When writing The Imperial Metaphor I noted a key difference upon which the metaphor was based. Actual civil officials in the imperial service were Wen (文). But the most efficacious (靈) gods, who are those low in the divine hierarchy, are Wu (武). In this study of the imagery and shrines of gods in the Quanzhou region of mainland China and the Anxi settlements in Taiwan, I am taking this conclusion a step further. I argue that there is a gradation from the amoral efficacy of dangerous ghosts (鬼) to the control of demons (怪) and ghosts as righteous and just response to pleas.
