NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM I53 



humdrum of everyday work, giving them amusement, rest, and 

 recreation. 



FESTIVALS ON THE BIRTHDAYS OF THE GODS 



These festivals constitute a very interesting phase of Chinese life. 

 While many gods are deified men, many others are nature gods. All 

 gods, however, are thought of as having been born and so have birth- 

 days. The gods are many, and the birthdays of several important 

 gods occur in nearly every month of the year. 



The simplest way in which worshipers celebrate the birthdays of 

 their gods is to go to a temple on the birthday, bow and kowtow to 

 the deity, and burn incense, candles, and usually spirit money. Often 

 they also ofifer wine and food, or money or some other commodity. 

 The gifts are accepted and used by the priests as part of their income 

 or that of the temples. 



At the end of the Manchu dynasty, many of the temples in West 

 China had a great deal of property for which they received rentals, 

 and worshipers also contributed very generously. This meant that 

 many of the temples had very ample incomes, and usually the birth- 

 days of the principal gods were occasions for great celebrations. 

 Later, practically all the temple property was confiscated, as well as 

 many of the temples themselves, and the people did not contribute 

 nearly so generously. One of the results was that elaborate celebra- 

 tions of the birthdays of the gods, with great parades, feasts, and 

 theatricals, were entirely discontinued before the "liberation" of 

 China by the Communists in 1949. Before this happened I had the 

 good fortune to witness a number of the celebrations of the birth- 

 days of great gods in West China. 



At I-pin, on the ninth of the first lunar month, the birthday of the 

 god Ch'eng Huang was observed. His image was in a temple on 

 Cheng-wu-shan, a mountain just outside the city. In the morning 

 of his birthday there was a constant stream of men, women, and 

 children going to the temple to worship at his shrine. Soon after 

 10 o'clock a great parade was formed, which slowly and with dignity 

 wended its way through the main streets of the city and back to the 

 temple. Many thousands of people packed the streets and the shops 

 to witness the procession and to worship. In the parade were the 

 images of several gods, including Ch'eng Huang himself. Many ac- 

 tors painted their faces and wore silk robes, each carried in a sedan 

 chair and each impersonating some god. There were numerous ban- 

 ners, large umbrellas, canopies, and pavilions. Soldiers, police, priests, 



