Myths of Epidemics, Medicine, Exorcism, Etc.
The Ministry of Epidemics
The gods of epidemics, etc., belong to the sixth, ninth, second,
and third celestial Ministries. The composition of the Ministry of
Epidemics is arranged differently in different works as Epidemics
(regarded as epidemics on earth, but as demons in Heaven) of the
Centre, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, or as the marshals clothed
in yellow, green, red, white, and blue respectively, or as the Officers
of the East, West, South, and North, with two additional members:
a Taoist who quells the plague, and the Grand Master who exhorts
people to do right.
With regard to the Ministry of Seasonal Epidemics, it is related that
in the sixth moon of the eleventh year (A.D. 599) of the reign of Kao
Tsu, founder of the Sui dynasty, five stalwart persons appeared in
the air, clothed in robes of five colours, each carrying different
objects in his hands: the first a spoon and earthenware vase, the
second a leather bag and sword, the third a fan, the fourth a club,
the fifth a jug of fire. The Emperor asked Chang Chü-jên, his Grand
Historiographer, who these were and if they were benevolent or evil
spirits. The official answered: "These are the five powers of the five
directions. Their appearance indicates the imminence of epidemics,
which will last throughout the four seasons of the year." "What
remedy is there, and how am I to protect the people?" inquired the
Emperor. "There is no remedy," replied the official, "for epidemics
are sent by Heaven." During that year the mortality was very great. The
Emperor built a temple to the five persons, and bestowed upon them the
title of Marshals to the Five Spirits of the Plague. During that and
the following dynasty sacrifices were offered to them on the fifth
day of the fifth moon.
The President of the Ministry
The following particulars are given concerning the President of the
Ministry, whose name was Lü Yüeh. He was an old Taoist hermit, living
at Chiu-lung Tao, 'Nine-dragon Island,' who became an Immortal. The
four members of the Ministry were his disciples. He wore a red garment,
had a blue face, red hair, long teeth, and three eyes. His war-horse
was named the Myopic Camel. He carried a magic sword, and was in the
service of Chou Wang, whose armies were concentrated at Hsi Ch'i. In
a duel with Mu-cha, brother of No-cha, he had his arm severed by a
sword-cut. In another battle with Huang T'ien-hua, son of Huang Fei-hu,
he appeared with three heads and six arms. In his many hands he held
the celestial seal, plague microbes, the flag of plague, the plague
sword, and two mysterious swords. His faces were green, and large
teeth protruded from his mouths. Huang T'ien-hua threw his magic
weapon, Huo-lung Piao, and hit him on the leg. Just at that moment
Chiang Tzu-ya arrived with his goblin-dispelling whip and felled him
with a blow. He was able, however, to rise again, and took to flight.
The Plague-disseminating Umbrellas
Resolved to avenge his defeat, he joined General Hsü Fang, who was
commanding an army corps at Ch'uan-yün Kuan. Round the mountain he
organized a system of entrenchments and of infection against their
enemies. Yang Chien released his celestial hound, which bit Lü Yüeh
on the crown of his head. Then Yang Jên, armed with his magic fan,
pursued Lü Yüeh and compelled him to retreat to his fortress. Lü
Yüeh mounted the central raised part of the embattled wall and opened
all his plague-disseminating umbrellas, with the object of infecting
Yang Jên, but the latter, simply by waving his fan, reduced all the
umbrellas to dust, and also burned the fort, and with it Lü Yüeh.
Similar wonderful achievements are related in short notices in the
_Fêng shên yen i_ of the four other officers of the Ministry.
Li P'ing, the sixth officer of the Ministry, met a like fate to that
of Lü Yüeh after having failed to induce the latter to abandon the
cause of the Shang dynasty for that of Chou.
The Five Graduates
In Père Henri Doré's _Recherches sur les Superstitions en Chine_
is given an interesting legend concerning five other gods of
epidemics. These gods are called the Wu Yüeh, 'Five Mountains,'
and are worshipped in the temple San-i Ko at Ju-kao, especially in
outbreaks of contagious diseases and fevers. A sufferer goes to the
temple and promises offerings to the gods in the event of recovery. The
customary offering is five small wheaten loaves, called _shao ping_,
and a pound of meat.
The Wu Yüeh are stellar devils whom Yü Huang sent to be reincarnated on
earth. Their names were T'ien Po-hsüeh, Tung Hung-wên, Ts'ai Wên-chü,
Chao Wu-chên, and Huang Ying-tu, and they were reincarnated at
Nan-ch'ang Fu, Chien-ch'ang Fu, Yen-mên Kuan, Yang Chou, and Nanking
respectively. They were all noted for their brilliant intellects,
and were clever scholars who passed their graduate's examination
with success.
When Li Shih-min ascended the throne, in A.D. 627, he called together
all the _literati_ of the Empire to take the Doctor's Examination
in the capital. Our five graduates started for the metropolis, but,
losing their way, were robbed by brigands, and had to beg help in
order to reach the end of their journey. By good luck they all met in
the temple San-i Ko, and related to each other the various hardships
they had undergone. But when they eventually reached the capital
the examination was over, and they were out in the streets without
resources. So they took an oath of brotherhood for life and death. They
pawned some of the few clothes they possessed, and buying some musical
instruments formed themselves into a band of strolling musicians.
The first bought a drum, the second a seven-stringed guitar, the
third a mandolin, the fourth a clarinet, and the fifth and youngest
composed songs.
Thus they went through the streets of the capital giving their
concerts, and Fate decreed that Li Shih-min should hear their
melodies. Charmed with the sweet sounds, he asked Hsü Mao-kung
whence came this band of musicians, whose skill was certainly
exceptional. Having made inquiries, the minister related their
experiences to the Emperor. Li Shih-min ordered them to be brought
into his presence, and after hearing them play and sing appointed them
to his private suite, and henceforth they accompanied him wherever
he went.
The Emperors Strategy
The Emperor bore malice toward Chang T'ien-shih, the Master of
the Taoists, because he refused to pay the taxes on his property,
and conceived a plan to bring about his destruction. He caused a
spacious subterranean chamber to be dug under the reception-hall of
his palace. A wire passed through the ceiling to where the Emperor
sat. He could thus at will give the signal for the music to begin
or stop. Having stationed the five musicians in this subterranean
chamber, he summoned the Master of the Taoists to his presence and
invited him to a banquet. During the course of this he pulled the wire,
and a subterranean babel began.
The Emperor pretended to be terrified, and allowed himself to fall
to the ground. Then, addressing himself to the T'ien-shih, he said:
"I know that you can at will catch the devilish hobgoblins which
molest human beings. You can hear for yourself the infernal row they
make in my palace. I order you under penalty of death to put a stop
to their pranks and to exterminate them."
The Musicians are Slain
Having spoken thus, the Emperor rose and left. The Master of the
Taoists brought his projecting mirror, and began to seek for the
evil spirits. In vain he inspected the palace and its precincts;
he could discover nothing. Fearing that he was lost, he in despair
threw his mirror on the floor of the reception-hall.
A minute later, sad and pensive, he stooped to pick it up; what was
his joyful surprise when he saw reflected in it the subterranean room
and the musicians! At once he drew five talismans on yellow paper,
burned them, and ordered his celestial general, Chao Kung-ming, to
take his sword and kill the five musicians. The order was promptly
executed, and the T'ien-shih informed the Emperor, who received the
news with ridicule, not believing it to be true. He went to his seat
and pulled the wire, but all remained silent. A second and third time
he gave the signal, but without response. He then ordered his Grand
Officer to ascertain what had happened. The officer found the five
graduates bathed in their blood, and lifeless.
The Emperor, furious, reproached the Master of the Taoists. "But,"
replied the T'ien-shih, "was it not your Majesty who ordered me under
pain of death to exterminate the authors of this pandemonium?" Li
Shih-min could not reply. He dismissed the Master of the Taoists and
ordered the five victims to be buried.
The Emperor Tormented
After the funeral ceremonies, apparitions appeared at night in the
place where they had been killed, and the palace became a babel. The
spirits threw bricks and broke the tiles on the roofs.
The Emperor ordered his uncomfortable visitors to go to the T'ien-shih
who had murdered them. They obeyed, and, seizing the garments of the
Master of the Taoists, swore not to allow him any rest if he would
not restore them to life.
To appease them the Taoist said: "I am going to give each of you a
wonderful object. You are then to return and spread epidemics among
wicked people, beginning in the imperial palace and with the Emperor
himself, with the object of forcing him to canonize you."
One received a fan, another a gourd filled with fire, the third a
metallic ring to encircle people's heads, the fourth a stick made of
wolves' teeth, and the fifth a cup of lustral water.
The spirit-graduates left full of joy, and made their first experiment
on Li Shih-min. The first gave him feverish chills by waving his
fan, the second burned him with the fire from his gourd, the third
encircled his head with the ring, causing him violent headache, the
fourth struck him with his stick, and the fifth poured out his cup
of lustral water on his head.
The same night a similar tragedy took place in the palace of the
Empress and the two chief imperial concubines.
T'ai-po Chin-hsing, however, informed Yü Huang what had happened,
and, touched with compassion, he sent three Immortals with pills and
talismans which cured the Empress and the ladies of the palace.
The Graduates Canonized
Li Shih-min, having also recovered his health, summoned the five
deceased graduates and expressed his regret for the unfortunate issue
of his design against the T'ien-shih. He proceeded: "To the south of
the capital is the temple San-i Ko. I will change its name to Hsiang
Shan Wu Yüeh Shên, 'Fragrant Hill of the Five Mountain Spirits.' On
the twenty-eighth day of the ninth moon betake yourselves to that
temple to receive the seals of your canonization." He conferred upon
them the title of Ti, 'Emperor.'
The Ministry of Medicine
The celestial Ministry of Medicine is composed of three main
divisions comprising: (1) the Ancestral Gods of the Chinese race;
(2) the King of Remedies, Yao Wang; and (3) the Specialists. There
is a separate Ministry of Smallpox. This latter controls and cures
smallpox, and the establishment of a separate celestial Ministry is
significant of the prevalence and importance of the affliction. The
ravages of smallpox in China, indeed, have been terrific: so much so,
that, until recent years, it was considered as natural and inevitable
for a child to have smallpox as for it to cut its teeth. One of the
ceremonial questions addressed by a visitor to the parent of a child
was always _Ch'u la hua'rh mei yu_? "Has he had the smallpox?" and a
child who escaped the scourge was often, if not as a rule, regarded
with disfavour and, curiously enough, as a weakling. Probably the
train of thought in the Chinese mind was that, as it is the fittest
who survive, those who have successfully passed through the process of
"putting out the flowers" have proved their fitness in the struggle
for existence. Nowadays vaccination is general, and the number of
pockmarked faces seen is much smaller than it used to be--in fact,
the pockmarked are now the exception. But, as far as I have been
able to ascertain, the Ministry of Smallpox has not been abolished,
and possibly its members, like those of some more mundane ministries,
continue to draw large salaries for doing little or no work.
The Medicine-gods
The chief gods of medicine are the mythical kings P'an Ku, Fu Hsi,
Shên Nung, and Huang Ti. The first two, being by different writers
regarded as the first progenitor or creator of the Chinese people,
are alternatives, so that Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti may be said
to be a sort of ancestral triad of medicine-gods, superior to the
actual God or King of Medicine, Yao Wang. Of P'an Ku we have spoken
sufficiently in Chapter III, and with regard to Fu Hsi, also called
T'ien Huang Shih, 'the Celestial Emperor,' the mythical sovereign
and supposed inventor of cooking, musical instruments, the calendar,
hunting, fishing, etc., the chief interest for our present purpose
centres in his discovery of the _pa kua_, or Eight Trigrams. It is on
the strength of these trigrams that Fu Hsi is regarded as the chief
god of medicine, since it is by their mystical power that the Chinese
physicians influence the minds and maladies of their patients. He
is represented as holding in front of him a disk on which the signs
are painted.
The Ministry of Exorcism
The Ministry of Exorcism is a Taoist invention and is composed of seven
chief ministers, whose duty is to expel evil spirits from dwellings
and generally to counteract the annoyances of infernal demons. The
two gods usually referred to in the popular legends are P'an Kuan and
Chung K'uei. The first is really the Guardian of the Living and the
Dead in the Otherworld, Fêng-tu P'an Kuan (Fêng-tu or Fêng-tu Ch'êng
being the region beyond the tomb). He was originally a scholar named
Ts'ui Chio, who became Magistrate of Tz'u Chou, and later Minister
of Ceremonies. After his death he was appointed to the spiritual post
above mentioned. His best-known achievement is his prolongation of the
life of the Emperor T'ai Tsung of the T'ang dynasty by twenty years by
changing _i_, 'one,' into _san_, 'three,' in the life-register kept
by the gods. The term P'an Kuan is, however, more generally used as
the designation of an officer or civil or military attendant upon
a god than of any special individual, and the original P'an Kuan,
'the Decider of Life in Hades,' has been gradually supplanted in
popular favour by Chung K'uei, 'the Protector against Evil Spirits.'
The Exorcism of 'Emptiness and Devastation'
The Emperor Ming Huang of the T'ang dynasty, also known as T'ang
Hsüan Tsung, in the reign-period K'ai Yüan (A.D. 712-742), after an
expedition to Mount Li in Shensi, was attacked by fever. During a
nightmare he saw a small demon fantastically dressed in red trousers,
with a shoe on one foot but none on the other, and a shoe hanging from
his girdle. Having broken through a bamboo gate, he took possession
of an embroidered box and a jade flute, and then began to make a
tour of the palace, sporting and gambolling. The Emperor grew angry
and questioned him. "Your humble servant," replied the little demon,
"is named Hsü Hao, 'Emptiness and Devastation,'" "I have never heard
of such a person," said the Emperor. The demon rejoined, "Hsü means to
desire Emptiness, because in Emptiness one can fly just as one wishes;
Hao, 'Devastation,' changes people's joy to sadness. "The Emperor,
irritated by this flippancy, was about to call his guard, when suddenly
a great devil appeared, wearing a tattered head-covering and a blue
robe, a horn clasp on his belt, and official boots on his feet. He
went up to the sprite, tore out one of his eyes, crushed it up, and ate
it. The Emperor asked the newcomer who he was. "Your humble servant,"
he replied, "is Chung K'uei, Physician of Tung-nan Shan in Shensi. In
the reign-period Wu Tê (A.D. 618-627) of the Emperor Kao Tsu of the
T'ang dynasty I was ignominiously rejected and unjustly defrauded
of a first class in the public examinations. Overwhelmed with shame,
I committed suicide on the steps of the imperial palace. The Emperor
ordered me to be buried in a green robe [reserved for members of the
imperial clan], and out of gratitude for that favour I swore to protect
the sovereign in any part of the Empire against the evil machinations
of the demon Hsü Hao." At these words the Emperor awoke and found
that the fever had left him. His Majesty called for Wu Tao-tzu (one
of the most celebrated Chinese artists) to paint the portrait of the
person he had seen in his dream. The work was so well done that the
Emperor recognized it as the actual demon he had seen in his sleep,
and rewarded the artist with a hundred taels of gold. The portrait is
said to have been still in the imperial palace during the Sung dynasty.
Another version of the legend says that Chung K'uefs essay was
recognized by the examiners as equal to the work of the best authors
of antiquity, but that the Emperor rejected him on account of his
extremely ugly features, whereupon he committed suicide in his
presence, was honoured by the Emperor and accorded a funeral as if
he had been the successful first candidate, and canonized with the
title of Great Spiritual Chaser of Demons for the Whole Empire.