NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 201 



in trouble and appeals to her for help. Sometimes she takes the form 

 of a king of demons in hell to help save people who are suffering 

 there — formerly there was such a god in the Taoist Green Goat 

 Monastery at Chengtu. Sometimes she carries a baby and is the 

 Kuanyin That Gives Sons. Sometimes she has one thousand hands 

 and arms and several heads so that she can hear and succor anybody 

 who is in trouble and appeals to her for help. A thousand-armed 

 goddess of mercy sometimes has an eye in the palm of each hand. 

 Kuanyin was noted 49 times in the temples of Chengtu. She is also 

 often found in private homes. 



Second in popularity in the Chengtu temples is the literary god of 

 wealth, found 45 times. With wealth a person or family has prestige, 

 power, honor, social position, and leisure. One can hire servants to 

 do the "bitter work," and all debts can be paid. The desire for wealth 

 is very strong in West China. 



Third in frequency in Chengtu is Sakyamuni, found 35 times. He 

 is the founder of the Buddhist religion and is highly honored among 

 Buddhists. He is said to have rejected all gods, but his followers have 

 deified him and believe in and worship many gods. 



Fourth is Kuan-yii, a great hero and warrior and a man of virtue 

 and high character who lived at the close of the Han dynasty and 

 the beginning of the Three Kingdoms. Until his death, he loyally 

 supported and fought for the last emperor of the Han dynasty, Liu-pi, 

 whose grave is in the grounds of a Taoist temple outside the Great 

 South Gate of Chengtu. The image of Kuan-yii is found in the tem- 

 ples 24 times, and he is worshiped by officials, warriors, and members 

 of secret societies. 



Fifth is Wei-t'o, protector of Buddhist law and Buddhist temples, 

 whose image was found 21 times. Clad in ancient armor and holding 

 a sword, he is found near the main entrance facing the interior of 

 the temple. 



Images of four different deities were reported as occurring 18 times. 

 They are the fire god, who protects homes and cities from fire, the 

 goddess who gives sons, the goddess who helps mothers have a quick 

 and easy delivery, and the goddess who heals measles and smallpox. 



Occurring 1 7 times each are the god of pestilences, who controls and 

 causes pestilences, and Ti-chang, the god of hell, who can save from 

 or condemn to the punishments of hell. 



Occurring 15 times each are Wen-ch'ang and Wen-shu, both of 

 whom are worshiped by students and scholars, who believe that these 

 gods will help them attain learning and become good scholars. 



