The following night Yuean Hung decided to take the camp of Chiang Tzu-ya by assault, and sent the brothers in advance.  They were, however, themselves surprised by Wu Wang’s officers, who surrounded them.  Chiang Tzu-ya then threw into the air his ‘devil-chaser’ whip, which fell on the two scouts and cleft their skulls in twain.

Celestial Ministries

The dualistic idea, already referred to, of the Otherworld being a replica of this one is nowhere more clearly illustrated than in the celestial Ministries or official Bureaux or Boards, with their chiefs and staffs functioning over the spiritual hierarchies.  The Nine Ministries up aloft doubtless had their origin in imitation of the Six, Eight, or Nine Ministries or Boards which at various periods of history have formed the executive part of the official hierarchy in China.  But their names are different and their functions do not coincide.

Generally, the functions of the officers of the celestial Boards are to protect mankind from the evils represented in the title of the Board, as, for example, thunder, smallpox, fire, etc.  In all cases the duties seem to be remedial.  As the God of War was, as we saw, the god who protects people from the evils of war, so the vast hierarchy of these various divinities is conceived as functioning for the good of mankind.  Being too numerous for inclusion here, an account of them is given under various headings in some of the following chapters.

Protectors of the People

Besides the gods who hold definite official posts in these various Ministries, there are a very large number who are also protecting patrons of the people; and, though ex officio, in many cases quite as popular and powerful, if not more so.  Among the most important are the following:  She-chi, Gods of the Soil and Crops; Shen Nung, God of Agriculture; Hou-t’u, Earth-mother; Ch’eng-huang, City-god; T’u-ti, Local Gods; Tsao Chuen, Kitchen-god; T’ien-hou and An-kung, Goddess and God of Sailors; Ts’an Nue, Goddess of Silkworms; Pa-ch’a, God of Grasshoppers; Fu Shen, Ts’ai Shen, and Shou Hsing, Gods of Happiness, Wealth, and Longevity; Men Shen, Door-gods; and She-mo Wang, etc., the Gods of Serpents.

The Ch’eng-huang

Ch’eng-huang is the Celestial Mandarin or City-god.  Every fortified city or town in China is surrounded by a wall, ch’eng, composed usually of two battlemented walls, the space between which is filled with earth.  This earth is dug from the ground outside, making a ditch, or huang, running parallel with the ch’eng.  The Ch’eng-huang is the spiritual official of the city or town.  All the numerous Ch’eng-huang constitute a celestial Ministry of Justice, presided over by a Ch’eng-huang-in-chief.