The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-04
CHINESE DlVINITIES.
THE Sun. THE MOON AND STARS
AMONG THE NUMBER.

Dead Men Become DeItIes-Curious
SocinI Characteristics and Gus
tOms-EIRboratc Rules of Cour-
tesy-When to Drink Guest Tea"
From the Baltimore Sun.
The new crisis in the East, which has
suddenly arrayed all the great Christian
nations against ChA1a, having been pre-
cipitated by the appeal of the Boxers TO
native religious prejudices a glance at the
religious and social characteristics of the
Chinese is of timely interest.
Confucianism is now well understood,
and both Buddhism and Taoism have been
SO thoroughly explored that 1t is hard TO
believe that anything of importance relat-
ing thereto is to be discovered. At least
one more book upon this topic however,
remains TO be compiled-namely, a Chi
nese Neurological Dictionary. Such
work should contain an account of all the
principal diVinities actually worshiped bY
the Chinese, with authentic details of such
as are historical, together with a record
of the steps by which many of them have
been promoted in the Chinese pantheon.
until, like Kuan-Ti. the god OF war. from
very humble beginnings they have be-
come "adJuvant of heaven" This num-
Der of these divinities is very large and
includes many that have been continu-
ousiy worshipped for over a thousand
years.
Whether the Chinese have ever at any
time in their long history had perception
or conception of one true God, Father
and Creator of all things" is a question
that has been long and learnedly discussed
by scholarly students of their classical
writings. 1t is still an open question. But
| there is no doubt at all that for many
centuries past they have worshipped the
sun, the moon, the stars and host of
ancestral deities. All the gods of China
may be said to have been dead men, and
by the right of ancestral worship, il may
be affirmed that in n sense all the dead
men of China are gods. Temples are con-
SANITY erected, by the consent of the En-
peror. to men who, while living. have in
various ways distinguished themselves.
1t is impossible to say that any one of
these men may not. in the slow evolu-
ton of ages, rise to the highest place
| among the national divinities. There can.
| therefore. be no doubt whatever that as
a nation the Chinese are polytheistic.
The Worship of Nature.
That there was a tendency among prim-
live mankind toward the worship of ma
ture is well known. The recognition of
irresistible and unknown forces led to
their personification and to external acts
of alteration, based upon the supposition
that these forces are seutient Hence
| many pagan peoples erected temples to
the gods of wind, thunder and fire In
| China the north star is object of con-
s ant worship There are temples to the
sun and to the moon in Picking in connec-
ton with the imperial worship. But in
| some regions the worship. of the sun Is a
regular act of routine on the part of the
pc ople generally on day in the second
month. which they are pleased to desig-
rate his birthday" Early in the morn
| ing the villagers go to the east to meet
| the sun and in the evening they go about
| toward the west to escort him on his
way. This ends the worship of the sun
| for year. An exceedingly common man
| Hesitation of this natureworship is in the
reverence for trees, which in some prov
| nces las, for example, in Northweste m
| Honan) is so exceedingly common that
one may pass hundreds of trees of all
sizes. each of them hung with bannerets
| indicating that it is the abode of some
| spirit. Even when there is no external
| symbol of worship the superstition exists
| in full force If fine old tree is seen
| standing in front of a wretched howell it
| is morally certain that the owner of the
| the divinity within.
1t has been popularity understood thai
the Emperor is the only individual in the
| Empire who has the prerogative OF wor-
| Shipping heaven. The very singular and
interesting ceremonies which are per-
f-rmed in the Temple of Heaven by the
Emperor in person are no doubt unique
But it would be news to the people Of
| China as a whole that they do not and
| bea nd aartH
| fer themselves. The houses often have a
| small shrine in the front wall facing the
| south and in some regions this Is called
"the shrine to heaven and earth" Multi
| tudes of Chinese will testify hat the only
| act of religious worship which they ever
| perform aside from ancestral rites) is
| prostration and an offering ito heaven
and earth" on the first and fifteenth of
each moon, or in some cases on the be-
ginning of each new year. No prayer is
uttered. and after time the offering is
removed and, as in other cases, eaten.
What is it that at such times the Chi
nese people worship? Sometimes they af-
firm that the object of worship is heaven
and earth" Sometimes they say that il is
heaven" and again they call IL the Old
Man of the Sky" Qato tien yeh). The lat
ter term has led to an inference that the
Chinese do have a real perception of a yer
sonal deity. But when il is ascertained
that this supposed person" is frequently
| matched by another called Grandmother
| Earth" (ti mu mai nab the correctness OF
the inference is open to serious question
The word heaven is. il is true. often
used in the Chinese classics in such a way
as to convey the idea Of personality and
will. But ii is likewise employed in a
manner which suggests very little of eth
er. and when we read in the commentary
that heaven is principle the vagueness
of the term is obvious. To this ambiguity
in classical use corresponds the looseness
of meaning given to it in everyday I fe.
The Chinaman who has been worshiping
heaven upon being pressed to know what
he means by "helven" will frequently re-
ply that IL is the blue eXpanee above. His
worship is, therefore in harmony with
that of him who worships the powers of
nature. either individually or collectively.
His creed may be described in Emerson
ian phrase as 'one with the blowing
clover and the falling rain" In other
words, he is a pantheist.
Turning no to their social Characters
ties we find that the one thing after the
possession of the thirteen classics on which
the Chinese specially pride themselves is
politeness. And truly, if national refine
ment is to be measured by the mien and
carriage OF it's people. the Chinese are en-
titled TO a high place among the children
of men. A Chinese official in full COS
tune is a most imposing figure and car
ries himself with great dignity and self
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