[A]
AO The Four Dragon Kings Ao Chi'in, Ao Kuang, Ao Jun, and Ao Shun,
gods of rain and the sea. Subjects of the Jade Emperor.
[B]
[C]
CH'ENG-HUANG God of moats and walls. Every village and town had
its own Ch'eng-Huang, most often a local dignitary or important person who had
died and been promoted to godhood. His divine status was revealed in dreams,
though the gods made the actual decision. Ch'eng-Huang not only protects the
community from attack but sees to it that the King of the Dead does not take any
soul from his jurisdiction without proper authority. Ch'eng-Huang also exposes
evil-doers in the community itself, usually through dreams. His assistants are
Mr. Ba Lao-ye and Mr. Hei Lao-ye -- Mr. Daywatchman and Mr. Nightwatchman.
CHU JUNG God of fire. Chu Jung punishes those who break the laws of heaven.
[D]
DANH also DAN AYIDO HWEDO (Dahomey); DAN PETRO (Haiti). Snake god. The
Haitians know him as Dan Petro. The Rainbow Snake who encircles the world, Danh
is often protrayed with his tail in his mouth as a symbol of unity and wholeness.
DXUI (Bushman; to the Hottentots, TSUI; to the Xhosa and Ponda, THIXO) Creator god.
In the beginning, Dxui took the form of a different flower or plant every day,
becoming himself at night, until he had created all the plants and flowers that
exist.
[E]
[F]
[G]
[H]
[I]
[J]
[K]
KUAN TI God of war. The Great Judge who protects the people from
injustice and evil spirits. A red faced god dressed always in green. An oracle.
Kuan Ti was an actual historical figure, a general of the Han dynasty renowned
for his skill as a warrior and his justness as a ruler. There were more than
1600 temples dedicated to Kuan Ti.
KWAN YIN also KWANNON Goddess of mercy and compassion. A lady dressed in white seated on a
lotus and holding an infant. Murdered by her father, she recited the holy books
when she arrived in Hell, and the ruler of the underworld could not make the
dead souls suffer. The disgruntled god sent her back to the world of the living,
where Kwan Yin attained great spiritual insight and was rewarded with
immortality by the Buddha. A popular goddess, Kwan Yin's temple at the Mount of
the Wondrous Peak was ever filled with a throng of pilgrims shaking rattles and
setting off firecrackers to get her attention.
[L]
LEI KUNG God of thunder. Lei Kung has the head of a bird, wings,
claws and blue skin, and his chariot is drawn by six boys. Lei Kung makes
thunder with his hammer, and his wife makes lightening with her mirrors. Lei
Kung chases away evil spirits and punishes criminals whose crimes have gone
undetected.
[M]
[N]
[O]
[P]
PA HSIEN The Eight Immortals of the Taoist tradition. Ordinary
mortals who, through good works and good lives, were rewarded by the Queen
Mother Wang by giving them the peaches of everlasting life to eat. They
are:
- LI TIEH-KUAI Li of the Iron Crutch. A healer, Li sits as a beggar in the market place selling wondrous drugs, some of which can 	 revive the dead.
- CHUNG-LI CH'UAN A smiling old men always beaming with joy, he was rewarded with immortality for his ascetic life in the mountains.
- LAN TS'AI-HO A young flute-player and wandering minstrel who carries a basket
laden with fruit. His soul-searching songs caused a stork to snatch him away
to the heavens.
- LU TUNG-PIN A hero of early Chinese literature. Renouncing riches and the world, he punished the wicked and rewarded the good, and slew dragons with a magic sword.
- CHANG-KUO LAO An aged hermit with miraculous abilities. Chang owned a donkey which could travel at incredible speed. The personification of the primordial vapor which is the source of all life.
- HAN HSIANG-TZU A scholar who chose to study magic rather than prepare for the civil service. When his uncle chastised him for studying magic, Han Hsiang-Tzu materialized two flowers with poems 	written on the leaves.
- TS'AO KUO-CHIU Ts'ao Kuo-Chiu tried to reform his brother, a corrupt emperor, by reminding him that the laws of heaven are inescapable.
- HO HSIEN-KU "Immortal Maiden Ho." A Cantonese girl who dreamed that she could become immortal by eating a powder made of mother-of-pearl. She appears only to men of great virtue.
P'AN-CHIN-LIEN Goddess of prostitutes. As a mortal, she was a
widow who was much too liberal and inventive with her favors, and her
father-in-law killed her. In death she was honored by her more professional
associates and eventually became the goddess of whores.
[Q]
[R]
[S]
SHI-TIEN YEN-WANG The Lords of Death, the ten rulers of the
underworld. They dress alike in royal robes and only the wisest can tell them
apart. Each ruler presides over one court of law. In the first court a soul is
judged according to his sins in life and sentenced to one of the eight courts of
punishment. Punishment is fitted to the offense. Misers are made to drink molten
gold, liars' tongues are cut out. In the second court are incompetent doctors
and dishonest agents; in the third, forgers, liars, gossips, and corrupt
government officials; in the fifth, murderers, sex offenders and atheists; in
the sixth, the sacreligious and blasphemers; in the eighth, those guilty of
filial disrespect; in the ninth, arsonists and accident victims. In the tenth is
the Wheel of Transmigration where souls are released to be reincarnated again
after their punishment is completed. Before souls are released, they are given a
brew of oblivion, which makes them forget their former lives.
[T]
TI-TSANG WANG God of mercy. Wandering in the caverns of Hell, a
lost soul might encounter a smilng monk whose path is illuminated by a shining
pearl and whose staff is decorated with metal rings which chime like bells. This
is Ti-Tsang Wang, who will do all he can to help the soul escape hell and even
to put an end to his eternal round of death and rebirth. Long ago, Ti-Tsang Wang
renounced Nirvana so that he could search the dark regions of Hell for souls to
save from the kings of the ten hells. Once a priest of Brahma, he converted to
Buddhism and himself became a Buddha with special authority over the souls of
the dead.
T'SHAI-SHEN God of wealth who presides over a vast bureaucracy with many minor deities under
his authority. A majestic figure robed in exquisite silks. T'shai-Shen is quite
a popular god; even atheists worship him.
TSAO WANG God of the hearth. Every household has its own Tsao Wang. Every year the hearth
god reports on the family to the Jade Emperor, and the family has good or bad
luck during the coming year according to his report. The hearth god's wife
records every word spoken by every member of the family. A paper image
represents the hearth god and his wife, and incense is burned to them daily.
When the time came to make his report to the Jade Emperor, sweetmeats were
placed in his mouth, the paper was burned, and firecrackers were lit to speed
him on his way.
TU-TI Local gods. Minor gods of towns, villages and even streets and households. Though far
from the most important gods in the divine scheme, they were quite popular.
Usually portrayed as kindly, respectable old men, they see to it that the
domains under their protection run smoothyly.
[U]
[V]
[W]
[X]
[Y]
YENG-WANG-YEH "Lord Yama King." Greatest of the Lords of Death.
Yeng-Wang-Yeh judges all souls newly arrived to the land of the dead and decides
whether to send them to a special court for punishment or put them back on the
Wheel of Transmigration.
YU-HUANG-SHANG-TI "Father Heaven." The August Supreme Emperor of
Jade, whose court is in the highest level of heaven, originally a sky god. The
Jade Emperor made men, fashioning them from clay. His heavenly court resembles
the earthly court in all ways, having an army, a bureaucracy, a royal family and
parasitical courtiers. The Jade Emperor's rule is orderly and without caprice.
The seasons come and go as they should, yin is balanced with yang, good is
rewarded and evil is punished. As time went on, the Jade Emperor became more and
more remote to men, and it became customary to approach him through his
doorkeeper, the Transcendental Dignitary. The Jade Emperor sees and hears
everything; even the softest whisper is as loud as thunder to the Jade
Emperor.
[Z]