150 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



This custom commemorates the death of a Chinese ofificial who, cen- 

 turies ago, drowned himself because the Emperor would not listen 

 to reason. 



On this day Buddhist and Taoist priests sell charms which are 

 pasted up in the house to protect the inmates from demons. Other 

 charms are to protect people from snakes, lizards, frogs, centipedes, 

 and mosquitoes. A "snake medicine" is sold in the belief that it 

 will cure snake bites. About dark some people take baths in which is 

 a kind of grass believed to prevent boils. In more recent years cloth 

 monkeys and a package of medicine called hsiimg-hiiang are sewed 

 on the clothes of children as charms to protect them from demons. 



This is one of the three festivals during which people are sup- 

 posed to collect and to pay their debts. It is a day when some 

 servants are dismissed and others hired. On this day the god of pesti- 

 lence is supposed to come down to earth. Many people visit their 

 friends. People pick herbs to be used as medicine, believing that they 

 will be especially potent in healing diseases. Many seem to regard 

 this day as one which is surcharged with potency. 



On the 15th day of the 7th moon is a festival called by some west- 

 erners All Souls' Day and in Chinese Yil-lan-huei. On the first day 

 of this month the demons or hungry ghosts are supposed to be re- 

 leased from hell and allowed to roam over the earth. Ceremonies 

 often begin on the 13th and reach their climax and come to an end 

 on the night of the 15th. 



On the 13th, 14th, and 15th, Buddhist and Taoist priests chant 

 their sacred books on behalf of the hungry ghosts. In some cities on 

 the 13th (for instance, in Ya-an) widows weep loudly for their de- 

 ceased husbands, but widowers do not weep for their deceased wives. 

 On the 15th there is a family meal at which the deceased ancestors 

 are believed to be present. Food and wine are placed on the table, 

 with bowls, chopsticks, and spoons at their places, and left for an 

 hour. Then the living descendants eat the food. 



On the 15th, before and after dark, great quantities of spirit money 

 are burned. At dusk there is a procession of priests and laymen to 

 a stream or river, where many lights are released on the water to 

 be carried downstream in a long line. The sight is very impressive. 

 The idea is to give the demons and orphan spirits much money through 

 the burning of spirit money, and to entice them away downstream 

 by means of the lights. 



On the 15th day of the 8th moon is the Chiing-ch'iu, or Autumn 

 Festival. In the evening the moon is worshiped, for it is regarded as 



