Feb., 1912. Jade. 185 



fact that the Vao-Vieh always appears on a background of meanders 

 emblematic of atmospheric phenomena. But it seems doubtful if 

 this view of the matter covers the whole ground of what the Chinese 

 have to say in regard to this monster. Prof. Hirth (The Ancient 

 History of China, pp. 84-87) has devoted a very ingenious discussion 

 to this subject which should be taken as the starting-point for further 

 investigations. It is very possible, as Hirth thinks, that the Tibetan 

 mastiff lent its features to the iconographic types of this monster, 

 since the mastiff was also deified in the shape of pottery figures to watch 

 the grave in the Han period, and we now know, also at the time of 

 the T'ang dynasty. I do not mean to have said anything conclusive 

 here, but merely wish in this connection to point to this monster as 

 an anthropomorphic conception, a subject which is deserving of a 

 thorough investigation. It is time to insist on viewing this monster 

 in the light of a deity, and not merely to regard it as a purely decorative 

 emblem of vases. 



