Smyrna times., 1886-05-05
Letter from Miss Woodruff.


of the great Chinese empire. e
We are on a hill, but above us are ;
other hills, and on these you can count 3
six temples. In front you can see the Il
white pagOda reachir~ its moss. covered t
head one hundred ,.:1 thirty feet in L
the air. Then, if you 90 out in the t
yard, you can see other temples and q
the stone pagoda in another part of the c
city. q
In these temples are numerous idols S
of brass, and stone, and wood, some
most hideOus to behold The temple I
doors stand open, and we frequently
90 in and see the people at their {
strange worship. A few days ago we
saw a company of women wOrshiping
the female goddess. They each
lighted bundles of perfumed tapers
and placed them before the idol, and
then performed various other GER
emonies. We uplift an earnest prayer
that the Sun of Righteousness might |
arise in the hearts of these misguided
women, and the light of the tapers go
out as the stars of the night are lost in
the blaze of day.
The worship of idols in China is OBJ
ligatory; not only on individuals and
families, but on the Emperor and all
lower officials. No one can occupy
government position without becoming
an idolator. He must go to the tenn
pies on certain days, or send some one
/ to worship for him; so for an official to
/ become a Christian is to lose his posi-
ton.
Looking below us, you will see the
| black roofs of the Chinese houses, so |
crowded together that you will Won
der where the streets can be; and If
you should attempt to walk through |
the streets, you would find some of
them so narrow that you would be |
obliged to lower your umbrella IN order
to pass through.
Far above this plane of roofs, far
above the mission compound, and far
above the turrets of the temple, rise
the grand old mountains, and their
beauty heather rites cannot touch.
They never seem twice just the same
j sometimes almost shrouded in mist,
their dim outline Just visible like a
Jagged line against the sky sometimes
standing out in the clear light with
such distinctness that the eye delights
to trace the form of each, with its var
led features of light and shadows, OF
foliage and glistening water-stream.
And in the early morning, when banks
of black clouds fill in the great valley
between hOuse-roOfs and mOuntain-tOp,
it is a beautiful sight to see the sun
rise above the highest peak, dart his
arrows of fire through the thick fog
break up the clouds, and send them
j flying before him like a monster herd
of frightened animals.
: But imagine you are counting the
! temples again, and are ready to ask,
What have the missionaries been doing
7 all these thirty-eight years, if there are
still so many temples frequented by
f devOut idol-wOrshipers. TO answer
r this question, l will take you to the
homes of some of our native Christians
n where YOU will see Christian pictures
r and Bible verses Ornamenting the wall,
the floor swept, cleanliness and order
e reigning. You can 90 into the pastors
q study, and see him, with his Chinese
Bible and helps for study" preparing
i to preach. If YOU stayed longer, you
would see parents and children
# gather at the family altar, to Offer
a the incense of prayer; and you would
N know that He who was wont to enter
9 the home of Martha and Mary, had Wis
lNtI LlltSC llOlAlNo tliFOf anu wv nSAAAAN
to him the beautiful traces of his foot
Id steps.
q. Then would like to take you tC
Ii our mission chapel, where you would
see a company of men, women, ant
rs children listening to the preacher
M while he talks to them of the Jesu
doctrine" Among the children, yO
10 would see from fifteen to twenty littl
b1t,V6 foot fHhncn hnInnI
he to one of our day-schOols. They com
ON on Lords day as well as any Othe
he davs-for all days are alike to then
he The native teacher, who is an earnes
'ar Christian, brings them to the churc
in the morning, and takes them t
ba Sabbath-schOOl in the afternoon. w
Cd hope the seeds of truth she is drOppin
80 in these Young hearts will some da
take root and grow, and that the
70 will learn the folly of their heathe
ed customs.
1o os' This little company of Christia
nd worshipers does seem very small con
10 pared to the crowds of idOlatOrs bJ
yer they are following a Leader who
finally to triumph over the Prince
bo Darkness, and all his host. If yO
rly should visit this school of which hay
IIiiil spoken, you would be kindly invite
to be seated, and one of the girls woul
NV bring you tea in tiny cups. Aft,
oY,' waiting awhile another little 81
~ No would bring you some small cakes.
any of the children were late, as the
ms =, enter the room they would stop befo
-, the visitors, make deep bow, shakiI
osa :" their own hands in Chinese fashio
III The teacher would call out some on
- would CnUnrnI
.;bo rapidly that it would make you laug
~ ~ Another child would be sent to &
oIId board to draw picture of the " Co
- Samaritan or some other Bible seen
an They would entertain you with a val
vIo ETY. of recitatiOns as long rs you wOu
Id stay. Their way of studying seel
,,oo very strange to us.
: 70 The Chinese language has
~ alphabet, but each word has diff
G,, cnt character. 1t is very difficult
remember so many. The childr
''in learn them by repeating them on
onI and over, all studying aloud at
"ro @ same time. When they get th'
y, voices pitched on Il high key, tn
ca make Il great noise. But the teacl
as Us learned in the same way, and does
- seem to be annoyed by it.
The people have the the great
reverence for their language. They
not like to throw away paper
tier which the characters are written
IN printed. Baskets are hung on hou
ieaa and street-walls, into which pa
OF found in the streets can be plac
,und Furnaces, in shape like house or
MS CODA, are built for burning this pap
meek 1t is considered a work of merit
MIN collect printed paper and burn it
these furnaces. Chinese charact
are styled 1.-THE eyes of the sage" {
sometimes " the tracks or marks VIII
the sages have left behind thel
>, ~, Those who do not show a respec
o,ns- regard for lettered paper, are like
,o,-s to a "blind buffalo," and those who
tIot not reverence the letter-characters
littIe their life, will be likely to be b
II is blind when they come into the We
, con the next time. There are sOcie
: on called Lettered-paper Societi
,,o, They erect furnaces, and employ l
-, - to collect lettered paper from
hot streets and walls. The ashes of
onv- paper are carefully preserved in cart
p ~. vessels until large quantity is