The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-06-27
MASTER OF HEAVEN.
A SINGULAR INSTANCE OF cREpu-
uTY HOLDING SWAY 1900 YEARS.

From Father to Son HIS the Possession of
This Mysterious once Descended since
Early In the Christian Era-The seal
which Brings In Goodly Revenue.
The history Of popular delusions, more
especially ;hose relating to religious or
quasi religious beliefs, has been dealt with
by many abepeus Most educated people
have SOME D .rHiutance with the super
natural pr,'a uas OF people like Joanna
Southcotc Or jos smith. IL may, however,
be safely ALLEGED that scarcely one Euro
peau In a million has ever heard of most
sin gular instance of popular credulity,
which, dating back to the first century,
has held sway even to the present day.
Probably the earliest notice of the so
called Master of Heaven" which appeared
in any European work is to be found in the
"Anuales de la Fol- or missionary "Col-
lectanea' of the Jesuit priests, forwarded
In the shape of letters from various por-
tiOus of the heather world Writing in
1866, Father Demicourt described the then
living master" in no favorable terms. 1t
was, however, reserved for the well known
authority on Chinese matters, Mr.. Chal-
mers, to first introduce the title and its
bearer to the notice of the English speak
kOpsch gave a more detailed and extremely
interesting account of the whole subject.
As these papers are quite inaccessible to
the general public-one public library only
in England possessing a copy-the follow
ing details will doubtless be of interest:
About "a years after the birth of Christ
a child was, according to the legend
miraculously born of a virgin mother in
the province of Kiangsi As with the
founder of Buddhism, his childhood was
distinguished by extraordinary precocity
ard the power of performing supernatural
feats BY the time he had reached 20 years
of age he had attained the modest stature
of 8 feet inches His personal appearance
otherwise was not less unusual Triangu-
lar eyes with green pupils, and a crimson
scalp, arms reaching below his knees, and
with an occipital bone of striking projec-
ton he must have been at least note
Wort by in the eyes of his neghbors
1t may, by the way, be noted that how
ever unveracious these details of his looks.
Chang Tao-ling actually existed. His career
is SIX etched in the annals of the province in
quite the same vein as are his physical
characteristics. a scholar of profound cru
ditiOn and able to foretell coming events,
he sent in so mastery paper on the trou-
bes then besettinE the empire "A. ID. go
that the emperor appointed him governor
of hiang-Choo. After holding this APP
poin tment for a few years he resigned, and
then commenced the career which secured
for him the celebrity which has lasted till
the resent day.
Leaving the scene of his government, he
became a hermit in the Pe-Mang noun
tains and devoted his time to the study of
witchcraft and the discovery of the elixir
of life. He was next heard of on the
Dragon and Tiger mountain. Here he com
pounded the mystic pill of immortality and
discovered the means of ruling the demons
of the air and commanding the services of
devils and bogys. Among the supernatural
.cGts with which he was credited was the
slaughter of million devils with one
stroll of "a yermilion pencil. These, at the
humble intercession of their six kings he
restored to life upon condition that they
betook themselves to western countries
and left China alone.
II was at Mount Ho-Ning that Chang pro-
fessed to receive in person a divine com
mission as the Master of Heaven" Among
the insignia of his new Office was magic
seal which would impress 100 sheets of paper
at once, although only touching one The
seal, Of course, is claimed to be over 800
years old.
The masters son Heng succeeded his
fathe,, who is alleged to have been taken
up into heaven after having attained the
age OF 1913 years. A son has in turn sue
ceeded until the present day. During the
Ming dynasty, which terminated in l644
the tl,en master" was guardian of the
heir apparent TO the throne As an illus
tration of the duties devolving upon the
occupants of the masters post, the annals
record that in 1901 the then master of
heaven" was directed to offer sacrifices on
the hve great mountains of China to charm
away the ghost of the white sheep at
Hwan CHOW and to rid the Tai-hu lake of
the crimson monkey which haunted It'll
"Anot her goblin called the Iron Lock- the
dread and terror of the boat people, as it
contained the key to the winds, was also
commanded to be got rid of by the subtle
arts OF this magician"
The Tapping rebellion naturally induced
the 81 perstitious ruling powers to consult
the then representative of the long defunct
Chang Tao-ling. 1t need scarcely be said
that his charms and exorcisms failed to pro
duce the slightest effect, and he ignomini-
ously lied. The vicious lives led by the lat
er masters had already led to their being
regarded with contempt by their immediate
neighbors, but superstition dies hard in
China. The present abode of the wizard is
situated about "a miles south of kiver HI,
a town in Kiangsi, in the Dragon and Tiger
mountain, already mentioned. The two
animals are represented by two high peaks,
and between these lies the Palace of Su-
preme Purity" as the masters temple is
named.
The CRATE in which the mystic pill of i'm
mortality was first refined is still shown,
as also the ruins of the terrace whence
Chang Tao-ling assembled to heaven. A
number of monasteries surround the
palace" but they are mostly in a state OF
decay. Revenue accrues to the master
from two sources. The first is that de
rived from exercising ghosts from the
houses Of the richer residents in the pro
vince, Llandarins, ETC., or otherwise avert
ing i'll and inducing good luck to them
who seek his services. The second and far
more lucrative source is the sale of charms
The size of a charm as sold is foot 8
inches in length by 8 inches in breadth, the
paper being very common and fragile The
vender alleges that, however undeciph
cradle to human eyes, ghosts and COLLINS
can read the mystic characters, and will
betake themselves elsewhere in double
quick time on beholding them.
The price asked for one Of these charms
is a little over ESQ (roughly, about Us. 3d.
and several thousands are sold annually,
the proceeds of which are, according TO all
accounts, squandered in opium smoking,
drinking and gambling on the part of the
very human arrogator of the title we have
given.-Pall Mall Gazette.