Show SOME CHINESE GODS everyone has some general ideas concerning the chinese religion but perhaps few are even slightly acquainted quain ted with its tenets or the details of the worship there are two features of the chinese religion which distinguish it from the faith of most other heathen nations these are the absence of human sacrifices and the cation of vice no sacrificial immolation of man by his fellows has been found in chinese annals in such a shape as to carry the conviction that it formed part of the belief or practice of the people no aphrodite or lakshmi occurs in the list of chinese goddesses go desses no weeping for Tham no obscene rites of the Durga puga have ever been required or sanctioned by chinese priests no girly girls as in indian temples or courtesans courte sans as in corinth are kept in their sacred dwellings nor does their mythology beam with disgusting relation of the amours of their deities on the contrary like the Romanis ts they exact aud and defy chastity and seclusion as a means of bringing the sout an aej I 1 body nearer to the highest excellence cel lence there are three forms of religion among the chinese in this country says bays the new york star the lau lao theor the theao for lao tse was ti the ie great reformer of the chinese primitive religion which was jr in a great degree a worship of nature he was the meditative son eon of a poor peasant the basis of his new teachings being that man must subdue and control cobiro his bis passions if to obtain spiritual and happiness every faculty and sentiment was given as good the manner of arranging them being to place on one side all those that personify the virtuous virtu proper and pleasant with their corresponding antagonists opposite them the priests practice an epicurean philosophy and the professors of this creed are chiefly the rich and the higher classes of society the pur purpose pose of confucius W was as to establish the primitive religion his object being not so much to teach a new belief as the inculcation of moral principles and to induce his countrymen to lead a moral life his philosophy embraced three grades of sacrifices the great medium and inferior the objects to which the great sacrifices are offered are only four viz tien the heavens or sky ti the earth toi at giai or the great temple of ancestors wherein the tablets of deceased monarchs of this dynasty are placed and lastly the shie or gods of the land and grain the medium sacrifices are offered to nine objects the sun or great light the moon or night light the names of emperors and kings of former dynasties the ancient patrons of agriculture and silk confucius himself and the gods of hf heaven aven earth and the cyclic year the mythology which confucius taught was that the sun day warmth and the higher heavens or perfect principles were of the mas culine aculine gender and the imperfect principles comprising the moon earth night and cold were of the feminine gender he attached no idea of personality to the deity but ordered adoration paid to powers that represented that celestial ruler the chung tw or as it is better known in america as confucianism is 18 the religion of the more learned classes the most popular religion and that which we see practiced in mott street anti and in fact in san francisco is isthan that of orpo fo or buddhism some of the doctrines of confucius have been incorporated into it but the salient features are those of sama ism which have degraded it 16 into a common idolatry many if not most of the idols to be seen in the various temples of joss jose houses here which are usually devoted to the service of the patron deity of ame one particular company are little more than adaptations of indian deities or the persons of remote ancestors invested with the characteristics of gods of all the saints in the chinese calendar confucius is the chief and with him are reckoned the early kings yao and shun with king and his two sons king wu and duke chau hau the highest divinity is nguk kuong siong ya he Js is barly prayed to in times of business troubles or financial depression and is referred to as the producer and governor of all things terrestrial and celestial the common people believe him to be the supreme ruler of all who is to examine into the merits or demerits of mortals and reward or punish them according to their deserts the custom most moat in vogue of approaching his august presence is by nine genuflections genuflect ions and three knockings knock ings tat tai sang or the deity controlling life and de athis the object of special adoration by the inhabitants of chinese I 1 he is the reputed grandson of nguk huong siong ta and reigns over the lower regions he is regarded as the deity who has charge of the portals of the hereafter and it is that he might more easily and effectually draw his followers into his terrestrial abode that the common queues are so much mui h worn by Chimna en in the chinese joss house on mott street is a figure labeled hien hieng 1 rieng neng siong ta 11 who is regarda regarded regard by the almond eyed celestials Celesti als as the supreme ruler ot of the heavens he is also knori agthe as the water ruler and is often prayed to to prevent conflagrations as wind and rain are believed to no be his special dispensa 72 lions joss sticks are burned I 1 in n his honor and during the winter w inter solstice ce which is a great day of chinese worship he is ornamented with a silk cloak cap and boots when these garments are about to be jakou takou off all worshipers present express their adoration of the idol by spitting in its face nine consecutive times the dress is then removed and three joss sticks are placed at the foot of the water ruler until the coming of the next solstice there is but one of the numerous chinese gods before whose presence no red candles or joss sticks are burned and that is ruo huo sing or the god of fire he be is much re veren verel ced leed and feared because he is looked upon as the ruler of the southern regions and no people are more enslaved by fear of the unknown than the chinese they have their clairvoyants fortune tellers and astrologists in mott street and elsewhere reaping golden harvests from the vast crowds of mongolians Mongo lians who flock to their dens anxious to get a glance gladee into the misty future strange as it may seem the ruinese have a day set apart for the special honor of kuang ing huk or the goddess of fecundity on whose birthday her worshipers eat only vegetables she is a vegetarian and is represented as half man and half woman her image in the mott street joss house is anade of coarse clay upon which is inscribed on white paper in large chinese hieroglyphics her name many married men whose wives and mothers are in china or those who have married in this country are her special worshippers wor shippers ma chu or the goddess of sailors is represented in the figure of a female seated on a barrel and reposing herself on a velvet cushion under a canopy of state on in either side stands two assistants favorable wind earll ear and thousand mile eye ee each of whom are represented as half man and half lion ma chus temples are as numerous jin in mott street as her titles and she is extensively ten worshipped wor shipped by those whose business takes them into deep water whenever a chinaman is about to sail for the flowery kingdom he spends three consecutive days invoking the aid of ma ph cad for a speedy and safe conduct and carries with his the ashes aahmes of the joss sticks which be burns in her honor as a safeguard from shipwreck or other marine disasters the form of adoration commonly paid in new york to sling sing chin na or the goddess of midwifery consists in offering her any and every kind of flesh meat except that of ducks she is represented in the form of a female clad in silk robes surmounted by a golden crown and seated on a tiger As comparan com parati el ely few of the of new york IK are married sing chin na occupies the most obscure place among the deities of the mott street joss house the most conspicuous idol in the chinese temple is sang huong or the god of fortune who is wor shipped by a very large proportion of the common people especially and he is believed to make men courageous and da daring as well assac as successful in their undertakings not the least interesting and showy god among the mott street collection la Is tu thieng king or the god of gambling who is represented as a tiger standing on his bis hind paws and holding between the foremost ones g a large globe ornamented with four suspicious looking chinese characters since he is the benefactor of gambling and lottery men it is not to be wondered at that he Is 18 sometimes made the occasion 3 of very expensive and showy celebrations brat ions ious perhaps from this deity we gain the expression bucking the tiger wong tien kung who is wor shipped for protection in times of evil and for success in business and study is a very hideous gentleman having the feet of a bear the mouth of a lion and three eyes one being behig located in the middle of the forehead which is partially concealed by long whiskers to kek sal is the god of swine and a very important factor in chinese economy he is represented as a deaf man dressed in common clothing aud holding a staffin staff in his hand restaurant keepers and merchants worship him regularly and he or his cartouche is ia to be found in nearly every eating house in chinatown ngn hieng kung the god of thieves is according to tom seethe ex deputy sheriff of mott street a special favorite not only among the thieves and professional stealers steamers ste alers but also among those who wish to become wealthy he is the son of kne keesing knesing sing eSing a god of literature who is spoken of as the giver of ability to write prose and poetry and was a thief himself A miniature image of him is carried by all the gamblers and thieves of chinatown I 1 was present on one occasion in young capt mccullochs mccullochh lochs station house when a number of were arrested in a gambling and opium joint while the ringleader of the party was being searched an image of mr N ngn agn K kung u ng fell to the floor all at once there was general commotion among the be and it was only w cheol b e Interi 3 interpreter inte peter who was called in caplain the cause of the general uneasiness which prevailed told the captain of the nature and value value of the relic that he be consented to restore the much coveted idol to its ta owner these are but a few of the many chinese gods into whose characteristics and claims to divinity want of space prohibits me from entering the priests of the highest classes of chinese are educated but those of the lower classes are very ignorant the idea most Chin ameri have of heaven seems to be pantheistic and in worshipping wor shipping heaven and eath earth and gods they mean to in include and propitiate all superior powers the worship of confucius however can no wore more be called the religion of the chidnese Cli inese than the teachings of socrates Bo crates could be termed the faith of orthe the greeks cleveland plain dealer |