Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-06-26
For the SPECTATOR.
For The SPECTATOR.
A Sketch Of the Religion, Laws and
Government of the Chinese Empire.

For the SPECTATOR.
A Sketch of the Religion, Laws an(
Government of the Chinese Empire.
AS the history of this people is mo-
studied in our schools, the following
may be of interest to your readers
The early history of China is shroud
in mystery, and less is known OF he
than of any other ancient nation. LII
the year 213 before Christ, the emperor
Shee-ho- ang-tee, ordered the burning
of all the books in the empire, except
those relating to medicine, agriculture
divination, and the history of the
dynasty of Tein. from whom he wa:
descended. This edict was executed
with great severity, and thus all OF the
early history of this people was DIES
troyed. The Chinese claim, however
that they are the descendants OF NJ ah
The government is patriarchal. and
desnotic in it's form, and has been
maintained from it's origin to the pres
ent time,-the people being simply a
race of slaves, tamely submitting to
the arbitrary and absolute power OF
the emperor, be he Tartar or Chinese.
There are many causes for the non
advancement of this people, and most
of them spring from the national pride
and conceit which is the result of theiI
belief in their great antiquity; Their
jealousy and suspicion of strangers aud
foreigners: their peninsular position
together with their obstinate retention
of their ancient religion, customs,
dress, and diet.
The empire is divided into provinces
which are ruled by governors, or man
darins. Notwithstanding their claim
of being the inventors of gun-powder
they have, until within the last cen
tury, retained their primitive weapons
the bow, the spear, and the sword, )
and even to this day some of the re
mote mountain people retain these
arms. In this age of improved fire
arms, we find the Chinese mostly arm
ed with the old muZzle loading musket
and instead of the modern artillery,
they use the old and obsolete cannon
of former days. In art and science
in literature and architecture, China
of to day is no further advanced than
the China of the year one thousand.
RELIGION.-It is almost an impossi
bility to give an Intelligent and accu-
rate account of the religion of this
UNIQUE people. 1t is compound
of superstition, ceremony, fable, and
idol worship--a mixture of the ancient
mythology of the Greeks, Egyptians,
Romans and Persians, each indicated
by the various sacrifices. The two
great sects which divide the nation, and
which frequently cause religious wars,
are the followers of Fo, or Pagod, as the
Indians term him, who was brought
from Hindostan. He declared to his
followers, "that there is no other prin-
ciple of things but a vacuum or moth
ing; that from this nothing all things
at first sprang; that to nothing they
shall again return, and that thus end
all our hopes and fears at once"
This belief accounts for the suicidal
tendency of the people. After his
death there were many fables related
concerning him, such as that he was
still alive, assuming sometimes the
shape of lion, sometimes that of an
elephant and again that of an ape.
His followers were much divided after
his death, some adhering to his atheis
tical doctrines; others holding that
there was distinction between good
and evil-reward for the good and
punishment for the evil. They believ-
ed in the TRANSPORTATION of the soul
probably from the fable of the god
Fo's assuming the shape of various
animals. They enjoined the observ
ance of five precepts. To kill no liz
ing creature. To take nothing that
belonged to another. To commit nc
act of impurity. TO utter no false
hoods, and to drink no wine. Failure
to practice these duties will incur fu
ture punishment, such as the trans
migration into the bodies of all sorts OF
animals, dogs. horses, rats and reptiles.
In consequence of this doctrine the
temples to Fo were filled with idols OF
animals, birds and reptiles, as thay
imagined their god occupied the bodies
of these different creatures.
Another and yet more ancient sect
are the disciples of Lao tse, or Lao
kim, who was born 600 B. c., through
the united influence of heaven and
earth. After his miraculous birth, he
is said to have visited the kingdom of
Thibet, where he was educated by the
priests of Lama, when he wrote book
entitled "Tao se-king." According to
his doctrine the Tao is the principle of
heaven and earth, the source of all
that exists. He who desires to be unit
ed to the Tao is required to be free
from every passion, reject riches and
Position, engage in no pursuit, to keep
silence, and to cherish compassion fol
his fellow man. These followers, call
ed Tao-otse, entertain an utter indif
ference concerning the past, present,
and future. But this apathy being
naturally disturbed at the prospect OF
death. they adopted a notion from the
idea of the soul of the Lama passing
into the person of his successor, that a
liquor might be compounded which
would render the body immortal
They began the study of alchemy, mix
ed with magic, divination, and many
absurd superstitions. The hope of
avoiding death attracted many dis
ciples, particularly among the rich
classes. Many Of the emperors joined
with teachers called celestial doctors.
This beverage of life is understood to
be compound of opium and other
stimulating drugs, one drink of which
causes delightful languor, but con-
tinuous repetition of which hastens
the end of life, instead of prolonging it..
This sect exists to this day, through
the credulity of the people and the
countenance of the great, notwith-
standing the more enlightened doc
trines and teachings of the great Con-
fucius.
Confucius fourished before Christ
500 years. His phllosophy.and religion
are evidently borrowed from the Gree
ian philosophers. He taught that out
of nothing there can nothing be pro
duced; that natural bodies existed from
all eternity. That there exists no per-
sonal deity and that the first cause is
not represented by any distinct image,
while the sun, moon and stars, and the
elements, are the productive powers in
creation. That the universe is one
animated system-one substance, with
one spiritual existence, of which every
living thing is an emanation and to
which, when separated by death from
its natural parts, every living thing
returns; hence the word death is never
used by his followers, but they say of
a deceased person that he has return
ed to his family. There are no regular
days of religious rest, such as we term
the Sabbath or Sunday; but there are
festival days which are also days of
recreation, such as the winter solstice,
when the emperor sacrifices to Tien or
heaven, many oxen, hogs, sheep and
goats; and the summer solstice, when