Prolegomena to the Wu S^ih Erh Pin Fan

Prolegomena to the Wu S^ih Erh Pin Fan

pp. 72-73 according to the Tso C^uan

p. 72	"In 581 B.C. the ruler of Chin had a dream in which a huge ghoul accused the ruler of the slaughter of his entire clan. The ghoul informed the ruler that God (Ti ...) had granted his request for vengeance. The ruler subsequently ... in another dream ... was being attacked by two robust spirit-youths.
	In 541 B.C. another ruler of Chin fell ill. His court diviners identified the offending spirits as the spirit of thelunar mansion Triaster (shen ...) and the spirit of the Fen River. When this same ruler became ill again
p. 73	in 535 B.C. it was thought that his illness was caused by a yellow bear ... whom the ruler had failed to worship."

p. 75 according to the Wu Yu:eh C^>un C^>iu

	*may __*	*thy __ !*
malediction by king on corpse of minister abandoned at mountain	wolves consume	flesh
	wilderness-fires scorch	bones
	the wind of the East scatter	skeleton
malediction by king on corpse of minister stuffed into sack & thrown into the Yan-tze	sun & moon roast	flesh
	whirling winds pluck out	eyen
	fiery rays scorch	bones
	fish & turtles consume	flesh

p. 76 according to the S^uo Yu:an

"The physician (i ...) of high antiquity ... would make a mat of miscanthus, make a dog of straw, face the north, and then incant."

pp. 81-82 various spirit-forces

p.	*effect*	*spirit*
81	harmful	"Ku witchcraft and child sprites"
		"scorpion spirit"
		"wart spirit"
		"lacquer spirit by the title Lacquer King"
82	helpful	Huan S^en "Yellow Spirit’
		T>ien S^en ‘Heaven Spirit’
		S^en Nu: ‘Spirit Maids’ (agents of Heaven Spirit)

p. 90 according to the Hou Han S^u

from Min C^in : "a woman ... transformed into a man ... charmed the [C^i ] River and the water would not flow."

from Tun Yan : [a man "able to perform the recipes of Yu:eh"] "followed that by charming a dead tree and the tree then sprouted buds."

p. 90 method for charm-spell in Wu & Yu:eh, according to the Pao P>u Tzu

*If __*	*then __*
"they use vaporous breath to charm metal wounds,	the blood stops flowing".
[they use it to charm broken bones and severed tendons,]	"it can bind bones and connect sinews [tendons]."
"they use vaporous breath to charm a naked blade,	one may trod [tread] on it without being injured and be stabbed without it penetrating."
"a person is bitten by poisonous snakes and they charm it with vaporous breath,	it is immediately cured."
"others have used vaporous breath to charm water and	*made it flow in the opposite direction or one or two chang."*
"[others have] lit a fire on a thatched roof; cooked food and eaten on it; and	the thatched roof did not burn."
"[others have] nailed a large nail into pillar ... and blown on it with vaporous breath; and	the mail popped out".
"[others have] used vaporous breath to charm bubbling hot water; threw ... pieces of cash into it; had someone grope with his hands and take out the cash; and	his hands were not scalded or blistered."

p. 91 according to the I Yu:an, quoted by the commentary by Li Hsien on the Hou Han S^u

C^ao Pin "blew vaporous breath over a basin of water, cast a charm, and fish and dragons instantly appeared."

pp. 91-92 according to the S^en Hsien C^uan

p. 91	Yu: Tzu, surnamed C^an, named C^en "was able to spit vaporous breath in five colors, rising for several hundred chang. If he directed it at birds flying by, they dropped to the ground ... . ... he
p. 92	*worshipped the Dipper-bowl ... filled with water between his elbows and blew on it. Immediately a red glow appeared on top of the water which radiated upward for one or two chang."*

pp. 96-97 according to the C^>in Pai Lei C^>ao

At "a high mound on the eastern rampart" old man imparted to disciple a magical art : "He took the bowl which he used for begging food ... and filled it with water. He uttered incantations over it, making it bubble, and set a short knife in the water in the bowl. It did not topple over."

Donald John Harper : The Wu Shih Erh Ping Fang. PhD diss, U of CA, 1982.