Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-07-16
CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS.


uery rare indeed to find even an indiyid-
val who is wholly free from the faint.
Like many other people, the great mass
Of the Chinese are firm believers in the
inevitable" and one very disastrous
consequence of this is their reckless care
lessness with regard to fire; they let off
crackers on the slightest pTovocation in
their streets. temples or houses. and often
too, in mat-sheds; they are constantly
burning mock or paper money" in honor
II deceased relatives, etc, under similar
conditions; and 20 where YOU will-into
4 temple, a shop or a private dwelling
-ou are almost sure to find slnoldering
sucks OF incense foreigners call them
ioss-sUicBs) lying about. Under these cir
cumstances. and considering that nearly
all their buildings are, to great extent,
constructed Of the most intlammable
materials, it Is not very surprising that
in a climate where everything is as dry as
finder during a great portion Of the year,
their superstitious apathy Is often the
cause Of fearful cOnt1agratiOns.
The Chinese stand in much awe of evil
spirits and unpropitiOus influences, and
consequently are great believers in the
efficacy OF charms, and pay constant at
tention to Omens
As a rule, whatever is red is thought
to act as talisman; SO if a man, when
reading the Chinese classics, marks the
stops with red ink, he is thought to adopt
the surest means Of warding off evil from
himself For similar reason parents
commonly put red in some form or other
on their children, sometimes even braid
ing red silk into their diminutive queues.
The Yi-ching, or Book of Changes, one
Of the Five Canonical works, and the Ia
Hsi0, or Great Learning, one of the Four
Books, are held in high esteem as charms
against wicked spirits, especially if put
under the pillow or placed near the bed
at night; and any one who can repeat
long quotations from them when walking
alone never need fear mOlestatiOn from
the other world
A common charm in families is the
money sword" This is usually about
two feet long and is constructed of three
kinds of things, each of which is regard
ed as a protection against evil spirits
two iron rods which form the basis of the
sword; about hundred copper coins,
either ancient or modern Of ancient so
much the better, which are ingeniously
fastened on these rods, cOncealing them
from view; the coins are tied on the out
side Of the rods by means of red cords
passed through the square holes in
their centers. Swords of this kind are
suspended at the heads of sleeping
cOuches and beds that the supposed
guardianship of the sovereigns in whose
reign the coin was issued may keep away
ghosts and evil spirits. They are chiefly
used in houses or rooms where persons
have committed suicide or suffered a VIC
lent death, and sick people sometimes re
sort to them in the hope of Fastening
their recovery Their efficacy IS no
doubt fully equal to that of a horseshoe
nailed over door, or any of those infalli-
Bile devices formerly adopted in this
country against witches and ghosts.
A species of silver paddock, called the
"hundred families lock-" is considered a
wonderful talisman for warding oft evil
spirits from a child, and, as it were, lock
ing him to life. This charm derives its
name from the way in which it is OBJ
tanned, for the father of the boy goes
round to q hundred different families and
begs from each a small subscription, and
he either. buys the silver paddock or else
has it made from the silver he has col
lected. He also prOcures Il small silver
chain or ring, which is placed round the
child's neck and fastened by the paddock
Early in the morning, at the beginning
of the fifth mood, Chinese families often
mail UP on each side Of the front door
and windows Of the house a few leaves
of the sweet flag (acOrus gramineus) and
Of the artcmisia. The leaves Of the sweet
flag are long and slender, tapering to q
point, and resembling the general shape
Of sword" The object is thus to pre-
vent all manner OF evil from entering the
house, and to brighten evil spirits gener-
ally away from its neighborhood.
A charm called the warding-off-evil
coin" is in frequent use among children,
being hung from their necl1s or button
holes; it is made of copper or iron, and
may be round, Oblong or heXagOnaI.
Both sides generally bear some charac-
tiers with a felicitOUs meaning, such as
happiness, riches, etc, and sometimes
one side has on it the twelve animals
which denote the horary characters, or
the periods into which the Chinese divide
the day.
The Chinese language abounds in
words and phrases which are looked
upon as Omens of good luck.
The Chinese unicorn is in popular use
as an omen of good This animal is de-
scribed as having only one horn, with a
body all covered with scales. For sew
eral thousands of years it has eIuded the
vision of mOrtals excepting once, when
it is stated to have been seen by COnfu-
Gus in his old age. He regarded it as
Ominous Of his approaching death; and
they say that COnfuCius was the 8 elf of
the unicorn" hence, perhaps, the origin
of the saying that an extraordinarily
bright boy is the son of the unicorn, .
or the Gift of the unicorn"
Bats (which the Chinese call 'fei
shoe" or flying mice are considered good
omens and frequently appear as emblems
Of luck on various articles; the magpie
is also looked upon as bird Of good
omen, and if a Chinaman, when busted
about some occupation, chances to hear
its cry he thinks. it a presage of good
luck, it being a cheerful sound, and,
therefore, so to speak, a note of encOur-
agement. The Chinese, however, have a
proverb respecting the magpie, that
" its voice is good but its heart is bad,
the meaning of this being that it is given
to t1attery. The coming of a dog to
family is an omen of future prosperity,
but cat is thought to indicate the APP
proach Of poverty, for it is supposed that
It can foresee where it will find plenty of
rats and mice in consequence of house
falling into decay. Grows generally are
looked upon as very unlucky; but there
IS kind OF white-necked crow which is
held in great veneration in China
The growing of a hen is thought to be
ominous Of something unusual being
about to happen to its owners, but in
this case the omen is not necessarily a