FUNG-SHWUY AS APPLIED TO CANALS.

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point toward it. The adverse influences to which a place. under such circumstances is exposed are counteracted by figures of warriors with drawn swords, and lions and tigers with open mouths, and other similar devices, which are placed on the tiling of the house in such a position as to confront the object from which danger is apprehended. Mirrors are also sometimes used to reflect the evil influences back.

The idea,

in these cases, is not simply that of a negative evil, consisting of the abstraction of the luck which the house would otherwise be possessed of, but that of a positive influence the very reverse of fung-shwuy. A house standing at the terminus of a street or alley where the road branches off on each side, is supposed to be subjected to the same evil influence, from the stream of bad luck flowing along the street and beating against it. A stone slab is generally seen erected at such places bearing the inscription Tai shan shih kan tang-"I am, or I represent, the Ta shan rock, and am not afraid to withstand you." Ta shan is the name of one of the largest and most celebrated mountains in the empire; and as a solid mountain not only withstands all evil influences, but is the source of those which are auspicious, this name is used as a charm to frighten back the adverse tide of evil. No one ever supposes that these stones came from Ta shan, and it is amusing to see the inscription sometimes on a brick.

In the opening of canals and construction of bridges, one of the first considerations is, what will be the effect on the fung-shwuy? Some places which might be easily connected by a canal are obliged to be without the convenience of this means of communication, because a celebrated luck-prognosticator has said that such a canal would destroy the fungshwuy of the neighborhood. In constructing bridges in a particular place, it may be imagined that the luck will be favorable for one family, and unfavorable for another; and difficulties and law-suits ensue, which are generally settled by an amount of money paid by the party supposed to have the advantage to his less fortunate neighbors.

In some sections the bridges are very low, and in time of high water it is necessary to have the covers of boats taken off, in order to pass under them. The people are subject to this great inconvenience, not because of the necessary expense of building the bridges a little higher, which would be comparatively a small matter, but because of the influence of a wealthy family, or several wealthy families in the neighborhood, which have had the good fortune to become rich, and are afraid their luck will be broken by any important change in the face of the country.

Natives who are not intimately acquainted with foreigners naturally suppose that we have no less regard for fung-shwuy than they, and that, from our superior knowledge of the principles of "heaven and earth," we are enabled to secure the most lucky place. Our fondness for visiting hills and watercourses, and collecting minerals, plants, etc., is attributed to the desire of finding precious metals and precious influences. When we stop to admire a beautiful view or landscape, a Chinese by-stander is almost sure to remark, "He is looking for fung-shwuy." On visiting a beautiful spot on a mountainside, I once found a young man preparing a tomb for his father, whose interest and anxiety about the matter in which he was engaged so far overcame his surprise and curiosity on seeing a stranger and a foreigner in such an unfrequented place, that his first question was, "Have I really chosen a good location ?"

A few of the people of the more intelligent class, who have been long connected with us, and know our utter disregard of these childish superstitions, will sometimes decry some of the most glaringly absurd of them; but, while they profess their contempt for the credulity of their countrymen in some points, they are sure to betray their own weakness in others.

THE "EIGHT DIAGRAMS.”

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CHAPTER XIII.

DIFFERENT MODES OF DIVINATION.

Importance of the Eight Diagrams.-Translation of part of a Preface of the Chinese Work, "Source of True Divination."-Mode of divining by Diagrams, Mode of divining by Means of the "Eight Characters." -An individual Case in Illustration.-Divination by Astrology.-Illustrative official Document.-Fortune-telling by the Use of Birds, Snakes, and Turtles.-Telling the Fortunes of past and future States of Existence.—Manner in which Failures are accounted for.--Physiognomy and Palmistry. Choosing of "Lucky Days."-Effects of being born under certain Stars.-Divination by Dreams.

In an unevangelized and superstitious nation like the Chinese, possessed of an ancient and voluminous literature, the existence of many theories and arts for unlocking the secrets of futurity might naturally be expected. The abstruse character of some of these mystic arts, which are not understood even by those who practice them, and which owe much of their influence to the prestige of antiquity, may be in a manner described, but can not be satisfactorily explained.

In the practice of divination, great use is made of the "Eight Diagrams," invented by the Emperor Fuh-hi, probably nearly three thousand years before Christ. About eleven centuries before Christ, Wen-wang, the Literary Prince, and his son, Chow-kung, developed these eight diagrams into sixty-four, attaching to them additional ideas and explanations. Confucius, about five hundred years before Christ, collected and perpetuated these relics of the past in the Yihking, or "Book of Changes," which is still one of the most venerated of the ancient Chinese classics. These diagrams are nothing but arbitrary signs, the original meaning of which can not be satisfactorily determined. They are supposed to

embody the principles by which the universe was evolved out of chaotic matter, and which, by necessary and unchanging laws, determine all the changes which take place in nature. Those who profess to be able to disclose future events generally rest their claims upon public credulity, on some new views gained of this book of mysteries, or on their familiarity with books written by others in explanation of it. They suppose that the mines of wisdom hid in these diagrams have never been fully explored, and that great advantages will accrue to those who have the penetration to find the key to their contents. It is a common remark among the Chinese, "If foreigners, with all their skill and ingenuity, possess themselves of the Yih-king, all the world will become subject to them." It is also said that Heaven will not permit the Yih-king to be taken out of the empire, and that, when the attempt to export it has been made, vessels bearing it across the sea have encountered storms and tempests until it has been thrown overboard.

In the latter part of the Chau dynasty, which continued to 249 B.C., Kwei kuḥ sien sz applied the Yih-king to the use of soothsaying, and is regarded as the father of augurs, though no book has come down to the present from him. During the present and preceding dynasties, many books have been written on this subject, among the most noted of which is the Poh shi ching tsung-"Source of True Divination," written in the forty-eighth year of the Emperor Kang-hi. This work consists of six volumes, and contains a minute and detailed system of elaborated nonsense, such as it would be difficult to find a parallel to in any language. The preface will perhaps give as clear an idea of its contents as could be otherwise obtained, and forcibly reminds one of the manner in which quacks in other lands decry the nostrums of others, while they extol their own. It contains, also, a true and lively picture of the evils which the system it advocates entails upon the people. The following is a translation of the greater part of it:

"SOURCE OF TRUE DIVINATION."

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"The secret of augury consists in communication with the gods. Its object is to determine good and evil fortune, to settle doubt and anxiety, to discriminate between yin and yang in the different forms of the diagrams. The interpretation of the transformations is deep and mysterious. The theory of this science is most intricate, the practice of it most important. The sacred classic says, "That which is true gives indications of the future;' therefore, if a person seeking a response is not sincere, he can not move the gods; if the interpreter of the response is careless and inconsiderate in his divinations, they will not be fulfilled. These two remarks are emphatically true and important. It is common to see persons seek a response when occasion requires, while sincerity is entirely forgotten. When, from intoxication and feasting, or licentious pleasures, they proceed to invoke the assistance of the gods, what infatuation to suppose that their prayers will move them! Besides, the wealthy or honorable affecting a contempt for the art of soothsaying, either look to a friend, or send a servant to ask a response in their stead, without showing their zeal and earnestness by presenting themselves in person. Hence, when no response is given, or the interpretation is not verified, they lay the blame at the door of the augur, forgetting that the failure is due to their want of sincerity. This is the fault of the one seeking the response. It is the great fault of augurs that, from a desire of gain, they use the art of divination as a trap to ensnare the people. For instance, in case of sickness (than which nothing can be more important), some, regardless of the principles of rectitude, have a private understanding with Buddhist priests, and nuns, and Tauists, by which they are to share in their gains, thus forgetting augury in their lust after money.* They determine whether to exact a greater or less amount from the applicant by observing his wealth or pover

*The augur, as a return for directing the applicant to worship in a particular temple, is permitted to share the money paid to the priests of that temple.