The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-07-13
CITY GATE
TO GET RAIN
DOCTOR IN CHINA WRITES OF
EFFORTS OF ORIENTALS TO
END DROUGHT-DEAD PEOPLE
BLAMED.

iONN, AID. JuIf IN--lJI.
T. w. Ayers, formerly a practicing
physician and editor of this city, nov
in charge of the Warren Memorial
hospital at Hwang Men, North China
under the auspices of the Foreign
Mission Board, Southern Baptist con-
yention, and sometimes lecturer
on medicine at the imperial UNIVERSE
ty, has written a letter to a citizen
here. giving an interesting insite in
to some of the Chinese superstitions.
He tells how the Chinese undertake
to overcome the drought, and of the
suffering and barbarities in
ton Herewith. His letter in part is
as follows:
81 returned last might from
Chaoquen City, and while there saw
and reard several things which will
probably interest you. We have had
no rain here for about four months
and the drought is really distressing
and in Chaoquen City special efforts
were being put forth to secure rain.
Our chapel there is located just in
sile the south gate of the city, and
on my arrival at the chapel noticed
that the city gate was closed. so that
no one could enter from the south
and there was no exit from the north
| was informed hat this gate had
been closed for twenty days by Or
der of the mandarin. and that it was
closed for the purpose of securing
rain. The Chinese theory is that the
fire comes from the south, the rain
from the north, wood from the east,
na11 frrp, tho Unct ond duct from
above. So by closing the south gate
the fire was kept out and 1t made
possible for the rain to come. Think
of even the high officials believing
such superstition as this
LAS soon as | arrived in Chaoquen
City the business men of the south
street implored me to have the
mandarin open the gate as theyhad
been without customers since the
gate was closed. | declined to ask
the mendarin to open the gate for
the reason that the Chinese believe
this one of the ways of securing rain,
and If / had the gate opened and 1T
did not rain, they would charge thai
prevented it. Fortunately, the first
night | was there a light rain came
and the mandarin hao the gate OPEN
ed, to the great delight of the bust
ness men on that street.
lust back of our chapel in
Chaoquin City is a large temple and
the first morning l was there. | went
to the temple to see what was being
done. The rain god had been brought
out in front of the main temple
building and many were going to
pray to this image for rain. Seated
by the idol was a Taoist priest, who,
as the petitioners advanced to
"katow" (the Chinese act of worship
performed by striking the head on
the floor while in a genufiexiye po-
s~ition,) would strike a bell to- let the
god know that supplicant had come.
How Inconsistent! BY this he con-
fessed that the idol had eye that
could not see, but, while he knew he
had ears that could not hear, he pre-
tended to attract his attention by
striking the bell. One after another
these poor deluded people would BOW
their knees, strike their head against
the ground and go away without hay-
ing uttered a word. The katow was
their prayer.
THE most extreme measures they
rave usel to secure rain is this: One
person forms the idea that the spirit
of one in the grave is preventing rain
He mentions the fact to one of his
| friends he to another he another,
unit the community becomes enraged
against the spirit of the individual
who is preventing rain. They set a
time, go to the grave, take out the
body, grasp it with iron hooks and
drag it through the fields until it is
literally torn to pieces. This is
simply fearful for those who regard
their dead as sacred, as do the
Chinese.
Even in a large and en%terprising
city like Hwanghien, the south gate
has been closed for several days, and
the mandarin has issued an order
that n person from every family IN
the city and county go to one OF the
large temples on the same day and
katow to the rain god for rain. They
went by the thousands. This order
was not issued until there was ap-
pearance of rain, and the day afr
they went to the temple a small rain
came, and, of course, the natives
think the rain god SEN it in answer
to their prayers.
THE drought has caused grain to-
advance greatly in price and there
will be much suffering among the
poor this year. Out west the drought
is fearful, and there have come from
the western countries great throngs
OF beggars. There are probably a
| thousand in Hwanghien City now.
They have terrorized the business
men in the city.
During the rain procession no one
is permitted on the street with cover
ed head. This week n of the
Chinese young men in our boys
school here, not knowing of the pro-
c~ession. went on the street with an
umbrella over him during the rain
and got a severe beating for it.