[377] Primitive Culture (4th ed.), vol. ii. p. 221.
[378] Op. cit. vol. ii. p. 213.
[380] Tylor's Primitive Culture (4th ed.), vol. ii. p. 225.
[381] The Evolution of the Idea of God, p. 150.
CHAPTER XVI
THE DRAGON, MOUNTAIN-WORSHIP, BUDDHISM
A district like Weihaiwei, which is agricultural and which also possesses an extensive coast-line, naturally pays special reverence to the gods that preside over the weather and the sea. Two of the most popular of the Weihaiwei deities are Lung Wang—the Dragon-king—who possesses the power of manipulating rainfalls and is therefore appealed to in seasons of drought, and T'ien Hou—the Queen of Heaven, also known as Shêng Mu, the Holy Mother—a goddess who is in many respects the Taoist counterpart of the Buddhist Kuan Yin (the "Goddess of Mercy") and is regarded as a protecting deity of sailors and fishermen. The Holy Mother has many shrines along the coast, besides a quaint old temple at Port Edward and a locally-famous one called Ai-shan Miao on a mountain-pass a short distance to the north-west of the market-village of Yang-t'ing. The last-named temple, which recently has been undergoing a partial restoration, is, owing to its position, exposed to the fierce north winds of winter and the equally boisterous south winds of early summer, and after its erection about the end of the fifteenth century it was more than once blown down. The priests and other wise men of the time deliberated on the question of how to prevent such catastrophes in future, and finally decided that the best way would be to dig a tunnel through the hill from north to south underneath the temple, so as to give the wind a means of crossing the pass comfortably without hurting the building. The tunnel was duly made and exists to this day. It is over six feet in height, four feet in breadth, and perhaps thirty yards in length. No self-respecting wind, it was supposed, would play havoc with the walls and roof of the temple when a nice channel had been specially constructed for its private use, and indeed for many years, it is said, the temple enjoyed complete immunity from storms. But the priest now in charge has informed me regretfully that the tempests of these latter days are not so amenable to reason and discipline as were those of the good old times.[382]
