IV SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I42 



from one station or city to another or to outstations or smaller towns 

 and cities. Three times on the way to and from the United States I 

 passed through Kweichow and Yunnan Provinces. In 1936 travel for 

 the museum of the West China Union University took me to Shanghai, 

 Nanking, Tsi-an, K'aifeng-fu, An-yang, Si-an, Ch'ang-sha, and 

 Peking, where I visited museums and libraries, interviewed scholars 

 and scientists, and visited archeological sites such as An-yang, 

 Lung-an, and the cave of Peking Man. During all these trips I took 

 many notes and pictures. Of the West China provinces, I have lived 

 in or visited Szcchwan, Sikang, Shensi, Kweichow, and Yunnan. 



In 1920 the opportunity came to study the Ch'uan Miao. This re- 

 sulted in several articles for scientific journals and in the book, "Songs 

 and Stories of the Ch'uan Miao," published by the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution in 1954. Twice I visited the Lolo country and for several years 

 made a first-hand study of the Ch'iang, spending three summer vaca- 

 tions and several shorter periods among them. One summer trip took 

 me through Mu-p'ing among the Chia-jung, and three times I visited 

 Tsagunao. Three trips through Tatsienlu to parts of Sikang or 

 eastern Tibet afforded the opportunity of visiting lamasaries, meeting 

 lamas and Living Buddhas, and witnessing a 3-day "devil dance," or, 

 as the Tibetans call it, the festival (or dance) of the gods. 



Beginning about 1930 it became increasingly evident to observers 

 that the great changes taking place in China were having very im- 

 portant effects on the religious life of West China, especially evident 

 in the uses of the temples and the worship in them. In 1928 two 

 Chinese teachers assisted me in making a survey of the temples of 

 I-pin or Suifu, the results of which were published in the Chinese 

 Recorder, At this time few changes were evident in the temples. 

 From 1941 to 1944, with the help of three university students, I made 

 a careful survey of the temples of Chengtu, the capital of the province. 

 The results were striking. In 42.4 percent of those that could be found 

 there was no worship at all, and in 44.3 percent more, very little 

 worship. Eight and one-tenth percent were used for other purposes 

 but were also much used for worship. Only 5.2 percent of the temples 

 were used for worship only, and nearly all of these were small. This 

 survey was followed by shorter studies of the temples of Ya-an, Chia- 

 chiang, Chia-ting or Lo-chan, Qii'ien-wei, and I-pin. It was evident 

 that great and significant changes were taking place in the religions 

 of West China, and an attempt was made to discover the causes of 

 these changes. 



In pursuing this study, which began in earnest in 1920, I have read 



