AN official, named Chai, was appointed to a post at Jaochou, and on his way thither crossed the Poyang lake. Happening to visit the shrine of the local spirits, he noticed a carved image of the patriotic Ting P‘ulang, and another of a namesake of his own, the latter occupying a very inferior position. “Come! come!” said Chai, “my patron saint shan’t be put in the background like that;” so he moved the image into a more honourable place, and then went back on board his boat again. Soon after, a great wind struck the vessel, and carried away the mast and sails; at which the sailors, in great alarm, set to work to howl and cry. However, in a few moments they saw a small skiff come cutting through the waves, and before long they were all safely on board. The man who rowed it was strangely like the image in the shrine, the position of which Chai had changed; but they were hardly out of danger when the squall had passed over, and skiff and man had both vanished.
On the right and left sides of the entrance hall of Buddhist temples, two on each side, are the gigantic figures of the four great Diamond Kings of Heaven. They are four brothers named respectively Mo-li Ch’ing (Pure), Mo-li Hung (Vast), Mo-li Hai (Sea), and Mo-li Shou (Age). Mo-li Ch’ing, the eldest, is twenty-four feet in height, with a beard the hairs of which are like copper wire. He carries a magnificent jade ring and a spear, and always fights on foot. He has also a magic sword, ‘Blue Cloud,’ on the blade of which are engraved the four characters: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind. When brandished, it causes a black wind, which produces tens of thousands of spears, which pierce the bodies of men and turn them to dust. The wind is followed by a fire, which fills the air with tens of thousands of golden fiery serpents. A thick smoke also rises out of the ground, which blinds and burns men, none being able to escape. Mo-li Hung carries in his hand an umbrella, called the Umbrella of Chao...
Comments