The Goddess of Mercy
The Guardian Angel of Buddhism
As Mary is the guiding spirit of Rome, so is Kuan Yin of the Buddhist
faith.
According to a beautiful Chinese legend, Kuan Yin. when about to
enter Heaven, heard a cry of anguish rising from the earth beneath
her, and, moved by pity, paused as her feet touched the glorious
threshold. Hence her name 'Kuan (Shih) Yin' (one who notices or hears
the cry, or prayer, of the world).
Kuan Yin was at one time always represented as a man; but in the
T'ang dynasty and Five Dynasties we find him represented as a woman,
and he has been generally, though not invariably, so represented
since that time.
In old Buddhism Shâkyamuni was the chief god, and in many temples
he still nominally occupies the seat of honour, but he is completely
eclipsed by the God or Goddess of Mercy.
"The men love her, the children adore her, and the women chant her
prayers. Whatever the temple may be, there is nearly always a chapel
for Kuan Yin within its precincts; she lives in many homes, and in
many, many hearts she sits enshrined. She is the patron goddess of
mothers, and when we remember the relative value of a son in Chinese
estimation we can appreciate the heartiness of the worship. She
protects in sorrow, and so millions of times the prayer is offered,
'Great mercy, great pity, save from sorrow, save from suffering,' or,
as it is in the books, 'Great mercy, great pity, save from misery,
save from evil, broad, great, efficacious, responsive Kuan Yin Buddha,'
She saves the tempest-tossed sailor, and so has eclipsed the Empress
of Heaven, who, as the female Neptune, is the patroness of seamen;
in drought the mandarins worship the Dragon and the Pearly Emperor,
but if they fail the bronze Goddess of Mercy from the hills brings
rain. Other gods are feared, she is loved; others have black,
scornful faces, her countenance is radiant as gold, and gentle as
the moon-beam; she draws near to the people and the people draw near
to her. Her throne is upon the Isle of Pootoo [P'u T'o], to which
she came floating upon a water-lily. She is the model of Chinese
beauty, and to say a lady or a little girl is a 'Kuan Yin' is the
highest compliment that can be paid to grace and loveliness. She is
fortunate in having three birthdays, the nineteenth of the second,
sixth, and ninth moons." There are many metamorphoses of this goddess.
The Buddhist Saviour
"She is called Kuan Yin because at any cry of misery she 'hears the
voice and removes the sorrow.' Her appellation is 'Taking-away-fear
Buddha,' If in the midst of the fire the name of Kuan Yin is called,
the fire cannot burn; if tossed by mountain billows, call her name,
and shallow waters will be reached. If merchants go across the sea
seeking gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, and a storm comes
up and threatens to carry the crew to the evil devil's kingdom,
if one on board calls on the name of Kuan Yin, the ship will be
saved. If one goes into a conflict and calls on the name of Kuan
Yin, the sword and spear of the enemy fall harmless. If the three
thousand great kingdoms are visited by demons, call on her name,
and these demons cannot with an evil eye look on a man. If, within,
you have evil thoughts, only call on Kuan Yin, and your heart will
be purified, Anger and wrath may be dispelled by calling on the name
of Kuan Yin. A lunatic who prays to Kuan Yin will become sane. Kuan
Yin gives sons to mothers, and if the mother asks for a daughter she
will be beautiful. Two men--one chanting the names of the 6,200,000
Buddhas, in number like the sands of the Ganges, and the other simply
calling on Kuan Yin--have equal merit. Kuan Yin may take the form of
a Buddha, a prince, a priest, a nun, a scholar, any form or shape,
go to any kingdom, and preach the law throughout the earth."
Miao Chuang desires an Heir
In the twenty-first year of the reign of Ta Hao, the Great Great
One, of the Golden Heavenly Dynasty, a man named P'o Chia, whose
first name was Lo Yü, an enterprising kinglet of Hsi Yii, seized the
throne for twenty years, after carrying on a war for a space of three
years. His kingdom was known as Hsing Lin, and the title of his reign
as Miao Chuang.
The kingdom of Hsing Lin was, so says the Chinese writer, situated
between India on the west, the kingdom of T'ien Cheng on the south,
and the kingdom of Siam on the north, and was 3000 _li_ in length. The
boundaries differ according to different authors. Of this kingdom
the two pillars of State were the Grand Minister Chao Chen and the
General Ch'u Chieh. The Queen Pao Tê, whose maiden name was Po Ya, and
the King Miao Chuang had lived nearly half a century without having
any male issue to succeed to the throne. This was a source of great
grief to them. Po Ya suggested to the King that the God of Hua Shan,
the sacred mountain in the west, had the reputation of being always
willing to help; and that if he prayed to him and asked his pardon
for having shed so much blood during the wars which preceded his
accession to the throne he might obtain an heir.
Welcoming this suggestion, the King sent for Chao Chên and ordered
him to dispatch to the temple of Hua Shan the two Chief Ministers of
Ceremonies, Hsi Hêng-nan and Chih Tu, with instructions to request
fifty Buddhist and Taoist priests to pray for seven days and seven
nights in order that the King might obtain a son. When that period
was over, the King and Queen would go in person to offer sacrifices
in the temple.
Prayers to the Gods
The envoys took with them many rare and valuable presents, and for
seven days and seven nights the temple resounded with the sound of
drums, bells, and all kinds of instruments, intermingled with the
voices of the praying priests. On their arrival the King and Queen
offered sacrifices to the god of the sacred mountain.
But the God of Hua Shan knew that the King had been deprived of a
male heir as a punishment for the bloody hecatombs during his three
years' war. The priests, however, interceded for him, urging that the
King had come in person to offer the sacrifices, wherefore the God
could not altogether reject his prayer. So he ordered Ch'ien-li Yen,
'Thousand-_li_ Eye,' and Shun-fêng Erh, 'Favourable-wind Ear,' [29]
to go quickly and ascertain if there were not some worthy person who
was on the point of being reincarnated into this world.
The two messengers shortly returned, and stated that in India, in the
Chiu Ling Mountains, in the village of Chih-shu Yüan, there lived a
good man named Shih Ch'in-ch'ang, whose ancestors for three generations
had observed all the ascetic rules of the Buddhists. This man was the
father of three children, the eldest Shih Wên, the second Shih Chin,
and the third Shih Shan, all worthy followers of the great Buddha.
The Murder of the Tais
Wang Chê, a brigand chief, and thirty of his followers, finding
themselves pursued and harassed by the Indian soldiers, without
provisions or shelter, dying of hunger, went to Shih Wên and begged for
something to eat. Knowing that they were evildoers, Shih Wên and his
two brothers refused to give them anything; if they starved, they said,
the peasants would no longer suffer from their depredations. Thereupon
the brigands decided that it was a case of life for life, and broke
into the house of a rich family of the name of Tai, burning their
home, killing a hundred men, women, and children, and carrying off
everything they possessed.
The local _t'u-ti_ at once made a report to Yü Huang.
"This Shih family," replied the god, "for three generations has
given itself up to good works, and certainly the brigands were not
deserving of any pity. However, it is impossible to deny that the
three brothers Shih, in refusing them food, morally compelled them to
loot the Tai family's house, putting all to the sword or flames. Is
not this the same as if they had committed the crime themselves? Let
them be arrested and put in chains in the celestial prison, and let
them never see the light of the sun again."
"Since," said the messenger to the God of Hua Shan, "your gratitude
toward Miao Chuang compels you to grant him an heir, why not ask Yü
Huang to pardon their crime and reincarnate them in the womb of the
Queen Po Ya, so that they may begin a new terrestrial existence and
give themselves up to good works?" As a result, the God of Hua Shan
called the Spirit of the Wind and gave him a message for Yü Huang.
A Message for Yü Huang
The message was as follows: "King Miao Chuang has offered sacrifice
to me and begged me to grant him an heir. But since by his wars he
has caused the deaths of a large number of human beings, he does not
deserve to have his request granted. Now these three brothers Shih
have offended your Majesty by constraining the brigand Wang Che to be
guilty of murder and robbery. I pray you to take into account their
past good works and pardon their crime, giving them an opportunity
of expiating it by causing them all three to be reborn, but of the
female sex, in the womb of Po Ya the Queen. [30] In this way they
will be able to atone for their crime and save many souls." Yü Huang
was pleased to comply, and he ordered the Spirit of the North Pole
to release the three captives and take their souls to the palace of
King Miao Chuang, where in three years' time they would be changed
into females in the womb of Queen Po Ya.
Birth of the Three Daughters
The King, who was anxiously expecting day by day the birth of an heir,
was informed one morning that a daughter had been born to him. She was
named Miao Ch'ing. A year went by, and another daughter was born. This
one was named Miao Yin. When, at the end of the third year, another
daughter was born, the King, beside himself with rage, called his
Grand Minister Chao Chên and, all disconsolate, said to him, "I am
past fifty, and have no male child to succeed me on the throne. My
dynasty will therefore become extinct. Of what use have been all my
labours and all my victories?" Chao Chen tried to console him, saying,
"Heaven has granted you three daughters: no human power can change this
divine decree. When these princesses have grown up, we will choose
three sons-in-law for your Majesty, and you can elect your successor
from among them. Who will dare to dispute his right to the throne?"
The King named the third daughter Miao Shan. She became noted for her
modesty and many other good qualities, and scrupulously observed all
the tenets of the Buddhist doctrines. Virtuous living seemed, indeed,
to be to her a second nature.
Miao Shan's Ambition
One day, when the three sisters were playing in the palace garden of
Perpetual Spring, Miao Shan, with a serious mien, said to her sisters,
"Riches and glory are like the rain in spring or the morning dew;
a little while, and all is gone. Kings and emperors think to enjoy to
the end the good fortune which places them in a rank apart from other
human beings; but sickness lays them low in their coffins, and all
is over. Where are now all those powerful dynasties which have laid
down the law to the world? As for me, I desire nothing more than a
peaceful retreat on a lone mountain, there to attempt the attainment
of perfection. If some day I can reach a high degree of goodness,
then, borne on the clouds of Heaven, I will travel throughout the
universe, passing in the twinkling of an eye from east to west. I
will rescue my father and mother, and bring them to Heaven; I will
save the miserable and afflicted on earth; I will convert the spirits
which do evil, and cause them to do good. That is my only ambition."
Her Sisters Marry
No sooner had she finished speaking than a lady of the Court came to
announce that the King had found sons-in-law to his liking for his two
elder daughters. The wedding-feast was to be the very next day. "Be
quick," she added, "and prepare your presents, your dresses, and so
forth, for the King's order is imperative." The husband chosen for Miao
Ch'ing was a First Academician named Chao K'uei. His personal name was
Tê Ta, and he was the son of a celebrated minister of the reigning
dynasty. Miao Yin's husband-elect was a military officer named Ho
Fêng, whose personal name was Ch'ao Yang. He had passed first in the
examination for the Military Doctorate. The marriage ceremonies were
of a magnificent character. Festivity followed festivity; the newly-wed
were duly installed in their palaces, and general happiness prevailed.
Miao Shan's Renunciation
There now remained only Miao Shan. The King and Queen wished to find
for her a man famous for knowledge and virtue, capable of ruling the
kingdom, and worthy of being the successor to the throne. So the
King called her and explained to her all his plans regarding her,
and how all his hopes rested on her.
"It is a crime," she replied, "for me not to comply with my father's
wishes; but you must pardon me if my ideas differ from yours."
"Tell me what your ideas are," said the King.
"I do not wish to marry," she rejoined. "I wish to attain to perfection
and to Buddhahood. Then I promise that I will not be ungrateful
to you."
"Wretch of a daughter," cried the King in anger, "you think you can
teach me, the head of the State and ruler of so great a people! Has
anyone ever known a daughter of a king become a nun? Can a good woman
be found in that class? Put aside all these mad ideas of a nunnery,
and tell me at once if you will marry a First Academician or a Military
First Graduate."
"Who is there," answered the girl, "who does not love the royal
dignity?--what person who does not aspire to the happiness of
marriage? However, I wish to become a nun. With respect to the riches
and glory of this world, my heart is as cold as a dead cinder, and
I feel a keen desire to make it ever purer and purer."
The King rose in fury, and wished to cast her out from his
presence. Miao Shan, knowing she could not openly disobey his orders,
took another course. "If you absolutely insist upon my marrying,"
she said, "I will consent; only I must marry a physician."
"A physician!" growled the King. "Are men of good family and talents
wanting in my kingdom? What an absurd idea, to want to marry a
physician!"
"My wish is," said Miao Shan, "to heal humanity of all its ills; of
cold, heat, lust, old age, and all infirmities. I wish to equalize all
classes, putting rich and poor on the same footing, to have community
of goods, without distinction of persons. If you will grant me my wish,
I can still in this way become a Buddha, a Saviour of Mankind. There
is no necessity to call in the diviners to choose an auspicious day. I
am ready to be married now."
She is Exiled to the Garden
At these words the King was mad with rage. "Wicked imbecile!" he
cried, "what diabolical suggestions are these that you dare to make
in my presence?"
Without further ado he called Ho T'ao, who on that day was officer
of the palace guard. When he had arrived and kneeled to receive the
King's commands, the latter said: "This wicked nun dishonours me. Take
from her her Court robes, and drive her from my presence. Take her
to the Queen's garden, and let her perish there of cold: that will
be one care less for my troubled heart."
Miao Shan fell on her face and thanked the King, and then went with
the officer to the Queen's garden, where she began to lead her retired
hermit life, with the moon for companion and the wind for friend,
content to see all obstacles overthrown on her way to Nirvana, the
highest state of spiritual bliss, and glad to exchange the pleasures
of the palace for the sweetness of solitude.
The Nunnery of the White Bird
After futile attempts to dissuade her from her purpose by the Court
ladies, her parents, and sisters, the King and Queen next deputed
Miao Hung and Ts'ui Hung to make a last attempt to bring their
misguided daughter to her senses. Miao Shan, annoyed at this renewed
solicitation, in a haughty manner ordered them never again to come and
torment her with their silly prattle. "I have found out," she added,
"that there is a well-known temple at Ju Chou in Lung-shu Hsien. This
Buddhist temple is known as the Nunnery of the White Bird, Po-ch'iao
Ch'an-ssu. In it five hundred nuns give themselves up to the study
of the true doctrine and the way of perfection. Go then and ask the
Queen on my behalf to obtain the King's permission for me to retire
thither. If you can procure me this favour, I will not fail to reward
you later."
Miao Chuang summoned the messengers and inquired the result of their
efforts. "She is more unapproachable than ever," they replied; "she has
even ordered us to ask the Queen to obtain your Majesty's permission
to retire to the Nunnery of the White Bird in Lung-shu Hsien."
The King gave his permission, but sent strict orders to the nunnery,
instructing the nuns to do all in their power to dissuade the Princess
when she arrived from carrying out her intention to remain.
Her Reception at the Nunnery
This Nunnery of the White Bird had been built by Huang Ti, and
the five hundred nuns who lived in it had as Superior a lady named
I Yu, who was remarkable for her virtue. On receipt of the royal
mandate, she had summoned Chêng Chêng-ch'ang, the choir-mistress,
and informed her that Princess Miao Shan, owing to a disagreement
with her father, would shortly arrive at the temple. She requested
her to receive the visitor courteously, but at the same time to do
all she could to dissuade her from adopting the life of a nun. Having
given these instructions, the Superior, accompanied by two novices,
went to meet Miao Shan at the gate of the temple. On her arrival
they saluted her. The Princess returned the salute, but said: "I
have just left the world in order to place myself under your orders:
why do you come and salute me on my arrival? I beg you to be so good
as to take me into the temple, in order that I may pay my respects to
the Buddha." I Yu led her into the principal hall, and instructed the
nuns to light incense-sticks, ring the bells, and beat the drums. The
visit to the temple finished, she went into the preaching-hall, where
she greeted her instructresses. The latter obeyed the King's command
and endeavoured to persuade the Princess to return to her home, but,
as none of their arguments had any effect, it was at length decided to
give her a trial, and to put her in charge of the kitchen, where she
could prepare the food for the nunnery, and generally be at the service
of all. If she did not give satisfaction they could dismiss her.
She makes Offering to the Buddha
Miao Shan joyfully agreed, and proceeded to make her humble submission
to the Buddha. She knelt before Ju Lai, and made offering to him,
praying as follows: "Great Buddha, full of goodness and mercy, your
humble servant wishes to leave the world. Grant that I may never
yield to the temptations which will be sent to try my faith." Miao
Shan further promised to observe all the regulations of the nunnery
and to obey the superiors.
Spiritual Aid
This generous self-sacrifice touched the heart of Yü Huang, the Master
of Heaven, who summoned the Spirit of the North Star and instructed
him as follows: "Miao Shan, the third daughter of King Miao Chuang,
has renounced the world in order to devote herself to the attainment of
perfection. Her father has consigned her to the Nunnery of the White
Bird. She has undertaken without grumbling the burden of all the work
in the nunnery. If she is left without help, who is there who will be
willing to adopt the virtuous life? Do you go quickly and order the
Three Agents, the Gods of the Five Sacred Peaks, the Eight Ministers
of the Heavenly Dragon, Ch'ieh Lan, and the _t'u-ti_ to send her help
at once. Tell the Sea-dragon to dig her a well near the kitchen,
a tiger to bring her firewood, birds to collect vegetables for the
inmates of the nunnery, and all the spirits of Heaven to help her in
her duties, that she may give herself up without disturbance to the
pursuit of perfection. See that my commands are promptly obeyed." The
Spirit of the North Star complied without delay.
The Nunnery on Fire
Seeing all these gods arrive to help the novice, the Superior, I Yu,
held consultation with the choir-mistress, saying: "We assigned to
the Princess the burdensome work of the kitchen because she refused to
return to the world; but since she has entered on her duties the gods
of the eight caves of Heaven have come to offer her fruit, Ch'ieh Lan
sweeps the kitchen, the dragon has dug a well, the God of the Hearth
and the tiger bring her fuel, birds collect vegetables for her, the
nunnery bell every evening at dusk booms of itself, as if struck by
some mysterious hand. Obviously miracles are being performed. Hasten
and fetch the King, and beg his Majesty to recall his daughter."
Chêng Chêng-ch'ang started on her way, and, on arrival, informed
the King of all that had taken place. The King called Hu Pi-li,
the chief of the guard, and ordered him to go to the sub-prefecture
of Lung-shu Hsien at the head of an army corps of 5000 infantry and
cavalry. He was to surround the Nunnery of the White Bird and burn it
to the ground, together with the nuns. When he reached the place the
commander surrounded the nunnery with his soldiers, and set fire to
it. The five hundred doomed nuns invoked the aid of Heaven and earth,
and then, addressing Miao Shan, said: "It is you who have brought
upon us this terrible disaster."
"It is true," said Miao Shan. "I alone am the cause of your
destruction." She then knelt down and prayed to Heaven: "Great
Sovereign of the Universe, your servant is the daughter of King Miao
Chuang; you are the grandson of King Lun. Will you not rescue your
younger sister? You have left your palace; I also have left mine. You
in former times betook yourself to the snowy mountains to attain
perfection; I came here with the same object. Will you not save us
from this fiery destruction?"
Her prayer ended, Miao Shan took a bamboo hairpin from her hair,
pricked the roof of her mouth with it, and spat the flowing blood
toward Heaven. Immediately great clouds gathered in all parts of the
sky and sent down inundating showers, which put out the fire that
threatened the nunnery. The nuns threw themselves on their knees and
thanked her effusively for having saved their lives.
Hu Pi-li retired, and went in haste to inform the King of this
extraordinary occurrence. The King, enraged, ordered him to go back
at once, bring his daughter in chains, and behead her on the spot.
The Execution of Miao Shan
But the Queen, who had heard of this new plot, begged the King to grant
her daughter a last chance. "If you will give permission," she said,
"I will have a magnificent pavilion built at the side of the road
where Miao Shan will pass in chains on the way to her execution, and
will go there with our two other daughters and our sons-in-law. As
she passes we will have music, songs, feasting, everything likely
to impress her and make her contrast our luxurious life with her
miserable plight. This will surely bring her to repentance."
"I agree," said the King, "to counter-order her execution until your
preparations are complete." Nevertheless, when the time came, Miao
Shan showed nothing but disdain for all this worldly show, and to all
advances replied only: "I love not these pompous vanities; I swear
that I prefer death to the so-called joys of this world." She was then
led to the place of execution. All the Court was present. Sacrifices
were made to her as to one already dead. A Grand Minister pronounced
the sacrificial oration.
In the midst of all this the Queen appeared, and ordered the officials
to return to their posts, that she might once more exhort her daughter
to repent. But Miao Shan only listened in silence with downcast eyes.
The King felt great repugnance to shedding his daughter's blood, and
ordered her to be imprisoned in the palace, in order that he might make
a last effort to save her. "I am the King," he said; "my orders cannot
be lightly set aside. Disobedience to them involves punishment, and
in spite of my paternal love for you, if you persist in your present
attitude, you will be executed to-morrow in front of the palace gate."
The _t'u-ti_, hearing the King's verdict, went with all speed to Yü
Huang, and reported to him the sentence which had been pronounced
against Miao Shan. Yü Huang exclaimed: "Save Buddha, there is none in
the west so noble as this Princess. To-morrow, at the appointed hour,
go to the scene of execution, break the swords, and splinter the lances
they will use to kill her. See that she suffers no pain. At the moment
of her death transform yourself into a tiger, and bring her body to
the pine-wood. Having deposited it in a safe place, put a magic pill
in her mouth to arrest decay. Her triumphant soul on its return from
the lower regions must find it in a perfect state of preservation in
order to be able to re-enter it and animate it afresh. After that,
she must betake herself to Hsiang Shan on P'u T'o Island, where she
will reach the highest state of perfection."
On the day appointed, Commander Hu Pi-li led the condemned Princess
to the place of execution. A body of troops had been stationed
there to maintain order. The _t'u-ti_ was in attendance at the
palace gates. Miao Shan was radiant with joy. "To-day," she said,
"I leave the world for a better life. Hasten to take my life, but
beware of mutilating my body."
The King's warrant arrived, and suddenly the sky became overcast and
darkness fell upon the earth. A bright light surrounded Miao Shan,
and when the sword of the executioner fell upon the neck of the
victim it was broken in two. Then they thrust at her with a spear,
but the weapon fell to pieces. After that the King ordered that she be
strangled with a silken cord. A few moments later a tiger leapt into
the execution ground, dispersed the executioners, put the inanimate
body of Miao Shan on his back, and disappeared into the pine-forest. Hu
Pi-li rushed to the palace, recounted to the King full details of
all that had occurred, and received a reward of two ingots of gold.
Miao Shan visits the Infernal Regions
Meantime, Miao Shan's soul, which remained unhurt, was borne on
a cloud; when, waking as from a dream, she lifted her head and
looked round, she could not see her body. "My father has just had
me strangled," she sighed. "How is it that I find myself in this
place? Here are neither mountains, nor trees, nor vegetation; no sun,
moon, nor stars; no habitation, no sound, no cackling of a fowl nor
barking of a dog. How can I live in this desolate region?"
Suddenly a young man dressed in blue, shining with a brilliant light,
and carrying a large banner, appeared and said to her: "By order of
Yen Wang, the King of the Hells, I come to take you to the eighteen
infernal regions."
"What is this cursed place where I am now?" asked Miao Shan.
"This is the lower world, Hell," he replied. "Your refusal to marry,
and the magnanimity with which you chose an ignominious death rather
than break your resolutions, deserve the recognition of Yü Huang,
and the ten gods of the lower regions, impressed and pleased at your
eminent virtue, have sent me to you. Fear nothing and follow me."
Thus Miao Shan began her visit to all the infernal regions. The Gods
of the Ten Hells came to congratulate her.
"Who am I," asked Miao Shan, "that you should deign to take the
trouble to show me such respect?"
"We have heard," they replied, "that when you recite your prayers
all evil disappears as if by magic. We should like to hear you pray."
"I consent," replied Miao Shan, "on condition that all the condemned
ones in the ten infernal regions be released from their chains in
order to listen to me."
At the appointed time the condemned were led in by Niu T'ou ('Ox-head')
and Ma Mien ('Horse-face'), the two chief constables of Hell, and
Miao Shan began her prayers. No sooner had she finished than Hell was
suddenly transformed into a paradise of joy, and the instruments of
torture into lotus-flowers.
Hell a Paradise
P'an Kuan, the keeper of the Register of the Living and the Dead,
presented a memorial to Yen Wang stating that since Miao Shan's
arrival there was no more pain in Hell; and all the condemned were
beside themselves with happiness. "Since it has always been decreed,"
he added, "that, in justice, there must be both a Heaven and a Hell,
if you do not send this saint back to earth, there will no longer be
any Hell, but only a Heaven."
"Since that is so," said Yen Wang, "let forty-eight flag-bearers
escort her across the Styx Bridge [Nai-ho Ch'iao], that she may be
taken to the pine-forest to reenter her body, and resume her life in
the upper world."
The King of the Hells having paid his respects to her, the youth
in blue conducted her soul back to her body, which she found lying
under a pine-tree. Having reentered it, Miao Shan found herself alive
again. A bitter sigh escaped from her lips. "I remember," she said,
"all that I saw and heard in Hell. I sigh for the moment which will
find me free of all impediments, and yet my soul has re-entered my
body. Here, without any lonely mountain on which to give myself up
to the pursuit of perfection, what will become of me?" Great tears
welled from her eyes.
A Test of Virtue
Just then Ju Lai Buddha appeared. "Why have you come to this place?" he
asked. Miao Shan explained why the King had put her to death, and
how after her descent into Hell her soul had re-entered her body. "I
greatly pity your misfortune," Ju Lai said, "but there is no one to
help you. I also am alone. Why should we not marry? We could build
ourselves a hut, and pass our days in peace. What say you?" "Sir,"
she replied, "you must not make impossible suggestions. I died and
came to life again. How can you speak so lightly? Do me the pleasure
of withdrawing from my presence."
"Well," said the visitor, "he to whom you are speaking is no other
than the Buddha of the West. I came to test your virtue. This place
is not suitable for your devotional exercises; I invite you to come
to Hsiang Shan."
Miao Shan threw herself on her knees and said: "My bodily eyes deceived
me. I never thought that your Majesty would come to a place like
this. Pardon my seeming want of respect. Where is this Hsiang Shan?"
"Hsiang Shan is a very old monastery," Ju Lai replied, "built in
the earliest historical times. It is inhabited by Immortals. It is
situated in the sea, on P'u T'o Island, a dependency of the kingdom
of Annam. There you will be able to reach the highest perfection."
"How far off is this island?" Miao Shan asked. "More than three
thousand _li_," Ju Lai replied. "I fear," she said, "I could not bear
the fatigue of so long a journey." "Calm yourself," he rejoined. "I
have brought with me a magic peach, of a kind not to be found in any
earthly orchard. Once you have eaten it, you will experience neither
hunger nor thirst; old age and death will have no power over you:
you will live for ever."
Miao Shan ate the magic peach, took leave of Ju Lai, and started
on the way to Hsiang Shan. From the clouds the Spirit of the North
Star saw her wending her way painfully toward P'u T'o. He called the
Guardian of the Soil of Hsiang Shan and said to him: "Miao Shan is
on her way to your country; the way is long and difficult. Do you
take the form of a tiger, and carry her to her journey's end."
The _t'u-ti_ transformed himself into a tiger and stationed himself
in the middle of the road along which Miao Shan must pass, giving
vent to ferocious roars.
"I am a poor girl devoid of filial piety," said Miao Shan when she
came up. "I have disobeyed my father's commands; devour me, and make
an end of me."
The tiger then spoke, saying: "I am not a real tiger, but the Guardian
of the Soil of Hsiang Shan. I have received instructions to carry
you there. Get on my back."
"Since you have received these instructions," said the girl, "I will
obey, and when I have attained to perfection I will not forget your
kindness."
The tiger went off like a flash of lightning, and in the twinkling
of an eye Miao Shan found herself at the foot of the rocky slopes of
P'u T'o Island.
Miao Shan attains to Perfection
After nine years in this retreat Miao Shan had reached the acme
of perfection. Ti-tsang Wang then came to Hsiang Shan, and was so
astonished at her virtue that he inquired of the local _t'u-ti_ as to
what had brought about this wonderful result. "With the exception of Ju
Lai, in all the west no one equals her in dignity and perfection. She
is the Queen of the three thousand P'u-sa's and of all the beings on
earth who have skin and blood. We regard her as our sovereign in all
things. Therefore, on the nineteenth day of the eleventh moon we will
enthrone her, that the whole world may profit by her beneficence."
The _t'u-ti_ sent out his invitations for the ceremony. The Dragon-king
of the Western Sea, the Gods of the Five Sacred Mountains, the
Emperor-saints to the number of one hundred and twenty, the thirty-six
officials of the Ministry of Time, the celestial functionaries in
charge of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, the Three Causes, the
Five Saints, the Eight Immortals, the Ten Kings of the Hells--all
were present on the appointed day. Miao Shan took her seat on the
lotus-throne, and the assembled gods proclaimed her sovereign of
Heaven and earth, and a Buddha. Moreover, they decided that it was
not meet that she should remain alone at Hsiang Shan; so they begged
her to choose a worthy young man and a virtuous damsel to serve her
in the temple.
The _t'u-ti_ was entrusted with the task of finding them. While making
search, he met a young priest named Shan Ts'ai. After the death of
his parents he had become a hermit on Ta-hua Shan, and was still a
novice in the science of perfection.
Miao Shan ordered him to be brought to her. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I am a poor orphan priest of no merit," he replied. "From my earliest
youth I have led the life of a hermit. I have been told that your
power is equalled only by your goodness, so I have ventured to come
to pray you to show me how to attain to perfection."
"My only fear," replied Miao Shan, "is that your desire for perfection
may not be sincere."
"I have now no parents," the priest continued, "and I have come more
than a thousand _li_ to find you. How can I be wanting in sincerity?"
"What special degree of ability have you attained during your course
of perfection?" asked Miao Shan.
"I have no skill," replied Shan Ts'ai, "but I rely for everything
on your great pity, and under your guidance I hope to reach the
required ability."
"Very well," said Miao Shan, "take up your station on the top of
yonder peak, and wait till I find a means of transporting you."
A Ruse
Miao Shan called the _t'u-ti_ and bade him go and beg all the Immortals
to disguise themselves as pirates and to besiege the mountain, waving
torches, and threatening with swords and spears to kill her. "Then
I will seek refuge on the summit, and thence leap over the precipice
to prove Shan Ts'ai's fidelity and affection."
A minute later a horde of brigands of ferocious aspect rushed up
to the temple of Hsiang Shan. Miao Shan cried for help, rushed
up the steep incline, missed her footing, and rolled down into the
ravine. Shan Ts'ai, seeing her fall into the abyss, without hesitation
flung himself after her in order to rescue her. When he reached her,
he asked: "What have you to fear from the robbers? You have nothing
for them to steal; why throw yourself over the precipice, exposing
yourself to certain death?"
Miao Shan saw that he was weeping, and wept too. "I must comply with
the wish of Heaven," she said.
The Transformation of Shan Ts'ai
Shan Ts'ai, inconsolable, prayed Heaven and earth to save his
protectress. Miao Shan said to him: "You should not have risked
your life by throwing yourself over the precipice, I have not yet
transformed you. But you did a brave thing, and I know that you have
a good heart. Now, look down there." "Oh," said he, "if I mistake
not, that is a corpse." "Yes," she replied, "that is your former
body. Now you are transformed you can rise at will and fly in the
air." Shan Ts'ai bowed low to thank his benefactress, who said to him:
"Henceforth you must say your prayers by my side, and not leave me
for a single day."
'Brother and Sister'
With her spiritual sight Miao Shan perceived at the bottom of the
Southern Sea the third son of Lung Wang, who, in carrying out his
father's orders, was cleaving the waves in the form of a carp. While
doing so, he was caught in a fisherman's net, taken to the market
at Yüeh Chou, and offered for sale. Miao Shan at once sent her
faithful Shan Ts'ai, in the guise of a servant, to buy him, giving
him a thousand cash to purchase the fish, which he was to take to
the foot of the rocks at P'u T'o and set free in the sea. The son
of Lung Wang heartily thanked his deliverer, and on his return to
the palace related to his father what had occurred. The King said:
"As a reward, make her a present of a luminous pearl, so that she
may recite her prayers by its light at night-time."
Lung Nü, the daughter of Lung Wang's third son, obtained her
grandfather's permission to take the gift to Miao Shan and beg that
she might be allowed to study the doctrine of the sages under her
guidance. After having proved her sincerity, she was accepted as a
pupil. Shan Ts'ai called her his sister, and Lung Nü reciprocated
by calling him her dear brother. Both lived as brother and sister by
Miao Shan's side.
The King's Punishment
After King Miao Chuang had burned the Nunnery of the White Bird and
killed his daughter, Ch'ieh Lan Buddha presented a petition to Yü Huang
praying that the crime be not allowed to go unpunished. Yü Huang,
justly irritated, ordered P'an Kuan to consult the Register of the
Living and the Dead to see how long this homicidal King had yet to
live. P'an Kuan turned over the pages of his register, and saw that
according to the divine ordinances the King's reign on the throne of
Hsing Lin should last for twenty years, but that this period had not
yet expired. [31] "That which has been decreed is immutable," said
Yü Huang, "but I will punish him by sending him illness." He called
the God of Epidemics, and ordered him to afflict the King's body with
ulcers, of a kind which could not be healed except by remedies to be
given him by his daughter Miao Shan.
The order was promptly executed, and the King could get no rest by day
or by night. His two daughters and their husbands spent their time in
feasting while he tossed about in agony on his sick-bed. In vain the
most famous physicians were called in; the malady only grew worse, and
despair took hold of the patient. He then caused a proclamation to be
made that he would grant the succession to the throne to any person who
would provide him with an effectual remedy to restore him to health.
The Disguised Priest-doctor
Miao Shan had learnt by revelation at Hsiang Shan all that was taking
place at the palace. She assumed the form of a priest-doctor, clothed
herself in a priest's gown, with the regulation headdress and straw
shoes, and attached to her girdle a gourd containing pills and other
medicines. In this apparel she went straight to the palace gate,
read the royal edict posted there, and tore it down. Some members of
the palace guard seized her, and inquired angrily: "Who are you that
you should dare to tear down the royal proclamation?"
"I, a poor priest, am also a doctor," she replied. "I read the edict
posted on the palace gates. The King is inquiring for a doctor who
can heal him. I am a doctor of an old cultured family, and propose
to restore him to health."
"If you are of a cultured family, why did you become a priest?" they
asked. "Would it not have been better to gain your living honestly
in practising your art than to shave your head and go loafing about
the world? Besides, all the highest physicians have tried in vain to
cure the King; do you imagine that you will be more skilful than all
the aged practitioners?"
"Set your minds at ease," she replied. "I have received from my
ancestors the most efficacious remedies, and I guarantee that I
shall restore the King to health," The palace guard then consented
to transmit her petition to the Queen, who informed the King, and in
the end the pretended priest was admitted. Having reached the royal
bed-chamber, he sat still awhile in order to calm himself before
feeling the pulse, and to have complete control of all his faculties
while examining the King. When he felt quite sure of himself, he
approached the King's bed, took the King's hand, felt his pulse,
carefully diagnosed the nature of the illness, and assured himself
that it was easily curable.
Strange Medicine
One serious difficulty, however, presented itself, and that was that
the right medicine was almost impossible to procure. The King showed
his displeasure by saying: "For every illness there is a medical
prescription, and for every prescription a specific medicine; how
can you say that the diagnosis is easy, but that there is no remedy?"
"Your Majesty," replied the priest, "the remedy for your illness is
not to be found in any pharmacy, and no one would agree to sell it."
The King became angry, believed that he was being imposed upon,
and ordered those about him to drive away the priest, who left smiling.
The following night the King saw in a dream an old man who said to
him: "This priest alone can cure your illness, and if you ask him he
himself will give you the right remedy."
The King awoke as soon as these words had been uttered, and begged
the Queen to recall the priest. When the latter had returned, the
King related his dream, and begged the priest to procure for him the
remedy required. "What, after all, is this remedy that I must have
in order to be cured?" he asked.
"There must be the hand and eye of a living person, from which to
compound the ointment which alone can save you," answered the priest.
The King called out in indignation: "This priest is fooling me! Who
would ever give his hand or his eye? Even if anyone would, I could
never have the heart to make use of them."
"Nevertheless," said the priest, "there is no other effective remedy."
"Then where can I procure this remedy?" asked the King.
"Your Majesty must send your ministers, who must observe the Buddhist
rules of abstinence, to Hsiang Shan, where they will be given what
is required."
"Where is Hsiang Shan, and how far from here?"
"About three thousand or more _li_, but I myself will indicate the
route to be followed; in a very short time they will return."
The King, who was suffering terribly, was more contented when he
heard that the journey could be rapidly accomplished. He called his
two ministers, Chao Chên and Liu Ch'in, and instructed them to lose
no time in starting for Hsiang Shan and to observe scrupulously the
Buddhist rules of abstinence. He ordered the Minister of Ceremonies
to detain the priest in the palace until their return.
A Conspiracy that Failed
The two sons-in-law of the King, Ho Fêng and Chao K'uei, who had
already made secret preparations to succeed to the throne as soon as
the King should breathe his last, learned with no little surprise
that the priest had hopes of curing the King's illness, and that
he was waiting in the palace until the saving remedy was brought
to him. Fearing that they might be disappointed in their ambition,
and that after his recovery the King, faithful to his promise,
would give the crown to the priest, they entered into a conspiracy
with an unscrupulous courtier named Ho Li. They were obliged to act
quickly, because the ministers were travelling by forced marches,
and would soon be back. That same night Ho Li was to give to the
King a poisoned drink, composed, he would say, by the priest with
the object of assuaging the King's pain until the return of his
two ministers. Shortly after, an assassin, Su Ta, was to murder the
priest. Thus at one stroke both the King and the priest would meet
their death, and the kingdom would pass to the King's two sons-in-law.
Miao Shan had returned to Hsiang Shan, leaving in the palace the bodily
form of the priest. She saw the two traitors Ho Fêng and Chao K'uei
preparing the poison, and was aware of their wicked intentions. Calling
the spirit Yu I, who was on duty that day, she told him to fly to
the palace and change into a harmless soup the poison about to be
administered to the King and to bind the assassin hand and foot.
At midnight Ho Li, carrying in his hand the poisoned drink, knocked
at the door of the royal apartment, and said to the Queen that the
priest had prepared a soothing potion while awaiting the return of
the ministers. "I come," he said, "to offer it to his Majesty." The
Queen took the bowl in her hands and was about to give it to the King,
when Yu I arrived unannounced. Quick as thought he snatched the bowl
from the Queen and poured the contents on the ground; at the same
moment he knocked over those present in the room, so that they all
rolled on the floor.
At the time this was happening the assassin Su Ta entered the priest's
room, and struck him with his sword. Instantly the assassin, without
knowing how, found himself enwrapped in the priest's robe and thrown
to the ground. He struggled and tried to free himself, but found
that his hands had been rendered useless by some mysterious power,
and that flight was impossible. The spirit Yu I, having fulfilled the
mission entrusted to him, now returned to Hsiang Shan and reported
to Miao Shan.
A Confession and its Results
Next morning, the two sons-in-law of the King heard of the turn things
had taken during the night. The whole palace was in a state of the
greatest confusion.
When he was informed that the priest had been killed, the King called
Ch'u Ting-lieh and ordered him to have the murderer arrested. Su Ta
was put to the torture and confessed all that he knew. Together with
Ho Li he was condemned to be cut into a thousand pieces.
The two sons-in-law were seized and ordered to instant execution,
and it was only on the Queen's intercession that their wives were
spared. The infuriated King, however, ordered that his two daughters
should be imprisoned in the palace.
The Gruesome Remedy
Meantime Chao Chên and Liu Ch'in had reached Hsiang Shan. When they
were brought to Miao Shan the ministers took out the King's letter and
read it to her. "I, Miao Chuang, King of Hsing Lin, have learned that
there dwells at Hsiang Shan an Immortal whose power and compassion
have no equal in the whole world. I have passed my fiftieth year, and
am afflicted with ulcers that all remedies have failed to cure. To-day
a priest has assured me that at Hsiang Shan I can obtain the hand and
eye of a living person, with which he will prepare an ointment able
to restore me to my usual state of health. Relying upon his word
and upon the goodness of the Immortal to whom he has directed me,
I venture to beg that those two parts of a living body necessary to
heal my ulcers be sent to me. I assure you of my everlasting gratitude,
fully confident that my request will not be refused."
The next morning Miao Shan bade the ministers take a knife and cut
off her left hand and gouge out her left eye. Liu Ch'in took the
knife offered him, but did not dare to obey the order. "Be quick,"
urged the Immortal; "you have been commanded to return as soon as
possible; why do you hesitate as if you were a young girl?" Liu
Ch'in was forced to proceed. He plunged in the knife, and the red
blood flooded the ground, spreading an odour like sweet incense. The
hand and eye were placed on a golden plate, and, having paid their
grateful respects to the Immortal, the envoys hastened to return.
When they had left, Miao Shan, who had transformed herself in order to
allow the envoys to remove her hand and eye, told Shan Ts'ai that she
was now going to prepare the ointment necessary for the cure of the
King. "Should the Queen," she added, "send for another eye and hand,
I will transform myself again, and you can give them to her." No sooner
had she finished speaking than she mounted a cloud and disappeared
in space. The two ministers reached the palace and presented to the
Queen the gruesome remedy which they had brought from the temple. She,
overcome with gratitude and emotion, wept copiously. "What Immortal,"
she asked, "can have been so charitable as to sacrifice a hand and eye
for the King's benefit?" Then suddenly her tears gushed forth with
redoubled vigour, and she uttered a great cry, for she recognized
the hand of her daughter by a black scar which was on it.
Half-measures
"Who else, in fact, but his child," she continued amid her sobs,
"could have had the courage to give her hand to save her father's
life?" "What are you saying?" said the King. "In the world there are
many hands like this." While they thus reasoned, the priest entered
the King's apartment. "This great Immortal has long devoted herself
to the attainment of perfection," he said. "Those she has healed
are innumerable. Give me the hand and eye." He took them and shortly
produced an ointment which, he told the King, was to be applied to his
left side. No sooner had it touched his skin than the pain on his left
side disappeared as if by magic; no sign of ulcers was to be seen on
that side, but his right side remained swollen and painful as before.
"Why is it," asked the King, "that this remedy, which is so efficacious
for the left side, should not be applied to the right?" "Because,"
replied the priest, "the left hand and eye of the saint cures only
the left side. If you wish to be completely cured, you must send
your officers to obtain the right eye and right hand also." The King
accordingly dispatched his envoys anew with a letter of thanks, and
begging as a further favour that the cure should be completed by the
healing also of his right side.
The King Cured
On the arrival of the envoys Shan Ts'ai met them in the mutilated form
of Miao Shan, and he bade them cut off his right hand, pluck out his
right eye, and put them on a plate. At the sight of the four bleeding
wounds Liu Ch'in could not refrain from calling out indignantly:
"This priest is a wicked man, thus to make a martyr of a woman in
order to obtain the succession!"
Having thus spoken, he left with his companion for the kingdom of
Hsing Lin. On their return the King was overwhelmed with joy. The
priest quickly prepared the ointment, and the King, without delay,
applied it to his right side. At once the ulcers disappeared like the
darkness of night before the rising sun. The whole Court congratulated
the King and eulogized the priest. The King conferred upon the latter
the title Priest of the Brilliant Eye. He fell on his face to return
thanks, and added: "I, a poor priest, have left the world, and have
only one wish, namely, that your Majesty should govern your subjects
with justice and sympathy and that all the officials of the realm
should prove themselves men of integrity. As for me, I am used to
roaming about. I have no desire for any royal estate. My happiness
exceeds all earthly joys."
Having thus spoken, the priest waved the sleeve of his cloak, a cloud
descended from Heaven, and seating himself upon it he disappeared
in the sky. From the cloud a note containing the following words was
seen to fall: "I am one of the Teachers of the West. I came to cure
the King's illness, and so to glorify the True Doctrine."
The King's Daughter
All who witnessed this miracle exclaimed with one voice: "This priest
is the Living Buddha, who is going back to Heaven!" The note was taken
to King Miao Chuang, who exclaimed: "Who am I that I should deserve
that one of the rulers of Heaven should deign to descend and cure me
by the sacrifice of hands and eyes?"
"What was the face of the saintly person like who gave you the
remedy?" he then asked Chao Chên.
"It was like unto that of your deceased daughter, Miao Shan,"
he replied.
"When you removed her hands and eyes did she seem to suffer?"
"I saw a great flow of blood, and my heart failed, but the face of
the victim seemed radiant with happiness."
"This certainly must be my daughter Miao Shan, who has attained to
perfection," said the King. "Who but she would have given hands
and eyes? Purify yourselves and observe the rules of abstinence,
and go quickly to Hsiang Shan to return thanks to the saint for this
inestimable favour. I myself will ere long make a pilgrimage thither
to return thanks in person."
The King and Queen taken Prisoners
Three years later the King and Queen, with the grandees of their
Court, set out to visit Hsiang Shan, but on the way the monarchs were
captured by the Green Lion, or God of Fire, and the White Elephant,
or Spirit of the Water, the two guardians of the Temple of Buddha,
who transported them to a dark cavern in the mountains. A terrific
battle then took place between the evil spirits on the one side and
some hosts of heavenly genii, who had been summoned to the rescue,
on the other. While its issue was still uncertain, reinforcements
under the Red Child Devil, who could resist fire, and the Dragon-king
of the Eastern Sea, who could subdue water, finally routed the enemy,
and the prisoners were released.
The King's Repentance
The King and Queen now resumed their pilgrimage, and Miao Shan
instructed Shan Ts'ai to receive the monarchs when they arrived
to offer incense. She herself took up her place on the altar, her
eyes torn out, her hands cut off, and her wrists all dripping with
blood. The King recognized his daughter, and bitterly reproached
himself; the Queen fell swooning at her feet. Miao Shan then spoke and
tried to comfort them. She told them of all that she had experienced
since the day when she had been executed, and how she had attained
to immortal perfection. She then went on: "In order to punish you
for having caused the deaths of all those who perished in the wars
preceding your accession to the throne, and also to avenge the burning
of the Nunnery of the White Bird, Yü Huang afflicted you with those
grievous ulcers. It was then that I changed myself into a priest in
order to heal you, and gave my eyes and hands, with which I prepared
the ointment that cured you. It was I, moreover, who procured your
liberty from Buddha when you were imprisoned in the cave by the Green
Lion and the White Elephant."
Sackcloth and Ashes
At these words the King threw himself with his face on the ground,
offered incense, worshipped Heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon,
saying with a voice broken by sobs: "I committed a great crime in
killing my daughter, who has sacrificed her eyes and hands in order
to cure my sickness."
No sooner were these words uttered than Miao Shan reassumed her
normal form, and, descending from the altar, approached her parents
and sisters. Her body had again its original completeness; and in the
presence of its perfect beauty, and at finding themselves reunited
as one family, all wept for joy.
"Well," said Miao Shan to her father, "will you now force me to marry
and prevent my devoting myself to the attainment of perfection?"
"Speak no more of that," replied the King. "I was in the wrong. If you
had not reached perfection, I should not now be alive. I have made up
my mind to exchange my sceptre for the pursuit of the perfect life,
which I wish to lead henceforth together with you."
The King renounces the Throne
Then, in the presence of all, he addressed his Grand Minister Chao
Chên, saying: "Your devotion to the service of the State has rendered
you worthy to wear the crown: I surrender it to you." The Court
proclaimed Chao Chên King of Hsing Lin, bade farewell to Miao Chuang,
and set out for their kingdom accompanied by their new sovereign.
Pardon of the Green Lion and the White Elephant
Buddha had summoned the White Elephant and the Green Lion, and
was on the point of sentencing them to eternal damnation when the
compassionate Miao Shan interceded for them. "Certainly you deserve
no forgiveness," he said, "but I cannot refuse a request made by
Miao Shan, whose clemency is without limit. I give you over to her,
to serve and obey her in everything. Follow her."
Miao Shan becomes a Buddha
The guardian spirit on duty that day then announced the arrival of a
messenger from Yü Huang. It was T'ai-po Chin-hsing, who was the bearer
of a divine decree, which he handed to Miao Shan. It read as follows:
"I, the august Emperor, make known to you this decree: Miao Chuang,
King of Hsing Lin, forgetful alike of Heaven and Hell, the six virtues,
and metempsychosis, has led a blameworthy life; but your nine years
of penitence, the filial piety which caused you to sacrifice your own
body to effect his cure, in short, all your virtues, have redeemed
his faults. Your eyes can see and your ears can hear all the good
and bad deeds and words of men. You are the object of my especial
regard. Therefore I make proclamation of this decree of canonization.
"Miao Shan will have the title of Very Merciful and Very Compassionate
P'u-sa, Saviour of the Afflicted, Miraculous and Always Helpful
Protectress of Mortals. On your lofty precious lotus-flower throne,
you will be the Sovereign of the Southern Seas and of P'u T'o Isle.
"Your two sisters, hitherto tainted with earthly pleasures, will
gradually progress till they reach true perfection.
"Miao Ch'ing will have the title of Very Virtuous P'u-sa, the
Completely Beautiful, Rider of the Green Lion.
"Miao Yin will be honoured with the title of Very Virtuous and
Completely Resplendent P'u-sa, Rider of the White Elephant.
"King Miao Chuang is raised to the dignity of Virtuous Conquering
P'u-sa, Surveyor of Mortals.
"Queen Po Ya receives the title of P'u-sa of Ten Thousand Virtues,
Surveyor of Famous Women.
"Shan Ts'ai has bestowed upon him the title of Golden Youth.
"Lung Nü has the title of Jade Maiden.
"During all time incense is to be burned before all the members of
this canonized group."