s 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.

The origin of the worship of the Ch'eng-huang dates back to the time
of the great Emperor Yao (2357 B.C.), who instituted a sacrifice called
Pa Cha in honour of eight spirits, of whom the seventh, Shui Yung, had
the meaning of, or corresponded to, the dyke and rampart known later
as Ch'eng-huang. Since the Sung dynasty sacrifices have been offered
to the Ch'eng-huang all over the country, though now and then some
towns have adopted another or special god as their Ch'eng-huang, such
as Chou Hsin, adopted as the Ch'eng-huang of Hangchou, the capital of
Chekiang Province. Concerning Chou Hsin, who had a "face of ice and
iron," and was so much dreaded for his severity that old and young
fled at his approach, it is related that once when he was trying a
case a storm blew some leaves on to his table. In spite of diligent
search the tree to which this kind of leaf belonged could not be found
anywhere in the neighbourhood, but was eventually discovered in a
Buddhist temple a long way off. The judge declared that the priests
of this temple must be guilty of murder. By his order the tree was
felled, and in its trunk was found the body of a woman who had been
assassinated, and the priests were convicted of the murder.

The Kitchen-god

Tsao Chuen is a Taoist invention, but is universally worshipped by
all families in China--about sixty millions of pictures of him are
regularly worshipped twice a month--at new and full moon. "His temple
is a little niche in the brick cooking-range; his palace is often
filled with smoke; and his Majesty sells for one farthing." He is also
called 'the God of the Stove.' The origin of his worship, according to
the legend, is that a Taoist priest, Li Shao-chuen by name, of the Ch'i
State, obtained from the Kitchen-god the double favour of exemption
from growing old and of being able to live without eating. He then
went to the Emperor Hsiao Wu-ti (140-86 B.C.) of the Han dynasty, and
promised that credulous monarch that he should benefit by the powers
of the god provided that he would consent to patronize and encourage
his religion. It was by this means, he added, that the Emperor Huang
Ti obtained his knowledge of alchemy, which enabled him to make gold.

The Emperor asked the priest to bring him his divine patron, and one
night the ima