68 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



times be seen on which a picture of the god has been painted. They 

 are recognized and treated as real gods. The pictures of the door 

 gods are printed or painted on paper and pasted on the outsides of 

 the doors. At Chengtu a number of gods are printed in bright colors 

 on paper and distributed or sold to the people at New Year time. 

 They are pasted up in the homes to help protect them. The image of 

 the Kitchen God, which is found in practically every kitchen, is gen- 

 erally printed on paper. On Mt. Omei there are three advertisements 

 of a prepared food that have been framed and are worshipped as 

 gods because they have on them excellent images of Buddha. They 

 were probably brought up from India or Burmah. A well-known 

 biscuit company also has an advertisement on Mt. Omei that has been 

 framed and is treated as a god. 



The next step is the making of clay, wooden, stone, or metal images. 

 Some of these are only a few inches high, but others are gigantic 

 in size. The stone image of Buddha across the river from Kiating 

 is probably two hundred and fifty feet high. Many of these images 

 portray the characteristics that the god is supposed to possess. Some 

 are like fierce warriors, but others, like Kuanyin and Amitabha, are 

 more kindly in appearance. 



Is the god really present in the image ? Is the image to be regarded 

 as the deity himself? In Szechuan Province the answer is yes. When 

 the people or the priests pray to an idol they feel that they are 

 praying to a real god who can understand and help them. Beyond 

 this they do not think. They simply regard the image as the god 

 himself. The following explanation, given by a priest on Mt. Omei, 

 is of special interest. The god is only one and invisible, but in each 

 temple may be an image of the god. He is in space, but he is capable 

 of being anywhere, and when the people worship him in the presence 

 of the image, he is there, and becomes actually embodied in the 

 image, so tliat the image is the god. Probably the images were first 

 made for commemoration, but they have come to be regarded as the 

 gods themselves. The common people treat them as living and efiica- 

 cious beinsfs.^ 



* One day the writer was sitting on a sandbank beside the Min River. 

 He took a stick and drew in the sand a picture of the Goddess of Mercy. A 

 farmer boy came along and looked at the picture. He was told, " This is Kuanyin 

 P'usah. You had better worship her." He looked at the picture a moment, 

 and then worshipped it. 



