The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-25

ever increasing ar@. In the agricul-
tUraI districts the burying grounds are
scattered through the fields, each fam
lily having its own plot Sometimes
when the family has died out, the
mound is neglected and the coffin is
exposed. At Shanghai and at Marking
we saw a number of collins standing
i'm the fields, never having been COW
cred.
The temples of China are interesting,
but are generally in d state of decay.
The COnfucian temple at Picking is
visited once a year. when sacrifices
are made to China's supreme sage.
The court of the temple is filled with
gEaTled and knotted cedarS of great
age. in which colony of crows was
chanting d requiem when we were
there There are also in the court
numerous tablets of marble. each rest
ing on the back of a stone turtle and
bearing inscriptions: there are other
tablets bearing quotations from the
writings of COnfucius.
At Canton our guide took US to the
temple Of the 500 gods. They repre-
sent Buddhistic saints. are life-size
and each has an incense Urn betCrr
him. One Of the gods has a very long
arm. he being the one who puts the
moon I'D at night: another represents
Il saint who cut open his breast and
exposed an image of BUddha to prove
his fidelity to the faith.
our guide ii Canton was All Cum.
who has conducted travellers through
the city for more than 10 years and
has brought W his sons 10 the same
profession. 7 mention his name for
the benefit Of any readers of these
lines who may chance to visit. as
every tuuris, should this most Chi
ncse Of Chinese cities.
There is in thc vicinity If Picking
a temple with several thousand i'm
ages of Buddna, but they are small
and made of clay. the original bronze
images having been carried away by
the foreign troops during the Boxer
troubles.
Close to the walls of the city of Pc
king stands what Is called the Yellow
temple. n rare work of art. The
carved figures representing incidents
i'm the life Of BUddha are very skill
fully wrought, auG enc cannot help
feeling indignation at the vandalism
of the foreign soldiers, who. during the
Boxer troubles. defaccd this ancient
monument. BY far the most impress
sive aud elaborate religious structure
in China is the Altar of Heaven, not
.
built under the Ming dynasty 500
years ago, and is still visited twice
each wear by the emperor, who here
offers sacrifices to heaven. The sac
rificial altar is built entirely of white
marble It is d triple circular terrace
the base being little moro than 2OC
feet i'm diameter. the middle terrace
$50 feet and the top terrace nearly 1ot
feet. each terrace being iuclosed by q
I L. L..
stands about is feet high. and the
| emperor, ascending to it alone, kneels
at midnight and as the representative
of the whole people makes his offering
to heaven. A bullock without blem-
/ ish is used as the offering on these
/ occasions. In architecture the altar
reminds one of the Greek structures
while come OF the features of the cere-
.ony recall the rites Of the Israelites
IS described in the Old Testament.
ear to this altar is a pagoda. stand
D.. upon another triple but smaller
larbIc terrace: it is popularity known
,s the Temple of Heaven Here or
he first day of the Chinese year the
/ emperor offers his supplications t.
! heaven for a blessing upon the year
| This is the most graceful and sym
metrical pagoda- in the empire, If no
i'm the orient, and no one who visit:
the capital should fail to see it. Boil
the altar and the temple are sur
rounded by a high wall, and the in
| closed court is shaded by veteran
| cedarS.
| While Buddhism has been regards
as the religion of China, Taoism ha
also Influenced the thought of the ma
ton. 1t teaches the existence of spir
its but has degenerated into superst'
ton and the attempted Cancellation o
evil spirits. For. instance, before eacl
| official residence and before many pr
| vate residences will be found a wall
higher and wider than the front door
the purpose of which is to keep out tn
evil spirits, which are supposed to trav
81 only i'm a straight line. When a build
ing is to be made more than two storie
high, punches of leaves are often tie
to the top of the poles used for scat
folding to deceive the evil spirits an