the beings of the universe, andthus become the two principles of life and of the subsistence of allthat exists. She is the head of the troop of genii dwelling on theK'un-lun Mountains (the Taoist equivalent of the Buddhist Sumêru), andfrom time to time holds intercourse with favoured imperial votaries. 

The Feast of Peaches

Hsi Wang Mu's palace is situated in the high mountains of the snowyK'un-lun. It is 1000 _li_ (about 333 miles) in circuit; a rampart ofmassive gold surrounds its battlements of precious stones. Its rightwing rises on the edge of the Kingfishers' River. It is the usualabode of the Immortals, who are divided into seven special categoriesaccording to the colour of their garments--red, blue, black, violet, yellow, green, and 'nature-colour. ' There is a marvellous fountainbuilt of precious stones, where the periodical banquet of theImmortals is held. This feast is called P'an-t'ao Hui, 'the Feast ofPeaches. ' It takes place on the borders of the Yao Ch'ih, Lake of Gems, and is attended by both male and female Immortals. Besides severalsuperfine meats, they are served with bears' paws, monkeys' lips, dragons' liver, phoenix marrow, and peaches gathered in the orchard, endowed with the mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all whohave the good luck to taste them. It was by these peaches that thedate of the banquet was fixed. The tree put forth leaves once everythree thousand years, and it required three thousand years after thatfor the fruit to ripen. These were Hsi Wang Mu's birthdays, when allthe Immortals assembled for the great feast, "the occasion being morefestive than solemn, for there was music on invisible instruments, and songs not from mortal tongues. "

The First Taoist Pope

Chang Tao-ling, the first Taoist pope, was born in A. D. 35, in thereign of the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti of the Han dynasty. His birthplaceis variously given as the T'ien-mu Shan, 'Eye of Heaven Mountain, 'in Lin-an Hsien, in Chekiang, and Fêng-yang Fu, in Anhui. He devotedhimself wholly to study and meditation, declining all offers to enterthe service of the State. He preferred to take up his abode in themountains of Western China, where he persevered in the study of alchemyand in cultivating the virtues of purity and mental abstraction. Fromthe hands of Lao Tzu he received supernaturally a mystic treatise, by following the instructions in which he was successful in his searchfor the elixir of life. 

One day when he was engaged in experimenting with the 'Dragon-tigerelixir' a spiritual being appeared to him and said: "On Po-sungMountain is a stone house in which are concealed the writings of theThree Emperors of antiquity and a canonical work. By obtaining theseyou may ascend to Heaven, if you undergo the course of disciplinethey prescribe. "

Chang Tao-ling found these works, and by means of them obtainedthe power of flying, of hearing distant sounds, and of leavinghis body. After going through a thousand days of discipline, andreceiving instruction from a goddess, who taught him to walk aboutamong the stars, he proceeded to fight with the king of the demons, to divide mountains and seas, and to command the wind and thunder. Allthe demons fled before him. On account of the prodigious slaughter ofdemons by this hero the wind and thunder were reduced to subjection, and various divinities came with eager haste to acknowledge theirfaults. In nine years he gained the power to ascend to Heaven. 

The Founder of Modern Taoism

Chang Tao-ling may rightly be considered as the true founder of modernTaoism. The recipes for the pills of immortality contained in themysterious books, and the invention of talismans for the cure of allsorts of maladies, not only exalted him to the high position he hassince occupied in the minds of his numerous disciples, but enabledthem in turn to exploit successfully this new source of power andwealth. From that time the Taoist sect began to specialize in the artof healing. Protecting or curing talismans bearing the Master's sealwere purchased for enormous sums. It is thus seen that he was afterall a deceiver of the people, and unbelievers or rival partisans ofother sects have dubbed him a 'rice-thief'--which perhaps he was. 

He is generally represented as clothed in richly decorated garments, brandishing with his right hand his magic sword, holding in hisleft a cup containing the draught of immortality, and riding a tigerwhich in one paw grasps his magic seal and with the others tramplesdown the five venomous creatures: lizard, snake, spider, toad, and centipede. Pictures of him with these accessories are pastedup in houses on the fifth day of the fifth moon to forfend calamityand sickness. 

The Peach-gathering

It is related of him that, not wishing to ascend to Heaven too soon, he partook of only half of the pill of immortality, dividing theother half among several of his admirers, and that he had at least twoselves or personalities, one of which used to disport itself in a boaton a small lake in front of his house. The other self would receivehis visitors, entertaining them with food and drink and instructiveconversation. On one occasion this self said to them: "You are unableto quit the world altogether as I can, but by imitating my example inthe matter of family relations you could procure a medicine which wouldprolong your lives by several centuries. I have given the cruciblein which Huang Ti prepared the draught of immortality to my discipleWang Ch'ang. Later on, a man will come from the East, who also willmake use of it. He will arrive on the seventh day of the first moon. "

Exactly on that day there arrived from the East a man named ChaoShêng, who was the person indicated by Chang Tao-ling. He wasrecognized by a manifestation of himself he had caused to appearin advance of his coming. Chang then led all his disciples, to thenumber of three hundred, to the highest peak of the Yün-t'ai. Belowthem they saw a peach-tree growing near a pointed rock, stretchingout its branches like arms above a fathomless abyss. It was a largetree, covered with ripe fruit. Chang said to his disciples: "I willcommunicate a spiritual formula to the one among you who will dareto gather the fruit of that tree. " They all leaned over to look, but each declared the feat to be impossible. Chao Shêng alone hadthe courage to rush out to the point of the rock and up the treestretching out into space. With firm foot he stood and gathered thepeaches, placing them in the folds of his cloak, as many as it wouldhold, but when he wished to climb back up the precipitous slope, his hands slipped on the smooth rock, and all his attempts were invain. Accordingly, he threw the peaches, three hundred and two in all, one by one up to Chang Tao-ling, who distributed them. Each discipleate one, as also did Chang, who reserved the remaining one for ChaoShêng, whom he helped to climb up again. To do this Chang extendedhis arm to a length of thirty feet, all present marvelling at themiracle. After Chao had eaten his peach Chang stood on the edge ofthe precipice, and said with a laugh: "Chao Shêng was brave enoughto climb out to that tree and his foot never tripped. I too will makethe attempt. If I succeed I will have a big peach as a reward. " Havingspoken thus, he leapt into space, and alighted in the branches of thepeach-tree. Wang Ch'ang and Chao Shêng also jumped into the tree andstood one on each side of him. There Chang communicated to them themysterious formula. Three days later they returned to their homes;then, having made final arrangements, they repaired once more to themountain peak, whence, in the presence of the other disciples, whofollowed them with their eyes until they had completely disappearedfrom view, all three ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. 

Chang Tao-ling's Great Power

The name of Chang Tao-ling, the Heavenly Teacher, is a householdword in China. He is on earth the Vicegerent of the Pearly Emperorin Heaven, and the Commander-in-Chief of the hosts of Taoism. He, thechief of the wizards, the 'true [_i. E. _ ideal] man, ' as he is called, wields an immense spiritual power throughout the land. The presentpope boasts of an unbroken line for three-score generations. Hisfamily obtained possession of the Dragon-tiger Mountain in Kiangsiabout A. D. 1000. "This personage, " says a pre-Republican writer, "assumes a state which mimics the imperial. He confers buttons likean emperor. Priests come to him from various cities and temples toreceive promotion, whom he invests with titles and presents withseals of office. "

Kings of Heaven

The Four Kings of Heaven, Ssu Ta T'ien-wang, reside on Mount Sumêru(Hsü-mi Shan), the centre of the universe. It is 3, 360, 000 _li_--thatis, about a million miles--high. [19] Its eastern slope is of gold, itswestern of silver, its south-eastern of crystal, and its north-easternof agate. The Four Kings appear to be the Taoist reflection of thefour _Chin-kang_ of Buddhism already noticed. Their names are Li, Ma, Chao, and Wên. They are represented as holding a pagoda, sword, two swords, and spiked club respectively. Their worship appears tobe due to their auspicious appearance and aid on various criticaloccasions in the dynastic history of the T'ang and Sung Periods. 

T'ai I

Temples are found in various parts dedicated to T'ai I, the GreatOne, or Great Unity. When Emperor Wu Ti (140-86 B. C. ) of the Handynasty was in search of the secret of immortality, and varioussuggestions had proved unsatisfactory, a Taoist priest, Miao Chi, told the Emperor that his want of success was due to his omission tosacrifice to T'ai I, the first of the celestial spirits, quoting theclassical precedent of antiquity found in the _Book of History_. TheEmperor, believing his word, ordered the Grand Master of Sacrifices tore-establish this worship at the capital. He followed carefully theprescriptions of Miao Chi. This enraged the _literati_, who resolvedto ruin him. One day, when the Emperor was about to drink one ofhis potions, one of the chief courtiers seized the cup and drank thecontents himself. The Emperor was about to have him slain, when hesaid: "Your Majesty's order is unnecessary; if the potion confersimmortality, I cannot be killed; if, on the other hand, it does not, your Majesty should recompense me for disproving the pretensions ofthe Taoist priest. " The Emperor, however, was not convinced. 

One account represents T'ai I as having lived in the time ofShên Nung, the Divine Husbandman, who visited him to consult withhim on the subjects of diseases and fortune. He was Hsien Yüan'smedical preceptor. His medical knowledge was handed down to futuregenerations. He was one of those who, with the Immortals, was invitedto the great Peach Assembly of the Western Royal Mother. 

As the spirit of the star T'ai I he resides in the Eastern Palace, listening for the cries of sufferers in order to save them. For thispurpose he assumes numberless forms in various regions. With a boatof lotus-flowers of nine colours he ferries men over to the shore ofsalvation. Holding in his hand a willow-branch, he scatters from itthe dew of the doctrine. 

T'ai I is variously represented as the Ruler of the Five CelestialSovereigns, Cosmic Matter before it congealed into concrete shapes, theTriune Spirit of Heaven, earth, and T'ai I as three separate entities, an unknown Spirit, the Spirit of the Pole Star, etc. , but practicallythe Taoists confine their T'ai I to T'ai-i Chên-jên, in which PerfectMan they personify the abstract philosophical notions. [20]

Goddess of the North Star

Tou Mu, the Bushel Mother, or Goddess of the North Star, worshippedby both Buddhists and Taoists, is the Indian Maritchi, and was made astellar divinity by the Taoists. She is said to have been the motherof the nine Jên Huang or Human Sovereigns of fabulous antiquity, who succeeded the lines of Celestial and Terrestrial Sovereigns. Sheoccupies in the Taoist religion the same relative position as KuanYin, who may be said to be the heart of Buddhism. Having attained toa profound knowledge of celestial mysteries, she shone with heavenlylight, could cross the seas, and pass from the sun to the moon. Shealso had a kind heart for the sufferings of humanity. The King of ChouYü, in the north, married her on hearing of her many virtues. Theyhad nine sons. Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun came to earth to invite her, herhusband, and nine sons to enjoy the delights of Heaven. He placedher in the palace Tou Shu, the Pivot of the Pole, because all theother stars revolve round it, and gave her the title of Queen of theDoctrine of Primitive Heaven. Her nine sons have their palaces inthe neighbouring stars. 

Tou Mu wears the Buddhist crown, is seated on a lotus throne, hasthree eyes, eighteen arms, and holds various precious objects in hernumerous hands, such as a bow, spear, sword, flag, dragon's head, pagoda, five chariots, sun's disk, moon's disk, etc. She has controlof the books of life and death, and all who wish to prolong theirdays worship at her shrine. Her devotees abstain from animal food onthe third and twenty-seventh day of every month. 

Of her sons, two are the Northern and Southern Bushels; the latter, dressed in red, rules birth; the former, in white, rules death. "Ayoung Esau once found them on the South Mountain, under a tree, playing chess, and by an offer of venison his lease of life wasextended from nineteen to ninety-nine years. "

Snorter and Blower

At the time of the overthrow of the Shang and establishment of the Choudynasty in 1122 B. C. There lived two marshals, Chêng Lung and Ch'ênCh'i. These were Hêng and Ha, the Snorter and Blower respectively. 

The former was the chief superintendent of supplies for the armies ofthe tyrant emperor Chou, the Nero of China. The latter was in chargeof the victualling department of the same army. 

From his master, Tu O, the celebrated Taoist magician of the K'un-lunMountains, Hêng acquired a marvellous power. When he snorted, hisnostrils, with a sound like that of a bell, emitted two white columnsof light, which destroyed his enemies, body and soul. Thus through himthe Chou gained numerous victories. But one day he was captured, bound, and taken to the general of Chou. His life was spared, and he wasmade general superintendent of army stores as well as generalissimoof five army corps. Later on he found himself face to face with theBlower. The latter had learnt from the magician how to store in hischest a supply of yellow gas which, when he blew it out, annihilatedanyone whom it struck. By this means he caused large gaps to be madein the ranks of the enemy. 

Being opposed to each other, the one snorting out great streaks ofwhite light, the other blowing streams of yellow gas, the combatcontinued until the Blower was wounded in the shoulder by No-cha, of the army of Chou, and pierced in the stomach with a spear by HuangFei-hu, Yellow Flying Tiger. 

The Snorter in turn was slain in this fight by Marshal Chin Ta-shêng, 'Golden Big Pint, ' who was an ox-spirit and endowed with the mysteriouspower of producing in his entrails the celebrated _niu huang_, ox-yellow, or bezoar. Facing the Snorter, he spat in his face, witha noise like thunder, a piece of bezoar as large as a rice-bowl. Itstruck him on the nose and split his nostrils. He fell to the earth, and was immediately cut in two by a blow from his victor's sword. 

After the Chou dynasty had been definitely established Chiang Tzu-yacanonized the two marshals Hêng and Ha, and conferred on them theoffices of guardians of the Buddhist temple gates, where their giganticimages may be seen. 

Blue Dragon and White Tiger

The functions discharged by Hêng and Ha at the gates of Buddhisttemples are in Taoist temples discharged by Blue Dragon and WhiteTiger. 

The former, the Spirit of the Blue Dragon Star, was Têng Chiu-kung, one of the chief generals of the last emperor of the Yin dynasty. Hehad a son named Têng Hsiu, and a daughter named Ch'an-yü. 

The army of Têng Chiu-kung was camped at San-shan Kuan, when hereceived orders to proceed to the battle then taking place at HsiCh'i. There, in standing up to No-cha and Huang Fei-hu, he had hisleft arm broken by the former's magic bracelet, but, fortunately forhim, his subordinate, T'u Hsing-sun, a renowned magician, gave hima remedy which quickly healed the fracture. 

His daughter then came on the scene to avenge her father. She had amagic weapon, the Five-fire Stone, which she hurled full in the faceof Yang Chien. But the Immortal was not wounded; on the other hand, his celestial dog jumped at Ch'an-yü and bit her neck, so that shewas obliged to flee. T'u Hsing-sun, however, healed the wound. 

After a banquet, Têng Chiu-kung promised his daughter in marriage toT'u Hsing-sun if he would gain him the victory at Hsi Ch'i. ChiangTzu-ya then persuaded T'u's magic master, Chü Liu-sun, to call hisdisciple over to his camp, where he asked him why he was fightingagainst the new dynasty. "Because, " he replied, "Chiu-kung has promisedme his daughter in marriage as a reward of success. " Chiang Tzu-yathereupon promised to obtain the bride, and sent a force to seizeher. As a result of the fighting that ensued, Chiu-kung was beaten, and retreated in confusion, leaving Ch'an-yü in the hands of thevictors. During the next few days the marriage was celebrated withgreat ceremony in the victor's camp. According to custom, the bridereturned for some days to her father's house, and while there sheearnestly exhorted Chiu-kung to submit. Following her advice, he wentover to Chiang Tzu-ya's party. 

In the ensuing battles he fought valiantly on the side of his formerenemy, and killed many famous warriors, but he was eventually attackedby the Blower, from whose mouth a column of yellow gas struck him, throwing him from his steed. He was made prisoner, and executed byorder of General Ch'iu Yin. Chiang Tzu-ya conferred on him the kingdomof the Blue Dragon Star. 

The Spirit of the White Tiger Star is Yin Ch'êng-hsiu. His father, Yin P'o-pai, a high courtier of the tyrant Chou Wang, was sent tonegotiate peace with Chiang Tzu-ya, but was seized and put to death byMarquis Chiang Wên-huan. His son, attempting to avenge his father'smurder, was pierced by a spear, and his head was cut off and carriedin triumph to Chiang Tzu-ya. 

As compensation he was, though somewhat tardily, canonized as theSpirit of the White Tiger Star. 

Apotheosized Philosophers

The philosophers Lieh Tzu, Huai-nan Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Mo Tzu, etc. , have also been apotheosized. Nothing very remarkable is relatedof them. Most of them had several reincarnations and possessedsupernatural powers. The second, who was a king, when taken bythe Eight Immortals to the genii's Heaven forgot now and then toaddress them as superiors, and but for their intercession withYü Ti, the Pearly Emperor, would have been reincarnated. In orderto humiliate himself, he thereafter called himself Huai-nan Tzu, 'the Sage of the South of the Huai. ' The third, Chuang Tzu, ChuangShêng, or Chuang Chou, was a disciple of Lao Tzu. Chuang Tzu was inthe habit of sleeping during the day, and at night would transformhimself into a butterfly, which fluttered gaily over the flowers inthe garden. On waking, he would still feel the sensation of flying inhis shoulders. On asking Lao Tzu the reason for this, he was told:"Formerly you were a white butterfly which, having partaken of thequintessence of flowers and of the _yin_ and the _yang_, should havebeen immortalized; but one day you stole some peaches and flowers inWang Mu Niang-niang's garden. The guardian of the garden slew you, and that is how you came to be reincarnated. " At this time he wasfifty years of age. 

Fanning the Grave

One of the tales associated with him describes how he saw a youngwoman in mourning vigorously fanning a newly made grave. On his askingher the reason of this strange conduct, she replied: "I am doing thisbecause my husband begged me to wait until the earth on his tomb wasdry before I remarried!" Chuang Tzu offered to help her, and as soonas he waved the fan once the earth was dry. The young widow thankedhim and departed. 

On his return home, Chuang Shêng related this incident to hiswife. She expressed astonishment at such conduct on the part of awife. "There's nothing to be surprised at, " rejoined the husband;"that's how things go in this world. " Seeing that he was poking funat her, she protested angrily. Some little time after this ChuangShêng died. His wife, much grieved, buried him. 

Husband and Wife

A few days later a young man named Ch'u Wang-sun arrived with theintention, as he said, of placing himself under the instruction ofChuang Shêng. When he heard that he was dead he went and performedprostrations before his tomb, and afterward took up his abode in anempty room, saying that he wished to study. After half a month hadelapsed, the widow asked an old servant who had accompanied Wang-sunif the young man was married. On his replying in the negative, sherequested the old servant to propose a match between them. Wang-sunmade some objections, saying that people would criticize theirconduct. "Since my husband is dead, what can they say?" repliedthe widow. She then put off her mourning-garments and prepared forthe wedding. 

Wang-sun took her to the grave of her husband, and said to her:"The gentleman has returned to life!" She looked at Wang-sun andrecognized the features of her husband. She was so overwhelmed withshame that she hanged herself. Chuang Shêng buried her in an emptytomb, and then began to sing. 

He burnt his house, went away to P'u-shui, in Hupei, and occupiedhimself in fishing. From there he went on to Chung-t'iao Shan, wherehe met Fêng Hou and her teacher Hsüan Nü, the Mother of Heaven. Intheir company he visited the palaces of the stars. One day, when hewas attending a banquet at the palace of Wang-mu, Shang Ti gave him ashis kingdom the planet Jupiter, and assigned to him as his palace theancient abode of Mao Mêng, the stellar god reincarnated during the Choudynasty. He had not yet returned, and had left his palace empty. ShangTi had cautioned him never to absent himself without his permission. 

Canonized Generalissimos

A large number of military men also have been canonized as celestialgeneralissimos. A few will serve as examples of the rest. 

The Three Musical Brothers

There were three brothers: T'ien Yüan-shuai, the eldest; T'ien Hung-i, the second; and T'ien Chih-piao, the youngest. They were all musiciansof unsurpassed talent. 

In the K'ai-yüan Period (A. D. 713-42) the Emperor Hsüan Tsung, ofthe T'ang dynasty, appointed them his music masters. At the sound oftheir wonderful flute the clouds in the sky stopped in their courses;the harmony of their songs caused the odoriferous _la mei_ flower toopen in winter. They excelled also in songs and dances. 

The Emperor fell sick. He saw in a dream the three brothersaccompanying their singing on a mandolin and violin. The harmony oftheir songs charmed his ear, and on waking he found himself wellagain. Out of gratitude for this benefit he conferred on each thetitle of marquis. 

The Grand Master of the Taoists was trying to stay the ravagesof a pestilence, but he could not conquer the devils which causedit. Under these circumstances he appealed to the three brothers andasked their advice as to what course to adopt. T'ien Yüan-shuai had alarge boat built, called 'Spirit-boat. ' He assembled in it a millionspirits, and ordered them to beat drums. On hearing this tumult allthe demons of the town came out to listen. T'ien Yüan-shuai, seizingthe opportunity, captured them all and, with the help of the GrandMaster, expelled them from the town. 

Besides the canonization of the three T'ien brothers, all the membersof their families received posthumous titles. 

The Dragon-boat Festival

This is said to be the origin of the dragon-boats which are to beseen on all the waterways of China on the fifth day of the fifthmoon. [21] The Festival of the Dragon-boats, held on that day, wasinstituted in memory of the statesman-poet Ch'ü Yüan (332-296 B. C. ), who drowned himself in the Mi-lo River, an affluent of the Tung-t'ingLake, after having been falsely accused by one of the petty princesof the State. The people, out of pity for the unfortunate courtier, sent out these boats in search of his body. 

Chiang Tzu-ya

In the wars which resulted in the overthrow of the tyrant Chou Wangand his dynasty and the establishment of the great Chou dynasty, the most influential generalissimo was Chiang Tzu-ya. His family namewas Chiang, and his own name Shang, but owing to his descent from oneof the ministers of the ancient King Yao, whose heirs owned the fiefof Lü, the family came to be called by that name, and he himself wasknown as Lü Shang. His honorific title was T'ai Kung Wang, 'Hope ofT'ai Kung, ' given him by Wên Wang, who recognized in the person ofChiang Tzu-ya the wise minister whom his father T'ai Kung had causedhim to expect before his death. 

The Battle of Mu Yeh

Chiang Tzu-ya was originally in the service of the tyrant Chou Wang, but transferred his services to the Chou cause, and by his wonderfulskill enabled that house finally to gain the victory. The decisivebattle took place at Mu Yeh, situated to the south of Wei-hui Fu, in 1122 B. C. The soldiers of Yin, 700, 000 in number, were defeated, and Chou, the tyrant, shut himself up in his magnificent palace, setit alight, and was burned alive with all his possessions. For thisachievement Chiang Tzu-ya was granted by Wu Wang the title of Fatherand Counsellor, and was appointed Prince of Ch'i, with perpetualsuccession to his descendants. 

A Legend of Chiang Tzu-ya

The _Feng shên yen i_ contains many chapters describing in detail thevarious battles which resulted in the overthrow of the last tyrantof the Shang dynasty and the establishment of the illustrious Choudynasty on the throne of China. This legend and the following oneare epitomized from that work. 

No-cha defeats Chang Kuei-fang

The redoubtable No-cha having, by means of his Heaven-and-earthBracelet, vanquished Fêng Lin, a star-god and subordinate officer ofChang Kuei-fang, in spite of the black smoke-clouds which he blewout of his nostrils, the defeated warrior fled and sought the aidof his chief, who fought No-cha in some thirty to forty encounterswithout succeeding in dislodging him from his Wind-fire Wheel, which enabled him to move about rapidly and to perform prodigiousfeats, such as causing hosts of silver flying dragons like clouds ofsnow to descend upon his enemy. During one of these fights No-chaheard his name called three times, but paid no heed. Finally, withhis Heaven-and-earth Bracelet he broke Chang Kuei-fang's left arm, following this up by shooting out some dazzling rays of light whichknocked him off his horse. 

When he returned to the city to report his victory to Tzu-ya, the latter asked him if during the battle Kuei-fang had calledhis name. "Yes, " replied No-cha, "he called, but I took no heedof him. " "When Kuei-fang calls, " said Tzu-ya, "the _hun_ and the_p'o_ [_anima_ and _umbra_] become separated, and so the bodyfalls apart. " "But, " replied No-cha, "I had changed myself into alotus-flower, which has neither _hun_ nor _p'o_, so he could notsucceed in getting me off my magic wheel. "

Tzu-ya goes to K'un-lun

Tzu-ya, however, still uncertain in mind about the finality of No-cha'svictories, went to consult Wu Wang (whose death had not yet takenplace at this time). After the interview Tzu-ya informed Wu Wang ofhis wish to visit K'un-lun Mountain. Wu Wang warned him of the dangerof leaving the kingdom with the enemy so near the capital; but Tzu-yaobtained his consent by saying he would be absent only three daysat most. So he gave instructions regarding the defence to No-cha, and went off in his spirit chariot to K'un-lun. On his arrival at theUnicorn Precipice he was much enraptured with the beautiful scenery, the colours, flowers, trees, bridges, birds, deer, apes, blue lions, white elephants, etc. , all of which seemed to make earth surpassHeaven in loveliness. 

He receives the List of Immortals

From the Unicorn Precipice he went on to the Jade Palace ofAbstraction. Here he was presented to Yüan-shih. From him he receivedthe List of Promotions to Immortals, which Nan-chi Hsien-wêng, 'Ancient Immortal of the South Pole, ' had brought, and was told togo and erect a Fêng Shên T'ai (Spirits' Promotion Terrace) on whichto exhibit it. Yüan-shih also warned him that if anyone called himwhile he was on the way he was to be most careful not to answer. Onreaching the Unicorn Precipice on his way back, he heard some onecall: "Chiang Tzu-ya!" This happened three times without his payingany heed. Then the voice was heard to say: "Now that you are PrimeMinister, how devoid of feeling and forgetful of bygone benefits youmust be not to remember one who studied with you in the Jade Palaceof Abstraction!" Tzu-ya could not but turn his head and look. Hethen saw that it was Shên Kung-pao. He said: "Brother, I did not knowit was you who were calling me, and I did not heed you as Shih-tsuntold me on no account to reply. " Shên Kung-pao said: "What is thatyou hold in your hand?" He told him it was the List of Promotionsto Immortals. Shên Kung-pao then tried to entice Tzu-ya from hisallegiance to Chou. Among Shên's tactics was that of convincingTzu-ya of the superiority of the magical arts at the disposal ofthe supporters of Chou Wang. "You, " he said, "can drain the sea, change the hills, and suchlike things, but what are those comparedwith my powers, who can take off my head, make it mount into space, travel 10, 000, 000 _li_, and return to my neck just as complete asbefore and able to speak? Burn your List of Promotions to Immortalsand come with me. " Tzu-ya, thinking that a head which could travel10, 000, 000 _li_ and be the same as before was exceedingly rare, said:"Brother, you take your head off, and if in reality it can do as yousay, rise into space and return and be as before, I shall be willing toburn the List of Promotions to Immortals and return with you to ChaoKo. " Shên Kung-pao said: "You will not go back on your word?" Tzu-yasaid: "When your elder brother has spoken his word is as unchangeableas Mount T'ai, How can there be any going back on my word?"

The Soaring Head

Shên Kung-pao then doffed his Taoist cap, seized his sword, with hisleft hand firmly grasped the blue thread binding his hair, and withhis right cut off his head. His body did not fall down. He then tookhis head and threw it up into space. Tzu-ya gazed with upturned faceas it continued to rise, and was sorely puzzled. But the AncientImmortal of the South Pole had kept a watch on the proceedings. Hesaid: "Tzu-ya is a loyal and honest man; it looks as if he has beendeceived by this charlatan. " He ordered White Crane Youth to assumequickly the form of a crane and fetch Shên Kung-pao's head. 

The Ancient Immortal saves the Situation

Tzu-ya was still gazing upward when he felt a slap on his backand, turning round, saw that it was the Ancient Immortal of theSouth Pole. Tzu-ya quickly asked: "My elder brother, why have youreturned?" Hsien-wêng said: "You are a fool. Shên Kung-pao is aman of unholy practices. These few small tricks of his you take asrealities. But if the head does not return to the neck within an hourand three-quarters the blood will coagulate and he will die. Shih-tsunordered you not to reply to anyone; why did you not hearken tohis words? From the Jade Palace of Abstraction I saw you speakingtogether, and knew you had promised to burn the List of Promotions toImmortals. So I ordered White Crane Youth to bring me the head. Afteran hour and three-quarters Shên Kung-pao will be recompensed. "

Tzu-ya said: "My elder brother, since you know all you can pardonhim. In the Taoist heart there is no place where mercy cannot beexercised. Remember the many years during which he has faithfullyfollowed the Path. "

Eventually the Ancient Immortal was persuaded, but in the meantimeShên Kung-pao, finding that his head did not return, became very muchtroubled in mind. In an hour and three-quarters the blood would stopflowing and he would die. However, Tzu-ya having succeeded in hisintercession with the Ancient Immortal, the latter signed to WhiteCrane Youth, who was flying in space with the head in his beak, tolet it drop. He did so, but when it reached the neck it was facingbackward. Shên Kung-pao quickly put up his hand, took hold of an ear, and turned his head the right way round. He was then able to openhis eyes, when he saw the Ancient Immortal of the South Pole. Thelatter arraigned him in a loud voice saying: "You as-good-as-deadcharlatan, who by means of corrupt tricks try to deceive Tzu-ya andmake him burn the List of Immortals and help Chou Wang against Chou, what do you mean by all this? You should be taken to the Jade Palaceof Abstraction to be punished!"

Shên Kung-pao, ashamed, could not reply; mounting his tiger, he madeoff; but as he left he hurled back a threat that the Chou would yethave their white bones piled mountains high at Hsi Ch'i. SubsequentlyTzu-ya, carefully preserving the precious List, after many adventuressucceeded in building the Fêng Shên T'ai, and posted the List up onit. Having accomplished his mission, he returned in time to resistthe capture of Hsi Ch'i by Chang Kuei-fang, whose troops were defeatedwith great slaughter. 

Ch'iung Hsiao's Magic Scissors

In another of the many conflicts between the two rival states Lao Tzuentered the battle, whereupon Ch'iung Hsiao, a goddess who fought forthe house of Shang (Chou), hurled into the air her gold scaly-dragonscissors. As these slowly descended, opening and closing in a mostominous manner, Lao Tzu waved the sleeve of his jacket and they fellinto the sea and became absolutely motionless. Many similar trickswere used by the various contestants. The Gold Bushel of ChaoticOrigin succumbed to the Wind-fire Sphere, and so on. Ch'iung Hsiaoresumed the attack with some magic two-edged swords, but was killedby a blow from White Crane Youth's Three-precious Jade Sceptre, hurledat her by Lao Tzu's orders. Pi Hsiao, her sister, attempted to avengeher death, but Yüan-shih, producing from his sleeve a magical box, threw it into the air and caught Pi Hsiao in it. When it was openedit was found that she had melted into blood and water. 

Chiang Tzu-ya defeats Wên Chung

After this Lao Tzu rallied many of the skilful spirits to help ChiangTzu-ya in his battle with Wên Chung, providing them with the AncientImmortal of the South Pole's Sand-blaster and an earth-conquering lightwhich enabled them to travel a thousand _li_ in a day. From the hotsand used the contest became known as the Red Sand Battle. Jan Têng, on P'êng-lai Mountain, in consultation with Tzu-ya, also arrangedthe plan of battle. 

The Red Sand Battle

The fight began with a challenge from the Ancient Immortal of theSouth Pole to Chang Shao. The latter, riding his deer, dashed intothe fray, and aimed a terrific blow with his sword at Hsien-wêng'shead, but White Crane Youth warded it off with his Three-precious JadeSceptre. Chang then produced a two-edged sword and renewed the attack, but, being disarmed, dismounted from his deer and threw severalhandfuls of hot sand at Hsien-wêng. The latter, however, easilyfanned them away with his Five-fire Seven-feathers Fan, renderingthem harmless. Chang then fetched a whole bushel of the hot sand andscattered it over the enemy, but Hsien-wêng counteracted the menaceby merely waving his fan. White Crane Youth struck Chang Shao withhis jade sceptre, knocking him off his horse, and then dispatchedhim with his two-edged sword. 

After this battle Wu Wang was found to be already dead. Jan Têngon learning this ordered Lei Chên-tzu to take the corpse to MountP'êng and wash it. He then dissolved a pill in water and poured thesolution into Wu Wang's mouth, whereupon he revived and was escortedback to his palace. 

Further Fighting

Preparations were then made for resuming the attack on WênChung. While the latter was consulting with Ts'ai-yün Hsien-tzu andHan Chih-hsien, he heard the sound of the Chou guns and the thunder oftheir troops. Wên Chung, mounting his black unicorn, galloped like awhiff of smoke to meet Tzu-ya, but was stopped by blows from two silverhammers wielded by Huang T'ien-hua. Han Chih-hsien came to Wên's aid, but was opposed by Pi Hsiang-yang. Ts'ai-yün Hsien-tzu dashed intothe fray, but No-cha stepped on to his Wind-fire Wheel and opposedhim. From all sides other Immortals joined in the terrific battle, which was a turmoil of longbows and crossbows, iron armour and brassmail, striking whips and falling hammers, weapons cleaving mail andmail resisting weapons. In this fierce contest, while Tzu-ya wasfighting Wên Chung, Han Chih-hsien released a black wind from hismagic wind-bag, but he did not know that the Taoist Barge of Mercy(which transports departed souls to the land of bliss), sent byKuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, had on board the Stop-wind Pearl, by which the black storm was immediately quelled. Thereupon Tzu-yaquickly seized his Vanquish-spirits Whip and struck Han Chih-hsienin the middle of the skull, so that the brain-fluid gushed forth andhe died. No-cha then slew Ts'ai-yün Hsien-tzu with a spear-thrust. 

Thus the stern fight went on, until finally Tzu-ya, under coverof night, attacked Wên Chung's troops simultaneously on all foursides. The noise of slaughter filled the air. Generals and rank andfile, lanterns, torches, swords, spears, guns, and daggers were oneconfused _mêlée_; Heaven could scarcely be distinguished from earth, and corpses were piled mountains high. 

Tzu-ya, having broken through seven lines of the enemy's ranks, forced his way into Wên Chung's camp. The latter mounted his unicorn, and brandishing his magic whip dashed to meet him. Tzu-ya drewhis sword and stopped his onrush, being aided by Lung Hsü-hu, whorepeatedly cast a rain of hot stones on to the troops. In the midstof the fight Tzu-ya brought out his great magic whip, and in spiteof Wên Chung's efforts to avoid it succeeded in wounding him in theleft arm. The Chou troops were fighting like dragons lashing theirtails and pythons curling their bodies. To add to their disasters, the Chou now saw flames rising behind the camp, and knew that theirprovisions were being burned by Yang Chien. 

The Chou armies, with gongs beating and drums rolling, advanced for afinal effort, the slaughter being so great that even the devils weptand the spirits wailed. Wên Chung was eventually driven back seventy_li_ to Ch'i Hill. His troops could do nothing but sigh and stumblealong. He made for Peach-blossom Range, but as he approached it hesaw a yellow banner hoisted, and under it was Kuang Ch'êng-tzu. Beingprevented from escaping in that direction he joined battle, but byuse of red-hot sand, his two-edged sword, and his Turn-heaven SealKuang Ch'êng-tzu put him to flight. He then made off toward thewest, followed by Têng Chung. His design was to make for SwallowHill, which he reached after several days of weary marching. Herehe saw another yellow banner flying, and Ch'ih Ching-tzu informedhim that Jan Têng had forbidden him to stop at Swallow Hill or togo through the Five Passes. This led to another pitched battle, Wên Chung using his magic whip and Ch'ih his spiritual two-edgedsword. After several bouts Ch'ih brought out his _yin-yang_ mirror, by use of which irresistible weapon Wên was driven to Yellow FlowerHill and Blue Dragon Pass, and so on from battle to battle, until hewas drawn up to Heaven from the top of Dead-dragon Mountain. 

Thousand-li Eye and Favourable-wind Ear

Ch'ien-li Yen, 'Thousand-_li_ Eye, ' and Shun-fêng Êrh, 'Favourable-windEar, ' were two brothers named Kao Ming and Kao Chio. On accountof their martial bearing they found favour with the tyrant emperorChou Wang, who appointed them generals, and sent them to serve withGeneralissimo Yüan Hung (who was a monkey which had taken human form)at Mêng-ching. 

Kao Ming was very tall, with a blue face, flaming eyes, a large mouth, and prominent teeth like those of a rhinoceros. 

Kao Chio had a greenish face and skin, two horns on his head, a redbeard, and a large mouth with teeth shaped like swords. 

One of their first encounters was with No-cha, who hurled at them hismystic bracelet, which struck Kao Chio on the head, but did not leaveeven a scratch. When, however, he seized his fire-globe the brothersthought it wiser to retreat. 

Finding no means of conquering them, Yang Chien, Chiang Tzu-ya, andLi Ching took counsel together and decided to have recourse to FuHsi's trigrams, and by smearing them with the blood of a fowl and adog to destroy their spiritual power. 

But the two brothers were fully informed of what wasdesigned. Thousand-_li_ Eye had seen and Favourable-wind Ear hadheard everything, so that all their preparations proved unavailing. 

Yang Chien then went to Chiang Tzu-ya and said to him: "Thesetwo brothers are powerful devils; I must take more effectualmeasures. " "Where will you go for aid?" asked Chiang Tzu-ya. "Icannot tell you, for they would hear, " replied Yang. He thenleft. Favourable-wind Ear heard this dialogue, and Thousand-_li_Eye saw him leave. "He did not say where he was going, " they saidto each other, "but we fear him not. " Yang Chien went to Yü-ch'üanShan, where lived Yü-ting Chên-jên, 'Hero Jade-tripod. ' He told himabout their two adversaries, and asked him how they were to conquerthem. "These two genii, " replied the Chên-jên, "are from Ch'i-p'anShan, Chessboard Mountain. One is a spiritual peach-tree, the othera spiritual pomegranate-tree. Their roots cover an area of thirtysquare _li_ of ground. On that mountain there is a temple dedicated toHuang-ti, in which are clay images of two devils called Ch'ien-li Yenand Shun-fêng Êrh. The peach-tree and pomegranate-tree, having becomespiritual beings, have taken up their abode in these images. One haseyes which can see objects distinctly at a distance of a thousand _li_, the other ears that can hear sounds at a like distance. But beyondthat distance they can neither see nor hear. Return and tell ChiangTzu-ya to have the roots of those trees torn up and burned, and theimages destroyed; then the two genii will be easily vanquished. Inorder that they may neither see nor hear you during your conversationwith Chiang Tzu-ya, wave flags about the camp and order the soldiersto beat tom-toms and drums. "

How the Brothers were Defeated

Yang Chien returned to Chiang Tzu-ya. "What have you been doing?" askedthe latter. Before replying Yang Chien went to the camp and orderedsoldiers to wave large red flags and a thousand others to beat thetom-toms and drums. The air was so filled with the flags and thenoise that nothing else could be either seen or heard. Under cover ofthis device Yang Chien then communicated to Chiang Tzu-ya the courseadvised by the Chên-jên. 

Accordingly Li Ching at the head of three thousand soldiers proceededto Ch'i-p'an Shan, pulled up and burned the roots of the two trees, and broke the images to pieces. At the same time Lei Chên-tzu wasordered to attack the two genii. 

Thousand-_li_ Eye and Favourable-wind Ear could neither see nor hear:the flags effectually screened the horizon and the infernal noise ofthe drums and gongs deadened all other sound. They did not know howto stop them. 

The following night Yüan Hung decided to take the camp of ChiangTzu-ya by assault, and sent the brothers in advance. They were, however, themselves surprised by Wu Wang's officers, who surroundedthem. Chiang Tzu-ya then threw into the air his 'devil-chaser' whip, which fell on the two scouts and cleft their skulls in twain. 

Celestial Ministries

The dualistic idea, already referred to, of the Otherworld beinga replica of this one is nowhere more clearly illustrated than inthe celestial Ministries or official Bureaux or Boards, with theirchiefs and staffs functioning over the spiritual hierarchies. The NineMinistries up aloft doubtless had their origin in imitation of the Six, Eight, or Nine Ministries or Boards which at various periods of historyhave formed the executive part of the official hierarchy in China. Buttheir names are different and their functions do not coincide. 

Generally, the functions of the officers of the celestial Boards areto protect mankind from the evils represented in the title of theBoard, as, for example, thunder, smallpox, fire, etc. In all casesthe duties seem to be remedial. As the God of War was, as we saw, thegod who protects people from the evils of war, so the vast hierarchyof these various divinities is conceived as functioning for the goodof mankind. Being too numerous for inclusion here, an account of themis given under various headings in some of the following chapters. 

Protectors of the People

Besides the gods who hold definite official posts in these variousMinistries, there are a very large number who are also protectingpatrons of the people; and, though _ex officio_, in many cases quiteas popular and powerful, if not more so. Among the most importantare the following: Shê-chi, Gods of the Soil and Crops; Shên Nung, God of Agriculture; Hou-t'u, Earth-mother; Ch'êng-huang, City-god;T'u-ti, Local Gods; Tsao Chün, Kitchen-god; T'ien-hou and An-kung, Goddess and God of Sailors; Ts'an Nü, Goddess of Silkworms; Pa-ch'a, God of Grasshoppers; Fu Shên, Ts'ai Shên, and Shou Hsing, Gods ofHappiness, Wealth, and Longevity; Mên Shên, Door-gods; and Shê-mo Wang, etc. , the Gods of Serpents. 

The Ch'êng-huang

Ch'êng-huang is the Celestial Mandarin or City-god. Every fortifiedcity or town in China is surrounded by a wall, _ch'êng_, composedusually of two battlemented walls, the space between which is filledwith earth. This earth is dug from the ground outside, making a ditch, or _huang_, running parallel with the _ch'êng_. The Ch'êng-huangis the spiritual official of the city or town. All the numerousCh'êng-huang constitute a celestial Ministry of Justice, presidedover by a Ch'êng-huang-in-chief. 

The origin of the worship of the Ch'êng-huang dates back to the timeof the great Emperor Yao (2357 B. C. ), who instituted a sacrifice calledPa Cha in honour of eight spirits, of whom the seventh, Shui Yung, hadthe meaning of, or corresponded to, the dyke and rampart known lateras Ch'êng-huang. Since the Sung dynasty sacrifices have been offeredto the Ch'êng-huang all over the country, though now and then sometowns have adopted another or special god as their Ch'êng-huang, suchas Chou Hsin, adopted as the Ch'êng-huang of Hangchou, the capital ofChekiang Province. Concerning Chou Hsin, who had a "face of ice andiron, " and was so much dreaded for his severity that old and youngfled at his approach, it is related that once when he was trying acase a storm blew some leaves on to his table. In spite of diligentsearch the tree to which this kind of leaf belonged could not be foundanywhere in the neighbourhood, but was eventually discovered in aBuddhist temple a long way off. The judge declared that the priestsof this temple must be guilty of murder. By his order the tree wasfelled, and in its trunk was found the body of a woman who had beenassassinated, and the priests were convicted of the murder. 

The Kitchen-god

Tsao Chün is a Taoist invention, but is universally worshipped byall families in China--about sixty millions of pictures of him areregularly worshipped twice a month--at new and full moon. "His templeis a little niche in the brick cooking-range; his palace is oftenfilled with smoke; and his Majesty sells for one farthing. " He is alsocalled 'the God of the Stove. ' The origin of his worship, according tothe legend, is that a Taoist priest, Li Shao-chün by name, of the Ch'iState, obtained from the Kitchen-god the double favour of exemptionfrom growing old and of being able to live without eating. He thenwent to the Emperor Hsiao Wu-ti (140-86 B. C. ) of the Han dynasty, andpromised that credulous monarch that he should benefit by the powersof the god provided that he would consent to patronize and encouragehis religion. It was by this means, he added, that the Emperor HuangTi obtained his knowledge of alchemy, which enabled him to make gold. 

The Emperor asked the priest to bring him his divine patron, and onenight the image of Tsao Chün appeared to him. 

Deceived by this trick, dazzled by the ingots of gold which he tooshould obtain, and determined to risk everything for the pill ofimmortality which was among the benefits promised, the Emperor madea solemn sacrifice to the God of the Kitchen. 

This was the first time that a sacrifice had been officially offeredto this new deity. 

Li Shao-chün gradually lost the confidence of the Emperor and, athis wits' end, conceived the plan of writing some phrases on a pieceof silk and then causing them to be swallowed by an ox. This done, he announced that a wonderful script would be found in the animal'sstomach. The ox being killed, the script was found there as predicted, but Li's unlucky star decreed that the Emperor should recognizehis handwriting, and he was forthwith put to death. Nevertheless, the worship of the Kitchen-god continued and increased, and existsin full vigour down to the present day. 

This deity has power over the lives of the members of each familyunder his supervision, distributes riches and poverty at will, andmakes an annual report to the Supreme Being on the conduct of thefamily during the year, for which purpose he is usually absent for fromfour to seven days. Some hold that he also makes these reports once ortwice or several times each month. Various ceremonies are performed onseeing him off to Heaven and welcoming him back. One of the former, as we saw, is to regale him with honey, so that only sweet words, if any, may be spoken by him while up aloft!

Ts'an Nü

In the kingdom of Shu (modern Ssuch'uan), in the time of Kao HsingTi, a band of robbers kidnapped the father of Ts'an Nü. A whole yearelapsed, and the father's horse still remained in the stable as hehad left it. The thought of not seeing her father again caused Ts'anNü such grief that she would take no nourishment. Her mother didwhat she could to console her, and further promised her in marriageto anyone who would bring back her father. But no one was found whocould do this. Hearing the offer, the horse stamped with impatience, and struggled so much that at length he broke the halter by whichhe was tied up. He then galloped away and disappeared. Several dayslater, his owner returned riding the horse. From that time the horseneighed incessantly, and refused all food. This caused the motherto make known to her husband the promise she had made concerning herdaughter. "An oath made to men, " he replied, "does not hold good fora horse. Is a human being meant to live in marital relations witha horse?" Nevertheless, however good and abundant food they offeredhim, the horse would not eat. When he saw the young lady he plungedand kicked furiously. Losing his temper, the father discharged anarrow and killed him on the spot; then he skinned him and spread theskin on the ground outside the house to dry. As the young lady waspassing the spot the skin suddenly moved, rose up, enveloped her, and disappeared into space. Ten days later it was found at the footof a mulberry-tree; Ts'an Nü changed into a silkworm, was eating themulberry-leaves, and spinning for herself a silken garment. 

The parents of course were in despair. But one day, while they wereoverwhelmed with sad thoughts, they saw on a cloud Ts'an Nü ridingthe horse and attended by several dozens of servants. She descendedtoward her parents, and said to them: "The Supreme Being, as a rewardfor my martyrdom in the cause of filial piety and my love of virtue, has conferred on me the dignity of Concubine of the Nine Palaces. Bereassured as to my fate, for in Heaven I shall live for ever. " Havingsaid this she disappeared into space. 

In the temples her image is to be seen covered with a horse'sskin. She is called Ma-t'ou Niang, 'the Lady with the Horse'sHead, ' and is prayed to for the prosperity of mulberry-trees andsilkworms. The worship continues even in modern times. The goddessis also represented as a stellar divinity, the star T'ien Ssu; asthe first man who reared silkworms, in this character bearing thesame name as the God of Agriculture, Pasture, and Fire; and as thewife of the Emperor Huang Ti. 

The God of Happiness

The God of Happiness, Fu Shên, owes his origin to the predilectionof the Emperor Wu Ti (A. D. 502-50) of the Liang dynasty for dwarfs asservants and comedians in his palace. The number levied from the TaoChou district in Hunan became greater and greater, until it seriouslyprejudiced the ties of family relations. When Yang Ch'êng, _alias_Yang Hsi-chi, was Criminal Judge of Tao Chou he represented to theEmperor that, according to law, the dwarfs were his subjects but nothis slaves. Being touched by this remark, the Emperor ordered thelevy to be stopped. 

Overjoyed at their liberation from this hardship, the peopleof that district set up images of Yang and offered sacrifices tohim. Everywhere he was venerated as the Spirit of Happiness. It was inthis simple way that there came into being a god whose portraits andimages abound everywhere throughout the country, and who is worshippedalmost as universally as the God of Riches himself. 

Another person who attained to the dignity of God of Happiness (knownas Tsêng-fu Hsiang-kung, 'the Young Gentleman who Increases Happiness')was Li Kuei-tsu, the minister of Emperor Wên Ti of the Wei dynasty, the son of the famous Ts'ao Ts'ao, but in modern times the honourseems to have passed to Kuo Tzu-i. He was the saviour of the T'angdynasty from the depredations of the Turfans in the reign of theEmperor Hsüan Tsung. He lived A. D. 697-781, was a native of Hua Chou, in Shensi, and one of the most illustrious of Chinese generals. Heis very often represented in pictures clothed in blue official robes, leading his small son Kuo Ai to Court. 

The God of Wealth

As with many other Chinese gods, the proto-being of the God of Wealth, Ts'ai Shên, has been ascribed to several persons. The original andbest known until later times was Chao Kung-ming. The accounts of himdiffer also, but the following is the most popular. 

When Chiang Tzu-ya was fighting for Wu Wang of the Chou dynastyagainst the last of the Shang emperors, Chao Kung-ming, then ahermit on Mount Ô-mei, took the part of the latter. He performedmany wonderful feats. He could ride a black tiger and hurl pearlswhich burst like bombshells. But he was eventually overcome by theform of witchcraft known in Wales as _Ciurp Creadh_. Chiang Tzu-yamade a straw image of him, wrote his name on it, burned incense andworshipped before it for twenty days, and on the twenty-first shotarrows made of peach-wood into its eyes and heart. At that samemoment Kung-ming, then in the enemy's camp, felt ill and fainted, and uttering a cry gave up the ghost. 

Later on Chiang Tzu-ya persuaded Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun to release fromthe Otherworld the spirits of the heroes who had died in battle, and when Chao Kung-ming was led into his presence he praised hisbravery, deplored the circumstances of his death, and canonized himas President of the Ministry of Riches and Prosperity. 

The God of Riches is universally worshipped in China; images andportraits of him are to be seen everywhere. Talismans, trees of whichthe branches are strings of cash, and the fruits ingots of gold, to be obtained merely by shaking them down, a magic inexhaustiblecasket full of gold and silver--these and other spiritual sourcesof wealth are associated with this much-adored deity. He himselfis represented in the guise of a visitor accompanied by a crowd ofattendants laden with all the treasures that the hearts of men, women, and children could desire. 

The God of Longevity

The God of Longevity, Shou Hsing, was first a stellar deity, later onrepresented in human form. It was a constellation formed of the twostar-groups Chio and K'ang, the first two on the list of twenty-eightconstellations. Hence, say the Chinese writers, because of thisprecedence, it was called the Star of Longevity. When it appears thenation enjoys peace, when it disappears there will be war. Ch'in ShihHuang-ti, the First Emperor, was the first to offer sacrifices to thisstar, the Old Man of the South Pole, at Shê Po, in 246 B. C. Since thenthe worship has been continued pretty regularly until modern times. 

But desire for something more concrete, or at least more personal, than a star led to the god's being represented as an old man. Connectedwith this is a long legend which turns on the point that after thefather of Chao Yen had been told by the celebrated physiognomistKuan Lo that his son would not live beyond the age of nineteen, thetransposition from _shih-chiu_, nineteen, to _chiu-shih_, ninety, was made by one of two gamblers, who turned out to be the Spirit ofthe North Pole, who fixes the time of decease, as the Spirit of theSouth Pole does that of birth. 

The deity is a domestic god, of happy mien, with a very highforehead, usually spoken of as Shou Hsing Lao T'ou Tzu, 'LongevityStar Old-pate, ' and is represented as riding a stag, with a flying batabove his head. He holds in his hand a large peach, and attached to hislong staff are a gourd and a scroll. The stag and the bat both indicate_fu_, happiness. The peach, gourd, and scroll are symbols of longevity. 

The Door-gods

An old legend relates that in the earliest times there grew onMount Tu Shuo, in the Eastern Sea, a peach-tree of fabulous sizewhose branches covered an area of several thousand square _li_. Thelowest branches, which inclined toward the north-east, formed theDoor of the Devils (_kuei_), through which millions of them passedin and out. Two spirits, named Shên Shu (or Shu Yü) and Yü Lü, hadbeen instructed to guard this passage. Those who had done wrong tomankind were immediately bound by them and given over to be devouredby tigers. When Huang Ti heard of this he had the portraits of thetwo spirits painted on peach-wood tablets and hung above the doors tokeep off evil spirits. This led to the suspension of the small figuresor plaques on the doors of the people generally. Gradually they weresupplanted by paintings on paper pasted on the doors, showing the twospirits armed with bows, arrows, spears, etc. , Shên Shu on the left, Yü Lü on the right. 

In later times, however, these Door-gods were supplanted in popularfavour by two ministers of the Emperor T'ai Tsung of the T'ang dynasty, by name Ch'in Shu-pao and Hu Ching-tê. T'ai Tsung had fallen sick, andimagined that he heard demons rampaging in his bedroom. The ministersof State, on inquiring as to the nature of the malady, were informedby the physician that his Majesty's pulse was feverish, that he seemednervous and saw visions, and that his life was in danger. 

The ministers were in great fear. The Empress summoned other physiciansto a consultation, and after the sick Emperor had informed them that, though all was quiet during the daytime, he was sure he saw and hearddemons during the night, Ch'in Shu-pao and Hu Ching-tê stated thatthey would sit up all night and watch outside his door. 

Accordingly they posted themselves, fully armed, outside the palacegate all night, and the Emperor slept in peace. Next day the Emperorthanked them heartily, and from that time his sickness diminished. Thetwo ministers, however, continued their vigils until the Emperorinformed them that he would no longer impose upon their readinessto sacrifice themselves. He ordered them to paint their portraitsin full martial array and paste these on the palace doors to see ifthat would not have the same effect. For some nights all was peace;then the same commotion was heard at the back gates of the palace. Theminister Wei Chêng offered to stand guard at the back gates in thesame way that his colleagues had done at the front gates. The resultwas that in a few days the Emperor's health was entirely restored. 

Thus it is that Wei Chêng is often associated with the other twoDoor-gods, sometimes with them, sometimes in place of them. Picturesof these _mên shên_, elaborately coloured, and renewed at the New Year, are to be seen on almost every door in China. 

Chinese Polytheism

That the names of the gods of China are legion will be readilyconceded when it is said that, besides those already described, those still to be mentioned, and many others to whom space will notpermit us to refer, there are also gods, goddesses, patrons, etc. , of wind, rain, snow, frost, rivers, tides, caves, trees, flowers, theatres, horses, oxen, cows, sheep, goats, dogs, pigs, scorpions, locusts, gold, tea, salt, compass, archery, bridges, lamps, gems, wells, carpenters, masons, barbers, tailors, jugglers, nets, wine, bean-curd, jade, paper-clothing, eye, ear, nose, tongue, teeth, heart, liver, throat, hands, feet, skin, architecture, rain-clothes, monkeys, lice, Punch and Judy, fire-crackers, cruelty, revenge, manure, fornication, shadows, corners, gamblers, oculists, smallpox, livercomplaint, stomach-ache, measles, luck, womb, midwives, hastenersof child-birth, brigands, butchers, furnishers, centipedes, frogs, stones, beds, candle-merchants, fishermen, millers, wig-merchants, incense-merchants, spectacle-makers, cobblers, harness-makers, seedsmen, innkeepers, basket-makers, chemists, painters, perfumers, jewellers, brush-makers, dyers, fortune-tellers, strolling singers, brothels, varnishers, combs, etc. , etc. There is a god of the lightof the eye as well as of the eye itself, of smallpox-marks as well asof smallpox, of 'benign' measles as well as of measles. After readinga full list of the gods of China, those who insist that the religionof China was or is a monotheism may be disposed to revise their belief. 

CHAPTER V

Myths of the Stars

Astrological Superstitions

According to Chinese ideas, the sun, moon, and planets influencesublunary events, especially the life and death of human beings, andchanges in their colour menace approaching calamities. Alterationsin the appearance of the sun announce misfortunes to the State or itshead, as revolts, famines, or the death of the emperor; when the moonwaxes red, or turns pale, men should be in awe of the unlucky timesthus fore-omened. 

The sun is symbolized by the figure of a raven in a circle, andthe moon by a hare on its hind-legs pounding rice in a mortar, orby a three-legged toad. The last refers to the legend of Ch'ang Ô, detailed later. The moon is a special object of worship in autumn, and moon-cakes dedicated to it are sold at this season. All thestars are ranged into constellations, and an emperor is installedover them, who resides at the North Pole; five monarchs also livein the five stars in Leo, where is a palace called Wu Ti Tso, or'Throne of the Five Emperors. ' In this celestial government there arealso an heir-apparent, empresses, sons and daughters, and tribunals, and the constellations receive the names of men, animals, and otherterrestrial objects. The Great Bear, or Dipper, is worshipped as theresidence of the Fates, where the duration of life and other eventsrelating to mankind are measured and meted out. Fears are excited byunusual phenomena among the heavenly bodies. 

Both the sun and the moon are worshipped by the Government inappropriate temples on the east and west sides of Peking. 

Various Star-gods

Some of the star-gods, such as the God of Literature, the Goddess ofthe North Star, the Gods of Happiness, Longevity, etc. , are noticedin other parts of this work. The cycle-gods are also star-gods. Thereare sixty years in a cycle, and over each of these presides a specialstar-deity. The one worshipped is the one which gave light on thebirthday of the worshipper, and therefore the latter burns candlesbefore that particular image on each succeeding anniversary. Thesecycle-gods are represented by most grotesque images: "white, black, yellow, and red; ferocious gods with vindictive eyeballs popping out, and gentle faces as expressive as a lump of putty; some looking likemen and some like women. " In one temple one of the sixty was in theform of a hog, and another in that of a goose. "Here is an imagewith arms protruding out of his eye-sockets, and eyes in the palmsof his hands, looking downward to see the secret things within theearth. See that rabbit, Minerva-like, jumping from the divine head;again a mud-rat emerges from his occipital hiding-place, and lo! asnake comes coiling from the brain of another god--so the long lineserves as models for an artist who desires to study the fantastic. "

Shooting the Heavenly Dog

In the family sleeping-apartments in Chinese houses hang picturesof Chang Hsien, a white-faced, long-bearded man with a little boy byhis side, and in his hand a bow and arrow, with which he is shootingthe Heavenly Dog. The dog is the Dog-star, and if the 'fate' of thefamily is under this star there will be no son, or the child will beshort-lived. Chang Hsien is the patron of child-bearing women, and wasworshipped under the Sung dynasty by women desirous of offspring. Theintroduction of this name into the Chinese pantheon is due to anincident in the history of Hua-jui Fu-jên, a name given to Lady Fei, concubine of Mêng Ch'ang, the last ruler of the Later Shu State, A. D. 935-964. When she was brought from Shu to grace the harem ofthe founder of the Sung dynasty, in A. D. 960, she is said to havepreserved secretly the portrait of her former lord, the Prince of Shu, whose memory she passionately cherished. Jealously questioned by hernew consort respecting her devotion to this picture, she declared itto be the representation of Chang Hsien, the divine being worshippedby women desirous of offspring. Opinions differ as to the originof the worship. One account says that the Emperor Jên Tsung, of theSung dynasty, saw in a dream a beautiful young man with white skinand black hair, carrying a bow in his hand. He said to the Emperor:"The star T'ien Kou, Heavenly Dog, in the heavens is hiding thesun and moon, and on earth devouring small children. It is only mypresence which keeps him at bay. "

On waking, the Emperor at once ordered the young man's portrait tobe painted and exhibited, and from that time childless families wouldwrite the name Chang Hsien on tablets and worship them. 

Another account describes Chang Hsien as the spirit of the starChang. In the popular representations Chang Hsien is seen in theform of a distinguished personage drawing a bow. The spirit of thestar Chang is supposed to preside over the kitchen of Heaven and toarrange the banquets given by the gods. 

The Sun-king

The worship of the sun is part of the State religion, and the officialsmake their offerings to the sun-tablet. The moon also is worshipped. Atthe harvest moon, the full moon of the eighth month, the Chinesebow before the heavenly luminary, and each family burns incense asan offering. Thus "100, 000 classes all receive the blessings of theicy-wheel in the Milky Way along the heavenly street, a mirror alwaysbright. " In Chinese illustrations we see the moon-palace of Ch'ang O, who stole the pill of immortality and flew to the moon, the fragranttree which one of the genii tried to cut down, and a hare pestlingmedicine in a mortar. This refers to the following legend. 

The sun and the moon are both included by the Chinese among thestars, the spirit of the former being called T'ai-yang Ti-chün, 'the Sun-king, ' or Jih-kung Ch'ih-chiang, 'Ch'ih-chiang of the SolarPalace, ' that of the latter T'ai-yin Huang-chün, 'the Moon-queen, 'or Yüeh-fu Ch'ang O, 'Ch'ang O of the Lunar Palace. '

Ch'ih-chiang Tzu-yü lived in the reign of Hsien-yüan Huang-ti, whoappointed him Director of Construction and Furnishing. 

When Hsien-yüan went on his visit to Ô-mei Shan, a mountain inSsuch'uan, Ch'ih-chiang Tzu-yü obtained permission to accompanyhim. Their object was to be initiated into the doctrine of immortality. 

The Emperor was instructed in the secrets of the doctrine by T'ai-iHuang-jên, the spirit of this famous mountain, who, when he was aboutto take his departure, begged him to allow Ch'ih-chiang Tzu-yü toremain with him. The new hermit went out every day to gather theflowering plants which formed the only food of his master, T'ai-iHuang-jên, and he also took to eating these flowers, so that his bodygradually became spiritualized. 

The Steep Summit

One day T'ai-i Huang-jên sent him to cut some bamboos on the summit ofÔ-mei Shan, distant more than three hundred _li_ from the place wherethey lived. When he reached the base of the summit, all of a suddenthree giddy peaks confronted him, so dangerous that even the monkeysand other animals dared not attempt to scale them. But he took hiscourage in his hands, climbed the steep slope, and by sheer energyreached the summit. Having cut the bamboos, he tried to descend, butthe rocks rose like a wall in sharp points all round him, and he couldnot find a foothold anywhere. Then, though laden with the bamboos, hethrew himself into the air, and was borne on the wings of the wind. Hecame to earth safe and sound at the foot of the mountain, and ran withthe bamboos to his master. On account of this feat he was consideredadvanced enough to be admitted to instruction in the doctrine. 

The Divine Archer

The Emperor Yao, in the twelfth year of his reign (2346 B. C. ), one day, while walking in the streets of Huai-yang, met a man carrying a bowand arrows, the bow being bound round with a piece of red stuff. Thiswas Ch'ih-chiang Tzu-yü. He told the Emperor he was a skilful archerand could fly in the air on the wings of the wind. Yao, to test hisskill, ordered him to shoot one of his arrows at a pine-tree on thetop of a neighbouring mountain. Ch'ih shot an arrow which transfixedthe tree, and then jumped on to a current of air to go and fetchthe arrow back. Because of this the Emperor named him Shên I, 'theDivine Archer, ' attached him to his suite, and appointed him ChiefMechanician of all Works in Wood. He continued to live only on flowers. 

Vanquishes the Wind-spirit

At this time terrible calamities began to lay waste the land. Tensuns appeared in the sky, the heat of which burnt up all the crops;dreadful storms uprooted trees and overturned houses; floods overspreadthe country. Near the Tung-t'ing Lake a serpent, a thousand feet long, devoured human beings, and wild boars of enormous size did greatdamage in the eastern part of the kingdom. Yao ordered Shên I to goand slay the devils and monsters who were causing all this mischief, placing three hundred men at his service for that purpose. 

Shên I took up his post on Mount Ch'ing Ch'iu to study the cause of thedevastating storms, and found that these tempests were released by FeiLien, the Spirit of the Wind, who blew them out of a sack. As we shallsee when considering the thunder myths, the ensuing conflict endedin Fei Lien suing for mercy and swearing friendship to his victor, whereupon the storms ceased. 

Dispels the Nine False Suns

After this first victory Shên I led his troops to the banks of theHsi Ho, West River, at Lin Shan. Here he discovered that on threeneighbouring peaks nine extraordinary birds were blowing out fire andthus forming nine new suns in the sky. Shên I shot nine arrows insuccession, pierced the birds, and immediately the nine false sunsresolved themselves into red clouds and melted away. Shên I and hissoldiers found the nine arrows stuck in nine red stones at the topof the mountain. 

Marries the Sister of the Water-spirit

Shên I then led his soldiers to Kao-liang, where the river had risenand formed an immense torrent. He shot an arrow into the water, which thereupon withdrew to its source. In the flood he saw a manclothed in white, riding a white horse and accompanied by a dozenattendants. He quickly discharged an arrow, striking him in the lefteye, and the horseman at once took to flight. He was accompaniedby a young woman named Hêng O [22], the younger sister of Ho Po, the Spirit of the Waters. Shên I shot an arrow into her hair. Sheturned and thanked him for sparing her life, adding: "I will agreeto be your wife. " After these events had been duly reported to theEmperor Yao, the wedding took place. 

Slays Various Dangerous Creatures

Three months later Yao ordered Shên I to go and kill the greatTung-t'ing serpent. An arrow in the left eye laid him out stark anddead. The wild boars also were all caught in traps and slain. As areward for these achievements Yao canonized Shên I with the title ofMarquis Pacifier of the Country. 

Builds a Palace for Chin Mu

About this time T'ai-wu Fu-jên, the third daughter of Hsi Wang Mu, had entered a nunnery on Nan-min Shan, to the north of Lo-fou Shan, where her mother's palace was situated. She mounted a dragon tovisit her mother, and all along the course left a streak of light inher wake. One day the Emperor Yao, from the top of Ch'ing-yün Shan, saw this track of light, and asked Shên I the cause of this unusualphenomenon. The latter mounted the current of luminous air, andletting it carry him whither it listed, found himself on Lo-fou Shan, in front of the door of the mountain, which was guarded by a greatspiritual monster. On seeing Shên I this creature called togethera large number of phoenixes and other birds of gigantic size andset them at Shên I. One arrow, however, settled the matter. Theyall fled, the door opened, and a lady followed by ten attendantspresented herself. She was no other than Chin Mu herself. Shên I, having saluted her and explained the object of his visit, was admittedto the goddess's palace, and royally entertained. 

"I have heard, " said Shên I to her, "that you possess the pills ofimmortality; I beg you to give me one or two. " "You are a well-knownarchitect, " replied Chin Mu; "please build me a palace near thismountain. " Together they went to inspect a celebrated site known asPai-yü-kuei Shan, 'White Jade-tortoise Mountain, ' and fixed upon itas the location of the new abode of the goddess. Shên I had all thespirits of the mountain to work for him. The walls were built of jade, sweet-smelling woods were used for the framework and wainscoting, the roof was of glass, the steps of agate. In a fortnight's timesixteen palace buildings stretched magnificently along the side ofthe mountain. Chin Mu gave to the architect a wonderful pill whichwould bestow upon him immortality as well as the faculty of beingable at will to fly through the air. "But, " she said, "it must notbe eaten now: you must first go through a twelve months' preparatorycourse of exercise and diet, without which the pill will not have allthe desired results. " Shên I thanked the goddess, took leave of her, and, returning to the Emperor, related to him all that had happened. 

Kills Chisel-tooth

On reaching home, the archer hid his precious pill under a rafter, lest anyone should steal it, and then began the preparatory coursein immortality. 

At this time there appeared in the south a strange man named Tso Ch'ih, 'Chisel-tooth. ' He had round eyes and a long projecting tooth. Hewas a well-known criminal. Yao ordered Shên I and his small bandof brave followers to deal with this new enemy. This extraordinaryman lived in a cave, and when Shên I and his men arrived he emergedbrandishing a padlock. Shên I broke his long tooth by shooting anarrow at it, and Tso Ch'ih fled, but was struck in the back and laidlow by another arrow from Shên I. The victor took the broken toothwith him as a trophy. 

Hêng Ô flies to the Moon

Hêng Ô, during her husband's absence, saw a white light which seemedto issue from a beam in the roof, while a most delicious odour filledevery room. By the aid of a ladder she reached up to the spot whencethe light came, found the pill of immortality, and ate it. She suddenlyfelt that she was freed from the operation of the laws of gravityand as if she had wings, and was just essaying her first flight whenShên I returned. He went to look for his pill, and, not finding it, asked Hêng Ô what had happened. 

The young wife, seized with fear, opened the window and flew out. ShênI took his bow and pursued her. The moon was full, the night clear, and he saw his wife flying rapidly in front of him, only about thesize of a toad. Just when he was redoubling his pace to catch her upa blast of wind struck him to the ground like a dead leaf. 

Hêng Ô continued her flight until she reached a luminous sphere, shining like glass, of enormous size, and very cold. The onlyvegetation consisted of cinnamon-trees. No living being was to beseen. All of a sudden she began to cough, and vomited the coveringof the pill of immortality, which was changed into a rabbit as whiteas the purest jade. This was the ancestor of the spirituality of the_yin_, or female, principle. Hêng Ô noticed a bitter taste in hermouth, drank some dew, and, feeling hungry, ate some cinnamon. Shetook up her abode in this sphere. 

As to Shên I, he was carried by the hurricane up into a highmountain. Finding himself before the door of a palace, he was invitedto enter, and found that it was the palace of Tung-hua Ti-chün, otherwise Tung Wang Kung, the husband of Hsi Wang Mu. 

The Sun-palace and the Bird of Dawn

The God of the Immortals said to Shên I: "You must not be annoyedwith Hêng Ô. Everybody's fate is settled beforehand. Your laboursare nearing an end, and you will become an Immortal. It was I wholet loose the whirlwind that brought you here. Hêng O, through havingborrowed the forces which by right belong to you, is now an Immortalin the Palace of the Moon. As for you, you deserve much for havingso bravely fought the nine false suns. As a reward you shall havethe Palace of the Sun. Thus the _yin_ and the _yang_ will be unitedin marriage. " This said, Tung-hua Ti-chün ordered his servants tobring a red Chinese sarsaparilla cake, with a lunar talisman. 

"Eat this cake, " he said; "it will protect you from the heat of thesolar hearth. And by wearing this talisman you will be able at willto visit the lunar palace of Hêng O; but the converse does not holdgood, for your wife will not have access to the solar palace. " This iswhy the light of the moon has its birth in the sun, and decreases inproportion to its distance from the sun, the moon being light or darkaccording as the sun comes and goes. Shên I ate the sarsaparilla cake, attached the talisman to his body, thanked the god, and prepared toleave. Tung Wang Kung said to him: "The sun rises and sets at fixedtimes; you do not yet know the laws of day and night; it is absolutelynecessary for you to take with you the bird with the golden plumage, which will sing to advise you of the exact times of the rising, culmination, and setting of the sun. " "Where is this bird to befound?" asked Shên I. "It is the one you hear calling _Ia! Ia!_It is the ancestor of the spirituality of the _yang_, or male, principle. Through having eaten the active principle of the sun, it has assumed the form of a three-footed bird, which perches on the_fu-sang_ tree [a tree said to grow at the place where the sun rises]in the middle of the Eastern Sea. This tree is several thousands offeet in height and of gigantic girth. The bird keeps near the sourceof the dawn, and when it sees the sun taking his morning bath givesvent to a cry that shakes the heavens and wakes up all humanity. Thatis why I ordered Ling Chên-tzu to put it in a cage on T'ao-hua Shan, Peach-blossom Hill; since then its cries have been less harsh. Goand fetch it and take it to the Palace of the Sun. Then you willunderstand all the laws of the daily movements. " He then wrote acharm which Shên I was to present to Ling Chên-tzu to make him openthe cage and hand the golden bird over to him. 

The charm worked, and Ling Chên-tzu opened the cage. The bird ofgolden plumage had a sonorous voice and majestic bearing. "Thisbird, " he said, "lays eggs which hatch out nestlings with red combs, who answer him every morning when he starts crowing. He is usuallycalled the cock of heaven, and the cocks down here which crow morningand evening are descendants of the celestial cock. "

Shên I visits the Moon

Shên I, riding on the celestial bird, traversed the air and reachedthe disk of the sun just at mid-day. He found himself carried intothe centre of an immense horizon, as large as the earth, and did notperceive the rotatory movement of the sun. He then enjoyed completehappiness without care or trouble. The thought of the happy hourspassed with his wife Hêng O, however, came back to memory, and, borneon a ray of sunlight, he flew to the moon. He saw the cinnamon-treesand the frozen-looking horizon. Going to a secluded spot, he foundHêng O there all alone. On seeing him she was about to run away, but Shên I took her hand and reassured her. "I am now living in thesolar palace, " he said; "do not let the past annoy you. " Shên I cutdown some cinnamon-trees, used them for pillars, shaped some preciousstones, and so built a palace, which he named Kuang-han Kung, 'Palaceof Great Cold. ' From that time forth, on the fifteenth day of everymoon, he went to visit her in her palace. That is the conjunction ofthe _yang_ and _yin_, male and female principles, which causes thegreat brilliancy of the moon at that epoch. 

Shên I, on returning to his solar kingdom, built a wonderful palace, which he called the Palace of the Lonely Park. 

From that time the sun and moon each had their ruling sovereign. This_régime_ dates from the forty-ninth year (2309 B. C. ) of Yao's reign. 

When the old Emperor was informed that Shên I and his wife had bothgone up to Heaven he was much grieved to lose the man who had renderedhim such valuable service, and bestowed upon him the posthumous titleof Tsung Pu, 'Governor of Countries. ' In the representations of thisgod and goddess the former is shown holding the sun, the latter themoon. The Chinese add the sequel that Hêng O became changed into atoad, whose outline is traceable on the moon's surface. 

Star-worship

The star-deities are adored by parents on behalf of their children;they control courtship and marriage, bring prosperity or adversity inbusiness, send pestilence and war, regulate rainfall and drought, andcommand angels and demons; so every event in life is determined by the'star-ruler' who at that time from the shining firmament manages thedestinies of men and nations. The worship is performed in the nativehomes either by astrologers engaged for that purpose or by Taoistpriests. In times of sickness, ten paper star-gods are arranged, five good on one side and five bad on the other; a feast is placedbefore them, and it is supposed that when the bad have eaten enoughthey will take their flight to the south-west; the propitiation ofthe good star-gods is in the hope that they will expel the evil stars, and happiness thus be obtained. 

The practical effect of this worship is seen in the followingexamples taken from the Chinese list of one hundred and twenty-ninelucky and unlucky stars, which, with the sixty cycle-stars and thetwenty-eight constellations, besides a vast multitude of others, makeup the celestial galaxy worshipped by China's millions: the OrphanStar enables a woman to become a man; the Star of Pleasure decideson betrothals, binding the feet of those destined to be lovers withsilver cords; the Bonepiercing Star produces rheumatism; the MorningStar, if not worshipped, kills the father or mother during the year;the Balustrade Star promotes lawsuits; the Three-corpse Star controlssuicide, the Peach-blossom Star lunacy; and so on. 

The Herdsman and the Weaver-girl

In the myths and legends which have clustered about the observations ofthe stars by the Chinese there are subjects for pictorial illustrationwithout number. One of these stories is the fable of Aquila and Vega, known in Chinese mythology as the Herdsman and the Weaver-girl. Thelatter, the daughter of the Sun-god, was so constantly busied with herloom that her father became worried at her close habits and thoughtthat by marrying her to a neighbour, who herded cattle on the banksof the Silver Stream of Heaven (the Milky Way), she might awake toa brighter manner of living. 

No sooner did the maiden become wife than her habits and characterutterly changed for the worse. She became not only very merry andlively, but quite forsook loom and needle, giving up her nightsand days to play and idleness; no silly lover could have been morefoolish than she. The Sun-king, in great wrath at all this, concludedthat the husband was the cause of it, and determined to separate thecouple. So he ordered him to remove to the other side of the river ofstars, and told him that hereafter they should meet only once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh month. To make a bridge over theflood of stars, the Sun-king called myriads of magpies, who thereuponflew together, and, making a bridge, supported the poor lover ontheir wings and backs as if on a roadway of solid land. So, biddinghis weeping wife farewell, the lover-husband sorrowfully crossed theRiver of Heaven, and all the magpies instantly flew away. But the twowere separated, the one to lead his ox, the other to ply her shuttleduring the long hours of the day with diligent toil, and the Sun-kingagain rejoiced in his daughter's industry. 

At last the time for their reunion drew near, and only one fearpossessed the loving wife. What if it should rain? For the Riverof Heaven is always full to the brim, and one extra drop causes aflood which sweeps away even the bird-bridge. But not a drop fell;all the heavens were clear. The magpies flew joyfully in myriads, making a way for the tiny feet of the little lady. Trembling with joy, and with heart fluttering more than the bridge of wings, she crossedthe River of Heaven and was in the arms of her husband. This she didevery year. The husband stayed on his side of the river, and thewife came to him on the magpie bridge, save on the sad occasionswhen it rained. So every year the people hope for clear weather, and the happy festival is celebrated alike by old and young. 

These two constellations are worshipped principally by women, thatthey may gain cunning in the arts of needlework and making of fancyflowers. Water-melons, fruits, vegetables, cakes, etc. , are placedwith incense in the reception-room, and before these offerings areperformed the kneeling and the knocking of the head on the ground inthe usual way. 

The Twenty-eight Constellations

Sacrifices were offered to these spirits by the Emperor on the marblealtar of the Temple of Heaven, and by the high officials throughoutthe provinces. Of the twenty-eight the following are regarded aspropitious--namely, the Horned, Room, Tail, Sieve, Bushel, House, Wall, Mound, Stomach, End, Bristling, Well, Drawn-bow, and RevolvingConstellations; the Neck, Bottom, Heart, Cow, Female, Empty, Danger, Astride, Cock, Mixed, Demon, Willow, Star, Wing, are unpropitious. 

The twenty-eight constellations seem to have become the abodes of godsas a result of the defeat of a Taoist Patriarch T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu, who had espoused the cause of the tyrant Chou, when he and all hisfollowers were slaughtered by the heavenly hosts in the terriblecatastrophe known as the Battle of the Ten Thousand Immortals. ChiangTzu-ya as a reward conferred on them the appanage of the twenty-eightconstellations. The five planets, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, andSaturn, are also the abodes of stellar divinities, called the White, Green, Black, Red, and Yellow Rulers respectively. Stars good andbad are all likewise inhabited by gods or demons. 

A Victim of Ta Chi

Concerning Tzu-wei Hsing, the constellation Tzu-wei (north circumpolarstars), of which the stellar deity is Po I-k'ao, the following legendis related in the _Fêng shên yen i_. 

Po I-k'ao was the eldest son of Wên Wang, and governed the kingdomduring the seven years that the old King Was detained as a prisoner ofthe tyrant Chou. He did everything possible to procure his father'srelease. Knowing the tastes of the cruel King, he sent him for hisharem ten of the prettiest women who could be found, accompanied byseven chariots made of perfumed wood, and a white-faced monkey ofmarvellous intelligence. Besides these he included in his presentsa magic carpet, on which it was necessary only to sit in order torecover immediately from the effects of drunkenness. 

Unfortunately for Po I-k'ao, Chou's favourite concubine, TaChi, conceived a passion for him and had recourse to all sortsof ruses to catch him in her net; but his conduct was throughoutirreproachable. Vexed by his indifference, she tried slander in orderto bring about his ruin. But her calumnies did not at first havethe result she expected. Chou, after inquiry, was convinced of theinnocence of Po. But an accident spoiled everything. In the middleof an amusing _séance_ the monkey which had been given to the Kingby Po perceived some sweets in the hand of Ta Chi, and, jumping onto her body, snatched them from Her. The King and his concubine werefurious, Chou had the monkey killed forthwith, and Ta Chi accused PoI-k'ao of having brought the animal into the palace with the objectof making an attempt on the lives of the King and herself. But thePrince explained that the monkey, being only an animal, could notgrasp even the first idea of entering into a conspiracy. 

Shortly after this Po committed an unpardonable fault which changedthe goodwill of the King into mortal enmity. He allowed himself togo so far as to suggest to the King that he should break off hisrelations with this infamous woman, the source of all the woes whichwere desolating the kingdom, and when Ta Chi on this account grosslyinsulted him he struck her with his lute. 

For this offence Ta Chi caused him to be crucified in the palace. Largenails were driven through his hands and feet, and his flesh was cutoff in pieces. Not content with ruining Po I-k'ao, this wretchedwoman wished also to ruin Wen Wang. She therefore advised the King tohave the flesh of the murdered man made up into rissoles and sent asa present to his father. If he refused to eat the flesh of his ownson he was to be accused of contempt for the King, and there wouldthus be a pretext for having him executed. Wen Wang, being versed indivination and the science of the _pa kua_, Eight Trigrams, knew thatthese rissoles contained the flesh of his son, and to avoid the snarespread for him he ate three of the rissoles in the presence of theroyal envoys. On their return the latter reported this to the King, who found himself helpless on learning of Wen Wang's conduct. 

Po I-k'ao was canonized by Chiang Tzu-ya, and appointed ruler of theconstellation Tzu-wei of the North Polar heavens. 

Myths of Time

T'ai Sui is the celestial spirit who presides over the year. Heis the President of the Ministry of Time. This god is much tobe feared. Whoever offends against him is sure to be destroyed. Hestrikes when least expected to. T'ai Sui is also the Ministry itself, whose members, numbering a hundred and twenty, are set over time, years, months, and days. The conception is held by some writers tobe of Chaldeo-Assyrian origin. 

The god T'ai Sui is not mentioned in the T'ang and Sung rituals, but inthe Yüan dynasty (A. D. 1280-1368) sacrifices were offered to him in theCollege of the Grand Historiographer whenever any work of importancewas about to be undertaken. Under this dynasty the sacrifices wereoffered to T'ai Sui and to the ruling gods of the months and of thedays. But these sacrifices were not offered at regular times: itwas only at the beginning of the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty (1644-1912)that it was decided to offer the sacrifices at fixed periods. 

The Planet Jupiter

T'ai Sui corresponds to the planet Jupiter. He travels across thesky, passing through the twelve sidereal mansions. He is a stellargod. Therefore an altar is raised to him and sacrifices are offeredon it under the open sky. This practice dates from the beginning ofthe Ming dynasty, when the Emperor T'ai Tsu ordered sacrifices tothis god to be made throughout the Empire. According to some authors, he corresponds to the god of the twelve sidereal mansions. He is alsovariously represented as the moon, which turns to the left in the sky, and the sun, which turns to the right. The diviners gave to T'ai Suithe title of Grand Marshal, following the example of the usurper WangMang (A. D. 9-23) of the Western Han dynasty, who gave that title tothe year-star. 

Legend of T'ai Sui

The following is the legend of T'ai Sui. 

T'ai Sui was the son of the Emperor Chou, the last of the Yindynasty. His mother was Queen Chiang. When he was born he lookedlike a lump of formless flesh. The infamous Ta Chi, the favouriteconcubine of this wicked Emperor, at once informed him that a monsterhad been born in the palace, and the over-credulous sovereign orderedthat it should immediately be cast outside the city. Shên Chên-jên, who was passing, saw the small abandoned one, and said: "This is anImmortal who has just been born. " With his knife he cut open the caulwhich enveloped it, and the child was exposed. 

His protector carried him to the cave Shui Lien, where he led thelife of a hermit, and entrusted the infant to Ho Hsien-ku, who actedas his nurse and brought him up. 

The child's hermit-name was Yin Ting-nu, his ordinary name YinNo-cha, but during his boyhood he was known as Yin Chiao, _i. E. _'Yin the Deserted of the Suburb, ' When he had reached an age when hewas sufficiently intelligent, his nurse informed him that he was nother son, but really the son of the Emperor Chou, who, deceived by thecalumnies of his favourite Ta Chi, had taken him for an evil monsterand had him cast out of the palace. His mother had been thrown downfrom an upper storey and killed. Yin Chiao went to his rescuer andbegged him to allow him to avenge his mother's death. The GoddessT'ien Fei, the Heavenly Concubine, picked out two magic weapons fromthe armoury in the cave, a battle-axe and club, both of gold, andgave them to Yin Chiao. When the Shang army was defeated at Mu Yeh, Yin Chiao broke into a tower where Ta Chi was, seized her, and broughther before the victor, King Wu, who gave him permission to split herhead open with his battle-axe. But Ta Chi was a spiritual hen-pheasant(some say a spiritual vixen). She transformed herself into smoke anddisappeared. To reward Yin Chiao for his filial piety and braveryin fighting the demons, Yü Ti canonized him with the title T'ai SuiMarshal Yin. 

According to another version of the legend, Yin Chiao fought onthe side of the Yin against Wu Wang, and after many adventures wascaught by Jan Têng between two mountains, which he pressed together, leaving only Yin Chiao's head exposed above the summits. The generalWu Chi promptly cut it off with a spade. Chiang Tz[u)]-ya subsequentlycanonized Yin Chiao. 

Worship of T'ai Sui

The worship of T'ai Sui seems to have first taken place in the reignof Shên Tsung (A. D. 1068-86) of the Sung dynasty, and was continuedduring the remainder of the Monarchical Period. The object of theworship is to avert calamities, T'ai Sui being a dangerous spiritwho can do injury to palaces and cottages, to people in their housesas well as to travellers on the roads. But he has this peculiarity, that he injures persons and things not in the district in which hehimself is, but in those districts which adjoin it. Thus, if someconstructive work is undertaken in a region where T'ai Sui happensto be, the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts take precautionsagainst his evil influence. This they generally do by hanging out theappropriate talisman. In order to ascertain in what region T'ai Suiis at any particular time, an elaborate diagram is consulted. Thisconsists of a representation of the twelve terrestrial branchesor stems, _ti chih_> and the ten celestial trunks, _t'ien kan, _indicating the cardinal points and the intermediate points, north-east, north-west, south-east, and south-west. The four cardinal points arefurther verified with the aid of the Five Elements, the Five Colours, and the Eight Trigrams. By using this device, it is possible to findthe geographical position of T'ai Sui during the current year, theposition of threatened districts, and the methods to be employed toprovide against danger. 

CHAPTER VI

Myths of Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and Rain

The Ministry of Thunder and Storms

As already noted, affairs in the Otherworld are managed by officialBureaux or Ministries very similar to those on earth. The _Fêng shênyen i_ mentions several of these, and gives full details of theirconstitution. The first is the Ministry of Thunder and Storms. Thisis composed of a large number of officials. The principal ones areLei Tsu, the Ancestor of Thunder, Lei Kung, the Duke of Thunder, TienMu, the Mother of Lightning, Feng Po, the Count of Wind, and Y['u]Shih, the Master of Rain. These correspond to the Buddhist Asuras, the "fourth class of sentient beings, the mightiest of all demons, titanic enemies of the Dêvas, " and the Vedic Maruta, storm-demons. Inthe temples Lei Tsu is placed in the centre with the other four toright and left. There are also sometimes represented other gods ofrain, or attendants. These are Hsing T'ien Chün and T'ao T'ien Chün, both officers of Wen Chung, or Lei Tsu, Ma Yüan-shuai, GeneralissimoMa, whose exploits are referred to later, and others. 

The President of the Ministry of Thunder

This divinity has three eyes, one in the middle of his forehead, fromwhich, when open, a ray of white light proceeds to a distance of morethan two feet. Mounted on a black unicorn, he traverses millions ofmiles in the twinkling of an eye. 

His origin is ascribed to a man named Wên Chung, generally knownas Wên Chung T'ai-shih, 'the Great Teacher Wên Chung, ' He wasa minister of the tyrant king Chou (1154-1122 B. C. ), and foughtagainst the armies of the Chou dynasty. Being defeated, he fledto the mountains of Yen, Yen Shan, where he met Ch'ih Ching-tzu, one of the alleged discoverers of fire, and joined battle with him;the latter, however, flashed his _yin-yang_ mirror at the unicorn, and put it out of action. Lei Chên-tzu, one of Wu Wang's marshals, then struck the animal with his staff, and severed it in twain. 

Wên Chung escaped in the direction of the mountains of Chüeh-lung Ling, where another marshal, Yün Chung-tzu, barred his way. Yün's hands hadthe power of producing lightning, and eight columns of mysterious firesuddenly came out of the earth, completely enveloping Wên Chung. Theywere thirty feet high and ten feet in circumference. Ninety fierydragons came out of each and flew away up into the air. The sky waslike a furnace, and the earth shook with the awful claps of thunder. Inthis fiery prison Wên Chung died. 

When the new dynasty finally proved victorious, Chiang Tzu-ya, byorder of Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun, conferred on Wên Chung the supremedirection of the Ministry of Thunder, appointing him celestial princeand plenipotentiary defender of the laws governing the distribution ofclouds and rain. His full title was Celestial and Highly-honoured Headof the Nine Orbits of the Heavens, Voice of the Thunder, and Regulatorof the Universe. His birthday is celebrated on the twenty-fourth dayof the sixth moon. 

The Duke of Thunder

The Spirit of Thunder, for whom Lei Tsu is often mistaken, isrepresented as an ugly, black, bat-winged demon, with clawed feet, monkey's head, and eagle's beak, who holds in one hand a steelchisel, and in the other a spiritual hammer, with which he beatsnumerous drums strung about him, thus producing the terrific noiseof thunder. According to Chinese reasoning it is the sound of thesedrums, and not the lightning, which causes death. 

A. Gruenwedel, in his _Guide to the Lamaist Collection of PrinceUchtomsky, _ p. 161, states that the Chino-Japanese God of Thunder, Lei Kung, has the shape of the Indian divine bird Garuda. Are we tosuppose, then, that the Chinese Lei Kung is of Indian origin? In modernpictures the God of Thunder is depicted with a cock's head and claws, carrying in one hand the hammer, in the other the chisel. We learn, however, from Wang Ch'ung's _Lun Hêng_ that in the first century B. C. , when Buddhism was not yet introduced into China, the 'Thunderer' wasrepresented as a strong man, not as a bird, with one hand dragginga cluster of drums, and with the other brandishing a hammer. ThusLei Kung existed already in China when the latter received her firstknowledge of India. Yet his modern image may well owe its wings to theIndian rain-god Vajrapani, who in one form appears with Garuda wings. 

Lei Kung P'u-sa, the avatar of Lei Kung (whose existence as the Spiritof Thunder is denied by at least one Chinese writer), has made variousappearances on the earth. One of these is described below. 

Lei Kung in the Tree

A certain Yeh Ch'ien-chao of Hsin Chou, when a youth, used to climbthe mountain Chien-ch'ang Shan for the purpose of cutting firewood andcollecting medicinal herbs. One day when he had taken refuge undera tree during a rain-storm there was a loud clap of thunder, and hesaw a winged being, with a blue face, large mouth, and bird's claws, caught in a cleft of the tree. This being addressed Yeh, saying:"I am Lei Kung. In splitting this tree I got caught in it; if youwill free me I will reward you handsomely. " The woodcutter opened thecleft wider by driving in some stones as wedges, and liberated theprisoner. "Return to this spot to-morrow, " said the latter, "and Iwill reward you. " The next day the woodcutter kept the appointment, and received from Lei Kung a book. "If you consult this work, " heexplained, "you will be able at will to bring thunder or rain, curesickness, or assuage sorrow. We are five brothers, of whom I am theyoungest. When you want to bring rain call one or other of my brothers;but call me only in case of pressing necessity, because I have a badcharacter; but I will come if it is really necessary. " Having saidthese words, he disappeared. 

Yeh Ch'ien-chao, by means of the prescriptions contained in themysterious book, could cure illnesses as easily as the sun dissipatesthe morning mist. One day, when he was intoxicated and had gone tobed in the temple of Chi-chou Ssu, the magistrate wished to arrest andpunish him. But when he reached the steps of the _yamên_, Ch'ien-chaocalled Lei Kung to his aid. A terrible clap of thunder immediatelyresounded throughout the district. The magistrate, nearly dead withfright, at once dismissed the case without punishing the culprit. Thefour brothers never failed to come to his aid. 

By the use of his power Ch'ien-chao saved many regions from famineby bringing timely rain. 

The Mysterious Bottle

Another legend relates that an old woman living in Kiangsi had her armbroken through being struck by lightning, when a voice from above washeard saying: "I have made a mistake. " A bottle fell out of space, andthe voice again said: "Apply the contents and you will be healed atonce. " This being done, the old woman's arm was promptly mended. Thevillagers, regarding the contents of the bottle as divine medicine, wished to take it away and hide it for future use, but several ofthem together could not lift it from the ground. Suddenly, however, it rose up and disappeared into space. Other persons in Kiangsi werealso struck, and the same voice was heard to say: "Apply some grubsto the throat and they will recover. " After this had been done thevictims returned to consciousness none the worse for their experience. 

The worship of Lei Kung seems to have been carried on regularly fromabout the time of the Christian era. 

Lei Chên-tzu

Another Son of Thunder is Lei Chên-tzu, mentioned above, whose namewhen a child was Wên Yü, who was hatched from an egg after a clapof thunder and found by the soldiers of Wên Wang in some brushwoodnear an old tomb. The infant's chief characteristic was its brillianteyes. Wên Wang, who already had ninety-nine children, adopted it ashis hundredth, but gave it to a hermit named Yün Chung-tzu to rearas his disciple. The hermit showed him the way to rescue his adoptedfather from the tyrant who held him prisoner. In seeking for somepowerful weapon the child found on the hillside two apricots, andate them both. He then noticed that wings had grown on his shoulders, and was too much ashamed to return home. 

But the hermit, who knew intuitively what had taken place, sent aservant to seek him. When they met the servant said: "Do you know thatyour face is completely altered?" The mysterious fruit had not onlycaused Lei Chên-tzu to grow wings, known as Wings of the Wind andThunder, but his face had become green, his nose long and pointed, and two tusks protruded horizontally from each side of his mouth, while his eyes shone like mirrors. 

Lei Chên-tzu now went and rescued Wên Wang, dispersing his enemiesby means of his mystical power and bringing the old man back on hisshoulders. Having placed him in safety he returned to the hermit. 

The Mother of Lightning

This divinity is represented as a female figure, gorgeously apparelledin blue, green, red, and white, holding in either hand a mirror fromwhich proceed two broad streams or flashes of light. Lightning, saythe Chinese, is caused by the rubbing together of the _yin_ and the_yang_, just as sparks of fire may be produced by the friction oftwo substances. 

The Origin of the Spirit of Lightning

Tung Wang Kung, the King of the Immortals, was playing at pitch-pot[23] with Yü Nü. He lost; whereupon Heaven smiled, and from itshalf-open mouth a ray of light came out. This was lightning; it isregarded as feminine because it is supposed to come from the earth, which is of the _yin_, or female, principle. 

The God of the Wind

Fêng Po, the God of the Wind, is represented as an old man with awhite beard, yellow cloak, and blue and red cap. He holds a largesack, and directs the wind which comes from its mouth in any directionhe pleases. 

There are various ideas regarding the nature of this deity. He isregarded as a stellar divinity under the control of the star Ch'i, [24] because the wind blows at the time when the moon leaves thatcelestial mansion. He is also said to be a dragon called Fei Lien, atfirst one of the supporters of the rebel Ch'ih Yu, who was defeatedby Huang Ti. Having been transformed into a spiritual monster, hestirred up tremendous winds in the southern regions. The EmperorYao sent Shên I with three hundred soldiers to quiet the storms andappease Ch'ih Yu's relatives, who were wreaking their vengeance on thepeople. Shên I ordered the people to spread a long cloth in front oftheir houses, fixing it with stones. The wind, blowing against this, had to change its direction. Shên I then flew on the wind to the topof a high mountain, whence he saw a monster at the base. It had theshape of a huge yellow and white sack, and kept inhaling and exhalingin great gusts. Shên I, concluding that this was the cause of allthese storms, shot an arrow and hit the monster, whereupon it tookrefuge in a deep cave. Here it turned on Shên I and, drawing a sword, dared him to attack the Mother of the Winds. Shên I, however, bravelyfaced the monster and discharged another arrow, this time hitting itin the knee. The monster immediately threw down its sword and beggedthat its life might be spared. 

Fei Lien is elsewhere described as a dragon who was originally one ofthe wicked ministers of the tyrant Chou, and could walk with unheard-ofswiftness. Both he and his son Ô Lai, who was so strong that he couldtear a tiger or rhinoceros to pieces with his hands, were killed whenin the service of Chou Wang. Fei Lien is also said to have the bodyof a stag, about the size of a leopard, with a bird's head, horns, and a serpent's tail, and to be able to make the wind blow wheneverhe wishes. 

The Master of Rain

Yü Shih, the Master of Rain, clad in yellow scale-armour, with a bluehat and yellow busby, stands on a cloud and from a watering-can poursrain upon the earth. Like many other gods, however, he is representedin various forms. Sometimes he holds a plate, on which is a smalldragon, in his left hand, while with his right he pours down therain. He is obviously the Parjanya of Vedism. 

According to a native account, the God of Rain is one Ch'ih Sung-tzu, who appeared during a terrible drought in the reign of Shên Nung(2838-2698 B. C. ), and owing to his reputed magical power was requestedby the latter to bring rain from the sky. "Nothing is easier, " hereplied; "pour a bottleful of water into an earthen bowl and give itto me. " This being done, he plucked from a neighbouring mountain abranch of a tree, soaked it in the water, and with it sprinkled theearth. Immediately clouds gathered and rain fell in torrents, fillingthe rivers to overflowing. Ch'ih Sung-tzu was then honoured as the Godof Rain, and his images show him holding the mystic bowl. He residesin the K'un-lun Mountains, and has many extraordinary peculiarities, such as the power to go through water without getting wet, to passthrough fire without being burned, and to float in space. 

This Rain-god also assumes the form of a silkworm chrysalis inanother account. He is there believed to possess a concubine who hasa black face, holds a serpent in each hand, and has other serpents, red and green, reposing on her right and left ears respectively;also a mysterious bird, with only one leg, the _shang yang_, whichcan change its height at will and drink the seas dry. The followinglegend is related of this bird. 

The One-legged Bird

At the time when Hsüan-ming Ta-jên instructed Fei Lien in the secretsof magic, the latter saw a wonderful bird which drew in water with itsbeak and blew it out again in the shape of rain. Fei lien tamed it, and would take it about in his sleeve. 

Later on a one-legged bird was seen in the palace of the Prince ofCh'i walking up and down and hopping in front of the throne. Beingmuch puzzled, the Prince sent a messenger to Lu to inquire of Confuciusconcerning this strange behaviour. "This bird is a _shang yang_" saidConfucius; "its appearance is a sign of rain. In former times thechildren used to amuse themselves by hopping on one foot, knittingtheir eyebrows, and saying: 'It will rain, because the _shang yang_is disporting himself. ' Since this bird has gone to Ch'i, heavy rainwill fall, and the people should be told to dig channels and repairthe dykes, for the whole country will be inundated. " Not only Ch'i, butall the adjacent kingdoms were flooded; all sustained grievous damageexcept Ch'i, where the necessary precautions had been taken. Thiscaused Duke Ching to exclaim: "Alas! how few listen to the words ofthe sages!"

Ma Yüan-shuai

Ma Yüan-shuai is a three-eyed monster condemned by Ju Lai toreincarnation for excessive cruelty in the extermination of evilspirits. In order to obey this command he entered the womb of MaChin-mu in the form of five globes of fire. Being a precocious youth, he could fight when only three days old, and killed the Dragon-kingof the Eastern Sea. From his instructor he received a spiritual workdealing with wind, thunder, snakes, etc. , and a triangular piece ofstone which he could at will change into anything he liked. By order ofYü Ti he subdued the Spirits of the Wind and Fire, the Blue Dragon, the King of the Five Dragons, and the Spirit of the Five HundredFire Ducks, all without injury to himself. For these and many otherenterprises he was rewarded by Yü Ti with various magic articlesand with the title of Generalissimo of the West, and is regarded asso successful an interceder with Yü Ti that he is prayed to for allsorts of benefits. 

CHAPTER VII

Myths of the Waters

The Dragons

The dragons are spirits of the waters. "The dragon is a kind of beingwhose miraculous changes are inscrutable. " In a sense the dragonis the type of a man, self-controlled, and with powers that vergeupon the supernatural. In China the dragon, except as noted below, is not a power for evil, but a beneficent being producing rain andrepresenting the fecundating principle in nature. He is the essenceof the _yang_, or male, principle. "He controls the rain, and soholds in his power prosperity and peace. " The evil dragons are thoseintroduced by the Buddhists, who applied the current dragon legendsto the _nagas_ inhabiting the mountains. These mountain _nagas_, ordragons (perhaps originally dreaded mountain tribes), are harmful, those inhabiting lakes and rivers friendly and helpful. The dragon, the "chief of the three hundred and sixty scaly reptiles, " is mostgenerally represented as having the head of a horse and the tail of asnake, with wings on its sides. It has four legs. The imperial dragonhas five claws on each foot, other dragons only four. The dragon isalso said to have nine 'resemblances': "its horns resemble those ofa deer, its head that of a camel, its eyes those of a devil, its neckthat of a snake, its abdomen that of a large cockle, its scales thoseof a carp, its claws those of an eagle, the soles of its feet those ofa tiger, its ears those of an ox;" but some have no ears, the organ ofhearing being said to be in the horns, or the creature "hears throughits horns. " These various properties are supposed to indicate the"fossil remnants of primitive worship of many animals. " The smalldragon is like the silk caterpillar. The large dragon fills the Heavenand the earth. Before the dragon, sometimes suspended from his neck, is a pearl. This represents the sun. There are azure, scaly, horned, hornless, winged, etc. , dragons, which apparently evolve one outof the other: "a horned dragon, " for example, "in a thousand yearschanges to a flying dragon. "

The dragon is also represented as the father of the great emperorsof ancient times. His bones, teeth, and saliva are employed as amedicine. He has the power of transformation and of rendering himselfvisible or invisible at pleasure. In the spring he ascends to theskies, and in the autumn buries himself in the watery depths. Some arewingless, and rise into the air by their own inherent power. There isthe celestial dragon, who guards the mansions of the gods and supportsthem so that they do not fall; the divine dragon, who causes the windsto blow and produces rain for the benefit of mankind; the earth-dragon, who marks out the courses of rivers and streams; and the dragon of thehidden treasures, who watches over the wealth concealed from mortals. 

The Buddhists count their dragons in number equal to the fish of thegreat deep, which defies arithmetical computation, and can be expressedonly by their sacred numerals. The people have a more certain faithin them than in most of their divinities, because they see them sooften; every cloud with a curious configuration or serpentine tailis a dragon. "We see him, " they say. The scattering of the cloud ishis disappearance. He rules the hills, is connected with _fêng-shui_(geomancy), dwells round the graves, is associated with the Confucianworship, is the Neptune of the sea, and appears on dry land. 

The Dragon-kings

The Sea-dragon Kings live in gorgeous palaces in the depths of thesea, where they feed on pearls and opals. There are five of thesedivinities, the chief being in the centre, and the other four occupyingthe north, the west, the south, and the east. Each is a league inlength, and so bulky that in shifting its posture it tosses onemountain against another. It has five feet, one of them being in themiddle of its belly, and each foot is armed with five sharp claws. Itcan reach into the heavens, and stretch itself into all quarters ofthe sea. It has a glowing armour of yellow scales, a beard under itslong snout, a hairy tail, and shaggy legs. Its forehead projects overits blazing eyes, its ears are small and thick, its mouth gaping, its tongue long, and its teeth sharp. Fish are boiled by the blast ofits breath, and roasted by the fiery exhalations of its body. When itrises to the surface the whole ocean surges, waterspouts foam, andtyphoons rage. When it flies, wingless, through the air, the windshowl, torrents of rain descend, houses are unroofed, the firmamentis filled with a din, and whatever lies along its route is swept awaywith a roar in the hurricane created by the speed of its passage. 

The five Sea-dragon Kings are all immortal. They know each other'sthoughts, plans, and wishes without intercommunication. Like all theother gods they go once a year to the superior Heavens, to make anannual report to the Supreme Ruler; but they go in the third month, at which time none of the other gods dare appear, and their stayabove is but brief. They generally remain in the depths of the ocean, where their courts are filled with their progeny, their dependents, and their attendants, and where the gods and genii sometimes visitthem. Their palaces, of divers coloured transparent stones, withcrystal doors, are said to have been seen in the early morning bypersons gazing into the deep waters. 

The Foolish Dragon

The part of the great Buddha legend referring to the dragon isas follows:

In years gone by, a dragon living in the great sea saw that his wife'shealth was not good. He, seeing her colour fade away, said: "My dear, what shall I get you to eat?" Mrs Dragon was silent. Just tell me andI will get it, " pleaded the affectionate husband. "You cannot do it;why trouble?" quoth she. "Trust me, and you shall have your heart'sdesire, " said the dragon. "Well, I want a monkey's heart to eat. " "Why, Mrs Dragon, the monkeys live in the mountain forests! How can I getone of their hearts?" "Well, I am going to die; I know I am. "

Forthwith the dragon went on shore, and, spying a monkey on the topof a tree, said: "Hail, shining one, are you not afraid you willfall?" "No, I have no such fear. " "Why eat of one tree? Cross thesea, and you will find forests of fruit and flowers. " "How can Icross?" "Get on my back. " The dragon with his tiny load went seaward, and then suddenly dived down. "Where are you going?" said the monkey, with the salt water in his eyes and mouth. "Oh! my dear sir! my wifeis very sad and ill, and has taken a fancy to your heart. " "Whatshall I do?" thought the monkey. He then spoke, "Illustrious friend, why did not you tell me? I left my heart on the top of the tree;take me back, and I will get it for Mrs Dragon. " The dragon returnedto the shore. As the monkey was tardy in coming down from the tree, the dragon said: "Hurry up, little friend, I am waiting. " Then themonkey thought within himself, "What a fool this dragon is!"

Then Buddha said to his followers: "At this time I was the monkey. "

The Ministry of Waters

In the spirit-world there is a Ministry which controls all thingsconnected with the waters on earth, salt or fresh. Its maindivisions are the Department of Salt Waters, presided over by fourDragon-kings--those of the East, South, West, and North--and theDepartment of Sweet Waters, presided over by the Four Kings (_SsuTu_) of the four great rivers--the Blue (Chiang), Yellow (Ho), Huai, and Ch'i--and the Dragon-spirits who control the Secondary Waters, therivers, springs, lakes, pools, rapids. Into the names and functions ofthe very large number of officials connected with these departmentsit is unnecessary to enter. It will be sufficient here to refer onlyto those whose names are connected with myth or legend. 

An Unauthorized Portrait

One of these legends relates to the visit of Ch'in Shih Huang-ti, the First Emperor, to the Spirit of the Sea, Yang Hou, originallya marquis (_bou_) of the State Yang, who became a god through beingdrowned in the sea. 

Po Shih, a Taoist priest, told the Emperor that an enormous oystervomited from the sea a mysterious substance which accumulated in theform of a tower, and was known as 'the market of the sea' (Chinese for'mirage'). Every year, at a certain period, the breath from his mouthwas like the rays of the sun. The Emperor expressed a wish to seeit, and Po Shih said he would write a letter to the God of the Sea, and the next day the Emperor could behold the wonderful sight. 

The Emperor then remembered a dream he had had the year before inwhich he saw two men fighting for the sun. The one killed the other, and carried it off. He therefore wished to visit the country wherethe sun rose. Po Shih said that all that was necessary was to throwrocks into the sea and build a bridge across them. Thereupon herang his magic bell, the earth shook, and rocks began to rise up;but as they moved too slowly he struck them with his whip, and bloodcame from them which left red marks in many places. The row of rocksextended as far as the shore of the sun-country, but to build thebridge across them was found to be beyond the reach of human skill. 

So Po Shih sent another messenger to the God of the Sea, requestinghim to raise a pillar and place a beam across it which could be usedas a bridge. The submarine spirits came and placed themselves at theservice of the Emperor, who asked for an interview with the god. Tothis the latter agreed on condition that no one should make a portraitof him, he being very ugly. Instantly a stone gangway 100, 000 feetlong rose out of the sea, and the Emperor, mounting his horse, wentwith his courtiers to the palace of the god. Among his followers wasone Lu Tung-shih, who tried to draw a portrait of the god by usinghis foot under the surface of the water. Detecting this manoeuvre, the god was incensed, and said to the Emperor: "You have broken yourword; did you bring Lu here to insult me? Retire at once, or evil willbefall you. " The Emperor, seeing that the situation was precarious, mounted his horse and galloped off. As soon as he reached the beach, the stone cause-way sank, and all his suite perished in the waves. Oneof the Court magicians said to the Emperor: "This god ought to befeared as much as the God of Thunder; then he could be made to helpus. To-day a grave mistake has been made. " For several days afterthis incident the waves beat upon the beach with increasing fury. TheEmperor then built a temple and a pagoda to the god on Chih-fu Shanand Wên-têng Shan respectively; by which act of propitiation he wasapparently appeased. 

The Shipwrecked Servant

Once the Eight Immortals (see Chapter XI) were on their way toCh'ang-li Shan to celebrate the birthday anniversary of Hsien Wêng, the God of Longevity. They had with them a servant who bore thepresents they intended to offer to the god. When they reached theseashore the Immortals walked on the waves without any difficulty, but Lan Ts'ai-ho remarked that the servant was unable to follow them, and said that a means of transport must be found for him. So Ts'aoKuo-chiu took a plank of cypress-wood and made a raft. But when theywere in mid-ocean a typhoon arose and upset the raft, and servantand presents sank to the bottom of the sea. 

Regarding this as the hostile act of a water-devil, the Immortals saidthey must demand an explanation from the Dragon-king, Ao Ch'in. LiT'ieh-kuai took his gourd, and, directing the mouth toward the bottomof the sea, created so brilliant a light that it illuminated the wholepalace of the Sea-king. Ao Ch'in, surprised, asked where this powerfullight originated, and deputed a courier to ascertain its cause. 

To this messenger the Immortals made their complaint. "All we want, "they added, "is that the Dragon-king shall restore to us our servantand the presents. " On this being reported to Ao Ch'in he suspectedhis son of being the cause, and, having established his guilt, severely reprimanded him. The young Prince took his sword, and, followed by an escort, went to find those who had made the complaintto his father. As soon as he caught sight of the Immortals he beganto inveigh against them. 

A Battle and its Results

Han Hsiang Tzu, not liking this undeserved abuse, changed his fluteinto a fishing-line, and as soon as the Dragon-prince was within reachcaught him on the hook, with intent to retain him as a hostage. ThePrince's escort returned in great haste and informed Ao Ch'in ofwhat had occurred. The latter declared that his son was in the wrong, and proposed to restore the shipwrecked servant and the presents. TheCourt officers, however, held a different opinion. "These Immortals, "they said, "dare to hold captive your Majesty's son merely on accountof a few lost presents and a shipwrecked servant. This is a greatinsult, which we ask permission to avenge. " Eventually they wonover Ao Ch'in, and the armies of the deep gathered for the fray. TheImmortals called to their aid the other Taoist Immortals and Heroes, and thus two formidable armies found themselves face to face. 

Several attempts were made by other divinities to avert the conflict, but without success. The battle was a strenuous one. Ao Ch'in receiveda ball of fire full on his head, and his army was threatened withdisaster when Tz'u-hang Ta-shih appeared with his bottle of lustralwater. He sprinkled the combatants with this magic fluid, using awillow-branch for the purpose, thus causing all their magic powersto disappear. 

Shui Kuan, the Ruler of the Watery Elements, then arrived, andreproached Ao Ch'in; he assured him that if the matter were tocome to the knowledge of Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler, he would notonly be severely punished, but would risk losing his post. Ao Ch'inexpressed penitence, restored the servant and the presents, and madefull apology to the Eight Immortals. 

The Dragon in the Pond

One day Chang Tao-ling, the 'father of modern Taoism, ' was onHo-ming Shan with his disciple Wang Ch'ang. "See, " he said, "thatshaft of white light on Yang Shan yonder! There are undoubtedlysome bad spirits there. Let us go and bring them to reason. " Whenthey reached the foot of the mountain they met twelve women who hadthe appearance of evil spirits. Chang Tao-ling asked them whencecame the shaft of white light. They answered that it was the _yin_, or female, principle of the earth. "Where is the source of the saltwater?" he asked again. "That pond in front of you, " they replied, "in which lives a very wicked dragon. " Chang Tao-ling tried to forcethe dragon to come out, but without success. Then he drew a phoenixwith golden wings on a charm and hurled it into the air over thepond. Thereupon the dragon took fright and fled, the pond immediatelydrying up. After that Chang Tao-ling took his sword and stuck it inthe ground, whereupon a well full of salt water appeared on the spot. 

The Spirits of the Well

The twelve women each offered Chang Tao-ling a jade ring, and askedthat they might become his wives. He took the rings, and pressingthem together in his hands made of them one large single ring. "Iwill throw this ring into the well, " he said, "and the one of youwho recovers it shall be my wife. " All the twelve women jumped intothe well to get the ring; whereupon Chang Tao-ling put a cover overit and fastened it down, telling them that henceforth they should bethe spirits of the well and would never be allowed to come out. 

Shortly after this Chang Tao-ling met a hunter. He exhorted him notto kill living beings, but to change his occupation to that of asalt-burner, instructing him how to draw out the salt from salt-waterwells. Thus the people of that district were advantaged both by beingable to obtain the salt and by being no longer molested by the twelvefemale spirits. A temple, called Temple of the Prince of Ch'ing Ho, was built by them, and the territory of Ling Chou was given to ChangTao-ling in recognition of the benefits he had conferred upon thepeople. 

The Dragon-king's Daughter

A graduate named Liu I, in the reign-period I Fêng (A. D. 676-679)of the Emperor Kao Tsung of the T'ang dynasty, having failed inhis examination for his licentiate's degree, when passing throughChing-yang Hsien, in Ch'ang-an, Shensi, on his way home, saw ayoung woman tending goats by the roadside. She said to him: "I am theyoungest daughter of the Dragonking of the Tung-t'ing Lake. My parentsmarried me to the son of the God of the River Ching, but my husband, misled by the slanders of the servants, repudiated me. I have heardthat you are returning to the Kingdom of Wu, which is quite closeto my native district, so I want to ask you to take this letter tomy father. To the north of the Tung-t'ing Lake you will find a largeorange-tree, called by the natives Protector of the Soil. Strike itthree times with your girdle and some one will appear. "

Some months later the graduate went to the spot, found the orange-tree, and struck it three times, whereupon a warrior arose from the lakeand, saluting him, asked what he wanted. "I wish to see your greatKing, " the graduate replied. The warrior struck the waters, openinga passage for Liu I, and led him to a palace. "This, " he said, "isthe palace of Ling Hsü. " In a few minutes there appeared a persondressed in violet-coloured clothes and holding in his hand a pieceof jade. "This is our King, " said the warrior. "I am your Majesty'sneighbour, " replied Liu I. "I spent my youth in Ch'u and studied inCh'in. I have just failed in my licentiate examination. On my wayhome I saw your daughter tending some goats; she was all dishevelled, and in so pitiable a condition that it hurt me to see her, She hassent you this letter. "

Golden Dragon Great Prince

On reading the letter the King wept, and all the courtiers followedhis example. "Stop wailing, " said the King, "lest Ch'ien-t'anghear. " "Who is Ch'ien-t'ang?" asked Liu I. "He is my dear brother, "replied the King; "formerly he was one of the chief administrators ofthe Ch'ien-t'ang River; now he is the chief God of Rivers. " "Why areyou so afraid that he might hear what I have just told you?" "Becausehe has a terrible temper. It was he who, in the reign of Yao, causeda nine-years flood. "

Before he had finished speaking, a red dragon, a thousand feet long, with red scales, mane of fire, bloody tongue, and eyes blazinglike lightning, passed through the air with rapid flight anddisappeared. Barely a few moments had elapsed when it returned witha young woman whom Liu I recognized as the one who had entrusted himwith the letter. The Dragon-king, overjoyed, said to him: "This is mydaughter; her husband is no more, and she offers you her hand. " Liudid not dare to accept, since it appeared that they had just killedher husband. He took his departure, and married a woman named Chang, who soon died. He then married another named Han, who also died. Hethen went to live at Nanking, and, his solitude preying upon hisspirits, he decided to marry yet again. A middleman spoke to him of agirl of Fang Yang, in Chihli, whose father, Hao, had been Magistrateof Ch'ing Liu, in Anhui. This man was always absent on his travels, no one knew whither. The girl's mother, Cheng, had married her twoyears before to a man named Chang of Ch'ing Ho, in Chihli, who hadjust died. Distressed at her daughter being left a widow so young, the mother wished to find another husband for her. 

Liu I agreed to marry this young woman, and at the end of a yearthey had a son. She then said to her husband: "I am the daughterof the King of the Tung-t'ing Lake. It was you who saved me frommy miserable plight on the bank of the Ching, and I swore I wouldreward you. Formerly you refused to accept my hand, and my parentsdecided to marry me to the son of a silk-merchant. I cut my hair, and never ceased to hope that I might some time or other be unitedto you in order that I might show you my gratitude. "

In A. D. 712, in the reign-period K'ai-yüan of the Emperor Hsüan Tsungof the T'ang dynasty, they both returned to the Tung-t'ing Lake;but the legend says nothing further with regard to them. 

Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler, conferred on Liu I the title of ChinLung Ta Wang, 'Golden Dragon Great Prince. '

The Old Mother of the Waters

The Old Mother of the Waters, Shul-mu Niang-niang, is the legendaryspirit of Ssu-chou, in Anhui. To her is popularly ascribed thedestruction of the ancient city of Ssu-chou, which was completelysubmerged by the waters of the Hung-tsê Lake in A. D. 1574. 

One author states that this Goddess of the Waters is the youngersister of the White Spiritual Elephant, a guardian of the Door ofBuddha. This elephant is the "subtle principle of metamorphosed water. "

In his _Recherches sur Us Superstitions en Chine_, Père Henri Doré, S. J. , relates the legends he had heard with regard to this deity. Oneof these is as follows:

Shui-mu Niang-niang inundated the town of Ssu-chou almost every year. Areport was presented to Yu Huang, Lord of the Skies, begging him toput an end to the scourge which devastated the country and cost somany lives. The Lord of the Skies commanded the Great Kings of theSkies and their generals to raise troops and take the field in orderto capture this goddess and deprive her of the power of doing furthermischief. But her tricks triumphed over force, and the city continuedto be periodically devastated by inundations. 

One day Shui-mu Niang-niang was seen near the city gate carrying twobuckets of water. Li Lao-chün suspected some plot, but, an open attackbeing too risky, he preferred to adopt a ruse. He went and boughta donkey, led it to the buckets of water, and let it drink theircontents. Unfortunately the animal could not drink all the water, so that a little remained at the bottom of the buckets. Now thesemagical buckets contained the sources of the five great lakes, whichheld enough water to inundate the whole of China. Shui-mu Niang-niangwith her foot overturned one of the buckets, and the water that hadremained in it was enough to cause a formidable flood, which submergedthe unfortunate town, and buried it for ever under the immense sheetof water called the Lake of Hung-tsê. 

So great a crime deserved an exemplary punishment, and accordingly YüHuang sent reinforcements to his armies, and a pursuit of the goddesswas methodically organized. 

The Magic Vermicelli

Sun Hou-tzu, the Monkey Sun, [25] the rapid courier, who in asingle skip could traverse 108, 000 _li_ (36, 000 miles), started inpursuit and caught her up, but the astute goddess was clever enoughto slip through his fingers. Sun Hou-tzu, furious at this setback, went to ask Kuan-yin P'u-sa to come to his aid. She promised to doso. As one may imagine, the furious race she had had to escape fromher enemy had given Shui-mu Niang-niang a good appetite. Exhaustedwith fatigue, and with an empty stomach, she caught sight of a womanselling vermicelli, who had just prepared two bowls of it and wasawaiting customers. Shui-mu Niang-niang went up to her and beganto eat the strength-giving food with avidity. No sooner had sheeaten half of the vermicelli than it changed in her stomach intoiron chains, which wound round her intestines. The end of the chainprotruded from her mouth, and the contents of the bowl became anotherlong chain which welded itself to the end which stuck out beyond herlips. The vermicelli-seller was no other than Kuan-yin P'u-sa herself, who had conceived this stratagem as a means of ridding herself ofthis evil-working goddess. She ordered Sun Hou-tzu to take her downa deep well at the foot of a mountain in Hsü-i Hsien and to fastenher securely there. It is there that Shui-mu Niang-niang remains inher liquid prison. The end of the chain is to be seen when the wateris low. 

Hsü, the Dragon-slayer

Hsü Chên-chün was a native either of Ju-ning Fu in Honan, or ofNan-ch'ang Fu in Kiangsi. His father was Hsü Su. His personal namewas Ching-chih, and his ordinary name Sun. 

At forty-one years of age, when he was Magistrate of Ching-yang, near the modern Chih-chiang Hsien, in Hupei, during times of droughthe had only to touch a piece of tile to turn it into gold, and thusrelieve the people of their distress. He also saved many lives bycuring sickness through the use of talismans and magic formulæ. 

During the period of the dynastic troubles he resigned and joinedthe famous magician Kuo P'o. Together they proceeded to the ministerWang Tun, who had risen against the Eastern Chin dynasty. Kuo P'o'sremonstrances only irritated the minister, who cut off his head. 

Hsü Sun then threw his chalice on the ridgepole of the room, causingit to be whirled into the air. As Wang Tun was watching the career ofthe chalice, Hsü disappeared and escaped. When he reached Lu-chiangK'ou, in Anhui, he boarded a boat, which two dragons towed into theoffing and then raised into the air. In an instant they had borne itto the Lü Shan Mountains, to the south of Kiukiang, in Kiangsi. Theperplexed boatman opened the window of his boat and took a furtivelook out. Thereupon the dragons, finding themselves discovered by aninfidel, set the boat down on the top of the mountain and fled. 

The Spiritual Alligator

In this country was a dragon, or spiritual alligator, which transformeditself into a young man named Shên Lang, and married Chia Yü, daughterof the Chief Judge of T'an Chou (Ch'ang-sha Fu, capital of Hunan). Theyoung people lived in rooms below the official apartments. Duringspring and summer Shên Lang, as dragons are wont to do, roamed in therivers and lakes. One day Hsü Chên-chün met him, recognized him as adragon, and knew that he was the cause of the numerous floods whichwere devastating Kiangsi Province. He determined to find a means ofgetting rid of him. 

Shên Lang, aware of the steps being taken against him, changed himselfinto a yellow ox and fled. Hsü Chên-chün at once transformed himselfinto a black ox and started in pursuit. The yellow ox jumped down awell to hide, but the black ox followed suit. The yellow ox then jumpedout again, and escaped to Ch'ang-sha, where he reassumed a human formand lived with Ms wife in the home of his father-in-law, Hsü Sun, returning to the town, hastened to the _yamên, _ and called to ShênLang to come out and show himself, addressing him in a severe toneof voice as follows: "Dragon, how dare you hide yourself there undera borrowed form?" Shên Lang then reassumed the form of a spiritualalligator, and Hsü Sun ordered the spiritual soldiers to kill him. Hethen commanded his two sons to come out of their abode. By merelyspurting a mouthful of water on them he transformed them into youngdragons. Chia Yü was told to vacate the rooms with all speed, andin the twinkling of an eye the whole _yamên_ sank beneath the earth, and there remained nothing but a lake where it had been. 

Hsü Chên-chün, after his victory over the dragon, assembled the membersof his family, to the number of forty-two, on Hsi Shan, outside thecity of Nan-ch'ang Fu, and all ascended to Heaven in full daylight, taking with them even the dogs and chickens. He was then 133 yearsold. This took place on the first day of the eighth moon of the secondyear (A. D. 374) of the reign-period Ning-K'ang of the reign of theEmperor Hsiao Wu Ti of the Eastern Chin dynasty. 

Subsequently a temple was erected to him, and in A. D. 1111 he wascanonized as Just Prince, Admirable and Beneficent. 

The Great Flood

The repairing of the heavens by Nü Kua, elsewhere alluded to, is alsoattributed to the following incident. 

Before the Chinese Empire was founded a noble and wonderful queenfought with the chief of the tribes who inhabited the country roundabout Ô-mei Shan. In a fierce battle the chief and his followers metdefeat; raging with anger at being beaten by a woman, he rushed upthe mountain-side; the Queen pursued him with her army, and overtookhim at the summit; finding no place to hide himself, he attempted indesperation both to wreak vengeance upon his enemies and to end hisown life by beating his head violently against the cane of the HeavenlyBamboo which grew there. By his mad battering he at last succeeded inknocking down the towering trunk of the tree, and as he did so itstop tore great rents in the canopy of the sky, through which pouredgreat floods of water, inundating the whole earth and drowning all theinhabitants except the victorious Queen and her soldiers. The floodshad no power to harm her or her followers, because she herself wasan all-powerful divinity and was known as the 'Mother of the Gods, 'and the 'Defender of the Gods. ' From the mountain-side she gatheredtogether stones of a kind having five colours, and ground them intopowder; of this she made a plaster or mortar, with which she repairedthe tears in the heavens, and the floods immediately ceased. 

The Marriage of the River-god

In Yeh Hsien there was a witch and some official attendants whocollected money from the people yearly for the marriage of theRiver-god. 

The witch would select a pretty girl of low birth, and say that sheshould be the Queen of the River-god. The girl was bathed, and clothedin a beautiful dress of gay and costly silk. She was then taken tothe bank of the river, to a monastery which was beautifully decoratedwith scrolls and banners. A feast was held, and the girl was placedon a bed which was floated out upon the tide till it disappearedunder the waters. 

Many families having beautiful daughters moved to distant places, and gradually the city became deserted. The common belief in Yeh wasthat if no queen was offered to the River-god a flood would come anddrown the people. 

One day Hsi-mên Pao, Magistrate of Yeh Hsien, said to his attendants:"When the marriage of the River-god takes place I wish to say farewellto the chosen girl. "

Accordingly Hsi-mên Pao was present to witness the ceremony. Aboutthree thousand people had come together. Standing beside the oldwitch were ten of her female disciples, "Call the girl out, " saidHsi-mên Pao. After seeing her, Hsi-mên Pao said to the witch: "Sheis not fair. Go you to the River-god and tell him that we will finda fairer maid and present her to him later on. " His attendants thenseized the witch and threw her into the river. 

After a little while Hsi-mên Pao said: "Why does she stay so long? Senda disciple to call her back. " One of the disciples was thrown into theriver. Another and yet another followed. The magistrate then said:"The witches are females and therefore cannot bring me a reply. " Soone of the official attendants of the witch was thrown into the river. 

Hsi-mên Pao stood on the bank for a long time, apparently awaitinga reply. The spectators were alarmed. Hsi-mên Pao then bade hisattendants send the remaining disciples of the witch and the otherofficial attendants to recall their mistress. The wretches threwthemselves on their knees and knocked their heads on the ground, which was stained with the blood from their foreheads, and with tearsconfessed their sin. 

"The River-god detains his guest too long, " said Hsi-mên Pao atlength. "Let us adjourn. "

Thereafter none dared to celebrate the marriage of the River-god. 

Legend of the Building of Peking

When the Mongol Yüan dynasty had been destroyed, and the EmperorHung Wu had succeeded in firmly establishing that of the Great Ming, Ta Ming, he made Chin-ling, the present Nanking, his capital, and heldhis Court there with great splendour, envoys from every province withinthe 'Four Seas' (the Chinese Empire) assembling there to witness hisgreatness and to prostrate themselves before the Dragon Throne. 

The Emperor had many sons and daughters by his different consorts andconcubines, each mother, in her inmost heart, fondly hoping that herown son would be selected by his father to succeed him. 

Although the Empress had a son, who was the heir-apparent, yet she feltenvious of those ladies who had likewise been blessed with children, for fear one of the princes should supplant her son in the affectionof the Emperor and in the succession. This envy displayed itself onevery occasion; she was greatly beloved by the Emperor, and exertedall her influence with him, as the other young princes grew up, to get them removed from Court. Through her means most of them weresent to the different provinces as governors; those provinces undertheir government being so many principalities or kingdoms. 

Chu-ti

One of the consorts of Hung Wu, the Lady Wêng, had a son namedChu-ti. This young prince was very handsome and graceful in hisdeportment; he was, moreover, of an amiable disposition. He was thefourth son of the Emperor, and his pleasing manner and address had madehim a great favourite, not only with his father, but with every oneabout the Court. The Empress noticed the evident affection the Emperorevinced for this prince, and determined to get him removed from theCourt as soon as possible. By a judicious use of flattery and cajolery, she ultimately persuaded the Emperor to appoint the prince governor ofthe Yen country, and thenceforth he was styled Yen Wang, Prince of Yen. 

The Sealed Packet

The young Prince, shortly after, taking an affectionate leave ofthe Emperor, left Chin-ling to proceed to his post. Ere he departed, however, a Taoist priest, called Liu Po-wên, who had a great affectionfor the Prince, put a sealed packet into his hand, and told him toopen it when he found himself in difficulty, distress, or danger; theperusal of the first portion that came to his hand would invariablysuggest some remedy for the evil, whatever it was. After doing so, he was again to seal the packet, without further looking into itscontents, till some other emergency arose necessitating advice orassistance, when he would again find it. The Prince departed on hisjourney, and in the course of time, without meeting with any adventuresworth recording, arrived safely at his destination. 

A Desolate Region

The place where Peking now stands was originally called Yu Chou; in theT'ang dynasty it was called Pei-p'ing Fu; and afterward became knownas Shun-t'ien Fu--but that was after the city now called Peking wasbuilt. The name of the country in which this place was situated wasYen. It was a mere barren wilderness, with very few inhabitants; theselived in huts and scattered hamlets, and there was no city to affordprotection to the people and to check the depredations of robbers. 

When the Prince saw what a desolate-looking place he had been appointedto, and thought of the long years he was probably destined to spendthere, he grew very melancholy, and nothing his attendants essayedto do in hope of alleviating his sorrow succeeded. 

The Prince opens the Sealed Packet

All at once the Prince bethought himself of the packet which the oldTaoist priest had given him; he forthwith proceeded to make search forit--for in the bustle and excitement of travelling he had forgottenall about it--in hope that it might suggest something to better theprospects before him. Having found the packet, he hastily broke itopen to see what instructions it contained; taking out the firstpaper which came to hand, he read the following:

"When you reach Pei-p'ing Fu you must build a city there and nameit No-cha Ch'êng, the City of No-cha. [26] But, as the work willbe costly, you must issue a proclamation inviting the wealthy tosubscribe the necessary funds for building it. At the back of thispaper is a plan of the city; you must be careful to act according tothe instructions accompanying it. "

The Prince inspected the plan, carefully read the instructions, andfound even the minutest details fully explained. He was struck withthe grandeur of the design of the proposed city, and at once acted onthe instructions contained in the packet; proclamations were posted up, and large sums were speedily subscribed, ten of the wealthiest familieswho had accompanied him from Chin-ling being the largest contributors, supporting the plan not only with their purses, by giving immense sums, but by their influence among their less wealthy neighbours. 

The City is Founded

When sufficient money had been subscribed, a propitious day was chosenon which to commence the undertaking. Trenches where the foundationsof the walls were to be were first dug out, according to the planfound in the packet. The foundations themselves consisted of layersof stone quarried from the western hills; bricks of an immense sizewere made and burnt in the neighbourhood; the moat was dug out, andthe earth from it used to fill in the centre of the walls, which, when complete, were forty-eight _li_ in circumference, fifty cubits inheight, and fifty in breadth; the whole circuit of the walls havingbattlements and embrasures. Above each of the nine gates of the cityimmense three-storied towers were built, each tower being ninety-ninecubits in height. 

Near the front entrance of the city, facing each other, were built theTemples of Heaven and of Earth. In rear of it the beautiful 'Coal Hill'(better known as 'Prospect Hill') was raised; while in the square infront of the Great Gate of the palace was buried an immense quantityof charcoal (that and the coal being stored as a precaution in caseof siege). 

The palace, containing many superb buildings, was built in a style ofexceeding splendour; in the various enclosures were beautiful gardensand lakes; in the different courtyards, too, seventy-two wells weredug and thirty-six golden tanks placed. The whole of the buildingsand grounds was surrounded by a lofty wall and a stone-paved moat, in which the lotus and other flowers bloomed in great beauty andprofusion, and in the clear waters of which myriads of gold and silverfish disported themselves. 

The geomancy of the city was similar to that of Chin-ling, Wheneverything was completed the Prince compared it with the plan andfound that the city tallied with it in every respect. He was muchdelighted, and called for the ten wealthy persons who had beenthe chief contributors, and gave each of them a pair of 'couchantdragon' silk- or satin-embroidered cuffs, and allowed them greatprivileges. Up to the present time there is the common saying:"Since then the 'dragon-cuffed' gentlefolks have flourished. "

General Prosperity

All the people were loud in praise of the beauty and strength of thenewly built city. Merchants from every province hastened to Peking, attracted by the news they heard of its magnificence and the prospectthere was of profitably disposing of their wares. In short, the peoplewere prosperous and happy, food was plentiful, the troops brave, themonarch just, his ministers virtuous, and all enjoyed the blessingsof peace. 

A Drought and its Cause

While everything was thus tranquil, a sudden and untoward eventoccurred which spread dismay and consternation on all sides. One daywhen the Prince went into the hall of audience one of his ministersreported that "the wells are thirsty and the rivers dried up"--therewas no water, and the people were all in the greatest alarm. ThePrince at once called his counsellors together to devise some meansof remedying this disaster and causing the water to return to thewells and springs, but no one could suggest a suitable plan. 

It is necessary to explain the cause of this scarcity of water. Therewas a dragon's cave outside the east gate of the city at a placecalled Lei-chên K'ou, 'Thunder-clap Mouth' or 'Pass' (the name of avillage). The dragon had not been seen for myriads of years, yet itwas well known that he lived there. 

In digging out the earth to build the wall the workmen had broken intothis dragon's cave, little thinking of the consequences which wouldresult. The dragon was exceedingly wroth and determined to shift hisabode, but the she-dragon said: "We have lived here thousands of years, and shall we suffer the Prince of Yen to drive us forth thus? If we_do_ go we will collect all the water, place it in our _yin-yang_baskets [used for drawing water], and at midnight we will appear in adream to the Prince, requesting permission to retire. If he gives uspermission to do so, and allows us also to take our baskets of waterwith us, he will fall into our trap, for we shall take the waler withhis own consent, "

The Prince's Dream

The two dragons then transformed themselves into an old man andan old woman, went to the chamber of the Prince, who was asleep, and appeared to him in a dream. Kneeling before him, they cried:"O Lord of a Thousand Years, we have come before you to beg leave toretire from this place, and to beseech you out of your great bountyto give us permission to take these two baskets of water with us. "

The Prince readily assented, little dreaming of the danger he wasincurring. The dragons were highly delighted, and hastened out ofhis presence; they filled the baskets with all the water there wasin Peking, and carried them off with them. 

When the Prince awoke he paid no attention to his dream till heheard the report of the scarcity of water, when, reflecting on thesingularity of his dream, he thought there might be some hidden meaningin it. He therefore had recourse to the packet again, and discoveredthat his dream-visitors had been dragons, who had taken the waters ofPeking away with them in their magic baskets; the packet, however, contained directions for the recovery of the water, and he at onceprepared to follow them. 

The Pursuit of the Dragons

In haste the Prince donned his armour, mounted his black steed, and, spear in hand, dashed out of the west gate of the city. He pressed onhis horse, which went swift as the wind, nor did he slacken speed tillhe came up with the water-stealing dragons, who still retained theforms in which they had appeared to him in his dream. On a cart werethe two identical baskets he had seen; in front of the cart, draggingit, was the old woman, while behind, pushing it, was the old man. 

An Unexpected Flood

When the Prince saw them he galloped up to the cart, and, withoutpausing, thrust his spear into one of the baskets, making a great hole, out of which the water rushed so rapidly that the Prince was muchfrightened. He dashed off at full speed to save himself from beingswallowed up by the waters, which in a very short time had risen morethan thirty feet and had flooded the surrounding country. On gallopedthe Prince, followed by the roaring water, till he reached a hill, up which he urged his startled horse. When he gained the top he foundthat it stood out of the water like an island, completely surrounded;the water was seething and swirling round the hill in a frightfulmanner, but no vestige could he see of either of the dragons. 

The Waters Subside

The Prince was very much alarmed at his perilous position, whensuddenly a Buddhist priest appeared before him, with clasped hands andbent head, who bade him not be alarmed, as with Heaven's assistancehe would soon disperse the water. Hereupon the priest recited a shortprayer or spell, and the waters receded as rapidly as they had risen, and finally returned to their proper channels. 

The Origin of Chên-shui T'a

The broken basket became a large deep hole, some three _mu_ (abouthalf an English acre) in extent, in the centre of which was a fountainwhich threw up a vast body of clear water. From the midst of thisthere arose a pagoda, which rose and fell with the water, floating onthe top like a vessel; the spire thrusting itself far up into the sky, and swaying about like the mast of a ship in a storm. 

The Prince returned to the city filled with wonder at what hehad seen, and with joy at having so successfully carried out thedirections contained in the packet. On all sides he was greeted bythe acclamations of the people, who hailed him as the saviour ofPeking. Since that time Peking has never had the misfortune to bewithout water. 

The pagoda is called the Pagoda on the Hill of the Imperial Spring(Yü Ch'üan Shan T'a; more commonly Chên-shui T'a, 'Water-repressingPagoda'). [27] The spring is still there, and day and night, unceasingly, its clear waters bubble up and flow eastward to Peking, which would now be a barren wilderness but for Yen Wang's pursuit ofthe water. 

CHAPTER VIII

Myths of Fire

The Ministry of Fire

The celestial organization of Fire is the fifth Ministry, and ispresided over by a President, Lo Hsüan, whose titular designation isHuo-tê Hsing-chün, 'Stellar Sovereign of the Fire-virtue, ' with fivesubordinate ministers, four of whom are star-gods, and the fifth a"celestial prince who receives fire": Chieh-huo T'ien-chün. Like somany other Chinese deities, the five were all ministers of the tyrantemperor Chou. 

It is related that Lo Hsüan was originally a Taoist priest known asYen-chung Hsien, of the island Huo-lung, 'Fire-dragon. ' His face wasthe colour of ripe fruit of the jujube-tree, his hair and beard red, the former done up in the shape of a fish-tail, and he had threeeyes. He wore a red cloak ornamented with the _pa kua_; his horsesnorted flames from its nostrils and fire darted from its hoofs. 

While fighting in the service of the son of the tyrant emperor, Lo Hsüan suddenly changed himself into a giant with three heads andsix arms. In each of his hands he held a magic weapon. These were aseal which reflected the heavens and the earth, a wheel of the fivefire-dragons, a gourd containing ten thousand fire-crows, and, inthe other hands, two swords which floated like smoke, and a columnof smoke several thousands of _li_ long enclosing swords of fire. 

A Conflagration

Having arrived at the city of Hsi Ch'i, Lo Hsüan sent forth hissmoke-column, the air was filled with swords of fire, the ten thousandfire-crows, emerging from the gourd, spread themselves over the town, and a terrible conflagration broke out, the whole place being ablazein a few minutes. 

At this juncture there appeared in the sky the Princess Lung Chi, daughter of Wang-mu Niang-niang; forthwith she spread over thecity her shroud of mist and dew, and the fire was extinguished by aheavy downpour of rain. All the mysterious mechanisms of Lo Hsüanlost their efficacy, and the magician took to his heels down theside of the mountain. There he was met by Li, the Pagoda-bearer, [28] who threw his golden pagoda into the air. The pagoda fell on LoHsüan's head and broke his skull. 

C'ih Ching-tzu

Of the various fire-gods, Ch'ih Ching-tzu, the principle of spiritualfire, is one of the five spirits representing the Five Elements. Heis Fire personified, which has its birth in the south, on MountShih-t'ang. He himself and everything connected with him--his skin, hair, beard, trousers, cloak of leaves, etc. --are all of the colour offire, though he is sometimes represented with a blue cap resemblingthe blue tip of a flame. He appeared in the presence of Huang Laoin a fire-cloud. He it was who obtained fire from the wood of themulberry-tree, and the heat of this fire, joined with the moistureof water, developed the germs of terrestrial beings. 

The Red Emperor

Chu Jung, though also otherwise personified, is generally regarded ashaving been a legendary emperor who made his first appearance in thetime of Hsien Yuan (2698-2598 B. C. ). In his youth he asked Kuang-shouLao-jên, 'Old Longevity, ' to grant him immortality. "The time hasnot yet come, " replied Old Longevity; "before it does you have tobecome an emperor. I will give you the means of reaching the end youdesire. Give orders that after you are dead you are to be buried onthe southern slope of the sacred mountain Hêng Shan; there you willlearn the doctrine of Ch'ih Ching-tzu and will become immortal. "

The Emperor Hsien Yüan, having abdicated the throne, sent for Chu Jung, and bestowed upon him the crown. Chu Jung, having become emperor, taught the people the use of fire and the advantages to be derivedtherefrom. In those early times the forests were filled with venomousreptiles and savage animals; he ordered the peasants to set fire to thebrushwood to drive away these dangerous neighbours and keep them at adistance. He also taught his subjects the art of purifying, forging, and welding metals by the action of fire. He was nicknamed Ch'ih Ti, 'the Red Emperor. ' He reigned for more than two hundred years, andbecame an Immortal, His capital was the ancient city of Kuei, thirty_li_ north-east of Hsin-chêng Hsien, in the Prefecture of K'ai-fêngFu, Honan. His tomb is on the southern slope of Heng Shan. The peakis known as Chu Jung Peak. His descendants, who went to live in thesouth, were the ancestors of the Directors of Fire. 

Hui Lu

The most popular God of Fire, however, is Hui Lu, a celebratedmagician who, according to the _Shên hsien t'ung chien_, lived sometime before the reign of Ti K'u (2436-2366 B. C. ), the father of Yaothe Great, and had a mysterious bird named Pi Fang and a hundred otherfire-birds shut up in a gourd. He had only to let them out to set upa conflagration which would extend over the whole country. 

Huang Ti ordered Chu Jung to fight Hui Lu and also to subdue therebel Chih Yu. Chu Jung had a large bracelet of pure gold--a mostwonderful and effective weapon. He hurled it into the air, and itfell on Hui Lu's neck, throwing him to the ground and rendering himincapable of moving. Finding resistance impossible, he asked mercyfrom his victor and promised to be his follower in the spiritualcontests. Subsequently he always called himself Huo-shih Chih T'u, 'the Disciple of the Master of Fire. '

The Fire-emperor

Shen Nung, the God of Agriculture, also adds to his other functionsthose appertaining to the God of Fire, the reason being that whenhe succeeded the Emperor Fu Hsi on the throne he adopted fire asthe emblem of his government, just as Huang Ti adopted the symbolof Earth. Thus he came to be called Huo Ti, the 'Fire-emperor. ' Hetaught his subjects the use of fire for smelting metals and makingimplements and weapons, and the use of oil in lamps, etc. All thedivisions of his official hierarchy were connected in some way withthis element; thus, there were the Ministers of Fire generally, theofficers of Fire of the North, South, etc. Becoming thus doubly thepatron of fire, a second fire symbol (_huo_) was added to his name, changing it from Huo Ti, 'Fire-emperor, ' to Yen Ti, 'Blazing Emperor, '

CHAPTER IX

Myths of Epidemics, Medicine, Exorcism, Etc. 

The Ministry of Epidemics

The gods of epidemics, etc. , belong to the sixth, ninth, second, and third celestial Ministries. The composition of the Ministry ofEpidemics is arranged differently in different works as Epidemics(regarded as epidemics on earth, but as demons in Heaven) of theCentre, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, or as the marshals clothedin yellow, green, red, white, and blue respectively, or as the Officersof the East, West, South, and North, with two additional members:a Taoist who quells the plague, and the Grand Master who exhortspeople to do right. 

With regard to the Ministry of Seasonal Epidemics, it is related thatin the sixth moon of the eleventh year (A. D. 599) of the reign of KaoTsu, founder of the Sui dynasty, five stalwart persons appeared inthe air, clothed in robes of five colours, each carrying differentobjects in his hands: the first a spoon and earthenware vase, thesecond a leather bag and sword, the third a fan, the fourth a club, the fifth a jug of fire. The Emperor asked Chang Chü-jên, his GrandHistoriographer, who these were and if they were benevolent or evilspirits. The official answered: "These are the five powers of the fivedirections. Their appearance indicates the imminence of epidemics, which will last throughout the four seasons of the year. " "Whatremedy is there, and how am I to protect the people?" inquired theEmperor. "There is no remedy, " replied the official, "for epidemicsare sent by Heaven. " During that year the mortality was very great. TheEmperor built a temple to the five persons, and bestowed upon them thetitle of Marshals to the Five Spirits of the Plague. During that andthe following dynasty sacrifices were offered to them on the fifthday of the fifth moon. 

The President of the Ministry

The following particulars are given concerning the President of theMinistry, whose name was Lü Yüeh. He was an old Taoist hermit, livingat Chiu-lung Tao, 'Nine-dragon Island, ' who became an Immortal. Thefour members of the Ministry were his disciples. He wore a red garment, had a blue face, red hair, long teeth, and three eyes. His war-horsewas named the Myopic Camel. He carried a magic sword, and was in theservice of Chou Wang, whose armies were concentrated at Hsi Ch'i. Ina duel with Mu-cha, brother of No-cha, he had his arm severed by asword-cut. In another battle with Huang T'ien-hua, son of Huang Fei-hu, he appeared with three heads and six arms. In his many hands he heldthe celestial seal, plague microbes, the flag of plague, the plaguesword, and two mysterious swords. His faces were green, and largeteeth protruded from his mouths. Huang T'ien-hua threw his magicweapon, Huo-lung Piao, and hit him on the leg. Just at that momentChiang Tzu-ya arrived with his goblin-dispelling whip and felled himwith a blow. He was able, however, to rise again, and took to flight. 

The Plague-disseminating Umbrellas

Resolved to avenge his defeat, he joined General Hsü Fang, who wascommanding an army corps at Ch'uan-yün Kuan. Round the mountain heorganized a system of entrenchments and of infection against theirenemies. Yang Chien released his celestial hound, which bit Lü Yüehon the crown of his head. Then Yang Jên, armed with his magic fan, pursued Lü Yüeh and compelled him to retreat to his fortress. LüYüeh mounted the central raised part of the embattled wall and openedall his plague-disseminating umbrellas, with the object of infectingYang Jên, but the latter, simply by waving his fan, reduced all theumbrellas to dust, and also burned the fort, and with it Lü Yüeh. 

Similar wonderful achievements are related in short notices in the_Fêng shên yen i_ of the four other officers of the Ministry. 

Li P'ing, the sixth officer of the Ministry, met a like fate to thatof Lü Yüeh after having failed to induce the latter to abandon thecause of the Shang dynasty for that of Chou. 

The Five Graduates

In Père Henri Doré's _Recherches sur les Superstitions en Chine_is given an interesting legend concerning five other gods ofepidemics. These gods are called the Wu Yüeh, 'Five Mountains, 'and are worshipped in the temple San-i Ko at Ju-kao, especially inoutbreaks of contagious diseases and fevers. A sufferer goes to thetemple and promises offerings to the gods in the event of recovery. Thecustomary offering is five small wheaten loaves, called _shao ping_, and a pound of meat. 

The Wu Yüeh are stellar devils whom Yü Huang sent to be reincarnated onearth. Their names were T'ien Po-hsüeh, Tung Hung-wên, Ts'ai Wên-chü, Chao Wu-chên, and Huang Ying-tu, and they were reincarnated atNan-ch'ang Fu, Chien-ch'ang Fu, Yen-mên Kuan, Yang Chou, and Nankingrespectively. They were all noted for their brilliant intellects, and were clever scholars who passed their graduate's examinationwith success. 

When Li Shih-min ascended the throne, in A. D. 627, he called togetherall the _literati_ of the Empire to take the Doctor's Examinationin the capital. Our five graduates started for the metropolis, but, losing their way, were robbed by brigands, and had to beg help inorder to reach the end of their journey. By good luck they all met inthe temple San-i Ko, and related to each other the various hardshipsthey had undergone. But when they eventually reached the capitalthe examination was over, and they were out in the streets withoutresources. So they took an oath of brotherhood for life and death. Theypawned some of the few clothes they possessed, and buying some musicalinstruments formed themselves into a band of strolling musicians. 

The first bought a drum, the second a seven-stringed guitar, thethird a mandolin, the fourth a clarinet, and the fifth and youngestcomposed songs. 

Thus they went through the streets of the capital giving theirconcerts, and Fate decreed that Li Shih-min should hear theirmelodies. Charmed with the sweet sounds, he asked Hsü Mao-kungwhence came this band of musicians, whose skill was certainlyexceptional. Having made inquiries, the minister related theirexperiences to the Emperor. Li Shih-min ordered them to be broughtinto his presence, and after hearing them play and sing appointed themto his private suite, and henceforth they accompanied him whereverhe went. 

The Emperors Strategy

The Emperor bore malice toward Chang T'ien-shih, the Master ofthe Taoists, because he refused to pay the taxes on his property, and conceived a plan to bring about his destruction. He caused aspacious subterranean chamber to be dug under the reception-hall ofhis palace. A wire passed through the ceiling to where the Emperorsat. He could thus at will give the signal for the music to beginor stop. Having stationed the five musicians in this subterraneanchamber, he summoned the Master of the Taoists to his presence andinvited him to a banquet. During the course of this he pulled the wire, and a subterranean babel began. 

The Emperor pretended to be terrified, and allowed himself to fallto the ground. Then, addressing himself to the T'ien-shih, he said:"I know that you can at will catch the devilish hobgoblins whichmolest human beings. You can hear for yourself the infernal row theymake in my palace. I order you under penalty of death to put a stopto their pranks and to exterminate them. "

The Musicians are Slain

Having spoken thus, the Emperor rose and left. The Master of theTaoists brought his projecting mirror, and began to seek for theevil spirits. In vain he inspected the palace and its precincts;he could discover nothing. Fearing that he was lost, he in despairthrew his mirror on the floor of the reception-hall. 

A minute later, sad and pensive, he stooped to pick it up; what washis joyful surprise when he saw reflected in it the subterranean roomand the musicians! At once he drew five talismans on yellow paper, burned them, and ordered his celestial general, Chao Kung-ming, totake his sword and kill the five musicians. The order was promptlyexecuted, and the T'ien-shih informed the Emperor, who received thenews with ridicule, not believing it to be true. He went to his seatand pulled the wire, but all remained silent. A second and third timehe gave the signal, but without response. He then ordered his GrandOfficer to ascertain what had happened. The officer found the fivegraduates bathed in their blood, and lifeless. 

The Emperor, furious, reproached the Master of the Taoists. "But, "replied the T'ien-shih, "was it not your Majesty who ordered me underpain of death to exterminate the authors of this pandemonium?" LiShih-min could not reply. He dismissed the Master of the Taoists andordered the five victims to be buried. 

The Emperor Tormented

After the funeral ceremonies, apparitions appeared at night in theplace where they had been killed, and the palace became a babel. Thespirits threw bricks and broke the tiles on the roofs. 

The Emperor ordered his uncomfortable visitors to go to the T'ien-shihwho had murdered them. They obeyed, and, seizing the garments of theMaster of the Taoists, swore not to allow him any rest if he wouldnot restore them to life. 

To appease them the Taoist said: "I am going to give each of you awonderful object. You are then to return and spread epidemics amongwicked people, beginning in the imperial palace and with the Emperorhimself, with the object of forcing him to canonize you. "

One received a fan, another a gourd filled with fire, the third ametallic ring to encircle people's heads, the fourth a stick made ofwolves' teeth, and the fifth a cup of lustral water. 

The spirit-graduates left full of joy, and made their first experimenton Li Shih-min. The first gave him feverish chills by waving hisfan, the second burned him with the fire from his gourd, the thirdencircled his head with the ring, causing him violent headache, thefourth struck him with his stick, and the fifth poured out his cupof lustral water on his head. 

The same night a similar tragedy took place in the palace of theEmpress and the two chief imperial concubines. 

T'ai-po Chin-hsing, however, informed Yü Huang what had happened, and, touched with compassion, he sent three Immortals with pills andtalismans which cured the Empress and the ladies of the palace. 

The Graduates Canonized

Li Shih-min, having also recovered his health, summoned the fivedeceased graduates and expressed his regret for the unfortunate issueof his design against the T'ien-shih. He proceeded: "To the south ofthe capital is the temple San-i Ko. I will change its name to HsiangShan Wu Yüeh Shên, 'Fragrant Hill of the Five Mountain Spirits. ' Onthe twenty-eighth day of the ninth moon betake yourselves to thattemple to receive the seals of your canonization. " He conferred uponthem the title of Ti, 'Emperor. '

The Ministry of Medicine

The celestial Ministry of Medicine is composed of three maindivisions comprising: (1) the Ancestral Gods of the Chinese race;(2) the King of Remedies, Yao Wang; and (3) the Specialists. Thereis a separate Ministry of Smallpox. This latter controls and curessmallpox, and the establishment of a separate celestial Ministry issignificant of the prevalence and importance of the affliction. Theravages of smallpox in China, indeed, have been terrific: so much so, that, until recent years, it was considered as natural and inevitablefor a child to have smallpox as for it to cut its teeth. One of theceremonial questions addressed by a visitor to the parent of a childwas always _Ch'u la hua'rh mei yu_? "Has he had the smallpox?" and achild who escaped the scourge was often, if not as a rule, regardedwith disfavour and, curiously enough, as a weakling. Probably thetrain of thought in the Chinese mind was that, as it is the fittestwho survive, those who have successfully passed through the process of"putting out the flowers" have proved their fitness in the strugglefor existence. Nowadays vaccination is general, and the number ofpockmarked faces seen is much smaller than it used to be--in fact, the pockmarked are now the exception. But, as far as I have beenable to ascertain, the Ministry of Smallpox has not been abolished, and possibly its members, like those of some more mundane ministries, continue to draw large salaries for doing little or no work. 

The Medicine-gods

The chief gods of medicine are the mythical kings P'an Ku, Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti. The first two, being by different writersregarded as the first progenitor or creator of the Chinese people, are alternatives, so that Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti may be saidto be a sort of ancestral triad of medicine-gods, superior to theactual God or King of Medicine, Yao Wang. Of P'an Ku we have spokensufficiently in Chapter III, and with regard to Fu Hsi, also calledT'ien Huang Shih, 'the Celestial Emperor, ' the mythical sovereignand supposed inventor of cooking, musical instruments, the calendar, hunting, fishing, etc. , the chief interest for our present purposecentres in his discovery of the _pa kua_, or Eight Trigrams. It is onthe strength of these trigrams that Fu Hsi is regarded as the chiefgod of medicine, since it is by their mystical power that the Chinesephysicians influence the minds and maladies of their patients. Heis represented as holding in front of him a disk on which the signsare painted. 

The Ministry of Exorcism

The Ministry of Exorcism is a Taoist invention and is composed of sevenchief ministers, whose duty is to expel evil spirits from dwellingsand generally to counteract the annoyances of infernal demons. Thetwo gods usually referred to in the popular legends are P'an Kuan andChung K'uei. The first is really the Guardian of the Living and theDead in the Otherworld, Fêng-tu P'an Kuan (Fêng-tu or Fêng-tu Ch'êngbeing the region beyond the tomb). He was originally a scholar namedTs'ui Chio, who became Magistrate of Tz'u Chou, and later Ministerof Ceremonies. After his death he was appointed to the spiritual postabove mentioned. His best-known achievement is his prolongation of thelife of the Emperor T'ai Tsung of the T'ang dynasty by twenty years bychanging _i_, 'one, ' into _san_, 'three, ' in the life-register keptby the gods. The term P'an Kuan is, however, more generally used asthe designation of an officer or civil or military attendant upona god than of any special individual, and the original P'an Kuan, 'the Decider of Life in Hades, ' has been gradually supplanted inpopular favour by Chung K'uei, 'the Protector against Evil Spirits. '

The Exorcism of 'Emptiness and Devastation'

The Emperor Ming Huang of the T'ang dynasty, also known as T'angHsüan Tsung, in the reign-period K'ai Yüan (A. D. 712-742), after anexpedition to Mount Li in Shensi, was attacked by fever. During anightmare he saw a small demon fantastically dressed in red trousers, with a shoe on one foot but none on the other, and a shoe hanging fromhis girdle. Having broken through a bamboo gate, he took possessionof an embroidered box and a jade flute, and then began to make atour of the palace, sporting and gambolling. The Emperor grew angryand questioned him. "Your humble servant, " replied the little demon, "is named Hsü Hao, 'Emptiness and Devastation, '" "I have never heardof such a person, " said the Emperor. The demon rejoined, "Hsü means todesire Emptiness, because in Emptiness one can fly just as one wishes;Hao, 'Devastation, ' changes people's joy to sadness. "The Emperor, irritated by this flippancy, was about to call his guard, when suddenlya great devil appeared, wearing a tattered head-covering and a bluerobe, a horn clasp on his belt, and official boots on his feet. Hewent up to the sprite, tore out one of his eyes, crushed it up, and ateit. The Emperor asked the newcomer who he was. "Your humble servant, "he replied, "is Chung K'uei, Physician of Tung-nan Shan in Shensi. Inthe reign-period Wu Tê (A. D. 618-627) of the Emperor Kao Tsu of theT'ang dynasty I was ignominiously rejected and unjustly defraudedof a first class in the public examinations. Overwhelmed with shame, I committed suicide on the steps of the imperial palace. The Emperorordered me to be buried in a green robe [reserved for members of theimperial clan], and out of gratitude for that favour I swore to protectthe sovereign in any part of the Empire against the evil machinationsof the demon Hsü Hao. " At these words the Emperor awoke and foundthat the fever had left him. His Majesty called for Wu Tao-tzu (oneof the most celebrated Chinese artists) to paint the portrait of theperson he had seen in his dream. The work was so well done that theEmperor recognized it as the actual demon he had seen in his sleep, and rewarded the artist with a hundred taels of gold. The portrait issaid to have been still in the imperial palace during the Sung dynasty. 

Another version of the legend says that Chung K'uefs essay wasrecognized by the examiners as equal to the work of the best authorsof antiquity, but that the Emperor rejected him on account of hisextremely ugly features, whereupon he committed suicide in hispresence, was honoured by the Emperor and accorded a funeral as ifhe had been the successful first candidate, and canonized with thetitle of Great Spiritual Chaser of Demons for the Whole Empire. 

CHAPTER X

The Goddess of Mercy

The Guardian Angel of Buddhism

As Mary is the guiding spirit of Rome, so is Kuan Yin of the Buddhistfaith. 

According to a beautiful Chinese legend, Kuan Yin. When about toenter Heaven, heard a cry of anguish rising from the earth beneathher, and, moved by pity, paused as her feet touched the gloriousthreshold. Hence her name 'Kuan (Shih) Yin' (one who notices or hearsthe cry, or prayer, of the world). 

Kuan Yin was at one time always represented as a man; but in theT'ang dynasty and Five Dynasties we find him represented as a woman, and he has been generally, though not invariably, so representedsince that time. 

In old Buddhism Shâkyamuni was the chief god, and in many templeshe still nominally occupies the seat of honour, but he is completelyeclipsed by the God or Goddess of Mercy. 

"The men love her, the children adore her, and the women chant herprayers. Whatever the temple may be, there is nearly always a chapelfor Kuan Yin within its precincts; she lives in many homes, and inmany, many hearts she sits enshrined. She is the patron goddess ofmothers, and when we remember the relative value of a son in Chineseestimation we can appreciate the heartiness of the worship. Sheprotects in sorrow, and so millions of times the prayer is offered, 'Great mercy, great pity, save from sorrow, save from suffering, ' or, as it is in the books, 'Great mercy, great pity, save from misery, save from evil, broad, great, efficacious, responsive Kuan Yin Buddha, 'She saves the tempest-tossed sailor, and so has eclipsed the Empressof Heaven, who, as the female Neptune, is the patroness of seamen;in drought the mandarins worship the Dragon and the Pearly Emperor, but if they fail the bronze Goddess of Mercy from the hills bringsrain. Other gods are feared, she is loved; others have black, scornful faces, her countenance is radiant as gold, and gentle asthe moon-beam; she draws near to the people and the people draw nearto her. Her throne is upon the Isle of Pootoo [P'u T'o], to whichshe came floating upon a water-lily. She is the model of Chinesebeauty, and to say a lady or a little girl is a 'Kuan Yin' is thehighest compliment that can be paid to grace and loveliness. She isfortunate in having three birthdays, the nineteenth of the second, sixth, and ninth moons. " There are many metamorphoses of this goddess. 

The Buddhist Saviour

"She is called Kuan Yin because at any cry of misery she 'hears thevoice and removes the sorrow. ' Her appellation is 'Taking-away-fearBuddha, ' If in the midst of the fire the name of Kuan Yin is called, the fire cannot burn; if tossed by mountain billows, call her name, and shallow waters will be reached. If merchants go across the seaseeking gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, and a storm comesup and threatens to carry the crew to the evil devil's kingdom, if one on board calls on the name of Kuan Yin, the ship will besaved. If one goes into a conflict and calls on the name of KuanYin, the sword and spear of the enemy fall harmless. If the threethousand great kingdoms are visited by demons, call on her name, and these demons cannot with an evil eye look on a man. If, within, you have evil thoughts, only call on Kuan Yin, and your heart willbe purified, Anger and wrath may be dispelled by calling on the nameof Kuan Yin. A lunatic who prays to Kuan Yin will become sane. KuanYin gives sons to mothers, and if the mother asks for a daughter shewill be beautiful. Two men--one chanting the names of the 6, 200, 000Buddhas, in number like the sands of the Ganges, and the other simplycalling on Kuan Yin--have equal merit. Kuan Yin may take the form ofa Buddha, a prince, a priest, a nun, a scholar, any form or shape, go to any kingdom, and preach the law throughout the earth. "

Miao Chuang desires an Heir

In the twenty-first year of the reign of Ta Hao, the Great GreatOne, of the Golden Heavenly Dynasty, a man named P'o Chia, whosefirst name was Lo Yü, an enterprising kinglet of Hsi Yii, seized thethrone for twenty years, after carrying on a war for a space of threeyears. His kingdom was known as Hsing Lin, and the title of his reignas Miao Chuang. 

The kingdom of Hsing Lin was, so says the Chinese writer, situatedbetween India on the west, the kingdom of T'ien Cheng on the south, and the kingdom of Siam on the north, and was 3000 _li_ in length. Theboundaries differ according to different authors. Of this kingdomthe two pillars of State were the Grand Minister Chao Chen and theGeneral Ch'u Chieh. The Queen Pao Tê, whose maiden name was Po Ya, andthe King Miao Chuang had lived nearly half a century without havingany male issue to succeed to the throne. This was a source of greatgrief to them. Po Ya suggested to the King that the God of Hua Shan, the sacred mountain in the west, had the reputation of being alwayswilling to help; and that if he prayed to him and asked his pardonfor having shed so much blood during the wars which preceded hisaccession to the throne he might obtain an heir. 

Welcoming this suggestion, the King sent for Chao Chên and orderedhim to dispatch to the temple of Hua Shan the two Chief Ministers ofCeremonies, Hsi Hêng-nan and Chih Tu, with instructions to requestfifty Buddhist and Taoist priests to pray for seven days and sevennights in order that the King might obtain a son. When that periodwas over, the King and Queen would go in person to offer sacrificesin the temple. 

Prayers to the Gods

The envoys took with them many rare and valuable presents, and forseven days and seven nights the temple resounded with the sound ofdrums, bells, and all kinds of instruments, intermingled with thevoices of the praying priests. On their arrival the King and Queenoffered sacrifices to the god of the sacred mountain. 

But the God of Hua Shan knew that the King had been deprived of amale heir as a punishment for the bloody hecatombs during his threeyears' war. The priests, however, interceded for him, urging that theKing had come in person to offer the sacrifices, wherefore the Godcould not altogether reject his prayer. So he ordered Ch'ien-li Yen, 'Thousand-_li_ Eye, ' and Shun-fêng Erh, 'Favourable-wind Ear, ' [29]to go quickly and ascertain if there were not some worthy person whowas on the point of being reincarnated into this world. 

The two messengers shortly returned, and stated that in India, in theChiu Ling Mountains, in the village of Chih-shu Yüan, there lived agood man named Shih Ch'in-ch'ang, whose ancestors for three generationshad observed all the ascetic rules of the Buddhists. This man was thefather of three children, the eldest Shih Wên, the second Shih Chin, and the third Shih Shan, all worthy followers of the great Buddha. 

The Murder of the Tais

Wang Chê, a brigand chief, and thirty of his followers, findingthemselves pursued and harassed by the Indian soldiers, withoutprovisions or shelter, dying of hunger, went to Shih Wên and begged forsomething to eat. Knowing that they were evildoers, Shih Wên and histwo brothers refused to give them anything; if they starved, they said, the peasants would no longer suffer from their depredations. Thereuponthe brigands decided that it was a case of life for life, and brokeinto the house of a rich family of the name of Tai, burning theirhome, killing a hundred men, women, and children, and carrying offeverything they possessed. 

The local _t'u-ti_ at once made a report to Yü Huang. 

"This Shih family, " replied the god, "for three generations hasgiven itself up to good works, and certainly the brigands were notdeserving of any pity. However, it is impossible to deny that thethree brothers Shih, in refusing them food, morally compelled them toloot the Tai family's house, putting all to the sword or flames. Isnot this the same as if they had committed the crime themselves? Letthem be arrested and put in chains in the celestial prison, and letthem never see the light of the sun again. "

"Since, " said the messenger to the God of Hua Shan, "your gratitudetoward Miao Chuang compels you to grant him an heir, why not ask YüHuang to pardon their crime and reincarnate them in the womb of theQueen Po Ya, so that they may begin a new terrestrial existence andgive themselves up to good works?" As a result, the God of Hua Shancalled the Spirit of the Wind and gave him a message for Yü Huang. 

A Message for Yü Huang

The message was as follows: "King Miao Chuang has offered sacrificeto me and begged me to grant him an heir. But since by his wars hehas caused the deaths of a large number of human beings, he does notdeserve to have his request granted. Now these three brothers Shihhave offended your Majesty by constraining the brigand Wang Che to beguilty of murder and robbery. I pray you to take into account theirpast good works and pardon their crime, giving them an opportunityof expiating it by causing them all three to be reborn, but of thefemale sex, in the womb of Po Ya the Queen. [30] In this way theywill be able to atone for their crime and save many souls. " Yü Huangwas pleased to comply, and he ordered the Spirit of the North Poleto release the three captives and take their souls to the palace ofKing Miao Chuang, where in three years' time they would be changedinto females in the womb of Queen Po Ya. 

Birth of the Three Daughters

The King, who was anxiously expecting day by day the birth of an heir, was informed one morning that a daughter had been born to him. She wasnamed Miao Ch'ing. A year went by, and another daughter was born. Thisone was named Miao Yin. When, at the end of the third year, anotherdaughter was born, the King, beside himself with rage, called hisGrand Minister Chao Chên and, all disconsolate, said to him, "I ampast fifty, and have no male child to succeed me on the throne. Mydynasty will therefore become extinct. Of what use have been all mylabours and all my victories?" Chao Chen tried to console him, saying, "Heaven has granted you three daughters: no human power can change thisdivine decree. When these princesses have grown up, we will choosethree sons-in-law for your Majesty, and you can elect your successorfrom among them. Who will dare to dispute his right to the throne?"

The King named the third daughter Miao Shan. She became noted for hermodesty and many other good qualities, and scrupulously observed allthe tenets of the Buddhist doctrines. Virtuous living seemed, indeed, to be to her a second nature. 

Miao Shan's Ambition

One day, when the three sisters were playing in the palace garden ofPerpetual Spring, Miao Shan, with a serious mien, said to her sisters, "Riches and glory are like the rain in spring or the morning dew;a little while, and all is gone. Kings and emperors think to enjoy tothe end the good fortune which places them in a rank apart from otherhuman beings; but sickness lays them low in their coffins, and allis over. Where are now all those powerful dynasties which have laiddown the law to the world? As for me, I desire nothing more than apeaceful retreat on a lone mountain, there to attempt the attainmentof perfection. If some day I can reach a high degree of goodness, then, borne on the clouds of Heaven, I will travel throughout theuniverse, passing in the twinkling of an eye from east to west. Iwill rescue my father and mother, and bring them to Heaven; I willsave the miserable and afflicted on earth; I will convert the spiritswhich do evil, and cause them to do good. That is my only ambition. "

Her Sisters Marry

No sooner had she finished speaking than a lady of the Court came toannounce that the King had found sons-in-law to his liking for his twoelder daughters. The wedding-feast was to be the very next day. "Bequick, " she added, "and prepare your presents, your dresses, and soforth, for the King's order is imperative. " The husband chosen for MiaoCh'ing was a First Academician named Chao K'uei. His personal name wasTê Ta, and he was the son of a celebrated minister of the reigningdynasty. Miao Yin's husband-elect was a military officer named HoFêng, whose personal name was Ch'ao Yang. He had passed first in theexamination for the Military Doctorate. The marriage ceremonies wereof a magnificent character. Festivity followed festivity; the newly-wedwere duly installed in their palaces, and general happiness prevailed. 

Miao Shan's Renunciation

There now remained only Miao Shan. The King and Queen wished to findfor her a man famous for knowledge and virtue, capable of ruling thekingdom, and worthy of being the successor to the throne. So theKing called her and explained to her all his plans regarding her, and how all his hopes rested on her. 

"It is a crime, " she replied, "for me not to comply with my father'swishes; but you must pardon me if my ideas differ from yours. "

"Tell me what your ideas are, " said the King. 

"I do not wish to marry, " she rejoined. "I wish to attain to perfectionand to Buddhahood. Then I promise that I will not be ungratefulto you. "

"Wretch of a daughter, " cried the King in anger, "you think you canteach me, the head of the State and ruler of so great a people! Hasanyone ever known a daughter of a king become a nun? Can a good womanbe found in that class? Put aside all these mad ideas of a nunnery, and tell me at once if you will marry a First Academician or a MilitaryFirst Graduate. "

"Who is there, " answered the girl, "who does not love the royaldignity?--what person who does not aspire to the happiness ofmarriage? However, I wish to become a nun. With respect to the richesand glory of this world, my heart is as cold as a dead cinder, andI feel a keen desire to make it ever purer and purer. "

The King rose in fury, and wished to cast her out from hispresence. Miao Shan, knowing she could not openly disobey his orders, took another course. "If you absolutely insist upon my marrying, "she said, "I will consent; only I must marry a physician. "

"A physician!" growled the King. "Are men of good family and talentswanting in my kingdom? What an absurd idea, to want to marry aphysician!"

"My wish is, " said Miao Shan, "to heal humanity of all its ills; ofcold, heat, lust, old age, and all infirmities. I wish to equalize allclasses, putting rich and poor on the same footing, to have communityof goods, without distinction of persons. If you will grant me my wish, I can still in this way become a Buddha, a Saviour of Mankind. Thereis no necessity to call in the diviners to choose an auspicious day. Iam ready to be married now. "

She is Exiled to the Garden

At these words the King was mad with rage. "Wicked imbecile!" hecried, "what diabolical suggestions are these that you dare to makein my presence?"

Without further ado he called Ho T'ao, who on that day was officerof the palace guard. When he had arrived and kneeled to receive theKing's commands, the latter said: "This wicked nun dishonours me. Takefrom her her Court robes, and drive her from my presence. Take herto the Queen's garden, and let her perish there of cold: that willbe one care less for my troubled heart. "

Miao Shan fell on her face and thanked the King, and then went withthe officer to the Queen's garden, where she began to lead her retiredhermit life, with the moon for companion and the wind for friend, content to see all obstacles overthrown on her way to Nirvana, thehighest state of spiritual bliss, and glad to exchange the pleasuresof the palace for the sweetness of solitude. 

The Nunnery of the White Bird

After futile attempts to dissuade her from her purpose by the Courtladies, her parents, and sisters, the King and Queen next deputedMiao Hung and Ts'ui Hung to make a last attempt to bring theirmisguided daughter to her senses. Miao Shan, annoyed at this renewedsolicitation, in a haughty manner ordered them never again to come andtorment her with their silly prattle. "I have found out, " she added, "that there is a well-known temple at Ju Chou in Lung-shu Hsien. ThisBuddhist temple is known as the Nunnery of the White Bird, Po-ch'iaoCh'an-ssu. In it five hundred nuns give themselves up to the studyof the true doctrine and the way of perfection. Go then and ask theQueen on my behalf to obtain the King's permission for me to retirethither. If you can procure me this favour, I will not fail to rewardyou later. "

Miao Chuang summoned the messengers and inquired the result of theirefforts. "She is more unapproachable than ever, " they replied; "she haseven ordered us to ask the Queen to obtain your Majesty's permissionto retire to the Nunnery of the White Bird in Lung-shu Hsien. "

The King gave his permission, but sent strict orders to the nunnery, instructing the nuns to do all in their power to dissuade the Princesswhen she arrived from carrying out her intention to remain. 

Her Reception at the Nunnery

This Nunnery of the White Bird had been built by Huang Ti, andthe five hundred nuns who lived in it had as Superior a lady namedI Yu, who was remarkable for her virtue. On receipt of the royalmandate, she had summoned Chêng Chêng-ch'ang, the choir-mistress, and informed her that Princess Miao Shan, owing to a disagreementwith her father, would shortly arrive at the temple. She requestedher to receive the visitor courteously, but at the same time to doall she could to dissuade her from adopting the life of a nun. Havinggiven these instructions, the Superior, accompanied by two novices, went to meet Miao Shan at the gate of the temple. On her arrivalthey saluted her. The Princess returned the salute, but said: "Ihave just left the world in order to place myself under your orders:why do you come and salute me on my arrival? I beg you to be so goodas to take me into the temple, in order that I may pay my respects tothe Buddha. " I Yu led her into the principal hall, and instructed thenuns to light incense-sticks, ring the bells, and beat the drums. Thevisit to the temple finished, she went into the preaching-hall, whereshe greeted her instructresses. The latter obeyed the King's commandand endeavoured to persuade the Princess to return to her home, but, as none of their arguments had any effect, it was at length decided togive her a trial, and to put her in charge of the kitchen, where shecould prepare the food for the nunnery, and generally be at the serviceof all. If she did not give satisfaction they could dismiss her. 

She makes Offering to the Buddha

Miao Shan joyfully agreed, and proceeded to make her humble submissionto the Buddha. She knelt before Ju Lai, and made offering to him, praying as follows: "Great Buddha, full of goodness and mercy, yourhumble servant wishes to leave the world. Grant that I may neveryield to the temptations which will be sent to try my faith. " MiaoShan further promised to observe all the regulations of the nunneryand to obey the superiors. 

Spiritual Aid

This generous self-sacrifice touched the heart of Yü Huang, the Masterof Heaven, who summoned the Spirit of the North Star and instructedhim as follows: "Miao Shan, the third daughter of King Miao Chuang, has renounced the world in order to devote herself to the attainment ofperfection. Her father has consigned her to the Nunnery of the WhiteBird. She has undertaken without grumbling the burden of all the workin the nunnery. If she is left without help, who is there who will bewilling to adopt the virtuous life? Do you go quickly and order theThree Agents, the Gods of the Five Sacred Peaks, the Eight Ministersof the Heavenly Dragon, Ch'ieh Lan, and the _t'u-ti_ to send her helpat once. Tell the Sea-dragon to dig her a well near the kitchen, a tiger to bring her firewood, birds to collect vegetables for theinmates of the nunnery, and all the spirits of Heaven to help her inher duties, that she may give herself up without disturbance to thepursuit of perfection. See that my commands are promptly obeyed. " TheSpirit of the North Star complied without delay. 

The Nunnery on Fire

Seeing all these gods arrive to help the novice, the Superior, I Yu, held consultation with the choir-mistress, saying: "We assigned tothe Princess the burdensome work of the kitchen because she refused toreturn to the world; but since she has entered on her duties the godsof the eight caves of Heaven have come to offer her fruit, Ch'ieh Lansweeps the kitchen, the dragon has dug a well, the God of the Hearthand the tiger bring her fuel, birds collect vegetables for her, thenunnery bell every evening at dusk booms of itself, as if struck bysome mysterious hand. Obviously miracles are being performed. Hastenand fetch the King, and beg his Majesty to recall his daughter. "

Chêng Chêng-ch'ang started on her way, and, on arrival, informedthe King of all that had taken place. The King called Hu Pi-li, the chief of the guard, and ordered him to go to the sub-prefectureof Lung-shu Hsien at the head of an army corps of 5000 infantry andcavalry. He was to surround the Nunnery of the White Bird and burn itto the ground, together with the nuns. When he reached the place thecommander surrounded the nunnery with his soldiers, and set fire toit. The five hundred doomed nuns invoked the aid of Heaven and earth, and then, addressing Miao Shan, said: "It is you who have broughtupon us this terrible disaster. "

"It is true, " said Miao Shan. "I alone am the cause of yourdestruction. " She then knelt down and prayed to Heaven: "GreatSovereign of the Universe, your servant is the daughter of King MiaoChuang; you are the grandson of King Lun. Will you not rescue youryounger sister? You have left your palace; I also have left mine. Youin former times betook yourself to the snowy mountains to attainperfection; I came here with the same object. Will you not save usfrom this fiery destruction?"

Her prayer ended, Miao Shan took a bamboo hairpin from her hair, pricked the roof of her mouth with it, and spat the flowing bloodtoward Heaven. Immediately great clouds gathered in all parts of thesky and sent down inundating showers, which put out the fire thatthreatened the nunnery. The nuns threw themselves on their knees andthanked her effusively for having saved their lives. 

Hu Pi-li retired, and went in haste to inform the King of thisextraordinary occurrence. The King, enraged, ordered him to go backat once, bring his daughter in chains, and behead her on the spot. 

The Execution of Miao Shan

But the Queen, who had heard of this new plot, begged the King to granther daughter a last chance. "If you will give permission, " she said, "I will have a magnificent pavilion built at the side of the roadwhere Miao Shan will pass in chains on the way to her execution, andwill go there with our two other daughters and our sons-in-law. Asshe passes we will have music, songs, feasting, everything likelyto impress her and make her contrast our luxurious life with hermiserable plight. This will surely bring her to repentance. "

"I agree, " said the King, "to counter-order her execution until yourpreparations are complete. " Nevertheless, when the time came, MiaoShan showed nothing but disdain for all this worldly show, and to alladvances replied only: "I love not these pompous vanities; I swearthat I prefer death to the so-called joys of this world. " She was thenled to the place of execution. All the Court was present. Sacrificeswere made to her as to one already dead. A Grand Minister pronouncedthe sacrificial oration. 

In the midst of all this the Queen appeared, and ordered the officialsto return to their posts, that she might once more exhort her daughterto repent. But Miao Shan only listened in silence with downcast eyes. 

The King felt great repugnance to shedding his daughter's blood, andordered her to be imprisoned in the palace, in order that he might makea last effort to save her. "I am the King, " he said; "my orders cannotbe lightly set aside. Disobedience to them involves punishment, andin spite of my paternal love for you, if you persist in your presentattitude, you will be executed to-morrow in front of the palace gate. "

The _t'u-ti_, hearing the King's verdict, went with all speed to YüHuang, and reported to him the sentence which had been pronouncedagainst Miao Shan. Yü Huang exclaimed: "Save Buddha, there is none inthe west so noble as this Princess. To-morrow, at the appointed hour, go to the scene of execution, break the swords, and splinter the lancesthey will use to kill her. See that she suffers no pain. At the momentof her death transform yourself into a tiger, and bring her body tothe pine-wood. Having deposited it in a safe place, put a magic pillin her mouth to arrest decay. Her triumphant soul on its return fromthe lower regions must find it in a perfect state of preservation inorder to be able to re-enter it and animate it afresh. After that, she must betake herself to Hsiang Shan on P'u T'o Island, where shewill reach the highest state of perfection. "

On the day appointed, Commander Hu Pi-li led the condemned Princessto the place of execution. A body of troops had been stationedthere to maintain order. The _t'u-ti_ was in attendance at thepalace gates. Miao Shan was radiant with joy. "To-day, " she said, "I leave the world for a better life. Hasten to take my life, butbeware of mutilating my body. "

The King's warrant arrived, and suddenly the sky became overcast anddarkness fell upon the earth. A bright light surrounded Miao Shan, and when the sword of the executioner fell upon the neck of thevictim it was broken in two. Then they thrust at her with a spear, but the weapon fell to pieces. After that the King ordered that she bestrangled with a silken cord. A few moments later a tiger leapt intothe execution ground, dispersed the executioners, put the inanimatebody of Miao Shan on his back, and disappeared into the pine-forest. HuPi-li rushed to the palace, recounted to the King full details ofall that had occurred, and received a reward of two ingots of gold. 

Miao Shan visits the Infernal Regions

Meantime, Miao Shan's soul, which remained unhurt, was borne ona cloud; when, waking as from a dream, she lifted her head andlooked round, she could not see her body. "My father has just hadme strangled, " she sighed. "How is it that I find myself in thisplace? Here are neither mountains, nor trees, nor vegetation; no sun, moon, nor stars; no habitation, no sound, no cackling of a fowl norbarking of a dog. How can I live in this desolate region?"

Suddenly a young man dressed in blue, shining with a brilliant light, and carrying a large banner, appeared and said to her: "By order ofYen Wang, the King of the Hells, I come to take you to the eighteeninfernal regions. "

"What is this cursed place where I am now?" asked Miao Shan. 

"This is the lower world, Hell, " he replied. "Your refusal to marry, and the magnanimity with which you chose an ignominious death ratherthan break your resolutions, deserve the recognition of Yü Huang, and the ten gods of the lower regions, impressed and pleased at youreminent virtue, have sent me to you. Fear nothing and follow me. "

Thus Miao Shan began her visit to all the infernal regions. The Godsof the Ten Hells came to congratulate her. 

"Who am I, " asked Miao Shan, "that you should deign to take thetrouble to show me such respect?"

"We have heard, " they replied, "that when you recite your prayersall evil disappears as if by magic. We should like to hear you pray. "

"I consent, " replied Miao Shan, "on condition that all the condemnedones in the ten infernal regions be released from their chains inorder to listen to me. "

At the appointed time the condemned were led in by Niu T'ou ('Ox-head')and Ma Mien ('Horse-face'), the two chief constables of Hell, andMiao Shan began her prayers. No sooner had she finished than Hell wassuddenly transformed into a paradise of joy, and the instruments oftorture into lotus-flowers. 

Hell a Paradise

P'an Kuan, the keeper of the Register of the Living and the Dead, presented a memorial to Yen Wang stating that since Miao Shan'sarrival there was no more pain in Hell; and all the condemned werebeside themselves with happiness. "Since it has always been decreed, "he added, "that, in justice, there must be both a Heaven and a Hell, if you do not send this saint back to earth, there will no longer beany Hell, but only a Heaven. "

"Since that is so, " said Yen Wang, "let forty-eight flag-bearersescort her across the Styx Bridge [Nai-ho Ch'iao], that she may betaken to the pine-forest to reenter her body, and resume her life inthe upper world. "

The King of the Hells having paid his respects to her, the youthin blue conducted her soul back to her body, which she found lyingunder a pine-tree. Having reentered it, Miao Shan found herself aliveagain. A bitter sigh escaped from her lips. "I remember, " she said, "all that I saw and heard in Hell. I sigh for the moment which willfind me free of all impediments, and yet my soul has re-entered mybody. Here, without any lonely mountain on which to give myself upto the pursuit of perfection, what will become of me?" Great tearswelled from her eyes. 

A Test of Virtue

Just then Ju Lai Buddha appeared. "Why have you come to this place?" heasked. Miao Shan explained why the King had put her to death, andhow after her descent into Hell her soul had re-entered her body. "Igreatly pity your misfortune, " Ju Lai said, "but there is no one tohelp you. I also am alone. Why should we not marry? We could buildourselves a hut, and pass our days in peace. What say you?" "Sir, "she replied, "you must not make impossible suggestions. I died andcame to life again. How can you speak so lightly? Do me the pleasureof withdrawing from my presence. "

"Well, " said the visitor, "he to whom you are speaking is no otherthan the Buddha of the West. I came to test your virtue. This placeis not suitable for your devotional exercises; I invite you to cometo Hsiang Shan. "

Miao Shan threw herself on her knees and said: "My bodily eyes deceivedme. I never thought that your Majesty would come to a place likethis. Pardon my seeming want of respect. Where is this Hsiang Shan?"

"Hsiang Shan is a very old monastery, " Ju Lai replied, "built inthe earliest historical times. It is inhabited by Immortals. It issituated in the sea, on P'u T'o Island, a dependency of the kingdomof Annam. There you will be able to reach the highest perfection. "

"How far off is this island?" Miao Shan asked. "More than threethousand _li_, " Ju Lai replied. "I fear, " she said, "I could not bearthe fatigue of so long a journey. " "Calm yourself, " he rejoined. "Ihave brought with me a magic peach, of a kind not to be found in anyearthly orchard. Once you have eaten it, you will experience neitherhunger nor thirst; old age and death will have no power over you:you will live for ever. "

Miao Shan ate the magic peach, took leave of Ju Lai, and startedon the way to Hsiang Shan. From the clouds the Spirit of the NorthStar saw her wending her way painfully toward P'u T'o. He called theGuardian of the Soil of Hsiang Shan and said to him: "Miao Shan ison her way to your country; the way is long and difficult. Do youtake the form of a tiger, and carry her to her journey's end. "

The _t'u-ti_ transformed himself into a tiger and stationed himselfin the middle of the road along which Miao Shan must pass, givingvent to ferocious roars. 

"I am a poor girl devoid of filial piety, " said Miao Shan when shecame up. "I have disobeyed my father's commands; devour me, and makean end of me. "

The tiger then spoke, saying: "I am not a real tiger, but the Guardianof the Soil of Hsiang Shan. I have received instructions to carryyou there. Get on my back. "

"Since you have received these instructions, " said the girl, "I willobey, and when I have attained to perfection I will not forget yourkindness. "

The tiger went off like a flash of lightning, and in the twinklingof an eye Miao Shan found herself at the foot of the rocky slopes ofP'u T'o Island. 

Miao Shan attains to Perfection

After nine years in this retreat Miao Shan had reached the acmeof perfection. Ti-tsang Wang then came to Hsiang Shan, and was soastonished at her virtue that he inquired of the local _t'u-ti_ as towhat had brought about this wonderful result. "With the exception of JuLai, in all the west no one equals her in dignity and perfection. Sheis the Queen of the three thousand P'u-sa's and of all the beings onearth who have skin and blood. We regard her as our sovereign in allthings. Therefore, on the nineteenth day of the eleventh moon we willenthrone her, that the whole world may profit by her beneficence. "

The _t'u-ti_ sent out his invitations for the ceremony. The Dragon-kingof the Western Sea, the Gods of the Five Sacred Mountains, theEmperor-saints to the number of one hundred and twenty, the thirty-sixofficials of the Ministry of Time, the celestial functionaries incharge of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, the Three Causes, theFive Saints, the Eight Immortals, the Ten Kings of the Hells--allwere present on the appointed day. Miao Shan took her seat on thelotus-throne, and the assembled gods proclaimed her sovereign ofHeaven and earth, and a Buddha. Moreover, they decided that it wasnot meet that she should remain alone at Hsiang Shan; so they beggedher to choose a worthy young man and a virtuous damsel to serve herin the temple. 

The _t'u-ti_ was entrusted with the task of finding them. While makingsearch, he met a young priest named Shan Ts'ai. After the death ofhis parents he had become a hermit on Ta-hua Shan, and was still anovice in the science of perfection. 

Miao Shan ordered him to be brought to her. "Who are you?" she asked. 

"I am a poor orphan priest of no merit, " he replied. "From my earliestyouth I have led the life of a hermit. I have been told that yourpower is equalled only by your goodness, so I have ventured to cometo pray you to show me how to attain to perfection. "

"My only fear, " replied Miao Shan, "is that your desire for perfectionmay not be sincere. "

"I have now no parents, " the priest continued, "and I have come morethan a thousand _li_ to find you. How can I be wanting in sincerity?"

"What special degree of ability have you attained during your courseof perfection?" asked Miao Shan. 

"I have no skill, " replied Shan Ts'ai, "but I rely for everythingon your great pity, and under your guidance I hope to reach therequired ability. "

"Very well, " said Miao Shan, "take up your station on the top ofyonder peak, and wait till I find a means of transporting you. "

A Ruse

Miao Shan called the _t'u-ti_ and bade him go and beg all the Immortalsto disguise themselves as pirates and to besiege the mountain, wavingtorches, and threatening with swords and spears to kill her. "ThenI will seek refuge on the summit, and thence leap over the precipiceto prove Shan Ts'ai's fidelity and affection. "

A minute later a horde of brigands of ferocious aspect rushed upto the temple of Hsiang Shan. Miao Shan cried for help, rushedup the steep incline, missed her footing, and rolled down into theravine. Shan Ts'ai, seeing her fall into the abyss, without hesitationflung himself after her in order to rescue her. When he reached her, he asked: "What have you to fear from the robbers? You have nothingfor them to steal; why throw yourself over the precipice, exposingyourself to certain death?"

Miao Shan saw that he was weeping, and wept too. "I must comply withthe wish of Heaven, " she said. 

The Transformation of Shan Ts'ai

Shan Ts'ai, inconsolable, prayed Heaven and earth to save hisprotectress. Miao Shan said to him: "You should not have riskedyour life by throwing yourself over the precipice, I have not yettransformed you. But you did a brave thing, and I know that you havea good heart. Now, look down there. " "Oh, " said he, "if I mistakenot, that is a corpse. " "Yes, " she replied, "that is your formerbody. Now you are transformed you can rise at will and fly in theair. " Shan Ts'ai bowed low to thank his benefactress, who said to him:"Henceforth you must say your prayers by my side, and not leave mefor a single day. "

'Brother and Sister'

With her spiritual sight Miao Shan perceived at the bottom of theSouthern Sea the third son of Lung Wang, who, in carrying out hisfather's orders, was cleaving the waves in the form of a carp. Whiledoing so, he was caught in a fisherman's net, taken to the marketat Yüeh Chou, and offered for sale. Miao Shan at once sent herfaithful Shan Ts'ai, in the guise of a servant, to buy him, givinghim a thousand cash to purchase the fish, which he was to take tothe foot of the rocks at P'u T'o and set free in the sea. The sonof Lung Wang heartily thanked his deliverer, and on his return tothe palace related to his father what had occurred. The King said:"As a reward, make her a present of a luminous pearl, so that shemay recite her prayers by its light at night-time. "

Lung Nü, the daughter of Lung Wang's third son, obtained hergrandfather's permission to take the gift to Miao Shan and beg thatshe might be allowed to study the doctrine of the sages under herguidance. After having proved her sincerity, she was accepted as apupil. Shan Ts'ai called her his sister, and Lung Nü reciprocatedby calling him her dear brother. Both lived as brother and sister byMiao Shan's side. 

The King's Punishment

After King Miao Chuang had burned the Nunnery of the White Bird andkilled his daughter, Ch'ieh Lan Buddha presented a petition to Yü Huangpraying that the crime be not allowed to go unpunished. Yü Huang, justly irritated, ordered P'an Kuan to consult the Register of theLiving and the Dead to see how long this homicidal King had yet tolive. P'an Kuan turned over the pages of his register, and saw thataccording to the divine ordinances the King's reign on the throne ofHsing Lin should last for twenty years, but that this period had notyet expired. [31] "That which has been decreed is immutable, " saidYü Huang, "but I will punish him by sending him illness. " He calledthe God of Epidemics, and ordered him to afflict the King's body withulcers, of a kind which could not be healed except by remedies to begiven him by his daughter Miao Shan. 

The order was promptly executed, and the King could get no rest by dayor by night. His two daughters and their husbands spent their time infeasting while he tossed about in agony on his sick-bed. In vain themost famous physicians were called in; the malady only grew worse, anddespair took hold of the patient. He then caused a proclamation to bemade that he would grant the succession to the throne to any person whowould provide him with an effectual remedy to restore him to health. 

The Disguised Priest-doctor

Miao Shan had learnt by revelation at Hsiang Shan all that was takingplace at the palace. She assumed the form of a priest-doctor, clothedherself in a priest's gown, with the regulation headdress and strawshoes, and attached to her girdle a gourd containing pills and othermedicines. In this apparel she went straight to the palace gate, read the royal edict posted there, and tore it down. Some members ofthe palace guard seized her, and inquired angrily: "Who are you thatyou should dare to tear down the royal proclamation?"

"I, a poor priest, am also a doctor, " she replied. "I read the edictposted on the palace gates. The King is inquiring for a doctor whocan heal him. I am a doctor of an old cultured family, and proposeto restore him to health. "

"If you are of a cultured family, why did you become a priest?" theyasked. "Would it not have been better to gain your living honestlyin practising your art than to shave your head and go loafing aboutthe world? Besides, all the highest physicians have tried in vain tocure the King; do you imagine that you will be more skilful than allthe aged practitioners?"

"Set your minds at ease, " she replied. "I have received from myancestors the most efficacious remedies, and I guarantee that Ishall restore the King to health, " The palace guard then consentedto transmit her petition to the Queen, who informed the King, and inthe end the pretended priest was admitted. Having reached the royalbed-chamber, he sat still awhile in order to calm himself beforefeeling the pulse, and to have complete control of all his facultieswhile examining the King. When he felt quite sure of himself, heapproached the King's bed, took the King's hand, felt his pulse, carefully diagnosed the nature of the illness, and assured himselfthat it was easily curable. 

Strange Medicine

One serious difficulty, however, presented itself, and that was thatthe right medicine was almost impossible to procure. The King showedhis displeasure by saying: "For every illness there is a medicalprescription, and for every prescription a specific medicine; howcan you say that the diagnosis is easy, but that there is no remedy?"

"Your Majesty, " replied the priest, "the remedy for your illness isnot to be found in any pharmacy, and no one would agree to sell it. "

The King became angry, believed that he was being imposed upon, and ordered those about him to drive away the priest, who left smiling. 

The following night the King saw in a dream an old man who said tohim: "This priest alone can cure your illness, and if you ask him hehimself will give you the right remedy. "

The King awoke as soon as these words had been uttered, and beggedthe Queen to recall the priest. When the latter had returned, theKing related his dream, and begged the priest to procure for him theremedy required. "What, after all, is this remedy that I must havein order to be cured?" he asked. 

"There must be the hand and eye of a living person, from which tocompound the ointment which alone can save you, " answered the priest. 

The King called out in indignation: "This priest is fooling me! Whowould ever give his hand or his eye? Even if anyone would, I couldnever have the heart to make use of them. "

"Nevertheless, " said the priest, "there is no other effective remedy. "

"Then where can I procure this remedy?" asked the King. 

"Your Majesty must send your ministers, who must observe the Buddhistrules of abstinence, to Hsiang Shan, where they will be given whatis required. "

"Where is Hsiang Shan, and how far from here?"

"About three thousand or more _li_, but I myself will indicate theroute to be followed; in a very short time they will return. "

The King, who was suffering terribly, was more contented when heheard that the journey could be rapidly accomplished. He called histwo ministers, Chao Chên and Liu Ch'in, and instructed them to loseno time in starting for Hsiang Shan and to observe scrupulously theBuddhist rules of abstinence. He ordered the Minister of Ceremoniesto detain the priest in the palace until their return. 

A Conspiracy that Failed

The two sons-in-law of the King, Ho Fêng and Chao K'uei, who hadalready made secret preparations to succeed to the throne as soon asthe King should breathe his last, learned with no little surprisethat the priest had hopes of curing the King's illness, and thathe was waiting in the palace until the saving remedy was broughtto him. Fearing that they might be disappointed in their ambition, and that after his recovery the King, faithful to his promise, would give the crown to the priest, they entered into a conspiracywith an unscrupulous courtier named Ho Li. They were obliged to actquickly, because the ministers were travelling by forced marches, and would soon be back. That same night Ho Li was to give to theKing a poisoned drink, composed, he would say, by the priest withthe object of assuaging the King's pain until the return of histwo ministers. Shortly after, an assassin, Su Ta, was to murder thepriest. Thus at one stroke both the King and the priest would meettheir death, and the kingdom would pass to the King's two sons-in-law. 

Miao Shan had returned to Hsiang Shan, leaving in the palace the bodilyform of the priest. She saw the two traitors Ho Fêng and Chao K'ueipreparing the poison, and was aware of their wicked intentions. Callingthe spirit Yu I, who was on duty that day, she told him to fly tothe palace and change into a harmless soup the poison about to beadministered to the King and to bind the assassin hand and foot. 

At midnight Ho Li, carrying in his hand the poisoned drink, knockedat the door of the royal apartment, and said to the Queen that thepriest had prepared a soothing potion while awaiting the return ofthe ministers. "I come, " he said, "to offer it to his Majesty. " TheQueen took the bowl in her hands and was about to give it to the King, when Yu I arrived unannounced. Quick as thought he snatched the bowlfrom the Queen and poured the contents on the ground; at the samemoment he knocked over those present in the room, so that they allrolled on the floor. 

At the time this was happening the assassin Su Ta entered the priest'sroom, and struck him with his sword. Instantly the assassin, withoutknowing how, found himself enwrapped in the priest's robe and thrownto the ground. He struggled and tried to free himself, but foundthat his hands had been rendered useless by some mysterious power, and that flight was impossible. The spirit Yu I, having fulfilled themission entrusted to him, now returned to Hsiang Shan and reportedto Miao Shan. 

A Confession and its Results

Next morning, the two sons-in-law of the King heard of the turn thingshad taken during the night. The whole palace was in a state of thegreatest confusion. 

When he was informed that the priest had been killed, the King calledCh'u Ting-lieh and ordered him to have the murderer arrested. Su Tawas put to the torture and confessed all that he knew. Together withHo Li he was condemned to be cut into a thousand pieces. 

The two sons-in-law were seized and ordered to instant execution, and it was only on the Queen's intercession that their wives werespared. The infuriated King, however, ordered that his two daughtersshould be imprisoned in the palace. 

The Gruesome Remedy

Meantime Chao Chên and Liu Ch'in had reached Hsiang Shan. When theywere brought to Miao Shan the ministers took out the King's letter andread it to her. "I, Miao Chuang, King of Hsing Lin, have learned thatthere dwells at Hsiang Shan an Immortal whose power and compassionhave no equal in the whole world. I have passed my fiftieth year, andam afflicted with ulcers that all remedies have failed to cure. To-daya priest has assured me that at Hsiang Shan I can obtain the hand andeye of a living person, with which he will prepare an ointment ableto restore me to my usual state of health. Relying upon his wordand upon the goodness of the Immortal to whom he has directed me, I venture to beg that those two parts of a living body necessary toheal my ulcers be sent to me. I assure you of my everlasting gratitude, fully confident that my request will not be refused. "

The next morning Miao Shan bade the ministers take a knife and cutoff her left hand and gouge out her left eye. Liu Ch'in took theknife offered him, but did not dare to obey the order. "Be quick, "urged the Immortal; "you have been commanded to return as soon aspossible; why do you hesitate as if you were a young girl?" LiuCh'in was forced to proceed. He plunged in the knife, and the redblood flooded the ground, spreading an odour like sweet incense. Thehand and eye were placed on a golden plate, and, having paid theirgrateful respects to the Immortal, the envoys hastened to return. 

When they had left, Miao Shan, who had transformed herself in order toallow the envoys to remove her hand and eye, told Shan Ts'ai that shewas now going to prepare the ointment necessary for the cure of theKing. "Should the Queen, " she added, "send for another eye and hand, I will transform myself again, and you can give them to her. " No soonerhad she finished speaking than she mounted a cloud and disappearedin space. The two ministers reached the palace and presented to theQueen the gruesome remedy which they had brought from the temple. She, overcome with gratitude and emotion, wept copiously. "What Immortal, "she asked, "can have been so charitable as to sacrifice a hand and eyefor the King's benefit?" Then suddenly her tears gushed forth withredoubled vigour, and she uttered a great cry, for she recognizedthe hand of her daughter by a black scar which was on it. 

Half-measures

"Who else, in fact, but his child, " she continued amid her sobs, "could have had the courage to give her hand to save her father'slife?" "What are you saying?" said the King. "In the world there aremany hands like this. " While they thus reasoned, the priest enteredthe King's apartment. "This great Immortal has long devoted herselfto the attainment of perfection, " he said. "Those she has healedare innumerable. Give me the hand and eye. " He took them and shortlyproduced an ointment which, he told the King, was to be applied to hisleft side. No sooner had it touched his skin than the pain on his leftside disappeared as if by magic; no sign of ulcers was to be seen onthat side, but his right side remained swollen and painful as before. 

"Why is it, " asked the King, "that this remedy, which is so efficaciousfor the left side, should not be applied to the right?" "Because, "replied the priest, "the left hand and eye of the saint cures onlythe left side. If you wish to be completely cured, you must sendyour officers to obtain the right eye and right hand also. " The Kingaccordingly dispatched his envoys anew with a letter of thanks, andbegging as a further favour that the cure should be completed by thehealing also of his right side. 

The King Cured

On the arrival of the envoys Shan Ts'ai met them in the mutilated formof Miao Shan, and he bade them cut off his right hand, pluck out hisright eye, and put them on a plate. At the sight of the four bleedingwounds Liu Ch'in could not refrain from calling out indignantly:"This priest is a wicked man, thus to make a martyr of a woman inorder to obtain the succession!"

Having thus spoken, he left with his companion for the kingdom ofHsing Lin. On their return the King was overwhelmed with joy. Thepriest quickly prepared the ointment, and the King, without delay, applied it to his right side. At once the ulcers disappeared like thedarkness of night before the rising sun. The whole Court congratulatedthe King and eulogized the priest. The King conferred upon the latterthe title Priest of the Brilliant Eye. He fell on his face to returnthanks, and added: "I, a poor priest, have left the world, and haveonly one wish, namely, that your Majesty should govern your subjectswith justice and sympathy and that all the officials of the realmshould prove themselves men of integrity. As for me, I am used toroaming about. I have no desire for any royal estate. My happinessexceeds all earthly joys. "

Having thus spoken, the priest waved the sleeve of his cloak, a clouddescended from Heaven, and seating himself upon it he disappearedin the sky. From the cloud a note containing the following words wasseen to fall: "I am one of the Teachers of the West. I came to curethe King's illness, and so to glorify the True Doctrine. "

The King's Daughter

All who witnessed this miracle exclaimed with one voice: "This priestis the Living Buddha, who is going back to Heaven!" The note was takento King Miao Chuang, who exclaimed: "Who am I that I should deservethat one of the rulers of Heaven should deign to descend and cure meby the sacrifice of hands and eyes?"

"What was the face of the saintly person like who gave you theremedy?" he then asked Chao Chên. 

"It was like unto that of your deceased daughter, Miao Shan, "he replied. 

"When you removed her hands and eyes did she seem to suffer?"

"I saw a great flow of blood, and my heart failed, but the face ofthe victim seemed radiant with happiness. "

"This certainly must be my daughter Miao Shan, who has attained toperfection, " said the King. "Who but she would have given handsand eyes? Purify yourselves and observe the rules of abstinence, and go quickly to Hsiang Shan to return thanks to the saint for thisinestimable favour. I myself will ere long make a pilgrimage thitherto return thanks in person. "

The King and Queen taken Prisoners

Three years later the King and Queen, with the grandees of theirCourt, set out to visit Hsiang Shan, but on the way the monarchs werecaptured by the Green Lion, or God of Fire, and the White Elephant, or Spirit of the Water, the two guardians of the Temple of Buddha, who transported them to a dark cavern in the mountains. A terrificbattle then took place between the evil spirits on the one side andsome hosts of heavenly genii, who had been summoned to the rescue, on the other. While its issue was still uncertain, reinforcementsunder the Red Child Devil, who could resist fire, and the Dragon-kingof the Eastern Sea, who could subdue water, finally routed the enemy, and the prisoners were released. 

The King's Repentance

The King and Queen now resumed their pilgrimage, and Miao Shaninstructed Shan Ts'ai to receive the monarchs when they arrivedto offer incense. She herself took up her place on the altar, hereyes torn out, her hands cut off, and her wrists all dripping withblood. The King recognized his daughter, and bitterly reproachedhimself; the Queen fell swooning at her feet. Miao Shan then spoke andtried to comfort them. She told them of all that she had experiencedsince the day when she had been executed, and how she had attainedto immortal perfection. She then went on: "In order to punish youfor having caused the deaths of all those who perished in the warspreceding your accession to the throne, and also to avenge the burningof the Nunnery of the White Bird, Yü Huang afflicted you with thosegrievous ulcers. It was then that I changed myself into a priest inorder to heal you, and gave my eyes and hands, with which I preparedthe ointment that cured you. It was I, moreover, who procured yourliberty from Buddha when you were imprisoned in the cave by the GreenLion and the White Elephant. "

Sackcloth and Ashes

At these words the King threw himself with his face on the ground, offered incense, worshipped Heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon, saying with a voice broken by sobs: "I committed a great crime inkilling my daughter, who has sacrificed her eyes and hands in orderto cure my sickness. "

No sooner were these words uttered than Miao Shan reassumed hernormal form, and, descending from the altar, approached her parentsand sisters. Her body had again its original completeness; and in thepresence of its perfect beauty, and at finding themselves reunitedas one family, all wept for joy. 

"Well, " said Miao Shan to her father, "will you now force me to marryand prevent my devoting myself to the attainment of perfection?"

"Speak no more of that, " replied the King. "I was in the wrong. If youhad not reached perfection, I should not now be alive. I have made upmy mind to exchange my sceptre for the pursuit of the perfect life, which I wish to lead henceforth together with you. "

The King renounces the Throne

Then, in the presence of all, he addressed his Grand Minister ChaoChên, saying: "Your devotion to the service of the State has renderedyou worthy to wear the crown: I surrender it to you. " The Courtproclaimed Chao Chên King of Hsing Lin, bade farewell to Miao Chuang, and set out for their kingdom accompanied by their new sovereign. 

Pardon of the Green Lion and the White Elephant

Buddha had summoned the White Elephant and the Green Lion, andwas on the point of sentencing them to eternal damnation when thecompassionate Miao Shan interceded for them. "Certainly you deserveno forgiveness, " he said, "but I cannot refuse a request made byMiao Shan, whose clemency is without limit. I give you over to her, to serve and obey her in everything. Follow her. "

Miao Shan becomes a Buddha

The guardian spirit on duty that day then announced the arrival of amessenger from Yü Huang. It was T'ai-po Chin-hsing, who was the bearerof a divine decree, which he handed to Miao Shan. It read as follows:"I, the august Emperor, make known to you this decree: Miao Chuang, King of Hsing Lin, forgetful alike of Heaven and Hell, the six virtues, and metempsychosis, has led a blameworthy life; but your nine yearsof penitence, the filial piety which caused you to sacrifice your ownbody to effect his cure, in short, all your virtues, have redeemedhis faults. Your eyes can see and your ears can hear all the goodand bad deeds and words of men. You are the object of my especialregard. Therefore I make proclamation of this decree of canonization. 

"Miao Shan will have the title of Very Merciful and Very CompassionateP'u-sa, Saviour of the Afflicted, Miraculous and Always HelpfulProtectress of Mortals. On your lofty precious lotus-flower throne, you will be the Sovereign of the Southern Seas and of P'u T'o Isle. 

"Your two sisters, hitherto tainted with earthly pleasures, willgradually progress till they reach true perfection. 

"Miao Ch'ing will have the title of Very Virtuous P'u-sa, theCompletely Beautiful, Rider of the Green Lion. 

"Miao Yin will be honoured with the title of Very Virtuous andCompletely Resplendent P'u-sa, Rider of the White Elephant. 

"King Miao Chuang is raised to the dignity of Virtuous ConqueringP'u-sa, Surveyor of Mortals. 

"Queen Po Ya receives the title of P'u-sa of Ten Thousand Virtues, Surveyor of Famous Women. 

"Shan Ts'ai has bestowed upon him the title of Golden Youth. 

"Lung Nü has the title of Jade Maiden. 

"During all time incense is to be burned before all the members ofthis canonized group. "

CHAPTER XI

The Eight Immortals

Pa Hsien

Either singly or in groups the Eight Immortals, Pa Hsien, of the Taoistreligion are one of the most popular subjects of representation inChina; their portraits are to be seen everywhere--on porcelain vases, teapots, teacups, fans, scrolls, embroidery, etc. Images of them aremade in porcelain, earthenware, roots, wood, metals. The term 'EightImmortals' is figuratively used for happiness. The number eight hasbecome lucky in association with this tradition, and persons or thingseight in number are graced accordingly. Thus we read of reverence shownto the 'Eight Genii Table' (_Pa Hsien Cho_), the 'Eight Genii Bridge'(_Pa Hsien Ch'iao_), 'Eight Genii Vermicelli' (_Pa Hsien Mien_), the'Eight Genii of the Wine-cup' (_Tin Chung Pa Hsien_)--wine-bibbers ofthe T'ang dynasty celebrated by Tu Fu, the poet. They are favouritesubjects of romance, and special objects of adoration. In them we see"the embodiment of the ideas of perfect but imaginary happiness whichpossess the minds of the Chinese people. " Three of them (Chung-liCh'üan, Chang Kuo, and Lü Yen) were historical personages; the othersare mentioned only in fables or romances. They represent all kindsof people--old, young, male, female, civil, military, rich, poor, afflicted, cultured, noble. They are also representative of early, middle, and later historical periods. 

The legend of the Eight Immortals is certainly not older than the timeof the Sung dynasty (A. D. 960-1280), and is probably to be assignedto that of the Yüan dynasty (1280-1368). But some, if not all, ofthe group seem to have been previously celebrated as Immortals in theTaoist legends. Their biographies are usually arranged in the orderof their official eminence or seniority in age. Here I follow thatadopted in _Hsiu hsiang Pa Hsien tung yu chi_ [32] in which they aredescribed in the order in which they became Immortals. 

Li T'ieh-kuai

Li T'ieh-kuai, depicted always with his crutch and gourd full ofmagic medicines, was of the family name of Li, his own name beingLi Yüan (Hs'üan, now read Yüan). He is also known as K'ung-mu. HsiWang Mu cured him of an ulcer on the leg and taught him the art ofbecoming immortal. He was canonized as Rector of the East. He issaid to have been of commanding stature and dignified mien, devotinghimself solely to the study of Taoist lore. Hsi Wang Mu made him apresent of an iron crutch, and sent him to the capital to teach thedoctrine of immortality to Han Chung-li. 

He is also identified with Li Ning-yang, to whom Lao Tzu descendedfrom Heaven in order to instruct him in the wisdom of the gods. Soonafter he had completed his course of instruction his soul left hisbody to go on a visit to Hua Shan. Some say he was summoned by LaoTzu, others that Lao Tzu engaged him as escort to the countries ofHsi Yü. He left his disciple Lang Ling in charge of his body, sayingthat if he did not return within seven days he was to have the bodycremated. Unfortunately, when only six days had elapsed the disciplewas called away to the death-bed of his mother. In order to be ableto leave at once he cremated the body forthwith, and when the soulreturned it found only a heap of ashes. Some say the body was notcremated, but only became devitalized through neglect or throughbeing uninhabited for so long a time. The object of the setting ofthe watch was not only to prevent injury to or theft of the body, but also to prevent any other soul from taking up its abode in it. 

In a forest near by a beggar had just died of hunger. Finding thiscorpse untenanted, the wandering spirit entered it through thetemples, and made off. When he found that his head was long andpointed, his face black, his beard and hair woolly and dishevelled, his eyes of gigantic size, and one of his legs lame, he wished toget out of this vile body; but Lao Tzu advised him not to make theattempt and gave him a gold band to keep his hair in order, and aniron crutch to help his lame leg. On lifting his hand to his eyes, he found they were as large as buckles. That is why he was called LiK'ung-mu, 'Li Hollow Eyes. ' Popularly he is known as Li T'ieh-kuai, 'Li with the Iron Crutch. ' No precise period seems to be assignedto his career on earth, though one tradition places him in the Yüandynasty. Another account says that he was changed into a dragon, and in that form ascended to Heaven. 

Elsewhere it is related that T'ieh-kuai, after entering the body ofthe lame beggar, benevolently proceeded to revive the mother of Yang, his negligent disciple. Leaning on his iron staff and carrying a gourdof medicines on his back he went to Yang's house, where preparationswere being made for the funeral. The contents of the gourd, pouredinto the mouth, revived the dead woman. He then made himself known, and, giving Yang another pill, vanished in a gust of wind. Two hundredyears later he effected the immortalization of his disciple. 

During his peregrinations on earth he would hang a bottle on thewall at night and jump into it, emerging on the following morning. Hefrequently returned to earth, and at times tried to bring about thetransmigration of others. 

An example is the case of Ch'ao Tu, the watchman. T'ieh-kuai walkedinto a fiery furnace and bade Ch'ao follow. The latter, being afraidof imitating an act evidently associated with the supernatural worldof evil spirits, refused to do so. T'ieh-kuai then told Ch'ao to stepon to a leaf floating on the surface of the river, saying that it wasa boat that would bear him across safely. Again the watchman refused, whereupon T'ieh-kuai, remarking that the cares of this world wereevidently too weighty for him to be able to ascend to immortality, stepped on to the leaf himself and vanished. 

Chung-li Ch'üan

Regarding the origin and life of this Immortal several differentaccounts are given. One states that his family name was Chung-li, and that he lived in the Han dynasty, being therefore called HanChung-li. His cognomen was Ch'üan, his literary appellation Chi Tao, and his pseudonyms Ho-ho Tzu and Wang-yang Tzu; his style Yün-fang. 

He was born in the district of Hsien-yang Hsien (a sub-prefecture ofthe ancient capital Hsi-an Fu) in Shensi. He became Marshal of theEmpire in the cyclic year 2496. In his old age he became a hermiton Yang-chio Shan, thirty _li_ north-east of I-ch'êng Hsien in theprefecture of P'ing-yang Fu in Shansi. He is referred to by the titleof King-emperor of the True Active Principle. 

Another account describes Chung-li Ch'üan as merely a vice-marshalin the service of Duke Chou Hsiao. He was defeated in battle, andescaped to Chung-nan Shan, where he met the Five Heroes, the Flowersof the East, who instructed him in the doctrine of immortality. Atthe end of the T'ang dynasty Han Chung-li taught this same science ofimmortality to Lü Tung-pin (see p. 297), and took the pompous titleof the Only Independent One Under Heaven. 

Other versions state that Han Chung-li is not the name of a person, but of a country; that he was a Taoist priest Chung Li-tzu; and thathe was a beggar, Chung-li by name, who gave to one Lao Chih a pill ofimmortality. No sooner had the latter swallowed it than he went mad, left his wife, and ascended to Heaven. 

During a great famine he transmuted copper and pewter into silverby amalgamating them with some mysterious drug. This treasure hedistributed among the poor, and thousands of lives were thus saved. 

One day, while he was meditating, the stone wall of his dwelling in themountains was rent asunder, and a jade casket exposed to view. This wasfound to contain secret information as to how to become an Immortal. 

When he had followed these instructions for some time, his room wasfilled with many-coloured clouds, music was heard, and a celestialstork came and bore him away on its back to the regions of immortality. 

He is sometimes represented holding his feather-fan, Yü-mao Shan;at other times the peach of immortality. Since his admission tothe ranks of the gods, he has appeared on earth at various times asthe messenger of Heaven. On one of these occasions he met Lü Yen, as narrated on p. 297. 

Lan Ts'ai-ho

Lan Ts'ai-ho is variously stated to have been a woman and anhermaphrodite. She is the strolling singer or mountebank of theImmortals. Usually she plays a flute or a pair of cymbals. Her originis unknown, but her personal name is said to have been Yang Su, and her career is assigned to the period of the T'ang dynasty. Shewandered abroad clad in a tattered blue gown held by a black woodenbelt three inches wide, with one foot shoeless and the other shod, wearing in summer an undergarment of wadded material, and in wintersleeping on the snow, her breath rising in a brilliant cloud likethe steam from a boiling cauldron. In this guise she earned herlivelihood by singing in the streets, keeping time with a wand threefeet long. Though taken for a lunatic, the doggerel verse she sangdisproved the popular slanders. It denounced this fleeting life andits delusive pleasures. When given money, she either strung it ona cord and waved it to the time of her song or scattered it on theground for the poor to pick up. 

One day she was found to have become intoxicated in an inn at Fêng-yangFu in Anhui, and while in that state disappeared on a cloud, havingthrown down to earth her shoe, robe, belt, and castanets. 

According to popular belief, however, only one of the Eight Immortals, namely, Ho Hsien-ku, was a woman, Lan Ts'ai-ho being represented as ayoung person of about sixteen, bearing a basket of fruit. Accordingto the _Hsiu hsiang Pa Hsien tung yu chi_, he was 'the Red-footedGreat Genius, ' Ch'ih-chiao Ta-hsien incarnate. Though he was a man, adds the writer, he could not understand how to be a man (which isperhaps the reason why he has been supposed to be a woman). 

Chang Kuo

The period assigned to Chang Kuo is the middle or close of the seventhto the middle of the eighth century A. D. He lived as a hermit onChung-t'iao Shan, in the prefecture of P'ing-yang Fu in Shansi. TheEmperors T'ai Tsung and Kao Tsung of the T'ang dynasty frequentlyinvited him to Court, but he persistently refused to go. At last, pressed once more by the Empress Wu (A. D. 684-705), he consentedto leave his retreat, but was struck down by death at the gate ofthe Temple of the Jealous Woman. His body began to decay and to beeaten by worms, when lo! he was seen again, alive and well, on themountains of Hêng Chou in P'ing-yang Fu. He rode on a white mule, which carried him thousands of miles in a day, and which, when thejourney was finished, he folded up like a sheet of paper and put awayin his wallet. When he again required its services, he had only tospurt water upon the packet from his mouth and the animal at onceassumed its proper shape. At all times he performed wonderful featsof necromancy, and declared that he had been Grand Minister to theEmperor Yao (2357-2255 B. C. ) during a previous existence. 

In the twenty-third year (A. D. 735) of the reign-period K'ai Yüanof the Emperor Hsüan Tsung of the T'ang dynasty, he was called toLo-yang in Honan, and elected Chief of the Imperial Academy, withthe honourable title of Very Perspicacious Teacher. 

It was just at this time that the famous Taoist Yeh Fa-shan, thanksto his skill in necromancy, was in great favour at Court. The Emperorasked him who this Chang Kuo Lao (he usually has the epithet Lao, 'old, ' added to his name) was. "I know, " replied the magician;"but if I were to tell your Majesty I should fall dead at your feet, so I dare not speak unless your Majesty will promise that you willgo with bare feet and bare head to ask Chang Kuo to forgive you, inwhich case I should immediately revive. " Hsüan Tsung having promised, Fa-shan then said: "Chang Kuo is a white spiritual bat which came outof primeval chaos. " No sooner had he spoken than he dropped dead atthe Emperor's feet. 

Hsüan Tsung, with bare head and feet, went to Chang Kuo as he hadpromised, and begged forgiveness for his indiscretion. The latter thensprinkled water on Fa-shan's face and he revived. Soon after Chang fellsick and returned to die in the Hêng Chou Mountains during the periodA. D. 742-746. When his disciples opened his tomb, they found it empty. 

He is usually seen mounted on his white mule, sometimes facing itshead, sometimes its tail. He carries a phoenix-feather or a peachof immortality. 

At his interviews with the Emperor Ming Huang in A. D. 723 (when hewas alive still) Chang Kuo "entertained the Emperor with a variety ofmagical tricks, such as rendering himself invisible, drinking off acup of aconite, and felling birds or flowers by pointing at them. Herefused the hand of an imperial princess, and also declined to havehis portrait placed in the Hall of Worthies. "

A picture of Chang Kuo sitting on a donkey and offering a descendantto the newly married couple is often found in the nuptial chamber. Itseems somewhat incongruous that an old ascetic should be associatedwith matrimonial happiness and the granting of offspring, but theexplanation may possibly be connected with his performance of wonderfulfeats of necromancy, though he is said not to have given encouragementto others in these things during his lifetime. 

Ho Hsien Ku

A maiden holding in her hand a magic lotus-blossom, the flower ofopen-heartedness, or the peach of immortality given her by Lü Tung-pinin the mountain-gorge as a symbol of identity, playing at times the_shêng_ or reed-organ, or drinking wine--this is the picture theChinese paint of the Immortal Ho Hsien Ku. 

She was the daughter of Ho T'ai, a native of Tsêng-ch'êng Hsien inKuangtung. Others say her father was a shopkeeper at Ling-ling inHunan. She lived in the time of the usurping empress Wu (A. D. 684-705)of the T'ang dynasty. At her birth six hairs were found growing onthe crown of her head, and the account says she never had any more, though the pictures represent her with a full head of hair. Sheelected to live on Yün-mu Ling, twenty _li_ west of Tsêng-ch'êngHsien. On that mountain was found a stone called _yün-mu shih_, 'mother-of-pearl. ' In a dream she saw a spirit who ordered her topowder and eat one of these stones, by doing which she could acquireboth agility and immortality. She complied with this injunction, andalso vowed herself to a life of virginity. Her days were thenceforthpassed in floating from one peak to another, bringing home at nightto her mother the fruits she collected on the mountain. She graduallyfound that she had no need to eat in order to live. Her fame havingreached the ears of the Empress, she was invited to Court, but whilejourneying thither suddenly disappeared from mortal view and becamean Immortal. She is said to have been seen again in A. D. 750 floatingupon a cloud of many colours at the temple of Ma Ku, the famous femaleTaoist magician, and again, some years later, in the city of Canton. 

She is represented as an extremely beautiful maiden, and is remarkableas occupying so prominent a position in a cult in which no system offemale asceticism is developed. 

Lü Tung-pin

Lü Tung-pin's family name was Lü; his personal name Tung-pin; also Yen;and his pseudonym Shun Yang Tzu. He was born in A. D. 798 at Yung-loHsien, in the prefecture of Ho-chung Fu in Shansi, a hundred and twenty_li_ south-east of the present sub-prefecture of Yung-chi Hsien (P'uChou). He came of an official family, his grandfather having beenPresident of the Ministry of Ceremonies, and his father Prefect ofHai Chou. He was 5 feet 2 inches in height, and at twenty was stillunmarried. At this time he made a journey to Lu Shan in Kiangsi, where he met the Fire-dragon, who presented him with a magic sword, which enabled him at will to hide himself in the heavens. 

During his visit to the capital, Ch'ang-an in Shensi, he metthe Immortal Han Chung-li, who instructed him in the mysteries ofalchemy and the elixir of life. When he revealed himself as Yün-fangHsien-shêng, Lü Yen expressed an ardent desire to aid in convertingmankind to the true doctrine, but was first exposed to a series often temptations. These being successfully overcome, he was investedwith supernatural power and magic weapons, with which he traversedthe Empire, slaying dragons and ridding the earth of divers kindsof evils, during a period of upward of four hundred years. Anotherversion says that Han Chung-li was in an inn, heating a jug ofrice-wine. Here Lü met him, and going to sleep dreamed that hewas promoted to a very high office and was exceptionally favouredby fortune in every way. This had gone on for fifty years whenunexpectedly a serious fault caused him to be condemned to exile, and his family was exterminated. Alone in the world, he was sighingbitterly, when he awoke with a start. All had taken place in so shorta space of time that Han Chung-li's wine was not yet hot. This is theincident referred to in Chinese literature in the phrase 'rice-winedream. ' Convinced of the hollowness of worldly dignities, he followedHan Chung-li to the Ho Ling Mountains at Chung-nan in Shensi, wherehe was initiated into the divine mysteries, and became an Immortal. 

In A. D. 1115 the Emperor Hui Tsung conferred on him the title of Heroof Marvellous Wisdom; and later he was proclaimed King-emperor andStrong Protector. 

There are various versions of the legend of Lü Tung-pin. One of theseadds that in order to fulfil his promise made to Chung-li to do whathe could to aid in the work of converting his fellow-creatures to thetrue doctrine, he went to Yüch Yang in the guise of an oil-seller, intending to immortalize all those who did not ask for additionalweight to the quantity of oil purchased. During a whole year he metonly selfish and extortionate customers, with the exception of oneold lady who alone did not ask for more than was her due. So he wentto her house, and seeing a well in the courtyard threw a few grainsof rice into it. The water miraculously turned into wine, from thesale of which the dame amassed great wealth. 

He was very skilful in fencing, and is always represented with hismagic Excalibur named Chan-yao Kuai, 'Devil-slaying Sabre, ' and inone hand holds a fly-whisk, Yün-chou, or 'Cloud-sweeper, ' a symbolcommon in Taoism of being able to fly at will through the air and towalk on the clouds of Heaven. 

Like Kuan Kung, he is shown bearing in his arms a malechild--indicating a promise of numerous progeny, including _literati_and famous officials. Consequently he is one of the spiritual beingshonoured by the _literati_. 

Han Hsiang Tzu

Han Hsiang Tzu, who is depicted with a bouquet of flowers or a basketof peaches of immortality, is stated to have been a grand-nephew ofHan Yü (A. D. 768-824), the great statesman, philosopher, and poet ofthe T'ang dynasty, and an ardent votary of transcendental study. Hisown name was Ch'ing Fu. The child was entrusted to his uncle tobe educated and prepared for the public examinations. He excelledhis teacher in intelligence and the performance of wonderful feats, such as the production from a little earth in a flower-pot of somemarvellous flowering plants, on the leaves of which were written inletters of gold some verses to this effect:

 The clouds hide Mount Ch'in Ling. Where is your abode? The snow is deep on Lan Kuan; Your horse refuses to advance. 

"What is the meaning of these verses?" asked Han Yü. "You will see, "replied Han Hsiang Tzu. 

Some time afterward Han Yü was sent in disgrace to the prefecture ofCh'ao-chou Fu in Kuangtung. When he reached the foot of Lan Kuan thesnow was so deep that he could not go on. Han Hsiang Tzu appeared, and, sweeping away the snow, made a path for him. Han Yü then understoodthe prophecy in his pupil's verses. 

When Han Hsiang Tzu was leaving his uncle, he gave him the followingin verse:

Many indeed are the eminent men who have served their country, butwhich of them surpasses you in his knowledge of literature? Whenyou have reached a high position, you will be buried in a damp andfoggy land. 

Han Yü also gave his pupil a farewell verse:

How many here below allow themselves to be inebriated by the loveof honours and pelf! Alone and watchful you persevere in the rightpath. But a time will come when, taking your flight to the sky, you will open in the ethereal blue a luminous roadway. 

Han Yü was depressed at the thought of the damp climate of his placeof exile. "I fear there is no doubt, " he said, "that I shall diewithout seeing my family again. "

Han Hsiang Tzu consoled him, gave him a prescription, and said: "Notonly will you return in perfect health to the bosom of your family, but you will be reinstated in your former offices. " All this tookplace exactly as he had predicted. 

Another account states that he became the disciple of Lü Tung-pin, and, having been carried up to the supernatural peach-tree of the genii, fell from its branches, but during his descent attained to the stateof immortality. Still another version says that he was killed by thefall, was transformed, and then underwent the various experienceswith Han Yü already related. 

Ts'ao Kuo-chiu

Ts'ao Kuo-chiu was connected with the imperial family of the Sungs, and is shown with the tablet of admission to Court in his hand. Hebecame one of the Eight Immortals because the other seven, whooccupied seven of the eight grottos of the Upper Spheres, wished tosee the eighth inhabited, and nominated him because "his dispositionresembled that of a genie. " The legend relates that the EmpressTs'ao, wife of the Emperor Jên Tsung (A. D. 1023-64), had two youngerbrothers. The elder of the two, Ching-hsiu, did not concern himselfwith the affairs of State; the younger, Ching-chih, was notorious forhis misbehaviour. In spite of all warnings he refused to reform, andbeing at last guilty of homicide was condemned to death. His brother, ashamed at what had occurred, went and hid in the mountains, where heclothed his head and body with wild plants, resolved to lead the lifeof a hermit. One day Han Chung-li and Lü Tung-pin found him in hisretreat, and asked him what he was doing. "I am engaged in studyingthe Way, " he replied. "What way, and where is it?" they asked. Hepointed to the sky. "Where is the sky?" they went on. He pointed tohis heart. The two visitors smiled and said: "The heart is the sky, and the sky is the Way; you understand the origin of things. " Theythen gave him a recipe for perfection, to enable him to take hisplace among the Perfect Ones. In a few days only he had reached thismuch-sought-after condition. 

In another version we find fuller details concerning thisImmortal. A graduate named Yüan Wên-chêng of Ch'ao-yang Hsien, inthe sub-prefecture of Ch'ao-chou Fu in Kuangtung, was travelling withhis wife to take his examinations at the capital. Ts'ao Ching-chih, the younger brother of the Empress, saw the lady, and was struck withher beauty. In order to gratify his passion he invited the graduateand his young wife to the palace, where he strangled the husband andtried to force the wife to cohabit with him. She refused obstinately, and as a last resort he had her imprisoned in a noisome dungeon. Thesoul of the graduate appeared to the imperial Censor Pao Lao-yeh, and begged him to exact vengeance for the execrable crime. Theelder brother, Ching-hsiu, seeing the case put in the hands of theupright Pao Lao-yeh, and knowing his brother to be guilty of homicide, advised him to put the woman to death, in order to cut off all sourcesof information and so to prevent further proceedings. The youngvoluptuary thereupon caused the woman to be thrown down a deep well, but the star T'ai-po Chin-hsing, in the form of an old man, drew herout again. While making her escape, she met on the road an officialprocession which she mistook for that of Pao Lao-yeh, and, going up tothe sedan chair, made her accusation. This official was no other thanthe elder brother of the murderer. Ching-hsiu, terrified, dared notrefuse to accept the charge, but on the pretext that the woman hadnot placed herself respectfully by the side of the official chair, and thus had not left a way clear for the passage of his retinue, hehad her beaten with iron-spiked whips, and she was cast away for deadin a neighbouring lane. This time also she revived, and ran to informPao Lao-yeh. The latter immediately had Ts'ao Ching-hsiu arrested, cangued, and fettered. Without loss of time he wrote an invitation tothe second brother, Ts'ao Ching-chih, and on his arrival confronted himwith the graduate's wife, who accused him to his face. Pao Lao-yeh hadhim put in a pit, and remained deaf to all entreaties of the Emperorand Empress on his behalf. A few days later the murderer was taken tothe place of execution, and his head rolled in the dust. The problemnow was how to get Ts'ao Ching-hsiu out of the hands of the terribleCensor. The Emperor Jên Tsung, to please the Empress, had a universalamnesty proclaimed throughout the Empire, under which all prisonerswere set free. On receipt of this edict, Pao Lao-yeh liberated Ts'aoChing-hsiu from the cangue, and allowed him to go free. As one risenfrom the dead, he gave himself up to the practice of perfection, became a hermit, and, through the instruction of the Perfect Ones, became one of the Eight Immortals. 

Pa Hsien Kuo Hai

The phrase _Pa Hsien kuo hai_, 'the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, 'refers to the legend of an expedition made by these deities. Theirobject was to behold the wondrous things of the sea not to be foundin the celestial sphere. 

The usual mode of celestial locomotion--by taking a seat on acloud--was discarded at the suggestion of Lü Yen who recommended thatthey should show the infinite variety of their talents by placingthings on the surface of the sea and stepping on them. 

Li T'ieh-kuai threw down his crutch, and scudded rapidly over thewaves. Chung-li Ch'üan used his feather-fan, Chang Kuo his papermule, Lü Tung-pin his sword, Han Hsiang Tzu his flower-basket, HoHsien Ku her lotus-flower, Lan Ts'ai-ho his musical instrument, andTs'ao Kuo-chiu his tablet of admission to Court. The popular picturesoften represent most of these articles changed into various kindsof sea-monsters. The musical instrument was noticed by the son ofthe Dragon-king of the Eastern Sea. This avaricious prince conceivedthe idea of stealing the instrument and imprisoning its owner. TheImmortals thereupon declared war, the details of which are described atlength by the Chinese writers, the outcome being that the Dragon-kingwas utterly defeated. After this the Eight Immortals continued theirsubmarine exploits for an indefinite time, encountering numberlessadventures; but here the author travels far into the fertile regionof romance, beyond the frontiers of our present province. 

CHAPTER XII

The Guardian of the Gate of Heaven

Li, the Pagoda-bearer

In Buddhist temples there is to be seen a richly attired figure ofa man holding in his hand a model of a pagoda. He is Li, the PrimeMinister of Heaven and father of No-cha. 

He was a general under the tyrant Chou and commander of Ch'ên-t'angKuan at the time when the bloody war was being waged which resultedin the extinction of the Yin dynasty. 

No-cha is one of the most frequently mentioned heroes in Chineseromance; he is represented in one account as being Yü Huang'sshield-bearer, sixty feet in height, his three heads with nineeyes crowned by a golden wheel, his eight hands each holding amagic weapon, and his mouth vomiting blue clouds. At the sound ofhis Voice, we are told, the heavens shook and the foundations of theearth trembled. His duty was to bring into submission all the demonswhich desolated the world. 

His birth was in this wise. Li Ching's wife, Yin Shih, bore him threesons, the eldest Chin-cha, the second Mu-cha, and the third No-cha, generally known as 'the Third Prince. '

Yin Shih dreamed one night that a Taoist priest entered her room. Sheindignantly exclaimed: "How dare you come into my room in thisindiscreet manner?" The priest replied: "Woman, receive the child ofthe unicorn!" Before she could reply the Taoist pushed an object toher bosom. 

Yin Shih awoke in a fright, a cold sweat all over her body. Havingawakened her husband, she told him what she had dreamed. At that momentshe was seized with the pains of childbirth. Li Ching withdrew to anadjoining room, uneasy at what seemed to be inauspicious omens. Alittle later two servants ran to him, crying out: "Your wife hasgiven birth to a monstrous freak!"

An Avatar of the Intelligent Pearl

Li Ching seized his sword and went into his wife's room, which he foundfilled with a red light exhaling a most extraordinary odour. A ballof flesh was rolling on the floor like a wheel; with a blow of hissword he cut it open, and a babe emerged, surrounded by a halo of redlight. Its face was very white, a gold bracelet was on its right wrist, and it wore a pair of red silk trousers, from which proceeded raysof dazzling golden light. The bracelet was 'the horizon of Heaven andearth, ' and the two precious objects belonged to the cave Chin-kuangTung of T'ai-i Chên-jên, the priest who had bestowed them upon himwhen he appeared to his mother during her sleep. The child itselfwas an avatar of Ling Chu-tzu, 'the Intelligent Pearl. '

On the morrow T'ai-i Chên-jên returned and asked Li Ching's permissionto see the new-born babe. "He shall be called No-cha, " he said, "and will become my disciple. "

A Precocious Youth

At seven years of age No-cha was already six feet in height. One dayhe asked his mother if he might go for a walk outside the town. Hismother granted him permission on condition that he was accompaniedby a servant. She also counselled him not to remain too long outsidethe wall, lest his father should become anxious. 

It was in the fifth moon: the heat was excessive. No-cha had not gonea _li_ before he was in a profuse perspiration. Some way ahead he sawa clump of trees, to which he hastened, and, settling himself in theshade, opened his coat, and breathed with relief the fresher air. Infront of him he saw a stream of limpid green water running betweentwo rows of willows, gently agitated by the movement of the wind, andflowing round a rock. The child ran to the banks of the stream, andsaid to his guardian: "I am covered with perspiration, and will bathefrom the rock. " "Be quick, " said the servant; "if your father returnshome before you he will be anxious. " No-cha stripped himself, took hisred silk trousers, several feet long, and dipped them in the water, intending to use them as a towel. No sooner were the magic trousersimmersed in the stream than the water began to boil, and Heaven andearth trembled. The water of this river, the Chiu-wan Ho, 'Nine-bendsRiver, ' which communicated with the Eastern Sea, turned completelyred, and Lung Wang's palace shook to its foundations. The Dragon-king, surprised at seeing the walls of his crystal palace shaking, calledhis officers and inquired: "How is it that the palace threatens tocollapse? There should not be an earthquake at this time. " He orderedone of his attendants to go at once and find out what evil was givingrise to the commotion. When the officer reached the river he saw thatthe water was red, but noticed nothing else except a boy dipping aband of silk in the stream. He cleft the water and called out angrily:"That child should be thrown into the water for making the river redand causing Lung Wang's palace to shake. "

"Who is that who speaks so brutally?" said No-cha. Then, seeing thatthe man intended to seize him, he jumped aside, took his gold bracelet, and hurled it in the air. It fell on the head of the officer, andNo-cha left him dead on the rock. Then he picked up his bracelet andsaid smiling: "His blood has stained my precious horizon of Heavenand earth. " He then washed it in the water. 

The Slaying of the Dragon-king's Son

"How is it that the officer does not return?" inquired Lung Wang. Atthat moment attendants came to inform him that his retainer had beenmurdered by a boy. 

Thereupon Ao Ping, the third son of Lung Wang, placing himself at thehead of a troop of marines, his trident in his hand, left the palaceprecincts. The warriors dashed into the river, raising on every sidewaves mountains high. Seeing the water rising, No-cha stood up onthe rock and was confronted by Ao Ping mounted on a sea-monster. 

"Who slew my messenger?" cried the warrior. 

"I did, " answered No-cha. 

"Who are you?" demanded Ao Ping. 

"I am No-cha, the third son of Li Ching of Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan. I camehere to bathe and refresh myself; your messenger cursed me, and Ikilled him. Then--"

"Rascal! do you not know that your victim was a deputy of the Kingof Heaven? How dare you kill him, and then boast of your crime?"

So saying, Ao Ping thrust at the boy with his trident. No-cha, by abrisk move, evaded the thrust. 

"Who are you?" he asked in turn. 

"I am Ao Ping, the third son of Lung Wang. "

"Ah, you are a blusterer, " jeered the boy; "if you dare to touch meI will skin you alive, you and your mud-eels!"

"You make me choke with rage, " rejoined Ao Ping, at the same timethrusting again with his trident. 

Furious at this renewed attack, No-cha spread his silk trousers inthe air, and thousands of balls of fire flew out of them, felling LungWang's son. No-cha put his foot on Ao Ping's head and struck it withhis magic bracelet, whereupon he appeared in his true form of a dragon. 

"I am now going to pull out your sinews, " he said, "in order to makea belt for my father to use to bind on his cuirass. "

No-cha was as good as his word, and Ao Ping's escort ran and informedLung Wang of the fate of his son. The Dragon-king went to Li Chingand demanded an explanation. 

Being entirely ignorant of what had taken place, Li Ching soughtNo-cha to question him. 

An Unruly Son

No-cha was in the garden, occupied in weaving the belt ofdragon-sinew. The stupefaction of Li Ching may be imagined. "Youhave brought most awful misfortunes upon us, " he exclaimed. "Comeand give an account of your conduct. " "Have no fear, " replied No-chasuperciliously; "his son's sinews are still intact; I will give themback to him if he wishes. "

When they entered the house he saluted the Dragon-king, made a curtapology, and offered to return his son's sinews. The father, movedwith grief at the sight of the proofs of the tragedy, said bitterlyto Li Ching: "You have such a son and yet dare to deny his guilt, though you heard him haughtily admitting it! To-morrow I shall reportthe matter to Yü Huang. " Having spoken thus, he departed. 

Li Ching was overwhelmed at the enormity of his son's crime. Hiswife, in an adjoining room, hearing his lamentations, went to herhusband. "What obnoxious creature is this that you have brought intothe world?" he said to her angrily. "He has slain two spirits, theson of Lung Wang and a steward sent by the King of Heaven. To-morrowthe Dragon-king is to lodge a complaint with Yü Huang, and two orthree days hence will see the end of our existence. "

The poor mother began to weep copiously. "What!" she sobbed, "you whomI suffered so much for, you are to be the cause of our ruin and death!"

No-cha, seeing his parents so distracted, fell on his knees. "Let metell you once for all, " he said, "that I am no ordinary mortal. I amthe disciple of T'ai-i Chên-jên; my magic weapons I received from him;it is they which brought upon me the undying hatred of Lung Wang. Buthe cannot prevail. To-day I will go and ask my master's advice. Theguilty alone should suffer the penalty; it is unjust that his parentsshould suffer in his stead. "

Drastic Measures

He then left for Ch'ien-yüan Shan, and entered the cave of his masterT'ai-i Chên-jên, to whom he related his adventures. The master dweltupon the grave consequences of the murders, and then ordered No-cha tobare his breast. With his finger he drew on the skin a magic formula, after which he gave him some secret instructions. "Now, " he said, "goto the gate of Heaven and await the arrival of Lung Wang, who purposesto accuse you before Yü Huang. Then you must come again to consult me, that your parents may not be molested because of your misdeeds. "

When No-cha reached the gate of Heaven it was closed. In vain he soughtfor Lung Wang, but after a while he saw him approaching. Lung Wang didnot see No-cha, for the formula written by T'ai-i Chên-jên renderedhim invisible. As Lung Wang approached the gate No-cha ran up to himand struck him so hard a blow with his golden bracelet that he fellto the ground. Then No-cha stamped on him, cursing him vehemently. 

The Dragon-king now recognized his assailant and sharply reproached himwith his crimes, but the only reparation he got was a renewal of kicksand blows. Then, partially lifting Lung Wang's cloak and raising hisshield, No-cha tore off from his body about forty scales. Blood flowedcopiously, and the Dragon-king, under stress of the pain, begged hisfoe to spare his life. To this No-cha consented on condition that herelinquished his purpose of accusing him before Yü Huang. 

"Now, " went on No-cha, "change yourself into a small serpent that Imay take you back without fear of your escaping. "

Lung Wang took the form of a small blue dragon, and followed No-chato his father's house, upon entering which Lung Wang resumed hisnormal form, and accused No-cha of having belaboured him. "I will gowith all the Dragon-kings and lay an accusation before Yü Huang, "he said. Thereupon he transformed himself into a gust of wind, and disappeared. 

No-cha draws a Bow at a Venture

"Things are going from bad to worse, " sighed Li Ching, His son, however, consoled him: "I beg you, my father, not to let the futuretrouble you. I am the chosen one of the gods. My master is T'ai-iChên-jên, and he has assured me that he can easily protect us. "

No-cha now went out and ascended a tower which commanded a view ofthe entrance of the fort. There he found a wonderful bow and threemagic arrows. No-cha did not know that this was the spiritual weaponbelonging to the fort. "My master informed me that I am destinedto fight to establish the coming Chou dynasty; I ought therefore toperfect myself in the use of weapons. This is a good opportunity. " Heaccordingly seized the bow and shot an arrow toward the south-west. Ared trail indicated the path of the arrow, which hissed as it flew. Atthat moment Pi Yün, a servant of Shih-chi Niang-niang, happened to beat the foot of K'u-lou Shan (Skeleton Hill), in front of the cave ofhis mistress. The arrow pierced his throat, and he fell dead, bathedin his blood. Shih-chi Niang-niang came out of her cave, and examiningthe arrow found that it bore the inscription: "Arrow which shakes theheavens. " She thus knew that it must have come from Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan, where the magic bow was kept. 

Another Encounter

The goddess mounted her blue phoenix, flew over the fort, seized LiChing, and carried him to her cave. There she made him kneel beforeher, and reminded him how she had protected him that he might gainhonour and glory on earth before he attained to immortality. "It isthus that you show your gratitude--by killing my servant!"

Li Ching swore that he was innocent; but the tell-tale arrow wasthere, and it could not but have come from the fortress. Li Chingbegged the goddess to set him at liberty, in order that he might findthe culprit and bring him to her. "If I cannot find him, " he added, "you may take my life. "

Once again No-cha frankly admitted his deed to his father, and followedhim to the cave of Shih-chi Niang-niang. When he reached the entrancethe second servant reproached him with the crime, whereupon No-chastruck him a heavy blow. Shih-chi Niang-niang, infuriated, threwherself at No-cha, sword in hand; one after the other she wrenchedfrom him his bracelet and magic trousers. 

Deprived of his magic weapons, No-cha fled to his master, T'ai-iChên-jên. The goddess followed and demanded that he be put todeath. A terrible conflict ensued between the two champions, untilT'ai-i Chên-jên hurled into the air his globe of nine fire-dragons, which, falling on Shih-chi Niang-niang, enveloped her in a whirlwindof flame. When this had passed it was seen that she was changedinto stone. 

"Now you are safe, " said T'ai-i Chên-jên to No-cha, "but returnquickly, for the Four Dragon-kings have laid their accusation beforeYü Huang, and they are going to carry off your parents. Follow myadvice, and you will rescue your parents from their misfortune. "

No-cha commits Hara-Kiri

On his return No-cha found the Four Dragon-kings on the point ofcarrying off his parents. "It is I, " he said, "who killed Ao Ping, andI who should pay the penalty. Why are you molesting my parents? I amabout to return to them what I received from them. Will it satisfyyou?"

Lung Wang agreed, whereupon No-cha took a sword, and before their eyescut off an arm, sliced open his stomach, and fell unconscious. Hissoul, borne on the wind, went straight to the cave of T'ai-i Chên-jên, while his mother busied herself with burying his body. 

"Your home is not here, " said his master to him; "return to Ch'ên-t'angKuan, and beg your mother to build a temple on Ts'ui-p'ing Shan, forty _li_ farther on. Incense will be burned to you for three years, at the end of which time you will be reincarnated. "

A Habitation for the Soul

During the night, toward the third watch, while his mother was in adeep sleep, No-cha appeared to her in a dream and said: "My mother, pity me; since my death, my soul, separated from my body, wanders aboutwithout a home. Build me, I pray you, a temple on Ts'ui-p'ing Shan, that I may be reincarnated. " His mother awoke in tears, and relatedher vision to Li Ching, who reproached her for her blind attachmentto her unnatural son, the cause of so much disaster. 

For five or six nights the son appeared to his mother, each timerepeating his request. The last time he added: "Do not forget that bynature I am ferocious; if you refuse my request evil will befall you. "

His mother then sent builders to the mountain to construct a templeto No-cha, and his image was set up in it. Miracles were not wanting, and the number of pilgrims who visited the shrine increased daily. 

Li Ching destroys his Son's Statue

One day Li Ching, with a troop of his soldiers, was passing thismountain, and saw the roads crowded with pilgrims of both sexes. "Whereare these people going?" he asked. "For six months past, " he was told, "the spirit of the temple on this mountain has continued to performmiracles. People come from far and near to worship and supplicate him. "

"What is the name of this spirit?" inquired Li Ching. 

"No-cha, " they replied. 

"No-cha!" exclaimed the father. "I will go and see him myself. "

In a rage Li Ching entered the temple and examined the statue, whichwas a speaking image of his son. By its side were images of two ofhis servants. He took his whip and began to beat the statue, cursingit all the while. "It is not enough, apparently, for you to have beena source of disaster to us, " he said; "but even after your death youmust deceive the multitude. " He whipped the statue until it fell topieces; he then kicked over the images of the servants, and went back, admonishing the people not to worship so wicked a man, the shame andruin of his family. By his orders the temple was burnt to the ground. 

When he reached Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan his wife came to him, but he receivedher coldly. "You gave birth to that cursed son, " he said, "who has beenthe plague of our lives, and after his death you build him a temple inwhich he deceives the people. Do you wish to have me disgraced? If Iwere to be accused at Court of having instituted the worship of falsegods, would not my destruction be certain? I have burned the temple, and intend that that shall settle the matter once for all; if everyou think of rebuilding it I will break off all relations with you. "

No-cha consults his Master

At the time of his father's visit No-cha was absent from the temple. Onhis return he found only its smoking remnants. The spirits of histwo servants ran up lamenting. "Who has demolished my temple?" heasked. "Li Ching, " they replied. "In doing this he has exceeded hispowers, " said No-cha. "I gave him back the substance I received fromhim; why did he come with violence to break up my image? I will havenothing more to do with him. "

No-cha's soul had already begun to be spiritualised. So he determinedto go to T'ai-i Chên-jên and beg for his help. "The worship renderedto you there, " replied the Taoist, "had nothing in it which shouldhave offended your father; it did not concern him. He was in thewrong. Before long Chiang Tzu-ya will descend to inaugurate the newdynasty, and since you must throw in your lot with him I will finda way to aid you. "

A New No-cha

T'ai-i Chên-jên had two water-lily stalks and three lotus-leavesbrought to him. He spread these on the ground in the form of a humanbeing and placed the soul of No-cha in this lotus skeleton, utteringmagic incantations the while. There emerged a new No-cha full oflife, with a fresh complexion, purple lips, keen glance, and sixteenfeet of height. "Follow me to my peach-garden, " said T'ai-i Chên-jên, "and I will give you your weapons. " He handed him a fiery spear, verysharp, and two wind-and-fire wheels which, placed under his feet, served as a Vehicle. A brick of gold in a panther-skin bag completedhis magic armament. The new warrior, after thanking his master, mounted his wind-and-fire wheels and returned to Ch'ên-t'ang Kuan. 

A Battle between Father and Son

Li Ching was informed that his son No-cha had returned and wasthreatening vengeance. So he took his weapons, mounted his horse, and went forth to meet him. Having cursed each other profusely, theyjoined battle, but Li Ching was worsted and compelled to flee. No-chapursued his father, but as he was on the point of overtaking him LiChing's second son, Mu-cha, came on the scene, and keenly reproachedhis brother for his unfilial conduct. 

"Li Ching is no longer my father, " replied No-cha. "I gave him backmy substance; why did he burn my temple and smash up my image?"

Mu-cha thereupon prepared to defend his father, but received on hisback a blow from the golden brick, and fell unconscious. No-cha thenresumed his pursuit of Li Ching. 

His strength exhausted, and in danger of falling into the handsof his enemy, Li Ching drew his sword and was about to killhimself. "Stop!" cried a Taoist priest. "Come into my cave, and Iwill protect you. "

When No-cha came up he could not see Li Ching, and demanded hissurrender from the Taoist. But he had to do with one stronger thanhimself, no less a being than Wên-chu T'ien-tsun, whom T'ai-i Chên-jênhad sent in order that No-cha might receive a lesson. The Taoist, with the aid of his magic weapon, seized No-cha, and in a moment hefound a gold ring fastened round his neck, two chains on his feet, and he was bound to a pillar of gold. 

Peace at the Last

At this moment, as if by accident, T'ai-i Chên-jên appeared upon thescene. His master had No-cha brought before Wên-chu T'ien-tsun andLi Ching, and advised him to live at peace with his father, but healso rebuked the father for having burned the temple on Ts'ui-p'ingShan. This done, he ordered Li Ching to go home, and No-cha to returnto his cave. The latter, overflowing with anger, his heart full ofvengeance, started again in pursuit of Li Ching, swearing that he wouldpunish him. But the Taoist reappeared and prepared to protect Li Ching. 

No-cha, bristling like a savage cat, threw himself at his enemyand tried to pierce him with his spear, but a white lotus-floweremerged from the Taoist's mouth and arrested the course of theweapon. As No-cha continued to threaten him, the Taoist drew fromhis sleeve a mysterious object which rose in the air, and, fallingat the feet of No-cha, enveloped him in flames. Then No-cha prayedfor mercy. The Taoist exacted from him three separate promises: tolive in harmony with his father, to recognize and address him as hisfather, and to throw himself at his, the Taoist's, feet, to indicatehis reconciliation with himself. 

After this act of reconciliation had been performed, Wên-chu T'ien-tsunpromised Li Ching that he should leave his official post to become anImmortal able to place his services at the disposal of the new Choudynasty, shortly to come into power. In order to ensure that theirreconciliation should last for ever, and to place it beyond No-cha'spower to seek revenge, he gave Li Ching the wonderful object by whoseagency No-cha's feet had been burned, and which had been the meansof bringing him into subjection. It was a golden pagoda, which becamethe characteristic weapon of Li Ching, and gave rise to his nickname, Li the Pagoda-bearer. Finally, Yü Huang appointed him Generalissimoof the Twenty-six Celestial Officers, Grand Marshal of the Skies, and Guardian of the Gate of Heaven. 

CHAPTER XIII

A Battle of the Gods

Multifarious Versatile Divinities

The _Fêng shên yen i_ describes at length how, during the wars whichpreceded the accession of the Chou dynasty in 1122 B. C. , a multitudeof demigods, Buddhas, Immortals, etc. , took part on one side or theother, some fighting for the old, some for the new dynasty. They werewonderful creatures, gifted with marvellous powers. They could at willchange their form, multiply their heads and limbs, become invisible, and create, by merely uttering a word, terrible monsters who bit anddestroyed, or sent forth poison gases, or emitted flames from theirnostrils. In these battles there is much lightning, thunder, flightof fire-dragons, dark clouds which vomit burning hails of murderousweapons; swords, spears, and arrows fall from the sky on to the headsof the combatants; the earth trembles, the pillars of Heaven shake. 

Chun T'i

One of these gifted warriors was Chun T'i, a Taoist of the WesternParadise, who appeared on the scene when the armies of the rivaldynasties were facing each other. K'ung Hsüan was gallantly holdingthe pass of the Chin-chi Ling; Chiang Tzu-ya was trying to take itby assault--so far without success. 

Chun T'i's mission was to take K'ung Hsüan to the abode of the blest, his wisdom and general progress having now reached the requireddegree of perfection. This was a means of breaking down the invincibleresistance of this powerful enemy and at the same time of rewardinghis brilliant talents. 

But K'ung Hsüan did not approve of this plan, and a fight tookplace between the two champions. At one moment Chun T'i was seizedby a luminous bow and carried into the air, but while enveloped in acloud of fire he appeared with eighteen arms and twenty-four heads, holding in each hand a powerful talisman. 

The One-eyed Peacock

He put a silk cord round K'ung Hsüan's neck, touched him with hiswand, and forced him to reassume his original form of a red one-eyedpeacock. Chun T'i seated himself on the peacock's back, and itflew across the sky, bearing its saviour and master to the WesternParadise. Brilliantly variegated clouds marked its track through space. 

Arrangements for the Siege

On the disappearance of its defender the defile of Chin-chi Lingwas captured, and the village of Chieh-p'ai Kuan, the bulwark of theenemy's forces, reached. This place was defended by a host of geniiand Immortals, the most distinguished among them being the TaoistT'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu, whose specially effective charms had so farkept the fort secure against every attempt upon it. 

Lao Tzu himself had deigned to descend from dwelling in happiness, together with Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun and Chieh-yin Tao-jên, to takepart in the siege. But the town had four gates, and these heavenlyrulers were only three in number. So Chun T'i was recalled, and eachmember of the quartette was entrusted with the task of capturing oneof the gates. 

Impediments

Chun T'i's duty was to take the Chüeh-hsien Mên, defended byT'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu. The warriors who had tried to enter the town bythis gate had one and all paid for their temerity with their lives. Themoment each had crossed the threshold a clap of thunder had resounded, and a mysterious sword, moving with lightning rapidity, had slain him. 

Offence and Defence

As Chun T'i advanced at the head of his warriors terrible lightningrent the air and the mysterious sword descended like a thunderboltupon his head. But Chun T'i held on high his Seven-precious Branch, whereupon there emerged from it thousands of lotus-flowers, whichformed an impenetrable covering and stopped the sword in its fall. Thisand the other gates were then forced, and a grand assault was nowdirected against the chief defender of the town. 

T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu, riding his ox and surrounded by his warriors, for the last time risked the chance of war and bravely faced his fourterrible adversaries. With his sword held aloft, he threw himself onChieh-yin Tao-jên, whose only weapon was his fly-whisk. But thereemerged from this a five-coloured lotus-flower, which stopped thesword-thrust. While Lao Tzu struck the hero with his staff, Yüan-shihT'ien-tsun warded off the terrible sword with his jade _ju-i_. 

Chun T'i now called to his help the spiritual peacock, and took theform of a warrior with twenty-four heads and eighteen arms. Hismysterious weapons surrounded T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu, and Lao Tzustruck the hero so hard that fire came out from his eyes, nose, and mouth. Unable to parry the assaults of his adversaries, he nextreceived a blow from Chun T'i's magic wand, which felled him, and hetook flight in a whirlwind of dust. 

The defenders now offered no further resistance, and Yüan-shihT'ien-tsun thanked Chun T'i for the valuable assistance he had renderedin the capture of the village, after which the gods returned to theirpalace in the Western Heaven. 

Attempts at Revenge

T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu, vanquished and routed, swore to have hisrevenge. He called to his aid the spirits of the twenty-eightconstellations, and marched to attack Wu Wang's army. The honour ofthe victory that ensued belonged to Chun T'i, who disarmed both theImmortal Wu Yün and T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu. 

Wu Yün, armed with his magic sword, entered the lists against ChunT'i; but the latter opened his mouth and a blue lotus-flower cameout and stopped the blows aimed at him. Other thrusts were met bysimilar miracles. 

"Why continue so useless a fight?" said Chun T'i at last. "Abandonthe cause of the Shang, and come with me to the Western Paradise. Icame to save you, and you must not compel me to make you resume youroriginal form. "

An insulting flow of words was the reply; again the magic sworddescended like lightning, and again the stroke was averted by a timelylotus-flower. Chun T'i now waved his wand, and the magic sword wasbroken to bits, the handle only remaining in Wu Yün's hand. 

The Golden-bearded Turtle

Mad with rage, Wu Yün seized his club and tried to fell his enemy. ButChun T'i summoned a disciple, who appeared with a bamboo pole. This hethrust out like a fishing-rod, and on a hook at the end of the lineattached to the pole dangled a large golden-bearded turtle. Thiswas the Immortal Wu Yün, now in his original form of a spiritualturtle. The disciple seated himself on its back, and both, disappearinginto space, returned to the Western Heavens. 

The Battle Won

To conquer T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu was more difficult, but after a longfight Chun T'i waved his Wand of the Seven Treasures and broke hisadversary's sword. The latter, disarmed and vanquished, disappearedin a cloud of dust. Chun T'i did not trouble to pursue him. The battlewas won. 

Buddhahood

A disciple of T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu, P'i-lu Hsien, 'the ImmortalP'i-lu, ' seeing his master beaten in two successive engagements, left the battlefield and followed Chun T'i to the Western Paradise, to become a Buddha. He is known as P'i-lu Fo, one of the principalgods of Buddhism. 

Chun T'i's festival is celebrated on the sixth day of the thirdmoon. He is generally shown with eight hands and three faces, one ofthe latter being that of a pig. 

CHAPTER XIV

How the Monkey Became a God

The Hsi Yu Chi

In dealing with the gods of China we noticed the monkey among them. Whyand in what manner he attained to that exalted rank is set forth indetail in the _Hsi yu chi_ [33]--a work the contents of which havebecome woven into the fabric of Chinese legendary lore and are knownand loved by every intelligent native. Its pages are filled withghosts, demons, and fairies, good and bad, but "it contains no morethan the average Chinese really believes to exist, and his belief insuch manifestations is so firm that from the cradle to the grave helives and moves and has his being in reference to them. " Its charactersare said to be allegorical, though it may be doubted whether theseimplications may rightly be read into the Chinese text. Thus:

Hsüan (or Yüan) Chuang, or T'ang Sêng, is the pilgrim of the _Hsi yuchi_, who symbolizes conscience, to which all actions are brought fortrial. The priestly garment of Hsüan Chuang symbolizes the good workof the rectified human nature. It is held to be a great protectionto the new heart from the myriads of evil beings which surround it, seeking its destruction. 

Sun Hou-tzu, the Monkey Fairy, represents human nature, which is proneto all evil. His unreasonable vagaries moved Hsüan Chuang to compelhim to wear a Head-splitting Helmet which would contract upon his headin moments of waywardness. The agonizing pressure thus caused wouldbring him to his senses, irrespective of his distance from his master. 

The iron wand of Sun Hou-tzu is said to represent the use that can bemade of doctrine. It was useful for all purposes, great or small. Bya word it could be made invisible, and by a word it could become longenough to span the distance between Heaven and earth. 

Chu Pa-chieh, the Pig Fairy, with his muck-rake, stands for thecoarser passions, which are constantly at war with the conscience intheir endeavours to cast off all restraint. 

Sha Ho-shang, Priest Sha, is a good representation of Mr Faithfulin _The Pilgrim's Progress_. In the _Hsi yu chi_ he stands for thehuman character, which is naturally weak and which needs constantencouragement. 

Legend of Sun Hou-tzu

The deeds of this marvellous creature, the hero of the _Hsi yu chi_, are to be met with continually in Chinese popular literature, and theyare very much alive in the popular mind. In certain parts a regularworship is offered to him, and in many temples representations of orlegends concerning him are to be seen or heard. 

Other names by which Sun Hou-tzu is referred to are: Sun Hsing-chê, Sun Wu-k'ung, Mei Hou-wang, Ch'i-t'ien Ta Shêng, and Pi-ma Wên, thelast-mentioned being a title which caused him annoyance by recallingthe derisive dignity conferred upon him by Yü Huang. [34] Throughoutthe remainder of this chapter Sun Hou-tzu will be shortly referredto as 'Sun. '

Beyond the seas, in the Eastern continent, in the kingdom of Ao-lai, is the mountain Hua-kuo Shan. On the steep sides of this mountain thereis a rocky point 36 feet 5 inches high and 24 feet in circumference. Atthe very top an egg formed, and, fructified by the breath of the wind, gave birth to a stone monkey. The newly-born saluted the four pointsof the horizon; from his eyes shone golden streaks of lightning, which filled the palace of the North Pole Star with light. This lightsubsided as soon as he was able to take nourishment. 

"To-day, " said Yü Huang to himself, "I am going to complete thewonderful diversity of the beings engendered by Heaven and earth. Thismonkey will skip and gambol to the highest peaks of mountains, jumpabout in the waters, and, eating the fruit of the trees, will be thecompanion of the gibbon and the crane. Like the deer he will passhis nights on the mountain slopes, and during the day will be seenleaping on their summits or in their caverns. That will be the finestornament of all for the mountains!"

The creature's exploits soon caused him to be proclaimed kingof the monkeys. He then began to try to find some means ofbecoming immortal. After travelling for eighteen years by landand sea he met the Immortal P'u-t'i Tsu-shih on the mountainLing-t'ai-fang-ts'un. During his travels the monkey had graduallyacquired human attributes; his face remained always as it had beenoriginally, but dressed in human apparel he began to be civilized. Hisnew master gave him the family name of Sun, and personal name ofWu-k'ung, 'Discoverer of Secrets. ' He taught him how to fly throughthe air, and to change into seventy-two different forms. With oneleap he could cover 108, 000 _li_ (about 36, 000 miles). 

A Rod of Iron

Sun, after his return to Hua-kuo Shan, slew the demon Hun-shih Mo-wang, who had been molesting the monkeys during his long absence. Then heorganized his subjects into a regular army, 47, 000 all told. Thus thepeace of the simian kingdom was assured. As for himself, he couldnot find a weapon to suit him, and went to consult Ao Kuang, theLung Wang, or Dragon-king of the Eastern Sea, about it. It was fromhim that he obtained the formidable rod of iron, formerly planted inthe ocean-bed by the Great Yü (Yü Wang) to regulate the level of thewaters. He pulled it out, and modified it to suit his tastes. Thetwo extremities he bound round with gold bands, and on it engravedthe words: 'Gold-bound Wand of my Desires. ' This magic weapon couldaccommodate itself to all his wishes; being able to assume the mostincredible proportions or to reduce itself to the form of the finest ofneedles, which he kept hidden in his ear. He terrorized the Four Kingsof the sea, and dressed himself at their expense. The neighbouringkings allied themselves with him. A splendid banquet with copiouslibations of wine sealed the alliance of friendship with the sevenkings; but alas! Sun had partaken so liberally that when he was seeinghis guests off, no sooner had he taken a few steps than he fell into adrunken sleep. The undertakers of Yen Wang, the King of the Hells, towhom Lung Wang had accused him as the disturber of his watery kingdom, seized his soul, put chains round its neck, and led it down to theinfernal regions. Sun awoke in front of the gate of the kingdom ofthe dead, broke his fetters, killed his two custodians, and, armedwith his magic staff, penetrated into the realm of Yen Wang, wherehe threatened to carry out general destruction. He called to the teninfernal gods to bring him the Register of the Living and the Dead, tore out with his own hand the page on which were written his nameand those of his monkey subjects, and then told the King of the Hellsthat he was no longer subject to the laws of death. Yen Wang yielded, though with bad grace, and Sun returned triumphant from his expeditionbeyond the tomb. 

Before long Sun's escapades came to the knowledge of Yü Huang. AoKuang and Yen Wang each sent deputies to the Master of Heaven, whotook note of the double accusation, and sent T'ai-po Chin-hsing tosummon before him this disturber of the heavenly peace. 

Grand Master of the Heavenly Stables

In order to keep him occupied, Sun was appointed Grand Master of theHeavenly Stables, and was entrusted with the feeding of Yü Huang'shorses; his official celestial title being Pi-ma Wên. Later on, learning the object of the creation of this derisory appointment, he overturned the Master's throne, seized his staff, broke down theSouth Gate of Heaven, and descended on a cloud to Hua-kuo Shan. 

Grand Superintendent of the Heavenly Peach-garden

Yü Huang in great indignation organized a siege of Hua-kuo Shan, but the Kings of Heaven and the generals with their celestial armieswere repulsed several times. Sun now arrogated to himself the pompoustitle of Grand Saint, Governor of Heaven. He had this emblazoned onhis banners, and threatened Yü Huang that he would carry destructioninto his kingdom if he refused to recognize his new dignity. YüHuang, alarmed at the result of the military operations, agreed tothe condition laid down by Sun. The latter was then appointed GrandSuperintendent of the Heavenly Peach-garden, the fruit of whichconferred immortality, and a new palace was built for him. 

Double Immortality

Having made minute observations on the secret properties of thepeaches, Sun ate of them and was thus assured against death. Thetime was ripe for him to indulge in his tricks without restraint, and an opportunity soon presented itself. Deeply hurt at not havingbeen invited to the feast of the Peach Festival, P'an-t'ao Hui, givenperiodically to the Immortals by Wang-mu Niang-niang, the Goddess ofthe Immortals, he resolved upon revenge. When the preparations for thefeast were complete he cast a spell over the servants, causing themto fall into a deep sleep, and then ate up all the most juicy meatsand drank the fine wines provided for the heavenly guests. Sun had, however, indulged himself too liberally; with heavy head and blearyeye he missed the road back to his heavenly abode, and came unawareto the gate of Lao Chün, who was, however, absent from his palace. Itwas only a matter of a few minutes for Sun to enter and swallow thepills of immortality which Lao Chün kept in five gourds. Thus Sun, doubly immortal, riding on the mist, again descended to Hua-kuo Shan. 

Sun Hou-tzu Captured

These numerous misdeeds aroused the indignation of all the gods andgoddesses. Accusations poured in upon Yü Huang, and he ordered the FourGods of the Heavens and their chief generals to bring Sun to him. Thearmies laid siege to Hua-kuo Shan, a net was spread in the heavens, fantastic battles took place, but the resistance of the enemy was asstrenuous and obstinate as before. 

Lao Chün and Êrh-lang, nephew of Yü Huang, then appeared on thescene. Sun's warriors resisted gallantly, but the forces of Heavenwere too much for them, and at length they were overcome. At thisjuncture Sun changed his form, and in spite of the net in the skymanaged to find a way out. In vain search was made everywhere, untilLi T'ien-wang, by the help of his devil-finding mirror, detected thequarry and informed Êrh-lang, who rushed off in pursuit. Lao Chünhurled his magic ring on to the head of the fugitive, who stumbledand fell. Quick as lightning, the celestial dog, T'ien Kou, who wasin Êrh-lang's service, threw himself on him, bit him in the calf, and caused him to stumble afresh. This was the end of the fight. Sun, surrounded on all sides, was seized and chained. The battle was won. 

Sun escapes from Lao Chün's Furnace

The celestial armies now raised the siege, and returned to theirquarters. But a new and unexpected difficulty arose. Yü Huang condemnedthe criminal to death, but when they went to carry out the sentencethe executioners learned that he was invulnerable; swords, iron, fire, even lightning, could make no impression on his skin. Yü Huang, alarmed, asked Lao Chün the reason of this. The latter replied thatthere was nothing surprising about it, seeing that the knave hadeaten the peaches of life in the garden of Heaven and the pills ofimmortality which he had composed. "Hand him over to me, " he added. "Iwill distil him in my furnace of the Eight Trigrams, and extract fromhis composition the elements which render him immortal. "

Yü Huang ordered that the prisoner be handed over, and in the sightof all he was shut up in Lao Chün's alchemical furnace, which forforty-nine days was heated white-hot. But at an unguarded momentSun lifted the lid, emerged in a rage, seized his magic staff, andthreatened to destroy Heaven and exterminate its inhabitants. Yü Huang, at the end of his resources, summoned Buddha, who came and addressedSun as follows: "Why do you wish to possess yourself of the Kingdomof the Heavens?"

"Have I not power enough to be the God of Heaven?" was the arrogantreply. 

"What qualifications have you?" asked Buddha. "Enumerate them. "

"My qualifications are innumerable, " replied Sun. "I am invulnerable, I am immortal, I can change myself into seventy-two different forms, I can ride on the clouds of Heaven and pass through the air at will, with one leap I can traverse a hundred and eight thousand _li_. "

"Well, " replied Buddha, "have a match with me; I wager that in oneleap you cannot even jump out of the palm of my hand. If you succeedI will bestow upon you the sovereignty of Heaven. "

Broad-jump Competition

Sun rose into space, flew like lightning in the great vastness, andreached the confines of Heaven, opposite the five great red pillarswhich are the boundaries of the created universe. On one of themhe wrote his name, as irrefutable evidence that he could reach thisextreme limit; this done, he returned triumphant to demand of Buddhathe coveted inheritance. 

"But, wretch, " said Buddha, "you never went out of my hand!"

"How is that?" rejoined Sun. "I went as far as the pillars of Heaven, and even took the precaution of writing my name on one of them asproof in case of need. "

"Look then at the words you have written, " said Buddha, liftinga finger on which Sun read with stupefaction his name as he hadinscribed it. 

Buddha then seized Sun, transported him out of Heaven, and changedhis five fingers into the five elements, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which instantly formed five high mountains contiguous toeach other. The mountains were called Wu Hsing Shan, and Buddha shutSun up in them. 

Conditions of Release

Thus subdued, Sun would not have been able to get out of his stoneprison but for the intercession of Kuan Yin P'u-sa, who obtainedhis release on his solemn promise that he would serve as guide, philosopher, and friend to Hsüan Chuang, the priest who was toundertake the difficult journey of 108, 000 _li_ to the WesternHeaven. This promise, on the whole, he fulfilled in the serviceof Hsüan Chuang during the fourteen years of the long journey. Nowfaithful, now restive and undisciplined, he was always the one totriumph in the end over the eighty-one fantastical tribulations whichbeset them as they journeyed. 

Sha Ho-shang

One of the principal of Sun's fellow-servants of the Master wasSha Ho-shang. 

He is depicted wearing a necklace of skulls, the heads of the nineChinese deputies sent in former centuries to find the Buddhist canon, but whom Sha Ho-shang had devoured on the banks of Liu-sha River whenthey had attempted to cross it. 

He is also known by the name of Sha Wu-ching, and was originallyGrand Superintendent of the Manufactory of Stores for Yü Huang'spalace. During a great banquet given on the Peach Festival to allthe gods and Immortals of the Chinese Olympus he let fall a crystalbowl, which was smashed to atoms. Yü Huang caused him to be beatenwith eight hundred blows, drove him out of Heaven, and exiled him toearth. He lived on the banks of the Liu-sha Ho, where every seventhday a mysterious sword appeared and wounded him in the neck. Havingno other means of subsistence, he used to devour the passers-by. 

Sha Ho-shang becomes Baggage-coolie

When Kuan Yin passed through that region on her way to China to findthe priest who was predestined to devote himself to the laboriousundertaking of the quest of the sacred Buddhist books, Sha Ho-shangthrew himself on his knees before her and begged her to put an endto all his woes. 

The goddess promised that he should be delivered by the priest, her envoy, provided he would engage himself in the service of thepilgrim. On his promising to do this, and to lead a better life, she herself ordained him priest. In the end it came about that HsüanChuang, when passing the Sha Ho, took him into his suite as coolieto carry his baggage. Yü Huang pardoned him in consideration of theservice he was rendering to the Buddhist cause. 

Chu Pa-chieh

Chu Pa-chieh is a grotesque, even gross, personage, with all theinstincts of animalism. One day, while he was occupying the high officeof Overseer-general of the Navigation of the Milky Way, he, during afit of drunkenness, vilely assaulted the daughter of Yü Huang. Thelatter had him beaten with two thousand blows from an iron hammer, and exiled to earth to be reincarnated. 

During his transition a mistake was made, and entering the womb ofa sow he was born half-man, half-pig, with the head and ears of apig and a human body. He began by killing and eating his mother, andthen devoured his little porcine brothers. Then he went to live on thewild mountain Fu-ling Shan, where, armed with an iron rake, he firstrobbed and then ate the travellers who passed through that region. 

Mao Êrh-chieh, who lived in the cave Yün-chan Tung, engaged him ascarrier of her personal effects, which she afterward bequeathed to him. 

Yielding to the exhortations of the Goddess Kuan Yin, who, at thetime of her journey to China, persuaded him to lead a less dissolutelife, he was ordained a priest by the goddess herself, who gave himthe name of Chu (Pig), and the religious name of Wu-nêng, 'Seekerafter Strength. ' This monster was knocked down by Sun when the latterwas passing over the mountain accompanied by Hsüan Chuang, and hedeclared himself a disciple of the pilgrim priest. He accompanied himthroughout the journey, and was also received in the Western Paradiseas a reward for his aid to the Buddhist propaganda. 

Hsüan Chuang, the Master

The origin of this priest was as follows: In the reign of the EmperorT'ai Tsung of the T'ang dynasty, Ch'ên Kuang-jui, a graduate of HaiChou, in his examination for the doctor's degree came out as _chuangyüan_, first on the list. Wên Chiao (also named Man-t'ang Chiao), thedaughter of the minister Yin K'ai-shan, meeting the young academician, fell in love with him, and married him. Several days after the weddingthe Emperor appointed Ch'ên Kuang-jui Governor of Chiang Chou (modernChên-chiang Fu), in Kiangsu. After a short visit to his native town hestarted to take up his post. His old mother and his wife accompaniedhim. When they reached Hung Chou his mother fell sick and they wereforced to stay for a time at the Inn of Ten Thousand Flowers, keptby one Liu Hsiao-êrh. Days passed; the sickness did not leave her, and as the time for her son to take over the seals of office wasdrawing near, he had to proceed without her. 

The Released Carp

Before his departure he noticed a fisherman holding in his hand a finecarp; this he bought for a small sum to give to his mother. Suddenlyhe noticed that the fish had a very extraordinary look, and, changinghis mind, he let it go in the waters of the Hung Chiang, afterwardtelling his mother what he had done. She congratulated him on hisaction, and assured him that the good deed would not go unrewarded. 

The Chuang Yüan Murdered

Ch'ên Kuang-jui re-entered his boat with his wife and a servant. Theywere stopped by the chief waterman, Liu Hung, and his assistant. Struckwith the great beauty of Ch'ên Kuang-jui's wife, the former planneda crime which he carried out with the help of his assistant. At thedead of night he took the boat to a retired spot, killed Ch'ên andhis servant, threw their bodies into the river, seized his officialdocuments of title and the woman he coveted, passed himself off as thereal _chuang yüan_, and took possession of the magistracy of ChiangChou. The widow, who was with child, had two alternatives--silenceor death. Meantime she chose the former. Before she gave birth to herchild, T'ai-po Chin-hsing, the Spirit of the South Pole Star, appearedto her, and said he had been sent by Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, to present her with a son whose fame would fill the Empire. "Aboveall, " he added, "take every precaution lest Liu Hung kill the child, for he will certainly do so if he can. " When the child was born themother, during the absence of Liu Hung, determined to expose it ratherthan see it slain. Accordingly she wrapped it up carefully in a shirt, and carried it to the bank of the Blue River. She then bit her finger, and with the blood wrote a short note stating the child's origin, and hid it in its breast. Moreover, she bit off the infant's leftlittle toe, as an indelible mark of identity. No sooner had this beendone than a gust of wind blew a large plank to the river's edge. Thepoor mother tied her infant firmly to this plank and abandoned it tothe mercy of the waves. The waif was carried to the shore of the isleof Chin Shan, on which stands the famous monastery of Chin-shan Ssu, near Chinkiang. The cries of the infant attracted the attention ofan old monk named Chang Lao, who rescued it and gave it the name ofChiang Liu, 'Waif of the River. ' He reared it with much care, andtreasured the note its mother had written with her blood. The childgrew up, and Chang Lao made him a priest, naming him Hsüan Chuang onthe day of his taking the vows. When he was eighteen years of age, having one day quarrelled with another priest, who had cursed him andreproached him with having neither father nor mother, he, much hurt, went to his protector Chang Lao. The latter said to him: "The time hascome to reveal to you your origin. " He then told him all, showed himthe note, and made him promise to avenge his assassinated father. Tothis end he was made a roving priest, went to the official Court, and eventually got into touch with his mother, who was still livingwith the prefect Liu Hung. The letter placed in his bosom, and theshirt in which he had been wrapped, easily proved the truth of hisstatements. The mother, happy at having found her son, promised togo and see him at Chin Shan. In order to do this, she pretended tobe sick, and told Liu Hung that formerly, when still young, she hadtaken a vow which she had not yet been able to fulfil. Liu Hung himselfhelped her to do so by sending a large gift of money to the priests, and allowed her to go with her servants to perform her devotions atChin-shan Ssu. On this second visit, during which she could speakmore freely with her son, she wished to see for herself the woundshe had made on his foot. This removed the last shadow of doubt. 

Hsüan Chuang finds his Grandmother

She told Hsüan Chuang that he must first of all go to Hung Chou andfind his grandmother, formerly left at the Inn of Ten Thousand Flowers, and then on to Ch'ang-an to take to her father Yin K'ai-shan a letter, putting him in possession of the chief facts concerning Liu Hung, and praying him to avenge her. 

She gave him a stick of incense to take to her mother-in-law. The oldlady lived the life of a beggar in a wretched hovel near the city gate, and had become blind from weeping. The priest told her of the tragicdeath of her son, then touched her eyes with the stick of incense, andher sight was restored. "And I, " she exclaimed, "have so often accusedmy son of ingratitude, believing him to be still alive!" He took herback to the Inn of Ten Thousand Flowers and settled the account, thenhastened to the palace of Yin K'ai-shan. Having obtained an audience, he showed the minister the letter, and informed him of all that hadtaken place. 

The Murderer Executed

The following day a report was presented to the Emperor, who gaveorders for the immediate arrest and execution of the murderer ofCh'ên Kuang-jui. 

Yin K'ai-shan went with all haste to Chên-chiang, where he arrivedduring the night, surrounded the official residence, and seizedthe culprit, whom he sent to the place where he had committed themurder. His heart and liver were torn out and sacrificed to the victim. 

The Carp's Gratitude

Now it happened that Ch'ên Kuang-jui was not dead after all. Thecarp released by him was in fact no other than Lung Wang, the Godof the River, who had been going through his kingdom in that guiseand had been caught in the fisherman's net. On learning that hisrescuer had been cast into the river, Lung Wang had saved him, andappointed him an officer of his Court. On that day, when his son, wife, and father-in-law were sacrificing the heart of his assassinto his _manes_ on the river-bank, Lung Wang ordered that he returnto earth. His body suddenly appeared on the surface of the water, floated to the bank, revived, and came out full of life and health. Thehappiness of the family reunited under such unexpected circumstancesmay well be imagined. Ch'ên Kuang-jui returned with his father-in-lawto Chên-chiang, where he took up his official post, eighteen yearsafter his nomination to it. 

Hsüan Chuang became the Emperor's favourite priest. He was held ingreat respect at the capital, and had innumerable honours bestowed uponhim, and in the end was chosen for the journey to the Western Paradise, where Buddha in person handed him the sacred books of Buddhism. 

Pai Ma, the White Horse

When he left the capital, Hsüan Chuang had been presented by theEmperor with a white horse to carry him on his long pilgrimage. Oneday, when he reached Shê-p'an Shan, near a torrent, a dragon emergedfrom the deep river-bed and devoured both the horse and its saddle. Suntried in vain to find the dragon, and at last had to seek the aid ofKuan Yin. 

Now Yü Lung San T'ai-tzu, son of Ao Jun, Dragonking of the WesternSea, having burnt a precious pearl on the roof of his father's palace, was denounced to Yü Huang, who had him beaten with three hundred blowsand suspended in the air. He was awaiting death when Kuan Yin passedon her way to China. The unfortunate dragon requested the goddessto have pity on him, whereupon she prevailed upon Yü Huang to sparehis life on condition that he served as steed for her pilgrim on theexpedition to the Western Paradise. The dragon was handed over toKuan Yin, who showed him the deep pool in which he was to dwell whileawaiting the arrival of the priest. It was this dragon who had devouredHsüan Chuang's horse, and Kuan Yin now bade him change himself into ahorse of the same colour to carry the priest to his destination. Hehad the honour of bearing on his back the sacred books that Buddhagave to T'ai Tsung's deputy, and the first Buddhist temple built atthe capital bore the name of Pai-ma Miao, 'Temple of the White Horse. '

Perils by the Way

It is natural to expect that numberless exciting adventures shouldbefall such an interesting quartette, and indeed the _Hsi yu chi_, which contains a hundred chapters, is full of them. The pilgrimsencountered eighty difficulties on the journey out and one on thejourney home. The following examples are characteristic of the rest. 

The Grove of Cypress-trees

The travellers were making their way westward through shiningwaters and over green hills, where they found endless luxurianceof vegetation and flowers of all colours in profusion. But the waywas long and lonely, and as darkness came on without any sign ofhabitation the Priest said: "Where shall we find a resting-place forthe night?" The Monkey replied: "My Master, he who has left homeand become a priest must dine on the wind and lodge on the water, lie down under the moon and sleep in the forest; everywhere is hishome; why then ask where shall we rest?" But Pa-chieh, who was thebearer of the pilgrim's baggage, was not satisfied with this reply, and tried to get his load transferred to the horse, but was silencedwhen told that the latter's sole duty was to carry the Master. 

However, the Monkey gave Pai Ma a blow with his rod, causing him tostart forward at a great pace, and in a few minutes from the brow ofa hill Hsüan Chuang espied in the distance a grove of cypress-trees, beneath the shade of which was a large enclosure. This seemed asuitable place to pass the night, so they made toward it, and asthey approached observed in the enclosure a spacious and luxuriousestablishment. There being no indications that the place was theninhabited, the Monkey made his way inside. 

A Proposal of Marriage

He was met by a lady of charming appearance, who came out of an innerroom, and said: "Who is this that ventures to intrude upon a widow'shousehold?" The situation was embarrassing, but the lady proved tobe most affable, welcomed them all very heartily, told them how shebecame a widow and had been left in possession of riches in abundance, and that she had three daughters, Truth, Love, and Pity by name. Shethen proceeded to make a proposal of marriage, not only on behalfof herself, but of her three daughters as well. They were four men, and here were four women; she had mountain lands for fruit-trees, dry lands for grain, flooded fields for rice--more than five thousandacres of each; horses, oxen, sheep, pigs innumerable; sixty or seventyfarmsteads; granaries choked with grain; storehouses full of silksand satins; gold and silver enough to last several lifetimes howeverextravagantly they lived. Why should the four travellers not finishtheir journey there, and be happy ever afterward? The temptation wasgreat, especially as the three daughters were ladies of surpassingbeauty as well as adepts at needlework and embroidery, well read, and able to sing sweetly. 

But Hsüan Chuang sat as if listening to frogs after rain, unmovedexcept by anger that she should attempt to divert him from his heavenlypurpose, and in the end the lady retired in a rage, slamming the doorbehind her. 

The covetous Pa-chieh, however, expressed himself in favour ofaccepting the widow's terms. Finding it impossible to do so openly, he stole round to the back and secured a private interview. Hispersonal appearance was against him, but the widow was not altogetheruncompliant. She not only entertained the travellers, but agreedto Pa-chieh retiring within the household in the character of ason-in-law, the other three remaining as guests in the guest-rooms. 

Blind Man's Buff

But a new problem now arose. If Pa-chieh were wedded to one of thethree daughters, the others would feel aggrieved. So the widow proposedto blindfold him with a handkerchief, and marry him to whicheverhe succeeded in catching. But, with the bandage tied over his eyes, Pa-chieh only found himself groping in darkness. "The tinkling soundof female trinkets was all around him, the odour of musk was in hisnostrils; like fairy forms they fluttered about him, but he could nomore grasp one than he could a shadow. One way and another he ran tillhe was too giddy to stand, and could only stumble helplessly about. "

The prospective mother-in-law then unloosed the bandage, and informedPa-chieh that it was not her daughters' 'slipperiness, ' as he hadcalled it, which prevented their capture, but the extreme modesty ofeach in being generous enough to forgo her claims in favour of one ofher sisters. Pa-chieh thereupon became very importunate, urging hissuit for any one of the daughters or for the mother herself or for allthree or all four. This was beyond all conscience, but the widow wasequal to the emergency, and suggested another solution. Each of herdaughters wore a waistcoat embroidered in jewels and gold. Pa-chiehwas to try these on in turn, and to marry the owner of the one whichfitted him. Pa-chieh put one on, but as he was tying the cord roundhis waist it transformed itself into strong coils of rope which boundhim tightly in every limb. He rolled about in excruciating agony, and as he did so the curtain of enchantment fell and the beautiesand the palace disappeared. 

Next morning the rest of the party on waking up also found that allhad changed, and saw that they had been sleeping on the ground in thecypress-grove. On making search they found Pa-chieh bound fast to atree. They cut him down, to pursue the journey a sadder and wiser Pig, and the butt of many a quip from his fellow-travellers. 

The Lotus Cave

When the party left the Elephant Country, seeing a mountain ahead, the Master warned his disciples to be careful. Sun said: "Master, saynot so; remember the text of the Sacred Book, 'So long as the heart isright there is nothing to fear. '" After this Sun kept a close watchon Pa-chieh, who, while professing to be on guard, slept most of thetime. When they arrived at Ping-ting Shan they were approached by awoodcutter, who warned them that in the mountain, which extended for600 _li_ (200 miles), there was a Lotus Cave, inhabited by a bandof demons under two chiefs, who were lying in wait to devour thetravellers. The woodcutter then disappeared. Accordingly, Pa-chiehwas ordered to keep watch. But, seeing some hay, he lay down and wentto sleep, and the mountain demons carried him away to the Lotus Cave. 

On seeing Pa-chieh, the second chief said: "He is no good; you mustgo in search of the Master and the Monkey. " All this time the Monkey, to protect his Master, was walking ahead of the horse, swinging hisclub up and down and to right and left. The Demon-king saw him fromthe top of the mountain and said to himself: "This Monkey is famousfor his magic, but I will prove that he is no match for me; I willyet feast on his Master. " So, descending the mountain, he transformedhimself into a lame beggar and waited by the roadside. The Master, out of pity, persuaded the Monkey to carry him. While on the Monkey'sback the Demon, by magic skill, threw Mount Mêru on to Sun's head, but the Monkey warded it off with his left shoulder, and walkedon. Then the Demon threw Mount Ô-mei on to Sun's head, and thishe warded off with his right shoulder, and walked on, much to theDemon's surprise. Lastly the Demon caused T'ai Shan to fall on to hishead. This at last stunned the Monkey. Sha Ho-shang now defended theMaster with his staff, which was, however, no match for the Demon'sstarry sword. The Demon seized the Master and carried him under onearm and Sha Ho-shang under the other to the Lotus Cave. 

The two Demons then planned to take their two most precious things, a yellow gourd and a jade vase, and try to bottle the Monkey. Theyarranged to carry them upside down and call out the Monkey's name. Ifhe replied, then he would be inside, and they could seal him up, using the seal of the great Ancient of Days, the dweller in themansion of T'ai Sui. [35]

The Monkey under the Mountain

When the Monkey found that he was being crushed under the mountain hewas greatly distressed about his Master, and cried out: "Oh, Master, you delivered me from under the mountain before, and trained me inreligion; how is it that you have brought me to this pass? If youmust die, why should Sha Ho-shang and Pa-chieh and the Dragon-horsealso suffer?" Then his tears poured down like rain. 

The spirits of the mountain were astonished at hearing these words. Theguardian angels of the Five Religions asked: "Whose is this mountain, and who is crushed beneath it?" The local gods replied: "The mountainis ours, but who is under it we do not know. " "If you do not know, "the angels replied, "we will tell you. It is the Great Holy One, the Equal of Heaven, who rebelled there five hundred years ago. Heis now converted, and is the disciple of the Chinese ambassador. Howdare you lend your mountain to the Demon for such a purpose?" Theguardian angels and local gods then recited some prayers, and themountain was removed. The Monkey sprang up, brandishing his spear, and the spirits at once apologized, saying that they were underenforced service to the Demons. 

While they were speaking Sun saw a light approaching, and askedwhat it was. The spirits replied: "This light comes from the Demons'magic treasures. We fear they are bringing them to catch you. " Sunthen said: "Now we shall have some sport. Who is the Demon-chief'sassociate?" "He is a Taoist, " they replied, "who is always occupied inpreparing chemicals. " The Monkey said: "Leave me, and I will catch themmyself. " He then transformed himself into a duplicate of the Taoist. 

The Magic Gourd

Sun went to meet the Demons, and in conversation learnt from them thatthey were on their way to catch the famous Monkey, and that the magicgourd and vase were for that purpose. They showed these treasures tohim, and explained that the gourd, though small, could hold a thousandpeople. "That is nothing, " replied Sun. "I have a gourd which cancontain all the heavens. " At this they marvelled greatly, and made abargain with him, according to which he was to give them his gourd, after it had been tested as to its capacity to contain the heavens, in exchange for their precious gourd and vase. Going up to Heaven, the Monkey obtained permission to extinguish the light of the sun, moon, and stars for one hour. At noon the next day there was completedarkness, and the Demons believed Sun when he stated that he had putthe whole heavens into his gourd so that there could be no light. Theythen handed over to the Monkey their magic gourd and vase, and inexchange he gave them his false gourd. 

The Magic Rope

On discovering that they had been deceived, the Demons made complaintto their chiefs, who informed them that Sun, by pretending to be oneof the Immortals, had outwitted them. They had now lost two out oftheir five magic treasures. There remained three, the magic sword, the magic palm fan, and the magic rope. "Go, " said they, "and inviteour dear grandmother to come and dine on human flesh. " Personatingone of the Demons, Sun himself went on this errand. He told the oldlady that he wanted her to bring with her the magic rope, with whichto catch Sun. She was delighted, and set out in her chair carried bytwo fairies. 

When they had gone some few _li_, Sun killed the ladies, and then sawthat they were foxes. He took the magic rope, and thus had three ofthe magic treasures. Having changed the dead so that they looked likeliving creatures, he returned to the Lotus Cave. Many small demons camerunning up, saying that the old lady had been slain. The Demon-king, alarmed, proposed to release the whole party. But his younger brothersaid: "No, let me fight Sun. If I win, we can eat them; if I fail, we can let them go. "

After thirty bouts Sun lost the magic rope, and the Demon lassoed himwith it and carried him to the cave, and took back the magic gourdand vase. Sun now transformed himself into two false demons. One heplaced instead of himself in the lasso bound to a pillar, and thenwent and reported to the second Demon-chief that Sun was strugglinghard, and that he should be bound with a stronger rope lest he makehis escape. Thus, by this strategy, Sun obtained possession of themagic rope again. By a similar trick he also got back the magic gourdand vase. 

The Master Rescued

Sun and the Demons now began to wrangle about the respective meritsof their gourds, which, each assured the other, could imprison menand make them obey their wishes. Finally, Sun succeeded in puttingone of the Demons into his gourd. 

There ensued another fight concerning the magic sword and palm fan, during which the fan was burnt to ashes. After more encounters Sunsucceeded in bottling the second Demon in the magic vase, and sealedhim up with the seal of the Ancient of Days. Then the magic swordwas delivered, and the Demons submitted. Sun returned to the cave, fetched his Master out, swept the cave clean of all evil spirits, andthey then started again on their westward journey. On the road theymet a blind man, who addressed them saying: "Whither away, BuddhistPriest? I am the Ancient of Days. Give me back my magic treasures. Inthe gourd I keep the pills of immortality. In the vase I keep thewater of life. The sword I use to subdue demons. With the fan I stirup enthusiasm. With the cord I bind bundles. One of these two Demonshad charge of the gold crucible. They stole my magic treasures andfled to the mundane sphere of mortals. You, having captured them, are deserving of great reward. " But Sun replied: "You should beseverely punished for allowing your servants to do this evil in theworld. " The Ancient of Days replied: "No, without these trials yourMaster and his disciples could never attain to perfection. "

Sun understood and said: "Since you have come in person for the magictreasures, I return them to you. " After receiving them, the Ancientof Days returned to his T'ai Sui mansion in the skies. 

The Red Child Demon

By the autumn the travellers arrived at a great mountain. They sawon the road a red cloud which the Monkey thought must be a demon. Itwas in fact a demon child who, in order to entrap the Master, had hadhimself bound and tied to the branch of a tree. The child repeatedlycried out to the passers-by to deliver him. Sun suspected that it wasa trick; but the Master could no longer endure the pitiful wails; heordered his disciples to loose the child, and the Monkey to carry him. 

As they proceeded on their way the Demon caused a strong whirlwind tospring up, and during this he carried off the Master. Sun discoveredthat the Demon was an old friend of his, who, centuries before, hadpledged himself to eternal friendship. So he consoled his comradesby saying that he felt sure no harm would come to the Master. 

A Prospective Feast

Soon Sun and his companions reached a mountain covered withpine-forests. Here they found the Demon in his cave, intent uponfeasting on the Priest. The Demon refused to recognize his ancientfriendship with Sun, so the two came to blows. The Demon set fire toeverything, so that the Monkey might be blinded by the smoke. Thushe was unable to find his Master. In despair he said: "I must getthe help of some one more skilful than myself. " Pa-chieh was sentto fetch Kuan Yin. The Demon then seized a magic bag, transformedhimself into the shape of Kuan Yin, and invited Pa-chieh to enter thecave. The simpleton fell into the trap and was seized and placed inthe bag. Then the Demon appeared in his true form, and said: "I amthe beggar child, and mean to cook you for my dinner. A fine man toprotect his Master you are!" The Demon then summoned six of his mostdoughty generals and ordered them to accompany him to fetch his father, King Ox-head, to dine off the pilgrim. When they had gone Sun openedthe bag, released Pa-chieh, and both followed the six generals. 

The Generals Tricked

Sun thought that as the Demon had played a trick on Pa-chieh, hewould play one on his generals. So he hurried on in front of them, and changed himself into the form of King Ox-head. The Demon andhis generals were invited into his presence, and Red Child said:"If anyone eats of the pilgrim's flesh, his life will be prolongedindefinitely. Now he is caught and I invite you to feast on him. " Sun, personifying the father, said: "No, I cannot come. I am fastingto-day. Moreover, Sun has charge of the pilgrim, and if any harm befallhim it will be the worse for you, for he has seventy-two magic arts. Hecan make himself so big that your cave cannot contain him, and hecan make himself as small as a fly, a mosquito, a bee, or a butterfly. "

Sun then went to Kuan Yin and appealed for help. She gave him abottle, but he found he could not move it. "No, " said Kuan Yin, "for all the forces of the ocean are stored in it. "

Kuan Yin lifted it with ease, and said: "This dew water is differentfrom dragon water, and can extinguish the fire of passion. I willsend a fairy with you on your boat. You need no sails. The fairyneeds only to blow a little, and the boat moves along without anyeffort. " Finally, the Red Child, having been overcome, repented andbegged to be received as a disciple. Kuan Yin received him and blessedhim, giving him the name of Steward. 

The Demons of Blackwater River

One day the Master suddenly exclaimed: "What is that noise?" Sunreplied: "You are afraid; you have forgotten the Heart Prayer, according to which we are to be indifferent to all the calls of thesix senses--the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. These are the SixThieves. If you cannot suppress them, how do you expect to see theGreat Lord?" The Master thought a while and then said: "O disciple, when shall we see the Incarnate Model (Ju Lai) face to face?"

Pa-chieh said: "If we are to meet such demons as these, it will takeus a thousand years to get to the West. " But Sha Ho-shang rejoined:"Both you and I are stupid; if we persevere and travel on, shoulderto shoulder, we shall reach there at last. " While thus talking, they saw before them a dark river in flood, which the horse could notcross. Seeing a small boat, the Master said: "Let us engage that boatto take us across. " While crossing the river in it, they discoveredthat it was a boat sent by the Demon of Blackwater River to entrapthem in midstream, and the Master would have been slain had not Sunand the Western Dragon come to the rescue. 

The Slow-carts Country

Having crossed the Blackwater River, they journeyed westward, facing wind and snow. Suddenly they heard a great shout as often thousand voices. The Master was alarmed, but Sun laughinglywent to investigate. Sitting on a cloud, he rose in the air, andsaw a city, outside of which there were thousands of priests andcarts laden with bricks and all kinds of building materials. Thiswas the city where Taoists were respected, and Buddhists were notwanted. The Monkey, who appeared among the people as a Taoist, wasinformed that the country was called the Ch'ê Ch'ih, 'Slow-cartsCountry, ' and for twenty years had been ruled by three Taoists whocould procure rain during times of drought. Their names were Tiger, Deer, and Sheep. They could also command the wind, and change stonesinto gold. The Monkey said to the two leading Taoists: "I wonderif I shall be so fortunate as to see your Emperor?" They replied:"We will see to that when we have attended to our business. " TheMonkey inquired what business the priests could have. "In formertimes, " they said, "when our King ordered the Buddhists to pray forrain, their prayers were not answered. Then the Taoists prayed, andcopious showers fell. Since then all the Buddhist priests have beenour slaves, and have to carry the building materials, as you see. Wemust assign them their work, and then will come to you. " Sun replied:"Never mind; I am in search of an uncle of mine, from whom I have notheard for many years. Perhaps he is here among your slaves. " They said:"You may see if you can find him. "

Restraints on Freedom

Sun went to look for his uncle. Hearing this, many Buddhist priestssurrounded him, hoping to be recognized as his lost relative. Aftera while he smiled. They asked him the reason. He said: "Why do youmake no progress? Life is not meant for idleness. " They said: "Wecannot do anything. We are terribly oppressed. " "What power have yourmasters?" "By using their magic they can call up wind or rain. " "Thatis a small matter, " said Sun. "What else can they do?" "They can makethe pills of immortality, and change stone into gold. "

Sun said: "These are also small matters; many can do the same. How didthese Taoists deceive your King?" "The King attends their prayers nightand day, expecting thereby to attain to immortality. " "Why do you notleave the place?" "It is impossible, for the King has ordered picturesof us to be hung up everywhere. In all the numerous prefectures, magistracies, and market-places in Slow-carts Country are pictures ofthe Buddhist priests, and any official who catches a runaway priestis promoted three degrees, while every non-official receives fiftytaels. The proclamation is signed by the King. So you see we arehelpless. " Sun then said: "You might as well die and end it all. "

Immortal for Suffering

They replied: "A great number have died. At one time we numberedmore than two thousand. But through deaths and suicides there nowremain only about five hundred. And we who remain cannot die. Ropescannot strangle us, swords cannot cut us; if we plunge into theriver we cannot sink; poison does not kill us. " Sun said: "Thenyou are fortunate, for you are all Immortals. " "Alas!" said they, "we are immortal only for suffering. We get poor food. We have onlysand to sleep on. But in the night hours spirits appear to us andtell us not to kill ourselves, for an Arhat will come from the Eastto deliver us. With him there is a disciple, the Great Holy One, the Equal of Heaven, most powerful and tender-hearted. He will putan end to these Taoists and have pity on us Buddhists. "

The Saviour of the Buddhists

Inwardly Sun was glad that his fame had gone abroad. Returning to thecity, he met the two chief Taoists. They asked him if he had foundhis relative. "Yes, " he replied, "they are all my relatives!" Theysmiled and said: "How is it that you have so many relatives?" Sunsaid: "One hundred are my father's relatives, one hundred my mother'srelatives, and the remainder my adopted relatives. If you will letall these priests depart with me, then I will enter the city with you;otherwise I will not enter. " "You must be mad to speak to us in thisway. The priests were given us by the King. If you had asked for afew only, we might have consented, but your request is altogetherunreasonable. " Sun then asked them three times if they would liberatethe priests. When they finally refused, he grew very angry, took hismagic spear from his ear and brandished it in the air, when all theirheads fell off and rolled on the ground. 

Anger of the Buddhist Priests

The Buddhist priests saw from a distance what had taken place, and shouted: "Murder, murder! The Taoist superintendents are beingkilled. " They surrounded Sun, saying: "These priests are our masters;they go to the temple without visiting the King, and return homewithout taking leave of the King. The King is the high priest. Whyhave you killed his disciples? The Taoist chief priest will certainlyaccuse us Buddhist priests of the murders. What are we to do? If we gointo the city with you they will make you pay for this with your life. "

Sun laughed. "My friends, " he said, "do not trouble yourselves overthis matter. I am not the Master of the Clouds, but the Great HolyOne, a disciple of the Holy Master from China, going to the WesternParadise to fetch the sacred books, and have come to save you. "

"No, no, " said they, "this cannot be, for we know him. " Sun replied:"Having never met him, how can you know him?" They replied: "We haveseen him in our dreams. The spirit of the planet Venus has describedhim to us and warned us not to make a mistake. " "What description didhe give?" asked Sun. They replied: "He has a hard head, bright eyes, a round, hairy face without cheeks, sharp teeth, prominent mouth, a hot temper, and is uglier than the Thunder-god. He has a rod ofiron, caused a disturbance in Heaven itself, but later repented, and is coming with the Buddhist pilgrim in order to save mankind fromcalamities and misery. " With mixed feelings Sun replied: "My friends, no doubt you are right in saying I am not Sun. I am only his disciple, who has come to learn how to carry out his plans. But, " he added, pointing with his hand, "is not that Sun coming yonder?" They alllooked in the direction in which he had pointed. 

Sun bestows Talismans

Sun quickly changed himself from a Taoist priest, and appeared inhis natural form. At this they all fell down and worshipped him, asking his forgiveness because their mortal eyes could not recognizehim. They then begged him to enter the city and compel the demons torepent. Sun told them to follow him. He then went with them to a sandyplace, emptied two carts and smashed them into splinters, and threwall the bricks, tiles, and timber into a heap, calling upon all thepriests to disperse. "Tomorrow, " he said, "I am going to see the King, and will destroy the Taoists!" Then they said: "Sir, we dare not goany farther, lest they attempt to seize you and cause trouble. " "Haveno fear, " he replied; "but if you think so I will give you a charm toprotect you. " He pulled out some hairs, and gave one to each to holdfirmly on the third finger. "If anyone tries to seize you, " he said, "keep tight hold of it, call out 'Great Holy One, the Equal of Heaven, 'and I will at once come to your rescue, even though I be ten thousandmiles away. " Some of them tried the charm, and, sure enough, therehe was before them like the God of Thunder. In his hand he held arod of iron, and he could keep ten thousand men and horses at bay. 

The Magic Circle

It was now winter. The pilgrims were crossing a high mountain bya narrow pass, and the Master was afraid of wild beasts. The threedisciples bade him fear not, as they were united, and were all goodmen seeking truth. Being cold and hungry they rejoiced to see a finebuilding ahead of them, but Sun said: "It is another devil's trap. Iwill make a ring round you. Inside that you will be safe. Do not wanderoutside it. I will go and look for food. " Sun returned with his bowlfull of rice, but found that his companions had got tired of waiting, and had disappeared. They had gone forward to the fine building, whichPa-chieh entered. Not a soul was to be seen, but on going upstairshe was terrified to see a human skeleton of immense size lying onthe floor. At this moment the Demon of the house descended on them, bound the Master, and said: "We have been told that if we eat of yourflesh our white hair will become black again, and our lost teeth growanew. " So he ordered the small devils who accompanied him to bind theothers. This they did, and thrust the pilgrims into a cave, and thenlay in wait for Sun. It was not long before the Monkey came up, whena great fight ensued. In the end, having failed, notwithstanding theexercise of numerous magic arts, to release his companions, Sun betookhimself to the Spiritual Mountain and besought Ju Lai's aid. Eighteen_lohan_ were sent to help him against the Demon. When Sun renewed theattack, the _lohan_ threw diamond dust into the air, which blinded theDemon and also half buried him. But, by skilful use of his magic coil, he gathered up all the diamond dust and carried it back to his cave. 

The _lohan_ then advised Sun to seek the aid of the Ancient ofDays. Accordingly, Sun ascended to the thirty-third Heaven, wherewas the palace of the god. He there discovered that the Demon wasnone other than one of the god's ox-spirits who had stolen the magiccoil. It was, in fact, the same coil with which Sun himself had atlast been subdued when he had rebelled against Heaven. 

Help from Ju Lai

The Ancient of Days mounted a cloud and went with Sun to the cave. Whenthe Demon saw who had come he was terrified. The Ancient of Days thenrecited an incantation, and the Demon surrendered the magic coilto him. On the recitation of a second incantation all his strengthleft him, and he appeared as a bull, and was led away by a ring inhis nose. The Master and his disciples were then set at liberty, and proceeded on their journey. 

The Fire-quenching Fan

In the autumn the pilgrims found themselves in the Ssu Ha Li Country, where everything was red--red walls, red tiles, red varnish on doorsand furniture. Sixty _li_ from this place was the Flaming Mountain, which lay on their road westward. 

An old man they met told them that it was possible to cross theFlaming Mountain only if they had the Magic Iron Fan, which, wavedonce, quenched fire, waved a second time produced strong wind, andwaved a third time produced rain. This magic fan was kept by theIron-fan Princess in a cave on Ts'ui-yün Shan, 1500 _li_ distant. Onhearing this, Sun mounted a cloud, and in an instant was transportedto the cave. The Iron-fan Princess was one of the _lochas_ (wivesand daughters of demons), and the mother of the Red Child Demon, whohad become a disciple of Kuan Yin. On seeing Sun she was very angry, and determined to be revenged for the outwitting of her husband, King Ox-head, and for the carrying away of her son. The Monkey said:"If you lend me the Iron Fan I will bring your son to see you. " Foranswer she struck him with a sword. They then fell to fighting, thecontest lasting a long while, until at length, feeling her strengthfailing, the Princess took out the Iron Fan and waved it. The windit raised blew Sun to a distance of 84, 000 _li_, and whirled himabout like a leaf in a whirlwind. But he soon returned, reinforcedby further magic power lent him by the Buddhist saints. The Princess, however, deceived him by giving him a fan which increased the flamesof the mountain instead of quenching them. Sun and his friends hadto retreat more than 20 _li_, or they would have been burned. 

The local mountain-gods now appeared, bringing refreshments, and urgingthe pilgrims to get the Fan so as to enable them to proceed on theirjourney. Sun pointed to his fan and said: "Is not this the Fan?" Theysmiled and said: "No, this is a false one which the Princess hasgiven you. " They added: "Originally there was no Flaming Mountain, butwhen you upset the furnace in Heaven five hundred years ago the firefell here, and has been burning ever since. For not having taken morecare in Heaven, we have been set to guard it. The Demon-king Ox-head, though he married the _locha_ Princess, deserted her some two yearsago for the only daughter of a fox-king. They live at Chi-lei Shan, some three thousand _li_ from here. If you can get the true IronFan through his help you will be able to extinguish the flames, takeyour Master to the West, save the lives of many people round here, and enable us to return to Heaven once more. "

Sun at once mounted a cloud and was soon at Chi-lei Shan. Therehe met the Fox-princess, whom he upbraided and pursued back toher cave. The Ox-demon came out and became very angry with Sunfor having frightened her. Sun asked him to return with him to the_locha_ Princess and persuade her to give him the Magic Fan, This herefused to do. They then fought three battles, in all of which Sunwas successful. He changed into the Ox-demon's shape and visited the_locha_ Princess. She, thinking he was the Ox-demon, gladly receivedhim, and finally gave him the Magic Fan; he then set out to returnto his Master. 

The Power of the Magic Fan

The Ox-demon, following after Sun, saw him walking along, joyfullycarrying the Magic Fan on his shoulder. Now Sun had forgotten to askhow to make it small, like an apricot leaf, as it was at first. TheOx-demon changed himself into the form of Pa-chieh, and going up toSun he said: "Brother Sun, I am glad to see you back; I hope you havesucceeded. " "Yes, " replied Sun, and described his fights, and how hehad tricked the Ox-demon's wife into giving him the Fan. The seemingPa-chieh said: "You must be very tired after all your efforts; letme carry the Magic Fan for you. " As soon as he had got possession ofit he appeared in his true form, and tried to use it to blow Sun away84, 000 _li_, for he did not know that the Great Holy One had swalloweda wind-resisting pill, and was therefore immovable. He then put theMagic Fan in his mouth and fought with his two swords. He was a matchfor Sun in all the magic arts, but through the aid of Pa-chieh andthe help of the local gods sent by the Master the Monkey was ableto prevail against him. The Ox-demon changed himself many times intoa number of birds, but for each of these Sun changed himself into aswifter and stronger one. The Ox-demon then changed himself into manybeasts, such as tigers, leopards, bears, elephants, and an ox 10, 000feet long. He then said to Sun, with a laugh: "What can you do to menow?" Sun seized his rod of iron, and cried: "Grow!" He immediatelybecame 100, 000 feet high, with eyes like the sun and moon. They foughttill the heavens and the earth shook with their onslaughts. 

Defeat of the Ox-demon

The Ox-demon being of so fierce and terrible a nature, both Buddhain Heaven and the Taoist Celestial Ruler sent down whole legions ofcelebrated warriors to help the Master's servant. The Ox-demon triedto escape in every direction, one after the other, but his effortswere in vain. Finally defeated, he was made to promise for himself andhis wife to give up their evil ways and to follow the holy preceptsof the Buddhist doctrine. 

The Magic Fan was given to Sun, who at once proceeded to test itspowers. When he waved it once the fires on Flaming Mountain diedout. When he waved it a second time a gentle breeze sprang up. Whenhe waved it a third time refreshing rain fell everywhere, and thepilgrims proceeded on their way in comfort. 

The Lovely Women

Having travelled over many mountains, the travellers came to avillage. The Master said: "You, my disciples, are always very kind, taking round the begging-bowl and getting food for me. To-day I willtake the begging-bowl myself. " But Sun said: "That is not right; youmust let us, your disciples, do this for you. " But the Master insisted. 

When he reached the village, there was not a man to be seen, but onlysome lovely women. He did not think that it was right for him to speakto women. On the other hand, if he did not procure anything for theirmeal, his disciples would make fun of him. So, after long hesitation, he went forward and begged food of them. They invited him to their cavehome, and, having learnt who he was, ordered food for him, but it wasall human flesh. The Master informed them that he was a vegetarian, and rose to take his departure, but instead of letting him go theysurrounded and bound him, thinking that he would be a fine meal forthem next day. 

An Awkward Predicament

Then seven of the women went out to bathe in a pool. There Sun, insearch of his Master, found them and would have killed them, only hethought it was not right to kill women. So he changed himself into aneagle and carried away their clothes to his nest. This so frightenedthe women that they crouched in the pool and did not dare to come out. 

But Pa-chieh, also in search of his Master, found the women bathing. Hechanged himself into a fish, which the women tried to catch, chasinghim hither and thither round the pool. After a while Pa-chieh leaptout of the pool and, appearing in his true form, threatened thewomen for having bound his Master. In their fright the women fled toa pavilion, round which they spun spiders' threads so thickly thatPa-chieh became entangled and fell. They then escaped to their caveand put on some clothes. 

How the Master was Rescued

When Pa-chieh at length had disentangled himself from the webs, he sawSun and Sha Ho-shang approaching. Having learnt what had happened, they feared the women might do some injury to the Master, so theyran to the cave to rescue him. On the way they were beset by theseven dwarf sons of the seven women, who transformed themselves intoa swarm of dragon-flies, bees, and other insects. But Sun pulled outsome hairs and, changing them into seven different swarms of flyinginsects, destroyed the hostile swarm, and the ground was covered afoot deep with the dead bodies. On reaching the cave, the pilgrimsfound it had been deserted by the women. They released the Master, and made him promise never to beg for food again. Having given thepromise, he mounted his horse, and they proceeded on their journey. 

The Spiders and the Extinguisher

When they had gone a short distance they perceived a great building offine architecture ahead of them. It proved to be a Taoist temple. ShaHo-shang said: "Let us enter, for Buddhism and Taoism teach thesame things. They differ only in their vestments. " The Taoist abbotreceived them with civility and ordered five cups of tea. Now he wasin league with the seven women, and when the servant had made the teathey put poison in each cup. Sun, however, suspected a conspiracy, and did not drink his tea. Seeing that the rest had been poisoned, hewent and attacked the sisters, who transformed themselves into hugespiders. They were able to spin ropes instead of webs with which tobind their enemies. But Sun attacked and killed them all. 

The Taoist abbot then showed himself in his true form, a demon witha thousand eyes. He joined battle with Sun, and a terrible contestensued, the result being that the Demon succeeded in putting anextinguisher on his enemy. This was a new trick which Sun did notunderstand. However, after trying in vain to break out through thetop and sides, he began to bore downward, and, finding that theextinguisher was not deep in the ground, he succeeded in effectinghis escape from below. But he feared that his Master and the otherswould die of the poison. At this juncture, while he was sufferingmental tortures on their behalf, a Bodhisattva, Lady Pi Lan, cameto his rescue. By the aid of her magic he broke the extinguisher, gave his Master and fellow-disciples pills to counteract the poison, and so rescued them. 

Shaving a Whole City

The summer had now arrived. On the road the pilgrims met an oldlady and a little boy. The old lady said: "You are priests; do notgo forward, for you are about to pass into the country known as theCountry that exterminates Religion. The inhabitants have vowed tokill ten thousand priests. They have already slain that number allbut four noted ones whose arrival they expect; then their number willbe complete. "

This old lady was Kuan Yin, with Shên Tsai (Steward), who had come togive them warning. Sun thereupon changed himself into a candle-mothand flew into the city to examine for himself. He entered an inn, and heard the innkeeper warning his guests to look after their ownclothes and belongings when they went to sleep. In order to travelsafely through the city, Sun decided that they should all put onturbans and clothing resembling that of the citizens. Perceivingfrom the innkeeper's warning that thieving was common, Sun stole someclothing and turbans for his Master and comrades. Then they all cameto the inn at dusk, Sun representing himself as a horse-dealer. 

Fearing that in their sleep their turbans would fall off, and theirshaven heads be revealed, Sun arranged that they should sleep in acupboard, which he asked the landlady to lock. 

During the night robbers came and carried the cupboard away, thinkingto find in it silver to buy horses. A watchman saw many men carryingthis cupboard, and became suspicious, and called out the soldiers. Therobbers ran away, leaving the cupboard in the open. The Master was veryangry with Sun for getting him into this danger. He feared that atdaylight they would be discovered and all be executed. But Sun said:"Do not be alarmed; I will save you yet!" He changed himself into anant, and escaped from the cupboard. Then he plucked out some hairsand changed them into a thousand monkeys like himself. To each hegave a razor and a charm for inducing sleep. When the King and allthe officials and their wives had succumbed to this charm, the monkeyswere to shave their heads. 

On the morrow there was a terrible commotion throughout the city, as all the leaders and their families found themselves shaved likeBuddhists. 

Thus the Master was saved again. 

The Return to China

The pilgrims having overcome the predicted eighty difficulties oftheir outward journey, there remained only one to be overcome on thehomeward way. 

They were now returning upon a cloud which had been placed at theirdisposal, and which had been charged to bear them safely home. Butalas! the cloud broke and precipitated them to the earth by the sideof a wide river which they must cross. There were no ferry-boats orrafts to be seen, so they were glad to avail themselves of the kindoffices of a turtle, who offered to take them across on his back. Butin midstream the turtle reminded Hsüan Chuang of a promise he had madehim when on his outward journey, namely, that he would intercede forhim before the Ruler of the West, and ask his Majesty to forgive allpast offences and allow him to resume his humanity again. The turtleasked him if he had remembered to keep his word. Hsüan Chuang replied:"I remember our conversation, but I am sorry to say that under greatpressure I quite forgot to keep my promise. " "Then, " said the turtle, "you are at liberty to dispense with my services. " He then disappearedbeneath the water, leaving the pilgrims floundering in the stream withtheir precious books. They swam the river, and with great difficultymanaged to save a number of volumes, which they dried in the sun. 

The Travellers Honoured

The pilgrims reached the capital of their country without furtherdifficulty. As soon as they appeared in sight the whole populationbecame greatly excited, and cutting down branches of willow-treeswent out to meet them. As a mark of special distinction the Emperorsent his own horse for Hsüan Chuang to ride on, and the pilgrims wereescorted with royal honours into the city, where the Emperor and hisgrateful Court were waiting to receive them. Hsüan Chuang's queertrio of converts at first caused great amusement among the crowdswho thronged to see them, but when they learned of Sun's superhumanachievements, and his brave defence of the Master, their amusementwas changed into wondering admiration. 

But the greatest honours were conferred upon the travellers ata meeting of the Immortals presided over by Mi-lo Fo, the ComingBuddha. Addressing Hsüan Chuang, the Buddha said, "In a previousexistence you were one of my chief disciples. But for disobedienceand for lightly esteeming the great teaching your soul was imprisonedin the Eastern Land. Now a memorial has been presented to me statingthat you have obtained the True Classics of Salvation, thus, by yourfaithfulness, completing your meritorious labours. You are appointedto the high office of Controller of Sacrifices to his Supreme Majestythe Pearly Emperor. "

Turning to Sun, the Buddha said, "You, Sun, for creating a disturbancein the palace of Heaven, were imprisoned beneath the Mountain ofthe Five Elements, until the fullness of Heaven's calamities haddescended upon you, and you had repented and had joined the holyreligion of Buddha. From that time you have endeavoured to suppressevil and cherish virtue. And on your journey to the West you havesubjugated evil spirits, ghosts, and demons. For your services youare appointed God of Victorious Strife. "

For his repentance, and for his assistance to his Master, Chu Pa-chieh, the Pig Fairy, was appointed Head Altar-washer to the Gods. Thiswas the highest office for which he was eligible, on account of hisinherent greed. 

Sha Ho-shang was elevated to the rank of Golden Body Perpetual Saint. 

Pai Ma, the white horse who had patiently carried Hsüan Chuang andhis burden of books, was led by a god down the Spirit Mountain tothe banks of the Pool of Dragon-transformation. Pai Ma plunged in, when he changed at once into a four-footed dragon, with horns, scales, claws, and wings complete. From this time he became the chief of thecelestial dragon tribe. 

Sun's first thought upon receiving his promotion was to get rid of theHead-splitting Helmet. Accordingly he said to his Master, "Now thatI am, like yourself, a Buddha, I want you to relieve my head of thehelmet you imposed upon me during the years of my waywardness. " HsüanChuang replied, "If you have really become a Buddha, your helmetshould have disappeared of itself. Are you sure it is still upon yourhead?" Sun raised his hand, and lo! the helmet was gone. 

After this the great assembly broke up, and each of the Immortalsreturned in peace to his own celestial abode. 

CHAPTER XV

Fox Legends

The Fox

Among the many animals worshipped by the Chinese, those at timesseen emerging from coffins or graves naturally hold a prominentplace. They are supposed to be the transmigrated souls of deceasedhuman beings. We should therefore expect such animals as the fox, stoat, weasel, etc. , to be closely associated with the worship ofghosts, spirits, and suchlike creatures, and that they should be thesubjects of, or included in, a large number of Chinese legends. Thiswe find. Of these animals the fox is mentioned in Chinese legendarylore perhaps more often than any other. 

The subject of fox-lore has been dealt with exhaustively bymy respected colleague, the late Mr Thomas Watters (formerlyH. B. M. Consul-General at Canton, a man of vast learning and extrememodesty, insufficiently appreciated in his generation), in the _Journalof the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_, viii, 45-65, to which the reader is referred for details. Generally, the fox isa creature of ill omen, long-lived (living to eight hundred or evena thousand years), with a peculiar virtue in every part of his body, able to produce fire by striking the ground with his tail, cunning, cautious, sceptical, able to see into the future, to transform himself(usually into old men, or scholars, or pretty young maidens), andfond of playing pranks and tormenting mankind. 

Fox Legends

Many interesting fox legends are to be found in a collection of storiesentitled _Liao chai chih i_, by P'u Sung-ling (seventeenth centuryA. D. ), part of which was translated into English many years ago byProfessor H. A. Giles and appeared in two fascinating volumes called_Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio_. These legends were relatedto the Chinese writer by various people as their own experiences. 

Friendship with Foxes

A certain man had an enormous stack of straw, as big as a hill, inwhich his servants, taking what was daily required for use, had madequite a large hole. In this hole a fox fixed his abode, and wouldoften show himself to the master of the house under the form of anold man. One day the latter invited the master to walk into his abode;he at first declined, but accepted on being pressed; and when he gotinside, lo! he saw a long suite of handsome apartments. They thensat down, and exquisitely perfumed tea and wine were brought; butthe place was so gloomy that there was no difference between nightand day. By and by, the entertainment being over, the guest took hisleave; and on looking back the beautiful rooms and their contents hadall disappeared. The old man himself was in the habit of going away inthe evening and returning with the first streaks of morning; and asno one was able to follow him, the master of the house asked him oneday whither he went. To this he replied that a friend invited him totake wine; and then the master begged to be allowed to accompany him, a proposal to which the old man very reluctantly consented. However, he seized the master by the arm, and away they went as though ridingon the wings of the wind; and in about the time it takes to cooka pot of millet they reached a city and walked into a restaurant, where there were a number of people drinking together and making agreat noise. The old man led his companion to a gallery above, fromwhich they could look down on the feasters below; and he himself wentdown and brought away from the tables all kinds of nice food and wine, without appearing to be seen or noticed by any of the company. Aftera while a man dressed in red garments came forward and laid uponthe table some dishes of cumquats; [36] the master at once requestedthe old man to go down and get him some of these. "Ah, " replied thelatter, "that is an upright man: I cannot approach him. " Thereuponthe master said to himself, "By thus seeking the companionship of afox, I then am deflected from the true course. Henceforth I too willbe an upright man. " No sooner had he formed this resolution than hesuddenly lost all control over his body, and fell from the gallerydown among the revellers below. These gentlemen were much astonishedby his unexpected descent; and he himself, looking up, saw there wasno gallery to the house, but only a large beam upon which he hadbeen sitting. He now detailed the whole of the circumstances, andthose present made up a purse for him to pay his travelling expenses;for he was at Yü-t'ai--a thousand _li_ from home. 

The Marriage Lottery

A certain labourer, named Ma T'ien-jung, lost his wife when he wasonly about twenty years of age, and was too poor to take another. Oneday, when out hoeing in the fields, he beheld a nice-looking younglady leave the path and come tripping across the furrows towardhim. Her face was well painted, [37] and she had altogether such arefined look that Ma concluded she must have lost her way, and beganto make some playful remarks in consequence. "You go along home, "cried the young lady, "and I'll be with you by and by. " Ma doubtedthis rather extraordinary promise, but she vowed and declared shewould not break her word; and then Ma went off, telling her that hisfront door faced the north, etc. At midnight the young lady arrived, and then Ma saw that her hands and face were covered with fine hair, which made him suspect at once that she was a fox. She did not deny theaccusation; and accordingly Ma said to her, "If you really are one ofthose wonderful creatures you will be able to get me anything I want;and I should be much obliged if you would begin by giving me somemoney to relieve my poverty. " The young lady said she would; and nextevening, when she came again, Ma asked her where the money was. "Dearme!" replied she, "I quite forgot it. " When she was going away Mareminded her of what he wanted, but on the following evening she madeprecisely the same excuse, promising to bring it another day. A fewnights afterward Ma asked her once more for the money, and then shedrew from her sleeve two pieces of silver, each weighing about fiveor six ounces. They were both of fine quality, with turned-up edges, [38] and Ma was very pleased, and stored them away in a cupboard. Somemonths after this he happened to require some money for use, and tookout these pieces; but the person to whom he showed them said theywere only pewter, and easily bit off a portion of one of them withhis teeth. Ma was much alarmed, and put the pieces away directly, taking the opportunity when evening came of abusing the young ladyroundly. "It's all your bad luck, " retorted she. "Real gold would betoo much for your inferior destiny. " There was an end of that; but Mawent on to say, "I always heard that fox-girls were of surpassingbeauty; how is it you are not?" "Oh, " replied the young lady, "we always adapt ourselves to our company. Now you haven't the luckof an ounce of silver to call your own; and what would you do, forinstance, with a beautiful princess? My beauty may not be good enoughfor the aristocracy; but among your big-footed, bent-backed rustics, [39] why, it may safely be called 'surpassing'!"

A few months passed away, and then one day the young lady came andgave Ma three ounces of silver, saying, "You have often asked me formoney, but in consequence of your bad luck I have always refrainedfrom giving you any. Now, however, your marriage is at hand, andI here give you the cost of a wife, which you may also regard as aparting gift from me. " Ma replied that he was not engaged, to which theyoung lady answered that in a few days a go-between would visit himto arrange the affair. "And what will she be like?" asked Ma. "Why, as your aspirations are for 'surpassing' beauty, " replied the younglady, "of course she will be possessed of surpassing beauty. " "I hardlyexpect that, " said Ma; "at any rate, three ounces of silver will not beenough to get a wife. " "Marriages, " explained the young lady, "are madein the moon; [40] mortals have nothing to do with them. " "And why mustyou be going away like this?" inquired Ma. "Because, " answered she, "for us to meet only by night is not the proper thing. I had betterget you another wife and have done with you. " Then when morning cameshe departed, giving Ma a pinch of yellow powder, saying, "In caseyou are ill after we are separated, this will cure you. " Next day, sure enough, a go-between did come, and Ma at once asked what theproposed bride was like; to which the former replied that she wasvery passable-looking. Four or five ounces of silver was fixed as themarriage present, Ma making no difficulty on that score, but declaringhe must have a peep at the young lady. [41] The go-between said shewas a respectable girl, and would never allow herself to be seen;however, it was arranged that they should go to the house together, and await a good opportunity. So off they went, Ma remaining outsidewhile the go-between went in, returning in a little while to tellhim it was all right. "A relative of mine lives in the same court, and just now I saw the young lady sitting in the hall. We have onlygot to pretend we are going to see my relative, and you will be ableto get a glimpse of her. " Ma consented, and they accordingly passedthrough the hall, where he saw the young lady sitting down with herhead bent forward while some one was scratching her back. She seemedto be all that the go-between had said; but when they came to discussthe money it appeared that the young lady wanted only one or two ouncesof silver, just to buy herself a few clothes, etc. , which Ma thoughtwas a very small amount; so he gave the go-between a present for hertrouble, which just finished up the three ounces his fox-friend hadprovided. An auspicious day was chosen, and the young lady came overto his house; when lo! she was humpbacked and pigeon-breasted, witha short neck like a tortoise, and feet which were fully ten incheslong. The meaning of his fox-friend's remarks then flashed upon him. 

The Magnanimous Girl

At Chin-ling there lived a young man named Ku, who had considerableability, but was very poor; and having an old mother, he was veryloth to leave home. So he employed himself in writing or painting[42] for people, and gave his mother the proceeds, going on thustill he was twenty-five years of age without taking a wife. Oppositeto their house was another building, which had long been untenanted;and one day an old woman and a young girl came to occupy it, but therebeing no gentleman with them young Ku did not make any inquiries asto who they were or whence they hailed. Shortly afterward it chancedthat just as Ku was entering the house he observed a young ladycome out of his mother's door. She was about eighteen or nineteen, very clever and refined-looking, and altogether such a girl as onerarely sets eyes on; and when she noticed Mr Ku she did not run away, but seemed quite self-possessed. "It was the young lady over the way;she came to borrow my scissors and measure, " said his mother, "andshe told me that there is only her mother and herself. They don'tseem to belong to the lower classes. I asked her why she didn't getmarried, to which she replied that her mother was old. I must go andcall on her to-morrow, and find out how the land lies. If she doesn'texpect too much, you could take care of her mother for her. " So nextday Ku's mother went, and found that the girl's mother was deaf, andthat they were evidently poor, apparently not having a day's food inthe house. Ku's mother asked what their employment was, and the oldlady said they trusted for food to her daughter's ten fingers. Shethen threw out some hints about uniting the two families, to whichthe old lady seemed to agree; but, on consultation with her daughter, the latter would not consent. Mrs Ku returned home and told her son, saying, "Perhaps she thinks we are too poor. She doesn't speak orlaugh, is very nice-looking, and as pure as snow; truly no ordinarygirl. " There ended that; until one day, as Ku was sitting in hisstudy, up came a very agreeable young fellow, who said he was from aneighbouring village, and engaged Ku to draw a picture for him. Thetwo youths soon struck up a firm friendship and met constantly, and later it happened that the stranger chanced to see the younglady of over the way. "Who is that?" said he, following her withhis eyes. Ku told him, and then he said, "She is certainly pretty, but rather stern in her appearance. " By and by Ku went in, and hismother told him the girl had come to beg a little rice, as they hadhad nothing to eat all day. "She's a good daughter, " said his mother, "and I'm very sorry for her. We must try and help them a little. " Kuthereupon shouldered a peck of rice, and, knocking at their door, presented it with his mother's compliments. The young lady receivedthe rice, but said nothing; and then she got into the habit of comingover and helping Ku's mother with her work and household affairs, almost as if she had been her daughter-in-law, for which Ku was verygrateful to her, and whenever he had anything nice he always sent someof it in to her mother, though the young lady herself never once tookthe trouble to thank him. So things went on until Ku's mother got anabscess on her leg, and lay writhing in agony day and night. Then theyoung lady devoted herself to the invalid, waiting on her and givingher medicine with such care and attention that at last the sick womancried out, "O that I could secure such a daughter-in-law as you to seethis old body into its grave!" The young lady soothed her, and replied, "Your son is a hundred times more filial than I, a poor widow's onlydaughter. " "But even a filial son makes a bad nurse, " answered thepatient; "besides, I am now drawing toward the evening of my life, when my body will be exposed to the mists and the dews, and I amvexed in spirit about our ancestral worship and the continuance of ourline. " As she was speaking Ku walked in; and his mother, weeping, said, "I am deeply indebted to this young lady; do not forget to repay hergoodness. " Ku made a low bow, but the young lady said, "Sir, when youwere kind to my mother, I did not thank you; why then thank me?" Kuthereupon became more than ever attached to her; but could never gether to depart in the slightest degree from her cold demeanour towardhimself. One day, however, he managed to squeeze her hand, upon whichshe told him never to do so again; and then for some time he neithersaw nor heard anything of her. She had conceived a violent disliketo the young stranger above mentioned; and one evening, when he wassitting talking with Ku, the young lady appeared. After a while shegot angry at something he said, and drew from her robe a glitteringknife about a foot long. The young man, seeing her do this, ran outin a fright and she after him, only to find that he had vanished. Shethen threw her dagger up into the air, and _whish!_ a streak of lightlike a rainbow, and something came tumbling down with a flop. Ku gota light, and ran to see what it was; and lo! there lay a white fox, head in one place and body in another. "There is your _friend_, "cried the girl; "I knew he would cause me to destroy him sooner orlater. " Ku dragged it into the house, and said, "Let us wait tillto-morrow to talk it over; we shall then be more calm. " Next day theyoung lady arrived, and Ku inquired about her knowledge of the blackart; but she told Ku not to trouble himself about such affairs, andto keep it secret or it might be prejudicial to his happiness. Kuthen entreated her to consent to their union, to which she repliedthat she had already been as it were a daughter-in-law to his mother, and there was no need to push the thing further. "Is it because I ampoor?" asked Ku. "Well, I am not rich, " answered she, "but the factis I had rather not. " She then took her leave, and the next eveningwhen Ku went across to their house to try once more to persuade herthe young lady had disappeared, and was never seen again. 

The Boon-companion

Once upon a time there was a young man named Ch'ê, who was notparticularly well off, but at the same time very fond of his wine;so much so that without his three stoups of liquor every night he wasquite unable to sleep, and bottles were seldom absent from the headof his bed. One night he had waked up and was turning over and over, when he fancied some one was in the bed with him; but then, thinkingit was only the clothes which had slipped off, he put out his handto feel, and in doing so touched something silky like a cat. Strikinga light, he found it was a fox, lying in a drunken sleep like a dog;and then looking at his wine bottle he saw that it had been emptied. "Aboon-companion, " said he, laughing, as he avoided startling the animal, and, covering it up, lay down to sleep with his arm across it, and thecandle alight so as to see what transformation it might undergo. Aboutmidnight the fox stretched itself, and Ch'ê cried, "Well, to be sure, you've had a nice sleep!" He then drew off the clothes, and beheld anelegant young man in a scholar's dress; but the young man jumped up, and, making a low obeisance, returned his host many thanks for notcutting off his head. "Oh, " replied Ch'ê, "I am not averse to liquormyself; in fact they say I'm too much given to it. If you have noobjection, we'll be a pair of bottle-and-glass chums. " So they laydown and went to sleep again, Ch'ê urging the young man to visit himoften, and saying that they must have faith in each other. The foxagreed to this, but when Ch'ê awoke in the morning his bedfellow hadalready disappeared. So he prepared a goblet of first-rate wine inexpectation of his friend's arrival, and at nightfall sure enough hecame. They then sat together drinking, and the fox cracked so manyjokes that Ch'ê said he regretted he had not known him before. "Andtruly I don't know how to repay your kindness, " replied the former, "in preparing all this nice wine for me. " "Oh, " said Ch'ê, "what'sa pint or so of wine?--nothing worth speaking of. " "Well, " rejoinedthe fox, "you are only a poor scholar, and money isn't so easily to begot. I must see if I can't secure a little wine capital for you. " Nextevening, when he arrived, he said to Ch'ê, "Two miles down towardthe south-east you will find some silver lying by the wayside. Goearly in the morning and get it. " So on the morrow Ch'ê set off, and actually obtained two lumps of silver, with which he bought somechoice morsels to help them out with their wine that evening. The foxnow told him that there was a vault in his backyard which he ought toopen; and when he did so he found therein more than a hundred stringsof cash. [43] "Now then, " cried Ch'ê, delighted, "I shall have no moreanxiety about funds for buying wine with all this in my purse!" "Ah, "replied the fox, "the water in a puddle is not inexhaustible. I mustdo something further for you. " Some days afterward the fox said toCh'ê, "Buckwheat is very cheap in the market just now. Something isto be done in that line. " Accordingly Ch'ê bought over forty tons, and thereby incurred general ridicule; but by and by there was a baddrought, and all kinds of grain and beans were spoilt. Only buckwheatwould grow, and Ch'ê sold off his stock at a profit of 1000 percent. His wealth thus began to increase; he bought two hundred acresof rich land, and always planted his crops, corn, millet, or what not, upon the advice of the fox secretly given him beforehand. The foxlooked on Ch'ê's wife as a sister, and on Ch'ê's children as his own;but when subsequently Ch'ê died it never came to the house again. 

The Alchemist [44]

At Ch'ang-an there lived a scholar named Chia Tzu-lung, who one daynoticed a very refined-looking stranger; and, on making inquiriesabout him, learned that he was a Mr Chên who had taken lodgingshard by. Accordingly, Chia called next day and sent in his card, but did not see Chên, who happened to be out at the time. The samething occurred thrice; and at length Chia engaged some one to watchand let him know when Mr Chên was at home. However, even then thelatter would not come forth to receive his guest, and Chia had togo in and rout him out. The two now entered into conversation, andsoon became mutually charmed with each other; and by and by Chia sentoff a servant to bring wine from a neighbouring wine-shop. Mr Chênproved himself a pleasant boon-companion, and when the wine was nearlyfinished he went to a box and took from it some wine-cups and a largeand beautiful jade tankard; into the latter he poured a single cup ofwine, and immediately it was filled to the brim. They then proceededto help themselves from the tankard; but however much they took out, the contents never seemed to diminish. Chia was astonished at this, and begged Mr Chên to tell him how it was done. "Ah, " replied Mr Chên, "I tried to avoid making your acquaintance solely because of yourone bad quality--avarice. The art I practise is a secret known tothe Immortals only: how can I divulge it to you?" "You do me wrong, "rejoined Chia, "in thus attributing avarice to me. The avaricious, indeed, are always poor. " Mr Chên laughed, and they separated for thatday; but from that time they were constantly together, and all ceremonywas laid aside between them. Whenever Chia wanted money Mr Chên wouldbring out a black stone, and, muttering a charm, would rub it on a tileor a brick, which was forthwith changed into a lump of silver. Thissilver he would give to Chia, and it was always just as much as heactually required, neither more nor less; and if ever the latter askedfor more Mr Chên would rally him on the subject of avarice. FinallyChia determined to try to get possession of this stone; and one day, when Mr Chên was sleeping off the fumes of a drinking-bout, he triedto extract it from his clothes. However, Chên detected him at once, and declared that they could be friends no more, and next day heleft the place altogether. About a year afterward Chia was one daywandering by the river-bank, when he saw a handsome-looking stone, marvellously like that in the possession of Mr Chên; and he pickedit up at once and carried it home with him. A few days passed away, and suddenly Mr Chên presented himself at Chia's house, and explainedthat the stone in question possessed the property of changing anythinginto gold, and had been bestowed upon him long before by a certainTaoist priest whom he had followed as a disciple. "Alas!" added he, "I got tipsy and lost it; but divination told me where it was, and if you will now restore it to me I will take care to repay yourkindness. " "You have divined rightly, " replied Chia; "the stone iswith me; but recollect, if you please, that the indigent Kuan Chung[45] shared the wealth of his friend Pao Shu. " At this hint Mr Chênsaid he would give Chia one hundred ounces of silver; to which thelatter replied that one hundred ounces was a fair offer, but that hewould far sooner have Mr Chên teach him the formula to utter whenrubbing the stone on anything, so that he might try the thing oncehimself. Mr Chên was afraid to do this; whereupon Chia cried out, "You are an Immortal yourself; you must know well enough that Iwould never deceive a friend. " So Mr Chên was prevailed upon toteach him the formula, and then Chia would have tried the art uponthe immense stone washing-block [46] which was lying near at handhad not Mr Chên seized his arm and begged him not to do anythingso outrageous. Chia then picked up half a brick and laid it on thewashing-block, saying to Mr Chên, "This little piece is not too much, surely?" Accordingly Mr Chên relaxed his hold and let Chia proceed;which he did by promptly ignoring the half-brick and quickly rubbingthe stone on the washing-block. Mr Chên turned pale when he saw himdo this, and made a dash forward to get hold of the stone, but it wastoo late; the washing-block was already a solid mass of silver, andChia quietly handed him back the stone. "Alas! alas!" cried Mr Chênin despair, "what is to be done now? For, having thus irregularlyconferred wealth upon a mortal, Heaven will surely punish me. Oh, if you would save me, give away one hundred coffins [47] and onehundred suits of wadded clothes. " "My friend, " replied Chia, "myobject in getting money was not to hoard it up like a miser. " MrChên was delighted at this; and during the next three years Chiaengaged in trade, taking care to fulfil always his promise to MrChên. At the expiration of that time Mr Chên himself reappeared, and, grasping Chia's hand, said to him, "Trustworthy and noble friend, when we last parted the Spirit of Happiness impeached me before God, [48] and my name was erased from the list of angels. But now that youhave carried out my request that sentence has been rescinded. Go onas you have begun, without ceasing. " Chia asked Mr Chên what officehe filled in Heaven; to which the latter replied that he was onlya fox who, by a sinless life, had finally attained to that clearperception of the truth which leads to immortality. Wine was thenbrought, and the two friends enjoyed themselves together as of old;and even when Chia had passed the age of ninety years the fox stillused to visit him from time to time. 

CHAPTER XVI

Miscellaneous Legends

The Unnatural People

The _Shan hai ching_, or _Hill and River Classic_, containsdescriptions of some curious people supposed to inhabit the regionson the maps represented on the nine tripod vases of the Great Yü, first emperor of the Hsia dynasty. 

The Pygmies

The pygmies inhabit many mountainous regions of the Empire, but arefew in number. They are less than nine inches high, but are wellformed. They live in thatched houses that resemble ants' nests. Whenthey walk out they go in companies of from six to ten, joining handsin a line for mutual protection against birds that might carry themaway, or other creatures that might attack them. Their tone of voiceis too low to be distinguished by an ordinary human ear. They occupythemselves in working in wood, gold, silver, and precious stones, buta small proportion are tillers of the soil. They wear clothes of a redcolour. The sexes are distinguishable by a slight beard on the men, and long tresses on the women, the latter in some cases reaching fourto five inches in length. Their heads are unduly large, being quiteout of proportion to their small bodies. A husband and wife usuallygo about hand in hand. A Hakka charcoal-burner once found three of thechildren playing in his tobacco-box. He kept them there, and afterward, when he was showing them to a friend, he laughed so that drops ofsaliva flew from his mouth and shot two of them dead. He then beggedhis friend to take the third and put it in a place of safety beforehe should laugh again. His friend attempted to lift it from the box, but it died on being touched. 

The Giants

In the Country of the Giants the people are fifty feet in height. Theirfootprints are six feet in length. Their teeth are like those of asaw. Their finger-nails present the appearance of hooked claws, whiletheir diet consists wholly of uncooked animal food. Their eyebrowsare of such length as to protrude from the front of the carts inwhich they ride, large though it is necessary for these vehicles tobe. Their bodies are covered with long black hair resembling thatof the bear. They live to the advanced age of eighteen thousandyears. Though cannibals, they never eat members of their own tribe, confining their indulgence in human flesh chiefly to enemies taken inbattle. Their country extends some thousands of miles along certainmountain ranges in North-eastern Asia, in the passes of which theyhave strong iron gates, easy to close, but difficult to open; hence, though their neighbours maintain large standing armies, they havethus far never been conquered. 

The Headless People

The Headless People inhabit the Long Sheep range, to which theirancestors were banished in the remote past for an offence against thegods. One of the said ancestors had entered into a controversy withthe rulers of the heavens, and they in their anger had transformedhis two breasts into eyes and his navel into a mouth, removed hishead, leaving him without nose and ears, thus cutting him off fromsmell and sound, and banished him to the Long Sheep Mountains, wherewith a shield and axe, the only weapons vouchsafed to the people ofthe Headless Country, he and his posterity were compelled to defendthemselves from their enemies and provide their subsistence. This, however, does not in the least seem to have affected their tempers, as their bodies are wreathed in perpetual smiles, except when theyflourish their warlike weapons on the approach of an enemy. They arenot without understanding, because, according to Chinese notions ofphysiology, "their bellies are full of wisdom. "

The Armless People

In the Mountains of the Sun and Moon, which are in the Centre of theGreat Waste, are the people who have mo arms, but whose legs insteadgrow out of their shoulders. They pick flowers with their toes. Theybow by raising the body horizontal with the shoulders, thus turningthe face to the ground. 

The Long-armed and Long-legged People

The Long-armed People are about thirty feet high, their arms reachingfrom the shoulders to the ground. Once when a company of explorerswas passing through the country which borders on the Eastern Sea theyinquired of an old man if he knew whether or not there were peopledwelling beyond the waters. He replied that a cloth garment, in fashionand texture not unlike that of a Chinese coat, with sleeves thirtyfeet in length, had been found in the sea. The explorers fitted out anexpedition, and the discovery of the Long-armed Country was the result. 

The natives subsist for the most part on fish, which they obtain bywading in the water, and taking the fish with their hands instead ofwith hooks or nets. 

The arms of the Long-legged People are of a normal length, the legsare developed to a length corresponding to that of the arms of theLong-armed People. 

The country of the latter borders on that of the Long-legs. The habitsand food of the two are similar. The difference in their physicalstructure makes them of mutual assistance, those with the long armsbeing able to take the shellfish of the shallow waters, while thosewith the long legs take the surface fish from the deeper localities;thus the two gather a harvest otherwise unobtainable. 

The One-eyed People and Others

A little to the east of the Country of the Long-legs are to be foundthe One-eyed People. They have but one eye, rather larger than theordinary human eye, placed in the centre of the forehead, directlyabove the nose. Other clans or families have but one arm and one leg, some having a right arm and left leg, others a left arm and rightleg, while still others have both on the same side, and go in pairs, like shoes. Another species not only has but one arm and one leg, but is of such fashion as to have but one eye, one nostril, and beardon but one side of the face, there being as it were rights and lefts, the two in reality being one, for it is in this way that they pair. TheLong-eared People resemble Chinese in all except their ears. They livein the far West among mountains and in caves. Their pendant, flabbyears extend to the ground, and would impede their feet in walking ifthey did not support them on their hands. They are sensitive to thefaintest sound. Still another people in this region are distinguishedby having six toes on each foot. 

The Feathered People, etc. 

The Feathered People are very tall, and are covered with fluffydown. They have wings in place of arms, and can fly short distances. Onthe points of the wings are claws, which serve as hands. Theirnoses are like beaks. Gentle and timid, they do not leave their owncountry. They have good voices, and like to sing ballads. If onewishes to visit this people he must go far to the south-east and theninquire. There is also the Land of the People with Three Faces, wholive in the centre of the Great Waste and never die; the Land of theThree-heads, east of the K'un-lun Mountains; the Three-body Country, the inhabitants of which have one head with three bodies, three armsand but two legs; and yet another where the people have square heads, broad shoulders, and three legs, and the stones on the land are allgold and jade. 

The People of the Punctured Bodies

Another community is said to be composed of people who have holesthrough their chests. They can be carried about on a pole put throughthe orifice, or may be comfortably hung upon a peg. They sometimesstring themselves on a rope, and thus walk out in file. They areharmless people, and eat snakes that they kill with bows and arrows, and they are very long-lived. 

The Women's Kingdom

The Women's Kingdom, the country inhabited exclusively by women, issaid to be surrounded by a sea of less density than ordinary water, so that ships sink on approaching the shores. It has been reached onlyby boats carried thither in whirlwinds, and but few of those wreckedon its rocks have survived and returned to tell of its wonders. Thewomen have houses, gardens, and shops. Instead of money they use gems, perforated and strung like beads. They reproduce their kind by sleepingwhere the south wind blows upon them. 

The Land of the Flying Cart

Situated to the north of the Plain of Great Joy, the Land ofthe Flying Cart joins the Country of the One-armed People on thesouth-west and that of the Three-bodied People on the south-east. Theinhabitants have but one arm, and an additional eye of large size inthe centre of the forehead, making three eyes in all. Their carts, though wheeled, do not run along the ground, but chase each other inmid-air as gracefully as a flock of swallows. The vehicles have akind of winged framework at each end, and the one-armed occupants, each grasping a flag, talk and laugh one to another in great gleeduring what might be called their aerial recreation were it not forthe fact that it seems to be their sole occupation. 

The Expectant Wife

A curious legend is told regarding a solitary, weird figure whichstands out, rudely weatherworn, from a hill-top in the pass calledShao-hsing Gorge, Canton Province. This point of the pass is calledLung-mên, or Dragon's Mouth, and the hill the Husband-expectingHill. The figure itself, which is called the Expectant Wife, resemblesthat of a woman. Her bent head and figure down to the waist arevery lifelike. 

The story, widely known in this and the neighbouring province, runs asfollows. Centuries ago a certain poor woman was left by her husband, who went on a journey into Kwangsi, close by, but in those daysconsidered a wild and distant region, full of dangers. He promisedto return in three years. The time went slowly and sadly past, forshe dearly loved her lord, but no husband appeared. He, ungratefuland unfaithful spouse, had fallen in love with a fair one in Kwangsi, a sorceress or witch, who threw a spell over him and charmed him tohis destruction, turning him at length into stone. To this day hisfigure may be seen standing near a cave close by the river which isknown by the name of the Detained Man Cave. 

The wife, broken by grief at her husband's failure to return, waslikewise turned into a stone, and it is said that a supernaturalpower will one day bring the couple to life again and reward theever-faithful wife. The legend receives entire credence from thesimple boatmen sad country people. 

The Wild Men

The wild beasts of the mountain have a king. He is a wild man, withlong, thick locks, fiery red in colour, and his body is covered withhair. He is very strong: with a single blow of his huge fist, he canbreak large rocks to pieces; he also can pull up the trees of theforest by the root. His flesh is as hard as iron and is invulnerableto the thrusts of knife, spear, or sword. He rides upon a tiger whenhe leaves his home; he rules over the wolves, leopards, and tigers, andgoverns all their affairs. Many other wild men, like him in appearance, live in these mountains, but on account of his great strength he aloneis king. These wild men kill and eat all human beings they meet, andother hill tribes live in terror of meeting them. Indeed, who of allthese mountain people would have been left alive had not some men, more crafty than their fellows, devised a means of overpowering thesefierce savages?

This is the method referred to: On leaving his home the herb-gathererof the mountains arms himself with two large hollow bamboo tubes whichhe slips over his wrists and arms; he also carries a jar of verystrong wine. When he meets one of the wild men he stands still andallows the giant to grasp him by the arm. As the giant holds him fast, as he supposes, in his firm grasp, he quietly and slowly withdrawsone arm from the bamboo cuff, and, taking the pot of wine from theother hand, quickly pours it down the throat of the stooping giant, whose mouth is wide open with immoderate laughter at the thought ofhaving captured a victim so easily. The potent draught of wine actsat once, causing the victim to drop to the ground in a dead sleep, whereupon the herb-gatherer either dispatches him summarily with athrust through the heart, or leaves the drunken tyrant to sleep off theeffect of his draught, while he returns again to his work of collectingthe health-restoring herbs. In this way have the numbers of these wildmen become less and less, until at the present time but few remain. 

The Jointed Snake

The people on Ô-mei Shan tell of a wonderful kind of snake that issaid to live there. Part of its life is spent among the branches ofthe trees; if by chance it falls to the ground it breaks up into twoor more pieces. These separate segments later on come together againand unite. 

Many other marvellous and interesting tales are related of thismountain and its inhabitants. 

The Casting of the Great Bell

In every province of China there is a legend relating to the castingof the great bell swung in the bell tower of the chief city. Theselegends are curiously identical in almost every detail. The followingis the one current in Peking. 

It was in the reign of Yung Lo, the third monarch of the Ming dynasty, that Peking first became the capital of China. Till that period the'Son of Heaven' had held his Court at Nanking, and Peking had beenof comparatively little note. Now, however, on being honoured by the'Sacred Presence, ' stately buildings arose in all directions forthe accommodation of the Emperor and his courtiers. Clever men fromall parts of the Empire were attracted to the capital, and such aspossessed talent were sure of lucrative employment. About this time theDrum Tower and the Bell Tower were built; both of them as 'look-out'and 'alarm' towers. The Drum Tower was furnished with a monster drum, which it still possesses, of such a size that the thunder of its tonesmight be heard all over the city, the sound being almost enough towaken the dead. 

The Bell Tower had been completed some time before attempts weremade to cast a bell proportionate to the size of the building. Atlength Yung Lo ordered Kuan Yu, a mandarin of the second grade, whowas skilled in casting guns, to cast a bell the sound of which shouldbe heard, on the least alarm, in every part of the city. Kuan Yu atonce commenced the undertaking. He secured the services of a greatnumber of experienced workmen, and collected immense quantities ofmaterial. Months passed, and at length it was announced to the Emperorthat everything was ready for the casting. A day was appointed; theEmperor, surrounded by a crowd of courtiers, and preceded by theCourt musicians, went to witness the ceremony. At a given signal, and to the crash of music, the melted metal rushed into the mouldprepared for it. The Emperor and his Court then retired, leavingKuan Yu and his subordinates to await the cooling of the metal, whichwould tell of failure or success. At length the metal was sufficientlycool to detach the mould from it. Kuan Yu, in breathless trepidation, hastened to inspect it, but to his mortification and grief discoveredit to be honeycombed in many places. The circumstance was reported tothe Emperor, who was naturally vexed at the expenditure of so muchtime, labour, and money with so unsatisfactory a result. However, he ordered Kuan Yu to try again. 

The mandarin hastened to obey, and, thinking the failure of thefirst attempt must have resulted from some oversight or omission onhis part, he watched every detail with redoubled care and attention, fully determined that no neglect or remissness should mar the successof this second casting. 

After months of labour the mould was again prepared, and the metalpoured into it, but again with the same result. Kuan Yu was distracted, not only at the loss of his reputation, but at the certain loss ofthe Emperor's favour. Yung Lo, when he heard of this second failure, was very wroth, and at once ordered Kuan Yu into his presence, andtold him he would give him a third and last trial, and if he didnot succeed this time he would behead him. Kuan Yu went home in adespairing state of mind, asking himself what crime he or any of hisancestors could have committed to have justified this calamity. 

Now Kuan Yu had an only daughter, about sixteen years of age, and, having no sons, the whole of his love was centred in this girl, forhe had hopes of perpetuating his name and fame through her marriagewith some deserving young nobleman. Truly she was worthy of beingloved. She had "almond-shaped eyes, like the autumn waves, which, sparkling and dancing in the sun, seem to leap up in very joy andwantonness to kiss the fragrant reeds that grow upon the rivers'banks, yet of such limpid transparency that one's form could beseen in their liquid depths as if reflected in a mirror. These weresurrounded by long silken lashes--now drooping in coy modesty, anonrising in youthful gaiety and disclosing the laughing eyes but justbefore concealed beneath them. Eyebrows like the willow leaf; cheeksof snowy whiteness, yet tinged with the gentlest colouring of therose; teeth like pearls of the finest water were seen peeping frombetween half-open lips, so luscious and juicy that they resembledtwo cherries; hair of the jettiest blackness and of the silkiesttexture. Her form was such as poets love to describe and painterslimn; there was grace and ease in every movement; she appeared toglide rather than walk, so light was she of foot. Add to her othercharms that she was skilful in verse-making, excellent in embroidery, and unequalled in the execution of her household duties, and we havebut a faint description of Ko-ai, the beautiful daughter of Kuan Yu. "

Well might the father be proud of and love his beautiful child, and she returned his love with all the ardour of her affectionatenature; often cheering him with her innocent gaiety when he returnedfrom his daily vocations wearied or vexed. Seeing him now returnwith despair depicted in his countenance, she tenderly inquired thecause, not without hope of being the means of alleviating it. Whenher father told her of his failures, and of the Emperor's threat, sheexclaimed: "Oh, my father, be comforted! Heaven will not always be thusunrelenting. Are we not told that 'out of evil cometh good'? Thesetwo failures will but enhance the glory of your eventual success, for success _this_ time _must_ crown your efforts. I am only a girl, and cannot assist you but with my prayers; these I will daily andhourly offer up for your success; and the prayers of a daughter fora loved parent _must_ be heard. " Somewhat soothed by the endearmentsof Ko-ai, Kuan Yu again devoted himself to his task with redoubledenergy, Ko-ai meanwhile constantly praying for him in his absence, and ministering to his wants when he returned home. One day itoccurred to the maiden to go to a celebrated astrologer to ascertainthe cause of these failures, and to ask what means could be taken toprevent a recurrence of them. She thus learned that the next castingwould also be a disappointment if the blood of a maiden were notmixed with the ingredients. She returned home full of horror at thisinformation, yet inwardly resolving to immolate herself rather thanallow her father to fail. The day for the casting at length came, and Ko-ai requested her father to allow her to witness the ceremonyand "to exult in his success, " as she laughingly said. Kuan Yu gavehis consent, and accompanied by several servants she went, taking upa position near the mould. 

Everything was prepared as before. An immense concourse assembledto witness the third and final casting, which was to result eitherin honour or degradation and death for Kuan Yu. A dead silenceprevailed through the vast assemblage as the melted metal once morerushed to its destination; this was broken by a shriek, and a cry, "For my father!" and Ko-ai was seen to throw herself headlong into theseething, hissing metal. One of her servants attempted to seize herwhile in the act of plunging into the boiling fluid, but succeeded onlyin grasping one of her shoes, which came off in his hand. The fatherwas frantic, and had to be kept by force from following her example;he was taken home a raving maniac. The prediction of the astrologerwas fulfilled, for, on uncovering the bell after it had cooled, itwas found to be perfect, but not a vestige of Ko-ai was to be seen;the blood of a maiden had indeed been infused with the ingredients. 

After a time the bell was suspended by order of the Emperor, and expectation was at its height to hear it rung for the firsttime. The Emperor himself was present. The bell was struck, and farand near was heard the deep tone of its sonorous boom. This indeedwas a triumph! Here was a bell surpassing in size and sound anyother that had ever been cast! But--and the surrounding multitudeswere horror-struck as they listened--the heavy boom of the bell wasfollowed by a low wailing sound like the agonized cry of a woman, andthe word _hsieh_ (shoe) was distinctly heard. To this day the bell, each time it is rung, after every boom appears to utter the word'hsieh, ' and people when they hear it shudder and say, "There's poorKo-ai's voice calling for her shoe. "

The Cursed Temple

The reign of Ch'ung Chêng, the last monarch of the Ming dynasty, was much troubled both by internal broils and by wars. He wasconstantly threatened by Tartar hordes from without, though thesewere generally beaten back by the celebrated general Wu San-kuei, and the country was perpetually in a state of anarchy and confusion, being overrun by bands of marauding rebels; indeed, so bold didthese become under a chief named Li Tzu-ch'êng that they actuallymarched on the capital with the avowed intention of placing theirleader on the Dragon Throne. Ch'ung Chêng, on the reception of thisstartling news, with no one that he could trust in such an emergency(for Wu San-kuei was absent on an expedition against the Tartars), was at his wits' end. The insurgents were almost in sight of Peking, and at any moment might arrive. Rebellion threatened in the cityitself. If he went out boldly to attack the oncoming rebels his owntroops might go over to the enemy, or deliver him into their hands;if he stayed in the city the people would naturally attribute it topusillanimity, and probably open the gates to the rebels. 

In this strait he resolved to go to the San Kuan Miao, an imperialtemple situated near the Ch'ao-yang Mên, and inquire of the gods asto what he should do, and decide his fate by 'drawing the slip. ' If hedrew a long slip, this would be a good omen, and he would boldly marchout to meet the rebels, confident of victory; if a middle length one, he would remain quietly in the palace and passively await whatevermight happen; but if he should unfortunately draw a short one he wouldtake his own life rather than suffer death at the hands of the rebels. 

Upon arrival at the temple, in the presence of the high officers ofhis Court, the sacrifices were offered up, and the incense burnt, previous to drawing the slip on which hung the destiny of an empire, while Ch'ung Chêng himself remained on his knees in prayer. At theconclusion of the sacrificial ceremony the tube containing the bamboofortune-telling sticks was placed in the Emperor's hand by one ofthe priests. His courtiers and the attendant priests stood round inbreathless suspense, watching him as he swayed the tube to and fro;at length one fell to the ground; there was dead silence as it wasraised by a priest and handed to the Emperor. _It was a short one!_Dismay fell on every one present, no one daring to break the painful, horrible silence. After a pause the Emperor, with a cry of mingledrage and despair, dashed the slip to the ground, exclaiming: "May thistemple built by my ancestors evermore be accursed! Henceforward mayevery suppliant be denied what he entreats, as I have been! Thosewho come in sorrow, may that sorrow be doubled; in happiness, maythat happiness be changed to misery; in hope, may they meet despair;in health, sickness; in the pride of life and strength, death! I, Ch'ung Chêng, the last of the Mings, curse it!"

Without another word he retired, followed by his courtiers, proceededat once to the palace, and went straight to the apartments of theEmpress. The next morning he and his Empress were found suspended froma tree on Prospect Hill. "In their death they were not divided. " Thescenes that followed; how the rebels took possession of the city andwere driven out again by the Chinese general, assisted by the Tartars;how the Tartars finally succeeded in establishing the Manchu dynasty, are all matters of history. The words used by the Emperor at thetemple were prophetic; he _was_ the last of the Mings. The tree onwhich the monarch of a mighty Empire closed his career and broughtthe Ming dynasty to an end was ordered to be surrounded with chains;it still exists, and is still in chains. Upward of two hundredand seventy years have passed since that time, yet the temple isstanding as of old; but the halls that at one time were crowded withworshippers are now silent, no one ever venturing to worship there;it is the resort of the fox and the bat, and people at night pass itshudderingly--"It is the cursed temple!"

The Maniac's Mite

An interesting story is told of a lady named Ch'ên, who was aBuddhist nun celebrated for her virtue and austerity. Between theyears 1628 and 1643 she left her nunnery near Wei-hai city and setout on a long journey for the purpose of collecting subscriptions forcasting a new image of the Buddha. She wandered through Shantung andChihli and finally reached Peking, and there--subscription-book inhand--she stationed herself at the great south gate in order to taketoll from those who wished to lay up for themselves treasures in theWestern Heaven. The first passer-by who took any notice of her was anamiable maniac. His dress was made of coloured shreds and patches, and his general appearance was wild and uncouth. "Whither away, nun?" he asked. She explained that she was collecting subscriptionsfor the casting of a great image of Buddha, and had come all theway from Shantung. "Throughout my life, " remarked the madman, "I wasever a generous giver. " So, taking the nun's subscription-book, heheaded a page with his own name (in very large characters) and theamount subscribed. The amount in question was two cash, equivalentto a small fraction of a farthing. He then handed over the two smallcoins and went on his way. 

In course of time the nun returned to Wei-hai-wei with hersubscriptions, and the work of casting the image was duly begun. Whenthe time had come for the process of smelting, it was observed thatthe copper remained hard and intractable. Again and again the furnacewas fed with fuel, but the shapeless mass of metal remained firm as arock. The head workman, who was a man of wide experience, volunteeredan explanation of the mystery. "An offering of great value must bemissing, " he said. "Let the collection-book be examined so that itmay be seen whose subscription has been withheld. " The nun, who wasstanding by, immediately produced the madman's money, which on accountof its minute value she had not taken the trouble to hand over. "Thereis one cash, " she said, "and there is another. Certainly the offeringof these must have been an act of the highest merit, and the givermust be a holy man who will some day attain Buddhahood. " As she saidthis she threw the two cash into the midst of the cauldron. Greatbubbles rose and burst, the metal melted and ran like the sap froma tree, limpid as flowing water, and in a few moments the work wasaccomplished and the new Buddha successfully cast. 

The City-god of Yen Ch'êng

The following story of the Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa of Yen Ch'êng (SaltCity) is told by Helena von Poseck in the _East of Asia Magazine_, vol. Iii (1904), pp. 169-171. This legend is also related of severalother cities in China. 

The Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa is, as already noted, the tutelary god of acity, his position in the unseen world answering to that of a _chihhsien_, or district magistrate, among men, if the city under hiscare be a _hsien_; but if the city hold the rank of a _fu_, it has(or used to have until recently) two Ch'êng-huang P'u-sas, one aprefect, and the other a district magistrate. One part of his dutyconsists of sending small demons to carry off the spirits of thedying, of which spirits he afterward acts as ruler and judge. He issupposed to exercise special care over the _k'u kuei_, or spiritswhich have no descendants to worship and offer sacrifices to them, and on the occasion of the Seventh Month Festival he is carried roundthe city in his chair to maintain order among them, while the peopleoffer food to them, and burn paper money for their benefit. He isalso carried in procession at the Ch'ing Ming Festival, and on thefirst day of the tenth month. 

The Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa of the city of Yen Ch'êng is in the extremelyunfortunate predicament of having no skin to his face, which fact isthus accounted for:

Once upon a time there lived at Yen Ch'êng an orphan boy who wasbrought up by his uncle and aunt. He was just entering upon his teenswhen his aunt lost a gold hairpin, and accused him of having stolenit. The boy, whose conscience was clear in the matter, thought of aplan by which his innocence might be proved. 

"Let us go to-morrow to Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa's temple, " he said, "andI will there swear an oath before the god, so that he may manifestmy innocence. "

They accordingly repaired to the temple, and the boy, solemnlyaddressing the idol, said:

"If I have taken my aunt's gold pin, may my foot twist, and may Ifall as I go out of your temple door!"

Alas for the poor suppliant! As he stepped over the threshold hisfoot twisted, and he fell to the ground. Of course, everybody wasfirmly convinced of his guilt, and what could the poor boy say whenhis own appeal to the god thus turned against him?

After such a proof of his depravity his aunt had no room in her housefor her orphan nephew, neither did he himself wish to stay with peoplewho suspected him of theft. So he left the home which had shelteredhim for years, and wandered out alone into the cold hard world. Manya hardship did he encounter, but with rare pluck he persevered inhis studies, and at the age of twenty odd years became a mandarin. 

In course of time our hero returned to Yen Ch'êng to visit his uncleand aunt. While there he betook himself to the temple of the deity whohad dealt so hardly with him, and prayed for a revelation as to thewhereabouts of the lost hairpin. He slept that night in the temple, and was rewarded by a vision in which the Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa toldhim that the pin would be found under the floor of his aunt's house. 

He hastened back, and informed his relatives, who took up the boardsin the place indicated, and lo! there lay the long-lost pin! Thewomen of the house then remembered that the pin had been used inpasting together the various layers of the soles of shoes, and, whennight came, had been carelessly left on the table. No doubt rats, attracted by the smell of the paste which clung to it, had carriedit off to their domains under the floor. 

The young mandarin joyfully returned to the temple, and offeredsacrifices by way of thanksgiving to the Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa forbringing his innocence to light, but he could not refrain fromaddressing to him what one is disposed to consider a well-meritedreproach. 

"You made me fall down, " he said, "and so led people to think I wasguilty, and now you accept my gifts. Aren't you ashamed to do sucha thing? _You have no face!_"

As he uttered the words all the plaster fell from the face of the idol, and was smashed into fragments. 

From that day forward the Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa of Yen Ch'êng has hadno skin on his face. People have tried to patch up the disfiguredcountenance, but in vain: the plaster always falls off, and the faceremains skinless. 

Some try to defend the Ch'êng-huang P'u-sa by saying that he was notat home on the day when his temple was visited by the accused boy andhis relatives, and that one of the little demons employed by him incarrying off dead people's spirits out of sheer mischief perpetrateda practical joke on the poor boy. 

In that case it is certainly hard that his skin should so persistentlytestify against him by refusing to remain on his face!

The Origin of a Lake

In the city of Ta-yeh Hsien, Hupei, there is a large sheet of waterknown as the Liang-ti Lake. The people of the district give thefollowing account of its origin:

About five hundred years ago, during the Ming dynasty, there was nolake where the broad waters now spread. A flourishing _hsien_ citystood in the centre of a populous country. The city was noted for itswickedness, but amid the wicked population dwelt one righteous woman, a strict vegetarian and a follower of all good works. In a vision ofthe night it was revealed to her that the city and neighbourhood wouldbe destroyed by water, and the sign promised was that when the stonelions in front of the _yamên_ wept tears of blood, then destructionwas near at hand. Like Jonah at Nineveh, the woman, known to-daysimply as Niang-tzu, walked up and down the streets of the city, warning all of the coming calamity. She was laughed at and lookedupon as mad by the careless people. A pork-butcher in the town, a noted wag, took some pig's blood and sprinkled it round the eyesof the stone lions. This had the desired effect, for when Niang-tzusaw the blood she fled from the city amid the jeers and laughter ofthe inhabitants. Before many hours had passed, however, the face ofthe sky darkened, a mighty earthquake shook the country-side, therewas a great subsidence of the earth's surface, and the waters of theYangtzu River flowed into the hollow, burying the city and villagesout of sight. But a spot of ground on which the good woman stood, after escaping from the doomed city, remained at its normal level, and it stands to-day in the midst of the lake, an island calledNiang-tzu, a place at which boats anchor at night, or to which theyfly for shelter from the storms that sweep the lake. They are savedto-day because of one good woman helped by the gods so long ago. 

As a proof of the truth of the above story, it is asserted that onclear days traces of the buried city may be seen, while occasionallya fisherman casting his net hauls up some household utensil or relicof bygone days. 

Miao Creation Legends

If the Miao have no written records, they have many legends in verse, which they learn to repeat and sing. The Hei Miao (or Black Miao, socalled from their dark chocolate-coloured clothes) treasure poeticallegends of the Creation and of a deluge. These are composed in linesof five syllables, in stanzas of unequal length, one interrogativeand one responsive. They are sung or recited by two persons or twogroups at feasts and festivals, often by a group of youths and agroup of maidens. The legend of the Creation commences:

 Who made Heaven and earth? Who made insects? Who made men? Made male and made female? I who speak don't know. 

 Heavenly King made Heaven and earth, Ziene made insects, Ziene made men and demons, Made male and made female. How is it you don't know?

 How made Heaven and earth? How made insects? How made men and demons? Made male and made female? I who speak don't know. 

 Heavenly King was intelligent, Spat a lot of spittle into his hand, Clapped his hands with a noise, Produced Heaven and earth, Tall grass made insects, Stories made men and demons, Made male and made female. How is it you don't know?

The legend proceeds to state how and by whom the heavens werepropped up and how the sun was made and fixed in its place, but thecontinuation is exceedingly silly. 

The legend of the Flood is another very silly composition, but it isinteresting to note that it tells of a great deluge. It commences:

 Who came to the bad disposition, To send fire and burn the hill? Who came to the bad disposition, To send water and destroy the earth? I who sing don't know. 

 Zie did. Zie was of bad disposition, Zie sent fire and burned the hill; Thunder did. Thunder was of bad disposition, Thunder sent water and destroyed the earth. Why don't you know?

In this story of the flood only two persons were saved in a largebottle gourd used as a boat, and these were A Zie and his sister. Afterthe flood the brother wished his sister to become his wife, but sheobjected to this as not being proper. At length she proposed thatone should take the upper and one the nether millstone, and going toopposite hills should set the stones rolling to the valley between. Ifthese should be found in the valley properly adjusted one above theother she would be his wife, but not if they came to rest apart. Theyoung man, considering it unlikely that two stones thus rolled downfrom opposite hills would be found in the valley one upon another, while pretending to accept the test suggested, secretly placed twoother stones in the valley one upon the other. The stones rolled fromthe hills were lost in the tall wild grass, and on descending intothe valley A Zie called his sister to come and see the stones he hadplaced. She, however, was not satisfied, and suggested as another testthat each should take a knife from a double sheath and, going againto the opposite hill-tops, hurl them into the valley below. If boththese knives were found in the sheath in the valley she would marryhim, but if the knives were found apart they would live apart. Againthe brother surreptitiously placed two knives in the sheath, and, theexperiment ending as A Zie wished, his sister became his wife. Theyhad one child, a misshapen thing without arms or legs, which A Ziein great anger killed and cut to pieces. He threw the pieces allover the hill, and next morning, on awaking, he found these piecestransformed into men and women; thus the earth was repeopled. 

The Dream of the South Branch

The dawn of Chinese romantic literature must be ascribed to theperiod between the eighth and tenth centuries of our era, whenthe cultivation of the liberal arts received encouragement at thehands of sovereigns who had reunited the Empire under the sway ofa single ruler, and whose conquests and distant embassies attractedrepresentatives from every Asiatic nation to their splendid Court. Itwas during this period that the vast bulk of Indian literature wassuccessfully attacked by a host of Buddhist translators, and that thealchemists and mechanicians of Central Asia, Persia, and the ByzantineEmpire introduced their varied acquirements to the knowledge of theChinese. With the flow of new learning which thus gained admittance toqualify the frigid and monotonous cultivation of the ancient classicsand their commentators, there came also an impetus to indulgence inthe licence of imagination in which it is impossible to mistake theinfluence of Western minds. While the Sanskrit fables, on the onehand, passed into a Chinese dress, and contributed to the colouringof the popular mythology, the legends which circulated from mouth tomouth in the lively Arabian bazaars found, in like manner, an echoin the heart of China. Side by side with the mechanical effortsof rhythmical composition which constitute the national ideal ofpoetry there began, during the middle period of the T'ang dynasty(A. D. 618-907), to grow up a class of romantic tales in which thekinship of ideas with those that distinguish the products of Arabiangenius is too marked to be ignored. The invisible world appearssuddenly to open before the Chinese eye; the relations of the sexesoverstep for a moment the chilling limit imposed by the traditionsof Confucian decorum; a certain degree of freedom and geniality is, in a word, for the first time and only for a brief interval infusedinto the intellectual expression of a nation hitherto closely crampedin the bonds of a narrow pedantry. It was at this period that thedrama began to flourish, and the germs of the modern novelist's artmade their first appearance. Among the works of imagination datingfrom the period in question which have come down to the presentday there is perhaps none which better illustrates the effect of anexotic fancy upon the sober and methodical authorship of the Chinese, or which has left a more enduring mark upon the language, than thelittle tale which is given in translation in the following pages. 

The _Nan k'o mêng_, or _Dream of the South Branch_ (as the title, literally translated, should read), is the work of a writer namedLi Kung-tso, who, from an incidental mention of his own experiencesin Kiangsi which appears in another of his tales, is ascertainedto have lived at the beginning of the ninth century of our era. The_nan k'o_, or South Branch, is the portion of a _huai_ tree (_SophoraJapdonica_, a tree well known in China, and somewhat resembling theAmerican locust-tree) in which the adventures narrated in the storyare supposed to have occurred; and from this narrative of a dream, recalling more than one of the incidents recounted in the ArabianNights, the Chinese have borrowed a metaphor to enrich the vocabularyof their literature. The equivalent of our own phrase "the baselessfabric of a vision" is in Chinese _nan k'o chih mêng_--a dream ofthe south branch. 

Ch'un-yü Fên enters the Locust-tree

Ch'un-yü Fên, a native of Tung-p'ing, was by nature a gallant whohad little regard for the proprieties of life, and whose principalenjoyment was found in indulgence in wine-bibbing in the societyof boon-companions. At one time he held a commission in the army, but this he lost through his dissipated conduct, and from that timehe more than ever gave himself up to the pleasures of the wine-cup. 

One day--it was in the ninth moon of the seventh year of Chêng Yüan(A. D. 791)--after drinking heavily with a party of friends under awide-spreading old locust-tree near his house, he had to be carriedto bed and there left to recover, his friends saying that they wouldleave him while they went to bathe their feet. The moment he laid downhis head he fell into a deep slumber. In his dream appeared to him twomen clothed in purple, who kneeling down informed him that they hadbeen sent by their master the King of Huai-an ('Locust-tree Peace') torequest his presence. Unconsciously he rose, and, arranging his dress, followed his visitors to the door, where he saw a varnished chariotdrawn by a white horse. On each side were ranged seven attendants, by whom he was assisted to mount, whereupon the carriage drove off, and, going out of the garden gate, passed through a hole in the trunkof the locust-tree already spoken of. Filled with astonishment, buttoo much afraid to speak, Ch'un-yü noticed that he was passing byhills and rivers, trees and roads, but of quite a different kind fromthose he was accustomed to. A few miles brought them to the wallsof a city, the approach to which was lined with men and vehicles, who fell back at once the moment the order was given. Over the gateof the city was a pavilion on which was written in gold letters "TheCapital of Huai-an. " As he passed through, the guard turned out, anda mounted officer, shouting that the husband of the King's daughterhad arrived, showed him the way into a hall where he was to restawhile. The room contained fruits and flowers of every description, and on the tables was laid out a profuse display of refreshments. 

While Ch'un-yü still remained lost in astonishment, a cry was raisedthat the Prime Minister was coming. Ch'un-yü got up to meet him, and the two received each other with every demonstration of politeness. 

He marries the King's Daughter

The minister, looking at Ch'un-yü, said: "The King, my master, has brought you to this remote region in order to give his daughterin marriage to you. " "How could I, a poor useless wretch, " repliedCh'un-yü, "have ever aspired to such honour?" With these words bothproceeded toward the audience-chamber, passing through a hall linedwith soldiers, among whom, to his great joy and surprise, Ch'un-yürecognized an old friend of his former drinking days, to whom hedid not, however, then venture to speak; and, following the PrimeMinister, he was ushered into the King's presence. The King, a manof noble bearing and imposing stature, was dressed in plain silk, a jewelled crown reposing on his head. Ch'un-yü was so awe-strickenthat he was powerless even to look up, and the attendants on eitherside were obliged to remind him to make his prostrations. The King, addressing him, said: "Your father, small as my kingdom is, did notdisdain to promise that you should marry my daughter. " Ch'un-yü couldnot utter a word; he merely lay prostrate on the ground. After afew moments he was taken back to his apartments, and he busied histhoughts in trying to discover what all this meant. "My father, "he said to himself, "fought on the northern frontier, and was takenprisoner; but whether his life was saved or not I don't know. It maybe that this affair was settled while he was in those distant regions. "

That same night preparations were made for the marriage; and therooms and passages were filled with damsels who passed and repassed, filling the air with the sound of their dancing and music. Theysurrounded Ch'un-yü and kept up a constant fire of witty remarks, while he sat there overcome by their grace and beauty, unable to saya word. "Do you remember, " said one of them, coming up to Ch'un-yü, "the other day when with the Lady Ling-chi I was listening to theservice in the courtyard of a temple, and while I, with all the othergirls, was sitting on the window step, you came up to us, talkingnonsense, and trying to get up a flirtation? Don't you remember howwe tied a handkerchief on the stem of a bamboo?" Then she continued:"Another time at a temple, when I threw down two gold hairpins and anivory box as an offering, you asked the priest to let you look at thethings, and after admiring them for a long time you turned toward me, and said that neither the gifts nor the donor were of this world;and you wanted to know my name, and where I lived, but I wouldn'ttell you; and then you gazed on me so tenderly, and could not takeyour eyes off me. You remember this, without doubt?" "I have evertreasured the recollection in my heart; how could I possibly forgetit?" was Ch'un-yü's reply, whereat all the maidens exclaimed that theyhad never expected to see him in their midst on this joyful occasion. 

At this moment three men came up to Ch'un-yü and stated that theyhad been appointed his ministers. He stepped up to one of themand asked him if his name was not Tzu-hua. "It is, " was the reply;whereupon Ch'un-yü, taking him by the hands, recalled to him theirold friendship, and questioned him as to how he had found his wayto this spot. He then proceeded to ask him if Chou-pien was alsohere. "He is, " replied the other, "and holding very high office;he has often used his influence on my behalf. "

As they were talking, Ch'un-yü was summoned to the palace, and as hepassed within, a curtain in front of him was drawn aside, disclosinga young girl of about fourteen years of age. She was known as thePrincess of the Golden Stem, and her dazzling beauty was well inkeeping with her matchless grace. 

He writes to his Father

The marriage was celebrated with all magnificence, and the youngcouple grew fonder from day to day. Their establishment was kept upin princely style, their principal amusement being the chase, the Kinghimself frequently inviting Ch'un-yü to join him in hunting expeditionsto the Tortoise-back Hill. As they were returning one day from one ofthese excursions, Ch'un-yü said to the King: "On my marriage day yourMajesty told me that it was my father's desire that I should espouseyour daughter. My father was worsted in battle on the frontier, andfor seventeen years we have had no news of him. If your Majesty knowshis whereabouts, I would beg permission to go and see him. "

"Your father, " replied the King, "is frequently heard of; you maysend him a letter; it is not necessary to go to him. " Accordingly aletter and some presents were got ready and sent, and in due time areply was received, in which Ch'un-yü's father asked many questionsabout his relations, his son's occupation, but manifested no desirethat the latter should come to him. 

He takes Office

One day Ch'un-yü's wife asked him if he would not like to holdoffice. His answer was to the effect that he had always been a rollingstone, and had no experience of official affairs, but the Princesspromised to give him her assistance, and found occasion to speak on thesubject to her father. In consequence the King one day told Ch'un-yüthat he was not satisfied with the state of affairs in the south of histerritory, that the present governor was old and useless, and that hewould be pleased if he would proceed thither. Ch'un-yü bowed to theKing's commands, and inwardly congratulated himself that such goodfortune should have befallen a rover like him. He was supplied with asplendid outfit, and farewell entertainments were given in his honour. 

Before leaving he acknowledged to the King that he had no greatconfidence in his own powers, and suggested that he should be allowedto take with him Chou-pien and Tzu-hua as commissioners of justiceand finance. The King gave his consent, and issued the necessaryinstructions. The day of departure having arrived, both the Kingand the Queen came to see Ch'un-yü and his wife off, and to Ch'un-yüthe King said: "The province of Nan-k'o is rich and fertile; and theinhabitants are brave and prosperous; it is by kindness that you mustrule them. " To her daughter the Queen said: "Your husband is violentand fond of wine. The duty of a wife is to be kind and submissive. Actwell toward him, and I shall have no anxiety. Nan-k'o, it is true, is not very far--only one day's journey; still, in parting fromyou my tears will flow. " Ch'un-yü and his bride waved a farewell, and were whirled away toward their destination, reaching Nan-k'o thesame evening. 

Once settled in the place, Ch'un-yü set himself to become thoroughlyacquainted with the manners and customs of the people, and to relievedistress. To Chou-pien and Tzu-hua he confided all questions ofadministration, and in the course of twenty years a great improvementwas to be noticed in the affairs of the province. The people showedtheir appreciation by erecting a monument to his honour, while theKing conferred upon him an estate and the dignity of a title, and inrecognition of their services promoted Chou-pien and Tzu-hua to veryhigh posts. Ch'un-yü's children also shared their father's rewards;the two sons were given office, while the two daughters were betrothedto members of the royal family. There remained nothing which couldadd to his fame and greatness. 

He meets with Disasters

About this period the state of T'an-lo made an incursion on theprovince of Nan-k'o. The King at once commanded that Chou-pien shouldproceed at the head of 30, 000 men to repel the enemy. Chou-pien, full of confidence, attacked the foe, but sustained a disastrousdefeat, and, barely escaping with his life, returned to the capital, leaving the invaders to plunder the country and retire. Ch'un-yü threwChou-pien into prison, and asked the King what punishment should bevisited upon him. His Majesty granted Chou-pien his pardon; but thatsame month he died of disease. 

A few days later Ch'un-yü's wife also fell ill and died, whereuponhe begged permission to resign his post and return to Court with hiswife's remains. This request was granted, and Tzu-hua was appointedin his stead. As Ch'un-yü, sad and dejected, was leaving the citywith the funeral _cortège_, he found the road lined with people givingloud expression to their grief, and almost ready to prevent his takinghis departure. 

He returns Home

As he neared the capital the King and Queen, dressed in mourning, wereawaiting the bier in tears. The Princess, after a posthumous titlehad been conferred upon her, was buried with great magnificence a fewmiles to the east of the city, while Ch'un-yü remained in the capital, living in such state, and gaining so much influence, that he excitedthe King's jealousy; and when it was foretold, by means of signs inthe heavens, that ruin threatened the kingdom, that its inhabitantswould be swept away, and that this would be the work of an alien, the prophecy seemed to point to ambitious designs on the part ofCh'un-yü, and means were taken to keep him under restraint. 

Ch'un-yü, conscious that he had faithfully filled a high office formany years, felt greatly grieved by these calumnies--a result whichthe King could not avoid noticing. He accordingly sent for Ch'un-yü, and said: "For more than twenty years we have been connexions, although my poor daughter, unfortunately, has not been spared to bea companion to you in old age. Her mother is now taking care of herchildren; your own home you have not seen for many years; return tosee your friends; your children will be looked after, and in threeyears you will see them again. " "Is not this my home? Whither else amI to go?" was Ch'un-yü's reply. "My friend, " the King said laughingly, "you are a human being; you don't belong to this place. " At these wordsCh'un-yü seemed to fall into a deep swoon, and he remained unconsciousfor some time, after which he began to recall some glimpses of thedistant past. With tears in his eyes he begged that he might beallowed to return to his home, and, saying farewell, he departed. 

Outside the palace he found the same two officials in purple clotheswho had led the way so many years ago. A conveyance was also there, but this time it was a mere bullock-cart, with no outriders. He tookthe same road as before, and noticed the same hills and streams. Thetwo officials were by no means imposing this time, and when he askedhow far was his destination they continued to hum and whistle andpaid no attention to him. At last they passed through an opening, andhe recognized his own village, precisely as he had left it. The twoofficials desired him to get down and walk up the steps before him, where, much to his horror, he saw himself lying down in the porch. Hewas too much bedazed with terror to advance, but the two officialscalled out his name several times, and upon this he awoke. Theservants were bustling about the house, and his two companionswere still washing their feet. Everything was as he had left it, and the lifetime he had lived in his dream had occupied only a fewmoments. Calling out to his two friends, he made them follow him tothe locust-tree, and pointed out the opening through which he hadbegun his journey in dream-land. 

An axe was sent for, and the interior of the trunk thrown open, whereupon a series of galleries was laid bare. At the root of thetree a mound of earth was discovered, in shape like a city, andswarming with ants. This was the capital of the kingdom in whichhe had lived in his dream. A terrace surrounded by a guard of antswas the residence of the King and Queen, two winged insects withred heads. Twenty feet or so along another gallery was found anold tortoise-shell covered with a thick growth of moss; it was theTortoise-back Hill of the dream. In another direction was found asmall mound of earth round which was coiled a root in shape like adragon's tongue; it was the grave of the King's daughter, Ch'un-yü'swife in the vision. As he recalled each incident of the dream he wasmuch affected at discovering its counterpart in this nest of ants, and he refused to allow his companions to disturb it further. Theyreplaced everything as they had found it; but that night a storm ofwind and rain came, and next morning not a vestige of the ants wasto be seen. They had all disappeared, and here was the fulfilment ofthe warning in the dream, that the kingdom would be swept away. 

Ch'un-yü Regenerate

At this time Ch'un-yü had not seen Chou-pien and Tzu-hua for someten days. He sent a messenger to make inquiries about them, and thenews he brought back was that Chou-pien was dead and Tzu-hua lyingill. The fleeting nature of man's existence revealed itself to himas he recalled the greatness of these two men in the ant-world. Fromthat day he became a reformed man; drink and dissipation were putaside. After three years had elapsed he died, thus giving effect tothe promise of the ant-king that he should see his children once moreat the end of three years. 

Why the Jung Tribe have Heads of Dogs

The wave of conquest which swept from north to south in the earliestperiods of Chinese history [49] left on its way, like small islandsin the ocean, certain remnants of aboriginal tribes which survivedand continued to exist despite the sustained hostile attitude of theflood of alien settlers around them. When stationed at Foochow I sawthe settlements of one of these tribes which lived in the mountainouscountry not very many miles inland from that place. They were thoseof the Jung tribe, the members of which wore on their heads a largeand peculiar headgear constructed of bamboo splints resting on apeg inserted in the chignon at the back of the head, the weight ofthe structure in front being counterbalanced by a pad, serving asa weight, attached to the end of the splints, which projected asfar down as the middle of the shoulders. This framework was coveredby a mantilla of red cloth which, when not rolled up, concealed thewhole head and face, The following legend, related to me on the spot, explains the origin of this unusual headdress. 

Two Tribes at War

In early times the Chief of a Chinese tribe (another version saysan Emperor of China) was at war with the Chief of another tribe whocame to attack his territory from the west. The Western Chief so badlydefeated the Chinese army that none of the generals or soldiers couldbe induced to renew hostilities and endeavour to drive the enemy backto his own country. This distressed the Chinese Chief very much. Asa last resort he issued a proclamation promising his daughter inmarriage to anyone who would bring him the head of his enemy, theChief of the West. 

The Chief's Promise

The people in the palace talked much of this promise made by theChief, and their conversation was listened to by a fine large whitedog belonging to one of the generals. This dog, having pondered thematter well, waited until midnight and then stole over to the tentof the enemy Chief. The latter, as well as his guard, was asleep;or, if the guard was not, the dog succeeded in avoiding him in thedarkness. Entering the tent, the dog gnawed through the Chief'sneck and carried his head off in his mouth. At dawn he placed it atthe Chinese Chief's feet, and waited for his reward. The Chief wassoon able to verify the fact that his enemy had been slain, for theheadless body had caused so much consternation in the hostile armythat it had already begun to retreat from Chinese territory. 

A Strange Contract

The dog then reminded the Chief of his promise, and asked for hisdaughter's hand in marriage. "But how, " said the Chief, "can I possiblymarry my daughter to a dog?" "Well, " replied the dog, "will you agreeto her marrying me if I change myself into a man?" This seemed a safepromise to make, and the Chief agreed. The dog then stipulated thathe should be placed under a large bell and that no one should moveit or look into it for a space of 280 days. 

The Chiefs Curiosity

This was done, and for 279 days the bell remained unmoved, but onthe 280th day the Chief could restrain his curiosity no longer, and tilting up the bell saw that the dog had changed into a manall except his head, the last day being required to complete thetransformation. However, the spell was now broken, and the result wasa man with a dog's head. Since it was the Chief's fault that, throughhis over-inquisitiveness, the dog could not become altogether a man, he was obliged to keep his promise, and the wedding duly took place, the bridegroom's head being veiled for the occasion by a red mantilla. 

The Origin of a Custom

Unfortunately the fruit of the union took more after their fatherthan their mother, and though comely of limb had exceedingly uglyfeatures. [50] They were therefore obliged to continue to wear thehead-covering adopted by their father at the marriage ceremony, andthis became so much an integral part of the tribal costume that notonly has it been worn ever since by their descendants, but a changeof headgear has become synonymous with a change of husbands or adivorce. One account says that at the original bridal ceremony thebride wore the red mantilla to prevent her seeing her husband's uglyfeatures, and that is why the headdress is worn by the women and not bythe men, or more generally by the former than the latter, though otherssay that it was originally worn by the ugly children of both sexes. 

And of a Worship

This legend explains the dog-worship of the Jung tribe, which nowconsists of four clans, with a separate surname (Lei, Chung, Lang, and Pan) to each, has a language of its own, and does not intermarrywith the Foochow natives. At about the time of the old Chinese NewYear (somewhere in February) they paint a large figure of a dog on ascreen and worship it, saying it is their ancestor who was victoriousover the Western invader. 

Conclusion

If the greatness of nations is to be judged by the greatness oftheir myths (using the word 'great' in the sense of world-famousand of perennial influence), there would be few great nations, andChina would not be one of them. As stated in an earlier chapter, thedesign has been to give an account of Chinese myth as it is, and notas it might have been under imaginary conditions. But for the Chinesephilosophers we should in all probability have had more Chinese myths, but philosophy is unifying, and without it we might have had a break-upof China and perhaps no myths at all, or none specially belonging toChina as a whole and separate independent nation. Had there been great, world-stirring myths there could hardly but have been also more wars, more cruelty, more wounding of the "heart that weeps and trembles, "more saturating of the earth with human blood. It is not a small thingto have conquered myth with philosophy, especially at a time when theWestern world was still steeped in the grossest superstition. Thereforewe may be thankful that the Chinese were and are a peace-loving, sober, agricultural, industrial, non-military, non-priest-ridden, literary, and philosophical people, and that we have instead of great myths agreat people. 

But if the real test of greatness is purity and justice, then Chinesemyth must be placed among the greatest of all; for it is not obscene, and it is invariably just. 

The Pronunciation of Chinese Words

During the course of Chinese history the restriction of intercoursedue to mountain-chains or other natural obstacles between varioustribes or divisions of the Chinese people led to the birth of a numberof families of languages, which again became the parents of numerouslocal dialects. These dialects have in most cases restricted ranges, so that that of one district may be partially or wholly unintelligibleto the natives of another situated at a distance of only a hundredmiles or less. 

The Court or Government language is that spoken in Peking and themetropolitan district, and is the language of official communicationthroughout the country. Though neither the oldest nor the purestChinese dialect, it seems destined more than any other to come intouniversal use in China. The natives of each province or district willof course continue to speak to each other in their own particulardialect, and foreign missionaries or merchants, for example, whosespecial duties or transactions are connected with special districtswill naturally learn and use the dialects of those districts; but asa means of intercommunication generally between natives of differentprovinces, or between natives and foreigners, the Court language seemslikely to continue in use and to spread more and more over the wholecountry. It is to this that the following remarks apply. 

The essentials of correct pronunciation of Chinese are accuracy ofsound, tone, and rhythm. 

Sound

_Vowels and Diphthongs_

_a_ as in _father_. 

_ai_ as in Italian _amái_. 

_ao_. Italian _ao_ in _Aosta_: sometimes _á-oo, _ the _au_ in _cauto_. 

_e_ in _eh_, _en_, as in _yet_, _lens_. 

_ei_. Nearly _ey_ in _grey_, but more as in Italian _lei_, _contei_. 

_ê_. The vowel-sound in _lurk_. 

_êi_. The foregoing _ê_ followed enclitically by _y_. _Money_ withoutthe _n_ = _mêi_. 

_êrh. _ The _urr_ in _purr_. 

_i_. As a single or final syllable the vowel-sound in _ease_, _tree_;in _ih_, _in_, _ing_, as in _chick_, _thing_. 

_ia_ generally as in the Italian _Maria_. 

_iai_. The _iai_ in the Italian _vecchiaia_. 

_iao_ as in _ia_ and _ao_, with the terminal peculiarity of the latter. 

_ie_ as in the Italian _siesta_. 

_io_. The French _io_ in _pioche_. 

_iu_ as a final, longer than the English _ew_. In _liu, niu_, almost_leyew, neyew_. In _chiung, hsiung, iung_, is _eeyong_ (_o_ in _roll_). 

_o. _ Between vowel-sound in _awe_ and that in _roll_. 

_ou. _ Really _êo_; _ou_ in _round_. 

_ü. _ The vowel-sound in the French _tu, eût_. 

_üa. _ Only in _üan_, which in some tones is _üen_. The _u_ as above;the _an_ as in _antic_. 

_üe_. The vowel-sounds in the French _tu es_. 

_üo_. A disputed sound, used, if at all, interchangeably with _io_in certain syllables. 

_u_. The _oo_ in _too_; in _un_ and _ung_ as in the Italian _punto_. 

_ua_. Nearly _ooa_, in many instances contracting to _wa_. 

_uai_ as in the Italian _guai_. 

_uei. _ The vowel-sounds in the French _jouer_. 

_uê. _ Only in final _uên_ = _ú-un_; frequently _wên_ or _wun_. 

_ui. _ The vowel-sounds in _screwy_; in some tones _uei_. 

_uo. _ The Italian _uo_ in _fuori_; often _wo_, and at times nearly_oo_. 

_u. _ Between the _i_ in _bit_ and the _u_ in _shut_. 

_Consonants_

_ch_ as in _chair_; but before _ih_ softened to _dj_. 

_ch'_. A strong breathing. _Mu_ch-ha_rm_ without the italicizedletters = _ch'a_. 

_f_ as in farm. 

_h_ as _ch_ in Scotch _loch_. 

_hs_. A slight aspirate preceding and modifying the sibilant, which is, however, the stronger of the two consonants; _e. G. Hsing_ = _hissing_without the first _i_, _j_. Nearly the French _j_ in _jaune_; the English _s_ in _fusion_. 

_k_. _c_ in _car_, _k_ in _king_; but when following other soundsoften softened to _g_ in _go, gate_. 

_k'_. The aspirate as in _ch'_. _Ki_ck-ha_rd_ without the italicizedletters = _k'a_; and _ki_ck-he_r_ == _k'ê_. 

_l_ as in English. 

_m_ as in English. 

_n_ as in English. 

_ng_. The italicized letters in the French mo_n ga_lant = _nga_;mo_n gai_llard = _ngai_; so_n go_sier = _ngo_. 

_p_ as in English. 

_p'_ The Irish pronunciation of _p_arty, _p_arliament. _Sla_p-ha_rd_without the italicized letters = _p'a_. 

_s_ as in English. 

_sh_ as in English. 

_ss_. Only in _ssu_. The object of employing _ss_ is to fix attentionon the peculiar vowel-sound _u_ (see above). 

_t_ as in English. 

_t'_ The Irish _t_ in _t_orment. _Hi_t-ha_rd_ without the italicizedletters = _t'a_. 

_ts_ as in _jetsam_; after another word softened to _ds_ in _gladsome_. 

_ts'. _ The aspirate intervening, as in _ch'_, etc. _Be_ts-ha_rd_without the italicized letters = _ts'a_. 

_tz_. Employed to mark the peculiarity of the final _u_; hardly ofgreater power than _ts_. 

_tz'_ like _ts'_. This, _tz_, and _ss_ used only before _u_. 

_w_ as in English; but very faint, or even non-existent, before _ü_. 

_y_ as in English; but very faint before _i_ or _ü_. 

Tone

The correct pronunciation of the sound (_yin_) is not sufficient tomake a Chinese spoken word intelligible. Unless the tone (_shêng_), or musical note, is simultaneously correctly given, either the wrongmeaning or no meaning at all will be conveyed. The tone is the key inwhich the voice is pitched. Accent is a 'song added to, ' and tone isemphasized accent. The number of these tones differs in the differentdialects. In Pekingese there are now four. They are best indicatedin transliteration by numbers added to the sound, thus:

_pa_ (1) _pa_ (2) _pa_ (3) _pa_ (4)

To say, for example, _pa_ (3) instead of _pa_ (1) would be as greata mistake as to say 'grasp' instead of 'trumpet. ' Correctness of tonecannot be learnt except by oral instruction. 

Rhythm

What tone is to the individual sound rhythm is to the sentence. Thisalso, together with proper appreciation of the mutual modificationsof tone and rhythm, can be correctly acquired only by oral instruction. 

NOTES

[1] The inventions of the Chinese during a period of four thousandyears may be numbered on the fingers of one hand. 

[2] _East of Asia Magazine_, i, 15-16. 

[3] _Cf_. Aristotle's belief that bugs arose spontaneously from sweat. 

[4] For the Buddhist account see _China Review_, xi, 80-82. 

[5] Compare the Japanese legend, which relates that the Sun-goddess wasinduced to come out of a cave by being tempted to gaze at herself in amirror. See _Myths and Legends of Japan_, F. Hadland Davis, pp. 27-28. 

[6] See _Myths of the Norsemen_, by H. A. Guerber. These resemblancesand the further one--namely, the dualism in the prechaotic epoch(a very interesting point in Scandinavian mythology)--illustrate thedanger of inferring identity of origin from similarity of physical, intellectual, or moral results. Several remarkable parallelisms ofChinese religious and mythological beliefs with those recorded inthe Hebrew scriptures may also be briefly noted. There is an ageof virtue and happiness, a garden with a tree bearing 'apples ofimmortality, ' guarded by a winged serpent (dragon), the fall of man, the beginnings of lust and war (the doctrine of original sin), a greatflood, virgin-born god-men who rescue man from barbarism and endowhim with superhuman attributes, discipleship, worship of a VirginMother, trinities, monasticism, celibacy, fasting, preaching, prayers, primeval Chaos, Paradise, etc. For details see _Chinese Repository, _vii, 520-521. 

[7] _Cf. _ the dwarfs in the Scandinavian myth. 

[8] See Legge, _Shu ching_, ii, 320, note. 

[9] In order to avoid misunderstanding, it is as well to note that themention of the _t'ai chi_ in the _Canon of Changes (I ching_) no moreconstituted monism the philosophy of China than did the steam-drivenmachinery mentioned by Hero of Alexandria constitute the first centuryB. C. The 'age of steam. ' Similarly, to take another example, the ideaof the earth's rotundity, though conceived centuries before Ptolemyin the second century, did not become established before the sixteenthcentury. It was, in fact, from the _I ching_ that the Chinese derivedtheir _dualistic_ (not their monistic) conception of the world. 

[10] "Formerly, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt that I was a butterfly, flyingabout and feeling that it was enjoying itself. I did not know thatit was Chou. Suddenly I awoke and was myself again, the veritableChou. I did not know whether it had formerly been Chou dreaming thathe was a butterfly, or whether it was now a butterfly dreaming thatit was Chou. " _Chuang Tzu_, Book II. 

[11] See the present writer's _China of the Chinese_, chapter viii. 

[12] See Du Bose, pp. 282, 286, 361, 409, 410, and _Journal of theNorth China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_, xxxiv, 110-111. 

[13] Du Bose, p. 38. 

[14] He is sometimes represented as a reincarnation of Wên Chung;see p. 198. 

[16] See footnote, p. 107. 

[17] _Religion_, p. 177. 

[18] See _Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists_, by Sister Nivedita andAnanda Coomaraswamy. 

[19] The native accounts differ on this point. _Cf. _ p. 16. 

[20] For further details concerning T'ai I see _Babylonian and OrientalRecord_, vi, 145-150. 

[21] _Cf. _ Chapter I. 

[22] She is the same as Ch'ang Ô, the name Hêng being changed toCh'ang because it was the tabooed personal name of the Emperors MuTsung of the T'ang dynasty and Chên Tsung of the Sung dynasty. 

[23] See p. 45. 

[24] In Sagittarius, or the Sieve; Chinese constellation of theLeopard. 

[25] See Chapter XIV. 

[26] See Chapter XII. 

[27] This pagoda is distant about twenty _li_ (seven miles) fromPeking. It is on the top of the hill, while the spring is at the foot, half a _li_ distant. The imperial family used the water from thisspring, whence it was carried to Peking in carts. 

[28] See Chapter XII. 

[29] See Chapter IV. 

[30] This has reference to the change of Kuan Yin from the masculineto the feminine gender, already mentioned. 

[31] There is evidently a mistake here, since the King was twentywhen he ascended the throne and fifty at the birth of Miao Shan. 

[32] _An Illustrated Account of the Eight Immortals' Mission tothe East_. 

[33] A record of a journey to the Western Paradise to procurethe Buddhist scriptures for the Emperor of China. The work is adramatization of the introduction of Buddhism into China. 

[34] See p. 329. 

[35] See p. 195. 

[36] Literally 'golden oranges. ' These are skilfully preserved bythe Cantonese, and form a delicious sweetmeat for dessert. 

[37] Only slave-girls and women of the poorer classes and old womenomit this very important part of a Chinese lady's toilet. 

[38] Alluding probably to the shape of the 'shoe' or ingot of silver. 

[39] Slave-girls do not have their feet compressed. 

[40] Wherein resides an old gentleman who ties together with a red cordthe feet of those destined to become man and wife. From this bond thereis no escape, no matter what distance may separate the affianced pair. 

[41] This proceeding is highly improper, but is 'winked at' in alarge majority of Chinese betrothals. 

[42] The usual occupation of poor scholars who are ashamed to gointo trade and who have not enterprise enough to start as doctors orfortune-tellers. Besides painting pictures and fans, and illustratingbooks, these men write fancy scrolls in the various ornamental stylesso much prized by the Chinese; they keep accounts for people, andwrite or read business and private letters for the illiterate masses. 

[43] Say about £10. 

[44] Alchemy is first mentioned in Chinese history B. C. 133, and waswidely cultivated in China during the Han dynasty by priests of theTaoist religion. 

[45] Kuan Chung and Pao Shu are the Chinese types of friendship. Theywere two statesmen of considerable ability who flourished in theseventh century B. C. 

[46] These are used, together with a heavy wooden _bâton_, by theChinese washerman, the effect being most disastrous to a Europeanwardrobe. 

[47] To provide coffins for poor people has ever been regarded asan act of transcendent merit. The tornado at Canton in April 1878, in which several thousand lives were lost, afforded an admirableopportunity for the exercise of this form of charity--an opportunitywhich was largely taken advantage of by the benevolent. 

[48] For usurping its prerogative by allowing Chia to obtain wealth. 

[49] See Chapter I. 

[50] Compare the legend of the tailed Miao Tzu tribes named Yao, 'mountain-dogs' or 'jackals, ' living on the mountain ranges in thenorth-west of Kuangtung Province, related in the _Jih chi so chih_.