tlO SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



virtually all the women, since formal education for girls had barely 

 made a beginning in China by the end of the 19th century. Women 

 are generally more religiously inclined than men, and they had much 

 to do with the education of the children. Though it is true that the 

 ideas of the scholars influenced the ordinary Chinese people, it is 

 also true that the beliefs and practices of the common people strongly 

 influenced the scholars and rulers of China. 



In my study of religion in West China, my main interest has been 

 the folk religion of the Chinese. My aim has always been to be ob- 

 jective, to find out what the people themselves believed and thought. 

 Not only have I witnessed many ceremonies and festivals, but I have 

 talked about their beliefs with many hundreds of Chinese of all 

 classes, checking and rechecking my conclusions. What I found to 

 be true in southwest China may or may not be true in some other 

 parts of China. 



YIN-YANG AND FENGSHUI, MYSTERIOUS POTENCY 



In the China that was, everything is either yin or yang. Women 

 are yin, and men are yang. The moon is yin, and the sun is yang. 

 Some stars are yin, and others are yang. The under side of a table 

 or chair is yin, and the upper side is yang. The shady side of a 

 mountain or hill is yin, and the sunny side is yang. Some diseases 

 are yin, and others are yang, and some medicines are yin, and others 

 are yang. Even the weather is affected by the interaction of the yin 

 and the yang elements. When the weather is cloudy, the yin pre- 

 dominates, and it is likely to rain. A cloudy day is called a yin t'ien, 

 and a bright, sunshiny day is called a yang t'ien. When the yang 

 predominates, the weather is fair. The four seasons are regarded as 

 a struggle between these two elements. Half the year the yin pre- 

 dominates and the weather is colder. The other half of the year the 

 yang predominates and the weather is warmer. 



The Chinese divided all substances into five elements : metal 

 ^, wood ;^c, water 7X» fire yc, and earth i:. Each of these was 

 subdivided into the yin and the yang, as shown below. The significance 

 of this diagram is that each of the five elements can be either yin 

 or yang. 



yin j^ The five elements 3£^ yay^g. ^ 

 ^ Metal ^ ^ 



2, Wood ;fc ^ 



^ Water 7K i 



T Fire ^ ^ 



g Earth ± }% 



