THREE CHINESE DEITIES
179
In c. above, he is two different beings, his benevolent form is as a man with two eyes, “ear pressing" tufts of hair, three pairs of arms, and hair standing erect on the back of his head. In his malevolent form he is depicted as a man with a leopard's head, three eyes, a lion's nose, a tiger's mouth, a bear's tongue, a boar's tusks, and three pairs of arms. Again, above his ears are "ear pressing" tufts of hair, and on top of his otherwise bald head is a headdress called a k'ui ying.
In the two and a half thousand or so temples visited in South East Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, the basic forms listed above can be grouped into general categories. T'ai Sui/Yin Ch'iao were seen in 48 temples; among which 11 were Fukienese, 28 Cantonese, 2 Hakka, 2 Ch'ao Chow and two inter-community Buddhist temples. Of these, 18 were in Singapore, 15 in Malaya, 9 in Hong Kong, 3 in Macao, 1 in Cambodia and 2 in Taiwan. The 'youths with a scroll' are mainly Cantonese, as are the majority of the 'youths holding a bell.' The ‘elderly man with a bell' was seen in two Hakka temples and one Cantonese community temple. The images of the 'fierce general' was seen only in Fukienese community temples and a few images of 'youths with bells or scrolls' were seen in Fukienese temples.
The groups of sixty images have been seen in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao, and in Fukien by Hodous. In Singapore and Kuala Lumpur large but odd numbers of T'ai Sui, including a mix-ture of them with scrolls or bells, were seen in two Cantonese community temples.
These images have not been seen in any Hainanese temples. Only in Cantonese and Hakka temples were these images observed standing on wads of hell money.
The four charms carried by T'ai Sui, according to a Fukienese god carver, are:
a. a seal of office, which, if shaken, causes the heavens to quake.
b. two swords, one male and one female, which are able to destroy demons and wrong-doers.
c. a bell, called Jung Kuei Ch'ung (*) which causes one to lose the way when rung. This bell causes demons to forget their tasks and to wander aimlessly. It is also a magic teller of time.
THREE CHINESE DEITIES
179
In c. above, he is two different beings, his benevolent form is as a man with two eyes, “ear pressing" tufts of hair, three pairs of arms, and hair standing erect on the back of his head. In his malevolent form he is depicted as a man with a leopard's head, three eyes, a lion's nose, a tiger's mouth, a bear's tongue, a boar's tusks, and three pairs of arms. Again, above his ears are "ear pressing" tufts of hair, and on top of his otherwise bald head is a headdress called a k'ui ying.
In the two and a half thousand or so temples visited in South East Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, the basic forms listed above can be grouped into general categories. T'ai Sui/Yin Ch'iao were seen in 48 temples; among which 11 were Fukienese, 28 Cantonese, 2 Hakka, 2 Ch'ao Chow and two inter-community Buddhist temples. Of these, 18 were in Singapore, 15 in Malaya, 9 in Hong Kong, 3 in Macao, 1 in Cambodia and 2 in Taiwan. The 'youths with a scroll' are mainly Cantonese, as are the majority of the 'youths holding a bell.' The ‘elderly man with a bell' was seen in two Hakka temples and one Cantonese community temple. The images of the 'fierce general' was seen only in Fukienese community temples and a few images of 'youths with bells or scrolls' were seen in Fukienese temples.
The groups of sixty images have been seen in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao, and in Fukien by Hodous. In Singapore and Kuala Lumpur large but odd numbers of T'ai Sui, including a mix- ture of them with scrolls or bells, were seen in two Cantonese community temples.
These images have not been seen in any Hainanese temples. Only in Cantonese and Hakka temples were these images ob- served standing on wads of hell money.
The four charms carried by T'ai Sui, according to a Fukienese god carver, are:
4. a bell, called Jung Kuei Ch'ung (*) which causes one to lose the way when rung. This bell causes demons to forget their tasks and to wander aimlessly. It is also a magic teller of time.
b.
C.
a seal of office, which, if shaken, causes the heavens to quake. two swords, one male and one female, which are able to de- stroy demons and wrong-doers.
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