Chapter 35

[541]That is, when the lictors had returned his soul to its tenement.return to text[542]SeeNo. VI.,note 52.return to text[543]InA.D.1621.return to text[544]According to theYü-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.”return to text[545]And such is actually the prevalent belief in China to this day.return to footnote anchor 545return to footnote 622[546]Note 533toNo. 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.return to text[547]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:—“Aproposof 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 Chinaiceandcoalmay 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.return to text[548]The Styx.return to text[549]These words require some explanation. Ordinarily they would be taken in the sense of castingcashof 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.return to text[550]The allusion is to women, of a not very respectable class.return to text[551]No Chinese magistrate would be found to pass sentence upon a man who stole food under stress of hunger.return to text[552]His own village.return to text[553]The whole story is meant as a satire upon the iniquity of the Salt Gabelle.return to text[554]The chief supporters of superstition in China.return to text[555]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text[556]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 anémeute.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 missionarydépôt. 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.return to text[557]An historical character who was formerly among the ranks of the Yellow Turban rebels, but subsequently entered the service of Kuan Yü (seeNo. I.,note 39), and was canonized by an Emperor of the last dynasty.return to text[558]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.return to text[559]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.return to text[560]The reader must recollect that these are the words of the God, speaking from the magician’s body.return to text[561]It is considered a serious breach of Chinese etiquette to accept invitations without returning the compliment at an early date.return to text[562]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.return to text[563]SeeNo. XCIII.,note 477.return to text[564]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.return to text[565]That is, missionaries from India.return to text[566]SeeNo. LVI.,note 320.return to text[567]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.return to text[568]This may almost be said to have been the belief of the Arabs at the date of the composition of “The Arabian Nights.”return to text[569]For Kuan-yin, seeNo. 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.return to text[570]SeeNo. XLVIII.,note 277.return to text[571]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.return to text[572]The perfect man, according to the Confucian standard.return to text[573]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.return to text[574]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’sPrimitive Culture,Vol. I.,p.455.return to text[575]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.return to text[576]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.return to text[577]SeeNo. XXXII.,note 197.return to text[578]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.return to text[579]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.return to text[580]SeeNo. 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.return to text[581]SeeNo. XL.,note 233, andNo. XCIV.,note 489.return to text[582]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text[583]SeeNo. LXIX.,note 393.return to text[584]It was the God of War who replaced Mr. Tung’s head after it had actually been cut off and buried.return to text[585]SeeNo. VI.,note 51.return to text[586]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.return to text[587]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.return to text[588]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.return to text[589]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.return to footnote anchor 589return to footnote anchor 673[590]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 theHsi-yüan-lu, orInstitutions to Coroners, BookI.,ch.12. [SeeNo. XIV.,note 100.]return to text[591]SeeNo. X.,note 79.return to text[592]Radix robiniæ amaræ.return to text[593]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.return to text[594]The text has “of two hundred hoofs.”return to text[595]The ordinary “wine” of China is a spirit distilled from rice. SeeNo. XCIII.,note 477.return to text[596]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.return to text[597]In an entry on torture (seeNo. LXXIII.,note 417), which occurs in myGlossary 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 noHabeas corpusto protect the lives and fortunes of its citizens.”return to text[598]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.return to text[599]I believe it is with us only a recently determined fact that dogs perspire through the skin.return to text[600]The exact date is given,—the 17th of the 6th moon, which would probably fall towards the end of June.return to text[601]SeeNo. XCVIII.,note 514.return to text[602]This corresponds to our ceremony of laying the foundation stone, except that one commemorates the beginning, the other the completion, of a new building.return to text[603]That is, the disembodied spirit of the oilman.return to text[604]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 inTemple Bar Magazinefor January, 1877.Aproposof 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.”return to text[605]On this day, annually dedicated to kite-flying, picnics, and good cheer, everybody tries to get up to as great an elevation as possible, in the hope, as some say, of thereby prolonging life. It was this day—4th October, 1878—which was fixed for the total extermination of foreigners in Foochow.return to footnote anchor 605return to footnote anchor 623[606]SeeNo. XXVI.,note 180.return to text[607]One of theprêtas, or the fourth of the six paths (gâti) of existence; the other five being (1) angels, (2) men, (3) demons, (5) brute beasts, and (6) sinners in hell. The term is often used colloquially for a self-invited guest.return to footnote anchor 607return to footnote anchor 642[608]An imaginary building in the Infernal Regions.return to text[609]Mencius reckoned “to playwei-ch‘ifor money” among the five unfilial acts.return to text[610]SeeNo. LV.,note 310; andNo. XCIV.,note 492.return to text[611]That is, in carrying out the obligations he had entered into, such as conducting the ceremonies of ancestral worship, repairing the family tombs,&c.return to text

[541]That is, when the lictors had returned his soul to its tenement.return to text

[542]SeeNo. VI.,note 52.return to text

[543]InA.D.1621.return to text

[544]According to theYü-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.”return to text

[545]And such is actually the prevalent belief in China to this day.return to footnote anchor 545return to footnote 622

[546]Note 533toNo. 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.return to text

[547]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:—“Aproposof 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 Chinaiceandcoalmay 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.return to text

It may interest some to know that in the cities of the north of Chinaiceandcoalmay 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.return to text

[548]The Styx.return to text

[549]These words require some explanation. Ordinarily they would be taken in the sense of castingcashof 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.return to text

[550]The allusion is to women, of a not very respectable class.return to text

[551]No Chinese magistrate would be found to pass sentence upon a man who stole food under stress of hunger.return to text

[552]His own village.return to text

[553]The whole story is meant as a satire upon the iniquity of the Salt Gabelle.return to text

[554]The chief supporters of superstition in China.return to text

[555]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text

[556]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 anémeute.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 missionarydépôt. 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.return to text

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 missionarydépôt. 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.return to text

[557]An historical character who was formerly among the ranks of the Yellow Turban rebels, but subsequently entered the service of Kuan Yü (seeNo. I.,note 39), and was canonized by an Emperor of the last dynasty.return to text

[558]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.return to text

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.return to text

[559]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.return to text

[560]The reader must recollect that these are the words of the God, speaking from the magician’s body.return to text

[561]It is considered a serious breach of Chinese etiquette to accept invitations without returning the compliment at an early date.return to text

[562]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.return to text

[563]SeeNo. XCIII.,note 477.return to text

[564]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.return to text

[565]That is, missionaries from India.return to text

[566]SeeNo. LVI.,note 320.return to text

[567]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.return to text

[568]This may almost be said to have been the belief of the Arabs at the date of the composition of “The Arabian Nights.”return to text

[569]For Kuan-yin, seeNo. 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.return to text

[570]SeeNo. XLVIII.,note 277.return to text

[571]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.return to text

[572]The perfect man, according to the Confucian standard.return to text

[573]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.return to text

[574]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’sPrimitive Culture,Vol. I.,p.455.return to text

[575]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.return to text

[576]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.return to text

[577]SeeNo. XXXII.,note 197.return to text

[578]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.return to text

[579]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.return to text

[580]SeeNo. 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.return to text

[581]SeeNo. XL.,note 233, andNo. XCIV.,note 489.return to text

[582]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text

[583]SeeNo. LXIX.,note 393.return to text

[584]It was the God of War who replaced Mr. Tung’s head after it had actually been cut off and buried.return to text

[585]SeeNo. VI.,note 51.return to text

[586]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.return to text

[587]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.return to text

[588]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.return to text

[589]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.return to footnote anchor 589return to footnote anchor 673

[590]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 theHsi-yüan-lu, orInstitutions to Coroners, BookI.,ch.12. [SeeNo. XIV.,note 100.]return to text

[591]SeeNo. X.,note 79.return to text

[592]Radix robiniæ amaræ.return to text

[593]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.return to text

[594]The text has “of two hundred hoofs.”return to text

[595]The ordinary “wine” of China is a spirit distilled from rice. SeeNo. XCIII.,note 477.return to text

[596]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.return to text

[597]In an entry on torture (seeNo. LXXIII.,note 417), which occurs in myGlossary 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 noHabeas corpusto protect the lives and fortunes of its citizens.”return to text

[598]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.return to text

[599]I believe it is with us only a recently determined fact that dogs perspire through the skin.return to text

[600]The exact date is given,—the 17th of the 6th moon, which would probably fall towards the end of June.return to text

[601]SeeNo. XCVIII.,note 514.return to text

[602]This corresponds to our ceremony of laying the foundation stone, except that one commemorates the beginning, the other the completion, of a new building.return to text

[603]That is, the disembodied spirit of the oilman.return to text

[604]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 inTemple Bar Magazinefor January, 1877.Aproposof 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.”return to text

[605]On this day, annually dedicated to kite-flying, picnics, and good cheer, everybody tries to get up to as great an elevation as possible, in the hope, as some say, of thereby prolonging life. It was this day—4th October, 1878—which was fixed for the total extermination of foreigners in Foochow.return to footnote anchor 605return to footnote anchor 623

[606]SeeNo. XXVI.,note 180.return to text

[607]One of theprêtas, or the fourth of the six paths (gâti) of existence; the other five being (1) angels, (2) men, (3) demons, (5) brute beasts, and (6) sinners in hell. The term is often used colloquially for a self-invited guest.return to footnote anchor 607return to footnote anchor 642

[608]An imaginary building in the Infernal Regions.return to text

[609]Mencius reckoned “to playwei-ch‘ifor money” among the five unfilial acts.return to text

[610]SeeNo. LV.,note 310; andNo. XCIV.,note 492.return to text

[611]That is, in carrying out the obligations he had entered into, such as conducting the ceremonies of ancestral worship, repairing the family tombs,&c.return to text

Back to Index Next