The morning news., 1888-12-21
THE CHINESE GODS.
A Vast Variety Of Deities for Every
Condition Of life.
From the Boston Herald.

from HIe boston 1eTdtd.
The Buddhist deities are almost without
number, aid the manufacture of idols is
one Of the most stirri G industries of the
Chinese empire writes the author of "The
Dragon, the Images and the Demon" The
gods are male and female, from the thou
sand handed Kwanyin ON down or up, ac-
cording S you reckon in Chinese mythol-
ogy. There is god of thea ers, god of
sheep, another Of snakes. There are gods
of scorpions aud of locustS, of gold and sill
yer, of tea, salt, snow, strength, happiness
the list even including Wang Papa, the
chief of police in hades, whose statue is
ma le a sort of bulletin board for articles
lost or stolen. There are gods Of travel, of
archery and of cursing, of bridges, of lamps
and of teapots. There are sevenry-twn
master gods, who are heads of celestial
boards of detieS, in whose hands are COM
mitted everything that men can possibly
use or think of.
The $50 trades, which, according to the
Chinese, complete the number, ARE each pro-
vided with god. There are gods of car
penters, of masons, of fishermen, of bar
bers, Of tailors, Of iugglers and even god
of paper clothing There are the monkey
god and the fish god; there are gods f
parasites, each kind having its own deity;
there is a god Of the Punch and Judy show,
a god of cruelty, god of tirecrackers and
god of revenge. Shorter and Blower, the
English translation of Hen and Ha, gods OF
storms and rains, are warlike tiles, and
their st4tues are frequently seen on the
frontier. The thunder has two gods, Mr..
and Mrs. Thunder whils every pestilence,
every kind of disease. has its own god. The
gods of tide we're ce enemies. but are now
reconciled, one bringing in, the other tax
ing out the tide.
The rivers all have gods each having his
individual characteristics, the deity of the
Yellow river being particularly fond of
theatricals, which are always provided in
his honor at his annual fe st. Every tree
has its god, and when tree is to be cut
down notice is sent TO ali the neighbors to
remain indoors lest the tree god, finding
himself deprived Of his roosting place,
should take summary vengeance on
any unfortunate mortal who strayei
out Of doors from the protection
Of his own household deities. There
are gods of the body: The god Of
the hair is called Chwang Wa; god Of the
brain, Using Ken; god of be eye, Mig
Chang; g9i OF the nose, Yu Luog god OF
the ear, K'ung Yen; god Of the tongue,
Tung Mi &; god of the teeth. Muh Fing;
god of the heart, Tau Yuen;g d Of tie
lungs, Kao Wa; god Of tue liver, Lung
YIen; god the kidneys, Yuen Ming; god
of the spleen, Ciang Tsai; gol Of the gall,
Lung Yao; god Of the diaphra2m. Tao
Kung; god of the nape of the neck, Shgng
KEN; god Of the aeck, Yu M KUN; god of
the tnroat, Pah Lien Fang; gol Of the back,
Nu Chah god Of the breast, Hu Pen; god Of
he ribs, Pin Kya Ma; god of tie stomach,
Tung Lien Yoh; god Of the bowels, 40
Ten Kang: god Of tie hand, Wen Yin; god
Of the feet, Chuen Lien Lib; god Of the skin,
Tang G. iang.
In short. there are gods for evoryt ing;
gods painted on the walls, at the corners,
at crt IS rosds, for the one anxiety of { o
Chinese life Is 30 scare the devil and only
by the intercession Of the gods can this very
desirable effect be produced; 90 when a
c inese funeral starts from tho house 10 the
cemetery IL never goes Ia a straight line,
hut up the street TO the corner, where stands
the statue OF some deity, I zen su denly TO
the left or right, while the domon, appalled,
at the slglt Of the gods image, waits "A
nome Il and thus the funeral gets the start
him. Every deity, however, of the
Chinese mythology-it Is satisfactory 10
know-has definite work h attend TO, and
gives IL the closest possible attention, no
one ever intruling into the provioce Of an-
other, so that, on the whole, the Chinese
90 slider their mythology very economical,
fir each and every person In any line of
trade or occupation worshipa hfayan and
"a III In goneral, and his only deity tn par
tlcular. thus claiming exemption from do
yotion 10 the rest Of the pantheon.