Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/74

62 immortal. This is called lien tan hsüan kung 煉丹玄功. The body is said to have ten openings, but the one on the top of the head needs to be opened in this way before it is effectual.

explain the Sacred Edict, 講聖諭 chiang shêng yü. The Sacred Edict originally had six chapters composed by the emperor Shun-chih 順治, but it was enlarged and edited by his successor K‘ang-hsi, and now contains sixteen chapters. Before the exhorter begins his works a tablet has to be erected on which are engraved the two characters Shêng yü. Candles are lighted on either side and in front, paper and incense are also burned before the tablet; the exhorter then bows three times, and knocks his head nine times to the ground before he begins to talk. The custom is to pay 100 cash for each chapter explained, and three chapters are generally gone over each evening. This money is generally paid by rich people in order to accumulate merit; not uncommonly a rich farmer or wealthy merchant invites an exhorter to his house for this purpose. At its beginning this practice may have been better than it now is; unfortunately the wicked lives of many of these men does much to nullify their words; and their exhortation is no longer confined to the doctrines contained in the Sacred Edict, but is largely made up of old wives' fables, and local and provincial scandals.

Many preachers of the Sacred Edict also use the method of exhortation by proverbs, chiang kê yen 講格言. There is a slight resemblance to, and connection with, the Sacred Edict, but most of the incidents are taken from the law courts, or scandals in business and private circles.

Men walk through the streets and sing ballads of a national or amorous character, ch‘ang shan shu 唱善書. The idea is generally to procure travelling expenses for themselves or others to some distant place.