Nov 5, 2004

Origins of Chain Letters?

by Cliopatria

After you have seen this notice, pass it on quickly. Pass on one copy and avert calamity to one family. Pass on ten copies and avert calamity to a whole village. If you fail to take the notice down and circulate it, you can count on losing your head. (Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys, p. 135)

This is from the Boxer Rebellion in China, at the turn of the last century. I saw it and immediately wondered: is this the origin of the chain letter? I followed Cohen's footnote eagerly, but all he says there is"This same essential calamity-aversion logic appears to be used the world over; it is often encountered in the United States in chain letters." (n. 74, p. 338) No kidding!

A little digging at Snopes led me to a fantastic archive and analysis of chain letters by Daniel W. VanArsdale. This Boxer letter is clearly a variant of the religious text copying and religious protection letters which he claims as the earliest form of chain writing, and it comes around the same time as the boom in chain letters in the US (which is the focus of this collection).

He also cites examples from 19th century India, which makes it very clear that these are not purely Western phenomena. So this isn't the first, or the original. But it is very near the first boom, and an interesting example, possibly, of cultural transmission. Still more work to be done.....

More Comments:

Jonathan Dresner - 11/6/2004

Those kinds of letters seem to be quite common in the Western world. There is a tradition in the Buddhist sphere of earning merit by copying sacred texts, but there's very little chain mail, that I'm aware of (which is why the Boxer text was so surprising). I wonder if the religious chain letter has its roots in the Buddhist practice of sutra copying?

Danny Loss - 11/6/2004

There's also a tradition of religous chain letters in Russia. They typically purport to be from heaven, or God, or some saint, and predict disaster if the reader doesn't copy them and pass them along. Not surprisingly, they become far more prevalent in times of crisis.

Jonathan Dresner - 11/6/2004

That's why I love Snopes.com so much. The are a treasure trove of these things, and some cultural studies people are working harder than necessary if MA theses aren't being written from their archives.....

Jonathan T. Reynolds - 11/6/2004

Wired did a great article on Chain e-mail a while back. It can be seen here:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/hoax.html