The crowd was enjoying the spectacle. It turned out to be an elderly Daoist with a sage-like demeanor sitting on the ground and drawing talismans. As he drew, he explained, seemingly intent on imparting knowledge of the Dao of Talismans to the onlookers:
"Talismans are a kind of mystic art of our Eastern Daoist tradition. Sometimes they are called talismanic characters, ink tallies, or cinnabar writs. In the terminology of cultivators, talismans are also called divine talismans, Dao talismans, and heavenly talismans, while tallies are called Dao tallies, ritual tallies, and precious tallies...
A talisman generally refers to a graphic symbol written on a carrier that looks neither quite like a character nor quite like a drawing; some people even call it a logo.
Chapter 393