SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONSVOLUME 80, NUMBER 4
RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE,CHINA(With Twextv-five Plates)
BYDAVID CROCKETT GRAHAM
(Publication 2921)
CITY OF WASHINGTONPUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONFEBRUARY 4, 1928
BALTIUOBE, MD., U. 8. A.
RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE, CHINABy DAVID CROCKETT GRAHAM(With 25 Plates)CONTENTS PAGEPreface 2I. Introduction 21. The geography of Szechuan Province 22. The history of the province 43. Contacts with the rest of China and with other races 44. Social characteristics of the people 75. The unique opportunity for the study of religion in SzechuanProvince 76. The writer's preparation 87. The relation of religion to the basal human needs 9II. The Ancestral Cult and Demons n1. The idea of the soul 112. The ancestral cult 123. The belief in demons 134. The Ch'in Min Ceremony 145. Demon possession 146. Summary 15III. Birth, Marriage, Death, and Burial 161. Variety of customs in Szechuan Province 162. The desire for and tiie method of securing children 163. Birth customs 174. Marriage 225. Death and the funeral procession 246. The burial and grave customs 25IV. YiNYANG and FeNGSHUI 321. The Yinyang conception 322. Fengshui 33V. Incantations, Charms, and Amulets 381. Incantations widely used 382. New Year mottoes supposed to be potent 383. Charms to transform unlucky dreams to lucky ones 394. Charms to cause babies to sleep at night 395. Charms written on paper 396. The use of blood on charms 407. Other charms 40
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VI. Public Ceremonies and Religious Festivals 421. Important public ceremonies 422. The great festivals 44VII. Divination, Lucky Days, Vows, Prayer, Relioious Oeferings,AND Worship 471. Divination 472. Lucky and unlucky days 483- Oaths 494. Vows 495. Prayers 496. Religious offerings 507. Worship 51VIII. Temples and Sacred Places 541. The relation of the tenii)k' to the community 542. Confucian temples 543. Contents of Buddhist and Taoist temples 554. .Sources of temple incomes 555. Temples as sacred places 566. Sacred mountains 60IX. The Gods in Szechuan Provinxe 641. Different representations of the Gods 662. The list of Gods 70X. Summary and Conch'siox 79Bibliography 81PREFACEThe materials for this paper were gathered at tirst hand in SzechuanProvince during the years 1919 to 1926. The idea of collecting thedata and of writing this paper was the result of a course in com-parative religion under Prof. Alhert Eustace Haydon of the Uni-versity of Chicago in 191 9. The writer gladly acknowledges hisunusual indebtedness to Prof. Playdon for inspiration to undertakethis study, and for supervising the writing of the manuscript. Thanksare also due to Dr. Berthold Laufer for helpful suggestions.The fact that there are few written sources outside the Chineselanguage has made this study on the one hand more difficult and onthe other hand more interesting. It is hoped that it will form a con-tribution towards a better understanding of the Chinese religion.
I. INTRODUCTION
I. THE GEOGRAPHY OF SZECHUAN PROVINCESzechuan lies cm the extreme west of China. It is a whole nationin itself, ha\ing a [Xjpulation of over 60,000.000 and an area of over
NO. 4 Ri:i.IGION IN S/i:(lH!AX PROVINCE—GRAlIAAf 3218,000 square miles. In the ccnler of tlu- jirovince is tlie threat red-
.sandstone basin, in which the soil is exceedingly fertile. Here thealtitude varies from 900 to 2,000 feet above sea le\'el. Rainfall isal)undant, and it almost never snows. Trees and vegetables are greenthroughout the year. The farms often yield four cr()])s annuall}-, anda family can support itself on three or four acres of land. A part ofthis basin is the Chengtu plain, where there is an extensive irrigation-system , and which is one of the most thickly populated countrydistricts in the world.On the north and west of the province are high mountains, inhal)itedfor the most part by aborigines. To the west of Szechuan lies Tibet,
"the roof of the world," and to the south are the mountainous prov-inces of K'ueichow and Yunnan. In Szechuan, Kueichow. Yunnan,and Tibet, more than 100 tribes of aborigines inhabit the high, moun-tainous districts, while the rich lowlands are in the possession of theChinese.Great salt deposits that seem to be inexhaustil)le occur in some partsof the ])rovince. Coal is found almost everywhere. Tt is known thatthere are deposits of gold, copper, and iron, but, l)ecause of the lackof machinery, mining is not a main occupation of the i)eople. Silk-raising is an important industry.The word Szechuan means four rivers. The province containsfour great rivers and many tributaries that serve as arteries of trade.There are also many overland routes, one leading through Yachowand Tatsienlu to Tibet, one northward through Chengtu and Songpanto the high grasslands on the northwest of Szechuan. one southwardfrom Suifu through Yunnan Province, and one overland to Peking.P>ecause of these and other trade routes, commerce plays a large partin the lives of the ])eople of Szechuan. The main occujxition, however,is agriculture.Even in the red-sandstone basin, nature has been at work forthousands of years, resulting in erosion and folding of the rock strata,so that many natural wonders occur in the province. In places, therock strata have been twisted and folded almost beyond belief ; inother localities the sandstone has been entirely eroded away, exposingrugged limestone cliffs often abounding with natural caves. Beautifulwaterfalls are not uncommon. One often sees rocks that have beenwashed or eroded into strange or striking shapes, or mountains thattower majestically over surrounding valleys. On the borders of Tibetare mountains capped with perennial snow. West China has some ofthe most beautiful, most picturesque, and strangest scenery in the
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world. " Szechuan is a spooky place " is a proverb among the commonpeople. 2. THE HISTORY OF THE PROVINCEIn the past centuries there have been many floods and occasionaldroughts. More than i.ooo years ago Suifu was destroyed by flood.The city was then rebuilt on higher ground on the opposite side ofthe Min River. This calamity has never recurred, and the city isnow again in the more favorable location at the junction of theYangtse and the Min Rivers. In the summertime there are terrificthunderstorms. Pestilences sweep across the land, striking terrorinto the hearts of the people, and killing hundreds and sometimesthousands.Into this fertile province the Chinese came about 300 years beforeChrist. They soon took possession of the lowlands, although thehistory of Suifu says that Chu Ko Liang finally drove the aboriginesout of that city after the time of Christ.One outstanding event in the history of the province is its almostcomplete depopulation, during the years 1643 to 1648, by Tsang ShienTsong, one of the most cruel rulers that ever lived. Killing off everyman, woman, or child who refused to join his ranks and many of hisown followers, he almost made that fair province a wilderness. Afterthe death of Tsang Shien Tsong, settlers came from other provinces,so that Szechuan was soon again the scene of a thriving population.
3. CONTACTS WITH THE REST OF CHINA AND WITH OTHER RACESThere is a common conception that until very recent times Chinahas been isolated from the rest of the world. The great wall, thePacific Ocean, the plateau of Tibet, and the high mountains betweenChina and India are assumed to have been efficient barriers to inter-racial contacts.Among anthropologists, the fact that few if any groups of peoplehave long been isolated is gaining general acceptance. Diffusion ofculture, although it cannot explain all social phenomena, is receivinga larger emphasis than before. Able sinologues have dwelt on theisolation of the Middle Kingdom during the past milleniums,* butthere is increasing evidence that this isolation has been more or lessfictitious.
^ Pott, F. L. Hawks, A Sketch of Chinese History, 191 5, pp. i, 3.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 5In the year 65 A. D. the Emperor of China sent envoys to India tolearn about the teachings of Buddha/ It is safe to assume that hewould not have done so had not China had previous contacts withIndia. In A. D. 621 Zoroastrianism was introduced into China,Muhammedanism in 628, and Nestorianism in 631.'' There is evidenceof a Jewish community in China which disappeared in comparativelyrecent times.According to Gowen many foreigners were resident in China inthe ninth century.^ Marco Polo arrived in A. D. 1271, remaining for17 years and visiting many parts of the Empire.' Wars have beenfought with Burmah, with the Turks, and with the Russians, and atone time Chinese dominion extended to the shores of the Black andthe Caspian seas/The works of Dr. Berthold Laufer, the great American sinologue,contain a large amount of evidence of diffusions of culture betweenChina and Japan, the Philippines, India, Persia, and even Europe."
^ Gowen, Herbert H., An Outline History of China, 1913, p. 102.Pott, F. L. Hawks, A Sketch of Chinese History, 19 15, p. 38.Li Ung Bing, Outlines of Chinese History, 1914, pp. 53, 84.* Gowen, H. H., An Outline History of China, 1913, p. 119.
^ Ibid., p. 132.
* Gowen, H. H., An Outline History of China, 1913, p. 156.Williams, A History of China, 1897, p. 42.Pott, F. L. Hawks, A Sketch of Chinese History, 1915, p. 80.Li Ung Bing, Outlines of Chinese History, 1914, p. 220.
" Williams, A History of China, 1897, pp. 32-35.Li Ung Bing, Outlines of Chinese History, 1914, p. 215.
' Laufer, Bertlipld, Ivory in China, 1925, pp. 14, 50, 56." " Tobacco and Its Use, 1924, pp. 2-3." " The Chinese Gateway, 1922, p. i." " Sino-Iranica, 1919, pp. i, 376." " Chinese Clay Figures, 1914, Part I, pp. 231-4, 243-4, 246,249." " Jade, 1912, Int., pp. 2, 5 ; pp. 23, 25, 292.Note.—Since the point we are making may be considered open to question, weare adding other references showing inter-racial contacts between China andother nations.1. Cole, Fay-Cooper, The Tinguian, 1922, pp. 237, 241-2, 247, 260, 396, 413,414.2. Pott, F. L. Hawks, A Sketch of Chinese History, 1915, pp. 54, 58, 59, 72,79, 80.3. Williams, E. T., China Yesterday and Today, 1923, pp. 339-40, 341-44.4. Parker, E. H., China Past and Present, 1903, pp. 6, 10, 13-14.
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In Sino-Iranica he shows that a large nuniher of cultivated plantshave been brought from distant lands and made to em-ich the agri-cultural life of China. To quote Dr. l.aufer:We know that Iranian peoples once covered an immense territory, extendingall over Chinese Turkistan, migrating into China, coming into contact withChinese, and exerting a profound influence on nations of other stock, notablylurks and Chinese. The Iranians were the great mediators between the Westand the East, conveying the heritage of Hellenistic ideas to central and easternAsia and transmitting valuable plants and goods of China to the Mediterraneanarea. Their activity is of world-historical significance, but without the recordsof the Chinese we should be unable to grasp the situation thoroughly. TheChinese were positive utilitarians and always interested in matters of reality
:
they have bequeathed to us a great amount of useful information on Iranianplants, products, animals, minerals, customs, and institutions, which is boundto be of great service to science.^Szechuan has been rich in racial contacts. Many wars have beenfought between the Chinese and the aborigines, and these continue tothe present day. The Chinese, being more ntimerotis, better organized,and more highly civilized, have always in the end been victorious.There have also lieen wars between the inhabitants of Szechuan andthose of other parts of China.'Commerce, perhaps, has been of even greater importance. Quanti-ties of hides, medicines, and other raw materials are shipped fromTibet and from the various aboriginal districts into the center ofthe province, and thence down the Yangtse River. Rice, tea, clothing,and other commodities are sent back in rettirn. Before the completionof the railroad from Haiphong to Yunnanfu, Suifti was the shipping-place for most of the exports of Ytinnan Province. When undis-turbed by civil wars, the Yangtse River and its tributaries carry atremendous amount of commerce.The language spoken by the Chinese of Szechuan is the mandarin,which is used by abotit two htindred and fifty million Chinese people.The written language is the same throughout all China. Until veryrecent times the old system of examinations in the Chinese Classics,and the appointment of officials from Peking, further served to con-nect the lives of the Szechuanese with the rest of the nation. Chinesescholars went from Szechuan to Peking to continue their sttidies orto compete in the examinations. Officials from other parts of theempire came to help govern Szechtian. Through these contacts,throtigh wars and pilgrimages, through commerce, and through the
^ Laufer, Berthold, .Sino-lranica, 1919, p. 185.
' Pott, F. L. Hawks, A Sketch of Chinese History, 1915, p. 41.
NO. 4 KKLIGION IN SZF.CIUAN I'KdXINCR— GRAllANr 7interchange of literature, the people of Szechuan have l)een hrouyluinto contact with the rest of China and with other parts of the world.
4. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PFX)PLEIt is a well-known fact that in China the family and not the indi-vidual is the social unit. The rights of individuals are suhordinatedto those of the family group. Property generally helongs to thefamily, ^^'hen a new cou])le is married, they do not live in a separatehouse, hut in a part of the groom's family home, with his parentsand the families of his brothers. This principle aiTects the entiresocial, ethical, and religious world of the Szechuanese. Religion is afamily and a community aiTair. Ethics are social. Engagements andmarriages are family affairs, contracted l)v representatives of thefamilies rather than by the individuals concerned.^Filial piety is the cardinal virtue. ( )ne of the worst things that canl)e said about anyone is that he is unfilial. Filial piety recjuires thata child show love and respect to his parents and elders and to hisancestors for three generations. This virtue has been the cement thathas strengthened and held together Chinese society for millenniums.Many of the legends are such as will develop filial piety in the heartsof the young. The results are partially manifested in elaborate funer-als and in the erection of expensive tombs for the ancestors.The dualistic yinyang conception, which has been a part of« thethought form of the Chinese for millenniums, vitally affects the sociallife. The 3'/;/ is the female jMnnciple. and is lower, inferior to, andweaker than the yiiiifj. the male ]:)rinci])le. Happiness and prosperitydej^end on the keeping oi this female princi])le subordinate to themale. Women, therefore, have always been given a subordinate posi-tion. The husband is master, and is morally and religiously rulerover his wife. Women must accept the religion of their husbands.
5. THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIONIN SZECHUAN PROVINCEIn the preface of Dore's monumental work. Researches Into ChineseSuperstitions, the following statement is made :Real China exists little in the Open Ports. Civilization has tliere done itswork, and raised the Chinaman to a higher level tlian his fellow countrymen.Whosoever, therefore, would study him in real Hfe, must needs see him in
' There are great changes taking place in China which will profoundly affectsocial life and customs, and in the end will affect religion.
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the remote regions, the quaint old towns, and the secluded villages of somedistant province.^The second sentence of this statement may be seriously questioned.The fact that a Chinese wears foreign clothing, smokes foreigncigarettes, plays foreign hogch (poker), and drinks foreign liquor,does not prove that he has been raised above his fellow countrymen ina distant village. The first and third sentences are true, and Szechuan,situated far from the seacoast, with only one treaty port and noforeign concessions, ofifers an unique opportunity to study the Chinesereligion as it has been handed down through the past ages.One day in Shanghai the writer heard a brass band in the streetbelow. Looking out of the window, he saw a great Buddhist funeralprocession. In front were two gigantic deities pushed along in cartsconstructed for the purpose. The deities were to clear the road ofdemons. Then followed six bands, three using Chinese musical instru-ments and three foreign. For tunes the latter were using Christianhymns. The mourners were riding in foreign cabs. Such a foreignizedreligious ceremony is at present never seen in West China. Thestudent of religion has in Szechuan Province an excellent opportunit}^to study the religion of the Chinese people, not to mention the nu-merous tribes of aborigines about which comparatively little is known.
6. THE writer's PREPARATION *The religious and social life of the Chinese people in Szechuan isexceedingly complex, and one might well despair of becoming a masterof the Chinese language or of the Chinese religion, even in a lifetime.The writer has had fair success with the Chinese language, and hashad 13 years of contact with the Szechuanese people. Most of thiscontact has been very friendly, and has included all classes, from thechild and the coolie to the high official, the scholar and the priest. Hehas spent weeks in Chinese villages where foreigners are seldom seen,and, as zoological collector for the Smithsonian Institution, hastravelled beyond Tatsienlu in Tibet and as far north as Songpan. Hehas spent several summers on Mt. Omei, and has visited Washan.He has had contacts with the I.olo, the Chuan Miao and other abo-rigines, and has crossed overland from Suifu to Yunnanfu and
^ Dore, Henry S. D., Researches Into Chinese Superstitions, Vol. I, 1915,Int., pp. i-ii.
^ The written sources on the religion of Szechuan Province are so meager,and some of them are of such questionable value, that it has been necessaryto secure most of the material for this paper at first hand in Szechuan Province.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE.—GRAHAM 9thence to Haiphong in Indo-China. Among the Chinese whom hehas met are many well-known Christian leaders, army officials,Chinese government officials of influence, one of the leading Bud-dhists of China, a Da Yung Fah Si, and many others.The following pages are an attempt to present objectively thereligious life of the Chinese of Szechuan.
7. THE RELATION OF RELIGION TO THE BASAL HUMAN NEEDSThe writer believes that the basal human needs are for food, pro-tection or security, sex, and play or amusement. Although the soil isvery fertile in Szechuan, the density of the population makes theprocuring of food a great problem. If no rain falls for an unusuallength of time, people become panic-stricken, the prices of rice and ofother foods climb rapidly, and thousands of poor people are threat-ened with starvation. This is also apt to be true in time of war. Inthe summer of 1925 the price of rice was so high in Kiating and in anumber of other cities that only the rich could secure enough to eat.Well-informed Chinese said that many became half-starved, and inthis weakened condition contracted disease and died. " They werehalf starved and half killed by disease." In Suifu this happened to anold church member. In time of threatened drought or of civil war,the suffering on the part of the poor people is intense. All over Chinaone of the most common ways of greeting is by asking, " Have youeaten your rice ? "Security is needed from the forces of nature, from wild animals,from enemies, and from disease. Men build houses as a protectionfrom storm, from the heat and sunshine of summer, and from thewinter cold. In Szechuan occur floods, terrific storms with rain, wind,and thunder, and droughts, and from these protection must be sought.In the mountains there is danger from rolling stones. Wild leopardsand other animals roam in the woods.The need of safety from disease is keenly felt by the SzechuaneseA common pimple or boil easily becomes infected and may causedeath. To this the writer can bear testimony, for he has had to belanced by a physician three different times. Two of his best Chinesefriends died of such infections. A physician who has spent manyyears in West China printed the following paragraph in the WestChina Missionary News
:
Long experience in China has taught me the danger of face infections, espe-cially those of the lip. The purpose of this short article is not primarily toscare people. But there is such an element of danger in these infections that I
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feel constrained lu huuud a warniut^ alioul tlicm. Not only are the Chineseafflicted with these infections, but foreigners as well. V\''e should know howto care for ourselves and be able to give advice to the Chinese on this matter.'Malaria spreads over commtinities, causing suffering to thousands.Smallpox, typhus, typhoid, pneumonia, measles, and many other dis-eases spread from district to district, filling the hearts of the peoplewith terror, and causing untold suffering and death.The following story illustrates the fear of sickness and death onthe part of the Szechuanese. It was told by a Chinese preacher.In ancient times there was a great Chinese warrior named Tsang Fei.He was noted for his bravery. He was unafraid of most of thethings that cause ordinary or even brave men to fear. All efforts toinspire fear in his heart were in vain. Finally, a friend wrote theword bin, meaning sickness, on the palm of his hand and showed itto Tsang Fei. The great warrior was speechless. Of that he wasafraid. Sickness is accompanied by weakness and pain, and is oftenfollowed by death, and death is dreaded by all.The fact that all diseases are supposed to be caused by demonsdoes not lessen, but increases the dread of disease. The demons arethought to be frightful in ai:)pearance, and cruel and evil in i)urpose.The sick man imagines himself to be the victim of a demon. Some-times the demon is inside him, and native doctors sometnnes ]:)uncturethe bodies of the patients with needles to let the demon out.As a respite from worry and toil, the Chinese in Szechuan feelsthe need of, keenly desires, and enjoys amusements, play, and recrea-tion. This is true of men and women of all ages. With the grownupsit finds expression in the popularity of the theatricals, of gam1)ling, andof feasts. Often this need is met by a social visit with a friend inthe teashop. We shall see later that this is an important elementin the religious festivals, and in the ordinary programs of Ruddhistand Taoist temples.One will not be long in Szechuan before he realizes that everybodyis seeking happiness. In many important places he sees the wordfuh which means happiness. If he questions one of the many pilgrimson the way to or from Mt. Omei, the conversation may run approxi-mately as follows: "Where are you going?" " I am going to Mt.Omei." " Why do you go there and worship the idols ? " "I amseeking happiness." " \^^hat do you mean by happiness? " " That ourfamily may prosper, that wc may be protected from diseases andcalamities, that our cr()])s may be good, that we may grow wealthier,
'West China Missionary News, May, 1925, p. 37.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN l'K()\ I XCE
—
GKAIIAM II
and that we may have many children." In other words, happiness, asused in Szechuan. is an inclusiAe word, meaning- the satisfying Hfe.All are seeking it, and the rehgious rites and ceremonies are thetechniques for its attainment.One is impressed with the fact that in Szechuan rehgion is veryclosely and vitally related to human life and human needs. This isexpressed in Dore's Chinese Superstitions, Vol. Ill, preface, page ix,in the following words
:
Religion in China is not an cffdrt 1<i aiiprclKiul the Infmitc, love and enjoyit; it is not man's nature clamouring for food necessary for life and perfection;nor is it a duty to serve the deity directly. So far as these three volumes im-press us, it yokes rather the spiritual world, the superhuman element in whichman believes, to the needs and welfare of humanity.
II. THE ANCESTRAL CULT AND DEMONS
I. THE IDEA OF THE SOULWe have seen that in China the family and not the individual isthe social unit. Newly married couples generally do not establishseparate homes of their own. They become a part of a large familygroup, of which the oldest members are the heads. The individualearnings are often shared with the family. If a member of the groupacquires wealth, it may be necessary for him to assume the supportof his parents and of poorer relatives.The deceased ancestors are considered a part of the family group.They are the most honored members. There is a state of interde-pendence between the dead and the living. The living descendants])rovide food, clothing, money, and other necessities, and in returnreceive the help and the protection of the departed ancestors.Sometimes a person is scared by a mad dog and takes a certainkind of medicine which destroys the kidneys and causes death. Thepopular explanation is that the dog has stolen his shadow and thatthis is the cause of his death. A variation of this explanation is thatthe dog has bitten his shadow. Here we have the conception that theshadow is a vital part, if not the soul or a soul, of the human being.The Chinese have the idea of a multii~)le soul, three Intcii and sevenf^ch. This makes it possible for them to commemorate the dead personat the grave and also at the ancestral tablet, considering that thedeceased is present in both places and also in hades. For all practicalpurposes, however, we may speak of one soul or spirit as representingthat which is most vital and valuable in the individual.
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In ancient China there was a custom, which probably exists in someparts of China to-day, of calling the soul, soon after death, to comeback. In Szechuan there are ceremonies by which the soul is enticedinto the ancestral tablet, which becomes its dwelling place. After-wards the ancestral tablet is regarded as the ancestor himself, and istreated as such. The writer once offered a poor woman, who washaving much difficulty in making ends meet, a good price for herancestral tablet. She exclaimed in surprise, " Do you think I wouldsell my parents? " Several years ago an enquirer applied for baptism.The foreign pastor asked, " Have you discarded your housegods? "A Chinese Christian added, " Have you destroyed your ancestraltablets ? " The man was really interested in Christianity. With tearsin his eyes he said, " My dear old mother, do you think I would rejecther?" He never united with the church.The ancestral tablets are carefully preserved either in the homes orin ancestral temples. At the middle of the seventh moon, at thewinter solstice, and on the anniversaries of the births and the deaths ofboth parents, the ancestors are " worshipped." That is, food is offered,money is provided, incense is burnt, and there are the usual prayersand prostrations.*There is a tendency in Szechuan to connect snakes with ancestors.If a large snake appears in a Chinese home he is not killed, but incenseis burnt to him, and the inmates prostrate themselves before him.They regard him as the ancestor who has returned to visit hisdescendants.A visit to a Chinese graveyard will furnish a probable explanation.Many of the old tombs are open. Into them broken dishes, bones,stones, and other debris have been thrown, so that they becomeexcellent hiding places for the snakes. Serpents of different sizes, andtheir skins and skeletons, are often seen in and around the tombs, sothat it is easy and natural for the primitive mind to regard snakes assouls of the dead.
2. THE ANCESTRAL CULTThe Chinese word which is translated as worship is gin. It meansto honor, respect, venerate, or worship. It is often used in conjunctionwith the word bai, which is similar in meaning. These words vary inmeaning from common respect paid to a friend or to an object tothe idea of worship paid to a deity. What the Chinese think about isreverencing their ancestors. What the typical occidental thinks of
'West China Alissionary News, September 1917, pp. 22-23.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM I3
when speaking of ancestor worship is venerating the ancestors asdeities. Instead of misunderstanding and mislabehng these rites as
" ancestor worship," it might be better to speak of the ancestral cult.The Chinese regard the ancestors with loving reverence, of which theburning of incense, the prayers, the offering of food and spirit money,and the prostrations are the outward expressions.The memorial ceremonies of the ancestral cult are performed bythe oldest son. They cannot be performed by a girl or by a woman.It is exceedingly important that the ceremonies be performed at theproper seasons. For these reasons every family is very anxious tohave sons, and, once they are secured, to protect them from harm.Failure to give birth to sons is a sufficient reason for divorce. Oftenthe solution is found by the taking of a second wife, or a concubine.Sometimes sons are adopted into the family.
3. THE BELIEF IN DEMONSIf due reverence is offered to the ancestors, and the needed food,money, and other articles are provided, the ancestor is beneficent, andaids and protects his descendants. If he is neglected, he does harmto his descendants and others. He becomes a demon. In the courseof time, there are naturally many without descendants who can con-duct the' funeral rites, and others who are neglected by their unfilialdescendants. They then become demons, and demons are the causesof all diseases and calamities.Dangerous rivers are supposed to be the abode of demons who tryto drown other people. When drowned, the victims become demonsdwelling in the water. The natives explain that the only way in whichthey can escape their demonic condition is to cause others to drown.When a person is drowning, it is thought that a water-demon isresponsible, and is trying in this way to escape the demonic state. Ifone rescues the drowning person, he will incur the displeasure of thedemon, and may himself be drowned instead of the original victim.For this reason it is sometimes hard to get a native of Szechuan tosave a drowning person.*The tiao gin kuei are those who have died by hanging, and can onlyescape their demon existence by causing others to be hanged. Womenwho die in childbirth are called ts'an Ian kuci, and to escape their
^ One day I was crossing a stream near Uen Chuan Shien. We had justpassed a village of Wasi aborigines. The bridge gave way, and one of ourcoolies fell into the swollen stream and was soon drowned. We appealed to thevillagers to assist us, but not one of them would move, fearing that if theytried to save the coolie the demon would drown them.
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condition and to become reborn as human beings they must causeOthers to die in childbirth. Mo gin kitci have been killed by havingtheir throats cut, and try to cause others to die in that way so thatthey can escape from their condition.
4. THE CI-l'lN MIN CEREMONYOn the fifteenth day of the seventh moon, there is what correspondsto the All Saints' day as it was originally observed in Europe.^ Elabo-rate ceremonies are held. Amid the beating of gongs and the playingof musical instruments, much paper money is burnt. At night lightsare set floating on streams or rivers. Having received the money andother ofiferings, the demons are expected to follow the lights away,leaving the community free from their danger.
5. DEMON POSSESSIONAn insane person is thought to be possessed or controlled by ademon. That is why Europeans and Americans sometiijies confi-dently assert that there is demon ])ossession in China. Near Li DuanTs'ang lived a girl who had spells of insanity. Her relatives believedthat she was possessed by a demon, and were afraid of her. Theybegan to talk of putting her to death. She heard them, and was wiseenough to know what it meant. She said, " If you kill me, I willcome back and harm you as long as you live." Thereafter they wereafraid to harm her, and treated her with much consideration.There was a robber who lived at Huen Kiang. He robbed and killeda rich acquaintance. Later the spirit of the victim haunted him inhis dreams. He became ill and died, asserting that he was being doneto death by the spirit of the victim. Then the son of the robber alsobegan to have bad dreams, and saw the spirit of the victim coming toinjure him. He felt that the spirit of the victim was near him allthe time trying to harm him. He sought the aid of priests, but all toto no avail. Finally he secured the help of a local magistrate, a manof considerable influence. This man said to the spirit, " Come, now,you have done enough harm already. Go away and let this man alone."The spirit obeyed, and the son was saved.In Suifu a merchant named Ch'en had two daughters and a son.Three years before the events we are about to relate, Mrs. Ch'en haddied in Chungking. At the time of the death of his wife, Mr. Ch'enhad opened a shop in Suifu, and on account of his business was unable
* Dore, Henry S. D., Researches Into Chinese Superstitions, 1915-22, Vol. I,p. 62.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM I5
to attend the funeral. He sent thirty dollars for the funeral expensesin care of a friend \\iio was to make the proper arrangements andjiay the bills. The friend did things very poorly, merely covering thecoffin with a little dirt. The money he saved he used himself. Thesecond daughter married, but her husband soon died. l,ater shemarried a man named Tsu. This man Tsu previously had a wife, butit is thought that he made away with her in order to marry the seconddaughter. The oldest daughter married a man named Tsao. Mr. Tsudied at Chungking and the second daughter came to Suifu. Her fatherwas about to remarry when a curious thing happened.The second daughter became black in the face and began to utterwords incoherently. She then began to talk as though she were hermother. She said that the reason her mother had not complainedbefore was that in hades when she first intended to complain the godtold her that she should first sufifer misery three years in hades, thenmake her complaints ; that Mr. Tsu, on hearing that the seconddaughter was about to be married, seriously objected, anrl raised arow with the dead Mrs. Ch'en : that since Mrs. Tsao was unable tobear children, Mrs. Ch'en demanded that a second wife or a concubinebe found for Mr. Tsao so that he should not be without descendants;and lastly, that the grave of Mrs. Ch'en must be ])Ut in first-classcondition.
^Ir. Ch'en proposed that much pa])er (jr spirit money should beburnt for IVIrs. Ch'en so that she should have plenty of money tospend in hades. Mrs. Ch'en replied that this was not a matter ofprimary importance, but that she would ])ermit Mr. Ch'en to spendmuch money in this way. She said that the king told her in hadesthat within three days she must comjiel ^Tr. Ch'en to agree to carryout all these matters. H Mr. Ch'en did not, the god would rob him ofhis soul so that he would die.Mr. Ch'en agreed to all these conditions, and secured two middlemen who were to guarantee the execution of all these demands. Theywere all carried out, so that Mr. Ch'en suffered no harm.It was believed that Mrs. Ch'en had come from hades, and takenpossession of the second daughter, Mrs. Tsu, and had used i\Irs. T.su'smouth so as to be able to speak. It was asserted that s])irits cannotspeak audibly because they have no bodies.
6. SUM MARvSo prominent is the belief in and fear of demons in .Szechuan thatone is tempted to say with Dorc that the essence of the Chinese
l6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
religion is the belief in and fear of demons, who are thought to bethe cause of all diseases and calamities, and the attempt to ward themoff and secure safety and happiness by means of marvellous, super-human power that is made available through charms, amulets, incan-tations, priests, and gods/ This, however, would be an exaggeration.We merely note that protection against demons is a very importantpart of the religious technique in Szechuan.
III. BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH, AND BURIALI. VARIETY OF CUSTOMS IN SZECHUAN PROVINCETo most individuals, birth, marriage, and death are the outstandingevents of human life. It is natural that many religious rites andceremonies group themselves around these events.While general resemblances between the birth, marriage, and burialcustoms are noticeable throughout all China, there are also manyvariations. These are evident even in different parts of SzechuanProvince. Adam Grainger, in a little booklet entitled Studies inChinese Life, describes in detail birth, marriage, and burial customsin Szechuan. Mr. J. Mortimore, in a series of short articles, has alsodescribed the burial customs. A book entitled Chinese Culture andChristianity, by J. L. Stewart, and based primarily on conditions inSzechuan, has recently appeared. In these descriptions one is im-pressed more by the differences than by the resemblances.It is probable that the religious and social customs of Szechuanare a blend of the old Chinese culture with other elements that areaboriginal, or have been brought in from India, Tibet, or possiblyother countries. It is not always possible to distinguish between them.The Miao and the Chinese of Szechuan both have the Pan Ku myth,monosyllabic languages with five tones, and many customs in common,but it cannot always be ascertained which has borrowed from the other.It seems wise and necessary to limit ourselves to those elements whichare probably general in the province, and to pay special attention tocertain burial customs which can be traced back into antiquity, andwhich throw light on the development of the Chinese religion.
2. THE DESIRE FOR AND THE METHODS OF SECURING CHILDRENLike other branches of the human race, the Chinese desire anumerous posterity. This is intensified by the need of sons to conductthe ancestral ceremonies.
^ Dore, Henry S. D., Researches Into Chinese Superstitions, Vol. IV, p. 431;Vol. V, pp. ii-iii.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN TRGVINCE GRAHAM 17There are several ways by which people believe that they can securesons. A common way is to pray to one of the goddesses who givessons, either the Song Tsi Kuan Yin or the Song Tsi Niang Niang.The Goddess Of Mercy is sometimes entirely consecrated to this pur-pose, and holds a child in her lap. Sometimes the priests are hired toread the sacred scriptures in the homes.^Sometimes a person will pray for a son, and if the prayer isanswered he will present a wooden image of a child as a thank-ofiferingto the deity. If a good number of these are at the feet of the god,it adds considerably to his prestige. If a barren woman steals oneof these wooden images, she will surely give birth to a son, afterwhich she is supposed to return the image. The stealing of othersacred articles will cause the mother to bear a son. Among these arethe headcloth of an idol, sacrificial food, or eggs at a marriage feast.'In some parts of the province one will occasionally see a round holein the rock resembling the female sex-organ. It is believed that if aperson succeeds in throwing a stone into certain of these holes hiswife will give birth to a son. One of these holes is at Tao-si-kuan. onthe Min River Ijetween Suifu and Kiating. Two others are nearSuifu, one across the Min River near Tiao-huang-lo, and the otherbeyond Lankuang at Da Er O, or Strike Son Hole.
3. BIRTH CUSTOMSBefore a child is born, a priest or " sorcerer " is generally called toexorcise demons or other influences.' At birth, firecrackers or othermeans may be used to scare away evil spirits.* At a later time thegoddess of progeny is worshipped, and a feast is held.*Those who have the advantage of modern hospitals, with trainedphysicians and nurses, and anesthetics, can hardly appreciate theexcruciating pains suffered by Chinese mothers. Sometimes deliveryis impossible, resulting in the death of both mother and child. Atother times the suffering is multiplied many fold by a slow anddifficult delivery. The only duty of the female deity, the Tsua SenNiang Niang, is to secure quick and safe delivery. The spirit tablet of
*When a Buddhist or a Taoist priest reads his scriptures ceremonially, it iscustomary for foreigners to say that he is praying. He is really reading hissacred scripture, which is considered an act of great virtue that will movethe gods and bring good fortune.^West China Missionary News, January, 1921, pp. 9-11.
'Grainger, Adam, Studies in Chinese Life, 1921, p. 5.
* Ibid., p. 5.
' Ibid., p. 6.
l8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
the Tsua Sen Niang Niang is brought to the home when necessary.There are many other methods. A charm may be written and pastedon the body of the mother. A priest may come to the house and readscriptures or perform ceremonial rites. If a mother dies in childbirth,she is not admitted into hades, but becomes a demon called a ts'anIan kuci.After the child is born, there is something dangerous or uncleanabout the mother. For this reason she is not allowed to leave theroom of her confinement for a month. Some of the ideas concerningchildbirth are given in the Classic Of The Bloody I'asin, the writer'stranslation of which is given below in full
:
THE TRUE CXASSIC OF THE BLOODY BASIN(Outside Title)THE TRUE CLASSIC OF (OR FOR) THE SAVING OF MOTHERSBY DI TSANG FUSAH(Inside Title)Reprinted in the fourth moon of the fourtli year of the Republic.From Shansi Province, Shanuen Shien, published by the disciple of Li YinLin. The printing boards at the T'ong Yih shop in Suifu.The True Classic Of The Saving Of Mothers From The Bloody Basin.Correct words for purifying the mouth.Shiu li shin U mo ho shin li sliiu shin li so p'o ho.Correct words for cleansing the body of impurities.Shiu do li shiu do li shin mo li so p'o hoCorrect words for pacifying the Tu Di gods.La mo shall man do mo t'o Ian nc/an dn In dii hi tsac ivci so p'o ho.For respectfully calling the eight gods.La mo Kuan Si Yin P'usah mo ho salt.La mo Mi Lch Full P'usah mo ho sali.La mo Shu K'oiig Chang P'usah nio ho .fah,La mo P'ushicn Fuh P'usah mo ho sah,La mo Gin Kang Sco P'usah mo ho sah,La mo Miao gih Shiang P'usah mo ho sah.La wo Ch'u Tsai Chang P'usah uio Iio suh.La mo Di Tsang Wang P'usah mo ho .uih.Verse for beginning the Classic
—
O marvellous way, so lofty and so deep,A myriad ages one can hardly meet
;
Rut now I sec and hear, can grasp and keep ;Willi joy I'll tell llic Iruth to dtliers as is meet.
NO. 4 KF.T.IGIOX li\ S/.i:ClU'Ai\ rK( )V1 X(l>- GKA 1 1 AM KJ
'flic 'I'riK' Classic l\)r The Saviiii; of Mothers ll\ Di Tsaiii; Wane; P'lisah.Reverently calling the guds.Shi T'icn Fuh P'usah,Mi T'o Fuh P'usah,Ru Lai Fuh P'usah,Shih T'icn Nien Wang Da Di P'usah,Ih Ch'ih Gieu Lan P'usah.La mo Gieu K'u Gieu Lan P'usah who pronounces the following incantation :
" Do ch'iteh lan ngan do fah In lai t'aiui sliiicn i ho gieu lan iiin t'o sen." I nowwill cultivate and preserve and alwaj's read gnd chant (this classic) in order that
1 may save my female relatives from that punishment which befalls them w^henafter ten months of pregnancy they have given birth. I will constantly chantwith my mouth this classic for the rescuing of mothers. When Nien Wang in hisdwelling brings the women to him and reproves them for their sins, if onechants the True Classic it interferes with the star of calamity. I pray thatmy female relatives may early escape from the calamities, and I, the son,receive the pimishment, which 1 should. I have already prayed and obtainedthe saving from calamities by the goddess Kuan Shi Yin who by the purewater from her vial washed away the body of evil sins from all people. Thefemale relatives do not understand the meaning of this, but let all kinds of sinand evil be upon me. Every day I will chant this classic which frees fromcalamity. May my mother escape from all earthly evils, and our family culti-vate themselves in mercy and righteousness.A chant to be accompanied with the burning of incense.Ti Tsang P'usah, the merciful gods of the ten courts, the gods of the threeterraces, and of the eight thrones, the nine ministers, the rulers of hell andTsen O. If you invite the Buddhist priests to proclaim abroad this classic,hell will change into heaven.La mo Di Tsang Wang P'usah mo ho sah (repeat three times).The Faith Of The Bloody Basin Classic Explained By The Great TibetanOrthodox Religion \\"hich Was Spoken By Buddha.Once upon a time the god Muh Lien went to Li Tseo Tsua Yang Shien, andsaw the hell of the bloody basin pool eighty-four (probably li) wide, in whichthere were one hundred and twenty things, iron crossbeams, iron pillars, ironcangues, and iron locks, and saw a nmltitudc of the non-Buddhist women ofthe earth with unkempt hair all dishevelled, and long cangues and bound handsbeing punished in hell. The keepers of hell and the king of demons three timesdaily took bloody water and ordered the women to drink it. The sinners didnot dare to obey, therefore they were beaten with an iron club by the Lord ofHell until they screamed. Muh Lien had compassion and asked the Ruler ofHades saying, " I do not see the non-Buddhist women's husbands undergoingthis punishment. I only see many women suffering this bitter pain." The Rulerof Hades replied to the Learned One, " This does not concern the husbands,but it is simply that women in giving birth allow the bloody dew to tlefile thegods in the earth. If the unclean garments are taken and washed in creeks orrivers, the water carries the defdement and injures all the righteous men andwomen of the faith who secure water and boil tea to ofifer to all the holy ones(gods, saints, etc.). causing it to be unclean. The Great Genera] of Heaven
20 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
writes down their names, records them in the book of good and evil, to awaituntil, within a hundred years, life is ended, when they receive this bitter recom-pense." Muh Lien was very compassionate, and quickly asked the Ruler ofHades, " How can we reward the virtue of mothers in bearing children so thatthey can escape from the hell of the bloody basin pool?" The Ruler of Hadesreplied, " Only by carefully being filial, and men and women respectfully wor-shipping the Three Precious Ones and by observing the three years bloody basinfast, and assembling the festival for succeeding over the bloody basin, invitingBuddhist priests to chant this classic once, and when the time is fulfilled therepentance observances are completed, and then a boat of mercy will bear herover the River of Purgatory to the shore, and it will be seen that five lotusflowers appear in the bloody basin pool. The sinners will be glad, and willdevelop shame in their hearts, and they will be able to rise to the Buddhisticland. Then all the great gods and Muh Lien will inform and respectfully urgethe unbelievers and the men and women who believe righteousness to quicklylearn and cultivate virtue so as to remove the punishments and greatly alterthe future course of events. Do not lose this teaching, for in ten thousand yearsyou will not easily get it back." Buddha said, " If the people who believe in theclassic of the bloody bowl write it and keep its instructions, it will cause themto secure the ascension to heaven of all their parents for three generations,and their enjoying all blessings—clothing and food of course, long life, wealth,and honor." Now, at this point (in the reading of this classic), the HeavenlyDragon, the eight grades of men, and the non-human beings are all filled witligreat joy and believe, receive, and obey this book, give a salute, and depart.The Completion Of The Classic Of The Orthodox Tibetan Religion Explain-ing The Faith Of The Bloody Basin.The Classic That Buddha Spoke Of The Great Grace Of Fathers And MothersAnd Of Bones Of Unborn Babes.I have heard thus, that once upon a time at Tsisou in the Kingdom of Shaewae,Buddha spoke to the gods of Kuh Duh Uen and to the 1,250 priests of Dae PiCh'iu, at which time the divine Ho Lan arose from his throne, with his handsoffered obeisance to Buddha, and spoke these words : " What is greatest in theuniverse ? " Buddha replied, " In the universe that which is weightiest and ofmost importance is the grace of fathers and mothers." Ho Lan asked Buddha,
" Will Buddha mercifully and kindly explain ? " Buddha said, " When the childis in the womb of the mother for the first month, it is like pearls of dew onblades of grass." Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do you say pearls of dew onblades of grass ? " The Universally Honored One replied, " In the morning itcollects, but at noon it evaporates. It is present only in the morning. It is notpresent in the afternoon. When the child is in the mother's womb for twomonths, it changes like snow crystals." Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do yousay snow crystals?" The Universally Honored One replied, " Like snow crystalsin the air falling down. When the child has been in the womb for three months,it changes into a lump of blood six and three-tenths inches long." Ho Lan askedBuddha, " Why do you say a lump of blood ? " The Universally Honored Onesaid, " In the first place, it may be called a lump of blood. In the second placeit may be called a snow mountain. In the third place it may be called bloodcollected together. When the child has been in the mother's womb four months,it develops the four limbs." Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do you say four
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 21
limbs ? " The Universally Honored One replied, " First two hands appear likespring and summer. Later two feet appear like autumn and winter, and finallyyou call them four limbs. When the child has been in the mother's womb forfive months, it develops the five lumps." Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do youcall them five lumps?" The Universally Honored One replied, "First, theskull develops, then the fanbones develop, then the two kneecaps, so they arecalled five lumps. When the child has been in the mother's womb for six months,it develops the six senses." Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do you say the sixsenses? " The Universally Honored One replied, " Eyes can see color, ears canhear sound, the nose can smell all fragrances, the tongue can taste flavors, thebody feels fineness and smoothness, and the mind can understand all things, sothey are called the six senses, and are also called the six thieves. When thechild has been in the womb of the mother seven months, it develops the sevenkinds of bones." Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do you call them the seven kindsof bones ? " The Universally Honored One replied, " My mother bore me havingbones of diamond that would not decay. Kuanyin P'usah was born having redlotus bones. Shen Uen Lohan when born had bones that are sacred relics. WanShen Di Wang was born having bones like the womb of a dragon and the bodyof a phoenix. The imperial officers and the prime minister are born with kcolien shiao (meaning not clear) bones, and the generals of war are born withbones of tigers and wolves. We, whether we are men or women, are born withthree hundred and sixty joints. The bones of men and women are dififerent.Bones of men develop from the head down. Bones of women develop from thesoles of the feet upward. The large intestines are twelve feet long, just as ayear has twelve months. The small intestines are twenty-four feet long, asthe year has twenty-four semi-lunar periods. When the child has been in thewomb of the mother eight months, it daily suffers eight kinds of hellish torments."Ho Lan asked Buddha, " Why do you call them eight kinds of hellish torments? "The Universally Honored One replied, " When the mother eats hot food, it iscalled the hellish torments of (boiling) kettle soup. When the mother eats coldfood, it is called the hell of cold ice, When the mother is full (that is, whenher stomach is full), it is called the hell of crushing stone. When the motheris hungry, it is called the hell of hungry demons. When the mother eats hardthings, it is called the hell of the sword mountain. When the mother travels oris weary of labor, it the called the hell of pounding and beating (with pestles,mallets, etc.). W'hen the mother is sitting down, it is called the hell of theiron bed. When the mother nods her head, it is called the hell of hanging upsidedown (the idea is that the nodding of the head causes the child to be turnedupside down). When the child has been in the womb of the mother for ninemonths, it will daily turn over three times, and with both hands take hold of itsmother's heart and liver, and twice (daily) turn its body and tread on the mother'sbackbone and thighs so that it tires her four limbs painfully, and all her jointsare tightly stiffened. When the child has been in the mother's womb for tenjnonths, you can see that it is about to be born. Daily it comes and congealsthe mother's abdomen, and nightly it comes and congeals the mother's womb.When the time of birth arrives, then you should fear four kinds of evil birth.The first to fear is the grasp-dry-wood birth, the second to fear is the birth ofstepping on the lotus flower (feet appearing first), the third dreadful birth isbeing born crosswise, and the fourth to dread is that of begging salt (probablywith the hands appearing first). The middle fingers of filial children are hot
22 s.\rri'iis().\iA.\ M isci:li.an1'.ol's collections vol. So
when the}' are born. Wlien an nnlilial cliild is born who in pa.st existences hasbeen your enemy, in two or tlirce days of travail he will still be unborn, thewhole family will be alarmed, and the mother's life will be lost because of thechild. If men and women who believe wish to recompense their parents, theyshould copy this book, and with it exhort the people all around, spread abroadthe teaching of filial piety, and contribute to the support of Buddhist priests,and they will secure the good health of their parents in this world, and causethem after death to rise to the land of Buddha. At this point the HeavenlyDragon, the Eight Divisions of Gods, and all men will greatly rejoice, believe,obey, perform a courtesy, and disperse. This is the end of the classic which isBuddha's words about the great grace of parents in regard to pregnancy.The Words Of Buddha Which Are The Marvellous Classic Of Di TsangP'usah For Salvation From Torments.Once upon a time Di Tsang P'usah dwelt in the everbright land in the south,and used his pure, heavenly eyes, anil saw in far away hades all human creatureswho were undergoing torments—iron pestles and beaters, iron grinders, ironsaws, kettle soup (boiling), fierce fire reaching to heaven, hungry people swal-lowing hot iron, thirsty i)eople drinking melted brass, receiving all bitterness andvexations, having no rest. Di Tsang P'usah could not bear to see it, so he camefrom the south to the midst of hell, and was in the same apartment with NienWang, but slept in another bed. They discussed all the reasons : first, thatpossibly Nien Wang might not have judged justly; secondly, that possibly thedocuments of accusation were disposed of wrongly ; thirdly, that possibly thegod had wrongly caused individuals to die ; and fourthly, that possibly sinnerswere allowed to sufl^er punishment beyond their due. Therefore, for these fourreasons, if a good man or a believing woman has images made of Di Tsang WangP'usah and causes the classic of Di Tsang P'usah to be read, calling out toDi Tsang P'usah, this person can certainly reach the western paradise beforethe face of O Mi T'o Fuh (Amitabha), and his body become pure like the lotusflower, which cannot be explained, and his six souls will become intelligent andcan go anywhere, from Buddhaland to Buddhaland, and from one heaven toanother. Any person who causes images of Di Tsang P'usah to be erected, andthis classic to be read, and protects the name of Di Tsang P'usah, after he diesDi Tsang P'usah himself will come to welcome this person to be forever witliDi Tsang P'usah. All divine creatures and men of the universe, and O .Shin l.owhen they hear this classic which I'uddha spoke, will rejoice, believe, obey,make an obeisance, and depart.'After the month of confinement is over, the relatives and friendswho have been given presents are invited to a feast.'
4. MARKLVGKUp to very recent times it was customary in Szechiian for all mar-riages to be arranged by the parents through go-betweens. Even
^ The above " classic " is evidently a translation into Chinese of a Tibetan book,and the incantations are transliterations of incantations used by the Tibetanlamas, having no meaning in the Chinese. This book, although it has sometimesbeen prohibited by progressive officials, is widely used and its ideas are generallyaccepted in West China.
" Grainger, Adam, Studies In Chinese Life, 1921, p. 6.
NO. 4 REL.iGlON IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 23
now the exceptions are few. The consent of the young couple wasnot asked, and they were not permitted to see each other until theymet at the marriage ceremony. Social conditions are now in a processof change, and sometimes young people find a way of choosing theirown life partners, but on the whole the old customs are still in vogue.A family will generally resort to divination before approachinganother family about the marriage of their son to a young woman.If results are assuring, a middle man is found. The middle man orwoman takes presents when ap])roaching the parents of the younglady. If the parents are willing to negotiate, they produce the girl'shoroscope, with which the go-between returns to the boy's parents.^Again divination is resorted to. If the result is favorable, an authorityon horoscopes is called, and the horoscopes of the two young peopleare compared." If the results indicate that the marriage would beunlucky, the matter is dropped ; if the opposite is true, there arcfurther negotiations, and a luck}' da)' is set for the exchange ofhoroscopes.^ Presents, and sometimes money, are given to the parentsof the young lady, who in turn provide a feast for all the guests.'On the day of the wedding, which must be on a lucky day, thereis a procession, and the bride is carried to the home of the groomin a Juia giao, or flowery sedan chair, which is red in color andbeautifully decorated.^The bride says farewell to her parents, and departs with weeping."The procession is led by musicians with gongs, drums, flutes, andother wind instruments.^ Banners and other paraphernalia are carried.On the back of the bridal chair one or two lighted lanterns arehung, although it is broad daylight, to keep the demons away. Oldbronze mirrors, glass mirrors, and other charms are used. Thebride is often clothed in special garments that are supposed to protecther from evil spirits.On arriving at the home of the bridegroom, a cock is killed, andthe blood is sprinkled in a circle around the flowery chair.'' This is a
'Grainger, Adam, Studies In Chinese Life, 1921, pp. 8-9.Stewart, James Livingstone, Chinese Culture and Christianity, 1926. pp. 144-5.^Grainger, Adam, Studies In Cln'nese Life, 1921, p. 9.
^Ibid., p. 9-
* Ibid., p. 9.
' Ibid., p. 12.Stewart, James Livingstone, Chinese Culture and Christianity, 1926, p. T02.
"Grainger, Adam, Studies In Chinese Life, 1921, p. \2.
''Ibid., pp. 1 1 -12.
^Ibid., p. 13. ,
24 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8ofurther protection against demons. Then the bride enters her newhome.The bride is led to her place beside the bridegroom. Their firstact is often to face the front door and worship heaven and earth.*Then they worship the housegods and pay their respects to the bride-groom's parents and ancestors. Finally, they bow to each other."Most of the guests bring presents to the new couple, and the cus-tomary wedding feast is held.A widow does not generally remarry. A man may take severalwives if he wishes and is able to support them. There is littleceremony when a widow is remarried or when a man, while his wifeis still living, takes a second wife or concubine.
5. DEATH AND THE FUNERAL PROCESSIONSoon after death cash paper is burnt to provide the spirit withtravelling expenses for use on the way to hades. This is bound insmall, square bundles. Mortimore has translated the inscription onthe last bundles
:
The recently deceased .... (name) .... whose earthly life began in (thereign of) .... such and such a year .... month .... day .... hour, in
.... province .... prefecture .... county .... township .... section atthe place called .... grew to manhood; enjoyed .... years of life; thegreat sphere (of earthly existence) closed in (the reign of) ... . such and sucha year .... month .... day .... hour .... while living at ... . province
.... prefecture .... etc., death took place due to illness. This is personally-prepared cash paper for use en route, packet number .... to defray expensesin the spirit world.(To whom it may concern:) At each of the barriers by land and water andat fords, examine and take note and allow to pass without obstruction.On the last package must also be written
:
The year that the sky disappears
;
The month when the fixed time is fulfilled
;
The day that the end has come
;
The hour when a standstill is reached.Transform (that is, the paper is to be burnt and transmuted into papercurrency) .'The first two paragraphs correspond very closely to what the ChuanMiao K'a Gi, who opens the way for the spirit of the dead person tohades, says as a part of the Chuan Miao funeral ceremonies. Mr.Mortimore also says that a careful watch is kept so that no one can
^ Ibid., p. 13-
'Ibid., p. 13.'West China Missionary News, April, 1915, p. 26.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 25throw pieces of iron into the cofifin for that would cause disasterto come to the descendants of the deceased. This also correspondsto one of the customs of Chuan Miao.A priest or geomancer cfcses the coffin. He must also choose a luckyburying site where the fengshui is good. If it is not good, the descen-dants of the dead will have calamities and reverses and surely decline.If it is good, the descendants will prosper and be happy. A lucky dayfor burial must also be chosen.It is believed that the soul goes to hades to be judged, and thatthere, in contrast to earthly conditions, judgment is just and in accor-dance with one's conduct on earth. In many Buddhist temples arescenes that portray judginent and punishment in hades. Sometimeshades is also represented in Taoist temples.Before the funeral. Buddhist or Taoist priests are called to " openthe way" for the soul to hades. This involves much ceremony,including the reading of scriptures and the worship of gods. Thespirit is generally provided with a road-guide or passport to heaven.Friends of the famih' send gifts in the form of tua tsis, or doublescrolls, which have written on them sentiments that are complimentaryto the deceased. In return they are invited to the funeral and to thefuneral feast, and provided with a white cloth of mourning to wearon the head during the ceremonies.In the funeral procession the oldest son of the deceased walks infront of the coffin, dressed in sackcloth and supported by friends.A live cock is generally perched on the coffin to keep away demons.Firecrackers are set oflf at the beginning of the funeral processionand at the grave.
6. THE BURIAL AND GRAVE CUSTOMSAt the grave the customary scenes of mourning take place, includingweeping and prostrations. Paper cash, gold and silver ingots, a goldhill and a silver hill, and paper images of human beings, of houses,furniture, boxes, weapons, and even opium pipes are burnt. Theyare transformed by burning into cash, gold and silver ingots, a goldhill and a silver hill, living servants, sedan chairs, houses, etc., for theuse of the departed spirits in the land of shades. Actual food is offered,incense and candles are burnt, there are prostrations and mourning,and the coffin is covered with dirt. Usually the hole is not dug verydeep, and the dirt is heaped up in a mound over the coffin.To explain the custom of burning paper money, paper images ofhuman beings, houses, furniture, and other articles, we must go back
_'6 s^r iTifsoNiAN iM iscia.i-AXKors lOi.ij^XTJONS vor,. 80thousands of years iiilo ancient C hinese history. In the sixth sectionof the history of Si A!a Ch'ien. it is stated tluit 177 persons werekilled and btiried with the emperor. The following- (juotation is fromthe journal of the North-China Uranch of the Royal Asiatic Societyfor 1 910:From the Chinese classics we know that, in remote antiquity, a straw figureof a man was placed in the grave with the dead. Confucius himself commendedthe act in preference to a later custom of substituting a wooden image withmoveable joints. His counsel, however, went unheeded. It is not certain, butpresumably' he was aiming at stopping the immolation of human beings at thetombs of the great. The burying of wooden men was, in all likelihood, the bogusform of this savage reality. Later history contains many examples of it. Toquote from Professor Kid : " When Woo—king of the state Tsin—died sixty-sixpersons were put to death and buried with him. One hundred and sevent3'-sevenordinary individuals, together with three persons of superior rank, were devotedby death to the service of Muh-kung in the other world ; a monody still existslamenting the fate of these three men. Tsin-shih-liuang-ti, who flourished abouttwo hundred jears before the Christian era, commanded that his householdfemales and domestics should be put to death and interred with him." The customlong survived this period, " and when persons offered themselves voluntarilyto die, from attachment to their masters and friends, such sacrifices wereesteemed most noble and disinterested." ^In the Encyclojxiedia Sinica there is a similar statement
:
Sacrifices, Human. This title should more properly be reserved for thekilling of men as ofiferings to the Deity, as in the case of Abraham and Isaac,or the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs. In default of a more convenient term,it is used for the burial of living slaves, concubines, and others, with the rich orroyal dead; though the idea of providing companionship and service in theother world is more prominent than that of appeasing anger or seeking favor.The practice must have been established in China in very early times, but thefirst example recorded in Chinese history was at the burial of the Ch'in rulerWu Kung, B. C. 678, when sixty-six persons were buried alive to keep himcompany in the other world. In Ch'in again, when Mu Kung died in B. C. 621,there were buried with him one hundred and seventy-four people. This causedthe Ode called Hikuui Jiiao to be made (Legge's She King, p. 198). The factitself is recorded in the Ch'un Ch'iu. The practice had been forbidden by HsienKung on his succeeding to tlie Cli'in earldom in B. C. 384, but at the death ofCh'in Shih Huang Ti in B. C. 210, all his wives and concubines who had notborne him children were buried with him, and tlio workmen who had made liistomb were also walled up alive in it."In North China many old graves have been unearthed, and theircontents are in the world's great musetuns. Some of them go as far
'Journal of the Xorlh-Cliina Branch of the Royal .\siatic Society, Vol. XLI,1910, pp. 63-4.
"Encyclopaedia Sinica, 1917, p. 493.
NO. 4 RELIGION J-X SZECHUAN I'KOVINCE GRAHAM 2/back as the Han Dynasty. A number of large cases of these rehcs arein the Field Museum in Chicago.Tn Szechuan Province are thousands of caves that were chiseledout of the soft red-sandstone many centuries ago. Perhajis most ofthem are around Kiating and Chengtu, and all of them seem to benear rivers and streams. There are fewer around Suifu, possibly dueto the facts that the sandstone is much harder and the Chinese securedpossession of Suifu at a later date than Chengtu and Kiating. Thelarger of these caves are nearly a hundred feet deep and contain manyrelics. The most extensive collections that have been made are inthe British Museum and in the Museum of the \\^est China UnionUniversity. Many Chinese and foreigners assert that these caves werethe homes of the aborigines who lived in these districts before thearrival of the Chinese. Rev. Thomas Torrance, F. R. G. S., was oneof the first to assert that they were burial tombs of wealthy Chinesewho probably lived from the Ts'in Dynasty V>. C. to the time of theThree Kingdoms. Mr. Torrance has spent years in the study of thesecaves and their contents, and the collections in the British Aluscum andin the Museum of the West China I'nion University were made almostentirely by him. The following quotation is from a letter receivedfrom Mr. Torrance, written at Kuanshien, Szechuan, China. July 12.1925:Tlic cave tombs are found all the way from the Hupeh-.Szechuan borderwestwards as far as Lifan. Ninety-nine per cent of them are in low altitudes.Their age is from the end of the Ts'in Dynasty B. C. to the time of the ThreeKingdoms. The people were in the Pa, Shuh (Szechuan), and Chinese territories.My own opinion is that the people were Shuh-Chinese or Pa-Chinese, mixedblood. There are only a few inscriptions in seal and common Chinese character.There is no evidence at all that they were originally for anything else tlian tombs.Later they were used for different purposes, that is, some of them, notably nearKiating. The goods found in these caves correspond closely to goods found intomb mounds of the same date and in underground graves all over China, that is,China north of the Yangtse. The carvings are distinctly of Han type and areall in close correspondence. The carvings often follow the appearance of Hanhouses, showing they were built of logs.\^olume I of the Su])]ilementary Papers of the Royal GeographicalSociety, published in 1886. contains an article entitled "A Journey OfExploration in Western Ssu-ch'uan," by F. Colborne Baber, ChineseSecretary of Legation, Peking. This article tells of a visit to WestChina in 1877, when a number of caves between Kiating and Suifuwere inspected. ]\Ir. Baber found what he decided were cisterns insidethe caves, and so concluded that the caves were dwelling-places.'
' Supplementary Papers. Royal Geograpliieal Society, 1886, \'ol. T, pji. 131-2.
28 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
iilHWiliiiwii^^
Ill iM "Miril \ riin!iPi.l!llMir,l'i'Mil
Fig. I. -Diagram of a carving on the wall of a cave above Suifu on the MinRiver. Copied from a drawing by E. Colbornc Baber.
4
Fig. 2.—Diagram of a carving on a wall of a cave three miles west ofKiating, China.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 29
Fig. 3.—Copy of carvings of an ancient teapot and a teacup on the wall ofan old burial tomb in a cave at Song Tsua, near Li Chuang, about fifteen mileseast of Suifu.
Fig. 4.—Copy of a carving on the wall of anancient Chinese tomb in the sandstone at SongTsua, near Li Chuang, about 15 miles east ofSuifu. The instrument probably represents aloom. The tomb is a cave in a solid rock.
Fig. 5.—Diagram of acarving on a pillar at theentrance of an ancientChinese burial cave nearKiating, Szecluian. China.
30 SMITHSONIAN M ISCELLANEOL'S COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oThe writer has visited the caves about Kiating and Suifu a numberof times, and is convinced that Mr. Torrance is right, and that theseare burial tombs of the early Chinese. The reasons, briefly stated, areas follows
:
First, the relics found in these caves very closely resemble thosein the tombs of North China which belong in the Han and the TangDynasties. The watchdogs look so much alike that one could believethat they came from the same tomb. The articles found are verysimilar, from earthenware images of houses, hmiian beings, andchickens to the coins and the jade cicadas that were placed on thetongues of the dead. Evidently, they were the work of the samecivilization.Secondly, the coins in the Szechuanese tombs are all Chinese coins.The dates of most of them can easily be determined.'Thirdly, large numl)ers of these caves still have remnants of coffinsin them. .Some caves have ])laces for several coffins, indicating thatthey were probably used by a family. Some of the coffins have beenfound with skeletons in them. Uaber's "cisterns" are the placeswhere the coffins are found.Fourthly, the caves are so well made that they are evidently thework of a people who were in a high state of civilization.Fifthly, we know of no tribe of aborigines in West China that isaccustomed either to live or to bury its dead in artificial caves of thiskind.We beliexe that the weight of evidence is strongly in favor of thetheory that the caves of Szechuan are Chinese burial tombs datingapproximately two thousand years ago./Ml the images yet found in these caves are of unglazed, burntclay, of a gray color. Later the Chinese of Szechuan ceased the bury-ing of their dead in caves, and buried them in tombs covered bymounds. Many of the images found in the later tombs are beautifully
•dazed.
^
^Journal of llie Nortli-Cliina P.ranch of tlie Royal .\siatic Society, Vol. XLl,1910, p. 69.
^ Some diagrams are appended that the writer ha.s made of carvings on cavesnear Kiating, and also copies of some pictures that he found on the side of a caveat Song Tsui, near Li Chuang, east of Suifu. The hat worn by the man whosepicture is carved in the cave near Song Tsui resembles those on clay images,unglazed.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 3IMr. Torrance gives the following list of the articles which he hasgathered in the caves of Szechuan :Instead of straw or moveable wooden figures of men you will tind them ofburnt-clay, grey and terra-cotta in color, glazed and unglazed, from a few incheshigh to nearly full life-size. They represent persons of both sexes and variousranks and callings. There are besides models of houses, cooking-pots, boilers,rice-steamers, bowls, basins, vases, trays, jars, lamps, musical instruments, dogs,cats, horses, cows, sheep, fowls, ducks, etc. Standing with your reflector lampin the midst of a large cave it seems verily an imitation of Noah's Ark.'
It is true that the Chinese heliexc that the caves of Szecliuan weremade and used by aborigines, and call them Aiantsi caves. This isex])lained by the fact that the old Chinese population was practicallyexterminated by Tsang Shien Tsong, and the new immigrants wouldnaturally know Httle about the ])ast history of the province.\\c therefore advance the following theory : In early Chinese his-tory men provided food for the dead as the Chinese still do to-day.and also placed in the tombs wcaj^ons of war. money, and articles ofeveryday use. They killed human beings, including wives and ser-vants, to put in the graves with the deceased leaders. The moraldevelopment of the people led to the sul)stitution of Ittu'ut-clay imagesfor human beings and the fowls, animals, and the articles of everydaylife. The clay images were at first unglazed, but later were glazed.The placing of quantities of money in the graves took it out of circu-lation, and with other valuables tempted the robbers to loot the graves.In time people began to substitute paper money for real money. Thepaper was burnt, and was transformed by the flames into si)irit moneythat could actually be used by the departed spirits in the land ofshades. X'ow nearly all the articles are l)urnt, so that very little isjilaced in the tombs. Actual food is still offered at the graves and be-fore the ancestral tablets so that the spirits of the dead will not hun-ger. The food offered is not destroyed. The spirit must be sup-posed to in some way secure the essence of the food, and the descen-dants of the dead are permitted to eat what is left.After burial, the grave is revisited on occasions, food is ottered tothe departed soul, and the ordinary acts of reverence are performed.Mourning for one's parents is kept up for three years, and theceremonies usually included under " ancestor worship " are ]Km--formed for three generations of ancestors—jiarents. grandparents, andgreat-grandparents.
* Journal of the Xorth-Cliina Branch of tlic Royal .\siatic Society, Vol. XM,1910, p. 68.3
32 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oOn Chin-min, or Tsin-ming, which comes on the third day of thethird moon, all who are able to do so go to the tombs, burn papermoney and incense, offer food, light candles, and repair the graves.While all the seasonal festivals are occasions of family reunionsand ancestral ceremonies, this is the great Decoration Day of theChinese people.Two peculiar practices should be noted. One is that if a person diesaway from home he is not removed to his home for the funeral ser-vices, for it would be unlucky to take him into the house after hehas died elsewhere. Grainger mentions this custom, which is ap-parently general.^ In the summer of 1925 the writer saw a womanhastening to a doctor with a sick child in her arms. A little later shereturned, still carrying the child, which had just died. On being cer-tain that the infant was dead, she threw it into the Min River. Theexplanation given was that it was unlucky to take the child into thehome after it had died elsewhere.We sometimes hear of the custom of making a hole through thewall of a house, through which the dead person is taken for burial,and later sealing up the hole, so that the spirit cannot find the wayback, which it could do if it were carried through a door. There is anexample of this among the Wasi aborigines at Kuan Tsai, near UenChuan Shien, where a great hole was made through the wall of thetemple-yamen to bury an attendant who had died inside. Later thehole was sealed up.
IV. YINYANG AND FENGSHUI
I. THE YINYANG CONCEPTIONThe conception of yinyang permeates and saturates the mental,moral, and social life of the Chinese, affecting every phase of theirexistence. Dr. Arthur H. Smith, in what is perhaps an overstatement,describes this conception
:
This Chinese (and Oriental) habit is at once typical and suggestive. Itmarks a wholly different conception of the family, and of the position of womantherein, from that to which we are accustomed. It indicates the view thatwhile man is yang, the male, ruling, and chief element in the universe, womanis yin. " dull, female, inferior." The conception of woman as man's companionis in China almost totally lacking, for woman is not the companion of man, andwith society on its present terms she never can be."
* Grainger, Adam, Studies In Chinese Life, 1921, p. 35.
* Smith, A. H., Village Life in China, pp. 302-3.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 33According to Chinese philosophy death and evil have their origin in the yin,or female principle of Chinese dualism, while life and prosperity come from thesubjection of it to the yang, or male principle; hence it is regarded as a law ofnature to keep woman completely under the power of man, and to allow herno will of her own. The result of this theory and the corresponding practiceis that the ideal for women is not development and cultivation, but submission.Women can have no happiness of their own, but must live and work for men,tlie only practical escape from this degradation being found in becoming themother of a son. Woman is bound by the same laws of existence in the otherworld. She belongs to the same husband and is dependent for her happinesson the sacrifices offered by her descendants.^This statement of Dr. Smith is extreme in some respects, but heis right m his description of the yinyang principle, and of its vitalconnection with Chinese social customs and conceptions.The yin and the yang have their source in the great extreme, orthe fae gih. 2. FENGSHUIIn China a great deal is heard about the fcngshui. Sometimes yousee a peculiar rock in the river, interfering w^ith traffic and causingw^recks. You look at the great line of boats that is passing by, realizingthat every boat is endangered by the rock. You think of the constantloss of life and property. You know^ that it would be easy to destroyor to remove the rock in low water. To your suggestion that thisbe done, your Chinese friend answers, " P'ang pith tcJi.' That is,it must not be touched. Why? Because it is a fengshni stone.Near Gioh Ch'i is a place where a creek makes a great bend,returning practically to its starting point before proceeding again inthe general direction of the stream. By cutting through an earth bankless than 15 feet thick, the stream cotild be made to flow in a straightline, and acres of land could be saved for cultivation. To the sug-gestion that this be done, the farmer replied that someone had at-tempted to do this, but that the neighborhood had objected on theground that it would injure the fengshui, causing all to sufifer.There is a fengshui stone at Ngan Bien or An Pien, a town about20 miles up the Yangtse River from Suifu. Some Chinese would liketo remove the stone, but the general sentiment of the town will notpermit it, although every year boats are wrecked and people aredrowned. If that stone were injured, all sorts of calamities mightoccur in Ngan Bien.Fengshui stones occur on dry land. About 20 miles up the AiinRiver from Suifu, at Kiang Gioh Ch'i there is such a stone on the
' Ibid., pp. 30S-6.
34 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
north bank of the river. It is pecuHar in shape, l)eing high, round,and pointed.Many fengshui stones are vitally related to the welfare of certaintowns, cities, or districts. Below the city of P'in Shan, on the bankof the river, is a round stone that is the fengshui stone of P'in Shan.The injury of this stone would cause ill-luck to the city of P'in Shan.There are also fengshui trees. A great tree at Shin Kai Si onMt. Omei is the fengshui tree of Chien Way. Another tree on Mt.Omei is the fcngsliui tree of Omeishien. Both are great, majestictrees.Families also may have feiigsliui stones or trees. Between NganBien and Leo Dong on the Yangtse River, a strange-looking stone hasbeen for many generations the fengshui stone of the powerful Linfamily of Leo Dong. At Shuin Gien Si, close to the Golden SandsCave, is a family fengshui tree.Between Suifu and Li Chuang, on the south bank of the YangtseRiver, is a large stone that is the fengshui stone of the Lo family, whofor generations have lived on the north side of the river opposite thestone, and who in the past prospered and accumulated great wealththrough the help of this wonderful stone. It is said that formerlywhen wood was split in the home of the Lo family the rock wouldmove. The Tsang family lived on the opposite side of the riverand owned the land on which the fengshui stone is situated. TheTsangs were jealous of the prosperity of the Los, so they chiseled and
" broke " the stone whose power and influence helped the Lo family.Thereupon the Lo family accused the Tsang family at court, and along period of litigation ensued, consuming much of the wealth ofboth families. No satisfactory solution was reached at court, so thetwo families agreed to settle the matter out of court by each familythrowing" silver into the river. The family throwing in the most silverwould be considered the strongest and the greatest. The Tsang familythrew in pewter, but the Lo family threw in silver. Both families arenow poor. Because the stone was chiseled or broken, it has lost itspower to benefit the Lo family.In 1924 the magistrate of the Lan Ch'i Shien district issued aproclamation forbidding the cutting of fengsJiui stones lest calamityfall upon the people.Practically every large town or city has a pagoda that has been1)uilt in some prominent place, and some cities have more than one.The pagoda must l)e correctly situated, and afl"ects for good or ill thefengshui, and, through the fengshui, all the important interests ofa city.
NO. 4 RFJ.IGTON TN SZKCIl UAN PROVINCE—GRATTAM 35About 80 li up the J\Iiu River froui Kiating" is Shiang Pih Si, orElephant's Nose Monastery, where there is an unfinished pagoda.When the pagoda was being constructed, two noted scholars suddenlydied, and it was concluded that the pagoda was injuring instead ofhelping the fciigsliiti. Work was discontinued, and the pagoda hasnever been finished. If it had been in the right spot, it would haveimi)roved the fciigsliui, and a result would have been that morescholars would be born and developed, and that scholarship in thedistrict would be generally improved.Before a house is built or a grave is dug, it is necessary to havea specialist tell whether or not the fcngshui is good. If the fcngshuiof the ancestral grave is good, the family will increase and prosper.If it is bad, the family will decline. The same can be said of the housein which the family lives. Merchants are more apt to enjoy financialprosperity if the fengsliiii of the store is good.In the summer of 1923 I took a trip to Tatsienlu, which is oftencalled the gateway of Tibet. On the way I saw where the robbers hadattacked the home of a wealthy farmer. The father and another rela-tive had been killed, the house had been badly smashed up, and aservant had been wounded, although the robbers had been driven ofifand no money stolen. The farmer was asked why he did not moveinto a city where the militia could protect him. The reply was thatthe fcngshui of that place was good, so that anybody living on thatfarm would get rich.What is this mysterious power or force called fcngshui? Fengmeans wind, and sJiui means water. The expression stands for mys-terious forces that operate for good or evil on families, cities, anddistricts. It is apt to be localized in strange or peculiar trees andstones.Let us note that the man who in English is generally called ageomancer is in Szechuan called a yinyang sliicnscn or a fcngshuishiensen, the two terms being interchangeable. The former term iscommonly heard, and means a professor of yinyang. The latter termmeans a professor of fcngshui. This suggests a close and vital rela-tion between yinyang and that strange, mysterious force known asfcngshui.So far the writer has drawn entirely from his own experience. Aquotation from Mr. Mortimore and another from the EncyclopaediaSinica will further elucidate the meaning of fcngshui and its con-nection with the yinyang.
It is now high time that tlie location of the grave be determined. In the caseof the more wealthy, such an important matter will probably have been attended
36 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
to by the sons years in advance ; and good reason why, for upon the direction ofthe grave, the surrounding landscape and a score of other circumstances willthe future v^realth, happiness, or even the life of the descendants, depend. Butlet us suppose that in this case it remains yet to be done, while, at the same timethe family purse is full enough to meet the expense of securing a lucky site.One of the sons deputed by the others, engages a geomancer and sets out withhim on the momentous search.Now, to understand what follows, we must remember that, geomanticallyviewed, mountain ranges (or, in a flat country, the higher levels) if of a certainconformation are to be regarded as dragons, and the parallel hills with thevalleys or depressions on either side of the range constitute the sandy banksand the water, in which the dragon swims forward. Even to the western mindan undulating mountain ridge does not lack the suggestion of being a vastreptile; but to the Chinese, that is to the great majority, this is far morethan a mere metaphor, for within the range is believed to flow, like an under-ground stream, the dragon's vital force or energy and wherever this collectsor becomes concentrated deposits of gold, silver, or other precious metals occur.The secret to be discovered then is the exact spot where this throbbing forcecomes near the surface, or, as it is called, the Dragon's pulse so that when theremains of the parent are lowered into the earth, they will be in a perfect line toreceive through the head and into the whole body this wealth-accruing energy.This accomplished, it must naturally follow that his posterity, who are the boneof his bone and ilesh of his flesh, will abound in riches. There may be othertheories propounded for this belief, but this is the one I have heard.^Feng Shut, wind and water. (The outward and visible signs of celestialYang and Yin.) The art of adapting the residence of the living and the deadso as to co-operate and harmonize with the local currents of the cosmic breath(Yin and Yang q. v.) ; often incorrectly called " geomancy."It is believed that at every place there are special topographical features(natural or artificial) which indicate or modify the universal spiritual breath(Ch'i). The forms of hills and the directions of watercourses, being theoutcome of the moulding influences of wind and water, are the most importantbut in addition the heights and forms of buildings and the directions of roadsand bridges are potent factors. From instant to instant the force and directionof the spiritual currents are modified by the motions of the sun and moon,(see Astrology), so that at any particular time the directions of the celestialbodies from the point considered are also of great importance.The professor of Feng Shui employs a Lo-pan (graduated astrolabe withcompass) to observe directions and astrological harmonies, while at the sametime he notices the forms which the spiritual forces of nature have produced.By talismans (dragons and other symbolic figures on roofs or walls, pagodason hills, or bridges) and charms (pictures of spirits or "words of power"inscribed on paper scrolls or stone tablets), the unpropitious character of anyparticular topography may be amended.Artificial alteration of natural forms has good or bad effect according to thenew forms produced. Tortuous paths are preferred by beneficent influences,so that straight works such as railways and tunnels favour the circulation ofmaleficent breath.
^ West China Missionary News, Oct. 1915, pp. 27-28.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 37The dead are in particular affected by and able to use the cosmic currentsfor the benefit of the living, so that it is to the interest of each family to secureand preserve the most auspicious environment for the grave, the ancestraltemple and the home/We should note especially the phrase in parenthesis, " The outwardand visible signs of celestial Yang aijd Yin." Under the heading
" Yin and Yang," the following lines are also found in the Ency-clopaedia Sinica:
^'IX aid Van(., The negative and positive principles of universal life.These words meant originally the dark and bright sides of a sunlit bank, andoccur on the Stone Drums (8th century B. C). By the time of Confuciusthey had acquired a philosophical significance as the two aspects of the dualitywhich Chinese thinkers perceived in all things. Traces of the dual notionoccurred in the " Great Plan " of the Shu Ching, but the actual words Yinand Yang as used in this sense occur first in the pseudo-Confucian commentarieson the I-Ching.In this way Yang came to mean Heaven, Light, Vigour, Male, Penetration,The Monad. It is symbolized by the Dragon and is associated with azure colourand oddness in numbers. In Feng Sluii raised land forms (mountains) areYang.Similarly Yin stands for Earth (the antithesis of Heaven), Darkness,Quiescence, Female, Absorption, the Duad. It is symbolized by the Tiger andis associated with orange colour and even numbers. Valleys and streams possessthe Yin qualityThe two are represented by a whole and a broken line respectively, thus :
—
Yang YinGroups of three such lines are known as " trigrams," groups of six as
" hexigrams," and the I-Ching is classified under the sixty-four possiblehexagrams.In connection with the five elements, the Yin and Yang have been forat least two thousand years used to interpret the processes of nature and theyare the fundamental feature in the theories which underlie Feng Shut, Astrology,Divination and Medicine.T'ai (Great) Yang means the Sun, T'ai Yin the Moon, Shao (Lesser) Yangthe fixed stars and Shao Yin the planets, these four being supposed to be thefour primary combinations (Hsiang) of Yin and Yang.Yin and Yang are themselves supposed to have proceeded from a " GreatUltimate."
"
Fengshni, then, is the outworking of the yin and the yang elementsin nature. It is a my.sterious potency that affects for good or evilthe welfare of families, cities, and districts. It is often localized instrange and awe-inspiring trees and stones. It works according todefinite laws which the professor of yinyang and fengshui can inter-
' Encyclopaedia Sinica, 1917, p. 175.Encyclopaedia Sinica, 1917, pp. 615-616.
38 SMITHSONIAN MISCF.LLANKOl^S COLLECTIONS VOL. 80
pret by tlie help of his instrunieiil. the l()i)an. Tliere is a book orclassic which explains the use of this instninu'iil. It is based on theBook of Changes, and the writer has been told that it takes about threeyears of study to master the science of fengsJiui.
V. INCANTATIONS, CHARMS, AND AMULETSWe are beginning to see that the Chinese of Szechuan Provincebelieve that there is a mysterious potency about them that may dogood or evil. This potency is differentiated into the yang and the yin.The yang is good and helpful and the yin is evil and harmful. Incan-tations, charms, and amulets are means by which one endeavors touse this power for his good, especially in keeping away demons, thesource of most evils.
I. INCANTATIONS WIDELY USEDIncantations are often used by Buddhist and Taoist priests as partsof their ceremonies, or by the tuan gong, a term generally translatedby the word sorcerer. The tuan gong, like the Buddhist and the Taoistpriests, also exorcises demons. In the True Classic of the BloodyBasin we have exam])les oi incantations that are merely transliterationsof incantations in the Tibetan language which probably have meaningin the Tibetan, but have none in the Chinese. They are consideredvery potent, probably the more so because they are mysterious andnot understood. Similar incantations are found in the classic of theGin Gang P'usah. which is Buddhist.
2. NEW YEAR MOTTOES SUPPOSED TO HE POTENTThere are a number of mottoes which are written on colored ]Kiperand hung up in the homes on New Year's Day. The Chinese do notconsider them to be charms, but regard them more as expressions oftheir dearest wishes. Vet they have the feeling that expressing thewish will tend to cause the wish to come true. Below are a fewexamples
:
NiEN NiEN Fait Ts'Ai, " Grow rich year liy year."Sen I Shin Long, " May our business prosper."Fu KuEi Shuang Chuen, "May wcaltli and honor be complete."Chen Tsae Si Tsong, " Right in the very time " of luck and prosperity.These express the wishes of the family, and there is also the beliefthat the expressing, reading, and hanging or pasting up of the wishestends to cause them to be fulfilled.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN .SZF.CTIUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 39
3. CHARMS TO TRANSFORM UNLUCKY DREAMS TO LUCKY ONESThe people of Szechuan take dreams very seriously. They are muchtroubled if they have bad dreams, and of course happy to have goodones. There is a charm that is written on red paper and hung on theeast wall of a city. By shining on it, the sun transforms a bad dreaminto a lucky one. The charm is given below
:
Translation
:
At night I had an unlucky dream.I paste this on the east wall.When the sun shines on it,It will he changed to a lucky omen.
4. CHARMS TO CAUSE P.AIJIES TO SLEEP AT NIGHTThere is evidence that many Chinese parents do not enjoy havingtheir sleep disturbed by crying babies. Charms to cause the child tosleep soundly until daylight are often seen pasted up on the highways.They are written in verse, and show many variations in their wording.They are always written on red paper. It is thought that if the travelerreads the charm it will cause the baby to sleep soundly until daylight.The following is a free translation that gives the sense of thesecharms
:
The sky is bright, the earth is bright.We have a baby that cries at night.If the passerby will read this right,He'll sleep all night till broad daylight.
5. CHARMS WRITTEN ON PAPERThe above examples furnish points of departure in discussingwritten charms, whose kinds are unnumbered and innumerable. Involumes I to III of Researches Into Chinese Superstitions, Dore hasgiven illustrations of a large variety of written charms. They arewritten by P.uddhist and Taoist priests, and by titan gongs. They areusually given to the user in return for financial contributions whichvary according to the size and condition of one's purse.These paper charms are of all sizes. Some are hung up above thefront doors to keep the demons from entering. Others are hungup in the middle of the front room. Some are pasted up on the foursides of the rooiu. Some are pinned on the bed to ]^rotect the sleeper.Some are pinned on one's clothing. Some are burnt, the ashes mixedwith water, and the water drunk. Nearly all of them arc to ])rotectfrom the various attacks of evil spirits.
40 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oThe characters of the written charms are often so fantasticallywritten that an ordinary Chinese scholar cannot decipher them. Thiscreates an air of mystery that increases the belief in their potency.Frequently the name of a god is used, indicating that the power ofthe god is made available in the charm. The paper on which the charmis written is almost always yellow, because Chinese official proclama-tions are on yellow paper, and the charms are meant to be in thespirit world a kind of official proclamation. This idea and appear-ance are enhanced by the fact that in Szechuan the written charms arepractically always stamped with the official temple seals resemblingin color and shape official seals of Chinese magistrates. The officialproclamation of the magistrate, stamped with his official seal, isextremely important, and not to be lightly disregarded or disobeyed.The yellow paper and the official seals of the temples are meant toconvey the same impression to the demons, thus making the charmsmore efficacious.The name of Buddha is often seen on written charms. The wordthunder, which is also frequently found, could mean just thunder orthe god of thunder, since thunder is thought to be the work of thethunder-god. 6. THE USE OF BLOOD ON CHARMSIf feathers are pasted to a charm by means of chicken blood, it willbe more efficacious. Blood is considered very potent. First in efficacycomes human blood, which is seldom used. Second is chicken blood,which is generally used. Third comes duck blood, which is morerarely used because chicken blood is easily obtained.The writer saw a hunter who had pulled some feathers off one of thebirds that he had killed and stuck the feathers to the gun by means ofthe blood of the bird, believing that this would make the gun shootmore accurately. 7. OTHER CHARMSSometimes a boy whose mother is dead will take a lock of her hairand wear it around his neck. The lock of hair is supposed to protecthim from evil spirits.Small images of Buddha are used as trimmings on the hats of boys,and they are believed to protect the boys from harm.There is a special kind of a brass or copper coin called happinessand long-life money, which is suspended from the backs of boys' hatsas charms or amulets. They often have on them the eight figurescalled the boh kua, or images of the 12 creatures that determine lucky
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE: GRAHAM 4I
or unlucky days. Very often they have on them mottoes in four largecharacters which express the wishes of the parents for their sons.Among these mottoes are the following :How UiN Lin Shen, " Good luck fall upon his body," or befall him.Gin Luh Jia Kuan, " Enter into fortune, advance in official rank."One of these coins bears the following inscription:The order of Laotsi. Use this to kill demons, subjugate spooks, beheadphantoms, avoid evil influences, and forever guarantee safety.The newest kind of a charm that the writer has seen in SzechuanProvince is the Red Cross emblem. He noticed it first in 1925. Beforethe Chinese revolution of 191 1, the Red Cross and its emblem werepractically unknown in this province. Since then the people have seenhospitals and Red Cross Societies marvellously healing the sick, andhave assumed that there was mysterious power in the Red Crossemblem. The emblems are used as a protection to boys and are sewedinto the garments.Old bronze mirrors are very efficacious in keeping away demons.The glass mirror, which is comparatively new, is used for the samepurpose. It is hung up above the entrances to the homes, or is placedinside the front doors so that a person going into the house will seehis own image. The demon who is trying to enter the house sees hisown image and becomes frightened at it, for he is a horrible-lookingcreature, so that he turns and flies away.The bah kua, or eight figures, has come down from the most ancienttimes, and is considered very efficacious. It can control any calamity,including fire, flood, or pestilence. This is because the demons causethese calamities, and the hah kua has power to control demons.The crow of a rooster frightens away demons, who scamper awaywhen the cocks begin to crow at daylight. In some places geese areraised because their cry is supposed to frighten away demons.Pieces of amber are worn as charms. The facts that amber whenrubbed will pick up pieces of paper, that it sparkles, and that it some-times has particles of grass or leaves or even insects in it, wouldnaturally tend to set it aside as having unusual power.Charms of jade are used, especially in the burial of the dead. Inthe ancient tombs of Szechuan are found jade cicadas that were placedon the tongues of the dead. In northeastern China they are also foundin tombs of the same period.Swords made of old Chinese coins are used as charms in the homes.They have power to keep away evil spirits. Ordinary swords aresometimes used for the same purpose. One old sword of this kind
42 s\f iTiTSDNiAN M isci^i.i-A N i:oi's roLi.F.CTroNS vor.. 80
that the writer had in his possession (it is now in tlie l-. S. NationalMuseum) has the seven stars of the great dipper on its Ijlade.Nearly every Tibetan has a charm-box that he wears suspended onhis chest. In these charm-boxes teeth, hair, nailfilings, pieces ofclothing, and even the excretions of the lamas are placed. It is thoughtthat anything from a lama possesses wonderful power.The incantations, charms, and amulets that have been described areillustrations of one of the methods of the natives of Szechuan forprocuring happiness, good fortune, and the securities of life. Throughthem a strange, supernatural power is used to exorcise or keep awaydemons, who cause diseases and misfortunes.
VI. PUBLIC CEREMONIE.S AND RELIGIOUS EE.STIVALS
I. IMPORTANT PUBLIC CEREMONIESThrough certain ceremonies, the social group seeks to secure theprimary needs of life. A few will be described by way of illustration.As would naturally be expected among a people depending primarilyon agriculture, the coming of spring is exceedingly important.It is a well-known fact that before the Chinese Republic, theEmperor of China, at Peking, took part in a ceremony to bring backor welcome spring, and that as a part of that ceremony he ploughedthe first furrows. It is not so well-known that the magistrates observethis custom in other parts of China.The following is a descrijition by Mr. Grainger of this custom asit is practiced in Chengtu :The solar period known as the Beginning of Spring commences aboutFeb. 5. On the first daj^ preparation is made for the ceremony. Very earlynext morning a large paper effigy of an ox drawing a plough is exhibited onthe Ox-beating Ground somewhere outside the city. The magistrate attendsin person accompanied by actors representing the Star of Literature and hismonkey Sen. After some mountebank performances with the monkey the Starof Literature exclaims :
—
" May the land and the people be peaceful
:
May the wind and the rain be propitiousMay the fruits of the earth be abundant."The magistrate thereupon rises, puts his hand to the plough, and wavesthe ox-goad. This is the signal for a general assault on the ox, which is tornto pieces, and the little ox effigies with which it had been filled are scrambledfor by the crowd. Those who are fortunate enough to secure them take themto well-to-do fthniers who give presents of money in return for them. Theselittle oxen are supposed to bring luck to the farm for the ensuing year.^
"Grainger, Adam, Studies in Chinese Life, 1921, p. 49.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 43In 1925 this ceremony was performed in Suifu on the tweny-firstand twenty-second days of the twelfth moon. In the magistrate'syamen a large paper water-buffalo, and also a paper boy called a ngaoliter had been previously |)repared. Over one hundred small water-bufTalo made of clay had been placed inside the i)aper water-buffalo.On the morning of the twenty-first, the magistrate first worshippedthe two paper images in the court of his yamen to the accompanimentof horns that sound a little like Scotch bagpipes. Then the magistratejoined in a procession going out of the North Gate to a special plotof groimd where a plow and a live water-bufifalo were waiting. Inthe procession the paper images were carried in front of the magis-trate. On reaching the plot of ground, the magistrate again worshippedthe two paper images, vv^hich had been brought along in the procession,then ploughed three furrows with the plow and the live water-bufTalo.The magistrate and other dignitaries drank tea together, after whichthe procession returned to the yamen through the East Gate. Thisday's ceremony is called welcoming spring.The next day the two paper images were again taken in the proces-sion to the plot of ground, which is called the Yin Ch'uen Ba, or the flatwhere spring is welcomed. The magistrate again did obeisance to thetwo paper images. There w^ere about 20 ofBcers called the ch'ncn kuanor spring officials. After the magistrate had worshipped or kowtowedto the two paper images, the 20 spring officials fell upon the paper im-ages with clubs and beat them to pieces. At this point the onlookersrushed up and tried to secure one of the mud images of the water-bufifalo. Those who were not successful snatched pieces of the paperimages. I was told that these relics were taken by the lucky ones totheir homes where they were supposed to protect the inmates fromevil spirits. The second day's ceremony is called da chcncu, or beatspring. The main object of the two days' ceremony is to induce springto come so that the crops may grow and prosper.Rain and fair weather are of great importance. When rain doesnot fall for a long time, and the hot sun dries up the soil, then thepeople begin to fear a failure of crops and famine. The price of ricebegins to soar, and the peoi)le become anxious, if not panic-stricken.Many go to the temples and pray to the dragon god, for it is hisduty to give rain. The south gate of the city is closed. Wet weathercomes from the north, and the opposite influences from the south.Usually a fast is proclaimed, which means that animals must not beslain or eaten.In case rain is not forthcoming, the people try a ntw strategy. Theytake the dragon god and the water god out (^f the tcm]ile and leave
44 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8othem in the open to roast in the hot sun. Their own sufferings willcause them to exert their powers and cause rain.Sometimes there are processions in which a straw image of thedragon is carried. Water is thrown on the straw image, on the par-ticipants, and on others who may come within reach.In the summer of 1923 the writer witnessed a procession of thiskind, in which there were more than 20 men and boys. They woreonly shoes, trousers, and a wreath or cap made of green willow twigswith the green leaves still on the twigs. Near the center of the proces-sion were a long straw dragon and a water-buffalo on which a boy wasriding. Those who were on foot had dippers and were throwing wateron each other, on the straw dragon, on the water-buffalo, on the houses,and on anyone who happened to pass by. At the end of the processionthey were to pay their respects to one of the gods in a local temple.^There is a ceremony called the yang miao hiiei, which is performedin some districts by Taoist priests at the time of rice-planting. Classicsare read or chanted, and there is a procession. The priest pronouncesincantations, and papers are hung up on sticks in the rice paddies.When these are finished Ti Kong or Earth Prince and Ti Mu orEarth Mother are worshipped. This ceremony is to encourage the riceto grow.A picturesque rite is practiced to drive insects away from the fields.A fter the young vegetables come out of the ground, destructive insectsbegin to appear. After dark lanterns are carried through the field,and gongs are beaten. This ceremony is supposed to lessen the dangerto the crops from insects.In the spring when the weather grows warm, pestilences are aptto appear. In almost every city or village are held ceremonies toclear the streets of the evil spirits which cause disease.
2. THE GREAT FESTIVALSThroughout the year there are many calendar festivals, most ofwhich escape the notice of foreigners. Dore has given a calendar for
* The following paragraph is taken from the Herald-Examiner, Chicago,111., August 10, 1926.
—
"Japs Drench Yank as Part of a Prayer. Tokio, Aug. 18.—The secretaryof the American embassy, motoring through Hachioji, near Tokio, onSunday, was suddenly drenched with water by a crowd before a waysideshrine. Believing an insult was intended, the secretary reported the incidentto the foreign office. Investigation reveals that the crowd was performing aceremony, praying for rain, this ceremony including throwing water on thefirst passerby."It seems that such ceremonies to pray for rain are widespread throughoutAsia.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 45
the entire year in which every day is either a festival, a birthday ofa god, or a lucky or an unlucky day/ Grainger enumerates i6 calendarfetes.' A writer in the West China Missionary News of November,1926, describes seven, and states that on all of them there are familyreunions and ancestral worship.' In the following list of calendarfestivals, only those that seem of greatest importance are included. Inall of them the ancestral ceremonies have a prominent part.On New Year's Day all business is discontinued, the best clothing isworn, social calls are made, and in the homes there is feasting andworship of the housegods. The ancestors are commemorated. Somego to the temples and worship the deities there.The Feast of Lanterns is on the fifteenth of the first moon. At nightthere are many lights and illuminations. In the homes there arefeasts and ceremonies.Between the tenth and the twentieth of the third lunar month is theCh'in Min festival, when people visit the graves and remember theirdead. Paper money is burnt, food is offered to the dead, the gravesare repaired, and the living do obeisance to the spirits of the departedancestors.On the fifth day of the fifth moon is Tuan Yang, often called theDragon Boat Festival. This day commemorates Ch'ioh Uen, an ancienthero who drowned himself because the emperor would not heed hisgood advice. The festival has practically become a great social holidaywhen many thousands gather on the banks of the rivers to watchgroups of men in dragon-boats chase ducks that have been released inthe water by the spectators.The fifteenth day of the seventh moon might be called the festivalof the orphan spirits. Much paper money is burnt to the deadancestors. The spirits who have no filial descendants have been re-leased from hades. Much spirit money is burnt for their use, afterwhich floating lights are placed on the streams to entice the spiritsaway.The Mid-autumn or Chong Ch'iu Festival is on the fifteenth day ofthe eighth moon. Probably in some parts of China this is the harvestfestival, but in Szechuan there are crojis all the year, so that at leastin some parts of China this seems to be little more than a day to havea good time.In the eleventh moon there is the feast of the winter solstice, withspecial offerings to the dead.
* Dore, Henry S. D., Chinese Superstitions, 1915-1922, Vol. V, pp. 565-616.
'Grainger, Adam, Studies in Chinese Life, 1921, pp. 49-56.
•\¥est China Missionary News. November, 1926. pp. 5-12.
46 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80On the night of the twenty-third or twenty- fourth day of theeleventh month the Kitchen God ascends to heaven and reports to thePearly Emperor the conduct of the family during the year. During-the appropriate ceremonies for the Kitchen God, there are burnt forhim paper money, a chariot for his conveyance, and a letter requestinghim to forget the evil deeds of the family and to graciously make agood report to the Pearly Emperor.In the following words Sven Iledin describes a religious festivalin Tibet
:
The jugglery we had witnessed was in every respect brilliant, gorgeous, andsplendid, and it is easy to imagine the feelings of humility such a performancemust inspire in the mind of the simple pilgrim from the desolate mountainsor the peaceful valleys. While the original significance of these dramaticmasquerades and their mystic plays is the exorcising and expelling of inimicaldemons, they are in the hands of the clergy a means of retaining the credulousmasses in the net of the church, and this is a condition of the existence bothof the church and of the priests. Nothing imposes on ignorance so thoroughlyas fearful scenes from the demon world, and therefore devils and monsters playa prominent part in the public masquerades of the monasteries. With their helprmd by representatives of the King of Death, Yama, and the restless wanderingsouls vainly seeking new forms of existence in the sequence of transmigrations,the monks terrify the multitude and render them meek and subservient, andshow many a poor sinner what obstacles and what trials await him on the roughroad to Nirvana through the valley of the shadow of death.^H. P.. j\I. Consul Ogden. who witnessed at Tatsienlu one of thegreat Tibetan festivals called by foreigners the Devil Dance, said thatthe dramatization of the religious history of Lamaism, the inculcationof religious instruction and the arousing of feelings of religious devo-tion and awe in minds that would otherwise find it difficult to receivesuch instruction, are primary elements in the " Devil Dance." He saidthat at times the simple Tibetans were so overcome with awe that theywould fall upon their faces in worship.In Szechuan some of the greatest religious festivals are on thebirthdays of leading deities, and center about the temples. I havewitnessed several, and they are very awe-inspiring. There are pro-cessions in which there are often more than 20 deities who are carriedin gayly-decorated sedan chairs or on platforms covered by beautifulpavilions. The god in whose honor the festival is held of course hasthe chief place in the procession. Sometimes soldiers carrying gunsare asked to join in the parade ; many flags and silk banners are inevidence, and sometimes large lanterns ; actors dressed to representcertain deities ride in beautiful sedan chairs, impersonating the deities ;
^ Sven Hcdin, Trans-Himalava, 1909-1913, Vol. i, p. 315.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECIIUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 47high officials ride on horses, and there are musicians playing on nativeinstruments. The streets, homes, and shops are packed with spectators.As the great {procession moves slowly along, people in the homes andshojxs hurn incense, candles, and pajier money in worship of the deities,and bow reverently to the gods and sometimes even to the actors whoimpersonate the gods.Elaborate feasts are held in the temples for those who have helpedor contributed. A company of actors may be engaged; who for severaldays give free theatricals for the hundreds or thousands who flock tosee and hear them. The expenses of the feasts and theatricals areborne by the temples, many of which are highly endowed.There is a prominent social element in these festivals which shouldnot be overlooked. These are great occasions when one can meet hisfriends and acquaintances, when he is released from the everydayhumdrum duties of life, and derives thrill, pleasure, and amusementfrom the feasts, the procession and the theatricals. In other words,there is the element of play. This is even more evident in the Tibetanfestivals which often include horseracing and other contests.The religious importance of these festivals is also great, Theyarouse a sense of awe and admiration, so that the simple i)eople feelthat there is nothing so grand as their own religion and their own gods.The festival takes advantage of crowd psycholog}% often teachesreligious history or religious ideals through the drama, and ties theaffections of the people firmly to the religion and to its gods, its priests,and its temples.
VII. DIVINATION, LUCKY DAYS, VOWS, PRAYER,RELIGIOUS OFFERINGS, AND WORSHIP
I. DIVINATIONDivination is frequently resorted to in Szechuan, and the waysof divining are numerous.One method is simply to consult a Buddhist or a Taoist priest. In1925 there was civil war in the province between the numerous war-lords. Before entering the war one of the generals consulted a Taoistpriest, while another obtained the opinion of an old Buddhist j^riestwho is considered an authority in occult matters.A way of divination commonly used in the temj)les is the yinyangkua. A bamboo root is split into two halves in such a way that eachhalf has a flat side and a round side. These two pieces are the yinyangkiia. In divining, both pieces are thrown on the tloor. If two roundsides turn up, it is unhIck^'. If both tlat ])iecc's turn up, it is lucky or
I
48 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80favorable. If one round and one flat side turn up, it is neutral, andmay be considered tolerably good.In many of the temples are also what look like chopsticks in around tube. In all there are one hundred of these sticks. Afterbowing to the god, the person interested shakes the tube containingthe sticks until one of the sticks falls out. These sticks are numberedfrom one to one hundred. Nearby in a convenient place are alsoone hundred sheets of paper with numbers from one to one hundred.After the stick has fallen out of the tube, the paper with the corres-ponding number is found. The inscription on this paper tells thefortune of the enquirer.Sometimes a Taoist priest goes into a trance and while apparentlyunconscious utters incoherent words. They are supposed to be com-munications from the spirit world. Others interpret his words.
2. LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYSLucky and unlucky days are of primary importance, and can easilybe determined. It would be disastrous to have weddings or funerals,to make sales or purchases, or to begin an important journey or otherundertaking on an unlucky day.There are two ways of explaining lucky or unlucky days. One isdescribed by Mr. Grainger
:
There are minor deities that rule the sixty years of the cycle, the month.sof the year, the days of the year, and the twelve Chinese hours of the day.Certain gods are credited with being better rulers than others, and when oneof these gods is in office the occasion is auspicious for commencing any under-taking, such as starting on a journey, beginning to build a house, burying thedead, opening a new shop, or going to school. These lucky days are all fixedby the compilers of the National Almanac, a copy of which is to be foundin almost every house. The days are classed according to the cycle and thefive elements, and what works may be done, and what may not be done arefully indicated.Fortune-tellers are often asked to select specially fortunate days for weddings,and geomancers choose good days for funerals, and for commencing buildingoperations.^The explanation that has been given the present writer by both theChinese and the Chuan Miao aborigines is that there are J2 creatures,the rat, the water-buffalo, the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake,the sheep, the monkey, the chicken, the dog, the horse and the pig thatin turn dominate the days. Certain creatures are lucky and others areunlucky. The days doininated by the unlucky animals are tuipropitious,
^Grainger, Adam, Studies in Chinese Life, 1921, p. 76.
NO. 4 RELIGION JN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 49
and vice versa. Lucky and unlucky days are clearly indicated in theChinese almanac, which is sometimes used as a charm, and which ispossessed by nearly every family.
3. OATHSOaths are generally made to and in the names of deities, and thereare few of the unsophisticated who will break such an oath. Thefollowing is an example. The writer was crossing a jmss west ofYachow. He had stopped to rest in an inn, for the day was hot andthe road was steep. The carriers had drunk some tea and eaten somefood purchased in the inn. When they were settling their accounts,the wife of the innkeeper, who had been waiting on them, assertedthat one of the coolies had paid for less than he had eaten. The cooliedeclared that this was untrue. A lively dispute ensued. The headcoolie finally took up the matter. To the wife of the innkeeper he said,
"Are you telling the truth ? " She declared that she was. " Then," heasked, " Will you swear by a certain god. and agree that if it is nottrue the god may burn down this house? " " No," she said, " I willnot swear that oath." The coolie did not pay the extra money de-manded, and all were convinced that the woman had been telling a lie.
4. vowsV'ows are almost inseparable from prayers, expressed or implied,so they will be briefly treated under the discussion of prayer.
5. PRAYERSThe simplest kind of i^rayer possible is illustrated by that of themagistrate of Chengtu in the ceremony to cause the coming of spring,which has been given on another page. A simple wish is expressed,and no deity is addressed or mentioned. The prayers of many wor-shippers go just a step beyond this. They burn incense, respectfullybow or kowtow, name or call upon the deity, and express the wish.The writer was in a rowboat, being ferried across the Min River.A woman was holding a little girl in her lap. As they were passinga Goddess of Mercy who was in a shrine on a clifif overhanging theriver, the woman looked up reverently and said, " Kuanyin P'usah,bao fu tva xva," or " Goddess of IMercy, protect this child."Most vows are practically bargains with the deities. They arepromises to do certain things // the god will grant the worshipper'sdesires, expressed or implied. A sick person may beseech a godto heal him, and promise if healed to make a pilgrimage" to a certain
50 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
mountain and burn so many sticks of incense and so much papermoney. If healed, the supplicant fulfills his vows.In the country districts south of Suifu one often sees in the waysideshrines straw images of human hands or human feet that have beenplaced before the idols in fulfillment of vows. A person having asore hand will beseech the god to heal the hand, promising that if hewill the supplicant will present a hand to the god. The same coursemay be taken in case of sore feet.The following is the writer's own translation of a prayer to theKitchen God, which is sealed in an envelope like a letter and burnt onthe twenty-third day of the twelfth moon, when the Kitchen Godascends to heaven. Similar letters are often sent to the deities byburning, for they consider that burning them is equivalent to deliveringthem to the gods
:
I, So-and-So, representing the whole family, reverently and sincerely comeand beseech you to hear us. You have great merit in saving the world andnourishing all people. You protect us with virtue and mercy. You controland judge the good and evil deeds of our family. In our cooking, and in oureating and drinking we depend on your mercy. Through all the year you carefor us. But we are uncleanly in our habits, and think unclean thoughts, andtrouble you. We write you this letter, hoping that you will forgive our sins,and not report them to the Pearly Emperor, thus causing the whole familyto be grateful to you.Date.We have seen that the prayer often includes the vow, and is a sortof a bargain. The prayers of the people of Szechuan are very prac-tical. They generally express desires for things considered of use intheir everyday lives—food, protection, healing, or prosperity—in otherwords, they are expressions of the universal desire for a happy orsatisfying life. 6. RELIGIOUS OFFERINGSFood and other necessities are otifered to the deceased ancestors,who are supposed to need nourishment and money after death preciselyas they did while living. The other world is a counterpart of thisworld, but more shadowy.The deities also need food and money. Sometimes a whole pig istaken to the temple and offered to the gods. The money is generallypaper cash, paper ingots of gold or silver, or paper dollars. Theseare burnt, and thus made available in the spirit land.Very little of value is burnt or destroyed. After being ofifered to thegods, the food is consumed by the ]iricsts or by the givers themselves.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 5
1
We do not find the idea of vicarious sacrifice lor otliers. in whalare generally called sacrifices by western winters there is the idea ofproviding food, money, and other necessities for the ancestors andthe gods. The vi^riter has seen idols who are supposed to be addictedto the opium hal)it, and to whom the worshippers are accustomed tooffer opium by smearing it on their lips. Again, there is the idea thatgifts will establish friendly relations with the ancestors or the godsand dispose them to deal kindly with the giver and help him in caseof need. An element that shoukl not be overlooked is the very naturaltendency to sacrifice something valuable or useful to a friend or to asuperior. This custom or habit is carried over into religion from thesocial life and customs of the Chinese.It is the usual practice, when making social calls, to take gifts to thefriends on w^hom one is calling—cookies, candies, eggs, nuts, a chicken,a duck, or the like. A poor Bible woman in Suifvi said that she couldnot make calls on the church members and enquirers because it wouldbe necessary for her to make presents to those on whom she called,which she could not afford to do. Twice I have returned from Suifuto America on furlough. Both times a large number of Chinesefriends gave farewell presents. They varied from beautiful pictures,embroideries, old bronzes and vases to native candies, eggs, and piecesof sugarcane. Even when calling on magistrates on official businessit is advi-sable and often necessary to take a gift. Presents are givenat engagements, weddings, and funerals. It is natural for people withsuch social customs to make gifts to the ancestors and the gods. InSzechuan the killing of the victim is a non-essential part of theceremony of worship, and the " sacrifices " are gifts rather than sac-rifices. They are made to satisfy what are considered real needs ofthe ancestors and the gods, to establish a friendly relationship orcommunion, and sometimes merely in accordance with a naturaltendency to contribute something valuable to an esteemed friend orto a superior. 7. WORSHIPThe religious acts and ceremonies that we call worship are practicedin the homes, at the graves, at the wayside shrines, and in the Con-fucian, Buddhist, Taoist and ancestral temples.Sometimes there are group ceremonies at the wayside shrines, butthey are essentially the same as the rites in the homes and in thetemples. Often an individual will go to a shrine, light a few sticks ofincense, burn some paper money as, an oflfering. make obeisance, uttera prayer or request, and depart.
52 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oThe burning of incense is to some extent a complimentary act, butincense is pleasing to the smell, and is calculated to put the ancestoror the god in a good humor. As a part of the writer's early languagestudy he had to read with the Chinese teacher the account in theChinese Bible of Noah's flood. After coming out of the ark, Noahoffered burnt-offerings to Jehovah, "And Jehovah smelled the sweetsavor" ; which apparently caused Jehovah to be in a good humor andtherefore more propitious, so that Jehovah determined not to cursethe ground any more for man's sake, nor again ever to smite all theliving.^ As the writer read that passage, it came to him that thisis exactly the conception that the Chinese worshipper has of whatoccurs when he burns incense before his ancestors or his gods.The first and fifteenth of each month are special times for cere-monies of respect and commemoration to one's ancestors in the homes,where at dusk every day the people worship the housegods. A bellis struck to awaken the gods and to notify them of the presence ofthe worshipper. A few sticks of incense are burnt. Very often nota single word is uttered. The worshipper simply bows his respectsand departs.In the temples there is " worship " by individuals or by groups.Every day at daylight and at dusk a priest goes to each god, lights astick or two of incense, strikes a bell or gong, bows to the deity, andgoes on. A worshipper who is not a priest may enter a temple andworship all the idols as described above without uttering a word. Hisworship is merely establishing friendly relationships and expressingreverence—but of course he expects this to be beneficial to him. Ifthere is something special on the heart of the worshipper, then he isapt to utter a prayer and perhaps burn paper money.More elaborate worship is performed by a number of priests forthe individual or for the community. Portions of scriptures aregenerally chanted, and musical instruments—bells, gongs, and some-times drums and horns, are used. At times these ceremonies arebeautiful. At other times they sound monotonous and discordant tothe foreign ear. One of the most beautiful and impressive ceremoniesthat the writer has heard was that of an evening worship in the lowerWan Nien Si Temple, or the Monastery of Ten Thousand Years, onMt, Omei. It was performed by the temple priests before the godP'ushien who rides on the bronze elephant.In the temples there is much reading or chanting of scriptures.This is considered an act of great merit, helping the indi\idual to secure
' (li-'iiesis, cliapter VIII, verses 20-2^
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 53the approval and favor of the gods and prosperity. It is not at allnecessary that the priest or the person for whom the scriptures are readunderstand. In Tibet the " prayer wheel " and the " prayer flag "have been invented so as to accommodate the masses who cannot readand write, and to enable a person to acquire a maximum amount ofmerit with a minimum amount of effort.' While reading, the Chinesepriest beats a wooden fish with a wooden mallet, one stroke for everyword. There is a legend that the Buddhist scriptures were once lostin a sea or in a river, and were swallowed by a great fish. The fishwas caught, and by beating compelled to give the scriptures back. Thewooden fish is therefore beaten, even by Taoist priests, when scripturesare ceremonially read.While affection, awe, and reverence are strong motives in worship,fear also has a prominent place. Many of the gods are so made asto inspire fear." Near Ch'anglinshien is a wayside shrine in which isa terrible-looking god. In his hand is a club, which is raised as if tostrike. On the shrine these words are inscribed
:
What audacity you have, that you darecome and look at me.Quickly repent. Do not go and harm people.Children are taught to fear the idols. Mothers tell them that if theydo not worship the gods they will get the stomach ache.One day in the city of Ngan Lin Ch'iao the writer visited one of thelargest temples in company with a high school student. Both thestudent and his parents were Christians, and the student's father wasone of the leading merchants of the city. That day the temple wasnearly deserted. A carpenter was working in a distant room, andoccasionally he would hit a board with a loud bang. As they walkedamong the deities, some of which were fearful in appearance, thestudent was evidently frightened. He started at every loud noise, andwould not let his foreign friend strike any of the gongs or bells infront of the idols. He expected the writer to be frightened, and asked,"Are you afraid? '' Many of the Chinese fear the gods, and becausethey fear they worship. Some of the gods are purposely made terriblein appearance so as to inspire fear. This story is also of interest
* The writer was told by Tibetans at Tatsienlu and by aborigines at Songpanthat the so-called prayer wheels and prayer flags are not really for prayer,but primarily and almost entirely for reading scriptures, and to secure the helpof gods and prosperity.
^ The fact that terrible gods are very efticacious against demons is doubtlessan important reason for their development, espet'ially in Tibet.
54 SMITHSONIAN MISCEI-LANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8obecause the student, who worshipped only the Christian God, con-sidered the idols in the temples to be real gods, and was afraid of them.In Szechuan the motives for the worship of the gods are fear, awe,reverence, affection, and the desire to secure the help of the divinitiesin living a happy and successful life.*VIII. 'll-MPLES AND SACRED PLACESI. THE RELATION OF THE TEMPLE TO THE COMMUNITVTemples are considered more or less the property of the com-munity. Practically everybody contributes towards their support—infact, they must contribute. At stated or at special times the priestsgo from house to house, leaving at each home some evidence thatthe inmates have contributed. Sometimes the different temples dividea city into districts, each temple collecting in its own district. At othertimes one temple will collect over the whole city. In one town, if afamily refuses to contribute, the priests will place an image or someother evidence before the door of the house. This is considered agreat disgrace. People begin to crowd around, and finally in self-defense the family is compelled by general disapproval to make thecontribution. 2. CONFUCIAN TEMPLESMost Confucian temples have in them only the tablets of Confucius,his disciples, Mencius, and other noted Confucian scholars. Occa-
^ The following event took place at Ch'anglinshien. There had been no rainfor so long that the crops were in danger. The people and the priests had beenpraying for rain. The magistrate went for a visit to the P'utaogin Templeoutside the city, where there are several dragon gods. He remarked that if thegods would send a heavy rain that night he would thoroughly repair the temple,a thing which was much needed. It was not stated whether or not the magis-trate prayed to the gods, but it was assumed that the gods knew what he hadsaid. Possibly the priests prayed especially to the dragon gods to send rain sothat the temple might be repaired. At any rate, there was a great rain thatnight, and the crops were saved, and the magistrate repaired the temple.Additional note on vows.—At K'ai Shan Ch'u Dien, on Mt. Omei, whiclimeans the first monastery opened on the mountain. I saw a farmer and Iiiswife worshipping. They were pilgrims who were visiting the temples on themountain. Before a famous bronze image of Mi Leh Fuh. the Buddhist Messiah,they divined by means of the yinyang kua. Twice they consulted, but bothtimes the result was unlucky. The pilgrims were frightened. Then the priestsaid, " Quickly make a vow." I could not hear what was said, but the lips otthe woman moved as she made her vow. Then the divination was repeated, andthe results were " lucky " or good. They felt that because of her vow, whichwe may regard as a bargain with the dt'ity, tlic god changed her luck from badto good.
NO. 4 RF.LIGION JX SZlXriUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 55
sionally one will see an iniai^e of ( nnfucins. resembling- the ordinaryimages or idols found in the Buddhist and Taoist temples. Thegreatest ceremony in the Confucian temples comes on the hirthdayof Confucius.
3. CONTI^NTS Ol" Tin: CL'DUllIST AND TAOlST TEMl'l.ESThe Buddhist and Taoist temples are really homes for the godsand for the priests. They also contain rooms for the entertainment
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of guests, who are generally given a cup of tea, a large kitchen wherefeasts can be prepared, a goodly number of square dining tables,dishes, seats, and benches, besides large and small drums and bells,ceremonial robes, and scriptures and instruments of worship usedby the priests. 4. SOURCES OF TE^[PLE INCOMESIn addition to the collections that we have described many tem-ples have incomes from endowments. Some are quite prosperous
56 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8obecause of the possession of farms or houses. Practically all templesoccasionally ask for contributions. Adherents give according to theirability when the priests conduct funerals, exorcise demons, or helpby reading the scriptures.
5. TEMPLES AS SACRED PLACESTemples are sacred places. Often the trees in the temple enclosuresare also sacred, and must not be cut down. Occasionally sacredgroves or trees are to be found near and on the grounds owned bythe temples. Sometimes the temples are built in ordinary places in acity or village, or by the roadside, and the places are apparently holyfor no other reason than the presence of the temples. Yet there isa very noticeable tendency to luiild temples, when possible, in placeswhere the natural l)eauty or the strange scenery arouse the feelingsof wonder and awe. Such places are apt to be sacred spots or holymountains, though not always. Very often where there are imposinghills inside of the city walls temples will be found on their summits.At Suifu the Taoist temple called Pan Pien Si is situated on theside of a very steep hill overlooking the Min River. The situationis so beautiful that practically every artist who comes to Suifu paintsthe temple and its surroundings. Across the Min River from Suifuis a large, cracked rock through which Chu Ko Liang is supposed tohave marched his soldiers in order to deceive the aborigines who thenwere in possession of Suifu. This is also the scene of a temple.Up the Min River from Suifu is Tao Si Kuan, a Taoist temple. Itis situated on a tremendous rock that reaches half-way across theriver so that it changes the direction of the stream. In this rock thereis a deep natural cave that is exposed in low water, but covered inhigh water. The river rushes fiercely past the rock, especially inhigh water, and part of the year there is a strong eddy on the oppositeside of the stream flowing in the opposite direction from the maincurrent. Boats are sometimes wrecked here. The place is such a oneas will naturally arouse fear, wonder, and awe.At Shuin Gien Si or Shiong Gien Si there is a Buddhist temple ina cave half-way up a perpendicular clifl^. The rock is limestone, andthe cave is a natural one inside which there is dripping water whichis believed to have power to heal diseases. This cave can be reachedonly by means of steps hewn out of the solid rock. A tree which standsvery near the steps is a fcugshiii tree. The temple has several stories,the first story being on a level with the flat ground under the cliff,and the last storv being in the cave itself. Hie stone of the cliff is
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 57
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58 SMITHSONIAN M ISCKLLANEOITS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
sliglitly yellow, so that it is thought to resenihle gold dust. The templeis therefore named ( lin Sha Dong, or the cave" of golden sands. Onthe top of the clifif trees of a forest can be seen, but the sides are sosteep that they are bare of vegetation. Here again a place of marvel-lous beauty that natmally arouses feelings of wonder and awe hasbeen chosen as the location for a temple, a holy place set aside forthe worship of the gods.At Ch'anglinshien there is a temple in which is a mineral spring.Because of the mineral in the water, groups of air-bubbles come upfrom the bottom which to the Chinese seem to resemble bunches ofgrapes. They call the temple P'utaogin, or grape well. The hill backof this temple is verdant with l)eautiful bushes and trees. In thetemple grounds are a pond and several large trees. Across the plainfrom the temple high mountains rise to the sky. Here again a sceneof marvellous natural beauty that arouses feelings of admiration,wonder, and awe has been chosen as the place for a temple.Another illustration is Huang Long Si or the Yellow DragonGorge, which is reached from Songpan by crossing a mountain passover 14,000 feet high. Beginning at the base of a snow mountaincalled Shueh Bao Din Shan, the stream flows down a canyon forabout ten miles, when it joins another stream that flows at rightangles to it. The water in this stream is so full of mineral that themineral substance is deposited all the way down the canyon, forminga bright yellow stone. In many places the water trickles down into aseries of terraced pools resembling rice paddies on a hillside, withthe outer banks rounded into irregular shapes. Similar pools arefound in the Yellowstone Park, but there are many more of them inthe Yellow Dragon Gorge. The crystal-clear blue water and the brightyellow stone give these pools a beautiful appearance, which is en-chanced by the surrounding forests that cover all the hillsides, andby a wonderful variety of flowers. At the head of the gorge are loftymountain peaks that are perpetually covered with snow, and greatribs of white snow reach far down the mountainsides.This district would be very interesting to the geologist. In oneplace the stream has deposited so much of the mineral that a waterfallhas been formed. Along the stream the mineral substance is depositedmostly near the edge where the water flows less swiftly, so that thestream constantly builds up banks for itself. There are places wherethe stream bed is from five to thirty feet higher than the surroundingland. The lowest spots are old, abandoned beds of the stream.Leaves, sticks, and trees that fall into the water are encased in themineral and buried deeper and deeper.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 59
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Fig. 8.—Diagram of the Wang E Miao, or temple of Wang K, the boatmen's god.at Li Chuang, Szechuan, China. This is a Taoist temple.
60 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oSeveral temples are situated in the Yellow Dragon Gorge, the mostimportant being the three temples at the head of the canyon calledrespectively the Lower, the Middle, and the Upper Yellow DragonTemples. In the upper temple is the Yellow Dragon God himself,called Huang Long Tsen Ren, or Yellow Dragon True Man. He isnot a real dragon, but an old man with a long white beard, and withbright yellow clothing resembling in color the yellow rock of thestream bed. He is the chief god or ruler of the district. Outside thetemple and in front of it is a large stone altar where the aboriginesworship, using cedar twigs as incense. The Chinese do not use thisaltar, but worship inside the temples.The official who was overseeing the temples when I visited them in1924 said that the first temple was built in the time of Tao Kuang,who ruled China from 1821 to 1850. I was unable to get any informa-tion about the origin of the worship of the Yellow Dragon God atthis place. The existence of the stone altar used only by the aboriginessuggests the question, did the aborigines first worship the YellowDragon God here on an altar under a clear sky, and the Chinese comelater, build temples, and unite with the aborigines in the worship ofthe Yellow Dragon God?Now Chinese and aborigines alike worship at these temples. Streamsof pilgrims are constantly coming and going and there is a greatannual festival attended by thousands, and which lasts for three days.The Yellow Dragon Gorge, with its temples, its sacred places, and itsdeities, now holds as large a place in the religious life of the Songpandistrict as Mt. Omei does in central Szechuan. It is a place of manynatural wonders that has become a holy of holies.
6. SACRED MOUNTAINSFrom very early times the emperor of China has visited the fourgreat sacred mountains in the four districts, and on their summitsperformed the official worship of heaven. Mountains have beenthe natural elevations on which the cult of heaven was performed.Mt. Omei is a sacred mountain in Szechuan that is famous amongboth Chinese and foreigners. There are three smaller sacred moun-tains, and possibly others. One is south of Suifu near the Yunnanborder. It is called Gien Feng Shan, or Sharp Wind Mountain. Thishas long been a sacred place. It stands out higher than the surround-ing mountains, and is pointed. Because it is higher than the neighbor-ing peaks, it is apt to be windy. Hence its name, sharp or pointedwindy mountain. Formerly the Taoists were in possession, and had
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 6i
62 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8otwo temples. Now the Buddhists are in control. Pilgrims from thesurrounding townships go to this mountain to worship.East of Suifu near Ngan Lin Ch'iao is I'uh Lai Shan, a Buddhistsacred mountain. Its name means the mountain to which Buddhacame. A legend relates that one of the Buddhas in a temple on thismountain flew there. Large numbers of pilgrims go to Fuh Lai Shanfrom nearby districts. The mountain stands out conspicuously abovethe surrounding hills, and its top is covered with trees.Washan, possibly the highest mountain in central Szechuan, is alsoa sacred mountain with many natural wonders. On every side is asheer precipice, with only one path over an unbelievably narrowridge by which one can ascend to the summit. Near the top one canonly proceed by climbing perpendicular clififs by means of ladders.This beautiful and majestic mountain stands out above its neighbors,and has long been a sacred mountain. In former years three templeswere located on the top, but now there is only one, which is visitedby pilgrims from nearby towns and farms. Alt. Omei has over-shadowed Washam as a sacred mountain.Virgil C. Hart, in " Western China,'' .^ays that Alt. Omei is a centerof natural wonders the like of which may not be found elsewhere onthe globe. On the Chinese map of Mt. Omei prepared for pilgrimsthere are three short poems or verses expressing the ]iro found feelingsand emotions that stir the hearts of the worshippers becau.se of thewonderful natural beauties of the mountain and its religious associa-tions. Free translations are given below
:
The land of the eastern dawn is near heaven.At the parting of the clouds P'nshien is visible.The picture revealed cannot be fully comprehended,But many glorious peaks can be seen.To here the Kuen Luen Range extends its veins.A great marvel is this.Heaven borrows the stars to display it,And in all the seven layers (of the mountain) the caves open (to displaywonders).P'nshien came out of the west.Tiie King of Han named this spread-light i)recipicc.Uen Gioh of the T'ang Dynasty was here exalted (to divine rank).In the Manchu Dynasty there appeared here a living P'nshien.May his majesty reveal himself on this mountain-top.Ten thousand bright lights fly over the abyss to welcome him.One of the earliest Euro])eans to travel in west China was Iv Col-borne Babcr. whose article. Travels and Txesearclu's in the Interior of
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE^—GRAHAM 63olN\AqE OF AGREAT COOSZWOBSHiPPEDAS A I>EITY P'USHVEN
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64 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80China, was published in the supplementary papers of the Royal Geo-graphical Society in 1886. He vividly described his impressions of Mt.Omei
:
The plain begins to break up into hills a few miles below Mei-chou. Somehours before reaching that point my attention had been attracted to a dim butsharp-edged object rising high above the southwestern horizon, which I tookto be a cloud; but at last noticing that its profile did not change, I pointed itout to a boatman, who replied with a certain contempt. " Don't you knowMt. Omei when you see it ? " From the point where I first caught sight of it,its distance was more than fifty miles. There must be something in the con-ditions of its position which greatly exaggerates its size, for when it is seenacross the level country from the edge of which it rises, the mind at once refusesto believe that any mountain can be so high. How it looks from a nearer pointof view I cannot affirm, for I have ascended it, travelled all round it, andthree times passed close under it, without ever seeing it again, as it was alwaysclothed in mist. Perhaps the mirage of the wide plain lends it an illusivemajesty which is enhanced by its remarkable outline. Its undulating ridgegradually rises to the summit at the southern end, where, from its highestknoll, it is suddenly cut sheer down to the level earth—or nearly so, for thelower fourth part was hidden by clouds—forming a precipice, or, it may be,a series of precipices, which it is disagreeable to think of.^Mt. Omei is visible on clear days from distant parts of the province.Clear mountain streams, waterfalls, rugged limestone cliffs, forestsof evergreen trees, natural caves, and a precipice six thousand feethigh and almost pependicular make this mountain one of the mostbeautiful in the world. Little wonder that it is sacred and is thereligious center of millions of people, a mecca to which pilgrims gofrom all over China and from Tibet.These illustrations are sufficient to show that in Szechuan there isa tendency to erect temples and shrines in places whose naturalbeauty or strangeness arouse feelings of awe and wonder; that suchplaces often become sacred, the seat of superhuman power ; and thatmagnificent mountains which stand out prominently in the landscapeand possess exceptional beauty or marvellous scenery are apt tobecome sacred.IX. THE GODS IN SZECHUAN PROVINCEThe study of the gods in China is not a simple task. While someare primarily Buddhist and others Taoist, many of them are found inboth Buddhist and Taoist Temples. Distinct, clearcut classificationsare nearly impossible. One god may have several functions. Amitabhais a god of compassion who also protects from demons and gives
* Baber, E. Colborne, Travels and Researches in the Interior of China,Royal Geographical Society, Vol. i, 1886, page 30.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 65
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66 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8ohappiness. Kuanyin is in Tibet a male god, and in Cliina generally afemale known as the Goddess of Mercy. She can undergo almostany transformation that will enable her to help men. Often she isrepresented with a vial of magic water in her hands. The numberof her arms varies from two to one thousand. Sometimes she holdsa baby in her lap, and is called the Song Tsi Kuanyin, or the Goddessof Mercy who gives sons. She may even transform herself into anodd-looking demon-god who rescues the suffering souls in hades.
I. mFFERENT REPRESENTATIONS OF THE GODSA god may exist without any visible representation. Occasionallythe images have disappeared from the shrines, but often the worshipgoes on just the same. T'ien Lao Yeh, or the Old One in Heaven, isa well-known god, but there seem to be no images of him.To the Chinese worshipper it seems desirable, if not necessary, tovisuaHze in some way the god who is worshipped. Sometimes thisis accomplished by merely inscribing the name of the deity on paper,wood, or stone. The commonest housegod consists of a red scrollof paper hung on the wall in the most prominent place, on whichare written in large characters T'ien, Di, Guin, Ch'in, Si, Wei,or the throne of Heaven, Earth, Rulers, Relatives, and Scholars.This really includes the enlarged family of superiors or elders towhom one owes filial piety or gratitude. From heaven or the skycome rain and sunshine, two things that are indispensable to lifeand happiness. Earth yields coal and other minerals, vegetables,fruits, grasses, and trees. Guin really signifies the emperor andhis rulers so that it indicates the imperial government. There hastherefore been a tendency in some localities to substitute the wordkueh, or country, which is more in harmony with the new patriot-ism. In general, however, the use of the word guin, has beencontinued, giving it the meaning of rulers, those who are the par-ents and protectors of the people. The word ch'in means relativesor elders, and particularly one's ancestors. Si signifies scholars orteachers, most highly respected because of their learning and becausethey are the educators of the young. This is one of the most difficultgods for a Chinese to give up on becoming a Christian. It is wor-shipped as a god, incense is burnt to it, and people pray and makeobeisance to it. Sometimes the name of a god is written on a boardand set up to be worshipped.A further stage beyond this is the drawing, painting, or printingof the image of the god. In wayside shrines round stones will some-
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 6;?
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Fig. 12.—Buddhist Ti-Tsang temple east of Suifubetween the villages Gi-Tien-Pa and Muh-Jia-Pin.
68 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o
times be seen on which a picture of the god has been painted. Theyare recognized and treated as real gods. The pictures of the doorgods are printed or painted on paper and pasted on the outsides ofthe doors. At Chengtu a number of gods are printed in bright colorson paper and distributed or sold to the people at New Year time.They are pasted up in the homes to help protect them. The image ofthe Kitchen God, which is found in practically every kitchen, is gen-erally printed on paper. On Mt. Omei there are three advertisementsof a prepared food that have been framed and are worshipped asgods because they have on them excellent images of Buddha. Theywere probably brought up from India or Burmah. A well-knownbiscuit company also has an advertisement on Mt. Omei that has beenframed and is treated as a god.The next step is the making of clay, wooden, stone, or metal images.Some of these are only a few inches high, but others are giganticin size. The stone image of Buddha across the river from Kiatingis probably two hundred and fifty feet high. Many of these imagesportray the characteristics that the god is supposed to possess. Someare like fierce warriors, but others, like Kuanyin and Amitabha, aremore kindly in appearance.Is the god really present in the image ? Is the image to be regardedas the deity himself? In Szechuan Province the answer is yes. Whenthe people or the priests pray to an idol they feel that they arepraying to a real god who can understand and help them. Beyondthis they do not think. They simply regard the image as the godhimself. The following explanation, given by a priest on Mt. Omei,is of special interest. The god is only one and invisible, but in eachtemple may be an image of the god. He is in space, but he is capableof being anywhere, and when the people worship him in the presenceof the image, he is there, and becomes actually embodied in theimage, so tliat the image is the god. Probably the images were firstmade for commemoration, but they have come to be regarded as thegods themselves. The common people treat them as living and efiica-cious beinsfs.^
* One day the writer was sitting on a sandbank beside the Min River.He took a stick and drew in the sand a picture of the Goddess of Mercy. Afarmer boy came along and looked at the picture. He was told, " This is KuanyinP'usah. You had better worship her." He looked at the picture a moment,and then worshipped it.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 69
ENTKAMCEFig. 13.—Diagram of the main floor of the Shih-Wa-Tien, or pewter tile temple,on the summit of Mt. Omci, Szechuan Province, China.
70 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80To the common people of Szechuan Province the presence of theimage of a deity suggests the actual presence of the deity who isimaged/
2. THE LIST OF GODSThis enumeration, which can be only a partial one, will begin withthose which are distinctly Taoist or Buddhist. U Huang Shang Ti,the Pearly Emperor, and Lao Tsi or Li Lao Guin, the reputed founderof Taoism, are primarily Taoist gods, although both are sometimesfound in Buddhist temples. Ku.anyin P'usah, while she was broughtinto China and is widely used by the Buddhists, is now as commonlyseen in Taoist as in Buddhist temples. The Buddhists have a medicinegod, Yoh Si Fuh, while the Taoists have one called Yoh Wang orMedicine King. Both are miraculous healers, and are probably thesame god with different names. Amitabha, Sakyamuni, Wei Toand Jia Lan, the two protectors of Buddhist temples. Mi Leh Fuh,the Buddhist messiah, the eighteen Lohans or Arhats, and manyothers are seen only in Buddhist temples. With many of the gods,however, it is impossible to say whether they are primarily Buddhistor Taoist, for they are found in the temples of both rehgions.Some of the gods are highly specialized ; that is, they have only oneor two duties to perform for the worshipper or for society. Thebuffalo god cares for the water-buffalo, which is the principal animalused in farming. There is a horse god who cares for horses, a sheepgod, and a medicine god. The Kuh Wang, or grain god, causes therice to grow abundantly. The Song Tsi Niang Niang is a goddess who
^ In a Doctor's thesis, The Origin and Development of T'ien and Shangti,Mr. Kuen Ih Tai states that the Miao and the kindred tribes of aborigines inChina are ghost or demon-worshippers (p. 92). The writer has had severalyears of contact with the Chuan Miao and some with Hua Miao. The evidenceis that the Miao, Hke the Chinese, fear demons as the source of diseases andcalamities, and that they exorcise them, but do not worship them. The followinglines from Among the Tribes in Southwest China, by Samuel R. Clarke, areilluminating.
—
At first we were inclined to think that the Miao worshipped demons, butwhen again and again they denied this, and seemed unfeignedly amusedat the idea of worshipping demons, we concluded that we were mistaken.The performances they go through, which seem to us like religious rites,are done to drive away or keep away the demons, and to counteract theirevil influences. If a man is ill, or his cattle sick, if he has had bad luck, orany misfortune befalls him, he attributes this to demons ; and a wizardor exorcist is summoned. (Pp. 67-69.)
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 71
72 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8odoes nothing else but give sons. The Deo Ma Niang Niang heals mea-sles and smallpox. The Tsua Sen Niang Niang aids in securing a quickand safe delivery at childbirth.A few gods are found in almost every home. One has alreadybeen described—the red scroll that is hung up in the central and mostimportant place in the main room. Merchants sometimes substitutefor this the god of wealth, who is also represented by appropriatecharacters on a scroll of red paper. There are also two door gods.The main entrance of a Chinese home generally has double doors whichopen inward, and one god is pasted or painted on each door. Theyare guards of the home to keep demons from entering. Every homealso has a Kitchen God. He is painted or printed on paper and pastedup near the kitchen stove where he supervises the household economy,preventing extravagance. The classic to the Kitchen God also indicatesthat he looks after the moral conduct of the inmates of the home.His position in the kitchen would make it very convenient for him todo so. On the twenty-third day of the twelfth moon he ascends toheaven and reports the conduct of the household to the Pearly Em-peror. He returns and is formally welcomed and his image pastedvip on New Year's Eve. The classic of the kitchen god, while inmany respects similar to that of the bloody basin, has a higher moraltone, and more nearly represents the moral and religious ideals ofthe Chinese people.There are five gods that are often found in shrines, or unprotectedfrom the weather, at intervals along the roadsides to protect thetravelers from the demons that might do harm. One is the Goddessof Mercy who is apt to be found anywhere that people are in needof her help. The second is called T'ai Shan Shih Kan Dang, or theT'ai Shan stone that dares. It is generally made of stone, and theinscription is meant to imply that the stone is from the sacred MountT'ai Shan, and therefore surcharged with power. The image of afierce being having four tusks and holding a dagger in his mouth iscarved on the top of the stone. He is made terrible in appearanceso as to inspire fear in the hearts of the demons. A third deity is LinKuan, or Deo K'eo Kong, the prince whose mouth is like a peck-measure. He wields a club, and in his fierce wrath opens his mouthso wide that it resembles a peck-measure. He is primarily a demon-chaser. Under one of these images the writer saw an inscriptionwhich means. " When he points with his finger the demons depart.At a glance of his eye all diseases are healed." A fourth wayside godis the Tu Di P'usah or the local s:od of earth. He is a minor official
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 73
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74 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8owho controls a limited territory. His spouse is generally with him.The inscription most commonly seen on his shrine isBao ih fang ch'iii Gih,Yu si giai p'ing an.This means. " He guarantees that it is lucky all about, and protectsthe peace in all directions." Finally, there is xA.mitabha, or Omeitofuh,as he is called in Szechuan. He is a kindly, loving savior of men whoin his compassion will help them whenever they call on his name.His earlobes are long, indicating Indian influence. Omitofuh andT'ai Shan Shih Kan Dang often have no shrines, but stand exposedto the weather. In Szechuan Province philosophical Buddhism haspractically no place. The Buddhism of Amitabha, who rules thewestern heavens which is a paradise for the souls of the dead, is theBuddhism that has won the hearts of the people. As the Tibetansrepeat over and over " Om-mani padme-hum," so the most devoutBuddhists repeat as they tell out the beads of the rosaries, " Lanu Omitofuh." On Mt. Omei the pilgrims greet each other with
" Omitofuh." In the numerous places by the wayside Amitabhastands ever ready to help the traveler who is in need.Some of the gods are apparently nature deities. All of them arepropitious if reverenced and worshipped. Some have very definitefunctions. The Sun God and the Moon Goddess have doubtless comedown from antiquity. There is a water god who controls rain, anda mountain god who controls mountains. There are idols representingthe seven stars of the. dipper, heaven, and earth. The Fire Godprevents disastrous fires. There is a lightning goddess who carriesa looking-glass, the thunderer who carries a hammer and chisel andwhose nose and mouth hook downwards like a semi-human creature,and the Lord of Thunder, who controls the lightning goddess andthe thunderer. There are also the Earth Prince and the Earth Mother,and many others. On Mt. Omei, in the temple of Gieu Lao Dong, aretwo gods called Sunlight and Moonlight.A large number of the gods are deified heroes. Among these arethe God of War who was a famous warrior in Szechuan ; Ch'uanChu, the Lord of Szechuan, who is given the credit for the develop-ment of the great irrigation system on the Chengtu plain ; Wang E.P'usah, the god of boatmen, and Lu Ban, the god of carpenters. Avery interesting trio are Fuh Shi, Shen Long, and Shuen Uen ShangTi, who are always found together. The first two wear leaves insteadof clothes. They are legendary heroes who lived before the Chineselearned to make and to wear clothing. Shuen Uen Shang Ti, who is
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 75
76 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80
very well dressed, is reputed to have taught the Chinese how to makeand to wear clothing.At the gateway of the Ta O Si temple on Mt. Omei is an idolwhich is the image of a man who is still living—at least, he was inthe summer of 1925. He is an old man who is deeply devoted toBuddhism, and who has given much money to the Ta O Si templeHe was therefore deified while he was still alive. The writer has heardof a similar case in Yachow.The mummified priest is a peculiar form of a deified hero. The WanFuh Din temple and the Ch'ien Fuh Temple on Mt. Omei each haveone of these. They were priests who in their respective temples wentinto seclusion until they died, when they were mummified and wor-shipped as gods. Another god who is said to be a mummified priestis across the river from Kiating near the Great Buddha. Still anotheris the principal deity of the T'ai Tsi Miao, a temple near the summitof Mt. Omei. It is claimed that the last one is the mummified son ofan emperor. He helps the worshippers secure the birth of sons.In Tibet there is another form of the deified man, the Hoh Fuh orLiving Buddha. He is thought to be a reincarnation of a god. Tradi-tion says that there was once such a reincarnation of P'ushien onMt. Omei. That is what is meant by the sentence quoted on a pre-vious page. " In the Manchu Dynasty there appeared here a LivingP'ushien."Not a few of the gods in the Buddhist and Taoist temples are greatreligious leaders who in the past have rendered distinguished serviceto their religious organizations, and who consequently have beendeified.Every occupation has its patron deity. Scholars worship UenTs'ang P'usah, the God of Learning, expecting that he will assistthem in acquiring knowledge. Merchants worship the God of Wealthwho helps them secure financial prosperity. Lu Ban is the God ofCarpenters. Rice planters worship Kuh Wang. There is a God ofBrewers. No boatmen will begin a journey without first worshippingWang E. Physicians and owners of medicine shops worship lohWang, the God of Medicine. There are gods of butchers and of cooks.At Li Chuang there is a god of the coolies who carry water, and onefor people who gather leaves and twigs for fuel on the river banks,on the hillsides, or in the forests. In a temple at Ngan Lin Ch'iaothere are two idols who are worshipped by thieves, and who assistthem in their undertakings. They themseh'-es are said to be expertsat stealing.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM yjNear Suifii on the Yangtse River is a small temple known as theWhite Stone Temple. Originally there was only a large, white stone,taller and whiter than the others. People began to worship it, andascribed to it the power of healing. Later a temple was built around it,and a few common idols were added. The stone is still worshipped,and for a few cash one can purchase a tiny bit of the rock, which willcause him to recover from illness if he will grind it to sand, soak itin water, and drink the water. Probably the process began with thenatural sense of awe aroused because of the size and whiteness of thestone. This stone is not worshipped because a deity has taken uphis abode in it, but because the stone itself is thought to be a god withbeneficent power that is more than human.Near the town of Shuin Gien Si, south of Suifu, there formerlylived a man who ran an oil factory. He had some large, fine bulls torun the stone rollers. He prospered, and the value of his bulls in-creased. Finally he burned incense to his largest bull and worshippedit as a god. His action was, in his own mind and those of his Chinesefriends, the natural result of his growing sense of gratitude, wonder,admiration, and awe towards the bulls that contributed so much tohis prosperity. I have heard Chinese make a similar explanation ofthe development of the worship of the Sun God, the Moon Goddess,the Fire God, the Thunder God, and of other deities.At Suifu, two old cypress trees are worshipped as divinities. It isnot that gods dwell in them, but that the trees themselves are gods.They are said to have been planted in the Ming Dynasty, or possiblyearlier. It is asserted that they once made a pilgrimage to Mt. OmeiTwo men giving their names as Beh, or White, worshipped at thedifferent shrines and temples on the great sacred mountain, andpromised contributions. They said that they were brothers fromSuifu. Later a priest came to Suifu to collect the money. He couldnot find any brothers named Beh, but when he heard of the twocypress trees, heh sou, he knew at once that the two pilgrims were thetwo cypress trees. I have been told by aged priests who were expertsin such traditions that very old trees, especially cypress trees, areable, after many years, to develop into tree-deities. There is a tendencyin some localities to burn incense to aged trees or to the stumps ofthese trees. This is especially noticeable on Mt. Omei, on Washan,and at the Yellow Dragon Gorge.Near Kiang K'eo is a large banyon tree that is worshipped becausea spirit or ghost has taken its abode in the tree. The people beganto worship it about 19 17. It is called a Huang Geh Giang Guin,or " General Banyon." Its leaves are used to heal all kinds of diseases.
78 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80Incense is burnt to it. If one's feet are sore, he can get well byhanging a pair of straw sandals on the tree.In the region between Kiating and Chengtu turnips often growto a very large size. The Chinese say that they sometimes weigh fromtwenty-five to a hundred pounds, requiring two men to carry them.When such a turnip is found, it is called a Turnip King, and is re-garded as a god of turnips. It is placed on a table or on a platform,divine honors are paid to it, and a company of actors are engaged togive theatricals in its honor. Then there is a great feast to which theneighborhood is invited. As a result of thus honoring the TurnipKing, it is thought that turnips will prosper in that locality. But the.high cost of living may destroy this custom. All the expenses areborne by the farmer on whose land the Turnip King develops. Pricesare rising, so that the farmers feel that they cannot afford to pay theexpenses of the ceremonies and of the feast. Therefore, when a turnipdevelops beyond a certain size, the farmers are apt to pull it up andsell it or throw it into a ditch.At Ngan Lin Ch'iao, near Suifu, there is an idol called a YinyangP'usah, which is half male and half female. It represents the impor-tant yin and yang forces, the male and female principles in nature.The left side is male, the right side is female. The left eye and earand the left side of the mouth are large, and the right small, so that theface has a lopsided appearance. The left foot is natural, and the rightfoot bound. The left side is dressed like a man, and the right sidelike a woman. On the whole, this is one of the queerest deities that liiewriter has seen.One god that is worshipped in Szechuan is called the T'an ShenDen Den. It is really a foundation-stone such as is used under thewooden pillars of houses and temples. The climate is very damp,especially in the summer, and wood decays easily. It is thereforecustomary to put foundation-stones under the wooden pillars to keepthem from rotting and to protect them from the ravages of white ants.For some reason these are occasionally worshipped as deities, set inplaces of honor, and regarded as very efificacious. Wealthy peoplespend much money in their worship, and in return it is thought thatthey will cause one's family to prosper. However, the poor peoplebelieve that they have bad tempers, and that if worshipped tooeconomically they will become spiteful and do injury in the homeswhere they are kept. Some poor families that cannot afford to worshipwith elaborate ceremonies simply throw the idols away, but the ma-jority carry them to a temple where priests and pilgrims can accord theworship that their majesties demand. Foundation-stones hold up tre-
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 79
mendous weights, and seem to exhibit a peculiar power to preservethe wooden pillars from decay and from the attack of white ants.It is not strange, therefore, that the untutored have marvelled at thequalities displayed, and have come to treat the foundation-stones asbeings with superhuman power/The gods of Szechuan present a wonderful variety in form andcharacter. They vary from the invisible T'ien Lao Yeh to writtencharacters representing the gods, pictures painted or pasted on woodor paper and images of all kinds in the homes and in the temples.They are thought to have marvellous intelligence and superhumanpower which they use to help the faithful against demons and in theirstruggle for a full and satisfying life. The practical nature of thereligion of Szechuan is shown by the fact that every occupation hasa patron deity and every god has some task or tasks that are beneficialto men. In Szechuan Province the gods are means or agencies forsecuring the satisfactions of men's fundamental needs, his helpers inthe quest for a happy, safe, and satisfying life.
X. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONIn the study of the popular religion in Szechuan Province, the manaconcept, that of a strange and mysterious potency permeating allstriking, powerful, strange, and mysterious things is a primary keyfor the understanding and interpreting of that religion. In the popularreaction this mysterious potency is connected with an emotional re-sponse to the unknown, danger-filled or helpful environment. Whenmen philosophize about it, it is dififerentiated into the yin and the yang,which are included in the fai gili or great extreme.Demons also play a large part in the lives of the people of Szechuan.They are disgruntled spirits of the dead who must be appeased andexorcised. They are the causes of all diseases and all other calami-ties. Many of the gods and most of the charms are to furnish pro-tection from demons.
^ There is evidence that in earlier Chinese history it was customary for theChinese to bury human beings or animals under foundation-stones. In somecountries such practices have given an awed attitude and a sense of holinessto the corner-stone. In some old Chinese legends kuei are associated withfoundations. This may have given the T'an Shen Den Den its spiteful anddangerous character. In Szechuan the foundation-stone is sometimes wor-shipped as a god, but the writer has so far been unable to trace any connectionbetween the old custom of burying people under foundations and the presentworship of foundation-stones as deities. Not all foundation-stones are wor-shipped, but some are.
8o SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oThe element of luck, which is greater in primitive Hfe, does muchto maintain if not to create the beHef in a mysterious potency, luckydays, and various customs generally classed together as superstitions.One day everything goes well : game is killed, and all have plenty. Atother times the boats get wrecked, no game is found, people become ill,and all goes wrong. To the more primitive mind, unable to give scien-tific explanations, and lacking scientific methods and means of con-trolling nature about him, the things that we have been describingseem perfectly natural.The emotions of awe and wonder, and the emotional thrill, alliedto the mana reaction, are elements that are exceedingly important, andwhich lie near the heart of the primitive religions. The organizedreligions of Szechuan, perhaps more or less unconsciously, havebecome past-masters in arousing these emotions. In large temples,located on hills that are seen far and wide or on spots noted for thewonders of their natural phenomena, great deities, wearing the cloth-ing of temporal rulers and often wearing crowns and covered withgold-leaf, priests with beautiful official robes and masters of the rites,incantations, and ceremonies, and great festivals that are the crowningreligious and social events of the year—all these arouse wonder,admiration, and awe, and result in the loyalty of the common peopleto their religious organizations.The social customs, ideals, and conceptions are clearly reflected inthose of religion. The attitudes, customs, and practices that have todo with priests and gods are duplications of those of the ManchuDynasty. The customs of this world are carried over into the worldof the departed spirits, so much so that the souls of the dead must begiven food and money. China is now being swept from end to endby democratic ideals, so that anything that even smacks of monarchyis taboo, but there has so far been almost no effect on religious ideals,rites, and ceremonies.Under Tsang Tao Lin and other leaders Taoism, many centuriesago, gained the adherence of the masses in China by identifying itselfwith the popular religion that has come down among the lower classesof the Chinese from ancient times. Buddhism came to China fromIndia, a high, philosophical religion, but for centuries was unable towin the masses until it, like Taoism, identified itself with the religionof the common people. Today it is a rival of Taoism as a popularreligion of Szechuan. The Chinese love life in this world, and nirvanahas no appeal to them, but the religion of Amitabha, the merciful rulerof western heaven, with Kuanyin, the merciful goddess, has wonthe hearts of the people. Many of the indigenous gods of China are
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 8lfound both in the Buddhist and in the Taoist temples. There hasbeen a great deal of mutual borrowing. Even the Pearly Emperor isfound in the Buddhist temples, and in Taoist temples can be fotmdpictures or images representing the transmigration of souls, a con-ception which the Buddhists brought with them from India, andscenes representing the judgments and punishments of hades, whichwere originally Buddhist.Religion in Szechuan is exceedingly practical. Every phase of it,every rite and ceremony, every god or temple, has to do with the satis-fymg of some human need that is felt to be important. They are thetechniques that have been worked out and used during the pastcenturies by the masses of untutored people as a means of securingsatisfaction of the primary needs of man—food, sex, protection fromenemies, from the forces of nature, and from disease, and play. Tothese people in their environment, such techniques have seemed and
still seem most natural and reasonable. They are facing many diffi-culties and perplexities, but they are as capable as any other race ofpeople on earth, and the writer ventures to hope and to believe thatin the centuries to come they will make educational, social, moral,and religious contributions that will enrich the civilization of thewhole world. BIBLIOGRAPHYAddison, James Thayer. Chinese ancestor worship. 1925.Alexander, Maj. Gen. G. G. Confucius the Great Teacher. 1890.Alexander, Maj. Gen. G. G. Lao Tsi the Great Thinker.Ames, Edward Scribner. The psychologj' of religious experience. 1910.Baber, E. Colborne. Travels and researches in the interior of China, RoyalGeographical Society, Vol. I, 1886.Bashford. China, an interpretation. 1916.Bishop, Isabella Bird. Among the Tibetans. 1894.Bland and Blackhouse. Annals and memorials of the court of Peking. 1914.Bland and Blackhouse. China under the Empress Dowager. 1912.Brewster, William N. The evolution of New China. 1907.Carpenter, J. Estlin. Comparative religion.China Medical Journal, March, 1921.Chinese Recorder, 1913-1927.Clarke, Samuel R. Among the tribes of Southwest China. 191 1.Coe, George Albert. The psychology of religion. 1916.Cole, Fay-Cooper. The Tinguian. 1922.Cole, Fay-Cooper. The traditions of the Tinguian. 1915.Degroot, J. J. M. Religion in China. 1912.Degroot, J. J. M. The religion of the Chinese. 1910.Degroot, J. J. M. The religious system of China, V. Volumes. 1892.Dore, Henry. Researches into Chinese superstitions. 1915-1922.
82 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8oEncyclopaedia Sinica. 1917.Franck, H. a. Wandering in Northern China.Fu, Daniel Chiii. Ancestor worship and social control. 1922.Getty, Alice. The gods of northern Buddhism. 1914.Giles, H. A. Religions of ancient China. 1908.Giles, H. A. The civilization of China. 1911.GoLDENWEiSER, ALEXANDER A. Early civilization. 1922.GowEN, Herbert H. An outline history of China. 1913.Grainger, Adam. Studies in Chinese life. 1921.Hastings, James. Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics.Hedin, Sven. Trans-Himalaya. 1909-1913.HiRTH, F. The ancient history of China. 191 1.Hopkins. The history of religions. 1918.Hosie, a. Three years in Western China. 1884.Johnston, R. T. Buddhist China.Journal Of The North-China Branch Of The Royal Asiatic Society,1896-1927.Journal Of Religion, 1924-1927.Journal Of The West China Border Research Society, 1922-23 ; 1924-25.Keane, a. H. Man past and present. 1920.Keng, Dr. Lim Boon. The Confucian way of thinking of the world and God,Asiatic Review, April, 1919.Knox. The development of religion in Japan. 1907.Kuo, Ping Wen. The Chinese system of public education. 1915.Laufer, Berthold. Chinese clay figures. 1914.Laufer, Berthold. The Chinese gateway. 1922.Laufer, Berthold. Ivory in China. 1925.Laufer, Berthold. Jade. 19 12.Laufer, Berthold. Chinese grave sculptures. 191 1.Laufer, Berthold. Sino-Iranica. 1919.Laufer, Berthold. Tobacco and its use. 1924.Legge. The life and work of Mencius.Legge. The life and teachings of Confucius.Legge. The religions of China.Legge. The Chinese Classics. 1861-1872.The book of changes, 2 Vols.The book of history, 2 Vols.The book of odes, 2 Vols.The book of rites, 2 Vols.Spring and autumn, 2 Vols.Legge. The Four Books. 1861-1872The Analects,The doctrine of the mean,The great learning.The works of Mencius.Lietard, Alfred. Les Lo-Lo P'o. 1913.Li Ung Bing. Outlines of Chinese history. 1914.Little, Mrs. Archibald. Intimate China. 1901.LowiE, Robert H. Primitive religion. 1924.LowiE, Robert H. Primitive society. 1920.
NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE—GRAHAM 83Macdonald, Alexander. Through the heart of Tibet. 1910.Marett, R. R. The threshold of religion. 1914.Medhurst, G. Spurgeon. The Tao Teh King.MoORE, George Foot. The birth and growth of religion. 1926.O'Neill, F. W. S. The quest for God in China. 1925.Parker, E. H. China past and present. 1903.Parker, E. H. Studies in Chinese religion. 1910.Pott, F. L. Hawks. A sketch of Chinese history. 1915.Price, Maurice T. Christian missions and Oriental civilizations. 1924.Reinsch, Paul S. Intellectual and political currents in the Far East. 191 1.Rhys, David T. W. Early Buddhism. 1908.Ross, E. A. The changing Chinese. 191 1.Ross, John. The original religion of China. 1909.Savina, M. F. Dictionaire Miao-tseu-Frangais. 19x7.Scott-Eliott, G. F. Prehistoric man and his story.Shirokogoroff, S. M. Anthropology of Eastern China and Kwangtung Prov-ince. 1925.Smith, A. H. China in convulsion. 1901.Smith, A. H. Village life in China. 1899.SooTHiLL, W. E. Analects of Confucius.Sorenson, Theo. Work in Tibet, 1919 and 1920.Stewart, James Livingstone. Chinese culture and Christianity. 1926.Stewart, James Livingstone. The Laughing Buddha. 1925.Tai, Kuen Ih. The origin and early development of Tien and Shangti. 1925.Thomas, W. L. Source book for social origins. 1909.Torrance, Thomas. The religion of the Chiang. 1923.Tyler, Edward B. Primitive culture, 2 Vols. 1920.West China Missionary News, 1913-1927.Williams, E. T. China yesterday and today. 1923.Williams, S. Wells. A syllabic dictionary of the Chinese language. 1909.Williams. A history of China. 1897.Williams. The Middle Kingdom. 1883.Wissler, Clark. Man and culture. 1923.


SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4 PL. 2
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The city of Nan Knang near Snifii, .Szechnan, China.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL. 3
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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL. 7
I. A large white stone near Suifu that is worshipped as a god. The idea is not that adeity or a spirit has taken up its abode in the rock, but that the stone is a god. Atemple has been built aniund the stone, and other idols have been added.
2. Part of a great retrtatin.u; army trying tu cross the Min River at Kicn Wei, .Szcchuan,China, in 1925.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL.
I. A poor wiudw ami lit-r son carrying coal at Nan Kuang. near Snifn, SzechuanProvince. China
2. Chinese dragon boat at the annual dragon-boat festival. A dragon's head is on thefront of the boat. These boats pursue and capture ducks that have been releasedby the spectators.

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL. 10
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A grave at Suifu, Szechiian, China, erected liy a student tor his deceased grandmother.A house and lot were sold to pay the cost of this tomb.
2. A view of Washan or Tile Mountain, a sacred mountain in Szechuan Province.The top of the mountain is flat, and on every side is a sheer precipice several thousandfeet high. The only path leading up the ninuntain is over the narrow ledge on the right.
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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PI . 16
I. \'iew of Mt. Omei from Shin Kai Si. Mt. Omei is one of the four great sacredmountains of China and has many Buddhist temples and monasteries. There is a sheerprecipice of 6,ooo feet from the " Golden Summit."
2. The most sacred shrine on Mt. Omei, that of P'ushien, the patron deity of thismountain. l''ushien"s image is back of the glass windows and is invisible.
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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL. M
I. A view of Tatsit-iilu from ilic ^ .niiiM.uiio .,1 iIr (.hina Iiilaml Mission. The Catholiccathedral can he seen in the foregrounil.
2. (Ine of the K^eatest of living Tibetans, a " living Itndilha." who is woishiiipcd as aKod. He is the head of one 'of the three great religious sects in Tibet, and is thought tube the ninth reincarnation of the chief disciole of the founder of lamaism in Tibet.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80. NO. A, PL. 19
I. A Til)et;in laiiKi i>t'rfi)riiiiiis a religious dance. 15eyoncl tlie lama a lar.ye trumpet15 feet Inn.ij may he seen.
-'. A great bridge made of large bamboo ropes or cables at Kuansliien. Szecluian, China.
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL. 20
1. Ahorigiiie stciiic buihliiigs at Kuan Tsat-, or Ts'ao P'o, near Wenchuanshien, Szechuan.China. The building in the foreground has been used as a magistrate's yanien, alamasery or temple, and a fortress.
2. Shif.in aborigine pilgrims ;it the Yellow Dragon Gorge, near .Songpan, SzechuanProvince. China.
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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80, NO. 4, PL. 23
2. Aborigine women of the (li'iang Irilie. a'. W iChina. .huanshien. near Mowchow. Szechiian,
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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80 NO. 4, PL. ?5
I. Natural icrraisubstancts in thebeautiful. ^ 111 iht ^lll,,u iiwater. Thtre are 11 (iciiKe made by the dejiusit nf mineraldreds of these terraces, which are very
2. The Smithsonian collecting expedition leaving the \ellow Dragon Ciorge for .^ongpaiiin 1924. On the extreme left is Vang l-'oiig Tsang, a C'huan Miao aborigine hunter.•Vear the center is D. C. Graham. Other members of the party are an escort of sixsoldiers, one netter, two taxiderntists, and coolies who have charge of the pack animals.