Topic: Chinese Mythology

[Prometheus]

EXEMPLARY TALES


i73

to sweep the floor. The magistrate, Chung Li, passing through
the room, found the new maid-servant leaning on her broom
and weeping copiously. He asked her what the trouble was,
and she told him the story of the ball which had fallen into
the cavity in the floor of that very room, and of her father’s
praise for her intelligence in suggesting a way of recovering
it. She went on and told him of her life since her father’s
death and of her ill-treatment at the hands of the wife of
Chia Chang. The magistrate was greatly impressed and
amazed to learn that she was the daughter of a man of his
own rank, and he immediately thought of a plan whereby he
might atone for having treated the daughter of the late magis-
trate as a low-born menial. He consulted with the magistrate
of an adjoining district, Kao, and arranged a marriage with
Kao’s younger son. After the wedding Chung Li had a dream
in which Yiieh Hsiang’s father, Shih P’i, appeared to him, and
said that because of the kindness he had shown his daughter, he
had interceded with the Supreme Being, who had offered a son
as a reward to Chung Li, in order to spread the fame of the
family. The deity also highly approved of the conduct of the
magistrate Kao, and as recompense to him, had offered to
raise his two sons to high offlce. As soon as Chung Li awoke
he told his dream and went to the temple to burn incense, con-
tributing one hundred taels of his salary. In fulfilment of the
promise, his wife, at the age of forty years, had a son who be-
came Senior Wrangler. Chung Li rose to the office of Grand
Secretary and lived to be ninety years of age.

Chia Chang, upon his return, was angry to find that his wife
had sent Yiieh Hsiang and her nurse away, but after investiga-
tion was satisfied to learn that they were both happily married.
He would, however, no longer live with his faithless wife, and
married one of her maids. They had two sons. Thus all
parties met with their rewards.


CHAPTER XIV


THEATRICAL TALES

T HE most popular and widely known tales of early Chi-
nese life are those which concern the events at the close
of the Han dynasty, when the country was divided into the
Three Kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu. These were woven
into a series of historical dramas called the San Kuo Chih Yen I
by Lo Kuan-chung in the twelfth century, and soon became the
most stirring national events that have ever been produced on
the stage. The period covered is from 1 68 to 265 a.d. The
narrative begins with the domination of the eunuchs during the
reign of Ling Ti when the Empress Tou was regent. It was
against the power of the eunuchs that the great literary states-
man, Li Ying, vainly hurled himself at the cost of his life.
Soon the rebellion of the “Yellow Turbans” (Huang Chin)
broke out, headed by Chang Chio who succeeded in raising a
force of nearly four hundred thousand men. This large body
of men had been brought together by a common belief in the
magical powers of Chang Chio and of his two brothers. These
men made capital of this popular trust in their powers, fra-
ternized with the eunuchs and plotted insurrections.

During the rebellion, Liu Pei entered into a solemn covenant
with Kuan Yu and Chang Fei, which was known as the “ Peach-
Orchard Oath ” (T’ao Yuan San Chieh I), the purpose of
which was to reclaim the declining fortunes of the Han dy-
nasty. These three men, among seven hundred characters,
became the central figures of the drama; though this position
would scarcely be warranted by historic facts. Of the three,
Liu Pei is the foremost as was his right on account of his being


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175


the descendant of the Imperial House of Han and himself
the founder of the Han dynasty in Shu, the modern Szechuan.
He is represented as a paragon of kingly virtue. He was al-
ways calm and dignified. The men associated with him gave
him the respect due to a king. He had some ability as a leader
up to the time when he became King} then he lapsed into a
state of helplessness, such as is supposed to be natural to this
position. He was stern and devoted to justice even to the point
of throwing to the ground his infant son who had been rescued
with his mother by the personal valour of his General, Chao
Yiin. He blamed the child for causing a valuable general to
run the risk of losing his life. He himself was by no means
brave under all circumstances, for when defeat came he took
refuge in flight, leaving his generals and soldiers to their fate.
He had an extraordinary personal appearance. His ears were
so long that they reached to his shoulders, his arms reached be-
low his knees and he could look behind him with his eyes.

The rise of the Three Heroes was very slow. They wan-
dered from place to place associating themselves at one time
with one leader, and then with another. Sometimes they
helped Ts’ao Ts’ao, and again they are found on the side of
Ts’ao’s enemies. They met with no signal success until Liu
Pei discovered the hermit, Chu-ko Liang, in his reed hut. Liu
Pei was astonished to find the profound knowledge of Chu-ko
Liang, and likened his discovery to that of a fish being restored
to the water. The record of this meeting of Liu Pei with
Chu-ko Liang occupies three chapters of the drama, thus
emphasizing the importance of this extraordinary man. After
the aid of this great General has been secured, the drama nar-
rates the preparations for the great battle at Ch’ih Pi, the mod-
ern Chia Yu Hsien, about fifty miles west of Hankow, on the
Yangtze River. The army of Ts’ao Ts’ao is represented as
numbering about one million men, and so confident was this
immense force of its success that it lay idle for a whole month


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176

waiting for Liu Pei to appear. Previous to the great battle
there had been innumerable fights and skirmishes in which
various heroes showed their prowess, but the battle had no
sooner begun than it ended in the utter rout of Ts’ao Ts’ao.
After this great exploit little is said of the two other heroes,
Kuan Yu and Chang Fei, whereas much is made of the wonder-
ful deeds of Chu-ko Liang. He headed an expedition to the
south where he performed many deeds of valour against the
turbulent barbarians called Man I. Liu Pei rose rapidly to
power and founded his new Han dynasty with his capital at
Ch’eng-tu. This kingdom was not so powerful as that of Wei
founded by Ts’ao Ts’ao, nor so wealthy as that of Wu founded
by Sun Ch’uan, but lesser attention is paid to these two king-
doms in the plot of the drama, which makes Liu Pei the leading
person.

Kuan Yu was the noblest of the Three Heroes. He re-
mained faithful to the oath which he had sworn in the Peach
Garden and was always true in his allegiance. Though he was
a great warrior, he remained a kindly man, as shown by his
allowing Ts’ao Ts’ao to escape from punishment by death for
carelessness. When Ts’ao Ts’ao had made him many valuable
presents, he returned to his companions still clad in the old
armour which had been given to him by his sworn brother. He
fought bravely against Sun Ch’uan, and rejected the offer of
mercy, though he paid the penalty of it with his life. He had
a striking personality, his long flowing beard making him very
distinguished in appearance.

Ts’ao Ts’ao was the villain of the drama. He was bold but
stupid, and is represented as always falling into traps which
were laid for him. He is resourceful in plans but always fails
to carry them to completion. His cruelty was constantly being
shown by the severe punishments which he meted out to all
who opposed his will. He killed the entire household of his
father’s sworn brother with his own hands and he attempted


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to assassinate Tung Cho. He was not wholly devoid of kind-
ness, as is shown by his treatment of Kuan Yu while he was his
prisoner, finally allowing him to escape. He was bold and
intolerant, and it was these qualities which brought about his
death. He had decided to build a great palace for himself
and, in order to obtain a large pillar, ordered a pear-tree to be
cut down. Whenever the axe struck the tree groans proceeded
from it. This irritated Ts’ao Ts’ao and he determined to cut
the tree down himself, but at his first stroke he was splashed
with blood. During the following night the spirit of the tree
visited him, and after reprimanding him for what he had done,
struck him a blow on the head. This blow threw him into a
delirium, during which the spirits of the hundreds of people
whom he had slain, tormented him, and from this he never
rallied.

Chang Fei takes an unimportant part in the development of
the plot. He is described as being eight feet in height, with
large round eyes, sharp jaws, a head like a leopard and whisk-
ers like a tiger. He was courageous on all occasions, at one
time taking his stand upon a bridge and defying the whole of
Ts’ao Ts’ao’s army. He was the faithful adjutant of Liu Pei
and became his Minister after Liu Pei had set up his new
dynasty.

The other great hero of the book is Chu-ko Liang, who is
generally given the affectionate title of K’ung Ming. It would
be impossible to exaggerate the extraordinary virtues which are
ascribed to this man. Everything he attempted or advised was
certain of success. He is the perfect example of a brilliant
genius combined with exemplary virtue. He was able to call
to his aid not only the useful inventions which he contrived, but
also extraordinary powers which no one else understood.

Innumerable tales have been told concerning the great deeds
of this wonderful man. The following is an interesting ex-
ample of his brilliance in military strategy. In consultation


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178

with Chou Yu, a clever young statesman, regarding the plan
of attack of their enemy Ts’ao Ts’ao, K’ung Ming stated that
Ts’ao Ts’ao had collected an army of a million men and
would probably attack them by water. He then inquired what
would be the best weapons to use in frustrating such an attack.
Chou Yu answered that they would need bows and arrows, but
that the army was extremely short of arrows and would need
at least one hundred thousand. K’ung Ming promised on
penalty of his life to produce the required number in three
days. He then asked for twenty or thirty large boats, a large
quantity of straw and cloth, and about forty soldiers who were
to bring drums and gongs with them. When all these were
produced, K’ung Ming had the straw made up into shapes
like men, which were clothed and placed in position on the
decks. Very early on the morning of the third day, K’ung
Ming and a counsellor of Chou Yii’s named Lu Hsiin, who
had been detailed to watch events, went aboard one of the
vessels with the forty soldiers, the whole fleet was then un-
moored and the boats floated down-stream. Just as the boats
approached Ts’ao Ts’ao’s fleet, a heavy fog fell, all of which
had been correctly calculated by K’ung Ming. He then or-
dered the soldiers to beat their gongs and drums and make as
much noise as possible. Ts’ao Ts’ao’s archers, alarmed, and
fearing an attack, fired in the direction of the sound. This
firing continued for over an hour, when K’ung Ming ordered a
retreat. As they retired, he ordered his soldiers to shout their
thanks to Ts’ao Ts’ao for his liberal supply of arrows. The
arrows were found in greatest profusion, sticking to the straw
dummies. Over a hundred thousand were thus collected from
the enemy without the loss of a single life.

Supernatural powers and extraordinary events are frequently
mentioned in the drama. The magical leaders who were with
the Yellow Turbans were able to cause stones to fly, fierce winds
to arise, and paper men to appear from the earth. When an


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179

army of men from the kingdom of Wei had attacked the terri-
tory of Shu, K’ung Ming frightened them away by suddenly
appearing in a ghostly form. When K’ung Ming was on his
southern expedition, an old hermit gave him information re-
garding the best way to attack his enemies, and to Ts’ao Ts’ao
an old white-haired stranger appeared telling him how he
could build a wall about his camp. At important crises clever
advice is given by some previously obscure person, and this ad-
vice leads to a great victory. At one time the General Chao
Yiin appeared with a small troop at the critical moment, when
it seemed certain that Kung-sun Chao would be defeated. The
marvellous personal appearance of Chao Yiin accomplished in
a few moments what Kung-sun Chao’s army dared not attempt.
Leaders burst into beleaguered cities or arrive with dispatches
just when the turn of events is most urgent. Rescuing forces
are hidden in convenient ravines or behind trees, ready to ap-
pear at the opportune time. Such incidents are not necessarily
historical but they contribute their share to this remarkable
drama, the parts of which have been presented in all proba-
bility to more hearers than any similar production in the history
of the world. This summary is a very inadequate presentation
of San Kuo Chih, which would require a book devoted wholly
to its translation if one tried to describe all its scenes.

Kuo Ai of the T’ang dynasty was the son of Kuo Tzu-i. He
was one of a large family of seven sons and eight daughters.
On account of the great merit of his father, the Emperor T’ai
Tsung arranged the marriage of his daughter with Kuo Ai.
This was a high honour, but was considered appropriate, inas-
much as Kuo Ai’s father had already been raised to the rank
of Prince of Feng-yang. The young couple did not get on
very well together, the husband boasting that it was due to the
merit of his father that the Emperor held his throne, and the
wife making too much of her rank as a Princess. One day
Kuo Ai told his wife that she might be very proud of having


180 CHINESE MYTHOLOGY

an Emperor for her father, but that if his father wanted to be
Emperor he could easily become such. At this she became very
angry and said some harsh things to her husband, whereupon
he twice slapped her on the face. She rushed off in a rage to
tell her father, the Emperor, and accused her husband of dis-
loyalty on account of the remarks which he had made about his

father, Kuo Tzu-i.
The Emperor took the
episode very calmly
and said that the squab-
ble which they had had
was probably due en-
tirely to their youth.
While the daughter
was stating her case to
her father, Kuo Tzu-i
himself appeared upon
the scene bringing his
son Kuo Ai with him,
whom he had bound in
chains. He requested
the Emperor to order
the summary execution
of his son for the dis-
respect which he had
shown to the Emperor’s daughter. The Emperor refused to
do so and with magnanimity of spirit pardoned everybody.

Other theatrical tales centre around Yo Fei and his wife.
After the death of Yo Fei’s father he was taught by his
mother, and many instances are dramatized depicting the care
which the mother took of her son. She chose for him a good
wife, and after his marriage he obtained the highest degree in
the national examinations. After volunteering for service in
suppressing the northern invaders, he himself became the vie-



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tim of false charges. Being imprisoned he was obliged to be
absent from his family, and many songs are introduced into
plays praising the virtue of Yo Fei in placing public duty be-
fore that which he owed to his mother. When Yo Fei returns
home he finds his wife and inquires from her where his mother
is. His wife informs him that his mother divides her time
between teaching his young son and worshipping Buddha. He
hastens to see his mother and tells her it was only on account
of his desire to see her that he left camp. The mother replies
that her only wish is that her son should be loyal to the Em-
peror. The mother and wife are torn between the two natural
feelings of keeping Yo Fei at home and of wishing him to do
his duty to his country. It was the time when the Emperor had
been taken prisoner by the Nii-chen Tartars and the capital
was in the hands of the enemy. Yo Fei wanted to go to the
rescue of the Emperor, but could not persuade himself that it
was right for him to do so in view of what he should do for
his mother. His mother remonstrated with him for this and
insisted that he should go. Before sending him off she tattooed
four characters on his back which meant “ Serve your country
with pure loyalty.” Yo Fei left his mother and his wife with
their blessings upon his head, although he had assured both
that it was probable he would never return.

The last days of the unfortunate Ming Emperor, Ch’ung
Cheng, 1427—1444 a.d., were full of stirring events, some of
which have been dramatized in the famous tragedy “ The
Lamentation of Ch’ung Cheng ” {Ch’ung Cheng T’ah). The
scenes that took place between the Emperor and his family on
the fatal days which resulted in the capture of Peking on
April 9, 1444, by the rebel Li Tzii-ch’eng, are depicted with
striking detail. The Emperor recalls the calamities which have
befallen the Empire during the seventeen years of his rule —
famine, flood, pestilence, drought, fire — all ending in rebel-
lion which his own troops were powerless to quell. Entering


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CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


her court-yard he beheld the Empress shedding bitter tears,
but seeing the troubled face of the Emperor she restrained her
own feelings and tried to comfort him. While they were
talking together the boom of cannon and the neighing of horses
mingled with the shouts of the men who were attacking the
city. Their son entered and the Emperor left him with his
mother while he remained wrapped in his own gloomy
thoughts. Suddenly he realized that the two had been gone
for a very long time and started to find them, only to discover
that the Empress had thrown herself into a well. While he
was lamenting the death of his Empress his beautiful young
daughter hastened to his side. The Emperor said to her:
“ How can I allow you to fall into the hands of the rebels? ”
and thereupon, after tenderly embracing her, slew her with
his own sword. He then commanded a servant to go with him
to Coal Hill (properly called Prospect Hill or Ching Shan)
and to bring writing material. The Emperor partially dis-
robed himself and climbed, bare-headed and bare-footed, half-
way up the eastern side of the hill. Here he stopped to write
his last words: “ Rebels have captured the Empire. How can
I face my ancestors? Do what you like with my body, but do
not injure my innocent people.” He put this writing into
his pocket, loosened his own silk girdle, went up a fir-tree, to
a limb of which he tied the girdle and thus hanged himself.
When the victorious Li Tzu-ch’eng had been led to the
spot where the Emperor was hanging, he ordered the body
to be taken down and treated with respect. “This was an
Emperor who loved his people,” was his comment when Li
read the paper which was taken from the body of the dead
Emperor.

There are many other plots centreing around great characters
such as were conspicuous at the founding of the various dy-
nasties. In contrast with these historical plays are those with
modern plots which are to a certain extent didactic. As an

[Prometheus]

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183

example of such plays the following is a summary of “ The
Willow Lute ” {Liu Ssu Ch’in). This play has been popular
in China for the last two generations.

Li Chi was a wealthy merchant whose wife had died leaving
him a son, Po T’ung, and a daughter Kwei Chi. He had mar-
ried for a second time, taking to wife a woman by the name
of Yang San-chun. It became necessary for Li Chi to take a
business trip into a distant province. While he was gone his
wife entered into a low intrigue with a wealthy libertine of the
city, T’ien Wang. One day Po T’ung, the son, saw this man
coming out of his step-mother’s room, and violently accusing
him, he drove him out of the house with blows. The step-
mother flew into a towering rage, and when Kwei Chi, the
sister, and her old nurse came to Po T’ung’s assistance, she set
the girl to grinding rice and sent the boy to the hills to gather
fuel.

Kwei Chi and the old nurse followed Po T’ung out to the
hills, and Kwei Chi begged her brother to go at once and seek
their father, giving him her ear-rings and head ornaments to
pay for his travelling expenses. After bidding him an affec-
tionate farewell, Kwei Chi watched until he was out of sight,
and then in the presence of her old nurse, jumped into the
river, saying she would rather die than return to her step-
mother. The nurse returned home mourning, but with re-
venge in her heart against the wicked Yang San-chun.

But Kwei Chi was not drowned, for the Water-god of the
river rose out of the depths and bore her away in his arms. It
happened that same day that a retired officer, Liu Hsiao-hsiang,
with his wife, Lady Wang, was travelling on the river in a great
junk. The Water-god brought Kwei Chi to the surface close
by the boat, and she was rescued and taken on board. The old
couple were so impressed with Kwei Chi’s sad story and so
charmed with her appearance that, being childless, they decided
to adopt her as their own daughter.


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184

The fate of Po T’ung had not been so happy. He wandered
far and wide in search of his father until his money was all
spent. Worn and discouraged, he sought refuge in a monastery,
where the old abbot took him in as an acolyte. The prefect of
that district, coming to the monastery one day to offer incense to
the gods, was so much struck with the appearance of Po T’ung
that he offered to adopt him. The abbot willingly let him go
with the prefect, who promised to educate him in such a way
that Po T’ung should have every opportunity for official ad-
vancement.

Meanwhile, sad things had been happening at the home of
Li Chi. The old nurse, after seeing her beloved charge drown
herself, as she thought, returned home to accuse Yang San-
chun, and was kicked and beaten to death by her and her low
companions. Shortly after, a new complication arose. Chao
Chung, who was betrothed to Kwei Chi, came to the house to
make final arrangements for the marriage. Yang San-chun
invited him to wait in the library, and then plotted with T’ien
Wang that they should keep him there until the middle of the
night when they would set fire to the building. But as Chao
Chung waited there, the ghost of the old nurse appeared and
told him of all the evil doings of the wicked step-mother, the
supposed death of poor Kwei Chi, and the plot against his own
life. Chao Chung, incredulous at first, was finally convinced
and fled. His plight was indeed pitiful, for his father had died
leaving him very poor. He tried to make a living by writing,
but was robbed of what little he had, and finally was reduced to
begging and came to the door of Liu Hsiao-hsiang, the retired
soldier who had adopted Kwei Chi. Liu was struck with his in-
telligent expression, and on questioning him, found that Chao
Chung’s father had been one of his closest friends. So Liu at
once took Chao Chung into his family, to give him every chance
for study in order that he might attain literary eminence.

Chao Chung’s troubles were now over, but his heart was still


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185

sore at the loss of Kwei Chi, and he would often take his willow
lute, the emblem of his betrothal, and sing to himself of his
sorrow and his loneliness. One day he happened to leave the
lute in the garden, where Kwei Chi, whom of course he had not
yet seen, found it. She recognized it at once as the lute which
had been given to her lover as a marriage pledge, and rushed in
to ask her adopted father and mother how it chanced to be there.
In response to their questions she told them of her betrothal to
Chao Chung. They were delighted at the amazing coincidence,
and asking Kwei Chi to retire, they sent for Chao Chung.
When he came in, old Liu Hsiao-hsiang suggested that a mar-
riage might be arranged between Chao Chung and their daugh-
ter. Chao Chung told them of his betrothal to Kwei Chi and
said he desired no other wife. They then called for Kwei Chi,
and the surprise and delight of these two young people at find-
ing each other again was beyond description. The marriage
was at once arranged and took place amid great festivities.

But while things were going so well with the son and daugh-
ter, their poor old father, Li Chi, had fallen upon terrible days.
He returned from his long trip penniless, having been robbed
by two highwaymen of all his earnings. He reached home to
be greeted by the news from his wife that his son and daughter
had both died of a serious illness. As he was mourning them,
a maid-servant came to him and told him the truth about his
wife’s unfaithfulness and the fate of Po T’ung and Kwei Chi.
Yang San-chun overheard the maid’s charge, flew to her evil
associate, T’ien Wang, and together they plotted the most
wicked deed of all. They kicked the poor maid-servant to
death, placed her body in the room of Li Chi, and then T’ien
Wang went to the magistrate’s office and accused Li Chi of hav-
ing outraged and murdered the girl. Li Chi was brought be-
fore the magistrate and tortured on the rack until he confessed,
to save his poor old bones, whereupon he was thrown into prison.

Meanwhile Chao Chung passed his literary examinations bril-


1 86


CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


liantly and was appointed magistrate of the district of Pao
Ch’ing, Kwei Chi’s old home. With his wife he proceeded at
once to take up his new appointment. Poor old Li Chi was be-
ing tortured in his prison-cell while his sufferings were un-
known to his own daughter living happily so near him. The
god, Tai Po, one night took pity and conveyed the words and
groans of Li Chi to the ears of his daughter. She thought she
had been dreaming, but the next morning made inquiries and
found that in truth it was her own father who was thus confined
and suffering. She sent for him, and, having disguised herself
so that he would not recognize her, heard his sad tale of the
unjust accusation and her step-mother’s crime. Kwei Chi went
at once to her husband to plead for her father’s release. He
said he could do nothing, since the old man had made a written
confession, but that the new Governor would be arriving that
day and that the case might be laid before him. But there was
one difficulty. In the absence of the old man’s son, who could
appear to plead for him? Kwei Chi immediately said that
since her brother was not there she herself would plead in his
stead. When Chao Chung protested that such an act would
disgrace him as a magistrate, Kwei Chi said that to save her
father’s name she would despise any office and climb to Heaven
or crawl to the depths of the earth. Her husband was much
touched by her filial devotion and promised to help her, regard-
less of the public consequences.

The Governor arrived, entered the Hall of Justice, and
called for the first case. Kwei Chi was brought before him and
handed him a statement of her suit. The Governor commenced
to read it, started violently, looked at Kwei Chi, then ordered
the court to be cleared and Kwei Chi conducted to an inner
room. When he followed her in, she discovered that the Gov-
ernor was none other than her long-lost brother, Po T’ung.
Her husband, the magistrate, came in and joined in the happy
reunion, and their father Li Chi was at once sent for. He ar-


THEATRICAL TALES 187

rived to find his family restored to him, and their happiness
was complete. And as for the wicked Yang San-chun and her
companion, they found the fate that they deserved on the exe-
cution-ground.


CHAPTER XV


BUDDHIST MYTHS

B UDDHISM entered China from Central Asia in the year
67 a.d., during the reign of the Emperor Ming Ti. The
two bonzes, Matanga and Gobharana, brought with them Bud-
dhist books which they are said to have carried on the back of a
white horse. They settled at Lo-yang which was then the capi-
tal, and the Emperor built for them, east of the city, the first
monastery in China and named it “ The Monastery of the
White Horse ” (Pai Ma Ssu). The buildings on this site have
been repaired many times during succeeding dynasties. Bud-
dhism made slow progress in China. The bonzes, who were
nearly all foreigners, devoted their time to the translation of
books. In the Chin dynasty, during the latter part of the third
century a.d., Buddhism began to flourish under Imperial pat-
ronage. During the reign of An Ti of the Eastern Chin dy-
nasty, Fa Hsien made his famous journey to India to secure
books, pictures and relics. The Chin dynasty was succeeded by
the Liu Sung, 420 a.d., and during this dynasty Buddhism
made further progress in propaganda. Wu Ti, 502— 550 a.d.,
the founder of the Liang dynasty, aided in disseminating the
new faith and set an example to his people by taking monastic
vows and by public preachings of Buddhistic doctrines. It was
during his reign that the Indian patriarch, Bodhidharma, who
was the twenty-eighth successor of Buddha, came to China by
sea, landing at Canton. He was well received by the Emperor
at Nanking and continued his journeys northward to the region
ruled by the Northern Wei dynasty, generally known as the
House of Toba. Here he entered the Shao Lin Temple on


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189

the Sung Mountain where he sat for ten years in contemplation
with his face to the wall. He was the founder of Zen, a
Mahayana School, which later became the most prominent and
widely diffused sect of Buddhism in China. Its teachings
agreed in almost all particulars with the ethical teachings of Lao
Tzu in the Tao Teh King, and the methods of its hermit de-
votees corresponded to those of the early ascetic followers of
the Tao. This likeness of the Mahayana teachings to those of
the liberal philosophers of early China accounts chiefly for the
later rapid spread of Buddhistic doctrines throughout the coun-
try. This religion was recognized as foreign in origin, but it
was claimed to be Chinese in reality as far as its teachings were
concerned. In later centuries its foreign elements caused it to
be persecuted, as in 446 a.d. when Ts’ui Hao discovered a secret
supply of arms in a Buddhist temple at Ch’ang-an, on account
of which Buddhism was prohibited, priests were put to death
and temples burned. Again in the eighth and tenth centuries
there were severe persecutions, but during all the opposition the
close resemblance of the teachings of the Mahayana sect to the
contemplative asceticism of the followers of the Tao preserved
for it a place in the national life of China. After the rise of
Taoism as an organized religion under the Emperor T’ai Tsung
of the T’ang dynasty, it was recognized that there were but few
distinctions between the Mahayana type of Buddhism and the
established form of Taoism. Taoism adopted to a large extent
the Buddhistic methods of organization, and Buddhism on its
part sloughed off more and more its foreign characteristics.
There came to be three religions, San Chiao, recognized offi-
cially throughout the country, viz. Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism.

In previous chapters no mention has been made of the myths
connected with Buddhism, for the reason that any myths which
are peculiar to it are foreign in their origin and therefore can-
not be considered as Chinese even though they are current


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among the people. Most of the other Buddhistic myths which
are of Chinese origin are shared in common with Taoism ; but
a few remain exclusively Buddhistic. One of the most noted
mythological accounts is that of the adventures of Yuan
Chuang, a priest of the seventh century, who travelled to India
in search of Buddhist books. On his return he dictated an ac-
count of his travels to Pien Chi, and his narrative is chiefly con-
cerned with a description of the various countries through which
he had passed during his journey of sixteen years. This book
is called Ta Hang Hsi Yu Chi (“Western Travels in the
T’ang Dynasty ”). During the Yuan dynasty the noted Taoist
Ch’iu Ch’u-chi was sent by the Emperor Genghis Khan to India
and was accompanied by his pupil Li Chih-ch’ang. On their
return Li wrote the account of their wanderings and of the
miraculous events which he had learned to have happened to
the priest Yuan Chuang on his earlier visit.

The title of Li’s book is taken from the earlier one, and it is
called Hsi Yu Chi. This later book is full of miraculous events
which, although they are interpreted from a Taoist standpoint,
are all connected with the Buddhistic monk Yuan Chuang, and
for this reason are classified under the heading of Buddhistic
myths. The first part of this book contains an account of the
wonderful genealogy of Yuan Chuang.

There was a young student by the name of Chen Kuang-jui,
of the city of Hai-chow. Hearing that a competitive examina-
tion was to be held in the capital city of Ch’ang-an, he decided
to go up and try his fortune. When the examination was over
it was found that Chen had taken first place. He was at once
appointed to a magistracy in Kiang Chow, whither he proceeded
with his old mother and his bride, the daughter of the Chan-
cellor Wei Cheng. After a few days of travel, the old lady
became so fatigued that they stopped at an inn to rest. One
morning Chen bought a yellow carp from an old fisherman,
thinking that his mother would enjoy it. But as he carried off


BUDDHIST MYTHS


191

his purchase he noticed that the fish had closed its eyes, and he
remembered an old saying that a fish which closed its eyes was
not what it seemed to be. So he at once threw the fish back into
the river. After staying some days at the inn, they found that
the old mother was still not able to travel. As Chen was
obliged to be at his post by a certain time, he got a house for his
mother, made her quite comfortable and then proceeded on his
journey with his wife.

When they came to the river Ch’ang Kiang, they took a boat
to be ferried across. One of the boatmen, named Liu Hung,
became enamoured of the beauty of Chen’s wife, and with the
aid of one of his companions, concocted a wicked plot. They
waited until it was dark, and, when they had reached a deserted
spot, they fell upon Chen and his servant, murdered them and
threw their bodies into the river. The young wife tried to
throw herself in after her husband, but was prevented by Liu
Hung who dressed himself in Chen’s clothes, secured his letter
of appointment, and set out for Kiang Chow. Chen’s body
sank to the bottom of the river, where it was found by one of
the spirits of the night-watch and reported to the Dragon King.
The Dragon commanded the body to be brought before him,
and at once recognized Chen; for, as it happened, the Dragon
himself had been in the body of the fish which Chen had re-
stored to the water. The Dragon at once ordered that Chen’s
ghost and soul should be brought to him from the temple where
they had taken refuge. When the ghost of Chen had appeared
before the Dragon King, and had described in detail the foul
murder, the Dragon in return told of his indebtedness to Chen,
invited his ghost to be a general in his own body-guard, and had
his body carefully wrapped up and preserved until the proper
time should come to restore Chen to life. On the journey to
Kiang Chow, Chen’s wife first resolved to kill herself, and then
decided that, as she was pregnant, it was her duty to wait until
her child was born. If it should be a son, he could avenge his


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CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


father’s death. When they reached Kiang Chow, the villain
Liu was accepted as the new magistrate, Chen. In due time
Chen’s wife gave birth to a son. When Liu Hung saw the
child he ordered it at once to be killed, but the mother begged
that he would wait until the next day, when she herself would
cast the child in the river. The next morning she bit her arm
and, with the blood, wrote on the baby’s clothing his name and
those of his parents, and why he had been cast into the river.
Then she bit a small piece out of the child’s right small toe so
that she would be able to recognize him in future, and wrapping
him up carefully took him to the river’s edge. Just as she was
about to cast him in, a plank came floating by. Thanking
Heaven for answering her prayers, she tied the child to the
plank and set him adrift. The plank floated away, and finally
grounded in front of the Chin Shan monastery where the abbot,
hearing a child’s cry, came out and rescued him. He read the
writing on the child’s clothing, put it away carefully, and
brought up the boy in the monastery. When he was eighteen,
he was made a Buddhist monk and was given the name of Yuan
Chuang. Finally the old abbot told him the tale of his arrival,
and showed him the blood-written characters on his baby-clothes
with their tragic story. Yuan Chuang immediately begged
leave to seek his mother, which the abbot granted. He found
her still at Kiang Chow, made himself known to her, and great
was her joy at the miraculous return of her son. They then
planned that Yuan Chuang should seek his grandfather, the old
Chancellor Wei, and through him petition the King for the
punishment of Liu Hung and his confederate. Yuan Chuang
at once set out for the capital. When the King heard the story,
he was so much incensed at the villainy of Liu Hung and the
deception which he had so long practised that he gave immedi-
ate orders for the arrest and punishment of the two criminals.
The Chancellor and Yuan Chuang went back to Kiang Chow
with the troops who were to carry out the King’s orders. Li

[Prometheus]

BUDDHIST MYTHS


193

Ku, the confederate, was first beaten and then cut into a thou-
sand pieces, while Liu Hung was taken to the river-bank near
the place where the murder was committed. There his heart
and his liver were torn out and burned, with sacrifices to the
spirit of the murdered Chen. The report of this was at once
carried to the Dragon King who summoned the ghost of Chen,
told him that his murderers had met their deserts and that, as his
wife and son were sacrificing on the river bank to him, he might
that day return to them. He then gave Chen many beautiful
gifts and ordered some of the spirits to release Chen’s body,
carry it to the mouth of the river, and there return to the body
its soul. As Chen’s wife was bewailing and lamenting her dead
husband at the edge of the river, suddenly a corpse was seen
floating toward them. As it came near, she recognized it as the
body of the long lost Chen. They drew it ashore, and as they
were wondering how such an amazing thing could have hap-
pened, suddenly the body began to move, and sat up. And
then Chen opened his eyes, to the astonishment and joy of his
wife and son. He appeared equally astonished at finding him-
self where he was, but soon heard the whole story. There was
great rejoicing all through the city at the resuscitation of Chen
Kuang-jui, and the King was so interested that he appointed
Chen to a high educational post. Yuan Chuang, the son, re-
turned to the Chin Shan monastery.

In every possible way Buddhism adapted itself to Chinese
opinions. It adopted Chinese architecture for its temples. It
allowed the government to impose upon it a form of organiza-
tion on the pattern of that of the State. It chose country sites
for its great monasteries, and gradually developed four great
centres in famous mountains which now rival, if indeed they
do not surpass, the original noted “ five mountains ” ( wu yo).
The four Buddhist mountains are (1) P’u-t’o, on an island
called by the same name off the coast of Chehkiang, near
Ningpo, (2) Chiu-hua, in the Province of Anhui, situated


194


CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


southwest of Wuhu, (3) Wu-t’ai, in the Province of Shansi,
and (4) O-mei, in the Province of Szechuan. By invoking
and honouring spiritual beings whom it found already existing
in China, Buddhism departed from the teaching of its founder,
and the chief intimate connection with this teaching was main-
tained through its insistence upon the duty of meditation. The
practice of meditation was well-known in China before the ar-
rival of Buddhism, and had been carried on from ancient times
by the “ Masters of Recipes” {fang shiK). These men were
known in the Chow dynasty and flourished in large numbers in
the Ch’in. They were recluses who devoted their whole time
to magical practices such as necromancy, exorcism and incanta-
tions. Buddhism found these men a good example for its own
priesthood and their abodes models for its temples.

There has never been any clear-cut distinction between Bud-
dhism and the teachings of the Liberal School which culminated
in the Taoist religion. This has been true not only among the
common people, but also among learned writers. Even the
Emperor Hui Tsung, 1100-1126 a.d., of the Sung dynasty,
who was an ardent supporter of Taoism, conferred upon Buddha
the title of “ The Golden Immortal of Great Knowledge ” (Ta
Chio Chin Hsien), thus incorporating him by Imperial author-
ity in the Taoist pantheon. The Chinese have given their own
adaptation in many instances to the Buddhistic deities brought
from India. The historic Buddha, Sakyamuni, is represented
in the attitude of meditation seated on a lotus-blossom, or as
about to enter Nirvana, when he is represented as the Sleep-
ing One (O-fo). The best known of the celestial Buddhas is
O-mi-t’o-fo (Amitabha) and his name is recited as the beads of
the rosary are counted. The Laughing Buddha, (Maitreya),
Mi-le-fo, is a tutelary deity in a class by himself. Among the
Bodhisattvas, or lower grade of deities, the most important is
Kuan Yin, goddess of Mercy. A Chinese legend makes her
the daughter of a King who lived in the seventh century b.c.,



Fig. 6i. A Hermit’s Mountain Hut



CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


196

though before the T’ang dynasty this deity was honoured as a
male figure. The development of the worship of Kuan Yin is
entirely due to Chinese influence, and she may be rightly con-
sidered as a Chinese deity. With her is associated another dis-
ciple, Ta-shih-chih, and together they are placed with the his-
toric Buddha as a Trinity of Three Holy Ones (San Sheng).
There are three other noted disciples, viz. Wen-shu (Man-
jusrl) who usually rides on an elephant, P’u-hsien who rides
on a lion, and Ti-tsang who is the Supreme Ruler of Hell and
has under him the twelve Kings of Hell. In addition to the
saints (Lo-han) and patriarchs, there are the tutelary gods who
are also adapted to Chinese ideas. Of these gods Wei T’o is
the best known. He is a warrior, with a sword which is some-
times held in his hands and sometimes rests crosswise on the
arms with the hands folded in prayer. Among these tutelary
gods is also found Kuan Ti (Kuan Yu) the national god of
war. In everything may be seen the moulding influence which
the traditional customs and beliefs of China have had upon the
form taken by Chinese Buddhism.

One of the best illustrations of the fusion of Buddhistic tra-
dition with indigenous beliefs is the account in the Shen Hsien
T'ung Chien of the feast given by the Pearl Emperor, Yu Ti,
to his assembled officers whom he wished to consult about his
proposed visit to the West for the purpose of studying Bud-
dhism. Yu Ti was distinctly an indigenous creation of the
Chinese mind, but he is also covered over with a heavy layer of
Buddhistic conceptions. The place where he assembled his offi-
cers was the Hall of the Thirty-third Heaven. He asked them
to help him to formulate plans for a visit to Buddha so that he
might receive instruction from him. Their united answer to
him contains the gist of the admixture of Buddhist and Taoist
thought which is now so common. They said: “ Every one,
who through seven generations has cultivated the principles of
the Immortals, and has not deviated from them, himself be-


BUDDHIST MYTHS


197

comes an Immortal. You have already attained this high hon-
our, but it will be necessary for you to follow your studies for
nine generations before you can go to the West. If you wish to
rid yourself completely from the miseries of life and death,
you must become incarnate, lead the life of a hermit, and by
practising virtue, finally become a Buddha. Otherwise your
wish cannot be fulfilled.” Yu Ti became a man, passed through
several incarnations, and finally was admitted to the Buddhist
paradise where he attained his desire of being taught by Buddha.
It is a long tale full of interesting details, all of which illustrate
the admixture or commingling of Buddhist and Taoist teach-
ings in such a manner that it is difficult to separate them.

The people of China have only adopted such Buddhistic
ideas as have been readily assimilated into their previous con-
ceptions. The ancient religion of China, both in its Conserva-
tive and Liberal forms, recognized the supervision and control
of mundane affairs by higher powers who rewarded the good
and punished the wicked. Their worship of ancestors showed
their belief in the continued existence of the soul after death.
It was therefore easy for the people to accept the Buddhistic
teaching about rewards and punishments with its accompani-
ments of Heavens and Hells, and also the doctrine of reincar-
nation or transmigration of souls. Buddhism became the
means for the delivery of souls from torment. Although this
doctrine of the lot of a soul in the future world being influ-
enced by prayers from this world is not in harmony with origi-
nal Buddhist teachings, it has been fostered among the common
people as if it were thoroughly orthodox. It is unquestionably
the emphasis which Buddhism has placed upon the relation of
man to the future world that has given it its strong hold upon
the people. Even with the highly educated and the highly pro-
moted, a change in circumstances or the facing of approaching
death attracts them to the teachings of Buddhism and to the
observance of its ceremonies. Notwithstanding the adherence


vm — 14


1 98 CHINESE MYTHOLOGY

of the people to many of the external observances of Buddhist
temples, it must be remembered that the people of China share
very little in the genuine ideas of Buddhistic teaching. They
observe such ceremonies as conform to the general principles of
their own indigenous religion which is represented on the one
hand by the State ceremonies, and on the other by the traditions
embodied in Taoism. China cannot be considered as a Bud-
dhistic nation.


CHAPTER XVI


CRITICISM

T HE way of the propagators of myths has not always been
smooth. Confucius said: “ Although you may respect
spiritual beings, hold them at a distance. This is the part of
wisdom.” This agnostic attitude toward everything supernat-
ural may be considered the ideal of the Confucian teaching; this
teaching exhausted man’s duty by circumscribing it within the
bounds of the known world.

Wang T’ung, 583-616 a.d., of the Sui dynasty, was a strong
opponent of all forms of myth. He upheld the teachings of
Confucius and criticised Tso-ch’iu Ming, the author of the Com-
mentary on the “ Spring and Autumn Annals ” (Tso Chuan ),
for introducing so many legends into his book. For the same
reason he condemned the “History” ( Shih Chi ) of Ssu-ma
Ch’ien and its supplement by Pan Ku. He was the first to
throw discredit upon the tradition of the Feng Shan ceremony
having been performed by seventy-two ancient Emperors, be-
ginning with Wu Huai and continuing down through the Hsia,
Shang and Chow dynasties. Wang T’ung was a man of upright
character and unusual intelligence. At nineteen years of age he
made a journey to the capital, Ch’ang-an, and laid before the
Emperor “Twelve Plans for Peace” (t’ai-p’ing shih-er ts y e ),
which were approved but pigeon-holed. He must be given
credit for having been one of the first critics of fables, but he
was as a voice crying in the wilderness. The T’ang dynasty,
which came into power shortly after Wang T’ung’s death, gave
no heed to his admonitory writings, although it is said that the
Emperor T’ai Tsung held them in high respect. They did not,


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CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


however, check or restrain the generations which immediately
succeeded him from becoming the most prolific sources of myths
in the long history of China.

It was not until the Sung dynasty that the pioneer work of
Wang T’ung received due recognition. Ma Tuan-lin, author
of Wen Hsien T’ung K’ao, praises his work. Ma himself was
an able critic. He canvassed the whole field of antiquity with
the view of expurgating it of myths and finding precedents for
the benevolent autocracy in which he believed. There was a
great amount of critical work done during the Sung dynasty,
but none was of greater importance than that of Ma Tuan-lin.

The most bitter as well as the most amusing critic of myths,
was Han Yu, 768-824 a.d., of the T’ang dynasty. In 819 he
was in the position of Censor when the Emperor Hsien Tsung
proposed to pay unusual respect to one of the finger-bones of
Buddha which had been preserved as a relic in a temple at Feng
Hsiang in Shensi Province. This bone was enclosed in a case
which could only be opened once in thirty years, but when
opened would bring great prosperity to the Empire. The Em-
peror ordered it to be escorted to the capital and opened in the
palace with elaborate pomp and ceremony. Following the ex-
ample of the Emperor all classes of the people from highest to
lowest offered gifts to the relic. Han Yu, single-handed, op-
posed the demonstration with a spirit which must be considered
heroic when the conditions of the times are remembered. In
his remonstrance Han Yu pointed out that Buddhism is only a
barbaric superstition which was introduced into China during
the Han dynasty. Previous to its arrival the Emperors of an-
tiquity lived to a good old age, the Empire was at peace and its
people contented. After this new teaching began, disorder and
ruin followed in close succession. The Empire was broken up
into small principalities and the dynasties were of short dura-
tion. The more devoted the rulers were to Buddhistic teaching,
the more disaster they brought upon themselves and the coun-


CRITICISM


201


try. When the first Emperor of the T’ang dynasty came to the
throne it was his original intention to prohibit Buddhism, but he
was dissuaded by his Ministers from carrying it into effect.
“ When you, the present Emperor, came to the throne I had
great expectations that you would carry out this proposal of
your illustrious ancestor, and was pleased when you issued pro-
clamations prohibiting the people from becoming Buddhist or
Taoist priests. Only a few years have passed since you took this
commendable action and now you are found reversing entirely
your former opinions. You have employed a host of priests to
escort a bone of Buddha to the capital. You must know that
this procedure cannot bring blessings upon yourself ; you must
have ordered it in the hope that it would lead the people to ex-
pect a prosperous year, or perhaps even for the purpose of
amusing them. The populace, however, misunderstands your
object and interprets what you have done as a sincere reverence
for Buddha. Soon you will see them observing all the objec-
tionable rites of this false religion to the neglect of their proper
duties to the State. It is ridiculous to pay such honour to the
bone of any dead person. In ancient times when funeral rites
were conducted with propriety it was not allowable to touch a
corpse, but now you have encouraged your Ministers to handle
such a loathsome object as the bone of a dead person. You must
renounce what you have done, throw the disgusting bone into
a river or burn it so as to warn the people against such infamous
delusions.”

These were the caustic words of Han Yii. Some of the Min-
isters recommended that he should be condemned to death for
such unjustifiable railing against his Sovereign 5 but a saner view
was taken by the Emperor himself, who appointed him to the
distant post of Prefect of Ch’ao-chou in Canton Province. Han
Yu later described this place in a memorial as the “ abode of
typhoons and crocodiles where the air is malarial and poison-
ous.” Here he remained during the tragic years when the Em-


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CHINESE MYTHOLOGY


peror came under the influence of the hated eunuch, Ch’eng
Ts’ui, and spent most of his time searching for the elixir of life.
It is generally believed that the Emperor was poisoned by one
of these potions, as was also his son and successor, Mu Tsung.
The calamities against which Han Yu had warned the Emperor
actually came to pass during the life-time of this faithful and
fearless Minister.

Han Yu had a delightful sense of humour along with his
keen discrimination. He issued a solemn proclamation against
crocodiles in the name of the Imperial power of which he was
the local representative. This was a sly thrust at the over-
weening complaisance of officials with the whims of the Em-
peror. The proclamation was issued in 820 a.d. and was ad-
dressed to the crocodiles. He reminded them of the lenience
with which he had treated them since he had assumed the office
of Prefect. This was in contrast even to what had been done
by ancient kings who had not hesitated to drive out all snakes,
reptiles and poisonous creatures. “ It is only because this place
is so far from the capital seat of Imperial power that you, croco-
diles, dare to lurk round in the waters of the coast where you
plunder food and propagate your young. However, I am the
duly appointed representative of the all-powerful Emperor
and am charged with the duty of caring for his people who live
in this district. In my high position of responsibility I shall not
allow myself to be terrorized by you, crocodiles. If you have
any intelligence you will listen to my words. Within three
days you are commanded to betake yourselves to the Great
Ocean where you will find myriads of fish upon which you can
feed. If you cannot reach a desirable place in three days I will
extend the time to five or even seven days, but beyond that
period I will not suffer your presence in these waters. If you
disobey my commands I will select the most expert of my offi-
cers and men and we shall come with bows and poisoned arrows
with which we shall utterly exterminate vour whole race.”


CRITICISM


203

It is characteristic of the credulity of the age in which Han
Yu lived that none of his contemporaries allowed themselves
to comment upon this proclamation except in terms which took
it seriously. One of them gravely remarks that following the
issuing of these orders a violent storm raged for several days
during which the crocodiles were all driven away. There could
be no better evidence than this of the grip of occult influences
in which the people of the T’ang dynasty were held.

A similar performance to that of Han Yu with the crocodiles
was enacted by Hu Yin of the Sung dynasty, who died 1151
a.d. It occurred in this same city of Ch’ao-chou. The “ Sung
Dynasty History ” ( Sung Shih ) records that when Hu Yin was
Prefect of Ch’ao-chou he heard of the mysterious powers of a
large serpent which, the priests claimed, had power to control
the prosperity of the district. Former incumbents of the office
of Prefect had been accustomed to pay high respect to this ser-
pent, but Hu Yin decided to expose the fallacious pretensions
which were claimed for it by the priests. He ordered it to be
brought to his official residence and then said to it: “ If you are
a spirit, change yourself into one within three days, or at the
end of that time I will kill you.” There was no transformation,
and Hu Yin carried out his threat, destroyed the serpent and
punished the deceitful priests.

Many other similar examples of opposition might be quoted,
but they would be lost in the multitude of corroborations of
miraculous interventions with which Chinese books are crowded.
As in every country, the intelligent objectors to superstitious
beliefs formed a small minority in the age in which they lived.
It is only by succeeding generations that the value of their
courageous criticism has been recognized. With the growth of
modern scientific knowledge there will be a gradual loosening
of the hold which these beliefs have upon the people, and the
work of the pioneer critics will be increasingly appreciated.