New Britain herald., 1922-07-26
CONFUC|US' TOMB
 WONDERFUL PLACE
Writer for Geographic Society
 Describes Chinese Temple

Washington, D C., July 26,-The tomb Of Confucius, the Mecca 10 which millions Of Chinese pilgrims have iourneyed Is said by dispatches to be covered with weeds due to a dispute between descendants of the great sage, who have inherited the duty of caring for this shrine of the nation.
 The burial place Of the man who has dominated Chinese thought for 25 centuries is described, as II ap- peared a few years ago, in the fol- lowing communication from Charles K. Edmunds to the National Geo. graphic society
 This Confucian temple, an enor- nous and magnificent place, occupy ing with its grounds the whole Of one side of the town of kufu, is the model of the Confucian temples found in all the cities Of China II is al- most certainly the growth of ages.
 Contains Image of Sage.
 Within the main building. called The Hall of Perfection, sits the canopied image of the great sage, of which there are not more than two
 
 empire. Ordinarily. Confucian tenn ples do not contain an image of the sage, but a simple tablet before which veneration and devotions are ex- pressed.
 The Tomb of Confuctus.
 The statue Is of wood, larger than life size, and represents the sage seated holding in his hands the inn peria tablet or scepter as symbol of his sovereignty in the realm of thought,
 He is clothed in nine different silk garments, on which the twelve i'm perial emblems are embroidered, namely, sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, pheasants, altar-vessels, water-lilies, flames of fire, rice. axes, and classic characters. While nine of these were used for great princes as well as emperors, the first three were exclusively imperial insignia. Thus is denoted the high rank with which Confucius has long been hon. ored.
 Duke is Descendant of Confucius.
 The temple grounds are separated from the rest of the town by the street that marks the site of the an- cient village in which Confucius was born, the actual site of the house itself being marked by the dukes palace, for there is still a duke in Lu. the 77th lineal discendant of the sage.
 Besides the contributions from devotees and appropriations from Picking, estates of many acres are devoted to the support of the temple and the supply of the great number of pigs. sheep, and cattle required for the sacrifices, for no symbolism of cheap paper images as substitutes for the real article, so common elsewhere in China, is allowed here.
 The duke is also in charge of the up-keep of the great Confucian ceme- tery, which lies outside the city to reach which one goes from the north gate of the city for about mile along a wide avenue lined with cypress trees
 Tens of Thousands of Graves.
 The portal to Sheng-ling, built in its present form in 1755 by the list lineal descendant of Confucius gives access to a park-like enclosure of over 500 acres containing the sepulcher of the sage and of all his descendants. The total is undouht- edly several tens of thousands of graves. When family holds to- gether for 2,500 years it grows into a big concern-about 70 percent of the population in these parts even the soldiers sent as escorts claiming membership in the clan. The park is cared for by 200 attendants, whose families have inherited this duty for many hundreds of years
 From the outer entrance of the Grove of the True Sage an avenue of fine and ancient expresses, about 150 on side, leads to an inner in closure, where are halls for worship and monuments of imperial visits from the Sung dynasty down.
 Monuments Mellowed by Age
 "As one passes inward the n1onu- ments become more and more an- cient The aspects of the park are rather those of age than of neglect, Presently one comes tc The Holy Way closed in by walls denoting the imperial ranking of the sage.
 Finally, in very nearly the center of the whole inclosure, the visitor comes to two hillocks that cover the remains of Confucius and his son. In front of each is simple stone altar and an inscribed pillar, the one before that of the sage himself read ing Most Holy Ancient Teacher
 Tt is said that the earth forming the mound covering the body of Con- fucius has been brought from each of the eighteen provinces of the em- pire However that may be, it is cer- tAiny true that the influence of the Age has been and still is felt through out the whole extent of the great country; and the prophet himself, while in these latter radical days somewhat dusty, still bears on his shoulders the vast comm onwealth of China, whose moral basis, with all its deficiencies, is surely a great me morial to a great and wonderful man
 At the present rate of exchange 1t costs s2,0n0 to maintain an American soldier for one year S135n for an