ABSTRACT
Bao wanted to ferret out those responsible for perpetuating the cruel practice and called for the annual ceremony in early Oc tober as had been the usual custom. Several cult priestesses ap peared beside the young woman who, it was thought, was to be sacrificed to the river god. The barge on which she was to be tied was at the river bank, and, as the ceremony was about to begin, she wept softly. As the ceremony started, Ximen Bao suddenly called a halt. He commanded that several of the cult priestesses be thrown into the river instead of the young woman, thus ending the torturous ceremony of marriage to the river god.
