*5 This section has the flavor of an incantation to exorcise demons.
*^ The word so means sifter.
(Calling to the local gods)
Come, God of Chengtu, Ts'ang-a-shi (Liu Pi) ;
God of Kuan-hsien, Hsi-jia-shi (Kuan Shen Yen) ;
God of Yang-tzii-lin, P'u-ber-shi, big tree god ;
God of Wen-ch'uan, We-bra-shi, city wall god ;
Come God of Wei-chou, T'o-dzo-shi (Tu-ti) ;
Come God of Yen-men, Ra-dzu-shi, or god of the pointed cliff ;
Come God of So-ch'iao ruler of water (Shui Kuan) ;
Come God of Hsiao-chai-tzii, Shui-ga-shi ;
Come God of Lo-pu-chai, god of the mountains ;
Come God of Ch'ing-p'o, the lord of earth ;
Come God of Wen-ch'eng, big city wall god ;
Come God of Sugoo, Tong-nyi-shi ;
Come God of Hong-(Mung)-hsien (Mou Chow), big city wall god;
Come God of T'u-ti-lin, the lord of the earth ;
Come God of Sung-P'an, the black yak god ;
Come God of Three Villages, the god of the three cliffs ;
Come God of Mo-t'o, the big cliff god ;
Come God of P'u-wa, the white cliff god ;
Come God of Mu-shang-chai, the phoenix god ;
Come God of Li-fan, the lord of earth ;
Come God of Er-go-mi, the thorn tree god;
Come God of T'ung-hua, the thunder god ;
Come God of T'ung-li-shan, the god of the three mountain peaks.^'^
This is the horse year and the tenth moon. Is it or not the first day of the
month? It is the day of the Dragon God. Open the front door and the inner
door, the silver door, the golden door. They are opened. The male and the
female dogs are tied up. Push away the stones in the roads. The goat has come,
and the three hairs are ready. Any sins the goats have (are that) the hills
and ranges are used as pastures, and they eat all kinds of bushes, biting and
chewing them — they have this sin. With the dipper pour water on the goat's
head. One tremble, two trembles, the goat has trembled. The gods have ac-
cepted the goat. The three leaders dressed in white take the flags and hold
them in their hands and fingers. They pick up the goat and kill it with the
knife. There are three (knives, or leaders who do the killing?). The time has
come for killing the goat. The huen and the p'e souls of the goat have been
led away correctly, the ears are properly stuck upon the flags, the gods have
returned properly, the incense and the candles are rightly arranged, the doors
are properly closed, the incense and the candles are properly arranged.
^■^ At Lo-pu-chai barley seeds are burned after calling each god. If this
ceremony is performed in a sacred grove, the S great gods are called. If this
ceremony is performed on a housetop, the 5 great gods and the 12 lesser gods
are called. This can be done only in an actual ceremony, so it was omitted here.
The remainder of the chant varies with each day.
The romanization of the names of the gods and of the places of which the
Chinese characters were not known are according to the pronunciations in
Szechwan Province.
The Ch'iang regard each section of the sacred chants as a sacred
book. It is evident that the division between sacred books and incanta-
tions is not very distinct, for some of the sections of the sacred chants
that are regarded as sacred books are definitely incantations.
9. INCANTATIONS AND EXORCISM OF DEMONS
Belief in and fear of demons as the source of diseases and other
calamities and simple or elaborate methods of exorcising them are
widespread in central Asia. The writer does not know of one ethnic
group among whom they are not to be found. It is also assumed that
priests or shamans who have the right techniques can control and exor-
cise demons.
The minds of the Ch'iang are simply saturated with belief in and
fear of demons. Diseases and all other calamities are caused or may
be caused by demons. Priests, by their ceremonies, control, protect
from, and exorcise demons. People avoid traveling at night as much
as possible, for demons are regarded as more likely to be about at night
than in the daytime. Demons fear and avoid light, and love dark
places.
There are many methods of controlling, protecting from, and exor-
cising demons, and some of these methods are so widespread in West
China that they are found among the Miao and the Lolos of Kuei-
chow, Yunnan, and Szechwan Provinces, as well as among Tibetans,
the Jung, and the Ch'iang. There are charms and incantations for
practically every purpose, from the healing of a boil to the curing of
a stomachache.
Among the Ch'uan Miao the titsn kung or do nun exorcises demons,
and the mo or priest conducts funerals and performs memorial cere-
monies. Among the Ch'iang the same priest generally performs both
kinds of ceremonies.
The ceremonies of exorcism among the Ch'iang are sometimes long
and elaborate and must be performed solemnly, reverently, and cor-
rectly. To perform these ceremonies special priests or shamans are
required. The writer has witnessed a number of the ceremonies of
exorcism among the Ch'iang, and has been requested by the priest not
to laugh, for that would spoil the spirit of reverence appropriate for
such ceremonies.
The following ceremony, witnessed by the writer at Mu-shang-
chai, was performed by the local priest, Mr. Kou. A man had had
bowel trouble for more than 20 days and requested the priest to exor-
cise the demon that was causing it.
A fire was made of corn cobs and cedar twigs, and a plowshare was
placed on the fire. The priest began repeating incantations under his
breath. Then he picked up some cedar twigs and moved them around
above the plowshare. He then burned some paper or spirit money,
repeating more incantations and occasionally saying loudly "phit."
Often the incantations were repeated under the breath so that they
could not be heard. Repeating more incantations, he threw some grains
of barley onto the plowshare. Still repeating incantations, he picked up
the red-hot plowshare with a pair of tongs and put his tongue against
it so that one could hear a frying sound. He moved the plowshare
over and around near the abdomen of the patient but without touching
the abdomen, then placed the plowshare back into the fire. Then he
trod on the plowshare with his bare foot, brushed the sparks off his
bare foot, then trod with this bare foot on the man's abdomen and
chest. Again he lifted the red-hot plowshare out of the fire with the
tongs, waved it back and forth over the man's back, and put it back
into the fire. With his bare foot he again trod on the red-hot plow-
share and then on the man's back. All this time he was repeating in-
cantations. He then put the plowshare into water, and the man leaned
over so that the steam rose onto his abdomen, chest, and face. Then
the priest gave the man some of the water and he drank it.
The priest would not tell the meanings of his incantations, saying
that if he did they would not be efficacious. He told the writer that
he had been paid one dollar for performing this ceremony. Next day
the sick man admitted that he had not been cured.
On August 16, 1942, a similar ceremony was performed at Lo-pu-
chai by the priest, Mr. Chang. The ceremony was called sung mien
ren in Chinese and nga mi shi in the Ch'iang language. The ceremony
was performed to heal a woman who had a pain in the abdomen.
After smoking some tobacco, the priest burned some paper spirit
money. Then he poured two small cups of wine and lighted two
candles and three sticks of incense. At this point he requested the
writer not to laugh during the ceremony. He began chanting incanta-
tions which continued through most of the ceremony. First he chanted
under his breath, then audibly, in phrases of three or four syllables,
which later grew longer. He now held his sacred cane upright in his
right hand, the bottom or point of the cane resting on the ground.
There was on this cane the imprint of a vine which had grown around
it, and at the top a snake head had been carved, so that the cane looked
as though a snake were coiled around it. The priest said that this made
the cane more efficacious in frightening away demons.
The chanting continued — now in a low talking tone, now very
rapidly. On the table is a peck measure full of buckwheat. Stuck upright
in this buckwheat are the two lighted candles and the three lighted
sticks of incense. On the table in front of the peck measure are two
small cups of wine, some paper spirit money, and a wheat biscuit on
which there is some pork. The priest goes to another room, where he
burns incense to and worships the family gods. Then he sits down,
chats with the spectators, and takes a long smoke.
Again the priest begins to chant his sacred books and incantations,
at first in three-syllable phrases. It is evident that the efficacy of the
ceremony depends very much on these incantations.
The priest pauses and drinks some tea, then he and all the specta-
tors drink some wine. Then he takes the iron plowshare and places
it in the fire. Then he continues the incantations — teh tsu do, he tzu
ho, three syllable phrases followed by longer phrases. In this ceremony
the priest does not wear his ceremonial hat or beat his drum, but he
uses his sacred cane. After some time he again stops to rest and
smoke. A man now kneads some dough, and the priest in his incanta-
tions changes to a scolding tone. The priest now kneads the dough into
five objects, a man, an incense vessel, a chicken, an object with one
point, and an object with three points. He puts these inside a bamboo
husk which he has made into the shape of a plowshare.
After another pause and a smoke, the priest puts some incense twigs
and three sticks of lighted incense on the edge of the fireplace as an
offering to the fire god. A live chicken is brought, later to be sacri-
ficed. On the uncooked buckwheat is placed five dollars from the
family of the patient for his services. The priest puts lighted cedar
twigs in the dough incense burner. Before the fire as an offering to
the fire god he pours out two cups of wine and lights two candles. He
burns spirit money before the fire and waves the chicken as an offer-
ing. He pours some wine on the fire and throws some buckwheat into
the fire. He continues to chant, waves the hen toward the fire, and
burns more paper or spirit money.
The patient, a woman, now comes into the room and sits down.
The priest continues his incantations as they cut off the lower part of
her long gown, and she puts on the upper part. Always chanting, the
priest waves the dough objects and later the chicken around her head
and body. She blows her breath on the face of the chicken, which is
a hen. The hen is taken out toward the front of the house. The priest
waves a dagger over and around the woman's head and body. She
takes off her upper gown and her shoes. The priest waves a coal of
fire around the dagger, and sticks the dagger into the buckwheat. He
lights more incense, then brings a bowl of water and a bowl of tea
and places them on the table. The priest prepares a long string, burns
cedar twigs, chants under his breath, waves the cedar twigs over the
water, puts the string on the back of the table, burns spirit money,
waves burning incense sticks over the water, stamps his foot several
times, claps his hands, blows on the water, then takes iron tongs and
picks up the red-hot plowshare. He picks up the bowl of water with
one hand and waves the plowshare over it with the other. He yells
"phit" and spurts water from his mouth on her abdomen and feet —
water from the bowl.
Now, speaking in Chinese, he treads with his bare foot on the red-
hot plowshare, then on her naked abdomen — this he does several times,
pressing down with his foot on her abdomen as if pressing something
out — they said it was the demon. Then he spurts water, and with his
hands presses down on her abdomen to press out the demon. He
scolds the demon and orders him to go. He continues this procedure
for some time, now shouting "phit" and spurting water on her, now
treading downward on her abdomen. He places the plowshare in the
water, and she bends over, allowing the stream to cover her head and
body. Then she inhales some of the steam. The priest then puts the
plowshare on the ground and burns spirit money by placing it on the
red-hot plowshare. The lips of the priest move, but there is no sound
as he repeats his incantations ; then he stamps with his feet and claps
his hands. Then he waves his finger over the bowl of water, apparently
to write charms on it, and gives the bowl of water to the woman, who
drinks it all. He puts a little dough on the dagger and again burns in-
cense. He picks up the string. Repeating incantations, he sits down
on a stool beside her. She holds three sticks of lighted incense in her
hands. Repeating incantations over the string which he holds in his
hands, he ties the string around her neck, then cuts the string. He ties
part of the string around her right wrist, then around her right ankle.
Then, he touches her forehead, her hands, knees, and feet. When he
arises, all express their thanks to him.
The priest goes outside the house, and before the front door he
burns incense to his patron deity. Then there is a sumptuous feast,
with wine and pork and other edibles. After the feast he again lights
candles and incense, burns spirit money, and continues to chant, sway-
ing back and forth. At the corner of the house he lights and sticks into
the ground candles and incense, calling loudly to his patron deity. They
bring to him the woman's cloth turban and the piece of her garment
that was cut off. He now waves burning spirit money over her face
and hands and acts as if he were taking something out of her (the
demon) and putting it in the flat, round sifting basket called in
Chinese a ho gi. In Chinese he calls upon the Pearly Emperor, then loudly
commands the demon to depart one thousand, two thousand, and three
thousand li, then calls out "gone." "Yes," reply the spectators. He
throws a broom out of the door. In respect for the fire god, four men
march around the fire carrying the dough objects, the chicken, a torch,
incense, candles, and spirit money.
They and others pass outside the door to the road and march on to
the crossroads, where they put down beside the road the candles, in-
cense, sifting basket, the woman's clothing and shoes, the chicken, and
the dough objects. The chicken's throat is cut, its blood is splashed
on the dough objects, and the chicken's feet and the ends of its wings
are cut off and tied to a string over the front door of the patient's
home. The chicken is placed on the ground, and the sifting basket, the
clothing and shoes of the woman, the dough objects, and the candles
and incense are burned to the god of the crossroads. For a time the
sacred cane is stuck into the ground. The priest picks up the hen,
and they all depart. The priest takes the chicken home as part of his
reward, which includes money, pork, two candles, three sticks of in-
cense, and spirit money to his gods.
This was a long ceremony beginning at about 8 : 30 p. m. and end-
ing finally in the home of the priest at 3 : 15 a. m. After that the priest
took a long smoke before going to bed.
Another method of exorcising demons is to tread on a red-hot ko
or iron cooking vessel with ceremonies and incantations similar to
those we have just described. A manlike image is made of straw. This
is stabbed with small bamboo knives or daggers, which are left sticking
into the straw image. A cockerel is killed and offered to the gods and
spirits, and the straw image is escorted outside the village and left
beside the road.
The sacred cane is used exclusively for the exorcism of demons.
The priest at Ho-p'ing-chai told the writer that if, when traveling at
night he met a demon, he would prod the cane into the ground so that
it stood upright, and repeat an incantation, the demon would cer-
tainly depart. The priest at Lo-pu-chai said that if when traveling at
night he met a demon, he would prod the sacred cane into the ground
in the same way, but would not repeat an incantation. The following
is the incantation used by the priest at Ho-p'ing-chai with the sacred
cane at night to exorcise demons, as given to the writer and translated
by the priest :
a-^ ba-^ mA^ la-^ bi-^ bu-^ ntze" mi-'' mA^ la-^
mbu-^ tzu-^ la-^ sa-^ mA^ la-*
stl-^ To-^ be" k'weP m\^ la-^
mA^ Ta-= Da-^ tju-^' mA= la-^"
tV Ti-^ si-'' dju-' niA= la-=
ze" dju-.'' bi-^ dju-" mA^ la-^
o-^ ge" Jta-" bi-" itia'' la-"
0-" Ti-' sta-= mja-" mA== la-"
Translation
Abba Mula (the patron deity of the priest), I, the priest,
invite you to come (and eat and drink), O god Mula.
I carry the drum and ceremonial objects, Mula.
The master of ceremonies and all the people have come, Mula.
Aly eyes see, all the ceremonial objects are here, Mula.
The aged leaders and the priest have come, Mula.
The leaders among the men have come, Mula.
We call the women, Mula.
One method of exorcism is to hua shui, or to transform water. The
priest repeats incantations and with his fingers draws charms above
the water. Then the water is drunk by the patient. This method may
be a part of a longer ceremony of exorcism such as that of treading
the red-hot plowshare.
Another method is to entice the demon into a jug, cover the jug
with red paper, tie the paper on the jug with silk thread, and bury the
jug upside down at the crossroads where many passers-by will walk
over it. It is said that after the demon is imprisoned in the jug, he
moves about so that he causes the red paper to move.
Sometimes the demons are "swept" out of the house, A fire is built
in one corner of the room, and the priest, after repeating incantations,
takes hot oil into his mouth and spurts it onto the fire, causing the fire
to blaze up. It is asserted that the fire never sets the house afire, even
if the house has a straw roof.
Sometimes a straw image of the mysterious nine-headed bird is
made, incantations are repeated, a cockerel is killed, and the straw
image is ceremonially carried out and deposited by the roadside.
The following explanation of the ceremony of using the straw
image of a nine-headed bird to exorcise demons was given the writer
by the Ch'iang priest at Lo-pu-chai :
If you see two snakes hooked together (copulating), or a bird flies
over you and his droppings fall on you, or a hen crows, or a hen lays
a very small egg, or a rat chews your clothes, or you dream that your
teeth are falling out, or you dream that you are getting wood on the
mountains, or a crow lights on your house and caws, or a frog or a
toad gets into your house and croaks, or a female goat gives birth to
three kids, all these are unlucky. You may become ill, or somebody
may die, or you may get into a quarrel.
To exorcise the demon that is troubling you, the priest makes a
straw image, called an crga, of a nine-headed bird. A rooster is killed
and skinned, and his skin is used as a garment of the straw image. A
five-colored (many-colored) paper flag is made and hung up on top of
the house. The drum is beaten, the sacred books are chanted in the
Chinese language. During the ceremony small, sharp pieces of bamboo
are stabbed into the body of the straw image. The image is left with
the flag on top of the house, on the wall. A fir branch is also stuck up
on the wall near the straw image and the flag. They are left on the
houses for at least half a year. If the image falls off, it is left there,
but if it does not, it is thrown anywhere away from the house. Sec-
tions I to 5 of the sacred books are chanted during this ceremony.
Chinese door gods pasted on the front door prevent demons from
entering a house. Sometimes a wall is built in front of this door, and
a sacred white stone placed on top of it for the same purpose. A sacred
white stone on top of a grave keeps demons away.
Charms are used to protect from demons. A red cross or a red cloth
image of a monkey is sometimes sewn onto the shoulder of a child's
garment as a charm. Small brass mirrors, old cowry shells, and Chi-
nese coin charms are sewn onto the hats of children or onto their gar-
ments to protect them from demons. Most priests have stamps or seals
by which they stamp charms on paper. These charms consist of Chi-
nese characters formed in strange shapes. The priest at Ho-p'ing-
chai had four such charms. One used the name and power of Kwan-
yin, the goddess of mercy, one the god of thunder, one the efficacious
Taoist god Lin Kuan, and one Li Lao Chiin, the founder of Taoism.
Incantations are often secret, and sometimes are pronounced under
the breath. They should not be taught or explained to anybody who
is not a priest or a geomancer. They should be used only in solemn
sacred ceremonies, which are often of exorcism. They may be in the
Ch'iang or in any other language, and the priest and the bystanders
may or may not understand them. They may have an apparent and
definite relation in their wording to the exorcism of a particular de-
mon, or to demons in general, or they may be merely the relating of a
legend or story. They are believed to be efficacious, some of them very
much so, in producing desired results, including the exorcism of
demons.
The following incantations are given as illustrations. The first two
are in the Chinese language and are so used by the Ch'iang priests.
The third is used in the Ch'iang language. The International Phonetic
Script and the explanations are such as were given the writer by the
Ch'iang priest.
Snow flowers bloom (it snows), snow flowers grow
(the snow becomes thicker on the ground).
The snow baby comes down (it snows).
One comes down cold like snow, the second comes down
cold like frost.
Cold, cold like frost, cold, cold like snow.
The orders of the most high Lao Chiin are like law.
The T'u-ti in the east, the T'u-ti in the south, the T'u-ti in the west,
the T'u-ti in the north, the T'u-ti of the bridge beams, the T'u-tis at the gate
of the temple, the T'u-ti of the sky lamp post, the twenty-four T'u-tis beside
the roads, the demons of the people who have died at night, the demons of the
people who have died in daytime, the demons of the tree stumps, the demons
of people who have committed suicide by cutting their throats, the demons of
people who have drowned in rivers, the demons of those who have died violent
deaths or have bled to death, the demons of exorcists whose souls are wander-
ing, the wandering demons of carpenters, the wandering demons of black-
smiths ; Sir, I have bumped against the head of the horse you are riding, and
against the tail of the horse you are riding (to prevent your departure). I will
give you money of gold, silver, and brass ( or bronze). I will present you a
tray of flowers. There is little water, but the money and the rice are plentiful.
Come from the east and return to the east, come from the south and return to
the south, come from the west and return to the west, come from the north and
return to the north. When you come, do not deceive me, this apprentice magi-
cian, or the others who have come (to look on). I have received the strict
orders of the Most High Lao Chiin, like a legal command. I the apprentice
magician, having in my mouth thirty-six teeth, carrying twenty-eight swords
in my hands, can see three thousand li distant and eight hundred li near. Master
Nien Wang and the official recorder in hell, the small demons in hell, you see
that my eyes are large and bright (with fierceness) ; I, the apprentice magician,
holding in my hands one thousand clubs as white as jade : — first, I will not
strike the sky, second, I will not strike the earth. I will strike straight at you
demoniacal spooks and demons. Let the poisonous breath of the sky return to
the sky, and the poisonous air of the earth return to the earth, also the poisonous
year air, the poisonous month air, the poisonous day air, and the poisonous hour
air, and the evil breath of one hundred and twenty fierce gods. Kiang T'ai
Kung has arrived here. All the gods have assembled here. First, I will escort
you one thousand li; second, I will escort you two thousand li; third, I will
escort you three thousand li; fourth, I will escort you four thousand //; fifth,
I will escort you five thousand li. Escorting you once, I will escort you to the
nets of the sky and of the earth (where you will be caught) so you cannot
return again. I am acting in accordance with the orders of the Most High Lao
Qiiin, which are like law.
sa'' Ga" gA^ ji-^ xo-^ mi-^ S" mA"
xo-^ gA^ gA= ji-'\ s5^ mi-^ 5^ mA^
sa" 5* la-== zo•^ jia-' Ijo-^ zo-' (or 30-')
5" mo-* Iji-^ zo•^ d" mo-* mi-^ le*
S" mo-'' dz3^ dzo-^ 5" mo-* mi-^ le*
S* mo-* ku-^ kwe\ 5* mo-* bi-' jiae* 8* mo-*
xa-* 0-* S* nio-^ 3" mo-^ jna-^ jiae* S' mo-*
we* kwa-^ 5* mo-*, 6* mo-* |i-* jiae* 5* mo-*
Tu-* Iju-' 5* mo-*, 5* mo-* tsei' jiae* 5* mo-*
sa-^ ts'a^ 5* mo-*, dsi-^ ji-^ zda-* tsei^ S* mo-*
30-* jii-* d5a-* tjei^ 5= mo-*; lo-* jii-* ka-* zd5' mo-*
xa-^ dsi-^ ha-* Ija-*, ha-* tsei^ tso-*, 5= mo-* tsei^ tso-*,
xa-* dji-^ ha-* Ija-*, ha-* tsei^ bja-"*, 5* mo-* tsei^ bja-\
SO-' dsi-" To-' S3= dzu-^ To-^ s^^ 5= mo-=' To-" za'
mo-^ jna-^ Ji-^ tso-", dzu-^ sa^ bo-^ mo- ge^ Z3^
S3' 5' jio-=, d- mo-' 6' J10-' 5' Ji-' wei' Ji-'
6' mo-' S^ jio-',
mba-' Ji-^ wei' Ji-', S' mo-' 5^ jio-', dze' wo-' we^ Ji-',
6' mo-' d" ts'a-', Twa-' tju-'' wei' Ji•^ 6' mo-' 5' tjwi-"
S3' S^ jio-', 8' la-" 5^ jio-', a-' dze^ dze^ zsgo-^ jio-',
a-' we' we' zsgo-^ Jio-', a-' ts'wa-^ ts'wa-^ zsgo-' jio-'
Translation (as approved by the Ch'iang priest)
"I have not forgotten you, Er Mo, nor have you forgotten me, Er Mo. Since
the demons injure people, for whom shall be wait to help us? Wait for Er Mo,
the King of Demons. Er Mo has not arrived. It is necessary to wait for Er Mo.
Er Mo has arrived." "What is your name. King of demons?" "My name is
Er Mo." "What is the name of your wife?" "Her name is We Kwa Er Mo."
"What is your oldest son's name, Er Mo?" "His name is Du Lyu Er Mo."
"What is the name of your oldest daughter, Er Mo?" "Her name is Sa Tzu
Er Mo." "How many sons and daughters have you, Er Mo? How many fields
have you, Er Mo? How many fir trees have you, Er Mo?" "My home is very
large, my implements are many, I have many pigs. They go to the mountains
to get my wood. With iron hook and rope they drag to the home of Er Mo.
Women gathering good roll it down, then carry it on their backs to my home."
"I will drive the demons away, I will even drive away Er Mo. I'll escort
Er Mo to the crossroads, to the level resting place I will drive Er Mo. At the
grindingstone I will press Er Mo down into the mortar. I will shut Er Mo
in it. I will drive you quickly away. Paper (spirit) money I will give you as
road money (to pay the expenses of travel). Do not injure this family. Injure
nobody in this region. Injure nobody in this fortified village." *s
10. THE TRADITION OF HEBREW ORIGIN
Before the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 191 1, there
was no tradition of a Hebrew origin of the Ch'iang people. It was
approximately 191 5 when Rev. Thomas Torrance began to work
among the Ch'iang. He sincerely loved them and tried to help them by
teaching them the Christian religion, by opening schools (which he
was prevented from doing), and by giving them good bulls and cock-
erels with which to improve their stock. The Ch'iang also loved and
respected Mr. Torrance. They told him that they were monotheists,
and he believed them. This deception was comparatively easy because
the Ch'iang do not make images of their gods.
48 This incantation is repeated in the Ch'iang language, after which another
incantation is repeated in Chinese. It is used to exorcise the Hsueh Kuang Kuei,
a demon of a person who is beaten to death, or fell off a cliff and was killed,
or was stabbed or shot to death so that there was much bleeding. The demon
is escorted to the crossroads, where a bo chi or bamboo sifter or winnower
and spirit money are burned and water is poured out onto the ground. Er Mo is
the king of demons, who is also a deity. Here he seems to be identified with
the Hsueh Kuang Kuei.
Mr. Torrance thought that he saw physical resemblances between the
Ch'iang and the Hebrews, and also that he found numerous parallels
in their social and religious customs. Both Mr. Torrance and Mr. Kou
P'in-shan, his leading convert and probably his best friend among the
Ch'iang, became convinced that the Ch'iang of western Szechwan are
of Jewish descent. Mr. Kou wrote and published a pamphlet in which
he stated this belief. Mr. Torrance stated in every one of his writings
about the Ch'iang *^ that they are monotheists and finally in his book,
"China's First Missionaries," he asserted that the Ch'iang are descend-
ants of the ancient Israelites. They found some real parallels such as
the flat-roofed house and the marriage of a widow to her deceased
husband's brother, but some of their parallels are far-fetched.
For instance, Mr. Torrance mentions the sacrifice of a lamb among
the Ch'iang.^" The Ch'iang never sacrifice a lamb, but always a full-
grown goat. Among the ancient Hebrews the lamb was often sacrificed
as a sin offering, a propitiation for sins. Among the Ch'iang the
goat is sacrificed or offered in payment of vows or promises made
when praying to the gods for favors. Mr. Torrance mentions the
sacred cane of the Ch'iang as evidence that the Ch'iang are Israelies.^^
It is more likely that the Ch'iang have borrowed the sacred cane from
the Taoists, who are very strong in the vincinity of Kwanhsien and
in the Ch'iang region, for both the Taoist and the Ch'iang priests use
the sacred cane for the same purpose, the exorcism of demons. Inci-
dentally, the cane shown opposite page 98 in "China's First Mission-
aries" is not a Ch'iang sacred cane at all, but a Mount Omei pilgrim's
walking stick, made on Mount Omei and used by Chinese and other
pilgrims to Mount Omei, but not used at all among the Ch'iang. Mr.
Kou P'in-shan mentioned the fact that the Chinese history of Li-fan
calls the Ch'iang in that region Pai (pronounced bei) Lan Ch'iang
^8 Rev. Thomas Torrance was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
His mastery of the Chinese written and spoken language was excellent. He Avas
recognized by his fellow missionaries as an authority on some phases of Chinese
art and archeology, including pottery, porcelain, and bronzes. He sent a
number of valuable objects to the British Museum and collected a goodly
number for the West China Union University Museum. He was the first
Westerner to discover and to prove that the so-called Mantzu caves of Szechwan
are not, as everybody had believed, ancient dwellings of pre-Chinese aborigines,
but Chinese Han dynasty cave-tombs.
^° Torrance, Thomas, China's first missionaries, pp. 35, 87. London, 1937.
51 Ibid., pp. 96-102.
The writer reiterates that in all his contacts with the Ch'iang, not
one of them ever told him that they are monotheists. Many of them
willingly gave him lists of the gods they worship and explained their
functions. Some of the Ch'iang, however, through the influence of
Mr. Torrance and of Kou P'in-shan, became convinced that the
Ch'iang are descendants of the ancient Israelites. The following is the
writer's translation of Mr. Kou's tract in which he expresses his belief
that the Ch'iang are descendants of the Hebrews.
An Open Letter to the Ta Ch'iang People Concerning
THE Origin and End of Paying Vows
By Kou P'in-shan, of Mu-shang-chai
Ch'iang brothers and friends of every place and fortified village, we live in
between the borders of the Chinese and the Tibetans, adjacent to the Rung on
the west, and bordering on the Chinese territory on the east. If we wish to
communicate with the Jung, the language is different. We cannot read the
Tibetan literature, and we do not believe in the religion of the Lamas. Although
we have intercourse with the Qiinese, there are inconveniences. There are two
reasons. First, our religious customs are different. We have to offer sacrifices
and pay our vows in forests. Second, our place is very cold and our products
not abundant. We wear linen (hemp) clothing. Few of our children can read.
Therefore they do not understand the good points of the Ch'iang, and we live
generation after generation in our locality. We converse with and help each
other, do our duties, and let it go at that. There is no place where the source
of our sacrifices can be investigated. We only know that they have been
inherited from our ancestors. Now, Mr. Torrance of the American Bible
Society has toured Wen-ch'uan, Li-fan, and Mao-chou, and found out that
the sacrifices of every fortified village correspond to those of the Book of
Exodus in the Bible, and he sent especially the preacher Ch'en Pin-Ling of the
Bible Society to sell books in every village, and to preach and exhort people.
52 Ibid., p. 46.
53 Ting Su, The Orchid Ch'iang and the Orchid Mountain, in The South-
western Frontier, published by the Chengtu Southwest Border Research Society,
pp. 6-7, 1942.
5* Torrance, Thomas, ibid., p. 122.
I got a copy of Genesis, Exodus, and the Four Gospels, and studied them,
then understood that our sacrifices which worship the God of Heaven have
the same roots as those methods of sacrifice of ancient Israel. Israel had a
sacrificial altar on which to sacrifice lambs which must be without blemish.
While killing the lamb, they scattered the blood with straw for remission of
sins and the paying of vows, and to pray to the God of Heaven, and they pre-
pared unleavened bread and mutton, which they all divided and ate, which cor-
responds to our custom of paying vows. Generation after generation the
Israelites had this ceremony. Then Jesus Christ came to earth to be the Lamb
of God, and to bear the sins for the people of all nations. This was because the
blood of the sheep could not remove sins, and it was necessary for Jesus Christ
to do the work of redemption on the cross before people could be truly saved.
He died for sinners and after three days became alive again, to cause all who
believe in Him to be free from sin and to be saved. According to this, the
sacrifices of our Ch'iang ancestors were really excellent, but could not com-
pletely save people. Alas, at that time they had not heard about the coming of
Jesus Christ, fulfilling the ancient ceremonies. Jesus' way of redemption is
certainly dependable. Because he was human, he could do the work of redemp-
tion for men. Because he was divine, he could bear the sins of all men, and
become the Savior of the people of all nations.
From ancient times we have regarded white as righteous, black as evil. We
set up a white stone to symbolize the holiness and purity of the God of Heaven.
We took a sheet of white paper and before it stuck a white flag to indicate our
good purpose of worshiping God. If we study the Christian Bible, we know
that God is most holy and pure, and exceedingly just, and most kind and
righteous. If we wish to worship Him, we must deeply repent of our former
sins, and depending on His redeeming merit, sincerely pray before we can be
well-pleasing to Him. In ancient times our ancestors observed the custom of
sacrificing and killing sheep. Now on the flats by the rivers many have for-
gotten and have deserted the old religion of our ancestors, and worship idols
of clay and wood. Those images of dead people certainly cannot save people.
The only real god is the Father of Heaven, who is the Ma-bei-ch'i that we
worship. The coming to earth of Jesus Christ fulfilled our ancient ceremonies of
sacrifice. We must trust Him for salvation.
This life is the living forever of the soul, which enjoys this happiness of
heaven. Therefore the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God through our Lord Jesus Christ is everlasting life." All who are led by
God's Holy Spirit are children of God. The Gospel (Christian) church, when
it worships God, often calls God Heavenly Father, and calls heaven the kingdom
of God. As a human father loves his sons and daughters, the Heavenly
Father even more loves us as His sons and daughters, and prepares the paradise
of His kingdom to reward our sufferings on earth. My Ch'iang friends, please
think carefully. We understand that the fact that Jesus fulfilled our ancient
sacrificial ceremonies is a matter of great joy. I urge you all to quickly study
the Bible and understand clearly the doctrine. We live in a bitterly cold land
and wear hemp clothing, regard white as superior and do not dye them ; in all
these ways the former generations imitated the kingdom of heaven and re-
garded white as pure. From this you can see that we are their descendants and
ought to follow the high and pure teaching, sincerely repenting, trusting in the
saving grace of Christ, and with pure white hearts worshiping God, forever
becoming His sons and enjoying happiness. Let those who wish to understand
this doctrine please talk about it with Mr. Ch'en Pin-ling and me.
The following are important facts :
1. The Ch'iang are not monotheists. They worship 5 great gods,
12 lesser gods, many local gods, and even some trees and rocks as liv-
ing deities. Moreover, they regard the Chinese gods as real gods, and
gladly worship any that they consider to be important and advantage-
ous for them.
2. While there are parallels in their cultural traits to those of the
Hebrews, there is none that cannot be very satisfactorily explained
without reference to Jewish customs.
3. The Ch'iang have no taboo against the eating of pork.
4. There is no evidence of Hebrew origin in the Ch'iang tradition.
Mr. Kou P'in-shan and others have told the writer that Gula is the
Ch'iang people, and Chi'la the Chinese. Many have said that the
Ch'iang have probably come from eastern China.
5. The Chinese are a very historically-minded people. They have
written hundreds if not thousands of histories and gazetteers, and sev-
eral of these historians are among the greatest the world has known.
It would be practically impossible for a large group of Israelites to
migrate into China without this being noted in Chinese histories. There
is no such reference in Chinese histories, but many that indicate that
the Ch'iang migrated westward from their early home in northeast
China.
6. There is not one physical characteristic of the Ch'iang that would
convince a physical anthropologist that they are of Jewish descent.
They are a dark-eyed, dark-haired, and dark-skinned race, with hair
that is generally straight or with long waves.
7. The evidence of history, language, customs, and physical
characteristics indicates that these people are members of the Burma-Ti-
betan branch of the yellow race.
The writer had intimate contacts with the Ch'iang, including Mr.
Kou P'in-shan, and with Mr. Torrance in the summer of 1933. At
that time none of the Ch'iang had any idea that they were descendants
of the ancient Hebrews and had migrated from the west. Indeed,
Mr. Kou suggested to the writer that the war with the Chinese proba-
bly occurred in the northeast of China. Mr. Torrance then believed
that the Ch'iang were monotheists and had begun to suspect that they
had migrated from the west. Later Mr. Torrance came to believe
that the Ch'iang are descendants of the ancient Israelites and con-
vinced his Ch'iang friends and followers. Thus the tradition was born
and developed. A Ch'iang Christian at T'ao-tzu-p'ing told the writer
that the Ch'iang purposely deceived Mr. Torrance into the belief that
the Ch'iang were monotheists because of Mr. Torrance's very strong
disapproval of polytheism and idolatry.
VI. CONCLUSION
This book is the result of several years of first-hand contact with
and study of the Ch'iang people, and of research in Chinese histories
and the writings of Chinese and Oriental scholars.
The task of studying and interpreting as accurately as possible the
lives and customs of these people is not an easy one. The natural
reticence of the people, their willingness to give illusive and inaccurate
answers that they believe will satisfy the inquirer, and the great varia-
tion in different localities in language and customs, make the work
a very difficult one. The researcher cannot always tell when he is being
deceived, and he needs to be extremely careful, checking and recheck-
ing the information he is given.^^
5^ In the summer of 1942 the writer spent a few days in P'u-ch'i-chai. The
night before, he stayed in the home of a farmer near P'u-ch'i-kou, a few miles
away. The farmer was very friendly and gave much valuable and interesting
information. At P'u-ch'i-chai the writer mentioned the information the farmer
had given. "Who gave you such accurate information?" they asked in astonish-
ment. The writer gave the farmer's name. On the way back to Li-fan, the
writer again stayed overnight in the home of the farmer. Apparently our host
had been rebuked for giving us so much accurate information, for he was much
less friendly and refused to tell us anything more.
The same summer the writer stayed a few days in Lung-ch'i-chai. The aged
priest repeated some of his sacred chants, which the writer wrote down in the
International Phonetic Script, with such explanations as the priest chose to
give. By-and-by the priest came to the phrase, "ha nu ch'i." Ha nu means 12,
and ch'i means god or gods. The phrase refers to the 12 lesser gods. With a
cunning look in his eyes, the priest said that it meant the 12 tribes of Israel.
The Ch'iang are being gradually absorbed by the Chinese. There
is cultural absorption by social and commercial contacts, and there is
intermarriage. In recent years Chinese schools have been established
by the Chinese Government in the Ch'iang villages. In these schools
the Chinese language and culture are taught. A normal school has
been established in Wei-chou, to which both Chinese and Ch'iang
students are admitted.
There are families of Ch'iang descent that no longer call themselves
Ch'iang. There are localities where the people are Ch'iang but speak
the Chinese language and have adopted Chinese dress and customs. At
P'u-wa the headman is a Ch'iang who has married a Chinese wife,
and in 1942 only two or three of the oldest people could speak the
Ch'iang language.
The Ch'iang are not monotheists, but worship many Ch'iang gods
and many Chinese gods. The Ch'iang gods have no images, with the
exception of Abba Mula, the patron deity of the priest, and the King
of Demons, whose head is carved on some of the sacred canes. There
are 5 great gods, among which the supreme god is generally Mu-bya-
sei, the sky god. He seems to closely resemble T'ien 5^, or Heaven,
the supreme god of the Chou people with whom the Ch'iang united
in 1 121 B. C. to overthrow the Shang dynasty. There are 12 lesser
deities, many local and special gods, and some trees and stones are
actually worshiped as gods. Chinese gods with or without images are
regarded and worshiped as real and living deities. Mu-bya-sei is iden-
tified by many with the Taoist Jade Emperor, and in recent years he
has been identified with the god of the Jews and Christians.
Sacrifices are gifts or offerings to the gods to secure their favors,
in payment of vows or fulfilment of promises. In the spring there is
a ceremony in which the gods are asked for good crops, rain, and a
prosperous year, and promised that in return there will be gifts or
offerings later in the year, generally in the fall. These offerings are
on the housetops or in the sacred groves. Worship on the housetops
is a family affair, but that in the sacred grove is participated in by the
whole community, there being one or more representatives from every
family. Only men can participate in or witness the ceremonies on the
housetops or in the sacred groves, for women are believed to be im-
pure and unworthy. In the homes the ceremonies may be conducted
by members of the family, but on important occasions the priest is
called in to officiate. The ceremonies in the sacred groves are always
conducted by the priest, assisted by laymen who are called masters of
ceremonies. The priest has the sacred implements and knows the
sacred chants, the incantations, and the methods of performing the
ceremonies.
In the sacred groves one of the most common sacred trees is the
oak, but there are other kinds also. The sacred white stone is con-
sidered to be holy, and a likely and appropriate object or place near
which one can worship his gods and enjoy actual communion with
them. These white stones generally cap the shrines in the sacred
groves, in the Ch'iang temples, and on the housetops. They are also
placed on the tops of graves and on walls built before the main doors
of houses to keep away demons.
Formerly cremation was the only way to dispose of the dead. In-
creasingly this method is being reserved for those who have died vio-
lent or unusual deaths and might become demons ; people who die nor-
mal deaths are buried in graves.
There is no written language. The "sacred books" include a kind
of book consisting entirely of pictures and used only in divination, and
religious chants that are memorized by priests and taught by one priest
to another. The priesthood seems to be gradually dying out.
There are many ceremonies to exorcise demons, who are believed
to be the cause of sickness, death, and many other calamities. These
ceremonies include "sweeping the house," treading a red-hot plow-
share, transforming water, and shutting a demon in a jug which is
buried upside down at the crossroads. These ceremonies are per-
formed by the priests.
The priest is highly respected. He, his ceremonies, his sacred imple-
ments, and the gods are believed to possess a mysterious potency so
that he can perform wonders for the benefit of the people. There are
also taboos, for this strange power is dangerous if it is wrongly used.
The Ch'iang are a comparatively primitive people, and in their re-
ligious ceremonies they seek food, rain, good crops, long life, numer-
ous descendants, increase of domestic animals, protection, social pres-
tige or honor, and a successful and satisfying life. There is evidence
that many of them regard the sacred books as living beings and be-
lieve that the ceremonial hat is able to see and to hear. Even trees and
stones are worshiped as deities. To understand and interpret these
people as correctly as possible, the student should learn as much as
he can about the cultures and history of the Chinese, the Tibetans, and
other ethnic groups in central Asia. He should also have a knowledge
of primitive religion and of primitive peoples. He should study what
others have written about the Ch'iang and should have an intimate and
first-hand knowledge of the Ch'iang people.
There is no evidence that the Ch'iang are descendants of the
Hebrews. All the evidence is to the contrary. Their language, customs,
and physical characteristics indicate that they belong to the Burma-
Tibetan branch of the yellow race. According to Chinese history, they
came centuries ago from northeast China and were pushed westward
by the Chinese. Some of them went into Kansu and possibly farther
west, and others turned southward into Szechwan. Formerly they ex-
tended beyond Sungpan into Kansu in the north and into the Ya-chou
Prefecture and near Yiieh-sui in the south, but now they extend only
from Tieh-ch'i on the north to So-ch'iao on the south, and from a few
miles east of Wen-ch'uan, Wei-chou, and Mao-chou on the east to
the village and creek called P'u-ch'i-kou and about 20 li up T'o or
Tsa-ku-nao River from Li- fan, on the west.
As to the future of the Ch'iang of western Szechwan, one can only
conjecture. Will they be completely absorbed by the Chinese, or will
a goodly number of them cling to their old customs, traditions, and
religion ? Only time can tell.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HISTORIES, GAZETTEERS, AND BOOKS IN CHINESE
A tentative classification of the
Ch'iang languages in western
Szechwan, Bull. Chinese Stud.,
vol. 2, 1941.
Beliefs and practices of the
Ch'iang tribesmen. Frontier
Stud., 1 941.
The Pai-lan Ch'iang and the
Pai-lan Mountain. Southwest-
ern Frontier, No. 14, 1942.
The Ch'iang and Shu in the Yin
Dynasty. Shuowen Monthly,
vol. 3, No. 7, 1942.
Phonology of the Ch'iang lan-
guage, group n, Lo-pu-chai
dialect. Bull. Chinese Stud.,
vol. 3, 1943.
The Tuan Kung of the Ch'iang
tribesmen at Lo-pu-chai. Fron-
tier Serv., vol. i. No. 2, 1943.
An introduction to Sung, Li,
Mao, and Min. Frontier Serv.,
vol. I, No. 2, 1943.
Ta Ch'iang Jen T'ung Hsin Lun by Kou P'in-san The origin of the sacrifices oJ
Huan Yiian Pen Mo /^j ^ ^ the Ch'iang, a tract printed!
M'^AM.i$WsMM^^ ^y th^ Canadian Missior'
Press, Chengtu.
BOOKS AND ARTICLES IN WESTERN LANGUAGES
Abadie, Maurice J. J.
1924. The races of Tonkin. Paris.
AiNscouGH, Thomas M.
1915. Notes from a frontier, a study of conditions in the tribal regions on
the Tibetan border. Shanghai.
Baber, E. Colborne.
1882. A journey of exploration in western Szechuan, in "Travels and re-
searches in western China."
Bishop, Mrs. Isabella L.
1921. Voyage a Songp'an et au Thibet, in "Asie Francaise."
Cheng Te-k'un.
1945a. The southwestern barbarians. Journ. West China Border Res. Soc,
vol. 16.
1945b. An introduction to the southwestern peoples of China. Journ. West
China Border Res. Soc, vol. 16.
Creel, Herlee Glassner.
1937. The birtli of China. New York.
Edgar, J. H.
1935. The Nine Yi, Pa Ti, Seven Yong and Six Man. Journ. West. China
Border Res. Soc, vol. 7.
Graham, D. C.
vol. 2.
1934. A summer collecting trip among the Ch'iang. Journ. West China
Border Res. Soc, vol. 6.
1942. The customs of the Ch'iang. Journ. West China Border Res. Soc,
vol. 14.
1945a. Incantations and the exorcism of demons among the Ch'iang. Journ.
West China Border Res. Soc, vol. 16.
1945b. The "Sacred Book' or religious chants of the Ch'iang. Journ. West
China Border Res. Soc, vol. 16.
Helde, G. G.
1922. Map of part of Tribes Country. Journ. West China Border Res. Soc,
vol. I.
HOWORTH, H. H.
1879. History of the southwest barbarians. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. 9.
IVANOFSKY, A. O.
1887. History of wild tribes, southwest China (in Russian). Tokyo.
Li Chi.
1928. The formation of the Chinese people. An anthropological enquiry.
Cambridge.
Liu Ch'ao-yang.
1946. On the conquering of the Ch'iang Fang. Studia Serica, vol. 5.
Mission D'ollone.
(n.d.) Texts historiques concernant les peuples non chinois de la chine, in
"Documents scientifiques de la mission d'ollone."
Morse, William R., and Yoh, Anthony.
(?) Measurements and observations on certain aboriginal tribes of
Szech'uan Province, Chinese Med. Journ., vol. 48, pp. 1207-1231.
1880. The aboringinal tribes of western China. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc,
vol. 2.
Thompson, Stith.
1946. The folktale. Amer. Journ. Folklore.
Torrance, Thomas.
1920. The history, customs, and religion of the Ch'iang: an aboriginal peo-
ple of western China. Shanghai.
1934. Free translation of a stone tablet at Lifan, forbidding Ch'iang men
from marrying their deceased brothers' wives. Journ. West China
Border Res. Soc, vol. 6.
1934. The basic spiritual conceptions of the religion of the Ch'iang. Journ.
West China Border Res. Soc, vol. 6.
1937. China's first missionaires. London.
Wen Yu.
1942. On the languages of Li Fan. Journ. West China Border Res. Soc,
vol. 14, ser. A.
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Yen Yin.
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Explanation of Plate 3
1. A small wooden jug or vial. It is apparently an imitation in wood of the
bronze vial shown in figure 3.
2. Bronze bell. Length 47 mm., width 45 mm., thickness 27 mm.
3. Small bronze vial or jug. Smooth and bright except where patinated.
Length 53 mm., maximum diameter of body 28 mm.
4. Bronze ornament with holes through sides for sewing onto shields or armor.
They vary in size. Length of this one 74 mm., maximum width 34 mm.
5. Bronze pendant. Length 61 mm., width 33 mm.
6. Bronze handle of sword or dagger, about one-fifth natural size.
7. Hollow circular bronze pendant.
8. Hollow rectangular bronze pendant.
9. Brass cooking vessel. Height 138 mm., maximum diameter 160 mm.
ID. Two-handled earthenware jug with ornamental circles on the sides and two
rows of vertical lines around the neck. They are made of gray clay and
sometimes polished black. We know of no specimens of this kind found
in ancient tombs anywhere else in the world, although some slightly
resembling them have been found with neolithic painted pottery in Kansu.
They vary greatly in size. There is a simpler kind without the ornamental
circles on the sides.
II, 12, 13. Ornamental bronze bars with two, three, and four bulbs.
14. A pan Hang or half-tael coin. About nine-tenths of the coins in the slate-
slab tombs are Chinese pan Hang, the remainder being zvu chn. This
is one evidence that the tombs were made near the end of the Chou or
during the early Han dynasty.
15, 16. Disklike bronze buttons or ornaments.
17. Small bronze button or ornament.
18. A bronze ring ornamented with birds. Diameter of the ring 41 mm.
Aside from the two-handled jug shown in figure 10, the pottery of the
slate tombs corresponds to that found in Chinese Han dynasty tombs. The slate-
tomb culture is dated by archeologists between 500 and 100 B.C.
Illustrations and information are reprinted from an article by the writer in the
Journal of the West China Border Research Society, vol. XV, Ser. A.
upper. Picture of a passport is.sU(.'d to the writer by Generalissimo Cliiang
K'ai-shek in the summer of 1941 for research among the Ch"iang. Lozvcr, Gov-
ernors of four Chinese provinces looking at a white panda. D. C. Graham sec-
ond from the right. Pandas are found in the Ch'iang region.
Upper, A slate-slab tomb on the side of a terrace in the Ch'iang region.
Lozvcr, A Ch'iang farmer at Tung-men-wai nllXi^lm.
Objects found in slate-slab tombs in the Ch'iang region near Li-fan,
Wei-chou, and \\'en-cli'uan. (For explanation, see p. no.)
Upper, Mr. Kou, a Ch'iang of Mu-shang-cliai, with his wife and child. LoTirr,
A Chiang headman and family near Wen-ch'uan. Note the beUs worn by
the women.
Upper, Ch'iang woman and girl wearing woven belts. Lozvcr, The rope
bridge consisting of bamboo cables and boards across the Min River at So-ch'iao.
The weight of this bridge sometimes breaks the bamboo cables.
Upt^er, A perilous bridge called a p'icn cli'iau in western Szechwan. It is
built on the side of a perpendicular cliff over a swift mountain stream. Holes
are chiseled into the side of the cliff and poles are stuck horizontally into the
holes. Such bridges are dangerous because the poles gradually slip out of the
holes and the bridge finally falls into the stream. Lozver, A man with baggage
crossing a bridge consisting of a single bamboo cable over a turbulent moun-
tain stream.
upper, A cobalt bridge near Wei-kuan in the Ch'iang region.
Loivcr, Ch'iang road built over a cliff.
upper. The village of Ts'a-to-kou showing flat-roofed Ch'iang houses and
Chinese temple and house with sloping roof. Lim'cr. A village showing flat-
roofed stone houses and watch towers.
Upper, The villa,i;c ni ALu ^liaiig-chai, .shouini; the tower and houses beyond.
Note the terraced hiUside in the background. Lozvcr. A street between two
stone houses, with a tall stone tower beyond the houses.
Upper, Stone towers at P'u-wa, with tops broken off.
Loivcr, A Ch'iang woman weaving cloth.
Ch'iangs : Upper, left. Man carrying home a basket of ripe corn; right, woman
carrying wood. Lozvcr, left. Woman carrying water in a wooden tub; right, hunter
holding his gun and powder horn. The gun is a muzzle loader.
Upper, Two sacred canes (on the left), and embroidered belts. Lower, left. Woman's
homespun gown or cloak made of midyed hemp; right. Woman's embroidered shoes.
(Canes, belts, and gown, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History.)
Upper, left, A house with five shrines, one for each of the five great gods ;
right, temple or sacred shelter near a sacred grove. Center. The Ch'iang priest
at Lung-ch'i-chai, standing in front of the shrine on his housetop. The shrine
has a hole for burning incense, and is capped by a sacred white stone. There
are twelve small stones around the base of the large one for the twelve lesser
gods. Lower, A house used in cremating the dead.
I'pper. left, A .aLinl yrove near Wei-chou ; right, a shrine in a sacred grove near
Lo-pu-chai, with live places to burn incense to each of the five great gods. The usual
sacred white stone is missing, it's place marked by the writer's white hat. Loiccr, left.
Priest dressed in white hemp cloth with ceremonial hat, drum and drumstick, and a farmer
dressed in dark blue cotton cloth and wearing a white cotton turban; right, the priest at
Mu-shang-chai, wearing his ceremonial hat and sword and holding his ceremonial drum,
with a lay helper dressed in white hemp cloth.
Upper, A hen- sitting by a fireplace in a Cli'iang temple. The fireplace is
composed of three stones chipped to form right angles. Each stone is a god — the
fire god, the female ancestor, the male ancestor. Center, A stove consisting of an
iron circle and three iron legs which are worshiped as gods. Loiver, Men
walking to the sacred grove to pay vows by offering sacrifices to the five great
gods. As usual they are dressed in homespun white hemp garments and are
walking in single file. The man in front is carrying a white rooster to be
offered.
Upper, left. The patron deity of a Ch'iang priest, called abba mula or ndjei chu. It
consists of the skull and other parts of a golden-haired monkey wrapped in white
rice paper; right, a priest's sacred drum with ornamented handle." Center, Ceremonial
brass gong used by priests. Lozcer, Antelope horns used by priests to exorcise demons.
(Gong and horns courtesy of American Museum of Natural History.)
INDEX
Abba Mula, priest's patron diety, 51-52
Absorption by Chinese, 102
Agriculture, 17-20
Amusements, 31-33
Animals, domestic, 20
Bartering, 13-14
Birth, 38-39
Books, sacred, 64-87, 103
Borrowing, 13-14
Bridges, 12-13
Burial (funerals), 32, 40-43, 103
Ceremonies, sacred, 58-87, 103
Charms, 93
Chia-jmig (or Jung), 2, 7, 12, 21, 32,
35, 44, 46
Chinese gods, 46, 52, 71
Chuang Hsiieh-pen, 45
Climate, 2
Clothing, 20-21
Communication, 11-13
Cremation, 41-43, 103
Dances, funeral, 44
Social, 32
Death, 40-41
Deities. See Gods
Demons, 39, 51, 87-96, 103
Diseases. See Sickness
Divination, 64-65
Divorce, 35
Dreams, 41
Economic life, 11-21
Embroidery, 21
Engagements, 33-34
Exorcism of demons, 39, 51, 87-96, 103
Feasts, 32
Five great gods, 46-47, 102
Flags, 60-63
Folktales, 7-8, 22-24
Food, 19-20
Forests, i, 17-18
Fuel, I, 17-18, 32
Funerals. See Burial
Furniture, 19
Future life, 43
Geography, 1-2
Gods, 45-52
Chinese, 46, 52, 71
Five great, 46-47, 102
Images of, 45
Local, 51
Priest's patron, Abba Mula, 51-52,
102
Stone, 50-51
Supreme, 45, 46, 102
Tree, 51
Triad, 46
Twelve lesser, 47-50, 102
Groves, sacred, 64
Hebrew origin, tradition of, 2, 96-101,
103-104
History, 2-8
Houses, 14-17
Hu Chien-min, 45
Hunting, 31
Implements, 14, 18-19
Sacred, 55-58
Incantations, 90, 91-92, 93, 96
Interest, 14
Israelites, 2
Kansu (province), 4, 6, 8, 104
Kou P'ing-shan, 7, 98-101
Kuan-hsien, i, 7, 10, 71
Language, 8-9
Li-fan, i, 12, 21, 24, 38, 50, 71, 104
Loess deposits, i
Mana, mysterious power, 44, 103
Mao-chou, iii, i, 11, 25, 27, 29, 71, 104
Map, 3
Marketing, 13-14
Marriage, 34-38
Money, 13
Morse, W. R., 9, 10
Occupations, 17-18
Omens, unlucky, 92
Oracle bones, 2, 4
Ornaments, 21
Phonetic table, v-vi
Physical characteristics, 9-10
Population, 10
Priests, 53-5S, 87, 88-91, 102-103
Religion, 43-101
Roads, 1 1- 12
"Sacred books," 64-87, 103
Sacred ceremonies, 58-87, 103
Sacred groves, 64, 103
Sacred implements, 55-58
Sacrifice, 102-103
San Miao, 4
Schools, 102
Shaman, 87
Sheep and goats, i, 3, 4, 97
Sickness, 2, 39-40
Songs, 24-31, 32, 34, 36
Soul, 43
Sung-p'an, iii, 6, 11, 27, 104
Supreme god, 45, 46, 102
Szechwan (province), 2, 4, 5, 8, 26, 27,
104
Taboos, 20, 44
Temples, 46, 62, 62, 64, 103
Terraces, i
Tombs, slate, 7
Tools, 18-19
Torrance, Rev. Thomas, 45, 96-98, loi
Towers, 16
Transportation, 11- 13
Tree gods, 51, 64
Trees, sacred, 64
Twelve lesser gods, 47-50, 109
Villages, 16
Wa-ssu, 2, 7, 21, 46
Wei-chou, iii, i, 6, 11, 12, 24, 25, 104
Wen-ch'uan, iii, i, 6, 10, 21, 43, 70, 104
Wen Yu, iv, 9
World view, 44
