Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-11-23
Z FEAST OF THE DEAD.
W,z0<n FOR tho Dispatch by Hugh S. GIBSON


| Joss house, two huge paper figures
irighfaliy hideous-guard the door to
scare away demons. In smaller houses
this Is not necessary. because the doors
can nc made so small that the devils all
of whom are stupid and clumsy. cannot
md their way in, but II the entrance &c
the joss house We're unguarded the most
itnbecile demon could walk In with MS
eyes shut. Even Chinese cook Will re-
fuse TO take place where she has to
| sleep in large and airy room. His de-
sire is for a pigeon-hole of ROOM where
| he can close the door and window against
the evil spirits.
When the time arrived for the great
tricnnial conclave for the Precipitation OF
spirits, the old joss house was found to
be somewhat inconvenient1y located and
q new one had to be built for the occa-
sion-and rather out Of place, 1t seemed,
facing the old Spanish plaza. opposite the
more than century old mission church OF
Our Lady Of the Angels.
The hastily constructed temple had not
the slightest favor of the Orient-built
of rough lumber. rooted with corrugated
iron, decorated with red and white bunt-
| ing. and Shades of Buddha and Lau
TED illuminated with electric lights set
in gaudy gas chandeliers, heavily hung
with glass prisms.
The Oriental touch was added when
the scores of boxes. imported from San
Francisco and China were unpacked, re-
veallng a number of small, doll-liks
figures representing nearly every idea
In Chinese history and religion. Thesi
were put together by the hands Of their
curators and hung upon the walls and
from the rafters. For some weeks a,
skilled artisan and his assistants had
been busy preparing the huge paper
T. f,a mr.
pie In the work-room downstairs In
the old JOSS house one man deity fash
toned the bamboo framework OF a cor
pulent idol. which another braced and
covered with a layer Of Chinese news
papers. and over that the master work
man placed the covering of tissue paper
and painted the hideous face.
On Sunday afternoon. October 9Th, the
feast was opened. The new joss house
was completed. The priests. both Tao1st
and Buddhist, had arrived. and in their
scarlet robes and yellow tops they re-
paired to the old joss house. attended by
number of Chinese boys. whose duties
correspond, in a way, to those of Catho-
lie altar BOYS Here the priests received
the Tablets of the Virtues" and, at
the head Of procession. carried them 10
their temporary abode In the new JOSS
house, while to propitlate the eVii spirits
the musicians played, the singers chant
ed and innumerab bic firecrackerS, in
strings from five to ten feet long, were
exploded.
The tablets are of polished teak. cover
ed with Chinese characters in gilt.
and set in elaboratelyc wooden
frames. In China the tablets are in
scribed with the names of the ones to
whom they are dedicated. and list OF
their virtues is written beneath. Here
they are impersonal. merely being COM
binations OF virtues from which the
worshipper may chose the one to fit the
character of his dead relative.
Inside the doorway of the temple on
either side was stall containing a white
tissue-paper creation. representing
horse each held by brutaI-looking
paper groom. At the end of the festival
these with the other paper figures. were
burned and their souls carried the visit
ing spirits back to heaven. These spirits
came to take account of all the doings of
the feast, and report them in heaven. The
horses also carry the names of all contrib
utors to be blessed by the great god-the
sacred darEon.
a nisera BILE looking object was a rather
small. barefooted paper figure represent
ing virtuous and poverty stricken youth
who lived many thousand years ago. and
supported and loved his aged parents and
nourned their death for many years In
his woe he weDt so copiously that a
X
truthfully depicted in the image. The
Chinese believe that any one who can be-
come possessed of this image in any way.
by theft or force, Will be attended by good
luck for a year in al! his business and
gambling ventures. No blame IS alta hed
10 any one who tries to steal it. and
number of the richer merchants have
publicly offered rewards of several hum
dred dollars 10 any one who will get it for
them.
On the main altar. holding the ances-
tor tablets hundreds of punks and tai
low dips burned constantly. replenished
by two men who did nothing else. On a
lower altar were q number Of bcaZen and
pewter-like censors. in the largest of
which a long upright stick of precious
sandal-work was slowly burning from the
bottom.
Above the altar was al deliberately gid
ed carving in wood. on each side the sa-
cred dragon and in the center Buddha,
surrounded by his followers. From the
rafters in the roof hung five deep frames
containing the little figures, brought from
China They were carefully arranged in
groups, representing the last five courts of
purgator% through which spirits must
pass before going to heaven or beginning
I. new life on Garth. Some famous En-
peror of China presided over each of
these with wise men as his advisers. The
final and supreme court, hung in the sane
tuary showed the court witnessing
combat between two powerful rlagicians
who had long struggled for supremacy
one in the shape of a pig and the other
in that of monkey. The monkey is said
to have conquered because of his greater
cunning.
Here. also. is Lau-tze, who occupies the
JSIIIS ha
to Buddhism. He lived many thousand
wears ago being born at the age of 81