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T H E G OD OF TH UNDERFro» : a C/mu’

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PRE FAC E

This volume deals with the myth s o f Ch ina andJapan

,and i t i s shown that these throw light on the

origin and growth o f civilization and the widespread dissemination o f complex ideas associated with certain modeso f l ife . The Far East does no t appe ar to have remainedimmune to outside cultural influences in ancient times .Modern research has establ i shed that the old school o fopinions wh ich ins isted o n the com plete isolation of Ch inacan no longer obtain . As Laufer says : “ I t cannot bestrongly enough emphas ized on every occasion thatCh inese civilization

,as i t appears now,

i s no t a unit andnot the exclusive production o f the Ch inese

,but the final

re sult of the cultural eH'

o rts o f a vast conglomeration o f

the most varied tribe s, an amalgamation o f ideas accum ulated from manifold quarters and widely diffe rentiated inspace and time . No graver error can hence becommitted than to attribute any culture idea at theoutset to th e Chinese

,for no other reason than because

it appears with in the pre cincts of thei r empire . ”

Even the Chinese records have to be regarded withcaution . I t i s impossible nowadays to accept as seriouscontributions to h istory the inflated chronology and theobvious fables compiled and invented by Ch inese scholars

vi PREFACE

for political and other purposes during the Han and laterdynasties . These scholars had really l i ttle knowledge o f

the early history of the ir country and people . They werepuzzled even by certain existing customs and religiouspractice s

,an d provided ingenious “ secondary explana

tions ” which,l ike their accounts o f the early dynasties,

do no t accord with the data accum ulated by archaeologistsand other workers in the scientific fi eld . The complexreligious ideas o f the Chinese were obviously no t ofspontaneous generation . Many o f these re semble tooclosely the complexes found elsewhere, and the ir h istorycannot be traced within the limits o f the Chinese empire .Indeed

,as is shown, some o f them are undoubtedly

products of human experiences obtained elsewhere, andth ey reveal traces o f the influences to which they weresubj ected during the process o f gradual transmissionfrom areas of origin . N o r

,would it appear, was Chinese

civilization ne arly as ancient as the native scholars wouldhave us be lieve .When the early Chinese entered China, they found

non-Chinese people s in d ifl’erent parts o f that vast areawhich they ultimately we lded into an empire . They werean inland people and did not invent boats ; they did notoriginate the agricultural mode of l i fe but adopted it,using the seeds and implements they had acquired ; nordid they invent the potter’s wheel with which they werefamiliar from the earl iest t ime s in Ch ina,having evidentlybecome possessed o f it

,along with the complex culture

associated with it,before they m igrated into the province

o f Shensi . Nor could an agrarian people l ike the Chinesehave been the originators of the belief in the existence of

PREFACE vi i

I sles o f the Blest in th e Eastern Ocean ; they wereno t alone in Asia in believing in a Western Paradises ituated among the mountains .The Chinese

,as Laufe r demonstrate s i n h i s Jade,

did not pass through in Ch ina that culture stage calledthe Neol ith ic When they first settled in Shensi, theyse arched for and found j ade, as did the carriers of bronzewho first entered Europe . There was obviously an ac

quired psychological motive for the search for j ade, andthe evidence o f Ch ine se j ade symbolism demonstrates tothe full that it had been

,acquired from those who had

transferred to j ade the e arl ier symbolism of shells, pearls,and pre cious metals . I n the chapter devoted to j adeit is shown that th is View i s confirmed by the evidenceafforded by Chinese customs connected with j ade, shells,pearls, &c.

I n no country in the world are the processes of culturedrifting and culture mixing made more manifest than inCh ina . T he Chinese dragon is, as Professor Ell iot Smithputs i t

,a “ composite wonder beast ” Throughout th i s

volume it i s shown to yie ld, when dissected, remarkableevidence regarding the varied influences under wh i ch i tacquired its high ly complex character . The fact that aCh inese dragon charm closely resembles a Scottish serpentcharm is of special i nterest in th i s connection . When

,

however,i t i s found that Ch ina obtained certain myths

and practices from the area called by its writers “ E u- l i n ”

(the Byzantine Empire), and that not only Byzantine butn ean influences are traceable in the Celtic field

,the charm

l ink between Gael ic Scotland and China may not,after all

,

be regarded as “ far- fetched ” . The same may be said

vi ii PREFACE

regard ing the curious s imilari ty between the myths andpractices connected with shells

,and e specially cockle

shells, in Japan and the Scottish Hebrid es . Althoughthe West Highlanders and the inhabitants o f the Land o f

the Ris ing Sun were never brought into contact,it may

be that similar cultural influences drifted east and westfrom their area o f origin

,and that the carriers were the

anci ent mariners who introduced the same type o f vesselinto far— separated oceans .As in China

,we do not in Japan find a culture o f

purely native origin, but rather o ne which has grown upfrom a mass o f imported elements as varied as the racialtypes that compose th e present—day population . Both inChina and Japan these imported elements have been sub

jected to th e influences o f time and locality and infusedwith national ideas and ideals . The processe s o f growthand change have no t, however, concealed the sources fromwhich certain o f the early ideas emanated in varying degrees of development .The early native history o f Japan i s, l ike that of

China,no more worthy o f acceptance than are the long

discarded English and Scottish fables regarding Brute andScota .The data accumulated in this volume tend to show,

although we have no direct evidence o f systematic miss ionary enterprise earl ier than that of the Bhudd ists, thatthe influential re l igious cults o fancient times that flourishedin Mesopotamia and in the Egyptian Empire (wh ich included part o f Western As ia) appear to have left theirimpress on the intellectual l ife o f even far-distant peoples .Apparently modes o f thought were transmitted along

PREFACE

direct and indirect avenue s o f intercourse by groups oftraders . Even before trade routes were opened, religiousbel iefs and practices appear to have been introduced intodistant lands by prospectors and by settlers who foundedcolonies from which later colonies budded When thesame se t o f complexes are found in widely separatedareas

,i t i s d ifl'i cult to accept the V iew that they originated

from the same particular experiences and the same s e t of

ci rcumstances, especially when it i s made manifest thatthe complexes in the older centre o f culture reflect strictlylocal physical conditions, and even the local polit ical cond i tions that resulted in a fus ion o f peoples and of thei rmyths, symbols, and rel igious beliefs and practices .

DONALD A . MACKENZIE .

CON T E N T S

CH AP .

TH E DAW N OF C IVIL IZAT I ONA FAR-TRAVELLED INVENT I ONANC I ENT MAR I NE RS AND E XPLORERSTHE WORLD—W IDE S EARCH FOR WE AL T H

CH I NESE D RAGON L OREBI RD AND S ERPENT MY T H S

D RAGON FOLK- ST OR I ESTH E K I NGDOM U NDE R THE S EATH E ISLANDS OF THE BLESTTHE MOTHE R- GODDESS OF CH I NA AND JAPANTREE H E RE AND STONE - LOREH ow COPP E R- CU LTU RE REACHED CH I NATH E SY MBOL ISM OF JAD EC REAT I ON MY T H S AND THE G OD AND G ODDESSCU L T S

MY T H ICAL AND L EGENDARY K I NGSMY T H S AND DOCTR I NES OF TAO I SMCU L T U RE MIXI NG I N JAPAN

JAPAN ESE G OD S AND D RAGON SRIVAL D E ITI E S O F L I FE AND D E AT H , SU N SH I NE ANDST ORM

TH E D RAGON-SLAY E R AND H IS RIVALANC I ENT MI KADOS AND H E ROE SINDEX

L IST OF PL AT E S

T H E G OD OF TH UNDER (in co lour)F rom a Ch inese pzcture m the j ohn Ry lands L zbrary ,Manchester

POTTER’S WHEEL, SIMLA, IND IAFrom a sketch by L ockwood s lm g in the Vi ctorza and A lbertMuseum

A MODERN CHINE SE JUNK ON T H E CANTON RIVER

CHINE SE DRAGON-BOAT FE STIVALFrom a picture wov en m coloured szlks and gold thread in the Victorza and A lbert

Museum

CHINE SE DRAGON S AMONG T H E CLOUDSFrom a pai nting in the B rz tish Museum

CHINESE DRAGON VASE WITH CARVED WOOD STAND(Victorza and A lbertMuseum )

CARP LEAP ING FROM WAVE SFrom a j apanese painti ng in the B ri tishMuseum

CHINE SE PORCE LAIN VASE DECORATED WITH FIVECLAWED DRAGON S RI S ING FROM WAVE S

(Victorza and A lbertMuseum )x 1 i i

LIST OF PLATES

RESONANT STONE OF JADE SHOWING DRAGON WITHCLOUD ORNAMENTS

,SUSPENDED FROM CARVED BLACK

WOOD FRAMEBy courtesy of B . L aufer, Fi eld Museum of N atural H i story , Ch icago

TORTOISE AN D SNAKEFrom a rubbi ng in the B ri ti sh Museum of a Chinese original

GATHERING FRUITS OF LONGEVITYFrom a Chinese painting in the B ri tish Museum

SHOU SHAN (i .e .

“ HILLS OF LONGEVITY T H E TAOISTPARAD I SEFrom a woven sz lk p icture i n the Vic toria and A lbertMuseum

T H E CH INE SE S I WANG MU UAPAN E S E S E IOBO) AN D MAON U

Franz a j apanese painting (by H idenobu) in the B ri ti shMuseum

MOUNTAIN VIEW WITH SCHOLAR’S RETREATFrom a Chinese pai nting in the B ri tishMuseum

GENI I AT T H E COURT OF S I WANG MUFrom a Ch inese pai nting in the B ri tish Museum

SQUARE BRICK OF T H E H AN DYNASTY, WITH MY T H OLOGICAL FIGURE S AN D IN SCRIPTION S

CHINE SE BOWL WITH SYMBOL OF LONGEVITY(Vic toria and A lbertMuseum )

GOATS CROPP ING PLANT OF LIFEFrom the j ad e sculpture in the S co tt i sh N ationalMuseum , E di nburgh

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LIST OF PLATES

T H E FAMOUS OL D TORI-WI (GODDESS SYMBOL), M IYAJ IMA, JAPAN

From a pho tograph by H . G . P ontzng,

T H E JAPANESE TREASURE SHIPFrom a woodcut m the B ri t i sh Museum

SUSA-N O-WO MAK ING A COMPACT WITH DI SEASE SPI RITS 360

From a f apanese pa i nt i ng (by H oga) i n the B ri ti sh Museum

AMATERASU, T H E S U N GODDE SS, EMERGING FROM H E R

CAVEFrom a j apanese pa i nti ng in the B ri tish Museum

S E IOBO ( 2 T H E CHINE SE S I WANG MU ) WITH ATTENDANTAN D THREE RISH IFrom a j apanese painting (by S anraku) in the B ri tish Museum

MY T H S OF

CH IN A AN D JAPAN

CHAPTER I

T he Dawn of Civ iliz at io n

Ch inese Culture— H ad i t Independ ent Origin t— E vo lution in H um an

Afl‘

airs —S tratificat ion T heo ry— T h e My ste ry of Mind— Man’

s F i rst Ph i losophy of L ife— Influences exe rc ised by A nc ient Ci v i li z at ions —Culture Mix ing-T he Idea of Progress— A rt in th e Ple isto cene Age

— In troducti on of Agriculture— Bi rth of Osi rian Civ i li z ation— T he Wate r of Greenness as

“Wate rof L ife — H ow Com m e rce Began— In troduc t ion of Copper-wo rking— T h e

Oldest Calendar in the Wo rld— T he “K ings of Mankind -A ncient Man

and Mod ern Man .

T H E de stinies of a people are shaped by thei r mode s ofthought, and their real h istory is therefore the h i story oftheir culture . The Ch inese frame of mind has made theCh inese the people they are and China the country it i s .Every section of society has bee n swayed by this . farreaching and enduring influence, the sources of which liein remote antiquity . I t is the force that has even be enShaping public opin ion and directing political movements .Emperors and leaders of thought have been uplifted byit o r cast down by it .To understand China, i t is necessary that we Should

inquire into its inner history— the history o f i ts culture( D 7 1 ) 1 2

2 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

so as to get at the Chinese point of V iew and look atthings through Chinese eyes . That inner h istory is i npart a record o f its early expe rience s among the nationso f the earth . The re was a time when China was “ in themaking when the l ittle leaven that leavened the wholelump began to move

,when that culture wh ich spread

over a vast area was confined to a small centre and toa comparatively small group o f people . Who were th ispeople,where were they s ituated, what influences we re atwork to stir them and shape their ambitions, and whatsecret did they learn which gave them power over theminds and bodies o f about a third of the inhabitants ofthe globe ? I n Short, how and where did Ch inese cultureoriginate, and how did it Spread and become firmly establ ish ed ? Was it a th ing o f purely local growth ? Didit begin to be quite independently o f all other cultures ?

Does it owe i ts viril ity and d istinct iveness . among thecultures of ancient and modern times to the influence o fthe locality in which it had “ independent origin Hadit an ind ependent origin ?

These queries open up the larger problem as to theorigin of civil ization in the world . At th is point, therefore,we must decide whether or not we are to accept theidea o f evolution in human aflfairs . Can the principles ofbiological evolution be applied to the problems of ethnology (us ing the term in its widest sense to include thephysical and cultural h istory of mank ind) ? Can weaccept the theory that i n isolated quarters of the globeseparated communities were stirred by natural laws tomake progre ss in adapting themselves to their environments, and that, once a beginning was made, separatedcommun i ties deve loped on similar lines Did each ancientcivil ization have its natural pe riods o f growth and decay ?

Were separated communities uninfluenced during these

THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION 3

periods by human minds and wills ? Were their destiniesshaped by natural laws, or by the cumulat ive force ofpublic Opinion ? Was it a natural law that mad e menabandon the hunting and adopt the agricultural mode oflife ? Did certain communities o f men, influenced bynatural laws in ancient times

,begin to shape their rel i

gious systems by first worshipping groups of sp irits andultimately, having passed through a sequence of welldefined stages, find themselve s elevated by these naturallaws to th e stage o f monotheism ? I s it because certainraces have

,for some myste rious reason, been prompted

to pass through these stages more quickly than others,

that they are deserving of the term progressive wh ileothers must be characterized as backward ”

?

If these questions are answered in th e affirmative,we

must assume that we have solved the riddle o f Mind .

Those who apply the principles of biological evolution tohuman afl

’

airs are in th e habit of re ferring to laws thatcontrol the workings of the human mind . But what dowe really know about the workings of the human mind ?Th is question has only to be asked so that the hazardouscharacter o f the fash ion o f thinking adopted by extremeexponents of the Evolution School may be emphasized .

I t cannot but be admitted that we know little or noth ingregarding the human mind . What happens when weth ink ? H ow are memories stored in the brain ? H ow

are emotions caused ? What i s Consciousness ? H OW

does the Will operate ? Grave psychological problemshave to be solved before we can undertake the responsib ility of discussing with any degree of confidence the lawsthat are supposed to govern human thought and action .

The researches into the early h i story o f man, o f abouta generation ago,were beli eved by some to

“ have revealedthe essential similarity with which, under many superficial


differences,the human mind has e laborated its first crud e

philosophy o f l ife I t was found that s im ilar beliefsand practices obtained am ong widely separated communities

,and i t was not suspected that the influence exercised

by direct and indirect cultural contact between “progres

s ive ” and “ backward ” communities extended to suchgreat d i stances as has s ince been found to be the case .Prospect i ng routes by land and sea were the avenues alongwhich cultural influence s “ drifted ”

. Early man wasmuch more enterpris ing as a trader and explorer than wasbelieved in T ylor

’

s day . The evidence accumulated oflate years tends to Show that almost no part of theglobe rem ained imm une to the influences exercised bythe great ancient civilizations

,and that these civilizations

were neve r in a state o f “ splendid isolation at anyperiod in their histories . In the light o f th is knowledgeit is becoming more and more clear that Victorian ethmologists were incl ined to make too much o f resemblances,and failed to take into account the differences that a moreintensive study o f local cultures have revealed . Therewere, of course, re semblances, which suggest the influenceo f cultural contact and the settlement am ong backwardpeoples o f colonists from progressive communities

,but

there were also d ifl'

erences o f beliefs and customs whichwe re of local origin and can hardly be characterized as

One o f the results of contact was theprocess of “ culture mixing Customs and fash ions o fth inking were introduced into a country and blendedwith local customs and local mode s o f thought . In earlyCh ina, as w ill be shown, there was

“ culture mixingThe Chinese frame o f mind is the re sult o f compromiseseffected in remote tim es .

H ow, then, did the idea of progress originate ? I sthere in the human mind an instinct which stirs mankind

THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION 5

to achieve progres s ? I f so,how does i t come about that

some peoples have failed to move unti l brought intocontact with progress ive races ? Why did the Melanesians

,for instance

,remain in the Stone Age until reached

by the missionary and the sandal—wood trader ? Themissionaries and the traders caused them to advance ina brief period from the Stone Age to the Age of Steeland Mach inery . Can it be maintained that in ancientdays no sudden changes took place ? Did the people

,

for instance,who introduced bronze-working into a

country introduce noth ing else ? Did they leave beh indthe i r beliefs

,their myths

,their customs

,and their stories ?

When it i s asked how progress originated, we canonly turn to such evidence as is avai lable regard ing theearly h i story of Modern Man At a remote period

,

dating back in Europe to the Pleistocene Age,men lived

in organized communities and pursued the hunting modeof l ife . Their culture is revealed by their p ictorial art inthe prehistoric cave—dwellings of France and Spain

,and

their decorative art by their finely engraved implemen tsand weapons . 1 This art reached a h igh state of perfect ion . In some aspects it compares favourably withmodern art .2 Evidently i t had a long history

,and was

practised by those who were endowed with the artist icfaculty and had received a train ing . These early men

,

who belonged to the Cro-Magnon races,were trade rs as

well as hunters . In some of their “ inland s tationshave been found she lls that had been imported from theMediterranean c oast .The hunting mode o f l ife prevailed also among the

proto-Egyptians in the Nile valley,an area which was

less capable in remote times o f maintain ing a large popu

1 My ths of Crete and Pre—H ellentc E urope,pp. 26 et seq.

2 Ibid. Se e i llustrat ions oppos ite p. 20 .


lation than were the wide and fertile plain s o f Europe .Egypt was th inly peopled until the agricultural mode o fl ife was introduced . Someone d i scovered how to makeuse o f the barley that grew wild in the Nile valley andwestern Asia . In time the seed s were cultivated, andsome l ittle community thus provid ed itse lf with anabundant food — supply. Men’s minds were afterwardsengaged in solving the problem how to extend the areaavailable for cultivation in the narrow Nile valley.

Nature was at hand to make suggestions to them . Eachyear the River Nile cam e down in flood and fertilized theparched and sun- burnt waste s . The waters caused thedesert to blossom l ike th e rose Intelligent observersperceived that if the proce ss o f wate r- fe rtilization weremaintained

,as in the De lta region, they could extend

the i r l ittle farms and form new ones . The art o f i rrigation was discovered and gradually adopted, with the

result that the narrow river valley,which had been thinly

peopled during th e Hunting Pe riod, became capable o f

maintaining a large populat ion .

In what particular area the agricultural mode of lifewas first introduced

,i t i s impossible to say . Some favour

southern Palestine and some southern M e sopotamia .Those who favour Egypt1 can re fer to interesting and important evidence in support o f their view . I t is the onlyancient country

,for instance

,in which there are traditions

regard ing the m an2wh o introduced the agricultural mode

o f l ife . This was Osiris, a priest—king3who was deified,

o r a god to whom was credited the d iscove ry, m ade by a

1 P rofe ssor Ch erry The Origi n ofAgri culture (Mem . and P roc. Manch ester L i t. andPh i l . S oc.,

2 In Baby lon ian legends c i v i l i z at i on is introduce d by th e “goat

-fish ”

god E a,who

cam e from th e P e rs ian G ulf.3 Th ose wh o giv e Os iri s a L ibyan origin be liev e h i s nam e s ignifie s “ T he Old

One”

, or T h e O ld Man”

.


8 MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAPAN

become an agriculturist by instinct . H e conductedobservations

,exe rcised h i s reason i ng faculty, made ex

perim ents, and a great discovery was forthcoming . Theman whose memory i s enshrined in that o f Osiris waso ne of the great benefactors o f the human race . Whenhe solved the problem of how to provid e an abundantsupply o f food, he made it possible for a large populationto live in a small area . I t is told of Osiris that he gavethem (the Egyptians) a body of laws to regulate theirconduct by ”

. No doubt the early hunters observedlaws which regulated conduct in the cave- home as wellas on the hunting- field . The fact that a great p ictorialart was cultivated by Aurignacian man in weste rnEurope

,about years ago, indicates that the social

organ ization had bee n sufli ciently well developed to permit of certain individuals o f a class— possibly the priestlyclass— devoting themselves to the study of art

,while

others attended to the foodsupply . Aurignacian artcould never have reached the d egree o f excellence i t d idhad there not been a school o f art— apparently religiousart— and a system of laws that promoted i ts welfare .When

,in Egypt, the agricultural mode o f l ife was

introduced,and an abundant supply of food was assured,

new laws became a necess ity, so that the growing com

m unitie s might be kept under control . These laws weregiven a rel igious significance . Osiris “ instructed them

(the Egyptians) i n that reve rence and worship which theywere to pay to the gods ” . Society was united by thebond s o f a re l igious organization, and, as i s found,Niloticreligion had a close association with the agricultural modeo f l ife . I t reflected the experience s o f the early farmers ;i t reflected, to o, the natural phenomena o f the Nile valley .

Water— the Nile wate r— was the fe rtilizing agency. I twas the “ wate r o f life The god Osiris was closely

T H E DAWN OF CIVIL IZAT ION 9

associated with the Nile ; he was the “ fre sh o r the“new

” water that flowed in due season after the tryingperiod of “ the low Nile ”, during which the land wasparched by the burn ing sun and every green thing wascoated by the sand- storms . Ho

,Osiris ! the inundation

comes, cried the priest when th e Nile began to rise .

Horus come s ; he recognizes h i s father in thee,youthfulin thy name of Fresh Water .” 1 The literal renderingis : “Horus comes ; he beholds h is father in thee,greennessi n thy name ofWater of Greenness The reference i s tothe “ new water which flows quite green for the firs tfew days of the annual inundation . The “ new water ”

entered the soil and vegetation sprang up . Osiris wasthe principle of life ; he was also th e ghost-god whocontrolled the river . As the Nile, Osiris was regardedas the source of all l ife— the creator and sustainer andruler in one .

When the discovery of how to grow corn was passedfrom people to people and from land to land

,not only

the seeds and agricultural implements we re passed along,but the ceremonies and rel igious be li efs connected withthe agricultural mode o f l ife i n the area of origin . Theceremonies were regarded as of as much importance as theimplements .I t need not surprise us

,therefore, to find

,as we do

find, not only North African millet in the East I ndies,but North African rel igious beliefs connected with agriculture in widely separated countries . Osirian re l igiousideas and myths were, i t would appear, d i stributed overwide areas and among various races . There is thereforea germ o f h istorical truth in the account given by Plutarch o f the missionary efforts o f Osiris . “W i th th esame dispos ition we read

,“ h e (Osiri s) afterwards

I Breasted’s Religion and Though t in E gypt,p. 1 8 .

Io MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

trave lled over the rest o f the world,inducing the people

everywhere to submit to h is d iscipline . The Gre eksconclude h im to have been the same person with theirDionysos o r Bacchus .” 1

I n the process of time the Egyptians found that theywere able to produce a larger foodsupply than theyrequired for their own needs . They were consequentlyable to devote the i r surplus to stimulat ing trad e

,so as to

obtain from other countrie s things which were not to behad in Egypt . They were thus brought into touch withother communities, and these communities, such as thewood—cutters of Lebanon

,were influenced by Egyptian

civilization and stimulated to adopt new modes o f l ife .T heir foodsupply was assured by the Egyptian d emandfor timber. They rece ived corn from the Nile valley i npaym ent for their labour . There are references in theEgyptian texts to the exports of wheat to North Syriaand Asia Minor .When the great discovery was made of h ow to work

copper,the early agriculturists ach ieved rapid progress .

Boats were built more easily and in larger numbe rs, new

weapons were produced, and the Upper Egyptians conquered the Lower Egyptians

,with the result that Egypt

was united under a s ingle king . With this un ion,which

was followed by a period of remarkable act ivi ty,begins

the h istory of Ancient Egypt.The man

,remembered as Osiris

,who first sowed h is

little corn patch,sowed also the seeds from which grew

a mighty empire and a great civi lizat ion . His d iscoveryspread from people to people, and from land to land, anda new era was inaugurated in the history of the world .

Progre ss was made possible when mankind were led fromthe wide hunting—field s to the little fields o f the Stone

1 S . Squire,Plutarch ’

s T reati se qf Isi s and Osi ris (Cam bridge,

THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION I I

Age1 farmer,and shown how they could live pleasant

and well- ordered lives in large communities .The early Egyptian farmers found it necessary to

measure time and take account o f the seasons . A Calendar was introduced and adopted during the preh istoric

(Pale oli thic) period,2 and was used by the Egyptians fo rthousands o f years . Julius Caesar adapted this Calendarfor use in Rome . I t was subsequently adjusted by PopeGregory and others

,and is now in use all over the

civilized world . Each time we hang up a new calendar,therefore, we are reminded o f the man who stimulatedprogress over vast areas by sowing corn, so as to providefood fo r h is family in a distant land at a far-d i stant periodof time.When we consider the problem of the origin of pro

gress,let us not forget h im and othe rs like h im— those

early th inkers and discoverers to whom all humanity owea debt of gratitude . The few invent, the many adopt ;the few th ink and lead, and the many follow .

No abstract doctrine writes Sir James F . Frazerin this connection

,“ i s more false and misch ievous than

that of the natural equality o f men . The experi

ence o f common l ife sufli ciently contradicts such a vainimagination . T he men o f keenest intelligence andstrongest characters lead the rest and shape the mouldsinto which, outwardly at least, society i s cast . Thetrue rulers of men are the thinkers who advance knowledge . I t i s knowledge which, i n the long run,directs and controls the forces o f society. Thus the discoverers o f new truths are the real though uncrownedand unsceptred kings of m ankind .

” 3

1 In E gypt th is was the S o lutrean stage of the ao-called Palaeo l i th ic Age2Th ere was no N eo l i th i c Age in E gypt .3 The S cope of Sacia

’A nthropology (L ondon, pp. 1 2— 1 3 .

1 2 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

Progress has its origin in Mind . I t has been manife sted i n the past in those districts in which the mind o f

man was applied to overcome natural obstacles and todevelop natural re sources . T h e histories of the greatancient civilizations do no t support the idea of an ev o lu

t ionary process which had its origin in human instinct .“ There has ”

,Professor G . Elliot Smith write s,

“ beenno general o r widespread tendency o n the part o f humansociet ie s to strive after what by Europeans is regardedas intellectual or material progress . Progress ive societiesare rare because i t requires a very complex series offactors to compel men to embark upon the hazardousprocess o f striving after such artificial advancement .”

Professor Ell iot Smith will have none of what Dr.W . H . R . Rivers refers to as “ crude evolutionary ideas ” .

“The history o f man ”

, he writes, “ will be truly interpreted,not by means o f hazardous and mistaken analogieswith biological evolution, but by the application of thetrue h is torical method . The causes of the mode rn actionso f mankind are deeply rooted in the past. But the spiri to f man has ever been the same : and the course of ancienth istory can only be prope rly appreciated when it is realizedthat the same human motive s whose nature can be studiedi n our fellow—men to—day actuated the men of o ld also .

” 1

In the chapters that immediately follow it will beshown that separated communities were brought intoclose touch by traders . The term “ trading ”

,however

,

refe rs, e specially in early times, chiefly to prospecting andthe exploiting o f locally unappreciated forms o f wealth .

I t was not until after civilization had Spread far and widethat permanent trade routes were established . Someoverland routes became less important when sea routeswere ultimately opened .

1 Prim i ti v e Man (Proce ed ings of th e Bri ti sh A cadem y,Vol. VI I),p. 50 .

CHAPTER II

A Far- trave lled Inv ent ion

T h e Po t te r’s Wheel— A n E gyptian Inv ention— T he Wh eel in T heo logy— Clay Po ts and S tone Vessels— S k i lled A rt i sans produce Po o r Po tte ry — T he

Yakut E v i dence— Fem ale Po tters— Po t Sym bo l of Mo ther-godd ess— Po tte r’sWh eel wo rked by Men— E gypt ian

“Wheel ” adopted in C rete, Babylon ia,I ran, Ind ia, and Ch ina - N o

“Wheel ” in A m eri ca— S ecular and ReligiousPo ttery in China, Japan, India, and Rom e— Coarse Grav e-Po tte ry— Po tter’sWh eel as Sym bol of Creato r— Ch inese E m pe ro rs as Po ttery — Culture H eroesA ssociati on of A griculture w i th Po ttery— E gypt ian Id eas in Far E ast .

WHAT bearing, i t may be asked, have the discoveries madein Egypt on the early history of China ? I s there evidenceto show that these wid e ly- separated countries were broughtinto contact in remote times ? Did the primitive Ch inesereceive and adopt Egyptian inventions, and if so, howwere such inventions conveyed across the wide and d ifficult country lying between the Mediterrane an coast andthe Yellow Sea ? IS there any proof that trade routesextended in ancient times right across Asia ? Did prospecting and trading ancient mariners cross the IndianOcean and coast round to Chinese waters ?

Interesting evidence regarding cultural contact i safl

'

o rd ed by the potter’s wheel . This wonderful machinewas invented in Egypt some time before the FourthDynasty (about 3 0 0 0 BC ), and in its area o f origin itexercised an influence not only o n ce ramic craftsmansh ipbut on religious ideas . I t was regarded as a gift o f th egods

,as in ancient Scotland bronze weapons

,implements

,

1 3

I4 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

musical instruments,&c.

, were regarded as gifts from thefairies . Apparently the invention was first introduced inMemphis, the ancient capital, the chief god of which wasPtah

,the supreme deity of all handicraftsmen and o f all

workers in metal and stone ” . Ptah was already regardedas the creator of the primeval egg from which the universewas hatched, and o f the “ sun egg and the “moon egg ”

.

H e was evid ently a deity whose l ife- history goes back toprimitive times when the m other—goddess was symbolizedas the goose that laid the primeval egg . The problem o f

whe ther the egg or the bird came first was solved by thepriests o f the Ptah cult o f Memphis,who regarded theirde ity as the creator o f the “ egg ” . After the potter’swh eel came into use, they depicted Ptah turning the“ egg ” upon it . The manufacture of wheel-made potterythus came to have re l igious associations . I t was closelyconnected with the culture o f Egypt which had its basisin the agricultural mode o f l ife . The arts and crafts wereall stimulated by religious ideas ; they were cultivated bythe priestly class i n temple workshops, and were essent ially an express ion o f Egyptian beliefs and conceptions .

Before the potter’s wheel came into use,the potter’s

art had d egenerated . Vases,bowls

,j ars

,platters

,and

other vessels were made of such costly stones as diorite,alabaster, and porphyry ; these were drilled out withcopper implements . Copper vessels were also made .The discovery of how to work copper had caused thecraftsmen to neglect the potter’s art

,and to work with

enthusiasm in the hard est stone until they achieved a h ighdegree of skill . The coarse pottery of the pre-whee lperiod is therefore no indication that the civilization hadreached a stage o f decadence . This fact should be a warningto those archaeologists who are prone to conclude thatif the pottery taken from a stratum in some particular



potter’s whee l was invented by man, and credited to a

god, and has from the beginning been worked by menonly. There was apparently a religious sign ificance inthe connection o f the sexe s with the d ififerent processes .The clay po t was, in ancient Egypt, a symbol o f them other-goddess . 1 Pots used in connection with the worship o f the Great Mothe r were apparently produced byher priestesses . As women played their part in agricul

tural ceremon ie s, so did they play their part— evidently aprom inent one— in producing the godde ss ’s pot symbols .The coarse jars in which were stored wines and oils andfood- stuffs were gifts of the Great Mother

,the give r o f

all ; She was the inexhaustible sacred P o t— the womb ofNature . Domestic pottery used by women was

,very

properly, the ancient folks appear to have argued, pro

duced by women .

I t will be noted writes O . T . Mason in th i s connectio n,

“ that the fem in ine gender is used throughout inSpeak ing o f aboriginal potters . This is because everypiece of such ware is th e work of woman ’s hands . Shequarried the clay, and, l ike the patient beast of burden,bore it hom e o n her back . She washed i t and kneaded itand rolled it in to fille ts . The se she wound care fully andsym me trically until the vessel was built up . She furtherdecorated and burned it, and wore it out in householddrudgery. The art at first was woman ’s .” 2

In many countries the connection of women w ithhand-made and o f men with wheel—made pottery obtainseven in our day . T he following statem ent by two American scholars,who have produced a short but authoritativepaper o n the potter’s art

,is the result o f a close investiga

l The E v oluti on of the Dragon, G . E l l io t Sm i th (L ondon, pp. 1 78 et seq.2 0 . T. Mason

,Origi ns of Inv enti on,p. 1 66 ; and Wom an

’

s S hare in Primm fv e Cul

ture, p. 9 1 .

A FAR-TRAVELLED INVENTION 1 7

tion of evidence collected over a wide area, and carefullydigested and summarized 1

The potter’s wheel i s the creation o f man, and therefore is an independent act of invention which was notevolved from any contrivance util ized during the periodof hand-m ade ceramic ware . The two processes havegrown out o f two radically distinct spheres of humanactivity . The wheel, so speak, came from another world .

I t had no poin t of contact with any tool that existed inthe old industry

,but was brought in from an outs ide

quarter as a novel affair when man appropriated toh imself the work hitherto cult ivated by woman . Thedevelopment was o ne from outside, not from with in . Allefl

'

orts, accordingly, which view the subj ect solely fromthe technological angle, and try to derive the wheel fromprevious devices of the female potter, are futile and misleading. It i s as erroneous as tracing th e plough back tothe hoe o r digging- stick, whereas, i n fact, the two are inno h istorical interrelation and belong to fundamentallyd iE erent culture strata and periods — the hoe to thegardening activity of woman, the plough to the agricultural activity of man . Both in India and China thedivis ion o f ceramic labour sets apart the thrower or wheelpotter, and dist inctly separates h im from the moulder .The potters in India, who work on the wheel, do notintermarry with those who use a mould or make images .They form a caste by themse lves . ” 2The oldest wheel-made pottery i s found in Egypt .

There can be no doubt that the potter’s wheel wasinvented in that country . I t was imported into Crete

,

1 The Beginnings of Porcelain in China, by Be rthold L aufe r and H . W. N i cho ls(Fie ld Museum of Natural H i story Publ icat ion, 1 9 2,A nthropo logical Serie s,V o l . XII,

N o . 2 . Ch icago,2 Ibi d,pp. 1 5 3

— 1 54.

( D 71 )


which had trad ing relat ions with the merchants o f theancient Pharaohs

,as far back as about 3 0 0 0 B .C . Before

the whe e l was adopted the Cretans made stone vesse ls,foll owing Egyptian patte rns, but using soft stone insteado f hard . Their hand-made pottery degenerated, as d idthe Egyptian .

“ Potte ry came again to its own i n bothcountries ”

,write s Mr . H . R . Hall, with the invention

o f the potter’s wh eel and the baking- furnace .” 1

T h e potter’s wheel must have found a ready marke tin the o ld days . I t was adopted, i n time, i n westernEurope ; i t was quickly

“ taken up ” in Babylonia and inIran

,and was ultimately in troduced into I nd ia and China .

But only the high Asiatic civil izations were capable o f

constructing it,and consequently wheel-made pottery i s

not found everywhere . Among the “ aboriginal Am ericans ” the wheel was neve r em ployed . It i s an interestingfact that the mind of man,which i s alleged to work on

the sam e lines everywhe re,never “ evolved a potter’s

wheel in Mexico or Peru .

2 Major Gordon tells that inAssam 3 “ the women fashion the pots by hand ; they dono t use th e potter's wheel ” . Similar evidence i s obtainable in various other countries . I n China there are wheelpotters and moulders, and a d istinction is drawn betwe enthem by ancient writers . This clear distinction is accentuated by Chu Yen in h is treatise on pottery .

4 H e justlyobserves also that the articles made by the wheel—potterswere all intend ed for cooking

,with the exception o f the

vessel yu, which was designed fo r measuring ; while theoutput o f th e m ould ers

,who m ad e the ceremonial vessels

huei and tau by availing themselves o f the plumb- l ine,was

1 The j ournal (n ypnan A rche ology,Apr i l, 1 9 1 4, p. 1 4s

2A boriginal Pottery of the E astern U ni ted S tates, p. 50 (T w ent ie th Annual Repo rt,Bure au of Am e ri can E thno logy,Wash ingt on,

3 T he Khasi s, p. 6 1 .

4 Tao S huo, ch ap. i i, p. 2 (new e d i t ion,

A FAR—TRAVELLED INVENTION I 9intended for sacrificial use . Also here, i n l ike manner asin ancient Rome

,India

,and Japan, the idea may have

prevailed that a wheel-made j ar is of a less sacred character than one m ade by hand .

” 1 Here then we touch onanother point which must be borne in mind by those whodraw conclusions regarding ancient cultures by means ofpottery . In Britain, for ins tance, a rather coarse potteryis found in graves . I t i s poss ible that a better potterywas made for everyday use . The conservatism Of burialcustoms may have caused coarser pottery to be put intograve s than the early folks were capable o f producingduring the period at which the burial took place .The wheel- pottery was as sacred to some cults as the

hand-made was to others . Even the potter’s wheel wassacred . I n Egypt the Ptah cult adopted it, as has beenstated ; i n India it was a symbol of the Creator ; in China(as in ancient Egypt) the idea originally prevailed thatthe Creator was a potter who turned on his wheel thesun and the moon, man and woman, although in timeth is myth became a ph i losoph ical abstraction Thesymbol ism o f Jeremiah has s imilarly a h i story

“ 0 house of Israel, canno t I do with you as th is po tter ?

saith the Lord . Behold, as th e clay is in th e potter’

s hand, so

are ye in m ine hand, 0 house of Israel.”— Chapter XVIII,6.

St. Paul, to o, refers to the potte r“ N ay but, 0 m an, w ho art thou that repliest against G od ?

Shall the th ing form ed say to h im that form ed i t,Why hast thoum ade m e thus ? Hath no t the po tte r pow er o ver th e clay, of thesam e lum p to m ake one v esse l unto honour

, and ano ther untod ishonour ?” (Rom ans, ix, 20

Ch inese emperors were compared to potters . They1 The B eginnzngs of Porcelain in Ch i na, pp. 1 54

—5 . In “

culture m ix ing o ld local

re l igious be l ie fs w e re not obl i te rated.


were credited with the power to control a nation as thepotter controlled h is wheel . The ancient peoples whoadopted the Egyptian potter’s wheel evidently learnedthat it was of divine origin . They adopted the Egyptianbeliefs and myths associated with it . Withal

,the wheel

was associated with the agricultural mod e o f life, havingoriginated in a country of agricul turists . Ptah, thed ivine potter, was, l ike all the other prominent gods ofEgypt

,fused with Osiris— the god who was, among other

th ings,the “ cul ture hero The Chinese “ cul ture

hero ”,Shun

,who became emperor, i s said to have

practised husbandry,fish ing

,and making potte ry j ars ” .

He manufactured clay vessels without flaw on the riverbank .

1

The Chinese culture hero,Shen-ming (“ Divine

Husbandman ”) was regard ed as the father of agricultureand the d iscoverer of the healing property Of plants ” .

I n ancient Ch inese lore “ we meet a close association o f

agriculture with pottery,and an illustration o f the fact

that husbandman and potter were one and the sameperson during the primeval period ”

.

2

Memories of Ptah-Osiri s clung to the potter’s wheel .The trade routes must have hummed with stories aboutthe god who had gifted th is wonderful contrivance tomankind . These stories were localized in various countries, and they took on the colour o f the period duringwhich the wheel was imported . I n Japan

,the Ptah

legend has been given a Buddhistic s ignificance. Thepotter’s wheel i s reputed there to be the invention o f thefamous Korean monk, G yOgi (A .D . 670 No doubtthe first potter’s whee l reached Japan from Korea, whencecame the conquerors of the A inus . But there is evidence

1 Chavanne s,Me'm oires historiques de S e-m a Ts’i en,Vo l . I, pp. 72

—4.

2 The Beginnings qf Porcelain i n Ch ina, p. 1 60 .



ledge was of Ind ian origin . T he sea traders who hadcrossed the Indian Ocean reached the Burmese coastseveral centuries before the Christian era

,as the archaic

character o f Burmese river boats suggests . I t may be,howeve r

,that the potter’s wheel was carried along the

mid-Asian trade routes long before the shippe rs coastedround to Chine se waters . There can be no doubt thatthe potter’s wheel was introduced into China at a veryremote period . Investigators are unable to discover anynative legend s regarding its origin . Nor are there anytraditions regarding female potters . The culture heroesof China who made the first pots appear to have used thewheel, and the Chinese potter

’s whee l i s identical withthe Egyptian .

When the wheel was introduced into Japan, handmade pottery was in use for religious purposes

,and fo r

long afterwards the vessels used at Shinto Shrines werenot turned o n the whee l . I n India

,hand-mad e pottery

was similarly reserved for re ligious worship after thewheel-made variety came into use .

1 The wheel did notreach southern India until its I ron Age .2 When thesouthern India Iron Age began i s uncertain . I t was not,o f course, an

“Age in the real sense,but a cultural

stage Iron was known and apparently in use duringthe Aryo - Indian Vedic period in the north .

3

The potter’s whe el was introduced into Babylonia ata ve ry remote period . From Babylonia i t was carriedi nto Pe rs ia . The Avestan word for kiln is tanura, whichis bel ieved, accord ing to Laufer, to be a loan word fromSemitic tanur.

There are,o f course

,no re cord s regarding the intro

l A ntiqui ties of Ind i a, L . D . Barnett, p. 1 76.

2Madras G ov ernm ent Museum Catalogue of P reh i stori c Anti qui ti es,p. 1 1 1 .

3 Vedtc Index of N am es and Subj ects,Macdone ll and K e i th,Vo l. I,pp. 3 1 ,3 2 .

A FAR-TRAVELLED INVENTION 23

duction o f the potter’s wheel into Babylonia, India, o r

China . Al l that we know d efin itely is that it first cameinto use in Egypt, and that i t was afte rwards adopted inthe various ancient centres o f civilization from whichcultural influences “ flowed to various areas . With thewheel went certain religious ideas and customs . Theseare not found in the areas unreached by the potter’swheel .Ch ina appears to have been influenced at the dawn of

its h istory by the culture represented by the Egyptianwheel.

CHAPTER I I I

Anc ient Mariners and E xplo re rs

T he Ch inese Junk— Kutas— T h e A nci ent : “ Reed Float and Sk inbuoyed Raft— “ T wo floats of th e Sky ”

— D ug-out Canoes— Where Sh ipping

was d ev e loped— Burm ese and Chinese Junks resem ble A nc ient E gypt ian

Sh ips— Cretan and Phoen i c ian Mariners — A fri ca ci rcum nav igated — Was

Sum e ria colon i z ed by Sea-farers ?— E gypt ian Boats on Sea of Okho tskJapanese and Po lynesian Boats — E gyptian T ypes in Med i terranean and

N o rthern E urope— S to ri es of L ong Voyages in Sm all Craft— Vi si t of ChineseJunk to the T ham es— So lom on

’

s Ships .

FURTH ER important evidence regarding cultural contact inearly times is afl

’

o rded by shipping . H ow came it aboutthat an inland people l ike the primitive Ch inese took toseafaring ?

The question that first arises in th i s connection i sWere sh ips invented and deve loped by a single ancientpeople

,or were they invented independently by various

ancient peoples at d ifl'

eren t periods ? Were the Chinesej unks o f independent origin ? Or were these j unksdeveloped from early mod els of vessels— such foreignvessels as first cruised in Chinese waters ?

Chinese j unks are flat-bottomed sh ips, and the largestof them reach about 1 0 0 0 tons . The poops and forecastles are high

,and the masts carry lug- sails, generally

of bamboo splits . They are fitted with rudders . Oftenon the bows appear painted or inlaid eyes . These eyesare found o n models of ancient Egyptian Ships .During the first Han dynasty (about 20 6 BC ) j unks

24

Ph o to . U nd e rwood

A MODERN CHINESE JUNK ON T H E CANTON RIVER

ANCIENT MARINERS AND EXPLORERS 2 5

of one thousand hin (about I 5 tons) were regarded asvery large vessels . I n these boats the early Chinesenavigators appear to have reached Korea and Japan .

But long before they took to the sea there were othermariners in the China sea .The Chinese were, as stated, originally an inland

people . They were acquainted with river hufas (coracles)before they reached the seashore . These resembled thekufas of the Babylonians referred to by Herodotus,whowrote

“ The boats which come down the river to Babylonare circular, and made of skins . The frames,which areof willow

,are cut in the country o f the Armenians above

Assyria,and on these, which serve for hulls, a covering

of skins i s stretched outside, and thus the boats are made,without either stem or stem , quite round like a sh ield .

” 1

These kufas are still in use in Mesopotamia . Theydo not seem to have altered much since the days o f

Hammurabi,or even of Sargon of Akkad . The Assyrians

crossed rivers on ski n floats, and some of the primitivepeoples o f mid—Asia are still using the inflated skins ofcows as river ferry-boats But such contrivances h ardlyenter into the history of sh ipping . The modern liner didnot “ evolve ” from either kufa or skin float . Logs ofwoodwere

,no doubt, used to cross rivers at an early period .

The idea of util izing these may have been suggestedto ancient hunters who saw animals being carried downon trees during a river flood . But attempts to utilizea tree for cross ing a river would have been disastrouswhen first made, i f the hunters were unable to swim .

Trees are so apt to roll round in water. Besides,they

would be useless if no t guided with a punting - pole,

expertly manipulated . Early man must have learned1 Book I, chap. 1 94.


how to navigate a river by using, to begin with, at leasttwo trees lashed together . In Egypt and Babylon ia wefind traces of h is first attempts in th is connection . Thereed float

,consisting o f two bund le s of reeds

,and the raft

to which the inflated skins o f animals were attached togive i t buoyancy, were in use at an early period o n theRivers Nile and Euphrates . A raft .Of this kind hadevidently its origin among a people accustomed

,as were

the later Assyrians,to use sk i n floats when swimming

across rivers . There are sculptured representations of

the Assyrian soldiers swimming with inflated skins undertheir che sts .The reed float was in use at a very early period on the

Nile . Professor Breasted says that the two prehistoricfloats were bound firmly together, side by side, like twohuge cigars and add s the following interesting note :The writer was once without a boat i n Nubia

,and a

native from a neighbouring village at once hurr ied awayand returned with a pair o f such floats made o f driedreeds from the Nile Shores . On this somewhat precariouscraft he ferried the writer over a wide Channel to an islandin the river . I t was the first t ime that the author hadever seen th is contrivance, and i t was not a little interesting to find a craft wh ich he knew only in the Pyramidtexts of 50 0 0 years ago still surviving and in daily use onthe ancient river in far—o f? Nubia .”

I n the Pyramid texts there are refe rences to thereed floats used by the souls o f kings when beingferried across the river to death . The gods bind toge therthe two floats for th is K ing Pep i runs a Pyramidtext . “ The knots are tied

,the ferry- boats are brought

together says another,and there are allusions to the

ferryman (the prehistoric Charon) standing in the sternand poling the float . Before the Egyptian sun-god was


2 8 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN'

r iver . When they began to convey stones from theirquarries

,they required substantial rafts . Egyptian needs

promoted the d evelopment of the art of navigation on ariver specially su ited for experiments that led to greatdiscoveries . The dem and for wood was always great

,

and it was intens ified after metal—working had been introduced, because of the increased quantities of fuel requiredto feed the furnaces . I t became absolutely necessary forthe Egyptians to go far afield in search Of timber . Thefact that they received suppl ies of : timber at an earlyperiod from Lebanon is therefore of special interest .Their experiences in drifting rafts of timbe r across theMediterranean fiom the Syrian coast apparently not onlystimulated nav al architecture and increased the experiencesof early navigators, but inaugurated the habit of o rganizing seafaring expeditions on a growing scale .

“ Men ”,

says Professor Elliot Smith, “ did not take to maritimetrafficking either for aimless pleasure or for idle adv en

ture . They went to sea only under the pressure of thestrongest incentives .” 1

The Mediterranean must have been crossed at a veryearly period . Settlements o f seafarers took place in Cretebefore 3 0 0 0 On the island have been foundflakes of obsidian that were imported at the dawn of itsh istory from the I sland of Melos . No doubt obsidianartifacts were used in connection with the constructionof vessels before copper implements became common .

The earliest evidence o f sh ipbuilding as an organizedand important national industry is found in the Egyptiantomb picture s of the Old K ingdom period (c. 240 0 BC ) .Gangs o f m en, under overseers, are seen constructingmany kinds o f boats, large and small . There are records

1 Ships as E v idence,&c ., pp. 5, 6.

2My ths of Crete and Pre-H elleni c E urope,pp. 1 46 and 1 9 1 ,et seq.

ANCIENT MARINERS AND EXPLORERS 29

of organized expeditions dating back 50 0 years earl ier .Pharaoh Snefru built vessels “ nearly one hundred andseventy feet long ” . He sent “ a fleet of forty vessels tothe Phoenician coast to procure cedar logs from the slopeso f Lebanon ” .

1 Expeditions were also sent across the RedSea . Vessels with numerous oars, and even vessels withsails, are depicted on Egyptian prehistori c pottery dati ngback to anything l ike 60 0 0 B .C . In no other countryin the world was seafaring and shipbuild ing practisedat such a remote period .

The earl iest representations of deep- sea boats are

found in Egypt . One is seen in the tomb of Sahure,of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 260 0 BC ) . A great expeditionsailed to Punt (Somaliland) during the reign of QueenH alsh epsut (c. I 50 0 1 BC ) . Five of the h ighly—developedvessels are depicted in her‘ temple at Deir- el-Bahari .I t i s o f interest to compare one of these vessels witha Chinese j unk .

“ Between the Chinese and Burmesej unks of to - day and the Egyptian sh ips o f about s ix

thousand years ago there are ”,writes E . Kebel Chatterton,

“ many points of similarity. Until quite recently,China remained in the same state of development forfour thousand years . I f that was so with her arts andlife generally, i t has been especially so in the case ofher sail ing craft .” Both the Chinese j unk and the ancientEgyptian ship show a common influence and a remarkable persistence in type

Are we to believe a reader asks, that the ancientEgyptian navigators went as far as China ? I s there anyproof that they made long voyages ? We re the ancientEgyptians not a people who l ived in isolation for aprolonged period ?” 3

1 Breaste d’s A H istory qf E gypt, pp. 1 1 4-

5 .2Sai ling Ships and their S tory ,pp. 3 1 , 3 2.

3 Maspero in h i s The Daw n of Ci v i li z ation protests against th is v i ew .


It is no t known definitely how far the ancient E gypt ian mariners went afte r they had begun to venture tos ea. But o ne th ing is certain . They made much longervoyages than were credited to them a generation ago .T h e Phoenicians, who became the s ea- traders of theEgyptians

,learned the art o f navigation from those

Nilotic adventurers who began to vis it their coast at.

avery early period in quest o f t imbe r ; they adopted theEgyptian style o f craft, as d id the Cre tans, their predece sso rs in Mediterranean sea trafficking . By the timeo f K ing Solomon the Phoenicians had e stablished colonie sin Spain

,and were trading not only from Carthage in the

Mediterranean,but apparently with the British I sles,

while they were also active in the Indian Ocean . Theywere evidently accustomed to make long voyages of

exploration . At the time of th e Jewish captivity ,PharaohNecho (60 9—

593 BC .) sent an expedition o f Phoeniciansfrom the Red Sea to circumnavigate Africa . They re

turned three ye ars later by way o f Gibraltar. But theirvoyage excited no surprise in Egypt . 1 I t had long beenbelieved by the priests that the world was surrounded bywater. Bes ides

,these priests preserved many traditions

o f long voyages that had been made to d istant lands .The re are those who believe that the early Egyptian

mariners, who were accustomed to visit British EastAfrica and sail round th e Arabian coast, founded theearliest colony in Sumeria (ancient Babylonia) at the heado f the Persian Gulf. The cradle o f Sume rian culturewas Eridu

,

“ the sea port ” . The god o f Eridu was Ea,

who had a ship with pilot and crew . According to Babylonian traditions

,he instructed the people, as did Osiris

in Egypt, how to irrigate the land,grow corn

,build

houses and temples,m ake laws

,engage in trade

,and so

1 E gypti an My th and L egend,p. 3 72 .


on . He was remembered as a monster— a goat—fish god,o r half fish

,half man . Apparently h e was identical with

the C anne s o f Berosus . I t may be that E a—Oannes symbo liz ed the seafarers who vis ited the coast and found eda colony at Eridu, introducing the agricultural mod e oflife and the work ing o f copper. Early inland peoplesmust have regarded the mariners with whom they firstcame into contact as semi—divine beings

,j ust as the

Cubans regarded Columbus and his followers as vis itorsfrom the Sky . The Mongols of Tartary entertainedquaint ideas about the Brit ish fore ign devils after theyhad fought in o ne o f the e arly wars agains t China . M .

Huc,the French miss ionary priest o f th e congregation of

St . Lazarus, who travelled through Tartary, Tibet, andChina during 1 844

— 6,had once an interest ing conver

sation with a Mongol, who“ had been told by the

Chinese what kind o f people,o r monsters rather, these

English were The story ran that the Englishmenlived in the water l ike fish

,and when you least expected

it,they would rise to the surface and cast at you fiery

gourd s . Then as soon as you bend your bow to send anarrow at them

,they plunge again into th e water like

frogs .” 1

Those who suppose that the Sumerian s coasted roundfrom the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, landed on thebarren African coast

,and

,setting out to cross a terrible

dese rt,penetrated to the Nile valley along a h itherto

unexplored route o f about 20 0 miles, have to explainwhat was the particular attraction offe red to them bypreh istoric Egypt if

,according to their theory

,i t was

still uncultivated and in the “ Hunting Age ” . Howcame it about that they knew o f a river which ran throughdesert country ?

1 E ngl ish translat ion ofM. H ue’s Recollections (L ondon, p. 2 1 .


It is more probable that the N ilotic people penetratedto the Red Sea coast

,and afterwards ventured to sea in

their river boats,and that, i n time, having obtained Skill

i n navigation,they coasted round to the Persian Gulf.

I n pre-Dynastic times the Egyptians obtained shells fromthe Red Sea coast .At what period India was first reached is uncertain .

When Solomon imported peacocks from that country(the land of the peacock), the sea route was already wellknown . I t i s s ignificant to find that all round the coast

,

from the Red Sea to I ndia, Ceylon, and Burma, theEgyptian types of vessels have been in use from theearl iest seafar ing periods . The Burmese junks o n theIrawad i resemble closely, as has been indicated, the Nileboats o f the ancient Egyptians . 1 The Chinese j unkswere developed from Egyptian models . More antiqueEgyptian boats than are found on the Chinese coast arestill be ing used by the Koryak tribe who dwell aroundthe sea of Okhotsk . Mr. Chatterton says that th eKoryak craft have “ important s imilarities to the E gyptian sh ips o f the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties (c. 3 0 0 0 — 250 0

BC ) . Thus, besides copying the ancients in steering withan oar, the fore - end of the prow of their sail ing boatsterminate s in a fork through which the harpoon- l ine ispassed

,the fork being sometimes carved with a human

face which they believe will serve as a protector of theboat . Instead of rowlocks they have

,l ike the early

Egyptians,thong— loops through which the o ar or paddle

i s inserted . Their sail, too, i s a rectangular S hape ofdressed re indeer Skins sewe d toge ther. But i t is theirmast that is especially like the Egyptians and Burmese .”This mast is made o f three poles “

se t up in the manner

1 E . K ebel Chatte rton's Sai li ng S hips and thei r S tory, pp. 7 and 3 1 , and i llustrat ion opposite page 8 .


of a tripod ”T h e double mast was common in ancient

Egypt,but Mr. Chatterton notes that Mr . Villiers Stuart

found o n th e walls of a tom b belonging to the SixthDynasty (c. 240 0 E C .) at Gebel Abu Faida, the paintingof a boat with a treble mast made o f three spars arrangedl ike the edges of a triangular pyramid ” .

1 Thus we findthat ve ssels of Egyptian type (adopted by various peoples)not only reached China but went a considerable distancebeyond it . Japane se vessels still display Egyptian characteristics . I n the Moluccas and Malays the ancient thre elimbed mast has not yet gone out of fash ion . Polynesiancraft were l ikewise developed from Egyptian models .William Ellis

,the miss ionary,2 noted

“ the pecul iar andalmost classical shape of the large Tah i tian canoes withelevated prow and stern and tells that a fleet o f themreminded him of representations o f “ the sh ips in whichthe Argonauts sailed, or the vessels that conveyed theheroes of Home r to the siege o f Troy ”

.

Various writers have called attention to the persistence of Egy ptian types in the Mediterranean and innorthern Europe . “ In every age and every district o fthe ancient world wrote Mr . Cecil Torr

,the great

authority on classic sh ipping,“the method o f rigging

ships was substantially the same ; and this method is firstdepicted by the Egyptians .” 3

The Far Eastern craft went long distances in ancientdays . Ell i s tells of regular voyages made by Polynesianch iefs which extended to 3 0 0 and even 60 0 mile s . Achief from Rurutu once vis ited the Society I slands ina native boat built “ somewhat in the shape o f a crescent, the stem and stern h igh and pointed and the sides

1 Sai l i ng Sh ips and thei r S tory , pp. 3 2—3 .

3 Poly nesian Researches, F irst E d it ion, 1 829,Vo l . I,p. 1 69 .

3 A nci ent Ships,p. 78.


deep Sometimes exceptionally long voyages we reforced by the weather conditions of Oceania . “ I n

Ellis writes,“two canoes were driven from

Ancarso to one of the Philippine Islands, a distance o f

8 0 0 miles . He gives other instances of voyages oflike character . A Christ ian miss ionary, travell ing ina native boat, was carried “ nearly 80 0 miles i n a southwesterly direction ”

? Reference has already been madeto the long and daring voyage made by the Phoenicianswho circumnavigated Africa . Another extraordinaryenterprise is referred to by Pliny the elder

,

3 who quotesfrom the lost work o fCornelius Nepos . This was a voyageperformed by Indians who had

,before 60 B .C .,

embarkedon a commercial voyage and reached the coast of Germany . It i s uncertain whether they sailed round theCape of Good Hope and up the Atlantic Ocean

,or went

northward past Japan and discovered the north- eastpassage, sk irting the coast o f Siberia, and sailing roundLapland and Norway to the Baltic . They we re madeprisoners by the Suevians and handed over to QuintusMe tellus Celer, pro- consular governor of Gaul .I n 1 770 Japanese navigators reached the northern

coast o f Siberia and landed at Kam chatka . They weretaken to St . Petersburg, where th ey were received by theEm press of Russia

,who treated them with marked kind

ness . In 1 847— 8 the Chinese j unk Key ing sailed from

Canton to the Thame s and caused no small sensation oni ts arrival . This vesse l rounded the Horn and took 477days to complete the voyage .Solomon ’s ships made long voyages : “ Once every

1 Poly nesian Researches,Fi rst E d it ion, 1 829,Vo l. I,pp. 1 8 1 ,2. T he crescent-shapedv esse l is qui te E gypt ian in characte r.

3 Ibi d,V o l . II,pp. 50 , 5 1 .3 Book II, 67 .


CHAPTER IV

T h e Wo rld- w ide Search fo r Wealth

Rel igious Incentiv e of Quest of Wealth—‘

Sacredness of Prec ious Metals

and S tones —Go ld and the Sky D e i t ies— Iron as the Devi l’s Me tal— Ch inese

Dragons and Metals— Gold good and S i lv e r bad in India— D ragons and

Copper— Sulphuret of Mercury as“ Dragon ’

s Blood and E l ix i r of L i feDragons and P earls —T h e “ Jewel that gran ts all Desi res —S to ry of Buddhist

A bbo t and the S ea-G od Jewe ls of Flood and E bb — Japan and Ko reaS ea—god as

“ A bundant Pearl Prince — Pearl F i shers -E arly H i story of S ea

traffick ing— T rad ers and Colon i sts— Cow,Moon, Shell s, and Pearls connectedw i th Mo th e r-goddess —T h e Sow Goddess— Shell Beliefs— Culture Dri fts and

Culture Com plexes.

THERE can be no doubt as to the reasons why Solomonsought to emulate the maritime activit ies o f the Phoenicianswho had been bringing peacocks from Ind ia

,s ilver from

Spain, and gold from West Afri ca and elsewhere longbe fore h is day .

And K ing Solom on m ade a navy o f sh ips in E z ion-geber,wh ich is beside E lo th, on th e shore of th e Red Sea, in the land of

E dom . And H iram sent in the navy h is servants, shipm en that

had know ledge of th e sea, w ith th e servants of Solom on . And

th ey cam e to Oph ir, and fe tch ed from th ence gold, four hundredand tw enty talents, and brough t i t to K ing Solom on .

” 1

When the Queen o f Sheba visi ted Jerusalem she wasaccompanied by camels that bare S pices, and very muchgold, and precious stones ” 2 About seven centuriesbefore Solomon ’s day, Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt, to

1 1 K ings, ix, 26-8 .

21 K ings,x, 2 .

WORLD-WIDE SEARCH FOR WEALTH 3 7

whom reference was made in the last chapter, had emulated the feats o f her ancestors by sending a fleet to Punt

(Somaliland o r Brit ish East Africa) to bring back, amongother th ings

,myrrh trees for her new temple . The

myrrh was requi red for the incense in the templeservice Ancient mariners se t out on long voyages,not only on the que st of wealth, but also of variousarticles required fo r religious purposes . I ndeed, thequest of wealth had originally religious associations .Gold

,silver

,copper

,pearls

,and pre cious stones we re

all sacred,and it was because of their connection with the

ancient deities that they were first sought for . The socalled “ ornaments ” worn by our rem ote ance stors werecharms against evil and ill luck . Metals were similarlysupposed to have protective qualities . I ron is still regardedin the Scottish Highlands as a charm against fairy attack .

In China it i s a protection against dragons . The souls o fthe Egyptian dead we re charmed in the other world bythe amulets placed in the ir tombs . When the Pharaoh ’ssoul entered th e boat of the sun—god he was protected bymetals Brought to thee ”

, a Pyramid text state s, areblocks o f silver and masses of malachite .” 2 Gold was theme tal o f the sun-god and S i lver o f the deity of the moon .

Horus had associations with copper,and Ptah

,the god of

craftsmen,with various metals . Iron was the bones of

Set ”, the Egyptian devil . I n Gre ece and India the myth ical age s were associated with metals

,and iron was the

metal o f th e dark age o f evil (the Indian Kal i YugaIn Ch ina the metals have similarly rel igious associ a‘

tions . The dragon-gods of water,rain

,and thunder are

connected with gold ofvarious hues— the “ golds ” colouredby the alchemists by fus ion with other metals . Thus we

1 Bre aste d’s A H i story on ypt, p. 274.

2 Breasted’s Rel igi on and Thought i n A nci ent Egypt, p. 279 .


have Chinese references to red, yellow white, blue, and

black gold,as in the following extract

Wh en th e yellow dragon, born from yellow gold 2 thousand

years old, enters a deep place, a yellow Spring dashes forth ; and if

from th is spring som e particles (fine dust) arise, these becom e a

yellow cloud .

“ In th e sam e w ay blue springs and blue c louds originate fromblue dragons, born from blue gold e igh t hundred years o ld ; red,w h i te, and black springs and c louds from red, w h ite, and blackdragons born from gold o f sam e colours a thousand years o ld .

” 1

I n Indian Vedic lore gold is a good metal and s ilver abad metal . One of the Creation Myths states in th isconnection

H e (Prajapati) created Asuras (dem ons). That was d ispleasing to h im . That be cam e the prec ious m e tal w ith the bad

colour (silv er). Th is w as th e origin o f silver. H e created gods.That was pleasing to h im . That becam e th e prec ious m e tal w iththe good colour (gold). That was the origin of gold .

” 2

The dragon o f the Far East is associated with copper aswell as gold . In the Japanese H istori cal Records the storyis told how the Em peror Hwang brought down a dragonso that he might ride on i ts back through the air. Hefirst gathered coppe r on a mountain . Then he cast atripod . Immediately a dragon, dropping its whiskers,came down to h im . After the monarch had used the godas an “ airsh ip ”

,no fewer than seventy o f h is subj e cts

followed his exam ple . Hwang was the monarch whoprepared the “ l iquor of im mortality (the Japanesesoma by melting Cinnabar (sulphuret o f m ercury,known as “ dragon’s Chinese dragons, according to Wang E u in ’

Rh ya y ih,dread iron and like precious1 Quote d from a Ch inese w ork by Dr. W. M. W. de Visser in The Dragon i n Ch i na

and Japan (Am sterdam ,

2Mui r’s Sans/m t Tex ts,Vo l . I,p. 5 1 6

WORLD-WIDE SEARCH FOR WEALTH 3 9

stones . In Japan the belief prevailed that if iron and filthwere flung into ponds the dragons raised hurricanes thatdevastated the land . The Chinese roused dragons, whenthey wanted rain

,by making a great noise and by throw

ing iron into dragon pools . I ron has “ a pungent nature ”

and inj ures the eyes of dragons, and they rise to protecttheir eyes . Copper has, in Ch ina, associations with darkness and death . The Stone of Darkne ss ” i s hollow andcontains water or “ the vital spirit of copper ” .

1 Dragonsare fond of these stone s and of beautiful gems . 2The dragon- shaped sea-gods of India and the dragon

gods of China and Japan have close associations withpearls . In a sixth—century Ch inese work,3 i t is stated thatpearls are spit out by dragons . Dragons have pearlsworth a hundred pieces of gold in their mouths,undertheir throats, or in their pools . When dragons figh tin the sky, pearls fall to the ground . De Groot“makesreference to thunder pearls that dragons have droppedfrom their mouths . These illuminate a house by night .In Wang Fu’

s description o f the dragon i t is stated thata dragon has “ a bright pearl under its ch inA mountain in Japan is called Ryushuho,wh ich meansDragon-Pearl Pe ak It i s S ituated in Fuwa distri ct ofMino province, and is associated in a legend w i th theBuddhist temple called Cloud-Dragon Shrine ” . Whenthis temple was being erected, a dragon, carrying a pearlin its mouth, appeared before one of the priests . Mountain and sanctuary were consequently given dragon names .The “ j ewel that grants all des ires ” is known in India

,

Ch ina, and Japan . A Japanese story relates that onceupon a time an Indian Buddhist abbot

,named Bussei

1 Dr. W. M. W. de Vi sse r, The Dragon in China and Japan, p. 69 .

2Ibid .,p. 22 3 .3 Shi i hi, chap. i i .

‘Religi ous Sy stem of China,Vo l . V, p. 867 .


(Buddha’s v ow), se t out o n a voyage with purpose to

obtain th is j ewel (a pearl) which was possessed by“ the

d ragon king o f the ocean In the mid st o f the sea the

boat hove to while Bussei performed a ceremony andrepeated a charm, causing the d ragon - king to appear .The abbot, making a mystic S ign, then demanded thepearl ; but the dragon d eceived h im and nullified th emystic sign . Rising in the air, the K ing o f the Ocean ”

caused a great storm to rage . The boat was destroyedand all o n board it, except Bussei,we re drowned . Busseiafterwards migrated from southern India to Japan,aecom

pan ied by Baram on Wall—gazingThe “ Jewe ls of Flood and Ebb ” we re j ewels that

granted de sires . I n Japanese legend the se we re posse ssedby the dragon king (Sagara),whose kingdom, l ike that o fthe I ndian Naga monarch and that o f the Gaelic ruler o f“ Land Under-Waves ”, is s ituated at the bottom o f the

sea. The white j ewel is called Pearl o f Ebb and theblue j ewel Pearl o f Flood ”

.

A Japanese story relates that the Empress Jingoobtained from a sea-god a

“ j ewel that grants all des ires ”

During her reign a great fleet went to Korea to obtaintribute . The Korean fleet went out to m e et it

,but when

it was drawn up for battle, a Japanese god cast into thesea the Pearl of Ebb and immediately the waters withdrew

,leaving both flee ts stranded . T h e re solute K ing of

Korea,no t to be daunted, leapt on to the d ried sea—bed

,

and,marshalling his troops there

,advanced at the head o f

them to attack and de stroy the Japanese fleet . Then theJapanese god flung the “ Pearl o f Flood into the sea .No sooner was this done than the waters returned anddrowned large numbers of Koreans . Then a tidal waveSwept over the Korean shore,while the troops prayed fortheir l ives in vain . Not until the “ Pearl o f Ebb ”

was



myths, and rel igious be liefs associated with a particularmode of life .Before the culture—complexes of Ch ina and Japan are

investigated, so that local elements may be sifted out fromthe overlying mass o f imported elements, i t would bewell to deal with the h i story of the search for wealthacross the oceans of the world .

I t is necessary, therefore, to turn back again to thecradle of shipbuilding and maritime enterprise— to ancientEgypt with i ts wonderful civilization of over 3 0 0 0 yearsthat sent its influences far and wide . Whether or not theEgyptians ever reached Ch ina or Japan, we have nomeans of knowing . Pauth ier

’

s View in this connectionhas come in for a good deal of destructive criticism . Hereferred to a Chinese tradition that about 1 1 1 3 B .C .

t he Court was vis ited by seafarers from the kingdom of“ Nili ”, and suggested that they came from the Nilevalley.

1 The “Nili ”,“ Nele or Nere ” folk

,accord

ing to others, came from the direction o f Japan or frombeyond Korea . Reference s to them are somewhatobscure . I t does not follow that because Egyptian sh ipsreached Ch ina, they were manned by Egyptians . Sh ipswere

,l ike potter’s wheels

,adopted by folks who may

never have heard o f Egypt . A culture flows far beyondthe areas reached by those who have given it a definitecharacter, j ust as the Bantu dialects have penetrated toareas in Africa far beyond Bantu control .What motives, then, stimulated maritime enterprise

at the dawn of the h istory of sea—trafli ck ing? Whatattracted the ancient mariners ? I f i t was wealth, whatwas wealth to them ?

The answer to the last query is that wealth was someth ing with a rel igious s ignificance . Gold was searched

1 Ch ine A nci enne,pp. 94 et seq.

WORLD-WIDE SEARCH FOR WEALTH 43

for, but not, to begin with, for the purpose of makingcoins . There was no coinage . Gold was a preciousmetal in the sense that i t brought luck, and to the ancientpeople “ luck meant everything they yearned for in th isworld and the next .As far back as the SO- called “ Palaeol ith i c period

in western Europe, there was, as has been noted, asystematic search for wealth in the form of sea- shells .The hunters in central Europe imported shells fi'

om theMediterranean coast and used them as amulets . Theseimported shells are found in their graves . In AncientEgypt

,shells were carried from the Red Sea coast

,as well

as from the Mediterranean coast, long before the historicalperiod begins . The evidence of the grave-finds showsthat Red Sea pearl— S hell and Red Sea cowries were in usefor religious purposes . Millions o f them as Masperohas noted

,have been found in Ancient Egyptian graves .

In time, pearls came into use, not only pearls from Nilemussels

,but from oysters found in the southern part of

the Gulf of Aden . As shipping developed, the pearlfishers went farther and farther in search of pearls . Thefamous ancient pearl area in the Pers ian Gulf was discovered and drawn upon at some remote period . N o

doubt the pearls worn by Assyrian and Persian monarchscame

,i n part, from the Persian Gulf. A t what period

Ceylon pearls were first fished for it i s impossible to say .

Of one thing we can be certain, however . They werefished for by men who used the Egyptian type o f vessel .The migrating and trading pearl—fishers carried their

beliefs with them from land to land . Almost everywhere are found the same beliefs and practices connectedwith shells and pearls . T hese beliefs and practices are ofa h ighly complex character— so complex, indeed, that theymust have had an area of origin in wh ich they reflected

44 MYTHS OF CH INA AND JAPAN

the beliefs and customs o f a people with a h istory o f theirown . The pearl, for instance, was connected with themoon

,with the goddess who was the Great Mother, and

with the sun and the sun-god . Venus (Aphrodite) wassea—born . She was l ifted from the sea, by Tritons, seatedo n a she ll . She was the pearl— the V ital e ssence o f themagic she ll,and sh e was the moon, the Pearl of HeavenThe pearl

,l ike the moon, was supposed to exercise an

influence ove r human be ings . In Egypt, the MotherGoddess was symbolized by a cow, and cow,moon, pearl,and S hell were connected in an arbitrary way .

In those areas in which th e Mother Goddess wassymbolized by the sow, the Shell was l ikewise connectedwith her . The Greeks applied to the cowry a wordthat means “ l ittle pig this word had a specialreference to the female sex . The Romans called theshell “ porci and porcelain has a like derivation .

1 Ashas been Shown

,women were connected with hand-made

potte ry, and the pot was a symbol o f th e Great Mother.In Scotland

,certain S hells are still referred to as cows

and “ pigs ” . They were anciently bel ieved to promotefertil i ty and bring luck . The custom of placing shells o nwindow — s ills

,at doors

,i n fire— places, and round garden

plots still obtains in parts o f England, Scotland, andIreland . Some low—rel iefs o f mother goddesses withbaske ts of fruit

,corn

,&c ., surviving from the Romano

Bri tish period,which have been found in various parts of

Britain,have shell- canopie s . The Romans took over

the goddesses o f the peoples o f western Europe o n whomthey imposed their rule, as they took over the Greekpantheon .

Following the clues afforded by the evidence of S hips,it is found that the early pearl-fish ers coasted round from

1 E ll io t Sm i th, The E v oluti on of the Dragon,pp. 2 1 6 et seq.

WORLD—WIDE SEARCH FOR WEALTH 45

the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, round India to the Bayo f Bengal, round the Malay Penin sula to the Ch ina Sea,northwards to the Sea of Okhotsk

,and on to the western

coast o f North America . Oceania was peopled by theancient mariners

,who appear to have reached by this

route the coast of South America . As we have seen,Africa was circumnavigated . Western and north-westernEurope and the Briti sh I sles were reached at a very earlyperiod .

The ancient seafarers searched not only for pearls andpearl- shell

,but also for gold, s ilver, copper, tin, and other

metals and for precious stones . They appear to havefounded trading colonies that became centres from

'

wh ich

cultural influences radiated far and wide . From thesecolonies expeditions set out to discover new pearl inggrounds and new mineral fields . The search for wealth,having a religious incentive

,caused

,as has been said

,the

Spread of religious ideas . I n different countries,imported

beliefs and customs became mingled with local beliefs andcustoms,with the result that in many countries are found“ culture complexes which have a h istorical significance— reflecting as they do the varied experiences of thepeoples and the influences introduced into their homelandsat various periods .I n the next chapter i t will be shown how the dragon

of China has a h istory that throws much ligh t on theearly movements of explorers and traders who carried theelements o f complex cultures into far distant lands .

CHAPTER V

Chine se Dragon L o re

Dragon Rain—

god and T ige r-god of Moun tains and Wo ods— T hundergods of E ast and West— Shark-gods as Guardians o f T reasure— Dragon and

W hale F i sh Verteb rae as Charm s — Dragon and Dugong, C rocod i le, E el,&c .

— Polynesian Dragon as“ Pearl -m o the r ” — Chinese Dragon and “ S tag

of th e Sky— Baby lon ian S ea-

god and th e A ntelope,Gaz elle, S tag, and Goat— Baby lon ian Dragon-slaye rs — E gy ptian Gaz elle and A ntelope

-

gods— Osi r isas a S ea—god— A fri can A ntelope and A s iati c Dragon— T he Serpen t as “Wate rConfiner

”in E gypt and Ind ia— Ch inese Dragon has “ N ature of Se rpen t

A ncient A ttr ibutes of Far—E astern Dragon— Dragon Battles— Dragons in E as tand West— S tones as “ Dragon E ggs — Dragon Mo th e r and Wo rld Dragon— Dragons and E m pe ro rs.

T H E Chinese d ragon is a strange mixture of severalanimals . Ancient native writers l ike Wang E u informus that it has the head o f a camel, the horns of a stag, theeyes o f a demon, the ears of a cow, the neck o f a snake

,

the belly of a clam, the scales o f a carp, the claws of aneagle, and the soles o f a tiger . On its head is the ch i ’ihmuh lump that (l ike a

“

gas-bag ”

) enables it to soarthrough the air. The body has three j ointed parts

, the

first being “ head to shoulders the second,

“S houlders

to breast and the third,“ breast to tail ” . The scales

number 1 1 7, of which 8 1 are imbued with good influence

(yang) and 3 6 with bad influence (y in), for the d ragon ispartly a Preserver and partly a Destroyer. Under theneck the scales are reversed . The re are five “ fingers ”

or claws o n each foot . The male dragon has wh iskers,

and under the chin, or in the throat, i s a luminous pearl .46

CHINESE DRAGON LORE 47

There i s no denying the importance and significance ofthat pearl .A male dragon can be distinguished from a female o ne

by its undulating horn, which i s th ickest i n the upperpart . A female dragon ’s nose i s straight . A horneddragon is called h’

iu- lung and a hornless one ch’

i—lung.

Some dragons have wings . In addition there are horsedragons

,snake- dragons, cow-dragons, toad-dragons, dog

dragons,fish -dragons

,&c .,in China and Japan . Indeed,

all hairy,feathered, and scaled animals are more or less

associated with what may be called the “ OrthodoxDragon ” The tiger is an enemy of the dragon, butthere are references to tiger - headed dragons . T h e

dragon is a divin ity of water and rain, and the tiger adivinity of mountains and woods . 1 The wh ite t iger Is

a god of the west .Like the deities of other countries

,the Chinese

dragon-god (and the Japanese dragon) may appear indifferent shapes— as a youth o r aged man

,as a lovely

girl or an old hag,as a rat, a snake, a fish, a tree, a

weapon, or an implement . But no matter what its shapemay be, the dragon is intimately connected

—

with water .I t i s a rain lord ” and therefore the thunder- god whocauses rain to fall . The Chinese dragon thus l inks withthe Aryo

- I ndian god Indra and other rain and thundergods connected with agriculture

,including Zeus of

Greece,Tarku o f Asia Minor,Thor of northern Europe

,

the Babylonian Marduk (Merodach), Sec . There are seadragons that send storms l ike the wind-gods

,and may be

appeased with offerings . These are guardians o f treasureand especially of pearl ing—grounds . Apparently the earlypearl-fishers regarded the shark as the guardian of pearls .I t seized and carried away the “ robbers who dived for

1 D e Vi sser, The Dragon in Ch ina and j apan, p. 1 0 9 .


oysters . The ch ief sea-god of China sometime s appearedin shark form— an enormous lion—headed Shark .

Procopius, a sixth- century writer, says in th is connection “ Sea- dogs are wonderful admirers of the pearlfish

,and follow them out to sea. A certain fisher

man, having watched for the moment when the shell—fishwas deprived o f the attention o f its attendant sea- dogse ized the shell-fish and made for the shore . The sea

dog, however, was soon aware of the theft, and, makingstraight for the Finding himselfthus caught, he made a last effort, and threw the pearlfish on shore

,immediately on which he was torn to

pieces by its protector .” 1

I n Polynes ia the natives,

have superstit ious ideasabout the shark .

“ Al though says Ell is,“ they would

not only kill but eat certain kinds of shark, the largeblue shark s, Squalus glaucus, were deified by them, and,

rather than attempt to destroy them,they would endea

vour to propitiate their favour by prayers and offe rings .Temples were erected, in which priests offi ciated, andoffe rings were presented to the d eified sharks, whilefishermen

,and others who were much at sea

,sought

their favour .” 2 Polynes ian gods,l ike Chinese dragons

,

appeared in various shapes . “ One,for instance,

” writesTurner,

“saw h is god in the eel

,another in the shark

,

another in the turtle, another in the dog, another in theowl

,anothe r in the lizard ; and so o n throughout all the

fish o f the sea,and birds

,and four- footed beasts and

creeping things . I n some of the shell-fish, even, godswere supposed to be present .” 3 Here we meet again

1 Quo te d by P rof. G . E ll iot Sm i th, The E v oluti on of the Dragon,p. 1 60 .

2 E ll is,Poly nes ian Researches, F i rst E d i t ion,Vo l . I,p. 1 78 .

3 Re v . G eorge Turne r’s N i neteen T ears i n Polynesia pp. 23 8—9 . T h e god

em erging from th e sh e l l-fish i s found in Me x i co . Jackson’

s Shells as E v i dence of the

M igrati ons of E arly Cul ture,p. 5 2 .



with the shell beliefs . The avatars of dragons had pearls .In an o ld Chinese work the story is told of a dragon thatappeared in the shape of a little girl s itting at the entranceo f a cave and playing with three pearls . When a manappeared, the ch ild fled into the cave

,and

,reassuming

dragon form, put the pearls in its le ft ear .1 As the

guardian o f pearls,the Chinese dragon links with the

shark- god o f the early pearl—fishers . Th ere were varietieso f these sea—gods . I n Polynesia “ they had ”

,Ellis has

record ed,“ gods who were supposed to preside over the

fisheries,and to d irect to the ir coasts the various shoals

by which they were periodically visited . The Polyne s iansinvoked thei r aid “ either before launch ing their canoes

,

or while engaged at sea ” . I t i s of interest to find inth is connection that the dragon had associations with thewhale . Ancient mariners reverenced the Whale . TheLigurians and Cretans carried home portions of the backbones o f whales ? The habit o f placing spine s o f fish ingraves is o f great antiquity in Europe . The early seafarers who reached California during its prehistoric ageperpe tuated th is very ancient custom . Beuchat gives anillustration of a kitchen-midden grave in Californ ia inwhich a whale’s vertebra i s shown near the humanskele ton .

3 The swash t ika appears among the potterydes igns o f early American pottery ? The ancient Peruvians worsh ipped the whale

,and the Maori dragon was

compared to o ne .

5 In Scotti sh folk—lore witches sometimes assume the forms o f whale s .

1 D e Vi sse r, The D ragon in Ch i na and Japan,p. 88 .

2My ths qf Crete and Pre-H ellenic E urope, pp. 3 0 6—7 . P i erced fish v e rtebrae hav e

been found in Malta, Italy, th e south- east of Spain, and T roy . S e e Malta and the

Med i terranean Race,R. N . Brad ley (L ondon, p. 1 3 6.

3 Manuel d’

A rche’

ologi e Am e’ricaine,Fig. 2 1 , p. 1 1 4.

4 Ibid .,p. 1 69 .5 Ibid .

, p. 1 69 .

( D 71 )


The dolphin, the bluish dugong1

(probably the“ semi

human whale referred to by fE l ian), and other denizenso f the sea were regarded as de i t ies by ancient seafarers .De Groot

,in h is The Religious System of Ch ina, quoting

from the Shan ha i King, relates that in the Eastern Sea isa “ Land o f Rolling Waves In th is region dwell seamonsters that are shaped l ike cows and have blue bodies .They are hornless and one- legged . Each time they leaveor enter the waters

,winds aris e and rain comes down .

Th eir voice is that of thunder and their glare that of sunand moon .

The reference to the s ingle leg may have been suggested by the fact that when the dugong dives the tailcomes into V iew . This interesting sea- animal has been“ recklessly and indiscriminately slaughtered ” in hi storictimes .Class ical writers referred to some o f the strange

m onste rs seen by their mariners as sea- cows In likemanner the Chinese have connected denizens o f the deepwith diffe rent land an imals .The religious beliefs associated with various sea and

land animals cling to that composite god the dragon . I ndealing with it, therefore, we cannot ignore its h istory,not only in China but in those countrie s that influencedChinese civilization,wh ile attention must also be paid tocountries that, l ike China, were influenced by the earlysea and land traders and colon

’

i sts .In Polynesia the dragon is called 7720- 0 and ino-ho.

Their (the Polynes ian) use o f th is word in traditionssays W . D . Westervelt

,

2 “ showed that they Often hadin m ind animals l ike crocodiles and alligators, and some

1 T h i s m am m al be longs to th e o rde r S i renia, wh ich includes m anate e s. It i s

nat iv e to Ind ian se as . A var ie ty has be en foun d in the Red S ea.

2 L egends of G ods and G hosts (H aw ai i an My thology ), 1 9 1 5, pp. 255- 6.

CHINESE DRAGON LORE 5 1

times they referred th e name to any monster o f greatmythical powers belonging to the man- destroying class .Mighty eels

,immense sea— turtles

,large fish o f the ocean,

fierce sharks,we re all called m o- o. The most anci ent

dragons o f the Hawaiians are spoken of as l iving in poolso r lake s . Mr . We stervelt notes that “ one dragonlived in the E wa lagoon, now known as

‘Pearl Harbour ’

. This was Kane- hua - ana, who was said to havebrought the pip i (oysters) to Ewa . She

1 was worshippedby those who gather the shell—fish . When the oyste rsbegan to disappear about 1 8 50 , the natives said thed ragon had be come angry and was sending the oysters toKah iki, or some far- away fore ign land .

” I t i s evidentthat such a belie f is o f great antiquity . T he pearl underthe chin of the Ch inese dragon has, as will be seen, aninteresting history .

But, i t m ay be asked here, what conne ction has amountain stag with the ancient pearl—fishers ? As WangFu reminds us, the pearl- guarding Chinese dragon has“the horns o f a stag ”

. I t was sometimes called, DeGroot states

,

2the cele stial stag -the stag o f the Sky

This was not me rely a poetic image . The sea-god Ea o fancien t Babylonia was in one o f his forms “ the goatfish

”

, as som e put it . Professor Sayce says,in this

co nection,“ Ea was called ‘

th e ante lope o f the deep ’

,

the ante lope the creator ‘the lusty antelope He wassometimes referred to as ‘a gazelle ’

. L it hin,

‘a stag ’

,

was a reduplicated form o f elim ,

‘a gazelle ’

. Both word swere equivalent to sarru, Whatever the Ealand animal was— whether goat, gaze lle, antelope, or stagit was associated with a sea-

god who, according toBabylon ian belief, brought the elements o f culture to the1 A form o f th e m oth e r-go dde ss .

2 The Religious Sy stem of China,Vo l . I I I,p. 1 1 43 .3Hi bbert L ectures,pp. 280 — 84.


ancient Sumerians,who were developing their civil ization

at the seaport o f Eridu, then S ituated at the head o f thePers ian Gulf

,in which pearls were found . Ea was

depicted as half a land animal and half a fish, or as a

man wrapped in the Skin o f a gigantic fish as Egyptiandeitie s were wrapped in the skins o f wild beasts . One

o f Ea’s nam e s was Dagan, which was possibly th e

Dagon worshipped also by the Philistines and by theinhabitants o f Canaan be fore th e Phili stine s arrived fromKaph to r (the land o f Keftiu

,i .e . Crete) .

Ea was associated with the dragon Tiamat,which his

so n Marduk (Merodach) slew . I t i s stated in Babylonianscript that Ea “ conferred h is name ” on Marduk . Inother words, Marduk supplanted Ea and took overcertain o f his attributes

,and part o f his h istory . He

was the god o f Babylon,which supplanted other cities

,

form erly capitals ; h e there fore supplanted the ch ief god sof these cities .Ea was originally the slayer o f the dragon Tiamat and

the conqueror o f the watery abyss over which he reigned,

supplanting the dragon ? He became the d ragon h imself— the “ goat fish

”o r antelope of the deep — the

com posite deity connected with animals deified by ancien thunters and fishers whose beliefs were ultimately fusedwith those o f others with whom they were brought intoclose association in centres o f culture . Ea, who hada dragon form

,was connected with the serpent, o r

“ worm ”

,as well as with the fish .

In Egypt Horus,Osiris

,and S e t were associated with

the gaze lle . Osiris was, i n one o f his forms, th e RiverNile . He was no t only the Nile itself, but the controllerof it ; h e was the serpent and soul o f the Nile, and h ewas the ocean into which the Nile flowed, and the

1 L egends of Baby lonia and E gypt, L e onard W . K ing, pp. 1 1 6— 7

CHINESE DRAGON LORE 5 3

leviathan of the deep . In the Pyramid texts Osiri s i saddressed : Thou art great

,thou art green, in thy name

of Great—green (sea) ; 1 0 , thou art round as the GreatCircle (Okeano s) ; lo, thou art turned about, thou artround as the circle that e ncircles the H auneba (JE geans)Osiris was thus the se rpent (dragon) that, lying in theocean

,encircled the world . His son Horus is at one

point in th e Pyramid texts (Nos . 1 50 5— 8) narrative

repre sented as crossing the sea ” 2 Horus was sometimes depicted riding o n the back o f a gazelle or ante lope .

T h e Egyptian ante lope—god was in time fused with theserpent or dragon of the sea. Referring to the evidenceo f Frobenius3 i n thi s connection, Professor Elliot Smithsays that “ in some parts of Africa

,especially in the west,

the antelope plays the part of the dragon in Asiat icstories ’” When we reach India

,i t i s found that the

wind-god,Vayu

,rides on the back o f the antelope .

Vayu was fused with I ndra,the slaye r o f the dragon

that controlled the water- supply, and, indeed, retainedit by enclosing i t as the Osiri s serpent o f Egypt

,or

the serpent—mother of Osiris, enclosed th e water in itscavern during the pe riod o f “ the low Nile before theinundation took place .6 After Osiri s

,as th e water

confin ing serpent (dragon) was Slain, the river ran redwith h is blood and rose i n flood . Osiris

,originally

“ a dangerous god”

,6 was the new o r fresh ” wate r

o f the inundation .

“ The tradition o f his unfavourablecharacter ”, Breasted com ments,

“ survived in vaguereminiscences long centuri es after h e had gained widepopularity .

” Osiris ultimate ly be came “ the kindly1 Breaste d,Rel igion and Thought in A ncient E gypt, p. 20 .

2 Ibi d., p. 26.

3 T he Voice of Africa,Vo l . II, p. 467 .4 The E v oluti on qf the Dragon, p. 1 3 0 .

5 S e e i llustrat ion of th e se rpent en clos ing th e w ate rs in th e shrine of the N i le,from a

as s-re l ie f in the sm all tem ple of Ph llas. Maspe ro’s The Daw n q i v i l i z ati on,p. 3 9 .

2 Breaste d, op. ci t.,p. 3 8 .


dispenser of plenty and his slayer,Set, originally

a beneficent de i ty, was made the villain o f the storyand fused with the dragon Apep, the symbol o f darkne ssand evil . This change appears to have been effectedafter the in troduction o f the agricultural mode of life .T h e Nile, formerly the destroyer, then became thepreserver, sustainer, and generous giver of “ soul substance and daily bread .

When th e agricultural mode o f l ife was introducedInto China the horned—dragon

,or horned— se rpent (for

the dragon, Chinese writers remind us, has“ the nature

of a became the Osiri s water— serpent .H ow a snake becomes a dragon is explained in the

Shu i hi, which says : “ A water- snake after 50 0 years

Changes into a hiao,a hiao afte r 1 0 0 0 years changes

into a lung;1 a lung afte r 50 0 years change s into a hioh

lung,2 and after 1 0 0 0 ye ars into a y ing— lung

? ” In Japanis found, in add i tion, the p

’

an- lung (“ coiled

wh ich has not y e t ascend ed to heaven .

4 The “ coileddragon i s evid ently the water- retaining monster.

T he Ch inese dragon is as close ly connected with wateras was th e serpent form o f Osiris with th e Nile in ancientEgypt, and as was Indra with the “ drought dragon ” inIndia . The dragon dwe lls in pools, i t rises to the clouds,i t thunders and brings rain, it floods rivers

,i t is in the

ocean, and controls the tide s and causes the waters to ebband flow as do its magic pearls (the

“ Jewels of Floodand and it i s a sym bol o f the em peror. TheEgyptian Pharaoh was an avatar ” o f Osiris

,or Horus

,

5

and the Chine se em peror was an “ avatar ” or incarnation

1 A k iao - lung i s a dragon w i th fish scale s.2 A h orned dragon .

3 A dragon w i th w ings .

‘1 D e Vi sse r, The Dragon i n Ch i na and Japan, pp. 72 et seq.

5 H o rus t le al iv e, and Osi r i s afte r h e d i e d, as Dr. G ard i ner ins i sts .



to lay waste Sicil ian farms ? The floods o f th e RiverRhone were supposed to be caused by the “ drac I nEgypt Set became the “ roaring serpent ”

,who crept

into a hole in th e ground,“ wherein he hid himself and

lived ”. He had previously taken the shapes o f the

crocodile and the h ippopotamus to escape Horus,the

Egyptian “ dragon slayer ” .

In China the season of drought is winter . Thedragons are supposed to sleep in their pools duringthe dry spe ll, and that is why, i n the o ld Chinese work,T ih L ing, it i s s tated that

“ a dragon hidden in wate ris useless The dragons are supposed to sle ep so thatthey may pre serve their bodies ” . They begin to stirand rise in Spring. Soon they fight with o ne anothe r,so that there is no need for a Horus

,a Merodach

,or

an Indra to compe l them,by waging battle, to bring

benefits to mankind . T he Chinese welcom e what theycalled a “ dragon battle ” after the dry season . Thunderstorms break out, and rain pours down in torrents . If

a number o f d ragons engage in battle, and the war inthe air continue s longer than i s d esired, the rivers risein flood and cause m uch destruction and loss of li fe .As the emperor was closely connected with the ch iefdragon-god

,social uphe avals and war might result, i t

was anciently be l ieved, in consequence of the failureo f the priests and the empe ror (the holi est of priests)to control the dragons . The dynasty might be overthrown by th e ind ignant and ruined peasantry.

Am ong the curious superstitions entertained inChina regarding dragon battles

,is o ne that no mortal

should watch them . I t was not only unlucky but perilousfor human beings to peer into the m ysteries . De Visserquotes a Chinese metrical verse in th is connection

1 fE schyIus,P rom etheus Wnctus, 3 5 1-72.

CH INE SE DRAGON VASE WITH CARVED WOOD STAND(Vi ctoria and A lbert Museum )

CHINESE DRAGON LORE

Wh en th ey figh t, th e dragons do no t look at us ;

W hy should we look at th em when th ey are figh t ing?If w e do not seeh the dragons,T hey a lso w i ll not seeh us ?

I n Gaelic Scotland the serpe nt,which i s associated with

the goddess Bride,sleeps all winter and comes forth

on Is t February (old style), known as“ Bride ’s day

A Gaelic verse te lls in th is connectionT h e serpen t w ill com e from the h om e

On the brown day of Bride,

Though there Should be three fe e t of snowOn th e flat surfac e of the ground ?

A S in China,a compact was made with the Bride

serpent o r dragon

T O- day is th e D ay of Bride,T h e serpen t shall com e from h is ho le,I w i ll not m olest the serpent,And the serpent w i ll not m olest m e.

I t i s evident that some ve ry ancient beli ef,conne cted

with the agricultural mode o f l ife,l ie s beh ind these

curious verses in such far— separated countries as Scotlandand China . Bride and her serpent come forth to inauguratethe season of fruitfulness as do the battl ing dragons in th eFar East .When Chine se dragons fight

,fire - balls and pe arls fall

to the ground . Pearls give prom ise o f abundant supplieso f water in the future . I t is necessary

,i f all i s to go

w ell with the agriculturist; that the blue and ye llowd ragons should prevail over the others . The blue dragonis the chief spirit o f water and rain

,and th is is the d eity

that presides during the spring se ason .

1 The Dragon in Ch ina and Japan, p. 46,2Dr. A . Carm i chae l, Carm i na G adl i ca,V ol . I,p. 1 69 .


A glimpse is afforded of the mental habits of the earlysearchers fo r precious or sacred me tals and j ewels by thebeliefs entertained in China regard ing the origin o f thedragon-gods . These were supposed to have been hatchedfrom stone s

,especially beautiful stones . The colours o f

stones were supposed to reveal the characters o f the

spirits that inhabited them . In Egypt, for instance, theblue turquoise was connected with the mother - godde ssHathor,who was, among other th ings, a de i ty of the skyand therefore the controller o f the waters above thefirm am ent as well as o f the Nile . She was the mothero f sun and moon . Sh e was appealed to for water by theagriculturi sts and for favourable winds by the seafarers .The symbol used on such occas ions was a blue stone .I t was a “ luck stone that exe rcised an influence on theelements controlled by th e goddess . In the Hebrides ablue stone used to be reverenced by the descendants ofancient sea— rovers . Martin in his Western Isles tells ofsuch a stone, said to be always wet, which was preservedin a chapel dedicated to St . Columba o n the I sland o f

F ladda.

“ I t is an ord inary custom,he has written,

when any of the fishermen are detained in the isle bycontrary winds

,to wash the blue stone with water all

round, expecting thereby to procure a favourable wind,which, the credulous tenant living in the isle says, neverfails, especially if a stranger wash the stone .

” Why a“ stranger ” ? Was th is curious custom introduced of

o ld by strangers who had crossed the deep ? Had thewashing ceremony its origin in the custom o f pouring outlibations practised by those who cam e from an area inwhich a complex re l igious culture had grown up

,and

where men had connected a de i ty, originally associatedwith the water - supply and therefore with the foodsupply, with tempests and ocean- tide s and the sky ?


The Chinese,who called certain beautiful st

'

m e s

dragon ’s eggs ”, believed that when they split, l igh tningflashed and thunder bellowed and darkness came on .

The new-born dragons ascended to the sky . Before thedragons came forth

,much water poured from the stone .

As in the Hebrides, the dragon stone had, i t wouldappear

,originally an association with the fertilizing water

deity .

The newborn Ch ine se dragon i s no bigger than aworm

,or a baby serpent or l izard, but it grows rapidly .

Evidently be l iefs associated with the water- snake deitieswere fused with those regarding coloured stones . Thesnake was the soul of the river . Osiris as the Nile wasa snake . His mother had, therefore, a snake form .

The haunting memory of the goddess - mother ofwater- spirits clings to the “ dragon mother ” of a Chineselegend related by ancient writers

,a version o f which i s

summarized by de Visser . 1 Once, i t runs, an old womanfound five “ dragon eggs lying in the grass . Whenthey spl i t (as in Egypt “ the mountain o f dawn spl itsto give birth to the sun), th is woman carried the littleserpents to a river and let them go . For th is service shewas give n the power to foretell future events . Shebecame a sibyl— a priestess . The people ! called herThe Dragon Mother . " When she washed clothes atthe river- side

,the fishes

,who were subj e cts of dragons

,

“ used to dance before her ”

In various countries certain fish were regarded asforms of the shape- changing dragon . The Gaelic dragonsometime s appeared as the salmon, and a migratory fishwas in Egypt associated with Osiris and his “ mother ” .

When the Ch inese “ Dragon Mother died, she wasburied on the eastern side o f the rive r . Why, i t may

1 The Dragon in China and Japan,p. 89 .


be asked,o n the eastern s ide ? Was it because, being

originally a goddess, sh e was regarded as the “ mothero f the sun—god o f the east— the mothe r who was “ themountain o f dawn and whose influence was concentratedin the blue stone ? The Chinese dragon o f the east i sblue

,and the blue dragon is associated with spring— the

first- born season o f the year. But apparently the dragonsobj ected to the burial o f the “ Dragon Mother ” o n theeastern bank . The legend tells that they raised a violentstorm

,and transferred h er grave to the western bank .

Until the present age the belief obtains that there isalways wind and rain near the Dragon Mother’s Grave ” .

T he people explain that the dragons love to “ wash th egraveHere we find the dragons pouring out libations

,as did

the worshippers o f the Great Mother who came from adistant land .

The god o f the we stern quarter is wh ite,and presides

ove r the autumn season of fruitfulness . Just before the“ birth o f autum n the Chinese address their prayers tothe mountains and h ills .I n ancient Egypt the confl ict between the Solar and

Osirian cults was a confl i ct between the cult of the eastand the “ cult o f the we st ” Professor Breasted notesthat although Osiris is “ Firs t o f the Westerners (thewest being h is quarter) he goes to the east (after d eath)in th e Pyramid texts (of the solar cult) and the pair,I s is and N epthy s (the godd ess), carry the d ead into theeast ” . The east was the place where the ascent to thesky was m ade . In Egyptian solar theology it combinedwith the south . T h e rivalry between the two cults i sreflected in o ne particular Pyramid text in wh ich “ thedead is adjured to go to the west in preference to the east

,

i n order to j oin the sun—god 1 ” But to the solar cult the



historical classic,

1 tells that the dragons’ bones come fromTsin land . I t i s noted that the fiv e- coloured ones arethe best . The blue, yellow, red, white, and black ones,according to their colours, correspond with the viscera,as do the fiv e ch ih (felicitous plants) , the fiv e crystals(shih y ing), and the five kinds o f mineral bole (sh ih ch i) .

De Groot2 gives the colours connected with the internalorgans as follows

I . Blue— liv er and gall.2 . Wh ite — lungs and sm all in test ines .

3 . Red— h eart and large in testines.

4. B lack fl kidneys and bladder.5 . Ye llow— spleen and stom ach .

Apparently the special curative quali ty of a dragon ’s bonewas revealed by its colour . The god s of th e variousmansions influenced different organs o f the humanbody.

I n ancient Egypt th e internal organs were placed inj ars and protected by the H oruses of the cardinal points .The god of the north had charge o f the small viscera, thegod of the south of the stomach and large intestines, thegod of the west of l iver and gall, and the god of the easto f heart and lungs . T h e Egyptian north was red andsymbolized by the Red Crown, and the south was whiteand symbolized by the White Crown .

In Mexico the colours white, red, and yellow wereconnected with different internal organs, and black with adisembowe lled condition .

I t is evident that the sea and land traders carried theirstrange stocks o f med ical knowledge over vast areas . I tis no t without significance to find in th is connection that,

1 S ee E ngl ish translat ion by Walte r G orn Old (L ondon,9 The Religi ous Sy stem of Ch i na,Vol . IV,p. 26.


accord ing to Ch inese belief,there was an island on wh i ch

dragons ’ bones were found .

The dragons are not only rain- gods and gods of thefour quarters and the seasons, but also

“ l ight - gods ”,connected with sun and moon, day and night . In theT ih lin there is a reference to a black dragon whichvomits l ight and causes darkness to turn into light . Themountain dragon o f Mount Chung is called the “ E n

l ightene r of Darkness “When it opens its eyes it i sday, when it shuts its eyes i t i s n ight . Blowing hemakes winter

,exhaling he makes summer . The wind is

its breath .

” 1

In like manner the Egyptian Ra and Ptah are universal gods

,the sun and moon being their “ eyes ” .

Even Osiris,as far back as the Pyramid period,was the

source of all l ife and a world—god . He was addressed“ The soil i s on thy arm, i ts corners are upon thee as faras the four pillars o f the sky . When thou m ov est theearth trembles . As for thee

,the Nile comes forth

from the swe at of thy hands . Thou spewest out thewind .

” 2 Osiri s sent water to bring fertili ty as dothe d ragons, air for the life—breath o f man and beast, andalso l ight

,which was, of course, fire (the heat wh ich i s

life) .T h e idea o f the l ife- principle being in fire and water

l ies beh ind Wang Fu’s statement : “ Dragon fire andhuman fire are opposite . I f dragon fire comes intocontact with wetness

,i t flames ; and if i t m eets water,

i t burns . If one drives i t (the d ragon) away by meansof fire

,i t stops burning and its flames are extinguished .

” 8

Celestial fire is something different from ordinary fire .

1 D e Vi sser, T he Dragon in f apan and China,p. 62.

2 Breasted’s Rel igion and Though t i n d nci ent E gypt,p. 2 1 .

The Dragon in Ch ina and Japan,p. 67 .


The vital spark is o f celestial origin— purer and holie rthan ordinary fire . Dragon skins, even whe n cast o ff,sh ine by night . S o do pearls, coral, and precious stonessh ine in darkness in the Chinese myths .One traces the influence o f the solar cult in the idea

that the d ragon ’s vital spirit i s in its eyes . I t is becauseiron blind s a dragon that it fears that me tal . I n Egyptthe eye o f Horus i s blinded by Set,whose metal is i ron .

There is a quaint mixture o f religious ideas in the

Chine se custom o f carrying in process ion through thestreets

,on the 1 5 th o f the first month, a dragon made

o f bam boo,linen

,and pape r . In front of it i s borne a

red ball . D e Groot says that th is i s the azure dragon,the head o f which rose as a star to usher in spring atthe beginning .

1 In like manner the Egyptian“ spring ”

i s ushe red in by the star Sirius, the mother o f the sun,

from which falls a tear that causes the inundation . Butalthough the red ball may have been a solar symbol, it isalso connected with the moon . The Chinese themselvescall the ball “ The Pearl o f Heaven — that is

,“ the

7 ,moon An inscription on porcelain br ings th is outclearly. Mr . B lacker has translated the text below twodragons rush ing towards a ball as “ A couple o f dragonsfacing the moon T he dragons were no t only m oonand sun d evourers who caused eclipses,but guardians ofthe se orbs in their capacitie s as gods o f the four quarte rs .The all— absorbing dragon appears even as a vam pire .

A tige r- headed dragon with the body o f a snake seizeshuman be ings, covers them with saliva, and sucks bloodfrom under the ir armpits . No blood i s left when theystop sucking .

” 3 I n Japanese legends dragons as white

1 D e G roo t ’s T he Re l igi ous Sy stem of Ch i na,Vo l . I, p. 369 .

2 Chats on Or i ental Ch i na (L ondon,3 D e Vi sse r, The Dragon i n Ch i na and j apan,p. 79 .


eels draw blood from the legs of horse s that enter a river . lEvil or s ick dragons send bad rain .

The gods ride on dragons,and therefore emperors

and holy men can also use them as veh icles . Y u, thefounder of the Hea Dynasty

,had a carriage drawn by two

dragons . Ghosts sometimes appear riding on dragonsand wearing blue hats . The souls o f the dead areconveyed to the Celestial regions by the winged gods .Dragons appear when great men are born .

2 Emperorshad dragon ancestors . The Emperor Yaou was the sonof a red dragon ; one Japanese emperor had a dragon

’stail

,being a descendant of the sea-god .

3

In the next chapter i t will be shown that in Chinesedragon- lore i t i s possible to detect with certainty thesources o f certain “ layers that were superimposed onprimitive conceptions regarding these deities .

l The Dragon: in Chi na and j apan,p. 1 1 2.

2 A dragon appeared at the bi rth of Confuc ius.3 De V i sse r, T he Dragon in Chi na and j apan,p. 1 45.

( D 71 )

CHAPTER VI

Bird and Se rpent Myths

Culture Com plexes in Dragon- lo re— Po lynesian Dragon Beliefs— Ocean i c

and A frican Fi sh -

gods— Repti le De i ti es where no Rept i les are found— Ch inese

D ragons and Ind ian N agas— Dragon - links between Ind ia, T ibe t, Ch ina, and

Japan— B i rds and Snakes— D i stribution o f E gyptian Winged D i sk —H o rusand the Secretary B i rd — Ind ian Mungoo se supplants

“ S ecretary Bi rdMungoose fo rm of G od of R i ch es and Death— B i rd and S e rpent com bined inD ragon— Babylon ian Dragon w as a com b inat ion o f E agle,S erpent,and L i onT ree Fo rm s of the Ch inese Dragon, the Po lynesian Mo -o, and the Ind ianN agas— T he Dragon, the Salm on, th e T ree, and the “ T hunde r-b i rd

T H E intens ive study o f a country’s belie fs and ideas,as

revealed in i ts myth s and lege nds, i s greatly facil itated bythe adoption of the comparative method . I t may notalways be found possible to identify areas in which certainbeliefs had origin

,but when we de te ct

,as we do in China

,

myths similar to those found in other lands,and espe

cially highly complex myths, that had origin in one part icular country and received additions in another, theimported elements m ay be s ifted out from a local religioussystem without much d ifli culty .

The Chinese dragon has disti nct and outstandingChine se characteristics, but it i s obviously not entirelya Chinese creation . Attached to the composite wonderbeast ” are complex ideas that have -

a history outsideCh ina

,as well as those ideas that reflect Chinese natural

phenomena and Chinese experiences and habits o f l ife andthought . The fused beliefs, as symbolized by the dragon,

66

BIRD AN D SERPENT MYTHS 07

have passed through a prolonged process of local dev elopm ent, but those that were im ported have not, i tis found

,been entirely divested o f thei r distinctive charac

teristics, and remain preserved as fl ies are in amber .Interesting and important evidence that throws l ight

o n the history o f the Ch inese dragon i s found in Polyne s ia, India, and Babylonia, and even in Egypt andEurope . The cultural influence o f Babylon ia, wh ichradiated over a wide area for a score o f centuries or1 0 nger, i s traceable in India, and, as i s well known,Buddhist India exercised a strong cultural influence onChina . But

,as will be shown, Babylonian influence

reached the Shens i province o f Ch ina long before theAryans entered India. Buddhist ideas regard ing thepearl- protecting dragon -god o f water and fire were ev idently superimposed in Ch ina upon earl ier Babylonianideas regarding the water-dragon,which had no particularconnection with pearls . At any rate, there i s no mentiono f pearls in the Babylonian myth .

When it i s found that many o f the ideas connectedwith the Chinese dragon were prevalent in Polynesia

,

what conclusion i s to be drawn ? There i s no evidencethat Ch inese culture was an active force in New Zealandor Hawaii,for instance . I t cannot have been from Chinathat the Polynesians derived their dragon, or their bel iefsconnected with the serpent, a reptile unknown to theislanders at first hand . The only reasonable conclusionthat can be drawn is that the Ch inese and the Polynesianswere influenced at an early period by intruders from otherlands . The Polynesian intruders must necessarily havebeen sea- traders . Of course, the Polynesians m ay themselves h ave imported their dragon bel iefs from theirhomeland . That homeland, however, was certainly notChina .


The Polynesian MO-O o r Mo—ko (dragon) had, as wasshown in the last chapte r, a connection with pearls . OnMaui ”

,writes W . D . Westervelt,1 “

the greatest dragonof the island was K i ha - wahine . The natives had thesaying

,K iha has m ana, or miraculous power, like

MO- O- inanea’

. She l ived in a large, deep pool on theedge o f the village Lahaina, and was worsh ipped by theroyal family Of Maui as their special guardian . Royalfamilies were invariably the descendants of intruding con

querors . I t is of special interest,therefore,to find the Poly

nes ian dragon—god connected with a m ili tary aristocracy.

The Rev . George Brown, missionary and explorer,refers to similar dragon beliefs among the people of N ew

Britain . He tells of a spring connected with the woman

(goddess) who caused the deluge . The natives say thatan immense fish l ives in i t

,which will come out when they

call i t ” . The belief Obtains among the Me lanesians“ that the creator of all th ings was a woman ” . Shemade all lands and the natives prayed to herwhen an eclipse o f the sun o r the moon took place

”.

2

The king of Samoan gods was a dragon .

“ This godBrown tells, had the body o f a man to the breast only,and the body Of an e el (m artena) be low . This eel’s bodylies down in the ocean,and from the chest to the head liesdown in the house . This is the god to whom all thingsare reported . The inferior gods are h is attendants .”

Gods half human and half reptile,or half human and

half fish,are found in various countries . In the British

Museum are bronze rel iefs o f the K ing o f Benin (as therepresentative of his ch ief deity) half shark and half man .

The kings of Dahomey were depicted as sharks with bodies

L egends qf G ods and Ghost: (H awai i an Mytho logy, p. 258 .

2Melanesi ans and Poly nesians (L on don, pp. 3 34-

5.3 Ibi d .,



Japan . The Nagas are also “ Lords o f the Earth and

send drought and disease when offended or neglected . Ea,the sea-

go d of the early Babylonians,was known also asEnki

,The Lord of th e Earth

In Buddhist art the Naga is shown in three forms( 1 ) as a human being with a snake on or poised over thehead

,reminding o ne of the Egyptian kings o r queens who

wear the urmus symbol o n their foreheads ; (2) as halfhuman and half snake (the

“ mermaid and (3 ) asordinary snakes . The first form ‘ i s found not only inIndia

,but in Tibe t

,China, and Japan . Human- S haped

Nagas are depicted worsh ipp ing Buddha, as they stand inwater .In Tibet

,the Naga is shown with the upper part o f

the body in human shape and the lower in snake shape ;there are horns on the head and wings spreading out fromthe shoul ders . The sam e form i s found in Japan .

This Tibetan link between the Indian Naga and theChinese Dragon is important . T h e bird-god has beenblended with the snake - god . In India the bird — gods

(Garudas) are enemies o f the Nagas (snakes),and Garudasin eagle shape are found depicted in low relief

,

carrying o ff Nagas in snake shape . This eternal confl ictbetween eagle— l ik e birds and serpents is one Of the featuresof Babylon ian mythology .

The story of Zu, the Babylonian Eagle-god, i s foundon tablets that were stored in the library o f the gre atAssyrian K ing

,Ashur-ban i—pal . Zu, i t is related, stole

from the gods the tablets of destiny and was pursuedand caught by Shamash, the sun—god . I n one version Of

the myth Zu,the e agle

,i s punished by the serpent,which

conceals itse lf in the body Of an ox . When the eaglecom es to feast on the flesh it is seized by the serpent andslain .

BIRD AND SERPENT MYTHS 7 1

I n Polynesia the eternal confl ict between bird-god andserpent—god i s illustrated in wood—carvings . The Egyptianwinged disk

,as adopted by the islanders, shows the bird

in th e centre with a struggling snake in its beak. TheCentral American peoples had l ikewise th i s bird - andserpent myth . I ndeed, i t figures prominently in theirmythologies . In Mexico the winged disk was placed, asin Egypt

,above the entrances to the temples .

The bird—and—sepent myth i s to be found even in theIliad . When Hector set forth with h i s heroes to breakthrough the wall of the Acha an camp, an eagle appearedin the air

,bearing in its talons “ a blood—red monstrous

snake,al ive and struggling still The writh ing snake

manages to sting the eagle,wh ich immediately drops it . 1

Iii ancient Egyptian myths the bird was the Horushawk and the serpent was Set . Horus assumed, i n h i sgreat battle against the snake,crocodile,and other enemiesof Ra, the winged disk form— the winged sun, protectedby the two snake-goddesses o f Upper and Lower Egypt.This strange combination of deities i n the “ W inn

disk ” symbol was as distinctively an Egyptian culturaland political complex as the Union Jack is dist inctively aBritish complex . As the Union Jack has been carried tomany a distant land, so was the Egyptian winged d isk,the flag of Egyptian culture . In those areas in wh ichthe winged disk is found,are found also traces of Egyptianideas wh ich, Of course,were not necessarily introduced bythe Egyptians themselves .How did this myth of the struggle between bird and

serpent have origin ? The only country in the world inwh ich a great bird hunts serpents is Africa . The bird inquestion is the famous secretary bird (Serpentarius secre

tarius),wh ich is nowadays domesticated by South African1 Il iad,Book XII (L ang’s, L eaf’s,and Dyer’s p. 236.


farmers so as to keep down snakes . I t i s found in Eastand West Africa . In general appearance it looks l ikea modified eagle mounted on stilts .” 1 The bird attacksa snake with wings outspread, and flaps them in front ofits body to prevent itself from being bitten during theconfl ict. Early Egyptian seafarers were no doubt greatlyimpressed when, “ in the land of Punt ”, they saw the sestrange birds

,with heads l ike eagles or hawks, standing

over snakes they had clutched in their talons,and then

flying away with them dangling from their beaks . T he

mariners’ stories about the snake-devouring bird appearto have crept into the mythology o f Egypt,with the resultthat the Horus hawk became the hunter Of Set in his“ h iss ing serpent form . Above the hole in the groundinto wh ich the Set serpent fled for concealment and safetywas se t a pole surmounted by the head o f the Horushawk . As Dr. Budge puts it : Horus, the so n of I si s,stood upon h im (S e t) in the form o f a pole or staff,on thetop o f which was the head of a hawk ”

.

2 But, one mayurge, i t could not have been until after Egyptian ve sselsvisited the coasts haunted by the secretary bird that thebi rd and serpent variat ion of the Horus - Set myth wasform ulated in the land o f Egypt, whence, apparently, i twas distributed far and wide . Horus was not necessarilyan enemy o f serpents, seeing that there are two in h i sdisk .

I n Tibet, as has been stated, the bird and serpentwere combined

,and the “ composite beast was given a

human head with horns . The horned and winged dragonof Ch ina is thus, in part, a combination of the originalsecretary bird and the snake .

1 The N atural H tstory of A nim als (G resham , L ondon),Vol . III,p. 1 76 and pp. 46

Ct 3 69.2Budge, The G ods of the E gyptians,Vo l. I,p. 48 1 .


74 MYTHS OF CH INA AN D JAPAN

stituted by the j ewel- spitting mungoose wh ich has “ d e

v oured i ts attributes .T he god Kubera has a heaven o f its own

,and is a

form of Yam a, god o f death . In his form as Dharma,god of j ustice

,Yama figures i n the Maha

'hhdra ta 1 as a

blue- eyed mungoose with one side o f his body changedin to gold h is voice being “ loud and deep as thunde rHere Yama l inks with I ndra, god o f thunder

,who

,

having a heaven o f his own,i s also a god of death .

Egypt had its “ blue—eyed Horus ”.

2 The god Horuswas the living form o f Osiris . The l iving Pharaoh wasa Horus,and the d ead Pharaoh an Osiris, as Dr. Gardinerreminds us .The combination o f bird and serpent is found in

Pers ia as well as in Tibet . On an archaic cylinder sealfrom the ancient Elamite capital o f Susa

,the dragon is a

l ion with an eagle’s head and wings ; the forelegs arethose Of the eagle, and the h ind legs those of a l ion .

A form o f the god Tammuz, namely th e god NinC irsu Lord of G irsu of the Sumerian city o f Lagash

(G irsu appears to have been a suburb), was a lion—headedeagle . 3 The god Ea had a dragon form .

4 The dragonof the I shtar gate of Babylon is a combination of eagle

,

serpent, and lion, and i s horned .

There can remain l ittle doubt that the Ch inese dragonhas an interesting history

,not only in Ch ina but outs ide

that country . I t cannot be held to have independentor ig i n . At a remote period dragon beliefs reached China,Ind ia

,and Polynesia, and even America .5

I n each separated area the dragon took on a local

1p am edha Par‘v a, S e ct ion XC, S loka 5 .

2 Budge, G ods of the E gyptians,Vo l . II,p. 1 0 7 .

3 My ths of Bahy lonta and A ssy ria,p. 1 20 .4 Ibi d .,p. 62.

5 The E v oluti on of the Dragon,G . E l l iot Sm i th, pp. 83 et seq.

BIRD AND SERPE NT MYTHS 75

colouring,but the fundamental beliefs connected wi th

it remained the same . I t was closely connected withwater (the

“ water Of l ife and also with trees (the“ trees of Thus we find that in China a d ragonmight assume the shape o f a tree growing under water” ;

1

a boat once coll ided with drift-wood which was found tobe a dragon . Crocodiles are sometimes mistaken for logso f wood .

In Hawa i i two noted dragons (mo- O) l ived in a river .They were called ‘the moving boards ’ which made abridge across the river .” 2

The Indian Nagas were not only water de ities buttree spiri ts

,as Dr . Rhys Davids has emphasized .

3

Behind dragon worship is a complex of belie fs connected with what i s usually called “ tree and well worsh ip ” In Gaelic stories

,the sacred tree is guarded by

the beast in the sacred well,and a form of the beast

(dragon) i s the salmon ; in the tree is the thunder bird”

.

Dragon, tree, and bird are connected with the god ofthunder who sends rain .

When Buddhism reached China, imported Nagabeliefs were superimposed on earl ier Chinese beliefs connected with the dragon-god who controlled the rainsupply, as Osiri s in Egypt controlled the Ni le, and theBabylonian Ea the Euphrates .In the next chapter various beliefs connected with the

dragon are brought out in representative legends .

1 D e Visser, The D ragon in Ch i na and j apan, p. 1 30 .

2Westerv e lt’

s L egends of G ods and Ghosts,p. 258 .

3 Buddhist India,pp. 224—5.

CHAPTER V I I

Dragon Fo lk - sto rie s

H ow Fi sh becam e Chinese Dragons -F ish fo rm s of T eutonic and Ce lt ic

God s— Dragon- slaye rs eat Drago ns’ H earts -T he L anguage of Bi rds "— H eart

as S eat o f In te lligence— Baby lon ian Dragon -Kupu— Po lynesian DragonKupna— Drago ns and Med i cinal H e rbs— S to ry o f Ch inese H e rbal ist and “Red

Cloud H e rb Boy B lue and Red Carp as Fo rm s of Black Dragon— Ign i sFatuus as “ Dragon L ante rns H eart F i re — S to ry of Priest and Dragonwom an— T h e “ Fi re N ai l

”

in Japan and Po lynesia— T he “ Fai th Cure ”

in

Japan — T he Magic Rush -m at— Grav e Reed —m ats, Skins, and L inen Wrappings

— T he E phodu Melusina i n F ar E ast— S to ry of Wu and the T hunder

Dragon .

IN Chine se and Japanese folk- s tories the dragons havefish forms or avatars . They m ay be eels, carps, ormigratory fish l ike the salm on . I t is believed that thosefish that ascend a river’s dragon gate become dragons

,

while those that remain beh ind continue to be fish .

Dragons are closely associated with waterfalls . Theyhaunt in o ne or other o f their forms the deep pools belowthem .

I n western European stories,dragons and gods of

fire and water assume the forms o f fish,and h ide them

se lves in pools . Loki of Icelandic legend has a salmonform . When the gods pursue h im

,he hides in Franang

’

s

stream,or “ unde r the waters of a cascade called Fra

nangurfors After he i s caught and bound, Loki istortured by a serpent . When he twists h is body violently,earthquakes are caused . He is closely associated with

1 Teutonic My th and L egend, p. 1 74 et seq.

76



slayer does not eat the heart of the reptile god, butgets possess ion of a book of spells, and, on reading these,acquires knowledge o f th e languages o f all animals,including fish and birds . 1

When,however, we investigate the dragon beliefs

o f ancient Babylonia, we meet with a reference to theKu—

pu as the source o f d ivine power and wisdom . AfterMerodach (Marduk) the dragon slayer kills Tiamat,the “ mother dragon a form of the mother-goddess,he divides the flesh o f the Ku-

pu,and devises a cunningplan As the late Mr . Leonard W . K ing pointed out,

2

Ku-pu i s a word of uncertain meaning. I t did nots ignify the heart, because i t had been previously statedin the text that Merodach se vered her inward parts, he

pierced her heart .Jensen has suggested that Ku-

pu s ignifies“ trunk,

body ” . I t i s more probable that the Ku—

pu was theseat Of the soul, mind, and magical power ; the powerthat enabled the slain reptile to come to life again inanother form .

’

I t may be that a clue is afforded in this connectionby the Polynesian idea o f Kupua. Mr . Westervelt,whohas carefully recorded what he has found,writes regarding the Mo- o (dragons) of the Hawaiians :

Migh ty e els, im m ense sea turtles, large fish of the o cean,fierce sharks, w ere all called m o-o . T he m ost anc ient dragonsof the Hawai ians are spoken o f as liv ing in pools or lakes. Th ese

1 E gyptian My th and L egend,pp. 34 1 , 342 .

2 S ev en Tablets of Creat ion.

3 T he be l ie f th at the cat has n ine l iv es m ay be c ited,and also th e be l i e f that if ane e l or a serpent i s cut in two i t w i ll com e to l i fe again . A Ch inese dragon m ay rev iv eaft er be ing cut up and buri e d. T h e story i s told in Japan of a m an who k i lled a snakedragon, cut i t into thre e pie ces, and buried them , but thi rteen y ears later, on th e sam e

day of th e y e ar on wh ich he slew th e dragon, h e cri ed out “ I drink wate r, ch oke d,and d i ed. H i s death was cause d by th e dragon h e had endeav oure d to ki ll (de Vi sse r,The Dragon in Ch i na and f apan, p. T he Death less Snake ” in an anc i ent

E gypt ian story com es to l i fe unt i l the severed parts are buried separate ly .

DRAGON FOLK- STORIES 79

dragons w ere know n also as Kupuas, or m ysterious characters,who could appear as anim als, or hum an be ings, according to the irw ish . T he saying was, Kupuas hav e a strange double

The Polynesian beliefs connected with the Kupuasare highly suggestive . Mr . Westervelt continues

“ It was som e tim es though t that at birth anoth er natural

form w as added, such as an egg of a fow l or a bird, or the seed of

a plant,o r the em bryo of som e anim al wh ich,w hen fully developed,m ade a form wh ich could be used as readily as the hum an body.

Th ese Kupuas w ere always giv en som e great m agic power. Th eywere w onderfully strong, and w ise, and skilful.

U sually the birth of a Kupna, like th e birth of a h igh ch ief,w as attended w i th strange d isturbances in th e h eav ens, such as

rev erberat ing thunder, flashing ligh tning, and sev ere sto rm s w h ich

sen t the abundant red so il of th e islands down th e m oun tain- sides

in blood-red torren ts, known as ka—ua—koko (th e blood rain). T henam e was also given to m isty,fine rain w h en sho t through by thered wav es of th e sun .

”

All the dragons of Hawa i i were descended fi'

om

MO-o - inanea (the self- rel iant dragon), a mother-goddess .She had a dual nature

,sometimes appearing as a dragon

,

sometimes as a woman Hawaiian dragons also assumedthe forms of large stones

,some o f which were associated

with groves of hau trees ; on these stones ferns and flowerswere laid and referred to as kupuas

” 1

I n Ch ina the dragon ’s kupua (to use the Polynes ianterm) figures in various storie s . We meet with theRed Cloud herb ”, or the Dragon Cloud herb

”

,whichcures diseases . I t i s the gift of the dragon,and apparentlya dragon kupua. Other curative herbs are the dragonwhisker’s h erb ” and the dragon ’s l iver ”, a specieso f gentian, which i s in Japan a badge of the Minamotofamily. The “ dragon ’s sp ittle had curat ive qualities

,

1 L egends qf G ods and Ghosts (H aw ai i an My thology),pp. 2 56— 7.


the essence of life being in the body moisture o f a deity.

The pearl,which the dragon spits out, has, or is, soulsubstance ” . The plum tree was in China connectedwith the dragon . A story tells that once a dragon waspunished by having its ears cut o ff. I ts blood fell onthe ground, and a plum tree sprang up ; i t bore fleshyfrui t without kernels . l When in an ancient Egyptianstory the blood of the Bata bull falls to the ground twotrees contain ing his soul- forms grow in a n ight .2

A Chinese “ Boy Blue ” story deals with the searchm ade by Wang Shuh, a herbalist, for the Red Cloudhe rb . He followed the course of a mountain stream ona hot summer day, and at noon sat down to rest and eatrice below shady trees bes ide the deep pool o f a waterfall .As he lay o n the bank

,gazing into the water

,he was

astonished to see i n i ts d epths a blue boy, about a foot inheight, with a blue rush in h is hand, riding on the backof a red carp

,without disturbing the fish

,which darted

h i ther and th ithe r. I n time the pair came to the surface,and, rising into the air, turned toward s the east . Thenthey went swiftly in the direction o f a bank of cloudthat was creeping across the blue sky, and vanished froms ight .The herbalist continued to ascend the “mountain,

searching for the herb, and when he reached the summitwas surprised to find that the sky had become completelyovercast . Great m asses o f black and yellow clouds hadrisen over the Eastern Sea

,and a thunder- storm was

threatening. Wang Shuh then realized that the 'blueboy he had seen riding on the back of the red carpwas no other than th e thunder- d ragon . He peered at

1 T he Dragon in Ch ina and Japan, p. 1 27. S ee also the E gypt ian Bata sto ryEgypti anMy th and L egend, pp. 49

—56.

2 Egypti an My th and L egend, p. 5 5.


DRAGON FOLK- STORIES 8 1

the clouds,and perceived that the boy and the carp1

had been transformed into a black hiao (scaled d ragon) .He was greatly alarmed

,and concealed himse lf in a

hollow tree .Soon the storm burst forth in all i ts fury . The

herbalis t trembled to hear the voice o f the black thunderdragon and to catch glimpses o f his fiery tongue as hespat out flashes o f l ightn ing . Rain fell in torrents, andthe mountain stream was heavily swollen, and roareddown the steep valley . Wang Shuh feared that eachmoment would be his last .In time

,howeve r

,th e storm ceased and the sky

cleared . Wang Shuh then crept forth from his h idingplace, thankful to be still alive, although he had seenthe dragon . He at once set out to return by the wayhe had come . When he drew near to the waterfallhe was greatly aston ished to hear the sound o f sweethumming music . Peering through the branches o f thetrees, he beheld the l ittle blue boy riding on the backo f the red carp

,re turning from the east and settling

down on the surface o f the pool . Soon the boy wascarried into the d epths and past the playful fish again .

Struck with fear,the herbalist was for a time unable

to move . When at length he had summoned sufli c ient

strength and courage to go forward,he found that the

boy and the carp had vanished comple tely . Then heperceived that the Red Cloud herb

,for which he had

been search ing, had sprung up o n the very edge of theswirling water . Stooping, he plucked it greedily . Assoon as he had done so

,he went scampering down the

side o f the mountain . On reaching the village,Wang

told his friends the wonderful story o f h is adventureand d iscovery .

1 T he Dragon’

s K upuas.

( D 71 )


N ow i t happened that the Em peror’s daughtera very beautiful girl — was lying ill in the royal palace .The Court physicians had end eavoured in vain to restoreher to health . Hearing of Wang S huh ’

s d i scovery o f

the Red Cloud herb, the Empe ror sent out tor h im .

On reaching the palace, the herbalis t was addressed bythe Em peror h imself, w ho said :

“ I s it true, as mentell, that you have seen the black hiao i n the form o f

a little blue boy riding on a red carp ?“ I t i s indeed true,

” Wang Shuh made answer.And is it true that you have found the dragon herb

that sprang up during the thunder- storm ?”“ I have brought the herb with me, Your Maj esty .

Mayhap,

” the Emperor said,“ i t will give healing

to my daughter .Wang Shuh at once made offer o f th e herb

,and

the Emperor led him to the room in which the sickprincess lay . The herb had a sweet Odour,1 and WangShuh plucked a leaf and gave i t to the lady to smell .She at once showed signs o f reviving, and this wasregarded as a good omen . Wang Shuh then made am edicine from the herb, and when the princess had

partaken of it, she grew well and strong again .

The Emperor rewarded Wang Shuh by appointingh im h is chief physician . Thus the herbalist became agreat and influential man .

To few mortals comes the privilege o f setting eye s ona dragon

,and to fewer is th e vis ion followed by good

fortune .I n this quaint story the Red Cloud herb is evidently

1 T h e odour of th e he rb was th e body o dour of th e dragon. It h e lped to re storev i tali ty, as did incense,wh en burne d be fore an E gypt ian m um m y . G ods w ere s im i larlyfed by offe rings of in cense . T h e Babylon ian N oah burned incense,and the gods sm e lt

th e swe e t sav our. T h e gods gath e re d l ike fli es about h im that offered the sacrifice.-K 1 ng,Baby loni an Rel igi on,p. 1 36.



fire -goddess . I t is told regarding a Buddhist priest whol ived be s ide a dragon hole o n Mount Murobu. Oneday, as he was about to cross a river, a lady wearing richand dazzling att ire came up to h im and made request fora magic charm he possessed . She spoke with avertedface, telling who she was . The priest repeated the charmto her and then said : Permit me to look upon your faceSaid the d ragon woman : “ I t 1 8 very terrible to behold .

No man dare gaze on my face . But I cannot refuse yourrequest .”

The priest had h is curios ity sati sfied, but apparentlywithout coming to harm . Priestly prestige was maintamed by stories of th is kind.

As soon as th e priest looked in her face the dragonwoman rose in the air

,and stretched out the small finger

o f her right hand . I t was not, however, of human shape,but a claw that sudd enly extended a gre at length andflashed l ights o f five colours . The “ five coloursind icate that the Woman was a de i ty . Kwan Chung, inh is work Kwantsz e, says : A dragon In th e water coversh imself with five colours . Th erefore, he i s a god

The “ fire nail figures prominently in Polynes ianmythology. In the legend o fMau i , that hero- god goesto the o ld woman (the goddess), h i s grandmother, toobtain fire for mankind .

“ Then the aged woman pulledout her nail ; and as she pulled it out fire flowed from it,and she gave it to him . And when Maui saw she hadd rawn out her nail to prod uce fire for him, he thought ita most wonderful th ing .

”2

The reference in the Japanese story to the avertedface of the dragon woman may be connected with th e

ancient be lief that t h e mortal who looked in the face o f;1 D e Vi sse r, The Dragon in Ch i na and 7 apan,p. 63 . K wan Chung d ie d in 645 B .C .

2Polynesi an My thology, S ir G e orge G rey, p. 3 3.

DRAGON FOLK- ST ORIE S s5

a deity was either shrivelled up or transformed into stone,as happened in the case o f those who fixed their eyesupon th e face of Medusa . Goddesses l ike the EgyptianNe ith were “ veiled ”

. A Japanese legend tells of adragon woman who appeared as a woman with a maliciousWh ite face . She laughed loudly, displaying black teeth .

She was often seen on a bridge,binding up her hair. 1

Apparently she was a variety o f the mermaid family, andthis may explain the reference to her be ing o ne legged ”

.

The people scared her away by form ing a torch— lightprocession and advancing towards her . Dragons wereSometimes expelled by means o f fire . I n Europe, bonfires were l it when certain “ ceremonies of riddance ”

were performed .

British mermaids are credited, in the folk— tales, withproviding cures for various dise ases, and especially herbs,

2

and in this connection they link with the dragon wives o fChina and Japan . Some dragon women l ived for a timeamong human beings as do swan-maidens

,nere ids

,mer

maids,and fairies in the stories o f various lands .

A Japanese legend tells of an elderly and mysteriousWoman who had the power to cure any ill that flesh isheir to . When a patient called, she l istened attentivelyto what was told her . Then she retired to a secretchamber, sat down and placed a rush mat

3 on her head .

1gD e Vi sser, The Dragon in China and j apan,p. 1 74.

3 A G alloway h erbal i st who was se arch ing for herbs to cure -a consum pt iv e girl,nam ed May, saw a m e rm aid ri sing in th e sea. A ccord ing to the fo lk-story, them erm aid recom m ende d m ugwort (southernwoo d) as a cure by s inging

Would you le t bonn i e May d i e in your hand,And th e m ugwort flow ering in th e land ?

3 Jade d i sks, decorated w ith th e rush patte rn,w ere in Ch ina im ages of H eav en and

badges of rank. T h e rain—dragon in hum an fo rm carri e s in h i s righ t h and a blue rush .

T he rush was connected w i th water— the water be low th e firm am ent and the wate rabov e the firm am ent . Ree ds w e re l ikew i se conne cted w i th the de i t ies . In Babylon ia,

priests had v isions in ree d huts and th e dead lay on reed m ats. T h e re e d and riv erm ud w ere used by Marduk wh en h e create d m an. Apparent ly, th e re e d was an


After s itting alone for a time (apparently engaged inworking a magic spell) she left the chambe r and re turnedto the patient . She recommended the “ faith cure ” .

Making th e pretence that she was handing over a medicine,sh e said : Believe that I have given you medicine . N ow,

go away . Each day you must S it down and imagine thatyou are taking my medicine . Come back to me in sevendays ’ time .” Those who faithful ly carried out herinstructions are said to have been cured . Large numbersvi s ited her daily .

I t was suspected that th is woman was possessed bythe spiri t of a water- demon . A watch was set upon her,and one night she was seen going from her house to awell in wh ich

,during the day, she often washed her head

while being consulted by patients . Those who watchedher told that she remained in human shape for a littlet ime . Then she transformed herself into a white mistand entered the well . Protective charms we re recited

,

and she never returned . Fo r many years afterwards,

however, her house was haunted .

De Groot relates a story about one of the wives of anEmperor o f China who practised magic by means ofreptiles and insects . Her Obj ect was to have her sonselected as crown prince . She was detected, and she andher son were imprisoned . Both became dragons beforethey died .

Dragons sometimes appear in the stories in the rOle

o f demon lovers . A Japanese legend tells of two boyswho were the ch ildren of a man and a dragon woman .

I n time they Changed into dragons and flew away . The

avatar of th e w ate r de i ty : i t contained “soul nsubstance L inen m ade from flax

w as sacre d and inspir ing. It w as w rapped round the dead, instead of an im al sk ins, inpre

-Dynast ic E gypt . T h e l inen epho d was inspiring ; l i ke th e “prophe t’s m ant le

”i t

gav e th e wearer pow e r to fore te l l ev ents .



One day the king, i n his endeavours to break thespell o f sadness that bound h i s beautiful queen

,arranged

that his lords should enter the palace and d eclare thatan enemy army was at hand, and that the l ife of the kingwas in peril .This they d id . The king was at the time making

merry when his lords entered suddenly and said : YourMaj esty

, th e enemy have com e,while you s i t making

merry,and th ey are resolved to slay you .

”

The king’s sudden change of countenance made thedragon woman laugh . His Maj e sty was well pleased .

Then,as it chanced, the enemy came indeed . But

when the alarm was raised, the lords thought i t was afalse one . The army took possess ion of the city, enteredthe palace

,and slew the king . Pao Sze was taken

prisone r, because of her fatal beauty ; but she brought noj oy to her captor and transformed herse lf into a dragon

,

departing suddenly and caus ing a thunder - storm tora e .gTo those who win the ir favour, the dragons are pre

serve rs even when they come forth as d estroyers . Thestory is told of how Wu, the son of a farmer named Yin,won the favour of a dragon and rose to be a great man inChina . When he was a boy of thirteen, he was s ittingone day at the garden gate, looking across the plain whichis watered by a winding river that flows from the mountains . He was a s ilent, dreamy boy, who had beenbrought up by h is grandmother, his mother having diedwhen he was very young

,and i t was h is habit thus to s it

in S ilence, th inking and observing things . Along theh ighway came a handsome youth riding a white horse .H e was clad in yellow garments and se emed to be o f

high birth . Four man- servants accompanied h im, andone held an umbrella to shield h im from the sun ’s bright

CH INE SE PORCE L AIN VA SE DE CORATE D WITH FIVE - C L AWE DDRAG ON S RISING FROM WAVE S

(Vi ctori a and A lbert Museum )


9 0 MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAPAN

Said Wu : “ I watched them as they went westward .

Rain—clouds were gathering o n the horizon, and whenthey were a great distance Off they all rose in the air andvanished in the clouds .” 1

Yin was greatly alarmed to hear th is, and said :“ I

must ask your grandmother What she th inks of th isstrange happening .

”

The old woman was fast asleep, and as she had grownvery deaf it was d ifli cult to awaken her . When at lengthShe was thoroughly roused, and sat up with head andhands trembling with palsy

,

2 Yin repeated to her in aloud voice all that Wu had told h im .

Said the woman : “ The horse,spotted with five

colours,and with scaly armour instead of hair, i s a dragon

horse . Wh en sp irits appear before human beings theywear magic garments . That i s why the clothing of yourvis itors had no seams . Spirits tread on air . As thesesp irits went westward

,they rose higher and higher in the

air,going towards the rain- clouds . T h e youth was the

Yellow Dragon . He is to raise a storm,and as he had

four followers, the storm will be a great one . May noevil befall us .”Then Yin told the Old woman that one of the

strangers had turned the umbrella upside down beforepassing through the garden gate . “ That i s a goodomen, sh e said . Then she lay down and closed hereyes . “ I have need o f sleep

,

” she murmured ; “ I amvery Old .

” 3

1 T he appe arance of four se rvants (th e go ds of th e four quarte rs) w i th the dragongod, ind i cates that th e com ing sto rm i s to be one of except ional v io lence .

2 T h e de ep slum bere r in a fo lk- tale i s usual ly engage d “w orking a spe ll A s w i l l

be gath e re d from th e story, th e boy re ce iv e d h i s know le dge and pow e r from h i s grandm o th er.

_

She resem ble s th e No rse Vala an d th e Wi tch o f E ndor.3 T he Norse Vala m ak es sim i lar com plain t wh en awak en ed by Od in. It looks

as if th i s Ch ine se s tory i s base d on one about consult ing a spiri t of a “ w ise wom an”

who sleeps in h er tom b.

DRAGON FOL K—STORIES 9 1

Heavy masses of clouds were by this t ime gatheringin the sky, and Yin decided to S i t up all n ight . Wuasked to be permitted to do the same, and h is fatherconsented . Then the boy li t a yellow lantern, put on

a yellow robe that his grandmother had made for him,

burned incense, and sat down reading charms from an oldyellow book .

1

The storm burst forth i n fury j ust when dawn wasbreaking dimly. Wu then closed h is yellow book andwent to a Window . The thunder bellowed

,the lightning

flamed,and the rain fell in torrents, and swollen streams

poured down from the mountains . Soon the river rosein flood and swept across the fields . Cattle gathered ingroups on shrinking mounds that had become islandssurrounded by raging water .Yin feared greatly that the house would be swept

away, and wished he had fled to the mountains .At night the cottage was entirely surrounded by the

flood . Trees were cast down and Swept away.

“Wecannot escape now, groaned Yin .

Wu sat in s ilence, displaying no signs o f emotion .

What do you think of it all ? ” h i s father asked .

Wu reminded him that one of the strangers hadturned the umbrella upside down, and added : “ Beforethe dragon youth went away he spoke and said : ‘I shallcome again to-morrow

He has come indeed, Yin groaned, and covered h isface with h is hands .Said Wu : “ I have just seen the dragon . As I looked

towards the sky he spread out h i s great hood above ourhome . He is protecting us now .

”

“ Alas ! my son, you are dreaming .

1 An intere st ing gl im pse of the conne ction be twe en co lour sym bol ism and m agic.

E veryth ing i s ye llow because a ye llow dragon i s be ing invoked.


Listen,father, no rain falls o n the roof.

Yin listened intently . Then he said : “ Y ou speaktruly

,my so n . This is indeed a great marvel .

“ I t was well, said Wu,“ that you we lcomed the

dragon yeste rday .

”

He spoke to you first, my so n ; and yo u answered,‘Ente r ’

. Ah,you have much wisdom . Y o u will be

come a great man .

”

The storm began to subside and Wu prevailed uponhis father to lie down and Sleep .

Much damage had been done by storm and flood,and

large numbers Of human beings and domesticated animalshad perished . In the village, wh i ch was s ituated at themouth of the valley

,only a few houses were left stand

Ih gT h e rain ceased to fall at midday . Then the sun

came out and shone brightly, while the waters began toretreat .Wu went outside and sat at the garden gate

,as was

h is custom . I n time he saw the ye llow youth returningfrom the west, accompanied by h is four attendants .Wh en he came nigh, Wu bowed and the youth drewup his horse and spoke, saying : “ I said I should returnto- day .

Wu bowed .

“ But this t ime I shall no t enter the courtyard,the

youth added .

“ As you will,Wu said reverently.

The dragon youth then handed the boy a S ingle scalewh ich he had taken from the horse’s neck, and said :“ Keep this and I shall remember you .

”

Then he rode away and van ished from S ight .The boy re - ente red th e house. He awoke his father

1 Th i s s le ep appears to be as nece ss ary as th at o f the grandm o th e r.



the kingdom . He found that great miracles could beworked with the scale o f the dragon horse . I t curedd i sease

,and i t caused the Emperor’s army to w in vic

tories . W ithal,Wu was able to foretell events, and h ebecame a renowned prophet and magician .

The farmer ’s so n grew to be very rich and powerful .A great house was erected for h im close to the royalpalace

,and he took h is grandmother and father to it, and

there they lived happily until the end o f their days .Thus did Wu

, son of Yin, b ecome a great man,because of the favour shown to h im by the thunderdragon

,who had wrought great destruction in the river

valley and taken toll o f many lives .I t will be gathered from this story that the Ch inese

dragon is not always a “ beneficent deity as somewriters put i t . Like certain other gods, he is a destroyerand preserv er in one.

CHAPTER V I I I

T he K ingdom unde r the Sea

T he Van ish ing Island of Far-E astern Dragon-

god— S to ry of Priest whov isi ted U nderwo rld— Far-E aste rn Dragon as

“ Pearl Princess — H er H um an

L ov e r— A h Indian Parallel— Dragon Island in A ncient E gypt ian S tory— T he

Osi rian U nde rwo rld— Vani sh ing Island in S co tland and F ij i— Babylon ian

G em - tree Garden— F ar- E aste rn Quest of th e Magi c Swo rd— Parallels of

T eutoni c and Celtic L egend—“ K usanagi Swo rd the Japanese “ E xcal ibur ”

— Ci ty of the Far-E astern S ea-

god— Japanese Vi sion of G em -tree GardenWeapon Dem ons — S tar Spi ri ts of Magi c Swo rds — Swo rd s that becom e

Dragons— Dragon Jewels— Dragon T ranform at ions .

T H E palace o f the dragon king is situated in the Underworld, which can be entered through a deep mountaincave o r a dragon-guarded well . In some of the Ch inesestories the dragon palace i s located right below a remoteisland in the Eastern Sea . This island i s not easilyapproached, for o n the calmest o f days great b illows dashagainst its shelving crags . When the tide is h igh

,it i s

entirely covered by water and h idden from sight . Junksmay then pass it o r even sail over it

,without their crews

being aware that they are nigh to the palace of the sea

god .

Sometimes a red l ight burns above the island at night .I t is seen many miles distant

,and its vivid rays may be

reflected in the heavens .In a Japanese story the island is referred to as a

glowing red mass resembl ing the rising sun ”. No

mariner dares to approach it .There was once a Ch inese priest who

,on a memorable

95


night,reached the dragon king’s palace by entering a deep

cave o n a mountain- S ide . I t was h is pious desire to worsh ip the dragon

,and he went onward in the darkness

,

recit ing religious texts that gave him protection . Theway was long and dark and difficult, but at length, aftertravell ing far, he saw a light in front of h im . He walkedtowards this light and emerged from the cavern to findthat he was in the Unde rworld . Above him was a clearblue firm am ent l it by the n ight sun . He beheld a beautiful palace in the midst o f a garden that glittered withgems and flowe rs, and d irected h is steps towards it . Hereached a window the curtain o f which rustled in thewind . He perceived that it was a mass Of gleamingpearls . Peering beh ind it, as it moved, he beheld a tableformed of j ewels . On th is table lay a book o f Buddh istprayers (sutras) .As he gazed with wonder and reverence

,the priest

heard a voice that spake and said : Who hath come nighand why hath he come ? ”The priest answered in a low voice, giving his name,

and express ing hi s desire to behold the dragon king,whom he desired to worship .

Then the voice made answer : Here no human eyecan look upon me . Return by the way thou hast come,and I shall appear before thee at a distance from thecavern mouth .

The priest made obeisance,and returned to the world

of men by the way he had come. He went to the spotthat the voice had indicated, and there he waited, readingsacred texts . Soon the earth yawned and the dragon kingarose in human shape

,wearing a red hat and garment .

The priest worsh ipped h im,and then th e dragon vanished

from sight . On that sacred Spot a temple was afterwardserected .


THE KINGDOM UNDER THE SEA 97

Once upon a time the daughter of the dragon king,who was named “ Abundant Pearl Princess fell in lovewith a comely youth of Japan . He was s itting, on a calmsummer day

,beneath a holy tree

,and h is image was

reflected in a dragon well . The princess appeared beforehim and cast a love spell ove r h is heart . The youth wasenchanted by her beauty, and sh e led h im towards thepalace o f the dragon king

,the Abundant Pearl Prince

There she married h im,and they l ived together for three

years . Then the youth was possessed by a de sire toreturn to the world of men . In vain the princess pleadedwith him to remain in the palace . When, h owever, shefound that h is heart was set on leaving the kingdom of theUnderworld

,she resolved to accompany h im . He was

conveyed across the sea on the back of a wani (a dragonin crocodile shape) . The princess accompanied h im,

andhe built a house for her on the seashore .The “ Abundant Pearl Princess ” was about to be

come a mother,and she made the youth promise not to

look upon her until after h er ch ild was born . But hebroke h is v ow . Overcome with curios ity

,he peered into

her chamber and saw that h is wife had assumed the shapeo f a dragon . As soon as the child was born

,the princess

departed in anger and was never again beheld by herhusband .

Th i s story, i t will be noted, i s another Far-Easternvers ion of the Melusina legend .

An I ndian version of the tale relates that the herowas a sailor, the so le survivor from a wreck

,who swam

to a small island in the midst of the sea. When hereached the shore, he se t out to look for food, but foundthat the trees and shrubs, which dazzled him with thei rbeauty, bore beautiful gems instead of fruit . At length,however, he found a fruit—bearing tree . He ate and was

( D 71 ) 8


well content . Then he sat down beside a we ll . As hestooped to drink of its waters, he had a vis ion of theUnderworld in all i ts beauty. At the bottom of the wellsat a fair sea—maid, who looked upwards with eyes o f

love and beckoned him towards her . He plunged intothe well and found himself in the radiant K ingdom o f

Ocean . T he maid was the queen,and she took h im as

her consort . She promised him great wealth,but forbad eh im to touch the statue o f an Apsara

l

,which was of goldand adorned with gems . But one day he placed hi shand on the right foot of the image . The foot dartedforth and struck him with such force that he was driventhrough the sea and washed ashore on his native coast .2The oldest vers ion o f this type of story comes from

Egypt . I t has been preserved in a papyrus in theHermitage collection at Petrograd, and is usually referredto as Of Twelfth Dynasty origin (c. 20 0 0 A sailorrelates that he was the sole survivor from a wreck . Hehad seized a piece of wood and swam to an island . Afterhe recovered from exhaustion

,he set out to search for

food .

“ I found there figs and grapes, all manner ofgood herbs

,berries and grain,melons of all kinds, fi shes

and birds . ” In time,he heard a noise as o f thunder

while the trees shook and the earth was moved Theruler of the i sland drew nigh . He was a human—headedSerpent “ th irty cubits long

,and h is beard greate r than

two cubits ; h is body was as overlaid with gold, and h i scolour as that o f true lapi s- lazuliThe story proceeds to tell that the sailor becomes the

guest o f the serpent,who makes spee ches to him and

introduces h im to h is family . I t is stated that the islandhas risen from the wave s and will s ink again After

1 Ind ian fai ry girl . Th e re are apsaras in th e Parad ise of Indra.

1 Ind ian Fai ry S tories (L ondon, pp. 47 et seq.


1 0 0 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

gamesh entered the cave of the Mountain o f Mash i (Sunse t Hill), and after pass ing through its n ight-black d epths,reached the seas ide garden in which, as o n the island inthe I ndian story

,the trees bore, i nstead of fruit and

flowers,clusters of precious stones . He beheld in the

midst o f this garden of dazzling splendour the palace o f

Sabi tu, the goddess,who instructed h im how to reach thei sland on which lived h i s ancestor Pir- naph ishtum (U tnapish tim ) . Gilgamesh was originally a god, the earlierG ishbilgam es o f Sumerian texts . 1

The Indian Hanuman (the monkey - god) s imilarlyenters a d eep cave when he goes forth as a spy to Lanka

,

the dwelling - place of Ravana,th e demon who carried

away Sita,wife of Rama, the hero of the Ram dyana . A

similar story is told in the mythical h i story o f Alexanderthe Great . There are also western European legends o fl ike character. Hercules searches for the golden applesthat grow in the Hesperian gardens . 2 I n some FarEastern storie s the hero searches for a sword instead o f

an herb .

“ Every weapon,

d eclares an o ld Gaelicsaying

,

“ has its demon . The same belief prevailed inChina

,where dragons sometimes appeared in the form o f

weapons,and in India,where the spirits of celestial weapons

appeared before heroes l ike Arj una and Rama .

3 I n theTeutonic Balder story, as related by Saxo G ram m aticus

,

4

the hero is slain by a sword taken from the Underworld,where it was kept by Miming (Mimer), the god, i n anUnderworld cave . H o ther

,who gains possession o f i t,

goes by a_road “ hard for mortal man to travel ” .

I n the Norse version the sword becomes an herb— them istletoe, a cure- al l l ike the Chinese dragon herb and

1 L . W. K ing, L egends q ahy lonia and E gypt (L ondon, p. 1 46.

2 S ee re fe re nces in My ths of Bahy lonia and fl ssy rta, pp. 1 84 et seq.

3 1 ndtan My th and L egend, p. 2 56 and p. 3 8 1 .

4 Book III.

THE K INGDOM UNDER THE SEA 1 0 1

the Babylonian “ Plant of Life E xcalihur, the swordo f K ing Arthur, was obtained from the lake—goddess (aBritish Naga and was flung back into the lake beforehe died

So flash ed and fe ll the brand E x caliburBut ere h e d ipped the surface, rose an arm

C lo thed in wh ite sam ite, m yst ic,w onderful,And caugh t h im by the h ilt, and brandished h imThree t im es, and drew h im under in the m ere .

1

The Japanese story o f the famous Kusanagi sword isa Far—Eastern l ink be tween the Celestial h erb and weaponlegends o f Asia and Europe . I t tells that th is magicsword was o ne o f the three treasure s possessed by theimperial family of Japan

,and that the warrior who wielded

it could put to fl ight an entire army . At a naval battlethe sword was worn by the boy—Emperor

,Antoku Tenno .

He was unable to make use o f i t,and when the enemy

were seen to be victorious,the boy’s grandmother

,Nu

no—ama,clutched h im i n her arm s and leapt into the

sea .Many long years afterwards, when the Emperor Go

Shirakawa sat on the imperial throne,h is barbarian

enemies declared war against h im . The Emperor arosein h is wrath and called for the Kusanagi sword . Searchwas made for i t i n the temple of Kamo

,where i t was sup

posed to be in safe—ke eping . The Emperor was told,

however, that it had been lost, and he gave orders thatceremonies should be performed with purpose to discoverwhere the sword was, and how i t might be restored . Onenight, soon afterwards, the Emperor dreamed a dream, i nwh ich a royal lady, who had been dead for centuries,appeared before h im and told that the Kusanagi sword

1 T enny son’

s T he Passing of A rthur.


was in the keeping o f the dragon king in h i s palace at thebottom o f the sea.

Next m orning the Emperor related h is dream to h isch ief minister

,and bade h im hasten to the two female

divers,Oim atsu and her daughter Wakamatsu

,who

resided at Dan — no — ura, so that they migh t d ive to thebottom of the sea and obtain the sword .

The divers undertook the task, and were conveyed ina boat to that part o f the ocean where the boy-Emperor,Antoku had been drowned .

‘A rel igious ceremonywas performed

,and the mother and daughter then dived

into the sea. A whole day passed before they appearedagain . They told, as soon as they were taken into th eboat

,that they had vis ited a wonderful city at the bottom

o f the sea . Its gates were guarded by silent sentinels whodrew flashing swords when they (the d ivers) attempted toenter. They were consequently compelled to wait forseveral hours, until a holy man appeared and asked themwhat they sought; When they had informed him thatthey were searching for the Kusanagi Sword, he said thatthe ci ty could not be entered without the aid of Buddha .Said the Emperor’s chief minister : “ T h e ci ty is that

of the god o f the sea.

”

“ I t i s very beautiful, Oim atsu told him ; the wallsare o f gold, and the gates o f pearl . Above the city wallsare seen many- coloured towers that gleam like to preciousstones . When one o f the gates was opened

, we perce iv ed that the streets were of s ilver and the houses ofmothe r— o f—pearl .”

Said the Emperor’s ch ief m inister : “ Fain would Ivisit that city .

He looked over the S ide of the boat and sighed,“ I

see naught but darkness .”“When we dived and reached the sea — bottom

,


1 0 4 MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAPAN

by a he ro of Japan .

1 This hero carried OH" the sword andpresented it to the Empe ror . Afte r many years had gonepast a sea—dragon took the form of a princess . She becamethe bride of a prince of Japan, and was the grandmotherof the boy-Emperor with whom she leapt into the seaduring the battle of Dan- no- ura . This boy now l iesasleep in my coils .”

T h e Emperor o f Japan sorrowed greatly when he wasinformed regarding the dragon king’s message . Alas Ihe said

,

“ if the Kusanagi sword cannot be obtained, thebarbarians will defeat my army in battle .Then a magician told the Emperor that he knew of a

powerful spell that woul d compel the dragon to give upthe sword .

“ I f it i s successful,” the Emperor said

,

“ Ishall elevate you to the rank o f a prince .

”

The spell was worked, and when next the femaledivers went to the K ingdom under th e Sea, they obtainedthe sword, with wh ich they returned to the Emperor .He used i t in battle and won a great victory .

T h e sword was afterwards placed in a box and deposited in the temple o f Atsuta, and there it remained formany years

,until a Korean priest carried it away . When,

however,the Korean was cross ing the ocean to h i s own

land,a great storm arose . The captain of the vessel

knew it was no ordinary storm, but one that had beenraised by a god, and he spoke and said,

“Who on boardthis sh ip has offended the dragon king of Ocean ? ”

Then said the Korean priest, “ I Shal l throw mysword into the sea as a peace—offe ring .

He did as he said he would,and immediately the

storm passed away .

1 L i k e th e E gypt ian h ero who slay s th e riv er serpent wh i ch guard s the box con

taining m agi c spe lls. S igurd, S iegfr i e d, and o th e r dragon-slay ing h e roe s m ay be

com pared w i th th i s Far-E astern h ero .


CHA PTER IX

T he Islands of the Ble st

Souls on Island s— Wells of L ife and T ree s or Plan ts of L i fe in Ch ina,A nci ent E gypt, Baby lon ia, Sz e .

— H ow Islands we re A ncho red— T he Ocean

T o rto i se— A G iant ’s F i sh ing— T he My ste ry of Fu—sang— Island o fWom en

S earch for Fabled Isles— Ch inese and Japanese S to ri es -H ow N av igat ion was

S t im ulated — Co lum bus and E d en — Water of L ife in Cey lon, Po lynesia,A m er ica, and Sco tland— Delos, a F loating Island— A tlantis and the Fo rtunateIsles— Celt ic Island Parad ise— Apples and N uts as Food of L i fe— A m eri ca as

Parad i se — T he Indian L o tus of L ife — Buddhi st Paradi se w i th G em - treesDiam ond Valley L egend in China and Greece— L uck Gem s and Im m o rtal i ty .

The Chinese and Japanese, like the Egyptians,Indians

,Fij ians

,

- and others, believed, as has been shown,in the existence o f a floating and vanishing island asso ciated with the serpent-god or d ragon—go d of ocean .

They believed,too, that somewhere in the Eastern Sea

lay a group o f islands that were d ifl'i cult to locate orreach ; which resembled closely, in essential particul ars,the “ I slands of the Ble st ”, or

“ Fortunate I sles of

ancient Greek writers . Vague beliefs regarding fabulouscountrie s far across the ocean were likewise prevalent.In some native accounts these Ch inese I slands o f th e

Blest are said to be fiv e i n num ber, and nam ed Tai Y u,Y i l an Chiao, Fang H u, Ying Chou, and P

’eng- lai ; inothers the number i s n ine, or ten, or only three . Asingle island is sometimes referred to ; i t may be locatedin the ocean

,or in the Ye llow River, or in the river o f

the Milky Way, the Celestial Ho .

1 O6

T H E I SLANDS OF T H E BLE ST 1 9 7

The islands are,i n Chinese legend, reputed to be

inhabited by those who have won immortal i ty, or bythose who have been transported to their Paradise todwell there in bliss for a prolonged period so that theymay be reborn on earth, or pass to a higher state ofexi stence .I t is of special interest to note in connection with

these islands that they have Wells of Life and Trees orHerbs of Life . The souls drink the wate r and eat theherb o r fruit o f the tree to prolong their existence . OneChinese “ plant of l ife i s li chih

,

“ the hangus of imm ortal ity It appears o n Chinese jade ornaments as asymbol of longevi ty .

“ This fungus ”, writes Laufer,“ i s a species of Agari c and considered a felicitous plant,because i t absorbs the vapours of the earth . I n the L iKi (ed . Couvreur, Vol . I, p . 643 ) i t is mentioned as anedible plant . As a marvellous plant foreboding goodluck, i t first appeared under the Han Dynasty, in 1 0 9 B .C .,

when it sprouted in the impe rial palace Kan- ts’uan . Theemperor issued an edict announcing th is phenomenon

,

and proclaimed an amnesty in the empire except forrelapsing criminals . A hymn in honour of th i s divin eplant was composed in the same year.” 1

Like the Red Cloud herb the li chih had evidentlya close connection with the dragon-god .

The question arise s whether the idea of an island ofparadise was of “ spontaneous origin ” i n China

,or

whether the ancient Chinese borrowed the belief fromintruders, o r from peoples with whom they had constanttrad ing relations . There i s evidence that as far back asthe fourth century, B .C., a Ch inese explorer set out on anexpedition to search for the island or islands of Paradise

1 Jade : A S tudy in Chinese A rcherology and Religion, Be rtho ld L aufe r (Ch icago,pp. 20 9

— 1 0 .


in the Easte rn Sea . But i t i s no t known at what preciseperiod be l ief in the island arose and became prevalent.

T he evidence afforded by the ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts i s o f Spe cial intere st and importance in connection w ith the problem o f origin . As far back ase. 2 50 0 B .C .

“the departed Pharaoh hoped to draw his

sustenance in th e realm o f Re (Paradise) from “ thetree o f l ife in the mysterious isle i n the midst of theField of Offerings The soul o f the Pharaoh

,accord

ing to the Pyramid Texts,se t out,soon after death, in searcho f this island “ in company with the Morning Star . TheMorning Star is a gorgeous green falcon

,a solar d ivinity,

identified with Horus of D ewat .

” The Egyptian storyOf the soul’s quest goes on to tell that “ this K ing Pepi

went to the great isle in the midst o f the Fie ld o f

Offerings over which the god s make the swallows fly.

T he swallows are the Im perishable Stars . They give tothis K ing Pepi the tree o f l ife, whereof they l ive, that ye

(Pepi and the Morning Star) may at the same time l ivethereof.” (Pyramid Texts, 1 20 9 Sinister enemies“ may contrive to deprive the k ing o f the sustenanceprovided for h im . Charms were provided to protect the fruit o f immortality . The enemy against whichthese are most often directed in the Pyramid Texts isserpents . In the Japanese story o f the Kusanagi sword,the gem- trees o f the Otherworld are protected by dragons .

T h e Pyramid Texts devoted to the ancient EgyptianK ing Unis tell that a d ivine voice crie s to th e gods Reand Thoth (sun and moon), saying,

“ Take ye this K ingUnis with you that he may eat o f that which ye eat, andthat he m ay drink o f that which ye drink .

” The magicwell is refe rred to as “ the pool of K ing Unis T h e

soul Of the Pharaoh also sails with the unwearied stars in1 Breaste d,Rel igion and Thought i n E gypt,pp. 1 3 3

—7.



named P ’

en'

g- lai, Fang Chang, and Ying Chou . Theyare located in the Gulf o f Chihli, but are d ifficult toreach because contrary winds spring up and drive vesselsaway in the same manner as the vessel of Odysseus wasdriven away from Ithaca . I t is told, however, that i ndays o f o ld certain fortunate heroes contrived to reachand vis it the fabled isles . They told that they saw the repalaces of gold and s ilver, that the wh ite men andwomen, the wh ite beasts and the wh ite birds ate theHerb of Life and drank the waters o f the Fountain o f

Life . On the island o f Ying Chou are great precip icesOf j ade . A brook, the waters o f which are as st im ulating as wine

,flows out of a j ade rock . Those who can

reach the island and drink of this water will increase thelength of their l ives . When the jade water is mixedwith pounded fungus of immortali ty ” a food is providedwh ich ensures a thousand years of existence in the body .

Chinese legends tell that the lucky mariners . whocome with in view o f the Isles of the Blest, behold thembut dimly

,as they seem to be enveloped in luminous

clouds . When vessels approach too closely, the islandsvanish by s inking below the waves

,as do the fabled

islands of Gaelic stories .Lieh Tze

,alleged to be an early Taoist writer,1 but

whose writings,or those writings attributed to h im

,were

forged in the first or second century A .D ., has located theislands to the east of the gulf of Chihli in that fathomlessabyss into which flow all the streams o f the earth and therive r o f th e Milky Way. Apparently thi s abyss i s theMyth ical Sea which was located beyond the eastern horizon— a part of the sea that surrounds the world . Intoth is sea or lake, according to the ancient Egyptian texts,

1 H e figure s as a character (not a real one ) in the w ri t ings of Kwang- tz e,who was

bo rn in th e fourth century B .C .

THE ISLANDS OF THE BLEST 1 1 1

pours the celest ial river,along which sa ils the barque o f

the sun- god . T he Nile was supposed by the AncientEgyptians to be fed by the waters above the firm am ent

and the waters below the earth . The Pyramid Textswhen referring to the birth of Osiris as “ new water

(the inundation), say

T h e waters of life that are in the sky com e ;

T h e waters of life that are in th e earth com e .

T he sky burns for thee,T h e earth trem bles for thee .

1

In India the Ganges was likewise fed by the celestialGanges that poured down from the sky .

Lieh T z e’

s I slands o f the Blest are five in number,and are inhabited by the wh ite souls of saintly sages whohave Wo n immortality by having their bodies renderedtransparent

, o r after cast ing Off their bodies as snakescast Off their skins . All the animals on these islands arel ikewise white and therefore pure and holy . The spiritdwellings are o f gold and j ade, and in the groves andgard ens the trees and plants bear pearls and preciousstones . Those who eat o f the fungus, or o f perfumedfruit, renew thei r youth and acquire the power of floatinglike down through the air from island to island .

At o ne t ime the islands drifted about on the tides ofocean, but the Lord o f All who controls the Universe

,

having been appealed to by the Taoist sages who dwelton the isles, caused three great Atlas- turtles to supporteach island with their heads SO that they might remainsteadfast . These turtles are relieved by O thers at theend of S ixty thousand years . In l ike manner

,i n Indian

mythology, the tortoise Kurma, an avatar of the godVishnu, supports Mount Meru when it i s placed in the

1 Breaste d,Religi on and Thought i n A nci ent E gypt, p. 1 45.


Sea of Milk . The Japanese Creator has a tortoise formthat supports the world- tree, on the summit o f wh ichs its a four- armed god . In China the tortoise had divineattributes . Tortoise shell i s a symbol o f unchangeability,and a symbol of rank when used for court girdles . Thetortoise was also used for purposes of divination .

1

A gigantic mythical tortoise is supposed, in the FarEast

,to l ive in th e depths o f ocean . I t has o ne eye

si tuated in the m iddl e of its body: Once every threethousand years it rises to the surface and turns over onits back so that i t may see the sun .

Once upon a time, a legend tells, the Atlas- turtlesthat support the Islands of the Blest suffered from a raidby a wandering giant . As the Indian god Vishnu andthe Greek Poseidon could cross the Un iverse at threestrides

,so could this giant pass quickly from country to

country and ocean to ocean . One or two strides weresufli cient for h im to reach the myth ical ocean from theLung-po mountains . He sat on the mountain summito f one o f the I slands of the Blest, and cast his fish ing- lineinto the deep waters .2 The Atlas—turtles were unable toresis t the lure Of h is bait and, having hooked and captured s ix o f them, he threw them over h is back andreturned home in triumph . These turtles had been supporting the two island s,Tai Y n and Yuan Ch iao, wh ich,having been se t free, were carried by powerful t idestowards the north, where they stranded among the icefields The white beings that inhabited these islandswere thus separated from their fellow saints on the othe rthree islands

,Fang H u, Ying Chou, and P

’eng— lai . We

are left to imagine how lonely they felt in isolation . No

1 Dr. J. L egge, Ch inese Classics,Vo l. III,Part I,p. 240 ,and Part II,p. 554.

9 In S co tt ish gian t- lo re giants s i t on m ountains in l ike m anner and fish forwhales,

usm g tre e s as fish ing-rods.



doubt,they suffe red from the evils associated with the

north— the “ airt ” of drought and darkness . The giantand h i s tribesmen were punished by the Lord Of theUniverse for th is act by having their stature and theirkingdom greatly reduced .

On the fabled islands,the white saints cult ivate and

gather the “ fungus o f immortal ity” , as the souls in theParad i se o f Osiris cultivate and harvest crops of barleyand wheat and date s . Like the Osirian corn, the islandfungus sprouts in great profusion . This fungus has notonly the power to renew youth but even to restore thedead to life . The “ Herodotus of China has recordedthat once upon a time leaves o f the fungus were carriedby ravens to the mainland from o ne o f the island s, anddropped on the faces o f warriors slain in battle . Thewarriors immediately came to l ife

,although they had lain

dead for three days . The “ water of life ” had similarlyreanimating propert ies .The famous magician

,Tung- fang Shuo

,who l ived in

second century B .C ., tells that the sacred islands are ten innumber, there being two distinct groups of five . One o fthe distant islands is named Fu- sang

,and it has been

identified by different western writers with Californ ia,

Mexico, Japan, and Formosa . I ts name s ign ifies “ theLand o f the Leaning Mulberry The mulberries aresaid to grow in pairs and to be of gre at height . Onceevery nine thousand years they bear fruit which thesaints partake of. Th i s frui t adds to their saintlyqualities, and gives them power to. soar Skyward l ikecelestial birds .Beyond Fu—sang is a country o f white women who

have hairy bodies . I n the spring season they enter theriver to bathe and become pregnant

,and their ch ildren

are born in the autumn . The hair of their heads is so

( D 71 ) 9


long that i t trails on the ground beh ind them . I nsteadof breasts

,they have white locks or hairy organs at the

back Of their necks from which comes a liquor thatnourishes their ch ildren . These women

,according to

som e accounts, have no husbands, and take fl ight whenthey see a man . A h istorian who

,by the way

,gives

them husbands,has recorded that a Chinese vesse l was

once driven by a tempest to this wonderful island . Thecrew landed and found that the women resembled thoseo f China, but that the m en had heads like dogs and voicesthat sounded l ike the barking of dogs . Evidently thelegends about the fabled islands became mixed up withaccounts of the distant islands o f a bearded race reachedby seafarers .There are records of several attempts that were m ade

by pious Chinese Emperors to discover the I sland s o f

the Blest,with purpose to obtain the fungus o f im m or

tal ity” . One mariner named H su Fu, who was sent toexplore the Eastern Sea so that the fungus might bebrought to the royal palace, returned with a wonderfulstory . He said that a god had risen out of the sea andinquired if he was the Emperor’s representative . “ Iam

,

” the mariner made answer .What seek ye ? ” asked the sea—god .

I am searching for the plant that has the power toprolong human life

,Hsu Fu answered .

The god then informed the Emperor’s messengerthat the offerings he brought were not suffi cient to beregarded as payment for this magic plant . H e waswilling, however, that Hsu Fu

'

should se e the fungusfor h imself so that

,apparently

,the Emperor might be

convinced it really existed .

The vessel was then piloted i n a south- easterly d irect ion unti l the I slands o f th e Blest were reached . H su



god, who had apparently come with the intent ion ofpreventing the ships going any farther. A fierce battleensued . Thousand s o f poisoned arrows were dischargedagainst the god,who was S O grievously wounded that h i sblood tinged the sea over an area o f miles . Butdespite th is victory ach ieved by mortals

,the famous

island on which grew the herb of immortality was neverreached . On the same night the Emperor had to engagein single combat with the dragon-go d, who came againsth im in a dream . This was a combat of souls, for insleep

,as was believed

,the soul leaves the body . The

soul o f the Emperor fared badly . On the day that followed his maj esty was unable to rise from his couch

,and

he died within the space of seven days .In Japanese stories the island of P’

eng- lai is referredto as H oraiz an . I t has three h igh mountains, o n thechief of which

,called Horai, grows the Tree of Life .

This tree has a trunk and branches of gold, roots o f

S ilve r,and gem- le ave s and fruit . I n some stories there

are three trees, the peach, the plum, and the pine . T he

fungus of immortality is also referred to . I t grows i nthe shade o f one or another of the holy trees, usuallythe pine . There i s evidence, to o, o f the belief that a“ grass of immortali ty ” grew on the sacred island as wellas the famous fungus . The life—giving fountain was aswell known to the Japanese as i t was to the Chinese andothers .A story is told of a Japanese Gilgamesh

,named S entaro,

who, being afraid o f de ath, summoned to h i s aid an immortal saint so that he might be enabled to obtain the“ grass o f immortality ”

. The saint handed him a cranemade of paper which

,when mounted

,came to life and

carried S entaro across the ocean to Mount Horai . Therehe found and ate the life-giving grass . When, however,


he had l ived for a time o n the island he became discontented . The other inhabitants had already grown wearyo f immortality and wished they could die . S entaro himself began to pine fo r Japan and, in the end, resolved tomount h is paper crane and fly ove r the sea. But after hele ft the i sland he doubted the wisdom of h is impuls iveresolution . The result was that the crane, which movedaccording to h is will

,began to crumple up and drop

through the air . S entaro was greatly scared, and onceagain yearned so deeply for h i s native land that the crane,straightened and strengthened by his yearning, rose intothe air and continued its fl igh t unt il Japan was reached .

Another Japanese hero,named Wasob ioye, the story

o f whose wanderings is retold by Professor Chamberlain,1

once set out in a boat to e scape troublesome visi tors .T h e day was the eighth Of the eighth month and themoon was full . Suddenly a storm came o n, wh ich tore thesail to shreds and brought down the mast . Wasob ioye

was unable to return home, and his boat was driven abouto n the wide ocean for the space Of three months . Thenhe reached the Sea o f Mud, o n which he could no t catchany fi sh . He was soon reduced to sore straits andfeared h e would die o f hunger, but, i n time, he caughtsight o f land and was greatly cheered . His boat driftedS lowly towards a beautiful i sland o n which there werethree great mountains . As he drew near to the shore

,

he found, to h is great j oy, that the air was laden withmost exquisite perfumes that came from the flowe rs andtree- blossoms of that wonderful isle . He landed andfound a sparkl ing well . When he had drunk of thewater his strength was revived, and a feeling o f intensepleasure tingled in his veins . He rose up refreshed andhappy and, walking inland, soon m e t with Jofuku the

1 T ransacti ons of the A s iati c Socieg» of y apan.


sage,known in China as H su F it,who had been sent to

the Island o f the Blest (P’

eng— lai) by the Emperor SheWang T i to Obtain the fungus o f immortality ”

,with the

youths and virgins,but had never returned .

Wasobioye was taken by the friendly sage to the Cityo f the immortals, who spent their l ives in the pursuit ofpleasure. He found, however, that these people hadgrown to dislike their monotonous existence, and wereconstantly striving to discover some means whereby theirdays would be shortened . They re fused to partake o f

mermaid flesh because this was a food that prolonged life ;they favoured instead goldfish and soot, a mixture whichwas supposed to be poisonous . The manners o f thepeople were curious . Instead of wish ing one anothergood health and long life, they wished for sickness anda speedy death . Congratulations were showered on anyindividual who seemed to be indisposed, and he wassympathized with when he showed S igns of recovering .

Wasob ioye l ive d on the island for nearly a quarter ofa century . Then, having grown weary o f the monotonous life

,he endeavoured to commit suicide by partaking

of poisonous frui t,fish

,and fle sh . But all h is attempts

were in vain . I t was imposs ible for anyone to die o n

that island . In tim e he came to know that he could dieif he left i t

,but he had heard of other wonderful lands

and wished to vis it them before his days came to an end .

Then,instead of eating poisonous food, he began to feast

on mermaid flesh so that h is life might be prolonged formany years beyond the allotted span . Thereafter hevis ited the Land o f Shams

,the Land of Plenty, Sec .

His last vis it was paid to the Land of Giants . Wasob ioy e i s usually referred to as the

“ Japanese Gull iverThe search for the mythical islands with thei r “ wells

o f l ife ” and trees or “ plants of l ife” i s referred to in the



the inhabitants enj oyed perpetual health and youthfial

beauty,where the wa i ora (l ife -giving fountain) removed

every internal malady,and every external deformity o r

paralysed d ecrepi tude, from all those who were plungedbeneath its salutary wate rs ” . Ellis anticipates the viewso f modern ethnologists when dealing with the existenceo f the same be l iefs among widely- separated peoples . Hesays : “ A tabular view o f a number o f word s in th eMalayan

,Asiatic

,o r the Madagasse

,the American

,and

the Polynesian languages,would probably Show that

,

at some remote period, either the inhabitants Of thesedistant parts o f the world maintained frequent intercoursewith each other

,or that colonies from some o ne of them

originally peopled,in part or altogether

,the others ” .

He adds, “ Either part o f the present inhabitants of theSouth Sea Islands came originally from America

, o r tribesOf the Polynesians have, at some rem ote period, foundthe i r way to the (Ame rican) continent

”.

1

W . D . We stervelt, in h i s L egends of Old H onolulu,

heads his o ld Hawaiian story “ The Wate r o f Life o f

Ka—ne which he him self has collected, with the following extract from the Maori legend of N ew Zealand :

Wh en the m oon dies, sh e goes to th e liv ing water of K a-ne, to

the water w h ich can restore all life, ev en th e m oon to th e path in

th e Sky.

I n the Hawaiian form o f the legend the hero,who found

the water so that hi s s ick father, the king, might becured

,met with a dwarf who instructed him where to go

and what to do .

A russet dwarf similarly figures in the Gaelic story ofD iarm aid

’

s s earch for th e cup and th e water o f l ife sothat the daughter o f the K ing o f Land-under-Waves1 W i ll iam E ll is, Poly nesi an Researches ( 1 st e d i t ion, L ondon, Vo l . II, pp. 47 et seq.


might be cured of her sickness . This dwarf takes theGaelic hero across a ferry and instructs h im how to findthe cup and the water . 1

The Polynesians ’ ghosts went westward . In theirParadise was a bread- fruit tree . “ This tree had two

branches,o ne towards the east and one towards the west,

both o f which were used by the ghosts . One was forleaping into eternal darkness into P o —pau-o le, the otherwas a m ee ting- place with th e helpful gods .” 2 Turnertells that “ some of the South Sea Islanders have a tradition of a river in their imaginary world of spirits, calledthe ‘water o f l ife ’ I t was supposed that if the aged,when they d ied

,went and bathed there, they became

young and returned to earth to live another l ife overagain .

”3 Y udhi shth ira,one o f the heroes of the AryO- Indian

epi c the Mahdhhdrata, becomes immortal after bath ing inthe celestial Ganges .4 I n the E neid, the hero sees soulsin Paradise drinking of the water o f Lethe so that theymay forget the past and be reborn among men .

Sir John de Mandeville, the fourteenth - centurytraveller and compiler of trave ller’s stories, located thefountain o f l ife at the base of a great mountain in Ceylon .

This “ fayr well bathe odour and savour o f all

sp ices ; and at every hour of the day, he Chaungeth e hisOdour and his savour dyv ersely . And whoso drink e the3 t imes fasting o f that watre of that welle, he i s hool(whole) o f alle maner (of) sykenesse that he bathe . Andthey that duellen (dwell) there and drynken often of thatwelle

,thei nev ere hau (have) sykenesse, and thei semen

1 Cam pbe l l, Popular Tales of the West H ighlands,Vo l . III,Tale L XXXVI.

2 L egends of G ods and Ghosts, p. 246.

3 N i neteen T ears in Poly nesi a,p. 3 53 .

Sw argaro-hani ha Par'v a, S e ction III (Roy

’s translat ion), p. 9 . T he ch i e f of the

gods say s to Y udh i shth ira :“ H ere i s the ce lest i al r iver. P lunging into i t, thou

w i lt go to th ine own regions (Parad i se ). H avm g bath ed,the h ero cast off h is hum an

body and assum e d a celest ial form


(seem) alle weys yonge . Sir John says that he drank ofthe water on three or four occasions and fared the betterfor it . Some men called it the “Welle Of Y outhe ”

They had often d runk from it and seemed “ alle weys yongly(youthful) and lived without sickness . “ And menseyn that that welle com ethe out o f Paradys

,and there

fore it is so vertuous . T h e “ tree ofl ife i s always S i tuatednear the “well of life In med iaeval literature . At He liopolis in Egypt a well and tree are connected by CopticChristians and Mohammedans with Christ . When Josephand Mary fled to Egypt they rested unde r th is tree,according to Egyptian belief

,and the clothe s o f the holy

Child were washed in the well . Heliopoli s, the BiblicalOn

,is the Ci ty of the sun and the Arabs still call the

well the “ spring of th e sun” According to ancient

Egyptian belief the sun -god Ra washed h is face in itevery morning. The tree, a sycamore, was the mothergoddess .That European ideas regarding a floating island or

islands were o f Egyptian origin and closely connectedwith the solar cult, i s suggested by the classical legendregarding Delos, one of the Cyclades . I t was fabled tohave been raised to the surface of the sea at the commandof Poseid on, so that the persecuted godde ss Latona,whowas pursued from land to land by a python, as theEgyptian I sis was pursued by Set

,might give birth there

to Apollo . On Delos the image of Apollo was in th eShape of a dragon

,and delive red oracles . I t was unlawful

for any person to die on Delos, and those of i ts inhabitants who fell sick were transported to another island .

Delos was a floating island like the floating island o f

the Nile, “ the green bed o f Horus on which that sonof Osiri s and Is is h id from Set . The m ost ancientApollo was th e so n Of cripple Hephaistos . Cripple



E m ain Ablach ”

(E m ain rich in apples) . I n one description a youth named Conla and h is bride Veniusa arereferred to .

“ N ow th e youth was so that in h is handhe held a fragrant apple having the hue o f gold ; a th irdpart o f i t h e would eat, and still , for all he consumed,never a whit would i t be diminished . T h e fruit i t wasthat supported the pair o f them and when once they hadpartaken o f i t

,nor age nor dimness could affect them .

A part o f th is Paradise was reserved for “ monarchs,

kings,and tribal chiefs ” . T e igue, a Celtic Gilgamesh

who vis ited the island,saw there “ a th ickly furnished

wide- spreading apple tree that bore blossom and ripefruit at the same time . He asked regarding the greattree and was informed that its fruit was meat intendedto “ serve the congregation ” which was to inhabit themansion .

1 The rowan berry and hazel nut were also tothe Gaels fruits of immortality . There once came toSt . Patrick from the south a youth wearing a crimsonmantle fixed by a fibula o f gold over a yellow shirt . Hebrough t “ a double armful o f round yellow- headed nutsand of beautiful golden-yellow apples ” ? The Gael i cI slands of the B lest are p ictured in glowing colours

Splendours of ev ery colour glistenThroughout the gentle-v o iced plains .

Joy is known, ranked around m usicIn the south ern S ilver- cloud Plain .

U nknown is wailing or treach eryTh ere is no th ing rough or hoarse

Without grief,wi thout sorrow,W i thout

Without sickness,w ithout debilityA lovely landOn wh ich the m any blossom s drop

?

1 S . H . O’

G rady, S i l‘v a G adelica,Vo l . II,pp. 3 93

—4.

9 Ibid .,Vo l . II,p. 1 1 3 .

3 T he Voyage of Bran.

SH OU SH A N (i .e .

“ H IL L S OF L ONG EVITY T H E TAO IST PARADISEF l om a w as en s i lk pi cture i n the Vi ctor i a and A lber t l lfuseum



The Well of Life i s referred to in the Koran . Com

m entators explain a reference to a vanish ing fish by telling that Moses or Joshua carried a fried fish when theyreached the Well of Life . Some drops o f the water fellon the fish, which at once leapt out o f the basket into thesea and swam away.

In th e Aryo- I ndian epic

,the Mahdbhdrata, the hero

Bhima sets out i n search o f the Lake o f Life and theLotus o f Life . He overcomes the Yaksha-guardians Ofthe lake

,and when he bathes in the lake h i s wounds

are healed .

1

There are glowing descriptions in Buddhist l i teratureo f the Parad i se reached by those who are to qual ify forBuddhahood . A proportion o f the Ch inese Taoist inhabitants of the Islands of the Blest similarly wait for thetime when they will pass into another state of existence .A S im ilar belief prevailed in the West . Certain Celticheroes

,like Arthur,Ossian,Fionn (Finn),Brian Boro im h e,

and Thom as the Rhymer,l ive in Paradise for long periods

awaiting the time when they are to return to the worldo f men, as do Charlemagne, Frederick Of Barbarossa,William Tell

,and others on the Continent .

In the Buddhist Paradise the pure beings have facesbright and yellowish ”

, yellow being the sacred colouro f the Buddh ist as i t i s the colour of the chief dragono f China . I n th is Paradise is the Celestial Ganges andthe great Bodh i- tree,

“ a hundred yoganas in h eight”

which prolongs life and increases “ their stock o f meritTheir merit ” may “ grow in the following shapes

,viz .

either in gold, i n s ilver, in j ewels, i n be ryls, in Shells, instones

,in corals

,in amber, in red pearls, in diamonds,&c .,

or in any o ne o f the other j ewels ; or in all kind s o f perfumes, in flowers

,in garlands

,in O intment

,i n incense

1 “Vans Parva ofMahébhérata,and Ind i an My th and L egend,pp. 1 0 5—

9 .

THE ISLANDS OF THE BLEST 1 27

powder,in cloaks

,in umbrellas

,in flags

,in banners,

or in lamps ; or in all kinds o f dancing, singing, andmusic 1

The gem- trees abound in th i s Paradise . “ Of sometrees ”

,one account runs

,

“ the trunks are of coral, thebranches of red pearls

,the small branches of diamonds,

the leaves o f gold,the flowers of s ilver, and the fruits

of beryl .”2 In the eastern quarter there are Buddhacountries equal to the sand of the River Ganga (Ganges)The purified beings in the lands surpass the light of thesun and moon

,by the light of wisdom, and by the wh ite

ness,brill iancy

,purity

,and beauty of their knowledge 3

There are references to “ the king of j ewels that fulfilsevery wish ”

. I t has “ golden- coloured rays excess ivelybe autiful

,the radiance of which transforms itself into

birds possess ing the colours o f a hundred j ewels, whichsing out harmonious notes The purified may becomelike Buddha w i th bodie s bright as gold and blue eyesfor “

the eyes o f Buddha are like the water of the fourgreat oceans ; the blue and the wh ite are quite dist inct 5

The imaginations of the Buddhists run riot in theirdescriptions o f the Land of B lis s

,and the stream o f

glowing narrative carries with It many pre—Buddhist beliefsabout metals and precious stones, “ red pearls

,blue

pearls and so on, and “ nets o f gold adorned with theemblems of the dolphin, the svastika (swash tika), thenandyav arta, and the moon In their Paradise eventhe river mud is o f gold . The religious ideas o f theearly searchers fo r “ soul substance ” in the form o f

metals and gems are thus found to be quaintly blendedwith Buddhist conceptions of th e Earthly Paradise .

1 Descript ion of Sukhav z'

i t i, the L and of Bl iss, in Buddhist Mahay am a Tex ts (SacredBooks of the E as t,Vo l . XL IX), pp. 1 6, 1 7 .

2Ibi d .,p. 35 .

3 Ibi d, p. 56 .

4 Ibi d, p. 1 74.5 Ibid .,p. 1 80 .

0 Ibid.,p. 50 .


In some Chinese and Japanese stories the souls of thedead are carried to Paradise by birds

,and especially by the

crane o r stork, which takes the place of the I ndian maneagle Garuda (Japanese Gario, the woman- bird withcrane’s legs), and o f the Babylonian eagle that carriedthe hero Etana to heaven . The saints who reach theInd ian Paradise o f Uttara Kuru

,s ituated at the sources

o f the River Indus,among the Himalayan mountains

,and

originally the homeland o f the Kuru tribe of Aryans,are

supposed to have their lives prolonged for centuries .When they die their bodies are carried away by giganticbirds and dropped into mountain re ce sses . The beliefenshrined in stories Of th is kind may be traced to thewide— spread legend of the Diamond Valley . Laufer notesthat a version of it occurs in the L iang se hung hi, one o fthe most curious books of Ch ine se literature A princeis inform ed by scholars regarding the wonders of distantlands . “ In the west

,arriving at the Mediterranean

,

”

o ne Chinese story runs,“ there is in the sea an island o f

two hundred square miles . On this island is a largeforest, abundant in trees with precious stones, and inhabited by over ten thousand famil ies . These men showgreat abili ty in cleverly working gems

,which are named

fo r the country Fu - lin (Syria) . I n a north—westerlydirection from th e i sland i s a ravine, hollowed out l ikea bowl, more than a thousand fe et deep . They throwflesh into this valley . Birds take it up in their beaks,whereupon they d rop the precious stones .” Here Fu- l in,in the Mediterranean area

,i s referred to as early as the

beginn ing o f the S ixth century .

The Chine se Diamond Valley story is an abridgedform of a well— known Western legend ”

. I n a versionOf it in the writ i ngs o f E piphan ius, B ishop o f Constantiain Cyprus (e. 3 1 5 the valley is s ituated in “ a



Paradise was a land in which life-giving water andfruit

,and innumerable gems were to be found, and

those who reached i t became wise as magicians andprophets

,and l ived for thousands of years free from

sickness and pain . I t was the land of eternal youth andunlimited happiness .

CHAPTER X

T he Mo the r —

godde s s Of Chinaand Japan

Food for the Dead— Mi lk, B read, and Bee r in Parad ise— T he WesternT ree of L i fe in E gypt— T ree of L ife in Greece, B ri tain, and Po lynesia— T he

U nd erwo rld Parad ise— T h e “Wonde rful Rose Garden — Chinese Cult of th e

West — Bibli cal T ree Parable — Ch inese Peach T ree of L ongev i ty— T h e

“ Royal Mo ther of th e West”— Vi s i t of th e Ch inese E m pe ro r— A Far-E astern

E l-Kh id r— T he Sacred Chry san them um — T h e Cassia T ree Cult— Celestial

Yellow R iv er— Moon My ths— L unar E lix i r in Ch ina, Ind ia, and S cand inav ia— Ch inese S tar Mai den— T h e Sun Barque Island of Blest

”in Celestial

R iv er— Moon—gi rl S to ry— T he Makara ”

in Ch ina and Japan— T he Ch inese

Ish tar— Deluge L egend— T ree Spi ri ts — S to ry of L i t tle Peach ling Soul

Substance”in Dragon Bones, T rees, and Pearls .

The quest of the el ixi r o f l ife the “ water Of l ifeor “ the food o f l ife ” i s as prominent a feature o f ancientreligious l iterature as i s the quest of the Holy Grail in theArthurian romances . As has been shown in the lastchapter

,the belief that prompted th e quest was widely

prevalent,and of great antiquity . The Babylonian hero,

Gilgamesh,whose story is told in the oldest epic in th e

world,undertook his long and perilous j ourney to the

Otherworld,in quest o f the Plant of Life, because the

thought o f death was sorrowful to h im . When h is friend,E a- bani

, had expi red,

Gilgam esh wept bitterly,and he lay stretch ed out upon the ground .

H e cried, L e t m e not d ie like E a—bani .

I fear death .

” 1

1 L . W. K ing, Baby lonian Religi on (L ondon, p. 1 7 1 .

1 3 1


In the Babylon ian myth Of Adapa reference is madeto th e water of life ” and the food of life wh ich givewisdom and immortality to the god s and to the souls o fthose mortals who win their favour . T h e sacred tree inBabylonian art is evidently the Tre e of Life . 1

We seem to mee t with the h istory o f the immemorialquest in the Pyramid Texts o f Ancient Egypt . Theancient prie sts appear to have concerned themselves greatlyregard ing the problem how the dead were to be nourishedin the celestial Paradise . “ The chief dread felt by theEgyptian for the hereafter, says Breasted,

“ was fear ofhunger .”2 In Egypt

,as in other lands offerings of

,food

were made at the tombs,and these were supposed to be

conveyed to the souls by certain of the gods . But thosewho hoped to live for ever knew well that the t ime woul dcome when grave- Offerings would cease to be made, andtheir own names would be forgotten on earth . SomePharaohs endowed their chapel- tombs for all time, butrevolutions ultimately caused endowments to be appro

priated .

The Babylonians believed that if the dead were notfed

,their ghosts would prowl through the stre ets and

enter houses,searching for food and wate r ? I n Polynesia

th e homele ss and desolate ghosts were those of poorpeople, “ who during their residence in the body hadno friends and no property ”.

4 The custom of includingfood-vessels and drinking- cups in the funerary fiIrn itureo f prehistoric graves in different countries was no doubtconne cted with the fear o f hunger in the hereafter. Thecustom was widespread of giving the dead food offerings

1 L . W. K ing,L egends q aby lon and E gypt (L ondon, p. 1 36.

2 Religion and Thought in A ncrent E gypt, p. 1 3 0 .

3 My ths of Baby lon i a and A ssy ri a,p. 7 1 .

‘1 We ste rve lt, L egends of G ods and G hosts (H aw ai i an My thology), p. 245.



the idea that food, such as is found in Egypt, mightbe provided in the regions above o r beyond the sky . T h e

sun—god was appealed to : Give thou bread to th is K ingPepi

,from this thy eternal bread, thy everlasting beer

”.

1

But the chief source o f nourishmen t in the celestialParadise was the Tree of Life (a form o f the mothergoddess) on the great isle in the myth ical lake o r seabeyond the Easte rn horizon ? Egyptian artists depictedth is tree as a palm, o r sycamore, with a goddess ris ingfrom inside i t

,pouring water from a vessel on the hands

of the Pharaoh’s soul, which migh t appear in humanform

,or in the man- bird form called the ba . In the

funeral ritual the ceremony o f pouring out a l ibationwas performed with the obj ect Of re storing the bodymoisture (the water o f l ife) to the mummy

? A Biblicalreference to the ceremony is found in 2 K ings

,i i i, 1 1 , in

which it i s said o f Elisha that he “ poured water o n thehands o f Elij ah No doubt the Egyptian soul rece ivedwater as nourishment, as well as to ensure its immortality,from the tree—goddess .I n the Book of the Dead (Chapter LIX), the Tree of

Life is referred to as “ th e sycamore of Nut (the skygoddess) . Other texts call the tree the Western Tree

”

of Nut o r Hathor . I t may be that the solar cult o fthe East took over the tree from the Osirian cult ofthe West .This mythical tree figures in many ancient mythologies .

T h e goddess Europa was worshipped at G ortyna, i nCrete

,during the Hellenic period

,as a sacred tree .4 The

tree may be traced from the Bri tish I sles to I ndia, andthere are numerous legends o f sp irits entering or leaving

1 Breasted,Rel igi on and Thought i n A nci ent E gypt,pp. 1 20 et seq.

1 Ibid .,p. 1 34.

3 G . E ll iot Sm i th, The E v oluti on of the D ragon,pp. 2 3 et seq.

‘1 Farne ll, Cults of the G reeh S tates,V o l . III,pp. 1 4, 3 0 ; Cook,Zeus,Vol. I,p. 5 3 7.

THE MOTHER—GODDESS 1 3 5

i t . The Polynesians have stories of this kind . TheirTree of Life was the local bread—fruit tree which becamea god ”

,or

,as some had it, a goddess . “ Out of th i s

magic bread— fruit tree,a legend says, “ a great goddess

was made .” 1

I t may be that the island Paradise with its Tree ofLife was specially favoured after maritime enterprisemade strong appeal to the imagination of the Egyptians .N o doubt the Old sailors who searched for “ soul - substance ” in the S hape of pearls, precious stones, andmetals had much to do with disseminating the idea ofthe Isles of the Blest . At any rate, it became, as wehave seen

,a tradition among seafarers to search for

the distant land in which was s ituated the “ water oflife The home- dwe ll ing O s irians clung to their ideao f an Underworld Paradise, and bel ief in it became fusedwith that of the floating island

,o r I slands o f the Blest .

Those who dwelt in inland plains and valleys, and thoseaccustomed to cross the great mysterious deserts o n

which the oas is-mirage frequently appeared and vanishedlike the mythical floating island, conceived of a Paradiseon earth . There are references in more than one land toa Paradise among the mountains . I t figures in the fairystorie s of Central Europe, for instance,as the wonderfulRose Garden ” with its linden Tree o f Immortal ity, theh idingplace o f a fairy lady

,its dancing nymphs and

its dwarfs ; the king of dwarfs has a cloak o f i nvi s ibil itywhich he wraps round those mortals he carri es away ?At first only the souls o f kings entered Paradise .

But, in t ime, the belief became firmly establ ished thatthe souls o f others could reach i t to o, and be fed there .The quest of the food o f life ” then became a popular

1 Westerv elt, L egends of Old H onolulu,pp. 22 et seq., and p. 29 .

1 Teutoni c My th and L egend,pp. 424—3 2.

1 3 6 MYTHS OF CHIN A AND JAPAN

theme of the story- te llers, and so fam il iar grew the id eao f the existence o f this fruit that people believed it couldbe obtained during life, and that those who partook of itmight have the ir days prolonged indefinitely. For

,as

W . Schooling has written,“ a few s imple thoughts o n

a few s imple subj e cts produce a few s imple opinionscommon to a whole tribe (and even a great part o f

mankind),“and are taught with but little modification

to success ive generations ; hence arises a rigidity thatimposes ready-made opinions,wh ich are seldom questioned,while such question ing as does occur is usually metwith excessive severi ty, as Galileo and others have found

The apple,as we have se en

,was to the Celts the

fruit of immortality : the Ch inese favoured the peachthat is, it was favoured by the Ch inese cult of theWest . A S all animals were supposed to be representedin the Otherworld by gigant ic prototypes— the fathersor mothers o f their kind— so were trees repre sented bya gigantic tree ? This tree was th e World Tree thatsupported the Universe . In Egypt the World Tree wasthe sycamore o f the Sky — goddess, who was the GreatMother o f d e i tie s and mank ind . The sun dropped intothe sycamore at eventide ; when darkness fell the swallows

(star—gods) perched in i ts branches . In Norse mythologythe tree i s th e ash, called Ygd rasil, and from the wellat i ts roots souls receive the Hades- drink o f immortal ity

,

drinking from a horn embell ished with se rpent symbols .The Tree figures prominently in Iranian mythology : theAry o

- Indian Indra constructs the World- house round

1 Westm inster Rev iew ,N ov em ber, 1 892,p. 523 .

2Wh en, som e y ears ago, an ass w as acquire d by a tenant on a H ebri dean island, anat iv e, on se e ing thi s an im al for the first t im e, exc laim e d, “ It is the fath e r of all thehares


THE MOTHER-GODDESS 1 3 7

i t . This Tree i s,no doubt

,identical with the sacred tree

in Assyrian art,which is sometimes the date, the vine, the

pomegranate,the fir

,the cedar, and perhaps the oak . I t

may be that the Biblical parable about the talking trees is amemory o f the rivalries Of the various Assyrian tree cults :

T h e trees w en t forth on a t im e to ano int a king over th em ; and

they said un to th e ol iv e tree,Re ign thou o v er us. But the o liv etree said unto them

, Should I leave m y fatness,wherew i th by m e

they honour god and m an,and go to be prom oted over the trees ?

And the trees said to the fig tre e,Com e thou,and re ign over us.But the fig tree said unto th em ,Should I forsake m y swee tness,andm y good fruit,and go to be prom o ted o ver the trees ? Th en said thetrees unto the v ine,Com e thou,and re ign overus. A nd the v ine saidunto th em ,Should I leav e m y v ine,wh ich che ere th G od and m an

,

and go to be prom o ted ov er the trees ? Th en said all th e trees untothe bramble,Com e thou,and re ign ov er us. And the bram ble saidunto th e trees,If in truth ye ano int m e K ing ov er you,then com e

and put your trust in m y shadow : and if no t,le t fire com e out of

the bram ble,and devour th e cedars of Lebanon .

AS in Assyria, there was in Ch ina quite a selection oflife—giving trees .The Chinese gigantic Peach Tree

,whose fruit was

partaken of by god s and men,grew in the Paradise amongthe Kwun—lun mountains in Tibet

,and

,l ike the I ndian

Mount Meru (“ world supported the Unive rse .

I ts fruit took three thousand years to ripen . The treewas surrounded by a beautiful garden

,and was under the

care of the fairy- l ike lady Si Wang Mu,the quee n of

immortals, the “ Mother of the Western K ing andthe Royal Mother o f the West ” . She appears to haveoriginally been the mother - goddess — the Far-Easternform o f Hathor . In Japan she i s called S e iobo . HerParadise,wh ich is called “ the palace of exalted purity ”

,

and “ the metropoli s of the pearl mountain ”

,or o f “ the

j ade mountain ”

, and i s entered through “ the golden


door was originally that o f the cult o f the West .Sometimes Si Wang Mu is depicted as quite as weird adeity as the Phigalian Dem eter, with disordered hair,t iger’s teeth, and a panther

’s tail . Her voice is harsh,and

sh e sends and cures diseases . Three blue birds bring foodto her.Chinese emperors and magicians were as anxious to

obtain a peach from the Royal Mother’s tree in theWestern Paradise, as they were to import the “ fungusOf im mortali ty ” from the Islands o f the Blest in theEastern Sea .There once l ived in China a magician named Tung

Fang So, who figures in Japanese legend as T obo saku,

and is represented in Japanese art as a j olly o ld man,Clasping a peach to h is breast and performing a dance

,or

as a dreamy sage,carrying two o r three peaches

,and

accompanied by a deer— ah anim al which symbolizedlongevity . Various legends have gathered round hisname . One is that he had several successive rebirthsin various reigns

,and that originally he was an avatar

o f the planet Venus . He may therefore represent theFar-Eastern Tammuz, the so n Of the mother-goddess .Another legend tells that he filched three peaches fromthe Tree Of Life

,which had be en plucked by the Royal

Mother of the West ”

Tung Fang S o was a councillor in the court o f WuTi

,the fourth emperor o f the Han Dynasty,who reigned

for over half a century,and died after fasting for seven

days in 8 7 B .C . I n Japanese stories Wu Ti is calledKan no Buti . He was greatly concerned about findingthe “ wate r o f l ife ” or the fruit o f l ife ”, so that his daysmight be prolonged . I n h is palace garden he caused tobe erected a tower over 1 0 0 feet high, which appears to

1 Dr. Joseph E dkins,Religion i n Ch i na,p. 1 5 1 .



Cloud— land,followed by the white souls of good wom en

o f the Taoist cult . H er attend ants include the BlueStork

, the White Tiger, th e Stag, and the giganti cTortoise

,which are all gods and sym bols of longevity

in China .

Among the many storie s told about Tung Fang S o isone regarding a vis i t he once paid to the mythical PurpleSea . He returned after the absence o f a year

,and on

being remonstrated with by his brother for de se rting h ishome fo r so long a period,he contended that he had beenaway for only a single day . His garments had be en discoloured by the waters o f the Purple Sea, and he hadgone to another sea to cleanse them . I n like m annerheroes who vis it Fairyland find that time slips past veryquickly .

The Purple Sea idea may have been de rived from the

ancient Well of Life story about El Kh idr,1 whose body

and cloth ing turned green after h e had bathed in i t .Purple supplanted green and blue as the colour o f immortality and royalty after murex dye becam e the gre atcommercial asset o f sea- trade rs . Tung Fang So mayhave had attached to h is memory a late and importedversion o f the El Khid r story .

T h e reference to Wu Ti ’s d ew- drinking habit recallsthe story Of the youthful Keu Tze Tung

,a court

favourite,who unwittingly offended the emperor, Muh

Wang,and was bani shed . As the Egyptian Bata, who

S imilarly fell into disgrace . in consequence o f a falsecharge be ing made against h im

,fled to th e “ Valley of

the Acacia ”,Keu T z e Tung fled to the “ Valley of

the Chrysanthemum ”

. The re he drank the d ew thatdropped from th e petals o f Chrysanthemums, and becamean immortal . The Buddhists took over th i s story, and

1 My ths of Baby loni a and A ssyria,pp. 1 8 5 et seq.



point is that the ancient texts maintain s ilence as tocinnamon ; that is, the product from the bark of the tree .Cinnam oinuin cassia i s a native of Kwan si

,Kwan

tun, and Indo-Ch ina ; and the Chinese made its firstacquaintance under the Han,when they began to colon izeand to absorb southern China .” The first descriptionof this tree goes no farther back than the th ird century .

“ I t was not the Chinese, but non-Ch inese peoples ofIndo-China who first brought the tree into civil ization

,

which,l ike all other southern cult ivat ions

,was s imply

adopted by the conquering Chinese .” 1 I t has beensuggested that the cinnamon bark was imported intoEgypt from Ch ina as far back as the Empire period(c. 1 50 0 by Phoenician sea— traders .2 Laufer rej ectsth is theory ? Apparently the ancient Egyptians importeda fragrant bark from their Punt (Somaliland, or Briti shEast Africa) . At a very much later period cinnamonbark was carried across the Indian Ocean from Ceylon .

The Egyptians imported incensebearing trees fromPunt to restore the “ odours of the body ” o f the d ead,and poured out l ibations to restore its lost moisture?“When ”

,writes Professor Elliot Smith, “ the bel ief

became we ll establi shed that the burning of incense waspotent as an animating force

,and e specially a giver of

life to the dead, i t naturally came to be regarded as ad ivine substance in the sense that it had the power o f

resurrection . As the grains o f incense consisted o f theexudation of trees

,o r

,as th e ancient texts express it

,

‘their sweat ’,the d ivine power of animation in course

of time became transferred to trees . They were no

1 L aufer,S ino-Iranica,p. 543 .

11 T ransacti ons A m . Ph i l . A ssociati on,Vo l . XXIII, 1 892,p. 1 1 5 .

3 Cno-Irani ca, pp. 542

—3 .

1 G . E ll iot Sm i th, The E v olution of the Dragon,pp. 3 6 e t seq.

T H E MOTHER-GODDESS 1 43

longer merely the source o f the life-giving incense, butwere themselves animated by the deity, whose dropsof Swe at were the means of conveying l ife to the

mummy . The sap o f trees was brought intorelationship with life-giving water. The sap wasalso regarded as the blood of trees and the incense thatexuded as sweat As D e Groot reminds us,

“ taleso f trees that shed blood, and that cry out when hurtare common in Chine se l iterature (as also in SouthernArabia

,notes Elliot Smith) ; also o f trees that lodge

or can change into maidens o f transcendant beauty .

Apparently the ancient seafare rs who searched forincense- bearing trees carried their bel iefs to distant countrie s . T he goddess— tree o f the peach cult was evidentlythe earliest in China . I t bore the fruit of life . Theinfluence that led to the foundation of thi s cult probablycame by an overland route . The cass ia— tre e cult waslater

,and beliefs connected with i t came from Southern

China ; these, too, bear the imprint o f ideas that werewell developed before they reached China .There are refe rences in Chinese lore to a gigantic

cass ia tree which was feet h igh . Those who ateo f its fruit became immortal . The earl ier belie f connected with the peach tree was that the soul wh o ate one

o f its peaches lived fo r 3 0 0 0 years .Th i s cassia world- tree appe ars first to have taken

the place of the peach tree o f the “ Royal Mother o f

the West ” I t was reached by sailing up the hol ies triver in Ch ina, the Hoang - H o (Yellow River), thesources o f which are in the Koko—Nor territory to thenorth of Tibet . I t wriggles l ike a serpent betweenmountain barriers before it flows northward ; then it

1 Rel igious Sy stem of Ch i na,Vo l . IV, pp. 272— 6 : and E ll io t Sm ith, The E v oluti on of

the Dragon,pp. 3 8-

9 .


flows southward for 20 0 miles on the eastern borde ro f Shensi province (the Chine se homeland), and theneas tward for 20 0 miles, afterward s d iverging in a northeasterly direction towards the Gulf o f Chihli

,in which

the I sland s o f the B lest were supposed to be s ituated .

It was believed that the Hoang-H o had, l ike theGanges o f India and the Nile o f Egypt

,a celestial

origin . Those sages who desired to Obtain a glimpseof Paradise sailed up the river to its fountain head .

Some reached the tree and the garden of Parad ise .Others found themselves sail ing across the heavens .T h e Western Paradise was evidently supposed by someto be s ituated in the middle of the world, and by othersto have been S ituated beyond the horizon .

Chang K i ’en, one o f the famous men attached tothe court of Wu Ti

,the reviver of many ancient belie fs

and m yths,was credited with having followed the courseo f the sacred river until he reached the spot where thecass ia tree grew . Beside the tree were the im m ortalanimals that haunt the gard en of the Royal Mother o fthe West I n addition,Chang K i

’

en saw the moon- rabbito r moon- hare,which is adored as a rice-giver . In the FarEast

,as in the Near East and in the West

,the moon is

supposed to ripen crops . The lunar rabbit or hare i sassociated with wate r ; in the moon grow plants anda tree of im mortali ty . There is also, accord ing to Ch inesebelief, a frog in the moon . I t was originally a woman

,

the wife of a renowned archer, who rescued the moonfrom impri sonment in masse s o f black rain- cloud s . TheRoyal Mother Of the West ” was so grateful to the arche rfor the service he had rendered that She gave h im a j ad ecup filled with the d ew o f im mortality . His wife stolethe cup and drank the d ew . For this Offence the RoyalMother o f the West ” transformed her in to a frog

,and



some unknown plant . There are also references in Indianmythology to the “ Amrita ”, which was partaken o f bythe gods . I t was the sap of sacred trees that grew inParadise . Trees and plants derived the i r l ife and susteuance from water . T h e Far - Eastern beliefs in “ thedew o f immortali ty ”

, the fungus of immortality and“ the fruit o f immortal ity ” have an intimate connectionwith the bel ief that the mother-goddess was connectedwith the moon

,which exercised an influence over

water . The mother-goddess was also the love-goddess,the Ishtar of Babylonia

,the Hathor o f Egypt, the

Aphrodite Of Greece . Her son, or husband,was, i n oneo f h is phases, the love- god .

The sage of the Chinese Emperor Wu Ti, whofollowed the course of the Ye llow River so as to reachthe celestial Paradise, saw

,i n addition to the moon

rabbit, or hare, the “ O ld Man o f the Moon ”, the

Ch inese Wu Kang and Japanese G ekkawo, the godof love and marriage . He is supposed to unite loversby binding their feet with invisible red S i lk cords . TheOld Man in the Moon ”

i s,i n Chinese legend, engaged

in chopping branche s from the cass ia tree of immortality .

N ew branches immed iately sprout forth to replace thosethus removed , but the

“ Old Man has to go on cuttingt ill the end o f tim e

,having committed a sin for which

his i ncreasing labour IS the appropriate punishment .A Buddhist legend makes Indra the Old m an . He

asked for food from the hare,the ape

,and th e fox . The

hare lit a fire and leapt into it so that the god might befed . Indra was so much impressed by this supreme actof friendship and charity that he placed the exemplaryhare in the moon . A vers ion o f th i s story i s given inthe Mahdbhdrata .

In European folk- lore the “ Old Man is either a

THE MOTHER—GODDESS 1 47

th ief who stole a bundle o f faggots, or 'a

broke the Sabbath by cutting sticks on that

See the rustic in the Moon,H ow h is bundle w e ighs h im down ;Thus h is st icks th e truth revealIt never profits m an to steal.

Various versions o f the Man in the Moon myth aregiven by S . Baring—Gould,

1 who draws attention to acurious seal appended to a deed preserved in the RecordOffice, dated th e 9 th year of Edward the Th ird ( 1 3 3I t shows the “ Man in the Moon ” carrying h i s sticksand accompanied by his dog. Two stars are added .

The inscription on the seal is,“ Te Waltere do cebo cur

spinas phebo gero (I w ill teach thee, Walter, why Icarry thorns in the The deed is one of conveyance o f property from a man whose Christian name wasWalter .Wu T i ’s sage travelled through the ce lestial region s

until he reached the Milky Way, the source of the YellowRiver . He saw the Spinn ing Maiden, whose radiantgarment is adorned with silver stars . She had a lover

,

from whom she was separated, but once a year she wasallowed to vis it h im, and passed across the heavens asa meteor . This Spinning Maiden, who weaves the net

o f the constellations, i s reminiscent of the Egyptiansky

-goddess, Hathor (or Nut), whose body is coveredwith stars

,and whose legs and arms

,as she bends over

the earth, “ represent the four pillars o n which the skywas supposed to rest and mark the four cardinal points ” .

Her lover, from whom she was separated, was S eb?

In China certain groups o f stars are referred to as the

1 Curious My ths of the M i ddle Ages, pp. 1 90 et seq.2 Budge, G ods if the E gypti ans,Vo l . II, p. 1 0 4.


Celestial Door the “ H all of Heaven Sec . Taoistsaints dwell i n stellar abodes, as well as on the “ I slandsof the B lest ” ; some were, during their l ife on earth,incarnations o f star - gods . The lower ranks o f thewe stern cult immortals remain in the garden of the“ Royal Mother ” ; those Of the highest ran k ascendto the stars .Wu Ti ’s sage

,according to one form o f the legend

,

never returned to earth . His boat,which sailed up

the Yellow River and then along the “ Milky Way ”

,

was believed to have reached the Ce lestial River thatflows round the Universe, and along which sails thesun—barque o f the Egyptian god Ra (or Re) . One daythe Ch inese sage ’s oar— apparently h is steering oarwas depos ited in the Royal Palace grounds by a celestialsp irit

,who d escended from the sky . Here we have

,

perhaps,a faint memory o f the vis its paid to earth

from the cele stial barque by the Egyptian god Thoth,i n his captivity as envoy o f the sun-god Ra .There i s evidence in Far - Eastern folk - tales that

at a very remote period the beliefs of the cult of theSky

-goddess, which placed the tree o f immortality inthe “

m oon island and the be l iefs o f the peach culto f “ the We sterners were fused, as were those of theOsirian and solar cults in Egypt .A curious story te lls that once upon a time a man

went to fish on the Yellow River. A storm arose,and

his boat was driven into a tributary,th e banks of which

were fringed with innumerable peach trees i n full blossom .

He reached an island, on which he landed . There hewas kindly treated by the inhabitants, who told that theyhad fled from China because o f the oppression of theem peror . This surprised the fisherman greatly. Heasked for particulars, and was given the name o f an



In an Egyptian legend i t i s told that Osiris was theson of the Mother Cow, who had conceived h im whena fertil izing ray o f l ight fell from the moon . I n likemanner a m oon~girl came into being in Japan . Shewas discovered by a wood- cutter. One day,when collecting bamboo

,he found ins ide a cane a little baby, whose

body shone as does a gem in darkness . He took herhome to h is wife

,and sh e grew up to be a very beautiful

girl . She was called “ Moon Ray ”

, and after l ivingfor a time on the e arth returned to the moon . Shehad maintained her youthful appearance by drinking,from a small vessel she possessed, the fluid o f im

mortality .

As the dragon was connected with the moon, andthe moon with the bam boo, i t might be expected thatthe dragon and bamboo would be closely linked . Oneof the holy “ men is credited with having reached thelunar heaven by cutting down a bamboo

,wh i ch he after

wards transformed into a d ragon . He rode heavenwardson the d ragon ’s back .

Saintly women, as a rule, rise to heaven in the formof birds, o r in the ir own form, without wings, o n accountof th e soul- l ike lightne ss of their bodies

,which have

become purified by performing re ligious rites and engaging in prayer and meditation . Their husbands haveeither to climb trees or great mountains . Some holywomen, afte r reach ing heaven, ride along the clouds onthe back of the K ’il in, the bisexual monster that th esoul of Confucius is supposed to ride . I t i s a formof the dragon, but more like the m ahara o f the Indiangod Varuna than th e typical “ wonder beast of Chinaand Japan . Some o f these monsters resemble lions

,

dogs, deer, walruses, or unicorns . They are all, however,varieties of the m ahara .

THE MOTHER — GODDESS I 5 1

Sometimes we find that the attributes o f the GreatMother

,who

,l ike Aphrodite

,was a “ Postponer of Old

Age ” (Am bologera), being the provider o f the fruit o f

immortality and 1 personification o f the World Tree,have been attached to the memory o f some famouslady

,and especially an empress . As the Egyptian

Pharaoh,according to the beliefs of th e solar cult,

be came Ra (the sun—god) after death, so did the Chineseempress become the “ Royal Lady of the West ” .

Nu Kwa, a mythical empress of Ch ina, was reputedto have become a goddess after she had passed to thecelestial regions . She figures in the Chine se DelugeMyth . Like the Babylonian I shtar, She was opposedto the policy o f destroying man kind . She did no t

,

however, l ike I shtar, content herself by expressing regret .When the demons o f water and fire, aided by rebelgenerals o f her empire, se t out to destroy the world, NuKwa waged war against them . Her campaign was successful , but not until a gigantic warrior had partly destroyedthe heavens by upsett ing on e of its pillars and the floodhad covered a great portion o f the earth . The empressstemmed the rising waters by means o f charred reeds

(a Babylonian touch), and afterwards rebuilt the brokenpillar, under wh ich was placed an Atlas— tortoise . LikeMarduk (Merodach), she then se t the Universe in ord er

,

and formed the Channel fo r the Celestial River . Thereafter she created the guardians o f the four quarters

,

placing the Black Tortoise in the north, and giving i tcontrol over winter ; the Blue Dragon in the east, whowas given control over spring ; the White Tiger in thewest, who was given control over autumn ; and the RedBird in the south

, who was given control over summe r,with the Golden Dragon, whose special duty was toguard the sun, the moon being protected by the White


De i ty o f the west . The broken pillar of h eaven wasbuilt up with stones coloured l ike the fiv e god s .Among the gifts conferred o n mankind by this

Empress—Goddess was j ad e, which she created so thatthey might be protected against evil influence and decay .

In this De luge Myth,which is evidently o f Babylonianorigin

,the gods figure as rebe ls and dem ons . The

Mothe r Godd e ss i s the protector of the Unive rse, and

th e friend Of m an . Evidently the cult Of the MotherGoddess was at one time very powe rful in Ch ina . InJapan the Empre ss Nu Kwa i s remembered as Jokwa .The Tree Of Immortality, as has been seen, i s closely

associated with the Far Eastern Mother Goddess,who

may appear before favoured mortals either as a beautifulwoman

,as a dragon

,o r as a woman riding o n a dragon

,

o r as half woman and half fish,o r half woman and half

serpent . I t is from the goddess that th e tre e re ceivesi ts “ soul substance ” ; in a sense, she i s the tree

,as sh e

i s the moon and the po t o f l ife-water, o r the mead inthe moon . T h e fruits o f the tre e are symbols o f her asthe mother, and the sap o f the tree i s her blood .

Refe rence has been made to Far Eastern stories aboutdragons transforming themselves into tree s and treesbecoming d ragons . The tree was a “ kupua

”

o f thedragon . The mother o f Adonis was a tree— Myrrhathe daughter o f K ing Cinyras of Cyprus,who was transform ed i nto a m yrrh tree . A Japane se legend relatesthat a hero

,named Manko

,once saw a beautiful woman

s itting on a tree - trunk that floated on the sea. Shevanished suddenly . Manko had the tree taken intohis boat, and found that the wom an was hidden insid eth e trunk . S he was a daughter Of the Dragon K ingo f Ocean .

A be tter- known Japanese tre e hero i s Mom o taro


THE MOTHER GODDESS 1 53

(m om o, peach, taro, eldest son), whose name is usuallyrendered in English as “ Little P each ling H e i sknown in folk- stories as a slayer of d emons— a veritableJack the Giant—K i ller.The legend runs that o ne day an o ld wood - cutter

wen t out to gather firewood, while h is wife washeddirty clothes in a river . After the woman had finishedher work

,she saw a gigantic peach drifting past . Seizing

a pole,she brought it into shallow water,and thus secured

it . The size of the peach astonished her greatly, and shecarried it home

,and

,having washed it

,placed i t before her

husband when h e returned home for h is evening meal .No sooner did the wood- cutter begin to cut open the

peach than a baby boy eme rged from the kernel . Thecouple, be ing childless, were gre atly delighted, andlooked upon the child as a gift from the Celestials

,and

they bel ieved he had been sent so as to become theircomfort and helper when they grew too old to work .

Mom o tara,“ the elder son o f the peach ”

,as they

called him, grew up to be a strong and valian t youngman,who performed feats o f strength that caused everyone to wond er at h im .

There came a day when, to the sorrow o f h is fosterparents, he announced that h e had resolved to leavehome and go to the Isle o f Demons

,with purpose to

Secure a portion o f thei r treasure . This seemed to bea perilous undertaking, and the o ld couple attemptedto make him change his m ind . Mom o tara, however,laughed at the i r fears

,and said : “ Please make some

millet dumpl ings for me . I shall need food for myj ourney.

”

His foster-mother prepared the dumpl ings and mutteredgood wishe s over them . Then Mom o tara bade the oldcouple an affectionate farewell

,and went o n h i s way.


The young hero had no t travelled far when h e meta dog, which barked out

° “ Bow-wow ! where are yougoing

,Peach- so n

“ I am going to the Isle of Demons to obtaintreasure

,

” th e lad answered .

“ Bow—wow ! what are you carrying ?I am carrying millet dumplings that my mother

made for me . N O one in Japan can make betterdumplings than these . ”

“ Bow-wow ! give me one and I shall go with you tothe Isle o f Demons .”

The lad gave the dog a dumpling, and i t followed ath i s heels .Mom o tara had not gone much farther when a monkey

,

perched on a tree, called out to h im, saying : K ia ! K ia !

where are you going, S on of a Peach ?

Mom o tara answered the monkey as he had answeredthe dog. The monkey asked for a dumpling, prom is ingto j oin the party, and when he received one he set o ff

with the lad and the dog.

The next an imal that hailed the lad was a pheasant,

who called out : Ken ! Ken ! where are you going, Sonof a Peach ? ”

Mom o tara told h im,and the bird, having received thedumpling he asked for

,accompanied the lad, the dog,

and the monkey on the quest o f treasure .When the Island of Demons was reached they all

went togethe r towards the fortress in wh ich the demonking resided . The pheasant flew ins ide to act as aspy . Then the monkey climbed over the wall andopened the gate

,so that Mom o tara and the dog we re able

to enter the fortress without d ifli culty . The demons,

however,soon caught sight of the intruders,and attem pted

to kill them . Mom o tara fought fiercely, assisted by the



and was afterwards raised to the kingship by the goddessI shtar . Karna, the Aryo

- Indian Hector,the son of

Surya,the sun—

god, and the virgin- princess Pritha, wass imilarly se t adrift i n an ark, and was rescued from theGanges by a ch ild less woman whose husband was acharioteer. T he poor couple reared th e future heroas their own so n .

1

Adonis,the so n o f the myrrh tree, was a Syrian

form o f Tammuz . Horus was the so n o f Osiris, whosebody was enclosed by a tree afte r Set caused h is deathby setting him adrift in a chest . When Isis found thetre e

,which had been cut down for a pillar, the pos

thum ous conception o f the son o f Osiris took place ?

The Mom o tara legend has thus a long h i s tory.

T he friendly animals figure in the folk- tales o f manylands . Mom o tara

’

s fight fo r the treasure, includ ing thecloak of invis ibili ty, bears a close resem blance to Siegfried’s fight for the treasure o f the Nibelungs ? I nwestern European, as in Far Eastern lore, the treasureis guarded by dragons as well as by dwarfs and giantsand othe r demons . Wh en the dragon— slayer is notaccompanied by friendly animals, he receives help andadvice from birds whose language he acquires by e atinga part o f the dragon

,or, as in the Egyptian tale, after

getting possess ion o f the book of spe lls,guarded by

the “ Deathless Snake When the Egyptian heroreads the spells he understands the language o f birds,beasts

,and fishes . The treasure -guarding dragon appears,

as has been suggested, to have had origin in the beliefthat sharks were the guardians of pearl—beds and preyedupon the divers who stole their treasure .

1 Indian My th and L egend, pp. 1 7 3 et seq., and 1 9 2—94.

2 E gypti an My th and L egend,p. 1 9 et seq.

1 Teuton i c My th and L egend,pp. 3 52 3 76, 3 8 3, 3 8 9, 39 1 ,446.

T H E MOTHER — GODDESS 1 57

The beliefs connected with the l ifegiving vi rtues o fthe tree of the Mother Goddess were attached to shells,pearls, gold, and j ade . The goddess was the source ofall l ife, and one of her forms was the dragon . Asthe dragon - mother she created or gave birth to thedragon - gods . Dragon - bones were ground down formedicinal purposes ; dragon- he rbs cured diseases ; thesap o f dragon- trees, l ike the fruit, promoted longevity,as did the j ade which the goddess had created for mankind .

The beliefs connected with j ade were similar to thoseconne cted with pearls, which were at a remote periodemblems of the moon in Egypt . I n China the moonwas “ the pearl o f heaven One curious and widespread belief was that pearls were formed by raindrops

, Or by drops of dew from the moon, the sourceof moisture

,and especially of nectar or soma . Pearls

and pearl—shells were used for medicinal purposes . Theywere

,like the sap o f tre es, the very essence o f l ife

the soulsubstance Of the Great Mother. 1That the complex ideas regarding shells, pearls, dew,

tree s,the moon

,the sun, the stars, and the Great Mothe r

were of “ spontaneous generation ” i n m any separatedcountries is diffi cult to believe . I t i s more probable thatthe culture—complexes enshrined in folk— tales and religioustexts had a definite area of origin in wh ich their h istorycan be traced . The searchers fo r precious stones andme tals and incense — bearing trees must have scatteredtheir be l iefs far and wide when they exploited locallyunappreciated forms of wealth .

1 For be l ie fs conne cte d w ith pearls and sh e l ls,se e Shells as E v i dence qf theMigrati onsqf E arly Culture, I. W i lfr id Jackson (L ondon,

CHAPTER XI

Tre e H e rb and Stone - lo re

Soul Substance”in Med icinal Plan ts— L ife-fire in Wate r and Plants

T h e Blood wh ich i s L ife”— Co lour Sym bo li sm in E ast and West— Charm

Sym bolism— Gem s as F rui t— Jade and Vege tat ion— Far E astern E lix i rs of L ife

— L inks between Pine, Cypress,Mand rake, andMugwo rt— S to ry of T reasurefinding D og

— T h e Far E astern A rtem i s— H er Mugwo rt, L o tus, and Frui tBasket— H erbs and Pearl—sh ell— Goats and Wom en

’

s H e rb— Ch inese and

T artar’s Figh t for Mand rake— T ea as an E lix i r— Far E aste rn Rip Van

Winkles— Problem of the Date T ree T ree T ears and “ S tone T ears ”WeepingDe i ti es — Goats and T hunde r-gods— Goats and Sh eep becom e S tones

Gem s and H erbs connected w i th Moon— Graded H e rbs,Dei ti es, and S tones— Fo reign Ideas in China.

I n the ancient medical lore of China,as i n the medical

lores o f othe r lands, there are laudatory references to“ All -heal ” plants and plants reputed to be specificremedie s fo r various diseases . N o t a few o f these medicinalplants have been found to be e ither quite useless orpositively harmful, but some are included in modernpharmacopoe ias

,after having been submitted to the closest

investigations o f physiological science .The Old herbal ists, witch — doctors

,and hereditary

curers who made some genuine discoveries that haves ince been elaborated, were certainly not scientists inthe modern sense o f the term . Their “ cures ” werea quaint mixture o f magic and re l igion . They searchedfor those plants and substances that appeared

,either

by their Shape or colour,to contain in more concentrated

form than others the “ essence o f l ife ”, th e“ soul

substance ” that restored health and promoted longevity.



during a thunde r- storm, l ike the Red Cloud herb T he

latter required a heavy de luge to bring it into existence .I t was a special gift o f the dragon—god — or an “ avatar ”

o f that deity— and had concentrated in it the essenceof much rain

,and

,in addition

,the essence o f l ightning

the “ fi re o f heaven ”

,ej ected by the rain dragon .

The lightn ing was the “ dragon’s tongue ”,and had

therefore substance,moisture

,and heat

,as well as

brilliance . To the early th inkers the l ife fluid wasnot only blood, but warm blood— blood pulsating withthe vital spark th e fire o f l ife These men wouldhave accepted in the l i teral sense the imagery of themodern Irish poet, who wrote

O, there was ligh tn ing in m y blood,Red lightning Iigh ten

’

d through m y blood,My D ark Rosale en.

The “ fire of life might be locked up in vegetation,i n stone, o r in red earth

,and be made manifest by its

colour alone .T h e genesis of thi s idea can be traced at a very early

period in the h istory o f modern man (H om o sapi ens) .In Aurignacian times in western Europe (that is, fromten till twenty thousand years ago) blood was identifiedwith life and consciousness . The red substance in “ theblood which is life ” was apparently regarded as theVi talizing agency

,and was supposed to be the same as red

earth (red ochre) . I t i s found, from the evidence affordedby burial customs

,that the Aurignacian race originated

o r perpetuated the habit of smearing the bodies of the irdead with red ochre . After the flesh had decayed, thered ochre fell on and coloured the bone s and the pebble saround the bones . Whe ther o r not the red ochre wassupposed to be impregnated with the essence o f fire

,

SQU ARE BRICK OF T H E H AN DYNA STY, WITH MYTH OL OG ICA LFIG U RE S AN D INSCRIPTIONS

T h e figure s enc lo s e d in th e re c ta ngula r pane l S urro unde d b y a ge om e tr i ca l b o rde r repre s entth e four quadra nt s o f th e Ch ine s e ura no sco pe . b e ing : 1 . T h e B lue D rago n o f th e E as t .

2 . T h e B lack Wa rriors ,To rto i s e a nd Se rpen t o f th e No rth . 3 . T h e Red B i rd o f th e So uth .

4. T h e Wh i te Tige r o f th e We s t . T h e e i gh t a rch a ic Ch a ra c te rs fi ll i ng i n th e i n te rv a lsread : Ch 'i e n ch'

zu wan S tu ch'

a ng lo w e t y ang . F o r a th o us a nd autum n s and a m y ri a d y ea rse v e rla s t i ng Jo y W i th out e nd



as a shell,wholly or partly red

,or as a red or yellow

pearl inside a shell . I t migh t l ikewise be found con

centrated i n the red feathers o f a bird . A bird withred feathers was usually recogn ized as a “ thunder bird— Robin Red—bre ast i s a European thunder bird ” 1

— andthe red berry as a “ thunder berry — a berry contain ingthe “ soul substance o f the god of lightn ing and fire .Fire was obtained by friction from trees associated withthe divine Thunderer ; h is spiri t dwelt in the tree . Oneo f the “ fire sticks ” was invariably taken from a redberried tre e .

The red Vital substance might likewise be displayedby a sacred fish— the “ thunder fish In the Chine se“ Boy Blue story the thunder—dragon in human formrides o n the back of a red carp .

Yellow is,l ike red, reputed to be vital colour.

Lightn ing is yellow ; the flames of wood fires are yellow,

while the embers are red . Early man appears to haverecognized the Close association o f yellow and red infire . Gold is yellow, and it was connected, as a substitutefor red and yellow shells

,with the sun,which at morning

and evening sends forth red and yellow rays . The firewhich is in the sun

“ warms the blood ” and promotesthe growth of plants

,as does the moisture in the moon

the moon which controls the flow of sap and blood .

The combination of sun-fire, lunar-fire, and moisture,o r o f fire - red earth and rain

,constituted

,according to

early man ’s way of thinking, the mystery called life .Yellow berries and yellow flowers were as sacred to h im,and had as great life—prolonging and curative qualities,as red berries

,red flowers

,red feathe rs, and th e Skins

and scales of red fish . Yellow gems and yellow metalswere consequently valued as highly as were red gems

1 S om e thunder b irds are dark as thunde r-clouds .

TREE HERB AND STONE-LORE 1 63

and red metals . In Ch ina yellow is the earth colour .In Ceylon, Burmah, Tibet, and China it is the sacredcolour o f the Buddhists .

B lue, the sky colour, and therefore the colour ofthe sky

- deity, was l ikewise holy . T orquo ise and lapislazuli we re connected with th e Great Mother . Thesacredness o f green has a more complex h istory . I twas no t reverenced simply because o f the greenness Of

vegetation . T h e m yste rious substance that makes plantsgreen was derived from the supreme source o f l ifethe green form o f the water—godde ss o r god— and wasto be found in concentrated form in green gems andstones, including gree n j ade . Wh ite was the colour ofday

,the stars, and the moon

,and black th e colour o f

night and o f d eath,and therefore th e colour of deit ies

associated with darkness and the Otherworld . In Chinablack is the colour of the north

, o f winter, and o f drought .The combination o f the fiv e colours (black, white, red,yellow, and blue o r green) was d i splayed by all deities .This conception is enshrined in th e religious text wh ichDe Visser gives without comment

A dragon in th e w ater cov ers h im se lf w ith fiv e colours ;T heriybre he i s a god .

” 1

I n China, as in several othe r countries,the colour

o f an animal, plant, o r stone was believed to reveal itscharacter and attributes . A red berry was regarded withfavour

,because i t displayed the l i fe colour. A red stone

was favoured for the same reason . When it i s nowadaysfound that some particular berry o r herb

,favoured of

old as an “ All— heal ”,is really an effi cacious medicine

,

an enthusiast may incl ine to regard i t as a wond erfulth ing that modern med i cal science has no t achieved, in

1 D e Visser, The Dragon i n China and y apan, p. 63 .


some lines,greater triumphs than we re achieved by the

“ s imple observers of ancient times . But i t may bethat the real cure s were o f accidental discovery, and thatthe effective berry or he rb would,on account of its colouralone

,have continued in use whether it had cured or not .

In Ch ina not only the berry with a “ good colourwas used by “ curers but even the stone with a“ good colour The physicians, for instance, sometimes prescribed ground j ade, and we read of men whodied

,because

,as i t was thought, th e quantities of j ade

medicine taken were much too large . Some ancien twriters assert, i n th i s connection, that although a doseo f ground j ade may bring this life to a speedy end, i twill ensure prolonged life in the next world.

The berries and stones wh ich were reputed to beAll- heals ” were not always d evoured . They could beused s im ply as charms . The vital e ssence or “ soulsubstance in berry o r stone was supposed to be so

powerful that it warded o ff the attacks of the demonsof d i sease

,or expelled the demons afte r they had taken

possession of a patient . Medicines might be preparedby simply dipping the charms into pure well water.The se charms were Often worn as body-ornaments . Allth e ancient personal ornaments were magic charms thatgave protection or regulated the functions o f bodyorgans . When symbols were carved o n j ade, the ornaments were believed to acquire increased effectiveness .Gold ornaments were invariably given symbolic shape .Like the horse- shoe, which in western Europe is nailedo n a door fo r “ luck ”

— that i s,to ward o ff evil— these

symbolic ornaments were credited with luck — bringingvirtues . The most ancient gold ornaments in the worldare found in Egypt

,and these are models of shells,

which had been worn as “ luck—bringers long before



water above and beyond the firm am ent, as well as therivers and the sea.

“ Good health ” i n the Otherworld was immortalityo r great longevity . A soul which ate o f a peach fromthe World Tree was assured o f 3 0 0 0 years o f goodhealth . H e renewed his youth, and never grew o ld,so long as the supply o f peaches was assured ?

I n China men lengthened their days by partakingo f “ soul substance in various forms . The pine - treecul t m ade decoctions of pine needles and cones, or o f

the fungus found at the roots of pines . “ The j uiceo f the pine says one Chinese sage

,

“ when consumedfor a long time

,renders the body light

,prevents man

from growing Old, and lengthens h i s l ife . I ts leavespreserve the inte rior o f the body ; they cause a mannever to feel hunger, and increase the years o f h i sl ife T h e

'

cypre ss was also favoured . Cypress seeds,

”

the same writer asserts,“ if consumed for a long pe riod

,

render a man hale and he althy . They endow him witha good colour

,S harpen h is ears and eye s, cause h im

never to expe rience the feeling o f hunger,nor to grow

o ld .

” The cam phor tree comes next to the pine andcypress as “ a dispenser and depository of vitalpower ” ?

Apparently the fact that pines and cypresses are

evergreens recommended them to the Ch inese, althoughi t was no t for that reason only the belief arose abouttheir richness o f “ soul substance An ancient Chine sesage has declared : “ Pine s and cypresses alone o n th i searth are endowed with l ife, in the midst of winter as

1 T he Norse go ds grew o ld when th e apples of im m o rtal ity, k ept by the goddess Idun,w ere carri e d away . After th e apple s w e re restored, th ey ate of th em and grew youngagain .

— Teutonic My th and L egend, p. 57 .

2 D e G root, The Religi ous Sy stem of Ch i na,V ol . I,p. 30 0 .

TREE,HERB AND STON E-LORE 1 67

well as in summer they are evergreen . Pines 1 0 0 0

years Old resemble a blue ox, a blue dog, or a bluehuman be ing . Cypresses 1 0 0 0 years o ld have deeproots shaped lihe m en in a si tting posture . Whenthey are cut they lose blood . Branches of

pines wh ich are 3 0 0 0 years Old have underneath thebark accumulations o f resin in the shape of dragons,which

,i f pounded and consumed in a quantity of full

ten pounds,will e nable a man to live 50 0 years .

Here we have the tree connected with the bluedragon . A S has been stated, ancient pines were transformed into dragons . The assertion that the pinesand cypresses were the only trees possessed o f “

v ital

powe r ” does not accord with the evidence regardingthe peachtree cult . T h e peach, although not an evergreen, was credited with being possessed of much “ soulsubstanceNo doubt the ideas connected with evergreens had

a close association with the doctrines of colour symbol ism .

The Chinese “ Tree o f Heaven ” (Ai lanthus glandulosa)appears to have attracted special attention

,because in

spring its leaves are coloured reddish-violet o r reddishbrown before they turn green . The walnut, cherry,and peony similarly S how reddish young leaves

,and

these trees have much lore connected with them .

One seems to detect traces o f the beliefs connectedwith the mandrake in the re ference to the. human- shapedroots of the 1 0 0 0 -year- o ld cypress tree . The mandrakewas the plant o f Aphrodite

,and its root

,which resembles

the human form, was used medicinally ; i t has narcoticpropertie s, and was be lieved also to be a medicine wh i chpromoted ferti l ity, ass isted birth, and caused youths andgirls to fall in love with one another . According to

1 D e G root, T he Rel igious Sy stem qf Chi na,V o l. I,p. 29 5 .


mandrake- lore, the plant shrieks when taken from theearth, and causes the death o f the one who plucks it ?Dogs were consequently employed to drag it out o f

th e ground,and they expired immediately. The “ man

drake apple ” i s believed by Dr. Rendel Harris to havebeen the original love apple ” ?In l ike manner the mugwort, th e plant of Artemis,

was connected in Ch ina and Japan with the pine whichhad virtues S imilar to those of the herb . Although themandrake- dog is not associated with the cypress

,i t i s

found connected in a Japanese folk—story with the pine .The hero Of the tale, an Old man called Hana Saka Jij i i,acquired the secret how to make withered trees blossom .

He possessed a wonderful dog, nam ed Shiro,which one

day attracted h is attent ion by sn ifli ng, barking, andwagging his tai l at a certain spot in the cottage garden .

The old m an was puzzled to know what curious thing inthe ground attracted the dog, and began to dig . Afterturn ing up a few Spadefuls of earth he found a hoard of

gold and s ilver p ieces .A j ealous neighbour

,having observed what had

happened,borrowed Shiro and set the animal to search

for treasure in h is own garden . The dog began to sn iffand bark at a certain spot, but when the man turned overthe so il

,he found only dirt and offal that emitted an

offensive smell . Angry at be ing deceived by the dog,he killed it and buried the body below the roots o f apine tree . Hana Saka Jij i i was much distressed o n

account o f the loss of Sh iro . He burned incense belowthe pine tree

,laid flowers on the dog’s grave, and shed

1 Shr ieks l ike m andrakes torn out of th e earth —Rom eo and 7 ulzet, iv, 3 .G iv e m e to drink m andragoraT hat I m ay sle ep out th e great gap of t im e

My Anthony i s away .—A nthony and Cleopatra.

2 The A scent qf Olympus, pp. 1 0 7 et seq.


TREE HERE ,AND STONE-LORE 1 69

tears . That n ight h e dreamed a wonderful dream . Theghost of Sh iro appeared before h im, and, address ing h im,said : Cut down the pine tree above my grave and makea rice mortar of it . When you use the mortar th inkof me. ”

The Old man did as the dog advised, and discoveredto h is great j oy that when he used the p ine- tree mortareach grain o f ri ce was transformed into pure gold . Hesoon became rich .

The envious neighbour discovered what was going onand borrowed the mortar . In h is hands, however, i tturned rice into dirt . Th i s enraged h im so greatly thathe broke the mortar and burned it .That night the ghost o f Sh iro appeared once again in

a dream,and advised Hana Saka Jij i i to collect the ashes

of the burnt mortar and scatter them on withered trees .Next morning he did as the dog advised h im . To hisaston ishment he found that the ashes caused witheredtrees to come to l ife and send forth fresh and beautifulblossoms . He then went about the country and employedhimself reviving dead plum and cherry trees

,and soon

became so renowned that a prince sent for him,asking

that he Should bring back to life the withered trees in h isgarden . The old man received a rich reward when heaccomplished the feat .The j ealous neighbour came to know how Hani Saka

Jij i i revived dead trees, so he collected what remained ofthe ashes of the pinetree mortar . Then he set forth toproclaim to the inhabitants of a royal town that he coul dwork the same miracle as Hani Saka Jij i i . The princesent for h im

,and the man climbed into the branches

of a withered tree . But when he scattered the ashesno bud or blossom appeared, and th e wind blew the dustin to the eyes of the prince and nearly blinded him . The


impostor was seized and soundly beaten ; and the dogShiro was

,in th is manner

,we ll avenged .

In this story the dog is a searcher for and giver o ftreasure . I t is of Special interest, therefore, to find thatArtemis, the mugwort-goddess o f the West, “ was notonly the opener o f treasure- houses

,but she also possessed

the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone ; she could transmutebase substances into gold ”

. She could therefore grantriche s to those whom She favoured . Dr. Rendel Harris,quoting from an o ld English wri ter, records the belief“ that upon St . John’s eve there are coals (which turnto gold) to be found at midday under the roots ofmugwort

,which after or before that time are very small

,

or none at all ” . The gold cures S ickness?A similar belief was attached to the mandrake . A

French story tells of a peasant who regularly fed amandrake that grew be low a mistletoe—bearing o ak . Themandrake, when fed,would, it was believed,

“m ake you

rich by returning twice as much as you spent upon it .T h e plant had become an an imal .” 2If Sh iro’s prototype was the mandrake-dog wh ich

sacrificed itself for the sake o f lovers, and was itself an“ avatar ” of the deity,we Should expect to find the pinetree connected with the love — goddess ? Joly

,in h is

L egend in Japanese Art (p . tells that “ at Takasago . there is a very old pin e tree

,the trunk o f which

is bifurcated ; in i t dwells the sp irit of the Maiden o f

Takasago, who was seen once by the son of Izanagi,whofell in love and wedded her. Both lived to a very greatage, dying at the same hour on the same day, and since

1 E l l iot Sm i th, The E v oluti on of the Dragon, p. 1 84 ; Rende l H arr is, The A scent qfOlympus,p. 7 3 .

2 The Ascent of Oly mpus,p. 1 26.

3 Artem is,as goddess of birth, was a spec ial i z e d form of th e G reat Mo th e r,who wash e rse lf the goddess of lov e and bi rth, of treasure,&c.— th e A ll-m oth er.



basket of loquat fruits which she gathered for her S ickmother . She was a woman who, having been promisedimmortality in a dream, fed on mother - Of- pearl, andthereafter moved as swiftly as a bird .

” 1 The Mexicangod Tlaloc’s wife was similarly a mugwort goddess .In the pine - tree story the Japanese representative

of the tree and lunar-goddess of love appears with herSpouse on moonligh t nights . The moon was thePearl o f Heaven ” . I t will be noted that the mugwortis connected with pearl- Shell— the lady Ho Sien Kuhaving acquired the right to wear mugwort, i n hercharacter as an immortal, by eating mother - o f— pearl .This connection of pearl- shell with a medicinal plant i sa more arbitrary one than that Of the mugwort withthe pine, or the mandrake with the cypress .The lotus was a form of the ancient love-goddess,

as was also the cowry . I n Egypt the solar-god Horusemerges at birth from the lotus- form o f Hathor as i tfloats on the breast o f the Nile . H o Sien Ku’

s basket offruit is also symbolic . “ A basket of sycamore figs ”

was in Ancient Egypt “ originally the h ieroglyph ic s ignfor a woman, a goddess, or a mother

”

. I t had thus thesame significance as the P o t, the lotus, the mandrake— apple,and the pomegranate . The latter symbol supplanted theEgyptian lotus in the IE gean area

?

Mugwort,as already stated, was a medicine, and

ch iefly a woman ’s medicine . “ The plantsays Dr . Rendel Harris,

“ i s Artemis, and Artemis is theplant . Artemis is a woman’s goddess and a maid

’s goddess,because she was a woman ’s medicine and a maid ’smedicine ? The mugwort promoted Ch ild- birth, and con

1 Jo ly, L egend i n j apanese A rt,p. 1 65 .

2 E ll io t Sm ith, The E v oluti on of the Dragon, pp. 1 8 3, 1 99 et seq.

3 The A scent qf Oly mpus, 79— 80 .



Pliny,i n h is twenty- eighth book, having, as Dr . Rendel

Harris notes, exhausted the herbals ”,shows that “ a

large r medicine is to be found in animals and inmanIn Ch ina the stag or d ee r

,the stork

,and the tortoise

are associated with the Tre e o f Life as emblems o f

longevity ”

. One is reminded in th is connection o f theWestern

,Eastern

,and Far Eastern legends about birds

that pluck and carry to hum an beings leaves o f “ theplant o f l ife ” o r

“ fungus o f immortali ty ”,and o f

Mykenman and Ancient Egyptian repre sentations ofbulls

,goats

,deer, Sz e .,

browsing o n vines and othe r treesor bushes that we re supposed to contain the el ixi r o f

l ife,being sacred to the godd e ss and shown as symbols

of her o r o f the god with whom she was associatedas mother o r spouse .7 Another famous Far Eastern curative wort is the

ginseng. Like the fungus of immortality,i t grew o n

o ne of the I slands of the Ble st . Taken with merm aid ’sflesh

,i t was supposed to lengthen the l ife o f man fo r

several centuries .As described by FathertJartoux says the eighteenth

century English writer, already quoted,2 “ i t has a white

root,somewhat knotty, about half as th ick as one

’s littlefinger ; and as i t frequently parts into two branches, no tunlike the

,

forked parts o f a man, i t is said from thenceto have Obtained the name o f ginseng, which implies aresemblance of the human form , though indeed it hasno more o f such a likeness than i s usual among otherroots . From the root arises a perfectly smooth andround ish stem, o f a pretty deep— red colour, except towardsthe surface o f the ground, whe re i t i s som ewhat wh i ter .At the top of the stem is a sort o f j oint or knot, formed by

1 The A scent of Olympus,p. 8 2 .

2 The Chinese T rav eller,V o l . I, p. 2 39 .

TREE , HERE , AN D STONE-LORE 1 75

the shooting out of four branches,sometimes more

,some

times less, which spread as from a centre . The colour o fthe branches underne ath is green

,with a whitish mixture

,

and the upper part i s of a deep red like the stem .

Each branch has fiv e leaves, and the leaves “ makea circular figure nearly parallel to the surface o f theearth ”

. The berries are Of a beautiful red colour ”Here we have hints of the mandrake without a doubt .

As a matter o f fact,the ginseng has been identified with

the mandrake . The plant evidently attracted attentionbecause o f i ts colours and form . A S i t has a red stemand red berries, i t is not surpris ing to learn that “ i tstrengthens th e vital spirits

,i s good against dizzines s

in th e head and dimness o f S ight, and prolongs l ife toextreme o ld age and that “ those who are in healthoften use i t to render themselves more strong andvigorous The four- leaved ginseng, like the four- leavedclove r, was apparently a symbol of the four card inalpoints . I ts fiv e leaves ” and the circular figure formedby them must have attracted those who selected fivecolours for their god s and adored the sun .

The ginseng i s found on the declivities o f mountainscovered with thick forests, upon the banks Of torrents o rabout the roots of trees

,and amidst a thousand other

different forms of vege tablesConfl icts took place between Tartars and Chinese for

possess ion o f the ginseng, and o ne Tartar king had “ thewhole province where the ginseng grows encompassed bywooden palisades ” . Guards patrolled about “ to h inderthe Chinese from search ing fo r i tTea first came into use in China as a l ife- prolonger .

The Shrub is an evergreen, and appears to have attractedthe attention o f the Chinese herbalists on that account .Our eighteenth- century writer says : “A S to the properties


o f tea, they are very much controverted by our physicians ;but the Ch inese reckon i t an excellent diluter andpurifie r o f the blood, a great strengthener of the brainand stomach, a promoter o f digestion

,perspiration

,and

cleanser of the veins and urethra ” . Large quantiti es oftea were in China given “ in fevers and some sorts o fcolics ” . Our author adds : “ That the gout and stoneare unknown in Ch ina is ascribed to the use of thisplant ” ?

Apparently we owe not only some valuable medicines,but even the familiar cup o f tea, to the ancient searchersfor the el ixir of l ife and curative herbs . Intoxicatingl iquors (aqua v i ta , i .e .

“ water o f l ife ” ) have a s imilarh i story. They were supposed to impart vigour to thebody and prolong l ife . Withal, l ike the intoxicatingsoma ”, drunk by AryO

- l nd ian priests, they had arel igious value as they produced “ prophetic states ” .

Even the opium habit had a religious origin . Aqua‘v i tte

was impregnated with “ soul substance ”,as was the juice

o f grapes, or, as the Hebrews put‘ i t,

“ the blood ofgrapes ” ?

A S Far Eastern bel iefs associated with curative plantsand curative stones (l ike j ade) have filtered westward, sod id Western beliefs filter eastward . Dr . Rendel Harrishas shown that myths and beliefs connected with the ivyand mugwort

,which were so prevalent in Ancient Greece,

can be traced across S iberia to Kam schatka. The A inusof Japan regard the mistletoe as an All- heal ”, as did theancient Europeans . “ T h e discovery of the primitivesanctity of iv y,mugwort,and mistletoe

”

, says Dr. Harris,make s a strong link between the early Greeks and otherearly peoples both East and West, and it is probablethat we S hall find many more contacts between peoples

1 The Chinese Trav eller,V o l . I,pp. 2 37 et seq.

2 G enesis, x l ix, 1 1 .



sustained by the huehu herb . I n this m anner,accord ing

to Ch inese tradition, the discovery was made that theherb “ prolongs l ife, cures baldne ss, turns grey hair blackagain, and tends to renew one

’s youth ”

. Great quantitiesof huchu tea must be drunk for a considerable time

,and

no other food taken, if the desired results are to be fullyachieved .

Other Rip Van Winkle stories tell of men who havelived for centuries wh ile conversing with immortals metby chance

,or while taking part i n their amusemen ts l ike

the men in We stern European stories, who enter fairyknolls and dance with fairy women, and th ink they havedanced for a S ingle hour

,but find,when they come out,

that a whole year has gone past .One day a Taoist priest, named Wang Ch ih, entered

a mountain forest to gather firewood . He came to acave in which sat two aged m e n playing chess

,while

Others looked on . The game fascinated Wang Chih,

so he entered the cave, laid asid e h is chopper, and lookedon . When he began to fe el hungry and thirsty he movedas if to rise up and go away, although the game had notcome to an end . One of the spectators, however,diviningh i s intention

,handed him a kernel, which looked like

a date stone, saying,“ Suck that ” .

Wang Chih put the kernel in his mouth and foundthat i t refreshed him so that he experienced no furtherdesi re fo r food or drink.

The chess—playing continued in S ilence,and several

hours,as it seemed, flew past . Then one o f the Old

men spok e to Wang Chih, saying :“ I t is now a long

tim e S ince you came to j oin our company. I th ink youshould return home .Wang Chih rose to h i s feet . When he grasped h i s

chopper he was astonished to find that the handle crumbled

TREE , HERE , AN D STONE-LORE 1 79

to dust . On reach ing home, h e discovered, l ike theman who fed on the huchu herb, that he had been missingfor one or two centuries . The Old men with whomhe had mingled in the cave were the immortals, knownto the Chinese as S ten N ung, to the Japanese as S ennin,and to the Indians as Rish is— a class of demi-gods whoonce l ived on earth and ach ieved great merit, in thespiritual sense

,by practis ing austerities in sol itude and

for long periods .The reference to the date stone is Of special interest .

I n Babylon ia and Assyria the date palm was one o f theholy trees . I t was cultivated in southern Persia, andmay have been introduced into Ch ina from that quarter .Another possibil i ty is that the seeds we re go t from datescarried by Arab traders to China

,o r obtained from Arabs

by Chinese traders . One Of the Chinese names for thedate resembles the Ancient Egyptian designation, bunnu.

Laufer,who discusses thi s problem,

1 refe rs to earlyChinese texts that make mention of Mo - lin, a distantcountry in which dark- complexioned natives subsist ondates . Mo- l in, earl ier Mwa- l in, i s, Laufer th inks,

“ ih

tended for the Malindi o f Edri si o r Mulanda of Y aqi‘

i t,

now Malindi, south of the Equator, in S ey id ieh Provinceo f British East Africa ” The lore connected with otherTrees o f Life in China appears to have been transferredto the imported date palm . One o f i ts names is “ j uj ubeof a thousand years ”, o r

“ j uj ube o f ten thousand years ” .

Laufer quotes a Chinese description o f the date palmwhich emphasizes the fact that it “ remains ever green ”

,

and tells that when the kernel ripens, the seeds areblack . In their appearance they resemble dried j uj ubes .They are good to eat, and as sweet as candy .

” 2

Another Chinese Rip Van Winkle story relates that1 S ino-Iranica (Chicago, pp. 3 85 et seq.

2 Ibi d.,p. 386,


two men who wandered among the mountains met twopretty girls . They were entertained by them

,and fed

o n a concoction prepared from hemp . Seven generationswent past while they enj oyed the company of the girls .The hemp (o ld Pers ian and Sanskrit bangha) was

cultivated at a rem ote period in Ch ina and I ran . Adrug prepared from the seed i s supposed to prolong lifeand to insp ire those who partake of i t to prophe sy

,afte r

seeing vis ions and dreaming dreams . The bang ” habi ti s as bad as the opium habit .In the tree- lore o f China there are interest ing l inks

between tree s and stones . I t has been S hown that j adewas an “ avatar of the mother-goddess

,who cre ated

it for the benefit o f mankind ; that tree foliage was identified with j ade ; that dragons were born from stones ;certain coloured stones were “ dragon eggs ”

,the eggs

of the “ Dragon Mother ”, the mother—goddess herself,

who had “ many forms and many colours ” . SacredS tones were supposed to have dropped from the S ky,

or to have grown in the earth . Pliny refers to a stonethat fell from the sun .

In Ancient Egypt i t was believed that the creativeo r fertil izing tears o f the beneficent deities, l ike thoseof Osiri s and Isis

,caused good shrubs to spring up

,

and that th e tears o f a deity like Set, who became thepersonification o f evil, produced poisonous plants . T he

weep ing Praj apati o f the Ae - I nd i ans resemble s theweeping sun -

god Ra o f Egypt. At the beginn ing,

Praj apati’s tears fell into the water and became the airand the tears he “ wiped away, upward s, became theSky

It i s evident that the idea o f the weeping deityreached Ch ina

, for there are references to“ tree tears

1 Ind i an My th and L egend, p. 1 0 0 .



first place . The latter was employed as a remedy fortoothache .

I n Babylonia toothache was supposed to be causedby the marsh-worm d emon which devours “ the bloodo f the teeth ”

and “ destroys the strength o f the gums ” .

The god Ea smites the worm, which is a form of th edragon Tiamat ?

The antique conception enshrined i n the weepingtree i s that the mother—godde ss o f the Sky Sheds tears,which cause the tree to grow, and that, as the tree, sh e

sheds tears that become stones, while the stones Shedtears that provide soul substance to cure disease byremoving pain and prom oting health . In Egypt thestone specially sacred to the sky

—goddess Hathor wasthe turquoise

,in which was

,apparently

,concentrated

the vital e ssence or“ soul substance ” o f the Sky. The

goddess sprang from water,and her tears were drops

of the primeval wate r from which all things that areissued forth . Those stones that contained wate r werein China “ dragon stones ” or dragon eggs In var iouscountries there are legend s about d e itie s

,and men and

women have sprung from moisture - Shedding stones .The mother- goddess o f Scotland, who presides over thewinter season, transforms herse lf at the beginning ofsummer into a stone that i s often se en to be coveredwith moisture . I n Norse mythology the earliest godsspring from stones that have been licked by the primevalmother - cow . Mithra o f Persia sprang from a rock .

Indones ian beliefs regarding moist stone s,from which

i ssue water and human beings, are fairly common ?

The Kayan o f Sumatra are familiar with the beliefsthat connect stones and vegetables with the sky and water.

1 S ino-Irani ca,pp. 3 3 9—42.

2My ths of Baby loni a and A ssy ri a, pp. 2 34- 5.3 P erry,Megal i th i c Culture of Indonesia,p. 68 .

TREE , HERE , AN D STONE-LORE 1 8 3

They say that “ in the beginn ing there was a rock . Onthis rain fell and gave rise to moss, and th e worms, aidedby the dung beetle s, made soil by their castings . Thena Sword handle came down from the sun and becamea large tree . From the moon came a creeper which,hanging from the tree

,mated through the action o f the

wind .

” From th i s union of tree and creeper, i .e . sunand moon

,“ the first men were produced ” 1

The connect ion between sky, plant, and anim als i sfound in the lore regarding the Ch inese sant si mountainherb which is eaten by goats . This herb, l ike otherherbs

,i s produced from the body-moisture of the goddess ;

i t is the goddess herself— the goddess who sprang fromwater . The plant i s guarded by the mountain goat asthe pearls are guarded by the s hark, and the goat, wh ichbrowses on the plant, is, l ike the shark, an avatar o f thegoddess . Goat’s blood is therefore as effi cacious as thesap of the herb .

The goat or ram is the veh i cle o f the Indian fireand lightning god Agni ; the Norse god Thor has a cardrawn by goats . Dionysos, as Bromios (the Thunderer),has a goat “ avatar ”, too, and he i s the god o f w ine

(Bacchus)— the wine, the“ blood of grapes ”, being the

el ixir of life . Osiris, who had a ram form,was to the

Ancient Egyptians “ Lord o f the Ov erflow ing Wine”

.

European witches ride naked on goats o r on brooms ;the devil had a goat form .

In Ch ina,as has been S hown, the dragon- herb, peach,

vine,pine, fungus of immortali ty, ginseng, SIC , received

their sap, or blood, or“ soul substance from rain

released by dragon gods,who thundered l ike Bromios

Dionysos . The inexhaustible po t from which life-givingwater came was in the moon . Th i s Pot was the mother

1 Megal i th i c Culture qf Indonesia,p. 92.


goddess, who had a star form . A ferti lizing tear fromthe godde ss- star,which falls on the Night o f the Drop

”

,

i s still supposed i n Egypt to cause the Nile to rise inflood .

We should expe ct to find the Chinese mythologicalcycle completed by an arbitrary connection between thegoat o r ram and sacred stones .There are, to begin with, ce lestial goats . Some of

th e Far Eastern demi—gods, already‘ referred to

,ride

through “ Cloud— land ”

on the backs of goats or sheep .

One of the eight d emi—gods, who personify the eight

points o f the compass,i s called by the Chinese Hwang

Ch’

u—P ’ing, and by the Japanese Ko sho he i . He is saidto be an incarnation o f the “ rain- priest ”, Ch

’ ih SungTze

,who has for his wife a daughter o f the Royal Mother

of the West, the mother- goddess of the Peach Treeo f Life .The Japanese version o f the legend o f the famous

Ko shoh e i i s given by Joly as follows : “ Ko shohe i,when

fifteen years o ld,led his herd of goats to the Kin H wa

mountains, and, having found a grotto, stayed there for

forty years in meditation . His brother, Shoki, was apriest

,and he vowed to find the miss ing shepherd . Once

he walked near the mountain and he was told o f therecluse by a sage named Zenju, and set out to find him .

He recognized h is brother,but expressed his astonishmentat the absence o f sheep or goats . Ko shohe i thereupontouched with h is staff the white stones with which theground was strewn, and as he touched them they becamealive in the shape o f goats .Goats might become stones . The Great Mother was

a stone,rock

,or mountain, having the power to assume

many forms, because she was the l ife of all th ings and the1 L egend in Japanese A rt,p. 1 95 .


TREE,HERB AN D STONE -LORE 1 8 5

substance of all th ings . The godde ss was th e Mountainof Dawn in labour that brought forth the mouse—formo f the sun (Smintheus Apollo), o r the ante lope form o f

the sun, o r the hawk o r eagle form, or the humanform

,o r the egg contain ing the sun—

god . She was alsothe sun - boat— the dragon- ship o f th e sun . The fiveholy mountains of China appear to have been originallyconnected with the goddess and h er sons— the gods o f

the four quarte rs .In Ch ina deiti es might on occas ion take th e form o f

stones or reptiles . During the Chou Dynasty (756“ one o f the feudal dukes says Giles,

“saw a vision

o f a yellow serpent wh ich descended from heaven, andlaid its head o n the slope ,

of a mountain . The dukespoke of this to h is astrologer

,who said, I t is a manifestation o f God ; sacrifice to it

’

. I n B .C . another dukefound on a mountain a being in the sem blance of a stone .Sacrifices were at once offered, and the stone w as deifiedand received regular worship from that t ime forward .

” 1

Gile s states further in connection with Chinese godstones : “ Under 53 2 B .C . we have the record o f a stonespeaking . The Marquis Lu inquired o f h is ch iefmusician if th is was a fact

,and received the following

answer : “ Stones cannot speak . Perhaps th i s one wasposse ssed by a spirit . If not, the people must have heardwrong . And yet it i s said that when th ings are doneout o f season and discontents and complaints are stirringamong the people, then speechle ss th ings do speak .

” 2

Precious stones were,l ike boul ders or mountains,

l inked with the Great Mother . In Egypt the red j asparamulet, called “ the girdle o f I s is ”, was supposed to bea precious drop of the life- blood o f that goddess . Herbswere connected with precious stones

,and were credited

1 Rel igi ons qfA nci ent Obina,pp. 24- 5.

2 Ibid,pp. 3 8—9 .


with the attributes and characteristics o f these stones .There are many refe rences in Chinese

,Ind ian

,and other

texts and folk- lores to gems that gleam in darkness . Nogems do . The mand rake was s imilarly believed to sh ineat night . Both gem and herb were associated with themoon

,a form of the mother-goddess

,and were supposed

to give forth light l ike the moon,1 j ust as stone s associatedwith the rain—mother were supposed to become moist,o r to send forth a stream of water, o r to shed tears l ikethe “ weeping tree s ”

,and like the sky from which drop

rain and d ew . The attributes o f the goddess were sharedby her avatarsThe amount or strength of the “ soulsubstance in

tree s,he rbs, well-water, stones, and animals varied greatly .

Some el ixirs derived from o ne or other o f these avatars ”

might prolong life by a few years ; other elixirs mightensure m any years o f health .

The difference be tween a m edicinal herb and the herbof immortality was o ne of degree i n potency . T h e

form er was imbued with sufficient “ soul—substance tocure a patient sufiering from a d i sease, or to give goodhealth for months

,o r even years ; the latter gave extrem e ly

good health, and those who partook of i t l ived for longperiods in the Otherworld .

Even the “ spiritual be ings (Zing) o f Ch ina weregraded . The four Zing, as De Visser states, are

“ theunicorn, the phoenix, the torto ise, and the dragon

”

. Thedragon is credited with being possessed of “ most ! ing ofall creatures ” 2

Stones were l ikewise graded . Precious stones hadmore Zing than ordinary stones . Precious stones aresometimes referred to as p i- si . One Chine se writer says

1 S e e Chapter XIII re sh in ing gem s, j ad e, coral,&c.

2 l e Dragon i n Clz ina and Japan, pp. 39 and 64.



may be found the history of complex beliefs that travelledfar and wide . 1 Even those people s who did no t adopt,or

,at any rate, perpe tuate the custom o f m um m ificat ion,

adopted the belief that i t was necessary to preserve thecorpse . This belief is still prevalent in China

,as will

be shown, but magic takes the place o f surgery .

In the next chapter evid ence will be provided toind icate how the overland “ drift o f culture towardsChina was impelled by th e forces at work in Babyloniaand Egypt .

1 E l l iot Sm ith, The M igration of E arly Culture (L ondon, and T he E v olution

of the Dragon (L ondon,

CHAPTER X I I

H ow Coppe r— culture reached China

Metals connected w i th De i ties— Introduct ion of Coppe r— S truggles forth e F i rst “Mine-L and ”

— E arly Me tal - wo rk ing in Caucasus, A rm en ia, and

Pe rsia— C iv i li z ations of T rans-Caspian C ases— Babylon ian Influence in MidA sia— B ro nz e and Jade carr ied in to E urope— A ncient “ Gold Rushes to

S ibe ria— D i scove ries in Ch inese T urkestan— Jade carried to Baby lon ia— L inks

between Ch ina, Iran, and Siberia— Bro nz e-links be tween Ch ina and E uropeE v idence of Ornam ents and My th s— E arly Metal-wo rking— Far E astern and

E uropean Furnaces Iden ti cal— Ch inese Civ i li z ation dates from 1 70 0 B .C .

Culture -m ix ing in A ncient T im es .

The persistent and enterprising search for wealthin ancient t imes

,wh ich

,as will be shown in th is chapter,

had so much to do with the spread of civil ization, mayseem quite a natural thing to mode rn man . But it i sreally as remarkable

,when we cons ider the circumstances

,

to find the early peoples possessed o f the greed of goldas i t would be to find hungry men who have been shipwrecked on a lonely island more conce rned about i tsmin eral resource s than the food and water they wereabsolutely in need o f. What was the good o f gold i nan ancient civilization that had no coinage ? Whatattraction could it poss ibly hold fo r desert nomads ?The value attached to gold, which i s a comparatively

useless metal,has always been a ficti tious value . As

we have seen,i t became precious in ancient times

,no t

be cause o f its purchas ing power, but fo r the reason thatit had religious associat ions . The early peoples regardedthe precious metal as an “ avatar o f the l ife—giving and

1 89


life - sustain ing Great Mother goddess — th e “ GoldenHathor ”, the “ Golden Aphrod i te ” .

I n Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, I ndia, and Ch ina thecow and sky

—goddess, the source of fertil izing water,was,i n the l iteral sense

,a goddess o f gold . I n India o ne

of the five Sanskrit name s for gold i s Chandra 1 (“ themoon and the Indus was called “ Golden Streamnot merely because gold was found in its sand butbecause o f i ts connection with the celestials . Goldis the obj ect of the wishes of the Vedic s inger

,and golden

treasures are mentioned as given by patrons,along with

cows and horses . Gold was used for ornaments for neckand breast, for ear—rings, and even for cups . Gold isalways associated with the god s . All that is connectedwith them is o f gold ; the horses o f the sun are ‘goldskinned ’

,and so on . This summary by two dis

tinguished Sanskrit scholars emphas izes the close connection that existed in I ndia between gold and gold ornamentsand religious beliefs .2

“ Gold ”

,a reader may contend,

“ is,o f course

,a

beautiful metal,and the ancients may well have been

attracted by its beauty when they began to utilize i tfor ornaments . But is there any proof that ornamentswere adopted

,because, in the first place

,they made

appeal to the aesthetic sense,which

,after all

,is a cult ivated

sense, and not to be entirely d ivorced from certain mentalleanings produced by the experiences and customsof many generations ? Do ornaments really beautifythose who wear them ? Was it the aesthetic sense thatprompted the early peoples to pierce their noses andears ; and to extend the lobes o f their ears so as to

1 T h e o th e r nam es are Jata-rfipa, Su-v arna,H at i ta, and H iranya.

2Macdone l l and K e i th, Ved i c Index q anzes and Subj ects (L ondon, Vo l . II,

p. 50 4. S e e also for m oon and go ld,Vo l. I, 2 54.



these as Washington Irving says,

1 “ the natives wouldskilfully separate and give to the Spaniards

,without

expect i ng a recompenseNo doubt the early searchers for gold in Africa and

Asia met with m any peoples who were as much amusedand interested, and as he lpful, as we re the natives of theN ew World

,who welcomed the Spaniards as visitors

from the sky .

Gold was the earl iest metal worked by man . I t wasfirst used in Egypt to fashion imitation sea- shells

,and the

magical and re ligious value attached to the shells wastransferred to the gold wh ich

,in consequence

,became

“ precious ” or “ holyCopper was the next metal to be worked . I t was

similarly used for the manufacture of personal ornamentsand other sacred obj ects, being regarded apparently,to begin with, as a variety o f gold . But in time— somecenturies

,i t would appear, after copper was first extracted

from malach ite— some pioneer of a new era began toutil ize it as a substitute for fl int, and copper knives andothe r implem ents were introduced . This d iscovery o f

the usefulness of coppe r had far—reaching effects, andgreatly increased the demand for the magical metal.Increasing numbers o f miners were employed

,and search

was made for new copper-mines by enterpris ing prospectorswho

,in Egypt,were employed, or, at any rate, protected,

by the State . This search had much to do with pro m o t

ing race movements,and introducing not only new modes

o f l ife but new modes of thought into lands s ituatedat great distance s from the areas i n which these m odeso f l ife and thought had origin . The metal-workers werethe missionaries of a New Age . In this chapter it will beshown how they reached China .

1s e and Voy ages of Christopher Colum bus (L ondon, 1 70 3 E d i t ion), p. 243 .

COPPER—CULTURE REACHES CHINA 1 93

Archaeologists are not agreed as to where copper wasfirst used for the manufacture of weapons and implements .Some favour Egypt

,and others Mesopotamia . I n the

former country the useful metal was worked in preDynastic times

,that is

,before 3 50 0 B .C . or 450 0 B .C .

Copper ornaments and obj ects,found in graves earlier

than the middle pre-Dynastic period wrote the lateMr . Leonard W . K ing,

“ are small and o f l ittle practicalutility as compared with the beautifully flaked fl in t knives,daggers

,and lances . At a rather later stage in the

pre—Dynastic period,copper dagger—blades and adzes were

produced in imitation of fl in t and stone forms, and thesemark the transition to the heavy weapons and tools ofcopper which

,i n the early Dynastic period

,largely ousted

flint and stone implements for practical use . The gradualattainment of skill in the working of copper ore onthe part of the early Egyptians had a marked effecto n the whole status of their culture . Their improvedweapons enabled them by conquest to draw their raw

materials from a far more extended area .” 1Copper was found in the wadis o f Upper Egypt and

o n the Red Sea coast— in those very areas i n which goldwas worked for generations before copper was extractedfrom malach ite . At a late r period the Pharaohs sentgangs of miners to work the copper—mines in the Sinait icpeninsula . K ing S em erke t, o f the early Dynastic age

,

had men extracting copper i n the Wadi Maghara . Hisexpedit ion was exposed to the depredations of the wildtribes of Beduin and he recorded h is pun ishmento f them in a rel i ef on the rocks of the Wadi .” Therei s evidence that .at th is remote period the Ph araohs“ maintained foreign relations with far remote peoples ” .

2

A record of a later age (e . 20 0 0 R C .) afl‘

ords us a vivid1 H i story of Sum er and A kkad,pp. 3 26

—7 .

2 Breasted,A H i story on ypt,p. 48 .

( D 71 ) 1 4


glimpse o f l ife in the “ Mine-Land An ofli cial re

corded in an inscription that he had been sent there inwhat he calls the “Evil summer season He complained,“ I t i s not the season for going to th is Mine-Land .

The h ighlands are hot in summer, and the mountainsbrand the skin .

” Yet he could boast that he: extractedmore copper than he had been ordered to obtain ” 1

The transition from stone to copper cannot be tracedin ancient Babylonia . Sumerian h istory begins at theseaport Eridu,when that centre of civilization was s ituatedat the head of the P ers ian Gulf— a fact that suggests thesettlement there of seafaring colonists . At the dawn ofSumerian culture, copper tools and weapons had comeinto use . No metals could be found in the alluvial“ plain o f Shinar ”

The early Babylon ians (Sumerians) had to obtain theirsupplie s o f copper from Sinai, Armenia, the Caucasusarea, and Persia . I t may be that their earliest suppliescam e from Sinai, and that the battles in that

“ MineLand recorded in early Egyptian inscriptions

,were

fough t between rival claimants of the ore from the Nilevalley and the valley o f the Tigris and Euphrates . Oneancient Pharaoh refers in an inscription to his “ firstoccurrence of smiting the Eastern ers ” in Sinai . “ Thisdesignation ”, comments Breasted, “

o f the event as the‘first occurrence

’ would ind icate that i t was a customarything for the kings of the time (First Dynasty, 5 . 3 50 0

to chastise the barbarians .” 2 But were they really“ barbarians ” ? I s i t l ike ly that barbarians would befound in such a region

,especially in summer ? I t is

more probable that the “ Easterners ” came from an areain which the demand for copper was as great as it was inEgypt

1 Breaste d,A H i story on ypt,p. 1 90 .3 Ibid,p. 43 .



the “ Bull o f Heaven the sky-god, whose mothe r or

spouse was the “ Cow o f Heaven ”— “ are inlaid withmother- o f—pearl and lapis— lazuli A very s imilar methodi s met with in the copper head of a goat which was foundat Fara ” .

1 Here we find fused in early Sumerian religiousobj ects complex rel igious beliefs connected with dom est i

cated animals, sea- shells,and metals .

The opinion,suggested here by the writer, that the

battles between rival miners in Sinai compelled theSumerians to search for copper elsewhere and to discovermeans whereby the softer copper could be hardened,appears to accord with the View that bronze was firstmanufactured in Babylonia

,or in some area colonized by

Babylonia . I n h is able summary of the archaeological evidence regarding the introduction of bronze

,Sir Hercules

Read shows that “ the attribution o f the discovery toBabylonia is preferred as offering fewest d ifficult ies ”

.

2

Recent archaeological finds make out a good casefor Russian Turkestan as the “ cradle of the bronzeindustry ” .

I n Troy and Crete bronze supplanted fl int and ob

s idian . There was no Copper Age in either o f theseculture centres . T he copper artifracts found in Crete ares imply small and useless votive axes and other rel igiousobj ects .Whence did the Babylon ians receive, after the dis

cov ery was made how to manufacture bronze, the necessarysupplies of tin ? Armenia and the Caucasus “ appear ”

,as

Read says,to be devoid of stanniferous ores ” . Appar

ently the early me tal- searchers had gone as far as Khorassan in Persia before their fellows had ceased to wagebattles with Egyptians in the S inaitic “Mine—Land ”

. Tin1 L . W. K ing,A H i story q am er and A hkad, pp. 74, 7 5 .

2B ri ti sh Museum Guide to the A ntiqui ties of the B ronz e Age,p. 1 0 .

COPPER- CULTURE REACHES CHINA 1 9 7

has been located at Khorassan and “ i n other parts ofPers ia

,near Aste rabad and Tabriz .

1 From such areasas these Reid says

,the tin used in casting the earliest

bronze may have been derived We are now fairly onour way along the highway leading to China . “ In EasternAsia

,beyond the radius of the ancient civil izations of

Mesopotamia Read continues,

“ there would seem tobe no region likely to have witnessed the discovery (ofhow to work bronze) nearer than Southern China ; forIndia

,which has copper implements of a very primitive

type, i s poor in tin wh ile the Malay peninsula, an extrem ely rich stann iferous region, does not appear to havebeen mined in ve ry ancient times ” .

2 I t i s unlikely thatbronze was first manufactured in Ch ina, considering theperiod o f i ts introduction into Babylonia

,wh i ch antedates

by several centuries the earliest traces o f civilization in theFar East .The h istory of the development of the industries and

commerce of early Babylonia is the h i story of the growthand dissemination of civil ization

,not only in western

Asia, but in the Mid East and the Far EastBabylon ia, th e Asiatic granary o f the ancient world,

lay across the trade routes . Both i ts s ituation and itsagricultural resources gave it great commercial importance .I t had abundant supplies of surplus food to stimul atetrade, and its industrial activi ty created a demand formaterials that could not be obtained i n the rich alluvialplain .

“ Over the Persian Gulf ”,says Professor Good

speed,3 teak-wood, found in Eridu (the seaside

“ cradle ”

o f Sumerian culture), was brought from India . Cottonalso made its way from the same source to the southerncities . Over Arabia, by way of Ur, which stood at the

1 B ri ti sh Museum Guide to the A nt iqui ti es of the B ronz e Age,p. 9 .

2Ibid.,p. 9 .3 A H istory of the Baby lonians and A ssy rians,p. 74~


foot of a natural ope ning from the desert were led thecaravans laden with stone, spices, copper, and gold 1 fromSinai

,Yemen, and Egypt . Door- sockets o f Sinaitic stone

found at Nippur attest th is trafli c .

”Cedar wood was im

ported from the Syrian mountains for the adornment ofpalaces and temples . From the east, down the pass ofH o lwan, came the marble and precious metal of the mountains . Much o f th i s raw material was worked over byBabylonian artisans and sh ipped back to less - favouredlands

,along with the grain, dates, and fish, the rugs and

cloths of native production . All this traffic was in thehands of Babylonian traders,who fearlessly ventured intothe borders of distant countries,and must hav e carri ed w i ththem thi ther the knowledge of the civ i li z ation and wealth oftheir own hom e,for only thus can the w i despread influence ofBaby lonian culture in the earliest peri ods be expla ined .

”

I t was evidently due to the influence o f the searchersfor metals and the trade rs that the culture o f early Sumeriaspread across the Iranian plateau . As Laufer has shown

,

2

the I ran ians were the great mediators between theWestand the East ” The Chinese were posit ive util itarians

,

and always interested in matters of reali ty ; they havebequeathed to us a great amount of useful information onIranian plants, products, animals, minerals, customs, andinstitutions ” . Not only plants but also Western ideaswere conveyed to Ch ina by th e I ranians .3The discoveries o f archaeological relics made by the

De Morgan Expedition in Elam (western Persia), andby the Pum pelly Expedition in Russ ian Turkestan, haveprovided further evidence that Sumero-Babylonian civiliza

1 In th e T ell-e l-Am arna le tte rs, Weste rn —As ian m onarch s are e loquent in the irrequests for gold from E gypt . In one a Babylon ian k ing “

asks for m uch go ld and

com plains that the last supply was base, and that the re was m uch loss in m e lt ing”

.

2 S ino-Iranica : Chinese Contributi ons to the H i story of Ci v i li z ation in A nci ent Iran.

Chi cago, 1 9 1 9 .3 Ibid .,p. 1 85 .



N ew trade routes were opened up and connections establ ished, not only with Elam and Babylon ia in the south,but with Egypt, through Palestine, and with Crete andwith the whole JE gean area. Troy became the

“ clearinghouse o f th is early trade flowing from western Asiainto Europe . The enterprising sea- kings of Crete appearto have penetrated the Dardanelles and reached theeastern shores of the Black Sea

,where they tapped the

overland trade routes . 1 Dr. Hubert Schmidt, who ac

companied the Pum pelly expedition to Russian Turkestan in 1 90 3

—

4, found Cretan Vasil iki pottery in oneo f the excavated mounds, and, i n another,

“ three— s idedseal- stones o f Midd le Minoan type (c. 20 0 0 eu

graved with Minoan designs 2 There i s evidence whichsuggests that th is trade in metals between western Asiaand the n ean area was in existence long before 250 0

B .C .,and not long after 3 0 0 0 B .C .

One o f the great centres of Mesopotamian culture inthe south- eastern Caspian area was Anau,near Askabad,onthe Merve—Caspian railway route . Another was Meshed,which l ies to the south- east of Anau in a rich metall iferousmountain region . One of the “ Kurgans ” (mounds)excavated at Anau yielded archwo logical rel ics that indicated an early connection between Turkestan and Elam insouth-western Pers ia . I n another Kurgan ” were foundtraces o f a copper- culture . The early searchers for metalswere evidently the originators or introducers o f th is culture

,and as the stratum contained baked clay figurines

o f the Sumerian mother-goddess,the prototype o f I shtar,

l ittle doubt can remain whence came the earlie st miners .This region of desolate sand-dunes was in ancien t t imesirrigated by the Mesopotamian colonists who sowed notonly th e seeds of barley

,wheat

,and millet, but also the

1 Mrs. H awes, G ournia,p. 3 3 .2 The Daw n ofMedi terranean Ci v i li z ati on,pp. 62- 3 .

Copy righ t H G Fourm e , F R G S

AN OFFE RING TO T H E G ODS, PE K ING



wards the east . Gold can still be easily found “ everywhere and in every form in Siberia . The Al tai means“ gold mountains ”, and these yield s ilver and copper aswell as gold . Indeed, eastern Siberia i s a much richermetall iferous area than western Siberia, and this factappears to have been ascertained at a very remote period .

The searchers for metals not only collected gold,copper

,

and silver on the Altai Mountains and the area of theupper reaches o f the Y enese i River, but also penetratedinto Chinese Turkestan,where, as in Russian Turkestan,trading colonies were founded, the metals were worked,and the agricultural mode of life, including the system o f

irrigation, adopted with undoubted success .1 Important

archaeological excavations, conducted by Dr . Stein inChinese Turkestan,

“ on behalf o f the I ndian Government ”, have revealed trace s of the far- reach ing influencesexercised by Mesopotamian culture in a region now

covered by the vast and confus ing sand—dunes of theTaklamakan Desert . At Khotan the discoveries madewere of s imilar character to those at Anau .

Khotan is the ancient trading centre which connectedcentral Asia and India

,and India and Ch ina . One of

the m ost important products of Khotan is j ade— that is,important from the h istorical point o f V i ew . I t i s uncertain at what period the importation of j ade into Chinafrom the Khotan area was inaugurated . But there canbe no doubt about the antiquity of the j ade trade betweenChinese Turkestan and Babylonia . Some of the Babylonian cylinder- seals were o f j ade,others being of

“marble,j asper

,rock- crystal

,emerald, amethyst, topaz, chalcedony,

onyx,agate

,lapislazuli

,haematite, and steatite

” 2— all

1 It seem s ri d iculous to suggest that irrigat ion had origin in m id-As ia and not in

areas l ike the de ltas of E gypt and Sum e ria.

9 B ri ti sh Museum Guide to the Baby loni an and A ssy rian A ntiqui ti es,p. 1 57.

COPPER- CULTURE REACHES CH INA 20 3

rel ics o f ancient trade and mining activi ty . Turquoisewas imported into Babylonia from Khotan and Kashgar .The archae ological finds made o n the s ite o f the ancientSumerian city at N ippur include cobalt, presumably fromChina ” .

1 At Nippur was found, too, Persian marble,lapis- lazul i from Bactria

,and cedar and cypress from

Zagro s .

When it i s borne in mind that the ch ief incentivebehind the search for precious metals and precious stoneswas a rel igious one

,we should not express surprise to

find that not only the products of centre s o f ancient c ivil iz ation were carried across Asia to outlying parts, butalso myths

,legends

,and religious bel iefs o f complex

character . These were given a local colouring in different areas . In northern Siberia, for instance, the localfauna displaced the fauna of the southern rel igious cults,the reindeer or the goat taking the place of the gazelle orthe antelope . Mythological monsters received new parts,j ust as the dolph in-god of Cretan and other seafaringpeoples received an elephant’s head in northern Indiaand became the m ahara ; and the seafarers

’ shark—godreceived in China the head o f a l ion, although the l ionis not found in China . No doubt the l ion was introduced into China as a religious art m otif by some intrading cult . Touch ing on th is phase o f the problem o f

early cultural contact,Ell i s H . Minns2 suggests a number

o f possibil i ties to account for the s imilarities betweenSiberian and Ch i nese art . One is that the resemblancemay be due to both (Siberians and Chinese) having bo rrowed from Iran ian o r some other Central Asian art .In each case,

” he adds,

“ we seem to have an intrusionof monsters ultimately derived from Mesopotamia

,the

great breeding-ground of monsters .” The data sum1 P eter,N ippur II,p. 1 34.

2 S cy th ians and G reeks p. 280 .


m ariz ed in a previous chapte r1 dealing with the Chinesedragon affords confirmation of this view .

Dr . Joseph Edkins, writing i n the seventies o f lastcentury as a Christian miss ionary who made an intensivestudy o f Chinese rel igious bel iefs at firs t hand

,had much

to say about the“ grafting process o r culture-mixing .

“ Every impartial investigator he wrote,will prob

ably admit that the ceremonies and ideas o f th e Chine sesacrifices l ink them with Western antiquity . The infere nce to be d rawn is th is, that the Ch inese primevalreligion was of common origin with the rel igions of theWe st . But if the religion was o ne

,then the pol iti cal

ideas,the mental habits

,the - sociology, the early arts and

knowledge o f nature, should , have been of commonorigin also with those of the West .” 2No doubt the stories brought from Siberia by the

early explorers tended to stimulate the imaginations of

the myth-makers o f Mesopotamia, India, and China .The mineral and h o t springs in the cold regions mayhave been regarded as proof that the wells o f l ife hadreal existence . Some o f these wells are so greatly saturated with carbonic acid gas that they burst skin andstone bottles . Here is l iving water ind eed ! ” the earlyexplorer may have exclaimed when he attempted to carryaway a sample . “ The feathers i n the air as Herodo tus puts it when referring to the snow, and the auroraboreali s must have greatly impressed the early minersin the mysterious Altai region — a region posse ssingso much mineral wealth that i t must have been re

garded as a veritable wonderland of the gods by the earlyprospectors . Who knows but that the story o f G ilga

mesh ’s pilgrimage through the dark mountain to the landin which trees bore gems instead of fruit owes someth ing

1 Chapter V.

2 Religi on in Ch i na (L ondon 1 878, 2nd p. 3 8 .



obj ects may indeed be simpler in design than others,

but cannot be described as quite primitive ; nor as yetwith in the limits of Ch ina .” 1

The evidence afforded by ancient religious beliefs andcustoms tends to show that the cultural centre in Asia

,

which stimulated the growth o f civilization,was Babylonia,while Egyptian influence flowed northward throughPalestine and into Syria . I n time the influence of Cretancivilization made itself felt on the eastern shores o f theBlack Sea . The ebb and flow of cultural influences alongth e trade routes at various periods renders the problemof highly complex character . But one leading fact appearsto emerge . The demand for metals and precious stonesin the earl iest seats of civilization— that is

,i n Babylonia

and Egypt— st imulated exploration and the spread o f

a culture based o n the agricultural mode o f l ife . Notonly was the system of irrigation

,first introduced in the

Nilotic and Tigro—Euphratean valleys, adopted by colonieso f miners and traders who settled in mid-Asia andfounded sub—cultural centres that radiated westward andeastward ; the rel igious ideas and customs that had grownup with the agricultural mode o f l ife in the cradles ofancient civil ization were adopted too . N ew experiencesand new inventions imparted “ local colour ” to colonialculture

,but the leading religious principles that veined

that culture underwent l ittle change . The immemorialquest for the . elixir of l ife was never forgotten . I t wasnot to purchase their daily bread alone that men l ivedlaborious days wash ing gold dust from river sands, crushing quartz among the Al tai Mountains, o r quarrying andfishing j ade in Chinese Turkestan ; they were ch ieflyconcerned about “ purchas ing the “ food o f l i fe so asto secure immortality . The fe ar o f death, which sent

1 B ri ti sh Museum Guide to the A ntiqui ti es of the Bronz e Age,p. 1 0 7.

COPPER-CULTURE REACHES CHINA 20 7

Gilgamesh on his long j ourney,caused many a man

in ancien t times to wander far and wide in search oflife—giving metals

,precious stones, pearls, and plants .

And so we find in China as in Egypt, in Babyloniaas in western Europe

,that the quest of immortality

was the chief incentive that st imulated research, discov ery, and the spread of civilization . The demand forthe wood o f sacred trees, incense-bearing trees and plants,precious metals and precious stones in the temples ofEgypt and Babylonia

,had much to do with the develop

ment o f early trade . The Pharaohs of Egypt andthe Pates ies of Sumeria fitted out expeditions to obtaintre asure for their holy places, and to keep open the traderoutes along which the treasure was carried .

That the system o f metal-working had anciently an

area of origin is emphasized by the inve stigations conducted by Professor Gowland .

1 He deals firs t with theJapanese evidence . “ The method which was practised

,

and the furnace employed by the early workers, stillhe writes

,

“ survive i n use at several mines in Japanat the present time . A hole in the ground forms thefurnace, and a bellows i s used to introduce the blast fromthe top . After the copper is smelted it is allowed to coolo ff, and when i t is nearly sol id ified it i s take n out andbroken up .

“ The copper thus produced in Japan i snever cast direct from the smelting furnace s into usefulforms, but i s always resmelted in crucibles, a modeo f procedure wh ich undoubtedly prevailed in Europeduring the early Metal and the Bronze Ages . TheJapanese clay crucibles “ are analogous to those foundin the pile—dwell ings of the Swiss and Upper Austrianlakes ” .

Deal ing with iron—furnaces, the Professor shows that1 A rcha’

ologia,p. 276.


the Ancient Egyptian furnace resembled “ the Japanesefurnace fo r copper, tin, and lead

”. The Etruscan furnace

also resembled the Egyptian o ne .

“ From metallurgicalconsiderations only Gowland adds, we would certainlybe led to the inference that the Etruscans had obtainedtheir knowledge of the me thod of extracting metal fromthat (th e Egyptian) source . Bri tish evid ence sugge ststhat the methods obtain ing in ancient times were introduced from “ the Med iterranean region o f Europe .The actual process for the extraction of i ron from itsores in Europe

, in fact in all countries in early tim es, waspractically the same .

”

Elsewhere,Professor Gowland has written : “ I t i s

important to note that the type of furnace wh ichsurvives in India among the hill tribes of the Ghatsi s closely analogous to the preh istoric furnace o f theDanube

,and of the Jura district in Europe ” .

1

Culture- drifts can thus be followed in their results .Backward communiti es that adopted inventions in earlytime s continue to use them in precisely the same manne ras did those ancient peoples by whom they were firs tintroduced . In l ike manner are early beliefs and customsstill perpetuated in isolated areas . But i t does not followthat all these beliefs had origin among the peoples whostill cling to them . Some so - called “ primitive ” beliefsare really o f h ighly complex character, with as long ah istory o f development as has the primitive type offisrnace utilized by the h ill tribes o f India .I n the next chapter i t will be shown that in the

j ade belie fs o fChina traces survive o f ideas not ne cessarilyo f Ch inese origin— ideas that, in fact, grew up and passedthrough processe s o f d evelopment in countries in whichj ade was never found . F o r, as the Chinese bronze

1 Journal of the q al A nthropological Insti tute,Vo l . XL II,p. 279 .


COPPER-CULTURE REACHES CHINA 20 9

implements are no t of primitive forms and thereforenot indigenous

,neither are all Chinese bel iefs and customs

“ primitive ” in the same sense,or,in the real sense,

indigenous either . As the stimulus to work metals i nCh ina came from an outside source, so, apparently, didthe stimulus to search for such a “ l ife-giving and“ luck - conferring ” material as j ade come from othercountries

,and from races unrelated to those that occupied

Ch ina in early times .The beliefs associated with j ade were developed in

China,although they did not originate there ; and these

be l iefs were s imilar to those attached to the pearls, theprecious stones

,and the precious metals searched for by

the ancient prospe ctors who discovered and first workedj ade in Chinese Turkestan and on the borders of China .To sum up, i t would appear that the elements o f

a rel igious culture,closely associated with the agricultural

mode o f l ife,and common to Sumeria and Egypt

,passed

across Asia towards China,reach ing the Shensi province

about 1 70 0 B .C . At a much later period the complexculture of the Egyptian Empire period gradually driftedalong the sea route and left its impress on the Ch inesecoast . I ran ian culture

,which was impregnated with

Babylonian and Egyptian ideas, l ikewise exercised a pers is ting influence, and was renewed again and again .One of the ultimate results of the rise o f Persia as a

world—power, and o f the invas ion of Asia by Alexander,was to bring Ch ina into direct touch with the Hellenisti cworld .

Indian influence is represented ch iefly by Buddh i sm .

I n northern India Buddh i sm had been blended with Naga(serpent) worsh ip, and when i t reached China, the localbeliefs regarding dragons were given a Buddh i stic colouring. The Ch inese Buddhists mixed the newly- imported

5( D 71 ) 1


religious culture with their own . The “ I slands o f theBlest were retained by the cult of the East

,and the

Western Paradise by the cult o f the West . The latterparad i se is unknown to the Buddh ists in Burmah andCeylon, but has never been forgotten by the Buddhists o fnorthern China . A Buddha called “ Boundle ss Age ”was placed in the garden o f the Royal Lady o f the West

,

but that goddess s till l ingered bes ide the Peach Tree o fImmortal ity, while the sky

—godde ss continued to weavethe web of the constellations

,and the pious men and

women of the Taoist faith were supposed to reach herstellar Paradise by sail ing along the Celestial River indragon- boats or riding o n the back o f d ragons . TheCh inese Buddh ists found ideas regarding Nirvana lesssati sfying than those associated with the Paradise of thePe aceful Land o f the West and th e higher Paradise of

th e Palaces o f the Stars ”,i n wh ich dwelt the gods and

the demi-gods of the older faiths .Writing in th i s connection

,Dr . Joseph Edkins says

A mighty branch o f foreign origin has been grafted inthe o ld stock . The me taphysical religion o f Shakyamuniwas added to the moral doctrines of Confucius . Anotherprocess may then be witnessed . A native twig was graftedin the Indian branch . Modern Taoism has grown up onthe model supplied by Buddhism . That it i s poss ible toobserve the m odus operandi of th is repeated grafting,and toestimate the amount o f gain and loss to the people o f

China,resulting from the varied religious teaching which

they have thus re ceived, i s a circumstance o f the greatestinterest to the investigator of the world ’s religions .” 1

1 Religi on in Ch i na,P' 6.



o f rank, and even for musical instruments, possessing, asit does

,wonderful resonant qualities . The latter include

j ade flutes and j ade “ luck gongs ”,which have religiousassomat 1 0 n s .

Native artisans acquired great skill in working thistenacious mineral, and the finest art products in Ch ina arethose exquis ite j ade ornaments, symbols, and vessels thatsurvive from various periods of i ts h istory . Not only didthe accomplished and patient workers, especially of theHan period (20 0 B .C .

— 20 0 ach ieve a h igh degree ofexcellence in carving and engraving j ade

,and in producing

beautiful forms ; they also dealt with their hard mineralso as to utilize its various colours and shades, and thusincrease the ae sthetic qualities of their art products . Theartistic gen ius

,as well as the religious beliefs

,of the

Ch inese has been enshrined in nephrite .When the prehistoric Chinese settled in Shensi, they

found jade in that area . “ All the Chinese questioned byme

,experts in antiquarian matters, agree Laufer writes

,

“ i n stating that the j ades o f the Chou and Han Dynastiesare made o f i ndigenous material once dug on the very soilo f Shens i Province, that these quarries have been long agoexhausted

,no j ade whatever being found there nowadays .

My informant pointed to Lan- t’ien and Féng- s iang—fu asthe chief ancient mine s .” 1

But although the early Ch inese made use of indigenousj ade, i t does not follow, as has been noted, that the earlybeliefs connected with th is famous mineral were of indigenous origin . I t cannot be overlooked that the symbol ism

no surv iv ing spe cim ens. In Ire land bron z e shoe s were worn in ancien t t im es— perhapsin connection w ith re l igious cerem on i e s. Obs i d ian m irrors w ere use d in Mex ico for

purpose s of d iv inat ion, and the re w e re stone m irrors in P eru.

1 Jade : A S tudy in Chinese A rcha’ology and Rel igi on,Bertho ld L aufer (Fi e ld Museumof Natural H istory, Publ icat ion 1 54, Anthropo logi cal S eri e s, Vo l . X, Ch icago, 1 9 1 2,

p 23 )

MORTU ARY FISH IN JADE , OF H A N P E RIODL aufe r refe rs to th i s a s a m a rv e llous ca rv m g o f e xce e d i ng ly fin e w o rkm a n s h i p In th e

H a n P e r i o d s a c rific e s e re o ffe re d to a fis h i n j a de i n pra ) e rs fo r ra in

FIG U RE OF BUTTE RFL Y IN WH ITE A N D BROWNISH -YE L L OWJADE , TS ’

IN OR H A N P E RIODA un i que s pe c im e n am o ng m o rtua ry o ffe ring s o f co n s ide rab le age and unusua l w o rkm a n s h i p .A plum -blo s s om pa t te rn i s dep ic te d b e twe e n the an tenna: o f th e butte rfly (s e e pa geB oth pi ctures by courtesy af B . L aufer, author of

“

? ade Fi eld Museum ,Ch i cago



consider i t necessary to practise the science o f m um m ificat ion . In the L i K i (chapter 56) th e orthodox treatmentof the bodies o f the Emperor and others i s se t forth asfollowsThe mouth o f the S o n o f Heaven is stuffed with n ine

cowries,that o f a feudal lord w ith seven, that o f a great

offi cer with fiv e, and that o f an ordinary offi cial withthree ” .

1

Gold and j ade were used in like manner . Lauferquote s from Ko Hung the s ign ificant statement : “ I f therei s gold and j ade in the nine apertures of the corpse, it willpreserve the body from putrefaction ”

. A fifth—centuryChinese writer says : When on Open ing an ancient gravethe corpse looks l ik e alive

,then the re is ins ide and outs ide

of the body a large quantity o f gold and j ade . Accordingto the regulations o f the Han Dynasty, princes and lordswere buried in clothes adorned with pearls and with boxesof j ade for the purpose o f preserving the body fromdecay .

” 2

According to De Groot, pearls were introduced intothe mouth o f th e dead during the Han Dynasty .

“ A tleast he says

,

“ i t is stated that their mouths were filledwith rice

,and pearls and j ade stone were put therein

,in

accordance with the established ceremonial usages .” AndPoh hu thung i, a wellknown work, professedly written inthe first century

,says : “ On stufli ng the mouth o f the

Son o f Heaven with rice, they put j ade there i n ; in thecase of a feudal lord they introduce pearls ; in that o f agreat offi cer and so downwards, as also in that of ordinaryoffi cials

,cowries are used to th is end

De Groot,commenting o n th e evidence,writes : “The

same reasons why gold and j ade were used fo r stufli ng themouth o f th e dead hold good for the use o f pearls in th is1 D e G roo t, The Religi ous Sy stem qf Ch ina,Book I,pp. 275 et seq.

2j ade,p. 299 .

THE SYMBOLISM OF JADE 2 1 5

connection He notes that in Chinese l iterature pearlswere regarded as “ depositorie s o f Yang matter thatmedical works declare they can further and facil itate theprocreation of Children and can be useful for recallingto l ife those who have expired, o r are at the point ofdying ”

.

1

In India,as a Bengal i fr iend, Mr . Jim ut Bahan Sen,

M .A .,informs me

,a native medicine administered to those

who are bel ieved to be at th e point o f death i s a mixtureo f pounded gold and mercury . I t is named Mahara

dhwaj a . The m ahara 2 i s in India depicted in a variety o f

forms . As a composite l ion - legged and fish - tailedwonder beast resembling the Chinese dragon, i t i s thevehicle of the god Varuna

,as the Babylonian sea goat

or ante lope fish is the veh icle o f the god Ea or o f thego d Marduk (Merodach) . The m ahara of the northernBuddhists i s l ikewise a combination of land and sea an imalso r reptiles, i ncluding the dolph in with the head of anelephant, goat, ram, l ion, dog, or alligator .

3

In Ch ina the l ion- headed shark,a form of the sea—

god,i s l ikewise a m ahara or sea-dragon . Gold and nigh tshin ing pearls are connected with the m ahara as with thedragon . The Ch inese dragon, as we have seen, i s bornfrom gold,while curative he rbs like the Red Cloud herb ”and the “ dragon ’s wh iskers he rb ” are emanations of thedragon . Gold, l ike the herb, contains

“ soul substance ”

in concentrated form . Pounded gold, the chief ingredientin the m ahara-dhwaj a medicine, i s bel ieved in I ndia torenew youth and promote longevi ty l ike pounded j adeand gold in Ch ina .

“ I n Yung- cheu,which is s ituated in the Eastern

Ocean, rocks exist ,” wrote a Ch inese sage in the early

1 The Religi ous Sy stem of Chi na,Book I,pp. 274 et seq.2 Pronounce d muh'a'ra.

3 S ee i llustrat ions in Profe ssor E l l io t Sm ith ’

s T he E v olution of the Dragon,pp. 8 8,89 .


part o f the Christian era . “ From these rocks thereissues a brook like sweet wine ; i t i s called the Brooko f Jade Must . I f

,after drinking some pints out o f i t,

o ne suddenly feels intoxicated, i t will prolong life.Grease o f j ade, we are further told, “ i s formed ins idethe mountains which contain j ade . I t i s always to befound in ste ep and dangerous spots . 1 The j ade j uice

,

afte r issuing from those mountains, coagulates into suchgrease after more than ten thousand years . Th i s greasei s fresh and limpid

,l ike crystal . I f you find it

,pulverize

it and m ix i t with th e j uice o f herbs that have no pith ; i timmediately liquefies ; drink on e pint of i t then and youwill live a thousand years . He who swallows goldwill exist as long as gold ; he who swallows j ade will existas long as j ade . Those who swallow the real essenceo f the dark sphere (heavens) will enj oy an everlastingexistence ; the real essence o f the dark sphere is anothe rname for j ad e . B i ts of j ade,when swallowed or taken withwater, can in both these case s render man immortal .

” 2

A S we have seen, the belief prevailed in China thatpearls shone by night . T h e mandrake root was believedelsewhere to shine in like manner. The view is consequently urged by the writer that the myths regardingprecious stones, j ade, pearls, and herbs o f nocturnalluminosity owe their origin to the arbitrary connection ofthese obj ects with the moon,and the lunar-goddess or skygoddess . In China 1 ’e Kuang (

“ l ight of the night ”)“ i s ”

,

Laufer notes,an ancient te rm to d es ignate the moon ”

.

3

The intimate connection between the Mother deityand precious metals and stones is brought out by Lucianin h is D e D ea Syria . He refers to the goddess Hera

1 L ik e the gi nseng (m andrak e) in th e K ang—ge m ountains in north ern K orea. (S ee

Chapter XVII.)2 D e G roo t, The Rel igi ous Sy stem qf Ch i na,Book I,Vo l . I,pp. 272- 3 .

3 T he D i am ond,pp. 55, 56, n.



of scientific effort, but as folk- lore connecting the Orientwith the Occid ent, Ch inese society with the Hellenisticworld . As Laufer shows

,the Chinese imported legends

regard ing magical gems from E u— l i n the forest o fan island in the Mediterranean Sea, which was known tothem as “ the Western Sea ” (S i ha i) .

1 At a very muchearl ier period they imported other legends and beliefsregarding metals and mine rals .Pearls and gold having been connected with the

m ahara or dragon, i t is no t surpris ing to find that theirlunar attribute s were imparted to j ade . Laufe r quotesCh inese references to the “ moonlight pearl and th em oon-reflect ing gem while De Groot deals withChinese legends about effulgent pearls ”, about “ pearlssh in ing during the night ”, flam ing

wor fiery pearls and“ pearls lighting like the moon De Groot adds

,

Similar legends have always been current in th e empire

(of China) about j ade stone and he notes in th is regardthat “ at the time o f the Emperor Shen- nung (twentyfifth century B .C .) there existed

”

, according to Ch ineserecords, “ j ade which was obtained from agate rocks,under the name of ‘Light sh ining at n ight ’ . If castinto the waters in the dark it floated on the surface,without its light being extinguished .

” 3

The wishing j ewel Jewel that grants all desireso f I ndia, Japan, and Ch ina is said to be “ the pup il o fa . fish eye In India i t was known in Sanskri t as thecintim ani, and was be l ieved to have originated from them ahara

f The Chinese records have references to moonlight pearls from the eyes of female whales, and fromthe eyes o f dolph ins .6 I t does not follow that th is belief

1 The D i am ond, p. 7 . L esser Fu- li n w as Sy ria, and G reater Fu-l i n th e By z ant ine

E m pire .

2Ibi d.,pp. 55, n. 2, 56.

3 The Rel igious Sy stem of Ch ina, Book I,Vol . I,pp. 277— 8 .

4 L aufer, The Diam ond,p. 22 and n. 3, and p. 69 and n. 7.5 Ibid .,pp. 68— 9 .

T H E SYMBOLISM OF JADE 2 1 9

about the origin o f shining pearls had a connection withobservations made of the phosphorescing o f parts ofmarine an imals

,because the Chinese writers refer to o, for

instance, to the nocturnal luminosity of rhinoceros horn .

1

Even coral, which, like j ade, was connected with thelunar or sky

- goddess,was supposed to sh ine by nigh t.

Laufer quote s from the work,S i King tsa (Miscellaneous

Records of the Western Cap i tal, i .e . Si—ngan- fu), in th is connection

In the pond T si- ts’

ui th ere are coral trees tw elv e fe e t h igh .

E ach trunk produces thre e Stem s,wh ich send forth 426 branch es.

Th ese hav e been presented by Chao T’

o,K ing of N an Y I

’

Ie

(Annam ), and were Styled beacon - fire trees’

. At night theyem i tted a bri lliant light as though they w ould go up inflam es.

”2

The “ coral tree here l inks with the pine,peach

,

and cass ia trees, and the shin ing m andrake,as we ll as

with j ade, gold, precious stones, and pearls . I n Persiathe pearl and coral are called m argan, wh ich s ignifies“ l ife—giver ” or

“ l ife—owner ” . Lapis—lazul i was calledKin tsin (

“ essence o f gold ” ) during the Tiang periodin Ch ina .3As the metal associated with the moon was usually

silver, gold being ch iefly, although no t always,the sun

metal,we Should expect to find S i lver connected with j adeand pearls .De Groot,who is frankly puzzled over Chinese be l iefs

regarding pearls, and has to “ plead incompetency tosolve the problem why they were “ considered as depositories and distributors o f vital force ”

,

4 provide s the translation of a passage in the Ta Ts’ing thung li that connects

1 L aufer, Chinese Clay Figures, pp. 1 3 8, 1 5 1 .2 T he D i am ond,p. 7 1 .

3 E ll io t Sm i th, T he E v oluti on of the Dragon, p. 1 57, n. 1 . L aufer, S i no-Irani ca,pp. 520 and 525.

4 The Rel igi ous Sy stem qf China, Book II,Vo l. IV,p. 3 3 1 .


S ilver with pearls . I t states in reference to burial customsthat “ i n the case o f an official o f the first

,second

, o r

th ird degree, fiv e small pearls and pieces o f j ade shall beused for stuffi ng the mouth ; i n that of one o f the fourth

,

fifth, S ixth, o r seventh rank, fiv e small pieces o f gold andof j ade . The gentry shall use three bits o f broken goldor silver ; among ordinary people the mouth shall bestuffed with three pieces of s ilver .De Groot ins ists that the principal object of the

practice o f stuffi ng the mouths o f the dead was “ to savethe body from a speedy d ecay ” 1

I t is significant the refore to find references in Chineseliterature to “ Pearls o f Jade to Fire Jade ” that shedslight or even “ boils a po t and to find S ilver beingregarded as a substitute for j ade . Shells, pearls, gold,silve r

,and j ade contained soul substance ” derived from

the Great Mother . A S we have se en, Nu Kwa, themythical Chine se Empress (the sister o f E u Hi, the“ Chinese who stopped the De luge, took theplace o f th e ancient goddess in popular legend . Shewas credited, as has be en indicated, with planning thecourse of the Celestial River, with creating dragons, withre - erecting one o f the four pillars that supported thefirm am ent, and with creati ng j ade for the benefit ofmankind . In Japan Nu Kwa i s remembered as Jokwa .The Japanese beli efs connected with j ade are clearly

traceable to China . A Tama may be a piece o f j ade,a crystal

,a tapering pearl, or the pearl carried on the

head o f a Japanese dragon .

“ The Tama”, says Joly,i s associated not only with the Bo satsu and other

Buddh ist deities or saints, but also with the gods ofluck .

”2 There are a number o f he roic legends in which1 The Rel igious Sy stem of China, Book I, pp. 278- 9 .

2 L egend i n Japanese A rt,pp. 3 54, 3 55 .


THE SYMBOLISM OF JADE 22 1

the Tama figures . In a story, relegated to the eighthcentury B .C .,

a famous j ade stone is called “ the TamaIt tells that Pien Ho (the Japanese Benwa) saw an e aglestanding on a large block of j ade which h e took possess iono f and carried to h i s king . The royal magician s thoughti t valueless

,and Benwa’

s right foot was cut o ff. Hemade h i s way to the mountains and replaced the j ade,and soon afterwards observed that the same eagle re

turned and perched upon it again . When a new kingcame to the throne Benwa carried the j ade to the court,but only to have h is left foot cut o ff. A th ird kingcame to the throne

,and on seeing Benwa weeping by the

gate of the palace he inquired into the cause of h is grief,and had the stone tested,when it was found to be a perfectgem . This Tama was afterwards regarded so valuablethat i t was demanded as a ransom for fifteen cities ” .

1

Here the eagle i s associated with the gems co nta1 n 1 ngsoul substance ” . Joly notes that foxes are also shownholding the Tama and he wonders if the globe “ heldunder their talons by the heraldic l ions has a s imilarmeaning” .

2 Foxes and wolves were,l ike dragons

,capable

o f assuming human form and figure among the wereanimals of the Far East . A S these wereanimals includethe tiger,which is a god in China, i t i s poss ible that theywere ancient deities . The l ion is associated with the Babylonian goddess I shtar, with the Cretan mother-goddess,while the Egyptian T efnut has a l ione ss form . Tammuzo f Babylon i s, as Nin-girsu of Lagash, a l ion- headedeagle . The Indian Vishnu has a lion- headed avatar .The connection of the pre cious j ewel and of gold

with the supreme deity is traceable to the ancient bel iefsregarding the shark-guardian o f pearls . As the bel i efsassociated with pearls were transferred to j ade

,it need

1 L egend in Japanese A rt,pp. 3 55—6.

2 Ibid .,p. 3 55.


not surprise us to find the sacred fish— a form o f theGreat Mothe r— connected with j ad e . A S ignificant textis quoted by Laufer,without comment,which brings outthis connection . He says that Lu Pu-wei

,who died i n

B .C . 23 5, reports in h is book L u-sh ih Ch’

un Ts’

iu ‘Pearlsare placed in the mouth o f the dead, and fish - scales areadded ; these are now utilized for interment with thedead .

’ The Commentary to th is passage explains : ‘Toplace pearls in the mouth o f the de ad (han chu) meansto fill the mouth with them ; the addition o f fish- scalesmeans

,to enclose these in a j ade casket which is placed

o n the body o f the d eceased, as if i t should be coveredwith fish - scales . ’ ” 1 Jad e fish- symbols figure among theChinese mortuary amule ts .Light is thrown on Chinese beliefs regarding resurrec

t ion by the cicada mortuary amulet which was made o f

j ade . I t was placed on the tongue o f the dead and seemstherefore to have been like the Egyptian scarab amulet

,a

guarantee of immortal ity .

One of the important ceremonies in connection withthe process of reanimating an Egyptian corpse was “ theopening o f the mouth ” . I t was necessary that the re

animated corpse should speak with the true voice andjustify itself in the court o f Osiri s, j udge of the dead,when the heart was weighed in the balance .Tongue and heart were close ly connected . According

to the beliefs associated with the cult o f Ptah,which was

fused with the cult of Osiris, the heart was the mind”

,

and the source o f all power and all l ife . The tongueexpressed the thoughts of the mind .

Ptah, the great, is th e m ind and tongue of th e gods.Ptah, from whom pro ceeded the powerO f the m ind,

1 Jade, p. 2 1 ,n. 4.



means o f the prayers recited during the performance o f

appropriate ceremonies, emerged from its old body in anew form e ither in the realm of Osiris or i n the boat o fRa (the sun—god)

” 1

This Egyptian doctrine was symbolized by the beetlewh ich rolls a bit of dung in the dust into the form of aball

,and then

,having dug a hole in the ground, pushes

it in and buries it . Thereafter the beetle enters the subterranean chamber to devour th e ball . Th is beetle alsocollects dung to feed the larvae wh i ch ultimately emergefrom the ground in beetle form .

As the Chinese substituted j ade for pearls,so did they

substitute the cicada for the dung- beetle .The cicada belongs to that clas s of insect which feeds

on the j uices o f plants . I t is large and broad withbrightly- coloured wings . The male has on each s ide ofthe body a sort of drum which enables i t to make thatchirping noise called “ the song of the cicada ”, referred toby the ancient class ical poets . When the female lays hereggs she bores a hole in a tree and deposits them in it .Wingless larva are hatched, and they bore their way intothe ground to feed o n the j uices of roots . After a timein some cases after the lapse of several years— the cicadaemerges from the ground

,the skin breaks open

,and the

winged insect rises in the air. The most remarkablespecies of the cicada is found in the United States,wherei t passes through a l ife- h i story o f seventeen years, thegreater part of that time being spent underground— thelarval stage . In Ch ina the newly- hatched larva sometimesbores down into the earth to a depth of about twenty feet.

“The observation of this wonderful process of nature,says Laufer, seems to be the basic idea o f th is (cicada)amulet . The dead will awaken to a new l ife from h i s

1 Budge, The G ods qf the E gyptians,Vo l . I,pp. 3 57-8 .

THE SYMBOLISM OF JADE 225

grave as the chirp ing cicada rises from the pupa buried inthe ground . Th i s amulet, accordingly,was an emblem ofresurrection . Laufer quotes i n th i s connection from theCh inese ph ilosopher Wang Ch’ung

,who wrote“ Prior to

cast ing o ff the exuviae, a cicada is a Chrysalis . When itcasts them o ff, it leaves the pupa state, and is transformedinto a cicada . The Vi tal spiri t of a dead man leaving thebody may be compared to the cicada emerging from theChrysal is . ” 1

The fact that the cicada feeds on the j uices o f plantsapparently connected it with the idea of the Tree of Life,the source of soul substanceAnother insect symbol of resurrection was the butterfly,

wh ich was connected with the Plum Tree of Life . Lauferno tes that some butterfl ies carved from jade

,which were

used as mortuary amulets,have a plum-blossom pattern

between the antennae and plum—blossoms “ carved c’

i j ourin th e wingsHe notes that “ in modern times the combination of

butterfly and plum- blossom is used to express a rebuswith the mean ing “ Always great age ” . Th i s amul et i s .

of great antiquity.

The butterfly symbol of resurrection is found in Mexico .The Codex Rem ensis shows an anthropomorphic butterflyfrom whose mouth a human face emerges . Freyja, theScandinavian goddess, i s connected with the butterfly, andin Greece and Italy the same insect was associated with theidea of resurrection . Psyche (a name sign ifying “ soulhas butterfly wings . Apparently the butterfly

,l ike the

cicada,was supposed to derive its vital i ty from the mothergoddess ’s Tree of Life .Another important Ch inese mortuary j ade obj ect was

the frog or toad amulet. As we have seen,the frog was

1 7‘ade,p. 3 0 1 and n. 1 .

2 Ibid.,p. 3 1 0 .

( D 71 )


connected with the moon and the lunar goddess, and inCh ina, as in ancient Egypt,was a symbol of resurrection .

Among the interesting j ade amulets S hown by Lauferare two that roughly resemble in Shape the Egyptianscarabs . “ The two pieces ”, he writes,

“ show traces o fgilding

,and resemble helme ts in their shape, and are

moulded into the figures of a curious monster which it i sdiffi cul t to name . I t seems to me that it i s poss ibly somefabulous giant bird, for on the sides, two wings, eachmarked by fiv e pinions, are brought out, a long, curvedneck rises from below, though the two triangular ears donot fit the conception o f a bird .

” 1 The figure apparentlyrepresents a composite wonder beast Fishes and com

po s i te quadrapeds were also depicted in j ade and placed ingraves . Human figures are rare .Stone cofli ns were used in ancient t imes . The books

of the later H an Dynasty (at the beginning o f our era) tellabout a pious governor,Wang Khiao,who receives a j adecoffi n from heaven . I t was placed by unsee n hands in h i shall . His servants ende avoured to take it away,but foundit could not be moved .

De Groot,2 who translates the story,continues : “Kh iao

said,‘Can this mean that the Emperor o f Heaven calls

me towards h im ? ’ He bathed h imself,put on h i s offi cial

attire with its o rnaments,and lay down in the coffin, the

l id being immediately closed over h im . When the nighthad passed

,they buried him on the east S ide of the city,

and the earth heaped itself over him in the shape atumulus . All the cows in the district on that eveningwere wet with perspiration and got out of breath, andnobody knew whence th i s came . The people thereuponerected a temple for him .

”

De Groot quotes from another work written in the1 Jade,pp. 30 6

—7 .

2 T he Rel igi ous Sy stem of Ch i na, Book I,p. 284.



wate r . There are references in the texts to the “ FourSeas ”

,and to what the Egyptians called the “ Great

Circle (Okeano s) .T h e Babylonians believed the world was a mountain,

and their temples were models of their world. Thus thetemple o f Enlil, as the world -

god, was called E —Kur,

which sign ifies “ mountain house ” . His consort Ninlilwas also called Nin-Kharsag,

“ the lady of the mountain ” .

1

The Babylon ian and Egyptian temples were not onlyplaces of worsh ip, but seats o f learning, and they hadworkshops in which the dyers,metal-workers,&c ., pliedtheir sacred trades .Ch inese palaces and universities were in ancient t imes

models of the world . One of the odes says of K ing Wu

In the capital of H ao h e built h is hall wi th i ts c ircle t of

water. From the w est to the east,from the south to the north

,

th ere was not a thought but did h im hom age .

” 2

This hall was a royal college, “ built says Legge,i n

the middl e of a circle of water ” . Colleges m igh t also havesemicircular pools in front o f them, as may now be seenin front of the temples of Confucius in the metropolitancities of the provinces Ceremonies were studied in theseinstitutions . There were also grave-pools . In S ingaporethese grave—pools have had to be abol ished because theywere ut il ized for hatch ing purposes by mosquitoe s .Much attention was paid by the Chinese to the shape

and situation o f a temple,college

,palace, or grave . Each

was subj ected to good and bad influences, and as seafarersset their sails to take full advantage of a favourablebreeze, so did the Chinese construct edifices and graves totake full advantage of favourable influences emanating

1 My ths of Baby lonia and A ssy r i a, p. 3 3 2.

2 L egge, The Shi h K ing,p. 395 .

Ibi d .,p. 3 3 8 0

Copy righ t H G Pon tm g, F R C 5

T H E TE MP L E OF H E AVE N , P E K INGTh is grea tes t o f Confuc ian tem ple s , w i th i ts t ile s o f deep co bal t b lue sh in i ng in th e sun s h in e .

i s th e m o s t co ns p icuous obj e c t in th e c i ty . D uring th e ce rem o n ie s ins ide e v e ry th i ng i s b lue :th e s ac rific ial uten s d s a re o f b lue po rce la in . th e w o rsh ippe rs are ro b e d in b lue . e v e n th e a tm o s

phere i s blue , v e ne t ia ns m ade o f th in ro ds o f b lue g la s s . s trung to g e th e r by c o rds . b e i ng h ungdown o v e r th e t rac e ry o f th e d o o rs a nd w in dow s (Bush e ll).



The gods o f the four quarters of Ch ina, from whominfluences flowed, were : The B lue (o r Green) Dragon

(east), the Red B ird (south), the Wh ite Tiger (we st), andthe B lack Tortoise (north) . The east is the left S ide, andthe we st is the right s ide ; a worshipper therefore faces thesouth . In Irish and Scottish Gael ic lore the south is theright S ide, and the north i s the left S ide ; a worshippe rtherefore faces the east .Accord ing to Kwang—tz e, the Taoist, i t was believed

in China that “ the breath (or influence) o f the east iswind, and wind creates wood that the breath of thesouth is Yang, which creates fire ” ; that “ the centre isearth that the breath o f the west is Yin

,wh ich gives

b irth to me tal and that the breath o f the north “ i s cold,

by which water i s produced Another native pre-Christ ian writer says that “ the east appertains to wood

,the

south to fire,the west to me tal

,and the north to water ” 1

Thus taking in the seasons we have the following combinations, S howing the organs of the body influenced bythe gods o f the airts

E ast— th e Blue D ragon, Spring,Wood Planet,Jupiter ; liv erand gall .

South— the Red B ird, Sum m er, Fire, th e Sun ; Planet,Mars ;

h eart and large intestines .

West— the Wh ite Tiger, Autum n, Wind, Me tal ; Planet,Venus ; lungs and sm all intest ine .

N orth— th e Black Torto ise, Winter, Cold, Water ; Planet,Mercury ; kidneys and bladder.

The good influence (o r breath) was summed up in theterm Yang, and bad influence in the term Yin . Yangrefers to what is bright

,warm

,active, and l ife-giving ; and

Yin to what is inactive, cold, and o f the earth e arthy .

When ”

, says a Chinese writer, we speak of the Yin1 D e G root, op. ci t.,Book I,V ol . III,p. 98 3 .

H RE E SAG E S STU DYING SYMBO L O F T IN A N D T A N K?



(Part I I, Book I) the Great Bear is refe rred to as“ the

pearl- adorned turning sphere with i ts transverse tube o f

j ade ” .

1 The Polar Star is the “ Pivot of the Sky whichrevolves in i ts place,

“ carrying round with it all the otherheavenly bodies ” . In like manner the Taoists taught that“ the body of man is carried round his spiri t and by it ” .

The Spiri t is thus the “ Pivot o f Jade ” That is why thePivot o f Jade is used in the ritual services of Taoism .

2

In Norse- I celandic mythology the World Mill controlsthe season s and the movements o f the heavenly bodies .The heavens revolve round the Polar Star

,Veraldar N agli

(“ the world Nine giant maids turn the worldmill .3

The Babylonians, who were the pioneer astronomersand astrologers of Asia, identified the stable and controll ing spirit of the night Sky with the Polar Star, whichWas call ed “ l lu Sar ” (

“ the god Shar”

) or“ Anshar

Star o f the Height o r Star o f the MostI saiah (x iv , 4

— 1 4) refers to the supreme star-godwhen he makes Lucifer declare : “ I will ascend untoheaven

,I will exalt my throne above the stars o f God ;

I will s it also upon the mount o f the congregation, i nthe side s o f the north ; I will ascend above the heights ofthe clouds ; I will be the most HighChinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar are

undoubtedly o f Babylon ian origin . The Babyloniangod o f the Pole Star has not been forgotten . Dr .Edkins once asked a Chinese schoolmaster : Who is theLord o f heaven and earth ? ” He replied that he knewnone but the Pole Star, called in the Chinese languageTeen - hwang- ta—te

,the great imperial ruler of heav en.

5

1 L egge, Tex ts qf Taoi sm,V ol . II,p. 265.

2 L egge, The S hu K i ng, pp. 3 8, 3 9 .

2 Teutonic My th and L egend, p. 5 .

4My ths of Baby lonia and A ssy r i a, pp. 3 30 , 3 3 1 .

5 Rel igi on in Ch i na (L ondon, p. 1 0 9 .

T H E SYMBOLISM OF JADE 2 3 3

There is a god and a goddess in the Great Bear .Among the liturgical works used by the priests of Tao ”,says Edkins

,

“one of the commonest consists of prayers

to T owm oo,a female divin ity supposed to reside in the

Great Bear. A part o f the same constellation i s worshipped under the name Kwei- s ing . A small temple i serected to th is deity o n the east s ide o f the entranceto Confucian temples

,and he is regarded as being favour

able to l i terature . ” But the chief god of l iterature is“Wen- Chang

,who is identified with a constellat ion near

the Great Bear wh ich bears his name . He is prayedto by scholars to ass is t them in their examination s .Temples were erected to him on elevated earthen terraces .Wen- Chang ”

,says Edkins

,

“ i s said to have come downto our world during many generations at irregularintervals . Virtuous and highly-gifted m en were chosenfrom h istory as likely to have been incarnations of th i sdivin ity .

” 1

The five elements controlled by the Great Bear as i tswings round the Polar Star are in China ( 1 ) water,(2) fire, (3 ) wood, (4) metal, and (5) earth . Theseelements compose what we call Nature . As we haveseen, they were placed under the guardiansh ip o f animalgods . The Wh ite Tiger of the West

,for instance

,i s

associated with metal . When, therefore, metal i s placedin a grave, a ceremonial connection with the tiger—godis effe cted . According to the Annals o fWu and Yueh,three days after the burial o f the king

,the essence o f

the element metal assumed the shape o f a white tigerand crouched down on the top o f the grave . ”2 Herethe tiger i s a protector— a preserver .Jade being strongly imbued with Yang or sou l1 Religion in Ch ina, p. 1 0 7 .

2 Quo ted by D e G root, The Religious Sy stem of Ch i na, Book I,Vo l . III,p. 98 3 .

234 MYTHS or CHINA AND JAPAN

substance was i ntimately associated with all the gods,and the various colours of j ade were connected with thecolours of the “ airts ” and of the heavens and earth .Laufer quotes from the eigh teenth chapter of Chou li,which deals with the functions of the Master o f ReligiousCeremonies

“ H e m akes of jade the S ix objec ts to do hom age to Heaven,to E arth, and to the Four Po ints of the com pass . With the

round table t pi of bluish (o r gre enish) colour, he does hom ageto Heav en . With the ye llow jade tube ts’ung, he does hom age toE arth . With the green1 table t Kuei, h e renders hom age to the

region of the E ast . W i th the red table t chang, h e renders hom ageto the region of the South . With the wh i te tablet in the shape of

a t iger (hu), h e renders hom age to the region of the West . Withthe black jade piece of sem ic ircular shape (huang), he renders

hom age to the region o f the N orth . T he colour of the v ict im s

and of the pieces of silk for these various spirits correspond to that

of the jade tablet .”2

The S hape, as well as the colours, o f the j ade symbolswas o f ri tualistic importance .

What would appear to be the most ancient Chinesedoctrine regarding the influences or “ breaths ” thatemanated from Nature, and affected the l iving and thedead, i s summed up in the term Fung- shui . “ Fung ”

m eans wind, and“ shui means “ the water from the

clouds wh ich the wind distributes over the world ” .

Certain winds are good,and certain winds are bad.

The importance attached to wind and water appearsto be connected with the ancient belie f

,found in Baby

lonia and Egypt, that wind is the “ breath of life thesoul, and that water is the source of all l i fe the watero f l ife ”

“ Fun —shui sa 3 De Groot “ denote s the atmosg a Y 1

1 G reen and blue are interchangeable in Ch ina.

2 Biot,Vol . I,pp. 434,43 5, quo te d by L aufer in j ade,p. 1 20 .



as to secure the requis ite balance between the forces ofNature . De Groot notes that Amoy is reputed byChinese bel ievers o f the Fung- shui system to owe itsprosperity to two knolls flanking the inner harbour, calledTiger- head Hill ” and “ Dragon- head Hill ”

. Cantonis influenced by the “Wh ite clouds ”, a chain of h illsrepresenting the Dragon on one s ide o f i ts r iver, andby undulating ground opposite representing the Tiger.Similarly ”

,he says

,“ Peking is prote cted on the north

west by the Kin— shan o r Golden Hills,which represent

the Tiger and ensure its prosperity,together with that of

the whole empire and the reigning dynasty. These hillscontain the sources o f a felicitous watercourse

,called

Y u-ho o r‘Jade River ’

,which enters Peking on the

north—west, and flows through the grounds at th e back o f

th e Imperial Palace, then accumulates its beneficial influences in three large reservoirs or lakes dug o n thewest side, and finally flows past the entire front o f theinner palace, where it bears the name of the GoldenWater .” 1

Here we find j ade and gold closely associated in theFung- shui system .

As we have seen, white j ade was used when the Tigergod o f the West was worsh ipped ; i t i s known as “ tigerj ade ” ; a tiger was depicted o n the j ade symbol . To theChinese the tiger was the king of all animals and “ lordof the mountains ”

,and the tiger-j ade ornament was

specially reserved for commanders o f armies . The maletiger was, among othe r th ings, the god of war, and in th iscapacity i t not only ass isted the armies of the emperors,but fought the demons that threatened the dead i n theirgraves .There are trace s in Ch ina o f a tigress shape o f th e

1 The Religious Sy stem of Ch ina, Book I,Vol . III,pp. 949, 9 50 .


goddess of the West . Laufer refers to an ancient legendof the country of Chu,which tells o f a prince who in theeighth century B .C . married a princess o f Y un . A sonwas born to them and named Tou P o - p i . The fatherdied and the widow returned to Y un,where T ou Po - pi

,

in h is youth,had an intrigue with a princess who bore

h im a son .

“ The grandmother ordered the infant to becarried away and deserted on a marsh, but a tigress cameto suckle the ch ild . One day when the prince o f Y un

was out hunting, he discovered th is circumstance, andwhen he returned home terror-stricken

,h i s wife unveiled

to h im the affair . Touched by th i s marvellous incident .they sent messengers after the ch ild, and had it cared for .The people of Ch ’u, who spoke a language differing fromCh ine se, called suckling nou, and a tiger they called

y i‘

t- t’

u; hence the boy was named Nou Y u- t’u Suckledby a He subsequently became minister ofCh’u .

” 1

This Far Eastern legend recalls that of Romulus andRemus, who were thrown into the Tiber but were preserved and rescued ; they were afterwards suckled by ashe-wolf. The Cretan Zeus was suckled, according toone legend, by a sow, and to another by a goat . AKnossian seal depicts a ch ild suckled by a horned sheep .

Sir Arthur Evans refers, i n th is connection, to the legendso f the grandson of Minos who was suckled by a bitch ; o fMileto s, the myth ical founder o f the city of that name ”,being nursed by wolves .2 Vultures guarded the Indianheroine Shakuntala

,the Assyrian Semiramis was protected

by doves,while the Babylonian Gilgamesh and the Persian

patriarch Akham ani sh were protected and rescued at birthby eagles . Horus o f Egypt was nourished and concealedby the serpent goddess U az i t, and in h i s boyhood made

1 Jade,pp. 1 82— 3 .2 Journal of H ellenic S tudi es,Vo l . XXI,pp. 1 28- 9 .


friends o f wild an imals, as d id also Bharata,the so n o f

the Indian vulture-guarded Shakuntala . Horus figure s inthe constellation of Argo as a child floating in a chest orboat l ike the abandoned Moses

,the abandoned Indian

Karna,the abandoned Sargon of Akkad

,and

,as it would

appear, Tammuz who in ch ildhood lay in a “ sunkenboat ” . Horus o f the older Egyptian legends was concealed on a green floating island on the Nile— the “ greenbed o f Horus ” .

1

The oldest known form of the suckling legend is foundin the Pyramid Texts ofAncient Egypt . When the soulof the Pharaoh went to the Otherworld he was suckledby a goddess or by the goddesses of the north and south .

The latter are referred to in the Texts as the two vultureswith long hair and hanging breasts Here the vulturestake the place of the cow—goddess Hathor. In Troy thecow-mother, covered with stars, becomes the star—adornedsow-mother .3 Demeter had a sow form and Athene agoat form

,and other goddesses had dove, eagle

,wolf

,

bitch, &c .,

forms . The Chinese tigress—godde ss i s evid ently a Far Eastern an imal form o f the Great Motherwho suckles the souls of the dead and the abandonedchildren who are de stined to become notables . Thusbeh ind th e wind-god, in the Ch inese Fung— shui system,we meet with complex ideas regarding the source of the“ air of l ife and the source of the foodsupply . TheBlue Dragon of the East i s the Naga form o f the AryoIndian I ndra

,

‘ the rain- controller,the fertil izer, who is

closely associated with Vayu, the wind-god ; the dragon

1 S e e E gyptianMy th and L egend,My ths qf Baby lonia and A ssy ria,My ths of Crete and

Pre-H ellenic E urope, and Indian My th and L egend .

2 Bre asted,Rel igion and Thought in A ncient E gypt,p. 1 3 0 .

3 S ee terra-cotta im age of pig m arke d w ith stars in S ch l i em ann’

s T rqy and i ts

Rem ains (trans lat ion by Sm i th, L ondon, p. 2 3 2.

1 E ll io t Sm i th, The E v oluti on of the Dragon, p. 96.



and tribal bel iefs and beliefs imported at d ifferent periodsfrom different culture centres were evidently fused inCh ina, and we consequen tly meet with a variety of ideasregarding the destiny of the shen.

“ Departed souls ”,

says De Groot, “ are sometimes popularly representedas repairing to the regions o f blis s on the back o f acrane ” 1 The soul may sail to the Western Paradise ina boat . Thou hast departed to the West

,from whence

there i s no returning in the barge o f mercy ”

, runs anaddress to the corpse . 1 Here we have the Ra—boat ofEgypt conveying the soul to the Osirian Paradise . As

has been shown, souls sometimes departed on the backso f dragons, o r rose in the air towards cloudland, there tosail in boats o r ride on the backs of birds or k irins, orreached the moon or star- land by climbing .a giganti ctree . Belief in transmigration o f souls can also be tracedin Ch ina

,the result apparently o f the importation of pre

Buddhist as well as Buddhist bel iefs from India .The l iving performed ceremonies to assist the soul of

the dead on its last j ourney. Priests chanted :

I salute Y e,C elestial Judges of the three sph eres const ituting theh igher, m iddle

,and low er div isions of the U niv erse, and Y e,

host of K ings and nobles of the departm ents of land and water andof th e world of m en ! Rem em ber the soul of the dead,and helpit forward in go ing to th e Paradise of the West .

2

Egyptian,Babylonian

,and Indian ideas regarding the

Western Paradise are here significantly mingled .

During l ife the soul might leave the body for aperiod, either during sleep o r when one fainted suddenly.

This bel ief is widespread . The soul , in folk- stories,i s sometimes seen

,as in Scotland, as a bee, or bird, o r ser

pent,as in Norway as an insect or mouse, as in Indonesia

1 The Rel igi ous Sy stem of Ch ina,Book I,Vo l. I,p. 226,n. 2 .

2 D e G roo t, op. c i t ., Book I,p. 72 .


and elsewhere as a worm,snake

,butterfly

, or mouse,and even, as in different countries, as deer, cats, pigs,crocodiles,&c. Chinese bel iefs regarding souls as butterfl ies, cicadas,&c ., have already been referred to .

The wandering soul could be “ called back byrepeating the individual’s name . I n China, even thedead were called back

,and the ceremony of recall ing the

soul i s prominent i n funeral ri tes, as De Groot S hows . 1Peoples as far separated as the Mongolian Buriats andthe inhabitants o f England, Scotland, and Ireland bel ievedthat ghosts could be enticed to return to the body ? The“ death-howl ” i n China and Egypt, and elsewhere, i sevidently connected with th is ancient belief.Of special interest is the evidence regarding Korean

customs and beliefs . Mrs . Bishop writes : Man is supposed to have three souls . After death o ne occupies thetablet

,one the grave, and one the unknown . During

the passing of the sp irit there i s complete S ilence . Theunder—garments of the dead are taken out by a servant

,

who waves them in the air, and calls h im by name, therelations and friends meant ime wail ing loudly. After at ime the clothes are thrown upon the roof. When aman dies

, one of h is souls i s supposed to be seized andcarried to the unknown and placed o n trial before theTen Judges, who sentence i t

“ either to ‘a good place ’

or to o ne o f the man ifold hells ” .

3

Professor Elliot Smith, reviewing the Ch i nese ideasregarding the two souls, comes to the conclusion that“ the early Chinese conceptions of the soul and its functionsare essentially identical with the Egyptian

,and must have

been derived from the same source ” .

4 As the Chinese1 The Rel igi ous Sy stem of China, Book I,Vol. I, pp. 24 1 e t seq.

2 S e e re fe rences in My ths if Baby lonia and A ssy ria,pp. 69, 70 , and 70 n.

3 Mrs . Bish op,Korea and H er N eighbours, V o l . II,pp. 84—5 .

‘1 The E v oluti on of the Dragon,p. 50 .

D 71 )


have the shen and the Kwei, so had the Egyptians theKa and the ba . The Ka was the Spiri t of the placenta,“ which was accredited with the attributes of the l ifegiving and birth- promoting Great Mother and intimatelyrelated to the moon and the earl iest totem In Chinathe beliefs and customs connected with the placenta andthe moon are quite Egyptian i n character ?

Even in the worship o f ancestors in China one cantrace the influence o f Ancient Egyptian ideas . Whenthe Pharaoh died, he was identified with the god . K ingUnis, in the Pyramid Texts, becomes Osiris,who controlsthe Nile . “ I t i s Unis ”, we read,

“ who inundates theland . Pepi I, i n l ike manner, supplanted the god, andh e i s addressed as Osiris, as is also K ing Mernere Hoth i s Osiris,K ing Mernere !

” runs a Pyramid Text .3 Thesun-god Ra was similarly supplanted by his son, the deadPharaoh .

The souls of Ch inese ancestors, who passed to theOtherworld, became identified with the deities whoprotected households . Emperors became

,after death

,

emperors in heaven and their souls were the deifiedpreservers of their dynasties . Clan and tribal ancestorswere protectors o f their clans and tribes, and famil ieswere ever under the care of the souls o f thei r founders .The belief became deeply rooted in China that the ancestral soul exercised from generation to generation a beneficent influence over a home . I t i s not surprising tofind, therefore, that gods are exceedingly numerous inCh ina, and that i t i s sometimes d iffi cult to distinguishan ancestor from a god and a god from an ancestorThe State religion was someth ing apart from domesti c

1 The E v oluti on if the Dragon,pp. 5 1 — 2 .

2 D e G root,op. c i t .,p. 3 96,and E l l io t Sm i th, op. c i t .,p. 48, and n. 1 .

3 Breasted, Religion and Thought in A ncient Egypt,p. 1 9 .



l ife . “ I n 1 63 B .C . a j ade cup o f this kind was discoveredon which the words were engraved May the sovereignof men have h is longevity prolonged Immortality wassecured by eating from jade bowls o r, as we have seen,by drinking dew from a j ade bowl .

A s has been shown, the Great Mother created j ade forthe benefit of mankind

,and the spirit o f j ade is l ike a

beautiful woman Jade was also the essence o f thepurity o f the m ale principleApparently the god who was husband and son o f the

Great Mother was connected with j ade . The Mother wasthe l ife—give r

,and the son, as Osiris,was

“ the imperishableprinciple o f life wherever found 4 If men died

,the seed

o f l ife in the body was preserved by jade amulets ; theplants might S hed their leave s

,but the life of the plants

was perpetuated by the sp irit o f j ade . “ I n the secondmonth ”

,says The Illustrated Mirror of Jade,

“ the plants inthe mountains receive a brigh ter lustre . When theirleaves fall, they change into j ade .

” 5 T h e mountain plantsin question appear to be the curative herbs that contained,l ike j ade

,the e l ixir o f l ife

,and the chief of these plants was

the ginseng (mandrake), an avatar o f the Great Mother.The plant

,o r ground j ade

,or food or m oisture from the

j ade ve ssel renewed youth and prolonged life . All theel ixirs were concentrated in j ade ; the vital principle inhuman beings and plants was derived from and preservedby j ade .I t is of special interest to find that the Chinese N u

Kwa who caused the flood to retre at was the creator ofth e j ade which protected mankind and ensured longevi tyby prese rving the seed or shen o f l ife, be ing impregnatedwi th T ang, the male principle . I n Babylonia, the seed o f

1 L aufe r,f ade, pp. 296 et seq.

2 Ibid .,p. 1 .

3 Ibid ., p. 296.

Bre aste d,Rel igi on and T hought in A nci ent E gypt,p. 2 3 .

5 L aufe r, 7 ade,p. 1 .

T H E SYMBOLISM OF JADE 245

mankind was preserved during the flood by the nig-

gi l—m a .

I n the Sumerian version of the Creation legend, thethree great gods Anu

,Enlil

,and Enki

,assisted by the

Great Mother goddess N inkharasagga, first created mankind,then the nig-

gil-m a

,and lastly the four— legged animals

of the field . The mysterious nig—

gi l—m a i s referred to in

the story o f the Deluge as “ Preserver o f the seed o f

mankind ”

,while the Ship or ark is “ Preserver o f Life ”,

l iterally She that preserves life ”. A later magical text

refers to the creation after that o f mankind and animals of“two small creatures, o ne white and one black” . Manand animals we re saved from the flood and the mg—gil—m aplayed its o r their part “ i n ensuring their survival ” .

Leonard W. K ing,who has gathered together the surv iv ing evidence regarding the mysterious nig-

gi l-m a

1 pointsout that th e name is sometimes preceded by the de term inativ e for pot ’,

‘j ar ’, or bowl’ and i s identical with

the Semitic word m ashhhalu. I n the Tell— el—Amarna lettersthere are refe rences to a m ashhhalu o f s ilver and a m ash

hhalu o f stone (a s ilver vessel and a stone vessel) Thenig

—

gi l—m a may be simply a “ j ar or bowl ” . But ”

,

says Mr . L . K ing,

“th e accompanying references to the

ground, to its production from the ground, and to itsspringing up suggest rather some kind o f plant ; andthis, from its employment in magical rites,may also havegiven its name to a bowl or vessel which held it . A verysimilar plant was that found and lost by Gilgamesh

,after

h is soj ourn with U t- napish t im2 i t to o had potent magical

power, and bore a title descriptive o f i ts pecul iar virtueof transforming old age to youth .

” The nig—

gi l—m a may

1 L egends of Baby loni a and E gypt in relation to H ebrew T radi ti on (T he S chwe ich L ecture s), L on don, 1 9 1 8, pp. 56 et seq and pp. 8 8 et seq.

2 T h e Baby lon ian Noah, wh o be cam e an im m ortal and l iv e d on an“ Island of th e

Ble st and near the i s land on wh ich we re the Plant of L i fe and th e We l l of L ife .


therefore be a plant,a ship, a stone bowl or j ar,o r a vesse lo f s ilver (the moon metal) . I f we regard it as a symbolo r avatar o f the mother-goddess it was any of the se thingsand all of these things— the Mother Po t, the inexhaustiblewomb o f N ature, the Plant o f Life contain ing soul

substance ”, the red clay, the moon- S ilver, o r, as in China,the j ade o f’

wh ich the sacred vessel was made . The GreatMother’s herb- avatar was the ginseng (mandrake), as i nthe Egyptian Deluge story it was the red earth d idi fromElephantine placed in the beer prepared for the slaughtering goddess Hathor- Sekhet as a surrogate o f blood and asoporific drink ; the mixture was the giver o f l ife

”

,th e

red aqua v i tae, l ike the red wine and the juice of redberries in diffe rent areas . 1 The mandrake was the d id i ofsouthern Europe and o f China . Dr . Rendel Harris showsthat the early Greek magicians and doctors referred to themale mandrake,which was white,and the female mandrake,wh ich was black . The black mandrake was person ified asthe Black Aphrodite ?

The Babylonian reference in a magical text to thenig

-

gi l—m a as two small creatures, o ne white and o ne

black ” i s therefore highly significant . Apparently, l ikej ade

,the nig—

gi l—m a symbolized the m ale principle and

the sp iri t o f “ a beautiful woman ” . Thus mandrake

(ginseng), the Plant of Life, red earth, j ade, the pearl andthe pot or j ar or bowl

,and the Deluge Sh ip

,and the sh ip

of the sun-god, were forms, avatars, or manifestations o fthe Great Mother who preserved the seed o f m ankindand the elixir o f l ife— in the Pot i t grew the Plant o fLife, and from it could be drunk the d ew o f l ife, thewater o f life, plant and water being impregnated with thespirit of j ade . Jade - lore is o f highly complex character

1 E lh o t Sm i th, The E v olution of the Dragon,p. 20 5 .

2 The A scent qf Olympus,pp. 1 20 - 1 .



which was worked up into armour,had contributed

to its final de struction .

” 1 T h e rh inoceros- horn cups wereused, l ike j ade cups, chiefly for religious purposes . Ricewine was drunk from them when vows were made, andfrom them were poured l ibations to ancestors . Theanimal ’s Skin was used not only for armour,because of itstoughness and durability, but because the rhinoceros wasa longevity animal

,and a form o f the god o f longevi ty

(shou- S ing) . I t was used, too, for the coffi n o f the Sonof Heaven (the Emperor) . The innermost cofli n wasformed by hid e o f water buffalo and rh inoceros .” Th i scase was enclosed in wh i te poplar timber and the twoouter cases were o f catalpa wood .

2 The jade cofli n wassimilarly a protecting life-giver .

A S there were black and white nig—

gi l—m a, and black

and white deities,so were there black and white rh ino

cero ses and black and white e lephants . Gautama Buddhaentered h is mother’s righ t S ide “ in the form o f a superbwhite elephant 3

The water- rh inoceros had pearl- l ike armour (a s ign ificant comparison when it i s remembered that pearl-loreand j ade- lore are so S imilar), but not the mountain rh inoceros . I t was the horn o f the male an imal that hadspecial virtues . The markings o n i t included a red l ine,which was a result o f his habi t o f gazing at the moon ;the spots were s tars . As the animal was connected withthe material sky

”

,the horn was impregnated with the

Yang principle . A horn that “ communicated w i th thesky was o f the first quali ty Laufe r quotes the statement “ I f the horn o f the rh inoceros ‘communicatingwith the sky emits light, so that i t can be seen by night,

1 Op. c it .,p. 1 6 1 .

2 L egge,Sacred Books of the E ast,Vo l . XXVII,p. 1 58,and L aufer,Chinese Clay Im ages,p. 1 72.

2Rhys Dav id,Buddh i sm (L ondon, p. 1 8 3 .

THE SYMBOLISM OF JADE 249

i t i s called horn sh in ing at night (y e m ing si) : hence itcan communicate with the sp irits and open a way throughth e water ” . A man who carried in h is mouth a piece o frhinoceros horn found

,i t was alleged

,on diving into the

sea, that the water gave way so as to i allow a space forbreath ing .

1 The pearl—fish ers may therefore have usedthe magic horn

,believing that i t protected and assisted

them .

I t i s re corded o f a horn presented to an emperor o f

the T ’ang Dynasty that at n ight i t emitted light so thata space o f a hundred paces was illuminated . ManifoldS ilk wrappers laid around i t could not h ide its luminouspowe r . The emperor ordered it to be cut into Sl ice s andworked up into a gird le ; and whenever he went out ona hunting expedition, he saved candle l ight at n ight .”With th e aid o f the horn it was possible to see supernatural monsters in waterThere was warm rhinoceros horn and cold rh inoceros

horn, as there was warm j ade and cold j ade . A Chinesework o f the eighth century mentions “ cold—dispellingrh inoceros horn (p i han si), whose colour i s golden .

3

During th e winter month s it spreads warm th whichimparts a genial feel ing to man . Another work speakso f “ heat- dispell ing rhinoceros horn (pi shusi ) Duringthe summer months it can cool o ff the h o t temperature .Girdles o f wrath- dispelling horn caused men toabandon their anger hair- p ins

,combs

, &c .,were made

from dust dispelling horn . Rh i noceros horn had,l ike

j ade,healing properties . A fourth—century Chinese writer

tells that “ the horn can neutralize poison because theanimal devours all sorts of vegetable poisons with its food ” .

Ch inese drug stock shavings o f the horn to1 L aufer,op. c it.,p. 1 3 8 .

2 Chinese Clay Images,pp. 1 50 et seq.

2 L ike th e “golden sun

”.


cure feve r,smallpox, Ophthalmia, &c

? According toS . W . W ill iams 2 “ a decoction o f the horn shavings isgiven to women just before parturition and also to frightench ildren ”

. A medicine i s prepared from rhinoceros skin,

too . Laufer states that “ the skin, as well as the horn,the blood

,and the teeth, were medicinally employed in

Cambodj a, notably against heart disease s . In Japanrh inoceros horn is powdered and used as a specific in fevercases o f all kind . Dragon bones were used in l ikemanner in China . I t i s of importance to note that therhinoceros horn derived i ts healing qualities because theanimal fed o n plants and trees provided with thorns .3Like the dragon

,the rh inoceros had an intimate connection

with certain plants ; l ike the ginseng—d evouring goat, i tcarried in its blood the virtue o f the plants and herbs i tdevoured . I n Tibet and China the rhinoceros becameconfused with th e stag

,antelope, and goat with one horn .

I t was the prototype of the unicorn . I n India and Iranit was confused with the horse . There is in Chinese lorea spiritual rhinoceros (ling si) with the body o f an ox

,

the hump o f a zebu, cloven feet, the snout of a pig, and ahorn in front .4 I t may be that in ancient times the loreconnected with the h ippopotamus was transferred by thesearchers for pearls, precious stones, and metals to theCh inese water—rh inoceros Like the composite wonderbeast in the Osirian hall of j udgment ,which tore theunworthy soul to pieces

,the rhinoceros had its place in

judicial proceedings in Ch ina . I n i ts goat form it solveda difficult case when Kas Y as administered j ustice by butting the guilty party and sparing the innocent .5

1 Chinese Clay Im ages,pp. 1 52-3 and p. 1 53 n. 2 .

2 The Ch i nese Com m erci al G ui de,p. 9 5 (H ong-K ong,

3 Ch i nese Clay Im ages, p. 1 3 9 .

‘1 Ibid ., p. 1 0 8 .

5 Re fe rred to by th e ph i losophe rWang Ch’

ung in h is work L un héng (A .D . 82 or

quo te d by L aufe r, op. c i t ., p. 1 7 1 n. 3 .



easy task for prim it ive man to hunt up the se h iddenplaces ” . Laufe r th inks that in undertaking to overcomethe d iffi culties experienced in discovering jade in Europe

,

early man “ must have been prompted by a motive preexisting and acting in his mind ; the impetus of se archingfo r j ade he must have received somehow from somewhe re .Nothing ”

, he says,“ could induce me to bel ieve that

primitive man o f Central Europe incidentally and spontaneously embarked o n the laborious task of quarryingand working j ade . The psychological m otive for th isact must be supplied From the standpoint o f thegeneral development of culture in the O ld World there i sabsolutely no vestige o f originali ty in the prehistoriccultures o f Europe wh ich appear as an appendix toAsia .” 1

Apparently the “ psychological motive for searchingfor j ade in Ch ina and Europe came from the Khotan areain Chinese Turkestan

,whence j ade was carried to Baby

lonia during the Sumerian period . I t i s probable thatbronze was first manufactured in the j ade- bearing area ofAsia, and that the people who carried the knowledge ofbronze-making into Europe ”

,as Profe ssor Elliot Smith

sugge sts,“ also introduced the appreciation of j ade

Laufer comments in th is connect ion : Original i ty is certainly the rarest th ing in the world, and in the h i story ofmankind the original thoughts are appall ingly sparse .There is

,i n the l ight o f h is torical facts and experience, no

reason to credit the prehistoric and early populations ofEurope with any spontaneous ideas relative to j ade .”

After receiving jade and adopting the bel iefs attached toit, they set out to search for i t, and found it in Europe .The polished axe pendants of j ade found in Malta

were evidently charms . Among the Greeks j ade was1 Jade,pp. 4

—5 .

T H E SYMBOLISM OF JADE 2 53

“ the kidney stone i t cured diseases o f the kidneys .The Span iards brought j ade or j ade i te from Mexico, andcalled i t the loin stone (piedra de hg

'

ada) . Sir WalterRal eigh introduced it into England, and used the Spanishname from wh ich “ j ade is derived .

Red,green

,blue

,white, grey, and black j ade were

used,by reason o f thei r colours, for various deities i n

China,and to indicate the rank of ofli cials .

“White j ade,considered the most precious,was the privileged ornamento f the emperor ; j ade green like the mountains was t eserved for the princes o f the first and second ranks waterblue j ade was for the great prefects ; the heir apparent hada special kind o f j ade .” 1 Mottled j ades— some resemblinggran ite — were likewise favoured for a variety of purposes .Jade played an important part i n Chinese rain-getting

ceremonies . Dragon j ade symbols, decorated with fish

scales,were placed on the altar as offerings and for the

purpose of invoking the rain - controlling “ compositewonder beast ” and god . Sometimes bronze and S ilverdragon symbols were used . According to Laufer

,

“ thej ade image o f the dragon remained restricted to the Hanperiod, and was substituted at later ages by prayers inscribed ou j ade o rmetal tablets . A survival of the ancien tcustom ”

, h e adds,“ may be seen in the large pape r or

papier méché figures o f dragons carried around in thestreets by festival process ions in times o f drought to ensurethe benefit of rain .

”2 In front of these d ragons are carriedthe red ball, which symbol izes the moon, the source o f

fertilizing moisture— o f dew, of rain, and therefore o f thestreams and rivers that flow to the sea .Jade l inks with pearls in the ocean surrounding the

world,i n which l i es a gigantic oyster that gapes after rain

1 L aufe r’s Jade,p. 1 96.

2 Ibid .,pp. 1 86—

9 .


falls, and sends forth the gleaming rainbow . The Greekhistorian

,I s idorus o f Charace (c. 3 0 0 referring to

the pearl-fish ing i n the Persian Gulf, relates a story aboutthe breed ing of pearls being influenced by thunderstorms . 1

The jade ceremonial obj ect,wh ich roused the dragon,had

thus indirectly a share in pearl production . Pearls were,as we have seen

,likewise produced by dragons, who spat

them out during storms . As certain pearls were supposedto be formed by d ew that dropped from the moon, i t maybe that the Chinese gigantic oyster was

,when it gaped to

send forth the rainbow, receiving the substance of agigantic pearl from the celestial regions . T he l ife-prolonging and youth- renewing “ Red Cloud herb ” cameinto existence during a thunder and rain- storm .

A S we have seen,j ade contain s

,according to Far Eastern

bel ief,the essence o f heat as well as o f moisture . I t con

tains, to o, the essence of cold— not the cold o f winter butthe coolness desired in hot weather ? I n the Tuyang tsa

pien, a Chinese work o f the ninth century, i t i s recordedthat the Emperor of Ch ina received from Japan “ an en

graved gobang board of warm jade,on which the game

coul d be played in winter without getting cold, and thatit was most highly prized ” I t i s told in th i s connectionthat “ th irty thousand li (leagues) eas t of Japan i s theisland of Tsi -m o,and upon this i sland the N ingh ia Terrace,o n which terrace is the Gobang Player’s Lake . Th i slake produces the chess - men wh ich need no carving,and are naturally divided into black and white . Theyare warm in winter, cool i n summer, and known ascool and warm j ade . I t also produces the catalpa-j ade,i n structure l ike the wood of the catalpa tree, which

1 A thenasus Deipnos, Book III, chap. x lv i ; and Jack son, Shells as E v idence of the

Migrati ons q arly Culture, p. 77 .

2 L ike rh inoceros horn,


CHAPTER X IV

Creation Myths and the G od

and G o dde ss Cult s

A re A n im isti c Beliefs Pr im i tiv e ? — E v idence of a Mum m y- im po rted

Culture in Pr im i t i v e Com m un i ti es— Ch inese C reat ion My th— Chaos T ransfo rm ed i nto Ko sm os — P

’

an K n as th e Wo rld - artisan — Ch inese Wo rldgiant My th— T ibe tan Ve rsion— P

’

an K u and th e E gyptian Ptah— H am m er

Gods — P ’

an K u and the S candinav ian Ym i r— Osi ris as a Wo rld -

gian t— Fusionof E gypt ian and Baby lon ian My ths— T he Ch inese Ish tars— T he Godd ess ofth e Deluge— T he Ch inese Vi rgin Mo th e r— Dragon Boat Ce rem on ies— T h e

Moun tain Goddess i n Ch ina— K iang Yuan as th e D i v ine Mo ther— A nc ient

Myth s in Ch inese Budd h i sm — T he Poosa as Goddess ofMe rcy— A s Con

tro lle r of T id es— Vi sion of Sky-

goddess— Island S eat of Goddess Worsh ip

T h e Ch inese Ind ra.

Al though som e exponents o f the stratification theoryincline to regard Chinese re ligion as a stunted outcrop ofanimistic ideas

,and ch iefly because o f the remarkable

pers istence through the ages of th e worship o f ancestors— the worship of ghost-gods and ghosts identified withgod s— there is really l ittl e trace of what is usually referredto as “ the primitive state of mind ”

. Unde r the term“ animism have been included ideas that are less primit ive than was supposed to be the case about a generationago . The belie f, for instance, that there are sp irits instones

,or that the soul of the dead enters a megalith ic

monument,or a statue placed in the tomb

,may not, after

all,belong to a prim it ive stage of thought ; nor does it

follow that because i t i s found to be prevalent amongsavage tribes isolated o n lonely island s it i s a product

256

CREATION MYTHS 2 57

me rely of the early “ workings o f the human mindwhen man

,as if by instinct

,framed his “ first crude

philosophy of hum an thought The fact that savagesreached isolated islands

,such as

,for instance, Eastern

I sland,where stone idols were erected , ind icates clearly

that they had acquired a knowledge of sh ipbuilding andnavigation directly o r ind irectly from a centre of ancientcivilization . I t may be

,therefore, that they likewise

acquired from th e same source ideas regarding the souland the origin o f th ings, and that these, instead o f being“ sim ple and primitive are really of complex character,and have remained in a state of arrested developmen t,s imply be cause they have been detached from th e parentstem

,to be preserved like flowe r pe tals pressed in a book,

that still retain a degree of their original brightness andcharacteristic odour .In outlying areas, l ike Austral ia and Oceania, are found

no t only “ primitive bel iefs ”,but definite burial customs

that have a long h istory elsewhere,including cremation

and even m um m ificat io n . You get the whole bag oftri cks in Austral ia ”, the late Andrew Lang once declaredto the writer when contend i ng that certain beliefs andcustoms found in Egypt, Baby lom a

,India

,and Europe

were “ natural products o f the primitive mind ”

. But i si t likely that such a custom as m um m ification should have“ arisen independently ” in Australasia ? Let us take, forinstance, the case o f the mummy from the Torres Straits,which i s preserved in the Mackay Museum in theUniversi ty o f Sydney . I t was examined by ProfessorG . Elliot Smith, wh o, during his ten years

’ occupancy ofthe Chair of Anatomy in the Government School ofMedicine in Cairo, had unique opportunities o f studyingAncient Egyptian surgery as revealed by the mummiespreserved in Gizeh museum . When he examined the

( D 71 ) 1 8


Papuan mummy at Sydney he found that unden iableEgyptian methods of a definite period in Egyptian historyhad been employed . He communicated his discovery tothe Anthropological Section of the Briti sh Association inMelbourne in 1 9 1 4, and, as an anatomist,was aston ishedto hear Professor Myres contending that it seemed to himnatural that people should want to preserve their dead !If”, Professor Ell iot Smith has written, “ ProfessorMyers had known anyth ing o f the h istory of anatomy hewould have realized that the problem of preserving thebody was o ne of extreme diffi culty wh i ch for long ageshad exercised the most civil ized peoples

,no t only of

antiquity,but also o f modern t imes . In Egypt, where

the natural conditions favouring the successful issue ofattempts to preserve the body were largely responsiblefor the possib il ity o f such embalming

,it took more than

seventeen centuries of constant practice and expe rimentation to reach the stage and to acquire the methodsexemplified in the Torres Straits mummies .” 1 Arm- chairtheories vanish like m ist when the light of scientificevidence i s released .

In like manner may be found in the folk- lore andreligious literature o f Ch ina “ mummies ” of importedmyths

,as well as early myths o f local i nvention that

,

ancient as they may be, cannot be regarded as primitive”

i n the real sense o f the term . The following m yth,

found in the l iterature o f Taoism , may be more archaicthan the writings o f Kwang- tze, who gives i t .At the beginning o f time there were two oceans— one

in the south and one i n the north, and there was land inthe centre . The Ruler o f the southern ocean was Shu(Heedless), and the Ruler of the northern ocean was H u

1 T he Migrati on of E arly Culture A S tudy of the S ignyfcance of the G eograph icalDistributi on qf the P racti ce of Mumm ificati on,&c .,pp. 20 et seq.



would have us suppose . Considerable progress wasachieved before mankind began to theorize regard ing theorigin o f things . Even the widespread and so - calledprimitive myth about the egg from which the Universe,

o r the first god, was hatched by the “ Primeval Goose ”

may belong to a much later stage o f human developmentthan is supposed by some of those writers who speculatewith so much confidence regarding “ the workings o f thehuman mind ”

. Even the metaphysicians of BrahmanicIndia were prone to speak in parables and fables .

“ At the beginning there was nothing the Ch inesephilosophers taught their pupils . Long ages passed by.

Then nothing became something . The someth ing hadunity. Long ages passed by

,and the something divided

itself into two parts— a male part and a female part.These two somethings produced two lesser somethings,and the two pairs, working together, produced the firstbeing

,who was named P ’an Ku. Another version o f the

myth is that P ’an Ku emerged from the cosmic egg .

I t is no t difficult to recognize in P ’an Ku a giant godo r world—god . He was furn ished with an adze

,or, as

i s found in some Chinese prints,with a hammer and

a chisel . With his implement or implements P ’an Kum oves th rough the unive rse as the Divine Artisan

,who

Shapes the mountains and hammers or Chise ls out the sky,

accompanied by the primeval Tortoise,and the Phoen ix

,

and a d ragon- like being who may represent the primeval“ someth ings — the symbols o f water

,earth

,and air.

The sun, moon, and stars have already appeared .

Another ve rsion of the P ’an Ku myth represents himas the Primeval World-giant, who is destroyed so thatthe m aterial universe may be formed . From his fle shcom e s the soil, from his bones the rocks ; h is blood is thewaters o f rivers and the ocean ; his hai r i s vegetation ;

CREATION MYTHS 26 1

wh ile th e wind is h is breath, the thunde r h is voice, therain h is Sweat

,the dew his tears, th e firm am ent hi s Skull,

his righ t eye the moon,and his left ey e the sun . P ’an

Ku’

s body was covered with vermin, and the verminbecame the races o f mankind .

A somewhat similar myth i s found in Tibet . WhenM . Huc soj ourned in that country

,he had a conversation

with an aged nom ad,who said

There are on the earth three great famili es,and we

are all of th e great Tibetan family. Th i s i s what I haveheard the Lamas say, who have studied the th ings ofantiquity. At the beginn ing there was on the earth onlya s ingle man ; he had neither house nor tent

,for at that

t ime the winter was not cold, and the summer was not ho t ;the wind did not blow so violently

,and there fe ll neither

snow nor rain ; the tea grew of itself o n the mountains,and the flocks had nothing to fear from beasts of prey .

This man had three ch ildren,who l ived a long time withhim, nourish ing themselves on milk and fruits . Afterh aving attained to a great age

,th i s man died . The thre e

ch ildren deliberated what they should do with the body o fthei r father,and they could not agree about it ; o ne wishedto put h im in a coffin, the other wanted to burn him, theth ird thought it would be best to expose the body on thesummit of a m ountain . They resolv ed then to divide i tinto three parts . The eldest had the body and arms ; hewas the ancestor of the great Ch inese family

,and that i s

why his descendants have become ce lebrated in arts andindustry, and are remarkable for their tri cks and stratagems . The second son had the breast ; he was the fathero f the Tibe tan family, and they are ful l o f heart and courage, and do not fear death . From the th ird

,who had

inferior parts of the body, are descended the Tartars, whoare simple and timid, without h ead o r heart

,and who


know nothing but how to keep themselves firm in theirsadd les .” 1

P ’an Ku,with his implements, l inks with the Egyptianartificer god Ptah o f Memphis,who used h is hammer tobe at out the metal fIrm am ent . Ptah ’s name means “ toopen in the sense of “ to engrave, to carve, to chiselthe sun and moon were his eyes ; he was “ the greatartificer in metals, and he was at once smelter, and caster,and sculptor, as well as the master architect and designerof everyth ing that exists in the world ”

. I n the Book ofthe D ead he (or Shu) i s said to have performed the ceremony of opening the mouth o f the gods with an ironknife as Hasty and Heedless opened the mouth

,

eyes, ears, and nostrils of Chaos in the Chinese myth .

The high priest of Memph is was called Ur Kheip hem,

“ the great chief of the hammer ” . As we have seen,h e

was closely associated with the Egyptian potter’s wheel,

which reached China at an early period . Like Ptah,P ’an

Ku i s sometimes depicted as a dwarf, and sometimes as agiant .Other hammer-gods include the Aryo - Indian Indra

,

who builds the world house ; the Anatolian Tarku, theMe sopotamian Ram m on or Adad

,th e northern European

Thor . The hammer is apparently identical with adze andaxe, and in Egypt the axe is an exceedingly ancient symbolo f a deity ; in Crete the double axe has a similar S ign ificance . In Scotland the hammer is carried by the Cailleach

(O ld Wife) in her character as Queen of Winter ; sheS hapes the mountains with it, and causes the ground tofreeze hard when she beats i t . The hammer-god is inmany countries a thunderer ; to the modern Greeks light

1 Recollections of a j ourney th rough Tartary , T i bet, and Ch i na, by M. H uc (E ngli shtrans lat ion, L ondon, pp. 2 1 9

— 20 .

2Budge, G ods of the E gypti ans,Vo l . I, p. 50 0 ct seq.



The black dwarfs were parasites o n Ymir’s body,as human

beings were parasites o n the b ody o f P ’an Ku.

I t may be that the idea o f a primeval giant like P ’anKu, or Ymir, was de rived from the conception o f Osirisas a world-god, which obtained in Egypt as far back asthe Empire period . Erman translates a hymn in whichit is said of the god : “ The soil is on thy arm

,i ts corners

are upon thee as far as the four pillars of the sky . Whenthou m ov est, the earth trembles . .

1 The Nile come sfrom the sweat o f thy hands . Thou spewest out the windthat is in thy throat into the nostrils of men

,and that

whereon men live is d ivine . I t i s 2 ! alike in] in thynostrils, the tree and its verdure, reeds, plants, barley,wheat

,and the tree o f l ife .” Everything constructed o n

earth l ies o n the “ back ” of Osiri s . Thou art thefather and mother o f men

,they live o n thy bre ath, they

eat o f the flesh of thy body . The ‘P rim aav al’ i s thy

name .”3

The body of Osiris was cut into piece s by Set . A S thebones of P ’an Ku and Ymir are the rock s, so are thebones of Set th e i ron found in the earth

,but no myt h

survives of the cutting up o f Set’s body. The black soilon the Nile banks is the body o f Osiris, and vegetationsprings from it .I t may be

,however

,that it was in consequence of the

fusion in some cultural centre o f the Babylonian mythregarding the cutting up of the dragon Tiamat and thecutting up o f the body of Osiris that the northernEuropeans came to hear o f an Ymir and the Chineseo f a P ’an Ku from the early trad ers in amber, j ade, andmetals .

1 In N orse m y tho logy th e earth trem b le s wh en L ok i m ov e s.

2 T h e bre ath wh i ch is soul substance3 Quote d by Bre aste d, Rel igi on and Though t in A ncient E gypt, pp. 2 1 — 2 .

CREATION MYTHS 265

When Tiamat was slain,Marduk smashed her skul l

H e cut th e channels of h er blood,H e m ade th e N orth W ind bear i t away into secre t places.

H e split her up like a flat fish into tw o halves,One half of her he se t in place as a covering for the heav ens.

With the other part of Tiamat’s body Marduk made theearth . Then he fashioned the abode of th e god Ea inthe deep

,the abode o f the god Anu in high heaven, and

the abode of Enlil in the air. 1

I n India is found another myth that appears to havecontributed to the Chinese mosaic . At the beginning theUniversal Soul assumed “ the shape o f a man ” Thiswas Purusha .

H e d id no t fee l de ligh t . Th erefore nobody, w h en alone,

feels deligh t . H e w as desirous of a second . H e was in th e sam e

state as husband (Pat i) and wife (Patni). H e div i ded th is selftwo fold . Hence were husband and wife produced . Thereforewas th is only a half of h im self,as a Spli t pea is of th e who le .

T h e vo id was com ple ted by wom an .

” 2

I t may be that India and China derived the god- spl ittingidea from a common source in Central As ia, where suchculture-mixing ” appears to have taken place .I n China itself there are many traces of blended ideas .

In the Texts of Confucianism, for instance, the symbol of theKhien stands for heaven, and that of the Khwan for earth .

In one of the native treatises it is stated

Khien suggests the idea o f heav en ; of a c ircle ; of a ruler ; o f

a father; of jade ; of m e tal ; of co ld ; o f ice ; of deep red ; of a goodhorse ; of an o ld horse ; of a thin horse ; of a piebald horse ; and of

the fruit of trees.

Khw an suggests the i dea of the earth ; of a m o ther ; of clo th ;1 Baby lonian My th and L egend, pp. 1 46

—7.

2 Ind ian Myth and L egend,p. 9 5.


o f a caldron ; of parsim ony ; of a turn ing lathe ; of a young h e ifer;of a large waggon ; of w hat is variegated ; of a m ult i tude ; and of

a handle and support . Am ong so ils i t denotes w hat is black .

” 1

Here we have the Great Father, the god of heaven,who is red and is a circle (the sun) ; and the GreatMother, the goddess o f Earth, who is black .

The Sky-god is connected with j ade and metal . Aswe have seen, the cult of the west attributed the creationof j ad e to the Chine se I shtar. Precious metals were inseveral countries associated with sun

,moon

,and stars .

The horse is o ne o f the animals associated with Sky-gods ;i t was, of course, late r than the bull, stag, antelope, goat,ram,&c . Cold as well as warmth was sent by the skygod, who controls the seasons .The mother-goddess is the Caldron — the ' “ Pot

wh ich,as has already been noted

,was in Ancient Egypt

the symbol of the inexhaustible womb o f nature personifiedby dei tie s like Hathor

,Rhea

,Aphrod ite, Hera, I shtar,

&c . T h e “ young he ifer ” has a similar connection,wh ile the “ waggon ” seems to be another form o f the“ Pot Cloth was woven by men and women, but theproduction of thread was always the work of womenin Ancient Egypt and elsewhere . Apparently the turn inglathe was female

,because th e ch isel was male ; i t may be

that it was because the potter ’s whee l was female that i thad to be operated by a man .

“ A multitude mayrefer to the reproductivi ty o f the Great Mother of allmankind . The goddess was

,perhaps, parsimonious

because during a period of the year the earth gives forthnaught

,and stores all i t re ceive s .

The egg from which P ’an Ku emerged appears tohave been a symbol of the Mother Godde ss o f the sacred1 Jam es L egge, The Tex ts qf Confuciani sm ,Part II,p. 430 (Sacred Books of the E ast).



of the mythical Em peror Fuh-h i, sometimes referred to as“ the Ch inese Adam ”

. Three rebels had conspired withthe demons or god s of water and fire to destroy the world,and a great flood came o n . Nu Kwa caused the waters toretreat by making use o f charred reeds (quite a Babyloniantouch l) . Then she re- erected o ne of the four pillarsof the sky against

,which one of the rebels

,a huge giant

,

had bumped h is head, causing it to topple over.According to Chinese chronology, th is world-flo od

occurred early in the Patriarchal Period between2943 B .C . and 2 868 B .C .

Another reference to the mother - goddess crops upin a poem by “ the statesman poet, Chu Yuan, 3 3 229 5 B .C .

,who drowned h imself”

,Professor Giles writes

,

1

“ in despair at h is country’s outlook, and whose bodyis still searched for annually at the Dragon—boat Festival ”

The poem in question i s entitled God Questions ”, andone question is :

As N u-Ch i had no husband, how could She bear n ine sons ?”

Professor Giles adds : The Com mentary tells us thatNu Ch i was a ‘divine maiden ’

, but nothing more seemsto be known about her ”

. I t i s evident that she wasa virgin goddess, who, like the Egyptian Nut, was thespiri t of the cosmic waters? I t i s of interest to findthe memory of the poet associated with the Dragon- boatFestival

,which

,according to Chinese belief, had origin

because he drowned h imself in the N i—ro River. Thereis evidence

,however, that the festival had quite another

origin . Dragon—boats were used in Ch ina on th e fifthday of th e fifth month at water festivals . They were

1 Rel igi ons ofA ncient Ch i na, pp. 43—44.

2 For a dIscuss ion on“ E arly Bio logical Theor ie s in th i s conne ct ion se e Pro fe sso r

G . E ll io t Sm i th’s The E v oluti on qf the Dragon, pp. 26 et seq.

,and pp. 1 78 et seq.

CREATION MYTHS 269

big ships adorned with carved d ragon ornaments theyih bird being painted on the prow? De Visser saysthat these boats were used by emperors for pleasure trips,and music was played o n board them .

“ The birdwas painted

,not to denote their swift sailing, but to

suppress the water - gods . ” 2 According to De Groot,dragon—boat races were “ intended to represent fightingdragons in order to cause a real dragon fight, which isalways accompanied by heavy rains . The dragon - boatscarried through the streets may also serve to cause rain,although they are at the same time considered to besubsti tutes .” 2

Having drowned himself, the poet became associatedwith the river dragon .

“ Offerings of rice in bamboo ”,says Giles, “ were cast into the river as a sacrifice tothe sp iri t of their great hero In l ike manner, offeringswere m ade to dragons in connection with rain- gettingceremon ies long before the poet was born . I t is evidentthat he took the place o f the dragon-god as the m yth icalEmpress Nu Kwa of the Patriarchial Period took theplace of the Ch inese I shtar, and as I shtar took the placeof the earlier Sumerian goddess N inkharasagga,who,with“ Anu, Enl i l, and Enki ”, “ created the black - headed

(i . e . mankind)” 5

The same Ch inese poet s ings o f the mother—goddessi n h is poem,

“ The Genius of the Mountain ”

,which

Professor Giles has translated :Me th inks there is a Gen ius of the H ills clad in w istaria

,

girdled with ivy,w i th sm iling lips,of Witch ing m ien,riding on the

red pard, wild cats ga1 10ping in the rear, reclin ing in a chariot,1 We lls Wi l liam s, Chinese-E ngli sh D i cti onary ,p. 1 0 9 2.

2 The Dragon in China and Japan,pp. 8 3- 4.

2 D e G root, The Religi ous Sy stem of Ch ina ; and D e Vi sser,The Dragon in China and

Japan, p. 85 .4 Chinese L i terature,p. 52 .

2 K ing, L egends of Baby lonia and E gypt p. 56.


w ith banners of cassia, cloaked w ith the orch id, girt with az alea,culling the perfum e of sw ee t flow ers to leave beh ind a m em ory inthe h eart .

”

Like Ishtar, who laments for her lost Tammuz, thisgoddess laments for her Prince ” .

Dark is th e grov e w h ere in I dw ell. N o ligh t of day reached

i t e v e r. T he path thi ther is dangerous and d iffi cult to clim b .

Alone I stand on h ill- top,1 w h ile the clouds float beneath m y feet,and all around is w rapped in gloom .

”

This goddess is not only associated with iv y, thecassia tree, &c ., but with the pine .

“ I shade myself”,

she S ings,

“ beneath the spreading p ine . The poemconcludes

“ N ow boom s th e thunder through the driz z ling rain . T he

gi bbons howl around m e all the long nigh t . T h e gale rushes fit

fully through the wh ispering trees. And I am th inking of m yPrince, but in vain ; for I cannot lay m y grief.” 2

The goddess laments for her prince,as does I shtar

for Tammuz.

The mother - goddess is found also in the “ Booko f Odes (The Shih King) . She figures as the mothero f the Hau-K i and “ the people o f Kau

” i n the o de

which begins as followsT he first birth of (our) people was from K ian Yuan. H ow

did she giv e birth to our people ? She had presented a pure offeringand sacrificed, that h er ch ildlessness m igh t be taken aw ay. She

th en trod on a toe-print m ade by G od,and was m ov ed in the largeplace wh ere Sh e rested . Sh e becam e pregnant ; sh e dw elt retired ;Sh e gave birth to and nourished (a son),w ho was H au-K i .

” 2

Professor Giles refers to this birth- story as an

1 L ike th e m ountain-godde ss of Crete .2 Chi nese L i terature,pp. 52, 5 3 .

2 L egge, S huKi ng, Shih King,H siao K ing (Sacred Books of the E as t),Vo l . III,pp.


CREATION MYTHS 27 1

i nstance in Chinese l iterature, which, in the absence ofany known husband

,comes near sugge sting the much

vexed question of parthenogenes is ” 1

Other Chinese reference s to miraculous conceptions,given be low

,emphasize how persistent in Chinese legend

are th e l ingering memories of the ancient mother-goddess .As was the case in Babylonia and Egypt, the rival

biological theories of the god cult and the goddess cultwere fused or exi sted side by side in ancient Ch ina .

T h e goddess cul t influenced Buddh ism even whenit was adopted in China, and fused with local religioussystems . T o the lower classes the “ P o o sa

”

,who brings

luck— that is,success and protection— may be either

a Buddha o r a goddess . The name is “ a shortenedform of the Sanskri t term Bodhisattwa and was originally“ a designation o f a class o f Buddha’s disciples . The‘P oo sa

” feels more sympathy with the lower wantsof men than the Buddha (Fuh) does .

”

One of the holy beings referred to in Ch ina as aP o o sa i s Kwan-yin

,th e so - called goddess of mercy ”

.

Dr . Joseph Edkins 2 says that th is divini ty i s representedsometimes as male

,at others as female . Sh e is often

represented with a child in her arms,and is then designated

the giver of children . Elsewhere she is styled the Kwanyin who saves from the eight forms of suffering ’

or‘of

th e southern sea ’

, o r‘of the thousand arms ’

, &c . Shepasses through various metamorphoses

,which give rise to

a vari ety In names .”

The “ Poo sa” of Buddhism o r the ancient Ch inese

faith i s a powerful protector . Dr . Edkins tells that“ Chinese worshippers will sometimes say, for exam ple,that they must spend a l i ttle money occasionally to obtain

1 Religions if A ncient China,pp. 2 1 3 .

2Rel igi on in China (L ondon, 1 878, second e di t ion),pp. 99 et seq.


a favour o f Po osa, in order to prevent calamities fromassailing them . I saw he relates, “ an instance o f th isat a town o n the sea—coast near Hangchow . The t idehere is extremely destructive in the autumn ? I t oftenoverflows the embankment made to restrain i t, and produces devastation in the adj oin ing cottages and fields . Atemple was e re cted to the P o o sa Kwan-yin, and offeringsare regularly made to her, and prayers presented for protect ion against the tide .”

A vision o f this Chinese Aphrodite was beheld abouttwo years before the Brit ish forces captured Canton .

The governor of the province to which that ci tybelongs says Dr. Edkins,

“ was engaged in exterm i

nating large bands of roving plunderers that disturbedthe region under h is j urisd iction . He wrote to theEmperor on o ne occasion a dispatch in wh ich he said that

,

at a critical j uncture in a recent contest,a large figure in

white had been seen beckoning to the army from the sky .

I t was Kwan-yin . The soldie rs were insp ired with courage,and wo n an easy victory over the enemy .

”

Edk ins notes that “ the principal seat o f the worsh ip ofKwan- yin is at the island of Poots ” . Here the deitytakes the place o f Buddha

,and occupies the chief posit ion

in the temples There are many small caves o n theisland ded icated to the use of hermits . “ In several ofthem, high up o n a hill- s ide Dr . Edkins “ noticed a smallfigure o f Buddha ” . Here we have an excellent instanceo f culture-mixing in China in our own day .

Shang- ti, the personal god who rules in the sky, i s tothe Chinese Buddhists identical with Indra

,the Hindu

god o f thunder and rain . In India I ndra was in Vedictimes the king o f the gods

,but in the Brahmanic Age

became a lesser being than Brahma,Shiva

,and Vishnu .

1 T h e season contro l le d by th e Wh i te T iger-god o f th e we st.


CHA PTER XV

My thical and L egendary K ings

P’

an K u as th e D iv ine Ance sto r— T he My th i cal Age— Gods as KingsT he P rom e th eus of Ch ina— Fu H i as A dam — Do ctrine o f Wo rld ’

s A ges in

Ch ina— L inks w i th Baby lo n ia and Ind ia— L egendary Kings— T he Ch inese

Osi ri s— Re ign o f the “ Yellow G od — E m press and S i lk-wo rm CultureRoyal Sons o f S tar-god s— Yaou, S on of the Red Dragon— Shun, Son of the

Rainbow— T h e H ea Dynasty— T he E m pe ro r Y u— S tar My th s— Y u and the

R ive r G od— Y u as P’

an K u— T he F lood My th in L egends of Y u— T he

Dynasty o f Shang— Moon and E gg My ths— T he W i cked Wu— A H ated

Queen— T h e D ynasty of Chou— A Ch inese Gi lgam esh— T he Pi ous KingW en— D iv inat ion by T o rto i se and Grass— T h e Chous as Invaders— H isto ri calDynasti es— A nc ien t Iran ian T raders— T rade and C iv i li z at io n prom o ted by theDread of Death .

P ’an Ku, the first man or

“

god was the ancestorof three famil ies— the rulers of Heaven, Earth, and Mankind . In Tibet

,as we have seen, the first man had three

sons, who divided h is body between them, and they werethe ancestors of the three human races . Like the Babylon ians

,the Chinese had dynastic lists of antediluvian

kings . P ’an Ku’

s descendants ruled the n ine divis ions o fthe prehistoric empire or world . There were ten dynasticperiods

,the first being that o f the Nine Heads ” (kings),

the second that o f the Five Dragons and so on . Thefive dragon k ings were connected with the five plane tsVenus, Jupite r, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, and therefore with the fiv e e lements

,fo r Venus was the Star o f

Metal, Jupiter that o f Wood, M e rcury that o f Water,

Mars the Star o f Fire,and Saturn the Star o f Earth .

274

MYTHICAL AND LEGENDARY KINGS 275

Thus every part of the terrestrial surface,when identifiedwith one or more elements on account o f i ts shape, i sunder the influence of the corresponding metals, and alsounder that of the constellations through which theseplanets move . 1 As we have seen, the spirits of dragonswords appeared in the sky as stars . The star- gods, l ikethe dragons

,were fathers of some of the famous kings of

China .Towards the end came the period Having Nests

wh ich indicates that houses were built . Then came theperiod of Sui- zan

,“ the Fire - producer who has been

referred to as the “ Prometheus of Ch inaA new age was ush e red in by Fu Hsia or Fu Hi, the

so - called “ Adam of Ch ina He is the first monarch ofChina’s legendary history

,and was supposed to reign from

295 3 till 2 8 3 8 B .C . Some regard h im as the leader of acolony wh ich settled in Shens i. But he i s more like amyth ical culture hero . He was the offspring o f a m iraculous conception

,and had dealings with dragons . Like the

Babylon ian Ea he instructed the people how to l ive civil izedlives . Before Fu—h i came

,they lived like animals ; they

knew their mothers but not their fathers,and they ate raw

flesh . They kept records by means of knotted cords, andhe instructed them in the mysteries of l ineal figures,whichhad a mystic s ignificance . These were eight in numberthe eight kwé or trigrams,wh i ch repre sented : ( 1 ) the sky ;(2) water o f lakes and marshes ; (3 ) fire, l ightning, and thesun ; (4) thunder ; (5) wind and wood ; (6) water as inrain

,springs

,streams, clouds, and the moon ; (7) a h ill ;

(8) the earth .

Fu—hi also instructed the people to worsh ip spirits,and he instituted sacrifices . He kept in a park s ix kindso f animals, and sacrificed twice a year at th e two solst ices,

1 The Religious Sy stem Qf China,Book I, p. 9 59.


causing th e days to be regarded as sacred, so that th e

people might Show grati tude to heaven .

According to th e Taoists,Fu—h i d i sturbed the primal

unity,and caused the people to begin to dete riorate .

He re we touch on the doctrine of the World’s Ages .Like th e Indians of the Brahmanic period

,the Chinese

Taoists believed that the first age was a perfect o ne,and

that mankind gradually deteriorated . In the Indian Kri taAge all men were saintly

,and therefore they were not

required to perform re ligious ceremonies . There wereno gods in the Kri ta Age, and there were no demons .” 1

Lao Tze,who will be dealt wi th more fully in the nextchapter, exclaims : “ I would make people return to theuse of knotted cords His disciple

,Kwang Tze,lamented

that the paradisaical state o f the early ages had been disturbed by law — makers . Decadence se t in with the“ Prometheus ” and the “ Adam and continued untilthe people became “ perplexed and disordered

,and had

no way by wh ich they might return to their true nature,and bring back their original condition

“ I t is remarkable ”,says Legge,“ that at the commence

ment o f Ch inese history,Chinese tradition placed a periodo f innocence, a season when order and virtue ruled inmen’s affairs .” Th is comment i s made in connection w iththe following passage in the Shu King (Book XXVII,“ The Marquis o f Lu on Pun ishments “ The K ingsaid,

‘According to the teach ings of ancient times, KhihY u was the first to produce disorder

,which spread among

the quiet,orderly people, till all became robbers and murd erers, owl- l ike and yet self- complacent in their conduct,traitors and villains

,snatching and filching, dissem blers

and oppressors

1 Ind ian My th and L egend, p. 1 0 7 .2 L egge, The T ex ts of Taoi sm ,V o l . I,pp. 370

— 1 .

2 L egge, The S hu K i ng (Sacred Boohs qf the E ast),Vo l . III,p. 25 5 and n. 1 .



Her Maj esty became pregnant, but did not give birth toh er son until twenty-fiv e months later. Hwang T 1 wasable to Speak as soon as he was born . When h e ascendedthe throne

,he possessed the power of summoning spirits

to attend at the royal palace, and h is allies in battleinclud ed tigers,panthers,and bears, as those o f Rama, thehero of the Indian epic

,the Ram dyana, included bears and

gigantic monkeys . Hwang Ti was a lover o f peace, andbecause he caused peaceful conditions to prevail,phoenixesnested in h is garden, or, l ike swallows, perched on thepalace roof and terraces and sang in the courtyard . Othersp irit- birds haunted the res idence o f the Yellow God ”

He built a large temple so that he might not be prevented by bad weather from offering up sacrifices andperforming other religious ceremonies at any season of theyear

,and he instructed the people in their duties towards

the spirits,their ancestors

,and himself. H e fixed the holy

days and introduced music in temple worsh ip . His wifeundertook the duty o f nourish ing s ilk-worms and producing silk . An enclosure on the north S ide of the templewas planted with mulberry trees

,and in this grove the

Empress and the ladies of her court attended to the s ilkworms specially kept for the S ilk required for religiousceremonies . Her Maj esty was the goddess as her husbandwas the god, and had therefore to promote reproductionand growth . She therefore vis ited also the enclosure o nthe southern side o f the temple in which grew the cerealsand fruits offered to the d eities .Hwang Ti was specially favoured by the goddess

known as the heavenly lady Pao ”,who o n one occasion

stopped the heavy and destructive rains that had beencaused by the enemy .

When the Emperor was i n h is seventy—seventh year,

he retired from the world,l ike an Indian asce tic

,to prac

MYTHICAL AN D LEGENDARY K INGS 279

tise austerities beside the Jo water . He died in hi s o nehundredth year . Some tell that when he was ascendingto heaven an earthquake occurred ; others hold thathe never died but was transformed into a dragon . Afterhe passed away

,e i ther as a soul or dragon, to associate

with the immortals,a wooden image of h im was made

and worsh ipped by princes .H is successor is said to have been the Emperor Che,

whose dynastic title was Shao-Hao . This monarch wasthe son o f a star god . One night h i s mother beheld a

star,which resembled a rainbow, floating o n a stream in

the direction of a small island . After retiring to rest shedreamed that she received the star, and, i n due course,she gave birth to her son . Phoenixes visited the royalpalace on the day that he ascended the throne . Thi smonarch had some mysterious association with the westprobably with the goddess o f the west— and is said tohave commanded an army o f birds .He was followed by the Emperor Chuen-Heugh

(Kao -Yang). He, too, was the son of a star - god . I tchanced that h is mother witnessed the T ao-Kwang starpassing through the moon l ike a rainbow . She gave birthto her son in the Vic in ity o f the Jo water. There was ash ield and Spear o n h i s head at birth

,a tradition which

recalls that when the I ndian princess Pri tha gave birth toKarna, son o f Surya, the sun-god, he was fully armed .

Chuen—Heugh was a great sage . “He invented calendaric calculations and delineations of the heavenly bodie s,”and composed a piece o f music called “The Answer to theCloudsNext came the Emperor Kuh (Kao - S in) who, l ike

Richard II I, had teeth when he was born . He similarlyrose from the rank o f a State prince to the Imperial throne .The State o f Y ew-Kae was conquered by h im . His so n,


named Che, proved to be unworthy, and h i s younger son,Yao, was selected as his successor.The Emperor Y ao was the son o f a red dragon

,as

well as o f th e Emperor, and was no t born until fourteenmonths after conception . He is said to have been te n

cubits in h e ight when full grown . There were two pupilsin each o f h is eyes . He was a great sage and wonde rfulhappenings occurred during h is reign .

A mysterious grass grew o n the palace stairs . I t borea pod o n each day o f the m onth . H e selected as h iscolleague and successor the sage Shun

, who had held anundistinguished position . I t i s told that this selection wasapproved by five star-gods whose spirits appeared as fiveo ld men and walked about among the islands o f the RiverHo . On another occas ion a bright l ight came from theriver ; then beautifully - coloured vapours arose and adragon- horse appeared

,carrying in i ts mouth a scaly cuirass

for Shun,whose appointment was thus definitely approvedby Heaven . Thirty years later a tortoise rose from thewater and rested o n the altar. On its back was an inscribed order instructing Yao to res ign in favour of Shun .

This divine command was duly obeyed .

Shun ’s mother had conce ived after seeing a rainbow .

As has been stated, a rainbow was believed to emanatefrom the gigantic oyster that lay in mid ocean . When thech ild was born his mother and father detested h im

,because

h is body was black and h is eyes had double pupils,and

because he had a dragon face and a large mouth . Whenhe became a youth he reached the he ight o f S ix cubits,and was thus like the Egyptian Horus and the Norse heroS igurd, a ve ritable giant . His parents endeavoured onmore than o ne occasion to cause h i s death by giving himdiffi cult tasks to pe rform, and acting treacherously

‘ towardsh im . On one occasion they ordered him to plaster a


2 8 2 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPANL iadaine (his m other) w as asle epOn h er bed (a saying no t w rong).Wh en she turned h er face to heav enA Star fell into h er m outh .

Thence was born the m arv ellous ch ild,C iaran of Salgir w ho is proc laim ed to th ee

A nd thence (a saying w ithout pride)L uaigne (L iadaine

’

s husband) said he (C iaran) w as not his son?

Osiris, as the son o f the cow—goddess,was a son o f the

moon, from wh ich fell a fertilizing ray o f light . TheEgyptian de i ties had star forms . As stars, they rose fromm alachite pools and perched in swallow - Shape on thebranches of the world- tree o f the Great Mother . Hathorand I sis were personified as the star Sirius

,from which fell

the tear, or drop o f d ew,that caused the low Nile to have

increase and ri se in flood . A s the morning star,the god

dess was the mother o f the rising sun . Much star- loresurviving from ancient t imes remains to be gleaned .

When the star—deity’s so n,the Chinese Emperor Y u,

was born, he had the mouth of a tiger . “ His ears hadthree orifices ; his head bore the resemblance o f the starKow and K ’

een. On his breast seemed a figure in gemof the Great Bear . When he grew up he reached theheigh t of 9 cubits, 6 inches ?The Irish hero

, Cuchullin, was l ikewise a marvellousyoungster . He had “ seven toes to each foot, and toeither hand as many fingers ; h is eyes were bright, withseven pupils apiece ”

,and so on .

Y u was probably a h istorical character, to whosememory many floating myths and legends were attached .

He figures as the hero o f a deluge . One night, duringhis youth

,he dreamt that while bathing in the Ho (the

1 Three Irish G lossaries,Wh i t ley S toke s (L ondon, p. lxxi i i .2 L egge, The Ch i nese Classics,V o l . III, Part I,p. 1 1 7 .

MYTHICAL AND LEGENDARY KINGS 2 8 3

Yellow River) he drank up the water . He also behelda wh ite fox with nine tails— a particularly good omen .

Th i s was during the reign of Yau . Shun came to knowabout h im and showed h im special favour, caus ing h imto be promoted until he became an influential manin the Empire .The gods were well pleased because he was loved

by them . One day, as Y u stood on the banks of theRiver Ho

,gazing at the water, a god appeared as a

tall,wh i te- faced man

,with the body of a fish, l ike the

Babylonian Ea . He addressed Y u and said : “ I am theS pirit o f the Ho . Wan-ming shall regulate the waters .”The god then gave Y u a plan o f the Ho,which gave

full details regarding the regulating of the waters, andsank into the river .A good deal of controversy has been engaged in

as to what Y u was supposed to have done . I n theShu King (

“ The Tribute o f Y u” chapter) i t is stated :

Y u divided the land, following the course o f the h ills,he cut down the trees . He determined the h ighesth ills and largest rivers (i n the several regions) . The(waters of the) Hang and We i were brought to theirproper channels . Other rivers were similarly controlled ?I n another section Y u says : “When the floods were

l ifted to the heavens,spreading far and wide, surrounding

the h ills and submerging the mounds,so that the

common people were bewildered and dismayed, I availedmyself o f four veh icles,2 and going up the h ills I felledthe tre es . After that I drained o ff the n ine channels

,

directing them into the four seas ; I dug out ditches andcanals and brought them into rivers .

1 L egge, The Shu K ing (Sacred Books of the E ast),pp. 64 et seq.2 Boats, carriage s, s le dge s,and spike d boo ts.

2W. G . Old, T he S hu King (L ondon, pp. 36-7.


In the fourth book o f the Shu King,“ The Great

Plan ”, i t i s said : “ I have heard that in old time Khwandammed up the inundating waters, and thereby threwinto disord er the arrangement of the fiv e elements . Godwas consequently roused to anger, and did not give himthe Great Plan with its n ine divisions

,and thus the

unvarying principles (of Heaven’s method) were allowed

to go to ruin .

” 1

I n one of the Odes i t i s stated that “ when thewaters of the Deluge spread vast abroad, Y u arrangedand divided the regions of the land ” 2

I t has been suggested by some that Y u constructeda great embankment to prevent the Yellow River changingits course — a task even greater than constructing theGreat Wall, and that he formed dams and opened irrigating channels . I t may be that he did much work inrecla1m 1 ng land and regulating the government o f theEmpire . But there can be l ittle doubt that the traditionssurviving from h i s age were mixed with the older tradit ions regarding the Babylonian flood . Y u is no mere canalcutter . He hews the rocks and forms chasms betweenthe mountains

,l ike P ’an Ku, the Chinese Ptah or Indra,

he constructs the embankments of lakes,and makes

channels for the great rivers, and he drains the m arshes .The grounds are made habitable and fit for cult ivation .

T h ere‘

are even faint echoes of the Osirian legend i nthe stories regarding, his ach ievements .After Y u had finished h is work

,Heaven presented

h im with a dark- coloured mace ? He was destined tobecome Emperor o f the nine provinces

,we are told

,

but it is doubtful if the Empire was re ally so large duringh i s reign . After Shun resigned,Y u ascended the throne .

1 L egge, The Shu K ing,p. 1 39 .2 L egge, Ibid .,p. 30 9 .

2 T he sky is the“ dark sph ere and the m ace i s th ere fo re a sky

-m ace .



Thirteen generations later the wife of one of See’sdescendants gave birth to T ’ang

,the future Emperor.

S he had become pregnant afte r se eing a white vapourpassing through the moon . The child had whiskers atb i rth, and his arms had four j oints . He grew to the

height o f nine cubits .Wonderful things happened to prove that T’ang

was the chosen by Heaven to reign over the Empire .When he Vi s ited the altar o f Yao

,he dropped a j ewel

into the wate r . “ Lo ! yellow fishes leapt up in pairs ;a blackbird followed h im , and stood on the altar

,where

it changed into a black gem .

” There also appeareda black tortoise

,which had on i ts back characters intim at

ing that T’ang was to become the Emperor. A spiri tappeared on Mount Pei at the same time . “ Anotherspirit, dragging a white wolf, with a hook in h is mouth,entered the court o f Shang . The Virtue of metal waxedpowerful ; s ilver ov erflowed from the hills .” T’anghimself dreamed that “ he went to the Sky and lickedit . After this he becam e possessor of the Empire .

” 1

When the Dynasty o f Shang began to decline,the

rulers became weak and profligate . I t i s told o f Wu

Yih,who re igned for only four years ( 1 1 9 8— 1 1 94

he was “ without any right principle . He made animage o f a m an, and called i t

‘the Spirit of Heaven ’

.

Then he ‘gamed with i t ’ (played dice, or at chess),caus ing someone to play fo r the image .

‘The Spiri to f Heaven ’ was unsuccessful, o n which he disgracedit,and made a leather bag

,which he filled wi th blood

,

and then placed aloft and S hot at (the image was probablyin the bag as well), calling this shooting at Heaven ’

.

I n the fourth year o f h is reign,wh ile hunting between

1 L egge, The A nnals of the Bam boo Book,pp. 1 28, 1 29 (The Ch inese Classics,Vo l . III,

Part

MYTHICAL AND LEGENDARY K INGS 2 87

the Ho and the Wei, Wu-Yih suddenly died . Ts’eem

says that he was struck dead by lightning ; and peoplerecognize in that event the j ust and appropriate vengeanceo f Heaven wh ich he had insulted .

” 1

The Kafirs of Africa play at a game o f chance beforetheir idols

,and

,should chance be against them, kick and

box thei r idols ; but if, after th is correction, o n pursuingtheir experiments they Should continue unsuccessful, theyburn the hands and feet off them in the fire ; Should illfortune still attend them

,they cast the idols on the

ground,tread them unde r foot

,dash them about with

such force as to break them to pieces . Some, indeed,who S how greater veneration for the images, contentthemselves with fettering and binding them until theyhave obtained their end ; but S hould th is not take place asearly as their impatience looks for

,they fasten them to a

cord and gradually let them down into the water,even to

the bottom, thus trusting to force them to be propitious 2

I t may be that Wu—Yih (Wuh—I) was engaged in somesuch ceremony when he disgraced and tortured h i s god .

A successor is remembered as the first man who usedivory chop— sticks . The Viscount o f Ke admonished h im,saying : “ Ivory chop— sticks will be followed by cups ofgem ; and then you will be wanting to eat bears’ pawsand leopards’ wombs, and proceed to other extravagances .Your indulgence o f your des ires may cost you theEmpire . ” This was Chou sin

,an intemperate and

extravagant tyrant . He came under the influence o f

a beautiful but wicked woman, called Ta—ke, whom he

1 L egge, The S hu King, n. 5, p. 269 (The Chinese Classics, Vol. III, p.

H erodotus te ll s (Book II, chapte r 1 22) that Pharaoh Rham ps in itus Ram ese s) ofE gypt de scen de d to H ade s and play e d d ice w i th Ce re s (Is is), “

som e t im e s w inn ing and

som e t im e s suffe ring de feat ” . A cur i ous fe st iv al ce lebrate d the event .

2 P inke rton, A G eneral Collecti on of the B est and Most Interesti ng Voy ages and

Trav els (L ondon, XVI, 696.


married .

“ The most l icentious songs were composedfor her amusement and the vilest dances exh ibited . Apark was laid out for her amusement . There wasa pond o f wine ; the trees we re hung with flesh ; menand women chased each other about quite naked .

”

Drinking bouts were common in the palace,and when

the princes began to rebel,new and terrible tortures were

introduced . The queen had constructed a copper pillar,which was greased all over . I t was laid above a charcoalfire, and culprits were ordered to walk on it . Whenthey slipped and fell into the fire, Ta—k e was greatlydelightedThe Dynasty of Shang was overthrown by K ing Wu,

the founder o f the Dynasty of Chou . Wu was descendedfrom the famous lady K ian Yuan, already referred to (SeeIndex) . After treading i n the toe- print (or foot- print)made by God

,she gave birth to her son,Hau K i, suffer

ing no pain . Like Gilgamesh, Sargon, Romulus andRemus

,Karna

,and other famous heroes

,the child was

exposed after birth, the lady’s husband, according to one

Ch inese comm entator, having bee n displeased with whathad taken place . I n the Sh ih King th e ode,wh ich relatesthe legend of Hau K i, says

H e w as placed in a narrow lane,But th e sheep and oxen protec ted h im w ith lov ing care .

H e was placed in a wide forest,Where h e was m et by th e wood-cutters.H e w as placed on the cold ic e

,

And a bird screened and supported h im with its wings.

Wh en the bird w ent away,H au K i began to wail .H is cry w as long and loud,So that his vo ice filled the w hole way .

1

1 L egge, The Shi h K ing,p. 397.



After Wu became the Emperor the worship o f

ancestors was promoted, and dragons, tortoises, andphoenixes made regular appearances, wh ile vegetationflourished

,and the mugwort grew so plentifully that a

palace could be ere cted from it .After Wu died spirit-birds appeared

,and a mysterious

bean,which was an elixir, grew up . The Crown Prince

was still a minor, and for seven years the Duke o f Chouacted as regent. Accompanied by the young king theduke vis ited the Ho and the L O . The king dropped agem into the water, and after day decl ined rays of glorycame out and shrouded all the Ho (Yellow River), andgreen clouds came floating in the sky. A green dragoncame to the altar, and went away. They did the same atthe L O, and the same th ing happened .

” A tortoise appeared, and on its shell were writings that told o f thefortunes of the empire till the dynasties ofTs ’in and Han ?

The tortoise- shell and stalks of a variety of grass werelong used in China for purposes of divination . What thetortoise and the grass reveal ed was supposed to be the willo f the spirits . Nowadays lots are drawn, spirit-writing isbelieved in, and revelations are supposed to be made whena bean symbol is tossed in the air

,as is a coin in the West ;

when the flat s ide is uppermost the tosser i s supposed toreceive a refusal to h i s prayer .The Chou Dynasty was founded,according to Chinese

dating, i n 1 1 22 B .C., and lasted until 249 B .C . I t has beensuggested that although the Chous claimed to be descendedfrom one o f Shun’s ministers

,they were really foreigners

partly or wholly of Tartar origin . K ing Wu introducedthe sacrifice of human beings to the sp irits of ancestors,and favoured the magicians

,whom he appointed to h igh

pos itions in his court . His empire consi sted o f a con1 The A nnals if the Bam boo B ooks,p. 1 47 .

MYTHICAL AND LEGENDARY KINGS 29 1

federacy of feudal states,and its strength endured so long

as the central state remained sufli ci ently powerful to exacttribute .After holding sway for about eight hundred years, the

Chou Dynasty,and with it the Feudal Age, came to an

end . The State o f Chin or Ts ’in,which had been absorbing rival states

,became so powerful that

,in 22 1 B .C ., i ts

king,Shih—huang- t i

,became the first Emperor of China .

He resolved that the future h istory o f China should beginwith h imself

,and i ssued a decree commanding that all

existing literature should be burned,except medical and

agricultural books,and those dealing with divination .

Those who disobeyed his ord er and attempted to concealthe forbidden books were put to d eath . Fortunately,however, some devoted scholars succeeded in pre servingfor posteri ty a number of the class ics which would otherwise have perished . Th i s extraordinary decree has cast ashadow over the fame o f the first emperor

,who was un

doubtedly a great man .

During the early years o f the Chin or Ts’i n Dynastythe Great Wall to the west and north of China was constructed, so as to protect the empire against the barbarian swho were wont to raid and pillage the rich pastoral andagi icultural lands,and impose their sway o n the industriousChinese “ The building of the Great Wall ”

,says Kro

porkin, was an event fraught with the greatest conse

quence s, and one may say without exaggeration that i tcontributed powerfully to the premature downfall of theRoman Empire .” The Mongolian and Turki peopleswho had been attempting to subdue Ch ina were forcedwestward

,and tribal and racial movements were set i n

motion that ultimately led to the invasions of Europe bynomadic fighting pastoral i sts from Asia ?

1 G e ograph ical Journal,XXII, 1 90 4, pp. 24, 1 76, 3 3 1 , 772 .


The Great Wall i s said to have been built in ten yearsin a straight l ine o f about 1 20 0 mile s, the average widthat the base being 2 5 feet, and the average height 3 0 feet .Strong “ block- house ” towers were constructed in thewall for the accommodation o f bodies o f troops .I t was during this Dynasty that China and related

forms o f that name, based o n“ Ts ’i n or Chin came

into use i n the west . The dynasties that followed theCh in or Ts’in (22 1 — 20 0 B .C .) are as follows :

T he H an Dynasty 20 0 B .C. 20 0 A .D .

T h e Minor Dynasties 20 0 A .D . 60 0

T h e T’

ang Dynasty 6oo 90 0

T h e Sung Dynasty 90 0— 1 20 0

T he Mongol Dynasty 1 20 0 — 1 3 68

T h e Ming Dynas ty 1 368— 1 644

T h e Manchu Dynasty 1 644 -1 90 0

The evidence afforded by Chinese archaeology, andCh inese religious beliefs, symbols, and customs tends toemphas ize that the early inhabitants of Shens i provincewere strongly influenced by culture — drifts from the midAsian colon ie s o f the ancient civilizations . Hunting andpastoral peoples adopted the agricultural mode o f l ife

,and

with it the elements o f a complex civilization which hadorigin in those areas where grew wild the cereals firstcultivated by man .

The Chinese are a m ixed race . I n the north theoblique — eyed, yellow - skinned e lement predominates .Like th e Semite s

,who overran Sumeria and adopted

Sumerian mode s o f thought and life, so did the Mongoloidtribes overrun northern Ch ina and became a sedentary

people . Petty kingdoms grew up, and in t ime found i tnecessary to unite against th e hordes who invaded andplundered their lands . The invaders included Siberiannomads, Manchus, Mongolo - Turki peoples, th e Sacae


2 94 MYTHS OF CHIN A AND JAPAN

at one trad ing-mart,where pearls and precious stones in greatnumber are exchanged for gold and musk .

” 1 The earlytraders by seaand land attached great importance tomed icinesand elixirs

,and precious S tones and metals

,and pearls .

The overland traderoutes through I ran brought theChinese into direct touch with Lesser Fu- l in (Syria), andultimately with Greater Fu- l i n (the Byzantine Empire) .The vine and other plants with ancient religious associat ions were imported into China, and the Chinese peachtree reached Europe . With the peach went S ilk .

“ I t i snot impossible

,

” says Laufer, “ that these two gifts weretransmitted by the s ilk- dealers

,first to Iran (i n the second

or first century and thence to Armenia,Greece

,and

Rome (in the first centuryA S the cuckoos hatched in the nests o f hedge- sparrows,

meadow—pipits, and wagtails overcom e and ej ect the o ff

spring o f their foster—parents,so did the Vigorous nomadic

peoples who absorbed the elements o f ancient civilizationsovercome and ej ect the offspring of their “ foster- parentsThe Babylonian Empire perished

,and Irania

,which had

been stimulated by it to adopt civilized conditions of l ife,

became,in turn, the nursery o f vigorous states . Recent

d iscoveries have brought to light evidence which showsthat the Iranian peoples once covered an immense territory

,extending all over Chinese Turkestan

,migrating into

China,coming into contact with the Ch inese, and exerting

a profound influence o n nations of other stock,notably

Turks and Chinese . The Iranians were the great mediators between the West and the East,conveying the he ritageof Hellenistic ideas to central and eastern Asia

,and trans

mitting valuable plants and goods o f China to the Mediterranean area.” 3

1 S ino-Iranica, p. 469 .

2 P l iny,XV, 1 1 , 1 3, and S ino-Iranica, p. 5 3 9.2 S i no-Irani ca, p. 1 8 5 .

MYTHICAL AN D LEGENDARY K INGS 295

The laws of supply and demand operated then as nowon the traderoutes,which brought commun ities of regulartraders in to touch after they had cultivated plants ormanufactured articles to offer in exchange fo r what theyre ceived . Before these routes could, however, havehummed with commerce, a considerable advance inCivilization had to be achieved . States had to be

organized and laws enforced for the protection o f pro

perty and property owners .The Iranians

,who obtained silk from China,were no t

the originators o f the culture represented by this comm od ity ; they simply stim ulated th e demand for silk .

Chine se civilization dates back to the time when the earlyprospectors and explorers came into touch with backwardpeoples

,and in troduced new mode s and conditions of l ife .

T hese pioneers did not necessarily move along the routesthat were ult imately favoured by merchants

,nor even

those followed by migrating tribes in que st o f greenpastures . They wandered hither and thithe r search ingfor gold and gems and herbs, sowing as they went theseeds of civilization, which did not, however, always fallo n good ground . But in those places where the seedtook root and the prospects of development were favourable, organized communities gradually grew up with anassured food — supply . This was the case in Shensi province

,in wh ich was settled the “ l i ttle leaven ” that

ult imately “ leavened the whole lump ” of northernCh ina . I t was after the empire became united underthe Ts ’i n Dynasty that organized trade with the westassumed great dim ens ions, and was regularly maintainedunder assured protection .

Myths as well as herbs and gems and garments wereexchanged by traders . W ith the glit tering j ewel wascarried the rel igious lore associated with it ; with the cura


tive herb went many a fable o fantiqui ty. Laufer has shownin his TheD iam ond how Hellenist ic lore connected with thatgem crept into Chinese writings . I t i s consequently possibleto trace in the mosaic of Chinese bel iefs and mythologycertain o f th e cultural elements that met and blended andwere deve loped o n the banks o f the Yellow River .Elixirs and charms were in great demand in all centres

o f ancient civil izations . I t can be held,therefore, that

beh ind the commerce o f early times,as behind the early

religious systems,lay the haunting dread of death . Gems

warded o ff evil,and imparted vital ity to those who pos

sessed them, and curative herbs renewed youth by restoring health . Even the dead were benefited by them .

Progress was thus,in a sense

,increasing effi ciency in the

quest of longevity in this world and the next .I n Ch ina, as elsewhere,the dread o f death,as expressed

in the rel igious system,promoted the arts and crafts ;

artists,engravers,architects,builders,j ewellers,and scribes,as well as priests and traders,were engaged in the unceasing confl ict against the all- dreaded enemy of mankind, theG od of Death . The incent ive that caused men to undertake perilous j ourneys by land and sea in quest of elixirs, tol ive laborious l ives in workshops and temples

,and to grasp

at the myth ical straws of hope drifted along trade- routesfrom other lands,was the same as that which sent the Babylonian Gilgamesh to explore the dark tunnel of the Mountain of Mashu and cross the Sea of Death, and it i s foundon the ninth tablet of the most ancient ep ic in the world :

G ilgam esh wept bitterly, and h e lay stre tched out upon th e

ground.

H e cried : L e t m e no t d ie like E a-bani lGrief hath entered in to m y body,and! fear death .

1 K ing,Baby lonian Rel igion,p. 1 65.



not understand what the Nameless was before i t wasmanifested as the Tao .

The Tao is not God ; it is impersonal . Taoists mustm ake unquestioning submission to the Tao

,which must

be allowed to have absolute sway in the individual,in

society, in the world at large . Taoism does not,l ike

Buddhism, yearn for extinction, dissolution, or ultimateloss o f identity and consciousness in the nebulous Nirvana . Nor does i t, l ike Buddhism, teach that l ife i s notworth living— that i t i s sorrowful to be doomed to bereborn . Rather, i t conceives of a perfect state of existence in th is world

,and o f prolonged longevity in the

next . All human beings can live happily if they becomel ike little children, obeying the law (Tao) as a m atterof course, following in

“ the way (T ao) withoutendeavouring to understand

,or having any desire to

understand,what the T ao is . The obedient, unquestioning state of mind is reached by means of Inactionmental Inaction . The Tao drifts the meritorious individual towards perfection, out o f darkness into l ight .Those who submit to the Tao know noth ing of eth icalideals ; they are in no need of definite beliefs . I t i sunnecessary to teach virtue when all are virtuous ; i ti s unnecessary to have rites and ceremonies when al lare perfect ; i t is unnecessary to be concerned about evilwhen evil ceases to exist . The same idea prevailedamong the Brahmanic sages of India

,whose Krita or

Perfect Age was without gods or devils . Being perfect,the people required no religion .

Confucianism is not concerned with metaphysicalabstractions

,or with that sense o f the Unity of all th ings

and all beings in the '

One, which i s summed up in theterm “ Mysticism I t maintains a somewhat agnostic,but not irreligious frame of mind, confess ing inabili ty

MYTHS AN D DOCTRINES OF TAOISM 299

to deal with the sp irit world,or to understand,or theorize

about,i t

’

s mysteries . I t recognizes the existence of Godand o f spirits . “ Respect the spiri ts ” said Confucius,but keep them at a distance . He also saidWisdom has been imparted to me . If God were todestroy th i s wisdom (his system o f eth ics) the generationsto come could not inherit it .Whether or not 'Confucius ever heard o f the system

o f Lao Tze i s uncertain . If he did, i t certainly made noappeal to h im . His own system of instruction was

i ntensely practi cal . I t was concerned mainly with eth icaland pol i tical ideals— with political morality . He was nobeliever i n Inaction . The salvation o f mankind, according to h is system, could be ach ieved by strict adherenceto th e ideals of right l iving and right thinking

,and a

robust and vigorous appl ication of them in the everydayl i fe o f i ndividuals and th e State .The reputed founder or earl iest teacher of Taoism

was Lao Tze, about whom l i ttle or noth ing is known .

He is bel ieved to have been born in 60 4 B .C .,and to havedied soon after 53 2 B .C . Confucius was born in 5 5 1 B .C .

,

and died in 479 B .C . There are Chinese traditions thatthe two sages met on at least one occasion, but these arenot credited by Western or modern native Chinese scholars .Confucius makes no direct reference to Lao Tze in h i swritings .Lao T z e 1 means Old Boy as Osiris

,in h is Libyan

form, i s said to mean the Old Man ” ? He was giventhis name by h is followers, because “ h i s mother carriedh im in her womb for seventy- two years

,so that when he

was at length cut out o f i t h is hai r was already wh i te ” .

Julius Ca sar was reputed to have been born in like

1 On e of h is nam es dur ingh i s l ife tim e was L i Po-Y ang: afte r h is death he was L i T an.

2:70urnal of Egyptian A rchf ology .

3 0 0 MYTHS OF CHIN A AND JAPAN

manner ; so was the Gaelic hero,Goll MacMorna,who,aswe gather from Dunbar

,was known in the Lowlands as

well as the Highlands ; the poet makes on e of h is characters exclaim,

My fader,m e ikle G ow m as Mac Morn,Out of h is m oderis (m other

’

s) wam e was shorn .

The same legend clings to the memory of Thomasthe Rhymer

,who is referred to in Gaelic as “ the son of

the dead woman ” (m ac na mna m arbh), because h i smother d ied before the operation was performed . Shakespeare’s Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimelyripped ”

?

I t may be that th i s widespread birth—story had itsorigin in Egypt . Plutarch, i n h is treatise o n the Mysteryo f Osiris and Is is, tells that Set (the ancient god whobecame a devil) was

“ born neither at the proper time,nor by the right place ”, but that he “ forced h is waythrough a wound which he had made in h i s mother’ss ideDifferent forms of the legend are found in Ch ina .

According to the traditions preserved in the “ BambooBooks ”

,wh ich are o f uncertain antiquity, the Em peror

Yao was born fourte en months after he was conceived,the Emperor Y u emerged from his mother’s back, andth e Emperor Yin from his mother’s chest . The Aryo

Indian hero,Karna,a prominent figure in theMdhabha'rata,emerged from o ne of his mother’s ears ; he was a sono f Surya, the sun-god .

According to Taoist lore (afte r Buddh ism and Taoismwere partly fused in China), Lao Tze appeared fromtime to time in China during the early dynasties indifferent forms, and with different names . He had the

1 Macbe th,A ct v, scene 7 .


MYTHS AND DOCTRINES OF TAOISM 3 0 1

personal knowledge o f the decl ine o f the influence o f theTao from the Perfect Age . After Fu- h i and othersovereigns disturbed the harmonies o f heaven and e arth,the manners o f the people, from being good and s imple,became bad and mean ”

. He came to cleanse the streamo f spiri tual l ife at i ts source

,and was ultimately reborn

as Lao T z e,under the Plum Tree o f Longevity, having

been conceived under the influence o f a star i n theconstellation o f the Great Bear . Li (plum tree) wash is surname .Lao Tze is said to have held a pos ition in the Royal

Library o f Kau. When he perceived that the Stateshowed signs of de cadence

,he re solved to leave the

world,l ike the Indian heroes

,Y udh i sh th ira and h i s

brothers . He went westwards, apparently bel ieving, asdid Confucius,

“ that the Most Holy was to be found inthe West ” On entering the pass o f Hsien-Ku (i nmodern Ling—pao

,H o - nan province) the Warden, Yin

Hsi,a Taoist

,welcomed the sage and set before him

a dish o f tea . Lao T z e sat down to drink tea withh is friend . Th i s was the beginning of the tea—drinkingcustom be tween host and guest in Ch ina ?Said the Warden

,

“ And so you are going into retirement . I pray you to write me a book before youleave .

Lao Tze consented,and composed the Tao Teh King,

2

wh ich i s divided into two parts, and contains over 50 0 0word s .When he had finished writing,he gave the manuscript

to the Warden, bade h im farewell, and went on h is way .

I t i s not known where he died .

The most prominent o f Lao T z e ’

s disciples wasKwang Tze

,who lived in the fourth century B .C . Sze

1 A s has be en state d, t ea was an e l ix ir. 2 K ing s ign ifie s c lass i c


ma Khien,the earl iest Chinese h istorian o f note, who

died about 8 5 B .C ., says that Kwang Tze wrote withpurpose to calumniate the system of Confucius and exaltthe mysteries o f Lao Tze But although he wrotemuch

,“ no o ne could give practical applicat ion to h is

teaching ”. Other famous Taoist writers were Han Fei

T z e,who committed suicide in 2 3 3 B .C ., and Liu An,

prince o f Hwai- nan, and grandson o f the founder o f theHan Dynasty, who took his own l ife in 1 22 B .C .,

having become involved in a treasonable plot .Another form o f the legend is that th i s prince d iscov

ered the Water o f Life . As soon as he d rank o f i t, hisbody became so l igh t that he ascended to the CelestialRegions in broad daylight and was seen by many . As herose he le t fall th e cup from which he had drunk . Hisdogs lapped up the water and followed h im . Then h ispoultry drank from the cup and l ikewise rose in the airand vanished from sight . Apparently it was no t only thepoor Indians with untutored minds who thought theirdogs (no t to speak o f their hens) woul d be admitted tothe equal sky there to bear them company .

I t i s generally believed by Oriental scholars that bothTaoism and Confucianism are of greater antiquity thantheir reputed founders . Confucius ins isted that he wasa transmitter

, no t a maker ”, and Lao Tze is found torefer to “ an ancient ”, a sage

”

, and a writer o n war ”,as if he had been acquainted with writings that have notcome down to us .There is internal evidence in the Taoistic texts of Lao

Tze and Kwang Tze that the idea o f the Tao had anintimate association in early times with the ancient Cul tof the West — the cult o f the mother —goddess who hadher origin in water . T h e priestly theori sts instructed theworshippers o f the Great Mothe r that at the beginn ing



subtle essence which, according to the composers of theUpanishads, exists in everything that i s, but cannot beseen . The personal Brahma, as Praj apati, arose at thebeginn ing, from th i s impersonal World Soul . Mind

(o r Soul,m anas), an Indian sage has declared,“was created

from the no n- existent . Mind created Praj apati . Praj apaticreated offspring . All this

,whatever exists

,rests abso

lutely on mind .

”

Anoth‘er Indian sage writes“A t first the U n iv erse was no t anyth ing. There was ne ither

sky, nor earth,nor air. Be ing non- ex isten t, it resolved, ‘L e t m e

be .

’

It becam e ferv en t . From that fervour sm oke was produced .

It again becam e ferv ent . From the fervour fire was produced .

A fte rwards the fire becam e‘rays ’ 1

and the ‘rays ’

condensedinto a cloud,produc ing th e sea. A m agical form ula (Dasahotri)was created. Prajapat i is the Dasaho tri .

”

When the Rev . Dr. Chalmers o f Canton translatedthe Taoist Texts into English in 1 8 68 2,he wrote : “ I havethought i t better to leave the word ‘Tao ’ untranslated

,

both because it has given the name to the sect— theTaoists— and because no English word is its exact equivalent . Three terms suggest themselves the Way ’

,

‘Reason ’

,and ‘

the Word ’

; but they are all l iable toobj ection . Were we guided by e tymology,

‘the Way ’

would come nearest to the original,and in one or two

passages the idea o f a Way seems to be in the term ; butthis is to o material istic to serve the purpose o f a translation .

Reason ’ again seems to be more like a quality or attributeof some conscious Be ing than Tao is . I would translateit by ‘the Word ’ in the sense of the Logos,but th is wouldbe l ike settling the question which I wish to leave open,viz . what amount of resemblance there is between the

1 In E gypt th e ray s w e re th e cre at iv e tears of the sun-god.

2 The Speculations in Metaphy si cs,Poligy, and Moraligi of The Old Ph i losopher


Logos of the N ew Testament and th i s Tao, wh ich is i tsnearest representative in Chinese .”

The New Testament doctrine of the Logos may herebe reproduced by way o f comparison, the quotation beingfrom Dr . Weym outh

’

s idiomatic translation,which may becompared with the authorized versions 1

In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with G od,

and the Word was G od . H e was in the beginning with G od.

All th ings cam e into be ing through H im , and apart from H im

no th ing that ex ists cam e into be ing. In H im was L ife,and thatL ife was the Ligh t of m en . T h e Ligh t sh ines in th e darkness,and the darkness has no t overpowered i t .There was a m an sent from G od,whose nam e was John . H e

cam e as a w itness, in order that h e m igh t giv e test im ony concerning the L igh t— so that all m igh t believ e through h im . H e was no t

th e L ight,but h e ex isted that h e m igh t giv e testim ony concern ing

the Ligh t . T h e true Ligh t was that wh ich illum ines e very m an

by its com ing into th e world . H e was in the world, and the

world cam e into ex istence through H im ,and the world did not

recognize H im .

The mean ing of the word “Tao saysMax Von Brandt,has never been explained or understood,

” and he adds,

Like the Hellen istic Logos it i s at once the efli cientand the material cause .” 2 Professor G . Foot Moore says,“Tao is l iterally ‘way ’ l ike corresponding words in manylanguages,

‘course ‘method ‘order ’,

3 Archdeacon Hardwick 4 was disposed to argue that thesystem of Taoism was founded on the idea of somepower resembl ing the Nature of modern speculators .The indefinite expression ‘Tao was adopted to denominatean abstract cause, or the in itial principle of l ife and order,1 The Modern Speech N ew Testam ent (L ondon, John,Chap. i,v erse 1 et seq.

2 The A ncient Fai ths of Ch ina, p. 49 .2H i story ofReligions (E d inburgh, p. 49 .

4 Christ and Other Masters,V o l . II,p. 67 .

( D 71


to wh ich worshippers were able to ass ign the attributes ofimmateriali ty

,eternity, immens i ty, i nvis ibili ty.

”

Canon Farrar has written in th i s connection : “We havelong person ified under the name of Nature the sum totalo f God ’s law as observed in the phys ical world and now

the notion o f Nature as a distinct, l iving, independententi ty seems to be ineradicable alike from our literatureand our systems of philosophy.

” 1

Dr . Legge comments on this passage : But it seemsto me that this m etaphorical use of the word ‘nature ’

for the Cause and Ruler of it impl ies the previous notionof Him

,that is, of G od, i n the mind .

Dr . Legge notes that in Lao T z e’

s treatise “ Taoappears as the spontaneously operating cause of all movement in the phenomena of the universe . Tao is aphenomenon, not a posi tive being,but a mode of being .

” 3

Others have rendered Tao as God ”. But the o ld

Taoists had no idea of a personal God,” says Dr . Legge .

D e Groot 4 re fe rs to Tao as the Path ’

,the unalter

able course of Nature,” and adds that the “ reverential

awe of the mysterious influences of Nature is the fundamental principle o f an ancient rel igious system usuallystyled by foreigners Tao— i sm .

”

The idea of the Chinese Tao resembles somewhat thato f the Indian Brahma (neuter) . Lao Tze says : “ I t (Tao)was undetermined and perfected

,existing before the heaven

and the e arth . Peace ful was i t and incomprehensible,alone and unchangeable

,filling everything

,the inexhaus

tible mother of all th ings . I know not its name,and

therefore I call i t Tao . I seek after its name and I call1 L anguage and L anguages,pp. 1 84-5 . Jowett, in a lette r to Mrs. A squi th in 1 89 3,

wrote,“ I th ink also that you m ight put re l igion in ano th e r way,as abso lute res ignat ionto the W i ll of G od and th e orde r ofNature (A utobiography ofMrs . Asqui th).

2 The Tex ts qf Taoi sm p. 1 3 (Sacred B ooks qf the E ast). 2 Ibi d .,p. 1 5 .

‘1 The Religi ous Sy stem of Ch i na, Book I,p. 9 36.



The Great Unknown was by the later Ved ic poets referredto by the interrogative pronoun What ? ” (Ka) .In the Indian Khandogya Upanishad, the sage tells a

pupil to break open a fruit. He then asks,“What do

you see ?” and receiving the reply, Nothing ”

,says

,

“ that subtle essence wh ich you do no t perceive there, o f

that very essence this great N yagrodha tree exists . Believeme,my son, that wh ich is the subtle essence, i n i t all thatexists has itself. I t i s the True . I t i s self ; and thou,myson

,art i t .

” 1

The idea of the oneness and unity of all things i s thebasic principle of mysticism .

Th ere is true knowledge . Learn thou it is th isT o see one changeless L ife in all th e liv es,A nd in th e Separate,One Inseparable .

2

Dr . Legge in h is commentary on The T exts of Taoism,asks h is readers to mark well the following predicates ofthe Tao

Before there were h eaven and earth,from of o ld,there It was

secure ly exist ing. From It cam e the m ysterious ex istence of

spirits ; from It th e m ysterious ex istence of Ti (G od). It produced

h eaven . It produced earth .

” 2

Lao Tze had probably never been in India, but thatpassage from h i s writ ings might well have been composedby o ne o f the Brahmanic sages who composed theUpanishads .The explanation may be that in Brahmanism and

Taoism we have traces o f the influence o f Babylonian andEgyptian schools o f thought . No direct proof i s available in th i s connection . I t i s poss ible, however, that theancient sages who gave oral instruction to their pupils

1 Indi an My th and L egend, pp. 97—9 .

2 The B lagav ad—G i ta, Book 1 8 .

3 The Tex ts of Taoi sm,p. 1 9 .


we re the earl iest missionaries o n the trade- route s . Thesearch for wealth had

,as has been shown, a rel igious

incentive . I t i s unlike ly, therefore, that only miners andtraders vis ited distant lands in wh ich precious metals andj ewels were discovered . Expeditions, such as those of theEgyptian rulers that went to Punt for articles required inthe temples

,were e ssentially religious expedition s . I t was

in the temples that the demand for gold and j ewels wasstimulated

,and each temple had its workshops with the i r

trade se crets . The priests o f Egypt were the dyers, andthey were the earl iest alchemists 1 of whom we have knowledge . Such recipes as are found recorded in the Leydenpapyrus we re no doubt kept from the common people .Associated with the search for metals was the im

memorial quest of the elixir of l ife,which was undoubtedlya priestly business— one that required the performance ofreligious ceremonies o f an elaborate character . Metalsand j ewels

,as we have seen

,as well as plants

,contained

the soul substance that was required to promote healthand to ensure longevity in th i s world and in the next . I twas, no doubt, the priestly prospectors, and no t thetraders and working miners

,who first im parted to j ade

its rel igious value as a substitute for gold andj ewels .When the searchers for wealth introduced into I ndia

and China the god Ptah’s potter’s wheel they may wellhave introduced to o the doctrine o f the Logos

,found in

the pyramid—age Ptah hymn quoted above,i n wh ich the

World Soul i s the “ mind ”o f the go d, and the active

principle the tongue ” that utters the WordI f they did so — the hypothesis does not seem to be

improbable— i t may be that as Buddhism was in India1 T h e beginn ings of A lchem y can be trace d back to th e e arly dynast ic period in

ancient E gypt .


mixed with Naga worsh ip,and was imported into Tibet

and China as a fusion o f m etaphysical Speculations andcrude idolatrous beliefs and practices

,the priestly philo

sophies o f Egypt and Babylonia were S imilarly associatedwith the d ebris of primitive ideas and ceremonies whenthey reached distant lands . A s a matter of fact, i t i s foundthat in both these culture centres th i s fusion was maintained all through their h istories . Ptah might be the“Word ” to the priests

,but to the common people he

remained the artisan-god for thousands o f years— the godwho hammered out the heavens and set the world in ordera form of Shu who separated the heavens from the earth,

as did P ’an Ku i n China .I n India and Ch ina

,as i n ancient Egypt

,the doctrine

of the Logos,in its earl iest and vaguest form,was associ

ated with the older doctrine that l ife and the universeemerged at the beginning from the womb o f the mothergodd ess, who was the active principle in water, or thepersonification o f that principle .In o ne o f the several I nd ian creation myths, Praj apati

emerges,l ike the Egyptian Sun - god Horus, from the

lotus- bloom floating on the primordial waters . The lotusis the flower form o f the Great Mother,who in Egypt i sHathor.Another myth tells that after the heat caused the rays

to arise,and the rays caused a cloud to form

,and the

cloud became water,the Self—Existent Being (here the

Great Father) created a seed . He flung the seed into thewaters

,and it became a golden egg . From the egg came

forth the personal Brahma (Praj apati) .1 Because Brahma

came from the waters (Narah), and they were h is firsthome or path (ayana), he is called Narayana . 2

1 T h e E gypt ian gods Ra and P tah s im i larly em e rge d from cosm ic eggs .

2 1 nd i an My th and L egend, pp. 1 0 0 - 2 .



Honoured Ancestor appears to have been before GodIn his chapter, The Completion o f Material Forms

he refers to the female valley spirit . The valley,

” saysLegge

,

“ i s used metaphorically as a sym bol o f ‘emptiness ’

o r‘vacancy and the spirit o f the valley i s the female

mystery — the Tao which i s ‘the mother o f all th ingsChalmers renders Chapter VI as follows :“ T h e Spirit (like perenn ial spring) of the Valley never dies .

Th is (Spirit) I call the abyss-m o ther. T h e passage of th e abyssm o ther I call th e roo t of h eaven and earth . Cease lessly it seem s

to endure,and i t is em ployed w ithout effort .

Dr . Legge’s rendering is i n verse

T h e valley spirit dies no t,aye th e sam e ;

T h e fem ale m ystery thus do w e nam e .

Its gate, from w h ich at first th ey issued forth,

IS called the roo t from wh ich grew h eav en and earth .

Long and unbroken does its pow er rem ain,

U sed gently, and without the touch of pain .

1

The symbolism o f this short chapter i s o f specialinterest

,and seems to throw light on the origin of the

myths that were transformed by Lao Tze into philosophicalabstractions . We find th e “ female mystery ”

o r“ abyss

mother is at once a gate (or passage) and a root TheGreek goddess Artemis was both . She was the guardianof the portals, and was herself the portals ; she was thegiver o f the mugwort (the Chinese knew it), and was herself the mugwort (Artem esia), as Dr. Rendel Harris hasshown .

2 She opened the gate o f birth as the godde ss ofbirth

,her key being the mugwort

,and she opened the

portal o f death as the goddess o f death . A S the goddessof riches she guarded the door o f the treasure—house

,and

she possessed the “ ph ilosophe r’s stone which trans1 Dr. L egge, T aoist Tex ts, p. 5 1 .

2A scent qf Olympus,p. 7 3 .


muted base metals into gold . Artemis was a form o f theEgyptian Hathor

,Aphrod ite being another special ized

form . Hathor was associated with the lotus and otherwate r plants

,and was N ub

,the lady of gold,who gave her

name to Nubia ; she was the goddess of mine rs, andthe refore o f the S inaitic peninsula ; she was the

“ gateof birth and death . The monumental gateways o f Egypt,India, China, and Japan appear to have been originallygoddess portals . 1

The goddess of the early prospectors and miners was,

as has been said,a water-goddess . I n the writings o f

Lao Tze,his female and active Tao

,

“ the Mother of

all Things is closely associated with water . The chapterentitled “ T he Placid and Contented Nature ” refers towater, and water as an illustration o f the way of theTao, i s

”

, Dr . Legge comments,“ repeatedly employed

by Lao Tze ” .

“ T he h ighest exce llence is like (that of) water. T he excellence of water appears in i ts benefiting all th ings.

” 2

L ao Tze, deal ing with“ The Attribute of Humil i ty

connects “ water ” with women

What m akes a great state is i ts be ing (like a low -lying downflow ing stream ) ; i t becom es the centre to wh ich tend (all th e sm allstates) under h eav en .

(T o illustrate from ) th e case of all fem ales z— th e fem alealways ov ercom es the m ale by h er stillness .

” 2

Water is soft, but i t wears down the rocks .T he softest th ing in th e world dash es against and ov ercom es

th e hardest ; that wh ich has no (substantial) ex istence enters wherethere is no crev ice .

” 4

1 For di scuss ions on the se gates se e E l liot Sm i th in Journal of the Manchester and

Ori ental S oci egr and Th e E v oluti on of the Dragon,pp. 1 84, 1 8 5 .

2 Dr. L egge, Taoi st Tex ts, p. 52 .

2 Ibi d ., p. 1 0 4.

‘1 Ibi d .,p. 87.


The Tao acts like water,and (The Tao) wh ich originated all under the Sky i s

”

, Lao Tze says,“ to be con

s idered as the mother o f all of them . When the motheri s found,we know what her children should be .

” 1

A passage which has puzzled commentators is,G reat, i t (the T ao) passes on (in constant flow ). Passing on,

i t becom es rem o te . Hav ing becom e rem o te, i t re turns. Th erefore the T ao is great .” 2

The reference may be to the circle of wate r whichsurrounds the world . I t i s possible Lao Tze had itin mind, seeing that he so often compares the action ofthe Tao to that o f water — the T ao that produces andnourishes by its outflowing operationLike soul substance ”

,the Tao is found in al l th ings

that l ive, and in all th ings that exercise an influence onlife . The Tao is the absolute

,or, as the Brahmanic

sages declared, the“ I t ” which cannot be seen— the “ I t ”

in the fruit o f the tree, the“ I t ” in man . Lao Tze

refers to the “ I t ” as the “ OneIn h is chapte r, The Origin of the Law he writesT he th ings which from of old hav e got th e One (the T ao) are

Heav en,wh ich by i t is brigh t and pure ;E arth endow ed thereby firm and sure ;Spirits with pow ers by i t supplied ;Valleys kept full throughout the ir v o id ;A ll creatures w h ich through it do liv e ;Princes and K ings w ho from i t ge t

T h e m ode l w h ich to all th ey giv e .

2

The Tao may produce and nourish all th ings andbring them to maturity

,but it exercises no control over

them

1 Dr. L egge, Taoi st Tex ts,pp. 94, 9 5.2 Ibi d .,pp. 67

-

9 .

2 Ibid., p. 8 2.4 Ibi d ., p. 94.


3 1 6 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPANas such . L ikew ise, if w e are no t consc ious of th e ex istence o f

spirits as such,w e m ust be equally unconsc ious of the ex istence ofinspired teachers as such ; and to be unconsc ious of the ex istence o f

Spirits and of inspired teachers is the v ery essence o f T ao .

” 1

The scholarly sage thus reached the conclusion thatit is a blessed th ing to know nothing

,to be ignorant .

Good orde r i s necessary for the workings o f the Tao,and good order is secured by abstinence from act ion

,and

by keeping the people in a state of s implici ty and ignorance, so that they may be restful and child- l ike in theirunquestion ing and complete submission to the T ao .

The state o f vacancy,says Lao Tze

,“ should be

brought to the utmost degree . When th ings (inthe vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriantgrowth

,we see each o f them return to its root . This

returning to the i r root is what we call the state ofstillness .There would be no virtues if there were no vices,

no robberies if there were no wealth .

If,

” the Taoists argued,

“ we would renounce our

sagene ss and discard our wisdom, i t would be betterfor th e people a hundredfold . I f we could renounceour benevolence and discard our rightness, the peoplewould again become filial and kindly. I f we couldrenounce our artful contrivances and discard ourscheming for gain

,there would be no thieves and

robberies .” 3

Here we meet with the doctrine of the World’s Ages,already referred to . Men were perfect to begin with,because

,as Lao Tze says

,they d id not know they were

ruled ”

.

“ In the age of perfect virtue,”Kwang T z e

writes,

“ they attached no value to wisdom . They

1 H e rbert A . G i le s,Religions of ! i nd ent Ch ina, p. 47 .

2 l e Tex t: of Taoism,p. 59 .

3 G i l e s, Clzuang T z u,My sti c,Mora/1 st, and S ocial Reform er.


were upright and correct,without knowing that to be

so was righteousness ; they loved one another, withoutknowing that to do so was benevolence ; they were honestand leal—hearted without knowing that i t was loyalty ;they ful filled their engagements,without knowing that todo so was good faith ; i n their s im ple movements theyemployed the services of one another, without th inkingthat they were conferring or receiving any gift. Therefore their actions left no trace

,and there was no record of

their affairs .”

T o th is state of perfection,Lao Tze wished h i s fellowcountrymen to return .

That the idea of the Tao originated among those whowent far and wide

,searching for the el ixir o f l ife, i s

suggested by Lao T z e’

s chapter, “ The Value Set onLife ”

. He refers to those “ whose movements tendto the land (or place) of death

”

,and asks,

“ F or whatreason ?” The answer i s

,

“ Because of their excess iveendeavours to perpetuate l ifeHe continues :

But I have heard that he who is skilful in m anaging the lifeentrusted to h im for a t im e travels on th e land wi thout hav ing toshun rh inoceros or t iger, and enters a h ost Without hav ing to avo idbuff coat or sharp weapon . T h e rh inoceros finds no place in h iminto w h ich to thrust i ts horn,nor the t iger a place in wh ich to fixi ts claw s, nor th e weapon a place to adm it i ts po int . And fo rwhat

reason ? Be cause there is in h im no place of death .

” 1

I t woul d appear that Lao Tze was acquainted notonly with more ancient writers regarding the Tao, butwith traditions regarding heroes resembling Ach i lles,Siegfried

,and Diarm id

,whose bodies had been rendered

invul nerable by dragon ’s blood, or the water o f a riverin the Otherworld ; o r

,seeing that each o f these heroes

1 Tbs Tex ts of Taoism , pp. 9 2, 9 3 .


had a spot which was a place of death with traditionsregarding heroes who, like El Kedir, plunged in the“Well of Life ” and became immortals

,whose bodies

could not be inj ured by man or beast . The El Kedirso f western Asia and Europe figure in legends as“Wandering Jews ” or invulnerable heroes

,includ ing

those who,like Diarmid

,found the “Well o f Life ”

,

and those who had knowledge o f charms that renderedthem invisible o r protected them against wounds . TheFar Eastern stories regarding the inhabitants o f theI slands of the Blest ”

,related in a previous chapter

,

m ay be recalled in this connection . Having drunk thewaters of the “Well o f Life ” and eaten o f the “ fungusof immortali ty ”

, they were rendered immune to poisons,and found it impossible to inj ure themselves . When

,

therefore,we find Lao Tze referring to men who had no

reason to fe ar armed warriors or beasts of prey, i t se emsreasonable to conclude that these were men who hadfound and partaken of the elixir of life,o r had accumulatedstores of vital ity ” by practis ing breath ing exe rcises anddrinking charm ed water, or by acquiring “ merit ”

,l ike

the Indian ascetics who concentrated their thoughts onBrahma (neuter) .In the chapter

,“ Return ing to the Root in his

Tao Te/z King, Lao Tze appears to regard the Taoas a preservative against death . He who in “ thestate o f vacancy ” returns to primeval simplici ty andperfectness ach ieves longevity through the workingsof the Tao .

Possessed of th e T ao,he endures long ; and to the en d of h is

bod ily life is exem pt from all danger of decay.

” 1

Here the Tao acts l ike the magic wate r that restores1 m e Tex ts of Taoum,p. 60 .



Scorpio,he took h is place among the stars . Various spiri tsimbibed ” I t l ikewise and owed their power and attributes

to I t (the T ao) .1

Kwang Tze tells that a man once addressed a Taoistsage

,saying,

“ Y ou are old,s ir,wh ile your complexion is

l ike that o f a ch ild ; how is it so P”The reply was

,“ I have become acquainted with the

T ao

Here the Tao is undoubtedly regarded as the el ixiro f l ife— as “ soul substance ” that renews youth andpromotes longevity . I t was no t

, however, a th ing toeat and drink— the “ plant o f l ife ”

or“ the wate r of

life ” — but an influence obtained l ike the spiritual power,the “ merit ”, accumulated by the Brahmanic hermits o f

India who practised “ yogi As the mystery of creationwas repeated at birth when a new soul came intoexistence, so did the Tao create new l ife when thedevotee reached the desired state of com ple te and un

question ing submiss ion to its workings .There were some Taoists who, l ike the Brahmanic

hermits,sought refuge in sol i tary places and endeavoured

to promote longevity by management of the breath,adopt

i ng what Mr . Balfour has called a system o f mystic andrecond i te cal isthen ics ” . A s we have seen

,Lao Tze makes

reference to breath ing exercises but apparently certaino f h is followers regarded the performance of these exercises as the sum and substance o f h is teachings, whereasthey were but an aid towards attaining the state of mindwhich prepared the Taoist fo r submission to the Tao .

Kwang Tze found it nece ssary to condemn the practiceso f those scholars who, instead o f pursuing the patho f se lf cultivation endeavoured to accumulate “ thebreath of life ” so that they might l ive as lo ng as the

1 T il e Tex ts of Taoism ,pp. 244. et seq.

2 1 6121, p. 245 .


patriarch Phang . I n h is chapter, “ Ingrained Ideashe writes

Blow ing and breath ing with open m outh ; inhaling and ex

haling the breath ; expelling the o ld breath and taking in new ;

passing the ir t im e like th e (dorm ant) bear, and stre tch ing and

tw ist ing (the neck) like a bird ; all th is sim ply show s the desirefor longev ity 1

The genuine devotees enj oy their ease without resorting to the rivers and seas ”, they

“ attain to longevitywithout the management (of the they “ forgetall th ings and yet possess all th ings by cultivating thequalities of placidity, indifference, s ilence, quietude,absolute vacancy and non- action ”

. The se qualities “ arethe substance of the Tao and i ts characteristicsI t seems undoubted, however, that the system of Lao

Tze, whereby “ spiri tual fluid ” flowed into the placid,

receptive mind, originated in the very practices here cond em ned— in the quest o f soul substance contained inwater, herbs,metals, and gems . As Indian and Ch inesesages retired to solitudes and endured great privation s

,so

that they might accumulate merit ”,so did the searchersfor herbs, metals, and gems penetrate desert wastes andcross trackless mountains, so as to accumulate the wealthwhich was me ri t ” to them . They were inspired in l ikemanner by genuine rel igious enthus iasm .

The Taoists never forgot the El ixir Taoismbegan with the quest o f that elus ive and mystical “ I t ”which renewed youth and ensured immortal ity

,or pro

longed longevity after death, and the later Taoists revivedo r, perhaps one should say, perpetuated the search for“the Water of Life ”,and th e

“ Plant of Life the “ Peacho f 3 0 0 0 years or years the gem trees

,gold

,

pearls,j ade,&c. The fear of death obsessed their minds .1 The Tex t: of Taoism,p. 3 64.

2Ibzd .,pp. 364-

5 .

( D 71


They wished to live as long as the Patriarch Phang onth is earth

,or to be transferred bodily to the Paradise o f

the West,the Paradise o f Cloudland or Star- land

, or thatof the “ Islands o f the Blest ” . Besides

,i t was necessary

that the earthly l ife should be prolonged so that theymight make complete submission to the Tao . Their liveshad to be passed in tranquill ity ; they were not to reflecto n the past or fee l anxiety regarding the future . Thefear o f death in the future tended to disturb their peaceo f mind, and they were therefore in need of water which,l ike the water o f Le the

,would make them forget their

cares, or some other elixir that would insp ire them withconfidence and give them strength . Kwang Tze mightcensure the ascetics for confus ing the means with th eend ”, but ordinary men have always been prone to attachundue importance to ceremonies and rite s— to concentratetheir thoughts on th e performance of rites rather than inaccumulating “ merit ”, and to believe that

“ merit canbe accumulated by the performance of the rites alone .The explanation of the state o f affairs censured by

Kwang Tze seems to be that the transcendental teachingso f Lao Tze and himself, in which the vague idea o f theLogos was fused with belief in a vague elixir o f life

,were

incomprehens ible not only to the masses but even toscholars

,and that the practices and beliefs of the older

faith o n which Lao Tze founded his system were perpe tuated by custom and tradition by othe r adherents to thecult of which he was a teacher. Ordinary men,who we renot by temperament o r mental consti tution o r trainingeither mystics or metaphysicians, required something moreconcre te than the elus ive Tao o f Lao and Kwang ; theyclung to their beliefs in the efficacy o f l ife- prolongingherbs

,j ewels

,metals

,coloured stones,wate r, fresh air,&c .

Withal,they required something to worship

,having


CHAPTER XV I I

Culture Mixing in j apan

Races and A rchaeo logical Ages— T h e Pi t-dwelle rs -A inu My ths and

L egends Mum m ificat ion Sacred A n im als, H erbs, and T rees Ainu

Co sm ogony— A inu De luge L egend— Pearl lo re in Japan — Mand rake in

K o rea, Japan, and Ch ina— T he Japanese “ Drago n-Pearl as Soul— L inks

w i th Am erica— Med i cinal H e rbs and Jewels— T he G od -Body— Sanct i ty of

Beads— T he Co ral, Shells, Co in s, F rui t, and Feath ers o f L uck -god s— Jade inJapan— N o Jade N ecklaces in Ch ina— Japanese Im perial Insign ia th e Mi rro r,Swo rd, and Jewel— Shinto T em ples and A rtem i s Gateway s— Mikado as

Osi ri s- T he Sh into Fai th— Yom i— Fo od of th e Dead— T h e Souls ofMikado sand Pharaoh s— T h e Kam i as Gods,&c .

— God s of th e Card inal Po ints.

There was not only “ culture m ixing but al so amixing o f races in ancient times throughout the Japane seArchipelago . Distinct racial types can be detected i n thepresent- day population .

“ Of these,” says the Japanese

write r,Yei Ozaki,1 “ the two known as the patr ician and

th e plebeian are the most conspicuous . The delicate ovalface o f the aristocrat o r Mongoloid,with i ts aquiline nose,oblique eyes

,high - arched eyebrows, bud- l ike mouth,

cream— coloured skin,and slender frame

,has been the

favourite theme of artists for a thousand years,and is

still th e ideal o f beauty to - day. The Japanese plebeian hasthe Malayan cast of countenance, h igh cheek-bones, largeprognathic mouth

,full

,straight eyes, a skin almost as

dark as bronze, and a robust, heavily—boned physique .The flat— faced

,heavy-j awed

,hirsute Ainu type

,with

1 Custom s of the World, p. 3 80 .

3 24

CULTURE MIXING IN JAPAN 3 2 5

luxuriant hair and long beards,i s also frequently m e t with

among th e Japanese Such are the diverse elementswhich go to compri se th e race of the pre sent t ime .The oblique- eyed aristocrats— the Normans of Japan

— appear to have come from Korea,and to have achieved

pol itical ascendancy as a result o f conquest in the archaeological “ Iron Age when m egalith ic tombs of the corridor type, covered with mounds,were introduced .

1 Theybrought with them

,i n addition to distinctive burial customs,

a heritage o f Korean religious bel iefs and myths regardingserpent or dragon—gods o f rivers and ocean

,air and moun

tains . After coming into contact with other peoples inJapan, their mythology grew more complex, and assumeda local aspect . Chinese and Buddhist elements weresubsequently added .

There was no distinct Bronze Age in Japan .

Ancient bronze obj ects are, says Laufer,“ so scarce i n

Japan, that even granted they were indigenous, the establ ishm ent of a Bronze Age would not be j ustified

,nor i s

there in the ancient records any posi tive evidence o f theuse of bronze .” 2 Although stone implements have beenfound, it i s uncertain whe ther there ever was, in the strictWestern European sense, a Neolith ic Age Theearl iest inhabitants o f the i slands could not have reachedthem until after ships came into use in the Far East

,and

therefore afte r the culture of those who used metals hadmade its influence felt over wide areas .As we have seen (Chapter III), the most archaic sh ips

in the Kam schatka area in the north,and in the Malayan

area in the south,were of Egyptian type, having appar

1 T he terraced m ound tom bs of the E m pe rors of Japan appear to be surv ivals of theanc i ent tom bs. A lth ough true do lm ens have be en found in K orea, th ey do no t, so far

as i s k nown, occur in Japan (Journal z i t/trap. Inst , xx iv, p. 3 3 0 , and 1 90 7, pp. 1 0

et2 Clzm ese Clay Figures,p. 265,n. 3 .


ently been introduced by the early prospectors whosearched for pearls and precious stones and me tals . Inthe oldest Japanese writings, the records o f ancient oraltrad i tions

,gold and silver are referred to as “ yellow and

“ White ” metals existing in Korea, While bronze, whenfirst mentioned, i s called the “ Chinese metal ” and theKorean m e tal The bronze and iron obj ects foundin the ancient graves have s imply

,

” says Laufer,

“ beenimported from the mainland

,and plainly are

,in the

maj ority of cases, o f Ch inese manufacture . Many of

these,l ike metal mirrors, certain helmets, and others,have

been recognized as such ; but through comparison withcorresponding Chinese material, the same can be provedfor the rest .” 2 At the beginn ing o f our era, the Japanese,as the annals o f the Later Han Dynasty o f China record

,

purchased iron in Korea . T h e Chine se and Koreansderived the knowledge o f how to work iron from theinterior of Siberia, the Turkish Yakut there being theolder and better iron-workers .3

The racial fusion in ancient Japan was not complete .

Although th e Koreans,Chinese

,and Malayans inter

married and became “ Japanese communities of the A inuneve r suffered loss of identity, and l ived apart from theconquerors and those o f their kinsmen who were absorbedby them .

An outstanding feature of Japanese archaeology is thatCulture A appears to have been a h igher one than CultureB,which i s represented by Ainu artifacts . Culture A is

that o f a pre-Ainu people whom the Ainu found inhabitingparts o f the archipelago, and called the Koro- pok —guru .

The name signifies the people having depressions and

1 T ransacti ons of til e A siati c Soci ety of Japan,Vo l . X (supplem ent),p. xxxv i .2 Cit inese Clay Figures (Ch icago, p. 265, ft. 3 .

3 Ibid.,p. 27 1 and n. 3,p. 272 and n. 1 .



cultivate millet (their staple food) and vegetables, andgathe r herbs and roots among the mountains . Accord ingto the ir own traditions, they came from Sara,which meansa “ plain Their “ culture hero Ok i kurum i

,de scended

from heaven to a mountain in Piratoru,1 having been dele

gated by the Creator to teach the Ainu religion and law .

Before this hero returned to heaven, he married T ure shMachi

,

2 and he le ft his so n,Waruinekuru, to instruct the

Ainu “ how to m ake cloth, to hunt and fish, how to makepoison and set the spring—bow in the trail of animalsWhen Ok ikurum i first arrived among the Ainu

,the

crust of the earth was still thin and “ all was burningbeneath I t was impossible for people to go a- huntingwithout scorching the ir fee t . The celestial hero arrangedthat h is wife should d istribute food,but made i t a condition that no human being would dare to look in her face .She went daily from house to house thrust ing in the foodwith her great hands .An inquis itive Ainu

,of the “ Peeping Tom order,

resolved to satisfy h is curios ity regard ing the mysteriousfood-distr ibutor. One morning he seized her and pulledher into h is house,whereupon she was immediately transformed into a wriggling serpent-dragon . A terriblethunderstorm immediately broke out, and the house o fPeeping Tom was destroyed by lightning .

Th i s i s an interesting Far Eastern version of theGod iva legend3 of Coventry .

Greatly angered by the breaking o f the taboo,Ok ikurumi returned to the cele stial regions . His dragon-wifeis not only a Godiva

,but another Far Eastern Melusina .4

Ok ikurum i i s said to have worn ear- rings . He had

1 Pi ra, cl iff” ; toru, “ to stay2 T y res/z,

“younger s ister m at/xi,

“w i fe ”3 For o th e r v e rs ions, se e H art land, The S cience of Fatry T ales (L ondon, pp. 7 1

4 S ee Index under Me lusina"

.



The salmon is d ivine,and its symbol is worshipped .

Folk- tales are told regard ing salmon taking human shape,as do the seals in Scottish Gaelic stories . As in Chinaand Japan

,the fox i s the most subtle of all beasts . I t

supplanted the tiger as chief god,according to an Ainu

folk- tale . There is a great tortoise-god in the sea and anowl-god o n the land,and their children have intermarried .

The cock is of celestial origin . I t was, at the beginning,sent down from heaven by the Creator to ascertain whatthe world looked like

,but tarried for so long a time,being

well pleased with th ings,that it was forbidd en to return .

Hares are mountai n deities .The oldest trees are the oak and pine

,and they are

therefore sacred, and the olde st and most sacred herb i sthe mugwort . In Kam schatka the pine is associated withthe mugwort . The mugwort i s connected with goddessesof the Artemis order . 1 Sacred

,too, was the willow, and

specially sacred th e mistletoe that grew on a willow tree .An elixir prepared from the mistletoe was supposed torenew youth

,and therefore to prolong life and cure d is

eases . Sibe rians venerate the herb willow .

2 The drinkprepared from it was a soporific for human beings, wildanimals

,and deities . Far Eastern deities had apparently

to be soothed as well as invoked as, i t may be recalled,was Hathor- Sekhet in the Egyptian flood myth whenshe was given beer poured out from j ars, so that shemight cease from slaughtering mankind .

3

When the Ainu performed re ligious ceremonies,shavings and whittled sticks o f willow were used

,and

libations of intoxicating liquors provided . Deities weremade drunk, as in Babylon ia,

4 and then provid ed with a1 Rende l H arri s

, T il e A scent of Olympus, pp. 56 et seq., w ith i ts N ote an Ivy and

Mugw ort in S i beria, pp. 96 et seq.

2 Re nde l H arris, op. ci t.,pp. 1 0 1 - 2.

3 E gyptian My th and L egend, pp. 6 et seq.

‘1 My tlzs qfBaby lonia and A ssy ri a,pp. 1 43—4.


sooth ing ant i- intoxicant . The Ainu set up their willowsticks at Wells and around their dwellings . They had notemples, and when they worshipped the sun, a shavenwillow stick was placed at the east end of a house .The moon—god came next in order to the sun-

god .

The fire-god was invoked to cure disease . There was asubtle connection between fire and mistletoe, perhapsbecause fire was obtained by frict ion of soft and hardwood, and an intoxicating el ixir prepared from a tree ori ts paras ite was believed to be “ fire water ”— that is,“ water o f l ife ” . Offerings were made to gods o f ocean,rivers

,and mountains .

The world was supposed to be floating on and surrounded by water,and to be resting on the sp ine ofa gigant icfish wh ich caused earthquakes when it moved . There weretwo heavens- one above the clouds and another in theUnderworld . A hell, from which the volcanoes vomitfire, was reserved for the wicked .

Like the Ch inese,the Ainu tell stories of vis its paid

to Paradise . A man, whose wife had been spirited away,appealed to the oak- god,who provided h im with a goldenhorse o n which he rode to the sky . He reached abeautiful ci ty in wh i ch people went about singing constantly . They smelled a stranger, and, the smell beingoffens ive to them, they appealed to the ch ief god to givehim h i s wife . The god promised to do so i f the vis itorwould agree to go away at once . He consented readily,and returned to the oak-god,who told h im h is wife wasin hell

,and that the place was now i n confusion because

the ch ief god had ordered a search to be made for her .Soon afterwards the lost woman was restored to herhusband . Th i s man was given the golden horse to keep,and all the horses in Ainu- land are descended from it .Another man once chased a bear on a mountain s ide .


The animal entered a cave, and he followed i t, passingthrough a long,dark tunne l . He reached the beautiful lando f the Underworld . Feeling hungry, he ate grapes andmulberries

,and

,to hi s horror, was immediately trans

formed into a serpent . He crawled back to the entranceand fell asleep below a pine tree . In h is dream the goddess o f the tree appeared . She told h im he had beentransformed into a serpent because he had eaten of thefood of Hades

,and that, if he wished to be restored to

human shape,he must cl imb to the top of the tree and

fl ing himself down . When he awoke,the man- serpent

did as the goddess advised . After leaping from the treetop

,he found himself standing below it

,wh ile near him

lay the body o f a great serpent which had been split open .

He then went through the tunnel and emerged from thecave . But later he had another dream, i n wh ich thegoddess appeared and told h im he must return to theUnderworld because a goddess there had fallen in lovewith h im . H e did as he was commanded to do, and wasnever again seen on earth .

A story tells of another Ainu who reached th i s Paradise . He saw many people he had known in the world,but they were unable to S ee h im . Only the dogs perce iv ed h im,and they growled and barked . Catching sightof h is father and mother he went forward to embracethem, but they complained of being haunted by an evilspiri t

,and h e had to leave them .

The A inu have a Deluge Myth which tells that whenthe waters rose the vast majori ty of human beings weredestroyed . Only a remnant escaped by ascending to thesummit of a h igh mountain .

1

1 Batche lor, The A inu and their Folk-lore. Batche lor,N otes on the A inu (Transactionsof the A siati c S ocieg’ X, pp. 20 6 et seq. Mi lne,N otes on the Koro-poh

-

guru

(T ransactions qf the A siati c S ociety qf j apan), V o l . X, pp. 1 87 et seq. Cham be rlain,A i nu Folk- tales (Folk-lore S oci e ty's Publ icat ions,Vol . XXII,



h e says,rose —coloured pearls were abundant

,and quite as

valuable as white ones .” Kaempfer, writing in the eighte enth century,stated that the Japanese pearls were foundin small varieties of oysters (ahoj a) resembling the Persianpearl oyste r, and also in “ the yellow snail- shell ”

,the

ta ira!gai (P lacuna), and the awabi or abalone (H aliotis) .

A pearl fishery formerly existed in the neighbourhood ofSaghal in I sland . As pearls have from the earl iest time sbee n fished from southern Manchurian rivers

,in Kams

chatka, and on the south coast of the Sea of Okhotsk,i t may be that the earliest settlers in Japan were preh istoric pearl-fishers . I t is of special interest to note herethat

,according to G . A . Cooke, pearls and ginseng (man

drake) were formerly Manchurian articles o f commerce .1

The herbs and pearls were, as we have seen, regarded asavatars of the mother-goddess .In Korea ginseng i s cult ivated under Government

supervis ion “ I t is Mrs . Bishop writes,2 one o f themost valuable articles wh ich Korea exports, and one greatsource of its revenue .

” A basket may contain ginsengworth £40 0 0 .

“ But, she adds, “ valuable as the cul t iv ated root is, i t is noth ing to the value o f the wild,whichgrows in Northern Korea

,a single specimen of which has

been sold forJ£40 ! I t is ch iefly found in the Kang-ge

Mountains,but i t is rare

,and the search so often end s in

failure, that the common people credit it with magicalproperties

,and believe that only men of pure lives can

and our j apan, are o th er renderings of th e Ch inese nam e wh ich w as first used offic ial lyin Japan in th e sev enth cen tury A .D . E arl i e r Japane se nam es include T am ara and

C—m i -hun i’

, the great dragon (m i ) land ”,&c .

1 Yule, T he Book qf S er Marco Polo (Book III, chapter i i i),Vo l . III,p. 20 0 . Kunz ,Folk-lore of Precious S tones (Mem oi rs Internat. Congr. A nthrop., Ch i cago, pp.

1 47 et seq. G . A . Cooke, Sy stem of Uni v ersal G eography , V o l . I p. 574.

J. W. Jack son, Shells as E v i dence if the Migrati ons of E arly Culture (L ondon,pp. 1 0 6 et seq.

2 Korea and her N eighbours (L ondon, Vo l . II, pp. 95 et seq,


find it . The daemon who is “ the tutelary sp irit of

ginseng i s greatly honoured (p . A readymarke t i s found in China for Kore an ginseng.

“ I t i s atonic

,a febrifuge

,a stomach ic, the very e lixir o f l ife,

taken spasmod ically or regularly in Ch inese wine by mostChinese who can afford it ” (p .

In Japan, ginseng, mushroom,

and fungus are, l ikepearls

,promoters of longevity

,and sometimes

,says Joly,

m asquerade as phall i ” : they are “ Plants o f Life andPlants of Birth l ike th e plants searched for by theBabylonian heroes Gilgamesh and Etana, and like thedragon- herbs of Ch ina . 1In Shinto, the ancient religion o f the Japanese,promi

nence i s given to pearls and other precious j ewels, andeven to ornaments like artificial beads

,which were not, of

course, used merely for personal decoration in the modernsense of the term ; beads had a religious s ignificance . Asacred j ewel is a lama, a name which has deep significan cein Japan, because m i—tam a i s a soul, or sp irit, o r double .Mi i s usually referred to as an “ h onorific prefix ” orhonorific epithet but i t appears to h ave been originallysometh ing m ore than that . A Japanese commentator, asDe Visser notes

,has pointed out in another connection 2

that m i i s “ an o ld word for snake ”,that is

,for a snake

dragon . Mi—tam a, there fore, may as soul ” or double

be all that is meant by snake—pearl ” or dragon—pearl ” .

3

1 T h e Chine se dragon, K ’ilh-lung, originate d from a sea-plant called ha i-lil . D e

Vi sse r, The Dragon in China and j apan,p. 72 .

2 The Dragon i n China and j apan,p. 1 3 7 .

3 T h e tem ple of th e Mexi can dragon and rain-god, T laloc, was calle d “ E p-coatl

wh ich s ign i fie s “pearl- serpent ” or

“serpent-pearl ” . Y oung ch i ldren sacrificed to

Tlalo c by be ing th rown into the wh irlpoo l (pan ti t Ian) of th e lake of Mexi co,w e real so calle d E p

- coat l”

. Th is sacrifi ce took place at the water fest ival in th e firstm onth of th e Mex ican y ear. T h e infants w e re sacri fice d at sev eral po ints, som e be ingbutch ere d on h o ly h i lls, i nclud ing th e place of m ugwort ”, sacre d to th e m ugwort andgem

-go dde ss Chalch ihui tl i cue, w i fe of Tlaloc. But on ly th e ch i ldren thrown into th e

lake w ere calle d “ E p-coatl ” .


T h e pearl, as we have seen, contained soul substancethe vital principle ” , the blood of the Great Mother, likethe “ j asper of I s is worn by women to promote birth

,

and therefore to multiply and prolong life ; in China andJapan the pearl was placed in the mouth of the dead topreserve the corpse from decay and ensure longevity orimmortality . The connection be tween j ewels and medicine is found among the Maya o f Central America . Ci t

Bolon Tun (the“ nine precious stones ”) was a god of

medicine . The godde ss Ix Tub Tun she who spits outprecious stones ” ) was the goddess o f the workers in j adeand amethysts ” . She lin k s with Tlaloc ’s wife .

According to Dr . W . G . Aston 1 lam a contains theroot of the verb tabn, to give more often met with i nits lengthened form tam afu. Tam a re tains i ts originalsignificance in lam a—m ono, a gift th ing, and toshi—dam a, anew year’s present . Tam a next means som ething valuable

,as a j ewe l . Then

,as j ewels are m ostly globular in

shape,2 i t has come to mean anything round . At the

same time,owing to i ts precious quality, i t is used sym bo li

cally for the sacred em anation from God which dwells inh is shrine

,and also for that most precious th ing, the

hum an life o r soul . The element tam a enters intothe names o f several de ities . T he food—goddess is calledeithe r Uhem och i no Kam i or Uha no m i—tam a .

” Phall icdeities are also re ferred to as m i - tam a . The m i - tam a i ssometimes used in much the sam e sense as the EgyptianKa i t is the spirit or double of a de ity which dwells in aShrine

,where i t is provid ed with a sh inta i god body

a j ewel,weapon

,stone

,mirror

,pillow

,or some such

obj ect .T he j ewels (lam a) worn by gods and human beings were

1 Sh i nto (L ondon, pp. 27 et seq.

2 Th is do e s no t se em to be th e re ason fo r th e sanct i ty of a round object.


3 3 s MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAPAN

lam a may correspond to the mani o f the Indian Buddh ists,

i t was not o f Buddh is t origin In Japan ; the Buddh i stssimply added to the stock of Japanese “ luck j ewels ” .

The lam a of j ad e has raised an interesting problem .

Nephrite is not found in Japan .

“ I t i s diffi cult ”,says

Laufer,“ to decide from what source, how and wh en the

nephrite or j adeite m aterial was transmitted to Japan .

”

Refe rring to j ade obj ects found in the preh istoric Japanesegraves

,he says : “ The j ewels m ay go back, after all, to

an early period when h istorical intercourse between Japanand China was not yet established ; they 1 represent twoclearly distinct and characteristic types, such as are notfound in the j ewe lry of ancient China . I f the Japanesem aga

- lam a and huda- lama would correspond to any knownChinese forms

,it would be possible to give a plausible

reason for the presence o f j ade in the ancient Japanesetombs ; but such a coincidence of type cannot be broughtforward . Nor is i t l ikely that s imilar p ie ces will be d iscovered in China,as nechlaces were nev er used there ancientlyor in m odern l im es. We must therefore argue that thetwo Japanese forms of ornamental stones were eitherindigenous inventions or borrowed from some other nonCh inese culture sphere in south- eastern As ia, the antiquit ies o f which are unknown to us .

” 2

The lam a is of great importance in Sh into rel igion .

At Ise,3 “ the Japanese Mecca ”

,which has long been

visited by pious pilgrims,a virgin daughter of the Mikado

used to keep watch over the three imperial insignia— themirror, the sword, and the j ewel (lam a)— which had beenhanded down from Mikado to Mikado . There were noidols in the temples . T he Sh inla i was carefully wrappedup and kept in a box in the “ holy of holies ”

,a screened

1 T he Maga-tam a and th e Kuda-tam a.

2j ade,pp. 3 5 3—4.

3 Ise i s th e nam e of a prov ince, and th e neare st town to th e Me cca"i s Yam ada.

Copyri gh t H . G Po ntm g, F R G S

T H E FAMOU S O L D TORI-WI (G ODDE S S SY MBOL ), MIYAJIMA, JAPA NMiy aJIm a o r Itskush im a ( Is la nd of L igh t ) is o ne o f th e S a n -K e i o r Th re e m o s t beaut ifuls ce n e s o f Japa n "

T h e i s land i s s acre d to B e nte n , th e G o dde s s o f th e S ea . o f B eauty . o fWealth -o ne o f the s e v e n D i v im tne s o f L uck (s e e T h e Japa ne s e Trea sure S h i p page



grain w h ich they eat is no o ther than the seed bestow ed on them

by the G ods of

The M ikado was thus, in a sense, a Japanese Osiris .Shinto religion was in pre -Buddhist days a system of

ceremonies and laws o n which the whole social structurere sted . The name is a Ch inese word meaning the wayof the gods ”

,the Japanese equivalent being Kam i no

m i c/i i . But although the gods we re numerous, only asmall proportion o f them played an important part in theritual (nari la), which was handed down orally by generations of priests until after the fifth century of our era

,

when a native script,based on Ch inese characters, came

into use .Old Shinto was concerned chiefly with the foodsupply,

with ch ild-getting,with the preservation of health, andprotection against calamities caused by floods, droughts,fire, or earthquakes . I t has l ittle or noth ing to sayregard ing the doctrine of immortality. There was noh eaven and no hell . T h e spirits of some o f thesedeities who died like ordinary mortals went to the land ofYomi

,as did also the spirit of the M ikado

,but l ittle i s

told regarding the mysterious Otherworld in wh ich dweltthe spiri ts of disease and death .

“ I n one passage of theN ihon—

gi,” says Aston,1 Yomi is clearly no more than a

metaphor for the grave . I t thus resembled the darkOtherworld or Und erworld of the Babylonians

,from wh ich

Gilgamesh summoned the spiri t o f his dead friend,

E a-bani .2 No spiri t of a god could escape from Yomiafter eating “ the food of the d ead When the Babylonian god Adapa, son of Ea,was summoned to appear inthe Otherworld, his father warned him not to accept of

1 S hinto pp. 1 5- 6.

2 K ing,Babylonian Religi on and My thology ,pp. 3 5, and 1 74 cl seq.


the water and food which would be offered h im .

1 Thegoddess Ishtar was struck with disease when she enteredHades in quest o f her lover

,the god Tammuz,and it was

not until she had been sprinkled with the water of lifethat she was healed and l iberated .

2

The Mikado,being a god, had a spiri t, and might be

transferred to Yomi or might ascend to heaven to thecelestial realm of his ancestress

,the sun - goddess . Some

distinguished men had spirits likewise . But the re is noClear evidence in the Koj i -hi or the N ihon-

gi that theSpirits of the common people went anywhere after death,or indeed

,that they were supposed to have spirits . Some

might become bird s,or badgers

,or foxes

,and live for a

period in these forms,and then die, as did some o f the

gods . There are no ghosts in the early Shinto books .3

The ancient Pharaohs o f Egypt,l ike the ancient

Mikados of Japan, were assured of immortality. Themortuary Pyramid Texts “ were all intended for the king’sexclusive use, and as a whole contain bel iefs wh ich applyonly to the king There are vague references in thesetexts to the dead “whose places are hidden and to thosewho remain in the grave .4 The fate of th e masses did notgreatly concern the solar cult .Before deal ing with the myths of Japan

,it i s necessary

to consider what the term ham i, usually translated “godssignified to the devotees of “ Old Sh i nto ”

. The ham iwere not spiri tual beings,but many o f them had spiri ts o rdoubles that res ided i n the sh inla i (god body) . Dr .Aston reminds us that although ham i “ corresponds in ageneral way to ‘god it has some important l imitations .The ham i are h igh, swift, good, ri ch, l iving but not

1 My ths of Baby lonia and A ssy ria,pp. 72-

3 .2 Ibi d .,p. 9 5.

3 Aston, Sh into p. 1 4.

4 Breasted,Religion and Thought in Anci ent Egypt,pp. 99 et seq.


infinite, omnipotent, or omniscient . Most o f them had afather and mother, and o f some the death is recorded .

” 1

I t behoves us to exercise caution in applying the termanimistic ” to the numerous ham i of Japan, or in assuming that they were worshipped, or reverenced rather,s imply because they were feared . Some o f the ham i werefeared

,but the fear o f the god s is not a particular fe ature

o f Sh into religion with its ceremonial hand- clappings andhappy laughter .Dr . Aston quotes from Mo toori, the great e ighteenth

century Shinto theologian,the following illuminating

statement regarding the ham z

T he term ham i is applied in the first place to the variousde it ies of h eaven and earth w ho are m ention ed in th e anc ientrecords as w ell as to the ir spirits (m i- lam a) w h ich reside in the

shrines wh ere they w ere w orsh ipped . Moreov er, no t only hum anbe ings, but b irds, beasts,plants, and trees, seas and m ountains, andall o ther th ings whatsoev er w h ich deserve to be dreaded and

re vered for the ex traord inary and pre-em inen t pow e rs w h ich they

possess are called ham i . Th ey n eed no t be em in ent for surpassingnobleness, or serv iceablen ess alone . Malignan t and un cannybe ings are also called ham i if only th ey are obje c ts of general dread .

Am ong ham i w ho are hum an be ings, I n eed hardly m en tion first ofall, th e successive Mikados— with rev erence be it spoken Thenth ere hav e been num erous exam ples of d iv ine hum an be ings, bo thin anc i ent and m odern t im es,who, although no t acc epted by the

nation generally,are treate d as gods, each of h is Sev eral d ignity,in a Single prov ince, v illage, or fam ily.

”

In ancient Egypt the reigning monarch was similarlya god— a Horus while h e l ived and an Osiris after he died,while a gre at scholar l ike Imhotep (the Im uthes of theGreeks in Egypt who identified him with A Sk lepo is)might be deified and regarded as the son of Ptah, the god

1 Shinto p. 6.



(west), and the Blue o r Green Dragon (east) . TheJapane se colour scheme, however, is no t the same as theChinese . At the north is the blue god Bisham on o r

T am o ten ; at the south the white—faced warrior Zocho ;at the west the red- faced Kom oku with book and brushor a spear ; and at the east the warrior with green face

,

named Jikoku,who is some times Shown trampling a demonunder foot .In India the north is white and the south black

,and

in Ceylon the Buddhist colours of the cardinal points areyellow (north), blue (south), red (west), and white (east) .Although it i s customary to regard the coloured

guardians o f the Japanese world as o f Buddhist origin,i t

may well be that the original Japanese guardians weresubsti tuted by the Hindu and Ch inese d ivinities importedby the Buddhists . The dragon-gods of China and Japanwere pre—Buddhistic, as D e Visser has Shown,

1 but weregiven

,in addition to their original attributes

,those o f the

naga (serpent or dragon) gods introduced by Buddhis tpriests .

1 The Dragon i n Chi na and j apan.

CHA PTER XV I I I

Japane se G ods and Dragons

Japanese Ve rsion o f E gyptian Flood My th— A Far E astern Me rodachDragon—slay ing S to ry— T h e R iv e r of Blood— Osi ri s as a S lain DragonA nc ient Shin to Bo oks — Sh into Cosm ogo ny

— Separat ion of H eaven and E arth

— T h e Cosm ic “ Reed S hoo t ”and th e N ig

-

gi l-m a— T he Celest ial Jewel Spear

— Iz anagi and Iz anam i — Bi rths of De i t i es and Island s— T he Dragons of

Japan— T he Wan i— Bear, H o rse, and o the r Dragons— H o rse- sacrifice in

Japan— Buddhi st E lem ents in Japanese Dragon L o re— Ind ian N agas — Ch inese

Dragons and Japanese Wate r- Snakes .

There i s no Shinto myth regarding the creation o f

man ; the Mikados and the Chiefs o f tribe s were descendants o f deit ies . Nor is there a Deluge Myth like theAinu one, involving the destruction of all but a remnantof mankind . The Chinese story about N uKwa

,known to

the Japane se as Jokwa,was apparently imported with the

beliefs associated with the j ade wh ich that mythical que enor goddess was supposed to have created after she hadcaused the flood to retreat,but i t does not find a place inthe ancient Shin to books . There is

,however

,an interest

ing version o f the Egyptian flood story which has beenfused with the Babylonian Tiamat dragon— S laying myth .

Susa—no -wo,1 a Far Eastern Marduk, slays an eightheaded

dragon and spl its up its body,from which he takes a

Spiri t- sword— an avatar o f the monste r .Hathor - Sekhet, of the Egyptian myth, was made

drunk, so that she might cease from slaying mankind,

1 S e e Chapte r XX.

3 45


and a flood o f blood— red beer was poured from jarsfor that purpose . Susa—no —wo provides sake (rice beer)to intoxicate the dragon which has be en coming regularlyapparently once a year— for a daughter of an earth god .

When he slays i t, the River Hi i s “ changed into a rivero f bloodAnother vers ion of the Egyptian myth

,as the Pyramid

Texts bear evidence, appears to refer to the Red Nileof the inundation season as the blood o f Osiris

,who

had been felled by Set at N edy t, near Abydos .1 Lucian

tells that the blood o f Adonis was S imilarly believed toredden each year the flooded River o f Adonis

,flowing

from Lebanon, and that “ i t dyed the sea to a large Spacered

”

.

2 Here Adonis i s th e Osiris o f the Byblians .

Osiris, as we have seen, had a dragon form ; he was thedragon of th e Nile flood, and th e world- surroundingdragon o f ocean .

3 He was also the earth—giant ; tree andgrain grew from his body .

4 The body of the eightheaded Japanese dragon was covered with moss and trees .Susa— no—wo , as the rescuer of the doomed maiden,

l inks with Pe rseus, the re scuer of Androm eda from thewater- d ragon .

5 The custom of sacrificing a maiden tothe Nile each year obtained in Ancient Egypt . In theTiamat form o f the Babylonian myth

,Marduk cut the

channels o f the dragon ’s blood and “ made the northwind bear it away into secret places ” .

6 The stories ofP ’an Ku o f China and the Scandinavian Yme r, each of

1 Bre aste d,Religion and T hought in A nci ent E gypt,p. 26 T he Texts re fe rre d to are

H i s bro th e r S e t fe l le d h im to th e earth in N edy t . Osiri s w as drowne d in h i sn ew wate r (the 2 D e Dea Sy ria, Chapte r VIII.

3 Bre asted,op. ci t., p. 20 . Os iri s w as addresse d : “ Th ou art gre at, thou art green, inthy nam e of G reat G re e n (S ea) ; 1 0, th ou art round as th e G re at C i rcle (Ok e anos) ; lo,thou art turne d about, th ou art round as th e c i rcle that encircles th e H aunebu

4 Ibi d ., 22—3 .

5 For various v ers ions of th i s legen d se e H artland, L egend of Perseus and Ri v er

de i ti es in Ind ex .6 K ing,B aby lonian Religi on,p. 77 .



The myth of the separation of Heaven and Earthdates back to rem ote antiqui ty in Egypt . Shu

,the

atmosphere - god, separated the Sky—goddess Nut fromthe earth—god Seb . I n Polynesian mythology Rangi

(Heaven), and Papa (Earth), from whom“ all things

originated were “ rent apart by Tane-mahuta,

“ the

god and father o f forests, o f birds,of insects ” . But

in th is case the earth i s the mother and the S ky thefather . 1

About the Thre e Deities referred to by Y asum aro,

we do no t learn much . The idea of the trin ity m ay havebeen of Ind ian origi n . The Passive and Active Essencesrecall the m ale T ang and its female T in principles o f

Ch i na . These are repre sented in the Koj i—hi by Izanagi(“ Male who I nvites ” ) and Izanami (

“ Female who

Dr . Aston translates the open ing passage of theN ihon-

gi as follows :

Of old, Heaven and E arth were not ye t separated, and the

In and the Y o no t ye t d iv ided . Th ey form ed a chaot ic m ass likean egg, wh ich w as of obscurely defined lim its, and containedgerm s. T h e purer and clearer part was th inly d iffused and form ed

Heav en,w h ile th e h eav ier and grosser elem ent Se ttled dow n and

becam e E arth . T he finer elem ent easily becam e a united body,but the consolidat ion of the h eavy and gross elem ent was accom

pl ished w ith difficulty. Heav en was therefore form ed first, and

E arth establish ed subsequently. Th ereafter d iv ine be ings wereproduced betw een them .

”

Here we meet with the cosmic egg, from whichemerged the Ch inese P ’an Ku

,the Indian Brahma

,th e

Egyptian Ra or Horus,and one o f the Polynesian

creators . I t migh t be held that China i s the sourceo f the Japanese myth

,because the In and the T o are

1 G rey,Poly nesian My thology,pp. 1 et seq.

JAPANESE GODS AN D DRAGON S 3 49

here, quite evidently the T ang and the T in, representingnot Izanagi and Izanami as in the Ko—j i—hi, but the deitieso f heaven and earth . But the Koj i—hi form of the mythmay be the oldest

,and we may have in the N ihon-

gi

evidence of Chinese ideas having been superimposed o n

those already obtain ing in Japan,into which they were

imported from other areas .But to return to the Creation myth . An ancient native

work, the Kiu—j i -hi,which has not ye t been translated intoEnglish

,refers to seven gene rations o f gods, beginning

with one o f doubtful sex, i n whose untranslatable namethe sun,moon, earth, and moisture are mentioned . Th i sFirs t Parent of the deities was the offspring of Heavenand Earth . The last couple is Izanagi and Izanami

,

brother and s ister, l ike Osiri s and Isis, who became manand wife .According to the Koy i - hi the first three deities came

into being in Taham a- no—hara,the “ Plain of High

Heaven ”. They were alone

,and afterwards disappeared

,

i . e . died . The narrative continue s : “ The names of thedeities that were born next from a th ing that sprouted uplike unto a reed- shoot when the earth

,young and like

unto floating oil, drifted about medusa- l ike,1 were the

Pleasant Reed Shoot Prince Elder Deity,next the

Heavenly-Eternal ly- Standing-Deity . These two Deit ieswere likewise born alone

,and h id their persons .” 2 Earth

and mud deities followed, and also the other de ities whowere before Izanagi and Izanami .I t may be that the “ reed- shoot was the Japanese

nig-

giZ-m a . (See Chapter XII I .) As in one of the early

1 L ike th e Float ing Island or Islands of the Bles t.2 “ H id th e i r persons " s ign ifie s, accord ing to som e com m entators, that th ey d ied.

But certain E gypt ian de i t ies we re “ h i dden”

; the ir influence rem ained : the Japane seh idden de i ty had a

“m i-tam a

”

(soul) .


Sumerian texts, the mysterious plant, impregnated withpreserving and perpetuating “ l ife substance ”

,was the

second product of Creation .

Izanagi and Izanami were told by the elder deitiesthat they must make, consolidate, and give birth to th isd rifting land They were then give n the Am e no lam aboho, the

“ Celestial Jewel- spear ” . I t i s suggested thatthe spear is a phall i c sym bol . The j ewel (tama) i s “ l ifesubstance ” Izanagi and Izanami stood o n

“ the floatingbridge o f heaven ”, which Aston identifies with the rainbow, o r, as some Japanese scholars put i t, the HeavenlyRock Boat or “ Heavenly Stairs ” , and pushed downthe lam a—boho and groped with it unti l they found theocean . According to the Koj i—hi, they stirred the brineuntil i t went curdle - curdle (howoro that is

,as

Chamberlain suggests,

“ th ick and glutinous Othersthink the passage should be translated so as to ind icatethat the brine gave forth “ a curdling sound ” Whenthe prim mv al waters and the oily mud began to curdle

”

or“ cook ”

, the de it ie s drew up the spear. Some of thecosmic “ porridge ” dropped from th e point and formedan island

,which was named Onogoro self- curd ling ”

,or

“ self- condensed The deities descended from heavenand erected on the i sland an eight- fathom house1 witha central pillar. Here we meet with the an iconic pillar,the “ herm of Kam schatkan religion, the pillar of theVedic world—house e rected by the Aryo —Indian god Indra,the “ branstock ” of Scandinavian re l igion

,the p illar o f

the “ Lion Gate o f Mycenae ; the pillar” i s the “ world

spine l ike the Indian Mount Meru .

2 “ The centralpillar o f a house (corresponding to our king- post) is,

”

writes Dr . Aston,

“ at the present day,an obj ect of

1 E igh t i s a sacre d num ber in Japan .

2 S ee My ths of Crete and pre—H ellenic E urope,pp. 30 5-

9 .



form o f H irum e, the sun female .” 1 The sun and moon

had no t, however, come into existence when he was setadrift, and it m ay be that as the

“ leech- child ” he wasa star . He became identified in time with Ebisu (orYebisu), god of fishermen, and one of the gods of

luck .

Izanagi and Izanami had subsequently as ch ildren theeight islands of Japan

,and although other islands came

into existence later, Japan was called Land- of- the-Eightgreat- Islands ” (Oho—ya—shima-huni ) .

“When,continues

the Ko-j i-hi,“ they (Izanagi and Izanami) had finished

giving birth to countries they began afresh, giving birthto deities (ham i) . These included “ Heavenly-BlowingMale ”,

“ Youth of the Wind ”

, the sea-ham i, “ GreatOcean - Possessor ”, “ Foam Calm ”

,“ Foam Waves ”

Heavenly-Water - Divider ” , or “Water - Distributor

(ed m e-no- m i—hum ari - no - ham i), and the deities of mountains, passes, and valleys .According to the N ihon-

gi, the gods of the sea towhom Izanagi and Izanam i gave birth are called Wa la

lsum i, wh ich means sea ch ild ren or, as Florenz translates i t

,Lords o f the Sea ” Wa la

,so like our water ”,

i s “an Old word for sea I t is probable that

,as De

Visser says,

“ the o ld Japanese sea-gods were snakes ordragons ” 2

In the Ko-j z-hi two groups o f eigh t deities are followed by “ the Deity B ird ’s—Rock- Camphor—Tree—Boat ”

,

another nam e for th is ham i being Heavenly Bird-BoatThen came the food-goddess,

“ Deity Princess- of—GreatFood She was followed by the fire -

god, hagu—tsuch i .

This deity caused the death of h is mother Izanami,

having burned her at birth so severely that she sickened

1 Shinto p. 1 3 2 .

2 The Dragon in China and Japan,p. 1 3 7.



rain and “ dragon According to DeVisser,Kura- okam i

i s a d ragon or snake—god who controls rain and snow,and had Shinto temples “ i n all provinces ” . Anotherreading in the N ihon—

gi states that one of the three godswho came into being from the pieces of the fire-god’sbody was Taha- oham i a name which, according to aJapanese commentator, means

“ the dragon-god residingo n the mountains ”,while Kura- oham i means “ the dragongod of the valleys ” .

1 The second god born from theblood drops from the upper part of the Sword, Kara

y am a- lsum i, i s translated Lord of the Dark Mountains ”,

and Mountain- snake and the th ird, Kura-m i lsu- ha, i sDark-water- snake ” or Valley-water- snake ” . According to the Koj i -hi, the deities Kura—oham i and Kura—m i tsu

ha came from the blood that leaked out between Izanagi’sfingers .I t is of interest to note here that other dragon deit ies

to which Izanagi and Izanami gave origin, included them i z uchi or “ water fathers ” , wh ich are referred to as

“ horned deities ”, “ four - legged d ragons ”, or “ largewater- snakes ” . As Aston notes,

2 these “ water fathers ”had no individual names ; they were prayed to for rain intimes of drought . Another sea- dragon ch ild o f the greatcouple was the wani,which appears to have been a combination of crocodile and Shark . Aston th inks that wani isa Korean word . De Visser, on the other hand, i s ofopinion that the wani i s the o ld Japanese dragon-god orsea-god, and that the legend about the Abundant PearlPrincess (Toy o- lam a- bim e)

3who had a human lover and,

l ike Melus ina, transformed herself from human shapeinto that of a wani (Ko-j i —hi) or a dragon (N ihon-

gi ), wasoriginally a Japanese serpent-dragon, wh ich was dressed

1 D e Vi sser,op. ci t.,pp. 1 3 5- 6.2 S hinto p. 73 .

2 S e e Index unde r w ani .

JAPANESE GODS AND DRAGONS 3 55

in Indian garb by later generations ” 1 Florenz,the G er

man Oriental ist,th inks the legend is of Chinese origin,

but a similar one i s found in Indonesia . Wani,” De

Visser says,

“ may be an Indonesian word,and it i s pos~

sible,as he sugge sts

,that foreign invaders,who in pre

h istoric times conquered Japan, came from Indonesia andbrought the myth with them .

” 2

There is a reference in the N ihon-

gi (Chapter I) to abear-wani

,eight fathoms long ”

,and it has been sug

gested that “ bear ” means here noth ing more than“ strong ”

.

3 The Ainu,however, as we have seen (ChapterXVI I), associated bear and dragon deities ; the beargodde ss was the wife of the dragon—god, and that goddesshad

,l ike the Abundant Pearl Princess, a human lover.

Bear—wani ” may therefore have been a bear—dragon .

There was a dragon- horse with a long neck and wingsat its S ides wh ich flew through the ai r

,and did not sink

when it trod upon the water,4 and there were withal

Japanese crow- dragons, toad- dragons, fish-dragons,and

l izard—dragons .The horse played as prominent a part in Japanese

rain-getting and rain- stopp ing ceremonies as did the bearamong the Ainu . White, black, or red horses wereoffered to bring rain, but red horses alone were sacrificedto stop rain . Like the Buriats of Siberia and the AryoIndians of the Vedic period, the Japanese made use of thedomesticated horse at the dawn of their h istory. Nodoubt i t was imported from Korea . There is evidencethat at an early period human beings were sacrificed to theJapanese dragon—gods of rivers, lakes, and pools . HumanSacrifices at tombs are also referred to . I n the N ihon-

gi,

under the legendary date 2 B .C.

, i t i s related that when a1 The Dragon in Ch i na and Japan,p. 1 40 .

2 Ibi d., pp. 1 41— 2 .

2 D e V i sse r, op. ci t.,pp. 1 3 9—

40 .4 De Visse r, op. ci t.,pp. 1 47 et seq.

3 56 MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAP AN

Mikado died h is personal attendants were buried al ive inan upright position bes ide h is tomb .

1

I n h is notable work on the dragon,M . W . de Visser2

shows that the Chinese ideas regarding their four- leggeddragon and Indian Buddh ist ideas regarding nagas wereintroduced into Japan and fused with local ideas regardingserpent- S haped water-gods . The foreign elements addedto ancient Japanese legends have

,as has been indicated,

made their original form obscure . In the dragon placenames of Japan, however, i t i s still poss ible to trace thelocations of the ancient Sh into gods who were mostlyserpent- Shaped . An ancient name for a Japanese dragonis Tatsu. D e Visser notes that Tatsu no Kuchi (

“Dragon’smouth ”) is a common place- name . I t i s given to a hotspring in the Nomi district, to a waterfall in Koj im ach i

district, to a h ill in Kamakura district, where criminalswere put to death

,and to mountains

,&c.,

e lsewhere .Ta lsaga hana (

“Dragon ’s nose is in Taga district ; Talsuhushi (

“ Dragon’s skewer ” ) i s a rock in Tosa province ;and so o n . Chinese and Indian dragons are in Japaneseplace-names “ ryu ” or ryo ” . These include Rya-ga-m ine

(“ Dragon ’s peak in Higo ; Ryu—

ga—lahe (

“ Dragon’speak ”

) i n I se ; Ryu-han—

gawa (“ Dragon ’s rest river in

Tok yo,&c .

The worship of the Water Fathers or Dragons inJapan was necessary SO as to ensure the foodsupply .

1 A ston, S hinto p. 56 and pp. 2 1 9- 20 .

2 The Dragon in China and Japan,pp. 2 3 1 cl seq.



food o f Yomi . Nevertheless, i t i s my desire to return .

I will therefore Speak with the ham i of Yomi .” 1 Sheadded in warn ing

,Look no t at me !

Izanami then went back to the place she had comefrom . She tarried there for so long a time that Izanagigrew impatient . At length he fe lt he could not wait anylonger, so he broke o ff the end tooth o f his hair- comb

,

which is called the male pillar and thus made a l ight,and entered .

2 He found his s ister . Her body wasrotting, and maggots swarmed over i t . The Koj i—hiproceed s

In her h ead dw elt the Great Thunder,in her breast dwelt

the Fire Thunder, in h er belly dw elt th e Black Thunder, in h erprivate parts dw elt the Cleav ing Thunder, in h er left hand dw eltth e Young Thunder, in h er righ t hand dw elt the E arth Thunder,in her left foo t dw elt the Rum bling Thunder, in h er righ t footdw elt the Couchant Thunder ; altogether e ight thunder de it ieshad been born and dw elt th ere .

”

H orrified at the spectacle, Izanagi drew back suddenly ;whereupon his s ister exclaimed,

“ You have put me toshame ! and became angry .

Here Izanagi has broke n a taboo, as did the Japaneseyouth who married the dragon ~m aid, Abundant PearlPrincess

,and as did the husband of Melusina in the

French legend . I t was an ancient custom in Japan toerect “ parturition houses ” . These were one—room edhuts to which women retired so as to give birth tochildren unseen . Ernest Satow tells that on the islando f H ach ij o, until comparatively recent t imes,

“ women,

when about to become mothers, were driven out tothe huts on the mountain- side, and according to the

1 T he spirits of d isease, decay,destruct ion, and dark ne ss.2 Th i s phal l i c sym bol had, apparently, l ik e j ad e, rh inoceros-horn, &c., nocturnal

lum inos i ty .

DEITIES OF LIFE AND DEATH 3 59

accounts of native writers,left to sh ift for themselves,

the result not infrequently being the death of the newborn infant ” .

1 I t was taboo for a man to enter a “ parturi tion house Apparently Izanami had retired to a“ parturition house ” i n Yomi .Enraged against Izanagi

,because he had put her to

Shame, Izanami commanded the Ugly Females o f Yom ito pursue and S lay him .

At this point in the myth ical narrative begins a versionof the widespread folk- story about the young man whomakes escape from his enemy or enemies

,and in the

course of his fl ight throws down articles that are transformed into obstacles, or into th ings wh ich tempt thepursuers to tarry and eat .2

The first article that Izanagi cast down beh ind h imwas his wreath or head-dress

,which was instantly turned

into grapes . Th i s is according to the Ko-j i -hi ; theN ihon-

gi makes the head- dress the second obstacle . Hispursuer (Ko-j i -hz) or pursuers (N ihon—

gi), having devouredthe grapes, resumed the chase . Then Izanagi, as hefled, broke his hair—comb and threw it down ; i t instantlyturned into bamboo sprouts . Wh ile these were beingpull ed up and eaten, he continued h i s fl ight .The Ko-j i -hi (but not the N ihon—

gi) here introducesanothe r set of pursuers . Izanami, finding that herbrother had outwitted the Ugly Female (or Females),“ sent the eight Thunder-Deitie s with a thousand andfive hundred warriors o f Hades to pursue h im . Izanagi

,

drawing the ten-grasp sabre that was augustly girded on

h im, fled forward, brandish ing it i n his back hand(brandish ing it behind h im) ; and as the demons still

1 T ransactions qfA siati c Soci eg» qf j apan,Vol. VI,Part III,pp. 455- 6.

2 For repre sentativ e v e rs ions in v ar ious lands, se e Andrew L ang’

s Custom and My th

(A Far-trav e lle d T al e),pp. 87 e t seq.


continued to pursue h im,he took, o n reach ing the base

o f the Even Pass o f Hades,1 three peaches that were

growing at i ts base,and waited and smote (his pursuers

therewith) so that they all fled back .

” 2

Having thus rid h imself o f his pursuers, Izanagiaddressed the peaches

,saying : “ As you have helped me,

so must ye help all l iving people in the Central Land o fReed-Plains

,when they are troubled and harassed ”

.

Here we have not only a native name of Ch ina(“ Land o f Reed-Plains applied to Japan, but also thesacred Ch inese peach, a symbol o f the Great Mother,the Western Queen o f Immortals (Si Wang Fu) . Thestory o f a hero’s fl ight from the Underworld has notsurvived in China, if ever it existed there . I t is, however, found in the myths of Scandinavia .I n the N ihon—

gi (Aston) the comment is added to thepeach incident : “ This was the origin of the custom ofexorcis ing evil spirits by means of peachesThe peach

,l ike the bean

, was in Japan a symbol o fthe mother-goddess, as was the shell i n Egypt and thepig- shell in Greece .Izanami herself was the last to pursue Izanagi . When

he saw her coming, Izanagi blocked up the Pass of Yomiwith a huge boulder of rock, wh ich i t would take athousand men to lift

,and he stood o n one S ide o f It

while she stood on the other to exchange leave- takings(Ko-j i —hi), or to pronounce the formula of divorce(N ihon-

gz) .

I n the Koj z- hi Izanami threatens to S lay a thousandinhabitants in the land of the living, but Izanagi retorts

1 Or Flat H i ll of H ades”

, th e front ier line be twe en th e land of th e l iv ing and th e

land of th e de ad .2 In th e A inu story about the m an who v is i ted the U nderworld and was transform e d

into a snak e, a pine tree, inhabi te d by a goddess, occupi es the spo t on wh i ch grows th epeach tre e in th is Japanese m y th .


DEITIES OF LIFE AND DEATH 3 6 1

that he will arrange for the birth o f one thousand andfiv e hundred, so that the number born may exceed thenumber who must die .Izanami became thereafter T om o- lsu—oho-ham i (Y om i

’

s

Great Deity) .1 The rock which blocks the Pass of Yomi

became the Great-De i ty—of- the—Road—Turning—back ”.

In the JVihon—

gi (Aston’s translation) i t i s related that

Izanagi flung down various articles on leaving Hades, asthe godde ss I shtar in Babylon ian mythology flung downher cloth ing and ornaments on entering the dread abodeof B rish—ki—gal (Pe rsephone) . Having pronounced thedivorce formula

H e also said, Com e no farther’

,and threw down h is staff,

which w as calle d Funana'o—no-ham i (pass-not-place- de ity),or Kanado

no-ham i (com e-no t-place-de ity) . More ov er,h e threw down his girdle,w h ich was called N agachi ha

—no-ham i . Moreov er, h e threw downh is upper garm ent

,wh ich w as called Wadz urahi-no-ham i (god

of d isease). Moreover, h e threw down h is trousers,wh ich w ere

called Ahi—guhi - no—ham i . Moreov er h e threw down h is sho es,wh ich w ere called Chi-shihi-no-ham i .

On return ing to the land o f the l iving, Izanagiexclaimed : “ I have come from a h ideous and pollutedplace . I will therefore perform the purification o f myaugust body .

”

He went to bathe at a river mouth on a plain coveredwith bush- clover, bes ide a grove of orange trees confronting the sun . I t i s here, according to the Koj i -hi, that hefl ings down h i s staff and the various articles of cloth ingthat are transformed into d eitie s . Two evil deit ies wereborn from the filth of Hades that fe ll from his personwhen he entered the water . He dived, and three sea

gods came into being . He washed his left eye,and thus

gave origin to the goddess of the sun,Am a— lerasu- oho—m i

1 T he Japane se Pe rseph one .


ham i (The Heaven- Shining-Great—August-Deity) . Hewashed h i s right eye

,and there came into be ing the god

o f the moon, Tsuhi—y om i—no—ham i (Moon-Night-Posse ssor).He washed his nose, and from it was born Tahe-hayasusa- no-wu—no—m ihol 01 (His-Brave- Swift - Impetuous —MaleAugustness) .Izanagi took off h i s necklace of j ewe ls or beads (tama),

and,Shaking it so that the beads j ingled

,bestowed it on

Ama—terésu, the sun kami or goddess, and set her to rulethe “ Plain o f High Heaven ” He commanded themoon-

god to rule the night, and Susa- no-wo to rule the“ Sea Plain

“ At this point,as Chamberlain says,

“ the storyloses its un ity . The m oon- goddess is no more heard of

,

and the traditions concerning the sun-goddess dive rgefrom those concern ing the ‘Impetuous—Male—Deity

’ ina manner which is productive o f i nconsistencies i n there st o f the mythology.

”2

Chambe rlain translates Susa-no—wo as “ ImpetuousMale-De ity ”

, connecting h is name with susam a,“ to be

impetuous But,as Aston points out, the implied noun

susa,“ impetuosity ” , does not exist . There is, however,

a town named Susa in Id z um o,3 with which are a the

legends regarding the god are specially associated. Susano -wo m ay therefore have been simply

“ the god ofSusa ” . Aston, following Dr . Buckley, Chicago, regardshim as a personification of the rain- storm . Japanesewriters, on the other hand, have connected him withG odz u Tenno, an Indian Hade s d ei ty, and with themoon-god, or regarded him as a war- god, while someEuropean scholars have refe rred to h im as a “ rotatingheavens god ”

. Having been born from the nose of1 Susa-no-wo

”for short. 2 Things j apanese,p. 1 45.

2 Sh i nto p. 1 4 1 .



im itated these Chinese customs,but not

,however

,until

about the eleventh century .

1

As a trickster among the gods, Susa- no-wo bears someresemblance to the Scandinavian Loki ; he is, like thatd ei ty, an ally of the powe rs o f darkness and destruction,and he S imilarly suffers ban ishment from the celestialland . Susa—no-wo also recalls Ne rgal, the Babylonianwarr ior-god, who conquered Hade s, and was

“ the deathspre ade r ” (Mushlabarrii -m ii lanu) .The de ities o f the sun and moon proceeded to rule

the day and the night as commanded by their parentIzanagi

,but Susa—no-wo did not depart to the ocean,

which had been committed to h is charge ; i nstead, hecried and wept until h is eight—grasp beard reached thepit of h i s stomach . Says the Koj i—hi z

T h e fash ion of h is w e eping w as such as by h is w eeping to

dry up all the riv ers and Seas . For th is reason the sound o f bad

de it ies was like unto th e fl ies of the fifth m oon as th ey all swarm ed,

and in all things ev ery porten t of w oe arose .

”

The reference to the god’s tears causing the greenmountains to wither and the waters to dry up has greatlyperplexed Japanese commentators . But there are statements in Asian and American mythologies regarding“ evil ” or

“ poisonous rain ” distributed, to the inj ury o fvege tation

,by dragons that may be s ick or badly disposed

towards m ankind . De Visser refe rs to a Buddhist legendabout a poisonous Naga that guarded a big tree and killedall those who took a branch from it ; when angry it sentthunder and rain .

2 Central Asian legends tell that evilrains were sent out of season by disturbed and enragedd ragons . A Chinese story tells o f a S ick dragon that,

1 D e Vi sser, The Dragon in China and j apan,pp. 8 3 et seq.

2 Ibid .,p. 1 5 .

DEITIES OF LIFE AND DEATH 3 65

having been roused by prayers, gave“ a badly—smelling

rain which would have spoiled the crops if a divinerhad not discovered it in time and cured the dragonat the latter’s request Thereupon a fertil izing rainfell and a very clear Spring dashed forth from arock .

1

In Ancient Egypt the deities wept Vi talizing tears (seeIndex) . Ra’s tears gave life to gods and men, the tearsof the god Shu and th e godde ss T efnut became incensebearing trees . The tears o f Osiris and Is is caused l ifegiving herbs

, &c .

,to grow

,but the tears shed o n the

world by the evi l Set and his partisans producedpoisonous plants . When deities were enraged, theirsaliva

,sweat

,and blood on touch ing the earth ger

m inated and produced poisonous plants, scorp ions,Serpents

,&c .

2

The Chinese Buddhists bel ieved in a Naga that, bymeans of a S ingle drop of water

,could give rain to one or

two kingdoms, and even prevent the sea from drying up.

s

S imilarly a S ingle tear from Isis—Hathor, as the star Sirius,that fe ll on the “Night of the Drop ”

,caused the Nile to

rise in flood .

The blighting and ocean-drying tears o f Susa- no-wowere evidently those of an evil or angry de ity, o r of one

wh o was sick with sorrow .

Izanagi, beholding the ocean- rul er in tears, asked h imwhy he wailed and wept .Susa- no-wo made answer : “ I wail because I wish to

d epart to the land o f my dead mothe r (Izanami) in theNether-Distant Land (Yomi, i . e . Hades)Izanagi was very angry

,and said : “ I f that be so, you

1 The Dragon in Ch i na and Japan,p. 1 2 1 .

2Maspe ro,Daw n of Ci v i l i z ati on,pp. 1 56 et seq.2 De Vi sse r, The Dragon in China and j apan,p. 1 3 .


shall no t dwell in the ocean domain He then banishedSusa- no-wo to Afum i . l

Susa- no —wo made answer that he would first take leaveof h is s iste r

,Ama—terfisu, goddess of the sun . H e rose

in the air, as does a thunder- bringing dragon . Says the

(With these words) h e forthw ith wen t up to Heav en,whereupon all the m ountains Shook,and e very land and coun try quaked.

So Am a—terésu,alarm ed at the no ise,said : ‘T he reason of the ascen th ith er of H is Augustness m y e lder bro ther2 is sure ly no good intent .It is only that h e w ishes to wrest m y land from m e .

’ ” 3

The goddess unbound her hair,twisted it into bunches,

put on her string o f five hundred curved j ewels (m agalam a

,i .e . claw and armed herself with bow and

arrows . She stood “valiantly l ike unto a mighty man ”,and asked her brother why he had ascended . Susa- no-wodeclared h e had no evil intention

,and she asked h im to

give proof o f h is sincerity and goodwill . He proposedthat they S hould pledge their faith and produce chi ld ren . To this she consented, and they

“ swore to eachothe r from the oppos ite banks of the Tranquil Rive rof Heaven ” 5

Am a- terasu asked Susa- no-wo for h i s sword . He gaveit to her and she broke it into three pieces . She thenmad e a j ingling sound with her j ewels, brandished andwashed them in the True—POOl-Well of Heaven6 and“ crunch ingly crunched them ”

. Then from the mist (of

1 T h e m odern Om i, Afum i (Ah a-hum i ), Fresh-wate r L ake Cham berlain,Transacti ons qf A siati c S ociety of j apan,V o l . X (supplem ent), p. 45, n. 1 2.

2 That i s, the e lde r broth e r of h er fam i ly . H e w as really y ounge r than h erse lf.3 A s th e Baby lon ian Ne rgal w rested H ade s from E re sh-k i-gal (Pe rs ephone).T h e ao-calle d “ com m a- shape d " be ads, wh i ch repre sented th e c laws of t ige rs o r

bears, or a cut sea-sh e l l .5 T h e Mi lky Way by n igh t, also cal le d th e H eav enly Riv e r of E igh t currents

(or reach e sT he anc ient E gypt ian Ce le st i al Poo l of th e G ods.



the victory He then proceeded to harry the celestialregions . He broke down the divis ions of the rice-fields,filled up the ditches, and fouled with excrement and urinethe palace in which the goddess took food . He becameeven more violent . Having broken open a hole in thesacred house in which sat Ama—terfisu superintending theweaving o f the garments of de it ies

,he le t fall into it a

heavenl y piebald horse that had been flayed backwards

(a criminal offence) . The celestial female weavers wereterrified .

Al armed by Susa- no-wo’s doings, the sun - goddessentered her cave, the Heavenly Rock Dwelling,

1 shut thedoor and made it fast . Al l the land became dark .

Then the eight hundred myriad deities took counsel,

s itting in the bed of the River of Heaven, so as to plan

how they could entice the sun—godde ss from her h idingplace . They made the cocks (“ the long- singing birds ofeternal night ”) to crow loud, they caused the HeavenlySmith to S hape a mirror o f iron (the

“ true me tal ”) fromthe Heavenly Metal-Mountains (the mines), and chargedthe Jewel-Ancestor (Tam a-noya

- no-m iholo) to make a com

plete string of five hundred curved j ewels . A tree wasthen taken from . the celestial Mount Kagu2 and on i twere hung the mirror

,the j ewel

,cherry bark, and other

offerings . The ritual was recited, and thereafter eAm a—no

Uz um e (the Dread Celestial Female),wearing metal headgear (flowers of gold and s ilver) and a sash of club-mossfrom the celestial mountain

,and holding in her hands a

posy of bamboo grass,danced on a tub3 until the eight

hundred myriad deities laughed . Wondering to hearsounds o f merriment, instead of sounds of woe, the sun

1 In Anci ent E gypt th e m ountain that spl i ts wh en th e sun em e rge s at dawn.

2 T h e tree Sakaki (Clgtera j aponi ca) planted be s i de Sh into sh rines .

3 T h e dance was a gross an d inde l i cate one .



were suspended from trees as in the celestial regions,while the straw rope was utilized to keep back demonsand to ensure the ris ing of the sun by preventing theretreat of the sun-goddess .The finding of the dragon- Sword is dealt with in the

next mythical story.

CHAPTER XX

T he Dragon— Slaye r and H i s Rival

T h e E igh t- h eaded Dragon— Sacrifices ofMai dens— H ow th e Dragon was

intox i cated and slain— Find ing of the Dragon-swo rd— T he N uptial H ouse

A dv entures of Ohonam och i— T h e Jealous B ro the rs— Fligh t of Ohonam o chi to

H ades— Susa-no -wo as Giant-god of H ades— Princess Fo rward— F ar E asternVersion of Jack -and-th e-Beanstalk S to ry— T he L i fe- swo rd,L ife-bow and arrows,&c .

— Ohonam och i’

s Conquest of Japanu A Japanese Od in— A nother C reationMy th— T h e E lfin De i ty in Bi rd Sk ins— A Sh in ing S ea

—god .

After Susa- no-wo had been banished from heaven, hedescended on Tori—ham i,beside the river Hi, in the provinceof Idz um o . A chopstick came floating down the river

,S O

he knew that people were dwelling near,and he set out to

search for them . He soon met an old man and an oldwoman who were weeping bitterly ; between them walkeda lovely maiden .

“Who are you ? asked Susa- no—wo .

The old man made answer : “ I am a god o f earth, sonof a mountain god

,and my name is Ash i—na-a

’z u—ch i (

‘footth i s woman is my wife

,and her name i s Te-na

a’z u- ch i (

‘hand stroker ’) the maiden i s my daughterKush- inada—h im e M iraculous—rice—fie ld - sun-maiden

Why do you we ep ? ” asked Susa- no—wo .

Said the old man : “ I have had eight daughters, buteach year the eigh t—forked serpent (dragon) of Kosh i hascome and devoured one after the other . I weep nowbecause the time is at hand to give Kush- inada- h ime tothe serpent .

“What is the serpent l ike ?371


“ I ts eyes are red as the winter cherry1 ; i t has a bodywith eight heads and eight tails

,and on i ts body grow

moss and trees . I t is so long that i t stretches ove r eightvalleys and eight h ills . Its belly is constantly bloody andinflam ed .

”2

“ If this maiden is your daughter, said Susa-no-wo,will you give her to me

Y ou honour me,” the old man made answer, “ but

I do not know your name .”“ I am the dear brother o f the sun—goddess, and have

j ust descended from heaven .

”

“ Most obediently do I offer my daughter to you,the old man said with reverence .Susa- no-wo then transformed the girl into a comb,

wh ich he placed in h is hair . Having done this, he badethe old couple to brew rice-beer (sahe) . They obeyedh im

,and he asked them to construct a fence with eight

gates and eight benches,and to place on each bench a

vat filled with the beer.In time the e ight—forked serpent came nigh . I t

dipped each of i ts heads into each o f the vats, drank thesahe, became drunk, and then lay down and slept . Susano-wo drew his two— handed sword,

3 and cut the serpentin p ieces . The Hi River turned red with blood .

When Susa- no -wo cut the middle tail his swordbroke . He marvelled at this . Taking the point of thesword in his hand

, h e thrust and spl it, and looked inside,and found a keen- cutting blade within th is tail . He tookit out and sent i t to h is S ister, Ama- teri su, the sun

1 T h e m ode rn hohod z uhi (Phy sali s A lkekengi).2 D e G root refe rs to a

“v ene rable ” Ch inese dragon l iv ing in a pond ; i t had n ine

h eads and e ighteen tai ls,and“ate no th ing but fev e r dem ons The Religious Sy stem ofChina,V o l . VI, p. 1 0 53 . Anothe r dragon i s 1 0 0 0 m i le s long; h i s breath cause s w ind ;

wh en h e opens h i s eye s i t i s day, and wh en h e close s th em i t is n igh t . D e Vi sse r, TheDragon in China and j apan,p. 62 .

2 In th e N i hon-gi th is sw ord i s calle d Am a no-hasve—gi ri (the h e aven ly fly-cutte r).



and when Ohonam o chi seized it he was so grievouslyburned that he died .

Then h is mother wept and lamented, and ascending toheaven

,appealed to Kam i—musu—bi —no-ham i (Divine -Produc

ing Wondrous-De i ty), o ne o f the elder gods,

1 who sentKisa-

gah i—h im e (Prince ss Cockle- She ll)2 and Umugi

—h im e

(Princess Clam)3 to restore the dead deity to life . K isa

gahi—h ime “ triturated and scorched her shell andU m ugi

- him e “ carried water and smeared h im as withmother’s milk ” .

4 Thereupon Ohonam o ch i came to l ifeas a beautiful young man and walked again .

The eigh ty deities again deceived Ohonam och i . Theyled h im to the mountains . There they cut down a tree,wh ich they split

,inserting a wedge in it

,and having made

him stand in the middle,they took away the wedge, and

thus killed him .

Ohonam o ch i’

s mother again wailed and wept . Shecut the tree

,and

,taking him out

,restored h im to life

once more . The n he fled to the Land o f Trees, escapingfrom his pursuers

,who had fixed arrows in their bows

,

by dipping under the fork of a tree and disappearing .

5

Oho nam o ch i was advised to seek re fuge in the NetherDistant - Land (Hades), whe re dwe l t Susa — no - wo .

Princess Forward met him, and they exchanged glances,

and were married . She then informed her father, Susano—wo

,that a very beautiful god had arrived . But Susa

no-wo was angry, and called the youthful deity Ugly1 One of th e first three de it ie s, the ch i ldren of H eav en and E arth .

2 T he A rea inflata.3 T h e Cy therea m eretrix .

4 Cham berlain, in h is translat ion of th e K o—Ji -hi (p. say s th e m ean ing i s

that a paste l ike m i lk was m ade of th e tri turate d and calc ine d she ll m ixe d w i th waterMo th er (om o) m ay be read as nurse too . Mrs. Carm ichae l,w i dow o f Dr. Alexande rCarm i chae l, the Scott ish fo lk-lori st,inform s m e that in th e Outer H ebri des w om en burnand gr i nd co ckIe -sh e lls to m ak e a

“ l im e wate r for d e l icate ch i ldren . T he clam is

l ik ew i se use d . T h e anc ient Japanese and anc i ent H ebri deans m ay hav e re ce iv ed th isfo lk-m e d i c ine from th e anci ent se afarers wh o search ed for sh e lls and m e tals.5 Th i s was a m agical act . H e rende re d h im se lf inv is i ble .

DRAGON- SLAYER AND HIS RIVAL 3 75

Male-God-o f-Reed—Plain ”, and commanded h im to sleepin the snake- house . The Princess Forward gave Obonamochi a snake - scarf, instructing h im to wave i t thricewhen the snakes threatened to bite him . This he did,and was protected . On the next n ight Susa- no-wo placedthe young god in the house of centipedes and wasps, butthe princess gave h im another scarf that protected h imagainst attack .

Next day Susa- no-wo shot a “ humming arrow ” 1 i ntothe middle of a m oor

,and made Ohonam o ch i fetch it

back . But when the young god went out on the moorSusa- no-wo se t fire to i t all round . Ohonam ochi couldperceive no way of escape . As he stood the re, a mouse2came and told h im o f a hollow place in wh ich he couldshelter h imself. Ohonam o ch i hastened to the hole andh id in i t til l the fire had gone past . Then the mousediscovered and brought the humming arrow to Ohonamoch i . “ The feathers of the arrows we re brought intheir mouth s by al l the mouse ’s children ” (Koj i -hi,p . 7Princess Forward lamented for her husband

,and

Susa-no-wo bel ieved he was dead . But the princessfound Ohonam och i, and took him to the house . Hereturned the arrow to Susa- no-wo . Th i s god had manycentipedes in h i s hair, and bade the youth take them out .Ohonam och i made pretence of doing th is, and Susa- nowo fell asleep .

Then Ohonam o ch i ti ed the hair of Susa- no-wo to therafters, placed a great boulder against the door, and fled

1 T he “sound ing arrow ”

w i th a wh i stling con trivance m ade of bone . It was

known in China during th e T’

ang Dynasty, and was use d by hunters to m ake birdsri se, and by sold i e rs to scare enem ie s. L aufer th inks th e Japanese sound ing arrowsw ere of Ch inese or igin .

— Chinese Clay Figures,p. 224, n. 4.2 Or a rat.

2 H ere one i s tem pted to see m ouse-Apo llo, or the m ouse of th e H om e ri c Apo l lowho shoo ts th e arrows of d isease . T he m ice that strip th e arrow s of the i r feath e rs m aybe th e arre ste rs of d ise ase . Mouse m e d ic ine is of great ant iqui ty in E gypt.


away with Princess Forward on his back . He carri edaway, too, Susa - no - wo

’

s l ife—sword and life - bow andarrows, and the heavenly- speaking lute . 1

A s Ohonam och i fled, the lute touched a tree, and theearth resounded with i ts call . Susa- no-wo was awakenedby the spirit- call . He pulled down the great house soas to get out

,but was so long delayed in disentangling

his hair from the rafters, that when he went in pursuit hedid not get with in call of Ohonam och i until he reachedthe Even Pass of Yomi (Hades) .

2

Susa- no-wo shouted to Ohonam o ch i, advising him topursue the eighty half- brothers with the life— sword andlife-bow and arrows until they were swept into the riverrapids . “ Then

,wretch

,said he

,

“ become Oho-huninush i (Great Master god o f the land), and make PrincessForward thy consort . Set up the temple- pillars at thefoot of Mount Uka on foundations of rock and rai se thecross- beams to the Plain of High Heaven . Dwell there,you villain .

”

Ohonam och i pursued and destroyed the eighty deit ies .Then the narrative continues, he began to make theland .

Here we meet with another Creation myth .

Two children were born to Ohonam o ch i and PrincessForward ; these were Xi—no-mala—no-ham i (Tree—fork- deity)and M i - fwi -no- ham i (Deity o f August Wells) .Like Odin

,Ohonam o ch i woos in the course of his

career more than o ne goddess . One of these the Princesso f N una-haha (Lagoon- river), s ings to him

Be ing a m an probably (thou) hast on the various island h eadlands that thou seest,and on every beach h eadland that thou lookest

1 D iv ine m e ssages, says Cham berlain,“ we re conveye d through a pe rson playi ngon th e lute .

”T h e language of th e “ lute was thus l ike th e “ language of bi rds

2 Th is i s a Far E astern v ersion of th e Jack-and-th e-Beanstalk story .


CHA PTER XXI

Anc ient Mikado s and H e ro e s

E nd of Dynasty o f Susa-no -wo — Dynasty o f Sun-

godd ess— T he F i rstE m pero r of Japan— Mikado as D escendan t of the Sea-

god, the“A bundant

Pearl Prince — A Japanese Gi lgam esh— Quest of the Orange T ree of L ifeT h e “ E ternal L and — T h e Polynes ian Parad i se and T ree of L ife— Yam ato

T ake,N ational H ero of Japan— Co nfli cts w i th God s and Rebels — E nchantm ent

and Death of H ero— T he B i rd -soul— E m press Jingo— Mikado de ified as G od

ofWar— Sh in to Re ligion and N ature -wo rsh ip— T he Godd ess Cult in JapanAdo rati on of the Princ iple of L i fe in Jew els, T rees, H e rbs,&c .

— Buddhi sm

Rev ival of Pure Sh into— Culture -m ix ing in Ch ina and Japan— Ch ina “no t a

nat ion

Many children were born to Oh onam o ch i, but theCelestials would no t give recognition to the Dynasty ofSusa- no-wo, and resolved that Ninigi, the august grandch ild of the sun- goddess, should rule Japan . Ohona

mochi was deposed, and several de i ties were sent downfrom heaven to pacify the land for the chosen one .

N in igi’

s wife was Konohana- sahuyah im e, and two oftheir children were H ohodem i

, the hunter,and H o-no—Susori,the fisherman .

I t was H o hodem i who wooed and wed the “AbundantPearl Princess ” and l ived with her for a t ime i n the landunder the ocean .

1 After she gave birth to her child,she

departed to her own land, deeply offended because herhusband beheld her in dragon (wani) shape in the parturit ion house he had built for her on the seashore .This child was the fathe r of the first Emperor o f

1 S ee Index.

3 78

ANCIENT MIKADOS AND HEROES 3 79

Japan,Jimmu Tenno .

1 The Mikados were thereforedescended from the sun goddess Ama—terésu and theDragon- king o f Ocean, the

“Abundant Pearl Prince ” .

When engaged pacifying the land, J immu followed agigantic crow2 that had been sent down from heaven toguide h im . He posse ssed a magic celestial cross—swordand a fire- striker. His two brothers, who accompaniedhim on an expedition across the sea, leapt overboard whena storm was raging so that the waves might be stilled .

They were subsequently worsh ipped as gods .Yamato now becomes the centre o f the narrative,

Id z um o having lost i ts former importance .Jimmu Tenno re igned until he was 1 27 years of age,

dying, according to Japanese dating, in 5 8 5 B .C . Hissuccessor was Suisei Tenno . There follows a blank of50 0 years wh ich is bridged by th e names o f rulers mostof whom had long l ives

,some reaching over 1 20 years .

At the beginning of the Christian era,the M ikado

was Sui- nin,who died at the age of 1 4 1 years . Th is

monarch sent the hero Taj ima—mori to the Eternal Landwith purpose to bring back the fruit of the “Timeless (orEverlasting) Fragrant Tree The Japanese Gilgameshsucceeded in h i s enterprise . According to the Koj i-hi

Taj im a-m ori at last reached that country,plucked the fruitof th e tree, and brough t of Club-m oss e igh t and of spears e ight ; butm eanwh ile th e Heav enly Sovere ign had died . Th en Taj im a-m ori

set apart of club-m oss four and of spears four,wh ich he presentedto th e G reat E m press,and set up of club-m oss four and of spears

four as an offering at the door of the Heav enly Sov ere ign’s augustm auso leum , and, raising on h igh the fruit of the tre e,wailed and

w ept,saying: ‘Bringing th e fruit of th e E v erlast ing Fragrant Treefrom th e E ternal Land, I hav e com e to serv e thee .

’

A t last h e

1 T h is is h i s posthum ous nam e . During h is l ife h e was Kam u-Tam ato-Iw are-Biha.2 T h e golden crow of th e sun had thre e legs. In th e m oon was th e j ew e lled hare .

3 80 MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPANwailed and w ept h im self to death . Th is fruit of the E v erlastingFragrant Tree is what is now called the orange .

”

Chamberlain explains1 that “ club-moss oranges s ignifiesoranges as they grow on the branch surrounded by leaves

,

while spear- oranges are the same divested o f leaves andhanging to the bare twig .

The location of the Eternal Land has greatly puzzlednative scholars . Some suppose i t was a part of Koreaand others that i t was Southern Ch ina or the L oo choI slands . According to the N ihon—

gi, Taj ima-mori foundthe Eternal Land to be inhabited by gods and dwarfs .As it lay somewhere to the west o f Japan

,i t would appear

to be identical with the Western Parad i se which,according

to Ch inese belief, is ruled over by Si Wang Mu (theJapanese S e iobo), the

“Royal Mother ” and “Queen o f

Immortals” . Instead o f the Chinese Peach Tree of Life,the Japanese had in their own Western Paradise the

Orange Tree of Life . The orange was not,however,

introduced into Japan until the eighth century o f ourera .2 Whether o r not it supplanted i n th e Japaneseparadise an earlier tree

,as the cassia tree supplanted the

peach tree in the Chinese paradise, i s at pre sentuncertain . I t may be that the idea o f the WesternParadise was introduced by the Buddhi sts . At thesame time, i t will be recalled that the Peach Tree ofLife grew on the borderland of Yomi,wh ich was vis itedby Izanagi .A similar garden paradise was known to the Poly

nesians, and especially the Tahit ians . I t was calledRo hutu noanoa (

“ Perfumed or FragrantThither the souls of the dead were conducted by the god

1 T ransacti ons of the A siati c Sociegt of j apan,Vo l . X (supplem ent),p. 1 99, n. 5.2 Cham berlain, Things j apanese,p. 57.


ANCIENT MIKADOS AND HEROES 3 8 1

U rutae tae . Th i s paradise “was supposed ”, writes Ell i s,1“ to be near a lofty and stupendous mountain in Raiatea,si tuated in the vicin ity of H am ani ino harbour and calledTem ehani unauna,

‘splendid or glorious T em ehan i’

. I twas

,however, said to be invis ible to mortal eyes, being in

the raw ,or aerial regions . The country was described

as most lovely and enchanting in appearance,adorned with

flowers of every form and hue,and perfumed with odours

o f every fragrance . The air was free from every noxiousvapour, pure, and most salubrious . Rich viands anddelicious fruits were supposed to be furnished in abundance for the frequent and sumptuous festivals celebratedthere . Handsome youth s and women, purolu anae, all

perfection, thronged the place .”Anoth er Polynesian paradise,calledPulo tu,was reserved

for chiefs,who obtained “ plenty o f the best food and other

indulgences I ts ruler, Sav eas iuleo, had a human head .

The upper part of h is body reclined in a great house “ i ncompany with the sp irits o f departed ch iefs wh ile “ theextremity o f h i s body was said to stretch away into thesea in the Shape of an eel or serpentThe Japanese had thus

,l ike the Polynesians, a garden

paradise and a sea- dragon—king’s paradise, as well as thegloomy Yomi . I t may be that the beliefs and storiesregarding these Otherworlds were introduced by theearliest seafarers, who formed pearl—fish ing communitiesround their shores . The Ainu bel ieve that Heaven andHell are beneath the earth

,

“ in Pohna m osh iri , the lowerWorld”, but they have no idea what the rewards o f therighteous are .3 Nothing i s definitely known regarding

1 Poly nesian Researches (First E di t ion, p. 3 27 .

2 Turne r,N ineteen T ears in Polynesia p. 2 3 7.

2 Batch e lor, N otes on the A inu (Transactions if the A siati c S ociegI of j apan,V o l . X),p. 2 1 8 .


the beliefs o f the earl ier and more h ighly civilized peopleremembered as the Koro-pok-guru .

The Mikado Sui- nin was succeeded by the MikadoKe i - ko, who died in A .D . 1 3 0 , aged 1 43 years . One of

his sons, Yamato-Take, i s a famous legendary hero ofJapan . He performed many heroic de eds in battle againstbrigands and rebels . At Ise he obtained from his aunt

,

Yamato- h ime,the priestess

,the famous Kusanagi sword,and

a bag which he was not to open except when in peril ofh is l ife . He then set out to subdue and pacify all savagedeities and unsubmissive peoples . The ruler of Sagamiset fire to a moor which Yamato entered in quest o f a“Violent Deity ” . Finding himself in peril, he Openedthe bag and discovered in it a fire- striker (or fire-drill) .He mowed the herbage with the dragon- sword,and,usingthe fire - striker

,kindled a counte r-fire, which drove back

the other fire . The Kusanagi (herb- quell ing) sword takesits name from this incident. Yamato-Take afterwards slewthe wicked rulers o f that land . He also slew a god inthe shape of a white deer which met him in Ashigara Pass .He lay in ambush

,and with a scrap o f ch ive1 h i t the deer

in the eye and thus struck it d ead . Then he shoutedthree times “ Adzuma ha ya ” (Oh,my wife l) . The landwas thereupon called Adzuma .Then follows the mysterious story of the death of the

hero . He went to the land of Sh inanu, i n which Ohonamochi had taken refuge when Japan was being subduedfor the ruler chosen by the sun - godde ss

,and where,

being pursued and threatened with death, Ohonam och i

consented to abdicate and take up h is abode in a temple .The country takes its name from shina, a tree resemblingthe lime

,

2 and nu o r no, moor Yamato-Take entered

1 N i ra, the A ll i um odorum .

2 T i lia cordata. S e e Cham be rlain’s Ko-j t

-hi,pp. 1 0 2 n. 26, and 2 1 5 .



beh ind Mount Awogaki . His next song was one of loveand regret .

H ow sw eet o’

er the SkiesFrom Yam ato,m y hom e,

D o i ts wh ite clouds arise,D o its wh ite clouds all com e .

His sickness and weariness made h im feel more andmore faint, and he sang in h i s distress

Oh ! the sharp sabre -swo rdI left by the bedsideO f Princess Miyaz uT h e sharp sabre -sword” .

1

Yamato-Take sank and died as soon as he had finishedh is song .

I n time h i s wives came and built for h im a mausoleum,weeping and moaning the wh ile, because he could nothear them or make answer . Then Yamato-Take wastransformed into a wh ite bird,2 whi ch rose h igh in theair and flew towards the S hore . The wives pursued thebird with lamentations and entered the sea. They sawthe bird flying towards the beach, and followed it . Fora time it perched on a rock . Then it flew from Ise toSh iki, in the land o f Kafuchi, where a mausoleum wasbuilt for i t

,so that i t might rest .3 But the wh ite bird

rose again to heaven and flew away. I t was never againseen .

After Mikado Ke i-ko, father of Yamato-Take, hadpassed away, Sei-m u reigned until he was 1 0 8 years old .

Then followed the Mikado Ch iu- ai . His capital was inthe south-west on the island of Kyushu. A message

1 Apparent ly th e sword w ould hav e pro tected h im against the fatal enchantm ent

w rough t by the wh i te boar-god ofMount Ibuki .2 Chidori,a dotteri l,plov er,or sandpiper.2 A s a god’s m i-tam a rests in a tem ple to be worsh ipped.

ANCIENT MIKADOS AND HEROES 3 8 5

came from the goddess through the Empress J ingo,who

was divinely possessed, promis ing h im Korea,

“ a landto the westward ” with “ abundance of various tr

/

easures,

dazzl ing to the eye,from gold and si lver downwards ” .

The Mikado refused to believe there was a land tothe west, and declared that the gods spoke falsely . Soonafterwards the heavenly sovereign was struck dead .

Now the Empress J ingo was with ch ild . Havingreceived the instructions of the deit ies to conquer Koreafor her son, she delayed his birth by taking a stone andattach ing it to her waist with cords . Korea was subdued

,

the Empress having made use o f the “ Jewels of floodand ebb ”

, as related in a previous chapter. Her ch ildwas born after she returned to Japan .

Empress Jingo is further credited with subduing andun iting the Empire o f Japan, and again establish ing thecentral power at Yamato . She l ived until she was 1 0 0

years old .

Her son Oj in Tenno,1 who had a dragon ’s tail

,l ived

until he was 1 1 0 years old, and died in A .D . 3 1 0 . Hewas worsh ipped after death as a war—god, and the patronof the Minamoto clan . His successor, Nin- toku, whodied at the age of 1 1 0 , was the last of the myth icalmonarch s

,or of the monarchs regarding whom miraculous

deeds are related . Japanese h istory begins and mythends about the beginning of the fifth century of theChristian era.The cult of Hach iman (Oj i n Tenno) came into

prominence in the ninth century with the rise of theMinamoto family ; its original seat was Usa, in Buz enprovince . Hach iman’s sh intai (“ god body

”

) i s a wh itestone

,or a fly- brush, or a pillow, or an arm-rest .

1 H i s po sthum ous t i tle . Dur ing l i fe h e w as cal le d H ach im an.

( D 71


Jimmu Tenno, the Empress J ingo, and Yamato-Takewere s imilarly deified and worshipped . A ninth centuryscholar, Sugahara Mich iz ane, was deified as T em m angfi,god of scholars . Living as well as dead Mikados wereham i (deities) .

“ T he sp irits of all the soldiers who d iedin battle,

” writes Yei Ozaki,1 “ are worshipped as deified

heroes at the Kudan shrine in Tokyo .

The worsh ip of human ancestors in Japan is due toChinese influence, and had no place in old Sh into priorto the sixth century . I n the Koj i -hi and N ihon-

gi, theancestors of the Mikados and the ruling classes are thedeit ies and their avatars . As we have seen, the Mikadoswere reputed to be descended from the sun-goddess, andfrom the daughter o f the Dragon K ing of Ocean, calledthe “ Abundant—Pearl Princess a Japanese Melusina .I t i s far from correct

,therefore

,to refe r

,as has been

done, to Sh into religion as “ th e worship of nature-god sand ancestors ” Even the te rm nature-worship ” is m islead ing . The adoration in sacred shrines of the m i— lam a

(the“ August j ewe l ” , o r

“ Dragon- pearl ”,o r

“ spirit ” ,or double ”) of a dei ty is not the worship o f Naturebut the worship of “ the imperi shable principle o f lifewherever found ”

. At Ise, the“ Mecca ” of Japan, the

goddess cult i s prominent . Both the sun- goddess and thefood-goddess are forms of the Far Eastern Hathor, thepersonification o f the pearl

,the S hell, the precious j ewel

containing “ l ife substance ”,the sun mirror, the sword,

the pillow,the standing- stone

,the holy tree, the med icinal

herb,the fertilizing rain

, &c . The Mikado, as h erdescendant

,was the l iving Horus

,an avatar o f Osiris ;

after death the Mikado ascended, l ike Ra, to the celestialregions, or departed, like Osiri s, to the Underworld of

1 Custom s of the World (Japan),pp. 380 et seq.



we re o f spontaneous generation in widely- separated countries . Culture complexe s cannot be accounted for o r

explained away by the application o f the principle s o f

biological evolution . As has been S hown in these pages,

there are many culture complexes in China and Japan,

and many links with more ancient civilizations .Touching on the problem o f culture mixing in Ch ina

,

Laufer writesI n Oppos ition to the prevalent opinion of the day, i t

cannot be emphasized strongly enough o n every occasionthat Chinese civil ization, as it appears now,

is not a unitand no t the exclusive production o f the Chinese, but thefinal re sult o f the cultural efforts o f a vast conglomerationo f th e most varied tribes

,an amalgam ation of ideas

accumulated from m an ifold quarters and widely different iated in space and time ; briefly stated, th is means Chinai s not a nation

,but an em pire

,a political

,but no t an

ethnical unit . N o graver error can hence be committedthan to attribute any culture idea at the outse t to the

Chinese, for no other reason than because it appears

within the pre cincts o f th e ir empire .” 1

j ade, P' 57°

IN D E X

Adam , Ch inese , 275 .

Ages , Archaeo logi cal , in Ch ina (seeN eoli thic Age) ; in Japan , 3 25 .

Mythi cal, Ch ine se , 274 ; first Agepe rfect as in Ind ia, 276 ; in

T ao i sm , 3 1 6 ; s ee al so World’

s

Ages .

Agri culture , o rigin of, 6, 20 1 .

A inu,th e ,3 26 ; as po tte rs ,2 1 ; m yth so f, 3 28 ; d e i ti es of sun ,m o on , and

fire , 3 3 1 ; d e i ti e s o f, m ad e d runk,3 3 0 ; d ragon m o th e r of, 3 3 3 ; Aniconi c p i llar and m o th e r godd ess ,3 3 3 ; th e Parad i se of, 3 8 1 , 3 82 .

A ll-h eal plants , 1 5 8 .

All S ouls , feast of, 1 3 3 .

Am a-terfisu, Japan e se sun go ddess,

3 3 9 ; c reate s Ch i ld ren from j ewe ls ,3 66, 3 67 ; n ecklace of, 3 62 ; sun

goc

8

1d es s (cav e an d m i rro r m yth ) ,3 6

Am be r, Buddhi st b e li ef in , 1 26 .

Am e ri ca, anc i en t m arine rs in , 45 ;

gem sym bo lism in , 3 3 6; whale

wo rshipped in ,

Am oy , re ligious S ign ificance of S i tuati on o f, 23 6 .

Am ri ta, 1 45 , 1 46 (see S oma ) .Arnulets , m o rtuary , in E gyp t and

Chi na, 222 .

An cesto r wo rship , Chi ne se , 242

E gyp t ian Pharaoh wo rshi p , 242 .

An i con i c Pi llar , in S h into m yt h , 3 5 0 ;Pi llars , th e Far E as te rn , 3 3 3 .

An im i sm , o rigin o f, 256 ; i ts co n

ne ction w i th m um m ification , 2 56 .

An telope ,E a-dragon and , 5 1 ; H o rusand , 5 3 ; H indu w ind god and , 5 3 .

Aph ro di te , H ath o r and , 3 1 3 ; Kwany in as Ch in ese , 272 .

Apo llo , as d ragon on Island ofDe lo s, 1 22 ; as so n o f H eph ai sto s,1 22 ; th e Mouse 1 8 5 .

App le , frui t o f Aph rod i te , 1 3 9 .

Apple T ree , as T re e o f L i fe , 1 24;m an d rake and , 1 68 .

Arrow , th e sound ing, 3 7 5 and also

no te 1 .

Artem i s , Ainu and , 3 3 0 ; Ch ine se

H o S i en Ku and Japanese K asenko

as , 1 7 1 , 1 72 ; go at and , 1 7 3 , 1 74;in T ao i sm , 3 1 2 , 3 1 3 ; m ugwo rtof, 1 70 ; Japanese sym bo li c gate

way of, 3 3 9 .

A rthur ’s swo rd E xcal i bur, 1 0 1 .

As tronom y , se e Grea t B ear, PolarS tar, S tars,&c .

Axe and ham m e r gods , 262 .

Baby loni a,A inu de i ti es m ade drunkas in , 3 3 0 ; as c radle o f Bronz e

industry , 1 96; Chi ne se hi ll godd ess and Ish tar, 269 ; Ch inese

Ish tar in De luge legend , 1 5 1 ;Ch inese wo rld -

giant m y th and

T iam at m yth , 264; co lon i s ts from ,

as Kurgan bui ld e rs , 20 0 ; copper

used at early pe riod in , 1 94°

se arch for coppe r, &c . , 1 94re ligious use o f coppe r in , 1 9 5culture o f in E aste rn As ia, 20 2 ,jade from Ch ine se T urkes tan in ,

20 2 ; Date T ree of L ife , 1 79 ;d ragon of, and Po lyn e s ian d ragon ,

78 ; d ragon s o f, 74 ; E a and

Chi nese E u H i , 27 5 ; E a and

Japane se H i ruko , 3 5 1 ; eagle go d

o f, and Garuda, 7 0 ; G i lgam e sh

and S argon and Ch ine se Wu, 288 ;id eas o f, regard ing souls ,in Ch ina,

3 90

240 ; Ind ian m akara and go at

fish 2 1 5 ; Ish tar and Ch in e se

go dde ss , 267 ; Island o f Ble s t i n ,

1 0 9 ; Japane se De luge m y th an d

T iam at m y th , 3 45 ; Japanese l inksw i th ,3 3 3 and al so no te 2 ; Japane s eYom i and Oth e rwo rld o f, 3 40 ;food o f the d ead , 3 4 1 ; N ig-gi l

m a of, 245 ; Plan t o f Bi rth , 3 3 5 ;P lan t o f L ife legend of, 9 9 ; Po le

S tar as god in , 23 2 ; Chinese

as tronom y from , 2 3 2 ; p rec iouss tones from Chi ne se T urkes tan ,

20 2 ; ev i d ences of anc ien t t rad eo f, 20 3 ; re ligious use o f re ed s in ,

8 5 and also no te 3 ; s ea-god o f

(see S um eria) , 3 0 ; S i b e ri a and ,20 4; source o f S ib e rian and

Ch inese m y tho logi cal m onste rs,20 3 ; T am m uz o f, and Chi n ese ,1 3 8 ; T am m uz sto ry and Japanese ,1 5 5 ; th e Japane se Gi lgam e sh and ,

3 79 ; T iam at d ragon o f, 5 2 ; E a

d ragon , 5 1 ; Wate r of L ife in

Adapa m yth , 1 3 2 ; gho s ts searchfor food and wate r, 1 3 2 ; w id e

areas influenced by cul ture of,

3 87 .

Bam boo , m oon and , 1 50 ; d ragonand , 1 50 .

Barge o f Death , 240 .

Bead s , as Kain i in Japan , 3 43 ;chi ld ren c reated from , 3 66 ; i n

Japanese re ligion (see T ama) , 3 3 7 ;sun godd e ss , 3 62 .

Bear ,Ainu and , 3 5 5 (see G reat B ear) .B i rd and s e rpent m y th s , 66 ; in

D iam ond Valley legend , 1 28 .

Bi rd s, as carr ie rs o f souls , 1 28 ; inD iam ond Valley legend , 1 28 ; theT hund e r 1 62 .

Bi rd souls in Ch ina, 1 50 .

Blo o d -bag m yt h , 286 .

Blo od from t ree s , 1 43 .

Blood of L ife , 1 5 9 .

Blo od , Ri v e r o f, Japanese, Asiati c,and E gyptian , 346 .

B lue Dragon , 57 .

Bo ar stone , in Japanese m y th , 3 7 3 .

Boat, Japanese god in, 3 5 1 .

Boat of Death , Chi nese , 240 ; E gypti an , 240 .

B r id e, S erp ent of th e Celti c godd e ss ,57

B ri t ish fore ign d ev i ls 3 1 .

MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

B ronz e , first m anufactured in Babylo n ia, 1 9 6 ; indust ry ,and E urope anand Chin e se links , 20 5 ; jad e and ,in anc ient E urope , 20 1

Budd ha, b lue ey es o f, 1 27 ; Ch in es ed e i ti e s and , 27 3 ; o f Wes te rn Parad ise , 2 1 0 ; N agas as wo rsh ippe rsof, 70 .

Bud dhi sm , Chi ne se T ao ism and ,297 ; cul ture m ix ing in , 243 ;D ew of life in , 1 40 ; Japanese , 20 ;re ligious m e r i t in j ewe ls ,gem s,&c .,

1 26 ; S h in to and , 347 .

Burm a, Chinese influence in, 2 1 ;

junks of, 3 2 .

Butte rfly , as Ch ines e longev ity sym

bo l, 225 ; as soul in Mexi co , 225 ;as S cand inav ian go dd ess, 225 ; as

soul i n Italy and Gre e ce , 225 ;Psy ch e a, 225 ; c icada and , 225 ; assoul in Indones ia, 24 1 ; soul formin Ch ina, 225 , and in S co tlan d ,240 .

Calendar, anci ent E gyp t 1 an , 1 1 .

Califo rn ia, whale ’

s v e rteb ra in gravein , 49 .

Cali s th en ics , in T ao ism , 3 20 .

Cam ph o r T ree o f L ife , 1 66 .

Card inal Po ints , Chi nese gods o f,23 0 ; Chi ne se co lours o f, 23 0 ;Chi ne se conn e ctio n o f, w i th s ea

sons, e lem ents , plants , and in

te rnal o rgans , 2 3 0 ; co lours o f, in

S co tland and In d ia, 229 ; in Japan ,

3gg; jad es of, 234; p i llars of, 227,

2

Cass ia T re e of L ife , 1 4 1 (s ee T ree ofCav e s ,we lls and d ragons of, 5 5 .

Clg

arm ,S cottish and Ch ine se s im i lar,5 .

Ch in Dyn asty , 29 1 .

Chi na, as culture cen t re in Far E as t,2 1 ; po tt e r ’s wh eel in (see Potter’

s

wheel) ; Baby lon ian links w i th ,20 3 ; B ri ti sh fo re ign d ev i ls in ,

3 1 ; c iv i li z at ion o f,b egan in S h ens i

p rov ince , 20 9 ; E gyp t ian , Babylon ian , and Ind ian influence in ,

20 9 ; c iv i l i z at ion of, no t of lo cal

o rigin , 3 88 ; connec t ion o f, w i th

Kh o tan , 20 2 ; dragon lo re o f, 3 8 ,

46; early culture o f, s im ilar toE uropean , 20 5 ; early trad e of,29 3 ;



De luge L egend , Chi nese goddess

N u Kwa in , 1 5 1 ; Ch ine s e re

fe rence to , 267 ; N u Kwa an d ,267 ; Ch inese d ate of, 268 ; Ja

panes e v e rs ion , 3 45 ; th e A inu,

3 3 2 .De luge m y th , E m pe ro r Y u and , 283 ;th e Ch ine se , why sh ip i s abs ent

from , 247 .Dem e te r, Ch ine se godd e ss and , 1 3 8 .

Dev i ls , T h e Fo re ign 3 1 .

D ew , as Wate r o f L i fe , 1 3 9 .

D ew o f Im m o rtal i ty , 1 44, 1 57 ; Po tand Plant of L ife and , 246 .

D ew o f L i fe , 1 40 .

Diam o nd Valley L egend , Ch inese

v e rs ion o f, 1 28 .

D iony so s , go at and , 1 8 3 .

D og, connect io n w i th t ree s and

p lan ts , 1 67 ; Japanes e sto ry o fS hi ro , 1 68 ; th e lunar, 1 47 .

Do lm en , in Ko rea, 3 25 , and alsono te 1 .

Do lph in , Buddhi sts and , 1 27 ; D ra

gon and , 5 0 .

Dragon ,Apo llo as, 1 22 ; as Ce les tial

s tag in Ch ina, 5 1 ; as wate r god inCh ina, 5 5 ; as m akara, 1 5 0 ; as

sym bo l of E m p e ro r, 54; as T ree ,7 5 , 1 52 ; as Vam p i re , 64; as

wate r cont ro lle r , 2 3 5 ; Baby lon ianBa and , 5 1 ; Baby loni an Go atfish go d , 3 0 , 3 1 ; Baby lon ian

T i am at as , 5 2 ; bad rain froms ick d ragon , 3 64, 3 65 ; B i rd and

se rpen t m y th and , 72 ; blue and

y ellow , 5 7 ; characte rs o f Ch in ese ,Ch inese and E gypt ian Death

le ss S nak e . 7 8 , and also no te 3 ;Ch inese and S co tti sh charm s, 56,5 7 ; conne ction w i th P in es , 1 67 ;Dugong and Dolph in and , 5 0 ;E as te rn Dragon as Ind ra, 2 3 8 ;eggs of, 5 8 ; E gyp tian s lay e r o f,

77 ; E m pe ro r H wang-T i b e com e s,

279 ; Y ao as son o f, 280 ; S hunand , 280 ; fem ale d ragon eaten byE m pe ror, 285 ; fiv e co lours o f, 84,1 63 ; fish fo rm s of, 5 9 , 7 5 ; fo lksto ri es of,76 ; form s assum ed by ,47 ;as thunde r and rain god ,47 ; Ind ra,Zeus , &c ., and , 47 ; as guard i an sof p earls , 47 ; sh ark and , 47 ; go ldand , 5 5 ; h as m ost

“l ing of all

creature s , 1 86; influence of, on

towns . 23 6 ; Japane se . 343 . 3 47Japane se and Ind ian N aga, 344;Japane se and N agas , 3 56 ; m a

kara and Ch ine se sea-d ragon2 1 5 ; m oo n and bam boo and , 1 50O s i r is as , in se rpen t fo rm , 5 9 ;Plum tree grows from b lood o f,80 ; Po lynes ian fo rm s of, 7 8 ;Po lyn es ian god s and , 48 ; sea andland anim als and , 5 0 ; T eutoni c,

77 ; th e Chines e , and m e tal sym

ho li sm , 3 8 ; th e E igh t - H ead ed

Japane se , s lain by S usa-no -wo ,

3 7 1 ; th e great m ountain , 63 ; th eJapanese sea snake and ,4 1 ; Jewe lso ffe red to , 4 1 ; th e lunar, 1 49 ; th e

Po lynes ian (se e P oly nesia) , t ige ras enem y o f, 47 ; w ate r snakeb ecom es , 54; co i led d ragon as

wate r- re tain e r, 54 ; wom an as , 84 ;Medusa legend o f, 84; Japan es ed rago n wom an , 8 5 .

Dragon and Ball p ro cess io n , 64.

Dragon Battles , 56 .

Dragon Bo at Fes t iv al, 268 .

Dragon Boats , in rain-gett ing cere

m o ni e s , 4 1 .

Drago n E ggs , 1 82 .Dragon Fi re , 63 .

Drago n H e rb s , 79 .

Dragon Island , Greek legend of,1 0 0 ; in E gypt ian , S co tt ish , and

Me lane s ian legend s , 9 8 .Dragon j ad e sym bo ls , 25 3 .

Dragon Kings , th e fiv e , and th e fiveplan ets , 274 .

Dragon Mo th e r, in Po lyn e s ia, 7 9 .

Drago n of Baby lo n ia, th e Kupu of,and Po lyn es ian Kupna, 78 .

Dragon -slay e r, E gyp t ian , 77 ; S iegfri ed and S igurd as , 77 .

Dragon S ton es , 1 82 .

Dragon Swo rd o f Japan , how Susa

no -wo ob tained i t , 3 7 2 .

Dragon Swo rd s , 1 0 1 , 27 5 .

Dragon w e lls , 5 5 .

Dragon ’

s Bloo d , m anufactured fromm e tals, 3 8 .

Dragon ’

s H eart , as source o f knowledge , 77 .

Dragon ’

s S p i ttle 79 .

Drago ns as guard ians o f treasure ,1 56 ; Baby lon ian and Ch in ese , 74

°

conne ct ion w i th Wate r of L i feand

“T ree o f L i fe ”

, 7 5 ; b lue

INDEX 3 9 3

rush of, 8 5 ; Chinese and Po lyn es ian , 67 ; and Dragon Bo at

Fes ti v al , 269 ; E gyp tian se rpen ti s land sto ry , 9 8 ; Fiv e , as rule rs ofs easons , &c ., 6 1 ; Fungus o f Im

m o rtal i ty and , 1 0 7 ; Garud as and

N agas and , 7 0 ; god s ri d e on , 65 ;h e rb s ,&c .,and , 1 8 3 ; hum an shapeso f, 47 ; Indi an N agas and , 69 ; in

poo ls , riv e rs , and sea, 54 ; as ti de

con tro lle rs , 54; i ron d read ed by ,3 8 , 64; as rai n -b r i nge rs , 3 9 ; fondo f gem s , 3 8 ; Japan es e d ragonp lace -nam es , 3 56 ; Japane se sea

god s as , 3 5 2 ; Japanes e “wate r

snakes as , 3 5 3 ; KingdomU nde r th e S ea legend s o f, 9 5 ;as L igh t - god s , 63 ; Me lus ina

legend in lo re o f, 8 6, 87 ; m o th e rof, 5 9 ; Pearl P r incess legend , 9 7 ;pearls p roduced by , 3 9 ; Japanes em ountai ns and , 3 9 ; Red Island o f

9 5 ; skins o f, shi ne by n igh t, 64;th e Ch in es e n ine -h ead ed d ragon ,

3 72, and also no te 2 ; t ran sform ed

dragons harm less , 1 0 5 ; v i tal Sp i ri tin ey es of, 64; Wate r o f L ifecon tro lled by , 1 5 9 ; we re -anim als

and ,22 1 ; whale s and , 49 ; wom en

as , in C liina, 86 ; boys b ecom e , i nJapan , 86 .

Dugong, dragon and , 50 .

Dyn as ti es , Chin o r T s’in, 29 1

E ar ly and My th i cal , 277 ; H an ,

Mino r, T’

ang, Sung, Mongo l,Ming, and Manchu, 29 2 ; th e

Chines e , Chou Dyn as ty , 288 ; th e

H ea, 28 1 ; th e S hang, 28 5 .

E a, Baby loni an go d , as sea-farer, 3 0Dagan and Dagon and , 5 2 ;dragon and , 5 1 ; an te lope , goat,

gaz e lle and , 5 1 ; Oannes and , 3 1 .

E agle , jad e and , 22 1 .

E agle -s tone , 1 28 , 1 29 .

E as t , Cult o f, 1 34, 2 1 0 ; Cult o f, inChi na and E gyp t , 60 ; sac rednessof, in E gyp t and Ch ina, 22 9 .

E ast Ind ie s , E gyp t ian m i lle t i n ,

E el, as Po lyn es ian d ragon , 78 ; G odo f S am oa as , 68 .

E e ls as d ragon -v am p i res , 64 .

E gg, th e Co sm i c, 260 , 266, 3 0 3 ; inS h in to , 3 48 .

E gg, th e Swallow’s , An cestress of

E m pe ro r T ’

ang and , 285 (see

E gyp t, agri culture in, 6 ; be liefs o f,regard ing souls, in China, 23 9 ,240 ; B i rd and se rpen t m yth i n ,

7 1° Ch in ese adopt inv en ti ons of,

1 3 , po tte r ’s wh ee l o f, 1 3 ; Ch ine sego dd es s and , 1 3 7 ; Chi ne se H o rus ,285 ; Chin es e Is i s and N eph thy s,1 3 9 ; Chin ese S hun and H o rus,280 ; c inn am on im po rt ed in to ,1 42 ; com , frui t , an d m i lk in

Parad i se , 1 3 3 ; Co sm i c E gg in ,

348 ; cult of E ast and of Wes t

in , 60 ; Date T ree of L ife ,1 7 9 ; Deathl ess S nake o f, and

Chinese and Japanes e d ragons ,7 8 , and also no te 3 , 1 56 ; d e i t ies as

fish , 5 9 ; d e i ti es c reate plan ts of

life , 1 80 ; Dragon Is le s to ry of,

9 8 ; Dragon -s lay er of, 77 , 78 ;Dragon-sto ne s and m oun tain of

d awn , 5 9 ; Frog god des s of, 1 45 ;

go d Ptah and Dragon , 63 ; go d

d es s of turquo i s e , 5 8 ; go ld

p len tiful in , 1 9 8 , and also no te 1 ;H ath o r and Chin ese S p inn ingMaiden , 1 47 ; H ath o r and T ao i sm ,

3 1 3 ; H atho r b ee r and Far E as ternin tox i can ts , 33 0 ; H eart and tongueconne ct io n i n , 222 ; H eart as“m in d in , 77 ; H o rus m yth inJapan , 3 5 1 ; H o rus sto ry in Japan ,

1 5 5 : Indi an lin ks w ith , 74; in

fluence o f, in As ia, 20 6 ° i ron as

S et’

s m e tal , 64; Is land of th e

B lest in Py ram id T exts of, 1 0 8 ;Japanese De luge m y th an d E gypt ian , 345 ; Ph araoh and Mik ado ,3 4 1 , 3 87 ; jaspe r of Is is and

Japanes e T am a, 3 3 6; kings o f, as

go d s, 342 ; Mikado as O s i ri s and

H o rus , 3 86; Mikado and Os i ri s ,3 3 9 , 340 ; m y ths o f, in Ch ina,1 48 ; m yth of s eparation o f

H eav en and E arth , in Japan and

Po lyn es ia, 3 48 ; N i le flow s fromMi lky Way i n , 1 1 1 ; N ut and

Chinese v i rgin go dd e ss , 268 ;o rigin of agri culture in, 20 1 ;o r igin of m um m ification i n , 2 57 ;conn e cti on o f m um m ificat ion w i th

An im i sm , 256 ; Os i ri s and Chi neseS h en -nung, 277 ; Os i ris and L ao

T z e , 299 ; S e t and L ao T z e , 3 0 0 ;

3 94

Os i ri s o f Japan , 3 67 ; Parad i se s o f,1 3 5 ; pearl lo re i i i , 44 ; pearlsearch e rs o f, in E as t , 4 1 ; Pharaohb ecom es god , 242 ; Po lyn es ian

bo ats , 3 3 ; Ptah and th e Ch in e se

art isan go d , 262 ; Os i ri s and P’

an

Ku, 264 ; Ptah d o ctrin e and

T ao i sm , 3 0 3 ; Que en H ats h epsut

’

s naval exped i t ion , 3 6, 3 7°

red ear th in De luge m yth of, 246,re l igi ous use o f reed s and lin en

in , 8 5 , and also no te 3 ; Rham ps ini tus and Chi nese Wu-Y ih , 286,287 , and al so no te 1 ; scarab as

m o th e r go dd es s , 223 ; scarab of,an d Chin e se c i cada am ul e ts , 222 ;scarab p ro te cted h eart and tongue ,223 ; s earch for li fe -giv ing h e rb s ,s tones , &c ., 20 7 ; sh ips o f, in S ea

of Okh o tsk, 3 2 ; sm e ltin g furn aceso f, in As ia and E urope , 20 7 , 20 8 ;s tar-fo rm of go dd ess , 1 84; st ruggles for coppe r-m in es , 1 94 ; Ja

pan e s e H ath o r, 3 86; T re e of L ifeas Wo rld T ree in , 1 3 6 ; w e eping d e i ti es o f, 3 65 ; We ll an d T reeof L ife at H e liopo li s, 1 22 ; w i de

areas influenced by cul ture of,

3 87E gyp t i an ships in N o rth e rn E urope ,3 3 °

E gyp t ians, earli est shipbuild e rs an d

nav igato rs , 27 ; m ari tim e expedi

ti ons o f, 28 .

E lephan t an d do lph in , 20 3 .

E lix i r o f L i fe , m alachi te an d s ilv e roflered to d ead as , 3 7 ; Chin e se

alch em i cal , 3 8 ; see Me tal S y m

bolism ,P each ,P ea rls,P lant of L ife,

and Wa ter of L ife .

E m pe ro rs of China as cul ture h e roes ,1 9 , 20 .

E ngland , soul b e lie fs in , 24 1 .

E v o lut ion, b io logi cal, e thno logy and ,2 .

E y e as S eat of S oul, 64 .

F ig T ree of L ife , 1 34 (see S y camoreand T ree of L ife) .Fi re and wate r, 1 59 .

Fi re -Balls , pearls and , p roduced byd ragons , 57 .

Fi re , Ch in ese and Po lyne s ian fire

nai l m y ths , 84; d ragons scaredby , 8 5 ; from trees, 1 62 .

MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAPAN

Fi sh as carr ie r of souls, 1 4 1 (seeMaka ra) .Fi sh -fo rm s of d ragon in Ch ina andJapan , 76 .

Fi sh -go d d e ss , th e Far E as te rn , 3 3 3 .

Fi sh s cales ,Pearls and j ad e and , 222 .

F i sh sym bo ls in j ad e , 222 .

Fo od offe rings to d ead , 1 3 2 .

Fo o d o f th e Dead , in Japanese Yom i ,340 ; in Baby loni an H ad e s , 340 .

Fo re ign d ev i ls Br i ti sh as , 3 1 .

Fox, Ai nu and , 3 3 0 ; in Japan , 343 .

Fo xe s, w e re -an im als in China and

Japan , 22 1 .

Frog, Ch in e se godd es s tran sfo rm s

wom an in to , 1 44 ; E gyp t ian go d

d e ss as , 1 45 ; in j ad e , 225 ; in

Ch ina and E gyp t, 226 .

Frogs , B ri t ish com pared to , 3 1 .

Frui t of L ife , Chin ese and Japaneses earch for, 1 3 8 .

Pu H i , N u Kwa as s iste r of, 277 ;th e Chin e se Adam , 27 5 .

Fu- li

g'

l , 2 1 8 ; Chin ese refe rences to ,

1 2

Fun g-shui , 234; conne ction w i th

Baby lon ia and E gyp t, 2 34; grav e sand , 2 3 5 ; h ouses and town s and ,23 5 th e T r igram s , 27 5 tige rand d ragon con t ro lle rs , 23 5Win d and Wate r d o ctr in e , 228 .

Fungus of Im m o rtal i ty , 1 0 7 , 1 3 8 , 1 46,1 74; in Chin ese Isle s of Bles t , 1 1 1 .

Ganges , th e Ce lestial , Buddhi stsan d , 1 26 .

Garudas , as en em ies of N agas , 70 ;Baby lon i an eagle god and , 7 0 .

Gaz e lle , E a-dragon an d , 5 1 ; E gypt ian go d s and , 5 2 .

Gem s , as frui t of T ree of L ife , 1 65 ;d ragons fond of, 3 8 . S e e also

j ewels, P ea rls , S tones .

Genius of th e H ills Chin ese

go dd ess called , 269 .

G ian t i n Isle o f Ble st legend , 1 1 2 .

G inseng, in Ko rea, 3 34; S p iri t o f,

3 3 5 ; m andrake , 1 74 (s ee Man

d rake) .Goat, b lo od o f, as sub st i tute for

h e rb , 1 7 3 ; Chine se C e lest ial, 1 84;Japanese legend , 1 84; as stones ,

1 84 ; T hund e r-god s and , 1 83 .

Goats , Godd es s of h e rb s and , 1 8 3 ;as avatars of godde ss , 1 83 .


3 96

Ind ra, as m an in th e m oo n , 1 46 .

Iran ians , as m ed iato rs b e tween We st

and E ast , 294 .

I re land , app le - land Parad i se , 1 24;calling back souls in , 24 1 ; salm on

as d ragon in , 77 ; s tar m y th o f,and Ch ine se , 28 1 , 282 .

Iro n , d ragons d read , 3 8 , 64 .

Isanagi , j ewe ls of, w e re Kam i3 43

Ise , 3 86 ; Japanese Me cca, 3 3 8 ;Go d d e sses o f, 3 3 9 .

Is land s o f th e B le st,legend s of, 1 0 6 ;ception of, 1 0 8 ; Ch in ese sagereach e s , 1 48 ; E gyp t ian , 1 3 5 ;H e rb s , T rees , and We lls of L ifein , 1 0 7 (s e e D ragon Island and

Red Island) ; S co tti sh legend , 1 29 ;cul t of E as t and , 2 1 0 ; Dragon Is leof De lo s , 1 22 ; ginseng (m and rak e)on , 1 74 ; go ld , j ad e ,pear ls ,&c ., in ,

1 1 1 ; Fungus o f Im m ortali ty in ,

1 1 1 ; jad e in , 2 1 5 ; Japaneselegend s of H orai z an , 1 1 6 ; se archfor, p rom o te s explo ration , 1 1 9 ;shipp ing and , 29 3 ; S y ria, At

lan ti s , and Fo rtunate Isle s , 1 23 ;H eb ri d es and Ire land , 1 2 3 ; Gae licApple -land , 1 2 3 ; Gae li c flo atingand v ani sh ing i sland , 1 25 ; see

Pa radise and U nderworld .

Ivy , Ch inese godd ess and , 270 .

Iz anagi , c reat ion o f i s lan d s andd e i ti es by , 3 52 ; in H ad es , 3 57 ;Japanese d e ity , 349 .

Iz anam i , c re ation of i sland s and

d e i t i es by , 3 5 2 ; Japan ese d e i ty ,

349 ; v i s i t to and fligh t fromH ad e s , 3 57 .

Far E aste rno r i gi n o f con

Jade , as L igh t shin ing at nigh t,2 1 8 ; Baby lon ia im po rted , fromChin ese T urkestan , 20 2 ; Babylon i an nig-gi l-m a and , 245 ; b i rthass i sted by , 243 ; d is ease s curedby , 243 ; Mo th e r God d ess and ,1 57 , 22 1 , 243 , 244 ; b rook o f, 2 1 6 °

jui ce of, 2 1 6; grease o f, 2 1 6,butt e rfli es in , 225 ; Chinese and

Baby loni an j ad e links ,20 2 ; Chi neseMo th e r Goddess c reates , 1 52 ;Ch in ese sym bo li sm of, 20 8 ; Ch ouand H an jad es ind igenous , 2 1 2 ;ci cada am ule ts of, 222 ; cofli ns o f,

MYTHS OF CHINA AND j APAN

226 ; co lours o f, 23 4; connect ionso f, w i th Card i nal Po ints , 23 4;shapes o f, 2 34 ; com plex sym

bo lism o f, 246, 2 54—5 ; supplan ts

bo at in Ch in e se De luge m y th , 247 ;conn ec t ion o f, w i th cow s , coppe r,wate r,&c ., 227 ; earlie st use o f, inChina, 2 1 1 , and also no te 1

°

m i rro rs of, 2 1 1 , and also no te 1,Fire jad e ”

, 220 ; groun d j ad eswallowed , 243 ; im m o rtal i ty en

sured by , 243 ; spi ri t of, in all l ife ,244 ; fish scales and , 222 ; fish

sym bo ls in , 222 ; Frog or T oad

am ule t , 225 ; scarab -like am ule ts

in , 226 ; fish form s in , 226 ; go ld ,cow ries , and , 2 1 4 ; m outh o f d ead

s tuffed W i th , 2 1 4 ; Great Bearand , 2 3 2 ; soul as p iv o t o f, 23 2 ;i n Fung-shui

”sy s tem , 2 3 6 ;

t ige r-j ad e an d w ar, 23 6; in Japan ,

343 ; i n rain -ge tt ing ce rem oni es ,

2 5 3 ; in t roduced w i th b ronz e in toE urope , 20 1 ; Japan ese b e lie fsregard ing, o f Chin e se o rigi n , 220 ;lun ar att r ibutes of, 2 1 8 ; no c turnal

lum ino s i ty of, 2 1 6; no ne cklace sof, in Ch ina, 3 3 8 ; o rigi n o f sym

bo lism o f, 20 6, 20 7 ; pe arls and ,1 57 ; p rom o tes longev i ty , 2 1 6 ;rhi no ce ro s ho rn and , 247

—9 ; warm

and co ld , 249 , 254; rush patt e rnon , 8 5 , and also no te 3 ; sym bo li sm

of, 1 65 ; sym bo l ism of, and p earlsym bo lism , 2 1 2 ; used ins tead of

em balm ing, 223 ; why swallow ed ,2 1 6 ; why sough t in E urope , 25 1 ,25 2 ; S pan ish nam e of,25 3 ; co lour

sym bo lism o f, 25 3 .

Jad e Mountain 1 3 9 ; in Chines eParadi se , 1 3 7 .

Jad e Riv e r o f Peking, 23 6 .

Japan ,arch aeo logy of, 3 25 ; Ainu and

Ko ro -

pok -guru, 3 26; Chin ese

nam e app lie d to , 3 60 ; d ragonpearl peak of, 3 9 ; d ragons o f, 47

°

early s earch e rs for wealth in , 3 3 3 ,E gyptian sh ips in , 3 3 ; E m p ressJingo and pearls of ebb and floo d ,40 ; h isto ry and m ytho logy of,

3 24; races of, 3 24; nam es o f, 3 3 3 ,and also no te 3 ; 3 5 2Jew el that gran ts all Des i res7 3 , 1 29 ; in Ind ia, Ch ina, and

Japan, 3 9 ; fish ey e as , 2 1 8 .

INDEX

Jewe ls as Kam i in Japan , 3 43 .

Jewe ls o f Flo od and E bb 40 .

Jim m u T enno , 3 7 9 , 3 86 .

Jingo , Japanese E m p ress , 40 , 3 8 5 .

Jokwa, 345 ; as Mo th e r God d ess ,1 5 2 .

Junks, Burm ese and Ch ine se , and

E gypt ian sh ip s, 29 , 3 2 ; o r igin o f,24 .

Kam i , th e ev i l, 343 ; the Japanese,34 !

K asenko , Japanese Artem is , 1 7 1 .

Kh o tan , as t rad ing cen t re , 20 2 .

Kian Yuan , Ch inese godd es s , 270 .

Kingdom unde r th e S ea 9 5 ;Kusanagi sw o rd legend and , 1 0 1 .

Kings ,Myth ical Ch ine se , 277 .

K o -j i -ki , th e , Japane se sac redboo k, 347 .

Ko re a, E m p ress Jingo and , 40 ;

gin seng (m and rake ) cul tiv ate d in ,

3 3 4; i d eas regard ing soul in , 24 1 ;Japanese and , 20 ; Ch ine se o v e rrun , 2 1 ; th e d o lm en in , 3 25 .

Ko ry aks , E gyp tian bo ats of, 3 2 .

Kuda-tam a, tub e -shaped bead s ,

3 3 7 (s e e T am a) .Kufas , Ch inese and Me sopo tam ian ,

2 5 .

Kurgans as culture centres, 20 0 .

Kusanagi swo rd , 3 82 ; o f Japan,1 0 1 .

Kwang T z e , T ao ist teach e r, 3 0 2 .

Kwan -y in , god de ss of m e rcy , 27 1 ;

as m o th e r and ch i ld giv e r, 27 1 ;as war go ddess , 272 .

L ake o f L i fe , th e Ind ian , 1 26.

L anguage o f Bi rd s in d ragonlo re , 7 3 ; in E gypt ian d ragons lay ing m y th , 77 ; in no rth e rnm y th s , 77 .

L ao T z e , founde r of T ao ism , 29 9Os i r is , Julius Cwsar, &c and ,

L ap i s - laz uli , as2 1 9 .

L ee ch -ch i ld , d e i ty called , 3 5 1 .

L igh tn ing as Fi re of L i fe 1 60 .

L i te rature , Chinese god of, 23 3 .

L o ki , Susa-no -wo and , 3 64.

L o tus , Far E aste rn god dess ’

s flowe r,1 7 1 ; E gyp tian H atho r as, 1 72 ; th eCo sm i c, 3 0 3 .

e ssence of go ld

3 EY7

Maya gem sym bo li sm , 3 3 6 .

Mead in m oon , 1 45 .

Med i c inal plan ts , 1 5 8 (see Tree of

Me lan es ia, Fish -god o f, and d ragon ,68 .

Me lus ina legend , in Ch inese d ragonlo re , 87 , 88, 9 7 (s ee P earl P rin

Maga-tam a, com m a-sh aped b eads ,

3 3 7 (see T am a) ; curv ed j ewe ls,ch i ld ren created from ,3 66 in Am a

terasu cav e -m y th , 3 68 .

Mak ara, d rago n as , 1 5 0 ; e leph ant

h ead ed d o lph in as , 20 3 ; ey e o f a

gem , 2 1 8 ; go ld and m e rcury and ,2 1 5 ; Baby lon ian sea-goat and ,2 1 5 ; go ld and pearls and , 2 1 5 .

Malachi te , as o ffe ring to d ead , 3 7(se e Me ta l S y m bolism ) .Man chu Dynasty , 29 2 .

Mand rake ,as life plant, 246 ; co loursand sh apes o f, 1 74 ; cult ivated in

Ko rea, 3 34 ; Ko rean sp i r i t of, 3 3 5 ;cy p ress t re e and , 1 67 ; d og and ,1 68 ; app le t re e and , 1 68 ; jad eand , 2 1 6 ; lo tus , pom egranate ,and , 1 7 2 ; gin seng as , 1 74; S hakespeare ’

s refe ren ce s to , 1 68 , andalso no te 1 ; se e P lant of L ife .

Man in th e m oon 1 46 .

Marine rs , an c i en t , 1 3 ; as culturecarr ie rs , 3 5 ; m o t iv e s fo r act iv i ties

of, 3 6 ; Ch ine se , 24 ; in Ko rea and

Japan , 25 ; C re te reach ed by , 28 ;early act iv i t i es o f, 27 ; E gypt ian

v oy age s , 3 0 ; Sum e r ia’

s firs t s ea

po rt, 3 0 ; m o t iv es fo r v o y age s of,

45 ; pearl-lo re and , 4 1 ; Ph os

ni c ians as t rad e rs , 3 0 ; sea god s of,

5 0 ; S um e ria reach e d by , 3 1 ; th e

Po lyn es ian , 3 3 ; long v o y age s of,

3 3—5 , 3 6 ; wand e rings o f, 44; see

Me rcury , in E lix i r o f L i fe , 3 8 ; inInd ian m edi c ine , 2 1 5 .

Me rcy , godd e ss of, 27 1 .

Me rm ai d s ,as p rov i d e rs ofhe rb cures,8 5 .

Me tals, search for, sp reads c iv i l i z a

t ion , 1 9 9 (se e Mariners and S hips) .Me tal S ym bo li sm , 3 7 ; Ch ine se asso

c iated coppe r w i th d eath and darkne ss , 3 9 ; i ron d read ed by d ragons,3 8 , 3 9 ; Greek, Ind ian , Ch in ese ,

3 9 8 MYTHS OF CHINA AN D JAPANT ree of, 1 45 , v apour from , causes

p regnan cy , 286 ; y e llow d ragonand , 1 49 .

Mo on and T ree goddess, 1 72 .

Mo on G i rl, th e Japanese , 1 5 0 .

Mo on Is land , 1 48 .

Moo n m ead , 1 45 .

Moon rabb i t and hare, 1 44.

Moon Wate r, 1 45 .

Moonl igh t Pearl, 2 1 8 .

Mo th e r Godd ess , as Mountain o fDawn 1 85 ; as sun bo at, 1 8 5 ;as source o f m o i stures o f li fe , 1 5 9 ;as T ree of L ife , 1 3 4; Baby loniannig-

gi l-m a and , 246 ; m and rakeand , 246; red earth and , 246

Chi h ese , and Dem e te r, 1 3 8 ,

3 7 , 3 8 ; in Chinese d ragon -lo re ,3 8 ;in Ind ian c reat ion m y th , 3 8 ;Ind ian co lour sym bo l ism and , 3 8 ;m alachi te and s i lv e r as o ffe r ingsto E gyp t ian d ead , 3 7 ; Ch inese

alch em i sts’

l iquo r o f i m m o r

tali ty 3 8 ; why go ld was sough t,

42 ; s ee Copper, G old , Iron, and

S i lv er .Mikado , as Os iri s and H o rus , 3 86 ;Paradi se of, 34 1 ; l ike Ph araohs of

E gy pt, 34 1 ; as an Os i r i s , 3 3 9 .

Mi kad o s , d e scent o f, from d e i t ie s,

3 7 8 ; th e anci ent, 3 78 .

Mi lk, E gyp tian go dd ess es sucklesoul s , 1 3 3 ; from co ckle -sh e lls inJapanese m y th , 3 74; from co cklesh e lls in S co tland , 3 74, an d also

no te 4; m o th e rless ch ild ren inT i be tan m y th , 26 1 ; offe red to

d ead in S co tland , 1 3 3 ; in E gyp t ian

Ch ine se arch e r and , 1 44 ; Ch ines eGen ius o f the H ill s 269 , 270 ;Chin e se N u Kwa, 1 5 1 ; j adecreated by , 1 52 ; Ch in ese sym bo lso f, 265 ; Co sm i c E gg and , 266;Ch in ese S i Wang Mu, and Ja

panese S e iobo , 1 3 7 ; Chines et igress as , 2 3 6, 2 3 7 ; co louredfrui ts and s ton es o f, 1 65 ; connec

ti on o f,w i th gem s and m e tals , 2 1 6;co ral as tree o f, 1 65 ; conn e ction

o f, wi th wate r, 1 65 ; D ew of

Im m o rtali ty from , 1 44 ; E gypt ian

and Chi nes e , 1 3 7 ; E gyp t ian H a

tho r feed s souls o f d ead , 1 3 3E uropean an im al fo rm s of, 1 8 3 ,23 7 ; E gypt ian se rpen t fo rm o f,2 3 7 ;E gy p tain cow -

godd ess , 2 3 8 ; fish

fo rm o f, 222 ; p earl conn e ct ion

Ming Dynasty , 29 2 . caus es jad e conn e c t i on , 22 1 ; fo rm s

Mirro r, 3 69 ; in Arnaterasu cav e and attributes o f, 246 ; go at fo rmm yth , 3 69 (see Obs id ian) . of, 1 8 3 ; go ld of, 1 89 , 1 9 0 ; in

Mistleto e , as plant of l ife , 1 0 0 ; in T ao i sm , 3 0 2 ; j ad e con tai ns influ

As ia, 1 76 ; s ac red to A inu, 3 3 0 ; ence of, 243 ; Ki ang Yuan as, 270°

see P lant of L ife . lo tus of, i n Far E as t an d E gyp t, 1 7 1 ,Mongol Dynas ty , 29 2 . m ugwo rt of, 1 7 1 ; m oon an d , 1 46,Moon , as Pearl of H eav en 44

°

1 57 ; n igh t-S hi ning gem s and h e rb sas source of d ew and n ectar, 1 57 , o f, 1 86; peach and , in Japan , 3 43 ;as source o f life , 1 5 0 ; bam boo peach t ree o f, 1 43 ; po t o f, 1 84,and , 1 5 0 ; Chi nese wom an in , 1 44; 1 87

°

s ta'

r form of, 1 84; scarab as ,

j ad e , pe arls , m and rake , &c ., S h ine 223 , c icada as , 224; S co tti sh , as

Paradi s e 1 3 3 ; S ea of, 1 1 1 , 1 1 2 .

Mi lk godd esses , Ch ine se t igress andE uropean and E gyp t ian fo rm s of,2 3 7 ; vul tures w i th b reas ts in

E gyp t ian m y th , 23 8 ; E gyp tian

cow -godd ess, 23 8 (see Mo ther

G oddess) .Mi lky Way , as source of Chinese ,E gyp ti an , and Ind ian r iv e rs , 1 1 0 ,

1 1 1 ; Celest ial Ri v e r o f, 1 48 ;Chi n es e sage reach es , 1 44 ; ho lywom an reach es , 1 49 ; Is land o f

B le st in , 1 0 6 ; soul s in , 3 1 9 ; S p in

ni ng Maid en of, 1 47 .

Mind , h eart as, 222, 223 .

l ike , 2 1 6 ; Man in the , 1 46; Ind rain , 1 46 ; d og in , 1 47 ; m e tals o f,2 1 9 ; Mo th e r Godd ess and , 1 46 ;nigh t-sh ining s tones and h e rbsand , 1 86; pearls and , 2 1 8 ; as

pearl, 64, 1 57 ; s il v e r as m e tal of,

3 7 ; as source ofWater of L ife , 1 83 ;

a stone , 1 82 ; Sparrow as m es senger

o f, 1 3 9 ; s tones as , 1 8 5 , p rec i ousston es of, 1 85

°

th e Ainu and ,

3 29 , 3 3 3 ; th e H eav en ly L ady Pa,Vi rgin Mo th e r N u-Chi and nin e

S ons , 268° T h e H eav enly L ady

Pao 278 ; T h e Poosa as go ddess



2 5 3 ; Buddh i s t b e li ef in , 1 26 ;d ragons and , 3 9 , 49 ; fish s cales

and , 222 ;“ Great Bear ” and ,

23 2 ; in Japan , 3 43 ; in Japanesewate rs , 3 3 3 ; in S hi n to fai th , 3 3 5 ;j ad e and , 1 57 ; j ad e and go ld used

l i ke , 2 1 4; Japanese T am a, 220 ;N agas and , 7 3 ; nigh t-sh in ing, 3 9 ,64, 2 1 6 ; Po lynes ian d ragon and ,68 ; p ro duced at Dragon Battle s,5 7 ; S h ark as guard ian o f, 22 1 ;Mo th e r God d e ss and , 222 ; th e

m o onl igh t, 2 1 8 ; flam in g o r fiery ,2 1 8 ; whal e

’

s ey es as , 2 1 8 ; of

E bb and Floo d , 40 , 54 .

Pe king, re l igious s ign i ficance of

S i tuat ion o f, 23 6 .

Pe rseus m y th , Japane se v e rs ion of,

3 46

Pe rs ia, Bi rd and serpen t m y th in ,74 .

Peruv ian s, whale wo rsh ipp ed by ,

49Ph oen i c ians , Afri ca c i rcum nav igated

by , 3 4; as seafare rs , 3 0 ; S o lo

m on’

s m arin e rs w e re, 3 6 ; as

E gyp t’

s m arin e rs , 34 ; co lon i es of,in E urope and As ia, 3 0 .

P ike , N o rth e rn G od as , 77 .

Pil lars of Card inal Po ints , 227 , 268 .

Pin e , Ainu and , 3 3 0 ; Chi ne se god

d e ss and , 270 .

Pine T ree ,Maid en o f, 1 70 ; Japanes eJo and U ba of, 1 7 1 ; m ug wo rt and ,1 68 ; Japan ese dog an d p in e story ,1 68 .

Pin e T ree of L ife, 1 1 6, 1 66.

Plane ts , th e fiv e,m y thi cal kings and ,274 .

Plan t of Birth , 3 3 5 .

Plant o f L ife , Baby lon ian legend of,

9 9 ; Bab y loni an nig-gi l-m a and ,

245 ; goat and , 1 7 3 ; in T ao ism ,

3 20 ; Japanese re ed S h oo t as ,

3 49 , 3 50 ; m and rake as , 1 74, 246 ;tea as , 1 7 5 ; m istle to e as , in As ia

an d E urope , 1 76; ivy and m ugwo rt in As ia, 1 76 ; m an d rake (ginseng) , m ush room and fungus as ,

in Japan , 3 3 5 ; m i stle to e as , 1 0 0 ;

o r igin o f, from tears o f d e i t i es ,1 80 ; sap o f, as e l ix i r, 1 45 ;h em p as , 1 8 0 ; th e huchu 1 77 ;th e ro o t in T ao i sm , 3 1 2

Plants o f L ife , 1 5 8 .

Plum tre e , d ragon ’

s blood originate s , 80 .

Plum T ree of L ife , 1 1 6; butterflyand , 225 .

Po lar S tar, as P iv o t of S ky 23 2 ;as Baby lon ian god , 23 2 ; as

Ch ine se god , 2 3 2 .

Po lyn es ia,anc i en t m arine rs reach ,45 °

b i rd -god and s erpen t

-god in , 7 1

Co sm ic E gg in , 3 48 ; d ragon of

5 0 , 5 1 ; d ragon of, and p earls, 5 1 ,d rago n o f, an d Baby lon ian , 78 ;d ragon o f, and Chine se , 67 ; Fi renail legend o f, 84; Gard en Paradi se o f, 3 8 0 ; Parad i se o f chi e fs ,3 8 1 ; gh o s ts go westward , 1 2 1 ; m yt ho f s eparat ion o f H eav en and E arthin , 3 48 ; T ree of L ife in , 1 3 5 ; wan

d e ring gho s ts in, 1 3 2 ; w e ll of lifein , 1 1 9 , 1 20 ; conn ect ion w i th

Am e ri ca, 1 20 .

Po lyn es ian go d s , Chi nese d rago nsand , 48 ; b i rd s , b easts , and rept i les as , 48 ; in s ea sh e ll s , 48 pro

te ctors of fis h e rie s , 49 .

Po lyn e s ians , E gyp t ian boats of, 3 3long v oy age s o f, 3 3 .

Poo sa (s ee K wan-y in) .Po t , th e Mo th e r, 1 6, 1 83 , 1 87 , 3 0 3 ;Baby loni an nig-gi l-ma an d , 245 ;Chin es e , 266 ; L o tus and , 1 7 2 .

Po tte rs , m al e and fem ale , 1 5 .

Po tt e r ’s wh e e l, an E gypt ian inv en

ti on , 1 3 ; Ch ina rece iv e s , 1 7°

Chin es e sam e as E gypt ian , 22 ,

in Baby loni a an d Pe rs ia, 22 ; di d

no t e v o lv e 1 7 ; unknown in

Am e r i ca, 1 8 ; Japanese rece iv e , 20 ;Ko reans and , 20 , 2 1 ; P tah -Os i risan d , 20 ; sac red in E gypt, 1 9 ;B ib li cal re fe rence s to , 1 9 ; ChineseE m p e ro rs an d po tte rs , 1 9 — 20 ; went

farth e r th an inv en to rs , 42 .

Po ttery an d c iv i li z at ion , 1 4, I5 .

Po tte ry , re l igious and s e cular, 1 8 .

P rogres s, O r igin o f, 1 2 .

Ptah , E gyp t ian god (or Ptah -Os i ri s),as d iv in e po tt e r , 20 .

Pum pe lly E xped it ion , 20 0 .

Purple S ea, 1 40 .

Rabb it o f m oon , 1 44 .

Rain god , d ragon as, 5 5 .

Red Island , E gyp tian H orus and ,

9 9

INDEX

Reed Plains , L and of, Chi na and

Japan as , 3 60 .

Reed S h oo t, in Japan es e m yth , 349 .

Re ed s, re ligious us e of, 8 5 , and also

no te 3 .

Rhi no ce ro s ho rn ,h ealing quali ti es of,249 ; jad e and , 247 ; Yang in , 248 ;

p earl fish e rs used , 249 ; no cturnal

lum ino s i ty of, 2 1 9 , 249 ; warm

and co ld , 249 .

Rh ino ce ros , p ro to ty pe of uni co rn ,

2 5 0 ; h e rb s and , 25 0 ; as Judgm ent

Beas t, 2 5 0 .

Rip Van Winkles , th e Chi n ese , 1 771 80 .

Riv e r o f L i fe , Po lyn es ian b e l ief regard ing, 1 2 1 ; Gange s as , 1 2 1 ;L e th e as, 1 2 1 .

Rush m ats , m agi cal use o f, 8 5 .

Rush patte rn s on j ad e , 8 5 .

Russ ian T urke stan, Baby loni an influence in , 20 2 .

S ac r ifice s, hum an , in Chin a, 29 0 .

S alm on , w o rshi ppe d by Ainu, 3 3 0 ;as d ragon in Ch ina, 76; as d ragonin S co tland , 7 5 ; as Ir ish dragon,77 ; L o ki as , 76

S alm on of Knowledge th e

Gae li c , 77 .

S an T s i h e rb , go at and , 1 73 (s eeP lant of L ife) .

S carab , j ad e fo rm s re sem b le , 226 .

S co tlai id , Apple land Parad i se , 1 24;d o ct r in e o f Cardi nal Po in ts in ,

229 ; eagle carr i es m an to IslandParad i se , 1 29 ; eagle -s tone and

rav en -s tone , 1 29 ; Gae li c s toryregard ing wate r o f life , 1 20 ; go d

d ess as s ton e , 1 82 ; godd e ss w i th

ham m e r, 262 ; o ffe rings to d ead in ,1 3 3 ; salm on as d ragon in , 7 5 ;soul fo rm s in , 240 ; call ing backof souls , 24 1 ; w ind -rais ing S tones

in , 5 8 .

S co tt i sh s e rp ent charm res em blesChin ese , 5 7 .

S ea-cow s , 5 0 .

S ea-d ogs , d ragons and , 48 ; as guard ians o f pearls , 48 .

S eafare rs , an c ien t (see Mariners) .S ea t rad e , e arly , 29 3 (se e S hips) .S ec re tary Bird , m ungo ose replace s ,in Indi an m y th , 7 3 ; o r igin ofb i rd and se rpen t m y th , 7 1 , 72 .

S e iobo , 3 80 ; Co sm ic E gg and , 266,267 ; Japanese godd e ss , 1 3 7 ; sam e

as S i Wang Mu o f Ch ina, 1 3 7 .

S e rp en t and b i rd m y th s , 66 .

S erp ent charm , S co tt i sh , re sem b lesChi ne se , 57 .

S e rpen t, Os i ri s as , 5 9 ; th e h o rn ed ,dragon and , 54; wate r snake b ecom es d ragon , 54; see S nake .

S e t , gaz e ll e and , 5 2 .

S hang Dynas ty , 285— 8 ; Patriarch

Phang in , 3 1 9 .

S h ang-t i , G od of S ky , 272 .

S hao -K’

ang, th e Ch in ese H o rus ,28 5 .

S hark, as guard ian of pearls , 22 1 ;King as , 68 , 69 ; see Dragons .

S harks , as d ragons in Po lyn es ia, 7 8 ;d ragon s and , 47 , 48 .

S h e lls , anc i en t t rad e in , 43 ; t e

l igious use of, 43 ; Buddhi s t b e li efin , 1 26 ; cowry sym bo li sm , 44 ;d e i t ies an d , 44 ; go ld an d , 1 64 ;m i lk from , 3 74, and also no te 4;Po lyn es ian dragon and , 5 1 ; Po lymes ian go d s in , 48 .

S h en-m ing, as fath e r of agr i cul ture ,

20 ; Os i ri s and , 277 .

S h en s i , as c rad le o f Chin ese c iv i l iz a

ti on , 20 9 .

S hin tai (go d bo dy ) , th e Japanese ,3 3 8 ; S p iri t of Kam i in , 34 1 .

S hi n to , conce rned chi efly w i th fo odsupply , h e alth , &c . , 3 40 ; d e i t i e s

of fire , fo od , &c ., 3 52 ; Drago nFloo d m yth in , 346 ; God s of S ea,3 5 2 ; m yth o f s eparati on o f h eav en

and e arth in , 347 , 348 ; no t N aturewo rshi p , 3 86; d o ctrin es of, 3 3 5 ;rev iv al of, 3 87 .

S hi pbui ld ing,o r igin o f, in E gyp t , 27 ;as E gypti an nat ional in dus try , 28 .

S h ips ,An c i en t E gyp t ian and Chi nese ,24; earli est , on Chi ne se coas ts ,

29 3 ; E gyptian , in Burm ah , &c .,

3 2 ; in Japan , 3 2 ; in Far E ast , 3 2 5Malay , Po lyn es ian , &c ., 3 3 ; Cec i l

T o rr o n E gyp tian typ e s of, 3 3°

w en t farth e r th an inv en to rs , 42s e e B arge of D ea th ,B oa t of D ea th ,N aviga tion, and Mari ners .

S hun , th e E m pe ro r,as fish e r, po tte r,and agr i cul tur i st , 20 ; son of rainb ow , 280 .

S i b e ria, art links w i th Ch ina, 20 3°

b ronz e links w i th E urope , 20 5

40 2 . MYTHS OF CHINA AND JAPAN

go ld in , 20 2 ; ho rse sac r ifices in ,

3 5 5 ; re ligi ous sym bo ls o f, 20 3 .

S igurd , Ch i nese S hun an d , 280 .

S i lk -wo rm s , Ch in e se E m p ress nour

i sh es , 27 8 ; Japan ese m y th ofo rigin o f, 3 69 .

S ilv e r, as m oon m e tal , 3 7 ; as

o ffe ring to d ead , 3 7 ; Baby lo n ian

nig-gzl-m a and , 245 ; bad m e tal

in Ind ia, 3 8 ; Bud d h i st b e lief in ,

1 26 ; p earls, &c ., and , 2 1 9 ; T reeo f L ife ro o ts are , 1 1 6 ; see Me ta l

S ym bolism .

S i WangMu, 3 80 ; Chine se godd es s ,1 3 7 ; Japan e s e S e i obo and , 1 3 7 ;Co sm i c egg and , in

Ch in es e legend , 1 3 9 .

S nak e , Dragon -m ai d en as , 87 ; Ja

panes e d ragon as ,3 5 3 , s ee S erpent .

S o lom o n , as im po rte r o f peaco cks,3 2 ; im po rt s o f, 3 4; shi ps o f, 3 0 .

S om a, m o on an d , 1 45 (see Am ri ta ) .

S oul , as Wh i te B i rd in Japan esem yt h , 3 84; cal ling b ack o f, in

China, S ib e ria, E gyp t , and Bri t ishIs les , 24 1 ; Ch ine s e i d e as re

garding, 23 9 ; c rane as car ri e r o f,240 ; bo at o f, 240 ; d ragon as

carri e r o f, 240 ; d eparture o f,during l ife , 240 ; an im al , &c .,form s o f, in E urope , 240 ; Indones ian fo rm s of, 24 1 ; two souls

in China, 24 1 ; E gyp t ian id eas

regard ing, in China,24 1 ; Japanesed ead as an im als , 34 1 ; no gh o sts in

early S hin to , 34 1 ; Kam i and , 343 ;kings an d an ce s to rs as god s , 242 ;ki rin s as carrie rs o f, 240 ; in

m o on or starlan d , 240 ; t ran sm igrati on of, 240 ; Ko rean b eli efin thre e souls, 24 1 ; S hi nto i d easregard ing, 3 3 5 ; so ld i e rs ’

sp i ri tswo rshipped in Japan , 3 86 .

S parrow as m e ssenge r o f go ddess ,1 3 9 .

S p ine s of fish an d wh ales as am ul etsin E urope an d Am e ri ca, 49 .

S p inni ngMai d en in Mi lky Way , 1 47 ,1 48 (see Mi lky Way and Mo ther

goddesses) .S p i r i ts (s e e S oul) .S p iri ts o f fallen so ldi e rs wo rshippedin Japan , 3 86 .

S tag, Chine se godd ess and , 1 40 :

d ragon an d , 5 1 .

S tar goddesses of China and E gypt,1 47 .

S tar god s, as ance sto rs , 27 5 ; DragonSwo rd s and , 27 5 .

S tars , Ch ine se E m pe ro rs and , 27780 ; Ch i nes e god and god d ess of,23 3 ; E m pe ro r Y u and , 28 1 ; I ri shm yt h and Chinese , 28 1 , 282 ;Great Bear con ste llat ion as

con tro ll e r of Yang and Y in, 2 3 1 ;N o rse Wo rld m i ll and , 23 2 .

S tone , coffin s o f, 226 .

S ton e of Darkn e ss coppe r and,3 9 .

S tone te ars , 1 8 1 (se e T ea rs) .S to nes , as Dragon E ggs , 5 8, 59 ;d e i ti es in , 1 82 ; fo rm ed by sap ,1 82 ; goats as , 1 84; Chinese

sp i ri ts i n , 1 8 5 ; h e rbs and , 1 86;ni gh t-sh ini ng, 64, 1 86; wate ry i e ld ing, 1 86 ; N o rs e go d s sp ringfrom , 1 82 ; Mi th ra sp rings fromro ck, 1 82 ; Indon es ian b e li efs re

gardi ng, 1 82, 1 8 3 ; S y r ian godd es sand , 2 1 7 ; S yrian go d d es s

’

8 ni gh t

shin i ng gem , 2 1 7 ; th e Dragon ,

1 82 ; turquo i se , and go dd ess , 58 ;E gyp t ian go d d e ss and , 58 ; v i tal

essence grad ed in , 1 86 .

S tones and t re es , 1 8 0 .

S to rk, th e b lue , 1 40 .

Sum e ria, culture o f, b egin s in sea

po rt , 3 0 ; d ragon -god (E a) o f, 3 0 ,

5 2 ; early seafare rs reach , 3 1 , 3 2(see B aby lonia) .

Sung Dyn asty , 292 .

S un

6god d ess , Japanes e , in cav e , 3 68,

3 9Sun ,go ld as m e tal of, 3 7 .

S usa -no wo , as L o rd of H ad es , 3 74ban i shm en t o f, 3 65 ; c reate s chi l

d ren from jew e ls , 3 66 °

chil dren

of, 3 7 3 ; d ragon-slay i ng m y th ,

3 7 1 ; s lay s foo d god d es s, 369 ;har ri es H eav en , 3 68 ; expuls ion

and puni shm en t of, 3 69 ; Japane sed ragon-slay e r, 3 46; son o f Iz anagi ,3 62 ; as w eep ing go d , 3 63 ; Ind raand , 3 63 .

S w08

rd ,th e Dragon (Kusanagi swo rd ),3 2 .

Swo rd , th e Japanese Dragon , 3 72 .

Swo rd t ransform ed in to t re e , 1 8 3 .

Swo rd s, d ragons and S tars and , 275 ;and h e rb s , 1 0 0 .


40 4 MYTHS o r CHINA AN D JAPAN

U ni co rn, rh ino ce ros and , 250 .

Vam p i re, d ragon as, 64, 65 .

Wall, the Great, 29 1 , 29 2 .

Wani , Japanese , 3 54 (see D ragon) .War god o f Ch ina, tige r as , 23 6 .

Wate r, d ragon con tro lle r of, 23 5 ;stones and , 5 8 , 59 .

Wate r and fire . 1 5 9 , 1 60 .

Wate r o f L ife , Alexand e r ’s s earchfor, 1 25 ; bod y m o is tures and ,1 59 ; Chi n ese and Japanes e searchfor, 1 3 8 ; d ew as , 1 3 9 ; d ragonsand , 7 5 , 1 59 ; H awai ian S to ryof, 1 20 ; Gae li c S to ry o f, 1 20 ;in Chi nese Is land o f B le st, 1 1 0 ;in E gyptian Paradi se , 1 3 3 ; inFung-shui do ct rine , 234; inT ao ism , 3 0 2, 3 1 7 , 3 2 1 ; in v ar iousParadi ses , 1 29 ; in Baby lon ian

m yth , 1 3 2 ; lunar po t of, 1 87°

lunar source of, 1 83 ; Po t and ,246S outh S ea Is land t radi t ion o f, 1 2 1

tear from god d es s s tar, 1 84 ;S i b e rian we ll s , 20 4; lunar, 1 45 ;

purple , 1 40 ; se e Well of L ifeWate r snakes and dragons , 54.

Weal th , re l igi ous incent iv e to quest

of. 45 .

Well o f L i fe , Cey lon , 1 2 1 ; at

H e l iopo li s, 1 22 ; gre en water of,1 25 ; in Ko ran, 1 26 ; in E gyp tian

Py ram i d T ex ts, 1 0 8 ; in T ao i sm ,

3 1 8 ; search for, led to di scov e ryof Flo r ida, 1 1 9 ; Po ly n es ian searchfor, 1 1 9 ; s ee Wa ter of L ife .

West, cult of, 1 3 4, 2 1 0 ; Chi nese

godd ess and , 1 3 7 ; Chines e Ish tarand , 266; in Chi na and E gyp t,60 , 229 ; in Japan, 3 80 ; in Po lynes la, 1 2 1 ; in T ao i sm , 3 0 2 ;Japanese and , 229 .

West , Parad ise o f, Chinese soul s in,240 ; in Japanes e m y th , 3 77 , andalso note 4.

Wes t, Royal L ady of, and Buddha,2 1 0 ; Chi nese em p ress b ecom es,

1 5 1 .

Wes t, Royal Mo th er of, 1 3 7 .

P ri n ted a nd bound i n G rea t B ri ta i n

Wes te rn Paradi se , Buddha o f, 2 1 0 .

Wh ale , Mao ri d ragon com pared to ,

49 ; S co ttish w i tches and , 49 ;do lph in , dugong, and , 5 0 ; wor

shi pped in Pe ru,49 ; d ragons and ,49 ; backbo ne of, as am ul e t inC re te , in L iguria, and Am e ri ca,49 ; pearls as ey es o f, 2 1 8Wi llow , sacre d in S ib e r i a, 3 3 0

sac red to Ai nu, 3 3 0 .

Wind , cont ro lled by Wh ite T iger

god , 23 5 (s e e T iger) .Winged d i sk, in E gypt and Mexi co,7 1 .

Win te r , as dry season in Ch ina, 56 .

Wo lf, as Kam i in Japan , 343 .

Wo rld Guard ians , Japanes e , 343 .

Wo rld Mi ll, Great Bear con

s te llati on and , 23 2 .

Wo rld Moun tain , 1 3 7 .

Wo rld T ree, 1 3 6 (see T ree of L ife) .Wo rld ’

s Ages , m e tals and do ctrineo f, 3 7 ; Greek and Ind ian , 3 7 (seeAges, the My th ical) .Wu, found e r of Chou Dynas ty ,Gi lgam es h , &c ., and , 288 ; o d e on

b irth of,288 ; re ign of,289 ; hum an

sac rifices in tro duce d by , 29 0 .

Wu-Y ih , th e E m pe ro r, b loo d bag of,286; play s di ce w i th go d , 286 ;Kafir id o l-b eat ing, 287 ; E gyp tianking and , 287,and also note 1 .

Yakuts ,poo r po tte rs but good woodand i ron -wo rke rs , 1 5 .

Yam ato -T ake , Japanese h e ro, 3 82 ;wo rship o f, 3 86 .

Yang and Y in , 23 0 ; contro lled byGreat Bear 23 1 ; in Japan ,348 .

Ye llow Rive r, Paradise reach ed by ,1 43 .

Y in and Yang (see under Y ang) .Ym i r,P ’

an Ku and , 263 .

Yom i , I z anam i and Iz anagi i n , 3 57 ;Ind ian Yam a and , 3 57 ; Japan eseOth e rw o rld , 3 40 ; Peach T ree o f

L i fe on bo rd er o f, 3 80 ; S us a

no -wo as lo rd o f, 3 74.

Y u, th e E m pe ro r, 28 1 ; in Delugem yth , 28 3 ; as P

’

an Ku, 284.

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