Influence of the Cosmic Spirit on the Universe

Use of myths superstitions became educative. The following are examples. The people say that pork is the best offering to the spirits of ancestors. In the burial obsequies of the dead, furs must not be used. The ancestral spirit will strike the arms of those playing with sharp swords. To make a pillow of the door step, and sleep there, is unlucky, since ghosts pass in and out that p. 177 way and step on the sleeper's head. And so on. Now all such sayings as these are not found written in any code, and the Sage does not speak of any such popular superstition. There is an explanation of them all. Take the superstition that pork is the best offering to a dead ancestor. A pig is really no better than any other wild beast or deer, but it is used in the service of the spirits simply because it is the animal most commonly fed in every home, and is an article easily got. It is held in esteem for this purpose because of its accessibility. It is not meant that the dead should not be buried in furs because they are not equally serviceable as silks and linen for warmth to the body, but because people regard it difficult to obtain them and so look upon them as articles of great value. And they could not be handed down from father to son, if they were buried; whilst, at the same time, they are useless to the dead but of great utility to the living. Hence they are loth to use furs for this purpose. The saying that the spirit of the dead will strike those playing with swords, arises from accidents that may happen. From an accidental wound, strife and enmity often come, eventuating in punishment and death. The ignorant do not appreciate these results, so the saying is used to restrain them. The folklore that ghosts will step on those who sleep in doorways may equally be attributable to social utility. If ghosts are immaterial beings, they have no need of doors and windows for access; if they depend on holes for ingress and egress, there would be no occasion for them to step on anyone. The fact is, doorways and windows are the passages for wind and air. These elements are the result of the clashing forces, Yin and Yang; so that it is just here they strike anyone with a cold, and illness will be the result. Hence the idea of ghosts and spirits is used to make people desist from the practice and save them from harm.

It is impossible to record all similar folk-lore found in books and script, and store them up in the archives for public instruction; therefore, the ignorant are instructed by p. 178 means of these mythological sayings, and are being instructed in those things of whose harm they are ignorant, by such inculcation, and by the dread of demons of which use is made. This folklore is of great antiquity. The uninitiated, therefore, look upon ghosts and demons as being inauspicious, or auspicious, as the case may be, and fear them accordingly. The bold do not believe in them, and those of understanding know the real significance of these superstitions. It must not be thought that the spirits can eat the sacrifices offered by the people to the well, kitchen, door, window, basket, brook, mortar, pestle, and so on; but the sacrifices offered to them are a display of the gratitude of people to the spirits for their boundless kindness and trouble. Hence, whenever there is an act of worship for kindness, it is an occasion for remembering their meritorious service. T‛ai Shan is the only mountain that can give rise to the stone round which the flock of clouds collect which, uniting into one whole cumulus, will disperse in rain, in a short time. The streams and rivers are the only channels that run unceasingly, even when the land is parched by a three years drought, fertilizing the land and enriching every

T‛ai Shan is the only mountain that can give rise to the stone round which the flock of clouds collect which, uniting into one whole cumulus, will disperse in rain, in a short time. The streams and rivers are the only channels that run unceasingly, even when the land is parched by a three years drought, fertilizing the land and enriching every Why sacrifice? plant. These are the reasons why the King seasonably offers them sacrifices. So the horse, which has eased the labours of man, is buried when it dies. The ox, when it dies, is stretched out on a carriage. Ox and horse should not be forgotten for their services. How much more so should this be the case in respect of man! The Sage, therefore, pays great attention to humanity and multiplies the ceremonials of gratitude and thanksgiving. For such reasons, Yen Ti,31 reigning under the symbolic essence of fire, was created to be the Kitchen God. Yü spent a laborious life in the service of the empire and was deified as the lares of the home. Hou Chi,32 on his death, was made the god of agriculture for his great services to men in the art of p. 179 Why demon worship? tilling the ground. I eliminated the pests from the empire and was deified as the rustic divinity of the farmer. These instances supply the reasons for the creation of the cult of demon worship. Once upon a time there was a man in North Ts‛u, who had the reputation of being a pugilist and helping the oppressed with his fists. His children often exhorted him not to do so and to give up his gymnastic cult, but without avail. A local thief broke into his dwelling one night and, in this way, his gymnastic exercises came to be known to the officials. The pugilist was frightened and fled. He was pursued and captured; but those people whom he had helped, in the past, came to his rescue and fought for him. Thus escaping, he returned and spoke to his children, saying "You have often advised me to desist from my exercises, but I have saved the family this evening by my arts. So that such advice as you gave was useless." This man knew how to deliver himself from trouble, but not how to keep himself from trouble. His wisdom may truly be doubted.

A man of Sung, about to give his daughter in marriage, said to her: "I fear this marriage cannot be consummated, unless you can make a little money yourself. It would be easy to marry you, could you get a little wealth." The girl understood what her father hinted at and purloined the private goods of her grandfather. When the grandfather knew of the theft, he drove the girl from home. The father did not blame himself for this, but rather prided himself on the success of his scheme. He knew how to get some stolen money, but failed to apprehend that this stolen money would lead to making the girl an out-cast. Such reasoning as the father's arouses our ire. A man who overloaded a hired conveyance so that no ox could draw it, fearing lest the axle would break, thought it well to strengthen the shafts, without realizing that the added bit of material would more swiftly cause the axle to break. p. 180 The King of Ts‛u, when he went to hunt the hare, provided himself with two jade ornaments on his girdle, in case one should break in the chase; but the very fact of two being in juxtaposition, one knocking against the other, made it all the more easy for them both to be broken. The government of a disturbed nation is very similar to the experiences recorded in these examples. The eyes of the owl are big, but not of such keen vision as those of rats. A centipede has many feet, but is not so quick as a snake, in its motion. Thus we may see that the big is unequal to the little and the many unequal to the few. Even the strong may be weak and the weak strong; the man of the weak constitution is he who suddenly dies. Who but the sage can discern the true merits of the great and little, the lordly and the lowly? These cannot be decided by appearances. Wherever the Tao exists, there will be honour. An illustration will make this plain. When the emperor abides in the Chiao pavilion, the officers of state hasten with him, the ministers walk alongside, those who sit bend their heads, those who stand do so reverently. At this very time in the Ming T‛ang and the T‛ai Miao,33 hats are hung, swords are unstrapped, girdles are unloosed and sleepers lie about. And this not because the Chiao pavilion is big and the others small, but the presence of the emperor makes the difference and gives the dignity. Now the honour conferred by the Heavenly Doctrine is even greater than that conferred by the presence of the King. Wherever it is, all creation looks up to it with reverence. Hibernating insects, the jays in their nests, all turn their faces towards this one divine unity, the centre of perfect creative harmony. If the King could verily maintain the endowments of the Tao, in perfect harmony, then birds and beasts, plants and trees would all, without exception, share in the divine enrichment. How much more would man so share!