The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-07-05
Thousands Of
 Chinese Pray To Their God Of War
INCENSE AND OFFERINGS ARE
 HEATED HIGH BEFORE IDOL IN CHINESE CITY.
By EDNA LEE BOOKER, International News Service Staff
 COpT,eSTpOn6enr

Paotingfu, July 5-Kuanti, God of War, the Chinese Mars, is being wor- shipped by thousands of heavy-heart- ed Chinese throughout Northern China today.
 Fragrant incense, tall red candles, oil in great bronze bowls and burning in front of the powerful god, who oc- cupies the throne of honor in the var iouS temples built to him. Cakes. fruit and nuts are placed at his feet. and the hbauon cups are filled with rare wine.
 Hundreds of pilgrims come daily to the temples bringing silver paper spirit money, incense and offerings They kneel on the red hat before floor three times, beseechins his | mercy.
 The Wu Sheng Miao-Temple to the A11-Powerful War God-in Paotingfu kept up in China. Tsao Kun. the nominal head of the Chihh faction, which. under the leadership of Gen eral Wu Pei-fu, has defeated the | Tso-lin, has spent thousands of dol lars having this temple repaired. Is Gorgeously Decorated The temple, which is built of gray inSs opening upon courtyards and gardens, is gorgeously decorated in i the most brilliant colors. Battle scenes of long ago, when spears and bows and arrows were used instead | of Geroplanes and machine guns, are depicted on the walls and ceilings. The three largest buildings of the | temple are the theatre, the worship | hall of Kuanti, the god of war, and the rooms given over to the worship | of kuanti, the god of literature This what Confusius is to the literary classes, possesses a strange dual per | sonality.
 l The great theatre, with it's seating | a,,.I+1 S1f+ @I +l, of many gay events during peace when old military plays are staged Just now its stage, which extends fal Into the audience; its balconies ana | main auditorium are being used tC house hundreds of soldiers.
 | kuanti, as the god of war, is seer
 riding great roaring horse; as th'
 god of literature sits serene and calm | ic. Tsao Kun spent many hundred
 dollars for an unusually large and fin'
 statue of Kuanti, the god of literature
 lastSyear. He bought the great red
 faced idol-which is many times tn,
 size of an ordinary man-in Tientsin | Notables offer Prayers.
 On the opening of the battle O
 Changhsintien Ridge, under the per
 sonal generalship of General Wu Pei
 flu, Madame Wu, accompanied by he
 two little sisters-in-law and thei
 amahs drove to the temple and offered
 up prayers for the success of Wu'
 campaign; while in the Wu Pei-fl
 home, in Paotingfu, Kuanti occupies
 position of honor and incense and can
 dles burn before his shrine.
 l In the country around Paotingf1
 hundreds of coolies were dra aff ed int
 service as cart drivers, trench diggers
 laborers; and the poor old relatives
 chiefly aged women-hobbled into tn
 city on their tiny bound feet to boE | before Kuanti and appeal to him fo
 the protection of their sons an brothers, and to grant swift victor
 in order that the men might retur
 speedily to attend their crops. | The temple bells are ringing. tn
 temple gongs and drums are heard and the chant of the gray-robe
 priests mingles with the shrill bugI
 calls sounded in the military cam
 near the Temple to the All-Powerfu
 War God.