The spirit soldiers of the Department of Pestilence set out with their orders.
The guilt of those who do evil is not light.
Evil wealthy people bully the virtuous and good,
In a short time their good fortune is exhausted and disaster comes to life.
If they plot to take over the fields and crops of poor families,
Their children will be kidnapped and sold to others.
If they steal the property and goods of poor families,
There will be violent disasters and lawsuits; it will be hard for them to survive.
If they licentiously seduce the sons, wives, and daughters of good families,
Their own wives will run away with someone else.
If they steal chickens, geese, and ducks to cook, eat, or sell,
Their own birds will never be numerous enough to form flocks.
Those who kill living things to gulp down different flavors
Will bear the brunt of returning and repaying each one of them.
For those who love to eat the Five Non-Vegetarian Foods and the Three Disgusting Things,
All ten evils will be clearly noted in the record-books.
There follows a section devoted to the sins of women, at whom much of this text is aimed. It concludes with a ritual of confession, written in literary Chinese, which ends with the following verse.
In making confession and repentance we also seek a writ of pardon.
We cleanse our hearts and dare not commit more crimes.
The karma of a thousand forms of sin August Heaven sends away,
The punishment from ten thousand wrongs the Overseer of Destiny expunges.
Our bodies fill with light like the brilliant sun,
Our forms are pure and clean like glass. . . .
I urge good men and faithful women,
Return home and be filial to your parents immediately.
Do not say that Azure Heaven has no retribution or response:
Or out of the empty sky lightning will flash and you will hear the sound of thunder. . . .
The Earth Gods of one’s locale will increase good fortune and longevity,
The souls of the ancestors will achieve salvation sooner.
It has all been gathered together into the Precious Scroll on the Lord of the Stove, which exhorts people to do good,
Exhorts mortals and the people of the world universally.
The proclamation of the Precious Scroll is ended;
We respectfully see off the Buddhas and monks of the dharma of all the heavens.
The deities and spirits of the Upper Realm return to the Golden Pylons,
The spirits of the Middle Realm go back to their basilicas and courts,
The denizens of the dim and stygian realms return to the Underworld,
And the good and sincere from the Ten Quarters return to their homes.
[Zao huang baojuan, MS in Shanghai Library; adapted from Chard, “Master of the Family,” pp. 348–370, 321–322; and chaps. 1 and 2—DJ]
PART THREE: WRITTEN TEXTS
As I said in the introduction to this chapter, there were—apart from spontaneous everyday social interactions—two different ways to communicate moral and religious ideas and values to ordinary people in premodern China: scripted performances and written texts. The former, much the most important, have concerned us up to this point. But written texts also had a role to play, for not all villagers or poor townsfolk were illiterate. There was in fact a range of non-elite literacies, and books and pamphlets were written for each level in it. These varied from romantic fiction and joke books to collections of medical prescriptions, letter-writing manuals, and scriptures.
SCRIPTURES
Of writings about ethics and religion aimed at nonelite readers we can identify three types: first, morality books (shanshu), which inculcated conventional ethics and are discussed at length in the first volume of Sources of Chinese Tradition; second, the short pamphlets closely related to shanshu that I call tracts; and third, books that presented the teachings of popular deities or recounted their lives and works—that is, scriptures (jing). It is difficult to make a clear distinction between jing and baojuan. The terms were not used consistently, so the presence of the word baojuan or jing in the title of a work does not guarantee that it will have a specific form. It is therefore necessary to consider how the two types of texts differed, regardless of labels. The type that I have called baojuan was written in a combination of prose and verse, and was presented by a professional or highly skilled amateur, sometimes with musical or percussion accompaniment, to an audience. The type that I am calling jing or scripture contained less verse, frequently claimed to be the words of a god transmitted through a possessed spirit-medium, and was intended for private reading or for recitation by small congregations of believers.
The recitation of written scriptures was central to the many popular religious sects that became increasingly important in China after the fifteenth century. As Susan Naquin writes, “Because of the role of [scripture] recitation, these sects attracted relatively literate followers. . . . Possession of religious books was crucial to the operation of these sects. Joining a sect meant gaining an opportunity to see and hold these books, to learn to chant and to read them, and perhaps even to make handwritten copies. [Sect] teachers . . . may have lectured on the scriptures and taught reading indirectly through character-by-character explications.”16
Clearly the baojuan genre, as I have defined it, shades into the scripture genre, and distinguishing between the two is difficult in the absence of information on how they were used in practice. Indeed, it can be hard to decide whether any text of the solo/duo genres was intended for performance or for reading. Yet despite the lack of a sharp boundary between baojuan and scriptures, the basic distinction between texts intended to be performed for audiences and those intended to be read is of great analytic significance.
THE TRUE SCRIPTURE OF THE GREAT EMPEROR
The cult of Bao Sheng Da Di, the Great Emperor Who Protects Life, can be found throughout southeastern China and Taiwan. It honors Wu Dao, the Divine Doctor, a Buddho-Daoist deity who lived in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. Kenneth Dean states that the True Scripture was written after the middle of the fifteenth century. The text itself states that it was composed in part by a spirit-medium in trance, and the Bao Sheng Da Di cult appears to have had especially close connections with spirit-mediumship. According to Dean, this was due to the role of medicine and exorcism in the cult.
The scripture defines itself as a text to be read and recited, not as a script to be performed: “If any man or woman obtain my true scripture with its marvelous seal, faithfully keep and worship them. Either invite Buddhist or Daoist priests to recite the scripture [as with a sūtra or Daoist scripture] or organize an association to read and recite it.” Other internal evidence also suggests that the True Scripture was probably intended for private reading or congregational recitation. The fact that it was printed also suggests that its primary audience was readers.
Printed with donations collected by the Snowy Sea Studio of Mr. Yang Jun of Fujian Commandery.
Raising my head I invoke the August Heavenly Great Emperor Wu. He lived in Quanzhou Commandery but was born near Zhangzhou. His brave and valiant awesome spiritual powers arose from his merciful heart. Because he used ritual powers he became a Medicine King. To the masses of the people he brought most abundant advantages. His fulfillment of his merit moved the Jade Emperor. He was asked by imperial decree what karmic path he had followed. He replied that upon obtaining correct knowledge and perception he expanded the Dao. The Jade Emperor commanded that the great lofty title of the numinous doctor be enhanced. Also, he sent as subordinates an Immortal Medical Official named Huang, the Awesome Martial Retainer Jiang Sishi, the Perfect Man of the Green Kerchief and two pages, the Six Ding Generals who are Strong Soldiers Who Expel Evil, Maiden Qin, the Taiyi Female Physician, together with the Great Messenger Who
Flies to Heaven. All of these work together to support the weak and dispel disease and misfortune.
I today with all my heart and with complete obedience, express my desire that you will be pleased to let fall your mercy at my recitation of your names.
Chant for the Opening of the Scripture:
Great Saint, Physician Spirit, Perfected Lord Wu
Wrote Talismans, let fall seal-script revelations, and proclaimed scriptures,
Swearing a vow that his Sacred Spell would have awesome power,
And bring auspiciousness, gather good fortune, and avoid disaster.
At an audience in the heavenly Taiqing Palace, the Most High Lord Lao makes an announcement:
“Now when I observe the three thousand million worlds below, and the multitudes dwelling in Jambudvipa, they are all practicing the ten evils and the five disobediences, disloyal and unfilial, unmannered and unrighteous, not revering the Three Treasures, ignorant of charity, unwilling to provide assistance, frequently carrying out evil deeds, killing living beings, behaving licentiously, stealing, coveting and getting angry, entangling themselves in a web of culpability, and disrupting the nation. There both kings and men are unjust; those above do not measure by the Way, and those below do not uphold the Laws. . . .
“Today the demons have increased in number to a total of 84,000 and have suddenly raised up tornadoes and floods. The 404 diseases circulate through the seasons, bringing little good fortune to the world. The evil and rebellious masses encounter disasters and die. The Heavenly Venerable took pity on those people who had cultivated good fortune by carrying out the ten good deeds. He then extended divine protection to them. Study the words of the prophecy:
A green dog barks,
A wooden pig squeals.
A rooster crows at the rabbit in the moon,
A round moon without luster.
Three disasters strike,
Nine rebellions arise.
“In the jia and yi years there will be military ravages, in the bing and ding years fearful fires, in the wu and ji years locusts will spread plague, in the geng and ren years storms and flood. Thus from jia year to the gui year the first five years will have barren harvests and the last five years will have good harvests. Alas, we have come to the end of the world, the revolving sun is about to stop. All the Buddhas will attain Nirvana, saints and sages will hide away. Common men and ignorant women are unaware and do not understand; therefore I have transmitted this scripture so that it may broadly save the world, and pronounce this gāthā:
The dog barks, the pig squeals,
The bad will vanish, the good will survive.
Take refuge in the Three Treasures,
Uphold and recite this Scripture.
Revere it wherever you go,
And it will always hold down demonic soldiers.
Heavenly spirits will protect you,
Family and nation will be at peace.
Widely transmit the Way of the Scripture,
Pass it all around.”
. . . In the guiyou year, in the fourth month, on the seventh day, the Great Emperor Who Protects Life paced the Mainstays of Heaven and sprayed out vapor. An earthquake struck three times. Then he descended into a True Medium, and pronounced this scripture.
“. . . In my life I dwelt in Quanzhou commandery and left traces of my deeds near Zhangzhou. From then until now through more than three hundred years I have piled up merit in laborious deeds. Fine honors were commended and bestowed upon me. Formerly I shipped grain to save people in a drought. Also I led spirit soldiers and drove away pirate robbers. Recently I let flow a sweet spring to put an end to the sufferings of sickness. Now I transmit the methods and scriptures of the Spiritual Treasure in order to save the people of the world. If any man or woman obtain my true scripture with its marvelous seal, faithfully keep and worship it. Either invite Buddhist or Daoist priests to recite the scripture or organize an association to read and recite it. Widely order its dissemination. Then as for anything your heart desires there will be nothing that does not satisfy your wishes.
“Whensoever anyone begins to build a well or a stove, or constructs a house or a tomb, or an enclosure for pigs, sheep, oxen, horses, chickens, or ducks, and at that time there are vapors bearing sickness, they may arrange incense, flowers, lamps, and tea, offer fine fruit, recite this scripture, repeat my spell seven times successively, and write with red vermillion the talismans and recite the incantations that I have revealed, placing them upon the door. Then the demons of disaster will spontaneously dissipate and members of the family will prosper. That which I desire with all my heart is that you will all ascend to the banks of the Dao.”
After the True Medium had finished speaking, he exhaled the soul and awoke.
Perfected Lord, Perfected Lord,
Regulate evil and behead plague demons.
Employ your talisman, spells, and purificatory water,
Broadly save the myriad peoples.
Pace the Mainstays with correct qi,
Forever cutting off the roots of misfortune.
Awesome radiance shines brightly,
Your illustrious sobriquet has been successively enhanced.
With incense and temple sacrifices,
Morning and night we earnestly worship you.
The myriad spirits all pray
That they might bathe in your divine merit.
Recite my sacred spell,
Sweep away the masses of evil.
Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the ordinances.
It is said that this scripture specially cures periodic outbreaks of pestilence. Reciting it can liberate the masses from hardship. At the end of the original copy there was appended the Marvelous Scripture of the Immortal Maiden of Merciful Salvation Who Saves Those in Childbirth, which still awaits reprinting. Noted by Yang Jun.
[Yang Jun, Sishen zhilue, app.; trans. adapted from Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults, pp. 93–97—DJ]
TRACTS
Tracts, short booklets written by members of the educated elite to teach ordinary people how to behave, were printed and circulated in very large numbers in late imperial times. As already mentioned, they are closely related to the “morality books” discussed in volume 1 of Sources. In contrast to the scripture we have just read, the values taught by tracts were what the powerful and influential thought the people should believe. They emphasized submission to constituted authority and the maintenance of traditional hierarchical relations—between parents and children, ruler and ministers, husband and wife, and so on. But this ideology was not necessarily accepted by the common people, who were more concerned about injustice than disorder and more impressed by generosity than by loyalty. This discrepancy between what the political and cultural elites wanted people to believe and what the people themselves felt was right and proper is a constant theme in Chinese history, and is still relevant today.
SELECTIONS FROM THE TWENTY-FOUR EXEMPLARS OF FILIAL PIETY
The Twenty-four Exemplars of Filial Piety is one of the most influential tracts ever written in China. It exists in various versions, but the one most commonly seen appears to have been written during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). By late imperial times virtually everyone was familiar with its paragons of filial devotion, who appeared as motifs in clothing, woodblock prints, dishes, and many other items of daily use, as well as in ballads, operas, and fiction. Everyone knew the names of the filial heroes and their famous deeds. Yet the extremism of The Twenty-four Exemplars will leave many readers uneasy. It is a classic example of didactic literature prepared by the learned for ordinary people: it is written in literary Chinese and at times is very difficult to understand. (The edition from which the excerpts below were taken, which was certainly intended to reach a broad readership, actually has footnotes to explain difficult passages. There is no doubt that here we are firmly in the world of readers, not listeners.) Moreover, it is virtually impossible to identify with its heroes and heroines, inhumanly virtuou
s as they are. That The Twenty-four Exemplars was so influential is persuasive evidence that upper-class indoctrination could at times be highly successful.
3. A Bitten Finger Pains the Heart
Zeng Shen of the Zhou dynasty had the honorific name Ziyu. He served his mother with extreme filiality. One day when Shen was in the mountains gathering firewood a guest came to the house. His mother had made no preparations and she kept hoping that he would return, but he did not. Then she bit her finger, and at the same time Shen suddenly felt a pain in his heart. He shouldered his firewood and returned home; kneeling, he asked his mother what the matter was. His mother said, “A guest came unexpectedly and I bit my finger to make you aware of it.”
8. Acting As a Laborer to Support His Mother
Jiang Ge lived in the Eastern Han dynasty. His father died when he was young, and he lived alone with his mother. Disorders broke out, so he fled, carrying his mother. Again and again they encountered bandits who wanted to force him to join them. But Ge burst into tears and told them that he had his mother with him. The bandits could not bring themselves to kill him. They took up residence in Xiapei. Impoverished and without shirt or shoes, he hired himself out as a laborer to support his mother. He gave her whatever she needed.
10. Breast-Feeding Her Mother-in-law
Madame Zhangsun was the great-grandmother of Cui Nanshan of the Tang dynasty. When she was old and toothless, every day Cui’s grandmother, Madame Tang, after combing her hair and washing her face, entered the main hall and breast-fed her. Although the old lady did not eat a grain of rice, after several years she was still in good health. One day she fell sick, and young and old gathered about her as she announced, “There is no way that I can repay my daughter-in-law’s goodness to me. If the wives of my sons and grandsons are as filial and respectful as this daughter-in-law, it will be enough.”
Sources of Chinese Tradition, Volume 2 Page 21