122 etc. are the actual Taisui who perform the functions and duties of the deity. The bells have magical properties and a Hokkien god carver in Singapore explained that all Taisui images should carry one of four specific charms. The main one is the bell which when rung causes the hearer to lose his way and wander aimlessly. Therefore a demon hearing it forgets his task and wanders off. The other three charms are the seal of office which when shaken causes the heavens to quake; and two swords, one male and one female. Another unusual feature is Taisui's footwear. Normally he wears sandals but occasionally only one foot is shod the other being bare. This form is comparatively common on Fukien community altars, an excellent example being in the Buddhist temple in Yen Kiu Road in Singapore. Only one example has been noted in Hong Kong, on an altar on a junk in the Pearl River. The one bare and one shod foot is said to represent the amount of rain expected during the coming season [see above under The Rôle of Taisui for an explanation provided in eastern China]. A similar story has been told about the Immortal Lan Caihe and, as we have seen above, about Mang Shen.
An unusual large clay image of Taisui in a temple near Kam Tin in the New Territories depicts him with the bell in his left hand, and with a third eye. The bell, according to the temple keeper, has magical properties. Even more unusual is the image in Hung Hom in Kowloon with the usual bell in Taisui's right hand but unusually he has a Tantric necklace of thirteen skulls draped around his neck." Other lone image carvings are standard, anonymous seated officials or scholars with no particular characteristic and only identifiable as Taisui by the written Chinese characters on the front face of the base or because they are standing on piles of spirit money which, according to common belief, no other deity does. The lone Taisui image tends to be referred to as the 'Taisui [or Intendant] of the Current Year' EX-
Over the years and in a number of places ranging from Singapore to northern China various informants have explained, mostly contradicting each other, that the images with a bell is the Taisui of the Year, the one with a scroll or tablet is the Taisui of the Month and those without anything are the Taisui of the Day.
In a small temple in Sepang near Port Dickson in Malaysia, three images on a side altar stand side by side. A typical Taisui image with a
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122
etc. are the actual Taisui who perform the functions and duties of the deity. The bells have magical properties and a Hokkien god carver in Singapore explained that all Taisui images should carry one of four specific charms. The main one is the bell which when rung causes the hearer to lose his way and wander aimlessly. Therefore a demon hearing it forgets his task and wanders off. The other three charms are the seal of office which when shaken causes the heavens to quake; and two swords, one male and one female. Another unusual feature is Taisui's footwear. Normally he wears sandals but occasionally only one foot is shod the other being bare. This form is comparatively common on Fukien community altars, an excellent example being in the Buddhist temple in Yen Kiu Road in Singapore. Only one example has been noted in Hong Kong, on an altar on a junk in the Pearl River. The one bare and one shod foot is said to represent the amount of rain expected during the coming season [see above under The Rôle of Taisui for an explanation provided in eastern China]. A similar story has been told about the Immortal Lan Caihe and, as we have seen above, about Mang Shen.
An unusual large clay image of Taisui in a temple near Kam Tin in the New Territories depicts him with the bell in his left hand, and with a third eye. The bell, according to the temple keeper, has magical properties. Even more unusual is the image in Hung Hom in Kowloon with the usual bell in Taisui's right hand but unusually he has a Tantric necklace of thirteen skulls draped around his neck." Other lone image carvings are standard, anonymous seated officials or scholars with no particular characteristic and only identifiable as Taisui by the written Chinese characters on the front face of the base or because they are standing on piles of spirit money which, according to common belief, no other deity does. The lone Taisui image tends to be referred to as the 'Taisui [or Intendant] of the Current Year' EX-
Over the years and in a number of places ranging from Singapore to northern China various informants have explained, mostly contradicting each other, that the images with a bell is the Taisui of the Year, the one with a scroll or tablet is the Taisui of the Month and those without anything are the Taisui of the Day.
In a small temple in Sepang near Port Dickson in Malaysia, three images on a side altar stand side by side. A typical Taisui image with a
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