The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-12-03
MASTER OF HEAVEN.
A SINGULAR INSTANCE OF CREpU-
LlTY HOLDING SWAY 1900 YEARS.

-
From Father to Son tine Possession OF
This Mysterious ONCE Descended Since |
Early 7, ,bc Christian Era-Tbe Seal
""ie" "''"sS =" "''"''
The history of popular delusions, more
esnec;sllv .hrsp relating to religious or
quasi rplieiogs beliefs, has been dealt with
Nv mauy. l.....ps Most educated people
have sr-le -.intonce with the super
notura' r,... 1910. of ueople like Joanna
Soutlt. sr.. Sgith. IL may, however,
be snf4iv all. ...i that scarcely one Euro
moan in - min. ., a.. ever heard of most
sinouIa, io.,.,.,r of popular credulity,
which daliu, b,r, to the first century,
has held SWAY even 10 the present day.
Probably the earliest notice of the 50
cpllrd "Nl1st,rof Heaven" which appearcd
in any Europ,nn work is to be found in the
"Annoles dc In FOL- or missionary "Col
lectanen" of the Jesuit priests. forwarded
in tbe shane Of letters from various nor
tions of the heather world. Writing in
1S56 Father Demicourt described the then
lvin,, s.master'' in no favorable terms. 1t
was however. reserved for the well known
authority on Chinese matters, Mr.. Chal-
niers. TO first introduce the title and its
bearer to the notice of the English speak
ing world. A few months later Mr.. II.
Kopsch gave a more detailed and extremely
interesting account of the whole subject.
As these papcrs are quite inaccessible to
the general puhlic-one public library only
/ in England possessing a copy--the follow
/ ing details will doubtless he of interest;
About "A Years after the birth of Christ
a child was. according to the legend
/ miraculously born of virgin mother in
/ the province of Kiangsi As with the
| founder of Buddhism, his childhood was
1 distinguished by extraordinary precocity
and the power Of performing supernatural
| feats. By the time he had reached 90 years
/ of age he had attained the modest stature
of 0 feet 2 inches. His personal appearance
otherwise was not less unusual Tiangu-
lar eyes with green pupils, and crimson
scalp, arms reaching below his knees, and
with an occiptal bone of striking projec-
ton. he must have been at least note
| worthy in the eyes of his neighbOTs.
1t may, by the way, be noted that how
ever unveracious these details of his looks,
/ Chang Tao-lng actually existed. His career
is sketched 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 a paper on the trou
bles then besetting the empire a. d. go
that the emperor appointed him governor
of Kiang-Choo After holding this ap-
pointment for few years he resigned, and
then commenced the career which secured
for him the celebrity which has lasted till
the nresent dav.
Leaving the scene of his government. he
become a hermit in the Pei-Mapg noun
| 9
,vitchcraft and the discovery of the elixir
of life He was next heard of on the
DRAGON and TIGER mountain. Here he com.
Wounded thu t,lysric Mill Of Immortality and
discovared the means of ruling the demons
of the air and commanding the services Of
devils and boyvs Among the sunernntur raj
foots With which he was credited was tho
slaughter Of n million devils with one
strnia of a yermilion mcneil These at the
humble intercession of their six kings. he
restored to life upon condition that they
ha+ook themselves to western les
and left China alone.
II was at Mount Ho Ming that Chang nro.
fessed IN receive in person n divine com.
mission as tbe MASTER of Heaven, ~ Among
the INSIGNIA of his new office was a magic
seal which would impress 100 sheets of name,
at once although only touching one The
seal of course. is claimed to be over .SOl
wears old.
The masters son Henp succeeded hi,
father who is alleged To have been taker
up into heaven after having attained til,
noe of 1912 voars. A son has in turn suc
ceeded until the present day. During the
Ming dynasty, which terminated in 1914
the then 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 1907 the then master OF
heaven" was directed to offer sacrifices Oh
the five great mountains of China to charm
away the ghost of the white sheep at
Hwang chow and to rid the Tai-hu lake OF
the crimson monkey which haunted it
Another goblin called the Iron Lock, tn,
dread and terror of the boat people, as i,
contained the key to the winds, was also
commanded to be got rid of by the subtl,
arts of this magician"
The Tapping rebellion naturally induced
the superstitious ruling powers to consult
the then representative of the long defunc
Chang Tao-ling. 1t need scarcely be sale
that his charms and exorcisms failed to pro
duce the slightest effect, and he ignomini
ously fed. The vicious lives led by the lat
err masters had already led to their beinl
; regarded with contempt by their immediat
: neiqhbors. but superstition dies hard i,
China. The present abode of the wizard i
situated about 27 miles south of Kiver XII
a town in Kiaugsi. in the Dragon and Tige
: mountain, already mentioned. The tw,
animals are represented bytwo high peaks
and between these lies the Palace of Su
nreme Purity ), as the masters temnle /
GU -,
= mortality was first refined is still shown
as also the ruins of the terrace whenc
Chang Tao-linp assembled TO heaven,
nnuhsr NJ monasteries surround tb