r. off SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 142, NUMBER 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA (With 28 Plates) Bv DAVID CROCKETT GRAHAM (Publication 4457) NOV 6r CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOVEMBER 1, 1961 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 142, NUMBER 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA (With 28 Plates) By DAVID CROCKETT GRAHAM CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOVEMBER 1, 1961 PORT CITY PRESS, INC. BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A. PREFACE In the fall of 191 1 my wife and I, together with a number of missionaries bound for West China, boarded the steamship Siberia at San Francisco and started for Shanghai. Though radiograms were received en route stating that China was in a state of revolution, we went on to Shanghai, where we rented a building in the British con- cession. There we lived and studied the Chinese language until the revolution was over and the country was again peaceful. We then journeyed to Szechwan Province, where we spent most of our time until the late spring of 1948. After being stationed for 20 years at Suifu ^M) riow I-pin, I was transferred to Chengtu^^, the capital of the province. At I-pin I gradually assumed responsibility for missionary work, but continued to study the language, completing the 5-year course being given for new missionaries. Included in this course were the Three- word Classic, the Four Books of Confucius and Mencius, the Sacred Edict, and the Fortunate Union. Later I also read and studied the Five Classics of Confucius. I found in these books high moral and spiritual ideals and teachings and began to have a wholesome respect for Chinese learning and culture. In the fall of 19 19 I entered the Divinity School of the University of Chicago for a year of postgraduate study. Here my studies in- cluded, besides religious education, the world's great religions, the history of religions, and the psychology of religion. Further courses taken at Chicago in 1926 covered anthropology, ethnology, and the psychology of primitive peoples and of primitive religion. My doctor's thesis, "Religion in Szechwan Province, China," was mainly the result of first-hand studies and research in the religions of Szechwan. This was published in 1928 by the Smithsonian Institution. During the summer of 1931 I took a course in field archeology under Fay-Cooper Cole of the University of Chicago, and during the following fall and winter I took courses in archeology, ethnology, physical and cultural anthropology, and methods of research under Professors Hooten, Tozzer, and Dixon at Harvard University. During the period 1919 to 1939 I made 14 summer expeditions to different parts of Szechwan and the China-Tibetan border and a large number of shorter trips. Later, two summer vacations were spent among the Ch'iang. My missionary work often involved traveling IV SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I42 from one station or city to another or to outstations or smaller towns and cities. Three times on the way to and from the United States I passed through Kweichow and Yunnan Provinces. In 1936 travel for the museum of the West China Union University took me to Shanghai, Nanking, Tsi-an, K'aifeng-fu, An-yang, Si-an, Ch'ang-sha, and Peking, where I visited museums and libraries, interviewed scholars and scientists, and visited archeological sites such as An-yang, Lung-an, and the cave of Peking Man. During all these trips I took many notes and pictures. Of the West China provinces, I have lived in or visited Szcchwan, Sikang, Shensi, Kweichow, and Yunnan. In 1920 the opportunity came to study the Ch'uan Miao. This re- sulted in several articles for scientific journals and in the book, "Songs and Stories of the Ch'uan Miao," published by the Smithsonian Insti- tution in 1954. Twice I visited the Lolo country and for several years made a first-hand study of the Ch'iang, spending three summer vaca- tions and several shorter periods among them. One summer trip took me through Mu-p'ing among the Chia-jung, and three times I visited Tsagunao. Three trips through Tatsienlu to parts of Sikang or eastern Tibet afforded the opportunity of visiting lamasaries, meeting lamas and Living Buddhas, and witnessing a 3-day "devil dance," or, as the Tibetans call it, the festival (or dance) of the gods. Beginning about 1930 it became increasingly evident to observers that the great changes taking place in China were having very im- portant effects on the religious life of West China, especially evident in the uses of the temples and the worship in them. In 1928 two Chinese teachers assisted me in making a survey of the temples of I-pin or Suifu, the results of which were published in the Chinese Recorder, At this time few changes were evident in the temples. From 1941 to 1944, with the help of three university students, I made a careful survey of the temples of Chengtu, the capital of the province. The results were striking. In 42.4 percent of those that could be found there was no worship at all, and in 44.3 percent more, very little worship. Eight and one-tenth percent were used for other purposes but were also much used for worship. Only 5.2 percent of the temples were used for worship only, and nearly all of these were small. This survey was followed by shorter studies of the temples of Ya-an, Chia- chiang, Chia-ting or Lo-chan, Qii'ien-wei, and I-pin. It was evident that great and significant changes were taking place in the religions of West China, and an attempt was made to discover the causes of these changes. In pursuing this study, which began in earnest in 1920, I have read NO. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS V many books and articles, especially in English and in Chinese. It should be emphasized, however, that the main source of information has been the people of West China. I have endeavored to be objective, letting my opinions develop out of the information received and the observations made, rather than starting with theories and seeking evidence to prove them. While many of the most important facts and theories have been received from ordinary, unsophisticated people, they have also been discussed with Chinese of all classes, including students, old-fashioned scholars, and scientists. The information re- ceived has been checked and rechecked many times. In this manuscript, the present tense is generally used. It should be borne in mind, however, that I am describing conditions, beliefs, and practices as they existed in West China before the modern changes took place. Many of them may not obtain at the present time. China has produced one of the world's greatest cultures, in some respects the greatest. It has produced men of outstanding ability and character. It has had several of the world's greatest historians, poets, philosophers, and artists. In a number of her arts, such as lacquers, bronzes, and porcelains, she has led the world. She has had great religious leaders such as Confucius and Lao Tzu. All these have influenced every phase of her culture and religion. Yet the great mass of her people have been, until recent decades, illiterate farmers and laborers, whose customs and ideas were often very primitive. That these beliefs and customs have continued in China practically up to the present time is due at least in part to the fact that they have seemed to fit the situations, to explain natural phenomena, and to offer a satisfying philosophy of life. The religious beliefs and practices of the common people have been modified by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism and by their sects and the lesser religions. On the other hand, these have been profoundly influenced by the beliefs and practices of the common people. The religion of the common people, called by some animism, has been re- ferred to as the real religion of China. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to many Chinese of all classes as well as to many occidental scholars for information that has made this manuscript possible. I wish especially to express my appreciation to Dr. C. T. Wu, Ph.D., a graduate of the University of Washington ; to Mr. Wayne S. Kow, a graduate of the University of Denver, for assistance in trans- lating and in writing the Chinese characters ; to Prof. Lewis Walms- vi SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 ley, Ph.D., curator of the Department of Orientalia, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, for helpful suggestions ; to Dr. Arthur W. Hummel, OrientaHst of Washington, D. C, for helpful suggestions and criticisms ; to my daughters, Mrs. Fred Russell and Mrs. Warner Edson, for drawing the maps and diagrams ; to the John Simon Gug- genheim Memorial Foundation for a fellowship making possible the completion of this work and for a financial grant for its publication by the Smithsonian Institution ; and to the editors of the Smithsonian Institution for helpful corrections, criticisms, and suggestions. CONTENTS Page Preface iii Aclcnowledgments v Background i Geography and climate i History 8 The people 12 Economic life 15 Social life and customs 27 The family and filial piety 27 Amusements 29 Some special social customs 30 Birth, engagement, marriage, death, and burial 32 Religious background 45 Early religion of Qiina 45 The great religions 48 Confucianism 48 Taoism 52 Buddhism 56 Mohammedanism 62 Christianity 63 The lesser religions 68 Non-Chinese 68 Ch'uan Miao 68 The Lolos or Nosu 74 The Ch'iang 89 The Tibetans and Lamaism 93 The Chinese 102 The Ju T'an, or Altar of the Scholars 102 The Wu Chiao, or Religion of Magic 104 The T'ung Shan She, or Society for Cooperation in Good- ness 105 The International Union of the Religions of Six Sages, or The Mother Religion 106 The popular or folk religion of southwest China 109 Yin-yang and jengshui, or mysterious potency , no Ancestor worship 119 Demons 123 Ceremonies to obtain sons 129 Ceremonies to cause or to stop rain 131 Divination and fortunetelling 134 Incantations and charms 139 The Chinese lunar festivals I44 Festivals on the birthdays of the gods 153 Oaths, vows, prayers, sacrifices, and offerings i55 Viii SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.