Primal Trek: The ancient Chinese believed that good fortune and misfortune were the result of spirit intervention. Evidence from the Zhou (Chou) Dynasty (11th Century - 221 BCE) indicates that the Chinese dealt with evil spirits in the same way they dealt with their human enemies. Several times a year and during solemn occasions, swarms of exorcists would run through the streets shouting and thrusting their spears in the air to expel the evil spirits. Additionally, human prisoners were dismembered outside the city gates as a signal as to what would be the fate of any evil spirit that dared enter the city. Since ancient times, the Chinese have believed that Chinese characters have a magical power to influence spirits. According to the "Book of Master Huainan" (淮南子), when Cang Jie (仓颉) invented Chinese characters during the reign (circa 2698 - 2598 BCE) of the legendaryYellow Emperor (Huangdi 黃帝), "millet fell from the sky and the spirits cried at night". This was because the spirits were afraid of being controlled by the magic power of Chinese characters used for amulets and charms.
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