The Supernatural
The Supernatural
Gods 神
Gods 神
Gods control the living and the dead, as well as protect humans. Idealistically, they not only prevent calamities, but support worldly officials and even fulfil individual wishes. On the lowest level of the supernatural hierarchy are the household gods, for example the god of the kitchen stove (zaoshen 灶神), who, at every New Year ascends to heaven, to report how the family he stays with has behaved during the year. It is therefore a custom to bribe him in advance, so that his account turns out more favourable (Thompson 1979, 7, 143, 144, 163; Smith 1994, 163; Feuchtwang 1974, 114–115 and Wolf 1974, 133–134). Following the domestic gods the next higher authorities, who are closest to humans, are the local gods like the City God (cheng huang 城隍) and his subordinate, the God of the Earth (tudi 土地).
Tudi can be compared to the superior of a local police station, since he controls the peace and security of a certain area. He represents the jurisdiction of the local temple and the bigger territory of the City God (Feuchtwang 1974, 124; Wolf 1974, 136). Next to his obligation to make sure that the newly dead arrive in the underworld, he also has authority over the ghosts in his district. Moreover, he is in control of the human inhabitants, makes notes of their activities and regularly informs the City God about this. The image of the City God is represented as a local magistrate and his temple looks like a yamen. He is responsible for the people in his district to die at the right time and, together with his report about them, arrive punctual in the underworld. He is in general reliable for the welfare of his jurisdiction. Ideally, the government magistrate has a good relationship with the City God, who thus builds an intersection between the elite and the common people (Wolf 1974, 134, 139; Lai 1982, 17–18; Zito 1996, 72–73 and Sharot 2001, 74). 'As a rule, each newly appointed magistrate, before assuming his official duties, secluded himself in the local City God temple overnight to report to the local deity and offer a sacrifice, which usually includes an oath that he would be honest and upright.' (Smith 1994, 161) Since a good co-operation with the City God also depends on the moral integrity of the official, he is partially responsible for the requested efficiency of the God. It is thus unlikely, that a magistrate would admit having received no help from the City God. Where an unsuitable collaboration with the City God can lead to is made clear in the following entry:
[…] There once was a district magistrate, who had to investigate a murder case. When the trial lasted for many days without leading to a sensible conclusion, the magistrate went to the Cheng Huang-temple. He asked the God to give him a sign in a dream. Thereafter he dreamt that the God arrived in the company of a ghost. The ghost held a jug made of clay in which more than ten fragile, green and lovely bamboo shoots could be seen. Upon waking up, the magistrate was of the opinion, that concerning the law case, a certain Zhu must be the murderer, because his name and the word for bamboo [zhú 竹] have the same sound. The suspect was severely tortured, but this led to no testimony.
A man by the name of Jie [節 bamboo knot] was also involved in the case and the magistrate concluded, that since bamboo has knots, he must be the murderer. The man was also severely tortured, but once more this did not lead to a confession. The chance to remain alive had been one to nine for both men and nevertheless, they did survive the torture. Not knowing what else to do, the magistrate handed the case to the higher authorities, and asked them to find the murderer [...] (LY IV.8).
Ji Yun remarks that the method the magistrate used is generally employed to deceive uneducated people, in order to scare them and confess the truth. Even if one really tries to base ones' judgement according to a dream, far-fetched interpretations can easily lead to wrong conclusions. It is therefore much more sensible to try to find the truth through facts and interrogation.
There are about 60 stories about gods in the compilation. Next to a majority of unspecific gods (shen 神), mainly the City God and the God of the Earth are mentioned in these narratives. Furthermore, the God of War (Guandi 關帝), a God of the Mountain (shanling 山靈), of Literature (wenchang 文昌), General Zhou (周將軍), and the God of Taishan (dongyue東嶽) appear in the notes. It is told how the Thunder God (leishen 雷神) chases demonic essences (jingmei 精魅), and how the bodhisattva Guanyin (觀音) gives a nun benevolent advice. Moreover a Tiger God (shenhu 神虎), a Horse God (mashen 馬神), and a God of the Seed (qingmiao 青苗) figure, as well as a God of the Water (shuishen 水神). In one entry, Ji Yun ponders if there is only one Kitchen God (zaoshen 灶神) or various different ones and if so, how many there could possibly be. The God of the Earth is frequently concerned with the local ghosts and punishes disrespectful behaviour of individuals, whereas the City God decides about matters of the living and morally examines the newly dead. It is often described that the God of the Earth and the City God are both responsible for the keeping of the time of someone's death. Their subordinated ghosts are then to fetch the soul of the dead person or accompany it on its passage to the underworld. Incidents easily happen on these occasions, such as confusion with names, or problems with people who simply refuse to die. For example, a ghost cannot fetch a pietistic woman at the proper time of her death, because she is busy self-sacrificially caring for her ill mother-in-law; or a mother, who is looking too devotedly after her fatally ill son, has to be outwitted, in order that the son can die.
The gods of the YWCT often help innocent and good persons in an emergency situation and individuals who ask for their support. They offer practical help, good advice, give instructions, or make predictions. Gods punish bad characters and disrespectful behaviour either by direct or indirect chastisement. They especially penalize individuals because of lack of respect towards them, such as drunkenness, indecent actions, eating, drinking, and gambling in the temple, or being unclean while sacrificing. The penalties differ widely and range from a harmless startling of the person in question, to beatings, illness, and death. Compared to heaven, gods appear as more helpful towards the protagonists.
Persons of the elite are rarely helped or punished, but more often gods engage in a conversation with officials and scholars. The stories figuring a scholar as a protagonist do often have an informative value, since the god explains something to the human or edifies him morally. This is also the case in the only narrative in which a scholar is penalized because of disrespectful behaviour. The scholar is scandalised to receive lashings for sleeping naked in the temple. He justifies his action to the god by pointing out that some small traders are even sleeping in the main hall. Therefore, how can it be that only he is being punished? The god answers, that for these men it is all right to sleep there, but not for him as an educated person. Ji Yun is backing this argument by remarking, that in the Spring- and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu 春秋) virtuous and educated men are judged most rigidly. Neither should they try to be different from commoners nor compromise; but to take the behaviour of others as an excuse is entirely wrong (LY VI.30).
It is also possible, that a scholar is more pedantic than a god, as in the following story. The old Confucian Han Sheng from Ji Yun's home county Xian, is said to be very narrow-minded concerning the rites. One day, Han Sheng is fetched by a ghost and brought to the City God temple as it is supposed to be his dying day. At their arrival, it turns out that the ghost made a mistake and was to bring another man of the same name. The ghost is punished for this, but Han Sheng is still unsatisfied and continues to protest. Finally, the City God indignantly points out, that even heaven has irregularities, so how much more gods and ghosts? 'To make a mistake and realise it, is wisdom. To make a mistake and not hide it, is sincerity.'(LY: 68)
Next to the date of death, supernatural help with the official examinations are an important topic. Whereas one scholar receives help for the official examinations in a Guandi-temple, two other students are told by the God of Literature (wenchang 文昌) that their failure in the examinations is due to their predestination and former existence. This belief is also mentioned in another narrative. Ji Yun's former teacher, Li Ruolong 李若龍 (fl. 1752) tells how a student, who had failed in the examination, burns his books and official documents in a Wenchang-temple as a sign of protest. In the same night, the student dreams that the god says to him: "You studied half of your life and still do not know that wealth and poverty is predestined?"
In the Yuewei caotang biji, gods are shown as generally more helpful to individuals than Heaven. They are not displayed as authoritative or elitist, but rather reveal human shortcomings. In cases where gods do punish humans, this is most often because characters display irreverent behaviour towards them. The protagonists of all social classes have in common that they are surprisingly little afraid of, or respectful towards gods; whom even women from lower classes dare to contradict. Therefore, the gods in these narratives are not necessarily granted the respect due social superiors, and the otherworldly bureaucracy does not seem very important.
Examples
灤陽消夏錄 (LY)
LY IV.8 City God 城隍 does not help magistrate, who asks for help concerning lawsuit.
LY IV.34 City God 城隍 admonishes scholar, gives lecture.
LY V.23 God of Literature 文昌 appears angry failed examinee in his dream and reminds him of the meaning of 'fate' 命.
LY VI.41 Ji Yun's servant, who is lost in Xinjiang, finds dead man's provisions through the help of gods and ghosts.
LY VI.47 Lü xian 呂仙 helps Huo Bei 霍備 (b. 1688), who asks for prophetic dream.
如是我聞 (RS)
RS I.9 God (伽藍者) admonishes Shen Xuekun 申學坤 (fl. 1730) to show more tolerance towards monks.
RS III.69 God of the Earth 土地 protects grave of King Xian of Hejian 河間獻王墓 from robbers.
RS IV.53 God punishes the corpse of Lu Liuliang 呂留良 (1629–1683), who does not decompose, so that he can be posthumously punished in 1733; on corpses in general, Yuan Mei’s 袁枚 (1716–1798) 《新齊諧》.
槐西雜志 (HX)
HX III.5 Thoughts on the Kitchen God 灶神.
灤陽續錄 (LX)
LX III.22 God predicted He Gonghui's 何純齋 official career, but this only becomes clear posthumously.