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Meteorites, or Celestial Stones: China

While there is admittedly but scant evidence of the existence of a Stone Age in China, and still less to indicate that Chinese civilization passed through such a period, a certain number of stone artefacts, all polished, have been found within the limits of China. However, curiously enough in view of this state of things, we find that here, as almost everywhere else, these objects were popularly regarded as "thunderbolts." Thus Chien Tsang-Ki, the author of a Materia Medica, composed in the first half of the eighth century of our era, states that objects of this kind "have been found by people who explored a locality over which a thunder-storm had swept and dug three feet in the ground"; and he adds that some of these stone implements have two perforations. They were named pi-li-chen, "stones originating from the crash of thunder," and a still earlier writer, Chang (232-300 A.D.) applies a similar designation to stone axes and wedges "frequently seen among the people." Several centuries later Shen Kun (1030-1093 A.D.) testifies that the people of his time found many stone "thunder-wedges," in all cases after a thunder-storm; these were unperforated. It is generally believed that most of these stone implements had been made by a Tungusian tribe, akin to the Manchus.

This is partly due to the fact that it was natural, after a thunder-shower, for a search to be made. Then again, as thunder-showers are usually heavy rains, they were apt to loosen the soil and leave on the surface heavy objects, more especially such materials as jade, of the density of 2.9, or jadeite, of the density of 3.3. These are much heavier than the quartz, feldspar and other ingredients of the soil, which vary from 2.6 to 2.7 and are washed away. Finally, there is the natural disinclination on the part of the Chinese to dig, from their belief that it is wrong to explore the soil, and this disinclination on their part has done much to prevent a better knowledge of the Stone Age, and our knowledge of the races which must have preceded the civilization of China; many facts of mining interest have been neglected, as well, on account of this prejudice. Perhaps within the next twenty years we may learn something about a prehistoric race in China, for as traces of the existence of such races have been found in every other country of the world, there can be little or no doubt that such a race existed in China, although as yet we have no distinct evidences of it.

The Babylonian royal astrologers taught that the mere fact of the passage of a meteor across the heavens, whether its course were from east to west, or from north to south, was a good omen, portending victory and the successful issue of the royal projects. Especially favorable was the augury when the meteor was very brilliant and left behind it a trail that might be likened to the tail of a scorpion. This not only foretold joy for the ruler and his house, but for the entire country; evil would be overcome, righteousness would reign supreme, and prosperity would prevail. A meteor of this type is recorded as having appeared at the time Nebuchadnezzar laid waste Elam about 1150 B.C. This refers to the elder Nebuchadnezzar.

A curious series of cuneiform texts treats of the prognostics to be drawn from the transformations of stars into various animals, metals, stones, etc. This is explained as referring to the apparent form or hue of the meteor itself, or of the trail it left behind. The transformations into stones concern the dushu-stone, porphyry (or some other dark red or purple stone) and lapis lazuli. This omen i invariably a favorable one.

The Old Testament offers abundant testimony of the ancient belief that certain stones were animated by a divine spirit. In regard to this, Benzinger writes: "It was not Yahweh who found Jacob at Bethel but rather Jacob who found Yahweh there. He anoints the stone; that is, he sacrifices to it, for the divinity residing in the stone has caused his dream." According to Benzinger's opinion the Ark of the Covenant originally served as receptacle for a stone of this type, and was hence regarded as sheltering a divinity. One of the very earliest references to meteorites appears in the Book of Joshua (chap. x, verse 11), where we read, in the account of the battle fought by the Israelites against the Amorites and their allies, that "the Lord cast down great stones from heaven" upon the Amorites, so that more of the latter were killed by these stones than by the weapons of the Israelites. Admitting the historical character of the account, this fall of meteorites probably took place in the twelfth century B.C. In an Assyrian cuneiform inscription, there is mention of the seven black stones of the city of Urka in Chaldea. These were baetyli and were regarded as representations of the seven planets. The fall of meteors is noted frequently in Chinese records, the first instance dating from 644 B.C. Of a meteor that fell in 213 B.C., we are told that it descended as "a star which turned to a stone as it fell." A meteorite that fell in China in 211 B.C. is said to have been the indirect cause of many deaths. The event took place during the reign of the tyrannical emperor Chi Hoang-ti, who had incurred the resentment of all the Chinese litterati by his wholesale burning of books. Some believer in the power of sorcery caused an inscription to be cut on this stone predicting the death of the hated emperor within a year, and when news of the fact came to the monarch's ears he gave orders to have the stone split up, and to put to death all the inhabitants of the place where it was found, this being no doubt looked upon as a most effective conjuration of the spell.