Popular Customs in West China

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STREET SOCIETIES?1.

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Every street has one or more organized societies for the?worship of local gods. Each family contributes a few tens, or,at the most, a hundred cash to the, annual celebration2. A?prominent member of the community is appointed annually as?the head of the society3. It is generally understood that he?makes some profit to himself out of the monies collected. These?societies are mostly Taoist. The people's interest in them is?partly owing to the pleasurable?excitement4?of something happening on their street.

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1. THE GREAT PRIMAL SOCIETY5.

This society operates in the First Moon, from the ninth to?the fifteenth. Its object is to propitiate Heaven and so ensure?peace to the street during the year. The main feature of the?celebration is the lighting of the Hundred Fruit Lamps6, so?called from their resemblance to round fruit.

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2. THE THANKSGIVING SOCIETY7.

This society celebrates a thanksgiving8?for peace vouchsafed?to the neighbourhood. During the observance, which may belong or short, according to the amount of money available, the?people fast from meat9, and Taoist priests chant prayers10.There are also daily feasts11?and fireworks12.

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The Society of the God of Wealth13,and the Society of the?God of the Precinct14?are also common. These also celebrate?annually with chanting?of prayers, theatricals15, either the large?theatricals in a temple, or the small shadow plays16?on the?street, feasting and fireworks.

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1.會(huì) ?2.辦會(huì) ?3.會(huì)首 ?4.好耍、熱鬧 ?5.上元會(huì) ?6.點(diǎn)百果燈 ?7.清醮會(huì) ?8.打醮 ?9.不吃肉 ?10.道士唸經(jīng) ?11.辦席桌 ?12.演燈彩 ?13.財(cái)神會(huì) ?14.土地會(huì) ?15.唱戲 ?16.唱燈影子

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PLANCHETTE WRITING1.

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A table bordered by four slats, and covered with fine river?sand,serves as a writing board. A wiliow-wand2,bound to the?brim of a flour-sieve3, and covered with a charm, does duty as?a pen. Two men, each?using one hand, support the flour-sieve?brim. Meanwhile the one recites incantations4, and the other?burns charms5, such as, the Genii-invitation Charm6, the Genii-hurrying Charm7,the Second Urging8, the Third Urging9, the?Genii-clutching Charm10, and many more. Another man burns?incense and candles, and offers tea and wine at the upper end of?the table, while a fourth?sits at another table, with paper, pens.and ink, ready to record what is written on the sand by the?spirit pencil11.

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The person, or persons, who are making the enquiries,kneel in front of the table. and silently pray. At first the pen?only describes circles, or scrawls indistinguishable signs. But?presently characters are distinctly written. As each character?appears, a bystander smooths the sand with a stick.

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The responses are usually in the form of poetry, and state?in an oracular way, whether a sick person will recover or not.whether a certain scholar will obtain a degree, or not, and so on.A medical prescription may be obtained in the same way.

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When the spirit desires to depart, it writes the word "go” on?the sand. The Genii-escorting Charm12?is then written and?burned, and the seance ends, or another spirit is invited to come?and write.

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Tie following is a copy of a response received by some?scholars of the old?school who had enquired whether they would?be successful at a forthcoming examination or not:--

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The bare twigs have their Springtime,

And the young moon lights the way.

The hill plum flowers first hold rime:

So I bring good news to-day13.

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1.?請(qǐng)乩、降乩仙 ?2.楊柳 ?3.羅圈 ?4.念咒語(yǔ) ?5.燒符 ?6.迎仙符 ?7.催仙符 ?8.再催 ?9.三催 ?10.抓仙符 ?11.乩筆 ?12.送仙符

13.落木蕭蕭轉(zhuǎn)小春，如鈎新月照行人。嶺頭梅蕊初含雪，我為風(fēng)人報(bào)好音。

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CLAIRVOYANCE1.

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Clairvoyance is practiced by Buddhist and Taoist priests,and also by laymen, in order to ascertain future events, the end?of an illness, or events occurring at a distance. The person

inquiring burns incense and candles before the gods. The operator secures the services of a boy under twelve years of age2,and,after reciting the Golden Light Incantation3, and making?mysterious signs on the whitewashed wail4, or over a large white?basin or plate, he makes passes over the boy's head and eyes5.The lights are then extinguished, and the boy is told to gaze?steadily at the wail or dish, when visions appear before him6,and he proceeds to relate what he sees. The first vision is usually of the sea around Pu-to7, from whence all the visions take?their rise, afterwards proceeding to scenes more directly connected with the case in hand. The medium is able to question?the people seen in his visions, and to hear their answers, though

they are both invisible and inaudible to the onlookers. When?the required answer has been received the operator reverses the?passes8, and releases the boy from the spell.

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PHYSIOGNOMY9.

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This is practised in three different ways.

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1. MEASURING THE FACE AND HANDS10.

The physiognomist hangs up a diagram of the face,with all?the?important points marked off. He first examines the enquirer's?left hand11,like a palmist, reading the lines and noting the?length of the fingers. In the case of a woman the left hand is?examined. The various points are named after the Five?Elements12, and these again are resolved into the Eight?Diagrams13, from which all things may be deduced. The face?is next examined. The top of the forehead represents the first?ten years of life, and so on the chin, which represents the end.The part of the face which is most fully developed shows at?what period of life a person will be most prosperous. The Five?Elements,and the Eight Diagrams are also represented on the?face, and the fortune told from them in the usual way.

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1.照光 ?2.童子娃娃 ?3.金光咒 ?4.啟光、畫(huà)光 ?5.畫(huà)諱令、畫(huà)符令 ?6.看光 ?7.普陀山水 ?8.退法、退光 ?9.看相 ?10.端盤(pán)盤(pán) ?11.看手相 ?12.五行 ?13.八卦

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Black?specks1?on the face are removed by pricking lightly with?a?needle,and applying a little dab of soda and lime. Lucky spots?are allowed to remain, but there are few such on the face2.One?exactly between the eyes is regarded as lucky, and is spoken of?as “The two dragons (the eyebrows) seizing the precious?things3”.

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Some physiognomists have no diagrams or other accessories, and are known as the “Bare Face Physiognomists4".

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2. THE STRAW PHYSIOGNOMIST5.

This man's method differs from the last?in that he measures?the enquirer with a straw from tie elbow to the rip of the middle?finger, and then, with the same straw, measures the middle?joints of the fingers of the left hand. He then selects from a?number of diagrams of a turtle6?the one that corresponds to?these measurements, and proceeds by means of the Five Element?and the Eight Diagrams to tell the fortune of the enquirer.

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3. THE BONE FEELERS7.

These are blind physiognomists, who tell the fortune after?feeling the face, arms, and legs of the enquirer. They are?usually led by another person8, who, by signs, secretly informs9?the blind man what sort of person the enquirer is. whether rich or?poor10,scholar, farmer, artizan, or businessman11.The?fortune-teller is then able to suit the fortune to the purse of the?applicant.

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1.痣 ?2.面無(wú)善痣 ?3.二龍搶寶 ?4.清盤(pán) ?5.草盤(pán) ?6.烏龜圖 ?7.摸骨相 ?8.拖路 ?9.遞暗號(hào) ?10.富貴貧賤 ?11.士農(nóng)工商