# Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills/Book 5/Charms

​Charms, Hua fu (畫符).
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.
Charms to be carried on the person are made up of all kinds of material, and worn on the shoulder, back or breast, to protect from disease, demons and every evil influence; even a cross is worn by Chinese children to prevent them from being kidnapped or harmed by foreigners. A few years ago there was a great anti-cigarette movement over an extended area in Ssŭch‘uan; vile rumours were circulated about foreigners breaking graves and extracting skulls to make cigarettes, and doubtless many graves were tampered with by evilly disposed persons, whose chief object was to get the jade ornaments worn by aged persons when buried. The rumours also had it that foreigners were castrating children, and this caused thousands of children in our district alone to wear huge white crosses sewn on the backs, shoulders or breasts of their clothing. Some children wore two or even three of these cross charms to prevent foreigners touching them. The idea has become widely diffused that foreigners have a superstitious dread of the cross and will not trample on it, and I have seen lads run in front and write a cross on the road and then stand aside to see if the foreigner would tread on it.
Shao hui t‘un fu (燒灰吞符), the swallow-ashes charm. Another charm is commonly made up of incantations against demons, written on yellow paper. This is burned, the ashes mixed with clean water and swallowed.
Wu fang chên chai (五方鎭宅) fu, the charm which protects the five corners of the house. This charm concerns the living only, and is written on yellow paper and put at the four corners of the house, a fifth one being placed at the foot of the family altar in the centre of the room. It is believed to keep the house free from demons.
Wu fang tien mu (五方奠墓) fu, a charm for the five corners of a grave. This is prepared and burned by geomancers to give repose to the soul of the dead; it is buried at the four corners and at the foot of the tomb.
​There is a charm written by the descendants of Chang T‘ien shih (張天師), of Lung hu shan (龍虎山) in Kiang-si; it is believed to be one of the most efficacious of charms for warding off demons and healing sickness.
There is also a charm written by Ling kuan (靈官). It is said that there are seventy-two idols bearing this name, all deified after the death of different individuals who, when living, had a reputation for driving out demons and warding off evil influences. This charm is widely used and almost universally believed in wherever I have had opportunity of observation; it is generally in the form of a picture, but is sometimes placed in a small box, with a spring lid, which being touched, the ling kuan flies out. This is a very fierce and dreadful looking thing, which is the chief reason for its being so widely used and universally trusted.
Chu yao chan kuai (誅妖砍怪) fu, the kill-ghost charm, is kept in haunted houses.
Chao ts‘ai chü pao (招財聚寶) fu, the collect-wealth charm, is often made of yellow silk and hung in the centre of the chief room of the house, or it is painted yellow on white calico.
Hsüeh fu (血符), the blood charm, is made by the sorcerer, who wounds his own brow and breast and lets the blood flow on to a piece of calico which is given to a sick person to wear on his body. At execution times people dip calico into the blood of the victim, and wear it on their persons. Large cash are also taken and stained in the blood and worn as a protection against evil influences; this practice is most common among devotees of the Lo Lo and Honan chiao.
An t‘ai (安胎) fu, the settle-fœtus charm, is used by women who fear miscarriage, or whose beds must be moved during pregnancy; it is mostly carried on the person or tied to the bed curtains, but sometimes it is burned and the ashes swallowed.
Ts‘ui shêng (催生) fu, the hurry-birth charm. This charm is prepared by the midwife, burned, and the ashes ​swallowed; it is used in cases of protracted labour where complications have set in.
T'ao (桃) fu, the peach-wood charm, which is hung up on the outside of the chief door of the house on the last day of the Chinese year, is simply a slip of peach-wood, but is widely used, being considered very effectual in driving away demons.
Ai (艾) fu, the artemisia charm, is used on the 5th of the 5th moon; it is a bunch of artemisia hung over the door of the dwelling-house to ward off evil.
Shan chi chao fu, the pheasant and mirror charm; a picture of a pheasant is hung in the house opposite a mirror, and when the demon comes and looks into the mirror he sees the pheasant, fears being pecked from behind and forthwith flees. This is said to be a very ancient charm.
T'ai shan shih kan tang (泰山石敢當) fu, the T'ai shan charm, or the stone warden charm. A stone from Mount T'ai in Shantung is believed to have great power in warding off demons, though any local hard stone may be used; on it will be written the above characters, "The stone from Mount T'ai dares to oppose." It is used on the streets especially at quick turnings where demons are likely to strike against it. It is largely used in country dwelling-houses and on public roads.
K'ai Pien fu, the open-heaven charm, used in divination when the heavens are slow in response to the prayers of the family.
Chieh hui (解穢) fu, the purification charm, is used to purify an impure well or filthy water buckets, the charm being burned and the ashes dropped into these places. It is also used in silkworm culture at times when the silkworms become yellow instead of white, the ashes being scattered over them.
P'o yü (破獄) fu, the open-hell charm, used at wakes to burst open the gates of Hades and release the imprisoned soul. Then the call-spirit charm 招魂 chao hun fu is used, to help the soul out of Hades.
Lien hua (煉化) fu, the purge or purifying charm; also called the suicide charm. If anyone threatens to commit ​suicide this charm is used to drive away the demon. It is also used after deaths to purge away the bad acts of the deceased.
Chao hsien fu, the call-fairy charm. It is said that each celestial has a particular charm.
Shê kuei (攝鬼) fu. The seize-demon charm is for haunted houses and is used both for wearing and for burning.
Ch‘ien chiang (遣將) fu, the dispatch-general charm. It is believed that there are in the spirit world thirty-six shuai (帥) and seventy-two chiang (將) or generals; and this charm can command the help of all these to ward off an attack by evil spirits.
Wu kuei fu, the five-demon charm. It is believed that the four points of the compass have their particular evil influences and one which controls the centre. This charm wards off these evil influences.
Ch‘i sha (七煞) fu, the seven baneful deaths charms. These seven deaths come from the following seven sources: heaven, earth, man, year, month, day, and hour.
San sha. The three baneful deaths come from the following sources, and are spoken of separately as sui (歲) sha, ch‘ieh (刼) sha, tsai (災) sha, the evil influences of the year, robbery and calamity respectively.
Wu lei fu, the five-thunder charm, is used to break up an attack of ague or demon possession. It is burned and swallowed or worn on the person. The ague demons (擺子鬼) are said to be five in number, three cold and two hot; the two hot demons were originally named mao (毛), and the three cold ones named chao (趙). Legend has it that these five stole Lu pan's (魯班) hatchet and chisels and on being pursued, two fell into fire and were burned and three fell into the river and were drowned. The patient blackens the face, adding patches of red over the eyes and nose; a high cap is put on his head and he goes out with a club in his hand and stands motionless in an open place. Sometimes people who want medicine for ague dare not even whisper the name of pai tsŭ for fear that when they speak it, it will come; they will simply give a description of the disease and sometimes hardly ​that. In some cases of ague a petition is lodged with the kitchen god, beseeching him to use his good offices.
The ague is known by these three names, han ping kuei (寒病鬼), han hsia tsŭ (瞎子), han êrh ko (二哥); the demon of the han ping, blind Han, Han number two, and is a serious sickness among the Chinese. When a person has it a staff is placed beside the wall and the sick man goes out and calls the demon, who, it is believed, takes the staff and walks out after him. When sitting in a house the custom is never to lean against the wall as this blind demon gropes around holding on to the wall and may get you.
Kuei shê (龜蛇), the turtle and snake charm, or shui ho fu, the fire and watercharm. The snake saves from flood and the turtle from fire; it is a picture of a red snake and a black turtle.
Chao yao ching (照妖鏡), illuminate-demon mirror, a round, brass mirror about five or six inches in diameter. It is worn by brides on the wedding day near the breast to frighten away demons who may accompany or meet them on the way; this is an ancient custom, but is dying out.
Chou hsien yin, or (虎符龍節) hu fu lung chieh. It is believed that the seal of the magistrate governs the demons to a depth of three feet below the surface of the ground. The proclamations issued with official seals are often defaced by cutting out the red seal mark. This is carried on the person to drive off demons. Most likely derived from the old-fashioned seals which had a tiger's head and a dragon's image on them; the seals of the present day do not have either. When a house is haunted it is not uncommon for a householder to beseech the official to stamp a few pieces of paper with his seal to hang up in the house.
P‘ei ch‘ih (佩赤) fu, to carry cinnabar red on the person, sometimes mixed with a medicinal preparation.