method of going round the country preying on the feelings and superstitions of the people is called by themselves "repairing the viscera temple" (修五臟廟). While doing this the priest goes from door to door and distributes his cards and a little later he comes back to collect the money from each house.
Mendicant priests go round the streets with a note-book and take the names of those who give subscriptions. Or they may sell pills at a high price, the profits going to the priesthood. A band of mendicant priests, seven or eight in number, will go through the streets, one carrying the idol, another the burning incense, singing, while another attends to the music, leaving the remainder to look after the collecting of money; some people give large sums to this class as a good speculation.
One class of priest often carries a kneeling-mat and a whip for driving away demons and wears a high crowned hat made of human hair and a yellow robe, which, when spread out, does for a sleeping coverlet. The sandals on his feet denote that he is a pilgrim, the staff in his hand is to beat the unruly; at one end of it is fixed a little spade with which he buries any unclean thing.
The Nine Startlers (九驚), chiu ching
The first is Mang Tzŭ (蟒子) ching, the blind man who plays the guitar and tells fortunes. Next, Liu (流) liu ching, the rambling fortuneteller who bears a bamboo clapper and goes through the streets seeking for work. Tsui (嘴) tzŭ ching uses a bird of some kind to pick out a character from a box with which character he divines for his clients. To (朶) to ching divines from a character picked out by the client himself. The Tat (帶) tzŭ ching is a fortuneteller who carries the characters and explanation already written on his person. The P‘ing (平) ching is a fortuneteller who sets up his stand and speaks about his trade and attracts customers. The Lo (挪) ching sings, and the Hai (海) tzŭ ching plays the harp as they practise their arts. The Hua (花) hua ching is a female fortuneteller.
