In the first half of the 20th century, China experienced the pain of transforming from an empire in late-Qing dynasty to a modern nation-state. The question of whether or not the state should incorporate the “Siyi”(Four Barbarians) into the state gained unprecedented attention during the early stage of this transformation. At the time, different academic perspectives were encountered regarding the un-identified minority ethnic groups in Southwest China. One group took the southwestern minorities as people who came from the west; while the other took Southwest China as China’s frontier from ancient times to the present, and that the ethnic groups had existed there throughout its history. The encounter implicated both the collision and conversation between “the imperialist colonization view of Southeast Asia” and “the Sinicized view of Southwest China.”(Peng, 2007) People who held the former view were mostly western scholars and missionaries, and the latter were Chinese scholars.

However, this distinction is not absolute. For instance, the American missionary, anthropologist and archaeologist, David Crockett Graham, who taught at West China Union University, is a western scholar who held “the Sinicized” view of Southwest China. His academic point of view is mainly reflected in his debate with the British missionary Thomas Torrance with regard to the ethnic origin of the Qiang. Torrance considered the Qiang the descendants of the ancient Israelites, while Graham, through scientific, anthropological studies, took the Qiang as people from the east, and not the west. Both sought to prove their points by analyzing the Qiang’s physical characteristics, customs, religion, and so on(for more, see Bian 2013). Furthermore, Graham conducted detailed comparative research on the Han in Sichuan and the ethnic minorities living in the Sino-Tibetan borderland. He also published two books:Religion in Szechuan Province, and China and Folk Religion in Southwest China. The following discussion will put Graham’s research on the Qiang within the context of his research on folk religion in Southwest China in order to explore his academic views after he transformed from missionary to anthropologist. It will also examine how Graham saw the relationship between the Qiang religion and China’s other religions via “The Tree of the Chinese Religions”, and, eventually will scrutinize the three important concepts for studying Qiang religion that were suggested by Graham.

I. Religion in Graham’s Eyes

Graham previously had received an education in liberal theology, comparative religions, primitive religions, religious psychology and humanism. He had always advocated studying religion in an objective and scientific way, which made him more tolerant of other religions and beliefs. “Religion” in his eyes seemed to have become a kind of scientific and disciplinary consciousness. Graham was also both a missionary and a natural scientist. At that time, with the gradual development of the natural sciences which accompanied modernization, and Graham’s mastery of the scientific knowledge, he observed that some unscientific religious phenomena were only superstitions. Religion and science could coexist, and science needed to reject religion only when religion was superstition. Graham believed that religion was a complex phenomenon. One would only get a distorted picture if one ignored one aspect or overemphasized another aspect of religion. He also suggested that we extensively touch upon geography, history， physics and social context when studying religions in Southwest China, because they are all cast within religion. When situating religion within this context, all religions are understandable and, in Graham’s words(1961: 109), can be “described comprehensively and objectively”.

全球已有100多个国家开展健康旅游，超过50个国家将其确定为支柱性产业[5]。据美国斯坦福研究机构的调研数据，近5年来，健康旅游收入以年均9.9%的速度增长，是全球旅游业增速的两倍。2017年，我国国内生产总值(GDP)达到82.7万亿元，比上年增长6.9%；居民人均可支配收入达到25974元，增长7.3%；国内旅游人次数达到50亿，增长12.8%；旅游收入达到4.6万亿元，增长15.9%。旅游业对GDP的综合贡献达到9.1万亿元，占GDP总量的11%[6]。毫无疑问，在国际大趋势和健康中国战略的双重推动下，我国健康旅游必会成为经济发展的新引擎之一。

“The tree has a main trunk, three large branches, several smaller branches and many twigs attached to the trunk and branches. The main trunk from the ground to the top of the tree is the popular religion of China and the three main branches are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Since the T’ang dynasty, Islam has had a place, and in recent years the Christian region. Smaller branches are the Ru T’an, the Wu Chiao, and the T’ung Shan She. The twigs are the numerous sects of Buddhism and Taoism and of the lesser religions. There is also main root and several large branch roots, besides many smaller ones. The main root is the ancestor of the popular religion of China, which can be traced back more and more dimly through the Chou into the Shang dynasty, and into the late Neolithic times. One large branch root represents influences from India, chiefly through Buddhism. Other smaller roots have given China contacts with western Asia and Europe and with ethnic groups north, east, south and west of China.”(Graham 1961: 45)

近一个月以来，“心态”一词我不止一次提起。当前市场，经销商备肥意识不似以往，愈加谨慎的操作模式让市场行情变得难以琢磨，就连传统的旺季也丧失了原有的强势。“小量多次”“随销随买”的操作让行情难以集中爆发，特别是在价格高位之时，下游显得更加谨慎，这也一定程度上影响了价格的上限。

II. The Tree of Chinese Religion

Graham regarded three significant concepts as ones to which we should pay attention when studying Qiang religion. They are: “Mana” ，“Demon” and “gods(Shen)”. Mana is “that of a strange and mysterious potency permeating all striking, powerful, strange, and mysterious things, and is a primary key for the understanding and interpreting of religion”(Graham 1928: 79). The frequent response of people to this mysterious power is to relate it to an unknown, dangerous or helpful environment. Anthropologists have found similar concepts of “mana” among various peoples. Graham did not exactly find “mana”, but considered some Chinese concepts very similar, for example, “ling”，“shen” and “qi”. Yet many Chinese told Graham that “yinyang” and “fengshui” should be called “mana”. Many folk customs can be interpreted by this mysterious, magical and superhuman power.

From this Graham described the development of the Chinese religion as the relationship of a tree’s roots to its stems. Its “historical root” is the tradition of family-centered ancestor worship and the worship of Heaven found among the Shang and Zhou people. The concept of family-centered relationships is also reflected in the relationship between the emperor and his subjects as well as the relationship between officials and their people. The Qiang lived in Southwest China area where the Han and other minorities lived together. In Graham’s perspective, Qiang religion was both a “cause” as well as a “result” of Chinese religion. The Qiang and Chinese religion were closely intertwined and mutually influenced each other. To a certain degree, they can be considered closely related. As for the studies on the other ethnic minorities in the other parts of Southwest China, such as the Miao and Yi, Graham held similar opinions.

1.3.1 真空冷冻干燥香菇粉的制备。将香菇清洗去杂后，捞出沥水至表面无水，放至-18 ℃冰箱中冷冻过夜，用真空冷冻干燥机干燥至水分8%以下。烘干后的香菇，先用中药粉碎机粉碎得到普通粉，过60目筛，再将普通粉加入超微粉碎机碾磨，采用不同的粉碎频率和时间组合，得到的粉末采用激光粒度仪进行粒度(湿法)测定，把得到中位粒径在10～30 μm的粉碎组合作为香菇超微粉制备方法，从而得到香菇超微粉。

很多爸爸妈妈问我们家宝宝打了哪些自费疫苗，我给孩子接种的有进口自费的HIB、7价肺炎、水痘、甲肝，轮状病毒是国产自费的。百白破有国产免费和进口的可选，我们家打的进口的，脊灰当时只有国产口服的减毒活疫苗。现在还有百白破+HIB+灭活脊灰5联疫苗，宝宝能少打很多针，这在当时是没有的。兰菌净和流感2个疫苗我们家没打。进口疫苗我们家打了都没有副作用，反而是国产计划的脊灰糖丸和麻疹疫苗给宝宝惹了很多麻烦。仅供参考，一般情况下打国产苗都是可以的。

III. Three Important Concepts of Qiang Religion

The second important concept is “demon”. Graham gives no exact definition of this concept, but considered that it was closely related to ancestor worship. The purpose of the magic from the sorcerer is often for exorcism. Demons are also connected with people dying from unnatural deaths, such as the “hanging by the neck demon”(diaojinggui). Demons constitute a vast system, which is filled with concepts like ghosts and monsters.

In his book,Folk Religion in Southwest China, Graham pointed out that not only the Han, but also other minorities, lived in Southwest China, and these minorities should be taken into the Chinese nation on a large scale. The religions of the Han and ethnic minorities are also mixed together and mutually influential. If we take southwestern religions as a whole, the Han religion is the most influential among them. He also suggested that it was necessary to introduce a historical dimension when dealing with a single ethnic group living in Southwest China where many ethnic groups lived together. Graham traced early Chinese religious phenomena, and generalized Chinese religion as a “tree” which contains roots, branches and leaves:

The third significant concept is “gods”. Graham emphasized that Chinese were polytheistic. Polytheism is also common among the Han, Tibetan and other minorities in western China. Compared with the Han, the Qiang do not have images for their gods. The Qiang worship white stones, and consider almost everything as “living gods”, for instance, a very tall tree that reaches toward the heavens, the sun and some mountains.

These three concepts reflect the Qiang’s cosmology. The Qiang lived in alpine canyons, and every day they were surrounded by wild animals and a difficult environment. With a harsh natural environment, various natural disasters, and attacks from surrounding peoples, the Qiang often considered that these disasters were caused by mysterious powers, from which people could benefit or be harmed. In addition, science had not yet penetrated into the mountainous villages. People, thus, often pinned their hope on the gods. As a result, Graham drew a conclusion similar to Malinowski’s functionalism. He suggested that Chinese religions were very practical. The Qiang offered sacrifices to the gods, exorcised demons, worshipped ancestors, and through these religious practices, they hoped to gain practical effects on their everyday life. People thought that the rituals carried out by sorcerers and offerings to the gods could eliminate diseases, guarantee a sound harvest, fatten their livestock, improve reproduction, avoid attacks from enemies and nature, and obtain happiness and have satisfactory clothing, food, shelter and means of travelling. Even Christianity, which claimed to be higher than the other religions, is practiced for fulfilling the basic necessities of life of human beings.

To sum up, Graham advocated a tolerant attitude towards the study of religions, and believed that science and religion are not necessarily in conflict with each other. As for the study of Qiang religion, he took “the view of Southwest China”, and considered that the relationship between the Qiang religion and Chinese religion were interconnected just like tree roots and leaves. Graham also noted that we had to bring historical dimension into the research of the religions of the minorities in Southwest China. Only when we have a general understanding of the surrounding peoples can we position the religion of a single minority group more accurately. After comparing the religions of the Han and Tibetans, Graham advocated three significant concepts for studying Qiang religion: “Mana”, “demon” and “gods”. Based on these three concepts, and combined with the Qiang’s natural living environment and cosmology, only then, can one comprehend Qiang religion more precisely. It is exactly because of his more advanced and scientific anthropological research methods that led to a split between him and the other western scholars and missionaries. Graham’s view of Southwest China derives from substantial contacts with both Chinese and western scholars, extensive reading of historical materials, and fieldwork. His “view of the Southwest” reflects the internal differentiation of the temporal context of orientalism. The transformation of Graham from missionary to anthropologist also reflects the developing approach of the Chinese anthropology in its early stage, which was shifting from amateur to professional and from religious passion to precise science.

Key Words:David Crockett Graham; Qiang religion; religions of Southwest China; perspective of Southwest China

References:

Bian Simei. qiang wei heren—20 shiji qianqi xifang xuezhe de qiangmin yanjiu(Who are the Qiang—The Study of the Qiang People by the Western Scholars in the Early 20th Century). In Journal of Yunnan Normal University(Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 2013, 45(13): 9-16.

Charles F. McKhann and Alan Waxman.David Crockett Graham: American Missionary and Scientist in Sichuan, 1911-1948. In Denise M. Glover, Stevan Harrell, and Charles F. McKhann, ed. Explorers and Scientists in China’s Borderlands, 1880-1950. Seattle: University of Washington Press.2011.

David Crockett Graham. qiangzu de xisu yu zongjiao(The Customs and Religion of the Ch’iang”). Geng Jing transl. In Geweihan minzuxue kaoguxue lunzhu(Works of Graham’s Ethnology and Archaeology),Li Shaoming and Zhou Shurong,ed. Chengdu: bashu shushe,2004.

David Crockett Graham.sichuan de shushen(Sacred Trees in Sichuan),Jiang Yuxiang,transl. In Journal of Literature and History.1990(2): 41-42.

David Crockett Graham.Methods and Equipment for Research on the China Tibetan Border. In Journal of the West China Border Research Society. 1934. 6.

David Crockett Graham.Religion in Szechuan Province, China. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections; Smithsonian Institution; Washington, D. C.1928， v. 80, no. 4.

David Crockett Graham.Folk Religion in Southwest China, Washington, Smithsonian Institution,1961.

F. Max Muller. zongjiaoxue daolun(Introduction to the Science of Religion). Chen Guansheng,Li Peizhu transl. Shanghai:shanghai renmin chubanshe,1989.

Peng Wenbin.zhongxi zhijian de xinan shiye:xinan minzuzhi fenlei tushi(Southwestern perspectives between China and West: Classification and Ethnographic Mapping in Southwest China). In Journal of Southwest University for Nationalities, 2007.28(10): 6-14.

Susan R. Brown. zai zhongguo de wenhua renleixue jia(David C. Graham: A Cultural Anthropologist and Misionary in China). Rao Jin transl. Li Shaoming proofread. In Forum on Chinese Culture,2001(3).