NO. 4 RELIGION IN .SZF.CTIUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 39 



3. CHARMS TO TRANSFORM UNLUCKY DREAMS TO LUCKY ONES 



The people of Szechuan take dreams very seriously. They are much 

 troubled if they have bad dreams, and of course happy to have good 

 ones. There is a charm that is written on red paper and hung on the 

 east wall of a city. By shining on it, the sun transforms a bad dream 

 into a lucky one. The charm is given below : 



Translation : 



At night I had an unlucky dream. 

 I paste this on the east wall. 

 When the sun shines on it, 

 It will he changed to a lucky omen. 



4. CHARMS TO CAUSE P.AIJIES TO SLEEP AT NIGHT 



There is evidence that many Chinese parents do not enjoy having 

 their sleep disturbed by crying babies. Charms to cause the child to 

 sleep soundly until daylight are often seen pasted up on the highways. 

 They are written in verse, and show many variations in their wording. 

 They are always written on red paper. It is thought that if the traveler 

 reads the charm it will cause the baby to sleep soundly until daylight. 

 The following is a free translation that gives the sense of these 

 charms : 



The sky is bright, the earth is bright. 



We have a baby that cries at night. 



If the passerby will read this right, 



He'll sleep all night till broad daylight. 



5. CHARMS WRITTEN ON PAPER 



The above examples furnish points of departure in discussing 

 written charms, whose kinds are unnumbered and innumerable. In 

 volumes I to III of Researches Into Chinese Superstitions, Dore has 

 given illustrations of a large variety of written charms. They are 

 written by P.uddhist and Taoist priests, and by titan gongs. They are 

 usually given to the user in return for financial contributions which 

 vary according to the size and condition of one's purse. 



These paper charms are of all sizes. Some are hung up above the 

 front doors to keep the demons from entering. Others are hung 

 up in the middle of the front room. Some are pasted up on the four 

 sides of the rooiu. Some are pinned on the bed to ]^rotect the sleeper. 

 Some are pinned on one's clothing. Some are burnt, the ashes mixed 

 with water, and the water drunk. Nearly all of them arc to ])rotect 

 from the various attacks of evil spirits. 



