Jos is a corruption of the Portuguese word Deos, God. Every idol temple is here called a Jos House; to worship any superior being is expressed by, to Chin-chen-Jos. This great temple was, originally, a garden, belonging to the family of Ko; about eight hundred years since, a small Budha temple was built and named, Tseen-tsow-sze, “the temple of ten thousand autumns.” It remained an obscure place till about the year 1600, when a priest of eminent devotion raised its character, and his disciple “Oh-tzze,” by his superior talents and sanctity, together with a concurrence of extraordinary circumstances, raised the temple to its present magnificence and extent. During the reign of Kang He, the second of the reigning Tartar dynasty, in the year 1700, Canton province was not fully subjugated; and the emperor’s son-in-law, entitled Ping-naw-wong, “the subjugator of the south,” reduced the whole to his father’s sway, and took up his headquarters in the Honam temple, according to the Tartar and Chinese usage. There were, on the island, thirteen villages which he had orders to exterminate. Previously to carrying into effect this order, the king, a blood-thirsty man, cast his eyes on Oh-tzze, a fat, happy, priest, and remarked, that were he to live on a vegetable diet, he could not be so fat—he must be a hypocrite, and should be punished with death. He drew his sword to put in effect the sentence; but the limb suddenly withered, and thus prevented its execution. That night a divine person appeared to him in a dream, and warned him that Oh-tzze was a holy man, and must not, unjustly, be killed. The following morning the king presented himself before Oh-tzze, confessed his crime, and immediately his arm was restored. He then did obeisance to the priest, took him for his preceptor and guide, and, morning and evening, waited on him as a servant. The thirteen villages heard of this miracle and solicited the priest to intercede in their behalf: he complied with their request, was successful, and the Honam villages were saved. Their gratitude to the priest was unbounded; and estates, incense, and money, were poured upon him. The king also persuaded his officers to make donations to the temple, and it became affluent from that day. A hall for the celestial kings was still wanting, and by seizing a fishpond belonging to a wealthy man who had refused to sell it, sufficient ground was obtained upon which to build it. The pond was filled up and built upon within the short space of thirty days. It is sometimes called the Lok-wa-sze, “the green temple.” |