spirit is nevertheless sedulously maintained. The place of the latter
in the heavens above is invariably symbolized by the lodgment of his
idol in an upper storey or tower, known as the K'uei Hsing Ko or K'uei
Hsing Lou. Here students worship the patron of their profession with
incense and prayers. Thus the ancient stellar divinity still largely
monopolizes the popular idea of a guardian of literature and study,
notwithstanding that the deified recluse of Tzu T'ung has been added in
this capacity to the State pantheon for more than five hundred years.


Heaven-deaf and Earth-dumb

The popular representations of Wên Ch'ang depict the god himself and
four other figures. The central and largest is the demure portrait of
the god, clothed in blue and holding a sceptre in his left hand. Behind
him stand two youthful attendants. They are the servant and groom
who always accompany him on his journeys (on which he rides a white
horse). Their names are respectively Hsüan T'ung-tzu and Ti-mu, 'Sombre
Youth' and 'Earth-mother'; more commonly they are called T'ien-lung,
'Deaf Celestial,' and Ti-ya, 'Mute Terrestrial,' or 'Deaf as Heaven'
and 'Mute as Earth.' Thus they cannot divulge the secrets of their
master's administration as he distributes intellectual gifts, literary
skill, etc. Their cosmogonical connexion has already been referred
to in a previous chapter.


Image of K'uei Hsing

In front of Wên Ch'ang, on his left, stands K'uei Hsing. He is
represented as of diminutive stature, with the visage of a demon,