monster, he
stirred up tremendous winds in the southern regions. The Emperor
Yao sent Shen I with three hundred soldiers to quiet the storms and
appease Ch'ih Yu's relatives, who were wreaking their vengeance on the
people. Shen I ordered the people to spread a long cloth in front of
their houses, fixing it with stones. The wind, blowing against this,
had to change its direction. Shen I then flew on the wind to the top
of a high mountain, whence he saw a monster at the base. It had the
shape of a huge yellow and white sack, and kept inhaling and exhaling
in great gusts. Shen I, concluding that this was the cause of all
these storms, shot an arrow and hit the monster, whereupon it took
refuge in a deep cave. Here it turned on Shen I and, drawing a sword,
dared him to attack the Mother of the Winds. Shen I, however, bravely
faced the monster and discharged another arrow, this time hitting it
in the knee. The monster immediately threw down its sword and begged
that its life might be spared.

Fei Lien is elsewhere described as a dragon who was originally one of
the wicked ministers of the tyrant Chou, and could walk with unheard-of
swiftness. Both he and his son O Lai, who was so strong that he could
tear a tiger or rhinoceros to pieces with his hands, were killed when
in the service of Chou Wang. Fei Lien is also said to have the body
of a stag, about the size of a leopard, with a bird's head, horns,
and a serpent's tail, and to be able to make the wind blow whenever
he wishes.

The Master of Rain

Yue Shih, the Master of Rain, clad in yellow scale-armour, with a blue
hat and yellow busby, stands on a cloud and from a watering-can pours
rain upon the earth. Like many other gods, however, he is represented
in various forms. Sometimes he holds a plate, on which is a small
dragon, in his left hand, while with his right he pours down the
rain. He is obviously the Parjanya of Vedism.

According to a native account, the God of Rain is one Ch'ih Sung-tzu,
who appeared during a terrible drought in the reign of Shen Nung
(2838-2698 B.C.), and owing to his reputed magical power was requested
by the latter to bring rain from the sky. "Nothing is easier," he
replied; "pour a bottleful of water into an earthen bowl and give it
to me." This being done, he plucked from a neighbouring mountain a
branch of a tree, soaked it in the water, and with it sprinkled the
earth. Immediately clouds gathered and rain fell in torrents, filling