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Seng-Wan-Mau

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in Chinese mythology, is the supreme deity of the Chinese, which is composed of nothing, is created from nothing, and does or thinks nothing, though, as conceived of, is not without exalted divine attributes, e.g. incomprehensibility, omniscience, justice, etc. He is seated in the highest heaven, and thence looks down in immovable quietude on the doings of mankind. He is never pictured, because no conception of his form is possible; but there are a number of inferior gods, who preside over every rank of men, over every human occupation, city, etc., who are portrayed in every imaginable form, in clay, stone, wood, etc. These gods are subordinate to Seng-Wan-Mau, and are the rulers of human affairs, so that man's destinies, his weal and woe, are committed to their hands. Their images are worshipped, but they are also broken into fragments when the gods fail to gratify the wishes of the worshippers.