14 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



condition and to become reborn as human beings they must cause 

 Others to die in childbirth. Mo gin kitci have been killed by having 

 their throats cut, and try to cause others to die in that way so that 

 they can escape from their condition. 



4. THE CI-l'lN MIN CEREMONY 



On the fifteenth day of the seventh moon, there is what corresponds 

 to the All Saints' day as it was originally observed in Europe.^ Elabo- 

 rate ceremonies are held. Amid the beating of gongs and the playing 

 of musical instruments, much paper money is burnt. At night lights 

 are set floating on streams or rivers. Having received the money and 

 other ofiferings, the demons are expected to follow the lights away, 

 leaving the community free from their danger. 



5. DEMON POSSESSION 



An insane person is thought to be possessed or controlled by a 

 demon. That is why Europeans and Americans sometiijies confi- 

 dently assert that there is demon ])ossession in China. Near Li Duan 

 Ts'ang lived a girl who had spells of insanity. Her relatives believed 

 that she was possessed by a demon, and were afraid of her. They 

 began to talk of putting her to death. She heard them, and was wise 

 enough to know what it meant. She said, " If you kill me, I will 

 come back and harm you as long as you live." Thereafter they were 

 afraid to harm her, and treated her with much consideration. 



There was a robber who lived at Huen Kiang. He robbed and killed 

 a rich acquaintance. Later the spirit of the victim haunted him in 

 his dreams. He became ill and died, asserting that he was being done 

 to death by the spirit of the victim. Then the son of the robber also 

 began to have bad dreams, and saw the spirit of the victim coming to 

 injure him. He felt that the spirit of the victim was near him all 

 the time trying to harm him. He sought the aid of priests, but all to 

 to no avail. Finally he secured the help of a local magistrate, a man 

 of considerable influence. This man said to the spirit, " Come, now, 

 you have done enough harm already. Go away and let this man alone." 

 The spirit obeyed, and the son was saved. 



In Suifu a merchant named Ch'en had two daughters and a son. 

 Three years before the events we are about to relate, Mrs. Ch'en had 

 died in Chungking. At the time of the death of his wife, Mr. Ch'en 

 had opened a shop in Suifu, and on account of his business was unable 



* Dore, Henry S. D., Researches Into Chinese Superstitions, 1915-22, Vol. I, 

 p. 62. 



