NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN TRGVINCE GRAHAM 17 



There are several ways by which people believe that they can secure 

 sons. A common way is to pray to one of the goddesses who gives 

 sons, either the Song Tsi Kuan Yin or the Song Tsi Niang Niang. 

 The Goddess Of Mercy is sometimes entirely consecrated to this pur- 

 pose, and holds a child in her lap. Sometimes the priests are hired to 

 read the sacred scriptures in the homes.^ 



Sometimes a person will pray for a son, and if the prayer is 

 answered he will present a wooden image of a child as a thank-ofifering 

 to the deity. If a good number of these are at the feet of the god, 

 it adds considerably to his prestige. If a barren woman steals one 

 of these wooden images, she will surely give birth to a son, after 

 which she is supposed to return the image. The stealing of other 

 sacred articles will cause the mother to bear a son. Among these are 

 the headcloth of an idol, sacrificial food, or eggs at a marriage feast.' 



In some parts of the province one will occasionally see a round hole 

 in the rock resembling the female sex-organ. It is believed that if a 

 person succeeds in throwing a stone into certain of these holes his 

 wife will give birth to a son. One of these holes is at Tao-si-kuan. on 

 the Min River Ijetween Suifu and Kiating. Two others are near 

 Suifu, one across the Min River near Tiao-huang-lo, and the other 

 beyond Lankuang at Da Er O, or Strike Son Hole. 



3. BIRTH CUSTOMS 



Before a child is born, a priest or " sorcerer " is generally called to 

 exorcise demons or other influences.' At birth, firecrackers or other 

 means may be used to scare away evil spirits.* At a later time the 

 goddess of progeny is worshipped, and a feast is held.* 



Those who have the advantage of modern hospitals, with trained 

 physicians and nurses, and anesthetics, can hardly appreciate the 

 excruciating pains suffered by Chinese mothers. Sometimes delivery 

 is impossible, resulting in the death of both mother and child. At 

 other times the suffering is multiplied many fold by a slow and 

 difficult delivery. The only duty of the female deity, the Tsua Sen 

 Niang Niang, is to secure quick and safe delivery. The spirit tablet of 



*When a Buddhist or a Taoist priest reads his scriptures ceremonially, it is 

 customary for foreigners to say that he is praying. He is really reading his 

 sacred scripture, which is considered an act of great virtue that will move 

 the gods and bring good fortune. 



^West China Missionary News, January, 1921, pp. 9-11. 



'Grainger, Adam, Studies in Chinese Life, 1921, p. 5. 



* Ibid., p. 5. 



' Ibid., p. 6. 



