Chinese myths have progressed through several historical stages. The eighth century BCE witnessed the arrival of myths with an astrological character. In the age of Lao Tzu (sixth century BCE), new myths and legends emerged. The Period of Warring States (475–221 BCE) is known to be one of the most abundant periods of myth creation in China. Lieh Tzu (around fourth century BCE), a metaphysician, is believed to have been one of the earliest chroniclers of Chinese myths. He was the first to mention the famous story of Hsi Wang Mu, the Western Queen, and her fairyland. Since then, myths and legends dealing with fairyland became popular in China. Lieh Tzu is also believed to have been the first to introduce the themes and stories of the island of immortals in the ocean, the kingdom of dwarfs and giants, the fruit of immortality, the repairing of heavens by Nu and Kua Shih with five colored stones, and the great tortoise that supports the universe. However, the Sung Period (960–1280 CE) put a complete stop to myth creation. The post–Sung Period is notable for the composition of new myths. All Chinese deities have either a mythological background or are associated with some legend. There are also several legendary heroes who have been deified in China. According to E. T. C Werner, mythological and legendary gods were created in an “unusually large number” during the period of the mythical emperor Hsien Yuan (2698–2598 BCE), Chiang Tzu-ya (twelfth century BCE), and that of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (fourteenth century CE) (1994, 97).
Chinese myths, legends, and gods came to the United States along with the Chinese during the gold rush period (1848–1855). In 1854 they built the Bok Kai Mui or the Northern God Temple in Marysville, California, to house their gods and worship them. There are a number of gods and goddesses in the temple. Bok Eye is the primary god of the temple and is placed at the center while other deities surround him. The other gods and goddesses include Tai Sui (the Minister of Time), Gun Yam (Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy), Gon Gung/Quan Gong (Queen Gung, the God of Literature), Yuk Fung/Tai Sing (Secretary of State), Hoo Gee (the Earth God), Ts’ai Shen or Choy Bok Sing Quan (the God of Wealth), Wa-Ho (the god of good health), and Gum Far, also known as Gold Flower Lady (the Fertility Goddess). Bok Eye is also called Hsuan-Tien Shang-Ti, Lord of the Black (Pavilion of) Heaven, Chen Wu, and Peichi Yusheng Chen-Chun. Bok Eye in Chinese means Northern or dark North (Bok) and God (Eye/I). Bok Eye was originally worshipped as the Emperor of the Dark Heavens, but at present he is worshipped more as a protective god. Chinese Americans believe Bok Eye possesses powers to control floods, irrigation waters, and rain, and thus his temple is built upstream on the Yuba River. The Bok Kai temple was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1880. Because they rebuilt this temple, Chinese Americans believe that Bok Eye will protect them and the city from all future floods and other water-related dangers. The Bok Kai Temple in California is the only religious shrine dedicated to Bok Eye outside of Asia.
Lao-tzu, Founder of Taoism
The figure of Lao-tzu (sixth century BCE) is revered in Chinese American culture. Sometimes styled as “Laozi,” Lao-tzu is credited with producing the Tao Te Ching, one of the classic texts in Chinese philosophy. Although little is known about Lao-tzu for certain, ancient biographies describe him as a teacher, political adviser, and contemporary of Confucius. The tradition of venerating Lao-tzu as a deity grew when Emperor Huan (r. 147–167 CE) built a palace at his birthplace and permitted worshippers to conduct rituals in his honor. Centuries of philosophical and religious writing credited Lao-tzu with embodying the dao (meaning “the way”).
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Tai Sui, one of the mythical deities in the Bok Kai Temple, is worshipped by Chinese communities in China as well as the United States. Tai Sui, also known as General Yin Ch’iao, is a combination of a historical hero, popular in Chinese legends, and a mythical being, prevalent in Chinese folklore. Tai Sui is a Taoist god and is feared by his worshippers as he destroys the ones he dislikes, but he never harms anyone in his own vicinity. A fifteenth-century Chinese novel, The Deification of the Gods (Feng Shen Yen I), is one of the major sources of Chinese mythical and legendary deities. It describes various events that led to the deification of many Buddhist and Taoist heroes. This novel has also played a significant role in Chinese iconography and solidified Chinese beliefs in their gods and goddesses. Many Chinese folklorists believe that perhaps it is because of this fifteenth-century novel that the practice of worshipping Taoist deities side by side with Buddha and other Buddhist figures in Chinese temples has become prevalent. According to Chinese folk religion, the deified hero General Yin Ch’iao, who bore the title Tai Sui, ruled over the Ministry of Time. Tai Sui is associated with the planet Jupiter and is thus a stellar god. He is also one of the fiercest gods in the pantheon and is worshipped to avert calamities and should be appeased before embarking on any journey or enterprise. He is also known as the God of Spring. He is known to control dates and times of births and deaths and is called Father Time, controlling the destiny of all men. According to Ch’ing Dynasty regulations (seventeenth century), Tai Sui should be worshipped as a second-rank god.
The legend of Tai Sui follows this general plot: General Yin Ch’iao, the eldest son of the evil King Chou of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), is good as well as evil. He is depicted in The Deification of the Gods (Feng Shen Yen I) as an ugly, blue-faced deity with long protruding fangs. Yin Ch’iao’s father, horrified by the formless lump that was his newborn son, abandoned him outside the city walls soon after his birth. However, Yin was recognized as one of the Immortals and was brought up by a hermit and nursed by Ho Hsien Ku (also known as the Health Goddess), one of the eight Immortals and one of the two female Immortals of Taoist legends. When Yin grew up, Ho revealed to him his royal identity and the fate of his mother, who was thrown from a high window to her death as punishment for giving birth to Yin, a lump of flesh and a monster. This outraged Yin and he became determined to destroy the one behind all these massacres, Ta Chi, the imperial concubine. Yin received two magic weapons before going off to war, a gold club and a gold battle-axe, from the goddess T’ien Fei, the Heavenly Concubine. After the battle between Shang and Chou, Yin seized Ta Chi in her tower and killed her by splitting her head with the gold battle-axe. He was then rewarded with the title of Tai Sui and Marshal Yin by the Jade Emperor (Yu-huang Shang-ti) for his bravery and filial piety. There are also a few other legends associated with him (Stevens 1972, 172–174). However, in the United States, Chinese Americans not only worship him, but also sometimes keep a Tai Sui horoscope protective coin to protect themselves from misfortune. The coin has the image of Pi Yao on one side and twelve Chinese horoscope animals on the other.
Apart from worshipping these mythical deities, every year Chinese Americans (especially those living on the West Coast of the United States) celebrate the Bok Kai Festival, which started in the 1880s. It is celebrated on a weekend closest to the second day of the second month of the Lunar Calendar (February–March). Bok Kai’s birthday, known as Bomb Day, is also celebrated during the festival. It is called Bomb Day because of the bombs, which are the huge firecrackers that are fired off during the festival. Chinese American communities also bring in various food and crafts vendors, organize martial arts demonstrations, and feature performances of the lion dance and other Chinese arts during the festival.
The mythical beast known as Pixiu (winged lion) or Rui Shi (guardian lion) appears in the traditional lion dance in the United States. In this dance form, performers dress themselves in a lion’s costume and mimic the lion’s movements. Usually two dancers operate one lion. Many of the dance movements are taken from Chinese martial arts. The lion dance is performed on Chinese New Year and other traditional and religious festivals. It is also performed during significant social and cultural events including business openings, weddings, and events to honor special guests. Ancient Chinese texts, including Shujing (one of the five classics of ancient China), refer to this as a dance tradition in which performers wear masks to resemble Chinese mythical beasts. However, as the lion is not native to China, the lion dance is believed to have originated in countries outside China such as India or Persia and has been acknowledged as a foreign dance form in many ancient Chinese texts. A detailed description of the lion dance is found in the works of scholars and poets of the Tang Dynasty (618–690 and 705–907 CE). The lion dance may also have been recorded in China as early as the third century by Meng Kang, a scholar of the Three Kingdoms, who mentioned “lion acts” in his commentary on Hanshu or the Book of Han or History of the Former Han (111 CE). This dance form is also associated with Buddhism in which it is performed to drive away evil spirits. Chinese Americans use lion dances to entertain, to honor the gods and goddesses of Bok Kai Temple, and to drive away evil spirits.
The dragon (Lung) is the most significant Chinese mythical beast. It is ranked first among all Chinese mythical animals. The Bomb Day parade of the Bok Kai festival displays a 175-foot-long dragon named Hong Wan Lung. One hundred volunteers move the dragon during the parade. Marching bands, Clydesdale horses, and a Wells Fargo stagecoach accompany the dragon. In Chinese mythology, the dragon symbolizes cosmic energy (qi) as well as good fortune. It is believed to bring rains to parched lands and so it represents abundance and relief. Dragons are water spirits and benevolent beings. However, Buddhists have introduced evil dragons and incorporated the prevalent Chinese dragon legends into their own folklore of the mountain nagas (dragons). These mountain dragons are harmful, while the ones living near lakes and rivers are helpful and friendly. According to Chinese mythology, the dragon is the head of all 360 reptiles. It is depicted as having four legs with the head of a horse, the tail of a snake, and wings on its sides. The Imperial Dragon bears five claws, which distinguishes it from other dragons with four claws. The dragon is also said to have nine resemblances: its horns are like those of a deer, its head is like that of a camel, its eyes are those of a devil, it has the neck of a snake, the abdomen of a large cockle, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, the soles of its feet resemble those of a tiger, and its ears are like those of an ox. Some dragons do not have ears; they are believed to hear through their horns. There are small dragons shaped like caterpillars and large dragons who fill the heavens and the earth. There are also scaly, winged, horned, and hornless dragons who evolve from one another. The horned dragons are believed to change in a thousand years to winged flying dragons. The dragon is also believed to be the father of all the great emperors of ancient China.
Apart from these mythical deities and beasts, Chinese Americans worship Shang Ti, the Supreme Heavenly Emperor. According to Chinese mythology, it was only ti, the emperor, who could worship Shang Ti, the Emperor on High, to please and pacify him and ensure his benevolence on this world. Scholars believe that confusion of ideas and primitive languages led to the personification of both heaven and the emperor, who was the chief ruler of the physical world and had gone to heaven. Shang Ti (the Emperor on High) existed even before T’ien (heaven) was introduced. Emperors worshiped Shang Ti as their ancestors and even offered sacrifices on special days. People outside the royal family were not allowed to worship Shang Ti because to do so was to claim a relationship with royalty and thus was punishable by death. As the emperor and his family worshipped Shang Ti, general people were supposed to worship ti as their Shang Ti, that is, their emperor as the father of the nation.
Pi Yao, A Chinese Mythical Creature
In Chinese mythology, Pi Yao is a creature that is second only to the dragon in its power and dignity. It is often depicted as a winged lion with either one or two horns. By tradition, the creature was perceived as having the power to draw in wealth and good fortune, while also protecting wealth that lay in close proximity. It was also thought to be able to ward off evil spirits or negative energy. As such, Chinese homes and workplaces often included a statue of Pi Yao in the décor. This was meant to signify the presence of this powerful force in sustaining the family’s good fortune.
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There is no official day or particular ceremony dedicated to the worship of ti, as opposed to the worship of Shang Ti by the emperor and his royal family members. On the other hand, T’ien (heaven) was worshipped by both the people and the emperor. The only difference between the worship of T’ien by the people and the emperor was that the emperor worshipped heaven ceremoniously at the great altar of the Temple of Heaven at Peking, while people worshipped it in a simple and unceremonious way during New Year by waving incense sticks toward the sky. However, during the Sung Dynasty (960–1280 CE), much confusion arose regarding the worship of Shang Ti and T’ien and eventually they got mixed up and their definitions became obscured. This confusion has continued to the present time, even in the United States. Chinese Americans worship both T’ien and Shang Ti, but often skip the ritualistic part.
Semontee Mitra
See also Bok Kai Temple, Folktale, and Parade; Chinatown Ghost Stories; Fa Mu Lan, or Mulan; Fortune Cookie, Origins of; Zodiac, The
Further Reading
Birrell, Anne. 1993. Chinese Mythology: An Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Crane, Sam. 2013. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Stevens, Keith. 1972. “Three Chinese Deities: Variations on a Theme (with Special Reference to Overseas Chinese Communities in South East Asia).” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 12: 169–195.
Werner, Edward Theodore Chalmers. 1994. Myths and Legends of China. New York: Dover.