The charm has a prominent part in all primitive religions, especially in those that worship spirits and live in fear of ghosts and spectres. In the earliest times the Chinese people believed in Shnngti, the Supreme Ruler, the genii presiding over mountains and rivers, and the host of spirits that filled the sky. Some of these spirits were considered good, others bad. The good were the protectors of man, the bad, the harbingers of evil, there solely to torment and unsettle. The malignant influence of bad spirits had to be diminished, and charms were used for this practice. The charm is the most effective way of calling spirits, expelling them, warding off and restraining demons, ghosts and entities of all kinds.