menial offices of the temple, to that of officiating priest, and ultimately of Tae Hoshang, abbot or head of the establishment. The curious resemblance that exists between the observances of the Budhist priests of China and Tartary, and those of the Romish church, has excited the surprise of the missionaries from the latter; and the observations and surmises of Père Gerbillon, who was intimately acquainted with the subject, may by some be considered as worthy of attention. He questioned a wellinformed Mongol as to the time when his countrymen had first become devoted to the Lama of Thibet, who is a spiritual sovereign closely resembling the pope. The reply was, that priests first came into Mongol Tartary in the time of Koblai Khân, but that these were really persons of holy and irreproachable lives, unlike the present. The father supposes that they might have been religious Christians from Syria and Armenia, the communication with which countries being subsequenty cut off by the dismemberment of the Mongol empire, the Budhist priests mixed up their superstitions with the Romish observances. Certain it is (and the observation may be daily made even at Canton) that they now practise the ordinances of celibacy, fasting, and prayers for the dead; they have holy water, rosaries of beads which they count with their prayers, the worship of relics, and a monastic habit resembling that of the Franciscans. They likewise kneel before an idol called Tien-how, queen of heaven. These strange coincidences led some of the Romish fathers to conjecture that the Chinese had received a glimpse of Romish Christianity, by the way of Tartary, from the Nestorians; others supposed that St. Thomas himself had been among them; but Père Prémare was driven to conclude that the devil had practised a trick to perplex his friends the Jesuits. To those who admit that most of

the Romish ceremonies and rites are borrowed directly from paganism* there is less difficulty in accounting for the resemblance.

Chinese history relates that, about the middle of the tenth century, the emperor Kien-tě, who founded the Soong dynasty, sent three hundred Shaman or Budhist priests into India, on purpose to procure the books and relics of the god. After passing the river Heng-ho (Gunga, or Ganges) they saw a large image of Fŏ in the south. In the homilies of the priests there often occurs this sentence : —“Oh Fŏ, existing in forms as numerous as the sands of the Heng-ho." Their books mention a country called Sy-lân (Ceylon), in which, near the sea, there is on a certain mountain (Adam's Peak) the print of a foot three cubits in length. At the base of the hill is a temple, in which the real body of Fŏ is said to repose on its side; and near it are teeth and other relics of Budha, called by the priests Shay-ly. It is but justice to the Chinese to say that, in importing some of the Indian deities and their superstitions, they have wisely left behind all the indecencies and fanatic madness of Indian worship, and that such horrors as those enacted at Juggernath and elsewhere could never in the slightest degree be practised under a government like that of China.

One of the principal objects of curiosity at Canton is a temple and monastery of Fŏ, or Budha, on a very considerable scale, situated upon the southern side of the river, just opposite to the European quarter. It is said that towards the close of the last Chinese dynasty, and about A.D. 1600, a priest of great sanctity raised the reputation of the temple which had been for some time before established in that place; and a century afterwards, when the Manchows had taken possession of Peking, the

* See Dr. Conyers Middleton's Letter from Rome.

*

son-in-law of Kâng-hy, who had been sent to subdue Canton, and was therefore called "Subjugator of the South," took up his residence in the temple, which he at length patronized and greatly enriched. The funds soon sufficed to maintain a crowd of priests who established themselves there with their monastic discipline; and it has been a place of consideration ever since. "I visited one evening," says Mr. Bennett," the temple, situated at a short distance on the opposite side of the river to that on which the factories are built. Having crossed with my companions in a boat, we proceeded a little way down the river, and landed at a dirty causeway near some timber-yards, in which a quantity of fir-timber of various dimensions was piled with an extreme degree of regularity. The entrance to the temple or temples, and extensive grounds about them, was close to the landing-place; and passing some miserable fruit and eating stalls adjoining, we noticed a large clean open space planted with trees, and having in the centre a broad pavement of granite kept very clean. The quietness that reigned within formed a pleasing retreat from the noise and bustle without. This paved way brought us to the first portico; here we beheld on huge granite pedestals a colossal figure on each side, placed there as guards of the entrance to the temple of Budha; the one on the right in entering is the warrior Chin-ky, and on the left is Chin-loong. After passing these terrific colossal guards we entered another court somewhat similar to the first, also planted with trees, with a continuation of the granite footpath, which led (through several gateways) to one of the temples. At this time the priesthood were assembled, worshipping, chanting, striking

*Ping-nan. For the true meaning of Tae-ping, the title assumed by the insurgent leaders of 1850, see Chap. V. p. 175. + Wanderings, &c., vol. ii. p. 107.

gongs, arranged in rows, and frequently performing the Ko-tow in adoration of their gilded, senseless deity. ** ** The priests, with shaven crowns, and arrayed in the yellow robes of their religion, appeared to go

a a is a handsome paved way of considerable Breadth, leading through the middle of the space occupied by the temple, and composed of large slabs of granite, well laid down;-b, the hill gate, as it

r

through the mummery with devotion. They had the lowering look of bigotry, which constant habit had at last legibly written upon their countenances. as the mummery had ceased the priests all

As soon

* * *

*

is called, though erected on a dead level, the Budhist temples being generally in the recesses of mountains;-c, d, two raised recesses, with various inscriptions in gilt letters on the walls;-e e, two colossal figures of gigantic divinities guarding the entrance;-ƒ ƒ, the hall of the four celestial kings, each of them seated on a lofty pedestal, and as large as the two preceding figures; one of them is said to be the benefactor of the temple before mentioned under the title of "Subjugator of the South;"-g, the principal temple, in which are seen, fronting the entrance, three colossal gilded images of the Budhist triad, called the "Three precious Budhas," the round spot on the forehead of each marking their Indian origin. On each side of the entrance are seated gilded figures, on a much smaller scale, of the eighteen Lohân, or saints, who take care of the souls of those that die. A huge drum and bell serve, in this temple, to awaken the attention of the gods to their worshippers ;-h, a single image of Omito Fŏ, or Amida Budha ;—i, temple containing a very well-executed monument of a vase-like shape and gigantic dimensions, carved in white alabaster, or gypsum, and sacred to the relics (called Shay-ly) of Budha. The whole is surrounded by lanterns and lamps kept continually burning, and on the sides of the monument stand bowls of consecrated or holy water, said to be a specific for various disorders, particularly of the eyes;-j, long covered passages or cloisters, leading to the priests' apartments and offices;k, temple of Kuân-yin, a goddess worshipped chiefly by women ;—1, apartments of the chief priest or abbot of the monastery, where Lord Amherst's embassy was lodged in 1816;-m, a great bell struck morning and evening;-n, apartments for receiving visitors, where may be seen an idol with many arms, evidently of Indian origin;-o o, two pavilions, containing images of Kuân-foo-tsze, and another warrior demigod, to whom the present dynasty attributes its success ;—p, a place devoted to the preservation of animals, principally pigs, presented by the votaries of the temple. A chief tenet of this religion is to spare animal life. q, a book-room and a printing-press, exclusively devoted to the sacred books of the Budhist sect;-r, a place for idols, near which are a number of miserable cells for the inferior priests ;-s, on this side there extends a considerable space of walled ground for the growth of kitchen herbs, and containing, besides, a mausoleum, where are seen a number of jars, in which are deposited the ashes of the priests after their bodies have been burned. Here, too, is the building in which the act of cremation is performed. To the left of the temple are a variety of offices, as the kitchen, common room, &c. &c.