Introduction.

The services of the shaman-healer had to be paid for. First he had to be given special hospitality. The staple maize meal and green vegetables were taken for granted, but in addition Wang Ming-ji listed chicken and red beans, while Yang Yung-xin mentioned chicken and boiled meat. The latter was probably goat’s flesh, but may have been pork. A professional fee was also necessary. This could be money, but was much more likely to have been so many measures of corn, the quantity varying according to the particular service requested. The fee was euphemistically referred to as "horse food".

Wang Ming-ji’s account says that immediately after the burst of flame, everyone dropped whatever they were carrying and hurried away in a body, not looking back. Yang Yung-xin says that they all scattered to their own houses. Probably Yang Yung-xin was thinking of the casual spectators who had gathered to watch the proceedings while Wang Ming-ji was specifically concerned with the actors in the drama.

Translation
Literal Transcription
Notes

You can see the original documents for this song.

You can also see these pages as Word97 documents

Word97 Introduction
Word97 Translation
Word97 Transcription
Word97 Notes

Return to Index of Songs
Return to First Page of the Archive