The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1904-11-02
MIRACLE PEARLS.


images of the God Baddha Are Groyvn
to Order ny Mussels. a
.You may live In China all your. life
and find something new ON the last
day." said one of the veteran mission
aries to me at Hangchow. iAnd on
our last trip out into the country ON
our village rounds. we came upon
these" producing pair OF shells on
whose inner nacreous surface lay i'm
bedded rows of ''blister pearls" and the
famous miracle pearls"-tiny pearly
images of the Buddha In low relief.
These miracle pearls have been
known as products of Chinese skill and
ingenuity for centuries. Every mu-
scum possesses one or more, shells with
the pearly image embedded, and I'm the
old days OF the East India trade the
New England sea captains used to
bring them home from their cruises
They got them. of course, at Canton.
but Canton no longer knows them, or
shows them for sale, and persistent
questioning can get no clew as to the
place where the miracles are made to
order They used to be sold at the
Buddhist temples in Canton, and had
been told that they were also brought
by the pilgrims as souvenirs of their
visit to the sacred isle Of P0ot0o, In
the Chusan archipelago, but no one
knew where the pearl yards" were
where the seat of Chinese pearl cul-
ture might be.
az saw these on the ledge Of the wah
q lxr>d laSNa
them they told me to come and see"
and without any effort. prolonged In
terest, question or search the good mis-
sionary stumbled upon the whole busi-
ness of the miracle pearls.
Pearl rearing. 1t seems. was the chief
industry of that remote village in Che
kiang province and had been its unique
speciality for ages. Each generation
had passed on the secrets OF the art
and knew not when it began. who first
taught or evolved the processes by
which the fresh water mussel is in.
duced to retain mud pellets and small
metal objects which are slipped into
the shells and to diligently cover them
with nacreous substance.
The foreign visitor who had Glanced
upon the miracle making village was
taken to a place where eight or ten men
sat around tables prying the mussel
shells open to admit OF little pellets OF
baked clay and bits Of fat metal, i'm
pressed evidently from a die, in the
shape of seated Buddha. y
The mud balls are slipped In, and the
mussel does the rest, but the little
scraps Of Buddhas must be placed right
side up with care, as Chinese aesthetic
culture has never reached the appreci
alton or evolution of an intagliO. -"
The mussels are put in ponds and left
there two or more years and are then
ready for opening and cutting the
'blisters" and Buddhas free from the
shell surface. Whether the mussels
were fed by the pearl cultivators the
visitor did not learn, nor just the ar
OF rotation or alteration OF
ponds Of each seasons harvesting.
While the villagers carried on the
other usual Industries Of rice and silk
culture, the pearling remained the chief
source of wealth, some families srealiz-
ing as much as 800 silver dollars each
year from their pearl CROP, The Bills
ter pearls go to jewelers. ana are
worked up into elaborate Chinese hair
ornaments, and the miraculous images
Of the Buddha. tiny, carefully modeied
exquisite little half inch, long jewels,
are sold as sacred treasures and tails
mans to pilgrims at the Buddhist
shrines around Hangchow and at Poo
TOO for the little while each season that
me limited supply lasts,-Chicago Trib-
une S.ts s. -.