78 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80 



Incense is burnt to it. If one's feet are sore, he can get well by 

 hanging a pair of straw sandals on the tree. 



In the region between Kiating and Chengtu turnips often grow 

 to a very large size. The Chinese say that they sometimes weigh from 

 twenty-five to a hundred pounds, requiring two men to carry them. 

 When such a turnip is found, it is called a Turnip King, and is re- 

 garded as a god of turnips. It is placed on a table or on a platform, 

 divine honors are paid to it, and a company of actors are engaged to 

 give theatricals in its honor. Then there is a great feast to which the 

 neighborhood is invited. As a result of thus honoring the Turnip 

 King, it is thought that turnips will prosper in that locality. But the. 

 high cost of living may destroy this custom. All the expenses are 

 borne by the farmer on whose land the Turnip King develops. Prices 

 are rising, so that the farmers feel that they cannot afford to pay the 

 expenses of the ceremonies and of the feast. Therefore, when a turnip 

 develops beyond a certain size, the farmers are apt to pull it up and 

 sell it or throw it into a ditch. 



At Ngan Lin Ch'iao, near Suifu, there is an idol called a Yinyang 

 P'usah, which is half male and half female. It represents the impor- 

 tant yin and yang forces, the male and female principles in nature. 

 The left side is male, the right side is female. The left eye and ear 

 and the left side of the mouth are large, and the right small, so that the 

 face has a lopsided appearance. The left foot is natural, and the right 

 foot bound. The left side is dressed like a man, and the right side 

 like a woman. On the whole, this is one of the queerest deities that liie 

 writer has seen. 



One god that is worshipped in Szechuan is called the T'an Shen 

 Den Den. It is really a foundation-stone such as is used under the 

 wooden pillars of houses and temples. The climate is very damp, 

 especially in the summer, and wood decays easily. It is therefore 

 customary to put foundation-stones under the wooden pillars to keep 

 them from rotting and to protect them from the ravages of white ants. 

 For some reason these are occasionally worshipped as deities, set in 

 places of honor, and regarded as very efificacious. Wealthy people 

 spend much money in their worship, and in return it is thought that 

 they will cause one's family to prosper. However, the poor people 

 believe that they have bad tempers, and that if worshipped too 

 economically they will become spiteful and do injury in the homes 

 where they are kept. Some poor families that cannot afford to worship 

 with elaborate ceremonies simply throw the idols away, but the ma- 

 jority carry them to a temple where priests and pilgrims can accord the 

 worship that their majesties demand. Foundation-stones hold up tre- 



