CHAPTER I.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

UPON THE

CIVILIZATION

OF THE

WESTERN BARBARIANS,

PARTICULARLY OF THE ENGLISH;

MADE DURING A RESIDENCE OF SOME YEARS IN THOSE PARTS,

By AH-CHIN-LE,

MANDARIN OF THE FIRST CLASS, MEMBER OF THE

ENLIGHTENED AND EXALTED CALAO.

TRANSLATED FROM THE CHINESE INTO ENGLISH,

By JOHN YESTER SMYTHE, Esq.,

OF SHANGHAI,

AND

NOW FIRST PUBLISHED OUT OF CHINA AND IN OTHER THAN CHINESE.

BOSTON:

LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.

NEW YORK:

CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM,

678 BROADWAY.

1876.

COPYRIGHT.

J.B. SWASEY.

1876.

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

This Translation of the Work of Ah-Chin-le is trustworthy as to the

meaning of the Text--though the literal translation has not been, in

many cases, attempted.

Preserving the Spirit of the Author, the Translator has desired to be

intelligible in good, readable English. Where it is impossible to give

the precise thought of a mind so differently cultured, the _nearest_

English is given. It is hoped that the inherent difficulty of the task

may excuse errors of grammar and style.

The Translator has been so absorbed in his Author, that he fears he may

have often slipped in his Syntax, and been rude in his manner. However,

with whatever faults, he hands the volume to his Countrymen--thinking

that they may be as much interested in it as he has been; and may

derive as much amusement. If it do not commend itself for its Wisdom,

it may, at least, for its novelty--that is, as a genuine expression of

intelligent _Chinese_ opinion, concerning the "_Civilization of the

Western Barbarians, and particularly of the English_."

The Author's own Preface explains the Origin of the Work, and its

claims to consideration.

The Retreat,

Shanghai, China, 1875.

J.Y.S.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

Ah-chin-le, Mandarin, and member of the exalted _Calao_, to the

Illustrious _Wo-sung_, Mandarin, First class, President of the most

Serene, the grand Council, _Calao_; virtue, health, and the highest

place in the Hall of your Sublime Ancestors! Trained from my youth

for many years in the school of the Foreigners [Fo-kien], so as to

be versed in the languages of the chief Barbarians of the West, and

particularly of the English, afterwards perfected in the latter at our

port of Shanghai, and sent by your Illustrious command upon a private

mission with the Imperial Embassy to the outside Barbarians of the far

West to curiously seek into the state of those Peoples, and report upon

the same to your Illustrious mind--that being so informed exactly,

your Wisdom might, in those matters appertaining to the Western

Barbarians, enlighten the Son of Heaven (our Celestial and Imperial

Majesty [Bang-ztse] most renowned and exalted) when, in Council, things

touching those outer Barbarians should be considered: these, my poor

words, in so far as to your Illustrious Wisdom it has been thought

proper to make general, are now produced: that the happy subjects

of our Central, Flowery Kingdom, may understand more perfectly the

condition of those outside Barbarians, respecting whom so very little

is known, and may the more cautiously guard the Sacred Institutions

[Kam-phfe] of our Celestial Land--wise, peaceful, powerful, and teeming

with an industrious and contented people, before the Western Barbarians

had so much as the rudiments of learning.

Ah-chin prostrates his poor body before your Illustrious Benevolence,

and craves forbearance that these, his unworthy _Observations_, are not

better ordered:--the circumstances of travel, fatigue, agitation of

mind, hurry and confusion, have been unfavourable for that due ordering

of the same which a respect for your Illustrious Wisdom required--in

this particular the precise Report, submitted to the Exalted, the

_Calao_, through the hands of your Illustrious Greatness, is more

perfect. These are minutes, rather, jotted down and fastened for better

reordering, if, at another time, it should be judged fit. May the

Sovereign Lord of Heaven [Chang-ti] keep your Illustrious mind and body!

AH-CHIN-LE.

NOTE.--These _Observations_ now following were made in England, and

refer chiefly to the _English_ Barbarians, who pride themselves

upon being the most powerful and most enlightened of all the outer

Barbarians, and, in fact, of any People in the whole, immense World.

Ah-Chin.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I.--OF THE RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE

ENGLISH 1

II.--OF THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE ENGLISH 45

III.--SOME PARTICULARS OF THE INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION 76

IV.--UPON EDUCATION: A FEW REFLECTIONS 98

V.--OF THE LITERATURE OF THE ENGLISH 109

VI.--OF THEIR TRADE, AND REVENUE DERIVED FROM IT 131

VII.--SOME REMARKS UPON MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, AND

BURIALS [HI-DI] 150

VIII.--OF ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND SOME WORDS ABOUT

SCIENCE [KNO-TE] 170

IX.--OF AMUSEMENTS, GAMES, AND SPECTACLES 195

X.--OF EMPLOYMENTS OF THE PEOPLE, AND ASPECTS OF

DAILY LIFE 214

XI.--OF THE HIGH-CASTES: SOME PARTICULARS OF THEIR

DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS 223

XII.--OF THE APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY, THE CLIMATE,

AND OTHER THINGS 246

XIII.--LONDON 257

XIV.--SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 278

OBSERVATIONS.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER I.

OF THE RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE ENGLISH.

The worship of the supreme Lord of Heaven [Chang-ti], is not unknown to

these Barbarians, though degraded by many Superstitions.

The purity of the divine and original Worship (as with the vulgar in

our Celestial Kingdom) is too simple. About 500 or 600 years after

our Confutze, in the time of the Romans, there appeared in an obscure

province of their Empire a new Sect of devotees, who asserted that

they had among them a Son of Heaven. This Son they called _Christ_;

and those who adopted this new deity were called _Christians_. This

was nearly 2000 years [met-li-ze] ago. The Sect increased and spread.

One of the Emperors of the West adopted the new god, and enforced the

worship of him upon the subjects of the Empire.

All the Western Barbarians derive their knowledge from the Romans;

whose power, indeed, they over-turned, but whose civilization they

imitated. Particularly, the Bonzes (Priests) of the new _Superstition_,

joined to the Chiefs of new powers (which arose upon the ruins of the

Roman Empire), preserved some remains of the ancient Learning, and

enforced the new Superstition. What little of letters remained was

almost entirely with the Bonzes. This event was much the same as the

introduction from the Hindoos into our Central Kingdom of the worship

of the Hindoo god, _Fo_; and, curiously, these events happened at about

the same time.

It is to be observed that in our Illustrious Kingdom there is a

tendency to superstitious observances. We have several _Sects_

[pho-ti]; but our _Literati_ merely tolerate and do not worship. A

simple and pure homage to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven [Hoang-chan-ti]

is an act of the Wise: and even the _Sects_ make their _Spirits_

subordinate to Him. The Western Barbarians, however, dishonour the

true worship by strange "rites"--even by incredible superstitions,

when the intellectual culture is considered. It is not long since, in

the monstrous credulity of the people, directed by the Bonzes, it was

believed that the _Devil_ (Chief of the _Evil Demons_) would enter into

an individual--generally some old, ugly, and friendless woman--and,

_by her_, turn the milk sour, drive the cattle mad, torture children,

shrivel up the limbs, blast with the _Evil Eye_; and even plague

with disease and with horrible death! And these wretched women, and

sometimes men, themselves often fancying that the Devil was really

in them, were seized upon, dragged through mud and mire, fearfully

maltreated, and put to death by the horrible torments of fire, upon

this wild accusation: and this terrible scene was not caused by a

maddened rabble of the common sort, but under the lead of the Bonzes,

and according to the Laws of the Land.

The great, central figure of idolatry is the Pope, who sits enthroned

in Rome; and is, generally, a very old man, not always remarkable

for wisdom nor virtue. He claims to be the sole vicegerent of the

Christ-god, and only visible divine Head--all who do not worship

him are really not true worshippers. Yet, there are many _Sects_ of

this _Superstition_; and in England, the Sovereign is held to be the

true Pope and Head! The English Pope now worshipped is therefore

a woman--the Queen! Such a thing seemed to me to be too wild--a

phantasy--I could not comprehend. I knew that this Sect--the Roman--had

long ago followers in our Flowery Kingdom; and our annals show was

tolerated: not, however, for the _Superstition_, but for the Bonzes,

who were masters of some useful knowledge. Personally, I never knew any

native devotees of the Superstition--in fact it has steadily diminished

in repute, and its few and scattered adherents are very obscure. So I

was, and am still, puzzled by this extraordinary _Sect_. I have read

the _Creed_; a sort of verbal incantation, made by devotees in the

temples.

One day, I begged of a good-natured, large-bellied, Priest to explain

to me; and ventured to ask him if the _Creed_ was really an Article of

Belief, or only a formal and meaningless Invocation--like some of the

mummeries [phin-zi] of our Superstitious Sects. He looked surprised;

but when he saw that he was thus accosted by a "_Heathen Chinee_" (as

these Barbarians always contemptuously call the inhabitants of our

Central Land), he merely said: "Why, you have in China our Missionaries

to enlighten your darkness; have you never met them?" "No; I have

heard of them at Shanghai; but they do not speak our tongue, nor do

we understand them; and their teachings, even if understood, would

attract no attention from the _Literati_, who would consider them as

unworthy of notice as any other Superstition." "How so? our Religion is

no Superstition; it is the true and _only_ true Religion, revealed by

God himself to his chosen people, and miraculously preserved for all

believers." "I bow before your Illustrious mind and body; but we have,

and have had from time immemorial, just such pretensions; they are as

old as history." "I will not argue; but look at the excellency of our

divine religion!" "Where shall I look? If you mean the excellency of

certain moral principles, there is nothing peculiar to your _Sect_

in them. They have been taught in our schools for thousands of

years--they _are_ excellent; they show the divine in man--man is of the

divine; morality comes of that." "But look at your frightful vices;

at your Pagan worship--see the effects of idolatry!" "I bow to your

Illustrious mind." I saw my effort to obtain any reasonable explanation

was fruitless; I made my obeisance and left. What an illustration of

ignorant and superstitious conceit! Vice, thousands of miles beyond

sea, so dreadful; the vice at hand, defiling every corner, unseen! The

only true Religion of this Priest will not see, or, seeing, he will

not believe that it is Vice--or, at any rate, idolatrous--pagan Vice!

I could not believe, at first, that the _Superstition_ was more than

a Form, kept up merely for the advantage of the Priests. The sharp

intellects of the Barbarians, applied so fruitfully to useful arts,

seemed stultified, if I held to their actual belief. I doubted the

honesty of the Priests; I knew the bad character of many of the Bonzes

of our Superstitious Sects. Now, better acquainted with the imperfect

civilization of the people, I am not moved by these ignorant and

bigoted displays. Poverty, vice, and drunkenness; crimes of violence

and fraud, are rife among the Barbarians. The Temples, ordered and

maintained by the _Queen-Pope_, are, for the most part--especially in

great cities--empty. The Sects of the Low-Caste people, despised by

the High-Caste, are far more zealous worshippers, though not better

_Christians_. The funds raised to support the great Temples and the

Priests, are nearly all absorbed by them, and the Temples left ruinous.

The lowest Castes do not worship, but curse the Sovereign Lord. Yet,

our Illustrious Kingdom is called _Pagan_--_Heathen_--words implying

every degradation; and our people fit only to be turned over to the

endless torments of Evil Spirits!

Like our Confutze, the principles of morality and general benevolence

are taught in the sayings ascribed to Christ. Yet fighting in the

most brutal manner is allowed in the Schools, although the teachings

of Christ, commanding Charity and Peace, are conned over in the daily

lessons; and horrible Wars for the subjugation of other Peoples,

incessantly waged! Still, if we may believe these Barbarians, all

true religion and virtue are possessed only by them! The education of

the people has been disregarded; and now, when the wisest of their

great men has, with great difficulty, caused a decree to issue for

the teaching of the neglected masses, at least, in some rudimental

learning, the purpose is likely to fail. The Priests demand that the

_Superstition_ shall be taught, and those of one _Sect_ insist that

they shall lead; denouncing a differing _Sect_. Each _Sect_ denounces

every other: and, so far is the contention carried, that the teaching

of the people is lost sight of; the special _Superstition_ of a Sect

being held by its adherents far more important than merely "Secular"

teaching! It must be understood, that though, commonly, there is but

little real reverence for the Supreme Lord, and less benevolence, yet,

such is the hold which the Bonzes have got of the imagination (by means

of the _devil and hell_, which are greatly feared), that they are a

_power_. Their demands, therefore, as to the education of the people,

will be respected; and the matter be left, largely, in their hands.

This, owing to the bitterness existing among the Bonzes of the Sects,

will cause the whole attempt to fail--to fail, as a general measure.

The Lowest orders, for whom the design was chiefly devised, do not hold

the Bonzes in esteem, and will not be so readily led by them, even were

the Priests themselves in accord. The Sects and the Priests not only

fight upon this subject; they are usually at strife upon any matter

wherein their coöperation is desired. One leading rule of the _Sacred

Writings_ commands, _Peace_. In respect of all who differ from them,

these Sects say that the true meaning is, _War_! Each Sect dislikes

and denounces every other; and the members of all damn to everlasting

torments the whole human race but themselves! This place of eternal

torture in "fire and brimstone" [Zan-tan-li] is called Hell [Tha-dee]!

In the ceaseless conflicts of the _Sects_, the most dreadful crimes

have been committed. The chief events recorded in the annals of the

Western Barbarians for many ages, and even to this time, have been

only bloody wars, massacres, and vile intrigues, springing out of

these conflicts: horrible crimes, again and again repeated, and under

circumstances too dreadful for belief. And when I have looked into the

causes of these shocking events, there seemed to be no more involved

than the manner of interpreting some obscure word or phrase in the

_Sacred Writings_; which to a wise man would be unimportant, however

interpreted, or if never interpreted at all!

At this moment, the best intellects among the English (who boast

that they are superior to all other Barbarians), are hotly disputing

as to the proper mode of wearing vestments, of holding or of not

holding candles, of standing and posturing, and other matters equally

important, when the Priests officiate in the Temples. The most trivial

thing in the _Superstition_ is esteemed of such consequence, that

an error respecting it may be fatal to the "soul" [pan-tzi] in the

future life! Some of the most learned fear the words and "missives"

of the poor old man, who sits in Rome (already referred to), and is

worshipped by most Christians out of England (and by very many in it)

as the only delegate of the _Christ-god_. They fear this Pope--fear

that by his connection with the _Evil One_ he will "_play the devil_"

among them. And though of precisely the same Christ-god _Superstition_,

merely because of a difference of opinion as to the visible "Head" of

that Superstition, really believe that this poor old man (called by

the larger portion of Christians, with profound worship, Pope, _Holy

Father_) may, by his wicked devices, allure into his worship, and bring

under his power, the English Barbarians; to the everlasting destruction

of their souls!

This notion of an _Evil-one_, universal among all the Barbarians, I

never well comprehended. We have in our Flowery Kingdom Sects which

believe in good and bad _Spirits_; although our _Literati_ smile at

such things; that is, in the vulgar forms. But the Christians assert

that the Devil is too strong with men for the Supreme Lord--and the

English _Sect_ say that the Pope is a very child of the Devil! To be

sure, their Sect is the feeblest of all, and merely separated from the

great Pope-sect upon points not touching the superstition itself, and

really on selfish and personal grounds. They know that the Pope justly

claims a direct and regular succession from the _Christ-God_; that he

and his adherents, forming the vast majority of _Christians_ (as all

the sects call themselves) are believers with themselves in all the

main "_dogmas_" [ka-nti] of the Superstition; yet, none the less, they

are the children of the Evil-one, and fit for Hell. And not the vulgar

only, but the learned actually have a horror that the Pope may be again

worshipped in England. A calamity too terrible for contemplation!

The Pope-worshipping Sect repay this hate with an equal abhorrence,

and send the English _heretics_ to the awful Hell, with the same

satisfaction.

All the Western Barbarians worship this new _Christ-God_, but, like our

devoters of _Fo_, divided into many Sects, as I have already intimated.

The benignant _Fo_, teaches his idolatrous devotees how to differ

without hate. But, these _Christians_ are always at strife, bitter and

irreconcilable; not as to essentials, even within the Superstition

itself, (to say nothing of genuine morality), but as to things trivial

and absurd. One will say, "Be baptised or be damned to the eternal

Hell!" But another says, "Baptism is only a symbol, one may be saved

without it." Then, "What is baptism?" Some say "The Priest must immerse

in water;" but another, "No, the Priest must sprinkle the face only."

Yet another, "Water is itself nothing, Priest nothing, unless before

either, the baptism of the 'Holy Spirit' have occurred." To perfect the

"rite," all say that the Priest must offer proper "Incantations," and

generally in the Temples before the Idol. The contestants damn each

other to everlasting torments for not being _truly_ baptised.

All the Sects say, "You must believe in Christ or be damned;" but do

not agree as to what this _Belief_ is, and go on damning each the other

for not having truly believed.

It is impossible, however, to make intelligible the countless vagaries

of the Sects. They all fight under the same _Christ-God_, whom they

all address, among other titles, as the "Prince of Peace" [Tchu-pe].

They all profess to follow His precepts, one of which is to love all

men, even enemies (not _friends_, one of these angry disputants once

said). These revered Precepts are written in the _Sacred Books_, and

all the Sects swear their oaths upon these, and resort to them for

the unchangeable rules of belief and practice. They all declare that

the _Sacred Writings_ are so plain that a man, "though a fool, may

understand," and so clear, "that he who runs may read." Yet, they

curse each other to the eternal torments for interpreting erroneously.

The truth is, that _the Books_ are most obscure, and differences of

interpretation are inseperable from their use; the terrible thing is,

that Superstition has made these differences so important. The _Sacred

Writings_ are contradictory, and teeming with things indifferent,

meaningless, or trivial. Written at widely different periods, by

many hands, long ages ago, in an obscure and barbarous dialect, for

different objects, their true meanings cannot always be rendered. But

few, even of the Priest-class, can read them at all in the original.

They are mainly Records of the Laws, customs and wars of an obscure and

terrible race, here and there interspersed with Invocations to the Gods

of that race, and with their Proverbs, or words of wisdom. This tribe,

called _Jews_, revolted from their masters, the Egyptians, and fled

into a desert region lying west from the Hindoos. The man who led them

in this revolt was learned in the laws and customs of Egypt, and upon

these he founded his own system. He declared himself to be directly

called by Jah (Jehovah) to be their High Priest and Judge--that they

were to obey him who received from Jah immediate instructions--that, in

fact, to disobey him was to disobey Jah. That he was to lead them forth

to found a new State, and that the power to announce the will of Jah

alone resided with him and his successors, in this High Priesthood, and

that they could only be successful over their enemies and prosper, by

an implicit obedience to Jah, by the mouth of the High Priest.

This event took place in our dynasty, _Shang_; and our annals,

referring to the Western Barbarians of the ancient times, make mention

of some things--obscure movements of tribes, and of the great works

performed by the Egyptians; and of a servile race, condemned to toil

on these structures: and, possibly, this revolt of the Jews may have

been contained in these references. However, the whole matter would

have been lost ages ago, nor have left a trace, but for the singular

circumstance that the ancient records of these Jews have in a good

measure escaped destruction. This happened not by any chance; but from

the fact that the High Priest, pretending to be the very mouth of Jah,

made all his utterances _Sacred_; and the Priesthood, inscribing and

preserving the Jewish "Rites," worship and institutes of all kinds,

guarded these writings with extreme care; which the reverence of the

Superstitious people enhanced. Thus these _Institutes_ of the Jews,

declared to be by the Priests the very will of Jah, came to be "_Holy_"

[Kan-ti]--inviolable! Now, the Barbarians regard this preservation

of the Jewish Records as an evidence of their divinity, and a clear

warning to man not to disregard them; and when they assert (as, by

the High Priest, they constantly do), "Thus saith the Lord-God-Jah,"

they accept the declaration, and bow before it, as the very word of

Jehovah! But we know that similar "_Sacred Writings_" are common in the

East, and that these pretensions of the Priests are as universal as

_Superstition_ itself; in fact, form the chief features in it.

The new Christ-God was a Jew; and, though, singularly enough, in the

words ascribed to him, in those parts of the _Sacred Writings_ assigned

to him and his immediate followers, there are bitter denunciations of

the spirit and of the letter of much in the old, Priest-made part;

and he distinctly says that his office is to give new and reformed

rules; none the less, his immediate followers, being Jews, naturally

looked upon him as Great High-Priest, speaking as did their ancient

High-Priest (High-Priest and Christ-God)--the very "mouth-piece"

[Mu-te-pi] of Jehovah! Adding to the High-Priest a _Messiahship_;

for they believed him to be the mysterious _Messiah_ of their Sacred

Writings, foretold by their wise _Seers_ long ages before! The great

High-Priest who should deliver them from all their enemies, and lead

them to a universal dominion! Very few of the Jews themselves, however,

adhered to this opinion: in fact, Christ was put to a shameful death by

them as an _Imposter_ [Kon-ti-fe]. And by the Jews, in general, he was

and is still considered to be a misguided fanatic. The Romans at this

time held the Jewish province, and continued to do so. Meantime, the

followers of the Christ-God, as I have said, spread by degrees, after

his death, into other Roman provinces. New Superstitions were often

greedily received; the Western Barbarians had always readily adopted

new gods, and new Superstitions. This idolatry was, however, held in

contempt by the learned; but it slowly spread among the lower orders,

and penetrated to Rome itself.

The Roman soldiery, in some instances, made it conspicuous; and,

after some generations, a Roman Emperor, thinking he saw some

miraculous evidence of its divine force (in the workings of his own

dark imagination), forced this new Superstition upon his Empire. That

Empire embraced the Western world. The Barbarians who succeeded to them

adopted, largely, their laws; their worship, and their religious rites.

Thus, these Western Barbarians are _Christians_; and, though they

detest the Jews none the less, hold to their "Sacred Writings" as the

very words of Jah--whom they also worship! This they do because they

follow the few Jews who accepted Christ as Jehovah, rather than the

_whole people_ who rejected him!--follow the few who accepted Christ as

the Messiah-God promised in the "Sacred Writings;" and hold with them

that these are the only _Revelation_ of the will of Jehovah to man! By

_Jehovah_ meaning the only Supreme Lord of Heaven!

The remarkable thing is that this enormous pretension is not ascribed

to _Christ_, but is obscurely announced in certain writings of the

early Christian Jews. Thus these Western Barbarians, scoffing the

name of Jew, accept of his ancient and ferocious god, and adopt the

barbarous _rites_ of a blood-thirsty and obscure tribe of the desert,

make the records kept by the Priests of the tribe _Sacred_, and curse

to _Hell_ the whole Jewish race for not accepting the interpretation of

_a few of their number_--the few, and only a few, worshipping Christ as

the true _Christ-God_. That is, these Barbarians better understand the

subject than the people into whose hands the matter was entrusted by

Divine wisdom.

When one considers, then, the foundation of the great worship of the

West, one wonders not at the Sects and strife. Founded in dark and

cruel _institutes_ of ignorant antiquity, the attempt to engraft a

better system failed, because in this attempt the Priests were still

_Jews_, who, adoring Christ, adored him as Jehovah and a Jewish

High-Priest. What follows becomes more intelligible, but not less

astonishing. The new worship has its divine _Revelation_ from Jah,

interpreted by its Priests, who introduce Christ as their great

High-Priest, and the _Christ-Jehovah_ of the new worship. All are

_damned_ to the everlasting Hell who do not believe these Priests,

worship this new god, and accept as the very Divine _Word_ these

_Jewish writings_. This superstition suited the dark imaginations of

the Barbarians, and was, in truth, not unlike their own, and may have

had a common origin.

The intellectual activity of succeeding ages has been mainly devoted

to these _Sacred Writings_; and the disputes, as to the meaning,

never-ending. Every word has been criticised. _Sects_ have been formed

upon a syllable--appearing and disappearing. Now one would madly

starve, another feast. Some fanatics would live in caves, some on

inaccessible mountains; some tortured themselves, and held women to

be unclean unless they married _Christ_. Some would only shout their

invocations, others would only commune with the god _inside_. Some

_would_ kneel, others _would_ stand. Sometimes a sect more wild than

usual would organise vast bands of warriors, all wearing a symbol to

show that they were Christians--usually a _cross_ (because the Jews

put Christ to death by hanging him upon a cross); and, placing Priests

at the head, would rush to distant parts to root out _pagans_. These

dreadful slaughters of distant tribes were called _Crossades_ (from

the symbol referred to). Some Sects destroyed society by another

fanaticism; they forced men to live in caves or in dark stone chambers,

shut off from all cheerful life, and from all intercourse with women;

where they should constantly make invocations, lash themselves with

thongs, and half-starve themselves; having skulls to hold before them,

and awful paintings of Hell and devils to horrify them,--if perchance

they may propitiate the _Christ-God_, Jah. Women also being driven into

similar, horrid imprisonment in stone vaults, where the whole life is

spent in invocations and sufferings, without so much as seeing any man.

These and numberless other things grow out of the interpretations,

ever-changing, of the _Sacred Writings_; which, to the dark imaginings

of Priests and devotees, seem ever to give such utterances as fit to

their feelings. To the Priests they are an unfailing arsenal of power.

For many ages nearly all the Books written--mainly by Priests--were

in respect of the _Sacred Writings_; called commentaries, homilies,

disputations, doctrines, invocations, sermons; endless in name, and

nameless.

This _Literature_ is less in repute than formerly, and immense

collections of huge writings are now rotting away in the dismal alcoves

of _Libraries_ [Buk-sti], as great stone buildings for keeping Books

are called. This _Literature_ is rarely looked at now, excepting by the

Priests and antiquaries [ol-olphoo]; much of it is obsolete in form,

or in the Roman--not now so much in vogue as formerly. A large portion

of the writings, and a larger portion of the "speeches" [phi-lu-tin],

however, are devoted to the same subject; but the style is modern,

and less obscure, though not less deformed by a dark and irrational

superstition.

To my poor mind, were all these innumerable productions of gloomy and

bewildered intellects--misled and crazed by a monstrous Idolatry--swept

for ever away, nothing would be lost--nothing, unless the most

astonishing monument ever builded by man. However, it is doubtful

whether to lose even this is not better than to have _anything_ left of

so monstrous a Pretension.

Whilst thus the Barbarian _brain_ wasted itself in this wretched work,

and piled up its ponderous tomes of useless, and worse than useless,

Literature--holding knowledge in general as vain, and _Science_, when,

in Priestly interpretation, not according to the barbarous _Sacred

Writings_, as a thing to be accursed--activity of body, during the

same ages, did _its_ dreadful work. Directed by the Priests, one

_Sect_ denounced another as _damnable_, and the stronger attempted to

destroy the weaker by "fire and sword." New contentions would arise,

to be crushed out by bloody execution; only to spring up again, to

be again extirpated. Every _Sect_ as it appeared would fight for

supremacy. All worshipped the Christ-God, and sought the same Sacred

Writings; and all invoked His aid, and pointed to those Writings for

their authority--to exterminate a weaker _Sect_; to deliver over

whole provinces to rapine, slaughter, burning, destruction; cities in

conflagration; women, children, as well as men, not merely slain, but

put to death with tortures unspeakable; massacres, by treachery and

surprise, of thousands and tens of thousands! To such work was the

activity of body largely directed by Priests and the savage chiefs.

For ages these atrocities were perpetrated. History has no parallel of

horror; human nature seemed to have become possessed by the _Devil_

of the Superstition, and exceeded its _diabolism_ [pau-di-ki]. In the

name of Christ, fire, slaughter, and rapine, spread over the whole

immense world. Wherever the Priests of this dark superstition became

powerful, everything which opposed them perished. It was a cardinal

principle that men could be saved from the dreadful Hell only by the

aid of the Priests, and by accepting of their interpretation of the

_Sacred Writings_. The system erected by the Priests was called the

_Church_, and none could be saved unless they were in the pale of _Holy

Church_--unless they, in the manner directed by the Priests, performed

all the rites of worship. These not merely were directed to the worship

of the Sacred Writings, the Christ-God and Jah, but to the mother of

God and to the Pope. In England, by and by, the Priests threw off the

Roman Pope, and set up the English Sovereign, for the time being, as

Pope, and put men and women to death by fire and torture for still

preferring the older Idol.

Nor is this madness, this fanatical fury, wholly expended. Education

has not yet raised these Western tribes into the enjoyment of a

rational worship--of a rational morality--of a life, calm, tolerant,

and beneficent. They have never attained the civilisation of our

Central Kingdom, and to the wisdom of our illuminated Confutse.

There is morality to be found among them, and a few worship, purely

and simply, the God of Heaven, and look with untroubled hearts upon

the senseless superstitions. The masses are, however, still held in

them; and the High Castes either hold to the prevailing idolatries,

or pretend to do so. This old Jewish Worship, with its _rites_ and

pretensions, fastened upon tribes by Priests and the Roman power,

is still dominant in the West. In England to-day it is the same

superstition, only the Queen is Pope, instead of the Man at Rome. For

this the English are _damned_, as worthy of Hell-fire, by Roman Pope

worshippers; and the English return the curse. A constant _Bugbear_

[Do-nki] to the English mind is, that the more powerful Roman Pope may

get into England again; then, what horrors! Nor does this frightful

_chimera_ alone alarm the lower people; the most learned Englishmen,

and their wisest, exert their minds in writing and in preaching against

this terrible thing.

To me this seemed strange--incredible. The English Barbarians are, in

general, sharp enough; they are learned in many things; they can see

the absurdity of Eastern superstitions; they denounce the Roman-Pope

worship as worthy of _hell_; but they worship a Queen-pope at home, and

the same Christ-Jah-god and "sacred writings" which the Romans worship.

They believe, as do the Roman-pope worshippers, that all who do not

worship the _sacred writings_ and the _Christ-Jah-god_, and accept of

the Priest-_Church_, will inevitably burn for ever in fires of Hell;

yet, because of the separation as to Pope worship, each regards the

other _sect_ with a hatred only appeased by sending each the other

to the dreadful Hell! How incredible that the human mind--the active

and skilled human mind--should alarm itself and others for fear of the

worship of a Pope--a man: and really think the condition of the human

soul would be hopelessly wretched--if it mistook the right object of

worship--the idol of Rome, or the idol of England! The intellect truly

employed would be directed to the overthrow of _the superstition_ and

its objects of idolatry altogether. The Roman or the English Pope--the

Roman or the English _sect_--what matter? Both alike indifferent and

worthless to an intelligent worshipper of the SUPREME LORD OF HEAVEN

(Hoang-chan-ti). His worship is elevating, supporting a clean morality,

tolerant, benevolent--a morality found wherever man is found; debased,

more or less, as man be debased, or as he may be sunken in vicious or

cruel superstitions.

To restore a pure worship is to help on a better civilisation among the

Barbarians. Nor would a respect for the morality ascribed to Christ do

other than help in the same way. The misfortune is, that that morality

has been overlaid with Jewish and Priestly additions and inventions.

There are some of the English _literati_ who dare to teach a purer

worship, discarding the _superstition_ in its grosser pretensions; but

they are not listened to.

It is difficult to understand what is accepted as _true_ by the

differing _Sects_--but their differences may be disregarded--and I will

refer to what all the Sects of the _Great Superstition_ subscribe to,

aside from the matter of _Pope_.

_One, only God_: in three parts--each part a very God!

1. _The Judge and destroyer_ of mankind; for all are damned to Hell!

This is the Jewish Jah.

2. _The Son_, begotten of Jah upon an immaculate virgin. Sent to

mediate with Jah and appease His fierce anger, so that some may

escape Hell--that is, those few who have "_believed in_" _and

worshipped the Son_, the Father, and other things. For as to what

is to be believed, form the points of endless contention, as I have

hinted.

3. _The Holy Ghost_, or Comforter, whose function I have never

comprehended. It appears to be a divine _Effluence_, entering into

the devotee, to warm, exalt, and enlighten him; especially to comfort

him and to support him in his dire conflicts with "_the flesh,

hell, and the devil_" (as the Superstition reads). It is an "awful

mystery" in the _rites_, and has crazed many a worshipper; for those

who fancy themselves to be in the possession of this _Effluence_

feel like gods, and conduct themselves as scarcely accountable to

mortal control; though others feel an absorption, as they say, into

the divine nature--a notion like that of some of the fanatics of the

Hindoos and of the East.

As powerful, indeed more powerful over men, is the terrible

Satan--_Devil_, _Evil One_. There are many names and shapes. This

monster was once (according to the superstition) chained down in

hell-fire, for having raised a rebellion against Jah, who, however, let

him loose again, and gave him wings to fly from his fiery prison to

the world, where he should wage war with Jah, in a covert way, by his

craft drawing away mankind from Jah to his worship and to his designs;

that, however, he should never prevail to overthrow Jah, and the only

result would be to increase the number of the countless devils of

low degree already in Hell, by adding to them nearly the whole human

race!--for to that torment all go who do not worship in spirit and in

truth, according to the superstition. This awful strife between Satan

and Jah always proceeds. The Priests say that, for "some wise purpose,"

Jah suffers Satan to succeed in his snares; and his victims continually

fall into the everlasting place of Fire, prepared for the devil and his

victims. The Priests say that this wholesale destruction of mankind

was a thing predetermined by Jah, and that he created the Devil to

accomplish the work; but they do not explain why the torments should

be everlasting; as men are themselves short-lived, one would think a

reasonable superstition might have limited the fire-torture to, say,

twice the length of mortal life!

Our _Literati_ will readily recognise some parts of this horrible

superstition--perhaps the main features, as Oriental--going back to the

dimmest dawn of tradition, and to the early and grotesque forms of the

human imagination, dark and uninstructed. The _Hell_, however, is a

terrific expansion of the horrible, suited to these Strange Barbarians.

Besides these great deities, there are Arch-angels, Angels, Saints

male and female, Spirits good and bad--the latter _Imps_ of Satan

(whatever the word may mean), who enter into human beings, and take

on the human form: in this disguise, called Ghosts, Wizards, Bogies,

Witches. However, good people can tell these devilish _Imps_, and avoid

them (so they be _good_, that is, true worshippers of the Idols of the

Superstition); for the smell of brimstone sticks to them, and the tail

and cleft-hoof--inseparable from devil-imps--will always show somewhere

to _the good_. But, if unawares the Imps catch them, they are only to

say _Christ_, or _Jehovah_, or call on some Saint, and the Imp will at

once vanish like a vapor!

It will be seen that this Superstition is as populous with gods and

spirits as are any in the East, and some of the forms more frightful

and ridiculous.

There are dissentients--some, who, not dissenting to the chief gods,

yet conjecture that the good and bad _spirits_ merely symbolize good

and bad propensities in human nature. But real objectors are few and

timid, afraid of punishment--if not here, then after death. For the

Superstition so long rooted has engrafted its terrors in the very

blood, and men are born with the _Horror_ in them; they can never

free themselves from it. A few, however, do dissent; but, like our

_Literati_, they do not care to oppose vulgar ignorance openly, nor is

it safe; they feel a contempt, but repress its too-marked expression.

"Why render themselves uselessly odious?" they say. The Priests, very

likely, often disbelieve much of what they say; but not unlikely their

emoluments (_livings_) have some effect upon their conduct, though not

upon their private convictions. In our Flowery Land there is a maxim:

"A common man's brain is in his belly."

I have had a High Bonze say to me, when I have suggested some

objections, "Oh, we do not know anything about such things; the

morality is good, and we need a devil for women, children, and the

common people: it is safer to let things alone."

"But," I have rejoined, "_Is_ it quite well, in the long run, to teach

falsely?"

"I do not say it is well to teach _falsely_. I said, I do not know--who

does? Men more learned than I believe strongly, men wiser than I

have "gone to the stake and perished by slow torture of fire," made

_martyrs_ (we have no such word) of themselves, rather than deny these

things. They were probably right. I simply take things as they are."

"But," I replied, "surely misguided fanaticism, of which the world is

full, is proof of nothing whatever, unless of the sincerity of the

madman--not always of that."

"My dear Ah-Chin, you are very quick, and no fool (I beg pardon), but

you do not understand it. The Superstitious parts are mere forms; and

as to the _horrors_, as you call them, I think them indispensable; they

are better than the Police." (The Police are the officers who arrest

offenders in the streets and public places.)

The Bonzes who talk in this way are, usually, what are derisively

termed "hunting and fishing" Bonzes, not remarkable for strictness

of conduct, though quite as likely to stick to the Temples, like our

Bonzes; they are not likely to pull down the roof which shelters them.

The Superstition is less revered than formerly, and its wilder parts

are less obtrusive. Its pretensions are not moderated in terms, but

the practice is more moderate. Sects do not put each other to death, at

present, though so much of the old bitterness remains that no one can

say what horrors might follow upon unexpected changes. Gradually wise

men endeavour to drop out of sight the Jewish and Priestly creations,

and, inculcating morality, take the _Christ-God_ as symbol of Charity,

and his moral precepts as the basis of a moral Philosophy; or (to

be less offensive to the Superstition) _Christian Philosophy_. In

this way they seize hold of what is true in the Great Idolatry, and

endeavour to ignore the grosser parts altogether. They hope to bring

about a rational worship without violence, by a gradual disuse and

forgetfulness of the irrational, and are willing to yield something to

ignorance, if they can by that means, in the end, enlighten it. They

allow to Christ an exalted character, large in the divine faculty,

and divine as man is divine in possessing that faculty--to say, _the

moral_. In this, much as we see in our exalted _Confutze_, who lived

and taught long before the period ascribed to Christ, and from whom the

Western tribes, doubtless, received their moral notions.

The religion of Wise men is the same at all times and everywhere.

Wherever some intellectual culture exists, men will be found who

understand and practise the rules of morality; and wherever this is

general, there is the higher civilisation. This higher civilisation,

resting upon a general morality among a people, has for its base a

rational recognition of the Sovereign Lord and man's dependency and

accountability to Him; _Father of men_; and Himself the source of this

morality. He, _in this faculty, reveals Himself_, and shows to man

_his_ sole claim to a divine relationship.

This higher civilisation does not mistake intellectual achievement

as its title to enlightenment. The sharp and active brain is

quite consistent with the base and low; and may be indifferent to

superstitions and degrading idolatries. But the moral faculty, active

and large, at once refines and exalts the intellect; then men are truly

_wise_, and degrading superstitions die.

The object, then, to which the true worshipper aims, everywhere, is

to bring man out of a debased into an enlightened recognition of the

Supreme Lord and of this simple relationship; to teach that the human

race form one family, united indissolubly to each other, and to the

Supreme Lord, by the divine moral faculty, to which the intellect

is subordinate; that by this they may be all truly enlightened,

and worship simply and truly, with grateful and serene trust, the

Supreme Lord and Father of all. This worship can never be other than

beneficent. It is only the expression of gratitude; the desire for

better wisdom, for still larger charity, a well-doing and serene life,

at peace with itself and all beside.

To a civilisation resting upon this simple and direct worship and

morality, few barbarians have any perception; their pride and gross

superstitions have made it impossible.

The temples are often very grand and beautiful, built of hewn stone,

with lofty domes, towers, bells, and spires. The priests are very

numerous, and divided into many ranks. The lowest are the curates,

who do the "_dirty_" work, as the English phrase it. They are but

little better than beggars, though mentally often superior to those who

half-starve them, whilst the higher ranks (by whom they are hired) live

luxuriously.

The _Sacred Writings_ say that Christ was Himself a mendicant, and

that his first followers were but little better; that he denounced,

in bitter terms, all pride and luxury; that the true object of life

was not to think of oneself, but of others; to give to the poor, help

the distressed, and the like. In truth, this benevolence and the moral

precepts of Christ (as I have already said) are its _salt_ [pho-zi].

I have, in the temples, heard a High-Caste Priest eloquently exalt

this benevolence, and pointing out the divine charity of the _Master_

(as Christ is often called),--heard him say, "My brethren, give to the

poor, help the suffering, do good whenever you can, give your all to

Christ."

I have said, "This is excellent; I will talk with this benevolent

Bonze." On one occasion I did so. The High-Caste had dined; I was

ushered into his presence; the fruits and the wine were still before

him. I approached and bowed low before him, and dared to ask, "Is your

illustrious body well?" He slightly nodded, and waved me to a seat. I

expressed my admiration of his benevolent morality, as shown in his

exalted _invocation_ in the Temple. "Oh, that was of course; we do

not rely upon morality." I begged pardon, but did not understand. He

added: "Morals are well, in their way. Charity is a good thing, if the

purpose be sanctified; but nobody is saved by his goodness." He saw my

bewilderment. "Oh, I deplore your darkness; I grieve over the errors,

too fatal, even in our Christian land." I could only bow. He continued:

"When will the darkness of superstition give way, in the East, to our

glorious religion? When will the worship of Christ spread over the

whole benighted world?" I ventured to hint that I had called to speak

my thought of his noble benevolence. "Oh, yes, we must give. But the

true worship--knowledge of, and belief in, the _Redeemer_--ah! that is

the only means of salvation; those are the vital things." I said, "The

poor are everywhere, and need help." He looked at me suspiciously for a

moment, and then brightened; he saw I had not come to ask for anything.

"Yes; the Scriptures say, 'The poor ye will always have with ye,' and

we cannot alter it." "I am told that your Low-Caste Priests are good

men, and do nearly all the work. I know one of these who is very kind.

Your benevolence is like our _Confutze_, who had a tender regard for

the poor and distressed."

"Ah, our divine _Master_ taught charity; but one must go higher than

that." "Pardon my poor mind, but do you _not_ really give to the poor,

in your temples, as your exalted Wisdom taught?" "Ah-Chin, you mistake;

but one must overlook your darkness of mind--no offence--_Society_

takes all I can spare, and I give to Curates from my revenue."

"Society? I do not comprehend." "Well, no; you know nothing of the

incessant calls. We must visit and receive visits; keep up equipages,

servants; then there are always poor relations, and the poor Curates

(these are the 'poor relations' of our order)." "But the Curates are

poorly paid, I am told, and deserving." "The Curates are well enough;

but more fuss is made than need be. I was a Curate, Ah-Chin, myself."

"Your illustrious did not need aid, perhaps?" "Well, yes; I got

Curate-fare--cold shoulders of mutton, and other colder shoulders." I

saw that there was something which I was not to understand. "Pardon,

but the _Society_ is not to be put before the Christ-God?" "I beg, sir,

you speak not in that way. I pardon much to your darkness. Do not again

profane our blessed and holy religion."

This alarmed me; I did not know what portended. I bowed very low,

and humbly craved permission to take my leave. I really feared

punishment--perhaps of the _Cangue_, or pan-tsee. I afterwards knew, no

more than the reproof of the High-Bonze was imminent; though, had the

common people caught a _pagan Chinee_ who had dared to speak, in their

notion, disrespectfully of their Idols, he would be fortunate to have

no worse treatment than a _ducking in a horse-pond_ [phu-it-mu-dsi-wo].

What but slow progress is to be expected when a people--even the

_Literati_--are so superstitious? for the errors there, make obstacles

everywhere. It is but just now that nearly the whole population of the

province of Ireland (one-third of the kingdom) have been relieved from

maintaining the English Idolatry, though they detested it.

The intolerance of the devotees prevents better men from reforming

abuses, even in the Temples. If a Priest dare to moderate the excessive

absurdities of the Superstition, he at once endangers his _Living_,

and is likely to be degraded and driven forth to neglect and poverty.

I, myself, knew a Wise Priest of rank, who very innocently published

some comments upon the _Sacred Writings_, wherein he showed that

the statements as they stood were simply impossible. Now, as I have

said, the _Sacred Writings_ are worshipped; and to doubt that they

are the words of Jah is horrible--formerly punished by death, now by

degradation, _excommunication_, and loss of revenue. This poor man did

not express any doubt; he merely pointed out an error, which might be

there _somehow_, and which he thought, in his simplicity, should be

removed or explained. But the _Canon_ [ban-gwo] of the Superstition

allowed of no comment of that sort as to the Word of Jehovah! and

cursed out of the Temples, with his Priest-robe torn off, and his money

stript from him, the daring _blasphemer_ [zw-an] must go!

This is an astonishing _Canon_; for if one allows that four thousand

years ago Jehovah spoke words which were _then_ inscribed--if one

allows that the Jewish Priests kept annals and chronicles, and down

through different ages preserved and added to their histories--if

one allows that the followers of Christ after his death recorded

some things concerning his life and his teachings, and that other

followers wrote letters upon these matters--yet, one must also allow

that all these writings were written at different periods, for

different purposes, and in different and scattered records; all in

obscure and unknown tongues; that they have been copied, re-copied,

translated--that there are various versions--that, in respect of their

meaning, and even of their right to be called a part of the Word, the

highest and best cannot agree! Yet, through all the changes of great

periods of time--through darkness, and wars, and every sort of ignorant

credulity--through everything! _every word_ of this huge collection of

Obscure and Ancient Literature, and of an Obscure and Barbarous People,

remains exactly as originally delivered by Jah! "Oh, certainly," says

his devotee, "because _He has preserved them_." "Yes; but when a

statement is absolutely impossible--as where 'the water covered the

whole earth.'" "Oh, the _Word_ does not deal with Science." I think

not; Jah was not a god of science--he was, in fact, just as ignorant as

the Jew-Priests who pretended to speak his _Word_!

Yet this inconceivable _Canon_ goes further, and declares that this

_Word_ is the absolute, and only, and perfect _Revelation_ of the Deity

to man; that it contains the only TRUTH, and is the only way by which

man, _under damnation already_, can have _any_ hope, however small, of

escaping the everlasting fire of hell! Upon this _Canon_ all the Sects

of the Western Barbarians erect their _Idolatries_--they call them

Churches; but, as we have seen, they are for ever fighting as to the

meaning of these very Sacred Writings!

Another _Canon_ is, that Christ is the very God (Jah), and that the

Holy Ghost is also the very God. And to deny this _Canon_ is to go to

Hell! Nor does it at all matter that one has never heard of this, nor

that he could have never heard. The whole race of man before Christ

was born, to this very hour, are either burning, and will surely burn,

in everlasting fires of Hell, unless they have _believed_ in this

Canon! And Jah contrived that all this should be exactly so; though

he did also plan from all time that his Son, Christ, should go down

to the world and get himself put _to death_; and thus the great Jah,

appeased by the sight of his Son _dying on a cross_, should be so far

softened that some would escape Hell! Only a very few; because no one

could escape unless he knew, and believed, and accepted, and _was born_

into the very blood of this son! A mystery so incomprehensible, that

Christians do not pretend to solve it, and are always trembling for

fear that they may not have been _born again_!

How, under these circumstances, as Jah cruelly neglected to let

the _Heathen_ know that they could be saved--(indeed, they suspect

no danger)--the good-hearted devotees of the Barbarians employ

Bonzes to go over the great Seas to the _Heathen_, to carry them

the _glad tidings_! These delegates from the Barbarians are called

_Missionaries_, and the Temples and devotees are full of prayers and

invocations for the Salvation of the Heathen! by which is meant the

worship of the Barbarians duly adopted in our Central Kingdom, and in

other regions of the wide world not under the sway of these Idolaters!

But our Flowery Kingdom, from so long ago as dynasty _Whey-Song_, has

known of these missionaries; and we know of some now amongst us. They

are harmless enough, and quite fully understand how to adapt themselves

to circumstances, and draw the money necessary to their support. The

Bonzes of the Roman Sect are the wisest, and care for nothing very

idolatrous; if a _convert_ will go so far as to be baptised [Wa-shti]

they are quite content. They seek to be useful, and keep the obnoxious

features of the Superstition out of sight.

There are also some Jews in our Central Kingdom. They have been known

in some provinces from a time long before the supposed birth of Christ.

Another _Sect_ of the region of the Western Barbarians (in the Eastern

parts), who worship a god named _Mohammed_--a _Sect_ merely an

offshoot of the Jews, from whom they adopted the most part of their

superstition, and equally fierce and intolerant--penetrated into our

Flowery Land soon after its rise. It was about six hundred years ago

that they established a slight hold amongst us, and are still to be

found--never here in their weakness exhibiting any of the savagery of

strength. In a large portion of the Western regions they were for ages

as cruel and destructive as the Christians, and, in fact, waged wars

with them for absolute mastery, during which all the horrors usual to

those dreadful Barbarians terrified and maddened mankind. Finally,

these two Sects, _Christian and Mohammedan_ (so styled), divided the

whole region of the Western Barbarians among themselves! and from that

time have been less quarrelsome with each other, than have the _Sects_

of the two great divisions in their intestine conflicts.

Thus, it will be acknowledged that the Barbarians are well disposed

sometimes towards us,--or at any rate the devotees of their

Superstition are,--and we must gratefully thank them for their sincere

anxiety for the salvation of our _souls_; for our _bodies_ that is

another matter. They think us ignorant, even of the ordinary rules of

morality. They do not know that before Greece or Rome had appeared

in history, our worship of the Sovereign Lord and our moral precepts

were established, purely, simply, and that our annals show that the

Grecian and Roman culture largely borrowed from ours, though not the

_Superstitions_. These were derived, probably, from some source common

to the Western Barbarians, likely Egyptian, and though modified by

habits of tribes, retained more or less of those original traits which

appear in all.

The Temples are numerous, though often quite deserted except by the

Bonzes and their servants. The same revenues are taken by the Bonze

whether there be any worshippers or not, and sometimes the prayers are

said or sung to empty forms (seats)--not more empty than the prayers.

Next in rank to Curates come Rectors, who enjoy good _Livings_

[mo-tsi], and have fine houses and gardens. The other higher ranks,

are Arch-Bishops, Bishops, called Lords [tchou], who live in stone

_palaces_, and have great revenues; but Society robs them of the larger

portion of this revenue,--a barbarous injustice,--leaving the poor

Lords quite destitute. I was told this; but I never happened to meet

with a starved Bishop.

These _Tchou_-Bonzes intermarry with the High-Castes, perform the

marriage ceremony for them, wait upon the Queen with invocations to

the gods--baptize royal infants; that is, sprinkle them when eight

days old, in the Temples with invocations, with many ceremonies,

after which they are safe from the devil and the dreadful Hell; these

are the chief duties of their exalted office. As great _lay-lords_

(that is Lords not of the soul but of the clay--lay), they sit in the

great Law-making _Council_; where their function is, to see to it that

no law be made which in any way can injure the temples, or their own

revenues and powers. One does not see that they are remarkable for the

practice of the virtues which they teach; nor that they are meek and

lowly followers of the Lamb (Christ-god); or that they very often "wash

the feet of the disciples"--although they are commanded in the _Sacred

Writings_ to do these things; and also to succour the distressed, give

to the poor, and other like acts of charity. I should have been pleased

to see a Bishop kneeling and washing the feet of some devotee! but I

never did. They discharge those duties which they owe to Society with

honourable punctuality: keeping up neat equipages, sleek horses, and

pious servants; and wearing the garb of their order with a scrupulous

exactness, even to the shoe-buckles.

They quote the example of the Christ-god, who, when on the world, made

from common water _good wine_; and are very choice respecting this

article. As to charity, they are so robbed by Society, that, what with

gifts for the _Heathen_, and poor relations (for whom they are also

expected to get good _Livings_ in the Temples), they have but little

to spare. Then, too, "Charity begins at home" (the _Sacred Writings_

declare), and he who does not take care of himself, and those who are

dependent upon him, "is worse than a Heathen" (This is again from the

_Sacred_ words). For those poor and benighted creatures, sunk in

dreadful idolatries, indeed, something must be put into the Missionary

box!

The different _Sects_ quarrel as to particular modes of Worship in the

Temples. Some will have candles lighted, to please the idols; others

say, they do not need candles, and are offended by the smell. Some say,

You should make Invocations kneeling; others say, standing. Some say,

one should face to the East, others say, to the North. Some say, you

should pray aloud; others say, silent prayers are more acceptable. And

very sharp quarrels and _new Sects_ arise upon these matters. None are

allowed to worship in Temples but devotees of the High-Caste Sect. All

others must worship in Temples not dignified by a loftier name than

_Conventicle_, _Chapel_, or the like.

I will state, briefly, what is the ceremony of Idolatry in the great

_Queen-pope_ Sect. She is worshipped in the Invocations, and receives,

with her children, a place in the prayers.

When the great bells sound from the high, stone towers, the High-Castes

go, richly dressed, into the Temples, uncover and bow the heads to the

Idol, in silence--making Invocations, silently. By the command of the

Jewish _Sacred Writings_ the Seventh day (so, continuously, for ever)

is devoted to the grand Worship in the Temples. This is a marked thing

among the Western Barbarians--this devotion of one day in every seven

to the Worship of Jah--as ordered in the Sacred Word. It is declared to

be Jah's day--_Holy_-day. And it is so sacred, that there is danger of

Hell to him who

"Does any work or play

Upon the sacred day,"

as the mongrel verse-makers of the _Superstition_ have it! And the

Priests vehemently denounce all who do not worship upon that day.

Some object to so great strictness; and the quarrel, as usual, is

bitter between the strict and the not-so-strict Holy-day worshippers.

Those not-so-strict think that the poor, who work six days, should be

allowed to go to the places of amusement on the seventh, and enjoy

harmless recreations. The strict say they should be punished for

desecrating the day by their neglect of worship; yet the poor cannot

go in dirt and rags to the Temples. The High-Castes go there in rich

attire, and would be incommoded by the poor--indeed, the High and Low

Castes never mingle, not even in their worship. In truth, not many of

any rank attend upon the Priests in worship. The devotees are mostly

old women and older men, a few young people attracted by opposite

attraction of sex, children and servants; a few pauper children may be

huddled into a dark corner for fear of offending the idols.

The Priests face the Idol, and make Incantations, which are repeated,

age after age, without any alteration; no Priest dare to make any the

least change; the wrath of the gods would follow.

One peculiarity is, that the most abject _confessions_ are made, by

Priests and devotees, of heinous offences--making eternal punishment

fitly their due. They beg for pardon and that _salvation_ (meaning

deliverance from the awful Hell) may be granted, not for any good

in them, but wholly for the sake of the Son--the _Christ_. On my

first attendance in a Temple, when I heard these fearful confessions

and looked upon the fine women; the carefully dressed worshippers, I

thought, "How dreadful, these High-Castes such wretches--incredible!"

I afterwards discovered that the _sins_ [ly-ie], the offences

confessed, were merely _ecclesiastical_ (we have no term like it);

nobody ever really confesses any wrong which he may have committed.

The grand act of worship is, however, the _Creed_ (here again in our

Flowery Land we have no term)--an Invocation and Declaration wherein

all swear, under the awful penalty of eternal burnings in Hell and

torments of Satan for ever, that they believe and worship all points of

the _Superstition_ with thankful hearts and undoubting minds. Repeating

after the Priest, all standing, facing the Idol, uncovered, with eyes

downcast and deep abasement.

The Incantations do not differ from the Invocations, only they are

droned out in songs, more dismally, perhaps. The burden of both is

to deliver the _true_ worshippers from "the wiles of the flesh and

the devil"; to overthrow, if possible, this awful demon, and to save

sinners, of whom the worshippers declare themselves, in a hundred

different ways, to be chief, "_miserable offenders_" [ka-nt-lm-mbi].

These, and lofty exaltation of the _Christ-God_ and of the Father Jah,

who, when He had given his word that nothing could save man from Hell,

graciously allowed the Jews to crucify the Son, that in the Son's

sufferings He, Jah, might let off some of the sufferings of mankind.

Possibly some of the present worshippers might be among the lucky

_saved_. For this _salvation_ endless praises are to be Sung in the

Temples below; and for ever and for ever in the great Heavens, through

the infinite eternal worlds without end.

A Hymn of Praise in which all join ends the act of worship. The Priest

_blesses_ the people and invokes the mercy of the gods; and they,

making due obeisance to the idols, retire in silence or to the music of

the great organs.

A special act of worship, or Incantation, is always made to the

_Triune-god_, that is, the _Three-in-one_, called HOLY TRINITY

(_Threenity_). To omit this would, in the opinion of devotees, be so

terrible a thing that no one would dare to stay a moment, fearing that,

like Korah in the _Sacred Writings_, the very world would open itself

and swallow them up. This _three-in-one_ seems like a _Hindoo_ god.

The Bonzes attend upon the sick and the dying, moderating their

fears of damnation by insisting upon the most abject devotion to the

Superstition, and intimating that, if they heartily grieve over their

offences, and with undoubting minds believe in all the points of the

_Creed_, then they may receive the _Sacraments_--that is, _Sacred

Meats_; which having received, the devil and Hell may be set at

defiance. These Sacred Meats are symbols of the very _body and blood_

of Christ--a shocking _rite_, borrowed wholly from the old, savage

Jews, who held that a _Sacrifice_ must be offered up to appease the

wrathful Jah on almost any occasion, and who sometimes even devoted

human victims.

The Bonzes, in general, perform the Marriage Ceremonies, which they

will have to be a Sacred _rite_ in their Superstition, though some

_Sects_ think otherwise. However, the High-Castes do not consider a

Marriage without a Bonze safe; some evil to the children, or other

calamity, might ensue. Thus the Bonzes, for their services in this

matter, obtain consideration and good fees [tin-tin].

After all, however, with the lowest Caste the Superstition is not much

more than a _Fright_; its morality does not touch them, nor those

things which refine. They have only a dim and low idea of the Sovereign

Lord--debased, in so much notion as they do have, by the Jewish

debasement. The devil-and-Hell part is familiar to them, and, in truth,

fits well to the origin of the Barbarous tribes, and to their rude

and savage character. As I have said, the Upper Castes consider this

portion of their Superstition the really valuable part, in practical

use. All evidence in the Courts, and every sanction, touching important

interests or statements, rest upon this hold upon the fears of the

common people. "Oh" (as an Englishman once said to me), "we must keep

the devil and his _hot place_ in our service, I tell you, Ah-Chin; or

we should have 'the devil to pay' in good earnest!"

It is very difficult to change the Superstitions of a people, because

rooted in their fears; and, in a matter wherein the imagination has

chief power, and nothing can be _known_, even honest men of wisdom fear

radical changes; they prefer to bear inconveniences, and dread the

effect of _new doctrines_ upon ignorant masses.

Priests, and the varied interests, and large establishments and

revenues--in fact, a great portion of the whole community--are

concerned in maintaining the Superstition, on selfish grounds, or think

that their own interests are involved. The higher orders regard the

_Established_ condition of things in Worship and in the State as too

_Sacred_ to be touched. They denounce all who endeavour, in any faint

degree, to suggest reforms, as "_infidel_" [un-ti-dsi]--a term of

deepest reproach--agitators, who covertly would overthrow "our Temples,

our Idols, and the Queen-Pope herself."

But they cannot wholly suppress the Thinkers; [kog-ti-te] (as the

_reformers_ are called); and these honestly think that some revision

may be made with safety and advantage. They are sneered at by the

larger part of the _literati_, and by all the priests, as _Tinkers_.

A tinker is one who mends and patches, not a real artisan; and the

majority will have it that nothing in England requires mending or

patching. They are also stigmatised, sarcastically, as members of

a _Mutual Admiration_ Society. A society where the members laud

everything written or said by any other member; and where, as the

members think, all true wisdom alone illuminates the surrounding

darkness. I suspect this society is a _mith_ [pho-gti]; that the true

sense of the sarcasm is, that the Thinkers overrate the value of their

published thoughts, and that wisdom will not die with them. Certainly,

some of the thoughts which I have seen in books, though not so gross

and hateful as the Idolatry, are quite as useless. Only one thing I

do respect them for--they do not subscribe to the pretensions of the

priest; and are really influencing the people by giving them hints of

value. They do act upon the upper classes, at least, with a reforming

effect.

I have not referred to obscure _sects_, of which there are many.

Some of these shout and howl; some keep absolute silence; some lash

themselves into a sort of phrensy, and fall down in fits, fancying that

they are possessed by the _Holy Spirit_. Some will only be _baptised_

by going into a river, and there, under the Incantations of the Priest,

be violently plunged all over in the water, both women and men. Still,

all of these, and many others, hold to the _Sacred Writings_ and the

other Idolatries: the main points are alike in all.

The Roman Pope has many devotees among the English Barbarians; and was,

not long ago, the Great and only Head. But a vile and cruel king, who

wished to enjoy a woman and divorce his wife, with whom he had lived

for many years, and by whom he had children, quarreled with the Roman

Pope, because he would not suffer this bad thing to be done; and the

English Barbarians, who disliked a foreign Pope, and the fierce chiefs

about this king, even some of the priests of English birth, urged

him to proclaim himself to be Pope in England, and to seize upon the

revenues which the Pope had received from the English, and all the

lands and properties of great value, which before-time had been given

to the Temples and to the Priests. This was done; this king seized upon

the wealth, and threw down the worship of the Roman Pope in England,

and declared himself to be the new god in England--the Pope! And the

English Barbarians worshipped, and have continued to worship, this new

Pope accordingly. And some who could not honestly worship the new

idol, and dared to adhere to the Roman, were burnt to death! Indeed

this new idolatry was not introduced into England without terrible

consequences. Massacres, burnings, imprisonments, wars, horrible

crimes--persecutions, destruction of families, robbing, plundering--not

even to this day have all the evil consequences ceased; though this bad

ruler made this change in this particular of the great Superstition

more than 300 years ago.

Thus, our Central Kingdom may see how powerfully Idolatry and

Superstition are entrenched among the English Barbarians. A System

interwoven with the very texture of their civilization; supporting,

and, in turn, supported by the State; mixed up with customs and

traditions, and endeared by its connection with family interests;

rich in its possessions; powerful in all the Halls of Learning, and

in its influence upon the fortunes and dignities of men; boasted of

for its learning, for its history, and for its refining and reforming

teachings; the _English Church_ (as those Barbarians call their grand

Idolatry) seems likely to stand for many generations. Yet agencies are,

slowly, at work, which will remove the dark and horrible, and leave the

simple and true. The Benevolence of the Sovereign Lord of Heaven never

tires; and the pure worship and less corrupted morality will make way.

I hope I may be pardoned for the time which I have given to this

subject; it is one worthy of deep attention. Besides, a little study

of the literature and manners of the Western tribes, fastened upon my

mind the impression that their History was mainly an account of the

rise and progress of the Christ-god Superstition; and that, hereafter,

whoever shall have the pleasing task of writing of their better

civilization, will find it to be his main purpose to show the decline

and extinction of that Superstition.

To wise men who worship the Supreme Lord only, and accept of His simple

and direct Morality, there is, in all the broad and immense world,

but a _single family_, ruled by Him. When this family recognises and

worships Him, in direct and true sincerity, and practises the few

and perfectly simple rules of His benevolent Morality, then it is an

_enlightened_, civilized family.

The Western Barbarians do not understand nor practise this Benevolent

Morality; until they do, their civilization will not be really better

than a Barbarism.

We are not to suppose that a perfect morality will ever obtain,

because man, being two-fold in his nature--divine and bestial--will

now be ruled by the one, and now by the other part. The object of all

education (discipline) is, therefore, to teach man how he may order

these two parts. There is no antagonism [ha-tsi] between them, only it

is indispensable that the _divine_ part should rule.

That this may be, the _intellect_ must be cultivated, not in

difficulties, but in habits of thinking, of looking, or seeking out; of

seeing the beauty, the order, the grandeur of the whole divine world.

Thus employed it delights in itself; it feels the Mind like a bright

thing, flying out to the great seas, and upwards to the everlasting

stars. It loves to hear, to see, to look at and into everything. It can

never cease to employ this delightful mind, thus stimulated in early

youth, to exert itself; but it must be exerted innocently, benevolently.

That the subordination of mind and the animal may be secured, the

Supreme, the Moral Faculty must, from the earliest years, be touched

by wise fingers. Ah, how it responds, this divine part; how it, in the

pure and warm glow of unselfish youth, recognises and worships with

filial love its Father, the Sovereign Lord!--perceives the moral order

and harmony, and loves to be orderly and obedient--early perceives that

the true business of life is to preserve this order, and enjoy this

peace.

Thus Man, a _moral-minded_ animal, is first of all to be taught to

understand his own nature, and to develop his distinguishing faculty.

This done, the bestial part rises not above its office. It, too,

performs its proper and useful end; and man is not a divided, but a

whole and happy being.

All education, therefore, rightly considered, aims to this _Integrity_

[Kom-fu] of a man--this secured, there are no limits to the mere

objects of study or of examination.

Our _Literati_, directed many thousands of moons ago, by our exalted

Confutze and Menzie, who, themselves were imbued with the ancient

Wisdom, are familiar with these simple things. The Western Barbarians,

mainly devoted first of all to the bestial part; to the enjoyment of

the appetites and the passions; sunk in gross Superstitions, only by a

few minds begin dimly to see.