Popular Gods. The expanding markets in Song times (960-1279) had great impact on the worship of popular gods. In addition to supporting Buddhist and Daoist monasteries, each district in Song China had a group of temples devoted to local gods. Many of these deities had been human beings who came to be adored in their native districts after their deaths. Nature divinities—including tree, mountain, and river gods—were also worshiped. These gods achieved miracles suitable to the agricultural society from which they sprang. Local people prayed to them in order to bring or stop rain, to hold off drought and locusts, and to defend them from disease, food shortages, and the dangers of childbirth.

Seeking Help. Lay people could confer with a host of religious specialists, who might in some cases be affiliated with Buddhism...