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and Fire of the Ninth Heaven' (AARAX). The character for fire () was written upside down and though he was unable to explain why, a senior actor claimed that in this title it was always written in this way.
It is possible to group the images of Marshal T'ien into two types, the civil and military, the former without a sword or swords. In the latter he is unconnected with the theatre and is a potent God of epidemics and a demon dispeller, and as a soldier he frequently carries a bell and wears armour. We have only the Bangkok Chinese actor's unsubstantiated claim that this epidemic deity is the middle brother of the three, although in Singapore and in Taiwan the sword carrying, armour-wearing version also bore the same title as the actor's patron.
As a general rule Marshal T'ien has eight attendants: two boxers, two jugglers or dancers, two wrestlers and two musicians (one male and one female normally surnamed Cheng). His main festival is celebrated on the sixteenth of the sixth lunar month, although his birthday is also celebrated in one or two places on the twenty-third of the eighth lunar month.
Chief Marshal T'ien's titles
He is known by many titles, the following being the most common:
a) T'ien To Yuan Shuai (田都元帥)
b) San T'ien To Yuan Shuai (三田都元帥)
c) San T'ien To Ch'ien Sui (三田都千歲)
T'ien, the Chief Marshal
The Chief Marshal, Tien the third (brother)
The Imperial Prince, Tien the third (brother)
d) To Yuan Shuai (*) The Chief Marshal
e) T'ien Kung Yuan Shuai (田公元帥) Duke T'ien, the Marshal
f) T'ien Hsiang Kung (田相公) T'ien the Minister
g) Chen Hua San T'ien To Yuan Shuai (探花三田都元帥) The Graduate T’ien*
* Chen Hua (T'an Hua) - the third level of Imperial graduate in the chin shih or doctoral examination at the Capital.
=
NOTES AND QUERIES
305
and Fire of the Ninth Heaven' (AARAX). The character for fire () was written upside down and though he was unable to explain why, a senior actor claimed that in this title it was always written in this way.
It is possible to group the images of Marshal T'ien into two types, the civil and military, the former without a sword or swords. In the latter he is unconnected with the theatre and is a potent God of epidemics and a demon dispeller, and as a soldier he frequently carries a bell and wears armour. We have only the Bangkok Chinese actor's unsubstantiated claim that this epidemic deity is the middle brother of the three, although in Singapore and in Taiwan the sword carrying, armour-wearing version also bore the same title as the actor's patron.
As a general rule Marshal T'ien has eight attendants two boxers, two jugglers or dancers, two wrestlers and two musicians (one male and one female normally surnamed Cheng (f)). His main festival is celebrated on the sixteenth of the sixth lunar month, although his birthday is also celebrated in one or two places on the twenty-third of the eighth lunar month.
Chief Marshal T'ien's titles
He is known by many titles, the following being the most com-
mon:
a) T'ien To Yuan Shuai
(田都元帥)
b) San T'ien To Yuan
Shuai (三田都元帥)
c) San T'ien To Ch'ien
Sui (三田都千歲)
T'ien, the Chief Marshal
The Chief Marshal, Tien the third (brother)
The Imperial Prince, Tien the third (brother)
d) To Yuan Shuai (*) The Chief Marshal
e) T'ien Kung Yuan Shuai Duke T'ien, the Marshal
(田公元帥)
f) T'ien Hsiang Kung
(田相公)
T'ien the Minister
g) Chen Hua San T'ien To The Graduate T’ien*
Yuan Shuai (探花三田
都元帥)
* Chen Hua (T'an Hua) -the third level of Imperial graduate in the
chin shih or doctoral examination at the Capital.
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