NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM I35 



practiced among all ethnic groups in West China, including the Chi- 

 nese. It is used on practically every important occasion and some- 

 times merely out of curiosity. 



Divination is resorted to before sending a go-between to make an 

 engagement, after receiving the horoscope of the young woman to 

 whom a proposal has been made, in order to determine a lucky day 

 and hour for a wedding or a funeral, before beginning a journey, be- 

 fore opening a store or shop to begin business, before starting to 

 erect a building or making a sale, to learn whether a sick person will 

 get well or not, and for many other purposes. 



Blind people are supposed to be able to see and know many things 

 which to ordinary people are invisible ; hence they are believed to be 

 very efficient in telling fortunes. The blind person sometimes works 

 at home, sometimes while sitting at a table on a busy street. Gen- 

 erally he has a helper who can see, to lead him when he is walking 

 about, and who by secret signs tells him whether the inquirer is old 

 or young, rich or poor, and other desirable information which enables 

 him to tell an appropriate fortune. Sometimes the fortuneteller feels 

 the palms of the inquirer, sometimes he feels the bones, and some- 

 times he merely talks. 



One way of divining is to throw bean sprouts into a pan of water. 

 By noting the shadows beneath the sprouts, a person foretells coming 

 events. 



Astrology has a large part in Chinese divination. It is believed that 

 climatic changes are related to the moral conduct of the people and 

 that the sun, moon, and stars are the means by which these changes 

 are produced. Into this theory the principle of the yin and yang has 

 been incorporated, as well as the theory of the five elements. The sun 

 is the t'ai yang, or the greater yang, the moon is the t'ai yin, or the 

 greater yin. The planets collectively are the shao yang, or the lesser 

 yang, and the fixed stars are the shao yin. The horizon is divided into 

 12 sectors named after the 12 branches. The 12 hours of the day cor- 

 respond to these 12 sectors. "The ecliptic is divided into 28 lunar 

 asterisms or constellations. Each of the azimuth and ecliptic divisions 

 has affinities with the elements (planets) and is yin or yang. From 

 this point the system has proceeded rather arbitrarily." (Couling, 

 191 7, p. 38.) Attention has been concentrated on determining fortu- 

 nate days and hours, and these are recorded in the yearly almanac. 

 This explains, also, the use of the horoscope. 



One way to divine is to consult a Buddhist or a Taoist priest. In 

 1925 there was civil war in Szechwan, and one warlord consulted a 



