III. Anthropomorphisation, Historicisation, and Standardisation:

For the interpretation of Zong and Bi, the ancient jade symbols, Fitzgerald (1961:126) comments that:

The ancient Chinese did not make anthropomorphic images of their gods, their religious symbolism was governed by mathematical and abstract conceptions, consequently the jade symbols do not readily suggest to the modern mind the ideas which they were intended to represent.

By the same token, the "She", which consists of three essences: earth, stone, and tree, was obviously a worship of natural objects or a fertility cult and not likely to indicate anthropomorphic conceptions in ancient times. However, as I emphasised in the previous chapters, since at least the Shang or Zhou Period, most divine natural features have been anthropomorphised and identified with former kings, the cultural heroes, or deified ancestors. The Land God, being usually identical with the "She", is not an exception. Even though in some localities, he is represented by a stone and/or tree, if represented by a statue or picture, the Land God is usually depicted as a mild-faced, kind old man with a long white beard, wearing a round cap and the costume of a local elder. The Land God is usually worshipped with his wife. Beside the couple, two attendants - a boy and a girl - are also enshrined. He is sometimes even venerated with a concubine and a son.

The Land God is not only anthropomorphised, but also historicised. Through the legends I studied before, he is articulated with names, birthplaces, occupations, and deeds leading to deification. What is significant is that in the legends he is again and again attached with the time he lived in the world. Additionally, in one of the legends, he is even connected with the Mid-autumn Ethnic Revolt against the Mongol Yuan Administration and it is said that today every family worships the Land God and eats pumeloes at the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is in memory of the Revolt and the Land God. Therefore, in order to emphasise that he was a genuine human being, these legends make every effort to put him into a Chinese historical context. For Chinese people, history means authority. The conducts written into history are something real and unchangeable. With historicisation, these legends become real and unchangeable.

Moreover, from the previous chapters, we find that the dates of the birthday festivals of almost all stones and trees representing the Land God are the same. These birthday festivals are held 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. I attribute the reason that the dates of birthday festivals for the Land God are so unified, and that the God is commonly depicted as a local elder loyal to the piece of land he governs, to be the result of standardisations.

From Watson's study, we realise that the Heavenly Empress was standardised by a mechanism constituted by local elites, state authorities, and written accounts. However, from the studies of the previous chapters, we learn that the Cult of the Land God is standardised by more than one mechanism. From the analysis of festival dates, we see that people follow only one date standardised in the Almanac and identify the other date with the autumn rite of the "She". The Almanac and local leaders who sponsor and promulgate the new versions of the Almanac serve to set the standards for the date of the Land God's birthday festival. The "She", which was also a state standardised cult since at least the Zhou Dynasty, also influenced the other date of the Land God's birthday festival. Furthermore, from the analysis of images of the Land God, we observe his statues are standardised by the "deity statue image book" in the sculpture workshop. Moreover, because he is popular enough to interest local leaders, his deification legends are standardised to some extent by local leaders.

The stones and trees treated as the second type, that is, as the Stone God and the Tree God, are also influenced by anthropomorphism. They are typically entitled as "kong" such as "Chio-thau-kong" or "Tua-chhiu-kong". The term "kong" is an appellation consisting of several meanings. It literally means "grandfather". It is also a polite term of address for men that is used in a variety of social circumstances. In late-Ming vernacular fictions, it is most commonly applied to old men (Shahar 1993:23). However, the word "kong" has religious connotations. It refers to male deities considered anthropomorphically.

In addition to the anthropomorphical title "kong", these divine stones and trees are anthropomorphised by representation in anthropomorphical deity statues. For example, the statue of the Stone God of Kim-eng Ward (#S7; see figure 7) is portrayed as a red faced, white eyebrowed, white bearded old man with a double-edged sword on his hand. The statue of the Stone Divine Grandfather of Pat-po Village (#S9; see figure 10) is depicted as an old long-bearded, red-faced general, riding a white horse with a big sabre in his hands. The statue of the Stone God of Su-Lim District (#S50; see figures 53 & 54) is engraved in the form of a literate general. It is noteworthy that none of the above images is included the "deity statue image book" mentioned in Chapter Three. The sculptor himself in deity statue workshop has to create the images of the stones and trees treated as the this type.

Many of the natural objects classified into this type have also been historicised. For instance, both 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) are proclaimed to be "the Grandfather of Yellow Stone" ("Ui Jio Kong"), the mysterious teacher of a famous historical hero Zhang Liang of the Han Dynasty. However, they are not standardised.

We noted that the Land God is worshipped on almost every piece of land, but the name and the dates of birthday festival for the Land God are unified. On the contrary, the names and the dates of the birthday festivals of the Stone God and the Tree God are various. Even though divine stones of this type are usually called "the Stone God", they are variously called "the Stone Grandfather", "the Stone Buddha", "the Stone General", "the Stone Divine Grandfather", "the Emperor of Six Areas", "the Literate and Militant Emperor", "the Grandfather of Yellow Stone", or "the Wind-moving Stone" due to different localities or some other reasons. Similarly, even though divine trees of this type are usually called "the Tree God", they are variously called "the Pine King", "the Banyan Grandfather", "the Beech Grandfather", "the Banyan God", "the Divine Tree", "the Banyan Tree Goddess", or "the Tree King" due to different localities or some other reasons.