100 A CHAPTER OF FOLKLORE 



fJb^allfB'li H ft MS The Worship of the Gods 

 of Wind, Clouds, Thunder, Rain, Sun, Moon, and Stars. 



This worship is done largely after the fashion of the 

 worship of Heaven and Earth, but of course the tablets used 

 are quite distinct, and are somewhat as follows: — 



Mi fft A statesman of the T'ang dynasty named K'uei 

 Chen $L ifc who is said to have killed the five horned dragon, 

 pg gip A statesman of Kao Tsong M & named Fu Ioh {§ t$ 

 who pacified the people, ff Wl This is said to have been 

 Wen T'ai-si 55C j^C fiip and probably of the time of Suen uen 

 If t& it II If there was no dragon there would be no 

 clouds. 



The Sun is reckoned to represent the emperor & ^ = £ 



& fll M. S- 



The Moon is reckoned to represent the empress B >fc H B 



The Planets to represent the statesmen f& 5c #1 & 

 M *V M ?R the larger stars, the provincial officials; and the 

 smaller stars the masses of the people. 



M^C?t SL To Worship or Thank the Fire Star. — This is 

 both a parochial and a domestic affair, but here we shall only 

 deal with the domestic side, as the parochial side is dealt 

 with under the feast of all souls. When there has been 

 anything approaching to a conflagration in the house, or 

 anything to indicate that the fire demon is in the ascendency, 

 then a few pieces of red hot coal are taken from the kitchen 

 fire, and put into a jar, and water poured over the embers, 

 while the priest chants the necessary incantations to drive 

 the demon out of the house. 



Wl 7jC 3. To Worship or Thank the Water Star. — Those 

 who live by the sides of river or marshes have recourse to 

 this, thinking that it will save them from flood. In this 

 ritual the five corner dragon is the chief object of worship. 

 A mug full of water is brought from the river, over 

 which the priest chants incantations. After the ceremony 

 the mug and water is taken outside and thrown away. 



