The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-12-14
yAU H0K KITUK CHING TO vi.
CHINESE Y. M. C. A.-MR. +. W.
DAMON SOLVING THE CHINESE Pro
BLENI = DEDICATION OF THE New
BUILDING.

The dedication of the new build
ing erected for the purposes of the
Chinese Y. NJ. G. A. took place last
evening with exercises appropriate
to the occasion. The building stands
on the lot in the rear of the Chinese
Church, near the corner of Fort
and Beretania streets, and is reached
by wide alley from Beretania.
1t is neat two-story structure, 38
feet front and GO feet deep. The
ceiling is IL feet high in the lower,
and 16 in the upper story. Spacious
verandahs run across the front and
rear of the building. Easy stairways
lead from both verandahs TO the
upper fiat. The main apartment on
the lower floor is the reading room,
on the table of which are to be found
Hongkong, Shanghai and San Fran
cisco papers. New Testaments,
Pilgrims Progress, Evidences of
Christianity and other religious lite
rature. The table will be further
supplied with the Illustrated Chris
tian Weekly of New York, in Eng
lish, and also with the Honolulu
papers. The walls are hung with
pictorial illustrations of the para
bles, in which the characters are all
represented in Chinese costume.
The "measures of meal" parable
shows y happy faced Chinese guide
wife at the kneading trough, with
the face of bouncing "babby'
peering out of basket on the floor
near by. Holman Hurst's Light of
the World, framed, the map of
PauPs travels and the Departure of
Rebecca are also displayed. The
pictures are from the press in
Hankow, GOO miles up the Yang tse
Kiang River, and are the contribu-
tions of the Chinese themselves. To
the right of the reading room is a
small room containing the safe, and
book depository, and another to be
used as class room. A fine map,
hung in the class room, deserves
more than passing notice. 1t is
the work of a Chinese native preacher
in Canton city, and is a very elabo-
rate piece of Typographical execu-
ton, with large amount of informa-
ton appended, relating to the coun-
try. The map is that of Quang
Tung (broad east) Province. Near
the center is Canton, and on the
southeast stands Hongkong. The
province has population of 20,-
100000, and is the sole seat of
Chinese emigration. The Chinese
of the Australian Colonies, the
Pacific Coast and the Hawaiian
Islands are all from Quang Tung,
and no Chinese emigrate from any
other province. Looking at the
map, Mr.. F. w. Damon remarked
that he had traversed nearly every
district of Quang Tung, particularly
those from which the Chinese come
here.
Two doors open from the read
ing room and class room into a
hall running across the fiat, and
from which two corridors, divid-
ing this part of the building into
three sections, lead back to the rear
verandah. Between the corridors
are a store-room and three lodging
rooms, and the two side sections are
divided equally into eight lodging
rooms. These lodging rooms will
be let at reasonable rates to passing
and sojourning members, also to
residents if necessary.
The greater portion of the upper
fiat consists of a fine audience room,
AZ by 38 feet, with verandah in
front. Overhead, above the plat
form is large sign-board, with the
title of the institution (" Yau Hok
Kituk Ching To vi" cut in relief
in large Chinese characters and
beautifully gilt. A pair of tablets,
one on each side of the platform
reach from the ceiling to the floor,
with balanced Inscriptions, forming
dui, whatever that means. 1t is
a special piece of literary craft
among the Chinese to construct a
dui. 1t may aid the occidental bar
barian to understand the dui, to re-
mark that every character on the
one tablet must be balanced by a
corresponding one, on the other.
The idea of pairing or balancing
pervades all Chinese notions of
arrangement. When Mr.. Damon
put up clock on the wall, China
mans taste was offended because
he had not "balanced" it with
another clock opposite! Each tablet
has eight characters, the first four
being portions of maxims quoted
from Confucius, the other four com,
pleting the maxims and giving then
Christian applications. The inscrip
tions as nearly as they can be rem
dered in English are,-rhe pure
heart the purified body is Obtained