James Hutson

“ When a person seems just about to die a few bundles of cash-paper are burned at his side; two candles and some incense are also burned. The dying person is sometimes moved from the bed and laid on the ground, but it is more lucky to die in bed. The superstitious, however, will not afterwards use the bed where one has died, for fear of the demons. Children of the dying kneel at the bedside while the spirit takes its departure. Rice is thrown about the house to drive away demons, if by any means the life may still be saved.
As soon as life is gone a tablet is set up. ”

“ If a cat comes to the house it is a sign that the mourning clothes will soon be needed. If a cow comes it is also a bad omen; the fear is that some murder or accident involving life may happen, and therefore the animal is seized and kept till a fine is paid which is used to pacify the family gods and restore the peace of the house. The owner of the cow will also have to hang up a red cloth over the door of the dwelling and fire off crackers at the door as he departs with the animal. ”

“ If murder is suspected in a house and no traces can be seen, the room is shut up and thoroughly fumigated with mulberry leaves and the walls and floor are soaked with vinegar; then the blood will show up on the walls and even the position of the body may be clearly seen. This kind of inquest involves the expenditure of some thousands of taels and only the rich can indulge.
On returning from an inquest the magistrate in his chair goes through burning straw at his yamen entrance, to drive off noxious smells and evil spirits. ”

“ Previous to the eclipse a proclamation is issued calling upon the people to save the sun or moon. The official sets up an altar, and candles and incense are burned thereon while he prostrates himself and begs the restoration of the luminary to its normal size; the chiao kuan or head of the religious sects goes round the altar beating a gong till the eclipse is over. In each house an instrument for making a noise is used to frighten away the evil dog. All the temple drums and gongs are lustily beaten till the eclipse is ended. ”

“ When robbers are about to commit a robbery they always have a person acquainted with the house, called a hsien tzŭ k‘ê 線子客 or spy. Hence the proverb which says tsei wu chüeh t‘ou pu ch‘u 賊無脚偷不出; 'a thief who has no footing cannot steal.'
Their first work is to count their men, to each of whom a cash-string is given, (these strings are counted on their return; if they are short one string they know that one man is wanting, and they may possibly go back to release him; unless they have reason to think that he is dead.) ”

“ On this first day the brooms of the house are carefully hidden for fear they may be used and sweep away the family inheritance. The scales for weighing vegetables are also hidden as the marks and figures make it resemble a snake. For any member of the household to have dishevelled hair on that day is very unlucky, as that is said to be how demons look, and is a bad omen for the New Year. The breaking of a rice basin or the spilling of water in the kitchen is a very unlucky thing and is taken to mean that the family affairs will be troubled. ”

“ The snake's body is very cold, its teeth of the finest, its bite the most venomous. On seeing it every Chinese gets a fright, and generally speaking the belief is that they should be killed, with exceptions which will be given. The saying runs that if you see a snake and do not kill it, in the next life you will be dumb. Snakes in private homes and temples must not be killed. Those in private houses are believed to be the spirits of the ancestors come back in this form to present themselves to the family, and incense is often offered inviting them to go. ”

“ If the swallow's brood is five in number, it is reckoned that the floods will come in the fifth moon.
If a dog sneezes it is believed that fine weather is about to come. If you laugh at a dog it will rain. If a person is bitten by a dog he asks for a hair of the dog; this is singed and applied to the wound. To dream of being bitten by a mad dog is as bad if not worse than being actually bitten by one.
If a person sneezes, the first thing he will say is "Who is speaking about me?" If a person's ears ring, some evil is being spoken of him. If ears burn a law suit is impending. ”

“ There can be no greater insult than to empty out the ashes from the incense urn; and for fear of this being done many old people will not permit the family altar to be touched by anyone.
To obtain sons they make pilgrimages to distant shrines; a man on changing his residence invokes the spirits of his ancestors to follow him. Everything pertaining to idolatry may be given up easily, but ancestor worship only with great difficulty. Some have pretended to be without a family altar, while they have still been continuing the worship in a secluded part of the house. ”

“ If a chicken goes on the roof, it is very unlucky and a sign that fire is likely to come, owing to the red on the rooster's neck, which is like fire. The chicken when caught is beheaded, and the head thrown over the roof of the house; some will not even eat the chicken for fear of fire.
To spill oil or alcohol in the house or on the street is believed to be very unlucky and a certain sign that fire will break out. Any coolie spilling oil on the street is fined or his oil confiscated to pay the expense of pacifying the fire demon. ”

“ If the sharp edge of this knife should lie near the rope handle of the scales, it is reckoned to be a very unpropitious omen; as white is the sign of mourning and the tiger is the most ravenous of wild beasts. ”

“ There can be little doubt that superstitious dread haunts most people from youth to old age. A young woman well known to us happened to overlay her child in the night, and next day she showed no signs of grief or trouble; on being pressed for a reason, she replied, "Oh, we must cheat the demon;" the idea being that if she had shown any sorrow, the demon would have come and taken the other child also. Much of the callous exterior of this people is not real, but put on for fear of demons. ”

“ Here lies a social problem of immense importance, which might well tax the heart and brain of some great statesman. If brute force could cure the moral and social ills of this people it would by this time have had some effect; but torture and capital punishment have proved futile, and nothing short of a moral and spiritual regeneration will change the Han Liu adventurer into a law-abiding citizen. ”

“ If a family has been robbed the people of the house, when filling up the hole made by the thieves in the wall, will bury some fan, rice, and some fa, hair, at the bottom of the hole in the wall, believing that the thief will fan fa, or break the law, the play being on the sound of the characters.
Woodmen are afraid of the following: ho ch‘a, drink tea, as tea is the first thing offered to a swooning man; ho t‘ang, drink soup, also tao, to upset, and fên k‘ai, to separate, ta p‘o, to split up, also ch‘ai p‘o, to tread to pieces, for fear one of their number should be killed. ”

“ For there are three spirits; one enters Hades, one the tablet, while the third goes to the grave. The cock is the perquisite of the geomancer.
Paid men carry the coffin, and the chief mourners dressed in weeds go in front and pull. Women generally go in chairs, weeping as they go. They are accompanied by umbrellas, gongs, fire-crackers, etc.
A coffin may not be borne through a city unless it has the dragon's head at its back and front. This becomes absolutely necessary when a funeral cortege has a long distance to go. ”

“ The ox is made by special instructions from the official, and great interest is taken in all the details of colour both of the ox and the driver. If the ox is yellow, the people say that the year will be a fruitful one, and a bumper harvest is expected. If it is red, fire and calamity will be rife; if white, mourning will be very plentiful; if green, plague will ravage the country; if black, sickness and disease will be plentiful. The spring will be early or late according as the tail is uplifted or downhanging. If the ox is lying down it is also an indication of a late spring. ”

“ The poor buy a piece of pork and make their bacon; but the rich kill their own pigs. This is an important affair in the country districts; before the pig is brought forth for the slaughter the master of the house puts cash paper on the ground where the pig will be killed; three sticks of incense and two candles are stuck in the ground round about the spot. When the pig is brought forth the master of the house kneels and worships it, saying, "We are going to kill you for use at the New Year season, but in the next life may you become a man." ”

“ The School, or Society, is very ancient and has always borne an agnostic stamp, both in literature and religion.
The worship of Confucius is a very real thing in China, and the substitution of a tablet for an image, a change made by the Republic, is very superficial. But few, if any, of the Confucian schools have ever been satisfied with the worship of Confucius alone, but freely indulged in the worship of ancestors, and have invited the aid of the Shaman brethren when expedient or when sickness or death in the family made it necessary. ”

“ On this day the farmers will not sweep their floors for fear of sweeping away Mother Earth who has to bring forth her fruits, neither will they disturb her by sowing or digging. The spring ox and driver having been taken the day previous to the yamen court, the official, dressed again in the robes of the priest of spring, makes an offering to them, after which he strikes the first blow at the ox which is speedily demolished by the crowd and carried off to the homes and the fields of the people. ”

“ Riddles are written and hung up over the door of the house, and in the light of the lantern festival, people guess the meaning and then, if right, jump up and pull them down; rewards of fruit and sweetmeats are often given to those who make a right guess. ”

“ The basin is filled with water, a charm is prepared and burned and the ashes mixed with the water. The reader of the spirits' decrees then stares into the basin and declares he sees and hears wonderful things belonging to another world. ”

“ The charm to put over the door is made of paper or calico which is pasted or nailed up. Over the doors of headmen the writing is in large characters, common people use smaller. Yellow is the most common colour, but small charms often have a stripe of white running through them. In ancient times it was customary to nail a piece of peach-wood over the door at New Year time, believing that this wood warded off demons. The present-day belief in charms probably arose from this custom and is very general, and the superstition regarding them very deep; they are used in almost every phase of life. ”