RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA 

 By DAVID CROCKETT GRAHAM 

 (With 25 Plates) 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Preface 2 



I. Introduction 2 



1. The geography of Szechuan Province 2 



2. The history of the province 4 



3. Contacts with the rest of China and with other races 4 



4. Social characteristics of the people 7 



5. The unique opportunity for the study of religion in Szechuan 



Province 7 



6. The writer's preparation 8 



7. The relation of religion to the basal human needs 9 



II. The Ancestral Cult and Demons n 



1. The idea of the soul 11 



2. The ancestral cult 12 



3. The belief in demons 13 



4. The Ch'in Min Ceremony 14 



5. Demon possession 14 



6. Summary 15 



III. Birth, Marriage, Death, and Burial 16 



1. Variety of customs in Szechuan Province 16 



2. The desire for and tiie method of securing children 16 



3. Birth customs 17 



4. Marriage 22 



5. Death and the funeral procession 24 



6. The burial and grave customs 25 



IV. YiNYANG and FeNGSHUI 32 



1. The Yinyang conception 32 



2. Fengshui 33 



V. Incantations, Charms, and Amulets 38 



1. Incantations widely used 38 



2. New Year mottoes supposed to be potent 38 



3. Charms to transform unlucky dreams to lucky ones 39 



4. Charms to cause babies to sleep at night 39 



5. Charms written on paper 39 



6. The use of blood on charms 40 



7. Other charms 40 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 80, No. 4 



