Research Items

Abstract

RELIGION IN SZECHUAN, CHINA.—No. 1 of vol. 80 of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections is a study of Chinese religion in Szechuan Province by Mr. David C. Graham, who points out that this area provides an excellent ground for the study not only of the religious beliefs of the Chinese themselves, but also of those of the aborigines. In the family, which is the social unit, and not the individual, the ancestors are a part, and the most honoured part. The ceremonies of their cult can only be performed by the eldest son. Hence, not only are sons desired, but also every means taken to protect them from harm. The conception of a multiple soul makes it possible to commemorate the dead person at the tablet and the grave, while the soul, or one part of it, may also reside in the underworld. At death every effort is made to entice the soul to return and take up its abode in the ancestral tablet. In the popular religion the conception of mana is the primary key to understanding. Demons, the spirits of the dead who for some reason are not at peace, play a large part in the lives of the people and are the cause of all diseases and other calamities. Both gods and charms protect from their influence. The element of luck creates and maintains a belief in a mysterious potency, producing belief in lucky and unlucky days and being responsible for a number of superstitious practices. The organised religion is so arranged as to arouse the feeling of awe and loyalty by its large temples situated on hills, and the imposing character of the great deities with their robes and their retinues of priests and their festivals. This feeling reflects the attitude towards and the practices connected with their one-time temporal rulers. Notwithstanding the spread of democratic ideas, to which anything connected with royalty is abhorrent, this aspect of religion remains unchanged.