NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 10/ 



The 1 6 commandments, 8 positive and 8 negative, were as follows : 



A. Those to be observed: 



1. To strongly believe in God. 



2. To diligently cultivate personal virtue. 



3. To obey parents, respect elder brothers, love younger brothers, and to be 



faithful to friends. 



4. To speak and act honestly. 



5. To sincerely exhort people to be moral. 



6. To give to the poor as much as one can afiford. 



7. To abide by the laws of the country where one lives. 



8. To have a proper vocation. 



B. Those to be prohibited: 



1. To believe in heterodoxy, magic, or idols. 



2. To kill persons. 



3. To commit adultery. 



4. To steal. 



5. To rebel. 



6. To drink wine, fight or contest with others, or indulge in bad habits. 



7. To gamble. 



8. To interfere with politics,^ 



To become a member of this new sect, one must take 13 steps, the 

 first of which was to swear to keep the teachings secret except to 

 other believers, who also swore an oath to keep them secret. The 

 second of the 13 was to attempt to fast 40 days as Jesus did. The 

 fasting was to be in a secluded spot, accompanied by meditation. 



T'ang issued at least three manifestos, in which he foretold a 

 worldwide catastrophe to take place on September 25, 1923. One 

 was published in the West China Missionary News, January 1924. 

 It was entitled "A Thunder Clap," and foretold on that day the great- 

 est earthquake that ever occurred, the greatest flood that ever oc- 

 curred in the world, the greatest shock in the air that ever occurred, 

 that many stars would fall on the earth, and that many angels and 

 numerous heavenly soldiers would come into the world. He issued 

 warnings to kings and presidents of all nations, to ministers and 

 officials, to soldiers of all nations, to scientists and philosophers, to 

 capitalists, to laborers, to Christians, Mohammedans, Jews, Buddhists, 

 Confucianists, and Taoists. The following is a shorter manifesto that 

 the writer collected and preserved. 



PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT TRIBULATION 



I. The general preparation is to avoid hunger, thirst, and coldness. Besides 

 this, nothing could be prepared by human beings, for it is in the power of God. 



° West China Missionary News, January 1924, p. 4. 



