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took some of the soil from his tomb and raised a shrine to him in his native village nearby. Almost immediately other villagers discovered that one could obtain good advice through divination at the shrine and his fame spread. Shortly after the Japanese occupied Formosa some of their cavalry passed through the village destroying crops. The angry Chinese villagers were unable to protest but that night as the cavalry troop tethered their horses around the shrine one of the horses neighed once and dropped dead. This was seen as hidden retribution by the spirit of Ts'ai on behalf of the villagers, punishing the Japanese without providing an opportunity to blame the villagers for the mishap.
A very local cult in a village near Tainan is based on the worship of a 'Young Girl' (Hsiao-niang). A two-year-old baby died in about 1908 and was deified after she reappeared as a spirit in 1935. The cult would appear to have been forced upon the family by the appearance of, and pressure from, the deity herself.
Miss Ch'en Jui lived during the Ch'ing dynasty, 'about a hundred years ago', in Yen-shui in southern Taiwan where she died a spinster at the age of 28. All that is known about her according to the temple plaque is that 'her spirit did not disperse and she was deified'. A thatched shrine built over her grave was rebuilt with bricks in 1928 and the only image within is that of Miss Ch'en. Devotees claim that since she was deified she has delivered them from perils and cured their illnesses.
A native of Chia I, a town in central Taiwan, was killed in about 1853. A short record of his life is kept in Chia I itself although the local residents who worship at his shrine know nothing more than his name, Luo An, and that he was a neighbourhood peasant who died "about a hundred years ago". None knew why he had been deified. The short record explained that Luo An had been involved in the fighting around Chia I between migrants from Chang-chou and those from Ch'uan-chou, both groups from the mainland. Although he had neither official nor unofficial status he struggled hard to prevent the fighting spreading into the town of Chia I itself. After he had succeeded and peace had been restored he was accused of acting in his own interests and killed. People remembered him as a brave man who had saved their town and a shrine was erected in his honour. His cult grew, with Luo An as a local protective spirit with an annual festival celebrated on the 29th day of the first lunar month. Like many of the very local
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took some of the soil from his tomb and raised a shrine to him in his native village nearby. Almost immediately other villagers discovered that one could obtain good advice through divination at the shrine and his fame spread. Shortly after the Japanese occupied Formosa some of their cavalry passed through the village destroying crops. The angry Chinese villagers were unable to protest but that night as the cavalry troop tethered their horses around the shrine one of the horses neighed once and dropped dead. This was seen as hidden retribution by the spirit of Ts'ai on behalf of the villagers, punishing the Japanese without providing an opportunity to blame the villagers for the mishap.
A very local cult in a village near Tainan is based on the worship of a 'Young Girl' (Hsiao-niang). A two-year old baby died in about 1908 and was deified after she reappeared as a spirit in 1935. The cult would appear to have been forced upon the family by the appearance of, and pressure from, the deity herself.
Miss Ch'en Jui lived during the Ch'ing dynasty, ‘about a hundred years ago', in Yen-shui in southern Taiwan where she died a spinster at the age of 28. All that is known about her according to the temple plaque is that 'her spirit did not disperse and she was deified'. A thatched shrine built over her grave was rebuilt with bricks in 1928 and the only image within is that of Miss Ch'en, Devotees claim that since she was deified she has delivered them from perils and cured their illnesses.
A native of Chia I, a town in central Taiwan, was killed in about 1853. A short record of his life is kept in Chia I itself although the local residents who worship at his shrine know nothing more than his name, Luo An, and that he was a neighbourhood peasant who died **about a hundred years ago". None knew why he had been deified. The short record explained that Luo An had been involved in the fighting around Chia I between migrants from Chang-chou and those from Ch'uan-chou, both groups from the mainland. Although he had neither offical nor unofficial status he struggled hard to prevent the fighting spreading into the town of Chia I itself. After he had succeeded and peace had been restored he was accused of acting in his own interests and killed. People remembered him as a brave man who had saved their town and a shrine was erected in his honour. His cult grew, with Luo An as a local protective spirit with an annual festival celebrated on the 29th day of the first lunar month. Like many of the very local
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