Weekly Trinity journal., 1877-08-11
CHINESE CUSTOMS.
ny S. WILLS WILLIAMS.


two articles have more connection in the
mind Of Cantonese than they have with
the people of this country. Here tho
first Is associated chieay with the noise
and license of Fourth uf July, when boys
have the annual privilege of firing them
off and the second for the convenience
they afford in lighting cigars. But among
the Chinese, fre-crackers are used in
worshiping tho gods, and to drive of evil
and hungry spirits which mny be prowl-
ing about the house while joss-sticks aro
lighted to invite genial Influences from
tho gods by pleasing them with tho smoke
of fragrant incense.
The names for FIRE crackers, hidn9 pdo
and pao chuh, mean sonorous crackhngs
and cracking bamboos the latter term
is given from their resemblance in size 10
the little twigs of that plant. There is II
proverb among the people, One explo-
sion OF fireworks does awny with tho old
year." which is explained by the follow
ing legend:
"Li Man lived In the hills, and the
house of his noighbor, Old Chung, waA
continually infested with elves. Man selt
MIN every morning aud evening TO n hin
to burn bamboo sticks, whose cracking
alarmed them so that they let him slccp
in quiet till morning. On this account
people have since used fire works to terri
fy the spirits, SO that no malicious on,s
may mar the harmony of tho coming
Now YeRr crackers are also let of when
ever an enterprise, as voyage or jour
ney, is undertakon-not SO much to get
good luck to attend it, ms to drive away
all evil from hindcring it.
Fire crackers are made of coarse BAN
boo-paper rolled around II little gun pow
der and n match of paper rs n fuse to fire.
it. They nro always covered with red
paper, because that is the color of joy
among the Chinese, and are exploded on
every festive or importan occasion. Tho
bride steps into her gay sedan and gets
out to enter her husbands house, amidst
their cracking and wher they both ilr,t
|
bow before the ancestral tablet, it wnrns
malicious spirits to retire far away. Tho
snilor burns them as he weighs anchor.
and nvokcs favorable winds. The annual
offerings Mt the ancestral tomb aro pre-
sented amid their cracking, and its in-
mates left in rcpose tor the coming ycnr
with the same salute. The public courts
arc closed and the official seal put away
during the new year holidays under tho
Same auspices while in cach household
tho god of tho kitchen is thus dismissed
on his journey to report on the conduct Of
its members to Shangli, the supreme
Ruler. But the demand for this minin-
ture artillery is greatest on New lcni''
eve, when tho whole empire rcsounds with
its doaloning noiso amid the lanes and
streets of the cities. In Canton their con.
sumption is so great that tho streets nro
red with the fragments which tho farmers
sweep up to use ms manure.
Theconsumption Of fire crackers among
the Chinese, MS may readily be inferred.
is enormous, for they cntor into all tboir
religious acts, and many Of the customs
OF daily lite. The export is moro thnn
1000 tons annually, Of which perhaps
l,500 tons come to this country. How
could American boys get through Fourth
of July without them
Joss.stcks dorive thoir nsmo from tho
efforts Of the Canton shop keeper TO de-
scribe TO his foreign customer tho incense
sticks ofton seen burning on the counter.
He know that idols Of every kind wcro
called joss by the Portuguese at Macno,
derived from their word dios or God,
and corrupted in his mouth to joss) and
SO he summarily called incense sticks,
God's sticks, MS the phrnse most likely 10
be understood. On the same principle h,
calls n temple joss house the sabbath
n joss day ; foreign or native priests, joss
men and worship OF any kind, joss pd.
gin. All these words he supposcs 10 be
good English and therefore they will 10
clearly understood by the foreigner. In
cense sticks are usually made Of needle
| like .slips Of bamboo which are covered
with composition OF sawdust and clny
! in fine powder. Tho best kind ARE made
OF sandal, garoo or other fragrant woods
reduced to powder the cheaper and COM
mon sorts are Of fir, cedar, juniper, etc.
On the altar before every idol an open jHr
or vase of bronze, crockery or iron, con-
tains incense sticks In some form or other
constantly burning. Another way Of
making them is to mix the dust with glu-
tinous water and clay, and roll the com
position into aquill-shapcd strip, uniform
in size throughout. 1t is sometimes 10 or
Y feet long, aud ia then coiled into a sort
Of conical roll supported by wire il burns
so regularly that it is marked of into
certain distances TO indicate the hour Of
day and in fact one name OF this kind
means time.incense," from its double
use as n time keeper and an offering 10 tho
gods. 1t is only this kind which is ga
ported for the convenience of cigar smok-
ers. but the native manufacturer probably
supposes that his foreign customer burns
them for the same purpose that he does.
Incense sticks are also made of powdered
artemisia mixed with clay, and burned to
drive away moscuitos, which the smoke
does eflectually.
HALF the fools in the United States
think they can beat the doctors in curing