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CHINESE

SUPERSTITIONS
S.J.

CD

By Henry Dor6,
00

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH

WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY

By M. Kennelly,

S.J.

First Part
SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES
Profusely illustrated

Vol.

is
12.1
T'USEWEI PRINTING PRESS
Shanghai

1914

is*f

ypy

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iiiisiijyiic
INTO

CHINESE

SUPERSTITIONS
S.J.

By Henry Dore, /H

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY

By M. Kennelly,

S.J.

First Part
SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES
Profusely illustrated

Vol.

T'USEWEI PRINTING PRESS

Shanghai

1914

111

D/3
v.
I

BRA'is;

t^Siry

OF T<>:

31.1832

PREFACE.
The present work,
tions",, belongs to

entitled

"Researches into Chinese Superstiseries

the well

known
published

"Varietes Sinoloijiques",

or Miscellanies on

China,

by the Jesuit Fathers of the

Shanghai Mission. The

Press in the year 1911.

first

volume was issued from the T'usewei

Three others followed successively in 1912

and 1913, and were so appreciated that the French Academy of "Inscriptions and Literature" granted them a special award. A fifth
is

now

in the press.

The whole

collection is to be completed in 1915,

is

and

will

comprise about eight volumes. The subject treated

of the

highest importance, not only from the religious standpoint, but also

because of the
familv
life

many

interesting sidelights

it

casts on the social

and

of the Chinese people.

hence accessible only to a

requested to translate
it

As the original is in French, and limited number of readers, it has been

Such a vast undertaking and
but encouraged by the
'

into English.
it

the scholarly attainments

supposes would have appalled many.

The translator himself

genial Director of the
bodies,
ically

felt

rather diffident,

"Varietes Sinolog iques" , various Missionary

in

and several scholars

set

the East and

at

home, he energet-

to

work, and the volume now

offered to the public is the

fruit of his labours.

The Author

of the

work

is

the Rev.

Henry Bore, S.J.

in

Labourof

ing as a Missionary for over twenty years

the two

provinces

Kiangsu and Nganhwei, he ever pursued the study of religions in China, and the countless superstitions which swayed the social and
familv
life

of the

people.

For this purpose,

he visited

cities

and

hamlets, temples and monasteries, questioning the people about their Gods and Goddesses, their local divinities and deified Worthies,

thus collecting valuable materials for his future great work.

he
tells

What
heard

us therein, he has witnessed with his

lips of the people with
little

own

e} es,

or

from the

whom

he came

into daily contact.

Real China exists

in the

done

its

work, and raised

Open Ports. the Chinaman to

Civilisation
a higher level

has there

than his
in real

fellow countrymen.

Whosoever, therefore, would study him


life,

II

is

must needs

see

him

in the remote regions, the quaint old towns,

and the secluded villages of some distant province. This

impressions in a manner which

what the
and

Missionary has done, and hence his descriptions ring genuine,

echo his
interest

and charm the

To his personal observations, he has added a long and serious study of all books relating to his subject. The learned
general reader.
list of

Chinese works placed at the head of this volume amply bears

out this assertion.

From

these, quotations

and copious extracts are

given throughout the

the French edition, the

work.

translator has

To the foreign authors indicated in added a few others, which

Mention may be parof

he thinks will be helpful to English readers.

ticularly

made

of Dooliltle,

who
in

has

written interestingly

"PopBenl.

ular

Gods and Goddesses"

Southern China, also of Samuel

<lc

Sir Monier Williams,

extensive

Hackmann, Macgowan, Legge and

of China".

Groot's
titles,

work on the "Religious System

Several

untranslated in the original French, have been rendered into English

in this edition,

while short historical and

explanatory notes have

been inserted, with a view to elucidating abstruse points of history

and doctrine which would otherwise remain a

reader.

puzzle

to

many

Pictures of Gods and Goddesses, of Genii and

deified

fabulous beings,
rich store

Worthies and Heroes have next been secured.' The

of

albums in the Sicawei Library has wonderfully helped in this Almost every article is illustrated. These pictures complete matter.
text,

the

and

exhibit

graphically to the reader the

belief

of the

people.

The work
both
in

will, doubtless,

fulfil

useful

and

scientific

purpose
of the

the Far Fast

in

and
it

at

home.

The principal intention

Author

publishing

has been to help his fellow Missionaries in

the held, chiefly those

quainted with the

life

recently arrived from home, and yet unacand religious conditions of the Chinese people.

These men shall one day be brought into contact

stitions
-I

with the super-

They must, therefore, have some knowledge what the people think, believe and worship. Thus equipped,
nt

the country.

they will offend less native prejudice and

promote better the great

work

of

implanting Christian truth in the land.


The work
ing"

TIT

and ever increasin

will also prove valuable to the large

number

of

scholars
field

interested

the

study of "Comparative
the Missionary

Religion".

In this

of laborious

research,

has

ever proved a
people, his

most useful
spent

helper.

His intimate knowledge of the

enable

life

among them,

him

to

appreciate thor-

oughly their religious ideas,

and grasp the cryptic meaning and underlie so which many customs and practices. purpose A third and no less important service will be to exhibit to the
intelligent reading public the real aspect
life

and conditions

of religious

among

the Chinese people.

is

Persons frequently ask the Mission-

ary "what

China's real

religion?

What

do the people believe

and worship? What is their knowledge of the true God, of the soul and of man's destiny? Uo they believe in an after-life and what are The work here offered to the public is the conditions of this life"?

the best reply to

all

these questions.
soul, the generally accepted opinion is as follows:
first,

To begin by the

Man
or

has two souls

t$L,

The

or superior one, is called the

Shen

f^l

Ilwun

and emanates from the ethereal part of the Cosmos,

principle
(1).

the great

Yang j^

It is
it

manifested by the K'i

or

breath

(vital force).

After death,

ascends,

according to the Ancimatter, Shen-

ents, to the

higher regions, there to live on as lucid

ming %$
at

B).

According

to

modern Confucianists
it

it

vanishes entirely

death.

Buddhists would have

be

re-incarnated into

men

or

animals (See on the System Metempsychosis p. 135-138), while Taoists place it after death amidst the stars, ordinarily around
the Polar
regions.

of the

which operates in Kwei emanates from the earth or Yin f% principle (2), returning It remains with the body in the grave, and thereto after death. forms the ghost (see Note 1. p. 143) of the departed person (3).
(1)

The second, or material soul, is the Kwei $&, The living man under the name of P'eh fjj|.

Williams defines this: "the pure, ethereal, subtle part

of the
it is

of

matter, out of which

Gods and souls are formed". Dictionary

(2)

According
its

to

Chinese philosophy,

Chinese Language |^. one of the primeval forces

of

Nature, from

which by
ced.

interaction with the

The

inferior of
$$.).

whole universe has been produthe dual Powers, quiescent matter (Giles and William's Chinese

Yang ||

principle, the

Dictionaries
(3)

For more ample

VVieger.

details See de Groot.

The Religious System

9).

of China. Vol.

IV,

p.

5,_

Folk-Lore Chinois Moderne. Introduction

 IV
The notion
is

of the true

but dimly known.

God has_almost disappeared, or at least For the greater part of the people, their God

is

the "Pearly Emperor",

Yuh-hwang 3

Jl, of Taoist origin

Budd-

ha or Fuh f); Amitabha |$pJ $$ |?g $J (O-mih-t'o-fuh), the Ruler of the Western Paradise; Kwan-yin || "&, the Goddess of Mercy;

some

local or tutelary divinity to

whom
ff?
5

they give the

title of

''Ven-

erable Sire or Lord", Lao-yeh

the

God

of.Jtliches, the

God

of

the Hearth, the

God

of Fire.

Carpenters have their Patron God, also

play-actors, wrestlers,

fencers,
of

musicians,

and even gamblers.

co rresponding

It

would seem that every need

the

Gods

being thus, as with th e

man has__its Romans

,

divinity,
for

largely

names
Gods

these

various needs,
//"

JNumina nomina". The

literati

acknowledge "Shang-

J- ^-, the Supreme Ruler; Heaven, T'ien

the

of Liter-

ature:

Wen-ch'ang among them are utter

is

and Kw'ei-sing

5t

jk

The modernists

atheists

and materialists.

For them,

God
is,

is

but an abstract principle, identified with Reason or Law, that

he
his

nothing

else

but the moral sense of man, exalted thus to

Practically,

be

own Lord and Lawgiver.

the masses, and will burn
practice, at the

they are as superstitious as

this
is

mock-money, though

Buddhist

tombs

of their ancestors.
is,

China's popular religion

therefore, a medley of superstitions,

their

varying according to places, but essentially the same in

fun-

damental features.
in'

Hence the popular adage: "the three religions Each person in fact selects one", Sun -hi no wei-yih J

^^
or

or adopts

what

suits best his fancy,

of

meets his present require-

ments.

The Powers
Heroes,

Nature, Spirits, the Hosts of Heaven, Genii even animals,

and

deified

Ancestors are also worshipped;

especially the

Dragon and the Tortoise, not omitting the mineral

affords a pitiful spectacle
in

world.

The whole

which

excites

compasspast,

ion, and has held the people

well

bondage throughout the

as

as

it

degrades them at the present

daw

The work, according to the Author's plan, will be divided into three parts. The first treats of 'superstitious practices in general"

'

Whosoever has
that such

lived

among

the Chinese will readily acknowledge

practices

are

bound

up with their every-day

life,

and

influence their actions from the cradle to the tomb.

This part deals

V
also

with ancestor worship, the ancestral

the sending of clothing

tablet,

burial

of the

dead,

and

and mock-money

to the

"Land

of Shades"

Illustrations accompany each article, and Gods Goddesses, Genii and Immortals, the depicting vividly worship of the dead, amulets, charms and even ghosts. These artistic pictures are all due to the T'usewei Press, and the intellifor the use of the departed soul.

gent co-operation of
here

'.

Foucret,

S..T., to

whom

wish

to

express

my

sincere thanks.
of the

The second part

work

shall offer to the reader a full

and

interesting "biograplnj of Gods and Goddesses", mythical personages and deified Heroes worshipped in the two provinces of Kiangsu and

Nganhwei.

short description of the various

practices

performed

by the people to honour them will complete this part.

"popular Iiistory of the Founders of the three great religions of China: Confucius, Lao-tze and Buddha".

The third part

will be a

Some account

will be also given of their principal

doctrines,

ethical

systems and general influence on the Chinese people.

like the second, will be fully illustrated.

This part,

Such
Dore, S.J.

is,

in brief, the great

Though

not exhaustive,

work undertaken by Father Henry it will fill a serious gap, and is

get on

possibly the best account

we can

"Superstitions in China".

The book

is

written for the general piTblic,

is

avoiding purposely too

abstruse discussions, and

gations made on
the spot.

based throughout on personal investi-

The

first

volume,

now

translated
will

into in

English,

is

here offered to the

it

public.

The others

follow
all

due succession, and render,

is

hoped, valuable service to

those

interested in China's religious

life

and customs.

M. Kennelly, S.J.
Sicawei College, Shanghai.

May

30, 1914.


LIST OF

VII

WORKS CONSULTED FOR

1

THIS FIRST PART,

NT1TLED
IN

SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES

CHINA.

WORKS WRITTEN
IE

IN

THE CHINESE LANGUAGE.

Li-ki.

Sang-li.

ft iS

SM 3. it it ^
6

Tuh-li-t'ung-k'ao.

Wu-li t'ung-k'ao.
T'ung-tien.

^M

Peh-lu-t'ung.

Yii-chow

ta-i-i.

Sze-shu jen-wuh-k'ao.
Chu-tze yii-luh.

nil
It n

&

$*

Jeh chi-hih.
Wu-king-i-i.
Li-ki tsih-shwoh.

H
p|I

Li-ki shuh.

^
#fc
/BE "^7

"? In
ffil

Chu-tze

yii-lei.

IS ft

Yao-lu-lu-shu.

3E 5 =t

jljS

'Ira.

Fung-shen-kia li-tsih-shwoh.
Sheng-ki chuh-wen.

A S WL *
91

Sung-t'ao-knh ts'ing-i-luh.

*P
fit

& & 1 IB
ft $c
i\

Ming-ta-muh

t'ing-yii-ki-t'an.

Ml

Chow-li chu-shuh. Chow-li t'ien-kwan-shen-lu.

Ml

a t? * ^
a

Chow-li ch'un-kwan ta-tsung-peh.

T'ung-suh-pien.

*&m&m

Tze-chi-t'ung-kien kang-muh.
Official

Annals.

i^
-if

Ch'eu-chen pien-wang.
Peter

Hwang,

S. J.

\chwan).

#(

Ts'ien-Han-shu (Chang t'ang


m r m % be jt # oe & f#) mmm a n * is m *a*
*
if
lg

VIII

Heu-Han-shu (Ts'ai-lun-chwan).
Fung-shi wen-kien-ki.

T'ang-shu (Wang-yiX-chwan)

T'ung-kien-kang-muh.
Records

Historical

reconstructed by

Chuj

Sbeng

Sung- toh-i.

hsi.

$J it *b

Li

Tsi-wung tze-hsia-luh.
Yii

Yeh-hwoh-pien.

&
H

ft

efc

Sung

Wen-pao, ch'ui-kien-luh

wai-tsih.
Shi- with yuen-hui.

iHii $rP $*
ft

mH

Ts'ing-kia-luh.

Kien-hu pu-tsih.
Sin-chi-luh.

Meng-hwa-luh.
Hai-yii ts'ung-k'ao.

K ft * * * # * fE # ep # if ii ^
,-iV.

T'ien-hsiang-leu ngeu-teh.
Yin-hsiieh-hsien-sui-pih.

7C

Yuan-tien-chang.

Chao-king-ngan yun-luh-manTa-hsioh.
[ch'ao.

Chwang-tze.

Book

of

Odes

msm m
gist

Ta-ya.

Kang-muh-tsih-lan.
Fan-yih-ming-i.

fx

m mmvt

Wu

Man-yun kiang-hsiang-tsieh-

wuh-shi.

mm m
M
li

Shan-hai-king.
Sui-shi-ki.

H# IB

Sui-yuan-sui-pih.
Kien-hu-tsih.

it 4b ft

mm
3E ft

Luh-k'i-hsiung Pen-king sui-hwaKwah-ti-chi.

[ki.

Yuh-hai.

&
ft

ffl

Lih-hsioh-i-wen.

ffl

||

Lih-hsioh-i-wen-pu.

IX
Kiu T'ang-shu. Sin T'ang-shu.

fa

Luh-ming-shu. Han-shu.
Sung-shu. Tso-chwan.
Lo-king-kiai.

# #
**
*
4@

&

Ma-i-siang-fah (Physiognomy).
Ts'an-sing-pi-yao-tseu-kih-pienlan.

it *P

Ming-hsioh
ing).

su-chi

(Fortune-tell-

* *i9
ft

jB(

Ta-luh-jen-sin-yuan (Divination).

Ta-Han

hsieh-t'ien

kwan-fu-tze

tsi-shi

kiu-kih-wen.

T'ai-shang san-kwan-king.

it f*

n
%k

Siao-siang i-yao-ts'iien-chwan.
Sze-ming-ti-kiin
shu.
king-tsao-ts'iien-

n
tjj

faftig

t*#

^ *f

ii

Sze-ming pao-hsiin
Kitchen).

(Hod of the

Shen-men jeh-sung

(Prayer-book

of Buddhist monks).

Hwang-lih (Imperial Calendar).

H^

^^
If
tt:

Hwui-t'u

siang-meng

ts'iien-shu

(On dreams).
ItJfifiS

Tseng-pu-pi chwan wan-fah-kwei-

tsung (Talismans and charms).

^ * $ ft

IE

Kan-pao sheu-shen-ki (A work in 20 volumes, composed by Kanpao -^

^,

native of

Honan,

IE

and published A. I). 317). Sheu-shen-ki (Lire* of Hods and

Genii).

later edition.

The same

work modified and augmented

was subsequently
entitled
:


s = #> a S W IE $ * ^ m he
fit

ft ft am

Bjf

*^$

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MfSM f
Sffl

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s#

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Shui-king-tsih.
9

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Fung-meng-cheng chi-nang.
K'i-men-ta-ts'iien.

Ling-ts'ien-shu.

%&%. m m ft b $s mi$
jfi

T'iao-ts'ien-king.

Lang-ya-tai-tsui-picn.

Yen-wang-king.
Luh-lun-king.

#i *&

t*

Ku Mei

chi-Aven-luh.

Meng-tze.
Tuh-shu-ki-shu-lioh.

1M IE

M*
If

Yuh-hsiah-ki-t' ung-shu
Shi-wen-lei-tsii.

Chu-tze yii-luh.

It*
Pf

ft
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Wang-wei
Tsin-shu.
Sui-shu.

ts'ing-yen-ts'ung-luh.

n Ji - ii ^
mmm&
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$* fk

Ki-k'ang-tseh-wu-kih-hsiung-lun.

Wang-fu

ts'ien-fu-lun

Ch'en-liu-fung-suh-chwan.
T'ung-tien (Chao-hwun-tsang-i).
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Ts'ih-siu-lei-kao.

mm n
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Fan-shu.

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Shi-ki (Han Hsiao Wu-ti).

ii as # ? as
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Wang-vih
Lu-shi.

ch'u-tz'o-chang-kiu.

Chu-tze ch'u-tz'e-tsih-chu.

San-kwoh-chi.

Tsih-shwoh ts'iien-chen.
by Peter

Hwang,

S. J.

xn

L.
S.

FOREIGN WORKS.

Rudiments du Parler
Textes Historiques.

Chiriois.

Wieger,
Id.

./.

Folk-Lore Chinois Moderne.

Id.

Synchronismes Chinois. The Folk-Lore of China.

Chinese Folk-Lore.
Vegetarian Sects.

M. Chang,
J.

S. J.

N. B. Denny*.

Gowa n.

G. Miles. E. H. Parker.
Id.
J.

China and Religion.

Studies in Chinese Religion.

Chinese Buddhism.

Edkins.

Buddhism
\

in

China.

S. Beal.
Id. Id.

Catena

of

Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese.

Chinese Buddhism.

Four Lectures on Buddhist Literature in China.

I

land-Book

of

E.
in

J.

Eitel.

Buddhism:

Its Historical

and Popular Aspects,

Three Lectures.

Id.

Buddhism.

Monier Williams.
as a Religion.
in

Buddhism

H. Hackmann.
China.

Calendar of the Gods

Social

Timothy
J.

Richard,

Life of the Chinese.

Doolittle.

Chinese Repository (Canton.

XX

Vol.)

The Chinese Recorder (Shanghai). The Religious System of China (VI.

Vol.)

J.

de Groot.

The

Li Ki or

Book

of Rites.

J. Legge.

The Shi King or Book of Poetry. Memoires concernant les Chinois (XVI
Lettres

Id.
Vol.

Jesuit Missionaries in

Edifiantes

et

Curieuses

(Vol.

IX-X1II

Peking. on China).
in

Jesuit

Missionaries
Lettres de Jersey (1880*1914).

China.

Shanghai Jesuit Mission.

XI-XII. 1886). he Groot et-Chavannes.

Annates

duMuse^Guimet (Vol.

Revue de I'Extreme-Orient

IL Cordier).

Bulletin de la Societe Beige d'Etudes Coloniales.

Chinese Reader's Manual.

\y. F.

Mayers

XIII

,4.

Notes on Chinese Literature (New Edition).

Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese

Wylie.

Language.

Williams.
II.

Chinese-English Dictionary

A. Giles.
Id'.

Chinese Biographical Dictionary.

De Natura Deorum
Metamorphoses.

(On the Nature of the Gods.

Book

II).

Cicero.

Ovid.
Fustel de Coulangei-

La

Cite Antique.
of the

The Religions

Ancient World.

G. Rawlinson.
J.

Classical Dictionary.

Lempriere.

Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography and

Mythology.

W. Smith.

CONTENTS.
FIRST PART VOLUME
^S|.*'|^H
I.

CHAPTER
Birth
Article
I.

I.

and Childhood.
Page
.

Before Birth
specially

Gods

worshipped
in

in order to obtain children.

stitions
tablet of

practices

cases

of

laborious childbirth

Goddess
of

in

certain sex
ces.

child.

house. Consulting Magic mirror ward

to

Exposing
to

Superas-

fortune-tellers
off

evil

influen-

Little

images or statues representing children.

New-born
2

child offered to a
Article
II.

God

7.

After Birth.
first

The

arrows. The
lets

tubbing.

devil thai

preventing

made

Names of Killing Bell-charms male children.

a

of dog's hair.

The peach-wood Peach-wood amuravishes children. demons from approaching children. Amulet Wearing necklace copper
seven-star lamp.
a of coins.

The

cock.

animals or

of slave-girls given to

attached to feet of children.

vermilion
children
Article
III.

mark on

the forehead.

The

12.

Ill-treating

corpses

of little

Superstitious customs concerning children.

the silver padlock.

Wearing

The

silver collar.

string of
oil.

cash. The

shaven

dress of "the hundred

pending a

families". Burning fishing-net Employing a

sieve
to

The

eight

diagrams. The

Ear-rings.
crown
of

hair

habit of a

Buddhist priest or bonze.

old
to

The shoes. Susaway the

diseases from

scare
off

demons
children.

that ravish children.

Amulets

Dry

(nominal) adoption.

extremity of the queue.

The

Red

ward

cloth attached to the

peach-stone padlock.

Auspicious
1325.

wood

for the child's cot


Article IV.

XV

Page.

Crossing the

bamm
CHAPTER
II,

26

27.

Betrothal and Marriage*

Article
Article
I.

Betrothal

29

31.
33.

II.

Marriage.
its

Fixing

date.

(flowers, fruit)

Month. Day. Sending- auspicious presents 32

34

Article

III.

Departure of the Bride

35.

Article IV.

Arrival. The

The Bride enters the house of the Bridegroom.

marriage ceremony before the tablet of Heaven and Earth, and the ancestral tablet. Ordeal of seeing the bride.

Visiting the ancestral hall.

Burial

rite of bride

who has
36

not
39.

accomplished

this latter

ceremony

CHAPTER

III.

Death and Burial.

Article
I.

Before Heath.

Outfit Fetching the temple-god into the dying person's house. of the dead (Case of a man, a woman). Garters Girdle.

Buttons. Not

allowed

to

curtains
Article
II.

removed. Also
After Death.

expire

on

the

family

bed.

the pillow

Bed41 44.

Consulting the Imperial calendar.

son. -Paper

streamers suspended
deity
of the

the local tutelary

back from the temple the soul of

ded for the journey.

-Paper sedan-chair

Informing Bringing death person. the deceased. -Victuals proviover door-way.

of a
for the soul.

Faying

out the dead per-

some

old

shoes of the

deceased. Attaching

-Burning
45

wisps of cotton-

wool round the neck of the corpse

Article
1.

46.

III.

Placing the corpse

In the coffin.

Putting the corpse in the coffin.

Choosing

a lucky day.


Big nail used
the
for closing

XVI

Putting
Rice
a copper coin
for

the coffin.

in

mouth

of

the corpse. The

in the

coffin.

(doth corpse.
some
2".

hungry dugs

nether world.

Mirror

appeasing the

placed over the

mouth. Nails

placed at feet of the

entwined with

hairs of the deceased.

Closing down
coffin.

the lid of the coffin.

Objects placed beside

the

wicks. Escorting the soul over the bridge bring mockCondoling anguish. the dead. Funeral repasts given money Children who leap over the -Eating an and 47 get courage egg
ed

the soul of the departed.

Rice

Paper tablet containing

placed at the rear of the deceas-

person's

head.

--Lamp
of

with seven

visitors

for benefit of

to relatives

friends.

coffin.

to

52.

Article IV

Burial.

Selecting a lucky site.

funeral

-At procession.

covered with straw

Article V.

Carrying out the Order of the the grave-side. Coffins exposed and 53 57.
coffin.
off

Alter the Burial.

the

Fixed times for mourning services. -- Hounding

mound

or

tumulus.

The

departed spirit returns in search of daylight.

to receive

Preparations
his

made

him.

-Forwarding destiny.
lamp
for the ghost.

Anxiety
house

entertained about
to

paper

the "world of

shades".
I

-Burning straw -tresses

of the

for the benefit 'of the dead.-

Hfering a

in

honour

Sending winter-garments ghosts.

lamps on streams
ghosts
to

dead. Gathering

"Ts'ing-ming", or annual
the
to the dead.

festival

festival (fifteenth of
to

ceremonies
Article VI.

help

Floating guide wandering ghosts. Celebrating the the seventh month). Various other 58 62. departed souls
little
.at

hungry and wandering

Propitiating the funeral-god.

of ten of

Article VII.

Burning superstitious paper honour the Hades. A god-undertaker supplies kings The god the "hungry the departed conveyance H3 66. ghosts" 67 68. Purchasing the right of way
a

Superstitious papers burnt

funerals.

in

,i

lor

soul.

of

 XVII
CHAPTER
IV.

Petition-talismans (written charms) for the benefit of the Dead.

Article
1.

Ordinary cases of dead persons.

the Chinese send petitions to their gods and burn written
in their honour.

Why

charms

Purifying- and rescuing charm granted

Written charm burnt by Lao-kiin for the benefit of the dead. and forwarded to Amitabha. Another petition in similar style.

Written

charm burnt

to

obtain

happy

rebirth.

Permit
passage
the cere-

delivered to the departed soul.

to soul

Passport granting

free

on the way

to the infernal regions.

(for

mony

of the

"Lemuria"

the benefit of wandering souls).

Written charm opening the portals of Informing the ruler of Hades of the exemplary
deceased.
place).

the Buddhist paradise.

life

Opening

of

the

Temporary Wrapper designed

world
Petition-talismans

seat of the soul (before the burial takes

to receive the soul.

clothing for the benefit of the dead.

to the nether

Forwarding a patent 69 83.

Burning mocksafe

Article

II.

(written

charms) rescuing from the

"Moody pond". Women who die

hist priests
for

in childbirth plunged into this pond.

deliver

Buddformula

can
this

them therefrom.

Precious

burnt

Howling purpose.
Chow

ceremony

witches at Hai
Article III.

performed by 87. 84

Petition-talismans (written charms) for special cases.

For a person assFor a person who has committed suicide. For assinated. For a person under a spell from evil spirits. For the victim of a felonious the victim of an unjust lawsuit.

murder. For the

benefit of a

who has

died in prison.

For the victims

drowned person.
of

person poisoned by doctors' prescriptions

For a person For calumny. 88 96.

CHAPTER

V.

Divers Superstitions for the benefit of the Dead.

Article
I.

The Ancestral Tablet

97

108.

 XVIII
Pag
II.

"Kotowing"

to the

Dead
Dead

...109

III.

Sacrifices offered to the

IV.

Mock-money
Buddhist Bells

V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

Sending Paper-houses

to the

Dead
...

Placing Streamers on Graves

The Metempsychosis
Murderous Ghosts
Evocation of the Dead

IX.

X.
XI.

Ceremonies for rescuing departed Souls

XIX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IHagrams ami "Charaels".
Page
1.

Kwan-yin presenting
offspring

child

to

mothers

praying

for

(Frontispiece)

2.

Paper print (charm) representing the

White-robed Kwan1

yin burnt in her honour to obtain posterity

3.

Kw'ei-sing, the God of Literature, protects from on high

the

new-born

child.

On

car

is

seen

the

academic
2

head-dress worn by scholars

4. 5.

Chang Kwo-lao
The
Celestial

offers a

descendant

to a

Fairy that bestows children.

newly married couple Borne on a

...

6.
7.

happy household The Ki-lin or Unicorn bestowing a child Written charm for hastening delivery. The charm
the

chariot, she presents a child to a

4 5

is

burnt, and the ashes mingled with wine are given to

woman

in labour

6
for

L" S
.

Another

efficacious

charm

hastening delivery
to

8.

Bowman
Chang

shooting peach-wood arrows

scare

away

the
8

heavenly
9.

dog

the Immortal,

who

protects

children
life

10
13
14

10.

Padlock assuring a long and happy

Child wearing the silver collar

11.
12. 13.
14.

Boy wearing an ear-ring

15
17

Wearing Charm representing

Habit of Buddhist
Variegated dress

a string of cash

the eight diagrams

off

18

15. 16.
17.

Child with crown of hair shaven

19 20
21

monk worn

by children

known

as that of the

"hundred families"

18. 19.

The God
7

of Longevity issuing from a peach charm. Luck} May you have five male children, healthy, and rich, attaining to the highest honours
.

22

24

19 Lls Allusion to the numerous children of

Wen Wang.
7

May
be a

you have many children, and ma}

first

one of them

tripos

25
34

20.

Brass mirror

 XX
Page

21.

Conducting- the
slipper

bride

to

the

bridegroom's house.

The
36
37 38

and the saddle and

Earth

Tablet of Heaven
22.

Nao

Sin-fang.

Ribald jesting

23.
24.

Han-k'eu-ts'ien. Coin pressed in the

mouth

of a

corpse

47

Tao t'eu-fan. Rice placed behind the head

Hearse accompanied b} the funeral God
r

of a corpse

50
63

25.
26.

Ming-fu shih-wang. Charm

of

for propitiating the ten kings

Hades
ch'eh

64

21.

Lung

Pu-sah.

The God

of

the

Dragon

chariot

(hearse"),

Undertaker in the nether world

protector of wandering ghosts

65

28.

Ku-hwun Pu-sah. The God

of

66
67

29.
30.

Purchasing the right way bestowed charm by Purifying

Laotze

70

Written charm
.

despatched to Ti-ts'ang

Wang,
Hades

ruler of

Hades 71

31 bis Passport to the nether world.

Written charm
ruler of

burnt in

honour
32. 33.

of Ti-ts'ang

Wang,
tolls

73
74

Written charm begging a happy rebirth

Permit exempting from
regions

on the way to the Infernal

75
the
to

34.
35.

Lu-yin

tan-tze.

Passport

delivered

to

departed

soul

76 77

K'ai-tan for wandering souls on the

way

Hades

36. 37.
38.
.'!'.).

The

ke}'

to

the

Ruddhist paradise
to the ruler of

78

Certificate of

good conduct sent

the soul

Hades

79 80
81

Temporary

seat of the departed soul

Wrapper containing

40.

41.
42.

Mock-clothing burnt for the benefit of the dead Fire-proof safe burnt and forwarded to the dead
Fac-simile
of

82 83
the

the

precious charm

delivering

from

13.

"bloody pond" Written charm for the

childbirth

84
benefit
of

woman

dying

in

86

44.
45.

46.

m.

Charm Charm Charm Charm

delivering from Hades a person hanged delivering from Hades a person assassinated for the benefit of a soul under a spell delivering from

88
...

89
90

Hades the victim

of

an unjust
91

lawsuit

 XXI
Pag

48.

Charm

delivering

from

Hades a person who has been

92

murdered
49. 50. 51.

Charm Charm Charm

Charm

for the

benefit

of

drowned persons

93
died in prison
...

for the benefit of persons

who have

94 95

for the benefit of persons calumniated

52.

for the

benefit

of a

person poisoned by doctors'

prescriptions
53.

96

Ancestral tablet (front and back parts)

107 109
Ill

54.
55. 56.

"Kotowing"

before

a grave

Offerings placed before the Ancestral tablet

Various kinds of mock-money

117 124

57.
58.

Buddhist

bell

and beads

59.
60.

Paper-house burnt for the benefit of the dead Paper streamers placed on graves

128
130

The Wheel

of the

Metempsychosis

133
fish,

61-1.
61-2. 61-3.

Metamorphosed

into insects,

worms,

and other animals 134

135
vegetable

Metamorphosed
Metamorphosed

into various kinds of shell-fish

into

various

products

of the

kingdom
61-4.

136
articles,

Metamorphosed into various household and instruments

Hsiung-shah. Ghost
of

utensils

137
form.
...

62

bis
.

deceased

in

masculine

Tz'e-shah.

Ghost

of deceased

in

female form

143
144
147

62.
63.

Sung

T'ai-tsu and the Ghost

Evocation of the Dead

Tso-chai.

64.
65.

Buddhist service for releasing souls out of

in the

Hades 151
...

Written charm suspended

midst of the hall

152
>>
>
>>

Charm suspended Charm suspended Charm suspended Charm suspended

facing the North

facing the East facing the South facing the

West

>>

Fig.

La "Koang-yng" aux

enfants.

Kwan-yin

presenting a child to mothers praying for offspring.

Fig. 2

-t-tL

*ii*A*&

'/'cJie-ma"

de "Koang-yng" aux habits blancs, brule" en son honneur pour obtenir des enfants.

Paper print (charm) representing the White-robed Kwan-yin, burnt in her honour to obtain posterity.

tsHr'^^

Temple of Heav

CHAPTER
BIRTH

I.

AND

CHILDHOOD

II
Tan

Sheng

%J
Yin
Shi

P#

ARTICLE

I.

BEFORE BIRTH
To have
desire of
all

numerous
The

posterity, is the great,

if

not the greatest

Chinese. Hence
!

many

are the divinities invoked in order

a few
of these

to obtain children

following' are

Gods

selected

from among hundreds.

A),
(*ods specially
all

worshipped

in

order to obtain children.

First of

we

find the
;,

Pus ah

* 4*

famous Goddess Kwan-yin or Kwan-yin whose worship is ever on the increase. A

is

picture representing her

found

in

all

temples,

where, one can see a small shoe or several of

foot of her statue.

and almost everythem deposited at the

This

is

an offering made by some woman,

1

who

has begged the Goddess to grant her a

trust,

child.

As

pledge of her

the shoe

has
this
feet

been

placed there.

Various are the customs

a

connected
deposited

with
at

offering.

Elsewhere, one of

pair

of

shoes

the
is

of

the

Goddess,
is

is

borrowed, and when the

as an

expected child

born,

the

shoe

restored, and

ex-voto,

new

pair

is

added into the

bargain.

sacred

banquet frequently

accompanies the above act, to return thanks for the favour received.
In such cases a bonze recites a prayer in thanksgiving.

T'ien-sien Sung-tze ^i
children),
ol
is

j\\i

M
:

~f

lne

Celestial Fairy

granting

exposed

in

several

houses of pagans.
other than
the

This Goddess,

Taoist origin, seems to be none

in the
|Jj

daughter

of

the

God who dwells

the T'ai-shan
(1),

Sacred Mountain of the East.

T'ai-shan Niayig-niang
in

She

is

called

Goddess,

(Jj

i$ t
all

and

is

specially

worshipped
<

Shantung

\\]

j|f,

and

the

adjoining provinces.

>ther inferior

Goddesses serve her as assist-

ants and seem charged with carrying out her orders.

generally seen beside her, represent
her.

either in

temples,
the

or

in

pictures

They may be which

The following are

:

names

of

those

commonly

found attending on her

Ts'ui-sheng Niang-niang The Goddess accelerating

f||

1$

Mi$.

birth.

Sung-sheng Niang-niang gf t& The Goddess granting children.

Tze-sun Niang-niang tF

^^

^.
fl|

The Goddess bestowing

posterity (sons and grandsons).

Chu-sheng Niang-niang The Goddess of fecundity.

This
last

^^
is

i$.

Goddess

is

particularly

worshipped in several of the

Southern provinces.

She

attended on by a host of female genii,

whose duty

is

to

protect children.

The
day
to
o|

festival of this

Chinese '-Fatal Sister"

falls

on the

fifteenth

the sixth
her.

month; meats placed on

the family

bed are offered

honour

(1)

See T

ii

ban Nianj! nianp Pao kiien

'

[\\

Q& g

t!f

5g p

g.

->;

Fig. 3

Sur un char on voit le bonnet des academiciens. Rising du haut des cieux protege le nouveau-nd. child. God the Literature, from on high the new-born protects of Kw'ei-sing, scholars. worn by On a car is seen the academic head-dress

Fig.

Tchang Kouo-lao, le pourvoyeur d'enfants. Chang Kwo-lao offers a descendant to a newly married

couple.

Pictures represent her

riding
;

on a unicorn,

or a phoenix,
in

or

borne on the clouds of heaven

she holds a child

her arms,

and

her attendant ladies throng round to render her every service.

According

to

popular

belief,

at
HI]

least

in

many
God
of

places,

this

Goddess receives from

Yen

Wang

3E,

the

Hades, the
series

souls purified by expiations in the Buddhist hell,

of transmigrations deserved

and by the
in

through their faults

some previous
souls
are

existence.

It

is

she

who

decides into

what bodies these

to be reborn on earth.

Elsewhere, prayers are preferably addressed

to the
-fij:,

Holy Mother,

Queen

of

Heaven, T'ien-heu Sheng-mu

Ji fe

whose statue
as

occupies the most honourable place in the

l:e

temples known

Peh-

fang

~gf

-^

^,

or temples of the
deities,

"Hundred Children".
guardians
of

Among

other female

tutelary

children,

mention may also be made of the Goddess that guides childhood, the Goddess presiding over suckling, the Holy Mother, who grants
fecundity:

Pao-sheng Sheng-mu
deities are not alone
to

f!

d^

-0J:

etc...

Female

invoked; a lew gods are likewise

hear the prayers addressed
to

particularly disposed

graciously
of

them
great

for

the obtaining
in

children.
city

Thus Ngan-kung
Fan-chang
is

^
fj|

Q,
J|

has
$,
in

repute

the

district
$fr,

of

hsien

province of

Ngan-hwei -^

and

he

constantly

worshipped

order to obtain

male children.
official

Families of
sing
^[-

standing and

literati

frequently invoke Kwei-

j^, the

God

of Literature,

and beg him grant them talented

For offspring, who may win academic laurels at the examinations. the in is the same purpose, a picture of Kwan-kimg ||j ^, exposed
nuptial

chamber

of the

young couple,

offering

them

youthful

descendant wearing the

official

academic head-dress.

At other times, we
||

find Lit

Tung-pin

-j|?j

% and
is-

Kwan-kung
reckonIt

^,

bearing in their arms a

male child.

This

an assurance

that the

new home

will be blessed
literati

with numerous progeny,

ing amongst them learned

is

and remarkable

state officials.
JfC,

indeed a well

known

fact that

Lu Tung-pin

is

-j|p]

one of the

__
Immortals honoured by the

of

literati,
title

combines
Literature.

in

his

person

the

and that Kwan-kung |ffj > God of War and patron of

,

Chang Kwo-lao

;Jj|

^,

sitting

on a

donkey,
a picture

offers

also

descendant to the newly married couple, and

representing

him

is

often found in the nuptial

chamber.
to secure

Pagans employ many luck-bearing pictures

purpose.
It

the

above

is

thus that one generally finds, either a unicorn with

a child sitting
flight

on

it,

or a phcenix holding a child,

;

and wending
called

its

towards some home

also the well

known

pictures

the

"Hundred Children", on which

children,

are

represented
all

one hundred

male

who

share

among themselves

the honours and dignities

of the world.

Fig. 5

T'ien

sien song tse.

Assise sur son char,

elle

The

Celestial

Fairy

that bestows children.

porte un enfant a un heureux manage. Borne on a chariot,

she presents a child to a happy household.

Fig. 6

Ivi-ling song-tse,

la licorne apportant un enfant. The Ki-lin or Unicorn bestowing a child.

ou


5
B).
1".
l

Sonic other superstitious practices.

Exposing the

tablet (of a certain

Goddess)
the

in

the house.

Ts ui~sheng Niang-niang
birth, is held in great veneration.

i$ $g.

Goddess hastening

When

childbirth

is

too

laborious,

incense
is

is

burnt
with
;

in

her

temple, vows are made, or even her tablet pomp and exposed in the house of the woman
of the latter are laid

fetched

great

in labour

the clothes

upon

this tablet, to

urge the protection of the

Goddess.

K'o-ku Niang-niang

^
all

jfc

t&-

formerly
$fc.

midwife

at

ffu-0

Chow

^p

jH"|,

in the province of

Ngan-hwei 4

and subsequently

deified,

on account of the services she rendered during her earthly

career, is

worshipped by

the

women

of the

place,

who
in

organize

an annual procession in her honour. Shrines are erected to venerate

her,

and her tablet occupies

prominent position
This tablet
is

the temples

dedicated to the other local deities.

taken from house to

house, so that she

2.

may

extend her protection

to all cases of childbirth.

Talismans.
is

Should childbirth be too delayed, recourse

Buddist monks,
but required
desired effect.
to

had

to

Taoist or
It is

who

write out paper talismans and charms.

these

paste

on the woman's

body

to

secure the

Many

of these

charms enjoy great repute.

The common people

will see the

are thoroughly convinced, that light of day, even

when

applied, the child

were

it

necessary that the mother's

womb

be rent

and

split open.

Sometimes these charms are burnt, and the ashes,

with some beverage,
hasten the delivery.
are

mingled
order
to

administered

to

the

patient

in

Annexed herewith
charms, reputed
child.

(figures 7

and

7 bifa )

are models of

two paper
with

infallible for

hastening the delivery of

women

Manner

of

using these charms.

They are burnt, and the ashes

in labour.

steeped in wine, are given to the

woman

6
3.

Fortune-tellers.

Women
4.

with child frequently consult fortune-tellers, to ascer-

tain the sex oi the child,

which they are going

to

bring forth.

The magic mirror.

while
child-bearing,
is

Many women,
small brass mirror.
evil

keep
a

on

their
to

persons a
off
all

This

intended
affect

as

charm

ward
bear
in

influences,

which

might

the

child

they

their

womb.
Thus
protected, they

may,

without
for a

incurring

danger,

enter a

house where people wear mourning

deceased person, and their

child will not thereby be exposed to die.

5.

Drawing
hour

lh<>

horoscope.

The

and

day

in

which

child

may
are

be

born

affect
of

wonderfully, according to

common

belief,

the future
these,

destiny

the

new-born babe.

All

details

relating

to

carefully noted
to

down, and the fortune-teller bases his conjectures thereon

the horoscope of the child. ing operations.
is

draw

Fancy figures are also used for simplifyone on the forehead,

so forth.

On

each of the members, represented in a diagram,

:

written one of the twelve horary characters

another on the right arm, a third on the

abdomen and

When
oi
l

the child

is

born, a glance

is

quickly cast on

the

part

the body coi responding

of

with the hour- mark of his

the child
is

birth,

and

hence the future destiny

6.

augured

(1).

Little statues representing childreyi.

In

some temples

are found
to

little

statues

representing children,

and people may wish

Consider
carefully
:

know why

they have been placed there.

these statues most
little

little

the

women who examine

a
its

when one

of

them has found

around

suitable

figure, she

places a string of cash

neck; one of the Buddhist

monks
obtain

attached

to

the temple, imposes a are

name on

the

little

figure selected,
will

and

the

devotees

henceforth

convinced
Ch
IT. p. S.

that

thev

See Dt nn\ "In birth,

i.

flu

Folklore of China.

fa'i'

forehead shows, that never sorrow knows."

tlir

Fig. 7

3f
ft

Amulette pour hater la d^livrance. On brule la feuille, puis on donne les cendres a boire dans du vin. Written charm for hastening delivery. The charm is burnt, and the ashes mingled with wine are given to the woman in labour.

Autre talisman tres

efficace

pour activer

la

dt'livrance.

Another

efficacious

charm

for hastening delivery.

children,

who

will bear the

name

applied to the

little

statue.

This

means

is

frequently employed by those

who have no male

offspring

in the family.
7

New-born child
other
families,

offered to a God.

In

the

following

means

is

adopted.

A vow

is

offered to a particular divinity,

and

promise made,

that the new-

born child will be offered

will

to

him
in

as a

Buddhist monk, and that he

don

the

monkish garb,

grateful

acknowledgment

of the

favour received.
In

both cases, the child

either
is

is

ransomed, by offering an alms

in

to the

temple,

in

money
!

or

kind.

The

practical

side

of the

bargain

never neglected

A
where
being

child-bearing

woman

should carefully avoid entering a place

silk- worms are

reared,

and this
principle

for

two reasons.
is

Woman
to
affect

of

the

female or dark

Yin (%,
is

bound

them

adversely, but the principal reason

it

that the silk-worms

to

are

smothered in their cocoons, and hence

child in the mother's

is

be feared that the

fate.

womb

will

meet with a similar

8
ARTICLE
II.

AFTER BIRTH.
1

The

first

tubbing. Si-tsao

-j

$|.

On
and
teller is

the third day after a child

is

born,

it

is

placed
over, a

in a tub,

carefnllv

washed.

When

the

operation

is

fortune-

summoned.

Considering the circumstances of the day

and

hour of birth, he forecasts what obstacle or ill-starred barrier,

beset the

may

pathway

of the

new-born

child.

In

word,

he casts his

horoscope.
2.
If

The secen-slar lamp. Ts'ih-sing teng -

he

Jfr

j^.

must meet on

his

way the

barrier

of
is

the

seven

early
to

die fung-kwan ||[ |||, i|Fj In this untoward circumstance, seven lights, within seven days. called the seven-star lamp, Ts'ih-sing teng Jjr j. must be

diseases, Ts'ih-chao

he

destined

prepared without delay, and are to be kept burning beside the child

during seven days and nights.

3.
If

The peach-wood arrows. Tao-tsien

the wiles of

^.
in all

some

evil

genius are feared, peach-wood arrows

directions, or

are very often prepared,

and shot by an archer

simply placed over the cradle of the child.

Peach-wood, as we shall

see further on, is a powerful antidote against attacks by evil spirits.

Fig. 8

rcher tirant des fleches en bois de pecher, pour mettre en fuite le chien celeste. Bowman shooting peach-wood arrows to scare away the heavenly dog.

i.

The

devil that ravishes children. T'eu-sheng kweijfft

visit
is

$&.

Frequently the fatal

of the

devil

that

ravishes children

T'eu-sheng kwei

ifa

&

%.,

the object of the greatest

anxiety on

the part of parents. This matter shall be treated subsequently,

dealing"

when
of the
in the
jfo

with the superstitions concerning children.

let

While writing

these lines,

me

be

allowed to adduce as an

illustration

above superstition, a quite dramatic incident, which occurred

town

of

11

wo Chow

^fl

j>\].

The

evil

spirit

T'eu-sheng hwei

to

^,

appeared at

first in

the shape of a yellow dog,

to ravish

apparently that

of a neighbour,

and threatened

a child,

who happened

be then ailing.

The dog
are

is

immediately driven away

then a dozen

watchmen

summoned, and armed with knives, they keep watch day and The child thus escapes for the first time. A few days night.
afterwards,
a

cursed
fought.

cat

peeps

in

at

the

door.

second battle

must

be

now

This time, the mother herself takes an active

Stripping
off

part in the struggle.

the child's clothes, she lays

him

stark naked on the bed, in order to keep at a respectful distance the

villainous female form

done, she takes in

to

assumed by T'eu-sheng hwei f|j ^r j^. This her hand the full apparel of the child, ascends
and there,
in

the

house-top,
to

presence
to

of

all

the

neighbours

assembled
1wl

contemplate the scene, sets

all

curse

T'eu-sheng-hwei
so

QiL

M,i casting in her face

still

sorts

of

pagan abominations,
o-

that, should she

preserve a remnant

shame, she durst not

garbed as

intrude on the gaze of her child, while he

terrestrial paradise.

is

Adam

in the

\n line, she pours out such a volley of curses,

that the child

friends.
5.

escapes death,

and she

is

congratulated by

all

her

Peach-wooil amulets. Tao-fu

Iffc

^".

happens that parents are so credulous as to believe in the quaint stories of bygone times, which pretend that in order
It still

to give solidity to
pillars

the

foundations of a large building,

the

or to

the

of

bridge,

demons

employ

children

as

propping

stones.

Soothsayers employ

this tricky practice even at the present

day.

Assuming

a disconsolate appearance, they

inform the parents

2

10

Great
anxiety
is

that their child has been chosen to impart solidity to such or such

bridge

in

process

of

construction.

naturally

experienced.

Peach-wood amulets are then made,

the neck of the child,

and hung round thus preventing the demons from approaching

him.
6.
first

Amulet made

of dog's hair
^pj

to

protect

the

child

until

it

/cares the house.

Keu-mao-fu

^ $. (dog-hair charm).

During the

first

month

after

birth,
of
of

neither the

child
child's

or

its

mother may cross the threshold must be first shaved; then a lock
dog's hair, rolled

the
his

house.
hair
is

The

head

mixed with some

his

up

into a ball and

out.
to fear

sewn on

to

clothes,

after

which he may be taken

Henceforth, he can visit

neighbours,

who have now nothing

great misfortune for
a

from his presence.

if

It

would be

family,
old.
to

new-born

child entered

their

house before being a month

Many

superstitions

would have

then to be resorted to in order

prevent impending

evil.

In the Northern parts of China, even the

front of the house,
(1)
is

threshing-ground in
terrible misfortune.

dug up

to

ward

off

some
a

The mother herself should

first of all visit

member

of her

own

family before entering the house of a stranger.

7.

Wearing
||!.
it

necklace

made

of copper

coins (cash).

Ts'ien-

lung U*

Moreover,
string,
in

is

and place

this

customary to hang a few coppers on a red on the neck of the god Ch'eng-hwang jjfc |$j|,

his temple.

Ch'eng-hwang j$

|g|

is

the god of walled cities

and moats, and

has
been

holds the rank of celestial

madarin.
it

When
placed

the necklace

worn some time by the god, and used as a charm to ward

8.

is

on the neck of the child.

evils.

off all

untoward
|.
to kill a
is

Killing a cock.

Sha-ki

In

some

places,

it

is

customary

cock on the third

day

alter a child's birth.

This sacrifice

offered to the ancestors of the

Foe

"Bulletin de

la

th Societe Beige a'etndes coloniales." Sep. Oct. 15 year.

Fig. 9

re- TTJ>2
'C(L

'/

!s

~o;

Chang

the

Tchang-sien song-tse. Immortal, who protects children.


family,
child.
ijfl^

11

in

whose
It is

lineal

descent

is

maintained

the

person

of

the

Jjl,

thank the (Goddess Sung-tze Niang-niang y ^fthe giver of children. Those who are too poor, may purchase
also to
offer
it

some meat, and

finds that the

instead

of

cock.

If

the

fortune-teller
of

new-born child must pass the barrier

-%r

old

age,

Lao-jen-hwan

J\

||,,

there

is is

but one

means

to

rescue him, from

the mortal danger to

which he

exposed.

An

old

man, willing

to

take mourning,

is

chosen, and thanks to this device, the child

will

escape

all

danger of death.

9.

Names

of animal* or of slave-girls given

lo

male children.

Ch'uh-ming j fa, Ya-t'eu

It

y
j]\

|jjf

often happens that children are given the

name

of an animal,
;J-

as "little pussy",

Siao-mao

^\\\

"little

dog", Siao-heu

^pj

at other times, they receive the

name

of a slave-girl,

Ya-teu

jpf

The following

that by using a

People imagine cunning and trickery, they may succeed in deceiving the wily elves, who seek to injure male children, but care To put them on a false track, the little to molest girls or animals.
little

is

the

reason of such appellations.

name

of

an animal or of a

girl is

given to the new-born male child,

whom
him

called by these

one wishes to protect from their vexatious pursuits. names, they are led to believe that he

Hearing
is

indeed

a little animal, or at
of cutting short his
10.

most

girl,

and

will thus

abandon the idea

life.

Little hell-charms. Ling-lze

^^

Many
origin.

consider that the custom of attaching

little

bells

to

the

feet of a child,

when

it

begins

to

walk,

has

had

superstitious

The purpose was

to frighten the
off.

malevolent spirits by means

of these bells
11.

and thus scare them

The vermilion mark.

is

Red
children
nose,

the colour betokening joy, and

festal

is

days and other

occurrences.

It

is

employed on marriage Hence lucky omen.

the tip
this
of

may

be seen bearing a vermilion

or

mark on
cheeks,

the

on the forehead,

on

the two

and

augurs

happiness.


12.

12

custom
It is

Ill-treating the corpses of little children.

all

When
mutilating"

the children die in a family, the

of horribly

body

is

frequently resorted

to.

cut

up with
be

knives, and sometimes even cruelly lacerated with the teeth, in order
to

prevent

it

from returning-, and

It is

molesting those
in

who may
to

subsequently born.

also

customary

some

places

hang

on the neck of the corpse a magic charm-bag,

made

of dog's hair

and other ingredients, in order

craft
it

to

counteract any charms or witchlife

might use in case

it

returned to

once more.

Fig. 10

Le cadenas, gage d'une vie longue et heureuse. Padlock assuring a long and happy life.

13

^
III.

ARTICLE

SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS CO\(F,R\l\G CHILDREN.

/.

Wearing

the padlock. Tai-suo J^

to

ff|.

Many
silver

children

wear a padlock attached

is

the

neck with

chain.

This

intended

to

enchain them in somewise to

by death
be

existence,
affectionate

and

prevent their

being ravished
padlocks

from
in all

their
silver-

parents.

These

may

found

smiths" shops, and vary in si/e

hist

and shape.
p||

Sometimes the Buddtie

or

Taoist

priests,

Tao-shi
necks
of

^,

them on with
There
are
or
also

their

own hands round

"hundred family
God's

the

children.

the

padlocks," Peh-kia-suo Hf
Life

f|\

those pur-

chased bv general subscription.

will,

and death depend alone on

to

and nobody has

life.

it

in his

power

enchain

person to

the present

Experience proves every day, that death does not

padlocks as
preservatives, any

respect those

who wear

more than

those

who

fail to

use them.


//.

14

;i
[f|j.

Wearing

the silver collar. Tai-k'ilen

The
off or
is

collar is a ring
at will,

made

of silver,
it

large

enough

to

be taken
it.

resumed

without
of a

being necessary to
piece,
is

disjoin

It

generally composed

single

and the head can

easily

pass through the opening.

in

This ring

worn round

the neck, almost

the.

same manner

as a dog's collar.

Would
rear

to

heaven, some seem

to sav, that
little

my

child were as easy to

whelps that are

seldom ever
is in
It

sick, enjoy excellent appetite

and bring up as those and

entertained

die but rarely.

Such

general the

idea

about the

education of a child.
Others, and
~J*
'(?[
1

is

merely the bringing

up

of a little dog.

have heard the opinion expressed in the Hsia-ho

jffc>

country, North Kiang-su fX

in
life,

pretend that this silver ring

child,

hems

so to say, in the

body

of the

and hinders the

soul from being separated from the body,

much

in the

same way

as

hoops

prevent a barrel

from falling to pieces.

is

Commonly

this ring

called

Keu-lr

ixen ^p]

[||J,

or

a dog-collar.

A
to

person often meets friends of a family, offering one of these silver

rings, as a

mark

of congratulation,

whenever a male child

is

born

them.
Parents, fearing to be unable to bring up a child, lend

him

for

form sake

to a

neighbour.

This

latter,

through a figure

of

speech,

becomes his foster father, the child being called his dry son, Knneul-lzo |E "?< and he presents him a collar as an adopted son.

At times,

one meets children wearing a

is

silver

ring

passed

through the nose, as

wont

to be

done with

cattle.

Fig. 11

Jeune enfant portant le collier. Child wearing the silver collar

Fig.

12

Le pendant d'oreille. Boy wearing an ear-ring.


///..

15

y$
J\.
jj||

Wearing ear-rings. Tai-eul-ch'ui-lze

^f-.

Boys wear an ear-ring attached to one of childhood, and often even in more advanced age.

their

ears
of

during

summers and more may be found with made either of silver of gold.
The
ing.
idea, generally

this

twenty which is appendage,

Youths

connected with this practice,

is

the follow-

Only
ear of

little

girls

wear ear-rings.

Should

attach

one on the

my

boy, the evil spirits,

who
for a
it

ever seek to

injure male child-

ren, shall be deceived

by this device.
it

take the individual wearing

Seeing an ear-ring, they will girl, and thus will not molest
intended to deceive the female
family, and put

him.

Some

astrologers also say

is

constellations, that preside over the destiny of the

to

death

all its

male offspring.

Persons give to this ear-ring the form of the weight of a clock,

as this

represents according to

hard to raise.
this

The

evil spirits

their idea something heavy and would thus be unable to snatch from

world

my

beloved child, the weight attaching

to

him

to the

ground
of the

and riveting him

child

existence.

Generally,

it

is

the uncle

who
If it

fixes

the ear-ring on him.

it off,
it.

be necessary to take

the child's
fact,
I

own

parents would

never dare lay their hand on

times.

This

have witnessed several

In order to deceive the evil

spirits,

who

are

thought

to

have

caused the death of a child, the

name

of a girl is given

to the next

male child born.

To

this

practice

must
which

be
is

generally

ascribed

the term

"slave

girl" Ya-l'eu

JM>

so frequently applied to male children.

In the district of Suh-tsien

^
$fc

j, and the departments

')]]

of P'i

Chow

2|$

4>|>|,

and

Ilni

Chow

(North

Kiangsui,

one

finds
,

frequently

little

boys called by
f-^.

Lik-shwan j
buckled,

or pet name, Lih-k'eu j }n These expressions denote that they have been
their

linked,

solidly

pinned

together,

after

enduring

great

trouble to secure them.

 16
It is
:

especially in the

two following cases that these names are

parents have been long childless, or when the eldest given In almost all such cases, new-born children of a family have died.

when

male children receive an ear-ring, as

if

they were girls.

Fig. 13

L'enfilee de sapeques.

Child wearing a string of cash suspended from the neck.

 17
IV.

Wearing
it

a string of cash.

Tai-ts'ien

^ |^.

This practice,
all

may

be

said,

is

universal.

In

some

places,

children have one or several copper-coins (cash),

hung on

a red

string and worn round the neck.

Ancient coins of the T'ang

red.

J^;,

or

Sung

5jc

dynasty are prefercash

Among
much

those of the late

Manchu

or T'sing -^ dynasty,
JSB,

dating from the reign of K'ang-hsi j^

also
prized.

or Kia-k'ing

fjL

J|, are

This string of cash (comprising sometimes eight or ten coins'

for the child a

is

kind of talisman portending happiness, a prosperous

of the padlock,

future, riches

and

is

and well-being. It supplies the absence an easier and less expensive practice.

*v\ -v /^v*i^/V

wvw\/w\


V.

18

Tai-p&h-kwa

Wearing

the eight diagrams.

in a like

^ A ^
to

Other children wear

manner, attached
plate

cord

and

hanging' from the neck, a rather large

or mother-of-pearl.
of

made

of copper,

silver

On one

side

are

inscribed

the eight diagrams

Fuh-hsi

.||,

commonly

called

"Puh-kwa
the

i[ \ while the

obverse of this large breast-plate or medal, bears the Shih-eul-shuh

t~

ZL

Mi

ol

twelve animals representing

plates have the shape of

cycle

of

sixty

years.

Sometimes these

a real

medal.

They bear

inscriptions resembling preservative talismans, and are accompanied

by

pompons sentences assuring nntold prosperity

in the future.

Fig. 14

L'amulette des huit trigrammes.

Charm

representing the eight diagrayns.

Fig.

15

Enfant portant la couronne de cheveux. Child with crown of hair shaven off.


VI.

19

hair.

Wearing

the

crown of

Liu-ku |g

ffi.

This practice consists

leaving

in shaving' the

summit
forehead.

of the

head,

and

but

ringlet

of hair

over the
a

On

no account
the age of

must

this

crown

be

shaved
be

till

child
to

has

attained

sixteen, otherwise he will

exposed

an untimely death.

The

following

explains

this

apprehension.
priests

According
{^,

to

the

fanciful
a

stories told

by the Taoist

"Tao.-shV jg

before

child

reaches the age of manhood, he must pass through certain barriers

occurring
distinctive

along the

roadway of youth, and unless he bears this mark, the road of life is barred against him and he meets

with death

Fortune-tellers, after having

ters,

examined the eight horary characof

his

which determine the exact time of a child's birth, calculate the

which during the course
then finally
at
life,

year and month, at

he

will

reach a particular barrier,

the last one.

When
seems

all

the barriers are

is

what age he will attain passed, the crown of hair

may

be shaved, as there

no further danger to be feared.

Note.
the head

It

that in

some places

this

practice

of shaving

is

the general

fashion,

independently of any superstitious

tn
it.

notion, which

may

hare given rise

In such a case,

consi<ier
to

that christian j>arents

should avoid by

all

weans,

not

only

con-

sult the fortune teller, hut

should likewise banish any

belief whatthe.]/

soever in these pretended passages

through barriers, otherwise

this

commit
be

a real superstitious act, by allowing

crown

of hair

to

worn by their children.

These barriers are thirty in number; their names will be found

in

one of the subsequent chapters.

;=|. *

i=


VII.

20

bonze.
foj

Wearing

the habit of a

Chang hwo-shang i-shang If ^D

It

^.
who make
Jt

must

be

generally

admitted

that

parents
little

their

children wear the habit of a

bonze, do so a

through custom,
is,

and without having any

settled idea on the matter.

is

however,

difficult to admit that there

not at least some hankering after the

protection of the gods, Pu-sahs

^ |,

when one makes

a child

wear

the habit of their special ministers, the bonzes.

Others practise this superstition after

ation, or even after

full

and mature considerdo

so.
If

having explicitly vowed

to

the

god

or Pu-sah

f|f,

grants
till

me

a child,

promise that he shall

wear

the habit of a bonze

he reaches such an age.

Fig. 16

Forme de
Habit of Buddhist

l'habit de bonze.

monk worn

by children.

Fig. 17

Specimen cTun habit des cent

Variegated dress

families.

known

as that of the

"hundred

families'".

21

%
.

Wearing! the dress cf the hundred families.

Peh-kia-i -g

Connected with what has been just stated on wearing the habit of a bonze, is the custom of begging from door to door a piece of
cloth,

and with the various and different pieces making a dress for a

child,

upon
own,
not

whom
is

one wishes
cherished by
a

to

call

down

the

blessing

of the

gods.
their

This child

all,

every one considers him as

of a dress,

and
hope,

makes him
that

present
be

how

then
the

may

people

he

will

preserved through
pj$?

special

protection of the gods or Pu-sahs

Such

is

the reason

which

has given

rise to this

curious custom.

To the same superstition may be attached the one called "the A person $|. string of the hundred families", Peh-hia-sien "g"

goes round begging a bit of thread from door to door. various coloured threads, a kind of tassel is made, and
the dress of the child.

With

these
to

hung on

The purpose

is

the

same

as

in

the preced-

ing case.


VIII.

22

3j.

Shao-p'o-hai
^[.

'Js|

Burning
the

old shoes.

Kwa
It is

yu-vjang

^
as

$).

Suspending

fishing-net.
evil

nowadays admitted among the common people, that

spirits,

generally

known

"T'eu-sheng-hwei"
first

fj|j

j^f,

spirits

that ravish children), endeavour during the

the birth of a child, to spirit

ftwei"

away

its

soul.

hundred days alter These "T'eu-sheng-

Mi have died unmarried.

YfftT

are n one other than the

souls of

young

girls

who

They

are not considered as really belonging to the

in the

human

race,
It is

and cannot be reborn as men,

for this reason that they

world beyond the grave.

in in

wander here below,

lain

quest of the soul of

order that through

male child, which they would

ravish,
in

this

means they may

be reborn as

men

the

womb

of a

mother.
no
further

When
red days

the hundred
life

days

are

elapsed,

they

have

power over the

are

of a child.

Should

a child

die before the

hund-

over,

person ascends to the house-top, and there

orders

curses the "ravishers of children", and

soul they

them

to

restore the

have spirited away.

To obviate any possible attack on

:

their part, the following devices are resorted to

All old shoes available are gathered,
bit of

1.

one hundred days, a

one of these shoes

and every day during is burnt beside the

cradle of the child, in order that the offensive smell,

which

fills

the

room, may put

2.

to flight the ravishers.

large fishing-net,

Wang

|pf, is

taken and disposed in the

form of bed-curtains, around the cot of the child.

nets,

These fishingto give

is

as

everybody

them more

resistance

knows, are smeared with hog's blood, and make them last longer. It

thus
f|f

imagined, that the spirits

who

ravish children,

T'eu-sheng-kKPi

^,
to

seeing traces of blood

flight,

or

the
to

net,

will

be frightened and
child.
of

take

without venturing
of the

injure

the

Moreover,

each

of the

meshes

net gives the illusion

an eye, and

seeing so

many

eyes riveted on them, the spirits take to flight.


3.

23

likewise employed for the

sieve, Shai-tze

T
f*-,

f$j

is

same

purpose, as each of the holes seems to be an eye.

IX.

Chi siao-hai-ping-chi fu

j-fe

/]^

&

fft

3l ^F-

Amulets

to

Kurd

off diseases

from children.

.Numerous are the superstitious practices imagined to cure sick Taoist and Buddhist monks find here an inexhaustible children.
source of profit, and consequently have invented
all

kinds of health-

giving devices, through invoking a particular divinity, eluding every

unlucky star, and practising such and such a ceremony (See in the V th and XVI th volumes of superstitions practised in China, various
prayer-formulae,
several

lucky

and unlucky

stars,

and

numerous

paper-charms composed
X.

for this purpose). (1).

l|

$$,

Han-Lsin.

Dry (nominal) adoption.

child

When

fear is entertained that a

may

die,

he

is

adopted

Such adoption is purely into no right to It is not guaranteed by a contract and gives nominal. The custom is based on the superstitious notion, an inheritance. that an unlucky lot has befallen the family, and that the only means
another family,

and takes

its

name.

of preserving a child,

is

to

pass

him over

fictitiously

to

more

fortunate household.

On
father a

the day that the

dry adoption
life to

is

concluded,

the

natural

father, in order to

wish long

his child,

offers to the

adopting

hundred small bread-loaves (provision

for a

hundred years),
then placed
(copper

the latter

making

a present to the child of a basket to hold the loaves.

is

The

child'.s

milk-name

also changed.
to

A
a

blue string

is

round

his neck,

appended

which

is

number

of

cash

coins) equal to the years

he has lived,

care

being taken to add a

fifteen,

fresh coin every year,

till

he attains the age of

when

it

is

deemed that he has passed the thirty dangerous

beset the path of
all

barriers,

which

youngsters.

(1)

See Zikawei fe gtfll albums V, VII.

 24
XL.

Pien-tze-shtmg kwa hung-pu g$

to

=f-

_t

#|<

#Hfj

Piece of red cloth hung on

the extremity of the queue.

a piece of red
is

When
is

a child has

had once the small-pox,

This
~fc

cloth
of a

attached to the extremity of the queue.

to

somewhat

sign

remind Sien-ku

lao-t'ai

f[lj

jfc ~j

the old fairy goddess

not to send
XII.

him again

the

same

disease.

Tao-huh-so
is

^^

|ij|\

Thr peach^stone padlock.

cutting the
fixes

kind of padlock
ijlff

made by

kernels of the

flat-

peach P'an-lao

f)[.

The mother
and employs

one of these padlocks on

each of the child's

feet,

for tying
is

them

on,
is

the

string

that binds the queue.

The peach,
(1),

as

well

known,
to

the fruit
at

that confers immortality

being

served
$fc

up

the the

gods
palace

the

Hat-peach

festival,

P'an-tao

hwei $

||\

in

of the

goddess
people

Wang-mu Niang-niang
believe
life,

3E "^

M M

(-)

The

common
bind
off

that

peach-stone

padlocks

confer

longevity,
for

children to

and have also a

mysterious power

warding

evil influences.

(1)

See Mayers Chinese Reader's Manual "Tao" Sec Mayers, ibid. "Si

$fc (the

peach)

p. "213.
p. 178.

(2)

Wang-mu"

@f Zt

itiie

Western Royal Mother)

Fig. 19

Porte-bonheur. Puissiez-vous avoir cinq garcons vigoureux,. riches, montant de dignites en dignitds
!

Lucky charm.
rich

May

you have
to

and attaining

male children, healthy. the highest honours!

five

Fig. 19

bii

Allusion aux cents enfants de Wen-wang. Ayez cent cnfants, que Tun d'eux soit regu premier acad^micien Allusion to the numerous children of Wen Wang. J\Iay you have
!

et

many

children

and may one of them

be a first tripos!

 25
XIII.

Chw'ang
if

j^.

The

child's cut.

The

child's cot,

made

of special

wood,

may

also contribute

to the future

happiness of the babe that will be laid therein.

The

wood most sought after, is that of the peach-tree, 'T'ao-s/iu" \j[ $$, which confers longevity; also that of the jujube-tree "T.sao-.s/iu" Ht Wfi as the word "Tsao" Jf| (jujube) is similar in sound to
"T.sao"
Jp.,

which means

early.

This

is

presage that the child

will early attain to official dignity.

A
to

third kind of

wood employed
as this tree
of Longevity

for children's cots is that of the pine,

is

Sung-sltu
sketch the
of

j$j$,

ever green, and

it is

customary
it

God
life.

beside a pine-tree, hence

of the

is

a pledge
trees,

long

cot,

made
of a

wood

of

any of the above

combines every chance

glorious future.

rm

26

IV.

ARTICLE

CROSSING THE BARRIERS.

M. IS Kwo-kwan.

Every child
existence,

is

destined

to

pass,

in

the early stages

of

its

through a

series of barriers,

which occur either monthly

is

or annually along the

path

of

life.

It

only
all

when
danger

the last one

is

has been passed, at the age of sixteen, that

over.

We

have already seen

is

(p.

19),

how

the crown of hair, fashioned

on the head of children,

a passport or

permit, thanks to which a

child succeeds in escaping every

spirits,

who molest

annoyance on the part of barrieryouthful wayfarers on the road of life.

of the
to

We
passed,

append herewith the names

thirty

barriers

to

be

without entering into details as

the

precautions
or

which

are to be taken, on such or such a day,

month

year,

when one

may have

to cross each of those difficult passages.

Should any desire

to get

more ample information on the matter,

they can consult the work entitled

i'.

"Wan-pao-ls'ilen-shu "||J j|f Herein are found the whole collection of pictures illustrating
all

the thirty barriers, and indicating the means,

for

fancifully invented.

passing through them

free of toll.

|st

Barrier

of the four seasons,

guarded by a maleficent

demon.
Barrier of the four pillars. Barrier of the
king). styled the devil's gate,

demon Niu-wang

3l

(the

Cow-

4 th

,,

Barrier The

guarded by a mal-

eficent

demon.
life is

5 th 6 th

,,

Barrier where

exposed.

,,

,,

8 th

,,

Barrier of insurmountable difficulty. Barrier of the golden hen falling into a well. Barrier of the private parts.

 27
9 th Barrier
1

Barrier of the hundred days Barrier of the broken bridge.

(1).

th th

\ \

Barrier of the nimble foot (kicks being here administered,

one must be

licet of foot so

as to escape

1
1

9;h

> )

Barrier of the

five genii.

^them).

13 th
1

,,

Barrier of the golden padlock. Barrier of the iron snake.

/.th

15

th
,,

Barrier of the bathing tub. Barrier of the white tiger.

Barrier of the Buddhist

16"*
tb 1 7

,,

monks

IN
]

1 '

Barrier of the heavenly dog. Barrier exciting heaven's pity.

qth

20 th

Barrier of the luck and key (here the dcor must be

unlocked).
9
1

St

Barrier where the bowels are sundered.

opnd
23*
,,

Barrier where the head

is

broken.

Barrier of the thousand days.

24

th

Barrier of nocturnal weeping.

05th

Barrier of the burning broth.

Barrier where children are buried. Barrier where
,,

26 th 27 th

life is

shortened.

28 th 29 th
30* h
i

Barrier of the general's -dagger.

Barrier of deep-running waters.

,,

Barrier of

fire

and water.
17 fa
ft

all m fen ^11

#^
& ii $ #
t
(1)

to
ii

12 5 6
7

mmm in m
3l j&

25 26

is
19

* % m n ^ w

# * II a ^ n
jft!gl]|lg

20
21

mmmm
n
fl"

28 29

13

&&
e

ffl

^
7k

7K Ii
'X

22
15

Ji

30

j&gg

23 =f 24

B
Pf

iff

16

^m

The demon that ravishes children "T'eu-sheng-kwei" (m J&, has no further his when the hundred has this after he a child over barrier; power expires passed power
days are over. See above "Superstitions concerning children"

VIII

p.

'22.

 28

-z^^

CHAPTER

II.

BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE.

tr
Hiiiiii'

Shi

ARTICLE

I.

BETROTHAL
In
all

(1).

marriages of Chinese,
part.

match-makers or Mei-jen

A.
a

plav a

prominent

When
making

they have toured from the family of

of the

the bridegroom's father to that

bride,

and enjoyed many

of

heartv meal, meanwhile

overtures about the future marriage,

and when both sides have agreed on the amount

purchase-money,

which the bridegroom will pay to secure the bride, then talking ends and a step is made to sign the written contract.
superstitions customs on betrothal and marriage which we describe in have several points in common with those mentioned by D Weiger in his work entitled "Rudiments". We have added thereto the local observances of Nganhwei
(1)

The few

this chapter,

and Kiangsu, omitting those which have not gained currency

in these

two provinces.


1.

30

j|l

First

document.

Ts'ao-pali-tze

^p

(rough draft of
Jf!
i^f,

the eight

characters),

elsewhere styled

Hoh-s\$a.n-t'ieh fe

the proposal), or also Sheng-heng J|f (comparing (card making on this card the two cyclic writes The bridegroom horoscopes). characters, indicating the year of his birth, the two indicating the

month, the two indicating the day, and the two marking the hour,

making thus

a total of eight characters

+ + + =
2 2 2

8.

Hence comes the name "draft

of the eight characters".

Upon

receipt

of this card, the bridegroom's family

reciprocates a
is

similar

one on

the age of the young lady.

This card

exchanged, in order

to enable

the fortune-tellers, to ascertain

corresponds

with that

of

whether the destiny of the bridegroom the bride. These professional jugglers
five

compare the characters with the

fire

elements: metal, wood, water,

cyclic animals, that

and earth.

They

also

compare the two

have

presided over the birth of the youthful couple,

in order to

ascertain

whether they
set

will

abide together in

rules

of the

art,

they

will

harmony. According to the draw therefrom happy or unhappy

These rules are based on the
thus the

omens

of the

intended

marriage.

liking or
tiger is

disliking

of the

cyclic animals for each other:

the sworn

enemy

of the serpent

also

on the juxtaposition
in-

to or incompatibility of

such an element with another, as for

stance

fire

and water.
is fixed

When
called

this operation is over, the choice of a

lucky day
calendar,

upon, help being

here afforded by the Imperial

commonly
the

marks

carefully

black (unlucky)
first

may
a

be understood, this

"Hwang-lih-t'eu" Jl jg Jjjf, which and yellow (lucky) days. As exchange of documents on age, is a

test to ascertain

happy

issue, or

whether the intended marriage may be brought to whether on the other hand there are fundamental
In case

obstacles based on the superstitious rules of fortune-telling.

the marriage

is

deemed

possible, another document

is

exchanged.
(card fixing

2.

Second document.

Ting-ts'in-t'ieh

% H

[j]^

the marriage day).

This piece
it is

fixes the

day on which the marriage

will take place

It

sent by the bridegroom to the family of the bride.

informs

 31
them that he has had the matter seriously examined bv those skilled in the art, and that according to the cyclic characters on the age of the respective parties, nothing has been found which would seem
the conclusion of the engagement. have fixed the exchange of the contract consulted,

opposed

to

Moreover, those
to

take

place

on

such a day of the month.

3.

This

is

what

beg

to

announce
J^
tyfo

to you.

Third document. Chw'an-heng-t'ieh

fiji

(exchanging

horoscopes).

This

is

the

real

contract,

attesting

that an
^jf"

engagement has
the
is

taken place.
contract),

It is also called

"Hsia-shu" HF
is

(counterpart of the
expres-

and the transaction

commonly rendered by

sion

"Kwo-li"

jjj}

(sending of presents).
the bridegroom,
to

This contract
first his

drawn

up
the

in double.

It is

who

sends

contract to

bride,

or

rather

her

parents.

An

earnest,

fixed

by the

match-makers, accompanies it. This consists in a certain sum of money, handed over to the family of the bride, also in a paraphernalia of hair-pins, ear-rings, rings, bracelets, and jewels according to
the

standing

of

the

parties.

The

bride's

family,

on

its

side,

prepares a betrothal contract, drawn up almost on the same terms as that of the bridegroom, and forwards it to his family, in reply to
the one received from them.
ed,

The betrothal

is

thus legally conclud-

and terminates under the most favourable auspices.

On

the

occasion of the presents sent, there are often

are tainted

some customs which

more

or less with superstition.

 32

Hi Ki


varying- according to the place.

33

life;

These comprise leaves of immortals,

Wan-nien-ts'ing

f ^f, for

wishing long

sprigs of fragrant

artemisia, to expel

all evil

influences; peony flowers

Meu-tan-hwa

!\'j:

j^
or

;f,

portending

riches;

pomegranates Shih-liu
fruits contain a large

$fi,

auguring
of kernels
^f-

numerous progeny.
stones, called

These

number

"7';e" -^ in Chinese; now, this character Tze

(kernel), is identical in

sound with ize

Jj| ^fJfL

meaning children. Jujubes

being pronounced in the
Chestnuts,

are

also

offered,

Tsau-tze

(jujube)

same manner
Lih-tze

as Tsao Ize

have) children quickly!

similar in sound with the two |pi J-, form another word characters Lih tze jfc bran, Fu-t:e meaning to beget children

|r ^f,

is

a term

which has as
always

homonym Fu
with

Ize

g*

a rich son.

present

received

pleasure on

this

occasion

is

that of the seven kinds of grain "Ts'ih-tze-li" - -^ |^.

The
words.

zest

of

these

expressions
Tze
-^
,

results

from

the

pun on the
in

The

character

kernel,

grain,

being identical

sound with the character Tze -^, which means offspring.

The following are some

make-up
The
of these presents.

of

the

fruits

which enter

into

the

water-lily, the sun-flower,

the seeds of the

pumpkin, the
chestnut,
the

gourd and the water-melon, the pomegranate, pear and the peach.

the

The

first

contain a large

amount

of seeds,

and this augurs

numerous progeny.
The chestnut and the
closely resemble Lih-tze
jyf

pear,

Lih-tze

^f-

and Li-tze

^^

to beget children.

The peach

is

the

fruit

that

confers

immortality.

All

these

terms are as many portents of future happiness.

 34
ARTICLE
III.

DEPARTURE OF THE BRIDE.

Before entering his sedan-chair to meet the

man makes
and those
of

his obeisance before the

;

tablets

of

bride, the young Heaven and Earth,

of his ancestors

he afterwards

performs a similar series

bowing
to

before

his

parents,

and

all

the

neighbouring families.
thereby wishing

Care has been taken to place a child

in

his sedan,

him

have one soon himself.

arrival
of the

The customary ceremonies on the

tendered to him, and

bridegroom

in

the family of his father-in-law being over, and

of chopsticks
is

dinner taken, a pair

also
to

two wine-cups,
bear

up and abundance

in red paper.
of

He

is

thus deemed
family.

wrapped away the happiness

taken to turn
the
in

the

Care has been

front of the sedan-chairs,

which bear the bride and bridegroom,

the direction wherein

ial

is

found the God of Joy that day.

superstitions

The Imperthis

calendar

and

other

guide-books

indicate

direction.

Sometimes,

the

bride

is

packed

up

like

bundle,

in a large

wooden
the

chest, and her feet are padlocked.

Porters bear this box to

is

sedan-chair,

on the top

of

which

represented

unicorn,

holding a

male child.
reai"

At the
tze
|^j

of the bride's
a

sedan, are

suspended a

sieve,

Stial-

^f,

and

metallic

mirror,

King

^,

to

render favourable

every

evil

influence.
.ili-l'eu ||
is

Behind the sedan, an Imperial almanac,

placed,

|[jf,

also
a
it

as

portent

of

good

lastly,

the

bride

herself carries

small mirror attached to her button-hole, and does

till

not part with

see,

she

is

seated

on the nuptial bed.

The reader can

on the

adjoining page, a photo- engraving representing one of these mirrors.

It

was
is

and

The front side is polished and shining, like an ordinary looking-glass; on the back, are two embossed circles and four characters, Wu-tze #, teng h'o 3L i^

purchased at Hai Chow $$ about eight inches in diameter.

Jfl,

North Kiangsu ?X |,

Fig.

20

Miroir en cuivre.

Brass miror.

 35
Which mean,
degrees
!

may your

five

children

attain

the

highest

literary

In the middle,

is

a ring, soldered

on

to the

metal plate, and bv

means

of

which

it

may

be attached with a cord or a ribbon.

jjjfc

Young

brides, in

North Kiangsu yX

fix it

they proceed in a sedan-chair to

likewise,
a short

on the abdomen, the day when the house of the bridegroom, and

when they

return in a sedan to the family of their parents,

time after the marriage ceremony.

selected to form an escort of
to that

The female attendants,

the bride, on the

honour

to

way from her paternal home

of the

bride-

groom, must be born under the auspices of a cyclic animal, living in peace with the animal that presided over the birthday of the
bridegroom.

Were

these animals
of the future

at

enmity with each other, the

peace and prosperity

household would be endangered.

the
cyclic

The
mutually

following
at variance
is

table

exhibits

animals,

which are

with each other.

the

The horse

enemy
,,

of the ox,
,,

The sheep The cock

rat,

,,

,,

do &

'

The

tiger

,,

,,

serpent.

The hare
The hog
According
chosen.
to the

,,

,,

dragon,

,,

,,

monkey.

above rules, the companions of the bride are

 36
ARTICLE
IV.

THE BRIDE ENTERS THE HOUSE 01 THE BRIDEGROOM.

When
the marriage procession reaches the bridegroom's house,
is

the encaged bride

taken out from the red sedan, and conducted to

(It

the large reception-hall.

sits

happens more frequently that the bride

this operation
live in
is

simply

in the sedan).

While

being performed,

man whose
new

cyclic

animal of birth can

peace with those of

the

couple, tires off a string of crackers before the doorway. the bride leaves her cage, she
it

When
sieve,

is

protected by

means

of a

which shields her,

is

thought,

from

evil spirits (I).

Some
of

pretend that only good influences penetrate through the holes of the
sieve; others explain the matter differently.

The numerous holes

eyes gazing

the sieve, according to them, resemble so

fastlv

many
they
terror

stead-

on

the

evil

spirits,

that

should
with

wish
at

to

injure

the

youthful
take
to

spouse,
flight.

they

are

struck

this sight,

and
the

Frequently,

lucky

influences

are

flashed

on

young lady, by employing a mirror, which throws rays of light on to her person. Elsewhere, she carries simply on her person a brass
mirror, designed to ward previously
(p.

off

every evil influence, as has been stated

places,

34).

In
[Jj

some
JH
(in

as

at of

II wo

Chow ^p

j>\],

and
on

Ha.n-sha.ri listen

^
the
^ff

the province

Nganhwei $

Jjjjfc),

the

arrival

of

bride,
is

the

"Hsiang-t'an"
into
vase,

^,

practised.

contact with

red-hot iron,

ceremony evaporating vinegar, The vinegar, being brought rushes up in a column from the
of fortune

of

and this indicates the rapid increase

couple.
bride,

which awaits

the

new
The

on coming out from the sedan, must lay her foot on

is

a saddle.
]$,

Saddle, in Chinese,
is

expressed by the character

exactly similar in sound to

Ngan
Ngan

which

pronounced Ngan

j|,

-^,

meaning peace

or tranquillity.

For the above operation, the bride has sometimes to borrow one
of the shoes of the

bridegroom.
I.

(1)

Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese, Vol.

p. 83, finds

this

custom
its

also existing

in

Southern China.

Here, the sieve "is put on the top of the sedan, over

door".

Fig. 21

Introduction de

la

fiancee dans la
to

Conducting the bride

maison du mari. Le Soulier et la selle. the bridegroom's house. The slipper and the saddle.


a beast of

37

is

Frequently also, beneath the saddle,

placed the pack-saddle

J

ol

burden, called in Chinese Shao-tai

ffi

^,

a kind of wallet,
}f|"

this expression

corresponding in sound with another Shao-lai

fP\

meaning

to be blessed

with offspring and have plenty children.

Previous to the arrival of the new couple for the celebration of

the marriage ceremony,
it

is

customary

in places of

North Kiang-su
a

tt

to j$ti

prepare a bushel

and a string of

(peck), upon which are laid The bushel small copper coins (cash).
in

balance
or

peck,

which
grain,

is

employed

measuring

is

the symbol of abundance;

the balance, employed in

cial

commerpledge
of

transactions,
in

is

success

business;

finally,

the

copper cash, which

constitute the

monetary basis

of

China,

vividly

represent fortune, so eagerly sought

after

by
a

all.

This custom implies

of

both

wish

happiness

and
JflS^r

riches for the newly married pair,

and

is

also

kind

of

talisman

tending to produce the desired good

effects.

To neglect

it

in the cere-

mony, would, doubtless, injure the

future of the

young
is

couple.
to the

The bride
table or altar,

conducted

the tablet of

upon which stands Heaven and Earth (1);

is

candles burn and incense

in the censer.

lighted
Tablet of Heaven and Earth.

(1)

The

true Lord inscription on this tablet reads as follows: Spiritual seat of the
(ruling over) the three
regions, the ten points of direction,

of
all

Heaven and Earth,

and

living creatures (souls).

The three regions

ness (this latter place

of existence are, according

to the

Taoists, heaven, earth,

and the

waters; according to the Buddhists, the regions of earthly longings, of

is

form and formless-

the ante

chamber

to Nirvana).

The ten
ones, to

directions are the four cardinal points, together with the four intermediate
of English translator),

which are added ''above and below" (Note

 38
The bridegroom takes
his

place beside

the

bride,

then both

bow profoundly

kneel)

before the tablet;

repeated before the ancestral tablet,

kitchen. Tsao-kun
jj|

the same ceremony is and also before the God of the

Jj. after
is

which they mutually salute each other,

accomplished
1
.

and the marriage ceremony

The new couple

where both
downcast.
sit

are

next conducted to the

the
bride

nuptial chamber,
holding;

on the bed.

meanwhile

her eyes

Now commences
of Nao-sin-fariQ
pffj]

an abominable ceremony known by the name

,

0f Jf
this

that

is

to say ribaldry, in all the

coarse-

ness conveyed

by

word.
bride,
2
.

may come in to see the most impertinent remarks

old

During three days and nights, all and pour out in her presence the
It

is

admitted that a grey-headed

man may
Such

use on this occasion the language of the most dissolute

are

youth.

the

horrors of pagranism.

from which

it

would

seem that even the very notion of modesty has been banished.
See Doolittle. Social Life of the Chinese, Vol I. p. 85, the same ceremony as Here both drink some wine from the same goblet, a cock
is

(1)

practised in South China.

made

of sugar

eaten,

and the wedding dinner

is
tl
_

is

partaken
s

of.

Doolittle remarks that this

- to

a very tryi

deal for the bride, as she

f

may

not

be seen, nor absent herself from

the public.

Ibid. p. 90.

CO CO


In several places,
to visit the ancestral
it is

39

for the

customary
or

newly married couple,

of the
I

hall

Tz'e-t'ang fU j

family,

and
this

there worship before the tablets of the ancestors.

have seen

ceremony performed
province.
of

at T'ai-p'in,

fa

-fa

^
offer

jf,

in

Nganhwei
happen
(1).

^M
tablet
to

In

all

cases, the bride

must

meats before the

if

her

father-in-law

and

mother-in-law,

they

be

deceased.

This

is

a strict duty for a married

woman.

Should the bride die before accomplishing this ceremony, Confucius lays

down

the principle that the coffin should not be taken to

the hall of the eldest ancestor,

nor the tablet placed beside that of

her venerable mother-in-law.

Her husband must not walk

in

the

funeral procession) leaning on a stick,

nor wear straw-sandals,

nor

weep

for her in a secluded

chamber.

The corpse
of a

of the deceased
its

must

be taken

back to her family,

and interred amidst

daughter-in-law

members,

as she has not fulfilled her duties

,2).

Li-ki

|E or Look

of Rites,

Cb. V. Tseng tze-wen H"

=f-

$\

)]

|ffj

(ft)

ffi]

*mmm
r2i

bb

^ Vi m mmt.m m.
jj

See Li-ki

|E or JJook

of ltites, Ch. V. Tseng-tze-weii "f^ -jr f^i

<

wherein are

rec-

orded the proper words of Confucius

stablishing these obs< rvances.

 40

CHAPTER
DEATH
AND

III.

BURIAL,

Peh

Shi

ARTICLE
As soon
apparent,

I.

BEFORE DEATH.
as

the

first

symptoms
person

of

approaching death
a

become
of

should

the

dying

be

child,

the

ceremony
is

"summoning back
practised.
is

the soul" (See chapter on this subject)

always

Frequently also the soul of persons of

I

more advanced years

called back.

have seen

it

practised in regard to a

young married

man, aged twenty-four years, and already the head

of a family.

When
many have
the
person.

the

above

rite

has

been

unsuccessfully accomplished,
device,

recourse to a supreme and last

or

namely
of

to

bring

temple-god

Pu-sah
is

m,

into

the

abode
ffi

the

dying

This ceremony

called

T'ai

Pu-sah

^j|.

fetching

the Pu-sah |

or god.


People proceed
to

42

four

one of the local temples, and there look for Cf It is placed on a kind Pu-sah" ^ ||?. the statue of some famous
of portable altar-chair attached to

two poles

men

bear

it

on
all

their shoulders, while

two others precede,

is

beating

gongs with
pay

their might, to

warn that the god

passing by and

him due

honour.
off.

It is

needless to say that fire-crackers are plentifully sent

When
cure
the

the
is

procession reaches

the

door of the

dying man's
to gracious-

house, the god

ly

received with full honours,

and begged
indicate

sick

person,

or
is

at

least

to

an efficacious

remedy
the

in the case.

The god

next taken to an apothecary's shop,

so that he

may

there select a remedy suited to the

requirements of
Tao-shi
jf|

present

ailment.

One

or

two Taoist
$|?,

priests,

J^,

attend on each side of the Pu-sah |

of the bearers.

as he rests on the shoulders

the finger

The apothecary turns round, and points out with one of the drawers containing his drugs. Should the Puremain
still,
it

sah

j||

is a

sign that the remedy

little,

is

of

no avail

should he advance or withdraw a

or rather

if

his bearers help

him

to proceed

backwards or forwards, precisely

is

at the

moment when
and that
that

the apothecary points out a remedy, this

the good one,

to

which must be obtained

any apothecary speculates much on popular credulity price an ordinary remedy.

at

cost.

Needless

add

the

to

vend at a high

The

outfit of the dead.

In case of serious

illness,
is
:

and when the

prepared
in
all

last

moment draws
This outfit

near, the outfit for the dead

haste.

comprises the following articles

A).

In the case of

man

Boots

and a ceremonial head-dress,

minus

its

red tassels (these two articles are generally

made

of paper);

the sole of the boots must be soft and flexible,

hard-soled foot-wear
overcoat or

being unsuited for the dead

t'ao

a long

gown and an

Wai-

3|S.

These

latter

must not

be furnished with brass buttons,

as they

them over
to outer

would be over weight}', and the deceased could not take to the nether world. Such are the requirements in regard
garments.

 43
The under- wear, trousers and waistcoat, must
in the

be padded, even

summer

season.
a

B).
veil,

In the case of

woman.

long gown, over-mantle and

together with the under-wear above mentioned.

All these

must not

new as much as possible they skins of animals, and any consequently Qannel clothes must be likewise strictly discarded, lest the deceased
be
;

garments must

be fur-lined or have

might be reborn into the body

Generally,

of

an animal.
of

among

the lower class

people,

the whole under-

wear

is

made

of

white cotton-cloth.

one.

The other garments are coloured, according to the taste of each Red and yellow are, however, two colours reserved for scholars
officials.

and

Silk

and satin may be generally used.

called

The two fastenings,

Kioh-tai-lze
at the

Jjjfl

-=p,

which bind

the lower extremity of the

trousers

ankle,

and the girdle

properly

speaking,

Tai-tze

^,

are

carefully

omitted, a simple

string being used instead to bind the waist.

The reason
is

of this is the following: in

the girdle,

Tai-tze
,

^-,

similarly pronounced

Chinese as T'ai-tze \%

to

bear

away

or carry off children.

Hence, as
fancy to carry
is

it is

feared above

all,

that the deceased might take a

away

his children with

him

to

the other world,

he

denied the use of a girdle.

This custom
the words.

is

based, as

may

be seen,
it is

upon mere punning on

expression sounds like

For the

same reason,
K'eu-tze |p

avoided putting the buttons

this

in the button-holes,

^
in

as

K'eu-tze ^p

^,

"to kidnap children".

also

The dying man

the family
bed,
as

must

nowise be allowed

to

expire

on

Northern parts of
tion or

would be subsequently haunted. In the China, where the family bed is an adobe constructhis
it is

K'ang

jfc,

said that

if

person dies thereon,

nether world.

he will

have to transport dry clay-bricks

in the

44

Great care is therefore taken to prepare another hed, employing sometimes a simple door placed on two trestles, and on which the Howsoever weak he may be, he must be transdying man is laid.
ported on this rough couch, even were
it

to

cause his death.

Let

him
rules

therefore die, but

!

it

will

be

in

accordance

with the laid-down

Those who

assist a

dying person are careful

it

to

take

away

all

the bed-curtains,

as

these,

is

thought,

resemble a fishing-net,

and

if

the dying person departs from this world surrounded by such

will be

meshes, he

changed into a

fish in

the other world.

still

more

cruel

custom consists

in

removing the pillow from

under the dying person's head, in order that the feet may not be Should he happen to gaze on his feet when dying, great perceived.
misfortunes would
less,

befall his children.

This absurd custom, doubt-

hastens death in

manv

cases.

45

II.

ARTICLE

AFTER DEATH.
As soon as the dying person has given up
the

ghost,

care
r

is

immediately taken to consult the Imperial almanac,

ill
it

Hwa.ng-lih-t eu
in

JPh to observe whether the day

to be

is

lucky or
is

unlucky;

case

happens

unlucky, a sieve

or a mirror

suspended over the

door-way.

The

sieve allows but

good influences

to pass

through

it,

while

the mirror has the power of changing evil into real happiness.

This preliminary operation over,

dead person.
First

it

is

proceeded to lay out the

he

is

the extremity of his queue are

washed, then the black strings binding A removed, and blue ones put on.
a

person takes cotton-wool or

towel
in

and wipes his

face

therewith.

He

is

afterwards dressed out

(p.

his

mortuarv robes, which we have

previously described

42).

that a person

Paper hangings are suspended over the door-way, to announce is dead in the family. These hangings vary in form
in

according to places;

some

localities,

they

are

dispensed

with,

and

it is

deemed

sufficient to affix a few

written

characters

on the

outer walls of the house.

the
to

members

These preparations being carried out, as soon as night sets in, of the family light up lanterns, and weeping, proceed
j^
i|j}

inform the local tutelary deity T'u-ti Lao-yeh

^-,

that

him

member of the family has departed from to show kindness towards him, stating
was weak and
home.
life.

this

world.

They beg
his

that during

mortal

career he
of

infirm, and toiled hard

along the pathway

After a display of fire-crackers and the offering of incense,

each

one

goes

The second day,

all

return,

and bearing
Lao-yeh j^

lanterns, proceed to the temple of the

local deity T'u-ti

Ml $t

M>

this time for the purpose of bringing back the soul of the

deceased, which

was deemed
be found?
is

to be hospitably received in the temple.

But where

is it to

In order to discover

its

whereabouts,

a copper coin (cash)

rubbed against the wall of the temple, and

or

where

it

adheres (whether through mere chance,

because

it

has

 46
encountered a spider's web), there dwells the soul
of

the

departed,

which

is

forthwith brought back.

the house
is

When
put
a
in a

reached, victuals to be used on the way, are

kind of paper wallet, and placed on a paper sedan-chair or

to

waggon, according
is

the locality.
to

This being accomplished, the

its

departed soul

requested

take

seat

on the paper waggon,

and start
set

for

the long journey of eternity.

its

The waggon

is

then
fre-

on

fire,

and the soul wings

flight to the nether world.

quently on such occasions, some of his old shoes are burnt,

care

having been taken

are despatched to

to cut the soles in

two

through this device they

him

for use in the other world.

is

Oftentimes also, a small table covered over with ashes

near the sedan or waggon,
soul,
in

placed

order to act as a

lift

for

the departed

and help

it

to enter

more conveniently the sedan-chair.

spirit has not

Each
left

one hastens to examine whether the departing

some mark resembling

;i

footprint on the ashes.

in

rather quaint custom consists

attaching round

the

neck
bear

of the deceased

two wisps

of cotton-wool, in order that he

may

away the misfortune too numerous brood

of the
of girls.

family,

and preserve

it

from having a

Fig. 23

Han-k'eou-tsHen.
Han-k'eu-ts'ien.

Sapeque serree dans

Coin pressed
in

la

bouche du defunt.
corpse.

the

mouth of a

 47
ARTICLE
III.

PLACING THE CORPSE

The corpse must be put
might
otherwise
into

IN

THE COFFIN.
on
a

the

coffin

lucky

day,

as

it

contaminate

the

neighbourhood.

Some

families

await a day or even two before putting the body into the

coffin.

In this latter case, a large kitchen-knife is placed on the corpse, as

it lies

in the

bier.

This sharp cutting instrument

defensive

is

heavy, and
is

can

be

used
to

as

weapon.
his

The deceased
cannot

rendered
return
to

unable

get

away,

and

so

soul

further

molest the living.

For

clearness

sake,

we

shall

mention
itself,

briefly

the

ordinary
shall

superstitions connected with the coffin

after

which we

describe the divers objects placed in the mortuary room.

-1.

Placing the corpse in the coffin-the coffin

the

itself.

In

Lower

Yang-tze

^^

region,

every
;

coffin

is

closed

with a big

nail, called

Tze-sun-ting -^
in

]",

'the posterity nail".

This

is

deemed

essential

order to obtain

numerous
j|fc-

offspring.

The custom
4
HI;,

exists little in
all

North Kiang-su yX

in

however,

put a small copper coin 'cash) in

the

Ngan-hwei mouth ol

the corpse.

Sometimes the mouth

is

maintained open by means of a small

it

wooden wedge

at other times,

contracted during the last

ation
is

opened by loosening the jaws convulsions of death. This solemn operis

carried out quite methodically.

pair

of cords or threads

are placed crossing each other on the open coffin, one extending from

head to

foot, the

other being

drawn over the

as
it

face.

They must meet

the coffin.
a

exactly over the

mouth

of the corpse,

lies in

At the point
suspended,
drops

of intersection of the

two threads,

third

one

is

bearing at its
into the

extremity a small copper coin (cash),

of the corpse.
is It is left

which

down

mouth

there

some

time and then withdrawn.

or coin pressed in the

This

called Han-k'eu-ls'ien

H>.

mouth.
he be
still

The
hangs
it

young, treasures this coin, and on his neck as an amulet'. Should he be unwilling to use
eldest son,
if

 48
it,

it

is offered

as a present to

some other family,

to be

worn by the

eldest of the boys.

It

may

not be useless to

remark here that many pagan children,

to

who wear

coins (cash)

hung on
i,

the

neck

by a red

string,
of a

have
corpse

among them one which has been pressed

Han-k'eu-ts'ien
Peh-lao-yeli j
P#qj

in the

mouth
from

and another issued

the

mouth of

J^ (See demon-scaring charms and amulets).

placed
in

Frequently
previous to

a little rice is

the
this

mouth
is

of the

corpse,

removing
.

the

wooden wedge;

the

farewell

meal

given here below

Let us
this

now
is

sec

how the

coffin,

the last resting-place

of

man

in

world,

prepared.

At

the

bottom

of

it

are

placed

little

bundles containing dry lime, ashes and earth.

to the

These must be equal

lived.
It

number

of years

which the deceased has

be placed in the coffin.
$j.

he dies

at

sixty, sixty parcels

must

All

these materials

are

wrapped up

in

paper "P'i-chi" fe
layer
of of
(l)

Sometimes
mattress.

cotton-wool
the
coffin
is

is

added
a

to

serve

as

At the
|

head

placed

cushion, called

Ling-kioh-chen
blance
to

7^,

or buffalo-horn pillow, from its resem-

the horned shape of the water-caltrop.

is

This pillow

composed

of

two

parts

juxtaposited,

and must

not contain either straw or chaff, but only ashes

and dry lime.

The

upper covering

is

made

of red cloth,

the
is

two corners (horns) being

turned upwards; the lower covering

corners are turned downwards.
juxtaposited.

of blue cloth,
a

and the inferior

of

Thev resemble
is

pair

crescents

The head
1

of

the corpse

placed in the middle of the

upper crescent.

is

dressed out in
quilt

ed over with a red

time, a
little

wadded
is

mortuary robes, and coveras wide as the coffin. For the last
full

rice

put

in

the dead man's hands, in

order that

he

may

apease therewith the hungry dogs of the village, which he must

cross on his

way

to

the nether world.

(1)

|j Lin^'.
is

The water-caltrop (Trapct bicomis), an aquatic vegetable, the

fruit of

which

eaten.

 49
This
is

called the viand for apeasing the dogs,

Ta-heu-shih JT

Others, endowed

with

more

foresight,

add

thereto

pair

of
a

chopsticks, to be used as cudgels, in case the

too determined attack to bite him.

hungry dogs made

is

mirror

placed

in

an upright

position at his feet,

deliver

in

order

that

his

own

him from any subsequent

!

death.

image Dead twice lor

reflected

would
all,

he

could hardly die again

Wealthy

folks lay the corpse on a bed of gold or

silver ingots.

This affords them

their posterity (See

happiness

unalloyed,

and assures the future

Cli.

of

on

this ancient

custom,

V. Article

\).

custom

Most well-to-do people have their dead equipped with jewels, a which provokes the cupidity of robbers, and it is highly
visits this

probable that the next step will be the violation of these rich tombs.

Chinese law

crime with the death-penalty.

fully

When

the corpse has been

laid

out

in

its

grave clothes

and placed on the bier, a very clean towel is dipped in hot water, and used in wiping for the last time the face of the deceased, after
which, the strip of cloth
for

called

Tsing-k'eu-pu
on.
is

-]f

rffl

or cloth

washing the mouth,

is

nailed

This extends entirely over

the coffin, beneath the cover, and

intended to prevent any dust

from entering, or falling on the face of the corpse.

Nothing further now remains but

been taken to draw three hairs

to close the collin.

Care has
deceased:
lid

from

the

queue

of

the

these are entwined on three big nails

of the coffin.
'

intended for closing the

Sjf.

They
that
is

are called

"Wan-ting"
nails.

]"

or also

"Cltwan-

ting

|^.

3=]",

entwined
is a

Here again there

ting
f$- ]",

real

pun on the two expressions

and

Wan-

to

entwine

nail,

Wan-ting

Bj

"J*-

posterity,

descendants.
Similarly, there
is a

play

on the pronunciation of the words

a nail,
is

Chwan-ting
ting
f|f.

ijj^

^T, to

wind (something) round

In fine,
it

and C/w'an-

"J",

to

propagate posterity.

an omen portend-

ing numerous descendants.

7


When
the

50

to

carpenter approaches
coffin,

drive

down

the

big

nails

used for closing the

the mortal remains

the son of the

deceased, kneeling beside

of

his sire, shouts to

him: "fear

not. they are

going

to nail

down

the coffin!"
it

In several places,
first nail.

is

the

son

himself

who

drives

in

the

Likewise,

when
/fjj
,

as stated above, the strip of cloth called Tsingnailed on, the son has
in order to avoid
to

k'eu-pu

ffi

is

warn

his

lather to
nails.

withdraw his hands,

being wounded by the

the
coflin
is

When
two
burial.

all

these preparations are over,

placed

on

trestles, in

the middle of the

mortuary chamber, awaiting the

2.

Oi>jP(ix

placed
of the

h<>si<le

Hip coffin.

At the head

coffin,

but to

the front,

and consequently
a small table.

between the outer door and the

It is
it

coflin itself, is placed

important to understand well the objects

in reality the centre of all superstitions.

laid

on this table, as

is

A).

In the centre of the table

J^g

is

erected the
z^f

seat
}$.

of

the

soul,

called Ling-tso-lze g
slab).

-^

or

Hwun-p'ai-tze

^f (the ghost's

This

is a

paper tablet, a

kind of envelope or large

contain
the
soul
of

rectangudeparted,

lar red

wrapper,
is

supposed

to

the

whose name
B).

written thereon.
left

On

the

of this

tablet

is

laid

bowl of

rice,

in

the

middle of which

is

placed a boiled or

hard egg, having a hole pierced

itself,

in its upper part.

Two

chopsticks are stuck, either in the egg

or in the rice, according to places.

(placed, at the rear of the head,
C).

This offering

is

called the rice

Tao-Veu-fan $\
in

jijf

5is

On

the right of the

tablet,

large

bowl,

placed
of

cock, slaughtered but uncooked;

tail,

the

feathers,

except
is

those

the

have been entirely plucked

off,

and the head

turned towards

the coffin.
D).
in

On

the middle of the table, before the tablet,

is

is

a censer,

which incense

burninsr.

Fig. 24


E\

r>1

are

On

each side of the tabid

two

large

candlesticks,

in

which two candles burn constantly.

F).
<

>n

the

front

of
oil.

the

table,

near

the

corner,

is

small

Chinese lamp, fed with

G\

Several add to the above a pair of chopsticks, a wine-cup, a

jar of wine, a

wash-hand-basin
in

for toilet

purposes, and a pair of shoes.

in
is

the soles of

which are cut

coffin,

two and wrapped up

benches,

cotton-cloth.

Under the

between the two

placed

lamp
Jfc

not unfrequcntly equipped with seven wicks, Ts'ih-sing-teng

j|),

Jl

which burns day and night.

To the rear
of the

lamp

is

placed a mirror, wherein

coffin is

is

reflected

the
for

image

of the coffin.
to

This

thus reckoned as two, hence

will occur in the family.

some time
is

come no other death

The

lamp

often placed on the grindstone of the household.

illustrates all this ceremonial.
:

The annexed engraving

3.
Mi

Escorting the soul. Fung-ling

the third or
to
fifth

<\

j||.

day
the

alter

death,

wealthy families

invite

Buddhist priests

help

soul

over the

bridge (doubtless, the

bridge of anguish, spanning the red torrent,

of

and from the summit

cast into the

which,

the

two demons Short-life and Quick-death,

it).

waters beneath the souls travelling over

(1).

Buddhist
in

pi iests arrive in

procession, and

at evening,

assemble

front of the house of the

deceased.

Outside the principal door,

is

rough construction resembling a bridge

erected,

by

means

of

tables placed with the four feet

is

upwards

to each foot of these tables

attached a lighted lantern.

At the entrance

to

the

bridge

is

placed

an elevated

platform,

on which the principal Buddhist priest ascends, wearing his livecornered cap. Standing on the platform, he recites some incantation
classics,
for

then scatters cakes on the ground, which

are

scrambled
is

bv the spectators; the priests then depart and the ceremony

concluded.

ill

Ynh-lib ch'ao-chw'an

3LM

&#

Treatise on the Infernal regi

 52
4.

Awaiting the burial.

the coffin
be

Whether
house
soul,

kept

for

a
it

long
is

or

short time
seat

in

the

of the departed,

matters

little;
all

the tablet,

of the

that

becomes the object of

customary superstitions.

Every person coming- to the house of the deceased,

must bring

some mock-money, which

receiving" guests.

is

presented

to

the

person

appointed for

The guest

will

then burn the mock-money,

and

offer

his

con-

dolences to the son of the deceased,

who bows

his

acknowledgments
is

kneeling on the ground, to show thereby

how profound

his grief.
full

The

tablet

remains exposed during forty-nine days, or the

space of seven weeks.

During this time,

presents are received.
scrolls",

series

of

funeral

repasts

is

given

and

Among

the latter,

may

be found

"mourning
on rectan-

Wan-chang
in

1(1^-,

or large inscriptions written

gular pieces of satin, silk, or cloth,

burial dav

and which are carried on the

honour

of the deceased.

While the
to leap over
it,

coffin rests

on the

trestles,

little

children

are

wont

in order to obtain courage.

We
of rice,

manner, how the egg placed in the bowl beside the head of the corpse, is eaten for the same purpose.
shall see in like

A pun
:

is

made on

the word

"Tan"
will

gr,

meaning an egg, and "Tan'

)]f?

courage.

Eating this egg

inspire courage.

 53
ARTICLE
IV.

BURIAL.
1.

Preparing the burial.

a skilled

Almost everywhere, the environs, and select

is

geomancer

is

summoned
coffin

to inspect

a suitable spot as a burial-place.

in

His duty
be
laid.

also to indicate the direction

which the
a

must

On

this

depend fortune, literary degrees, and

is

numerous

posterity.

Future happiness
site (1).

influenced by the

judicious choice of a

burial-

Generally,
site,

the

geomancer,

after

having
bill

selected

favourable

takes a live cock, and traces with the

of the bird a

kind of

cross on the

ground

he then pours thereon some native wine.

Wealthy

folks have a

solemn ceremony
.

for dotting the character

Chu

3, on the tablet of the deceased (2

For this purpose they

out in
official

invite

literary

graduate,
a

who

dressed

robes,

ascends

majestically

platform,

takes

with

solemnity in his

hand

a pencil dipped in vermilion,

.

and makes the

the character

This is called dotting famous dot on the top of the character Chu 3 Chu 3; or Tien-chu lf 3. The ceremony is rather
it

expensive, but also what honour

is

confers on the family

The

rite

accomplished either in the ancestral hall or at the burial ground.

In this latter case,

some eminent person must be also invited to perform the solemn bowings to the Farth, made on the brink of The person, who thus open grave just before lowering the coffin.
officiates, is styled

Tz'e-t'u

fpj

J- (he

who

sacrifices

to
is

the
called
of

Farth

while the one

who

has dotted the

(he

character Chu
the

y,

Tiencha-

chu-kwan |^
racter).
2.

i^

who superintends

dottinu

the

Carrying nut the

coffin.

While Buddhist or Taoist

the corpse and

priests.

"Tao-shi"
prayers:

&
as

surround
i-

terminate the liturgic

mock-mone>

(1)
(2)

See article on Fung-shui See Doolittle.

JK,

fa. Ch.

I I.I

2.

Social Life of the Chinese.

Vol.

I. p.

207.

 54
'This is being burnt in abundance, the coffin is at last taken out. break forth. of the lamentations One loud and a solemn moment,

Taoist priests, armed with a large

kitchen-knife,

strikes the

coffin,

and

breaks

with

second

blow an empty bowl.

to

this is to

awaken the defunct, and warn him

The purpose of make ready for the

approaching journey. Immediately afterwards, the heavy

to the
coffin
is

middle of the road, as also the table,

up and borne upon which has been

lifted

placed the tablet of the deceased.

The

eldest son. leaning on

full

the

coffin,

kneels

down
on

before the

corpse: he wears

mourning

dress,

and

bears

his head

the
pe-

three-ridged cap. San-liang-kwan

culiar shape.

7^. so

called

from

its

The Buddhist
fetch
it

priests invite

him

to take

his father's tablet

and

back home, after

on

which he returns and follows the funeral

hearse.
lie

procession, leaning
bearers,

the
to

bows his respects

sire.

to

the

and begs them

fulfil

carry gently his venerable

negligently,

In a

case

they

may

this duty
a

he

is

armed with

kind of

wand, entwined with

sang-pang
too
j$\
fljjs

long strip of white paper,

\i'fj.

wherewith

and styled Taohe can chastise them if they jolt

1
.

much On
i-s

the corpse in the coffin

is

the top of the coffin

placed a rooster, one of

2).

its

legs being

attached by a string to the carrying-poles

$ffi-

The word
as

cock,
"j^j,

Ki

pronounced almost

in
is

the

same manner

"Kih"
(3).

mean-

ing good luck.

The bird

therefore of good

omen

Let us remark by

the
all

way,

that

if

the

deceased
lest
is

had

but

an

only son of tender years,

precautious are taken

he would bear

him away

to the

world of spirits.
lad
is

When

the coffin

taken out of

the house, the

little

placed in a large basket,

and hoisted by

(1)

In several places, this strip of white paper, enfcwim d round a bamboo,

to

is

used

mark
(2

guide the departed spirit back to the grave. In Southern China a white cock is used. Doolittle.

Social

Life of the Chinese.

Vol.

I. p. 3

214
Si e el,.

X. Article VIII.

.1.1

means

of a cord and pulley

fixed

in

cross-beam,

to

beneath

the

roof of the house.

He

is

thus kept out of danger, and the deceased

must depart without him.

3".

Order of the funeral procession

a).

ers or
lift
//iff

The procession opens by two men carrying a pair of streamhags, made of white paper, and called "Yin-lv. fan-tze <j|
to

"? "j or landmarks

guide the spirit on

its

way

to

Hades.
lie

b).

They
a
it

are followed by a person scattering

filled

mock-monev.

carries

basket

with
to

plentiful

supply

of

paper-coin, and

strews
its

along the way.

enable the departed spirit to

purchase
'1
.

passage, and secure "the right of

c).

way"
called
{

to the

world of shades

Two

large

paper

figures

T'ung-nan
are

j| -^, a

damsel and a youth

T'ung-nu jj| -fc. and The first bears a teaS).

They
in

cup and tea-pot: the second carries a tobacco-pipe and pouch.

designed
to

act

as

slaves

or

servants to the dead

man

the

infernal regions.
d).

Two

miniature mountains, one styled the golden mountain.

|Jj
,

Kin-shan
mountain,

made

of gold-gilt paper; the other called the silver

|Jj
,

Yin-shan

f<

made

of

silver-gilt

paper.

Both

are

destined to furnish

the

deceased

with

an

inexhaustible supply of

gold and silver

e
.

(4).

Two

bearers carry a paper sedan-chair,

Lu-kiao

i|j.

for

the benefit of the deceased.

f).
it

There are also mock-steeds, with their

riders,

all

in paper,

is

needless to say.
g).

Two

paper swash-bucklers, called the

jjft
>|itji,

'"gods opening
ftp.

the
is

way'" K'ai-lu-shen |$
to clear the road,

or Ta-lu-shen
all

:}T

]Jff

Their duty

and disperse

intruders

who might

obstruct the

way

(5).

(1)
(2)

See also D.oolittle. Social Life of the.Cbiuese. Vol.

s,-o C\,. III. article

I.

p. 200.

VII. infra.
hi 1"

(3)
ili

Doolittle mils

them the "golden

Kiang-su JX

and the "gemmeous

lass". Ihid. p. 213.

Two famous
}!.,

temples, are erected

of
Wf;-

on golden ami silver Islands, opposite Chen-

kiang JK
(5)

province

Thpy arc from ten

the grave.

to fifteen feet

long, and,
cit.

four or five in diameter.

Thej are

burnt

in Eroni of

Doolittle. loc

p.

203.


<

56

>ne of

them bears

a club,

and the other an axe.

h).

After these are borne the tablets of the spirit of the deceasf$-.

ed,

P'ai

Following
a

the
of

practice

of

high

officials,

they

are

accompanied by

host

youthful

attendants.
is

carrying' various insignia.

The deceased

deemed

Kang-p'ai ^X J|^, to have acquired

is

an increase of dignity

in

the nether world, hence he

accompanied

by his insignia of rank.

i).

At the extremity

of

bamboos

are

carried
of

special

insignia,

such as
fn,

mav

be seen in processions in

honour

the gods:
etc...

Ts'unall

hvan-kia,

(upturned)

hands,

adzes

and hammers

in

tinfoil.

Wealthy people have these instruments carried in front of the They are carved in wood, and covered over with tinfoil. coffin.
p.

The procession

of Taoist, Tao-slii

-_[;,

or Buddhist priests,

wearing the surplice or coloured cope Kia-sha

the flute, beating cymbals, or
k).

'?

|^

(1),

and playing

murmuring some

liturgical prayers.

four

literary graduates, acting as

rites.

masters of ceremonies,

and conducting the funeral

4.

At the grave-side.
as the procession has left the city or
village,
all

As soon

these
to

insignia are burnt, and thus

be used by

deemed forwarded
of

to

the

deceased,

him
the

in

the land

shades

sometimes,
the

however,

they

are fired at are the

grave-side).

Generally,

only objects
pj)

retained.
"?'

two white paper-streamers, Yin-lu fan-tze

5ft j^

which

are stuck in the ground, on each side of the coffin of the

in order that

departed,
easily

his soul, after its

flight

through the

air,

may

find again the grave (2).

is

While the coffin is being lowered into the grave, mock-money burnt and music played lire-crackers are sent off in abundance,
;

lamentations and wai lings are redoubled, and

a last farewell to the deceased.

all

kneel clown to

bow

(1)

From
In

ni,lr

worn
(2)

the Sanscrit Kasha ya, a coloured garment. Nowadays, a cope or outer Buddhist priests when officiating. It is made of very thin cotton or gauze. See article on Streamers, Ch. V. Article VII. infra.


the departed spirit

57

is

Frequently also, a paper sedan-chair

burned,

to be

used bv

when

travelling to the lower regions

(1), to

which

he
31

is

conducted by a kind of usher-demon, called Yin-kwei t'ung-tze

(the lad leading the soul).
spirit

%M?

Each disembodied

has a

name

written
etc.

on
It

its
is

forehead

"honourable penitent", "obedient servant"...

'iti

Tsao-kiin

3n) the kitchen-god,

to the

who thus marks

his devotees,

recommending

them

mercy

of the ruler of Hades.

in

One meets
fields or

frequently along the country,

the

midst of the

on the hill-sides, coffins simply covered over with straw or

It is

wild plants.

interesting to

know

the reason thereof.

Three reasons are generally assigned for this custom.

1.

The time
the

for the burial of the

deceased was found to

be

unlucky,
special
coffin

fortune-tellers

having declared, that a

burial on that

day would bring misfortune on the descendants, hence the

day in which the burial

has been simply laid on the ground, and temporarily covered

over, awaiting a lucky

2".

may

take place.

lucky burial-place for the coffin has not yet been found.
to

Geomancers, either cannot agree, or the famiW wishes

r

obtain a

lucky spot, but the ow ner, guessing the intention of the purchaser,
raises the price.

In such cases, the coffin

a
full

is

laid

on

temporarv
site

resting-place, awaiting

burial

ceremony when

the

has

been purchased.
3.

Women, who

die in childbirth,

are,

as

we

shall

subseq-

uently see, most harshly treated by Buddhism. The coffin, in which their mortal i"emains are placed, must remain exposed in the open

during three years.

it is

It is

sometimes covered over with straw, but

or raise a

not allowed to bury

it,

mound

over

it.

It

is

thus

that this

inhuman

doctrine brands with a public stigma the

memory

of those unfortunate victims.

(1)

It is

to the infernal regions.

charitably supposed he would enjoy riding, instead of being obliged to walk Doolittle. Social Life of the Chinese. Vol. I. p. 174.

 58
ARTICLE
V.

AFTER THE BURIAL.

Fixed lime*
for

mourning

services. called

to the

The third day after the mountain" Fu-shan

burial, the

ceremony
is

"returning

fjj

(grave-side)
fish

performed.
pea-curd.

Four

bowls of meat are offered,

pork,

fowl,

and

On

the

table are placed a pair of chopsticks, a jar of

nine and
of

a wine-glass.

Two
ing

tresses of rice-straw, having a

number

knots correspondplaced

to the years the

:

deceased lived here below,

is

are

on

each

side of the grave

the extremity of these

spirit.

then Hied to keep

with the departed

They

are

called

company "smoke faggots" Yenfound frequently near

heu-pa
graves.

@
is

1 4E and remnants of them are

the

On

same occasion,

fire-crackers are sent off

and mock-

money

burnt on the grave.

is
[gj

This ceremony

sometimes
J|.

called

"rounding

off

the

mound

or

tumulus" Yuan-fen
It
is

especially on that

same day

that the departed spirit returns

(literally

to its

former home, seeking daylight

fig

his

eye-sight

Yen-

kwang
So

-fa),

of

which

he had been recently deprived there. taken

not
to

far,

every care has been

It is

disturb anything
are

in
left

the house.

not swept, and

clothes

and bed-coverlets
would
not

unwashed,

lest

the deceased, on

returning,

enjoy again
of

the light of day or recover his eve-sight.

Now,

in

what manner

way does

the departed spirit return?

Some
so a
little

say that he scrambles

ladder

down through
or

the

chimney, and
against
the

made

of

bamboo

reeds

is

placed

fireplace, to facilitate his

entering the house.

Others prefer believing that he climbs over the garden-wall,

so again a
("are
little

ladder

is

placed there to help

fine

him

over.

has been taken to spread some

ashes over the lloor of

the room, in order to discover from his footprints,

whether he has
brute.

been reborn as a
night
is a

man

or

has entered the

body
the

of a

That
if

sleepless one for the

members

of

house,

and

the

 59
least

noise

is

heard at

the door or the window-sill, immediately

all

lights are put out.

An egg
As
egg,

has been carefully prepared for him and

placed

in

bowl, as also a single chopstick, in order to detain him further.

a matter of fact,
is
it

is

most

difficult

task

to

eat

hai'd

when one

provided with only one chopstick.

visit

The expected

being over, the egg

Tan-tze

is

given
^f jz

to
;

children
a

in

order to increase their courage,

la
)J

jjjf

made on

the

word Tan

egg, and Tan

the gall,

pun beingwhich is con-

sidered the seat of courage in China.

The

offering of a house, provided

in

with furniture,

servants

and

other requisites, the whole

paper,
It

is
is

made on
burnt,

the forty-ninth day

after death, at least generally (l).

to the

and thus conveyed

world of shades for the benefit of the deceased.

is

Frequently, a second paper-house

attained the age of
fifty

burnt for those

or

sixty

years.

This offering

who have is made at

the end of the third vear.

Lastly,
it

may sometimes happen

that

an

old

man

has no

surviving children, and that some of his brothers or next of kin are
already deceased.

As he

will

thus have nobody

to

offer

him

paper-house after
for his

death, he anticipates on the event, and burns one

own

use,

having taken care

to

forward

it

to

one of his relatives in the nether

world, begging him to keep

he shall come to enjoy

people

it.

him, until the day when The Chinaman is far-seeing, whatever

it

in store for

may

say to the contrary

The

offering
jqj

of this
|ft.

paper-house

is called

"providing for old age" Cheu-ling

"Straw-tresses" or Fan-k'uen

|||j.

Who

has not seen along

country roads and by-ways, the remnants of straw-tresses placed on

graves'?

These tresses or

circlets of

straw are called

Fan-k'uen

f)^

(1)

In Southern China, this

is

also a very

busy and eventful daw

'the

mourning
Doolittle,

family provides a feast for invited relatives and friends.

lice to the

After this date, the ottering of

deceased

is

discontinued
I. p.

he must henceforth cook his own food.

187.

Social Life of the Chinese. Vol.

 60
pgj,

or Fan-ku-tze

ffrfi

"?

Chinese cooks use them

to

warm
rice.

the

various dishes served up as an accompaniment to cooked

These old straw-tresses are placed on the graves of children, to $), from devouring them prevent the "heavenly dog" T'ien-keu

hedged in, so to speak, in their graves, and cannot be withdrawn from them. Moreover, the heaventhe tress for a collar, and retreats in all haste, in ly dog takes
(1).

They

are thus encircled or

which case he resembles much the dog

love for his collar.

of the

fable,

that

had

little

The following are some of the fixed times, in the course \ ear, when certain mourning ceremonies are practised for the
T

of the

benefit

of the dead.

On
new

the

first

day of the

first

month,

they

are wished
is

happy

year, crackers are exploded, and

mock-money

placed on the

<

)n

the thirteenth day of the

is

first

month, the

first

year after
a

death, a lamp

placed on the grave of the deceased, with

in

box of
it

matches beside

it,

order
it

that

the

departed spirit
is called

may

light

again himself, in case

went

out.

This lamp

the "ghost's

lamp" Kwei-teng fy
with
oil

f^.

Many wealthy
for

folks place large vases filled

near the graves of their dead.

These vast receptacles are

in reality

lamps and burn

festival

whole months.

At the

of

the

tombs
April
;

or
5,

Ts'ing-ming
all

Jpf

0^

(clear-

brightness), celebrated

about

grave-mounds must be
is

repaired, rounded off and cleaned

round sod of fresh earth

dug

up, and placed on the summit

of

the conical tumulus.

This round
head-dress

sod of earth,

it

is

thought,

represents
are

the

ceremonial

worn by the Chinese. Fire-crackers burnt, and the ceremony is brought

ings

towards the

ground.

mock-mone}' is to a close by a series of bowSometimes, meats are placed on a

exploded,
in
sacrifice
i|ft,

table before the grave,

and

offered

to

the

manes
is

of the

departed.
in a

In the province of Kiang-su yX

of rice-straw

mock-money

placed
i-emit

hamper

tresses,

and burnt, imagining

to

thus a corresponding amount to the land of shades.

(1)

See above

p.

 61
In the country round Shanghai J^
in these
ffj,

a brisk

business

is

done
arrive

hampers

of rice-straw

tresses.

Boat-loads of them

constantly, and being burnt, are conveyed to the world of spirits.

On
graves
It

the fifteenth of the seventh month, the visit to the ancestral

is

renewed, and sacrifice olTeied

to

the

manes

of

the

dead.
J)^

is

at this time that the tutelary

god

of the city,

Ch'eng-hwang
and
offers

|$J|,

acting as celestial mandarin, gathers the hungry and wandering

ghosts,

Ku-hwun
of
is

z$|

(neglected or orbate spirits),

them

presents consisting of mock-money, mock-clothing, meats and cakes,

all

made

paper
called

(1),

in

order

to

escape their

vengeance.
l\*i

This

ceremony
(

"gathering the spirits", Sheu-kwei

the tenth

J^|.

)n the first of

month winter garments

are

offered
to

to

the dead.
spirit-land.

They
It is

are burnt on the graves,

and thus forwarded

the

a matter of fact that all these clothes, caps, boots,

etc...
is

shoes and dresses

added.

are

made

of paper.

Mock-money

is

also

The ceremony
$&.

calling

"letting

out the spirits", Fang-

kwei

jfc

On

the anniversary of the death of a person,

it is

proceed to his grave and offer mock-money.

This
is

is

customary to "the rememfresh

in

brance offering", and shows that his memory

still

the

minds

of the living.
[5<|

Generally, at the four principal periods, Sze-tsieh

|jj,

or triof

monthly festivals, that

the

is

the

first

day of the year,

the

festival

tombs Ts'ing-ming -^ 0$, the fifth of the fifth month, and the fifteenth of the eighth month, a commemorative service is held in
honour
of the dead.

On

the

fifteenth
{$

day of the
are

first

month,

at

nightfall,

guideplaced

lamps, Lu-teng

jig,

lighted.

These

little

lamps

are

on the brink of running streams, to guide the souls of those who died in early lifetime. Yen-wang fff] ^E, tlie God of Hades, has not

(1)

It is

a matter of

wonder that the immense number

of these

hungry and naked

spirits

can be contented with such scant and poor provisions.

Vol.
I. p.

Doolittle. Social Life of the

Chinese.

206.

 62
received them, so

they wander

over

the

world,

and

not knowing
to

Thanks where to go by rapine and plunder. and be reborn. lamps, they can tind their way
to, live

these

little

The

fifteenth of the

seventh

month
|p.

is

commonly

called

"the
with

ghosts' festival",

Kwei-tsieh

%
by

Little

lamps, prepared

in oil, are rush-pith wicks entwined with cotton-wool and steeped These as a bowl. The rind of a water-melon serves lamps lighted.

are set

floating,

and

wafted

the

stream

and the

cool

evening
the

breeze, are borne on canals and

rivers, with a

view to helping
be reborn.
is

souls of

drowned persons

to find their

way and
dead,

The seventh month

over to

is

that of the

and

entirely

given

Buddhist and Taoist priests and make processions every ceremonies, various expiatory perform evening through towns and villages, preceded by cymbals and
helping
the

departed souls.

musical instruments, for the purpose of alleviating the condition

01

wandering

souls.

Fig. 25

0^
ft

^4 ^^^
#
^

^1

cg^

^
^ W-

w
Or

(f

^TtT^S^

k 4\v

Le char funebre conduit par

Hearse accompanied

l'esprit

Sco-chen.

by- the

funeral God.

 63
ARTICLE
VI.

SUPERSTITIOUS PAPERS BURNT AT FUNERALS.

Chi-ma
$
JB|.

large

amount

of superstitious papers is

employed

at funerals,

fancying' thereby to benefit the dead.

of various divinities, or of

On

these
infernal

papers are pictures

regions,

imps

of the

who may
It

render service to the departed souls in the nether world.

is

thus

sought

to secure their good-will

life.

on behalf of those

who have
to

depart-

ed from this

Herewith are a few specimens of such papers,

offered merely to

whet

curiosity,
to be

for

if

we wished

be

complete,

many more would have

1.

added.
fl$

Propitiating the funeral god. Sao-shen Pu-sah |^

the burial day a paper
is

H $.

On

burnt, bearing on

it

the represen-

tation of a hearse,

and the god who leads the procession, Sao-shen

Pu-sah ^
It is

##

|.
carefully lead the

he

who must

funeral

procession to the

grave.

It is

therefore important to ingratiate oneself with him.

Above the hearse, Sang-ch'eh Jjj| jjf^ floats the evil star of the deceased, under its male (Hsiung $f|), and female (Tz'e lftf|) form (1).
This star
a
is

(1)

the Hwun-k'i

i|

f^ (the breath of the

soul), a

phantom
is

or spectre,

which assumes
body
of a cock,

male and female form.

In apparitions, the male form

p. 135, infra.

said to have the

62. bis.

while the female has that of a hen. See

Also illustration

 64
2.

The

ten kings of

Hades. Ming-fu
it

Shih-Wang IE
to

Jft -f-

3:

(1).

After a person's death,

is

customary
of the ten

burn a superstitious Buddhist

paper Cki-tna $

,6|,

in

honour

gods of Hades, hence the

origin
to

name given
the

to

it.

This custom

owes

its

the

doctrine on the ten divisions of hell, over which preside ten demons,

names and functions

A
petition
is

of

whom
who

will be given in

Book

II,

of this

work.

therefore addressed to them, begging that they

is to

be merciful to the deceased,

seat.

appear before their judgment

On each
are found the

side of the tablet or little print, burnt in their honour,

buffalo-headed Niu-t'eu

i^-

gjf,

and the horse-faced

Ma-mien

[ffl,

assistants of the underworld.

(1)

% W Ming-fu.

The dark

or obscure region, the underworld, Hades.

Fig. 26

Ming-fou-che-wang
Ming-fu-shih-wang
.

Charm

Hades. for propitiating the ten kings of

Fig. 27

Long-tche pou-sah, le pourvoyeur de vehicules dans Fautre monde^ Lung-cheh Pu-sah. The God of the Dragon-chariot (hearse),

Undertaker in the nether morld.

 65
3.

The

(jo<l

m* fl

M&M
On

of the dra.gon-cha.riol (hearse). Lung-ch'eh Pu-sah

this third print

in

is

represented,

according
a

to

the

means

ot

conveyance employed

the locality,
official

either

sedan-chair,

preceded
horses.

and followed by bearers of

In

insignia, or a cart

drawn by
to

both cases the idea

of

is

the same, the

for

purpose being
soul,

represent
it

some means
travel

conveyance
long

the

departed
to

whereby

may
These

over

the

road

leading

the

lower regions.

conveyances are supplied by a "god undertaker", called Lung-ch'eh Hence this superstitious picture is burnt in Pu-sah ff| ipl 3& $||.
his honour, to secure his good-will towards the soul
lead to the nether world.

which he

is to

66
u \
.

^
c

The god of

the

hungry ghosts. Ku-h\('uh Pu-sah

title
is

The above merciful

'life

generally

given

to

Ti-ts ang-\vang

4& ~E (U-

'

'

ne

who has spread among

which he
is

the people

ihe
life
.

cere-

monies intended

to help

those abandoned ghosts

See

his

By
these

burning this picture, on

outcasts,
to

represented
of

gathering"

who have
unerringly

failed to find

the road

rebirth,
of

he

is

begged
to
its

lead

and

promptly

the

soul

the

deceased

destined place and abode.

Hence, as
the

will

be seen
of the

further

on,
of

this

god

is
It

considered
is

as
of

undisputed

lord

"Land

Shades".

therefore

the utmost importance to secure his protection.

Oftentimes, this superstitious paper

is

called

''Muh-lien"

j^t.

such being the name given

to this

god as a Buddhist priest.

picture,
it

Very

frequently

also,

superstitious
is

Chi-ma
it

%fc

@|,

representing the kitchen god.

forgotten,

burnt, for
forehead
its

is

he,

must noc be
to

who

inscribes on the

of the

soul

be judged,

the characters which will partly decide

destiny, according as they

appear favourable or unfavourable.

After having placed the coffin in the

grave,

it

is

customary
$j

in
in
(2),

some

places

to

burn

superstitious

picture,

Chi-ma

j^,
[i|

honour

of the tutelary

god of the mountain, Shen-shan f^

It

who watches
violation
of

over the burial ground.

is

his

duty to

keep

watch

over the grave of the departed, and prevent any

the

such misfortune as
as
is

tomb.

He
and

is

generally

represented

watching
thus the

beside the coffin at the entrance to

the graveyard.

He

warden

of the deceased,

also

of

the

mound

or

tumulus raised

over the grave.

The ruler of Hades, and as such, much ivy. red by the people. He has under him twelve myrmidons, executioners of all horrors and pains, from which, however, if assidHackmann. Buddhism as a Religion, uously worshipped, he can deliver departed souls.
1

p. 211.
(->

In

Southern China, the

hill

gods are

also

worshipped, as

it

is

believed they

protect the graves of those

who

are buried there.

Doolittle. Social

Life of the

Chinese,

Vol. [.p. 206.

Fig. 28

Kou-hoen pou-sah, le protecteur des ames abandonnees. OKu-hwun Pu-sah. The God protector of wandering ghosts.

 67
ARTICLE
VII.

PURCHASING
Formerly Kao-ch'ai
magistrate of Ch'eng
his wife.

nil.

RIGHT OF WAY.

Mai-lu-l*'ien
]9j

j& .

%_.

follower of Confucius, and district

h-<it>n

;^ |.

damaged

the crops,

when

bur}'ing

Shen-sinng

l\)

jjffi,

son of Tze-ch.nng

^
(if

jjf,

warned

him
"jfrj

thereof and begged

him
if

to

compensate

for the loss.

Kno-ch'ai

refused, stating that

il

he purchased the right

way

for the burial.

would be setting up
According
to the

a precedent detrimental to

many

others

(1). is

custom

at present prevailing,
is

when
to

a coffin
at

borne

to the grave, a poison

specially detained

march

the

head of the procession, and scatter mock-money along the road. This is called "purchasing the right of way", and is more or less
connected with the historical incident attributed to Kao-ch'ai
In
'jfFf

^.

Japan,

whenever
is

burial

takes

place,

tent

is

erected,
is

beneath which incense

the ''orphan tent".

burnt
is

before

the
to

corpse.

This

called

A person

detained

precede the procession,

and scatter copper coins along the road. This is called "purchasing The poor and beggars come and gather up the right of wav".
these coins.
It

would, therefore, seem that

(2).

the

custom passed over

from Japan

to

China

Kao-ch'ai

^ ^
to

was wrong
crops
is

in

refusing
burial day

to

make good
his
wife.
set

the

damage caused him must

the

on

the

of

The
by

reason which he adduces

not convincing,

and the example

not be followed, for whosoever causes

for

damage
is

to

another

must compensate him

serious Chinese writers.

the

loss.

In

line

it

not a question
reflexions
of

about purchasing the right of way.

Such

are the just

(>)

See Li-ki

,j|[

| or Book

of Rites. Ch.

T'an-kung-hsia

A.

I). 131-2. foi. fiO).

f$0ift^Hiflt74L!lf'HfgEl
flfi

H^

"],",

(Yuan JO edition
H'C

g $ BYS? & & & *. ft *E ff- v A IW # i & b a jg m. m ^ ^mm m~z & m. % nw^# 1. >i m i.iiixi. - a # m $ m m # * w. $s & tt ^ t % # . & ft IXS B # it A * IB .
(2)

Shi-wi yiuin-hwei

ffl

ffe

tfc

fir.

 68
In regard to this Japanese custom of scattering pieces of copper
coin along the way,
give an alms to the
it

is

hard

to say

whether the

real

purpose
of

is to

poor,

or to

disperse the crowd

injure

vagabonds
way,

who

obstruct the road, and

to

may

the

crops along the

exposing thereby

compensate
it is
it,

for the

damage caused by them.

Be that as

it

may,

the custom nowadavs, to scatter mock-

money without burning

what
all

along the

way

of the procession.

This

is

are agreed to call: "purchasing the right of way".

all

Every public or private property has a road leading to it, and may use this way free of cost. This is quite true, but pagan
feared they

Buddhists believe that wandering and hungry ghosts crowd round

on a burial day to get some alms, and
will obstruct the procession.
if

refused,

it

is

\n former times, no

mock-money was

scattered along the

way

on burial days, and the procession met with no accident

Never, in
fact,

for all that.

was

it

heard that the procession halted in the middle

to return.

of the journey, or

had been compelled

The followers

of Confucius, to act,
~0j
^fe,

as

they say,

in

accordance

with the intention of Kao-ch'ni

for

purchase the right of way

however,
they
is

the

funeral

procession.

In

so

doing,

deceive

simple folks, and deceive also themselves.

This custom

universal

throughout Kiang-nan

jJX.

fll

CHAPTER

IV.

PETITION-TALISMANS FOR THE BENEFIT

OF THE DEAD.

ARTICLE

I.

ORDINARY CASES OF DEAD PERSONS.

Buddhist and principally Taoist
imagination
given
full
is

priests,

Tao-shi jg -, whose

fertile

in

inventing

means

of getting

money, have
in

scope to their researchful genius,

especially
for

varying
in

the nostrums useful to the dead,

and helpful

the

souls

the
to

nether world.

The vulgar mass needs ceremonies, which appeal

to

the eye, impress the imagination, and are also well adapted

the

idiosyncrasy of the Chinese people, as well as to the manner of death

of the deceased.
It is to

meet these two requirements, that they have

begging them
to

imagined

to address petitions to their gods,

show

mercy to the dead. To such petitions, they add talismans or charms, which have, as they consider, the power of delivering the soul from Hades, and assuring it a happy rebirth. Variety dispels all monotony,
so their petitions

and talismans vary according

person
for

to the

god invoked,

or the

manner

of death of the

whom

one intercedes.

These petition-talismans arc printed by shops known as "superstitious paper shops" Chi-ma~tien $j j, which sell all such

articles

commonly used by the people.

When

somebody

is

near


dying,
a

70

is

person

hastens

to

purchase one of these petition-papers,

soon
vary,
to

and warn the king of Hades that a soul

his

appear before

judgment

seat.

After

death,
it

petitions

according to the

causes which

have brought

on.

Thus,

there are

some

for

all

cases, others for those

who

die

by

hanging or drowning, or who

have committed suicide,

etc...

When
respective

Buddhist or Taoist
ceremonies
for

priests,

Tno-shi
of

jfr

J;, perform their

the

benefit

the

dead,

these

petition-

talismans are burnt, in order that they

the god to

may

reach

more expeditiously

whom
is

they are addressed.

the

Burning

great

means

of

communication between the

present world and that bevond the grave.

of these papers,
in places
1".

We

shall give here a

few

which are generally and most commonly employed

of

throughout the province

Lao-hiXn

Nrjan-hwei

$fr.

^
the

;"

(printed on yellow paper).

:

This pa pel

reads as follows

Talisman
\-

of
to

Honourable Lao-hiXn,

T'ai-shang Lao-kini

-fa

g-

/|

;|

purify and saVe the souls

of the dead.
g", for the benefit

This talisman has been planted by

of all the dead.
It

I.ao-hi'i.n jj

will

help to cleanse their bodies, refine their vir-

tues, blot out their faults, render

even the

last

remnants

of

and utterly the sins which they have committed

them

stainless,

efface in

previous existence (allusion

to

the

doctrine

of the

metempsychosis).
to

Cleansed from

all

earthly dross, they shall be

\$)
-f,

deemed worthy
(2).

be

admitted into the presence of Yen-wang

In witness

where-

allusion is here of, we accomplish to-day this expiatory ceremony be invited to who must Tao-nhi made to the Taoist priests, jfr -|;,

pray and burn the above mentioned petition

in full

and burn

this talisman,

compliance with the orders received Irom Lao

Lao
kirn

Itc j$

-^

^^

<>v

Lao-tze

^f-,

the old or venerable philosopher.

Born B.C.

604;

time and place of death unknown. He founded the Taoist system of philosophy and mystiof the cism, improved upon by his disciples. In A fi(J(i, the emperor Kao-tsung ^j
1

>.

T'ang

jjf

dynasty bestowed on him the

of the

title

pk

^ TG

il?.

the Great

Emperor

Dark

First Cause.

Again

in

A.J).

1013, the

title

Supreme, the j\ _h 3L Ha was added

by Imperial command. Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual. Lao-tze

(2)

^ ^f.

The

ruler of Ha'des.

^K^^^SSH'^

>'

^4-

-J

-Q

^
g

&^

01

O:

*
s

3 f

"^ ^N

"*?

rvrs "it\

'\^

"a -

^M$H^

If

l\\

ta^


Such
a year,...

71

priests.
|S|iT

month,... and day,...

is

This petition-talisman
2.

employed by Taoiot

Petition-talisman
;

P6

""

the inll
faithful

'

honour of Amitabha (O-mi-t'o-fuh Hades f (Ti-ls'ang-wang -jfc fa ).

in

We, your
month (name
mi-t'o-fuh

followers, N...
all

of

month), with

(names inserted here), in this the members of our household, the

pious son, his relatives and

|5pT
fl$j

kinsfolk, prostrate before

Amitabha, 0ffo

|?g

P, the ruler of Hades, Ti-ts'ang-wang

$$

3E, and the ten gods

of the infernal regions, do hereby implore

your

great mercifulness.

We

even venture

to

draw up

a written

engage-

ment with you. and

for so

as contracting parties,

and
in

so,

X...
a

(name inserted
and

here),

born

such

year...

month...
to the

up our prayers aged... (here his age), and and at such a day... and
offer

we

hour...,

whose soul has returned

rapid
is

realm of the Immortals.

In

How
moment
being,
!

the flight of years!

truth,

life

lasts

but a

We

remind you amidst

tears of the arrival of this beloved

whom

death has ravished from

the

our gaze.
of

Deliver

him, we

humbly beseech you, from

grant him
to be

land
filled

reborn in a state
in

suffering, and graciously with happiness and joy.

At

present,

such

a
for

month...
his

and on
to

srtch

day...

we

accomplish this

ceremony

benefit,

open

up

for

him the Thanks

road leading to a new rebirth, amidst prosperity and glory.

to

your unbounded mercifulness, great Amitabha, O-mi-t'o-fuh ppT 3E, we Hades, Ti-ts'ang-wang jfo ffl P6 rfr" and thou ruler ol the abode of into will be admitted soul his peace and hope that

happiness; we reckon
benefit, will deserve for

also

that

this

ceremony,

performed for his

the

him the happiness

of being reborn into

|JpT
~jffi

body of
jlP

man.
(2)

Once more. O-mi-t'o-fuh

jfo

|?

$,

Jii-lai-fuh

?fc

>$

and Tz'e-kwang-fuh *& jt

(3),

we humbly beg you

to save his soul.

(lj

Amitabha (boundless
the Chinese.

Guatama.

the historical light). The celestial prototype corresponding to Also the sovereign lord of the Western heavens, and hence highly popular

among
(2)

Hackmann. Buddhism

as a Religion, p. 159.

translation of the "Sancrit Tata-gata" or

the

"Thus come Buddha".

One

whose comfng and going accords witb thai of his predecessor. The highesl appellation given to every Buddha. Giles. Chinese-English "Dictionary. Jii-lai jl\\ 5^(3)

The mercifully enlightening Buddha.

 72
"When
when
the the lotus-flower opens, the fruit
of the
is

already in formation
;

(man being reborn partakes already

flower
fall's.,

nature of Buddha)

but

the

fruit

is

quite formed"' (thus

does death
state,

achieve

the

work

of

Nirvana, and
1

thanks

to

such a

man

becomes

a perfect

Buddha

We

respectfully offer to
it

you

this petition

for the benefit of

such a soul, and in order that

in
is

may
is

reach you,

we burn

it.

Done

such a year..., month..., and dav...

exclusively

This petition

drawn up on yellow paper, and

reserved to Buddhist priests.

bis Fig. 31

/1WP ^mm. mmm^

ir

gH>5-|gg|\
4&

&

ffitt-

4 ^mfo^tA*

Passe-port pour l'autre

Passport

to

Brule en Thonneur de Ti-ts'ang Wang. the nether world. Written charm burnt in honour of
vie.

Ti-ts'ang

Wang,

ruler of Hades.

73

Second petition couched

in similar style.

10

oo

Petition-talisman begging
jjf

happy

rebirth.
in

Taoist priests, Tao-shi

the deceased

J^.

burn this petition

order

that

may

be reborn into the body of a

man,

or at least into

the body of a genial

animal.
.

It

is

printed

on yellow paper,

and

addressed to Lao-kiln j jg

f, *\

H'*

0) en

03

C
CC

> c
_c
'-t->

CC

a,

c u CC u c
S-.

c
5~

ipfri

o U o
cu

a
_C"

<o

So

P-

$*

&>
v->

#P^;

M d 4#^s#^F^^"%-"

Passe-debout pour

la

douane sur
on the

la

route des enfers.

to the

Permit exempting from

tolls

way

Infernal regions.

75

4.

Permit

(for Irnnxit) delivered to the departed *oid

Buddhist priests

print

on yellow paper, bearing the Imperial

colours, a permit (for transit),

which they
it

deliver to a departed soul,

and through means

barrier found on the

of

which

can pass without any difficulty the

to the infernal

way leading
Taoist

regions.
in
jiff

It

is

an

order

given

to

the
a

barrier-keepers
soul.

not

to

hinder

anywise the

passage of such

priests,

Tuo-slii

^, may

also

grant a similar official permit.

These people shrink from nothing.

\A/WVWWV \f\- Vi/V/VW

76

5.

Passport granted
is

to tho soul.

Lu-yin

*-j|.

This
ing
full

a certificate delivered by

competent authority, and secur-

freedom of passage

to the soul along" the road leading" to the

world beyond.
barriers free of

The deceased,
toll,

thanks
of

to

this

badge,

passes

the

and

is

assured

protection

throughout the
also

way.

On

the document are the

day, on which
is
it

bearer's

name,

as

the

year,
is

month and

has been delivered.

at the burial service.

This passport

on vellow paper and

burnt

Lou-yng

tan-tse.

Passe-port de Fame.
to the

Lu-yin tan-tze. Passport delivered

departed soul.

tc

CO
Ifl

0)

b
u
<a

F*

c
p.'

i
c

I'M

<'<
rs

77

6.

Opening the ceremony of the Lemuria

is

(1).

n K'ai-t'an

Vi

This petition

burnt for the benefit of wandering and vagabeen unable

All
is

bond

souls,
of a

who have
mother.

to find the

road to rebirth in the

as the soul of the
to

womb

good

spirits,

as well

deceased, whose

name

on the

print,

are
is

begged
placed
jj

protect

them

from malevolent demons.

This charm

on

the

platform

erected for Buddhist and Taoist priests, Tao-shi

the opening of the expiatory

]-, and burnt at

ceremony

for the benefit of the dead.

to

A festival instituted by Romulus Originally Remuria, but corrupted to Lemuria. The ancient Greeks and Romans supposed Remus. his brother manes of the appease
(1)

that the souls of the dead wandered

inhabitants.
ones,

all

over the world and disturbed the peace of

its

Among them were

known by the name of were celebrated, and lasted three days and three nights. On this occasion, it was usual for the people to burn black beans, as the smell was supposed to be insupportable to the
evil spirits.

good spirits, called Lares familiares (ancestors), and evil Larvae or Lemures. To appease those latter, the Lemuria

They

also

muttered magical words, and by beating

kettles

and drums,
Lempriere's

believed the ghosts would depart and no longer molest the

Glassicul Dictionary.

living

(See

Lemuria).

7S

7.

Opening

the portals

of the

Buddhist paradise. K'ai-t'ien

This charm, endowed,

is

it

is

believed, with marvellous cflicacity,

considered as the key of heaven, and infallibly procures happiness

the
soul
for

to

whose

benefit

it

is
it

burnt.
is

It

rescues

from

the

infernal regions the soul to

for
it

whom

remitted,

the
is

portals

of the

Buddhist paradise.
paper,
carefully

and opens wide This warrant from

Above

printed

on

yellow

dated, and bears the

name

of the departed soul.

VH^>v<^^-

.C/0

%
be

-2

Si
"*-

CO

A^J^igL^S

<

^ft^S^^^
s.
/.

-.

I U

\
-

>

CO

c c

0)

to

t.j

S^^^v^ip^

79

8.

Informing the ruler of Hades

is

(1).

This

proclamation,
fx.
J{{i

written

by the Abbot of a Buddhist

monastery, in Kiang-su

f||,

Hades,

Ti-ls'ang-wang
has

and pretending to inform the god of }, that such a person, recently

follower
of

deceased,

been

faithful

Buddha,

and as

such,

deserves to be mercifully treated in the nether world.

The document, duly prepared,

it,

is

on yellow paper.

To obtain

one

may

apply to the Superior of a monastery,

indicates

the

name

of

his

monastery,

the year,

who signs it, and month and day,

when

it

has been issued for the benefit of such a departed soul.

(1)

In Southern China, a ceremony for informing the ten rulers of Hades, of the
officiate. Doolittle. Social

death of a person, takes place on the sixth day. Taoist priests

Life of the Chinese. Vol.
I. p.

182.

80

9.

Temporary

seat of the soul.

is

At a funeral, this paper

suspended from

reed or

bamboo,
his

and the soul

of the departed is requested to

come and

establish

seat therein, in order to receive the offering's of clothing-

and mock-

monev remitted

for his benefit to the

lower world.

Fig. 38

Siege transitoire de Tame. Temporary seat of the (departed) soul.

Fig. 39

La bourse de Tame.

Wrapper containing

the soul.

 81

10.

The enoelope of
is

the soul.
folded in rectangular shape.
It

This
resembles

a tablet

or

envelope,

much one

of those large
is,
It

envelopes employed
tine,

for

sending

official letters in

China, and

in
is

kind of paper wrapper

little

designed

to receive the soul.

coffin,

fixed
rice

upright on the
placed
at

table,

behind

the

and beside the

j$\
jjjj"

the

rear of

the

deceased's head, Tao-t'eu-fan

(1).

This
the time
ft is

is

the

first

seat of the

soul,

or

temporary one, awaiting

set up.

when the

tablet will be

permanently

only the rightful heir of the deceased

1

who may
plaintiffs

hold this

important paper.
it

have seen cases

proof of

in

which

have taken

to officials, as
is

their legitimate

claims.

The annexed
which has been
by
the

illustration

a fac-simile of one of these envelopes,

presented

to

the

Han-shun hsien
prove their

^
right

|Jj

the

magistrate
inheritance
the

prosecuting party, to
deceased.
It

to

of the

was considered as a

piece of evidence in

lawsuit,

which

took place over the dividing of the property.

(1)

See above,

p. 50.

Objects placed beside the

coffin.

11

 82

11".

[turning mock-clothing for the benefit of the dead.

in

In

shops dealing

superstitious objects, sheets of yellow paper

of coats

upon which are printed the likeness as generally worn by the living.
are found,

and boots,

To these sheets
designed to afford
outfit will

are usually added

for

some sentences
whose
of

or petitions,

relief to the soul,

benefit this

mortuary
filial

be

burnt.

At the approach
outfit
all

winter,

every
or

son

must prepare such an

for

his

deceased

father

mother.

When
to the

he has provided

the mock-clothing, intended to be conveyed

dead, he proceeds to their grave, and burns thereon the entire

outfit for their benefit, in order that they J

may J

not suffer too

much

from the cold in the nether world (P.

(1)

This ceremony takes place on the

first of

the tenth

month

(See

;< 1

>

>

e, p.

61

? v*#i{?

H
2SS8
*>:

0)

o
a.

J-i

a.

V)

-S
-2

Fig. 41

Coftre-fort en papier.

Fire-proof safe burnt and forwarded to the dead.

Fig. 41

Coffre-fort en papier.

Fire-proof safe burnt and forwarded to the dead.

88

12".

Sending
does

paper-safe
not

to Ihe

dead.

Property

seem

to

be

any

better

protected

by

the
so

majesty of the law in the nether world than in

it

the

present one,

can hardly be called "the better world".

In

this realm of briberv

and knavery, a good safe is indispensible, in order to secure protection from burglars. Thus, the custom arose of sending a paper-safe,

which being burnt, was conveyed

use
a
it,

to the

departed

soul.

He would
silver.
It is

to store safely therein his treasures of gold

and

gleam

of civilisation, penetrating

among
were

those

"gentlemen
with
houses,

of the

lower

regions''.

Formerly,

people

contented
:

sending
horses,
of

them the

objects used during a previous existence

servants, a complete outfit of clothes,

paper trunks and articles

furniture

but since modern industry has turned out fire-proof safes,

equipped with safety locks, these valuable inventions are

now

for-

warded them, and

this

fills

up the cup of their happiness, by securing

of their treasures.

them the perpetual enjoyment

is a religion

Truly,

Buddhism

of progress!

M
ARTICLE
II.

PETITION-TALISMANS RESCUING EROM THE

"BLOODY POND"

(1

).

The bloody pond, Hsueh-hu jfQ. $Jj, also called the "pool of the bloody pail", is an immense expanse filled with blood and mire,
into

which

are

plunged

those
still

unfortunate

mothers who
according

die
to

in

childbirth, and

what

is

more distressing,

the

teaching of
to a child,

modern Buddhism, every woman who has given birth is rendered thereby unclean, and must remain plunged in
therefrom.

the "bloody pond", until rescued

Now,
invite

to

sectire

this

desired result,
to

it

is

absolutely

necessary to
(2).

Buddhist priests

pray for them.

Such
is

is

the theory

This ceremony

very expensive, and brings in a

1

large annual
to secure

income

to all these impostors.

had been lucky enough

two papers commonly used

in

such ceremonies.

The

first is

petition-talisman,
classics,
is

which

differs

but

little

from
of

the generalit}* of these

suffering

invented to

relieve

similar

ills

humanity.

It

burnt

during

the expiatory ceremony,

performed either by Buddhist or Taoist priests,

is

Tao-xhi
of the

i-

It

printed on yellow paper, and

bears

the

name

victim, as

also the year,

day and hour, in which the ceremony took place.

is a

The other
the

much more important document,

whereby they are
officially

as

it

grants

to

Buddhist priests a special warrant or diploma, conferred on

himself,

them by Buddha
choly function.

patented

and

granted the perpetual and exclusive right of performing this melan-

Considering the importance and difficulty of secur-

ing this paper,

we give

it

here translated in
of the

full.

The precious formula

and conserved
in the great

"bloody pail" composed by Buddha, Buddhist repository "Ta.-tnRng-king" A"

(1)

spirit of a

This ceremony is also practised in Southern China, its object being to save the deceased mother from this pretended punishment. Doolittle. Social Life of
I.

the Chinese. Vol.

(2)

p. 196.

See Chap. V. Article

XI

infra.

Fig. 42

9o

 85
"Muh-lien

g
ffl

jig",
j'\],

having travelled

to

Chui-yang
"pool
of

lisien

jg

|(

%.
it

in

Yu Chow

saw

hell

called
lake),

the

of

the

bloody

pail" (so called

from

its

resembling a

and

such extent that

required eight hundred and forty thousand days to cross over it. Therein are found one hundred and twenty kinds of torture: iron

beams,
of this

iron pillars, iron collars and chains.

[n

the southern

part

pond are plunged a countless number of women, their hair dishevelled and their hands bound with shackles. The ruler of
Hades compels them thrice
a

day

to

drink blood, and should thev

iron rods.

refuse, he threshes them soundly with

Muh-lien

jj$.

touched with compassion, on hearing them groan beneath the lashes,

said
to

the

ruler of

Hades

here"? ''This
their husbands.

'-Why
replied

don't

their
fUj

husbands come
3^,
is

punishment,

Yen-wang

not

for

They

are here, because in giving birth to children,

they have discharged polluted blood, which offends the Spirits of the
Earth.
rivers

Moreover, they have washed their blood-stained clothes

in

and streams, whence men and women draw this contaminated water, and make therewith tea, which they afterwards offer to the
gods.

Offended by such irreverence, these latter despatch a celestial

warrior,

who

writes the

names

of the

guilty

in

the

book of good
.

and

Muh-lien
Hades,
deliver his

evil,

then after death, they have

@
in

to undergo this punishment with overwhelmed sadness, asked the ruler of j^,

how,

order to

requite the benefit of existence, he could

"by worshipping the Buddhist Trinity (1). above all by inviting the Buddhist priests to perform the ceremony of rescue, during which they must recite the (annexed) prayer. Then
honouring one's
parents,
in

mother from the "bloody pond".

The

ruler replied:

the midst

of

the

"bloody

pond"

variegated

lotus

flowers

will

appear, a skiff despatched from the flotilla of anguish will meet her,

and bear her

be

to the

banks of the Nai-ho

land".

jp[
|||

(2).

where she can

(3),

reborn
That

in

blissful

Kwun-yin

by order of
Also called the

(1)

is

three "Precious Ones".

"Buddha, the Law (Dha'rma) and the Church (Sanga)". Eitel. Handbook of Chinese Buddhism.

The Buddhist river Styx, so called, because the soul cannot help crossing it. (2) Sixty days after death, paper boats are burnt to help the soul to cross over it. Failing
this device, the soul
(3)

may
of

be drowned. Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language.

JSJ,

The Goddess

Mercy.

 83
Buddha, enjoined on Muh-lien
out this formula and distribute
ing
it,

g
it

j^L

lo exhort the faithful to

write

to

women,
the

in order that by recit-

they
be

mav

escape
in

falling

into

"bloody-pond"

at

their

death,

reborn

land
glory,

of joy

and happiness, possess

all

the

favours of fortune and

guardians

of the heavenly dragon.

through the protection of the eight Muh-lien g thanked effus-

ively, offered sacrifice to

Kwan-yin

j||

^, and withdrew"

(1).

Follows the Sanscrit text of the above prayer, transliterated by

means

of

Chinese character writing.

is

This prayer

burnt by the Buddhist priests, during the cereperform,

for

mony which
merely those

they

the

purpose of rescuing from

birth to children,

the

"'bloody pond"

all women who have given who have died in childbirth.

and not

Thus, Muh-lien's

j|t

mother did not

to

die in giving

him

birth,

and nevertheless, according

"bloody pond".
false
hell

this paper, she

was detained
is

in the

This ceremonv
principle,
of the

based on an absolutely
as a sin

and unnatural
the propagation

which

sets

down

deserving

human

race through legitimate means.

This
is

hell is called the pool of the

"bloody pail".
at

An

allusion

here

made
pail

to
is

a Chinese
called

vessel

vessel or

"p'en"

^,

employed and it is

parturition.

This

this

same character
Hsueh-

(term),

which enters
jfn

into the composition

of the expression
It is

p'en-ch'i

']&

or

"pond

of the bloody pail".

well

known
none

that the Buddhist priest Muh-lien

j|,
j;-j{j

mentioned here,

is

other than the famous

hists,
of

Ti-ts'ang-wang
at

^
lj|

3E?
jjj
,

deified

by Budd-

and worshipped

Kiu-hwa-shan
of

in

the province

Ngan-hwei
which

^.

He was one
if

the

most cunning men, and

the

the original propagator,

trine,

not the inventor of this horrifying docfills

inspires

such fear into pagan women, and

(2).

coffers of

Buddhist priests

This legend of the bonze Muh-lien

g
a

jifi,

rescuing his mother

of

from

hell,

is,

as

may

be

understood,

repetition

the

story

(1)

(2)

See Notice on Ti-ts'ang Wang See Life of Ti-ts'ang-wang ife

Jft

0.
3E-

J,

the ruler of Hades, Book III.

II.

Book

Wfc* $&3^tta&r
-o

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3

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 87
Maudgalyayana (1), the cherished pupil who delivered his mother from hell.
attributed to
of

Buddha, and

The Taoist

priestesses,
j'[\,

Tao Nai-nui

jjf|

^
^

ty*j.

witches inhabitbelief

ing Hal Chow i%

in

have availed themselves of the popular

1

"bloody pond' Hsueh-hu-ch'i Pagoda Hill, T'ah-shan j$ fjj in the

the
,

jfn.

fljj.

At the

foot

of

district

of

Shuh-yang-hsien
according
to

tfc

Wi if"

may
is

be

seen

muddy swamp, and

this,

these witches,

the "bloody-pond", into which are plunged

in

women
them

who have
from the

died

childbirth,

and even others who have simply

release

brought forth children.

filthy pool in

The problem, therefore, is to which their souls are immersed.

witches,

difficult

task indeed, according to the

in

and

in order

to succeed,

they must assemble

success
of

large numbers.
invite,

Families
therefore,

interall

ested in

the

the

undertaking
offer

the

witches of the neighbourhood,

them

hearty

meal

and

then
J*f

conduct them to the brink of the Pagoda Hill pond,

[1|
.

T'ah-shan

Having" reached the pond, they

set

up howling and beating on up the

pieces of wood, after

which the
in the

relatives of the deceased stir

mud
all

with sticks, search

pond, and pretend

to

release thereis

from the soul of the unfortunate woman.

return home, and

When

the comedy
old

over.

make

handsome

offering to the

witches,

Tao-nai-nai
excellent

^fj

to ffl,

thank them

for their

good work and their

the ceremony an

The people assembling, Tso-hwui ^.

howling.
fjjft

of the locality call

One of the disciples of Sakyamuni, especially noted for his magic powers, through (1) which he transported an artist to Tuchita, to get a view of Buddha, and make a statue of him. He also went to hell and released his mother. Eitel. Handhook of Chinese Huddhism.

 88

ARTICLE

III.

PETITION-TALISMANS FOR SPECIAL CASES.

1.

For the

benefit

of a

person

who has commuted

suicide

(printed on yellow paper).

According
on
the

to the

Buddhist doctrine, as exposed

in

the treatise
1W-'

Infernal

regions,

Yuh-lih-ch'ao-chw'an
suicide
in

3i

M. $t

a^
are
of

those

who have committed

after

without

sufficient

reason,
the '"city

confined
suicide

their

death

special
:

place
3*E

called

victims",
a

Wang-sze-ch'eng ^

fj

J$.

Buddhist

priests

have invented

charm, which, according to them, has the power of from this dismal abode the soul of the person who has releasing

committed suicide, and conferring upon him the favour

rebirth.

of a

new

The

fatal

cord that has caused his death

is

solemnly execrated.

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J

^J^fca^H*

<

W sg^fc^X^ J$N& *<#

89

2.

For

the benefit of a person assassinated (printed on yellow

paper).
It

is

stated

in

the treatise on the

j} fi^,

Infernal regions,
of a

Yuh-lih-

ch'ao-chw'an 3 jg
to death, or

that the soul

person

unjustly put

who
the

died as a result of

wounds
he

received, enjoys freedom,

and

pursues
is

assassin

in

order to

avenged on him.

The

victim

not satisfied until he has delivered him over to the infernal

of his
of a

judges, and feasted his eyes on the spectacle

only then that he can he reborn in the

torture.

It

is

womb

mother.
hasten the day

The annexed charm

of this
is

or talisman is designed

to

happy

rebirth.

The dagger

or

sword which slew the victim

that they
be broken

solemnly execrated, and the Avish expressed

to pieces.

12

90

3".

For

person harassed by

evil

spirits

(printed on yellow

paper].

This charm has the

power

of

hastening'

the

rebirth

of those

unfortunate souls that are harassed by

that maleficent

evil spirits.

Buddhism

teaches

demons roam over the world seeking vengeance on

mortals, and that they frequently kill persons who do not protect themselves from their attacks. Chinese doctors find here a means
of evading responsibility

when

their

prescriptions

fail.

They then

vend at an exorbitant price certain

break the spell which threatens life. "to make hay while the sun shines".
Tao-shi
jff

magical

nostrums designed to Experience has taught them

Buddhist and Taoist
if

priests,

^,

lose

no time in imitating them, and

death ensues,

they burn this petition in order to rescue the victim's soul.

K*S^4-^*JSH<

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91

'i.

For the victim of an unjust lawsuit.

is

The Chinaman

born wrangler.

Persons are occasionally

strain,

met with whose death has resulted from the

endless

worry and
protract

vexations

caused

by

court

underlings,

who

the

pleadings, and beneath a show of justice aim at the final ruin of the victims. Sometimes, in order to put an end to their existence,

these swallow a

large

quantity

of

opium,
This

and proceeding

to

the

house of their opponent, seek thereby to

door,
of the
all

ruin
is

him by dying

at his

other

means having

failed

the supreme vengeance

weak against the powerful.

or

The annexed talisman

paper charm

is

designed

to deliver
it

the soul from punishment in the infernal regions, and help

to

be

reborn

in a

happier state of existence.

92

5.

For the victim of

felonious

murder (written on yellow

paper).

When
treatment

it

happens that
Taoist

person

has

been

waylaid,

has

fallen
ill-

into the trap laid for him, or dies as the result of

received,
priests,
for the

wounds and
his

Tao-shi

J^, are

summoned,
soul
re-enter the

and burn the annexed charm

from the punishment

purpose of delivering

inflicted in hell,
(1).

and helping

it

to

wheel of the metempsychosis

(1)

from eternal cosmic matter.

regions in which one

This symbolises the ever recurring series of evanescent phenomena, all evolving The six spokes of the wheel represent the six different

may

find a

new

man-world, the animal world, the region

Keligion. p. 165.

of ghosts

existence: the heavens, the Titanic world, the and hell. Hackmann. Buddhism as a

VWWWN/^

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,/VW\A.

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f

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tn

OS

u 3 o
ft
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^T

^$fc^*

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93

6".

For

the

benefit

of

drowned persons (written

on

yellow

paper).

We

shall

give

further

on,

chapter VIII, article 14, details

priests,

of

the ceremony which the Taoist rescue from the waters the soul

Tao-shi

af|

^,

perform

to

of a person

who

has been

drowned.

Here,
is

we

shall deal onlv with the written

hell,

charm, whereby his soul

reborn
in

delivered from
is

and

helped

to

be

another body.

This paper

burnt during the ceremony performed after his death,

or lies

and in case his corpse still floats on the surface of the ocean waves, immersed in lakes, rivers or canals, the ruler of Hades must
all

make

endeavours

to

rescue
date

his

soul

out
the

of the

depths.

The
been

victim's

name and

the

on

which

ceremony

has

performed, are carefully written on the petition-talisman.

 94

7.

For

person

who has

died in

prison

(written on yellow

paper).

Oftentimes, prisoners
are secretly buried,

who
is

die in the loathsome gaols

of

China

and one

apprized

of their

death only long

afterwards.
priests

For the benefit of those unfortunate victims,

the

Buddhist

burn

annexed charm

during

the

ceremony performed

to relieve their souls in the

underworld.

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95

8.

For the victims of calumny (written on yellow paper).

is a

This

charm designed
which, justice

for

delivering-

calumniated persons,
in

and thanks
world.

to

will

be

rendered them

the

nether

Here below, the reputation

;

of these people has been blasted,

and grief has shortened their days

will

the

impartial

judges of Hades
for the suffer-

now

rehabilitate their

memory, and reward them

The punishment

ings they have endured.

of his calumniators

and

a felicitous career in a future existence, such are the wishes expressed

for the benefit of the victim.

The annexed paper charm

is

designed

to procure

him

this twofold favour.

96

9.

For a person poisoned by doctors' prescriptions (written

on yellow paper).
This
is,

indeed,

wonderful charm,

and one which can be

frequently employed in China.

tell

With

reference thereto, the Chinese

a story

the god of

which well depicts the situation. Once upon a time, Hades fell ill, and despatched one of his attendants to the

world of the living

him, said he,

in

You will recognize good doctor. the following manner. Examine closely the houses
to fetch

him

of the medical profession,

and count the number

of souls that beset

their doors, to avenge themselves on in a previous existence.

them

for

having poisoned them

smallest number, The imp departed

is

whose door you shall find the the one you must invite to come and cure me.
at

The man

to fulfil his

errand

thousands of avenging souls

crowded round the doors

despair,

of the

whole profession.

He began

to

when

at last he espied a
to

door at which stood only one soul

Elated

who came
him
to

there

seek vengeance.

with joy,

he fetched

the god of

Hades, and rendered an account

said
:

of his mission.

The god questioned the medico, and

practise

when

your profession '?-- Only a short time

did

Yes

patients

you

treat?

Only

one.

And

How ago.

did you

begin to

many

he died, didn't he?

(iet
is

away, you are no better than the others!

a

It

stroke of genius

priests,

Tao-shi

i,
of

to

on the part of Buddhist and Taoist have invented such a beneficent charm in

favour of so

many

unfortunate beings,
countless
to relieve

who

daily

fall

victims

to

the

insensate treatment

self-commissioned
their
souls,

quacks.

This

paper

at least is

designed

while their bodies

have been stricken down bv death.

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CHAPTER

V.

DIVERS SUPERSTITIONS FOR THE BENEFIT

OF THE DEAD.

ARTICLE

I.

THE ANCESTRAL TABLET.

Muh-chu
In

(1).

ancient
at

times,

neither

the tablet nor the

offered
a

personator was
dead.
It

employed
only

funerals

and

sacrifices

to

the

was

when

the

burial

was over

that

personator

was

chosen,

and the tablet erected.

room, where
of
sacrifice

The ceremony took place in the mortuary was offered. We shall explain the essentials
and
the

these

two

ceremonies

purpose

for

which

thev

are

performed.

(1)

Literally the

"wooden

host".

The addition
as

of the dot (as described above,

53
;niil

makes? the disembodied spirit presoit,

1

though

it

$ elm. indwelt, lived therein),

berefore efficacious, Ling

rfc.

j||. '"'

able to take care of the survivors. Giles. Chinese-English

Dictionary

13


I.

98

The Personator, Shi p.

1.

What

is

personator?
,

A personator, Shi J3 represents the dead person. One of the members of the family is chosen to represent the dead person, He must during the sacrifice which is offered to the departed soul.
be of the by a

same

sex as the defunct, that

is,

men must
to

be represented

male person, while deceased women are

be

personated

by

one of their

own

sex.

The

personator

of
;

a
if

dead

man
the

is

chosen

from

among

his

legitimate grandsons (1)

is

he has none, one of his grand-nephews

in
fifth

taken,

relative

at

least

degree
is

of consanguinity;
in

should there he none of this degree, one

family, outside the
fifth

chosen

the husband's
is still

degree.

son,

whose

father

living,

cannot

fulfil

the office of personator.

a dead person of the female sex,

The woman, personating

must

be the wife of one of the grandsons.

After the

burial

of the

married couple, each one has a

per-

sonator, but only the one representing the husband appears in the

ceremony.

table
is

with

meats on
in

it

is

prepared
sits

for

the sacrifice.
his
face

The

personator

then brought

and

down with

turned

southwards, the tablet being at

his

right.

The worshippers, who

are of equal descent with the deceased person,

All,

bow

to the

personator.
offer

even

the

elders,

kneel
to

twice

towards the ground,

him
for

meats and invite him

form sake.

drink.

He

feigns to

eat

and drink

The Emperor, high officials of State and mandarins, have alone personators youths and the common people are entitled
;

to none.

Youths, who die before attaining the age of

virility,

are

divided into three different classes: the first, comprising those from
sixteen to nineteen; the

second,

those from

twelve to

fifteen;

the

(1)

See the Li-ki

flf

|E, or

Book

of Rites.
=f-

Ch. V. Tseng tze wen

Jffi

# ^f
,

ffl.

The

followK'l

ing are the exact words of Confucius: ft

Eh ft

^#&%^

j$ V\

% #J


third, those

99

years.

from eight

to

eleven

Children,
are

who

have

not
in

yet attained seven years, and

those

below,

quite

unnoticed

the line of descendants.

The above
personator.
2.

was

the

custom

in

ancient

times

in

choosing a

Whence

originated the idea of having

'

personatoi

The origin

of this

custom

is

a disputed point.
literati.

We
(1),

will

expose

here the principal opinions held by the

a).

The

first
It

opinion

is

that of Tu-yiu $.
of the

fft

of the

T'ang

are the disapproves J* dynasty. words of this writer: "The ancients employed a personator. This rite deserves censure, and has been abolished by our greal Worthies.

custom.

The following

One

vied

with

the
in,

other

in

practising
silly

it.

Now
bids

that

an

era
it

of
is

progress has set

and these

customs have disappeared,

sense
to

important not

to revive

them

common
This

refrain

from

them.
tliis

Some

half-baked

literati

of our days
is

would

fain

re-establish
"^f

ceremony

of the personator.

quite absurd."

ffl

#,
-St

^ a&

M - m m z is. m m a * at n * ft , m m m n, m m m e *, * ^r m m, * z. t m< m # z. a m $ m m p, m m & wa>j

*r

b).

The second opinion holds

that the personator

is

as

it

were

the image of the soul, Shen-siang

concerning the Border sacrifices

/pf

The chapter on

the ceremonial

taken from the Book of Kites, Li-ki hiao-V eh-sheng

says
:

fg

ft ffi ij.
Slf.ij

"the personator

is

the

image

of

the

departed

soul",

shen-siang yeh

p,

flf)

j%

4.
who
held high
:

(1)

A scholar of profound

erudition,
J).

offices of

Stab' under

Teh T-unj
Chinese

fg p, ami Hsien Tsung J? g?, A

806 821, of the

T ang
The

j* dynasty.

Mayers.

Reader's'Manual.
(2)

See General Repertory, T'ung-tien

jj Jfe

original,

written bj

Tu

yiu

fft

$j

sec above) comprises

is

two hundred books.

It is

divided into eight sections, one of which

rites. In 1717, an Imperial mandate ordered to add a supplement. This was published one hundred and forty four bonks. In 173(>, a third part was added, giving details E0.1 Notes on Chinese the Manchu dynasty. This latter has one hundred books. Wylie.

on

in

Literature, p.

(>>!.


P;ni

100

Han
no
g| dynasty,
soul

Ku
to

J'jf.

fH (1),

who
is

lived in the time of the

writes:
is

''The personator
ancestors,

found in the ceremony wherein sacrifice

the

offered

because
visible

emitting
loving

perceptible
filial

sounds and having no

piety
finds

form,

the

sentiment of

no
to

means

of

displaying

itself,

hence a personator has

been chosen

whom

meats are
if

offered, after

which

he

breaks the

bowls, quite rejoiced, as

his

own

father

had eaten

plenty.
it

The
is

the illusion that personator, drinking abundantly, imparts

the

soul

which

is

satiated".

Jjlf

# W P
fh
ftl'

#,

i,Ii:I^#^.SIII'S
,
3
It

.
**

% # M Z. & *&P M1
2
/<V

! *
must

tt>

^^#* 2

s*

words that the personator was not then considered as the agent or seat of the soul, for these two writers affirm: "the personator is the image of the soul" -"the
be inferred from these

personator drinking imparts the illusion that

satiated"'.

it

is

the soul

which

is

p,

\%

P W* #

#
is,

The
considered

meaning
in
its

is

obvious.

The personator
seat

therefore,
soul,

not

this

ceremony as the agent or

or
as
a

of the

but

merely as

representative,

kind

of

living

medium, who
person,
in

was sometimes dressed up in the clothes of order to make the illusion more apparent
Third opinion.
In

the departed
3
.

c).

ancestral tablet.
|f|,
it

The personator is but the bearer the work entitled Yi'i chow ta-i-i 'jjf

of
;fc

the

|
the

is

said: "the personator

to

is

employed during
tablet".

sacrifices

to
>

dead,
ft

in order

carry the

ancestral

#g

"P\

#T

*
(1)

4-

Appointed

Imperial historiographer by Miug-ti

1$

if?.

He wrote
left,

the

treatise

entitled Annals of the

White Tiger" Pehhu t'ung

Teu-hsien

|=|

11. which he

unfinished.

Being involved
A.
I). 92. (2)

in the rebellion of

Jr,

he was casi into prison and died there

Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual

p. ICG.

AnnaN

of the

White Tiger, Peh-hu t'ung

fit

H.

(3)

See Wieger.

lexis sh..\v

Textes philosophises, pp. 57 and 77: also pp. 137 and 156. All these thai the personator was but the image of the son! or the living likeness of the

dead person.


Jt is

101

and take the

this duty,
tablel
to
fulfil

the grandsons

who

fulfil

this function,

out.

Should they be too young and unable

is

then

a person
is

appointed

to

carry
tablet,

it.

The

function
there
is

of

the

personator
of

to

carry the ancestral

hence

no
is

need
not

having
erected.

such a one immediately after death, as the

ft

tablel

vet

$k

P,

* *ftt
entitled,

The work
up
in a

Tsih shwuli Is'iien

rln'ii

|j|

|^ g

ifL,

sums

few words the sense of this text:

"the

filial

son

chooses
place
of

a personator to carry the tablet, but not

to be
is

the resting
therefore

the soul of the dead person.

5fe

His intention

manifest".

il
In

p m n & *
fine,
in

.
three
of

hj

vx

m **, * m h
opinions,
the
the

mwriters
or

the

preceding

either
his

condemn

the custom

employing

personator,

restrict

function to that of carrying the tablet, or at most

only

see

in

him

an image
d).

of the dead person's soul.

found

in the

The fourth opinion confutes the whole trend of thought works of the ancient literati, and maintains unhesitatis

ingly that the personator

not only a pure image of the

seat

soul,

but

must

be considered as the

and agent of the soul

of

the

dead

person.

The two most famous champions

I-chw'an fM
ffi

of this

new school are Ch'eng

)W
^f,

^-

known

also

as

Ch'eng-i
(2).

gf{

or

Ch'eng

Ming-Lao fg

and chu-hsi
"the

-^

The
dead,

former

writes:
the

ancients,

when
the

sacrificing

to

the
vital

employed

personator,
alter

because

soul

and

the

force of the dead person

being separated from the body, seek

(1)

This writer lived A. D. 1033-1107.

tint late to official position.

Wholly absorbed

iu

philosophical researches,
o]
cl

he acceded

His criticisms on the classics

his great successor,

new

ru.

in

Chinese philosophy and were adopted by Chinese Reader's Manual, p 34.

(2)

Chu-hsi ^c

>;.

Mayer's.

A.
w;ls

I).

1190-1200.
official

Born

in

Fo

kien, fg Wi

where

his father (a native of

Ngan-hwei

W)

theu in

employ.

He

and Taoism, hut abandoned then, for became the great expounder and commentator, his opinions being followed even to the critics have igorously impugned present day. Within the last one hundred and fifty years,
\
'

devoted his early years to the study of Buddhism Confucianism and the ancient classics, of which he

the doctrines of his school.

Mayers. Chinese Readi

.Manual,

p.

2-j,

 102
an agent
of the
of the

same nature,

5J<

-^

ptf(

Ifn

1$c

Now, men being

all
is

all

same kind, the

same

father and the children being

of one farmh-

and
to

of the

stock, the soul of the departed person

its

requested

come and
Chu-hsi

establish

seat in one of

them as
the

in

an agent."

$f.

J3r

(Yu&n-hwui 7c
school,
a

Uf|;,

eminent scholar and

head

of

the

modern
all

writes

with

no less clearness.

"In
to

ancient times
dead.

employed

personator
the
life

when
life

sacrificing
of

the

Since the descendants continue

the

their

ancestors,

the personator shares, therefore, in

of

the departed person,

and the ancestor's soul descends undoubtedly upon his descendants, $1 3*E llf, and reposes therein to enjoy the sacrifice offered."

1 -

%
to

m%

|fj]

& nm
when

at

it

nk

(0-

As

the exact time

this

custom commenced and ended,

we have but

the testimony of the two works: the "General Repertory"

T'ung-tien jg ]fe, and "Daily Jottings" Jeh old luh Q 4|| $| (2), which inform us vaguely that it began to fall into disuse towards the
close of the ('how
"J|
f\

dynasty, and that under the Ts'in

practised.
it

^ and

Han

dynasties

it

was no longer
at the

It

is

noteworthy, however,
vigorously,
as

to

remark that

time of Confucius

nourished

may
Han

be seen by the quotations

jjj|

which we base given from the

Book

of Rites, Li-hi

%.

Besides,

Pan-hu

Jjf

[i|

who

lived

under the

custom prevailed in his days, 1^. and he describes the purpose thereof as a rite of which he was an eye-witness.- -The text quoted above seems to suppose this.
dynasty, seems
to say that the
II.

The Tablet.

1.

What

is

the tablet of the

dead?

After the burial and

muh-chu

;fc

3i (literally

the sacrifice to the dead, a wooden tablet, " wooden host"), was erected.

See liecords of the Sayings of Chu-tze, Chu tze yii lull ifc ^F" jm sit, collected and (1) published b\ bis disciples in one hundred and forty books, A. D. 1270. "Vvlir. Notes ou
(

'hinese Liters
(2)

Lire.

\>.

85.

collection

of

notes on a variety of subjects, being the result of thirty years

Kit

jottings during the daily readings of the author,

Yeri-wu

H^ff^.

It

comprises 32

books, and was published about the year 1673. Wylie. ibid.

p. 163.


In makingit,

103
the
of

the

wood
to

of
it

mulberry-tree

was employed,
tablet,

hence also the name given

mulberry-wood

sang-chu

At the end of the % was

first

year,

sacrifice

known

as

Lien-t&i

$j
Jg,

offered, so called from the white silk cap.

of the deceased

lien-hvran

which the son

wore on

the

occasion.
buried,
called

The

sacrifice

being over, the mulberry-wood tablet was

one

and replaced

by

made

of

chestnut

wood,
it

and hence
in

the

chestnut-wood

tablet, lih-chli |j|

^.

was elected

a place of honour.

An

Imperial tablet was one foot two inches long, while that of
of

dukes could be but

one foot

in

length.

On
ed
;

the mulberry-wood tablet, no carving or painting was allowthe

on

back of the chestnut-wood tablet the posthumous or

temple name of the deceased was written.

According
tablet
:

to

some

writers, officials

and

literati

had no wooden
a

that of officials

was made

of silk cloth

mounted on
a

wooden

framework, shuh-poh j^

the literati

had but

tablet

made

of

tressed straw, hieh-mao $

^.
in

The assertion which maintains that

and
literati
:

ancient

limes
the

officials

had no wooden

tablet,

is

admitted

by

following

scholars

HsiX-shen f^

jy|

(1)

and Cheng-yuan

i||$

tu,

both

of

the

Han

dynasty

(A.

J).

25-221).
fj|,

7V

it

i.i-I

ing

\ji

who

lived

under the Southern Liang dynasty.

Nan-liang

~\$

$fc

(2).

Kia Kung-yen
907).

J!(

/H, of the T'ang

)|f

dynasty

(A.

J).

620-

Sze

Ma-wen

ji\

J^

jjj^,

who

lived

under the Sung

'^

dynasty

(A. D. 960-1280).

(1)

Celebrated as a scholar under Hsien-ti

5

jfafc

^,

A.

L>.

190-221.

Author

of the diction-

ary

Shw.oh-wen
(2)

^t, the

first

lexicon

if

the Chinese language.

This

short-lived dynasty reigned A. D. 502-550.

North and South were then

divided between rival houses.


folloAving scholars

104

to

The contrary proposition, endeavouring times officials and literati had a wooden
:

prove that in ancient

is

tablet,

held

bv the

Sii-miao f fg

(1),

of the Tsin
c

|f dynasty
v^j

(A.

[>.

265-290).
lived
at

Yunn-yih 7C

']'fl,

prince of Ts ing-ho

"juT.

who
(-)

the

time of the Northern

Wei dynasty, Peh-wei

in

-|t

This
of the

latter

opinion seems more

fig

accordance with the teaching

Tsi-fnh 5 j
(3).

Book

of Rites, Li hi

fE

chapter XX.

from

the period of the

j|f

Wei

|)|3

those of T'ang
right to

and Sung

the

and Tsin H- dynasties, down to had no officials and literati

have

wooden

tablet,

muk-cliu
to

^
as

2fe,

erected
Ifiji]

to

their
tablet

memory; they were

in the

only entitled
hall,

the

tz'e-p'ai

jjj^,

or

family ancestral

also

known
foot

shen-p'ai
in

jjj^

)$i,

the

spirit's tablet.

This could be of one

live

and an inch

length, four

inches and a half wide, and

lines thick.
it

Eight characters were

seat of

engraved thereon

to

indicate

that

was the

the

soul

of

such an ancestor, with his posthumous or temple name, or of such

an illustrious dame.

For

a a

For

man $l woman
: :

At the time

of

% i j Jg & A M 5% Z. $? M the Sung ^ dynasty (A.

jj&
ftfl
:

I).

960-1280),
fffi

the

founders of the modern school

Cheng
shape

/-c/nv'ar/ fj:
of

J||,

and fhv

Yu&n-hwui
chu
t|v

7l

flff,

fixed

the

the

wooden

tablet,

muh-

iofficials

Henceforth,

and

literati

had their wooden tablet.

in

It

could be one loot two inches in height, three inches

a little over

width, and

an

inch

thick.

half an inch.

An

inch further down,

The two upper corners project about a line is drawn to separate

inch

the upper part from the lower, leaving empty one third of an

(1)

Third century A.]'.

scholar,

humorist

close of the
(2

Han

$'

Official and contemporary with Ts'ai-yung 1|| H,, famous and Bpicnrian, whose genius illumined the turbulent epoch of the dynasty. Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual, p. 197.
|J|,

The Northern Wei

or

Toha Tartars, held sway

in

Shansi

|ll

[5]

and Honan

;3]"

]^j

from A. D. 3S6-536.
(3)

See Tn-li t'ung-k'ao fg g

S#

10 .)

on the

top,

and about an inch on the back

:

part.

In

the centre

is

inscribed

or written

tablet of the soul of such a one, belonging to

title

such a generation, of such a dignity,

and rank.
both

The
back
part

present-day
of

custom

is

to
to

write

on the

front

and
the
city,

the tablet,

parallel

the

central

inscription,
district

exact date of the birth

and death, the name

;

of the

and the ward or parish of the deceased also the name of the hill (burial place), and the direction in which the coffin of the defunct
has been placed.
tion
:

On

the front tablet

is

written the following inscrip-

"tablet

of the
district

soul of such a person, official of such a name,

1;

and of such a
of such a

or in case of a

woman

"tablet of the

soul

woman, bearing such

at the present

a title".

The two
all

tablets are then

placed together and inserted into the piedestal.

Such are the

rules

which hold

day

(1).

Nowadays

may

without exception, Let us examine erect a tablet in honour of their ancestors.

also,

commoners and peasants,

the reasons which originally determined the setting

2.

up

of the tablet.

For what purpose was

It is

the tablet erected

a).

the image of the soul and a tangible symbol erected

of the

to the
filial

memory

deceased,

affording thereby a fixed object for

piety.

At the time
lit

of the

Han
is

|J|

dynasty,

the scholar Hsu-shen

wrote:

"the tablet

the

image
filial

of the soul;

having rendered

the last sad duties to his sire, the

son has no object whereon

he
zfc

may

fix

his affection, hence he offers sacrifice and erects a tablet.

ft ft

4,
3#

#
[g,

? 8E IP,

&M

ft ft,

ffc

J3l

JM

(2).

Pan-ku

another scholar,

who

lived

under the

same

has no dynasty, wrote similarly: "the soul, properly speaking, the filial son fixes his affection on the tablet, and dwelling place
;

employs

it

to

draw the attention

of succeeding generations",
pT *P
(3).

ft ;$

M
1

t,

# % M
See the Wu-king
i-i

, fC
fi|

*%
#, and

1)

See the Wu-li t'ung-k'ao

(2)

% S. M !&

Tu-li t'ung-k'ao

'$.

W.

M#
14

tlfi

(3)

See Annals of the White Tiger, Peh-hu t'ung

J^ Ji-

106

in

j|f-

Ch'eng Peh-yu J$ fg B^f, who lived "as the heart of the dynasty, sa} s
:

the

time of the T'ang

filial

son found no object

father,
]||
f|?

worthy of his

affection after the burial

of his

he bethought j^

himself of erecting a (commemorative) tablet.

;fr,

&m

%,

&

it ft

(i)'.

The famous

scholar, Ch'en

Kao

|fif

$, of the Y"ua?i 7c dynasty,

~jf
,

quoting" the words of the scholar

Fang

writes

as

follows:
to

"In
any

truth, the soul has no fixed abode, so

it

cannot be attached
to call the
iji$

material resting-place.
the soul,
is

What
#.

people have agreed

for

seat of
~}j

in reality a seat erected

the living".

4te

^L>

if

&<

m
to

ft hl

#a

it 2.

5
the

(2).

According

these

ancient writers,

original

purpose in
of the of

erecting the tablet was,

therefore, to have a tangible

symbol
piety

departed

soul,

affording
it

fixed

object
to

to

the

filial

the

descendants, but

was never intended

make

thereof the abode or

seat of the soul of the dead person.

b).

The soul

of the deceased abides really in the tablet.

to a

We

now come

more modern phase

of thought,

which has

been gradually evolved.

Under the T'ang

as follows
:

Jff-

dynasty, K'ung gin-tali

Q II jH

(3)

wrote

"the tablet
ft
(4).

is

the seat wherein dwells the departed soul.

*mn&
writer

Under the Sung

already quoted,

dynasty,

Ch'eng I-chw'an f|
:

ffi

J||,

a
a

holds the following language

"Should

sacrifice be offered to ancestors

without erecting them a

^|
Inj

tablet, their

soul has no seat wherein

to

dwell.

#&

yfc

|lj

ft

Tfi

#;.

According
tablet

to

Chu-hsi

was

to establish a seat,

J|F, the ancient rite concerning the wherein one desired the ancestral soul

(1)
(2)

See the Wu-li t'ung-k'ao

fg J ;%.
jjif

See the Li-ki tsih-shwoh

A. D. 574-648.

(3)

A descendant

f %k ISof Confucius

in the 32 lul degree,

and

a distinguished

scholar and public functionary.

(1)

Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual.

fE, Ufa.

See Discussions on the Book of Rites, Li-ki shu $$

Fig. 53

&
it

4#4

ii ^2

Figure de

la

tablette des ancetres.

A'ncesfraZ tablet (front

and back

parts).


to reside.

107
Jg,

#C
fft

- 2L

f 1L

$j-

4$

$^4
results

(I).

Some modern

writers have given various absurd explanations of

the ancient classics.

From

these

erroneous comments

the

popular
It is,

belief that the soul of the defunct resides really in the tablet.

therefore, fancied that one will

it.

enjoy happiness by repeatedly

it is

bowing and praying before

fortune will befall people,
if

Likewise,

considered that mis-

this duty is either neglected or discarded.

Popular credulity
alies or contradictions.

is in

nowise puzzled by any amount of anomtablet

it

The

is

not erected until the burial has

taken place,

how then can

the

be

explained,

dispensed with a seat before the burial,

therein,

why the soul, which now comes and abides

when

name

of the deceased person is affixed thereon?

Moreover,
fixed

how

explain

why

the soul, which

coffin,

is

thought
its

to

be

on a piece of cloth borne before the on the

tablet,

seeing

name

inscribed

suddenly abandons

its first

resting-place,

and hastens

to take

up

new

seat on the tablet?

it

In fine, the tablet cannot be erected but once, hence in case

is

broken or lost in any way, where will the poor soul henceforth
?

reside

3.

Description of the ancestral

is

tablet.

This tablet
of

composed

of

two upright

pieces,

each,

however,

unequal length.

The

first,

which

is

the longer and thicker,

It is

is

generally inserted

on a carved block or piedestal.

portion
is

placed to the rear.

The top

sometimes carved,
It

and almost always painted red and

varnished.

varies

in

form,

shape

(see

annexed

figure),

assuming at times a semi-circular and at others resembling a truncated

pyramid.

The second
It

piece,

which

is

the shorter,

is

placed to

the

front.

prescribed inscription, which, on ordinary occasions, Lest the characters, however, might meets the eye of the visitor.
bears the

(1)

See

Chu

hsi's Miscellanies.

Chu-tze

yii-lei

^ ^ ff


birth, death

108

same formula, with

details

be effaced in the course of time, the

of

and date

of burial, is also inscribed

on the longer piece

placed at the back.

This second inscription

the front piece.

is invisible,

being-

hidden from view by

The two

pieces of the tablet are placed together,

impinging on

each other, their surfaces having been planed smooth.

are thus placed, one
tinct pieces.

When

both
dis-

would hardly suspect that there are two

109

II.

ARTICLE

"KOTOWING" TO THE DEAD.

K'eu-pai wang-jen Pp

rjj

\.
is

The kind

of

obeisance
Jjjf,

mentioned
or

here

common] v

called

"kotowing", K'o-t'eu *

knocking the head on the ground.

in the

full

description of

it

is

found

Book

of

Rites, Li-hi

jjjf

fg,

chapter T'an-kung |J

^.
words
to

The

following- are the very

of Confucius himself: "gener-

ally", says he,

"guests

who come

condole

are

first

saluted

bv

kneeling towards them, and knocking the head on the ground to manifest one's grief. However, the process of knocking the head on the ground, before bowing to the guests, is a more expressive

manner

of

showing
lasts

grief,

and

prefer the latter way, in cases

JfL

when

mourning

for

three years".

* ii

4,

mmm%n

&,

#m

4, -a

# M Jn # |I H ^, * m *, ^ %

This ritual bowing before the corpse, or when performed during the period of mourning, is technically termed K'i-sang ^f ^g, and
consists in kneeling, opening the hands and placing

them forward on

the ground, knocking the head on the ground, and maintaining that

posture even for some time, K'i-liu |

(remaining bowed down).

kneeling towards them,

The custom

of

bowing

to

the dead,

times

and knocking the head on the ground, goes back to the remotest it as he deems fitting. (Man being(1), and each one practises
dead, his soul
is

separated from the body, which

is

henceforth

but

a lifeless corpse. Nevertheless, those mortal remains, though deprived

animated them, are an essential part of the human Special ceremonies have always being, and as such deserve respect. been employed in honouring them, and this is quite in accordance
of the spirit that

with reason.

The manner,

in

which the Chinese people consider

(1)

See Ritual of Mourning, Sang-li

& jg,

ffc

Jf

fit

UP,

Kff

ft

ffi

M ^ W, ff

fl

a, n

# b as.

110

nowadays such honours, is quite different from the above standpoint, hence the Catholic Church has prohibited them).

The common people treat at present a corpse intelligent being, and call the tomb the sepulchre
kiu fl

as

if

it

were an

of the soul,

Lingprotec-

(1).

Over

it

are affixed inscriptions

,

begging- the
it

tion of the soul, Ling-yiu fH ^f

the table placed beside

is is

called

the throne of the soul,

Ling-tso

Hf

j^S,

while the tablet

f||

stvled

the seat or resting-place of the soul,

Ling-wei
f
)$.,

fi-

This tablet
Pang-t'ieh

bears in Chinese the

name

of Ling-p'ai

or

also

W
a

fMl'

anc* consists of a strip of white cloth, one foot in length and

over three inches wide,
It is

little

upon which
placed on

is

written:

"tablet

of

such or such a person.

coffin,

a small table beside the

and

is

afterwards burnt at the burial service together with

some mock-money.
During
lifetime,

kneeling

is

not
it

practised

indiscriminately

towards everybody.

happen that when a person is dead, be he a young man or an inferior, superiors and elders, forgetting their dignity, kneel down and bow before his corpse,
then does
fearing even to be too sparing of their prostrations?

How

Should you

ask them

why

they so act, they will

tell

you they hope the deceased

will procure

in fine,

tune.
before

them happiness, or they fear his maleficent influence; they consider him as the dispenser of happiness or misforIt is for this reason that they kneel and bow repeatedly
Let

him.

us

now suppose
him
to

that

two

or

three

intelligent

persons, though kneeling before the corpse of the deceased, have

intention of begging

no

grant happiness

or

avert

misfortune,

but wish merely to observe an outward

it is

rite of civility

towards him,

nevertheless

obvious, that the

sense, will

wise
quite

conduct of these two or

inefficient
to

three
silly

men

of

common

be

dispel

the

hopes entertained by thousands, nay by hundreds of thousands

to

of

men, hence the Catholic Church has been compelled

prohibit

such honours.

(1)

Ling

fg.

The disembodied

spirit,

manifesting

itself in

an efficacious manner, and

henceforth protecting descendants.

Fig. 55

'

S**

-'-^^gpsSgfe '

'^?<m*0$W^ *?^^^^^^:fi?s
:

;:;;

Oblations devant

la tablette

des ancetres.

Offerings placed before the Ancestral tablet.

 111
ARTICLE
III.

SACRIFICES OFFERED TO THE DEAD.

Tsi-tsien wang-jen

^|

A>

Rich and poor, all offer meats to deceased parents. This custom It is a strict duty to goes back to the remotest antiquity. prepare
wine, meats, fruit and vegetables, which are placed on a table, the dead are invited to come and partake thereof.

and

This ceremony is practised when the corpse is placed in the coffin, also on the burial day, and on the two anniversaries of the
birth

and death

of. the

deceased

(1).

The tenth anniversary

as the fiftieth
is
;

of the death of the deceased is celebrated

on the sixtieth anniversary, a congratulatory address

offered in the

read, and presents are

same manner as among the

living.

The work
f, says:
lifetime,
sacrifice

entitled:

Fungshen-kid

litsih

shwoh

^f 5^

fiH ;KI

"Since presents and congratulations are

not manifest after death one's
filial

offered

during

why

piety,

by offering
(2).

on the anniversary day of the demise of the deceased?"

The "Prayer-formularies for birthdays and death anniversaries", Sheng-ki chuh-wen give the congratulatory formula ,gt fft "<&;,

to be

used on the occasion: "In such a year, month and day,

I,

son (here name is inserted), beg to offer a petition to such a grandee (3), and say to him years flit away with wonderful rapithe
filial
:

dity; on the

tulate thee while

annual anniversary of thy birth, I was wont to congrathou wert still living, now that thou art no more,

could
the

possibly forget thee?

My

filial
I

affection is

immense

vault of the heavens,

invite thee to

undying; beneath drink and eat of

(1)

See

Yao

liu la

shu

#fc

W. ft

#
# % M ft M$1

(2)

See Fung-shen-kia li-tsih-shwoh g|

#
S.-e

^,

#K
p. 56.

Hi

(3)

After death the soul

is

raised to higher dignity and rank.

above,

 112
these meats,

which with
1

my

whole heart

offer

thee,

and beg thee

to graciously accept'

(1).

The Ritual

of

Mourning, Sang-Ii

|jfi

fiff,

employs almost the

same phraseology. If we seek the reason, whence originated these offerings made to the dead in ancient times, we find it is not precisely to

furnish food to the

piety.

departed

souls,

but

rather

to

manifest
life

filial

Failing other means, the customs holding during

are availed of and applied to the dead.

fore, but a

Such an

offering
in

is,

there-

mark

of

undying

affection,

and means

nowise that

the dead will partake of the meats offered.

S
Jp)

The work known as Sung-t'ao-kuh ts'ing-i-luh ^, contains the following the wooden (artificial)
:

|>|J

fjtf

fruits

placed

before the tablet of the ancestor of the

Chow

dynasty,

Chow

T'ai-t^u

^C

fit

(2),

were seen

to

assume the appearance

of natural ones".

In the

work

entitled

Ming-tu-muh fing-yil

hi-t'an

0j

^jj-fl

IB f^>

we

re& d

"nowadays, rich and poor,

place

on the
dead

burial day,

natural or artificial fruits

artificial fruits are

before the tablet

of a

person.

The

painted in imitation of natural ones".

artificial

These ritual offerings of both natural and

obviously, that the intention

fruits,

indicate

was not

to

offer

them

as

food to

be

eaten by the dead.

Only the
.

living,

who have

material

body,

are

capable of
is

eating; after death, the soul is separated

from the body, which

soon corrupted and crumbles to dust.

spirit

Henceforth, the disembodied

;

endures neither hunger nor thirst

how then can

it

need any

food? Even the ignorant understand these principles. Unfortunately,

Buddhist doctrine has invaded the people's mind, pretending that souls in the nether world still need drink and food, that their

(1)

See Sheng-ki chuh-wen

&

jjjfc

ft

s a, m /? %

m,

^ m m '&, #

&. $= fl, % f- , jg Hg j* # & ^ w r- a ^ m. , & m m m, -% ^ s, m

Jj, is

The Posterior Chow, Heu-chou (2) which succeeded the downfall of T'ang the greatest confusion and turmoil.

^
)*.

the last of the five ephemeral dynasties

It

ruled Central China, A. D. 051-960, amidst


at stated periods, failing

113

descendants should furnish them

therewith, and oiler them meals which they become "hungry ghosts" 1).

These nonsensical ideas are so ingrafted in the popular mind that it is difficult to extirpate them. Meats and wine are offered,
because
to
it

is

fancied the dead eat and drink

of the

in

reality

2).

In

order

understand better the attitude

Chinese mind, with reference

let

to these sacrifices offered to

the dead,
it

us put the question

solving
it.

by

way

of objection,

and see how

is

avoided

depicts better the

mind

of a person,

than the manner

is

in

Nothing which be

beats about the bush,

when an

objection

urged against his system.

Objection, Chinese books contain the following: "After three days fasting, the ears become deaf and the eyes are overcast". Now
happens, that in the course of a year, sacrifices are offered at most only six or seven times to the dead, whence it results that they
it

remain one or two months without eating or drinking, the meats previously offered being all consumed. Did they really stand in need
of food,

wouldn't they have died of hunger

to the

many

a day

ago?

As

manner

of

making these
of

offerings,

people are consacrifice

is

tented with placing the meats on a table, and

over, every bit of

when the
still

meat and every drop

wine

remains there
is

the

ancestors
?

have tasted nothing,

so

then of what avail

the

sacrifice

Every intelligent person ought

to

manifest his

filial

piety

in

conformity with reason, and in a manner advantageous to his parents.

But

isn't

it

highly unreasonable to invite a spiritual

of material food?

soul

to

come

and partake

(1)

Buddhism has borrowed from China

members
of

its

leading doctrine of Buddha.

souls of the cremated

In large monasteries, ancestral

ancestor worship, though opposed to the tablets are erected to the

the community, in exactly the same manner as the usual

year, a festive
rite,

monuments
place before

of the kind.
all

Once every

accompanied by an

offering, taki

the ancestral tablets in the monastery.

Hackmann.

Buddhism

as

Religion, p. 229.
('-')

See Ming-tu-mub

t'ing-yii

ki-t'an

BJ]

#.

i m m % m ra & % *

ft

& m t.
$|5

1*> pf

g.

^ $; %_ %. H # %
\:>

ab

m vi &


What
would
a
for his parents,

114

who
prepared a banquet

person say of a son,

several

when they were

thousand miles away from

him, and knowing they could not return?

Such

acts are in nowise inspired

by

filial

piety,

but denote a

total lack of practical

common

sense.
be

Reply.
a passage
Iff

The
it

above logical conclusion seems to

jjjf}

implied

in

from the Book of Kites, Li-hi

find the following:

f,
a

chapter

T'an-kung
and

^7,

where we
is

"When
out

man

has given up
flesh

the

ghost,

customary

to
is

set

beside

him dry

pickled

meats.
is

When

he

borne to the grave,

carriages,

the flesh of the

victims offered

placed on

little

which follow the hearse.

but nobody has ever
(1).

After the burial service meats are offered him,

seen the dead person partake of these offerings"

One would
therefore,
it

expect

here to
to

see

the

obvious conclusion drawn:

since

is

needless

offer

enjoys

it.

We

are, however, deceived

him anything, the Book of

;

he

never
jjjf|

Rites, Li-hi

|E, concludes quite otherwise.

Here

is

what

it

says:

"From

the
in

remotest antiquity,

such

offerings

have

never

been

neglected,

order not to abandon the dead.

people reprove,
therefore
it.

Therefore this custom which

(2).
It

some

is

in

nowise blameworthy"
it

has ever existed,

it is

good;

is

the custom in China, therefore

we

practise

This clinches the question.

\'id( j o

meliora proboque, deteriora sequor

(3).

It is

even customary in some places to prepare an opium-pipe

recipient
filled

and
the

little

with

the

drug.
in

Both

are

placed

on

table together

with

the

offerings,

order that the

deceased

may
This

enjoy his pipe after dinner, as he was wont to do while living.

is a

rather

modern innovation.

(1)
(2)

Li-kiftfjB.

Ch. T'an-kung. Section

II. Pt. II.

8.

k m m z. u, n It at m ft , m m m & , * m % % m . # &< h ut w *, * z m vt in, n $ k % & -a, m ^ z. m m ft m #, # * a

*&
(3)
I

see the better way.

IS.

and

approve, and yet

follow

what

is

worse.

Ovid. Meta-

morp. VII.


If

we consider attentively the innermosf thoughts of pagan Chinese, we ever discover lurking at the bottom ol their heart
more pressing motive, more or
less

avowed.

They cherish

the hope

that their parents will protect them, shower blessings on them, and it is often for this purpose that offerings are made to them.

People of this

kind

believe

more

or

less

in

the

existence

of
in

"hungry ghosts",
for the

a doctrine invented by Buddhists, but sacrifice

the dead to secure happiness and avoid misfortune,

read in
ffl,

merely purpose of manifesting filial piety. As proof thereof, we the "Glosses to the Chow Ritual", Chow-li chu-shu
J]
jjj

and

qo1

the ministers sacrificed in their private shrines, after the sacrifice, offered the flesh of the victims to the
all

(t\ that

and
to

prince,

procure him happiness, as they fancied. Every person offering sacrifice draws down happiness on himself: should lie offer of the
part

victim to the prince, he

makes him

present of happiness.
in sacrifice

Elsewhere we find: "the victims offered

with the prince and grandees, and those
receive the blessings of the spirits,

are shared

who

receive
J^,
tffy;

these
it

meats
this

Kwei-shen

is

for

reason that both raw and sodden meats are offered"

(2).

We
"Record

find likewise the

same doctrine exposed

T'ung-wsuh-pien

in

the
(ft

work
$|j

entitled

of

popular customs",

$%

(3):

"On

this belief are founded the various

names given
of

to these meat-oblations

by those

who

offer

them:

"present
is

happiness",

Fuh-li fg

fj|,

while the distributing of them

called "distribution of happiness",

San-fuh fr fg"

(4).

At the present day, those who make these

sacrifices

and

offer-

ings, have the intention of either presenting food to the dead, or of

securing happiness, both of which are contrary to sound reason.

(1)

See Chow-li chu-shu

J5]

^ f
r*j j&*

gr.

Chow-li

t'ien

kwan shen-fu
/l

it

a g
(2)

m.
tfc

& &, a m
z & fg.

i,

H *I **,
(3)
(4)

m z. & m, & m #,
jjf)

fg ^ If H. ^ m a ^ *g, ^
Jnl

))*

See Chow-li ch'un-kwan-ta-tsung-peb

fig

'g"

^
eat

ffi.

See T'ung-suh-pien ffi II? ft , M. J* Those who receive these offerings, after a sacrifice,
Dictionary of the Chinese Language
jjjgj.

^A

B B

C IS. W., ft life, and drink their happiness

Williams.

 116
Hence, in the seventh year of the reign of K'ien-lung
Ifc
\%f?.

Pope Benedict XIV issued a Bull (1), forbidding the offering of such The Church proscribes these ceremonies, sacrifices to the dead.
because the
rite is

opposed
above,

to

sound reason.

We
in the

have
of

seen

how

scholars themselves,

brought up

midst

paganism, condemn these customs

as tainted with

Buddhist errors.
It
is

historically

proved

that

the

custom

originated
a

in

the
fact,

remotest times of the Chinese nation.

History, as
(2),

matter of

informs us that the Emperor

the defunct emperor Yao
a=,

Shun

invested

Chu ^, son
of
cc

of
-ft,

with the feudal

offer

demesne

T;ni"

on condition that he would

annually a ritual sacrifice to the

Manes

of his (Shun's) father (4).

is

This

the

first official

record wherein

we

find

that sacrifices

were offered

to the dead.

(1)
II"
1

This document

is

dated 11 th July, 1742.

It

was

not,

however, published

till

the

August following.
(2)

One

disputed points. of the three great Emperors of the legendary period.

It finally settled all

Paid to have ruled

China B.
(3)

C. 2255-2205.

See Tze-chi t'ung-kien kang-mub jf *S

& i IS B.

Sfg^&^fl-J^fcjjiE.

Fig. 56

Le papier-monnaie.

Divers genres.

Various kinds of mock-money.

117

IV.

ARTICLE

MOCK-MONEY.
Chi-ts'ien

At the time
(B.C. 206

of the

A. D.

Western

or

Former

//an,

Ts'ien-han nt $|

in the coffins
jfc iff

25), wealthy money with the dead. During the reign of the Emperor Wu-ti

folks placed pieces of copper

(B.C.

140-86),

robbers

violated

the

tomb

of

his

ancestor,

Wen-ti - ^f, and appropriated the

silver deposited therein (1).

During the reign

han
f|t

of the Eastern

or

Later

Han dynasty, HeuHwo-ti %]

rf?

(A. D. 25-221), while the Emperor

A.

I).

39-106) ruled the country, Ts'ai-lun

of

jj|

(2\

bethought himself
for

employing the
it

bark
is

of

trees

and other materials

began
to

paperit

making, hence

at

this

time that people

use

for

writing purposes.

This document
Later

is

found in the work entitled "Chronicles of the

to

Han

jj|,

referring

Ts'ai-lun

^
it

jfa"

(3).

During the two

dynasties of

Wei |^ and

Tsin

that

is to

say from the commen_5

|gtj

cement

of the

Three Kingdoms, San-kwoh

(A.I).

22 1-'i20),
to

cunning knaves cut up paper and offered

Spirits,

instead of

money

the
(4).

Kwei-shen

Jfi

jji^,

but this custom was not yet general

T'ang Yuan-tsung j^- 7C tj> given to various superstitions, and a votary of all kinds of gods, established as High Master of Ceremonies

Wang-yiX ^E J&i the twenty-sixth year

K'ai-yuan
ffi

of

his

reign,

in

the the

period

7C

(A. D.

739).

This

minister,

with

(1)

See Chronicles of the Former

Han

jijif

ji.

Ts'ieu-han-ehu Chaug-t'aiig-chwan

0ij

m # m % \%(2)

silk

and ink

The reputed iuventor of paper-making in China. He was the first who substituted Chief eunuch and chamberlain of the for the bamboo tablet and stylus.
fc'ing-hen

Imperial household: he was ennobled as Marquis of the Dragon Pavilion, Lnng

nl

Heu-han-shu Ts'ai-lun-chwan % ^ # ^ ft %. % M W %t % |g f# &f $f Si & m m, m ft m m<m m vx * m n. See Fung shi wen kien f& ft # #, M $& U & ft fc JL f $g m
(3)

{Jt-

Giles.

Chinese Biographical Dictionary,

p. 751.

(4)

ki

frl

E.

IH,

 118
approval of his Lord, began
sacrifices.

to

burn mock-money

at

the Imperial

Learned persons

of those

contrary to established
as a

rites,

days condemned this practice as and thus it was not then introduced
later on.
It

custom among the people, but became popular

has
it

existed thenceforward

down
all

to the present day,

(I).

in

which we

find

practised throughout

China

This custom of burying bullion

even at the time of the
it it

with

the

dead,

if

it

did not,

removed
in the

at least

Han -^ dynasty, excite the cupidity of robbers, from circulation a valuable commodity, by hiding
)n

ground.

<

this score
to

it

deserved to be

abandoned, and

thus people henceforth began

use paper money

(2).

was imagined, that of making gilt paper ingots resembling silver and gold, also perforated paper, which was burnt and reduced to ashes for the benefit of the
In later times, a novel contrivance

dead.

The origin
Ave

of this use of paper instead of

money goes
in

back, as
of the

have seen,

to

Wang-yii 3l iH>

who
the

lived

the

time

T'ang JH dynasty.

He used

it

in

Imperial

sacrifices,

and the

people followed his example.

In his days,
it

however, learned persons

combated the innovation, so that

at last
it

did not extend immediately, but

culty.

became general, and could not be extirpated without diffiThere were not wanting, however, men of common sense,
its

who unmasked
following
:

inanity.

Among

them,

we may mention the

(1)

See Chronicles on the Books of the T'ang

J|f

dynasty. T'ang-shu

Wang-yub chwan

ffl

5&*7C^tt)S,#,SSJ^Jilf, Kang-muh & % - + * *z, m nmni g $, m w ^M,^^^mmm,ni^m m, a b$ *n m #, & n z., wl * m n & T) f& m $ t$, * k ^ it m, m. m m
ifi
;

T.

m IS- T'ung-kien

{ft

fig

rfn

(21 Bnvying real money with the dead was common during the Han Jf|" dynasty, and subsequent times. The use of paper money began during the dynasties of Wei f|| and Tsin (third and fourth century). It had at first a hard struggle against orthodoxy, which absolutely refused to approve a thing unknown to the holy ancients. In the seventh

in

century,

it

took the shape

it

possesses to-day.

The Confucian school

its

of philosophy,

which

nourished during the Sung - dynasty (tenth century), sanctioned

111'-

use in the worship of

I.

dead.

De

Groot.

The Religious System

of China.

Vol. II. p. 71


During the reign
of

119

^^
(A. D.

Chen-tsung

998-1023

oi

the

Sung
l'pj

5jc

dynasty, there lived an

official

called

Wang

Sze-tsung 3f

^,

his

surname being

H si-yuan
|i|

ft ^c, a native of

Fen-chow : fy

$\, in the province of

Skansi

g".

Fulfilling the functions of Prefect of the second order, he forbade

all

unorthodox

sacrifices,

and

had the temples

he

of

the

false

gods

razed to the ground.

viceroy.

Later on,

Being on his
in

was promoted to the rank of death-bed, and seeing his family burning
procure happiness,
he cried out with
a

pieces of silk

order to

strong voice and ordered them to cease, saying: "if the Spirits are intelligent, how can they accept bribes"? (1

During the reign

of the

Sung

^
as

a. 1). L101-11 26 Hwei-tsung ffi dynasty, the two ministers Kao-fung ffi

of

also

\\\'f

and

Liao Yung-ckung

||

cf),

presented a
be

petition,

in

order

to

obtain

that the burning of paper-money

prohibited,

saying: "perforat-

ing paper, so

to
is

make

it

resemble money,

and
silly

binning

it

to

procure happiness,
Spirits are

an absurd practice and a

intelligence,
it is

delusion.

If

the
(2).

endowed with

really

insulting them"

While

the coffin of the

all

Emperor Kao-tsung
officials

l^j

was being

borne to the grave,

remains,

the

burned mock-money before his

subsequently

whereupon

the

heir-apparent,

Hsiao-lsung

^^

(A. D.
:

1163-1190), showed his disapproval and rebuked them

is

as follows

"mock-money
;

Buddhist practice

to

deliver
(3).

the soul

from Hades

my

Holy Sire needs no such things"

Chu-hsi 4c
place,

savs

"Nowadays,

whenever

burial

takes

one must

bring mock-money, coloured

paper, silks

and other
remains

needless articles.

When

they

have been burnt,

nothing

1)

See Last Memorials of the Sun- Emperors, Sheng-tsung tob-i 1? t

ft

~v:

luh $ 81 M H Hg & See Li Tsi-wung tze & ^ ^C g ft <$, % 4\ m m m % m , if i; m m m, n vx m m a* jt m #, * *n m & n m m xm z m,^ ft t %. z n %, s %mv\%,m2. ft See Yeb-hwoh-pien $? $ gg. $Sg fl ft # K IWg|,*.*l- #T
(2)

ft,

m $b & g m w.

hsin

$fl,

ifJ

tit

ffl

ft,

3ti

pi 1&.

l3l

7!/

Stjfl.

 120
but the ashes,
practices are far
offered real
silver

useless alike
inferior
to

for

the living and the

of

dead.

These
people
filial

those

ancient

times,

when
to

and garments, each one according"

his

piety

and means, or merely

a foot-length of cloth, a bushel of millet",

as he pleased.

The Book
prodigality
is

of Elites, Li-I:i

jjjg

f{,

contains the following

as

"lavish

blameworthy

as

much

stinginess;
if

sincere respect

excludes both extremes. Tearful regrets,

not accompanied by

some

offerings at burials, are inadequate in the eyes of every

enligthened

person"

(1).

As may
must
be

be

seen
as

from this quotation,

Chu-hsi

fc

Jt

prefers

presents in kind,

was the custom

in

ancient

times.

Offerings

made and mock-money

presented, but these though worthstill

less for the living

and the dead, are

better than

nothing at

all.

As a matter

of fact, all the literati

burn mock-money
in

for the benefit

of their deceased ancestors.

They inveigh
life

line

style against this

ridiculous ceremony, but in practical

totally forget their

to
I

pompous
to

outpourings.

Many
here

a reader

might

be pleased

hear the reasons

beg,
therefore,

advanced
expose

in

defence of such
a

strange conduct.
of

briefly

few

the

arguments

exchanged
I

between

foreign missionaries and the literati.

Some

of these

have heard,
be

and others

have proposed personally.

No

better

means could

found, showing the flimsy character of their motives for adhering to

a

ceremonv, which
to practise

in

reality they

acknowledge as absurd, but

still

wish

through fear of offending national customs.

to

The Missionary. Man, during his life here below, is exposed he suffers from cold, to apease it and seeks wherewith hunger,
;

and requires clothes

to protect himself;

without money he cannot pro-

life, hence the necessity of having money. After the soul, being a spiritual subdeath, the body crumbles to dust

cure the good things of

stance, sutlers neither

all

from hunger

or cold.

Had

it

a heap of gold,
is

would

be absolutely useless; Of

what

avail

then

paper-money?

li

See Sung-yii

'U

mmmm *& m m \% &mKm,

wen-pao ch'ui-kien-luh wai-tsik

s*

if # J|. 4" A % m m s, % % * m m t. m.
$j?
%*} Vfc gl]

^|<


The Chinaman.
a loving son

121

treat

-Confucius says that we must

our de-

ceased parents in the same

manner

as

when

they were living.

Now,
their

must procure money,

is for

to help his

aged parents

in

needs, and

it

this reason that

we

offer

them paper-money.

The Missionary. - You must treat your deceased parents in the same manner as when they were living. Well, during thendid them When therelifetime, you give paper instead of money?

was no

rice in the house,

some, what would they

and they requested you to procure them say. if you gave them but a bundle of paper-

ingots, covered with tinfoil, to purchase eatables?

The Chinaman.
ghosts,

Mock-money
is

is

the

currency

used
it;

bv

the

kwei J^.

It

forwarded

them by burning

that's the

custom.

The Missionary. Now, after burning the paper, what remains? Merely a little ashes. No intelligent person, either in this or
the ghost-world,

w ould
7

ever take ashes for money.

Make
at

that exper-

iment, burn a
to

little

paper, and

with

the

ashes which remains, try

buy whatever you please, the vendor

will

laugh

you, or perhaps

consider himself insulted by the very fact of your offering him ashes,
instead of the coin of the realm.

Do you then

take your deceased

parents for idiots

The Chinaman.
warding them
little

Bv

no

means, but we consider that

they can use
it

in

for-

this

burnt paper-money,

to

bribe a
pre-

the executioners of the lower world, and thanks to these

sents secure thereby their favour, abridge the time of their expiation,

and obtain some mitigation

of their sufferings.

The Missionary. In the present world, gaolers may accept bribes, and without the approval of the judges mitigate the sentence of prisoners, but in the nether world the demons cannot cheat the
supreme Ruler, all-powerful, -all-knowing, and who
favours to those
will

grant no

who have

fallen

into

his

hands.

Moreover,

who

has ever seen the ghosts, Kwei fy, come and gather up the ashes
of burnt

paper-money? On the contrary, do we not

see every day

the remains of these ashes trodden under foot, abandoned near the

16


Hades never comes
to

122

sinks? The ruler of

for

graves, or swept by the winds into drains and

gather them up,

why then burn them

him?

Besides, do you consider him so

silly, as to be unable to distin-

guish ashes from

real

gold and silver?

1

The Chinaman
in the

am
1

ignorant as to the condition of things

it

nether world, but

to

know

is

my

intention in offering paper;

money,
there
is

manifest
in

nothing

piety towards my deceased parents my that but a good and noble feeling.
filial

The Missionary
noble-minded, but
a

Without
is

doubt, your purpose

is

good and

it

exceedingly to be regretted that you employ

to the

means

quite opposed

end that you seek. Let

me simply

tell

you that vou grossly insult your parents,

for in offering

them ashes

as real money, von deceive them, you treat them as absolute idiots,

who cannot

even discern a heap of ashes from a silver ingot.

in the

They
intelli-

must curse you

it

nether world, and deplore your hick of

gence in practical matters.

in an intelligent

The

first rule of filial

piety

is

to practise

manner.

The Chinaman.
and we
piety.

don't object, but

it is

the custom in China,

it,

find that

any one

who

fails to

observe

is

lacking in

filial

The Missionary.

Since
the

you have quoted

it
ill

at

the
to

outset

the

authority of Confucius, you will not take

also in this discussion. All those
benefit

of

me
to

quote him do
not

who, according
of

you,

burn paper- money

filial

for

their

deceased
of

parents, lack

piety; but have you well considered the extent

your words?

Confucius, your greatest Sage, has never burnt paper-money, for the
very good reason that the art
several
of

making paper was invented only

death.

hundred years

after

his

This

invention

is

due

to

Ts'ai-lun
in
filial

jfa.

Therefore, in your opinion, Confucius

All

was lacking
Yao

piety.

your

Sages

of

ancient

times,

M
virtue.

(1),

ll

Yao

0, stands at the

dawn

of

Chinese history as
70.

model

of

all

He

ascended the throne B. C.

23f'7,

and reigned over

some say even over 90

years. Mayers.

Chinese Reader's Manual,

p. 27'2.

 123
Shun

^
J$
to

(1),

Yii
(3),

the

Great

-fr

f%
(4),

(2),

the

duke

of

Chow. Chow
personam
of

Kung down

Meng-tze jg

^
first

so
in in

many
the
filial

illustrious

Wnng-yii 3 3E&, who lived christian era, and all these Lacking
above Wang-yiX 3 J&,
rians

YIN

'

century
for
,

the

piety,

it

was the

who

introduced this custom

and histohe
si
11 \

memory, abandoned the ancient traditions

nonsense of Buddhists,
antiquity.
I

attack

his

because

by

this

absurd

invention

of his ancestors, preferring the

to the

customs handed down from the remotest

have never found

a scholar,

who
filial

has been able

to reply to this

last

argument. Confucius showed

I

piety without burning mock-

money, so
exhibits

can

well

follow

his
is

amply why paper-money

This short dialogue example. burnt for the benefit of the dead.

(1)

Another

of the

the throne, and

-

mourned

on legendary heroes of China's Golden Age. He succeeded Yao for him during three years. Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual.
${r.

Successor to

Shun

He completed

the work of controlling the waterways

filial

oi

China. Confucius said of him that he displayed the utmost

piety towards the Spirits.

Mayers. Ibid.
(3)

in virtue,

Younger brother of the first sovereign of the Chow JU dynasty. He is ranked wisdom and honours, as yielding place only to the great rulers of antiquity, Sao
ffi.

% and Shun
(4)

He

died full of years B. C.

110.">.

Mayers. Ibid.

Philosopher ad moralist, second only to Confucius, whose doctrines he expounded and commented. His works, collected by his disciples, form

Mencius.

B. C. 372-289.

one of the Four

classics.

Mayers. Ibid.

 124
ARTICLE
V.

BUDDHIST BELLS.
Tolling of Buddhist
In almost
is tolled
all
IjpII*.

Chvoang-fan-chung |f

fit.

Buddhist monasteries,

may

be seen a bell,

which

by the

monks morning and

comprise a series of 108 strokes.

1.

evening. These regular tollings This number 108 represents

:

The twelve months

of the year

= 12.

2.

ing to

The twenty-four divisions of the Chinese year, correspondthe different positions which the sun occupies with reference

These 24 terms, or tsieh fp, divide the solar year into 24 periods of almost equal duration. They are the
to the 12 signs of the zodiac.

following: Slight cold, Great cold, Beginning of Spring. Bain water,

Excited insects, Vernal equinox, Pure brightness, Corn rain, Beginn-

ing of
in

Summer, Small

fulness

(grain

fills),

ear),

Summer

solstice,

Slight heat,

Sprouting seeds (grain Great heat, Beginning of

Autumn, Stopping
dew,
Frost's

of heat,

White dew, Autumnal equinox, Cold

of

descent,
solstice

snow. Winter
3.

= 24.

Beginning

Winter,

Slight snow,

Heavy

The 72 divisions

of the

Chinese year into terms of 5 days.

is

Each
the

of these terms of five days

denominated "Hen"

|^|.

Now,

number 72

X5

gives the Chinese year of 360 days.

the periods of
of 12

Adding up the months, the twenty-four terms or tsieh fp, and five days or "hen" j|}|, in a year, we have the total

+ 24 + 72 = 108.

It is

the whole year which

is

thus entirely

devoted to the honour of Buddha.

The manner
different places.

of ringing

these

108

strokes

varies

according to

The following are a few

selections.

1.

At Hang-chow
is

jfc

>}]],

Capital of Chekiang

'$f

province,

the tolling

regulated by the following quartet, which has

;

become

a popular tune

Cloche et chapelet bouddhiques.

Buddhist

bell

and beads.


Hurry on with the

125

; ;

At the beginning, strike thirty-six strokes At the end, still thirty-six again

thirty-six in the middle:

You have

in all but one

hundred and eight, then

36
2.

+ 36 4-36 = 108.
M,
eighteen strokes
;

stop.

At Shao-hsing $g
Lively
toll

another quartet has the following

Slowly the eighteen following

Repeat this series three times, And one hundred and eight you
(18
3.

will reach.

-f 18)
'}\\,

X 3= 108.
ffi

At T'ai-clww *

another city in Chekiang

:

fr pro-

vince,

we

find the following ditty

At the beginning,

strike seven strokes

;

Let eight others follow these

Slowly

toll

eighteen in the middle

Add

three

more thereto

Repeat

this series thrice

The

total will be
(7

one hundred and eight.

-f. 3)

-f 8 -f 18

X3=
it

08.

Why
differs

these bells are tolled.

different

Although
is

the

manner

of ringing

according to

places,

fancied
to

everywhere, that
the souls tormen-

the sound of the bell procures relief and solace

ted in the Buddhist hell.
It is

thought that the undnlatorv vibrabells,

tions, caused by the ringing of the

provoke

to

madness the
unconscious,

king of the demons,

T'oh-wang

jVf;

2i,

render him

blunt the sharp-edged blades

of the torturing

tread-mill,

and

also

damp

the ardour of the devouring flames of Hades.

of

At the death
dynasty,
every

the

first

Empress Ma

J,

of

the

Ming

0^

Buddhist monastery

tolled thirty

thousand strokes

for the relief of her soul, because according to the

Buddhist doctrine,
It is

the departed on hearing the ringing of a

bell

revive.

for

this

 126
reason that the tolling must be performed slowly
(1).

Chinese writers refute these Buddhist notions about

bells.

We
bells,

read in

the Lii-shi
jif

ch'un-is'iu

g ^ ^

^
f}

(2),

that

the

Emperor Hwang-ti
in

^f

(3),

ordered Ling-lun \
(4).

to cast twelve

order to

fix

the musical notes

as Yoh-ki

The work known

"the tolling of
According
bells is

|(j

(Memorial of Music),
1/1
ffi.

says

used as a signal" $\

to these

two writers, such

is

the precise

purpose for

which
are

bells are used.

They

either give forth musical notes, or they

rung

to give signals (of joy,

sadness or alarm...), but there was

to

never any idea of employing

entitled
bell is

them

rescue
1

the

dead.

The work

"Shi-ming" fp
a

Buddhist names'
;

has the following: "the

is,

hollow instrument

the

larger

it

the

deeper are
its

its

sounds, but

who

could cast one

large

enough

to

make

tollings

heard

in the infernal

regions? Even should that happen, such a sound

is but a mere empty noise, incapable of awing the ruler of Hades, and powerless also to break the sharp-edged tread-mill which tortures the damned. Wealthy families, desirous of rescuing from hell the

(!

See Liang-pan ts'iu-yu-hoh

Ts'ih siu
lei

M *& %k

ffi

i.

kao

-t

% M Wlfj&B

Shi

wen

lei tsii

% ^C
siao p'in
;jg
l]lf

*^Ktitin8-w?A t,
'HI

Leng-kia king

$!.

Yung chw'ang

/J>

". n

* ik ft , t & m m, & m m ^ m, kn fc + ^, 1'M = + ^ ,, i-IA iz,ilH + $3 PI 8K e. fg + A. It + /l, H m ^ $ - W A, 1: E, M & $ A, * + A & ft H, H 6 ft * H @. = * ^ - W Ai # g p g n B a a v m m m m m &, nt * w jm, gg $#?, * # , ft * m % t#ftiHitt,igfflti ft g g #, f$ it '2 Id , # w -m m.

^fi5
*fe

,.,

ffl

-fc.

Pnl

>

i5i

0/1

(2)

A miscellaneous

treatise in 2G books,
it is

the early history of China, for which

the only authority.

embodying many historical facts regarding The work is ascribed to Lii

Chinese Literature.

Peh-wei
p. 157.
(3)

~%. ijt,

who

lived in the 3 rd century B. C. Wylie. Notes on

element earth.

The Yellow Emperor, so called because he reigned under the influence of the One of the five legendary sovereigns who ruled at the dawn of Chinese

history, B. C. 2697-2597.
of

He

is

looked upon as the founder of the Empire, and the inventor

music and Fine Arts.

(4)

Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual.

^[1

See Hwo-wu-yin

3l

Mayers says these musical

bells

were also used for

denoting the 12 seasons.


in

127

monasteries,
the
bells

souls of their ancestors, offer presents to the Buddhist

order that the

monks would
this
till

toll

unceasingly

day and
days.

night, and perform They may toll them

service

even

for several

successive

they deafen the ears of the neighbours,

;

who
they

curse and swear at them

will never thereby
little

they mav

ring
soul

till

the
of

bells

burst,
It

rescue a single
toll

ou1

Hades.

matters
the

whether they
is

a brass bell or strike on a

i\
.

wooden one,

result

practically useless in both cases"

M *, ' M. M , %. g| ^ &, ^ * m m ^ & t. m< & m m & m m , m b is &, ^ ti fi w m m, m m, m tg m % .*, #r &j ^ , ^ s 2 *, $ @ is & m, # it m m, & m Jn it, k & ^ *g, n: is : 0, $ m. m m & i^, m % t# m, rp a* $ * n & - 31, P *1 8, JE & : * a -^ k #, * ^ te is *s
(-11

See.

Buddhist mimes. Shi-ming ff

t&

fj?

fl'J

 128
ARTICLE
VI.

SENDING PAPER-HOUSES TO THE DEAD.

Chi-fang-tze
In the province
of Nga.n-h.wei
fc

=?
it

4 |^,

is

customary
as

at

the

death of a person to offer him a paper-house, as well

the impleto

ments,

clothes

and precious

objects,

which he was wont

use

while living.
to the

All these paper articles are

(1).

burnt, and thus conveyed

departed soul

Paper-houses, similar to the above,

are
is

also

used throughout
of reed-splints,

Kiang-su

ffft

province.

The framework

made

covered over with paper of various hues. The parlour, inner passage-

ways and rooms,

resemble

as

closely

as

possible the homestead

chairs,
a

formerly occupied by the deceased.

Tables,

divan,

tea-

poys, in fine all the requisites of a well

therein.

furnished house are disposed

The paper-house
burnt,
in

is

then
it

taken

to
to

an open space, and there

the

order to

have

conveyed

nether

world

for

the

benefit of the dead.

told that the

Reasoning with these folks is useless. After death, they are body crumbles to dust, and that the soul needs no
to dwell therein.

house

would
after
it

afford protection neither

Admitting even that from wind nor

it

did, a

paper-house

rain, and

much
all

less

has been burnt, as the wind scatters the ashes on

in

sides,

and nobody gathers them up, to rebuild the house shades, and thus render it serviceable to the dead.

the

world of

You
matters
is

will

ever as to
of

get

the

same answer.

It

is

the

custom

It

little

the

means

Burning communication between the living and the dead.

filial

how

things stand in the nether world.

No

son, without being wanting in

piety, can fail

to

send

(1)

Yin hsueh kan

ft

sui pih

flj

8 |f Eg *.
m.

%k f&

5E,

&

ft!

?K

B - M, # *- M

mm&m&*

& * ft

vj.

Fig. 58

Une maison

de papier.

Paper-house burnt for the benefit of the dead.


to his

129

home, and
with
these
refuse

aged parents
neo-converts

in

the nether
to

world a full-furnished

should

Christianity
are

unjust requirements, they

in ion

forthwith

comply condemned by

to

public

op

and cruelly persecuted.

of

The custom
beginning
of the

making these paper-houses existed already at the Yuan j dynasty. In A.I). 12X7. in the VII th
of

year of the style Chi-yuan jg 7c, during the reign

the

Emperor
offi-

Shi-tsu
cially

|ti-

jji.

(1),

the President of the

Hoard of Punishments

informed the Emperor, that among the common people, money was needlessly wasted in making paper-houses and other superstitious objects, and he petitioned that such abuses should be suppressed. An
Imperial Edict was forthwith issued,
forbidding to

make any such

(2).

paper-houses, as well as paper-manikins and paper-horses

It

seems very probable that the custom

of

burning paper-houses

for the benefit of the dead,

has been correlative with that of burning mock-money, paper-horses etc... This latter began under the T'a.ng
dynasty, A. D. 739.

^
to

People fancied, that since

it

was

sufficient

burn ingots
houses

of

paper-money

for the benefit of the dead, they could

in

also

through the

same process send them other things

articles

kind

clothes,

etc...

These paper-houses are equipped with

:

all

necessary household

wardrobes,

chairs, tables,
in

a cooking-

stove, kitchen utensils, servants etc...

Nothing

tine is
is

wanting,
stage

not even the requisites for opium smoking.

of

This

the last

modern progress.
sUblished

(1)

Better

known
tien

to foreigners as

Kubhil Khan. After subduing China,

In-

the Mongol dynasty, which ruled the country A. D. 12S (, -13C8

J
1

Yuan

chang 76

A #

li"

)M

M 7C "t ^, M ^ Mi * *

ffi,

&

ffi

$>

&M

17

130

VII.

ARTICLE

PLACING STREAMERS OX GRAVES.

Chi-fan-tze
In ancient times, a small Hag

&

jjg

order to distinguish

it

was erected beside the grave, in from others by means of this special mark.

At the present day, many persons place a bamboo on the houseBuddhists teach that the departed soul, wandering in space, top. It is for this reason uses this as a landmark to discover its tomb.
that a
tall

bamboo

is

chosen, to the extremity of which

,

is

attached

a streamer, Fan-tze

f^ ^-

II

uttering in the air

(1).

set up a flag beside the grave, in order to indicate and ownership distinguish it from others, while at the same time the name of the deceased was written on a board placed in
its

The ancients

front of the coffin.

Nowadays, people

believe in the teaching of the

Buddhist

priests,

who

assert that

the

departed

soul

wanders
is,
it.

in

space,

and cannot

find out its resting-place; a

high pole

therefore,

streamer attached to the extremity of

set up and a The streamer bears the

is

name

of the deceased,

who, thanks

to this device,

enabled to find

out his way.

Buddhists hold that the soul

after

death,

either the

goes

to

the

Western Paradise
partments
of

(2),

or

it

must pass through

eighteen de-

Hell, or return to

the world of the living through the

process of the metempsychosis.

Now,

here

we

find these

same people

m,

See Ch'ao kin- ugan Chen luh man ch'ao M JR S ft H k #. ~ % M M U m n # m m '& m m- & vx m m , & m ft ^ m & & m, m k & m m #, m n # *s, ^ * % n m m, m. n *s * m m< ^ a m m, % t.
(1)
itb

urn.
a pbilosopbical conception too abstruse for Tins so-called happy land is ruled by Amitabba and the Bodliissatvas, Kwan-vin and Ta Shih-cbi (the Indian Mahastbama), the "three Holy Ones" of

|2)

latter-day substitution for Nirvana,

tbe popular imagination.

Buddhism.

Haekiuann. Chinese Buddhism,

p. 213.

\0

be


teaching that the soul wanders

131
in

knowing where
on
all

space, withoul
its

to

go to; that

it

even requires to see

name

written
Is

strip
this

of

cloth, in order to find out its dwelling-place.

not

sell

contradictory
In the

work

entitled "the Great

Learning" Ta-hsioh
(a
:

A
it

(1

the poet says: "the twittering yellow bird

species
it

ol

oriole)

rests

on a corner of the mound". Confucius said

where

to rest.

Is it

possible

that

"when man should

knows

rests,

knows
to

not

be

equal

this bird"? This

place.

means

that every being

its

proper resting-

This yellow bird, which

Hits in the air,
of the

is

so tiny
of a

among

the

feathered
to

tribe,

and has no need

it

landmark

to fly

the corner

mound, where
the soul

chooses to alight.
of

If really

man,
its

as

Buddhism

teaches,

wanders

in

space and cannot

flag,

find

out

grave,

without seeing" this guiding

is

then we must admit that man's soul

yellow bird.

less

intelligent

than

the

little

Formerly,

distinguished Chinese grandee

said in eulogising the

Emperor Yao

^
A

"he has ascended bevond

(2).

the fleecy clouds, and dwells in the happy land of rulers"

The Book
3
(3)

of Odes, Shi-ta-ya ff
;

5f|.

says:

"Wen Wang

%
in

is

on high

the wise kings

_fc.

and the three sovereigns are

heaven"

# ^
place

Ja

Jibe the

The

where the good are rewarded, cannot

same

as

that where the wicked are punished.

(1)

One

of the four lesser Classics.

It contains 11
3$|.

chapters, one by Confucius, and

Literature, p. 7
fj

the 10 others
(J,

by

his disciple Tseng-ts'an

See Chwang-tze
jfc,

-f.
&%

^ Wylie. Notes on Chinese % A %, & U W IX M, & S * 2, M M % tt,

fft

mm%m
(3)

n-

in

n-&

&

mma
given
to

je,

ms
M i&

.if:

2.

A1 % m
ft

The posthumous and canonised

title

Si-Peb

(tbe

Western chieftain

duke

of

Chow

Jg).

He was

a pattern of princely virtues,

against the misrule of the

overthrowing B. C. 1122.

Shang jgj dynasty, which his Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual,

and united the principal chiefti son, W'u Wang 3r succeeded

in

p. 177.

 132
Tyrants
chi
like

Kieh

(1),

and Chow $live

(2),

wicked men

like

Tao-

iS

(3),

cannot by any means

together with

Yao

and

Wen Wang

^ ^E, and dwell in the

blissful

abode of rulers.

Such

are the principal

arguments whereby Chinese writers refute the above Our great Worthies dwell in a happy land, the Buddhist doctrine.

realm of rulers,
not wander

whence tyrants are excluded.

Therefore souls

do

in space as Buddhists assert.

(1)

Kieh-kwei

|j|

|, the last ruler of the Hsia "H dynasty.

Voluptuous, cruel and

flee to

extravagant, he became an object of hatred to his people, and was compelled to

ch'ao

Nan

^^

(in

the present province of Ngan-hwei), where he died B.C.

17'ifi.

Mayers.

Chinese Reader's Manual.

(2)

Chow-sin

j"

5^. the

abandoned tyrant, who closed the

and unbridled
lust.

Shanj,'

$|j

dynasty.

Among

his vices, were extravagance

set
it

Defeated by

Wu

Wang, he

rled to a tower,

on

fire,

(3)

and perished miserably in the flames. Mayers. Ibid. leader of thieves; a sort of Robin Hood in early Chinese history.

Fig. 60

La roue de la metempsycose. The wheel of the Metempsychosis.

133

VIII.

ARTICLE
hi:

metempsychosis.
Lun-hwui
ijtjft

;^|.

The metempsychosis
soul alter death

is a

Buddhist doctrine, teaching

another

thai

man's
or

may

be reborn, either in

human

being

into the body of one of the brute kind.

At the death of a person, according

the revolving wheel",

to

Buddhists, "the kin-

oi

3: (1), ij$jover the tenth department of Hades, examines and weighs

Ckwen-lun Wang |f
their mortal

who
1

presides
lu-

o-ood

and

evil

deeds of

men during
they
life,

existence,

and accordirjo
great continents

to their merits or demerits, sends

(2),

them
reborn

to the four

in

order

that

may

be

there

as

men

or

women,

enjoy a long" or short

and be either
is
it

rich or poor.
to

The soul
Yeh-ch'a
it is

of great sinners
(3),

handed over
with

the demon-torturer

^%

who

slays

peach-rods.

After

its

death,

transformed into a murdered ghost or Tsih

^,

hence the pagan

saving:
is

"man

after his death

becomes

Kwei

j||,

transformed into a Tsih

^jf".
is

The head and

in in

face of this
of

and the Kwei j^ murdered

a mother, or and expires in

ghost are changed, and he

reborn

the the

womb

emerges from an egg.

the afternoon, and
tion over, he
is

He appears
crawl
or

forenoon

may

run on the ground.

in

His expia-

reborn as a man, but

some

wild

country, where

he dwells in caverns or holes,

and
he

is

clothed

with

animal skins.
past,

When, through

his

endeavours,

has repaired

the

he

is

(1)

The revolving wheel symbolises

Uie doctrine of transmigration, ami answers to the

Sanscrit "Scmsaru"

^
to

Jfc

^< $. the great sea of life

and death, human existence, which

must be crossed
(2)

to

reach Nirvana.

Eitel. Sanscrit-Chinese Dictionary.

According

the cosmogony of the

Buddhisl Sutras, these lour continent

of

islands, lie respectively South, East, North,

and West

Mem,

the sacred

mountain

forming the centre of the universe.

the
first
(3)

India and China are comprised within the limits of

continent.

Mayers. Chinese Header's Manual, p. 310. In Sanscrit "YaJcsha,". These demons air messengers
of the

of

Yam a,

dead, and especially

Dragon King,

who guards
i$E

the seas around

the judge of the .Mem. They are

represented with red hair, green faces, bare legs, and carry a tripod on their shoulders,

Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language


nese citizen.

134

may
be reborn as a Chi-

granted the favour of a new existence, and

Those,

who during
bliss,

their lifetime, have practised the four social

virtues of equity, rectitude,

meekness and

justice,
gf],

are

sent to the
para-

realm of perfect
dise of the

Kih-loh-kwoh
is

|^f

the Buddhist

West, where there

(1).

perpetual happiness, and no end of

feasting

and dancing
of

The realm

perfect

bliss.

Kih-loh

J$ji

|^,

lies ten

thousand

million miles to the

there,
(2).

West

of China.

No

pain or suffering is found

is

and

all

that
to

is

harmful or unpleasant

banished therefrom
a
perfect
life

According

Buddhists, those
of

who have

led

go

to this

happy land miles to the West.

Kih-loh

Jfy\

|^, situated

ten

thousand million
of the

Now,

the entire circumference

It
is,

earth

is

but twenty-five thousand miles.

place the

Western Paradise
of all

utmost contempt
ions of

mere mockery to and these folks deserve the away, learned persons. Such are some of the reflextherefore, so far

"Young China".
of
lh<>

arguments set forth by Chinese writer* against the existence of the Western Paradise.

Summary

According

to

this opinion,

the
if a

bad are transformed

into

fish,

worms,

birds, or brutes.

Now,

person but considers attentivelv

the whole world, evil-doers

after a certain

number
all

of generations,

form no small portion of humanity, so no real men would be found

on this earth,

those

who were formerly men, having been changed

into fish, insects, birds or brutes.

The population of the globe is ever increasing, and the presentday statistics show it is many thousand times greater than in the

(1)

See the Classic of YTen-wang, Yen wang-king

jl
i

il

- K,

l $m 3:

S[i

a &, # m % * m x s * a m, m & # m, m ^ a. 8 # f* "& % m m, # m & ar, n *. w % m & it* % m m %. & ji m m &, w $ % ^ ^ i& %, & % ^ it %, & #i m, # n a , m x % m. m z. m s m k, m & ^ m &, in m m m m, ynnm^m a , /l je t #, ig a & m m m nt Record ^ IS- # M M, ^F popular customs, T'ung-suh-pien w ft % mm % & m%> m a % mmm,=. m s.m m.
i

*um
ti

it,

it

ts,

>t>

if.

(2)

of

jj

@!

3&. "t"

tft

I?
1 1 ~=
CO
*.

in

^
-c: er

c
C
efl

c
efl

CO

c
>
"

bC

o
en

be

c
CO

o
-c

*****

/J/fy^

CO be

 135
early period of the world's history;
hists do, that this
if

we, therefore, admit as Budd-

immense number
as or
it

of beings

uobody can engage in marriage, wife would be his own mother,

her

may be may happen that

wife

reborn,
the

then

husbands
husband

the

may have

for

own

father, reborn into the world.

Officials

may

no longer beat the

lest

common

people: a master ma}

patents,
existence.
insects,

have no servants,

these menials be his

own
new

superiors,

teachers or friends,

who have
death,

returned to a

Moreover,
brutes, no one

if

after

men become

fish,

birds

or

the

fields,

or

may henceforth employ water-buffaloes for ploughing may ride a horse to travel over the country.
all

Lice, mosquitoes,

kinds of insects,

may

also bite, sting

and

annoy you
your own
world.

as they please,

and you dare not

kill

them,

lest

they be

parents

or

kinsfolk,

who have

returned to the present

The metempsychosis destroys all intolerable, and is opposed to common

Mencius, Meng-tze

social

relations,

renders

lite

sense.

-^p,

says

"the nature

of the

dog

is

the

same

as that of the ox, but man's nature differs from both.

If

Human

beings are absolutely different from brutes".

man may

be reborn

as a brute, then his natxire differs in nowise from that of the beasts
of the field.

All the extravagances of Buddhist

monks and adherents, making

sentient beings,
result

vain and

fruitless

efforts

to

avoid

killing

Should any one attempt to draw all possible consequences therefrom, and put them into practice, he would doubtless be considered as a madman. Theoretically, these
from this ridiculous doctrine.
Chinese writers display much
in ordinary
life,

common

sense, as everybody sees, but

to

no one scarcely pays attention

what they say.

Compendious view of
For the sake
cise view,

the system of the Metempsychosis.

it

of clearness,

is

considered useful
the

to

give a conof

brief

summary, outlining

general

features

the

 136
Chinese
reborn
stances
is

belief

in

the

system of the metempsychosis.

soul,
called
(1).

The
to

spirit

the superior or rational

jfc,

according

circumbe re-

Hwun
in

Slieu

jjj$,

or

Kwei fy

This soul

may

incarnated
1".

sundry manners.
of possession, entering into the
It

By way

man and
mouth

abiding therein.

then uses his eyes to

a

body of a living see, and his

distinct
souls,

to speak, etc...

Such

man has thus two

own, and that which temporarily indwells in him, as in namely cases of diabolical possession. These two souls, according to orthodox
his

Buddhists, cannot enter the one into the other.

According
souls

to the followers of

Chu-hsi's

^^

school, these
in

two

may
as

co-penetrate

and coalesce into one

of

soul,
bottle,

the

same

manner

two glasses

water poured into a

combine and

form but one

2.

bottle of the

same

liquid.

Hi/

returning and re-entering the same body.

departed

soul
at

may sometimes return into the body which it has abandoned death (2), provided the corpse has remained uncorrupted (3). On
a

such

belief is founded the error,

nowadays

so

common,
t

of recalling

the soul.
3.

By way

of substitution.

If

soul,
its

deprived

of its
still

own

body

for

some reason

or other, finds along

way

the

uncorr-

(11

The universe

is

compound

of

an infinite number of Kwei

jjfj,

and Shen

jj$,

con-

tinuously infused into

j|[,

men and
later on.

animals. In ancient times, the Chinese knew but the

Kwei

the Shen

jji$

came

The Kwei $|
It

is

the material soul, emanating from

in the grave.

the- earth,
jf$

and returning thereto

is

after death.

remains with the body

The Shen

the superior soul, emanating from tbe ethereal part of the cosmos, the great
It is

Yang

$H

principle.

manifested by

th<- k'i

^,

or breath.

After death,

it

ascends to the higher

regions, there to live on as lurid matter,

the SI in
(2)

body, as

Sben-ming jf$ (JJj. The hwun z$| is the energy of De Groot. The Religious System of China. Vol. IV. p. 5. (the soul in philosophy). During lifetime, Chinese adniii the temporary separation of the soul from the in dreams and occasionally in trance and coma. These cases are, however, hut
jjSiJI.

insensibility.

After death, the soul

may

also return,

and

this

may
of

take place after

months
123
j

and years.

Cases of revival are even chronicled in the Standard Histories All these tales

heir a deep Buddhist tinge.

nscitation by one's
(3)

De
soul).

Groot.

The Religious System

China. Vol. IV.

p.

own

Or

at least, in a condition

good enough

for the soul to re-settle

in

it.

I>e

Groot.

Ibid. p. 130.

*3*^

o
"
535

tc

>

>

o
v.

en

+j

'5

O
u
a.
yj

to

y}
-

'

"-

c
CO

XI

w o
CO

-Sf^

S
50

C e

CD

d
0>

a
(D

r-

V>

a s
c

Ft
t c

c
c


and make
it

137

it

upted corpse of a man, or the body of a brute,

a substitute for its

may

enter therein,

own body.
above end, as

It

corruption

has

but

invaded a single

member

or part of the body, this would ool prove an

to the
is

insurmountable obstacle
of T'ieh Kwai-li

shown

by the legend

g$ #}

^, whose

soul entered the body of a beggar,

(I).

though already
4.

in process of corruption

By way

of rebirth.

This

is

the

ordinary

process.

The
of a

excarnated soul, that seeks

to be reborn,

enters into the

womb

pregnant

woman

(2),

and animates the

it

foetus,

which

so far
in

had but

an inferior soul.

Frequently,

enters into the

is

foetus

the latter

stage of pregnancy, and then childbirth

generally advanced.
in

Le-

gends even

state that sons were thus

reborn

the

womb
in

of their

own mother, and

the light of day.
of a brute.
It

The same
of

died at the very instant that their

new bodv saw

the

theory applies

to rebirth

body
(3).

The souls
be

men may

be re-incarnated as beasts
of those

must

remarked that the souls

the

who
a

die

through
class

suicide, or

by

hand

of

an enemy,

constitute

special

among and may

the

"hungry ghosts"

Ku-hwun

Jg j$|,

who wander

in space,

be assimilated to the Indian Pretas

to secure rebirth, at

(4).

Unable

least

in

general,

until

they
to

have

taken vengeance on their murderer, they seek to put

living person, or persuade

death a
his

him

to

commit

suicide,

in order that

U)
(2)

See Wieger. Folklore. N 19. This process in generally known by the term

t'eu-t'ai

j}r,

"to

make
9. p.

cue's

way

into a uterus".

De

Groot. The Religious System of China. Vol. IV. ch.

143 (the re-

incarnation of souls through birth).

(3)

In the Buddhist system, souls of

men may
De

lie

re-incarnated as

bi

asts, as a

punishas a

ment

for their demerits in life; while

life

reversely,

souls of animals

may

pass into

men

reward for their virtuous

and conduct.

Groot. Ibid.

p. 153.

little after

death,

if

a
|

erson examine- carefully what pari of the body remains

of the next

warm

the longest, one'may devine what the character of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, p. 41.
(i)

birth

will

be.

Beal.ACatena

The highest ordr

of famishiui; ghosts.

Some

live

on earth, ami are visible at

night.

They

comprise 36 classes.
All persons

Others

live in hell or in the

world underneath the

disacquired an evil '"Karma" by tlicii covetous, m-uavd Beal. Ibid. an are tormented as Pretas. hunger. unappeasable bj They position, are reborn

continent.

who have

p. 67.

IS


soul

138

When
It

may
of

take the place of their own.

they have thus found a

substitute, they

may

seek a new rebirth.

to forgive their

happens, however, that

some

them who consent

enemies,

may

be re-incar-

nated earlier.

The souls

of persons

who have

died

by

hanging,

or

assassin-

ation, accuse unceasingly their murderers before the infernal judges,

until they obtain full justice.

When

they

are

re-incarnated

before

having taken vengeance on their enemies, they ever seek to commit

suicide in their

new

existence.

The annexed
1
'

illustration, taken from the "treatise

jjj

on the Budd-

hist hell

Yuh-lih cli'ao-ch.w'a.n 3

j$

fijj,

th divirepresents the 10

sion of Hades, where each one secures re-incarnation in a subsequent

existence, there to be rich or poor, to be reborn as a
brute,
a
bird,

a fish, or

an insect, according

to

one's

merits

or demerits

in

previous

life.

139

IX.

ARTICLE

MURDEROUS GHOSTS.
Pi-shah jg f*.
It is

commonly

believed

among
and

the people,
kill

that

the

soul after

death

may

return to the house,

fleeing-

the

survivors.

Hence

ori-

ginated the custom of

from this murderous -host, or perforreceive

it

ming

a special

ceremony

to

when

it

returns,

so

that

it

may

not injure anybody.

The serious
la

Historic Annals:
(1),

Tze-chi-L'ung-kien kang-muh

i|f

im

S|

eJ

mention as an important event the apparition

^f
,

of the ghost of Yiu

a
(2),

member

of

the

family

then

ruling

the

principality of

Cheng

ffj$

who was

assassinated B.C. 542.

Men-

tion of the very

name
of a

of

Yiu

^
to

cross the
diately

mind

person
to

made everybody tremble. Did it say: "Yiu ^f is coming", imme-

everybody took

flight.

Now,
penal

it

happened

in

the second
that
in

month

of the year, at the

time the

code was

modified,

somebody saw

the ghost ol Yiu ^f in a dream.

He was arrayed

military armour, and addressed to

1

him the following words: "this

th will kill Tai ^, and the followday of the cycle, year, on the 49 tl3 day of the cycle, it will be Twan's fx turn. ing vear on the 39 Evervthing happened as announced, and the people were so wild

with

fear, that

the minister Ch'an

son,

/r

officially

ordered Liang-chi
his
father.

j^ jh> Yiu's

to sacrifice to the
evil,

Manes

of

This
(3).

prevented

all

further

and the

fear of the people

was allayed"

(1)

Published at the close

of the a

historiographer.

Revised later on.

Ming HI) dynasty bj Cli'eii Jen sih [$ -fc t$r, national new edition, comprising !1 books, was issued in 17<S.

Wylie. Notes on Chinese Literature,

(2)

p. 26.

An important

feudal State at the time of the

|pj

Chow
of

jg)

dynasty, B.C. 771 500. Toit

day the prefecture

a half.
(3)

of K'ai fung-fu

Jff\

in

Honan,

which province

occupied aboui

Williams. Dictionary

of the

Chinese Language

..

^ j M g M @. MB A * 3 M YX i& * H id * m . m % . * *n m #. m m 2. m. - n< m m m # w. <f. s * isffi!!.ii!ifiS,^x)i?asifc^i f-s*.aAa if- s ^ ft #. n a $ it. # w n. f- * a & & it. m , 7> it.
See Tze-chi-t'ung-kien kang-muh
ft
:

 140
The work
llh

entitled:

T'an-t'ai-ch'ang poh-shi Lu
,i

Ts'ai peh-ki-

-k

If

i S ^ W
lied

M, which

treats

of superstitious

practices at the

time of the T'ang

dynasty,

has the following':

from returning murderous ghosts. The soul of a person who dies on a Sze g, day of the calendar, is a It returns to the house on the murderous masculine ghost. forty"in these days people
seventh day after death, and
kills little girls of thirteen

and fourteen". and

kills

"The feminine murderous ghost comes from

pale-faced boys in the third house.
of death, to wit on the twentieth day
It

the South,

returns

twice

to

the

house

and on the twenty-ninth".

run
,

On such
Sung
5Jc

days, those
Yi'i

who

are

afraid,

dynasty,

"Soothsayers consider the

the demise of a

Wen-pao jfc ~$C $fy number of days that have

arc born on

away. During the wrote the following:

elapsed
since

person,

and deduce therefrom that the murderous

ghost
the

will kill all those

filial

who

such

or

such days.
(1).

Even

most

son will run away on these occasions"

to

At the present day, only those who dwell

deceased person's house take to flight.
invite Taoist priests,

the

North
to

of the

Those

living

the South,
ghost,

Tao-shi

^ff

-j^,

to

come and
off all

receive the

and

recite incantation classics to

ward

danger.
kill

indicate beforehand, the

persons the ghost will

Soothsayers on the burial

day, on the day of his return after the burial, directions that render
places particularly dangerous,

and what persons are exposed

to

his

malevolence.

To corroborate

their

predictions,

they quote Peh-hoh

after

f=l

$!

who saw

the soul of a deceased

person,
(2),

passing

through the
to

twenty-four departments of Hades

return

therefrom

molest

(1)

See Ch'ui-kien-lub wai-tsih

pft l]

ft

fl.

%.

M&M
-t

&

m m ft m #. in e n

e #.

m m #. m ra +
ii3.

%.

%m

-i-

t W & M if. 1" s m m &. m

b

*b *. m m # s. % ft & x i? m m %. vi a k z. b *i . m =? %. m * * w m ^ m sl z a. # $ b#. /l & % it #. m m ? # & as at.

(2)

That

is

the eight hot hells, the eight freezing ones, and the eight of utter darklast

ness. Life

may

hundreds

of

years in each of these hells.

Eitel.

Sanscrit-Chinese

Dictionary, p. 82,


the living.
1

VI

evil

To protect mortals from any

that

may

then
six

befall

them, he composed his work, entitled the "classic of the

migrations'
,

trans-

Luh-lun-king >'- i^ |t. According work, if the deceased has departed from this world, on the days marked in the Wei ^, HsiXh /, the calendar by the cyclic characters Ch'eu ^ft:
,

to this

murderous ghost
Sze f^,

will appear in

feminine

form.

If

the demise has

taken place on the days marked by the characters

Tze

Yin
a

jpf,

Wu

^p,

Shen ^,

the returning ghost will

assume

mascu-

line form.

racters

Should the deceased die on the days corresponding to the chaMao ^p, Ch'en j|p|, Yin ]|f, Ilni ^. the returning ghost will

be hermaphrodite.

The returning ghost

on a Kiah-tze
buried,
all

of

person

deceased on
forty
;

Tze

^
has

day,
died
is

murders men aged between thirty and

Ep

if

person
its

-^

day,

the

ghost murders, when

in

corpse

male persons born

is

the

year Sin-ch'eu
returns on

$.

The

spectral visitor

eighteen feet high, and

the eighteenth

dav after death.

Persons deceased on
is

Ping-tze p^ -^ day, murder

in

when
ch'eu

the corpse
~~f

entombed,
is

all

those born

the cyclic year Ting-

J.

The phantom

sixteen feet high, and returns on the

sixteenth day after death.

If a

person dies on a Ch'eu

jJ:

day,

his
girls

returning

ghost will

murder
and

in the Eastern quarter all

young

aged between

twenty

thirtv.

Should one

die on a Yih-ch'eu
is

^ day,

the ghost will

murder, when the corpse

Sin-sze
-5

cncoffined,
is

all

persons born in the year

Q.
his
all

The

spectre

sixteen feet high, and returns on the

last,
if

sixteenth dav after death.

At

person dies on a Ting-ch'eu

-y

:g.

dav,

returning

ghost

will

murder,

when

the

coffin

is

entombed,

those born in the year Kwei-wei

^.

The phanafter

tom

is

fourteen feet

high, and returns on the fourteenth day

death.

Should a person die on other, days than the above, a similar reckoning is made, based on the combination of the "ten celestial


stems", Shih-kan
<'l } i

142

-f- -^ (1), and the "twelve earthly branches", Tiand thence soothsayers foretell what kind of people (2l, ^lil may be attacked, the direction from which the ghost will come, his

height, and the exact day in which he will return.

Preservation from ghost attacks.

The

following-

is

the

method

employed

to escape

from the malevolent attacks

is

of a returning ghost.
j$j[

On

the day in which he

to return,

Taoist priests, Tao-shi

J^,

are invited to the house, and

threatened wear on their

for the reciting of prayers

draw up written charms, which those The priests must be numerous persons.
and incantation
classics.

sons [exposed

to

danger be of the

poorer class,

Should the perand unable to bear

the expenses required on such occasions, then their only

to

remedy

is

leave the house on the ill-starred days.

At the present day, the above are the practices generally followed
(3).

Ask

a Taoist priest,

Tao-shi

jj

-J-,

how
tell

he ascertains the exact

height of the returning

ghost?

He

will

you the phantom will

(1)
J',

These
cL.

cyclic characters are the following

[$[.

Kiali

^. Yih

,.

Ping

JS],

TingT,

Wn

Ki

Keng
|j

Sin 3p, Jen :,

$

Kwei^. They

have dual combinations, corresponding

to the
(2)

Yang

and Yin

principles, the five elements

and the planets.

--,

The
0[J,

12

branches are thus enumerated by the Chinese: Tze

El-

Ch'eu 3t, Yin

H, Mao
J-,

Ch'eu Jg. Sze

Wn

T- Wei , Shen
and designed
of these

p,

Yiu

j.

Hsiih

$, Hai %. The com-

binations of the 10 stems with the 12 branches, form the sexagenary cycle or Kiah-tze

invented
to the

it is

said B.C. 2637,

to give

names

to years.

Other combinations,

owing

supposed connection

animals, and the zodiacal

signs, play a great part

groundwork

for the soothsayer's skill

the elements, the symbolical Chinese divination, and furnish the in forecasting the destiny of mortals. Mongols, Ko-

characters with
in

reans, Japanese. Siamese and

:!

Annamese,

all

believe in these occult influences.

See the "Classic of the six transmigrations". Lull lun king

$fa

M.

ii 3t A< $Z

% #, m m &. fSB^f* b n #, m m #. w u m % h jb m, m mm #. B *e#,^fii**H + w m + vi t it m f ^ f e ft #, & n# 4k & n -f a % #, $ m # ft $ 3i % m a, ^ ; - * a x, t + a b ^ * + B & 0. S HlBJEt, t#-t Ti^i4iA,^S-*>NJi, W _h H + T * * f a H #, B$ ^ ft Ei ^ #f ; A, # Hi - * * K, g + * B ^ 0. T ft B % #, $ "# & 41 51 * 4 2 A, & - 5t # A, M B fs 0. & % ^ 4& B #, Ig * T 5 #, SO /*, M + T ot H, g fi H ^ 0. * SM S, JK B# W ft H ft, IR % , # 3 ^ mm i^mm m k. % l % z m, mnmm mm, m b *$ & S &. ; a &
h
;i =r

isi.

\>X

SSt

Jff

ffl

ffl

gfc

ffl

-fnj

ffi

*i>

iii

$s

ffi

&.

Fig. 62

bis

mm
Hiong-cha.

La mauvaise

dtoile

masculine du mort. Tse-cha. La mauvaise

dtoile

feminine du
in

mc

Hsiung-shah. Ghost of deceased in rnasculine form. Tz'e-shah. Ghost of deceased

female form


be as

143

of

many

feet

high, as the

number

days that intervene between

if

death and his spectral apparition.

days, he will be sixteen
feet

Thus,

he returns alter sixteen

high.

What is this phantom, this returning ghost, called Shah fffc, and which assumes a male and female form, Hsiung-shah "Jjfe fik and Tz'e shah jlfc| ^C? This spectral visitor or Shah ^t, is the murderous
breath of the departed soul, Hwun-h'i
zji|

(1).

In apparitions, the feminine spectre has

the head

of a

woman

and the body of

the head of a

hen

while the masculine phantom appears with

the body of a cock
(2).

man and

For this reason, during the ceremony, which takes place on the
day of the ghost's expected return,
a

rough sketch
is

is

made,

called
to

"the image of the returning ghost"; a hen

also

attached

the

leg of a small table, with the purpose of insinuating to

the trouble-

some

visitor,

that

all

precautions have been

taken

to protect

the

household from his petty annoyances, and

himself properly.

hence he must behave

How

is it

known

that the returning ghost has the body of a hen?

Formerly, in the province of

Hupeh
(3)',

$$

4fc,

Shang-liang

J^,

grandson

of the prince of

Ch'u $

man endowed with

in

extraor-

dinary strength and courage, did not believe

the appointed day,

returning ghosts.

On

when

his brother recently deceased,

was

to return

il)

The Chinese

are

haunted with

a continual fear of spectres,

and believe that the

-

departed soul
class.

may frequently become The word denotes "murderous,

metamorphosis
of the

a malicious ghost.
killing",

The

Shall

i& belong
its

to this latter

and attests amply

dangerous character.
the Yin
$.

It is a
It

breath of the corpse, the "Mara"

(evil influence) of

always escapes from the corpse at night, on the first, second, or third day after death, or even later. Expert soothsayers inform the family of the exacl date. De Gn>oi The Relip. 777.

gious System of China. Vol. V.

(2)

A hook

of the ninth century described

|i|

them
It

as

bird-shaped.
of

One

of

these birds
five

was caught
Ibid. p. 770.
(3)

in a net in the plains of Shansi

glf.

was
it

a blue colour

and over

feet high. Scarcely

was

it

taken out of the net,

when

disappeared from sight. De

Groot

A large

Feudal State

in

the

Chow

j dynasty, existing from

Its capita]

B.C.

74n:i:'o.

It

occupied Hukwang, and parts

!ff.

of

Honan and Kiangsu.

was King ehow-fu

Iff]

ii

Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language.


(in

144

ghost shape)

to

the

house,

Shang-liang

fpj"

sat

down

at

small table beside the coffin, and began to

quaff wine

till

the mid-

night-hour.

He then beheld
house; the
air

numerous band

of

demons surrounding' the

All of a
its

shook with their presence.

its
bill,

sudden, a hen as

big as a crane, striking with

and

eyes aglow with anger,

alighted on the

coffin.

Shang-liang
his right

'fpj

advanced, and seized

it

with

his

left

hand,

meanwhile holding

his glass brimfull of wine.

Then, adddon't you

ressing the monster, he said:

fear

"You

returning ghost,

why

me?"

Sightseers, standing near the door, hearing these words,

were so alarmed that their knees quaked, and head to foot. Shan-liang showed the fj^
'jpj'

they trembled
L;host

from

out,

without

receiving the least harm, and lived afterwards to a ripe old age.

Another extraordinary
ern

fact,

T'ai-tsu

\^

jjj_,

founder of the North-

Sung

chanced

who

dynasty (A. I). 960), before he became emperor, one day into a house. The inmates, fearing a ghost was to return, had all lied. The prince found a cock in the
4fc

5|c

to enter

guest-hall, and had

it

placed over the

it.

lire

to be

cooked,

but he was

compelled

to leave

without enjoying

When

the people of the house returned, they

of
a

saw

in

the cooking-

pan the head

man.

It

was

thus

ascertained

that
(1).

returning

ghosts had the head of a

man and

the body of a cock

But why then, in the ceremony prepared for the receiving the ghost, is a hen always chosen, and never a cock?

of

Formerly, say the Taoist priests, Tao-shi ^ff J^, all returning ghosts assumed a masculine form, but from the time that SungT'ai-tsu

-fc

jjj

had one stewed

in

the

cooking-pan,

there were

never since only feminine ones.

Finally, are not people constantlv

found who do not believe in

(1)

See Kien-hu-tsib $*

% ^, & ^ jg $
m,

B#,

ffi

AA
m.

ii

m, m m

#.

*& m

% & % %. * a

% KM &#*
VI

ffi,

Fig. 62

Song T'ai-tsou

et le

revenant.

Sung

T'ai-tsu

and

the Ghost.


these ghosts, and on the days
stay quietly at

145

are

when they

announced

to

return,

home and

never experience the least annoyance?

in

These ghosts exist when one believes

believe in

them
is

if

one does not

them, then they do not return. Such

is

the

answer given.

Who

Pek-hoh

$|, the author of the

"Classic of the six

lays

transmigrations", Luh-lun-hing

;$&$, which

down

the rules
it

governing the return of these ghosts, indicating the day when will take place, and what persons will be killed by them?

know nothing about him, reply the Taoist priests, Tao-shi i; "* e S wherever we are invited to perform certain ceremonies. Although we generally follow the same method as our predecessors,

We

still

we sometimes make

varies according to places. This business

few modifications, so that the liturgy is our means of subsistence,

and we have no time

to investigate these questions.

Such is the practical dialogue, which may be imagined as havtaken ing place between a Taoist priest, Tao-shi -, and any one who wishes to understand thoroughly these vain practices. How

explain
to do so
it

why

the ghost returns on such or such a day, and

is

unable

on others?

Why

doesn't

it

stay a little longer?

What makes

depart in such haste?

If

on the appointed days, some annoyances occur in homes,

attributed
to

they must be

the

Evil

One,

whose

interest

it

is

to

maintain these erroneous opinions; certainly it is not the soul of the deceased person, that returns to its former home, to molest the
inmates thereof.

Chao Tung-shan j|j| jff vince, kept watch beside the

to the grave,

\[\

a scholar

of

Chekiang
it

ffi

yX pro-

coffin of his father before

was borne

and said

in reference to this subject:

"what son would

empty room, and
is it

ever leave the coffin

flee to

of his father shut within an

escape from

his

malevolent influence?
his

And

admissible
alone

that a father would

harm

own

son, even
till

if

the latter slept

in the mourning" shed from

(1)

morning
pfc glj

night?'' (1).
$L %I .

See Ch'ui-kien-luh-wai-tsih

# ^ ft. ti

Sfc

&

&#

mmm.
19

 146
This sorry custom has taken a general hold on the
people,

common

and only those who belong to the enlightened class can have courage enough to break off with a state of things so universally
admitted.

The work

entitled

Yao-yih-kia kwei t'ung-suh-pien |^

E^
j||

S
for

j|

fl?

II' speaks in a similar

manner.

Its

author, Ku-mei

$g,

says: "through hearing soothsayers talking about ghosts, the entire

population of Kiangsu jj

(ifo

has ended
nonsense.

by believing in them.

As
1

me,

believe in no such

When my
fulfil

mother died,

sat her,

up
all

alone beside her mortal remains, to

I

my

duties towards
1

and

never saw or heard anything whatsoever.

Hence
(1).

conclude

that

these ghost stories are absolutely unfounded"

In several families
floor, or before

N. B.

among
a

the

common

people, ashes are

strewn on the

the door-way of the deceased person's

home.
see

The following morning,

minute examination

is

made,

to

whether there are any footprints or other marks found thereon, Sometimes a ladder made of indicating that the soul has returned.
reeds, is placed against the garden-wall, to enable the ghost to climb

over

it

easily.
it

In case the footprint of a bird has been noticed,

is

forthwith

inferred that the soul has been

re-incarnated in the' body of a bird.

sifted ashes,

Should Pussy happen

conclusion
cat.
is

to

run over the

immediately the
into a

drawn that the deceased has been transformed

marks
left

From
is

the

on the ashes, one

is enabled to

conjecture

what

the destiny of the soul in the nether world.

ill

See Ku-mei chi wen-kih M.

jg-

m n m. -? m * m.

M 3 BM& S W& $k & <% it | % i $s, m ^ /t m % m m , m m & m. & s a %

flf

gfc IB1

liti^";

4 'iiA'vV

mvtiAi

$M
V'i
'

"**

Ceremonie de revocation des morts.

Evocation of the Dead.

 147
ARTICLE
X.

EVOCATION OF THE DEAD.

Cha.o-vja.ng
:fg

;.

The evocation
in
all

of

the

dead

is

practised as

general

custom

pagan

localities.

Whenever
dium, who

member

of

family dies,

his

relatives

go and

consult a magician or a witch, well

is

known
soul,
is

in the

country as a meit

wont

to conjure

up the
This

and question

as to

its

condition in the nether world.

the evocation of the dead, as

of the

we

see

it

practised in
little

many

other parts

world,

the method

only being a
stances.

different

owing

to

the influence of local circum-

Generally, at least in these provinces,

ceress,

it is

an old

woman

or sora pure

who

acts the principal part.

This

is

in the

main only

comedy, whence the strongly in the minds

implanting thereby more of pagans, a thousand absurd errors on the

Evil
benefits,

One

state of the soul after death.

Whosoever

desires to evoke a departed

soul,

must

do so through a living
T

medium.
is

In the apartment, where

the ceremon}

is to

take place, a table

prepared upon which are

placed offerings

for

the soul

mushrooms, cooked vegetables and

even meats.

A lamp
darkness,
placed some
lance
is laid.

is

lighted, doubtless to guide the soul in the

it

realm of

whence

rice in a

Beside the table is is requested to return. bushel or other vessel, and over the rice a baarticles generally

Such are the

to the

employed, though they

may

vary according

wealth of the family,

office of

and the resources

of the place.

The

sorceress, fulfilling the

cloth,

medium, covers her

with

head and face with a piece of

evokes the departed soul

whom

one wishes to communicate, then mutters in a drawling and

tone

inarticulate

some twaddle about her

visits

to

the

"land of

shades".

The only

requisite

conditions to be a

reputed

medium

is

 148
thorough grasp of the erroneous opinions which prevail in the locality, and ability to turn them to account in a clever manner. The following are some of the questions generally addressed to the deceased,

whose soul
nicate for a

is

believed to use the

mouth

of the

medium,
welfare.

to

commu-

moment with

those interested in

its

Do you
long?

suffer in the nether

will

world?

Will your punishment

is

last

When

you

leave

Hades?
official

What

your

state

in

the un-

derworld?

Do you

fulfil

any

function?

money, clothes?
are

What may we
we

do to help you?

Are you in need of Will such an un-

dertaking, in which

take great concern,

succeed or not?

When

we going

to die ourselves?

One can thus

the

see

what

a vast field

is

open to inquiry.
either

Satan

seizes the opportunity to

sow the seeds

of

of error,

by allowing

medium

to

descant as he pleases,
All the errors
hell is

misleading replies.
sitting of a few

inspiring him to deliver Buddhism are exhibited in a

or

minutes:

not eternal;

the

dead

eat,

drink,

need clothes and money in the nether world,

tions,

hold honourable posifish etc...

and may be re-incarnated

in

men, animals,

Generally these sittings are but a clever

blind,

in

which the
as
to

medium

deceives those
It is

simple folks,
a trade, a

who

are

so

silly

have

recourse to him.

remunerative business, which he

covering his

carries on dissembled beneath

face,

the thick piece of cloth

and hiding the movement

of the lips, while he counterfeits his

voice to render his oracular sayings

If

more mysterious.

sometimes, there are answers which apparently surpass the

average knowledge of these cunning knaves, they must be attributed

to the

"Father

of lies",

who

seeks to

excite

the

admiration of his

deluded victims.

Some
|i,

few

ears ago, a wealthy

jig
\fj
.

man, named Hsu Shi-yin

]f

-^

died at Yun-ls'ao

His widow, anxious to

know how he
in the provin-

fared in the nether world, proceeded to

ce of

Wuhu

fiiE

$JJ,

an old sorceress highly reputed ^, in the neighbourhood. To make some return, at least in kind words,

Nganhwei

to

consult

for the

handsome remuneration she

received, the disconsolate

widow


world, "the land of shades but rejoice over his happy
11
,

149

official

was assured that her husband held an

position in the under-

Yin-kien |^

f ^,

and therefore she should

lot.

Not unfrequently, these magicians employ

to

a youth

(I),

from 12

25 years of age.
expert,

They hypnotise him,

either directly or through

some

who

administers to him ashes from a burnt charm,

adding thereto various gestures and hand-signs made over the head.
All persons are not equally capable of being hypnotised
;

the

better

subjects are generally frail, hysterical youths

(2),

whose

life

has been
the

rather

disorderly.

When

the

medium has been

is

hypnotised,

sorceress

questions him, and the departed soul

replies

through his
;$j,
I

mouth.
the Open

This kind of evocation

practised at

Wuhu

Jim

one of

Ports in the province of Nganhwei

all

Jjfjfc.

have had

ample proofs thereof, and have known

case.

those concerned in the

over,

In

one case even,

consulted the

after

the

ceremony was
set
to

widow

who had
to

medium on
in

the state of her husband, wished

fire

burn mock-money, and

so doing

a neighbouring

house.
In

some

places of

ploy

little
fulfil

images

of idols or

Kiangsu yX province, these magicians emPu-sahs | j|. They must pray long
before rendering their

and
(3).

manv ceremonies

image

efficacious

When

at last

it is it

possessed by the God, divinised, ling

as a

H,

as

pagans say, they use

medium, placing

it

on their bosom.

(1)

These youths are called Ki-t'ung

fil ],

that

is

divining youths, or simply T'ung-

tze,

jf -J-,

young
jjjf

diviners.

When

attached to a temple or family altar, they are called

Shen-t'ung

jf,

youths possessed by a god.

De

Groot.

The Religious System

of

China.

Vol. VI. p. 1269.

(2).

They must be

and mentally weak, and th: ivfore easily stirred cannot be borne for many years, and hence they

a nervous, impressionable, hysterical kind of people, physically The strain on their nerves to ecstasy.
all die

young.

De

Grcot.

The Religious
It
is

System
(3;.

of

1269 (possessed mediums). In Southern China, this image is made of the wood of the willow-tree
p.

China. Vol. VI.

exposed to the dew for 49 nights, after which it is believed to have the power of speaking. The holder professes to send it into the world of spirits, to find the person about whom
intelligence
is

sought.

Doolittle. Social Life of the Chinese. Vol. II. p. 115.

 150
begging
to
it

to find

out such and such a soul with

little

whom
all

one wishes

communicate, and the

statue
if

replies

to

questions add-

ressed to the departed soul, as

It

the spirit dwelt within the

image.

may

be admitted that there are frequently cunning feats of venare,

triloquism,

which completely delude the beholders (1). There however, cases in which it is difficult to hazard an opinion.

The following custom

fu
a

is

found in some places, as in Hsii-chow-

'}\\

Jft,

and elsewhere.
to

When

woman

wishes to become

medium, she goes

in

an old witch, and begs her to communicate

to her, her

evoking power.

The

initiation is carried out as follows:

the old witch has

her possession several funerary urns, each of

of a deceased person.
;

which contains sealed up the soul

uncorks the vessel,

The

appli-

cant approaches quite close to one of the urns

the old witch then

and the imprisoned soul of the dead person escapes into the body of the novice, and henceforth abides within her.
its

indwelling presence
it

is

apparent to her;

she

is

fully

conscious

that

of such or

accompanies her everywhere, and can inform her on the state such a soul, which has departed to the underworld.
illustration exhibits the

The annexed

customary ceremony empetitioners

ployed in this branch of necromancy.

kneeling, addressing their questions to
to the

The
the

may

be seen

answers which she deigns

to

medium, and listening give them.

(1)
;

Doolittle admits also this

replies appear to

conclusion: "the questions are addressed to the meis

dium the

come from her stomach. There

loquism employed.

The

fact that the voice proceeds professedly

probably a kind of ventrifrom the stomach of the

Vol.
II. p.

medium doubtless helps to delude". Social mediums between the living and the dead).

Life of the Chinese.

115

(Female

Fig. 64

La ceremonie du

Tso-tchai.

Tso-chai. Buddhist service for releasing souls out of Hades.

151

XI.

ARTICLE

CEREMONIES FOR RESCUING DEPARTED SOULS.

Tso-chai
ffc

% Ta-tsiao

fl*

!
perfor-

These ceremonies vary from place

to place,

and even when

med by one Buddhist

and bring grist

priest or another.

Each one follows

his

own

fancy, his peculiar contrivances, calculated to impress the ignorant

to the mill.

Taoist priests, Tao-shi

They may be performed by Buddhist or ^, at the pleasure of the family. The

is

Buddhist ceremony, however,

Taoists
1.

generally called

Tso-chai

f$[

j|f,

performing services for releasing a soul; while that performed by the

is

styled Ta-tsiao

:jT |$|,

thanking their gods

for deliverances.
;ffj.

Passing over the magic bridge. Kwo-sien-k'iao j^

soul, according to

f[Jj

The disembodied
a long

Buddhists,
a

must pass over

foaming torrent,
hold
all

and dangerous bridge (I), which spans and obstructs the road towards a new existence.

Demons

the dangerous points, and cast into the surging waters beneath, the

unfortunate souls that venture on the way.

To help

to pass over

it,

Buddhist priests have imagined to construct a mock-bridge made out of tables and boards, erected in front of. the deceased person's house (2).

The

tables on the top are placed with the

foot is

feet

turned up, and

tied
to

from each

suspended a lantern

pieces of cloth

bam-

boos act as a railing and help to

over.

prevent the spirits from toppling

At nightfall the bridge is lighted up, and a procession of Buddhist priests arrives, beating wooden clappers and playing on

various instruments.

While they mutter

their formulas, others climb

of infernal

on to the

artificial bridge,

and play the part

imps
;

(3).

(1)

Only those who'are good are supposed

II. p.

to be able to pass over

it,

it

safely

the wicked
Doolittle.

are believed to fall over its sides into the waters beneath

where they
the bridge

perish.

Social Life of the Chinese. Vol.

(2)

105 .popular superstitions).

of

The ceremony

is

supposed to render the passage

more

feasable and

safe.
(3)

Doolittle. loc. cit.

In Southern China these imps have their faces painted, and are dressed in green-

They generally ish or striped clothing, as the Chinese thus imagine spirits to dress. or a female. Doolittle. comprise a tall white devil, short black devil, and sometimes a beggar
Social Life of the Chinese. Vol. II. p. 105.


The
filial

152

parents
over this

son,

who wishes

to see his

bridge
sets

of sorrows, takes in his

hands the

tablet of the

deceased, and

He is stopped by a Buddhist priest, personan infernal who the filial son falls ating imp, opposes his passage on his knees, begs and entreats, but all to no purpose. In order
out to cross the bridge.
;

to proceed, he

must pay down

a certain

amount.

few paces furbe

ther on another

imp

gesticulates frantically;

money must
money
is

again
his

disbursed, otherwise he will hurl over the railing the son and
tablet.

After

much

parleying, a bulk

sum

of

agreed upon

and paid out on the spot.

And

so on till\the end.
told heavily

The passage over the bridge has

too credulous son,

on the purse of the

but has swelled

the
as

pockets of the pate-shaven

reader can
see,

monks.

All is a regular

comedy,

every

but a

remunerative one indeed.

2.

Releasing from the Buddhist purgatory

priests, Tao-slii JH

P'o-ti-yuhffiffcffi.
vie

Buddhist and Taoist

other in inventing

J^,

with

one an-

departed souls

all kinds of cunning devices, designed to deliver from the hands of Yen-wang ff*] 3E> the- ruler of

Hades. One of the principal ceremonies

is

that

known

as

"rescuing
of the

from purgatory" P'o-ti-yuh rulers of Hades are exposed

ressed to each of the

$$f
;

f|jj

$^

(1).

The images
made,

ten

offerings are

and prayers add-

departments of the lower world. When they have been duly informed and propitiated, the soul is deemed rescued from hell or rather from purgatory, as
superintendents of the ten
this place of expiation is of but

temporary duration
five

(2).

Five written charms, printed on

are employed
in this

different

sheets

of

paper,
1 '

ceremony

of "releasing

from

purgatory

P'o-

abode

Ti-yuk Jft Jfft Earth-prison, corresponding to the Sanscrit "Naraka", that is the wicked men. It contains 8 large hot departments, 8 cold ones, and 8 of utter darkness, with minor small ones. The torments and length of life differ in each. Yama
(1)

of

and his
sister

lictors rule

performs the same duties in regard to female criminals.

over the unhappy wretches, and the various degrees of torture. His Eitel. Sanscrit-Chinese

Dictionary.

six

The Buddhist hell or purgatory is not a place of final retribution, but one of the (2) phases of transmigration, or conditions in which sentient beings may find a new

existence. See above, p. 92. Note.

0>

CO

p-

CO
(MO

<u

HI
<L>

Cu)

*ft

^M-o?

>

>.

- X
c

_
<L)

>

S *~

"c

fe

%j

V^-b

">^CZ

-*r

U?ii^

^^ ^Kfj

Ci
(J

10 CO

be

i1
3

^T

M4r^

4'
be

3 o
c
0)

3
In

a
-=

f\$+4*

^9

#fc#3i**H&^

4&*i firt*

so

:_

a K


ti-yuh $
-jfe

15:5

the

|R,

which

is

performed by Taoist, Tao-shi ^T

especially by Buddhist

priests.

, and During the ceremony, these sheets

of

are

hung up facing

the

four
fifth

points

compass
in

in

the

order
oJ

prescribed by the text; a

hall.

one

is

suspended
is

the middle

the

When

the chanting of the liturgy

fire-crackers exploded, these five

to

music played and charms arc burnt and thus forwarded

over,
hell, the soul

Hades, in order to deliver from the sufferings of

benefit the expiatory

for

whose

ceremony has been performed.

This ceremony of releasing

ti-yuh $
of
jjjj

^,

is

from the Buddhist purgatory, P'ofrequently practised, and is a profitable source

income
3.

to the clergy (1).

Rescuing from the bloody pond. Hsueh-hu

jjfl.

$J].

This detestable Buddhist doctrine condemns

a bloody pond,
all

to be

plunged into

women who

die in childbirth,
to

and even married

having
children.

women who

die several years

subsequent

their

They have no hope of being rescued therefrom, and must remain immersed in this filthy sink, amidst intolerable suffering, until they
become
totally annihilated, that is
till

the

end of the world.

The
Tin
list

only remedy
priests,

available
|f|

is

to

have recourse to
their

Buddhist and

Tao-shi

-j^,

who by

magic formulas are empowered

to deliver

them.
of

rough sketch

the

deceased

woman

is

sometimes made,

with the eight characters of her horoscope, Pah-tze /V '/-*, at the This pictm-e is pasted on the monastery bell (2), in order thai foot.

through

its tollings,

the soul of the deceased

may

be gradually

res-

cued from the pool of

mud and
priests

blood in which

it is

plunged.

At other times, the

Chapter IV, Article

burn paper-boats,

called "life-boats",

designed for crossing this bloody pond.

II, a written

The reader may

see above.
text of the

charm and the Chinese

(1)

Buddhist or Taoist

priests, Tao-shi *|

can alone deliver souls out

life

of

this

ahode of suffering.
(2)

Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language,

p. 125,

See above,
hell.

how

the tolling of Buddhist bells procures relief and solace to

the souls in

20

 154
prayer, designed to rescue
ren,
all

women who

have brought forth child-

from the bloody pond into which they are plunged, as well as
invented by the

the story of this horrible practice,

Buddhist priest
efforts (1).

Muh-lien

jg, or rather propagated in

China through his

when
hist

Pagan women have a terrible fear of this "bloody pond", and the mother of a family dies, no expense is spared (2), and Buddpriests, Tao-shi

and Taoist

-^, are invited to chant prayers,

in order to rescue her soul without delay from the "bloody pond".

(1)
("2)

See

The precious formula of the "bloody pond", composed by Buddha. p. 81 -85. In Southern China the rich have this ceremony performed several times, or at
scale, before the conclusion
I.

least

once on a grand

of their public

mourning ceremonies.

Doolittle. Social Life of the Chinese. Vol.

p. 197.

155

z&fe

Dore, Henri Researches into Chinese superstitions.

v. 1

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