Tsung of the Yüan dynasty) substituted the tablet now seen in the
Confucian temples, these were the inscriptions engraved on it. In the
inscriptions authoritatively placed on the tablets the word _shên_
does not occur; in those cases where it does occur it has been
placed there (as by the Taoists) illegally and without authority
by too ardent devotees. Confucius may not be called a _shên_, since
there is no record showing that the great ethical teacher was ever
apotheosized, or that any order was given that the character _shên_
was to be applied to him.


The God of Literature

In addition to the ancestors of whose worship it really consists,
Confucianism has in its pantheon the specialized gods worshipped by
the _literati_. Naturally the chief of these is Wên Ch'ang, the God of
Literature. The account of him (which varies in several particulars
in different Chinese works) relates that he was a man of the name
of Chang Ya, who was born during the T'ang dynasty in the kingdom of
Yüeh (modern Chêkiang), and went to live at Tzu T'ung in Ssuch'uan,
where his intelligence raised him to the position of President of the
Board of Ceremonies. Another account refers to him as Chang Ya Tzu,
the Soul or Spirit of Tzu T'ung, and states that he held office in the
Chin dynasty (A.D. 265-316), and was killed in a fight. Another again
states that under the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280), in the third year
(A.D. 1000) of the reign-period Hsien P'ing of the Emperor Chên Tsung,
he repressed the revolt of Wang Chün at Ch'êng Tu in Ssuch'uan. General
Lei Yu-chung caused to be shot into the besieged town arrows to which
notices were attached inviting the inhabitants to surrender. Suddenly
a man mounted a ladder, and pointing to the rebels cried in a loud