Daoist Zhang Ting(張挺) was in charge of repairing the City God Temple in Huzhou(湖州). He ordered craftsmen to carve a three-zhang tall statue of the City God out of sandalwood and embroidered a ceremonial robe to dress the statue. Just three days after the new City God statue was enshrined, Zhang Ting dreamt of a giant standing before him. This giant wore a celestial crown on his head but was completely naked.
During the Kangxi era, the City God of Longxi County(隴西城隍) had a black face and a large beard, with a very dignified appearance. However, during the Qianlong era, it suddenly changed to a handsome young man’s image. Someone asked the monk in the temple, ‘Why did the appearance of the City God change so much?’
The monk told him, ‘We heard from the elders that in the seventh year of Yongzheng’s reign(雍正七年), there was a scholar named Xie, just twenty years old, who lived in the temple with his teacher to study.
During his tenure as magistrate in Henan(河南), Yang Lihu(楊笠湖) was tasked with providing relief to the famine-stricken in Shangshui County(商水縣). It was early autumn, and the scorching heat persisted relentlessly. After completing their midday duties, Mr. Yang instructed his subordinates to seek shade and coolness in the City God Temple.
As they entered the temple and settled, a man hurried towards them, imploring, “I am Zhang Xiang(張相), begging for your help, sir!”
Two men from Shaoxing(紹興), Wang and Xu, fled to Henan in the late Ming Dynasty to escape the chaos caused by Li Zicheng(李自成) and Zhang Xianzhong(張獻忠). Everywhere they passed, they saw corpses strewn across the fields. One night, Wang and Xu encountered two soldiers under Li Zicheng’s command. Realizing they had no way out, they crawled into a heap of corpses within the city. At midnight, they suddenly saw bright lights, and a procession descended from the city tower.
In Haichang(海昌), there was a scholar named Chen(陳秀才某) who once visited the Yusu Temple(于肅愍廟) to seek dreams and divine the fortunes of his future. In his dream, Yusu opened the main gate to receive him, but instead of feeling at ease, Chen became restless. After a few steps, he stopped. Yusu said, ‘You are to be my future student, so according to protocol, you should enter through the main gate.’ Once settled, messengers arrived to report that the City God of Tangxi County(湯溪縣城隍) wished to see him.
