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CHINESE
SUPERSTITIONS
•CD
By Henry Dor6,
S.J.
00
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY
By M. Kennelly,
S.J.
First Part SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES Profusely illustrated
Vol.
I
is 12.1
T'USEWEI PRINTING PRESS Shanghai
1914
i£s*f
.
ypy
/y7y
^
,
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,
/fttWsp^z^rZJLT
I
iiiisiijyiic INTO
CHINESE
SUPERSTITIONS
By Henry Dore, /H
S.J.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY
By M. Kennelly,
S.J.
First Part SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES Profusely illustrated
Vol.
I
T'USEWEI PRINTING PRESS Shanghai
1914
111
D£/3 v.
I
BRA'is;
t^Siry
OF T<>£:
31.1832
PREFACE. The present work,
"Researches into Chinese Supersti-
entitled
tions",, belongs to
the well
or Miscellanies on
China,
Shanghai Mission. The
known
"Varietes Sinoloijiques",
series
published
by the Jesuit Fathers of the
volume was issued from the T'usewei
first
Three others followed successively in 1912
Press in the year 1911.
and 1913, and were so appreciated that the French Academy of "Inscriptions and Literature" granted them a special award. A fifth is
now
and
in the press.
The whole
collection is to be completed in 1915,
comprise about eight volumes. The subject treated
will
is
of the
highest importance, not only from the religious standpoint, but also
because of the familv
life
many
interesting sidelights
casts on the social
it
and
As the original is in French, and limited number of readers, it has been
of the Chinese people.
hence accessible only to a requested to translate
into English.
it
Such a vast undertaking and
supposes would have appalled many.
the scholarly attainments
it
The translator himself
felt
rather diffident,
genial Director of the
"Varietes Sinolog iques" , various Missionary
but encouraged by the '
and several scholars
bodies,
to
set
ically
in
the East and
work, and the volume now
home, he energet-
at
offered to the public is the
fruit of his labours.
The Author
of the
work
is
the Rev.
Labour-
Henry Bore, S.J.
ing as a Missionary for over twenty years
the two
in
provinces
of
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
us therein, he has witnessed with his
from the
lips of the people with
Real China exists
done
its
little
in the
work, and raised
fellow countrymen.
whom
own
he came
Open Ports. the Chinaman to
T
e} es,
or
What heard
into daily contact.
Civilisation
has there
a higher level
than his
Whosoever, therefore, would study him
in real
— life,
must needs
see
him
II
—
in the remote regions, the quaint old towns,
and the secluded villages of some distant province. This
what the
is
Missionary has done, and hence his descriptions ring genuine, impressions in a manner which
echo his
and
and charm the
interest
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
From
out this assertion.
given throughout the
these, quotations
To the foreign authors indicated in added a few others, which
work.
the French edition, the
translator has
he thinks will be helpful to English readers.
made
ticularly
ular
of Dooliltle,
Gods and Goddesses"
who
has
Mention may be parof
written interestingly
Southern China, also of Samuel
in
Hackmann, Macgowan, Legge and
Sir Monier Williams, extensive
and copious extracts are
work on the "Religious System
of China".
"PopBenl.
Groot's
Several
titles,
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
puzzle
to
many
a
reader.
Pictures of Gods and Goddesses, of Genii and deified
fabulous beings,
Worthies and Heroes have next been secured.' The
rich store
albums in the Sicawei Library has wonderfully helped in this Almost every article is illustrated. These pictures complete matter.
of
the
text,
and
exhibit
graphically to the reader the
belief
of the
people.
The work both
in
Author
will, doubtless,
the Far Fast in
and
publishing
the held, chiefly those
quainted with the
life
it
at
fulfil
home.
a
useful
and
The principal intention
-I
purpose of the
has been to help his fellow Missionaries in
recently arrived from home, and yet unacand religious conditions of the Chinese people.
These men shall one day be brought into contact stitions
scientific
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
work
of
promote better the great
implanting Christian truth in the land.
— The work
number
ing"
people, his
interested
scholars
of
field
life
spent
in
of laborious
most useful
ever proved a
—
will also prove valuable to the large
In this
Religion".
TIT
the
and ever increas-
study of "Comparative
research,
the Missionary
has
His intimate knowledge of the
helper.
enable
among them,
him
to
appreciate thor-
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
oughly their religious ideas,
intelligent reading public the real aspect life
ary "what
China's real
is
of religious
Persons frequently ask the Mission-
the Chinese people.
among
and conditions
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
these questions.
all
To begin by the
Man
has two souls
Ilwun
or
the great
breath
t$L,
(vital force).
ming %$
or superior one, is called the
first,
principle
It is
(1).
After death,
it
manifested by the K'i
ascends,
f^l
According
to
modern Confucianists
Buddhists would have
it
be
^
or
according to the Anci-
higher regions, there to live on as lucid
B£).
death.
Shen
and emanates from the ethereal part of the Cosmos,
Yang j^
ents, to the
at
soul, the generally accepted opinion is as follows:
— The
it
matter, Shen-
vanishes entirely
re-incarnated into
men
or
of the
animals (See on the System Metempsychosis p. 135-138), while Taoists place it after death amidst the stars, ordinarily around the Polar
regions.
The second, or material soul, is the Kwei $&, The living man under the name of P'eh fjj|.
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)
Williams defines this: "the pure, ethereal, subtle part
Gods and souls are formed". Dictionary (2)
According
which by ced.
The
its
p.
5,_
Chinese philosophy,
it is
of
matter, out of which
Chinese Language |^. one of the primeval forces
of
Nature, from
whole universe has been produthe dual Powers, quiescent matter (Giles and William's Chinese
interaction with the
inferior of
Dictionaries (3)
to
of the
Yang ||
principle, the
$$.).
For more ample VVieger.
details See de Groot.
The Religious System
Folk-Lore Chinois Moderne. Introduction §
9).
of China. Vol.
IV,
— IV — The notion
God has_almost disappeared, or at least For the greater part of the people, their God
of the true
is
but dimly known.
is
the "Pearly Emperor",
Jl, of Taoist origin
Yuh-hwang 3£
Budd-
;
ha or Fuh f); Amitabha |$pJ $$ |?g $J (O-mih-t'o-fuh), the Ruler of the Western Paradise; Kwan-yin || "&, the Goddess of Mercy;
%
erable Sire or Lord", Lao-yeh
the Hearth, the
God
Gods
5
man has__its Romans
of
being thus, as with th e
,
JNumina nomina". The
various needs,
God
^
ature:
Wen-ch'ang among them are utter
^§
God
of.Jtliches, the
co rresponding
literati
and Kw'ei-sing
5£t
^
;
the
Gods
these
of Liter-
The modernists
j§k
God
For them,
but the moral sense of man, exalted thus to
else
nothing
own Lord and Lawgiver.
Practically,
the masses, and will burn
mock-money, though
practice, at the
tombs
It
divinity, for
but an abstract principle, identified with Reason or Law, that is
of
acknowledge "Shang-
and materialists.
atheists
names
largely
J- ^-, the Supreme Ruler; Heaven, T'ien
//"
''Ven-
title of
and even gamblers.
musicians,
fencers,
would seem that every need
ff?
they give the
the
Carpenters have their Patron God, also
of Fire.
play-actors, wrestlers,
the
whom
local or tutelary divinity to
some
is,
be
is
he his
they are as superstitious as this
is
Buddhist
a
of their ancestors.
China's popular religion
is,
therefore, a medley of superstitions,
varying according to places, but essentially the same in
their
fun-
Hence the popular adage: "the three religions Each person in fact selects one", Sun -hi no wei-yih J£
damental features. in'
^^—
what
or adopts
ments.
and
The Powers
deified
Heroes,
especially the
world.
suits best his fancy, of
as
meets his present require-
Nature, Spirits, the Hosts of Heaven, Genii even animals,
Dragon and the Tortoise, not omitting the mineral
The whole
it
.
Ancestors are also worshipped;
affords a pitiful spectacle
ion, and has held the people well
or
which
excites
bondage throughout the
in
degrades them at the present
compasspast,
as
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
practices
among
are
the Chinese will readily acknowledge
bound
up with their every-day
influence their actions from the cradle to the tomb.
life,
and
This part deals
—V— also
with ancestor worship, the ancestral
and
the sending of clothing
tablet,
and mock-money
burial
to the
of the
"Land
dead,
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.
M
gent co-operation of here
my
1
'.
S..T., to
Foucret,
whom
I
wish
to
express
sincere thanks.
The second part
of the
work
and
shall offer to the reader a full
interesting "biograplnj of Gods and Goddesses", mythical personages and deified Heroes worshipped in the two provinces of Kiangsu and
A
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
Some account
will be a
will be also given of their principal
doctrines,
systems and general influence on the Chinese people.
ethical
This part,
like the second, will be fully illustrated.
Such
is,
Dore, S.J.
in brief, the great
Though
possibly the best account
The book
is
we can
gations made on is
get on
"Superstitions in China".
written for the general piTblic,
abstruse discussions, and
English,
work undertaken by Father Henry it will fill a serious gap, and is
not exhaustive,
is
the spot.
based throughout on personal investi-
The
here offered to the
due succession, and render,
avoiding purposely too
it
interested in China's religious
is
first
volume,
public.
now
The others
translated will
hoped, valuable service to
life
into
follow all
and customs.
M. Kennelly, S.J. Sicawei College, Shanghai.
May
30, 1914.
in
those
— LIST OF
VII
—
WORKS CONSULTED FOR
THIS FIRST PART,
1
NT1TLED
SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES
WORKS WRITTEN
IN
I
CHINA.
IN
THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. Li-ki.
IE
Sang-li.
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Tuh-li-t'ung-k'ao.
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T'ung-suh-pien.
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a
Tze-chi-t'ung-kien kang-muh. Official
«i^
Peter -if
#(•
Annals.
Ch'eu-chen pien-wang.
Hwang,
S. J.
\chwan).
Ts'ien-Han-shu (Chang t'ang
—
VIII
—
Heu-Han-shu (Ts'ai-lun-chwan).
m r m % be jt # oe & f#) mmm a
Fung-shi wen-kien-ki.
T'ang-shu (Wang-yiX-chwan)
T'ung-kien-kang-muh. Records
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reconstructed by
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wai-tsih. Shi- with yuen-hui.
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Kien-hu pu-tsih. Sin-chi-luh.
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fa
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*
su-chi
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(Fortune-tell-
ing).
* *i9
Ta-luh-jen-sin-yuan (Divination).
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(Hod of the
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(Prayer-book
of Buddhist monks).
Hwang-lih (Imperial Calendar). H^
^^
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siang-meng
ts'iien-shu
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tt:
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a
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later edition.
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San-kwoh-chi.
,>
«
Tsih-shwoh ts'iien-chen. by Peter
Hwang,
S. J.
—
xn
—
FOREIGN WORKS.
Rudiments du Parler
L.
Chiriois.
S.
Wieger,
Textes Historiques.
Folk-Lore Chinois Moderne.
Id.
Synchronismes Chinois. The Folk-Lore of China.
M. Chang,
Chinese Folk-Lore.
J.
S. J.
N. B. Denny*.
M
r
Gowa n.
Vegetarian Sects.
G. Miles.
China and Religion.
E. H. Parker.
Studies in Chinese Religion.
Id.
Edkins.
Chinese Buddhism.
J.
Buddhism
S. Beal.
\
Catena
of
in
China.
Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese.
Id.
Four Lectures on Buddhist Literature in China. I
land-Book
Buddhism:
of
Chinese Buddhism.
Its Historical
Id.
E.
and Popular Aspects,
J.
Eitel.
in
Three Lectures.
Id.
Buddhism.
Buddhism
Monier Williams. H. Hackmann.
as a Religion.
Calendar of the Gods Social
in
China.
Timothy
Life of the Chinese.
Chinese Repository (Canton.
XX
Li Ki or
Book
Vol.)
of Rites.
Edifiantes
et
J.
Doolittle.
J.
de Groot.
J. Legge.
The Shi King or Book of Poetry. Memoires concernant les Chinois (XVI Lettres
Richard,
Vol.)
The Chinese Recorder (Shanghai). The Religious System of China (VI.
The
./.
Id.
Curieuses
Id. Vol.
(Vol.
Jesuit Missionaries in
IX-X1II
Peking. on China).
Missionaries
in
Jesuit
China.
Lettres de Jersey (1880*1914).
Shanghai Jesuit Mission.
duMuse^Guimet (Vol.
XI-XII. 1886). he Groot et-Chavannes.
Annates
Revue de I'Extreme-Orient
IL Cordier).
Bulletin de la Societe Beige d'Etudes Coloniales.
Chinese Reader's Manual.
\y. F.
Mayers
—
XIII
—
Notes on Chinese Literature (New Edition).
,4.
Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese
Williams.
Language.
Chinese-English Dictionary
II.
Chinese Biographical Dictionary.
De Natura Deorum
(On the Nature of the Gods.
La
II).
Cicero.
Ovid. Fustel de Coulangei-
Cite Antique. of the
A. Giles. Id'.
Book
Metamorphoses.
The Religions
Wylie.
Ancient World.
Classical Dictionary.
G. Rawlinson. J.
Lempriere.
Smaller Classical Dictionary of Biography and
Mythology.
W. Smith.
CONTENTS. FIRST PART — VOLUME
I.
— ^S|.*'|^H
CHAPTER Birth
I.
and Childhood. Page
Article
Gods
specially
worshipped
stitions
practices
tablet of
Goddess
certain sex ces.
—
of
Little
The
arrows. — The lets
to
off
— The
— New-born
a
mark on
of
animals or
coins.
of slave-girls given to
attached to feet of children.
the forehead.
—
corpses
Ill-treating
— The
of little
8
—
12.
Superstitious customs concerning children.
III.
the silver padlock.
Wearing
string of
shaven
oil.
cash. — The
— The
— The
eight
habit of a
silver collar.
diagrams. — The
pending a
demons
families". — Burning — fishing-net Employing a
children.
sieve
that ravish children.
— Dry
Amulets
(nominal) adoption.
extremity of the queue.
—The
for the child's cot
— Ear-rings. — crown
of
hair
— The — shoes. Sus-
Buddhist priest or bonze.
dress of "the hundred
wood
7.
— The peach-wood — Peach-wood amuravishes children. demons from approaching children. — Amulet — Wearing necklace copper —
children
A
—
seven-star lamp.
— Names of Killing — Bell-charms male children.
Article
as-
to
influen-
2
cock.
vermilion
evil
God
of dog's hair. a
— Exposing
devil thai
preventing
made
house. — Consulting — Magic mirror ward
images or statues representing children.
tubbing.
first
laborious childbirth
of
— Super-
fortune-tellers
in
After Birth.
II.
in order to obtain children.
cases
in
child.
child offered to a Article
1
Before Birth
I.
.
to
old to
ward
— Red
scare off
away the
diseases from
cloth attached to the
peach-stone padlock.
— Auspicious 13—25.
— Crossing the
Article IV.
XV
— 26
—
29
— 31.
Page.
bamm CHAPTER
27.
II,
Betrothal and Marriage* Article
I.
Article
II.
Betrothal
Marriage.
Fixing
its
date.
(flowers, fruit)
Article
— Month. — Day. — Sending- auspicious presents 32 — 33.
34
Departure of the Bride
III.
— 35.
The Bride enters the house of the Bridegroom.
Article IV.
Arrival. — The
marriage ceremony before the tablet of Heaven and Earth, and the ancestral tablet. Ordeal of seeing the bride.
—
Visiting the ancestral hall.
accomplished
this latter
— Burial
rite of bride
who has 36
ceremony
CHAPTER
—
not 39.
III.
Death and Burial. Article
Before Heath.
I.
—
Outfit Fetching the temple-god into the dying person's house. of the dead (Case of a man, a woman). Garters Girdle.
—
Buttons. — Not
to
removed. — Also
curtains Article
allowed
expire
on
the
—
family
the pillow
Consulting the Imperial calendar. son. —-Paper
deity
of the
— Faying
out the dead per-
— Informing — Bringing death person. — the deceased. -Victuals provi-
streamers suspended
the local tutelary
over door-way. of
a
back from the temple the soul of ded for the journey. old
—-Paper sedan-chair
shoes of the
for the soul.
deceased. — Attaching
1°.
III.
Placing the corpse
—-Burning
wisps of cotton-
wool round the neck of the corpse Article
— Bed41 — 44.
bed.
After Death.
II.
some
—
45
—
In the coffin.
Putting the corpse in the coffin.
Choosing
a lucky day.
46.
—
— Big nail used the
mouth
the corpse. — The in the
— (doth corpse. some
placed over the
hairs of the deceased.
Objects placed beside
2".
coffin.
nether world.
the soul of the departed.
— Putting
the coffin.
for closing
of
hungry dugs
—
XVI
—Rice
— Mirror
the
appeasing the
for
placed at feet of the
mouth. — Nails
— Closing down
entwined with
the lid of the coffin.
Paper tablet containing
coffin.
— Rice
in
a copper coin
placed at the rear of the deceas-
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
head.
person's
--Lamp
with seven
of
visitors
to relatives
for benefit of
friends.
coffin.
52.
to
Article IV
Burial.
Selecting a lucky site. funeral
covered with straw Article V.
— Carrying out the — Order of the — the grave-side. Coffins exposed and 53 — 57. coffin.
—-At procession.
Alter the Burial.
Fixed times for mourning services. -- Hounding
tumulus.
— The
Preparations his
made
him.
to receive
a
lamp
honour
for the ghost.
of the
— Anxiety
ghosts
the
entertained about to
the "world of
for the benefit 'of the dead.-
dead. — Gathering
the
festival
hungry and wandering
— Floating — guide wandering ghosts. Celebrating the the seventh month). — Various other 58 — 62. departed souls to the dead.
little
to
festival (fifteenth of
ceremonies Article VI.
off
— "Ts'ing-ming", or annual
— Sending winter-garments ghosts. lamps on streams
house
paper
-Burning straw -tresses
Hfering a
in
or
—
—-Forwarding destiny.
shades". I
mound
departed spirit returns in search of daylight.
to
help
Superstitious papers burnt
.at
funerals.
— 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
Propitiating the funeral-god. of
,i
Article VII.
ten
lor
in
a
of
soul.
of
— XVII — CHAPTER
IV.
Petition-talismans (written charms) for the benefit of the Dead. Article
Ordinary cases of dead persons.
1.
the Chinese send petitions to their gods and burn written
Why
— Purifying- and rescuing charm granted
in their honour.
charms
—
Written charm burnt by Lao-kiin for the benefit of the dead. and forwarded to Amitabha. Another petition in similar style.
—
—
Written
charm burnt
obtain
to
delivered to the departed soul. to soul
on the way
of the
mony
a
happy
Passport granting
to the infernal regions.
"Lemuria"
(for
— the Buddhist paradise. —
the benefit of wandering souls).
to receive the soul.
clothing for the benefit of the dead. to the nether
Article
world
Petition-talismans
II.
"Moody pond". Women who die hist
life
the
of
for
this
witches at Hai
(written
— Burning mock-
— Forwarding a patent 69 — 83.
safe
charms) rescuing from the
in childbirth plunged into this pond.
can
priests
burnt
passage the cere-
seat of the soul (before the burial takes
deceased. place).
free
— Opening
Written charm opening the portals of Informing the ruler of Hades of the exemplary
— Temporary — Wrapper designed
— Permit
rebirth.
deliver
them therefrom.
— Howling purpose.
— Budd-
— Precious
ceremony
Chow
formula
performed by 87. 84
—
Petition-talismans (written charms) for special cases.
Article III.
—
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
who has
benefit of a
died in prison.
— For a person — For calumny. 88 — 96.
drowned person.
— For the victims
person poisoned by doctors' prescriptions
CHAPTER
of
a
V.
Divers Superstitions for the benefit of the Dead. Article
I.
The Ancestral Tablet
97
— 108.
— XVIII — Pag II.
"Kotowing"
to the
Dead
III.
Sacrifices offered to the
IV.
Mock-money
V. VI. VII. VIII.
IX.
X. XI.
...109
Dead
Buddhist Bells
Sending Paper-houses
to the
Dead
Placing Streamers on Graves
...
The Metempsychosis Murderous Ghosts Evocation of the Dead
Ceremonies for rescuing departed Souls
—
—
—
XIX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IHagrams ami "Charaels". Page
a
Kwan-yin presenting
1.
child
to
mothers
for
praying
offspring
(Frontispiece)
White-robed Kwan-
2.
Paper print (charm) representing the
3.
Kw'ei-sing, the God of Literature, protects from on high
yin burnt in her honour to obtain posterity
new-born
the
On
child.
a
car
is
seen
1
academic
the
head-dress worn by scholars 4.
Chang Kwo-lao
5.
The
Celestial
offers a
2
descendant
to a
newly married couple Borne on a
chariot, she presents a child to a
happy household The Ki-lin or Unicorn bestowing a child Written charm for hastening delivery. The charm
6. 7.
3
Fairy that bestows children.
...
4 5
is
burnt, and the ashes mingled with wine are given to
woman
the 7
L" S .
Another
Bowman
8.
efficacious
Chang
6
charm
for
7
hastening delivery
shooting peach-wood arrows
heavenly 9.
in labour
to
scare
away
the 8
dog
the Immortal,
who
protects
10
children
10.
Padlock assuring a long and happy
11.
Child wearing the silver collar
14
12.
Boy wearing an ear-ring
15
13.
a string of cash
17
14.
Wearing Charm representing
15.
Child with crown of hair shaven
16.
Habit of Buddhist
17.
Variegated dress
18.
The God
19.
18
the eight diagrams
monk worn
known
19
off
20
by children
"hundred families"
21
of Longevity issuing from a peach charm. Luck} May you have five male children, healthy, and rich, attaining to the highest honours
22
as that of the
7
Wen Wang.
19 Lls Allusion to the numerous children of .
you have many children, and ma}
7
one of them
24
May be
a
tripos
25
Brass mirror
34
first
20.
13
life
— XX — Page
Conducting- the
21.
bride
36
Earth
37
Ribald jesting
38
Tablet of Heaven
Nao
Sin-fang.
and
23.
Han-k'eu-ts'ien. Coin pressed in the
mouth
24.
Tao t'eu-fan. Rice placed behind the head
25.
Hearse accompanied b} the funeral God
26.
Ming-fu shih-wang. Charm
of a
corpse
63
Lung
64
The God
Pu-sah.
ch'eh
the
of
chariot
Dragon
Undertaker in the nether world
(hearse"),
Ku-hwun Pu-sah. The God
28.
for propitiating the ten kings
Hades
of
65
protector of wandering ghosts
30.
Purchasing the right way bestowed charm by Purifying
3
Written charm
.
Laotze
despatched to Ti-ts'ang
31 bis Passport to the nether world. of Ti-ts'ang
Wang,
70
Wang,
ruler of
Hades 71
burnt in
Hades
32.
Written charm begging a happy rebirth
33.
Permit exempting from
tolls
ruler of
Written charm
.
honour
73 74
on the way to the Infernal 75
regions 34.
Lu-yin
35.
K'ai-tan for wandering souls on the
36.
The
37.
Certificate of
38.
Temporary
.'!'.).
Wrapper containing
tan-tze.
ke}'
Passport
the
to
delivered
to
the
way
to
departed
soul
Hades
good conduct sent
78
to the ruler of
Hades
79
seat of the departed soul
80
the soul
81
41. 42.
Fac-simile
13.
"bloody pond" Written charm for the
of
the
precious charm
delivering
from
82 83 the
84 benefit
of
a
woman
dying
in
childbirth 44. 45.
46.
m.
Charm Charm Charm Charm
86
delivering from Hades a person hanged delivering from Hades a person assassinated for the benefit of a soul under a spell delivering from
lawsuit
76 77
Ruddhist paradise
Mock-clothing burnt for the benefit of the dead Fire-proof safe burnt and forwarded to the dead
40.
66 67
of
29.
47
50
of a corpse
r
21.
1
The
bridegroom's house.
the
and the saddle
slipper
22.
to
Hades the victim
of
88 ...
89 90
an unjust 91
— XXI — Pag
Charm
48.
from
delivering
Hades a person who has been 92
murdered
drowned persons
50.
Charm Charm
for the benefit of persons
51.
Charm
for the benefit of persons calumniated
52.
Charm
for the
49.
for the
of
benefit
of a
benefit
who have
93 died in prison ...
95
person poisoned by doctors'
96
prescriptions
Ancestral tablet (front and back parts)
53.
94
107 109
a grave
before
54.
"Kotowing"
55.
Offerings placed before the Ancestral tablet
Ill
56.
Various kinds of mock-money
117
57.
Buddhist
58.
128
59.
Paper-house burnt for the benefit of the dead Paper streamers placed on graves
60.
The Wheel
133
61-1.
Metamorphosed
into insects,
61-2.
Metamorphosed
into various kinds of shell-fish
61-3.
Metamorphosed
bell
and beads
of the
124
130
Metempsychosis
worms,
various
into
fish,
products
and other animals 134
of the
135 vegetable
136
kingdom 61-4.
62
bis .
Metamorphosed into various household and instruments Hsiung-shah. Ghost
— Tz'e-shah.
of
Ghost
deceased
of deceased
articles,
utensils
137 form.
in
masculine
in
female form
...
144
T'ai-tsu and the Ghost
62.
Sung
63.
Evocation of the Dead
147
Buddhist service for releasing souls out of
64.
Tso-chai.
65.
Written charm suspended
Charm suspended Charm suspended Charm suspended Charm suspended
143
in the
Hades 151
midst of the hall
...
152
facing the North
>>
facing the East
>»
facing the South
>>
facing the
West
>>
Fig.
1
La "Koang-yng" aux
Kwan-yin
enfants.
presenting a child to mothers praying for offspring.
Fig. 2
-t-tL
'/'cJie-ma"
*ii*A*&
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
£
%J
II Tan
Yin
Sheng
ARTICLE
P# Shi
I.
BEFORE BIRTH To have desire of
all
a
numerous
posterity, is the great,
Chinese. Hence
to obtain children
!
The
many
if
not the greatest
are the divinities invoked in order a few
following' are
of these
Gods
selected
from among hundreds. (*ods specially
A),
First of
Pus ah
M
all
we
worshipped
in
order to obtain children.
famous Goddess Kwan-yin or Kwan-yin whose worship is ever on the increase. A
find the
*£ 4* ;,
picture representing her
is
found
in
all
where, one can see a small shoe or several of foot of her statue.
This
is
and almost everythem deposited at the
temples,
an offering made by some woman, 1
who
has begged the Goddess to grant her a trust,
the shoe
connected
with the
at
deposited
expected child
new
pair
has
been
this
offering.
the
born,
added into the
is
Elsewhere, one of
Goddess,
shoe
is
A
bargain.
a
of
pair
shoes
borrowed, and when the
restored, and
is
pledge of her
a
Various are the customs
placed there.
the
of
feet
is
As
child.
sacred
as an
ex-voto,
a
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 is
children), ol
:
~f
Taoist origin, seems to be none
God who dwells and
(1),
is
|Jj
adjoining provinces.
Celestial Fairy
other than
the
in
worshipped <
Shantung
\\]
daughter
She
j|f,
either in
temples,
The following are
her.
represent
found attending on her
the
1$
M-
Sung-sheng Niang-niang gf t& The Goddess granting children.
i$.
f||
££.
^^
Tze-sun Niang-niang tF
^^
Goddess
last
whose duty
The day to
o|
is
She
the sixth
See T
or
names
They may be which
in
of
pictures
those
commonly
^. fl|
i$.
worshipped in several of the
particularly is
attended on by a host of female genii,
Chinese '-Fatal Sister"
month; meats placed on
falls
on the
the family
ban Nianj! nianp Pao kiien
^
'
[\\
Q& £g
t!f
5g p
.
g.
fifteenth
bed are offered
her.
ii
the
protect children.
festival of this
honour
(1)
to
is
i$ t£ all
posterity (sons and grandsons).
Chu-sheng Niang-niang The Goddess of fecundity. This
the
called
birth.
^
Southern provinces.
(Jj
and
of
:
Ts'ui-sheng Niang-niang The Goddess accelerating
The Goddess bestowing
^
is
Goddesses serve her as assist-
>ther inferior
ants and seem charged with carrying out her orders. generally seen beside her,
granting
This Goddess,
T'ai-shan Niayig-niang
Goddess,
specially
lne
Sacred Mountain of the East.
in the
^
the T'ai-shan
(
houses of pagans.
several
in
exposed
M
j\\i
->;
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.
4
Tchang Kouo-lao, le pourvoyeur d'enfants. Chang Kwo-lao offers a descendant to a newly married
couple.
— — 3
Pictures represent her
on a unicorn,
riding
borne on the clouds of heaven
or a phoenix,
she holds a child
;
or
and
her arms,
in
her attendant ladies throng round to render her every service. to
According
belief,
popular
Yen
Goddess receives from
at
least
HI]
3E,
Wang
many
in
God
the
Hades, the
of
souls purified by expiations in the Buddhist hell,
and by the
of transmigrations deserved
in
existence.
It
is
who
she
through their faults
series
some previous
what bodies these
decides into
this
places,
souls
are
to be reborn on earth.
Elsewhere, prayers are preferably addressed
Heaven, T'ien-heu Sheng-mu
of
Queen
Ji fe
fang
-^
~gf
^,
deities,
Holy Mother,
whose statue
-fij:,
as
Peh-
"Hundred Children".
or temples of the
other female
Among
H
temples known
occupies the most honourable place in the l:e
to the
of
guardians
tutelary
children,
mention may also be made of the Goddess that guides childhood, the Goddess presiding over suckling, the Holy Mother, who grants Pao-sheng Sheng-mu
fecundity:
Female
particularly disposed
them
for
the obtaining
repute
great
province of
Families of j^, the
^[-
of
$fr,
etc...
^
Thus Ngan-kung
children.
district
-0J:
hear the prayers addressed
graciously
Ngan-hwei -^
order to obtain
sing
the
in
M
invoked; a lew gods are likewise
deities are not alone to
d^
f!£
city
of
and
he
hsien
Fan-chang is
constantly
fj|
to
Q,
has
J|
$£,
worshipped
in
male children. official
God
standing and
of Literature,
literati
frequently invoke Kwei-
and beg him grant them talented
For offspring, who may win academic laurels at the examinations. the in is the same purpose, a picture of Kwan-kimg ||j ^, exposed
chamber
nuptial
of the
descendant wearing the
At other times, we ||
^,
young couple,
official
find Lit
bearing in their arms a
that the
new home
is
indeed a well
Tung-pin
known
literati
fact that
g
male child.
will be blessed
ing amongst them learned
them
offering
a
youthful
academic head-dress. -j|?j
% and
This
is-
Kwan-kung
an assurance
with numerous progeny,
and remarkable
Lu Tung-pin
g
reckon-
state officials.
-j|p]
JfC,
is
It
one of the
__ Immortals honoured by the
combines
his
in
person
4
—
literati,
the
title
of
and that Kwan-kung |ffj £> God of War and patron of ,
Literature.
Chang Kwo-lao
;Jj|
^
^,
sitting
on a
descendant to the newly married couple, and
him
is
often found in the nuptial
donkey, a picture
It
is
a child sitting flight
on
it,
of the world.
representing
to secure
or a phcenix holding a child, ;
also the well
"Hundred Children", on which
who
a
the
above
thus that one generally finds, either a unicorn with
towards some home
children,
also
chamber.
Pagans employ many luck-bearing pictures purpose.
offers
share
are
known
represented
among themselves
all
and wending
pictures
called
one hundred
its
the
male
the honours and dignities
Fig. 5
T'ien
sien song tse.
The
Assise sur son char,
Celestial
Fairy
elle
porte un enfant a un heureux manage. Borne on a chariot,
that bestows children.
she presents a child to a happy household.
Fig. 6
ou
la licorne apportant un enfant. The Ki-lin or Unicorn bestowing a child.
Ivi-ling song-tse,
— — 5
B).
Sonic other superstitious practices.
1".
Exposing the
tablet (of a certain
^
l
Ts ui~sheng Niang-niang
i$ $g.
the house.
in
Goddess)
Goddess hastening
the
birth, is held in great veneration.
When
childbirth
is
too
incense
laborious,
temple, vows are made, or even her tablet pomp and exposed in the house of the woman of the latter are laid
upon
this tablet, to
burnt
is
in labour
her
in
with
fetched
is
great
the clothes
;
urge the protection of the
Goddess.
K'o-ku Niang-niang
Chow
^p
deified,
^
jH"|,
^
jfc
in the province of
t&-
formerly
Ngan-hwei 4£
$fc.
midwife
at
ffu-0
and subsequently
on account of the services she rendered during her earthly
career, is
worshipped by
all
the
women
of the
who
place,
organize
an annual procession in her honour. Shrines are erected to venerate her,
and her tablet occupies
a
prominent position This tablet
dedicated to the other local deities.
house, so that she 2°.
extend her protection
may
is
the temples
in
taken from house to
to all cases of childbirth.
Talismans.
Should childbirth be too delayed, recourse
who
Buddist monks, but required
to
is
had
Taoist or
to
write out paper talismans and charms.
paste
on the woman's
these
is
secure the
to
body
It
desired effect.
Many
of these
charms enjoy great repute.
are thoroughly convinced, that light of day, even
and
were
it
when
The common people
applied, the child
necessary that the mother's
will see the
womb
be rent
split open.
Sometimes these charms are burnt, and the ashes, with some beverage,
are
administered
to
the
patient
in
mingled order
to
hasten the delivery.
Annexed herewith charms, reputed
(figures 7
infallible for
and
7 bifa )
are models of
hastening the delivery of
two paper
women
with
child.
Manner
of
using these charms.
steeped in wine, are given to the
— They are burnt, and the ashes
woman
in labour.
—6— Fortune-tellers.
3°.
Women
with child frequently consult fortune-tellers, to ascer-
which they are going
tain the sex oi the child,
The magic mirror.
4°.
Many women,
while
which
influences,
is
as
intended affect
might
on
keep
child-bearing,
This
small brass mirror. evil
bring forth.
to
a
child
the
their
charm
they
persons a
ward
to
bear
off
all
their
in
womb. Thus
protected, they
without
may,
house where people wear mourning
incurring
enter a
danger,
deceased person, and their
for a
child will not thereby be exposed to die. 5°.
Drawing
The
hour
lh<>
and
horoscope.
common
wonderfully, according to
new-born babe.
details
All
which
in
day
child
a
belief,
relating
to
the future
destiny
down, and the fortune-teller bases his conjectures thereon the horoscope of the child.
On
ing operations. is
l
the child
born, a glance
is
the body coi responding
hence the future destiny
some temples
of
one on the forehead,
:
abdomen and
is
so forth.
quickly cast on
with the hour- mark of his the child
are found
and people may wish Consider carefully
:
a
to
little
when one
of
places a string of cash
attached
and
draw
to
is
augured
the
part
birth,
and
(1).
Little statues representing childreyi.
6°.
In
the
each of the members, represented in a diagram,
written one of the twelve horary characters
When
of
Fancy figures are also used for simplify-
another on the right arm, a third on the
oi
affect
carefully noted
are
these,
born
be
may
the
to
devotees
"In birth, fa'i'
know why
the
i.
are
flu
representing children,
they have been placed there.
women who examine
around
its
henceforth
Folklore of China.
forehead shows, that never sorrow knows." tlir
statues
them has found
the temple, imposes a
See Dt nn\
A
little
a
these statues most
suitable
little
figure, she
neck; one of the Buddhist
name on
the
convinced Ch
IT. p. S.
little
that
monks
figure selected,
thev
will
obtain
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
Another
efficace
efficacious
charm
pour activer
la
dt'livrance.
for hastening delivery.
children,
who
means
frequently employed by those
is
name
will bear the
applied to the
little
statue.
who have no male
This
offspring
in the family.
New-born child
7°
other
In
families,
offered to a God.
the
following
offered to a particular divinity,
born child will be offered
don
will
to
him
monkish garb,
the
and
a
as a
in
means
is
A vow
adopted.
promise made,
is
that the new-
Buddhist monk, and that he of the
acknowledgment
grateful
favour received.
both cases, the child
In
temple,
either
bargain
is
A
in
child-bearing
silk- worms are
being
of
them
ransomed, by offering an alms in
The
kind.
should carefully avoid entering a place
reared,
female or dark
and this
for
principle
Yin (%,
adversely, but the principal reason
smothered in their cocoons, and hence child in the mother's
practical
to the
of the
side
!
woman
where
the
or
money
never neglected
is
womb
will
it
is
two reasons. is
bound
Woman to
affect
that the silk-worms
is
to
are
be feared that the
meet with a similar
fate.
—8— ARTICLE
II.
AFTER BIRTH. The
1°
On and
first
tubbing. Si-tsao
the third day after a child
carefnllv
When
washed.
-j£
$|.
born,
is
the
is
it
is
operation
in a tub,
placed a
over,
fortune-
Considering the circumstances of the day
and
hour of birth, he forecasts what obstacle or ill-starred barrier,
may
teller is
summoned.
beset the
pathway
new-born
of the
child.
a
In
he casts his
word,
horoscope.
The secen-slar lamp. Ts'ih-sing teng -£
2°. If
he
must meet on
way the
his
barrier
^
diseases, Ts'ih-chao
of
he
Jfr
j^.
the
seven
destined
early
die fung-kwan ||[ |||, i|Fj In this untoward circumstance, seven lights, within seven days. called the seven-star lamp, Ts'ih-sing teng Jjr j§. must be is
to
^
prepared without delay, and are to be kept burning beside the child
during seven days and nights. 3°. If
The peach-wood arrows. Tao-tsien the wiles of
some
are very often prepared,
evil
^
^.
genius are feared, peach-wood arrows
and shot by an archer
simply placed over the cradle of the child.
in all
directions, or
Peach-wood, as we shall
see further on, is a powerful antidote against attacks by evil spirits.
Fig. 8
rcher tirant des fleches en bois de pecher, pour mettre en fuite le chien celeste. Bowman shooting peach-wood arrows to scare away the heavenly dog.
The
i°.
devil that ravishes children. T'eu-sheng kweijfft
Frequently the fatal
T'eu-sheng kwei
&
ifa
of the
visit
that
£$&.
ravishes children
the object of the greatest
is
%.,
devil
anxiety on
when
the part of parents. This matter shall be treated subsequently,
While writing
with the superstitions concerning children.
dealing"
these lines,
me
let
allowed to adduce as an
be
of the
illustration
above superstition, a quite dramatic incident, which occurred
town
^,
of
11
wo Chow
appeared at
^fl
The
j>\].
first in
spirit
to ravish
in the
T'eu-sheng hwei
the shape of a yellow dog,
and threatened
of a neighbour,
evil
a child,
jfo
£
apparently that
who happened
to
be then ailing.
The dog
immediately driven away
is
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. are
a
afterwards,
must
be
now
cursed
cat
in
peeps
the
at
door.
A
second battle
This time, the mother herself takes an active
fought.
part in the struggle.
Stripping
off
the child's clothes, she lays
him
stark naked on the bed, in order to keep at a respectful distance the
assumed by T'eu-sheng hwei f|j ^r j^. This her hand the full apparel of the child, ascends
villainous female form
done, she takes in to
the
house-top,
assembled 1wl
QiL
to
and there,
in
presence
contemplate the scene, sets
M,i casting in her face
that, should she
still
all
sorts
preserve a remnant
intrude on the gaze of her child, while he
the
neighbours
T'eu-sheng-hwei
pagan abominations,
so
o§-
shame, she durst not
is
garbed as
Adam
in the
\n line, she pours out such a volley of curses,
terrestrial paradise.
that the child
all
curse
to
of
of
escapes death,
and she
is
congratulated by
all
her
friends.
Peach-wooil amulets. Tao-fu
5°.
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
stones.
day.
of
a
the
bridge,
foundations of a large building, the
demons
Soothsayers employ
Assuming
employ
children
as
or to
the
propping
this tricky practice even at the present
a disconsolate appearance, they
inform the parents 2
—
—
10
that their child has been chosen to impart solidity to such or such a
bridge
in
experienced.
Great
construction.
of
process
is
anxiety
naturally
and hung round thus preventing the demons from approaching
Peach-wood amulets are then made,
the neck of the child,
him.
Amulet made
6°. first
/cares the house.
During the
of dog's hair
Keu-mao-fu
month
first
after
birth,
the
of
his
of
up
which he may be taken
who have now nothing great misfortune for
a
hair
mixed with some
is
to
then to be resorted to in order
new-born
a
if
Many
old. to
(1)
to
dug up
is
his
child's
The mother herself should
ward
off
It
superstitions
prevent impending
after
clothes,
neighbours,
would be
child entered
a
their
would have
evil.
threshing-ground in
In the Northern parts of China, even the front of the house,
head
The
from his presence.
family,
house before being a month
its
house.
Henceforth, he can visit
out. to fear
it
or
child
neither the
sewn on
into a ball and
until
child
the
protect
^§ $£. (dog-hair charm).
^pj
mother may cross the threshold must be first shaved; then a lock dog's hair, rolled
to
some a
first of all visit
terrible misfortune.
member
of her
own
family before entering the house of a stranger. 7°.
lung U*
Wearing
in
made
of copper
coins (cash).
Ts'ien-
||!.
Moreover,
it
and place
string,
necklace
a
customary to hang a few coppers on a red on the neck of the god Ch'eng-hwang jjfc |$j|,
is
this
his temple.
Ch'eng-hwang j$
|g|
holds the rank of celestial
is
the god of walled cities
worn some time by the god, and used as a charm to ward 8°.
In
Killing a cock.
some
it
places,
alter a child's birth.
Foe
"Bulletin de
is
it
is
placed
Sha-ki
^
customary
and moats, and
the necklace
has
been
on the neck of the child.
untoward
off all
This sacrifice
la
When
madarin.
evils.
|§. to kill a
is
cock on the third
day
offered to the ancestors of the
th Societe Beige a'etndes coloniales." Sep. Oct. 15 year.
Fig. 9
re- TTJ>2 'C(L
O
'/
!s
~o;
Chang
the
Tchang-sien song-tse. Immortal, who protects children.
— whose
family,
maintained
is
the
in
the
of
person
thank the (Goddess Sung-tze Niang-niang y£ ^fthe giver of children. Those who are too poor, may purchase
child. ijfl^
descent
lineal
—
11
It is
Jjl,
also to
some meat, and
J\
-%r
take mourning, all
is
a
of
cock.
fortune-teller
which he
means
but one
is is
An
exposed.
of
old
age,
rescue him, from
to
man, willing
old
chosen, and thanks to this device, the child
of animal* or of slave-girls given
Ch'uh-ming j§ fa, Ya-t'eu
to
will
y
as "little pussy",
Siao-mao
j]\
at other times, they receive the
The following
male children.
|jjf
^\\\
"little
name
;
name
of an animal,
dog", Siao-heu
of a slave-girl,
;J-»
Ya-teu
y
^pj
jpf
:
.
reason of such appellations.
the
is
lo
.
often happens that children are given the
It
the
If
danger of death.
Names
9°.
there
||,,
the mortal danger to
escape
instead
it
new-born child must pass the barrier
finds that the
Lao-jen-hwan
offer
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.
that by using a
name him
an animal or of a
of
whom
little
girl is
given to the new-born male child,
one wishes to protect from their vexatious pursuits. names, they are led to believe that he
called by these
a little animal, or at of cutting short his
most
a
and
girl,
will thus
^^
Little hell-charms. Ling-lze
Many
consider that the custom of attaching
when
of these bells
Red
begins
to
.
has
walk,
to frighten the
and thus scare them
is
little
had
a
bells
to
the
superstitious
malevolent spirits by means
off.
the colour betokening joy, and
days and other children
abandon the idea
The vermilion mark.
11°.
nose,
it
The purpose was
origin.
indeed
life.
10°.
feet of a child,
Hearing is
may
festal
It
or
on
the two
is
is
be seen bearing a vermilion
on the forehead,
happiness.
occurrences.
a
employed on marriage Hence lucky omen.
mark on cheeks,
the tip
and
this
of
the
augurs
— 12°.
When mutilating"
12
—
Ill-treating the corpses of little children. all
a
the children die in a family, the
body
is
frequently resorted
to.
custom It
is
of horribly
cut
up with
knives, and sometimes even cruelly lacerated with the teeth, in order to
prevent
it
from returning-, and
subsequently born.
It is
also
molesting those
customary
in
some
on the neck of the corpse a magic charm-bag,
and other ingredients, in order craft
it
might use in case
it
to
who may
places
made
to
be
hang
of dog's hair
counteract any charms or witch-
returned to
life
once more.
Fig. 10
Le cadenas, gage d'une vie longue et heureuse. Padlock assuring a long and happy life.
—
13
^
ARTICLE
III.
SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS CO\(F,R\l\G CHILDREN. Wearing
/.
Many silver
children
This
chain.
existence, affectionate
and
the padlock. Tai-suo J^
wear a padlock attached intended
is
prevent their
parents.
These
padlocks
hist
or
Taoist
priests,
own hands round "hundred family
the
necks
will,
the present
and nobody has life.
respect those
those
who
children.
it
Life
in his
found
in all
their silver-
them on with There
%
f|\
are
also
their
the
those pur-
or
and death depend alone on
power
to
enchain
a
person to
Experience proves every day, that death does not
who wear
fail to
^,
p||
of
a
Sometimes the Buddtie
padlocks," Peh-kia-suo Hf
chased bv general subscription.
God's
may
from
by death be
and shape.
Tao-shi
neck with
the
enchain them in somewise to
to
being ravished
smiths" shops, and vary in si/e
to
ff|.
padlocks as
use them.
preservatives, any
more than
— The
is
made
collar is a ring
resumed
off or
the silver collar. Tai-k'ilen
Wearing
//.
at will,
the.
same manner
seldom ever
Such
die but rarely.
is in
education of a child. Others, and ~J*
'(?[
1
is
It
life,
Would rear
general the
prevent a barrel
disjoin
It
it.
easily
the neck, almost
heaven, some seem
and bring up as those and
idea
entertained
up
about the
of a little dog.
jffc>
body
pretend that this silver ring
of the
child,
much
and hinders the
in the
same way
as
from falling to pieces.
this ring
is
called
Keu-lr
ixen ^p]
[||J,
or
a dog-collar.
person often meets friends of a family, offering one of these silver
rings, as a to
be taken
have heard the opinion expressed in the Hsia-ho
so to say, in the
Commonly
A
to
merely the bringing
soul from being separated from the body,
hoops
to
and the head can
worn round
is
[f|j.
sick, enjoy excellent appetite
country, North Kiang-su fX in
enough
large
piece,
as a dog's collar.
whelps that are
hems
single
child were as easy to
my
to sav, that little
;i£
being necessary to
it
This ring
pass through the opening. in
of silver,
without of a
generally composed
—
14
mark
of congratulation,
whenever a male child
is
born
them. Parents, fearing to be unable to bring up a child, lend
form sake
to a
neighbour.
This
latter,
through a figure
of
him
for
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
through the nose, as
is
wont
to be
done with
silver
cattle.
ring
passed
Fig. 11
Jeune enfant portant le collier. Child wearing the silver collar
Fig.
12
Le pendant d'oreille. Boy wearing an ear-ring.
—
—
15
Wearing ear-rings. Tai-eul-ch'ui-lze
///..
y$
Boys wear an ear-ring attached to one of childhood, and often even in more advanced age.
summers and more may be found with made either of silver of gold. The
idea, generally
J\.
their
^f-.
jj||
ears
Youths
during
of
twenty which is appendage,
this
connected with this practice,
is
the follow-
attach
one on the
ing. little
Only
my
ear of
wear ear-rings.
girls
ren, shall be deceived
Some
Should
I
injure male child-
ever seek to
Seeing an ear-ring, they will girl, and thus will not molest
by this device.
take the individual wearing
him.
who
boy, the evil spirits,
it
for a
astrologers also say
it
is
intended to deceive the female
constellations, that preside over the destiny of the to
death
family, and put
male offspring.
all its
Persons give to this ear-ring the form of the weight of a clock, as
this
this
world
The
my
who If it
evil spirits
beloved child, the weight attaching
and riveting him child
their idea something heavy and would thus be unable to snatch from
represents according to
hard to raise.
to
existence.
it
Generally,
him
is
to the
ground
the uncle
of the
the ear-ring on him.
fixes
be necessary to take
never dare lay their hand on
it off,
the child's
This
it.
fact,
I
own
parents would
have witnessed several
times.
In order to deceive the evil
caused the death of a child, the
spirits,
name
who
are
thought
of a girl is given
to
have
to the next
male child born.
To
this
practice
girl" Ya-l'eu
y
JM>
must which
be is
generally
In the district of Suh-tsien
Chow
2|$
frequently
4>|>|,
Lik-shwan j£ buckled,
and
little
Ilni
Chow
linked,
the term
"slave
^ $fc
j§, and the departments ')]]
(North
Kiangsui,
one
of P'i
finds
or pet name, Lih-k'eu j£ }n These expressions denote that they have been
boys called by f-^.
ascribed
so frequently applied to male children.
solidly
trouble to secure them.
their
pinned
together,
,
after
enduring
great
— 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
This practice, all
it
a string of cash.
may
be
said,
is
Tai-ts'ien
universal.
§^ |^.
In
children have one or several copper-coins (cash),
some
places,
hung on
a red
string and worn round the neck.
Ancient coins of the T'ang
Among
red.
those of the late
J^;,
or
Manchu
dating from the reign of K'ang-hsi j^ also
much
Sung
5jc
dynasty are prefer-
or T'sing -^ dynasty, JSB,
or Kia-k'ing
fjL
cash
J|, are
prized.
This string of cash (comprising sometimes eight or ten coins' for the child a
kind of talisman portending happiness, a prosperous
and well-being. It supplies the absence an easier and less expensive practice.
future, riches
and
is
is
*v\ -v «/^v*i^/V
wvw\/w\
of the padlock,
— V.
Wearing
18
—
the eight diagrams.
Other children wear
in a like
manner, attached
hanging' from the neck, a rather large or mother-of-pearl. of
Fuh-hsi ££
.||,
On one
side
commonly
Tai-p&h-kwa
are
called
plate
made
inscribed
"Puh-kwa
^ A ^ to
a
•
cord
of copper,
and
silver
the eight diagrams
A
i[ \ while the
obverse of this large breast-plate or medal, bears the Shih-eul-shuh t~
ZL
Mi
ol
twelve animals representing
Sometimes these
plates have the shape of
the
cycle
a real
of
medal.
sixty
years.
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.
the
Wearing
This practice consists leaving
must
but
a
sixteen, otherwise he will
following
explains
this
be
has
and
On
no account
attained
the age of
to
According
"Tao.-shV jg
priests
head,
an untimely death.
to
exposed
ffi.
of the
forehead.
child
a
apprehension.
by the Taoist
stories told
summit
over the
till
Liu-ku |g
hair.
in shaving' the
shaved
be
crown of
of hair
ringlet
crown
this
—
19
{^,
the
before
The
fanciful a
child
reaches the age of manhood, he must pass through certain barriers
roadway of youth, and unless he bears this mark, the road of life is barred against him and he meets
along the
occurring distinctive
with death
.
Fortune-tellers, after having ters,
year and month, at
which during the course
reach a particular barrier,
When
the last one.
may
examined the eight horary charac-
which determine the exact time of a child's birth, calculate the
all
be shaved, as there
Note. the head
—
is
It
seems
may
some places
be
tn
should avoid by
this
he
will
of shaving
practice
it.
all
In such a case,
weans,
not
I
only
should likewise banish any
soever in these pretended passages
commit
life,
independently of any superstitious
hare given rise
that christian j>arents
his
no further danger to be feared.
fashion,
sult the fortune teller, hut
of
what age he will attain passed, the crown of hair
at
the barriers are is
that in
the general
notion, which
then finally
consi
through barriers, otherwise
a real superstitious act, by allowing
this
crown
con-
belief whatthe.]/
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.
Wearing
20
—
the habit of a
Chang hwo-shang i-shang If ^D It
must
be
generally
admitted
children wear the habit of a
and without having any
that
bonze. foj
^
parents
bonze, do so a
little
settled idea on the matter.
difficult to admit that there
is
^. who make
their
through custom, Jt
is,
however,
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
or Pu-sah
^
f|f,
grants
the habit of a bonze
full
having explicitly vowed
till
me
a child,
I
and mature consider-
to
do
so.
If
the
promise that he shall
he reaches such an age.
god
wear
Fig. 16
Forme de Habit of Buddhist
l'habit de bonze.
monk worn
by children.
Fig. 17
Specimen cTun habit des cent Variegated dress
known
as that of the
families.
"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
whom
child,
upon
gods.
This child
their
people
own, not
and hope,
one wishes
is
to
cherished by
makes him that
he
a
has given
down
the
blessing
of the
every one considers him as of a dress,
present
will
protection of the gods or Pu-sahs rise to this
call
all,
how
be
preserved through
^
pj$?
Such
is
then the
the reason
may
special
which
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.
ing case.
The purpose
is
the
same
as
in
With
these
hung on
to
the preced-
— VIII.
Kwa
Shao-p'o-hai
yu-vjang
^
'Js|
$£).
$£
Burning
3§j.
generally
known
as
the birth of a child, to spirit
^
away
YfftT
They
for this reason that they
means they may
When
souls of
wander here below,
are
life
ravish,
men
are
days
in
have spirited away.
womb
as
nets,
bit of
^,
Wang
them
orders
each
of the
seeing so
to
flight,
hund-
restore the
and every day during is burnt beside the
which
|pf, is
the
fills
taken and disposed in the
These fishing-
knows, are smeared with hog's blood, and make them last longer. It
who
ravish children,
or
without venturing
meshes
many
further
:
resistance
seeing traces of blood
to
no
To obviate any possible attack on
one of these shoes
large fishing-net,
everybody
take
mother.
to flight the ravishers.
imagined, that the spirits
#
It is
die before the
form of bed-curtains, around the cot of the child.
them more
of a
have
they
cradle of the child, in order that the offensive smell,
A
race,
order that through
All old shoes available are gathered,
2°.
human
in
the
their part, the following devices are resorted to
room, may put
who
quest of the soul of
a child
curses the "ravishers of children", and
1°.
girls
young
person ascends to the house-top, and there
a
one hundred days, a
spirits
j^f,
in
elapsed,
Should
of a child.
over,
lain
be reborn as
the hundred
power over the
soul they
^
world beyond the grave.
in the
male child, which they would
red days
fj|j
evil
hundred days alter These "T'eu-sheng-
are not considered as really belonging to the
and cannot be reborn as men,
this
first
soul.
its
are n one other than the
Mi have died unmarried.
a
fishing-net.
"T'eu-sheng-hwei"
that ravish children), endeavour during the
ftwei"
the
Suspending
old shoes.
nowadays admitted among the common people, that
It is
spirits,
^[.
—
22
of the
the to
net,
injure
to give is
thus
T'eu-sheng-kKPi
will
the
f|f
be frightened and child.
net gives the illusion
of
Moreover,
an eye, and
eyes riveted on them, the spirits take to flight.
— A
3°.
T
sieve, Shai-tze
-
f$j
—
23
f*-,
is
likewise employed for the
same
purpose, as each of the holes seems to be an eye.
Chi siao-hai-ping-chi fu
IX.
Amulets
Kurd
to
&
/]^
j-fe
3l ^F-
fft
from children.
off diseases
.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 several
prayer-formulae,
When
l|£
Han-Lsin.
$$,
stars,
and
numerous
for this purpose). (1).
paper-charms composed X.
and unlucky
lucky
Dry (nominal) adoption.
fear is entertained that a
child
may
he
die,
adopted
is
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 and takes
another family,
of preserving a child,
is
to
name.
its
pass
him over
fictitiously
a
to
more
fortunate household.
On
the day that the
father, in order to
father a
making
child'.s
round
life to
is
also changed.
appended
to
which
is
A a
blue string
number
he has lived,
fresh coin every year,
he attains the age of
till
care
fifteen,
deemed that he has passed the thirty dangerous
(1)
all
youngsters.
See Zikawei fe gtfll albums V, VII.
is
of
then placed
cash
(copper
being taken to add a
coins) equal to the years
beset the path of
adopting
hundred years),
a present to the child of a basket to hold the loaves.
milk-name
his neck,
offers to the
for a
natural
the
concluded,
his child,
hundred small bread-loaves (provision
the latter
The
is
dry adoption
wish long
when
barriers,
it
is
which
— 24 — XL.
Pien-tze-shtmg kwa hung-pu g$
Piece of red cloth hung on
When is
had once the small-pox,
a child has
to
remind Sien-ku
lao-t'ai
him again
same
not to send XII.
A
the
kind of padlock ijlff
each of the child's
is
festival,
goddess
and employs
The peach,
people
children to
life,
that
fixes
peach-stone
is
kernels of the
them
$fc
3E "^
||\
in
M M
padlocks
is
the
to
up
flat-
(-)•
mysterious power
of the
common
longevity, for
the
at
palace
The
string
the fruit
gods
the
confer
the
on,
known,
well
served
hwei $§
and have also a
of a
one of these padlocks on
for tying
as
being
Wang-mu Niang-niang believe
cloth
somewhat
is
the old fairy goddess
~fc
cutting the
feet,
P'an-tao
.
Thr peach^stone padlock.
|ij|\
made by
(1),
#Hfj
a piece of red
This
jfc ~j£
f[lj
f)[.
that confers immortality
#|<
disease.
The mother
that binds the queue.
Hat-peach
^^
Tao-huh-so
peach P'an-lao
_t
the extremity of the queue.
to
attached to the extremity of the queue.
sign
=f-
bind
warding
evil influences.
(1)
See Mayers Chinese Reader's Manual "Tao"
(2)
Sec Mayers, ibid. "Si
Wang-mu"
@f Zt
#
$fc (the
itiie
peach)
p. "213.
Western Royal Mother)
p. 178.
off
Fig. 19
Porte-bonheur. Puissiez-vous avoir cinq garcons vigoureux,. riches, montant de dignites en dignitds !
Lucky charm. rich
May
male children, healthy. the highest honours!
you have
and attaining
to
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
!
children
and may one of them
be a first tripos!
many
— 25 — XIII.
The
child's cot,
to the future
Chw'ang if
made
The
j^.
of special
child's cut.
wood,
also contribute
may
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
This
early.
A
will early attain to official dignity.
for children's cots is that of the pine, is
ever green, and
it is
customary
beside a pine-tree, hence of the
wood
of
it
is
is
to
any of the above
rm
Sung-sltu sketch the
trees,
~
f
presage that the child
third kind of
a pledge
glorious future.
a
of
long
^
wood employed
j$j$,
God life.
as this tree of Longevity
A
cot,
combines every chance
made of a
—
—
26
ARTICLE
IV.
CROSSING THE BARRIERS. M. IS Kwo-kwan.
Every child
destined
is
through a
existence,
to
path
of
is
It
life.
We
have already seen is
19),
(p.
how
when
only
has been passed, at the age of sixteen, that
on the head of children,
of
its
which occur either monthly
series of barriers,
or annually along the
the early stages
in
pass,
danger
all
the last one is
over.
the crown of hair, fashioned
permit, thanks to which a
a passport or
annoyance on the part of barrieryouthful wayfarers on the road of life.
child succeeds in escaping every spirits,
who molest
We passed,
append herewith the names
of the
without entering into details as
are to be taken, on such or such a day,
may have
to
thirty
the
barriers
precautions
month
or
year,
to get
more ample information on the matter,
^
"Wan-pao-ls'ilen-shu "||J j|f Herein are found the whole collection of pictures illustrating
the thirty barriers, and indicating the means, for
which
when one
they can consult the work entitled i§-
be
to cross each of those difficult passages.
Should any desire
'.
to
passing through them
— Barrier
|st
all
fancifully invented.
free of toll.
of the four seasons,
guarded by a maleficent
demon.
— —
Barrier of the four pillars. Barrier of the
demon Niu-wang
^
3l
(the
Cow-
king).
4 th
,,
— Barrier
styled the devil's gate,
eficent
5 th 6 th
,,
,,
— The — -
,,
8 th
,,
—
guarded by a mal-
demon.
Barrier where
life is
exposed.
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.
th
Barrier of the nimble foot (kicks being here admin-
\ \
one must be
istered, 9;h —
> )
13 th
,,
1 1
1
Barrier of the
licet of foot so
as to escape
five genii.
^them).
Barrier of the golden padlock. Barrier of the iron snake.
/.th
th
15
16"*
,,
Barrier of the bathing tub.
,,
Barrier of the white tiger.
monks
tb 1 7
Barrier of the Buddhist
IN
Barrier of the heavenly dog.
]
(1).
th
1 '
Barrier exciting heaven's pity.
qth
20 th
Barrier of the luck and key (here the dcor must be
9
Barrier where the bowels are sundered.
unlocked). 1
St
opnd 23«*
Barrier where the head
is
broken.
Barrier of the thousand days.
,,
th
Barrier of nocturnal weeping.
05th
Barrier of the burning broth.
26 th
Barrier where children are buried.
27 th
Barrier where
28 th
Barrier of the general's -dagger.
24
,,
29 th
2
3
Barrier of
,,
all m fen ^11 #^
fire
and water.
to ii
13
mmm in m
& ii $ #
s
t
iff
m
is
25 26
19
ft
# * II a ^ n
3l j&
20
mmmm
28
jft!g£l]|lg
&&
21
n
29
^
7K Ii
22
fl"
30
7k
'X
ffl
6 7
H
* % m n ^ w
17 fa
12 5
shortened.
Barrier of deep-running waters.
30* h i
life is
15
j£&gg
16
e
^m
Ji
23 =f
B
^
Pf
24
^
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 (1)
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
plav a
all
marriages of Chinese,
prominent
part.
When
(1).
match-makers or Mei-jen
^
A.
they have toured from the family of
and enjoyed many
the bridegroom's father to that
of the
heartv meal, meanwhile
overtures about the future marriage,
making
bride,
and when both sides have agreed on the amount
of
a
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
1
this chapter,
and Kiangsu, omitting those which have not gained currency
in these
two provinces.
— document.
First
1°.
the eight
30
—
Ts'ao-pali-tze
elsewhere styled
characters),
j|l
A
(rough draft of
^p
Hoh-s\$a.n-t'ieh fe
Jf!
i^f,
£
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, a total of eight characters
making thus
2
:
+ + + = 2
Hence comes the name "draft
2
2
of the eight characters".
This card
is
Upon
similar
reciprocates a
of this card, the bridegroom's family
the age of the young lady.
8.
exchanged, in order
receipt
one on
to enable
whether the destiny of the bridegroom the bride. These professional jugglers
the fortune-tellers, to ascertain
corresponds
with that
of
compare the characters with the fire
and earth.
elements: metal, wood, water,
compare the two
also
They
five
cyclic animals, that
presided over the birth of the youthful couple,
whether they set
omens
liking or tiger is
fire
lucky day calendar,
marks
may
is fixed
called
happy
on the juxtaposition
here afforded by the Imperial
"Hwang-lih-t'eu" Jl jg Jjjf, which and yellow (lucky) days. As exchange of documents on age, is a
first
whether the intended marriage may be brought to whether on the other hand there are fundamental
issue, or
obstacles based on the superstitious rules of fortune-telling.
the marriage
2°.
in-
black (unlucky)
be understood, this
test to ascertain a
the
also
this operation is over, the choice of a
upon, help being
commonly
carefully
;
thus the
such an element with another, as for
When
and water.
These rules are based on the
cyclic animals for each other:
of the serpent
enemy
to or incompatibility of
stance
harmony. According to the draw therefrom happy or unhappy
marriage.
of the
disliking
the sworn
will
they
art,
intended
of the
have
ascertain
abide together in
will
of the
rules
in order to
is
deemed
possible, another document
Second document.
Ting-ts'in-t'ieh
is
% H
In case
exchanged.
[j]^
(card fixing
the marriage day).
This piece it is
fixes the
day on which the marriage
will take place
sent by the bridegroom to the family of the bride.
It
;
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
such a day of the month. 3°.
Moreover, those
to
This
is
what
beg
I
Third document. Chw'an-heng-t'ieh
to
fiji
take
to
place
announce J^
on
to you.
(exchanging
tyfo
horoscopes).
This
the
is
taken place. contract),
sion
up the
real
and the transaction
"Kwo-li"
in double.
bride,
or
^
"Hsia-shu" HF is
the bridegroom,
rather
to
her
^jf"
engagement has
(counterpart of the
commonly rendered by
who
parents.
the
This contract
(sending of presents).
jjj§}
It is
that an
attesting
contract,
It is also called
sends
An
first his
earnest,
expres-
drawn
is
contract to
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.
occasion of the presents sent, there are often are tainted
more
or less with superstition.
On
the
some customs which
— 32
Hi Ki
— Wan-nien-ts'ing
H
j^
also
pomegranates Shih-liu
These
Meu-tan-hwa
^
$fi,
number
fruits contain a large
sound with ize
Tsau-tze
offered,
same manner
sprigs of fragrant
life;
as Tsao Ize
^
,
of kernels
being pronounced in the
have) children quickly!
,
^f-
meaning children. Jujubes
(jujube)
Jj| ^fJfL
^
!\'j:
auguring
"7';e" -^ in Chinese; now, this character Tze
stones, called
(kernel), is identical in
are
wishing long
influences; peony flowers
riches;
numerous progeny. or
£f ^f, for
all evil
portending
;f£,
—
These comprise leaves of immortals,
varying- according to the place.
artemisia, to expel
33
Chestnuts,
similar in sound with the two |pi J-, form another word characters Lih tze jfc bran, Fu-t:e meaning to beget children
Lih-tze
^
|r£ ^f,
A
is
always
present
,
;
which has as
a term
homonym Fu with
received
Ize
^
g*
pleasure on
,
a rich son.
occasion
this
is
that of the seven kinds of grain "Ts'ih-tze-li" -£ -^ |^.
The words.
zest
The
these
of
character
expressions Tze
-^
,
from
results
kernel,
grain,
pun on the
the
being identical
in
sound with the character Tze -^, which means offspring.
The following are some make-up The
the
of
fruits
which enter
water-lily, the sun-flower,
the seeds of the
gourd and the water-melon, the pomegranate, pear and the peach.
The
into
the
of these presents.
first
amount
contain a large
of seeds,
the
pumpkin, the chestnut,
the
and this augurs
a
numerous progeny. The chestnut and the closely resemble Lih-tze
The peach
is
the
jyf
pear,
^
fruit
,
Lih-tze
^
^f-
and Li-tze
^^
,
to beget children.
that
confers
immortality.
terms are as many portents of future happiness.
All
these
— 34 — ARTICLE
III.
DEPARTURE OF THE BRIDE. Before entering his sedan-chair to meet the
man makes and those of
his obeisance before the
of his ancestors
before
bowing
his
;
parents,
Care has been taken to place a child
him
to
performs a similar series
he afterwards
and
neighbouring families.
the
all
bride, the young Heaven and Earth,
of
tablets
his sedan,
in
The customary ceremonies on the
of the
arrival
the family of his father-in-law being over, and of chopsticks
is
tendered to him, and
He
in red paper.
up and abundance
the
of
the direction wherein
and
calendar
wrapped away the happiness taken to turn
Care has been
family.
is
dinner taken, a pair
bear
to
the
which bear the bride and bridegroom,
found the God of Joy that day.
other
in
bridegroom
two wine-cups,
also
thus deemed
is
front of the sedan-chairs,
ial
thereby wishing
have one soon himself.
guide-books
superstitions
in
The Imperthis
indicate
direction.
Sometimes,
wooden the
every
is
packed
like
up
of
which
^f,
is
reai"
of the bride's
and
a
metallic
sedan, are
mirror,
King
suspended a
^,
to
as
a
portent
of
good
;
lastly,
the
/
unicorn,
sieve,
Stial-
render favourable
.ili-l'eu |§|
bride
small mirror attached to her button-hole, and does
she
a
represented
Behind the sedan, an Imperial almanac,
till
in a large
bundle,
influence.
evil
placed,
a
Porters bear this box to
male child.
At the |^j
bride
on the top
sedan-chair,
holding a
tze
the
chest, and her feet are padlocked.
is
seated
on the nuptial bed.
|[jf,
is
also
herself carries
a
not part with
it
The reader can
see,
on the
adjoining page, a photo- engraving representing one of these mirrors. It
and
was
purchased at Hai Chow $$ about eight inches in diameter.
Jfl,
North Kiangsu ?X |£,
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^ is
^
Fig.
20
Miroir en cuivre.
Brass miror.
— 35 — Which mean, degrees
may your
attain
the
highest
literary
!
In the middle,
means
children
five
of
brides, in
which
it
is
a ring, soldered
may
North Kiangsu yX
a short
when they
to the
metal plate, and bv
Young
on the abdomen, the day when the house of the bridegroom, and
fix it
jjjfc
they proceed in a sedan-chair to likewise,
on
be attached with a cord or a ribbon.
return in a sedan to the family of their parents,
time after the marriage ceremony.
The female attendants, the bride, on the
selected to form an escort of
way from her paternal home
to that
honour
of the
to
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
peace and prosperity
The mutually
following
of the future
table
is
the
The sheep The cock
the
cyclic
enemy
,,
rat,
,,
,,
do &
,,
,,
serpent.
The hare
,,
,,
dragon,
The hog
,,
,,
monkey.
tiger
According
animals,
which are
of the ox,
,,
The
chosen.
enmity with each other, the
with each other.
at variance
The horse
exhibits
at
household would be endangered.
to the
'
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,
the encaged bride
is
taken out from the red sedan, and conducted to
the large reception-hall. sits
a
new
this operation
animal of birth can
cyclic
is
being performed,
peace with those of
live in
couple, tires off a string of crackers before the doorway.
When sieve,
happens more frequently that the bride
While
in the sedan).
simply
man whose
the
(It
the bride leaves her cage, she
which shields her,
is
it
is
protected by
from
thought,
means
of a
Some
evil spirits (I).
pretend that only good influences penetrate through the holes of the
The numerous holes
sieve; others explain the matter differently.
the sieve, according to them, resemble so fastlv
on
the
to
are
with
struck
many
eyes gazing
wish
they terror
influences
lucky
Frequently,
flight.
should
that
spirits,
they
spouse,
youthful take
evil
at
are
of
stead-
injure
the
this sight,
and
on
the
to
flashed
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
In
34).
(p.
Ha.n-sha.ri listen
^
the
the
of
arrival
"Hsiang-t'an"
contact with
into
JH
is
as
places,
the province
(in
bride,
^,
every evil influence, as has been stated
the
new The
at of
II wo
Chow ^p
Nganhwei $£
j>\],
Jjjjfc),
and on
of
ceremony evaporating vinegar, The vinegar, being brought rushes up in a column from the
practised.
red-hot iron,
and this indicates the rapid increase
vase,
the
^ff
[Jj
off
some
of fortune
which awaits
couple. bride,
a saddle.
on coming out from the sedan, must lay her foot on
Saddle, in Chinese,
]$£,
which
-^,
meaning peace
is
pronounced Ngan
is
expressed by the character
j|£,
exactly similar in sound to
Ngan Ngan
or tranquillity.
For the above operation, the bride has sometimes to borrow one of the shoes of the
(1)
in
bridegroom.
Doolittle, Social Life of the Chinese, Vol.
Southern China.
I.
p. 83, finds
this
custom
Here, the sieve "is put on the top of the sedan, over
its
also existing
door".
Fig. 21
Introduction de
la
Conducting the bride
maison du mari. Le Soulier et la selle. the bridegroom's house. The slipper and the saddle.
fiancee dans la to
—
37
—
Frequently also, beneath the saddle, a beast of
placed the pack-saddle J
ffi
^,
ol
a kind of wallet,
corresponding in sound with another Shao-lai
this expression
}f|"
fP\
with offspring and have plenty children.
to be blessed
meaning
is
burden, called in Chinese Shao-tai
Previous to the arrival of the new couple for the celebration of the marriage ceremony,
tt
is
in
employed
a
is
transactions,
success
North Kiang-su a
balance or
peck,
measuring
commer-
the balance, employed in cial
in places of
the symbol of abundance;
is
grain,
customary
(peck), upon which are laid The bushel small copper coins (cash).
and a string of
which
is
it
prepare a bushel
to j$ti
business;
in
copper cash, which
monetary basis
of
pledge
finally,
the
constitute the
of
China,
vividly
represent fortune, so eagerly sought after
by
both
a
This custom implies
all.
wish
of
happiness
and
riches for the newly married pair,
and
is
kind
a
also
of
JflS^r
talisman
tending to produce the desired good effects.
To neglect
it
in the cere-
mony, would, doubtless, injure the future of the
young
The bride
couple.
conducted
is
to the
upon which stands Heaven and Earth (1);
table or altar,
the tablet of
candles burn and incense
is
lighted
in the censer. Tablet of Heaven and Earth.
(1)
of all
The
true Lord inscription on this tablet reads as follows: Spiritual seat of the
Heaven and Earth,
(ruling over) the three
regions, the ten points of direction,
and
living creatures (souls).
The three regions
of existence are, according
to the
Taoists, heaven, earth,
waters; according to the Buddhists, the regions of earthly longings, of ness (this latter place
The ten ones, to
is
the ante
chamber
and the
form and formless-
to Nirvana).
directions are the four cardinal points, together with the four intermediate
which are added ''above and below" (Note
of English translator),
— 38 — The bridegroom takes
bow profoundly
jj|
Jj. after
and the marriage ceremony
The new couple where both
then both
the same ceremony is and also before the God of the
which they mutually salute each other,
is
accomplished
1
.
next conducted to the
are
the
on the bed.
sit
bride,
before the tablet;
kneel)
repeated before the ancestral tablet, kitchen. Tsao-kun
the
place beside
his
meanwhile
bride
nuptial chamber, holding;
her eyes
downcast.
Now commences of Nao-sin-fariQ
ness conveyed
pffj]
by
an abominable ceremony known by the name
0f Jf this
,
man may
youth.
is
word.
may come in to see the most impertinent remarks old
that
bride, 2
to say ribaldry, in all the
coarse-
During three days and nights, all and pour out in her presence the It
.
admitted that a grey-headed
is
use on this occasion the language of the most dissolute
Such
are
the
horrors of pagranism.
from which
would
it
seem that even the very notion of modesty has been banished.
(1)
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
practised in South China.
made
of sugar
is
eaten,
and the wedding dinner
Doolittle remarks that this -• to
is
is
a very tryi
be seen, nor absent herself from
tl
_
partaken
of.
deal for the bride, as she
s
f
the public.
Ibid. p. 90.
may
not
CO CO
— In several places, to visit the ancestral
—
customary
it is
hall
39
or
newly married couple,
for the
there worship before the tablets of the ancestors.
ceremony performed In
province.
her
of
all
at T'ai-p'in,
cases, the bride
and
father-in-law
This
deceased.
is
fa
-fa
must
^ offer
mother-in-law,
family,
and
have seen
this
of the
Tz'e-t'ang fU j£
I
in
j£f,
Nganhwei
^M
meats before the
tablet
if
to
a strict duty for a married
they
happen
woman.
be
(1).
Should the bride die before accomplishing this ceremony, Con-
down
fucius lays
the principle that the coffin should not be taken to
the hall of the eldest ancestor,
nor the tablet placed beside that of
Her husband must not walk
her venerable mother-in-law.
funeral procession) leaning on a stick, for her in a secluded
weep
The corpse of a
C
its
daughter-in-law
I
Li-ki
*mmm r2i
H
b
|E or Look
bb
See Li-ki
the
nor wear straw-sandals,
nor
chamber.
of the deceased
and interred amidst
in
must
members,
be taken
back to her family,
as she has not fulfilled her duties
,2).
of Rites,
Cb. V. Tseng tze-wen H"
=f-
$\
-
)]
|ffj
(ft)
J£
ffi]
^ Vi m mmt.m m. jj§
|E or JJook
of ltites, Ch. V. Tseng-tze-weii "f^ -jr f^i
orded the proper words of Confucius
<
stablishing these obs< rvances.
wherein are
rec-
— 40
CHAPTER
III.
AND
DEATH
Peh
BURIAL,
Shi
ARTICLE
I.
BEFORE DEATH. As soon
as
the
should
apparent,
the
dying
person
be
a
child,
Frequently also the soul of persons of
practised.
called back.
I
have seen
it
the
many have the
the
practised in regard to a
above
rite
has
been
or
Pu-sah
This ceremony
the Pu-sah |£
^
or god.
is
3£
m,
called
is
of
always
young married
of a family.
unsuccessfully accomplished,
recourse to a supreme and last
temple-god
person.
ceremony
more advanced years
man, aged twenty-four years, and already the head
When
become
approaching death
of
the soul" (See chapter on this subject)
"summoning back is
symptoms
first
T'ai
device,
namely
the
abode
Pu-sah
ffi
into
of
5£
to
the
^j|.
bring
dying
fetching
—
—
42
one of the local temples, and there look for Cf It is placed on a kind Pu-sah" ^£ ||?. the statue of some famous People proceed
to
of portable altar-chair attached to
their shoulders, while
warn that the god
their might, to
honour.
cure
the
so that he
the
is
on all
bear
pay
him due
dying man's
door of the
the
and begged
or
indicate
sick
may
present
beating
it
gongs with
received with full honours,
person,
The god
in the case.
remedy
men
four
passing by and
is
procession reaches
the
house, the god ly
;
needless to say that fire-crackers are plentifully sent
It is
When
off.
two poles
two others precede,
least
at
to
One
two Taoist
or
an efficacious
next taken to an apothecary's shop,
is
there select a remedy suited to the
ailment.
to gracious-
attend on each side of the Pu-sah |£
requirements of Tao-shi
priests,
jf|
J^,
as he rests on the shoulders
$|?,
The apothecary turns round, and points out with one of the drawers containing his drugs. Should the Pu-
of the bearers.
the finger
sah
^
j||
remain
still,
it
sign that the remedy
is a
should he advance or withdraw a
him
to proceed
little,
or rather
backwards or forwards, precisely
at the
is
which must be obtained
Needless
at
cost.
The
In case of serious
In the case of
A). its
and when the
illness, is
comprises the following articles a
man
prepared
in
all
^
3|S.
These
that
the
vend at a high
latter
;
moment draws
haste.
This outfit
— Boots
and a ceremonial head-dress,
a long
must not
made
of paper);
hard-soled foot-wear
gown and an
overcoat or
Wai-
be furnished with brass buttons,
would be over weight}', and the deceased could not take to the nether world. Such are the requirements in regard
them over to outer
last
red tassels (these two articles are generally
being unsuited for the dead
as they
to
and that
:
the sole of the boots must be soft and flexible,
t'ao
add
to
outfit of the dead.
near, the outfit for the dead
minus
moment when
the good one,
any apothecary speculates much on popular credulity price an ordinary remedy.
;
his bearers help
if
the apothecary points out a remedy, this
no avail
of
is
garments.
— 43 — The under- wear, trousers and waistcoat, must in the
summer
In the case of
B). veil,
be padded, even
season.
—A
woman.
a
long gown, over-mantle and
together with the under-wear above mentioned.
garments must
new as much as possible they skins of animals, and any consequently Qannel clothes must be likewise strictly discarded, lest the deceased All these
must not
be
;
be fur-lined or have
might be reborn into the body
among
Generally,
wear
made
is
an animal.
of
the lower class
of
the whole under-
people,
white cotton-cloth.
of
one.
The other garments are coloured, according to the taste of each Red and yellow are, however, two colours reserved for scholars
and
officials.
Silk
and satin may be generally used.
The two fastenings,
the lower extremity of the
properly
are
^,
Jjjfl
at the
trousers
^
Tai-tze
speaking,
Kioh-tai-lze
called
^
and the girdle
ankle,
carefully
which bind
-=p,
omitted, a simple
string being used instead to bind the waist.
The reason is
of this is the following:
similarly pronounced
in
the girdle,
Chinese as T'ai-tze \%
^
Tai-tze ,
to
^
bear
^-,
away
or carry off children.
Hence, as fancy to carry is
it is
away
feared above
all,
that the deceased might take a
him
his children with
to
the other world,
he
denied the use of a girdle.
This custom the words.
is
For the
in the button-holes,
K'eu-tze ^p
^,
bed,
Northern parts of tion or
K'ang
be seen,
may
same reason,
^
K'eu-tze |p
as
,
upon mere punning on
avoided putting the buttons
it is
this
expression sounds like
"to kidnap children".
The dying man the family
based, as
jfc,
also
must
nowise be allowed
in
to
expire
on
would be subsequently haunted. In the China, where the family bed is an adobe construc-
as
this
it is
said that
have to transport dry clay-bricks
if
a
person dies thereon,
in the
nether world.
he will
—
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
him
therefore die, but
rules
will
be
in
to
it
cause his death.
accordance
Let
with the laid-down
!
Those who
assist a
the bed-curtains,
and
it
if
these,
it
is
thought,
to
take
away
all
resemble a fishing-net,
the dying person departs from this world surrounded by such
meshes, he
A
as
dying person are careful
still
will be
more
changed into a
cruel
fish in
custom consists
in
the other world.
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.
hastens death in
manv
cases.
This absurd custom, doubt-
—
—
45
ARTICLE
II.
AFTER DEATH. As soon as the dying person has given up
the
M
ill it
JPh to observe whether the day
happens
to be
unlucky, a sieve
lucky or
is
or a mirror
care
ghost,
immediately taken to consult the Imperial almanac,
is r
Hwa.ng-lih-t eu case
in
unlucky;
suspended over the
is
door-way.
The
sieve allows but
good influences
to pass
through
while
it,
the mirror has the power of changing evil into real happiness.
This preliminary operation over, dead person.
First
he
is
it
is
proceeded to lay out the
washed, then the black strings binding A removed, and blue ones put on.
the extremity of his queue are
person takes cotton-wool or
He
a
afterwards dressed out
is
previously described
(p.
towel in
his
and wipes his
face
therewith.
mortuarv robes, which we have
42).
Paper hangings are suspended over the door-way, to announce is dead in the family. These hangings vary in form
that a person
according to places;
and
deemed
it is
some
in
localities,
sufficient to affix a few
they
are
written
with,
dispensed
characters
on the
outer walls of the house.
the to
a
These preparations being carried out, as soon as night sets in, of the family light up lanterns, and weeping, proceed
members
inform the local tutelary deity T'u-ti Lao-yeh
member of the family has departed from to show kindness towards him, stating
him
was weak and
career he of
one
goes
M>
^-,
that
They beg his
mortal
along the pathway
home.
The second day,
But where
was deemed
is it to
be found?
a copper coin (cash) it
all
return,
and bearing
local deity T'u-ti
Lao-yeh j^
this time for the purpose of bringing back the soul of the
deceased, which
where
world.
this
that during
infirm, and toiled hard
lanterns, proceed to the temple of the
Ml $t
^
i|j}
After a display of fire-crackers and the offering of incense,
life.
each
j^
is
to be hospitably received in the temple.
In order to discover
its
whereabouts,
rubbed against the wall of the temple, and
adheres (whether through mere chance,
or
because
it
has
— 46 — encountered a spider's web), there dwells the soul
which
is
a
in a
the house
departed soul
and start on
reached, victuals to be used on the way, are
is
kind of paper wallet, and placed on a paper sedan-chair or
waggon, according
set
departed,
forthwith brought back.
When put
the
of
fire,
is
for
to
This being accomplished, the
the locality. to
requested
take
its
on the paper waggon,
seat
the long journey of eternity.
and the soul wings
its
The waggon
then
is
flight to the nether world.
fre-
quently on such occasions, some of his old shoes are burnt,
having been taken are despatched to
to cut the soles in
him
two
;
through this device they
for use in the other world.
Oftentimes also, a small table covered over with ashes near the sedan or waggon, soul,
and help
it
to enter
in
order to act as a
lift
A
;i
two wisps
away the misfortune too numerous brood
is
placed
the departed
spirit has not
Each left
footprint on the ashes.
rather quaint custom consists
of the deceased
for
more conveniently the sedan-chair.
one hastens to examine whether the departing
some mark resembling
care
in
attaching round
of cotton-wool, in order that he
of the of girls.
family,
and preserve
it
the
neck
may
bear
from having a
Fig. 23
Han-k'eou-tsHen. Han-k'eu-ts'ien.
Sapeque serree dans Coin pressed
in
the
la
bouche du defunt.
mouth of a
corpse.
— 47 — ARTICLE
III.
PLACING THE CORPSE The corpse must be put otherwise
might
into
contaminate
the
the
THE COFFIN.
IN
on
coffin
a
Some
neighbourhood.
as
day,
lucky
await a day or even two before putting the body into the
it
families
coffin.
In this latter case, a large kitchen-knife is placed on the corpse, as
it lies
can
in the
used
be
unable
to
This sharp cutting instrument
bier.
as
a
defensive
and
away,
get
weapon.
so
his
cannot
soul
heavy, and
is
The deceased
is
rendered return
further
to
molest the living.
For
clearness
we
sake,
shall
mention
superstitions connected with the coffin
the
briefly
ordinary
which we
after
itself,
shall
describe the divers objects placed in the mortuary room.
Placing the corpse in the coffin-the coffin
-1°.
the
In
with a big
This
HI;,
all
^
;
£]",
order to obtain
in
exists little in
every
region,
Tze-sun-ting -^
essential
however,
^^
Yang-tze
nail, called
deemed
is
The custom 4£
Lower
itself.
North Kiang-su yX
coffin
is
closed
'the posterity nail".
numerous in
j|fc-
put a small copper coin 'cash) in
offspring.
Ngan-hwei mouth ol
the
the corpse.
Sometimes the mouth
wooden wedge
;
contracted during the last ation
is
maintained open by means of a small
is
opened by loosening the jaws convulsions of death. This solemn oper-
at other times,
it
is
A
carried out quite methodically.
pair
of cords or threads
are placed crossing each other on the open coffin, one extending from
head to
exactly over the
mouth
At the point suspended, drops
down
of the corpse,
of intersection of the
bearing at its
or coin pressed in the
hangs
it
as
it
They must meet
face.
lies in
the coffin.
two threads,
a
third
extremity a small copper coin (cash),
mouth
into the
time and then withdrawn.
The
drawn over the
other being
foot, the
of the corpse.
This
is
It
is
left
there
called Han-k'eu-ls'ien
p£
one
is
which
some
p
H>.
mouth.
young, treasures this coin, and on his neck as an amulet'. Should he be unwilling to use eldest son,
if
he be
still
— 48 — it,
some other family,
as a present to
is offered
it
to be
worn by the
eldest of the boys.
who wear
remark here that many pagan children,
not be useless to
may
It
hung on
coins (cash)
neck
the
to
among them one which has been pressed Han-k'eu-ts'ien Peh-lao-yeli £j
previous to
a little rice is
this
world,
this
sec
is
number
how the
coffin,
At
prepared.
sixty, sixty parcels
are
bottom
the
of
in
paper "P'i-chi" fe
Sometimes
a
layer
of
cotton-wool
head
of
the
blance
to
At the
^
|§
7^,
(l)
man
in
little
placed
lived.
All
he dies
It
at
these materials
$j£.
coffin
is
is
added
placed
serve
to
a
as
a
cushion, called
or buffalo-horn pillow, from its resem-
is
composed
of
two
upper covering
made
is
of red cloth,
turned upwards; the lower covering corners are turned downwards.
The head
juxtaposited.
upper crescent.
little
rice
is
1
1
parts
juxtaposited,
of
is
put
in
the is
the corpse
and dry lime.
quilt
of blue cloth,
is
and must
The
two corners (horns) being
Thev resemble
a
and the inferior
pair
of
crescents
placed in the middle of the
mortuary robes, and coveras wide as the coffin. For the last
dressed out in
wadded
ed over with a red
full
the dead man's hands, in
order that
he
apease therewith the hungry dogs of the village, which he must
cross on his
(1)
which
are
it
not contain either straw or chaff, but only ashes
may
of
the horned shape of the water-caltrop.
This pillow
time, a
meal
These must be equal
be placed in the coffin.
wrapped up
Ling-kioh-chen
corpse,
farewell
the last resting-place
which the deceased has
of years
must
mattress.
of the
the
is
bundles containing dry lime, ashes and earth. to the
corpse
mouth of
.
now
Let us
the
mouth
the
in
placed
wooden wedge;
the
removing
given here below
from
of a
J^ (See demon-scaring charms and amulets).
qj£
Frequently
have
string,
mouth
and another issued
§i,
P#-
by a red
in the
§|j Lin^'. is
eaten.
way
to
the nether world.
The water-caltrop (Trapct bicomis), an aquatic vegetable, the
fruit of
— 49 — This
called the viand for apeasing the dogs,
is
Ta-heu-shih JT
£ Others, endowed
with
more
add
foresight,
chopsticks, to be used as cudgels, in case the
A
too determined attack to bite him.
position at his feet, deliver
order
in
that
own
his
him from any subsequent
could hardly die again
mirror
death.
thereto
of
pair
hungry dogs made is
in
placed
a
an upright
would
reflected
image Dead twice lor
all,
he
!
folks lay the corpse on a bed of gold or
Wealthy
a
This affords them
happiness
their posterity (See
on
and assures the future
unalloyed,
this ancient
silver ingots.
V. Article
Cli.
custom,
of
\).
Most well-to-do people have their dead equipped with jewels, a which provokes the cupidity of robbers, and it is highly
custom
probable that the next step will be the violation of these rich tombs.
Chinese law
When
visits this
crime with the death-penalty.
the corpse has been
laid
fully
out
in
grave clothes
its
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
washing the mouth,
called
is
Tsing-k'eu-pu on.
nailed
the coffin, beneath the cover, and
-]f£
P
rffl
or cloth
.
This extends entirely over
intended to prevent any dust
is
from entering, or falling on the face of the corpse.
Nothing further now remains but been taken to draw three hairs
from
these are entwined on three big nails of the coffin. '
ting
|^.
3=]",
They that
is
ting
f$- §]",
Care has
the
deceased:
the
"Wan-ting"
entwined
nails.
is a
entwine
real
a
queue
of
intended for closing the
are called
Here again there to
to close the collin.
Sjf.
£]"
or also
"Cltwan-
pun on the two expressions
nail,
and
Wan-ting
Bj£
"J*-
lid
:
Wan-
posterity,
descendants. Similarly, there
Chwan-ting
ijj^
ting
to
f|f.
"J",
is a
^T, to
play
on the pronunciation of the words
wind (something) round
propagate posterity.
In fine,
it
a nail, is
and C/w'an-
an omen portend-
ing numerous descendants. 7
— When
the
used for closing the
coffin,
of
down
to nail
— down
drive
to
carpenter approaches
the mortal remains
going
50
the son of the
the
nails
big
deceased, kneeling beside
him: "fear
his sire, shouts to
not. they are
the coffin!"
In several places,
it
son
the
is
who
himself
drives
the
in
first nail.
when
Likewise,
k'eu-pu
P
ffi
/fjj
as stated above, the strip of cloth called Tsingnailed on, the son has
is
,
withdraw his hands,
When two
these preparations are over,
all
his
lather to
the
coflin
is
nails.
on
placed
mortuary chamber, awaiting the
the middle of the
trestles, in
warn
to
being wounded by the
in order to avoid
burial.
2°.
placed
Oi>jP(ix
At the head
of the
Hip coffin.
h<>si
and consequently a small table.
laid
on this table, as
in reality the centre of all superstitions.
is
In the centre of the table
A).
called Ling-tso-lze §g slab).
This
lar red
wrapper,
is a
whose name B).
On
is
J^g
-^
or
,
the
left
rectangudeparted,
of this
tablet
is
Two
the
soul
of
laid
a
bowl of
in
rice,
(placed, at the rear of the head,
the right of the
This offering
Tao-Veu-fan $\
tablet,
cock, slaughtered but uncooked;
have been entirely plucked
the
off,
the
hard egg, having a hole pierced
chopsticks are stuck, either in the egg
or in the rice, according to places.
On
soul,
^f (the ghost's
}$.
z^f
the
the
contain
to
of
seat
kind of envelope or large
placed a boiled or
is
in its upper part.
C).
erected the
Hwun-p'ai-tze
paper tablet, a
supposed
is
written thereon.
middle of which
tail,
the front,
coflin itself, is placed
important to understand well the objects
It is it
but to
coffin,
between the outer door and the
in
a
jijf
large
feathers,
§5-
bowl,
except
and the head
is
itself,
called the rice
is
is
placed
those
of
a
the
turned towards
the coffin. D). in
On
the middle of the table, before the tablet,
which incense
is
burninsr.
is
a censer,
Fig. 24
— On
E\
r>1
—
each side of the tabid
two
are
large
in
candlesticks,
which two candles burn constantly. <
F).
the
>n
front
Chinese lamp, fed with
G\
the
of
near
table,
the
a
is
corner,
Several add to the above a pair of chopsticks, a wine-cup, a
jar of wine, a
the soles of
wash-hand-basin
which are cut
Under the
in
purposes, and a pair of shoes.
for toilet
two and wrapped up
between the two
coffin,
benches,
in
cotton-cloth.
is
placed
a
not unfrequcntly equipped with seven wicks, Ts'ih-sing-teng
To the rear image
for
some time
lamp
is
of the
lamp
to
Mi
placed a mirror, wherein
come no other death
the third or
Buddhist priests
reflected
will occur in the family.
The
illustrates all this ceremonial. :
to
fifth
day
alter
help
the
soul
£<\
j||.
death,
wealthy families
over the
which,
the
two demons Short-life and Quick-death,
waters beneath the souls travelling over
Buddhist
pi iests arrive in
front of the house of the
it).
cast into the
(1).
procession, and
at evening,
assemble
Outside the principal door,
deceased.
rough construction resembling a bridge
tables placed with the four feet
invite
bridge (doubtless, the
and from the summit
bridge of anguish, spanning the red torrent,
is
is
thus reckoned as two, hence
coffin is
Escorting the soul. Fung-ling
3°.
a
Jl
often placed on the grindstone of the household.
The annexed engraving
I
is
This
of the coffin.
the
in
lamp Jfc
which burns day and night.
£j|),
of
small
oil.
upwards
;
is
erected,
by
means
of
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 then scatters cakes on the ground, which
classics, for
are
scrambled
bv the spectators; the priests then depart and the ceremony
concluded.
ill
S
c
Ynh-lib ch'ao-chw'an
3LM
&#
Treatise on the Infernal regi
is
— 52 — Awaiting the burial.
4°.
Whether house soul,
be
the coffin
kept
matters
of the departed,
becomes the object of
that
a
for
little;
or
long it
is
short time
the tablet,
seat
is
the
of the
customary superstitions.
all
must bring
Every person coming- to the house of the deceased,
some mock-money, which
in
presented
the
to
person
appointed for
receiving" guests.
The guest
will
then burn the mock-money,
dolences to the son of the deceased,
who bows
kneeling on the ground, to show thereby
The
tablet
and
his
offer
con-
his
acknowledgments
how profound
is
his grief.
remains exposed during forty-nine days, or the
full
space of seven weeks. a
During this time, presents are received.
Wan-chang
scrolls",
series
Among
^
1(1^-,
funeral
of
the latter,
in
honour
While the to leap over
We of rice,
A pun :
)]f?
,
it,
may
is
be found
given
and
"mourning
or large inscriptions written
on rectan-
and which are carried on the
gular pieces of satin, silk, or cloth, burial dav
repasts
of the deceased.
coffin rests
on the
trestles,
little
children
are
wont
in order to obtain courage.
manner, how the egg placed in the bowl beside the head of the corpse, is eaten for the same purpose.
is
shall see in like
made on
courage.
the word
"Tan"
Eating this egg
will
gr,
meaning an egg, and "Tan'
inspire courage.
— 53 — ARTICLE
IV.
BURIAL. 1°.
Preparing the burial.
Almost everywhere, the environs, and select is
a skilled
also to indicate the direction
On
this
geomancer
which the
in
depend fortune, literary degrees, and
Future happiness
is
summoned
is
to inspect
a suitable spot as a burial-place.
influenced by the
His duty
must
coffin
numerous
a
be
laid.
posterity.
judicious choice of a
burial-
site (1).
Generally,
the
after
geomancer,
having
takes a live cock, and traces with the
site,
cross on the
ground
solemn ceremony
3£, on the tablet of the deceased (2
For this purpose they out in
official
hand
invite
ascends
robes,
solemnity in his
bill
favourable
a
of the bird a
kind of
he then pours thereon some native wine.
folks have a
Wealthy
Chu
:
selected
a
for dotting the character
.
majestically
who
graduate,
literary
a
a pencil dipped in vermilion,
dressed
with
takes
platform,
and makes the
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 .
the character
expensive, but also what honour is
it
confers on the family
The
!
rite
accomplished either in the ancestral hall or at the burial ground.
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. In this latter case,
Tz'e-t'u
officiates, is styled
while the one
who
chu-kwan |^
i^
fpj
has dotted the (he
who
J- (he
character Chu
who superintends
to
sacrifices
the
y£,
is
dottinu
Farth
the called of
the
.
Tiencha-
racter). 2°.
Carrying nut the
coffin.
While Buddhist or Taoist the corpse and
priests.
terminate the liturgic
(1)
See article on Fung-shui
(2)
See Doolittle.
JK,
fa. Ch.
V
I I.I
Social Life of the Chinese.
&
"Tao-shi" prayers:
as
§ 2.
Vol.
I. p.
207.
±,
surround
mock-mone>
i-
— 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
and
with
breaks
awaken the defunct, and warn him
this is to
strikes the
kitchen-knife,
coffin,
The purpose of make ready for the
blow an empty bowl.
second
a
to
approaching journey. Immediately afterwards, the heavy
up and borne upon which has been
coffin
is
middle of the road, as also the table,
to the
lifted
placed the tablet of the deceased.
The
eldest son. leaning on
corpse: he wears
the
and
dress,
mourning
full
three-ridged cap. San-liang-kwan
^
5£
down
kneels
coffin,
bears
7^. so
on
called
before the
his head
the
from
pe-
its
culiar shape.
The Buddhist fetch
procession, leaning bearers,
fulfil
hearse.
the
and begs them
may
they
on
wherewith
too
much On
he
$ffi-
the corpse in the coffin
the top of the coffin
is
1
placed a rooster, one of
therefore of good
to the
the house, the
the
kind of
a
lad
is
that
if
the
as
"Kih"
omen
legs being
lest
the coffin
placed in a large basket,
cock, "j^j,
guide the departed spirit back to the grave. In Southern China a white cock is used. Doolittle.
Ki
mean-
(3).
deceased
precautious are taken
When
its
The word
is
had
but
an
he would bear
taken out of
and hoisted by
In several places, this strip of white paper, enfcwim d round a bamboo,
I. p. 3
all
way,
world of spirits.
little
case
is
used
a
to
(2
Vol.
same manner
the
is
only son of tender years,
(1)
2).
The bird
him away
sire.
armed with
the
to
In
.
in
Let us remark by
mark
is
pronounced almost
ing good luck.
a
bows his respects
and styled Taohe can chastise them if they jolt
attached by a string to the carrying-poles i-s
and
long strip of white paper,
sang-pang
\i'fj.
lie
negligently,
a
fljjs
his father's tablet
carry gently his venerable
to
this duty
wand, entwined with j$\
to take
which he returns and follows the funeral
back home, after
it
him
priests invite
214 Si e el,.
X. Article VIII.
Social
Life of the Chinese.
.1.1
means
of a cord and pulley
He
roof of the house.
fixed
in
a
beneath
to
cross-beam,
the
thus kept out of danger, and the deceased
is
must depart without him. Order of the funeral procession
3".
1
.
The procession opens by two men carrying a pair of streamhags, made of white paper, and called "Yin-lv. fan-tze
a).
ers or lift
"? "j or landmarks
//iff
basket
a
strews
it
with
filled
along the way.
a
Two
c).
T'ung-nan
mock-monev.
j| -^, a
to the
way"
purchase
world of shades
to
designed
as
act
slaves
.
T'ung-nu jj| -fc. and The first bears a teaS).
{
man
servants to the dead
or
'1
called
figures
damsel and a youth
cup and tea-pot: the second carries a tobacco-pipe and pouch. are
lie
paper-coin, and
enable the departed spirit to
to
paper
large
Hades.
to
way
of
supply
plentiful
passage, and secure "the right of
its
its
are followed by a person scattering
They
b).
carries
guide the spirit on
to
They the
in
infernal regions.
Two
d).
^
Kin-shan mountain,
miniature mountains, one styled the golden mountain. |Jj
made
,
Yin-shan
destined to furnish
gold and silver e
Two
.
of gold-gilt paper; the other called the silver
§f<
the
|Jj
made
,
of
paper.
silver-gilt
an
with
deceased
Both
are
inexhaustible supply of
(4).
Lu-kiao
bearers carry a paper sedan-chair,
for
i|£j.
the benefit of the deceased.
There are also mock-steeds, with their
f). it
g).
Two
paper swash-bucklers, called the
way'" K'ai-lu-shen |$
jjft
or Ta-lu-shen
>|itji,
and disperse
to clear the road,
way
:}T
intruders
all
all
in paper,
]Jff
'"gods opening ftp.
who might
the
Their duty
is
obstruct the
(5).
(1)
See also D.oolittle. Social Life of the.Cbiuese. Vol.
(2)
s,-o C\,. III. article
(3)
Doolittle mils
ili
Two famous
kiang JK (5)
burnt
riders,
needless to say.
is
}!.,
province
them the "golden
in Eroni of
hi 1"
temples, are erected of
Kiang-su JX
Thpy arc from ten the grave.
I.
p. 200.
VII. infra.
and the "gemmeous
lass". Ihid. p. 213.
on golden ami silver Islands, opposite Chen-
Wf;-
to fifteen feet
Doolittle. loc
long, and, cit.
p.
four or five in diameter.
203.
Thej are
— <
—
and the other an axe.
a club,
After these are borne the tablets of the spirit of the deceas-
h).
P'ai
ed,
them bears
>ne of
56
the
Following
f$-.
accompanied by
a
host
of
in
youthful
officials,
high
attendants.
The deceased
carrying' various insignia.
an increase of dignity
of
practice
is
are
they
Kang-p'ai ^X J|^, to have acquired
deemed
the nether world, hence he
is
accompanied
by his insignia of rank.
At the extremity
i).
such as
mav
bamboos
are
(upturned)
hands,
carried
honour
be seen in processions in
hvan-kia,
fn,
of
adzes
special
insignia,
the gods:
of
and hammers
Ts'un-
etc...
all
in
tinfoil.
Wealthy people have these instruments carried in front of the They are carved in wood, and covered over with tinfoil. coffin. The procession
p.
of Taoist, Tao-slii
^
four
literary graduates, acting as
and conducting the funeral
'£?
murmuring some
the flute, beating cymbals, or k).
or Buddhist priests,
-_[;,
wearing the surplice or coloured cope Kia-sha
(1),
and playing
liturgical prayers.
masters of ceremonies,
rites.
At the grave-side.
4°.
As soon
as the procession has left the city or
insignia are burnt, and thus be used by
him
are fired at
the
in
deemed forwarded
the land
grave-side).
of
shades
Generally,
to
village,
the
sometimes, the
pj)
deceased,
5ft j^§
are stuck in the ground, on each side of the coffin of the in order that
his soul, after its
flight
through the
these
all
however,
only objects
two white paper-streamers, Yin-lu fan-tze
are the
|^
air,
to
they
retained. "?'
which
departed,
may
easily
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
all
kneel clown to
bow
a last farewell to the deceased.
(1)
ni,lr
From
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.
worn (2)
In
—
57
—
Frequently also, a paper sedan-chair the departed spirit
when
is
burned,
is
31
%M?
which
(1), to
(the lad leading the soul).
Each disembodied
spirit
has a
name
who thus marks
3n) the kitchen-god, to the
mercy
One meets
on
written
"honourable penitent", "obedient servant"... 'iti
used bv
conducted by a kind of usher-demon, called Yin-kwei t'ung-tze
he
them
to be
travelling to the lower regions
etc.
his devotees,
forehead
its
It
:
Tsao-kiin
is
recommending
of the ruler of Hades.
frequently along the country,
in
midst of the
the
on the hill-sides, coffins simply covered over with straw or
fields or
wild plants.
It is
interesting to
know
the reason thereof.
Three reasons are generally assigned for this custom.
The time
1°.
unlucky, special coffin
the
for the burial of the
deceased was found to
be
burial on that
having declared, that a
fortune-tellers
day would bring misfortune on the descendants, hence the
has been simply laid on the ground, and temporarily covered
day in which the burial
over, awaiting a lucky 2".
A
may
take place.
lucky burial-place for the coffin has not yet been found.
Geomancers, either cannot agree, or the famiW wishes
obtain a
to
lucky spot, but the ow ner, guessing the intention of the purchaser, r
raises the price.
In such cases, the coffin
resting-place, awaiting
a
full
burial
is
on
laid
a
ceremony when
temporarv
the
site
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
not allowed to bury
that this
inhuman
sometimes covered over with straw, but
it,
or raise a
mound
over
it.
It
doctrine brands with a public stigma the
is
thus
memory
of those unfortunate victims.
(1)
It is
charitably supposed he would enjoy riding, instead of being obliged to walk Doolittle. Social Life of the Chinese. Vol. I. p. 174.
to the infernal regions.
8
— 58 — ARTICLE
V.
AFTER THE BURIAL. Fixed lime*
The third day after the mountain" Fu-shan
to the
bowls of meat are offered,
burial, the
^
services.
mourning
for
and
fish
fowl,
pork,
Two ing
tresses of rice-straw, having a
side of the grave
the extremity of these
:
with the departed
@
heu-pa
money
is
the
same occasion,
kwang
is
-fa),
far,
the house.
of
[gj
called
company "smoke faggots" Yenfound frequently near
lest
"rounding
same day
and mock-
off
the
mound
or
that the departed spirit returns his
(literally
Yen-
eye-sight
he had been recently deprived there.
which
taken
not swept, and
not
clothes
the deceased, on
disturb anything
to
and bed-coverlets would
returning,
Now,
the light of day or recover his eve-sight.
not
in
are
in left
enjoy again
what manner
of
the departed spirit return?
Some so a
each
on
placed
J§|.
every care has been It is
unwashed,
way does
knots correspond-
of
are
fire-crackers are sent off
sometimes
especially on that
fig
So
a wine-glass.
then Hied to keep
called
former home, seeking daylight
to its
is
the
burnt on the grave.
tumulus" Yuan-fen is
They
spirit.
This ceremony
It
number
§1 4E» and remnants of them are
On
graves.
are
On
pea-curd.
deceased lived here below,
Four
performed.
nine and
table are placed a pair of chopsticks, a jar of
to the years the
is
(grave-side)
fjj
"returning
called
ceremony
say that he scrambles ladder
little
made
of
fireplace, to facilitate his
bamboo
down through or
reeds
is
the
chimney, and the
against
placed
entering the house.
Others prefer believing that he climbs over the garden-wall, so again a ("are
little
ladder
is
placed there to help
has been taken to spread some
fine
him
ashes over the lloor of
the room, in order to discover from his footprints,
been reborn as a night
is a
man
or
has entered the
sleepless one for the
members
of
over.
body the
whether he has
of a
brute.
house,
and
That if
the
— 59 — noise
least
is
heard at
the door or the window-sill, immediately
all
lights are put out.
An egg
has been carefully prepared for him and
placed
in
a
bowl, as also a single chopstick, in order to detain him further.
As
a matter of fact,
when one
egg,
most
a
is
it
The expected
visit
being over, the egg
order to increase their courage,
made on
the
task
difficult
to
eat
a
hai'd
provided with only one chopstick.
is
word Tan
^
-
is
Tan-tze
la
egg, and Tan
)J§
given ^f jz
jjjf
children
to
the gall,
in
a
pun beingwhich is con;
sidered the seat of courage in China.
The
offering of a house, provided
other requisites, the whole
in
after death, at least generally (l). to the
with furniture,
is
paper, It
servants
and
made on
the forty-ninth day
burnt,
and thus conveyed
is
world of shades for the benefit of the deceased.
Frequently, a second paper-house attained the age of
or
fifty
sixty
is
burnt for those
This offering
years.
who have is made at
the end of the third vear. Lastly,
it
may sometimes happen
that
an
man
old
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
a
paper-house after
death, he anticipates on the event, and burns one
having taken care
to
forward
world, begging him to keep
he shall come to enjoy people
may
is called
it.
to
it
for his
own
use,
one of his relatives in the nether
him, until the day when The Chinaman is far-seeing, whatever it
say to the contrary
in store for
!
The
"providing for old age" Cheu-ling
"Straw-tresses" or Fan-k'uen
^
of this
offering
|||j.
jqj
paper-house
|§ft.
Who
has not seen along
country roads and by-ways, the remnants of straw-tresses placed on graves'?
(1)
These tresses or
In Southern China, this
circlets of
also a very
is
straw are called
busy and eventful daw
family provides a feast for invited relatives and friends. lice to the
deceased
is
discontinued
Social Life of the Chinese. Vol.
I. p.
:
Fan-k'uen
'the
mourning
After this date, the ottering of
he must henceforth cook his own food. 187.
f)^
Doolittle,
— 60 — or Fan-ku-tze
pgj,
Chinese cooks use them
"?•
ffrfi
\
warm
to
various dishes served up as an accompaniment to cooked
the
rice.
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 are thus encircled or
They
(1).
which case he resembles much the dog
of the
fable,
had
that
little
love for his collar.
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
day of the
first
first
month,
year, crackers are exploded, and
<
)n
the thirteenth day of the
death, a lamp
it,
lamp" Kwei-teng fy oil
first
it
the
that
order
in
again himself, in case
with
went
festival
of
brightness), celebrated
tombs
about
up, and placed on the summit is
it
thought,
or
April
repaired, rounded off and cleaned
sod of earth,
;
of
a
towards the
ground.
in a
and
of rice-straw
See above
p.
{
light
it
the "ghost's
These vast receptacles are
5,
Ts'ing-ming all
0^
Jpf
round sod of fresh earth
represents are
(clear-
grave-mounds must be
the
is
dug
This round
ceremonial
head-dress
mock-mone}' is to a close by a series of bowSometimes, meats are placed on a
offered
in
tresses,
exploded,
sacrifice i|ft,
to
the
manes
mock-money
and burnt, imagining
thus a corresponding amount to the land of shades. (1)
box of
folks place large vases filled
In the province of Kiang-su yX
hamper
may
the conical tumulus.
worn by the Chinese. Fire-crackers burnt, and the ceremony is brought table before the grave,
is called
a
whole months.
for
the
happy
year after
first
departed spirit
This lamp
out.
Many wealthy
f^.
lamps and burn
At the
departed.
month, the
near the graves of their dead.
in reality
ings
mock-money
a
placed on the
is
placed on the grave of the deceased, with
is
matches beside
are wished
they
is
to
of the
placed i-emit
— 61 — In the country round Shanghai J^ in these
of rice-straw
hampers
ffj,
a brisk
business
Boat-loads of them
tresses.
done
is
arrive
constantly, and being burnt, are conveyed to the world of spirits.
On
at this time that the tutelary
is
|$J|,
renewed, and sacrifice olTeied
is
graves It
the fifteenth of the seventh month, the visit to the ancestral
god
the
to
manes
of the city,
of
dead.
the
Ch'eng-hwang
J)^
acting as celestial mandarin, gathers the hungry and wandering
Ku-hwun
ghosts,
^
(neglected or orbate spirits),
z$|
and
them
offers
presents consisting of mock-money, mock-clothing, meats and cakes, all
made
of
ceremony
is
paper
They It
spirit-land.
the tenth
is
escape their
are
etc...
The ceremony
kwei
$&.
month winter garments
l\*i
are
J^|.
offered
and thus forwarded
is
made
of paper.
"letting
calling
to
the
to
Mock-money
is
also
out the spirits", Fang-
the anniversary of the death of a person,
This
proceed to his grave and offer mock-money.
brance offering", and shows that his memory
minds
This
vengeance.
a matter of fact that all these clothes, caps, boots,
added.
On
to
are burnt on the graves,
shoes and dresses
jfc
order
"gathering the spirits", Sheu-kwei
called
)n the first of
(
the dead.
in
(1),
is
it is
is
still
customary to "the rememfresh
in
the
of the living.
Generally, at the four principal periods, Sze-tsieh
monthly festivals, that
is
:
the
first
day of the year,
[5<|
the
|jj,
or tri-
festival
of
tombs Ts'ing-ming -^ 0$, the fifth of the fifth month, and the fifteenth of the eighth month, a commemorative service is held in
the
honour
On
of the dead.
the
fifteenth
lamps, Lu-teng
{£$•
jig,
day of the are
first
lighted.
month,
These
at
little
nightfall,
guide-
are
placed
lamps
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
It is
(1)
spirits
a matter of
wonder that the immense number
can be contented with such scant and poor provisions.
Chinese.
Vol.
I. p.
206.
of these
hungry and naked
Doolittle. Social Life of the
— 62 — received them, so
they wander
over
the
and
world,
Thanks where to go by rapine and plunder. and be reborn. lamps, they can tind their way The
ghosts' festival",
month
seventh
fifteenth of the
Kwei-tsieh
%
|p.
is
not knowing these
little
called
"the
lamps, prepared
with
to, live
to
commonly
Little
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
by
breeze, are borne on canals and
souls of
drowned persons
The seventh month
the
and the
that of the
way and dead,
cool
evening
view to helping
rivers, with a
to find their
is
stream
the
be reborn.
and
is
entirely
given
Buddhist and Taoist priests and make processions every ceremonies, various expiatory perform evening through towns and villages, preceded by cymbals and
over to
helping
the
departed souls.
musical instruments, for the purpose of alleviating the condition
wandering
souls.
01
Fig. 25
^4 ^^^
0^
#
ft
^
^1
/
w
^ ^ W-
Or
cg^
(f
^
— ^TtT^S^
Le char funebre conduit par Hearse accompanied
l'esprit
by- the
Sco-chen.
funeral God.
k 4\v
— 63 — ARTICLE
VI.
SUPERSTITIOUS PAPERS BURNT AT FUNERALS. Chi-ma
A
large
amount
$£
JB|.
of superstitious papers is
fancying' thereby to benefit the dead. of various divinities, or of
On
of the
imps
employed
these
at funerals,
papers are pictures
infernal
ed from this
whet
curiosity,
many more would have
On
to be
for
if
we wished
be
to
the burial day a paper
tation of a hearse,
Pu-sah ^§ It is
##
he
It is
depart-
complete,
added.
Propitiating the funeral god. Sao-shen Pu-sah |^
1°.
thus
is
It
who have
Herewith are a few specimens of such papers,
life.
offered merely to
grave.
on behalf of those
to secure their good-will
sought
who may
regions,
render service to the departed souls in the nether world.
is
burnt, bearing on
it
fl$
H $§.
the represen-
and the god who leads the procession, Sao-shen
§|.
who must
carefully lead the
funeral
procession to the
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).
(1)
This star
which assumes body
of a cock,
a
is
the Hwun-k'i
i£|
f^ (the breath of the
male and female form.
soul), a
phantom
In apparitions, the male form
while the female has that of a hen. See
p. 135, infra.
is
or spectre,
said to have the
Also illustration
62. bis.
— 64 — The
2°.
ten kings of
Hades. Ming-fu
After a person's death,
paper Cki-tna $£
name given
to
in
,6|,
it
is
honour
customary of the ten
This custom
it.
Shih-Wang IE
owes
its
to
Jft -f-
3:
(1).
burn a superstitious
gods of Hades, hence the origin
to
Buddhist
the
doctrine on the ten divisions of hell, over which preside ten demons, the
names and functions
work.
A
petition
is
of
whom
will be given in
Book
II,
of this
therefore addressed to them, begging that they
be merciful to the deceased,
who
is to
appear before their judgment
seat.
On each are found
Ma-mien
(1)
side of the tablet or little print, burnt in their honour,
the §§
buffalo-headed Niu-t'eu
[ffl,
i^-
gjf,
and the horse-faced
assistants of the underworld.
% 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 — The
3°.
m* fl
(jo
M&M On
of the dra.gon-cha.riol (hearse). Lung-ch'eh Pu-sah
this third print
conveyance employed
in
is
and followed by bearers of In
both cases the idea
some means travel
over
of
the
is
official
road
for
a
leading
to
the
soul,
to
ot
preceded
drawn by
purpose being
departed
means
sedan-chair,
insignia, or a cart
the
the
to
according
either
the same, the
conveyance long
represented,
the locality,
horses.
represent
whereby
lower regions.
may
it
These
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 \
The god of
.
The above merciful 'life
4& ~E (U-
'
monies intended
l
'
title
which he
who have
to
lead
unerringly
failed to find
and
is
the people
the
See
represented
the road
promptly
c
Ti-ts ang-\vang
to
given
generally
those abandoned ghosts
to help
burning this picture, on outcasts,
is
who has spread among
ne
s
^
hungry ghosts. Ku-h\('uh Pu-sah
the
of
he
is
deceased
the
of
life
cere-
By
.
these
gathering"
rebirth,
soul
ihe
his
begged to
its
destined place and abode.
Hence, as the
will
be seen
lord
undisputed
further
"Land
of the
this
on, of
god
Shades".
is
considered
as
therefore
of
is
It
the utmost importance to secure his protection.
Oftentimes, this superstitious paper
such being the name given
Very
a
also,
frequently
representing the kitchen god.
who
forgotten,
called
is
inscribes on the
burnt, for
the characters which will partly decide
it
is
of the
forehead its
Chi-ma
picture,
superstitious is
''Muh-lien"
§
j^t.
%fc
@|,
god as a Buddhist priest.
to this
he,
must noc be
it
soul
be judged,
to
destiny, according as they
appear favourable or unfavourable. After having placed the coffin in the
some
places
honour
to
burn
of the tutelary
who watches
a
superstitious
grave,
picture,
of
the
He
tomb.
is
It
generally
beside the coffin at the entrance to
warden
is
customary
Chi-ma
j^,
$j£
god of the mountain, Shen-shan f^
over the burial ground.
is
his
over the grave of the departed, and prevent any violation
it
of the deceased,
and
also
duty to
the
represented
mound
[i|
in (2),
watch
such misfortune as
He
the graveyard.
of
keep
in
as
watching
is
thus the
tumulus raised
or
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
1
p. 211. (->
In
Southern China, the
protect the graves of those
Vol. [.p. 206.
who
hill
gods are
also
are buried there.
worshipped, as
Doolittle. Social
it
is
believed they
Life of the
Chinese,
Fig. 28
Kou-hoen pou-sah, le protecteur des ames abandonnees. OKu-hwun Pu-sah. The God protector of wandering ghosts.
— 67 — ARTICLE
PURCHASING
RIGHT OF WAY.
nil.
^
Mai-lu-l*'ien
Formerly Kao-ch'ai magistrate of Ch'eng his wife.
Shen-sinng
thereof and begged
him
refused, stating that il
l\)
if
would be setting up According
borne
compensate
^
Kno-ch'ai
a precedent detrimental to
specially detained
^
"jfrj
others
many
when
at present prevailing, is
him
for the burial.
way
(if
bur}'ing
warned
»jjf,
for the loss.
he purchased the right
to the grave, a poison
when
the crops,
son of Tze-ch.nng
jjffi,
custom
to the
damaged
;^ |£.
to
j& ££.
follower of Confucius, and district
a
%_.
]9j
h-n
VII.
a coffin
march
to
(1). is
the
at
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
whenever
Japan,
beneath which incense
is
burnt
A person
the ''orphan tent".
takes
burial
a
is
before
place,
the
detained
to
a
tent
is
This
corpse.
^.
'jfFf
erected, is
called
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.
from Japan
It
would, therefore, seem that
China
to
damage caused
to
the
was wrong crops
reason which he adduces
him must
custom passed over
(2).
^ ^
Kao-ch'ai
the
is
on
in
the
to
refusing burial day
not convincing,
for
the
loss.
In
Such
about purchasing the right of way.
his
of
line
it
damage
to
the
The
wife.
and the example
not be followed, for whosoever causes
must compensate him
make good set
by
another
not a question
is
are the just
reflexions
of
serious Chinese writers.
(•>)
A.
See Li-ki
I). 131-2. foi. fiO).
,j|[
|£ or Book
of Rites. Ch.
T'an-kung-hsia
H^
"],",
(Yuan JO edition
f$0ift^Hiflt74L!lf'HfgEl
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
flfi
tfc
fir.
n
ffl
ffe
— 68 — In regard to this Japanese custom of scattering pieces of copper coin along the way, give an alms to the
who
is
it
poor,
Be that as
to
money without burning what
all
may
compensate
may,
it
it is it,
whether the
to say
or to
obstruct the road, and
exposing thereby
all
hard
real
disperse the crowd
the
injure
for the
purpose of
is to
vagabonds
crops along the
way,
damage caused by them.
the custom nowadavs, to scatter mock-
along the
way
This
of the procession.
is
are agreed to call: "purchasing the right of way".
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
Buddhists believe that wandering and hungry ghosts crowd round on a burial day to get some alms, and
if
refused,
it
feared they
is
will obstruct the procession.
\n former times, no
mock-money was
scattered along the
on burial days, and the procession met with no accident Never, in
fact,
was
of the journey, or
The followers
it
heard that the procession halted in the middle
had been compelled
the
funeral
to return.
of Confucius, to act,
with the intention of Kao-ch'ni for
In
procession.
~0j
so
^fe,
as
jJX.
fll
.
they say,
in
accordance
purchase the right of way
doing,
simple folks, and deceive also themselves.
throughout Kiang-nan
way
for all that.
however,
This custom
they is
deceive
universal
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
fertile
in
inventing
Tao-shi jg -±, whose
priests,
means
of getting
scope to their researchful genius,
the nostrums useful to the dead,
nether world.
money, have
especially
and helpful
for
the
in
varying
souls
the
in
The vulgar mass needs ceremonies, which appeal
the eye, impress the imagination, and are also well adapted
to
to
the
idiosyncrasy of the Chinese people, as well as to the manner of death of the deceased.
imagined
It is to
meet these two requirements, that they have
to address petitions to their gods,
begging them
to
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
or the
manner
and talismans vary according
of death of the
person
for
whom
to the
god invoked,
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
— a
dying,
hastens
person
—
70
purchase one of these petition-papers,
to
and warn the king of Hades that a soul his
have brought
who
cases, others for those
have committed suicide,
When
on.
die
by
whom
the
the
for
Tno-shi
benefit
means
great
\-
/|
g-
^
,
;§"
communication between the
of
We
the
of to
of
It
remnants
all
I.ao-hi'i.n jj£
g", for the benefit
and utterly the sins which they have committed
of
previous existence (allusion
Cleansed from
-fa
of the dead.
help to cleanse their bodies, refine their vir-
tues, blot out their faults, render last
T'ai-shang Lao-kini
Honourable Lao-hiXn,
will
$fr.
:
purify and saVe the souls
of all the dead.
^
Nrjan-hwei
This talisman has been planted by
even the
few
shall give here a
(printed on yellow paper).
reads as follows
This pa pel
;|
petition-
more expeditiously
reach
may
these
dead,
the
of
J;, perform their
jfr
which are generally and most commonly employed
Lao-hiXn
Talisman
all
hanging or drowning, or who
priests,
throughout the province
1".
for
etc...
present world and that bevond the grave. of these papers, in places
some
they are addressed.
is
Burning
according to the
there are
Thus,
talismans are burnt, in order that they the god to
appear before
to
vary,
petitions
it
Buddhist or Taoist ceremonies
respective
death,
After
seat.
judgment
causes which
soon
is
to
them
the
efface
stainless,
of the
doctrine
earthly dross, they shall be
admitted into the presence of Yen-wang
\$)
-f,
in
a
metempsychosis).
deemed worthy (2).
to
be
where-
In witness
allusion is here of, we accomplish to-day this expiatory ceremony be invited to who must Tao-nhi made to the Taoist priests, jfr -|;,
pray and burn the above mentioned petition in full
U
Lao
i
.
and burn
compliance with the orders received Irom Lao kirn
^^
<>v
Lao-tze
^
^f-,
this talisman,
Itc j$£
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
Emperor
dynasty bestowed on him the of the
Dark
First Cause.
title
Again
in
£
>.
pk
I
A.J).
.
^£ TG
H
1013, the
il?.
title
by Imperial command. Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual. Lao-tze (2)
The
ruler of Ha'des.
Supreme, the j\ _h 3L Ha was added
the Great
^ ^f.
•^•K^^^SSH'^
>'
^4-
-J
-Q
-
£
2 £
^ g
&^
^
T
«
01
O:
*
e
s
3 f
£
"^ ^N
"*?
rvrs "it\
"a -
'\^
^M$®H^
l\\
—
If
ta^
— Such
This petition-talisman
M
W
P6
""
the inll
/
We, your month (name
'
|5pT
^
|?g
fl$j
(names inserted here), in this the members of our household, the
all
Amitabha, 0-
kinsfolk, prostrate before
P, the ruler of Hades, Ti-ts'ang-wang
ffo
3E, and the ten gods
of the infernal regions, do hereby implore
great mercifulness.
We
ment with you. and and
for so
born
such
in
How
We
!
(name inserted and
At
here),
month...
present,
land
reborn in a state in
such
a
In
truth,
lasts
life
but a
tears of the arrival of this beloved
remind you amidst
the
engage-
offer
realm of the Immortals.
to the
death has ravished from
to be
we
a written
$$
your
up our prayers aged... (here his age), and and at such a day... and
the flight of years!
humbly beseech you, from grant him
draw up
to
as contracting parties,
year...
is
rapid
whom
being,
a
even venture
whose soul has returned
hour...,
moment
X...
so,
|S|iT
followers, N...
pious son, his relatives and
mi-t'o-fuh
in
month), with
of
priests.
honour of Amitabha (O-mi-t'o-fuh Hades °f (Ti-ls'ang-wang -jfc fa £).
r
faithful
employed by Taoiot
is
Petition-talisman ;
—
month,... and day,...
a year,...
2°.
71
our gaze.
him, we
Deliver
suffering, and graciously with happiness and joy.
of
filled
and on
month...
srtch
a
day...
we
for
him the
road leading to a new rebirth, amidst prosperity and glory.
Thanks
accomplish this
ceremony
for
his
to
benefit,
open
up
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
to
^
happiness; we reckon benefit, will deserve for
body of jlP
?fc
a
>$
man. (2)
also
that
this
ceremony,
him the happiness
Once more. O-mi-t'o-fuh
and Tz'e-kwang-fuh *& jt
|JpT
jfo
performed for his
of being reborn into
(3),
~jffi
|?£
$,
the
Jii-lai-fuh
we humbly beg you
to save his soul.
(lj
among (2)
the historical light). The celestial prototype corresponding to Also the sovereign lord of the Western heavens, and hence highly popular
Amitabha (boundless
Guatama.
the Chinese.
A
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
the lotus-flower opens, the fruit
(man being reborn partakes already
when
the
flower
work
achieve
the
becomes
a perfect
for the benefit of
we burn
it.
fall's.,
fruit
is
Nirvana, and
of
Buddha
1
.
We
of the
in is
already in formation
nature of Buddha)
quite formed"' (thus
thanks
to
such a
respectfully offer to
such a soul, and in order that
Done
This petition
the
is
it
you
;
but
does death state,
man
this petition
may
reach you,
such a year..., month..., and dav...
drawn up on yellow paper, and
reserved to Buddhist priests.
is
exclusively
bis Fig. 31
/1WP ^mm. mmm^
gH>5-|gg|\ 4&
C
ir
&
ffitt-
»«
4 ^mfo^tA*
Brule en Thonneur de Ti-ts'ang Wang. the nether world. Written charm burnt in honour of
Passe-port pour l'autre
Passport
to
vie.
Ti-ts'ang
Wang,
ruler of Hades.
—
Second petition couched
73
—
in similar style.
10
oo
Petition-talisman begging
Taoist priests, Tao-shi the deceased
may
jjf
J^.
a
happy
rebirth.
burn this petition
be reborn into the body of a
the body of a genial
animal.
addressed to Lao-kiln j£ jg
.
It
is
printed
man,
in
order
that
or at least into
on yellow paper,
and
M
4
f, *\
H'*£
0) en
03
C CC
> c _c '-t->
CC
a,
c u CC u c — S-.
c
c 5~
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ipfri
a cu
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P-
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#P^;
M d 4#^s#^F^^"%-"
v->
So
•
Passe-debout pour
Permit exempting from
la
douane sur
tolls
on the
la
way
route des enfers. to the
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),
and through means
of
barrier found on the
order
given
to
passage of such
the a
which
which they it
way leading
to the infernal
barrier-keepers soul.
Taoist
grant a similar official permit.
deliver to a departed soul,
can pass without any difficulty the
not
priests,
to
regions.
hinder
Tuo-slii
in jiff
It
is
an
anywise the
^, may
also
These people shrink from nothing.
\A/WVWWV \f\- Vi/V»/VW«
76
5°.
This ing
full
is
a certificate delivered by
barriers free of
On
month and
The deceased, toll,
and
on vellow paper and
is
*-j|.
competent authority, and secur-
is
thanks
assured
the document are the day, on which
Lu-yin
to the soul along" the road leading" to the
freedom of passage
world beyond.
way.
to tho soul.
Passport granted
it
burnt
to
of
bearer's
this
badge,
as
has been delivered. at the burial service.
the
throughout the
protection
name,
passes
also
the
year,
This passport
is
Lou-yng
tan-tse.
Passe-port de Fame.
Lu-yin tan-tze. Passport delivered
to the
departed soul.
tc
CO Ifl
0)
b u
»1
.
F—*
c p.'
g
i c
1
I'M
*•
<'< rs
i
77
Opening the ceremony of the Lemuria
6°.
This petition
bond
womb
—
souls, of a
is
Vi
burnt for the benefit of wandering and vaga-
who have mother.
deceased, whose
n K'ai-t'an
(1).
name
been unable All is
good
spirits,
on the
from malevolent demons.
to find the
are
print,
This charm
road to rebirth in the
as well
is
ceremony
to
begged placed
erected for Buddhist and Taoist priests, Tao-shi the opening of the expiatory
as the soul of the
on
jj£
protect
the
them
platform
]-, and burnt at
for the benefit of the dead.
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)
to
that the souls of the dead wandered inhabitants.
all
over the world and disturbed the peace of
its
good spirits, called Lares familiares (ancestors), and evil Larvae or Lemures. To appease those latter, the Lemuria
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 ones,
evil spirits.
They
also
muttered magical words, and by beating
believed the ghosts would depart and no longer molest the Glassicul Dictionary.
Lemuria).
kettles
and drums,
(See
Lempriere's
living
7S
the portals
Opening
7°.
This charm, endowed, is
to
it
is
Buddhist paradise. K'ai-t'ien
believed, with marvellous cflicacity,
considered as the key of heaven, and infallibly procures happiness the
soul
for
whose
benefit
it
Above
name
the is
portals
printed
of the
on
is
burnt.
it
is
paper,
rescues
It
from
the
and opens wide This warrant from
remitted,
Buddhist paradise.
yellow
of the departed soul.
it
whom
infernal regions the soul to for
of the
carefully
dated, and bears the
V«H^>v<^^-
.C/0
c
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-2
be
3 CO
J
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-
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-.
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:
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to
t.j
S^^^v^ip^
-
79
—
Informing the ruler of Hades
8°.
This
a
is
Hades,
Ti-ls'ang-wang
deceased,
has
been
a
fx. J{{i
by the Abbot of a Buddhist
written
proclamation,
monastery, in Kiang-su
(1).
f||,
^
faithful
and pretending to inform the god of }£, that such a person, recently follower
of
Buddha,
and as
such,
deserves to be mercifully treated in the nether world.
The document, duly prepared, it,
one
may
indicates
when
(1)
it
is
on yellow paper.
apply to the Superior of a monastery,
the
name
of
his
monastery,
the year,
To obtain
who signs it, and month and day,
has been issued for the benefit of such a departed soul.
In Southern China, a ceremony for informing the ten rulers of Hades, of the
death of a person, takes place on the sixth day. Taoist priests Life of the Chinese. Vol.
I. p.
182.
officiate. Doolittle. Social
—
9°.
Temporary
—
seat of the soul.
At a funeral, this paper
and the soul
80
is
suspended from
of the departed is requested to
a
reed or
come and
seat therein, in order to receive the offering's of clothing-
monev remitted
for his benefit to the
lower world.
bamboo,
establish
his
and mock-
Fig. 38
Siege transitoire de Tame. Temporary seat of the (departed) soul.
Fig. 39
La bourse de Tame.
Wrapper containing
the soul.
— 81
The enoelope of
10°.
This resembles
a tablet
is
much one
official letters in
designed
behind
or
the soul.
China, and
to receive the soul.
the
the time ft is
the
is
when the
to officials, as
illustration
presented
tablet will be
1
a
which
(1)
rice
the
placed
proof of
the
in
prove their
was considered as a
rear of
who may plaintiffs
^ right
|Jj
to
the
have taken
The annexed
claims.
§£
hold this
which has been
magistrate
by
inheritance
piece of evidence in
the
p. 50.
Objects placed beside the
the
of the
lawsuit,
took place over the dividing of the property.
See above,
the
set up.
which
their legitimate
Han-shun hsien
table,
temporary one, awaiting
permanently
a fac-simile of one of these envelopes,
is
to
It
at
little
(1).
or
soul,
have seen cases
prosecuting party, to deceased.
jjjj"
upright on the
only the rightful heir of the deceased
important paper. it
j$\
seat of the
first
fixed
D£
It
sending
kind of paper wrapper
a
tine,
is
It
for
envelopes employed
in
is,
and beside the
coffin,
deceased's head, Tao-t'eu-fan
This
folded in rectangular shape.
envelope,
of those large
coffin.
11
— 82
11".
In
[turning mock-clothing for the benefit of the dead. superstitious objects, sheets of yellow paper
in
shops dealing
upon which are printed the likeness as generally worn by the living. To these sheets designed to afford outfit will
be
are usually added
relief to the soul,
burnt.
for
some sentences whose
At the approach
must prepare such an
outfit
for
his
of
and boots,
of coats
are found,
or petitions,
benefit this
winter,
deceased
filial
every or
father
mortuary son
mother.
When
he has provided
to the
dead, he proceeds to their grave, and burns thereon the entire
all
the mock-clothing, intended to be conveyed
outfit for their benefit, in order that they J
mayJ
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{?
o
H
0)
o
c
a.
2SS8» J-i
*>:•
a.
s
V)
-S
«
-2
E
o
i
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
Property
does
a
paper-safe not
seem
to Ihe
be
to
dead.
any
better
majesty of the law in the nether world than in it
can hardly be called "the better world".
In
protected
the
the
by
present one,
so
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,
of civilisation, penetrating
regions''.
them the
Formerly,
people
among were
and
;
silver.
It is
"gentlemen
of the
contented
objects used during a previous existence
servants, a complete outfit of clothes,
furniture
those
He would
soul.
departed
to store safely therein his treasures of gold
gleam
lower
to the
:
with
sending
houses,
horses,
paper trunks and articles
of
but since modern industry has turned out fire-proof safes,
equipped with safety locks, these valuable inventions are
warded them, and
this
fills
them the perpetual enjoyment is a religion
of progress!
now
for-
up the cup of their happiness, by securing of their treasures.
Truly,
Buddhism
—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, which
into
are
unfortunate
those
plunged
what
childbirth, and
still
is
mothers who
more distressing,
according
die
in
the
to
modern Buddhism, every woman who has given birth is rendered thereby unclean, and must remain plunged in
teaching of to a child,
therefrom.
the "bloody pond", until rescued
desired result,
it
is
This ceremony
income
absolutely
Such
pray for them.
to
is
is
the theory
to all these impostors.
a
first is
is
which
differs
invented to
burnt
printed on yellow paper, and
during
bears
but
little
similar
relieve
from
ills
of
the
^
Tao-xhi
name
of the
i-
It
victim, as
day and hour, in which the ceremony took place.
also the year,
The other the
to secure
the expiatory ceremony,
performed either by Buddhist or Taoist priests, is
large annual
had been lucky enough
1
classics,
It
humanity.
(2).
such ceremonies.
petition-talisman,
the generalit}* of these suffering
in
this
sectire
to
Buddhist priests
very expensive, and brings in a
two papers commonly used
The
Now, invite
necessary to
is a
much more important document,
as
it
grants
to
Buddhist priests a special warrant or diploma, conferred on
them by Buddha
himself,
whereby they are
officially
patented
and
granted the perpetual and exclusive right of performing this melancholy function.
ing this paper,
Considering the importance and difficulty of secur-
we give
it
The precious formula and conserved
(1)
in the great
here translated in of the
"bloody pail" composed by Buddha, Buddhist repository "Ta.-tnRng-king" 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
spirit of a
the Chinese. Vol. (2)
full.
I.
p. 196.
See Chap. V. Article
XI
infra.
Fig. 42
9o
— 85 — "Muh-lien
%.
g
Yu Chow
in
ffl
saw
j'\],
from
pail" (so called
having travelled
jig",
a
hell
called
resembling a
its
to
the
lake),
lisien
Chui-yang of
"pool
and
of
the
jg
|(§
bloody
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 it
iron pillars, iron collars and chains.
beams,
the southern
[n
part
pond are plunged a countless number of women, their hair dishevelled and their hands bound with shackles. The ruler of of this
Hades compels them thrice
a
day
to
drink blood, and should thev
refuse, he threshes them soundly with
iron rods.
Muh-lien
g
jj$.
touched with compassion, on hearing them groan beneath the lashes, said
the
to
Hades
ruler of
here"? — ''This
punishment,
their husbands.
They
don't
'-Why
:
replied
husbands come
their
Yen-wang
fUj
3^,
is
not
for
are here, because in giving birth to children,
they have discharged polluted blood, which offends the Spirits of the
Moreover, they have washed their blood-stained clothes
Earth.
in
and streams, whence men and women draw this contaminated water, and make therewith tea, which they afterwards offer to the rivers
gods.
Offended by such irreverence, these latter despatch a celestial
who
warrior,
and
evil,
writes the
of the
guilty
book of good
the
in
then after death, they have
— Muh-lien Hades,
names
@
order to
in
how,
deliver his
to undergo this punishment with overwhelmed sadness, asked the ruler of j^, .
requite the benefit of existence, he could
mother from the "bloody pond".
The
ruler replied:
"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
in
the midst
of
parents,
the
"bloody
pond"
variegated
lotus
flowers
will
appear, a skiff despatched from the flotilla of anguish will meet her,
and bear her be
reborn
(1)
That
to the
in
is
a
^
jp[
(2).
Kwun-yin
|||
^
banks of the Nai-ho
blissful
land".
where she can (3),
"Buddha, the Law (Dha'rma) and the Church (Sanga)". Eitel. Handbook of Chinese Buddhism.
by order of Also called the
three "Precious Ones".
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
The Goddess
of
be drowned. Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language.
Mercy.
^
JSJ,
— 83 — Buddha, enjoined on Muh-lien
g
out this formula and distribute
it
ing
mav
they
it,
reborn
be
death,
escape
favours of fortune and
women, the
into
falling
land
a
in
lo exhort the faithful to
j^L
to
"bloody-pond"
ively, offered sacrifice to
all
the
through the protection of the eight Muh-lien g thanked effus-
glory,
^
of the heavenly dragon.
guardians
their
at
and happiness, possess
of joy
write
in order that by recit-
Kwan-yin
^, and withdrew"
j||
(1).
Follows the Sanscrit text of the above prayer, transliterated by
means
of
Chinese character writing.
This prayer
mony which
burnt by the Buddhist priests, during the cere-
is
purpose of rescuing from
the
for
perform,
they
all women who have given who have died in childbirth.
"'bloody pond"
merely those
mother did not to
this paper, she
was detained
This ceremonv
which
principle,
human
of the
here
(term),
down
as a sin
to
a Chinese
pail
is
called
which enters
p'en-ch'i
jfn
^
']&•
vessel
^,
"p'en"
"pond
other than the famous
of
and worshipped
Ngan-hwei
trine,
deserving
^
which
employed and it is
^.
g
He was one
inspires
if
of
(1)
(2)
is,
as
may
An
allusion
same character
It is
Hsueh-
well
mentioned here,
^
j;-j{j
\
the
lj|
deified
3E? jjj
This
parturition.
this
,
in
known none
is
by Budd-
the province
most cunning men, and
not the inventor of this horrifying doc-
such fear into pagan women, and
Buddhist priests
hell,
the propagation
of the expression
j£|,
Kiu-hwa-shan
at
at
of the bloody pail".
fills
the
(2).
This legend of the bonze Muh-lien
from
and unnatural
false hell
"bloody pail".
Ti-ts'ang-wang
the original propagator,
coffers of
j|t
"bloody pond".
into the composition
or
that the Buddhist priest Muh-lien
hists,
g
race through legitimate means.
made
vessel or
Thus, Muh-lien's
based on an absolutely
is
sets
in the
and not
birth to children,
and nevertheless, according
birth,
hell is called the pool of the
This is
him
die in giving
the
be
See Notice on Ti-ts'ang Wang See Life of Ti-ts'ang-wang ife
g
understood,
Jft
0.
M
3E-
J,
a
jifi,
rescuing his mother
repetition
of
the ruler of Hades, Book III.
Book
II.
the
story
Wfc* $&3^tta£&r -o
u
3 .3
O Ol
3 e
S
N^*
g o 2
rr"!
^^^^^^^^^^$41
i
3
£
\J*®
¥?
— 87 — Maudgalyayana (1), the cherished pupil who delivered his mother from hell. attributed to
The Taoist
priestesses,
ing Hal Chow i%
Tao Nai-nui
jjf|
j'[\,
^
1
"bloody pond' Hsueh-hu-ch'i Pagoda Hill, T'ah-shan j$ fjj in the ,
be
may
Wi if"
tfc
these witches,
who have
is
died
seen
in
A
difficult
ested in
of
district
of
the
in
witches,
large numbers.
undertaking
witches of the neighbourhood,
[1|
offer
Having" reached the pond, they
pieces of wood, after
mud
them
which the
with sticks, search
in the
return home, and
Tao-nai-nai
^
^fj
make
to ffl,
a
howling.
and
meal
hearty
pond, and pretend
thank them
them
in order
therefore,
invite,
a
release
interall
and
the
then
T'ah-shan
relatives of the deceased stir
handsome
The people assembling, Tso-hwui ^.
excellent
to
women
J*f
up howling and beating on
set
from the soul of the unfortunate woman. all
according
Families
conduct them to the brink of the Pagoda Hill pond, .
of
and even others who have simply
task indeed, according to the
success
belief
foot
Shuh-yang-hsien
this,
The problem, therefore, is to which their souls are immersed.
they must assemble
the
At the
fljj.
muddy swamp, and
childbirth,
filthy pool in
to succeed,
a
jfn.
the "bloody-pond", into which are plunged
brought forth children. from the
witches inhabit-
ty*j.
have availed themselves of the popular
the
in
^
Buddha, and
of
When
to
the comedy
offering to the
for their
up the
release there-
old
is
over.
witches,
good work and their
of the locality call
the ceremony an
fjjft
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
who has commuted
person
suicide
(printed on yellow paper).
According on
the
those
to the
Infernal
Buddhist doctrine, as exposed
regions,
Yuh-lih-ch'ao-chw'an
who have committed
confined suicide
their
after
victims",
have invented
death
suicide in
a
without
special
Wang-sze-ch'eng ^
fj
3*E
the treatise
M. $t
a^
1W-'
are
sufficient
reason,
called
the '"city
place
:
3i
in
J$.
Buddhist
of
priests
charm, which, according to them, has the power of from this dismal abode the soul of the person who has releasing a
committed suicide, and conferring upon him the favour
of a
new
rebirth.
The
fatal
cord that has caused his death
is
solemnly execrated.
MHK4>¥$$ff4jNit D C
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c
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s © CO
£ '03
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^A|
*
«<
4i?^^'.&
4
W«ilWpO«^-\< tJ^^^r
V
£
g
c
§
$^4- $ 3£$£ S&Nfcfc 3-
I* •J
I •
S3 C0|3
«L2 en
r,
% 3
£ •r;3
S a*-
.2?
§5 i.
•m
i^
2-
ccj:
^J^fca^H*
bt^b^oV
<
W sg^fc^X^ J$N& *<#
3 C •J
—
For
2°.
89
—
the benefit of a person assassinated (printed on yellow
paper). in
the treatise on the
ch'ao-chw'an 3£ jg
that the soul
It
is
stated
to death, or
and
who
pursues
victim
is
the
£j} fi^,
died as a result of
assassin
in
Infernal regions, of a
wounds
order to
he
avenged on him.
The
not satisfied until he has delivered him over to the infernal
only then that he can he reborn in the
The annexed charm
is
unjustly put
received, enjoys freedom,
judges, and feasted his eyes on the spectacle
of this
person
Yuh-lih-
happy
rebirth.
womb
of his of a
or talisman is designed
The dagger
or
torture.
It
is
mother.
to
hasten the day
sword which slew the victim
solemnly execrated, and the Avish expressed
that they
be broken
to pieces.
12
—
3".
For
a
90
person harassed by
—
evil
spirits
(printed on yellow
paper].
This charm has the
power
of
hastening'
unfortunate souls that are harassed by that maleficent
the
evil spirits.
rebirth
of those
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
vend at an exorbitant price certain break the spell which threatens life. "to make hay while the sun shines". Tao-shi
jff
^,
lose
prescriptions
fail.
They then
nostrums designed to Experience has taught them
magical
Buddhist and Taoist
no time in imitating them, and
if
priests,
death ensues,
they burn this petition in order to rescue the victim's soul.
K*S^4£-^*JSH<£
-«0j
o O
*H
en
aCO
C a> -4->
o s c ^3 *3
g
S o CO
JX « t,
a
T3 <0
g -O
Ih
3 O
a a 3
m hW^^^^i^^ P^^o^^Sp
"5.
o-
3 03
c
W
in
-J
li «5f 'j
">
* *
-2
a :
'•
.5"
a c/3
«&*W
^ HkSt&fa^
WS^fM-tf O^*^
j
-:
—
—
91
For the victim of an unjust lawsuit.
'i°.
The Chinaman
is
a
Persons are occasionally
born wrangler.
met with whose death has resulted from the vexations
endless
caused
court
by
underlings,
strain,
who
worry and protract
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
of
quantity
opium,
house of their opponent, seek thereby to door,
all
of the
other
means having
failed
.
This
and proceeding
ruin is
the
at his
the supreme vengeance
weak against the powerful.
The annexed talisman
or
paper charm
is
designed
to deliver
the soul from punishment in the infernal regions, and help
reborn
to
him by dying
in a
happier state of existence.
it
to
be
—
5°.
For the victim of
—
92
a
felonious
a
person
murder (written on yellow
paper).
When
it
happens that
has
been
treatment
received,
Taoist
from the punishment
for the
^
J^, are
and helping
fallen
wounds and
it
to
ill-
summoned,
purpose of delivering
inflicted in hell,
wheel of the metempsychosis
(1)
Tao-shi
priests,
and burn the annexed charm
has
waylaid,
into the trap laid for him, or dies as the result of
his
soul
re-enter the
(1).
This symbolises the ever recurring series of evanescent phenomena, all evolving The six spokes of the wheel represent the six different
from eternal cosmic matter. regions in which one
may
find a
new
man-world, the animal world, the region
existence: the heavens, the Titanic world, the and hell. Hackmann. Buddhism as a
of ghosts
Keligion. p. 165.
VWWWN/^
<\/\ . \s
,/VW\A.
M
isrW^<i ^w 3
0)
i>
-c
c
3 Cfl
JCD
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o-
o
t-
c E
a.
CO
c 3 S-
3 O Q.
g
3
m
_o"a.
^
a.
^
4^^^^
3
in f
s
*x
^^&4&>?( ^O^a*^
.^WfcSI^^M;^
h a tn
OS
u 3 o ft
ft ft
•m
s^
^
^$fc^*
«\flij^!r ^T»
WJ^^^^iJ^^v^
—
6".
For
the
benefit
93
drowned persons (written
of
on
yellow
paper).
We
shall
give
further
Here, is
we
chapter VIII, article 14, details
on,
the ceremony which the Taoist rescue from the waters the soul
Tao-shi
priests,
of a person
shall deal onlv with the written
delivered from
This paper
is
hell,
and
helped
to
be
af|
who
^,
perform
has been
of
to
drowned.
charm, whereby his soul reborn
in
another body.
burnt during the ceremony performed after his death,
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
or lies
make
all
victim's
endeavours
name and
to
rescue
the
date
his
on
soul
which
out the
of the
depths.
The
has
been
ceremony
performed, are carefully written on the petition-talisman.
— 94 —
7°.
For
a
person
who has
died in
prison
(written on yellow
paper).
Oftentimes, prisoners are secretly buried,
afterwards. priests
burn
who
and one
is
die in the loathsome gaols
apprized
of their
For the benefit of those unfortunate victims, the
annexed charm
to relieve their souls in the
during
underworld.
the
of
China
death only long
Buddhist
ceremony performed
#^*M;i£ o CO
BkR/U
~
a O
"~
c
2
v.
cr
jo
3
ce
0)
-O
cy
O"
a.
+*
5»
&**»**? ^^^ '5
E: CO
u
ifl
4)
s
cr
1" 3
wH
*-
«?
4jj?^*^
^^0^^-*< vJ^OV^
95
8°.
For the victims of calumny (written on yellow paper).
This
is a
and thanks world.
to
charm designed which, justice
for
will
delivering-
be
Here below, the reputation
and grief has shortened their days will
-
now
rehabilitate their
ings they have endured.
calumniated persons,
rendered them
in
the
nether
of these people has been blasted, ;
the
impartial
judges of Hades
memory, and reward them The punishment
for the suffer-
of his calumniators
and
a felicitous career in a future existence, such are the wishes expressed for the benefit of the victim.
to procure
him
The annexed paper charm
this twofold favour.
is
designed
— .
—
96
For a person poisoned by doctors' prescriptions (written
9°.
on yellow paper). This
With
frequently employed in China. tell
a story
the god of
You will recognize good doctor. the following manner. Examine closely the houses
him, said he,
in
to fetch
him
a
and count the number
of the medical profession,
them
their doors, to avenge themselves on
The man
smallest number, The imp departed
is
to fulfil his
crowded round the doors
when
him
to
to
having poisoned them
at
errand
thousands of avenging souls
;
whole profession.
of the
at last he espied a
there
for
seek vengeance.
Elated
with joy,
Hades, and rendered an account
the god of
said
when
:
practise
your profession '?-- Only a short time
patients
did
(iet is
It
priests,
treat?
you
to
one.
— And
he fetched
of his mission.
did you
begin to
— How ago.
many
he died, didn't he?
—
away, you are no better than the others! a
on the part of Buddhist and Taoist have invented such a beneficent charm in
stroke of genius
Tao-shi
favour of so
^
many
i,
at least is
to
unfortunate beings,
insensate treatment
paper
— Only
He began
door at which stood only one soul
The god questioned the medico, and
Yes —
of souls that beset
whose door you shall find the the one you must invite to come and cure me.
in a previous existence.
despair,
reference thereto, the Chinese
which well depicts the situation. Once upon a time, Hades fell ill, and despatched one of his attendants to the
world of the living
who came
and one which can be
wonderful charm,
a
indeed,
is,
of
countless
designed
to relieve
who
daily
fall
self-commissioned their
have been stricken down bv death.
VNA/VAAAAVXA/XAAAA/"
souls,
victims
quacks.
to
the
This
while their bodies
l/bvt
S o
.2
£ W
CO 50
J
b
In
a.
c O .2 CL
C
s.
o ° ^3 a* ^o'
^
~
S-
^
1
I
£ o
c
a-
J=.
$-<
5o
P
-c
CD
-O
O 3
S &<
C/)
—
*--
6 b
U
CHAPTER
V.
DIVERS SUPERSTITIONS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE DEAD.
ARTICLE
I.
THE ANCESTRAL TABLET.
# ±
Muh-chu In
ancient
only
when
the
room, where these
two
sacrifice
the tablet nor the
sacrifices
was over
burial
and the tablet erected.
of
and
funerals
at
employed
neither
times,
(1).
offered
that
a
to
personator was
the
dead.
personator
was
was
It
chosen,
The ceremony took place in the mortuary was offered. We shall explain the essentials
ceremonies
and
the
purpose
for
which
thev
are
performed.
(1)
Literally the
"wooden
host".
makes? the disembodied spirit presoit, 1
berefore efficacious, Ling
Dictionary
j||. '"'
The addition
of the dot (as described above,
as
$• elm. indwelt, lived therein),
though
it
p
53 ;niil
able to take care of the survivors. Giles. Chinese-English
rfc.
13
—
The Personator, Shi p.
I.
What
1°.
is
a
—
98
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
same
sex as the defunct, that
own
one of their
The
taken,
relative
at
dead
a
of
personator
a
family, outside the
cannot
be represented
personated
by
;
man
is
in
least
fifth
from
chosen
among
his
he has none, one of his grand-nephews
if
the
fifth
should there he none of this degree, one
fulfil
be
to
sex.
legitimate grandsons (1) is
men must
is,
male person, while deceased women are
by a
A
degree.
son,
of consanguinity;
degree is
chosen
whose
in
father
the husband's is still
living,
the office of personator.
The woman, personating
must
a dead person of the female sex,
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.
A
with
table
personator
is
meats on
then brought
it
is
and
in
southwards, the tablet being at
for
prepared
down with
sits
his
All,
the
kneel
elders,
meats and invite him
to
twice
right.
face
bow
to the
turned
personator.
towards the ground,
He
drink.
his
The worshippers, who
are of equal descent with the deceased person,
even
The
the sacrifice.
feigns to
him
offer
and drink
eat
for
The Emperor, high officials of State and mandarins, have alone personators youths and the common people are entitled
form sake.
;
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
(1)
See the Li-ki
flf§
|E, or
second,
Book
those from
of Rites.
ing are the exact words of Confucius: ft
=f-
twelve to
Ch. V. Tseng tze wen
Eh ft
Jffi
^#&%^
# ^f ,
P
fifteen;
ffl.
j$ V\
The
$•
the
follow-
% #J
K'l
— third, those
from eight
to
eleven
yet attained seven years, and
—
99
years.
those
who
Children,
below,
are
have
not
unnoticed
quite
in
the line of descendants.
The above
was
custom
the
in
ancient
times
choosing a
in
personator.
Whence
2°.
The origin
originated the idea of having
of this
custom
The
first
opinion
We
expose
fft
of the
(1),
T'ang
The following
custom.
of the
will
literati.
that of Tu-yiu $.
is
It
'
personatoi
a disputed point.
is
here the principal opinions held by the a).
a
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.
One
with
vied
the
progress has set
important not
Some
them. tliis
p
^ a&
-St
other
in
them
to revive
;
silly
sense
of our days
This
of the personator.
bids
would
of is
from
refrain
re-establish
fain
quite absurd."
is
A
"^f
ffl
*r
The second opinion holds
The chapter on
that the personator
the ceremonial
"the personator
shen-siang yeh
p,
flf)
A scholar of profound
the
is
j%
as
it
were
concerning the Border sacrifices
image
the
of
/pf
departed
fg
£ft ffi ij£.
soul",
Slf.ij
4.
erudition,
fg £p, ami Hsien Tsung J? g?, A
is
»
M
taken from the Book of Kites, Li-ki hiao-V eh-sheng
(1)
to
it
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 & w-
the image of the soul, Shen-siang
:
era
a>j
b).
says
an
that
customs have disappeared,
common
literati
Now
it.
practising
and these
half-baked
ceremony
#,
in,
J).
who
held high
806 821, of the
offices of
T ang
Stab' under
Teh T-unj
:
j* dynasty.
Mayers.
Chinese
Reader's'Manual. (2)
See General Repertory, T'ung-tien
sec above) comprises
two hundred books.
jj§ Jfe
It is
The
original,
written bj
Tu
yiu
fft
$j
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. is
on
in
Literature, p.
(>>!.
— Ku
P;ni
who
''The personator
writes:
to
offered
is
fH (1),
J'jf.
sounds and having no
been chosen
to
whom
is
of
the
soul
the
form,
if
his
perceptible
sentiment of
loving
which
breaks the
he
had eaten
father
which
$ ±
satiated".
is
# W P
Jjlf
i,Ii:I^#^.SIII'S £,
! *
£3
^^#* 2
tt>
P
ftl'
#,
fh
%
».
s*
£
**
The
plenty.
the illusion that personator, drinking abundantly, imparts
soul
filial
hence a personator has
offered, after
own
no
emitting
itself,
displaying
meats are
bowls, quite rejoiced, as
g| dynasty,
found in the ceremony wherein sacrifice
visible
means
no
finds
piety
Han
lived in the time of the
because
ancestors,
—
100
is
it
the
% # M Z. & *&P M1 2
/
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
must
It
personator drinking imparts the illusion that
#
\%
meaning
is
p,
satiated"'.
The considered
in
merely as
its
P W* # £
4
representative,
as
or
kind
a
In
ancestral tablet.
dead, ft
is
*£
is
the departed
person,
Appointed
tablet".
Imperial historiographer by Miug-ti
White Tiger" Pehhu t'ung
in the rebellion of
Teu-hsien
Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual
(2)
AnnaN
(3)
See Wieger.
lexis sh..\v
in
.
employed during
ancestral
but
#g
"P\
P
;fc
to
sacrifices
£
of
>
#T
the
|£ the
W
4-
Being involved I). 92.
living
soul,
not
medium, who
^
carry the
to
entitled ••Annals of the
A.
of the
The personator is but the bearer the work entitled Yi'i chow ta-i-i 'jjf
said: "the personator
in order
(1)
therefore,
Third opinion.
c).
it
is,
seat
of
3
is
#•
ceremony as the agent or
this
which
the soul
is
The personator
obvious.
was sometimes dressed up in the clothes of order to make the illusion more apparent
|f|,
it
of the
g
Jr,
|=|
1$
if?.
He wrote
£§ 11. which he
left,
the
treatise
unfinished.
he was casi into prison and died there
p. ICG.
White Tiger, Peh-hu t'ung
£
fit
H.
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.
— is
Jt
—
out.
is
to
appointed
The
it.
carry
carry the ancestral
to
hence
tablet,
%
there
up
in a
The work
Tsih shwuli Is'iien
entitled,
p m n & *
In
±.
hj
three
the
in
fine,
condemn
the custom
of
#
vx
to be
of
place
manifest".
therefore
mwriters
the
opinions,
the
chooses
the resting
is
sums
ifL,
son
filial
m **, * m h
preceding
employing
or
personator,
either
restrict
see
only
his
him
in
of the dead person's soul.
in the
ingly that the personator
must
having erected.
The fourth opinion confutes the whole trend of thought works of the ancient literati, and maintains unhesitat-
d).
found
of
vet
|^ g£
|j|
function to that of carrying the tablet, or at most
an image
not
is
"the
His intention
the soul of the dead person.
il
personator
need
no
rln'ii
few words the sense of this text:
a personator to carry the tablet, but not
5fe
the
of
tablel
then
this duty,
fulfil
is
tablel
* £ *±ftt
P,
$k
to
function
such a one immediately after death, as the ft
and take the
this function,
fulfil
Should they be too young and unable
a person is
who
the grandsons
101
not only a pure image of the
is
be considered as the
and agent of the soul
seat
but
soul,
dead
the
of
person.
The two most famous champions I-chw'an fM
ffi
)W
Ming-Lao fg
^
^f,
The dead,
former
employed
1
i
^-
the
alter
5£
W)
A. w;ls
Born
1190-1200.
theu in
official
in
employ.
Fo
@
Ch'eng-i
when
ancients,
because
Ch'eng
and
the
to
sacrificing
soul
the
Wholly absorbed
iu
his great successor,
kien, fg Wi
He
or
gf{
(2).
the
vital
philosophical researches,
His criticisms on the classics
tint late to official position.
I).
-^
new school are Ch'eng
being separated from the body, seek
Chinese philosophy and were adopted by Chinese Reader's Manual, p 34. (2)
^
personator,
This writer lived A. D. 1033-1107.
he acceded
as
"the
writes:
of this
also
and chu-hsi
force of the dead person
(1)
known
where
o]
cl
Chu-hsi ^c
a
new
>;£.
his father (a native of
i
ru.
in
Mayer's.
Ngan-hwei
devoted his early years to the study of Buddhism Confucianism and the ancient classics, of which 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, \
'
the doctrines of his school.
Mayers. Chinese Readi
i
.Manual,
p.
2-j,
— 102 — an agent of the
and to
same
come and
modern
ancient times dead.
Ifn
ptf(
1$c
Now, men being
•
all
a
of one farmh-
when
personator the
the
life
is
requested
an agent."
"In
no less clearness.
with
Since the descendants continue
the personator shares, therefore, in
in
all
eminent scholar and
the
Uf|;,
writes
school,
employed
all
them as
seat in one of
its
(Yu&n-hwui 7c
J3r
$f.
the
of
-^
5J<
stock, the soul of the departed person
establish
Chu-hsi
$
father and the children being
same kind, the
of the
head
same nature,
of the
life
sacrificing of
their
the
to
ancestors,
the departed person,
of
and the ancestor's soul descends undoubtedly upon his descendants, $1 3*E llf, and reposes therein to enjoy the sacrifice offered."
1 -
As
#
m%±
%•
p
& nm
the exact time
to
when
at
this
?
«,
it
m
|fj]
*
nk
(0-
custom commenced and ended,
the testimony of the two works: the "General Repertory"
we have but
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|
to
dynasties
at the
Han
jjj|
%.
Besides,
is
It
practised.
time of Confucius
be seen by the quotations
of Rites, Li-hi
^ and
dynasty, and that under the Ts'in
was no longer
it
remark that
may
f§\
it
noteworthy, however,
nourished
vigorously,
which we base given from the
Pan-hu
Jjf
[i|
Han
,
who
lived
as
Book
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.
1°.
What
is
the tablet of the
After the burial and
muh-chu
;fc
The Tablet.
3i (literally
dead?
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)
A
t
Lire.
\>.
collection
85.
of
notes on a variety of subjects, being the result of thirty years
jottings during the daily readings of the author,
Kit
Yeri-wu
books, and was published about the year 1673. Wylie. ibid.
H^ff^.
p. 163.
It
comprises 32
— In making-
wood
the
it,
hence also the name given
At the end of the %£ was
of
to
first
103 the of
it
wore on
of the deceased
the
being over, the mulberry-wood tablet was
made
one
chestnut
of
An
$j
^
Jg,
The
occasion.
called
Lien-t&i
sacrifice
and replaced
by
chestnut-wood
the
a place of honour.
in
Imperial tablet was one foot two inches long, while that of
dukes could be but
;
was elected
it
as
sang-chu
lien-hvran
buried,
and hence
wood,
^.
tablet, lih-chli |j|
ed
known
sacrifice
offered, so called from the white silk cap.
which the son
tablet,
mulberry-wood
a
year,
was employed,
mulberry-tree
one foot
of
in
length.
On
the mulberry-wood tablet, no carving or painting was allow-
on
the
back of the chestnut-wood tablet the posthumous or
temple name of the deceased was written.
According tablet
some
to
writers, officials
was made
that of officials
:
^
framework, shuh-poh j^
tressed straw, hieh-mao $§
:
and
had no wooden
literati
scholars
dynasty
7V
wooden
made
tablet
of
tablet,
is
in
ancient
admitted
limes
by
the
officials
following
:
HsiX-shen f^
M
a
a
^.
The assertion which maintains that and
mounted on
had but
the literati
had no wooden
literati
of silk cloth
it
i.i-I
Nan-liang
jy|
(1)
and Cheng-yuan
(A.
J).
25-221).
ing
\ji
fj|,
~\$
$fc
who
lived
tu,
i||$
both
of
the
Han
under the Southern Liang dynasty.
(2).
Kia Kung-yen
J!(
^
/H, of the T'ang
dynasty
(A.
under the Sung
'^
)|f
J).
620-
907).
Sze
Ma-wen
ji\
J^
jjj^,
who
lived
dynasty
(A. D. 960-1280).
(1)
ary
Celebrated as a scholar under Hsien-ti
Shw.oh-wen (2)
This
§5£
^t, the
first
lexicon
if
jfafc
^,
A.
L>.
short-lived dynasty reigned A. D. 502-550.
divided between rival houses.
190-221.
Author
of the diction-
the Chinese language.
North and South were then
—
104
—
The contrary proposition, endeavouring times officials and literati had a wooden folloAving scholars
prove that in ancient
to
Sii-miao f£ fg
of the Tsin
(1),
|f dynasty
prince of Ts ing-ho
']'fl,
Wei dynasty, Peh-wei
time of the Northern
This of the
opinion seems more
latter
Book
from
of Rites, Li hi
have
right to
wooden
memory; they were in the
^
and Sung
j|f
a
,
Wei
the period of the
those of T'ang
fE
fig
This could be of one
spirit's tablet.
inches and a half wide, and
engraved thereon
live
indicate
to
(-)•
§
Tsi-fnh £5 j£
(3).
and Tsin H- dynasties, down to had no officials and literati
the
to
also
hall,
the
at
the
^
muk-cliu
tablet,
H
lived
accordance with the teaching
chapter XX.
|)|3
,
only entitled
family ancestral
in
-|t
265-290).
who
"juT.
v^j
[>.
(A.
c
Yunn-yih 7C
bv the
held
is
tablet,
:
tz'e-p'ai
known
as
and an inch
foot
it
jjj^
their
to
or
jjj^,
Ifiji]
shen-p'ai
tablet
the
)$i,
length, four
in
Eight characters were
lines thick.
that
erected
2fe,
was the
seat
the
of
of
soul
such an ancestor, with his posthumous or temple name, or of such an illustrious dame.
For
a
For
a
% i£ £j ± Jg & A M 5% Z. $? M the Sung ^ dynasty (A.
man $l woman :
jj&
ftfl
:
At the time
of
founders of the modern school
Yu&n-hwui chu
t|v
^
7l
flff,
:
the
fixed
I).
Cheng
/-c/nv'ar/ fj:
shape
of
960-1280), J||,
fffi
wooden
the
and fhv
tablet,
Henceforth,
a little over
an
officials
inch
An
half an inch.
and
literati
had their wooden tablet.
thick.
in
The two upper corners project about a line is drawn to separate
inch further down,
]^j
humorist
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.
Han
$§'
The Northern Wei
|J|,
or
Toha Tartars, held sway
from A. D. 3S6-536. (3)
inch
Third century A.]'.
close of the (2
It
width, and
the upper part from the lower, leaving empty one third of an
(1)
muh-
i-
could be one loot two inches in height, three inches
scholar,
the
See Tn-li t'ung-k'ao fg g§
S#
in
Shansi
|ll
[5]
and Honan
;3]"
10 .)
on the
and about an inch on the back
top,
or written
inscribed
such a generation, of such a dignity,
The back
custom
present-day
the tablet,
of
part
In
part.
the centre
is
tablet of the soul of such a one, belonging to
:
parallel
the
to
central
and death, the name
exact date of the birth
front
and
inscription,
the
on the
both
write
to
is
and rank.
title
of the
district
city,
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
the front tablet
and of such a
district
1;
or in case of a
woman, bearing such
of such a
is
written the following inscrip-
soul of such a person, official of such a name,
of the
"tablet
:
On
woman
a title".
"tablet of the
:
— The two
at the present
(1).
commoners and peasants,
also,
all
the reasons which originally determined the setting
For what purpose was
2°.
to the
of the
memory
of the tablet.
f
deceased,
affording thereby a fixed object for
piety.
At the time
of the
"the tablet
wrote:
lit
the tablet erected
up
the image of the soul and a tangible symbol erected
It is
a).
filial
rules
without exception, Let us examine erect a tablet in honour of their ancestors.
Nowadays
may
day
tablets are then
Such are the
placed together and inserted into the piedestal.
which hold
soul
Han is
may
zfc
#
fix
f£
having rendered
of the soul;
image
the last sad duties to his sire, the
he
the scholar Hsu-shen
dynasty,
|J|
the
son has no object whereon
filial
his affection, hence he offers sacrifice and erects a tablet.
ft ft
Pan-ku
4,
#
3#£
[g,
&M
•? 8E IP,
ft ft,
another scholar,
who
ffc
J3l
lived
JM
M±±
(2).
same
under the
has no dynasty, wrote similarly: "the soul, properly speaking, the filial son fixes his affection on the tablet, and dwelling place ;
employs
M
t,
1
1)
it
to
draw the attention
# ¥ % £M
±, fC
% S. M !&
See the Wu-li t'ung-k'ao
fi|
of succeeding generations",
*%
£§
#, and
pT *P
(3).
Tu-li t'ung-k'ao
(2)
See the Wu-king
(3)
See Annals of the White Tiger, Peh-hu t'ung
i-i
ft ;$
'$.
W.
M#
tlfi
J^ Ji-
14 c
—
106
—
Ch'eng Peh-yu J$ fg B^f, who lived "as the heart of the dynasty, sa} s
filial
j|f-
:
worthy of his
affection after the burial
of his
son found no object
&m
%,
&
^
it ft
Kao
quoting" the words of the scholar
the soul,
Fang
What
%
if
m
m
m
&<
According
departed
soul,
a
affording
descendants, but
it
#a
for
;fr,
5
fixed
to
4te
iji$
any
seat of ~}j
^L>
(2).
the
to
object
"In
to
to call the
the living".
it 2.
was never intended
it
cannot be attached
purpose in
original
therefore, to have a tangible
erecting the tablet was,
;£
follows:
as
writes
,
ancient writers,
these
to
#.
ft hl
~jf
people have agreed
in reality a seat erected
is
^
j^
f|?
$£, of the Y"ua?i 7c dynasty,
|fif«
truth, the soul has no fixed abode, so
material resting-place.
]||
(i)'.
scholar, Ch'en
The famous
he bethought
father,
himself of erecting a (commemorative) tablet.
s
time of the T'ang
the
in
r
the
make
symbol
filial
of the of
piety
the
thereof the abode or
seat of the soul of the dead person.
The soul
b).
We
of the deceased abides really in the tablet.
now come
more modern phase
to a
which has
of thought,
been gradually evolved.
Under the T'ang as follows
:
Jff-
"the tablet
*±mn&
ft
^
already quoted,
dynasty,
soul has no seat wherein
According
was
to
Chu-hsi
(1)
See the Wu-li t'ung-k'ao
(2)
See the Li-ki tsih-shwoh
(3)
A. D. 574-648.
(1)
to
^
:
without erecting them a
dwell.
to establish a seat,
(3)
wrote
^|
Inj
#&
yfc
±,
|lj
J||,
a
"Should
a
ffi
tablet, their
ft
Tfi
#;.
J|F, the ancient rite concerning the wherein one desired the ancestral soul
£ fg J§ ;%. jjif
f£ %k ISof Confucius
A descendant
scholar and public functionary.
Ch'eng I-chw'an f|
holds the following language
sacrifice be offered to ancestors
tablet
Q II jH
the seat wherein dwells the departed soul.
(4).
Under the Sung writer
dynasty, K'ung gin-tali
is
in the 32 lul degree,
Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual.
See Discussions on the Book of Rites, Li-ki shu $$
fE, Ufa.
and
a distinguished
Fig. 53
& it
4#4
ii» ^2
Figure de
la
tablette des ancetres.
A'ncesfraZ tablet (front
and back
parts).
to reside.
-£ 2L
#
Some modern
±,
—
107
-
Jg,
f£ 1L
— #C
$^4
4$
From
these
erroneous comments
therefore, fancied that one will
bowing and praying before fortune will befall people,
Popular credulity
results
it.
enjoy happiness by repeatedly
Likewise,
is in
nowise puzzled by any amount of anom-
The
tablet
how then can
when
therein,
the
name
how
Moreover,
be
it
is
not erected until the burial has
on the
and hastens
of the deceased person is affixed thereon?
why
explain
tablet,
to take
a
up
why the soul, which now comes and abides
explained,
the soul, which
on a piece of cloth borne before the
inscribed
considered that mis-
it is
this duty is either neglected or discarded.
dispensed with a seat before the burial,
thought
seeing
coffin,
suddenly abandons
new
is
its first
its
to
be
name
resting-place,
seat on the tablet?
In fine, the tablet cannot be erected but once, hence in case
it
broken or lost in any way, where will the poor soul henceforth
reside
?
Description of the ancestral
3°.
This tablet of
the
if
alies or contradictions.
taken place,
is
(I).
belief that the soul of the defunct resides really in the tablet.
popular
fixed
$j-
writers have given various absurd explanations of
the ancient classics.
It is,
£
3§
fft
is
of
composed
tablet.
two upright
pieces,
each,
however,
unequal length.
The
first,
which
is
the longer and thicker,
on a carved block or piedestal. portion
is
shape
(see
It
in
varies
annexed
generally inserted
placed to the rear.
The top
and almost always painted red and
sometimes carved,
varnished.
It is
is
assuming at times a semi-circular and at others resembling a truncated
form,
figure),
pyramid.
The second
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. It
bears the
(1)
See
Chu
hsi's Miscellanies.
Chu-tze
yii-lei
^ ^ ff
—
108
be effaced in the course of time, the birth, death
and date
— same formula, with
of burial, is also inscribed
details
of
on the longer piece
placed at the back.
This second inscription
is invisible,
being-
hidden from view by
the front piece.
The two
pieces of the tablet are placed together,
are thus placed, one tinct pieces.
impinging on
When
both
would hardly suspect that there are two
dis-
each other, their surfaces having been planed smooth.
n
—
—
109
ARTICLE
II.
"KOTOWING" TO THE DEAD.
^
K'eu-pai wang-jen Pp
The kind
obeisance
of
"kotowing", K'o-t'eu £*
A
full
description of
chapter T'an-kung |J
The
is
it
mentioned
Jjjf,
or
found
\.
here
common] v
is
called
knocking the head on the ground.
Book
in the
Rites, Li-hi
of
jjjf
fg,
^. words
following- are the very
"guests
ally", says he,
rjj
who come
of Confucius himself: "gener-
condole
to
are
first
bv
saluted
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 for
grief,
mourning
* ii
mmm%n
4,
and
I
prefer the latter way, in cases
three years".
lasts
JfL
#m
&,
T
,
4, -a
when
# 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
them forward on
consists in kneeling, opening the hands and placing
the ground, knocking the head on the ground, and maintaining that
posture even for some time, K'i-liu |§
The custom
of
bowing
to
(remaining bowed down).
•[§
the dead,
kneeling towards them,
and knocking the head on the ground, goes back to the remotest it as he deems fitting. (Man being(1), and each one practises
times
dead, his soul
is
separated from the body, which
henceforth
is
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.
(1)
a, n
The manner,
in
See Ritual of Mourning, Sang-li
# b as.
which the Chinese people consider
& jg,
ffc
Jf
fit
UP,
Kff
ft
ffi
M ^ W, ff
fl£
t
—
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
Over
(1).
it
are affixed inscriptions
tion of the soul, Ling-yiu fH ^f
the throne of the soul,
,
Ling-tso
W a
name
if
Hf
were an
it
begging- the
the table placed beside
the seat or resting-place of the soul,
bears in Chinese the
as
of the soul,
it
while the tablet
j^S,
Ling-wei
of Ling-p'ai
f£
or
is is
called
stvled
This tablet
fi-
f||
)$.,
Lingprotec-
also
Pang-t'ieh
anc* consists of a strip of white cloth, one foot in length and
fMl'
upon which
over three inches wide,
little
such or such a person.
and
coffin,
It
is
placed on
is
written:
"tablet
of
a small table beside the
afterwards burnt at the burial service together with
is
some mock-money. During
lifetime,
is
kneeling
How
not
practised
indiscriminately
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,
towards everybody.
then does
it
Should you
fearing even to be too sparing of their prostrations?
ask them
why
they so act, they will
you they hope the deceased
tell
tune.
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
before
him.
will procure
in fine,
Let
us
now suppose
that
two
or
three
intelligent
persons, though kneeling before the corpse of the deceased, have intention of begging
him
to
grant happiness
but wish merely to observe an outward it is
nevertheless
three
men
silly
of
of
obvious, that the
common
sense, will
be
or
avert
rite of civility
wise quite
no
misfortune,
towards him,
conduct of these two or inefficient
to
dispel
the
hopes entertained by thousands, nay by hundreds of thousands
men, hence the Catholic Church has been compelled
to
prohibit
such honours.
(1)
Ling
fg.
The disembodied
henceforth protecting descendants.
spirit,
manifesting
itself in
an efficacious manner, and
Fig. 55
1
S**«±
-'-^^gpsSgfe '
:
'
'^?
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
and death
birth
deceased
of. the
The tenth anniversary as the fiftieth is
;
(1).
of the death of the deceased is celebrated
on the sixtieth anniversary, a congratulatory address
read, and presents are
offered in the
same manner as among the
living.
The work f£, says:
entitled:
Fungshen-kid
litsih
shwoh
^§§
"Since presents and congratulations are not manifest after death one's
^f 5^
offered
fiH ;KI
during
lifetime,
why
sacrifice
on the anniversary day of the demise of the deceased?"
filial
piety,
by offering (2).
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
annual anniversary of thy birth, I was wont to congrathou wert still living, now that thou art no more,
tulate thee while
could the
I
possibly forget thee?
immense
Yao
My
filial
vault of the heavens,
shu
See
See Fung-shen-kia li-tsih-shwoh g|
(3)
After death the soul
#fc
W. ft
is
affection is
invite thee to
#
(1)
(2)
liu la
I
# % M ft M-
$1
undying; beneath drink and eat of
#£
raised to higher dignity and rank.
S.-e
^,
i£
above,
#K p. 56.
Hi
1
1
— 112 — which with
these meats,
whole heart
my
offer
I
and beg thee
thee,
1
to graciously accept'
The Ritual
of
(1).
Mourning, Sang-Ii
employs almost the
fiff,
|jfi
same phraseology. If we seek the reason, whence originated these offerings made to the dead in ancient times, we find it is not precisefurnish food to the
to
ly
filial
piety.
rather
Such an
are availed of and applied to the dead. fore, but a
but
souls,
departed
manifest
to
Failing other means, the customs holding during
mark
of
undying
offering
and means
affection,
life
there-
is,
nowise that
in
the dead will partake of the meats offered.
S
^C
fit
In the
i§
M
were seen
(2),
work
IB f^>
burial day,
person.
The
to
entitled
we
re& d
:
Chow
dynasty,
assume the appearance
Ming-tu-muh fing-yil
Chow
artificial fruits are
hi-t'an
placed
T'ai-t^u
0£j
place
before the tablet
^jj-fl
^
on the
of a
dead
painted in imitation of natural ones".
These ritual offerings of both natural and
was not
obviously, that the intention
fjtf
of natural ones".
"nowadays, rich and poor,
natural or artificial fruits
*£
|>|J
fruits
:
before the tablet of the ancestor of the Jp)
^
The work known as Sung-t'ao-kuh ts'ing-i-luh ^, contains the following the wooden (artificial)
to
artificial
offer
them
fruits,
as
indicate
food to
be
eaten by the dead.
Only the .
living,
who have
material
a
eating; after death, the soul is separated
soon corrupted and crumbles to dust. spirit
body,
are
capable of
from the body, which
is
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)
ft
See Sheng-ki chuh-wen
s a, m /? %
m,
£&
^ m m '&, #
jjjfc
©e
The Posterior Chow, Heu-chou (2) which succeeded the downfall of T'ang the greatest confusion and turmoil.
&. « $= fl, % f- £, jg Hg £ j* # & ^ w r- a ^ m. £, & m m m, -% ^ ® s, m
^ )§*.
Jj§, is
It
the last of the five ephemeral dynasties
ruled Central China, A. D. 051-960, amidst
—
113
—
descendants should furnish them
therewith, and oiler them meals which they become "hungry ghosts" 1).
at stated periods, failing
These nonsensical ideas are so ingrafted in the popular mind that it is difficult to extirpate them. Meats and wine are offered, because
it
is
fancied the dead eat and drink
understand better the attitude
to
to these sacrifices offered to
way
of objection,
depicts better the
the dead,
and see how
mind
beats about the bush,
when an
solving
it.
than the manner
of a person,
order
In
2).
reality
us put the question
let
avoided
is
it
in
Chinese mind, with reference
of the
Nothing which be
in
urged against his system.
is
objection
by
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 wouldn't they have died of hunger
of food,
As
to the
manner
of
making these
many
offerings,
tented with placing the meats on a table, and over, every bit of
the
ancestors
sacrifice
meat and every drop
have tasted nothing,
wine
of
so
a day
ago?
people are con-
when the still
sacrifice
is
remains there
then of what avail
is
;
the
?
Every intelligent person ought
manifest his
to
filial
in
piety
conformity with reason, and in a manner advantageous to his parents.
But
isn't
it
and partake
(1)
highly unreasonable to invite a spiritual
Buddhism has borrowed from China
souls of the cremated
place before
come
its
ancestor worship, though opposed to the tablets are erected to the
In large monasteries, ancestral
members
of the kind. all
to
of material food?
leading doctrine of Buddha.
monuments
soul
of
the community, in exactly the same manner as the usual
Once every
year, a festive
rite,
accompanied by an
Hackmann.
the ancestral tablets in the monastery.
offering, taki
Buddhism
as
-
a
Religion, p. 229. ('-')
#.
See Ming-tu-mub
t'ing-yii
ki-t'an
£ i m m % m ra &• % ± £ *
ft
& « m t.
BJ]
$|5
1*> pf§
ab
$£
g£.
^ ± $; %_ %. H # %
m vi & \:>
— What
would
a
who
person say of a son,
when they were
for his parents,
—
114
prepared a banquet
thousand miles away from
several
him, and knowing they could not return?
Such
acts are in nowise inspired
common
total lack of practical
Reply. a passage Iff
^7,
the
— The
above logical conclusion seems to
When
meats.
victims offered
to
customary he
man
a
little
carriages,
therefore,
enjoys
We
here to
needless
is
it
it.
to
such
Here
therefore
it is
in
is
good;
what
is
never
is
says:
been
(2).
It
never
Rites, Li-hi
"From
neglected,
Therefore this custom which
nowise blameworthy" it
it
he
since
;
have
offerings
order not to abandon the dead. people reprove,
him anything, the Book of
offer
|E, concludes quite otherwise.
(1).
obvious conclusion drawn:
the
see
are, however, deceived
remotest antiquity,
the flesh of the
but nobody has ever
seen the dead person partake of these offerings" expect
and
flesh
which follow the hearse.
After the burial service meats are offered him,
One would
T'an-kung
him dry
beside
in
implied
has given up
borne to the grave,
is
placed on
is
out
set
be
chapter
f£,
jjjf}
"When
find the following:
is
it
ghost,
but denote a
piety,
sense.
from the Book of Kites, Li-hi
where we
pickled
filial
by
jjjf|
the in
some
has ever existed,
the custom in China, therefore
we
practise
This clinches the question.
it.
\'id( j o
It is
meliora proboque, deteriora sequor
!
(3).
even customary in some places to prepare an opium-pipe
and
a
the
table together
little
recipient
filled
with
the
with
the
offerings,
drug. in
Both
are
placed
order that the
on
deceased
may
enjoy his pipe after dinner, as he was wont to do while living.
This
is a
(1)
s
rather
Li-kiftfjB.
modern innovation.
Ch. T'an-kung. Section
II. Pt. II.
n°
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 £ (2)
*&
(3)
I
see the better way.
morp. VII.
IS.
and
I
approve, and yet
I
follow
what
is
worse.
Ovid. Meta-
—
1
1
—
5
we consider attentively the innermosf thoughts of pagan Chinese, we ever discover lurking at the bottom ol their heart If
a
more pressing motive, more or
avowed.
less
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.
kind
People of this
"hungry ghosts",
more
believe
or
less
the
in
the dead to secure happiness and avoid misfortune, for the
read in
existence
and
in
qo1
merely purpose of manifesting filial piety. As proof thereof, we the "Glosses to the Chow Ritual", Chow-li chu-shu J£]
(t\ that
jjj«
the ministers sacrificed in their private shrines, after the sacrifice, offered the flesh of the victims to the ffl,
of
a doctrine invented by Buddhists, but sacrifice
all
^
and
prince,
to
procure him happiness, as they fancied. Every person offering sacrifice draws down happiness on himself: should lie offer of the part
makes him
victim to the prince, he
a
present of happiness.
Elsewhere we find: "the victims offered with the prince and grandees, and those receive the blessings of the spirits,
in sacrifice
who
Kwei-shen
We
find likewise the
"Record
of
J^,
same doctrine exposed
popular customs",
who
by those
offer
them:
names given
"present
while the distributing of them
San-fuh fr fg"
of
is
it
tffy;
in
T'ung-wsuh-pien
this belief are founded the various
these
receive
reason that both raw and sodden meats are offered"
are shared
is
meats this
for
(2).
work
the
%$(ft
$|j
entitled
"On
(3):
to these meat-oblations
happiness",
Fuh-li fg
fj|,
called "distribution of happiness",
(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]
§§c
m.
& &, a m
H £ £ *I **,
tfc
z & fg.
it
a g (2)
(3) (4)
^ f£ r*j j&*
gr£.
i,
Chow-li
See Chow-li ch'un-kwan-ta-tsung-peb
#
t'ien
jjf)
fig
^A
^
'g"
±^
See T'ung-suh-pien ffi II? ft ®, M. J* Those who receive these offerings, after a sacrifice,
Williams.
Dictionary of the Chinese Language
jjjgj.
fg ^ If H. ^ m ± a ^ *g, ^
kwan shen-fu
m z. & m, & m #,
/l
))*
ffi.
B B eat
Jnl
®C IS. W., ft life, and drink their happiness
— 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
We
rite is
have
midst
in the
opposed
seen
of
sound reason.
to
how
above,
scholars themselves,
paganism, condemn these customs
brought up
as tainted with
Buddhist errors. It
is
historically
proved
that
the
remotest times of the Chinese nation.
custom
History, as
^
informs us that the Emperor
Shun
the defunct emperor Yao
with the feudal
a=§,
on condition that he would
Manes
This
(1) 1
is
the
(2)
(3)
a
invested
matter of
fact,
Chu ^, son
demesne
of
cc
T;ni"
of -ft,
annually a ritual sacrifice to the
first official
This document
One
record wherein
we
find
that sacrifices
to the dead.
August following.
China B.
the
of his (Shun's) father (4).
were offered
II"
offer
(2),
in
originated
is
dated 11 th July, 1742.
It
was
not,
however, published
till
the
It finally settled all
disputed points. of the three great Emperors of the legendary period.
Paid to have ruled
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
ARTICLE
IV.
MOCK-MONEY. Chi-ts'ien
At the time (B.C. 206
(B.C.
iff
Western
Former
or
robbers
140-86),
During the reign f|t
M
of the Eastern
or
bark
making, hence
it
is
at
of
this
his
^
Hwo-ti %]
time that people
A.
rf?
I).
bethought himself
(2\
jj|
and other materials
trees
ancestor,
Han dynasty, Heu-
Later
(A. D. 25-221), while the Emperor
employing the
of
silver deposited therein (1).
39-106) ruled the country, Ts'ai-lun of
tomb
the
violated
Wen-ti -£ ^f, and appropriated the
han
Ts'ien-han nt $|
//an,
folks placed pieces of copper
25), wealthy money with the dead. During the reign of the Emperor Wu-ti
in the coffins jfc
of the
— A. D.
to
began
for
paper-
use
for
it
writing purposes.
This document
Han
Later
jj|,
dynasties of
cement
is
found in the work entitled "Chronicles of the
referring
Wei |^ and
of the
to
Ts'ai-lun
Tsin
§,
^
that
Three Kingdoms, San-kwoh
cunning knaves cut up paper and offered Spirits,
jfa"
Kwei-shen
Jfi
jji^,
it
During the two
(3).
say from the commen-
is to
_5£
|gtj
(A.I).
instead of
22 1-'i20),
money
to
but this custom was not yet general
the (4).
T'ang Yuan-tsung j^- 7C tj£> given to various superstitions, and a votary of all kinds of gods, established as High Master of Ceremo-
Wang-yiX ^E J&i the twenty-sixth year
nies
period
(1)
K'ai-yuan
ffi
7C
(A. D.
See Chronicles of the Former
Han
739).
jijif
§ji.
This
of
his
in
the
with
the
reign,
minister,
Ts'ieu-han-ehu Chaug-t'aiig-chwan
0ij
m # m % \%(2)
silk
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.
and ink
Imperial household: he was ennobled as Marquis of the Dragon Pavilion, Lnng nl
¥
{Jt-
Giles.
Chinese Biographical Dictionary,
fc'ing-hen
p. 751.
Heu-han-shu Ts'ai-lun-chwan % ^ # ^ ft %. % M W %t % |g f# &f $f Si & m m, m ft m m
(4)
ki
frl
E.
IH,
:
— 118 — Learned persons
sacrifices.
contrary to established
burn mock-money
to
approval of his Lord, began
rites,
custom among the people, but became popular
as a
down
existed thenceforward
practised throughout
all
the Imperial
at
days condemned this practice as and thus it was not then introduced
of those
to the present day,
China
later on.
It
which we
in
has
find
it
(I).
This custom of burying bullion
with
the
dead,
if
did not,
it
Han -^ dynasty, excite the cupidity of robbers, from circulation a valuable commodity, by hiding
even at the time of the it
removed
it
in the
at least
ground.
<
)n
this score
thus people henceforth began
abandoned, and
deserved to be
it
use paper money
to
(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
have seen,
of this use of paper instead of
to
Wang-yii 3l iH>
T'ang JH dynasty.
He used
people followed his example.
the
in
it
it
money goes
lived
in
Imperial
In his days,
combated the innovation, so that
the
back, as
time
sacrifices,
of the
and the
however, learned persons
did not extend immediately, but
became general, and could not be extirpated without diffiThere were not wanting, however, men of common sense,
at last
it
culty.
who unmasked following
(1)
who
its
inanity.
Among
them,
we may mention the
:
See Chronicles on the Books of the T'ang
m IS- T'ung-kien
J|f
dynasty. T'ang-shu
Wang-yub chwan
§• 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.
g£
{ft
ffl
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
nourished during the Sung -£ dynasty (tenth century), sanctioned 111'-
dead.
De
Groot.
The Religious System
of China.
its
Vol. II. p. 71
of philosophy,
which
use in the worship of I.
— During the reign
Sung
5jc
^,
l'pj
of
119
Chen-tsung
dynasty, there lived an
$\, in the province of
Skansi
^^
official
H si-yuan
surname being
his
— 998-1023
(A. D.
Wang
called
the
oi
,
Sze-tsung 3f
ft ^c, a native of
Fen-chow :fy
g".
|i|
Fulfilling the functions of Prefect of the second order, he forbade
unorthodox
all
the
of
false
gods
was promoted to the rank of death-bed, and seeing his family burning
order to
in
had the temples
Later on,
Being on his
viceroy.
pieces of silk
and
sacrifices,
razed to the ground.
he
out with
he cried
procure happiness,
a
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
£
of
a. 1). L101-11 26 Hwei-tsung ffi dynasty, the two ministers Kao-fung ffi
^
||
cf),
presented a
that the burning of paper-money as
is
^^
:
from Hades
my
1
1)
ft,
to
it
If
the (2).
Emperor Kao-tsung officials
binning
insulting them"
silly
really
obtain
saying: "perforat-
and
delusion.
^
l^j
was being
burned mock-money before his
heir-apparent,
subsequently
one must
is
a
Buddhist practice
Hsiao-lsung
^
savs
:
"Nowadays,
they
a
burial
takes
and other
paper, silks
have been burnt,
the soul
(3).
whenever
bring mock-money, coloured
When
deliver
to
Holy Sire needs no such things"
needless articles.
%
the
the
"mock-money ;
petition,
to
1163-1190), showed his disapproval and rebuked them
Chu-hsi 4c place,
all
whereupon
(A. D.
as follows
intelligence,
it is
order
in
prohibited,
resemble money,
it
the coffin of the
borne to the grave,
be
an absurd practice and a
endowed with
While
remains,
make
to
procure happiness, Spirits are
and
\\\'f
Liao Yung-ckung
ing paper, so
also
.
nothing
^
See Last Memorials of the Sun- Emperors, Sheng-tsung tob-i 1? t£
remains
*§•
ft
m $b & g m w.
~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. $S£g fl ft # K IWg|,*.*l-± #T hsin
(2)
ifJ
$fl,
ffl
tit
3ti
l3l
Stjfl.
7!/
ft,
pi 1&.
— 120 — inferior
practices are far
to
and means, or merely
piety
those
ancient
of
These
dead.
when
times,
and garments, each one according"
silver
offered real
the living and the
for
useless alike
but the ashes,
people
his
to
filial
a foot-length of cloth, a bushel of millet",
as he pleased.
The Book prodigality
of Elites, Li-I:i
blameworthy
is
jjjg
f{£,
contains the following
much
as
as
excludes both extremes. Tearful regrets,
stinginess;
as
was the custom
made and mock-money
be
enligthened
As a matter
Many
outpourings.
advanced
defence of such
in
briefly
here
few
a
life
I
nothing at
might
the
for the benefit
arguments
Some
therefore,
exchanged
of these
No
have proposed personally.
pompous
hear the reasons beg,
I
all.
style against this
to
strange conduct. of
prefers
Offerings
totally forget their
be pleased
foreign missionaries and the literati.
and others
line
in
They inveigh
ridiculous ceremony, but in practical a reader
better than
still
burn mock-money
of fact, all the literati
of their deceased ancestors.
Jt
£fc
times.
ancient
in
presented, but these though worth-
and the dead, are
less for the living
Chu-hsi
from this quotation,
seen
be
presents in kind,
expose
some
(1).
As may must
"lavish
not accompanied by
if
offerings at burials, are inadequate in the eyes of every
person"
:
sincere respect
better
I
to
between
have heard,
means could
be
found, showing the flimsy character of their motives for adhering to a
ceremonv, which
wish
to practise
in
acknowledge as absurd, but
reality they
still
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
would
li
'U
$
from hunger
be absolutely useless; Of
See Sung-yii
or cold.
what
s*
it
then
a heap of gold, is
paper-money?
if £ # J|. 4" A £ % m m s, % % « * m m t. m.
wen-pao ch'ui-kien-luh wai-tsik
mmmm *& m m \% &mKm,
avail
Had
$j?
%*} Vfc gl]
^|<
— The Chinaman.
-Confucius says that we must
ceased parents in the same
needs, and
manner
must procure money,
a loving son it
—
121
we
offer
our de-
they were living.
to help his
this reason that
is for
when
as
treat
aged parents
Now,
in
their
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
and they requested you to procure them say. if you gave them but a bundle of paper-
rice in the house,
some, what would they
ingots, covered with tinfoil, to purchase eatables?
— Mock-money
The Chinaman. ghosts,
kwei J^.
It
is
forwarded
is
the
used
currency
them by burning
bv
the
that's the
it;
custom.
—
The Missionary. Now, after burning the paper, what remains? Merely a little ashes. No intelligent person, either in this or
w ould
the ghost-world,
iment, burn a to
7
little
ever take ashes for money.
paper, and
with
that exper-
ashes which remains, try
the
buy whatever you please, the vendor
Make
will
laugh
at
you, or perhaps
consider himself insulted by the very fact of your offering him ashes, instead of the coin of the realm.
parents for idiots
little
take your deceased
?
The Chinaman. warding them
Do you then
this
— Bv
no
means, but we consider that
burnt paper-money,
they can use
it
to
in
for-
bribe a
the executioners of the lower world, and thanks to these
pre-
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
who have
fallen
into
his
hands.
will
grant no
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
—
—
122
graves, or swept by the winds into drains and
Hades never comes
gather them up,
to
Besides, do you consider him so
guish ashes from
am
1
nether world, but
in the
manifest
money,
to
there
nothing
is
in
The Missionary noble-minded, but a
—
.
means
why then burn them
him?
for
silly, as to be unable to distin-
gold and silver?
real
The Chinaman
sinks? The ruler of
ignorant as to the condition of things
know
1
it
my
is
intention in offering paper-
piety towards my deceased parents my that but a good and noble feeling. filial
— Without
.
me simply
end that you seek. Let
to the
quite opposed
good and
is
exceedingly to be regretted that you employ
is
it
doubt, your purpose
;
you that vou grossly insult your parents,
tell
them ashes
for in offering
as real money, von deceive them, you treat them as absolute idiots,
who cannot
even discern a heap of ashes from a silver ingot.
They
nether world, and deplore your hick of
intelli-
must curse you
in the
The
gence in practical matters. it
in an intelligent
The Chinaman. and we
find that
first rule of filial
is
piety
to practise
manner.
—
don't object, but
J
any one
who
fails to
it is
observe
the custom in China, it,
is
lacking in
at
the
filial
piety.
The Missionary.
— Since
you have quoted
authority of Confucius, you will not take All those
also in this discussion.
burn paper- money filial
the
for
it
of
ill
me
who, according
benefit
their
of
to
to
the
quote him
you,
deceased
piety; but have you well considered the extent
outset
do
not
parents, lack
of
your words?
Confucius, your greatest Sage, has never burnt paper-money, for the very good reason that the art several
hundred years
Ts'ai-lun
^
in
piety.
filial
ll
Yao
jfa.
after
making paper was invented only
of
his
death.
This
invention
All
your
0§, stands at the
dawn
ascended the throne B. C.
23f'7,
Chinese Reader's Manual,
p. 27'2.
Sages
of
of
ancient
Chinese history as
and reigned over
70.
times,
a
model
is
due
to
was lacking
Therefore, in your opinion, Confucius
Yao
M
all
virtue.
of
some say even over 90
(1),
He
years. Mayers.
— 123 — Shun
Kung down
^
(1),
J$
^
(3),
Great
the
Yii
f%
(2),
the
(4),
so
many
-fr
^
Meng-tze jg
Wnng-yii 3£ 3E&, who lived christian era, and all these Lacking to
who
above Wang-yiX 3£ J&, attack
rians
memory, abandoned the ancient traditions nonsense of Buddhists,
to the
in
the filial
of
Chow. Chow
illustrious
YIN
1
by
this
personam
'
century
piety,
for
introduced this custom
first
because
his
in
duke
absurd
it
,
the
of
was the
and histo-
invention
of his ancestors, preferring the
he si
11 \
customs handed down from the remotest
antiquity. I
have never found
money, so exhibits
(1)
-
2
1
can
well
follow
Another
of the
filial
his
amply why paper-money
the throne, and (
I
who
a scholar,
argument. Confucius showed
last
is
has been able
to reply to this
piety without burning mock-
This short dialogue example. burnt for the benefit of the dead.
^
on legendary heroes of China's Golden Age. He succeeded Yao for him during three years. Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual.
mourned
Successor to
Shun
${r.
He completed
the work of controlling the waterways
China. Confucius said of him that he displayed the utmost
filial
oi
piety towards the Spirits.
Mayers. Ibid. (3)
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
in virtue,
% and Shun
He
ffi.
died full of years B. C.
110.">.
Mayers. Ibid.
Philosopher a«d moralist, second only to Confucius, whose doctrines he expounded and commented. His works, collected by his disciples, form (4)
Mencius.
one of the Four
B. C. 372-289.
classics.
Mayers. Ibid.
— 124 — ARTICLE
V.
BUDDHIST BELLS. Tolling of Buddhist In almost is tolled
all
by the
IjpII*.
Chvoang-fan-chung |f
Buddhist monasteries,
fit.
be seen a bell,
which
monks morning and
evening. These regular tollings This number 108 represents
comprise a series of 108 strokes. 1°.
may
^
The twelve months
:
of the year
= 12.
The twenty-four divisions of the Chinese year, correspondthe different positions which the sun occupies with reference
2°.
ing to
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
ear),
Summer
Frost's
3°.
Each the
of heat,
descent,
snow. Winter
solstice
(grain
White dew, Autumnal equinox, Cold
The 72 divisions
X5
of
Beginning
Winter,
Slight snow,
= 24.
Heavy
Chinese year into terms of 5 days.
of the
of these terms of five days
number 72
Sprouting seeds (grain Great heat, Beginning of
fills),
Slight heat,
solstice,
Autumn, Stopping dew,
fulness
is
denominated "Hen"
|^|.
Now,
gives the Chinese year of 360 days.
Adding up the months, the twenty-four terms or tsieh fp, and five days or "hen" j|}|, in a year, we have the total
the periods of of 12
+ 24 + 72 = 108.
It is
the whole year which
is
thus entirely
devoted to the honour of Buddha.
The manner different places.
1°.
of ringing
is
108
strokes
The following are a few
At Hang-chow
the tolling
these
jfc
>}]],
varies
according to
selections.
Capital of Chekiang
'$f
££ province,
regulated by the following quartet, which has
a popular tune
;
become
Cloche et chapelet bouddhiques.
Buddhist
bell
and beads.
—
125
—
At the beginning, strike thirty-six strokes At the end, still thirty-six again
;
;
Hurry on with the
You have
36 2°.
thirty-six in the middle:
hundred and eight, then
in all but one
At Shao-hsing $g Lively
toll
M,
another quartet has the following
eighteen strokes
;
Repeat this series three times, And one hundred and eight you
3°.
vince,
we
At T'ai-clww £*
another city in Chekiang
find the following ditty
At the beginning,
Add
three
Repeat
The
toll
strike seven strokes
Why differs
more thereto
-f 8 -f 18
different
;
-f. 3)
X3=
1
— Although
places,
it
08.
the
It is
bells,
king of the demons,
2i,
damp
to
of ringing
everywhere, that the souls tormen-
thought that the undnlatorv vibra-
tions, caused by the ringing of the
T'oh-wang
blunt the sharp-edged blades
manner
fancied
is
the sound of the bell procures relief and solace ted in the Buddhist hell.
;
one hundred and eight.
these bells are tolled.
according to
;
;
this series thrice
(7
fr pro-
;
eighteen in the middle
total will be
ffi
:
Let eight others follow these
Slowly
will reach.
X 3= 108.
-f 18) '}\\,
:
;
Slowly the eighteen following
(18
stop.
+ 36 4-36 = 108.
jVf;
to
provoke
render him
of the torturing
madness the unconscious,
tread-mill,
and
also
the ardour of the devouring flames of Hades.
At the death dynasty,
every
of
the
first
Empress Ma
Buddhist monastery
J§,
tolled thirty
for the relief of her soul, because according to the
the departed on hearing the ringing of a
bell
of
the
Ming
0^
thousand strokes
Buddhist doctrine,
revive.
It is
for
this
— 126 — reason that the tolling must be performed slowly
(1).
Chinese writers refute these Buddhist notions about
We
read in
the Lii-shi
Emperor Hwang-ti order to
in
bells,
^f
jif
fix
According
which are
two writers, such
bell is
"Shi-ming" fp a
who
I
:
ffi.
the precise
is
to
rescue
Buddhist names'
1
;
the
could cast one
in the infernal
1/1
says
purpose for
sadness or alarm...), but there was
them
hollow instrument
sounds, but
heard
^
the
either give forth musical notes, or they
They
to give signals (of joy,
never any idea of employing entitled
f§}
(Memorial of Music),
§£
|(j§
that
(2),
to cast twelve
(4).
used as a signal" $\
to these
bells are used.
rung
(3),
as Yoh-ki
bells is
^
g ^ ^
ordered Ling-lun \§
the musical notes
The work known "the tolling of
ch'un-is'iu
bells.
larger
large
,
it
dead.
the
The work
has the following: "the the
is,
enough
deeper are
make
to
its
its
tollings
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
kao
Leng-kia king
M *& %k
-t
% M Wl-
$§
fj&B
ffi
Shi
i£.
wen
Yung chw'ang
$!.
% ^C
lei tsii
siao p'in
;jg
l]lf
/J>
n".
*^Ktitin8-w?A t,
* 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
'HI
ffl
,§.,
-fc.
Pnl
>
i5i
0/1
*fe
(2)
A miscellaneous
treatise in 2G books,
the early history of China, for which
Peh-wei
g
~%. ijt,
who
it is
embodying many historical facts regarding The work is ascribed to Lii
the only authority.
lived in the 3 rd century B. C. Wylie. Notes on
Chinese Literature.
p. 157. (3)
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
element earth.
history, B. C. 2697-2597. of
music and Fine Arts. (4)
See Hwo-wu-yin
denoting the 12 seasons.
He
is
looked upon as the founder of the Empire, and the inventor
Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual. ^[1
3l
W
Mayers says these musical
bells
were also used for
—
127
—
souls of their ancestors, offer presents to the Buddhist in
order that the
monks would
night, and perform They may toll them
this
little
result
whether they is
service
even
;
they mav
rescue a single toll
the
bells
monasteries,
unceasingly
day and
successive
for several
days.
they deafen the ears of the neighbours,
till
curse and swear at them will never thereby
toll
ring soul
the
till
ou1
of
bells
Hades.
i\
It
they
matters
wooden one,
a brass bell or strike on a
practically useless in both cases"
burst,
who
the
.
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
m£
fl'J
fj?
t&
:
•
— 128 — ARTICLE
VI.
SENDING PAPER-HOUSES TO THE DEAD. Chi-fang-tze In the province
of Nga.n-h.wei
M
§fc
=?
4£ |^,
it
is
and precious
clothes
ments,
while living. to the
•/£
ffft
use
to
burnt, and thus conveyed
(1).
Paper-houses, similar to the above,
Kiang-su
the
the imple-
as
which he was wont
objects,
All these paper articles are
departed soul
at
customary
death of a person to offer him a paper-house, as well
are
The framework
province.
also
is
used throughout
made
of reed-splints,
covered over with paper of various hues. The parlour, inner passage-
ways and rooms,
resemble
as
as
closely
formerly occupied by the deceased.
possible the homestead
Tables,
poys, in fine all the requisites of a well
a
chairs,
tea-
divan,
furnished house are disposed
therein.
The paper-house in
burnt,
order to
then
is
have
it
taken
an open space, and there
to
conveyed
nether
the
to
world
for
the
benefit of the dead.
Reasoning with these folks is useless. After death, they are body crumbles to dust, and that the soul needs no
told that the
house
to dwell therein.
would
afford protection neither
after
it
Admitting even that from wind nor
it
did, a
You is
the
(1)
will
little
means
No
much
has been burnt, as the wind scatters the ashes on
and nobody gathers them up, to rebuild the house shades, and thus render it serviceable to the dead.
matters
paper-house
rain, and
ever
get
as to
how
of
the
same answer.
the
sides,
world of
custom
!
It
Burning communication between the living and the dead.
Yin hsueh kan ft
is
all
things stand in the nether world.
son, without being wanting in
mm&m&*
It
the
in
less
sui pih
& * ft
flj
vj.
8 |f Eg *. m.
filial
%k f&
A
piety, can fail
5E,
&
ft!
?K
to
send
B - M, # *- M
Fig. 58
Une maison
de papier.
Paper-house burnt for the benefit of the dead.
— to his
aged parents
should
the nether
in
neo-converts
129
to
—
world a full-furnished
Christianity
unjust requirements, they
are
refuse
to
comply condemned by
forthwith
home, and with
these
op
public
and cruelly persecuted.
in ion
The custom beginning
of
making these paper-houses existed already at the Yuan j£ dynasty. In A.I). 12X7. in the VII th
of the
year of the style Chi-yuan jg 7c, during the reign
Shi-tsu
|ti-
jji§.
(1),
the President of the
of
the
Emperor
Hoard of Punishments
offi-
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 cially
Imperial Edict was forthwith issued,
forbidding to
make any such
paper-houses, as well as paper-manikins and paper-horses
seems very probable that the custom
It
of
(2).
burning paper-houses
has been correlative with that of burning mock-money, paper-horses etc... This latter began under the T'a.ng
for the benefit of the dead,
^
dynasty, A. D. 739.
to
burn ingots
of
through the
also
clothes,
houses
People fancied, that since
paper-money
was
etc...
sufficient
for the benefit of the dead, they could
same process send them other things
necessary household
in
kind
These paper-houses are equipped with
articles
wardrobes,
:
stove, kitchen utensils, servants etc...
chairs, tables,
Nothing
not even the requisites for opium smoking. of
it
in
This
all
a cooking-
tine is is
:
wanting,
the last
stage
modern progress.
(1)
Better
known
to foreigners as
Kubhil Khan. After subduing China,
In-
1
sUblished
the Mongol dynasty, which ruled the country A. D. 12S (, -13C8 J
1
Yuan
tien
chang 76
A #•
li"
)M
M 7C "t ^, M ^ Mi * *
ffi,
&
ffi
$>
17
&M
—
130
—
ARTICLE
VII.
PLACING STREAMERS OX GRAVES.
&
Chi-fan-tze
jjg
?
was erected beside the grave, in from others by means of this special mark.
In ancient times, a small Hag
order to distinguish
it
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
chosen, to the extremity of which
is
a streamer, Fan-tze
f^ ^-
uttering in the air
II
,
is
attached
(1).
The ancients
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
front of the coffin.
Nowadays, people
who
assert that
the
believe in the teaching of the
soul
departed
find out its resting-place; a
wanders
high pole
name
of the deceased,
who, thanks
Buddhist
space,
priests,
and cannot
set up and a The streamer bears the
therefore,
is,
streamer attached to the extremity of
in
it.
to this device,
is
enabled to find
out his way.
Buddhists hold that the soul
Western Paradise partments
of
(2),
or
it
after
death,
either
must pass through
Hell, or return to
process of the metempsychosis.
the
goes
to
the
eighteen de-
the world of the living through the
Now,
here
we
find these
same people
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)
m,
itb
urn. A
latter-day substitution for Nirvana,
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)
tbe popular imagination.
Buddhism.
Haekiuann. Chinese Buddhism,
p. 213.
\0
be
— teaching that the soul wanders
go to; that
it
—
131 in
space, withoul
even requires to see
name
its
cloth, in order to find out its dwelling-place.
contradictory
entitled "the Great
not
Is
a
all
to
of
strip this
on a corner of the mound". Confucius said to rest.
Is it
possible
means
this bird"? This
that
A
Learning" Ta-hsioh
the poet says: "the twittering yellow bird
where
on
sell
?
work
In the
knowing where
written
"when man should
a
that every being
ol
species
(a :
knows
rests,
it
be
not
its
^
oriole) it
(1
rests
knows to
equal
proper resting-
place.
This yellow bird, which
mound, where
space and cannot
man,
out
yellow bird.
little
said in eulogising the
feathered
to fly
its
Buddhism
as
wanders
^
Emperor Yao
3£
(3)
heaven"
of Odes, Shi-ta-ya ff
on high
is
is
less
intelligent
# ^ £
The
place
_fc.
=
Ja
£
than
"he has ascended bevond
:
A
5f|.
says:
(2).
"Wen Wang
and the three sovereigns are
the wise kings
;
in
distinguished Chinese grandee
a
Formerly,
teaches,
without seeing" this guiding
grave,
the fleecy clouds, and dwells in the happy land of rulers"
The Book
tribe,
the corner
to
chooses to alight. of
find
the
among
landmark
of a
then we must admit that man's soul
flag,
the
it
the soul
If really
so tiny
and has no need
Hits in the air, of the
is
% in
Ji-
where the good are rewarded, cannot
be the
same
as
that where the wicked are punished.
(1)
One
the 10 others (J,
(3)
duke
of
jfc,
£a
£ -f.
n-
&%
Jg).
He was
against the misrule of the
overthrowing B. C. 1122.
Literature, p. 7
3$|.
fft
in
n-&
The posthumous and canonised
Chow
chapters, one by Confucius, and
^ Wylie. Notes on Chinese % A %, & U W IX M, & S * 2, M M % tt,
his disciple Tseng-ts'an
See Chwang-tze
mm%m
It contains 11
of the four lesser Classics.
by
&
title
mma given
to
je,
ms
Si-Peb
a pattern of princely virtues,
M i&
.if:
2.
(tbe
ft
Western chieftain
and united the principal chiefti son, W'u Wang 3r succeeded
Shang jgj dynasty, which his Mayers. Chinese Reader's Manual,
R
p. 177.
fj
A1 %£ m
,
in
.
— 132 — Tyrants
^
chi
iS
%
(1),
and Chow $-
cannot by any means
(3),
Wen Wang
Kieh
like
^£ ^E, and dwell in the
live
wicked men
(2),
blissful
Tao-
like
^
Yao
together with
abode of rulers.
and
Such
arguments whereby Chinese writers refute the above Our great Worthies dwell in a happy land, the Buddhist doctrine.
are the principal
whence tyrants are excluded.
realm of rulers, not wander
(1)
Therefore souls
Kieh-kwei
|j|
§|, the last ruler of the Hsia "H dynasty.
Voluptuous, cruel and
extravagant, he became an object of hatred to his people, and was compelled to ch'ao
^^
(in
do
in space as Buddhists assert.
the present province of Ngan-hwei), where he died B.C.
flee to
17'ifi.
Nan
Mayers.
Chinese Reader's Manual. (2)
Chow-sin
£j"
5^. the
his vices, were extravagance set
it
on
(3)
lust.
Defeated by
Shanj,'
Wu
$|j
dynasty.
Wang, he
and perished miserably in the flames. Mayers. Ibid. leader of thieves; a sort of Robin Hood in early Chinese history.
fire,
A
abandoned tyrant, who closed the and unbridled
Among
rled to a tower,
Fig. 60
La roue de la metempsycose. The wheel of the Metempsychosis.
—
—
133
ARTICLE i
VIII.
metempsychosis.
hi:
Lun-hwui The metempsychosis soul alter death
is a
;^|.
ijtjft
Buddhist doctrine, teaching
be reborn, either in
may
thai
human
another
man's
being
or
into the body of one of the brute kind.
At the death of a person, according the revolving wheel",
to
Buddhists, "the kin-
Ckwen-lun Wang |f
who
3: (1), ij$jover the tenth department of Hades, examines and weighs
and
deeds of
evil
men during
their mortal
them
to their merits or demerits, sends
order
in
(2),
that
enjoy a long" or short
The soul Yeh-ch'a it is
"man
transformed into a Tsih
the afternoon, and tion over, he
is
reborn
He appears
emerges from an egg.
may
crawl
he dwells in caverns or holes,
When, through
(1)
must be crossed (2)
his
^
to
According
Jfc
(3)
in
is
its
death,
^,
and the Kwei j^ murdered
j||,
face of this
womb
of
a mother, or and expires in
forenoon
some
clothed
wild
country, where
animal skins.
with
has repaired
His expia-
the
past,
he
is
and death, human existence, which
Eitel. Sanscrit-Chinese Dictionary.
the cosmogony of the
forming the centre of the universe.
After
Uie doctrine of transmigration, ami answers to the
islands, lie respectively South, East, North,
first
the
^< $£. the great sea of life
reach Nirvana. to
he
women,
hence the pagan
run on the ground.
and
endeavours,
The revolving wheel symbolises
Sanscrit "Scmsaru"
or
the
in in
reborn as a man, but
is
Kwei
a
The head and
^jf".
or
the demon-torturer
to
peach-rods.
becomes
after his death
ghost are changed, and he
the
with
it
slays
o-ood
rich or poor.
handed over
is
lu-
great continents
men
as
transformed into a murdered ghost or Tsih
saving: is
life,
who
(3),
there
and be either
of great sinners
^%
reborn
be
may
they
presides 1
and accordirjo
existence,
to the four
oi
Buddhisl Sutras, these lour continent
and West
of
M
(
Mem,
the sacred
mountain
India and China are comprised within the limits of
Mayers. Chinese Header's Manual, p. 310. In Sanscrit "YaJcsha,". These demons air messengers
continent.
dead, and especially
of the
Dragon King,
who guards
of
Yam a,
the seas around
M
1
the judge of the .Mem. They are
represented with red hair, green faces, bare legs, and carry a tripod on their shoulders,
Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language
i$E
%
—
134
—
granted the favour of a new existence, and
may
be reborn as a Chi-
nese citizen.
Those,
who during
their lifetime, have practised the four social
meekness and
virtues of equity, rectitude,
realm of perfect dise of the
feasting
bliss,
West, where there
and dancing
The realm
of
and
there,
all
that
According
(2).
Kih-loh
of
Kih-loh
ions of
para-
of all
thousand
pain or suffering is found is
who have
|^, situated
Jfy\
lies ten
|^§,
J$ji
banished therefrom
led
a
ten
thousand million
the entire circumference
Now,
perfect
of the
life
earth
go
is
mere mockery to and these folks deserve the away, learned persons. Such are some of the reflex-
Western Paradise
utmost contempt
gf],
harmful or unpleasant
but twenty-five thousand miles. place the
No
of China.
Buddhists, those
happy land miles to the West.
to this
|^f
sent to the
the Buddhist
perpetual happiness, and no end of
is
bliss.
West
is
to
are
justice,
(1).
perfect
million miles to the
^
Kih-loh-kwoh
It
is,
therefore,
so far
"Young China".
arguments set forth by Chinese writer* against the existence of the Western Paradise.
Summary
of
According
to
worms,
lh<>
this opinion,
birds, or brutes.
Now,
the whole world, evil-doers after a certain
on this earth,
number all
those
the
bad are transformed
if a
person but considers attentivelv
into
fish,
form no small portion of humanity, so no real men would be found
of generations,
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
M±
£«.
il
A
- 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. jl
i
i
*um ti
it,
it
ts,
>t>
if.
(2)
of
jj§
@!
3&. "t"
tft
—w
e
|
I? 1 1 ~= CO
*«.
in
^
c C efl
-c: er
c efl
c
CO
> bC «"
£
o en
C
be
8
c
o
CO
-c
*****
CO be
=
/J/fy^
— 135 — early period of the world's history;
uobody can engage in marriage, wife would be his own mother, her
own
as
we, therefore, admit as Budd-
if
immense number
hists do, that this
of beings
may be may happen that
it
or
the
reborn,
may have
wife
then
husbands
the
for
husband
father, reborn into the world.
Officials
may
have no servants,
no longer beat the lest
teachers or friends,
Moreover,
if
common
these menials be his
who have
after
returned to a
patents,
new
existence.
men become
death,
people: a master ma}
own
superiors,
birds
insects,
fish,
or
brutes, no one
the
fields,
or
may henceforth employ water-buffaloes for ploughing may ride a horse to travel over the country. all
Lice, mosquitoes,
as they please,
annoy you your own
parents
or
kinds of insects,
may
and you dare not
who have
kinsfolk,
also bite, sting
kill
them,
lest
and
they be
returned to the present
world.
The metempsychosis destroys all intolerable, and is opposed to common Mencius, Meng-tze
same
^
-^p,
says
social
relations,
"the nature
:
renders
lite
sense. of the
beings are absolutely different from brutes".
If
is
dog
as that of the ox, but man's nature differs from both.
man may
the
Human
be reborn
as a brute, then his natxire differs in nowise from that of the beasts of the field.
All the extravagances of Buddhist
vain and
fruitless
efforts
to
avoid
monks and adherents, making
killing
sentient
beings,
result
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,
For the sake a
sense, as everybody sees, but
no one scarcely pays attention
Compendious view of
cise view,
common
brief
to
what they say.
the system of the Metempsychosis.
of clearness,
it
is
considered useful
summary, outlining
the
general
to
give a con-
features
of
the
— 136 — Chinese reborn
belief
the superior or rational
is
Hwun
stances
incarnated
Slieu
jfc,
soul,
Kwei fy
or
jjj$,
called
to
according
This soul
(1).
spirit
circumbe re-
may
sundry manners. of possession, entering into the
By way
1".
man and mouth
in
The
system of the metempsychosis.
the
in
abiding therein.
Such
to speak, etc...
body of a living see, and his
then uses his eyes to
It
man has thus two
a
distinct
souls,
own, and that which temporarily indwells in him, as in namely cases of diabolical possession. These two souls, according to orthodox his
Buddhists, cannot enter the one into the other.
According souls
may
manner
as
co-penetrate
two glasses
form but one 2°.
to the followers of
Hi/
^^
Chu-hsi's
and coalesce into one
soul,
water poured into a
bottle,
of
bottle of the
same
two
school, these
same
the
in
combine and
liquid.
A
returning and re-entering the same body.
departed
may sometimes return into the body which it has abandoned death (2), provided the corpse has remained uncorrupted (3). On
soul at
such
belief is founded the error,
a
nowadays
so
common,
of recalling
the soul. t
body
some reason
for
The universe
(11
is
the Shen
jji$
came
and returning thereto is
a
If
a
soul,
or other, finds along
compound
men and
tinuously infused into j|[,
of substitution.
By way
3°.
later on.
of
its
the
way
an infinite number of Kwei
jjfj,
uncorr-
still
and Shen
It is
The Kwei $|
after death.
manifested by
jj$,
animals. In ancient times, the Chinese knew but the
It
is
the material soul, emanating from
remains with the body
in the grave.
th<- k'i
^,
or breath.
After death,
it
con-
Kwei
the- earth,
The Shen
the superior soul, emanating from tbe ethereal part of the cosmos, the great
principle.
own
of its
deprived
jf$
Yang
$H
ascends to the higher
Sben-ming jf$ (JJj. The hwun z$| is the energy of De Groot. The Religious System of China. Vol. IV. p. 5. (the soul in philosophy). During lifetime, Chinese adniii the temporary separation of the soul from the in dreams and occasionally in trance and coma. These cases are, however, hut
regions, there to live on as lurid matter,
the SI in (2)
body, as
i
jjSiJI.
insensibility.
and years.
After death, the soul
heir a deep Buddhist tinge. nscitation by one's (3)
Or
Ibid. p. 130.
may
also return,
and
this
may
take place after
months
Cases of revival are even chronicled in the Standard Histories All these tales
own
De
Groot.
The Religious System
of
China. Vol. IV.
p.
123 j
soul).
at least, in a condition
good enough
for the soul to re-settle
in
it.
I>e
Groot.
*3*^
o "© 535
s
tc
>
— ©>
o v.
en
+j
'5
©
O u
a. to
yj
3
u
y} -
"-
c CO
XI
-Sf^
©
'
S —
w o CO
S 50
3
C e
s
CD
d 0>
a (D
r-
V>
a s c
Ft
c
t c
i
c c
—
—
137
upted corpse of a man, or the body of a brute,
and make
it
member
invaded a single
insurmountable obstacle of T'ieh Kwai-li
g$ #}
By way
above end, as
to the
^, whose
woman
the
to be reborn,
it
Frequently,
the light of day.
must
It
suicide, or
be
by
the
among and may
— The same of
is
hand
of
reborn
so far
foetus
Ku-hwun
least
to rebirth
him
U) (2)
to
die
a
constitute
commit
De
body (3).
through class
special
who wander
Jg£ j$|,
See Wieger. Folklore. N° 19. This process in generally known by the term
into a uterus".
of their
the
in
who
of those
in
Le-
new bodv saw
in space,
(4).
until
general,
taken vengeance on their murderer, they seek to put living person, or persuade
the latter
in
womb
the
in
be assimilated to the Indian Pretas to secure rebirth, at
of a
had but
be re-incarnated as beasts
an enemy,
The
womb
generally advanced.
theory applies
men may
"hungry ghosts"
Unable
which
foetus,
remarked that the souls the
by the legend
process.
died at the very instant that their
The souls
of a brute.
ordinary
enters into the
state that sons were thus
own mother, and
shown
is
enters into the
stage of pregnancy, and then childbirth
gends even
but
(I).
is
and animates the
(2),
an inferior soul.
has
corruption
soul entered the body of a beggar,
This
of rebirth.
excarnated soul, that seeks
pregnant
enter therein,
may
it
It
or part of the body, this would ool prove an
in process of corruption
though already 4°.
own body.
a substitute for its
suicide,
t'eu-t'ai
$£
have
they
death a
to
in order that
his
make
way
j}r,
"to
Groot. The Religious System of China. Vol. IV. ch.
9. p.
cue's
143 (the re-
incarnation of souls through birth). (3)
ment
In the Buddhist system, souls of
for their demerits in life; while
reward for their virtuous
A
little after
death,
life
if
a |
men may
reversely,
and conduct.
De
night.
The highest ord«r
They
re-incarnated as
Groot. Ibid.
may
bi
asts, as a
pass into
punish-
men
of famishiui; ghosts.
comprise 36 classes.
Others
of the next
Some
live
as a
p. 153.
erson examine- carefully what pari of the body remains
the longest, one'may devine what the character of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, p. 41. (i)
lie
souls of animals
birth
will
be.
warm
Beal.ACatena
on earth, ami are visible at
live in hell or in the
world underneath the
disacquired an evil '"Karma" by tlicii covetous, m-uavd Beal. Ibid. an are tormented as Pretas. hunger. unappeasable bj They position, are reborn
continent.
All persons
who have
p. 67.
IS
— soul
substitute, they
may
When
seek a new rebirth.
them who consent
of
—
take the place of their own.
may
some
138
It
to forgive their
they have thus found a
happens, however, that
enemies,
may
be re-incar-
nated earlier.
The souls
of persons
who have
died
by
hanging,
or
assassin-
ation, accuse unceasingly their murderers before the infernal judges,
until they obtain full justice.
When
they
are
re-incarnated
before
having taken vengeance on their enemies, they ever seek to commit suicide in their
new
The annexed 1
existence.
illustration, taken from the "treatise
'
Yuh-lih cli'ao-ch.w'a.n 3£
hist hell
jjj§
j$
fijj£,
on the Budd-
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
a fish, or
previous
an insect, according
life.
to
one's
merits
brute,
a
or demerits
bird,
in
a
—
—
139
ARTICLE
IX.
MURDEROUS GHOSTS. Pi-shah jg f*. It is
death
commonly
may
believed
ginated the custom of a special
ming
and
the
kill
that
the
soul after
Hence
survivors.
ori-
from this murderous -host, or perfor-
to
receive
when
it
returns,
it
so
that
it
not injure anybody.
may
The serious la
fleeing-
ceremony
the people,
among
return to the house,
M
im
§S|
Historic Annals: (1),
§eJ
of the ghost of Yiu
principality of
cross the diately
month
^f
Cheng
tion of the very
mind
member
a
,
ffj$
name of a
^
Yiu
person to
to
i|f
then
family
the
ruling
assassinated B.C. 542.
Men-
made everybody tremble. Did it say: "Yiu ^f is coming", imme-
Now,
flight.
time the
of the year, at the
the
of
who was
(2),
of
everybody took
somebody saw
Tze-chi-L'ung-kien kang-muh
mention as an important event the apparition
it
in
happened
code was
penal
the second that
modified,
He was arrayed
the ghost ol Yiu ^f in a dream.
in
him the following words: "this
military armour, and addressed to
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 1
with
fear, that
j^ jh> Yiu's
prevented
(1)
all
the minister Ch'an
^
son,
further
evil,
Published at the close
historiographer.
and the
of the
Revised later on.
a
Wylie. Notes on Chinese Literature, (2)
An important
day the prefecture a half.
officially
/§r
Manes
to sacrifice to the
Williams. Dictionary
his
fear of the people
father.
This
was allayed"
(3).
Ming HI) dynasty bj Cli'eii Jen sih [$ -fc t$r, national new edition, comprising !»1 books, was issued in 17<»S.
p. 26.
feudal State at the time of the
of K'ai fung-fu
ordered Liang-chi
of
|pj
of the
§f
Jff\
in
Chow
Honan,
Chinese Language
of
jg)
dynasty, B.C. 771 500. To-
which province
it
occupied aboui
.§£.
^ j£ M £g M @. MB A * 3 M YX i& *• H id * m £. m % £. * *n m #. m m « 2. m. - n< m m m # w. it. (3)
See Tze-chi-t'ung-kien kang-muh
ft
:
— 140 — The work
M
llh
-k
%
T'an-t'ai-ch'ang poh-shi Lu
entitled:
If
practices at the
i S ^ W
M, which
,§i
^
time of the T'ang
Ts'ai peh-ki-
of superstitious
treats
has the following':
dynasty,
from returning murderous ghosts. The soul of a person who dies on a Sze g, day of the calendar, is a It returns to the house on the murderous masculine ghost. forty"in these days people
lied
seventh day after death, and
"The feminine murderous ghost comes from pale-faced boys in the third house.
Sung
Yi'i
dynasty,
5Jc
who
days, those
are
the South,
returns
It
of death, to wit on the twentieth day
On such
and fourteen".
kills little girls of thirteen
twice
to
afraid,
run
ghost
most
the
filial
,
and deduce therefrom that the murderous
who
arc born on
such
At the present day, only those who dwell deceased person's house take to flight.
and
since
elapsed
Tao-shi
-j^,
^ff
to
off all
(1).
North
the
to
living
come and
to
ward
recite incantation classics to
indicate beforehand, the
Those
of the
the South,
receive the
danger.
persons the ghost will
Even
such days.
or
son will run away on these occasions"
invite Taoist priests,
house
the
away. During the wrote the following:
Wen-pao jfc ~$C $fy number of days that have
person,
will kill all those
kills
and on the twenty-ninth".
"Soothsayers consider the the demise of a
and
ghost,
Soothsayers on the burial
kill
day, on the day of his return after the burial, directions that render places particularly dangerous,
and what persons are exposed
to
his
f=l
$!§•
malevolence.
To corroborate
who saw
their
(1)
See Ch'ui-kien-lub wai-tsih
e #.
pft £l]
after
person,
twenty-four departments of Hades
m m ft m #. in e n
they quote Peh-hoh
predictions,
the soul of a deceased
ft
(2),
fl.
%.
m m #. m ra +
return
therefrom
M±&M± -t
h
®
through the
passing
%.
&
%m
to
molest
t W & M if. 1" s m m &. m
-i-
® *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. ii3.
(2)
That
ness. Life
is
may
b
n
the eight hot hells, the eight freezing ones, and the eight of utter darklast
Dictionary, p. 82,
hundreds
of
years in each of these hells.
Eitel.
Sanscrit-Chinese
—
VI
1
—
To protect mortals from any
the living.
that
evil
may
then
befall
six
trans-
them, he composed his work, entitled the "classic of the 1
to this
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: migrations'
,
,
murderous ghost
feminine
will appear in
form.
taken place on the days marked by the characters
Wu
Sze f^,
Shen ^,
^p,
the demise has
If
the returning ghost will
^
Tze
Yin
.
assume
a
jpf,
mascu-
line form.
Should the deceased die on the days corresponding to the chaMao ^p, Ch'en j|p|, Yin ]|f, Ilni ^. the returning ghost will
racters
be hermaphrodite.
The returning ghost
of
a
deceased on
person
murders men aged between thirty and on a Kiah-tze all
buried,
-^
Ep
spectral visitor
is
dav after death.
when
the corpse
ch'eu
~~f
J.
Persons deceased on
entombed,
The phantom
is
person
all
returns on
^
day,
has
died
Tze
a
its
corpse
^
year Sin-ch'eu
the
in
eighteen feet high, and
is
;
a
ghost murders, when
the
day,
male persons born
forty
if
$.
is
The
the eighteenth
Ping-tze p^ -^ day, murder
a
those born
in
the cyclic year Ting-
sixteen feet high, and returns on the
sixteenth day after death. If a
murder and
person dies on a Ch'eu
in the Eastern quarter all
thirtv.
Should one
-5£
The
Q.
:g.
dav,
entombed,
tom
is
his all
cncoffined,
is
spectre
sixteenth dav after death.
-y
young
girls
die on a Yih-ch'eu
murder, when the corpse Sin-sze
his
day,
jJ:
returning
is
At
all
ghost will
aged between
£ ^ day,
twenty
the ghost will
persons born in the year
sixteen feet high, and returns on the last,
ghost
if
will
a
person dies on a Ting-ch'eu
murder,
those born in the year Kwei-wei
fourteen feet
returning
when
^
^.
the
coffin
is
The phan-
high, and returns on the fourteenth day
after
death.
Should a person die on other, days than the above, a similar reckoning is made, based on the combination of the "ten celestial
—
—
142
stems", Shih-kan
-f- -^ (1), and the "twelve earthly branches", Tiand thence soothsayers foretell what kind of people (2l, ^lil may be attacked, the direction from which the ghost will come, his
^
<'l } i
height, and the exact day in which he will return.
Preservation from ghost attacks. to escape
employed
On
— The
following-
from the malevolent attacks
the day in which he
is
method
the
is
of a returning ghost.
Taoist priests, Tao-shi
to return,
J^,
j$j[
draw up written charms, which those The priests must be numerous persons.
are invited to the house, and
threatened wear on their
and incantation
for the reciting of prayers
sons [exposed
to
danger be of the
Should the perand unable to bear
classics.
poorer class,
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
Ki
to the
cL.
Keng
Yang
|j§
The
(2)
H, Mao
0[J,
ghost?
jj£
He
-J-,
will
cyclic characters are the following
These
(1) J'£,
Tao-shi
a Taoist priest,
height of the returning
[$[.
Sin 3p, Jen :£,
and Yin
12
$§£
:
how
Kiali
he ascertains the exact
you the phantom will
tell
^. Yih
£,.
Ping
principles, the five elements
El-
Wn
TingT,
Wn
and the planets.
branches are thus enumerated by the Chinese: Tze
Ch'eu Jg. Sze
JS],
have dual combinations, corresponding
Kwei^. They
T- Wei £, Shen
p£,
Yiu
j§.
Hsiih
-£-,
Ch'eu 3t, Yin
$, Hai %. The com-
binations of the 10 stems with the 12 branches, form the sexagenary cycle or Kiah-tze J-,
invented
owing
to the
it is
said B.C. 2637,
supposed connection
animals, and the zodiacal
groundwork
and designed
to give
for the soothsayer's skill
to years.
characters with
Annamese,
all
in
believe in these occult influences.
See the "Classic of the six transmigrations". Lull lun king
:!
^
Other combinations,
the elements, the symbolical Chinese divination, and furnish the in forecasting the destiny of mortals. Mongols, Ko-
of these
signs, play a great part
reans, Japanese. Siamese and
names
^
$fa
M.
Z
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
gfc
ffl
ffl
ffi
*i>
iii
$s
£
ffi
&.
-fnj
Fig. 62
bis
mm Hiong-cha.
La mauvaise
dtoile
masculine du mort. Tse-cha. La mauvaise
dtoile
feminine du
Hsiung-shah. Ghost of deceased in rnasculine form. Tz'e-shah. Ghost of deceased
in
mc
female form
— be as
many
feet
143
number
high, as the
death and his spectral apparition. days, he will be sixteen
feet
— days that intervene between
of
Thus,
he returns alter sixteen
if
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
and the body of the head of a
hen
a
the head
woman
of a
while the masculine phantom appears with
;
man and
the body of a cock
(2).
For this reason, during the ceremony, which takes place on the day of the ghost's expected return,
a
rough sketch
"the image of the returning ghost"; a hen
attached
leg of a small table, with the purpose of insinuating to
some
visitor,
that
precautions have been
all
household from his petty annoyances, and
taken
called
made,
is
also
is
the
to
the trouble-
the
to protect
hence he must behave
himself properly.
How
is it
known
that the returning ghost has the body of a hen?
Formerly, in the province of
grandson
of the prince of
Hupeh
Ch'u $£
$$
(3)',
dinary strength and courage, did not believe the appointed day,
il)
The Chinese
are
when
Shang-liang
in
haunted with
a continual fear of spectres,
a malicious ghost.
class.
may frequently become The word denotes "murderous,
killing",
It is a
metamorphosis
The
Shall
and attests amply
breath of the corpse, the "Mara"
^
J^,
extraor-
On
returning ghosts.
his brother recently deceased,
departed soul
of the
4fc,
man endowed with
a
was
to return
and believe that the
i& belong its
-
to this latter
dangerous character.
(evil influence) of
the Yin
$§£.
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 Reli-
It
gious System of China. Vol. V. (2)
A hook
was caught
p. 777.
of the ninth century described
in a net in the plains of Shansi
feet high. Scarcely
was
it
|i|
taken out of the net,
them
glf.
as
when
bird-shaped.
was
It
it
of
One
a blue colour
of
these birds
and over
disappeared from sight. De
five
Groot«
Ibid. p. 770. (3)
A large
Feudal State
occupied Hukwang, and parts !ff.
Chow
j§ dynasty, existing from
in
the
of
Honan and Kiangsu.
Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language.
Its capita]
B.C.
It
74n:i:'o.
was King ehow-fu
•
Iff]
|
ii
— the
to
ghost shape)
(in
—
144
/
house,
Shang-liang
fpj"
^
down
sat
quaff wine
small table beside the coffin, and began to
at
a
the mid-
till
night-hour.
He then beheld house; the
numerous band
a
big as a crane, striking with
alighted on the
its
'fpj
^
meanwhile holding
me?"
and
its
advanced, and seized
sudden, a hen as
eyes aglow with anger,
with
it
his
left
"You
returning ghost,
hand,
Then, add-
his glass brimfull of wine.
ressing the monster, he said: fear
bill,
All of a
coffin.
Shang-liang his right
demons surrounding' the
of
shook with their presence.
air
why
don't you
Sightseers, standing near the door, hearing these words,
were so alarmed that their knees quaked, and head to foot. Shan-liang showed the fj^
they trembled L;host
'jpj'
out,
from
without
receiving the least harm, and lived afterwards to a ripe old age.
Another extraordinary ern
T'ai-tsu
\^
jjj§_,
founder of the North-
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
Sung
chanced
who
fact,
4fc
5|c
to enter
guest-hall, and had
compelled
to leave
When
it
placed over the
without enjoying
lire
to be
it.
the people of the house returned, they
pan the head
of
a
man.
It
ghosts had the head of a
was
man and
but he was
cooked,
thus
saw
ascertained
the body of a cock
in
the cooking-
that
returning
(1).
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
(1)
ii
See Kien-hu-tsib $*
£ m, m m
#.
£,
% ^, & ^ jg $
*& m
m,
B#,
found who do not believe in
ffi
AA
£ % & % %. * a
m.
% KM &#* VI
ffi,
W
Fig. 62
Song T'ai-tsou
Sung
T'ai-tsu
et le
and
revenant.
the Ghost.
— these ghosts, and on the days stay quietly at
home and
145
—
when they
Who
them
in
them, then they do not return. Such
£
Pek-hoh
is
to
return,
never experience the least annoyance?
These ghosts exist when one believes believe in
announced
are
;£$&$£, which
one does not
answer given.
the
is
$|, the author of the
transmigrations", Luh-lun-hing
if
;
"Classic of the six lays
down
the rules
governing the return of these ghosts, indicating the day when will take place, and what persons will be killed by them?
it
We
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,
M
still
we sometimes make
few modifications, so that the liturgy is our means of subsistence,
a
varies according to places. This business
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
^
it
the ghost returns on such or such a day, and
why
explain to do so
on others?
Why
doesn't
it
stay a little longer?
is
unable
What makes
depart in such haste?
on the appointed days, some annoyances occur in homes,
If
they must be
attributed
the
to
Evil
whose
One,
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,
and said
ever leave the coffin
escape from
flee to
that a father would
,
a scholar
of
Chekiang
coffin of his father before
of his father shut within an
his
his
See Ch'ui-kien-luh-wai-tsih
own
son, even
morning pfc glj
till
if
yX pro-
was borne
empty room, and
And
malevolent influence?
harm
ffi it
"what son would
in reference to this subject:
in the mourning" shed from (1)
\[\
is it
admissible
the latter slept
alone
night?'' (1).
# ^ ft. £ ti
$L %I £.
^
Sfc
&
M
mmm. 19
&#
— 146 — common
This sorry custom has taken a general hold on the
and only those who belong to the enlightened class can have courage enough to break off with a state of things so universally people,
admitted.
The work
S
j|
entitled
:
Yao-yih-kia kwei t'ung-suh-pien |^
II' speaks in a similar
fl?
manner.
Its
author, Ku-mei
E^ j||
$g,
says: "through hearing soothsayers talking about ghosts, the entire
population of Kiangsu jj for
me,
sat
believe in no such
I
has ended
by believing in them.
nonsense.
When my
(ifo
alone beside her mortal remains, to
up
her,
and
that
all
I
mother died,
my
never saw or heard anything whatsoever.
In several families
strewn on the
floor, or before
among
the
common
1
duties towards
Hence
these ghost stories are absolutely unfounded"
N. B.
1
conclude
(1).
people, ashes are
the door-way of the deceased person's
The following morning,
home.
fulfil
As
a
minute examination
made,
is
to
whether there are any footprints or other marks found thereon, Sometimes a ladder made of indicating that the soul has returned. see
reeds, is placed against the garden-wall, to enable the ghost to climb
over
it
easily.
In case the footprint of a bird has been noticed,
inferred that the soul has been
Should Pussy happen conclusion cat.
what
ill
From is
is
the
to
it
forthwith
is
re-incarnated in the' body of a bird.
run over the
sifted ashes,
immediately the
drawn that the deceased has been transformed marks
left
on the ashes, one
is enabled to
into a
conjecture
the destiny of the soul in the nether world.
M £3 BM& ± S W& $k & <% it |£ % «i $s, m ^ /t m % m m ±, m m & m. & s a %
See Ku-mei chi wen-kih M.
m n £ m. -? m * m.
jg-
flf
gfc IB1
•
liti^";
4 'iiA'vV
Ceremonie de revocation des morts. Evocation of the Dead.
«$M
mvtiAi
V'i
'
••"*»*
— 147 — ARTICLE
X.
EVOCATION OF THE DEAD. Cha.o-vja.ng
The evocation in
all
dead
is
of
family dies,
the
of
Whenever
member
a
a
consult a magician or a witch, well
wont
is
see
it
practised in
only being a
general
custom
relatives
go and
a
This
is
owing
his
country as a me-
in the
and question
soul,
it
as to
its
the evocation of the dead, as
other parts
many
different
little
known
up the
to conjure
condition in the nether world.
we
practised as
localities.
pagan
dium, who
£;.
:fg
of the
world,
the method
the influence of local circum-
to
stances.
Generally, at least in these provinces, ceress,
who
One
must
T
is to
placed offerings
Whosoever
in the
main only
a pure
the soul
:
desires to evoke a departed
medium.
take place, a table
for
or sor-
benefits,
do so through a living
the ceremon}
is
woman
an old
implanting thereby more of pagans, a thousand absurd errors on the Evil
state of the soul after death.
soul,
This
acts the principal part.
comedy, whence the strongly in the minds
it is
is
In the apartment, where
prepared upon which are
mushrooms, cooked vegetables and
even meats.
A lamp darkness,
may
lighted, doubtless to guide the soul in the
whence
placed some lance
is
it
rice in a
vary according
of the place.
Beside the table is is requested to return. bushel or other vessel, and over the rice a ba-
Such are the
is laid.
The
to the
articles generally
employed, though they
wealth of the family,
and the resources
office of
medium, covers her
sorceress, fulfilling the
head and face with a piece of
whom
realm of
cloth,
evokes the departed soul
with
one wishes to communicate, then mutters in a drawling and
inarticulate
tone
some twaddle about her
visits
to
the
"land of
shades".
The only
requisite
conditions to be a
reputed
medium
is
a
— 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
moment with
Do you
will
fulfil
dertaking, in which are
we going
any
we
is
your
what
see
a vast field
sow the seeds
All the errors
minutes:
sitting of a few
succeed or not?
When
hell is
of
is
open to inquiry.
Satan
of error,
and may be re-incarnated
deceives those It is
carries on dissembled beneath
are
blind,
so
in
silly
which the as
to
have
remunerative business, which he covering his
of the lips, while he counterfeits his
voice to render his oracular sayings If
fish etc...
the thick piece of cloth
and hiding the movement
face,
who
drink,
eat,
hold honourable posi-
men, animals,
simple folks, a trade, a
dead
the
Generally these sittings are but a clever
recourse to him.
by allowing
inspiring him to deliver Buddhism are exhibited in a
not eternal;
in
either
or
need clothes and money in the nether world,
medium
last
the un-
in
do to help you?
descant as he pleases,
to
misleading replies.
tions,
state
Are you in need of Will such an un-
function?
take great concern,
seizes the opportunity to
medium
commu-
to
welfare.
to die ourselves?
One can thus the
medium,
its
Will your punishment
What
official
What may we
money, clothes?
world?
Hades?
leave
you
Do you
derworld?
of the
those interested in
suffer in the nether
When
long?
mouth
believed to use the
is
nicate for a
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
r
r
}
ears ago, a wealthy
died at Yun-ls'ao
jig
\fj
.
man, named Hsu Shi-yin
His widow, anxious to
fared in the nether world, proceeded to
^
Wuhu
fiiE
$JJ,
]f£
-^
know how he in the provin-
an old sorceress highly reputed ^, in the neighbourhood. To make some return, at least in kind words, ce of
Nganhwei
for the
to
consult
handsome remuneration she
received, the disconsolate
widow
—
149
—
was assured that her husband held an world, "the land of shades
11 ,
but rejoice over his happy
position in the under-
official
Yin-kien |^
f ^,
and therefore she should
lot.
Not unfrequently, these magicians employ 25 years of age.
to
some
expert,
who
a youth
from 12
(I),
either directly or through
They hypnotise him,
administers to him ashes from a burnt charm,
adding thereto various gestures and hand-signs made over the head. All persons are not equally capable of being hypnotised
subjects are generally frail, hysterical youths
rather
When
disorderly.
medium has been
the
questions him, and the departed soul
sorceress
mouth.
This kind of evocation
is
practised at
ample proofs thereof, and have known one case even,
In
who had to
after
in
replies
better
has been the
^
through his
Jim
;$j, I
Jjfjfc.
one of
have had
those concerned in the
ceremony was
the
medium on
consulted the
burn mock-money, and
all
the
;
life
hypnotised,
Wuhu
Ports in the province of Nganhwei
the Open
case.
(2),
whose
over,
a
widow
the state of her husband, wished
so doing
set
fire
to
a neighbouring
house.
some
In
little
ploy
and
fulfil
places of
images
H
Kiangsu yX province, these magicians emPu-sahs |£ j|§. They must pray long
of idols or
manv ceremonies
before rendering their
image
efficacious
(3).
When
at last
it is
pagans say, they use
(1)
tze,
it
possessed by the God, divinised, ling as
a
medium, placing
These youths are called Ki-t'ung
young
jf£ -J-,
Shen-t'ung
jjjf
jf,
When
diviners.
fil ]§£,
that
is
it
H,
as
on their bosom.
divining youths, or simply T'ung-
attached to a temple or family altar, they are called
youths possessed by a god.
De
Groot.
The Religious System
of
China.
Vol. VI. p. 1269. (2).
They must be
a nervous, impressionable, hysterical kind of people, physically The strain on their nerves to ecstasy.
and mentally weak, and th: ivfore easily stirred cannot be borne for many years, and hence they
System (3;.
China. Vol. VI.
all die
young.
De
Grcot.
The Religious
1269 (possessed mediums). In Southern China, this image is made of the wood of the willow-tree
of
p.
It
is
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 find
it
communicate, and the
to
little
ressed to the departed soul, as
statue
replies
to
one wishes
questions add-
all
the spirit dwelt within the
if
image.
be admitted that there are frequently cunning feats of ven-
may
It
whom
out such and such a soul with
which completely delude the beholders (1). There however, cases in which it is difficult to hazard an opinion.
triloquism,
The following custom
^
fu a
'}\\
Jft,
found in some places, as in Hsii-chow-
and elsewhere.
medium, she goes
to her, her
is
to
in
When
a
woman
wishes to become
an old witch, and begs her to communicate
evoking power.
the old witch has
are,
The
initiation is carried out as follows:
her possession several funerary urns, each of
which contains sealed up the soul
The
of a deceased person.
cant approaches quite close to one of the urns
appli-
the old witch then
;
and the imprisoned soul of the dead person escapes into the body of the novice, and henceforth abides within her. uncorks the vessel,
its
indwelling presence
that
it
is
apparent to her;
she
is
fully
conscious
accompanies her everywhere, and can inform her on the state such a soul, which has departed to the underworld.
of such or
The annexed
illustration exhibits the
ployed in this branch of necromancy.
(1)
answers which she deigns
Doolittle admits also this
dium the ;
replies appear to
loquism employed.
The
to
The
petitioners
may
be seen
medium, and listening give them.
kneeling, addressing their questions to to the
customary ceremony em-
the
conclusion: "the questions are addressed to the me-
come from her stomach. There
is
probably a kind of ventrifrom the stomach of the
fact that the voice proceeds professedly
medium doubtless helps to delude". Social mediums between the living and the dead).
Life of the Chinese.
Vol.
II. p.
115
(Female
Fig. 64
La ceremonie du
Tso-tchai.
Tso-chai. Buddhist service for releasing souls out of Hades.
—
—
151
ARTICLE
XI.
CEREMONIES FOR RESCUING DEPARTED SOULS. Tso-chai
ffc
% — Ta-tsiao
These ceremonies vary from place
med by one Buddhist
fl*
!§•
and even when
to place,
Each one follows
priest or another.
perfor-
own
his
fancy, his peculiar contrivances, calculated to impress the ignorant
and bring grist
They may be performed by Buddhist or ^, at the pleasure of the family. The
to the mill.
Taoist priests, Tao-shi
^
Buddhist ceremony, however,
is
Tso-chai
generally called
j|f,
f$[
performing services for releasing a soul; while that performed by the Taoists
styled Ta-tsiao
is
:jT |$|,
thanking their gods
for deliverances.
Passing over the magic bridge. Kwo-sien-k'iao j^
1°.
The disembodied
soul, according to
a
;ffj.
must pass over
Buddhists,
and dangerous bridge (I), which spans and obstructs the road towards a new existence.
a long
f[Jj
foaming torrent,
Demons
hold
all
the dangerous points, and cast into the surging waters beneath, the
To help
unfortunate souls that venture on the way.
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
from each
foot is
suspended a lantern
boos act as a railing and help to
;
feet
turned up, and
pieces of cloth
tied
to
bam-
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
over.
various instruments.
on to the
While they mutter
artificial bridge,
and play the part
Only those who'are good are supposed
(1)
their formulas, others climb
to be able to pass over
are believed to fall over its sides into the waters beneath
Social Life of the Chinese. Vol. (2)
The ceremony
is
II. p.
of infernal
it,
it
where they
imps
safely
;
perish.
(3).
the wicked Doolittle.
105 .popular superstitions).
supposed to render the passage
of
the bridge
more
feasable and
Doolittle. loc. cit.
safe. (3)
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
son,
who wishes
of sorrows, takes in his
—
152
to see his
hands the
over this
parents
bridge
deceased, and
tablet of the
sets
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
ther on another
imp
A
amount.
a certain
few paces fur-
money must
gesticulates frantically;
be
again
disbursed, otherwise he will hurl over the railing the son and After
tablet.
much
sum
parleying, a bulk
And
and paid out on the spot.
monks.
but has swelled
All is a regular
money
agreed upon
is
so on till\the end.
The passage over the bridge has too credulous son,
of
his
comedy,
told heavily
the as
on the purse of the
pockets of the pate-shaven reader can
every
but a
see,
remunerative one indeed. 2°.
Releasing from the Buddhist purgatory
Buddhist and Taoist
priests, Tao-slii JH
P'o-ti-yuhffiffcffi.
.
J^,
vie
with
one an-
other in inventing
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
from purgatory" P'o-ti-yuh rulers of Hades are exposed
$$f ;
f|jj
$^
is
that
(1).
offerings are
known
as
The images made,
"rescuing of the
ten
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 ressed to each of the
superintendents of the ten
this place of expiation is of but
temporary duration
Five written charms, printed on are employed
in this
ceremony
five
different
of "releasing
from
(2).
sheets
of
paper, 1 '
purgatory
P'o-
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)
abode
of
and his sister
lictors rule
over the unhappy wretches, and the various degrees of torture. His Eitel. Sanscrit-Chinese
performs the same duties in regard to female criminals.
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.
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which
especially by Buddhist
are
hung up facing
is
the
When
±, and During the ceremony, these sheets
four
points
fifth
one
is
of
the
compass
suspended
the chanting of the liturgy
fire-crackers exploded, these five to
—
performed by Taoist, Tao-shi ^T
priests.
prescribed by the text; a hall.
15:5
benefit the expiatory
order
the
the middle
in
oJ
the
music played and charms arc burnt and thus forwarded is
over,
Hades, in order to deliver from the sufferings of
whose
in
hell, the soul
for
ceremony has been performed.
This ceremony of releasing ti-yuh $£ of
income
^,
jjjj
is
from the Buddhist purgatory, P'ofrequently practised, and is a profitable source
to the clergy (1).
Rescuing from the bloody pond. Hsueh-hu
3°.
This detestable Buddhist doctrine condemns a bloody pond,
women who
all
women who
die several years
to be
to
plunged into
and even married
die in childbirth,
subsequent
$J].
jjfl.
their
having
children.
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
only remedy
Tao-shi
priests,
to deliver
A
available |f|
is
to
who by
-j^,
till
the
their
The
end of the world.
have recourse to
Buddhist and
Tin
list
magic formulas are empowered
them.
rough sketch
of
the
deceased
woman
sometimes made,
is
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
cued from the pool of
mud and
At other times, the
priests
(1)
Buddhist or Taoist
ahode of suffering. (2)
II, a written
See above,
the souls in
called "life-boats",
The reader may
see above. text of the
priests, Tao-shi *|
±,
can alone deliver souls out
Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Language, p. 125,
how
plunged.
charm and the Chinese
designed for crossing this bloody pond.
Chapter IV, Article
it is
burn paper-boats,
res-
be gradually
may
blood in which
life
of
this
©t
the tolling of Buddhist bells procures relief and solace to
hell.
20
— 154 — prayer, designed to rescue
all
women who
have brought forth child-
from the bloody pond into which they are plunged, as well as
ren,
the story of this horrible practice,
Muh-lien
g
invented by the
jg, or rather propagated in
Buddhist priest
China through his
efforts (1).
Pagan women have a terrible fear of this "bloody pond", and the mother of a family dies, no expense is spared (2), and Budd-
when hist
and Taoist
priests, Tao-shi
^
-^, are invited to chant prayers,
in order to rescue her soul without delay from the "bloody pond".
(1) ("2)
least
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
See
once on a grand
scale, before the conclusion
Doolittle. Social Life of the Chinese. Vol.
I.
p. 197.
of their public
mourning ceremonies.
155
—
•z&fe
Dore, Henri Researches into Chinese superstitions. v. 1
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE SUPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
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