th made to men," he replied, "does not hold good for
a horse. Is a human being meant to live in marital relations with
a horse?" Nevertheless, however good and abundant food they offered
him, the horse would not eat. When he saw the young lady he plunged
and kicked furiously. Losing his temper, the father discharged an
arrow and killed him on the spot; then he skinned him and spread the
skin on the ground outside the house to dry. As the young lady was
passing the spot the skin suddenly moved, rose up, enveloped her,
and disappeared into space. Ten days later it was found at the foot
of a mulberry-tree; Ts'an Nue changed into a silkworm, was eating the
mulberry-leaves, and spinning for herself a silken garment.

The parents of course were in despair. But one day, while they were
overwhelmed with sad thoughts, they saw on a cloud Ts'an Nue riding
the horse and attended by several dozens of servants. She descended
toward her parents, and said to them: "The Supreme Being, as a reward
for my martyrdom in the cause of filial piety and my love of virtue,
has conferred on me the dignity of Concubine of the Nine Palaces. Be
reassured as to my fate, for in Heaven I shall live for ever." Having
said this she disappeared into space.

In the temples her image is to be seen covered with a horse's
skin. She is called Ma-t'ou Niang, 'the Lady with the Horse's
Head,' and is prayed to for the prosperity of mulberry-trees and
silkworms. The worship continues even in modern times. The goddess
is also represented as a stellar divinity, the star T'ien Ssu; as
the first man who reared silkworms, in this character bearing the
same name as the God of Agriculture, Pasture, and Fire; and as the
wife of the Emperor Huang Ti.

The God of Happiness

The God of Happiness, Fu Shen, owes his origin to the predilection
of the Emperor Wu Ti (A.D. 502-50) of the Liang dynasty for dwarfs as
servants and comedians in his palace. The number levied from the Tao
Chou district in Hunan became greater and greater, until it seriously
prejudiced the ties of family relations. When Yang Ch'eng, _alias_
Yang Hsi-chi, was Criminal Judge of Tao Chou he represented to the
Emperor that, according to law, the dwarfs were his subjects but not
his slaves. Being touched by this remark, the Emperor ordered the
levy to be stopped.

Overjoyed at their liberation from this hardship, the people
of that district set up images of Yang and offered sacrifices to
him. Everyw