THE figure kneeling before the deities mounted on pedestals is a priest
of the sect of Fo. He is burning incense, or rather paper that is
covered over with some liquid that resembles gold. Sometimes, in lieu of
this, tin foil is burnt before the altars of China, and this is the
principal use to which the large quantities of tin sent from this
country is applied. On the four-legged stool is the pot containing the
sticks of fate, and other paraphernalia belonging to the temple, and
behind it is the tripod in which incense is sometimes burned. These
superstitious rites are performed several times by the priests every
day, but there is no kind of congregational worship in China. The people
pay the priests for taking care of their present and future fate.
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[Illustration:
CHINA—PLATE 7
]
Plate VII.