u Ling on his return told of this happening, and begged that
temples be erected in honor of the Queen of Heaven, and that she be
included in the list of the gods. And the emperor granted his prayer.

Since then temples of the Queen of Heaven are to be found in all
sea-port towns, and her birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of
the fourth month with spectacles and sacrifices.

Note: "The Queen of Heaven," whose name is Tian Hou, or
more exactly, Tian Fe Niang Niang, is a Taoist goddess
of seamen, generally worshiped in all coast towns. Her
story is principally made up of local legends of Fukien
province, and a variation of the Indian Maritschi (who
as Dschunti with the eight arms, is the object of quite
a special cult). Tian Hou, since the establishment of
the Manchu dynasty, is one of the officially recognized
godheads.

XXIII

THE FIRE-GOD

Long before the time of Fu Hi, Dschu Yung, the Magic Welder, was the
ruler of men. He discovered the use of fire, and succeeding
generations learned from him to cook their food. Hence his descendants
were intrusted with the preservation of fire, while he himself was
made the Fire-God. He is a personification of the Red Lord, who showed
himself at the beginning of the world as one of the Five Ancients. The
Fire-God is worshiped as the Lord of the Holy Southern Mountain. In
the skies the Fiery Star, the southern quarter of the heavens and the
Red Bird belong to his domain. When there is danger of fire the Fiery
Star glows with a peculiar radiance. When countless numbers of
fire-crows fly into a house, a fire is sure to break out in it.

In the land of the four rivers there dwelt a man who was very rich.
One day he got into his wagon and set out on a long journey. And he
met a girl, dressed in red, who begged him to take her with him. He
allowed her to get into the wagon, and drove along for half-a-day
without even looking in her direction. Then the girl got out again and
said in farewell: "You are truly a good and honest man, and for that
reason I must tell you the truth. I am the Fire-God. To-morrow a fire
will break out in your house. Hurry home at once to arrange your
affairs and save what you can!" Frightened, the man faced his horses
about and drove home as fast as he could. All that he possessed in the
way of treasures, clothes and jewels, he removed from the house. And,
when he was about to lie down to sleep, a fire broke