NO. 4 RELIGION IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE — GRAHAM 79 



mendous weights, and seem to exhibit a peculiar power to preserve 

 the wooden pillars from decay and from the attack of white ants. 

 It is not strange, therefore, that the untutored have marvelled at the 

 qualities displayed, and have come to treat the foundation-stones as 

 beings with superhuman power/ 



The gods of Szechuan present a wonderful variety in form and 

 character. They vary from the invisible T'ien Lao Yeh to written 

 characters representing the gods, pictures painted or pasted on wood 

 or paper and images of all kinds in the homes and in the temples. 

 They are thought to have marvellous intelligence and superhuman 

 power which they use to help the faithful against demons and in their 

 struggle for a full and satisfying life. The practical nature of the 

 religion of Szechuan is shown by the fact that every occupation has 

 a patron deity and every god has some task or tasks that are beneficial 

 to men. In Szechuan Province the gods are means or agencies for 

 securing the satisfactions of men's fundamental needs, his helpers in 

 the quest for a happy, safe, and satisfying life. 



X. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 



In the study of the popular religion in Szechuan Province, the mana 

 concept, that of a strange and mysterious potency permeating all 

 striking, powerful, strange, and mysterious things is a primary key 

 for the understanding and interpreting of that religion. In the popular 

 reaction this mysterious potency is connected with an emotional re- 

 sponse to the unknown, danger-filled or helpful environment. When 

 men philosophize about it, it is dififerentiated into the yin and the yang, 

 which are included in the fai gili or great extreme. 



Demons also play a large part in the lives of the people of Szechuan. 

 They are disgruntled spirits of the dead who must be appeased and 

 exorcised. They are the causes of all diseases and all other calami- 

 ties. Many of the gods and most of the charms are to furnish pro- 

 tection from demons. 



^ There is evidence that in earlier Chinese history it was customary for the 

 Chinese to bury human beings or animals under foundation-stones. In some 

 countries such practices have given an awed attitude and a sense of holiness 

 to the corner-stone. In some old Chinese legends kuei are associated with 

 foundations. This may have given the T'an Shen Den Den its spiteful and 

 dangerous character. In Szechuan the foundation-stone is sometimes wor- 

 shipped as a god, but the writer has so far been unable to trace any connection 

 between the old custom of burying people under foundations and the present 

 worship of foundation-stones as deities. Not all foundation-stones are wor- 

 shipped, but some are. 



