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Mythology - CAS Williams |
| Charms |
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| Charms carried on the person are made up of all kinds of materials, and worn on the shoulder, back, or breast, to protect from disease, demons, and evil influence. The Shao hui t‘un fu, the swallow-ashes charm, consists of incantations against demons, written on yellow paper, which is burned, the ashes mixed with water and swallowed. Charms are used in almost every phase of life, for the protection of houses, graves, for the collection of wealth, etc. The illuminate-demon mirror, Chao yao ching is worn by brides. Amulets, which are generally suspended from the neck by a cord to protect the wearer against evil spirits, sickness, accidents, etc., are found in great variety; stone, metal, paper, animal and vegetable substances, with or without characters or designs engraved or written thereon being but a few of the materials employed. Religious texts are used as charms or talismans. They are usually written or printed on narrow strips of red or yellow paper, and pasted on the lintels of doors, walls of rooms, etc. Some kinds are worn on the person, others made into pellets or reduced to ashes and swallowed as spiritual medicine. The larger variety of paper charms is often accompanied by curious pictures or symbolic illustrations. |
| A number of old brass or copper cash are sometimes strung together in the form of a sword, and kept straight by a piece of iron running up the middle. They are hung at the heads of beds so that the supposed presence of the monarchs, under whose reigns the cash were coined, may have the effect of keeping away ghosts and evil spirits. They are used chiefly in houses or rooms where persons have committed suicide or suffered a violent death. Sick persons use them, also, in order to hasten their recovery. |
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Another charm is the Pai chia so, or “Hundred Family Lock.” To obtain this a man goes round among his friends, and having obtained from one hundred different persons three or four cash each, he himself adds whatever money is required, and has a lock made, which he hangs on his child’s neck, for the purpose of locking him, as it were, to life, and making the one hundred persons sureties for his attaining old age. A similar article is the Ching ch`uan so, or the “Neck Ring Lock,” worn by grown females as well as by children for the same purpose as the preceding. |
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| © “Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives” by CAS Williams. |
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