Myths and Legends of China Part 18

An Unexpected Flood

When the Prince saw them he galloped up to the cart, and, without pausing, thrust his spear into one of the baskets, making a great hole, out of which the water rushed so rapidly that the Prince was much frightened. He dashed off at full speed to save himself from being swallowed up by the waters, which in a very short time had risen more than thirty feet and had flooded the surrounding country. On galloped the Prince, followed by the roaring water, till he reached a hill, up which he urged his startled horse. When he gained the top he found that it stood out of the water like an island, completely surrounded; the water was seething and swirling round the hill in a frightful manner, but no vestige could he see of either of the dragons.

The Waters Subside

The Prince was very much alarmed at his perilous position, when suddenly a Buddhist priest appeared before him, with clasped hands and bent head, who bade him not be alarmed, as with Heaven's a.s.sistance he would soon disperse the water. Hereupon the priest recited a short prayer or spell, and the waters receded as rapidly as they had risen, and finally returned to their proper channels.

The Origin of Chen-shui T'a

The broken basket became a large deep hole, some three _mu_ (about half an English acre) in extent, in the centre of which was a fountain which threw up a vast body of clear water. From the midst of this there arose a paG.o.da, which rose and fell with the water, floating on the top like a vessel; the spire thrusting itself far up into the sky, and swaying about like the mast of a ship in a storm.

The Prince returned to the city filled with wonder at what he had seen, and with joy at having so successfully carried out the directions contained in the packet. On all sides he was greeted by the acclamations of the people, who hailed him as the saviour of Peking. Since that time Peking has never had the misfortune to be without water.

The paG.o.da is called the PaG.o.da on the Hill of the Imperial Spring (Yu Ch'uan Shan T'a; more commonly Chen-shui T'a, 'Water-repressing PaG.o.da'). [27] The spring is still there, and day and night, unceasingly, its clear waters bubble up and flow eastward to Peking, which would now be a barren wilderness but for Yen w.a.n.g's pursuit of the water.

CHAPTER VIII

Myths of Fire

The Ministry of Fire

The celestial organization of Fire is the fifth Ministry, and is presided over by a President, Lo Hsuan, whose t.i.tular designation is Huo-te Hsing-chun, 'Stellar Sovereign of the Fire-virtue,' with five subordinate ministers, four of whom are star-G.o.ds, and the fifth a "celestial prince who receives fire": Chieh-huo T'ien-chun. Like so many other Chinese deities, the five were all ministers of the tyrant emperor Chou.

It is related that Lo Hsuan was originally a Taoist priest known as Yen-chung Hsien, of the island Huo-lung, 'Fire-dragon.' His face was the colour of ripe fruit of the jujube-tree, his hair and beard red, the former done up in the shape of a fish-tail, and he had three eyes. He wore a red cloak ornamented with the _pa kua_; his horse snorted flames from its nostrils and fire darted from its hoofs.

While fighting in the service of the son of the tyrant emperor, Lo Hsuan suddenly changed himself into a giant with three heads and six arms. In each of his hands he held a magic weapon. These were a seal which reflected the heavens and the earth, a wheel of the five fire-dragons, a gourd containing ten thousand fire-crows, and, in the other hands, two swords which floated like smoke, and a column of smoke several thousands of _li_ long enclosing swords of fire.

A Conflagration

Having arrived at the city of Hsi Ch'i, Lo Hsuan sent forth his smoke-column, the air was filled with swords of fire, the ten thousand fire-crows, emerging from the gourd, spread themselves over the town, and a terrible conflagration broke out, the whole place being ablaze in a few minutes.

At this juncture there appeared in the sky the Princess Lung Chi, daughter of w.a.n.g-mu Niang-niang; forthwith she spread over the city her shroud of mist and dew, and the fire was extinguished by a heavy downpour of rain. All the mysterious mechanisms of Lo Hsuan lost their efficacy, and the magician took to his heels down the side of the mountain. There he was met by Li, the PaG.o.da-bearer, [28] who threw his golden paG.o.da into the air. The paG.o.da fell on Lo Hsuan's head and broke his skull.

C'ih Ching-tzu

Of the various fire-G.o.ds, Ch'ih Ching-tzu, the principle of spiritual fire, is one of the five spirits representing the Five Elements. He is Fire personified, which has its birth in the south, on Mount Shih-t'ang. He himself and everything connected with him--his skin, hair, beard, trousers, cloak of leaves, etc.--are all of the colour of fire, though he is sometimes represented with a blue cap resembling the blue tip of a flame. He appeared in the presence of Huang Lao in a fire-cloud. He it was who obtained fire from the wood of the mulberry-tree, and the heat of this fire, joined with the moisture of water, developed the germs of terrestrial beings.

The Red Emperor

Chu Jung, though also otherwise personified, is generally regarded as having been a legendary emperor who made his first appearance in the time of Hsien Yuan (2698-2598 B.C.). In his youth he asked Kuang-shou Lao-jen, 'Old Longevity,' to grant him immortality. "The time has not yet come," replied Old Longevity; "before it does you have to become an emperor. I will give you the means of reaching the end you desire. Give orders that after you are dead you are to be buried on the southern slope of the sacred mountain Heng Shan; there you will learn the doctrine of Ch'ih Ching-tzu and will become immortal."

The Emperor Hsien Yuan, having abdicated the throne, sent for Chu Jung, and bestowed upon him the crown. Chu Jung, having become emperor, taught the people the use of fire and the advantages to be derived therefrom. In those early times the forests were filled with venomous reptiles and savage animals; he ordered the peasants to set fire to the brushwood to drive away these dangerous neighbours and keep them at a distance. He also taught his subjects the art of purifying, forging, and welding metals by the action of fire. He was nicknamed Ch'ih Ti, 'the Red Emperor.' He reigned for more than two hundred years, and became an Immortal, His capital was the ancient city of Kuei, thirty _li_ north-east of Hsin-cheng Hsien, in the Prefecture of K'ai-feng Fu, Honan. His tomb is on the southern slope of Heng Shan. The peak is known as Chu Jung Peak. His descendants, who went to live in the south, were the ancestors of the Directors of Fire.

Hui Lu

The most popular G.o.d of Fire, however, is Hui Lu, a celebrated magician who, according to the _Shen hsien t'ung chien_, lived some time before the reign of Ti K'u (2436-2366 B.C.), the father of Yao the Great, and had a mysterious bird named Pi Fang and a hundred other fire-birds shut up in a gourd. He had only to let them out to set up a conflagration which would extend over the whole country.

Huang Ti ordered Chu Jung to fight Hui Lu and also to subdue the rebel Chih Yu. Chu Jung had a large bracelet of pure gold--a most wonderful and effective weapon. He hurled it into the air, and it fell on Hui Lu's neck, throwing him to the ground and rendering him incapable of moving. Finding resistance impossible, he asked mercy from his victor and promised to be his follower in the spiritual contests. Subsequently he always called himself Huo-shih Chih T'u, 'the Disciple of the Master of Fire.'

The Fire-emperor

Shen Nung, the G.o.d of Agriculture, also adds to his other functions those appertaining to the G.o.d of Fire, the reason being that when he succeeded the Emperor Fu Hsi on the throne he adopted fire as the emblem of his government, just as Huang Ti adopted the symbol of Earth. Thus he came to be called Huo Ti, the 'Fire-emperor.' He taught his subjects the use of fire for smelting metals and making implements and weapons, and the use of oil in lamps, etc. All the divisions of his official hierarchy were connected in some way with this element; thus, there were the Ministers of Fire generally, the officers of Fire of the North, South, etc. Becoming thus doubly the patron of fire, a second fire symbol (_huo_) was added to his name, changing it from Huo Ti, 'Fire-emperor,' to Yen Ti, 'Blazing Emperor,'

CHAPTER IX

Myths of Epidemics, Medicine, Exorcism, Etc.

The Ministry of Epidemics

The G.o.ds of epidemics, etc., belong to the sixth, ninth, second, and third celestial Ministries. The composition of the Ministry of Epidemics is arranged differently in different works as Epidemics (regarded as epidemics on earth, but as demons in Heaven) of the Centre, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, or as the marshals clothed in yellow, green, red, white, and blue respectively, or as the Officers of the East, West, South, and North, with two additional members: a Taoist who quells the plague, and the Grand Master who exhorts people to do right.

With regard to the Ministry of Seasonal Epidemics, it is related that in the sixth moon of the eleventh year (A.D. 599) of the reign of Kao Tsu, founder of the Sui dynasty, five stalwart persons appeared in the air, clothed in robes of five colours, each carrying different objects in his hands: the first a spoon and earthenware vase, the second a leather bag and sword, the third a fan, the fourth a club, the fifth a jug of fire. The Emperor asked Chang Chu-jen, his Grand Historiographer, who these were and if they were benevolent or evil spirits. The official answered: "These are the five powers of the five directions. Their appearance indicates the imminence of epidemics, which will last throughout the four seasons of the year." "What remedy is there, and how am I to protect the people?" inquired the Emperor. "There is no remedy," replied the official, "for epidemics are sent by Heaven." During that year the mortality was very great. The Emperor built a temple to the five persons, and bestowed upon them the t.i.tle of Marshals to the Five Spirits of the Plague. During that and the following dynasty sacrifices were offered to them on the fifth day of the fifth moon.

The President of the Ministry

The following particulars are given concerning the President of the Ministry, whose name was Lu Yueh. He was an old Taoist hermit, living at Chiu-lung Tao, 'Nine-dragon Island,' who became an Immortal. The four members of the Ministry were his disciples. He wore a red garment, had a blue face, red hair, long teeth, and three eyes. His war-horse was named the Myopic Camel. He carried a magic sword, and was in the service of Chou w.a.n.g, whose armies were concentrated at Hsi Ch'i. In a duel with Mu-cha, brother of No-cha, he had his arm severed by a sword-cut. In another battle with Huang T'ien-hua, son of Huang Fei-hu, he appeared with three heads and six arms. In his many hands he held the celestial seal, plague microbes, the flag of plague, the plague sword, and two mysterious swords. His faces were green, and large teeth protruded from his mouths. Huang T'ien-hua threw his magic weapon, Huo-lung Piao, and hit him on the leg. Just at that moment Chiang Tzu-ya arrived with his goblin-dispelling whip and felled him with a blow. He was able, however, to rise again, and took to flight.

The Plague-disseminating Umbrellas

Resolved to avenge his defeat, he joined General Hsu Fang, who was commanding an army corps at Ch'uan-yun Kuan. Round the mountain he organized a system of entrenchments and of infection against their enemies. Yang Chien released his celestial hound, which bit Lu Yueh on the crown of his head. Then Yang Jen, armed with his magic fan, pursued Lu Yueh and compelled him to retreat to his fortress. Lu Yueh mounted the central raised part of the embattled wall and opened all his plague-disseminating umbrellas, with the object of infecting Yang Jen, but the latter, simply by waving his fan, reduced all the umbrellas to dust, and also burned the fort, and with it Lu Yueh.

Similar wonderful achievements are related in short notices in the _Feng shen yen i_ of the four other officers of the Ministry.

Li P'ing, the sixth officer of the Ministry, met a like fate to that of Lu Yueh after having failed to induce the latter to abandon the cause of the Shang dynasty for that of Chou.

The Five Graduates

In Pere Henri Dore's _Recherches sur les Superst.i.tions en Chine_ is given an interesting legend concerning five other G.o.ds of epidemics. These G.o.ds are called the Wu Yueh, 'Five Mountains,'

and are worshipped in the temple San-i Ko at Ju-kao, especially in outbreaks of contagious diseases and fevers. A sufferer goes to the temple and promises offerings to the G.o.ds in the event of recovery. The customary offering is five small wheaten loaves, called _shao ping_, and a pound of meat.

The Wu Yueh are stellar devils whom Yu Huang sent to be reincarnated on earth. Their names were T'ien Po-hsueh, Tung Hung-wen, Ts'ai Wen-chu, Chao Wu-chen, and Huang Ying-tu, and they were reincarnated at Nan-ch'ang Fu, Chien-ch'ang Fu, Yen-men Kuan, Yang Chou, and Nanking respectively. They were all noted for their brilliant intellects, and were clever scholars who pa.s.sed their graduate's examination with success.