, 1874-06-14
ner OF evil from entering the house. and to
Tighten evil spirits generally away from ITS

nesghborhood.
4 charm called the " varding-oE-oyil coin
in frequent 1se among children, being hun
5 | from their necks or button-holcs 1t ~ mado {
copper or iron. and may be round, oblonG, {
hc1ngonal. Both sides generally bear so1n
| characters with q felicitous meaning, such q
happincss, riches, etc, and sometimes one sid
has on it the twelve animals which denoto til
horarv characters or the periods into which til
| Chinese diTide tho day.
LCcKY oxESs.
The Chinese language abounds in worn
and phrases which aro looked upon il
which are considered exceedingly felicitous III
Shou, meaning longevity, which is written il
numerous different Ways: and Fu, meaning hap
:. pncs8; the latter especially is used on all sort
OF occasions as syrnbolical Of good luck. 1t i
often written On sheet OF red paper with blacl
| lnk, or on white paper With red ink, and pastet
upon the door frame, aud this is very conlnonl.
done ut new year time. "Not unfrcQuentiyl it Il
seen written very prettiy in q large form. from
two to six or eight feet across on the wall or
porite the front or main door of o house. Thu
custom is explained By snyinE that happlnesf
WILL IN this way always be near by"
The Chinese in some parts, aro slnguarl3
fond Of wearing ornaments mado OF gems ol
precious stones (commoni! jade), either genu-
inc or initiated. Tho material is first ground OF
worked down to tho desired shape, and then
some characters or felcitous sentences arc Gu
grayed on it, such as Happiness Like the East-
eth OCEAO+ mEIUlHr IUuk1uauCe VI AANA41ohAt5
like the Southern Mountains" meaning dura-
bility and permanencc OF ''Long life, wealth,
and office" OF :'Gold and gems filing
the house." or simply the word "Hap-
piness." These badses or ornaments are OF
various shapcs-ci,cular, square, oblong, or fan
| flowers. They are worn as fnger-rings. or on
] the caps OF men aud boys, or as ornaments for
| tho heads OF females. or they nre suspended
| from various parts OF the dress
g. -1nw~
omen OF good. This animal is described as hny-
ing Only one horn, with body all covered with
Scales. For several thousands Of years it has
eludcd the vision OF mortals. excepting once
when it is stated TO have been seen by Confuciua
in his old ago. He regarded it us ominous Of
his approaching death aud they say that Con-
fucius Tas the - elf Of the unicorn y hence,
perhaps the origin OF the sayiug that Ill exttaor-
dina1iy bright boy is :. the son OF tho unicorn"
OF g the gift of tho nnicorn.''
Bats (Which the Chinese call i" fet shoe " or
flying mice) are considered good omens, and fre-
quent1y appear rs enb1ems Of luck on various
articles; the nagple is also looked upon as bird
OF good omen, aud if & Chiuamau. when buslcd
about ZONE occupation, chances to hear its cry,
he thinks it q pressuge Of good luck, it being
u cheerful sound, and, therefore, 30 to speak, q
uoto of encouragement. Tue Chinese, however,
have proverb respecting the m2gple, that Its
yoice it good. but its heart is bad, the moaning
of this being, that it is given to flattery. Tho
prosperity, but cat is thought to indicate the
approach Of poverty, for it is supposed that it
can forsee where it will find plenty OF rats and
mice, in consequence Of house falling into de-
cay. Crows generally are looked upon rs very
u,lucky; but there is D kind of white-necked
crow which is held in great veneration in China.
The growing of . hen is thought to be omin-
GUS Of something unusual being about happen
to its owners but in this case the omen is not
necessarily bad one, as it seems to be con-
EfHarpi in nT,a teTfE n
tr1cts at the present day It will, perhaps.
hardly be belieycd-but it is a fact nevertheless
that during the summer OF last year and only
sorne GO miles from London, when an unfor-
in their superstitions terror forced its
owner to wiring its neck, being under the
impression that that cruel proceeding alone
could Raye them from the evil which they fancled
WAS impending over them! The Chinese bail
with joy tho adyent of swallows, and believe
that the owners Of the buildings where they
make their nests are sure to meet with pros-
perity- The cry Of tue owl is everywhere heard
With dread, as portending an approaching DEATH
Besides the foregoing, tho Chinese also derive
omens from the changes in the appearance of
certain flowers. and in several other ways.
"But the stlansest and most unaccountable Of
the Chinese eupctetitions Is what they denon-
mate
'FooSo snUEY,'+
wind and wntcr-n apocios OF geomancy or d be-
local situations, or aspects. Before house is
built burlal-place selected it il necessary to
consult certain professors Of the occult science,
who, ct tAe pr1:o of adequnte fees proceed With
much 6olemulty to examine the situation After !
frequently peranbulating and examining the
ground, aud even deferring their decision for |
months, they will fix on eolne particular place.
. . II, after all the expense and trouble OF !
consulting the cheats who profess the art, ill
fortune rather than good should attend the par
ties this is, of course, attributed to anything
except the inetticiency Of tho foong shuey.
This term may III general be construed by tho
word luck, and it has been supposed that in q
country like China, nhe1s nearly all long
journeys arc performed by water, good
wind and water or, i'll other words, good luck in
3 journey, has by degrees come to signify good
luck in every circumstance aud condition OF
life" He are iuchnod to think TINT Sir John
Davis, writing AS he did Mt d time when tue man
nera and customs Of the Empire were not so we'll
understood by foreigners thoy are now, doeA
lot lay sufficient etress on the importance which
;he Chinese attach to their doctrine Of Feng |
shut, for it is undoubtedly q very serious etum-
1liug-block in the way Of the progress Of Euro
3can civilization in the country. When the
Jhineno have no other argument left to urge
against an innovation, they take their stand on
he Fcng shni, and it would see1n as if no amount
,f reasoning were sufficient to remove the OBJ
'tacle which to civilized mind appears nothing
more than ridiculous superstition.
TIE DRAGON.
In conclusion, We would say few words re-
'pecting the dragon (Lung), which holds strik-
ug position in the affections of this suuerstitious
'eople. With them sit is frequently represented
s the greatest benefactor OF mankind and il is
he dragon which Causes the clouds to form and
he ruin to fall" The true Dragon with five |
LAWS on each Of its four feet, is appropriated to
he Emperor. as the emblem OF imperial power.
IS likeness is embroidered on his robes OF state,
nd lis throneis called the dragons seat.t Dr. S.
gells Williams, in his Middle Kingdom, observes
18th come quaDtnees, 1.-THE old dragon, it
light be almost said, has coiled himself round
he Emperor of China, cne of tho greatest up
olders OF his powor in the world, and coutriyed
. get himself wortliped through him by one
1Id Of the human race.'' The tr1le dragon is i
aprescnted Us having ears aud with two
orns on its forehead through which it Is sup {
oeed to hear, and it's body is said to be covered
ith scales. The fable runs that it never re-
calls its entire form to mortal man, always
artlally ehrouding itself in clouds. According t
some, wator-spouts are caused by the moyo-
,cnta of tho dragon and in times Of drought ! !
applications are made 70 It. az kind or rain {
Cd Of rain king, BY me Emperor and the people {
China. !
The Chinese often make uso hof an inferior {
ort OF dragon il pictures, deyices, ETC.; aud a.