The Babylonians, who were the pioneer astronomers and astrologers of Asia, identified the stable and controlling spirit of the night sky with the Polar Star, which was called “Ilu Sar” (“the god Shar”) or “Anshar” (“Star of the Height” or “Star of the Most High”).[52]
Isaiah (xiv, 4–14) refers to the supreme star-god when he makes Lucifer declare: “I will ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be the most High”.
Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar are undoubtedly of Babylonian origin. The Babylonian god of the Pole Star has not been forgotten. Dr. Edkins once asked a Chinese schoolmaster: “Who is the Lord of heaven and earth?” He replied “that he knew none but the Pole Star,” called in the Chinese language Teen-hwang-ta-te, the great imperial ruler of heaven.[53] [[233]]
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 Towmoo, a female divinity supposed to reside in the Great Bear. A part of the same constellation is worshipped under the name Kwei-sing. A small temple is erected to this deity on the east side of the entrance to Confucian temples, and he is regarded as being favourable to literature.” But the chief god of literature is “Wen-chang”, who is identified with a constellation near the Great Bear which bears his name. He is prayed to by scholars to assist them in their examinations. Temples were erected to him on elevated earthen terraces. “Wen-chang”, says Edkins, “is said to have come down to our world during many generations at irregular intervals. Virtuous and highly-gifted men were chosen from history as likely to have been incarnations of this divinity.”[54]
The five elements controlled by the Great Bear as it swings round the Polar Star are in China (1) water, (2) fire, (3) wood, (4) metal, and (5) earth. These elements compose what we call Nature. As we have seen, they were placed under the guardianship of animal gods. The White Tiger of the West, for instance, is associated with metal. When, therefore, metal is placed in a grave, a ceremonial connection with the tiger-god is effected. “According to the Annals of Wu and Yueh, three days after the burial of the king, the essence of the element metal assumed the shape of a white tiger and crouched down on the top of the grave.”[55] Here the tiger is a protector—a preserver.
Jade being strongly imbued with Yang or “soul [[234]]substance” was intimately associated with all the gods, and the various colours of jade were connected with the colours of the “airts” and of the heavens and earth. Laufer quotes from the eighteenth chapter of Chou li, which deals with the functions of the Master of Religious Ceremonies:
“He makes of jade the six objects to do homage to Heaven, to Earth, and to the Four Points of the compass. With the round tablet pi of bluish (or greenish) colour, he does homage to Heaven. With the yellow jade tube tsʼung, he does homage to Earth. With the green[56] tablet Kuei, he renders homage to the region of the East. With the red tablet chang, he renders homage to the region of the South. With the white tablet in the shape of a tiger (hu), he renders homage to the region of the West. With the black jade piece of semicircular shape (huang) he renders homage to the region of the North. The colour of the victims and of the pieces of silk for these various spirits correspond to that of the jade tablet.”[57]
The shape, as well as the colours, of the jade symbols was of ritualistic importance.
What would appear to be the most ancient Chinese doctrine regarding the influences or “breaths” that emanated from Nature, and affected the living and the dead, is summed up in the term Fung-shui. “Fung” means wind, and “shui” means “the water from the clouds which the wind distributes over the world”. Certain winds are good, and certain winds are bad.
The importance attached to wind and water appears to be connected with the ancient belief, found in Babylonia and Egypt, that wind is the “breath of life”, the soul, and that water is the source of all life—“the water of life”.