Chapter Four: Festival Dates of the Three Deities

I. Introduction:

There is, in Chinese popular religion, no organisation of theologians to debate the details of religious questions, nor is there any apologetics to defend its dogma (Jordan 1985:63; Cohen 1987:290). Elaborate codification of beliefs is not of great importance for the common believers. Therefore, even though there are many inconsistencies in religious belief, in practice they are of little consequence. What is vital is that rites are carried out sincerely, at the proper time and in the proper manner.

The proper time to hold a ceremony to worship deities can be distinguished according to two types of rites; one is occasional rites and another type regular rites. On occasional rites, the local deities are invoked with offerings in difficult cases of childbirth, in times of pestilence, drought and other calamities; or at the time of graduation, promotion or making big money etc.

Regular rites can be subdivided into life-cycle rites and calendrical rites. The former are associated with life-cycle events such as the ceremonies held at a birth, on a girl or boy's sixteenth birthday, upon marriage, and at death. Special rites are held in the local temple and/or household altar for these occasions. The latter are based upon the Chinese lunar calendar for the rituals of formal religious festivals: the Lunar New Year festival, the Grave Sweeping day (on this day, ancestors are remembered by visits to their graves), Dragon Festival, Ghost Month, the annual birthday festivals of deities, the Moon Festival etc. (cf. Wu Lien-chin 1987:115). The dates of these calendrical rites are clearly recorded in the Almanac circulated in Chinese societies.

Actually, the annual birthday festival (shengri jidian) is a suitable time to approach a deity (cf. Wang Mingming 1995:56). It is the time to clean the environment of the temple thoroughly, to decorate inside and outside, to refurbish the altar elaborately, and to give the deity's statue new clothes or a new headdress (cf. Yang 1961:98; Cohen 1987:292f). The deity's images in the offspring temples are carried back to the parent temple during the festival and temporarily installed on the altar to join the festival. It is also a good occasion for community celebration and feasting. The inhabitants of the temple neighbourhood, through the solicitation of local leaders, are urged to sponsor operatic performances and the birthday parade of the deity. Families invite guests (e.g. friends and relatives from other areas) to attend operatic performances and the deity parade, and most importantly, a banquet feast. Through the festival the community maintained among themselves a sense of belonging (Granet 1975:50).

I have checked many different editions of the Almanac, the dates of annual birthday festivals for the Stone and Tree Gods were not ever written in them. Under such circumstances, how do the believers of these deities identify the date to hold the birthday festival? It is the main purpose of this chapter to study how the deities are identified with the dates of birthday festivals and why some of them do not have any birthdays attached. Then, I argue that under the pressure of anthropomorphism, people make every effort to anthropomorphise these deities in order to stress that they were originally deified human beings. Finally, I assert that since the Land God has long been standardised, those natural objects which are identified with the Land God have similar legends and unified dates for birthday festival. Because the other stones and trees are not standardised, their legends, the dates of birthday and the form of images vary.

II. How Their Birthdays Are Identified:

First of all, let us fathom how the dates of birthday festivals of these natural objects are identified. I delineate seven methods by which people identify the dates.

1, they identify the dates with those of the Land God:

In Taiwan, people may worship the Land God on their family altar everyday. Nevertheless, most Taiwanese, especially Hollo people, believe that both the second day of the second lunar month and the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month are the birthdays of the Land God (Tho-ti-kong Sen) and hold a festival on both days for him (Sangren 1987:62; Feuchtwang 1992:92). Thus, the sites of most stones and trees representing the Land God hold birthday festivals on the second day of the second lunar month and/or on the fifteenth or sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month. (note.1)

There are some exceptions. Both the birthday festivals of the tree Land God of In-suan Street (#T11; see figure 76) and the tree Land God of the East Gate of Bi-liong Town (#T12; see figure 77), a Hakka-speaking village, are held on the second day of the second month and the second day of the eighth month. It is slightly unusual to hold festivals on these days in Hollo communities. However, according to certain field reports from China, those of Hubei (Chamberlayne 1966:179) and Jiangxi Province are on the same day as those of Hakka in Taiwan (Hsiao Kung-chuan 1960:38).(note.2)

2, the dates are decided in the course of negotiations with deities themselves through the mediation of religious specialists:

The main festival of the Literate and Militant Emperor of Po.-ho Village (#S38; see figure 40) is celebrated on the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month. At first I guessed that the reason for the date of the annual festival might be a result of the generally scheduled date near the 15th of the eighth month, one of the important dates for the birthday of both the Stone/Tree God and the Land God. However, I was wrong. This stone god was first found by the villagers about 60 years ago, but regarded as an evil spirit and kept at a distance. In 1984, the villagers started to venerate it at the command of a shaman (jitong). Moreover, in trance, the shaman also told villagers that the birthday of this god is on the sixteenth day of the eighth month. From then on, people hold festivals on that date.

The case of the main festival of the Emperor of Six Areas of Tan-suan Rural-town (#S10) is similar. Even though this cult was initiated around the 1870s, the date of the birthday was not fixed until as late as the 1900s when the current temple was inaugurated. When the building was completed, the god made an announcement through a shaman that his official title was "the Emperor of Six Areas" ("Liok-kah Then-te") and his birthday was on the ninth day of the sixth lunar month.

The main festival of the Tree God of Lam-huin Ward (#T37) is held on the twenty-eighth day of the seventh lunar month. I was told that about 100 years ago a tiny shrine was built under the tree for the worship of the Land God. But when it collapsed about 20 years ago, the local inhabitants built a new temple for the Land God on a spacious place nearby and left the tree alone. About five years ago, a religious specialist (xiansheng) told the villagers that the tree had been possessed by an immortal; therefore they started to worship it as the Tree God.

Moreover, because the local inhabitants celebrate a five- day-long birthday festival for a god named Huat-chu Kong enshrined in a hall in front of the Tree from the twenty-third day to twenty-seventh of the seventh lunar month, after the recognition of the Tree God, they decided to celebrate his festival with an opera show on the twenty-eighth day of the seventh lunar month.

The birthday festival of the Tree God of Cheng-bik Ward (#T32; see figure 98) was also decided by the Tree God itself through a religious specialist. About fifteen years ago, a respected vegetarian advised the local inhabitants of the Ward that the tree had become godly and should be worshipped. Gradually, the local inhabitants found the tree was really divine, because he blessed the village very much. However, since the religious specialist did not tell them what god the tree was, people sometimes regarded it as the Tree God and sometimes as the Land God of this area. Therefore, they hold two birthday celebrations for the tree, one on the second day of the second month for the Land God and one the tenth day of the ninth lunar month for the Tree God. I asked them why the Tree God's festival was on the ninth month? They answered that: "Nobody knows the birthday of the Tree God, we just use the memorial date of the temple inauguration for the birthday festival of the Tree God and the temple inauguration day was decided by the God."

3, they identify the dates with the same birthdays of some goddesses who are also guardians of children:

According to my field work, some festivals of the Stone and Tree God are celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, on the fifteenth day of eighth lunar month, or at the end of each year.(note.3) Of course, there are many other religious dimensions to each of these dates. However, these specific dates are coincident with the festival dates of some Chinese goddesses who are also the guardians of children.

The fifteenth day of the first month was called Sion-goan or Goan-siao and is known in the English world as "the Lantern Festival". This day is also called "the Small New Year" (Xiao Guonian). For several days beforehand, lanterns are sold everywhere on the streets; then on the fourteenth day, lantern booths are set up in the temples, colourful lanterns are hung up and narcissus flowers arrayed for public viewing. On the night of the Lantern Festival, the streets are always crowded with people carrying lanterns while dragon and lion dances are performed, and musical troupes go from place to place adding to the extraordinary activity of the evening (see also, Wei & Coutanceau 1976:10).(note.4)

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is also the birthday of the Bed Goddess (Chhng-bo Sen). At dusk, every family prepares sacrifices and worships gods, especially the Bed Goddess - a goddess who is said to watch over children - by giving offerings of glutinous rice mixed with hemp oil, wine and chicken; then paper money (on which there is a woodblock cut of clothes) is burned in order to give thanks to the Bed Goddess for protecting children (cf. Wei & Coutanceau 1976:68).

Also, in some places in China, the bed is believed to be protected by a pair of divinities, the Lord of the Bed, Chuangkong, and the Lady of the Bed, Chuangmu, to whom offerings are presented on the day of the Lantern Festival or on the last day of the year (Maspero 1981:118). Nonetheless, in some areas of Taiwan, the birthday of the Bed Goddess is also celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

Moreover, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is also considered the birthday of the Near Water Goddess (Lim-sui Hu- jin). The cult is one of the three biggest cults in Fujian Province. She is one of the water deities that predate Han Chinese settlement of the southern China (Watson 1985:298f), and the cult of the Near Water Goddess has fascinated people in the Prefecture of Fuzhou since the fourteenth century. The cult goes back to the Tang Dynasty. The base temple was constructed in 792 CE. in Gutian, at a place called "Linshui" (i.e. "Near Water"). According to certain sources, the Lady was born in 766 CE., which corresponds to the dates of the temple.(note.5) The story has been re-told in the numerous accounts between then and the twentieth century. Throughout the various accounts, the Near Water Goddess is referred to by many different names and official titles. Although the legend changes, there are certain constant features. For example, she always keeps the surname "Chen", but her personal name changes; later records tend to identify her as Jinggu (the pacifying maiden) or variations of this form. Other common details are the Song Dynasty bestowal of the title of Linshui Furen (literally, the Near Water Lady) and Shunyi (literally, in accord with virtue) and the location of her base temple in the vicinity of the town of Gutian.

The cult spread in the 18th century throughout southern China and Taiwan and is still very active. Many legends in these areas say that the Near Water Goddess once fought against a white serpent and tamed the demon. However, she died after having aborted her pregnancy when she performed a ritual for the rain to come and save the people from drought. Probably because of her tragic and heroic death, she has been revered as a divine protectress of women and children since.(note.6)

According to the Chinese Almanac, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the birthday of "the Seven Star Goddess" (Chhit-niu-ma). The main task of the Goddess is to look after children, and there is a common belief that all children under the age of sixteen come under her protection. Once a baby has reached, or sometimes almost reached, its first birthday, its parents take it to a temple to worship the Seven Star Goddess in order to engage her protection. During worship, ancient coins, silver medallions, or lock medallions are hung on red ribbons and placed around the neck of the child as an amulet. If she is the child's protectress, at dusk of the seventh day of the seventh month of every year, offerings of soft cakes (a type of steamed dumpling with a hole pressed in the centre), are made at doorways to worship the Goddess. Upon reaching adulthood (age sixteen) the child must go to a temple on the birthday of the Seven Star Goddess and thank the Goddess for her protection over the last sixteen years by offering noodles, a rite called "taking off the amulet" (see also, Wei & Coutanceau 1976:66f). Besides, a rite called "Leaving the House of the Seven Star Goddess" is to be performed in addition to the "taking off the amulet" (see also, Wei & Coutanceau 1976:66f).

The fifteenth day of the eighth month is known by the English world as the "Moon Festival" and called "Tiong-chhiu-cheh (literally, the Mid-Autumn Festival)" by Taiwanese.(note.7) In addition, the Moon Festival, which always occurs on a full moon, is also set aside as the birthday of the Moon Goddess. As on many other festival days, everyone must worship their ancestors and the Land God on this occasion.

It is now the beginning of autumn, a season in Taiwan of clear skies and mild weather after the hot, damp summer. This festival is usually blessed with blue skies and clement temperatures; so when night falls, a luminous, full moon shines in the star-filled sky - a wonderful sight after the prolonged haziness of summer. As a tribute to the Moon Goddess, families set up incense altars in their gardens, and on these small, round altars are set out a pair of red candles, four types of fruit, moon-cakes and lighted incense to worship the Moon Goddess (Pai geh-niu) (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:93).

In Taiwan, I do not find the Moon Goddess as a popular protectress of children. However, the report from Fuzhou by Hodous (1929:179f) illustrates that in some places of China, the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is also the date to worship the "mother", a goddess who protects children and the Seven Star Goddess.

So far, it is clear that the birthday festival of the Bed Goddess can be on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month or at the end of each year. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is also considered to be the birthday of the Near Water Goddess. The birthday festival of the Seven Star Goddess can be held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month or on the fifteenth day of eighth lunar month. Moreover, the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is also the festival of the "mother goddess". The main task of all these goddesses is to protect children. Therefore it is my hypothesis that the reason the devotees of these stones and trees hold festivals on the same days as these protective goddesses is that both of these two groups of deities share the same function, that is, to be guardian of children.

4, they believe they are following the traditional dates of Stone and Tree Gods:

The birthday festival of the Stone God of Ka-ho Ward (#S36; see figure 38) is celebrated on the 19th of the first month. I asked why celebrations for the Stone God are held on this day, and they replied: "because the day is the 'genuine day (Chian- jit)' of the birthday of the Stone God." I think that the date for the birthday of the Stone God is really traditional and thus "genuine", since more than thirty years ago, the informants at the same locale told Liu Zhiwan (1961:162) that: "the Stone God's birthday is on the eighteenth or nineteenth day of the first lunar month."

Nevertheless, the neighbours of the Temple of the Stone God of Sia-thau Rural-town (#S6; see figure 6) said to me that the birthday of the Stone God (of Sia-thau) is on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh lunar month, even though they did not know why it was on that specific date. However, I think the reason it is on the twenty-fourth of the eleventh month is that they follow the traditional day for Chinese to worship certain natural objects such as the Stone God and the Tree God, on the Winter Solstice which falls on or around the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh lunar month (Burkhardt 1958c:161; Eberhard 1970:21).

5, the date is mixed up with that of the Land God:

At first, I guessed that the reason the believers of the Tree God of Tun-ho Ward (#T14; see figure 79) just hold celebrations for the Tree God on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is that it is on the same day as some goddesses who are the protectresses of children. But I was given an account that about 250 years ago, a group of kin crossed the Taiwan Straits from Fujian Province to Tun-ho Ward of Chhau-tun Town. When they settled down, they used three stones to build a shrine for a statue of the Land God under the banyan tree. Later on, the stones and the statue were covered by the trunk and became invisible; people began to call the tree "the Tree God," and not the Land God. However, they still hold birthday celebrations for the Tree God of Tun-ho Ward (#T14; see figure 79) on the fifteen day of the eighth lunar month, the date for the birthday festival of the Land God of the area whose statue is now in the trunk of the tree.

Moreover, the reason the birthday festival of the Tree God of Chheng-bek Ward (#T32; see figure 98) is celebrated on the second day of the second lunar month is that the Tree God is mixed up with the Land God. Therefore, it is probable that the birthday festivals of the Stone God of Tiong-guan Ward (#S19; see figure 19) and the Stone God of Sion-lim Ward (#S33; see figure 35) are on the second day of the second lunar month, and the birthday of the Stone God of Su-Lim District (#S50; see figures 53 & 54) is celebrated on the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month all because they are mixed up with the Land God.

6, they identify the date with that of some specific deities other than the Land God, the Stone God, and the Tree God:

Some festivals are held on some specific days for some stone/tree deities because they are identified with some specific deities other than the Land God. For instance, Mr. Phuan Hong- guan and his fellow believers celebrate the birthday of the Grandfather of the Ancient Temple of An-lam District (#S40; see figure 42) on the twenty-third day of the third lunar month. Asked why this day, they answered: "Because the Ancient Temple God is a part of the ancient Temple of the goddess Ma-cho., it is also a part of the goddess Ma-cho.. We hold the celebration for him on the twenty-third day of the third lunar month, the same day as the birthday of the goddess Ma-cho.."(note.8) The stone Granny of Chhim-khen Rural-town (#S45; see figure 48) is also the same. I questioned the custodian on what day they hold birthday festivals for the goddess. He answered that: "the stone goddess is the goddess Ma-cho., certainly, her birthday is on the twenty- third day of the third lunar month."

The believers hold celebrations for the phallic stone identified with the First Divine Patriarch of Chiang-chiu District of Chiam-teng Hamlet (#S49; see figure 52) on the sixteenth day of the second lunar month. They say that because: "the (phallic) stone is "Kai-chiang seng-ong (the First Divine Patriarch of Chiang-chiu District of Chiam-teng)" and the two (testes) stones are his bodyguards, we hold festivals for the god on the sixteenth day of the second lunar month, the standard birthday of the god "Kai-chiang seng-ong".

The main festival of the stone Turtle (#S56; see figure 61) located beside Ken-ki Road, the main road leading to Yilan County from Taipei, is celebrated on the seventh day of the sixth lunar month. The temple custodian told me that this is because a Chinese story book mentions that there was a stone turtle god and that the birthday of this stone turtle in the story was on the seventh day of the sixth month. The adherents of the stone Turtle (#S56; see figure 61) follow the idea and celebrate the birthday of the god on the specific day.

The Autumn Maple God of Lam-kang District (#T33; see figure 99) is even more interesting. Neither the custodian nor the neighbours of the temple knows why they hold the main festival for him on the eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month. However, because the statue of the patron deity is moulded and dressed like "Sian-gong", the most popular and influential deity in this mountain area, I think that they might more or less have identified the Autumn Maple God with the influential god "Sian- gong" and follow the tradition to hold the festival the eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month, the same day as the birthday of the god "Sian-gong". According to the Almanac published and circulated by Muzha Xian'gongmiao, the most popular and influential temple of Xian'gong cult in Taiwan, and to a hagiography cited by Katz (1993), Xian'gong was born on the fourteenth day of the fourth lunar month. The eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month is, according to the Almanac, the memorial day of deification (chengxian jinianri) of Xian'gong. However, people in Lam-kang District do not distinguish these two different dates and think the eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month is the birthday of Xian'gong.

In front of a big goddess temple in Sai-kang Rural-town, a tree is venerated as General Chu (#T29; see figure 95), the associate and guardian of the goddess. I was told that because the location of the tree is so close to the goddess temple, it must be General Chu who closely guards the goddess. Therefore the birthday festival of the tree god is held on the eleventh day of the sixth lunar month, the standard birthday of General Chu.

7, they schedule the date of the same deity's festival date:

As above-mentioned, it is important in the popular religion that rites are carried out at the proper time; therefore, it is important that the birthday festivals are celebrated on the "genuine day". Nonetheless, in the observances, friends and relatives from neighbouring communities are invited to enjoy with deities the entertainment associated with the festival such as opera or puppet performance and to feast on the sacrifices, after the gods have consumed the essence of the offerings. If all temples of the same deity hold birthdays on the "genuine day (Chian-jit)' of the birthday of the God", people would have had fewer opportunities to entertain and to exchange feasts (cf, Sangren 1987:96). Additionally, if the birthday festivals of the same deity of the adjacent hamlets are held on the same day, then it would be more expensive to get food for the festival and to hire an opera troupe. Therefore, informants agree that, socially and economically, it is better that festivals should be scheduled on different dates in neighbouring parishes. However, some scheduling conflicts are unavoidable, since people feel that the birthday celebration ought to be held as near as possible to the "genuine day" (Lin Mei-rong 1987:69; Sangren 1987:97).

Having this idea in mind, we can understand why the birthday festival of the stone Land God of Tong-an Street (#S42; see figure 44) is held on the thirteenth of the eighth lunar month and the festival of the stone Land God of Tua-kham Village (#S51; see figure 55) is celebrated on the eighteenth of the eighth lunar month. It is because they are scheduled on different dates but near the fifteenth of the eighth month to avoid the "genuine day".

In spite of this, I was told by the devotees of the stone Land God of Tong-an Street (#S42; see figure 44) that though they hold celebrations on the scheduled date and not on the "genuine day" (the fifteenth of the eighth month), it is even better to celebrate before the "genuine day". Therefore they chose the thirteenth of the eighth month to hold celebrations, the date as near as possible to the "genuine day" and appreciated by the God.

III. Why Some Deities Have no Birthday:

However, devotees of some places do not hold festivals for their deities. Among the 61 stone deities I studied, believers in 25 stone deities do not organise any birthday festival for their deities. Among the 39 tree deities studied, the believers of 16 tree deities do not hold any birthday festival for their deities. Why do these deities have no birthday? I attribute this fact to four reasons:

1, because they are newly deified:

I do not mean that all newly deified deities have no birthday celebration. However, the examples I cite below are really such cases. According to the local inhabitants of Ho-peng Ward, the Stone God (#S15; see figure 15) and the stone Granny (#S16; see figure 16) of the Ward have been adorned with red ribbons for only the last ten years or so and have been worshipped only by lottery gamblers. So, no day is fixed for the festival in honour of these two deities.

The stone and the tree venerated in front of Khe-te Land God Temple are also newly deified. I was told that the stone was found only about 10 years ago by a farmer cultivating his rice field. About five years ago, some gamblers from outside the village came to deify it as the Stone God (#S34; see figure 36) and apotheosised the temple tree of the Land God as the Tree God (#T21; see figure 87). So far, there is no festival day for these two gods.

In addition, people hold no festival for the Tree God of Kim-bin Ward (#T6; see figure 71), the Tree God of To.-sian Ward (#T15; see figure 80), and the Tree God of Sin-hong Ward (#T17; see figure 82).

2, because they have negative energy:

The name "Good Brothers" is a euphemism in Chinese popular religion for the ghosts. People usually collect the remains of unidentified and unworshipped dead found in the area and set a stone to represent them. The unidentified dead, like the living, need a place to live, food to eat, clothing to wear and money to spend. The well-being of the dead depends upon the living who worship them at some specific time such as the Ghost Month. The stone Good Brothers of Bah-tau Hamlet (#S22; see figure 23), the stone Good Brothers of E-kham-te Hamlet (#S26; see figure 28) and the Stone God of Tham-te Ward (#S57; see figure 62) are all for the worship of the "Good Brothers" and thus have no specific festival for them.

Besides, the Tree God of So.-o Urban-town (#T10; see figure 75) is located behind a martyr's shrine named "Chio-pai Kong (literally, the Stone Tablet God)", the Tree God of Chhau-lia Lane (#T25; see figure 91) is located beside a small Tai-chiong- ia (the enshrined posthumous bones, a kind of responsive deity) temple, and the Tree God of Lam-kian West Road (#T34; see figure 101) is worshipped along with some posthumous bones. Since they are so spooky, people would rather keep them at a distance, and do not like to hold birthday festival for these deities.

3, because they are associate deities of other patron deities who adopt children:

Here I must make it clear that I do not mean that all Stone and/or Tree Deities worshipped as the associate deity beside the patron deity do not have birthday festivals. I only mean that because of this reason, many Stone and/or Tree Deities do not have their own festival. For example, the fact that the Stone Grandfather of Ka-seng Ward (#S3; see figure 3) does not have a festival is probably because he is only the associate deity of the Stone Goddess of Ka-seng Ward (#S2; see figure 2), the patron deity of the Temple. People think that it is good enough to hold a festival for the patron deity and ignore the associate deity.(note.9)

4, because they are too marginal to pay attention to:

The Deities represented by stones and/or trees are usually only well-known within their own local area. However, some stone and tree deities are even so obscure that only a few adherents know their existence. Hence, it goes without saying that they do not have annual festivals. For instance, the location of the Divine Stone of Giong-tek Boulevard (#S41; see figure 43) is often covered by grass and many of the neighbours are not aware of his existence. A local inhabitant told me that most believers who initiated the cult have moved out of the area, nowadays only a few people came to worship it and certainly do not hold birthday festivals for him.

The case of the Stone God of Pak-tau District (#S47; see figure 50) is similar. He is located under a big temple named "Tin-an Kiong" dedicated to the Royal Lords (in Taiwanese, Ong- ia). Therefore, it is difficult to realise that there is a cult of the Stone God under the big temple. Due to the marginal location, he attracts only a few believers and consequently does not have an annual festival.

One more example is the situation of the Tree God of Lo-chui Village (#T24; see figure 90). His existence is known only by a few people living nearby and is sometimes worshipped by them with incense sticks. Actually these incense sticks under the tree are the only visible evidence that the Autumn Maple tree is deified. Thus, it is unlikely that people would celebrate birthday festivals for him. Besides these, there are many more deities which are too marginal to attract enough believers to hold annual festivals for them.(note.10)

In brief, these four factors - that they are too junior, too marginal, too subordinate, and too spooky to gain enough devotees - all illustrate that these natural objects are minor and marginal. (note.11)

IV. Anthropomorphism of the Land God:

Why, then, do the believers make every effort to identify these divine stones and trees with a birthday? Beside it is a suitable time to hold a annual festival, I attribute the main reason to the pressure of anthropomorphism. From ancient times, since Ancestor Worship dominated Chinese religion, many natural features (e.g. rivers, mountains, rain, wind, stars), animals (e.g. lions, centipedes, the 12 creatures of astrology), artificial objects (e.g. doors, stoves, walls, moats) have been more or less anthropomorphised in Chinese world and have been identified with former kings, the heroes of past legend or deified ancestors of the first settlers (Bonsall 1934:28; Fitzgerald 1961:37; Waley 1971:43; Wright 1977:39; Overmyer 1987:258). Since then, most deities are typically depicted in anthropomorphic form. (note.12)

For instance, "Heaven" is often anthropomorphised as the Heavenly Emperor or the Jade Emperor (Cohen 1987:290). Similarly, the Stove God is depicted in human form, an anthropomorphic image of him is printed on paper and kept above the kitchen stove. He is sometimes said to be the Jade Emperor's nephew (Sangren 1987:162). Moreover, the bed is anthropomorphised as a couple of deities pictured sitting side by side, in official costume, with their tablets of rank in their hands (Maspero 1981:118).

In order to demonstrate that these deities are deified human beings, they are even offered the necessities of mundane life (cf. Dudbridge 1990:627f). For instance, the City God, which was originally not a human deity, is worshipped in temples which include living quarters for his family as well as the hall in which they conduct their public business. Behind the main hall of the City God temple in Shanghai City is a room for the god's father and mother and an apartment occupied by his wife and four daughters (Ayscough 1924:147; qtd. in Wolf 1974:145). Similar equipment dedicated to the City God can also be found in the Yilan City.(note.13)

As far as the Land God is concerned, if being worshipped with an image, he is usually depicted in pictures and in statues as a mild-faced, kind elders with a long white beard.(note.14) In Taiwan he is often worshipped with his wife, the Land Goddess. In China, he was sometimes even venerated with a concubine (Burkhardt 1958a:155; Chamberlayne 1966:170). In such cases, the deity statue of his wife should be set on the left hand side of the God where she may have a seat of honour and the statue of his concubine was smaller and was placed on the right hand side. Fried (1974:131) even found in a small shrine of south-east China that the God was worshipped along with a son.

Moreover, there are many legends portraying the Land God anthropomorphically.(note.15) Some of them are recorded in the popular story books and some are passed on orally. In the following section I shall select some well-translated legends at random for the discussion of this topic.(note.16)

A legend widespread in Taiwan states that the Land God was originally a tax-collector by the name of Tiun hok-tek, who lived during the Zhou Dynasty. Even though in an unpopular post, he was extremely fair to the people, and both understood and sympathised with their difficulties. During his life he performed many deeds of kindness and charity. However, after his death, his post was succeeded by a man who taxed the people indiscriminately and unreasonably. Therefore, the people thought back to the administration of the good official Tiun Hok-tek, and so as to be able to perpetuate his memory forever, they built a temple and worshipped him as the god Hok-tek Cheng-sin (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:29) (For simplicity, I shall call the legend "Legend I" hereinafter).

A similar legend also sees the Land God as originally a kind tax collector of the Zhou Dynasty. Since he wanted everyone to be equally rich, he refused to take money from the poor. But his wife protested that if all people were rich, who would they hire to carry their daughter's wedding palanquin. Faced with this argument, he acquiesced. When he died his post was succeeded by an avaricious man, who squeezed every copper out of the peasants. Compared to him, he seemed like a god, so they began to worship him and a cult grew (Proksch 1984:38) (I shall call the legend "Legend II" hereinafter).

Another legend asserts that the name of the Land God is Tiun Beng-tek, who was a servant in an important official's menage of the Zhou Dynasty. His master, at the time, worked in a place far from home, and was missed very much by his youngest daughter. One day the young girl asked the servant to accompany her to visit her father. The servant carried her on his back to go to her father's faraway post. But on the way they encountered a fierce snow-storm during which the servant wrapped the little girl up warmly in the clothes off his own back; as a result, he froze to death. After his demise, the words "The God Hok-tek of Lam-Thian- mng" appeared in the sky. The master, because of his vast gratitude to the saviour of his young daughter, built a temple to him and worshipped him as a god (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:29f). The other version of this legend referred to by Schipper (1977:661) maintains that from that time on he was deified as the Land God and as the Earth Governor (I shall call the legend "Legend III" hereinafter).

A fourth legend tells that, during his mortal life, the Land God was a faithful servant. One year, when there was great havoc caused by bandits in the neighbourhood, though an old man, he carried his master on his back to safety. At that time it was winter and bitterly cold, so he took off his clothes and gave them to his master to wear. He himself froze to death and as a result, the Jade Emperor (Giok-hong-sion-te) rewarded him by appointing him the Land God (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:29) (I shall call the legend "Legend IV" hereinafter).

A fifth legend says that the Land God was an elder who kept a general store. One day he found an egg which looked like a duck egg, and took home but which, when it hatched, produced a snake. The elder kept it and reared it. Unfortunately, whenever he was absent, the snake ate the chickens and the ducks of other people. Thereupon he turned the snake loose. But it grew and attacked people and cattle. The emperor heard of it and ordered the snake to be subdued. As no one else answered the emperor's call, the elder took the order himself and killed the snake. He was canonised as the Land God (Schipper 1977:661) (I shall call the legend "Legend V" hereinafter).

A sixth legend says that he was a candy merchant who lived a long time ago. One day he bought himself a tiny snake, took it home and cared for it. But the snake grew larger day by day, and its appetite grew with it, so that the candy left over from each day's business became insufficient to rear it. In the end, the candy merchant took his by now full-grown pet and released it in the mountains. As it happened, later on there were reports of a large snake which lived in the mountains, and which often came out of hiding to harm any person unlucky enough to be in the vicinity. Upon hearing this, the emperor ordered the snake be eradicated; but no one dared risk his life to carry out this imperial decree. The candy merchant, however, thought that because he had reared the snake, he would be able to approach and kill it without coming to any harm in the process - assuming, of course, that it was his erstwhile pet. Thereupon he sought an imperial audience, and asked that, if he should succeed in killing the snake, the emperor would cede the throne to him. The emperor gave his promise, whereupon the merchant made his preparations, and went out to the mountains and killed the snake. As previously agreed upon, he then became emperor. However, this was a position to which he was totally unsuited, and eventually he asked the former emperor to reoccupy his own throne, and make him a prince instead. Therefore, the real emperor gave his authority over all matters concerning the land in his realm, and after the former candy merchant's death, he was worshipped as a god (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:31) (I shall call the legend "Legend VI" hereinafter).

A seventh legend asserts that the Land God lived on the earth more than a hundred years ago, and was named Tongxiao. He was extremely fat, and at the time of his death had a head of silvery-white hair, and a magnificent beard - an appearance perpetuated in the statues of the Land God. During his mortal life, the Land God made a living by farming and fishing. Despite the fact that he gave to the poor and engaged in charitable works, his property never decreased; so it is said that his possessions were bequeathed to him from the heavens, and were an inexhaustible supply (I shall call the legend "Legend VII" hereinafter).(note.17)

From these legends, we vividly see, the Land God is not merely depicted in anthropomorphical forms such as appearance and behaviours, they even articulate his name, birthplace, life time, occupation, and his deeds leading to deification. We observe that Legend I describes that he was a tax-collector by the name of Tiun hok-tek, who lived during the Zhou dynasty and was extremely fair to the people. As a result, he was apotheosised as the god Hok-tek Chen-sin. In Legend II, he was said to be a kind tax- collector of the Zhou Dynasty. Since he wanted everyone to be equally rich, he refused to take money from the poor. He began to be worshipped after his death. Legend III says that his name was Tiun Beng-tek, who was a servant in an important official's menage of the Zhou Dynasty. He froze to death by wrapping the girl of his master up warmly in the clothes off his own back in a fierce snow-storm. Finally, he was worshipped as a god by his master out of gratitude. Legend IV narrates that the Land God was from a place called Thian-lam and was a faithful servant. He himself froze to death by taking off his clothes for his master to wear in a cold winter. As a result, the Jade Emperor rewarded him by appointing him as the Land God. Legend V relates that he was an elder who kept a general store. He took the order of the emperor and killed a harmful snake and was canonised as the Land God. Legend VI says that he was a candy merchant who lived a long time ago. He went out to the mountains and killed a dangerous snake and was worshipped as a god. Legend VII says that the Land God lived on the earth one hundred years ago and was named Tong Siau. He made a living by farming and fishing. He gave his possessions to the poor and engaged in charitable works and finally was regarded as a god.

V. Anthropomorphism of the Stone/Tree God:

Not only the Land God has been anthropomorphised, the other natural objects have also undergone this process. The stones and trees which have been identified with specific deities such as the Granny, the First Divine Patriarch of Chiang-chiu District, General Chu etc. of course have their own "biographies" and thus do not need to be anthropomorphised. However, the believers of some venerated natural objects such as the Stone God and the Tree God still endeavor to anthropomorphise their deities. For instance, both the devotees of the Stone God of Lai-o. District (#S43; see figure 45) and the Stone General of Tan-khe Rural-town (#S8; see figures 8 & 9) have proclaimed that their deities are "the Grandfather of Yellow Stone" ("Ui Jio Kong"), the mysterious teacher of a historical hero Zhang Liang.(note.18)

The adherents of the Tree God of Lam-kang District (#T33; see figures 99 & 100) attempt to identify the God with Xian'gong . They moulded and dressed the deity statue similar to Xian'gong and hold the birthday festival of the tree on the eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month, the same day with the birthday of the god Xian'gong. (note.19)

In these cases, we can see, by identifying with historical figures, the natural objects got their names, life time, deeds and so forth. Moreover, we also realise that some deities are represented by temple images with human form, and so are anthropomorphicised. For example, in front of the stone representing the Stone God of Kim-eng Ward (#S7; see figure 7) is located a statue of a red faced, white eyebrowed, white bearded old man with a double-edged sword in his hand. The believers told me that the image was engraved according to the manifestation of the God in dream. The statue of the Stone Divine Grandfather of Pat-po Village (#S9; see figure 10) is a old long-bearded red- faced general, riding a white horse with a big sabre in his hands. The image of the Stone God of Su-Lim District (#S50; see figures 53 & 54) is engraved like a literati general.

VI. Standardisation and the Land God:

So far, we observe that the dates of the birthday festivals of almost all stones and trees representing the Land God hold birthday festivals on the second day of the second lunar month, on the second day of the eighth month and/or on the fifteenth day or sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Moreover, on closer examination of the different legends that portray the Land God, we find a common feature: an elderly local man devoted to his community. I attribute the reason the dates of birthday festivals are so unified and the different legends have so much in common to the result of the standardisation of the Land God.

In his article "Standardising the Gods: The Promotion of Tianhou (Empress of Heaven) Along the South China Coast, 960- 1960", dealing with the promotion of "approved" deities by the local elites and state authorities (Watson 1985:293-323), Watson says that the local elites, defined here as literate men with interests in land and commerce, were eager to cooperate with state authorities in the standardisation of cults. Assisting in the construction of an approved temple was one of the many ways that an educated gentleman could "gentrify" himself and his home community. The essay is particularly interesting because the Heavenly Empress was originally a minor deity that emerged on the coast of Fujian Province during the tenth century. For a number of reasons, the state found it expedient to adopt her as a symbol of coastal pacification in the twelfth century and, by virtue of imperial sponsorship and the endeavours of the local elites, she consequently became the leading goddess in South China. Not surprisingly, the elevation of the Heavenly Empress and her cult are paralleled by the gradual rise of state authority over China's southern coastal region (Watson 1985:294).

The strategy of the imperial state authorities and the literate local elites to standardise the "approved" deities was that, when they found a deity expedient, the state first conferred on him/her an honorific title. Then the deity and his/her temple would be listed by the elites in the gazetteer and official documents that circulated at the national level to confirm the recognition and to ensure that religious cults conformed to nationally accepted models. As a result, the literate local elites who related more easily to these written accounts would think they had succeeded in their efforts to introduce a standard form of religion.

Watson noticed that since the elite written accounts reached downward and local oral tales penetrated upward (cf. Bell 1989:49-50), the state both led the masses and responded to popular pressure; it both promoted and co-opted deities (Watson 1985:323). In order to allow sufficient flexibility for people at all levels of society to claim the deity (e.g. the Heavenly Empress) as their own, the state and elites only imposed a "basic structure" of the cult (Watson 1985:297; cf. Bell 1989:49-50). Therefore, there are many lengthy versions of myth of the Heavenly Empress. Some of these are preserved in written records that have been standardised over the centuries. Others are passed on and transformed orally. The goddess, then, means different things to different people, depending on their position in the hierarchy of power. To the boat people, for instance, she promised mastery of the seas and protection from storms; to the landed elite she symbolized territorial control and social stability; to the late imperial authorities she represented the "civilizing" effects of approved culture (Watson 1985:294).

The myths in the standardised written records tend to ignore the fact that the woman who was to become the Heavenly Empress lived to be 27 and did not marry, deviating from the norm of her era and place. These records minimized the discrepancies of local colour and emphasize more universal (or national) values (cf. Bell 1989:49-50) and served as a medium to carry all the right messages that literate decision makers wished to convey about their communities: civilization, order, and loyalty to the state (Watson 1985:323). On the contrary, many of the oral versions contained strong hints that she had a special relationship with spinsters and other unmarried women. In some accounts, for instance, she refused to marry and became notable as a seer or medium (Watson 1985:297).

Although Watson's theory deals with the process of standardisation of the Goddess "Heavenly Empress" the imperial times, I believe that it is applicable to the case of the Land God who has been standardised in the Chinese Almanac (Chamberlayne 1966:179) and indirectly linked to the state cult for a long time (Duara 1988:786).

Among the 61 divine stones and 39 trees I have studied, none of them was sponsored or built by the imperial or Republican government. But the fact is that almost all stones and trees representing the Land God have unified dates for his birthday festivals and similar legends. Has the God, like the case of the Heavenly Empress, been standardised? If the answer is positive, what is the "standardised written accounts" and who are the elites?

In the past, the promulgation of the Almanac was the privilege of the imperial government. Nowadays in Taiwan there are many different editions of the Almanac sponsored and circulated by local gentries, politicians, entrepreneurs, members of temple administration committees, and others, that is, local leaders. I asked some publishing companies how they edited these editions of the Almanac. They answered me that these were not edited by themselves but by some prestigious "religious specialists (Xiansheng)". Therefore, I interviewed these "specialists" how they did so. Some just told me that they would rather not tell me since they promised those who taught them how to edit the Almanac to keep esoteric.

However, some enthusiastic specialists did tell me how the different ones were edited. One told me that he just compiled different editions of the Almanac, which were passed down from his teacher, into the current one. One told me that he edited the current one based on a classic Almanac passed down from his teacher and he added some new information to it. One told me that he consulted with some editions of the Almanac circulated in Taiwan and edited them to become the new one. I asked them on what principle did they base their dicision when they added new deities' birthday festival dates into the new editions of the Almanac. They all answered me that because the Almanac was updated for the general public and the publications were sponsored by local leaders (difang touren), they added new dates only of deities who were very popular (e.g. the Royal Lords) in Taiwan.

If we apply Watson's theory to the analysis of the Land God's birthday festivals dates, we find that, although the Land God was not an imperial cult, it has been more or less standardised like that of the goddess Heavenly Empress. Additionally, the mechanism of standardisation is also similar. We find that the "standardised written accounts" of the birthday festival dates is the Chinese Almanac. The "elites" who standardise the dates of the Land God are the religious specialists who edit the different editions of the Almanac and the local leaders who promulgate them. However, because local leaders are sponsors, they are "decision makers". Since the Land God has been widespread for thousands years, the different editions of the Almanac would not ignore his existence, no matter how newly they are edited. That is, the popularity of his cult keeps his status stable in the Almanac.

On examination of the different legends that portray the Land God, we find that they are also standardised to some extent. According to the theory of Watson, the homogenised myths in the standardised written records tend to ignore things deviating from the social norm and to emphasize more universal values. These standardised myths served as a medium to carry all the right messages that the elites wished to convey about their communities. This theory helps to illustrate why the different legends that portray the Land God consist of a common feature: an loyal, elderly man. The common feature is the so-called "basic structure" in Watson's terms. It also helps to explain why the legends and functions of the God described in the last chapter always depicted him as a "keeper" rather than a "challenger" of community. In brief, the Cult of the Land God is, to some extent, standardised and serves as a carrier of messages that the state and local elites wished to convey. Nevertheless, we notice that some of the legends narrated both in the last and this chapters consist of some miraculous deeds of the Land God; I hypothesise that it is because they are orally propagated at local levels.(note.20)

Moreover, if we learn from the experience of Watson's analysis of state and elites' strategies to control local cultures, we realise that the process of anthropomorphisation could not have occurred without state intervention. By anthropomorphising these divine animals and natural objects, they can be arranged in a bureaucratic structure under the emperor. As a result, they can be promoted or demoted according to ethics or morality, that is, conformed to nationally accepted models.

VII. Variety of Local Cultures:

However, as mentioned above, the birthday festival dates of the Land God standardised in the Almanac are both on the second day of the second month and the sixteenth day of the twelfth month. But in Taiwan and in some places of China, Hollo people celebrate the birthday festivals of the Land God on the second day of the second lunar month and the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Similarly, Hakka people hold the God's festivals on the second day of the second month and the second day of the eighth month. Namely, people follow only one date (the second day of the second month) and ignore the other date (the sixteenth day of the twelfth month) standardised in the Almanac.

I asked an informant why it is so? He answered that a god can only have one birthday and thus only an annual birthday festival. The second day of the second month is the birthday of the Land God and the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is not his birthday, but is "the memorial day of his deification (chengxian jinianri)".

According to the report of Schipper (1977:772), some people in Tainan believe that the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is the birthday of the wife of the Land God. The celebration on this day is for his wife, not for the Land God himself. Chamberlayne (1966:181), based on his field work in China, reports that people think that the birthday of the Land God's wife is on the fifteenth day of the fourth month. In addition, he argues (1966:179) that the official Almanac has standardized one date for the Land God's birthday, that is, the second day of the second month. The reason that in some places the God has one more birthday is because this one is according to their ancient local custom.

Although Chamberlayne does not point out what the "ancient custom" is, I assume that it is the "She" Cult. As I shall recount in Chapter Eight, the Land God was in some places identified with the "She" and called "Sheshen", "Shegong", or "She". In imperial times, there were two state ceremonies for the "She", the one in spring being the first ploughing rite, and the other one in autumn being the harvest rite (Hodous 1929:60; Ling Shun-sheng 1958:49). According to Hodous' observance (1929:179- 80) in Fuzhou, the harvest festival was celebrated from the eleventh to the fifteen day of the eighth lunar month. Therefore, it is clear that when people hold birthday festivals of the Land God on the eighth month, it is the influence of the autumn rite of the "She", not the standardised date in the Almanac. (note.21)

Nevertheless, unlike the Land God, the Stone and the Tree Gods are not standardised. As mentioned, I have checked many different editions of the Chinese Almanac for dates of their annual birthday festivals, but none of them are written in them. The reason might be that these two gods are not popular enough to attract the attention of those who sponsor and edit the Almanac.

If the "written accounts" and the elites that standardise the cults of these two deities are absent, how can common people identify the festival dates of their deities? From the previous sections, we observe that, without the mechanism of standardisation, common people can still identify the dates by numerous ways, by the instructions of shamans, of religious specialists and others. Even without these specialists, they can identify the dates with the same birthdays of some goddesses who are also guardians of children; they can believe they are following the traditional dates of the birthdays of the Stone and Tree Gods; they can use the temple inauguration dates as birthday festival dates (e.g. #T32); or they can decide which dates are convenient for them to hold festivals (e.g. #T37). Since there are numerous ways, the dates for birthday festivals vary widely. Nonetheless, by carefully analysing these dates, we find that the "birthday festival dates (shengri jidian)" are not necessarily on birthday dates. Strictly speaking, they are only "festival dates (jidianri)". In short, on closer examination of the festival dates of these divine stones and trees, we realise that the study of the common people's mechanism to identify the festival dates is beyond Watson's standardisation theory that is applicable to the religious cultures dominated by the elites.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(note.1)

They are: the stone Land God of Sin-hong Ward (#S29; see figure 31), the stone Land God of Phek-chiu Ward (#S32; see figure 34), the stone Land God of Tua-un Village (#S13; see figure 13), the stone Land God of Gien-kiu-in Road (#S54; see figure 59), the stone Land God of Chhau-o. Hamlet (#S61; see figure 65) and the stone Land God of Pei-go Village (#S12; see figure 12).

(note.2)

Still, the birthday festival of the stone Land God of Chui-bue-a Hamlet (#S30; see figure 32) is held at the end of the year. This date is not unusual in Taiwan (Suenari 1985:37), especially for some tiny shrines which do not hold elaborate festivals.

(note.3)

They are: the Grandfather of Yellow Stone of Lai-o. District (#S43; see figure 45), the Stone Buddha of Uan-lim Town (#S5; see figure 5), the Stone God of Hi-ti Rural-town (#S37; see figure 39), the Stone God of Kim-eng Ward (#S7; see figure 7), the Stone Divine Grandfather of Pat-po Village (#S9; see figure 10), the Stone God of Jin-ho Village (#S11; see figure 11), the Stone God of Kang-khau Ward (#S14; see figure 14), the Stone General of Tan-khe Rural-town (#S8; see figures 8 & 9), the stone Land God of Pei-go Village (#S12; see figure 12), the Stone God of Pat-li Rural-town (#S52; see figures 56 & 57), the Stone God of Chhau-o. Hamlet (#S58; see figure 63), the Stone God of Tang-si Town (#S59), the Stone God of Hong-guan City (#S60; see figure 64), the Stone Goddess of Pak-biau Ward (#BL1), the Stone Goddess of Ka-seng Ward (#S2; see figure 2), the Stone God of Gien-kiu-in Road (#S55; see figure 60), the Banyan Grandfather of Ka-lo Ward (#T13; see figure 78), the Tree God of Cho.-su Lane (#T22; see figure 88), the Tree God of Uan-chip Road (#T23; see figure 89), the Tree God of Chap-ji Field (#T28; see figure 94), the Tree God of Kang-khau Ward (#T8; see figure 73), the Tree God of Thau-hun Village (#T4; see figure 69), the Tree God of Siong-tek Village (#T5; see figure 70), the Tree God of Tiong- san Ward (#T9; see figure 74), and the Tree King of Tai-li Rural- town (#T39; see figure 105).

(note.4)

On the night of the fifteenth day of the first month, the activity called "Lang Tho-ti-kong (literally, playing with the Land God)" begin. This is to place an deity statue of the Land God inside a sedan chair, then have it carried by strong men to the doors of business concerns, where they sway the sedan chair to and fro. The businessmen must set off firecrackers in welcome and thanks, because by coming to their place of business the Land God will bring them his protection (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:11f).

(note.5)

However, according to other legendary sources, she was born in 904, which is a way to associate her "living" with the history of the Ming Dynasty, to which the cult has close connections (Baptandier-Berthier 1993:3).

(note.6)

For details of the Goddess, see Baptandier-Berthier (1993) and Lo (1993).

(note.7)

As I have discussed above, many believers also regard the date as the birthday of the Land God.

(note.8)

For unity's sake, I shall follow McFarlane (1984:84) and translate the name of the goddess Ma-cho. into "the Granny" hereinafter.

(note.9)

Moreover, because the Stone God of Tek-san Town (#S17; see figure 17) is an associate god in the Temple of the Land God of Tik-san Town, the Stone God of Ka-lo Ward (#S18; see figure 18) is the associate god of the Banyan Grandfather of Ka-lo Ward (#T13; see figure 78), the Stone God of Tho.-sian Ward (#S20; see figure 20) is the associate god of the Land God of Ang-hia-chhu, the Stone God of Sin-hong Ward (#S27; see figure 29) is an associate god of the Land God of Tua-khut, the White Crane Immortal of Chhim-khen Rural- town (#S46; see figure 48) is an associate god of the stone Granny of Chhim-khen Rural-town (#S45; see figure 48), the Tree God of Uan-lim Town (#T1; see figure 66) is an associate god of the Stone Buddha of Uan-lim Town (#S5; see figure 5), the Pine King of Chong- ui Rural-town (#T2; see figure 67) is an associate god in front of the Temple of the First Divine Patriarch of Chiang-chiu District, the Banyan God of Sion-lim Ward (#T18; see figure 83) is an associate deity of the Stone God of Sion-lim Ward (#S33; see figure 35), the Tree God of Chhau-o. Hamlet (#T38; see figure 104) is an associate god of the Stone God of Chhau-o. Hamlet (#S58; see figure 63), the Tree God of Gue-bai Hamlet (#T20; see figure 86) is an associate god of Liong-tek Temple, people do not hold annual festivals for these deities.

(note.10)

They are: the Stone God of Tho.-sian Ward (#S20; see figure 20), the stone Land God of Chhen-the Lane (#S21; see figures 21 & 22), the stone Land God of San-tiau Hill (#S23; see figure 25), the stone Good Brothers of San-tiau Hill (#S24; see figure 26), the stone Land God of E-kham-te Hamlet (#S25; see figure 27), the stone Land God of E-huan Field (#S28; see figure 30), the stone Land God of Ai-liau Hamlet (#S31; see figure 33), the Stone God of Ka-hin Ward (#S35; see figure 37), the stone Land God of Chhien-kah Ward (#S39; see figure 41), the stone Land God of Tiang-ken Village (#S53; see figure 58), the Stone God of Tham-te Ward (#S57; see figure 62), the Beech Grandfather of Pak-si Ward (#T16; see figure 81), the tree Land God of Pak-li Rural-town (#T35; see figure 102), the Elderly Tree of Pak-li Rural-town (#T36; see figure 103).

(note.11)

However, due to the lack of historical records, so far I am not able to figure out the reason why there is no festival for the Tree God of Po-san Ward (#T31; see figure 97). Moreover, I have not figured out why the birthday festival of the Stone Goddess of Lek- biau Ward (#S4; see figure 4), the Tree God and Goddess of Kui-sin Village (#T7; see figure 72), and the Banyan Tree Goddess of Thong- liang Village (#T27; see figure 93) are celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the same date of the Dragon Boat Festival. I also do not understand why the birthday festival of the Tree God of Peng-ho Ward (#T3; see figure 68) is held on the 20th of the first month. Moreover, I do not know why the birthday festivals of the Divine Tree of Pen-teng Ward (#T19; see figure 84) is celebrated on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth lunar month; the Stone God of Pe-hun Ward (#S44; see figures 46 & 47) is celebrated on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month; the Tree God of Ho-peng Ward (#T26; see figure 92) is celebrated on the twenty- third day of the eighth lunar month; the Wind-moving Stone of Bak- sa District (#S48; see figure 51) is celebrated on the eighteenth day of the tenth lunar month; the Tree King of Sai-kang Rural-town (#T30; see figure 96) is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month. All these questions need further studies.

(note.12)

I say "more or less anthropomorphised" because they may also appear as non-human images.

(note.13)

Beside these, anthropomorphism is entailed in all prayers, divinations, sacrifice and others. For details, please see Chapter Seven.

(note.14)

For the God's images in picture or statues, please see last chapter for details.

(note.15)

Maspero (1981:6) asserts that the Land God was barely personalised and even permanent gods had no legend. However, the results of my field research differ from him.

(note.16)

As I shall analyse step by step in the rest of this thesis, these legends do not only serve for the studies of the anthropomorphism and standardisation of the God, but also for the historicisation of him.

(note.17)

A variant of the preceding legend says that because he gave away all his possessions during his life, Tong Siau died a pauper (Wei & Coutanceau 1976:31f).

(note.18)

The ancestors of Zhang Liang, the marquis of Liu, were men of the Han State. His father, Zhang Ping, was prime minister to King Li. Twenty years after Zhang Ping's death Qin State destroyed the Han State. Because of his youth, Zhang Liang never had an opportunity to serve as a minister of Han State. When the State was destroyed, Zhang Liang was left with a retinue of three hundred male servants.

Zhang Liang was once strolling idly along an embankment when an old man wearing a coarse gown appeared. Reaching the place where Zhang Liang was, he deliberately dropped his shoe down the embankment and, turning to Zhang Liang, said, "Fetch me my shoe, young man!"

Zhang Liang, completely taken aback, was about to hit him, but because the man was old he swallowed his resentment and climbed down and got the shoe, "Put it on for me!" ordered the old man, and Zhang Liang, since he had already gone to the trouble of fetching it, knelt respectfully and prepared to put on the shoe. The old man held out his foot and, when the shoe was on, laughed and went on his way. Zhang Liang, more startled than ever, stood looking after him. When the old man had gone some distance, he turned and came back. "You could be taught, young man," he said. "Meet me here at dawn five days from now!" Zhang Liang, thinking this all every strange, knelt and replied, "I will do as you say."

At dawn five days later he went to the place, but found the man already there. "When you have an appointment with an old man, how is it that you come late?" he asked angrily. "Go away, and meet me at dawn five days from now, only come earlier!" Five days later Chang Liang got up at the crow of cock and went to the place, but once more the old man had gotten there before him. "Why are you late again?" the old man asked in anger. "Go away, and five days from now come earlier!"

Five days later Zhang Liang went to the place before half the night was through. After a while the old man came along. "This is the way it should be!" he said. Then, producing a book, he said, "If you read this you may become the teacher of Kings. Ten years from now your fortune will rise. Thirteen years from now you will see me again. A yellow stone at the foot of Mount Kucheng in northern Qi -- that will be I." Without another word he left and Zhang Liang never saw him again.

When dawn came Zhang Liang examined the book which the old man had given him and found it to be The Grand Duke's Art of War. He set great store by it and was to be found constantly poring over it.

Zhang Liang, of course, became a well-known hero in Chinese history. As a result, his teacher, the Yellow Stone, became famous as well (Watson 1961:135).

(note.19)

The name of Xian'gong is Lyu Dongbin and the title of him is Fuyu Dijun (the Trusted and Helpful Imperial Lord) (Thompson 1988:76). However, he is simply called Xianzhu (the Immortal Patriarch) or Xian'gong (the Immortal Grandfather) in Taiwan. Xian'gong is one of the Eight Immortal Ones, but probably because of his descending via the writing stick called the "fabulous phoenix" (luan) to communicate with believers (cf. Thompson 1988:76) and via dream divination, he is the only one of the group who enjoys religious popularity in Taiwan, especially in South Taipei area (Feuchtwang 1992:193).

(note.20)

For the study of the different attitudes toward miracles between the elites and common people, please see Chapter Five.

(note.21)

However, the "She" was also a state standardised cult. I shall discuss it in detail in Chapter Eight.