m D © I Shelf, Booh Vision..,;. Q^ SectionH4-./^C/.. No,../.C:. TIIEOLCGICAL SEMi2.AiiY.|: > Princeton, INT. J. j| Ti; DARKNESS IN THE FLO¥ERT LAND THE TOWP:il OF NINGPO. DARKNESS IN THK FLO¥ERY LAND; OR, RELIGIOUS NOTIOxNS AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS IN NORTH CHINA. BY THE REV. M. SIMPSON CULBERTSON, OF THE SHANGHAE MISSION OP THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OP THB PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. "Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." — 1ii,lx.9. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER, 877 AND 379 BROADWAY. 1857. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 185T, by CHARLES SCRIBNER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. W H. TiNsoN, Stereotyper. Geo. Russell & Co., Printers. CONTENTS ■♦- CHAPTER L PAOB Names of China— Its Extent, 18 CHAPTER n. Population, ..IS CHAPTER in. Religions of China — Followers of Confucius, . • • • . 25 CHAPTER IV. The State Religion, 82 CHAPTER V. Worship of Confucius, 41 CHAPTER VI. Religious Rites performed by Magistrates, 49 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAG I) The Tauiflts, ^^ CHAPTER VIII. The Buddhists, . . '. ^^ CHAPTER IX. The Buddhists— Acquisition of Merit, 78 CHAPTER X. The Buddhists— Transmigration, 82 CHAPTER XI. Buddhist Priests and Temples— Yuh-wong, 89 CHAPTER XII. Buddhist Temples— Island of Puto— Temple Services, . . . 9& CHAPTER XIII. The Buddhists— Special Services— Popular Worship, . . . 104 CHAPTER XIV. The Buddhists— Penance Festival, . . . . . • . 112 CHAPTER XV. Nunneries— Buddhism and Romanism Compared, .... 118 CHAPTER XVI. Blending of the Sects — Some Negative Features common to all, . 123 CONTENTS. VU CHAPTER XVII. PAOB Popular Deities — Heaven and Earth — God of the Kitchen — The Kaiu Dragon 129 CHAPTER XVIII. God of Thunder — God of Wealth — Gods of the Five Quarters— Re- ligious Processions, 141 CHAPTER XIX. Ancestral Worship — Worship at the Tombs, 158 CHAPTER XX. Ancestral Temples — Lands set apart for the Dead — Calling back the Spirit— Sweeping away the Spirit — Feeding the Ghosts, . . 160 CHAPTER XXI. Superstitious Fears at Ningpo, in 1846, ...... 178 CHAPTER XXn. Necromancy— Adopted Daughter of the Seven Sisters — Table- Turning — Spiritual Writing, 181 CHAPTER XXIII. Astrology— Use of Horoscope— Lucky and Unlucky Days, . . 189 CHAPTER XXIV. Qeomancy— Selection of Sites for Burial— Construction of Dwel- lings, 195 CHAPTER XXV. Charms and Amulets — Exorcising at Amoy — Protection of Houses Towers— Porcelain Tower at Nanking— Effects of High Build- ings—Churches at Ningpo and Shanghae, 201 Vm CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVL TAGS Protestant Missions, . , , . 218 CHAPTER XXVn. The Revolution — Conclusion, • • . 227 PEEFACE. The Flowery Central Country, or the Flowery Land, is a name often employed by the Chinese to designate their country. The name implies that they consider themselves the most polished of the nations. However polished they may be, the follow- ing pages will show that in religious matters, at least, they have no legitimate claim to be reckoned among the enlightened nations of the earth, but must be classed among those who are enveloped in thick darkness. In the following work an attempt has been made to present the prominent features of the religion of the Chinese. In -most of the numerous works on China which have heretofore appeared, this topic has been but briefly discussed. The subject presents Xll PREFACE. The sole object of the book is to promote the work of missions among the Chinese, by presenting such information as is calculated to awaken a deeper interest in their behalf among those whose duty it is to send them the Gospel, which alone can deliver them from their present bondage, and from eternal death. M. S. 0. Chambersburu, Pa., Sept. nth, 185Y. DARKNESS IN THE FLOWERY LAND CHAPTEE I. NAMES OF CHINA ITS EXTENT. The country which is known among western nations by the name of China, is not so desig- nated by its own inhabitants. The name of China is probably derived from the Tsin dynasty, which obtained sway over the whole country about two hundred and fifty years before Christ. The family which founded this dynasty had, for several hundred years, ruled over a portion of the country, and had long been illustrious on account of their w^ar- like exploits. The principality which they governed was 2 13 14 NAMES OF CHINA. situated in the northwestern part of the empire, and, consequently, was the part first readied by persons coming to China from the west. This portion of the empire being know^n as the kingdom of Tsin or Chin, and having become famous through the character of the family which ruled over it, it was natural for foreign nations, having intercourse with it, to apply the name to the whole land of w^hich it formed a part. Thus tlie empire became known among the western nations by the name Chin, or China. The name by which the country is most commonly designated by the Chinese them- selves is Chung Kwoh, "The Central Country," because they conceive of it as situated in the centre of the world, and all other countries as islands, or patches of territory, around its borders. The absurdity of such a view is less glaring than it otherwise appears, when we consider the inferiority of the neighboring na- tions, which alone, until recently, were known to the Chinese. Another name which the Chinese are fond of using is " Hwa Kwoh " — " The Flowery Country," or " Hwa Chung Kwoh "— " The Flowery Central Country," because they re- gard themselves as more highly cultivated and polished than other nations. T'ien Hia — • ITS EXTENT. 15 All under Heaven ; Sz' Hai — (All within the) Four Seas; Nui Ti— "The Inner Land," are terms frer|nently employed in speaking of the country, and are all indicative of the profound ignorance of geography which characterizes this people. In official documents the coun- try is designated by the name of the reigning dynasty. At present, therefore, it is called "Ta Tsing Kwoh"— "The Country of the Great Pure Dynasty." The term " T'ien Chau " — " Celestial Dynasty," is sometimes used, but not in the sense in which foreigners have applied the term. It means the dynasty which derives authority from Heaven. Among the most illustrious dynasties that have governed the empire, are the Han and the T'ang. The people still love to consider themselves inheritors of their glory, and speak of themselves as Hdn-jin — men of Han, or T\ing-jin — men of T'ang. They are often called too Li-min — " The llack-haired 2y<^0]^ler for black hair is as characteristic of the race as it is of our Korth American Indians. The name China is properly applied only to that part of the empire known as ''Hhe. eighteen provinces, ^^ This is the most fertile, most populous, and, in every respect, the most important portion of the empire. It is in habited by a race essentially one, united in 16 NAMES OF CHINA. sympathy, having for ages had the same historical associations, possessing the same written language, and speaking languages having a common origin, or rather different dialects of the same tongue. This country was conquered by the Manchu Tartars in ^,he year 164:4, and the reigniug Emperors of China since that period have been members of the Manchu royal family by whom the conquest was effected. Manchuria is there, fore at present a part of the Chinese empire, although the Manchus are a totally different race from the Chinese, and have a different language, both as written and as spoken. On the west of China also, are extensive terri- tories which acknowledge the sway of the Emperor of China. They are inhabited by various distinct tribes, different from each other and from the Chinese. Among these possessions of the empire, Mongolia and Thibet are included. The whole empire, according to McCuUoch, is about 3,350 miles long from east to west, and about 2,100 miles broad from north to south. The extent of China proper is about 1,474 miles from north to south, and 1,355 from east to west. The whole empire con- tains probably about 5,300,000 square miles, and China proper about 1,400,000. The area ITS EXTENT. 17 of China proper is not very different from that of the United States, exclusive of the territories, but the area of the whole empire is nearly twice as large as that of the entire territory belonging to the United States, 2* CHAPTER II. POPULATION. The population of this vast empire is stated at three hundred and sixty millions. This is according to a census taken by the Chinese government in the year 1812. There is no reason to doubt its correctness, except the ap- parent incredibility of the fact involved in it, that the Chinese empire contains one third of the entire population of the world. The census, however, seems to have been carefully taken, and it furnishes the best data we have for ascertaining the amount of the population. K we allow for even a small rate of increase, the number of souls now inhabiting this popu- lous empire cannot be less than four hundred millions.^ The mind cannot grasp the real * By the documents discovered in the official residence of the governor in the city of Canton, when that city was en- tered by the English troops in October, 1856, it appears that a census was taken by the reigning Emperor in 1852, and IS POPULATION. 19 import of so vast a iiTimber. Four hundred millions ! Think of it. What does it mean ? Count it. Night and day, without rest, or food, or sleep, you continue the weary work, yet eleven days have passed before the first mil- lion is completed ; and more than as many years before the end of the tedious task can be reached. Or indulge another fancy. Suppose this mighty multitude to march in procession be- fore you. Place them in single file, six feet apart, and let them march at the rate of thirty miles a day, stopping to rest on the Sabbath. Day after day you watch the moving column, and day after day the long, long march con- tinues. The head of the procession pushes on far away towards the setting sun. Now bridge the Pacific ; bridge the Atlantic. And now the Pacific is crossed, but still the long pro- cession moves on, stretching away across high mountains, and sunny plains, and broad rivers, through China and India, and the European kingdoms; and on again over the stormy bosom of the Atlantic. But the circuit of the earth itself afi:brds not standing-room. The endless column must double upon itself, and that the population was then found to be three hundred and ainety-six millions. 20 POPULATION. double again and again ; and shall girdle the earth eighteen times, before the great reser- voir which furnishes these marvellous multi- tudes is exhausted. Weeks, and months, and years roll away, and still they come ; men an women, and children. Since the march be- gan, the little child has become a man, and yet on, on they come, in unfailing numbers. !Not till the end of forty-one years will the last of that long procession have passed. Any one living in China cannot fail to be deej^ly impressed by the evident density of the population. It appears in the great num- ber of populous cities thickly scattered over the plains and valleys ; in the number of large towns in the country surrounding those cities, and in the numerous villages and small ham- lets which are everywhere visible to the pass- ing traveller. Take, for example, the city of Ningpo, itself a large city of some three hundred thousand inhabitants. Within twelve miles we have the city of Chinhai, containing a population of twenty or twenty«five thou- sand. Funghwa, Tsz'ke, Tuyau, Tinghai are walled cities of about the same class with Chinhai, all within from twenty to fifty miles of Ningpo. In the year 1855, two missionaries made a tour in the vicinity of Ningpo, in the course of POPULATION. 21 wliicli they visited one city of 300,000, ten of from 50,000 to 100,000, and eightof from 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. They visited all these cities in travelling about seventeen days, at the slow rate of twenty miles a day; and were not at any time more than one hundred and fifty miles from Ningpo. The district, or country, in which Shanghae is situated, is twenty-seven miles long, and twenty-six broad. It contains no less than thirty large populous towns and villages. About seventy miles from Shanghae lies the great city of Suchau, with a population of lit- tle less than two millions, while the whole coun- try between and around these great centres of trade and commerce is full of large cities and flourishing towns. Twenty-seven miles from Slianghae is Sunkiang, with a greater population than Shanghae. Not far off, we find Kiating, Kwanshan, and ]N^antsiang, each claiming from sixty to one hundred thousand inhabitants. In the same region are the towns called Paushan, T'singpu, Chukiakoh, Kintsih, Wongdu, Chapu, and many others, each numbering from ten to twenty thousand inhabitants. In the whole of the eighteen provinces there are one thousand seven hundred and twenty Men districts or townships, and it is far short 22 POrULATION. of the truth to say, that for each of these dis- tricts there is at least one city, with a popula- tion of from thirty thousand to one hundred thousand souls. But besides this, we must consider the large number of immense cities found in every province of the empire. There is Peking, with its three millions of people, Hangchau, and Canton, with a million or more each; while "Wuchang and two neigh- boring cities, situate like New York, Brook- lyn, and Jersey City, contain, together, four or five millions, and according to the French traveller M. Hue, eight millions. These are mentioned as being best known to foreigners, but many others, equally populous, might be named. Now compare this w^ith the United States. We can as yet boast of but two cities wliose population reaches anything like half a mil- lion, and but seven others numbering over one hundred thousand. Exclusive of these there were in all the United States, in 1850, but twenty-seven towns having a population exceeding twenty thousand, and only thirty- nine others whose population reached ten thousand. In the State of New York there are but four cities of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, and but nine others of more than ten thousand. In Pennsylvania, besides its POPULATION. 23 two principal cities, there are but four towns of over ten thousand inhabitants. But if we would form a just estimate of the populousness of China, we must not look at the large cities alone. In the country ad- jacent to these cities, there are many large unwalled towns, containing from one thousand to five or ten, or even twenty thousand inhab- itants. Thus within ten miles of Kingpo, we have such towns as Chongsz', Chonggiau, Sz'- Kong, Ning-kong-giau, A'sahyin, Lodogiau, Ningpo-sz'-kung, Hapu, and others, having a population ranging from three to eighteen thousand. These are market towns, suj^ported entirely by the local trade of the neighboring farmers. Farm-houses are not built separ- ately, but in little hamlets, for the sake of mu- tual protection, and general convenience. These farming hamlets, often half concealed beneath the shade of a clump of trees, dot the face of the plain in every direction. In any spot in which you can place yourself, they are ever near you, on the right hand and on the left ; and in whichever direction you look, your eye rests upon some of their inhabitants working in their fields, or carrying home their produce, or returning from the nearest market village, bearing, on poles slung across their shoulders, such necessaries as they have pur- 24: POPULATION. chased for family use. Thus, wherever you are, the scenes of busy life surround you. You cannot find a spot where you can feel that you are alone. When you wish a place that can be truly called solitar}^, you must seek it far away among the mountains. Such is China. Everywhere you see around you the abodes of the living, and the tombs of the dead. This populous country might be the richest and most powerful on earth. Its soil is fertile. It abounds in large rivers, and navigable canals. Its people are shrewd, ob- servant, intelligent. Yet the nation is poor and feeble, and the mass of the people sunk in deep moral degradation. Why is this? We shall see, as we take a nearer survey of these busy multitudes, that their poverty, de- gradation, and comparative destitution of the blessings of modern civilization, are to be traced to the fact that they are without the Bible. CHAPTER III. KELIGIONS OF CHINA FOLLOWERS OF CONFUCIUS. What now are the religions views of these countless multitudes ? What their prospects for the world to come ? Alas ! they are " sit- ting in darkness, and in the region and sha- dow of death." Whence came we ? Whither are we going ? How may a man be just with God ? These are questions on which all the wisdom of their sages and philosophers, em- ployed upon them for thousands of years, have not been able to shed any light. Thinking themsel ves wise, they have become fools. Their feet " stumble upon the dark mountains." While they "looked for light, it has been turned into the shadow of death, and has been made gross darkness." All the scholars and learned men of China consider themselves as belonging to what is called the ju-Mdu—the sect of the literati. 3 26 26 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. This is not, strictly speaking, a religious sect. The term is used to designate the followers of Confucius and his disciples, and of the sages who preceded him. All the Chinese, how- ever, learned and unlearned, rank themselves among the followers of Confucius. Those who are more strict take pride in professing to reject the dogmas of the Buddhists and Tauists, which are received in whole or in part, by the mass of the unlearned. Even the most rigid of the Confucianists, however, are willing occasion- ally to call in the aid of the Buddhist or Tau- ist priest, to quiet their fears, or comfort their families in distress. The veneration of the Chinese for Confucius is very great. He is never called a god, but the inscriptions suspended about the temples dedicated to his memory, lavish upon him the most extravagant praises, and he is frequently spoken of in terms which should never be ap- plied to any mere man. One inscription in the temple at Ningpo, declares that he is " worthy to rank as one comparable wdth hea- ven and earth." Probably no other unin- spired man ever wielded an influence so pow- erful, so enduring, or reaching so vast a multitude of minds. Confucius was, no doubt, a wise man, and a man of probity. He la- bored for the promotion of general morality, FOLLOWERS OF CONFUCIUS. 27 and the best interests of his country. lie taught principles of morality as nearly correct as any other heathen philosopher ever taught, and there is a great deal in his teachings to admire. The study of the sayings of Confu- cius, as reported by his disciples, must lead to a feeling of respect for the man ; but they, at the same time, give rise to a deep impression of the utter inability of the human mind, with- out a revelation, to solve the mysteries of our existence, or to find the true foundations of genuine morality. Confucius, however, is not to be regarded as the founder of a new sect. He merely ex- pounded and enforced the maxims which, he contended, had ever been acted upon by the ancient sages, and by the wise and good of every age. His system is rather a system of ethics and political economy, than of religion. His political maxims commend themselves to common sense, reason, and justice, and have exerted a happy influence on the govern- ment and people of China. The foundation of his moral system is obe- dience to parents, and love to brethren. From these flow respect for the aged, for magis- trates, and for all superiors ; then courtes}^ and friendship among equals, and kindness toward inferiors. Thus we may say that the duties 28 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. enjoined in the fifth commandment are the foundation of the Confucian code. May not the respect which the Chinese have always paid to this commandment account, in part, for their long continuance as a nation? A blessing always attends obedience to the laws of God, even wdien rendered by idolaters. One of the savin^fs of Confucius is remark- able, from its resemblance to our Saviour's golden rule. Confucius said, "Do not to others wduit you would not have others do to you." But the rule which Christ lays down for our guidance is, " Do to others as you would have others do to you." The resem- blance is such as does honor to the heathen sage, and yet the difference is almost as great as that between heathenism and Christianity. To abstain from doing evil is a very difl'erent thing from active efforts to do good. The rule of Christ would lead his followers to send the gospel to the heathen. That of Confucius, too generally acted on in the world, even by good men, would permit us to leave the heathen to perish. Confucius and his followers have made two great and fundamental mistakes. One is, that man's heart is originally pure, and that he may attain perfection, by simply following out the impulses of this sinless heart. The F0LL0WEK8 OF CONFCCIUS. 29 book which is put into the hands of every Chinese boy, when he lirst goes to school, be- gins with declaring this doctrine. Its very first sentence is, Jin chi tsu, smg picn sJten. '' At man's birth, his heart is radically good." A man having lost this good heart, must re- gain it by his own efforts. The other fundamental error of. this system consists in leaving entirely out of view the world to come. Confucius enforced his max- ims and exhortations by considerations drawn only from the advantages to be obtained in the present life. He taught, indeed, that men should be careful of their thoughts, and of the feelings they cherished in their hearts, if they wished to be truly virtuous, but he said nothing of the rewards or punish- ments of another world. In this, perhaps, he acted wisely. He knew nothing of the state beyond the grave, and, therefore, he did well to say nothing about it. But he cannot be excused for not referring more distinctly to the will of God as a reason for the practice of virtue. His ideas of God were doubtless very vague and indelinite, yet he believed and taught that there is a power above that controls the aftairs of men. He would often say, when his plans were thwarted, "Such is the will of Heaven." We cannot 30 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. with certainty infer from this, however, that he had any conception of one great personal Being, upholding all things by the word of his power, and controlling, with absolute sway, all events. We have no proof that Confucius was a worshipper of images, but he must, neverthe- less, be regarded as an idolater. He worship- ped the creature, not the Creator. He strictly enjoined the observance of the appropriate sacrifices to heaven and earth, to the gods of the land and grain, and to ancestors. He was, nevertheless, of opinion that men might pay too much attention to religious worship, and he guarded his disciples against this, tell- ing them to " reverence the gods, but avoid too much familiarity with them." Confucius was born about 550 years before Christ, and he lived to be seventy-three years of age. About one hundred years after him, Mencius flourished. He also is held in high repute by the Chinese, and his writings are as generally studied as are those of Confucius, although he occupied a secondary rank. He enforced the doctrines of Confucius, and ac- knowledged him as his master ; but was not inferior to him, either in moral character or intellectual power. The descendants of Confucius, though he FOLLOWERS OF CONFUCIUS. 31 himself had but one son, are still found in the province of Shantung, in considerable num- bers. By the Chinese these sages are called Kung futsz, and Mangtsz, or Mang futsz. Futsz is not a part of the name, but a title, meaning " teacher." These names were Latinized, by the Jesuit missionaries, into Confucius and Mencius. About seventeen hundred years after Con- fucius, or nearly seven hundred years ago, the philosopher Clm Hi wrote elaborate and ele- gant commentaries on the works of Confucius and his disciples. These commentaries are regarded as of the highest authority, and Confucius is generally understood as Chu Hi interprets him. In his hands Confucianism becomes pantheism, and that of a kind which, in effect, is sheer atheism. He went far be- yond Confucius, for he altogether doubted the existence of the gods, and seems to have thought it a subject hardly worth talking about. He thought he could solve all the mysteries of existence, without those useless beings. All things, he thought, originated with the T'ai Kih— "The Great Extreme," which resolved itself into the Yin and the Yang, or the dual powers, and thus generated the world. CHAPTER lY. THE STATE RELIGION. In the ancient Chinese classics, a great deal is said about the god Shangti. He is often spoken of in terms which cannot properly be applied to any other than the true God. Some have been led to believe that this is none other than Jehovah, the God of the Bible, and that therefore the Chinese must not even now be regarded as destitute of the know- ledge of the true God. But we find in the sacred books of the Hindus descriptions of Bramah more sublime than anything in the Chinese classics in reference to Shangti. We do not believe, however, that by Bramah the Hindus mean the true God. Besides, there is a great deal said about Shangti that seems to refer to the visible heavens, and much, too, that indicates very indefinite notions of the Power or Being indicated by the term. It seems to have been often employed merely as 82 THE STATE KELIGION. 33 a designation of the power or operation mani- fested in the various changes going on in the works of nature. Shangti is not spoken of as self-existent — ahnighty, or as the creator of the world. Even in those early ages, therefore, the Chinese seem to have " forgotten God," and again " corrupted their way upon the earth." But it is true that they had not then gone so far astray, or separated so far from God, as they have since. Their most ancient work, called the Shu-king, or Book of Records, carries us back to the days of Yau and Shun, while Noah was still living. That the men of that day had some knowledge of the true God is of course very probable, but their descendants seem to have rapidly degenerated. They did not at that time worship idols. They worshiped the works of nature how- ever, and imaginary divinities, without the aid of images. Similar rites are still observed, and many of the services prescribed by the state religion are performed without any wor- ship of idols. The state, however, does not connect itself with religion in any such way as to prescribe religious rites to the people. Every variety of religious opinion is tolerated which is not regarded as dangerous in its political influence. The religious ceremonies prescribed by the state are for the emperor, 34: THE STATE RELIGION. and for tlie officers, in every part of the empire, employed in his service. TJie Emperor himself is the great high priest of the nation, and as such is expected to attend to those religious observances which have been sanctioned by the usage of his predecessors. The temples at Peking, where the Emperor and his court engage in their public devotions, are on an extensive scale. In and around the imperial city there are altars to Heaven, to Earth, to the gods of the land and grain, to the Sun and Moon, and to the North Star. The altar to Heaven, called the THen tari — is in the southern portion of the city, in an inclosure three miles in circumference. The altar itself is a large round mound of earth, thirty feet high. It is divided into three parts, each ten feet high. The lower one is one hundred and twenty feet, the second ninety feet, and the third sixty feet in diameter. Near it is the "Palace of Abstinence," in which the Emperor prepares himself for the great sacrifice to Heaven at the winter solstice, by fasting for three days. To fasting must be added change of garments, careful ablu- tions, and abstinence from scenes of pleasure, and from whatever can defile, as preparatory to these important services. THE STATE RELIGION. 35 The services at the altar of the Earth are performed at the vernal equinox, when the approach of spring causes the fruits of the earth to spring up. The altar to the Shie- 2'sih^ or gods of the land and grain, is square, and only ten feet high, being divided into two stories of five feet each. Each side of the square measures fifty-eight feet. The Emperor alone has the privilege of worshiping at this altar, and it is not lawful to erect a similar one in any part of the empire for the use of any of his subjects, however exalted in station. No one but the Emperor can presume to per- form any of the great sacrifices. It is his special prerogative, as the high priest of his people, to ofier these sacrifices to High Heaven, whose vicegerent he is. No subject of the " Son of Heaven," must presume to imitate the acts of adoration with which he honors Shangti, the Great Kuler on High. Banish- ment, blows, or death await the presumptuous subject who should dare thus to insult His Majesty's imperial dignity. These sacrifices are, strictly speaking, mere- ly oflferings. They are not burnt on the altar, and are not looked upon as making atone- ment for sin ; but merely as expressions of reverence and gratitude. They consist of animals previously slain, wine, fruits, silks. 36 THE STATE RELIGION. and other articles, which are held up by the offerer while on his kness before the shrine, and then placed for a short time npon the the altar. The following is one of the prayers used by the Emperor on these occasions.'^ "To thee, mysterious worker, I look up in thought. How imperial is the expansive arch where thou dwellest. ]^ow is the time when the masculine energies of nature begin to be dis- played, and with the great ceremonies I reve- rently honor thee. Thy servant is but a reed or a willow ; my heart is but as that of an ant. Yet have I received thy favoring decree ap- pointing me to the government of the empire. 1 deeply cherish a sense of my ignorance and blindness, and am afraid lest I prove unworthy of thy great favors. Tlierefore will I observe all the rules and statutes, striving, insignifi- cant as I am, to discharge my loyal duty. Far distant here I look up to thy heavenly palace. Come in thy precious chariot to the altar. Thy servant bows his head to the earth, reverently expecting thine abundant grace. All my officers are here arranged along with me, joyfully worshiping before * Vide Statutes of the Ming Dynasty, as quoted by Dr. Legge in "Notions of the Chinese concerning God and Spirits." THE STATE RELIGION. 37 thee. All the gods accompany thee as guards (filling the air), from the east to the west. Thy servant prostrates himself to meet thee, and reverently looks up for thy coming, O Euler." The sacrifices at which the Emperor offici- ates are divided into three grades. In the first grade but four objects of worship are admitted. These are Heaven and Earth, the Imperial Ancestors, and the gods of the land and grain. The second grade of sacrifices are offered to the Sun, the Moon, the spirits of emperors of former dynasties, Confucius, the god of the passing year, of agriculture, of silk weaving, the gods of heaven, and the gods of the earth. The third grade includes all the inferior objects of w^orship — the spirits of an- cient sages and heroes, the north pole, clouds, rain, wind, thunder, seas, rivers, mountains, and many other objects. The question has often been discussed whether, in ofi'ering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, it is the visible heavens, and the mate- rial earth that the Chinese worship. The truth, no doubt, is this. All idolaters, from a papal archbishop to the most besotted heathen, will tell you that they are not fools enough to pray to a senseless image. It is not the image, but the god represented by the 38 'J'lIK STATE KKLIGION. image, and residing in it, that they worship. The large Chinese idols are generally hollow, and have a little hole in the back, to enable the god to pass in and out when he pleases. So no doubt the Emperor would say that, when he worships Heaven, he looks beyond the blue expanse to the Powder that rules in heaven ; and that when he prays to the Earth, he means the Power that manifests itself in the various operations of nature going on in the earth. The Bible however does not admit of any such distinction, and declares positively that it is the idol itself that the idolater wor- ships, since there is no such spiritual being as he conceives of, in existence. So the Chinese must be regarded as worshiping the material heavens and earth. They thus pro- voke the anger of God as really as they do when worshiping images. When the Emperor worships Heaven he arrays himself in blue robes, and in yellow when he worships the Earth, in accordance with the color of the object to which the sacrifice is offered. So when he worships the Sun he wears red robes, and when worship- ing the Moon he is dressed in white. The following is a prayer addressed to the Sun : " The inheriting Emperor seriously makes a notification to the god of the Great THE STATE RELIGION. 39 Liglit. Thou, god, art the chief of the mascu- line essences, the head of the gods. Thy light shines down on this lower world, and nothing within the four ends of heaven is hid from it. From ancient days thy meritorious services have been continued to the present time. The whole earth looks up and depends on thee. Now it is the second month of spring. In accordance with the ancient statutes, with gems, silks, and animals, I respectfully offer a sacrifice to thee, O god, and bowing, desire thee to regard and accept it, and to give happi- ness to all the people. May est thou enjoy this."* Besides the regular services at the appointed times, prayers and ceremonies adapted to ex- isting exigencies, are employed on special occasions. Thus, in the Peking Gazette, of the 10th March, 1853, the Emperor announces his intention of offering special prayer in view of the progress made by the rebels. Listen to His Majesty's language. " In the first decade of the present moon," he says, " when the prayer for grain and the great sacrifices are offered. We intend to pro- ceed in person to the front of the altar, and after a night of watching and fasting, reverent- * Vide Legge's " Notions of the Chinese concerning God apd Spirits." 40 THE STATE RELIGION. ij to oiFcr up our heartfelt supplications that ' our people may enjoy repose, and perpetually cease from war and strife." Then, after detail- ins^ the successes of the rebels, he proceeds : "We, reflecting upon the distresses of our sub- jects, some of whom have no means of obtain- ing a livelihood, have again and again exam- ined into and blamed ourselves, which seems after all but empty ceremony ; I am there- fore filled with apprehension, and humbly entreat Augnst Heaven to pardon my offences and save my poor people." It is to be observed that when addressing: " Augnst Heaven " the Emperor uses the sin- gular pronouns, /and my, instead of the plural we and our. In such prayers as this the heathen show the law of God '-'written on their hearts," and demonstrate that their idolatry is justly held to be, as the Apostle Paul says, " with- out excuse." At the same time it must be admitted that the conduct of the heathen prince puts to shame many kings and rulers who call themselves Christian. CHAPTEE Y. WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS. The Emperor officiates at the great sacrifices as the representative of his people, and offers his pra3^ers in their stead. So also the magis- trates, throughout all the provinces and de- partments of the empire, are required to per- form certain religions ceremonies in behalf of the people whom they govern. In tlie second and eighth months of each year, religious rites are observed in honor of Confucius. In every district, and every department, there is a temple erected for the worship of the sage. In Ningpo there are two such temples ; one for the fu (foo), or department, and the other for the Jiieii^ or district, of which it is the capital city. They are both large and expen- sive structures, covering a large area of valu- able land. The Fu temple is the larger and more elegant of the two. It is in a large inclosure 4* 41 42 WOESHIP OF CONFUCIUS. containing a number of buildings, the whole surrounded hy a high brick wall. The great double gate of the inclosure is designed for the Emperor ; and as he never visits Ningpo, this gate is never opened. A smaller side door is the common entrance. This conducts us through a narrow lane to another door opening into one of the temple courts. Over it is an inscription of four characters : Zi mim^ I lu / meaning, " The door of propriety, and road of righteousness." Passing on a short distance, another large gate introduces us to a long court, in which is a pool of water. The sides of the pool are walled up with stone, and it is spanned by three bridges of heavy stone slabs. Crossing the pool, we enter the main court, most of which is paved with stone. There are buildings on each of the four sides of the square. The main temple is placed on a mound, elevated two or three feet above the rest of the court. To tbis platform we ascend, not by steps, but by a heavy slant- ing stone, the face of which is made rough by carved figures of dragons. The building, externally, presents nothing very striking ; but the hall within, which em- braces the whole area of the building, is richly ornamented. The floor is of stone. The roof is supported by immense wooden columns, WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS. 43 and the timbers near the roof are covered with small landscape paintings, executed in the best style of Chinese art. There is no ceiling. The shrines, the tablets, the tables and utensils, are covered with dust. Spiders have woven their webs in the nooks and cor- ners, and the unswept floor bespeaks neglect. The busy street is not far off, but here silence reigns. The general desolation is in strange contrast with the gaudy ornaments displayed in such profusion on the higher timbers of the hall. Without, the avenue from the great gate of state is overgrown with weeds, and the stately old trees, now going to decay, point us back to former generations. This difl'ers from other temples, in that it contains no idols. Confucius, and his most dis- tinguished disciples, who are here worshiped, are present only by their " spirit-tablets." These are nothing but small pieces of board, neatly varnished, and each inscribed with the name and title of the sage it re2)resents. They are inserted into little wooden pedestals, so as to stand upright in their place. In some of the smaller temples of Confucius a large image of him occupies the place of the tablet. The offerings presented to Confucius consist of animals, silk, wine, and vegetables. It has been estimated that there are 1,560 temples 44 WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS. to Confucius, and that there are annually- offered to him and his associates some sixty- two thousand hogs, rabbits, sheep, and deer, and twentj^-seven thousand pieces of silk. These offerings are presented very early in the morning, generally before daylight. This is true, also, of the other religious services performed by the magistrates, not excepting those in which the Emperor himself bears the chief part. In the year 1853, the time for the Confucian offerings fell on the 7th of September. On that occasion, the writer repaired to the tem- ple of Confucius in Shanghae, at four o'clock in the morning. Attendants were there pre- paring for the worshipers — the principal one being the Tau-tai, or Intendant of Circuit, who is the chief magistrate of the three depart- ments of Su, Sung, and Tai, and the highest officer residing in the city. In front of the great tablet of Confucius, and a little to the right, we see the carcass of a large ox, placed upon a rack, its feet dangling on either side, its head tied np in the natural position, and facing towards the altar. It had been slaugh- tered the day before, and the skin being wholly removed, it was a repulsive object. On the left, a pig and a goat are placed in a similar position. On the right and left of the WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS. 45 hall are tablets of some of the disciples of Confucius, before which are j^laced tlie car- casses of a pig and a goat. In front of tlie altar a small piece of carpeting is spread on the floor, indicating the spot where the chief worshiper is to kneel. The altar is nothing but a long, narrow table, curved upward at the ends, and painted red. Its only covering is a covering of dust. A little before five o'clock, the Hioh-Kwan — the literary officer in charge of the temjjle — is announced. He is preceded by two musi- cians — one tapping a small drum, the other playing on a liute. In front of the door, in the court, he stops. An attendant cries out to him in a loud voice, and he drops on his knees. Then the word is given to "knock head," and the worshiper strikes the ground three times with his forehead, and rises to his feet. This ceremony is three times repeated, and the worshiper now enters the main hall, followed by his attendants, and kneels on a cushion before the central tablet, that of Con- fucius. An attendant kneels on his right hand, and another on his left. Another at- tendant now, with solemn mien, approaches the dusty altar, and takes from it a snuiU open box, containing an enveloj^e like those used in China for letters of great officers, more than a 46 WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS. foot in length. This contains the silk. During all tliis time the tapping of the drum, and the shrill sound of the flute, resound through the hall, and every movement throughout the ser- vice is at the word of command from the mas- ter of ceremonies. The envelope containing the silk is handed to the attendant kneeling on the left, who passes it to the worshiper. He receives it with both hands, holds it up a moment as high as his forehead, hands it to the attendant kneeling on his right, who in turn passes it to another, and it is thereupon duly placed on the altar. The same cere- monies are performed with a small censer, and then the whole is repeated before each tablet in the hall. The party then retires for a moment to the court, and on re-entering the hall they kneel before a table, on which stands a small frame containing a written paper. This is handed to the attendant on the left, who reads it oflP in a loud singing tone. Its purport is to set forth the praises of Confucius as the sage to whom no mortal can be compared, and to announce that the worship is performed in be- half of the people of the district of Shanghae, in the department of Sungkiang. When read, the writing is again placed on the table. After some further ceremonies,, the worshiping ofii- WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS. 47 cer passes into the court, and kneels before the door. At the same time the envelope containing the silk, the written tablet, and some paper mock money, put up in imitation of silv^er bullion, are placed on an iron rack and burnt. This ends the ceremony. It is now time for the Tau-tai and his suite to arrive, and the hall is prej^ared for his recep- tion. He is expected to go through with the ceremonies just described. But on this occa- sion he has more important business to attend to. One of his colleagues, instead of worship- ing Confucius, has fallen under the sword of rebel banditti, and his soul is called to stand be- fore his God. The Tau-tai's life too is in danger, and he must devise means to save it. While the temple attendants were waiting his arrival in the temple, the announcement was made that the Chi-hien had just been murdered, and that the city was in the hands of the rebels. The ox and the pigs and the goats, which would have feasted the literati, were no doubt seized by the rebel chiefs for their own behoof.* It is in this manner that Confucius is wor- * These rebels, who held possession of Shanghae about eighteen months, as also those who so long held the coun- try around the city of Canton, must not be confounded with the Tae-ping insurgents, whose seat is at Nanking. Tliere was no connection whatever between these rebel bands. 48 W0K6HIP OF CONFUCIUS. shiped, on the same day, throughout all the districts of China. If you ask the worship- ers how it is that the spirit of the sage can be present at the same moment in so many different places, they have no reply to make. Such questions are too profound for them, and this is a matter with which they have nothing to do. " Such is our custom" is a sufficient answer to all objections. All the officers, civil and military, are ex- pected to take part in this ceremony, kneeling in the order of their rank, the civil officers on the east, the military on the west side of the avenue leading to the shrine. CHAPTER VI. RELIGIOUS RITES PERFORMED BY MAGISTRATES. In every department and district there is a temple dedicated to its presiding deity. This is a kind of spiritual officer, governing spirit- ual affairs, corresponding to the civil officers presiding over the affairs of this lower world. These are the tutelar gods of the districts, and of the cities in which their temples are situ- ated. In Kingpo, as in the case of the tem- ples of Coufucius, there are two temples of this kind. They are called Ching-hwdng midu, or " temples of the city wall and ditch." The " Cliing-hwdng " temple at Shanghae occupies extensive grounds, and is comjDOsed of numerous buildings. The grounds are de- corated, according to the highest style of Chi- nese elegance, with artificial lakes and islands, winding-bridges, grottoes, and rock-work in imitation of mountain scenery. Large trees afford a grateful relief from the summer lieat ; 5 49 50 RELIGIOUS RITES. airy arbors are perclied upon the miniature crags ; and slirubs and flowers spring up among the rocks. These scenes of beauty, however, are not so enchanting as to throw around the beholder a spell sufficiently pow- erful to make him forget or overlook the re- pulsive sights, and unsavory odors, caused by the receptacles of filth with which the place has been defiled. In the centre of the lake is a fine looking building of two stories, called the ^^ Ilu-sing ting^^ or " Lake's Heart Hall." It is connected with the shore by a light bridge, called the " hridge of 7iine windings.'^'' In various direc- tions, tea-shops are seen, in which you may slake your thirst with a cup of hot tea, for three cash, or one-fifth of a cent. They are crowded with loungers, sitting around the tables sipping tea, and at the same time learn- ing the news, retailing gossip, settling business transactions, or it may be gambling. The temple buildings too, with commendable econ- omy, have been turned to good account. Most of the lower front rooms are occupied as stores for the sale of all kinds of goods and wares. The place being a great thoroughfare, always crowded, these rooms are in great de- mand. The whole scene is like a busy fair, At the corners are fortune-tellers at their RELIGIOUS RITES. 51 tables, or perhaps, seated on the ground, with all the paraphernalia of the occult art spread out on a cloth before them. Here is a juggler performing his magic wonders in the midst of a circle of astonished spectators. There is a mountebank, with his head concealed behind a curtain, carrying on a mock theatre, by means of Lilliputian, figures skillfully displayed above the curtain. Here mav be seen a ven- der of candies — there, a walking eating estab- lishment, provoking the appetite by the odor of smoking viands. Yery often, too, the main court of the temple is filled with a dense mass of men and women, boys and girls, intently watching the progress of a theatrical exhibi- tion. Such are the scenes most frequently exhib- ited in this temple. The magistrates, how- ever, on the first and fifteenth of each month, repair at early dawn to the temple, to perform their devotions. They also worship here at the summer and winter solstices, and at the spring and autuTun terms. Here, too, they read to the people the maxims of the " Saci'ed Edict^'' at the time of the semi-monthl}^ wor- ship. This is a work composed by the Empe- ror Kanghi, and his successor Yung-ching, nearly two hundred years ago. It contains sundrv exhortations on the cultivation of vir- 52 RELIGIOUS EITES. tue, and attention to tlie duties of the social relations. The Viceroy of Nanking, I. Liang, in a me- morial to the Emperor, gives an account of a remarkable instance of the protecting power of one of these deities of the city wall and ditch. On the 9th September, 1853, the city of Paiishan, near Shanghae, was taken by a band of rebels. One of the subordinate offi- cers of the place collected the literary men and gentlemen of the neighborhood, in order to recover the city. Before they commenced operations, there was suddenly seen on the city walls a bright red light, which issued forth from the Ching-hwd/ng temple. At the same instant, spirits were seen walking to and fro, and beckoning the attacking party to ad- vance. The conrao'e of the rebels at once forsook them, and the imperialists conquered at one beat of the gong. The memorial giv- ing this account concludes with a request that the Emperor be pleased to grant a new title to the god, as a reward for his services. The annual ceremony of " welcoming the Spring,'' with which is connected that of ploughing, is also attended with idolatrous services, in which the magistrates are required to take part. This ceremony has been ob- served for many ages, and occurs near the PERFORMED BY MAGISTRATES. 63 opening of the year. At Peking, the Emperor himself is the principal actor. In the smaller cities, the Prefects and District Magistrates perform the chief part. At l^ingpo, a large clay figure of an ox is made, which is worshiped by the mandarins. They worship at a temple outside of the city, and when this ceremony is concluded, the Prefect ploughs a small piece of ground. The next day the officers assemble at another tem- ple, to which the ox has been brought, and there, after ofi'eriug up prayers, form a pro- cession, and march around the ox. Each offi- cer is provided with a bundle of twigs, with which, at signals from the master of ceremo- nies, he strikes the effigy. At length the Pre- fect strikes it on the head, and in an instant the crowd rush in and tear the ox to pieces, each anxious to procure a fragment to mingle with his seed-corn, that he may have a more abundant crop. At Shanghae the ceremony occurred in 1853, on the 3d of February. As described by an eye-witness, the ox was made of paper, pasted on a frame of bamboo. The paper was of diti:erent colors, varying according to rules which have been handed down from former generations, and determined by the number of the year in the cycle. The pro- 5* 54 RELIGIOUS KITES portion and arrangement of these colors is supposed to afford some indication of the character of the ensuing year. Thus, when black predominates, a year of sickness may be expected. Heavy rains and floods are indicated by white, strong winds and hurri- canes by blue, and fires by red. Yellow is the color which indicates the productiveness of tlie coming season, and when this color pre- dominates, there is great rejoicing among the farmers. On this occasion (1853) nearly the wliole of the ox was of this color. The head, horns, feet, and tail were of black, the neck and belly of blue, the legs white, and the rest yellow. It turned out to be a year of terrible suffering to the people of Shanghae, for in that year the city was seized by a band of rebels, and held for eighteen months. The ox was carried to the " Welcoming Spring" temple, about half a mile outside the soutli gate. The god presiding over the year was alf^o taken from liis place in the " Ching- hwaiig" temple, and carried in a sedan chair to the "Welcoming Spring" temple, where he was placed by the side of the ox. This god is called " Ta-suy "— " Great Year." The Chinese cycle consists of sixty years, and each year has a god specially appointed to take charge of it. He is a kind of President, con- PERFORMED BY MAGISTRATES. 65 tinned in office one year, and l\is tnrn to rule conies round once in sixty years. Tlie idol represents a little boy, and his attire varies from year to year. Its color, like that of the ox, has a significance attached to it by which the character of the coming year may be known. On this occasion the ima2:e was bare- headed, and the inference was tliat the season would be cold. The interpretation attached to this idol's dress is just tlie opposite of what w^ould be the most natural one, or tlie one which is adopted in all other cases. On the left of Ta-suy a large sheet of blank yel- low paper represented the reigning Emperor Hienfunsr. And now comes the procession. First, is a small junk, decked with flags, representing one of the Emperor's tribute grain junks, for car- rying rice to the capital. This is followed by a beggar dressed in the uniform of a great mandarin. Then come some coarsely dressed men, representing the farmers.* After them come eight hideous looking fellows, with fan- tastic dress and painted faces, representing genii ; and then are men bearing miniature sign-boards, representing the various trades. But the most important portion of the proces- sion are the five mandarins, in their rich court- 66 RELIGIOUS KITES dresses, by whom the ceremonies are to be per- formed. These officers performed tlie prescribed pros- trations and genuflexions, and then the pro- cession was again formed, the ox and idols now constituting a part of it, and all proceeded to the office of the District Magistrate, within the city. There the ox was beaten to pieces in the usual manner, and the people scram- bled for the seeds of rice, cotton, wheat, beans, and other articles, which had previously been j^laced within the body. Many are the renowned heroes of ancient and modern times who have been deified. Among these is the god Kwanti, the god of war. He figured as a military leader in the time of the " Three States," in the second and third centuries of the Christian era. He is now much worshiped, and many splendid and costly temples have been erected in his honor. In the recent troubles in China he is represented as having, on several occasions, borne a conspicuous part. He is said to have spoken, more than once, through the medium of inspired persons, declaring that the calami- ties caused by the civil wars are all owing to the vices of the people, and their neglect of the rites in honor of the gods. PERFORMED BY MAGISTRATES. 57 He has also, it is declared, interfered more actively in the struggle. In the month of July, 1853, the city of Kaifung, in the pro- vince of Ilonan, was besieged by the rebels, and would have been taken, but for the inter- position of Kwanti. The interposition con- sisted in a heavy rain, by which the yellow river w^as suddenly raised to such an extent as to reach the rebel camp and destroy their pow^der. The Imperialists embraced the op- portunity to attack them. The terrified rebels fled in disorder, and hundreds of them were drowned in attempting to cross the river. In view of this manifestation of the power of Kwanti, the high Imperialist officers at once sent up a memorial to the Emperor, begging that a votive tablet might be erected in his tem- ples, and that an additional title should be con- ferred upon him. The matter was duly referred to the Imperial Academy and the Board of Rites, who recommended that the god should be transferred from the list of those entitled to the third, to that of those entitled to the second order of sacrifices ; and further, that in all his temples he should be honored with the same ceremonies that are accorded to Con- fucius. The titles previously granted to this deity were such as '' The Efficacious Pro- tector ;" " The Benevolent and Brave ;" " The 58 RELIGIOUS RITES Dignified and Exalted;" ''Defender of the Country." The Board of Revenue, desirous of obtaining some pecuniary advantage from the honors conferred on their champion, devised a new order of honor, the members of which were to have tlie sole right of performing the newly prescribed ceremonies, and the privilege of' wearing a brass knob on their caps. Admis- sion, to this order was to be purchased for the sum of fifty-four taels of silver, or about seventy-five dollars. A very recent instance of the exercise of this power of deification on the part of the Emperor is that of General Chin Hwachiug. This ofiicer commanded the Chinese forces when the English troops attacked the batte- ries at the mouth of the Wusung River, during their advance against Shanghae, on the 16th of June, 1842. He courageously defended his position, and refused to retreat, while others were fieeing on all sides, and when further resistance was hopeless. He fell pierced with wounds on the walls of the fort, to the last op- posing the enemy, even after they had eftected an entrance. His imperial master decreed the highest honors to his memory, and, by his order, a temple' has been erected for him in Shanghae, in which the magistrates perform PERFORMED BY MAGISTRATES. 69 religious services before his image. In a no- tice of him, published after his death, it is stated that Chin sent down word from lieaven, that he had been appointed by the Heavenly Ruler on High to the rank of second general of the Board of Thunder, in which capacity he hoped still to render some service to his country, and in some measure repay the favor of his Imperial Majesty. In his temple, at Shanghae, a number of inscriptions in large characters are suspended upon the walls. The following are speci- mens : "His courage was great as the hills and the rivers." •' His name is spread abroad through the central and the outer lands." " In his temple he shall eat the sacrifices of a thousand autumns." " In his dream he slept on his carved spear. Having devoted himself to his country, he reorarded not his advanced ao^e." " His soul was wrapped in the horse's skin (^. 6., he died in battle). " His Excellency is to be much lamented, but his features shall ever be remembered as though he were still living." 60 RELIGIOUS RITES. In Niiigpo there is a temple of a similar character, in honor of a Prefect of the Depart- ment who lived seven or eight centnries ago. The popular legend, as related by intelligent Chinese, is this. For many years a great dragon appeared in the river before the city, and, in order to get rid of the presence of the terrible monster, it was necessary to throw into the river, for his satisfaction, a human victim. The Prefect determined to deliver his people from this pest, even at the risk of his own life. He accordingly prepared him- self for the assault, by sacrificing to the gods, and supplicating their assistance. He then armed himself with a bunch of calamus for a sword, because this grass is supposed to pos- sess supernatural virtues for warding off nox- ious influences. Thus equipped, he plunged in to the attack, and killed the monster with his formidable weapon. He himself was drowned. He had directed that, if the water should show a wdiite color, they should throw into it some red rice ; if red, white rice. This would prevent his drowning. The water was first white and then red, and the attendants were too slow with their rice to save him. The Prefect was rewarded for his devotion with divine honors. Such are the silly tales with which these blind idolaters are deluded. CHAPTER yn. THE TAUISTS. The Tauist priests are not nnmerous, and exercise but little influence over the popular mind, as compared with the Confucian school, and the priests and nuns of the Buddhists. The founder of this sect was Lau Kiun, who lived at the same time with Confucius. His only work, called the " Tan Teh Kimj^'' "Es- say on Reason and Yirtue," is exceedingly obscure, both as to style and sentiment, so that it is difficult to determine what he meant to teach. Many foolish stories are told of him. One is, that he has appeared on the earth three different times, at intervals of about a thousand years, his appearance in the time of Confucius being the second. Another Gtory is, that he was already an old man with hoary hair, when born, having been borne eighty years in his mother's womb. It is on this account that he is commonly called " Lau-tsz," which means " old child." He 6 «i 62 THE TAUISTS. led the life of an ascetic in retirement, and tanglit tiuit man's spiritual nature can be best purified, and his passions brought into sub- jection, by living in habitual silence and con- templation. In his view Eternal Reason is the source from which all things proceed, and to which all good men will eventually return. The wicked, instead of returning to the source of being again, must be kept at a distance from it, and must pass through successive births, and undergo again and again, the miseries incident to an earthly existence. The existence of the world is thus accounted for. He says, " Reason (Tau) produced one, one produced two, two produced three, and three produced all things." Again, he says, " Before the birth of Heaven and Earth, there existed only an immense silence in illimitable space; an immeasurable void in endless si- lence. Reason alone circulated in this infi- nite void and silence." The teachings of Lau-tsz are not now so much the foundation of the religious belief of the sect as those of some of his disciples. They have depai-ted far from the simplicity of his philosophy. Although they have dei- fied " Eternal Reason," and profess to rever- ence this abstraction above all things, they TIfE TAUISTS. 63 are now amoii": the uTossest idolaters in Cliina. Their idols are very numerous. The most exalted of their gods are the "Three Pure Ones," but the one most worshiped by the mass of the people is " Yuh Hwang Shangti," or the " Pearly Imperial liuler on High." This god is very generally worshiped by those Chinese who frequent the temples, and his image is often found in Buddhist, as well as in Tauist .temples. There is very little rancor between the different sects, because the people generally are willing to patronize tliem all ; and Buddhist and Tauist yjriests very gladly set up each other's idols in their tem- ples, if they can thereby attract worshipers, and thus increase their profits. This Tauist idol is the god generally referred to by the common people when they speak of Shcmgti^ the "Puler on High." It is this fact that has led so many of the missionaries in China to object to the use of this term as a designation of the true God. The birth-day of this idol god is celebrated with much pomp and ceremony. It occurs on the 9tli day of tlie first month, during the new year's liolida} s, and his temple is always crowded on that day with numerous worshipers. Here is a translation of a card of invitation once sent to a missionary, inviting him to at- 64: THE TAUISTS. tend the ceremonies in honor of the birth-day of this god. " A festival is to be held on the 9th day of the first month, to offer congratu- lations on the occurrence of the holy birth- day of the Rnler on High. On that day de- voutly arrange and offer rites, repentance, congratulations and prayers. You are en- treated to go personally to the temple, and pay your respects without haste or waste of time. To do so is blessed indeed. Bring in- cense or money, it is not material which. At the Yu Shing Kwan stay your steps, and open your heart." The forms of worship, and religious rites of this sect are very much the same with those of the Buddhists. The chief difference in ex- ternal appearance between the priests of the tw^o sects is, that the Buddhists shave off all the hair from their heads, while the Tauists leave a little tuft on the back of the head. The garments of both differ from those of the common j)eople. The official robes of the Tau- ists, are not so long as those of the Buddhist priests, and are of a red color, while those of the Buddhists are yellow. There is, however, a class of Tauist priests called common or so- cial priests, who have families, live at their own houses, and dress like other men. They are diviners and magicians. THE TAUI8T8. 65 The Tauists profess to have great power over the spirits and demons of the invisible world. The head of the sect is like the Lama of Thibet in being, in the estimation of his followers, immortal ; that is, as soon as one dies, another is appointed in his place, and the spirit of the departed enters into the body of his successor. He exercises the authority of an emperor over the spirits of the dead, and he appoints the various deities to the districts over which they are to preside, and within which they are to be specially wor- shiped. He resides at the capital of the pro- vince of Kiang-si, and is called T'iang Tzien-sz. These views of the spiritual powers of the priesthood lead, as a matter of course, to the belief in their ability to ward off noxious in- fluences, most of which proceed from the machinations of evil spirits. Hence the charms and amulets manufoctured by them are supposed to be very efficacious, and a larsfe income is derived from their sale. For this purpose the power of the chief is to a certain extent delegated to each of the priests. They have taken pains to have it understood that the charms are good only for the year in which they are given, and at the new year the services of the priests are in great demand for preparing these mighty preventives of 6* 66 THE TAUISTS. evil. They consist merely of little slips of paper on which some enigmatical characters are written. These are pasted by the people over the doors of their houses, and the evil spirits dare not pass the doorway that is thus protected. Dr. Medhurst tells us that in some places the Tauists have an annual ceremony for the purpose of purifying their town or neighbor- hood from evil spirits. On the birth-day of the " High Emperor of the Sombre Heavens," they assemble in front of his temple, and there march barefoot through a fire of burning charcoal. First are the chanting of prayers and sprinkling of holy water, accompanied by a ringing of little bells, and the din of horns. Brandishing swords, and slashing the burning coals with them, they frighten the demons. Then, with the priests in advance, and bear- ing the gods in their arms, they rush, w^ith loud shouts of triiunph, through the lire. Are they not "mad upon their idols?" They be- lieve that if they have a sincere mind, the fire will not hurt them. They are horribly burnt, nevertheless, but have -so much confi- dence in the efficacy of the ceremony, and are so fully persuaded of its necessity, that they willingly submit to the pain. This cere- mony is not practised at Kingpo. CHAPTER YIII. THE BUDDHISTS. We come now to consider the most popular of the Chinese sects. Confucius left out the most important part of religion, fur he denied all knowledge of our condition in the future world. But the minds of men can not be sa- tisfied with a religion that leaves them in the dark on so essential a point. "When, there- fore, others professed to unveil the future, the eager curiosity of the popular mind grasped at the supposed revelation from the spirit land. The inward consciousness of the immortal spirit .whispers something of its immortality, and aftords some slight glimmerings of the im- penetrable mystery which hangs around the tomb. Ko wonder, then, that the teachings of tlie Buddhists, as furnishing some slight re- lief to the gross darkness in which this people are involved, should be so generally popular. Their doctrines, too, suit the popular taste, and G7 68 THE BUDDHISTS. reach the popular conscience better than those of the Tanists. All these sects, however, leave them at best in much doubt and uncertainty. The Buddhist religion was first introduced into China about sixty-six years after the birth of Christ. The Em2)eror Ming, of the Han dy- nasty, who was then on the throne, having heard that a divine personage had appeared in the region of the west, sent an embassy to make inquiries concerning him. The em- bassy proceeded to India, and returned from thence to China with a number of Buddhist priests. They had been convinced that Budd- ha was the divine person they had been sent to seek, and therefore invited his priests to China. They were, no doubt, very glad to go, for the Buddhists have always been zealous in propagating their doctrines. It has been supposed that this emperor had heard some rumor of the birth and wonderful miracles of Christ, and that it was this rumor which led him to send the embassy to the west. Some of the Apostles must have been preaching in or near India about this time, and it does not seem improbable that some rumor of their preaching and miracles had reached China. The Buddhist priests, on their arrival in China, were received by the Emperor with THE BUDDHISTS. 69 great favor. Their religion was freely pro- mulgated, and rapidly spread among the people. It has ever since retained its hold upon the popular mind, and its temples now fill the land. Sometimes it has been in high favor at the Imperial court, and one emperor was so zealous that he sent to India for more priests, and no less than three thousand went to China. A temple, with a thousand rooms, was built for them, and they were treated with great respect. At this time there were thirteen thousand Buddhist temples in differ- ent parts of the empire. The sect, however, has not always been so fortunate, and has for the most part been opposed by the Chinese emperors. By the present rulers it is dis- couraged, though not persecuted. Severe proclamations have been repeatedly issued against some of the practices of the sect, but they are generally disregarded. Some of the emperors themselves practised Buddhist rites, and sent rich presents to Buddhist temples, even while denouncing the sect in public pro- clamations. Such proclamations, however, must necessarily tend to diminish the respec- tability, if not the influence, of the followers of Buddha. Buddhism first originated in India, about a 70 THE BUDDHISTS. thousand years before Christ. Buddha was a son of a king of Magadha, in Bahar. He at first, as some say, led a very dissipated and immoral life, but reformed, and devoted him- self to a life of abstraction from the world, and was therefore considered very holy. During his life he was dignified with the title of Sakya-muni — " lion of the race of Sakya," and afterwards with that of Buddha, or sage. After his death he was worshiped as a god. His religion has spread through Siam, Ceylon, Burmah and Tibet, and has many adherents in China and Japan. Let us see now what this religion teaches. This system of idolatry contains less that is revolting, and in its morality departs less from the truth, than any other of the false reli- gions that have prevailed among the heathen. Its influence in China has, no doubt, been to some extent salutary, from the fact that it brings prominently to view a future state of rewards and punishments, which had been quite left out of their system by the Chinese sages. The principal precepts of Buddha are ten. They are the following: "1st. Thou shalt not kill." This refers to all animals and insects, as well as to men. " 2d. Thou shalt not steal. THE BUDDHISTS. 71 3cl. Thou slialt not couimit adultery. 4th. Thou shalt not lie. 5th. Tlion shalt not slan- der. 6th. Thou shalt not desire the death of thine enemies. 7th. Thou shalt not covet. 8th. Abhor all idle and indecent conversa- tion. 9th. Thou shalt not betray the secrets of another. 10th. Do not err in the true faith, or think it false." Those who aim at higher degrees of holi- ness obey additional commands : such, for ex- ample, as those which forbid to marry ; to drink intoxicating liquor ; to smell odoriferous flowers ; to wear costly garments, or eat food in the afternoon. But the great question which presses itself upon the conscience of every man, to some extent at least, is " how may sin be par- doned ?" " How may I escape the punish ment I deserve ?" The Buddhists resort to a method which is not very uncommon, even among people who have the Bible. That is, they open a kind of debt and credit account with Heaven. If their good deeds outnumber their evil deeds, then they are safe, and they do not find it difficult to persuade themselves that this is the case. The great gospel idea of free pardon, without any merit, is too high for man to reach without the aid of revelation. According to the Buddhist scheme, then, a man 72 THE BUDDHISTS. receives reward or punishment, in exact pro- portion to liis merits or his sins. There is no way of expiating sin, but by the perform- ance of good deeds sufficient to counterbal- ance it. CHAPTER IX. THE BUDDHISTS ACQUISITION OF MERIT. In order that a religion may commend itself to the corrupt human heart, and thus become ])opular, it must provide some easy way by which men may satisfy the rebukes of con- science, and it is important that this should be done without interfering very much with the indulgence of evil passions. If, at the same time, some provision can be made for gratify- ing pride, it will be all the better. The Ho- rn anists have tried to make the Christian reli- gion popular, by adding to it what is needed to make it satisfy these requirements. The Buddhists, too, have taken care to make it easy to acquire merit. One way of laying up a rich store of merit is to repeat over the name of Buddha.. The amount of merit may be indefinitely in- creased by simply increasing the number of »7 . 78 74: THE BUDDHISTS. repetitions. When a person has repeated it three hundred thousand times, he may begin to hope for a personal vision of the god. In tlie temples, the priests sometimes allow them- selves to be shut up for months together, doing nothing but repeating over and over, day and night, the name of Buddha. In a temple at T'ien-t'ai, fifty miles south of Ningpo, there have been as many as ten or twelve priests thus voluntarily imprisoned at the same time. During the day they all keep up a constant repetition of the name O-mi-to-fuh, and at night, they keep it up by taking turns, some continuing their monotonous song while the others sleep. They never leave their cell for any purpose until the appointed period is ful- filled. 'No wonder they all have a vacant, idiotic look, as though but a slight glimmering of intellect remained to them ! It is not the priests only who thus devote themselves to laying up, as they suppose, trea- sure in heaven. Some among the people also, are very diligent in the work. See that old man. His head is hoary wdth age. A flow^- ing white beard rests upon his bosom. With tottering steps, and leaning upon his stafiT, he enters the small room used as a chapel, by one who preaches of Jesus and the resurrec- tion. Perhaps there may be something in ACQUISITION OF MERIT. 75 this religion that will help to give peace of. conscience, and liope of happiness after death. He listens with deep attention during the ser- mon, but his fingers are all the while busy counting the beads lie holds in his hand, and his lips continually pronounce, in a low whisper, the name O-mi-to-fuh. And now the service is closed, and the congregation is dismissed. But the old man is not yet satisfied, and he ap- proaches the missionary to ask for further infor- mation. He addresses him — " Your doctrine, sir, is most excellent — O-mi-to-fiih. I am anx- ious to learn more about it — O-mi-to-fiih. How must I worship Jesus? O-mi-to-fiih." " Ah ! my venerable elder brother, if you would worship Jesus aright, you must forsake every sin, and must not worship any other god, for all others are false gods." " Yes, I know I must forsake sin — O-mi-to- fuh. This I have done long ago — O-mi-to-fiih. I do not sin now — O-mi-to-fiih. I am now^ too old to sin — O-mi-to-fuh. I am old, and must soon die — O-mi-to-fuh. I wish to be a disci- ple of Jesus — O-mi-to-fuh, and to-morrow I must go to my home far away in the country — O-mi-to-fuh. AYhat must I do? — O-mi-to- fuh." Explanations are gis^en, and now the old man must depart. But suddenly he drops upon 76 ■ THE BUDDHISTS. his knees and bows his head to the earth. Being restrained, he rises and takes his leave, expressing his gratitude. "Many thanks to yon, sir, for your kind instruction — 0-mi-to- fuh, 0-mi-to-fuh. May we meet again— 0-mi- to-fuh." This is no fiction, but an actual occurrence. There are many such old men in China, and old women too, seeking for some means of secur- ing happiness after death. Not unfrequently we may meet these old people, conscious that their end is at hand, walking in the street, and as we pass we hear them muttering — O-mi-to-fuh. Alas ! how many of them have gone down to the grave with the name O-mi- to-fuh on their lips ! What unspeakable cru- elty to withhold the helping hand, and refuse the light they grope after ! Besides this repetition of the name of Budd- ha, there are various other means of acquiring merit. The repetition of prayers is highly important, and a strict account is kept of the number of re23etitions. In one of the published liturgies a portion of the book is taken up with small circles to the number of 4,700, and every time the devotee repeats all the prayers, he makes a dot in one of the circles. This book will be a witness for him in the other world. To repair a road, or build a bridge, to give ACQUISITION OF MERIT. 77 ground for a grave, or alms to the poor, are deeds which weigh heavily in the scale of meritorious actions. It is better still to con- tribute money to the support of the priests^ to build or decorate a temple, or to renounce the pleasures of riches. Peculiar blessings are promised to one who makes an image of Buddha, or writes a sermon on his doctrine. Such a one will never be born in hell. He will never be born a girl, but will be born in a respectable family, and in the end will be born in heaven. The highest state of happiness, according to the Buddhist theory, consists in absorption into the deity ; or, as they express it, the at- taining of the state of Nirwana. This is a state of absolute abstraction from all outward objects — a state of utter unconsciousness. It is, in fact, annihilation. This perfect state of blessedness, however, J3ut few can hope to attain. It requires a life of peculiar holiness, and innumerable repetitions of the name of Buddha. The way to attain it is to live a life of abstraction from the world. The greater the success in abstracting onesself from the world in this life, the nearer ap- proach will be made to this state of nonentity in the world to come. If a man can but be- come so holy as to stop thinking entirely, he 78 THE BUDDHISTS. will be quite sure of being liappy when he dies. In order to attain this happiness, some of the priests shut themselves up in a cell, and thus remain for years excluded from all worldly concerns. Let us look at one of these men. "We will find one at the temple of the " Tsz-choh-ling," or "Dark-colored Bamboo Grove," on the island of Pu-to. There he is in his little cell in one of the temple build- ings. The door is bolted and barred, and there is no admittance ; but he will have no objection to receive a visitor at his little win- dow, which is his only means of communica- tion with the outer world. It is only about a foot square, and through it he receives his food. His cell is some ten or twelve feet square. On one side is a shrine, in which is placed an image of Buddha. On the opposite side is another shrine, with curtains. This is for the monk himself. Here he seats him- self, with his legs crossed, his clasped hands resting upon his thighs, and his eyes closed. He looks as much as may be like the senseless image on the opposite side of his cell. The curtain is drawn in front of him, so as to ex- clude the world from this holy place. If he can "swallow down his passions," if he can ACQUISITION OF MERIT. 79 cease to think, he has made some advance towards the nonentity he desires. He has nothing to do but repeat the name O-mi-to-luh, burn incense before the idol, and offer prayers. But he must eat, drink, and sleep, and the other priests are careful to pro- vide for all his wants, for by so doing they also acquire merit. His pale and haggard coun- tenance, his unshaven face, bony fingers, long nails like birds' claws, and his filthy garments give him a repulsive appearance. His idiotic look indicates that he has succeeded in debas- ing his intellect, so as to reduce himself well nigh to a level with the brutes, and his sickly complexion and ghastly expression of coun- tenance, although he is still young, seem to foreshadow a speedy entrance into that world in which he expects to realize the nonentity to which he aspires. Miserable man ! how great his disappointment then, when all his hopes shall perish ! No wonder he is pale and wan, for there he has been, buried alive, for nearly three years. At the expiration of that period he is to go out into the world, and travel about the coun- try a holy beggar, conferring merit on others by affording tliem the opportunity to bestow alms upon so devout a follower of Buddha. After a year's recreation he will be ready for 80 THE BUDDHISTS. another three years' confinement. He evi- dently thinks himself very eminent in holiness already, and delights in being an object of curiosity, especially to persons who have come from a distant quarter of the world. He is full of talk, but pride and self-conceit are manifest in almost every sentence. Turn now to another exhibition of asceti- cism. In the middle of this same island — Pu-to — is the Fuh-ting-san — Buddha's Peak. The ascent is long and tedious, even with the aid of the stone steps that make a regular stairway to the top. About half way up we come to a little temple, with dilapidated roof and time-worn walls. As we approach, we hear a solitary voice, and recognize the tones of the sing-song chant with which we have become familiar all over the island. And now we hear the words, 0-mi-to-fuh, O-mi-to- fiih. Approaching nearer, we see the solitary anchorite who is thus intent on " treasuring up merit." How sad to think he knows not of a better way ! He is an old man, stooping with age. His long dishevelled hair shows his " neglect of the body." For years this hovel of a temple has been his abode, and for years this conning over the woi-ds O-mi-to-fiih has been his occupation. 'Nor will he cease this incessant cry while he has breath in his body. ACQUISITION OF MERIT. 81 But he is not confined to his cell. He may- breathe the pure air of heaven. We ask him a few questions, but he has scarcely time to converse with mortals. His answers are very- brief, and always accompanied with the low murmur — 0-mi-to-fuh, and with the corres- ponding movement of his beads, by which he keeps the reckoning of the number of his repe- titions. Years have passed since we saw that old man, and he has probably ere this gone the way of all flesh. What has become gf his vain repetitions now ? It is by such means that these deluded de- votees expect to fit themselves for heaven. They have no conception of love as belonging to religion, and their good works are not such as are calculated to do much good to their fellow-men. CHAPTER X. THE BUDDHISTS TRANSMIGRATION. However tliese ascetics may deny them- selves in this world, they hope to make ample amends in the world to come. Few can hope to attain the state of Nirwana or nonentity, and even of these many must reach it throns^h a toilsome series of changes. Many must rise to it gradually through the whole series of the thirty- three heavens. In these heavens they will be exempt from the toil and self-denial imposed upon them in this life. There they may live, with a thousand heavenly wives, in unspeakably shining habitations, and spend their time in dancing with beautiful god- desses, in splendid palaces. It is sometimes called the " Happy Land in the West." It is a country of gardens and palaces, with birds of melodious song, where there is no pain, no disease, or death, or old age. These heavens, liowever, may not be at- 8?. THE BUDDHISTS TRANSMIGRATION. 83 tained until after the lapse of many ages, passed in various states of existence, and after many transmigrations. This doctrine of the metemps3'chosis is almost universally believed by the Chinese. Not only the Buddhists, but the learned scholars and most ardent uphold- ers of the doctrines of Confucius also believe it. A learned Chinese scholar once told a singular story as a proof that this doctrine is true ; that is, the doctrine that the soul of man, after death, passes into the body of some animal. "A" friend of mine," said this learned teacher, " was once v/alking along the road near his house, when he saw four men of a very remarkable appearance. He looked at them for some time with surprise, when they suddenly disappeared. Going on a little fur- ther, he saw a sow wliich had just given birth to four pigs. Now, said the teacher, if those men did not pass into the pigs, whither did they go?" This story he told w^ith all ear- nestness and sincerity, and really believed that it was an unanswerable proof of the doc- trine. This notion about the transmigration of souls is connected with their theory of the origin of the world. They believe that matter is eternal, and that everything that has life has within itself that wliich has brouglit it 84: THE BUDDHISTS TRANSMIGEATION. into being, and contains within itself a certain tendency to a fixed destiny. 'The world was brought into existence by chance. This world is onl}^ one of an infinite series, which occupy the same place one after another. When the time arrives which is fixed by nature, each world is destroyed, and then there is a blank for a period eqnal to that during which the world existed. After this another world, like the former, springs up in its place, just as the leaves which fall from the trees in the autumn are replaced by others in the spring. The period of the world's existence is called a calpa. To give an idea of the duration of a calpa, they say that if a man were to walk np a mountain nine miles high, once in every hundred years, and continue to do this until the mountain should be worn down to a plain, the time required to wear it down would be nothing to the fourth part of a calpa. As the world, when destroyed, springs up again to pass through another stage of exist- ence, so a man, when he dies, merely passes into another state of being, to come into the world again at some future time. What his condition shall be when he dies, will depend upon his conduct in this life. What kind of an animal he will be ; how Ions: he will con- tinue to be an animal ; when he is born aojain THE BUDDHISTS TKANSMIGRATION. 85 into the world as a man, whether he will be rich or poor ; all depend upon his conduct, and upon the favor of the gods. If he has not been very wicked, he may assume the shape of some noble animal, not to be abused by men. If he deserves a heavier punishment, he may be a hog, or cat, or rat, or some vile reptile. A very wicked man may j^ass at once into hell, or he may first pass through the bo- dies of a number of different animals, and be landed at last, by this round-about way, in the place of punishment. There are eight chief hells, according to the holy books of the Buddhists, and with each of these are connected sixteen smaller hells, all fitted into each other like a case of pots. They are inclosed on all sides with high walls, thirty-six miles thick. In this place of tor- ment there are various kinds of punishment for every different kind of crime. Pictures of persons undergoing punishment are sometimes painted on the walls of Buddhist temples. Many of these pictures, too, are printed and sold at the shops on the street. They repre- sent all kinds of horrid torture. In one place is a man pounded with a sledge-hammer, or having his bones crushed by fierce looking demons, with a huge bone-breaker. Here is one having his flesh torn off from his bones 86 THE BUDDHISTS TKANSMIGKATION. with pincers ; there another roasted on a spit ; while another still is having nielted lead poured down his throat ; or is thrust into a caldron of boiling oil. Others may be seen undergoing the, process of transmigration. The head of one is beginning to assume the shape of a hog's snout ; while the horns and ears of a cow are starting out from the head of another. This, however, is not a place of eternal pun- ishment. Even in hell a man may have hope, for when he has suffered enough to make ex- piation for his sins, he may, perhaps, be born again as a man in some menial capacity, or as a woman ; and if he then leads a virtuous life, he may, possibly, in the course of ages, get into heaven. How degrading this dogma which reduces a man to a level with the beasts that perish ! The poor Buddhist can certainly have no very high conception of the dignity of human na- ture. To-day, indeed, he is a man ; a think- ing, intelligent being ; but to-morrow he may be a poor whining dog, or mewing cat. One of the old Jesuit missionaries, Le Comte, relates that he was once called in to baptize a sick person, an old man of seventy. The old man gave his reasons for desiring baptism. " I have for some time past," said he, " lived THE BUDDHISTS — TRANSMIGRATION. 87 on tlie Emperor's benevolence. The priests assure me that after death I shall be obliged to repay the Emperor's generosity by becom- ing a post-horse to carry dispatches. They exhort me to take care not to stumble, or wince, or bite. They tell me that if I travel well, eat little, and am patient, I may excite the compassion of the gods, and be born into the world as a man of rank. Sometimes I dream that I am ready harnessed for the rider, and I awake in a sweat, hardly knowing whether I am a man or a horse. They tell me. Father, that people of your religion con- tinue to be men in the next world as they are in this. I am ready to embrace your religion ; for I. had rather be a Christian, than become a beast." The Jesuit baptized him, and the old man died, happy in being delivered from becoming a post-horse. It is this doctrine of transmigration that has led to their absurd notions of compassion to animals. To treat animals well is the same as being kind to men, for their bodies are ani- mated by the spirits of men. TJnkindness might subject the offender to annoyance from some injured ghost. The priests sometimes keep a number of hogs or fowls in their mo- * Vide *' Progress of Religious Ideas," by L. M. Child. 88 THE BUDDHISTS TRANSMIGRATION. nasteries, feeding them well, until they die of disease, or old age, or more likely from over- feeding. To save the life of an animal is, of course, very meritorious. An instance is re- lated of a man going out to kill a poor diseased dog. An old woman met him, begged for the dog, and then took him off into the country, and let him run. For such a deed a great reward is expected ; yet the poor are often left to die of hunger, and the diseased and dying are sometimes turned out to die in the street, without any care or attention. The man is neglected, that the beast may be cared for ; the living left to perish, that attention may be bestowed on the dead. CHAPTER XI. BUDDHIST PRIESTS AND TEMPLES YUHWONG. The Buddhists are divided into two schools ; one adhering to the teachings of the sacred books, the other receiving the instructions of certain celebrated Chinese teachers, handed down from former generations. These dis- tinctions, however, are not made at all promi- nent, and some of the priests themselves scarce know to which school they belong. The priests of Buddha have very little per- sonal influence among any class of Chinese. By the literary class they are held in con- tempt, and are denounced as an idle, useless, and lazy set. Such they truly are, and it is not strange that among a people so thrifty and industrious as the Chinese, they should be thoroughly despised. J^ot only are they idle and useless, but too often openly immoral and wicked. Most of them spend their time chiefly in gambling and opium smoking. The priest- 89 90 BUDDHIST PRIESTS AND TEMPLES. liood is not considered by any means an honor- able, or even reputable, occupation ; and it is not sought for by persons belonging to the respectable classes. This may be attributed, no doubt, in the main, to the influence of the teachiugs of Confucius. Buddhism itself has been considerably modified in China, by being brought into contact with the Confucian phi- losophy. According to Confucius, it is wrong for a man not to get married ; but, according to Buddha, it is a great merit to remain single, and the priests are absolutely forbidden to marry. As the Chinese consider it very im- portant to have children to minister to the wants of their souls after death, this prohibi- tion tends to kee]3 young men from joining the ranks of the priesthood. Besides this, the injunction not to destroy animal life, of course, carries with it the necessity of entire absti- nence from the use of animal food. This pro- hibition is rigidly enforced in the case of the priests, and the self-denial thus required is also calculated to repel young men from resorting to this means of procuring a liveli- hood. The ranks of the priesthood therefore must be recruited chiefly from among the indolent, who relish a lazy life ; or the abject poor, who are driven to this resource by want ; or those who BUDDHIST PRIEST3 AND TEMPLES. 91 have not shrewdness enough to make a living at any honest business ; or else those who are actuated by a sincere desire to procure future happiness by this means. There are, no doubt, a considerable number who are influenced by this last motive, but it is small in comparison with the whole body. The priests, however, have found by expe- rience, that it will not do to rely upon any or all of these motives, for the supply of the means of perpetuating their order. They therefore resort to the expedient of buying the children of poor parents, and bringing them up as priests. In almost every temple there are sortie boys who have thus been purchased, and who, therefore, have no choice but to con- secrate themselves to Buddha. While young they act as servants for the elder priests. The priests live, in part, by begging, but chiefly by the proceeds of their services at the temples, and on funeral occasions at private houses. Rooms are provided for them in the temples. Each has a room assigned to him, sometimes by himself, sometimes in company with one or two others. Any little private property they may have is respected by the fraternity. Some of them make long pilgrim- ages to the sacred places of the sect; and some of them spend most of their time in thus 92* BUDDHIST PEIESTS AND TEMPLES. travelling about from place to place. Wher- ever they go they are entertained for one day and night, by their brethren in their temples, free of expense. Some of the Buddhist temples are on an ex- tensive scale, and several hundred priests are often found residing permanently at a single establishment. There is a celebrated one some ten miles from Ningpo, called Yuhwong. It is beautifully situated in a narrow valley, embowered in trees, and having high hills rising abruptly on three sides. There are many distinct buildings on the premises, but some of them are much out of repair. Crossing a large inclosure, around which is a wall built of broken tiles and mud, you enter the temple-court through a covered gateway, guarded by four immense idols, frowning gloomily upon you. Crossing the court you enter the main building. It is one story high, and contains no other room but the large wor- shiping hall. This room is paved with large stone slabs, and is one hundred feet long, by seventy broad. As you enter the doorway,three huge idols look down upon you from the shrine in the centre of the room. They are the three precious Buddhas — representing the past, the present, and the future. There they sit, with their feet drawn up like tailors at work, gaz- BUDDHIST PRIESTS AND TEMPLES. 93 ins: down with demure and solemn counte- nance, as if wholly occupied with their own thoughts. They are seated upon a pediment twelve feet square, and although in a sitting posture, are not less than twenty feet high. They are richly gilt, and the priests will tell you that these precious gods cost a thousand dollars each. Between them stand two attend- ant idols, also richly ornamented, and some twelve feet in height. The place is too sacred to be liglitly polluted with the broom, and the gods seem to be very indifferent as to the cleanliness of their habitations. In the roof above many sparrows have built their nests, and the hallowed shrine beneath them is de- filed with filth. Passing round this shrine, we find behind it, and facing the other way, a large female fi- gure carrying a child in her arms and seated upon a horse, in the midst of the sea, and sur- rounded by numerous rocks and islands. This is the goddess Kwany-in, " She wdio regards the prayers of the world." Around the walls of the room are arranged thirty-four gilt images of the ordinary life size, representing inferior deities. From this we pass to another hall, in the rear of the first. To reach it we ascend a short fliglit of steps, and cross a smoothly-paved 94 BUDDHIST PKIESTS AXD TEMPLES. court. This room is nearly as large as the first, and it contains the object which gives to the place its highest distinction. Entering the door, you see two shrines, of a pyramidal shape, one behind the other, and both richly ornamented. Lights are kept constantly burn- ing before them. Over the hinder one is sus- pended an immense silken canopy.- The other is a small brass shrine, highly polished, and having a glass door. It stands on an elevated platform, composed of heavy blocks of granite. Looking through the glass door, we see a couple of small figures, and a few fiowers, to- gether with a small dingy -looking tower, shaped like the large pagodas which the Budd- hists build, in order to secure good luck. This seems to be an object of special veneration. What is it ? The priests tell you it is a Shay- li — or a Wuh-Fuh — a living Buddha — i. e.^ a relic of Buddha. When Buddha was uj)on eartb he taught his followers to hold in special reverence three things; to wit, the relics of his body, the books containing his doctrine, aiid an assem- bly of his worshij)ers. This Shay-li is said to be a relic of his sacred body. The Budd- hists say there are eighty -four thousand pores in a man's body. Buddha, after his death, changed liis remains into yqyj small fragments BUDDHIST PRIESTS AND TEMPLES. 95 like diamond dust, and Ajuka afterwards built fur his relics eighty -four thousand pago- das. Nineteen of these, it is said, were built in China, and this temple at Yuhw^ong is one of them. This wonderful substance, the priests tell us, possesses the singular property of changing its color, so as to exhibit to the beholder the true state of his heart, and make known his future prospects. This is a very valuable possession, for it attracts pilgrims to this won- derful shrine from distant parts of the empire, and brin2;s in a considerable revenue to the priests. When a visitor wishes to learn how he stands with the god, he first paj^s the priest his fee. The priest then performs his pros- trations before the shrine, and brings forth the little pagoda. Within is a little bell, at the mouth of which the relic is placed. The color indicates the desired information. Yellow is the best, and white the worst color. Unbe- lievers, however, can see nothing. In a temple near Fuhchau, there is one of these relics, much more easily seen, it would appear, than this at Yuhwong. It is said to be a very good specimen of the tusk of a mas- todon, or of an ele])haut. These relics are no doubt as genuine, and as efficacious, as those the Papists deliglit to honor. CHAPTER XII. BUDDHIST TEMPLES — ISLAND OF PUTO — TEMPLE SERVICES. The island of Puto is famous in the annals of Buddhism. For a thousand years it has been devoted to the religious rites and services of the Buddhist sect. It is one of the most easterly islands of the Chusan archi23elago, and is about seventy miles from the main land, near Ningpo. The legendary account of it is, that a devoted Japanese priest, in returning from a visit to the celebrated tem- ple at T'ien T'ai, south of ISTingpo, found his vessel unaccountably obstructed by vast quan- tities of water lilies and shell-fish in the water. He prostrated himself before an image of the goddess Kwan-yin, to implore her protection. His vessel was at once drifted towards the sliore of Puto. He landed, and related the marvellous deliverance vouchsafed bv the goddess. A j)Oor woman gave up her dwell- 96 TEMPLE SKK VICES. 97 ing to be consecrated to tlie goddess who had displayed sucli jjower. The priest enshrined his image here, and took up his abode perma- nently on the island. This was about a thou- sand years ago. The goddess Kwan-yin has ever since been honored as the patron deity of the place. The island soon became famous. Pilgrim- ages were made to its shrines. Large and costly temples were built. The priests flocked to its altars, and the emperors themselves were impressed with the highest veneration for the place. The whole island was granted to the priests, and parts also of neighboring islands. Many presents have been received from the emperors at various times. Some- times it has been a costly temple, sometimes a mai^-niticent idol, and as^ain a larsre stone tablet, with an appropriate inscription in- scribed upon it. But now the glory has departed. Most of the temples are sadly out of repair, and some of them lie in ruins. For more than a hun- dred years no presents have come from the Emperor — no supplies from the imperial trea- sury. The nunil)er of priests, once perhaps reaching three thousand, now hardly reaches three hundred. More than a hundred tem- ples, large and small, still occupy its hills 9 98 THE ISLAND OF PUTO. and valleys, but many of them are empty and in ruins. The island is about five miles long, and from one to two broad. The cultivable land is well improved, and a number of laborers are employed by the priests to cultivate their fields. The surface is very irregular and hilly, but many fertile spots are found in the valleys, which are made to furnish a consider- able portion of the rice and vegetables re- quired for the food of the priests. This is a favorable place for witnessing the Buddhist rites of worship. The two principal temples or monasteries are called respectively the front and the back monastery — the " Seen Sz' " and the How Sz'." Landing at the jetty, we proceed by a well-paved road, lined on either side with trees, to the Seen Sz', about a mile distant. As we pass along we see the name of the god O-mi-to-Fiih (Buddha) here and there inscribed upon the rocks. On every hand Buddha and his idolatry stare us in the face, except when we look off to our right, where we have a view of the wide, wide sea, which rolls it waves against the rocks some distance below us. Rising by a gentle ascent to the top of the hill, we descend again into the valley, and find ourselves in the precincts of the temple. TEMPLE SERVICES. 99 To enter the inclosure we must pass througli a small tower, covered with tiles of the im- perial 3^ellow color, indicating that it is a gift from the Emj)eror. Under this roof is an immense tablet of tolerably white marble, with a long inscription. This is an honor con- ferred upon the place by the Emperor Kang- hi, who reigned from 1662 to 1T23 — sixty-one years. Passing through this, we cross a beautiful stone bridge thrown over a large pond or artificial lake. The surface of the lake is completely covered with lotus plants of im- mense size. We now pass through one of the sacred buildings, and enter a large court, and before us stands the principal temple. On our right, as we enter, is a little village, full of women and children, the families of the laborers employed for cultivating the fields. And now we hear a low monotonous chant proceeding from the great temple. The priests are at their devotions. In the ele- vated shrine sit the Three Precious Buddhas — huge idols, once gaudily gilt and painted, but nov/ dingy with age. The smoke of in- cense rises from the hnge censer wliich stands upon the ahar. In front of the altar stand fourteen priests, erect, motionless, with clasped hands, and downcast eyes, a postui-e which, 100 THE ISLAND OF PUTO. with their shaven heads and long flowing grey robes, gives them an appearance of the deepest solemnity. The low and solemn tones of the slowly moving chant they are singing might, but for the hideous idols, awaken solemn emotions. Three priests keep time with the mnsic, one by beating on an immense drum suspended from the roof, an- other on a large iron vessel, and the third on a hollow wooden sounding-piece about the size and shape of a human skull. Continuing the chant for a short time, they suddenly, at the sig- nal from a small bell in the hand of their leader, kneel upon low stools, covered with straw matting; at the same time bowing low, and striking their foreheads against the stone pave- ment. Then, slowly rising, they face inward towards the altar, seven facing to the right and seven to the left, and immediately re- sume their chant. At first they sing in a slowly moving measure, then gradually in- crease tlie rapidity of the music until they utter the words as fast as it is possible to arti- culate, after which they return gradually to the slow and solemn measure with wliich they commenced. Again a signal from the little bell changes their movement, and they march slowly in procession around the shrine, while one of their number takes a cup of holy water TEMPLE SERVICES. 101 and pours it upon a low stone pillar at tlie temple door. Thus they continue their pros- trations, and chanting, and tinkling of bells, for half an hour or more. But they cannot be supposed to be anxious to delude us into the belief that there is anytliing like heart devotion in all this ceremony. Some of the old monks, indeed, seem exceedingly devout, but several of the younger ones do not hesi- tate to laugh and joke, and even step aside for a moment to converse with the strangers who are spectators of their worship. The whole scene forcibly reminds one of the mum- meries practised in the Koman Catholic Church. The shaven heads of the priests, their long robes, frequent prostrations, chant- ings, beads, and even their idol, cannot fail to suggest their antitypes in that apostate church. This is a fair specimen of the regular wor- ship of the temples. Long before daylight some of the priests rise to matins, and strike the bells and drums to rouse their gods from sleep. Again, in the forenoon, they are at their devotions ; and in the afternoon, some- time before sunset, they are summoned to vespers. At nine o'clock at night, some of them repeat the ceremony of the morning. 9* 102 ISLAND OF PUTO. Besides this there are frequent services per- formed to order, for the special benefit of some individual, for which they are paid. Buddliism having been introduced into China from India, most of the prayers used in the tem])le services are written in the Pali — a dialect of the Sanscrit — which is the sacred language of the sect. An attempt has been made to express the sounds of that lan- guage in Chinese characters, but as this can be done but imperfectly, an unintelligible jargon is produced, which nobody can under- stand. Many of the sacred books have been trans- lated into Chinese, and most of the monasteries are provided with libraries. Some of these libraries are very extensive. They have also, in some instances, books written in the ori- ginal Sanscrit, and although they do not understand a word they contain, the priests preserve them with the greatest care. At T'ien-T'ai there is such a work which has been kept there for many hundred years. It is a manuscript written on palm leaf. There ai-e fifty leaves, which are written on both sides, and although, as is said, more than thirteen hundred years old, it is reported by English missionaries who have seen it, to be in a per- TEMPLE SERVICES. 103 feet state of preservation. It is an object of great veneration to the priests, and is very carefully kept in a rosewood box. This is pi^)bably the only manuscript of the kind in the east of China. CHAPTER XIIL THE BUDDHISTS SPECIAL SERVICES POPULAR WORSHIP. Besides the regular temple services, there are many special occasions on which ex- traordinary services are observed. These occasions the priests are careful to multiply as much as possible, for they always reap a plentiful harvest from the numerous worship- ers. Such an occasion, for example, is the birth-day of the goddess Kwan-yin. On the island of Puto it is observed with special honor. By three o'clock in the morning the numerous temples are resounding with the sound of the noisy gong, the heavy drum, and the hum of many voices chanting the praises of the goddess. Throughout the day the ser- vices are maintained. If we walk over the island, we shall everywhere be greeted with the same ever-recurring sounds. As we pur- sue our way along solitary paths, winding around the sides of the hills, or through the 104 SPECIAL SERVICES. 105 green valleys, the sound of the cliant, and the drum, and the rapid stroke of the hollow scull- shaped sounding-piece, I'everberates along the mountain sides, and mingles with the roar of the surf breaking on the adjacent beach. Here is a little temple perched upon a rock or overhanging cliff. There is one nestled in a little nook half-concealed by a bamboo grove. In most of these there is but a soli- tary worshiper, but he goes thi'ough all the prescribed ceremonies with the utmost gravi- ty and formality. The priests resort to many devices for attracting the people to the temples, and thus getting hold of their money. At a temple in Ningpo, in 1846, a great ceremony was got up on the occasion of casting a new bell for the use of the establishment, to replace one carried away by the English in 1840. Great efforts were made to make known the fact beforehand. Handbills were issued, callino: upon the people to contribute liberally to this important object, and assuring them that such contributions would be more than usu- ally meritorious. Priests were sent out through the whole surrounding country, beg- ging money for the purpose. At the appoint- ed time the people flocked in crowds to the temple, under the impression that worship 106 POPULAR WORSHIP. performed at that time would be peculiarly acceptable to the god, and the neglect of it more than ordinarily offensive. The services were prolonged for five days, and dnring all that time, day and night, the temple was crowded with deluded w^orshipers, and filled, almost to suffocation, with the smoke of in- cense. On another occasion, a few months later, at another temple, a seven days' service was held. Great pains had been taken to collect a large crowd, and as a special attraction it was given out that a noted devotee, who by his austerities and self-inflicted tortures had become eminently hol}^, w^ould himself sit as a god, and be made an object of worship. Some of the more respectable of the people were greatly offended at this horrid blas- phemy, and complained to the Tau-tai, the chief magistrate of the city, with a view to prevent it, but he declined interfering. It is chiefly on such occasions as these that the people are found at the Buddhist temples, though some worship also at the full and new moons. Here then we may see them in the midst of their idolatrous rites. On the occa- sion referred to, a vast crowd was gathered, for some five or six hundred priests had been drawn together from various places, and the SPECIAL SERVICES. 107 people imagine that the efficacy of tlie pray- ers will be increased in proportion to the number of priests participating in the ser- vice. In the outer court of the temple is a motley concourse of all classes of people, men and women, rich and poor ; some elegantly dress- ed in silk and satin ; some half covered with filthy rags. There is a man with a candy- stand, and his customers are gambling for his sweetmeats. Close by him is a vender of hot cakes, with cooked meats and vegetables ; and here again we see another ofiering his hookah, or water pipe, to those who are will- ing to pay for a smoke of tobacco. These, with other hawkers of various articles, keep up a continual outcry, calling upon customers to purchase their goods. All who worship must be provided with candles and incense, and ready-made prayers. These, too, are sold in the crowd. The candles are made of the product of the Chinese tal- low-tree, and are of a brilliant red color. The incense is made of sandal wood, brought from the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is prepared by mixing the saw-dust of the san- dal wood with an adhesive paste, and rolling it around a stick of the sam-e wood, about a 108 POPULAR WORSHIP. foot in length, so as to look like a very small thin candle. But to return to the temple court. In one corner a platform lias been erected for the oc- casion. There live or six priests are seated, all busily engaged in writing. They are filling up the blanks of the printed prayers to suit the wishes of purchasers. A crowd of eager applicants gather around this stand. Some purchase but one of these prayers, others eight or ten — or even twenty or thirty. Tliey purchase not only for themselves but for some of their neighbors, by whom they have been commissioned, and who are perhaps unable to attend themselves. The priests derive a hand- some revenue from the sale of these prayers, as well as from the candles and incense sticks. A prayer that costs but a single cash they sell for eight or ten. Those who cannot afford to pay for these necessary articles of worship must not expect the favor of the god, and therefore need not look for courtesy from the priests. Here a poor beggar woman is soliciting money to help her to offer her prayers with the rest. There is a wretched man in rags, crawling about under the feet of the crowd, on his hands and knees, soliciting alms. He is or- SPECIAL SERVICES. 109 dered oft' the premises by the compassionate priests. Within the temple the scene is no less striking. There are the priests going throngh their senseless mummeries. Their bells and drums keep up the attention of their gods. The great hall is lilled with worshipers. There are long rows of women seated upon benches, each with a mat before her, on which is laid a printed prayer. All are ear- nestly engaged in repeating over the name of Buddha in the usual sing-song tone. Hour after hour the}' go on singing. Nan-mo 0*iiii-to- Fuh, Nan-mo 0-n\i-t6-Fuh. They are all busily engaged at the same time in counting the string of beads they hold in their hands, and ever and anoii they kneel upon the mat before them, clasp their hands together, and bow down before the idol. Here and there is a bench full of men engaged in the same manner, but the great mass of worshipers are women. One reason of the earnestness of the women, perhaps, is their fear that when they die they may again be born into the world as women, a fate they are anxious to avoid. Some of them remain all night at their devo- tions. The men, however, are generally con- tent with merely looking on, or at most with 10 110 POPULAR WORSHIP. performing a few prostrations, and then return- ing to their business or their pleasures. When a worshiper enters he first bows low before the shrine, and then places his candles burning ujDon the candlesticks, which are on the altar. Then he lights his incense sticks, and in the same manner places them in the great censer. As soon as his back is turned one of the priests puts out the candles and removes them, to be again sold, or used for their own purposes. But in one of the side halls is another phase of heathen devotions. There we see a family group, a father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, all very much interested in ob- serving a young child, scarce able to stand, who has been brought to seek the favor of the god. The father has taken him and placed him upon a stool, kneeling before one of the idols. Placing one hand upon the boy's breast, and the other on his back, he moves his body forward, and thus assisted the little fellow makes numerous prostrations. The whole group look on with evident satisfaction at the performance. It is thus that the ideas of a vain superstition are instilled into the young minds of heathen children. IsTo won- der these ideas take a strong hold upon their POPULAR WORSHIP. Ill feelings. They are associated with their ear- liest recollections, and with their most pleasing memories of parental affection. Is it stranij;e that there should be difficulty in eradicatiiig these notions, and replacing them by those which are more pure, and moi'e opposed to the feelings of the corrupt heart ? CHAKTEK XIY. THE BUDDHISTS PENANCE FESTIVAL. In order to attract worsliipeis and increase their revenue, the priests take advantage of the practice of self torture encouraged by their system. Not only priests but often also some of the more devout among the people, sub- mit to this voluntary penance. Sometimes this torture consists in burning off a finger, and occasionally, it is said, even a hand ; but this last is very unusual. The common mode of inflicting this torture is to wrap tightly around the finger some hemp which has been dipped in oil, and then burning it while the priests are reciting prayers. A less painful form of torture consists in burning spots on the head or on the arms, the number of these spots depending on the zeal of the devotee. Thus they torture the body for the sin of the soul. When ^uch an exhibition is to take place, 112 Buddhists' pknance festival. 113 public notice is given, and the ceremonies of the occasion are made as .imposing as possible, in order to gull the people out of their hard earned money. The profits derived fi-om such exhibitions of fanatical zeal are very con- siderable, but they are somewhat diminished by the necessity of a small bribe to some of the subordinate officials ; for the mandarins have rigidly prohibited such public demonstra- tions. The prohibition is not enforced, but it enables the grasping officials to obtain a gratu- ity as a bribe for keeping quiet. This sometimes gives rise to trouble, gener- ating squabbles which disturb the public j^eace. In 1852 the monks of the " Observing Hall Monastery " at Ningpo advertised a '' pen- ance festival." A literary man, named Wang (which means King), made exorbitant demands upon the monastery for hush-money, but the worthy fathers refused compliance. The con- sequence was that on the day of the ceremony Mr. Wang appeared at the monastery at the head of nearly a hundred men, whom he had hired, and made an attack on the priests, greatly to the dismay of the crowds of devout women who were at their prayers. The attack, how- ever, was successfully resisted by the monks, and the result was a suit before the district magistrate. A decision was given against the 10* 114 Buddhists' penance festival. monks, and some of them were sentenced to sit exposed in the .street, with a cangue, or huge wooden collar, around their necks, and a fine of a thousand dollars was imposed on the establishment. Some of the literati, not satisfied with this, also issued a placard, which was put up in all parts of the city, denouncing the priests in the most abusive language, and accusing them of " entertaining vile charac- ters," guzzling liquors, alluring nuns and dis- reputable women into their temple, and in fine, committing all kinds of iniquity. Some of them are denounced by name ; particularly " Kadically Intelligent," " Condensed Purity," " Happy Mountain,^' " Intelligent Pool," " Auspicious Peak," and others. One of the most celebrated temples near Kingpo, is that at a place called Ling-fung — Sj^iritual Peak, about twenty miles from the city. On the birthday of one of their gods — a deified physician — vast crowds are attracted to the place on account of the supposed efiicacy of religious services performed on that day. The temple is beautifully situated among the mountains, but the retirement of the place has not been favorable to the pecuniary interests of the establishment. On the day of the great ceremony lawless men from the adjoin- ing mountains band together, mingling with BUDDIITSTS' PENANCE FESTIVAL. 115 the crowd of worshipers till towards the close of the day, when they simuUaneously make a rush for the money. They are generally more or less successful, and sometimes get pos- session of the whole of the proceeds of the day's devotions. One of the inducements held out to the de- luded victims of this priestcraft at Ling-fung, is the issuing of a kind of bank-note, or letter of credit, payable in the spiritual world. They can be purchased from the priests for a few cash, or less than a cent, but they entitle the purchaser to a thousand dollars or more when presented to the proper officer in pur- gatory. These terms are so favorable that every worshiper buys who can at all afford the price. The documents are carefully treasured up, and at the death of the owner are placed with the body in the coffin, or transmitted to the departed spirit by being consumed in the flames. The temple at Ling-fung has recently been destroyed by fire, but a shrine has been set up for the god at another temple and the crowds of worshipers have not diminished. It was burned by order of the Prefect on ac- count of the annual riots of which it was the occasion. The mass of worshipers on all these occasions are women. The public thoroughfares on 116 Buddhists' penance festival. such great worshiping days, may be seen crowded with these poor cripples, making their way slowly towards the place of concourse. Some indeed can afford to ride in sedan-chairs, but the number of such is very small. The walk must be a slow and painful one to those whose cramped feet compels them to hobble along with short mincing steps, and makes it difficult to preserve an upright position ; yet they will often walk six miles, to reach the sacred place, and as many back on the same day ; willingly encountering the toil and fa- tigue of the journe}^ for the sake of the bene- fit they hope to obtain. Poor old women, overcome with heat and fatigue, toil along leaning on a staff, or resting a hand upon the shoulder of some younger and stronger companion, sometimes falling down on the rough road, and again rising to pursue their toilsome way. There we may see the stout young peasant girl, the gaily dressed city lady, the modest young woman shrinking from observation, and the public prostitute blazoning forth her shame by the splendor of her attire, all moving forward on foot upon the same pious errand. When we look at these women thus toiling on the road, and then again look at them devoutly conning over their idle prayers in BtTDDHISTS' PENANCE FESTIVAL. 117 the temple, we must give tliem credit for sincerity. They believe some good will ac- crue from all this labor. They are conscious of the existence of superior powers, whose anger they would avert. There is in their hearts an abiding sense of something wanting to them — they know not what. There is an undefined dread of future judgment, and an apprehension of unknown evil, in looking down into the dark and gloomy abyss of death. Here is the secret of all tliis toil. Can it be other than a high crime in thpse to whom the light of life has been given to withhold it from those who are still blinded by Satan and en- veloped in this gross darkness ? CHAPTER XY. NUNNERIES BUDDHISM AND KOMANISM COM- PARED. In order the better to gain access to their female adherents and attach them the more effectually to their sect, the Buddhists, like the Papists, encourage women to devote them- selves to a life of purity and holiness by vows similar to those taken by the priests. This, however, in many instances, is not a voluntary act, for the supply of nuns is kept up in a great measure by purchasing young children, or receiving them as gifts from their parents, who too often are glad to be in this way relieved of the trouble and expense of their support. The nuns are not fully received into the sisterhood until they reach their sixteenth year. Those who are received young, as most of them are, do not bind up their feet as other Chinese women do, but leave them of the natural size. They also shave the head, leaving only a small tuft of hair ; and as in 118 NUNNERIES BUDDHISM AND ROMANISM. 119 other respects their garb much resembles that of the priests, one can hardlj distinguish a nun from a priest. The nuns perform religious services very much in the same manner with the priests. They are tauglit to read the 2)rescribed prayers, and some of tlieir primary religious books. Some of them acquire a very good knowledge of the Chinese written character, so as to read any ordinary Chinese book. This is an attainment made by very few Chi- nese women. They have disciples among the women, to whom they give particular instructions in the duties of their religion, and in whose behalf they recite prayers. For these services they of course expect to be paid. They are looked upon w4th greater suspicion than the priests, and are more despised than they, for it is well understood that many of them lead profligate lives. This feature of the Buddhist religion is more opposed by the government than any other, and in some instances the laws against them are summarily executed. A case occurred some time ao;o at Shano^hai. One of the nuns, in connection with a priest, being detected in the commission of a crime sadly inconsistent with her vows of ])urity and chastity, the whole sisterhood were expelled 120 NUNNERIES BUDDHISM AND KOMANISM. from their abode, tlie establishment was bro- ken up, and the buildings in a great measure destroyed, by order of the local authorities. A precisely similar case occurred at Ningpo, and was dealt with in the same manner. In reviewing the features of the Buddhist sect, as we have now been considering them, no one can fail to be struck with the marked resemblance to those of the Komish Church. The priests of both these sects shave their heads, wear a peculiar garb, and are forbidden to marry. Both sects have monks who shut themselves up in cells to exclude worldly objects ; and nuns who take vows of chastity, and shut themselves up like the monks. In their worship they have the same mummeries and manoeuvres, bowings and genuflexions, marchings and countermarchings ; the same chantings, and jingling of bells, burning of incense, lighting of candles, repetition of prayers, and pouring or sprinkling of holy water. Both pray in an unknown tongue, use beads to count the number of their prayers, go on pilgrimages, have religious processions, observe fasts by abstaining from meat, and believe penance by self-torture more necessary than penitence, which has its seat in the heart. Both pray/br the dead, to release the souf from temporary punishment NUNNERIES — BUDDHISM AND KOMANISM. 121 or purgatory, and both pray to the dead, expecting to receive benefits through their means. Both rely on the merit of good works, and believe in works of supererogation, by which a store of merit may be laid up as an ofiset against sins committed. Both trust in the power of charms, amulets, and incanta- tions, to deliver them from the effects of dia- bolical influences ; and both are given to the worship of images, and defend the practice on the same ground ; to wit, that they do not worship the image, but the object represented by it. The Papists worship Holy mother the Virgin Mary : the Buddhists, Holy Mother the Queen of Heaven. Both also carefully preserve and worship relics of holy men, set- ting a great value upon the bones or old gar- ments of the canonized dead, who are regard- ed as unusually holy. No wonder some of the old Jesuit missionaries thous^ht the Budd- hist religion had been invented by the devil, for the express purpose of bringing a reproach upon the Romish Church. We would infer from the resemblance in the forms of worshi}) of the two sects that the places of worsliij) must also be much alike ; and so in fact they are. The shrine and the altar, with the same gaudy tinsel and the same burning candles, and the idols but slightly different, give the 122 NUNNERIES BUDDHISM AND ROMANISM. Buddhist temple and Romish chapel a very similar aspect. It is said that when the Insur- gents took Nanking, and went about destroying the idol temples, they demolished the Komish churches and their idols along with the rest, all unconscious of any difference between them. It was certainly a very natural, and a very pardonable mistake. CHAPTER XYL BLENDING OF THE SECTS SOME NEGATIVE FEA- TURES COMMON TO ALL. No picture of the religious notions of the Chinese would be complete which did not give a separate view of the three sects which have been noticed in the preceding pages. It must not be supposed, however, that the peo- ple are divided, by distinct and tangible lines, among these sects. There is nothing in China corresponding to the different religious denom- inations into which Christian nations are divided. The Chinese readily embrace some of the tenets, and observe some of the rites, of all these sects, making no account of the glar- ing inconsistencies and contradictions in which this involves them. It is to a certain extent true that all are Confucianists — all Tauists — all Buddhists. The same persons may be seen, now in a Buddhist temple — now in a Tauist. 128 124 BLENDING (>F THE SECTS. A family monrning for a deceased member may call in the Buddhist priests to-day to pray for the soul of the deceased, and to-mor- row the Tauist ; or both may be called at the same time to perform the services they think needful for the dead. The explanation of this fact is to be found, probably, in a felt consciousness of some defect in them all. There is in the minds of the mass of the people such a want of confi- dence in the truth of the doctrines taught, or in the power of the deities worshiped, by these sects, that they adopt the whole, so that if they fail in one place, they may be more successful in another. They are like drown- ing men w^ho catch at every straw that comes within reach. On the same principle they are often wil- ling to embrace the Christian religion. They w^ould have no objections to add Christ as another deity to their pantheon. Then, if Buddha fails them at last, Christ may help them. For all they know, this God of the foreigners may have more power than any of their own ; and at any rate it can do no harm to secure his favor. Therefore they some- times ask w^hat they must do to become dis- ciples of Jesus. They are willing to repeat any prayers, observe any fasts, and make any NEGATIVE FEATUltKS COMMON TO ALL. 125 number of prostrations, that may be required. But when told that no external ceremony will of itself avail, and that if they would trust in Jesus they nnist give up Buddha, then, like the rich young man who was told to sell all that he had and follow Jesus, they go away sorrowful, for they cannot give up their idols. The real religion, therefore, of the great majority of the Chinese, is an incoherent mix- ture of the three sects. They have, however, added to this many notions and superstitions of their own, which are not peculiar to any of the sects. To finish our picture of their reli- gion, it will be necessary to describe these popular superstitions. Before doing so, how- ever, it may be well to notice some important negative features of Chinese religion which are common to all their sects, and to all their philosophical systems. The philosophers have much to say of the yin and the Ycmg — the male and the female principles in nature, but these speculations have not led them to exalt licentiousness to the position of a virtue. There is nothing in the reli- gious systems of the Chinese to encourage licen- tiousness. They have no books filled with ac- counts of the impure conduct, and diabolical crimes, of their gods. In their temples no- thing is seen that is inconsistent with modesty 11* 126 BLENDING OF THE SECTS. — notliiiio; which a chaste woman need blush to look at. There is no obscene picture pa- raded on the walls, no naked statue exposed to public gaze. The images of their gods are all in full dress. It may be safely said that no indecent exhibition would be allowed by the magistrates, and public opinion would universally cry out against it. How different is this from India, wliere licentiousness is deified, and its unclean sym- bol made an object of worship ! How differ- ent too from the obscene rites once practised in the temples of ancient Greece and Home, and many other heathen nations ! It must not, however, be inferred from this that the Chinese are not, in practice, given to uncleanness. In tlieory, indeed, they make much of female modesty and delicacy. Wo- men are forbidden, by the strict laws of eti- quette, to mingle promiscuously with men, or even to be seen by any others than those of their own immediate household. This cannot, of course, be observed rigidly by any but the wealthy, but the rule, nevertheless, exerts a potent influence upon all classes, and undoubt- edly operates as a restraint upon crime. Licentiousness prevails to a deplorable extent, but it is branded wntli disgrace, in books at least. Public opinion, also, is of course NEGATIVE FEATUKES COMMON TO ALL. 127 against it, but it is not so strongly expressed as to impose much restraint upon the mass of the people. But whatever the extent of the practice, it is not at all countenanced by their religion. Another feature of Chinese religion is the absence of expiatory sacrifices. Not only are there no human sacrifices, as in India, but there is no such thing as an offering with a view to atonement for sin. There is no car of JuiTirernaut crushing: human victims under its wheels ; no offering up of children to satisfy the demands of any voracious Moloch. The offerings presented are designed, indeed, to secure the favor of the gods, but not by aton- ing for sin. Indeed, their ideas of sin are such that they cannot entertain the idea of a proper atonement. Sin is not, in their view, committed so much against God, as against man. The gods are merely the magistrates by whom such offences are punished ; and if the punishment is remitted, the remission is to be obtained much in the same way as from earthly rulers, by bribery or flattery, which are presented or expressed by means of offer- ings. The Chinese word for sin is the same that is used for a violation of etiquette, or a neglect of politeness, and sin is looked upon as really little more serious in its nature, 128 BLENDING OF THE SECTS. although it may be in its consequences, than a disregard of the ceremonious etiquette which they think of so inuch importance. With such views of sin it is not strange tliat they should suppose their deities capable of being easily induced to overlook it. In fact, they look to the gods for protection while car- rying out some plan of outrageous wickedness just as confidently as in performing deeds of charity and love. Pirates often anchor their vessels near the island of Puto, which is remote from the main land, and while there are sure to be amongst the most faithful wo;-- shipers in the temples of that sacred island. They present their prayers and offerings with all apparent sincerity and earnestness, and are as confident of thus securing the favor and protection of the gods while carrying on their horrid work as are the farmers when they pray for fruitful seasons. These offerings, so far from being designed as an atonement for sin, are intended to secure protection in the commission of crime. CHAPTEE XVU. POPULAR DEITIES HEAVEN AND EARTH GOD OF THE KITCHEN THE KAIN DRAGON. In the account which has been given of the three religious sects, are some notices of several of the gods worshiped by them ; but many deities are worshiped which cannot be considered as the property of any of the sects. It would be an endless task to notice, ever so briefly, the numberless objects of their wor- ship ; but it will be proper to give a brief account of some of those most commonly resorted to by the devout. This will be done without any reference to sect, as these deities may be properly regarded as part and parcel of what may be called the popular religion, which we now wish to describe. The whole realm of nature is filled with deities. There are gods celestial and gods terrestrial, almost without iminbor ; but most 129 130 HEAVEN AND EARTH. people are content to worship but a small number of them, and these only at long inter- vals. But all feel it a duty to worship Heaven and Earth. While they are generally ready to admit the folly of worshiping images, they cannot so easily be convinced that it is not right and necessary to worship the great pair which they regard as the joint source of all things. It is not an uncommon practice for some mem- ber of a family to perform this worship every evening — generally the head of the house- hold. Perhaps it is an old grey-lieaded man. lie appears at the door of his house with two or three burning incense sticks clasped in his hands. Keverently bowing his head low^ to- wards the earth, at the same time waving his incense, he mutters over the words of his prayer. Then turning back towards his house he inserts the incense-sticks into the earth, or into a small censer filled with sand, by the side of his door-sill. The service is a verv brief one, not always accompanied by any prayer at all ; but it shows a sense of dependence upon a higher power, which is not always felt, or acknowledged by any act of homage, by men who take pride in their superiority to the heathen. At Ningpo there is a singular custom, GOD OF TOE SOIL. 131 called " giving notice to the earth," based upon the worship of the earth god, called Tu-di-pn- sah, who is not, however, to be confounded with the Earth as worshiped in connection with Heaven. A man has a house to build, a tomb to prepare, or a well to dig. Before venturing to dig, and thus wound and lacer- ate the face of the earthy deity, he must give notice to his godship of his intention. This notice is of course accompanied by suit- able ceremonies. It is as if he would say : " I humbly beg your pardon, sir, for the rudeness I am about to commit. I would not be guilty of such an act if it were not necessary ; but since it is so, I beg you will believe that I do not mean any offence, and grant me your assistance in my undertaking." To satisfy the god, a priest is called in to read the prayers and conduct the services. Oflerings of fowls, pork, or goat's flesh are spread upon a table, with burning incense, before which the needful prostrations are per- formed. Then the priest proceeds to the points where the ground is to be broken, and gives notice accordingly. He is followed by the master of the house with burning incense, who worships at each place. After him comes a servant with a hoe, and turns up the soil. Lest this should not be effectual, chai*ms, 132 GOD OF THE KITCHEN. printed or written on yellow paper, are pasted up on tlie premises, which are expected to ward off evil inflnences from all sources. The notion that the god is offended by dig- ging the ground has furnished a means of accountino; for diseases of children in certain cases : and also sua'orests a cure. The disease is attributed to an offence against this god committed by digging while at play. The cure is to burn some written cliarms appropri- ate to the case, and let the patient drink tlie ashes in tea. The God of the Kitchen is an object of almost universal worship. ISTo family would feel safe without a shrine over the cooking range for this important and inflnential member of the household. He is feared rather than re- spected, and is looked upon more as a spy than as a protector. Near the close of the year — the 23d of the twelfth month — he takes his departure from eartli for a short time, in order to make to the powers above liis report of the family transactions during the year. On this day, therefore, special honors are j^aid to him, in order to secure a favorable report. A paper image of the god is burnt in a pile of mock money, and thus he ascends to heaven. On the last day of the year he returns from Ids cri'and, and care is taken to luive Ids shrine THE KAIN DRAGON. 133 newly painted and decorated, and to provide a new image to receive him, so that lie may begin the new year in good humor. He is greeted by the family with appropriate cere- monies. Besides these annual ceremonies in his honor, he is commonly worshiped on the 1st and 15th of each month — that is, at the new and full moous. The rain-making deity — the Great Dragon from w^hose capacious mouth the waters are sjiouted forth, which descend upon the earth in the form of rain — is an object of special worship by those who cultivate the soil. lie is not often worshiped, how^ever, unless his power is felt, either by the absence of rain, or by too abundant a supply. Sometimes the farmers are earnestly begging him to give them more rain ; sometimes to give them less. As the magistrates are, to some extent, responsible for the fruitfulness or barrenness of the seasons, they must take such measures as will be calculated to procure abundant crops. In case of drought, one of the mea- sures resorted to by the magistrates is to issue proclamations forbidding the slaughter of animals. They first prohibit the slaughter of the larger animals, as hogs and goats. If the drought still continues, they extend their protection to the poultry. Occasionally they 12 134 PKOIIIBITION OF SLAUGHTER. go a step further, and close the fish markets, putting a stop to the occupation of the fish- ermen. This is not of the nature of a fast, for it is not the eating of animal food, but the slaughter of animals, that is forbidden. The object is not so much to afflict themselves and exercise self-denial, as to exhibit the Buddhist virtue of compassion to animals. A man may eat meat if it has been already slaughtered ; but woe to the man who, at such a time, is found shedding the blood of a pig, or wring- ing off the head of a fowl. He must expiate his crime in prison, or be ignominiously ex- posed to public gaze in the cangue^ or undergo the more severe punishment inflicted with the bamboo. People are always found, however, who are willing to risk these unpleasant con- sequences ; as they are also to offend the farmers and the gods ; but one effect of such prohibitions always is to raise the price of pork. In addition to these measures, it is some- times ordered that the south gate of the city shall be closed. During a severe drought in the summer of 1856, the District Magistrate at Shanghae issued an order to that effect. The following language is from his proclama- tion as found translated in the North China Herald^ an English newspaper published at PKAYERS FOR RAIN. 135 Sliaugliae : *' On account of the long drouglit, I, the District Magistrate, have been fasting and offering sacrifice, and in company with the Tautai of this place and others, have been walking tlie streets solemnly engaged in prayer. On inquiry, it seems that as the heat comes from the south, the great sonth gate ought to be shut, which will therefore be the case from the 23d inst. [July], until the rain falls, when it will be opened again." Again he says : " As the drought has been of long continuance, I, the Magistrate of the district, feel deeply ashamed. I am unable to conciliate Heaven, and am agitated and profoundly distressed on account of it." In addition to these means of propitiating the angry gods, direct supplications are not neglected. The magistrates repair to the temples daily, and offer up prayers and sacri- fices. Those of Ningpo sometimes go to Puto to implore the favor of the gods residing in that sacred island, but ordinarily they confine their devotions to one of the city temples. In the early morning a long procession may be seen moving through tlie streets of Ningpo, in the direction of one of the large temples. In front are runners in official caps, lictors with chains and implements of punishment. Then the sedan-chair of the Tautai, followed by at- 136 WORSHIP OF A FISH. teiidants, on foot, in sedans, and on horseback. Tliey enter the temple, and go through with the prostrations and ceremonies prescribed by the ritiiah The offerings of wine, rice, and vege- tables, with fruits and flowers, are placed upon tables before the shrines. The rice is often worked up into figures of pigs, goats, and fowls. On one of the tables is a coarse brown earthen vessel, covered with a framework of wire gauze. Before this the magistrate, in the 23resence of his suite, falls upon his knees and " knocks head " while prayers are offered up imploring that the "sweet showers" may descend. What mysterious power is con- nected with that ill-looking vessel, that so commands the devotion of this grave, portly, elegantly attired personage ? It contains a living representative of the Dragon, an un- sightly goby, which but yesterday was wrig- gling in the mud on the river bank, all un- conscious of the high honor that awaited it. Here is a beautiful development of that noble "natural religion," so much applauded by some who think themselves wise. With all the aid of a philosophy carefully elaborated through thousands of years of study, it ends in the worship of a fish. The devotions of the magistrates are assisted by those of the people. Thus, in the procla- PROCESSIONS. 137 matiou above referred to, the magistrate says : " Among the people resident in the city, eacli family now keeps erected at the front door of the house a tablet on which is inscribed, " To the Dragon King of the Five Lakes and tlie Four Seas." Before this tablet, on an altar of incense, they lay ont tlieir sacrificial offerings to propitiate the gods. Close by tlieir doors they also set up small yellow flags, on which are written sentences like the following: " With sincerity of heart we pray that abund- ance of rain may descend." The people also get up frequent processions in case of drought, w^tli a view to make some im^jression on the compassionate feelings of the gods. The farmers, who feel the pressnre most sensibly, are specially active in these measures. They may be seen marching in procession, each man bearing some token of his desires. Most of them bear a long bamboo sapling, with a bunch of withered leaves at the top, and a piece of cloth attached to it near the middle. Some have banners and small flags with some inscription containing a prayer for rain. These are accompanied by embroidered canopies, sedan-chairs, lanterns, and other paraphernalia of idolatry, inchiding generally a sedan-chair — perhaps several — 12* 138 • SINCERE PRAYERS. containing an idol with a table before liim on which incense is kept burning. The sound of drums, trumpets, cymbals, conch-shells, and gongs, constitutes the music of the procession. Sometimes these processions march from the country into the city and visit some of the principal temples, and the official residences of the magistrates. When they thus enter the court of an officer's residence, he is expected to appear in his official costume, and worship in presence of the crowd. Sometimes a huge figure of a dragon, made of paper or cloth, is borne through the streets, with sound of gongs and trumpets. The prayers thus offered by these men are certainly sincere. Looking upon that solemn procession, we cannot but be impressed with the look of sadness which rests upon the bronzed faces of those sunburnt farmers. It is evident that they are in earnest. They must have rain. With many of them it is a ques- tion almost of life and death, for they are poor ; and a failure of the crops is sure to entail upon them, and upon their wives and chil- dren, a year of suffering, if not of absolute starvation. In the region of Ningpo the pres- sure of a long-continued drought is the more immediate, from the fact, that they are en- EXPOSURE OF THE GODS. 139 tirely clependent for drinking-water upon the supplies furnished by the rains. Hain-water is there used for this purpose, the wells and streams not being available. No wonder their countenances look sad when the rains are withheld. When all these means of procuring rain fail them, another method is sometimes tried. The gods who are responsible for the wreath er are removed from their seats in the temple, and placed upon a stand in the temple court. There they may experience for them- selves the discomfort of exposure, without a cover, to the rays of a broiling sun. When the object is to procure a cessation of rain, the same means are employed. Protection of ani- mal life, with processions and prayers, are re- sorted to ; and, finally, the exposure of the ob- stinate deities to the drenching rain, until they yield to the wishes of their worshipers. These calamities are ascribed to the wrath of the gods on account of the sins of the peo- ple. Thus one proclamation says — " Yerily it must be that these men, people and officers, have by their own wickedness provoked the wrath of the gods ; and now, if they should have recourse to a thousand devices, yet how can they possibly change tlie mind of Heaven ?" 140 INSTRUCTIONS FROM GOD OF WAR. Another proclamation, issued at Shanghae in 1856. asserts, that a gentleman named Hu had died in the province of Shantung, and on the third daj afterwards rose to life again, dochiring that he had received instructions from the Holy Sovereign Prince Kwan — the god of war — certain instructions. He says — " The judgments of Heaven are now abroad, and this year, either by the sword and soldiers, or by disease, eight or nine tenths of the people are to perish. If, however, they will engage and depend on the Great Mistress of the Southern Sea, and the Great White Star Prince, then these two divinities will inter- pose their strength to effect a deliverance, will scrutinize the good and evil deeds of the people, and if they find these nearly balanced the judgment of Heaven shall in some degree be diminished. " On the 9th, 19th, and 29th of each month the people must burn incense toward the south. Then kneeling and worshiping, they must swear that they will be true and faith- ful, dutiful to their parents, and affectionate to their brothers, and likewise will abstain from the slaughter of all living creatures, and per- form rightly every aj)propriate duty, then their petitions may be heard, and pardon and indulgence be granted to them." CHAPTEK XYIII. GOD OF THUNDER GOD OF WEALTH A;srD OTHERS GODS OF THE FIVE QUARTERS RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS. Each department of nature has its presiding deity. Tlie God of Thunder is, of course, an object of dread. It is not strange that the mysterious power whose awful voice they hear above the storm, rolling and crashing through the sky, should strike an ignorant and superstitious people with terror. When they see his fiery bolts hurled upon the earth it is not strange that they are impelled to worship it, that they may avert a danger which they feel they are utterly powerless to escape by any effort of their own. Many are in the habit of observing a fast on any day on which they hear the sound of tliunder — espe- cially the old women. The birthday ot this deity is observed with great pomp and parade, at a large Tauist temple at Ningpo, but they have not discovered, it would seem, 141 142 GOD OF WEALTH. how old he is. It is the universal belief, that no one is ever struck dead b}^ the power of this mighty deity, except as a punishment for crime ; and liowever upright a man may have been supposed to be, his death by lightning is, in the estimation of every Chinese, proof positive that he has been guilty of some high offence, for which the gods would not suffer him to live. One of the gods most worshiped in China, is one who seems to have extended his domin- ion even into Christian lands. It is the god of AVealth. In every tradesman's shop a shrine for this influential god is indispensable to success in business, for he it is wlio distri- butes wealth at his pleasure. He is wor- shiped constantly with more or less formality, but on his birthday in the third month, and on the 26th of every month, he is honored with special services. So also in every junk or boat, large or small, there is a shrine for the goddess who presides over sailors. Every evening about sunset, there is a regular service on board the large vessels, accompanied with beating of gongs, and burn- ing of mock paper money, which is thrown in full l)laze into the water. These services are more punctually peiformed by sailors of the south, than by those of the north. GODS OF THE FIVE QUARTERS. 143 Literary men look to the god of Literature for success at the h'terary examinations, and in all their literary undertakings. Physicians pay court to the ancient patron of their art. Carpenters place the man who first taught and practised their craft, among the powers above, and trust to him to help them in their enter- prises. Those engaged in rearing silkworms, must not neglect to pay homage to the god- dess whose province it is to watch over this important branch of industry. The gods who seem to be most feared are the gods of the ''five quarters;" that is, of the north, south, east, west, and centre. They are supposed to exercise control over pestilen- tial diseases. The most costly of all their* festivals is in honor of these dreaded angels of death. It is observed regularly in the fourth month, and is the great religious fes- tival of the year. It is celebrated by a grand procession, called the Tu-Shin Hwuy. At Ningpo the decorations are very gaudy, and the expenses, therefore, heavy. The money is raised by contributions from the different guilds of tradesmen. Tlie rivalry between them has the effect of drawing: from them much larger sums than mere supersti- tion could procure. The sum raised annually for this purpose must amount to many thou- IM GODS OF THE FIVE QUARTERS. sand dollars, probably hundreds of thousands. The features of the procession in the same place are much the same from year to year. The following is an account of one which took place at Ningpo on the 8th of May, 1846. In order to have a good view of the j^ro- cession, we obtained a place in an upper room in the house of an acquaintance. We were after a long time informed, however, that for some reason the procession would not pass through that street, and that it would be necessary to obtain a position in some other street. This appeared rather a formidable undertaking, for we had for some time been amusing ourselves with watching the progress of the narrow current of passers-by, which hour after hour flowed laboriously^ on through the dense mass of human beings which was hemmed in between the houses of the narrow street. How were our ladies to make their way through such a crowd? We experienced little difficulty. As soon as the foreign ladies made their appearance each man seemed to compress his limbs into the smallest possible compass ; and the crowd, pressing to the right and left with all their strength, succeeded in, opening a narrow passage. Passing through a floorless shop, and GODS OF THE FIVE QUAKTEKS. 145 mounting a dark narrow staircase, we entered a loft, the roof and sides of which were bhick with smoke, and the flooring covered with the filth of years. The side of the room next the street was closed in through its whole length with sliding shutters. Remov- ing these, our position commanded a view of the street for some distance. Beneath us was a dense mass of human heads extending as far as we could see, waving like a field of grain moved by the wind. The immense crowd, filling every nook and corner, and ris- ing with every elevation, presented a very peculiar appearance. There is something in a Chinese crowd that is most impressive. It is not a mere mass of hats^ for hats are not worn in summer, but a collection of human heads and faces. Those shaven heads un- covered, and those upturned faces ; who could look upon them without emotion ? Each one represents a human mind and soul that shall live for ever, or die an endless death ! Yet it is impossible not to laugh. There is jostling and pushing, -loud talking and screaming, and the incessant hum of many voices. Looking down from above we see a forest of long tobacco pipes, for every man is armed with one, which the pressure of the crowd obliges him to liold up in an elevated 13 146 PROCESSIONS. position. The long queue is to each man an object of sj^ecial concern. Here is a black shin- ing tail, tipped with silk braid, grasped firmly in the hands in front ; here another carefully coiled around the neck ; and there a third clenched between the teeth ; while the owner of a fourth may be seen with his head thrown back, and face looking upward, struggling to disengage this inconvenient appenaage from its entanglement among the shoulders of the men in his rear. Yet universal good humor prevails. Now comes the procession. It is preceded and guarded by men holding little ratans with small white flags attached, to keep off the crowd. The scene beggars description. There were thousands of toys and trinkets, and gaudy colors, and fantastic shapes — a perfect chaos of sights and sounds — of embroidered silks and brilliant tassels, of glittering pewter, and shining brass, and flowers, and figures of men, with sound of innumerable drums, and cym- bals, and gongs, and shrill trumpets, and ex- plosions of gunpowder, keeping up an inces- sant din of a kind to make one feel as if standing on the borders of Hades. There were immense silk canopies elegantly embroidered, horses loaded down with gaudy ornaments, and moirnted by boys in tawdi-y PKOCESSIONS. 147 dresses ; men with immense satanic looking masks ; men on stilts, covered with cut paper so as to look like huge ostriches flapping their wings, and occasionally sending forth clouds of smoke from their long beaks ; high tiers of glass lanterns and glass cases inclosing A^arious ornaments ; and seven immense dragons, some of them of rich silk, and a hundred and fifty feet long, their ferocious aspect and ponder- ous size threatening destruction to all who might come in their way. But the chief points of attraction are the richly decorated cars, on which young girls and boys are seen riding in various positions, in which they seem to be floating on thin air, or resting on a support so frail as to seem in- capable of sustaining anything so gross as flesh and blood. The following are speci- mens : A girl with a violin and guitar crossed and tied to her back, on one of which was seated a little girl, and on the other a little boy. A girl standing on one foot on the head of a small brazen serpent, held in the hand of another girl. A girl standing on the circumference of a ring, placed vertically and at right angles upon the rim of another ring, the latter being held in the hand of a little girl. 148 THE GOD OF FIRE. A root, growing from a glass globe, con- taining living gold fisli, on each of the two branches of which was seated a little girl. The secret of these positions everybody knew, though the real support was carefully and skillfully concealed. Strong iron bars were hidden under the wide-flowing garments of the girls, so that they, in fact, had very firm and comfortable seats. Similar processions are got up on this occa- sion in every large village, though less impos- ing in their character. Many other such processions occur on various occasions, and sometimes are observed for some special object, but they are not often on so large and expensive a scale. The God of Fire is an object of special dread and consideration. Large temples are erected for him, and twice every year, at the vernal equinox and winter solstice, there are general services in his honor. On the former occasion the special object is to pray for pre- servation from fire. On the other occasion they return thanks for having escaped the destructive element. On the night of the 15th of January, 1853, a fire broke out in Shanghae, which destroyed forty or fifty thousand dollars' worth of pro- perty. On the next day the owners of the THE GOD OF FIRE. 149 adjoining buildings which escaped the flames, togetlier with their tenants, went to tlie Ho- shin-mian, the temple of the God of Fire, to return thanks for their preservation. They expended some two hundred dollars in em- ploying Tauist priests to perform the ceremo- nies appropriate to the occasion. About two weeks afterwards another fire broke out in the same neighborhood, and destroyed property to the amount of eighty thousand dollars. Many of the sufferers were those who had just been so earnest in their devotions before the fiery deity, and they were very much enraged at him for not protecting them. They vowed that they would never worship him again. During this fire the presiding god of that neighborhood was burnt up in his shrine ; and the fire orio:iuated from the fiame of a wax candle burning before an image of the God of the Kitchen. It would seem that such demonstrations of the folly of trusting in idols would drive them from their idol worship. But to whom then shall they go ! Thej^ know of no better way. It so happened that on this occasion, the house which was the northern limit of the first fire, was the southern limit of the second. The inference therefore is that its occupant was a very virtuous man. Ilis house was left stand- 13* 150 PARISHES. ing alone, surrounded on both sides by smoked and blackened ruins. When a house appears to be in danger from a fire in its vicinity, the owner often vows to have a number of theatrical performances at his own expense, in honor of the god of fire. Whether his house escapes or not he is ex- pected to pay his vow. * The Chinese must be regarded as a most religious people, if a judgment is to be formed from the number of their temples. They are found in almost every street of the large cities, and no considerable village is without its temple. In the rural districts they are scattered over the country in every direction, and form a prominent feature in every land- scape. The country is divided into what we would call parishes, so that every family has a special interest in some temple to which he may be said to belong, and to the support of which, directly or indirectly, he contributes. These temj)les are built by subscription, and are commonly dedicated to some particular deity, though generally containing a number of images, sometimes even several hundred. They are maintained sometimes by subscrip- tion, sometimes by the produce of lands set apart for the purpose. Public ceremonies are performed at stated times, and casual worship- INSCRIPTIONS. 151 ers are frequently found there to seek a favor or fulfill a vow. These temples are supposed to be inti- mately connected with the prosperity of the people, and they seem to think there is no safety for them except under the shadow of these sacred buildings. They are not satisfied therefore with the large temples. Small ones are erected by the roadside, or in the fields. Small shrines too are often seen by the way- side, aflfording protection to some idol-god, and inviting the homage of the passing travel- ler. In the small rest-houses, which are erected at short intervals on every public road of any importance, there is generally found an image representing the deity to whose protec- tion the place is committed. The following inscriptions, found by one of the missionaries at Ningpo, in a small rural temple, covering altogether an area of about forty feet square, may serve to give some idea of the nature of the trust reposed in these far- mer deities : " Truly the power of these gods is won- derful." " Protect our vigorous people." " He wlio prays has great happiness." " Warm winds, grateful rain." 152 HEATHENISM EXPENSIVE. " Bestow happiness." " These alone preside over fruits." " Send down good fortune." It will be seen from the foreoroino^ account, that the expense of erecting and maintaining these temples, and of keeping up the various services, processions, and offerings must be very great. The Chinese are a pennrious money- loving people, but no complaints are heard of the demands made upon the purse by their re- ligion. It is an expense as necessary as that for food and raiment. May not those who complain of the demands of Christianity for money, learn a lesson of liberality from the heathen ? CHAPTER XIX. ANCESTRAL WOKSniP WORSHIP AT THE TOMBS. The gods are not the only beings of the spi- ritual world whose favor is important. The spirits of the dead generally must be concili- ated. To the Chinese the spiritual world is a present reality. To him the whole realm of nature teems with spirits, good and bad, capa- ble of doing good and inflicting injury. To these invisible beings, whether ranked among the gods, or composing part of the common herd of spirits, he refers all his calamities. To them he has recourse to obtain deliverance from evils feared, or evils already upon him. He can never therefore enjoy a sense of secu- rity, for when he has secured the good will of one or many of these invisible spirits, there remain thousands of others from whose malice or necessities he may suffer inj ury. The Chinese notion of the spiritual world, is that it is the counterpart of this. Its inliabi- 154 ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. taiits are animated by the same feelings, and subject to the same wants which they experi- enced here. This notion has given rise to many superstitious practices in connection with what may be considered the great distin- guishing feature of Chinese religion, the wor- hip of ancestors. The ancestral worship of the Chinese is un- doubtedly idolatrous. They worship their ancestors in the same manner, and with much the same feelings, with which they worship their gods. There are in both cases the same offerings, the same prostrations, and often, too, the same or similar prayers. It is true, however, that the worshiper feels that he is conferring a favor on the departed spirit, for which he expects a reward from Hea- ven, as well as from the worshiped spirit itself. The duty of children to their p>arents never ceases. The obligations of filial piety demand reverence and obedience during the parent's life, and suitable attention after death, both to the body and the spirit. Food and raiment, and whatever else may be necessary to the repose of the departed spirit, must be provided by children and children's children, to remote generations. Immediately after death, priests are called in to offer up prayers for the repose of the ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. 155 deceased. Tables are placed before the corpse, on which ofterings of rice, tea, meats and vege- tables are spread, and candles and incense are kept burning. On the third day the body is laid in its coffin, armyed in its best garments, and then they are ready for the funeral when- ever a lucky day is found. In the meantime, if the family be wealthy, the offerings, and burning candles, and prayers are continued daily, until the body is interred. During this period, prior to the burial, the immediate rela- tives and friends of the family perform, at in- tervals, the ceremony of bowing down before the coffin ; but the duty is particularly incum- bent on the children. At the grave similar services are performed, and mock paper money and paper garments, are transmitted through the flames to the spirit in the other world. Often too, when the circumstances of the family permit it, miniature paper furni- ture, sedan-chairs, servants, utensils, and other articles are sent in the same way to the de- ceased, in the full belief that they will in this way reach him, and minister to his neces- sities. The period called Tsing-ming — " Pure and Bright" — which occurs about the fifth of April, is the time at which the whole popula- tion worship at the tombs. During tin's period 156 WORSHIP AT THE TOMBS. groups may be seen here and there, engaged in the performance of this duty. Some fami- lies attend to these rites also at the winter sol- stice, and in the seventh month. Until a grave is three years old the females of tlie family are expected to attend along with the males, but after that they are held excused from the duty. There would be something interesting in the sight of these family groups, gathered at the tombs of their venerated dead, if they could but be dissociated from the sin. An aged pa- triarch, it may be, with his children, and chil- dren's children, have met to do homage to the memory of their forefathers, at the spot most in- timately associated with them. The group con- sists, perhaps, of an old man, whose trembling step indicates that he must himself be soon numbered with the dead, several of his sons in the prime of manhood, accompanied by their sons, young men and little boys, all ready to take part in the ceremony. The ceremonial dress worn on these occasions consists of an outer robe of silk or satin, except where poverty forbids, and a cap, surmoimted by a rich red silk tassel. A table is placed before the tomb, and on it are laid the various articles of food intended for the oifering, together with ncense sticks WORSHIP AT THE TOMBS. 157 and candles. A sacrifice is first ofi'ered to the earth, a portion of which is thrown out towards the four points of the compass, for the benefit of any wandering ghosts from the neighboring tombs who may happen to be near. They are expected, in return for this polite attention, to keep oft", and not disturb the ancestral spirits at their meal. This done, the eldest of the family bows before the table, and is followed in order by the younger worshipers. Then the paper money, paper clothes, and other articles are sent oft* through the flames to the spiritual world. Sometimes the money is inclosed in a large envelope, on which is inscribed the name of the person for whom it is intended. After this, long strips of white and red paper, cut so as to represent strings of copper cash, are tied to a stick, which is stuck into the earth on top of the tomb, and left fluttering in the breeze, as an evidence to the living and the dead, that the duties of filial piety have not been neglected. This paper money is of a very economical kind. It represents generally the bars of sil- ver called sycee, and is made of paper covered with tinfoil, or similar material, and folded in such a manner as to resemble the shape of the real silver. Tliis light and fragile paper money is strung on threads, and burnt in 14 158 WOESHIP AT THE TOMBS. large bundles composed of many strings tied together. In the families of the poorer classes the women devote mnch of their spare time to the manufacture of this important article, which always finds a ready sale. The theory of the Chinese is, that a man has three souls, one of which, at death, remains with the body, another with the tablet retained in the family mansion, and the third enters the spiritual world. It is not enough, there- fore, to worship at the tombs. In every re- spectable family tliere is an ancestral hall or shrine, in which the tablets of the family ancestors are placed. This tablet is a small board, neatly varnished, on which is written, commonly in gilt letters, the name of the de- ceased. Sometimes in the more wealthy fami- lies, a separate room or building is set apart for these ancestral tablets, but more commonly a small shrine is placed against the back wall, or partition of the room used as a reception- hall for guests. The ordinary worship before this shrine consists only of the usual bowling, and the burning of a few incense sticks. The universal conviction that these services are essential to the peace and comfort of the departed spirit is, no doubt, the principal rea- son of that strong desire for posterity which is characteristic of the Chinese. This desire is WORSHIP AT THE TOMBS. 150 in many cases the sole reason for marrying more than one wife. Sometimes a son is adopted into a family fhat he may perform the ancestral rites, and sometimes boys are stolen for the purpose of being tlms adopted. It is male descendants that are wanted, because daughters are not expected to perform these rites, and when they marry they belong to the husband's family. Tliey are therefore not im- portant so far as this object is concerned. CHAPTEE XX. ANCESTRAL TEMPLES LANDS SET APART FOR THE DEAD CALLING BACK THE SPIRIT SWEEPING AWAY THE SPIRIT SPIRITUAL MARRIAGES — FEEDING THE GHOSTS. Besides the ancestral hall in the dwelling- house, many families have also an ancestral temple. Many of these femples are large and costly buildings, and they are often decorated with a richness and elegance seldom seen in the public temples. These buildings have in most instances been erected by former generations, and some of them have been maintained lor hundreds of years. In most cases, indeed, the original families have increased ; so that many families, more or less nearly related, and all bearing the same name, claim an interest in these buildings, and in the advantages con- nected with them. In many instances the families have become poor, and the evidence of this is often seen in the dilapidated state of 160 ANCESTRAL TKMPLE8. 101 the ancestral temple ; but they are commonly kept in good repair. There are not many in- stances in which these buildings are diverted from their original purpose. Avarice might prompt to a sale, but a superstitious fear of the consequences would generally prevent it. The number of persons interested, too, is gene- rally so great, that it is not easy to secure the necessary unanimity. Yet at Ningpo a family was found willing at first to rent, and afterwards to sell, their ancestral temple. The temple was built in a large inclosure, surrounded by a high brick wall, and the property was very valuable. The amount of money paid for it, in connec- tion with the necessities of the family, over- came all their fears, both of the departed spirits and of the public odium. The temple is now used by the Presbyterian Mission of Ningpo as a printing-office, and many millions of pages of Christian tracts, and of the Bible, have gone forth from this ancestral hall, con- secrated by some heathen, long since gone to his account, to the work of providing for the wants of the soul after death. May many souls, in ages yet to come, rejoice in that bet- ter provision for the wants of the soul, for the dissemination of which it is now employed. The offerings presented to the dead are con- 14* 162 LANDS SET APART FOR TRE DFAD. sidered important to the repose of the departed spirit, and every Chinese is therefore anxious to die in the assurance that this matter will be attended to. Nor are they always w^illing, if they can avoid it, to leave this to the contin- gencies of the varying fortunes of their pos- terity. With the view of securing the proper attention to the wants of the spirit after death, it is not uncommon for men who have a little property to leave to their heirs, to reserve a small portion for themselves ; unless some such provision has already been made by some of the family ancestors of a former generation. A small piece of land is designated, the pro- duce of which is to be employed, so far as necessary, for providing the annual ancestral offerings. The land thus set apart is culti- vated by the heirs in rotation, in the order of their ages. This order is maintained from generation to generation. As the families are multiplied with the lapse of time, and divided into distinct and separate branches, each branch has its turn for ploughing the ances- tral field, and offering the prescribed sacri- fices. This duty is commonly attended with some pecuniary advantage, though it may also be attended with some loss The person who has charge of the land is allowed to appropri- ANCESTRAL FEAST. 1C3 ate to himself all that remains after defraying the expenses of the ancestral offerings for the year. But he is expected to invite the other families of the clan to feast upon the viands offered to the dead. He must therefore regu- late these offerings, not only by the number of the departed spirits to be provided for, but by the number of the living who are to par- take of the feast. The circle of relatives hav- ing a right to be invited to this feast is how- ever made so small that, in most cases, the produce of the land more than covers the expense of the entertainment. In this way the worship of ancestors may be a source of temptation to Chinese Christ- ians, both by the odium consequent on neg- lecting it, and by the pecuniary advantage which they may, in some instances, be obliged to forego if they refuse to present the required offerings. The amount of land thus set apart for the ancestral offerings must be very great. In the north of China, especially in the immedi- ate vicinity of large cities, a large proportion of the land may be considered as belonging to the dead. Tlie ancestral temples, the sacred fields, the extensive burying-grounds of the rich, the spacious tombs of the middling classes, and the numberless graves of the 164 TOMBS AND BURIAL PLACES. poor, cause a very material deduction from the available resources of the living. If all the graves in the immediate vicinity of Ningpo were collected into one buryiDg-ground, the city of the dead would be considerably larger than the city of the living. Nothing but a firm conviction of its importance to their wel- fare could induce a people so penurious, and so poor, to waste so much of their fertile land by unnecessarily employing it for the sepul- ture of the dead. The Chinese seldom remove with their fami- lies from one province to another, with the in- tention of planting themselves permanently in their new home. When business calls them away, even if the absence be prolonged for years, they generally leave the family behind ; or if not, they cherish the purpose of returning again, in due time, to the place of their nati- vity. They deem it important to have their bodies buried in the place where their pos- terity are to live, so that they may not be left without the usual offerings ; and this is, no doubt, one reason why they cling so tena- ciously to their native place. When a man dies abroad the body is always removed, if the family can meet the expense, to its native town. It is for this reason, pro- bably, that the dead bodies of Chinese have CALLING BACK THE SPIRIT. 165 been taken back to China from California, notwithstanding the heavy expense of such a removal. Sometimes the body is burnt, and the ashes carried back to the family burying- phice. In most cases, however, they are satis- lied with merely, as they say, " calling back the spirit." In the case of one lost at sea, this is the only remedy. In order to accomplish this object the assistance of the priests is necessary, and the ceremony must be per- formed, if possible, on the bank of some stream of water, since the watercourses are the great highways of travel by which the spirit may be expected to return. The priests, with some members of the family, repair to the river bank. One of the group holds in his hand a long bamboo sap- ling, with a few green branches at the top. On these branches a looking-glass, a small package of rice, and a suit of clothes are sus- pended. The clothes, if possible, are such as have been worn by the deceased. The priests chant their prayers and spells in the direction of the place at which the person died. The din of gongs, cymbals, drums, and harsh mu- sical instruments, serves to guide the absent spirit to its place. It takes up its abode in the old familiar garment, and then the pro- cession returns home wdth their prize, and the 166 SWEEPING AWAY THE SPIRIT. spirit attaches itself to the tablet previously prepared for its use. It is not to be supposed that these rites are for all the dead. Children are expected to pay this homage to their parents and ances- tors, but nothing of the kind is required or ex- pected from the parent to the child. Un- married children are buried without much ceremony, and, as a general rule, no provision is made in their case for the necessities of the soul. On the death of very young children, so far from providing for them, they have a ceremony, the object of which is just the opposite of that last described. Great pains are taken to drive away the spirit, and the little one, lately so much loved, is regarded as an enemy. Superstition not only sets aside the dictates of reason and common sense, and runs counter to the laws of God, but also comes between the yearnings of natural affec- tion and its proper object, and severs the ten- derest ties by which human hearts can be bound together. A little child has died. 'No cries or loud lamentations betoken the sorrow of the be- reaved parent ; but there are deafening noises of powder-crackers, gongs and cymbals. This is designed to frighten the spirit from the house. To insure this effect, a priest of the SWEEPING AWAY THE SPIRIT. 167 Tall sect is called in to chant prayers, and use the magic spells which drive away ghosts and inonstrons appearances. The priest first takes a new broom and barns it to ashes, after which lie proceeds with his incantations. The incan- tations finished, he takes a broom in his hand, carries it a hundred paces from the door, and throws it off as far as he can. Thus the cere- mony is ended, the little one is '* swept away," and the family is secured from the intrusion of the spiteful and malignant spirit which had been cherished in its bosom. But why all this effort to terrify the soul of the deceased child ? It is the offspring of sujDerstition. It is supposed that in some for- mer state of existence the child had receiv^ed an injury from one or both of the parents, for which it desired to be revenged ; or that it had some claim upon them for a debt for which it was determined to obtain payment. It was for some such purpose as this that the child came into this world, and quartered it- self upon the parents, subjecting them to much trouble and expense, and then leaving them before reaching an age at which its services could, in any measure, repay them for their pains. This is the view taken, when a child dies under the age of sixteen, and the fear is that it may again be born, for a similar pur- 168 BURIAL OF CHILDREN. pose, as the child of the same parents. It is thus that their ignorance of the origin of our race, and of all that relates to the state of the dead, leads heathen parents to do violence to any feeling of natural affection which may have bound them to their offspring. It must be said, however, to the honor of human nature, that some Chinese mothers manifest the genuine yearnings of a mother's heart, and refuse to allow the spirit of the be- loved child to be thus unfeelingly driven off. The treatment of the bodies of these little ones is such as might be expected from the fact that they are looked upon as enemies. Elder children are allowed a coffin, though a very poor one, but it is commonly laid upon the surface of the ground without burial, or any protecting covering. Yery young chil- dren are commonly wrapped up in matting, and thrown into some canal or river, or laid by the side of some totnb, or at the foot of the city-wall. Being unprotected, they are soon eaten up by the dogs and birds. Sometimes persons desirous of performing meritorious deeds, build receptacles for the bodies or bones of infants. These are small structures of stone or brick, some eight or ten feet high, built without a door, but with a MARRIAGE OF SPIRITS. 169 small aperture through which the bodies may be thrown. It is a meritorious work to collect the bones of the unburied, and to put them into such a place of sepulture ; but as these structures are not very numerous, many parents are not willing to trouble themselves so much as to carry the body of a child so far. Yet there are cases in which some attention is paid to the wants of the spirits even of the young. It is not uncommon to see a proces- sion passing through the streets, in wdiich is borne a sedan-chair, decorated with the bran- ches of the Hr tree, and containing the tablet of some deceased person. It is a marriage procession. Instead of the bride, however, it is the spirit of the bride that occupies the marriage chair, and is thus born to the solem- nization of the nuptials. Children betrothed by their parents have both died before the time for the marriage had arrived, and there- fore their spirits must be united by the solem- nization of the marriage ceremony here on earth, l^or is this ceremony observed only in case of a prior betrothal. Sometimes the par- ents of deceased children enter into a marriage contract in their belialf, and the nuptials are celebrated in due form. When a family becomes extinct the spirits 15 170 FEEDING THE GHOSTS. of their dead are not neglected. There is so much fear on the part of the community lest they should bring evil upon them if their wants are not supplied, that all who have the means are glad to contribute something for their relief. The ancestral tablets of such families are collected together, sometimes in a temple built expressly for the purpose, and sometimes in a room hired from the priests in some Buddhist or Tauist temple. Persons are hired to provide the needful offerings at the proper times. In the seventh month in each year, a public feast is provided for the benefit of all such wandering hungry ghosts a-s liave no one to provide for them. The expenses are defrayed by a subscription among the shopkeepers in the street or neighborhood in which the cere- monies are performed. Buddhist priests are hired to officiate on the occasion, and a band of musicians is employed to second the prayers of the priests, and to attract and gratify the hungry ghosts. A high staging, covered in with bamboo matting, is erected in some open space, or it may be directly over the street, extending from one side to the other, to the no small in- convenience of those who may wish to pass. On this staging tables are placed, covered with FEEDING THE GHOSTS. 171 savory dishes of pork, fowls, and vegetables, with a little tea and wine, and some fruits and flowers. Here the priests, in the midst of the noisy cUuigor of the musicians, go through their prayers and incantations, before the image of Yen-lo, the King of Hades. At the same time abundant supplies =of money and clothing are provided for the destitute spirits. Large quantities of paper money and paper garments of all patterns, may be seen flutter- ing in the breeze, suspended from cords passed back and forth from one side of the street to the other. These are all gathered at the pro- per time, and transmitted to the spirits through the flames. When the spirits have had suffi- cient time to finish their meal, the rabble, who have been looking on, are allowed to help themselves to all that is left. They find it none the worse for having been appropriated by the ghosts ; but they are sometimes disap- pointed, for a vessel that seems to be full, heaped up and overflowing with delicious food, is found to be occupied beneath with earth or shavings. It is not wrong to cheat the poor spirits in this way, since they do not know the difference. This ceremony takes place at night. Nu- merous lanterns, sometimes gaily painted and of curious construction, are seen hanging in 172 FEEDING THE GHOSTS. every direction. They not only serve as deco- rations to the feast, but assist the spirits in. selecting such garments as they need. The brilliant display of lights, the long lines of gaily-colored garments, the solemn chant of the priests — the drums, gongs, and occasional bursts of shrill music — the motley gronps of spectators, with the merr^^ laugh and cheer- ful sports of a crowd of boys, must give to the occasion an attractive charm in the eyes of men wearied with labor and of boys released from books. The pleasant excite- ment connected with this and similar festi- vals, might of itself serve to perpetuate them, even if the people should no more believe in the reality of the beneiits derived from them, than a Christian people believe in the reality of the fabled visits of the mirth-loving Santa Claus. CHAPTER XXI. SUPERSTITIOUS FEAKS AT NINGPO IN" 184:6. With the views tliey entertain of the power of disembodied spirits, and of their influence on the affairs of this world, the Cliinese mnst necessarily have constantly before them the fear of ghosts and hobgobHns. This is always the case, but circumstances occasionally occur which give peculiar power to these painful fears. This was singularly exemplified at Ningpo in the summer of the year 1846. During that summer, a long-continued drought threatened to destroy entirely the rice crop, and the people were not a little excited and alarmed in consequence. The usual mea- sures were employed to induce the gods to send rain. Processions in honor of the Drasfon Avere of almost daily occurrence. The slaugh- ter of animals was, for many weeks, strictly prohibited, and the magistrates repaired every morning to one of the large temples to ofier J5* 173 174 SUPERSTTTIOTJS FEARS. •up their prayers. Yet the rain did not come. In the month of June, rumors were dili- gently circulated that a gang of desperadoes were engaged in putting out poisoned cakes in order to poison as many persons as they could. They would drop them in the streets, or slip them in among those in the bakers' shops. Placards were put up in conspicuous places, cautioning people to beware. It was stated that in a neighboring town many per- sons had died in this way, and that when their friends went to the graves to weep they found that the coffins had been opened, and that the eyes of the deceased had been cut out, and the brains abstracted, for the pur- pose, it was supposed, of making medicine. After this it was reported that, on a certain night, all the fowls lost some of their principal feathers, and this remarkable fact was ac- counted for by supposing that they had been plucked by ghosts, who designed to use them for swords, to be employed in killing men and women. These rumors gradually passed aw\ay, but the long continuance of the drought, and the real danger of a serious calamity, kept the public mind in an excitable state. About the first of August a fresh rumor, of a more SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS. 175 alarming character, was started. Placards were put up at the city gates and other ])ul)lic places, stating that some of the neighboring districts were beginning to be annoyed by the visits of evil spirits, and that they might soon be looked for at JSfingpo. The people were exhorted to guard against such an intrusion by beating gongs, and by pasting charms over their doors. These suggestions were eagerly adopted, and soon there was a great demand for both o-ono-s and charms. These charms were merely slips of yellow paper, on which were written four mysterious characters, the mean- ing of which no one pretended to understand. Then a story was started, that some persons living near the east gate had been aroused from their sleep in the night by strange noises, as though a large body of men were marching through the street, with loud outcries. Yet on looking out, not a sign of a human being was to be seen. Similar noises were afterwards heard in the air, and many thought they were caused by the ghosts of the Chinese and English sol- diers who had fallen during the war. They were lighting their battles over again. The expected inroad from the spiritual world, it was said, might be daily looked for. These spiritual visitants were called Tsz'- ane — " Paper-men" — and were supposed to 176 SUPKRSTITIOCS FKARS. be brought in by the use of magic arts. They are paper men converted by conjurors into real, thongli invisible men. In the "History of the Three States," a very popular histori- cal novel, it is stated that on one occasion, during the progress of a battle, paper men and horses were transformed into real cavalry, and their power was broken only by the use of counter magic, and the pouring out of a mixture of the blood of swine, sheep, and dogs. Such were the visitors to be expected, and it might be presumed that their object could be no other than to bring upon the people calam- ities and death. Singularly enough, just at this juncture, while all were expecting this terrible visita- tion, about four o'clock on the morning of the fourth of August, the whole population were suddenly aroused from their slumbers by a fearful commotion. Every one felt his bed shaking with great violence, and on jumping up, found the house itself rocking upon its foundations. At the same time, a mysterious and awful noise was heard rollino: alono^ like muttering thunder, some thought in the air, some thought under ground. The tiles, too, of the roof were heard rattling as if w^ith the. tread of many men. A universal cry of hor- ror and dismay instantly arose from every SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS. 177 part of the city, and the cry was echoed from house to house. " The ghosts have come, tlie ghosts have come." And then could be heard tlie din of o:ono:s boomiiio^ throuo^h the still ni^rht air ; for the silent gloom of the night, and the stillness of the atmosphere, served to increase the universal fright. The people seemed frantic with terror. Every article that could make a noise was called into requisition. Tables and chairs, pots and kettles, were lustily pounded, while those who could do nothing else were leaping up and down, throwing up their arms, clapping their hands, and scream- ing with all their might. This horrid din, mingled with the wild shrieks of a quarter of a million of people, might truly have been well nigh sufficient to convince the most unbeliev- ing, that the Prince of Darkness had indeed appeared with his demon host. Of all that vast population, perhaps not one thought of any other way of accounting for the disturbance than by attributing it to evil spirits. When it was suggested that it was an earthquake, the explanation was not ac- cepted. One man, of respectable standing, and a literary graduate, offered an argument against such a supposition, which he evidently thought sufficient to settle the question. He said that if it had been an earthquake, it would 178 SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS. of course have been predicted, like an eclipse of the sun, in the Imperial Almanac ! If the shock had been more severe, perhaps the people would have been more easily convinced that it was indeed an earthquake: but no liouses were destroyed, and no lives were lost. After a few days, as the news came in from other places, the conviction became pretty general that it was in fact an earthquake ; but its effect, nevertheless, was to keep up, and greatly increase, the excitement about the ghosts. During the whole month of August the city was in an uproar, and the beating of gongs and drums was continued every even- ing. The most absurd reports were constantly circulated and believed. It was said that not only ghosts of men, but of lions and tigers were to appear, and that they would be far more formidable than the living animals them- selves. Again, it ^as said that on a given night six persons, who were born in certain years, under certain astrological influences, would die if they slept. The consequence was, that all who might be included in the number spent that night without sleep. It w^as very generally believed that the for- eigners residing in the city were in some way connected with these ghostly visits, though SUPERSTITIOiyS FEAKS. 179 some thoufr^it it inio:ht be the work of Roman Catholics, and otliers of Buddliist priests. An English missionary lady was supposed to pos- sess peculiar power as an enchantress ; and the mothers of some of her pupils visited her school in great anxiety lest their daughters had been murdered or bewitched. The writer was himself residing at that time within the city, and frequently walked with his family on the city wall. These evening walks were thought by €ome to be cennected with their demoniacal enemies. The report was soon current in the city that he kept mul- titudes of these demons shut up in a bottle, and had been seen, while on the city wall, to draw the cork, and with a blast from his mouth, and a movement of his arms, to send the whole troop flying over the city to do their work of death. The excited imaginations of the people ex- tracted food for their fears from the common- est objects. A rag doll, knocked about by the children, or even a child's picture, was an object of terror. This state of things continued until the month of September, when the rain fell. The excitement however had previously been par- tially allayed by a grand processior^ in honor of the God of War, Ivwan-ti. Tlie authorities 180 SUPERSTITIOUS FEAKS. had at first issued proclamations against the beating of gongs, and other noises, but finding ^ this inefi'ectual they changed their course, and aided the people in the use of means to get rid of the pest. They offered up prayers in the temples, and contributed largely to the procession of Kwan-ti. Such facts as these present in a strong light the debasing power of heathenism. We, in our wisdom, being enlightened by the word of God, may laugh at such superstitious ter- rors. But we must remember that, to the de- luded Chinese, these fears are realities. If the evils dreaded were imaginary, the suffer- ing, the intense mental excitement, the de- pressing anxiety, were all as real, and affected their happiness as much, as if they had good grounds for their fears. They must ever con- tinue exposed to these baseless terrors until the Bible brings them relief. CHAPTER XXII. NECROMANCY — THE ADOPTED DAUGHTER OF THE SEVEN SISTERS TABLE-TURNING SPIRITUAL WRITING. Entertaining the views of the powder and influence of disembodied spirits which have been described, the Chinese could not be ex- pected to avoid the practice of necromancy. They are quite at home in the art, and are tar in advance of the most expert among the table- turning, spirit-rapping, necromancers of our own Bible-enlightened republic. We shall see, too, that the forms which the demoniacal art has assumed in this country, were long ago anticipated by our less enlightened and much despised brethren, on the other side of the world. A common mode of practising the art is that in which the spirit takes possession of the body of the necromancer — or to speak in the modern style — the medium— and utters through 16 181 182 NECROMANCY. liis or lier organs, the desired response. In this case the performer is wrought upon by incantatiouSj until thrown into a kind of frenzy, or into something like the mesmeric sleep, and while thus in a state of insensibility, his utter- ances ai-e regarded as infallible. The inquiry may relate to the issue of a disease, or the means by which it may be healed. Perhaps the inqnirer wishes to know where certain lost or stolen property is to be found ; or it may be, seeks some general information as to his future prospects, or as to the best means of speedily making his fortune. In other cases it is desired to obtain some information as to the condition, or wishes, of a deceased rela- tive. The following narrative will serve to give an idea of the Chinese view of the powers of a sorceress. It is abridged from a narra- tive drawn up by a missionary at Canton, but in its details it is thoroughly Chinese, and the circumstances might have occurred, with per- haps slight modifications, in any part of the empire. The facts were given by a Chinese gentleman, who witnessed the exhibition in the house of his sister. The sorceress, or " medium," called herself the adopted daughter of the seven genii sisters. Tlie incantation began by placing seven in- THE sp:ven sisters. 183 ceiise-sticks on the outer sill of tlie window. The medium then lay down upon a couch, and muttered something in a low^ tone for some ten minutes, and thus sank away into a trance. Her limbs were rigid but trembling violently ; her body cold and pale. While in this state slie gave forth the mysterious utterances in a low and plaintive tone. Her spirit having now gone up to the man- sion of the seven sisters, was heard in conver- sation with them. The sisters were all abroad in the earth attending to their duties, except the fifth, who was delighted to see her daugh- ter, and called a servant to boil some tea. They afterwards took dinner together. The spectators here on earth, being now aware of the presence of the sister in the body of the sorceress, invited her into the garden. She replied — " I do not like to go into gardens : it is ray place to superintend family residences, and tombs on the hills, and nothing else." She was then requested to make an examina- tion of the house. "Towards what quarter does your house front?" she inquired. "It looks tow^ards the north," the lady replied. So the sister entered it, but stopped at the door and remarked — " The lintel of this door is not level." Having come in, she said, " The well is properly located, and so is the seat of the 184: THE SEVEN SISTERS. god of it." She examined tlie seats of the " guardians of the door," and said thej were all right ; but expressed regret that the " lord of the earth " was placed so much in the dark. She thought it very desirable to let him have more light. Then she looked at the places of the principal gods, and at the ancestral tablets, and said they were " unusually well situated." She then turned and went into the kitchen. Here she remarked, " The seat of the god of the fireplace is an uneasy one ; you had better change it, and make it front towards the west." Finally the sister went to the chamber, and behold there sat tlie ghost of an old aunt. She had been dead nearly ninety years ; and, through the lips of the sorceress, uttered a long discourse, bewailing her mother's negligence in not having provided her with a husband. She complained that she was lonely and deso- late ; and that her clothes were old and rag_ ged. When she at length announced her intention to go home, her niece inquired, "Where does my aunt reside?" The ghost replied — " The place where 1 stay is under your bed." " But," said the niece, in alarm, " May 1 not request you to go to the altar of the gods, and take a place there ?" The old lady replied, " Niece, you have never treated MENTAL SUFFERING. 185 me with proper regai'd, and therefore 1 stay under your bed to do 3'ou injury unawares. But after three years I will undergo another metamorphosis, and have another body, and then your family will be in no more danger." AVhen the sorceress awoke from her trance, she declared she knew nothing of what she had been saying. Those who witnessed the pro- ceeding were perfectly satisfied that the whole was a reality. Henceforth the ghost of the old aunt becomes a source of constant and ter- rible anxiety and alarm. The necessary con- sultations with the sorceress and her coadju- tors, as to the best means of remedying the evils thus made known, become a means of no small pecuniary profit to them ; and the changes in the position and construction of diHereut parts of the house involve the family in heavy expenses. Such a hallucination can- not but be a cause of intense mental suffering ; yet very few are the Chinese families w^ho are not, sometimes in a greater, sometimes in a less degree, under the influence of these hor- rible apprehensions. This should be no mat- ter of surprise when we consider the numbers who, in the midst of the light of revelation, are the dupes of a similar credulity. A Chris- tian people should not mock at their fears, but rather pity them, and give them that light be- 16* 186 GHOSTS OF ANIMALS. fore which the darkness of superstition shall flee away. Not only the spirits of men, but even the ghosts of animals sometimes impart informa- tion through these conjurers. In 1852, aTau- ist priest at Shanghae professed to be in com- munication with the ghost of an old fox, which lived several thousand years ago. The fox had become a young lady, and would converse, through the priest, with persons who wished to know the best means of promoting their worldly interests. He was probably a ven- triloquist ; but after gulling some of his dupes out of considerable sums of money, his impos- ture was discovered ; and the consequence was that a severe personal castigation was in- flicted upon him. Table-turning and spiritual manifestations are not unknown in China. In this, as in many other things, they are in advance of the practitioners among ourselves. The mode of carrying on this operation is somewliat differ- ent from that in vogue in the United States. The table is turned upside down, upon a pair of chopsticks, laid at right angles over the mouth of a mortar, or bowl, filled with water. Four persons lay one hand upon each leg of the table, while the other clasps the free hand of one of the four, and thus the circle is com- TABLE TURNING. 187 pleted. An incantation is now chanted by the " medium," and soon the table begins to move. The " circle " move with it, and in a minute it is whirling violently upon its axis, until it is thrown violently off its balance, and falls upon the floor. The motion of the table is universally attributed to supernatural agen- cy, but it seems not to have been used as a means of communication with the spiritual world. Tliere is no necessity for resorting to so clum- sy a method of communication with the dead. The spirits have been induced to write their communications. A table is sprinkled with some kind of powder, or flour, or bran, or dust : then a small basket, without a handle, is armed with a pencil or chopstick, which is tied to its edge, or thrust through its inter- stices. The basket is then turned upside down, its edges resting upon the tips of one or two fingers of two persons standing on opposite sides of the table ; and in such a manner that the pencil touches the powdered surface. In a short time the pencil moves, leading after it the basket and the fingers on which it rests, and tracing upon the dusty table lines and figures in which a good linguist easily recog- nizes the characters of the Chinese laniz-uai^e. In this way information is communicated on 188 SPIRITUAL WRITING. subjects of which the operators have no know- ledge. Sometimes indeed a ghost thus in- voked may be imable to write Chinese, or may be unwilling to exercise its powers ; and then nothing: can be discovered but unmean- ing lines and angles. But in general the com- position is good, and the intbrmation valu- able. CHAPTER XXIII. ASTKOLOGY USE OF HOROSCOPES LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS. Besides the evils to be apprehended from evil spirits, various other inliuences are ope- rating^ by which the destinies of men are af- fected. The air, the earth, the water, the heavens, are all exerting mysterious influences, for good and for evil, which are to be attract- ed or repelled. It is not strange that the heathen should, in all ages, have attributed so much power to those mysterious objects which 5hine so brightly and beautifully in the heavens, and perform the round of their to them incomprehensible movements with such wonderful regularity and precision. Knowing nothing of the nature of the stars, it is not strange that they have so generally been led, by the suggestions of their superstitious views of nature, to invest them with the powers of deities, and look upon them as exercising in- 189 190 STAR WOKSHIP. fluences over the affairs of men correspond- ing with their a}3parent magnitude and bril- liancy. Many of the stars are worshiped, both singly and collectively, as gods. Temples are erected to the "Seven Precious Ones," or the seven principal stars of the constellation of the Great Bear. The God of Literature, to whom the aspirants for literary fame pray for success, resides in the stars of the same con- stellation. The Dipper, called Peh-teu, the " Northern Peck," is an object of the highest veneration. The star Benetnasch is a peculiarly powerful and fortunate star. The official residence of magistrates are placed under its j)rotection. In front of every such official residence is a high detached wall, placed so as to cover the great front gate leading to the principal court of the building ; and on this wall is a huge figure, rudely painted, intended apparently to represent a lion, though very unlike anything in nature. This is, however, the embodiment of the powerful star-god who protects the place. The peculiar concatenation of causes and effects by which the stars are connected with earthly affairs, is in the highest degree com- plicated and abstruse. The wily astrologist ASTROLOGICAI. COMBINATIONS. 191 has ami)le room to bring out any result which may best suit his own purposes, without run- -iiing any risk of falling into a mistake which could endanger his reputation. The five planets, Mercury, Yenus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are designated respec- tively the water, metal, fire, wood, and earth stars. These rule over the year and its four seasons, controlling the operations of nature. They are denoted by black, white, red, green, and yellow. They stand in relation respec- tively to the tastes, salt, pungent, bitter, sour, and sweet, and also to the north, west, south, east, and centre. Then they have also their peculiar connections with the " twelve branches," and the " ten stems," which are characters used in marking the years of the cycle of sixty years, and wdth the twelve months of the year, and the twelve hours of the day. The twelve branches are again de- noted by twelve animals — the rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog, and boar. The planets are further connected with the twelve signs of the zodiac, and with the twenty-eight constellations. Then each day of the year is designated by the name of one of the twenty-eight constellations in uninterrupted succession. In this combination of the planets, stars, 192 HOROSCOPES. elements, animals, colors, tastes and points of tlie compass, we have a system of influences wliicli control the destinies of men, and regu- late mundane aifairs. The results of these combined influences may be calculated, and often foretold. Knowing the year, month, day and hour of a man's ])irth, we know tlie star which controls liis destiny, and the modiflca- tions imposed on the influences of that star by the other influences in operation at the same time. A record of these particulars is often made in a book kept for the purpose in some of tho temples. When the record is made a fee is paid to the priest in charge, and a receipt taken certifying the entry. This record is looked upon as equivalent to a constant prayer for long life and prosperity, and it is of the utmost importance, too, as a guide to the divi- ners, who are consulted in reference to every important undertaking. In sickness a know- ledge of these circumstances is of importance, as indicative of the result, or of the mode of treatment. If a matrimonial alliance is con- templated, the first step to be taken is to com- pare the horoscopes of the parties to be united. If the practitioner of the mysterious art de- cides that they are under the control of antag- onistic influences, whicL would produce an LUCKY AND UNLUCKY DAYS. 103 unfortunate union, the aftair is stopped at once. The decision is final. When one dies the diviner must aerain be consulted, for the influences which prevailed at his birth, and their combination with tliose which were in the ascendant at the hour of his death, are the basis on whitili depends the proper selection of a burial-place. Since times and seasons are controlled by stars, which, in turn, have their influences variously modified by concurrent or opposing influences, each year, month, day, and hour, has its peculiar character, derived from the combined result of these various influences. In one year all central places will be lucky, in another year, the reverse. Now the be- nign influences from above are shed upon the north quarter, now upon the south. So also each day has its own special charac- teristic. One day ie fraught with happy influ- ences for all mankind. Another is loaded with evil, and only evil, for all. One day is fortunate for one man, but sheds a curse upon another : or, it gives success to one class of undertakings, but is sure to surround another class with inscrutable difl&culties and dan- gers. It is one of the important duties of the As- tronomical Board, at the capital, to ascertain 17 194: EFFECTS OF SDPKRSTrriON. beforehand the peculiar character of each chi}^, and to note it m the Imperial Almanac, for the information of the people. Thus every act of life, of the least importance, is depend- ent upon these ever-varying influences ; and all must consult the Almanac, if not thesootli- sayer, before entering upon any important undertaking. By these vain and foolish re- straints upon their freedom of action, the spirit of enterprise is repressed, business is hampered and retarded, and the whole machinery of social life is clogged. Until a lucky day is found no journey must be commenced, no vessel set sail, no family change its dwelling, no foundation for a building be laid, no new enterprise be commenced, no burial take place, no marriage be solemnized. The whole Chinese people are under the deepest bondage to these superstitious notions. One of the cheering indications connected with the revolution, which has been so long in progress, is the fact, that the leaders have thrown away all these fables as idle trash. They proclaim their conviction that all days are alike, and equally good for every under- taking, provided only that the Sabbath be not desecrated. CHAPTER XXIY. GEOMANCY SELECTION OF SITES FOR BURIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DWELLINGS. Closely conuected ^tli the ideas of the Chinese as to the power of the stars, are their notions with reference to tlie influences con- nected with particular localities on earth. These notions afford employment to a numerous class of men, whose business it is to determine the character of the influences resultino- from the j^articular assemblage of circumstances and features found in any given locality. It is, of course, a great object with this large and in- fluential class to cherish the belief in the real- ity of these mysterious influences, and in their ability to detect and accurately predetermine the effect of every particular feature, con- nected with any place concerning which they may be consulted. The professors of the art of geomancy are considered of great importance to the commu- 195 196 GEOMANCY. nity. They are indeed, in general estimation, quite as essential to the well-being and pros- perity of the public as are the professors of the healing art ; and some of them have acquired a high degree of consideration, from their suposed skill in unravelling the multitu- dinous combinations by which they read the de- cisions of fate. These combinations are so vari- ous, that there is abundant scope for the exercise of the powers of the imagination. The man who can make the g^^eatest display of striking and far-fetched connections in making out his cabalistic formulas, will earn the highest repu- tation. The occasions on whicli the skill of the geo- mancer is most frequently called into requisi- tion are those connected witli the burial of the dead. It is of the utmost importance that a fortunate site should be procured for the tomb, and the rich spare no expense to jjrocnre such a one for their dead. The poor are satisfied if they can find one that is free from influences that w^ould be positively injurious, and often have to neglect such con- siderations entirely, and content themselves with such a site as their poverty may be able to command. The site of the tomb is supposed to influence the condition both of the departed spirit, and SELECTION OF BURIAL SITES. 197 of the surviving members of his fLimilj. Hence the anxiety of the family to secure the best possible site when the head of it dies. The geomancers sometimes have great diffi- culty in finding a spot free from all objections; and this is generally the case wlien the family is known to be wealthy. Tlie geomancers are in no haste to bring their researches to a con- clusion, while there is hope of putting money into their own purses by delay. A case oc- curred at Canton, in which the body of a wealthy merchant was kept unburied no less than twenty years, because no suitable site for the tomb could be found. The Chinese* mode of burial admits of this kind of imposition. In point of fact, the corpse is buried when it is laid in its coffin. The coffin is made of very tliick, heavy timber, and the joints are all carefully closed by past- ing layers of paper over them, so as to make them perfectly air-tight. For greater security a little lime is generally put in witli the corpse. In this way it is possible to keep the coffined corpse in the house for years, without any un- pleasant consequences. The practice indeed is not uncommon. Some have not the means at command for burying in such style as they would wish. They must wait for better days. Some do not find a place to suit them. Thus it n* 198 FORTUNATE TOMBS. sometimes happens tliat on entering a Chinese gentleman's house, a coffin is one of the most prominent objects seen among the articles of fm*niture. The places which are calculated to advance the fortunes of their possessors are few. Some such exist near Ningpo. Several of them were discovered nearly three hundred years ago, by a Buddhist priest who excelled in the art. The families who obtained these sites have enjoyed, it is said, uninterrupted prosperity ever since. Among their descendants, some have always been found in the highest offices of the state. At a place in !N"ganhwui there is an ancient temple, erected with a view to prevent its site being occupied as a burial-place. A print of a dragon's foot was discovered in the soil, and the geomancers declared that such a site would be so fortunate, that the family who should possess it for a burial-place, would attain to the imperial dignity. The owner of the ground therefore determined to occupy it for himself, that his posterity might enjoy the good for- tune connected with it. The j^eople of the district were alarmed. They saw civil war, bloodshed, commotions, and dire calamities in such a use of the spot ; for these are the usual concomitants of a change of dynasty, without CONSTRUCTION OF DWELLINGS. 199 whicli the prediction of the geomanccrs could not be fulfilled. A subscription was taken up for the purpose of purchasing the ground, and erecting a temple on the lucky spot. The Emperor heard the rumor, and contributed largely to an object so important as the pre- servation of his throne. The Emperor and the beggar, the learned and the illiterate, are all alike the slaves of superstition. It is not only the position of tombs that must be fixed with reference to the geoman- tic indications of the place. The dwellings of the living, as well as the abodes of the dead, should be constructed with a view to secure happy influences. If there be no choice as to the site of a proposed building, there always is as to its position and as to the location of doorways and passages. Care must be taken to avoid having a neighbor's ridge-pole point- ing directly towards the front entrance. In ar- ranging the doorways, it is important that no two doors should be exactly opposite to each other, lest the mysterious evil influences, or wandering ghosts, should too easily find their way into the inner apartments. In the erection of a house, the following six points are of great importance : the position and direction of the roof-ridge, the position of the cooking range and cu[)board,' the direc- 200 PRECAUTIONS IN BUILDING. tion in which the doors shall open ; the posi- tion of the well, if there be one ; the place for the mortar used in preparing certain articles of food ; the position of the bedsteads. These important matters require a special investigation bj a professor of the art ; though the poor, or those who grudge the money necessary to pay the regular practitioner, may be content to leave the decision to chance ; or may decide according to their own notions of what is best. While a house is in process of erection, pre- cautions are taken to avoid inclosing any un- lucky influence. After the frame is raised, and before it is roofed in, several lanterns, at- tached to shoots of bamboo, are elevated on a pole above the ridge of the roof; and are allowed to remain there for several days, candles beina^ burnt in them at nio^ht. This precaution is seldom dispensed with, as the omission might bring misfortune not only upon the owner and occupants of the house, but also upon the builder. CHAPTER XXY. CHARMS AND AMULETS^EXORCISING AT AMOY PROTECTION OF HOUSES- — TOWERS PORCELAIN TOWER AT NANKING EFFECTS OF HIGH BUILD- INGS CHURCHES AT NINGl'O AND SHANGHAE. Against evil influences of Avhatever kind, whether proceeding from above or from be- neath, remedies are provided. They are to be counteracted b}^ invoking the aid of opposing influences. Charms and amulets of various kinds are employed. Some of these are used for the ejection of evils already present ; some for the prevention of those that are feared. In case of sickness, spells, consisting of mystical cliaracters written on paper, are burnt, and the patient drinks the ashes in tea. The same reme<;ly has been used to cure the stubborn disease of hunger, where more substantial food could not. be procured. At Canton, during the distress occasioned by the attacks of the rebels upon that city in ISo-i, when provisions of all kinds were very dear, many of the poor 201 202 KxoRcrsM at amoy. resorted to tliis means of quelling the demands of their appetites. The demon, in all proba- bility, would not consent to be exorcised by so unsubstantial a power. Amulets are generally woi'n about the per- sons of young children. Copper coins, or large brass disks, having the eight diagrams,* or other characters u|)on the face, are often used. Red cloth, worn upon the person, is sup- posed to be efficacious in driving away evil spirits. At Amo}^, a singular method is employed to abstract all noxious influences from the body. It is employed particularly on the fifth day of the fifth month, but is not limited to any particular time. When this plan is re- sorted to, every member of the family to whom it is to be applied is provided with a human figure made of paper, corresponding in appear- ance with the age and sex of the individual to whom it is to be applied. "When all is ready the operator takes the figure, and rubs its face several times down the breast of the person to be exorcised. It is then aj^plied to the back in the same manner, the application being, in both cases, to the exterior of the garments. The subject of the operation then kisses the figure, after which it is carefully folded in * Pah-kwa. /// III yj The Eight Diagrams, or Pah-Kwa. THE EIGHT DIAGRAMS. 203 yellow paper, with scolloped edges, carried to the open air, and burnt in front of the door. The same operation is performed upon the other members of tlie liousehold, and thus their bodies are freed for the time from those pernicious influences which may have lain con- cealed within them. Those influences, what- ever they may be, pass into the paper image, and expend their powers upon it. In addition to this precaution, some families purchase a paper flgure of a white tiger, an imaginary animal whose power they fear. A piece of meat, raw or cooked, is attached with a needle to the tongue of the effigy, and the whole is burnt. In this way the demands of the animal's appetite are satisfied, and he is content to go on his way without doing any harm. One of the most commonly nsed charms is the figure of the Pah-kwa — the eight dia- grams — arranged in a circular form. These diagrams and their powers are discussed in the Yih-king — the Book of Changes — a work composed by Wan- Wang, the literary king, about B. c. 1150. They are triplets of lines, whole and broken, the various combinations of which produce eight sets of triplets, each having its peculiar properties. These, by fur- ther combination, produce sixty-four figures, 204 PROTECTION OF nOUSES. whicli also possess their several peculiar powers. The first set are representative re- spectively of heaven, vapor, fire, thunder, wind, water, mountains, earth. These mysterious figures embody, in some inscrutable manner, the elements of all change, the destinies of all ages, the first principles of all morals, the foundation of all actions. They of course furnish important elements for the subtle calculations of the diviner. From such a system of calculation, the results ob- tained must depend wholly on the ingenuity and imagination of the practitioner. The figure of the eight diagrams is seen everywhere. It is often worn upon the per- son. It is seen, too, pasted in conspicuous positions about houses, chiefly over the door, to prevent the ingress of evil influences. Various other devices are in vogue for the protection of houses. Sometimes the figure of a military chieftain is placed upon the roof, and again, a hideous looking tiger head. One writes upon his door the word Teu — The Peck — intimating that the place is under the pro- tection of the stars forming the Dipper, in the Constellation of the Great Bear. Another puts his trust in a rude drawing of some fero- cious animal ; or an announcement, placed in a conspicuous position, tliat tlie sacred pluxmix PROTECTING TOWERS. 205 is witliin. On nlinost every door the charac- ter Fiih — happiness — stares 3^ou in the lace, not as an indication of its actnal presence, but of the desires of the inmates. At the heads of streets, or other simihir posi- tions, stone tablets are sometimes erected,- hav- ing engraved on the face the words " How dare yon" — equivalent to " I defy you." This defiance is intended as a menace which w^ill deter any further advance of noxions influ- ences a2>proaching the place, and thus protect tlie neighborhood on one side from the effects of any of those mysterious powers which may be in operation on the other side. These influences are variously affected by different objects. Elevated objects possess great efiicacy in collecting and spreading them, whether for good or for evil. They are there- fore employed for warding off such influences as tend to injury. High towers of five, or seven, or nine stories have been erected for the express purpose of protection against noxious influences. Every district must be provided with one or more such towers, or pagodas. Some of these are of Buddhistic origin, and are specially consecrated to Buddha : but many have been built at great expense, for no other object than the advantage of the Fung- shui — " wind and water" — the expression in 18 206 PORCELAIN TOWER AT NANKING. use to designate all these kinds of influences. There is one of these towers within the w^alls of the city of Ningpo. The celebrated porcelain tower at Nanking, is a Buddhist pagoda. It stands just outside the city walls, but the inclosure in which it stands is surrounded by a high wall of its own. It w^as built by Yungloh, the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, about a. d. 1413. It is nine stories high. It is said to be two hun- dred and sixty feet in height, and three hun- dred feet in circumference at the base. It is not, strictly speaking, a porcelain tower, but its external face is of brick, beautifully glazed, and of various colors. The most prominent color is green, with which are mingled red, yellow, and white. The inner surface of the w^all is faced w^ith black tiles, on each of w^hich is a gilt image of Buddha in relief; so that each story glitters w'ith over two hundred images of this god. The whole of the w^ood- w^ork of this famous towxr was burnt by the insurgents, after they obtained possession of Nanking ; and the large Buddhist temple at its base w^as also destroyed. More recently, in the latter part of the year 1856, the whole structure was destroyed by being blown up with gunpowder. Such, at least, is the report from Nanking. ARTIFICIAL MOUNDS. 207 Besides these towers, other elevations are emplojod fbr a similar purpose. According to the geomancers, every city should have its hill, its hillock, and its level field ; and where they do not exist in nature, artificial ones must be constructed. The artificial " hills" are, of course, on a small scale, but the rule of the geomancer is observed. Artificial mounds are often constructed to keep down the unlucky influences supposed to prevail in particular localities. Near a vacant piece of ground in Ningpo, set apart as a parade ground for military exercises, stands a high bell-tower connected with a neighboring temple. From the bell-tower unlucky influ- ences are shed upon the parade-ground. So, in order to obviate the danger from this source, a high mound of earth and rock-work has been thrown up, at great expense, on the opposite side of the ground. Again, in the same city, an important street is supposed by the people to bear some resem- blance in form to a centiped. It requires a vivid imagination to discover in what the re- semblance consists, but as such is the popular fancy, means must be devised for expelling tlie noxious influences of that poisonous insect. At the head of this street stands the residence of the Tau-tai, tlie highest civil officer residing 208 EFFECT OF A CHURCH TOWER. 4 in the city. He is protected by a hillock thrown nji in front of his gate. The citizens, moreover, are forbidden to erect any building of more than one story in the immediate vicin- ity of his grounds. The street itself must also be protected, and this has been accomplished by throwing an arch of solid masonry over the street, and erecting upon it a small temple, w^hich is thus elevated above all the surrounding objects. Upon the summit of this building the iigure of a cock was placed. As fowls are in the habit of eating centipeds, it was thought this device would be an eifectual protection. In the year 1850, a large Presbyterian churcli was built at no great distance from this street. It was an object of fear to the neighbors on account of its height. On all neighboring dwellings fierce-looking tiger heads might be seen scowling defiance at the evil infl^uences shed abroad by this high building. Great was the dismay when it was found that the tower of the church was higher, though by a very few feet, than the elevated building by which the street was protected. It so happened that after the lapse of some two years a fire broke out, and destroyed a large amount of property in the centiped street ; and among other buildings, that which was supposed to protect FALL OF A ROMISH CATHEDKAL. 209 the street. This result was attributed to the effect of the high church tower which over- looked it, aud therefore overpowered the be- nign influences of their own erection, in wliich they had trusted. This building was imme- diately replaced by another similar one ; but care was now taken to have it somewliat higher than the unlucky church tower ; and instead of the cock, it was surmounted by tlie figure of a more powerful animal — a cata- mount. Some time afterwards the Papists com- menced a large cathedral in another part of the city, which was to be of a great height. But when the walls had been carried up nearly to the contemplated height, they one night fell suddenly to the ground. This result was supposed to demonstrate the efficacy of their catamount as a protecting power, for it was by its superiority that the Papal walls were brought to the ground. High buildings generally — such as are higgler than those of their neighbors — are ob- jects of fear, and therefore, such are not often built. Indeed the ordinary method of build- ing Chinese dwellings compels their restriction to two stories. A church tower, of course, overtops them all. The large Baptist church at Shanghae created no little alarm in the 18* 210 EFFECT OF UNLUCKY COLORS. neighborliood, when its tower began to rise over the tops of all surrounding structures. The district magistrate for the district in which the city is situated, died soon after the church was built, and his death was universally attri- buted to the influence of the building. The color of this church, and that of the Episcopal church, also excited serious appre- hensions. The walls had been made of a red color, which being the color of fire, the effects might be expected to be very disastrous. The Tau-tai addressed the American Consul on the subject, earnestly desiring him to issue orders that the color should be changed. If not, he said, many serious fires would, no doubt, be the consequence. This same magistrate, on another occasion, was applied to to affix his seal to the title- deed of a lot which had been purchased by the Presbyterian Mission, as a site for a church. His honor objected to the erection of a high building in that situation ; and refused to af- fix his seal to the deed, or ratify the sale. He assigned singular reasons for his couj-se. In a communication to the American Con- sul on the subject, he uses the following lan- guage : " The gentry of Shanghae generally, and the diviners, having accurately examined the spot, find that the temple of the god of COMMUNICATION FEOM TAU-TAI. 211 fire lies towards the soutli, and fronts towards the north, which correspond with the diagrams Ki and Tsae^ representing water and fire. It is on this account that the w4iole region enjoys peace and prosperity. The lot now rented is near this temple, and to the west of it. !N^ow the west is the quarter represented by the dia- gram Tae^ whose nature is connected with metal, which can be subdued by fire. If then a high ' worship) hall ' be erected there, metal and fire will come into collision, and the peo- ple of the w^hole city fear there will be many fires in consequence. Moreover, if there be any elevated object in the quarter connected with metal, diseases and calamities wall re- sult." This language is' employed by an intelligent officer of high rank. He was a man, too, of more than ordinary intelligence, for he had long been in habits of intercourse with for- eigners, as an extensive merchant, and spoke the English language fluently. Tliese ideas are received among the most intelligent men with as little doubt, apparently, as is enter- tained among educated men in Europe and America, of the revolution of the earth around the sun. Such are some of tlie superstitions by which Satan maintains his bold upon the minds of 212 EVILS OF SUPERSTITION'. this peo]3le. The wily deceivers who pretend to assist them in their difficulties, do them a far greater injm*y than merely rob them of their money. Their fears are often excited by an evil omen, or an unfavorable response, and they endnre all the snffering occasioned by the anticipation of evil — often worse than to encounter the evil itself. On the other hand, hopes are excited which lead to disappoint- ment, giving rise to discontent. The constant dread of evil spirits ever present, and ever watching for an opportunity to inflict an in- jury ; anxiops to mar every project, and foil them in every undertaking, occasions anxieties greater than those which flow from the reali- ties wliicli obstruct them in the execution of their plans. The remedy for all these imagi- nary evils is the knowledge of that all-control- ling Power, to whom the whole realm of nature is subject; to whose sway all exist- ences must yield, and who is ever ready to protect and succor those who put their trust in Him. JEWS LN CHINA. 213 JEWS IN CHINA — MOHAMMEDANS IN CHINA. It will be proper liere to give some account of the Jews and Moliammedans in China. Early in the ITtli century, Matthew Ricci, and the other Jesuit missionaries residing at Pe- king, were suddenly made aware of the fact, that there existed a Jewish community in the city of K'ae-fungfu, the capital of the pro- vince of Honan. This information was first communicated by a member of that commu- nity, who happened to be residing at the time at the capital. This information was subse- quently confirmed by further investigations, and by personal visits of some of the Jesuit missionaries. In the year 1704, Father Gozani visited K'ae-fungfu, and gave a full account of the Jewish colony, but from that time to the close of the year 1850, nothing was known of their condition. It was know^n, however, through intelligent Chinese, that the colony continued to exist, being designated by the Chinese, " The sect which plucks out the sinew." 21J: MOHAMMEDANS IN CHINA. In the month of l^ovember, 1850, two intel- ligent natives, under the general supervision of the Rev. Dr. Medhurst, were dispatched to K'ae-fungfu, with a view to obtain some defi- nite knowledge of the condition of the colony. The expenses of the journey were borne from funds contributed for the object in England, and placed at the disposal of the Bishop of Victoria. The native messengers set out on the 15th of November, and arrived at their destination on the 9th of December, having travelled a distance of about seven hundred miles. They found the colony greatly re- duced in number and in position. Once they had numbered seventy clans : now but seven, numbering together about two hundred indi- viduals. They were sunk in the deepest poverty, and subjected to, contempt and perse- cution from their neighbors, many of whom were Mohammedans. Their religion seemed to be little more than a name, but they re- tained their peculiarities to an extent sufficient to make a marked distinction between them and the heathen around them. Not an indi- vidual among them could read the Hebrew character, although they had a number of Hebrew manuscripts, which were carefully pre- served in their synagogue. The last of their rabbis had died fifty years before, leaving no JEWS IN CHINA. 215 one behind him who had any knowledge of Hebrew, and it w^as therefore impossible for them to recover it. The rite of circumcision had ceased to be observed, and even the ex- pectation of a Messiah was no longer cherished. Their synagogue itself was fast going to ruin. A few manuscripts were procured and taken back to Shanghae, but they were not of much importance. In the summer of 1851, the native messen- gers were again sent to K'ae-fungfu. On this occasion they succeeded in purchasing a num- ber of manuscripts, and two respectable mem- bers of the congregation returned with them to Shanghae. Of the manuscripts obtained, six were rolls containing portions of the Pen- tateuch, and fifty-seven were smaller manu- scripts, of which thirty- three contained each, one of the fifty-three sections of the law. Some of these manuscripts w^ere much dam- aged by water, probably at the time of the flood, which occurred at K'ae-fungfu in the year 1642. Of the early history of this colony of Jews we are as yet entirely ignorant. They them- selves can give no account of their origin. From ])resent appearances it seems probable that, unless they receive assistance and en- couragement from without, tliis little congi'e- 210 MOHAMMEDANS IN CHINA. gat ion of the children of Abraham will, ere long, become extinct. Mohammedans are found in all parts of China, but their number is nowhere large. There is a mosque at Canton, but in the south- ern provhices generally, the number of Mo- hammedans is very small. At Amoy a few families reside, and there is a mosque at Chang-chau, and one at Fuh-chau. At JN'iugpo there are some twenty or thirty families. The}^ have a mosque, but do not seem to be very zealous in the observance of rites of worship of any kind. Their Sabbath falls on Thursday, but it is not distinguished from other days except by a religious service at the mosque, which seems to be very little attended. The hall for worship is used for storing agricultu- ral implements, and the dusty furniture would seem to indicate great neglect of religious worship. At Hang-chaufu there are several mosques, and this is said to be one of the strongholds of the Mohammedan faith in China. There is no reason to believe, however, that any serious efforts are made to increase the number of their adherents by proselyting the heathen. Those who adhere to the false Prophet, do so because their fathers did so before them, and they do not wish to abandon the religion in JEWS IN CHINA. 217 which they were born. Some of the mem- bers of the comiiiunity have attained rank as officers of the imperial government, and in all probability, do not scrnple to perform the idol- atrous ceremonies prescribed to official per- sonages. 19 CHAPTER XXVI. PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. " The people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the re- gion and shadow of death, light is sprung up." The language of the prophet which once found its fulfillment "by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles," has again beffun to be fulfilled in the " iana of Sinim." Having looked at the " darkness " which has so long brooded over the land, it is proper to glance at the " light " which is now " spring- ing up." All that can now be done is to state, very briefly, some . of the results which have attended the labors of Protestant missionaries of the various evangelical denominations who have occupied this important field. The labors of Protestant missionaries in China commenced in the vear 1807, when z Robert Morrison reached Canton, and there, in the midst of discouragements and diflicul- 218 PEOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. 219 ties, entered upon that coarse of study in wliich lie was so signally successful. He had to encounter much opposition from his own countrymen, as well as from the Chinese. lie could not perform much direct missionary labor, but was obliged to confine himself to such efforts as he could make in his private intercourse with the few Chinese with whom he became acquainted, or with his own domes- tics. His labors were confined principally to his study, but they were labors of the utmost importance, and have contributed not a little to the usefulness of those who have since en- tered into his labors. In November, 1819, he completed a transla- tion of the Bible; and in 1823, a Chinese and English dictionary, wliich was published at the expense of the East India Company. This dictionary has been, and still is, a most impor- tant aid to all who are engaged in the study of this most difficult language. In 1813, Morrison was joined by William Milne, but his career, though very useful, was a short one. He died in 1822. In 1829 the American churches first entered this field, by sending to Canton the Kev. E. C. Bridgeman and the Bev. David Abeel. It was not until the year 1842, when the treaty of Nanking opened five Chinese cities 220 PKOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. to foreign commerce, tliat the missionary work in China can be said to have commenced. Previous to that time the few missionaries who had been residing within the limits of the empire, were subject to so many restrictions, that their labors were necessarily chiefly of a preparatory character. A number of mission- aries, however, had been for some years labor- ing among the emigrant Chinese in the coun- tries and islands about the Straits of Sunda, and as soon as China was thrown open, they were prepared to enter it with the advantage of a previous acquaintance with the language, and with the character of the people. Since that period the number of mission- aries in China has steadily increased. In the year 1855, the number of Protestant mission- aries was one hundred and one. A majority of these were from the United States. Seven of them were from Germany, and the rest from England. There have been some changes since, but the number, it is believed, has not increased ; the removals and deaths being about equal to the additions sent out. The whole number of Protestant missionaries sent to the Chinese, up to 1855, was one hundred and ninety. They have labored under the patronage of twenty-one missionary socie- ties. PKOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. 221 The difficulties to be overcome in carrying on tlie missionary work in China, are very great. One of the most serious lies in the nature of the language. The nature of the obstacle which the language presents to the success of the work may be understood, when it is remembered, that there are two languages to be acquired, and that each of these is more difficiilt of acquisition than any other language on earth. The written language is not a mere representation on paper of the sounds of the spoken language, but is entirely distinct from it. The difficulty in acquiring the written lan- guage arises from the necessity of learning an immense number of arbitrary characters. Each word is represented by its own peculiar em- blem, Avhich must be impressed upon the memory. The number of characters, therefore, is equal to the number of words in the lan- guage, and in order to read books on ordinary topics with facility, not less than four thousand characters should be perfectly at command. He who would lay claim to scholarship, how- ever, should be acquainted with eight or ten thousand. Morrison, in the second part of his dictionary, has defined twelve thousand six hundred and seventy-four characters ; but the native work on which it is founded coii- 19* 222 PEOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. tains about forty thousand. This includes, however, manv that are obsolete. The labor of committing to memory even three or four thousand such characters is, of course, very great. They are not composed of parts which, by combination, furnish a guide to the name or the meaning. The sound must be learned from the living teacher, for nothing in the character itself fixes its pronunciation. Then the form and the meanings of each have to be separately learned. The difficulty is further increased by the fact, that many dif- ferent characters are pronounced in the same way, with only a slight variation of tone, and many with no variation at all. The difficulty of acquiring the written lan- guage interferes with the missionary work, not only by increasing the labor of the mis- sionary. This were a small matter. An effect of far greater moment is, the amount of labor with which the natives themselves must ac- quire it. It may be safely said, that Chinese youths must give much more time and labor to the study of their written language, if they would master it, than is required of American youths in mastering the Latin or Greek. The Chinese boy must give years to the mere ac- quisition of the sound of the characters ; and then must labor long to impress their forms PEOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. 223 upon liis memory so as to be able to write them. The former he does bv committing to memory whole volumes of the works of ancient authors, without miderstanding anything of the meaning ; and the latter task he can only accomplish by writing and rewriting the char- acters, until they are indelibly impressed on the memory. All this labor is accomplished for the Latin and Greek when the alphabet has been mastered. Many Chinese leave off where the student of Latin or Greek begins, and never get fur- ther than the sounds of some of the characters. By the time this labor is accomplished, the time their parents can afford to keep them at school is exhausted. If able to continue at school a few years longer, there is still no time for the study of anything but the language ; and those useful branches of education con- sidered so important in the schools of the United States and Europe, must ever be in a great measure excluded from Chinese schools, where the object is to thoroughly master their own language. This difficulty of learning their written lan- guage must,* of necessity, put it out of the power of the great mass of the people ever to become readers. The Bible therefore can never be made accessible to the common peo- 224 PKOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. pie, unless some change is brought about which will diminish the labor of learning to read. This can only be effected by reducing the spoken languages to writing, by means of an alphabetical system. Then the language read will be the same as the language spoken, and a Chinese may learn to read without the necessity of learning a new language. When he shall have learned to pronounce the writ- ten sounds, the meaning will already be known to him, without further labor. Some efforts have been made in this direction by mission- aries at several of the stations, but it is an in- novation which the Chinese will be slow to adopt. The advantages of the present written lan- guage are so great, and it is so much admired by the influential classes, that it is not likely to be abandoned. As a means of educating the masses, and enabling them to read the Bible, it will perhaps be given up, but as a means of communication understood through- out the empire, it is invaluable. The spoken languages even if written could be understood by but a limited number of people. The char- acters of the written language, 'though pro- nounced differently in different places, bear the same signification in all parts of the em- pire. This is analogous to the Arabic numer- PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. 225 als, which are pronounced diiierently l>y the different nations of Europe, but are understood in the same sense by all. The difficulty of acquiring the spoken lan- guage arises chiefly from the peculiar tones with which it is necessary to become familiar. Each word has a tone peculiar to itself, and in uttering a word, a mistake in the tone would often give a wrong sense. Tliis difficulty is greater in some dialects than in others, because of the greater number of words of which the meaning cannot be determined without the correct tone. Some of the dialects are more polysyllabic in their character, and therefore less dependent on the tones ; that is, synony- mous words are more frequently combined to express an idea. The spoken language may, however, be more easily acquired than has generally been supposed. Missionaries now commonly begin to preach in little more than a year after their arrival. Many other obstacles besides the language might be mentioned, but it is unnecessary. It is sufficient for us to know, that in spite of them all, the work has greatly prospered. Already, after only ten or twelve years of active labor, the number of native converts, according to the latest accessible information, cannot be much under one thousand. 226 PKOTESTANT MISSIONS IN CHINA. The success, however, must not be measured only by the number of converts. Much has been done to prepare the way for greater re- sults. The Bible has been translated in seve- ral independent versions. Tracts have been written and j)ublished, and circulated in large numbers. A knowledge of the main features of the Christian religion has been extensively diffused among the people, in those places where the Gospel has been preached. Chur- ches have been built. Priuting-2)resse3 have been put in operation. Schools have been established. The facilities for learning the language have been multiplied. In a word, the whole machinery needed in the successful prosecution of this great work has been put in motion. CHAPTER XXYII. THE REVOLUTION CONCLUSION. In estimating the success of these missions, it would not be proper wholly to overlook the remarkable revolution which has been so long in progress, and which threatens to bring about a change of dynasty, and with it a change of the policy which has so long excluded for- eigners from the emj)ire. This movement is undoubtedly one of the most wonderful among the many wonderful events of the present age. It is not proposed here to enter into the history of this move- ment, but there are some facts connected with its origin that are worthy of being particularly noted. It is a well-established fact, that the movement was, at the beginning, essentially a religious one, and it commenced, like the Re- formation of the sixteenth century, in the breast of a single individual. This individual was Hung Siutsiuen. The impression made 227 228 THE REVOLUTION. on his mind was by means of a series of tracts, entitled " Good Words Exhorting the Age," prepared by Liang Afa, who was one of the first native converts brought into the church by the instrumentality of Protestant mission- aries. He was baptized by Dr. Milne, in 1816. About the year 1833, he was engaged in distributing tracts to the candidates who were attending the literary examination in Canton. One set of these tracts, written by Afa, fell into the hands of Hung. He read them, laid them on his shelf, and thought no more of them. Several years later he fell sick. During his convalescence, he had certain strange visions, in which he received com- mands from heaven to destroy the idols. A cousin of his, at this juncture, stumbled upon the tracts in his bookcase, and called his at- tention to the strange things contained in them. Hung read them again, and was surprised to find that the doctrines taught in them agreed with what he heard in the visions. He was therefore satisfied of the truth of both, and commenced preaching against idolatry. Strange to say, m^any received his doctrines, and in a few years a large company was ga- thered of persons who renounced idolatry. Some of them were seized and thrown into prison by the authorities, being accused of THE REVOLUTION. 229 dealing in magical arts, and having the books of "one Jesus." This was the first collision with the mandarins. Others soon followed, and in the end Hung was declared Emperor, and his followers avowed their purpose to overthrow the Tartar dynasty. Their standard was soon joined by large numbers of men, willing to submit to their discipline, but having no sympathy with their religion. Many of them undoubtedl}^ were the relics of bands of robbers, who had been prowling about the country. The whole pro- vince of Kwang-si, in which these events took place, had been overrun by bands of lawless banditti, and Hung was not unwilling to re- ceive their assistance. In 1853 the city of ^Tanking was taken by an immense army of insurgents, and is still occupied as the capital of the new dynasty. From this point, as a base of operations, they have been gradually extending the limits of their authority, and now, according to recent accounts, they rule over a territory of fifty thousand square miles, and fifteen millions of inhabitants. Their success has not made them indifierent to their religion. They call themselves Christ- ians, and there is reason to hope, that some of them are such in reality. The leaders are 20 230 THE REVOLUTION. doubtless influenced to a greater or less extent by selfish motives ; but that they sincerely be- lieve the doctrines of Christianity, is the only reasonable view that will account for their conduct. It is altogether gratuitous to sup- pose that they are impostors, who, while they at heart adhere to their Chinese views of reli- gion, assume the profession of Christianity merely to promote their own political pur- poses To denounce all the cherished notions of their countrymen as absurd and wicked, would hardly seem to them the best means of gain- ing their affections, and thus raising them- selves to power. At all events, whatever their motives, they are proclaiming to the empire the fundamen- tal doctrines of the Christian religion. They declare that there is but one God — who is the Creator of all things, to whom all creatures are subject, and who upholds and controls all things by the word of his power. They de- nounce all idolatry, and everywhere break in pieces the idols, and destroy their temples. They teach the doctrine of free justification through the atonement of Christ, and enjoin repentance and good works, taking the ten commandments as the basis of their system of morals. Besides all this, they print the Bible, with- THE REVOLUTION. 231 out note or comment, as they find it translated by a Protestant missionary. They have taken Gutzlafl" 's version, and print it, so far as the editions have been collated, without any al- teration. Is it possible for any one who loves the cause of Christ not to rejoice in these things? Must we not bid them God speed in such a work ? If, as is said to be the fact, they re- quire all their officials to make themselves familiar with the Scriptures before receiving office, we have still greater reason to hojDe for good from the movement. We do not say that these men, or any of them, are truly converted ; but where so much truth has been made familiar to many hundred thousand minds, there is siu'ely ground to hof>e that the spirit of God may make it effectual to the salvation of some of them. There is, doubtless, much fanaticism con- nected with this movement. The leaders pro- fess to have immediate communication with heaven, and to be guided in their movements by direct instructions from the Heavenly Father. They do not profess, however, to re- ceive any new revelation as to doctrine. They but claim to be under special divine guidance in the conduct of the war. That men who have obtained all their knowledge of Christi- 232 THE REVOLUTION. anity as they have obtained theirs, and whose early training has been under the influence of such superstitions as those which they were taught to believe, should be brought under the influence of fanaticism in receiving their new faith, is by no means strange. The marvel is, that there is not far more of it than has yet manifested itself. The conduct of these men cannot, in all re- spects, be defended. Some of their blasphemous assumptions are wholly without excuse. Yet, in such a movement, some extravagances were to have been expected. How far the chief him- self, Hung Siutsiuen, is responsible for the language and conduct of his subordinates we cannot determine. Some light is thrown on this point, however, by the fact, that on one occasion he was sentenced by his associate chiefs to receive forty blows of the bamboo, in obedience to a pretended revelation from the Heavenly Father. It is now confidently reported that his prime minister, the Eastern King, Yang Siutsing, has been put to death. He seems to have been the most cunning, if not the most able, of the subordinate leaders, and was probably the most unprincipled. Whether these men will succeed in placing themselves on the throne or not, no human foresight can determine. Perhaps their mis- THE EEVOLUTION. 233 sion will be better accomplished in their over- throw .than in tlieir triumph. It can hardly be doubted, however, that the days of the Great Pure Dynasty are fast drawing to their end. In any event, tliis great movement can- not fail to prepare the way for the spread of the Gospel throughout this mighty empire. We cannot but recognize in this strange re- volution the power of God. We see in this wonderful upheaving of the Chinese mind, how easy it is for Omnipotence to bring about, as it were instantaneously, the most stupendous results. A vast multitude of men, under the impetus communicated by a single mind, have been brought suddenly to embrace, in form at least, a new religion. Educated under the intiuence of gross idolatry, and debasing super- stition, they have been brought, under the leadership of a chief having no greater advan- tages of education than themselves, to re- nounce their idolatry and superstition, to submit to a rigid religious, as well as military discipline, and to set themselves against all that so lately they had held most sacred. This revolution is, to a certain extent, the offspring of Protestant missions, and affords many grounds of encouragement to all who feel any interest in the success of the mission- ary work. 20* 234 CONCLUSION. We have now endeavored to place before the reader some of the facts illustrating: the gross darkness which rests upon the minds of the millions of this vast empire. The picture thus presented cannot but call forth the sym- pathies of all who have hearts to feel for the miseries of their fellow-men. The Gospel alone can deliver these degraded idolaters from the chains of superstition in which they are held. Shall it be withheld ? How strong is the appeal for help which comes to us from that far-oif land. The poor woman muttering her unmeaning prayers ; the ignorant peasant bowing before his idols ; the high officer wor- shiping the ancient sages ; the Emperor him- self, in his robes of state, prostrating himself in adoration of Heaven and Earth, or of the Sun and Moon ; and the populous city dis- tracted by anxious fears of evil spirits, all ap- peal to us to send to them the Book of God, which can make them wise unto salvation. Reader ! God has put it in your power to give them the means of deliverance. He re- quires at your hand, not only that you do something, but that you do all you can, to send to them that light of life which he has given to you. You must meet those millions of your fellow-men at the bar of God. Some of them, it may be, might be saved, if you CON LUSION. 235 should do all that God commands you to do. Should any be lost by your neglect, will not their cry of anguish, when driven away from the judgment-seat of Christ, to encounter the liorrors of the second death, upbraid you as the cause of their destruction ? Will not the Judge himself require their blood at your hand ? THE END. DATE DUE jm^ ^^immJi \ ■ ■ HIGHSMITH (« (5230 Printed In USA