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1,46 ISLAKD OF HAINAN. 189
women, foreigners in olden times used to steal them. So the chaste ones at least took to smearing
their faces with mud to hide theii- charms, and later on tattooing was resorted to for the same
purpose. When a girl reaches marriageable age the family sets out wine and invites the relatives.
Then an old woman prickes out with a needle patterns of flowering plants and flying moths and
5 puts in the colour in kingfisher blue; the work is very fine and well done». At the present day the
designs tattooed on the faces of the Li appear to be lines and dots, like those of the Formosans.
See Henry, op. cit., 383.
32) Ling-wai-tai-ta, 2,«, from which this paragraph is substantially taken, says that the
Li knives were two feet long, with handles of horn over a foot long. The Li also wore helmets
10 of rattan. Eeferring to the Li bow, the same work (6,6*) says that they were of wood or bamboo,
and the string of rattan. They were shorter than the Japanese bow, though like it. The arrow was
not feathered. Conf. Swinhoe, J. N. C. B. E. A. S., new Series VII, 79. The Ling-wai-tai-ta,
speaking of the revengeful spirit of the Li, says they call killing a person in revenge atso-yaua
(tt ^^h)
6aning, like the cho-yau of our text, «seizing, mancipation (?)».
15 — The same work also notes that nfor the most part, the Li are ignorant and superstitious.
When a stranger comes to see them, they do not meet him at once, but first examine him through
some peephole. If he is of pleasing presence and not a dangerous looking person, they send a
slave to spread a mat for him to sit on, and after a little while the master himself comes out and
meets him. After a short conversation he has wine served, but in the first place he tries the
20 visitor with some bad-tasting herbs (^S 1^,)> and if he patiently eats of them without hesitating,
the host is pleased, and follows up the wine with beef. But if the guest refuses (to eat the herbs)
he is sent back to his people».
The Li of the present day all carry heavy wood-knives in small baskets, long and narrow,
attached to the waist behind. In these they also carry their flint and steel and a few other neces-
23 sary articles.
33) Taken from Ling-wai-tai-ta, 2,s^
34) Hiang-p'u or «List of perfumes». This title has been given to several works on the
subject of aromatic substances. One was written in the early part of the twelfth century by Hung Chu
(»yt :|S). Surg-shi, 205,22, mentions this work, which it says is in 5 chapters, and also one
30 by Shon Li (^ ^). Still another work with this title was written during the Sung dynasty
by Ye T'ing-kui (^ ^ {^). See Bretschneider, Botanicon Sinicum, 1, 149, J\^s 153.
Hainan.
35) See Ling-wai-tai-ta, 2,8*, which also mentions sapan-wood {su-mu) among the products of
36) Ling-wai-tai-ta, 2,7* says that aliving among the semi-civilized Li (Shou-Li) are many
35 desperadoes (^ ^) from the Hu-kuang and Fu-kien provinces, a cruel, thieving lot who,
though to all outward appearances obeying the officials, are in league with the Wild Li (Shong-
Li) to plunder the country».
37) Quotation from Ling-wai-tai-ta, 1,16*.
38) Ma Fu-po is the Ma Yuan mentioned previously p. 178. The text states that these
40 earthenware jars could hold several piculs of water (;;]