der Gottheiten in der tauistischen Mythologie stellen solche
Wesen vor, die den verschiedenen Reichen der Natur einwohnen
sollen, andere dagegen sind vergötterte Menschen. Zu den
ursprünglichen Gottheiten gehören die des Meeres, der Flüsse,
der Gestirne, die über die meteorologischen Processe und die
Fruchtbarkeit der Erde *) Wachenden. An der Küste findet man
Tempel, die dem Geist der Tiefe, dem König des Meeres, dem
Denkmäler errichten, um ihr Andenken zu erhalten, Tafeln (Ehrenbogen) in der
Nähe Messender Gewässer aufgerichtet. Wenn ein Beamter einem Geiste oder
einer heiligen Person Opfer bringt, welcher das Gesetz keine Verehrung zu erkennt,
wird er bestraft. Die Wahrsager, welche sich ihrer Bücher bedienen, um
böse Geister hervorzurufen, barbarische Beschwörungen vorzunehmen, die Häupter
gottloser und verderblicher Secten, die Mitglieder aller abergläubischen Vereine
(wie die Milefo und Pelienkia) beleidigen alle Gesetze durch ihre Lehren und
teuflisches Treiben, (die Anführer zu bestrafen).
*) The world is made up of five kinds of matter, which contain each of
them an essence or elementary substance. The Taouist mythology, (of primitive
Chinese origin) contains hermits and alchemists*. men of rigid morals and having
a fondness for solitude, seekers of the plant that confers immortality and students
of the hidden lo re of mystics and magicians. Such beings are called „Se.en-j.in“ .
They form the mass of the inhabitants of heaven. The principal divinities are,
however, Buddhistic. To Buddha correspond Teen-tsun and Te and to Bodhi-
sattwa Tsoo. The highest of all personnages (except the San-tsing) is Tuh-hwang-
shangte, who (as lord of the world and saviour of men) ressembles Buddha. If
this Shangte is Buddha active, the San-tsing (the Three Pure Ones) are Buddha
contemplative. They meditate on truth and doctrine and communicate their feelings
and ideas to men in language, such as they can understand. One of the three
pure Ones is I.aou-Keun, the, founder of the Taouist religion, in a deified form.
The Three Pure Ones are the Taouist trinity, as the Shan-she Joo-lae (the Tatha-
gatha of the three ages) are the.Buddhist trinity. The philosopher Laoukeun in
his human form was an' incarnation of the third-person in the San-tsing. Among
the star-gods, subordinate to the supreme deity of the physical universe, is the
trinity known, as the gods of happiness, rank and old age (in Taouist mythology).
Tsae-shin (the god of riches) is identified with an ancient Chinese statesman
(worshipped by traders and merchants). The triad of subordinate divinities, called
San-Kwan (the three rulers) presides over heaven, earth and water. They are
styled the three holy men, who form an unity, and it is said of them, that they
are the three holy men, who form a unity and that they send down good and
ill fortune on men and save the lost. In their collective unity, they are called
the three Eulers, who constitute one great god (San-Kwan-ta-te). The gods having
invocations addressed to them in the Taouist prayer-book, include several of a
Gott der Ebbfluth errichtet sind. Am Fhissufer stehen die
Capellen des Drachenkönigs. Der Drache - residirt theils im
rank intermediate between Yuh-hwang-shang-te and San-Kwan. They are the
spirit of the Earth the north pole star,,, the lord of the stars, some other star
gods, the ruler of thunder, the Buddhist divinity Kwan-yin and the spirits of
the sun and moon. The father of'thunder is represented as passing through many
metamorphoses and filling all régions with his' assumed forms. Among the most
eminent of the state-gods (is China) is Kwang-te, the god o f war, who by. a
decree of the present Emperor (18511) has been raised to the same rank with Confucius
(s. Edkins). The Taouists take the Shang-te of the Confuciaa classics to
be identical with Yuh-hwang-shang-te, who is the chief god in their pantheon
(excepting only the San-tsing). They assign to him the control of the physical
universe ) but they also make him an ‘ instructor of mankind. To connect him
with the human race, they have identified him with an ancestor of the hereditary
hierarch of their religion, hearing the family name Chang. This hereditary head
of the Taouist religion resides, in the province of Keingse , on the dragon and
Tiger mountain. In humanizing the Shang-te Of the classics a birth day as
well as a name has been assigned to him. Very many spirits are employed by
him in the control of the world. Towards the end of eaeh year these subordinate
spirits, who have been watching the conduct of mankind, go up to the palace of
Yuh-hwang-shang-te in heaven and represent their report. After a certain number
of days, they descend again and resume their office, as inspectors of the moral
behaviour of men. Thé state-gods (of cities and towns) are appointed (in China)
by the government. Brave and loyal officers and men distinguished for public
and private virtues, are honoured with a charge of this kind. , Taouist priests are
appointed to tak a charge-of the temples of the state-gods, but their worship does
not constitute a principal part of the liturgical forms of the Taouist religion.
These gods are. admitted in the Taouist mythology as' divinities more or less
elevated in rank, and the worship., of each is performed with attentions only in
the locality, over which he presides. Laoukeun dwells in the Tàe tsing kung (the
palace of exalted purity). The paradise inhabited by the first pérson in the
Taouist triuity is called the Metropolis of the pearl mountain and its entrance
is „the golden door.“ The very common divinity „Yuh te,“ subordinate^ to the
trinity, is enthroned in the „pure pearl palace.“ Von dem wunderbar erzeugten
Ahn Aischin Gioro, stammend, unterwarf Taitsu (Fürst der Mandscbu) die umliegenden
Tartaren und machte sieh (1616) von China unabhängig, als Vorgänger
des Tai-tsong, der den Titel Hoangti annahm. Auf Taokuang (1820 p. d.) folgte
(1850) Hienfong. In Wei bildete sich die' das Leere betrachtende Secte der sieben
Weisen in der Bambu-Laube (von Hekong gestiftet). Unter den Han wurden die
Siegelbuchstaben zum Le-Charakter (Le-tze) verändert (durch Ching-mo). Der
Aufstand des Changkeo (den blauen Himmel durch den gelben zu ersetzen) wurde
unterdrückt. Durch Verdreifachung des sechzigjährigen Cyklus bilden die Chinesen