Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/79

 walk along the street with a stick wagging behind and the dogs hanging on to it. It is a fully organized profession, with its officers and king; a race which is difficult to reclaim; the saying runs ; 'After begging for three days they do not desire even an official position.' They won't work and don't desire to be lifted up, and are known as , or brethren of the four quarters, that is, they go everywhere to get a living. The king of the beggars is called ta yao pa. He rises to this position by ability and public recognition and is generally negotiated with at feast times in order that beggars may not come and lie at the doors of the houses.

The beggars' resort or refuge is called  ch‘i kai so, or   ch‘i liu so, or   ku lao yüan. In order to get admission an official permit is required, and a record of entries is kept in the yamen. Some have official rice and winter clothing granted to them besides. In these refuges all kinds may be found, such as the widow, the aged and the orphan. In districts where no such place is provided they congregate in temple doorways, under bridges and arches. They collect all the rubbish of the country-side and eat such things as dead dogs, cats, and rats. Unwashed, uncombed and clothed in filthy rags they seem to reach the utmost limit of human degradation.

The place where the beggars' branch of the secret society meets is called  shih fang t‘ang. It may be arranged for at any place, but the connection with the society is very real and wide-spread.

The beggars have a superstitious dread of the following words:—

pu chi, don't give;  kou yao, the dog bites,   tuan lu, block the road;   tuan shih, short of food.

The noise made by the beggars with their clappers at the door is called  ta lien hua nao. This noise is also commonly made by the vagrant priests, who use a  tan pan to thrum on with the fingers. Wo t‘o shan ch‘ih  gotten by wickedness, eaten with good manners, this is what is said of beggars' manners.