The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-05-28

New YORK ana the banding Of the earth with hoops
Of electric telegraph are among the causes which
are hereafter to operate in this revolution OF tne
East, by making 1t part of the great nervous sys-
TEN OF commerce and Intelligence OF which New
York must form the practical brain or centre-the
great ganglion, single thrill OF which 10 to be felt
and appreciated throughout the utmost borders
OF the great human economy OF the planet.
One OF the causes which have operated to produce
this great though comparatively silent revolution
has been the creation Of missions In various parts of
the Middle Kingdom, the intimate commingling
of missionaries with the natives and the silent
proseytism Of large numbers Of the latter. The
great diniculty In the way at first and still Is,
not the tenacity with which the natives cling to their
religion or regions-for there several systems at
present extant-bnt their tenacious hold OF certain
popular supersttions The basis of the religion or
religions of the people has been from time imme.
Egypt, Greece and Rome. Out OF this has been de-
velOped vast upper growth OF religious fungi In the
weirIest coloring imaginable, and strangely enough
while the people at large have no very nigh rever-
for the religion itself or for It's theories they are
thoroughly imbued with its practices. ldolatry has
fOstered false science to- that extent that all the
common phenomena OF nature are habitually attrib-
uted to superstitiOus causes.
The fve,clawed dragon, also the emblem Of roy.
atty is as well the giver OF rain and the rather OF
storms. weird, supernatural creation, me dragon
never appears In full body to mortals Sometimes
his tail Is observed in the rain clouds; sometimes his
pOnderOus twO-hOrned head peeps out from the
midst OF thunder conds sometimes his fierce below
is heard In the Ornament, and then falls the rain In
gusts and sometimes he whips the clouds, his minis
ters with lash OF lightning; but the monster never
exhibits himself totally. His image appears on the
royal ensign, and can be appropriated by no other
mortal except with profanity-though certain Of
the Mandarins are permitted the emblem OF
the fOur.cawed dragon, the Emperor having
the advantage in celesttality by just o single
claw. The phoenix, also an Egyptian emblem,
Is the emblem OF the queen, and represents the
female principle OF Godho0d. In this may be traced
emblem being as DR.. Gustav Seynorth has album
dainty demonstrated, Of astronomical origin, and
representing the transit Of Mercury. 1t is just
worthy OF passing note ALSO that In both cases the
legend 10 the same and that the classical idea Of the
bird phoenix Is the same as that Of the Eastern ma
tions and was undoubtedly Of Oriental origin. In
the Middle Kingdom the phoenix Is q marriage en-
blem, and usually appears upon documents Of pur-
pose similar to the marriage certificate
In the ancestral worship, and especially In fung-
shuy as In the countless superstfti0us Observanc3s
that enter into the very framework OF society, has
been presented the principal obstacle to the rapid
spread Of the religious revolution set on foot by the
missionaries Of the several denominations. Even as
late as 1840 government opposition had not been
withdrawn, and the missionaries were compelled to
limit their operations to the several factories In
which some few natives were employed. In 1912,
however, permission was extended to the mission
aries to extend their operations and since then prose-
lytism has been rapid, and In 1874 the number Of
missionaries actively engaged In this field was thirty
thv1fnd fnlln