NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM II9 



stitions," about which the word ling is used as an adjective meaning 

 efficacious. He quotes Dore as saying in a footnote, "thunder, accord- 

 ing to the Chinese, is produced by the Yin and the Yang coming into 

 colHsion." (Pp. 172-173.) 



The next illustration given by Professor Day is the use of Hng- 

 chu, "sepulchre of the soul." Dore and Day interpret this term as 

 meaning soul and, at the same time, efficacious. The use here is 

 almost exactly like that of ling-p'ai, or spirit tablet. It is very likely 

 that the Chinese here think of ling as meaning primarily the soul of 

 the dead person, and only secondarily if at all as meaning efficacious. 

 Professor Day gives two more instances in which ling is an adjective 

 meaning efficacious. (Pp. 172-173.) 



More instances could be given. Ling-nien means efficacious, or pos- 

 sessing this mysterious potency. Ling-tsu-ch' ao is the name of a mar- 

 velous grass that, if eaten, enables a person to live forever without 

 aging. However, ling is often used to designate a human soul, es- 

 pecially that of a dead person, and the phrase in the Christian New 

 Testament, "God is a spirit," is translated "Shang-ti shih i ko ling." 

 It seems that the word ling, or some combination of it with another 

 Chinese word, ought to designate the mana concept, but this is far 

 from being proved. 



Between the years 1920 and 1948 I often talked with Chinese in 

 West China about the yin-yang and fcngshui concepts, and also the 

 mana concept. I discussed it in university classes and in classes in 

 the Union Theological School, and discussed with many Chi- 

 nese the possible use of ling, sJicn j^, and ch'i ^, as names of 

 the mana concept. The persons consulted included scholars, uni- 

 versity and theological school students, merchants, priests, and many 

 common people. Not one of them felt that either of these words was 

 an appropriate name for this mysterious potency. They all agreed that 

 the yin-yang and fengshid concepts are the Chinese equivalent of the 

 mana concept. This leaves me in the same position that I took in 

 1929 and quoted above. It is very likely that Chinese anthropologists 

 will give us the correct term, either by using old Chinese words or 

 by transliterating the word mana. 



ANCESTOR WORSHIP 



As we have already stated, at the very beginning of Chinese history 

 ancestor worship was already an old and well-established custom 

 (Addison, 1925, p. 3; Creel, 1935b, pp. 80, 126, 174). It has long 



