The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-08-22

THE CELESTIAL JOSS.


BY Luck Cards and Oblong Sticks tn,
Chinaman Seeks to Learn His Future.
The Chinaman's religion from an
American point of view seems to be a
belief in inspired luck. This is the
way it looks to anyone who has visited
the joss house in Mott street and had
the aged and bald-headed Chinaman in
charge to go through the services for
his edifcation So much does it seem
to be a matter of luck, says the New
York Sun, that policy players and
others who believe in luck and super
stitions have begun to make visits to
the joss house to find out from the
bones and the sticks what to do to win.
The regular form for holding services
in the joss house includes the joss
sticks, the services of the officiating
attendant and luck card The room
occupies the full width of the build
ing At the rear is the shrine of the
Joss covered with carved figures and
tapestry Before the shrine Is row
of pots with earth in them, where the
joss sticks are put, and a little tray
with holes to hold the pink wax tapers
which are burned in connection with
the joss sticks A large frame shuts
off the view of the joss from across
the street. In this frame there is a
carving which is said to represent the
history of China, the great figures in
rows showing the successive dynasties
and the principal events. In the
corners of the room there are carved
chairs, huge umbrella about eight
feet in diameter, and little shrines
where also joss sticks may be burned.
On the east wall hooks are arranged
in regular order and numbered On
every one of these hooks there is
package of pink paper printed in
Chinese characters. The papers are
about three and one-half inches long
by two wide, with five rows of Chinese
characters and superscription, also in
Chinese. They are numbered accord
ing to the hooks they are on. These
are what the Americans call luck
cards On either side of the pots in
which the joss sticks are burned is
long tin cylinder filled with long strips
of wood and ivory several incher longer
than the cylinder But in front Of the
joss there are two oblong pieces OF
wood, resembling in appearance large
red banana split in two.
After the joss sticks have been
lighted and while they make the room
fragrant with their perfume, and the
pink wax tapers are burning in the tin
tray, the officiating attendant pros
trates himself before the jess and
bows a number of times. Then he
takes the two oblong pieces of wool
and throws them in the air. The way
they fall decides in general way the
luck of the applicant. One side of
each is round and the other fat For
both to fall on the floor on their round
side is one kind of luck, their fat side
another kind of luck, and one round
and one fiat side is a third kind of
luck This is decision in the main
as to whether the one who is consult
ing the joss should or should not do
what he has in mind and came to con
suit about.
For further inquiry into his luck the
visitor can consult the ivory and wood
sticks in the tin cylinders. The Off
ciating attendant twirls the cylinder
round rapidly until the centrifugal
force causes one Of the sticks to fall
out of the cylinder and drop on thc
floor IN front of the joss. The number
of this stick corresponds to number
of a hook in the wall The attendant.
goes at this hook and takes from it the
pink slip of paper with the Chinese
characters, or the luck card, which
tells in more detail the luck of the an
plicant to the joss. He viii also
translate this card if he will confess
to his knowledge of English
A fee of twenty-five cents pays for
this. 1t is even an interesting visit to
make to joss even If one does not be
lieve that the divinity has advanced
inform alton about what is to happen