Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills/Book 3/Mystical or Hypnotic Sect
The Mystical or Hypnotic Sect, Chiao-fei (教匪)
The Hypnotic School has always been closely connected with the Taoist sect, with charms, trances, and spells of various kinds; and it may be that some of the exploits attributed to ancient heroes were done under hypnotic influence. The trances, etc., are brought about by regular training of mind and body, a rigid concentration of spirit, and complete submission of the being to the domination of some particular demon: when the training is complete the whole person is under the mesmeric control of the demon.
The rallying centre of these hypnotic sects is generally a living goddess of mercy, usually a girl of sixteen or eighteen or even younger; doubtless the remnant of a cruder, naturalistic system of great antiquity.
There is quite a long list of these sects which have caused insurrection and bloodshed in different parts of the country. These religious fanatics, chiao fei, have caused much more difficulty to the government than the ordinary ku-fei (嘓匪) (v. inf.) The latter rob for their sustenance, and having stolen enough they live luxuriously till there is need for another raid to get more funds. But the religious fanatics are of a very different character.
Such societies seek first by charms and vegetarian vows to win the rich and landed classes. They promise immortality as the reward of large liberality and abstinence from fornication, wine, and pork. The entrance fee is generally small, but members have only the common purse; even rice and clothing are held for the common use.
Having gained a footing among the rich, they next win over the village headmen, and finally the retainers of the district magistrate. When trouble arises, the magistrate may send to suppress it and may even raid the Society's headquarters; but care is taken that the propagandists are protected and escorted to their resorts in the southern mountains.
Such societies may differ in the charms they use and the idols they worship; but they have mesmeric hypnotism and fanatical trances as their common feature.
In this category are included the White Lotus Society (白蓮教), the Arabic (天方),[1] the Eight-Diagram Society (八卦), the Red Lantern Society (紅燈教), the United Fists Society (義和拳), the Big Sword Society (大刀會), the Lamp-wick Society (燈花教), and others.
The many rebellious movements and rebel leaders with which and with whom these Societies are connected will be found in history.
In Ssŭch‘uan many people knew the Boxer arts before 1900, especially round such centres as Paoning (保寧), Mienchou (綿州), and Chin T‘ang hsien (金堂); but there was not enough strength or organization for a rising.
The hypnotic arts are still practised in secret in different parts of the province, but more especially in the North, their original home. The vows used are many and various, but the chief are for the purification of the body and of the mouth. Their charms also are very abundant, the chief ones being the Kao Wang (高王符) charm and the Goddess of Mercy (觀音) charm.
In 1905 a hypnotic sect entered Ssǔch‘uan from Shensi and disturbed the eastern and southern parts of the province. It was known as the Ch‘ing Ch‘a Chiao (清察教). Its charms were similar to those of the Red Lantern Society; but the vows were different and seem to have originated in the Yangtze provinces, for the "tea-planter's ballad" was used in the religious observances.
During the short reign of Hsüan T‘ung a religious sect drilled and caused trouble in eastern Ssǔch‘uan; but they never got out of control owing to the severe measures taken against them by the authorities.
- ↑ This might mean "square heavens."