Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/167

 Hsien nung shên, the farmers' god, said to be Chou Wên wang, the ancestor of Hou chi. Some people still write Hou chi hsien nung as a tablet and worship it.

T‘ai tzŭ, the actors' god. Said to be T‘ang Ming Huang, whose image is kept on a chair on the stage to keep the actors from laughing.

Chin ching (金精), the gold essence or silversmiths' god. The pure gold is believed to be a spirit.

Lu yü (陸羽), the tea growers' god. This was a personage belonging to the Sung dynasty who was able to grow good tea.

Ch‘i yu (蚩尤), the salt god festival, said to be Hsüan yuan. Tradition has it that he was the first rebel, and his blood became salt.

Jih yu shên, the rambling god of the day who is believed to have only one foot.

Yeh yu shên, the rambling god of the night, who is believed to have only one hand.

Chiang t‘ai kung, the fishermans' god, who is believed to be Chou Wên wang and the originator of idolatrous practices. Though a scholar, he fished till he was eighty years of age with a straight hook and rice as bait.

(醮會), Chiao hui

The feast of All Souls is held yearly from the first to the fourth moons, and is strongly believed in as a protection against fire and pestilence. It is called Ta ch‘ing chiao (打淸醮), Wên ho (瘟火) chiao, and P‘ing an (平安) chiao.

The fast may last from four to fifteen days. There is no killing of pigs, oxen and chickens or any live stock, chin t‘u (禁屠), and so rigid is the fast sometimes, that it is hardly possible to buy an egg.

Strings are stretched across the streets and yellow paper flags, with fringed edges and holes punched through them are displayed, yang fan (揚幡), to call the spirits to enter the hall of the fast.

A list of contributors to the expenses of the feast is made out, with the names of the priests invited, and the particular