[ { "id": 204266, "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-1961", "page_number": 34, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n30\n\nTHE KNIGHT ERRANT IN\n\nCHINESE LITERATURE\n\nA lecture delivered on January 23, 1961.\n\nJAMES J. Y. LIU, M.A.\n\nMost Western readers of Chinese literature are probably familiar with such types as the Confucian scholar, the Taoist recluse, the Buddhist monk, the romantic young lady, the intriguing eunuch, and the corrupt official, but there is another important type that is perhaps not so well known to Western readers: the knight errant. I am using the expression \"knight errant\" because it happens to be a fairly close translation of the Chinese term yu-hsia (#), though this does not imply that the ancient Chinese knight errant resembled the Mediaeval European one in every respect. The Chinese knights were not members of religious orders like the Knights Templars, nor were they members of a caste like the Japanese samurai. Though they often had many followers, they were not highly organized. They differed from professional warriors on the one hand, and mere bandits on the other. The essential qualifications of a knight errant were not so much outstanding physical strength and military skill as a spirit of altruism and a concern for justice. In short, knight errantry was not a profession but a way of behaviour, and a knight errant was simply a man who sought to right wrongs and help people in distress, often by the use of force and in defiance of the law. Such, at least, was the original definition of a knight errant, though later on he somewhat changed his character, in fact and in fiction, as we shall see.\n\nWhen and how did the knights errant come into being? As far as we can trace, they probably first came into existence during the Warring States period (403-221 B.C.), against a background of political instability, social unrest, and intellectual ferment. It was the period preceding the unification of China by the First Emperor of Ch'in, and the era in which different schools of thought, such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Mohism, flourished side by side, each offering a different remedy for the prevailing chaotic conditions. While the thinkers were busy arguing and trying to convert the rulers of various feudal states to their respective ways of thinking, the knights errant simply took justice into their own hands and did what they thought necessary to avenge wrongs and help the poor. Of the knights errant of the Warring States period, we have no detailed accounts. The earliest knights about whose lives we know something in detail belong to the end of the Ch'in dynasty and the beginning of the Han (cir. 200 B.C.). Our information is mainly derived from the Shih chi (£), or", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204270, "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-1961", "page_number": 38, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\n34\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nerrant may be said to have had an ideology, it had more affinity with Taoism than with any other school of thought. True, in their altruism and devotion to duty they showed some resemblance to the Mohists, but they did not share the austerity of the latter. Indeed, the Mohists despised the knights errant and did not think them worth mentioning. It was to Taoism that some knights errant turned for guidance, as recorded in the biographies of several of them. This is hardly surprising: both Taoism and knight errantry came into being before Confucianism became the established official ideology, and both emphasized individualism and freedom from social bonds. To risk a generalization: if the obverse side of the Chinese character is represented by Confucianism—moderate, realistic, and conservative, then its reverse side is represented by Taoist philosophy, knight errantry, and various unorthodox artists and writers: romantic, individualist, and rebellious. It seems to me that it is the obverse side that is familiar to the West while the reverse side is perhaps not so well known and deserves more attention.\n\nTo come back to the history of knight errantry; the early Han emperors, though they paid lip service to Confucianism, actually ruled largely by Legalist methods. It is therefore not surprising that they took strong measures to suppress the knights errant. I have already mentioned that Kuo Chieh's father was executed by order of Emperor Wen. In the next reign, Emperor Ching ordered the execution of many others. And Emperor Wu, as we have seen, ordered the execution of Kuo Chieh and his family. Yet in spite of such suppression, many knights survived, although not all of them lived up to the high ideals of true knight errantry. In later periods, knights errant continued to exist. For instance, the poet Li Po (A.D. 701-762) was a knight errant in his younger days and killed several people by his own hand. In still later periods of history, we also read of people described as being knights errant or behaving in a knightly manner. Sometimes this means no more than that someone behaved in a chivalrous, altruistic way, without necessarily using force or breaking the law. On the other hand, the more swashbuckling knights either degenerated into mere outlaws or became professional bodyguards. As we are concerned here with literature rather than history, I shall give no more examples of historical knights but turn to descriptions of knight errantry in literature.\n\n7 According to the \"Biographies of knights errant\".\n\nSee Lao Kan, \"Yu-hsia, a type of knights errant in the Han dynasty\", Bulletin of the College of Arts, National Taiwan University, No. 1.\n\nLi T'ai-po shih-chi (SPPY), chüan 31, 5a. See Arthur Waley, The poetry and career of Li Po (London, 1950), p. 6.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204276, "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-1961", "page_number": 44, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\n40\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nheroes have remained favourites.\" On the stage, a knight errant is easily distinguishable from a general: the former usually wears a short jacket and trousers and wields a sword or club, while the latter wears full armour with banners behind his back and uses a spear or halberd,\n\nWe now come to the last stages in the evolution of chivalric literature. In the Ming and Ch'ing periods, two notable trends developed in chivalric fiction. On the one hand, in some stories of chivalry, the supernatural element was increasingly emphasized, so that a type of knight with “flying swords\" and magic power became popular. On the other hand, some tales of knightly deeds became mixed with stories about “legal cases”, so that a new type of fiction, which may be called chivalric-romance-cum-detective-story, developed. An early example of the first type is a novel called The flying sword (Fei-chien chi), published in the Ming dynasty, about the Taoist immortal Lü Tung-pin and his acquisition of magic powers. Later examples are too numerous to mention. In fact, such stories are still being written now in Hong Kong. Sometimes they are presented in the form of comic strip cartoons, known as \"serial pictures\" (lien-huan t'u-hua), obtainable from small book stalls and pavement lending libraries. The second type, which combines tales of chivalry with detective stories, has also remained popular to the present day and is still being written. There is an interesting difference between this type of fiction and earlier tales of chivalry. In stories belonging to this type, the knights errant are usually on the right side of the law, instead of rebelling against it. For instance, in popular stories about Judge Pao, the Chinese Solomon, various knights errant help him in detecting crimes and arresting bandits and local bullies. Originally these stories about Judge Pao only dealt with crime and detection. They were first joined together and published as a novel entitled The cases of Judge Pao (Pao-kung an) about 1600. Later, the knights who helped Judge Pao assumed greater importance in these stories, which formed the basis of another novel, Three knights and five righteous men (San-hsia wu-yi), published in 1879. This was revised by Yu Yüeh and given the title Seven knights and five righteous men a few years later, and achieved great success. It was followed by a sequel, the Junior five righteous men (Hsiao wu-yi), and further supplements. Imitations also followed. Among these may be mentioned The cases of Judge Shih, first published in 1838, and The cases of Judge P'eng, first published about 1895. These were based vaguely on recent historical figures, and the knights errant in these novels were probably in\n\n24 Plays about the Shui-hu heroes have been collected by Fu Hsi-hua and Tu Ying-t'ao in Shui-hu hsi-ch'ü (Shanghai, vol. I, 1957; vol. II, 1958).\n\n25 Sun K'ai-ti, op. cit., p. 170.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204304, "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-1961", "page_number": 72, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\n68\n\nVol 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nBUDDHIST SOURCES OF THE NOVEL\n\nFENG-SHEN YEN-I\n\n:\n\nLIU TS'UN-YAN. PH.D.\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nThe Feng-shên Yen-i, or 'Investiture of the Gods,' is a long novel consisting of 100 chapters. Its authorship had long been unknown, until in 1931 Prof. Sun K'ai-ti discovered in the Japanese Cabinet Library a Ming edition of this novel labelled \"compiled (pien-chi) by Hsu Chung-lin, styled Chung-shan I-sou.\" Many scholars therefore concluded that Hsü Chung-lin was the author. For instance, Lu Hsün in his A Brief History of Chinese Fiction (Chung-kuo Hsiao-shuo Shih-lüeh) mentioned Hsü as the author, though he added that he had not seen the original preface and therefore could not ascertain the date of the novel. This attribution of authorship is not reliable, for in Ming times the term \"compiling” (pien-chi) was rather freely used, and sometimes booksellers would reprint a book with slight additions and alterations and label it as being \"compiled\" by a new writer. In view of this, from 1935 to 1956, I tried to find out the true author of this novel, and my researches led me to the conclusion that the author or compiler of the novel was in fact Lu Hsi-hsing (1520-1601?), a Taoist priest of the Chia Ching period.\n\nLike the Hsi-yu-chi (\"Pilgrimage to the West\", also known to Western readers as \"Monkey\"), the Fêng-shên Yen-i is a work of fiction dealing with the supernatural. It was produced during the time when Chinese fiction was evolving from the prompt-books (hua-pên) of story-tellers to long novels. Its plot is based on the historical events related to the defeat of King\n\n1 There is no English translation of this novel. The German translation by Wilhelm Grube and Herbert Mueller, Die Metamorphosen der Götter (2 vols., Leiden, Brill, 1912) contains only chapters 1-46. Chapters 47-100 have been summarized by Mueller. The novel is mentioned in E. T. C. Werner, Myths and Legends of China (London, 1934) and in Sir J. C. Coyajee, Cults and Legends of Ancient Iran and China (Bombay, 1935).\n\n2 Chung-kuo Hsiao-shuo Shih-lüeh, Ch. 18, p. 176 (1953); also the English translation entitled A Brief History of Chinese Fiction by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang, p. 220 (1959).\n\n3 Details of my evidence and arguments are contained in my unpublished thesis, \"The Authorship of the Feng-shen Yen-i\", a copy of which is in the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.\n\n4 Cf. James J. Y. Liu, \"The Knight Errant in Chinese Literature\", in this volume, pp. 30-41.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204305, "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-1961", "page_number": 73, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n69\n\nChou of Shang\n\nby King Wu of Chou about 2100 B.C. However, this merely serves as the basic skeleton of the novel, to which many supernatural incidents are added. Some of these supernatural incidents in the novel are taken from the prompt-book Wu-wang Fa-Chou P'ing-hua ENT (\"King Wu's Expedition against King Chou\"), which was current in the Yüan period, about 1321-1323.\n\nHowever, the author of the Féng-shên took his material from various other sources, for he was an extraordinary character. He was at first a Confucian scholar; then, after failing nine times to pass the official examination, he became a Taoist priest. But in his last years he showed a leaning to Tantric Buddhism, and his work on the Surangama-sutra (VR) is included in the Second Collection of the Tripitaka in Chinese. Even now in Hong Kong he is regarded by Taoists as one of their patriarchs and referred to as \"Lu tsu Hsi-hsing\", or \"Patriarch Lu Hsi-hsing\", though in fact he combined the teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. In his novel, he divided the Taoist gods into two categories. The benevolent ones he called Shan Chiao W, or The Promulgating Sect, led by Yüan-shih T'ien-tsun, or The Celestial Honoured Primordial, and Lao-tzu; the malevolent ones he called Chieh Chiao #, or The Intercepting Sect, led by T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu #, or The Patriarch of All Heaven. When, in the novel, King Chou and King Wu are going to fight a decisive battle, the gods come down from heaven to take part. Naturally, the gods of the Promulgating Sect help the good King Wu, while those of the Intercepting Sect lend their aid to the wicked King Chou. All kinds of magic weapons are used, everything that the sixteenth century Chinese mind could conceive, even plague-carrying seeds (a sort of germ warfare!). The climax is reached after \"the battle of ten thousand gods\", when the leader of the Intercepting Sect is badly defeated. However, the common master of all the three leaders appears and makes peace among them. The author thereupon concludes:\n\nLike the red lotus flower, its white root, and its green leaves,\n\nThe Three Teachings are really one and the same.\n\nNow, the term \"the Three Teachings\" usually refers to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, but in the novel the usage of this term is not always clear. Sometimes it seems to refer to the Promulgating Sect, the Intercepting Sect, and common mortals. At other times, Buddhism seems included. The author has included among Taoist gods of the Promulgating Sect certain Buddhist deities such as Mañjusri (Wên-shu), Samantabhadra", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204306, "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-1961", "page_number": 74, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\n70\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n(P'u-hsien), and Avalokitesvara (Kuan-yin). Only certain Buddhas of the Tantric Sect, such as Cundi (Chun-t'i) and Vairocana (P'i-lu-chê-na) are mentioned as \"saints from the West\"; but even these are given Taoist-sounding titles like tao-jên. In this way, the mainly Taoist framework of the novel is preserved. This amalgamation of Buddhist and Taoist deities is highly interesting and may have influenced actual religious practice in China. The practice of worshipping Taoist gods side by side with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas seems to have started after the publication of the novel, for in earlier Taoist literature we find no Buddhist deities mentioned among Taoist gods. For instance, in the Yün-chi ch'i-ch'ien, chüan 103, we find an account of the Taoist pantheon as it was in the eleventh century, which contained no Buddhist deities or fictional gods. But after the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, various Taoist gods mentioned in the novel came to be worshipped together with Buddhist ones. What is more, most of the temples which apparently first adopted such practice were situated in northern Kiangsu, near Hsinghua, the native district of Lu, the author of the novel. It is therefore not unreasonable to suggest that the novel influenced the composition of the Chinese pantheon and contributed to the amalgamation of Buddhist and Taoist gods in popular belief.\n\nThe amalgamation of Buddhist and Taoist gods seems to have been achieved purposely by the author of the Fêng-shên. As a concrete illustration, I propose to describe how Vaisravana (P'i-sha-mên Tien-wang), one of the Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhist belief, and his third son Nata (Na-cha or No-cha), became important characters in this novel. Vaisravana was of course an Indian god, but during the T'ang and Sung periods he became identified with the Chinese general of the T'ang dynasty, Li Ching. But stories about him were disconnected before the novel Fêng-shên Yen-i was compiled. In various prompt-books which existed before the novel, such as the Nan-yu-chi (\"Prince Hua-kuang or The Voyage to the South\") and the Hsi-yu-chi (“Pilgrimage to the West”, the prototype of the famous novel of the same name) in the Ssu-yu-chi (\"The Four Travels\"), there were already stories about this god and his son. But in the hands of the author of the Fêng-shen these fragmentary and disconnected stories were reorganized and transformed into a vivid tale which can almost stand on its own as an interesting story apart from the whole\n\n* For illustrations of some of these temples, such as the Kuang Fu Monastery in Tai-hsing, Yangchow, and the Tu Tien Temple in Hai-men, Kiangsu, see Père Henri Dore, Recherches sur les superstitions en Chine, (10 vols., Shanghai, 1913-38), Bk. 9, Pt. 2, in Vol. 6.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204307, "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-1961", "page_number": 75, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n71\n\nnovel. After this treatment, Vaisravana and Nata became completely Sinicized, and few, if any, Chinese readers ever suspect that they are \"alien\" in origin. This is typical of the way in which Chinese Buddhists took stories or ideas of foreign origin and gradually turned them into something totally Chinese.\n\nApart from its influence on religious practice, the novel Fêng-shên Yen-i is also of considerable importance from a literary point of view. It superseded previous stories from which it took some of its material, so much so that but for the efforts of scholars in the past thirty years these previous stories contained in prompt-books would have been unknown. Even now, only a handful of experts have read the prompt-books, while most readers are not aware that the Fêng-shên is not entirely the original creation of one man. This goes to show the success of the author as an imaginative writer.\n\nIn the following pages I shall attempt to describe how the stories about Vaisravana and Nata became integral parts of the novel, as an example of the Sinicization of Buddhist stories and figures and their assimilation into the mainly Taoist pantheon of China. I shall also try to show how the author, Lu Hsi-hsing, made use of the material derived from miscellaneous sources and turned it into a fascinating tale.\n\n1. VAISRAVANA AND NATA\n\nWhen we come to a discussion of some of the prominent figures in the novel Fêng-shên Yen-i, the most striking fact we shall find is that the author described these figures vividly and did not rely on previous legends for literary effect. Rather, he chose from miscellaneous and discordant materials and put them into a unified system which enlarged and modified the Chinese pantheon. The story of Li Ching and his three sons, especially the third one, No-cha, in this novel may serve as an outstanding illustration.\n\nIn this novel Li Ching was first a commander of the Ch'ên-t'ang Pass in the court of the ruthless King Chou (Ch.12), but he was also a Taoist, and for a period of years he had learnt the process of Taoist cultivation from the Immortal Tu O of the K'un-lun Mountain though he was unable to reach the final attainment. He had three sons: the eldest, Chin-cha, was a disciple of Wên-shu (Mañjusri), the second, Mu-cha, was a disciple of P'u-hsien (Samantabhadra) and the third one, No-cha, a disciple of the Immortal Tai-I. Both the father and his three sons joined the side of King Wu in the expedition against King Chou. Though they all knew some magic feats and possessed magic weapons, they are described as human beings. Unless we study the Tantric sutras and compare them with the Chinese\n\nPage 75\n\nPage 76", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204310, "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-1961", "page_number": 78, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Vol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\n74\n\nR\n\nThe historical figure of Li Ching had long been admitted into the Taoist pantheon. He was, in the year 760, enshrined with Chiang T'ai-kung (B★A or Chiang Shang) as one of the ten famous historical generals. In the anonymous work, Li Wei-kung Pieh-chuan (A4), it is said, \"When Li Ching was poor, he took a journey in the valleys and stayed in a cottage. When it was mid-night there came a woman who handed him a vase and said, 'Heaven has instructed you to pour down rain ...' and as we know in the Buddhist legends that it is Virupaksha (not Vaisravana) who is the king of the nagas, we understand that even in the T'ang dynasty the popular mind could not properly distinguish the function of these guardians of Mt. Sumeru. In an inscription on a tablet erected in the Temple of Vaisravana in Ning-hwa District (LM), Fukien, dated about 920, we read,\n\nP'i-sha-mên (Vaisravana) is a Sanskrit word which means \"universal or much hearing\" (to-wên SH). He dwells on the north of Mt. Sumeru, in the crystal palace, and is the chief of yakshas,10\n\nFrom this narrative we see why in so many Chinese records it has become an undeniable fact that yakshas are believed to live at the bottom of the seas with the dragon-kings in marvellous crystal palaces loaded with wonderful treasures. The legends of these two heavenly kings have long been mixed in the popular mind.\" As Li Ching was such a famous historical hero, the Taoist priests could not forgive themselves if they failed to utilize his prestige. It is said in an anonymous work of the T'ang dynasty, Yuan Hsien Chi (E), that Li Ching was still alive in the epoch of Ta Li (766-779) and became a Taoist immortal, In addition to the book on military strategy attributed to him in the Bibliography of the Hsin T'ang-shu (MEBOXZ), the Taoist priests also ascribed to him some canonical texts dealing\n\n12\n\n• Hsin T'ang-shu (), Ch. 15, Li-yüeh Chih (M), 5.\n\n• Ku-chin Shuo-hai (546), Shuo-yüan Pu (R), Vol. chi (2) Also Tsung-shu Chi-ch'êng Ch'u-pien (£).\n\n10 See Ninghwa Hsien-chih (\"Annals of the Ninghwa District\") of the Ming dynasty, quoted in Ku-chin T'u-shu Chi-ch'êng (4), Shên-1 Tien (R), chüan 54. The essay was composed by Huang T'ao () for Wang Shen-chih (E).\n\n11 In the Ta-Tang San-tsang Ch'ü-ching Shih-hua (ERR), chüan 1, “...A\" (\"To-day, Vaisravana of the Indra Heaven, the Guardian of the North, will feed Buddhist priests in the Crystal Palace.\")\n\n12 Quoted in Chiu Hsiao-shuo (R), 2nd Series, Shanghai, Commercial Press Ltd., 1910.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204311, "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-1961", "page_number": 79, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n75\n\nwith the worship of the Pole Star and with astrology. These can be found in the Tao Tsang (Two Collections of Taoist Literature). To identify him with the Vaisravana of popular legends was advantageous both to the Buddhists and Taoists.\n\nIt has been said that Vaisravana helped the Emperor T'ai Tsung during the war which led to the founding of the T'ang dynasty. But in some Tantric texts, the story is dated in the year A.D. 742 (the 1st year of Tien Pao in the reign of Hsuan Tsung). When the city of An-si (2) was besieged by the troops of five states including Tashkend and Samarkand, Vaisravana appeared above the tower of the city-gate with his celestial soldiers and defeated the invading troops. The sutra reads,\n\nIt was in the 1st year of T'ien Pao, the cyclic year being Jên-wu (4), when the city of An-si in Kansu was besieged by the troops of five states, Tashkend, Samarkand ... (five characters missing in the text). On the 11th day of the second month the commander of the city sent a petition for reinforcements. The Emperor told the Monk I-hsing (一行), “An-si is twelve thousand li away from our capital and it would take eight months for our reinforcements to reach there. I am afraid the city will fall.\" I-hsing said, \"Why does Your Majesty not supplicate the celestial soldiers of Vaisravana, the heavenly king of the North, for help?\" \"How do I get his help?\" the Emperor inquired. I-hsing said, \"Your Majesty need only summon the foreign priest Amogha and he will do everything.\" Amogha was summoned and said, \"Your Majesty sent for me. Is it not because the city of An-si is besieged by the troops of five states?\" The Emperor answered, “Yes.” Amogha said, \"Bring your urn and follow me to the place of worship and I will supplicate the celestial soldiers of Vaisravana the heavenly king of the North to rescue the city from danger.\" Hardly had he finished chanting his spells for the fourteenth time when the Emperor saw celestial soldiers clad in armour standing in front of the hall. \"Who are they?\" the Emperor asked. \"Tu Chien (毘建), the second son of Vaisravana, who is leading the celestial troops to An-si, has come to say farewell.\" The Emperor gave them food and dispatched them. In the fourth month the commander of An-si reported again, “On the 11th\n\n13 Li Ching's name appears in the Tao-chiao Hsiang-ch'êng Tzu-ti Lu *(道教相承次第録 \"Order of Taoist Teaching\") in Yün-chi Ch'i-ch'ien (雲笈七籤)(XL). chüan 4. In the Tao Tsang (道藏), Tung-shên Pu (洞神部)(1), Fang-fa Lei (方法類)(5) T'ien-lao Shên-kuang Ching *(天老神光經) is attributed to him.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204316, "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-1961", "page_number": 84, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Vol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nORASHKB and author\n\n80\n\nthat a Taoist priest entered her chamber. She was indignant and shouted, \"This is my inner room; how dare you, a stranger, come in!\" The Taoist priest said, \"Hurry up, madam, receive your marvellous child!\" Before she had had time to reply, the priest pushed something into her arms and she awoke, and her body was wet with cold sweat. She was frightened and before she could tell her husband all about the dream, she was again seized with a birth spasm. Li Ching went to the sitting room which was adjoining and thought over the matter. Suddenly two maids came out exclaiming “Madam has given birth to a monster!” Li Ching held his sword and rushed into the chamber. The room was filled with red mist which emitted a strong fragrance. A lump of flesh was rolling round the room like a wheel. Li Ching cut it with his sword and a baby jumped out, bathed in red light. The boy was very handsome; his face was as white as powder; on his right wrist was a golden bracelet; and his belly was covered with a piece of red silk gauze, which shone with a golden glow. He was a god, a re-incarnation (avatar) of the Ling-chu-tzu (Master of the Intelligent Pearl) and was destined to be the vanguard under Marshal Chiang Tzu-ya.\n\nTo give birth to a lump of flesh is something unusual in Chinese legends. But similar cases can be cited from the Buddhist sutras translated into Chinese as early as the third century. In the tale of Putrah (7) in chüan 7 of the Avadanasataka (# E), it is said that \"when the Buddha was in the country of Kapilavastu (E6) under the nyagrodha tree (ficus Indica), there was an elder who was very rich and his treasures were abundant and beyond measure. He married a wife from a notable family whom he loved very much, and with music and dances he used to entertain her. Now she conceived and when ten months elapsed she gave birth to a freak—a lump of flesh. The elder was vexed about it and thought it inauspicious. In the Fu-kuo Chi (DE \"A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms\") under the \"stupa in the Vaisali” (œÊME) it is recorded,\n\n+\n\n·\n\n•\n\n•\n\nOn the upstream of the Ganges River there was a king whose concubine gave birth to a lump of flesh. The formal wife was jealous and said it was inauspicious, so she ordered this lump to be put in a wooden box and thrown into the river. Another king went out for an excursion on the river and opened the box in which he found a thousand babies who were extraordinarily handsome and dignified. The king took care of them until they grew up, when they were brave\n\n23 No. 20, The Tripitaka in Chinese.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204320, "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-1961", "page_number": 88, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\n84\n\nVol 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nsaw a dazzling light penetrating into his palace making the walls transparent. He dispatched his son, Prince Mo Chieh (E), with a group of mariners to go around in the sea to investigate.”\n\n26\n\nThis Mo Chich, probably a re-incarnation of Bimbisara, who was a king of Magadha () converted by Sakyamuni and who died and was re-incarnated as a son of Vaisravana, has been changed into Ao Ping in the above quotation from the Fêng-shên Yen-i, and has lost his original Buddhist flavour. Comparing this short paragraph from the Tung-yu-chi with the composition and description of the corresponding paragraphs in the Fêng-shên, we can see the artistic superiority of the latter.\n\nThe combat between No-cha and Ao Ping, the third son of the dragon-king, has a tragic end. No-cha put his foot on Ao Ping's neck and struck the latter's forehead with his bracelet, thus killing him. No-cha pulled out the sinews of the little dragon and went back, saying he would make a good belt of it for his father to fasten his cuirass on. The dragon-king, hearing of the death of his son, went to see Li Ching, and put the latter in a very embarrassing position. Li Ching, being ignorant of his son's prodigious feats, denied his guilt. But No-cha came out and apologized for what he had done, and told the dragon-king that his son's sinews were intact. The dragon-king was exasperated and told Li Ching that he would lodge a complaint at the court of the Jade Emperor against father and son. The story continues:\n\nAfter No-cha had calmed his parents he went to the Chin-kuang Cave and told his master, the Taoist Immortal T’ai-I, of his adventure. The master ordered him to unfasten his coat, drew spells on his bosom, and told him what to do the next morning. \"After that,\" the master said, \"you may go back to Ch'en-t'ang Pass. If anything unusual happens, you must tell your parents that I shall be responsible for your misdeeds.” The next morning No-cha reached the Pao-tê Gate (F),27 the gate of heaven. After a while he saw the dragon-king approaching wearing his celestial robes, but because of the magic spells on No-cha's bosom, the dragon-king could not see him. No-cha was so angry that he strode forward from behind and dealt the dragon-king with his bracelet such a heavy blow that immediately he fell to the ground. (Ch.12)\n\n•\n\n26 No. 9, Fu-shuo Jên-hsien Ching (MA), The Tripitaka in Chinese,\n\n27 Ch. 39, Hsi-yo-chi of the \"Four Travels\", the Pao-tê Kuan (OH) is the Gate in heaven where Li Ching dwells.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204321, "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-1961", "page_number": 89, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Vol. 1 (1961).\n\nJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n85\n\nNo-cha then partially pulled off the celestial robe of the dragon-king and revealed the scales under his left ribs. He tore off some forty or fifty of the dragon-scales and the dragon-king was wounded and suffered a violent pain. He begged his assailant to spare his life. No-cha said, “If you want me to spare your life you must give up your law-suit against me before the Jade Emperor, and follow me back to Ch'ên-t'ang Pass.\" The dragon-king could not free himself and yielded to No-cha. Transforming himself into the shape of a small black snake, he hid in No-cha's sleeve and they descended from heaven. (Ch.13)\n\nSome references can be cited here for comparison and we can see how clever the author was in composing his ingenious and complicated plot which surpasses all the materials he made use of.\n\nIn the prompt-book Ch'in Ping Liu-kuo P'ing-hua (\"The Annexation of the Six States by the Emperor of Ch’in”), chüan 2, there is a sentence, \"to fasten the cuirass he should use the sinews of the old dragon.\" In the Ta-T’ang San-tsang Ch’ü-ching Shih-hua (\"Tripitaka's Search for Buddhist Sutras\"), chuan 2, (7), the Monkey-monk (Hou Hsing-chê) pulled out the sinews from a dragon with nine heads for a belt to hold the cuirass.\n\nAccording to the Min Shu (M), there was a Taoist priest named Yu Chên-chai (2) living in the epoch of Hung Wu, who was called upon by an old woman:\n\nShe was a female-dragon... and was to be struck to death by lightning on account of her failure in regulating the rains. She begged him to save her life. Yü said, “Can you transform yourself to a small shape so that I may hide you in my alms-bowl?\" The dragon followed his advice and transformed herself into a snake wriggling into the bowl.\n\nThe story of No-cha goes on as follows:\n\nOne day as the weather was excessively hot, he felt restless and annoyed, and ascended the tower over the city-gate. On the weapon-stands he found a wonderful bow called ch'ien-k'un kung (the cosmic bow) and three arrows called chên-t'ien chien (heaven-shaking arrows) which he appreciated very much, and did not know that they were left by the Yellow Emperor and since then no one had been strong enough to use them. He was so glad of this discovery and he seized the bow and shot an arrow toward the south-west. With a startling sound the sky was covered with red mist and auspicious clouds floated around. (Ch.13)\n\nIn chuan 13, in the chapter of the \"Competition in Martial Exercises for the Hand of Yasodhara\" of Abhiniskramana-sutra (DATE · #), we have the following paragraph:", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204322, "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-1961", "page_number": 90, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nORASHKB and author\n\n86\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nThe prince Siddhartha thereupon asked, \"Is there any good bow in this city which will suit my strength?\" The father, King Suddhodana was very glad and said, \"Yes, there is.\" \"Where is it then, Your Majesty?\" asked the prince. \"Your grandfather Simhahanu (the lion's cheek) had a bow which is now kept in the temple and flowers are offered to it. No man has ever been able to bend it.\" The prince urged the king to send for it, and when it had been fetched, all the Shakya nobles were allowed to have a trial, but no one could string, nor draw it. Then the minister Mahanama was given an opportunity. He exhausted all his energy yet he could not move a single inch of the string and so he presented it to the prince. The prince remained seated without moving. He seized the bow with his left hand and bent the string with a single finger of his right hand. A startling noise broke out throughout the city Kapilavastu which made all the people frightened. \"What noise is it?\". \n\n+\n\n28\n\nIn Ch.2 of the Pei-yu-chi, the king of the Kingdom of Ko-ko () received a tribute from the Western tribes. It was a bronze drum twelve inches thick. Upon the challenge of the tributary messenger, no one in the court, not even the generals, could pierce its surface with an arrow. The prince, \n\nThe prince, who was only seven, claimed that he could shoot through it. \"He seized the bow with his left hand and put on the arrow with his right hand. The arrow darted off and pierced the surface with the feather of the arrow left outside.' \n\nThe age of No-cha and that of the said prince were seven years. We can see that No-cha's story is derived partly from the Pei-yu-chi and both originated from the story of the Buddha.\n\nNo-cha's arrow darted off to a far distance and accidentally killed a Taoist disciple of Madame Shih-chi (ENR), who was a goddess of the Intercepting Sect. Shih-chi sent the Athlete of the Yellow Turban to bring Li Ching to her grotto in the K'u-lou Shan (Mt. Skeleton) and pressed him for an explanation, Li Ching vowed his innocence and was set free so that he could investigate the matter. No-cha again admitted to his father what he had done, and followed Li Ching to Shih-chi's place to settle the matter. At the entrance to the grotto he had a desperate clash with the goddess, and though he hurled all his precious weapons they fell into her hands and sleeves. No-cha fled to Mt. Ch'ien-yüan for protection. His master, the Immortal T’ai-I had a violent quarrel with Shih-chi on his behalf, and the quarrel\n\n28 No. 190, The Tripitaka in Chinese, translated by Jfianagupta; also Sister Nivedita & Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists, Harrap, 1914, pp. 261-2.\n\nPage 90\n\nPage 91", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204329, "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-1961", "page_number": 97, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n93\n\nThe climax of the dramatic struggle between No-cha and his father Li Ching may be summed up here:\n\nLi Ching, hearing that No-cha had come again with his magic arms, was infuriated. He mounted his black horse and came out to meet No-cha with his halberd with crescent-shaped blade. The fighting had not lasted many minutes when Li Ching was in a profuse perspiration and had to flee for his life. No-cha pursued him with desperate efforts and nearly caught him when Mu-cha, the second son of Li Ching and disciple of the Immortal P'u-hsien (Samantabhadra), came on the scene. Although they were brothers they had not known each other before and No-cha had to tell Mu-cha the whole story. Mu-cha rebuked No-cha and called him a patricide, and defended the father with his precious sword. No-cha hurled his golden brick in the air which fell on the back of Mu-cha and hurt him. No-cha resumed his pursuit, and as Li Ching, being exhausted, did not wish to be overtaken by his son, he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide when he was stopped by a Taoist who was no other than the Wên-shu Kuang-fa Tien-tsun (Mañjusri) who was invited to come by Immortal T'ai-i to give No-cha an impressive lesson. Wên-shu now hid Li Ching in his grotto and seized the naughty hero with his \"Dragon-concealing Stake\"--which was also called \"Seven Precious Golden Lotuses\"--which in a mist of dust fastened No-cha's neck and feet with three golden rings and bound him to a golden stake. Wên-shu ordered Chin-cha, his disciple and No-cha's eldest brother, to beat No-cha black and blue with a staff until T'ai-I himself appeared. At the intercession of T'ai-i, No-cha was released and both father and son were brought before the two Taoist masters. T'ai-i rebuked the father for his petty-minded action and told him to go home. After Li Ching's\n\nAfter Li Ching's retreat, he instructed No-cha not to bear any grudge against his father and charged him to return to the grotto in Mt. Ch'ien-yuan on the pretext that he would stay with Wên-shu and play chess. No-cha, raging with anger, taking advantage of the absence of the two masters, pursued his father again. When Li Ching was in danger of falling into the hand of the son, another Taoist, the Jan-têng Tao-jên (Dipamkara) of the Yüan-chüeh Cave on the Vulture Peak, appeared on the scene as if by accident. He sheltered Li Ching behind, and when No-cha demanded single combat with his father, he increased Li Ching's strength by spitting on him and touching him on the back. Li Ching was then able to get the upper hand in the fighting and No-cha was defeated. No-cha was beside himself with rage. He jumped aside suddenly and tried to pierce Jan-têng with his spear, but the thrust was repelled by a white lotus flower emitted from the latter's", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204330, "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-1961", "page_number": 98, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch ORASHKB and author\n\n94\n\nVol 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nmouth. After a fruitless argument with the Taoist master, No-cha wielded his weapon again and as Jan-têng raised his sleeve upwards an object was hurled into the air which emitted radiant beauty and when falling, enveloped No-cha in it and rendered him motionless. Jan-têng tapped it with his hand and flames broke out and made No-cha yield and acknowledge Li Ching as father and bow to him in humiliation. After the reconciliation had been made, Jan-têng Tao-jên instructed Li Ching to relinquish his official post and go into seclusion until the rise of King Wu, and gave to Li Ching the magic weapon which was a golden pagoda of elegant workmanship which would serve to safeguard No-cha from rebellion against his father and to consolidate the reconciliation. (Ch.14)\n\n5. HSI-YU-CHI (“MONKEY\") AND FENG-SHEN\n\nThe story of No-cha as it appears prominently in Chapters 12-14 of the Fêng-shên Yen-i, is for the most part, I believe, the creation of the author except for those minute points which I have discussed. After having consulted the Tantric texts which I have already quoted, we can see that the fantastic story of the pagoda, though with some hints of being inspired by the texts, is a wholly fabulous invention and only by skilful ingenuity can it be made so natural and so plausible. In Ch.83 of Wu Ch'êng-ên's (AR) Hsi-yu-chi (“Pilgrimage to the West\") which is no doubt an enlargement of the Hsi-yu-chi in the \"Four Travels\", there is a paragraph which seems to be either the origin of these Chapters (12-14) of the Fêng-shên Yen-i or a synopsis of these same chapters with variations. I am inclined to take the latter view and believe that the writing of Wu Ch'êng-ên's Hsi-yu-chi was later than this novel for these reasons:\n\n36\n\n35\n\n(a) As I have pointed out elsewhere when discussing the magic lasso, the name Ya-lung Tung (Dragon-subduing Cave) of the Ya-lung Shan (Dragon-subduing Mountain) which appears in Ch.34 of Wu Ch'êng-ên's Hsi-yu-chi was derived from Ch.52 of the Fêng-shên Yen-i (Fei-lung Tung AM or Flying-dragon Cave of the Chia-lung Shan or Dragon-pinching Mountain).\n\n(b) In Ch.52 of Wu's Hsi-yu-chi, the eighteen Arhats tried with the sand of golden pills to subdue the devil, which sank its feet to the depth of more than three feet. This sand is derived from the Red-sand Array () in Ch.49 of the Fêng-shên Yen-i.\n\n35 See Arthur Waley, Monkey, translation of chapters i-12, 13-5, 18-9, 22, 37-9, 44-6, 47-9, 98-100, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1943.\n\n30 In my thesis \"The Authorship of the Feng-shên Yen-i\", pp. 178-80.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204331, "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-1961", "page_number": 99, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n95\n\nB\n\n(c) The T'ao T'ien-chün ( or Celestial Master T'ao), one of the four attendant-generals forming the retinue of the Premier Wên T'ai-shih in the Fêng-shên Yen-i is an invention of the author of the Fêng-shên for a particular reason.3\n\nIn any one of the earlier works before the Fêng-shen, whether Taoist canonical texts or popular literature, we can find the other three T'ien-chün but not this one. This fact strengthens the hypothesis that this particular character was created with a purpose. But he appears also in Wu Ch'êng-ên's Hsi-yu-chi. (Ch.4 etc.)\n\n(d) Yin Chiao () in his transformed figure is an ugly and evil god. \"His face was as blue as indigo, and he had long projecting teeth\" (Ch.63, Fêng-shên Yen-i). He was canonized as the T'ai-sui (✯ the God of the Cycle) in Ch.99 of the Feng-shên. Now in Wu's Hsi-yu-chi there is a line of verse, \"The other had a blue face and protruding teeth as ugly as the T'ai-sui.”\n\n(56)\n\n(e) In Wu's Hsi-yu-chi, when Sun Wu-k'ung ( the Monkey) was repelled by Hsüan-tsang (), he thought of “going to the islands (hai-tao ) but he was rather ashamed to meet those immortals in the three fairy-lands (san-tao chu-hsien l)\". (Ch.57) This is probably influenced by the islands and the immortals there (hai-tao tao-yu fă‡) in Chs.38, 47 and 59 of the Fêng-shễn. In Ch.59 of the Feng-shên when Lü Yüeh (BG) was defeated by the troops of Chiang Tzu-ya, he fled to the islands as his last resort.\n\n(f) In Wu's Hsi-yu-chi (Ch.60), the Demon-king of Oxen (Niu Mo-wang 4E) rode on a \"water-proof golden-pupiled monster\" (Pi-shui Chin-ching Shou HR). I think this name was invented after the \"fire-spitting golden-pupiled monsters\" (Huo-yen Chin-ching Shou ) ridden by Chêng Lun, Chiên Ch'i and Ch'ung Hei-hu in the Fêng-shên Yen-i.\n\n(g) In Ch.61 of the Wu's Hsi-yu-chi there are the \"four great Vajras\" (MAI) which are no doubt an adaptation of the “four great heavenly kings\". One of their dwelling-places is in the Chin-hsia Tung ( Golden Clouds Cave) of Mt. K'un-lun. In fact this Chin-hsia Tung is exactly the name of the grotto where the Yü-ting Chên-jên (EMRA Immortal of the Jade Urn) lives in the Fêng-shên Yen-i, and Mt. K'un-lun is the sacred mountain of the Promulgating Sect.\n\n37 Ibid., pp. 251-55.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204337, "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-1961", "page_number": 105, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n101\n\n(1) monastery management, which is further sub-divided into sections in charge of\n\na. finance\n\nb. food\n\nc. entertainment of lay visitors\n\n(2) guests, which not only passes on the qualifications for admission of itinerant monks, but also gives the monastery's own monks the permission they need to leave the premises\n\n(3) the observation of monastic rules\n\n(4) itinerant monks who, after they are admitted, must be provided with food, lodging, and instruction.\n\nAll told, there are 48 positions in the hierarchy—more than the total number of monks in any Hong Kong monastery. Therefore, this elaborate administrative structure exists here only in more or less skeletal form.\n\nHong Kong monasteries are nearly all \"father-to-son\" rather than \"ten directions\". This means that the abbot holds office for life rather than being elected by the monks every three years. Furthermore, he personally has title to the monastery premises. On both counts, there are problems of succession. Normally the abbot chooses his own successor, but some have died without doing so. Since there are often factions among the monks (with the Cantonese, for example, opposing the northerners), this can lead to conflicts that disrupt monastery life. Joint meetings of Buddhists and Taoists have been held to formulate a set of regulations for resolving such disputes. In one monastery, the Po Lin Tsz, there is underway a movement to transfer title of the property to a self-perpetuating committee.\n\nNot all of the difficulties arise because of hot competition for the post of abbot. It is a difficult post to hold. The abbot must keep his monastery operating on funds that are usually inadequate.1 He must maintain his competence as a dharma teacher. Most of the monks who are spiritually qualified for the post would prefer not to have it. In many cases, therefore, the abbot must not only choose his successor, but persuade him to accept. In the process, the abbot often consults the heads of other monasteries as well as the monks of his own. Usually his final choice lights on someone who is a close relative of his by family or religious lineage—hence the term \"father-to-son\".\n\n* Recently the abbot of one of the larger monasteries, having reached an advanced age, appointed his successor and retired. Almost at once the inflow of donations ceased. His successor apparently did not have the \"knack\" of winning lay support. After six months the old abbot had to resume his post to avert financial ruin.\n\nPage 105\n\nPage 106", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204355, "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-1961", "page_number": 123, "title": "RAS-1961", "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch \n\nORASHKB and author \n\nVol. 1 (1961) \n\nISSN 1991-7295 \n\n119 \n\nAt the cemetery, the coffin is normally lowered into the grave without further ceremony and the hole filled. Just before the hole is filled, it is customary for each member of the family present to throw in a handful of earth. After filling, two candles are usually lit and placed near the head of the grave and three incense-sticks nearer the foot. Sometimes, absent members of the family may depute other relatives to set out candles and incense-sticks on their behalf, in which case the proportions are still observed. An offering of oranges may be peeled and placed on the grave, together with paper money. Finally, crackers are let off.\n\nOccasionally, after the coffin has been lowered and before the earth is thrown in, a male descendant present will make a cut in a live cock so that blood flows out. The cock will then be held over the grave to allow its blood to drop on the coffin and sides of the hole, in the traditional hope that the breeding properties of the cock will be transmitted to the deceased. Provided that the deceased is over middle age, sex normally makes no difference. A more modern version of this practice omits the incision on the cock, which is simply swung over the hole on the end of a piece of string.\n\nThe last rites sometimes involve the assistance of Taoist or Buddhist monks, even though neither the relatives nor the deceased may necessarily profess complete belief in either of those religions. The monks normally appear in a team of five: the leader with the other four ranged in pairs. Their form of service usually follows the pattern of Taoist and Buddhist chanting, accompanied by music, the striking of bells, small brass ringing bowls and wooden sound-boxes (muk ue). In major funerals, where the body is held elsewhere than in a funeral parlour, the last rites may continue for seven full days before burial, with further services every 7th day for a total of forty-nine days. If expense proves too much, some of the weekly services may be omitted but it is customary to include the 5th one, when married daughters and granddaughters are expected to contribute either wholly or in part; the final service is also required. At these weekly rites, the next-of-kin may sometimes cook rice and beans (red or green) which are then eaten by relatives in the hope of attaining long life (chuc shaû faân).\n\nAnother custom still often encountered is the placing of several pairs of trousers on the deceased, whether male or female. Half a dozen pairs of trousers is not uncommon.\n\nBased on a pun between the Cantonese foò (\"trousers\") and foò (“riches\"), the object is to provide wealth for the spirit of the deceased. Including jacket and underwear, an even number of garments is normally placed on a male; an odd number on a female,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204399, "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-1962", "page_number": 31, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "22\n\nF. S. DRAKE\n\nappeared also. But a number of relics have come to light from time to time, such as the crosses which are the subject of this paper, confirming the statements of the travellers.\n\nThe first great discovery of Nestorianism in China is a relic in fact of the T'ang dynasty, long before the Mongol era commenced, the famous Nestorian Stone Tablet of Sianfu, which was erected in A.D. 781 and describes how a group of Nestorian missionaries from Syria or Persia reached the capital of China in A.D. 635; it describes how a monastery was built for them by the Emperor and recounts the fortunes of the Church and its off-shoots until A.D. 781 when the monument was erected. The name given to the foreign religion is Ching-chiao'** (The Bright or Luminous Religion) and the text is composed in classical rhythmic style imbued with Chinese traditional religious thought. The script is an example of the masterly calligraphy of T'ang times. This and other later discoveries show that the T'ang Nestorians endeavoured to express their faith in relation to the intellectual and religious environment in which they found themselves. In addition to the text in Chinese the names of the foreign monks are engraved on the sides in Syriac, and on the head-piece above the title is engraved a Greek Cross similar in shape to the bronze Mongol Crosses we have been considering, with three circles at each end, and circles at the angles between the arms, no doubt indicating flowers—the blossoming Cross. The Cross stands upon a lotus, Buddhist symbol of purity, at each side of which are Taoist symbols, the ling-chih, or fungus of Longevity.\n\nThe Tablet of Sianfu was discovered in A.D. 1623, and through the interest of Chinese scholar-friends of Matthew Ricci, who had died in 1610, it was identified as a Christian relic. Through the same interest attention was called to three other Crosses engraved on stone (probably tomb stones), which had been seen by Chinese Christians in 1638 at Ch'üan-chou (Marco Polo's Zayton) in Fukien. Wood-cuts of these were printed in a publication on the Sianfu Tablet in A.D. 1644.20 A fourth stone cross, similar to the above, was found at Ch'üan-chou and photographed in 1906.21\n\n20 See Moule, op. cit., Figs, 9, 10: Diaz, Inscriptio Si-ngan Fou, 1644. 21 Moule, op. cit., Fig. 11; and Ecke and Demiéville, The Twin Pagodas of Zayton, Harvard Univ. Press, 1935, Pt. 70b.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204414, "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-1962", "page_number": 46, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "37\n\nTHE BUDDHIST CAREER\n\nA lecture delivered on October 30, 1961\n\nHOLMES WELCH, M.A.\n\nFirst I think I should tell you a little bit about what I have been doing. Last spring I was awarded a grant by the Social Science Research Council to find out how Buddhist monasteries in China used to operate before 1950, what the monks did from day to day, and why. This is a subject on which almost nothing has been published: the best sources of information are the monks themselves. There are about 200 of them in Hong Kong, most of whom are not natives of the Colony, but come from all parts of China: from the northeast, northwest, the central provinces, and the south. Unfortunately all but a few left the mainland ten years ago or more, and their memories are beginning to fade. Furthermore, some are in their seventies or eighties and not only have fading memories, but it is a question how much longer they will be here to talk to. Their knowledge, unless it is recorded now, will be lost to all future students of China. That is one of the reasons I am doing what I am.\n\nIt is not an easy job to interview these monks. First, they speak in a baffling variety of dialects and accents. Second, they find it hard to understand why I should be asking them so many questions. Furthermore, they are not accustomed to answering questions about the practical side of monastic life. They are accustomed to expounding the sutras and the dharma, or Buddhist law. I have done only six months of interviewing so far and many points are still obscure.\n\nMany points are still obscure. What I am giving you today, therefore, is not in the nature of conclusions, but a kind of interim field report.\n\nThe subject of my talk is the Buddhist career. By that I mean the stages that a Buddhist went through in following his religion. Not everyone went through all these stages; in fact, almost no one did. But I shall describe them all, one by one, so that you can see what the possibilities were. I shall disregard the great majority of Chinese, for whom Buddhism was just one\n\nAL.\n\nMr. Holmes Welch is currently engaged in a study of Buddhist organisations in modern China. He is author of a book on the history of the Taoist movement, The Parting of the Way.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204471, "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-1962", "page_number": 103, "title": "RAS-1962", "content_text": "92\n\nJ. W. HAYES\n\nwrote a prayer for divine help to the city god of Nam Tau after a dark mist resembling the shadow of a black dog haunted womenfolk in the third moon of the third year of Ch'ung-cheng (1630): and the magistrate LI Ho Shing wrote the \"Lamentations\" or odes and addresses burnt in sacrifice, when a severe typhoon hit the district city in the fifth moon of the twelfth year of K'ang-hsi (1673); this was preserved among the literary works recorded in another chapter of the history. There is no mention of later imitations.\n\nBesides this preoccupation with spirits of all kinds and a general disposition to ensure against all possible acts of ill will on their part which was, one almost thinks, a by-product of the bad times and the uncertainties which usually surrounded the Chinese peasant and his city counterpart, there was a regular and intense devotion to the ancestors of the clans which was carried on through the centuries. This, of course, was Confucianist, as opposed to the Taoist and animist forms of religion to be seen inside temples and on the fields and hillsides. There is no doubt that the clans were kept together by the regular attention that was paid to the ancestral duties and the particular reverence accorded to the first ancestor who had settled in the village. I have already explained how, on the material side, management of land by the clan for the clan assisted in keeping both land and people together. On the spiritual plane the ancestral duties had the same effect.\n\nAt the heart of the clan was the ancestral hall.52 Here the soul tablets of past generations were ranged in rows on an altar: these can still be seen in a few ancestral halls to-day, notably at Ping Shan and Ha Tsuen, two villages of the TANG clan, whose green and gold tablets date back to the Sung dynasty. Most villages in the New Territory, large or small, appear to have had ancestral halls at the time of the lease. Many of them are standing to-day and I have traced the presence of others which have mouldered away since 1898. Each clan had its own hall and here its members gathered to perpetuate its corporate identity on occasions like births, weddings and funerals, and regularly each year at the New Year festival.\n\n53\n\nAs an adjunct to the tablets in the ancestral hall, the graves of ancestors were also the subject of regular attention by the villagers, particularly the grave of the first ancestor and his wife.54", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1962.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9s166f47f", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204560, "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-1963", "page_number": 41, "title": "RAS-1963", "content_text": "36\n\nTHE DEVELOPMENT OF PRINTING IN CHINA and its effects on the renaissance under the Sung dynasty (960-1279) A lecture delivered on 3 September, 1962\n\nL. CARRINGTON GOODRICH,* PH.D.\n\nThe art of printing took a long time to develop. It came into being when the demand was urgent for multiple copies, and when the Chinese had both the essential materials and the technical processes. This seems to have happened some time after the year A.D. 700.\n\nLet us consider first the demand. It came in all circles where reading was essential. The Buddhists at this time were extremely active in their work of propaganda. For example, in 581 the emperor Kao-tsu4 of the Sui ordered the copying of Buddhist texts at state expense; this involved 46 collections in 132,086 rolls. In Taoist circles there was need for large numbers of charms to ward off evils. The Confucians, again coming into their own with the re-introduction of the system of civil service examinations, needed hundreds of thousands of text books for students, and copies of the Confucian canon for the scholar class. We read that at the capital alone, for instance, the emperor Yang (605-616) ordered the making of fifty duplicate sets of the imperial library. This involved the copying of 3,127 works in 36,708 rolls.\n\nLet us consider next the main ingredients and technical processes. The first were ink and paper. We know now that red ink was known to the Chinese at least by the 13th century B.C. (A) and black ink about the same time. For writing surfaces the Chinese experimented with wood, bamboo, silk, and harder materials. Then at the end of the 1st century A.D. paper came into being. At this time the dynastic history drily relates: \"Silk was too expensive and bamboo too heavy.\" In 1931 the Swedish member of the Sino-Swedish Expedition in Central Asia, Folke Bergman, discovered some paper in a lonely site called Chü-yen\n\n* Dr. Goodrich is Professor Emeritus of Chinese at Columbia University. He is well known as the author of A Short History of the Chinese People, and for his revised edition of T. F. Carter's The Invention of Printing in China and its Spread Westward.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1963.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204563, "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-1963", "page_number": 44, "title": "RAS-1963", "content_text": "PRINTING IN CHINA\n\n39\n\n5. The Japanese monk Shuyei left China in 865, after a three-year visit, with a considerable collection of Buddhist rolls, two of them bearing titles indicating that they were printed.\n\n6. Calendars, dated 877, 882, and 887, have been found in Tunhuang.\n\n7. A printed charm was recently discovered in a T'ang tomb in Ch’êng-tu.\n\n8. In 883 the T'ang court fled to Shu and there (at Ch'êng-tu) one of the courtiers recorded seeing a variety of books printed on paper from wood-blocks for sale.\n\nFrom the next century on, printing becomes widespread. The whole Confucian canon in 130 volumes was printed in the years 932-953. The Buddhist canon in 5,048 rolls followed suit in 971-983 and many times thereafter. Manichean works were printed by the year 1000, if not a century earlier. The dynastic histories (史記, 漢書, 後漢書, 三國志, 晉書, and 滷唐書) were all printed between 994 and 1004. The Taoist canon, in 4,565 rolls, was printed in 1019. Besides this, several works were printed privately, such as the herbal in 973 and collections of essays and poetry. So, by the early years of the Sung, a large body of material was available in print. From about A.D. 1000 on, the publication of books in this form accelerated throughout China, and spread to the Khitan, Tangut, Jurchen, Uigur, and Mongol, and to Korea, Japan, and Annam. Printing by movable type too came into being (at least by the 1040's); also printing by metal blocks, as well as by wood-blocks.\n\nThe different classes engaged in printing included the Buddhist, the Taoist, the Confucian, and the secular. The first two groups produced a great number of texts in order to help them reach the masses. The last group, which was beginning to develop new philosophical ideas, also wanted to reach the people. The Sung government became worried about this; hence its interest in the printing of Confucian literature to propagate Confucianism among the general public. It was also considered an imperial prerogative. The printing of the canon was forbidden to private persons, and was entirely held in the hands of the government. Besides the printing done by the Academy, books were", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1963.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204843, "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-1964", "page_number": 146, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "LUN HENG\n\n121\n\nfall of great men and reigns. He similarly accepted the claims of divination, astrology and physiognomy (all rejected by Hsüntzu). But for Wang Ch'ung no less than for Hsüntzu there is nothing supernatural about any of these phenomena. Wang Ch'ung always demands a natural explanation. A further example which may help to clarify the difference between the naturalistic scepticism of Wang Ch'ung and of Hsüntzu is their attitude to ghosts and apparitions. Hsüntzu (in his chapter 17) denies any reality to ghosts or spirits of any kind. Apparitions are hallucinations of an inferior or diseased mind. Wang Ch'ung, on the other hand, is not sure whether ghosts and apparitions occur or not. He is inclined to accept that they do. However, if they do exist, he writes, they are not the ghosts of the dead come back for revenge as believed by most of his contemporaries. He outlines several possible explanations of the appearance of apparitions (in his chapter 65), probably selected because they do not accept the theory that ghosts are dead men's souls. Two of these theories are favoured by Wang Ch'ung. The first states that ghosts are a kind of hallucination produced by men's thoughts when they are sick and afraid. The other theory is that ghostly apparitions are omens. Wang Ch'ung cannot step out of his time and reject the widespread belief in ghosts, but he manages to give an explanation with a distinctive twist of his own. He suggests that ghosts are made up of the Yang fluid alone without the Yin, and hence are not real but mere \"semblances\" of reality.\n\nSo much for Wang Ch'ung's critical ability and scepticism. To turn now to his constructive philosophy, this has been underestimated, in particular by Fung Yu-lan. As a Confucian, Wang Ch'ung offers little that compares with Mencius' theory of man's nature or Hsüntzu's analysis of the value of ritual. His own suggestion, a compromise three-grade theory of human nature (taken up by Han Yü of the T'ang) is of no great significance. It was in any case already present, though less explicitly, in the thought of Tung Chung-shu and Huainantzu of the earlier Han. Similarly, as a Taoist, Wang Ch'ung, though clear and convincing, falls short of the subtlety of Chuangtzu. Nevertheless, we can agree with Li Shih-fan, in his criticism of Fung Yu-lan's History of Chinese Philosophy (see Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies 26, 1939, pp. 215-250, 286-8), that Wang Ch'ung's attempt", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204844, "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-1964", "page_number": 147, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "122\n\nD. LESLIE\n\nto marry a Taoist naturalistic metaphysics to Confucian rationalistic ethics marks a great step forward, even though it was only partially successful.\n\nThe Taoism of Chuangtzu was anti-rationalistic and mainly destructive; destructive of ethics and also a hindrance to the development of logic and to the search for truth. Fung Yu-lan has characterised the Taoism of Huainantzu, as opposed to that of Chuangtzu, as positive. This is even more true of Wang Ch'ung, who eschews all mysticism and supernaturalism. Similarly, Hsüntzu's emphasis on the Way of Man, equal partner with Heaven and Earth, led him to ignore the Way of Nature. The crucial difference between Chou and Han philosophers is exemplified by the difference between Hsüntzu and Wang Ch'ung. Both reject any divine or supernatural intervention in natural phenomena, but only the latter sought to explain the workings behind these natural phenomena.\n\nTung Chung-shu of the Han had already given an explanation of such phenomena as the cosmic and biological abnormalities looked on as omens. By Wang Ch'ung's time these omens were almost universally taken to be warnings and messages from Heaven. Calamities, such as floods or drought or plagues of insects, were the punishments which followed when these warnings were not heeded. Wang Ch'ung cannot escape the Han view of an interaction between man and Heaven. But he changes the explanation. Good and bad omens are certainly signs of good and bad government but not caused by them,\n\nFor the Han philosophers phenomena were governed by the rise and fall of the ch'i, both cosmic and human. In the hands of Wang Ch'ung's contemporaries this ch'i was very close to shen* and ching-shen** \"spirit\". For Wang Ch'ung himself however, the ch'i is a material fluid, the \"life's breath” in biological terms, the \"pneuma\" in cosmic terms. It has no shape or form but only substance. The claim of modern materialists to see a forerunner in Wang Ch'ung is in many ways justified. It is supported in particular by his theories of causation. These are closely tied to his concept of a material ch'i. A physical cause must, he claims, be adequate for the result, and must operate by contact of the chi. Where there is no physical contact causation is not possible,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204845, "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-1964", "page_number": 148, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "LUN HENG\n\n123\n\nHe still allows, however, of a kind of pre-established harmony between the omens and the human events to which they correspond (but do not respond). In his important chapter 10, he gives several other examples of phenomena which are linked together without any true physical causation. This last theory of one organic world in which all phenomena are rhythmically linked is typically Chinese, common to the Han and Sung philosophers. In fact, many of the ideas thought original to the Sung dynasty are found, some adopted unconsciously and others consciously, in Wang Ch'ung's Lun Heng of the Han. It is a mistake to suggest, as some scholars have done, that Wang Ch'ung was outside the main stream of Chinese thought.\n\nWang Ch'ung is worth reading as a philosopher in his own right. Moreover, his eighty-four essays are amongst the main sources for the more orthodox Han Confucianism; even though he attacks it, we learn as much about it from the Lun Heng as from any other work of the period. Much too is learned about the Taoist religious practices of the time from his chapter 24, in which he pours scorn on their methods to achieve immortality. The Lun Heng is essential reading for the Han intellectual scene.\n\nIt is also an invaluable work for the earlier legends and historical facts. Wang Ch'ung was an iconoclast who did not take even Confucius as infallible. In his Lun Heng, we have a source of independent value for the Chou period as well as for the Han.\n\nTo give a particular example. When Ssu-ma Ch'ien in his Shih-chi (book 47) describes the life of Confucius, he relies very heavily on the Analects, which he quotes extensively. These quotations have a limited value as confirmation of the saying as existing in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's time. But there are almost no passages where the text as transmitted in the Shih-chi differs from that as transmitted in the Analects as such. We can never be sure that later editors of the Shih-chi did not alter minor discrepancies of their text to fit the almost sacred Analects of Confucius. This doubt in the independence of our source is less strong in the case of the Lun Heng. There are slight variants between the quotation in the Lun Heng and the Analects itself. Moreover, several interpretations adopted by Wang Ch'ung are quite different from the orthodox Han interpretation given in the Analects.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205024, "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-1965", "page_number": 132, "title": "RAS-1965", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES\n\n123\n\nhappened recently at Tong Fuk on Lantau Island, a multi-clan Cantonese village with a population of 198 at the Hong Kong Census of 1911. Its present population is about the same number. In 1958 the scheme to build a new reservoir at Shek Pik was confirmed and work went ahead on the dam and associated works. Behind Tong Fuk there were to be catchwaters for which an access road had to be constructed to the west of the village. This led to difficulties with the villagers, because in feng shui ideology the place was held to be the seat of the White Tiger. They therefore requested a ceremony known locally as a tun fu (符) — to propitiate the gods and spirits who would, as they thought, be aroused by digging earth and blasting stones in this particular place.\n\nPrecedents were cited by the village elders. They said they had carried out such a ceremony thirty-five years before, following several unexpected deaths in the village. The inhabitants had worshipped at the Hung Shing (廟) temple on the beach nearby, praying for the removal of the malignant influence. It transpired that a villager had cut stone from this particular spot to build a house. The elders then invited a Taoist priest — a Hakka — to come from one of the neighbouring villages to carry out the propitiatory observances usually made under such circumstances. They also said that a similar ceremony had also been conducted twenty years before in the adjoining Cantonese village of Shui Hau, this time by a priest engaged from the urban area. Deaths had also occurred there and had been traced to one of the villagers having constructed a cowshed in front of his house on ground with feng shui properties.\n\nReturning to the 1958 case, the elders proposed to call in the services of the nephew of the priest who had supervised the ceremony thirty-five years before. He was a man of forty years of age who had followed in his uncle's footsteps. Such persons are known locally as feng shui hsien sheng (風水先生).\n\nThis ceremony was supposed to cause considerable inconvenience for the villagers, in theory if not in practice. One week of vegetable diet was obligatory for all and there was also a three-day prohibition on entering and leaving the village: that is, if the ceremony was to realize its full value. This meant that no cows could be grazed or grass or firewood cut on the hills; nor, presumably, could men go out to work in the fields.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1965.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205118, "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-1966", "page_number": 74, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "SINO-WESTERN CONTACTS\n\n69\n\ncome to light. The Berlin State Library preserves several scrap-books compiled by Ottoman Turks where miniatures cut out from manuscripts are pasted in the album in much the same way as one collects stamps. This is surely a barbaric procedure, but many valuable specimens of early Persian and Turkish miniature painting have been preserved in this way. One of these so-called Saray Albums contains also a cutting from a Chinese painting — a fragment showing the Taoist saint Ha-ma with his toad, a well-known figure in Taoist hagiography. This must then come from a Yüan painting that somehow found its way to Persia.25\n\nI am sure that a closer study of the old MSS in Persian libraries would furnish still more evidence of Mongol and Chinese influences during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.\n\nWe have seen when discussing the presence of non-Chinese scientists in China that they were chiefly appreciated as technicians, practitioners and surgeons, and that Chinese medical theory was hardly influenced by Near Eastern medical thought. On the other hand, Chinese medicine became known in Persia under the Mongols. The famous Persian author and statesman, Rashid ad-Din was responsible for compiling a medical encyclopedia, Tangsuq-namāh-i Ilkhân dar funūni-ïulūm-i Khitai, \"Treasures of the Ilkhan on the Sciences of Cathay\", that is, China. This book was written in or about A.D. 1313. The illustrations in this work are evidently taken from some Chinese source. No similar translation of a Near Eastern work into Chinese seems to have survived, which shows how much cultural interchange in some fields was a one-way traffic under the Mongols.26\n\nPersia presents, under the Mongols, a unique feature. Rashid ad-Din was the author of another work, the Jami' at-tawārīkh or \"Collection of Histories\". This book is the first world history which deserves that name. It contains not only a history of the Mongols but equally a history of the Europeans (the Franks), of the Indians and of the Chinese. The Chinese part of the Jami' at-tawarikh has not yet been properly edited (there are several manuscripts but no printed edition), and a thorough investigation of this text is needed. Preliminary studies have shown that Rashid ad-Din had Chinese informants and that his material was, in all probability, taken from a Chinese Buddhist chronicle. We may therefore say that, in the Mongol period, Persia was the only", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205134, "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-1966", "page_number": 90, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "FOREIGN RELATIONS OF BUDDHISM\n\n85\n\nordination on May 6, 1936 and began what was to have been a three-year program of Theravada studies. One by one, however, they disrobed and scattered.34 In 1940 Fa-fang arrived. He had been teaching in T'ai-hsu's seminaries since the early 1920's, and soon became lecturer in Mahayana Buddhism at the University of Ceylon. In 1945 he brought over two younger Chinese monks. They too disrobed, as did one or more of the monks who had gone to Thailand ten years earlier.35\n\nThis may partly have been because their sense of monastic vocation was undermined by exposure to foreign life and ideas. Another reason was the attitude of their hosts. From the Theravada point of view the Mahayana ordination was invalid. In fact some Theravadins considered that Mahayana Buddhism was such a dangerous heresy that its destruction would be a blessing for the world.36 They saw no question of dialogue, but only of correcting error. In this atmosphere Sinhalese laymen are said to have discriminated against the Chinese and refused to accord them the same deference as they gave to the Sinhalese monks, as, for instance, always taking a lower seat and presenting them with dana. Hence the Chinese monks became disillusioned and left. All the above information comes from a Mahayana informant, whose account may be colored.37 In any case it seems likely that the Sinhalese were entirely unaware of the sensibilities that they were offending.\n\nIn China itself the attitude towards Theravada Buddhism was ambivalent. On the one hand the Chinese regarded it as too narrow. Naturally they could not approve of its rejection of Mahayana doctrine and its air of superiority. On the other hand an increasing proportion of the Chinese Buddhist intelligentsia, both monks and laymen, came to accept the thesis that Theravada was indeed closer to Buddhism in its original form than was Mahayana. Quite aside from the changes the latter had undergone in India, there were the Confucian and Taoist accretions of which they became aware as they studied the history of Chinese Buddhism in the newly established seminaries. Furthermore Theravada, as expounded by Buddhist intellectuals in Ceylon and Burma, seemed less vulnerable to the charge of \"superstition\" and more compatible with the pronouncements of science. The elite of the Theravada sangha seemed to be less involved in\n\nPage 90\n\nPage 91", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205137, "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-1966", "page_number": 93, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "88\n\nHOLMES WELCH\n\nspent a good part of the night at their devotions, which he describes as such \"a whooping and shrieking and general caterwauling as should have banished the most belligerent horde of devils as effectually as it did the sound sleep from which it frequently tore me.”40\n\nOne could cite dozens of similar passages from the reminiscences of Western travellers and old China hands.*\n\nIt may seem remarkable that after a century of such contact, the monks continued to be hospitable and courteous towards foreigners who treated them with even a modicum of respect. But barbarian boorishness was easy to excuse, since it only confirmed the Chinese sense of superiority. Nor was this sense threatened by Christian polemics. The monks were usually able to take care of themselves in an argument. When Timothy Richard interviewed a leading Peking monk, he was asked \"Who sent you to China? Your sovereign?\" Richard answered: \"No, I would not have come to China if I had not felt that God had sent me.\" The monk said: \"How do you know what the will of God is?\" Richard's reply is not recorded, but in recounting the conversation he urged that Buddhism should not be judged by the ignorance of the ordinary monk.42\n\n**\n\nWhat did trouble the Buddhists was their inability to compete with the Christians materially. They did not have the unlimited funds that seemed to be available to missions, so that even if they wanted to, they could not build schools or orphanages on the same scale. Nor did they have the extra-territorial privileges that made it possible for missionaries to offer converts protection from Chinese law. Particularly resented was the fact that the 1929 Regulations for the Supervision of Monasteries and Temples applied to Buddhist and Taoist institutions, but not to Christian ones, which were, of course, exempt by “extrality.”\n\nFor all these reasons the Buddhist attitude towards Christianity gradually hardened. Anti-Christian feeling, which had at first arisen in response to Jesuit inroads during the Ming Dynasty,43 began again to displace the usual attitude that all religions were different aspects of a universal truth. It became common (presumably more common than it had been before 1860) for monks to warn their lay disciples against reading Christian books. The lay initiation often included an abjuration of heterodoxy. I have", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205147, "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-1966", "page_number": 103, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "98\n\nHOLMES WELCH\n\n43 Reichelt quotes a warning by the late Ming monk, Hsi-ming, against \"being deceived into joining the Catholic church or some other outside sect,” and states that it was often reprinted (Truth and Tradition in Chinese Buddhism, Shanghai, 1927, pp. 157-158).\n\n44 It was in 1920 that Reichelt first proposed an \"institute for special work among the Buddhists.\" He wanted to make contact with monks whose hearts were filled with bitterness towards Christianity because some Christians were \"so fatally lacking in a sympathetic and gentle attitude towards others.\" It was to be \"a half-way house\" with many of the features of a Buddhist monastery, including a wandering monks' hall, a meditation hall, a bell tower, a crematorium, and a hall for the aged. See K. L. Reichelt, \"Special Work among Chinese Buddhists\" Chinese Recorder 51.7 (July 1920), 491-497. When it finally went into operation, under the name of the \"Christian Mission to the Buddhists,\" in the autumn of 1922, it had only a \"very small, semi-foreign house.\" After a year and a half, it moved to somewhat larger quarters which included a dining room, where vegetarian meals were served, and the all-important \"pilgrims hall\" where monks were allowed to put up for three days (as they would be at a Buddhist temple) and stay longer if they were interested in serious study. The layout was \"just as in monasteries with two long platforms where they can spread their bedding, and, above them, shelves where they can place their things. Between the two platforms, there is an altar with an incense burner and two candlesticks and above all an impressive crucifix.\" Even more significant was the arrangement of the chapel, to which they were summoned for worship twice a day (as they would be in a monastery) by \"a Chinese bell with deep tones.\" The altar was of red lacquer \"in a true Chinese style,\" adorned with gilt designs that included the following: \"the lotus lily symbolizing the purity, the fire, and the water of the cleansing spirit” (but also, of course, symbolizing the Buddha Amitabha and his Pure Land), \"the swastika of peace and cosmic union\" (but also one of the Buddha's sacred marks and a general symbol for Buddhism), and the cross over a lotus, which was the Mission's emblem.\n\nJust as in a Chinese temple, plaques with parallel inscriptions were hung on the walls. One bore a quotation from the Gospel according to St. John: \"The true light that enlightens every man has come into the world.\" The other legend was more Buddhist in flavour than Christian: \"[Join in] the great vow compassionately to help people across to the other shore\" (ta-yüan tz'u-hang).\n\nThese efforts to make Buddhist monks feel at home attracted a large number of them as visitors (about a thousand annually) but in the first four and a half years of operation, only seventeen male Chinese were converted and baptized. See Notto Normann Thelle \"The Christian Mission to the Buddhists,\" Chinese Recorder (September 1927), 571-575. A photograph of four of the Buddhist and Taoist novices, whom Thelle says were enrolled in the boys' school opened by the Mission, appears in the Chinese Recorder 54.11 (November 1923), facing p. 671. When the permanent headquarters of the Mission were constructed at Tao-fung Shan in the New Territories of Hong Kong during the 1930s, the approximation of a Buddhist monastery became almost as close as Dr. Reichelt had originally envisaged it. Some missionaries were afraid that he was being too broad-minded in his use of Buddhist motifs and even that he might be fostering a kind of Buddho-Christian syncretism. He and his colleagues maintained, however, that their only purpose was to \"lead these people into a living faith in Jesus Christ.\" (Thelle, p. 571).\n\n45 Maha Bodhi, 41.3.4 (March-April 1933), 133,\n\n46 Most of the information on Chao-k'ung up to this point is taken from David Lampe and Laszlo Szenasi, The Self-made Villain, London, 1961.\n\n47 Victor Purcell, The Chinese in Southeast Asia, London, 1951, p. 47.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205176, "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-1966", "page_number": 132, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "OLD BRITISH KOWLOON\n\n127\n\nbelow; another was the owner of a herbal medicine shop in Yau Ma Ti, and the other two came from Ho Man Tin. One of these was the village elder, and the other was a woman who was a keen Taoist and the wife of the richest man in the village.\n\nThe temple was the focal point of village life at this time and contributed much to relieve the boredom of hard work and ordinary routine for the cultivators, stone-cutters, shop-hands and their wives who were among its devotees. The highlight of the year was the celebrations at the time of the birthday of Kwun Yam, the patron goddess of the temple. This falls on the 19th day of the third lunar month. At this time the managers arranged for a variety of ceremonies and entertainments to take place. First, there was the annual chanting of religious books, called locally ta chiu (T). This was performed by Taoist priests known as nam mo lo (亮樣羅)12 and during this time it was customary for the villagers to follow a vegetarian diet. Having done their religious duty the elders made arrangements for entertaining both gods and men. They employed a troupe of actors to perform Cantonese opera for the traditional period of four days and five nights. My informants tell me that these shows took place every year when they were small, and indeed right up to 1926.\n\nRev. E. J. Hardy, who served as a military chaplain in Hong Kong for three and a half years at the turn of the century writes, with special reference to the villages of the Hong Kong region:33\n\n\"The great event of village life is the occasional visit of strolling players. In a very short time a temporary mat-shed theatre is put up on some barren spot on the outskirts of the village: around it cook-shops, tea-shops, gambling booths and the like, all made of bamboo, palm-leaves, and matting are erected. The place is like a fair. At mat-shed theatres the audience in the pit stand; above there are seats for subscribers and local magnates\".\n\nAnother feature of the celebrations on Kwun Yam's birthday was the firing of lucky rockets. It was usual to fire three rockets, and the assembled men and youths scrambled for the fragments of the rockets, which were believed to bring luck to the successful keepers. The first rocket was the most prized. This local entertainment could take place at various festivals. It is described for", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205188, "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-1966", "page_number": 144, "title": "RAS-1966", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\nKUAN-TZU: A REPOSITORY OF EARLY CHINESE THOUGHT, Vol. I. By W. Allyn Rickett. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1965. xviii, pp. 269. Bibliography, Index. HK$45.\n\nThe Kuan-tzu is said to have been written by the famous statesman Kuan Chung who died around 645 B.C. Many chapters record social and economic reforms allegedly proposed by him to his ruler, Duke Huan of Ch'i who ruled from 685 to 643 B.C. Also included are proposals for the establishment of state monopolies over salt and iron, the different ways government might control currency and grain prices, and other measures advocating state interference in economic affairs.\n\nAccording to some scholarly studies the Kuan-tzu is really a work of collected writings by various writers, and therefore it could not have been entirely written by Kuan Chung. If this assertion is true, many chapters were probably written by Confucians, Mohists, Legalists, and Taoists during the third century B.C., although a few may have been written as early as the late fourth century, while some were probably produced during the second or even the first century B.C.\n\nOne reason why certain sections of the Kuan-tzu, written after Kuan Chung's death, were attributed to him is that he played a major role in strengthening the state of Ch'i. As soon as Duke Huan took over the government of Ch'i after a civil war, he appointed Kuan Chung as his chief minister. With his new power Kuan Chung was able to persuade the Duke to carry out political, military, social, and economic reforms which soon made Ch'i one of the most powerful feudal states of the day. By 680 B.C. Duke Huan was recognized as the lord protector or chief over the feudal lords. He had the responsibility of controlling the barbarian peoples on the frontier and ensuring that all states be loyal to the ruler of Chou. After the seventh century B.C. feudal society gradually disintegrated. It was during this period that Kuan Chung came to the fore as a new type of professional bureaucrat and political adviser to replace the former hereditary officials who", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1966.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/bz60k0811", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205483, "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-1968", "page_number": 25, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "20\n\nMARJORIE TOPLEY\n\nBut there might be factors connected with temple organization even in multi-lineage villages which could make for disruption. Where there were several wealthy individuals from different families competing for influence through the organization, quarrels over management of temple property might arise.2 In villages with large populations or with much social differentiation a number of temples might be built also to gods specialising in their various interests. Where local gods, or rather their temples, had nothing to do with each other's affairs (Hsiao gives an example from Shantung of two temples, one patronized mainly by rural scholars and another by farmers) they need not compete.22 A village might be divided into sections at least for some organizational purposes. But when temples offered gods and facilities appealing to the same sorts of persons rivalry and competition might occur over funds and members, unless they agreed to divide their areas of recruitment.\n\nIf promoters and managers were concerned with secular activities in the main, who organized the ritual affairs of such temples? Much of popular Chinese worship is of course performed alone, but in some areas, notably Fukien, there were spirit-medium cults (the god offering advice through the medium), and everywhere there were festivals for gods, in some cases several in a year. People in trouble also sometimes engaged in occasional rites involving popular gods and goddesses and might need special arrangements and specialist attentions. Cult organizers are described in the literature as \"predatory elements\": that is, not members of the regular peasantry.23 Some might have been members of the dislocated peasantry living outside villages, who saw a chance to improve their economic position; others, Taoist priests, of the kind who lived in their own homes and engaged in religion sometimes as a part-time occupation (see below); and still others the kind of persons associated with secret societies and religious sects. At any rate, we know such temples were sometimes borrowed as premises for secret societies, and temples just outside villages sometimes became meeting places for thieves and bandits.\n\nThe State believed that temple festivals offered opportunities for secret heretical groups to plan their insurrections and when evidence that this was the case came to light popular festivals were banned.24 Sometimes those promoting religious activities", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205487, "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-1968", "page_number": 29, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "24\n\nMARJORIE TOPLEY\n\nments. Finally there might be ties between such institutions and villages with lay-disciples who were \"kinsmen\" and lived in their own homes.\n\nFrom Buddhist genealogies I have seen, and from information gained from their owners in Singapore who were members of the Buddhist organization in China before emigrating, it seems that members of \"kinship\" groups might be dotted over a large area. The numbers and kinds of institution found in an area would probably depend partly on economic circumstances in a region. For example in one district of Kwangtung, Shuntê, there was a particularly large number of vegetarian halls, according to my informants, and which catered for women who refused to marry or live with their husbands. They worked in the silk-mills for cash-earnings and their strength to resist marriage undoubtedly stemmed from this fact (their reasons for not wanting to marry are more complex and I cannot go into them here). In old age such women often had nowhere to go and they sometimes financed the building of vegetarian halls themselves and became their managers.28\n\nIt seems unlikely however that Buddhist pseudo-kinship was a significant form of organization for ordinary kinds of peasants in the nineteenth century in most parts of China. Buddhism itself does not appear to have had a very strong structural position at that time. There are indications that it was not well endowed and the number of residents of their institutions small.29 Generally speaking the kinds of persons wishing to make use of Buddhist organization were not very wealthy.\n\nThe general lower-classness of the Buddhist clergy would not attract the scholarly men of wealth as disciples. It is said a scholarly family would be despised by the community if it mixed with Buddhist (and Taoist) priests frequently.30 Any scholarly person genuinely interested in the Buddhist faith would not need the instruction of a priest in reading texts and would be unlikely to take instruction anyway from a person beneath him in education and other status. If he wished to \"take refuge\" in the religion he might take a master as a formality, but it is unlikely the \"kinship\" connexion thus established would play a significant role in the life of either person.\n\nIt was not in fact until the turn of the century that educated laymen took up the Buddhist cause with any vigour. At that time", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205489, "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-1968", "page_number": 31, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "26\n\nMARJORIE TOPLEY\n\nmy knowledge of Hong Kong, to attract mainly men today (as lay members at least) and it may well have been a religion more popular with men as far as individual practices are concerned in traditional times also.\n\nBut there is one branch of Taoism not centred on monastic life: its members are (and were traditionally) professional priests living in their own homes, and not vegetarian or celibate. Like the Buddhist clerics, they are recruited through masters, have recorded genealogies (some of which I have seen in Singapore) and are grouped in pseudo-kinship relations with others, this relationship often forming the basis for teams performing rituals (as with the Buddhists). Such priests have often been part-time practitioners in the rural area, working when not acting in their priestly capacity, in generally poorly rewarded and low status occupations.\n\nSome of the main activities of such priests in village life were the provision of rituals and ritual information for ordinary people and related to domestic affairs and problems in the main. They were also in demand from mutual aid associations using religious elements, those connected with trades and crafts for example, for conducting the periodic ballots for election of officers and participating in rituals during their festivals to patron gods; and they may have had a role also in promoting and organizing religious cults for villagers, perhaps some of those taking place in temples dedicated to popular gods. It seems unlikely, however, that they would figure significantly in any organization embracing both scholarly and non-scholarly members of rural society.\n\nThere were also certain Taoist societies having no connexion with priests of this kind and sometimes found at the village level. Some of those I have investigated overseas show in their records a line of descent through leaders going back to some Taoist sage, and they have their own preachers and organizers. Some concentrate on improving health and curing disease and drug addiction.32 The term Taoist and also Buddhist \"society\" or sect is often used rather loosely in the literature, however, to cover organizations using elements from such religions, but which were in fact syncretic. Some of these bodies were regarded as highly heretical by the State and known as \"left doors\". They occasionally called themselves Taoist or Buddhist to escape attention.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205491, "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-1968", "page_number": 33, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "28\n\nMARJORIE TOPLEY\n\nThe following short description of how some sects related to territorial units comes mainly from my own investigations and examination of sectarian documents in Singapore and Hong Kong. The groups I studied are off-shoots of a widely ramifying system sometimes called Hsien-t'ien Ta Tao, \"The Great Way of Former Heaven\". It contains many sects going under different names. The sects of this religion were found in many parts of China and copied the State system of territorial administration in dividing up areas for administration with lodges descending to the level of the district. Below the district, however, the groups had other centres for members and based, as in Buddhism and Taoism, on pseudo-kinship organization. Provision was thus made for China-wide organization, although it is doubtful whether any sect extended over the entire country at any time.\n\nThe system appears to have worked as follows: administrative lodges existed usually, and where feasible in the face of campaigns of suppression which were waged from time to time against them, in the chief towns of provinces, counties and districts. The \"capital”, however, was not necessarily the same as the imperial capital but might be the town where the sect developed originally or to which it had been forced to remove its head office because of State activity against it. Until the late '50s of the nineteenth century, sects were headed by a patriarch who ideally resided in the main lodge but sometimes lived in another remoter place to escape attention by the State. In the records of some of the sects, the patriarch is compared to an emperor. It is often claimed he was an incarnate Buddha. Under the patriarch, there were various officers administering the branch lodges. All administrators had to hold degrees known as “lotus degrees\" to be eligible for such posts, although not all \"degree\" holders were administrators. Examinations for these degrees were in religious knowledge and techniques, which included knowledge of their own sutras (sometimes written in code) and Taoist type \"hygiene\" and Ch’an Buddhhist type meditation. Degrees have elaborate titles in many of the sects and are likened in their literature to degrees for State examinations. Administrative posts are sometimes compared to those occupied in the State administration by governors, judges and magistrates.\n\nMany sects are \"vegetarian\", that is to say they require degree-holders to practise permanent vegetarianism and also sexual", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205493, "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-1968", "page_number": 35, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "30\n\nMARJORIE TOPLEY\n\norganization as their only method for organizing members. There are certainly some overseas today which still retain the patriarch type of organization but several are run only by \"family heads\" (chia-chang). Such \"family\" groups have also fragmented to form separate off-shoots of the religion.\n\nThere is evidence also that for at least some of the vegetarian sects of China the dangers of running their organization through vegetarian halls was well recognised: that although sometimes such halls existed as centres for administration, for ordinary members meetings were more normally conducted in their own homes. De Groot writing on the Lung-hua sect in the town of Amoy (this sect is also an off-shoot of Hsien-t'ien Ta Tao as I discovered from my researches) talks of sectaries meeting in each other's homes. Their vegetarian halls were rooms in private dwellings (this is still true of some of the \"halls\" in urban Hong Kong today but not all of them). He says, however, a patriarch lived in a residence which \"may be something like a Buddhist convent\".35\n\nTo what extent were ordinary members operating in their own homes residents of villages? Sects certainly appear to have operated in villages in this century. Several organizations found in villages of Ting Hsien, a district of Hopei and described as \"Taoist societies\", listed meeting days which are special meeting days for the Singapore sects I worked with and not celebrated by any other religious group I know of. Nine of these societies reported sixty-eight village organizations and one was represented in twenty-two villages. It was said probably half, possibly two-thirds, of the villages had one or more of the groups represented among their inhabitants.36\n\nBut was villager membership likely to have been common? And what about the leaders, what sort of men were they and where did they come from? A look at the sort of qualifications some sects demanded for rank-holders and satisfactions they offered to members might give us an idea.\n\nLeadership was not for the busy, first of all. Much study and practice of religious tasks was necessary for passing the required examinations and vegetarian sects required leaders to practise abstinence. Sometimes, when for example a proselytizing campaign was underway (sectarian records in Singapore show there were often such campaigns, and also campaigns aimed at reamalgamating...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205495, "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-1968", "page_number": 37, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "32\n\nMARJORIE TOPLEY\n\nspectful of State authority in some cases (one sect I studied states in its rules first published in the nineteenth century that leaders should not bow to official power).\n\nThe evidence suggests in fact that leaders were low-ranking, failed, or would-be scholars; scholars not taking the official examinations for patriotic reasons; merchants with some education but no degree; individuals with some education but no permanent or permanent well-rewarded occupation - herbalists, geomancers, tutors and clerks, story-tellers and petty traders; and occasionally retired military or civil officials unable to exert much influence in local society. Several leaders in China of sects with off-shoots in Singapore are recorded as herbalists in the lists of patriarchs; one was a school-teacher, another a merchant, and a present-day leader in Malaya joining his sect in China was a retired military official who previously studied Economics in Japan. The rural area must have included a number of persons of such kinds. In Ting Hsien members of esoteric \"societies\" are said to have included old-type school-masters and men without regular occupations.38\n\nFor an ordinary peasant living in a village, membership of a sect however might involve difficulties and dangers. The \"kinship\" system and its obligations might conflict with obligations of actual kinship and membership of the village community. Sectarianism in its ritual aspects, too, would tend to clash with ritual aspects of ordinary social institutions more than in the case of Buddhism. Whereas it was common for people to have Buddhist rituals performed at funerals for example (although sometimes by teams of Taoist priests) the sectarians often had their own special rites. The sectarian who had them performed would risk revealing his membership. This might be dangerous unless a large percentage of village members were in the sect. Many sectarian religions were also more demanding than Buddhism both in cash contributions and time to be devoted to religious tasks. Farming would not leave much time for religious practices and ordinary home-life was not conducive to their performance. Some sectarian customs conflicted with Chinese custom to which the majority of peasants ascribed moreover: men and women met together for worship for example.\n\nThe literature suggests that in village communities it was again the unattached, particularly the elderly who joined such sects and", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205598, "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-1968", "page_number": 140, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "135\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nNOTES ON SOME VEGETARIAN HALLS IN HONG KONG BELONGING TO THE SECT OF HSIEN-T'IEN TAO:\n\n(THE WAY OF FORMER HEAVEN)*\n\nOn Saturday, March 16, 1968, members of the Society visited four vegetarian halls at Ngau Chi Wan, Kowloon, belonging to a religious sect called Hsien-t'ien Tao. These notes are based on materials provided for the visit, which we have rearranged and expanded slightly, and they include also a brief account of the visit itself.\n\nWe chose vegetarian halls for our visit because they are, to many members of the public in Hong Kong, less known places of worship than the more popular temples, and the monasteries and nunneries of Buddhism. When we first came across these particular halls in Kowloon and discovered they were of the Hsien-t'ien Tao sect they seemed to us to be an obvious choice for another reason: they follow an ideology standing outside Buddhist and Taoist religion and again far less known to most people in Hong Kong than these faiths.\n\nA field study will have to be made before a full account can be written up of either vegetarian halls or of the Hsien-t'ien Tao and its operation in Hong Kong today. These notes are intended to provide the reader with some general outline information and are based on information already obtained by Marjorie Topley here, and in research elsewhere, and by James Hayes in interview with members of these Kowloon halls prior to the visit. The short bibliography of works which we have appended provide more detailed material on the background of this and similar religious groups, and their vegetarian halls in China in traditional times. We refer the reader also to an article by Marjorie Topley elsewhere in this volume on matters of religion in the nineteenth century.†\n\nI. THE VEGETARIAN HALL AND ITS PURPOSE\n\nVegetarian halls (chai-t'ang) form part of the organization of more than one Chinese religion. They are found, for example, in\n\n* The illustrations to these notes are at Plates 14 to 19.\n\n† See pp. 9-43 above.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205600, "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-1968", "page_number": 142, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES\n\n137\n\nof the kind in which members of the actual family participate: members attend each other's birthdays, anniversaries of death, and so on, and visit back and forth among the various vegetarian halls in the \"family\" group on such occasions. Membership, then, provides real social satisfactions as well as security.\n\nBut a further attraction of vegetarian halls, which is offered by the sect only, is rank. The inmates of halls of Hsien-t'ien Tao differ in one important sense from those of the Buddhist faith. Buddhist halls are a fairly late development in the religion and were built to house lay-members of the faith: individuals not wishing to take the full vows of the clergy but wishing to live a life of abstinence. Halls of Hsien-t'ien Tao, however, exist not only for lay-members, although many of the inmates hold no office or rank in the religion; they exist also, and more importantly, for those who have taken religious degrees and hold rank. It is for such rank that special religious tasks are necessary and they include Ch'an Buddhist type meditationary activities and Taoist exercises for breath circulation and control. It is reckoned that such persons need special living facilities for their purpose and the majority of the sect's rank-holders live in vegetarian halls at least on an occasional basis: men as well as women.\n\nRank in the sect is undoubtedly an attraction to many of the unattached women residents of the halls of Hsien-t'ien Tao. Rank-holders do not shave their heads as do the Buddhist clergy, or wear special robes, except for certain ceremonials, and like the lower members of the sect they refer to themselves as \"laymen\". They do, however, distinguish non-rank-holders, using the term hu-tao: \"helpers of the way (sect),\" for them. Rank-holders may have a good deal of responsibility for teaching and spreading the religion. You may be surprised to know that there are amahs, occupying a humble position in secular society, who are, in their religious life, rank-holders enjoying not only the respect, but also the obedience of many other women, to whom they might be religious \"masters\". This brings us to the question of the religious beliefs of Hsien-t'ien Tao and what, more precisely, it is a sect of.\n\n[1.\n\nAFFILIATIONS AND BELIEFS OF Hsien-T'ien Tao\n\nHsien-t'ien Tao is one of a large group of sects tracing themselves either to a common pair of founders, a monk and layman", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 205660, "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-1968", "page_number": 202, "title": "RAS-1968", "content_text": "The Library\n\n197\n\nWADDELL, L. Austine.\n\nThe Buddhism of Tibet; or, Lamaism, with its mystic cults, symbolism and mythology, and in its relation to Indian Buddhism. 2nd ed. Cambridge, Heffer, 1934.\n\nWALKER, Egbert H.\n\nFifty-one common ornamental trees of the Lingnam University campus: a guide to the more important local trees. Canton, Lingnam University, 1930.\n\nWANG, Ch'ung (1)\n\nLun-hêng (3) Tr. from the Chinese and annotated by Alfred Forke. 2nd ed. New York, Paragon Book Gallery, 1962.\n\nReprint of previous ed., Leipzig, 1907-11.\n\nWEALE, B. L. Putnam, pseud.\n\nIndiscreet letters from Peking; being the notes of an eye-witness [to] the siege and sack of a distressed capital in 1900. New York, Dodd, Mead, 1907 reprinted 1919.\n\nWELCH, Holmes.\n\nThe parting of the way: Lao Tzu and the Taoist movement. Boston, Beacon Press, 1957.\n\nWERNER, E. T. C.\n\nMyths & legends of China. New York, Brentano, 1922.\n\nWHITAKER, K. P. K.\n\nTsaur Jyr's “Luohshern fuh\". London, Taylor's Foreign P., 1954.\n\nReprint from Asia major: a British journal of Far Eastern studies, new series, v. 4, pp. 36-56.\n\nWIEGER, L.\n\nRudiments [de parler et de style chinois] 2e éd. Imprimerie de la Mission Catholique, 1905. vol. 4: Morale et usages only.\n\nWILKINSON, H. P.\n\nThe family in classical China. Shanghai, Kelly & Walsh, 1926.\n\nWILLETTS, William.\n\nChinese art. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1958.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1968.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833948d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206109, "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-1970", "page_number": 189, "title": "RAS-1970", "content_text": "184\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nthat the bay presented for boats taking shelter in bad weather, these pirates were gradually displaced by fishing people and shopkeepers, leading in time to a permanent settlement. (See 香港百年史 Centenary History of Hong Kong 南中編譯出 Hi Ep 7 n.d. pp. 74-75).\n\nThe name Ngo-yan-wan appears to have been used officially, too. Government Notification No. 69 of 1857 which appears in The Hongkong Government Gazette for May 9, 1857 describes District No. 2 Show-ke-wan as being \"from Hoong-heung-loo to the village of Ngo-yan-wan, taking in Wong-kok-tsai, Chut-che-mooey, Shui-cheang-wan, Show-ke-wan and Ngo-yan-wan,\" but it is not clear to which part of the present extended Shau Kei Wan Ngo-yan-wan belonged,\n\nThe oldest part of Shau Kei Wan, where original settlement took place, is along the Main Street East which we shall visit today. Many old houses probably dating from the 1850's to 1870's are still in existence. It is likely that the style of building followed that in contemporary Victoria and the Western district, though successive waves of redevelopment have left few traces of them there. They are all shop houses, and a count of the present shops in old premises shows besides groceries and general stores 9 Chinese herb shops, 7 josspaper shops, 7 fishing suppliers, 5 goldsmiths and 5 rice shops, indicating long established lines of trade with a predominantly fishing clientele*.\n\nIn Main Street East is the Tin Hau Temple. The existing building dates from the 1870's, but since the inscription above the entrance states this to be a reconstruction, it is likely that a smaller building stood on the same site for many years before. A stone tablet dated 1876 states that it was badly damaged by the famous typhoon of 1874, necessitating a major repair. In this connection there is an interesting parallel with the Tam Kung Temple below which had also to be rebuilt a short time after its first construction owing to a more than usually destructive typhoon. The temple contains two other major shrines to Kwun Yam (Goddess of Mercy) and Lui Cho (one of the most prominent among the later Taoist patriarchs).\n\nsee\n\n* A prominent local shopkeeper has told me that, pre-war, fishermen would not go outside Main Street East for business or pleasure.\n\nThe shop houses are shown in plates 21-22,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1970.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206472, "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": 20, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "14\n\nDR. F. I. TSEUNG\n\nHowever, scientific medicine has made such rapid progress that the art of feeling the pulse as a diagnostic method has lost much of its practical value. At the present time, it can only be regarded as an interesting fact in medical history, one of China's contributions to medicine in the past.\n\nIn his handbook Prescriptions for Emergencies, Ko Hung described small-pox in the following words:\n\nRecently there are persons suffering from epidemic sores which attack the head, face and trunk. In a short time they spread all over the body. The sores have the appearance of hot boils containing some white matter. While some of these pustules are drying up, a fresh crop appears. Patients who recover are disfigured with purplish scars which do not fade until after a year. The people say that it was introduced in the reign of Chien Wu (£) when the king was fighting the Huns () at Nan-yang ($). The name 'Hunpox' (✓) was given to it.\n\nBefore the Han dynasty, the Chinese healing art was entirely indigenous. In the Tang dynasty, following close on the heels of the introduction of Buddhism into China, came Indian ideas and therapeutic measures. The Taoists also exercised influence by inventing a system of charms for curing diseases. In this dynasty there were two very outstanding medical men, namely Sun Szu-mo (EL) and Wong Tao (£) who published two important works called Thousand Gold Remedies (Chien Chin Fang ✓✓) and the Medical Secrets of an Official (Wei Tai Pi Yao ✓✓✓✓). These two famous medical works sum up the advances and medical thought of all the previous dynasties.\n\nThus, in the Thousand Gold Remedies, it was pointed out that cholera was caused by eating food which was contaminated and was not due to the evil influences of demons as generally believed by the public at that time. In the same book is mentioned the use of catheterisation for retention of urine. It is significant to note that the Medical Secrets of an Official as well as the Thousand Gold Remedies recommend the use of thyroid gland for the treatment of goitre.\n\nOrganotherapy, formerly much ridiculed by foreigners, but now hailed as a valuable modern discovery, has been known to every Chinese house-wife. The common practice of administering kidney for backache, lungs for consumption and cough, brain for nervous", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206628, "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": 176, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "170\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\ncombination of an historical hero, with considerable legend surrounding him, and a mythical being who is very popular in Chinese folklore; thus creating a complicated and fabulous story. The second, Fa Chu Kung, was in all probability a historical being, the actuality of his origins lost in time, who now appears as a legendary being. The third, Cheng Ho, is a comparatively recent and well-documented historical being, deified by popular appeal, with little myth or legend added to his story.\n\nTwo of the three are popular Taoist spirits or gods (†‡) and believed to be beneficent whereas the third, T'ai Sui, is a feared Taoist god.\n\nThe detail of the development of each cult, the recognition features of each deity, the frequency of sightings and the identities of other deities co-located with the main deity described below are based on sightings and conversations in some two and a half thousand temples, and six god-carvers' shops located in Hong Kong and Macau, Taiwan, the Philippines and in most parts of South East Asia; and also from notes culled from many books, mostly written by Christian missionaries who so often vented their spleen on the subject of heathen idols.\n\nOne final prefatory note is necessary at this point, a short description of a novel which is one of the main sources of myth and legend about the gods.\n\nThe novel, the Feng Shen Yen I (#Ħ✯A), The Deification of the Gods*, written in about the fifteenth century about the supernatural, describes the historical struggle between the last king of the Shang Dynasty, King Chou (*†£) and the victor, the first king of the subsequent Chou Dynasty, King Wu (1). The capital of the Shang Dynasty was the ancient city of Anyang, where King Chou, infamous for his tyranny, cruelty and excesses is said to have reigned for thirty-three years, 1154-1121 B.C. King Chou was destroyed with the Shang Dynasty in the flames of his palace at the Deer Terrace after a crushing defeat by a rebellious army under Hsi P'o (‡) on the banks of the Yellow River. Hsi P'o founded the Chou Dynasty and is remembered as King Wu (1). This defeat of the Shang and the inception of the Chou is variously\n\n* See (in translation) Lu Hsun, A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, Peking, Foreign Languages Press, 1959, pp. 220-224, where the title is rendered Canonization of the Gods.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206629, "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": 177, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "THREE CHINESE DEITIES\n\n171\n\ndated either about the turn of the second millennium BC, or mid-eleventh century BC (ca. 1121 BC) about the same time as the Trojan wars. King Wu's victory is the theme of many Chinese legends and also forms the plot of the Deification of the Gods, which was recounted by story tellers the length and breadth of China. Woven into its historical background are a multitude of supernatural events involving the heroes before they were deified. They were divided into two forces: the benevolent under King Wu, and the malevolent under King Chou. The battle was fought with practically every form of weapon known to man and included the use of flame, gas and germ warfare, together with the conventional swords, spears and arrows.\n\nThis long Taoist novel is known, either in part or in whole, by the Chinese peasants, many of whom believe quite genuinely that the gods, both Taoist and Buddhist, were first deified at this juncture. It portrays many of the Buddhist and Taoist heroes, describing the events leading to their deification, and it played an important role in Chinese iconography, crystallising the beliefs and characteristics of the Chinese deities. Although several major characters link the events together and provide the thread for the story, most of the heroes appear only in one or two episodes.\n\nFrom this mixture of Buddhist and Taoist heroes in this fifteenth-century novel may have developed the practice of worshipping Taoist deities side by side with Buddhas and other Buddhist religious figures in Chinese temples; and in many a Chinese mind these Taoist mythological and folklore deities are inextricably involved with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.\n\nGENERAL YIN CH'IAO\n\nXHT\n\nThe President of the Ministry of Time and The Supreme Ruler of the Year and the Seasons.\n\nAlso known as T’AI SUI (★A)\n\nBackground\n\nIn the spirit world of Chinese folk religion, the Ministry of Time is ruled over by the deified hero, General or Marshal Yin Ch'iao, who bears the title T'ai Sui. He is a stellar deity particularly connected with the planet Jupiter, worshipped China-wide, and is said to be one of the fiercest gods in the pantheon who has to be placated if one is moving, building or when the ground is disturbed.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206636, "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": 184, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "178\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nC. as a fierce, two or six-armed, three-eyed general or two-eyed Taoist priest.\n\nd. as an array of sixty rather characterless seated images, each with a two-character cyclic date on a scroll or tablet (...), or a number between one and sixty painted on the stand or pedestal, or painted over its head. The sixty statues have been seen only in Cantonese and Shanghainese areas though reported on one occasion by Hodous in Foochow. Sometimes all images are identical, sometimes they are a mixture of fierce and gentle, and in one particular Cantonese temple they were beautifully finished. Werner, however, says that the 60 cycle-gods are represented by most grotesque images. (See plate 16).\n\nIn Ningpo in the 1890s the gods of time, gods of the year, months, days and the hours were all represented with long black moustaches. The central one was seated beneath a triple scarlet umbrella, richly embroidered in gold and colours representing the highest emblem of authority. They are also represented in the temple of the Thunder God in the same town. Rev. Henry in Canton saw sixty small images each one to the presiding genius of each year on a minor shrine in the temple of the City God. Some were raised on tiles and some bedecked with gaudy red coats, the gifts of those who had received special favours in their particular years.\n\nC. B. Day says that in Buddhist temples in Chekiang province these are 12 protectors of the Chinese cycle of years. In Suifu, Graham9 saw two images of the 12 rulers of the cyclic year (元甲).\n\nThe Cantonese version of the youth in a. above, is more often than not dressed only in an apron and shoes. The apron is gilt or green, covering the chest and below the waist only, and is secured by a string around the back of the neck and by a girdle around the waist. In several Cantonese temples he is the main deity. The bell he carries has magical properties. Very occasionally he is to be seen with either a sceptre or a silver shoe in his hands; and on still rarer occasions he can be bearded.\n\n7 Henry, Rev. B. C., The Cross and the Dragon (London, Partridge 1883).\n\n8 Day, C. B., Chinese Peasant Cults (Shanghai 1940).\n\n9 Graham, W., \"The temples of Suifu\" in The Chinese Recorder, (vol. LXI, 1930).", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206638, "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": 186, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "180\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nIf the image of T'ai Sui wears shoes, claimed a Fukienese temple keeper, a drought is presaged, and if without, floods are expected; but if one foot is shod and the other is bare, then balanced weather will be the lot of the region. Images of T'ai Sui with one bare foot have been seen in temples in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.\n\nVariations from the basic characteristics\n\nThe youth holding a scroll or plaque of split bamboo is depicted seated, except in a very few sightings where he stands. In the sixty-year cycle of Chinese deities, each year is ruled by a particular image of that year, who is called the “T'ai Sui of the present year\" and the scroll has one of the following inscriptions on it:\n\nTang Nien T'ai Sui (††★★). Liu Nien T'ai Sui (*) Chih Nien T'ai Sui (††✯✯) or Chia Nien T'ai Sui (P‡★A)\n\nYin Ch'iao as a fierce general often has three eyes and six arms, wears armour, and a Taoist crown on a bald head, and has fierce, almost vertical, eyebrows. He holds in five of his hands two discs, one with the character for the sun and the other with the character for the moon, a large ring, a fly whisk, whilst his sixth hand rests on his left knee.\n\nIn Foochow, in the temple of the City Guardian, one of the side altars was devoted to T'ai Sui. His image was dressed in yellow garments, he had a black beard and a necklace of skulls about his hand. The skull necklace, according to Hodous, is a symbol of his authority over the lives of men. Beside him on his left is a trio of small images a foot high representing the present year, last year and next year. Also on either side of him, are the twelve images representing the twelve months or branches and pictures of the twenty-four seasons.\n\nIn only two sightings, one in Penang and one in Singapore, had he a blue face, fierce fangs, was standing, dressed in armour, and carried a mace in each of his hands. One of these images of T'ai Sui, labelled the Great Year of the Moon (A) was one of the twenty-four Celestial Generals (A) who range down each side of some temples. (Plate 17)", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206639, "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": 187, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "THREE CHINESE DEITIES\n\n181\n\nHe has also been seen as a typical standing image of a civil mandarin, when the only method of identifying him was by the title painted on his stand or pedestal. In Kalgan, as will be described below, he is depicted naked with claws, beak and wings.\n\nIn some temples, the images of deities known not to be T'ai Sui or Ying Ch'iao, are called T'ai Sui by the temple keepers, and are prayed to as T'ai Sui. Some of these misidentifications are even to be seen perched on wads of hell money. The best example of this are the distinctive images of the boat people of the Pearl River and Southern Kwangtung province which are to be seen in Singapore and Ipoh, labelled as T'ai Sui, and standing on hell-money. One of these seen in Hong Kong is an image of the Pearl River boat people, normally called the Dragon and Tiger General (*). This is an image of a young man with his right arm raised holding a sword, and his left arm hanging by his side. He wears a robe of green with an animal's face as a stomacher, and with a dragon under his left foot and a tiger under his right. On one instance only, as is to be seen in the photograph, he is to be seen labelled the \"Tai Sui who flew back\" () and is standing on a pile of hell-money. (Plate 18)\n\nFather Doré says that images of T'ai Sui in the Yangtse Valley have six arms, are bald with ear tufts, and three eyes; they wear Taoist crowns and hold in their six hands two swords, a ball and flames, a spear, and a branch of a tree.\n\nThere are thirty-six deities painted as murals on the walls of one Singapore temple, most of whom are Heavenly Masters (A B). Amongst them is Yin Ch'iao, standing, dressed in armour, but with a bare chest and with six arms holding the usual items. Marshal Yin Ch'iao appears, therefore, to be one of the 24 Heavenly Generals and also one of the 36 Heavenly Masters.\n\nIn several works he is given 10 assistants, the last four being the gods of the year, the month, the day and the hour. Their names are given as follows:\n\nLi Ping (李丙) Hwang Ch'eng-i (黃承乙)\n\nChou Teng (周登) and Liu Hung (劉洪)\n\nAll were said to have been slain at the famous battle between good and ... described in The Deification of the Gods, at Wan Hsien Chen (萬仙陣).", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206640, "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": 188, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "182\n\nCo-location of deities\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nIn Fukienese temples in Singapore and Malaya, the T'ai Sui images are often seen with Hsuan Tien Ta Ti (***) or with the Goddess of Mercy (##). In Cantonese and Amoy temples there, the T'ai Sui images are occasionally to be seen with the medical deities Lu Tung Pin (†) or Hua To ($) and in one temple with T'ai Shang Lao Chün (LB).\n\nIn another Fukienese temple in Singapore a triad occupying the centre altar was said by the temple keeper to be three of the Nine Emperors (g). Two were positively identified, one as the second brother of the main deity Chiu Hwang ( ). He is black skinned, bare footed, with one foot on a fire wheel, has protruding eyes, black beard, and his hair is wound into a top knot. His two arms are at his side, otherwise he is very similar to Fa Chu Kung (✯✯2). The second identified image is on the right of the main deity, and he is, without doubt, Wang Tien Kung (1A). The third unidentified image on the left of the main deity could easily be T'ai Sui. He is black faced and bearded, a standing general in armour, holding a bell in his left hand and a sword in his right; he has three eyes, ear tufts of hair, and wears a Taoist crown.\n\nIn one Fukienese temple in Taipei, Yin Ch'iao was seen together with Ch'ü Kung Chen Jen (AA). (Plate 19)\n\nIn North China in Kalgan his second brother Yin Hung ( *) is a special deity said to save people from the \"fifteen bad deaths\". He sits on the opposite side of the central deity, the Jade Emperor (11), from Yin Ch'iao. Both brothers are naked and, surprisingly, have claws, beaks and wings. Grootaers10 says that Yin Ch'iao is never to be seen except as an attendant to the Jade Emperor. It would appear that either the local god maker in Kalgan did not know the identification features of Yin Ch'iao and has confused him with the Thunder God; or that there is a local legend which we do not know about; or thirdly that Grootaers misidentified the two attendants of the Jade Emperor.\n\nC. B. Day bought a hand-painted scroll in Hangchow, depicting five Buddhist figures and six Taoist ones. This pantheon chart included T'ai Sui Ti Chün ( *#*#) together with the San Kuan\n\n10 W. A. Grootaers, Rural Temples around Hsüan Hua (Folklore Studies vol. 10).", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206641, "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": 189, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "THREE CHINESE DEITIES\n\n183\n\n(E), Pei Chi Sheng Ti (1), the Pen Ming Hsing Chün ($*£*) who is the local earth god, and the provincial city god. All five are connected with the fate of mankind.\n\nIn a Ch'ao Chow temple in Johore Bahru, Tai Sui a youth with a scroll (***) is on the altar of Hung Chün Lao Tsu (#$ *). (Plate 20)\n\nFather Doré says that in one temple outside the South Gate of Jukao, in the Yangtze Valley, Yin Ch'iao (F) is to be seen on the right as you face him, with Marshal Ma () on the left. Both have six arms, stand on clouds, and hold swords, amulets, gourds, bells and banners in their hands. Ma has three eyes and wears a hat, whilst Yin is bare from the waist upward and has his hair in a large upswept tuft on the top of his head. Yin is worshipped here as a member of the Ministry of Thunder.\n\nOther interesting sightings.\n\nIn Lavender Street in Singapore a Cantonese temple has sixty-two T'ai Sui images. About half the images hold scrolls and are, according to the temple keeper, the administrators of the fortune; whereas the others with silken slippers, fans, bells, etc. are those who actually provide the fortune.\n\nOne image of a young man, standing with one slipper on and one bare foot, is to be seen in Bukit Purmei temple in Singapore. He is prayed to for rain, and for good crops. (Plate 21)*\n\nCarver's drawings of Yin Ch'iao\n\nA Fukienese god carver prepared, on request, drawings of many deities. From memory he drew:\n\na. An image of T'ai Sui, seated, robed like a monk, wearing sandals, a band around his hair, and holding an open scroll with Tang Nien T'ai Sui (****).\n\nb. Yin Ch'iao's father, seated astride a large, long-beaked bird, holding a fly whisk in his right hand and a seal in his left hand. He is bearded, with a Taoist top knot and crown. His robes are covered in the Yin and Yang circle pattern.\n\nc. Yin Hung(); a standing young man with a spear in his left hand, and a mirror raised in his right, which is flashing beams towards his enemies.\n\n* Plates 22-24 also relate to representations of T'ai Sui.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206650, "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": 198, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "192\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nof insufficient fire wood, he stuck his foot in the stove, and the flame shot up cooking the food in but a few moments. The second is no less than Li T'ieh Kuai (*), one of the Eight Immortals. One of the stories told about him is that, when he was young and very poor, his mother ordered him to go into the hills every day to collect wood but he was never able to collect more than sufficient for one day. When it rained they had none. His aunt cursed him and said they would use his legs as fuel. Now Li T'ieh Kuai had learnt some tricks from the Immortals in the hills and stuck his foot into the fire which blazed up much more brightly. His aunt shouted that she was only joking and pulled his foot from the fire. Because of this the bottom part of his leg fell off and became poisoned. The story ends by his aunt using the burnt-off leg to bank up the cinders!\n\nConclusion\n\nAlthough this Fukienese local deity is mostly to be seen, as is to be expected, in those areas of Taiwan and South East Asia where Fukienese immigrants from An Ch'i, Ying Ch'üan and the immediate surrounding areas are to be found, he is also to be found in Hainanese, Ch'aochow and Cantonese temples in South East Asia; where presumably this cult has been adopted by the other immigrant groups who wished to take advantage of his power.\n\nTai Pao(*)\n\nOne image likely to be confused with Fa Chu Kung is Tai Pao. Tai Pao is the monk Sha (*) who usually wears a necklet or waistband of skulls, but in many temples these have been lost and the black, unkempt figure of Tai Pao at first glance can easily be confused with Fa Chu Kung.\n\nTHE CULT OF THE EUNUCH ADMIRAL CHENG HO\n\nA deified hero and a Taoist Saint\n\nBackground\n\nThe intercourse between China and the West under the widespread rule of the Mongols lapsed with their withdrawal into Central Asia. The Ming dynasty emperor Yung Lo made great efforts to re-open trade routes and to expand the much diminished foreign trade by despatching between the years 1405 and 1431 A.D. seven major expeditions to the Southern Seas, commanded by eunuchs", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206655, "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": 203, "title": "RAS-1972", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES\n\n197\n\nand his three small survey ships have given their names respectively to Sulphur Channel, Starling Inlet and Plover Cove.\n\nJ. R. JONES.\n\nCHINA'S EARLIEST PRINTING A NOTE\n\nLLL\n\nIn Volume 7 (1967) of this Journal I published a brief note entitled \"Printing, a new discovery.\" This told of a find in a stone stupa, standing in the courtyard of a temple called Pulguk-sa, in Korea, erected in 751, of a printed Buddhist sutra. The find was hailed by the Korean archaeologists as perhaps the oldest example of printing known, although the exact date of the printing still remains a mystery.\n\nRecently I have learned that the Chinese discovered another piece of printing as far back as 1944. (Somehow, perhaps because of the war, news of this had escaped my attention.) Known in Chinese as T'o-lo-ni ching chou (dharani sutra charm), it was unearthed in a T'ang dynasty grave site in Chengtu, Szechwan, inside the silver bracelet of a young woman. As Professor Max Loehr has written, it \"is a charm printed on a single sheet showing a six-armed Bodhisattva figure in the center of concentrically laid out Sanscrit words written in Lantsa letters.\" This is surprising, but not unreasonable. In the last half of the Tang, Chengtu happens to have developed into perhaps the chief center of printing, and, as everyone knows, by the middle of the eighth century Chinese civilization had reached one of its heights. It was the age of Li Po and Tu Fu, Wu Tao-hsüan and Wang Wei, and Buddhism was at the summit of its influence. With the demand for reduplication in every circle - Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist - and with all the tools and techniques at hand, the printing of a highly popular charm seems natural. So it came about that there have come to light charms, printed within a few years of each other, in Korea (751?), China (757), and Japan (764-770).\n\nBibliography:\n\nChung-kuo pan-k'o lü-lu, compiled by the Peking Library (Peking 1961), pl. 1, text Vol. I, p. 7;", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206796, "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-1973", "page_number": 73, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "PERSIANS, ARABS IN T'ANG CHINA \n\n+ \n\n67 \n\noperation for Kao-tsung Tzu-chih t'ung-chien records this operation as follows: \n\nIn the eleventh moon of the first year of Hung-tao A, the Emperor had great difficulty in seeing because of a headache. The imperial doctor, Ch'in Ming-ho was summoned (to the Inner Palace) to diagnose the case. Ch'in indicated that the Emperor could be healed if he was allowed to needle (acupuncture) the Emperor's head in order to release the blood. \n\nCh'in was allowed to perform the operation and the Emperor was cured. Ch'in was a very skilful surgeon indeed. 38 \n\nIn A.D. 741, a Nestorian Monk known as Ch'ung I also proved to be a good physician in the court. The medical knowledge of these foreigners improved the state of medicine in China and when they met Taoist physicians later, both schools worked very closely and discovered a new kind of medical knowledge which not only benefitted them but also all mankind.40 \n\nLi Hsin 李珣 \n\nIn dealing with foreigners in T'ang China, whether in the field of medical, natural or humanistic science, Li Hsün can hardly be neglected.41 Li was originally from Persia and was the author of the famous Hai-yao pen-ts'ao \n\n(Exotic Pharmacopaeia). Unfortunately, the book is now lost, and there is even uncertainty whether Li Hsun was in fact the author of this book. Fragments of Li Hsün's book have been preserved in the Chung-hsiu Cheng-ho ching-shih cheng-lei pei-yung pen-ts'ao, which is a revision, undertaken in A.D. 1249, of T'ang Shen-wei's Cheng-ho hsin-hsiu cheng-lei pei-yung pen-ts'ao (Materia Medica) of A.D. 1116. They are also preserved in Li Shih-chen's Pen-ts'ao kang-mu \n\n+ \n\nLi was a Ming scientist and died in A.D. 1593. \n\nWhether Li Hsün is the author of the work mentioned is not for discussion here. P. Pelliot, Ch'en Pang-hsien, P. Huard and M. Wong all regarded Li as the author of this work, and as a Persian.42 \n\nLi Hsün was also a literary man of high standing. The compiler of Hua-chien chi had selected thirty-seven of Li's tz'u (lyrics) for this anthology. It is also recorded in Hua-chien chi that Li was also the author of Ch'iung-yao chi. Li Hsün's \n\n+", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206801, "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-1973", "page_number": 78, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "72\n\nCHIU LING-YEONG\n\n40 See Liu Ts'un-yan #, \"The Taoists' Knowledge of Tuberculosis in the XIIth Century', a paper presented to the twenty-eighth International Congress of Orientalists, Canberra, January, 1971.\n\n41 Li Hsin's name had been mentioned by B. Laufer, P. Pelliot, G. Ferrand and many other sinologists in the beginning of this century. Cf. O. W. Wolters, Early Indonesian Commerce, a Study of the Origin of Srivijaya (New York, 1966), chapters 9 and 10, also pp. 307-307, n. 13.\n\n42 P. Huard and M. Wong, 'Evolution de la matière medicale chinoise\", Janus 47: (Leiden, 1958); and also their work La mèdecine chinoise au cours des siècles (Paris, 1959).\n\n43 F. S. Drake, pp. 222-223.\n\n44 Ibid.\n\n45 I am indebted again to Professor Lo Hsiang-lin's article 'T'ang-shih yu Chung-Jih wen-hua chiao-liu chih kuan-hsi' ✯✯ ZREALMA T'ang-tai wen-hua shih, pp. 194-220.\n\n46 Sun Kuang-hsien, Pei-meng so-yen. It records during the reign of Hsuan-tsung ✯ (A.D. 847-860) and I-tsung ✯✯ (A.D. 860-873) that secretaries in the Inner Court were all foreigners (#, *£*^); HTS, chuan 217, part II.\n\n47 Ch'üan-Tang wen, chuan 767; Ch'ien I &, Nan-pu hsin-shu **** (Hsüleh-ching t'ao-vüan ## edition) records: A › Ü*** › ÄR 三二人,姓氏稀僻者,謂之色目人,亦謂曰牌花口\n\n4 Sung Ming chiu it fed, Tang huiyao (Peking, 1959), chüan 10, p. 64, Tai-ho third year, the emperor decreed that:\n\n南海蕃舶,本以慕化而來,囿在榷以恩仁,使其感孚,如開癘疫,嗟怨之聲達於殊俗;況朕方寶勤儉,豐愛退遐?深慮遐邇未安,榷稅猶重,思有矜恤,以示綏撫。其嶺南、福建及揚州蕃客,宜委節度觀察使,常加存問,除舶稅、市、進奉外,任其來往通流,自行交易,不得重加榷稅。", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206808, "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-1973", "page_number": 85, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "SWATOW HORIZONTAL STICK PUPPETS\n\n79\n\nthe Pear-Garden Opera School, the Ch'aochow actors and puppe-teers have backstage a tablet or image of Feng-huo-yuan T’ien-yuan-shuai. Feng, the First Heavenly Commander. His biography can be found on page 125 of E.T.C. Werner, A Dictionary of Chinese Mythology, and reads as follows: \"Tien Hung-i, his real name, was the second of three brothers, Hsun-liu and Chih-piao who, during the K'ai-yuan Period (AD 713-742) of the T'ang Dynasty became famous court musicians....\n\n\"They were such skilled players that even clouds stopped to listen to them, and the la-mei hua (very fragrant flowers which open only in the coldest part of the winter) blossomed. The Emperor having fallen ill, saw them in a dream playing the mandolin and violin, and was promptly restored to health. As a reward he bestowed on them the title of Marquis.\n\nA ravaging epidemic having broken out, the Grand Master of the Taoists sought the musicians' aid. T'ien Yuan-shuai had a large shen-chou, spirit-boat, built, and called together a million spirits, whom he instructed to beat drums placed on it, whereupon all the demons came out of the city to listen to the music, and were seized and expelled by the musician and the Taoist Grand Master. This is said to be the origin of the dragon-boats to be seen everywhere in China on the fifteenth day of the first moon,\n\nChang Ta-shih having recognised his great ability and power, memorialized the Emperor, who canonized the three brothers as Marquises, and all the members of their family and near relatives were given posthumous titles.\"\n\nThis account indicates clearly the Feng was chosen as a patron: namely for the beauty of his music and its magical power of exorcising the evil spirits. It shows a very basic approach to music and brings to mind the many opera and puppet-performances which are staged by the Ch'aochowese at all festivals and ceremonies that deal with ghosts of which the main one is the Ta-chiu in the 7th lunar month. As a contrast it is interesting to know that the Peking opera actors have chosen T'ang Ming Huang, who already in his life time was a patron of opera as a sophisticated entertainment of the court.\n\nAnother interesting characteristic of Ch'aochow puppets (though not unique to them) is the ceremonies required to cleanse the theatre stage. Besides the veneration of the patron saint the ceremony of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206904, "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-1973", "page_number": 181, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\n175\n\nTHE BUDDHIST CONQUEST OF CHINA: THE SPREAD AND ADAPTATION OF BUDDHISM IN EARLY MEDIEVAL CHINA by E. Zürcher. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972, in two volumes (Vol. I, pp. 1-320 and 5 ink-drawing maps; vol. II, pp. 321-469, including Notes, Bibliography, Indexes, Additions and Corrections), H.K.$320.00.\n\nThis book, in two volumes, is a revised edition of the original edition first printed in 1959, also in Leiden. The text is organized in the following six Chapters: 1. \"Introductory remarks\", 2. \"Historical survey from the first to the beginning of the fourth century\", 3. \"Buddhism at Chien K'ang and in the South-East, ca. 320-420\", 4. \"The centres at Hsiang-yang, Chiang-ling and Lu-Shan, and the influence of Northern Buddhism\", 5. \"Anti-clericalism and Buddhist apologetic in the fourth and early fifth centuries\", 6. \"The conversion of the Barbarians, the early history of a Buddho-Taoist conflict\".\n\nConfining his scope to the development of Buddhism during early Chinese medieval periods, Zürcher has not only contributed a great deal of detailed researches but has also demonstrated a high degree of scholarship. Despite this, there are certain aspects which have apparently escaped the author's attention.\n\nAs to the first, speaking in general, any review of the history of Chinese Medieval Buddhism from a broad sense should not be limited to the rise of Buddhistic sects due to variations of religious theology. Other over-all aspects of Chinese culture, directly or indirectly influenced by the introduction of Buddhism at that time, should also be taken into account. One such point, the Buddhistic influence on Chinese language, seems to be notable. The earliest reference to this aspect was perhaps first made by Thomas Watters as early as 1889 when he presented his primary discussions in Chapters 8 and 9 of his Essays on the Chinese Language, a book published in Shanghai. Similar in nature but more authentic discussions of this theme were made by contemporary Chinese scholars, such as the well-noted article by Chen Yin-k'o “Ssu-sheng san-wen” 四聲三間 (which appeared in the Tsing-hua hsueh-pao 清華學報 Vol. IX, No. 2, pp. 275-288, 1934, Peking) and the \"Indian Influence on the Study of Chinese Language\" by Lo Ch'ang-pei 羅常培 (which appeared in Sino-Indian Studies, Vol. I, No. 3, pp. 117-124, 1944). The “Eastward transmission of Buddhism and its influence…", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 206905, "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-1973", "page_number": 182, "title": "RAS-1973", "content_text": "176\n\nBOOK REVIEWS\n\non Chinese phonology”, 佛教東傳對中國音韻學之影響 by Chou Fa-kao which appeared in Collected Essays on History of Buddhism in China + ***£*4, pp. 775-808, 1961, Taipei, is another example.\n\nThe most remarkable Indian influence on Chinese culture could perhaps be regarded as the latter's adaptation of rock-cut caves in Indian fashion, although there are 'Chitaya' and 'Vihara' caves in China. Geographically speaking, such rock-cut caves in China have not only been constructed in at least fourteen provinces, but also cover a vast territory which extends from Chinese Turkestan in the West to Manchuria in the East, and from the high-land area of the Yellow River in the north crossing the Yangtze River's basin in middle China to the basin of Pearl River in the South. Furthermore, chronologically, these rock-cut caves seem to have been continuously practised in China for as long as eight centuries. It is certainly essential to give, at least, a brief account of the Chinese adaptation of such caves of Indian origin, in terms of their place in the history of Chinese art and architecture, in relation to the transmission of Buddhism as a whole.\n\nSecondly, it seems that the author has apparently overlooked certain important studies contributed by 20th-century scholars. In Chapter 6, Mr. Zürcher has devoted his discussion on the early history of a Buddho-Taoist conflict in relation to the nature of \"Sutra in Forty-two Sections\". Yet, as early as 1935, Hu Shih ♬ in has convincingly demonstrated in his Tao Hung-ching Ti Chen-Kao K'ao # 3 & 43 A ✯ ✯ (Notes on Tao Hung-ching's Chen-kao, in Ts'ai Yuan-pei Memorial Volume, Part II, pp. 539-554, edited and published by the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, in Peking, 1933), that the Chen-kao Д, one of an important Taoist writings written in the 5th century by T'ao Hung-ching ₪✯ ✯ (457-536), contains 13 different sections which are plagiarisations taken from the \"Sutra in Forty-two sections\". The Taoist borrowings from Buddhist sutra would be one of the best examples of documentary clarification of the religious conflict between Taoism and Buddhism in medieval China.\n\nThe second instance of oversights of this kind occurs in dealing with the maps in this book. Except for Map II, which deals with the main routes and trade centres in later Han time, the others all refer to Buddhism in China from the first to the fourth century", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1973.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207004, "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-1974", "page_number": 75, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "CRAFT OF GOD CARVING IN SINGAPORE\n\n69\n\nin Taiwan. Elsewhere, in most Asian cities with a large Overseas Chinese community there are retailers who sell gods but who neither carve nor repair them. (Plate 2)\n\nBy way of background let me explain the various types of image produced by Chinese. The majority of north and central China's images used to be made of mud and straw and painted with a dull gold paint. (Plate 3.) They have been destroyed by the myriad in the course of the numerous iconoclastic anti-superstition campaigns conducted on the mainland in the past fifty years or so and are rarely to be seen. The next group are the bronze, iron and other metal images of which only the smaller are still in existence, mostly in America and Europe; the larger having been too large to move have long since been melted down for scrap.\n\nThe third group consists of the carved and painted or lacquered wood images mainly from the forested south of China. The best materials for these images, so Chinese have assured me, were camphor and sandalwood and the finest carvings were from Amoy where a group of seven families produced their famous images over eight generations ceasing production only in 1950. Amoy figures were precise in detail, well-proportioned and expensive but rather baroque in their appearance.\n\nIn very general terms, Cantonese images tend to be rather ill-proportioned and stylised; commonly they are gilt-painted figures with heavy features (Plate 4). Hainanese images are generally recognisable by their short limbs; Taiwanese carvings are usually identifiable by their heavy use of blues and sea-greens, and nowadays for their gaudy, cheap and shoddy plastic images. Some Taiwanese images have been made from varnishing wadded rice husks into shape (Plate 5).\n\nFor several generations the Yangtze valley produced large numbers of well carved, handsome and beautifully finished gold lacquer images, predominantly for Buddhist temples, although many were also Taoist folk religion deities. Since 1949 a factory has grown up near Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong in which Shanghai refugees still produce these for Hong Kong and for export. A fifteen foot bodhisattva was being finished whilst I was there, rolled on its back prior to being shipped to Singapore, swathed in plastic sheeting.\n\nThere are very many other local styles such as the knotted-root carvings of Shantung, the boxwood carving of the upper Yangtze\n\nPage 75\n\nPage 76", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207006, "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-1974", "page_number": 77, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "CRAFT OF GOD CARVING IN SINGAPORE\n\n71\n\nbe under the left or the right foot with the coiled snake under the other foot. It could be entwined by the snake or the snake could even be stretched across the god's outstretched arms with the god standing or seated on the tortoise. There was no controversy over the bare feet, but the pointed finger and the unkempt hair were also long disputed. One daring apprentice was quickly squashed by his vexed master when he suggested that as the Northern Emperor is also called the Emperor of the Black Heavens perhaps his face should be black. This only highlighted how easily individual interpretations can develop into an accepted recognition feature.\n\nThe decoration of the robes is usually a personal choice of the carver unless it is part of a particular identification feature. Images of soldiers are depicted wearing armour with coloured robes showing underneath. Images of officials varied considerably, many wearing scholar's robes and hats rather than official's robes bearing their badge of rank. During Imperial times as it was not permitted for images to be depicted wearing genuine badges of rank, blurred outlines were painted on their chests, and even to this day in the decoration of the images the carvers still do not depict the old Ch'ing mandarin-square chest and back badges of birds for civil officials and animals for the military.\n\nIt must be remembered that to Chinese the attitudes of stylized form is the important part of the image. The faces and dress, more often than not, are irrelevant and most images are dressed in official court dress of past centuries. A few images, typically Taoist, are garbed in the gown of a priest, with a top knot of coiled hair which supports a very small coronet or crown.\n\nMany wooden images are carved from one piece of wood, excluding of course the sword and other similar final additions. Quite a few, however, have their throne carved separately and even more have the head and neck carved as one piece to be fitted later into a body which has been carved separately. Some images are required by custom to have articulated limbs (e.g., the Ch'ao Chou patron of street actors) and others consist only of marionette heads on stakes or skewers for use by spirit mediums for self-immolation.\n\nGod carvers not only produce images, they are also the carpenters who build the temple furnishings, the altar, side screens, etc., and also the ancestral tablets for both temples and homes.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207009, "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-1974", "page_number": 80, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "74\n\nKEITH G. STEVENS\n\nChinese writing brushes, the predominant colour used being gold. The gold leaf, bought from China or Europe in packs of one hundred two inch squares, is more expensive than gold paint, but more commonly used as it wears better. These tiny squares of pure gold leaf are applied after gold size has been painted on to the appropriate parts of the image (Plates 23 and 24). The gold size is a highly viscous mixture of varnish and other oils which after about two hours, becomes tacky; the gold leaf is then applied. The gold leaf is removed from its waxed paper with an ordinary camel hair artist's brush and placed on to the treated part of the image. The tiny slivers of gold which fall to one side are collected on to pieces of waxed paper and carefully used to fill in gaps on the less exposed parts of the image and between the two inch sheets. A softer brush is then used to rub down the gilded parts to burnish them (Plate 25).\n\nSome images are decorated with a combination of gold leaf and paint. When particularly ordered, old fashioned colouring may be used. This consists of a home-made mixture of water, a gum medium and crumbly coloured powder brought from China many years ago (Plate 26).\n\nPainted images are varnished with a commercial varnish and allowed to dry. Finally, the bits and bobs are added. Usually this is a woman's task, although the more particular master carvers insert the beard made of horsehair or imported theatrical wig hair themselves (Plate 27). The hair is tightly bunched and inserted into five holes bored into the cheeks and chin of the image and trimmed, the instrument most frequently used for this task being a dentist's probe! The flywhisks, hat-bobbles, swords, rings, sceptres, spears, staffs and maces are carved or made separately and inserted into the image, usually only in the presence of the customer. Many of the smaller protruding parts of the head-dress, flags and weapons are cut from old tin cans. These final operations are carried out with tremendous flourish and panache, and the handing over ceremony is preceded by more tea drinking and conversation.\n\nThe consecration of the image in the temple, monastery or home is carried out by a Taoist or Buddhist priest. If Taoist he may, in a trance, invite the spirit to enter the image or may in a simple ceremony \"open the god's eyes\" by painting in the pupils. In the North and Central China, most commonly at a Buddhist ritual, it", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207010, "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-1974", "page_number": 81, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "CRAFT OF GOD CARVING IN SINGAPORE\n\n75\n\nwas usual for silver or golden entrails, a religious tract, or a live insect to be placed ceremonially in a cavity in the image's back and sealed there providing the image with life. Another and more usually a Taoist ceremony, used particularly by the Fukienese, is for blood from a freshly killed cock to be smeared over the breast of the image.\n\nThe carving of an average image takes about twenty working days which necessitates the whole team cooperating and working to a schedule. But as would be expected when order books are full, the actual time from the taking of the order to the handing over of the finished image can be as long as two and a half months. God shops are open most days from 9 am-8 pm, although of late Sunday has tended to be a day off. They may have some half dozen gods on the production line at one time.\n\nGod carvers spend a considerable portion of their time repairing damaged or renovating old images. I have often felt considerable dismay seeing an old image having its handsome gold leaf patina stripped, to be re-painted with the most vivid of modern commercial lacquers.\n\nNew ideas are incorporated into the process. The use of western commercial paints, or the appearance of a spirit astride a bicycle when formerly he only rode a horse, shows originality but most changes have been slow, and as I see it, have been due in the main to misunderstanding.\n\nThe god carvers are teaching their children the craft, but confided that all were at school and should they show promise will be encouraged to enter one of the academic professions. They also feared that at the present rate of change very few Chinese will require the services of god carvers and the craft will disappear; just as surely as the story tellers who, less than ten years ago, gathered their audience about them not more than one hundred yards from the god carvers' shops have been overwhelmed by television.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207048, "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-1974", "page_number": 119, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "The Hong Kong Region\n\n113\n\nfu. In the long entry on hills and streams, which covers three chuan (6-8), only one local feature is named: the Pui To or Castle Peak hill. There is another single entry, for Tuen Mun—the old name for the settlement at the foot of Castle Peak—in the chüan (10) dealing with customs and check points. Only one monastery, the Hai-kuang Ssu of Hsin-an city, is included in the chüan (14) dealing with Buddhist and Taoist temples: by comparison, 37 columns are given to those of Kuang-chou, Nan-hai and P’an-yu, and no doubt with good cause. Only when we come to the chüan dealing with residences (13) and tombs and graves (15) does Hsin-an attract a little more attention from the compilers.\n\nThe entries in chüan 13 and 15 identify those items that most interested scholars attracted to local history and show how Hsin-an has been notable for two widely different topics. It had been one of the areas that had sheltered the last two boy emperors of the Sung in their flight and final struggles against the victorious Mongol invaders of their empire: and it was a coastal district that had forever been plagued by pirates and bandits. These entries are typical items of Chinese historiography and relevant to the scholar official view of Hsin-an.\n\nOne item, in chuan 13, relates to the temporary stay of the Sung court and army in Kowloon in the winter months of 1278. A watchtower had been constructed as one of the measures taken to deal with the near-starvation conditions that afflicted the fugitive army. The tower was used as a vantage point from which to look over the encampment. Relief visits were made to any dwelling from which no kitchen smoke was seen to rise in the early morning. This is a graphic and unusual way of conveying an impression of impermanence and suffering. The second entry on the Sung is in chüan 15 which deals with noted graves and tombs. It relates to the grave of Lady Chin-fa, also in Kowloon. The brief statement is that the empress Chi-yuan lost her daughter by drowning, and that she ‘filled the body with gold' for burial at Kwun Fu Mountain.2\n\n1KTKKCY 13/5. Two Sung 'travelling courts' are also recorded for the Hsin-an district in this section. See also Lo 1956.\n\n2KTKKCY 15/2. Lo (1963) renders this as 'made a gilt statue', p. 67. The Government of Hong Kong established a Sung Wong Toi memorial park in Kowloon in 1960, and to mark the occasion the Chiu Clansmen's Association published a memorial volume edited by Jen Yu-wen entitled Sung Wang T'ai Chi-nien Chih which usefully brings together many old writings on this subject.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207170, "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-1974", "page_number": 241, "title": "RAS-1974", "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\nHUA SHAN, THE TAOIST SACRED MOUNTAIN IN WEST CHINA ITS SCENERY, MONASTERIES AND MONKS. Foreword and 111 Photographs by Hedda Morrison, Introduction and Taoist Musings by Wolfram Eberhard, published by Vetch and Lee Ltd., Hong Kong, January 1974.\n\nVetch and Lee Ltd. have published many beautiful and outstanding books on Chinese culture in the past, and have just added another two to their record, both dealing with sacred mountains in China. The Vetch and Lee editions are well-produced bibliophile books with a dark-blue cloth hard cover engraved in gold with a phoenix, the emblem of the publishers, and a very heavy matt white paper is used, which adds to the soft quality of the black and white photographs.\n\nIn August 1935 Hedda Morrison, a photographer, and Wolfram Eberhard, a sinologue and serious student of Chinese culture, both living in Peiping at the time, visited the Hua Shan, one of the five sacred mountains in China. According to the foreword by Hedda Morrison, the excursion cannot have lasted longer than one to two weeks.\n\nConsidering the fact, it is remarkable that 110 photos of great artistic beauty and solid technical skill were produced in such a short period of time.\n\nThe photos are divided into three groups: 40 depicting the scenic grandeur of the five peaks of the Hua Shan and their various moods; shaded by clouds or shrouded in morning mist, or illuminated by bright sunshine with silhouettes of crooked pine-trees. Also, small temples dangerously stuck on cliffs, a ladder of steps cut into a sharp angle stone slab, top and bottom connected with an enormous iron chain to facilitate the ascent.\n\nThen are followed by a group of 24 photos with details of the monasteries, close-ups of the images inside, a mural of the god of thunder, and the graffiti of visitors, a perpetual calendar carved in a slab, embroideries representing shaman dancers, a monk dozing", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207256, "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-1975", "page_number": 24, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "A HONG KONG SPIRIT-MEDIUM TEMPLE\n\nJOHN T. MYERS*\n\nHong Kong possesses scores of temples where traditional deities of the Chinese pantheon are worshipped and petitioned by devotees from the local population. Although the temples differ in structural elaboration and popularity, the majority are host to a common set of individual and group rituals. It is in the very area of ritual, however, that the temple we will discuss in this paper differs from most others. This particular temple exists primarily to provide a setting where worshippers can communicate directly with selected deities through the services of religious practitioners who act as spirit mediums. Unlike their Western counterparts who specialize in contact with the spirits of deceased mortals, the Chinese mediums with whom we are concerned claim possession solely by immortals of the traditional Taoist and Buddhist pantheons.\n\nOur procedure shall be initially to discuss the meaning of spirit-mediumship in general and its more common manifestations within the Chinese cultural sphere. We shall then consider at greater length a particular spirit-medium temple in Hong Kong with special attention to its setting, history, personnel, and ritual. Even though this paper is by design a descriptive account of the temple and its cult, we shall in a final section discuss briefly the basis of the apparent success currently enjoyed by each. Does that success indicate a surge of interest in spirits and their mediums among the general population, or is the explanation to be found elsewhere?\n\nSpirit-mediumship\n\nOnce man posits the existence of a supernatural realm with precisely or vaguely defined inhabitants, he is seldom content with allowing that perception to rest on the cognitive level alone. Almost inevitably there is the further judgement that the supernaturals are\n\n*Mr. Myers was on the faculty of the Sociology Department, New Asia College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, during the period of his field work. His research on Chinese spirit-mediumship was supported by a grant from the Harvard-Yenching Institute and administered through the Social Research Centre of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is currently with the department of Anthropology, Indiana University.\n\nPlates 1-4 at rear of the Journal illustrate this article.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207544, "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-1975", "page_number": 312, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "304\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\npatrons of musicians and sketched them without either crab decorations or the dog. The main brother was shown holding a fan in each hand whilst the other two stood beside him with two attendants. Later in this Note, you will see that one of Chief Marshal T'ien's titles is Wu Tai Yuan Shuai. Père Doré described Wu Tai separately and sketched him as a young man with green twigs behind the ears, a large crab on his forehead, a tiny Taoist crown on his bald head and dressed in loose-fitting robes. Wu Tai, according to Doré, was accompanied by two male and two female attendants. This would appear to be the southern provinces' temple version which Doré did not realize was a manifestation of Marshal T'ien.\n\nThere are, as one would expect, many variations in characteristics in Ch'aochow and Fukienese carvings. For instance, occasionally he is represented as bald, or the front of his hair is shaven in Ch'ing fashion making him half-bald; in others he has a long queue or two long pigtails; sometimes he wears a military helmet or a scholar's cap, and in some images he has a black cock under his other foot. In several places he is represented as a youth standing on one foot with both arms raised in a dramatic, theatrical stance, and in others he is standing stolidly, with both feet together holding one or two swords. A sketch of T'ien To Yuan Shuai by a Singaporean Fukienese god carver depicted him with a red face, staring eyes and dressed in scholar's robes. (Plate 21). An actor, one of a company of Ch'aochow players in Bangkok, explained that they only had a tablet in their portable shrine, and that their image with only one crab painted on his forehead, was permanently in a temple. He told me that the single crab on the forehead meant that T'ien was the patron of actors, whereas others with the crab on the mouth represented the middle brother of the T'ien trio who is only prayed to for good health.\n\nIn one sighting in Ipoh, in North Malaya, Marshal T'ien was wearing armour, carried a sword and bell, but was barefoot and had a crab painted on his mouth. He was known to the temple priests to have been a vegetarian monk from Ch'aochow, insane as a child who had cured himself and is now worshipped for a similar cure by parents of the mentally sick. (Plate 22).\n\nAbove his image on a small backstage altar of a Foochow opera troupe in Singapore, was the carved inscription ‘Ministry of Wind", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207546, "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-1975", "page_number": 314, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES\n\n306\n\nh) Feng Huo Yuan T'ien Yuan Shuai (風火院田 元帥)\n\ni) Wu Tai Yuan Shuai (五代元帥)\n\nj) Chung Lich Ta Yuan Shuai (忠烈大元帥)\n\nk) Lei Hai-ch'ing (†)\n\nVarious Sightings\n\nTien the Marshal of the Wind and Fire Ministry\n\nMarshal of the Five Dynasties\n\nThe Great and Loyal Marshal\n\nSee Werner's story below. I have never seen nor heard this title in any temple in Taiwan and South East Asia, nor in any book on these places.\n\nIn Anking on the Yangtze in the thirties, the three gods of the actor's guild were T’ien (□) To (†) and Kuo (#)*\n\nIn 1971 there were at least five temples dedicated to Chief Marshal T’ien and the three Tien brothers in Taiwan. One of these was in Taipei and one in Changhua (title 'c' in the list above) and another in Taipei, one in Tainan and one in Yunlin (title ‘a' above).\n\nAccording to a Penang (Malaysia) temple keeper and a Hsinchu (Taiwan) devotee, prior to 1949 the cult centre of this Taoist heterodox (*) cult used to be at Ch'uanchow (*), Fukien.\n\nLegends\n\nNumerous legends surround Chief Marshal T'ien. One basic story has already been recounted by Miss Werle. Variations and other stories include another recounted by Werner who, like Père Doré, failed to connect Marshal T'ien with Wu Tai Yuan Shuai, Marshal of the Five Dynasties (5#†) whom he calls the 'God of the Musicians'. Werner continued,\n\n\"this god had his origin in a practical joke played by his school fellows on a young scholar who lived in the time of the Five Dynasties (907-60 AD). Whilst he was taking a siesta they drew a picture of a crab on his forehead and stuck two willow branches (sometimes represented as pheasant's tail feathers) behind his ears. When he awoke he was so chagrined that he\n\n4 Shryock: The Temples of Anking: Libraire Orientaliste: Paris 1931, p. 163.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207549, "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-1975", "page_number": 317, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\n309 \n\nwith Taoist exorcisms and are performed at wedding ceremonies to obtain from Heaven the happy union, using the ritual of a local Taoist folk religion heterodox cult of the Three Ladies' (三娘). The 'Three Jesters' are called by the puppeteers the \"Three Brothers' (三兄弟) or, individually, the Great, Second and Third Wang Yeh.* \n\nSchipper then explained that he and his informants had made many conjectures in order to identify the Three Jesters. He believed tradition links the Three Brothers (Three Jesters) with the Three Tien Brothers and thus with Tien To Yuan Shuai, and this seemed to him to be better founded than other conjectures. He continued that the identity of T'ien is extremely confused, and claimed that T'ien is reputed to be the master of T'ang Emperor Ming Huang (唐明皇) and to have taught the actresses of the Peach Garden (梨园), popularly believed to be the first academy of the theatre. Iconography, he said, represents T'ien the puppet as the 'laughing lad', similar to T’ien To Yuan Shuai. \n\nSchipper observed that when the plays are of the northern Fukienese type, the Three Jesters are identified with T'ang Ming Huang, the patron of the theatre of North China. When the play is Southern Fukienese or Ch'aochow, T'ien To Yuan Shuai (Chief Marshal T'ien) is the patron, and the Three Jesters are identified with him. The T'ang Emperor is also often referred to in Taiwan and South East Asia, where he is also accepted as the God of Actors bearing the title of the Imperial Prince or King of the Western Ch'in (Hsi Ch'in Wang Yeh, 西秦王爷) or Hsi Ch'in Lao Wang Yeh (西秦老王爷), or, on Taipei and Keelung altars just as Hsi Ch'in Wang (西秦王). (He is called the King of the Western Ch'in because of his exile in Szechuan, in Western China). His image is more colloquially referred to as The Young Gentleman (小哥) and less respectfully as The Old Boy (老郎). Schipper agreed all this might seem highly incongruous, but, he continued, the tradition which links the 'Three Brothers' (The Jesters) with Tien To Yuan Shuai (Chief Marshal T'ien) seems, as we said earlier, better founded than others. \n\nWang Yeh \n\nSchipper has linked the Three Jesters with the Fukienese epidemic gods by the title of Wang Yeh. He also noted the legend \n\n* More often than not Wang Yeh (Imperial Princes) in Fukienese communities are epidemic deities.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207550, "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-1975", "page_number": 318, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "310\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nof the assistance given to Chang T'ien Shih (*) the First Master of Orthodox Taoist folk-religion, by the Three Jesters when they played their music, attracted and led the evil spirits (as the Pied Piper led the rats) to the spirit boat on which they were shanghaied, whereupon the epidemic immediately ended.\n\nNow we know from many sources, in addition to our own observations, that the rite for expelling pestilence performed by the Fukienese of Taiwan and South East Asia consists of a ceremony at which the spirits of the Wang Yeh encourage the demons of pestilence to board a paper boat which is set fire to and pushed out midstream. These Fukienese pestilence gods, the Wang Yeh (*), an heterodox cult of folk religion, although they are worshipped as one on altars, can be classified into two types. The first is the large group of musicians or scholars, varying from 36 to 360, who in legend died at the whim of an Emperor and were deified; the second group are individual spirit generals bearing family surnames, said to be either blood brothers or close friends. These appear individually or in groups of up to six on altars. Wang Yeh from both groups have identical roles, the prevention of epidemics. Most Chinese with whom I have discussed these Wang Yeh, although they subconsciously realized it existed, had not considered this separation into two groups. They had unconsciously accepted the multitude of blood brothers with their individual surnames as individual musicians or scholars from the large group. Du Bose6, incidentally, heard another legend which described one single Fukienese deity, the Wang Yeh, as a scholar who sacrificed himself and saved the village from a demon-infested public well.\n\nThe Wang Yeh festival of expelling the pestilence demons usually takes place during the fourth month, when sickness is (or was) rife. In South East Asia and in Taiwan individual images of Wang Yeh (seated, unarmed and bearded generals) are taken down to the water's edge during the launching ceremony, and occasionally a wooden image is actually launched aboard a more substantial miniature boat, and wherever it lands a temple is supposed to be built to house the deity, thereby spreading the cult.\n\nChief Marshal T'ien is not the localized cult deity Miss Werle believed him to be. He has appeared not only in Ch'aochow and\n\n6 H. C. du Bose: The Dragon, Image & Demon. Partridge & Co., London, 1886.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207621, "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-1976", "page_number": 9, "title": "RAS-1976", "content_text": "169\n\nHe paid when he had money, but he always settled his accounts before Chinese New Year so that the shops would give him his New Year supplies.2 Interest was charged for credit; it was nominally 30 percent per annum.25\n\nThe rice, salt, oil, and many other articles (school books and stationery, incense and ritual paper, etc.) had to be imported into Sai Kung from outside. Kerosene was introduced towards the 1910's or 1920's and came to be used in kerosene lamps. Villagers from seaside villages and the boat people also depended on the Sai Kung shipyards for boat building, repair, and the annual removal of barnacles from the boats. The wood used in the shipyards was imported from Fat Shan or Wai Chau, and iron nails were supplied by a ship (the Sai Kung) that came regularly to the Market to take orders. Fishermen also needed fishing explosives.20 Neither the land residents nor the boat people were by any means self-sufficient.\n\nThe markets, Sai Kung and Hang Hau, provided other important services besides ship-building and repair. Quite a few shops made rice wine, and a shop made beancurd. Sai Kung also provided a Taoist priest, and the most important temple in the area.\n\nRoman Catholic converts from villages nearer Sai Kung (e.g. Nam Shan) as well as other villagers attended Sung Chen, the Church school in the market. There can be no question that from the early 1900's, Sai Kung Market and Hang Hau were growing as local marketing centres.\n\nA substantial portion of the trade in the Sai Kung region must nonetheless have bypassed the two markets. Lime, much of the firewood, and some of the pigs were taken directly to Kowloon without passing through the markets. Where Sai Kung and Hang Hau were crucial, it would seem, was in the provision of local services and retail, and in gathering fish for Kowloon and Hong Kong. Even those fishmongers who collected directly from the fishermen for the city markets sent the fish ashore in Sai Kung to be carried into Kowloon by village women. The fish could not have been very fresh when it arrived, and much of it was probably salted before it was sold.28\n\nOn the premise that the primary functions of the markets were largely local services and retail, the marketing regions can", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207919, "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-1976", "page_number": 307, "title": "RAS-1976", "content_text": "292\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nCHINESE PRESERVED MONKS (肉身塑像)\n\nThe preservation by both Taoists and Buddhists of the bodies of famous monks and abbots by lacquering, varnishing or coating and embalming in clay was not as uncommon as one would think. It is only too easy to see how after the death of a particularly wise and beloved abbot, his presence would be badly missed throughout the monastic community. They would begin to venerate his memory and perhaps even a cult might emerge. Again we can visualise that his contemporary detractors, should there have been any, would eventually die and their prejudice, jealousy or even dislike perhaps, would fade in time. The opposite however, would be true of the memory of his wisdom, piety and gentleness. Another major motive for the preservation of such saints and very religious monks was the very mundane desire to obtain more funds for the religious institution by exhibiting the body to the faithful. In some monasteries such mummies were kept in private apartments hidden from public gaze. They had been members of a community, so their brethren claimed, and only other members had the right to see them. Most monks were cremated after death and their ashes retained in reliquaries in their monastery.\n\nSome of the more famous \"preserved monks\", or 'fleshy bodies' which is a direct translation from the Chinese, displayed or kept for personal reverence, were to be found in the following temples and monasteries:\n\nPai Sui Kung on Chiu Hua Shan, Anhui\n\nTsu Shih T'ien on O Mei Shan, Szechuan\n\nTien T'ai Ssu in the Western Hills near Peking\n\nYuch Lin Ssu in Chekiang\n\nNan Hua Ssu in Northern Kwangtung\n\nTien An Fu below T'ai Shan in Shantung\n\nHui Chu Ssu in Pao Hua Shan, Kiangsu.\n\nThere is also one such in the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas above Sha Tin, Hong Kong.\n\nA Danish architect, J. Prip Møller1 spent a considerable time in the early thirties touring around many monasteries throughout China in his research into monastery construction. He referred on several occasions to 'fleshy bodies' set up as images in monastery", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207922, "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-1976", "page_number": 310, "title": "RAS-1976", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES\n\n295\n\nThere was a 'fleshy body' in Anking in Central China. It had been placed in a large earthenware k'ang filled with willow charcoal and left for three to four years. The corpse was then gilded and set up beside an image of the Buddha, Sakyamuni7.\n\nThe shrivelled and varnished body of a Taoist priest named Sun (), who died in 1703 aged 94, was enshrined in a glass case in the Grotto of the Immortals in the east side of the lower Court of the Temple of either the Jade Emperor or, as stories vary, of the Three Sovereigns on T'ai Shan in Shantung. He had lived in the temple nearby for some sixty years under the religious title of Chen Ch'ing and was known as \"the Immortal\". Apparently he felt divinely inspired, and slowly starved himself to death; he became just skin and bone sitting cross-legged. He had requested his fellow priests not to inter him but instead to leave him in a vacant room. This they did, and he remained withered but not decayed as a relic for future generations of believers. One could see, apparently, only the bare bones of his arms and legs. His face had been replaced by a mask in his likeness and all that remained on his hands was skin and nails.\n\nIt was not only monks who had their bodies preserved. In 1878 Reverend MacKay, a missionary in Taiwan, wrote of a Chinese girl who died of consumption not far from Tamshui, North of Taipei. Someone in the neighbourhood more gifted than the rest announced that a goddess was present, and her wasted body immediately became famous. She was given the title of the Virgin Goddess, (Sien Lu Niu in Fukienese) and a small temple was erected and dedicated to her. Her body was immersed in salt and water for some time, and then placed in a sitting position in an armchair with a red cloth around her shoulders and a wedding cap on her head. Seen through the glass of the case in which she was placed she looked to MacKay, with her black face and teeth exposed, very much like an Egyptian mummy. Before many weeks had passed, hundreds of sedan chairs were to be seen bringing worshippers, especially women, to her shrine, and rich men sent presents to adorn the temple. Another preserved body of a female was exhibited in a temple near Fenchow in Szechuan. She was a Buddhist devotee who died there in a sitting position: being Tibetan she was particularly worshipped by the local aborigines?.\n\nThe most recent example of a 'fleshy body' has been the mummification of the corpse of the Buddhist monk, Yueh Chi Fa Shih", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1976.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207962, "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-1977", "page_number": 1, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "170\n\nDAVID FAURE\n\nnow be described. In general, villagers from Ho Chung all the way east to Ko Tong, and those from the islands in Rocky Harbour, went to Sai Kung Market. Tung Sam Kei, and Hoi Ha villagers went to Tai Po and Tap Mun, but a boat from Pak Tam Chung came regularly to collect firewood, which was sent to Sai Kung. Pak Sha O villagers went to both Tai Po and Sai Kung. Shap Sz Heung, and Sham Chung, were in the Tai Po marketing area rather than in that of Sai Kung. To the south, villagers from Tseng Lan Shue and Pik Uk obtained their supplies from Kowloon. Villagers from the Tseung Kwan O to Seung Sz Wan area went to Hang Hau. Tin Ha Wan had several shops, but its residents, as well as those from Po Toi O and Tai Wan Tau usually went to Shaukiwan. In general, if the transport linkage between Hang Hau and Sai Kung is taken into account, the Sai Kung marketing area went from Seung Sz Wan to Ko Tong, beyond the present administrative boundary of Sai Kung District,29\n\nSo far as can be discovered, except for several from Tam Shui (Wai Chau), the shop-keepers of Hang Hau came from its own marketing area, i.e. from Mang Kung Uk, Pan Long Wan, Tseung Kwan O, and Ha Yeung. There were several general stores, selling food, including grain, meat, oil, salt fish, and salt. There was a goldsmith, a stationer, a tailor, and there were several ferries.3 By 1916, when the Sai Kung T'in Hau Temple was renovated, Sai Kung had for some time been the bigger town. There were at least eight general stores, two butchers, a teahouse, a tailor, a Taoist priest, a herbalist, a draper's, and two shipyards. Many of the owners came from outside the Sai Kung marketing area, from Shuen Wan and Sham Chung, both in the Tai Po marketing area; Sham Chun, Po Kut, and Sha Tseng, all three in Po On county; Wai Chau; and San Wooi.31 Brief information on some of these shops can be found in Table 1.\n\nThe biggest shop in Sai Kung Market was Saam Shing general store, followed closely by T'aai Shing. Saam Shing was the older, but T'aai Shing caught up quickly. Mr. Lei Yiu T'ing, who worked in T'aai Shing just before World War II, remembered that letters for Sai Kung villagers were brought to the shop with goods from Hong Kong. Mr. Lei Shiu Yam remembered that T'aai Shing used to help villagers collect their overseas remittances.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207963, "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-1977", "page_number": 2, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "171\n\nT'aai Shing finally collapsed during World War II, after it had been looted by bandits. Saam Shing owned considerable property on the waterfront, which had, in part, been reclaimed by this shop. But the shop collapsed before the War, allegedly because of mismanagement. Many people came to both shops.32\n\nTable 1 Shops in Sai Kung Market Before World War II\n\nName\nBusiness\nOwner\n\nSaam Shing*\nGeneral store\nLei, from Shuen Wan\n\nT'aai Shing*\nGeneral store\nLei Ling, from San Wooi\n\nTak Shing*\nGeneral store\nLei Faat, from Fong T'ung Shing*\n\nKwong Tak Lung*\nGeneral store\nT'ung Hing*\nShipyard\n\nTung Shing*\nShipyard\n\nPo Tsai Tong*\nHerbalist\nLoi Lei*\nBeancurd maker\n\nKung Cheung*\nGeneral store\n\nT'aam Shing*\nCarpenter\nTsang*\nTaoist priest\n\nSan Shun Cheung*\nGeneral store\nWong Chuk Yeung Fong, from Yung Shue Au\n?, from Sham Chun\nChau, from Wai Chau\n?, from Sai Kung\nLee Yim Kwai, from Sham Chung\n\nSaam T'aai*\nGeneral store\nLaai, from Tam Shui\nNg, from Mui Tsz Lam\nTam (?), from Ngong Wo\nTsang, from Sha Tseng\nLing Shin Chung, from Po Kut\n\nOn Cheung*\nGeneral store\nLei, from Lan Nei Wan\n\nYan T'aai*\nGeneral store\n? from Ngong Wo\n\nSan Cheung*\nTeahouse\n\nChau Fuk Lei*\nDraper's\nChau, from Wai Chau\n\nKam Lei Uen\nButcher\n\nTaai Fung Nin\nButcher\nCheung, from San Wooi\n\n* Recorded on 1916 tablet in Tin Hau Temple. Source: interview reports, see footnote 31.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208062, "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-1977", "page_number": 101, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "UNDER ALTARS (下壇)\n\nKEITH G. STEVENS\n\nThe first thing to be seen on entering Chinese temples in Hong Kong and Macau, even those in which a murky half-light obscures the view, is the main altar in the middle of the far end of the main hall. What is rarely seen however, even after a stroll around, is the “Altar at which prayers are offered to avert calamities” (避災壇). This is usually an even dingier ground-level alcove inside the back of which is pasted a large green sheet of paper bearing the titles in white, of five or seven spirits all of whom need placating or propitiating as needs arise. The altar often bears the less colourful titles of the \"Under Altar\" (下壇), the \"Yin and Yang Hall\" (陰陽堂), and in very rare instances, more so in Macau than in Hong Kong, the \"Five Demon Altar\" (五鬼壇).\n\nUnder Altars, only to be found in Cantonese, Hakka and Boat People's Taoist folk religion temples and never in Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, are usually situated under or between the main and secondary altars at ground level. They consist of a wooden or stone open-fronted \"box\" about three to four feet high, three feet wide and two feet six deep and are illuminated, if one can use such a term, by a 15 watt dark red electric bulb. In five temples in Hong Kong and Macau the Under Altar was in a corner beside the main altar, but without any top or covering. In one or two temples such altars may be found, again at ground level (this seems to be the one almost inflexible requirement) but without a top, against the side wall about half way down the main hall facing the centre, or alone in a separate side hall.\n\nThere are several different reasons given why people pray at these altars. The most common is the wish to avert ill-fortune of any form and not just major disasters, as the title of the altar “Calamity\" (災) suggests. An elderly lady pointing at one devotee said that he had just told her that he had placed a stick of incense before the Under Altar to avert losses at the races on the morrow. Another, she said, thought her child was sickening for something, and had placed ten cents before the White Tiger image and said a brief word to the deity asking for the illness to be averted.\n\nPlates 20 - 31 at end of this volume illustrate this article.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208064, "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-1977", "page_number": 103, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "UNDER ALTARS\n\n87\n\nOf these eight titles, Marshal Yin, a famous character in mythology, is a God in his own right in the Taoist folk religion pantheon. He is to be seen only in one temple in the heart of rural New Territories in image form, where, unconnected with any Under Altar, he is one of four generals guarding a major deity.\n\nOthers who regularly appear in the Under Altar and are the deities who share the occupancy but in image form, are the Local Wealth God and the White Tiger. Others who occasionally appear on top of, near to, or in the Under Altar include the Green Horse, Marshal Chao and a second demonic figure similar to the Local Wealth God.\n\nThe Local Wealth God (地方財神)\n\nThe major image, sometimes called the Wealth God of the Under Altar (下壇財神) or the spirit of the Location (地方神) is usually alone though very, very occasionally he may be accompanied by a somewhat similar image. A Hong Kong Cantonese writer who lived during the last century, Wu Yen-jen, in the collection “Ch'ing Tai Wu Yen-jen Yu Yen Chi” (清代吳恩仁寓言集) calls this local deity the \"Local Demon\" (地方惡魔), a description which is more honest than the anodyne and unprovocative term \"spirit\" used nowadays.\n\nThe Wealth God of the Location is a gaunt middle-aged man dressed in mourning apparel, ill-fitting robes of sacking (hessian). He has a protruding tongue and a tall dunce's cap bearing the message vertically on the front \"Fortune at one glance\" (一覽生財). His face is haggard, often with tears of blood coursing down his cheeks. Most Local Wealth Gods clutch palm leaf fans in their left hand, whilst others carry either furled umbrellas, wands with tattered edges raised above their heads in their right hands, have their arms full of paper charms, or a string of silver coins strung around their necks. The majority of images are roughly made of folded coloured papers, and bear strips of white cloth as a sign of mourning. One, in Macau, had a hessian veil stretched across the face \"to prevent him from eating worshipper's “luck\"\", so the keeper said!\n\nThe Local Wealth God is located at ground level because he is neither fit nor qualified to stand on the altar. According to a God Carver in Macau, he stands in the Under Altar for the want...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208075, "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-1977", "page_number": 114, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "98\n\nK. G. STEVENS\n\ncharm papers, some new, but mostly faded and tattered. The temple keeper said that supplicants had stuck these on to ward off demonic influences, each being a plea to Chao to order his tiger to devour baneful demons. This image is not in the Disaster Altar but its function is exactly as though it were. According to the temple keeper it is an old image, pre-1840.\n\nThe cut-out red and green charms, called Green Horse and Nobleman, should not be confused with yet other red paper charms with cut-out holes in them, which are pasted annually on lintels of altars, temple doorways and shrines, thus reconsecrating them. These are called slips (piao) (*) and come in three sizes, small, medium and large (1-✯✯). Most of them bear a small square of gold paper pasted on them.\n\nAlthough only Taoist popular religion temples have Under Altars, there is also a Buddha who comforts “in time of calamity”, Yao Shih Fo (***) (whose full title includes the phrase “disaster” “Hsiao Tsai Yen Shou” (5* £**). He never appears in Under Altars.\n\nAnother \"Under Altar\"\n\nAnother small inset Under Altar at ground level, which is nearly always central under the main altar, is the altar to the tutelary deity of the temple, Ti Chu Fang (H). It is often called the Prosperity Hall and is unconnected with our study. It consists of a tiny open fronted \"box”, lined with red or orange paper, containing only one or two small red plaques dedicated to the tutelary deity (£* 五土龍神;護廟地主財神),(五方五土地主財神) or (前後地主 神財).\n\nIn one temple only, in Wanchai, a second altar under yet another side altar, contains a large image of the local Earth God (No2) which is normally on a side altar or beside the temple entrance. Behind him is pasted an orange paper bearing black characters describing the Earth God as the Controller of Wealth, and naming in a parallel row of characters the other major Cantonese Wealth God \"Ts'ai Po Hsing Chun\" (# $ £*) who is not represented by an image in this instance. This is a rogue disposition, doubtless ordered by a well-meaning but ignorant temple committee.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208077, "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-1977", "page_number": 116, "title": "RAS-1977", "content_text": "100\n\nRecapitulation\n\nK. G. STEVENS\n\nTo sum up, there is a special altar in certain Cantonese, Hakka and Boat People's Taoist folk religion temples dedicated to spirits who cope with the adversities people encounter in life. That altar, because it is below the pale, houses several other spirits who all seem to be able to eliminate calamities and suffering, which no doubt is why the altar is called the Misfortune Altar. Other subsidiary roles of the spirits on the altar according to individual informants, include the chasing away and destruction of demons particularly sickness demons; the preservation of youthful feminine beauty; the correction of erring husbands and the discipline of wayward children. The Green Horse, who has little to do with the Altar, appears to have the function of messenger either to, or between the Gods or to the dead or distant relatives. The White Tiger, a demon destroyer, who also is a lodger in the Under Altar, though declared ferocious and potentially very dangerous by most temple keepers, seems to be ignored for much of the year and feted only on his festival in early Spring.\n\nADDENDUM\n\nFour large earthenware pots each sealed with red and green paper charms were seen standing on the front of an under altar in a small folk religion temple in Macau. The temple keeper explained that evil demons exorcised during a recent ceremony had been incarcerated in the pots which had been placed on the altar where they could cause no further harm. The keeper also said that such pots cannot remain before the altar forever and that it was usual practice either to bury them or to take them well out to sea and cast them overboard. — K.G.S.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1977.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208337, "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-1978", "page_number": 61, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "ALTER IMAGES FROM HUNAN AND KIANGSI\n\n45\n\nof a scarlet bird', 'bowels like (or as long as?) nine rivers', 'as many as 84,000 teeth' and etc.\n\nThe fifth image (Plate 6) dedicated in 1799, from Kiangsi, is of a different style. It is very similar to certain of the Ch'ao Chow and Fukienese carvings, and particularly like certain Japanese Buddhist temple guardians such as Jikoku Ten. He was less dusty or greasy than the others, though he has been badly kippered by incense smoke and repainted with a cheap gold paint at some time. His original fine gilt lacquer is just visible in places on his lower back. He has lost his weapons, and his beady eyes, guaranteed to frighten when new, have been lost into the general contours of his face. The slip of paper from his back is best preserved of all six. It is recorded as a \"Viscera Statement\" (it) and relates that devotee Chen Ta-chiang, living in Lu Ling County, Chi An prefecture together with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, on this lucky day of the 10th moon of the fourth year of Chia Ching (November 1799) presented the image of the Heavenly General (** ) with a Viscera Statement enclosed, and prayed saying \"Your Most Reverend Spirit of the Chief General and Heavenly Ruler, having become perfect and entered Nirvana during the Shang dynasty, your reputation is as high as the heaven; you have the ability of suppressing all demons and spirits, the power of deciding on all matters of disasters and blessings in the human world without the slightest partiality, the ability to recommend the choosing and establishment of construction sites with favourable geomantic influences, and of leading right people to prosperity. I therefore most respectfully present this new image for eternal worship by us and our future generations under your protection”. \n\nThe sixth image (Plate 7), also from Chi An in Kiangsi and dedicated in 1870, is a multi-image object consisting of a two foot three inches high piece of wood carved in the round, into a series of grottoes and caverns, steps and paths up to a small temple at the summit. This contains the only moveable and identifiable deity, a miniature Tou Mu (44) with her six arms and crown, seated cross-legged and with the cavity in her back which contained the identifying slip of paper. The other immovable thirteen images are of Taoist worthies, unidentified immortals, ten of them standing, one on horseback, the two more holding tablets before them standing beside the temple, probably the guardians or aides to Tou Mu.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208338, "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-1978", "page_number": 62, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "46\n\nKEITII STEVENS\n\nMu. The whole is best known as a Taoist Heaven (*). The temple at its peak bears the title of Fan Ch'ih Kung (£) \"The Palace of the Essence of Brahma\". The slip of paper in Tou Mu's back relates that Huang Wen-yuan, a sincere believer, born on the 27th day, 11th moon of the Year i wei (about December, 1835), residing south of Lu Ling City, Chi An Prefecture, Kiangsi Province, together with the whole of his family, on a lucky day of the 9th moon, of the Year keng wu during the Tung Ch'ih reign (about October, 1870), prayed before Tou Mu stating, \"I respectfully implore Most Reverend Tou Mu, a heavenly Goddess of Sacred Virtue, having the immense brilliance of T'ien Hou, generosity, the magic powers of suppressing demons and spirits, and the ability to produce amulets and prescriptions for saving people with serious afflictions, to effectively respond to my earnest prayers and wishes, and wield her supernatural powers to protect all the members of my family and to increase not only the number of children but also all kinds of happiness and prosperity\".\n\nOf the score or so images, only three deities are categorically identifiable, Kuan Ti, Kuan Yin, and Chao Kung-ming, the deities of loyalty, mercy and wealth respectively. Two of the images seem to be local Earth Gods (+) (Plate 8). They are of a style very commonly seen but with what are probably provincial characteristics. They are seated old men, clutching a fly whisk by the end of its handle allowing the handle itself to rest along the forearm and the whiskers to hang from about the elbow. They have a \"shoe\" of gold in their left hand, long white beards, white eyebrows and white hair under a green floppy form of skull cap with their hair drawn up into a bun through a hole in the top of it. They are wearing long robes bound by a red belt tied in a bow at the front, and black shoes. A female carved in the same pose, holding a fly whisk in the same manner, and dressed in a floral robe but without the “shoe\" of gold, has unbound feet, and hair, without a cap, drawn into two short pigtails. She may perhaps, be the consort of the Earth God.\n\nA final image, unidentified, has a spectacular face (Plate 9). He is an unidentified monk, seated cross-legged on a bench and with the ends of his robes hanging beneath him concealing the bench. He holds a fly whisk in his right hand in the same manner as the Earth God and in his left hand he holds a rosary. He has the face of an elderly man but with the characteristics more frequently", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208340, "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-1978", "page_number": 64, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "48\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\ndecorated with a large dragon across her bosom, and the \"bird\" hat with its representation of a small bird, wings outstretched, lying on top. She holds a raised fly switch in her right hand and her girdle is grasped in her left hand (the latter pose is usually reserved for male images). She is seated on a dragon throne.\n\nPerhaps readers can offer their views on the use of impersonal images on family altars and further examples of the practice in other parts of China?*\n\nNOTES\n\n1 Lao Tzu—the philosopher generally believed to have founded Taoist philosophy.\n\n2 Erh Lang (#) often identified with Yang Chien (##) the nephew of the Jade Emperor, the supreme Taoist deity.\n\n3 The Five Thunder Magic () is used in Taoist folk religion as the ultimate threat; a magic of destruction brought about by Taoists against those who broke the rules or opposed the Taoists.\n\n4 Lei Kung (2) the God of Thunder.\n\n5 usually read Wei, is read Yu in this surname.\n\n6 The image of Kuan Ti, the God of Loyalty and one of the most popular of deities throughout China also contained a slip which noted that it had been dedicated in the autumn of 1789 in the same area in Wo Kang as the images in illustration 2 and 4. The slip tells us that Devotee Pan Mu-shih, together with his wife, two sons and two daughters-in-law offered sacrifices to the deities in the City God shrine in the local temple, reporting that he and his whole family had had the image of Kuan Ti carved by a scholar. This they respectfully presented to have its eyes opened before the Gods so that it would be able to rid their dwelling of evil spirits and bring them blessings. The latter part of the text on the slip says that, \"Your Honour Kuan Ti is the cleverest, most faithful and righteous in the world both past and present. You are a true spirit, a wonderful inspiration and have the ability to suppress demons. To show you our sincere respect we shall now dress you up, worship you every morning and evening with incense and further, offer you Spring and Autumn sacrifices each year....\n\n7 The provenance of three further images in the shipment, in better condition, is unclear though possibly they came from one of the areas in Hunan or Kiangsi from which the others originated. Of these three, two are versions of Yao Wang (1) the King of Doctors, who is easily recognisable by his tiger and dragon, one below and the other above him, and the small red pearl he holds aloft between his fingers. The third image is Yao Wang's aide, a middle-aged man standing carrying a herbalist's case slung over his shoulder and a furled umbrella in his hand.\n\n* Mr. Stevens has made a further discovery in the matter of ancestral images: see the Notes and Queries section at p. 206.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208470, "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-1978", "page_number": 194, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "178\n\nDAVID H. S. CHAU\n\nThe fact that in the Tsin Dynasty (#), 303-379 AD, the technique had been widely used, and about the seventh or eighth century the Chinese already used woodblock to print calendars (Ɔ).\n\nThe oldest woodblock printed book still in existence, so far as we understand, is the Diamond Sutra (✨#∞) a Buddhist text (**) printed in the year 868 AD, which was found along with thousands of manuscripts from Mokao (†) the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas (†) at Tun-huang ( ). Tun-huang, a city situated on the outskirt of the Lob Desert in western Kansu Province (+), was once the main gate of the Old Silk Road (***). From the first century until the fourteenth century, merchants, caravans, travellers, monks, and armies leaving for the West all passed through Tun-huang on their way to the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Europe. The Italian merchant Marco Polo („§ +) used the same route to come to China.\n\nHollowed out in irregular tiers along the face of a steep cliff, the cave temples of the Thousand Buddhas were known in the Tang Dynasty () as Mokao or “Grottos of Surpassing Height\". They are located a few miles southeast of Tun-huang City. There had been huge Buddhist monasteries at the place for centuries, but it became forgotten when the Ming Dynasty (#9) began trading with the West by sea, and since then most of the caves had been buried by the shifting sand of the desert. In the late nineteenth century, it was rediscovered by a Taoist Priest called Wang Yuan-lu (10*), but by then all the wooden structures of the monasteries had vanished, and only the stone caves used as shrines remained.\n\nMokao is more than five thousand feet in length and consists of four hundred and ninety-two caves of various sizes. Over two thousand Buddhist statues and numerous huge murals can still be found in the caves. If we could have all the murals linked together, they would be at least twenty-five miles long.\n\nIn the year 1899, Wang Yuan-lu discovered an old monastery library in a walled-up chamber behind a mural in one of the caves. In the chamber, he found more than twenty thousand volumes of manuscripts and woodblock-printed documents and books, among them the Diamond Sutra. The news of the discovery soon spread abroad. In 1907 an Englishman, Sir Aurel Stein, traded with the priest and carried away 29 cases of manuscripts and books. More", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208476, "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-1978", "page_number": 200, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "184\n\nDAVID H. S. CHAU\n\nthem might have. Prints of images might help to bring luck or protection, and as agencies might represent both personal and impersonal beings; such as ancestors, nature spirits, saints, heroes, gods, or goddess. Because the chief attitudes of the devotees towards these agencies were fear, awe, love or affection, loyalty, reverence, obligation, and aspiration, prints of the images would be the very core of the ceremonial through which the devotee hoped to secure the benefits which he was seeking such as food and drink; protection from natural dangers like thunder, lightning, flood, disease, plague; or victory in wars; long life; riches; prosperity; and counsel in emergencies. Some of the block printed folk prints were in the form of applications to the heavenly authorities conveying all sort of messages or containing prayers for the benefits which the devotees hoped to secure. These talisman-like prints were either burnt together with other paper-made religious offerings or pasted on the walls.\n\nSome Chinese folk prints in the form of character-styled charms were created by Taoist priests for either warding off evils or curing diseases. These Taoist charms were usually written or printed in red colour on yellowish medicated papers by Taoist priests. Taoist priests were both occultists and herbalists. They used their secret formulas like vermilion (b) red orpiment (*) etc. to write or print charms, and these charms could produce some sort of medical effect to lighten diseases when sick persons drank them with water. Taoist priests had long been using these special practices to promote their religion and to make people believe that magic came from their religious power and through the design of the charms they created. Today these charms have become merely a superstition. Those we can find are printed in ordinary ink by the print makers instead of by the priests. Even contemporary priests have little knowledge about the use of formulas. The old formulas are mostly lost through many generations. Yet though charms no longer have the magic power, they still can give psychological comfort to ignorant believers.\n\nSince Late Ming most of the folk prints were printed in colours. The colour used are traditionally believed to have beneficial effects. Each colour has its meaning: red for happiness, joy or prosperity; green for peace and eternity; white also for peace but for mourning as well; gold and yellow for royalty, strength and wealth. They", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208489, "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-1978", "page_number": 213, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\n197 \n\nleg down and right leg bent, and with round protruding eyes fixed on the horizon. \n\nNews of his sainthood quickly spread throughout Chuan Zhou, as did the word that he now had great spiritual powers. A small temple was built for him and his fame slowly spread far and wide. He helped and advised people, in their dreams, and his popularity was such that the title of King was awarded him. He did not always answer people's prayers himself as he had a small staff of spirits as assistants. One day a very elderly couple were promised a child by a spirit assistant in his absence. When Guo returned and heard of the rash promise he realized there was only one way to fulfil it and had himself reincarnated as their child. His temple fell into disuse, and for 21 years it lay empty. A fortune teller told the old couple that their only child would pass the Imperial examinations with very high marks. Whilst a student, “Guo” (though not now of the Guo family) cured the Emperor's mother who was very ill and for this he was given the title of Guang Ze Zun Wang.* He was warned, however, never to touch anything black as this would result in his death. The award of a 1st Class Civil Examination result required him to attend the Imperial Palace at the Capital in scholar's clothes, and as he had been created a magistrate his uniform was black! He donned it, returned to Nan An in triumph but because he had touched black, dropped dead on his return. \n\nA beggar asked \"Guo's” mother for money. When she replied that she had none and was in mourning for her recently dead son, the beggar said that he had just seen “Guo” riding a white horse, and moreover \"Guo\" had promised him a stated amount of money which he had told the beggar was under his pillow. When \"Guo's” mother looked there was the exact money! \"Guo's\" mother then knew he had not died but had returned to his temple. She followed, instituted prayers and incense burning before the deity who now bore the title of Guang Ze given to him by the Emperor. \n\nA Taoist priest's daughter fell in love with the image of Guang Ze in the temple and said she wanted to marry him. The image heard her and from then on, each day whilst the daughter was washing the family's clothes in the stream, she saw a jade bangle lying on red linen in a bowl floating near her. On her mother's \n\n*This literally means the Saintly King of the Wide Marsh.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208490, "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-1978", "page_number": 214, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "198\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nadvice she picked it up, and it immediately jumped onto her wrist and stuck fast. This was the sign that she was to marry Guang Ze and the next and every night Guang Ze visited her and talked to her all through the night. Her mother became angry and forbade her to see him and the Taoist priest refused to allow his daughter to be married to Guo. He even planned to marry her quickly to someone else but as the sedan chair passed Guo's temple, Guo took her from the sedan and replaced her with a rock without the chair bearers seeing. The furious father suspected Guo, went to the temple and found his daughter, but as a statue beside Guo's.\n\nAnother version was that as her daughter had become obviously pregnant the mother asked her daughter to cut a piece of the robe off her nightly visitor. This the daughter did and it only took the mother a few days to discover the pieces were from the robe of the image of Guang Ze in a nearby temple. The father, a powerful Taoist magician, realizing his power was far less than Guo's and that he was dying, as a last wish asked for four pieces of burning charcoal to be put one at each corner of his coffin when it was placed in the temple after his death. However, reading the father's mind, Guo transformed himself into an old lady and persuaded the temple keeper's wife to remove the burning charcoals. She was almost too late, managing to remove only three pieces. The last one caused the corner of the temple to catch fire, whereupon one wall fell in. But for Guo's warning all four walls would have fallen and Guo's image would have been destroyed.\n\nTHE IMMORTAL FAN (樊仙)\n\n(Cantonese: Fan Sin)\n\nA unique folk religion cult is centred around the village of Wun Yiu,* a mile or so above Taipo, in the New Territories of Hong Kong, where his gilded image is to be seen alone on a temple altar. There he is depicted as a seated Mandarin with a black beard and white eyebrows and, according to the temple keeper, without any special recognition characteristics. FAN has not been seen in any other temple within the two territories of Hong Kong & Macau.\n\n* See A Gazetteer of Place Names in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories (Hong Kong, Government Printer n.d. but 1960) p. 176 under Sheung and Ha Wun Yiu. Plates 23(a) and 23(b) illustrate this Note.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208511, "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-1978", "page_number": 235, "title": "RAS-1978", "content_text": "Plate 6. Image of the Heavenly General, from Kiangsi, \n\ndedicated in 1799.\n\n \n\nPlate 7. Image of Tou Mu, from Chi An in Kiangsi \n\ndedicated in 1870 with 13 Taoist worthies.\n\nI.\n\nF", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1978.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8g84t8593", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208721, "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-1979", "page_number": 178, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "CHINESE RELIGION REDISCUSSED\n\n151\n\nmigrants, the arrival of a record number of Christian missionaries and new government regulations concerning religious festivals, all contribute to great changes. One more factor not so strongly felt ten years ago, but very active ever since, is the economic prosperity of the island, which has resulted in a new temple-building boom, perhaps unequaled in the past).\n\nSo far the author has identified the temples as either Taoist, Buddhist or Confucian, but now raises the question as to the usefulness and adequacy of these terms: \"Of what significance are these terms (as well as the term 'temple' itself) to our understanding of the development and character of religion in Taiwan?” (p. 52).\n\nIn Chapter II, \"The Use of Government Gazetteers in Scholarly Research\" (pp. 54-84), the traditional way of dividing the religions of China is rejected as inadequate. This terminology was used in official gazetteers but is not always reliable. Moreover, the gazetteers, although of importance for researchers, are often biased: there are omissions of a large number of smaller temples or so-called unorthodox temples; and the relative importance of various temples is ignored. Therefore the gazetteers have to be used with great apprehension and should be complemented with field-work information.\n\nThe confusion of the temple names—I’d rather use temple 'appellations'—certainly makes it very difficult to classify temples according to the three religions model, if one goes by these appellations only. But the author's conclusion on p. 72 is unwarranted: \"For this reason I do not believe that the three religions classification is a useful tool for uncovering the system of Taiwanese religious beliefs.\" Even if temple appellations are partially interchangeable (e.g. a kung may refer to a Taoist or Buddhist temple) their identity is not only based on their names. Besides—and here I only anticipate a major criticism to be discussed later—the \"system of Taiwanese religious beliefs\" is not only embodied in the temples but goes beyond temples and temple rituals.\n\nThe chapter concludes with a criticism of the classical division of the Chinese religions. Everyone must admit that this model does not work any longer: it is a simplification. The author's attempt to propose a set of new criteria to identify the essential nature of Chinese religion in Taiwan is the necessary consequence of his", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208725, "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-1979", "page_number": 182, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "CHINESE RELIGION REDISCUSSED\n\n155\n\nThe concept of 'private community temple' again needs clarification; as such the expression is contradictory: if a temple is privately owned, how can it be a community temple? That the enshrined deity has a public appeal, etc. does not change the nature of the temple. \"Their gods rarely become the dominant deities in their areas. . . Such temples will rarely be chosen as a site for... chiao celebration . . .” (p. 105). This is obvious, since they are not community temples. In other words, they are additional temples in the area of the particular community, which has already its own community temple as the center of its main worship. It is perhaps due to expansion of the original community or to introduction of new religions that new temples are built to serve the same or partially the same group of people. However, the community temple strictly speaking is unique for each community.\n\nNext the author discusses the t'an or private shrines where Taoist priests perform private services for the people. The shrines where tangki (mediums) operate should not be identified with these t'an, since very often tangki shrines are rather private temples. The deities enshrined in them very often are the same as community gods and are then recognized as such by the worshippers. Reaction against them from the people and from the government is not due to the nature of the gods but due to the method used by those tangki who pretend to be mediums but are in fact deceiving the worshippers.\n\nSo far, the author has discussed two types of temples as far as organization is concerned: the community temple and a variety of privately owned temples or at least shrines. Those private temples are either ancestral halls controlled by clans or privately owned shrines, in some cases even temples, constructed and controlled by private families or even individuals. Tension arises when families or clans try to control the community temples, or when the community makes efforts to control private temples. But it is an overstatement when the author says that ”... in fact most temples are mixtures of the basic types. . .\" (p. 113).\n\nIn the following subsection, the author adds a new set of temples to the discussion: monasteries and bone temples. However, here also a lack of precision causes confusion in the mind: the terms 'monastery', 'monastic temple', 'bone temple', 'pagoda', and 'bone pagoda' are all used without being defined. A monastery and a", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208726, "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-1979", "page_number": 183, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "156\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nmonastic temple are not the same at all. A monastery is a residence for monks or nuns usually not open to the public, whereas a monastic temple is usually a public worship hall built on the monastic premises, but open to outsiders. Of great importance here is the difference between the large monasteries and the hereditary temples controlled by a small number of monks (or nuns), as discussed by Holmes Welch (The Practice of Chinese Buddhism). Both types do not operate in the same manner, and although Welch's observations do not necessarily apply to Taiwan, the distinction has to be kept in mind. What is a 'bone temple' and how is it different from a pagoda? The term 'bone temple' is peculiar: does it mean that bones are stored in the temple hall? From my own field work experience, I know that there are pagodas in which urns are stored, containing the ashes of Buddhist devotees who have been cremated. Is such a pagoda a bone temple? The word 'bone' does not seem appropriate. In Buddhist temples I also have seen side altars with large numbers of name-tablets of Buddhist believers, but no ashes or bones are to be found in these places. So I do not quite understand what 'bone temple' refers to. Bones are often placed in large urns after cleaning them for second burial but as far as I know, they are then reburied in a graveyard.\n\nBesides this lack of precision of terms, some inaccuracies have to be pointed out. The author states (p. 114) that a monk by leaving home, eliminates the fundamental difference between his own ancestors and those of others. This enables him \"to perform many services which might not otherwise be possible...\" How is it then that Taoist priests, who are \"fire dwellers”, are able to perform the same services? Further, the author says that \"Because the monk has cut off his family ties, he becomes available as a surrogate descendant for others, and is able to take over their ancestral services. Because he has fundamentally broken the Confucian code of filiality, he needs not obey its sanctions against worshipping other people's ancestors.\" (p. 117). The two sentences are very distorted. The idea of causality, twice expressed by 'because' is a mere assumption and in fact unwarranted. The Buddhist monk shares these functions with Taoist priests and even with married Buddhist masters; moreover he does not become a surrogate descendant, he only performs the ancestral services in the place of the family, which is ultimately responsible. When families invite him to perform his services, it is not because he has broken the Confucian code: that", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208728, "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-1979", "page_number": 185, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "158\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nAs I see the situation, Chinese temples can be grouped under various criteria, for instance, (i) religious affiliation; (ii) nature of deities enshrined; and (iii) ownership. Let us try this proposal and see how it works out.\n\n(i) Temples according to their religious affiliation:\n\nFirst, there are temples that must be considered as essentially Confucian: in Taiwan only a small number located in most of the district capitals: Taipei, Tainan, Tai-chung, Changhua, Hsinchu, Kaohsung, Hualien, Chiayi, Taitung. These are the temples erected in honor of Confucius himself. A number of temples enshrining Kuan Ti or other deities do not fall under this category.\n\nSecond, a great number of temples are distinctly Buddhist: they are built by the Buddhist community (monks and/or nuns) or by a distinctly Buddhist group of lay people or even by an individual Buddhist believer or Buddhist family. They enshrine Buddhas and/or bodhisattvas, and are in most cases attached to monastic establishments. Temples enshrining bodhisattvas Kuan-Yin or Ti-tsang are not necessarily of this type.\n\nThird, there are temples in Taiwan that may be called Taoist. Their numbers on the mainland tend to be much larger: they were in some cases attached to Taoist monastic institutions, just like their Buddhist counterparts. Taoist monasteries (as the author also mentions, p. 113) do not seem to exist in Taiwan nowadays (although a revival is taking place, e.g., the Tao Te Yuan in Kao-hsiung) but Taoist temples can still be recognized as such, although it is not easy to formulate practical criteria.\n\nNegative criteria are: temples designated as Taoist either in government publications and official lists or by the temple administration itself are not necessarily Taoist. In those cases \"Taoist\" temple means any temple which is not Confucian, Buddhist or ancestral. Furthermore, a Taoist temple is not necessarily one that enshrines Taoist deities (cf. Buddhist temples). Positively speaking, a Taoist temple is one founded and/or administered by a distinctly Taoist", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208729, "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-1979", "page_number": 186, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "CHINESE RELIGION REDISCUSSED\n\n159\n\ngroup or individual, enshrining distinctly Taoist deities for worship and aiming at promoting the cultivation and practice of a Taoist way of life. Such temples are perhaps rarely found in Taiwan, but if any of the criteria is not realized, the designation of such a temple as Taoist is incorrect and confusing. Therefore the great majority of temples in Taiwan do not fall under any of the above three categories and are to be considered as temples of the popular religion (group 4). Here again several sub-categories can be distinguished.\n\nFourth, the temples of the popular religion consist of several types. The most important and visible type is the formal community temple, established and controlled by the community or its representatives. Since the deities of some temples have proven special efficacy, they will attract worshippers from across the geographic boundaries of their own communities: one could consider them as temples of regional or even provincial (in China: national) communities. On the other hand, within a particular community (of a town or city) one frequently sees smaller social groups like hamlets or even neighborhoods with enough cohesion and economic power to build their own neighbourhood shrines or temples: one may call them neighbourhood temples: they are similar to the large community temples in origin and administration and are essentially public temples, although very often small and humble structures. In this group fall the majority of Earth-god shrines, and similar shrines built to house the bones of orphan spirits, or built to house the spirits of strange phenomena, like stones and rocks. Not all of them are public or community shrines: in many cases they are erected by individuals or individual families, which makes them private rather than community temples. Here the distinction is not always clear.\n\nThe second type of temples that I consider as belonging to the popular religion are the ancestral halls, built and controlled by clans. They are private or semi-private according to each case. They even in rare cases develop into community temples.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208730, "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-1979", "page_number": 187, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "160\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nThe third type of folk religious temples are the private temples other than ancestral halls (and distinct from privately owned temples of Buddhist or Taoist designation). Here perhaps the greatest confusion exists: the boundaries between these temples and other types are not well established and may change considerably as time goes on. Baity has well pointed out this nature of fluidity. What constitutes a private temple of this kind is their origin and control; although the gods enshrined may belong to any religious affiliation (Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, folk religion), and thus often are 'universalistic' gods, the fact that those temples are built and controlled by private individuals or families, makes them private rather than community temples. In many cases these temples are open to a limited public: either geographically (they then resemble neighbourhood temples) or by virtue of the worshippers they attract. A number of medium-temples are of that type. These temples are built for various reasons: sometimes just as a means to generate income (often in the case of medium-cults), but also from sincere devotion to a particular deity, e.g. as a result of a vow made in a time of emergency. In cases of a successful appeal to the public, these temples may be rebuilt on a larger scale and even be reorganized as community temples. Conversely, very often these smaller shrines lose their original stimulus and attraction, and may just become private home shrines. Like in other businesses, temples flourish and decline following the degree of success in gaining a clientele.\n\nA considerable number of private home shrines, called shen or discussed by Baity as 'tan', cannot be grouped under the category of private temples, since they are not temples at all. They are rather ‘offices' of various spiritual practitioners: Taoist priests (officially ordained or not), diviners of all sorts, women who merely practice 'spirit-restoration' rituals, and mediums.\n\nOne final sub-category of the folk religion temples may be designated as sectarian temples. These may be private, semi-private or even public, although in some cases the type of worshippers is restricted. Membership in these temples or cults is often restricted (and perhaps can be compared to membership in secret societies) and the emphasis of the cult is sectarian, that is limited to the cult of particular deities and/or to the practice of certain ritual activities, especially divinatory ritual. To give examples of this type from", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208731, "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-1979", "page_number": 188, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "CHINESE RELIGION REDISCUSSED\n\n161\n\npresent day Taiwan, I may point out the cult of the Golden Mother of the Jade Pool and the cult of Kuan Ti focussing on divinatory writing and the publication of morality books.\n\nHaving discussed the great variety of temples according to the first criterium: religious affiliation, the other two criteria mentioned (nature of deities enshrined, and ownership) do not need much attention, since they have already been co-discussed. However, the second criterium needs some elaboration: distinction of temples according to the nature of the deities enshrined. In a few cases there can be no mistaken identity although this criterion by itself is insufficient to determine the temple type. The clearest cases are when the Buddhist Holy Ones are the main objects of worship; Buddhas Sakyamuni, Amitabha or Amita, the Buddha of Healing (rather than 'Medical Buddha' as Baity calls him on p. 126), bodhisattvas Kuan-yin (Avalokitesvara), P'u-hsien (Samantabhadra), Maitreya, Wen-shu (Manjusri), to name the principal ones. In most instances these temples are essentially Buddhist. However, one has to be very careful: the mutual absorption of cult objects by various religions has often blurred the origins; in many Matsu temples (community temples of the folk religion) there is a secondary shrine behind the central hall, in which Kuan-yin is enthroned on the central altar. However, the iconography has been changed: this Kuan-yin does not have the appearance of traditional Buddhist sculpture but appears as another deity of the folk religion. Therefore such temples are still essentially folk religious temples, and the dissonant appearance of Kuan-yin should not deceive the observer.\n\nThe same principal applies to the cult of Ti-tsang (Ksitigarbha). Although originally a bodhisattva, his cult has become so popular that he has been absorbed into the folk religion: his image can be found in many community temples throughout Taiwan, mostly on a secondary altar in the central hall. But once again he has lost the typically Buddhist iconographic appearance.\n\nWhat is the difference between Taoist and popular deities? The most distinctively Taoist Holy Ones are those one does not often see in the temples: their images, painted on scrolls, are in the possession of Taoist priests and brought to the temples or temporary roadside shrines by them for special occasions: such as rituals for the dead or the great chiao festival. Besides those there", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208732, "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-1979", "page_number": 189, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "162\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nare, of course, an enormous number of deities mentioned and described in Taoist ritual texts, of whom the common people do not even know the names. They belong to the esoteric tradition of Taoism and are only known to Taoist priests. But besides those, the majority of deities worshipped in the temples belong to the popular religion, although many border cases may exist of mutual absorption between the three traditional religions and the popular religion. Some of the most ‘popular' deities of Taiwan religion belong to the popular or community religion: examples are Matsu, Kuanti, the earth god(s), the Wang-Yeh gods, the city god(s), Prince Nat'o or T'ai-tzu, Pao-sheng ta-ti and even the so-called supreme god of Taoism, Yü-huang Ta-ti. A number of originally Taoist or Buddhist deities have been absorbed into the folk religion and have become part of it: Kuan-yin and Ti-tsang wang for the Buddhist side; the kitchen god, Yü-huang (Jade Emperor), the 8 Immortals for the Taoist side.\n\nAccording to the third criterium mentioned above, ownership of a temple, several categories exist greatly coinciding with the division based on the other two criteria. Temples may be government-owned (Confucian temples); owned by the local community on the neighborhood or town levels (these are the community temples); or privately owned, either by individuals, families, sectarian groups or monastic institutions.\n\nFinal sub-section of Chapter Three. After this long digression, I had better return to my book review. In this last part of Chapter Three the author discusses the 'genesis of temples'. Although strictly speaking there is a difference between temple and cult, between temple and deity worshipped in it, still the two should be discussed together. In fact there is a special chapter on the Genesis of Gods. However, since the author prefers to discuss the genesis of temples separately, we had better follow him. He distinguishes several ways of temple development:\n\n(A) by process of fen-shen or \"splitting bodies\" (p. 125). The reason of the spread and construction of new temples is the god's efficacy.\n\n(ii) by process of proselytization or a conscious effort on the part of the believers to spread the cult. This applies to Buddhist temples (and Christian churches).\n\n(iii) by transformation of a private home or temple into a community temple.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208734, "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-1979", "page_number": 191, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "164\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nSo far so good: I can agree with some factual statements expressed here but do not understand the logic of the author's reasoning, as, for instance, expressed in his conclusion (pp. 167-168);\n\n\"Life and death, and the idea of pollution and purity show a remarkable consistency in ordering the religious concepts of the Taiwanese, be they ordinary folk or priests. The fact that they apply equally to Buddhists and Taoists shows that there is an underlying reality behind the apparent diversity of the two religions. I would say that this is evidence that the distinction between life and death services is as analytically useful as the distinction between Taoism and Buddhism in trying to understand the manner in which the average Taiwanese townsman understands his religion.\"\n\nNot digressing about the curious statement about \"the apparent diversity of Buddhism and Taoism\", I'd like to point out that the author is trying to punch open doors. Here we come to the central theme of this book: the author has rejected the traditional three-fold division of Chinese religion as inadequate and unworkable, but overlooks the possibility that the popular religion is in fact a totally different entity. He does not have to prove that according to the folk religion the universe is divided into two realms: life and death, pure and impure. On the one hand, this division is part of their world view: on the other hand, it should not be over-emphasized; and equally the classification of temples based on ritual purity and impurity should not be over-emphasized either. Philosophically and historically speaking the author's \"thesis\" is very shaky. This chapter is full of inaccuracies and subtle distortions and, in my view, the conclusion built on them has no validity.\n\nFrom a philosophical viewpoint, the argument is weak. Although the author states that \"the symbolic universe of Taiwanese religion is too rich...\" and that he will examine only \"a few of its major features\" (p. 136), he does not fulfil his promise. He has not attempted to explain to us the general religious world view of Taiwan's folk religion. The yin and yang concepts are part of this, but are not the only major feature. Besides, even the yin-yang philosophy has not been treated well. He over-states the dichotomy whereas in Chinese philosophy there is no such strict dichotomy but rather polarity. As a result, he also over-states the dichotomy of pure and polluted, of life and death. At least the author should have explored\n\n!\n\nI", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208736, "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-1979", "page_number": 193, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "166\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\ncannot be touched by its defilements. The gods of the folk religion are seen as more human in this (and other) respects. They need worship and offerings for their continued existence. They are susceptible to dangers and impurities. This shows that these concepts have been created by the common people in a simple fashion. Neither the higher deities of Taoism nor the Buddhist Holy Ones share this vulnerability. Unless, perhaps, even here there is a wrong interpretation by the author. Is it correct to say that the gods can be polluted? I have some doubts. If gods are really efficacious, they do not have to fear human pollution, or pollution by evil spirits. I believe that gods are kept away from the presence of evil spirits as a sign of honour; it would be an insult to their sacredness (just as the common people are not brought into the presence of emperors). Wherever there is a special need of bringing the two together, as in cases of exorcism, the gods are called down to chase the evil spirits away. Why is that not polluting as well? In such cases, the element of irreverence is absent (as when criminals are brought into the presence of high mandarins for judgment and sentencing).\n\nThe same sense of respect for the hierarchical status is present in the chronomantic ordering of sacrifices. The higher the status of the gods, the earlier in the day they are served (p. 154).\n\nOn pp. 168-169, several confusions occur: Taoist priests are said to perform in Buddhist temples, while Buddhist monks are invited to Taoist temples. The examples cited do not warrant this, for the so-called Buddhist temple is not really a Buddhist temple, while the Matsu temples cited are not Taoist either. The author conveniently follows the official appellation from the gazetteers, which he has criticized in a previous chapter.\n\nOn p. 174, there is another example of 'sublime distortion'. The author tries to explain the folk saying that \"Taoists do not offer the service for feeding the hungry ghosts, and Buddhist monks do not offer the li-tou service\", already quoted on p. 165. Factual observations contradict the saying. The author's explanation is that “individual ancestral services such as chin-chu and chin-t'a are only offered... in \"Buddhist\" bone temples, and by Buddhist priests (p. 174), whereas the community temples do not allow this to take place: the god's purity must be safeguarded. First, the statement is incorrect as far as chin-chu services are concerned; these normally", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208737, "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-1979", "page_number": 194, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "CHINESE RELIGION REDISCUSSED\n\n167\n\ntake place at the home or in ancestral temples, less frequently in \"bone temples\". But secondly, community temples are not intended to offer funeral rites: their whole significance lies elsewhere. Funeral rites from very early times on used to be a family or clan affair and had no direct relationship with the community as a whole. With the coming of Buddhism and the growing success of their eschatology, monks started to take over or at least participate in funeral services. The author has overlooked a very simple alternate explanation: the proverb may have been coined at a point in history where the Ullambana ritual (or hungry ghost festival) was purely Buddhist, whereas the li-tou from its inception was a Taoist creation and in earlier times only performed by Taoist priests. Later changes occurred, but the saying continues.\n\nOn p. 175 author states that (Buddhist) \"bone temples” “cannot be used as a site for the popular chiao festivals\": the gods are not willing to descend in a death-polluted location (p. 176). This may not be the true reason. Those \"bone temples\" are not real temples (they are pagodas) and certainly not community temples: therefore they obviously will not do as sites for the chiao festival which is the community celebration par excellence. It seems to me, however, that Buddhist temples are organizing great rituals parallel to or equivalent to the chiao, which they call ta fa hui (great dharma meeting). This is a substitute ritual for their own Buddhist devotees, and a ritual for the living at that.\n\nOn p. 180 the author distinguishes two groups of worshippers in Buddhist temples, so-called the “living” and the “dead”. (As long as quotation marks are used, these expressions although not ideal, can be accepted, but on p. 182 the author speaks of dead worshippers, without the marks). The two groups do not meet at the same times and participate in different rituals. This whole passage is informative but does not clarify or further substantiate the author's thesis. The so-called “dead worshippers” do not belong to the real congregation of the temple: they place the urn or tablet once and for all, often to rid themselves of an awkward responsibility. The monks have received their lump sum payment and do not expect them back therefore they are almost forgotten on purpose. The \"living worshippers\" are cultivated because they provide the regular temple income.\n\nOn p. 185, the author speaks of the \"Taoist\" Matsu deity. This is a wrong identification as author should be aware of. Further", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208738, "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-1979", "page_number": 195, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "168\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\n\"the worship of Kuqn-yin is not unknown in Matsu temples either” (p. 185). This is a gross understatement: as I already mentioned, many famous Matsu temples (and perhaps even most) have a secondary hall dedicated to Kuan-yin.\n\nTo summarize my comments on Chapter IV: although there is a great amount of correct factual materials, their interpretation is rather shaky: a critical analysis undermines the author's theories. His neglect of a sound historical and philosophical basis leads him to many fallacies and contradictions.\n\nChapter V, \"Ritual Services in Temples\" (pp. 189-237) comes as a surprise: the author has already dealt with these services in Chapter IV. After a while it becomes clear that he now considers them from the aspect of generating income. The main thesis of this chapter, as I see it, is to point out that the two types of temples (here reduced to community temples and \"bone temples\") have each a different center of gravity in their ritual life; community temples, deriving their main income from li-tou rituals are oriented toward life, whereas the \"bone temples\" are death-oriented: their main source of revenue are the rituals for the dead. I do not understand what the author intends to prove: there is no need to prove the obvious: community religion is naturally oriented towards protection of the living and also naturally (but secondarily) tends to protect itself from evil influences, such as for instance the threats posed by revengeful ghosts. That Buddhism emphasizes services for the dead is both historically conditioned and a simplification. A great number of Buddhist temples have found in these services a means of livelihood, but there is more to Buddhism than being a national undertaker.\n\nOn p. 191, the author examines the income of a group of temples in the Tamsui-Peit'ou area. I wonder why he uses the \"official classification\" system: it is incorrect and totally misleading. For example, the Ch'ing shui Lung-shan temples are not Buddhist; the three Matsu temples are not Taoist, and the Hsing Tien T'ang is not really a Confucian temple.\n\nIn a previous context I have pointed out the author's strange sense of causality: another example is given on p. 196:\n\n\"Because the gods in the temples have well defined areas of control over which they extend their protective influences, par.\n\nPage 195\n\nPage 196", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208740, "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-1979", "page_number": 197, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "170\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nto the hungry gods\" (p. 235). This statement is contradicted by the custom of ending great festivals with a huge banquet offered to the ghosts: at the end of a chiao festival there always is this p’u-tu ritual. I have seen it performed as well at the conclusion of a temple consecration, of an installation of new deity statues, etc. I feel that the author over-states his case in order to strengthen his thesis.\n\nIn Chapter VI: \"The Genesis of Gods” (pp. 238-269), the author formulates a new theory of how the gods, or cult-symbols, are created by the community. Since the gods, per definition, are symbols of community cohesion, they must appeal to the community as a whole. Ancestors are naturally excluded as candidates, and so the author decides that \"gods evolved from hungry ghosts\" (p. 239). Such a theory comes as a shock: it goes against the grain of most religious traditions, in which candidates for sainthood and deification are chosen from among the highest models of virtue, reflecting ideals of human perfection to be imitated by all men. Here, however, gods are born on the \"garbage piles” of society; they are among the outcasts who have no known family, no known descendants. That this theory is at first alarming does not necessarily undermine its validity. However, before it can be accepted, we must carefully scrutinize it.\n\nFirst of all, it is clear that the author only talks about the deities of the community religion. A great number of \"supernatural” beings are therefore not included: for example: the higher gods of Taoism, the Buddhist Holy Ones; their genesis is quite different. Also excluded are the gods of the \"state religion\" of ancient times, still worshipped nowadays: Heaven, Earth, the nature gods like the spirits of thunder, of rain, of mountains and rivers, etc. These are rather personifications of natural phenomena. The author also excludes the Taoist immortals, although in legend and literature they are often close to the people. It seems therefore that only one group remains to develop into cult symbols, the hungry ghosts. The fact of their evil origins is later on camouflaged.\n\nA priori I do not see any serious reason to reject this theory even if it appears to be shocking. However, I want to see solid arguments brought forward. And I find that the author does not provide them, except for one case (see later). When the author takes up the Matsu cult as an example he undermines his own thesis when he says that it is possible that her cult \"began as the cult...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208750, "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-1979", "page_number": 207, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "180\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nby nearly 7,500 monks and nuns.” (A study published in 1971 says that between 40 and 46 percent of Taiwan's population affiliated themselves with Buddhism.)6\n\nAs usually these statistics have to be handled with care and as the word \"Taoist\" has become a \"source of perplexity\", so are the words \"Buddhism\" and “Buddhists” often used in a very unorthodox manner. Buddhism is most easily to be recognized as such in the monastic institutions: Buddhist temples, monasteries and pagodas (sometimes built as storage places for urns or so-called \"bone-temples\") are clearly distinct from all other temples and shrines with some exceptions. Monks and nuns are living a celibate life; most of them are engaged in making a living by performing rituals for the dead, either at private homes (funeral rites) or at their own temple. Apparently very few are practicing ch'an-meditation. Some informants told me that there is no exclusive ch'an-center in the whole of Taiwan.\n\nAn important distinction seems to be necessary when discussing Buddhism in Taiwan: clerical vs. lay Buddhism. The former is related to the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China and is well organized. Visually it is very flourishing with many recent constructions of new temples. But, according to serious lay Buddhists, this whole movement is rather external: it emphasizes superficial rituals and often caters to the needs of the folk religion. An example is the performance of p'u-tu rituals (rites of ‘universal salvation') now almost identified with folk religion and equally performed by Taoist priests.\n\nLay Buddhism, on the other hand, is a smaller movement but makes great efforts to deepen the understanding of the orthodox principles of Buddhism; instead of being devotional, it tends to be more philosophical. It attracts a great number of university students: each campus in Taiwan has a local Buddhist association with regular study and discussion sessions.\n\nSome important centers of clerical Buddhism are: Kaohsiung, Fo-kuang shan, and Yang-ming-shan; Institute of Buddhist Studies (established in 1965 by the Institute of Chinese Culture). A very active center of lay-Buddhism is located in Tai-chung directed by a 90-year-old lay-Buddhist, Li Ping-nan.\n\nThese two types of Buddhism try in different degrees to dissociate themselves from the folk-religion and should therefore be seen as a distinct religious system.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208751, "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-1979", "page_number": 208, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "RELIGIOUS LIFE IN PRESENT-DAY TAIWAN\n\n(c) Taoism\n\n181\n\nTaoism, as a religion nowadays, is hard to define; it is much more than Buddhism caught up in popular religion and very often identified or confused with it, not only by students of Chinese religions but by believers as well. Examples are lists of temples in Taiwan, where temples are identified either as Taoist or Buddhist, with the rare exceptions of Confucian temples and ancestral halls. If we see the folk-religion as a separate category, then Taoism as such should be stripped of all the folk-religious elements and seen in its purity. In that case, only a few temples can be identified as Taoist, and the Taoist religion has thus basically to be identified with the various sects of Taoist priests. The matter has become more complicated since the institution of a Taoist Association in 1950. This is organized and run by Taoist laymen but has requested and obtained membership among many temples of the folk religion (in many temples, one can see the metal membership plates on the wall).\n\nThe Taoist priesthood is divided into 3 (or 4) sects: the ling-pao, cheng-yi, or t'ien-shih and san-nai sects. The cheng-yi sect, or the sect of the Heavenly Master, has been trying for a long time to control the Taoist priesthood of all sects to unify them (and collect their dues). The 64th successor to Chang Tao-ling, living in Taipei, confers ordinations and promotions all over the island. However, as over the centuries, candidates to the priesthood (often hereditary) are not well trained in Taoist philosophy: they start their instruction as apprentices of a particular master, but throughout their training, they usually do not go beyond learning to recite the sacred texts and performing the various rituals. There are, happily, exceptions to the rule, and a fascinating example is Master Chuang of Hsinchu city, who is not only a master of rituals but performs the esoteric meditations of inner alchemy as well.\n\nIn Taiwan, there are no Taoist monasteries where priests live as celibate monks, although there seems to be a movement of return to the ancient model: in one temple in Kaohsiung, the Tao-Te-Yuan, a group of young women have been ordained as Taoist priests and have made the vow of celibacy. The same temple also organizes study sessions for laymen to foster a deeper understanding of Taoist philosophy. As in Buddhism, the laymen again are promoters of a more serious involvement in Taoism.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208752, "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-1979", "page_number": 209, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "182\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nBoth the Buddhists and Taoists are publishing books and monthly magazines to make their religion accessible to serious lay people; examples are the Journal of Buddhist Culture,11 imitated by its counterpart Journal of Taoist Culture.12 Besides these two, there are a great number of other monthlies.13\n\n(d) Folk Religion\n\nI believe that Chinese folk religion is the heart of religious life in Taiwan (and China). Although it has greatly borrowed from all the other systems, it has to be regarded as a distinct system in its own right, already in existence before the rise of the historical traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. In the course of the centuries, it has absorbed a great deal of their teachings and has thus been enriched considerably, but it still cannot simply be identified with any of the three. This does not mean that it is a well-organized and homogeneous system. To postulate a well-rounded and logically constructed system for the folk religion does not agree with the real facts. If one were to ask what the religious beliefs and practices of the Chinese people are, the answer would have to start with the folk religion, making exceptions for the relatively few who are purely and exclusively Buddhist or Taoist (also excepting those who have no religious beliefs any longer).\n\nWhat the majority of the people believe in and practice circles around two areas of major concern: the family (clan) and the local community. These two social organizations determine their religious practices and also, to a greater or lesser degree, control their religious beliefs.\n\n(i) Family: the family lineage is characterized by the cult of the ancestors and some select deities.14 The practice of ordinary ancestral worship at the home shrine is rather stereotyped: depending on the degree of religious fervor of individuals, rituals are performed with lesser or greater regularity and abundance of offerings. But a minimum practice in all families, even in the cities, is the devotions performed at the home shrine two times a month: on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. Daily offerings of incense are also often performed, but not in all homes.\n\nThe extraordinary ancestral cult consists of rituals of passage, especially those observed at funerals, and these are often focused on geomancy and second burial. These customs are still very seriously maintained by a large section of the population.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208753, "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-1979", "page_number": 210, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "In cases of chain-misfortune, the family will consult a medium who evokes the spirits of their deceased ancestors until settlements of complaints result in a more peaceful existence.\n\nThe duty of filial piety and related family virtues are still strongly emphasized in education and traditionally derive from Confucianism. They have, however, become part and parcel of the Chinese tradition as a whole and of the family religion in particular. Although in Taiwan families tend to be more often than not nuclear, the duty of filial behaviour is taken seriously. Several temples have used modern techniques to instill and propagate traditional virtues by putting the 24 stories of heroic filial piety on animated puppet shows (e.g., Changhua, Hsinchu).\n\n(ii) The Community: for the majority of the rural population and to a large extent of the city dwellers, religious life centers around (home and) the community temples. Traditionally, each neighborhood, hamlet, or village has its own temple, and this temple is the focal point of the whole group, around which social life is organized. Although some details discussed here also apply to Buddhist and Taoist temples, the average community temple is quite distinct from both of them. Most community temples in Taiwan are neither Buddhist nor Taoist: the gods enshrined and worshipped are of popular creation or of popular choice; they are non-denominational and are community \"property\". Only in a few cases can it be said that the gods derive from one or the other of the voluntary religions: more often, the secondary gods are of Taoist or Buddhist origin. Examples are Kuan-yin: rarely a primary deity, and formed more often of secondary importance in Matsu temples. Ti-tsang-wang is another case. He is the Chinese adaptation of the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha of Buddhism; although few temples enshrine him as their principal deity, he seems to be ubiquitous all over Taiwan as a deity on one of the main side-altars. On the Taoist side, Lü Tung-pin can be mentioned as a secondary deity, whereas Hsüan-t'ien Shang-ti is an example of a well-spread cult of a primary Taoist god. But in the majority of the cases, the most frequently worshipped deities are of purely popular origin: Matsu, Kuan Ti, the gods of pestilence, Pao-sheng Ta-ti, T'ai-tzu yüan-shuai, etc.15\n\nWhat determines the community and folk-religious character of these temples even more is their actual origin: these temples are\n\nPage 210\n\nPage 211", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208754, "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-1979", "page_number": 211, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "184\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nusually built by the people of the local community by means of public subscription. Consequently, they are ruled by a locally selected committee headed by a chairman. Although on special occasions Taoist priests or Buddhist monks and nuns are invited to perform the appropriate rituals, still, these priests are outsiders and have no authority in running the temple affairs. They are paid for their services and once the rituals are over, they return home or to their own temple.16\n\nA large number of (smaller) temples in the cities and in the countryside have their own mediums, used by the locally worshipped gods. Their function in the local community varies, but is often very significant for the well-being of the whole group or of individual families.\n\nEach temple has its own yearly celebration (paipai) and occasionally a grandiose sequence of rituals: the chiao (rite of cosmic renewal). The latter takes place more often nowadays: some temples have it every 5 years. Many (usually smaller) temples organize yearly pilgrimages (chin-hsiang) to their mother-temple. Large temples, on the other hand, specialize in receiving these groups and have built accommodation facilities for their numerous pilgrims.\n\nBesides these special temple rituals, people may go and visit the temple at will. Some days there are numerous visitors (1st and 15th day of the month); at other times, the noise of falling divination blocks is only rarely heard in the shrine. The worship performed by individuals is standardized and appears as a purely ritualistic performance. Not often one sees people kneeling down and concentrated in mental prayer.\n\nTemple visits very often include consultations of the temple oracles or a person-to-person interview with a divination specialist having a small desk on the temple premises.\n\nAlthough the rise of an industrial society has greatly influenced all aspects of life in Taiwan, religious life in the countryside and in many urban centers still involves the whole local population. However, in many city temples, temple activities continue to flourish, but the people involved in worship are not necessarily living in the neighbourhood. The devotees of a Buddhist temple may be spread out in an even wider area: they visit the temples of their choice rather than the one that happens to be their own community temple.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208756, "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-1979", "page_number": 213, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "186\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nTaiwanese religion, as well as with regard to Chinese religion in general, is its magico-religious character. Magic and religion are usually sharply opposed to each other in Western studies of anthropology, and theoretically it is possible to differentiate two attitudes toward the 'supernatural' or the numinous: an attitude of worship, humility, supplication which is characteristic in the Christian religion; and an attitude of control, manipulation of supernatural powers, which are seen as either personal or impersonal. That these two attitudes do exist in actuality is generally accepted, but what is often overlooked is that this differentiation derives from the Western tradition, which has rejected magic as inferior, if not evil. Non-western religions and even many aspects of Western religion are affected by a mixed attitude in which supplication almost imperceptibly switches to manipulation and vice versa, with a wide range of intermediate or mixed attitudes. The Chinese model is an example in which the clear-cut division of magic vs religion does not fit. Chinese worshippers and priests (especially Taoist priests) appear to relate to their gods in a way similar to their relationships toward human beings. A great variety of approaches exists in both: from humbly asking favours, or impatiently and stubbornly imploring help, all the way to force, threats and even bribery. All depends on one's own relationship to the person from whom a favour is asked. Humans relate to their gods in all these many ways, depending on their own position and relationship to the god. A Taoist priest is able to summon deities; his rank in the hierarchy is higher or lower exactly depending on the number and the rank of the deities he is able to summon. When he wishes to implore divine blessings on the people, he worships the gods but also summons them, after offering lavish sacrifices to them. This is neither a 'religious' nor a purely 'magical' approach (in terms of the given definition) but it is a mixed attitude in which both elements are inseparable. The term 'magico-religious', although not always enthusiastically accepted, seems to be the most suitable and accurate expression of this complex reality. One could of course also use the term 'sacramental' as an epithet for Chinese religion, but since this word has been so intimately linked with Christian, especially Roman Catholic theology, a great deal of clarification is needed to justify its acceptance.\n\nA second characteristic, related to the first one, but still distinct enough to differentiate it, is the human aspect of Chinese religion.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208760, "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-1979", "page_number": 217, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "190\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nbe followed. In other words, for the average Chinese, religion is a socially important value system to make for a smooth functioning of human relationships as much as it is a method to obtain divine favours to increase the effectiveness of human efforts toward the realization of a happy life.\n\nEND-NOTES\n\n1 This paper was first presented at the joint panel of the CASA and the CSSR on Chinese Religion at the Conference of the Learned Societies in Saskatoon, May 1979.\n\n2 Compare the five-volume work written by J. J. M. de Groot: The Religious System of China; although it is mainly based on his field work done in Amoy, it is considered to be a standard work on Chinese religion in general.\n\n3 See P. C. Baity, Religion in a Chinese Town (Asian Folklore and Social Life Monographs, no. 64), Taipei: The Orient Cultural Service, 1975. (See my review article pp. of this issue).\n\n4 See various ceremonial and memorial booklets issued by the Municipal Government of Taipei, Tainan and Taichung, e.g., Ta-ch'eng chih-sheng hsien-shih K'ung-tzu shih-tsun chien-shuo, Taipei, 1974, Ta-ch'eng chih-sheng hsien-shih K'ung-tzu shih-tsun chien-chieh (Memorial Service for Confucius on his Birthday), Taichung, 1977.\n\n5 See Y. Raguin, S.J., \"Buddhism in Taiwan\", pp. 179-185 in H. Dumoulin, ed. Buddhism in the Modern World, London, New York: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1976.\n\n6 Questions and Answers about the Republic of China (Taipei: Chung-hua Information Service, 1978), p. 17.\n\n7 W. L. Grichting, The Value System in Taiwan 1970: A Preliminary Report. Taipei, 1971. (Quoted by Y. Raguin).\n\n8 See for example Taiwan Tzu-miao ch'uan-chi, Ed. by Wang I-han, Taichung Luan-yu Journal Society, 1977. Lists of local temples issued by municipal governments follow the same pattern. However, the more scholarly but antiquated list published in the Taiwan Gazetteer and adopted by Lin Heng-tao divides the temples into three main groups: Taoist, Buddhist, folk-religion (t'ung-su).\n\n9 See Lin Heng-tao, Taiwan Szu-miao Ta-ch'uan, Taipei: Ch'ing-wen Publishing Company, 1974.\n\n10 See M. Saso \"The Taoist Tradition in Taiwan\", China Quarterly No. 41 (1970), 83-102.\n\n11 M. Saso, \"Red-Head and Black-Head: the Classification of the Taoists of Taiwan according to the Documents of the 61st Heavenly Master,\" Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica (Taipei), 30 (1970).\n\n12 See H. Welch, \"The Chang T'ien-shih and Taoism in China\", Journal of the Oriental Society 4 (1957-58), 188-212.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208761, "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-1979", "page_number": 218, "title": "RAS-1979", "content_text": "RELIGIOUS LIFE IN PRESENT-DAY TAIWAN\n\n191\n\n10 See M. Saso, The Teachings of Master Chuang. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1978.\n\n11 Journal of Buddhist Culture, Fo-Chiao wen-hua hsüeh-pao,*** published by the Institute for the Study of Buddhist Culture since 1972. Articles are in Chinese or English.\n\n12 Journal of Taoist Culture, Tao-chiao wen-hua,Maxit published by the Taoist Culture Journal Association since 1976. Articles are in Chinese.\n\n13 Examples are: Fo-kuang hsüeh-pao,1*£* published by the Buddhist monastery on Fo-kuang mountain near Kaohsiung, since 1975 or 1976; Boahedrum, Pw-ti-shu,### Taichung: Hui-châ, & Torch Wisdom, Taipei; Hal Ming-tao, published in Tounan (Yünlin district).\n\nof\n\n14 See E. Ahern, The Cult of the Dead in a Chinese Village, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1973.\n\n15 See L. G. Thompson, \"Notes on Religious Trends in Taiwan\", Mon. Ser., vol. 23 (1964), 319-350.\n\n16 See A. P. Cohen, \"Fiscal Remarks on some Folk Religion Temples in Taiwan\", Mon. Ser., vol. 32 (1976), 85-158.\n\n17 See Liu Chih-wan, Taipei-shih Sung-shan ch'i-an chien-chiao chi-tien (Great Propitiatory Rites of Petition for Bene-ficence at Sungshan, Taipei, Taiwan), Taipei: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology, (monographs no. 14), 1967, Liu Chih-wan, Chung-kuo min-chien hsin-yang lun-chi (Essays on Chinese Folk Belief and Folk Cults), Taipei: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology (monographs no. 22), 1974.\n\nM. Saso, Taoism or the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, Washington State University Press, 1972.\n\n18 See St. Harrell, \"Modes of Belief in Chinese Folk Religion\", in JSSR, vol. 16 (1977), 55-65.\n\n19 See D. Jordan, Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors. Folk Religion in a Taiwanese Village, University of California Press, 1972, G. Seaman, Temple Organization in a Chinese Village (Asian Folklore and Social Life Monographs, vol. 101), Taipei: Chinese Association for Folklore, 1978,\n\n20 See D. Overmyer, \"The Saying of Master Lu\", Unpublished paper, given at the joint panel of the CASA and the CSSR on Chinese Religion at the Conference of the Learned Societies in Saskatoon, May, 1979.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208869, "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-1980", "page_number": 31, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "CHINESE MONASTERIES, TEMPLES, SHRINES, ALTARS\n\nen\n\n3\n\nThey have however continued in S.E. Asia and Taiwan; and in some of the remoter areas of Malaysia there are altars in temples, preserved and much the same as they were a hundred years ago.\n\nIt is often difficult to obtain a clear answer from devotees themselves whether a particular temple belongs to Daoism, Buddhism or popular religion because, in the main, devotees simply do not understand the question. The majority of Chinese are not concerned with legendary or historical explanations and, if remotely religious, claim to be Buddhist irrespective of which temple they visit or which deity they venerate. In a few temples it is quite obvious that the deities are all of one religion, either Buddhist or Daoist, but the altars in most temples bear a mixture of Buddhist, Daoist and folk religion images side by side on altars.\n\nCommon usage by both Buddhists and Daoists of temple titles and religious terms also tends to mislead. It is therefore unwise to ascribe, automatically, specific terms to Buddhism or Daoism, though a few have a generally accepted and common meaning. The majority of Buddhist temples for example, are called “Si” and Daoist “Guan”, with “Miao” a common term for either. However, Miao is also the common term for folk religion temples and for certain shrines. \"Tang,\" a usual term for Buddhist monasteries and nunneries, is also used for Daoist or clan ancestral halls and for certain Guan Yin temples. \"Dong\", a cave, is a Buddhist title very frequently used for squatter temples, suggesting perhaps that the immigrant founder liked to think of himself as a hermit.*\n\nWhereas Buddhist and Daoist temples and monasteries bear flowery titles, usually obscure religious phrases or names unconnected with the main deities, folk religion temples tend to be dedicated to one or a pair of specific deities, the main god or gods on the main altar, and his, her or their names or titles are cut in stone or painted over the entrance to the temple.9\n\nIn Hong Kong temple building tends to reflect the wealth of a community (unlike in India where it reflects the class of the devotees). There are large establishments where monks and priests live; smaller establishments with a resident or day-time only keeper; and non-residential structures, the smaller of which are usually referred to as shrines.\n\n→\n\n* The characters referred to in this paragraph are ...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208871, "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-1980", "page_number": 33, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "CHINESE MONASTERIES, TEMPLES, SHRINES, ALTARS\n\nfortune slips and interpret the fortune slips.\n\n5\n\nth\n\nCompetition between Buddhists and Daoists for the support of devotees led to grander and bigger temples. Small village shrines and temples, not in the same league, did not need to compete. Competition for devotees also led to the present circumstances in which rural shrines and temples are comparatively small and unkempt whereas their urban equivalents, though not much larger, have had to be made more attractive, usually by offering unique deities and services in order to wean devotees to their particular altars.\n\nIn Hong Kong and Macau there are a number of temples patronised primarily by people of a particular class, sub-ethnic group or occupational calling. Devotees tend to patronise their local temple irrespective of who the deities are, though they may be attracted to a more distant temple by a particular deity famous for his specialised power and efficacy. The latter might be a god whose cult is long standing and whose characteristics are unique and pertinent to the devotee's requirements. He might however be a new star, rising suddenly amid great publicity, only to wane again but not necessarily to disappear completely.\n\nLocation of temples\n\nPrior to the anti-superstition campaign in China in 1928, traditional temples were scattered across China in their tens of thousands. Not quite so abundant in Hong Kong, they are to be found squeezed in among high-rise buildings in the city and among houses in villages, and may be free-standing or joined to other structures. But apart from monasteries, rarely does one appear beyond the village bounds and when it does it is usually derelict or almost so. Buddhist, Daoist and popular religion temples do not usually materialize as full-blown two-court buildings with numerous images, large and small. Their development has been a natural progression from the small shrine on a hillside, probably beneath the overhang of or attached to a living rock, at the base of a large old tree, or in many cases inshore from a sandy beach of a bay with an easy landing for boat people. If the shrine is well attended, the protective construction around the small shrine will grow as years pass, until eventually it reaches the maximum size that devotees can afford to build and maintain.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208963, "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-1980", "page_number": 125, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\nFurther researches into Taoist Liturgy: suggested by a comparison between the Taoist Fen-Teng Ritual and the Christian Consecration of the Easter Candle\n\nJULIAN F. PAS*\n\nLight symbolism in its various dimensions is like an archetype; together with water symbolism it is one of the most frequently recurring themes in religious and anthropological literature. In dualistic systems there is sometimes a sharp distinction between light and darkness. Light is seen as the emanation of the divine; it is the symbol of goodness, purity and life. Darkness is the symbol of evil, the diabolical, the impure and death. In Chinese dualism, which is not so radically polarized, light is of yang quality, while darkness is yin. Divine spirits live in the yang world, whereas the \"souls\" of the deceased go to the nether world of yin before they are eventually returned to the world of the living through transmigration.\n\nAlthough in Taoist philosophy, yin and yang are not strictly identified with evil and good respectively, the popular belief system has made this identification: why, how and when is not easy to discover. But in the popular conception, yin represents the world of the dead, and since death is feared by people, yin has become a symbol of evil powers which threaten man's life and vitality. Yang, on the contrary, has become a symbol of goodness: yang is life and should be nourished and increased, so that both individual and society may reach fullness of life, that is a full span of life, and in the case of Taoist adepts unusual longevity or even immortality.\n\nAlthough light symbolism can be discussed from many different viewpoints, I wish to isolate one particular theme, found in two apparently unrelated liturgical traditions which not only present us with an example of some broad parallelism but actually are very similar to each other, both in meaning and in their concrete ritual expression. The first example is the Fen-teng ritual of the Taoist religion; the second example consists of the consecration of the Easter Candle.\n\n* Dr. Pas is a member of the Department of Far Eastern Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208964, "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-1980", "page_number": 126, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "94\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nthe new fire and the Easter Candle performed in the Roman Catholic Church on the eve of Easter Sunday. After discussing these two rituals separately, I shall conclude with some comments of a comparative nature.\n\n1. The Fen-Teng Ritual in Taoism\n\nThis ritual called fen-teng in Chinese, can be literally translated as “division of lamp(s)” or the “distribution of lamps\". \"Teng\" by itself means \"lamp\", or \"lantern\", and designates not so much the light produced by the lamp or lantern, but the object which contains the light. The expression fen-teng is not often translated by Western authors: usually the term is just transliterated. But sometimes there are attempts to render the term in translation. E.g. M. Saso: \"Lighting lamps to the Three Pure Ones\", which is not strictly a translation but a meaningful although partial description of the significance of the rite. Another rendering, not of the literal sense but again of the meaning, is \"Lighting of the New Fire\"2: this translation is not based on the Chinese expression fen-teng but indicates one of the fundamental meanings of the ritual. It comes actually closer to another Chinese expression sometimes used for the same rite: chu-teng3, which literally means: 'blessing' or 'consecration of the lamp(s)'.\n\nThe fen-teng ceremony does not appear to be an independent ritual but seems always to be performed in the context of a larger celebration, called chiao or ta-chiao, which is variously translated as \"ritual of cosmic renewal\", \"the great community festivals”, “great propitiatory rites\", or \"Taoist Mass\"7. So far there is only one monograph on the fen-teng ritual in a Western language: K. M. Schipper's Le Fen-teng. Ritual Taoiste. Apart from this well presented critical text edition, there are only minor treatments of the fen-teng ceremony included in monographs on the chiao festival as a whole: M. Saso's Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal is so far the only monograph in English on the chiao, and he just briefly discusses the fen-teng ceremony. Chinese scholars have also started to pay attention to this great Taoist event: two monographs are now available in Chinese by Liu Chih-wan9. It is remarkable that for the two different occasions Mr. Liu describes the chiao festival, he does not use the terminology used by Schipper and Saso, but calls the rite chu-teng or 'blessing of the lamp(s)'. One wonders where and when this variant designation", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208965, "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-1980", "page_number": 127, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\n95\n\noriginated. K. Schipper's knowledge of the ritual is based on the Taoist tradition of Southern Taiwan; Saso on the other hand gathered his data in Northern Taiwan; so did Mr. Liu, who describes the chiao celebrated in Chung-li (Taoyuan district) and Shulin (Taipei district). Why is M. Saso's term different from Mr. Liu's? And why are there two different appellations in the first place?\n\nThere is no doubt that the two different names refer to the same ritual. One wonders only why neither of the three authors mentions the alternative designation. M. Saso seems to know the expression since his translation 'lighting of the new fire' makes more sense if chu-teng is taken as the Chinese substratum rather than fen-teng.\n\nThis terminology aspect would not concern us so much if it were not an indicator of the basic significance of the ritual itself. In any case, both fen-teng and chu-teng are merely partial designations of a ritual event that we have to examine in greater detail; since the ritual is composed of various successive acts, there is apparently no term available that would indicate all these events: so, each designation necessarily is pars pro toto.\n\nThe ritual is described in minute detail by K. Schipper (pp. 15-25) based on his personal observations made during a chiao festival in the village of Su-ts'u, Taiwan, on March 26, 1967. Five Taoist priests participated in the event, while 4 musicians and an apprentice formed the orchestra. Besides the exceptional visitor, there is a group of laymen representing the whole community. The ceremony takes place in the sacred area of the temple, usually on the first evening of the festival.\n\nThe ritual, as summarized by Schipper, is the first part of a threefold liturgy; the second part is called \"The Rolling up of the Screen\" (\"Enroulement du Rideau\"), the third part is 'Sounding of Bell and Chime' (\"Tintement solennel de la Cloche et de la Pierre Sonore\"). (Parts two and three are left out of the present discussion, but will return to focus in section three of this paper.)\n\nThe fen-teng ritual itself can be divided into five episodes:\n\n(i) an introduction with chanting of purification texts and solemn declaration of the high priest's ritual rank (ca. 5′40′′);\n\n(ii) the striking of the new fire: after invocation of the deities, the lights inside the temple are extinguished. Two assistant-priests", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208967, "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-1980", "page_number": 129, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT \n\n97 \n\nthe darkness of the world of Yin, making the night seem as day, and lighting the temple votive lamps with a new, life-bringing fire,\n\nSaso's interpretation clarifies several important aspects of the ritual but is also confusing in some instances. The ritual chanting of the forty-second chapter of the Tao-Te ching appears to be an adaptation that does not truly illustrate the nature of the ritual: it does not merely allude to the \"protogenesis of the myriad creatures\" but is here interpreted as and applied to the proceeding of the original Triad of Taoism: three lamps are lit to symbolize and to honor the successive forthcomings of the Three Primordial Worthies: they are the projections of the creative powers of the universe. The emphasis is not on the creation process but on the origin of the creators. The new light, lit from one flame but used to light three candles in succession, vividly symbolizes the successive births of the three primordial \"breaths\".\n\nTherefore, from a phenomenological viewpoint, there is a kind of discrepancy between the text of the ritual (expressing the forthcoming of the Three Primordial Worthies) and the ritual action itself, which points to the creation of light. This may be an indication of a non-Taoist origin of the ritual act itself.\n\nThe possibility of a non-Taoist but Chinese origin of the fen-teng is suggested by J. J. M. de Groot in his Fêtes Annuellement Célébrées,12 He refers to a custom widely spread among various sun-worshipping civilizations of extinguishing their 'sacred fires' especially before the spring equinox and of relighting them soon after the equinox: this symbolizes the sun's victory over darkness. Examples are given from ancient Rome, Syria, Persia, Egypt, and Greece. The custom also existed in ancient China, at least in the North. The original custom in China was to renew the fire in all the four seasons, but since the Han times, it was done only once a year in spring. De Groot refers to a text in the Chou Li ♬ which explains this ritual act13: with the help of a mirror, fire is taken directly from the sun to light the sacrificial candles. The date of this spring renewal of fire was the 105th day after the winter solstice: this would correspond with the fourth day of the fifth month. On the other hand, the relighting of the fires took place on the third day of 'cold food' called ch'ing-ming in Amoy: that also coincides with the 4th or 5th of the fourth month. In other", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208968, "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-1980", "page_number": 130, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "98\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nwords. The Ch'ing-ming festival, now usually seen as a festival to commemorate the dead, was in its origin a celebration of spring: all the fires, including the kitchen fires, had to be extinguished in the country; only cold food was used for two or three days. On the third day, new fire was struck, and the spring festival taking place was called “pure” and “bright”: the new fire was pure since taken directly from the source of light, the sun, and bright since it symbolized the growing strength of sunlight that was on the increase after the equinox. This interpretation of the Ch'ing-ming makes better sense than the more usual and popular explanation.14 Although the old name was retained, the meaning of the festival shifted at a later time, probably due to Buddhist influence.\n\nDe Groot sees this relighting of the fires in ancient China as a parallel with the Easter festival and with similar celebrations taking place in the ancient world, where every year the god's ritual death was followed by his resurrection:\n\nAll those legends speaking of death and resurrection, all those feasts passing from mourning to the most exuberant joy have all had one only purpose: the symbolical reproduction of the history of the sun's light and of the phases through which it passes on earth. What one worshipped was this sacred fire of Nature, which is the soul, the life of the universe, and which finds itself engaged in an ever recurring struggle against the god of Darkness, of Death, which exerts itself incessantly to obstruct it in its dispensation of benefits to man. The most significant of all the phases in this solar cycle is the one when the sun reaches the spring equinox, celebrates its victory over darkness and the days grow longer than the nights. The whole earth then starts a new life.15\n\nWhereas in many societies the god's death and resurrection was thus ritually enacted, the Chinese example is characterized by a more rationalistic, naturalistic tendency: the object of the cult was not a particular god for whom a new name was created, but was the sun itself, as one of the heavenly bodies without strong supernatural overtones.\n\nThat this ancient custom might have inspired the Taoist priesthood to introduce it in their own rituals is not unlikely. The relationship between imperial sacrifices, Buddhist rituals, and Taoist practices is not an exception: the eclectic nature of Taoism has", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208969, "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-1980", "page_number": 131, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT \n\n99 \n\nbeen pointed out in other areas as well.16 Other channels of inspiration are not therefore excluded; in the structure of the Taoist ritual some essential elements can hardly be explained by pointing to an old Chinese model only. (See below).\n\nIf Chou rituals are, however, accepted to be the prototype of the Taoist fen-teng, there is still an important discrepancy between the two; if the old Chinese custom was related to the four seasons and in the Han dynasty to the spring equinox exclusively, the change brought in by the Taoists is the disconnection of the ritual from the spring equinox: as it stands now, the fen-teng can take place any time during the year, whenever the chiao festival is celebrated. Since the chiao is a grand occasion for renewal, the fen-teng or the striking and blessing of new fire, harmoniously blends together with the meaning and essence of the chiao,\n\nThere is another indication of the eclectic origin of the fen-teng ritual within the sequence of the present-day chiao festival. As was mentioned above (footnote 10) it is a regular occurrence in some temples to have the essential chiao preceded by two days of preliminary exorcism: exorcism of the water-spirit and of the fire-spirit. 'Water' and 'fire' have throughout history been extremely dangerous elements in South China; water especially has often been a threat in Taiwan, where every summer typhoons and floods have destroyed crops and property and caused the drowning of many fishermen. Fire also is a potentially destructive force: before the age of concrete building, fire was an enemy against whose rage little could be done; once a fire broke out, it would destroy a whole cluster of buildings, if not large sectors of a town or city. At the beginning of the chiao, the 'water' and 'fire' spirits are pacified by means of recitations and sacrifices, performed by the Taoist priests, and ultimately almost 'sacramentally'17 restrained from doing harm to the community in the new time period to come.\n\nIn view of this exorcistic ritual, in which 'fire' (and 'water') is seen as a threat, the fen-teng ritual, which takes 'fire' as a blessing, appears to be paradoxical and can only be explained as to derive from a different conception and origin altogether.18\n\n2. The Christian Consecration of Fire and the Easter Candle\n\nAlthough the Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church has been changed throughout the centuries to accommodate new perspectives", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208973, "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-1980", "page_number": 135, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\n103\n\nrituals are quite explicit in pointing out these numerous themes.\n\nDescribing the Easter candle, Abbot Guéranger says:\n\n+\n\nIt is of unusual size. It stands alone, and is of a pillar-like form. It is the symbol of Christ. Before it is lighted, it typifies the pillar of cloud, which hid the Israelites when they went forth from Egypt; under this form, it represents our Lord, lying lifeless in the tomb. When lighted, we must see in it both the pillar of fire which guided the people of God, and the glory of the risen Christ.25\n\nThe text of the Exsultet, however, is even more explicit;\n\nFor this is the Paschal feast, in which the true Lamb was slain, with whose blood the doors of the faithful are consecrated.\n\nThis is the night wherein of old thou didst bring forth our forefathers the children of Israel from Egypt, leading them dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night which cleansed away the darkness of sin, by the pillar of fire. This is the night which now delivers, throughout the world, the faithful of Christ from the wickedness of the world and darkness of sin, restores them to grace, and to the fellowship of sanctity. This is the night in which Christ snapped the chains of death, and rose conqueror from hell.26\n\n3. Points of Comparison and Contrast\n\nAfter studying one by one the Taoist and the Christian rituals, it is difficult to cast aside the impression of great similarity.27 Since the \"striking of new fire\" is possibly like an archetype, found in many different societies, the question of historical links between the two traditions studied here should not normally arise. There are, however, in the two traditions some characteristics that go beyond archetypal similarity and can perhaps only be explained by a process of direct influence. It is worthwhile to further analyse these analogies, even if at the end of such a study any positive conclusion remains uncertain.\n\nThe similarities which I am able to point out relate to five aspects of the 'new fire' ritual: the name, the method of striking new fire, the trinitarian formula, the light procession and the liturgical context.\n\nPage 135\n\nPage 136", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208974, "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-1980", "page_number": 136, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "104\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\n(1) The names fen-teng or chu-teng appear to have replaced an older name jan-teng which is found in older manuscripts, dating from the fifth century.28 The change of name to fen-teng appears in the later manuscripts (Sung dynasty) and must have a special reason: the name indicates the significance of the rite as a whole; a new name implies a new meaning perhaps not totally replacing the old one, but certainly emphasizing a new theme in the structure.\n\nSimilarly the name chu-teng points to a new perspective in meaning. It is not clear where this name came from, but ‘blessing’ or 'consecrating' fire-light appears to be an innovation in Taoist liturgy. The Christian parallel is very clear: 'blessing' of light, like so many other types of blessing, is a truly Christian ritual act; in the texts of the Easter candle the terms 'sanctify' and 'bless' occur several times.29 By contrast, no type of \"benediction\" or blessing is found in the Chou-Li. The idea and even the expression \"fen-teng\" is also found in the Christian ritual: during the Exsultet chanted by the deacon, this passage occurs:\n\nAnd now we perceive the glory of this pillar, which the sparkling fire lights for the honour of God. Which, (fire) though now divided (divisus in partes) suffers no loss from the communication of its light.30\n\nBefore the Easter liturgy was changed in recent times, this was the moment when the lights in the church (the lamps or candles in older times) were lit from the Easter candle: the very moment of fen-teng.\n\n(ii) The actual striking of new fire is amazingly similar in the Taoist and Christian liturgies: in contrast with the Chou Li where light was said to be taken directly from the sun with a mirror (and therefore presumably in bright daylight), the rituals here both take place in the hours of darkness. In M. Saso's description, \"striking a match\" produces the new fire:31 this, however, is certainly a modern adaptation, and since a mirror cannot be used at night, we may assume that the striking of rocks must have produced a new fire in older times.\n\nThe similarities go even further: the new fire is produced outside the temple or church building in both cases; also, the lights in temple and church are extinguished and are relit after the new fire has been taken inside.\n\n(iii) The Trinitarian formula. In the Christian liturgy, there are three successive moments of lighting a candle during the en-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208975, "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-1980", "page_number": 137, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT \n\n105 \n\ntrance procession. Each time the deacon, after kneeling, raises the light and shows it to all the people present, while he chants \"Lumen Christi\" (The light of Christ). Until the recent liturgical changes, he lit in succession three branches of a single candle (a three-branched candle), which was interpreted as a symbol of the Holy Trinity:\n\nThe first showing of the light expresses the revelation made to us by Jesus and the divinity of the Father.\n\n(This) second showing of the light signifies the Divinity of the Son, who dwelt among men.\n\n+\n\n(This) third showing of the light signifies the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. . .32\n\nThe introduction of this triple lighting of candle was probably a Christian adaptation and was already implicitly present in the Roman custom of lighting three candles on Maundy Thursday.33\n\nThe Taoist ritual likewise has a triple lighting of candles; each of them is dedicated to one Heavenly Worthy in the order of their hierarchical rank, and as the fen-teng ritual text points out, in the order of their successive origination:\n\nHeavenly Worthy of the Primordial beginning in the Great Canopy of Heaven:\n\nHumbly prostrated before the Mysterious Tao of Non-Being: at first (It) gave birth to the One. The One is the beginning of Ch'i (cosmic Breath). Therefore we first light a lamp in front of (the Heavenly Worthy of) the Primordial Beginning, to clarify (signify) the Original Purity at the beginning of the ancestral Breath.\n\nGreat Holy Ling-pao Heavenly Worthy!\n\nHumbly prostrated: The Tao produced the One Breath. The One gave birth to Two: Two is the second Ch'i. Therefore we next light a lamp in front of the Primordial August One (Ling-Pao Heavenly Worthy) to clarify (signify) the proceeding of the Second Ch'i from the Original August One.\n\nGreat Holy Tao-Te Heavenly Worthy!\n\nHumbly prostrated: The One produced the Two; the Two produced the Three: Three is the third proceeding of Ch'i.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208976, "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-1980", "page_number": 138, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "106\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nTherefore we next light a lamp in front of the Primordial Old One (Lao Tzu Heavenly Worthy) to clarify (signify) the proceeding and descent of the Third Ch'i from the Original August One,34\n\nThe parallelism between the Taoist and the Christian Triad or Trinity should be left out of the discussion here; what is significant in this context, however, is how the trinitarian formula in each case is used in the new-light ceremony. Another, minor, detail is the raising of the chanting tone in the two cases: the deacon chants “Lumen Christi” three times in successively higher intonations; the Taoist “deacon” or tu-chiang, repeats three times the phrase chanted by the high-priest, elevating his tone of voice.\n\n(iv) The liturgical procession. After the new light has been struck and carried into the temple, a procession takes place in which Taoist high-priest and all his assistants participate. The Christian version is a little different: the new light, struck outside the sanctuary, is carried into the darkened church during a procession in which all those present participate. Although the details differ, the main ritual event of a light-procession is strikingly similar.\n\n(v) The context of both rituals leaves considerable room for speculation. Although in the case of the Taoist fen-teng, the ritual context has become rather obscure, still, a careful analysis of this context may open up new avenues of interpretation. The context in question are two rituals which in the present chiao celebration, as witnessed in Taiwan, as well as in the older ritual texts derived from China, seem always to follow the fen-teng. These two rituals, already mentioned above (p.95) are: the \"rolling up of the screen\" and the “sounding of bell and chime”.35 It appears that the connection between these two and the fen-teng is rather uncertain and is probably not older than the Sung dynasty. As M. Saso mentions, not all Taoist priests perform the ritual at the same time or in the same ritual context.36 In other words, the phenomenological significance of these two rituals is not obvious and new speculations are possible. If again the Christian Easter rituals are called upon, it is possible to come up with a plausible interpretation of the three ritual acts as a whole: the Christian Easter celebrations contain indeed three similar rituals of which the relationship is clearly understandable. Although the historical links are still left out of the discussion here, the very structure of the Christian ritual may throw light on its Taoist counterpart and help us to understand the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208977, "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-1980", "page_number": 139, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\nmeaning of he three Taoist rituals.\n\n107\n\nIn the Christian Easter liturgy, after the deacon has finished chanting the Exsultet, there is next a sequence of readings from the Old Testament, followed, at least since recent changes, by a renovation of the baptismal vows by all those present. Towards midnight, the solemn Easter Mass takes place with the joyful intonation of the Alleluia to mark the resurrection of Christ which happened in the early hours of Easter Sunday. Just before Mass, however, the celebrant and assistants change their ritual garments from purple (mourning) to white (expressing joy). At the same time, the sanctuary undergoes a quick metamorphosis: all signs of sorrow are removed: the purple curtains behind the altar are taken off, the purple veils covering the holy images since Passion Sunday (two weeks before Easter) are taken away and flowers are put on the altar. In just a short time there is a dramatical transformation from sorrow to exultation, symbolizing the sudden triumph of the live Jesus rising from the dead.\n\nThen Holy Mass starts in a shortened form until the intonation of the hymn Gloria in Excelsis by the celebrating priest. A new eruption of joy follows: while the chorus starts singing the ancient hymn, the organ for the first time since Holy Thursday starts playing; and at the same time altar bells and the big church bells join in with their respective sounds of jubilance. They all manifest a cosmic rejoicing at the resurrection of Jesus.\n\nThe very sequence of the three rituals in the Christian liturgy37 provides an excellent hypothesis to interpret the sequence of the Taoist rituals. Although each of the three Taoist rites contains its own logic and significance, yet the sequence appears to be obscure and somehow unrelated. It makes one wonder whether the original version (both meaning and sequence) has been gradually forgotten and therefore invested with a new symbolism in later times.\n\nFirst of all, the 'Rolling up of the Screen' is to be interpreted as a preparatory act before the Taoist priests enter into an audience with the Three Pure Ones.38 Therefore it seems to be out of place here and explains why some Taoists perform it during the Noon Audience on the second day of the chiao.39 If that is the original meaning of the ritual, there is no apparent similarity with the Christian act of decorating the sanctuary. One can only wonder why it was performed in the context of the fen-teng and just before the “sounding” ritual.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208978, "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-1980", "page_number": 140, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "108\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\nThis \"Sounding of the Bell and Chime\" provides a stronger parallel with the Christian Easter celebration. In its present form40 its significance is purely Taoist: the bell signifies the powers of yang and the precious stone the powers of yin; their sounding together symbolizes the union of yin and yang in their cosmic interaction and creative productivity. Still, the instruments as such do not necessarily have an intrinsic symbolical value, their striking can also easily be seen as an expression of joy.\n\nTherefore the inner or phenomenological significance of the three Taoist rituals as they are now performed in succession cannot be clearly understood. Each separately has been invested with Taoist meaning but their linking together is problematic. Seen in the light of the Christian Easter celebration, their meaning becomes transparent and naturally raises the question of the possibility of historical influence.\n\n4. Hypothesis and Conclusion\n\nThe occurrence of new light symbolism in many different religious traditions, of which only two have been discussed, may lead to a double conclusion: first, the ritual itself, in its primordial significance, i.e., the celebration of the life-giving force of the sun, returning to a victorious course at the spring equinox, must be seen as an archetype, and can thus be fully explained as an independent phenomenon in each major tradition. This first conclusion, however, does not preclude the possibility of real influence as well, and this is a second conclusion: the hypothesis of a historical Christian influence on the Taoist fen-teng ceremony.\n\nIt is generally recognized that Chinese religion is eclectic or syncretistic in nature and various examples have been cited to illustrate this view. When it comes to pinpoint concrete cases of influence, it often happens that these examples are rather vague and not specific enough. One reason is that historic influences are usually not directly mentioned in the literature and that the specific points of contact are so well assimilated by the borrowing party, that all visible traces practically disappear. In other cases, however, there is enough visible evidence to point out specific influences. Many Taoist writings could be cited as examples of direct borrowings from the Buddhist literature: not only in terminology but also in particular concepts.41", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208979, "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-1980", "page_number": 141, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\n109\n\nIn the Taoist liturgy, however, even if historical influences were at play, they are not so easily detected. But it is worthwhile to investigate concrete examples to illustrate how cultural borrowings work and eventually contribute to mutual enrichment. I believe that traditions which isolate themselves from all others, tend to petrify and become uninspiring, whereas those which are open to extraneous influences, remain living faiths and increase their vitality.\n\nIn the concrete case-study at hand, the hypothesis of Christian influence on Taoism should not be seen as a purely academic exercise in fruitless speculation; even if a positive borrowing cannot be established, the analysis and comparison itself will lead to a deeper understanding of this archetypal religious phenomenon.\n\nLet us now investigate the hypothesis in detail. If Christian influences have been operative, the concrete Sitz-in-Leben is to be found in the Nestorian presence in T'ang China. The arrival and successes of this Ching-chiao (as Nestorianism is called in China) have been well established in several monographs.42 The best known studies were made by P. Y. Saeki who was aware of the probability of various influences at play during the T'ang dynasty. One shortcoming in Saeki's work, however, is that he is too eager to discover links of influence, esp. between Nestorianism and Buddhism. Still, his hypotheses should be taken seriously: Christian influence may well have been operative in the concrete forms of an originally Buddhist ritual; the Ullambana. The 7 times 7 days of celebration with the final ceremony on the 50th day reminds one too well of the Christian Pentecost. A simplified modern adaptation of this once grandiose liturgy still survives in the popular Chinese funeral rites: every 7th day after a person's death rituals are performed until the 7th week or 49th and 50th day.\n\nSaeki also discusses the probability of Nestorian influence on Taoism.43 His thesis has been more recently re-examined by a Chinese scholar Lo Hsiang-lin.44 The heart of the argument is as follows: in the biographies of Lü Tung-pin, a famous Taoist master of T'ang China (later on apotheosized as one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism), one finds a very strange text - 4 stanzas written in Chinese transliteration. Saeki's opinion is that these verses are either in Syriac or in Sanskrit. He states that the opinions of scholars are divided. Lo Hsiang-lin, on the other hand, does not mention the possibility of a Sanskrit origin, but opts for...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208980, "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-1980", "page_number": 142, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "110\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\na transliteration from the Syriac. If this is correct, it would provide serious evidence of historical contacts between Taoism (Lü Tung-pin) and Nestorianism.\n\nHowever, besides the doubt concerning the actual language of these stanzas, another difficulty lies in some of the terminology used in the transcription of Syriac: in the stanzas quoted, the Chinese transliteration of 'Jesus' is I-sha-ho. Although a variety of Chinese characters may be used to transliterate the same foreign terms or expressions, some doubt can be expressed in this case, since in other Nestorian texts, translated into Chinese, the more common transliteration for 'Jesus' is I-shu #(a) or I-shu **(b).45 Therefore, since the presence and meaning of these enigmatic verses remain so far unsolved, it is premature to conclude to a positive Nestorian influence.\n\nLü Tung-pin's possible contacts with Nestorianism are not limited to these verses. Although he is better known under his Taoist name, his personal name was Lü Yen, and has been identified by Saeki with Lü Hsiu-yen & who wrote the calligraphy for the text on the Nestorian Monument in 781.46 If this identification is correct, Lü Yen (born in 755)47 was at that time a junior official in the imperial civil service.\n\nLu's contacts with Nestorianism are nowhere else positively attested. In his biography, however, there are passages that could be interpreted as doctrinal borrowings from Christianity: examples are stories told about Lü similar to narratives in the Gospels, such as the transformation of wine into water, or the feeding of a large group of monks with only a little food.49\n\nIf Lü Tung-pin's contacts with Nestorianism can be historically established, there still is a long way to go before the main theme of this paper can be affected by it. There is, however, another sinologist, who has tried to link Taoism and Nestorianism. L. Wieger50 claims that the \"Mystic Taoism\" of the T'ang dynasty was connected with Basilides.\n\nHe further states that in 741 (or 742?) Lao Tzu appeared to emperor Hsuan-tsung with the message that his statue would be found at Chou-chih near Ch’ang-an.51 After the emperor received the statue a Nestorian service was celebrated in the palace by seven priests. All this again is circumstantial evidence suggesting that\n\nT", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208981, "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-1980", "page_number": 143, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\n111\n\ncontacts between Taoists and Nestorians may reasonably be assumed. When Wieger further states that \"Nestorian influence appears to be undeniable in Taoist texts\", we have a better case. Much depends, however, on the validity of Wieger's evaluation of some Taoist texts, in which he finds clear indications of Christian influence.52\n\nTo establish a reasonably strong case we need a more thorough investigation in two directions: historical and literary. Historically, all the clues already pointed out by previous authors, have to be carefully checked, esp. all the information derived from official histories and Taoist biographies. Very likely not much more than known so far may be discovered in this area. Therefore the second direction, the literary traditions may prove to yield a more bountiful harvest. Both the Taoist and the Nestorian literature has to be carefully scrutinized. If positive influence may be reasonably assumed, pure assumptions are dangerous. On the one hand, all the Nestorian writings in Chinese have to be studied; and if important works are not any longer available in Chinese translation, the Syriac originals should be consulted, esp. with regard to the Nestorian liturgy. So far I have assumed that the Nestorian Easter liturgy contained the ritual of consecrating the new fire to light the Easter Candle. But an assumption here is not sufficient to relate the Christian liturgy with the Taoist fen-teng. If the Nestorians in China never had such a ritual, the whole question of influence collapses, and we can only compare two independent (archetypal) rituals.\n\nOn the other hand, the Taoist liturgical writings have to be carefully examined, especially in their historical development. K. Schipper has listed a large number of Taoist writings referring to the fen-teng ritual.53 Their careful study and analysis may reveal some of the influences that were operative in the origin and growth of one ritual like the fen-teng, but will also throw the road open to further similar researches into other areas of Taoist liturgy as well as of Buddhist liturgy.\n\nEND NOTES\n\n1 M. Saso, The Teachings of Taoist Master Chuang (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1978), p. 209.\n\n* M. Saso Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal (Washington State University, 1972), p. 73.\n\nSee end-note 9.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208982, "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-1980", "page_number": 144, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "112\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\n• M. Saso, Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal (hereafter abbreviated: Cosmic Renewal).\n\n* K. Schipper, \"The Written Memorial in Taoist Ceremonies\" in A.P. Wolf, Ed. Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, Stanford Univ. Press, 1974,\n\n* Liu Chih-wan, see end-note 9.\n\nThis is the translation of J.J.M. de Groot's \"Messe Taoïque\". See his Les Fêtes Annuellement Célébrées à Emoui (Amoy). Paris, 1885 (Taipei reprint, 1977). This translation of chiao as well as de Groot's rendering of 'Buddhist Masses' for the Chinese Yu-lan-p'en are not satisfactory.\n\n* K. M Schipper. Le Fen-Teng. Rituel Taoïste (Publications de l'Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient, vol. 103). Paris: Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1975.\n\nSchipper's monograph on the Fen teng ritual is a product of great erudition. After a short introduction, pp. 1-13, (in which he briefly discusses the four manuscripts utilized to establish the text; and sketches the history and present day performance of the ritual), he describes the ritual itself with a detailed time schedule, pp. 15-32. Then follow references to sources in the Tao-tsang (pp. 33-38) and notes (pp. 39-43).\n\nThe text itself (starting from the 'back') is given twice: first in fac simile, a beautiful reprint on high quality paper of a manuscript dated 1889, in 44 folios (or 88 pages); secondly a critical edition of the text based on the four above mentioned manuscripts with variant readings included, (pp. 1-36).\n\nAlthough this publication has its importance, it does not fully satisfy the wishes of the readers: no translation of the text is given (Schipper is certainly one of the few Taoist scholars capable of offering a translation!) and nowhere does one find an interpretation of the ritual.\n\nIn the same year as Schipper's Fen-teng monograph \"came to light”, (1975), M. Saso published his collection of Chuang-lin hsü-tao-tsang in 24 vols. In vol. 6, pp. 1629-1725 (a total of 96 pages), we find a reproduced manuscript of the Fen-teng ritual, dated 1883. The calligraphy is inferior to Schipper's manuscript, but at least Saso's manuscript is six years older.\n\n* Liu Chih-wan, Taipei-shih Sung-shan ch'i-an chien-chiao chi-tien (Great Propitiatory Rites of Petition for Beneficence at Sung chan, Taipei, Taiwan), Taipei: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology, (monographs no. 14), 1967.\n\nLiu Chih-wan, Chung-kuo min-chien hsin-yang lan-chi (Essays on Chinese Folk Belief and Folk Cults), Taipei: Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology (monographs no. 22), 1974.\n\n10 On the two occasion described by Liu Chih-wan (3-day festivals), the ritual likewise took place on the first evening. On other occasions, however, I have seen the ritual performed on the 2nd evening. The timing depends on the actual length of the festival, which may only last one day, but is more commonly a three or five-day event. One should, however, not confuse two things: first, the actual chiao is called san-ch'ao, wu-ch'ao or ch'i-ch'ao, etc., and refers to the number of days that the essential rituals are performed. However, the total event may last even longer; I have observed that the actual chiao was preceded by two days of preliminary rituals, such as the exorcisms of the water-spirit and fire-spirit. That brought the total duration of the chiao to", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208983, "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-1980", "page_number": 145, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SYMBOLISM OF THE NEW LIGHT\n\n113\n\nseven days, although the chiao was called wu-ch'ao (or five days). The fen-teng ritual took place in the evening of the 2nd day of the 5-day celebration, or on the 4th day if the two preliminary days are also counted. This distinction is not sufficiently made clear by K. Schipper in his fen-teng discussion, nor by M. Saso in his chiao monograph.\n\n11 Saso, Cosmic Renewal, p. 73.\n\n12 De Groot, Fêtes Annuellement Célébrées, p. 210.\n\n13 Chou Li, Book 37: Officers in charge of keeping the fires; folio 27: \"They are in charge of receiving, with the mirror fu-su the bright light from the sun; (and) of receiving with the simple mirror, the bright water from the moon.\"\n\nAfter E. Biot, Le Tcheou-li ou Rites des Tscheou (Paris, 1851, Taiwan Ch'eng-wen reprint, 1969), vol. 2, p. 381.\n\n14 See W. Eberhard, Chinese Festivals (Asian Folklore and Social Life Monographs, vol. 38). (Taipei: The Orient Cultural Service, 1972), pp. 65-75.\n\n1 De Groot, Fêtes, p. 219 (My trsl.).\n\n18 To cite one example: the Taoist ritual garments, says de Groot (Fêtes, ch. 1, \"Messe Taoïque\", pp. 61-62) are often embroidered with motifs borrowed from the old imperial sacrificial garments,\n\n17 'Sacramentally' here refers to the sacramental nature of these rituals: A sacramental act is a rite in which both words and deeds not only have a symbolical meaning, but moreover are understood to actually produce the signified effect: here the active pacification-and-expulsion (or control) of the potentially dangerous spirits.\n\n18 The confusion of the various ritual acts of a chiao festival is increased by another rite of great importance in present-day renewal celebrations: the su-ch'i. Here again 'water' and 'fire' are present, but as parts of the total cycle of five agents (active powers). See M. Saso, Cosmic Renewal. pp. 75-77.\n\n10 De Groot, Fêtes, pp. 215-6.\n\n20 Abbot Guéranger, The Liturgical Year. Passiontide and Holy Week. London, 1880 and 1929), pp. 498-499.\n\n21 Ibid., p. 499.\n\n22 Ibid., p. 499.\n\n23 The Easter liturgy has in several instances been changed: the text and rubrics of the modern Roman Missal are different from the old liturgy, used in Abbot Guéranger's text. The present prayer refers in the blessing of the newly lit Easter candle, whereas in Guéranger's text as in the older liturgy it is a prayer to consecrate the incense grains.\n\n24 Ibid., p. 502. The Roman Missal, p. 180.\n\n25 Abbot Guéranger, op. cit., p. 505.\n\n26 Ibid., p. 507.\n\n27 Already J. M. M. de Groot, Fêtes (p. 217), was struck by the similarity of the Taoist and Christian ritual: \"It is beyond doubt that the ceremony of extinction and renewal of fire, which is a custom observed at the same time of the year in the Roman Catholic and Greek churches,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208984, "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-1980", "page_number": 146, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "114\n\nJULIAN F. PAS\n\ntraces its origin from one of those forms of sun worship.” As is clear from this quotation, de Groot only sees here a case of archetypal similarity, without speculating about the possibility of a more direct historical influence.\n\n25 See K. Schipper, Fen-Teng, p. 33.\n\n26 Guéranger, op. cit., p. 501:\n\n“dictum”.\n\n30 Ibid., pp. 508-9.\n\n“sanctifica”; “sanctificatum et bene-”.\n\n31 M. Saso, Cosmic Renewal, p. 73. K. Schipper does not tell us how the new flame is produced.\n\n32 Guéranger, op. cit., p. 503, f.\n\n** See text quoted on p. 11 and also end-note 20.\n\n34 My transl. of the Chinese text. See Schipper, Fen-Teng and Saso, Cosmic Renewal, pp. 73-74.\n\n35 See K. Schipper's detailed description of the rituals:\n\n(i) \"Enroulement du Rideau\": nos. (23)-37). This ritual lasts just over 35 minutes. (Le Fen-teng, pp. 25-27).\n\n(ii) \"Tintement solennel de la Cloche et de la Pierre sonore\": nos. (38)-(59): lasts ca. 33 minutes. (See pp. 27-32).\n\n36 M. Saso, Cosmic Renewal, p. 74, f.\n\n37 Actually they are not to be seen as three separate rituals but as three stages in one ongoing celebration.\n\n**M. Saso, (Cosmic Renewal, p. 74), says that a screen is only \"imagined\" and is \"rolled up\" by \"symbolic gesture\". This may be the custom in Northern Taiwan, but in the South a real screen is used which is actually rolled up during the ritual.\n\n39 M. Saso, Cosmic Renewal, p. 74.\n\n40 M. Saso, Cosmic Renewal, p. 75:\n\nFirst the metal bowl is struck 24 times: yang (Schipper: 24+1) then the wooden fish is struck 24 times; yin (Schipper: 29+1) then: both together are struck 36 times: yin and yang in harmonious union; then metal bowl again: 9 times; and finally wooden fish: 6 times.\n\nK. Schipper (Fen-Teng, p. 29) does not mention the striking of a wooden fish, but of the \"musical stone\", as indicated in the ritual text.\n\n41 See for instance E. Zürcher. \"Buddhist Influence on Early Taoism, A Survey of Scriptural Evidence:\", unpublished paper presented at the Third International Conference of Taoist Studies, Uterageri, Switzerland, Sept. 1979.\n\n42 Sources of information about Nestorianism in China are as follows: P. Y. Saeki, The Nestorian Monument in China (London, 1916); The Nestorian Documents and Relics in China (Tokyo, 1951); J. Foster, The Church of the Tang Dynasty (London, 1939); C. Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism, III; S. Holth, \"The Encounter between Christianity and Chinese Buddhism during the Nestorian Period\", Ching-feng, XI (1968), 20-29; K. L. Reichelt, Truth and Tradition in Chinese Buddhism: T.-m. K’ung “Chugoku Keikyō niokeru Bukkyō teki Eikyo ni tsuite\" (The", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208993, "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-1980", "page_number": 155, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "SOCIAL & CULTURAL HERITAGE IN N.T.\n\n123\n\nof whom (for example) one wants to make a complete linguistic survey (which would coordinate well with the kind of ethnographic mapping that Dr. Wang Sung-hsing was describing), and another of whom has already been invited to initiate comparative studies of Taoist and Buddhist ritual here and in Taiwan. Only last week I was discussing the possibility that two other established scholars, whose international reputation was gained from their work in Taiwan, may perhaps consider coming to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge about Hakka and Hoklo communities. At least three very promising younger anthropologists are planning to come here too—two of them Chinese and one French. Last, but far from least, there is the potential of our new Department of Anthropology and our established Department of Sociology and its counterpart at Hong Kong University, and the often excellent and extremely enthusiastic fieldwork of our students which Tam Yue-him mentioned and which David Faure is already using to such advantage. And there are a number of other local resources.\n\nNow, although it is so immensely rich in social and cultural traditions the New Territories is a small area. Given hard work, money, good coordination and planning now, it should be possible to obtain an almost complete record during, say, the next five or six years. If we can do this historians, social anthropologists, and, I hope, sociologists together — we shall then have something that does not exist for any other comparable area of China, and which now never can exist anywhere else.\n\nBut that is only the first aim. The second is just as important. There is little point in merely collecting information. It has to be interpreted, written, and published. So far, the great mass of the published work on the New Territories has been written by academic writers for academic readers. Thus, not only is it scattered in different places and in need of being brought together, but also it is simply unavailable to the people who ought to read it. What is the use of discovering our cultural heritage without also making it available to its true heirs—the present and future generations of the people of Hong Kong and (dare I say it?) China and the world? (But especially our own young people.) This means that the stuff that is already known and the material that we are still collecting must not only be written but re-written for the general reader. That is the second aim of the work I want to do.\n\nJ", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 208999, "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-1980", "page_number": 161, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\nCHINA AND THE BEHOLDER \n\n129 \n\nBeing on the spot in China does not mean that one knows what is taking place on the spot. I learned this in May. I arrived in Peking on May 6, 1980. Both then and on the day of my departure, May 19, my host was informative, helpful and kind to me. We said goodbye only after he had helped me through exit formalities with the passport control officers. \n\nMy host is in charge of foreign relations at the Institute for Research on World Religions in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His name is Kao Wang-chih; he teaches Sanskrit, Tibetan, and other subjects. Although we tacitly avoided discussing Tibet, we discussed everything else, particularly coöperation between his institute and the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard, with which I have long been connected. \n\nMr. Kao knew of my work on Chinese Buddhism and Taoism. In Peking he took me to see two Buddhist monasteries: the Ta-yüan Ssu which I found crowded with Chinese and the Kuang-chi Ssu, which was closed to the public for renovation. At the latter he introduced me to its abbot, Ming-chen, who was seventy-nine years old and as fine a Buddhist monk as I have ever met. \n\nMr. Kao told me about his institute's plans for research on Taoism. What he did not tell me was that on May 6—the day of my arrival—a weeklong conference of the Chinese Taoist Association, its third conference in twenty-three years, had opened in Peking. I did not learn about this until June 30, a month after my return to Boston from China. A friend sent me the FBIS report about an English-language broadcast from Peking on May 13, the day the Taoist conference ended. This broadcast means that there was nothing in the least secret about the conference. I could have heard about it by listening to Peking radio when I was in Loyang. But I did not bother to listen to the radio. Therefore I was on the spot but did not know about what was happening on the spot. \n\nThis reminds me of the experiences of a close friend and colleague. He lived in Peking and Shanghai 1974-76 as a Canadian student. In 1979 he made three trips to China, first as an interpreter for the Toronto Symphony, second as the interpreter for a China Friendship tour-group, and third on his honeymoon. In July and August 1979 he travelled in China with his wife. He went to places", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209002, "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-1980", "page_number": 164, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "132 \n\nNOTES AND QUERIES \n\nIs this mismanagement? It can be called mismanagement by all who are dissatisfied: by ardent Maoists and by the proponents of greater liberalization. Teng Hsiao-p'ing must feel sometimes like a squeezed beancake. He will be criticized by some no matter what he does. \n\nThe reader must be tired of articles that breathlessly give eye-witness accounts of the truth about China. There is no simple truth about China, which is too large and complicated a country. Articles about it often tell more about the observer than the observed; and about those on whom the observer depended for his information. This problem is not unique to China. England is complicated. The United States is more complicated. Russia and China are still more complicated. About Russia it is hard to learn because of the paranoid secrecy emanating from the Kremlin. About China it is hard to learn because of its long history of ups and downs, ins and outs, and the tendency of most Chinese to assume that \"behind the curtain\" much is going on that differs from what is going on in public view... \n\nDuring my whole trip in China I never heard any Chinese bring up Mao Tse-tung. His portrait was still everywhere—though I have heard that it is rarer in Canton. There was a very long line of people waiting to enter his mausoleum in Peking. But no guide—no one at all, in fact—brought up the name of Chairman Mao. I had an interesting experience in Nanking. The local head of the China Travel Service gave our tour-group a banquet in order to make amends for a mix-up about our arrival in his city. At the end of the banquet he proposed a toast to friendship between China and the United States, to future tourism, and so on. Then one of our tour group responded by proposing a toast to Mao Tse-tung. I was watching our host's face. He was at a loss. Then, after a moment's pause, he joined in the toast. If I had been he, I would have responded with a toast to George Washington. \n\nI had very good luck in visiting monasteries and meeting monks when I went to Sian, Loyang, Nanking, Soochow, Shanghai, and Peking. I have described some of what I learned in the Far Eastern Economic Review for August 15, 1980. Let me say here only that my good luck was because China is a free country today in a way that the Soviet Union is not. While my tour group went off in a bus to see the sights, I hired a taxi and visited a monastery. Only on", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209054, "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-1980", "page_number": 216, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TAOISM IN ORIENTAL LANGUAGES\n\nWILLIAM Y CHEN*\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nTaoism is a philosophical-religious tradition which has greatly contributed to shaping Chinese cultural and social life for more than two thousand years.\n\nThe philosophy of Taoism (Tao-chia 道家) is based on the advocacy of Huang-Lao (Huang-Ti or Yellow Emperor, and Lao-tzu) on wu wei (non-action), quiescence, and the unity of man with nature. With the later addition of magico-religious arts, of the immortality or longevity cults, Taoist religion (Tao-chiao 道教) gradually took shape.\n\nAccording to the Taoist tradition, Taoist philosophy originated during the reign of the legendary Yellow Emperor who is believed to have ascended to heaven about 4,600 years ago, after he had mastered the essence of Taoism and become an immortal. The major breakthrough of Taoist philosophy, however, came with the Tao te ching (Classic of the Way and its Power), attributed to Lao-tzu. It was the beginning of a philosophical spiritual stream that would develop through the centuries into a mighty river.\n\nThe formal organization of the Taoist religion, with hierarchy and rituals, is the work of Chang Tao-ling (2nd century A.D.), who became the first \"Heavenly Master\", or spiritual head of Taoism, whose 64th successor controls the Taoist \"Church\" in present-day Taiwan. Most modern sects of Taoism consider Chang Tao-ling as their founder. He infused into Taoism its formal priesthood, as well as aspects of magical faith-healing and exorcism; moreover, moral conduct and the performance of good works became a characteristic of Taoism ever since Han times.\n\nTaoism gradually created its own pantheon, but a distinction should be made between the gods worshipped by the people (gods of \"latter heaven\") and the supreme deities of \"former heaven\".\n\n*Mr Chen is a member of the library staff at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209055, "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-1980", "page_number": 217, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TAOISM\n\n185\n\n(A), object of worship by the Taoist priesthood. The common people consider Yü-huang Ta-ti, or the Jade Emperor as the supreme head of the divine hierarchy, whereas the Taoist priests worship as their highest creative powers the Three Pure Ones, the Celestial Worthy of the Original Beginning, the Celestial Worthy Ling-Pao and the Celestial Worthy Tao-Te.\n\nAs a religious organization, Taoism is divided into several sects, each of which has its own emphasis or specialty, roughly corresponding with five major areas of Taoist concern: good conduct, study of classic literature, alchemy (in modern times rather \"inner\" alchemy, or the search for longevity by \"nourishing one's vital energy\"), magical and religious rites, and finally divinatory practices.\n\nThe philosophical ideas of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu slowly permeated Chinese society. \"In office a Confucian, in retirement a Taoist\" became the tag of the scholar-official and even his Confucianism, after the thirteenth century, was to a large extent philosophical Taoism in disguise (H. Welch, The Parting of the Way. Boston, Beacon Press, 1957, p. 158). The Neo-Confucians borrowed the Taoist concept of an underlying unity, which \"does\" nothing (i.e., does not make any purposive effort) but accomplishes everything. They took the old Confucian concept of the Rites, li, and extended it to include the laws of nature as well as of man. They also adopted the Taoist goals of minimizing desires, returning to the purity of one's original nature, and identification of the individual with the universe.\n\nThrough the centuries, the Taoist influence on Chan Buddhism, which appealed particularly to intellectuals, flourished in China from the T'ang through the Sung dynasties and in Japan from the time of the Sung until today. The Japanese call it Zen, which \"rejects verbal teaching, disregards logic, discards morality, and regards Heaven and Earth as unkind. It sees no value in good deeds. The only way to be saved is to do nothing about it. Zen believes that salvation, in fact, is a return to our original nature, that no one else can do it for us, and that doing it makes us into the most ordinary and wonderful people\" (H. Welch, The Parting of the Way, p. 159).\n\nBecause the Chinese and Japanese cultures were considered in Japan to be essentially the same, due to the pan-Asian concept dobun doshu (same script, same race), Taoism spread from China...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209056, "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-1980", "page_number": 218, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "186\n\nWILLIAM Y. CHEN\n\nto Japan long ago as mentioned above. The same also holds true for Korea. Therefore, many Japanese and Koreans have written a great number of works about Taoism which provide and strengthen the valuable resources for the study of Taoism.\n\nSince more and more scholars all over the world are interested in studying Taoism, there is a need to compile a bibliography of Taoism by native authors who often have a better understanding of Taoism than the outsiders. This is the reason why this bibliography is compiled. It is the compiler's hope that this bibliography will be of assistance to all those who are interested to study the rich and variegated aspects of the Taoist tradition.\n\nTHE BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\nThis bibliography is in no way a comprehensive one. However, it lists the most important works on Taoism. It is divided into ten categories as follows:\n\n1. General works\n\n2. Bibliographies and indexes\n\n3. Sacred books\n\n4. History of Taoism\n\n5. Taoist doctrines\n\n6. Biography of Taoism\n\n7. Relationship with Confucianism and Buddhism\n\n8. Alchemy and hygiene\n\n9. Immortals\n\n10. Periodicals\n\nThe authors' names and titles are romanized, but followed by the original characters. For example:\n\nChao, Yü-hsiu. San chiao yueh yen. Hong Kong, 1970.\n\n趙聿修,三教約言,香港,圓玄學院,1970.40, 39p.\n\nUnder each heading, all works are arranged alphabetically by author. If the work is edited by an editor(s) or a compiler(s), it is entered by the title.\n\nThis bibliography has been compiled principally for scholars who, like the author, are located in North America, and addresses itself mainly to works that are available in libraries in that area.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209067, "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-1980", "page_number": 229, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TAOISM\n\nTsuda, Sokichi, 1873–1961. Dōka no shiso to sono tenkai. Tokyo, 1927.\n\n津田左右吉,道家の思想匕其の開展,東京, 東洋文庫, 1927. 3, 3, 639, 9 p.\n\nCA\n\nYajima, Genryō. Chūgoku Bstsu-Dõ nempu. Tokyo, 1974. 矢嶋玄亮,中國佛道年譜,修訂增補,東京,國書刊行會, 1974. 402, 24 p.\n\nLC\n\nTu, Erh-wei. Chung-kuo ku tai tsung chiao yen chiu. Taipei. 1960.\n\n杜而未.中國古代宗教研究:帝道后土研究,台北, 華明書, 1960. 6, 172 p.\n\nCA\n\nTu, Erh-wei. Chung-kuo ku tai tsung chiao yen chiu: T'ien tao Shang-ti chih pu. Taipei, 1959.\n\n中國古代宗教研究:天道上帝之部,台北,翠明書, 1959, 6, 246 p.\n\nLC 杜而未\n\nYi, Nung-hwa, 1869-1945. Chosōn togyo sa. Korea, 1977. 李能和,朝鲜道教史,什竜,永信卟101韓國學研究所, 1977. 18, 480 p.\n\nLC\n\nYoshioka, Yoshitoyo, 1916– Dökyō keiten shiron. Tokyo, 1955. 吉岡莪豐,道教經典史論,東京,道教刊行會,1955. 5, 584, 50 p.\n\nCA, LC\n\n5. TAOIST DOCTRINES\n\nChang, Pai-t'ao. Pu-t'ien sui. Taipei, 1960. 張百燾.補天髓,台北, 自由出版社,1960.\n\nLC, SA 1 v.\n\nChang, Tung. Chang San-feng ta tao chih yao. Taipei, 1971. 張通,張三丰大道指要,台北, 自由出版社, 1971. 232 p.\n\nLC, SA\n\nChang, T'ung. Chang San-feng tsu shih Wu-ken-shu tz'u chu chieh. Taipei, 1962.\n\n張通.張三丰祖師無根樹詞註解,台北,自由出版社, 1962. 67 p.\n\nLC, SA\n\nChang, Yung-chéng. Wu-chen-p'ien ch'an yu. Taipei, 1959. 張用成,悟真篇闡幽,台北,自由出版社,1959.\n\n1 v. LC, SA", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209078, "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-1980", "page_number": 240, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "208\n\nWILLIAM Y. CHEN\n\nHsien hsüeh tz'u tien. Taipei, 1962. \n仙學辭典,戴源長編著.台北,台灣台北監獄印刷工場, \n1962. 2, 2, 15, 175 p.\n\nLC\n\nHsien-yüan-pien-chu, Chih-yen tsung ho k'an. Taipei, 1976. 佛苑編珠, 至言總合刊.蕭天石主編.台北,自由出版社, \n1976. 3, 2, 244 p.\n\nLC, SA\n\nLi shih chen hsien t'i tao t’ung chien. Taipei, 1968. \n歷世真仙體道通鑑,趙全陽纂輯,台北,自由出版社, \n1968. 3 v. (1356 p.)\n\nLC, SA\n\nLü, Yen. b. 798. Ching-tso-fa chi yao. Taipei, 1976, 呂峦.靜坐法輯要.三版增訂本.台北,自由出版社, \n1976. 4, 8, 320 p.\n\nLC, SA\n\nShih, Chien-wu. Hsi-shan-ch'ün-hsien-hui-chen-chi, Chin-lien- \ncheng-tsung-chi ho k'an. Taipei, 1965.\n\n施肩吾,西山潭仙會真記,金蓮正宗記合刊.台北,自由出 \n版, 1965. 230 p.\n\nLC, SA\n\nShimode, Sekiyo, 1918– Shinsen shiso. Tokyo, 1968. 下出積與,神仙思想,東京,訓弘文館,1968. \n3, 5, 249, 8 p.\n\nCA, LC\n\nWang, Chien-chang. Hsien shu mi k'u. Taipei, 1960. 王建章,仙術秘庫,台北,自由出版社,1960. \n1 v.\n\nLC, SA\n\n## 10. PERIODICALS\n\nDōkyō kenkyu. Tokyo, 1965- \n道教研究第1——册.東京,豐島書店,1965- \n\nCA, LC\n\nTao-chiao wen hua. (Journal of Taoist culture) Taipei, 1977- \n道教文化.台北,道教文化雜誌社,1977- \n\nSA\n\nTõhō shukyō. Kyoto, 19– \n東方宗教,京都,19- \n\nCA, LC\n\n \n \n :\n !\n \n\nPage 240\n\nPage 241", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209082, "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-1980", "page_number": 244, "title": "RAS-1980", "content_text": "212\n\nCAROLE MORGAN\n\nThe first set of stars is composed of nine xing, orbiting in a framework called the jiugong which has given its name to the set. In point of fact, the jiugong, or Nine Palaces, uses exactly the same pattern as the houtian (see above) but adds the centre as the ninth direction. The name of each star in the series combines the name of a colour with that of a number3:\n\n一白 Yibai 二黑 Erhei 三碧 Sanbi 四綠 Selu\n\n五黃 Wuhuang 六白 Liubai 七赤 Qichi 八白 Babai 九紫 Jiuzi\n\nOf these nine stars five are considered baleful and no burial may take place in the compass point they occupy. Fortunately, no star lingers in the same point for more than a year so that no point of the compass is ever permanently eliminated. (See B. Frank, \"Kata-imi et kata-tagae, Etudes sur les interdits de directions,\" Bulletin de la Maison Franco-japonaise, Tome V, pp. 177 sq.)\n\nThe other set of stars comprises the seven stars of the Dipper and two imaginary xing. The names of these stars stem mainly from the Taoist canon, and present day geomancers use them to describe the shape of mountains and hills as follows:\n\n贪狼 Tanlang 巨門 Juman 禄存 Lucun 文曲 Wenqu 廉真 Lianzhen 武曲 Wugu 破军 Pojun 左辅 Zuofu 右弼 Youbi\n\n(For additional information on these stars see E.H. Schafer, Pacing the Void pp. 50 sq.)\n\nTwo more astronomical terms which occur in fengshui deserve to be mentioned. Both refer to the twenty-eight su (constellations or stellar mansions):\n\n*These combinations are based on the numbers and colours of the Loshu, the second pattern which Heaven gave to Yu and from which Duke Wen deduced the houtian.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1980.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/kh04md207", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209159, "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": 62, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "48\n\nHUBERT SEIWART\n\nreligion. The Taoism of the elite, lacking the Buddhist idea of the sangha, was much more a private affair of the individual, while the Buddhist conception of meritorious deeds stimulated the propagation of the faith.\n\nThese might be some of the reasons for the poor state which Taoism was in at the end of the imperial era, and which did not improve much during the first half of this century. Although the starting position was rather poor, today there are signs of a renaissance of religious Taoism in Taiwan8, even if it is much less obvious than in the case of Buddhism. Significantly, the recovery of religious Taoism is promoted not only by the Taoist clergy, whose intellectual standard in general is still rather low, but also by laymen. It is not easy to assess exactly the scope of this Taoist renaissance, but we can say that the position of Taoism as an institutional religion is probably not weaker than in the last century. That means that here, too, no secularizing influence of modernization can be ascertained.\n\nApart from Buddhism and Taoism there is a third major form of institutional religion which played an important though less recognized role in traditional China: popular lay-communities of a more or less syncretic character. Most of these communities call themselves Buddhist or, less often, Taoist and indeed can be regarded as popular forms of these religions. From the observer's point of view, however, many of them are clearly distinguishable from the \"orthodox\" forms of Buddhism and Taoism. Not only do we make this distinction, the Chinese authorities also regarded some of these societies as heterodox and proscribed them. The best-known examples of this are the communities related to the White Lotus tradition. It would, however, probably be a mistake to believe that the majority of popular lay-communities belonged to this class of secret sects.\n\nIn contrast to orthodox Buddhism and Taoism these communities do not seem to have suffered from a significant decline during the last phase of traditional China. Quite the contrary, one gets the impression that in a certain way their strength corresponded to the weakness of the orthodox religions during the final years of the empire. Many people found relief from political and economic pressures by turning to the various popular forms of religion, ranging from consulting witch-doctors and spirit-mediums to joining one of the many smaller or larger sects which offered the hope of deliverance of the faithful or even an impending end to the present misery and the coming of a new era10.\n\n10", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209160, "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": 63, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO MODERNIZATION IN TAIWAN THE CASE OF I-KUAN TAO 49\n\nNot much is known about the history of popular religious lay-communities in the twentieth century11. While in comparison with the last century their popularity may have faded they are far from having perished. They still play a significant role in the religious life of present-day Taiwan.\n\nIt is convenient to distinguish analytically three types of popular religious community even if in practice it is often impossible to separate them clearly. First, there are groups of people which centre around the person of a specially-gifted woman or man, who may be a spirit healer able to cure sickness or a medium who can communicate with the spiritual world and reveal future, hidden or mysterious things. In most cases people who consult such persons form not a community but a clientele, i.e., they do not relate to one another but only to the healer or the medium, much like the clientele of a doctor. Sometimes, however, a healer or a medium is able to organize a cult in which his followers come together and jointly receive blessings or instructions or perform certain practices12. In such cases the clientele may turn into a community whose members share a common stock of beliefs and habits and develop a feeling of belonging together. Normally the person of the leader remains the centre of the cult and the community may retain the traits of a clientele for a long time.\n\nSecond, there are religious communities which are not primarily related to the person of a leader but are connected with a particular temple or - what normally amounts to the same thing - the worship of one or several particular gods. These temple-communities are probably the most common religious community in Taiwan. In most cases they consider themselves orthodox Buddhist or Taoist, while actually they are strongly syncretic in character. It might happen that in the religious life of the temple-communities spirit-mediums do play a part, but normally they do not hold the central position. Occasionally, however, a medium may be able to gain a leading role and to turn the community into a dynamic movement whose influence extends far beyond the local or regional level13.\n\nThe third type of popular religious community in Taiwan is the sect-like movement. In contrast to cults and temple-communities these movements have or at least try to develop a country-wide organization. Furthermore, they are often explicitly syncretic, combining elements of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, and in this way consciously distinguish themselves from those religions. Since in traditional China such sects were in danger of being regarded as...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209166, "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": 69, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO MODERNIZATION IN TAIWAN THE CASE OF I-KUAN TAO 55\n\nWhile former passages showed a clear Confucian coloring, this last section depicts an ideal future world whose Taoist stamp cannot escape notice. A crucial point to be observed here is the admonition to spread the Tao all over the world, which will result in the emerging of a paradise-like new society. Since the Chinese expression for “world” here is not t'ien-hsia but shih-chieh, it is obvious that the deliverance is not thought of as confined to the Chinese nation only but is open to all mankind.\n\nI cannot decide for certain which religious group this text originates from. There is some evidence that it was revealed during an I-kuan Tao fu-luan session, but it could also be the product of any other fu-luan cult. In the interpretation of the present time there is a common stock of beliefs which is shared by most of the popular religious movements. According to my observations it normally consists of the following four basic elements:\n\n1. The present political, social and cultural situation is regarded as a time of decay and decadence. This can be seen above all in a general decline of public morality.\n\n2. The present time of decay is interpreted against the background of a religious theory of history. This applies especially for the I-kuan Tao and related groups. According to this theory we are now in the last phase of a cosmic period at the end of which there will be a worldwide catastrophe. Only a few elected, i.e. those who follow the true Tao, will survive this cataclysm. After this they will live in the ideal world of the Great Harmony (ta t'ung).\n\n3. The cause of the present decadence is to be found in the decline of the true Tao, which is a result of the influence of Western civilization. Western civilization is regarded as materialistic and immoral. The Chinese tradition, in contrast, is seen as a fountain of religious and moral values from which the spiritual renewal of mankind will grow.\n\n4. The divine revelations not only stigmatize the present time as a period of decay; the divine revelations also show the way to deliverance. This path is essentially the same one that was marked out by the sages of Chinese antiquity. That means it consists in the observance of the traditional Confucian moral values. While deviation from the true Tao accounts for the cause of decay, observance of the true way contains the key to salvation.\n\nObviously these views reflect the tensions between traditional", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209178, "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": 81, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "RELIGIOUS RESPONSE TO MODERNIZATION IN TAIWAN THE CASE OF I-KUAN TAO\n\n67\n\nchanged reality than were the old religious symbol systems. The adoption of Western science and philosophy and Western religion can be interpreted as a means of finding legitimation systems which are compatible with the new conditions created by modernization. They have the advantage of reconciling the consciousness to the reality of modern society, at least they do it better than the traditional legitimation systems. But they have one crucial shortcoming: they are not able to symbolize the Chinese cultural identity.\n\nAt this point we come back to the role of traditional religions. In so far as they are traditional they express continuity and identity. But, on the other side, in so far as they are traditional they contain many elements which do not harmonize with the changed reality. However, only dead traditions are unchangeable. There are many signs that religions in Taiwan today are changing. This is obviously true of Buddhism. In the case of Taoism it is more difficult to demonstrate since recent research has put the emphasis on the revival of the Taoist tradition and not on changes in this tradition. As to popular religions, I have tried to give some hints as to what is going on. The tendency towards universalism is just one element. There are others which could not be dealt with here, and many which await further research. In any case we should be aware that traditional religions in present-day Taiwan may not just be survivals of a bygone age doomed to extinction, but living traditions which could even gain importance in the future.\n\nNOTES\n\n1\n\nCf. C. K. Yang, Religion in Chinese Society. (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1967) pp 294–340\n\n2 Cf. Chin Yao-chi, Ts'ung Ch'uan-t'ung tao hsien-tai (Taipei, 1979, third edition).\n\n3 Of course, in the People's Republic there were other factors which made a great impact on the religious life, esp. the official anti-religious propaganda and the suppression of religious activities.\n\nYang, op. cit., pp 363–377\n\n• \"As a result of industrial development, farm population has gradually moved to urban areas. The share of employment in agriculture decreased from 59.3 per cent in 1952 to 27.3 per cent in 1977, while that in industry increased from 14.5 per cent to 37.6 per cent in the same period.\" (China Yearbook 1978, p 165)", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209179, "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": 82, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "68\n\n1968).\n\n \n\nHUBERT SEIWART\n\nCf. Holmes Welch, The Buddhist Revival in China. (Cambridge, Mass.\n\nCf. Y. Raguin, \"Buddhismus auf Taiwan\", in Buddhismus der Gegenwart, ed. by H. Dumoulin (Freiburg 1970) pp 113 – 116.\n\na \"Taoism' (by A. K. Seidel), in The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia, p 1042.\n\nFor example, the Taoist Association of the Republic of China is run mostly by laymen who try to get rid of many of the more \"vulgar\" practices of religious Taoism and to restore the intellectual tradition of former times. These efforts seem not to be supported by many of the Taoist priests, possibly since they make their living by performing these practices.\n\n10\n\n \n\nSee for example G. G. H. Dunstheimer, “Religion et magie dans le mouvement des Boxeurs”, in T’oung Pao, 47 (1959) pp 323 - 367; G. Miles, \"Vegetarian Sects\", in The Chinese Recorder, 33 (1902) pp 110; D. H. Porter, \"Secret Sects in Shantung\", in The Chinese Recorder, 17 (1886) pp 1 – 10, 64 – 73; M. Topley, \"Chinese Religion and Rural Cohesion in the Nineteenth Century\", in JHKBRAS 8 (1968), pp 9 - 43.\n\n11\n\nCf. Wing-tsit Chan, Religioses Leben im heutigen China, (München, 1955) pp 109-156.\n\nT'ai-pei-shih\n\n12 Such a healing-cult is treated by Wang Chih-ming Chi-lung-lu ti i-ko min-su i-sheng he t'a-ti hsin-t'u-men (unpublished B.A. thesis, National Taiwan University, Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1971)\n\n13 An example of this is the Sheng-hsien-t’ang community in Taichung. The publications of the revelations of the mediums of this temple are distributed and read everywhere in Taiwan.\n\n14\n\nSome sects (e.g. Li-chiao), however, are copying Buddhist or Taoist ceremonies and dress so that it is difficult to decide whether the performers are priests or laymen.\n\n16 Some of the \"new religions” are treated in Hsiao Ching-fen, “The current situation of new religions in Taiwan\", Theology and the Church, 10:2 – 3 (Tainan, 1971) pp 1 -- 28;\n\n10 I-kuan is actually derived from a passage in the Confucian Analects (IV, 15).\n\n17\n\nThe popular name is Ya-tan chiao. Other names are Tien Tao chiao, K'ung-tzu chiao, Ta Tao chiao, Lao-mu chiao\n\n4. Cf. Tung Fang-yüan, Tai-wan min-chien tsung-chiao hsin-yang (Taipei 1976) p 123.\n\n18 Tung, op. cit., p 123f. According to Su Ming-tung, T'ien-tao kai-lun (Kaohsiung, 1979) p 197, there are more than 300,000 followers of I-kuan Tao in Taiwan today.\n\nLi Shih-yü, Hsien-tsai Hua-pei mi-mi-tsung-chiao (Chengtu, 1948, repr. Taipei, 1975) p 32.\n\n20 It seems certain, however, that the I-kuan Tao has followers outside Taiwan, esp. in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. In contrast to Taiwan, in these places the sect is not forbidden by the government and can operate openly (cf. Su Ming-tung, op. cit., p 198f). For the propaganda of the Communist government", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209303, "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": 206, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "192\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nTRADITIONAL FUNERALS\n\nApart from the ta tsiu, the most significant ritual acts within the traditional New Territories village were those marking the death of an adult villager. The ritual of such funerals differed in detail from area to area, but seem to follow basically the same form everywhere. The traditional funeral was a matter of importance not only to the bereaved family but to the whole village. The ritual alternated between formal religious acts, led by Taoist priests, and village customs, led by the elderly men and women of the village.\n\nTraditional funerals are becoming rarer, rituals are being simplified to follow the pattern set by the modern style funerals in the City, and the willingness of villagers outside the circle of the immediately bereaved to assist in the rites is less automatic than in the past. There is, therefore, a need to record the funeral ritual used while there are still opportunities to witness it in operation. Miss Barbara Ward, and Dr. David Faure of the Chinese University together with the author of this note were privileged to record at length a recent traditional funeral in Tai Wai Village, Sha Tin; it is hoped that this record will be published in an appropriate form soon. In the meantime a brief indication of the ritual with some photographs, (plates 4-13) is published here as a general guide to the main features of a New Territories traditional Punti funeral. The photographs were taken by Mr. Liu Yun-sum, of Sheung Shui Village, the current First Vice-Chairman of the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk, in 1953, at the funeral of his father, Mr. Liu On-wai, and are published here with Mr. Liu Yun-sum's kind consent. Mr. Liu On-wai was the son and grandson of Ch'ing dynasty village headmen; he and his brother had been educated to the best standards available in Sheung Shui. His elder brother, indeed, became a Sau Ts'oi degree holder and taught in the village school. Mr. Liu On-wai himself went into trade, selling foot-stuffs and roast meats from a shop in Sheung Shui market; he was 76 years old at his death. The photographs, therefore, are of the funeral of a well-connected and moderately wealthy, but neither particularly rich nor powerful villager.\n\nThe funeral ritual began everywhere immediately on the death. Elders of the clan and village washed, dressed, and prepared the corpse, while the women of the bereaved family sang wailing songs. Friends and relatives stood around weeping during the dressing and preparation.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209304, "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": 207, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\n193 \n\ncorpse was laid out. Where possible, the death should take place in a room where the ancestral tablets of the deceased's father were; in some areas, if this could not be arranged, the corpse would be carried there later, but not elsewhere. The ritual rules governing these acts were everywhere very detailed, but differed from place to place.\n\n \nThe corpse was then laid out on a mat on the floor in a room prepared in accordance with the customs of that area, facing the door, which was left open; the immediately bereaved relatives were obliged to keep watch night and day beside the deceased, and to welcome well-wishers as they came to pay their respects.\n\n \nIn the morning of the day chosen as propitious for the encoffining — usually the third or fourth after the death — the bereaved family would put on mourning which had been made for them by the village women. In every village, mourning was worn in four or five different grades, depending on the closeness of relationship with the deceased, although the mourning considered proper to each grade differed in detail from area to area. The coffin was then carried through the village by the young men of the village and placed, covered with a blanket or cloth, in a matshed on suitable open land outside, with a table with offerings in front. The bereaved family would continue to keep watch beside the coffin, snatching sleep when and how they could. The villagers would come again to pay respects; anyone who did so would be invited to eat of the funeral food provided by the bereaved family but cooked on communal stoves nearby by the elders of the village. If the death took place outside the village, the coffin could not be brought back into the village: in such cases, the matshed would be built far out in the fields.\n\n \nDuring the evening and night of this or the next day, elaborate and lengthy rituals would be mounted by Taoist priests, with all those in mourning attending. These rituals were designed to secure the safe passage of the deceased through the hells of punishment, and his protection from the attacks of ill-disposed ghosts. During these same evenings, rituals to purify the family and the funeral site and to control any nearby malicious spirits in preparation for the actual burial were conducted. When the Taoist rites were completed, usually at about two in the morning, the bereaved family would prepare to sleep on the ground around the coffin.\n\n \nThe following morning, the bereaved family would wait by the coffin to welcome well-wishers as they appeared again to pay their respects, and when everyone was present, a complex series of rituals took", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209305, "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": 208, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "194\n\nNOTES AND QUERIES\n\nplace in all of which the bereaved family played the central role with the other villagers looking on. Details differed from district to district, but usually some or all of the following were included: the buying of water for the forthcoming rituals, the opening of the coffin and the washing of the face of the deceased by all in mourning (in Sheung Shui these rites took place immediately after death), the preparation by all the sons and daughters of the deceased of food to be placed in the grave, a procession around the coffin by all mourners, carrying incense, the division of threads by the mourners, either over the coffin or elsewhere, and the offering of wine by all mourners. Eulogies to the deceased might be read by the village elders, and last of all the singing of prayers by a Taoist priest, with all mourners kneeling, preceding the screwing down and sealing of the coffin was practically universal. During these rites mourning would, in most places, be carried by the nearest relatives present for persons within the mourning grades but unable to be present. At many points the women of the deceased's immediate family would sing wailing songs. In many places in the New Territories the natural family of the deceased's wife would play a prominent role in these rites alongside his own family.\n\nWhen the coffin was prepared the young men of the village would lash it on poles and carry it off, preceded by the bereaved family. Since the funeral was of ritual significance to the village as a whole the standing rice in the fields would, if necessary, be trampled down to let the coffin pass. The grave would have been already dug, again by the young men of the village. At the grave other rites would take place; these differed from area to area; in some, Taoist rites took place at the grave, in others, the main rite was the sharing of food among the mourners across the open grave. Usually the first handfuls of soil were thrown in by the sons and daughters of the deceased, but everywhere the filling in of the grave and the proper ordering of the food offerings and ritual decoration of the grave was the responsibility of the young men of the village.\n\nUpon the return to the village Taoist rites would usually, in most areas, take place around the new, temporary, spirit tablet of the deceased, often at the spot where the corpse had been laid out. The room and its environs would be purified and decorated. From now on until, usually, the twenty-first day after the death, that is, during the mourning period, the immediate family would observe some relatively minimal ritual restrictions, and would place offerings to the deceased daily in front of the tablet. In some areas Taoist rites to assist the deceased to reach the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209306, "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": 209, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\n195 \n\nTaoist heaven would be held on the seventh night after the death; but it is probable that these rites were more frequently combined with the rites of funeral night and conducted then. In most areas the most important rituals during the mourning period were the preparation for the return of the spirit of the deceased to visit his family, and, a little after this, the visit of the family to a spirit medium to consult the deceased to check that he was contented and comfortable.\n\n \nOn the twenty-first day early in the morning members of the immediately bereaved family would go to the grave, place new offerings there, and pay the family's last respects. (In Sheung Shui this rite was done on the third day after death). The family would then put on full mourning, which would not have been worn since the day of the burial, or the day the seventh day rituals were held. They would attend Taoist rituals in front of the temporary spirit tablet, thereafter take the tablet to a suitable spot, in some cases near a river, where it would be burnt. In some cases this was done within a ritual enclosure purified by the sons of the deceased, together with all the objects used in the various rituals, and with gifts of paper money and objects to the deceased and to other deceased family members. The family would, in many cases, then remove mourning, in some cases at a spot outside the village. The mourning would then be burnt. All mourners would put on new clothes which had been passed through the smoke of the fires. Led by the Taoist priest the family would return to the place where the temporary spirit tablet had been placed, now stripped and swept, and would assist the priest in the placing and worshipping of a new paper tablet to the deceased, after which new lucky papers would be pushed up, the ex-mourners would put on pieces of red tape or cloth to signify their final removal of mourning, and go to welcome their friends and relations in another meal prepared by the elders of the village.\n\n \nThis extremely condensed statement represents the basic ritual of a Punti village funeral. In Hakka villages customs differed substantially. Thus, for instance, the burial usually took place in such villages at dawn, and many of the family rituals, such as buying water, were correspondingly brought forward to the previous day, to before the main Taoist celebration. Again, Hakka custom demanded in many areas a daily visit to the grave throughout the mourning period whereas Punti custom demanded only a daily visit to the spirit tablet. In many other places similar divergences are to be noted. This note, therefore, represents only a very bare skeletal framework of rituals common to most Punti villages; it ignores the numerous intricate, but fixed and essential, minor", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209333, "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": 236, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "Plate 6.\n\nOn the morning of the burial, the bereaved family would wait by the coffin to welcome well wishers (Note: in Sheung Shui the final family ceremonies took place outside the matshed used for the Taoist rituals): gifts of cloth by well wishers would be hung nearby.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209335, "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": 238, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "Plate 8.\n\nThe singing of prayers by a Taoist priest with all mourners present, preceding the screwing down and sealing of the coffin, was almost universal.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209339, "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": 242, "title": "RAS-1981", "content_text": "Plate 12.\n\nIn Sheung Shui Taoist rites took place at the graveside when the mourners arrived with the coffin.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1981.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209350, "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-1982", "page_number": 8, "title": "RAS-1982", "content_text": "PRESIDENT'S REPORT: 1982-83\n\nTonight I have pleasure in reporting on the Society's activities during the year. I will also comment on some other events of the period which will be of interest to you as members.\n\nLectures, Film Shows, and Tours\n\nDuring the year our lectures as usual covered a wide range of topics relating to our area, and were delivered by specialists based in Hong Kong and visiting from overseas. There were two film shows, and one local and one overseas tour.\n\nOur programme opened in March with a slide presentation of early photographs of Hong Kong with commentary given by Mr. Ian Diamond, Government Archivist, and entitled \"Hong Kong in Victoria's time.\" In April Mrs. Rajeshwari Ghose, a specialist in the history and sociology of religion in India, spoke on the functions of the Hindu temple. We also showed two films made by Mr. Hugh Gibb, the well-known local film maker. The films, both made in collaboration with social anthropologists, were \"Dragons on the Sea\" which depicted the life of the traditional floating population of Hong Kong; and “Dajiu” which showed the Taoist rites of renewal of this name, that take place every ten years in the New Territories village of Ha Tsuen and its dependent group of hamlets. The first film was made with Miss Barbara Ward, and the second with Dr. Hugh Baker. We were pleased to welcome many members of the public to these films which were very well received and gained us some new members.\n\nIn May Dr. Peter Wesley-Smith of Hong Kong University's Law Department spoke on Francis Taylor Pigot, Chief Justice in the early part of this century; Mrs. Peggy Craig, a well-known organizer of highly original tours of India showed films she had taken on two tours in which members participated: the Pushkar Camel safari and \"Meet the Maharajas\"; and Frank Iklé Professor of History at the University of New Mexico spoke on the role of women in Japan.\n\nIn June Mr. Melvin Thatcher of the Genealogical Society of Utah spoke on the Chinese genealogies his society had acquired from public collections, and in July Dr. David Faure of the\n\nVill", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1982.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209747, "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-1983", "page_number": 6, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "CONTENTS\n\nPage\n\nPRESIDENT'S REPORT viii\n\nTREASURER'S REPORT xv\n\nLIBRARIAN'S REPORT xvii\n\nOBITUARY xviii\n\nARTICLES:\n\nField Trip to Maryknoll House, Stanley by the Hong Kong Royal Asiatic Society Dec. 8, 1984 - M. MCKIERNAN 1\n\nSo Kon Po: Notes for the Visit Made by Member of the Society, 26th November 1983 — J. W. HAYES 7\n\nNotes on the So Kon Po Valley and Village - REVD. CARL T. SMITH 12\n\nDisfunction of Chinese Rural Society - RAMON H. MYERS 18\n\nThe Self-Perception of Buddhist Monks in Hong Kong Today - BARTHOLOMEW P. M. TSUI 23\n\nNotes on Some Chinese Customs in the New Territories - B. D. WILSON 41\n\nOf Hongs and Tongs and All That Jazz: A Note on Lexical Borrowing from Chinese in English with Special Reference to H.K. - MIMI CHAN 62\n\nThe Islands Around Hong Kong — W. SCHOFIELD 91\n\nSecular Non-Gentry Leadership of Temple and Shrine Organisations in Urban British H. K. - J. W. HAYES 113\n\nBusiness Ideology of Chinese Industrialists in Hong Kong - WONG SIU-LUN 137\n\nVariation Technique in the Formal Structure of the Music of Taoist Jiao-Shi in Hong Kong - PEN-YEH TSAO 172\n\nV", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209843, "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-1983", "page_number": 102, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "80 \n\nwords of Chinese origin are almost always anglicized in pronunciation. There may be doubt concerning how the word should be pronounced, but rarely is the Chinese pronunciation retained. For example, take the word cheongsam. The affricate /ts/ is replaced by the English /ch/ and the rounded vowel similar to that in the English \"bird\", but with lip-rounding, is replaced by a vowel identical to that in the English 'long'. Similarly in fung shui the Cantonese diphthong /oey/ (similar to that in the French 'lui') is substituted by the /u/ + /i/ sequence as in the English 'ruin'. On the graphological level, there is no question of the loans being written in Chinese characters. The letters of English alphabet may however occur in rather unfamiliar combinations, as in the case of e-o-n-g occurring in cheongsam, and u-e-y in chopsuey.\n\nAnother requirement for full assimilation is related to the grammatical status of the word. Grammatically, it is assigned to a word class, or may have multiple-class membership. It behaves like other members of the class, so that if it is a countable noun it is inflected for number, and if it is a verb, it can take a past tense ending, and so on. Thus typhoon is inflected for number and kowtow for person and tense. It obeys the syntactical rules of the language in combining with other words to form grammatical sentences. For example, the headline 'Running water for lamas' occurs in The South China Morning Post, (7/82) also in the same paper, someone is described as 'mingling with the rich tai tais'. The word is not restricted in occurrence to limited contexts, but may be found to combine freely with other words to form bigger constructions, so that one can speak of Bruce Li as a 'kung fu superstar' The South China Morning Post (26/4/82), while in Noble House the writer mentions ‘a flood of amah Cantonese' (p. 1017). Cheongsam, in its past participle form, functions as an adjective in ‘cheongsamed girl', as used by Richard Hughes (p. 98) and James Clavell (N.H., p. 9). Derivational affixes may be added, as when ‘ism' or ‘ist' is added to the loans tao, lama, Mao, giving taoist, taoism, lamaism, Maoist and so on. It does not matter that Confucius originally derives from a surname plus a title; now that it has been established in the English language, one can derive Confucian and Confucianism from it. Again, it is of no significance that the model for Shanghai", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209849, "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-1983", "page_number": 108, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "86\n\nLoan Word\n\nChinese Characters\n\nMeaning\n\nGung ho\n\nI A\n\n*Gweilo\n\n鬼\n\nLiterally 'ghost' or 'devil man', used to refer to Westerners. Widely current in Hong Kong.\n\nHan\n\n漢\n\nOf, relating to, or having the characteristic of, the period of the Han dynasty; of, relating to, or being a nationality group of Chinese descended from the original Chinese constituting an overwhelming majority of the population and the dominant cultural group: belonging to the Chinese proper as distinguished from other nationality groups.\n\nHakka\n\n客家\n\nOne of a tribe or race of Chinese dwelling in parts of southern China, particularly in the province of Canton, descendants of immigrants from northern China in the middle ages; also their dialect,\n\nHoey (wui)\n\n會\n\nA society of Chinese; especially a secret society. In Hong Kong a savings club.\n\nHong\n\n行\n\nA foreign trading establishment in China or Japan.\n\nHyson\n\n熙春\n\nA species of green tea from China.\n\nI-ching\n\n易經\n\nAn ancient Chinese book of divination and a source of Confucian and Taoist philosophy.\n\n*Kaito\n\n街渡\n\nLiterally 'street ferry', used to refer to boats plying between various points in Hong Kong.\n\n*Kaifong\n\n街力(坊)\n\nLiterally 'street square', used to refer to a neighbourhood, especially to community organizations.\n\nKaolin\n\n高嶺\n\nA fine white clay produced by the decomposition of feldspar, used in the manufacture of porcelain; first employed by the Chinese, but subsequently found in many places.\n\nKetchup\n\n茄汁\n\nA sauce made from the juice of mushrooms, walnuts, tomatoes, etc.\n\nKowtow\n\n叩頭\n\nThe Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead, as an expression of respect, submission, or worship.\n\n*Kuk\n\n局\n\nLiterally 'association', 'society', 'committee'.\n\n*Kung hei fat choy\n\n恭喜發財\n\nLiterally 'wish you grow prosperous'. A Chinese New Year greeting.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209882, "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-1983", "page_number": 141, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "119\n\nduties each year; but old residents have supplied information on this point. A Heung Shan (Chung Shan) man who was a tai chik lei (Chairman) for the Sau Hing Fong, in the 11th to the 20th years of the Chinese Republic (1922-1931) and knew of past practice, has said that in his time there were within the Fong one tai, aided by three fu chik lei (Vice-chairman) and some 8-10 ordinary chik lei (managers).\n\nTogether, when it came to their Fong's turn to arrange for the temple rituals, these men would make all the arrangements for celebrating all three major religious occasions on the island on behalf of the whole community. The body of chik lei came together because of their interest and willingness to contribute, and to spend their time and effort on the work. The selection of the four senior chik lei was done in the Hung Shing temple, by casting the divining blocks (kau pui) before the altar.\n\nThis was described locally as man Hung Shing or as man pui; that is 'asking Hung Shing god' or 'asking the divining blocks'.18\n\nIn another of these bodies, the Fuk Hing Fong of San On residents, an old member (born in 1897; and interviewed in 1966) confirmed the mutual coming together by the body of chik lei with a view to selecting a leader, but in this Fong they met in the shop of one of its leading members. The leaders were not chosen by using the divining blocks in the temple, but were selected by the leading shopkeepers and manufacturers of the Fong from among themselves, on the basis of their business success, good reputation and interest in the work of securing a continuance of blessings through the faithful performance of religious observances in each lunar year.\n\nWhichever method was adopted—and it may have varied from time to time—the selection of persons as senior chik lei was celebrated by the preparation and presentation of an ornamental tablet described as a (*). This was a red painted wooden board, draped with a red cloth and surmounted by golden flowers or tassels. Black characters on the board gave the name, post and date of the senior chik lei. When the board was ready, it was borne along the street in procession accompanied by Taoist priests or nam mo lo and musicians and fixed", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209885, "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-1983", "page_number": 144, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "122\n\noutbreak of bubonic plague in 1894.22 The reason given by old members for establishing a Fuk Tak Kung(4) is that in his lifetime the god was a noted Chinese medical practitioner, and therefore well suited to become the guardian god of a crowded city district. The shrine may, however, be even older than this. The district was already well established by the 1850s,28 and probably had guardian shrines from the outset.\n\nThe god looked after a specific area of the city. The old 'chops' and wood-block charms that survive from pre-war days carry the name Sai Ying Pun in the title. The boundaries, as given by the leaders active in the mid 1960s, some of whom had been associated with the committee from their earliest years through their fathers and grandfathers' service as managers, centred on the shrine's location at Sheung Fung Lane. However, it is said that, in pre-war years, among the many persons who came regularly to worship at the shrine on the god's birthday on the 18th day of the first lunar month, were people from outside the boundaries and even from Kowloon, so great was the reputation of the shrine. Many of the outside worshippers came in groups known as pao wui.(4)25 It was stressed, too, that this shrine had no connection with the Tai Ping Shan Fuk Tak Kung described below, for that earth god shrine lay in, and the god looked after, a completely separate locality.\n\nThe shrine was tended by a keeper appointed by the managers. When my informants were young, the keeper was an old woman who lived on the premises and died there about 1930, aged over 80. There is a splendid photograph of her still kept in the shrine.\n\nThe body of managers comprises a minimum of 34 persons each year, but has often been around the 40-50 mark. Its duties are solely to do with arranging for chanting by nam mo lo(1) (Taoist priests) at the god's birthday in the first moon and at the Yue Lan or Hungry Ghosts festival in the seventh moon. At the god's birthday, but not at Yue Lan, the religious rituals have always been accompanied by a puppet show (never opera) for the traditional three days and four nights.20 The managers also have the responsibility of arranging for the procession of the god through the district under his protection", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209935, "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-1983", "page_number": 194, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "VARIATION TECHNIQUE IN THE FORMAL STRUCTURE OF THE MUSIC OF TAOIST JIAO-SHI IN HONG KONG\n\nPEN-YEH Tsao\n\nCHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG\n\nTaoism is one of the major indigenous religio-philosophical traditions that have played an important role in the life of Chinese people for more than two thousand years. Organized Taoist religious communities have had at least eighteen hundred years of history since the second century A.D. Among its various sects, the more representative and wide-spread are the Zheng-yi 正一 and Quan-Zheng. The most important Taoist ceremony is the Jiao-shi, a ritual that expresses gratitude to the gods for their blessing and solicits continued peace and prosperity or early termination of and recovery from natural calamities. The holding of Jiao-shi involves a team of dao-shi Taoist priests, who recite, chant, and dance during the various stages of the ritual, accompanied by melodic and percussion instruments. Among the twelve or so types of Jiao-shi, the following four are more often practiced:\n\n \n 1.\n P'ing-an-jiao\n Jiao-shi to pray for continued peace and prosperity, the most frequently held among the four.\n \n \n 2.\n Wen-jiao\n Jiao-shi to pray for the extinction of a plague.\n \n \n 3.\n Q'ing-ch'eng-jiao\n Jiao-shi to celebrate the completion of a construction, such as a temple.\n \n \n 4.\n Huo-jiao\n Jiao-shi to appease the God of Fire after a big fire.\n \n\nA Jiao-shi can be completed in one day, two days, three days, or more; the more common being that of one day (yi-zhao-jiao) and three days (san-zhao-jiao). Generally,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209936, "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-1983", "page_number": 195, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "173\n\nthree sessions are conducted each day during the Jiao-shi period, in the morning, noon, and evening.\n\nAlthough Taoist Jiao-shi is no longer widely practiced in China nowadays, it is still regularly held in the suburban communities of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Organized by the ad hoc \"committee for Jiao-Shi \"whose members are elected from the local community, a team of dao-shi is hired to perform the Jiao-shi. Dao-shi of Hong Kong and Taiwan both claim to be of the Zheng-yi sect.*\n\nThe present discussion concerns itself with the music of Jiao-shi and it intends to illustrate that variation technique is the fundamental means in achieving structural unity and variety in Jiao-shi music. Since examples of transcriptions and analyses in this paper are based on field recordings made at two locations in Hong Kong-Fanling, the New Territories (taped in December, 1980) and Cheung Chau, (taped in May, 1983), findings discussed in this paper will have to be limited to the Jiao-shi music as seen and heard in Hong Kong.*\n\nThe music of Jiao-shi consists of recitation and chanting of canonical texts and the complementary instrumental ensemble. Recitation and chanting can be further divided into the following three types:\n\n1. Recitation delivered in heightened speech tones, non-pitched, and with the accompaniment of mu-yu †.\n\n2. Chanting, pitched but highly narrative and mostly syllabic, delivered with the accompaniment of mu-yu and ging. Pitches used are those do, re, mi, sol, and la. The range is generally small, within an octave.\n\nExample 1.\n\nPage 195\n\nPage 196", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209944, "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-1983", "page_number": 203, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "181\n\nConclusion\n\nThis paper has illustrated how techniques of variation are used as the fundamental means of achieving balance of unity and variety in the formal structure of the music of Jiao-shi in Hong Kong. Variation is particularly important in the instrumental prelude, interlude, and postlude because it provides flexibility in the duration of playing which is very much dependent on the readiness of the Taoists and the spectators to begin or continue sessions of Jiao-shi. The structural basis of Jiao-shi music is that of the unit-pattern, which, as shown in the four excerpts, can be composed either with a single motif or by stringing together several motifs. Techniques of variation applied to those motifs through the use of alteration, addition, and reduction of pitches as well as alteration and diminution of rhythmic details have been discussed. In addition, re-arrangement of the order of appearance of motifs is yet another variation technique. Finally, aspects which are beyond the scope of this paper but of primary importance need to be mentioned. Stylistic differences are evident in the music of Jiao-shi practiced in various localities with varying degrees of complexity in their structure. The music of Taoist Jiao-shi is regionally oriented and reveals close mutual influence with other musical forms of that region. Furthermore, linguistic characteristics of the dialect used during Jiao-shi is another important factor in creating this regionalism.\n\n9", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209945, "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-1983", "page_number": 204, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "182\n\nNOTES\n\n1 For historical developments of Taoism, see Ch'en, 1963; Stein, 1979: 53-82; and for a fuller discussion of Jiao-shi, see Saso, 1972: 32-83, Liu, 1974, and Keuper, 1977: 79-94.\n\n\"They hold Jiao-shi in either Cantonese or Fukien dialects and in general, Cantonese-speaking dao-shi provide Jiao-shi to Cantonese-speaking communities and Fukienese-speaking dao-shi to Fukienese-speaking communities.\n\n* The two dao-shi groups who conducted Jiao-shi at these two locations are among the few practicing Taoist groups in Hong Kong. Dao-shi who performed Jiao-shi in Fanling were Cantonese-speaking and in Cheung-chau, Fukienese-speaking.\n\n4\n\nExact instrumentation varies according to the practice of different regions; for example, Fukienese-speaking Taoist team performing at the Cheung-chau Bun Festival employs an er-hu in addition to the melodic instrument suo-na. Ch'en Guo-fu, 1963, mentions that the instrumentation of Jiao-shi music in the Jiang-nan area is quite similar to that of the Shi-fan-luo-go of that area which consists of the melodic instruments of di, xiao, sheng, er-hu, xian-zi, yun-luo, pi-pa and percussion instruments.\n\n6\n\nIt goes without saying that changes of the pitches in the original pattern will result in rhythmic changes as well; they are viewed nevertheless as pitch-variants. In rhythm-variant, the pitches remain relatively stable while rhythmic details change.\n\n• Based on the examples which I have analysed, it seems that the rhythm-variants are rarely used and even if they are used, they are often accompanied by some kind of pitch-variant (e.g.,).\n\n+\n\nOnly the vocal part is included in the transcription. The er-hu part plays the same melody an octave higher. The percussion instruments of luo and po, played by the Taoist priest himself in this case, repeat the following pattern throughout:\n\nluo ро\n\n33 XX- -X333\n\n*This structure makes it possible for the suo-na players to prolong their playing whenever necessary by repeating the middle part several more times before going on to motif k.\n\n• The similar use of instrumentation and seating arrangement, and melodic and rhythmic motives in Jiao-shi music and regional opera of the same locality are two ready examples. Chen, 1963, describes Taoists performing Kun-ju excerpts during Jiao-shi. See also Note 4.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209946, "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-1983", "page_number": 205, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "References Cited\n\n183\n\nCh'en Kuo-fu\n\n1963 Tao-tsang yüan-lin k'ao. Peking: Chung hua Press.\n\nKeupers, John\n\n1977 \"A Description of the Fa-ch'ang Ritual as Practiced by the Lü Shan Taoists of Northern Taiwan,\" in Michael Saso and David W. Chappel, eds., Buddhist and Taoist Studies (Hawaii: The University Press of Hawaii).\n\nLiu Chih-wan\n\n1974 Chung-kuo min-chien hsin-yang lun-chi. Academia Sinica Special Monograph no. 22. Taipei: Academia Sinica.\n\nSaso, R. Michael\n\n1972 Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal. Pullman: Washington State University Press.\n\nStein, Rolf A.\n\n1979 “Religious Taoism and Popular Religion from the Second to Seventh Centuries\", in Holmes Welch and Anna Seidel, eds., Facets of Taoism: Essays in Chinese Religion (New Haven: Yale University Press).\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n1983 Cheung Chan Bun Festival\n\n長洲一九八三年(癸亥年)建太平清醮\n\nDate: May 16-20, 1983.\n\nPlace: Playground in front of the Bai-di temple\n\nA.\n\nTaoist Team: five Fukienese-speaking dao-shi, with Wei Guo-xin as the head dao-shi; five musicians, also Fukienese-speaking.\n\nMay 16\n\n13:00 Greeting the Gods\n\n20:00 First operatic performance begins on temporary stage adjacent to the Taoist altar.\n\nMay 17\n\n1:00 Beginning of Jiao-shi\n\nResidents of Cheung-chau begin the three-day fast\n\nOperatic performances continue, afternoon and evening shows.\n\nMay 18\n\nOperatic performance continues, two shows per day.\n\n12:00 Offering to the Gods\n\n15:00 Dotting of eye\n\nMay 19\n\n12:00 Vegetarian diet ends.\n\nMay 20\n\n10:00 Divide the Buns\n\n14:00 First day of Procession 第一天會景巡遊\n\nOperatic performance continues, two shows per day.\n\n14:00 Second day of Procession\n\nOperatic performance continues, two shows per day.\n\nFast ends.\n\nMay 21-22 Operatic performance.\n\nBeginning on May 17 and ending on May 22, Jiao-shi were conducted in three sessions each day, generally in the morning, afternoon, and evening.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 209976, "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-1983", "page_number": 235, "title": "RAS-1983", "content_text": "213\n\nA commemorative tablet is to be found in the ruined building, and neither of my elderly informants can recall this period: but during this time it is said that the temple continued to be managed by the Chu family of Tai Hom because of their ownership of the land. The 1887 date given in the Kwun Yam temple door inscription presumably gives the date of this rebuilding.\n\nA change took place in the opening years of this century, when my informants were boys. The clan uncle who was then looking after the Kwun Yam temple found work as a foreman at the Tai Tam Tuk water scheme on Hong Kong island, and handed over its charge to a Taoist monk. This man, described as “a very capable person”, decided to build a second temple, and went to the Nam Pak Hong (Nam Pak Hong) or group of merchants trading overseas from Bonham Strand, then the main business centre of Hong Kong’s Chinese community, to raise funds. He was successful in collecting sufficient money, and the new, or Tung Shan, temple was built in 1904.1 Again, no memorial tablet can be found.\n\nWhen the monk died a few years after the construction of the new temple a further change of management occurred. The clan uncle was still working away from home, and he and the other elders of Tai Hom handed control to another man. This person was not from the same village. He lived in Po Kong (#), one of the older and more important Kowloon villages, settled in the Ming Dynasty or earlier. However, he was a Hakka like the Tai Hom villagers, though he lived in a Punti village.\n\nThe reasons for his acceptability to the Chu clan and to the leaders of the wider community that took an interest in the two temples were stated to me by the Chu elders as follows: “The Kwun Yam temple belonged not just to we Chus, but to the thirteen villages of Kowloon, and Mr. Chan [the new permanent manager’s name] was well-off, elderly and respected by local people”. This demonstrates the progress that the temple had made in the affections of Kowloon people and its growing territorial influence.\n\nThe new manager was born in Kwei-shin (歸善) (now Hui-yang (惠陽)) in 1855. He was a building contractor", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1983.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210065, "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-1984", "page_number": 36, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "15\n\nThe Present-day Temple Oracles\n\nThe temple oracles, described in modern historical writings and still found in contemporary practice in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. can be traced back as far as the Sung dynasty. Yet such a long interval between the milfoil-I Ching oracles of early Chou and the Sung practice does not necessarily mean a historical continuity. But although today the literary links are missing, some scholars have assumed a continuous line of development. J. Needham is very definite when he states that \"The milfoil, ... has descended continuously to the Taoist temples of the present day, where simple folk choose a stick from a box ...\" This method of using sticks is, in Needham's opinion, different from the use of the I Ching symbols, although he admits that, in the latter, milfoil sticks were also used.\n\n14\n\nMore recently a German anthropologist Werner Banck, has focused his attention on the study of temple oracles. A first volume of his work, a large collection of temple oracle texts, was published in 1976.1 (A second volume is promised in which the author will analyse and evaluate the collected source materials). In his foreword to Banck's work, Wolfram Eberhard clearly expresses the belief that there is continuity between the contemporary oracles and the tradition of the I Ching and the Han alternative version, embodied in the T'ai-hsuan ching. W. Banck himself shares this opinion and plans to examine the literary tradition of China for more exact information.\n\nA possible reason why direct evidence is not easily available consists in the very nature of the contemporary temple oracles: they are used by the people in the temples. Two conditions make such a practice possible: the existence of temples and the availability of printing. This double factor only started to materialize toward the T'ang period and therefore it seems plausible to look for the origin of temple oracles in the middle or later T'ang era. Before that time, people who wanted to consult the oracles in private matters, could visit diviners, who did not need temple oracles since they could read the I Ching and similar texts and cast the oracles for their clients.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210066, "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-1984", "page_number": 37, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "16\n\nJULIAN PAS\n\nFrom Sung times on, the blockprint method made the spread of temple oracles much easier. I also believe that once one temple started using the oracles, the practice must have spread as quickly as fire to other temples to attract worshippers and increase temple revenue. Nowadays the great majority of temples in Taiwan have sets of bamboo lots for the use of visitors. Few temples, mostly those of Buddhist affiliation, can afford not to include them in their paraphernalia, and even then many Buddhist temples do make use of them. Taking over a successful practice, however, does not necessarily mean downright imitation. Personal inspiration and possibly competition amongst the temples resulted in an incredible variety of oracle texts. These texts, written by diviners, priests and even poets share the same basic orientation or purpose: to give answers to people in distress or uncertainty. It is believed that when the worshipper shakes the container, the divine influence will make the right answer appear. Besides this one universal characteristic, each set of oracles has its own individual traits, as will be shown below.\n\nThe oldest set of oracles discovered so far probably dates from the Sung dynasty (ca. 1250) and was reprinted in 1958.1 In W. Banck's text edition, oracle no. 78 of that blockprint series has been reproduced; it is interesting to notice that in the interpretation given, the character kua | is used: this immediately links this oracle to the diagrams of the I Ching which are always called kua.\n\nLocal influences, individual tastes and the talents of their creators must have given each series its own particularities. Obviously competition among various shrines must have also influenced the authors. In modern times the rich variety of oracle sets is amazing: in W. Banck's collection 55 different sets are photographically reproduced: 46 sets were collected in Taiwan temples, the remaining ones are from Hong Kong (3), Macao (1), Malaysia (3), Bangkok (1) and even California (1). Besides these, I collected in Taiwan some other sets not included in Banck's collection. One wonders how many more sets were once in use in mainland temples, since the varieties found in Taiwan mostly reflect the situation in Fukien and in a more limited way in Kuangtung.\n\nThe Taotsang, the collection of sacred writings of the Taoists17 has preserved 7 or 8 oracle series, probably derived from other", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210070, "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-1984", "page_number": 41, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "20\n\nJULIAN PAS\n\n1980, I received photocopies of the new additions to the register. The 1976 register lists 107 temples: they are numbered according to their location within the city. By the end of 1980, the number had gone up to 154. The main reason for such a drastic increase was the inclusion of churches. As a matter of fact, the new list with handwritten additions so far contains 21 Christian churches (2 Roman Catholic, 19 Protestant), 1 mosque, one Ta-t'ung and one Tenrikyo shrine (two new religions).\n\nThe Taichung city hall list provides for each temple the following details: district, name of the temple, the main deity worshipped, the religious affiliation, the correct postal address, the person in charge (Kuan-li jen) and the number given by the city. I presume that much more data is contained in the city's files, for I looked at the local file in Kaohsiung and found that many more details regarding temple properties, income, and regular activities are contained in the full register. But the Taichung city hall list is a useful, practical document, making it possible to go and visit the temples for interviews. I visited roughly half of the listed temples myself, while the other half were taken care of by assistants and college students as a field work project. One of the purposes of the visit was to collect samples of their oracles. Each different type of oracle has been given a number, preceded by B: this is the numbering found in W. Banck's text edition, which I adopt here (see Footnote 15). He allotted numbers according to the frequency of the oracles he found: in most cases this frequency coincides with my field work experience, but there are occasional discrepancies.\n\nThe categorization of temples as \"Taoist\" or \"Buddhist” is found in the listings of Taichung City Hall. I have reservations about the category of “Taoist” temples, as the official lists simplify the affiliation of temples: whatever is not a Confucian or Buddhist temple, is said to be a Taoist temple. That is stretching the concept too far; most of these temples are community temples and belong more properly to the folk religion.\n\nThe table shows that at least 85 out of 115 temples make use of temple oracles, which is almost 74%. There are certainly more temples using them, for the group \"not available\" contains a number of temples where we could not obtain samples, because", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210071, "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-1984", "page_number": 42, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "21\n\nTable 1: Registered Temples in Taichung City\n\n(112 temples with 115 oracles)\n\n \n \n B-1\n B-2\n B-6\n B-9\n Not Avail.\n Other\n Total\n \n \n (Confucian)\n \n \n \n \n 1\n \n 1\n \n \n Taoist\n 43\n 15\n \n 11\n \n \n 69\n \n \n Buddhist\n 14\n 6\n 6\n \n 18\n \n 44\n \n \n \n 57\n 21\n 6\n 11\n 19\n 1\n 115\n \n\noccasionally the temple management was unwilling to oblige. The other \"not available\" temples are the ones where no oracles are being used: six are of Buddhist affiliation; two are folk religion temples, but closely related to the state cult, and therefore, as in the case of the Confucius temple, no oracles are used; one is an earth-spirit shrine, (T’u-ti-kung miao) not using any oracles; in ten Buddhist temples no oracle samples could be obtained, because the personnel were unwilling to give them out; two other temples were not visited: one was a Buddhist monastery; the other, an earth-spirit shrine which do not always carry oracles.\n\nFinally two temples presumably have B-2 oracles, but are not included in the results. Five temples, one Buddhist and four Taoist, had been moved to other locations, mostly because of urbanization but sometimes because a larger building was needed and the original site was not spacious enough.\n\nThe above Table 1 clearly indicates that the temples in Taichung show very little diversity: among the 85 temples where oracles were found, 67% use the B-1 type (“Matsu\" oracle); 24.7% use the B-2 type (\"Kuan Ti\" oracle), while only 7%, all of Buddhist affiliation, use the B-6 type (\"Kuan Yin\" oracle). The only other type is unique in the city: the B-9 type. It is a variety of oracles found in temples dedicated to the legendary deified doctor, Pao-sheng Ta-ti; other varieties of this god's oracles were spotted out-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210072, "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-1984", "page_number": 43, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "22\n\nJULIAN PAS\n\nside Taichung, especially in Tainan City.\n\nThe majority of temples using the B-1 oracle (Matsu) are not dedicated to the goddess Matsu, but to a variety of gods and goddesses of the popular cult. In most cases Matsu has her image in these temples as well, but many deities do not have a particular set of their own and borrow the most commonly used one. Most of these oracle slips are printed in Taichung by a local printing shop, which also publishes the Matsu, Kuan Ti and Kuan Yin oracles in booklet form. (See Appendix I and bibliography).\n\nBesides the above listed temples, duly registered in the city hall of Taichung, I discovered during my marathon walks crisscross through the city, a considerable number of smaller temples, often essentially private family shrines to which the public are allowed access, which also contain temple oracles for the use of worshippers. These temples are not found in the City Hall list since the owners do not wish government interference in their operations. Moreover, there is no strict rule that these semi-private shrines have to be registered. It is also possible that these smaller shrines do not fully satisfy some of the conditions outlined by the government.\n\nTable 2: Non-registered temples or shrines in Taichung City (36 temples: 37 oracles)\n\n \n \n B-1\n B-2\n B-6\n B-43\n Not Avail.\n Total\n \n \n Taoist\n 26\n 6\n 1\n \n 1\n 28\n \n \n Buddhist\n 7\n \n \n 1\n \n 7\n \n \n \n 1\n \n \n \n 1\n \n \n \n Total\n 34\n 3\n \n \n 37\n \n \n\nThe grand total of Tables 1 and 2 combined are as follows:\n\nTable 3: Registered and Non-registered Temples in Taichung City\n\n \n \n B-1\n B-2\n B-6\n B-9\n B-43\n Other\n Not Avail.\n Total\n \n \n Confucian\n \n \n \n \n \n 1\n \n 1\n \n \n Taoist\n 69\n 21\n 1\n \n 1\n 11\n 1\n 104\n \n \n Buddhist\n 16\n 7\n \n 6\n \n 18\n \n 47\n \n \n \n 85\n 28\n 7\n 1\n 1\n 0\n 30\n 152", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210073, "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-1984", "page_number": 44, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "23\n\nIn this 2nd table all temples have oracles since I left out the very few cases of a non-registered temple where no oracles are being used. Moreover, it appears that almost no Buddhist shrines omit official registration: therefore I found only three shrines of Buddhist affiliation in this category.\n\nThe relative frequency of the oracles in Taichung City is that the 60-slip Matsu oracle (B-1) is used three times as much as the runner up: B-2: 85 vs 28; on the other hand, B-2 is used three times as often as all the remaining ones combined: 28 vs 9. There is, of course, no guarantee that the city of Taichung is representative of Taiwan as a whole. To determine the relative spread of the temple oracles in the whole of Taiwan would be an enormous task, even if only representative samples were taken in each area. My own field work was not done systematically enough in this regard but I shall indicate the results for what they are worth: I collected 207 oracle samples from 195 temples around the island. The selection was rather casual, only on five occasions did I visit a temple mainly to collect their oracle set, (after I had found the information in Banck's publication); this was the case for B-6, -17, -24, -32, and -40; all the other ones I discovered myself.\n\nTable 4: Temples in Taiwan, not including Taichung City (195 temples with 207 oracle sets)\n\n \n \n B-1\n B-2\n B-3\n B-4\n B-6\n B-7\n B-8\n B-9\n Other-B\n Not in B\n Total\n \n \n Confucian\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Taoist\n 89\n 50\n 8\n \n 12\n \n 3\n \n 2\n \n 101\n \n \n Buddhist\n 53\n 8\n \n 3\n 1\n \n \n \n 1\n \n 53\n \n \n \n 3\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 3\n \n \n \n 6\n 6\n 3\n \n 1\n \n 1\n \n \n \n 21\n \n \n \n 5\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 5\n \n \n \n 187\n I\n 2\n 19\n 3\n 23\n 6\n \n 207\n \n \n \n\nThe overall picture of Taiwan oracles shows that B-1 and B-2 still carry the great majority: B-1 reaches almost 50%, B-2 ca. 25% with no other serious contenders competing. However, a great diversity can be noticed; many more different sets are to be found than in Taichung City, even if many sets are only found in one temple (B-5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 31, 32, 34, 40, 43, 44,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210074, "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-1984", "page_number": 45, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "24\n\nJULIAN PAS\n\n46, and 54) or in two temples (B-12, 38 and 55). In a few older cities or towns one finds the richest variety:\n\nTainan: Taipei: Lukang:\n\n5 different sets (cp. Banck, who has 9) 8 different sets (cp. Banck: 12)\n\n3 different sets (cp. Banck 6)\n\nIn Banck's collection are also included the Pescadores (P'eng-hu) islands: he has 6 sets from there, whereas I did not collect there at all. The great variety in older centres of immigrant settlements indicates that those sets were very likely brought to Taiwan from different \"mother-temples” (tsung-miao) in the mainland; whereas in later times newly constructed temples took over the more popular sets available in Taiwan itself. In Taiwan, the more popular a cult, the larger the number of “daughter-temples” (fen-miao) it produced: that would explain the popularity of B-1 and B-2.\n\nTo summarize my findings, I'd like to combine the data shown in tables 3 and 4 and then conclude with some final considerations:\n\nTable 5: Joint Survey of Temple Oracles in Taiwan\n\n \n B-I\n 2\n 3\n 4\n 6\n 7\n 8\n 9\n Other B\n Not in B\n Not Avail.\n Total\n \n \n Confucian\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 1\n \n \n Taoist\n 1\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 1\n \n \n Buddhist\n \n 2\n \n 6\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2\n \n \n \n 158\n 71\n 8\n 2\n 1\n 3\n 6\n 4\n 22\n \n 28.10\n \n \n \n 5\n 11\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 291\n \n \n \n 1\n 2\n \n 18\n \n 18\n \n \n \n \n \n 18\n \n \n \n 186\n 81\n 8\n 2\n 7\n 3\n 6\n 4\n 24\n \n \n \n \n \n 6\n 30\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 357\n \n\nOne important remark concerns the representative value of this survey: in my view, the sample taken cannot be considered to have general validity, except with regard to table 1 (and perhaps tables 2 and 3). A more detailed and carefully prepared research would produce a more accurate knowledge of the spread of the oracles. Taiwan nowadays counts between 4,000 to 5,000 registered temples, and a large number of non-registered shrines. Among the latter group are literally thousands of T’u-ti-kung shrines, sometimes small roadside chapels or altar-like structures, which have no oracle sets available.\n\nPage 45\n\nPage 46", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210286, "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-1984", "page_number": 257, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "236\n\nCHOI CHI CHEUNG\n\ntwelve to fifteen priests but according to a committee member, because of economic reasons, they decreased the number of the priests. They started to have a nun join the team since 1981. However, she makes no difference for the common worshippers. There was no special interaction between the common worshippers and the priests. Even in the rituals relating to the Ming-che, no one except the Japanese wife of a \"Newly Dead\" invited the Japanese priest to chant before the Ming-che. In place of priests, the Temple keeper (Chu-tzi), a Chinese man from Shantou (Swatow) was employed by the families of the 'Newly Dead' to chant before each Ming-che. The purpose of this ritual was to inform the 'Newly Dead' that the family will send (burn) a paper-made house (Ming-che) to the underworld and now they are going to send the \"Contract\" of the house, and with the 'Contract' the 'Newly Dead' can get the house after it has been sent.\" The Japanese priests who performed all the official rituals were respected by the common worshippers who kept their distance from them.\n\n24\n\nThe common worshippers came from various parts of Japan. Most of the informants claimed that there were no limitations, anybody could come to worship. There was no data referring to the origins and residential places of the worshippers. However, at least one man, a Hokkienese who is son-in-law of the chairman of the festival, came from Gunma Prefecture; several families came from Yokohama; a group of Hokkienese came from Shikoku (they came to worship a ‘Newly Dead' who helped them immigrate to Japan a few years ago); 2 related families came from Himeji; 3 from Osaka (2 are Hokkienese, the 3rd one immigrated to Japan in 1981, he was a Taoist from Peking); and one Hokkienese came from Kyoto (he was in charge of the Chinese Ghost Festival at Uji, Kyoto). As shown in table 2, the number of participants contributing 1000 yen or more numbered 708,\n\nHowever, if the tablets of the ancestors are taken as substitutes for family participation the number of the families involved should be more than the figure shown. Though the family segments into several economically and residentially separated households, the households always worship under the same ancestor-tablet as a religious family.\" One informant (a 32 yr. old Cantonese) told me that he had 7 siblings, the eldest died during the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210289, "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-1984", "page_number": 260, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "239\n\nseveral employed Japanese workers.\" The committee members were chosen from the Hokkienese Association. It is said that the head of the Association represents all the Chinese (in Japan) by 'leading' them in the festival.2\n\n28\n\nThe role of the Hokkienese is significant. It is said that only the Hokkienese represent and lead all the Chinese to serve the gods and to offer to the ghosts. The name list presented to Heaven had only the names of the Hokkienese, and the three representative worshippers of the daily rituals were all Hokkienese; moreover, only the Hokkienese attended the Lantern Floating ritual.\n\nIV. The Objects of Worship\n\nAccording to the committee members, the festival has no relationship with the gods of the temple. The reason it took place there was because there was space there. However, during the night rituals and the prayers for reincarnation the priests had to walk through the whole festival area and the chief priest had to bow to every altar and statue including those in the main temple. The purification ritual also included the main temple. On the last day, the committee thanked the gods of the temple with a half-cooked pig (Pai-chuu 白豬), raw meat, fish, and 10 bowls of vegetarian food. Moreover, during the festival, worshippers never forgot to present incense sticks to the temple gods, and the committee offered five cups of tea, five cups of wine and ten bowls of vegetarian food to the temple gods twice a day. The same treatment was given to the Japanese Earthgod (Chizo 地蔵). Although every statue, Chinese or Japanese, Buddhist or Taoist, within the festival area was not regarded as related to the festival they were treated equally by the worshippers and the committee members alike.\n\nThere were thirteen Ming-ches for the 'Newly Dead and a Cho (written as \"Ancestral Hall of the Chinese in Japan”#12 29 for the ancestor tablets of the families who donated money, in the Ming-che area. There were a total of 266 tablets. The tablets in the \"Ancestral Hall\" were different from the Ming-che which is for the 'Newly Dead', and included the ancestors of all generations of the family. Every Ming-che had a photo and a board with the surname of the dead.30 Plenty of paper money was", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210290, "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-1984", "page_number": 261, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "240\n\nCHOI CHI CHEUNG\n\nburnt and vegetarian food was offered by many worshippers there.\n\nAt the entrance of the Tao Ch'ang, 4 notices stated: \"The water and land cross-over is at this Tao Ch'ang ()\" separating the Tao Ch'ang area from the other areas. Within the area, there were 39 worshipping objects. There were three distinct areas to the Tao Ch'ang: i) On one side of the entrance, there were the territorial gods of the human world, and, on the other side of the entrance, there was a god who holds the key to the door between earth and hell (two of his runners were with him). ii) In the main hall, there were tablets of different spirits who were supposed to come from the ten courts of the underworld, and tablets of the Taoist Saints. Two Generals were put in the centre of the hall to watch over the spirits. iii) At the back of the area, was the altar (or Hoza in Japanese) where the priests practised their rituals under the images of the 3 Buddhas and the Goddess of Mercy. Compared with the typical Buddhist arrangement for rituals for appeasing the dead, the Tao Ch'ang area of the Kobe Chinese 'Yue Lan' was more inclusive and closer to Chinese folk tradition, though the priests were all Buddhists.\n\n32\n\nThere were 7 types of objects worshipped (Table in the Appendix):\n\ni) Those represented by incense bowls and offerings only.\n\nii) Paper-made figures.\n\niii) Paper-made lanterns.\n\niv) Porcelain statues.\n\nv) Paper-made houses.\n\nvi) Paper-made tablets.\n\nvii) Paintings.\n\nNot all worshippers knew the names and roles of all the objects worshipped. During the festival, worshippers presented incense sticks to all the objects of worship in the festival area. However, besides the Ming-che and the \"Ancestral Hall\", the two runners attracted the most attention from the worshippers. Worshippers bribed them with bundles of paper money. One Cantonese lady of about 75 years old explained that by doing so, it was hoped that the runners \"would take care of our ancestors whose spirits are com-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210292, "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-1984", "page_number": 263, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "242\n\nCHOI CHI CHEUNG\n\nnese News (MA###); reports about the Ghost Festival in Kobe no longer emphasised the role of the Hokkienese. Thus, the secondary identification (identity of being a Chinese and/or of being a resident in Kobe) instead of the primary identification (identity of blood relation and/or of origins) became the central idea of the Festival. Thus the Festival is more inclusive now.\" The Festival, though including all elements of the secular world as well as the sacred world, stressed only ancestor-worship because only ancestor worship supercedes the boundaries of all social groupings and categories, eases the tension of group competition among the Chinese, and connects all social groupings and categories into one worshipping group which is based primarily on the relationship of the worshippers with Kobe, and secondarily on their territorial identity as Chinese.\n\nNOTES:\n\nThe original meaning of 'Yue Lan' is \"hanging upside down” (of the hungry ghost in Hell). However, during the festival, participants used terms like: Obon (Mah, Japanese term for the festival), Chung Yuan (†, middle of the year, which is a term mainly used by the taoists for the same event), and/or Kuai Chie (m, ghost festival). Some Cantonese even called it a Chiao (M) (simply meaning a festival dedicated to the Gods). Moreover, the documents used during the festival spoke of it as 'Pu Tu' (#), meaning general offering and place where spirits can cross over to this world, e.g. the papers that hung over the entrance of the Tao Ch'ang (entrance A) wrote \"The water and earth Pu Tu is held in this Tao Ch'ang' (*), at the entrance B, it was written 'the Great Occasion of Pu Tu' (E), the invitation card wrote \"the great meeting of Pu Tu' (#★#), and the same term was also used in the P'ang.\n\n1 See Kobe Kakyou Ho (#), no. 71, 1976.3.10. In 1974, there were 46944 Chinese in Japan. 8585 of them lived in Hyogo Prefecture of which 7071 were concentrated in Kobe city. The distribution of the origins of the Chinese in Hyogo Prefecture was as follow: Taiwan (41%), Cantonese (21%), Hokkien (11%), Kiangsu (11%), Shantong (5%), Chekiang (4%), others (7%).\n\nSee plan at the Appendix to this paper, and Plate 15.\n\nPlate 16.\n\n3 Plates 17, 18, 19.\n\n6\n\nSometimes informants called the paper-made houses \"Cho' () without distinguishing between the house for the 'Newly Dead', and that for the gods. Here, Ming-che is used for the house of the \"Newly Dead', and Cho for that of the gods.\n\n7 Plate 20.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210293, "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-1984", "page_number": 264, "title": "RAS-1984", "content_text": "243\n\nThe content of the invitation card is: \"The overseas Chinese in Japan will hold a 3-days-4-nights Pu Tu, for the sake of establishing luck by offering and helping all the imprisoned spirits of the water and the earth. The meeting will take place at the Kwan T'i Temple in Kobe city. Please come to the \"Tan\" (altar) to present incense sticks during the 14th, 15th, and 16th of the 7th moon. (1st, 2nd and 3rd of September 1982).” The card was red in colour.\n\n9\n\nThe 13th day and the 17th day of the 7th moon were not mentioned in the invitation card.\n\n10 The Lantern Floating ritual in Japanese is \"To Ro Nagashi', which means to float lanterns(s) (to the sea). During the Japanese Obon, lanterns are sent off on the last day of the festival. Through this, the ghosts and the ancestors are all sent back. During the Kobe festival, the ritual, according to the committee members, was to send off the \"wandering ghosts or those who are not worshipped by anyone (= Mu Zhi Kuai)\". However it seems confusing because after the floating ritual, they continued to give offering to the hungry ghosts as well as to the ancestors for two more nights, and the tablets of the wandering spirits were still inside the Tao Ch'ang. A similar ritual practised in Hong Kong during the Chiao festival is called 'Fong Shui Dang' (t, sending off the water lanterns), which is parallel with the 'Fong Luk Dang\" (PW10, put on the street lights) ritual. The rituals are to invite all the water and earth spirits to attend the offering during the Pu Tu or 'Sai Tai Yau* (*9A, to worship the numerous spirits) of the Chiao festival). The prayer book the Obaku Buddhists used for their morning and night rituals is \"Obaku Zenlin Choobo Kashoo\" (R). The priests called this daily work \"Zenlin Kashoo\" (M).\n\nSee below.\n\n12\n\nPlate 21.\n\n13\n\nPlates 22, 23.\n\n14 The \"Pang' was a book-form name-list in yellow. It had 8 pages with an introduction explaining the reason for holding a Pu Tu. (The introduction is printed in the Appendix).\n\n15 See the introduction to the Pang printed in the Appendix.\n\n16 The beach is at the western end of the Prefecture.\n\n17 Plate 24.\n\n18\n\nSee footnote 10.\n\n19\n\n20\n\nPlate 25.\n\nThe book used for the ritual was \"Yoga Enkoo Kahan\" (1⁄2μÅμ) which is similar to that used in Hong Kong during the 'Sai Tai Yau' ritual. According to an old taoist in Hong Kong, Mr. Lam Pui ( ), the gesture is called \"Poh Yuk” (Z, to break Hell), and through this the ghosts are released and able to come for reincarnation and cross over.\n\n21 Plates 26, 27, 28.\n\n22\n\nNo meat was allowed in the festival area. However, meat was presented at the Ming-che VII. One informant explained that it was because the dead like meat, and one committee member sighed and told me that \"We have no way, because they are from the other Provinces (of China) (##A)\".\n\n20 The sect started from Monk Yin Yuan (C) of Fu-ch'in (Mili), Hokkien. He was invited by the General of the Tokugawa Bankufu (UK) in 1654, In the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1984.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210413, "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-1985", "page_number": 20, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "TAN TSE TAO: A CONTEMPORARY CHINESE FAITH-HEALING SECT IN HONG KONG*\n\nI. Introduction\n\nBARTHOLOMEW P. M. TSUI\n\nIt should not be surprising, given the laissez-faire attitudes of Hong Kong, to find a frequent occurrence of religious sects which can only be described as out of the ordinary. There are, for example, societies for women who live together and perform Buddhist chants and are bound by rules which make them neither laywomen nor nuns, or Taoist groups which centre their activities around fu-chi (planchette), groups which centre on morning and evening devotions in which the Buddhist prajñā-pāramitā hrđaya sūtra (the hsin ching) and the Confucian canon of filial piety (hsiao ching) are chanted, and groups interested in the primary worship of Lü Tsu, or, again, sects whose beliefs and practices show individualistic combinations of the traditional Three Teachings (san-chiao) and worship of deities of popular religion. Yet, Tan Tse Tao, a contemporary Chinese faith-healing sect which I am about to describe, is extraordinary even among this unusual group. Its origin is attributed entirely to the unusual events surrounding its founder, originally a thoroughly Western-educated Protestant. The foundation of the sect is based entirely on a fresh revelation given to the founder by a god (God, for there is only one God according to Tan Tse Tao) whose personal name has never been used in earlier history. And yet the adherents of Tan Tse Tao claim that its teachings correspond to many traditional concepts in Chinese philosophy, concepts vital to philosophic Taoism. Its faith-healing activity is surprisingly similar to the early Taoist religion of the Heavenly Master's sect of the Han Dynasty, and yet there is little evidence that the founder was aware of the resemblance until well after the establishment of the sect. The sect is noted for its worship of only one god and for the avoidance of crude symbolism in worship. These characteristics lift Tan Tse Tao out of the ordinary.\n\n*Plates 1 and 2.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210421, "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-1985", "page_number": 28, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "religious thought never progressed beyond his initial experiential phase.\n\nV. Morality\n\nPatriarch Lo allocated a lot of space to the discussion of morality. In both T'ai-hsüan's Discourse on the Truth and T'ai-hsüan's Discourse of Various Topics he listed twenty-six virtues that one should develop and twenty-five vices that one should avoid. They are all concerned with social relationships. In fact, they are hardly distinguishable from Confucian morality. Even the same terms like jen (仁), i (義), hsiao (孝), chung (忠), hsin (信) and others are used. The slight bit of difference comes only in his discussion of internal and external virtues. (Midiya) 35 \"The internal aspect of virtue is called Simplicity (素) or Truth (真); the external aspect is called Benevolence (仁) or Righteousness (義).\" I believe this is an attempt to harmonize Taoist concepts with Confucian ones.\n\nThe Patriarch thought that social morality is continuous with cultivation. Virtue in its ultimate effect is indistinguishable from the goal of cultivation. In answer to the question about the highest virtue (德) he says, \"The highest virtue is to preserve the Truth and to bring human nature to its completion so that one is in harmony with heaven and earth; and to save the world and give assistance to the people so that one attains the virtue which enables one to be in communication with the gods.\" 36\n\nIV. Religious Institutions and Practices\n\nTan Tse Tao is not only a body of abstract religious thought. It is also a community of believers, and a community must have a boundary which separates it from the larger family of human beings. The institutions which make up this boundary are few but they do provide a distinct identity.\n\nFirst, the community is governed hierarchically. At the top of this hierarchy was Patriarch Lo. Below him were four Elders of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210423, "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-1985", "page_number": 30, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "11\n\nand thrifty. 2. Be trustworthy and loyal. 3. Know yourself. 4. Be self-controlled. 5. Be content and know your limits. 6. Be careful of your words and be watchful when alone. 7. Be filial to your parents. 8. Respect your elder brother. 9. Be friendly with your neighbour. 10. Love your own people.\n\nAlthough nominally a Taoist sect, Tan Tse Tao does not make use of any Taoist scripture or any other traditional scripture for that matter. The Patriarch's two books, T'ai-hsüan's Discourse on Truth and T'ai-hsüan's Discourse on Various Topics, are distributed to believers and function as a kind of scripture.\n\nV. Method of Healing\n\nThe method of healing in Tan Tse Tao is one of the most striking things about this sect. It employs absolutely no medicine, not even placebos, acupuncture, surgery, hypnotism, massage or breath-cultivation (chi-kung). Externally, the healer uses certain hand and eye gestures. Occasionally, he uses a talisman (fu-lu). Internally, the healer must have a deep devotion to the Supreme Deity. He employs his original breath and original spirit. Among his paraphernalia are the treasure sword, the gourd for imprisoning the demon, the fly-whisk and the five thunder palm. None of these are actual objects but are only imaginary within the healer's mind.\n\n39\n\n40\n\nWhat is amazing is that there is no physical contact between the healer and the patient. Indeed, healing can take place at a distance, with the patient at another room or in a house a hundred yards away. Healing can take place with several patients at the same time. There is no limit to the kind of physical ailments cured. All kinds of diseases are cured, including those declared incurable by Western medical doctors.\n\nDuring the cure, the patient can sometimes feel power surging in his limbs or heat in certain parts of the body. Sometimes the body vibrates on its own accord or the patient uncontrollably bends forwards and backwards. A lame person may straighten up and walk away.\n\nPage 30\nPage 31", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210425, "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-1985", "page_number": 32, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "13\n\nMaster Sect of Chang Tao-lin. All these sects claim to have received a special revelation. They all teach that disease is caused by sin and/or demons. Healing must go hand-in-hand with repentance. They all decline the use of medicine but resort to prayer and exorcism. They are all organized into religious sects. Do these similarities among healing sects speak for a type of religious expression? Perhaps, underneath the conscious mind, all men have something in common which, when manifested externally, is constituted along similar lines.\n\nThe second reflection to which I would like to draw attention concerns the association of Tan Tse Tao with Taoism. As can be seen from the history of the Supreme Deity's revelation and the teaching as recorded in Lo's important writings, there is little hint that Tan Tse Tao is a form of Taoism. Yet in its later development, Tan Tse Tao was considered as such by the Patriarch and his disciples. It is in fact at present a member of the Hong Kong Taoist Association. It is not too clear how this could have occurred. Perhaps Patriarch Lo felt that the ineffable quality of the Supreme Deity is the same as the \"Tao\" discussed by Lao Tzu, and that the quiet-sitting is similar to Chuang Tzu's \"sitting in forgetfulness.” Or perhaps he found an identity in the terminology used in his own religion and that of Taoism. Or perhaps the association with Taoism is simply revealed.42 Whatever the reason for the association, it must have provided a strong support by reason of Taoism's reputation as the most ancient native Chinese religion. This association is a parallel to the association of the Heavenly Master's sect with Lao Tzu. Scholars with Confucian sympathies have invariably ridiculed the association of the Han Dynasty faith-healing sect with Lao Tzu. In their minds the faith-healers have simply twisted the meaning of Lao Tzu to fit their own purpose. The association of Tan Tse Tao with Lao Tzu should make us think again. Perhaps the association is not as arbitrary as Confucian scholars make it out to be. Perhaps Maspero's conjecture of a religious base to Lao Tzu is still a live issue.43\n\nThe last notable character about Tan Tse Tao is its exclusive veneration of the Supreme Deity. This practice is unprecedented in Chinese cults. Writers have often drawn attention to the fact", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210426, "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-1985", "page_number": 33, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "14\n\nBARTHOLOMEW P.M. TSUI\n\nthat the spirit world is just an exact copy of the administrative world in Chinese popular religion or in Taoism, and worshippers carry on transactions with the gods just as they would have dealt with bureaucrats. Their offerings to the various gods are just like bribes to officials. In contrast to this, the veneration of the Supreme Deity is of a different nature. The praise of the deity and the acknowledgement of his greatness are the predominant sentiments. The only offerings made are one stick of incense and some flowers. No other gods are venerated. The holy shrine contains no images of any gods, thus giving an impression of austere reverence and an attempt to root out extravagant expressions which might be taken to indicate something superstitious. The exclusive veneration of the Supreme Deity follows logically from the history and teaching of the sect, but outside observers cannot help speculating just how much this is due to Patriarch Lo's early Protestant background.\n\nOut of deference to the founder who has transliterated (Tien Chi Tao) as Tan Tse Tao, the latter title will be retained in this paper. Source material for this paper consists of the books FBIEZ, which contains Patriarch Lo's most important writings, the 太玄真言 and the 太玄漫言, 天昏道神靈治療釋義 and interviews with Mr. Alfred Lo, son of the founder and an Elder of the sect and Mr. Law Ping Chi (MM), current Person-in-Charge (E) of the sect. Responsibility for the accuracy of this paper is entirely mine.\n\n2 The title 尊師 (tsung-shih) has been used to address the founder, whose Taoist sobriquet (道號) is T'ai-hsüan (太玄).\n\n3 was later changed to 孫, in memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China. In fact, the Lo family is related to the Sun family.\n\n4 Among these, the 少林拳, reputed to have originated from Bodhidharma and the Shao-lin (†) school. This account is taken from ZE › XL.\n\n6 September 15, 1935, when Lo was forty-one years old.\n\n7 經嘯。廣州東平路萬芳園內。\n\n9 • Another account placed the second attempt at exercise on the following day. XILE · 1-This account also records that these events happened in the presence of family members who thought he was going crazy.\n\n10 Is \"the burning of incense\" a matter of style of the Chinese language? It is inconceivable for Christians at that period to keep incense. None of my informants could answer this question satisfactorily.\n\n11 The interpretation of this is that God uses Lo's own hand and words to convey His displeasure over Lo's unbelief.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210428, "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-1985", "page_number": 35, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "16\n\n35 太玄漫言 ch. 13.\n\n36 Ibid.\n\n•\n\nBARTHOLOMEW P.M. TSUI\n\n37 宗師,道長,法師,鍊師,謰道,高級弟子,初級弟子。\n\n38 However, in actual practice, almost anybody with a good character can come forward to the altar to venerate the Deity.\n\n39 It has been explained to me that the talisman is not at all essential, but is occasionally used to help the patient into thinking that a certain action is being performed on him.\n\n40 An attempt has been made by a healer in Hong Kong to heal a patient half way round the world in U.S. It is not clear to me whether the attempt was successful or not.\n\n41 These are the most commonly used objects in the worship of gods of the popular religion.\n\n42 The Supreme Deity is known to have revealed himself in the guise of a Taoist gentleman to Patriarch Lo and numerous disciples.\n\n43 See, for example, his \"Historical Notes on the Origins and Development of the Taoist Religion up to the Han Period” in Taoism and Chinese Religion, tr. Frank A. Kierman, Jr., Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981, pp. 413-430.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210466, "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-1985", "page_number": 73, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "54\n\nBARBARA E. WARD\n\nwould engage a Taoist priest to come down to his junk and perform a ceremony known as Changing the Gods (woon shan). This, which involved spilling the blood of a domestic fowl, was believed to provide cleansing from pollution and open the way for good fortune.\n\nThe annual ritual cycle began with the New Year and proceeded almost immediately to the public festival for the 'birthday' of the local tutelary deity, Hung Shing Kung, on the 13th day of the 2nd lunar month. These two occasions were the ritual highlights of the year. Quickly in their wake came Ch'ing Ming, fixed by the Chinese solar calendar at a date corresponding with April 6th and falling therefore usually in the third lunar month. This was one of the two special occasions for the commemoration of a family's departed members. The third month saw also the festival to T'in Hau, the so-called Queen of Heaven, protectress of all seamen, celebrated biennially with Chinese opera at the neighbouring village of Lung Shuen Wan and annually in a large number of other places in the Colony.\n\nIn the fourth month there was a festival at the temple of T'am Kung in Shaukiwan to which a few Kau Sai people sometimes went to watch the plays, and on the fifth day of the fifth month the Dragon Boat festival. Kau Sai had once had a Dragon Boat of its own which, I was told, on one memorable occasion even came in first in the 'regatta' held in those days at Aberdeen and attended by H.E. the Governor. But that was back in the 'twenties. Later, Kau Sai people merely looked on at the Dragon Boat races held elsewhere, or sometimes 'fielded' a scratch 'team' for the fun of the thing at Sai Kung. All boat families also made offerings at the temple on the Double Fifth which was also widely used as a kind of dividing mark in the calendar: hired crew, for example, were usually engaged or laid off at New Year and the Dragon Boat festival.\n\nIn the sixth lunar month was held the festival for Koon Yam, 'Goddess of Mercy', observed in all her many temples but attended particularly by Kau Sai residents at the village of Pak Sha Wan, near Sai Kung. (The fact that this village was also the site of that Kau Sai New Village to which the landsmen were", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210535, "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-1985", "page_number": 142, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "123\n\nof the Chinese and Roman religious systems.\n\n18\n\nAt the outset, it should be remarked that there are important differences between the two systems, and that these differences should not be minimized. There is, for example, no set of canonical books in Roman religion akin to those associated with the name of Confucius, nor did the masses of the Roman Empire superimpose the structure of their government upon the celestial pantheon as their Chinese counterparts have done. Nevertheless, there are many important structural similarities. Both have an official religion, consisting in each case of a select circle of functional deities for whom minutely regulated sacrifices are conducted by an equally small circle of officiants, and from whose activities the population at large is excluded. Alongside, there exists in both societies a publicly sanctioned domestic religion, whose centerpiece is the maintenance of the dead, but which contains additional elements such as the guardians of the hearth and household. Finally, there is the large and amorphous category of popular religion, which at times encroaches upon the spheres of the official and domestic cults. It is here that one encounters demonology, witchcraft, and shamanism; it is here that some of the exclusivist official cults find rivals with mass appeal, such as the corn-goddess Ceres in her plebeian guise, and the Taoist worship of the tutelary gods of walls and moats. It is here as well that one comes into contact with the intrusive foreign sects, such as Christianity and Buddhism, who assured themselves of large followings by holding out the promise of salvation, but whose threat to the existing social order ended in persecution.20 Given these similarities, an exchange of views and concerns between ancient historians and sinologues would appear highly desirable, for it has the potential to break new ground in both fields. Indeed, from the point of view of the classical historian, China offers the inestimable advantage of a religious system with an unbroken history stretching back more than two millennia that remains vital to this day, so that it may be approached from an anthropological as well as historical perspective. It is unfortunate in this respect that virtually all of the field work carried out in the last 35 years has been restricted to Taiwan and the New Territories of Hong Kong, which are well-removed from the centres of Chinese culture. This limits our", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210540, "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-1985", "page_number": 147, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "128\n\n'JOHN KARL EVANS\n\ndescends to the underworld, where a series of terrible punishments depicted on the scrolls that Taoist priests bring to funerals awaits the person adjudged guilty of such serious crimes as murder, theft, and unfilial behavior; a second takes up permanent residence in the ancestral tablet, and a third at the grave.35 In her recent field work in the Taiwanese village of Ch'i-nan, Emily Ahern discovered much the same thing, which reminds us that, at least in Taiwan and the New Territories, the ancient beliefs persist even in the face of rapid industrialization and contact with the outside world.\"\n\nUnlike the Romans, the Chinese rarely deify the spirits of their deceased; nevertheless, the latter demand and receive the same attention as their Roman counterparts. The details of the funerary ceremony vary, of course, from one locality to the next, but what occurs in Ch'i-nan may be taken as representative, particularly with regard to the vision of the afterlife that supports the entire ritual. Here, as elsewhere, the living initially intercede for the dead on the evening of the funeral itself, at an elaborate Taoist ceremony called the kung-te. In the course of this ritual, the earth god t'u-ti-kung is bribed to assist the deceased across the treacherous bridge leading to the underworld, and the drama closes with the burning of a great pile of mock paper money, which the soul needs to purchase food and protection. Seven days later, a prolonged transition period begins with the first in a series of seven offerings, spaced at weekly intervals. These consist in part of food, but also include paper replicas of an imposing array of luxuries and necessities, ranging from a house, car, and servants to televisions, an electric rice pot, and lawn furniture. Somewhere during these 49 days, at the moment which a professional geomancer deems most propitious, the new spirit is formally installed in this otherworldly domain. The transition period comes to a formal conclusion when the paper house and the other amenities are finally consigned to the flames and thereby transferred to the underworld.38\n\nThe sole purpose of this elaborate ceremonial is to ensure the comfort and well-being of the deceased, and it is obvious that this takes a purely materialistic form. It naturally follows, therefore, that additional offerings of paper money and food will", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210558, "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-1985", "page_number": 165, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "146\n\nJOHN KARL EVANS\n\noutset that, “since our sources are so limited, I have used evidence from earlier or later periods where it seems reasonable to suppose that the thoughts or ceremonies which they report were also typical of the Augustan age” (p. 1).\n\n12 A survey of the more than 100 titles in the Etudes préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Empire romain (see n. 6 above) will convince the reader of this point. I cite L. Zotović, Les cultes orientaux sur le territoire de la Mésie Supérieure (Leiden, 1966); and M. Tacheva-Hitova, Eastern Cults in Moesia Inferior and Thracia (5th Century BC — 4th Century AD) (Leiden, 1983), merely as representative of this tendency.\n\n13 A.D. Nock, Conversion. The Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo (Oxford, 1933). One should also mention in this context the classic work of T.R. Glover, The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire (London, 1909).\n\n14 de Groot (1892-1910); and The Religion of the Chinese (New York, 1910); M. Granet, The Religion of the Chinese People, trans. M. Freedman (Oxford, 1975); and C.K. Yang, Religion in Chinese Society: a Study of Contemporary Social Functions of Religion and Some of Their Historical Factors (Berkeley, 1961).\n\n15 M. Freedman, “On the Sociological Study of Chinese Religion”, in Rel. & Rit., 20.\n\n16 A.P. Wolf, “Introduction”, in Rel. & Rit., 17.\n\n17 K. Hopkins, Death and Renewal (Cambridge, 1983), xv.\n\n18 For the view that the structure of the imperial bureaucracy has been superimposed upon the Chinese pantheon, cf., inter alia, Wolf, “Introduction”, in Rel. & Rit., 5, 7; Feuchtwang (1974), 124, 127; and Wolf (1974), 138-145, 176-178 et passim.\n\n19 For demonology, witchcraft and shamanism in the Roman Empire, one may begin with R. MacMullen, Enemies of the Roman Order. Treason, Unrest and Alienation in the Empire (Cambridge, Mass., 1966), 95-162; or Ferguson, Religions Rom. Empire, 150-189. The fifth volume of de Groot (1892-1910) is devoted to demonology and sorcery in China. For shamanism, cf. A.J.A. Elliott, Chinese Spirit Medium Cults in Singapore (London, 1955); and J.M. Potter, \"Cantonese Shamanism”, Rel. & Rit., 207-231. The popularization of Ceres: H. Le Bonniec, Le culte de Cérès à Rome (Paris, 1958), especially pp. 342-378; the official and Taoist cults of the gods of walls and moats: G.F. Moore, History of Religions, I (New York, 1948), 62-63.\n\n20 Christianity was by no means the only foreign cult to suffer persecution at the hands of the Roman government; cf. G. La Piana, “Foreign Groups in Rome during the First Centuries of the Empire\", HTR, 20 (1927), 183-403; L.R. Taylor, \"Foreign Groups in Roman Politics of the Late Republic”, in M. Renard and R. Schilling (eds.), Hommages à Joseph Bidez et à Franz Cumont, 2 (Brussels, 1948), 323-330; J.A. North, \"Religious Toleration in Republican Rome\", PCPhS, 25 (1979), 85-103, de Groot, Religion of the Chinese, 190-223, is a colourful description of the history of Buddhist persecution in China; briefer and more balanced, K.S. Ch'en, Buddhism in China. A Historical Survey (Princeton, 1964), 147-151, 184-194, and 226-233.\n\n21 I am indebted to Patrick Hase for reminding me of this important methodological consideration.\n\nT\n\nPage 165\n\nPage 166", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210635, "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-1985", "page_number": 242, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "1. The shrine of Tam Tsz Tao Tien Tsui Tao fa-yao\n\n \n\n(I corrected \"Tan\" to \"Tam\", as it is likely referring to \"Tam Tsz\", a common Cantonese name/term, and \"Tien Chi\" to \"Tien Tsui\", which seems to be a more plausible term in this context, assuming it's related to Taoist terminology or a name. However, without further context, the correction is based on common OCR errors and the similarity of characters.) \n\nHowever, to strictly follow the instructions without adding explanations:\n\n1. The shrine of Tam Tsz Tao Tien Tsui Tao fa-yao", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210744, "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-1986", "page_number": 95, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "78\n\nOBSERVATIONS AT THE JIU FESTIVAL OF SHEK O AND TAI LONG WAN, 1986\n\nCHAN WING-HOI\n\nI. Introduction\n\nThe jiu festival of Shek O and Tai Long Wan on Hong Kong Island reported in this paper was celebrated from 17th October 1986 to 20th October 1986. According to the villagers, this was the sixteenth celebration which took place once every ten years. During the festival Taoist priests were hired to perform rites, and puppeteers performed puppet shows on a temporary stage. A poster put up by the festival committee referred to the duration as three days and four nights. By the standard of jiu celebrations in the New Territories, this would count as a \"three-day jiu\". As in the case of celebrations in the New Territories, the hired Taoist priests started with an opening session on the evening of the first day, and continued with daily processions and non-repeating major rites for three days. On 19th October, the main day of the festival, the villagers participated in a major procession to the celebrating villages.\n\nThe Shek O festival I found very much a repetition of the pattern found in the New Territories. The schedule and content of the rites were exactly the same except perhaps for the fact that the procession on the main day involved the main god of the celebration as well, and the priests hired were those usually seen in the New Territories. However, whereas in the New Territories, only bona fide villagers enjoyed the exclusive right to organize the jiu, here in Shek O the participants included indigenous villagers as well as outsiders. They included people who spoke different dialects, some having moved into the area only in the last ten years. Moreover, in Shek O, the spirit tablets for the ancestors of individuals who contributed extra money for the purpose were also displayed, and this practice is usually found only in Yu Laan rituals. Some of these features that seem peculiar to Shek O are probably related to the nature of the settlement, of which I learned only a little in the few visits I made during the celebration,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210745, "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-1986", "page_number": 96, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "79\n\nII. The settlements\n\nThe puppet theatre and most of the Taoist rites took place at a site in Shek O village during the festival. The participating villages included Shek O as well as Tai Long Wan and Hok Tsui. Hok Tsui is more than three miles from Shek O and used to hold its own celebration. A formerly separate settlement, Seung Wai, was midway between Shek O and Tai Long Wan about 2 miles away. Its residents had moved to Shek O in the 1920s or 1930s. Taking Seung Wai into account and assuming that it had joined the festival before the removal, the festival had been celebrated by three neighbouring villages.\n\nHaving one of the most scenic beaches in Hong Kong, Shek O is a popular holiday spot for the urban residents of Hong Kong. Double-deck buses run between Shaukiwan and Shek O at half-hour or shorter intervals from early in the morning to 11:30 p.m. Near where the road divides for Shek O and Tai Long Wan a golf club which caters mainly for Westerners occupies a large area of land. Near the bus stop at Shek O are several shops, food stalls, restaurants and bicycle rental shops catering for the needs of the holiday visitors. Some of the shops have tables where one can sit for a drink. When there are few visitors in the winter season there are local people playing mahjongg or chatting over glasses of beer in some of those shops.\n\nThe casual tourist will notice a dense settlement of cottages and huts, and in the areas with better views, Western-styled \"villas\". Few of the houses are in the style of indigenous village houses found in the New Territories. Near the bus stop is an area of vegetable gardens run by Hoklo residents whose presence in the settlement was conspicuously represented during the jiu celebration by several flags set up near the bus stop. Superficially, everything suggests that Shek O is a rather recent settlement.\n\nBut Shek O has existed as a village for more than 150 years, if, as the villagers claim, the last decennial jiu was the sixteenth.' Originally, the villages were inhabited by Punti and Hakka people. A 73-year-old woman who married in from Hok Tsui told me that her husband's family had been there for four generations. They", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210750, "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-1986", "page_number": 101, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "84\n\nCHAN WING HOI\n\nnot give any figures for the ratio between indigenous residents and newcomers among the members, but he stressed that no distinction was made between the two groups (mou-san pei-chi).\n\nIt seems, nonetheless, that the Hoklo, Wai Chau and Chiu Chau residents see themselves as distinctive groups in the settlement. There is probably a separate association for them, for many of the flags put on display in the entrance area were styled \"to the Fuk-Wai-Chiu [a short term for Fuk Kin, Wai Chau and Chiu Chau] fellow townsmen\" or their Association.'\n\nI found out less about Tai Long Wan and Hok Tsui. In these two settlements, too, the indigenous villagers had been Hakka and Punti people who practised paddy cultivation and fishing. Many of the men of more recent generations worked as seamen and their descendants were able to obtain jobs in the city. As in the case of Shek O, outside interest in their scenic surroundings has been a major factor in the changes in the last few decades.\n\nI talked with Mr. Yau Ho Sam, who moved to Tai Long Wan about 40 years ago. His native place was Zheng Cheng, but before he moved to Tai Long Wan, he had lived at Wong Chuk Hang. There were only some ten families at Tai Long Wan when he arrived. Now there are more than 100. The original inhabitants were mainly Hakka although some were Punti. According to Mr. Wong, Tai Long Wan is still a mainly Hakka village, although there are also some Punti, Chiu Chau and Hoklo people. Tourist facilities can be seen in the village, and there are some Westerners' residences.\n\nFor Hok Tsui most of my information comes from the man who drove the Taoist priests to his village in his van for the daily haang-chiu procession in the festival. In the past the village had 40 indigenous households. Now there are fewer. The villagers were mainly Hakka. His family has been here for ten generations, counting to his grandsons. In the past many worked as seamen. They probably became wealthy in that occupation. There is a watch tower (diu-lau) in the main village (jing-chyn) for protection against bandits, said to be the only watch tower left on Hong Kong Island. I observed that many of the present houses were not in the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210754, "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-1986", "page_number": 105, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "88 \n\nCHAN WING HOI \n\nidiosyncrasies of the festival. But no, it was because the priest had become familiar with the local leaders. Chan himself later explained to me why he was given the job. The village representative had attended a jiu festival in 1965(?) and was impressed with the small banners put on display at the Taoist altar. Those were presented to Chan by various communities for his performances at their festivals. The Shek O leaders asked the puppeteer Leung Nung about him. Leung had worked with Chan when Chan worked as a puppeteer and spoke favourably of him. The Shek O leaders subsequently contacted Chan to negotiate for his service at the Shek O jiu festival. Before Chan was hired, the contract for the priestly service went to Lau Sing Jai, a priest who lived in Tai O.\n\nA Cantonese puppeteer group was hired to perform for all three days of the festival. For the principal day of the celebration two other kinds of entertainers were also hired. These included piu-sik, children in stage costume representing well-known historical or fictional characters. They were hired from Cheung Chau, for they performed at the annual jiu festival there (which was also dominated by Hoklo, Wai Chau and Chiu Chau people). The other team was a Chiu Chau ceremonial music group hired through their fellow townsmen in the committee.\n\nTwo lion dance groups participated in the procession on the main day of celebration. One was styled \"lion dance group of Shek O residents\" and the other \"Leung Yi Hoi\", a kungfu master. The members of the latter dance group were probably also local residents.\n\nIV. The ritual site\n\nAs in the other places, for their festival Shek O residents built temporary structures in which altars for gods were set up. In these structures, the Taoist rites and theatrical performances took place.\n\nTwo long temporary structures had been built facing one another, each divided into several partitions. One of the structures housed the priests' altar, a room for them to rest in, the puppet theatre, and a room for the puppeteers. Facing the altar and the theatre was the other structure, with partitions for paper images of\n\n! \n\nPage 105\n\nPage 106", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210759, "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-1986", "page_number": 110, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "93\n\nVI. Some of the events\n\nA series of Taoist rites followed the opening ceremony on the afternoon of the first day. Repeated three times a day on the three days of the celebration were the small processions to make offerings (haang-chiu), and the chanting of the scripture for repentance (baai-chaam). Each day had its additional unique rites. The ones most important to the villagers, according to my experience in the New Territories, included the procession on the main day, posting the list of participants, and the concluding offering to the ghosts.\n\nThe procession on the main day at Shek O included a variation from other jiu processions I had seen: it was a procession carrying Tin Hau's image. It started around 1:30 in the afternoon when the rain had become less heavy after continuing for the whole morning. The procession included a lorry carrying flags commemorating the present and previous celebrations, the image of Tin Hau held by a \"lucky and knowledgeable” women in another lorry, two lion dance groups, a lorry carrying the two pairs of piu-sik, a more-than-thirty-strong Chiu Chau ceremonial music group and many local villagers. The procession first went to pay respect at the Tin Hau Temple. It then went uphill to a place called Shek O Saan Jai (Shek O small hill) and went down again. It was greeted by women holding incense sticks outside their homes. Two women even walked up to the image of Tin Hau. Many families made offerings on tables set up outside their houses. Then the procession started for Tai Long Wan. The rain abated, and later I overheard the comment, “It was raining, but the rain stopped once Tin Hau came out.\" When they arrived there at about 2:30, there were many local villagers waiting, mainly women. Inside the village a table of offerings had been prepared for the Tin Hau. Villagers came individually to make offerings of incense. Then the priests and ritual representatives went to make offerings at the places of two earthgods. I was told that one of the two worshipped was the old earthgod and the other the young earthgod. Before the procession departed, the two lion dance groups performed choi-cheng outside the Tai Long Wan residents' association where there were boxes for the incoming mail of each house. The procession returned to Shek O without going to Hok Tsui because there was not enough time.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210789, "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-1986", "page_number": 140, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "123\n\ntwo.\n\nForeigners in the land\n\nAlthough the opening of Hainan to foreign trade led to an influx of westerners to open business houses and man the British, German and French consulates that were installed in Haikou soon after the treaty port proclamation, they were not the first foreigners to penetrate Hainan. This honour belongs to gallant Roman Catholic priests who took up residence on Hainan almost 300 years before, although undoubtedly even these priests were preceded by unknown sailors from foreign vessels marooned by typhoons on the \"Shore of Pearls\".\n\nThe first Jesuit padre known definitely to enter Hainan was Father Gago who was shipwrecked in 1560 on the southern coast (Madrolle, 1898), and spent five months at San Ya before he could secure passage to Macau (Dehergne, 1940). However, it was not until the arrival of the Portuguese Jesuits, Pierre Marquez in 1632 and Benoit de Matos in 1635, that a church was established in K'iungchow (Pfister, 1932). By 1637, there were four churches with a total membership exceeding one thousand which included some high officials such as Wang Hung-hui, a former emissary to Peking, and his son, Paul (Pfister, 1932; Dunne, 1962).\n\n2\n\nThrough persecution and plagues, a succession of priests from Portugal, France, Italy and Germany, superintended the growing mission for more than a half century until 1665 when Jesuits were banished from China (Dehergne, 1940). After the priests were expelled, church property was seized and converted into Taoist temples, two of which were still standing in the late nineteenth century (Swinhoe, 1872a). Little remains today of this influence, although as late as 1919, the Roman Catholic cemetery in K'iungchow was still intact, albeit neglected, and the epitaphs of at least three priests buried in the 1680's could still be deciphered (Moninger, 1919). The number of tombs of respectable people is evidence of the large following the Jesuits had established in Hainan (Henry, 1886).\n\nBetween 1673 and 1725, priests returned to Hainan to continue", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210871, "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-1986", "page_number": 222, "title": "RAS-1986", "content_text": "205\n\n\"There were, of course, the usual crowd common to native processions present. Following those on foot came 100 riders in official robes, two abreast, followed by a detachment of native troops from the camp near the Arsenal, provided by the colonel, who was a friend of the deceased gentleman. Then came Chinese musicians and the town band, and then what is not often seen except in funerals of the highest officials, bands of Buddhist nuns and bonzes as well as Taoist priests.\n\n\"After them came the chief mourners in sackcloth, while surrounded by a white panoply, screened from the gaze of the crowd, walked the sole surviving son of the deceased. Then came the coffin on a red bier with a dragon's head in gold and red, and after it some 200 chairs containing the female friends and relatives of the family and over 80 carriages.”\n\nOur story of Tong Mow-chee, alias A-chick, has taken us far from the lad of 11 taken by his father to meet his future schoolmaster, the Rev. S.R. Brown in 1839, but his position of wealth, influence and honour had its foundations in the schoolrooms of Macau and Hongkong.\n\nFROM A HONGKONG CLASSROOM TO ALTAR OF HEAVEN\n\nClosely associated with the Rev. Dr. Legge throughout his life in Hongkong was Ho A-sun, or, as he was also known, Ho Ye-tong. Actually they had first met when Mr. Legge first arrived in Malacca. By trade Ho A-sun was a book block-cutter. He was one of some half dozen people Dr. Robert Morrison had sent from Canton to work at the Ultra-Ganges Press the London Missionary Society established in Malacca.\n\nIt was at a time when the Chinese authorities were strictly enforcing the prohibition against Chinese being employed by foreigners at Canton. Only those who had been granted special permission were allowed to work for the foreign traders. For this reason the printing of Morrison's translation of the Bible in Chinese at Canton could only be done secretly and at some risk to the Chinese printers.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210984, "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-1987", "page_number": 46, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "21\n\nnineteenth-century sinologists had laid the foundations for modern China in studies in the West.\n\nBut this long episode of almost total neglect of China was to come to an end with the unexpected ascendancy of Communist China. French intellectuals were caught completely unprepared, all the more since there was strictly no equivalent in France to the sympathetic writings of Snow, Smedley and so many other reporters who had prepared at least some sections of British and American public opinion for the Communist takeover. The French intellectual scene was a blank page - a very Maoist feature and this was a decisive contributing factor to what has since been described as the 'love affair' between Maoist China and French intellectuals.\n\nThis love affair is a very complex story, and requires a much closer look. It had first of all to do with the rejection on the part of the French intellectuals of Soviet-styled communism, once so popular with them. China and Maoism provided ex-Communist Party members with an occasion to settle their accounts with Moscow. Chinese communism was also considered a valuable experiment in Marxist economic theory, and noted economists, such as Charles Bettelheim, always made this point. For Jean-Paul Sartre, who was in the late 1960s at the peak of his cultural and political prestige, Peking was definitely different from Moscow.\n\nChina also met a basic aspiration among French left-wing intellectuals, which I would describe as political exoticism, that is, the tendency to look for a political homeland and model of reference in distant, exotic countries. At times in Cuba, at one time in Algeria, in Vietnam, then in China; each provided a substitute for the ideal society France was unable to develop at home, especially after the failure of the May '68 movement which had been so popular with most intellectuals, and not only with students. The radical young intellectuals of the May '68 generation, such as André Glucksmann and Bernard-Henri Lévy, who were later to establish themselves as trendy 'new philosophers', were among the most devoted Maoists.\n\n—\n\nBut it would be just too easy to restrict the love affair between Maoism and French intellectuals to such radical groups. At least", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210985, "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-1987", "page_number": 47, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "22\n\nTwo completely different factors come into the picture, namely Gaullism and Italy.\n\nA hidden but deep correspondence had always existed between Gaullists and Maoists. Both emphasised the importance of historical roots and long-term perspectives, for France de toujours as well as for the Sons of the Han on their everlasting Yellow Earth. Both had refused to align their nuclear policies with the strategies of the superpowers. André Malraux's visit to China in the 1960s, both as a former activist in the 1926-27 revolution and as a prominent Gaullist intellectual, was a symbolic episode, much publicised in France. Had General de Gaulle not died suddenly in 1970, he most probably would have paid Mao Zedong the visit already arranged by his old companion Etienne Manach, then French Ambassador to Peking. It would have been an extraordinary performance, in both the grand French and Chinese traditions.\n\nItaly was also very influential. There has always been a special connection between Italy and China. Chinese intellectuals have always felt very much at home in Italy, and the active sympathy for Maoist China of such prominent Italian intellectuals as Malaparte, Alberto Moravia and Maria-Antonietta Macchiocchi certainly made an impact on Parisian literary circles. Altogether, many influential French intellectuals were in those years very keen on visiting China and however brief their visit publicising their sympathy for China. Be they Claude Roy, Etiemble, Roland Barthes, Philippe Sollers, Julia Kristeva18 or many others, their individual approaches may have differed one from another, but they were all indulging in China as if their commitment to China was more important than China itself. They also affected a definitely revivalistic attitude, as if they were the new sinophiles in the grand eighteenth-century tradition.\n\nBy and large, Maoist China was very chic in French cultural life of the 1950s and 1960s. The theatres were packed full at every Peking Opera visit, the books of Han Suyin sold very well, Chinese exhibitions of art at the Grand Palais were a must, the veteran film-director Joris Ivens, Dutch by birth but settled in France, embarked on a 12-hour film on Yu Gong and People's China's achievements, and the well-established literary publishing series", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210987, "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-1987", "page_number": 49, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "Yet I have no regrets whatsoever for the basic motivations which led so many French radical intellectuals to side with Mao-ism in the turbulent 1970s. Some of the trendy Maoists may have been concerned most of all with the image of China they were propagating for their own satisfaction and prestige. Yet others, as I can testify, had more sincere and far-reaching motivations. We took seriously the 'mass line', in contrast to politics set at the top. People's communes appealed all the more to us, since uncontrolled urban growth had become a cornerstone of the French Fifth Republic's overall economic strategies. \"To rely on one's own strength,' zili gengsheng, made sense to us, against the prevailing trends towards cultural banalisation of French daily life on the American model. 'Bombard the headquarters' was a slogan well-received among those who, after the failure of the May '68 movement, had experienced the backlash of the established political parties regaining their monopoly over French political life. We were certainly wrong in our simplified approach to the complex realities of Chinese politics and Chinese society. But looking at it from a distance, we were not necessarily wrong in advocating Maoist analyses and Maoist thinking so as to approach critically what we probably knew better than China, namely France itself.\n\nThe major intellectual encounter between China and France in the eighteenth century belongs to the past; the solitary French sinophiles of the nineteenth century have remained marginal in French literary history, and the Maoist love affair of the 1960s and early 1970s has ended pathetically, as most love affairs do. What next? One should perhaps consider, by way of conclusion, the relevance China may still have, in relation to the French intellectual crisis of the 1980s.\n\nTo describe present-day France in terms of an intellectual crisis may just be too easy, for genuine intellectual life is by nature a crisis in itself, a clash between the world of ideas and the real world, a clash between the old and the new. Every generation is involved in such crises. But the problems French intellectuals are facing in the 1980s go much deeper and much further, they encompass our very model of development all over the world, namely modernity. The present-day French intellectual crisis accordingly develops at two distinct levels. It still concerns French intellectuals and their role in their own society. But our French crisis is also,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211039, "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-1987", "page_number": 100, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "75\n\nfame of Huang Daxian in Hong Kong. They have learned about this god from relatives living in Hong Kong, or from the Hong Kong media. However, in Guangdong province the Hong Kong Huang Daxian is frequently identified with another Taoist figure with the same surname but a quite different biography.\" The Hong Kong Huang Daxian, Huang Chuping, was, before his deification, a Taoist hermit living during the Jin dynasty (317-420 A.D.) on Jinhua Mountain in Zhejiang province, where he became an immortal. However, as the first author discovered during a research visit to China in 1985, many Guangdong Taoists believe that the Hong Kong Huang Daxian lived and became an immortal on Mt. Luofu,* in Guangdong province. They believe that the Hong Kong Huang Daxian is the same figure as a Mt. Luofu \"Huang Daxian” known as Huang Yeren (Huang the “wild man”), who lived, according to the sources, roughly during the same period as Huang Chuping.\n\nIn August of 1987, we returned to China to visit the remains of a Huang Daxian temple in the ancestral village of the founder of the Hong Kong Huang Daxian temple.' We also visited Mt. Luofu to learn more about Huang Yeren. We discovered that some people were unaware of the difference between the two Huangs, and that their confusion of the two was due to lack of knowledge about the biography and origins of the Hong Kong Huang Daxian. However, attempts have also been made by people with some awareness of the differences between the two Huangs to merge these two figures: to unite two deified Taoist hermit-saints into one personality on the basis of similarities and supposed historical connections between the two. Evidently this process of the merging of several originally distinct deities into one figure has occurred a number of times in the history of religions, but it is rare that one has the opportunity to witness it firsthand.\"\n\nThe following is an account of the two Huangs, and of our discoveries in China of the confusion or merging of the two figures.\n\nHong Kong's Huang Daxian: Huang Chuping\n\nThe main Huang Daxian temple in Kowloon contains a plaque", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211040, "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-1987", "page_number": 101, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "76\n\nwith records of the \"autobiography” of the Taoist saint Huang Chuping, the figure worshipped by many thousands of devotees in Hong Kong as \"Wong Tai Sin.\" This autobiography has been reprinted in official publications of the Sese Yuan, and reads as follows (using the Sese Yuan's translation):\n\nAs a young shepherd boy, I spent my early childhood at Kim Hwa [Jinhua] Mountain located at the north of Kim Hwa City in Chekiang [Zhejiang] Province. The mountain was said to have derived its name from Venus and Mou Nui Constellation (Wunüxing) both of which were directly overhead. Orientated at the north of Kim Hwa Mountain was the Hill of Red Pines where I took abode. This hill, densely forested and often hidden in clouds and fog, was seldom frequented by outsiders. Among thick natural vegetations and interlocking peaks there was a deep ravine named Kim Hwa, one of the thirty-six caves of the similar geological structures in the neighbouring district.\n\nMy childhood was marred by poverty and hunger, compelling me to start earning my daily bread as a shepherd boy at the age of eight. At fifteen I was fortunate enough to have been blessed by a fairy who led me to a stone cave where I learned the art of refining cinnabar nine times into an immortal drug. For forty years in succession, I lived in this seclusion from the rest of the world until my brother broke this isolation. His early efforts were at first futile. However, through the guidance of a Taoist fortune-teller, he located me. My brother queried me of the whereabouts of the sheep under my custody. To this I replied that they could be traced in the east of the Kim Hwa Mountain. He was surprised, on arrival, to find nothing but heaps of white boulders which quickly transformed into sheep at my call. Fascinated by this impressive show of mine, my brother also took steps to learn to become an immortal.\n\nOriginally, I was named Wong Cho-ping (Huang Chuping), a subject of the Tsun [Jin] Dynasty and a", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211041, "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-1987", "page_number": 102, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "77\n\nnative of Tak Kai [Danxi] District. The derivation of my name as Red Pine Fairy was due to my living in seclusion in Red Pine Hill. To differentiate myself from the Red Pine Fairy who was in close company with Chang Liang [Zhang Liang], I wrote this autobiography. (Sese Yuan, 1971;3)\n\nThis autobiography is thought by some current members of the Sese Yuan to have been received from the god by the way of the fuji divination procedure, but actually it seems to have been drawn from the story related in the fourth century work titled Shenxian Zhuan (Biography of immortals). This work contains brief descriptions of the lives of eighty-four Taoist hermits and seekers of immortality. The passage on Huang Chuping is as follows:\n\nHuang Chuping came from Danxi. When he was 15 his family had him tend sheep. A Taoist seeing that he was good-natured and conscientious took him to a stone cave in the Jinhua Mountain. For forty odd years he stayed there without thinking of his family. His elder brother Chuqi searched for him for many years in the mountains but without success. Once in a marketplace he saw a Taoist. Chuqi beckoned him and asked \"My brother Chuping who was sent out to tend sheep has not been seen for more than forty years. I don't know where he is or whether he is dead or alive. Would you please find out by means of divination?” The Taoist said, \"On the Jinhua Mountain there is a young shepherd by the name of Huang Chuping. Doubtless he is your brother.\" When he heard this, Chuqi followed the Taoist in search of his younger brother. He found him. The brothers told each other of what had happened during all these years. Chuqi then asked his brother where the sheep were. \"Not far from here on the eastern side of the mountain,” Chuping answered. Chuqi went over there and looked for them. He didn't see them. He only saw white stones. He went back and said to Chuping, \"There are no sheep on the eastern side of the mountain,” Chuping said, “The sheep are", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211042, "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-1987", "page_number": 103, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "78\n\nthere but you, my brother, could not see them.\" Chuping together with Chuqi went over again to have another look. Chuping shouted to the sheep to rise and all the stones turned into tens of thousands of sheep. Chuqi said to his brother, \"You have now attained perfection in the secrets of the Tao. Can I also learn to do that?\" Chuping said, \"Only if you are eager to learn the way will you attain perfection.\" Chuqi then abandoned his wife and children and stayed with his brother to learn the way.\n\nThe passage ends with a reference to medicines perfected by Chuping and states that people who have taken this medicine have also managed to become immortals. Chuping, it is also said, eventually changed his name to Chisong Zi and Chuqi his to Lu Ban.\n\nThe author of this work, Ge Hong (284-364), was a famous Taoist theorist and writer on Chinese medicine. He appears to be the principal source for traditions about Huang Chuping (although paying him no special attention among the many Taoists whose stories he describes). Other, later accounts, such as the Ming dynasty source Huitu Liexian Quanzhuan (Complete illustrated biographies of the saints), differ little from Ge Hong's version.12\n\nMt. Luofu's Huang Daxian: Huang Yeren\n\nHuang Yeren was by tradition a disciple of Ge Hong on Mt. Luofu. Ge Hong had retired there, after an active career of service to the state, to pursue immortality through collecting various herbs and attempting to refine cinnabar into a medicine to produce immortality.3 The Huitu Liexian Quanzhuan describes the life of Huang Yeren as follows:\n\nHuang Yeren was a disciple of Ge Hong. When Hong lived in the mountain and made cinnabar Yeren always would follow him. When Hong was about to ascend to heaven he left a pill between the pillar and the stone [supporting stone of his hut?] at Mt. Luofu. Yeren took it and ate it and became an earthbound saint. Even today [this was written in the Ming dynasty...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211043, "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-1987", "page_number": 104, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "79\n\nty] there are those who occasionally meet him in the forest. Not long ago there was somebody who traveled through Luofu and had to stay at night among the rocks. He then saw a man without clothes covered only with long hair. Thinking it must be a saint he approached him, saluted twice and asked about the way [Tao]. The man didn't even bother to look at him. He laughed with a sound that shook the trees and answered by chanting the verses: \"When the clouds arrive the hundred thousand mountains move. When the clouds retire the heaven is of but one colour, I repeatedly burst into long laughters. About the deserted mountain, the autumn moon turns white.” It was Yeren.\n\nThe key fact about Yeren in this account is that unlike Ge Hong and his wife, who ascended to heaven after ingesting the cinnabar, Huang Yeren somehow failed to achieve this, even with the cinnabar pill left behind for him by Ge Hong. In one version of this story which we heard at Mt. Luofu, there had been only half a pill left, and this accounted for his failure to levitate. (Perhaps this version is designed to deflect the implication that even with a whole pill of cinnabar, Yeren was not sincere enough or worthy enough, and hence could not levitate). We also heard a version of the story in which Yeren was late for the ascension because he was drunk (a version indignantly denied by others in a later conversation).\" In any case, Yeren became immortal but was stuck for some centuries on earth. He seems to have spent his time wandering in the hills, and engaging in the kind of behaviour which gained him the reputation of “the wild man.\" There are no biographical details available which might identify Yeren as an actual historical figure, although it is quite plausible to suppose that at least some Taoist hermits in the Mt. Luofu area were recluses, seldom seen, whose odd behaviour could have contributed to the development of a myth similar to that of Yeren, the wild man.\" In any case, this figure eventually was credited with several healings.\n\n16\n\nIn appears that there was a second historical Huang who became a Taoist hermit at Luofu about 500 years after the time of the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211044, "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-1987", "page_number": 105, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "80\n\nlegendary first Huang Yeren, and who was also eventually referred to as Huang Yeren. This individual, Huang Li, was a prefectural governor at Zhengzhou (present day Huizhou) toward the end of the reign of Dayou (928-943) during the short-lived Southern Han dynasty (918-971).\" Evidently he had retired to Luofu after becoming disenchanted with the regime which he served. The sources relate that he met a Taoist who taught him the art of making cinnabar. Towards the end of the reign of Shaoxing (1131-1162), he was by imperial edict granted the title of Dazhen (the one who obtained immortal status). He is thought to have ascended to heaven near the end of the Song dynasty.\" He is also credited with several healings. The memory of Huang Li as a separate figure in the literary sources has been preserved, and evidently there is still a temple or shrine to Huang Li in Dongguan county.\" But the figure of Huang Yeren at Luofu now includes elements of both the original Huang Yeren and the later Huang (or Wang)20 Li.\n\n21\n\nThe veneration of Huang Yeren at Mt. Luofu seems to have a very long history. The poet Su Dongpo in the 11th century A.D. in a letter to a Taoist friend mentions that he had heard of Huang Yeren at Mt. Luofu.\" The great Guangdong poet Qu Dajun (1630-1696) in his encyclopedic Guangdong Xinyu (New accounts of Guangdong) devotes an entire page to Huang Yeren. Huang, he writes, was the most frequently seen of all the saints of the mountain. A small shrine to him (in the hills to the west of the Chongxu Guan) was, he reports, in ruins.\" The writer Tan Cui, who traveled widely in Guangdong during the reign of Qianlong (1736-1796), noted the presence of a small shrine or temple to Huang Yeren in the 18th century.23 When the main temple on the mountain was destroyed in 1802, the nearby shrine to Huang Yeren evidently suffered the same fate. The present temple, the Chongxu Guan, was built shortly afterwards.\" This temple has recently been restored and renovated (1985/86).\n\nIt appears that prior to the restoration, a statue of Huang Yeren stood in the same room as the statue of Ge Hong.\" This statue has disappeared. (The statue beside Ge Hong is now that of his wife, Bao Gu, famous practitioner of acupuncture). However, there is now (as of early 1987) a separate room for the worship of “Huang Daxian\", containing a new statue of the god. We were told that it\n\nPage 105\n\nPage 106", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211045, "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-1987", "page_number": 106, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "81\n\nwas copied by a craftsman in Guangzhou from a scroll painting supplied by the temple for use as a model. The scroll painting once hung in a reception hall of the main temple. We viewed and photographed this painting (which is not on public display). The inscription on the painting is Chisong Daxian (Red Pine Fairy). The painting is evidently one painter's version of the ancient figure of the Red Pine Fairy, and is similar to another, older picture of this figure.26 The painting does not explicitly refer to Huang Daxian. However, the appearance of the figure, who is holding a handful of herbs that he has collected, and the two deer at his feet, are consistent with a portrayal of Huang Yeren.\n\nTo summarize: Huang Yeren has been known in the Luofu area, and probably worshipped, since at least the early Song period. There was once a separate shrine to Yeren, and when the temple was rebuilt after being destroyed in the early 1800's, Yeren was moved into the same room as Ge Hong. Now, there is a separate room for Huang \"Daxian\" at the Luofu Chongxu Guan. However, he is now no longer identified as Yeren, but merely as the Red Pine Huang Daxian. We believe that this has something to do with the belief that Huang Yeren is the same figure as the Hong Kong Huang Daxian—or that the differences are unimportant.” However, the biographies of the two Huangs are clearly irreconcilable. Neither Huang Yeren nor the partly overlapping figure of Huang Li bears any resemblance to Huang Chuping. Further, there are no literary traditions that Huang Chuping went anywhere near Luofu, or anywhere other than Jinhua Mountain in Zhejiang province, and we have found no trace of any previous worship of Huang Chuping at Luofu.28 Hence, it is surprising that anyone should want to confuse the two figures. Why has this confusion of the two Huangs occurred? We now turn to the interviews and sources in which Huang Yeren and Huang Chuping have been confused or merged.\n\nIdentifications of the Hong Kong Huang Daxian with Huang Yeren of Mt. Luofu\n\nIn 1985, the first author interviewed Taoists and others in Guangzhou and in Xiqiao, and found that where they had any opinion about the origin of the Hong Kong Huang Daxian, they", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211046, "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-1987", "page_number": 107, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "82\n\nplaced him at Mt. Luofu. The Taoists typically assumed that the Hong Kong Huang was Huang Yeren of Mt. Luofu. There is a simple explanation for this confusion of the two figures: they are all aware of Huang Yeren because he is a famous figure in the history of Taoism at Mt. Luofu; he is a “Daxian” (saint, or deified hermit-fairy), although not often referred to explicitly as Daxian; and they do not know of the Sese Yuan “autobiography\" of Huang Daxian which clearly identifies him as Huang Chuping of Zhejiang province. (Many Hong Kong worshippers are also unaware of these details).\n\nA second type of merging of the two figures is more intriguing: we have discovered several attempts to link the biographies of Huang Chuping and Huang Yeren. In a pamphlet sold outside the main temple at Luofu, describing the various sites of interest to tourists in the region and providing some background information on the history of the area, there are two short articles on Huang Daxian. The first article, titled “Ge [Hong] the holy man and the Hong Kong Huang Daxian,” relates a visit by the author of the article to the Sese Yuan Huang Daxian temple in Kowloon. After describing the temple, the account begins to describe the life of Huang Chuping, using some of the details from the Sese Yuan's \"autobiography\" of Huang Chuping. However, the account omits the miracle of turning the rocks into sheep, and instead relates the following interesting outcome:\n\nIt so happened that the old fairy and refiner of cinnabar Ge Hong was passing by Red Pine Mountain. He saw Chuping tending his sheep. Although Chuping was starving and fatigued this could not hide his wisdom. Ge Hong took him in as his apprentice, and named him Huang Yeren.\n\nThereafter Huang Daxian (Chuping) followed old saint Ge and \"for forty odd years he forgot about the business of this world.\" He followed Ge Hong to Mt. Luofu in Guangdong and gathered herbs and refined cinnabar below the Lion Rock. Huang Chuping also learnt acupuncture from Bao Gu, the wife of his master.\n\n+\n\n29", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211047, "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-1987", "page_number": 108, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "83\n\nThe second article, titled \"The legend of Huang Daxian,\" opens with a poem in which the story is retold of Ge Hong's ascent to heaven, taking even the dogs with him, and of Huang Yeren's late arrival and subsequent life as an earthbound fairy. After relating two stories of healings by Huang Yeren (stories taken from literary sources about the Luofu Huang Yeren; see n. 16) the article then asserts that\n\nAccording to historical records the Red Pine Huang Daxian of the Hong Kong Huang Daxian temple was a Jin dynasty man from Danxi. His original surname was Huang and his given name Chuping. In his youth when he was tending sheep he was taken by the famous Jin dynasty refiner of cinnabar, old saint Ge Hong, as an apprentice. Ge Hong jokingly named him Huang Yeren. After Ge Hong had ascended to heaven Huang Daxian continued to travel all over practicing kindness and helping the people. He first went to Mt. Xiqiao, and later to Hong Kong.\n\nThese extraordinary attempts to weld the two Huangs into a single figure are not based, as far as we can tell, on any literary sources. The pseudonymous authors, who very likely have had some official connection with Luofu,17 were engaged in what appears to us to be the creative reconstruction of myth.\n\n30\n\nThis reconstruction has doubtless been at least partly successful. The cultural affairs cadres who met us at the Chongxu Guan had clearly been influenced by such ideas. With some knowledge of the Luofu saints, but little knowledge of the Taoist literature, they related to us a story which managed to incorporate into the biography of \"Huang Daxian” elements of both Huang Chuping, Huang Yeren, and Huang Li.18 They were somewhat confused by the conflicting traditions but, nevertheless, asserted with some confidence that the two Huangs, Chuping and Yeren, were the same.\n\nIt might be thought that the Taoists who serve at the temple would wish to clarify the situation, and to inform visitors that the temple's Huang was Huang Yeren, the disciple of Ge Hong, and", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211048, "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-1987", "page_number": 109, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "84\n\nnot at all the same figure as the Hong Kong Huang Daxian. This could easily be done with a small plaque identifying the statue as Huang Yeren. Indeed, a Hong Kong Taoist organization which has provided some funds for the renovation of the temple had asked them to make this clarification. A member of the Sese Yuan had also visited the temple and objected to the claim that the Hong Kong Huang Daxian had originated at Luofu, and was in fact the Luofu saint Huang Yeren. He too had asked the temple to make this clarification. However, up to the time of our visit, they had declined to do this. Why have they declined?\n\nPerhaps, we thought, they expect that Hong Kong tourists may be willing to visit the site where their Huang Daxian became an immortal. The anticipation of this flow of tourists and devotees may explain the placing of the statue in a new “Red Pine Huang Daxian\" room. The new statue also makes the identification with Huang Chuping easier, because the mute tiger, evidently represented at the Yeren altar before the restoration, has disappeared.' (The presence of the tiger, of course, would strongly distinguish Huang Yeren, the wild man, from Huang Chuping, the tender of sheep).\n\n32\n\nHong Kong tourists are indeed coming to Luofu. We observed a tourist bus arriving at the temple from Hong Kong and heard the tour guide, addressing his group by megaphone, refer to the site as the place of origin of Huang Daxian. These Hong Kong tourists, we found, were not at all interested in discussing the possibility that the Hong Kong Huang Daxian did not in fact originate there. One elderly local person whom we interviewed asserted that “the masses wish the two figures to be the same, and so we'll let them be the same.\" Considering the amount of revenue which the Hong Kong tourist trade might generate in the area, this position is not surprising.\n\nIt is quite possible that this confusion or merging of the identities of the two Huangs at Mt. Luofu will not continue indefinitely. The Sese Yuan is, of course, aware of the claims made by the Luofu temple in regard to their \"Huang Daxian”, and at some point they may issue a formal rebuttal of some kind, which would be publicized in the Chinese-language media in Hong Kong (as of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211049, "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-1987", "page_number": 110, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "85\n\nSeptember, 1987, they had not yet done this). Such a rebuttal would probably reduce to a trickle the number of people interested in visiting Luofu to see \"the place where Huang Daxian became a saint.\" The Luofu temple might eventually be induced to specify more clearly the particular Taoist saint depicted in their Huang Daxian room, which would make it clear to many of the Hong Kong devotees that this is not their Huang Daxian. The merger of the two Huangs at Luofu might turn out to be only a very temporary confusion. However, we believe that we witnessed at Luofu a process which has happened a number of times in the history of religions: the merging of deities with similar characteristics.\n\n—\n\nIf this process ultimately fails at Luofu, it will be because of the unique conditions in Hong Kong: first, the Chinese-language media in Hong Kong are avid reporters of all events of interest to Hong Kong Chinese, and in the realm of religion, their reporting is virtually unfettered by any constraints from religious or political authorities; second, nearly all Chinese in Hong Kong are influenced directly or indirectly by these media; and third, a large organization such as the Sese Yuan will receive respectful treatment in these media, and hence their \"proofs\" that the Luofu Huang is not the Hong Kong Huang would be widely reported, and widely accepted. (The Sese Yuan would be able to mobilize various scholars to support their refutation of the claims of the Luofu temple). If the merging of the two Huangs is ultimately unsuccessful, it will be the result of these unique conditions. In other societies, where electronic media did not exist, where other media were not free, or not widely followed—as when most of the population have been rural and illiterate—and especially where no classical texts existed which might have clearly distinguished the gods, then there were few means of inhibiting the merging of the deities where the conditions for such mergings were favourable.\n\nConclusion\n\nWe have already suggested that the merging of the two Huangs at Mt. Luofu may not continue for very long. The continued existence of literary sources which clearly distinguish the two figures is particularly important. Also important is the ease with which the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211051, "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-1987", "page_number": 112, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "87\n\nNOTES\n\n“Wong Tai Sin” is the most common transliteration in Hong Kong of the god's name. The pinyin transliteration is Huang Daxian. For Chinese names with a conventional Hong Kong transliteration which differs from the pinyin form, we will begin with the pinyin forms followed by the Hong Kong forms within brackets. For names and places in China, and for subsequent references to Chinese names and terms used in Hong Kong (except for place names such as Hong Kong and Kowloon), only pinyin system will be used.\n\nOn the reasons for the growth in popularity of Huang Daxian in Hong Kong, especially since the late 1940's, see Graeme Lang, and Lars Ragvald, “Upward mobility of a refugee god: Hong Kong's Huang Daxian,\" The Stockholm Journal of East Asian Studies. Vol, 1, 1988. We have called Huang Daxian the “refugee god” both because his cult was imported into Hong Kong early in this century during a period of persecution of traditional religion in China, and also because the god's success can be attributed in part to the refugees who flooded into the area around the temple in the late 1940's. Key decisions made by the management of the temple were also very important.\n\nOur discoveries regarding the ruined temples to Huang Daxian in Guangdong, and a second visit to these sites in 1987, will be reported in a forthcoming article.\n\nThere are undoubtedly many intriguing stories about Huang Daxian which could be collected by researchers in Guangdong province. For instance, one story connecting Huang Daxian to legends about the founding of Guangzhou was related to the first author by the manager of a local company near Guangzhou, who as a child had played in an old Huang Daxian temple in the Fangcun area (on which, see the first author's forthcoming paper). According to this story, Huang Chuping of the Jin dynasty had found the way (Tao) and become a saint at Mt. Luofu. He then, it is said, shouted at five pieces of hard rock turning them into five fairy-sheep and also ordered five fairies dressed in red, yellow, blue, white and black respectively to drive the sheep. This unlikely flock descended in the midst of Guangzhou. Huang Daxian then chanted, \"I wish that Guangzhou from now on shall enjoy bumper harvests, timely wind and rain, be prosperous and at peace, and never suffer famine or disaster”. This tale was related as explaining the origin of the old names Wuyang Cheng (City of the five sheep) and Suicheng (Ear of grain city). The story is clearly modeled on the old (documented) tales of the five saints on ram-back who brought the five ears of grain to Guangzhou. It is not clear where the manager got his story, but it may have been stimulated by an obscure phrase on one of the pillars of the main gate of the old Fangcun Huang Daxian temple. In any case, we expect that there are many such tales which remain to be uncovered. The versatile Huang Daxian, with his several incarnations and his ability to absorb stories from other traditions, may continue to surprise students of his cult for years to come. In the present paper, however, we focus only on his merger with another Taoist figure at Mt. Luofu.\n\n5 Several cases of apparently similar confusion or merging of legendary Taoist figures on the basis of similar surnames have been documented in S.H. Wong. “A study of Huang Ta-hsien [Daxian].” The Journal of the Institute of Chinese Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, XVI, 1985, pp. 223-239.\n\nMt. Luofu, some 100 kilometres northeast of Guangzhou, is historically the most important site in the history of Taoist worship and practice in Guangdong province.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211052, "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-1987", "page_number": 113, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "88\n\nOur principal concern has been to document and explain the rapid growth in popularity in Hong Kong since the 1940's of the cult of Huang Daxian (on which, see Lang and Ragvald, \"Upward mobility of a refugee god\"). However, we have also been trying to trace the origins of the cult in Guangdong province, hence the research trip to the village. A report on this visit, and on the first author's initial visit to the village in 1985, has also been prepared. We are now working on a book on the history of the cult in Guangdong and Hong Kong.\n\nProbable cases of the mergings of deities include, from ancient Greece, the merging of two incarnations of Zeus (Gilbert, Murray, Five stages of Greek Religion, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday Anchor Books, 1951, p. 48; H.J. Rose, Religion in Greece and Rome, N.Y., Harper and Row, 1959, pp. 48-49), and of various female deities in Aphrodite (Paul Friedrich, The Meaning of Aphrodite, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1978, ch. 2); from Rome, the blending of Roman with Greek deities, and the subsequent apparent merging of some Roman deities with Celtic deities (John Ferguson, The Religions of the Roman Empire, Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University Press, 1970, pp. 211-220); from the early Christian era, the probable absorption of elements of the cult of Diana into the cult of Mary (Herbert Muller, The Loom of History, N.Y. New American Library, 1958 p. 173; Durant, 1939: 183); from Mexico, the absorption of elements of the Indian goddess Tonantsi into the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe (Ena Campbell, “The Virgin of Guadalupe and the female self-image: a Mexican case history\", in Mother Worship: Themes and Variations, ed. by Richard Preston, University of North Carolina Press, 1982).\n\n9 This translation strangely enough contains one serious (the failure to recognize Dongtian Fudi [Cavern-heavens and blessed spots] as a general Taoist concept) and a few smaller mistakes. These, however, do not affect the arguments made in this paper.\n\n10 This probable origin of the autobiography was pointed out to us by Dr. S.H. Wong of the Department of Chinese, Hong Kong University (see Wong, \"A study of Huang Ta-hsien\").\n\nThere are several slightly different versions of Shenxian Zhuan. For this translation we have used the relatively early (Song dynasty) version in Biji Xiaoshuo Daguan (A Parade of Note-form Fiction), Taibei, Xinxing Shuju, volume 4. 12 Essentially the same story is related in Huitu Liexian Quanzhuan, compiled in the 16th century by Wang Shizhen (reprinted by Zhongwen Chubanshe in 1971 on Taiwan). This is one of the major reference works on Taoist saints, with capsule biographies on some 500 of them, and covers the entire period from the beginning of Taoism until the last year of the reign of Hongzhi (1506 A.D.). This source adds only the information that during the Song and Yuan dynasties, both Huang Chuping and his brother were awarded honorary titles by the state. The story of Huang Chuping also appears in Jinhua Fuzhi (the prefectural gazetteer of Jinhua), volume no. 22 in the subsection \"xian shi\" (on fairies).\n\n13\n\nGe Hong was a native of Jurong in Danyang (present day Jiangsu province). His career included service as assistant to prime minister Sima Rui, and as counsellor and military staff officer. He was honoured by the state for his services in the suppression of the peasant revolt led by Shi Bing. However, he was also very interested in Taoist alchemy. He was a grandson, on the fraternal line, of the famous necromancer and alchemist Ge Xuan (164-244), and from a disciple of Ge Xuan's, he learned the art of refining cinnabar. When word spread that cinnabar sand had been found in Jiaozhi (the ancient name for part of Guangdong and", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211053, "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-1987", "page_number": 114, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "89\n\nNorthern Vietnam) he asked to be relieved of office and left the capital for Guangzhou. In 327 he settled in the Zhuming cave of Mt. Luofu where he busied himself collecting medicinal herbs and refining cinnabar. His extensive writings include several important treatises on Taoism and Chinese medicine. (Source: Zongjiao Cidian [Dictionary of religion], Shanghai, Cishu Chubanshe (Lexiographical publishing company), 1981, pp. 997-998; see also Jin Shu [The Book of Jin], volume 72, Zhonghua Shuju). Needham calls him \"the greatest alchemist in Chinese history\" (Science and Civilization in China, vol. II, Cambridge University Press, 1956, p. 437).\n\n14 The story that Huang Yeren was late for the levitation because he was drunk, we heard from a young official of a local Taoist organization whom we interviewed in Guangzhou on August 27, 1987. Cultural affairs cadres whom we interviewed at the main temple on Mt. Luofu on August 28, 1987 indignantly denied this story. The young official also related the story that Huang Yeren (Huang the wild man) had originally been called Huang \"also [in Cantonese “yah”] man” (in many Luofu folk-tales the Yeren is said to appear in the shape of an animal). Later the character for \"also\" (in Mandarin “ye”) had been substituted by that for \"wild\" (in Mandarin also \"ye\"). We have not found any documentary sources which confirm this information.\n\n19 Michel, Soymié, \"Le Lo-feou chan\", 1954. Bulletin de l'école française d'Extrême-orient, Tome XLVIII (ler semestre), 1954, pp. 1-137, raises another possibility (see pp. 109-110): that the Yeren tradition is based on contacts in ancient times, possibly including periodic trading exchanges, between people of the plains of Guangdong and aborigines living on or near the mountain. In the eyes of the plainsmen, the aborigines would appear strange in many respects, especially in speech and appearance. Stories derived from these contacts might have become the basis for the Yeren legend. Supporting this interpretation, Soymié notes, is the fact that Yeren was thought to be able to appear as a man or a woman, a young person or an old person, and that Yeren is in fact a category of \"strange person apparitions” rather than a single figure. Clearly, once such a flexible figure had become established in the popular imagination, sightings of almost anything on the mountain could feed into the growing folklore about Yeren.\n\n16 Some stories of healings by Yeren are contained in Luofushan Fengwuzhi (Records of Mt. Luofu scenery), Guangdong Lüyou Chubanshe (Tourist affairs publishing co., 1984). This source also records the tradition that the cave of Yeren was guarded by a mute tiger. The chapter in which the healings are recorded is titled, \"The earth-bound fairy riding on a mute tiger.\"\n\n17 Source: Nanhan Shu (The book of Southern Han), Guangdong Renmin Chubanshe, 1981 (reprint), volume 17. This story was also related to Ragvald by scholars of the provincial Wenshi Guan (Research institute of culture and history) whom the first author interviewed in Guangzhou, September, 1987.\n\n18 These details are in notes provided to the first author by the Wenshi Guan scholars (see previous footnote), and were evidently taken by them from an addition to the Nanhan Shu, titled Nanhan Shu Kao Yi (Collating the variants), volume 17.\n\n19 We have not yet been able to verify the exact location of the temple, which apparently is called Huangxianweng miao (The temple of old saint Huang). There may be several other Huang Li temples in this region.\n\n20 According to Nanhan Shu Kao Yi (volume 17) his original name may have been Wang rather than Huang. Evidently he changed his surname to Huang (in Canton...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211054, "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-1987", "page_number": 115, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "90\n\nese pronounced exactly like Wang) after becoming a hermit at Mt. Luofu. Thus the foundation for a subsequent merger of the two \"Yerens” was created. According to Soymie, \"Le Lo-feouchan\", pp. 110-111, another immortal of the mountain, Wang Tijing, was also occasionally referred to as Huang Yeren. Today, however, he seems to be totally disconnected from the \"Yeren\" figure,\n\n21 Su Dongpo Ji [collected works of Su Dongpo], Shanghai, Shangwu Yinshu Guan (Commercial Press), 1933, Vol. 2, p. 58. In this volume there are numerous references (poems as well as letters and essays) to Luofu. Su Dongpo was exiled to Huizhou from the Song capital, and went to Luofu Mountain soon after (in 1094) arriving in Huizhou (this probably indicates the fame of Luofu among men of letters and politicians). What attracted him, no doubt, was the name of Ge Hong. Su is said to have spent about two years (of his four years in Huizhou) in Luofu. (Source: Luofushan Fengwuzhi, p. 105).\n\n22 Guangdong Xinyu, Hong Kong, Zhonghua Shuju (Chung Hwa Book Company), 1975 (reprint), pp. 729-730.\n\n23\n\nThe reference is in Tan Cui's work Chuting Baizhu Lu (Records of precious pearls from Chuting [old name of Guangzhou], reprinted in October 1982 by Guangdong Renmin Chubanshe). This work contains a rather detailed account of Luofu Mountain and most (possibly all) of the temples which existed in the mountain in the 18th century.\n\n24 According to the Luofushan Fengwuzhi, the original temple at Luofu was built in 405 A.D., and was called Ge Hong Ci. Later in the early Tang, a large one called Ge Xian Ci was built. Another source (Lingnan Gu Jin Lu or Records of old and present Lingnan [Guangdong], edited by Xu Xu, well-known Guangzhou-based scholar, Hong Kong, Shanghai Book Company, 1984) states that a small temple was built at Luofu in 742 A.D., called Ge Xian Ci. During the Song dynasty, a Taoist temple was built, called the Duxu Guan, later renamed the Chongxu Guan. The deities worshipped in the central shrine of the temple (they have superseded Ge Hong, perhaps from as early as the Southern Han dynasty) are the three gods residing in the 35th (San Qing Tian) of the 36 heavens (Tianbao Jun, Taishang Daojun and Taishang Laojun). They are the mightiest among the \"shenxians\" (the fairies and saints [immortals]). They are normally understood by worshippers to be the Jade Emperor and his two closest officials.\n\n25 We learned this from the interviews at Luofu, especially from an interview with Mr. Zhang Zongquan, the presiding Taoist at a smaller temple, the Jiutian Guan (devoted to Beidi, the \"northern emperor\"), on the plain near the mountain several kilometres from the main temple. Mr. Zhang had been an officer in the anti-Japanese forces of the area in the 1930's. The provincial Fengwuzhi (Guangdong Fengwuzhi, Guangzhou, Huacheng Chubanshe, 1985, p. 151) also mentions worship of Ge Hong together with worship of Huang Yeren and the mute tiger often mentioned in folk-tales. This account refers to the situation prior to the restoration.\n\n26 See the picture of the Red Pine Fairy in Zhongguo Shenhua Chuanshuo Cidian (Dictionary of Chinese myths and legends), Shanghai, Cishu Chubanshe (Lexiographical publishing company), 1985, p. 185.\n\n21 One Taoist whom we interviewed (see note 25) dismissed the importance of the differences in the biographies of the two Huangs with the remark that the spirit of Huang Chuping entered (or could enter) into the person of the later Huang Yeren. He was the only one we met who explicitly used this strategy to rationalize the merger of the two Huangs into one figure at the Chongxu Guan. It is possible that", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211055, "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-1987", "page_number": 116, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "91 \n\nhe did this spontaneously, in response to our questions. In any case, his response constitutes an interesting datum for those interested in the study of religious rationalizations.\n\n28 Ge Hong, of course, wrote of Huang Chuping, but only as one of a large number of immortals. Su Dongpo, who stayed at Luofu in the 11th century, praises a painting of Huang Chuping in one of several poems on various paintings, but does not mention any connection between the painting and Luofu. Qu Dajun's very detailed account of Luofu (in Guangdong Xinyu) and its saints does not mention Huang Chuping at all. It might be noted, however, that the Southern Song court bestowed titles on Huang Chuping and his brother in the reigns of Shaoxing (1131-1162) and Jiaxi (1237-1240). The Ming official Huang Gongfu (1573-1657) also seems to have brought worship of Huang Chuping to Guangdong. He was stationed in Fujian not far from Jinhua Mountain, according to the annals of Xinhui (quoted by Wong “A study of Huang Ta-hsien\"), but became disillusioned with the Ming regime and migrated south to become a hermit in the Xinhui area. While there, he wrote some poems mentioning Huang Chuping. He lived near a rock or crag once named Yang Shi Keng (Sheep stone pit), changed its name to Chi Shi Yan (The crag of shouting [at the sheep]), evidently referring to Huang Chuping's miracle of turning rocks into sheep. There is as yet no evidence that worship of Huang Chuping by the founders of the Hong Kong temple owes anything to the influence of Huang Gongfu. Many of the devotees of the Xiqiao Huang Daxian, however, came from Gaoming and Heshan not far from the home area of Huang Gongfu.\n\n19 The article, authored by An Shi, is on page two of the brochure, which is printed on newsprint-type paper with the heading \"Scenic spots in Luofu, Tangquan, Huizhou”. The brochure, published by the local branch of the provincial Tourist Agency, is clearly written by journalists and local scholars attached to the local cultural affairs bureau.\n\n10 We were told at Luofu that two former members of the local Wenhua Ju (Cultural Affairs Bureau) had written articles to prove that the Hong Kong Huang Daxian originated in Luofu: Mr. Xie Hua (editor of Luofushan Fengwuzhi), now at the Tequ Bao (Special Zone Daily), had apparently written an article for the Shenzhen Ribao (Shenzhen Daily); Mr. Su Fanggui, now at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Huizhou, had reportedly also written an article on this theme.\n\n31 We were told during the interview with these officials that Huang Chuping was another disciple of Ge Hong; he became an official in Huizhou (obviously a reflection of Huang Li]; he had a brother named Huang Chuqi; he went to Hong Kong, found he had to go far north to a mountain in Zhejiang province, where he was engaged in tending sheep; he became separated from his brother; and so on. These cadres had evidently consulted some books on Taoist saints prior to their meeting with us.\n\n12 Regarding traditions about the mute tigers associated with Yeren, see Soymie, \"Le Lo-feou chan\". p. 27. Soymié points out (ibid. p. 111) that by tradition, several other saints of Luofu also had tigers as companions. Tigers functioned like tutelary deities of the mountain, placed there in part to prevent the wicked and the unworthy from ascending the mountain.\n\n33 We learned while in the area that there had been some recent conflict between the proprietors of rival shrines near the mountain in their attempt to get some of the tourist trade. For a time in the spring of 1987, the Beidi temple on the plain several kilometres from the main temple was by-passed by a steady stream of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211057, "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-1987", "page_number": 118, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "93\n\nOFFICIAL AND ORAL TRADITIONS ABOUT HONG KONG'S NEWEST GOD\n\nGRAEME LANG AND LARS RAGVALD\n\nSince the 1940's an ancient Taoist immortal now known as 'Wong Tai Sin' has become one of the most popular gods in Hong Kong. In researching the social history of the god's major temple in Kowloon, (see Lang and Ragvald, 1988) we encountered two types of stories about the god and his temple. The first type, the official history published by the group which manages the temple, is grounded in certain obscure classical texts. The second type of story is the oral traditions circulating among believers. We were surprised to discover cases where there was little or no connection between official and oral accounts. Two cases are described to illustrate how motifs of story elements from other sources had been drawn into the oral versions. We will also try to explain the occasional wide disparities between official and oral accounts.\n\n2\n\nIn the first case, the authors were interviewing an elderly Cantonese lady to probe her knowledge of the history of the major Wong Tai Sin temple in Kowloon. She had seemed likely to be a good subject. Like the founders of the temple she was formerly in the herbal medicine business, and had operated a shop in Guangzhou (Canton) before moving to Kowloon, where she lived for a time near the Wong Tai Sin temple. She related to us that the original statue of Wong Tai Sin had been miraculously washed into the Pearl River during a natural disaster which severely damaged the temple in Guangdong. The statue was swept down the river to Hong Kong, and then miraculously recovered from the sea and made the object of worship. This oral legend is quite different from the official account published by the organization which has managed the temple since 1921. This official account holds that the original image of the god was a picture, rather than a statue; that it was brought down from Guangdong by the founders of the temple in 1915 and placed in a small shrine on Hong Kong Island, and that it was subsequently transported to Kowloon when the temple was moved there in 1921. There is no statue of the god at the modern temple. This official account was written by persons", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211058, "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-1987", "page_number": 119, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "94\n\nassociated with the organization after interviewing the surviving founders in the 1960's, and there is no reason to question its veracity. Where, then, did the old lady's account come from?\n\nFirst, it should be noted that few people who visit the temple are even aware of the name of the private organization which has managed the temple for the past 60 years (Chin, et al., 1977:29). Fewer still will have read the temple's history, written in Chinese in glossy brochures which are provided mainly to the members, government officials, and other dignitaries on ceremonial occasions. Hence, it is not surprising that details of the founding of the temple are not widely known even among devotees of the god. How then do worshippers account for the temple's origins?\n\nIn this particular case, the informant appears to have adopted a miracle story which is not uncommon in the Hong Kong area: the recovery from the sea of a god's statue. The statue of Pak Tai in the temple of Cheung Chau island, near Hong Kong, for instance, was allegedly found by fishermen floating in the sea off Guangdong, and became the object of worship (Savidge, 1977:82), displacing other statues of the god. Another instance has been related by adherents of the Kuan-yin temple near Tai Ping Shan Street on Hong Kong Island, in which the statue of the goddess displayed in the temple was “carved from a block of wood floating in the sea and, according to the local story, giving off mysterious golden rays” (Topley and Hayes, 1966:126). The main icon in the Tin Hau temple at Shek Tong Tsui on Hong Kong Island was also said to have been recovered from the sea (Hayes, 1966:89). This kind of story is superficially similar to the “drifted deities” worshipped by fishermen in the Noto Peninsula area of Japan (Ogura, 1980). Many worshippers in Hong Kong will have heard this kind of story about a god's statue being recovered from the sea. When many years have passed, it is difficult for some people to remember which god's statue was found in the water. One's favourite god may then become the subject of the story.\n\nAnother case we have discovered suggests that the process of transfer can occur quite rapidly. In 1966, in a paper on temples on Hong Kong Island, Topley related the account given her by a Cantonese lady of the life of the Taoist hermit worshipped in", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211060, "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-1987", "page_number": 121, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "96\n\nperformed by others into the legends of another Taoist, Chang San-feng (Wong, 1979:25). Religious lore is particularly susceptible to transfers of miracle-events from one legend to another during pre-literate periods, before chroniclers have had a chance to stabilize the legends by recording some versions for posterity. In describing the evolution of the images of the Olympian gods during the migrations and mixing of peoples in pre-literate Greece, Gilbert Murray suggested that the gods were\n\nexceedingly confused and cloudy and changing concepts, in the minds of thousands of diverse worshippers and non-worshippers. They change every time they are thought of... Even in the height of the Achaean wars the concept of any one god would be mixed up with traditions and associations drawn from the surrounding populations and their gods (Murray, 1951:46).\n\nBut why should these processes be apparent in modern Hong Kong?\n\nWe suggest that borrowing from other traditions during oral accounts occurs in Hong Kong for the following reasons. First, there are a large number of gods and temples in Hong Kong, each one surrounded by numerous legends and miracle stories, and many worshippers visit several temples each year. Thus, they are exposed to a variety of traditions. Second, a very large number of these worshippers entered Hong Kong from China as illiterate or semi-literate adults, and thereafter were seldom exposed to official doctrine or canonical literature. Finally, and equally important, most temples are staffed only by a caretaker and one or more fortune-tellers, neither having any interest in regulating legend. Hence, even the most devout worshippers are free to believe whatever they wish about the history and powers of their favourite deities. In the absence of sermons or widely disseminated official texts, there is little opportunity for the inhibition of legend. Naturally, believers rely on the stories they have heard when constructing narratives about temples and gods.\n\nThus, when interviewing local people for scraps of historical\n\ni", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211061, "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-1987", "page_number": 122, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "97\n\ndata about a temple, the researcher finds that the narratives of some informants are composed largely of these miracle stories, some of them transferred nearly intact from other local traditions. We were initially disappointed over the amount of useful information we were able to glean from our interview with the elderly Taoist lady. But on reflection we realized that we had observed in her \"errors\", as in those of Topley's Cantonese informant, an example of the kind of mixing and mingling of stories and legends which has occurred for millennia in Chinese religion, and must indeed have characterized the early history of many religions prior to the establishment of canonical literature.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211062, "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-1987", "page_number": 123, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "98\n\nNOTES\n\nResearch for this paper was carried out in Hong Kong in the Spring of 1984. We would like to thank John Dolfin, Director of the Universities Service Centre, for the use of that invaluable facility during our research, and John Ashton of Memorial University for some helpful suggestions. Parts of the paper were included in a presentation at a colloquium of the Sociology Department, Hong Kong University, May, 1984.\n\n1 \"Wong Tai Sin\" is the most common transliteration in Hong Kong of the god's name. The pinyin transliteration is Huang Daxian. Here, the common Hong Kong transliterations are used, except for place-names in China such as Guangzhou (Canton), Guangdong (Kwangtung), and Chejiang.\n\n2 The cases to be described are here termed motifs in the sense used by Allen and Montell (1981:38-9), who note that \"the characteristic feature of these migratory narrative elements is their transferability among stories about different events or persons.\"\n\n3 This is the only Wong Tai Sin temple known to most believers in Hong Kong, and the prominence of the god in Hong Kong has occurred entirely as a result of the success, for various historical reasons, of this one temple. There is also a private Wong Tai Sin temple in Kowloon, as well as a small private shrine in Macau, but they have had no influence on the popularity of the god.\n\nbut\n\nSome temples in Guangzhou were indeed destroyed early in this century by Nationalists rather than by the elements (see for instance Rhoads, 1975:255). Perhaps our informant's account of the destruction of the temple was a tradition dating back to these events.\n\n5 The fact that the icon of the god brought to Hong Kong from Guangdong is a picture rather than a statue suggests, as we argue in another paper (Lang and Ragvald, 1988), that the god was worshipped in Guangdong as the patron god of a family herbal medicine business (see Day, 1969, on these \"paper gods\" and their role in family worship).\n\nThe organization which manages the temple, the Sik Sik Yuen, has published the official history of the temple in commemorative brochures, especially: Sik Sik Yuen, 1971; 1981; 1982,\n\n7 Ogura (1980) argues that the drifted deity tradition evolved from an earlier tradition of belief in periodic visits by gods from their abodes beyond the sea. There is no such tradition in the Hong Kong area.\n\n1 The temple's version of the Taoist hermit's life on earth before he became a god is in the form of a short autobiography, supposedly dictated by the god to a Taoist. It appears on a plaque in the temple, and also in brochures published by the Sik Sik Yuen. It has been discovered by Dr. Shiu-hon Wong of Hong Kong University that this account follows closely a capsule biography of the hermit written in the 4th century A.D. as part of the collection \"Biographies of Immortals\", by Ge Hong. This literary version holds that the Taoist hermit Wong, while herding sheep in Chejiang province, discovered a method of achieving immortality. He also manifested his power by turning a hillside of boulders into sheep. These two achievements figure prominently in the temple's \"autobiography\" of the god.\n\nThe story of a saint whose body remains uncorrupted and even sweet-smelling long after burial is a common motif in Christian legends. Loomis (1948:54) cites about two hundred instances.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211228, "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-1987", "page_number": 289, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "264\n\nIn the course of interviewing systemically within the district and going to all the festivals, and also doing what we call 'spot interviews', we began to discover that villagers had in their possession a lot of books. Our first big find in this area was a box in the house of a Taoist priest who kindly and generously allowed us to photocopy all the books in it. These were handwritten, and some of them were not even used in his time. We also found quite a few in Shatin, and then all sorts of other things turned up. At the moment, what we call the \"Historical Literature of the New Territories\" runs into 30,000 photocopied sheets, and more material is coming in all the time. Photocopies of these papers have been made for various libraries, here and abroad, in view of their historical importance. I should also mention a project on collecting folk songs in the New Territories, which is being sponsored by the Hong Kong Museum of History.\n\nIn hindsight, the organisation we had was rather too simple. Working in the way we did, we in fact needed a much greater amount of institutional support than we actually had. The problem is, you need a certain amount of continuity. You see, strangely enough, money is not the biggest issue. Continuity is needed to build up and sustain your contacts. People also need a place to work in, which we never really had. It has got to the stage where if somebody really wants to go on working along these lines, collecting interview materials and documents, he has to give up all his writing, which is quite impossible. On the other hand, the price you pay for writing without continuing to collect is that a lot of the material will be lost. Old people will simply not be around for so long, and the books will be thrown away before they are collected. Unfortunately, so far no institution has come forward to support a project of this sort. The people who are involved are working in their personal capacities and doing whatever they can. But because we have not got a better organisation, more will be lost than need be the case.\n\nPatrick Hase\n\nWell I'll also start by saying how I started in this field. Like other people now keenly interested in village life in Hong Kong, I was not initially interested in the subject. Then I became District", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211253, "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-1987", "page_number": 314, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "289\n\nof illegal structures. In time, it became a fixture, and the canopy and office have long carried the markings affixed by the department and its successor from 1971, the Housing Department, that granted them tolerated status.\n\nThe principal celebration at the shrine takes place at the Mid Autumn Festival, on the 14th to the 16th days of the eighth lunar month. Entertainment is provided for both the god and his followers on this occasion, along with protective rituals carried out by Taoist priests. In Elgin Street days, a stage was erected for performance of traditional songs (WA). After the move to Peel Street, a stage was set up in the middle of the “street”, opposite No. 49, built over the steps and with space to let the public pass up and down during the three-day event. Performances of Hoklo Opera were held every year up to 1973, the year before my visit. Permission had been refused in 1972, and there was no opera that year, but in 1973 the managers ignored the prohibition, and held the performance regardless.\n\nFor some reason, the opera that year was performed by a Cantonese troupe, instead of a Hoklo one. Perhaps the 1972 interruption, and uncertainty as to whether it could be held in 1973, were responsible. In 1973 the cost was over 30,000 dollars, with the opera troupe being responsible for erecting and dismantling the mat-shed.\n\nTheir persistence in the face of official disapproval was related to traditional practice at the mother temple in To Tong Market. There, before 1949, Hoklo opera was performed every year. Moreover, the proceedings were on a much larger scale. The religious rites and operatic performances lasted between 20 to 40 days, dependent upon weather, the state of the local economy - whether it had been a good or a bad year - and the amount subscribed towards the event. Curiously, there seems to have been a local tradition that servants and workers were not to be engaged by residents over the festival period, long though it was. This, too, was said to have applied in Hong Kong, over the three days observed here.\n\nIn Hong Kong, the group could not hold opera performances", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211273, "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-1987", "page_number": 334, "title": "RAS-1987", "content_text": "觀天九\n\nPlate 9. Ragvald (with daughter Suzanne) and Lang with Mr. Zhang Zongquan. the presiding Taoist at the Jiutian Guan, near Luofushan.\n\nThe gentleman in the white jacket, who works at the Chongxu Guan, introduced us to Mr. Zhang.\n\nPlate 10. Image of \"Red Pine Huang Daxian\" at the Chongxu Guan, Luotushan.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1987.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211391, "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-1988", "page_number": 107, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "83\n\nafter he died.\n\nThe wife of a worthy man, Ts'ai Haai (M) was ill, and all hope of her recovery was given up. As the doctors appeared no good, Tsai Haai asked the priests to come and pray for her. They could not help. Then one of them said, “Why not ask Pooi To to come?\" When Pooi To arrived, he wandered into the room, looked at the woman and said quietly, \"Easy\". Then he muttered to himself for a while and gradually the woman was cured. Tsai Haai after that insisted on Pooi To staying with him in his house, and treated him with the greatest of respect.\n\nIn the ninth month of the third year of Yuen Ka (元嘉) A.D. 426 of Sung dynasty, Pooi To went off to a lake in the East called Ch’ek Shaan Woo (赤山湖) where he became ill, and died. Tsai Haai took his corpse and buried it in a hill called Fook Chau Shaan (U) \"upside down boat hill\", which is somewhere to the north-east of Nanking.\n\nTwo years later, one day in the third month, Tsai Haai was in his house with his family, when to his surprise the door opened and Pooi To walked in. He talked pleasantly for a short while, when there was a knock at the door and a priest appeared. He beckoned to Pooi To who followed him, but before he left Pooi To told the family that he had to go to Kaau Kwong (交廣) (now Kwangtung, Kwangsi and Annam) and would never come back to them. He then threw his cup into the sea and he and the priest sailed away in it, to the Monastery of Tuen Moon Shaan (Castle Peak), where as has been already said, he became Abbot.\n\nPooi To is reputed also to have lived for a while in another hill nearby called Ling To Shaan (靈渡山) “miracle across the Sea Hill\", and there is still a monastery there bearing the name of Ling To Tsz (靈渡寺).\n\nNothing further is known about Pooi To and there are no stories about him after he came to Castle Peak, but it is supposed that the monastery there was carried on by Buddhist monks for many years after his death. There is nothing recorded to give any indication of how long the monastery continued to exist, but it must have fallen into disuse by the reign of To Kwong (道光) 1821-1850 of Ts`ing (清) dynasty because the Taoists built a monastery then on the site of the old one, and called", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211392, "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-1988", "page_number": 108, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "84\n\nit T's ing Wan Kwun (EU) \"green cloud Taoist temple,\" At first many people visited it, but its popularity did not last long, and eventually it became deserted.\n\nIn 1918 a Buddhist came to Castle Peak, and established the present Buddhist monastery, adding to the buildings and becoming the first abbot.\n\nAny one visiting Castle Peak now, will find much of interest. About half-way up the path leading to the monastery there is a handsome gate that was erected in 1929. On the front of it are the characters Heung Hoi Ming Shaan (9) \"Hong Kong Sea Famous Mountain\" which were put there by Sir Cecil Clementi. On the reverse side is written Wui T'au Shi Ngon (1004) meaning, the shore is just behind you, i.e. you can mend your ways easily. This is a Buddhist saying and was written on the gate by Tit Shim (HP) a famous abbot in Canton. The gate was erected by twenty Chinese benefactors, and their names are written on the left hand side of the front of the gate.\n\nThe monastery itself consists of several buildings, the Abbots Lodge, the Pooi To pavilion and a garden with an arbour called Hoi Yuet T'ing (H) \"Sea Moon Arbour\" which was placed there for the delightful purpose of looking at the moonlight on the sea. The Fishers Tomb is an object of interest. The Buddhists who believe that no form of life should be taken are in the habit of buying fish from the fishermen and releasing them in the sea again. If, however, the fishes are dead, they bury them in this Tomb so that no one will eat them.\n\nJust above the buildings there is a small cave with the remains of a whale's bones in it. This whale is supposed to have crushed the mountain in remote times, but there is more appearance of the whale having suffered than the mountain! Unfortunately a lot of the bones have been taken away by unscrupulous visitors, and only one very worn vertebra and some ribs are left. Near this cave is the little shrine with Pooi To's figure in it.\n\nIf the path leading up to the summit of the mountain is followed a little summer house with stone benches by it is found near the top. This is called \"Clementi Arbour\", and was erected by a Chinese gentleman, who visited Castle Peak with Sir Cecil one day, and heard him remark\n\n: \n:", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211525, "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-1988", "page_number": 242, "title": "RAS-1988", "content_text": "218\n\nTai Sheung Lo Kwan, the notes add, is none other than Taoist Patriarch Lao Tzu.\n\nTHE HONGKONG MILLING COMPANY'S FAILURE*\n\nE. W. WRIGHT\n\nThe suicide of A. H. Rennie, manager of the Hongkong Milling Co., and the subsequent closing down of the big milling plant which Mr. Rennie founded, is still causing much discussion in Pacific coast milling circles. Late particulars of the tragedy and the causes which led up to it, seem to indicate quite clearly that the death of Rennie and the failure of the institution which he established have combined to postpone indefinitely the attempt to build up the milling business in China on anything more than a very moderate scale.\n\nWhether or not it is possible to manufacture flour at a profit at Hongkong, is still a matter of doubt with some Pacific coast millers. They do not regard the failure of Rennie as proof conclusive that the business cannot be conducted with a profit, for Rennie, while a remarkably good flour salesman, knew nothing about the details of manufacturing flour. His failure, however, has made Pacific coast millers sceptical about the future success of milling in China in competition with the product that is shipped across the Pacific.\n\nThe rise and fall of the milling project at Hongkong is so much a part of the remarkable career of Mr. Rennie, who promoted it, that its history can best be told by relating his.\n\nA. H. Rennie was a native of Canada, where he was born in 1857. He became the confidential adviser and secretary of Hon. John Norquay,\n\n* This very interesting account is reprinted from the Northwestern Miller of 24 June, 1908, published at Minneapolis. Rennie left his name in Rennie's Mill, Junk Bay, near Kowloon. The editor is grateful to Mr. W. J. Howard, a long-time member of the Society, for contributing this item to the Journal.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1988.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211628, "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-1989", "page_number": 43, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "18\n\nTHE JADE EMPEROR AND HIS FAMILY\n\n玉皇大帝\n\nYU HUANG TA TI\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nThe Jade Emperor, also known as the Lord of Heaven (T`ien Kung), is the chief deity of the pantheon of the Cheng I sect of Taoism. He is only a secondary deity of the Taoist Lungmen sect. He was worshipped China-wide as the supreme ruler of the Heavens, and even of some of the Underworld. In folk religion, he is worshipped as the protector of all mankind, having replaced Lao Tzu in that role and as head of the Taoist faith, possibly because people were uncomfortable taking their problems to a philosopher. According to a majority of Taoists his earthly mouthpiece was Chang T'ien Shih, The Heavenly Master and his descendants.\n\nAlthough he is well known to both Chinese and to interested foreigners, what is not so well known are the ramifications of his family and the extent to which several of its members have their own cults.\n\nThe development of the supreme deity in China is far from clear. In earlier times the all-seeing, all-powerful, unseen god was Shang Ti who even now is occasionally referred to as the all-highest. Not only is the term Shang Ti used by Protestants for the Supreme Deity, God, but also the late Chairman Mao in his statement that, at the age of 72, “he was soon going to see God“, used this expression.\n\nHoward Smith, a missionary in China for 24 years, describes how the Chou dynasty (ca 1050-256 BC) founded its government on religion and transformed 'Shang Ti', probably originally a term used for the deified spirits of the imperial ancestors under the previous dynasty, the Shang, into a high God, independent and supreme, He added \"The importance of this change cannot be over-emphasised. When this supreme deity finds the rule of an emperor abhorrent, whenever a king fails, by persistent misrule, in his duties to God, then God rejects him and seeks out a suitable substitute.\" The transfer of the mandate of Heaven, based on the belief in a supreme deity, carried with it strong ethical implications, and continued down to the last dynasty, which fell in 1911.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211629, "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-1989", "page_number": 44, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "19\n\n2\n\nGoullart in his description of the monastery in Kiangsi in which he spent several holidays, describes in one hall 'Shang Ti smiling benevolently and enigmatically from his canopied throne'. He then refers, in his description of another temple, to the Jade Emperor and speaks of him as Shang Ti. There are various explanations offered as to why this deity is called the Jade Emperor. One suggests that the reference in the Book of Changes to '. . . heaven being the ruler, and is... jade' is its origin; Goullart however gives, in translation, an invocation from the abbot to Shang Ti in which he refers to him by title as 'the Mightiest Emperor over all Heavenly Kings, who lives in the Jade Hall of the Western Heaven'. This, surely, is a clue. The supreme deity, Shang Ti, lives in the Jade Hall, hence his title the Jade Emperor. This title is a relatively recent development in Chinese chronology having only become prominent during the 11th century AD. However, popular recognition of and interest in the cult became apparent during the Manchu (Ch'ing) dynasty.\n\nThe title of the sovereign divinity of the Chinese State religion until 1911 was Huang T'ien Shang Ti, the First Rank Supreme Deity in the 17th century regulations of the Ch'ing dynasty. Shang Ti, as the All-highest, was never portrayed in image form, and in a number of temples in South-East Asia the title of Huang T'ien Shang Ti is still given for the supreme deity, usually carved on plaques, and in one temple in Singapore an image of the Jade Emperor even bore a vertical slip of paper inscribed with this title.\n\nMany Chinese myths and legends involve the Jade Emperor; those surrounding his origins are shrouded in mystery and probably his genesis will never be known. China has a rich popular tradition incorporating local tales from every corner of the vast empire, and it is no wonder that numerous and varied explanations have been given by devotees of how and when the Jade Emperor became the senior deity. The earliest known reference to him is from the T'ang but he could have existed long before that. Since then it has commonly been believed that he was either an incarnation of, or given the task of Supreme Deity by Yuan Shih T'ien Chun, the senior deity of the Taoist trinity, the Three Pure Ones (San Ch'ing). His popularity declined somewhat during the Ming. Although a Taoist deity, his image is to be found on altars in several Buddhist temples and some Buddhists even claim that he is really just an adaptation of Indra. To the man in the street all Buddhist, Taoist and folk religion deities are his subordinates, and well timed worship will", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211630, "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-1989", "page_number": 45, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "20 \n\nsecure a writ of pardon for a soul in the Underworld. Buddhists have occasionally accused the Taoists of stealing him from their pantheon. The Buddhist Indra, known as Yu Ti (**玉帝**), literally The Jade Emperor, was, they say, adopted by Taoists to counter Buddhist power. Others suggest that the Jade Emperor was a creation of a Chinese emperor to help maintain the authority and stability of his rule. In one popular version the Sung emperor Chen Tsung (**宋真宗**) in AD 1012, in order to divert his ministers from an unfortunate treaty he had been obliged to sign with some barbarian tribes, announced with great pomp that he had been visited in a dream by an immortal with a letter from the Jade Emperor. In the letter the Jade Emperor explained that he was sending one of the emperor's ancestors in person. The Sung emperor then claimed that a dazzling deity appeared before him in a dream and informed him that he was the Jade Emperor, Master of Heaven and Earth, and the Incarnation of Tao. Later the emperor, having announced that the visit had taken place, ordered that thereafter the Jade Emperor, “one of his ancestors\", was to be treated as a major deity. The next year, in 1013, the Jade Emperor's image was cast and placed in a special temple, the Jade Palace (**玉皇殿**) where it was worshipped by the whole court. One hundred years later, the Sung emperor Hui Tsung (**宋徽宗**) built an even more magnificent temple for the Jade Emperor and thereafter the image was portrayed in imperial robes.\n\nH. Y. Feng3 claimed that the earliest reference to the Jade Emperor was in a poem by Han Yu (768-824), a Confucian scholar who wrote, admiring plum blossom, \"Riding clouds we came together to the home of Yuh Huang', proving, he states, that the Sung emperor's claims were after the fact. However, state recognition by emperor Chen Tsung made the Jade Emperor an important deity in the pantheon.\n\nA Fukienese legend describes the Jade Emperor as being born to a queen who conceived miraculously after a visit by T'ai Shang Lao Chun (Lao Tzu) in a dream. When this prince in due course became king, he ruled with great compassion and concern, and was a model ruler who later devoted part of his life to religion and attained sainthood. This was, however, many centuries before the Sung emperor Chen Tsung popularised the cult.\n\nAnother popular version explains how the Jade Emperor appeared in his visible manifestation to a Sung emperor and told him that he, The Jade Emperor, was the manifestation of the power and thought of Tao,\n\nPage 45\n\nPage 46", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211636, "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-1989", "page_number": 51, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "26\n\nthe destinies of mankind on behalf of the Jade Emperor.\n\nImages of four of his 36 ministers are to be seen with him on several altars. They are:\n\nHsu Chenjen (許眞人)\n\nSa Chenjen (薩眞人) both on his right hand, and\n\nChang Chenjen (張眞人)\n\nKo Chenjen (葛眞人) both on his left hand.\n\nTheir collective title is Hsu Lung Chang Ko Ssu Chenjen (許呂張葛四眞人).\n\nPopular versions of the deification of the Jade Emperor are no more than an echo of the stories related by tea house story tellers who, in turn, came by many of the stories from the Ming dynasty book containing a collection of myths describing the wars which ended in the fall of the Shang dynasty and its replacement by the victorious Chou, \"The Deification of the Gods' (Feng Shen Pang). The collection, also known as the Feng Shen Yen I, describes the appointment of the Jade Emperor by Chiang Tzu-ya, the Prime Minister of the Chou, in about 1180 BC. Chiang had appointed the majority of the heroes who had lost their lives in the wars to overthrow the Shang tyrant to fill vacancies in the bureaucracy of the spirit world with only one post left unfilled, that of the Supreme Deity, the Jade Emperor, which Chiang had been reserving for himself. When he was offered the post, with customary courtesy he paused and asked people to 'wait a second' (Teng lai) whilst he considered. However, having called out \"Teng lai', an opportunist, Chang Teng-lai, hearing his name, stepped forward, prostrated himself and thanked Chiang for creating him the Jade Emperor. Chiang Tzu-ya, stupefied, was unable to retract his words. However, in tense anger he quietly cursed Chang Teng-lai, ‘Your sons will become thieves and your daughters prostitutes!' Chang Teng-lai became the Jade Emperor but was unable to prevent the curse from working. The sons, in the Feng Shen Pang, planned to steal Buddha's lotus throne, but omniscient Buddha trapped them with his fingers and enslaved them under a pagoda. Despite this human origin, and his apparent lack of qualifications for the post of Supreme Deity in the pantheon, he is above all other spirits in the Taoist and folk religion pantheon and is a distant deity to whom all others must pay their respect.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211638, "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-1989", "page_number": 53, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "28\n\nSheng Mu (玉皇聖母)\n\nOne of the more interesting arrangements is the main hall of the Temple of the Jade Emperor in Tainan. The Jade Emperor occupies the main altar with the San Kuan (Three major Taoist deities) immediately before him. On his left hand is his son, referred to as the Fourth Heir Apparent (Yu Huang Ssu Tien Hsia F) (see Plate 4) but without any personal name, and on his right is his grandchild, the Third Princess (San Kung Chu Niang, see Plate 5). According to the temple keeper she is the younger sister of the Jade Emperor's heir Yuh Huang T'ai Tzu, and her annual festival is celebrated before her altar on the 15th day of the third lunar month. The other children of the Jade Emperor are not represented. An image of the Jade Emperor's third daughter (see Plate 7), a princess whose name is not given, is the main deity on an altar in a temple in Pai Sha on the Pescadores Islands. On the same altar are four other princesses, said to be her sisters, but again without names. These four are lesser deities.\n\n10\n\nMrs. Goodrich was told by her Peking informant that Yen Kuang Niang-niang, the deity who watches over eyesight, was the sixth daughter of the Jade Emperor. Her image in the Temple of the Eastern Peak in Peking portrayed her carrying images of eyes in her hands. She has to be worshipped by a pregnant mother or her child will be born with incurable eye trouble.\n\nIn another temple on the Pescadores, the Lung Tu Temple in Makung, the Third Prince of the Jade Emperor is the main deity on one of the major altars. He is flanked by smaller images of the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Princesses (Ta, Erh, Ssu, Wu Kung Chu). This Third Prince Yu Huang San T'ai Tzu should not be confused with Na Cha, who is also referred to as the Third Prince (Nacha San T'ai Tzu). The third son of the Jade Emperor is portrayed as a seated, beardless, middle-aged man holding an unsheathed sword vertically before his chest and with his left hand raised to shoulder height making a mystic sign. He is wearing a high, round-topped cap with a bead-screen, and has four flags signifying his military rank in a rack across his back.\n\nThis same deity, Yu Huang San T’ai Tzu, has been noted with an image of the Taoist deity, the Saintly Mother (Sheng Mu) on a side altar in the main hall of a large folk religion temple in Manila.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211639, "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-1989", "page_number": 54, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "29\n\ndedicated to Pao Kung, the Lenient Judge, and also in a Buddhist temple in Beverley Hills on Cebu where he has behind him a small image of the Jade Emperor's second son Erh T'ai Tzu (...). The whole group of the Jade Emperor's family, though only the two sons (the second one and the third) are portrayed, is referred to as Chiu Chung T'ien Lao Tsu (LICEEM).\n\nA rural temple on the island of Penang contains three images on its secondary altar identified as the Three Sons of the Jade Emperor. They are referred to as San Yuan T’ai Tzu (SAT).\n\nAnother rural folk religion temple at Bukit Mertajam on the Malaysian mainland opposite Penang contains an image of the Jade Emperor's Fourth Daughter (Ti Ssu Kung Chu Pч2) on one side of the main deity on the altar, the Jade Emperor himself, with an aide to the princess on the other side of the Jade Emperor. The aide is known as Meng Yen Hua (夢燕花),\n\nAn unusual image, of a farmer standing holding a hoe over his shoulder, stands on a private altar belonging to a Hakka petty businessman in Kranji, Singapore. The businessman explained that it portrayed one of the sons of the Jade Emperor and had been brought from eastern Kuangtung province last century; it has been prayed to for good crops ever since. He is known as Li Po Kung Kung (#22).\n\nIn one group in Singapore, on a Taoist altar in Lorong How Sun, the Jade Emperor is attended by four of his seven daughters. The first is Hsien Chi Niang Niang (瑄姬娘娘), the second is Kuan Yin, the third is T'ien Hou and the fourth is Nu Wa. All but the eldest are well known deities from early Taoism and Buddhism in their own right. Hsien Chi Niang Niang has only been noted twice, both times in Singapore, on altars where she is said to be the eldest daughter of the Jade Emperor. She is portrayed standing on rocks, holding a fly whisk in her right hand.\n\nAgain in Singapore, on a private altar, a Buddha figure, gilded and seated in a lotus position, was identified as Han Hsien Fu Tsu (#\n\nbili), and said to be a daughter of the Jade Emperor (see Plate 8). She has three identifying features apart from her Buddhist five-leaf crown. These are a small dragon crawling over her left knee, a vase balanced on her right knee and her palms held facing together before her chest with her fingers making a mystic sign. This image has also been seen", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211642, "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-1989", "page_number": 57, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "32\n\nHuang T'ien Shang Yi (LR)\n\nSan Chieh Yu Huang Ta Ti (三界玉皇大帝)\n\n(The San Chieh altar before a temple entrance in Fukienese and Ch'aochou communities, represents the Supreme Deity, T'ien Kung (The Jade Emperor). It is a trinity of Heaven, Earth and Mankind, and the altar is usually higher than normal altars.)\n\nYuan Chih T'ien Tsun (X) (Taiwan)\n\nYu Huang Chih Tsun(玉皇至尊)\n\nYu Huang Ta T'ien Tsun (X) (Taoist)\n\nCh'ing Ching Tzu Jan Chiao Wang Ju Lai (a**=**)\n\nSome temple keepers claim that Yuan Shih Tien Tsun is an incarnation or alternative title for the Jade Emperor. Though Yuan Shih T'ien Tsun is often claimed to be the Supreme Emperor of the Beginning of time, he is primarily a member of the Trinity, the San Ch'ing (), and its first member. He is the First Principle, he has no beginning and no end, is the source of truth and his doctrine leads to Immortality. He dwells in the Kunlun Mountains and was possibly a deity invented by the Taoists to counter the then growing influence of Buddha. His image appears with that of the Jade Emperor on a number of temple altars, thus highlighting the difference between the two deities.\n\nMost of the information related above about the Jade Emperor is reasonably well known; however, the question of the images of the children of the Jade Emperor is a subject which appears not to have been investigated before. Most of the children, numbering up to seven daughters and four sons, appear on altars with their father, in groups on their own or individually alone as deities in their own right. Temple keepers without exception did not know why the particular son or daughter was represented on the altar in their temple though some suggested that the children were really well known major deities such as T'ien Hou and Kuan Yin. However, it is understandable that individual members of the Jade Emperor's family who are referred to on a number of occasions in the legendary history, the Feng Shen Yen I, together with mythical apotheosised heroes from the same legends whose images appear on Chinese altars, should themselves also appear on Chinese altars.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211660, "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-1989", "page_number": 75, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "50\n\neach bearing a different surname. Depending upon which source you accept the maximum number of individual surnamed Pestilence Wang Yeh would appear to be a mere 106 or 132 out of the 360.\n\nThere are at least five or six different legends describing the origins of these spirits which vary enormously both in general and in detail with the most popular story heard repeatedly in Taiwan and South-East Asia being of 360 musicians deified by an emperor of China. Cautionary stories about the threat to the populace from the 360 Plague Gods were common throughout China but other than in Fukienese communities they were not referred to as Wang Yeh. In some versions the spirits of the musicians spread out all over China and in our major legend five particular spirits, deemed special protectors of the area, ended up in the Changchou and Ch'uanchou area of Fukien.\n\nThe different legends, in general, claimed that the group of Pestilence Wang Yeh were 'scholars killed by Ch'in Shih Huang Ti, the unifier of China in 210 BC, who ordered the burning of books and the burial of Confucian scholars'; 'T’ang dynasty literati who died as a result of the folly of the emperor T'ang Ming Huang (685-762AD)'; 'The 360 Ming literati who refused to serve the usurping foreign dynasty, the Ch'ing and hanged themselves, (mid-seventeenth century AD)'; 'The five scholars who killed themselves to save villagers from an infected well'; or, finally, are 'spirits of the man-in-the-street who died of plague and became Plague gods'.\n\nA few temple keepers claim that the Pestilence Wang Yeh are subordinate to the Lord of Mount T'ai and of the Underworld (T’aishan Ta Ti 泰山大帝).\n\nThe following are a number of the legends in greater detail. The first relates that during the reign of T'ang T'ai Tsung (627-649 AD) five scholars who had been unsuccessful at the imperial civil service examinations had stayed on in the capital living on what they could earn playing music. The emperor summoned them to the palace to play for him and had at the same time the Taoist 'pope' Chang T'ien Shih (Chang the Heavenly Master) in audience. The emperor wishing to test the 'pope's' magical powers ordered the musicians to play in the cellar whilst he told the ‘pope' that there were five demons in the basement. The 'pope' using his secret arts killed all five. The emperor was both appalled and ashamed of what he had caused and deified all five.\n\nPage 75\n\nPage 76", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211661, "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-1989", "page_number": 76, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "51\n\nAnother version of this legend claims that it was the T'ang emperor Kao Tsu (618-626 AD) who wished to test the 'pope's' powers by hiding 360 of his most elite literati (and not failed scholars) in the basement where they were required to play music. The 'pope' was instructed to stop the unidentified noise in the cellar and having waved his magic sword all sounds ceased. The 360 were all found dead, decapitated. The 360 complained to Yen Lo Wang, the ruler of the Underworld on their arrival at his Court who criticised the emperor and required him to appease the dead literati. This the emperor did by appointing them all to be Wang Yeh and by ordering a magnificent Buddhist mass to be said for their souls.\n\nIn some versions the detail of the test set by the emperor for the Taoist 'pope' suggests that the imagination of the tea-house story tellers was stretched to the limit. In one, when the music reached its crescendo the emperor ordered the 'pope' Chang to put a stop to it. Chang replied that the only way he could do so was by killing the makers of the music but the emperor insisted. Chang sprinkled rice and salt on the floor, struck it with magic sword or wand and all 360 were instantly decapitated. After their souls had appeared before Yen Lo Wang in the Underworld demanding to be restored to life and Yen Lo had explained that this was not possible, the spirits of all 360 were confined to a box and cast into the waves of the sea. Found later by a fisherman on the foreshore, the box was opened and the spirits released. They returned to haunt the emperor who thereupon ordered that they should be deified as Wang Yeh. He also decreed that they should be revered in all parts of the empire. The spirits separated and went their ways with five going to Fukien where they have been worshipped ever since.\n\nA version heard in rural Singapore claimed that Chang T'ien Shih was told by some immortals that other immortals, heavenly ones who played music and wrote poetry, were in fact demons in disguise and that they should be destroyed. Chang, who could not resist a challenge, drew his sword and killed a mere 36 at one blow. Chang was later horrified to hear that the 36 were not demons at all but genuine immortals, and immediately sped to the Court of the Jade Emperor in Heaven to apologise and request that the 36 should be deified. The Jade Emperor granted his request and the 36 were sent to all parts of China to serve as pestilence deities. This legend in one form or another is possibly one of the best known legends about pestilence deities amongst the Chinese.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211662, "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-1989", "page_number": 77, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "52\n\nA second legend also tells of five scholars, again during the T'ang dynasty, on their way to the capital to take the imperial examinations when they overheard demons plotting to poison a village well with pestilence pills. The villagers themselves would not believe the scholars so the five jumped into the well and polluted it with their corpses. The Jade Emperor was impressed by their self-sacrifice and appointed them Pestilence Wang Yeh. This story was originally specifically told by people from Ch'uanchou in Fukien.\n\nA third legend claimed that five men, Li, Chih, Wu, Chu and Fan became blood brothers in order to serve the man who, after his military campaign, established the T'ang dynasty and became its first emperor, Kao Tsu. The five were appointed to various offices of state, served the country well, and after they died were appointed Celestial Inspectors, known colloquially as Pestilence Princes, Wen Wang (HE).\n\nTwo further legends date the origins of the Pestilence Wang Yeh to the Ming, some four hundred and sixty years after the T'ang. The first tells of 36 literati ordered by an early Ming emperor to travel forth beyond the borders of China to tell the world about China's greatness and in particular about the history of the great Tang dynasty. On one of the voyages all 36 were lost in a storm at sea and according to one of the surviving sailors, an auspicious pink cloud drifted over the roaring waves and celestial music was heard as the 36 were borne aloft. The emperor ordered a new ship to be built to be called the Ship of the Wang Yeh into which was placed a tablet for each of the 36 together with a decree personally written by the emperor requiring the officials at every port where the ship docked to welcome and honour the spirits of the dead literati.\n\nYet another local legend claims that towards the end of the Ming era five literati, Chih, Li, Chu, Hsing and Chin, on their way to invigilate at the local imperial examinations at Ch'uanchou fell ill and died of plague. They lost their lives in the service of the people of the town and have been worshipped ever since as the Five Excellencies (Wu Fu Wang Yeh).\n\nIn a popular story teller's tale, the Feng Shen Pang, recorded during the Ming dynasty, Lu Yueh, a Taoist with his four disciples fought for the last of the Shang dynasty against the Chou forces, using germ warfare (pestilence weapons). All five were on the losing side and", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211669, "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-1989", "page_number": 84, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "59\n\ndeities are not pestilence deities. The confusion has been compounded by the Fukienese themselves when over the years they unconsciously accepted all deities bearing the honorific Wang Yeh as protectors from epidemics.\n\nNOTES\n\nThe term Wang Yeh is best translated perhaps as 'The Excellencies'. It was a title given to imperial princes or lords, and interestingly it was also a term used by robbers for their brigand chief. See Plates 9-14 for illustrations to this article.\n\n2 There has long been controversy whether the Pestilence Wang Yeh are shen (Supernatural beings, spirits or deities) or kuei (shades of the human dead and pejoratively used for ghosts, spectres and demons). One god carver in Singapore explained that Pestilence Wang Yeh are \"half-deities\", (pan shen) that is half-shen and half-kuei. However, whilst a number of Pestilence Wang Yeh have ferocious faces, the great majority are portrayed as standard deities with no indication of demonic characteristics. An elderly and authoritative Fukienese god carver in Singapore explained in hushed tones that the Pestilence Wang Yeh are neither gods nor demons, are feared but not revered, and not only protect against plague but also cause it. They are, he repeated, semi-deities from the lower echelons of the bureaucracy of the Afterworld who do not like the human world and therefore cause trouble and bring calamity and misfortune. However, if prayed to they are quite prepared to care for devotees who seek protection. For this reason, more often than not the scale of devotion and offerings to the Pestilence Wang Yeh is greater than that provided to more powerful but orthodox gods.\n\nE\n\nDoolittle J. Social Life of the Chinese 2 Vols: New York: (1865).\n\nA god carver in Singapore suggested that Pestilence Wang Yeh have been given surnames so that no particular surname group is left without a specific deity to worship.\n\nThe only time that all images can be guaranteed to be on their altar in their temple is during the temple's annual festival.\n\nThe altar of Chu Wang Yeh in a temple in Lukang, Taiwan was destroyed by a flood some fifteen years ago. Of the three Wang Yeh images in the temple at that time (Chu, Ting and Nieh) only one image, that of Chu, was recovered. Although a new temple has been built for the three but only containing one image, the one of Chu recovered from the flood, devotees have largely stopped away. They seem to have lost confidence in deities who were unable to protect themselves against disaster.\n\n7\n\n**At Cheung Chau Island in Hong Kong in the afternoon of the third day (of the chiao festival of ritual purification held every ten years) a ('paper boat') ritual to chase away the Demon of Pestilence is performed. A Taoist issues orders to a Heavenly Envoy to carry off the boat and puts the Demon of Plague on a boat and leaves it in the outer seas. The Heavenly Envoy, like the King of Ghosts (Yenlo Wang), has a fierce-looking face. It is an image of about one metre high and the boat is a small one of about one and a half metres long. A Taoist lifts the Heavenly Envoy to a stage in the matshed theatre and chants a question-and-answer song which instructs the Heavenly Envoy. Having finished that, the villagers then put the Heavenly Envoy into the boat loaded with offerings. The boat is taken to the sea shore and left on the waters.\" Tanaka Issei: \"The Jiao festival in Hong Kong and the New Territories\", The Turning of the Tide Religion in China Today: Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, and Oxford University Press (Hong Kong); (1989), p. 287.\n\n8 There is a K'ang Yuanshuai, ie Marshal K'ang, on several Taiwanese altars where he", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211758, "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-1989", "page_number": 173, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "148\n\nvillages in the neighbourhood. Of the nuns of the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz, the abbess from before 1920 to 1931, Wong Tik-yuen, is believed to have come from Fu Tin (Futian), just west of Sham Tsun. Her successor (1931-1944) was Yip Yuet-kwan. It is not known from which village she came, but she, like Wong Tik-yuen, was definitely Punti.\n\nThis strongly suggests that there was a tradition in the New Territories area among the long-settled Punti lineages which made it respectable for girls of those lineages to refuse marriage and instead to enter a nunnery. Those lineages or village groups which owned nunneries were proud of them, and proud of the fact that the nuns came from within the lineage or from the village group or a nearby village. Certainly, the Ling Wan nunnery holds a critically important position within the folktales of the Tangs of Kam Tin.43\n\n—\n\nFor a district to have a nunnery with a few dedicated women living a pure life, eating vegetarian food, and offering shelter and prayer to and for all men, certainly helped protect the district from spiritual disaster, but equally it must have helped reduce social tensions by providing a socially acceptable outlet for girls who did not wish to marry. It is probable that most of these indigenous Buddhist establishments were usually nunneries;14 the Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz is called a nunnery ( ) on the 1789 bell, and in the Hsin An County Gazetteer of 1820* and the folktales of the Tangs about the Ling Wan house clearly presuppose that it was always a nunnery (it is specifically called a nunnery on the bell there, of 1755). The evidence for Ling To and Lung Lai before about 1900 is less clear.¶ However, these nunneries were occasionally handed over to devout men to live in, if such men presented themselves to the villages which owned them when the nunnery would otherwise have been vacant. Villagers remember that, before Wong Tik-yuen became abbess, the nunnery was lived in by a man, who was not a monk (he wore his hair “like a Taoist''), and who terrified the children of the villages.** Lei Pui-yuen may have run the nunnery in the same way. The Ching Shan monastery at Tuen Mun must have been founded for men, and this alone may have remained a house of men in the nineteenth century.¶ What is clearer, however, is that there were no Hakka monasteries or nunneries within the New Territories — presumably the Hakka in this area had no nunnery-based tradition of socially acceptable marriage-refusing women. The question of nunneries and marriage-refusing women in this area requires further study.\n\n48\n\n49", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211951, "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-1989", "page_number": 366, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "341\n\nis performed by the men. Each member (or each group of them) take turns to organize the annual celebration. The organizer would collect the rent, buy the offerings, and keep the balance. He might, through a bidding system, let some other member take care of the business. The profit was incentive for a member to take up the responsibility. Each of the interested members would quote a price for the offerings and the one who offered the lowest price got the job. He made a profit from the difference between the bidding price and the cost.\n\nAmong the ritual associations, I have more information about the Hung-Sing associations, the two Cheun-Fu associations, the two Yi-Chung associations, and the Ngau-Wong associations. The Hung-Sing association membership corresponds to a certain extent to the village of Shui Tau in which the Hung-Sing temple is located. Each of the others named above had members in different villages. But there seems to be an important difference between the two Cheun-Fu Wui and the others: the former were rich men's clubs and the latter poor men's, which in one case has members from among the non-Dang villagers of Sha Pui Leng.\n\nTHE JIU FESTIVAL\n\nVI. ELEMENTS OF THE FESTIVAL\n\nA. Overview\n\nThe main part of the festival in 1985 was a seven-day period in which Taoist rites were conducted and puppet theatre performances given, followed by a separate period in which opera performances were given. But if the preparations are to be counted as well, the events spread over a period of almost a year. The preparation started in the first month of the lunar calendar, when 60 men were selected by divination as ritual representatives (yun-sau) to represent the community in the rites. The villagers responsible then consulted an expert to choose auspicious dates, times and directions for the various events, which included two preliminary Taoist rites near the middle of the year. They also had to contract for and supervise the construction of temporary structures for the celebration, and to hire opera and puppet theatre troupes and Taoist ritual specialists, among others, for services. In addition, they had to make arrangements with various government agencies, such as the police, and the fire services.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211952, "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-1989", "page_number": 367, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "342\n\nThe festival was estimated to cost a total of more than one million dollars. The opera cost $357,000, paper images $150,000, temporary structures $150,000, and the puppet theatre $110,000. The opera was paid for, as is the tradition, from the funds of two lineage trusts, those of the Naam-Kai jou and Ching-Lok jou. Each contributes $180,000. For the other expenses, each of the villagers paid a subscription of $300, with the no. 1 to no. 15 ritual representatives each paying an extra $500,\n\n50\n\nThe main participants were the Dang villagers of Kam Tin. For the purpose of organizing the jiu the villagers were divided into five gu sections. Each section corresponded to a village, except that the Tai Hong gu included, besides Tai Hong Wai, Ko Po, Kam Hing Wai, Tsi Tong Tsuen and Tai Hong Tsuen. Also taking part were the villagers of Ying Lung Wai, the settlement of the second branch of Hung-Yi's lineage outside the heung of Kam Tin. They paid half subscriptions and got the last three places among the 60 ritual representatives. Some of the non-Dang residents in the heung also participated. Those include the Sa Bui Leng villagers and post-War and later immigrants from China who operated farms and shops in Kam Tin. These \"outsiders\", however, could not become ritual representatives. The ritual representatives were to stand for all the villagers in the Taoist rites and in some of the rites the villagers performed on their own. There were also religious activities conducted by every household. At three points of the festival, i.e. the opening day, the main day, and the concluding day, every household came, family by family, to worship at the various ritual sites, and a priest visited each house on the last day to purify the family altar. In addition, each and every person was named in the ritual memorials which were read aloud and sent by fire to heaven, with a copy posted in the ritual area for all to read and check.\n\nMany other villagers in the area were also peripherally involved. They offered their congratulations by having fa-paai banners set up in the festival site, and by paying a formal visit to the site on the main day with their lion/unicorn dances. To wait to receive them the elders of Kam Tin lined up in cheung-saam,\n\nB. Ritual Area\n\nThe festival site was beside the Jau and Wong Temple. A large paang temporary structure was erected. Outside the main structure were three small linked temporary structures for first-aid, the fire services, and the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211954, "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-1989", "page_number": 369, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "344\n\npolice. A cluster of smaller temporary structures were built to house the paper images of the Jade Emperor, the City God, the Daai-Si Wong and Baak Mou-Seung. The Daai-Si Wong, also known as Gwai-Wong (King of Ghosts) is a transformation of the goddess Gwun-Yam, who has a fierce appearance befitting his role in the ritual: to oversee the ghosts when they come for the offerings. The Baak Mou-Seung, literally the White Unpredictable, is one of the two Unpredictables, both members of the Underworld bureaucracy who take peoples' spirits when they are to die. Further away from the main paang was a larger structure for general gods, which was to house most of the gods invited from local temples and shrines.\n\nDecked out with many fa-paai banners from the villagers and outsiders, the main structure had several partitions. At the entrance in front were two huge paper images of two armed gods, who served as the supernatural guardians of the paang. Beside them were two horses with attendants, and a pair of lions. Furthest from the entrance was a stage divided into three sections, all facing the entrance. The middle one is the Taoist altar where the priests performed many of their rites. To the right was the altar for the Dang ancestors Hung-Yi and his two wives. On the left side was the puppet stage, on which plays were performed. On both sides of the central area of the paang were rooms for each of the five gu villages/groups of villages, plus Ying Lung Wai. On the same rows were two rooms for the guards for the festival site, one for guards drawn from the young men of Bak-Bin and the other from those of Naam-Bin. Nearer the front on the right side was a temporary altar for Gwun-Yam.\n\nOn the left side was a large partition dedicated to four separate groups of paper images, many with pottery/ceramic heads. The area was known as the yau-saan, a place to harbour ghosts. Each of these groups was divided into three levels. Two large groups depicted the ten Kings of the Underworld on the topmost level. Under the Kings on the middle level were ten shops, each with signs indicating the business: barber's, brothel, sundry goods shop, pawnshop, second-hand clothing, department stores (two), tailors, porters, and “cool” drinks. On the lower levels were some devils, ghosts under torture in the Underworld, and many shoppers. The subjects of the two other groups were more difficult to identify. One of them was labelled Zizhu Lin, “Purple Bamboo Grove”, the place associated with the Goddess Gwun-Yam. She and her male and female attendants were recognizable among the images on the topmost", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211955, "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-1989", "page_number": 370, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "345\n\nlevel. The rest of the group (on the middle level) included a scene from the story of the Baishe Zhuan, the legend of the love between a snake-turned beauty and a virtuous scholar. The episode represented was that of the monk exercising his supernatural power to kill the lady, so as to free the scholar from the seduction of the demon. The other group bore the sign Wudan Shan, at once one of the famous mountains of China and a well-known place for Taoism. The top level of the group included the Jade Emperor. On the lower levels of these two groups were a temple, runners escorting a sedan chair, and the scene of the Eight Immortals Turning the Sea Upside Down.\n\n51\n\nDecorated with embroidery hangings, the Taoist altar had at its centre portraits of the Three Pure Ones and on either side the Heavenly Master and Taai-Yut Jan-Yan. Further from the centre were portraits of four minor “generals\", named “dragon\", \"tiger\", \"fire\" and \"water\". On the inner walls of the partitions hung pictures of the ten Kings of the Underworld. There was also a backroom to the altar, where the priests stayed between rites. Hanging in this room was an umbrella-shaped object with many charms trailing from it. There were, a priest told me, 28 in all, one for each of the 28 sau constellations. It was called the luo-tian, which meant, he said, the same as xian-tian, the Taoist primordial heaven.\" In the room was a temporary altar set up for the Three Pure Ones, plus a place with two red slips of paper saying \"May Tao be popular with people\" and “Good Luck in the rites\".\n\n52\n\nOn the day before the seven-day period of rites, the villagers decorated the room for their own gu in the main paang. Before each of the rooms stood a Luk Gwok flag, which was the same as the flag used in the Cantonese opera of the same name to announce the identity of a player; and a lo-gu ga; i.e. “drum and gong holder\". Hanging from the top of the opening were mechanical \"hanging puppets\". Inside near the front was a heung-on incense burner set of the siu-cheng type. The tables inside were decorated by toi-wai embroidery that hung from the edges. Hanging from the \"ceiling\" were similar pieces of embroidery known as waang-mei.\n\nSome of the villages put on displays in these rooms of relics of their illustrious ancestors. In the room for Shui Mei was the screen presented to Dang Git-Sau by relatives and friends to congratulate him on the occasion of his 61st birthday, which I mentioned previously. In the room for Wing Lung Wai was a series of scrolls presented in 1919 to celebrate", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211958, "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-1989", "page_number": 373, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "348\n\nD. The Taoist Priests and Their Rites\n\nThe Taoist priests who performed the rites in this festival were hired on a contract basis. More than ten of them were involved, among whom four were in a senior position. The oldest of the four, Mr. Lam Pui, born before 1910, was from the New Territories. Another, Mr. Jeung Hoi, was from a village just across the present Chinese border. Mr. Lam Choi was probably from the New Territories too. Both were born about 1920. These three had been active as ritual experts in the area since when they were young, and had been in leading positions at least in the last few decades. The four had all performed in the 1965 celebration of the Kam Tin jiu festival. The other senior priest, Mr. Chan Gau, was from Sa Jeng in the western area of Bao'an county. He had come to Hong Kong more than ten years ago and since then has worked in the New Territories. Mr. Leung Tung, though not a priest by profession, had been working with this group of priests as a musician, and had trained in an early stage of his career in ceremonial music bands in the Bak Bin villages. Chan Gau, Jeung Hoi and Lam Pui were the partners who undertook to provide the priestly services on this occasion, and the other members of the team were hired to help.\n\nBesides the three-times daily Scripture chanting and small processions to make offerings at different spots, the priests performed about 20 rites in the festival. About ten of them were more elaborate and were considered to be the main ones.\n\nEach of the four senior priests took the leading role in different rites. Mr. Lam Pui, being the oldest and the most knowledgeable, acted as the high priest in most of the main rites, including the Opening Rite, the Purification of the Ritual Area, the Posting of the Placard, the Escort of the Holy Ones, and the Great Offering to Ghosts. Mr. Chan Gau, being younger and good at acrobatic feats, took care of the more martial rituals: the martial arts section of the Purification of the Ritual Area, and Going through the Gates of Life and Death, and headed the team for the Dipper Rite. Mr. Jeung Hoi acted as the main priest in some of the other important rites. Mr. Lam Choi, partly because he was not one of the partners, played secondary roles. The morning, noon-time, and afternoon Scripture chanting and offerings were performed by the more junior members of the team, as were the short concluding rites on the last day.\n\n60\n\nAlthough the rites differ one from another, there were many elements", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211959, "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-1989", "page_number": 374, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "349\n\ncommon to them. Most of them took place at one small space which I shall refer to as the ritual site. In most of the rituals, the ritual site was the Taoist altar in the main hall. Wherever a rite took place, the focus was one or more tables decorated with red embroidery, and covered with offerings of candle-sticks, incense, tea, wine, and sweets and food. In many cases the images of the gods to whom the rite was addressed were placed on the table. In most of the rites that took place at the Taoist altar, a distinction could be made between an \"inner table\" for the three Pure Ones and an \"outer table\" for the general gods of heaven. The priests put on their different Taoist robes and hats, which, in the main rites, distinguish the high priest from the others, and performed a series of actions to the accompaniment of music, which was played on cymbal, gong, dong-jiu and sona, and in the cases of scripture chanting and a few other rites which consist mainly of chanting, the \"wooden fish\" and \"chime\".\n\nThe other common objects used in the rites included manuals, charms, charm water, a bushel measure, knife, seal, and the faan flags for the Emperors of the Five Directions. To pay their respects to the gods, in many rites the priests held a chiu-gaan tablet before the breast as officials did when received in audience by the Emperor, or held a small incense burner with handles. At certain stages of the rites, typically when reporting their Taoist title and invoking the gods, the priest instructed the ritual representatives to kneel. The bushel measure was on the ritual table during most of the major rites. It contained, besides the faan flags, the sword and seal which represented the power of the Heavenly Master, Zhang Tianshi. With these two symbols of authority the head priest performed his magic steps to purify the ritual area, often using charm water as well. Besides the charms used with water for purification, there were charms for summoning different spirits in the Taoist cosmology.\n\n62\n\nOne of the ritual objects which appeared several times in the series of Taoist rites was the Memorial, which existed in three different forms for different purposes.\n\nIn all its versions the Memorial contained a general statement about the ritual, and a list of all the participants in the ritual, i.e. all the villagers. One version was bound in the form of a book and was usually carried by the no. 1 ritual representative in a paper \"pavilion\". This Memorial was read in summary during the first stage of most rites, and in full in a few major rites. Used in most of the major rites were Memorials in the form of scrolls, which were at the end of the rites sent off to the different sections of the supernatural", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211960, "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-1989", "page_number": 375, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "350\n\nworld by first fixing them in the arms of a mounted paper horse rider known as gung-chou, who served as a messenger, and then burning the three (horse, rider, and memorial) together. The other form, known as bong, was posted in a rite on the main day of the festival on a wall, and remained there until the conclusion of the ritual.\n\nThe scripture chanting/Repentance session took place before the Three Pure Ones three times a day. The manual used was the common Jade Emperor's Repentance Scripture. The sessions were very short. The one I timed lasted only fifteen minutes. The other daily rite was the procession of offerings, which started at the Taoist altar with worship of the Three Pure Ones, then visited all the five faan posts, all the temporary altars and the Jau and Wong Temple, the guardian gods of the paang, and the yau-saan. The procession included flags and banners, and was preceded by a man holding a \"spirit summoning flag\". At each spot it stopped at, the priests briefly chanted and made offerings.\n\nThe other (and longer) rites involved a lot of chanting and singing, which, in many cases, nobody could hear clearly. The amplified music of the puppet theatre drowned out any other sound. The only exception was a scholar of religion from the Chinese University of Hong Kong who had the high priest carry a wireless microphone for him and who could therefore listen to the priests' words from a headphone radio and compare them with the manual. My descriptions of the Taoist rites, therefore, are often interpretations of what I saw and heard on the basis of past experience and manuals. 63\n\nE. The Participants List in the Taoist Rites\n\nOf the elements of the rites, the villagers probably knew most about the Memorials in their different forms. The women villagers in general knew less about the festival (or they pretended to). When I asked some elderly ladies at the ritual site what da-jiu was all about, they explained that it was heui-lok promised to Jau and Wong, to commemorate them. They suggested that I should ask elderly men instead. It was men who knew more about these things. The knowledge was handed down from one generation to another. But I overheard, during the opening rite, the same group of elderly ladies asking themselves how many priests were reading the Memorial (the one to be burnt). They observed that there was too much noise for them to hear the reading. They explained to me that the names of all the villagers (yan-hau) were being read. The priests\n\nPage 375\n\nPage 376", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211962, "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-1989", "page_number": 377, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "352\n\nF. Theatre\n\nAfter the seven-day rites period, the main paang was modified for use as the opera theatre. The raised area originally partitioned for the Taoist rites, puppet plays and the ancestral altar was converted into the opera stage. The ancestral tablet of Hung-Yi and the statue of Gwun-Yam were moved into the smaller paang for the general gods. The rest of the main paang became a raised audience seating area divided into left and right halves. The right half was for Bak-Bin and the left for the Naam-Bin. Here Bak-Bin included Ying Lung Wai. There was also a clear partition of each half into two sections. One section was for males and the other for females. Between the seating areas for Naam-Bin and Bak-Bin was a separate area, the front part of which was seating for guests, and the rear part of which was left empty, probably for standing audience.\n\n64\n\nIn the afternoon before the first opera performance, the rite of exorcism, Jai Baak-Fu, was performed by the opera players on the stage. To the accompaniment of percussion patterns played on large cymbals, gongs, and drums, a man in black fought with a yellow \"white tiger”. Although the opera troupe's ritual practice was to perform this ritual only at places where there had never been any theatrical performance before, the Dangs, for the sake of safety, made a special request and paid the troupe an additional fee to have the rite performed.\n\nThe allocation of theatre seats caused some conflicts among the villagers. I had been told that the seating was allocated on the morning of 24th December, and a chu was allocated seats according to its position in the jiu Memorial. A young man from Shui Tau told me that a fight almost broke out on account of the seating arrangements. There was hot disagreement between some youngsters of Wing Lung Wai on one side and those of Kat Hing Wai on the other. There were more than ten of these young villagers from each of the two villages who were quite ready to fight.\n\n65\n\nSome others solved their seating problems in a more peaceful manner. I learned about the case of a Kat Hing Wai family which was not one of the ritual representatives and had therefore been allocated seats very far from the stage. But the eldest son of the head of the family managed to purchase some seats for his parents to express his filial piety. Another Kat Hing Wai villager had asked him (the son) for a loan of a few", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211976, "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-1989", "page_number": 391, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "366\n\nThe procession soon turned back without entering the village. By now, I noticed, the team had grown to more than 100 young men. They moved towards Kat Hing Wai. On the way they turned the paper image to \"shine on\" an alley opposite the food stall at the market, and the paths leading from the main road to Tsi Tong Tsuen and Tai Hong Tsuen. Beside the alley was a shop, where a few women fled when they saw the King of Ghosts facing them. Then the same \"shining on\" procedure was repeated at the other spots they passed on the way to Wing Lung Wai: the path leading to Tai Hong Wai, the path leading to the Tung Tak School of Shing Mun San Tsuen and a place on the other side of the road. Partly for fun, the young men did the same to the two doors of the Jockey Club betting centre, \"to influence the outcome of bets\". The procedure was also applied to the village gate of Wing Lung Wai and a spot opposite the gate across the road. Then the procession turned back and proceeded to Tai Hong Wai, where some of the men in the team shouted, \"tell people to keep clear and shut their doors\". Some of the younger men added, \"thank you for your co-operation\". I had the impression that they were talking like that partly for the fun of being in command. The procession went back to the main ritual area after \"shining on\" the village gate of Tai Hong Wai.\n\nG. Renewal of the jiu\n\nThis took place in the morning after the final main rite of Grand Offering to the ghosts, after the Taoist priests had performed the brief purification rites at the individual households. It took place at the temple of Jau and Wong, the two main gods of the festival. To their altar was escorted the image of Gwun-Yam, the other patron god of Kam Tin.\n\nIn the preparation for the rite an elder explained to a younger ritual representative that this rite is to heui-ping-on, to beseech the gods for well-being, giving a promise that in ten years' time another celebration will be held. Only the no. 1 to no. 15 ritual representatives (which was in accordance with the traditional rule) and the priest participated. The priest chanted a eulogy and the invocation for blessing.\n\nH. Sending off the gods\n\nThis took place after the end of the Opera performance period. I overheard previously the villagers telling one another that those who fetched a god should send them home afterwards in this rite.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211977, "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-1989", "page_number": 392, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "367\n\nThe villagers had already gathered at the festival site when I arrived at half past nine in the morning. The red slips of paper etc., were carried by the people responsible on a tray, and, in some cases, a \"pavilion\", back to where they had been fetched from. In all cases, I believe, the person who carried the divinities was preceded by one of his companions who beat a gong. In some cases the procession included the \"Keep quiet!\" and \"Keep clear!\" banners.\n\nI witnessed the case of the Hung-Fan Taam gods. On their arrival the villagers set up the temporary spirit tablets of the divinities at the site, and made offerings of tea, sweets, yun-bou and paper clothing to them. Then they burnt the spirit tablets as well as the paper offerings.\n\nAhern, Emily Martin\n\nBrim, John A.\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n1981 Chinese Rituals and Politics, Cambridge University Press,\n\n1974 \"Village alliance temples in Hong Kong\", in Wolf (1974: 93-104).\n\nCheng, Sui Kwan Faure, David\n\nn.d. \"Yuanlang Xinx\", unpublished manuscript.\n\n1984 \"The Tangs of Kam Tin - A hypothesis on the rise of a gentry family\", in Faure et. al (1984).\n\nFaure, David et. al (eds.) 1984 From Village to City: Studies in the Traditional Roots\n\nHayes, James W.\n\nKamm, John\n\nof Hong Kong Society, Centre of Asian Studies. University of Hong Kong.\n\n1983 The Rural Communities of Hong Kong: Studies and Themes, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.\n\n1977 \"Field notes on the social history and fungshui of Kam Tin”, Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (JHKBRAS) xvii, pp. 202-216.\n\nLaw, Suk-Ching and Lam Siu-Fung\n\n1985 **Jintian Dengshi shixi bogian shi'', in Renleixie Zhou Tekan, pp. 2-14. The Anthropology Society, Chinese University of Hong Kong.\n\n1984 \"Village education in the New Territories region under the Ch'ing\", in Faure et. al. (1984).\n\n1983 New Peace County: A Chinese Gazetteer of the Hong Kong Region. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press,\n\nNg Lun, Alice Ngai Ha\n\nNg, Peter Y.L..\n\nOfuchi, Ninji\n\n1983 Chugokujin no Shukyo Girei, Tokyo,\n\nSaso, Michael R. Schipper, K.W.\n\n1972 Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, Washington.\n\n1974 \"The written memorial in Taoist Ceremonies\", in Wolf (1974:309-324).\n\nSiu, Augustus K.K. and Anthony K.K.\n\nSiu, Anthony K.K.\n\n1982 Studies on Chinese Genealogies and the History of the Hong Kong Region, Hong Kong: Hin Chiu Institute.\n\n1982 \"Zupu zhong suojian zhí shishi shili”, in Siu and Siu (1982), pp. 21-29.\n\n1984 **The Hong Kong Region before and after the Coastal Evacuation in the Early Ch'ing Dynasty', in Faure", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211978, "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-1989", "page_number": 393, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "368\n\nSung, Hok-p'ang et. al. (1984), pp. 1-9.\n\n1973 \"Legends and stories of the New Territories: Kam T'in', JHKBRAS xiii, 1973, pp. 28-40.\n\n1974 \"Legends and stories of the New Territories: Kam T'in\", JHKBRAS xiv, 1974, pp. 160-185.\n\nTaga, Akigoro Tanaka, Issei\n\n1982 Chugoku Sofu no Kenkyu, vol. 2, Tokyo.\n\n1985 \n\nTsui, Bartholomew\n\nWatson, Rubie S.\n\nWolf, Arthur P. (ed.)\n\nA Chiu 亞潮(?) baai 拜 baai-san\n\nBaak Mou-Seung Ú Baak-Ging\n\nBaishe Zhuan\n\nLineage and Theatre in China. Interdependence of Festival Organization, ritual, and theatre in the lineage society of South China, Tokyo.\n\n1989 Village Festivals in China: Backgrounds of Local Theatres. Tokyo\n\nforthcoming\n\n\"Daojiao Yili ya Jishen Kiju zhijian de Guanxi”,\n\nforthcoming\n\n\"Taoist Ritual Books of the New Territories\".\n\n1985 Inequality Among Brothers: Class and Kinship in South China, Cambridge University Press.\n\n1974 Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society, Stanford.\n\nGLOSSARY\n\nchiu-gaan chiu-dou * Chiu-Yip #\n\nchu 柱\n\nChuk Yuen 竹園\n\nChung E\n\nChung Yeung 重陽\n\nChung-Saan\n\nU\n\nBak Bin 北便\n\nBak Dai 北帝\n\nbei 陂\n\nbong 榜\n\nBou-Dak Chi #AM\n\nbui\n\ncha-gwo 茶果\n\nChan Gau 陳九\n\nChan 陳\n\nchau-san\n\n+\n\nChenghua 成化\n\ncheun-ding\n\nT\n\ncheun-fu 巡撫 Cheung-Cheun Yun cheung-saam Chi-Naam Ching Ming U Ching-Lok\n\nChung-Yut Я\n\nchyun 村\n\nDaai-Si Wong ✰±\n\nDaai-Wong E\n\ndaai-yan ★A daai-yau daam\n\ndaam-jung da-jai 打仔 da-jiu 打醮 dan 躉 Dang 鄧\n\nDang Chung 鄧璁 Dao 道 da-saat\n\nDei-Jong Wong E", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211984, "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-1989", "page_number": 399, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "374\n\nwhich has been copied in an untitled manuscript in the possession of Mr. Dang Yu-Hing).36 Dang Kei-faan Genealogy in the Baker Collection of New Territories genealogies in the British Library.\n\n37 The elder was Dang Wing-Sau, the head of the lineage. I do not know which generation he was in. See Taga (1982:92).\n\n38 Translated in Sung (1974:177-179).\n\n39\n\n40 See table above and the genealogy in Kam Tin Historical Documents, vol. 1.\n\nProbably Dang Hei-Seui. See Sung (1974:166-168) and a genealogy of his segment included in Hugh Baker's Collection of Genealogies.\n\n41 Patrick Hase has drawn my attention to the importance of the monastery as central to the establishment Hung-Yi's descendants in Kam Tin, just as Ling To nunnery is to the Dangs of Ha Tsuen. The monastery and the earlier temple are a major element in the fung-seui of the Pat Heung valley and Kam Tin. The rivers important to irrigation in the area all flow from the mountain on which the monastery stands.\n\n42\n\n41\n\n44 I have not tried to find further information on this man in gazetteers.\n\nSee Sung (1973:112-113) for the Hung Sing Temple.\n\nThis was one of two stories. They were thought of as alternatives although there is no contradiction between them. I shall relate the other one later.\n\n45 I was told that the Juk-Yun Am used to be at the present site of the Gwaan-Dai Temple of Shing Mun San Tsuen, and San-Sin Fu near Shui Mei.\n\n46 Two items in Kam Tin Historical Documents vol. 2 were probably intended for this very grave. These were among the papers of Dang Ting-sam from the year 1873. The first was a request for donations towards the establishment of a charitable grave. The second was intended for a stone inscription. There is strong evidence that the charitable grave was established before the British came, although many present-day Dangs believe that those buried in the grave were those who died fighting against the British. The jiu festival record for 1895 included the Dei-Jong Wong of Tung-Fuk Tong among the gods to be invited, and an elder in his nineties remembered seeing gam-taap jars for bones when he was very small. He deduced that those must have been the remains of people who died before 1898, because one had to wait for many years he suggested ten — until the bones could be extracted after a first burial.\n\n47 A bin-ngaak (horizontal inscribed board) presented to the Buddhist altar at its completion included ten names who were believed to be the share-holders of the Tong. They were three Wan-Guk jiu descendants of Shui Mei: Baak-Cheung, Daat-Hung, and Jik-Hing; three brothers Yat-Wa, Seui-Chuen, Gam-Wa and two of their nephews, and Baak-Yi, all descendants of Wan-Gaan; and a Hin-Yiu of Kam Tin Shi.\n\n48 Plus a inscribed stone on the ground saying Naam-mo O-Mei-To-Fat, set up to offset the bad influences that caused traffic accidents near the stone.\n\n49 Hoi-dang for a village did not always take place at an altar for the God of Earth and Grain. In the Shui Mei case it took place at the Tin-Hau Temple.\n\n50 The elders made it clear that gu here does not mean “shares\".\n\n51 The subjects for these paper images were specified in the contract made with the craftsmen. The contract was included in the general record for the festival and was copied from the previous ones. But neither the organizers nor the contractor seem to have paid much attention to the details of the prescription.\n\n52 The object is probably more commonly known by the name dong 'an and is more often installed over the central area of the Taoist altar rather than in the backstage room. See", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211999, "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-1989", "page_number": 414, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "nine Fung Shui sites in the Dragon's Mouth (ref. EMPZ-). The story goes that the Ho family used to worship there twice every year, at the Spring and Autumn rituals. They required all the boat-people to use their vessels to make a floating bridge, so that the descendants could go to and fro to worship at the grave. It was solely because the boat-people feared the power of the Ho family that they obeyed their commands. Because of this, the boat-people all considered for a long time whether it was possible to destroy the Fung Shui. The result was that they employed a Taoist of great magical powers. He dug a hole on one side to allow him to inspect the bone-urn. He saw that the bone-urn was completely wrapped around with the roots of a banyan tree. The Taoist realised that the name of the site corresponded with the reality. He therefore cut away all the banyan roots. However, the next day, when he went back to inspect, he found that they were all back as before. In the same way, he cut the roots away on a number of occasions, only to find that they immediately returned to their original form. Eventually, the Taoist took a black dog and a black cock and sprinkled their blood all around the cut back banyan roots. In this way the Golden Bell Hanging on a Silken Thread was totally destroyed, for the roots could never grow back into their original form. After this, Ho, the Minister of the Left, found it very difficult to retain either his position or his life, and the boat-people never again had to suffer the hardship of building a floating bridge\". \n\n389 \n\nP.H. HASE \n\nNOTE \n\nJournal of the Hong Kong Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 28, pp. 198-203. \n\nTHE WHITE TIGER \n\nWhenever an opera performance is to be staged in a venue where no operas have ever been staged before, it is customary for the actors to stage a short piece called \"The White Tiger\" (白虎), first, before any of the advertised operas. This piece involves a fight between a man dressed in black and an actor dressed as a “white” (usually yellow) tiger.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212097, "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-1990", "page_number": 39, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "village and its inhabitants. The dancing teams would perform at the opening of ancestral halls, schools and village offices, or when a wealthy villager built himself a new house. They were part of the ritual performances at the main festivals, at the re-installation of ancestral tablets after reconstruction of a lineage hall, or during the re-dedication of deities following a major repair to a local temple. They carried out other important functions, also. If plague menaced the village, in an old local customary practice, the lion or unicorn dancers were sent with Taoist priests in procession around the neighbourhood to dispel the threat. And if the village was threatened with attack, the strong and brave lion dancers under their respected instructors formed the core of the defence. Furthermore, the dance teams were a principal means for maintaining and extending a village's status and prestige.\n\nAs part of the training, youths and boys would be instructed in how to carry out the dancing steps, and also how to perform some of the basic martial arts. In discussing unicorn dancing with two village friends from Tsuen Wan, it was emphasized that the beasts (meaning in practice their human performers) had to follow kwai kui. For instance, there was a correct way to enter a building, and how to worship at a temple, and how to behave when meeting another unicorn. If the right decorum and etiquette was not observed when this happened, it could lead to a fight. This aspect, that of lai or decorum, was the most important to be taken into account in training and performance.\n\nBoys learned the art of cooperating together, and discipline was imposed, especially self-control. This was needed during the tense excitement generated by the accompanying drumming and gonging during the dance sequences, and particularly on festival days when the element of competition was well to the fore. The dancing was exhausting for mind and body, and relays of boys took turns to dance inside the at times stifling mask and body of the \"animal\". Self-control was an important requirement for the participants. \"We won't put up with uncontrolled temper”, a Kaifong friend said on one festival occasion when a dance team was performing, \"If a lad can't keep it, he gets put out of the dance group\".\" Thus, in these various ways, the village dance team constituted one of the principal means of giving practical effect to Confucian teaching.\n\nTo conclude this account of traditional instruction and entertainment,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212107, "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-1990", "page_number": 49, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "26\n\nSTUDIES ON HONG KONG JIAO FESTIVALS\n\nCHI CHEUNG CHOI\n\nI. Introduction\n\nAccording to Liu Zhi-wan, there are various types of Jiao festivals which are celebrated regularly in the south and irregularly in the north of Taiwan.1 In Hong Kong, many Jiao festivals are \"Tai Ping Qing Jiao\" [literal meaning \"the Purest Sacrifice celebrated for Great Peace'], which are a type of \"Qi An Jiao\" which pleads for peace. There are many such festivals in the agrarian communities in the New Territories of Hong Kong, often celebrated in a once-in-a-decade cycle. The festival has different ritual and symbolic meanings as well as different social and economic significance for the different groups of participants, namely the priests, the organizing committee members, the villagers and outsiders like the hawkers, the beggars and the researcher. For the villagers themselves, the Jiao festival is the most important community-wide event. Often millions of dollars are poured into the celebration. For example, in the Lam Tsuen Jiao in 1990, about HK$2,000,000 was spent, of which HK$260,000 was used for the construction of temporary mat-sheds, HK$150,000 for the engagement of Taoist priests, and $460,000 was paid to the opera troupe.2 It is not at all uncommon for villagers who have emigrated to charter flights to return to Hong Kong for the celebration. Emigrant villagers of Fanling, a single lineage community, chartered three flights from England for the Jiao celebration in 1990. No villager would disagree that the Jiao is the most important religious activity in their community. The significance of the Jiao festival is not only enhanced by complicated rituals performed by the Taoist priests during the festival, but also by the extensive social activities that bond members and alliances of the community together. However, systematic study of the event did not begin until the 1960s. Even then, cross-community comparative studies of the festival are extremely rare.\n\nThis paper will review previous studies of Hong Kong Jiao festivals. I will show what we can learn of the various local traditions by a synchronic study comparing the Jiao festival celebrated by different communities and also by studying the social and organizational changes within a particular community over a period of time by a diachronic study comparing the Jiao of one single community over that period of time.\n\n2\n\n11", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212109, "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-1990", "page_number": 51, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "28 \n\nmembership of an alliance.\" \n\nIII. Studies on Jiao Festivals in Hong Kong: the 1980s \n\na. Trend \n\n18 \n\nThere are not as many studies of Jiao festivals in Hong Kong as in Taiwan. The earliest study in Hong Kong is probably Taylor's 1953 ethnographical essay on the Cheung Chau Jiao festival. The article was re-printed in every issue of the special annual bulletin for the Bun festival in Cheung Chau until the beginning of the 80s. The late Prof. B.E. Ward noticed very early the importance of the Jiao festival to the understanding of rural society. Her account of the festival itself, however, appeared only briefly in her introductory guide book on festivals in Hong Kong. Dr. James Hayes has also noticed the importance of the celebration during his studies on rural communities in the outlying islands and new towns in Kowloon. However, only some of the celebrations were given brief mention in his 1983 book. Mathias' study on the 1975 Kam Tin Jiao festival is probably the earliest comprehensive study of the festival. It is a pity, however, that it has not been published. Kani, Obuchi and Yoshihara are probably the earliest Japanese scholars to realize the significance of Jiao festivals in Hong Kong. Kani, in his study of boat people in Hong Kong regards the Jiao on Cheung Chau island as an event, like the Hungry Ghost Festival, to feed wandering ghosts. Obuchi, working with a Taoist priest, Mr. Chan Wah, studied the symbolic meanings of different Taoist rituals performed in the 1975 Shatin Jiao festival. Yoshihara in a section of his paper on religion in Hong Kong briefly described the 1977 Tai Wai, Sha Tin, event. Beginning in 1979, Tanaka and Segawa commenced active data collection on the festival. Tanaka began his extensive research in Hong Kong in 1979. At least 14 different Jiao festivals were recorded in his three books. Segawa joined the research later, from 1983 to 1985, and several articles have since been published in Japanese. \n\n20 \n\n22 \n\nThe nineteen eighties saw a growth in interest in Jiao festivals among local institutions and scholars. In 1980, students and lecturers of the History Department (Dr. D. Faure), the Sociology Department (the late Prof. B.E. Ward), the Anthropology Department (Dr. S.H. Wang) and the Music Department (the late Dr. B.C. Lu) of the Chinese University of Hong Kong [CUHK] began concurrent studies on Jiao", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212112, "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-1990", "page_number": 54, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "31\n\n30\n\nand oral history collected in the field. Though oral history traces Jiao festivals to as early as the beginning of the Qing dynasty, written records relating to the Jiao festivals in Hong Kong before the Japanese occupation (1941-1945) are rare. Written attacks on the Jiao by missionaries in the area, however, are quite common from the 1850s\n\nthe missionaries recognised fully the importance of the Jiao as the most important religious event in the villages they were interested in. These attacks rarely supply detail, but confirm the central place of the Jiao in the mid nineteenth century villages in the area. The Jiao in Tai Wai, Sha Tin, is mentioned as a once-in-ten-years event in a poem written by a Sha Tin village about 1897.\"\n\nBesides ethnography and oral tradition, three types of local documents are invaluable sources to the study of Jiao festivals. The first are the Taoist texts used for rituals performed at Jiao festivals in the New Territories. These texts, mostly copied by hand, can be found in the 11-volume Fanling Wenxian [Historical Literature of Fan Ling] and the 4-volume Xinjie Zhongjiao Wenxian [Historical Literature of Religion in the New Territories] collections of written documents found in the New Territories.\" As most of the Jiao festivals of the leading communities in Hong Kong are performed by the same Zhengyi Taoist group and the villagers rarely interfere in the work of the Taoist priests, there is a high level of uniformity in the rituals.” The following are all standard rituals: (1) reporting to and inviting the deities of all directions and levels, (2) fetching water to cleanse the festival area, (3) the daily offering and repentance, (4) the opening of the name-list, (5) welcoming the highest saints, (6) the small and great offerings, (7) letting free birds and fishes and (8) receiving amnesty from the Heavenly Emperor etc. The rituals are performed differently only when the Taoist group hired is different, or when the ritual has to be shortened due to a tight schedule. Different communities may request to have more or fewer rituals performed. However, the basic Jiao rituals are always the same. Given either a 3-day or 5-day Jiao one can predict, quite accurately, the approximate schedule and content of the daily rituals.\n\n34\n\nA second type of document, again mostly hand-written, are records that detail preparations for the festival. These are kept by the villagers themselves. The earliest such which still survive are probably the records of the Gengzhi year (1960) Jiao celebration in Fanling compiled by a local Taoist priest Peng Bing. Minutes of the preparatory\n\n35", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212113, "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-1990", "page_number": 55, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "32\n\ncommittee's meetings provide details of the preparations for the festival. The minutes of the 1972 Lam Tsuen Jiao festival recorded details of nine meetings from March 11 to December 9 including information on the following: (1) establishment of an organizing committee, (2) choosing representative worshippers, (3) regulations and methods for collecting contributions, (4) methods for registration of members, (5) choice of auspicious dates, (6) contracts with Taoist priests, opera troupes, and for construction and supply of utilities, (7) security measures, food, control of hawkers during the celebration, (8) a list of those who will be invited to participate in the ceremony on the main day, and (9) schedule of daily worship by different member villages. As these documents are either kept by individuals or as common property of the whole community, they are seldom available to outsiders.\n\n36\n\nThe third type of local documents are special memorial bulletins published for each festival by the organizing committee. Systematic collection of such bulletins is not being done. They are not included in the collection of New Territories Historical Literature mentioned above. However, these bulletins provide important information about the changes in social networks and values of a community. Table 1 is a comparison of three memorial bulletins published respectively for the 1963, 1972 and 1990 Lam Tsuen Jiao festivals. It shows that the role of recreational operas to attract villagers is gradually being replaced by an emphasis on participation and contribution to community affairs. Local leadership is impressed on readers through photos of leaders in the bulletins, and essays on their role in community activities. The 1990 issue also included a record of the Lam Tsuen Fellow Villagers' Association (Lin Cun [Lam Tsuen] Tongxianghui) which was established in Manchester, England in 1983, and details of donations from emigrant fellow villagers. This indicates the importance of the emigrants' contribution to the maintenance of traditional values through donation and participation.\n\nThe history of the Jiao festival is recorded in the bulletins. Members of the organizing committee are also listed. However, not one of the three issues provided information on rituals performed at the festival. Rituals, though essential to the Jiao, are formalities that are the sole responsibilities of the priests and those chosen to represent the villages as worshippers. The organizational recreational elements of a Jiao are, at least to the villagers, as important as its ritual and symbolic aspects.\n\nT", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212118, "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-1990", "page_number": 60, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "37\n\nNOTES TO TABLE 2\n\nA = yearly cycle claimed\n\nB = celebration period (one-day, three-day, five-day), (refers only to main rituals started from the ritual “Qi Tan” [Opening of the Jiao) and ended with the \"Da You\" [Great Offering])\n\nC = predominant occupation of the community\n\n== market town\n\nD = spority ethnic groups:\n\nE\n\nP → Punti Cantonese\n\nH\n\nT = Takka\n\n:. = Tanka\n\n=Territorial type:\n\nบ = village\n\nVC = village cluster\n\nlocal alliance\n\n1: = Descent type:\n\nS = single-lineage\n\nsc = single-lineage dominated\n\nH = single-lineage village, multi-lineage community\n\nm = multi-surname in one community\n\nyear celebrated\n\n--\n\nSources: Either seen by myself\n\nJE = from beginning to end,\n\ne = only partially.\n\nrecorded in other scholars' work [0], or provided by villages or Taoist priests\n\n[T].\n\nOI\n\n02\n\n——\n\n03 = Chan, \"Jiu festival** see note 37\n\nTanaka, Village Festival, 99, 816\n\nNote:\n\n*1 In fact, it is held every ninth year, as the year of celebration is counted into both the outgoing and incoming decade.\n\n*2 Photos taken on 1989.3.10. A poster was written Cheung Lung walled-village of Ping Kong Tsuen village, ten years' once Taiping Qing Jiao\". The notice recorded the Year Mu Wa (1988).\n\n*3 This alliance include the following fishing villages in the northeastern part of Hong Kong: Tap Mun, Kau Lau Wan, Sham Wan, Wong Wan, Kat O, Sam Mun Tsai. See Tanaka, Village Festival, 99, 816.\n\nPage 60\n\nPage 61", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212122, "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-1990", "page_number": 64, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "41\n\nKong: Oxford Univ. Press, 1983), 156-160 & 163-164, on the Jiao festivals celebrated between 1964 and 1972 in Ma Tau Wai, Nga Tsin Wai, Tung Chung and Tai O.\n\nN Mathias, John R.G., Study of the Jiao: a Taoist Ritual in Kam Tin in the Hong Kong New Territories (unpublished D.Phil. thesis, Oxford University, 1977-78).\n\n#I Kani, Hiroaki, \"Hồn Kôn Chugokujin no shukyo shiso no ichidan nitsuite\" Shigaku 40, no. 2 & 3 (1967).\n\n22\n\nObuchi, Ninji, “Hon Kon no tokyo girei\" |Daoist ritual in Hong Kong] in Ikeda Sueri Hakase Koki Kinen Toyo Gaku Ronshu (Tokyo, 1980), 753-769.\n\n27 Yoshihara, Katsuo. \"Shukyo\" [Religion] in Kani Hiroaki (ed.) Motto Shiritai Hon Kon (Tokyo: Kobundo, 1984), 184-191.\n\n11\n\nSee note 37.\n\n14\n\nI have been told that Dr. Faure had a manuscript on the Jiao festival sent to a publisher in Hong Kong. However, due to whatever reasons, it has not yet been published. See also Hayes, 164, about Faure's book on Jiao festivals.\n\n36 I was probably the only researcher who participated in the 1980 Kau Lau Wan Jiao festival when I was first introduced by the late Prof. B.E. Ward and Dr. S.H. Wang to the Jiao festival celebrated by the fishing village. In October the same year, Dr. Faure and I attended the Jiao festival at Pak Kong, Sai Kung. In November, the late Dr. Lu Bin-chuan of the Music Department of CUHK, Dr. Lu's student Mr. Chan Wing-Hoi and I attended the Jiao festival in Fanling. Dr. Faure, Prof. Ward and Prof. Tanaka also came. The Jiao festival of Fanling and that of other areas are mentioned here and there in Faure's 1986 book. In December 1980 students of CUHK under the guidance of Dr. Faure, Dr. Wang and Prof. Ward started an ethnographical research on the Jiao festival in Ho Chung, Sai Kung. A detailed report of daily rituals was written by Lee Lai-mui and Cheng Shui Kwan, two CUHK students majoring in History and minoring in Anthropology. The report was sent to interested scholars. Unfortunately it has never been published. Two students of the CUHK at that time should perhaps be mentioned here: Chan Wing-hoi, who specializes in music and computer, was employed by the History Museum of Hong Kong to study the Kam Tin Jiao festival in 1985, a report of which was published in the Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 29 (1989). Chan's master's thesis on folk music in Hong Kong also includes a chapter on the ritual music played by the Taoists at the Jiao festival. Chan also has an ethnography on the 1986 Shek O Jiao festival published in the Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Vol. 26 (1986), 78-101. The master's thesis of Leung Chor-on, now Ph.D. candidate of Cambridge University, submitted to the Anthropology Department of the CUHK gives a good account of the ritual symbols of the festival. Chan, Leung and I held a seminar on Jiao festivals on Dec. 11, 1988 for the \"Research Circle of the Regional Society of Southern China\" focusing on musical, ritual and social aspects of the festival.\n\n27 Locally published works besides those by Faure and my own are:\n\n-\n\n(a) Chamberlain, Jonathan, \"Introduction” in Chamberlain J. and Iam Lambot The Bun Festival of Cheung Chau (Hong Kong: Studio Publication, 1990). This is largely a collection of photos. Chamberlain's introduction is very descriptive but no sources are quoted.\n\n(b) Chan Wing-hoi, “Observations at the Jiu [Jiao] festival of Shek O and Tai Long Wan, 1986\" Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Vol. 26 (1986), 78-101. Chan recorded meticulously what he was told and observed about the 'settlement', the 'participants', the \"ritual site\", the \"local gods\" and the \"events\".\n\n(c) Xiao, Kuo-jian (Anthony K.K. Siu), Xianggang Xiandai Shehui [Pre-modern society of Hong Kong] (Hong Kong: Chung Wah, 1990), 86-97. Xiao attempts to illustrate three reasons why the communities in Hong Kong celebrate the Jiao. The first reason is to plead for fortune, to pay sacrifices to the gods, to drive away evils and to prevent\n\n4", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212123, "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-1990", "page_number": 65, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "42\n\ndisasters. the second is for those who died because of plague. The final reason is to thank the benevolent governors Wang Lai-ren and Zhou You-de of the beginning of the Qing dynasty. In my opinion, all these reasons can be integrated into the first one.\n\n(d) Chan Wing-hoi \"The Tangs of Kam Tin and their Jiu festival\", Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 29 (1989) 302-375, a rich and detailed account of the lineage, its temples and villages, and the festival which draws them together.\n\nDr. Faure gradually switched his interest to the Pearl River Delta while Prof. Tanaka, as I was told, is now looking at Sichuan province. Talk on publishing a book on Hong Kong Jiao festivals has been going on for years by members of the \"Research Circle of the Regional Society of Southern China''. In 1990, the editorial board of the society set up a schedule to compile a book focusing on the Jiao festival. It is expected that papers on various aspects will be completed by the end of April 1991. (Correspondence from the society dated 28.12.1990)\n\nSchipper, Kristofer M., \"The Written Memorial in Taoist Ceremonies\" in Wolf, Arthur P. (ed.) Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974), 324,\n\nFor example, according to Chan Wing-hoi, villagers of Shek O celebrated their 16th Jiao in 1986 (Chan, 78). The Dengs in Kam Tin claimed to have celebrated their Jiao since 1684 (Tanaka, 918).\n\nSee for instance Basel Mission Archives, doct. Al-6, No. 51 (1869), and doct. Al-7, No. 51 (1870) and Der Evangelische Heidenbote, July 1867, in which a missionary describes how he was forced to go to the Magistrate to get his support before he could avoid having to pay his share of the Jiao expenses. All these cases are from Hsin An County. The Sha Tin poem will, it is hoped, shortly be published by Dr. P.H. Hase.\n\nThese two series are part of the 15 series of historical documents collected by Dr. D. Faure and others in the New Territories. Copies of the collections are kept in the libraries of CUHK, Hong Kong University, Sha Tin Regional Council Library, and Institute of Oriental Culture, Tokyo University.\n\n31\n\nTanaka Chugoku no Sozoku to Engeki [Lineage and Theatre in China] (Tokyo Univ. Press 1985), 608. Jiao festivals celebrated by the powerful communities in Hong Kong like Kam Tin, Ha Tsuen, Lung Yeuk Tau etc., were all performed by the Zhengyi Taoist group, led first by the late Master Lin Pei and now by Master Chan Kau. Another Zhengyi Taoist group is led by Master Chan Wah. However, many Taoist priests work for both groups. There are also other Taoist groups who performed for the Jiao festivals, like a Cantonese group which performed for Ho Chung and a Heklo group for Cheung Chau. In 1983, four out of five Jiao festivals were performed by monastery Taoists. It is not clear whether it was because of tradition or out of economic reasons. A comparison of the two Taoist groups has yet to be made.\n\n14 Choi Chi-cheung **Sho matsuri no jinmei risuto ni mirareru shinzoku ban'i” [Kinship as seen in the name lists of Jiao festival] Bunka Jinnú Gaku 5 (1988): 131, table L. 35 **Shinshi men\" [Section of Believers] in Fanling Wenxian (Historical Literature of Fanling) vol. 8. This brief account records details of the arrangement of the Jiao area, including the contents of couplets, names of deities invited, location and direction of matshed stages, and the sacrifices prepared etc.. See n. 32 for the depositories of Fanling Wenxian.\n\n36 See (1972) Lin Chuan [Lam Tsuen] Xiang Taiping Qingjiao huiyi jilubu in Dapu [Tai Po] Wenzian [Historical Literature of Tai Po] vol. 1. (see n. 32 for depositories)\n\n37 Tanaka Issei's three books, all published by the Tokyo Univ. Press are: Chugoku Saishi Engeki Kenkyu [Ritual Theatres in China] (1981), Chugoku no Sozoku to Engeki [Lineage and Theatre in China) (1985), and Chugoku Kyoson Saishi Kenkyu: Chihogeki", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212139, "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-1990", "page_number": 81, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "58\n\nTibetans and were preparing to advance over the Pamirs to confront the Arabs. The stage was being set for the decisive clash between the two rival empires in 751, which resulted in an Arab victory over the Chinese forces at the battle of the Talas. Indeed, it is possible that Hsüan-tsung, by showing favour to the Nestorians in China at this time, was attempting to bid for the support of Christians generally in the territories ruled by the Moslem Arabs. Men of affairs like Chi-ho, coming and going between China and Mesopotamia, could supply useful information at the very least, and might even be able to foment a Christian insurrection against Moslem rule, if properly encouraged.\n\nAt any rate, by 745 the emperor and his advisers were no doubt well aware of the extent of the territories under Arab rule, and knew that Persia, the homeland of the Nestorian missionaries, was not the same as Syria, Ta-ch'in, where Christianity originated. It was more logical to connect the 'teaching of the scriptures' with the country of its origin. For the Nestorians, the new name had advantages, too. Like the Nestorian monasteries, the fire-temples of the Zoroastrians in China were also called 'Persian monasteries', and the new term distinguished Persian Christians from Persian fire-worshippers. It also reflected the true importance of the Syrian Christians in the Nestorian church. Before the collapse of the Sassanian empire, it was reasonable to speak of a 'Persian' church. In fact, from earliest times the Syrians of northern Mesopotamia dominated the Nestorian church, and now that Persians and Syrians were alike subject to Arab rule it was closer to the truth to label the Nestorian church Syrian rather than Persian.\n\nA New Image: the 'Syrian Brilliant Teaching'\n\nIt is clear from Hsüan-tsung's decree of 745 that the Nestorian identity found on the Sian tablet, the 'Syrian brilliant teaching', was adopted later than 745. Although the Nestorians' 'Persian monasteries' were now to be renamed 'Syrian monasteries' there is no hint in the decree that the familiar expression 'teaching of the scriptures' was to be replaced. Some time after 745, but no later than 781, when the Sian tablet was set up, the Nestorians decided to replace the uninteresting term 'teaching of the scriptures' with the striking, original, and far more evocative expression 'brilliant teaching'. They chose a term which, besides its general appropriateness as a term for Christianity, further distinguished the Christians from the practitioners of other faiths. Buddhists, Taoists, Manicheans, Zoroastrians, and Christians", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212158, "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-1990", "page_number": 100, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "77\n\nexalt the magical power of the tree god.'\n\nOn the 23rd day of the first lunar month in 1925 just west of Suifu in Szechuan province some Chinese saw a beggar lying on the ground. They returned very shortly after to find the beggar had disappeared completely, the ground where he had lain was bone dry and his imprint on the wet grass stood out. They realized that he must have been an Immortal and built a small shrine dedicated to him. Once a year thereafter, on the 23rd of the first month anniversary local people held a special festival to celebrate his disappearance.\n\nInnumerable stories are told of the creation of such new deities. These tend to have the following common factors:\n\na. a human dies under unusual circumstances and his spirit is 'found' to have special and supernatural characteristics.\n\nb. An image is carved and placed on an altar as a direct result of the god's behaviour or action. Usually the deity has appeared in a dream, or in a more tangible form as a piece of wood sometimes rough, at other times shaped (a gate or door) — floating in the sea, on a lake or a river, and manifesting supernatural characteristics.\n\nAlthough in theory the deification of a dead soul requires the joint authority of the supreme Taoist deity, the Jade Emperor and the terrestrial emperor of China, there have been a large number of minor deities in particular who owe their deification to the common people, voting with their feet, going to shrines to offer up incense and oil. And just as gods fade and disappear because of lack of support from devotees who have found other and apparently more potent deities, so the creation of new gods springs from a natural but unusual happening such as was the case of the small boy in Singapore, who, as we shall see later, was killed in 1963 by lightning.\n\nCults spring up whenever the spirit of a dead person responds to public devotions and offerings and grants devotees their requests. The deceased need not be from the distant past. An image of Chiang Kai-shek, who only died in 1976, has been seen on at least one major altar in Taiwan, against the wishes of the Kuomintang government, though they would appear to have turned a blind eye. Sun Yat-sen, one of the Republic's greatest worthies, has also been seen in both image and", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212208, "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-1990", "page_number": 150, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "127\n\nThe Taoist temple, a centre of superstition, visited by the people of the village at certain seasons and particularly popular with the old women, is usually larger than the ancestral hall. It can be distinguished from the rarer and finer Buddhist temples by its walls of red. The Buddhist colour is yellow. Both Taoist and Buddhist temples prefer remote sites, often amidst the crags of tree-clad hills, but their colour apart are difficult to distinguish the one from the other. They are equally filled with images, from the fearsome spirits that guard the entrance hall, and the divers gods in the succeeding halls, to the Great Buddhas in the main hall, behind which there will be a very demoniacal representation of the Buddhist hell.\n\nThe temples to Confucius contain no images. They are to be found in the larger towns, amidst ancient trees and stately courtyards. They are now generally used to shelter government offices or schools. Wherever there are troops, the temples are their barracks; and they provide convenient cover for forlorn travellers.\n\nOn the second evening we reached Kanchow, the wealthy city in south Kiangsi, where the Generalissimo's elder son has been appointed Commissioner in charge of a group of magistracies. While in Russia, where he spent a number of years, he had married a blonde Russian wife. The two have set themselves to converting their district into a model area. No mercy is shown to opium smokers: they are executed. Dishonest officials are inexorably punished. Wealthy merchants, who have profited by holding stocks for a rise, are made to contribute heavily for the benefit of local services, and the sons of the influential are not allowed to dodge conscription. The dispensation is popular with the poorer classes, but not with the privileged. The Generalissimo is proud of his son's work, and one day sent a foreign reporter, who had been critical of Chinese administration, to investigate. He returned with a glowing report. Would that there were more districts in China, where honesty is the rule! Unfortunately, since 1937, there has been a relapse. The improvisations of war have left increasing spheres of administration in the hands of the military, and graft is again the order of the day. It is another of those Chinese anomalies that the Generalissimo, the relentless opponent of Communism, should be proud of a son who unquestionably is influenced by Russian ideology.\n\nConscription in China is not applied in our sense of the term. There\n\nPage 150\n\nPage 151", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212252, "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-1990", "page_number": 194, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "171\n\nThe Non-Operatic Performance of the Offering\n\nThe introduction of the present paper has already mentioned that the White Tiger ritual is often undertaken in contexts other than the initiation of a new Cantonese operatic stage. The other forms of the ritual are discussed below.\n\nIn modern Hong Kong, one of the other rituals that makes use of the White Tiger ritual is known as da siu jen (beating the petty or debased person), which is performed by a male or female religious practitioner for his or her client who suffers misfortune or bad luck. According to Chien Chiao's study, the ritual can be held for “general blessing or exorcising purposes\" (Chiao 1986:213) but it is often aimed at a certain spirit or real person who brings bad luck to the practitioner's client. During the ritual, the practitioner pierces or beats with a sword or shoe a small paper figure cut in the shape of a human being, as an act to punish and defeat the petty person's harmful power. The practitioner also puts a piece of pork in the mouth of a stone statue of the White Tiger as a simple form of offering, which is supposed to be a similar exorcistic action to the more elaborate ritual involved in the initiation of an operatic stage.\n\nWhen a temple is newly opened or re-opened after its renovation, its management sometimes hires priests, operatic actors or puppeteers to perform the White Tiger ritual. According to some Taoist priests, for such an occasion, an offering to the White Tiger should better be staged by puppets as the fierce spirits and evil deities surrounding the temple might harm the priests and actors if actual human beings were to perform the ritual. Sometimes the management chooses to hire a Cantonese operatic troupe to stage operas to celebrate the opening and also requires the troupe to hold the White Tiger ritual for the occasion, even though the stage may not be a \"new\" one. If no operatic troupe is hired, the temple management might hire a group of priests, who are often Cantonese operatic employees, or a group of Cantonese operatic actors and accompanists to stage the offering. Whether performed by puppets, priests or actors, the ritual appears in a form similar to that used for the initiation of a new stage.\n\nSome building managements also arrange to have the White Tiger ritual staged either at the time the construction work begins or concludes. Ward has described this form of non-operatic White Tiger", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212258, "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-1990", "page_number": 200, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "177\n\n(mouth) from the character get di (fortune) should not be completely joined, so that the \"mouth\" is an \"open\" one. In this way, the troupe members are freed from the curse of \"not being able to open the mouths\", which implies that the actors could not sing or speak, that the troupe would become unemployed, and that the members would have to suffer from starvation. In case the stage is a \"new\" one, the hoi bet ritual has to be carried out by the actor who is to play the Deity of Fortune.\n\nFrom these taboos and religious practices, one might easily deduce that Cantonese operatic employees are highly superstitious. However, without understanding the function behind these practices, such a judgement would be nothing more than a subjective evaluation.\n\nIn his Exorcising the Trouble Makers: Magic, Science and Culture (1983), the anthropologist Francis L.K. Hsu has pointed out that religion and superstition are indispensable in every culture, including those praised as “civilized” and others criticised as “primitive”, and that it is not always easy to draw a distinction between science and religion. According to Hsu, a community which believes in science would dress-up their religious beliefs and superstitious practices in the form of science, and similarly, a community which inclines towards religion and superstition would interpret its empirical and scientific experience in the form of religion (Hsu 1983:129).\n\nTraditionally, Cantonese operatic troupes are often hired to perform for festivals, birthdays of both ghosts and deities, and an elaborated Taoist ritual known as da ziu k (rite of purification). In fact, before permanent theatres became an additional context of Cantonese operatic performances in the late 19th century, for most Cantonese operatic troupe members, ritual performance had been their major source of employment. Even in modern Hong Kong, every year over two-thirds of the total productions are staged in a ritual context.\n\nIn the late Qing Dynasty and even up to the early 20th century, ritual performances were held in temporary theatres built with palm leaf mats, bamboo and wood poles. Modern ritual theatres replace mats with tin sheet. When a troupe is hired to perform a series of ritual plays, the temporary theatre becomes not only their performing venue but also their living quarters.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212261, "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-1990", "page_number": 203, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "180\n\nCLUES TO THE LIFE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS NINETEENTH CENTURY EUROPEAN SINOLOGISTS – JAMES LEGGE (AD 1815-1897)\n\nLAUREN F. PFISTER*\n\nJames Legge (1815-1897) was perhaps the most important intellectual, among both foreigners and Chinese, in 19th century Hong Kong. His eight-volume set of translations of the Chinese Classics, written in Hong Kong, has passed through at least nine reprintings (the most recent being in 1985). Numerous independent copies have been made of the second edition of the Four Books, which Legge himself re-edited (1893-1895) before he died in 1897. The complete set of translations, commentaries, and critical notes earned Legge much international recognition.\n\nThe international acclaim arrived as a result of correspondence which passed between Legge and the brilliant sinologist of the French Academy, Stanislas Julien, during the 1860s. When the latter died in 1872, an international prize for Chinese Literature was established under his name; Legge was its first recipient in 1875. This led a group of English businessmen and friends to promote the creation of a chair in Chinese for the retired missionary. Funds were raised, and Legge was accepted on rather unusual terms at Oxford University in Corpus Christi College as the First Professor of Chinese Language and Literature (1876-1897).\n\nDuring Legge's tenure at Oxford, he was an active member of the Royal Asiatic Society, completed six further volumes of Confucian and Taoist translations for F. Max Müller's series, The Sacred Books of The East, while writing and lecturing to students and the general public in Oxford on a broad range of issues including Chinese language and literature, Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese History, Indian and Syrian influences in early Chinese History, as well as topics in Chinese philosophy and political thought.\n\n#\n\n* This article is edited from a longer manuscript with the consent of the author [Editor]\n\n \n7", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212264, "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-1990", "page_number": 206, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "183\n\nscholar, Zhu Xi (TM※\n\nThe correct interpretation of The Great Learning had become very controversial, partly because Zhu Xi and other Song dynasty scholars had freely reorganized the original text, and partly because there had grown up more and more disagreement surrounding Zhu Xi's interpretation of it. Legge was aware of these issues, having relied on later Ming and Qing dynasty criticism of Zhu Xi in his translation. Legge's practice, in both editions of his translation of The Great Learning, was to present the orthodox interpretation following Zhu Xi, but to reflect criticisms of it in some of his translation and in many of his commentarial notes.\" Kühnert assumed that the Zhu Xi interpretation was always correct.\n\nTwo years later, however, Arthur von Rosthorn wrote a concise critique of Kühnert's work, pointing out both its errors in translation and highlighting the more well-informed renderings which Legge had given the text.20\n\nAnother battle over Legge's Taoist translations prompted claims that he had not investigated original sources. Countering this Taoist \"Leggism\", Ted Kingsmill supported the renderings and interpretations of Herbert Giles, who himself made strong accusations against Legge. Most of Kingsmill's attacks were blatant misrepresentations; Giles' position was more well informed, but was based on sceptical premises Legge regarded as fallacious.21 Had the master translator unintentionally mutilated his Taoist texts?\n\nDuring this century a number of less doctrinaire criticisms have been made, drawing attention to places where Legge made errors in translation, although the number of errors detected is surprisingly small.22\n\nIV. Distortions aimed at Discrediting Confucius\n\nLess than one year after Legge's death, in 1898, a Pastor P Kranz began a series of articles entitled \"Some of Professor J. Legge's Criticisms on Confucianism.\" The persistent claim was that Legge had expressed major reservations regarding Confucius and Confucianism, and that these reservations were well justified. Kranz skewed Legge's intentions by adding emphasis to Legge's statements", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212276, "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-1990", "page_number": 218, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "\"New light on the population of the country? On the governmental system? On the administration of justice? What is the relation of the different provinces of the country to the Empire? of Tartars and the Chinese?” \n\n\"What is the actual idolatry of the people? Their actual morality?” “To what degree are they intellectually active? To what extent does education pervade their masses?** \n\n195 \n\nLegge concluded: “these are not exhaustively stated questions, but those which most readily present themselves to my mind”, \n\nThese commitments became the driving force for the rest of his life. No other Western scholar in modern history or before has ever studied the full breadth of Confucian classical literature and published translations or commentaries on all of these traditions.\" Although other scholars, (including missionary-scholars like Legge and those in consular positions), pursued studies in Buddhism and Taoism with great thoroughness, none published the kind of extensive translations of both Taoist philosophy and Taoist religious texts which Legge presented in his translations for The Sacred Books of China. With regard to Buddhism, Legge did not publish any extensive translations of Buddhist scriptures, but he remained informed of some of the current work in Chinese Buddhism by Western scholars, continuing even late in his Oxford years to read and assess Chinese, Japanese, and Korean scholarship in selected fields of Buddhist literature. The results of his work in Buddhism were made public in his book on The Religions of China and in a public essay presented at an Orientalist Congress in the 1880s.** \n\nThese sinological studies do not tell the whole story of Legge's approach to his Chinese audiences. During the 1850s Legge was tempted by another missiological approach. While he remained active in teaching and publicly discussing technical problems in biblical translations in the early fifties, a major change in his life occurred as a consequence of the death of his first wife in 1852. The indefatigable Legge redirected his energies towards the training of indigenous church leaders; among his trainees was the intelligent Hong Rengan (洪仁干), a relative of the Taiping Leader, Hong Xiuquan (洪秀全), and later made one of the Taiping kings in the final years of the rebellion. Legge was intent on making Christianity relevant to contemporary China.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212283, "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-1990", "page_number": 225, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "202\n\nChina and her people. It is important to note that Legge's seminal text on Chinese Religions published in 1880 further illustrates this Christian influence, even for the casual reader. More subtle analysis can show that the criteria of judgement employed by Legge parallel themes found in the Scottish Shorter Catechism (1648) which he had memorized as a child. His ethical studies, summarized most cogently in the tract, \"Christianity And Confucianism Compared in Their Teaching On The Whole Duty Of Man,\" reflect both his Christian commitments, strong Aristotelian leanings, and his unwavering concern for the spiritual enlightenment of the Chinese. Finally, Legge took great pains to pursue information about and present a critical study of the Xi'an (西安) stele often referred to as the Nestorian monument. Published in 1886, this work reflects the desire Legge still had to use his academic credentials and scholarly awareness to reassert the historical importance of the Protestant role in bringing Christianity to China.\n\nBeing for many years the senior London Missionary Society administrator in Hong Kong, Dr. Legge was also responsible for dealing with the more difficult realities faced by both missionaries and the Chinese people with whom they worked. In particular, this meant being with the dying in their last moments, encouraging them, witnessing their last testimony as believers, and reporting these matters to the officers of the Society in London. The reality of the missionary duty is nowhere more clearly evident than in these documents, for they included not just the recording of the fate of missionaries and Chinese believers, but often also a description of their last hours, their struggle with fatal diseases, and the persistence of Legge as missionary in supporting them and seeking their last confession of faith. Numerous letters which passed between Legge and London spoke of the sicknesses and deaths of missionaries and their family members. When Pastor Ho Jinshan (何進善) died, the Chinese colleague with whom Dr. Legge shared the whole of his missionary career from Malacca to Hong Kong, Legge wrote a deeply reflective memorial which was later published by the Society in London. Easily the most emotionally engaging of these testimonies from Legge's experiences came in a letter written to his father-in-law regarding the death of Mary Isabella, his first wife, during a complicated birth. In other reflections, he spoke of the final testimonies of Chinese Christians in Hong Kong, including two very memorable ones involving an elderly woman and a former Taoist priest.61\n\nPage 225\n\nPage 226", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212290, "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-1990", "page_number": 232, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "209\n\n7\n\nThe texts translated by Legge were given the special subtitle, The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Confucianism (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879-1891). They included six volumes (numbers 3, 16, 27-28, 39-40) in The Sacred Books Of The East Series under the general editing of F. Max Müller: Part I. The Shu King (the Book of Documents), The Religious Portion of the Shih King (The Book of Odes), and the Hsiao King (the Classic of Filial Piety) (XW) (1879); Part II. The Yi King (the Book of Changes) (58) (1882); Part III. The Li Ki (the Book of Rites), (禮記) I-X (1885); Part IV. The Li Ki, XI-XLVI (1885); Part V. The Tao Teh King (道德經) and the Writings of Kwang-Tze (莊子) (the Taoist Classics by Laozi and Zhuangzi), I-XVII (1891); Part VI. The Writings of Kwang-Tze, XVIII-XXXII, and the Thai-Shang Tractate of Actions and Their Retributions, (太上感應篇) with Appendices, I-VIII (1891). One of Legge's more important addresses in this field was to the Oriental Congress which met in Lyons and Florence during September, 1878. It was entitled, \"On the Present State of Chinese Studies and What is Wanted to Complete the Analysis of the Chinese Written Characters\" (September 16, 1878). Legge was Chairman of the Congress.\n\nAfter his Inaugural Address at Oxford, Legge quickly sought to attract students and any interested public by presenting very practical discussions of Chinese language. On November 7, 1876, he presented \"The Nature and History of the Chinese Written Character\". In 1878 another public lecture dealt with \"Principles of Composition in Chinese, or Grammar without Inflections\". By January, 1877, he was able to attract enough students to begin a course entitled \"Elements of Chinese and the Confucian Analects\". By the school year of 1881-1882, Legge was presenting classes on The Four Books, Laozi's (Zhuangzi) Daode Jing (道德經), and Chinese Poetry. See Oxford University Gazette, 1876-1877, pp. 64, 191; 1878-1879, p. 93; 1881-1883, pp. 200-201. The text he used for the grammar course in his early years at Oxford was Stanislas Julien's Syntaxe Nouvelle de la Langue Chinoise (ibid, 1877-1878, p. 193).\n\n* Besides the major Taoist volumes in The Sacred Books of the East, Legge also presented independent public addresses on Laozi and Zhuangzi (莊子) at Oxford's Taylorian Institute. The high regard Legge had for Zhuangzi can be seen in the typescript of the address, still available in the Bodleian. See Oxford University Gazette, 1889-1890, p. 92.\n\nLegge's response to Buddhism was very much influenced by the polemical attitudes of the Tang dynasty scholar, Han Yu, and other criticisms of Buddhism he read in Chinese tractates written by notable missionary scholars. He employed Han Yu's memorial against Buddhism as part of class readings beginning in 1883, added other texts to this in the late eighties and early nineties, and spoke publicly on \"The Purgatories of Buddhism and Taoism!\" in 1893. See Oxford University Gazette, 1882-1883, p. 558; 1884-1885, p. 339; 1892-1893, pp. 226, 491. His most important text and article relating to Buddhism are A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of His Travels in India and Ceylon (AD 389-414) In Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886), and “A Fair and Dispassionate Discussion of the Three Doctrines Accepted in China', by Liu Mi, A Buddhist Scholar”, (London; n.d., presented to the Orientalist Congress 188?, pp. 563-580). The original source of publication for the article is not clear.\n\n† Besides the Buddhist texts mentioned above in §9, Legge also published Christianity In China: Nestorianism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism. On the flyleaf is the following title: Christianity in China; A Rendering of the Nestorian Tablet at Si-an-fu to Commemorate Christianity. London: Trübner & Co, 1888.\n\nCf Lindsay Ride's \"Biographical Note\", in The Chinese Classics with a Translation, Critical and Exegetical Notes, Prolegomena, and Copious Indexes (Taipei: Southern Materials Center, Inc, 1985), p. 22. At the age of 26 he had been awarded a Doctorate of Divinity by New York University (1842).", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212293, "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-1990", "page_number": 235, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "212\n\nKong CT. London Missionary Society Archives, South China, April 24, 1845: Legge writes to the headquarters, sending copies of Collie's work to them.\n\nC Andrew J Nathan, \"The Place of Values in Cross-Cultural Studies: The Example of Democracy and China\", in Paul A. Cohen and Merle Goldman, eds., Ideas Across Cultures: Essays on Chinese Thought in Honor of Benjamin I. Schwartz (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1990), pp. 293-314. I quote here the three relevant sections.\n\n**After World War II] relativism especially recommended itself as a corrective to our society's nineteenth and early twentieth-century missionary impulses... that their way of life was not going to sweep the world.... (Ibid. p 296).\n\n**The relativist position |-| adopted in order to prevent missionary zeal from clouding our understanding of the non-Western world |. led in some cases to an equal but opposite kind of self-deception”. (Ibid. p 304).\n\n\"Evaluative universalism by no means requires a return to the missionary mode of promoting Western values. It is not a call for proselytism but an expression of the belief, first, that value differences when they exist can, and can only, be honestly expressed, and second, that beliefs originating in different societies can fruitfully be confronted with one another, compared, and judged, even though disagreement is expected to persist”. (Ibid. pp 312-313).\n\nRecorded in Legge's autobiographical account entitled \"Notes of My Life\" (pp. 25-27), kept now in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.\n\n12 These books are Paraphrasis Psalmorum Davidis Poetica (n.p., 1566) and Rerum Scoticorum Historia (ed. apud A. Arbuthnetum, 1582). English translations of both were available in Legge's time.\n\nLi\n\nThis version was apparently intended as a replacement of the earlier rendition of The Book Of Poetry published by Legge in 1871. It was a completely revised text of both the verse and the commentarial notes. Because it only included the English text and not the Chinese text which appeared in the first edition, however, the later Oxford edition of 1893-1895 republished the earlier text. A comparison of this earlier rendition with the second edition (which others called Legge's \"metrical“ Shijing \"jén) would display the kind of discipline Legge had as a translator of classical texts. See James Legge, The Chinese Classics: translated into English, with Preliminary Essays And Explanatory Notes – Vol III: The She King; or, The Book Of Odes (London: Trübner & Co., 1876). See also Alfred Lister, \"Dr. Legge's Metrical Shi-King\", The China Review 5:1 (July 1876), pp. 1-8.\n\n11\n\nThis Hebrew Psalter was prepared with a twenty-seven page introductory essay which included some critical commentary, and over three hundred pages of metrical paraphrases of the Psalms. Legge's position in presenting the Psalter was primarily meditative and not textual-critical; neither did this tome contain the kind of extensive commentarial apparatus which The Chinese Classics always included. Perhaps it is for some of these reasons that the manuscript was never published. It is now kept in the library of New College at the University of Edinburgh.\n\n14 The printed text of this poetic summary of Chinese history I found in the Oriental Studies Library in Oxford. It was clearly planned and printed as part of some larger work.\n\nFor the value of \"cherishing the old\", see the Analects 2:11, The Chinese Classics: Vol 1, op. cit., p. 49. Han Yu's opposition to Buddhist and Taoist superstitions, his courageous attack on their spiritual deceptions, and his consequent punishment must have stood as a courageous example to Legge. Han's specific interest in the old style, and his influence in stimulating interest in the renewed study of ancient texts and writing styles, parallels some of Legge's own interests.\n\n17 After graduating from King's College, the young James spent time with his father", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212297, "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-1990", "page_number": 239, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "216\n\nculture, which would make Chinese culture all the more accessible to the influences of Christianization. Secondly, it explains why other missionaries who considered Chinese culture to be simply pagan refused to have anything to do with a fusion of Confucianism and Christianity. In their minds, such a combination would hinder the advance of Christian civilization, obstruct the work of the Spirit of God, and ultimately be destructive of God's plan to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Legge's claim that God had left a trace in Chinese culture threatened their view of the desperate losiness of the Chinese people. In fact, Legge himself would agree with them in general on the issue of the need for salvation, but he disagreed with the missiological strategy which refused to look for any point of support for missionary activity within Chinese culture. Those who opposed Legge were in effect supporting a basic assumption: God would not employ the pagan Chinese culture for the purpose of establishing His spiritual Kingdom. This explained, from their point of view, why He did not send them any special revelation of Himself. It was precisely this latter claim that Legge vehemently denied: to overlook the Shangdi traditions in the Chinese Classics was to deny historical facts related to the destiny of the Chinese peoples.\n\nSee Confucianism in Relation to Christianity, op. cit. See for details of the comparison \"Some New Dimensions in the Study of the Works of James Legge (1815-1897); Part II\", op. cit., pp. 43ff.\n\n1\n\n57 James Legge, Christianity and Confucianism Compared in Their Teaching on the Whole Duty Of Man (London: Religious Tract Society, 1883).\n\nSH\n\nJames Legge, Christianity in China: A Rendering of the Nestorian Tablet at Si-an-fu to Commemorate Christianity (London: Trübner & Co., 1888).\n\nSV\n\nThe original twenty-four-page manuscript, entitled \"Sketch of Ho Tsun Sheen\", was written by Legge in March 19, 1872, and is kept in the South China letters of the London Missionary Society archives. It was later published as an article in a volume called Gleanings From The Mission Field (London: 1873?).\n\nMI\n\nSee The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle (January 1833), p. 34; (March 1853), pp. 121-129; (December 1853), pp. 697-707; (supplement), pp. 757-764.\n\nA\n\nThe Taoist priest Legge mentions was one who restricted his study to Laozi's Daode jing, rather than the more esoteric doctrines passed down in esoteric Taoist training. Legge found him \"more prepared than the Confucian literati to receive the message of the Gospel\". The elderly woman convert, at whose deathbed Legge sought a final testimony of trust in Christ, had been \"a professor among her country-women of Taoist superstitions\", but after becoming a Christian she had been a faithful and effective witness for Christ. See James Legge, The Religions of China, op. cit., pp. 275-276, 296-297.\n\nIn Alexander Wylie's Memorials of Protestant Missionaries (Shanghae: American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1867), pp. 119-121, eighteen manuscripts, pamphlets, and books are cited as prepared by Legge in Chinese. At least one of these was done with his Chinese colleague, Ho Jinshan. See Shengjing Zhengju (Proofs of the Bible) (Fuzhou: Taiping Street Gospel Hall Press, 1870). Among these texts are two pamphlets in story-telling form on the lives of Joseph and Abraham which are of particular interest. I have seen a copy of the former in the Bodleian Library, and discovered that it was written in Cantonese dialect; I suspect that the latter is done in a similar fashion, but no copy of it has yet been found.\n\nIn the context of this passage, Dr. Legge found it necessary to emphasize that he had spent as much time with Chinese people as he did with their books. Every day he claimed to spend several hours in visiting them, not only in their homes, but also in their shops. In the same recollection, he also mentions regular ministry in the Chinese prison as part of his vocation. Later on in this passage, Legge's wit also comes through:", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212379, "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-1990", "page_number": 321, "title": "RAS-1990", "content_text": "298\n\nHeaven's Authority', T'ien Ling, and has his left hand at waist height making a mystical sign, the middle three fingers pointing vertically with the thumb and little finger bent over to touch each other.\n\nIn some places the scholar's robes are gilded and decorated with pa kua signs, in others the robe is plain. Other very minor variations, mostly in the carving of the creature, have also been noted. Also, in several instances, the scholar has a small sword or dagger tied suspended from his left hand.\n\nThere would appear to be no particular pattern to the donations which have spread far and wide throughout Taiwan during the years since '84; the temples include Buddhist and Taoist major and minor temples, and folk religion temples in small towns and cities.\n\nSo far none of the staff in the temples in which these images have been seen has been able to identify the deity. Without exception they have explained that the image has appeared on one of their altars without explanation and without seeing from where and how it arrived. One or two have had the courage to throw out the image only to find that another has replaced it within weeks. In most temples they have been accepted as just another deity and have been moved by the temple staff elsewhere within the temple, often to a rear position on a major side altar or to the small altar table before the main altar.\n\nThe questions are: Who is the scholar and what does he represent? Who donates these images and why? And is there an individual or cult behind the carving, donation and worship of this image?\n\nCan any Member or reader help enlighten me and, for that matter, this Journal, please?\n\nKEITH G STEVENS\n\nALTAR IMAGES FROM HUNAN\n\nIn my article on Altar Images from Hunan and Kiangsi (This Journal Volume 18, 1978 [pp 41-48]) I explained that Hunanese spirit images (rather than tablets) appeared to be unique in Chinese", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1990.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212570, "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-1991", "page_number": 124, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "104\n\nCHINESE FUNERALS: A CASE STUDY\n\nDAN WATERS\n\nThe boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,\n\nAnd all that beauty, all that wealth ever gave\n\nAwaits alike the inevitable hour;\n\nThe paths of glory lead but to the grave.\n\nThomas Gray, Elegy Written in Country Churchyard.\n\nIntroduction\n\nThis paper examines an actual, fairly typical, present-day Chinese death in urban Hong Kong and the funeral services and mourning that follow. Comparisons are made with past customs in Hong Kong, with traditional Hong Kong New Territories funerals and European funerals. Because this paper is largely about Hong Kong, Cantonese terms and Romanisations are mainly used rather than pinyin. Currency quoted is in Hong Kong dollars.\n\nThe author is grateful to Mr Gerald C.S. Siu, manager of the Hong Kong Funeral Home, Doctor James Hayes, the Reverend Carl T. Smith, Mrs Judy Kant Young and other persons and organisations named in this paper. Help varied from recommending source material to providing information.\n\nThe Case Study\n\nOne November night in 1988, a couple received a call saying the wife's mother had been taken to hospital. Shortly after midnight the couple, together with the wife's two younger sisters and two granddaughters, gathered around the corpse.\n\nTraditionally, Chinese hope for a peaceful death in old age with family mustered around the deathbed. In this case the end came suddenly. As Chuang Tzu, sometimes named as the first important Taoist writer, phrased it:\n\nWe are born as from a quiet sleep,\n\nWe die to a calm awakening.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212582, "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-1991", "page_number": 136, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "116\n\nThe stylised format remains similar to the 5th century edition. Traditionally, preparing this almanac was the responsibility of the Board of Astronomy.\n\nThe funeral service in this study involved five Taoist (sometimes Buddhists are engaged) monks who, as is customary, chanted mantras. They were accompanied by an orchestra. 'Wooden fish' (*), namely sound boxes, bells and small brass singing bowls were struck. A high-pitched flageolet, a musical instrument with six or eight finger holes, played what some would describe as discordant music. As the coffin was wheeled into the hall, head first on a bier, relatives crouched and mourners born in the Year of the Monkey were instructed over a microphone not to look at the casket. If they did it could bring bad luck. With the head of the corpse towards the altar (in a Christian church feet usually face east towards the altar) the 'body was shown to the gods'.\n\n26\n\nWith patrilineal kinship ties, if there are sons or grandsons in the family a ceremony of 'buying water' (A) takes place. With a traditional funeral in Hong Kong's New Territories this still consists of the eldest son, the chief mourner, being escorted to the nearest stream or well, dropping three cash (old copper coins) in and bringing back a bowl of water. The ritual can vary from bathing the corpse to a symbolic dab on the dead parent's forehead. This, in Confucian tradition, signifies filial piety. It also helps to ensure the lineage continues. 'I have no sons to buy water!' is a not uncommon lament by some husbands, which, in the old days, meant taking a concubine because the first spouse did not give birth to an heir. As there were no sons in this study the three daughters kowtowed three times and walked around the open coffin three times. Other mourners then bowed.\n\nThe public 'lying in state' continued until the 'last glance', towards the end of the ceremony. With the upper portion of the body visible through a clear, plastic 'window' family mourners, followed by the congregation, filed around the coffin. There was weeping. Some children were held up to look at the corpse. (By contrast, I have heard it said a mourner should not get too close for fear of being 'possessed'.) The lid was then secured.\n\nAfter the service the dead person's spirit was 'led' to Chung Yam Fat Ser (Pine Shade Buddhist Association). This hall is situated in multi-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212587, "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-1991", "page_number": 141, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "121\n\nbirthday and would have brought bad luck. Nor did he celebrate his birthday that year. Presents were returned with an explanation.\n\nThe third tsat (three times seven ceremony) fell on the 27th of the month. If a tsat falls on the 7th, 17th or 27th of the Chinese calendar this is propitious. Close relatives also attended the fourth tsat and there was a great deal of banter, such as, 'Hello Mummy, how are you!' in front of the altar in second daughter's home.\n\nThe most important of these weekly rites was the fifth tsat held at the Buddhist Hall where the dead person's ling paai (spirit tablet), complete with small photograph, was placed. The function was advanced by one day and 2.00 to 7.30 pm was selected by the fortune teller as a propitious time. (Buddhist and Taoist priests sometimes supplement incomes by telling fortunes). Conforming with Buddhist doctrine close relatives were not allowed to eat living things before the ceremony. They also bathed in water purified with pomolo leaves. With the old Chinese day divided into 12, two-hour periods, it starts at 11.00 pm. One could thus bathe any time after that. Sexual intercourse was still forbidden (齋戒沐浴).\n\nClose relatives wore the same white clothes and shoes as before, but the hemp surcoats had been burned after the funeral service. The same picture was placed on the altar and many mourners maintained the deceased looked stern when they arrived. Her appearance became cheerful as the service progressed. A cigarette was kept lit on the altar. There was food, such as cookies and oranges. It was an impressive spread so the dead woman could invite ancestors. The altar was surrounded by wreaths and paper offerings sent by friends. Many came to pay respects.\n\nOne ceremony was conducted by six nuns. A monk led the invocations. Some knew the long mantras by heart. At appropriate times the leader threw coins and flowers. Any mourner who caught one was considered lucky. The chanting Buddhist nuns were quite young with shaven heads. They wore green and the leader a red robe. For most of the 5½ hours, various ceremonies, some long, were conducted. Also, continuously, friends and relations painstakingly folded paper ‘gold bars'.\n\nA 'charade' was later acted out by close family members. The deceased person's new spirit shrine (one had previously been cremated)", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212590, "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-1991", "page_number": 144, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "124\n\nniches. If this happened, one bowed and apologised aloud to the spirits.\n\nThe ceremony was conducted by a Taoist brother who carefully poured the ashes through a white cloth folded in the neck of a funnel. The deceased's gold bracelet together with a piece of jade were also deposited in the urn. The top was tied on with red ribbon. Her name was written on the outside of the urn with red paint, 'free hand' (without butt of hand resting on anything). The Taoist painted fine characters although he professed to have had little schooling. After mourners bowed three times flowers were arranged in vases. Paper rosettes were burned. Also, two tables were placed in front of the two niches and a feast, including fruit, cakes and rice wine, was laid out. The two urns, each covered in white cloth, were then inserted in their respective niches, the doors were sealed with plaster and more joss sticks and yellow rosettes were burned. The six mourners then lined up, recited Buddhist prayers and received lucky packets. It was necessary for the Chinese candles to burn out before bowing goodbye and leaving the columbarium for a late, 4.00 pm, vegetarian 'lunch'.\n\nSixth Tsat\n\nAlthough official ceremonies ended with the fifth, the family paid a further visit to Ching Chung Koon, where the ashes are kept, on the sixth tsat. Joss sticks in clusters of three (one each for heaven, earth and mankind), paper 'gold bars' and a large rosette made up of coloured paper were burned. These eight-inch squares of yellow paper had been 'blessed' by an old woman. She meticulously burnt a hole in the centre of each single sheet with a joss stick. Also, single joss sticks were placed in all vases for other souls in that room of the temple.\n\nCharity\n\nAt this stage, the three daughters were informed by a fortune teller that, for their mother to enter kik lok shai kaai (extremely happy world) it would help if they performed some charitable deeds. A donation of $2,000 was made to a poor, elderly watchman to help with medical expenses. 'Give to a charitable organisation, with heavy overheads, there is no telling where the money goes,' one daughter said.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212596, "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-1991", "page_number": 150, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "Topley asks whether the poor trace hardships, basically, to lack of money. Cash can solicit and secure worldly and spiritual favours, advantages as well as goods.” At a funeral there is abundant, cheap, 'mock' money which mourners 'remit' to the deceased. The dead can be 'looked after' in a style not often possible on earth.\n\nOther ritual ingredients are belief in supernatural powers making up driving forces of the universe, whether these be magic, the complementary powers of yin and yang, ‘dragon vapours' (lung hei) of feng shui, fuk hei (divine blessings) or other superstitions. They must be handled correctly so no one is alienated.\n\nThere are, nevertheless, inconsistencies. If even the average Chinese does appear to believe that everything depends upon impersonal whims and pulsation of feng shui through the universe he does not resign himself entirely to fate. The contradiction is that most Chinese display a strong motivation to achieve wealth, power and prestige. Ability and education are valued. To complicate the issue further there is the Buddhist karmic belief that one's afterlife depends upon morality and performing good deeds on earth. So with a broad streak of pragmatism, if, with ancestor worship, forefathers do not provide adequately for present generation - even though forebears' bones have turned white instead of black - the living will still try to achieve objectives in other ways, such as by following the Confucian work ethic. But the need to perform the will of the gods, if one wishes to be saved, is also stressed, although ascetic practices and abstaining from worldly comforts appeal to a limited number of Chinese. But effort on its own is not enough. Something else, something special, is required.\n\nWith Chinese civilisation going back to the Shang Dynasty (circa 1600 to 1100 B.C.) beliefs do not usually change overnight. Yet, as explained in this paper, a number of Hong Kong funeral customs have altered significantly since World War II, such as acceptance of cremation and streamlining of funerary formalities. In many ways, Hong Kong Chinese think differently to westerners and even to their mainland cousins. Yet, if a European reflects after attending a Chinese funeral, many aspects are very meaningful. These can help a westerner strengthen Christian beliefs.\n\nEven those Hong Kong Chinese who do not profess a faith still usually engage Taoist or Buddhist monks to perform last rites. The author recalls\n\nPage 150\n\nPage 151", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212597, "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-1991", "page_number": 151, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "131\n\none simple funeral service which consisted only of basics, like the three bows and the last glance, with no monks chanting mantra or prayers. It is true Foscolo describes 'religious frills' in his poem as inutil pompa (useless pomp). But most people are left with horribly empty feelings after atheistic services. After a beautiful funeral of a friend who achieved something in life most are left with a self-righteous glow.\n\nThe author recalls comrades buried during a lull in battle during World War II - a single prayer said over the body of a dead soldier, in his blanket shroud, before he was slid over the side of the troopship into the ocean. These simple ceremonies had considerable meaning.\n\n51\n\nFrancis Bacon, the Irish artist, who died in 1992, was not a theatrical man. He insisted he wanted no memorial service, the barest formalities, no crowd weeping around his grave. 'I came into the world with nothing, I want to leave with nothing,' he insisted. These views differ from those of the average Chinese with their Taoist philosophy. But both they and westerners should find solace in the following, the author of which is unknown:\n\nDo not stand at my grave and weep,\n\nI am not there,\n\nI do not sleep:\n\nI am a thousand winds that blow,\n\nI am the diamond glints on snow,\n\nI am the sunlight on ripened grain,\n\nI am the gentle, autumn rain,\n\nWhen you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift, uplifting rush\n\nOf quiet birds in circled flight,\n\nI am the soft stars that shine at night... Do not stand at my grave and cry,\n\nI am not there,\n\nI did not die.\n\nAcknowledgements\n\nThis paper was presented at the 34th International Congress on Asian and North African Studies, organised by the University of Hong Kong, from 22 to 28 August, 1993, and further presented to the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, on 20 January, 1995.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212665, "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-1991", "page_number": 219, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "200\n\neffect, in the presence of the ancestors.\n\nTo the right of the bride knelt a Taoist priest wearing the traditional red robe edged with black and yellow, and a black hat. From time to time the bride would bow her head while the priest chanted and the fortunate woman also burned offerings. Occasionally, while the offerings were burning, the priest banged cymbals and two pieces of wood together\n\nThe whole ceremony lasted about half an hour, after which the bride's mother burned more paper gold and silver offerings outside the house. The bridgroom would later perform these rites in his own home, before the couple married in a registry office on Hong Kong Island where they both worked.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212675, "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-1991", "page_number": 229, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "210\n\nevaluation section that records the joys and pains of fieldwork, and reflects our youngsters' genuine affection for things Hong Kong as they seek to further their understanding of their own cultural tradition and social milieu.\n\nThe collection starts with a section on religion, which is the most coherent part of the book. The first report is a general study of tian de sheng jiao, a cult that started at the turn of the century and which attempts to integrate the five great religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam. The report includes a brief history of the cult and a description of its beliefs and rituals. But the most interesting and enlightening part of the report is the interviews of members of other religions who tend to take an inclusive and accepting stance towards the cult.\n\nThe second report deals with one school of Taoism, chuan zhen jiao, through the study of its monastery in Fanling, feng yin xian guan. Besides giving a very brief introduction to Taoism, the report has also paid attention to a variety of aspects to the religion, such as social service provided by the church. Of special interest should be the rather detailed description of the religious festivals, rituals of worship and divination, and a short questionnaire that reflects a lack of understanding of the Taoist worldview among its followers.\n\nThe third report has picked a less known sample of Protestantism in Hong Kong, dao feng shan, which aims at converting Buddhists to Christianity. The report is highly focussed - on the main worship hall on the premise. A detailed description of the architecture and its symbolisms is informative. But, instead of shedding light on the reasons for the special mission in its historical context, the report unfortunately is skewed towards rationalizing and justifying the moral objectives of the unopportune mission.\n\nThis section provides a glimpse of the diversity of religious life in Hong Kong and the processual nature of religious development in different social contexts. Unfortunately, all of the reports have chosen to describe the architecture, the catechism and the organization of the churches, etc, rather than describe the architecture, the catechism and the organization of the society at large. In other words, readers are given a paraphrase of the structure of the institutions, rather than an analysis of the ways they are lived. In many instances, the researcher's views", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212676, "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-1991", "page_number": 230, "title": "RAS-1991", "content_text": "211\n\nare confused with those of the interviewed. But these are more methodological problems which should not be blamed on the students\n\nHighly related to, and probably more appropriate if included in the religion section are the reports on offerings used in religious worship and on yu lan jie (ghost festival). The strength of these two reports is that they have made better use of field investigation to complement library material to reconstruct the historical development of their topics. The students who wrote on yu lan jie, for example, compare the Buddhist and Taoist versions of the festival by attending each of the occasions and plotting the similarities and differences, in terms of the administration, the main rites and the problems faced due to social change. The report on the manufacture of offerings, though grouped with two other reports on “traditional occupations\", comes up with a list of the kinds of incense, candles, and paper goods involved in worship of different deities, as well as a tabulation of the frequencies of domestic worship of selected deities among members of a secondary school, reflecting the pervasiveness of popular religion.\n\nMany of the reports in the book follow a similar line of treatment. They emphasize structural descriptions, delineating specific historical events. How individuals respond to these events and how they conduct themselves in these situations are not known. The report entitled \"The Eighteen-day Nightmare” on the half-hearted and short defence in Hong Kong against Japanese invasion in December 1941, for instance, uses a lot of space listing military maneuvers and explaining their significance. As a report on \"the nightmare\", however, it should be talking more about the lives of different sectors of society during this particular period. Similarly, this is a weakness for two reports that deal with remnants of Qing Dynasty in Hong Kong. One plots the marine defence facilities along the coast of Hong Kong, while the other describes the village schools scattered in different heungs of Yuen Long. The schools and forts were painstakingly visited and their physical layout recorded, but the reports only manage to preserve what existed in the past, and fall short of reliving what happened. If the reports put social actors in their specific historical contexts and let them speak for themselves, they will add life to the historical events, demonstrating the dynamics among social actors as individuals as well as social groups, and paint a more complete picture of the history and culture of Hong Kong.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1991.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212749, "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-1992", "page_number": 58, "title": "RAS-1992", "content_text": "43\n\nespecially in water, He wrote that the Chinese generally assert that snakes and tortoises cohabit; he continued with a story with details at variance with his original version, “and I have seen paintings of turtles and tortoises,1 and metal castings also, with a snake wound about, the emblem of strength and longevity; and on inquiry, I have always been told the same story that it was the only way of multiplying both species. In the Miscellany he also wrote that he had seen a bronze image of a turtle and snake connected together in one of the taoist temples at Chi-nan Fu in Shantung.\n\nVery occasionally his stories verged on the salubrious but were never risqué. Describing his voyage up the Yangtze and passing Wu Shan he described an incident from Chinese mythology which led to a Chinese euphemism. The legend was about the 'pious and eccentric lady Yao-chi who lived before the Christian era immortalised by the ancient poet Sung Yü in an ode. She had entertained a princely guest in the Yang Tai Tower of Voluptuousness, and gratified him with the delights of Yün-yü, 'the Clouds and Rain,' hence the saying Yün-meng T'ai, 'Cloudy Dream of the Voluptuous Tower' which had become a synonym for excessive love and passionate desire for sexual intercourse. The name Yao-chi has in the same manner become the common appellation of renowned courtesans.\n\nSumming Up\n\nMesny's life in China falls neatly in two parts, the first thirteen years of excitement and adventure, followed by forty-five years living to a great extent on his 'bubble reputations', a spent force, living from day to day always in the hope of something turning up. It rarely does and on his own admission he fluctuated from comparative wealth to living hand to mouth.\n\nThere is however little doubt that at one period in his life at least, Mesny was trusted by his immediate Chinese superiors, as far that is as any Chinese official would have faith and confidence in a non-Chinese. These were the Chinese generals in the Imperial Army of Szechuan under whom Mesny served in Kueichou. Mesny seems to have spent the rest of his life trying, not all that successfully, to ensure that his ambitions were beneficial and to the best advantage of all, including himself. He made a great point about his ideas for the modernisation of China, each of them in turn rejected but then later put into practice without", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1992.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212756, "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-1992", "page_number": 65, "title": "RAS-1992", "content_text": "50\n\nHis experience when assaulted by Chinese soldiers in Wu-chang during his holiday outing.\n\n10 Mesny's Chinese Miscellany: Volume 2: 10 September 1896: page 449\n\nIn 1992 Miss Lucie Mesny in Jersey explained that as a child she had never encountered any elderly lady, a member of family, called Lydia, who had been only two years younger than William Mesny and therefore would have been only in her mid-sixties when Miss Lucie was a child, if of course Lydia had still been alive\n\n12 Mesny was referring to what had been a very recent incident when the Germans had sent a few hundred soldiers to I-chou in Shantung province 'to bring the local populace to their senses.'\n\n13\n\nPresumably the good Doctor Dudgeon was John Dudgeon, who lived in Tientsin towards the end of the nineteenth century, the author of Chinese Arts of Healing, a series in the Chinese Recorder in 1869/70; The Great Medical College at Peking (in the Chinese Recorder February 1870); The Disgusting Nature of Chinese Medicines (also in the Chinese Recorder in March 1870); The Worship of the Moon (Chinese Recorder in Mar/Apr 1882), \"The Beverages of the Chinese: and finally Kung-fu or Taoist Medical Gymnastics (Tientsin: 1895).\n\n14\n\nIt is strange that Mesny should have been unaware of the legend of the powerful and ubiquitous Northern Emperor, 玄天上帝 a deity whose aides are a turtle and snake, frequently portrayed wrapped around each other at the feet of the image of the deity in Taoist and folk religion temples, and referred to as Generals.\n\n15 Yun-yü, the Clouds and Rain, is a common euphemism for sexual intercourse\n\n16\n\nThis was recorded in his Miscellanies in 1896 as Tsung-ping: translated as 'Regional Commander', rank 2a in the Chinese military forces of the Green Standards [lu-ying], subordinate to the Provincial Military Commander and Province Governors. [Hucker C.O., A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China: Stanford University Press: 1985]\n\n11 Colquhoun A R: China in Transformation: Harper and Bros: New York and London. 1898 (and other books)\n\nScidmore E R. China - The Long-lived Empire: MacMillan & Co. London: 1900\n\nAppendix A\n\nMesny's Chinese Miscellany\n\nEach weekly issue of the Miscellany, edited and printed in Shanghai during 1896, 1899 and 1905, with a run of one thousand copies, began with Notes on China and Chinese Subjects later renamed Anglo-Chinese Notes, an arbitrary, catholic and unstructured collection of items ranging from natural subjects such as the names in English and Chinese of trees, plants etc with a short description presumably culled from a major tome on the subject, to historical and mythological items, geographical descriptions mostly in western China, and a long section", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1992.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 212762, "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-1992", "page_number": 71, "title": "RAS-1992", "content_text": "56\n\ntogether with his regular recommendations to the Chinese government, such as the one for the Chinese capital under a new regime to be moved from Peking but not to Nanking which would, he suggested, be the natural Chinese choice, but to Si-an, nearer central China and better able to be defended from invaders, were interspersed amongst other more mundane factual paragraphs.\n\nVery occasionally his stories verged on the salubrious, but were never risqué. He described Patriarch Lu Tsu, one of the Eight Immortals, as the author of an extraordinary work on the art of massage. By a certain process of massage, if systematically continued for some time, it was possible, so wrote Mesny, to deprive young men and women of their desire for sexual intercourse. They were practically rendered impotent and maintained so, without injury to their health or intellect. This was practised in Szechuan and Hupei provinces, especially in the large monasteries and nunneries of the Taoist and Buddhist priesthood, wherein celibacy was strictly enforced and easily maintained.\n\nMesny was not above writing very puerile articles. One such in 1896 was a parody on the subject of the Shanghai Mixed Court in the British Concession, referred to by him as the 'tribunal of injustice', which is now practically impossible to understand without knowledge of the personalities of the day, whom Mesny disguised behind pseudonyms. It filled some five columns on four pages and may have amused some readers and rid Mesny of some of his spleen, but a century later it reads so poorly that it is embarrassing. Something at the Mixed Court had so upset Mesny that he must have rushed into print, writing in the vein of many similar letters to the press in England at that time signed by 'Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' etc.\n\nThe contents of the Miscellany included serialised weekly parts running for a couple of months or so on substantial subjects such as:\n\n[1] The Taiping Rebellion or the Life and Adventures of a British Pioneer in China. This provided many pages of detailed and often petty experiences, such as his voyage up the Yangtze in 1868, where he repeats minor incidents often ad nauseam. Better descriptions of, for example, voyages up the Yangtze have been written by other westerners, such as Little, with excellent photographs, something Mesny appears not to have", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1992.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qf85tx75x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213063, "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-1993", "page_number": 131, "title": "RAS-1993", "content_text": "112\n\nduring which he acquired extraordinary powers having been provided with a set of secret prescriptions, exorcists and talismans by the major goddess, Hsi-wang Mu'. He was a Taoist Master, a vegetarian who never married and a philanthropic doctor who died at the early age of 58 having worn himself out in the service of his fellow men. A tale told by a Taiwanese related how Wu T'ao's father, Wu T'ung and his mother, née Huang, fled from their home in northern China, during the troubled times of the Sung, to a village near T'ung-an on the Fukien coast where they settled and built a thatched cottage. His mother realised after a dream that she had become pregnant by a famous deity and eventually bore a child naming him T'ao. In another version his mother conceived after she had dreamt that she had swallowed a white tortoise.\n\nWu T'ao, or as he is known in a number of temples, Wu Chen-jen [Wu the Perfected Man] is often claimed to have come from Ch'uan-chou in Fukien, although in SE Asia there have been several other cities and areas claimed by devotees to have been his birthplace, including T'ung-an, Swatow and Chang-chou [in practice, as we have seen, he came from a small village in the centre of a triangle between T'ung-an, Amoy and Chang-chou]. As Wu T'ao grew up he travelled far and wide studying Taoist disciplines and grew strong and healthy but remained celibate and vegetarian. A temple keeper in Singapore understood that by vegetarian it was meant that he could eat buffalo and goat meat but not dog.\n\nImages of Pao-sheng Ta-ti in general represent him as a black-bearded middle-aged man dressed in court robes and an imperial crown consisting of a flat mortar board with a bead screen hanging down before his face, and sitting on a dragon throne. There are a number of variations such as the scholar's gauze cap instead of the crown. His images are generally identifiable by the convention of the cuff of his left sleeve being clutched by the thumb of his right hand, with only this thumb visible. In Singapore where all carvers were aware of this convention such images are universal. However, the carvers all added that they were unsure whether such a convention was known elsewhere. It is, and in a number of temples in Taiwan the images of Pao-sheng Ta-ti have the right thumb just poking out of the right sleeve, although in Chia I the convention has added one finger to the thumb. In the majority of temples he is portrayed with small animals under his feet, said to be lions, whilst in two temples, both in Taiwan, he has two tiny tigers protruding from his clasped hands within the long sleeves of his robes.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213067, "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-1993", "page_number": 135, "title": "RAS-1993", "content_text": "116\n\nwho watches over the health and welfare of the community, though one story claims that he was originally worshipped by agriculturists probably due to his acclaimed ability to cause rain during droughts. Although revered in temples dedicated to him he is, however, nowadays more widely worshipped in other temples where he is a secondary deity. The cult which developed around the memory of a long dead Buddhist monk, a Sung dynasty Ch'an Master, has now become interdenominational with him being worshipped in folk religion temples using Taoist rituals.\n\nCh'ing-shui Tsu-shih is consulted by devotees to obtain treatment for and cures from their infirmities, and is also offered regular reverence for the protection of health by the hale and hearty, and for peace of mind and tranquillity. In some places he is believed to be particularly efficacious for the treatment of deafness, insanity and blindness. In a great number of folk religion temples in which his image is housed there are mediums who speak with his voice providing answers to queries, prescriptions and protective talismans. Exorcists also operate before images of Ch'ing-shui Tsu-shih. He is moreover revered as a loyal Chinese, violently anti-Mongol [claimed so even to this day!], tales being told of his loyalist activities against the usurpers.\n\nHis image, despite being a popular folk religion deity, is easily identifiable firstly by the robes and hat of a Buddhist monk, and secondly by his black face and in particular, by his comparatively large hooked nose and jutting chin. His face is pinched and drawn, looking remarkably like the preserved bodies of certain monks seen on Buddhist altars, and also looking for all the world as if he has lost all his teeth. His images, depicting him sitting cross-legged, are usually swathed in silken robes donated by devotees annually on his birthday. He is also portrayed holding a fly switch or a bowl and rattle staff. In several temples, all near to Hsikang just north of Tainan, three images side by side represent this one deity: they are said to be three brothers, of whom the eldest represented the deity with his black face, the other two, without individual names, having red and yellow faces, but all three together are believed to be a Unity. There did not appear to be any legend supporting this concept, though the three each has a separate annual festival [There appears to be a possible confusion here with the cult of San Tai Tsu-shih : see below].\n\nCh'ing-shui Tsu-shih's cult centre is located at his major temple in P'englai in Anhsi county in Fukien province. He is also the patron of\n\nPage 135\n\nPage 136", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213140, "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-1993", "page_number": 208, "title": "RAS-1993", "content_text": "190\n\nNo. Name of Shop Address Village Source Comments\n\nNo.\nName of Shop\nAddress\nName of Owner\nVillage of Owner\nSource\nComments\n\n30*\n剛\nWTS\nLK\nABCD\n\n31\nM\nSLH\nLK\nC\n\nRestaurants\n\n32\n奇香\nWTS\nHL\n\n33\nLS\n\n34\nWTS\n\nن نار\n\n35*\n+\n\nSilversmiths Tailor etc\n\n#\nL$\nTMK\nCD\n\n36*\n析\nA\n\n37%\n狗\nLS\n53\nWTS\nYT\nLH\n\n00\nC\n\ndealt in opium as well dealt in opium as well\n\nLeashop and noodles coffee shop, cold drinks dogmeat and other noodles Bavel\n\nmissionaries, 1882\n\n*C20\na ring\"\n\nfine cloth, jewellery\n\ntarlor, cloth, largest shop in the market\n\n38\n新盛\n\n39\n\n40\n\nCobbler\n\nPa\n\n43\nUS\nC\n\n*\n歴\nLS\nTL\nC\n\nRattan\n\nFU\n\n4|\n明\nFI\nWTS\nAH\n\nCarpenters\n\n42*\nA\nWTS\nLH\n\n43*\nlal\n#I\nUS->TYK\nLH\n\n도도로\n\nDO\nC\n\nC basket\n\nbaskets and sieves ABC C\n\n44*\n四\nSLH\nSTK\nرا\nC\nBoatbuilder\n\n45-50\n-\nLS\nChina\nC\n\nBlacksmiths\n\n$1*\n\nWTS\nWH\nBC\n\nGambling House\n\n52\nTH\n腑\nWTS\nYT\nC\nPaper Offerings\n\n53\n114\n三 記\nWTS\nני\nC\n\n**\n\n54\n\n55\n..t\n外\n*\nIt\nC\nSNT\n\nC\n\n00 Leller Writer\n\n56\n* # 1\n\nMan Mo\nWH\nC\n\nTemple\n\n57\n\nBarber\n\n58*\n50\n\n60\n\n61\n\n62\n\n63\n\n64\n\n65\nRH\n보\nWTS\nC\n\nDoctor\n\n66\n|廣限颅上吞际\n$\nHAJDING\nUS\nΥΤ\nABC\n\nWTS\nYSO\nBC\n\nWTS\nBC\n\nLS\nNC\nBC\n\nWTS\nSC\nBC\n\nYT\nC\n\nACD\n17\n\nAC\nYT\nC\n\n· also ropemaker and allied trades Lockhart's report, 899.DO, 1937\n\n\"5 or 6\" blacksmiths in\n\nA row\n\n2 Storey Gambling house, Po Tau, Tsz Fa and Pai Kau\n\nOwner executed about 1935\n\n) Probably one of these\n\n) shops was the one\n\n) operated by the Market\n\n) Headman,\n\n1\n\n) of the Luk Heung\n\nleader of teain of Nam Mo Lo (Taoist Priests)\n\nBasel missionaries, 1853", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213262, "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-1994", "page_number": 84, "title": "RAS-1994", "content_text": "64\n\nthe agreement is only a diplomatic document and not part of the treaty or laws of Hong Kong, it would be unlikely to present a successful legal claim (Wesley Smith; 1992; 29). Customary law is, nevertheless, an essential part of rural life in the New Territories. It has thus been argued that the existence of fung shui was tacitly acknowledged by the government (Hayes, 1963: 143).\n\nWhile Englishmen sometimes claim that, legally, their houses in Britain have 'right of light' or 'right of air', in ancient China disputing parties sometimes went to court over infringements of fung shui rights. 'He has ruined my fung shui. He has no business to put himself above me,' a Chinese would state. In Hong Kong, however, impaired fung shui has never been actionable under British law.\n\nCompensation\n\nNevertheless, the Hong Kong Government has not only respected the beliefs of the New Territories' villagers but also paid out sizeable amounts over the years as compensation when people have claimed the Government has spoiled their fung shui. One wonders how many other colonial powers would have been as considerate. Examples of spoiling fung shui include excavations that break the 'neck of the dragon' and constructing highways or water supply schemes which impair the sweep or rhythm of hills. A less caring government would have ridden roughshod over any perceived obligations,\n\nIn 1990, the Government paid HK$1.1 million to fund a 72-hour fung shui ritual at Ha Tsuen, which included engaging Taoist priests and erecting a small, temporary temple. The fear was that the construction of a sewerage disposal system, which included tunnelling through a small hill on which many of the villagers' ancestors are buried, would disturb evil spirits.\n\nAnother example occurred on Tsing Yi Island when the villagers reacted at intervals from 1977 to 1980 (Hayes, 1979: 213; and Hayes, 1980: 155). There are many other cases. Women protesters are often more visibly active than men.\n\nIn November 1994 Mr Brian Jenney, the Government Director of Audit, tabled his annual report. Tuen Mun New Town, he stated, had cost", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1994.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213269, "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-1994", "page_number": 91, "title": "RAS-1994", "content_text": "71\n\nMost Chinese will, however, tell you that a dragon has sinews and veins which can be severed. Blood can be spilled. Thus, when the earth's flesh was pierced, blood, in the form of bright red, ochre-coloured earth, appeared during excavations for the construction of Hong Kong's underground railway in the 1970s. This could mean the time had come for workers to down tools. The evil that might follow had to be averted ritually. Taoist priests would then beat ceremonial gongs and offer prayers to pacify spirits of the earth where the dragon's peace was being destroyed. Exorcism in modern day Hong Kong is by no means uncommon (Raceday rites, 1987). Neither is exorcism uncommon in Christian churches. It is mentioned in the Bible.\n\nOne can compare certain Buddhist, Taoist or folk-religion ceremonies, which purify and bestow blessings, with walking through fields in Europe in springtime while conducting a Christian Rogation Service to ensure a good harvest.\n\nInterestingly, some Chinese came to the conclusion during the last century, that foreigners know far more about fung shui than they are prepared to admit. Otherwise, why would they have picked such a fine site (as it was then) for the Governor's residence? Why would they plant vegetation over the slopes of Victoria Peak in which dwells the resident dragon?\n\nReturning to the cutting edges of the Bank of China: a fung shui master is supposed to adhere to strict ethical standards and not do anything which could be construed as the 'black art'. He should not 'attack' a neighbour. However, in the New Territories, for example, a case where a successful family's fortune has suddenly waned has sometimes been traced to the desecration of an ancestor's grave. As a result, revenge against perpetrators was, in the past, not uncommon.\n\nA buried 'person' needs to 'breathe', and, whether he or she can do this properly or not, affects his or her descendants. Some believed Chiang Kai-Shek's rise to power depended on his mother's fine grave. This, the Communists are said to have dug up.\n\nThe People's Republic's 'Red Guards' went to considerable lengths during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) to destroy the 'Four Olds' (old customs, old habits, old culture, old thoughts). These included fung shui.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1994.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213284, "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-1994", "page_number": 106, "title": "RAS-1994", "content_text": "86\n\nIn England between 1697 and 1851, a tax on windows was imposed. Consequently, many were blocked up. For different reasons, Chinese living in villages in the New Territories also consider carefully before cutting a hole through a wall to construct another window or door. These are viewed as 'noses' and 'mouths'. An opening can admit evil influences and bring sickness or death. Their position, size and proportions are important. So is the way they open and swing.\n\nIn the flat in the case study the Chinese amah (maid) was frequently sick. 'Move the gas cooker,' the lady of the house was instructed. 'It is not good for the cooker to face the door.' After this was done, although it could have been coincidence, the amah said her health improved. She had faith that if the cooker was moved she would feel better. Afterwards, she assured the author she did.\n\nWith Chinese culture embracing so many aspects of the universe and influencing daily life, aesthetics have always been considered important. Door gods, for example, sometimes adorn entrances to ward off evil. In turn, colour and lighting affect both mind and wellbeing. If a person prefers dark colours, then, to balance, they should choose patterns that have light backgrounds. Colour and beauty are meant to complement.\n\nColour symbolism has been linked to the Five Elements, the forces of nature (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water), since the fourth century BC. These are not just looked upon as five kinds of fundamental matter but more as five fundamental processes. Fire, for instance, is linked to red. Not only does it look good but it protects the wearer from evil (Baker, 1981:154). For example, the talismanic red spot on the white headdress of a mourner at a funeral service; worn in the nature of an amulet, red (often vermillion) attracts good fortune. It is a yang colour: the colour for weddings and celebrations. It signifies joy, festivities, virtue and sincerity. Yet to have red paint on the end of a bamboo pole, on which the washing is hung high above the street, is not considered appropriate. It could fall and kill. Red symbolises blood.\n\nRegarding the other four primary colours which are linked to the Five Elements. Yellow (emblematic of earth), a natural and loyal colour of old China was sacred to the emperor. It is the colour of the garments of Taoist priests. It signifies longevity and is the colour for burying the dead. Geomantic blessings and charms, to ward off evil influences, are frequently written or painted on yellow paper representing the earth.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1994.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213288, "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-1994", "page_number": 110, "title": "RAS-1994", "content_text": "90\n\nmany clients as possible and earning as much as he can before he emigrates before 1997.'\n\nWhy does a person engage a geomancer? Normally it is because, for whatever specific reason, life is not 'right'. A person may feel unwell. There may be a looming, or, if one is in business, a corporate, danger. Why did my competitor do better than me? Perhaps his father's grave has better fung shui?\n\nCase Study Two\n\nBelieving that, if a person wants to write about rickshaws he or she needs to pull a rickshaw, at least for a day to get the feel of things, the following is an account of a visit paid by the author, in the company of a fung shui consultant, to business premises. Much fung shui lore for the home also applies to other types of accommodation. Incidentally, rather unlike being a Buddhist or Taoist priest, it is highly respectable to be a fung shui specialist. They are held in high esteem and fit neatly into the overall social and hierarchical pattern. Most practise on a part-time basis. This largely male profession is regarded as an avocation or almost as a hobby by many, and, in the past, they were transported in sedan chairs. Even today they depend to a considerable extent on hospitality and gifts, instead of fees. Nevertheless, practising fung shui can be quite remunerative.\n\nReturning to our second case study: the consultant has been engaged to advise the owner of these business premises on a regular basis, usually visiting shortly after every Lunar New Year. On this particular visit, however, the fung shui master was summoned specially. Business had not been good. The master had to advise what could be done to rectify the situation. On such visits the date and time of birth of the owner of the premises are taken into account in some calculations.\n\nWhen the author and the master arrived the latter was carrying his loh poon (geomantic compass) () of which there are variations (Baker,1980:65). It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe in detail exactly how this instrument is employed. It is, however, divided into a number of (the maximum is about 38) concentric rings and segments. These are inscribed with symbols which are physical representations of the cosmos with its array of interrelated real and imaginary creatures, forces and phenomena.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1994.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213618, "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-1995", "page_number": 214, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "187\n\nTWO GROUPS OF CHINESE DEITIES RARELY SEEN ON CHINESE ALTARS\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nImages of Chinese deities on altars either stand alone, with their aides and assistants where applicable, or in groups of two, three, five, eight, ten, eighteen as dictated by their legend or custom. There are many such groups, most of which are to be seen on a number of temples. However, two groups, though quite frequently referred to in scripture and legend have only been noted once. The first, the Six Patriarchs of Buddhism, stand on three altars, side by side, in a secondary hall of a popular religion temple run by Ch'aochou devotees in Chonburi, a city just south of Bangkok. The second, the Taoist Seven True Ones (of the Northern School), the disciples, enlightened ones, of Wang Chung-yang can be seen in a separate side hall dedicated to them of a temple at the base of Hua Shan in Shensi province.\n\nThe Patriarchs of Buddhism, Tsu\n\nThere are two separate groups of Buddhist patriarchs, those of the West, that is, with Indian and Hindu origins, and those of the East, that is, Chinese. Indian patriarchs of Western Buddhism totalled twenty-eight, a few of whom were still revered in mainland Chinese temples during the earlier part of this century.\n\nThe Chinese patriarchs of Eastern Buddhism, a total of six, the Tung-tsu Liu(1), belong to a relatively late stage in the development of Buddhism in China of which one, the last and Sixth, Liu Tsu, is still regarded as a major deity in his own right by the Cantonese. However, images of Liu Tsu, together with the other five Patriarchs are to be seen in Chonburi, in a large combined Buddhist-Taoist temple.\n\nThe first patriarch of Chinese Buddhism is Bodhidharma who was also the 28th and last Patriarch of Indian Buddhism. He left India when already an old man and in about AD 520 after travelling for about three years he reached Canton bringing with him the sacred alms bowl of the Indian Patriarchate. He died some ten years later and, according to different schools of thought, is buried either near Loyang or near...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213621, "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-1995", "page_number": 217, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "190\n\nher son would produce two images of the Patriarch if the son was cured. The son then produced the now famous Liu Tsu image, copying the mummified body, one small and one large, which have now been copied by most temples.\n\nThe Taoist Seven True Ones\n\nThe Taoist Patriarch Chung-yang founded the Taoist Ch'üan-chen sect during the Southern Sung dynasty. His seven disciples, enlightened ones, were known as the Seven True Ones (of the Northern school), though in some places, notably in Taiwan, it is believed that he and Ch'iu Ch'ang-ch'un were both only members of the group of Seven, and not the founder and senior member respectively. He and his seven disciples lived during the eras of the Southern Sung and Yüan dynasties, the 12th and 13th centuries AD. The Seven taught that meditation and exercises were the path to perfection through internal transformation of mind and body. Most of the Seven have not been noted in image form on altars, though tales of their lives, struggles and attainments to achieve the Tao are written up and available in a number of southern Chinese Taoist temples, though none have been encountered in Taiwan. The monastic headquarters of the Sect was first established in Shantung province, later moving to the Pai-yün Kuan in Peking. The tenets of the sect advocate the path to Tao through meditation and the transformation of mind and body rather than through physical exercises and the use of medicinal herbs. The secondary title of the Sect is the Golden Lotus Orthodox Belief, Chin-lien Tseng-tsang, reflecting the influence of Buddhism on the Sect.\n\nImages of Wang Chung-yang and of all Seven were noted in a major monastery in Shansi early this century, and are still to be seen in the temple at the base of Hua Shan in Shensi province.\n\nThese Seven Disciples or Taoist Masters, known as Chen-jen, were:\n\nThe first of the disciples is Ch'iu Ch'ang-ch'un, Ch'iu, the Perfect One of Eternal Youth. A master of alchemy and now a Taoist saint and Immortal, he lived towards the end of the twelfth century, the period of Tatar rule over China, and is renowned as the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213622, "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-1995", "page_number": 218, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "191\n\nfounder of the Lung-men (P) [Dragon Gate], a sub-sect of the Taoist Complete Truth Sect, Ch'uan-chen P'ai (A) of which he was an early Patriarch. He was the last Immortal to rule the Ch'üan-chen sect in Shantung, having run it for twenty-four years. He is also one of the Seven Immortals the Northern School Pei Ch'1-chen (-) [the Seven Disciples of Wang Ch'ung-yang], and probably is best known as the Ch'uan-chen Master (h) who won imperial support for his sect\n\nHe is remembered not only as the Patriarch but also for his steadfast faith and sacrifice of personal material reward and welfare in the pursuit of the Tao; however, his impetuous urge to voice his opinions during lectures was a major obstacle he had to overcome.\n\nBorn in Teng Chou in Shantung province in about AD 1146 he lived during the troublesome era during which the Sung had been driven into southern China whilst the north was under Tatar rule. At the age of 19 he left home to seek perfection in Taoism in the fabulous Kunlun Mountains, so it is claimed, and at the end of the first year he heard of and sought out the patriarch Wang Ch'ung-yang, became his student and, when Ch'ung-yang died in Ninghsia, another disciple, Ma Tan-yang and Ch'ang-ch'un kept a vigil over Ch'ung-yang's grave for six months.\n\nCh'ang-ch'un became a hermit, and living in extreme conditions with only two possessions, a coir raincoat and bamboo hat, he spent seven years away from mankind, which led to him being known as \"Mr Coir Raincoat and Bamboo Hat\" in his remote hideaway on Lung-men Mountain.\n\nCh'iu Ch'ang-ch'un's fame spread to the capital, and three times he was invited by the Chin [Tatar] emperor Shih Tsung to visit him before Ch'iu agreed. He soon left again for reasons unknown for his remote abode despite the exceptional treatment he was accorded. Genghis Khan in 1222 also invited Ch'iu Ch'ang-ch'un to visit him in the Karakorum to satisfy the Khan's curiosity about Chinese religious beliefs. Ch'iu, about 73 years of age at the time, accepted only because he wished to convince the great Khan to give up slaughter. Ch'iu, accompanied by eighteen disciples, so impressed Genghis with his teachings it is said that he stopped killing from that day forward.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213623, "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-1995", "page_number": 219, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "192\n\nAnother claim suggests that Ch'iu was the adviser to the Yuan emperor Shih Tsu [better known as the Great Kublai Khan] though as Ch'iu is said to have died in AD 1227 this would be impossible; yet another claim which is again fanciful, Ch'iu is said to have been the author of the dramatic version of the \"Journey to the West\" the well-known story in which Monkey [Ch'i-t'ien Ta-sheng] aids a famous monk to carry Buddhist scriptures to China from India.\n\nHis mausoleum was in the influential Taoist White Cloud Monastery, the Sect centre, in Peking. Temple records in the Pai-t'a Dagoba in the Pei Hai in Peking noted that he died at the age of 80 in AD 1227.\n\nHis image is to be seen on two altars in Hong Kong, both in Taoist monasteries where he is portrayed as a seated Taoist figure dressed in robes, blue in one monastery and golden in the other, with a black beard. He is wearing the tiny Taoist crown and holds a fly switch in his right hand. He has no unique identifying characteristics, though in private images he is often depicted with his blue robes decorated with pa-kua signs. His image, in both monasteries, is on a secondary altar in a main hall dedicated to Wang Ch'ung-yang, with Lu Tung-pin being the sole deity in the other secondary altar. These three Immortals are known collectively as the Three Generations, with Lü the eldest, Wang the second generation and Ch'iu the third generation and the junior.\n\nHis great weakness, which he had to overcome, was his impatience. He was renowned for his propensity to butt in and offer his opinion, often after reaching conclusions prematurely.\n\nIn Peking, his image in the Tan-chi Kung depicted him as a young man without eyebrows or whiskers and with a whey-coloured face. In Singapore, his old gilded image stands on an altar in an old temple in Telok Blangah where he shares a shrine on an altar with Lu Tung-pin, one of the Eight Immortals, with the other shrine occupied by images of Ho Hsien-ku, another of the Eight Immortals, and Sun Fu-jen, an unidentified matron.\n\nCh'iu was deified by the Yuan dynasty emperor Shih Tsu [Kublai Khan, ca AD 1260] as: Ch'ang-ch'un Yen-tao Chu-chiao Chen-jen (MIÈ3⁄4Ç^). Later, at the time of Yuan Wu Tsung [ca. AD 1308],", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213624, "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-1995", "page_number": 220, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "193\n\nhe became Ch'ang-ch'un Ch'uan-tao Shen-hua Ming-ying Chen-chun. He is also known as Chu Ch'u-chi and Lung Men Tsu-shih.\n\nHis main festival is celebrated on the 19th or 20th of the first lunar month, with another on the anniversary of his ascent to Heaven, on the 12th of the seventh lunar month.\n\nThe second of the disciples is Ma Tan-yang.\n\nThe third is Liu Ch'ang-sheng, and the fourth Tan Ch'ang-chen.\n\nThe fifth is Hao Kuang-ling, whose image has not been noted on any altar within southern Chinese communities though his name appears in Taoist religious writings in several temples in Hong Kong. He also appears to be known as Hao Ta-t'ung and Hao Kuang-ning.\n\nThe sixth is Wang Yu-yang. He also is regarded as the Immortal who gathered devotees around him in his sub-sect at Yu-shan. Although he is mentioned in the religious writings in the Tuen Mun Taoist temple in Hong Kong's New Territories, and has been referred to there a number of times, his image has not been noted on any altar within Hong Kong, Taiwan, and SE Asian Chinese communities. He is renowned as one of the Seven Immortals for his absolute stillness in meditation. However, he had difficulty overcoming his competitive nature and forced himself to sit perfectly motionless for lengthy periods to show up a rival. He gave up his cave to other Taoists in order to continue his life in peace, alone elsewhere.\n\nAnd finally, the seventh, the one female member, Sun Pu-erh. She formed a sub-sect at Ch'ing-ching. Known as Sun Pu-erh [literally 'Sun no-second way', that is with single-mindedness], she was the wife of another of the Seven, Ma Tan-yang, and whose real name was Sun Ch'ing-ching. She is best known for the self-disfigurement she underwent when she became a beggar to live amongst the poor. As an intellectual, she had difficulty understanding the meaning of the written word without the practical Taoist exercises she later took up.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213625, "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-1995", "page_number": 221, "title": "RAS-1995", "content_text": "194\n\nWe have already noted that images of Bodhidharma, Liu Tsu and the Taoist Chiu Ch'ang-ch'un have been seen individually in Chinese temples, revered in their own right; however, the images of the four other Patriarchs of Eastern Buddhism and the six other Taoist True Ones have only been seen as described in Chonburi and at the base of Hua Shan.\n\nNOTES\n\n1 Note that there were two Sixth Patriarchs of Ch'an. One was Shen Hsiu (f), the Northern Patriarch and the other Hui Neng, the Southern Patriarch. Both were disciples of Hung Jen. Note also that (2) and (3) are interchangeable.\n\nThe Sixth Patriarch's full title is Nan-tsung hia Ta Chien Ch'an-shih.\n\n1 Literally 'the sect of Complete Reality'.\n\nThe group is also known as Pei-tsung Ch'i Chen-jen, and the Sect as The School of Seven.\n\n5 Elsewhere it is claimed that he was born in AD 1148 and died in 1227.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1995.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213771, "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-1996", "page_number": 123, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "94\n\nlonger recorded in genealogies. While this article limits itself to the case of the Hakka, preliminary investigation suggests that the practice is probably also found among some Cantonese-speaking lineages.*\n\nThe Nature of Ordination Names\n\nMany Hakka genealogies contain names for ancestors described as faming, langming, or duming. The three are used interchangeably. The first and third of these terms can be translated respectively as “magic/religion name” and “ordination name”, and the second refers to the form of such names. The ordination names found in Hakka genealogies are of two varieties: the first with Fa as the first character of the given name, reminiscent of the titles of some Buddhist monks and the Hakka “Daoist” ritual specialists. The other is a non-numeric character followed by a number and the word “Lang”, reminiscent of some Japanese given names such as Junichiro in the name of the famous novelist Tanizaki Junichiro. The ordination names for earlier times, perhaps during the Song, tended to be of a simpler form: just a numeral followed by lang. The non-numeric character could have been a refinement to the system for telling generations apart. The “Japanese” pattern is also found in the names of some of the gods of the Lu Shan tradition of sorcerers, which I shall discuss later.\n\nThe two styles of ordination titles are identical to those found as the Daoist titles in Yao documents from Qujiang county of Northern Guangdong prepared for an ordination ceremony.* Information on the Yao of Thailand and Laos provided some hints as to why two different styles of names are used. There was more than one level of initiation. Although there are variations in the specifics, the following example would help to illustrate the point:\n\n[A] Yao man is introduced to the Taoist Pantheon through the Kwa tang “hanging the lamps” ceremony. Its main purpose is to entitle him to perform some rituals, and to confer on him a first “official” degree in the celestial hierarchy. As a result, he will be granted a religious name fa bua [faming] when he will drop his middle generation name and replace it by the word fa, “The Law (of Tao)”. For example, somebody whose adult name reads Tang (family) Fu (generation) On (personal) will then be called Tang Fa On, that is ‘the faithful On of the Tang family’, in all religious documents and ceremonies, including", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213773, "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-1996", "page_number": 125, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "96\n\nthat the religion is of Han origin. e.g. the use of Han language in the manuals, especially when the Yao use it for ritual purposes alone; that the Southern Song Daoist's description, to be discussed later, of the \"ancestry\" of the sorcerers magic does not mention at all that this is the practice of a minority people; and that major elements of the tradition (though perhaps not ordination itself) is shared by the Fujian, Cantonese and Hakka ritual specialists.\n\nHakka genealogies have adopted different theories about those names. One asserts that those names were given by \"Daoists\". One example is a genealogy of the Lius, revised probably in 1920.\n\nIn the previous compilation names of ancestors from Song to Yuan times had names calling them fa and lang, with numbers involving ten, hundred, thousand to ten thousand, and disregarding seniority among brothers. It was because customs of those times gave Daoists considerable power, to the extent that names were given by Daoists.\"\n\nSimilarly, the genealogy of the Lins of Hang Ha Po explained that \"during that time [which?] it was popular to be ordained by the Heavenly Master Zhang. Those who obtained such ordination are to be called by their famung and langhao, which is to be passed down to future generations and never forgotten.\" That such a claim cannot be wholly true can be shown easily by comparing the names with those found in Daoist ritual documents. There the Daoist names, although possibly different from the everyday names that they identify, are not different in form from ordinary names.\n\nAnother example, the Sixing He's 4th Genealogy, claimed that the eleven sons and one daughter of an ancestor Weitai, had all attained the status of immortals; they are therefore identified by langming ordination names in their entries. Yet another theory is proposed in the genealogy of the Luos of Luobo, compiled between 1914 and 1930. It contains a lengthy attempt to refute interpretation of lang names as ordination names. It objected to what it alleged to be popular belief that such names were religious names given by Shimu sorcerers. Basically, it brings our attention to lang being used as a rank during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and numbers possibly used to refer to heads of household. This does not explain the combination of lang and the numeric expressions, especially those prefixed by a non-numeric character. Nor does it explain the ordination names of the other format. More importantly, his theory", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213790, "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-1996", "page_number": 142, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "113\n\nalways foretold by noise made automatically by a cane, presumably left by the monk, as if the uneasiness of the enlightened monk in the presence of his own folks continues even after his death.\"3\n\nIf the tradition of ordination was so persistent despite contact with \"orthodox\" Daoism and Buddhism, the sudden disappearance of the ordination names among ancestors from the 17th century, and the fact that the genealogist writing around the 1920s is apparently unaware of such practice, is all the more interesting. We may get hints from the genealogist who spent four pages to refute any connection of the lang names with priests/sorcerers. He lived between around 1856 to 1946, was appointed a jiaoshi (“professor”?) at the Jingshi Daxue (“Capital University”) of the Qing. Among the evidence he cited was that in his family that produced ten generations of scholar/bureaucrats it would have been an insult to accept ordination names from priests/sorcerers. He makes the point to prescribe omission of du (“ordination”) before the lang names in genealogies and spirit tablets, and adds di “number (\")\" before these names. One wonders if the opinion of people of such status as this genealogist would be sufficient to put a stop to the practice of ordination. But other genealogists mentioned above, some perhaps not so many decades before him, saw in those names indications that the ancestors had attained immortality. In any case, the opinion of this scholar/bureaucrat is a contrast to the sorcerer's view in which fangming and gongming were comparable as titles of prestige. Luo Xianglin, the Hakka scholar who wants the Hakka to be known as \"Tarmei-scholars” and perhaps “farmer-nationalists” would not, similarly, want the Hakka to be thought of as “farmer-sorcerers\". In a passage from the genealogy of the Lius explaining the two special styles of names among ancestors as given by “Daoists”, Luo inserted a note saying that \"this is not correct, see the Genealogy of the Luos of Luobo ***.\n\nBut, as I have already mentioned, the two Hakka scholars do not have to look further than the Guangdong Xinyu and the local gazetteers to see that the villagers' beliefs are not \"fictitious\", as they claimed. Moreover, the practice of ordination continued well into the 19th Century according to county gazetteers. The absence in genealogies of ancestors born in that period bearing ordination names probably reflects the fact that ordination continues but is no...", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213796, "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-1996", "page_number": 148, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "119\n\nprestige since the Tang dynasty. I shall return to this point later\n\nGenealogies that are available now are the result of many updates and only then prefaces can be dated. Some of those in the collection of Luo, op. cit. contain a preface dated 1269 (p. 363), another a preface dated 1406 (p. 48), another was first compiled during the same period (p. 67). As the prefaces do not usually dwell on the many different names of ancestors, we cannot expect prefaces to indicate ordination names as such. The earliest dated preface in the collection to mention ordination names was written in 1780. It drew attention to early ancestors whose achievements as officials are not known but are immortals in the celestial count, referred to by their religious names. It would be useful to examine unabridged genealogies to find mention of ordination names in early prefaces.\n\n1. Check the Golden Lotus for ordination of a male child. Ordination in a funeral seems to appear in the famous Qing novel, the Red Chamber.\n\nNJ\n\nHu Bo'an's *Zhonghua Chuanguo Lingji*, reprinted 1990, Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou Guji Chubanshe, *shang bian*, j. 1, p. 82 describes a practice in Tianjin province of Buddhist ordination; the child will later become a layman again in a rite to be carried out at the age of 12.\n\n21 Qu Dajun, *Beijing: Zhonghua*, 1985, pp. 302–303. The passage is repeated by Yihe Dong Biji, written around the 18th century (the author Li Diaoyuan obtained his Jinshi degree during the Qianlong period, 1736-1795). If the passage in *Guangdong Xinyu* was copied from some earlier book, the original would not have been written before 1569, when Yong'an was first established as a separate county.\n\n\"The Third Gazetteer of Yong'an, j. 1, p. 207 in the reprint by Chengwen Chubanshe, 1974.\n\nThe Changle County Gazetteer, j. 4, p. 247 in a reprint in the 70s (2) in Taiwan. According to the *Gongguo Difang Zhi Zonghe Mulu* ('Comprehensive Catalogue of Chinese Gazetteers'), the earliest version, of circa 586 and circa 663 respectively, still exist.\n\n21 The passage does mention that the area has Yao and Liao minorities, but the sentence about the sorcerers seems to refer to Han villagers. See Hu, op. cit., *shang bian*, j. 8, p. 50.\n\n24 Op. cit., j. 1, pp. 8b-9a.\n\n1\n\nJl,\n\n* Michel Strickmann, in 'The Longest Taoist Scripture', in *History of Religions*, 1978, p. 349, suggests that the appearance of the name Satan here attests to the influence of Manichaeism in Southeastern China. The Satan was worshipped by some circles of agnostics, according to the entry in Mircea Eliade, ed., *The Encyclopedia of Religion*, New York: Macmillan, 1987.\n\n26 Interpreted as King of Skanda by Strickmann, op. cit.\n\n27 In some cases written as Mei Shan, Mei Shan, Lu Shan, or Lu Shan.\n\n* Li and Huang, ed., *Liannan Bapai Yanjiu Ziliao*, published by Guangdong Sheng Shehui Kexueyuan in the 1980s. See, for example, p. 554 and p. 564 for King of Asura, p. 433 for", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213797, "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-1996", "page_number": 149, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "120\n\n24\n\nН\n\nTou To Wang, Changsha Wang and various Muowang \"demons\" I have not consulted Shuton Yoshio eds. Yao Documents (Tokyo Kodansha 1975)\n\nFor example the Buddhist concept of Liu Dao, and the Asura was summoned by the Devil King to fight the Buddha in the Dunhuang narrative literature Buo Muo Branwen, in Dunhuang Brannen, in Tarper Shipe Shuju reprint, 1980, p 347 But in a passage of the Hua Yan Jin quoted by Hong MA,, op cut P. 1680, the King of Asura was among those summoned by the Bodhisattva to come to the rescue of those in turmoil\n\nBut Muowang \"Demon Kings' also featured in canonical Daoism in which They have been conquered by the Daoist gods and can be summoned by Daoist for protection\n\nEven then the Jade Emperor's native place, according to the same document, was \"Puo Xi\" which could have been Persia too\n\nSee Jiang op eit for Qujiang, and Hu Qiwang et al Bancun Yang, Minzu Chubanshe, 1983, for Guangxi Province\n\n\"See Lagerwey for the present situation\n\n\"The SJYLSSDC as we see now, a Qing reprint of the Ming book, has a passage that says Chen went to Lu Shan to study magic. But the next four characters do not make sense The crucial characters will give the master's name as Jiu Lang and can be found in reprints in a more recent series A Ming version reprint of the same book, under the title of Sanpao Yuanliu Shengdi Faozu Shoushen Dachuan, in the series Zhongguo Mijian Xinvang Zijido Hunbuan, Taiwan, 1989, gets most of the characters right. Compare also Shi Shen, a Qing manuscript also reprinted in the same series that quotes a Zheng Shou Shen ji, the passage is otherwise identical with SJYLSSDC\n\n\"See for example Lagerwey, perhaps Liu Zhiwan also. Note the latter being account of practice of the Zhang Fazu sect, which seemed not to involve the Lu Shan Jiu Lang at all\n\nTh\n\nInteresting information is found in John Lagerwey was not mentioned, instead \"John Keupers\", \"A Description of the Fa-ch'ang Ritual as Practiced by the Lu Shan Taoists of Northern Taiwan\", in Saso and Chappell eds Buddhist and Taoist Studies 1. Hawaii University of Hawaii, 1977, p 83 This article on the Lu Shan San Nai sect shows, without saying so, that the confusion has multiplied as the priest has mistaken the pair Lu Shan Jiu Lang and Wang Tu Mu for Dong Wang Gong and Xi Wang Mu, two prominent gods in canonical Daoism, and by two steps of substitution (Xu Xun = Lu Shan Jiu Lang, Dong Wang Gong = Lu Shan Jiu Lang) identified Dong Wang Gong with Xu Xun\n\n-\n\nSee for example the San Jiao Shou Shen Da Chuan\n\nMin Du Wai Ji by den He Qiu, reprinted 1987 by Fujian Renmin Chubanshe\n\nYuan Hao-wen, Yi Jian Zhi, Reprint Beijing Zhonghua Shuju, 1988\n\n14\n\nALL\n\nOp eit pp 1181, 1429\n\n+", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213832, "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-1996", "page_number": 184, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "157\n\nlimited by the size of its villages and their economic status, Tung Chung did not adopt the tso-she ceremony in the earth god worship as Kwangtung's countryside did in the 1920s. Again, worship is mainly on a personal, rather than village, basis.\n\nThe most important supra-individual/lineage inter-village social activities in Tung Chung, as remembered by the older generation, were the chiao ceremony and the Houwang's Birthday Festival. Literally meaning sacrifice or offering, the chiao is a large-scale Taoist ceremony, performed to wipe away evil, forestall calamities, restore peace, and renew life in the way of cosmic harmony for the entire population of a community. It consists of a series of rituals, which are commonly called ta-chiao (arranging sacrifices or making offerings). In spite of its rich meaning, the chiao can be better understood as a festival with a dual purpose: giving thanks to the deities and offering sacrifices to the spirits of the dead. Basic items of activity include chanting by Taoist priests, called nun-mo-lao (chanting fellows), inviting local deities to the altar placed in a matshed, going to the puppet show and the communal meals, and joining a parade through the villages. Beginning in the late Ch'ing, the chiao ceremony was held in Tung Chung regularly in the 14th lunar month, and especially after plagues had taken many lives there. The Shek Mun Kap village, being the oldest village in the area, served as the locale. According to an old villager, the village became a local venue of social and economic activities after some shops were established there. Villagers liked to gather at the place to gamble and chat. It was, therefore, a suitable centre for popular festivals.\n\nAs an inter-village ceremony, the chiao required donations from all households at every village. From each village, a man was chosen as yuan-shou (leader of worship) by casting the divining blocks in front of the earth god at the entrance of Shek Mun Kap. He had to pass the divination three times in a row. These men took charge of money collection, the preparations for the occasion, and the hiring of matshed and stage builders, the puppet show troupe and the nun-mo chanters, etc. They also acted as the village representatives in assisting the ceremony. At the site of the chiao ceremony, in front of the earth god shrine at Shek Mun Kap, a matshed was set up temporarily to enshrine the Houwang image \"invited\" from the local temple. Oblations, joss sticks, and candles were put in front of the idol. Erected behind the earth god shrine was the gigantic bamboo and paper figure.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213859, "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-1996", "page_number": 211, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "185\n\nA STUDY OF THE OBJECTIVES OF CHURCH INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION AS PERCEIVED BY THE VARIOUS PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS IN HONG KONG.*\n\nNG TZE MING, PETER\n\nFor a long time, Christianity (including Roman Catholics and Protestants) has been actively involved and been exerting very profound influence on school education in Hong Kong. According to the survey in 1986, there are 424 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Among them, 203 are church schools, which make up 48% of the total number of secondary schools. As for primary schools, out of the total of 737 schools, 254 are run by the church, which approximates to 35% of the primary sector.' A mere 10% of the Christian population therefore 'controls' more than 40% of the educational resources in secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong. What then are the objectives and ideals of church involvement in education? What significant effects are being brought about in such a massive involvement in education today? These are important questions not to be neglected by educators as well as those who are concerned with school education in Hong Kong.\n\nThe present study aims at revealing among the various Christian (Protestant) denominations their different views on the objectives and ideals of church involvement in education today. It is hoped that such a study would stimulate greater interest and dialogue among educators in Hong Kong, whether they are members of any religious groups or not. The present study is limited to Christian (Protestant) organizations involved in school education. As for the involvement by the Roman Catholics or other religious groups such as Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic, these are yet to be investigated on a larger scale by other interested scholars.\n\nContent and Methodology\n\nThe study consists of two parts. The first part is a questionnaire survey held in April-May, 1987. Questionnaires were sent to the supervisors, principals, and Religious Education panel chairmen (or", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213911, "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-1996", "page_number": 263, "title": "RAS-1996", "content_text": "239\n\nSUPPLICATING THE DEITIES\n\nIN MAINLAND CHINA'S TEMPLES\n\nKEITH STEVENS\n\nIt was interesting to note that in recently rebuilt or refurbished Buddhist and Taoist temples in Shanghai city there was no evidence of fortune sticks and blocks or of any equipment such as sand tables used for spirit communication. Temple keepers when questioned about it were quite clear. It was forbidden as superstition [mi-hsin]. In retrospect I have now noted a similar absence of spirit communication paraphernalia on altars on photographs taken in other cities and even in the countryside which I had overlooked during my visits.\n\nIt would appear that devotees in mainland China are permitted to offer incense and oil for the ever-burning lamp, and in some areas they also can burn charm papers before the images of the deities after which they can, orally, though virtually silently, put their pleas and offer prayers to the deity. However, in Shanghai at least, they were not, under any circumstances, able to obtain the immediate response which is the practice in Taiwan, Hong Kong, SE Asia and formerly, in China itself. They have to wait for their wishes to be responded to positively, or otherwise, by the deity. One of the temple keepers added that, as he understood it, 'this was the foreign method of worship'.\n\nIt must be added that outside mainland China possibly the prime reason why many devotees ever visit a temple is to obtain an immediate assurance and response to a question or problem which is worrying them.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1996.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213933, "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-1997", "page_number": 3, "title": "RAS-1997", "content_text": "From the Hon. Editor\n\nVol. 36, 1996\n\nAddendum\n\nConcerning the Note on page 239 of Vol. 36, SUPPLICATING THE DEITIES IN MAINLAND CHINA'S TEMPLES, by Keith Stevens, the author has asked that the following paragraph be added at the end:\n\nDespite what I had observed in Shanghai and elsewhere in Mainland China, in March 1998 I came across devotees using oracle sticks in two temples in Hunan province to seek advice from deities. One was in the main temple at the base of the Taoist Holy Mountain, Heng Shan; the other was in a large popular religion temple some ten miles south of Changsha on the banks of the Xiang Jiang, the major river flowing through the area. In both places temple staff sat behind a counter, with the devotees collecting the bamboo tubes from them and then rattling the sticks before the image of the main deity until one of the sticks rose up, thereby providing the 'lucky' number for the devotee who then collected the usual small printed slip bearing the same number and the relevant destiny or fortune.\n\nii", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 213984, "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-1997", "page_number": 53, "title": "RAS-1997", "content_text": "19\n\n# THE CRAFT OF THE BAMBOO SCAFFOLDER\n\nDAN WATERS\n\nAdmired by Taoists for its resilient beauty, tenacity and flexibility, bamboo symbolises endurance and the lifestyle of an upright, virtuous gentleman. It has rings marking, as it were, important events in a person's life. It is fast-growing and has great powers of survival. Not long after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on 6 August 1945, bamboo on the devastated site was said to have sprouted new shoots.\n\nBamboo also, with classical, delicate leaves like painting on porcelain, bends but seldom breaks. The tender sprouts are a popular vegetable. With its unbounded usefulness it is employed to make waterpipes, poles for hanging out washing, mats, incense sticks, wide-brimmed hats to offer protection from the sun, shields used by riot police, chopsticks, pillows, divination blocks for temples, carved ornaments and countless other types of utensils. The elderly will have slept in bamboo cradles as children. Their coffins will be conveyed at their funerals by bearers using bamboo carrying poles.\n\nJames Stewart Lockhart, a senior Hong Kong civil servant who played a major part in the taking over of the New Territories by Britain from China at the end of the last century, described bamboo in a large, undated notebook, as follows:2\n\nTo start with, the bamboo has seven virtues of its very own: it is clean and unspotted in itself; a sheaf covers the stem as it pierces the dark earth, so the bamboo has protection from the world; being hollow it is symbolical...of a pure heart; it is strong and unyielding; the stem being divided into segments is orderly; the stalk is pure green without blemish; and is lastly eternal and enduring.\n\n3\n\nAlthough the Victorian naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace,3 described bamboo as one of nature's most valuable gifts, the main purpose of this paper is to look at bamboo as a material for scaffolding, together with the methods of training and the role of the bamboo scaffolder.\n\nA legendary sage named Yau Chao Shi is said to have lived 5,000", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214130, "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-1997", "page_number": 198, "title": "RAS-1997", "content_text": "169\n\nRAS VISIT TO HUIZHOU\n\nDan Waters\n\nOn Saturday 15 November, 1997, 14 stalwart members of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch (RASHKB) set off by coach on a two-day visit to Huizhou (Waichau or Waichow) and the surrounding region in eastern Guangdong Province.\n\nHuizhou has a population of about 600,000, making it larger than Macau. In this part of Guangdong, where Westerners attract a certain amount of attention, we visited scenic spots like the West Lake (see Plate I), the Xizhou Pagoda and the Su Dongbo Well as well as his Monument (see Plate II).1 Su Dongbo was a leading poet and a member of the literati in Northern Song times. He was also concerned with the building of bridges, improving dams and constructing water supply schemes. Madam Wang (1062-96), his Concubine, was a native of Hangzhou. Su was disgraced and banished to Guangdong and subsequently to Hainan Island.\n\nOur RAS Group also visited one of the most famous Taoist temples (the Lu Dong Bin Temple) in Guangdong Province, situated at Loh Fau Shan. Lu Dong Bin is one of the Eight Immortals and a patron saint of the literati. He uses a fly whisk to sweep away the clouds and carries a magic sword associated with healing.\n\nOn the following day (Sunday 16 November) the RAS Group drove to the unspoiled Nine Dragon Mountain (named 'Kowloon' like in Hong Kong) and its comparatively well-known Tam Kung Temple which was visited by a group of RASHKB members in November 1995. Research has previously been carried out and RAS visits have been made to various Tam Kung temples both in Hong Kong and in Macau, including during the Tam Kung Festival. Also, an illustrated lecture was given on the Hakka Boy Deity, Tam Kung, in 1996, to the RASHKB by Professor Anthony Siu and Geoffrey Roper. There is little point in repeating similar information here.\n\nOne of the tasks that the RAS group set itself, in November 1997, was to find two buildings in Huizhou which were used by the British Army Aid Group (BAAG) during World War Two. Both sites were", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1997.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/wp98g7579", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214150, "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-1998", "page_number": 8, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "CONTENTS\n\nPRESIDENT'S REPORT ........................................................................................................................ xii\n\nFRIENDS OF THE RAS (UK) REPORT.................... xxvi\n\nAUDITOR'S REPORT ........................................................................................................................ xxviii\n\nHON. LIBRARIAN'S REPORT ............................................................................................................. xxxv\n\nARTICLES\n\nDan Waters - Laughter Across the Great Wall: A Comparison of Chinese and Western Humour ........ 1\n\nKeith Stevens - Images of Sinicised Vedic Deities on Chinese Altars ................................................ 51\n\nRichard J. Garrett - Weapons of the China Wars ............................................................................... 107\n\nKeith Stevens - Naturalist, Author, Artist, Explorer and Editor, and Almost Forgotten President: Arthur de Carle Sowerby, 1885 - 1954, President of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1935 - 1940 ............ 121\n\nKeith Stevens and Jennifer Welch - Xu, the Taoist Perfected Lord Xu Zhenjun, the Protective Deity of Jiangsi Province........... 137\n\nGillian Bickley - Plum Puddings and Sharp Boys, \"One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kin\": An Analysis of the China Coverage in the Illustrated London News, 5 January to 23 September, 1861 ........ 147\n\nKeith Stevens - The Deification of Heroes Following the Struggle by the Vassal State of Chou to Overthrow the Shang Dynasty...... 173\n\nKeith Stevens - Temples Arise from the Ashes of Revolution ........................................................... 187\n\nvii", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214240, "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-1998", "page_number": 98, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "61\n\nAppendix A\n\nDETAILS OF THE DEITIES WITH SINICISED SANSKRIT NAMES\n\nWHOSE IMAGES APPEAR IN THE GROUPS IN THE TWO TEMPLES IN THE WESTERN HILLS OF PEKING\n\nAND THE ONE IN NORTHERN TAIWAN\n\n1] Brahma [Mahabrahman] usually known in Chinese as Fan T'ien 梵天\n\nBrahma is the ancient Vedic creator and the Soul of the Universe, an impersonal being, chief of the Hindu gods and celestial spirits and the first in the Hindu trinity. He is usually paired with Indra [see Ti Shih below] though married to Sarasvati. It is believed that the Vedas sprang from Brahma's head.\n\nHe is known in China by several titles including Ta Fan T'ien-shen and Fan Wang as well as Ta Fan T'ien Wang. In India his image varies from place to place but frequently he is portrayed with four arms and four faces or heads. Over the centuries his worship slowly declined in favour of Vishnu and Shiva.\n\nHis image has been noted in a number of folk religion temples in China where he is considered to be one of the forms of the Jade Emperor. In several Buddhist monasteries he has been noted as one of the two attendants flanking Sakyamuni Buddha, the other attendant being Indra.\n\nIn a number of temples in southern China he has been represented as a bearded middle-aged man, standing, wearing long flowing robes, and either the standard Hanlin-style Chinese literati cap or the tiny Taoist crown. He can also be portrayed carrying a stylised incense-stick holder which looks very similar to the long-stemmed tobacco pipe. In some temples in central China he was depicted riding a swan.\n\nIn the Ta Pei Ssu in the Western Hills he is portrayed as an imperial minister, standing with a tablet held in both hands before his chest and dressed in a colourfully decorated robe and Ming decorated leather.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214241, "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-1998", "page_number": 99, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "62\n\nbonnet. He has a Chinese face, white moustache and beard and rather hooded eyes.\n\nHowever, in the Pi-yun Ssu, also in the Western Hills, his modern image depicts him in what appears to be a sarong held up by a long blue bow, and with a bare chest. His shoulders are covered with a decorated blue robe down to his knees, parted revealing his bare chest, and an unusual bonnet which appears to have a pair of short wings extending out beyond his ears. He has a squat nose, large mouth and is holding his right hand making a mystic sign at chest height. His left hand grips an incense-stick holder at waist height. He looks marginally less Chinese than the other images but does not look Indian.\n\nPaired with Indra, he stands in prime position at the head of one of the two rows of fourteen Deva.\n\n2] Indra, known in Chinese as Ti Shih and Yin-t'o-lo\n\nHe is the greatest of the Vedic deities with the dual function of weather and war god, known also as Sakra Devanam. He has been adopted by Buddhists as representative of secular powers, protector of the religious body but inferior to any Buddhist saint. He is said to have taken an oath to defend Buddhism during a former incarnation and was reborn as the King of the Yakshas.\n\nAlthough some Chinese Buddhists identify Indra as the Taoist supreme deity, the Jade Emperor, Brahma is much more commonly accepted as a form of the Jade Emperor.\n\nHis image is present in both the Ta Pei Ssu and in the Pi-yun Ssu, and in both he is completely Chinese with no hint whatsoever of foreign origins. He is standing, an ancient minister, dressed in colourful decorated Chinese robes and imperial bonnet, with pink flesh, a black moustache and goatee, and with both hands held together before his chest, fingers pointing upward.\n\nIn Hong Kong he has been paired with Brahma on altars and is portrayed carrying a golden bowl somewhat similar to an incense pot. He is depicted in a form and dress virtually identical with that of Brahma,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214242, "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-1998", "page_number": 100, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "63\n\nthe golden bowl being his unique characteristic.\n\nMahesvara, Mahadevi or Siva, known in Chinese as Mo-hsi-shou-lo T'ien 摩醯首羅天\n\nMahesvara is one of the numerous titles borne by one of the best known of the Indian deities, Siva. He has come to be regarded as the Supreme Being though he more generally represents the more malignant forces and destruction, all part of the cycle of creation and destruction. He is married to either Uma Mahesvara [also known as Parvati], by whom he had a son named Skanda [see 21 below], or to Kali, who is also Durga. The latter is known as Hariti [and in Chinese Kuei-tzu Mu: see 6 below] whose image is also one of the twenty-eight Devi. Hariti has one face, six arms and a necklace of skulls\".\n\nImages of Siva stand in both the Ta Pei Ssu and the Pi-yun Ssu. In the Ta Pei Ssu he is portrayed as a typical northern Chinese deity dressed in multi-coloured robes and a tall Buddhist crown, but with six arms and an ageless Chinese face of indeterminate sex. He looks like and could easily be confused with other multi-arm Buddhist deities as he has no unique characteristic. In the Pi-yun Ssu he is naked apart from a skirt in colourfully decorated cloth down to his knees. He has four arms and a smaller head on top of his normal head. He has red spiky hair on both heads and fangs rising out of the lower jaw of his normal head.\n\nSoothill described Siva as having eight arms, three eyes and riding a large white bull, holding a handful of snakes and a small drum, and can be represented as the phallic symbol.\n\n4] Maritci [Maritchi or Marici] known in Chinese as Chun-t'i P'u-sa\n\nThe Tantric [Lamaist] bodhisattva, Chun-t'i, is the Buddhist form of the Hindu personification of light and an offspring of Brahma, Cundi or Candi. She is often confused with the Tantric many-armed Kuan Yin and the Taoist stellar deity, Tou-mu Hsing-chün. Two separate deities also are referred to by Chinese devotees as Chun-t'i; these are as", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214244, "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-1998", "page_number": 102, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "65\n\nhand holding a precious object including a rosary, cudgel, jar, spear, pagoda, golden arrow, halberd, or bell, etc. and it is therefore not surprising that the images of Chun-t'i on the altars of both Buddhist and folk religion temples portray her with eight or eighteen arms and hands, the main two hands being held palms pressed together before the chest in prayer. The uppermost hands hold discs of the Sun and Moon respectively and the remainder, individually, hold various attributes including a seal of office, a sword, shield and fly switch. She is variously represented with three heads though predominantly she is depicted with one head with three faces one of which is that of a sow. Chun-t'i again often has a third eye in the centre of her forehead, usually a Taoist form but attributed to her Indian origin as a metamorphosed caste mark. She is generally portrayed sitting on a lotus throne in the same posture adopted by the Buddha and, in one of her poses, also by Kuan Yin P’u-sa. According to Werner the legend explaining the third face being that of a sow and the creatures supporting the lotus also being pigs relates how one of the abbesses of the Semding monastery in Tibet in whom the goddess Chun-t'i was believed to be successively incarnated, had an excrescence resembling a sow's ear at the back of her head.\n\nIn northern and central China in Tantric Buddhist temples, the Lamaist goddess Maritci, portrayed in a chariot drawn by seven pigs is identified as Chun-t'i; in the south however, where Tantric Buddhism hardly penetrated, images identified as Chun-t'i are said by priests, should devotees enquire, to be the Brahmanic cult of Maritci. However, in Tibetan and Mongol [Tantric] Buddhism Tou-mu is a common deity with her three eyes and many arms; she is considered to be an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva known throughout China as Kuan Yin and this doubtless explains the confusion with Kuan Yin in central and southern China. She has been identified as Tou-mu Yuan-chün, the main deity in the T'ai Sui Hall in the Jade Emperor temple in Tainan, where she is flanked by two Tantric aides, Ch'ieh-ch'ih and Yao Ya.\n\nIn her Taoist form she is portrayed seated on a lotus, again of Indian origin, which in a number of temples rests on the back of a tortoise which in turn rests on three or seven pigs. Most likely this is no more than a reflection of the tale in the Feng-shen Yen-i in which one of the disciples of Tou-mu, Shui-huo Tung-tzu, who changed into a tortoise, bore off Tou-mu to the Western Heavens.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214250, "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-1998", "page_number": 108, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "one of the Twenty Deva. Sagara Naga, the Dragon King of Rain.\n\n71\n\nIn Chinese he is the Dragon King. His image has only been noted in one of our two temples in the Western Hills, the Pi-yun Ssu where he is portrayed as a standing, black-skinned official in multi-coloured robes and a pill-box cap with a small sunburst on the front. He has large round eyes and a black beard and is holding a tablet in both hands clasped before his chest. His image is also present in the cave/tunnel under the Taiwanese temple where he is known as Sha Lo Wang 沙洛王 and is portrayed as a middle-aged Chinese, standing,\n\ndressed in gilded armour and small Taoist crown. He is holding an unsheathed sword in his right hand and a small snake-like dragon in his left.\n\n15] Asura known in Chinese as Ah-hsü-lo\n\nThe Asura in the Lotus Sutra are one of the Eight Classes of super-natural beings - Asura originally meant a spirit or even a god - and are regarded as demons who fight against the forces of Indra. There is an image of an Asura in the group in the Ta Pei Ssu but not in the Pi-yun Ssu, nor in the cave/tunnel in the Taiwanese temple. In the Ta Pei Ssu he is a demonic human with four arms, three eyes and a further head superimposed upon his normal head. He has fiery red spiky hair, red moustache and beard, large round eyes and rings one in each ear. He is stripped to the waist and is white skinned, has bare legs and feet and is wearing a highly decorated colourful skirt.\n\n16] Vimalakirti known in Chinese as Wei-mo Chu-shih\n\nVimalakirti was a disciple of Sakyamuni at Vaisali who the Buddha is said to have instructed, and who later recorded it as the Sutra of Vimalakirti. The realm of Vimalakirti is a realm of profound joy.\n\nAn image of Vimalakirti is in the group in the Ta Pei Ssu but not in the Pi-yun Ssu, nor in the cave/tunnel in the Taiwanese temple. He is standing, dressed in a green robe decorated with gilded roundels and border, and a scarf round his head holding his hair in a loose knot protruding up and through it. He has grey hair, beard, moustache and eyebrows. There are no unique characteristics.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214255, "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-1998", "page_number": 113, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "76\n\nfact that he is listed in Soothill as one of the Twenty Deva. His image is to be seen in both the Ta Pei Ssu and the Pi-yun Ssu. In both temples he is depicted as a ferocious guardian general with a wide gaping mouth, large round eyes and a highly decorated Buddhist crown. He holds the standard weapon, the vajra, the diamond sword, resting in his left hand and against his left shoulder, and has the swirling scarf behind his head. He is stripped to the waist, has bare legs beneath a highly colourful decorated skirt, and sandals. A mural in the Sakyamuni Pagoda in Ying county in Shansi province depicts Guhyapati in much the same form.\n\nThe Chin-kang as a group are minor deities, guardians belonging to the class of Lokapalas borrowed by Buddhism from Brahmanism. The standard four Chin-kang, the Diamond Kings, are each the ruler of the four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru and though Guhyapati Raja is a Chin-kang he is not one of the usual four. The standard four are the Ssu Ta T'ien-wang [see 23-26 below].\n\n23-26] Ssu Ta T'ien-wang XX The Four Great Celestial Kings\n\nThe Four Deva Kings, known also as the Four Diamond Kings, Ssu Ta Chin-kang X, are the four guardians whose images stand, usually portrayed much larger than life-size, just inside temple entrance doorways, in pairs, two to either side.\n\nWerner points out that these are not gods but guardians, Buddhist protectors who should be thought of as minor divinities. Chinese Buddhists adopted four Hindu Brahmin deities from Indian Buddhism, the Lokapala, the guardians of the four sides of the fabulous Mount Meru [the Guardians of the Four Corners of the World] who, in turn, were later adopted by the Taoists from the Chinese Buddhists. The Four were probably first introduced into China during the T'ang dynasty [6th and 7th centuries AD] and still today are regarded as the grim-faced temple guardian generals, enormous statues in T’ang armour, tamed demons who were redeemed and who now symbolise the seasons and control the elements of fire, water, earth and air. Although the majority of images of the Four stand up to and even over fifteen feet high they can also be as tiny as eighteen inches high. They used to be deities in their own right and offered worship, reverence and offerings. Nowadays however although most devotees solemnly place one smoulder-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214256, "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-1998", "page_number": 114, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "77\n\ning stick of incense before each with a perfunctory bow, the Four are looked upon as mere soldier guardians with a fifth, Wei T'o [see 21 above], their commander.\n\nThe group of Four are the product of the Mahayana school of Buddhism with additions from the Tantric school. Their original Buddhist title in Sanskrit is usually Dvarapala, though others claim that they are the Chin-kang Shou, derived from the Sanskrit \"Vajrapani', the Thunderbolt Bearer, the Great Protector.\n\nThey are responsible for the security of temples, protecting them from demonic attack and also preventing evil spirits from sneaking in. In Taoist temples, where they have different individual identities, they normally stand in the side wings of the main hall, such as in the Jade Emperor Hall at the Monastery of Ten Thousand Buddhas at Shatin in the New Territories of Hong Kong.\n\nThose in Buddhist temples are the Diamond Kings whilst those in Taoist and folk religion temples are Celestial Kings [T'ien-wang]. They are easily recognisable by their stature, location and by the collocation with the others in the group; also, because each usually holds a unique identifying symbolic object, a furled umbrella or a rodent, etc. They stand with defiant stares and have faces in colours identifying the direction for which they are responsible. The Buddhist Four guardians all wear the bodhisattva's five-leaf crowns with minute Buddhas inscribed on the central leaf, and flying scarves forming a nimbus behind and above their heads and shoulders. Many have demons, thieves, liars and adulterers underfoot. The Taoist Four, who also have demons underfoot, generally wear military helmets.\n\nA manifestation of Vaisravana, the protector of the North and one of the Four Chin-kang, appeared during his journey to aid Hsuan Tsang, the Buddhist monk who trekked from China to India and back to obtain Buddhist scriptures. For this reason Vaisravana was later revered by devotees, alone and in his own right, and over the years became associated with General Li Ching.\n\nAll four of the Mo-li brothers, the Taoist identities of the Four Temple Guardian Generals, are included and represented in the sets of", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214257, "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-1998", "page_number": 115, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "78\n\nthe Twenty-four Heavenly Lords. The Four, said to be brothers, are believed to have been born during the 11th century BC and are now protectors of Mi-lo Fo. The 16th century novel, Feng-shen Yen-i, describes the popular myths surrounding the defeat of the four Mo-li brothers during the legendary wars of the 12th century BC who fought with their magical weapons but whose main weapon was the white rat which devoured all enemies. However, Yang Chien, the nephew of the Jade Emperor and son of Li Ching [the General with the Pagoda] was swallowed by the white rat but once inside it he ate the rat's heart and at the same time transformed himself into the white rat which was unsuspectingly put back into its bag by one of the Mo-li brothers. Yang Chien stole out whilst the Four brothers were in a drunken sleep and stole the magic umbrella, whilst Na-cha who had fought and defeated them broke their magic jade ring. The Four lost heart, were defeated and slain. The war was followed by their canonisation by Chiang Tzu-ya who appointed them to the posts of the Heavenly Kings, controllers of the elements, from whom people sought protection from calamities.\n\nThere are standard images of all four of the Great Celestial Kings in both the Ta Pei Ssu and the Pi-yun Ssu.\n\nThere has been a certain amount of confusion over the colours, names, and titles of these guardians; even their characteristics and attributes vary from monastery to monastery. Confusion has arisen over the centuries due to non-Buddhist and even pre-Buddhist factors, with every combination to be seen, such as the General of the North with the Umbrella, the General of the West with the Rat or Mongoose, and so on. The most frequently noted observations are as follows:\n\n \n Taoist Titles\n Symbol\n Characteristics\n Buddhist title\n Sanskrit title\n \n \n Mo-li Ch'ing\n Magic weapons or Sword/lance or Jade Ring or Parasol\n black face or black beard\n Ch'ih-kuo T'ien-wang\n Dhrtarastra 持國天王 or 東方大王\n \n \n \n [colours: blue/green] or Lyre/lute", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214259, "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-1998", "page_number": 117, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "80\n\na Stupa and/or spear\n\nThe King Protector of the North E and controller of Autumn\n\nelement metal\n\nsometimes identified as Li T'ien-wang\n\nP'i-sha-men T'ien-wang E\n\nIn a number of older temples the Diamond Kings are portrayed as demonic with black skins and with a total of eight in the group rather than the usual four. In the Kai-yüan Ssu in Changchou in Fukien province, the Eight are positioned on all sides of the main altar. They are bare to the waist and have bare feet, and are without weapons or attributes.\n\nIn northern Chinese temples the two guardians outside the main doors, often painted on the front walls flanking the entrance, are blue or green skinned demons known as Wu-shih, simply meaning 'warriors'. or Li-shih J\n\nDoré claims that the Four were introduced in the 8th century during the reign of T'ang T'ai Tsung who believed that the Four helped him establish his empire. The Taoist group said to have assisted the T'ang emperor is often identified with four Taoist mythological deities. These are:\n\nLi Yüan-shuai [Marshal Li or Li T'ien-wang], Li Ching, the Heavenly King who holds a pagoda10\n\nMa Yuan-shuai [Marshal Ma] or Ma the Heavenly King who holds two swords\n\nChao Yuan-shuai [Marshal Chao] or Chao T'ien-wang, holding a single sword\n\nWen Yuan-shuai [Marshal Wen] or Wen T'ien-wang holding a spiked club", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214260, "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-1998", "page_number": 118, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "81\n\nOther Buddhist protective deities are also listed as Chin-kang, such as their commander, Wei T'o, and Huo-shou Chia-lan X.\n\n27] Vipasyin P'i-p'o Chia-lo Wang EE\n\nantiquity. His\n\nVipasyin is the first of the Seven Buddhas of image is not included in either of the temples in the Western Hills but has been included in the cave/tunnel in Taiwan where his image portrays him as a youthful man dressed in gilded armour and helmet, with a bared sword held vertically in his left hand before his chest. He has a gilded halo behind his head and shoulders but no unique characteristic.\n\n28] Kumbhira Chin-p'i-lo Wang EE\n\nKumbhira is a Yaksha king who was converted and became a guardian of Buddhism. His image is not included in either of the two temples in the Western Hills but is in the cave/tunnel in Taiwan where he is portrayed as a youthful warrior, standing dressed in gilded armour and gilded winged helmet. He is holding an arrow-less bow in his left hand at waist height, whilst his right hand rests on his hip.\n\n29] Chin Ta Wang X\n\nThe Great King Chin is the Protector of Travellers in the train of the Kuan Yin with a Thousand Arms and a Thousand Eyes. His image is not included in the groups within the two temples in the Western Hills but is included within the cave/tunnel in Taiwan where he has no Sinicised Sanskrit title and is portrayed as a middle-aged clean-shaven Chinese with his right hand held slightly forward at shoulder height with his hand making a mystic sign, whilst his left hand rests against his body below the waist. He is dressed in gilded armour and has a small Taoist crown resting on his hair which has been drawn up into a bun. There is a flaming halo behind his head and shoulders.\n\n30] Chin-se Kung-ch'iao l€\n\nThe Five-colour Peacock\" is depicted within the cave/tunnel group in Taiwan but does not appear in either of the two temples in the Western Hills. He has no Sinicised Sanskrit title and is portrayed as a brown-", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214264, "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-1998", "page_number": 122, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "85\n\nIn addition to being the final arbiter in the judgement of souls and the Keeper of the Registers of Life and Death, Tung-yüeh Ta-ti protects the virtuous, especially those who are truthful, good and excel at filial piety.\n\nImages of Yama, that is Yen-lo Wang, are to be seen in both of the temples in the Western Hills where they are Deva, but together with Tung-yüeh Ta-ti, indicating that they are regarded as two separate deities in these temples.\n\n38] Tzu-wei Ta-ti\n\nThe Great Emperor of the Purple Heaven, a major Chinese Taoist stellar deity of the North Pole Star, the keeper of the book of destiny, a controller of blessings, and one of the most potent destroyers of demons, is revered for his power to ward off evil influences and spirits. In northern China he was occasionally regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings and portrayed as a benign middle-aged Taoist, with Taoist crown and tablet held between both hands before his chest. Icons bearing his likeness are pasted or nailed to doors as popular charms to ward off demonic attack.\n\nHis image stands in both the Ta Pei Ssu and the Pi-yun Ssu. In both he is portrayed as a standard Chinese Taoist figure, with long multi-coloured and highly decorated robes, and a small Taoist crown on his head. He has a benign face, a small goatee and moustache and in the Ta Pei Ssu holds both hands together before his chest as if holding a tablet. His image in the Pi-yun Ssu is similar but has the tablet in place.\n\nA mural in the Mahavira Hall of the Yunlin temple at Yangkao in Shansi portrays the Emperor Tzu-wei of the North Pole.\n\nThere is also some confusion within Cantonese communities about the role of this deity. In some temples he has been claimed to be the chief of the heterodox Taoist stellar deities and identified either as the god, or one of the gods of the Pole Stars. He is popular with the Boat People of the Pearl River estuary, and is also one of the stellar deities seen on charms and scrolls used during rituals. A number of devotees", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214266, "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-1998", "page_number": 124, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "87\n\nubquitous whilst Lei Tsu, the Ancestor of Thunder is rare. These two forms tend to be confused by devotees, with a concensus accepting that Lei Shen is another name for Lei Kung, whilst Lei Tsu is an entirely separate deity, the major deity who has two aides, Lei Kung and his consort, Tien Mu [the Goddess of Lightning]. Numerous differing views offered by temple keepers, devotees, god carvers and even Taoist religious specialists claim that Lei Kung himself under several different titles is a member of the Five-deity Board of Thunder but subordinate to the President, Lei Tsu.\n\nThe Thunder God, is an early Chinese nature deity, a stern god who, though generally speaking benevolent, is one who averts evil. He is also feared as being particularly merciless towards those who kidnap children and oppress widows and orphans. He was revered in the very early days because of the mystery and powers of nature he and his consort controlled. The list within temples of the evil doers against whom he takes action is seemingly endless. It used to be that the list only included capital crimes, nowadays however it includes the filial impious, liars and cheats, and physical discomfort for truants and lazy scholar students. Children were told that he would not harm them unless they told lies. On the other side of the coin he has the power to obtain pardons for anyone who genuinely repents, and for many centuries Lei Kung has answered people's prayers and requests for cures for all diseases, injuries and sickness. However, during the early part of this century in and around Peking it was believed that he would not cure anything more severe than scratches and bruises. He has developed into a deity whose charms cure minor wounds, stomach aches and perhaps hasten the delayed birth of a babe.\n\nLei Kung causes damage to property and fields with his thunderbolts whilst Tien Mu, the Lightning Goddess, merely flashes her mirrors to cause the lightning. During the late Ming and the Ch'ing dynasties images of Lei Kung were situated on high places, a roof of a temple, for example, to ward off lightning.\n\nHis standard image is unique and the most easily identifiable deity in the Chinese pantheon. Represented as half-man half-bird, a human body and arms, chicken's feet and claws, a monkey's head apart from his bird-like beak, he is also occasionally portrayed with a third eye. He holds a hammer and chisel13, has a string of drums slung around", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214355, "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-1998", "page_number": 213, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "178\n\namends. King Wu also held an audience at which he announced that certain Daoists and generals who had bravely fought and died should be regarded as heroes and revered as such. At that point a number of Daoist mythological heroes stepped forward and declared that as they were uncultured, having lived in the mountains and countryside, they now wished to return to report to their masters. They added that they were unable to accept honours or rewards as they had simply followed the orders of their masters. All seven left the Court, and the following day after a feast, they were reluctantly permitted to leave by King Wu.\n\nMy daughter, a friend and I during a visit to Song Shan in Henan province, one of the Daoist holy mountains, came across a large modern temple which, as we approached its entrance, looked real enough until we came to enter it. There were several young women in a uniform of sorts knocking a badminton cock around to while away the hours and, of all things, a turnstile. We then saw the name of the temple was Fengshen Gong, the Palace of the Investiture of the Gods, and entered wide-eyed wondering what could possibly be inside.\n\nOnce inside we were taken by our guide down a short corridor and out into what proved to be a massive wax-works, images of scenes from the Fengshen Yanyi as well as images of the major local deity, the Lord of Zhong Yüeh, the Lord of the Central Peak [Song Shan]. The exhibition, we were informed, had been built by the Tourist Board of the local city, Deng Feng, for Chinese visitors. Well over 200 images, mostly static but with some dozen or so automatons, lined the winding path leading through the large exhibition hall. With a not too subtle gesture our guide switched each on and off until, apparently bored by her foreign guests who spent quite some time at each exhibit, she abandoned us and returned to her badminton. The place was deserted apart from four small boys who were delighted to be alone with us and took enormous pleasure in switching on and off the various exhibits for our benefit without any guide being there to chastise them.\n\nScenes included the wicked Zhou Wang ascending his throne; Na Zha, the Third Prince, Causing Trouble with the Dragon King; Duke Fa [King Wu] subjugating Zhou Wang; the Terrace of the Investiture on which Jiang Ziya is reading out the decree canonising the heroes, and the Five Sacred Ones returning to Heaven. Several of the automated exhibits had the small boys in fits of giggles; one in particular", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214366, "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-1998", "page_number": 224, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "190\n\nfor\n\nmany years. Although the government had turned a blind eye to such activities in the past, mainly in the name of making tourist dollars, it now focused attention on these 'superstitious rituals' which were said to be daily corroding the ideology of the people. The magazine, saying that market forces had prompted a resurgence of 'backward' religious practices, described how the system of traditional beliefs which had been finding fertile ground in the countryside was now creeping towards urban centres. This would seem neither to have inhibited nor prevented Taiwanese pilgrims flying into mainland China bearing Taiwanese images of deities to their particular cult centres in Fukien and Chekiang provinces for their 'power' [ling] to be renewed. It has to be remembered, however, that Taiwanese visitors are treated as privileged guests.\n\nProblems of luck and fate are as real today in China as they are in any rural society, and as they were in pre-communist China. Some private firms are reported maintaining altars on company premises and are making offerings to the traditional God of Wealth in the belief that this would help ensure their success in business. Buddhist statues have been placed in cultural centres and tutelary deities adorn the roofs of schools. Children too seem to have succumbed to the craze. A survey of 1,622 children between 11 and 12 in Changchun showed 50 per cent believed in fate and 40 per cent believed in the immortality of the soul. A further 40 per cent of boys and nearly 60 per cent of girls believed in spirits and in Heaven and Hell. It went on to describe the resurgence of superstitious practices and the appearance of several 'reactionary sects.' The September 1996 issue of Democracy and Legal System magazine said that tens of thousands of temples dedicated to China's colourful assembly of gods were being illegally built or restored. It quoted 20,1692 in Fukien province, 9,000 in Honan and 10,000 in Shansi provinces had been destroyed, and even 597 state-run restaurants in Peking had taken down and removed Buddhist shrines during one month alone. A further report described a similar crackdown in Hupei province where 1,600 'pagan' shrines, mostly dedicated to the Earth God, had been destroyed as part of the nation-wide crackdown. Similar action had been taken in Kueichou province where nine illegal temples had been closed in one month. A report about Chekiang province about the same time claimed that provincial officials had brought under control 17,900 Taoist, Buddhist or Christian [sic] temples and monasteries.\n\nThe mainland newspaper, Paok'an Wenchai, had about this same time criticised the widespread superstitious practices in the building", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214367, "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-1998", "page_number": 225, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "191\n\nindustry. It was common, so it claimed, for construction teams to hold Taoist rituals, including the sacrifice of oxen before work began.*\n\nOn the other side of the coin, according to the Bureau of Religious Affairs, about 200 Taoist temples have been re-opened to the public in China since the 1980s and seven Taoist provincial associations have been established. One of these temples is the former Taoist Cheng-i sect centre, the Heavenly Master Sect temple [T'ien-shih Miao] on Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Lung-hu Shan, in Kiangsi province. It was burned down in 1945 and work on rebuilding it did not begin until 1983. This consisted of the renovation of the main hall and the re-sculpturing of the images of the San Ch'ing, the Three Pure Ones, and fourteen other clay statues. Other sites nearby have also been renovated, including the Shang Ch'ing Palace, where the Immortals lived, and the Lien-tan Ch'ih, the Furnace [where pills of immortality were made]. It is interesting to read that both local and central authorities donated more than half a million yuan towards the project.\n\nAbout the same time as the iconoclastic campaign began, a ban was also imposed in Tsingtao, the port in southern Shantung, on the manufacture, sale and burning of funeral objects in a bid to curb a resurgence in superstition.\n\n...\n\nDespite all of these reports of the destruction of illegal temples and the crackdown on superstition, my daughter and I during the years 1995-1997 have visited a number of temples both urban and rural in remote areas of China as well as in cities and towns which, without doubt, fall under the category of superstitious religious establishments. We have not only been guided to several such temples by policemen but also in one instance we found the local party cadre actually lived with his mother inside a small popular religion temple. The only instance where a member of a temple staff had reason to explain that an activity was banned because it was superstition happened in the suburbs of Shanghai. When we asked why there were no oracular blocks on the altar with which to obtain the deity's answers to questions posed by devotees, we were told by the temple guardian that this particular practice was superstition and not permitted, whereas other routine rituals seen in temples in Hong Kong and Taiwan were. A Chinese scholar recently explained that in his view illegal temples are the structures built without permission because local State authorities have not had the quid pro quo erection of a village school, crèche or health centre paid for by the villagers with the same sum funded for the project as\n\nPage 225\n\nPage 226", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214496, "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-1998", "page_number": 354, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "323\n\nTHE DRUNKEN DRAGON DANCE AND THE TAN GONG (TAM KUNG) FESTIVALS: NOTES ON THE RASKB VISIT TO MACAU, MAY 1997\n\nGEOFFREY ROPER\n\nThe eighth day of the fourth lunar month is an important date in the Chinese religious calendar. Principally it is Lord Buddha's birthday, and for that reason is soon to become a Hong Kong public holiday. In Macau, on a more local basis, it is also the date of the Drunken Dragon Dance Festival around the markets of central Macau and the Tan Gong (Tam Kung) Festival celebrations in Coloane Village, Coloane Island. It was with these two Festivals mainly in mind that a twenty-strong party from the Hong Kong Branch of the RAS, led by President Dan Waters, set off for Macau early on Wednesday, the 14th May (the date in the 1997 Western calendar).\n\na.m.,\n\nPreceded by Chinese opera performance the evening before, the initial Drunken Dragon Dance celebrations had already started by 8:30 by the time we arrived at the western end of the former Sao Domingos Market. The dragon heads and tails were being blessed by a Taoist priest outside the adjacent Guan Di (Kwan Tai) Temple and brought to life by the painting of eyes by invited VIPs. A golden flower with a red ribbon was tied around the head of each dancer - representing God's gift of energy for the dancing ahead.\n\nThe scale of the festivities was somewhat smaller than the previous year, with humbler staging for the sponsors from the Macau Fish Merchants Association and restrictions on the free distribution of rice and vegetables to the public at the first market. The reason was disruption caused by building work, but most importantly, the Dance itself remained unchanged.\n\nThe dragons, the dancers, and the dance itself are best seen in the illustrations (which were actually photographed by the author at the 1996 celebrations). Accompanied by a loud drumbeat, the group of about twenty male fish porters circled around and took turns in holding the wooden red and gold dragon heads and red and green tails. As", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214550, "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-1998", "page_number": 408, "title": "RAS-1998", "content_text": "377\n\ntranslated into Italian, then into French. It was the undated French version that we saw. It had been written, possibly in Macau, on the instructions of the Pope and described the persecution of priests. There was also a massive hand-written \"Tartare-Mantchou French dictionary” 1st edition, Paris 1789, in 3 volumes. Another interesting book was \"Dr Fryer's Travels: A new account of East India and Persia in eight letters, being nine years travels\" by John Fryer MD (Cantab) and Fellow of the Royal Society, published in 1898.\n\nThe more linguistically accomplished of our members interpreted these works for the benefit of all and there was much erudite discussion. This was the Society at its best and we could have spent many more hours, even days, delving into this fascinating collection. [Illustration Two].\n\nOn Saturday afternoon we drove out to Fa Hai (Sea of Dharma) Temple, in the distant western suburbs at the southern foot of Cuiwei Mountain. The temple was begun in 1439 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) with funds raised by Li Tong, a favourite eunuch of the Emperor. It was completed in 1443 and named by Emperor Ying Zhong. The most outstanding features are the frescoes, which completely fill the walls of the main, Mahavira, hall. These reflect a relatively pure Buddhism without Taoist depiction. They are of Buddhas, Avalokiteshvara (Kuan Yin) and the three other bodhisattvas, devas, wonderful animals, auspicious clouds, flowers and realistic landscapes. There are five Buddhas on either side with the 10 Buddhas together representing the full power of Buddhism, and possibly also the idea of east and west. The colours are subtle and not too faded (although the viewing of a colour-enhanced video prior to touring the Temple helped our appreciation). In the temple grounds are unusual pine trees with silver-white bark; ancient trees, said to resemble dragons, and a bell engraved in Chinese characters expressing Sanskrit teachings. The auspicious clouds inside were matched outside, for misty rain added to the atmosphere of the temple, set in the mountainside woods.\n\nOn Easter Sunday we were up very early to go to the oldest Christian church in Beijing - the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception of Blessed Mary, on Qianmen Avenue. This is also known as Nan t'ang, or South Church. The Emperor bestowed on Matteo Ricci the lands and funds to build the church near the then Calendrical Bureau inside", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1998.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214707, "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-1999", "page_number": 122, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "86\n\nstep (Baker; 1981,15).\n\nThe matshed consisted of a light bamboo frame clad with thin metal sheets, which are more fire resistant than the old rattan mats that were used years ago (see Figure 1). A compartment at one end housed four henchmen and their god, called by the villagers Tai Wong Ye, sometimes translated as 'Great Ancient King' (Myers; 1975,19)(see Plate 3). The same god in urban Hong Kong is usually called Daai Si Wong (Baker; 1979,121). Different names for the same god can cause confusion. The matshed faced southeast (feng shui south), in the direction of the Kwan Yin Ancient Temple. The number of Taoist priests taking part in the ceremony inside the matshed, with some arriving late, fluctuated from five to seven. Even priests get caught in traffic jams. There was a small group of musicians in the matshed playing, between them, a trumpet, gongs, cymbals and a small drum. Percussion instruments took pride of place. The matshed also contained dishes of fruit, to be offered up to the gods, and paper offerings. Joss sticks were burned.\n\nThere was a great deal of incantation, much read from a book taken off the altar, and some kneeling. Rice wine was deliberately spilled on the floor in the process of purification and offering it up to the gods. The gods of east (the Green King), south (the Red King), west (the White King), north (the Black King) and centre (the Yellow Emperor) were beseeched, in rising and falling tones, to come down to protect the district in words that were not easy to link together and to understand. The Chinese animal sign of the year is said to represent a direction. There the planet Jupiter is located (Lo; 1992,162). This has important feng shui implications. One should not disturb the earth in this direction. The Taoist priests who perform such ceremonies are often called, in slang, naam moh lo.$\n\nLooking at Figure 2, in the bottom right-hand corner one can see a metal container in which are situated the five bamboo talismans on which, during the ceremony, are written the respective entreaties to the appropriate gods. Also on the crudely framed timber altar (see Figure 2), draped with a red cloth, are bowls of fruit, three cups of tea, three cups of wine and various items used during the ceremony.\" They include a book of chants, a crown worn by the head priest, musical instruments and sticks for the musicians to strike the percussion", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214708, "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-1999", "page_number": 123, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "87\n\ninstruments.\n\nTwo native Cantonese speakers remarked at the ceremony that they each understood only about 10 per cent of what the priests were chanting. Thus, it was not always easy to follow exactly what was going on. This helps keep the priestly profession a closed shop. Priests are paid not only for performing ceremonies but also for knowing how to perform them.\n\nNote (see Plate 1) the five tun fu pots used to guard and protect each direction of the Chinese compass (including centre), with one talisman in each. These were later lined up in front of the matshed. After 'heaven and earth were made ready' messages to the respective gods were written on each strip of split bamboo (each about 75 centimetres long and four centimetres wide) after each strip, and the brush, had been purified by prayer and incense. The red paper horse at the front of the matshed acted as an emissary for letters, pleas and charms dispatched to heaven (Stevens: 1997, 121). The horse was constantly being blown over in the wind and one wondered, unless it could be anchored down in a secure way (which it never was), whether its magical powers would be affected. Anyway, few seemed concerned. During much of the ceremony ordinary villagers came in ones and twos and burnt joss sticks in front of Tai Wong Ye and his four henchmen.\n\nThe ceremony in the matshed lasted about one hour. After this was over we were bussed to an expanse of open ground not far from Lin Fa Tei (Lotus Ground), a 10-minute drive away. From here, we could see where the new railway tunnel's northern portal will be situated. A further ceremony took place not far from this spot, again officiated over by the same Taoist priests and attended by the same village elders, committee representatives, and government officials (see Plates 4 and 5). There was more chanting, more joss sticks and paper offerings were burned, and medium-sized roast pigs (brought from the ceremony inside the matshed) were presented up to the gods. Rice wine was again sprinkled on the ground for purification.\n\nIt was pointed out by a villager, who had lived in Britain for over 30 years and spoke fair English, that over 1000 village graves and burial urns had been moved to make way for the new tunnel. A small river had been filled in. In spite of the landscape having been considerably", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214709, "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-1999", "page_number": 124, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "88\n\naltered work for the railway had not been held up, as so often happens with New Territories' projects similar to this. This was in spite of the protracted discussions that had taken place regarding the removal of the graves at Pat Heung. By comparison a dispute between the Government and Ping Shan villagers, in the northeast of the New Territories, about the moving of an agnate's grave, has been going on for several years. This has resulted in the closure of some buildings along the Ping Shan Heritage Trail by the Tang Clan (Cheung; 1999, 570). At the time of writing they are still closed.\n\nAfter bussing the large group back to Sheung Tsuen a further ten-minute ceremony was held by the Taoist priests in the Kwan Yin Ancient Temple, opposite the matshed (see Plate 6). Again there was a repeat of chanting, bowing and the sprinkling of rice wine. This was to pay respects to the gods in the temple and was not really a formal part of the tun fu ceremony.\n\nWhether it is a wedding, a funeral or celebrating the completion of the refurbishment of an ancestral hall, in Chinese culture food usually plays an important part. Now, after the tun fu ceremony was over, it was time to feast and what and how people eat can reflect complex social messages. The banquet consisted of a basin meal. For some this was in the open and for others under cover, close to the temple. Before the meal there were speeches in Cantonese from both government officials and village representatives. These were followed by Cantonese opera. Only about 20 women (some of whom sit on village committees) were present among the over 1,000 people who sat down for the basin meal which included the crisp, golden-brown roast pigs which had been offered up to, and was food fit for, the gods. After this latter ritual the pork had taken on magical qualities. Later, by eating it, we the living were able to fortify our chi (prank or life-force) (Waters; 1996, 125) (Leung; 1992, 27). As is the custom in the New Territories on such occasions, all ‘ate from the common pot'. This was placed in the centre of each circular, Chinese table (Watson; 1987, 389). Eating together like this is intended to imply that all diners co-operate and depend on and trust one another. A basin meal is a great leveller. But it is not just how you eat. It is also what you eat. Consequently, many of the layers (frequently totalling nine which is a propitious number) of food in the 'common pot', in addition to the pork previously mentioned, were auspicious. For example faat choi, ‘sea moss' (or, as it is commonly", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214710, "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-1999", "page_number": 125, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "89\n\ncalled. 'hair vegetable), is a homonym for 'get rich'. This basin-meal lunch was the final item on the agenda for the day that the main ceremony was held.\n\nWith this having taken place on the Wednesday at Sheung Tsuen, and the god, Taai Wong Ye, having been burned the same evening, the bamboo-framed matshed was dismantled the following day. As follow up, the Author thus decided to return to the village three days later. The five tun fu pots filled with sand, with a single, split-bamboo talisman with prayers written on it in each pot, had been placed circling the old banyan tree (see Plate 7). Tied to the top of each talisman was a golden (foil) kam fa and a red ribbon - both auspicious colours. There were remains of joss sticks burned by villagers.\n\n10\n\nFurther follow up visits by the Author revealed that, on the 1st and the 15th of every Chinese month especially, joss sticks are burned near the tun fu pots largely by elderly women on behalf of their families. Nevertheless, the pots often give the impression of not being particularly well looked after. The site is untidy. This is a pity. The new West Railway line, of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, is planned to come into operation in November 2003. The tunnel is due to be finished in 2002. The pots will be left for the full duration of its construction and, if they cease to be effective, a nuen fu ('warming' of the talismans) \"revival ceremony\" may be needed. If so, Taoist priests will again officiate.\n\nComparisons of various tun fu ceremonies\n\nHow does the Pat Heung ceremony compare with other tun fu ceremonies that have been conducted elsewhere (Baker; 1980, 21)? Unfortunately the Author has not been able to find any written information, nor has he heard any oral accounts of tun fu ceremonies conducted outside Hong Kong although he gathers they do take place in places like Taiwan. Often in Hong Kong, like the one mentioned earlier (see Endnote 1) on Ma Wan Island, or those that the Author has seen in places like Sha Tin and Kam Tin, the pots were placed near earth-god shrines. All these ceremonies were much smaller than the main ceremony at Pat Heung described in this paper. No matsheds were erected at these smaller gatherings. Sometimes ceremonies are held close to tsz tongs (ancestral halls), although not normally inside.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214711, "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-1999", "page_number": 126, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "90\n\ntemples. Nevertheless, in the case of the Pat Heung tun fu ceremony, the party did go into the temple as the reader saw, but only briefly to pay respects to the gods.\n\nAs another example, again in a predominantly Hakka community at Tai Wo Village, also in Pat Heung district, another tun fu ceremony took place on Wednesday 14 April, 1999, near an earth god shrine again close to a banyan tree. The Author attended. This time it was conducted by a single, part-time, feng shui master (not by a Taoist priest) who did not really look the part in his black, Chinese jacket, jeans and the ubiquitous sports shoes. He lives in a village on Tai Mo Shan. However, in this case, a native Cantonese speaker remarked he could understand most of what the officiating person was chanting. The Author, too, could understand a certain amount. A short walk followed this one-hour long ceremony, with the feng shui master leading the party over to the well to offer up prayers to its god. The village has had mains water for twenty years or so. Obviously, in the past, it was important to pay respects to the well god. Yet the practice continues. Precautions need to be taken to safeguard this valuable commodity, understandably, whether the supply is from a well or from the mains.\n\nEveryone present at this Tai Wo ceremony was given a red lai shi, lucky envelope containing $20, which apparently came from the coffers of the village. This appeared not to be too affluent. One wondered at the time, how many onlookers felt great and mysterious things were happening during this ceremony? It was, nevertheless, all followed by a pleasant picnic-style lunch under the banyan. Again, all present ate roast pork, which had previously been offered up to the gods. A government officer informed the Author that the villagers were pleased he was present, taking an interest in their tun fu ceremony. This pleasure appeared genuine. Certainly, everyone was very friendly, including the feng shui master who, in this case, willingly answered the Author's questions without any hint that he wanted to keep the profession a closed shop.\n\nNot only with tun fu but with Christianity, too, different denominations' beliefs and practices vary, sometimes markedly. Even within the Church of England with its high church and low church, and from one clergyman to another - with their different leanings, political or otherwise, variations can be considerable, not to mention far greater", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214719, "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-1999", "page_number": 134, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "98\n\n'dragon' resides is to be the site of civil engineering work. As a perceived result a number of people in a village die.\n\nThe main tun fu ceremony, which this paper examines, was performed in a basically Hakka district. It was claimed to have been (including a number of related, smaller ceremonies), the largest tun fu ceremony ever held in Hong Kong. Comparisons in this paper are made with another Hakka ceremony and also with Cantonese ceremonies. The latter tend to be more rigorous. For instance, in some cases villagers are not allowed to leave their village or to eat meat for a fixed number of days. Although not for the squeamish, blood is sometimes obtained from a cockerel to anoint tun fu pots and talismans. It can be seen that, while there are similarities in basic principles, there can be not inconsiderable differences in the way they are performed, some of which depend on the personal practices of the person or persons conducting the ceremony.\n\nLike most rituals, such as living generations of a clan kowtowing to the soul tablets of their ancestors in an ancestral hall, tun fu is performed by men. For example by Taoist priests accompanied by village elders. Again, those who line up to pay their respects at tun fu ceremonies are males (see Plate 4 and 5). Women who were interviewed in this study seemed to accept this. Priests and feng shui masters were deemed to perform the ceremony on the collective behalf of villagers of all ages, including men as well as women.\n\nMost villagers, male or female, nevertheless, seem to take tun fu seriously. The British pledged, when Hong Kong became a crown colony, that local customs, including popular religion, would be allowed to continue, unlike on the Chinese Mainland where several attempts, at different times, have been made to stamp them out.\n\nIn Hong Kong, sizeable sums of money have been paid by the Government to finance the holding of tun fu ceremonies. These can be both expensive and time consuming. Such compensation has often 'bought' co-operation from villagers. In spite of what some past District Officers say, about it being 90 per cent money and 10 per cent belief in feng shui, the latter's disturbance can be viewed with considerable alarm. Affected villagers often go to great lengths to make amends and to ‘adjust' their lives accordingly. While a great deal appears to be", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214726, "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-1999", "page_number": 141, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "PAT HEUNG PLAN OF OPEN-FRONTED MATSHED\n\n9-metres\n\ndoor god\n\n$ scrolls\n\nNorth\n\nshelf\n\nFIGURE I\n\ndoor god\n\nshelf\n\nCurtain\n\n5 dishes of fruit\n\n4 candlesticks and incense sticks\n\n'Saam Ching 3 Taoist gods\n\nTai Wong Ye\n\npaper offerings and 'hell money'\n\n4 henchmen\n\nStun fupots with\n\none talisman in each\n\n3 large joss sticks\n\n3 chinese candles small joss sticks born by villager»\n\nalter\n\nface Figure 3)\n\n-Paper horse\n\nNOT TO SCALE\n\n6-metres", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214729, "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-1999", "page_number": 144, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "The open-fronted matshed and the seven Taoist priests, with the god Tai Wong Ye in the left-hand compartment. The five tun fu pots are lined up in front of the matshed with one talisman in each. One pot is partly concealed by the paper horse which acts as an emissary to heaven (Photograph courtesy of Antiquities and Monuments Office).\n\nPage 108\n\n \nPage 108\n\nPage 108", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214730, "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-1999", "page_number": 145, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "This picture shows the altar and the five scrolls at the back inside the matshed. The figures on the extreme left and right scrolls are door gods. The centre three are the Taoist gods usually known as 'Saam Ching' (Stevens; 1997, 68 and 177). The people inside the matshed are musicians (Photograph courtesy of Antiquities and Monuments Office).\n\n109", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214732, "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-1999", "page_number": 147, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "This shows a continuation of the main ceremony at the matshed held, this time, not far from where the tunnel portal is being constructed. Between the row of Taoist priests and the row of village representatives (the latter in Chinese long gowns) one can make out the roast pigs wrapped in paper. These were made short work of at the banquet which followed (Photograph courtesy of Antiquities and Monuments Office).", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214818, "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-1999", "page_number": 233, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "199\n\nfree of charge was considered as a meritorious deed, to be taken into numerical account in any reckoning in the world hereafter.\n\nHowever, any survey of books of this kind will reveal the confusion between titles that appear to deal with the same subject, as well as the difficulty of apportioning them to either Buddhism or Taoism. They could be, and often were, similar in content and belonged to both religions, their purposes being practically identical. H.A. Giles once stated in regard to the Yu Li Ch'ao Ch'uan, described by Fathers Wieger and Davrout (see note 13) as a Buddhist work but ascribed by him to Taoism, that:\n\n\"Modern Taoism had...borrowed so much material from its younger rival, that an ordinary Chinaman can hardly tell one from the other, and generally regards them as to all intents and purposes the same.\n\n**12\n\n“Moral tracts” per se are closely linked with the Buddhist and Taoist teachings in the books noted above. The Confucian ethics made a similar contribution in this wide field of instruction and admonition, but without the confusion seemingly inseparable from works of this sort in the other two religions.\"\n\nLastly, the popular literature was also used to convey the moralistic and admonitory messages of the tracts and teachings of Buddhism and Taoism and the hortative contents of the Confucian ethics. Many of the didactic themes of the Three Religions are to be found encapsulated in the novels and collections of short stories that were printed all over the country, and their influences can be traced in what were otherwise works intended for popular entertainment.\" These indirect forms of religious instruction also helped to shape the thoughts and actions of the population.\n\nThe cumulative result upon the people and culture of China is well expressed by Professor Francis C.M. Wei in his book The Spirit of Chinese Culture (1947). He explains that he is writing \"a study of the moral tradition and the religion of the Chinese people\" and is at pains to emphasise that \"particularly in the case of China does their culture develop from this background.\"", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214820, "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-1999", "page_number": 235, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "baleful influences, the population was almost totally reliant upon assistance from religious personnel, and especially from the Taoists who specialized in this field. There was a tremendous demand for their services by the common people, who were generally anxious to solicit supernatural aid through their good offices.\" The work involved the specialists in pre-emptive as well as remedial roles, both warding off and putting right. Services such as these were confined to the priests and nuns of Buddhism and Taoism, since Confucians did not have a body of religious personnel of a comparable kind.\n\nServices for the People: Popular Buddhism and Taoism\n\nBy the late 19th century, it was as difficult to differentiate between some aspects of the practice and ritual of Buddhist and Taoist priests as it had become hard to determine the precise derivation or affiliation of the religious texts and morality books of Buddhism and Taoism described above. This seems to have been especially the case in the popular religion and in the ritual services provided for the people. In 1882, the American missionary scholar B.C. Henry had stated that:\n\n\"The worship of the spirits of the dead being a universal practice, they [the Buddhists] have taken it under their wing, and in conjunction with the Taoists superintend the ceremonies of the Yu-lan-Ui or “association for feeding the dead,” which offers annual worship to hungry ghosts. The Buddhists, by adopting this festival of All Souls, and emphasizing it by their doctrine of transmigration, have gained wide influence and great popularity.”20\n\nHenry also mentioned that the Taoists:\n\n\"perform daily liturgical services in the cloisters, and are employed in special rites at funerals, or in houses of mourning to repeat prayers for the dead,\"21 adding that Taoist priests “utter good luck chants at feasts, at the laying of foundations for houses and temples, or on any occasion that may come up.\" Such services were also available from the Buddhist personnel.22", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214821, "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-1999", "page_number": 236, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "202\n\nTo this day, services for the departed, whether as newly-deceased souls or as wandering spirits, command the greater part of the time of practitioners from the two religions. Apart from the varied religious services carried out in the homes of the deceased, or in the temples and monasteries where similar rites were held for the departed, both Buddhists and Taoists are prominent in the rituals carried out in public places at the Hungry Ghost Festival.23 This, the most important ritualistic pacification of wandering souls and spirits during the lunar year, is still performed throughout Hong Kong on behalf of the general public by priests of the two religions, hired by local committees and associations.\n\nWhat People Want: Individual Expectations from Acts of Worship\n\nIn approaching the gods, whether in the temples and monasteries, or at the earth god shrines on the street or in the fields, the worshippers had specific requirements in view. Then as now, worshipping itself was principally devoted to obtaining divine assistance in time of trouble or to attain the object of one's desire or supplication. These usually concerned health and wealth, as well as general preservation from all ills, for oneself and for family members, deceased as well as living. There was also the need to obtain protection (because of their great potential for harm) from the general body of those many departed souls without living male descendants to care for them.\n\nUnlike the ritual services, worshipping was not carried out with the help of intermediaries from the two religions. It is a personal act, usually conducted by the individual before the altars in temples, monasteries or nunneries, or at the tombs of deceased family members and ancestors at certain fixed times of the lunar year.\n\nAs Archdeacon Moule says - and it bears repeating because it is so basic to an understanding of how Chinese people think and act - the prayers of the worshippers one sees in the temples are being \"addressed to images representing deities of living and present power.\n\n24 In Hong Kong, a visit to a large city temple like the Wong Tai Sin Temple in New Kowloon at a major festival leaves one in no doubt that the people believe in the ability of the god to grant their requests. Nor is satisfaction kept to oneself. The word soon gets around, and since the worship", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214823, "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-1999", "page_number": 238, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "204\n\nEarth Gods and Tree Spirits\n\nBesides the gods of Buddhism and Taoism worshipped in the village temples, there were also the gods of each locality. In the villages of the Hong Kong Region, in addition to whatever temples had been erected to the deities, it was usual for there to be several earth gods in each village, and in each of the streets in the local market centres. These animistic spirits were equally sought out by the village people.30 Besides the regular acts of worship performed at the shrines, with their supplications and thanksgivings, it was common practice to place children, especially boys, under the protection of a temple deity, an earth god or a tree spirit during the uncertain years of childhood, in order to secure protection against the many dangers that beset young lives. If a tree died or had to be felled, the protégés were transferred to another protector, with the appropriate ceremonies of disengagement (recognition of and thanksgiving for favours bestowed) and adoption at each place.31 Either Buddhist or Taoist priests were required for such rituals.\n\n31\n\nChinese Women and Religion\n\nFinally, it should be noted that Chinese women are considered to be more religious than their menfolk. As Rev. Dr. Robert Morrison's biographer observed in the last century:\n\n46\n\n'...their nature is much more religious than that of the men...it is they who visit the temples. The incense pots which smoulder before the placid countenance of Buddha are filled and kindled by them; they burn ten sheets of paper to the men's one....The men can do without worship, the women cannot.”32\n\nFrom my observations in Hong Kong and elsewhere, I believe this to be as true of today's worshippers as when it was written one hundred years ago.\n\nNOTES\n\nWilliam Frederick Mayers, The Chinese Reader's Manual (Shanghai, American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1874) called them \"The Three systems of Doctrine (or Religion)\" and stated that they “constitute the recognized systems of religion,", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214824, "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-1999", "page_number": 239, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "205\n\nphilosophy and ethics among the Chinese\", p.298.\n\n2 A convenient modern summary of all Chinese religions, past and present, is provided by D. Howard Smith in his Chinese Religions (London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1968). Useful summaries are also contained in the relevant sections of Trevor Ling's A History of Religion: East and West; An Introduction and Interpretation (London, Macmillan, 1968).\n\n3 Arthur H. Smith, The Uplift of China (London, Church Missionary Society, 1908 and revised new edition 1914). Both are used in this paragraph, pp.83-4 and 41 respectively.\n\n4 Hu Shih, The Chinese Renaissance (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1934), p.79.\n\n5 Smith, op.cit., 1908, p.84. Professor Latourette adds one more element: \"The average Chinese has long been and still is an animist, a Buddhist, a Confucianist and a Taoist with no sense of incongruity or inconsistency\", he wrote, in the first edition of his survey The Chinese, Their History and Culture (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1934), Vol.II, p.125.\n\n6 However, this \"intertwining\", as Smith called it, did not extend to the temples and monasteries of the three religions. As the 19th century English missionary cleric Archdeacon Moule observed, they were each characterized by a different atmosphere and possessed a different significance, which he summarized as follows: \"Confucian and ancestral temples generally are for the commemoration and reverence and cultus of the great departed. Buddhist and Taoist temples and monasteries are open for the worship singly or in company of the people generally, addressed to images representing deities of living and present power\". Ven. Arthur Evans Moule, The Chinese People, A Handbook on China (London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1914), p.212. Rev. F.W.S. O'Neill, The Quest for God in China (London, George Allen & Unwin, 1925), p.33.\n\n7 This was a truly enormous field of endeavour, as practically every woman in every household in China and its Dependencies would have recourse to Taoist magic in one form or another to ward off evil from the home. The propensity was so marked that it could extend to converts to Christianity who, used to pasting up protective words and phrases, could include “Emmanuel” and “Trust in God” above the doorways and windows where hitherto Taoist charms had", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214825, "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-1999", "page_number": 240, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "206\n\n8\n\nbeen affixed. A case of this kind from Chekiang in 1909 was cited in Lin Shao-yang, A Chinese Appeal to Christendom Concerning Christian Missions (London, Watts & Co., 1911), p.236.\n\n* Rev. S. Beal, Buddhism in China (London, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), p.241.\n\n? Holmes Welch, Buddhism under Mao (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1966), p.\n\nFor an updated statement on Buddhism in Hong Kong, see Bartholomew P.M. Tsui, \"Recent Developments in Buddhism in Hong Kong\" at pp.299-311 of Julian F.Pas (ed.) The Turning of the Tide, Religion in China Today (Hong Kong, Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch, in association with Oxford University Press, 1989).\n\n10 During a recent visit with friends to a small religious house in the hills behind Tsuen Wan (the Sai Chuk Lam), the couplets in the hall dedicated to the care of ancestral tablets of former inmates and the departed relatives of its clients gave the following messages to visitors: Place Trust in Kuan Yin's Great Mercy and Kindness (right) and Relieve Those in Hardship and Suffering by Reciting Her Name (left); with (above) another scroll to the effect that the Mercy Boat will Carry All over the Cruel Sea. I am grateful to Mr. Simon C.P. Yeung for discussing this with me on the visit. Hong Kong persons, temples, deities and places in these Notes are given in Cantonese romanisation.\n\nA whole chapter on \"The Moral Tract Literature of China\" is devoted to this subject by Rev. John L. Nevius, China and the Chinese (Philadelphia, Presbyterian Board of Publication, revised edition, 1882), pp.226-236.\n\n12 H.A.Giles, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio (Shanghai, Kelly and Walsh, 1915), p.469. A translation of the work is given at pp.469-487.\n\n13 Besides the Buddhist and Taoist works in their collection (Moral Tenets and Customs in China, Ho-kien-fu, Catholic Mission Press, 1913) Fathers Wieger and Davrout also include some Confucian contributions. One of these was yet another very influential work, the Chu Pai Lu Chia Shun or the \"Familiar Instructions of Chu Pai-lu”, a 17th century Confucian scholar. The \"Instructions\" were particularly favoured by generations of teachers. Enshrined in countless vertical scrolls and horizontal exemplars brushed by distinguished calligraphers, their text, in full or in part, served as suitable texts for pupils to copy. In both\n\nPage 240\n\nPage 241", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214826, "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-1999", "page_number": 241, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "207\n\nold and modern form, they can be found hanging on many walls, even to this day. See Ibid. pp.235-243. Again, as with the religious works, the tracts have Buddhist/Taoist and Confucian connections. The first two are stated in the compilers' Notes to be respectively \"a Buddhist tract\", and the \"work of a literate adhering to Buddhism\". The third was a collection of classical sentences, memorized by schoolboys and often quoted in proverbs, described as the work of a [Confucian] literatus. The last named was by another literatus, again stated to be a Confucianist. The similar work printed earlier in the same Section, the Ch'i Chia or \"About Ruling the Family\" is described as \"the work of a Buddhist writer who is at the same time a Confucianist\". Ibid, pp.208, 222, 234 and 185. The Ch'i Chia, again with Chinese text, translation and Notes, is between pp.158-193.\n\nRefs. \"Instruction\" and cautionary tales could also be found here and there in the texts of opera plays performed all over the country, and were incorporated into the repertoire of traditional tales told by generations of storytellers in towns and villages in all the provinces.\n\n15 From the inside text of the dust cover of Francis C.M. Wei, The Spirit of Chinese Culture (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947).\n\nGeomancy was probably the most compelling of these beliefs, because it concerned both the living and the dead. In its two main branches, geomancy catered for the tombs of the dead as well as the abodes of the living, with their combined effect upon human destinies,\n\n17 Chiang Monlin, Tides from the West (Taipei, China Cultural Publishing Foundation, 1957 but originally Yale University Press, 1947), p.29. The second element in this credo is of particular interest. In it is made manifest the influence of the religious \"Instruction\" given in the works described above, and the whole thrust of the concern with moral teaching described by Hu Shih,\n\nis Ibid. pp.6, 29. Also the biography in Howard L. Boorman and Richard C. Howard (eds.) Biographical Dictionary of Republican China (New York, Columbia University Press, 1967), Vol.1, p.347.\n\n19 This major aspect of Chinese religious belief is covered in the two final chapters of Mrs. J.G. Cormack's Everyday Customs in China (Edinburgh, The Moray Press, 1935), pp.229-256, entitled \"The Influence of the Spirit World\" and \"Spectres and How to Deal with Them\". See also Soothill, op.cit., pp.262-270", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 214827, "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-1999", "page_number": 242, "title": "RAS-1999", "content_text": "208\n\nfor an excellent, first-hand account.\n\nRev. B.C. Henry, The Cross and the Dragon or Light in the Broad East (New York, Anson D.F. Randolph and Company, 1885), p.85.\n\n21 Ibid, p.106.\n\n22 See Chapter VII, \"Rites for the Dead\", in Holmes Welch, The Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900-1950 (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1967), pp. 179-205.\n\n23 By all accounts, too, the Buddhist and Taoist specialists offering services to the mass of the people were almost identical and interchangeable. One or other were also to be found in local temples, regardless of the supposed origin of the gods in them. I recall the Buddhist monk with an ordination certificate from the famous Ting Wu monastery in Kuangtung who was temple keeper at the Tin Hau temple in Shaukiwan in the 1960s. Also the mentions of the Buddhist priests in charge of the Tung Shan (Kuan Yin) Temple at East Kowloon and the Kam Fa Temple at Tsing Lung Tau, Tsuen Wan in the early years of this century.\n\n24 Moulem, p.212.\n\n25 See Campbell N. Moody, The Heathen Heart, An Account of the Reception of the Gospel among the Chinese of Formosa (Edinburgh and London, Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, 1908).\n\n26 Ibid, pp.102-3, 107.\n\n27 Cited with similar quotations in (translated by Janet Lloyd) Jacques Gernet, China and the Christian Impact, A Conflict of Cultures (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, paperback edition, 1985), pp.82-83.\n\n28 Rev. Hampden C. DuBose, The Dragon, Image, and Demon: Or The Three Religions of China ... (New York, A.C. Armstrong & Son, 1887).\n\n29 One small squatter temple off the route connecting Tsuen Wan with Shek Kong (Route TWSK) is a case in point. The Sin Ha Tong was built about or before 1970, according to the person in charge. The temple is a wooden hut, with a goldfish pond in front, with some open space. Whilst the gods worshipped here include “old faithfuls\" such as Tin Hau, Lui Cho, and Pao Kung, it is intriguing", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215061, "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-2000", "page_number": 157, "title": "RAS-2000", "content_text": "114 \n\nIn imperial China the mandarins, i.e. the official class,1 as well as Daoists honoured Taisui at the beginning of Spring. This was an element of the official religion, with Taisui being an early deity who appears to have been first offered official sacrifices during the Yuan [Mongol] dynasty. The cult of Taisui, referred to as far back as the Han dynasty, was linked with the planet Jupiter2 which during its twelve year orbit of the Sun moves through the 28 Constellations.\n\nThe Ministry of Time in the spirit world is ruled over by the President, Yin Jiao, a deified hero, - also known as Marshal Yin, though more frequently and popularly referred to as Taisui, reflecting his canonisation by Jiang Ziya in the popular historico-novel The Deification of the Gods [Fengshen Yanyi]. It was only after his popularisation in The Deification of the Gods that Taisui was identified with Yin Jiao. In the novel Taisui is portrayed as both a good human and a very ugly demonic deity with a face described as blue as indigo and with long protruding fangs. He is also referred to in another well-known novel of the same era, the Journey to the West [Xiyou Ji] where again he is described as blue-faced and with fangs.\n\nThe Composition of the Ministry\n\nThe Deification of the Gods3 lists the composition of the Ministry of Time. Apart from the President, identified as Yin Jiao, the others do not seem to appear by these names anywhere other than in The Deification of the Gods.\n\nYin Jiao 殷郊\nPresident\n\nMembers: Wen Liang\n溫良\n\nChiao Kun\n喬坤\n\nHan Dulong\n韓毒龍\n\nXue E'hu\n薛惡虎\n\nFang Bi\n方弼\n\nThe Day Duty Spirit\n\nThe Night Duty Spirit\n\nThe Spirit who stores up Blessedness\n\nThe Spirit who Shoulders Misfortunes\n\nThe Spirit who Shows the Way", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215325, "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-2001", "page_number": 102, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "50\n\nLi Deyu died in exile in 849, in Hainan some 57 years before the end of the Tang dynasty. He was born in AD 787, the son of a minister of state, and rose to become a great minister. In his heyday he was pre-eminent in China serving six emperors faithfully, including being chief minister to Tang emperor Wu Cong. Impeached as the President of the Board of War he was banished to Hainan where his spirit withered. He was not only a fine scholar but also favoured Daoism in the rivalry with Buddhism to influence the Court. He would appear to have had a comparatively close friendship with the Mao Shan sect of Daoists and is even thought to have encouraged the persecution of Buddhism and the imperial eunuchs. He was also an untiring opponent of eunuch influence. His achievements as a poet were recognised as was his contribution to horticulture.\n\nLi Guang was born in Fujian province in 1085 and died in a monastery in Hangzhou in 1140, having been an Imperial Censor and Minister of State. He is renowned for his opposition to the encroachment of the Jin Tatars and in particular the peace proposals by which Qin Gui earned his unenviable notoriety. In 1126 he commanded troops defending the capital and succeeded in defeating the Jin Tatars with great slaughter. He was impeached in 1127 after only a matter of months as Minister of State for irregularities in connection with the purchase of horses and levies of troops, and was exiled for a while before moving to a monastery where he lived out the rest of his life.\n\nLi Guang [1077-1159] was born in Yuezhou in Zhejiang. He was also a scholar-official, but of the earlier Northern Song. He also appears to be feted in Hainan for sharing Hu Quan's rigorous opposition to any kind of accommodation with the Jin invaders and his dislike of Qin Gui. The latter earned him demotion to Jianning military district, and later still another demotion. He was, however, rehabilitated to his original position in 1158 but died the following year while travelling to Jiangzhou.\n\nHu Quan [1102-1180] was a scholar-official of the Southern Song from Luling in Jizhou, Jiangxi province, who received his appointment in the second year of Jianyan emperor. Before taking up his duties, the Jin armies crossed the River and Hu raised his own army to defend the area. He too is famous for his stubborn opposition to any kind of peace dealings with the Jin invaders. He petitioned for the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215353, "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-2001", "page_number": 130, "title": "RAS-2001", "content_text": "78\n\nHainan island as well as within Hainanese communities in south-east Asia. Although their legends are unique to Hainanese they are similar in style and format to those told in other ethnic groups.\n\nSadly, most of the rural temples on Hainan island itself have little left of their original images following the ravages of the Cultural Revolution. It is fortunate that we do still have several Hainanese communities in south-east Asia where little has changed over the past century. However, intermarriage between Hainanese devotees and those of other Han ethnic groups has meant that to identify cults as uniquely Hainanese has become that much more difficult.\n\nNOTES\n\n1\n\n2\n\nPopular or folk religion is an amalgam of Buddhist, Daoist and local beliefs ignored by Confucianists, Buddhists and Daoists as well as by the majority of educated Chinese.\n\nHengwa is sometimes referred to as the Puxian sub-group.\n\nHokkien is the Fujian linguistic group word for Fujian people as well as their language. Minnan is the area of southern Fujian province from which many immigrants to Taiwan and South-east Asia originated and is a linguistic sub-group of Hokkien.\n\n4 Buddhist and Daoist images on such altars have not been included in this article, even though a number have been seen on folk religion altars in Hainanese temples, as they are all revered China-wide.\n\n5 Ma Zu is primarily the Fujian community title for Tian Hou.\n\n7\n\nBoth Third and Fourth are deities that have been noted on Hainan island and within Hainanese overseas communities.\n\nAn entirely different deity, the Saintly Matron of Wenzhou, Wenzhou Shengmu would appear not to be connected in any way with Wenzhou Houwang. Nor has she been noted on altars within the overseas southern Chinese communities. She has only been noted by William Mesny who saw an image of her in Zhejiang province in 1896 [doubtless connected with the local coastal city of Wenzhou], and suggested that as her surname appeared to have been Lin she may well be Tian Hou, the patron goddess of seafarers.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2001.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zg651950g", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 215846, "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-2002", "page_number": 145, "title": "RAS-2002", "content_text": "78\n\nthe theatrical matsheds and much else, were borne by association leaders and their members, and by donations from, and levies on, the local communities. The services of the schoolmasters and local scholars were normally rendered without charge, since they were probably pleased to be asked, and their work kept their names and reputation before the public.\n\nLion or unicorn dances\n\nIn Hong Kong, lion and unicorn dancers were, and still are, an important adjunct to ceremonial occasions. They are much in evidence at festival times, and in the opening ceremonies for any important event. No resited villagers would occupy their new settlement without the obligatory lion or unicorn dance to help guarantee a safe and prosperous environment, and no self-respecting new bank branch or restaurant would open for business without these harbingers of their future business success. Newly renovated historic buildings were also re-opened in style, with lion dancers well to the fore (Plate 19)\n\nBefore development overtook Hong Kong's former rural area, practically all the six or seven hundred old villages of the New Territories had their lion or unicorn dance teams. In Cantonese-speaking villages, it was always a lion; and in the Hakka villages, a unicorn. However, observation and enquiry indicate that their purpose and motivation are much the same. These dance troupes are also to be found in urban areas, past as well as present.\n\n3\n\nBesides the lion and unicorn troupes, there was a third, much less common and only to be seen among immigrant communities of persons from the Hoklo areas of Northeastern Guangdong. This was the pei yau troupe. Described to me as 'younger brother to the dragon,' the pei yau was rather a joyous, amiable creature. Plate 20 shows a typical example, photographed in a New Territories village in recent years.\n\n* The dance teams were at the heart of traditional village life. Besides what might be styled their internal duties at family celebrations by fellow villagers or at the opening of temples, ancestral halls, schools and village offices, they were turned out to meet and send off important visitors. If plague menaced, the lion or unicorn dancers accompanied Taoist priests in procession round the neighbourhood in order to dispel it. And should any village be under attack, the troupes under their respected instructors would form the first-line defence. They were, besides, a principal means for maintaining and extending a village's status and prestige.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2002.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 216105, "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-2002", "page_number": 404, "title": "RAS-2002", "content_text": "338\n\nour concrete framed building, where I lived in Argyle Street, Kowloon, swayed. You could hear glass breaking, there was a constant job of mopping up. Water seals were sucked out of toilets.\n\nA problem of people\n\nAs Claude Burgess, Colonial Secretary from 1958 to '63, was fond of saying, Hong Kong has a problem of people. They have swum in on pigs' bladders across Mirs Bay and Deep Bay and come in by just about every means possible. Up until 1980 there was a touch base policy. Any illegal immigrant who reached the urban area was allowed to stay. But after that date all illegal immigrants caught have been repatriated.\n\nIn 1962, the Communists had a trial run and opened the 'flood gates.' Over a period of 25 days something like 70,000 men, women and children were allowed to surge into Hong Kong. The communist guards stepped back and directed the masses. They walked over the hills. Hong Kong was overwhelmed. And then, just as abruptly as they had opened, the flood gates shut. It seems to have been a move by the People's Republic to embarrass the colony. They wanted to show that they could take over Hong Kong at any time.\n\nWater shortage\n\nHong Kong was invariably short of water, from the early years of British rule when everyone depended on streams and wells. Up to comparatively recent years the water supply situation was a common subject of conversation.\n\nIn 1963, 'the year Hong Kong ran dry,' we were down to four hours of water on tap once every four days. In resettlement estates people started queuing for water eight hours before it was turned on and at Diamond Hill, it was reported, 20,000 people were dependent on one hydrant. Thieves stole water. Hindus, Taoists, Buddhists and Christians all prayed for rain. Water was shipped in by tankers from higher up the Pearl River.\n\nPeople would say at a reception, 'I must slip off early. Our water is turned on tonight.' Of course we, who lived in flats, also stored water. Bathing in a small amount of water was an art. Children went in the", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2002.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 216320, "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-2003", "page_number": 79, "title": "RAS-2003", "content_text": "28\n\nREFERENCES\n\nBurn, D.C., A Guide to Lunghwa Temple: with Brief Notes on Chinese Buddhism, Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh, Ltd., 1926.\n\nLonghua Zhen Zhi (The History of Longhua Town), Shanghai: December 1996.\n\nPan Ming Quan, Shanghai Fo Si Dao Guan (Shanghai Buddhist and Taoist Temples), Shanghai: Shanghai Ci Shu Chubanshe, December 2003.\n\nPan Ming Quan, Shanghai Si Miao Ying Lian Dui Lian Ji (Poems About Shanghai Buddhist and Taoist Temples), Shanghai: Shanghai Ci Shu Chubanshe, December 2003.\n\nShanghai Tan magazine, Shanghai: October 2002, pp.38-42 on the history of Longhua Temple.\n\nZhang Qing Hua and Zhu Bai Kui, Longhua, Guanglin Shu She, Yangzhou: December 2003.\n\nFojiao Da Cidian (Dictionary of Buddhism), December 2002.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390", "rank": 0 } ]