Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 156, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1920 — CHINESE 'GODDESS OF MERCY' [ARTICLE]

CHINESE 'GODDESS OF MERCY'

Legend Popular in the Yellow Land Because It llluetratee Quality of Filial Piety. The Chinese tell an interesting story relating to their “Goddess of Mercy,” who was the third daughter of the king Mias Tsong. Her two elder sisters were married early, and when her turn came the third refused to marry, having, already given Up the temporal pleasures and devoted her entire devotion to preparation for the next life. The king then sent his daughter to the temple, where she was asked to draw water and cook dinner for 500 monks. But this seemed to be an easy task, for when she went to <?ook, she found everything ready for her, a dragon being sent from heaven to help her. The king was angered and ordered the temple to be burned but the princess spat blood into, heaven and a new temple fell down to earth. This angered the king still more and he ordered his daughter killed and that her body be eaten by the tigers. As time went on, the king was afflicted with leprosy, none of the doctors being able to cure him. A beggar monk later came and told the king he could cure him. Upon being given a trial the' monk said that the disease could only be cured by the ash of the burned hand and eye of a person, who was on a certain mountain. When the desired hand and eye was finally found, the queen recognized them as her daughter’s. The king was cured by the, ashes of this hand and eye, which made the people honor the e name of the princess as the “Goddess of Mercy,” for her untold sufferings and her filial piety to her cruel father.