Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/218

 and bites people. At this period the strength is great and no one can bind him. I have heard of them putting medicine down the throat of a rabid person by means of a bamboo tube and his getting well again.

To curse the mad dog is a special line of sorcery and when a person has been bitten he may use this method. If a person has been bitten it is said to be very unlucky for anyone who speaks of it to him. During the 120 days onions, kidney beans, bean curd, chicken, eggs, fish and flour are avoided. The clanging of gongs or drums makes the patient worse.

This kind of trouble is looked upon by the Chinese as a retribution for the wickedness of three past generations and is classed with being killed by lightning or consumed by fire, bitten by a snake or devoured by a tiger.

( 星), jih yüeh shih, sao hsing The heavenly dog is said to be a star known as t'ien kou hsing; it eats the moon, causing eclipse.

Lo hou hsing (羅睺星) is a very unlucky star, which it is believed tries to devour the sun at eclipse times. The evil spirit from this star is said to have retarded the birth of Sakyamuni for six years.

In an eclipse of the sun or moon, it is believed that the Emperor or Empress, respectively, has lost virtue.

During an eclipse of the sun, a tub of water is placed in the full glare of the sun and the progress of the eclipse is watched in the water.

The official calendar carefully gives the dates of all eclipses and particulars as to when they begin and finish. Previous to the eclipse a proclamation is issued calling upon the people to save the sun or moon. The official sets up an altar, and candles and incense are burned thereon while he prostrates himself and begs the restoration of the luminary to its normal size; the chiao kuan or head of the religious sects goes round the altar beating a gong till the eclipse is over. In each house an instrument for making a noise is used to