﻿502 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  usually 
  regarded 
  as 
  having 
  grotesque 
  and 
  composite 
  forms, 
  and 
  thus 
  

   belong 
  to 
  a 
  stage 
  of 
  religious 
  throught 
  corresponding 
  roughly 
  to 
  that 
  

   of 
  the 
  old 
  Egyptian 
  "beast 
  gods," 
  familiar 
  to 
  most 
  of 
  us. 
  Thus 
  Ho 
  Po 
  

   ("Count 
  of 
  the 
  Ho") 
  , 
  God 
  of 
  the 
  Huang 
  Ho 
  or 
  Yellow 
  River, 
  had 
  a 
  

   human 
  face 
  and 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  a 
  fish. 
  Shen-nung, 
  God 
  of 
  Agriculture 
  

   in 
  the 
  Yangtze 
  basin 
  and 
  who 
  in 
  northern 
  China 
  supplanted 
  Hou 
  Chi 
  

   in 
  the 
  same 
  capacity 
  toward 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  Chou 
  times, 
  had 
  a 
  human 
  

   body 
  and 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  a 
  bull. 
  Beings 
  with 
  the 
  bodies 
  of 
  birds 
  and 
  

   human 
  faces 
  or 
  with 
  the 
  bodies 
  of 
  serpents 
  and 
  human 
  heads, 
  as 
  well 
  

   as 
  many 
  others 
  of 
  similar 
  composite 
  form, 
  also 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  old 
  writ- 
  

   ings. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  natural 
  objects 
  worshiped 
  were 
  mountains, 
  rivers, 
  springs 
  

   (see 
  pi. 
  9, 
  fig. 
  1) 
  , 
  rocks, 
  and 
  trees. 
  Thus, 
  "famous 
  mountains 
  and 
  great 
  

   rivers" 
  are 
  often 
  mentioned 
  as 
  worshiped 
  by 
  the 
  feudal 
  princes. 
  This 
  

   was 
  undoubtedly 
  a 
  very 
  primitive 
  survival 
  ; 
  for 
  such 
  objects 
  have 
  been 
  

   venerated 
  in 
  many 
  countries 
  from 
  remote 
  prehistoric 
  times. 
  

  

  The 
  sacrifices 
  that 
  accompanied 
  worship 
  in 
  the 
  Chou 
  period 
  were 
  

   similar 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Shangs, 
  but 
  with 
  certain 
  progressive 
  modifica- 
  

   tions. 
  Among 
  the 
  victims 
  offered 
  were 
  cattle, 
  swine, 
  sheep, 
  and 
  dogs. 
  

   Horses 
  were 
  also 
  sacrificed, 
  especially 
  to 
  the 
  Chou 
  God 
  of 
  War. 
  

   Human 
  sacrifices, 
  common 
  in 
  Shang 
  times, 
  were 
  still 
  occasionally 
  

   offered 
  by 
  the 
  Chous 
  ; 
  but 
  this 
  practice 
  became 
  rarer 
  as 
  time 
  went 
  on, 
  

   and 
  at 
  length 
  disappeared 
  almost 
  entirely. 
  

  

  As 
  in 
  most 
  lands 
  at 
  certain 
  stages 
  of 
  religious 
  development, 
  the 
  will 
  

   of 
  gods 
  and 
  ancestors 
  was 
  sought 
  before 
  embarking 
  on 
  any 
  enterprise 
  

   of 
  importance. 
  In 
  the 
  official 
  religion 
  this 
  was 
  most 
  usually 
  done 
  

   with 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  the 
  shell 
  of 
  the 
  tortoise 
  ; 
  hence 
  "to 
  consult 
  the 
  tortoise" 
  

   came 
  to 
  mean 
  to 
  inquire 
  about 
  the 
  future. 
  Omens 
  were 
  also 
  drawn 
  

   from 
  various 
  natural 
  phenomena, 
  such 
  as 
  dreams 
  or 
  the 
  flight 
  of 
  birds. 
  

   The 
  howling 
  of 
  ghosts 
  and 
  the 
  hooting 
  of 
  owls 
  were 
  portents 
  of 
  evil. 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  decline 
  in 
  power 
  of 
  the 
  Chou 
  royal 
  line 
  and 
  the 
  decay 
  of 
  the 
  

   old 
  aristocratic 
  religion, 
  popular 
  concepts 
  once 
  more 
  rose 
  to 
  the 
  sur- 
  

   face. 
  During 
  this 
  period 
  also 
  the 
  religious 
  ideas 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  

   Chinese 
  were 
  influenced 
  and 
  modified 
  by 
  others 
  traceable 
  to 
  the 
  Yang- 
  

   tze 
  basin. 
  Instances 
  of 
  this 
  are 
  the 
  displacing 
  by 
  Shen-nung 
  (the 
  

   "Divine 
  Husbandman") 
  of 
  Hou 
  Chi 
  as 
  God 
  of 
  Agriculture 
  in 
  northern 
  

   China, 
  and 
  the 
  extension 
  to 
  the 
  latter 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  dragon 
  concept, 
  

   pretty 
  surely 
  of 
  southern 
  origin. 
  

  

  We 
  may 
  note 
  in 
  this 
  connection 
  that 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  elements 
  of 
  the 
  

   ancient 
  Chinese 
  religious 
  beliefs 
  and 
  practices 
  had 
  a 
  far 
  wider 
  range 
  

   than 
  China 
  proper. 
  Some 
  of 
  them 
  point 
  to 
  western 
  Asia 
  and 
  even 
  to 
  

   eastern 
  Europe. 
  In 
  the 
  main, 
  however, 
  they 
  belong 
  to 
  that 
  body 
  of 
  

   religious 
  ideas 
  and 
  customs 
  that 
  pervaded 
  southeastern 
  Asia 
  and 
  cer- 
  

   tain 
  adjacent 
  island 
  groups 
  from 
  times 
  probably 
  before 
  the 
  appear- 
  

   ance 
  of 
  a 
  Bronze 
  Age 
  civilization 
  in 
  northern 
  China. 
  

  

  