Jerome Yuchien's Ph.D Thesis
Chapter Three: the Land God in Chinese Popular Religion (part II)
3, Usually Worshipped at Home:
In Taiwan, people usually worship the Land God, among other gods, in their family altar everyday instead of going to temple. On the first and fifteenth days of every lunar month (that is, at the new moon and the full moon) (Sangren 1987:62; Weller 1987:30), he is especially venerated with incense and sometimes several kinds of sacrifices. However, businesses usually stay open on the first and fifteenth to take advantage of the twice-a- month activity, so businessmen such as stall-holders, traders, shop-keepers etc. because they worship the Land God as a wealth god, conduct these rituals instead on the second and sixteenth day of the each lunar month and also have feasts given by employers for their workers (Weller 1987:55).
Almost every locality has its own Land God temple. However, due to the distance or other factors, many people only go to the God's temple twice-monthly or for his birthday festival annually, and worship the God at the family altar everyday (cf. Harrell 1981:133; Feuchtwang 1992:40).
Every traditional Taiwanese family has an altar to carry out some important aspects of religious activities such as the worship of the Land God. The altar stands in the main hall or living room of the family, opposite the principal door. The family altar is usually called the "red table" (cf. Jordan 1985:93).(note.14)
The worship of the Land God at home is usually carried out by the seniors in the family. Since the seniors are prominent in the lives of young children, the example and instruction they provide are major influences on the children's later religious attitudes. The seniors tell religious stories, show children how to practise rituals. Secular education in modern schools often derides popular religion as "superstition," but many of the basic religious conceptions of the young are shaped by the activities of the family (cf. Cohen 1987:293).
4, Unique Location of His Temple:
The location of a temple of the Land God is very important for local people. Usually, it is situated on the edge of the locality (Jordan 1994:153) and should face the upper reach of the biggest stream in order to "guard (the locality) at the end of the stream" ("pe chui-buei") while other deities do not have such a function. Sometimes a dispute might arise over the locality or direction of the Land God temple should face. If this is the case, the God is supposed to decide the site and orientation of its own temple (Wang Shih-ch'ing 1974:83).
IV. Main Functions of the God:
The Land God is multi-functioned in Chinese popular religion. However, the main task of the Land God is to look after the piece of land he governs. He is indispensable to everything concerning the land. For example, the belief is that it might be dangerous to break the earth, since it contains "energies" which are hard to deal with (Cohen 1987:290). Therefore, when the first breaking of earth on a new site takes place for construction or destruction of a house, a temple, a grave, a bridge, or the like, an important person is to be invited to host the ceremony of "Ground-breaking" ("Pho-tho").(note.15) This is marked by the presentation of offerings on the ground to the Land God who governs this piece of land. Only after the host has asked the permission of the God, the piece of land can be broken (Day 1974:67; Wolf 1974:134; Feuchtwang 1992:94).
He is of considerable importance in farming villages, since he is in charge of the land and prosperity; the quality of the crops depends on him.(note.16) No Chinese peasant is supposed to plough his lands until the Land God is worshipped. In traditional China, farmers place small piles of seed in the places where they hope that later great heaps of grain will stand. Various types of grain and cereals are deposited as the centre of successive circles to grant a plenteous harvest in the present year. In Taiwan, the Land God is also the patron deity of farmers. A legend states that the Land God was the agricultural official under Emperor Yao. People worship him because he first taught agricultural skills. Also, a legend describes that the Land God was Mr. Go., a retired official who taught agricultural skills to farmers. Therefore farmers asked the City God to apotheosise him "Hok-tek Cheng-sin". However, the custom that placing small piles of seed by farmers is different from China. In Taiwan, farmers usually place small piles of rice seed in front of or in the hand of Emperor Shennong, a legendary hero who is said to be the inventor of the plough and the first Chinese agriculturist (cf. Werner 1977:415).(note.17)
In addition to asking the God for a good harvest, farmers may ask him to do various things. In Nantou County, pioneering farmers of the area built temples of the Land God for warding off hostile aborigines (Liu Zhiwan 1961:117). The banana farmers built temples for the God to get rid of wild swine (Liu Zhiwan 1961:117). After they settled down in this area, they started to ask the God for improving health and curing diseases (Liu Zhiwan 1961:118).
2, In Charge of Wandering Souls:
Harrell (1974:196) describes that there is a small shrine in a village in the southern Taipei basin that houses bones dug up when a road into the area was being constructed. After it was built, a temple of the Land God was also built a short distance down the road. He remarks that it is so because visitors to the area would see god (i.e. the Land God) before they saw the wandering souls which are supposed housed in the small shrine. He adds that similar constructions can be found by roadsides and in cemeteries throughout Taiwan. Correspondingly, Ahern (1981:405) also records that there is a slaughter house in a village, where buffalo and horses are frequently slaughtered. People in the community were so fearful of the dangerous souls of the slaughtered animals - it was said that one could hear their screams at night - that the owner of the factory built a special temple of the Land God on the premises to control them.
These two field workers, however, offer no explanation for the choice of the Land God, as opposed to some other deity, in these cases. In fact, according to Chinese popular religion, one of the main tasks of the Land God is to be in charge of souls. Chamberlayne (1966:177) records that when the first signs of approaching death appear, the ceremony of "summoning back the soul" of the dying one takes place. Usually the family and friends will go to the shrine of the Land God of the locality, where they light incense-sticks and candles before the God whilst they call out, "Come back, So and So". Then other members of the party will reply, "He has returned". This may occur a large number of times. The Land God is here invoked to help in calling back the soul of the dying person.
When the death has taken place, then the Land God has to be informed. As soon as night sets in, the members of the family light up lanterns, and, weeping, proceed to inform the God. On arrival, they inform him that a member of the family has departed this life. They beg the God to show kindness towards him, stating that during his earthly life he was weak and infirm and toiled hard along the pathway of life. After a display of firecrackers and the offering of incense, everyone returns home. On the second day, the family return - dressed as before in white, with sackcloth bands around their hair - to receive back the soul, which they believe has been hospitably cared for in the temple of the Land God (cf. Chamberlayne 1966:177).
In Taiwan, the souls of the deceased are believed to be wandering about in the underworld. The Land God, then, comes to lead the souls there (Sangren 1987:138). When they wash their hands with the water offered by the God, they will notice their hands are beginning to rot and realise that they are dead (Feuchtwang 1974b:120).
From the role that the Land God plays in the following two rituals recorded by Ahern (1973:221-5) in a small village in northern Taiwan we can also understand the Land God is in charge of souls. The first one is his performance in an episode of a rite known as "the Rite of Merit" (Cho-kong-tek). Most people in the village studied by Ahern insisted that although their ancestors might commit some wrong or other, none of them would suffer miserable reincarnation since "the Rite of Merit" performed on the eve of the funeral would cancel out all misdemeanors.(note.18) The performance requires the services of a ritual specialist and several assistants. It was said that because the road to the underworld is beset by dangerous monsters and unknown obstacles, the deceased might succumb to some fatal disaster long before arriving unless he or she receives the help of the rite.
When all was arranged, a musician played a jaunty tune on a stringed instrument while an assistant hobbled in, dressed like an old man. With his white beard, staff, and bent frame, he was immediately recognised by everyone as the Land God. At first, the God simply wandered around the audience, making jokes and delighting the children, but eventually, the priest, who acted as the descendants' emissary, told him that someone needs help crossing the bridge into the underworld; at this the cloth stretched between the two tables became the centre of attention as a representation of the bridge. The Land God began to circle the bridge, followed by a line of the deceased's direct descendants. As they circle, the Land God talked about how difficult it was to cross the bridge without the help of a god because of the terrible monsters and demons waiting below to snatch up anyone who took a wrong step (Ahern 1973:223).
The descendants, knowing that the God must be paid for such an invaluable service, dropped coins into a bowl under the table every time they completed a circle. The Land God led them on and on, until the amount of money collected satisfied him. He often urged them to make more donations by exclaiming that the prices of food and medicine had gone up recently, and that a person needed more money to live on today.
Occasionally, the priest interrupted to plead that there was enough money in the pot and to ask that the Land God consent to lead the deceased across. Finally, the God agreed, collected his money, and hobbled off stage. Then after the descendants slowly walk the length of the cloth bridge and ensured the dead had been safely guided across the dangerous outskirts of the underworld and had been given ample funds to provide himself with food and protection while he was there, the performance was completed.
The second ritual referred to as "looking around the underworld" (Kuan-lt-im) is also performed with the help of an appropriate ritual specialist (Ahern 1973:228-231). Through the ritual, people were able to descend into the underworld in hopes of catching a glimpse of a deceased relative or of finding an explanation of misfortune in the underworld. When the specialist who possessed the necessary knowledge of incantation came to the village, he put a client in trance and begin to shake. Finally, he said quietly, in a low voice, "There's no road." When the client repeated that he could not find the road, the specialist decided that the problem must be the Land God who led the way wanting money. Accordingly, he began to burn paper money for the Land God on the floor in front of the entranced client. Only when satisfied amount of money offered, would the God lead the way.
Thus, we can now understand the choice of a Land God temple in the ethnographic cases reported by Harrell and Ahern, and cited above. The Land God is able to keep dangerous souls at distance from the community or field where people inhabit (Berkovits and others 1969:76; Wolf 1974:134) and thus serves as the boundary marker between mankind and the ghosts (e.g. see figures 110 & 111).
