A seventh legend asserts that the Land God lived on the earth more than a hundred years ago, and was named Tongxiao. He was extremely fat, and at the time of his death had a head of silvery-white hair, and a magnificent beard - an appearance perpetuated in the statues of the Land God. During his mortal life, the Land God made a living by farming and fishing. Despite the fact that he gave to the poor and engaged in charitable works, his property never decreased; so it is said that his possessions were bequeathed to him from the heavens, and were an inexhaustible supply (I shall call the legend "Legend VII" hereinafter).(note.17)

From these legends, we vividly see, the Land God is not merely depicted in anthropomorphical forms such as appearance and behaviours, they even articulate his name, birthplace, life time, occupation, and his deeds leading to deification. We observe that Legend I describes that he was a tax-collector by the name of Tiun hok-tek, who lived during the Zhou dynasty and was extremely fair to the people. As a result, he was apotheosised as the god Hok-tek Chen-sin. In Legend II, he was said to be a kind tax- collector of the Zhou Dynasty. Since he wanted everyone to be equally rich, he refused to take money from the poor. He began to be worshipped after his death. Legend III says that his name was Tiun Beng-tek, who was a servant in an important official's menage of the Zhou Dynasty. He froze to death by wrapping the girl of his master up warmly in the clothes off his own back in a fierce snow-storm. Finally, he was worshipped as a god by his master out of gratitude. Legend IV narrates that the Land God was from a place called Thian-lam and was a faithful servant. He himself froze to death by taking off his clothes for his master to wear in a cold winter. As a result, the Jade Emperor rewarded him by appointing him as the Land God. Legend V relates that he was an elder who kept a general store. He took the order of the emperor and killed a harmful snake and was canonised as the Land God. Legend VI says that he was a candy merchant who lived a long time ago. He went out to the mountains and killed a dangerous snake and was worshipped as a god. Legend VII says that the Land God lived on the earth one hundred years ago and was named Tong Siau. He made a living by farming and fishing. He gave his possessions to the poor and engaged in charitable works and finally was regarded as a god.

V. Anthropomorphism of the Stone/Tree God:

Not only the Land God has been anthropomorphised, the other natural objects have also undergone this process. The stones and trees which have been identified with specific deities such as the Granny, the First Divine Patriarch of Chiang-chiu District, General Chu etc. of course have their own "biographies" and thus do not need to be anthropomorphised. However, the believers of some venerated natural objects such as the Stone God and the Tree God still endeavor to anthropomorphise their deities. For instance, both the devotees of the Stone God of Lai-o. District (#S43; see figure 45) and the Stone General of Tan-khe Rural-town (#S8; see figures 8 & 9) have proclaimed that their deities are "the Grandfather of Yellow Stone" ("Ui Jio Kong"), the mysterious teacher of a historical hero Zhang Liang.(note.18)

The adherents of the Tree God of Lam-kang District (#T33; see figures 99 & 100) attempt to identify the God with Xian'gong . They moulded and dressed the deity statue similar to Xian'gong and hold the birthday festival of the tree on the eighteenth day of the fifth lunar month, the same day with the birthday of the god Xian'gong. (note.19)

In these cases, we can see, by identifying with historical figures, the natural objects got their names, life time, deeds and so forth. Moreover, we also realise that some deities are represented by temple images with human form, and so are anthropomorphicised. For example, in front of the stone representing the Stone God of Kim-eng Ward (#S7; see figure 7) is located a statue of a red faced, white eyebrowed, white bearded old man with a double-edged sword in his hand. The believers told me that the image was engraved according to the manifestation of the God in dream. The statue of the Stone Divine Grandfather of Pat-po Village (#S9; see figure 10) is a old long-bearded red- faced general, riding a white horse with a big sabre in his hands. The image of the Stone God of Su-Lim District (#S50; see figures 53 & 54) is engraved like a literati general.

VI. Standardisation and the Land God:

So far, we observe that the dates of the birthday festivals of almost all stones and trees representing the Land God hold birthday festivals on the second day of the second lunar month, on the second day of the eighth month and/or on the fifteenth day or sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Moreover, on closer examination of the different legends that portray the Land God, we find a common feature: an elderly local man devoted to his community. I attribute the reason the dates of birthday festivals are so unified and the different legends have so much in common to the result of the standardisation of the Land God.

In his article "Standardising the Gods: The Promotion of Tianhou (Empress of Heaven) Along the South China Coast, 960- 1960", dealing with the promotion of "approved" deities by the local elites and state authorities (Watson 1985:293-323), Watson says that the local elites, defined here as literate men with interests in land and commerce, were eager to cooperate with state authorities in the standardisation of cults. Assisting in the construction of an approved temple was one of the many ways that an educated gentleman could "gentrify" himself and his home community. The essay is particularly interesting because the Heavenly Empress was originally a minor deity that emerged on the coast of Fujian Province during the tenth century. For a number of reasons, the state found it expedient to adopt her as a symbol of coastal pacification in the twelfth century and, by virtue of imperial sponsorship and the endeavours of the local elites, she consequently became the leading goddess in South China. Not surprisingly, the elevation of the Heavenly Empress and her cult are paralleled by the gradual rise of state authority over China's southern coastal region (Watson 1985:294).

The strategy of the imperial state authorities and the literate local elites to standardise the "approved" deities was that, when they found a deity expedient, the state first conferred on him/her an honorific title. Then the deity and his/her temple would be listed by the elites in the gazetteer and official documents that circulated at the national level to confirm the recognition and to ensure that religious cults conformed to nationally accepted models. As a result, the literate local elites who related more easily to these written accounts would think they had succeeded in their efforts to introduce a standard form of religion.

Watson noticed that since the elite written accounts reached downward and local oral tales penetrated upward (cf. Bell 1989:49-50), the state both led the masses and responded to popular pressure; it both promoted and co-opted deities (Watson 1985:323). In order to allow sufficient flexibility for people at all levels of society to claim the deity (e.g. the Heavenly Empress) as their own, the state and elites only imposed a "basic structure" of the cult (Watson 1985:297; cf. Bell 1989:49-50). Therefore, there are many lengthy versions of myth of the Heavenly Empress. Some of these are preserved in written records that have been standardised over the centuries. Others are passed on and transformed orally. The goddess, then, means different things to different people, depending on their position in the hierarchy of power. To the boat people, for instance, she promised mastery of the seas and protection from storms; to the landed elite she symbolized territorial control and social stability; to the late imperial authorities she represented the "civilizing" effects of approved culture (Watson 1985:294).

The myths in the standardised written records tend to ignore the fact that the woman who was to become the Heavenly Empress lived to be 27 and did not marry, deviating from the norm of her era and place. These records minimized the discrepancies of local colour and emphasize more universal (or national) values (cf. Bell 1989:49-50) and served as a medium to carry all the right messages that literate decision makers wished to convey about their communities: civilization, order, and loyalty to the state (Watson 1985:323). On the contrary, many of the oral versions contained strong hints that she had a special relationship with spinsters and other unmarried women. In some accounts, for instance, she refused to marry and became notable as a seer or medium (Watson 1985:297).

Although Watson's theory deals with the process of standardisation of the Goddess "Heavenly Empress" the imperial times, I believe that it is applicable to the case of the Land God who has been standardised in the Chinese Almanac (Chamberlayne 1966:179) and indirectly linked to the state cult for a long time (Duara 1988:786).

Among the 61 divine stones and 39 trees I have studied, none of them was sponsored or built by the imperial or Republican government. But the fact is that almost all stones and trees representing the Land God have unified dates for his birthday festivals and similar legends. Has the God, like the case of the Heavenly Empress, been standardised? If the answer is positive, what is the "standardised written accounts" and who are the elites?

In the past, the promulgation of the Almanac was the privilege of the imperial government. Nowadays in Taiwan there are many different editions of the Almanac sponsored and circulated by local gentries, politicians, entrepreneurs, members of temple administration committees, and others, that is, local leaders. I asked some publishing companies how they edited these editions of the Almanac. They answered me that these were not edited by themselves but by some prestigious "religious specialists (Xiansheng)". Therefore, I interviewed these "specialists" how they did so. Some just told me that they would rather not tell me since they promised those who taught them how to edit the Almanac to keep esoteric.

However, some enthusiastic specialists did tell me how the different ones were edited. One told me that he just compiled different editions of the Almanac, which were passed down from his teacher, into the current one. One told me that he edited the current one based on a classic Almanac passed down from his teacher and he added some new information to it. One told me that he consulted with some editions of the Almanac circulated in Taiwan and edited them to become the new one. I asked them on what principle did they base their dicision when they added new deities' birthday festival dates into the new editions of the Almanac. They all answered me that because the Almanac was updated for the general public and the publications were sponsored by local leaders (difang touren), they added new dates only of deities who were very popular (e.g. the Royal Lords) in Taiwan.

If we apply Watson's theory to the analysis of the Land God's birthday festivals dates, we find that, although the Land God was not an imperial cult, it has been more or less standardised like that of the goddess Heavenly Empress. Additionally, the mechanism of standardisation is also similar. We find that the "standardised written accounts" of the birthday festival dates is the Chinese Almanac. The "elites" who standardise the dates of the Land God are the religious specialists who edit the different editions of the Almanac and the local leaders who promulgate them. However, because local leaders are sponsors, they are "decision makers". Since the Land God has been widespread for thousands years, the different editions of the Almanac would not ignore his existence, no matter how newly they are edited. That is, the popularity of his cult keeps his status stable in the Almanac.

On examination of the different legends that portray the Land God, we find that they are also standardised to some extent. According to the theory of Watson, the homogenised myths in the standardised written records tend to ignore things deviating from the social norm and to emphasize more universal values. These standardised myths served as a medium to carry all the right messages that the elites wished to convey about their communities. This theory helps to illustrate why the different legends that portray the Land God consist of a common feature: an loyal, elderly man. The common feature is the so-called "basic structure" in Watson's terms. It also helps to explain why the legends and functions of the God described in the last chapter always depicted him as a "keeper" rather than a "challenger" of community. In brief, the Cult of the Land God is, to some extent, standardised and serves as a carrier of messages that the state and local elites wished to convey. Nevertheless, we notice that some of the legends narrated both in the last and this chapters consist of some miraculous deeds of the Land God; I hypothesise that it is because they are orally propagated at local levels.(note.20)

Moreover, if we learn from the experience of Watson's analysis of state and elites' strategies to control local cultures, we realise that the process of anthropomorphisation could not have occurred without state intervention. By anthropomorphising these divine animals and natural objects, they can be arranged in a bureaucratic structure under the emperor. As a result, they can be promoted or demoted according to ethics or morality, that is, conformed to nationally accepted models.