Note 5 — XI.—SUPERSTITIONS REGARDING THE POWERS OF NATURE.
Reading edition
Thunder and lightning are, of course, in China the manifestations of supernatural anger.5 The god of Thunder in China (Lui-tsz) corresponds to the Indian Vajrapani, and is a well-known Buddhist deity, worshipped like his numerous companions as a stellar god, and occupying in popular belief a position not unlike, though less important than, that of the Scandinavian Thor.6 The connection between lightning and fire in all known mythologies is equally obvious in China. But we miss the Promethean legend so widely known in the West. Here the God of Fire wields indeed the lightning, but only to cause the conflagrations which satiate his vengeance. He is, in fact, a very everyday deity, destitute of the enormous powers wielded by his representatives elsewhere. The popular idea of his attributes is well illustrated by the following legend, kindly placed at my disposal by Mr. G. M. H. Playfair (of H. M. Consular service in China) as having been related to him during his residence in Peking:—