Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-12-16

ucius in Seventy-sixth Generation.
abundant yield Of wheat, corn, rice
millet, arrowroot, vegetables and fruit
The northern plains, however, are
vaheless from an agricultural stand
point because the land Is saturated
with salt.
Harvest Wax With Worma
One of the novel "crops" of thii
province is an odd variety of wa1
harvested from the wax tree with the
aid Of armies Of wax worms, which arr
sent forth to forage, much as the silh
worm forces are martialed for attack
on mulberry leaves After a summers
| depredations on the wax trees the
worms exude substance which when
| melted forms wax. After the little
harvesters have paid their wax tribute
the Chinese collect them and place
them indoors where they are 'stall-
fed until the following spring, when
the process is repeated.
Silk culture is one Of the most i'm.
| portant industries of Shantung. Ono
Of the varieties Of fibre produced Is
pongee, or Chi-fu silk, obtained from
worms that are fed on the leaves of
dwarfed oaks. These oak spinners are
not always treated with the same con-
sideration accorded the wax worms,
for, when the pongee cocoon is finished,
the worm often finds its way to the
table of wealthy native, where 1t is
highly priced as delicacy.
Still another rather important In
dustry of Shantung affects from far
across the sea, the peace of mind Of
modern American maids with unruly
| tresseS. The women of Shantung,
young and~old, busy themselves tying
into form the filmy nets Of hair that
make well-groomed colffures possible
on blustery spring days on Fifth ave-
nue., or when the lake winds swoor
down on Michigan boulevard. H1n-
dreds of thousands Of these airy manu-
features, large in numbers but few in
pounds, are shipped to America an
nually.
Birthplace Of confucIus
Shantung will ever hold place of
supreme affection in the hearts Of
Cinnamon, for 1t was In this province
| that one Of the worlds greatest moral
teachers, the famous sage, Confucius,
was born. Even more important-in
ancestor-revering China-Confucius is
buried In Shantung. This was also
the native province Of Mencius, one
of Confucius' most distinguished fol-
lowers.
The tomb Of Confucius near Chowfu
is the object Of pilgrimage to many
but strangely enough 1t is not nearly
as great drawing card as is Tai
Shan, the highest Of China's FIVE
sacred mountains, which is also in holy
Shantung. and not far from Chowfu.
| At Tai Shan one finds what might be
called .'holy mountaineering" de luxe.
Up the peak, which is 5000 feet high,
has been constructed broad paved
path with stone steps wherever the
declivity is steep, and in the spring
this highway ia thronged with as many
as 10000 pilgrims day. On the cliffs
which the climber passes precepts are
carved, constituting huge religious
bill boards" BY the wayside at inter-
walls are temples where offerings to
the priests are made convenient.
Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian
shrines are intermingled, though the
| mountain itself has been considered a
sacred place since before the latter
two cults came into existence At the
very crest Of the holy mount are
three temples Of the three faiths.
Twentieth century communication Of
sort was opened to the sacred places
Of Shantung when the Tien-Tsin-
Pukow railway was completed in 1912
But 1t was only of sort. One express
train q week to Pukow sufficed for su.
perior travel. but no arrangements
were made for taking care Of religious
tourists.
sDne still goes to the homo Of Con
ID .sius as one would have gone in the
Middle Ages. Express trains do moi
pause at Chowfu station. SO miles
south Of Tsi-nan. unless great oficiall
are-sh6ard, and wish to alight there
~ spechl stipulation Of Duke Kung
- ss.cendsnt Of Confucius and head d
| .rs clan!the railroad passed six miles
w. I'm III city, and there are no AIDE
3 r.1e 3a&pmmodat tor large mum
= | hers Of hvelerA