RAS-2001 — Page 101

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Second: deities only to be seen on Hainan island and not carried abroad by emigrants

Third: major deities uniquely Hainanese

Fourth: secondary deities uniquely Hainanese

Fifth: deities shared with other ethnic Han Chinese groups

Sixth: Images on altars of aides to Hainanese deities

Seventh: deified Hainanese locals in both Hainan and South-east Asia

Eighth: unidentified images in Hainanese temples believed by the temple custodian to be uniquely Hainanese.

2: Uniquely Hainanese gods

Deities not noted beyond the shores of Hainan island

These are the deities to be seen only on Hainan island and have not been carried abroad by Hainanese emigrants:

a] The Five Marquises, Wu Gong LA, were all exiled to Hainan, four by Qin Gui [1090-1155], the Prime Minister of the Southern Song who is best known as the Minister who ordered the execution of Yue Fei, the hero who became the patron of soldiers. All five are revered in a shrine in the southern suburbs of Haikou where Hainanese honour the memory of the 'five patriotic officials of the Tang and Song sent into exile' on their island. It was first built in 1617 and is dedicated to the Five: Li Deyu, Li Gang, Li Guang, Hu Chuan and Zhao Ding. Four of these officials, that is apart from Li Deyu, were exiled for their opposition to the traitor Qin Gui. Their images portray them today, reconstructed following their destruction during the Cultural Revolution, as almost identical standing officials, dressed in red robes and all with black beards.