OCR Text |
Show pavify Legend, Mythologj- and Superstition Among the Chinese rEU'INC, CHINA ALL of the Western civilization civiliza-tion that can be shipped into this country from the outer world will have no effect upon the established beliefs of the vast majority of her population. Here is the ideal country for the establishment of gods and deities, created out of hand to suit any condition con-dition that may arise. The old : established gods are in no way discredited dis-credited by the adoption of new ones. Prepared for any emergency, the Chinese have shown what they could do in a pinch by creating deities dei-ties for submarine, automobile, phonograph, pho-nograph, wireless, radio, aviation and television activities. Buddhism, accepted out of India, brought with it a deity today known throughout China as Kwan Yin, "one who hears and is moved by the world." Legend has it that this personality about to enter heaven after death heard a cry of anguish from earth, and, with one foot on the threshold of paradise, turned back in pity, to be of service. In the early stages Kwan-Yin was represented rep-resented as a man, but during the T'ang Dynasty, 618 A. D., a sentimental senti-mental official with powers . to change even the word of Buddha announced that Kwan Yin thereafter there-after would appear on all historical scrolls aj a woman. Goddess Made to Order Her throne is on the island of Pootoo, two days out of Shanghai, where she arrived, according to the legend, "floating on the leaf of a water lily," and there today is her image. If ever a goddess was made to order for Chinese patrons, Kwan Yin, first woman to deplace a popular popu-lar male idoL is perhaps the best example. While on this subject the attention atten-tion dl the Authors League and men of the pen generally should be called to Confucianism, which is the religion reli-gion of the profound, bookish and philosophical, so to speak. Wen Ch'ang, the special Confucian cabinet cabi-net officer in charge of literature, is always shown in the society of four other gentlemen, one of whom is deaf and another dumb, as a precaution against hearing or imparting im-parting secrets of the administration. administra-tion. The third distributes such coveted degrees as seem appropriate in the eyes of the literati. The fourth hanger-on is known as Mr. Red Coat, whose life is devoted to boosting boost-ing authors, poets and space-grabbers who, failing in all other intellectual intel-lectual endeavors, have taken up creative literature. It is the function func-tion of Mr. Red Coat, when all seems lost, to merely nod his head, thus winning for the literary flop a certificate of membership among authors who really sell their stuff. Wen Ch'ang is also worshiped by potential mothers, the analogy having hav-ing something to do with children born of the body as well as the brain. Lightning Lady's New Job The Mother of Lightning, in years gone by highly esteemed, has recently re-cently become the Goddess of Broadcasting. This revision was effected ef-fected without calling for a single alteration in th3 general appearance appear-ance of the Lightning Lady, heretofore hereto-fore shown wearing magnificent robes of blue, green, red and white. In both hands she carries a mirror from which two streams of light flare upward. A zig and a zag in any direction di-rection will do as a trademark for any one of the numerous broadcasting broad-casting corporatirns now disturbing the public ear, and at the same time satisfy China that she had the right idea before the General Electric Elec-tric company was in the field. There is no limit to the influence had upon the Chinese by superstitions supersti-tions and fetishes. The Empress Tz'u Hsi, one of the most learned and diplomatic rulers in the empire, and the last occupant of the magifl-cent magifl-cent summer palace, one of the show places of Peiping, went into daily consultation with gods and goddesses, supposedly holding in their hands the destiny of China. China's Marble Dreadnaught Take the famous Marble Boat, moored forever on a solid granite foundation. This craft, which lifts its superstructure 30 feet into the air, and thrusts forward a blunt-nosed blunt-nosed marble prow, was built after a conference between the Dowager and some of the best spirits available availa-ble at the time. To construct and "launch" this utterly worthless feature the Dowager laid her strong but uncontrollable hands on the sum of $30,000,000 that had been appropriated ap-propriated for the construction of a Chinese navy. The general opinion was, and is, that the marble ship, which to this day continues to behave in the manner man-ner of something stuck in a pool of cement, is entirely responsible for China's defeat at the hands of Japan in 1894. Nothing could have been stupider in maritime progress except for the Dowager to construct a few cobblestone submarines and a convoy of brick cruisers. She died unconvinced of her error. Copyright. WNU Survlco. |