74 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



who controls a limited territory. His spouse is generally with him. 

 The inscription most commonly seen on his shrine is 



Bao ih fang ch'iii Gih, 

 Yu si giai p'ing an. 



This means. " He guarantees that it is lucky all about, and protects 

 the peace in all directions." Finally, there is xA.mitabha, or Omeitofuh, 

 as he is called in Szechuan. He is a kindly, loving savior of men who 

 in his compassion will help them whenever they call on his name. 

 His earlobes are long, indicating Indian influence. Omitofuh and 

 T'ai Shan Shih Kan Dang often have no shrines, but stand exposed 

 to the weather. In Szechuan Province philosophical Buddhism has 

 practically no place. The Buddhism of Amitabha, who rules the 

 western heavens which is a paradise for the souls of the dead, is the 

 Buddhism that has won the hearts of the people. As the Tibetans 

 repeat over and over " Om-mani padme-hum," so the most devout 

 Buddhists repeat as they tell out the beads of the rosaries, " Lan 

 u Omitofuh." On Mt. Omei the pilgrims greet each other with 

 " Omitofuh." In the numerous places by the wayside Amitabha 

 stands ever ready to help the traveler who is in need. 



Some of the gods are apparently nature deities. All of them are 

 propitious if reverenced and worshipped. Some have very definite 

 functions. The Sun God and the Moon Goddess have doubtless come 

 down from antiquity. There is a water god who controls rain, and 

 a mountain god who controls mountains. There are idols representing 

 the seven stars of the. dipper, heaven, and earth. The Fire God 

 prevents disastrous fires. There is a lightning goddess who carries 

 a looking-glass, the thunderer who carries a hammer and chisel and 

 whose nose and mouth hook downwards like a semi-human creature, 

 and the Lord of Thunder, who controls the lightning goddess and 

 the thunderer. There are also the Earth Prince and the Earth Mother, 

 and many others. On Mt. Omei, in the temple of Gieu Lao Dong, are 

 two gods called Sunlight and Moonlight. 



A large number of the gods are deified heroes. Among these are 

 the God of War who was a famous warrior in Szechuan ; Ch'uan 

 Chu, the Lord of Szechuan, who is given the credit for the develop- 

 ment of the great irrigation system on the Chengtu plain ; Wang E. 

 P'usah, the god of boatmen, and Lu Ban, the god of carpenters. A 

 very interesting trio are Fuh Shi, Shen Long, and Shuen Uen Shang 

 Ti, who are always found together. The first two wear leaves instead 

 of clothes. They are legendary heroes who lived before the Chinese 

 learned to make and to wear clothing. Shuen Uen Shang Ti, who is 



