Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-05-02
CHINESE DEITIES.

fail in their duty, is the god of thieves.
He was propitiated in an appropriate
manner on New Years as an occasion
of special worship, but he is common
ly worshiped on the seventeenth of the
eighth month. He has become very
popular within the last ten or fifteen
years, especially with travellers, traders
and the sick, as well as professional
thieves. He has no special temple,
even In Canton (the particular Prov
ince whose mythology we are discuss
ing), but Is worshiped in any place
where a reunion of worshipeIs may be
conveniently had. He dWells in mid
heaven and never descends upon earth,
which Is the reason he has no temple. He
was a professional thief when on earth,
and not only clever in his profession,
but remarkable for his filial piety.
One night he stole q kettle used in
cooking rice and brought it home to
his mother; but she, upbraiding him
for depriEirg people of the means of
cooking their food, ordered him to
take it back. He objected, on the
ground that by the time he reached the
premises It would be daylight and he
would certainly be detected. But his
mother, assuring him that g Mother"
would make the heavens dark purpose
" to aid him in restoring the stolen
kettle, he returned with it, and sure
enough escaped detection. His image
represents him as every childlike and
bland" and of quite prepossessing
appearance.
The god of swine is deaf, and years
ago was a vender Of pork. One day
poor but talented student asked him
for a small piece of pork on credit, a
request the pork Vender granted, but,
repenting of his iberality, he pursued
the unfortunate student and took the
pork from him. The student, becom-
ING q high Mandarin afterward, put the
pork-vender TO death, circumstance
which ultimately resulted in the deifi-
cation of the latter. He is worshiped
by swine owners with feast, not so
much to enable them to raise hogs as
to recover such as may be stolen or
strsyed. As the god is deaf, the wOr-
shippers tickle his ears and pat him on
the back, to excite and attract his at
tention, and when at length they sue
CCCA IL cAOAE4lE AAA-Aa 1-CI
cate to him the cause of their trouble,
and ask him to start off in search of
the missing swine, promising him a
feast if he succeeds. '' The devil
gambling for cash" is the god of gam
blers. He is dressed In dilapidated
garments, with his queue coiled around
his head and a card stuck in his hair.
He is Worshiped with incense and
lighted candles, the devOtee kneeling
before him and knocking his head on
the floor. On important occasions, as
when stakes are high, the woIshiper
lies down and sleeps before the god
always found in the house of every
gambler in San Francisco-and suppli-
Gates him for propitious dreams, VOW
ing to make him thank-ofering if he
wins.
The god of drouth, or rather the god
who gives rain in seasons of drouth, is
in miniature only in San Francisco,
like many other of the deities. He has
beside him representation of a 'drag-
On's welp' on his appropriate shelf in
the temple on Dufont street. He is
propitiated by throwing into this well
the bones Of a tiger, or at least pic
ture of the bones, for the reason that
the dragon and the tiger being always
at deadly enmity the dragon rushes on
the tiger when thus brought into CON
tact with him. AS soon as the conflict
takes place the clouds descend and rain
soon follows, when the tigers bones
are taken out of the well as soon as
possible. "The five rulers" govern
the five elements of Nature-namely,
metal, wood, water, fire and earth.
They also represent the five colOrs-to-
wit, yellow, green, red, black and
white; they control the five points of
the universe-viz., north, south, east,
west and middle. The five rulers have,
extraordinary powers, and
hence can ward off fever and pestilence
and punish infdels with measles and
collie. The ruler of the earth has three
eyes, the other four have snouts like
swine, faces like monkeys and mouths
like birds. They are worshiped by
carrying boat of bamboo splints and
paper twenty-five feet long Gin San
Francisco the boat is in miniature) to
the edge Of the sea or of running
stream, where the boat, containing all
the distempers that man is heir to, is
set adrift, thus carrying sickness away
from the land and people. The cere-
mony is called "sending the boat out
to sea-" but in reality it is burned at
the waters edge. The five rulers are
attended by two demons-the Tail
White Devil and the Short Black Devil.
The Tall One is twelve feet high and is
-. - khio ,,oI
the Short One is blurred and pursy,
with his tongue protruding and covered
with blood, with which tongue he laps
up whatever diseases are lurking
in the community and conveys them
10 the five rulers to be destroyed.
The five rulers have several other
assistant diVinities, such as the
Buffalo headed, the Horse-headed, the
Cock-faced, the Duck-mouthed and
others too numerous to mention.
'' The Three Precious Ones" are trim
ity of gods, controlling the past, pres
ent and future. They are WOrshiped
three times a year with p rostration
genufections and chanting, and on
certain festivals with burning incense
and candles. ''The Three Pure Ones''
are smother trinity, worshiped almost
similarly to the others and for much |
.he same reasons. One of the pure |
ones, named the "Old Boy" was !
in one breath into the |
trinity of which he is now a unit. The |
who is styled His Excel |
ency the Holy King" and also the /
i'GTeat Sage Equal to Heaven is
worshiped with offerings
IF incense and lighted candles, as well |
IS cakes and apples. He has general
control of hobgOblins, elves and witches,
md confers health and prosperity on
lis worshipers. Hence the sick and
he unsuccessful seek his divine inter-
position in driving away evil spirits and
bankruptcy.
The Fox is a god, worshiped chiefly
,y Mandarins and Viceroys and other
Ugh officials. He has control of the
Ificial seals, and room in the house
f every high official is set apart for
lis worship, which is performed by
.neeling and bending three times while
an offering of three cups Of
vine, three sticks of incense and two
lighted candles. The god sometimes
axes human form and enters the bodies
f men and women, and sometimes in
icts diseases on certain persons; hence
he sick pay him special homage.
. The FLYING Tiger is worshiped by
wo elasses-gamblers and mothers OF
ick children. By the gambler he IS
tyled "His Excellency the Grasping
5ash Tiger" and is propitiated with