THRASHING THE GODS.--THE BOYS TAKEN PRISONERS.
Anxious to deliver his father's letter to the Christian priest, yet
fearful of making inquiries where he was to be found, now he had heard
of the governor's enmity to Christianity, Nicholas determined to make
the effort alone, and having thanked the bonze for his hospitality and
presented him with half an ounce of silver, he was about proceeding in
his search, when the latter solicited him to join in the morning prayers
of the monastery; a solicitation he was too prudent to refuse, for fear
of awakening the suspicions of the bonzes, whom he knew to be the main
persecutors of his religion.
As for Chow, like the majority of his countrymen he was of no religion
in particular, but a little of each of the sects into which the Chinese
are divided; Confucian, Buddhist, and Taouist; he, therefore, willingly
followed Nicholas, who, with something like a feeling of disgust,
entered a spacious hall, the ceiling of which shone with gold and japan.
In the centre were placed three colossal representative gods of the
past, present, and future--the Buddha who is, and the Buddha who will
be--with a vase of incense and a lamp of burning tea oil before each. At
the sound of a small bell, a number of yellow-robed priests, with heads
shaven, clean and oily as bladders of lard, made their appearance and
commenced the ceremony; one rang a bell violently, while another
clattered like a watchman upon a hollow bamboo cane. This clamor was for
the purpose of arousing the attention of the gods, which, after a few
minutes, being supposed to be accomplished, the whole society of priests
knocked their heads upon the ground repeatedly; and when tired, they
began to chant hymns and create a fearful din by playing rough music
upon much rougher instruments; after which they marched out of the hall
regularly and in double file. Not a little pleased at the conclusion of
the ceremony, Nicholas followed, taking care, however, on leaving the
building, to choose an opposite direction to the bonzes.
The boys had not walked more than a hundred yards, when they came to the
foot of a small hillock, which served as a base or pedestal for a
shrine, in which, upon a raised platform, like a small boy upon a tall
stool, sat an ugly little god with a dragon's head, so glittering,
however, with gold and gaudy colors, that they knew it to be a private
idol that some foolish devotee had decorated at his own cost, with a
view to obtain some especial service from heaven. When within earshot of
this deity, they observed two bonzes come from behind the shrine,
attended by a servant, who, having prepared the incense table commenced
to bow their heads to the ground and mutter their prayers.
Not wishing either to join in, or interrupt the priests' devotions, the
boys took up their position behind the trunk of a large tree, where they
witnessed the following scene:--
Scarcely had the bonzes commenced their head knockings when a mob of the
lower class of people, with sticks and hammers in their hands, came
clamoring toward the shrine. They were led by a man, who had no sooner
reached the astute and kneeling priests, than with one kick he sent them
rolling over each other, saying at the same time, "Get thee hence, thou
rogues of bonzes, and let us deal with this villainous god." The bonzes,
seeing so many persons, arose and scampered off to their monastery for
help, when the _leader_, whom Nicholas now recognized as his friend, the
innkeeper, approached the idol, saying, "How now, thou dog of a spirit!
Have I not fed thee, lodged thee handsomely, and offered incense each
day at the cost of half my hard earnings, that thou shouldst save the
life of my daughter, who, notwithstanding, has been carried to the
yellow stream? Let us punish him, my friends, that he may deceive no
other father." As he uttered the last words, he struck off the arm of
the god with such force that it struck a bonze, who was at that moment
coming toward the idol in advance of some twenty of his brethren; at
which the people cried, "This is indeed a just retribution upon the vile
bonze."
"Do not the people fear the vengeance of the gods, that they behave
thus?" said the stricken priest, calmly, and dissembling his rage.
"Truly the gods may render us unfortunate," said one cowardly fellow,
and the superstitious crowd hesitated. Perceiving his advantage, the
bonze followed it up. "Surely," said he, "the people are not
unreasonable, like this man, who is ungrateful to the gods for taking
his daughter, as if, forsooth, his child were better than the children
of his neighbors."
"This is true. Why should one complain that he is not more fortunate
than the rest?" said the cowardly voice.
"As for the worthy Sing, the gods may pardon him, in consideration of
his great grief; but then he must desist from this profanity," said the
bonze.
"The bonze is generous, and his words are reasonable," said another.
"Are my friends unjust that they will not listen to an injured man,
whose injuries may be their own to-morrow?" said the innkeeper.
"This is reasonable also; let us hear Sing," cried several voices.
At that moment, Nicholas, who feared lest the artful bonzes should get
the better of the dispute, came forward, and said, "Why should the
worthy Sing waste words? surely he has been sufficiently injured; the
measure of his grief is full, for he will leave no descendant to fulfil
the necessary offices at his tomb."
"The words of the honorable youth are wise," said the fickle crowd; and
Nicholas continued, "That there has been robbery, there can be no
doubt, my friends; for, notwithstanding the god promised to cure the
daughter of this worthy man, she has passed to the yellow stream, and,
therefore, he is unworthy of his quality of godship, and should be
punished; therefore, in justice to the worthy Sing, let this temple be
pulled down, and the stupid idol pay the penalty in his own person."
To which the priest endeavored to reply, but the people would not listen
to him, and acting upon the suggestion of Nicholas, threw a cord round
the god's neck, pulled him to the ground, and belabored him with sticks
and hammers.
During the proceeding the priests, who were too wise to lose their
tempers, addressed a knot of lookers-on, vehemently threatening them
with terrible misfortunes, but at the same time declaring, that if Sing
would come to some agreement, the god, who was of a short temper, would
do what was reasonable on his part and prevent future evils. This had
the desired effect upon all but Sing and some of his friends, who
continued to belabor the idol till the converts to the bonze's opinion
drove them away, when, becoming broken into antagonistic parties, they
threw aside their weapons and fought each other with their fists, till a
body of yah-yu, or city police, entered upon the ground, and seizing
Sing, the principal bonze, and the two boys, as the chief rioters,
hurried them off to the police tribunal.
As for the mob, no sooner had the prisoners been removed, than mortified
at the profanity into which they had been hurried, they gathered
together the fragments of the deity, stuck them together as well as
possible, washed him, and fell at his feet, exclaiming, "In truth we
have been a little too hasty, but then your godship has been a little
too slow in performing your promises, and thus brought the beating upon
yourself. But still it is a good saying, that 'what has been done can't
be undone.' Let us, therefore, think no more of this matter, and if you
will forget what has passed we will repair thy temple and gild you over
again."
For fear that my reader may think this episode exaggerated, I must
assure him that similar scenes are even now of frequent occurrence--and
why not? For although idolaters, the Chinese are neither enthusiasts nor
fanatics. With the greater part, the worship of idols is an inheritance
which it would be impossible to reject;--it is custom they worship.
Moreover, like ourselves, they are a business-like people, and will have
money's worth for money; therefore, if they pay an idol for a certain
quantity of work, and he does not complete his contract, they give him a
sound thrashing--and the principle is not a bad one after all.