Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-12-24
CHINA.
Curious Superstitions.
From Once q Week.


One very extraordinary way in which
Chinese superstitution shows itself is
in connection with the system OF an
cestral worship, to which they attach
extreme Importance. They seem to
believe that the unseen world is, in a
certain way, a counterpart of things
visible, and that the spirits of the de-
parted stand in need of the same sup
port as they did when living food,
clothes and houses-reduced, however,
to state suitable for the use of the
invisible, which they seem to imagine
is to be attained by the process of
burning! They have curious way of
carrying their superstition into effect.
Having to provide, not on the day of
the funeral alone, but in perpetu1ty,
for the comforts of the departed, they
take care that clothing, furniture, and
money shall cost them as little as pos
slble. They therefore manufacture i'm
itations of these necessarles in paper,
the paper money being covered With
tin or gilt foil; and on some occasions
a paper house, ready furnished, : is
burned and passed entire into the I'M
seen world.
The food of the spirits is managed
more simply still. The feast is spread,
hot and sGeaming, and the steam and
fumes arising from the repast appear
to form the nutriment Of the spirits,
for the substantial food is consumed
by the relatives. From this feeling
with regard to ancestral worship results
the strong desire of every Chinaman to
have son instead of daughter for
should the male line of his family fail,
the ancestral feasts cannot be properly
performed, and then not only his own
spirit will be starved, but all his ances-
tors will be reduced to state of beg
gary.
Probably the most curious of Chi :
nese superst1tions is the flung shuy, or
geomancy. The two words mean SIM
ply "wind and water" but the true
sense and import of this name for the
superstition cannot be gathered from
these words. The real object of the
study and profession of the art of flung
shuy is to WOO the good and ward off
the evil spirits, in whose existence and
power to bless or curse the Chinese
apparently entertain profound belief
As northerly winds blow in China from
October to the end of March, it is not
very surprising that the natives asso-
ciate with them the death Of nature, as
it we're, and look upon that quarter Of
the compass as the one from which
evil influences all emanate; and as
southerly winds prevail during the
rest and more cheerful part of
the year, they conclude that
all good and beneficial influences
come from the south; consequently
all the temples and houses which can
be so constructed, are built to face the
south. But, observes Mr.. Moule, it is
in the selection of sites for graves that
the talent of the professor of flung shuy
is chiefly displayed, A thoroughly
good situation must be one open to the
south, with nothing abruptly to check,
puzzle, and defeat the tide of evil from
that whitening region. If the position
be bad, the dead, irritated and annoyed,
by the unpleasant influence from the
north, make known their resentment
by causing sickness and other calam-
tiles to assail the family and finally,
if the mischief is not repaired. they
make it wither away.
Each village has it's flung shuy, its
luck, and the hand of the man who
would cat down lucky tree, thus let
ting in stream of curses from the
north, is said to be paralyzed and with
cred on the spot.
Chinese villages are often built in
squares, with houses on three sides,
and the entrance open toward the
south. The two sides, as you enter,
have different degrees Of honor and i'm
portance. The right hand is the green
dragon, the left the white tiger and
if, by design or accident, the white I'll
gers head be lifted higher than the
dragons, or if any special advantage
be gained by the left, then the luck of
the place is gone. 1t is interesting to
notice that this superstition of flung
shuy, though it prevails SO widely, and
has taken such a deep root in the
minds of the people, isyyet denounced
in the Sacred Edict as capital crime.
Prof. HaTtZ'S Box Trick.