Jump to ContentJump to Main Navigation
Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and SingaporeGender, Religion, Medicine and Money$
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content.
Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and Singapore: Gender, Religion, Medicine and Money

Marjorie Topley and Jean DeBernardi

Print publication date: 2011

Print ISBN-13: 9789888028146

Published to Hong Kong Scholarship Online: September 2011

DOI: 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028146.001.0001

ContentsFRONT MATTER
Show Summary Details
Page of

PRINTED FROM HONG KONG SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.hongkong.universitypressscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Hong Kong University Press, 2021. An individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in HKSO for personal use.date: 26 February 2021

Paper Charms, and Prayer Sheets as Adjuncts to Chinese Worship

Paper Charms, and Prayer Sheets as Adjuncts to Chinese Worship

(1953)*

Chapter:
(p.72) (p.73) Chapter 3 Paper Charms, and Prayer Sheets as Adjuncts to Chinese Worship
Source:
Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and Singapore
Author(s):

Marjorie Topley

, Jean DeBernardi
Publisher:
Hong Kong University Press
DOI:10.5790/hongkong/9789888028146.003.0004

There are few Chinese rites for which some kind of paper charm or prayer sheet is not necessary. Some of these papers are specific to a particular rite but many may be used in a general way to cover most of the misfortunes which man may encounter wherever he lives. Some charms can be used for several or all of these purposes, but an individual may prefer, or by trial and error come to regard as more potent, a particular one of the many varieties available. Charms generally carry religious texts, sometimes in Sanskrit or Pali translated phonetically into Chinese characters, and some have a drawing of the god or saint appealed to. Mystic symbols are used to donate constellations, and archaic writing adds power to a charm. Paper charms are of various kinds, usually with the functions they claim to perform printed on them in bold letters. One of the commonest kinds is the fu2 amulet.

Keywords:   Chinese rites, paper charm, prayer sheet, misfortunes, religious texts, Sanskrit, Pali, mystic symbols, amulet

Hong Kong Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.

Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.

To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .