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seven died unnatural or early deaths, though the other six would appear to have died peacefully at a reasonable age in their beds. Three would seem to have appeared in human dreams after they had died, and all are prayed to for boons and blessings, protection or guidance,
Out of the twelve examples six have had privately run temples erected in their honour, whilst images of the other six have been placed on secondary or side altars in local community temples.
It is worth considering the difference between the deified total nonentity and the deified virtual nonentity. The former would be the unnamed immigrant who died several hundred years ago but who is now regarded as the local protective spirit, whilst the latter is the villager, perhaps even a former headman, whose name, though little else, is remembered. He too is now regarded as a local protective spirit.
Although we have been examining such deities mainly in the context of Taiwanese and South East Asian Chinese they appear to have existed China-wide. One such virtual nonentity was deified several hundred or more years ago on an island off the northern coast of Shantung Province, with the rural temple altar bearing the images of both the nonentity, Mr Liu, and his wife. R.F. Johnston describes the temple, formerly on the island of Liu-chia Tao, the Island of Mr Liu, off Wei Hai Wei, the former British possession where he was the last Governor, in his book Lion and Dragon in Northern China.
He explains that no one appears to know who Mr Liu was nor why his image appears on the altar. Liu Kung and Liu Mu Father Liu and Mother Liu were regularly worshipped, especially by sailors. Johnston notes that the curious thing is that the deification of the old couple has taken place without any apparent justification from legend or myth'.
The images were moved to a new temple built on the mainland during the occupation after the British acquired the island and began to make preparations for the construction of naval works and forts.
The images of Mr and Mrs Liu portray them as an elderly couple dressed in luxurious robes, he with a long white beard and the cap of the wealthy land owner.