Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/16

 chên-wu chai 眞武齋, (a monthly fast, on the 1st days of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th moons); Tsao-wang chai 竈王齋 (1st, 15th, 24th of each moon); chiu huang chai 九皇齋 and pei-tou chai 北斗齋, (9th moon, first 9 days, or whole moon); ch‘êng huang chai 城皇齋, (1st and 15th of each moon); yüeh-lo chai 月落齋, (last day of each moon); jih-lo chai 日落齋, (daily till sunset); ch‘ang chai 長齋, (for 3 years, or sometimes for life).

Some, in the hope of progeny, do various good deeds, such as making roads or building bridges.

Anti-abortion charms an-t‘ai fu 安胎符, are sought by women who believe they have the pao-t‘ai sha 包胎煞 or the mai êrh sha 埋兒煞; that is, that they are under the curse of abortion or still-birth. The sorcerer is called in, and the woman has to give him a pair of her trousers, a pint of rice, ﬁve kinds of coloured thread and an egg; this last is taken home by the sorcerer and worshipped. All must be carried out without the husband's knowledge.

Others p‘ei hsiung ching 佩雄精 carry a charm made up of purest hsiung huang 雄黃 (realgar).

Some make a pilgrimage to a sacred mountain 朝山 ch‘ao shan; there they steal a baby-idol 童子 t‘ung tzŭ, or a lo-han 羅漢, and take it home. They also spend money on building temples or in printing books which extol the idols, such as the pei-tou ching 北斗經, the Tsao-wang ching 竈王經 or the Kuan-yin ching 觀音經.

Another way is to steal the shoes or underclothing of the wife of the city god, or of Kuan-Yin. These are taken home, put under the pillow and slept on. The virtue is supposed to lie in the fact that they are stolen.

An axe is hung on the underside of the bed in the hope of thus obtaining a son, ch‘uang hsia hsüan fu 床下懸斧. Or the ox sinew from a crossbow is worn as a girdle; 牛筋弦帶 niu-chin-hsien tai.

Childless people also call in a fortune-teller to examine the horoscopes of the couple to see it they match; k‘ai nien kêng 開年庚 or p‘ai ssŭ chu 排四柱. If any of the ﬁne elements are lacking, some person is invited to stand surety. For example, if the element gold should be missing, some one with