The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-18
The ADVERTISERS
 @ HOME STUDY CIRCLE

1 no soul, no immortality, no future re- wsrd or punishmenfs Is s hyss ss,,r for is,, snls fataltstic indifference
 But once let this feng-shui superstition Pe touched end John is chapged nan. other world, spiritual and all embracing snd ever imminent- The laws of thls sPris world are r,a srGtfsaus ry sriagessy os the departed, lest they go hungry, but they partake in a spiritual sense only or as we would say. In a Pfckwickian
 osed for pr atser decent ne length Of ,e the mourning friends fall to and eat UP every scrap of 1t. cheered by the pop of tho fes- tive firecracker and general enjoyment- the tomb must also bs left strips of silk | wherewith the shivering spirits may clothe themselves, and paper imitation money must bc buSned to serve as their Now 1t Is easy to see what terrible l thing It is for q dead Chinaman to have Sen for on sxsy sen resss tae co. yided with food. clothing and money h the land of spirits, Consequently John is
 never a bachelor If he can help it. and home his remains must be shipped back without fail Think of wandering about an eternally hungry, shivering. cashless
 John Is terribly afraid of the spirits | Everyone knows that a spirit cannot turn | a sharp corner nor climb hill; conse- l auentiy the streets often have sharp cor: | for trouble to the living may get confused why the roads so often go out of theil y ineressins I U"S seriously the length of jour. | neys and the toll of the burden-bearine | coolie. The Dead Hand rests heavy on | everything in China
 | ton is very simple. In this. also, the | Chinese of today present to us tableau l vivant of our dead and gone forefathers: step by step we can a traes osek ic, every one ns New and Old England away back to the Roman Goddess of Luck and the personal l ''daemon' of the Greek. China has sim | ply marked time while Europe has
 Recent events in China have conveyed to many the idea that John is intolerant of any religion but his own. That Is a great mistake; he is as tolerant as an ancient Roman. All religions look alike to him. He takes some of each. on the same principle by which some people take of a good thing. Side by side for centu- ries have dweft in mutual tolerance Com fucianism, Buddhism. Tacism, Moham- as nearly as may be. There were no hatreds and no prosecutions until Chris tianity became aggressive.
 The great religion in China is Confu- Is not religion, but Q moral philosophy kind of ethical culture. It Is also the State religion, and the Emperor is its sayings of Confueius are quoted on all occasions and to settle all questions. His words may be heard from the lips of the PSa s sd an as %s saSe as s The great temple Is at Pekin, where the Emperor oficiates twice year with most impressive ceremonies. confuclus lived
 The next most important religion is Buddhism. an importation from India In the first century A. D. Because of a sent to India to learn there. ga and they they brought back Buddhism. Now the tenn pleB and images of Buddha are every where in China. and the priests are a gars. with few exceptions.
 Taoism was founded by Laoutse, some times called the Chinese Pythagoras. He more of phiiosopher, and less of i a prac. s. tical reformer than the latter. Origin ally Taoism favored asceticism and ra- tlonalism, but now that, is all changed and agtrologers of China,
 In the north and northwest provinces live millions of, Mohammedans. and in Pekin they have twenty-four mosques,
 Last of all entered Christianity. More than 'l.iOO years ago the Nestorians, or followers of Nestorius a patriarch of the work of christianiRinR the Ehinese. Eight hundred years later caiue the Ro. man Catholics and soon established flour lshing missions. The lead which they then acquired has never since been lost
 The first Protestant mission in China was established in 1907, and before inc recent prosecutions they claimed 100 '0O0 converts and 2,5o0 missionaries.
 FCOBvrfRht Yahn |