288 Mr. Morrison’s Account of Charms, 
16. A charm bearing the eight diagrams, the Chinese signs of the zodiac, 
spells, and words expressive of its use, viz. to suppress and destroy evil 
spirits, 
17. A charm of the Yaou sect, consisting of a small knife, sword, and 
triangle. It is worn chiefly by females about the person, in order to avert 
the ill will of evil spirits and rustic demons. There are seals for similar 
purposes. 
18. There are a variety of charms, of various kinds, for which there are 
no names and no peculiar uses; but they are considered felicitous, and are 
therefore worn by the poorer classes, who cannot buy the more valuable 
charms. 
II. Little sacred books, called Pei king. From the specimen sent, these 
seem to contain only the pronunciation of Indian words, and they appear 
to belong only to the Bud’h sect. People of property buy them for their 
children, and pay priests to repeat the prayers, &c. contained in them, in 
order to preserve their children from premature death. The specimen sent 
is called Ta pei chow, ‘a prayer to the greatly compassionate one.” 
III. Spells.—These are formed by a fanciful union of several characters, 
to which astrology is sometimes added; and in those of the Bud’h sect 
Sanscrit or (which they appear more to resemble) Thibetian words. The 
book which accompanies the specimens is on the subject of spells, and in 
the first volume it contains a few of these foreign words. These spells are 
sometimes kept about the person, and sometimes pasted on walls or over 
doors. Some, also, are used as cures for sick persons, by being either 
written on, leaves and then transferred into some liquid, or by being written 
on paper, burnt, and thrown into the liquid, after which the patient has to 
drink off the liquid and the spell together. 
There are spells for almost every deity. Among the most common are : 
1. Yin-foo, “ Sealed-spells.” These are of the Twaou sect, written on 
yellow paper with red ink, and then stamped with a seal kept in the temples 
before the idols. 
2. San kt foo, “ Triangular spell.” This is a paper with a spell written 
on it, and folded up in a triangular shape. It is fastened to the dress of 
children, to preserve them from evil spirits and from sickness. 
