Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. 2 (of 2)-11
[128] Alluding to the story of a young man who went in search of his
missing father.
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[129] Lin-tsung saw his host kill a chicken which he thought was
destined for himself. However, Mao-jung served up the dainty morsel to
his mother, while he and his guest regaled themselves with two baskets
of common vegetables. At this instance of filial piety, Lin-tsung had
the good sense to be charmed.
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[130] The Chinese recognise no act more worthy a virtuous man than
that of burying stray bones, covering up exposed coffins, and so
forth. By such means the favour of the Gods is most surely obtained,
to say nothing of the golden opinions of the living.
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[131] This is merely our author’s way of putting the question of the
old man’s identity. He was the Spirit of the Waters—his name, it will
be recollected, was River—just, in fact, as we say Old Father Thames.
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[132] From a poem by Wang Wei, a noted poet of the T‘ang dynasty. The
second line is not given in the text.
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[133] From a poem by P‘an T‘ang-shên, which runs:—
“Her rustic home stands by the Tung-t‘ing lake.
Ye who would there a pure libation pour,
Look for mud walls—a roof of rushy make—
And Judas-tree in flower before the door.”
The Chinese believe that the Judas-tree will only bloom where
fraternal love prevails.
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[134] I have already observed that men and women should not let their
hands touch when passing things to each other (see No. XL., note 233);
neither is it considered proper for persons of different sexes to hang
their clothes on the same clothes-horse. (See Appendix, note 381.)
With regard to shaking hands, I have omitted to mention how hateful
this custom is in the eyes of the Chinese, as in vogue among
foreigners, without reference to sex. They believe that a bad man
might easily secrete some noxious drug in the palm of his hand, and so
convey it into the system of any woman, who would then be at his
mercy.
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[135] Alluding to Wang’s breach of etiquette in visiting the father
himself, instead of sending a go-between, who would have offered the
same sum in due form as the usual dowry or present to the bride’s
family.
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[136] Witnesses in a Chinese court of justice take no oath, in our
sense of the term. Their written depositions, however, are always
ended with the words “the above evidence is the truth!” In ordinary
life people call heaven and earth to witness, or, as in this case, the
sun; or they declare themselves willing to forfeit their lives; and so
on, if their statements are not true. “Saucer-breaking” is one of
those pleasant inductions from probably a single instance, which may
have been the fancy of a moment; at any rate, it is quite unknown in
China as a national custom. “Cock-killing” usually has reference to
the ceremonies of initiation performed by the members of the numerous
secret societies which exist over the length and breadth of the
Empire, in spite of Government prohibitions, and the penalty of death
incurred upon detection.
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[137] Adoption is common all over China, and is regulated by law. For
instance, an adopted son excludes all the daughters of the family. A
man is not allowed to marry a girl whom he has adopted until he shall
have given her away to be adopted in a family of a different surname
from his own; after which fictitious ceremony, his marriage with her
becomes legal (see No. XV., note 109); for the child adopted takes the
same surname as that of the family into which he is adopted, and is so
far cut off from his own relations, that he would not venture even to
put on mourning for his real parents without first obtaining the
consent of those who had adopted him. A son or daughter may be sold,
but an adopted child may not; neither may the adopted child be given
away in adoption to any one else without the specific consent of his
real parents. The general object in adopting children is to leave some
one behind at death to look after the duties of ancestral worship. For
this boys are preferred; but the Fortunate Union gives an instance
in which these rites were very creditably performed by the heroine of
the tale.
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[138] This story is a sequel to the last.
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[139] The surnames would in this case be different, and no obstacle
could be offered on that score. See No. XV., note 109.
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[140] The dénouement of the Yü-chiao-li, a small novel which was
translated into French by Rémusat, and again by Julien under the title
of Les Deux Cousines, is effected by the hero of the tale marrying
both the heroines.
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[141] The sexes do not dine together. On the occasion of a
dinner-party, private or official, the ladies give a separate
entertainment to the wives of the various guests in the “inner” or
women’s apartments, as an adjunct to which a theatrical troupe is
often engaged, precisely as in the case of the opposite sex.
Singing-girls are, however, present at and share in the banquets of
the roués of China.
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[142] This occurs on the 5th of the 5th moon, and is commonly known as
the Dragon-Boat Festival, from a practice of racing on that day in
long, narrow boats. It is said to have been instituted in memory of a
patriotic statesman, whose identity, however, is not settled, some
writers giving Wu Yun (see The Middle Kingdom, Vol. II., p. 82),
others Ch‘ü Yüan (see The Chinese Reader’s Manual, p. 107), as the
hero of the day.
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[143] A hare or rabbit is believed to sit at the foot of the
cassia-tree in the moon, pounding the drugs out of which is concocted
the elixir of immortality. An allusion to this occurs in the poems of
Tu Fu, one of the celebrated bards of the T‘ang dynasty:—
“The frog is not drowned in the river;
The medicine hare lives for ever.”
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[144] By which he would become eligible for Government employ. The
sale of degrees has been extensively carried on under the present
dynasty, as a means of replenishing an empty Treasury.
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[145] Kung-sun is an example of a Chinese double surname.
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[146] Such is the common system of repaying the loan, by means of
which an indigent nominee is enabled to defray the expenses of his
journey to the post to which he has been appointed, and other calls
upon his purse. These loans are generally provided by some “western”
merchant, which term is an ellipsis for a “Shansi” banker, Shansi
being literally “west of the mountains.” Some one accompanies the
newly-made official to his post, and holds his commission in pawn
until the amount is repaid; which settlement is easily effected by the
issue of some well-understood proclamation, calling, for instance,
upon the people to close all gambling-houses within a given period.
Immediately the owners of these hells forward presents of money to the
incoming official, the Shansi banker gets his principal with interest,
perhaps at the rate of 2 per cent. per month, the gambling-houses
carry on as usual, and everybody is perfectly satisfied.
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[147] Which fact would disqualify him from taking the post.
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[148] Literally, “Square hole.” A common name for the Chinese cash.
See No. II., note 42.
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[149] In the case of wealthy families these strong rooms often
contain, in addition to bullion, jewels to a very great amount
belonging to the ladies of the house; and, as a rule, the door may not
be opened unless in the presence of a certain number of the male
representatives of the house.
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[150] Pieces of silver and gold paper made up to represent the
ordinary Chinese “shoes” of bullion (See No. XVIII., note 133), and
burnt for the use of the dead. Generally known to foreigners in China
as “joss-paper.”
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[151] See No. VII., note 54. In this case the reference is to a
similar Board in the Infernal Regions.
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[152] These would be sure to sneer at him behind his back.
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[153] A compliment usually paid to an in-coming official.
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[154] See No. I., note 39.
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[155] The retinue of a Mandarin should be in accordance with his rank.
I have given elsewhere (See No. LVI., note 315) what would be that of
an official of the highest rank.
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[156] See No. LXXVII., note 76.
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[157] Good writing holds a much higher place in the estimation of the
Chinese than among western nations. The very nature of their
characters raises calligraphy almost to the rank of an art.
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[158] The commentator here adds a somewhat similar case, which
actually occurred in the reign of K‘ang Hsi, of a Viceroy modestly
attended falling in with the gorgeous retinue of a Magistrate, and
being somewhat rudely treated by the servants of the latter. On
arriving at his destination, the Viceroy sent for that Magistrate, and
sternly bade him retire from office, remarking that no simple
magistrate could afford to keep such a retinue of attendants unless by
illegal exactions from the suffering people committed to his charge.
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[159] The Yang-tsze: sometimes spoken of as the Long River.
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[160] The full point of this story can hardly be conveyed in
translation. The man’s surname was Sun, and his prænomen, Pi-chên,
(which in Chinese follows the nomen) might be rendered
“Must-be-saved.” However, there is another word meaning “struck,”
precisely similar in sound and tone, though written differently, to
the above chên; and, as far as the ear alone is concerned, our
hero’s name might have been either Sun Must-be-saved or Sun
Must-be-struck. That the merchants mistook the character chên,
“saved,” for chên, “struck,” is evident from the catastrophe which
overtook their vessel, while Mr. Sun’s little boat rode safely through
the storm.
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[161] Here again we have a play upon words similar to that in the last
story.
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[162] We read in the History of Amoy:—“In the year 1622 the
red-haired barbarians seized the Pescadores and attacked Amoy.” From
the Pescadores they finally retired, on a promise that trade would be
permitted, to Formosa, whence they were expelled by the famous Koxinga
in 1662. “Red-haired barbarians,” a term now commonly applied to all
foreigners, was first used in the records of the Ming dynasty to
designate the Dutch.
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[163] Our author would here seem to have heard of the famous bull’s
hide which is mentioned in the first book of the Æneid. In any case,
the substitution of “stretching” is no improvement on the celebrated
device by which the bull’s hide was made to enclose so large a space.
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[164] The common method of porterage in China is by a bamboo pole over
the shoulder with well-balanced burdens hanging from each end. I have
often seen children carried thus, sitting in wicker baskets; sometimes
for long journeys.
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[165] It would be more usual to “renew the guitar string,” as the
Chinese idiom runs. In the paraphrase of the first maxim of the
Sacred Edict we are told that “The closest of all ties is that of
husband and wife; but suppose your wife dies, why, you can marry
another. But if your brother were to die,” &c., &c.
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[166] This, as well as the staff mentioned below, belongs to Buddhism.
See No. IV., note 46.
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[167] The first Manchu ruler of the empire of China. He came to the
throne in A.D. 1644.
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[168] It is worth noting that the author professes actually to have
witnessed the following extraordinary scene.
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[169] The vernal equinox, which would fall on or about the 20th of
March.
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[170] A fabulous lady, said to reside at the summit of the K‘un-lun
mountain, where, on the border of the Gem Lake, grows the peach-tree
of the angels, the fruit of which confers immortality on him who eats
it.
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[171] One of the most celebrated of the numerous secret societies of
China, the origin of which dates back to about A.D. 1350. Its members
have always been credited with a knowledge of the black art.
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[172] Of Chinese jugglers, Ibn Batuta writes as follows:—“They
produced a chain fifty cubits in length, and in my presence threw one
end of it towards the sky, where it remained, as if fastened to
something in the air. A dog was then brought forward, and, being
placed at the lower end of the chain, immediately ran up, and reaching
the other end immediately disappeared in the air. In the same manner a
hog, a panther, a lion, and a tiger were alternately sent up the
chain, and all equally disappeared at the upper end of it. At last
they took down the chain, and put it into a bag, no one ever
discerning in what way the different animals were made to vanish into
the air in the mysterious manner above described. This, I may venture
to affirm, was beyond measure strange and surprising.”
Apropos of which passage, Mr. Maskelyne, the prince of all
black-artists, ancient or modern, says:—“These apparent effects were,
doubtless, due to the aid of concave mirrors, the use of which was
known to the ancients, especially in the East, but they could not have
been produced in the open air.”
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[173] See No. LXXI., note 53.
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[174] This instrument, used by Buddhist priests in the musical
accompaniment to their liturgies, is said to be so called because a
fish never closes its eyes, and is therefore a fit model of vigilance
to him who would walk in the paths of holiness and virtue.
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[175] The duties of Coroner belong to the office of a District
Magistrate in China.
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[176] Without such certificate he would be liable to be involved in
trouble and annoyance at the will of any unfriendly neighbour.
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[177] See No. XLV., note 267.
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[178] We have in this story the keynote to the notorious and
much-to-be-deprecated dislike of the Chinese people to assist in
saving the lives of drowning strangers. Some of our readers may,
perhaps, not be aware that the Government of Hong-Kong has found it
necessary to insert a clause on the junk-clearances issued in that
colony, by which the junkmen are bound to assist to the utmost in
saving life. The apparent apathy of the Chinese in this respect comes
before us, however, in quite a different light when coupled with the
superstition that disembodied spirits of persons who have met a
violent death may return to the world of mortals if only fortunate
enough to secure a substitute. For among the crowd of shades, anxious
all to revisit their “sweet sons,” may perchance be some dear relative
or friend of the man who stands calmly by while another is drowning;
and it may be that to assist the drowning stranger would be to take
the longed-for chance away from one’s own kith or kin. Therefore, the
superstition-ridden Chinaman turns away, often perhaps, as in the
story before us, with feelings of pity and remorse. And yet this
belief has not prevented the establishment, especially on the river
Yang-tsze, of institutions provided with life-boats, for the express
purpose of saving life in those dangerous waters; so true is it that
when the Chinese people wish to move en masse in any given
direction, the fragile barrier of superstition is trampled down and
scattered to the winds.
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[179] As there are good and bad foxes, so may devils be beneficent or
malicious according to circumstances; and Chinese apologists for the
discourtesy of the term “foreign devils,” as applied to Europeans and
Americans alike, have gone so far as to declare that in this
particular instance the allusion is to the more virtuous among the
denizens of the Infernal Regions.
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[180] See No. XCVII., note 150.
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[181] A phrase constantly repeated, in other terms, by a guest to a
host who is politely escorting him to the door.
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[182] The spiritual lictors who are supposed to arrest the souls of
dying persons, are also believed to be armed with warrants signed and
sealed in due form as in the world above.
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[183] Literally, the “nine dark places,” which will remind readers of
Dante of the nine “bolgie” of the Inferno.
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[184] This is a cliff over which sinners are hurled, to alight upon
the upright points of knives below. The branches of the Sword Tree are
sharp blades which cut and hack all who pass within reach.
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[185] A crime by no means unknown to the clergy of China.
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[186] That is, when the lictors had returned his soul to its tenement.
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[187] See No. VI., note 52.
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[188] In A.D. 1621.
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[189] According to the Yü-li-ch‘ao, this potion is administered by
an old beldame, named Mother Mêng, who sits upon the Terrace of
Oblivion. “Whether they swallow much or little it matters not; but
sometimes there are perverse devils who altogether refuse to drink.
Then beneath their feet sharp blades start up, and a copper tube is
forced down their throats, by which means they are compelled to
swallow some.”
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[190] And such is actually the prevalent belief in China to this day.
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[191] Note 178 to No. CVII. should be read here. To save life is
indeed the bounden duty of every good Buddhist, for which he will be
proportionately rewarded in the world to come.
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[192] Salt is a Government monopoly in China, and its sale is only
permitted to licensed dealers. It is a contraband article of commerce,
whether for import or export, to foreign nations trading with China.
In an account of a journey from Swatow to Canton in March-April, 1877,
I wrote:—“Apropos of salt, we came across a good-sized bunker of it
when stowing away our things in the space below the deck. The boatmen
could not resist the temptation of doing a little smuggling on the way
up.... At a secluded point in a bamboo-shaded bend of the river, they
ran the boat alongside the bank, and were instantly met by a number of
suspicious-looking gentlemen with baskets, who soon relieved them of
the smuggled salt and separated in different directions.” Thus do the
people of China seek to lighten the grievous pressure of this tax. A
curious custom exists in Canton. Certain blind old men and women are
allowed to hawk salt about the streets, and earn a scanty living from
the profits they are able to make.
It may interest some to know that in the cities of the north of China
ice and coal may only be retailed by licensed dealers, who retain
such authority on the condition of supplying the yamêns of the local
mandarins with these two necessaries, free of all charge.
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[193] The Styx.
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[194] These words require some explanation. Ordinarily they would be
taken in the sense of casting cash of a base description; but they
might equally well signify the casting of iron articles of any kind,
and thereby hang some curious details. Iron foundries in China may
only be opened under license from the local officials, and the
articles there made, consisting chiefly of cooking utensils, may only
be sold within a given area, each district having its own particular
foundries from which alone the supplies of the neighbourhood may be
derived. Free trade in iron is much feared by the authorities, as
thereby pirates and rebels would be enabled to supply themselves with
arms. At the framing of the Treaty of Tientsin, with its accompanying
tariff and rules, iron was not specified among other prohibited
articles of commerce. Consequently, British merchants would appear to
have a full right to purchase iron in the interior and convey it to
any of the open ports under Transit-pass. But the Chinese officials
steadily refuse to acknowledge, or permit the exercise of, this right,
putting forward their own time-honoured custom with regard to iron,
and enumerating the disadvantages to China were such an innovation to
be brought about.
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[195] The allusion is to women, of a not very respectable class.
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[196] No Chinese magistrate would be found to pass sentence upon a man
who stole food under stress of hunger.
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[197] His own village.
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[198] The whole story is meant as a satire upon the iniquity of the
Salt Gabelle.
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[199] The chief supporters of superstition in China.
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[200] See No. I., note 39.
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[201] Such is one of the most common causes of hostile demonstration
against Chinese Christians. The latter, acting under the orders of the
missionaries, frequently refuse to subscribe to the various local
celebrations and processions, the great annual festivities, and
ceremonies of all kinds, on the grounds that these are idolatrous and
forbidden by the Christian faith. Hence bad feeling, high words, blows,
and sometimes bloodshed. I say “frequently,” because I have discovered
several cases in which converts have quietly subscribed like other
people rather than risk an émeute.
An amusing incident came under my own special notice not very long
ago. A missionary appeared before me one day to complain that a
certain convert of his had been posted in his own village, and cut off
from his civic rights for two years, merely because he had agreed to
let a room of his house to be used as a missionary dépôt. I took a
copy of the placard which was handed to me in proof of this statement,
and found it to run thus:—“In consequence of —— having entered into
an agreement with a barbarian pastor, to lease to the said barbarian
pastor a room in his house to be used as a missionary chapel, we, the
elders of this village, do hereby debar —— from the privilege of
worshipping in our ancestral hall for the space of two years.” It is
needless, of course, to mention that Ancestral Worship is prohibited
by all sects of missionaries in China alike; or that, when I pointed
this out to the individual in question, who could not have understood
the import of the Chinese placard, the charge was promptly withdrawn.
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[202] An historical character who was formerly among the ranks of the
Yellow Turban rebels, but subsequently entered the service of Kuan Yü
(see No. I., note 39), and was canonized by an Emperor of the last
dynasty.
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[203] This curious ceremony is the final touch to a newly-built or
newly-restored temple, and consists in giving expression to the eyes
of the freshly-painted idols, which have been purposely left blank by
the painter. Up to that time these blocks of clay or wood are not
supposed to have been animated by the spiritual presence of the deity
in question; but no sooner are the eyes lighted than the gratified God
smiles down upon the handsome decorations thus provided by devout and
trusting suppliants.
There is a cognate custom belonging to the ceremonies of ancestral
worship, of great importance in the eyes of the Chinese. On a certain
day after the death of a parent, the surviving head of the family
proceeds with much solemnity to dab a spot of ink upon the memorial
tablet of the deceased. This is believed to give to the departed
spirit the power of remaining near to, and watching over the fortunes
of, those left behind.
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[204] Such indeed is the fate of a per-centage of all public
subscriptions raised and handled by Chinese of no matter what class. A
year or two ago an application was made to me for a donation to a
native foundling hospital at Swatow, on the ground that I was known as
a “read (Chinese) book man,” and that consequently other persons, both
Chinese and foreigners, might be induced to follow my example. On my
declining to do so, the manager of the concern informed me that if I
would only put down my name for fifty dollars, say £10, no call should
be made upon me for the money! Even in the matter of the funds
collected for the famine-stricken people of 1878, it is whispered that
peculation has been rife.
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[205] The reader must recollect that these are the words of the God,
speaking from the magician’s body.
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[206] It is considered a serious breach of Chinese etiquette to accept
invitations without returning the compliment at an early date.
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[207] A high Chinese official, known to foreigners as Intendant of
Circuit; the circuit being a circuit of Prefectures, over which he has
full control, subject only to the approval of the highest provincial
authorities. It is with this functionary that foreign Consuls rank.
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[208] See No. XCIII., note 122.
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[209] Of course only pretending to be hurt, the pain of the blows
being transferred by his magical art to the back of the Taot‘ai.
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[210] That is, missionaries from India.
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[211] See No. LVI., note 320.
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[212] Much of the above recalls Fa Hsien’s narrative of his celebrated
journey from China to India in the early years of the fifth century of
our era, with which our author was evidently well acquainted. That
courageous traveller complained that of those who had set out with him
some had stopped on the way and others had died, leaving him only his
own shadow as a companion.
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[213] This may almost be said to have been the belief of the Arabs at
the date of the composition of “The Arabian Nights.”
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[214] For Kuan-yin, see No. XXXIII., note 208. Wên-shu, or Manjusiri,
is the God of Wisdom, and is generally represented as riding on a
lion, in attendance, together with P‘u-hsien, the God of Action, who
rides an elephant, upon Shâkyamuni Buddha.
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[215] See No. XLVIII., note 277.
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[216] The term here used stands for a vitreous composition that has
long been prepared by the Chinese. Glass, properly so called, is said
to have been introduced into China from the west, by a eunuch, during
the Ming dynasty.
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[217] The perfect man, according to the Confucian standard.
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[218] A large, smooth, area of concrete, to be seen outside all
country houses of any size, and used for preparing the various kinds
of grain.
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[219] Compare—“The not uncommon practice of strewing ashes to show
the footprints of ghosts or demons takes for granted that they are
substantial bodies.”—Tylor’s Primitive Culture, Vol. I., p. 455.
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[220] Fêng-tu is a district city in the province of Szechuen, and near
it are said to be fire-wells (see Williams’ Syllabic Dictionary,
s.v.), otherwise known as the entrance to Purgatory, the capital city
of which is also called Fêng-tu.
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[221] To the Imperial Treasury. From what I know of the barefacedness
of similar official impostures, I should say that this statement is
quite within the bounds of truth. For instance, at Amoy one per cent.
is collected by the local mandarins on all imports, ostensibly for the
purpose of providing the Imperial table with a delicious kind of
bird’s-nest said to be found in the neighbourhood! Seven-tenths of the
sum thus collected is pocketed by the various officials of the place,
and with the remaining three-tenths a certain quantity of the ordinary
article of commerce is imported from the Straits and forwarded to
Peking.
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[222] See No. XXXII., note 197.
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[223] An Imperial mandate is always written on yellow silk, and the
ceremony of opening and perusing it is accompanied by prostrations and
other acts of reverential submission.
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[224] Innumerable pamphlets have been published in China on the best
methods of getting rid of these destructive insects, but none to my
knowledge contain much sound or practical advice.
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[225] See No. LII., note 286. The mules of the north of China are
marvels of beauty and strength; and the price of a fine animal often
goes as high as £100.
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[226] See No. XL., note 233, and No. XCIV., note 134.
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[227] See No. I., note 39.
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[228] See No. LXIX., note 38.
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[229] It was the God of War who replaced Mr. Tung’s head after it had
actually been cut off and buried.
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[230] See No. VI., note 51.
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[231] The highly educated Confucianist rises above the superstition
that darkens the lives of his less fortunate fellow countrymen. Had
such a dream as the above received an inauspicious interpretation at
the hands of some local soothsayer, the owner of the animal would in
nine cases out of ten have taken an early opportunity of getting rid
of it.
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[232] The Chinese love to refer to the “good old time” of their
forefathers, when a man who dropped anything on the highway would have
no cause to hurry back for fear of its being carried off by a
stranger.
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[233] One method is to wrap an old mirror (formerly a polished metal
disc) in a handkerchief, and then, no one being present, to bow seven
times towards the Spirit of the Hearth: after which the first words
heard spoken by any one will give a clue to the issue under
investigation. Another method is to close the eyes and take seven
paces, opening them at the seventh and getting some hint from the
objects first seen in a mirror held in the hand, coupled with the
words first spoken within the experimenter’s hearing.
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[234] In former days, these messengers of good tidings to candidates
whose homes were in distant parts used to earn handsome sums if first
to announce the news; but now, at any rate along the coast, steamers
and the telegraph have taken their occupation from them.
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[235] Accurate anatomical descriptions must not be looked for in
Chinese literature. “Man has three hundred and sixty-five bones,
corresponding to the number of days it takes the heavens to revolve.”
From the Hsi-yüan-lu, or Institutions to Coroners, Book I., ch.
12. [See No. XIV., note 100.]
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[236] See No. X., note 79.
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[237] Radix robiniæ amaræ.
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[238] As the Chinese invariably do whenever they get hold of a useful
prescription or remedy. Master workmen also invariably try to withhold
something of their art from the apprentices they engage to teach.
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[239] The text has “of two hundred hoofs.”
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[240] The ordinary “wine” of China is a spirit distilled from rice.
See No. XCIII., note 122.
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[241] The commentator would have us believe that Mr. Lin’s fondness
for wine was to him an element of health and happiness rather than a
disease to be cured, and that the priest was wrong in meddling with
the natural bent of his constitution.
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[242] In an entry on torture (see No. LXXIII., note 62), which occurs
in my Glossary of Reference, I made the following statement:—“The
real tortures of a Chinese prison are the filthy dens in which the
unfortunate victims are confined, the stench in which they have to
draw breath, the fetters and manacles by which they are secured, the
absolute insufficiency even of the disgusting rations doled out to
them, and above all the mental agony which must ensue in a country
with no Habeas corpus to protect the lives and fortunes of its
citizens.”
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[243] For a small bribe, the soldiers at the gates of a Chinese city
will usually pass people in and out by means of a ladder placed
against the wall at some convenient spot.
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[244] I believe it is with us only a recently determined fact that
dogs perspire through the skin.
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[245] The exact date is given,—the 17th of the 6th moon, which would
probably fall towards the end of June.
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[246] See No. XCVIII., note 159.
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[247] This corresponds to our ceremony of laying the foundation stone,
except that one commemorates the beginning, the other the completion,
of a new building.
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[248] That is, the disembodied spirit of the oilman.
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[249] A most abstruse and complicated game of skill, for which the
Chinese claim an antiquity of four thousand years, and which I was the
first to introduce to a European public through an article in Temple
Bar Magazine for January, 1877. Apropos of which, an accomplished
American lady, Miss A. M. Fielde, of Swatow, wrote as follows:—“The
game seems to me the peer of chess.... It is a game for the slow,
persistent, astute, multitudinous Chinese; while chess, by the
picturesque appearance of the board, the variety and prominent
individuality of the men, and the erratic combination of the
attack,—is for the Anglo-Saxon.”
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