visited the palaces of the stars. One day, when he
was attending a banquet at the palace of Wang-mu, Shang Ti gave him as
his kingdom the planet Jupiter, and assigned to him as his palace the
ancient abode of Mao Meng, the stellar god reincarnated during the Chou
dynasty. He had not yet returned, and had left his palace empty. Shang
Ti had cautioned him never to absent himself without his permission.

Canonized Generalissimos

A large number of military men also have been canonized as celestial
generalissimos. A few will serve as examples of the rest.

The Three Musical Brothers

There were three brothers: T'ien Yuean-shuai, the eldest; T'ien Hung-i,
the second; and T'ien Chih-piao, the youngest. They were all musicians
of unsurpassed talent.

In the K'ai-yuean Period (A.D. 713-42) the Emperor Hsuean Tsung, of
the T'ang dynasty, appointed them his music masters. At the sound of
their wonderful flute the clouds in the sky stopped in their courses;
the harmony of their songs caused the odoriferous _la mei_ flower to
open in winter. They excelled also in songs and dances.

The Emperor fell sick. He saw in a dream the three brothers
accompanying their singing on a mandolin and violin. The harmony of
their songs charmed his ear, and on waking he found himself well
again. Out of gratitude for this benefit he conferred on each the
title of marquis.

The Grand Master of the Taoists was trying to stay the ravages
of a pestilence, but he could not conquer the devils which caused
it. Under these circumstances he appealed to the three brothers and
asked their advice as to what course to adopt. T'ien Yuean-shuai had a
large boat built, called 'Spirit-boat.' He assembled in it a million
spirits, and ordered them to beat drums. On hearing this tumult all
the demons of the town came out to listen. T'ien Yuean-shuai, seizing
the opportunity, captured them all and, with the help of the Grand
Master, expelled them from the town.

Besides the canonization of the three T'ien brothers, all the members
of their families received posthumous titles.

The Dragon-boat Festival

This is said to be the origin of the dragon-boats which are to be
seen on all the waterways of China on the fifth day of the fifth
moon. [21] The Festival of the Dragon-boats, held on that day, was
instituted in memory of the statesman-poet Ch'ue Yuean (332-296 B.C.),
who drowned himself in the Mi-lo River, an affluent of the Tung-t'ing
Lake, after h