[
    {
        "id": 206633,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1972",
        "page_number": 181,
        "title": "RAS-1972",
        "content_text": "THREE CHINESE DEITIES\n\n175\n\nexpert, a geomancer. In general everyday use, prognostications are looked up in the farmer's almanac which is still published annually in Hong Kong and Taiwan and sold widely. In former days the source of information on this subject contained in the farmers' almanac, was the Imperial Calendar, the Hwang Li (). This, until the end of the Empire in 1911, gave the details of T'ai Sui's position every year. Nowadays the birth hour and date of an individual is matched to the movements of T'ai Sui given in the farmers' almanac, thereby obtaining the auspicious and unauspicious dates for most social functions, such as weddings, travel, initiating business, starting building, launching a ship or burying the dead. As can be seen T'ai Sui is important in the life of individuals: but, despite this importance, T'ai Sui is worshipped on as few occasions as possible. Persons fear approaching him too frequently as he is so alarmingly unpredictable and, being so awe-inspiring, he is given a very wide berth. Very rarely indeed, will you see devotees worshipping before his altars in comparison with other altars in the folk religion temples.\n\nIn the Yangtze Valley, and elsewhere in central and southern China, at the start of Spring, a clay bull and an image of T'ai Sui were carried on a float through the city with the civic officials bringing up the rear. The bull was constructed in a special pattern consisting of sixty separate parts. Hodous3 in 1929 tells of this image of the spring bull, a clay and coloured paper bull, being carried through the streets of Foochow together with T'ai Sui, the tutelary god of the current year. When the procession arrived at the Yamen the district officials formed a circle about the bull and each one struck it with a vari-coloured stick three times, breaking off pieces of clay. The bits of clay and other parts of the bull were picked up by the crowd and thrown to their pigs to stimulate their growth.\n\nHodous also continued that \"the position of T'ai Sui behind or in front of the bull tells the farmer whether to begin planting late or early; and upon the position of the tail, or the opening of the mouth of the bull depends the Yin and Yang principles of the year. The tutelary god of spring and of the year is Kou Mang () who holds a whip in his hand. The age of the image, the colour of his clothing and his belt and the position of his coiffure, the holding of his hand over his right or left ear, is determined by the 3 Hodous, L., Folkways in China, Probsthain's Oriental Series Vol. XVIII (1929).",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 209180,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1981",
        "page_number": 83,
        "title": "RAS-1981",
        "content_text": "RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO MODERNIZATION IN TAIWAN THE CASE OF 1-KUAN TAO 69\n\nagainst I-kuan Tao see L. Deliusin, “The I-kuan Tao Society\", in Popular Movements and Secret Societies in China 1840 – 1950, ed. by J. Chesneaux, (Stanford, 1971) pp 225-233.\n\n21 In orthodox Buddhism San Pao stands for Triratna, i.e. Buddha, Dharma and Sangha (W. E. Soothill and L. Hodous: A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms, Reprint Taipei 1970, p 63)\n\n22 Cf. for example Ching-fen Hsiao, loc.cit., p 17.\n\n23 Cf. Shih Wen-tu *, \"Wo tsen-yang t'uo-li I-kuan Tao” #, in Chuch Shih #(Kao-hsiung, Sept. 1977) pp 20 -- 32.\n\n24 Since these accusations can neither be proved nor refuted by the observer it is very difficult to give a fair description of the sect.\n\n25 Cf. Chao Wei-pang, \"The Origin and Growth of the Fu-chi\", in Folklore Studies, 1 (1942) pp 9 — 27; Hai Ti-shan #, Fu-chi mi-hsin ti yen-chiu *****(Taipei 1966).\n\n26 Cf. G. Seaman, Temple Organization in a Chinese Village, (Asian Folklore and Social Life Monographs, No. 101 Taipei 1978) pp 20 – 35.\n\n27 Cf. Halao, loc. cit., pp 12 – 16. For a case-study ref. Seaman, op. cit.\n\nThe members trace the origin of the sect back to Fu Hsi and have an elaborated list of the transmission of the Tao through the centuries. The historical evidence for the existence of I-kuan Tao as a separate tradition does not reach beyond the last century, however.\n\n29 The ordinary fu-luan cults have sessions much more often, in general eight or twelve times every lunar month.\n\n30\n\nObviously many teachings of the fu-luan cults have their origin in the popular \"Buddhist” tradition which is also a main source of the I-kuan Tao teachings. It is difficult, however, to assess to which degree there is a direct influence of I-kuan Tao on these cults in Taiwan today. Probably there is a mutual influence since many followers of I-kuan Tao participate also in ordinary fu-luan cults. Actually, some fu-luan cults seem to be reservoirs of potential I-kuan Tao proselytes.\n\n31 Tian-jan *, 2 (Hsinchu Febr. 1980) pp 2 - 3.\n\n32 Cf. K. Ch'en: \"Anti-Buddhist Propaganda During the Nan-Ch'ao\", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 15 (1952) pp 166 - 192.\n\n33\n\nFor examples see J. Chesneaux ed. Popular Movements and Secret Societies in China 1840-1950, (Stanford 1972).\n\n34 Of course, Mohammed is not regarded as a god in Islam. The knowledge of Islam in China, however, is rather poor and Mohammed is thought to be a divine person much like the Chinese \"historical\" gods or for that matter – Jesus.\n\n36\n\nThe medium belonged to the Sheng-hsien t'ang in Taichung.\n\n36 W. Grootaers, \"Une société secrète moderne, I Kuan Tao: Bibliographie annotée\", in Folklore Studies 5 (1946) p 332f.\n\n37 Tian Tao Kai Lun (1979 2nd printing), p 61.\n\n38 ibid., pp 61 – 62.\n\nby Su Ming-tung (Kaohsiung, 1978)",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m",
        "rank": 0
    }
]