Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills

Front matter

CHINESE LIFE IN THE TIBETAN FOOTHILLS by the REV. JAMES HUTSON 1921 FAR EASTERN GEOGRAPHICAL ESTABLISHMENT SHANGHAI

Preface

PREFACE

These studies were never intended for public consumption, but for personal benefit and enlightenment and it was only at the request of several friends, coupled with the fear of permanent loss owing to the disturbed state of the country, that I was induced to submit them for publication. The object of the studies was to obtain the Chinese view point concerning the many mysterious customs and practices which perplexed me in daily intercourse with this people. In order to attain this end two things have had to be rigorously guarded against—first, an adverse spirit of criticism, which closes up every avenue of information; and second, the danger of being content when only personal curiosity is satisfied instead of trying to see things as the Chinese see them.

It should be stated that no foreign text books have been studied; questions of a scientific, ethnological and comparative nature have been set aside in order to present the local view of the subject in hand. The writer does not claim to have fully attained his end or to have exhausted the information obtainable on any given subject; while variations may be found in almost every county in the province, to say nothing of the whole of China.

The little city of Kwan Hsien, which lies 40 miles to the north-west of Chengtu in the province of Szechuan, is the hub of "The Tibetan Foothills." It was from this centre, so richly endowed with natural beauty, so famous for its ancient yet efficient irrigation system, so crowded with a teeming cosmopolitan population, that these pages were gradually compiled.

The whole of the subject matter contained in this volume has passed through the pages of the "New China Review," under the editorship of Mr. Samuel Couling to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude for editing the MS. and correcting the proofs. If the printing, numbering and colour of paper should not be quite uniform all readers will kindly consider the difficulty under which the Editor has laboured while putting these papers through his magazine.

JAMES HUTSON

Chengtu, January, 1921.

Index

INDEX

Book I. Chapter I. Births.

CHINESE LIFE ON THE TIBETAN FOOTHILLS

BOOK I—DOMESTIC

CHAPTER I.

Births, 生產 shêng ch‘an, etc.

When the birth is delayed it is put down to Lo Hou 羅睺, and the master of the house fires a gun over his shoulder towards the heavens to drive away the evil influences. These influences are believed to come from the t‘ien-kou hsing 天狗星 or heavenly Dog-star. In some houses a picture of Chang kung 張公 is hung up; he is depicted as carrying a sling and stones; he is supposed to throw at this heavenly dog which comes to devour the expected child. It is said that Chang Hsien-chung 張獻忠 was an incarnation of this heavenly Dog star, which is also the devourer of the moon in lunar eclipses.

To take away or escort the blood demon 送血鬼 sung hsŭeh kuei, or demon of birth-pangs ch‘an-nan kuei 產難鬼, is the work of a sorcerer, and many incantations are practised and charms used to assist the birth; the ceremony may take; place a few days before the birth is expected.

The washing of the baby is deferred till the third day; this is called shao san 燒三 or hsi san 洗三. When the child is born it is simply wound in calico till the third day, when it is washed. This is said to be for fear the navel cord will not dry off, and will thus cause the death of the child.

If a man's heavy foot comes near the bedroom, it is feared the mother's milk may be driven away. A locked padlock is always kept on the outside of the bedroom door to prevent the milk leaving—fang jên tai nai 防人帶奶. At such times no member of the household will visit a house of mourning and no person in mourning or pregnant is allowed to carry the child, for fear its spirit may be called away.

The father of the child goes to the home of his father-in-law with a present of meat, incense and paper money, pays his respects to all the elder generation, and finally worships at their ancestral shrine. This ceremony, called pao hsi 報喜, is only performed for the first-born.

Soon after the birth the father worships at his ancestral shrine, pai tsu tsung 拜祖宗, giving thanks that another generation has been born to carry on the ancestral rites.

On the birth of the first grandson the grandfather takes round to particular friends some eggs which have been stained red, 紅蛋 hung tan, by being boiled in ochre water. This is not done at the birth of a grand-daughter.

Eggs are brought as a present to the mother, and at such times woman guages her happiness by the number of eggs she eats. In ordinary families a present of 20 or 30 eggs is quite common, but among the rich the number rises to 500 or even 1,000. A proverb says, "The male looks forward to going to the market, but the female to sitting in her room" 男子望赶塲，女人望座房, that is, for a good time of feeding up. The mother is really expected to stay for a month in the house, tso yueh 坐月, or tso ts’ao 坐草, (because she likes to sit on something soft); and she is exempted from all out-door labour.

Besides the gifts of eggs and chickens for her eating, there are presents for the child,—shoes, hats, bangles and pinafores, varying in value according to the status of the family. In well-to-do circles presents of silver, ten to one hundred taels, are sent from the wife's home, to buy clothing and luxuries for the new grandson.

The goddess of Mercy, Kuan-Yin 觀音, who gives sons to her worshippers sung tsŭ niang-niang 送子娘娘, also called san p‘o niang-niang 三婆娘媳 or san hsiao 三霄, is believed to be in the house for the first three days after the confinement; at the end of this time the father makes her an offering of wine, incense and paper, behind the bedroom door, where the goddess is supposed to lodge.

At the end of ten days the the father's mother and other relatives are invited to a feast, and presents of rice, eggs and chickens are brought to the family.

At the end of a month a feast is given, called t‘ang ping (or mi or yüeh) chiu 湯餅 (or 米 or 月) 酒; all those who have given presents are invited. After this the mother may go to the kitchen or the well; before this many will not speak to her, and Buddhist devotees are especially fearful about doing so.

After fulfilling forty days, man ssŭ-shih t‘ien 滿四十天, the mother may visit her friends and show off the baby. In complimenting the parents it is safe to say that the baby is ugly 醜, or to use any other derogatory terms, so that the demons will not want it.

Having fulfilled 120 days the mother may go to the temple and give thanks to the idols.

At the end of the first year 滿周歲 man chou sui, the mother-in-law sends presents to the child. The old custom of this season was to lay before the child objects representing different occupations in life, and his training would afterwards be directed according to the object he grasped. This was called chua nien 抓年, grasping the year.

The above are some of the customs connected with ordinary cases. Women who are barren or son-less employ various methods to obtain such issue.

They beg a prayer-tally, 求籤 ch‘iu ch‘ien from a particular idol, take it home and keep on the family altar. These tallies are notched pieces of bamboo, kept at the idol shrine for divination purposes.

They become vegetarians; this often means that they also distribute much rice to the poor. There are many kinds of vegetarian vows, such as Kuan-yin chai 觀音齋, (kept on the 9th, or by some on the 2nd, 6th and 9th, of each month); chên-wu chai 眞武齋, (a monthly fast, on the 1st days of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th moons); Tsao-wang chai 竈王齋 (1st, 15th, 24th of each moon); chiu huang chai 九皇齋 and pei-tou chai 北斗齋, (9th moon, first 9 days, or whole moon); ch‘êng huang chai 城皇齋, (1st and 15th of each moon); yüeh-lo chai 月落齋, (last day of each moon); jih-lo chai 日落齋, (daily till sunset); ch‘ang chai 長齋, (for 3 years, or sometimes for life).

Some, in the hope of progeny, do various good deeds, such as making roads or building bridges.

Anti-abortion charms an-t‘ai fu 安胎符, are sought by women who believe they have the pao-t‘ai sha 包胎煞 or the mai êrh sha 埋兒煞; that is, that they are under the curse of abortion or still-birth. The sorcerer is called in, and the woman has to give him a pair of her trousers, a pint of rice, five kinds of coloured thread and an egg; this last is taken home by the sorcerer and worshipped. All must be carried out without the husband's knowledge.

Others p‘ei hsiung ching 佩雄精 carry a charm made up of purest hsiung huang 雄黃 (realgar).

Some make a pilgrimage to a sacred mountain 朝山 ch‘ao shan; there they steal a baby-idol 童子 t‘ung tzŭ, or a lo-han 羅漢, and take it home. They also spend money on building temples or in printing books which extol the idols, such as the pei-tou ching 北斗經, the Tsao-wang ching 竈王經 or the Kuan-yin ching 觀音經.

Another way is to steal the shoes or underclothing of the wife of the city god, or of Kuan-Yin. These are taken home, put under the pillow and slept on. The virtue is supposed to lie in the fact that they are stolen.

An axe is hung on the underside of the bed in the hope of thus obtaining a son, ch‘uang hsia hsüan fu 床下懸斧. Or the ox sinew from a crossbow is worn as a girdle; 牛筋弦帶 niu-chin-hsien tai.

Childless people also call in a fortune-teller to examine the horoscopes of the couple to see it they match; k‘ai nien kêng 開年庚 or p‘ai ssŭ chu 排四柱. If any of the fine elements are lacking, some person is invited to stand surety. For example, if the element gold should be missing, some one with the gold radical in his name or someone with plenty of the gold element in his horoscope will be asked to be surety. Or butchers, priests, scholars and military men are invited if the elements show a weakness in those directions.

In cases where the marriage date has proved unlucky 年月不吉 nien-yüeh pu chi, the whole process of finding a lucky day and holding the marriage ceremony is gone through again, that sons may be born.

When the unfitness is in the girl's horoscope, making the union unlucky, friends set to work to prove that her nativity characters 八字 pa tzŭ have been incorrect from birth, 婚頭錯了 hun t‘ou ts‘o-liao; a change is made and the marriage ceremony is gone through a second time.

A barren woman goes to the temple of the goddess of Mercy, sung tzŭ Kuan-Yin 送子觀音, who always has plenty of children around her. She pulls out some of her own hair, and ties it round the arm or neck of a child-idol 拴童子 shuan t‘ung-tsu. When she leaves she calls the spirit of this idol to follow her home. Sometimes she goes to the priest and gives him her special reasons for desiring a son, and she receives from him a tan 單, which document is then burnt as an offering to the idol.

Sometimes arrangements are made with a family that has plenty of children to buy from it a new-born babe, a few hundreds of taels being perhaps paid for a healthy male child. As soon as born it is carried in the night to its new mother, who goes through a feigned confinement 假裝坐月 chia chuang tso yüeh. The child is reared on sugar and water and other concoctions.

Families sometimes obtain a son in exchange for a girl and a liberal sum in hard cash. In such cases it is always an insult to speak of the boy as adopted.

Besides the above efforts made by the family itself to procure sons, the friends of the family may do a great deal by special presents. Thus, a melon may be placed in a chair and escorted with music, red umbrella and much ceremony to the house of the childless people. There it is put on the family altar. If a child is born later a feast must be provided for those who gave the melon, or there will be bad feeling.

Again, a calf from the Spring ox (see chapter on the Four Seasons) may be presented. This dummy calf is obtained as the result of much wrangling, put in a sedan-chair and taken with music and fire-crackers to some childless family.

At the service held for the release of a soul three basins of rice are used. At the close of the ceremony these bowls of rice are wrangled for, the strongest or smartest getting them. A basin of this rice is then taken to the house of a childless friend, who puts it on the family altar and worships it in the hope that a son may be born to him.

At the end of the Feast of Lanterns the eyes of the dragon lantern, or the pao 寶, precious thing from the dragon's mouth, or the eyes of the lion lantern may be presented, and are considered very efficacious. (See under New Year).

When a family pig gets measles the owner makes a vow at the shrine of Hung-chu hsien 紅猪仙, (an image of a man riding a pig). If the pig gets well a paper pig is offered as thanks. This paper pig is often taken afterwards to the home of a son-less family.

These beliefs are very real. I know several people who bear the name of chu êrh-tzu 猪兒子 or niu êrh-tzu 牛兒子 pig-son or calf-son, because they were born after the calf or pig had been taken to their homes.

At the T‘ien shih tung 天師洞 temple there is a famous pai-kuo shu 白菓樹 (ginko tree), twigs of which are much used for the same purpose; but any trees which have shown healing virtues 顯神 hsien shên are used. The twigs are kept on the family altar for months at a time in hope that a son may be the result. Some trees gain a sudden notoriety through the priests paying someone to hang up red cloth and paper boots with a false statement that they have been healed of disease through worshipping the tree.

Sometimes one of the Eighteen Lo-han is taken from a temple and given to a childless pair. If a son is born this idol is returned to the temple with a fresh coat of paint on it and with an offering. The priests like this, as it gives the temple a reputation and increases the number of their devotees.

In some places a meeting called t‘ung-tzŭ hui 童子會 is held on the 3rd of the 3rd moon, when women who have obtained sons by taking away a child-idol from Kuan-Yin's shrine return the images to the goddess. When worship is finished these idols are carried off to be given to other childless families, and that night the streets are lively with processions of this kind going to their destinations.

Another present with the same object is a turnip with the leaves on; this is put on the family altar and incense and paper offered to it.

The piece of wood used by a sorcerer to hang his chart on when exorcising a spirit is also regarded as a useful present to a childless family.

At Ch‘eng-tu 成都 it used to be the custom on 5th of the 5th moon for youths to pelt with plums women of 'doubtful reputation.' These plums were then got hold of by other people and sent to friends anxious for sons. The origin of the idea is said to be in the story that the mother of Lao Tzŭ dreamed before the birth of her illustrious son that she had eaten a plum.

At the New Year lighted lamps are hung on trees or high poles; they are believed to attract homeless, wandering spirits, and they are afterwards given to childless families.

At the fast for protection against fire and epidemics small lighted lanterns soaked in oil are set adrift on the river. These are sometimes stolen and presented to some home lacking children, where they are kept on the family altar.

In some temples there is an apartment called the 玉皇樓 Yü-huang lou, the Gemmeous Emperor's dwelling. Before his image hangs a lantern. This is sometimes stolen and presented to a childless family. A new lantern is presented to the temple if a child is born. Such lanterns, 玉皇燈 Yü-huang têng, are also hung in numbers in an orchard or elsewhere with the object of securing a good crop.

During the first moon lamps are lighted before the shrines of the t‘u ti shên 土地神 or gods of the soil. After being used they are often presented to childless people in the firm belief that children will then be born.

Such customs as are noted above have a great hold on otherwise quite enlightened people.

The following customs are connected with the protection of children.

If during the first month or two of the child's life it cries a great deal, this request is put out: 小兒夜哭請君念讀若還不哭請君萬福; "My little one cries in the night, will good men take note and read; if after this it does not cry may ten thousand blessings rest on you."

People who are afraid of their child becoming a priest make a priest's hat and other garments for it. They think the spirits will be thus deceived and suppose the child is a priest already.

For fear a child may not live long a ring is put round its neck and locked, so kuan 銷關. This is even done to sick adults, with the idea of locking in the life that it may not leave the body.

With the same idea an old horse-shoe is made into a bangle and locked on the child's wrist—ta ma-chang ch‘üan 打馬掌圈.

Money also is collected from many other families 化千家錢 hua ch‘ien-chia ch‘ien, and made into a silver, iron or bronze collar, which is locked on the child's neck.

A tablet called ch‘ang-ming p‘ai 長命牌 is made up of the characters for long life, riches and honour. It may be worn suspended round the child's neck or on his cap. It is sometimes the gift of friends. A tablet with the figures of the Eighteen Lo-han is similarly worn.

A coin-shaped tablet on the cap with the Eight Diagrams 八卦 pa kua engraven on it is supposed to repel evil influences.

In the same way are worn the images or names of the 12 Buddhist pratyeka who were disciples of the goddess of Mercy 十二圓覺 shih-êrh yüan-chüeh; or of the twenty-eight constellations; or of the 36 or 72 famous generals who are supposed to be able to ward off demons.

An embroidered cat on the cap, with eyes and mouth facing outward, is worn to drive away demons. A monkey embroidered on the shoulder has similar virtue.

The wearing of ear-rings is supposed to help a child to live, as giving it something extra to hold on to.

Other objects thus carried on the cap or elsewhere on the person as reservatives are the image of Lao Tzŭ, or of the Eight Immortals 八仙 pa hsien; or of the the character 壽 shou longevity, with five bats fu, 蝠 (symbol for happiness, punningly for 福 fu); or 100 silver badges with shou 壽, wishing the child may living 100 years; or the image of sun and moon; or that of a bald, long-bearded old man.

Another way is to tie the hand, foot or neck with red, black or green cord. The knots used may be 72 in number, 36, 28 or 12, signifying the same as in a paragraph above. These cords are also worn by adults.

Boys who are expected to be good at business, or girls who, it is hoped, will be clever at needle-work, wear respectively an abacus 算盤 suan p‘an and scissors 剪刀 chien tao as badges.

The image of the god of smallpox and measles 痘母神: tou-mu shén, is taken from door to door in a box by a very disreputable looking person. Women offer to it shoes, rice or money, and then expect their children will not succumb to these diseases.

Bridges and stone tablets 碑 pei are worshipped to gain their protection for children (see chapter on Passing crises); or a willow tree; this is a cheap wood, not much wanted, and the hope is that no spirits will want the child.

The length of time during which a child is suckled is three years. Some of course do not have so long, and a few have a longer time. One man I know, over 70 and very robust, regards his present good health as due to his mother nursing him till he was over six years old. The custom of three years of mourning for a parent is based on this three years' nursing.

As to infanticide, 丟兒溺女 tiu êrh ni nü: if male children are thrown out it is generally because they are illegitimate. Girls are drowned or starved by both rich and poor; by the rich, it is said, even more than by the poor. The rich suppose that a disproportionate number of girls shows the family stock is degenerating; the poor destroy their girls because they are unable to support them. It is impossible to get enough information to make a reliable estimate of illegitimate births and infanticides, but it is certain that both are very numerous among both rich and poor.

When a person falls sick a quack doctor may make him believe that his spirit has already departed and entered into a certain pregnant woman, and that the only hope for his life is to curse this woman and make her miscarry. This is done by the 胎術 t‘ai shu, womb black art. Generally a witch is called in; she takes an egg and recites over it an incantation somewhat as follows: "If the spirit has gone south the south precinct god 土地神 t‘u ti shên will bring it back; if to the north, the north precinct god will do the same," etc. The egg is then put in hot ashes, and if it spurts in any direction the spirit is called back from that quarter with the usual ceremonies. Persons known as shuan t‘ai-ti 拴胎的 are called in for the purpose of counteracting this black art.

It is believed that deformed and maimed births 瘸精瞎怪 ch‘üeh ching hsin kuai, are the outcome of sin, whether of adultery or of irregular intercourse as to time or place.

Book I. Chapter II. Passing Through Crises.

CHAPTER II

Passing Through Crises

(or, crossing the barriers 度關 tu kuan)

To take children through the important crises in their lives is the work of a sorcerer. On consultation the fortune-teller announces the critical times in the child's life, when that life may be in danger. The sorcerer's help is then asked for, and he invokes the aid of the k‘ai-kuan t‘u-ti 開關土地 the precinct god who opens barriers.

The following are a few of the crises or barriers which may occur in a child's life, and with respect to which he must be carefully guarded.

There is the 短命關 tuan ming kuan or short-life barrier, which means that the child may die at any age before 12 years. At 12 the barrier or crisis is over. There is also the 100-days barrier; the child is not safe till past that age.

The Buddhist-priest barrier 和尚關 ho-shang kuan, means there is danger that the boy will run away from home and become a priest, which is equivalent to losing him altogether.

The "knock-door crisis" 撞門關 ch‘uang men kuan means there is danger that the child some time visiting a neighbour's house will get bitten by a dog or catch some infectious disease. This barrier is avoided in the following fashion. The parents take the child out for a walk, and accost the first person they meet, pedlar, beggar, or what not. They salute him and tell him the matter, asking him to become surety for the child. If he consents he will give the child a new name and become his kan tieh 乾爹 informal adoptive father (or kan ma 乾媽 adoptive mother). The person is then invited to the house and food put before him, and the same evening the necessary ceremony, much the same as in sorcery, is performed in the house.

The danger may be that the child must pass the lei-kung kuan Thunder-god barrier, or be killed, as the Chinese say, by thunder. Such death is regarded as evidence of the special displeasure of Heaven.

Another crisis is the ch‘ü-ming kuan 取命關 or taking-life barrier. There is danger of the child's life being taken by a demon. In this case a butcher is asked to become surety or adoptive father, because he carries a knife and can thus frighten away the slaying demon. Much the same ceremony is performed as in the "knock-door crisis."

It may be threatened that some heavy or sharp article shall fall on the child and kill it; this is a tao-chên kuan 刀砧關 or knife and anvil crisis. A butcher with his knife or a blacksmith with his sledgehammer is sought as kan tieh.

The danger may be that of drowning, lo-shui kuan 落水關. Any willing person may be made kan tieh in this case.

The p‘ei-ma kuan 披麻關 or donning-sackcloth barrier, means that there is danger the child may be left an orphan, or that he will fall sick if he sees anyone in mourning.

The crisis to be dreaded may be that the child will one day fall through a hole in some bridge and be drowned. This is the tuan-ch‘iao kuan 斷橋關 or broken-bridge crisis.

The child may be liable to the chiang-chün kuan 將軍關; that is, he may be accidentally shot. To avert this calamity, or to get past this barrier he must worship at the tomb of some military general 將軍, or at some memorial stone. Such a lad will most likely carry through life the nickname pei 碑 or tablet, because he worshipped at the stone slab.

There is a crisis recurring at 3, 6 and 9 years old, san liu chin sui kuan 三六九歲關. The child with this threat on him is not allowed to travel far or visit any house where a corpse or coffin may be till he is ten years old.

The white tiger barrier 白虎關 pai-hu kuan, means that a dog will bite the child, or a demon attack him, or that he will be left an orphan.

There is fear that the child will be made ill by the sight of blood; this is called the blood-dish barrier 血盤關 hsüeh-p‘ên kuan. A butcher is the proper kan tieh to be sought for in this case.

There is danger lest the child should be scalded by the upsetting of a kettle of water or burned by the fire-brazier in the winter. The people are in the habit of putting the fire-basket under their clothes or even taking it to bed with them with the result that many lives are lost and much property destroyed.

Book I. Chapter III. Marriages.

CHAPTER III

Marriages 婚姻 Hun Yin.

Betrothal may take place very early; friends will sometimes betroth their unborn children.

Marriage with one of the same family name is forbidden by law; but such marriages do take place when there is a different ancestry, 同姓不同宗 t‘ung hsing pu t‘ung tsung.

A male go-between is called 媒 mei, and a female is 灼 cho. Marriages are said to be arranged by 父母之命媒灼之言 fu mu chih ming mei cho chih yen, "Parents' will and middleman's words." The children are supposed to have nothing to do with the arrangements, but in fact their likes and dislikes count for a good deal.

Another name for the go-between is hung-yeh 紅葉 red leaf. The term originated in the T‘ang dynasty. A female palace-slave whose life was made bitter by her imperial mistress wrote her troubles on a red leaf and threw this into the moat. A young scholar got it and forwarded a reply in the same romantic way. Later some of the slaves were married off by imperial orders, and the girl fell to the lot of the scholar without their knowing till afterwards that they had been the corresponding parties.

Preparing the horoscope before marriage is called k‘ai pa tzū 開八字, preparing the eight characters. These characters give the year, month, day and hour of birth. The saying is, "The man's horoscope is never false; the woman's never true." A fortune-teller is called in to examine the girl's horoscope, and if he finds it is an unlucky one it will be falsified before being reported to the family with whom a marriage is sought.

It is said that in the time of Han Wên Ti 漢文帝 a barbarian chief wished for marriage relationships with the Chinese. The Chinese professed willingness, but warned the barbarian Man-tzŭ that it would be unlucky for them if marriages were made with unsuitable horoscopes. They were then able to decline marriage on the ground that 八字不合 pa tzŭ pu ho, the horoscopes do not agree. To this day, in refusing a proposal of marriage the people almost always say jên k‘ên hun pu k‘ên 人肯婚不肯 "We are willing but the horoscope is not."