Note 47 — Tales of the Mythical Period

The wealth of a person seems to have been, to a large extent, determined by the number of old jars in his possession. As at the present time, they formed the basis of settlement for feuds, as payment for a bride, and even figured in the marriage ceremony itself. The jars, as judged from their names, were evidently of ancient Chinese manufacture, and possessed power of speech and motion similar to that of human beings; but in a lesser measure the same type of jars have similar powers to-day.47