Unearthed in 1989 from a commercial tomb in Xingan, Jiangxi Province, the bronze mask with ox horns and protruding teeth on a human face; and the pottery mask from the close-by Qing Jiang Wu relics; both fitted in with the totem image of Chi You described as having a "bronze head with horns" in the historical records, It was also the image of the "mountain opener" in the culture of exorcism prevailed in Ping Village, They helped us visualize the folk customs in Shang Zhou period that people wore exorcist masks to dispel evil and pestilence. As was recorded in Zhou Li, Xia Guan and Fang Xiangshi, "Fang Xiang Shi appeared ii1 red and dark robe. he had four
golden eyes, and covered his hands and feet with bare fur. Holding a shield and a dagger-axe in hands, and having hundreds followers under his command, he was ready to fight off demons and pestilence." This folk wizard custom spread from the mi&stream in Yangtze River to the east and the west covering the entire Yangtze River valley, and to the north into Sicbuan and southern Shaanxi, connecting with the central plain culture of the middle reaches irt the Yellow River. With a history of over 7000 years since primitive society, the culture of exorcism is like an important live fossil in the study of Chinese historical culture.
