NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 211 



had ceased to be temples and were not used at all for worship, 36 

 were in bad repair, 12 were being used for schools, 7 as soldiers' bar- 

 racks, 4 for residences, and 2 each were being occupied by factories, 

 poorhouses, and military arsenals. One each was in use as an agri- 

 cultural experiment station, a secret society center, a military head- 

 quarters, a bus depot, a beggars' home, a rice-tax office, a granary, a 

 police office, a horse stable, a post office, a theater, a youth organiza- 

 tion, and tile market. Apparently all the property and some of the 

 temples had been confiscated, and the process of taking over tem- 

 ples for other purposes was going on steadily, for "possession is 

 nine points of the law." 



Three years later I was again in Ya-an for a short time, and a 

 check was made on the temples of the city. In all there were 15, 

 which was less than half their original number. Of these temples 

 three were in ruins, and in at least four there was no longer any wor- 

 ship. Every usable temple was being occupied and used for other pur- 

 poses. In only one was there much worship, and only one was in 

 good repair. A total of 33 temples had been destroyed or had ceased 

 entirely to be temples. 



Hung-ya is the first large city down the river from Ya-an. In 

 1945 I made a list of all the known temples in and around the city 

 within a radius of about 10 miles. Recently there had been only five 

 temples left in the city, but in three of these there was no longer any 

 worship, and the other two were occupied and being used for other 

 purposes. Outside the city there had been in recent years 20 temples. 

 Five were occupied, nine were used for worship only, and six were 

 reported as having been destroyed. 



Chia-chiang is a large city about 70 li up the Ya River from Lo- 

 shan. Like many other cities in Szechwan, it is a walled city sur- 

 rounded by a fertile farming district. During a visit to Chia-chiang 

 in December 1945 the following information was obtained. 



In the city and within a radius of 10 miles were 30 temples, 4 in 

 the city and 26 outside. Three temples in the city and two outside 

 were reported to have been sold and destroyed ; the other temple in 

 the city was occupied by a military school. It seems a very safe guess 

 that at least 15 former temples in the city had ceased to be temples 

 for so long that they were not reported to us. Twelve temples out- 

 side the city were used for worship only; some of these were too 

 small and others too far away to be used for other purposes. Several 

 of these were in a poor state of repair. Twelve were occupied and 

 being used by one or more organizations. Three temples were used 



