NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE GRAHAM 53 



the approval and favor of the gods and prosperity. It is not at all 

 necessary that the priest or the person for whom the scriptures are read 

 understand. In Tibet the " prayer wheel " and the " prayer flag " 

 have been invented so as to accommodate the masses who cannot read 

 and write, and to enable a person to acquire a maximum amount of 

 merit with a minimum amount of effort.' While reading, the Chinese 

 priest beats a wooden fish with a wooden mallet, one stroke for every 

 word. There is a legend that the Buddhist scriptures were once lost 

 in a sea or in a river, and were swallowed by a great fish. The fish 

 was caught, and by beating compelled to give the scriptures back. The 

 wooden fish is therefore beaten, even by Taoist priests, when scriptures 

 are ceremonially read. 



While affection, awe, and reverence are strong motives in worship, 

 fear also has a prominent place. Many of the gods are so made as 

 to inspire fear." Near Ch'anglinshien is a wayside shrine in which is 

 a terrible-looking god. In his hand is a club, which is raised as if to 

 strike. On the shrine these words are inscribed : 



What audacity you have, that you dare 



come and look at me. 



Quickly repent. Do not go and harm people. 



Children are taught to fear the idols. Mothers tell them that if they 

 do not worship the gods they will get the stomach ache. 



One day in the city of Ngan Lin Ch'iao the writer visited one of the 

 largest temples in company with a high school student. Both the 

 student and his parents were Christians, and the student's father was 

 one of the leading merchants of the city. That day the temple was 

 nearly deserted. A carpenter was working in a distant room, and 

 occasionally he would hit a board with a loud bang. As they walked 

 among the deities, some of which were fearful in appearance, the 

 student was evidently frightened. He started at every loud noise, and 

 would not let his foreign friend strike any of the gongs or bells in 

 front of the idols. He expected the writer to be frightened, and asked, 

 "Are you afraid? '' Many of the Chinese fear the gods, and because 

 they fear they worship. Some of the gods are purposely made terrible 

 in appearance so as to inspire fear. This story is also of interest 



* The writer was told by Tibetans at Tatsienlu and by aborigines at Songpan 

 that the so-called prayer wheels and prayer flags are not really for prayer, 

 but primarily and almost entirely for reading scriptures, and to secure the help 

 of gods and prosperity. 



^ The fact that terrible gods are very efticacious against demons is doubtless 

 an important reason for their development, espet'ially in Tibet. 



