124 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



the rescuer. For this reason many Chinese and non-Chinese in West 

 China are reluctant to rescue a person from drowning. There is also 

 the demon of a woman who died in childbirth, who endeavors to cause 

 other women to die in childbirth. 



Demons who were previously wolves, leopards, tigers and other 

 animals are sometimes called yao ch'i. Among the Ch'uan Miao there 

 are stories of demons that are the souls of vines. 



Dore, in "Chinese Superstitions," vol. 5, says — 



The reader can see, as in the preceding volumes, how the Chinaman peoples 

 the world with demons and spectres. These cause illness and disease, annoy, 

 molest, and bring all kinds of misfortune on persons and families. To protect 

 himself from attacks on the part of these malignant beings is the great con- 

 cern, we might say the almost exclusive religion of the Chinaman. (Pp. ii-iii.) 



Again he says — 



These inscriptions partake of the nature of charms, and are in reality devices 

 for checking and restraining the influence of demons, ghosts, and all kinds of 

 spectres. According to the orthodox belief entertained by Chinese philosophers, 

 demons and spectres perform in the universe the leading part in the distribution 

 of evil, hence the people are haunted with a continual fear of these evil-disposed 

 beings. (P. 431.) 



Belief in and fear of demons, and methods of preventing them 

 from doing harm, are exceedingly important factors in Chinese life 

 and religion. This adds to the importance of filial piety and ances- 

 tor worship, for practicing these virtues prevents many of the de- 

 ceased ancestors from becoming harmful demons. It is also true that 

 any person, object, ceremony, or god that can protect people from 

 demons is regarded as very important. There are ways to keep de- 

 mons from attacking a person or entering a home, and ways of re- 

 moving them after they have entered or attacked. 



People believe that saying the word demon is a dangerous thing. 

 The demons may hear it and either regard the utterance of the word 

 as calling the demons, in which case they will come and do harm, or 

 regard the saying of the word as uncomplimentary and so become 

 angry and harm people. It is customary to use, instead of the word 

 kuei, demon, hsi mo, which is impersonal and means demoniacal or 

 spooky, but it always means indirectly demons. There is a saying 

 often used in Szechwan, "Ssu-ch'uan ssu i ko hsi mo ti ti fang," which 

 means that Szechwan is a place where there are many demons. 



It is believed that demons love darkness and fear and dread the 

 light. They are very much about at night, but when the rooster crows, 

 announcing the coming of daylight, many of the demons disappear 

 and seek dark corners. For this reason, among others, people at 



