Wason 1 DS 135 : C5 1 S64 ASIA \ The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023029030 Cornell University Library DS 135.C5S64 The Jews at K'ae-fung-fpo :be^^^^^^^ 3 1924 023 029 030 THE JEWS AT K'AE-FUNG-FOO : BEING A NARRATIVE OF A MISSION OF INQUIRY, TO THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE AT K' AE-FUNG-FOO, ON BEHALF OP THE LONDON SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIANITY AMOJSTG THE JEWS ; WITH AN INTRODUCTION, ET THE RIGHT REVD. GEORGE SMITH, D. D. LOBJ) BISHOP OF VlG^WBIA. SHANGHAE : PRINTED AT THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETy's| |PiRESS. INTRODUCTION. The subject of the " Jews in China" is otie calcnlat- ed to awaken peculiar interest in the mind of th^ Biblical critic, as well as the student of general litera- ture. The small amount of certain knowledge respect- ing them in past times, and the long period which has elapsed without any addition being made fo former accounts, have tended to excite in many a desire that some more definite and detailed information should be procured respecting this long-isolated and almost un- known remnant of the Jewish race. For the little previous knowledge which we possess respecting the " Jews in China," we are almost exclu- sively indebted to the researches of the Roman Catho- lic Missionaries in a former age. The work published by James Finn, Esqr. in 1843, contains the principal previously-existing materials, which have been present- ed in a succinct and interesting form to European readers. It was at the commencement of the 17th century, that the Jesuit Missionary Ricci, and his learned associates at Peking, were suddenly made ac- quainted with the existence of a Jewish colony at K'hae-fung-foo, the capital of Ho-nan province. A Jewish scholar and expectant of civil promotion, a na- tive of that city, temporarily resident at Peking, intro- duced himself to the Missionaries, and announced him- self of the same religion as the foreigners. Being led by Ricci to view the interior of the chapel, and the IV paintings above the altar and around the sides of the building, he proceeded to bow before the various pic- tures, professing, however, to perform this unusual act, only in imitation of his guide and conductor, and as a homage to the great ancestors of his race. It was only by means of a subsequent explanation, that the misun- derstanding was removed, and the fact of the mutual distinctness- of the two religions became clear to the mind of each. The interesting information obtained from this Jewish visitor, led Ricci three years afterwards, to des- patch a Chinese Christian to K'hae-fung-foo, to test the accuracy of his statements. A copy of portions of the Pentateuch in Hebrew were brought back by the mes- senger. Other Israelites arrived in Peking, and in- teresting communications took place. The poor Israelites, even then few in number, reduced in circumstances, and exposed to many trials, appeared ready to renounce their ancestral religion, and to trans- fer the control of their synagogue to. the Jesuits. Others of the Roman Catholic Missionaries subsequent- ly visited the locality, and sketched the general plan and appearance of the synagogue. Although at the commencement of the 18th century, a fuller account of the Jews at K'hae-fung-foo was re- ceived from Father Gozani, then resident on the spot, yet down to the present time, but little additional light has been thrown on the subject of the Teaou-Mn- keaou," the sect who pluck the sinew." The late Dr. Morrison makes indeed a brief allusion to a rumour respecting them, in his journal more than thirty years ago ; and a Hebrew^ letter was actually written and despatched in the year 18 15^ by some Jews in London, to the Jewish community at K'hae-fung-foo. Whether it was ever received by them, there are no means of certainly knowing. Since the British treaty of Nanking in 1842, many Christians in Europe have directed their attention to- wards the Jews in China ; and anticipations in some instances may have been cherished respecting their present condition and future destinies, such as the incidents of the subjoined narrative will fail to gratify or confirm. A benevolent lady lately deceased, and well known for her deeds of pious munificence in the support of Christian Missions, placed the necessary funds for carrying out such an inquiry, at the disposal of the " London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews." It was at their request, that the writer of these Introductory Remarks undertook to direct the general plan and management of the undertaking. The subject is thus noticed in the Society's Annual Report for 1849. " Your Committee have gladly availed themselves of the opportunity, offered by the establishment of the Bishopric of Victoria, Hongkong, to make further in- quiries respecting the Jews in China, and the practi- cability of establishing a Mission in that country. There appear to be peculiar difficulties in the way of the immediate realization of their wishes in this res- pect, and their present efforts must be limited to a Mission of Inquiry, in which the Bishop has kindly promised his assistance. That munificent friend of Israel, Miss Cook has placed in the hands of your Treasurer, a sum sufficient to cover the amount of VI the expenses occasioned by the establishment of the Mission." The writer on his arrival in China, entered into correspondence with various foreign residents, both Missionaries and civilians, settled in the five consular cities of China, who were likely to feel an interest in the object, and able to furnish information towards its successful prosecution. A number of questions had been prepared and printed in England, principally by the Revd. Dr. Macaul, and these were sent round to the different consular ports, in order to direct atten- tion to certain specific points of inquiry. No intelli- gence whatever could be procured respecting even the existence of any native Jews in China at the present time. So far as we know, not a single native Jew has ever been met with by any Protestant Missionaries, or other foreigners now resident in China. The Revd. Dr. Medhurst, of the London Missionary Society, was the first to give a practical turn to these inquiries. He revolved in his mind a plan for despatching some trustworthy native messengers into those parts of the interior, where Jews were formerly known to be. He laid his scheme before the writer, during' his subsequent visit to Shanghae in October, 1850. The services of two Chinese Christians in the employment of the Lon- don Missionary Society, who appeared suitable and trust- worthy agents, were raad'e available for the mission. One of them; K'hew T'heen-sang, whose journal is placed first and was written in English, was educated by Dr. Medhurst, in his Mission school at Batavia, and is now engaged as a printer in the Mission at Shang- hae. The other, Tseang Yung-che, a somewhat older vn man, and a literary graduate of the fourth or lowest degree, had been for some years a teacher of Chinese to one of the Missionaries at Shanghae. His journal was composed in Chinese, and has been translated into English by the Revd. J. Edkins. Three Jewish merchants also, from Bagdad, resi- dent at Shanghae, and connected with the opulent Jewish firm of Sassoon & Co. at Canton, contributed valuable help ; one of them having written a letter in Hebrew to thtir Jewish co-religionists at K'hae-fung- foo, for the purpose of indroducing the two Chinese messengers, and inviting the Jews to visit Shanghae. After receiving various cautionary suggestions and instructions as to their mode of proceeding, our two Chinese friends left Shanghae on November 15th, 1850. They followed the route which had been previously laid down for them, by way of Soo-chow, and thence to Chin-keang-foo, where they crossed the river Yang- tsze-keang. They pursued their course thence in boats as before, along the grand canal, to the point of its junction with the Yellow River. Here, after a slight detention, they renewed their journey in a rude- cart or barrow, drawn by mules, along the southern bank of the Yellow River, arriving' at K'hae-fung-foo on December 9th, having travelled a distance of about 700 miles in a north-west direction from Shanghae. The journals of our travellers will best convey, in their own simple truthful language, an idea of the state of the country and population through which they pass- ed. The generally perceptible poverty and distress of the people in the vicinity of the Yellow River, the fre- quent signs of dilapidated dwellings, villages in ruins, Vlll and partial neglect of cultivation, may be taken as proofs of the devastating effects from time to time, pro- duced by the overflowing of this vast central stream, and of the occasional desolation spread on either side of its em_bankments. But we must be cautious in ad- mitting a too hasty conclusion, that these appearances militate against the popular accounts of the higher de- gree of prosperity and civilization, generally prevailing in other parts of the Chinese empire. The diaries of our Chinese visitors will acquaint the reader with the general condition of the Jewish com- munity at K'hae-fung-foo. After a tedious journey of twenty five days, they at length entered the east gate of the city ; and pursuing their course along the Great East-gate Street, in accordance with the information which they had lately acquired on the journey, they soon turned to the northwards, and at no great distance, arrived at the site of the Jewish synagogue, facinpr to the eastward. Here, in the midst of a surrounding population, two thirds of whom were professors of Ma- hommedanism, and close adjoining to a heathen temple dedicated to the "god of fire," a few Jewish families, sunk in the lowest poverty and destitution, their re- ligion scarcely more than a name, and yet sufficient to separate them from the multitude around, exposed to trial, reproach, and the pain of long-deferred hope, remained the unconscious depositaries of the oracles of God, and survived as the solitary witnesses of departed glory. Not a single individual could read the Hebrew books ; they had been without a Rabbi for 50 years. The expectation of a Messiah seems to have been en- tirely lost. The rite of circumcision, which appears to IX ■ have been observed at the period of their discovery by the Jesuits two centuries ago, had been totally dis- continued. The worshippers within the synagogue faced towards the west ; but whether in the direction of Jerusalem or towards the suspended tablets of the emperors, no clear information was obtained. The synagogue itself was tottering in ruins ; some of the ground had been alienated to pagan rites, and a portion of the fallen materials sold to the neighbouring heathen. Some time previously, they had petitioned the Chinese emperor to have pity on their poverty, and to rebuild their temple. * No reply had been received from Pe- king, but to this feeble hope they still clung. Out of seventy family names or clans, only seven now re- mained, numbering about 200 individuals in all, dis- persed over the neighbourhood. A few of them were shopkeepers in the city ; others were agriculturists at some little distance from , the suburbs ; while a few families also lived in the temple precincts, almost des- titute of raiment and shelter. According to present appearances, in the judgment of our native messengers, after a few years, all traces of Judaism will probably have disappeared, and this Jewish remnant have been -amalgamated with and absorbed into surrounding Mo- hammedanism. Although the messengers were afterwards suddenly interrupted in their researches within the synagogue, and their departure from the city itself was subse- quently hastened by fear, they remained for a period suflScient to enable them to accomplish the main object of their visit. They copied many interesting insciip- Siions in Chinese, and a few in Hebrew, which are appended to their journals. They brought back also eight M. S. S. of apparently considerable antiquity, containing portions of the Old Testament Scriptures, of which fac-similes are subjoined. These eight M. S. S. are written on thick paper, bound in silk, and bear in- ternal marks of foreign, probably Persian origin. The writing appears to have been executed by means of a style, and to be in an antique Hebrew form, with vowel points. The cursory examination which we have been already enabled to bestow on them, leads to the belief that they will be found by western biblical scholars, to be remarkable for their generally exact agreement with the received text of the Hebrew Old Testament. Though in themselves interesting and valuable, they are probably much inferior in interest and value, to the twelve rolls of vellum containing the Law, each 30 feet in length by 2 or 3 in breadth, which our messengers examined in the holiest of holies. Measures are al- ready in progress for procuring these latter M. S. S., which would be a worthy addition to some one of our national Institutions, and for bringing down to Shanghae, any Israelites who might be induced to visit that city. The portions of the Old Testament Scriptures already received, are the following : — Exodus, chapters I. to VI. : Exodus, XXXVIII. to XL.: Leviticus, XIX. and XX. ; Numbers, XIIL to XV. : Deuteronomy, XL to XVI. : and Deuteronomy, XXXII. : various portions of the Pentateuch, Psalms and Hagiographa, which appear to be parts of an an- cient Hebrew Liturgy, are contained in two of the M. S. S. already received. The temple or synagogue at K'hae-fung-foo is said XI to have been built about a. d. 1190; but the Jews themselves assert that their race entered China as ear- ly as the period of the Han dynasty, which would cor- respond with some time about the Christian era. A friendly feeling was generally evinced by them towards our visitors ; which is in no small measure attributable to the Hebrew letter of introduction from Shanghae, of which although the Jews understood not the purport, they readily perceived its identity with their own sacred writings. Without such an introduc- tion, they would probably have been received with .suspicion and distrusted as spies. Our visito/s learnt that during the year 1849, the whole of the little Jewish community at K'hae-fung-foo, were thrown into great alarm and exposed to danger of persecution, on account of suspected connexion with foreigners, by a letter written in Chinese, and despatched some time before, by the late Temple Layton, Esqr. H. B. M. Con- sul at Amoy, for the purpose of procuring some Hebrew M. S. S. It remains for the writer of this preface, in conclu- sion, to express how great are the obligations under vrhich, not only he himself, but also the London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, must feel themselves laid by the valuable labour and research of Eevd. Dr. Medhurst, and the well-performed services of the two native Christian Agents of the London Missionary Society. To them belongs the entire merit of furnishing the contents of the little volume which is now presented to the Christian public. Our best thanks are also due to the Bevd. John Hobson, British Chaplain at Shanghae, and the Bevd. xu W. Muivhead, of the London Missionary Society^ for their kind services and assistance in comparing the co- pying, and work of the Chinese block-cutters with the original Hel^rew M. S. S., during its progress through the press. Hongkong, May, 1851. JOURNAL OF K'HEW T'HEEN-SANG TO K'HAE-FUNG-FOO. Since the preceding pages were written, the two Chinese travellers have been despatched a second time to Kae-fung-foo. They returned to Shanghae in July, having met with complete success in their mission. Six of the twelve rolls of the Law, which they saw during their previous visit, each containing a complete copy of the whole Pentateuch, were purchased for 400 taels of silver (about £130) from the Jews duly assembled to the number of 300 persons ; and the MSS. were conveyed in open day from the synagogue to the lodgings of our travellers. They are each written, in a fine legible hand on thick sheep-skins sewed together, and are without points, or any of the modern divisions into sections or even books. They are in excellent preservation, except one, which was injured by a Hood during the Ming Dynasty, but is considered critically of the greatest value. During the first visit our travellers, by mistaking family- names for individuals, greatly underrated the number of the Jewish community. Circumcision also appears to be practised, though the tradition respecting its origin and object appears to be lost among them. Forty other smaller Hebrew MSS. were also brought away, which, on farther examination, may possibly throw light on their early history and migration. Two Chinese Jews also accompanied our travellers on their return, and are now residing under the roof of Dr Medhurst at Shanghae, in order to study Hebrew, the knowledge of which has been entirely lost among them. They appear to have a great desire to reestablish the Hebrew services in their syna- gogue. They have expressed also a willingness to send down their children for instruction ; and the Bishop of Victoria indulges the hope that he may possibly obtain hereafter two Jewish students for the Missionary college of St Paul's at Hongkong, now nearly completed, and instituted for the object of training native Missionaries for China. A portion of the MSS. are sent to the " London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews," Chatham Place, Blackfriars, by the present monthly steamer. Hongkong, September 1851. thrown up for the purpose of affording a view of the surrounding flat country, and of giving warning of approaching danger, in case of invasion. Ihere are several such on the way to the city of Kea tmg ; this mound is situated on the point where the creek divides one branch leading to Soo-cbow and the other to Kea-ting ' xu W. Muirhead, of the London' Missionary Society, for their kind services and assistance in comparing the co- pying, and work of the Chinese block-cutters with the original Heljrew M. S. S^, during its progress through the press. JOURNAL OF K'HEW T'HEEN-SANG TO K'HAE-FUNG-FOO. A. D. 1850. Nov. 15. Friday. In the commencement of our journey from the city of Shanghae, at about half pnst 7 A. M., the tide was so stron? agfainat us, that it was not till half past 8, we passed tlie -^ jf^ Lami-cha, and at half past^, the ^ 1^ Sin-cha ;* leaving (his, we arrived at tlve ferry of ^ ^ /^ Chaou-kga.too. Between the Soo-chow bridge and the Cbaou-kea ferry, we had very strong winds against us just by the point, so that ihe boatmen could not succeed in rowing, and we stopped our boat by the river side : after breakfast, about JO a. m. we started again, and at iialf past 10, we passed the Ohaou-kea ferry ; at about quarter to 11, we passed the ;^ ~r, j^ fCe-wang- meaou ("temple of Ke-wang), and about a quarter to 12 (noon), ^ ^ J^ Yay-ke-tun j- was in sight of us, which we passed at 12 ; all the way from Chaou-Uea-to6 to Yay- ke-tun, the fields were well cultivated with wheat, barley, vegetables, cotton and turnips ; about a quarter past 2 p. m., the mouth of the j>| ^ P^ Soo-chow-low-muu ; at about 7,' we passed ^^ p^ T^e-muii, and about half past 7, arrived at ^ y^ Ch'haug-mun, or Soo-chow. Nov. 17. Sundny. Early in the inoining about 6 o'. clock, before any body was up, Tseang and I went out of the* boat ,to distribute some tracts, by putting at various shop doors one or two complete sets of tracts, that when the people awoke and opened their doors, they might find some new and true books, which their forefathers had not known, neither were (hey handed down up to the present period ; after that, we went down to our boat. About 9, we started again, and in half an hour we passed Jj^ lrj5 Hob-k'hew, a hill full of temples and shops ; along the way to Hob-k'hew, we saw by the wall of a temple on the left side, a few characters written "If # # B :5t ^ B VS B 11" Pth shea heaou wei seen, wan go yln-wei ahbw, of all llie virtues filial piety is the greatest, and of all the vices carnal lusts are the chief ;" a few houses further, on there was written again " ^ ^ ^ f^ -^ ^ ^ ^T '^^°° SO "'O ^so> chung shen fling htng, do not commit wickedness of any kind, but reve- * Soo-chow is a prefecture, and the chief city of the south-eastern part of the province ofKeang-nan. A lieutenant-governor resides here, with a large number of officials. It is a place of considerable political importance, and the seat of a large commerce. Its population is supposed to amount to a million ; it is situated in Lat. 31. 23. 25. North, Long. 120. 28. 55. East, distant from the capital 824 miles. rently practice every sort of virtue." At about quarter past 11, we passed the cuslom-house ('^^^Heu-shob-kwan), and as soon as we passed it we saw many mulberry-trees ; from the custom-house to' the borders of Woo-scih, there were scarcely to be seen in the fields any such thing as wheat, barley, cotton, «fcc., but grass all the way. About 2 p. M. we paised the village of the southern Wang-ting (^ m. "^ Nan Wang-ting), and about 3, the village of the norihern Wang-ting (:fli M ^ Vih Wang-ting) ; the day was very dull, but the wind was still favourable. About 4 o' clock, we passed Shin-tiih, and at 6 the village of Sin-gnan ; at half past 6, in our way to Woo-teth, we saw a row of trees by the river side, and after having passed these, about 8 at night, we arrived at ^1^ Woo-seih,* the evening being very dull and rainy. Nov. 18.^ Monday. Early in the morning, about 6 o' clock, Tse^g and I went out of the boat, before any body was up or the shops were opened, to distribute a few sets of tracts, by placing them at tlieir various doors, or putting them in the crevices of the doors, that when the people awoke and opened their doors, they might find some new doctrine, which nei- ther the Buddhists nor Taouists could supply them with, received from an unknown friend. After breakfast (at 9), we started again, but the wind was so strong against us, that tlie boatmen could not succeed in rowing ; so we stopped our boat near" the /J'* ^^ iJj Seabu-kin-san, a temple in the middle of the river, where we saw attached to the ^ ^ ^ Kwan-yin-ko, a scroll, on the right of which there was written I have carried to the utmost my maternal feelings, and on ac- count of your good actions, here present you with a little boy ;" and on the left " f^ ^I f(f W 1^ itf ^ ^ €. 11 W ^ ^ I^ 1^ ^ "fifit You should now practice every * Woo-seih is a district city in the prefecture of Chang-chow-foo, Lat, 31. 38. North, Long. 120. 8. East. sort of virtuous action, and if you desire his long life and happiness, you must also perform some secret acts of charity." After we had vi»ited this temple, we went also to the ^ [Jj ^ Hwily-san-she, (monastery of the favourable hill), where paising the bridge, we saw at the end of the canal what was called a dragon fountain (^g ^ lung tseiign), which sent forth clear water from a stone dragon's head, jutting out at the end of the canal by the way side. Having noticed these things, we went to see the famous temple and mountain just mentioned, where on entering we saw written "/X^ j5|if — ' jJjKeang-nan te yih san(the very finest hill in Keang-nan);" 1^ passing thii, we crossed a small stone bridge, and reached ;' the 3v BE ^ T'een-wang-teen, (hall of the celestial king) ; this we entered, and passing a small bridge saw a marble tablet on a pedestal, containing the following inscription : ^ fta |g| p^ IJ^ ^ ^^^^ y^ m m M vB d^ -m- f^ mn* mh ^ %» /v -s- m m m ^ mi T ^ ^iJ Jt # ^ fi, ^f :^ ^ lij ft r^ ^, ^mm^mm ^, ^ t^ yi ^ © ^^. ^ i^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^. + >^ # ii: - ^yp. " Wandering for plp.asure round this place, I look at yonder spiral mountain ; entering the cloud, I brush against the trees and become wet with dew ; I know full well that everywhere there are numberless Buddhas, and truly on every celebrated mountain priests are sure to find a fortunate residence. Where this dark dell and that gay looking summer-house partly shade and partly reveal each other, heavenly flowers and grass of the mountain ravine unite tp please the beholder ; that table of the priests take care not to overset ; when the seasons were revolving for the sixteenth time during my reign I first entered this temple." This was preceded by the date of erection, "$£ [^^^ ^ ^ |Jj Tr Keen-lung sin we ch'hun hwuy san tso, com- posed at Hwily-san, in the spring of the -16th year of the reign of Keen-lung" (a. d. 1751). Underneath was sub- scribed f^P S^ yu peih, the imperial signature. On our re- turning to the boat, juBt by the Hwiiy-san-she, we saw a stone, like a candlestick, about 7 feet in height ; and leaving the temple, observed over a gateway "]^^^ M. s*^'"? te ming tseu^n, a surpassingly fine region and a famous fountain." Nov. 19. Tuesday. About 2 in the morning, we started from Hwiiy-san, and about 6 passed a village called Shiii- tang ; at the front of the temple gate we saw two atone lions on pedestals, and a little further on a grave-yard, fenced with a wall, which the people said, was for those who had no fields, nor friends and relations ; even beggars when they died might be buried there. At a quarter past 6, we passed a village called Yaou-t'how-pang; and m a quarter of an hour more, we passed the village of ')^ fi ^ L6-shay-chin a well-inhabited place. About half past 7, we passed ^ ^ Wob-muh, a thinly.inhabiied village, famous for producing garlick ; within this village there were temples and a row of mulberry-trees, all the fields being well cuhivated and appa- rently fruitful. About half past 8, we passed |^ 7^ Hwang- Un, a village with unceiled houses, and where the fields were badly cultivated ; having passed this village, we came to ^ ^ J2 Tseih-shob-yen, a place well inhabited, but badly cul- tivated, being surrounded with graves and wild plants, such as ^^If^kaou-ch'hae, southern-wood, &c. Leaving this, about half past 9, ^ iU Ting-yen was in sight of us, which was also very thinly inhabited ; after having passed this, we espied the pagoda of '^ j\\ Ch'hang-chow,« and at half past 10, arrived at the eastern "gate of the same, where we observed that the waters were rather yellow ; at 11 o' clock, we arrived at the south gate, where I had formerly been, passing which we reached the west gate ; leaving this we saw a number of tablets erected in honour of filial and chaste per- sons ; and after that a temple called ^jJ ^ ^ Lee-fo6- * Ch'hang-chow is ths chief city of a prefecture ; it is situated in Lat. 31. 50. 36. North, Long. 119. 52. 47. East. Distant from Nan- king 82 miles, 85 miles from Soo-chow, and 768 from the capital. meaou, (the temple of virtuous women); then a temple dedicated to the queen of heaven (^ ^ ff ^ T'heeu i,6w hing kung) ;^ and at a quarter past 1 p. m. we passed the villnge of ^ P^ Sin-eha, the new flood-gate. About quarter to 2, we passed the bridge of ^ ^ ;j^ I.eSn-keang-keaSu, which spans the river ai the junction of two streams ; at 3, we passed the village of ^^^ ^ Pin-new-chin, (literally, the run-away cow), whe^re we saw a cow-market ; and after that a temple caUed^^ ^ Heang-lln-she, (the forest of incense sticks). About 4, we passed the jt ^: f jf Kew-le-p'hob, a village where there was nothing to be seen, but fields and a few vegetables upon them ; after passing which, we observed that there was a play (^ he) being acted in the fields with music and lights, and many peo- ple came as spectators; pursuing our journey, about half past 5, we arrived at g ^ Leu-tsing, and passed the night there. Nov. 20. Wt-diiesday. Abojit 4 o' clock in the morninjr, we started for Tan-yang ; in the way to it, about 6 A. M., we passed the villai^e of W P Ling-k'hbw ; at 7, we passed ]%■ 4^ gl^ Tsing-yaiig-p'hob, and a quarter past 8, we arrived ^t 7T 1^ Tan-yang ,* here we passed the bridge of ^ -^ ^ Yin-kung-keaou, opposite which we saw the pagoda of ^ ^ ^ Pabu-t'ha-wan, and a temple near it called ^ ^ ^ San-e-ko ; arrived at the north gate of the city, we stopped our boat near the ^ ^ Sin-keaou, (new bridge) ; and after having paid a visit to Tseang's family, we went through the city to look at it. After walking through the crowded streets, we returned to the boat, and about half past 2 started again ; the city walla of Tan-yang, were all broken down and left unrepaired, the river banks were all high ground up to §^^[Ji}f^ Chia-keang-fob ; on our arrival at Tan-yang, the day was very dull and rainy, about half past * Tan-yang is a district city belonging to the prefecture of Chin- kfe'ang-foo, situated in Lart. 32. 4. North, Long. 119. 32. East. 8 4, we arrived ai §^ g ^ Chang-kwan-too, and passed the night 'here. Nov. 21. Thursday. About half pasi 4, we started again, but the wind was still against us, and the weather very in- clement ; at 6, we passed pf Jjg ^ Hwang-nS-pa ; and ar- rived at^E^;; Sin-fung, where having bought something for breakfasi, we started again, and a quarter past 9, arrived at "J^ i JH Ta-wang-meaou. (the temple of the great king), and ^E j£ T'aou-chang, (the peach village). At half past 10, we passed ^ *J5fYu5-h6 (the moon river), on the bank of which we saw a temple called "jjf $j^y^,^ 'Koo-chin-hae- gan, (the marine monastery of the old town), und near to it;^ gg P9 ^^ 3^ J^ Kin-lung-sze-ta-wang-meaou, (the temple of the four great golden dragon kings). A quarter to 12 we reached the village of 77" ■^ f^ Tan -too chin, and at 2, the pagoda of Chin-keane wna in sight of us ; at a quarter past 2, we passed the ^P ^ J^ Too-t'iieen-meaou. oppoaite wliioh ttiere was a dockyard; where they built and repaired the imperial grain. junks ; we observed that they put all the old wood inside, and the new and clean pieces outside, in or- der to cheat the Emperor, so that in a few years, they might have to repair them again ; thus they defrauded the govern- ment by their craftitiess. At half past 2, we passed ^^ yT] W ™ nil Chin-keang-nan-miin-cha, (tiie south gate of the city); here we saw that the wall of Chin-keang was firmly buill, and beautiful to the sight; at 4 0' clock, we stopped for the night at ^ ^ Chin-keang. * Nov. 23. Friday. Early in the morning about 2 4. m., we started again, intending to cross the ^ -f- /X Yang-tsze- keang at 6, but could not, because there were so many large and small boats before us, which had to cross also, and the canal being ao narrow, we had to stop our boat at ^|5a * Chin-keang is the chief eity of a prefecture, lying on the banks of the Yang-tsze-keaug ; Lat. 32. 14. 23. North, Long. 119. 24. 10. East, it is distant from Nan-king 54 miles, from Sop-chow 112 miles, and 707 from the capital. This city Avas taken by the English dur- ing the war. E-t'ho6, (ill those in front of us were gone ; opposite this place, there was a temple called "jJT M jM. -^ Kob-peen t'lidng-gan ; ^ after having rested awhile, at half past 7, we crossed the ^ ^ ;^ Yang-tsxe-kcang, when it was ra- ther calm, with a little wind against us. In the Yang-tsze- keang we observed various hills, such as ^ ^J Kin-shan (the golden hill), |^ |i| Yin-shan (the silver hill), ^" [Jj Swan-shan (the garlick hill), ^ [Jj Seang-san (the elephant hill), and j^ llf.Tseaou-shan (the banana hill). The Kin- shan had a pagoda wiih temples on it, but all the rest had no pagodas and only a few temples. On the opposite side of the Yang.ts?e-keang there were many ^ -^^] Lob-chow (reed islands). We heard that this river is always decreasing in size; formerly it was large and wide, and now it is becom- ing narrow, the breadth of the river now being about a mil« across ; it took us, however, half an hour to cross to the reed island. The Kin-shan hill looked from afar very beautiful to the sisjht, with painted temples, surrounded with green trees ; about a quarter past 8, we saw the wall of j]\ yf] Kwa-chow, all broken down ; instead of repairing which, with bricks and etones, they had piled up a heap of mud for a wall. About a quarter to 9, we entered the Kwa-chow larger river, and at 9, noticed a temple called "g" |lg ^ ^ Kob- tsiing-ch'he-sze ; and further on, the ^ -j^^ ^ P'hoo-tse- t'hang,with arched front door ; next to that ihe^;^ |,^f^)5^ Ta-pei-shen-yuen, and the ^ ^ jg Pa-lcoo-t'han ; about half past 9, we arrived at the Jj\, jj\ QJ ^Kwa-chow-yew- kwan (custom-house) ; where, after having been submitted to a minute inspection, we gave the man who examined us 14 cash(or one half-penny) for his trouble, besides which theboat- men give him 1,400 cash for the boat and boat-ticket. About JO, we started again straight for ^ jM Yang-chow,* and in the way to it, at 11,, saw a temple called^ U4 'fT ^ T'ae- * Yang-chow is the chief city of a prefecture, l^at 32, 26. 32. North, Long. 119 14. 13. East ; according to the map of Klaproth the longitude is 119. 15. East. B 10 ehaii-liing-kung; opposite which were temples ol^ the other side of the river, all broken down, willi neither images tior inscriptions, but a bell hung in a broken frame-work. Al 5 minutes past 11, wfe past /\ M, tft Pa-le-p'hoo, a village with few people ; at half past 12 (noon), we passed the famous temple called J^;^^ Kaou-min-aZe, Whitfh looked very beautiful from afar, with pagoda and painted houses, (the pointed top of the pagoda having been consumed by fife on a stormy day, aa many people reported to us on enquiry), nnd many temples which liad been newly repaired and rebuilt ; from Kwa-chow to Kaou-min-sze, all the houses were built of rice straw merely, but the fields were full of vegeta- bles. About I, we passed ^ -^ j^ Yang-toze-keaou ; at 2, the pagoda of Yang-chow was in eight of us ; at a quarter pnfet 2, We passed yti Hg 1^ Kew-lung-keaou (nine dragon bridge), a village of straw-roofed houses ; and at 3, W6 arrived at ^ y'jj YatK-choW ; about a quarter past 3, we passed the pagoda of Yang.chow (^ j^ ^ Pabu-t'ha- wan), at the entrance of a temple called the ^ ll|^ ^ Wan-fung-sze ; the top of the pagoda was fallen down by tile sides of it were weeds growing, and the birds of the air had taken up their stations there. About a quarter to 4, we saw the temple of longevity (^ ^ ^ Wan- show-kung), with beautiful steps at the front door by the river side ; and next to it one dedicated to the queen of heaven, (^ )0 '^ T'hgen-how-kung), with arched front door ; about half past 4, we arrived at the custom-house ; when we arrived there, the office was shut up, so that we passed the night near the custom-house. We saw by the front of tlic custom-house a bridge of boats ; these bridges are formed by joining a number of boats together,^ sufficient to stretch across the river, so that they may intercept all traffic, and prevent other boats passing while the custom- house is shut ; the people at the same time taking advantage of this arrangement to cross the river. The current here flowed so rapidly, that our boat required 2 or 3 ropes made 11 fast to Uie shore, to hold it ; so that even if we had had a fair wind, it would havq been hard to get through against the ra|)id si ream. Nov. 23. Saturday. After we had taken our rest, at 6 A. M., our boat -was examined ; while ihe examination was taking place, we went a little way into the city of ;^ f\\ |f?p Yang- chow-fob, to buy something ; af(.er we had seen the city, we went to our boat again, and at 11, we started for Shaou-pih ; iu the city of Yang-chow there were many professors of the religion of Mohammed; we observed that at the professor's shops tliey put up the title of ^ p^ Kfiaou-mun, or religion : we asked some of them, if they were Mohammedans ? they said, yes ; after that we asked again, where does your iljjh ^fjj Muh-sze, or teacher live ? tdey said, our teacher lives at a short distance from this place. The city wall of Yang-chow is not like that at Kwa-chow ; the streets are narrow and miry in rainy weather, and at the gate where w^e stopped our boat, the ^ ^ f^ Tseu-ning-raiin, very low and damp. About a quarter past 11, we passed the temple of everlasting life (-^ ^ IP ^Chang-sang-slien-Bze) ; at 12 (noon), we passed the dock-yard of Yang-chow; and half an hour after, a temple called ^ ^ ^ Heang-fbw-she ; there was a parden near it, full of flowers and trees. About 1 p. m., ® 5^ Wan-t'liow was in sight of us ; and at the end of the village we saw a temple called ^^ ^ ^ Wan-sliow-gan (the monastery of a myriad ages) ; a few le further on, we observed lamps by the road side for travellers and voyagers and many stone pillars to assist navigators in the time of high winds and rapid currents ; about 2, the J^ J^ Kaou-meaou (high temple) was in sight of us ; near it we saw furnaces, where thoy made bricks ; the soil here was rather sandy and yellow. At half past 2, we passed the jp -^ ^ Hwae- tsze-ho, a river of tiiree branches, with an island in the mid- dle ; and a little further on the jg/f ^flf 'j^ Sin-ho-keaou (new river bridge), and j^ ^ '^ Fung-hwang-keaou (the phojnix bridge) ; * at a quarter past 3, we saw a village * These two bridges exist in name, but there are none in reality. 12 lying six feet lower than the surface of the rivei, which was the case with all the surrounding fields ; before the village and the fields there were small canals, and the bank divided the river between the villas^es ; at 5 o 'clock we arrived at ^P ^^ Shaou-pih, where there were many lights on the shore. Nov. 24. Sunday. About half past 3 in the morning, we started again ; about a quarter past 6, we passed the temple of celebrated women, ^ f^ ^ij "^ j^ Lob-kin-lee-neu. meaou ; and half an hour after the ^ ^ 3§ Nan-chay-loo (south carriage road), a small village full of straw-roofed houses ; about half past 7, we passed the :([i ^ ^ Pih-chay- " loo (north carriage road), a village also composed of straw- roofed houses ; they build their houses here half of bricks and half of straw; at a quarter past 8, we passed -^ j^ [^ Cliay-I6-clia, and about half past 8, we saw the pagoda of Kaou-yew ; at 9 we passed ^ J^fl !^ jifl Sin-pa-iirh-cha, and a lillle-further on, ^ H^ ;^ ]^ |^ Nan-kwan-pa-iirh. cha. From Chay-16-cha to Nan-kwan-pa-urh-cha, we ob- served that all the river banks were undergoing a repair ; on the left side of the river they heaped up abundance of earth, hiring a number of small boats to bring earth from the higher grounds ; and on the right side, they repaired the broken part of the road with rice straw ; by the same means they divided the fields from the river, which was about six feet higher than the fields. A't half past 9, we saw the city wall of j^ p|5 Kaou-yew ;* it looked better than those we had previously passed, but still very low ; the city wall was not firm, nor strong enough ; between the river and the city wall there was a bank beautifully built, nearly a mile in extent ; about 10 o' clock, we passed |^ ^J Kaou-yew ; at half past 11, we passed ^ |i^ T'bow-cha ; and about 12 (noon), we returned back to the west gate of Kaou-yew, on account of the north-west wind that blew so strongly against us. We had gone two miles beyond Kaou- * Kaou-yew is a district city in the prefecture of Yang-chow, Lat. 32. 47. N. Long. 119, 20. E. 13 yew, but on account of the eale, we returned: I told the boalin«i> to row on to ^ g Keae.shbw, but the men were so timid in rowing against the current and wiad, that they preferred going back to Kaou-yew, to receiving the 200 cash which I had promised to give, if they could reach Keae-shbw that night. On coming back to Kaou- yew, we stopped our boat by tlie ferry side, wliich is called f^P Ws HH YCi-ma-t'how (imperial ferry) ; we entered the city by the north gate ("^Ij ^P^ Che-shing-mun), and af- ter having inspected the (jlace, returned to our boat. The bridges, streets and lanes here are all paved with bricks, not one stone to be seen in -the streets, except at the front doors ; the rice and flour mills are all worked by asses ; on the other bank of the river, we saw the lake of Kaou-yew, which looked three times the widih of the Yang-tsze-keang, there being many boats at anchor as also sailing on it ; the waves looked like a little eea, incessantly dashing between two rocks. Nov. 25. Monday. The wind was still against us ; dissa- tisfied with the delay, I tried several plans to get to Keae- show before night, but could not succeed; 1 then told the boatmen to hire coolies to pull the boat up to Keae-show, but all was ia vain ; after that I told Tseang, that we had better go ourselves on shore to hire coolies, or chairs, to get to Keae-show before night ; but when we went out to bar- gain for ourselves, they wanted 600 cash for each person, which we would not give ; after this the boatmen came and told us that it was very dangerous to go overland from Kaou-yew, but they promised us that the next day, whether windy or not, they would start ; not content with this, I told them if they could hire 2 or 3 people lo pull the boat to Keae-show, I would give them 300 cash for each man per day ; but they could not obtain one, because the weather was very windy and cold ; they wished at least 500 cash per day, and as I could not give eo much for one day'a work, we returned to the boat. Finding the people eo obstinate. 14 we resolved to stop over the morrow; iFiis was tha first day that we felt the cold so intense ; we went through the ciiy from west to north, taking notice of tlie liouses, tem))lee and paintings, wliioti were all very poor ; there was scarcely lo be found one tiled house ; the people had a bold and daring appearance, like the Shan-tung men, thtir uncouth exterior bi'ingaptto produce an unfavourable impression on stran- gers ; (he women were rather of ihe inferior kind, and their speech was scarcely intelligible to those not fapiiliar with the local dialect. On the front door of the city teiriple was written ^ f:g j§| Ch'hing-hwang-ineanu, and on the second door, j^ii P^ E-muii : by ihe right side of the court, there was written ^- m^ MM '^^^ M 1^ ^' '^^ i^ M Tsin hie mo mo sin I'ow, ho peih shaou heang teen cimh. On entering lay your huiid on your heart, and there will be no need to burn incense aisd light tapers:" and on the left " Hj ■i- fir -It it? ♦ ^1 ^ it ^ "i" # ch'uh k-heii i.ing hlng habu sze, seu yaou kae kwo tsiien fei. On going abroad do a few good actions, abandon your former errors and reform your lives." Nov. 26. Tuesday. About 5 o' clock in the morning, we started again ; as soon as we awoke, we saw the icicles by the river bank and boat's sides, which looked very beautiful like lady's silver earrings; as we proceeded, about 9 we passed a small village, called ^ ;;q'C }^ Ts'hing,shwuy.tan ; half an hour after, we passed the "J^ ^ ^ T'hae-ping- gan ; and a quarter to 10, we passed Jg -^ ^ Ching-Ieaou- chang, and ,^ X [j^ Ma-kung-chang, where they store the grass for repairing the imperial roads ; at 10, we passed the Tillage of ^ |§g 7p Ma-pang- wan ; about a quarter past 11, we passed :::Af ;^ ^ Luh-gan-kow, but before we arrived at Li5h-gan-l{ow, we observed a (j^] cha) water-gate ; through which the waters led to the Kaou-yew lake. At half past 12 (noon), we passed the village of^:|:^^|oj K'an-hwa-tung ; at half past 1, passed |f, *|j" Keae-shbw ; and at 2, -^ ^ mWi Tsze-ying-nan-cha ; about a quarter past 4, we passed 15 ^H ^ MWi Hoo-ching-t'hung.cha, and at half past 4, we arrived at -;"£ ;;^ ^ Fau-sliwiiy-chin, a village well in- hal.iied, and abounding with fish, where we passed the night. Nov; 27. Wednesday. About 5 o' clock in the morning, we started again, the wind being very favourable, and the day bright, but the current so strong against us, ),hat it was 7 o' clock before we passed "^ H |p j^ Koo-urh-lang-meaou ; it had the name however, but not the reality ; we saw on tlie sandy bank tiiat ihe wntnrs wpre all frozen. About a quarter past 8, we passed the |^ ^ ^g| |^ Pfh-teen-p'hob-chang, where grass for repairing the imperial roads was stored; it was heaped up like small huts ; some had numbers hung u;j, and others not ; a qunrter of an hour after, we passed '^ ■^ T^ Tang-keun-low, wiih an inscription over the front door, ^ Mim^ Heun-fuhg-nan-lae (gentle breezes come from tlie south); a little further on. there was a temple dedi- cated to the great king ^ ^ j|| Ta-wang-naeaou. At 9, we entered the district city of ^ ^{ffi Paou-yfng ; * after going a little way, we pussed ^ ^ ^ Yo-lCmg-kwan (the pass of the praiicing dragon) : < n the banks of (he river there were muiiy grass huts, and at the back of the huts, the city wall of Pabu-yi'ng ajipeared, which was lower than Kaou-yew in height ; the city wall, and all the housea, were twelve feet lower than the surface of ihe river, so that if the banks of the river should have an aperture bored through them, the whole district and villages would be covered in a iiisiht wkh water. About half past 10, we passed the ^ ^ )^ Keaou-kea- tiing, cave of the Kcaou family ; further on, at half past 11, we passed ^^J^ Pf Hwang-p'hob-k'how, but in calling the name of ihe village, the people left out the "])^ p'hob, and only called it ^ PJ Hwang-k'hbw. At a quarter to 12, we passed the border of Yang-chow (f^ Wl ^ ^ ^^ yang-keaou-keae). About half past 12, we passed the ^ ^ |Z3 i^ San-ts'heen-sz^-tung (the fourth outlet of the * Pabu-ying is a district city, in the prefecture ot Yang- chow -foo, Lat. 33. 15. N. Long. 119. 20. E. 16 third shallow) ; at a quarter to 1 p. m., we passed the village of ^ ?ST P8ng-h6, where there were very few people ; at 1, we passed the H "J^ — JIrI ^an-ts'heen-urh-tung (second outlet of the third shallow). Wherever this word Jj^ tiing occurred, there was by the river side a water-gate, through which the water flowed by means of a canal, and ran on to some other lake or something of the kind, but it was not made to cover the fields at all. At 2, we passed the village of Zl -p ^ §^ Urh-shih-le-p'hob, the twenty le shops. About a quarter past 3, we passed the H. -^ ^ 'jf^ Urh- ts'heen-t'how-tiinff, (first outlet of the second shallow) ; and at 4 ^ Y^ ^ ^]Ii|T'h6w-ts'heen-urh-tung, (second outlet of the first shallow). At 7, we arrived at ^ ^ JH Yang-kea- meaou, and after we had taken our dinner, we started again to the west gate of 'J^ ^ Hwae-gan, * on out arrival at which it was about 9 o' clock at night. Nov. 28. Thursday. About 5 o' clock in the morning, wo started for ^ yl J^ Ts'hing-keang-p'hob ; and at 8, arrived at the custom-house ; after having been examined, we gava the people 30 cash (or one penny) for thfir trouble ; we then took our breakfast, and started again for Ts'hing-keane-p'hoh ; at the front door of the custom-house was written g ^]WS P'hob-hwiiy-shan'g-mln (extensive kindness manifested to- wards the mercantile classes), and that by the side of the river ^ ^^^y!^ Shi'ng-tsih-pang.to (the sacred favour extends over the tumultuous waves) ; on the left side of this there was a temple called ^ |^ jj^ 7^ Kwan-yin-shen-Un. About 11, we arrived at*^^'/^ Ts'hing-keang-p'hob; before we arrived at this place, many inn-keepers came to ask us for our custom ; after we had accepted one of their papers, we went to the assigned shop or -j-j Hong. In going from Ts'hing-keang-p'hob, to ^ ^ ^ Wang-kea-ying, we had great difficulty in getting to the place ; first the difl[iculty of calling a small wheel-barrow to go to Wang-kea-ying; after * Hwae-gnan-foo is a prefectural city, situated in Lat. 33. 32. 24. N. Long. 119. 14. 12. E. 17 we had been on jshore half an hour, there came an old man who aided us to get a^wheel-bnrrow, which when we had got, we put all our packages on it, to be conveyed across the ca- nal ; after we had crossed, we went straight to the Yellow River ; having crossed which, we went to the assigned shop, where the men treated us with kindness, gave us a good dinner and- tea, and made us as comfortable as they could. The eireeis of Ts'hing-keang-p'bob are like those in the Malay- an countries, up and dowii, with saiuly mire, and some parts paved with stones, which Are very slippery iiideeil. The Yt^llow River was not deep, except in the middle part ; all was miry and muddy, like the water in wtiich some animal tiad been waslied. Nov. 29. Fritlay. After we had taken our rest, about 6 o' ilock, we started by the mule cart ; before moving, the men biought us for tiffin some dumplings made with pork and vegetables, (called 'g^ gj^ hwan tun) ; after the men had put all our things in order on the cart, and we had finished our tiffin, several coolies came 'o ask us for some ^^ ^^ tshw tsee'i (a present) for their trouble ; so we gave them the customary donation, in order to avoid any dispute, which might delay our departure ; on leaving Wang-ken-ying, we had great trouble in discovering the ferry, where we might cross the Yellow River, to Kaou-kiia-wan ; ths people de- ceived the di'iver, by tellaig him this and that way, so that we were obliged to turn our cart backward and forward three or four times, on Account of these deceivers ; after having asked over and over again for the right ferry, we at last found it, and having crossed the Yellow River, went straight to Kaou-kea-wan. The banks of the Yellow River where we passed, were divided from the lake of ^ J^ 'J^ Hung-tsih-ho6 ; some of the houses by the lake side bad been ovei whelmed, and many trees were growing in the middle of it ; that was the only indication that people had once lived there, but now on account of the high water of the lake, the iuliabitants bad removed ; some who formerly resided there, c 18 having been drowned in the flood. At 4 o' clock we arrived at ^^f^- Kaou-kea-wan. iNov. 30. Saturday. About 5 o' clock in the morning, we started again for the village of Yang-ho ; on our way to wrhich, we travelled up and down the banks of the Yel- low River ; we observed some houses in the centre of the lake, and some had been overwhelmed; even the family graves were covered with water ; there were many beggars by the way-side begging, and vagabonds watching an op|jor- tunity for plunder. The lake of Hung-tsih here is about two miles in width, but shallow ; it is full of trees and wild geese ; all the way to Yang-ho, the roads were in sugIi a suite as rendered it very difficult for the mules to pull the cart ; some parts very muddy and some dry ; on the banks of the Yellow River all along the way side, willow trees were plan ted in rows. About 12 o' clock, we arrived at the district city of Wi y^ T'haou-yuen,* ta breakfast ; after we had taken our bread and millet, we went on, to pass the night at 'Hp 9^1 Yang-ho, vfhere we arrived about half past 5. Dec. J. Sunday. On our departure from Yang-ho, the cart-road was still diflicult to travel, so that it caused the mules to jump about, and our cart was nearly upset ; about 1 o' clock, we arrived at £ ^ ^ Wang-kea-tseth, a vil- lage but thinly Inhabited, where we breakfasted ; after we had taken our meal, we started to Kaou-tso. On the way to which, we met 15 asses laden with silver, attended by two stout young men, each armed with a musket and sword ; the owner following behind, accompanied' by six servants and drivers with sticks ; the silver viras worth 20,000 taela, as ap- peared from the bales ; on the back of one of the asses was a flag, bearing the name of the establishment to which they be- longed, (•^^E.^San ching-ta), below which, in the middle of the flag was written, jlt^peaou, abundant ; we heard the peo. * T'haou-yuen is a district city in the pret'ecUire of Hwae-gnan- foo, Lat. 33. 43. N. Long. 1 18. 48. E. The city is now withou walls, and is scarcely deserving the name. 19 pie say, that these two men could stand against 40 people ; the commiasion for bringing the money to LSw-kea-k'hbw, a- mounted to 5 taels for every 100 ; abaut 5 o' clock we arriv- ed at j^ jP Kaoii-tso, a well-inhabited village, to pass the nh^ht there. Dec. 2. Monday. About 4 o'clock in the .morning, we started for Shwang-kow ; in th« way to it, we stopped at ^^ ^. ^^ Lung-kea-tseih, to take our breakfast ; as soon as we had taken our meal, we went straight to ^^^ Sliwang- koA', where we arrived about 5 p. m. This i^ a large village, with scarcely any two-story or brick houses to be found in the streets, most of them being covered with rice straw ; it is not merely the poorer people who live in such mean houses, for even the houses of the chief men of the village have nei- ther tiled roofs nor brick walls ; they live just the same as the plebeans, and sit under the sun, while examining the grass for mending the deficiencies of the imperial, roads. Dec. 3. Tuesday. About 4 o' clock in the morning, we started for 5^ ^ ^ Chang-kea-tseih, intending to break- fast there, and reached it about 11 ; this is a small vil- lage but thinly inhabited. As soon as we had taken our morning meal, we started for Tseu-chow-foo ; on our way to it, we had to travel up and down the banks of the Yellow River. About 3, we ascended the hill of Tseu-chow, and on our descending, saw many sheep feeding on the dry gra-s ; these hills are all of them stony, with many houses at the foot of thern, and but few temples ; these hills we saw when we were at Sliwang-kow. After passing the hills, we saw be- fore us many wild geese, ducks and drakes comforting them- selves in the heart of the Yellow River, on a place which had been dried up, Jookin'g just like a sandy island, where the lower bank of the ' river had been broken by the waves. About 4 o' clock, we arrived at the prefectural city of ^^ jj'l j^ Tseu-chow-foo :* as soon as we arrived, and had put our * Tseu-ohow-foo is a prefectuial city, situated in Lat. 34. 15. 8. N. Long. 117. 25. 30. E. The Yellow River intersects the prefec- ture, which contains seven districts, and one department. It is dis- tant 353 miles from Pe-king. 20 packages in order, we went to the city, where we saw among the streets and shops, that many people wrote on their sign- boards, ^ p^ Keaou-miin (the professors of religion) ; I proposed to my friend to ask what kind of religion they pro- fessed, and where the priests lived ; but he (on account of his timidity) said, — Better not ask them, perhaps they will get offended, and raise a disturbance with us, particularly as we have not bought any of their things. We entered by the North gate (^ ^ P3 Wob-ning-rnun) ; the city wall of Tseu- chow was not very strongly built ; the whole prefecture is a mountainous country, and the bank of the river is built up with stones from the mountains. Ddc. 4. Wednesday. This morning about 4 o' clock, we started with many carts before and behind us, all going nearly in the same direction ; there were 4 cans with men and women going to Shen-se, and 2 to Lijw-kea-k'hbw. This day we liad to travel up and down the banks of the Yellow River, the roads being ratlier watery and muddy. At half past 12 (noon), we arrived at tlie village of Q /p^ ^ Pih-tsun-iseiit, where we took our breakfast ; after which, we started for f^' ^ D Hwang-kea-k'hbw, a village very thinly inhabited, where we arrived at half past 5 p. m. and passed the night. On the way to Hwang-kea-k'hbw, we met many parties going duwn, some with loads of silver carried by asses, guarded by strong young men with swords and muskets, and others accompanied by official persons. Dec. 5. Thursday. This morning about 4 o' clock, we started for the district city of ^ \±\ T'hang-san,* where we took breakfast ; as soon as we had taken our meal, we started again from the east gate (^ ^ King-yun, felicitous clouds), passing throuj^h the west gate (jj(^ ^ Tseang-suy, happy influences). The walls of the city were half of them broken down, and many houses deserted ; there was not a two-storied house to be seen all the way, some were covered * T'hang-shan is a district city in the prpfecture of Tseu-chow, situated in Lat. 34. 28. 30. N. Long. 1 16. 40. 55. E. 21 with lice straw, and others with tiles ; even the temple of Confucius was not re^ardtd as sapie.d, foi every filthy and unclean thing was heaped up by the temple side. At 5 in the evening, we arrived at ^ ^ ^^ Yang-kea-t§eih, a vil- ■lage thinly inhabited, and passed the night there. On our way to Yang-kp;a-tseih, we saw as we passed by, people getting married ; they made a feast as do (he Chinese in other places, but their wedding chairs were of an inferior kind, just like the common chairs at Shaiighae, only the cloth covering was new, and it was carried by four people through the village. Dec. 6. Friday. About 4 o' clock in the morning, we started -again to ^ ^ ^^ Yu-chlng-heen,* a district city very inferior to Sliangliae, the walls being all broken down. As vve passed by, we noticed tliat they were worse tiian those of T'hang-san, consisiiiig of nothing but ground heaped up with a few bricks on it ; there were no characters written on the east or west gates ; the archway over the city gates had cracked in two, and it was to be feared that the wall or city gates would fall down ; as we passed by, we saw also the ^ Q ^ Wan-ch'hang-ko (gallery of the god of letters), underneath which, there was an arched door for the people to go in and out ; above the arched door, tho god of tha literati was placed. As we travelled along, about 5 in the •vening, we arrived at ^J ^ fU Lew-kea-k'bw, a very po- pulous village and a famous place of trade ; but though there were so many rich and poor people, sellers and buyers, yet there were very few two-storied houses; they seemed rather disposed to build good temples for their gods, than to make themselves comfortable and fine ; the temples were all of them shut up ; there were no sacrificera nor attendants, only beggars and vagabonds dwelt there. The people of the learned class wear brass knoba on their caps, and seem fond of praise and respect, for all those who saw them bow- ed their head*, in honour of their rank. The streets were * Yii-ching is a district city in the prefecture of Kwei-tih, in the province of Ho-nan, situated in Lat. 34. 38. 35. N. Long. 116. 9. E. 22 rath«r muddy and fillhy, and water was very scarce ; if tliey warned water lo cook anything, they had to call a wheel- barrow to bring it for them from some distant place out- side the city gales. In their speecii and conversation, they seemed to me very vulgar ; we saw in the street as we walked along, a man selling rice ; on asking him how n)any cash per pint ? he said, 140 cash : we laughed at him for his selling tiie rice so dear, it being at the same time of a very inferior quality ; but 1 (bought, it was on account of the bar- renness of the land, thai the price was so high. Dec. 7. Sauirday. About 4 o' clock in the morning, we started for K'hung-kea-iseih, to take our breakfast; on our way, we observed that, near the loVer bank of the Yellow River, manv bricks had been stored up as a defence against the floods. About 11, we arrived at ^L ^ |r K'hung-kea- tseih ; as soon as we had taken our breakfast, we started again to ^^ j^H ^^ Suy-chovv-pa, where we arrived about 5 in the evening. We saw many professors of the religion of Mohammed, with whom we had- the opportunity of convers- ing, by asking them questions about the Jews, and also what they called Him whom they worshipped ? they said, ^ Choo (Lord). We asked again, — What is his name 1 but they could not tell. They said also, though that they re- tained the name of a religion, they bad lost the substance (^ r^ ^ ^ yew ming woo shih). We asked thejn also, whether the professors here always said their prayers and sung praises,, by day and night 1 and wheiher they washed their hands, face, and feet when eating and praying? they said, No; we never say prayers, or wash our hands in eating, except at the new year, when we are called to the mosque. In answering these questions, their faces blushed, and my friend said. We had better not chat with them any longer, you see their faces are covered with blushes : so I slopped from chatting wilh them. The [bJ |gJ Hwuy-hwuy (Malio- medans) here keep their b;:nrds just even wilh their upper lips, but they do not file iheir teeth smooth like the Malays, 23 by rubbing with a smnll fine stone. On asking them n^ain, Low many days in a week they performed their service? they ^«^,^.ce in every 5 days ; I asked them again, When is y<'i"'fe W le pne, or sabbath ? they conld not tell, but their BIP W «!5e fob, teacher, they said, knew all these things. Dec^ Sunday. About 4 o'clock in the morning, we start- ed for f^yJN ^Kaou-seaou-tseih, to take our breakfast, after which we siarted again for ^ f§ ^Lan.e-heen, or ^" ^ ^ Lan-yang-heen* In i[,e way to it, we had thick "sandy road?, so that we were obliged to let the mules drag the cart slowly to Lan-e. where we arrived at 4 in the afternoon : this- is a district city, unwalled like T'liaou-yuen, but a liitle better than that ; we heard that the walls of Lan-e had been broken down by the high waters of the Yellow River, and that it had remained to this period unyvalled. As we passed by the way to the inn, we saw just by the road side a walled gate, about 4 feet in tiiickness, and some characters written on it, ^ j^ ying-heuh ((o meet the rising sun), and near to the inn there was another gate in the shape of a wall, over which was written, i^ ^ chin-woo (to arouse military ar- dour) ; the district city of Lais-e produced only vegetables and dry nuts, and the houses were all of them of an inferior kind, except the temples, which were beautifully built. Dec. 9. Monday. About half past 3 in the morning, we siarted for ^ fij^ ^ Saou-t'how-tseih, to take our break- fast ; after which we started for ^\^^ ^ Peen-leang-chlng "'' iw ^ ifd* K'hae-fung-fob ;t about 4 in the evening we arrived at the provincial city ; before we reached the ^ p^ Tsaou-miin (east gate), the pagoda of ^^ ^ T'heg-t'lia- she, was in sight, and the walls looked very beautiful and wide ; as soon as we arrived at the city, we slept out from the cart to look out for an inn ; after we had found one, * Lan-yang is a district city in the prefocture of K'hae-fung-foo, Lat. 34. 54. N. Long. il4. 59. E. f K'hae-fung-foo is the capital of Ho-nan province, situated in Lat. 3). 52. 5. N. Long. 114. 33. E. 24 and put all our ihinga in oider, we immediately sallied forih in quest of the Jewish synagogue ; we did not at once enquire of the Chinese, but went into a Mo- hamedan's shop to take our dinner ; while eatirtg we asked whether they belonged to thef religion of Mohanimed or the JewsT they said, We are Mohamedans,,. After tjiat we., asked whether the ^^ f^ ^ T'eaou-kin-keaou, or Jews were here? they saiB, Yea. ,We asked them again, where they lived and where was their ^ she, (temple)? They said, The Jews are very few here, not more than seven families, and their jgjp 'J^ sze fob (teacher), is now no more ; some of the sect are very poor, and some, having a little money, have opened shops to support their families. They told us also, that the temple was situated close by the south-west corner of the i^C f^ i^ Hb-shin-meaou. Following their directions, we soon discovered the place, which we found to be in ruins ; within the precincts of the temple, were a number of small apartments, all inhabited by the descendants of the ancient people, who had spread out a great quantity of cabbages in the open air, just by the side of the temple ; the resident* there were mostly women, some of whom were widows : on asking them, How many people live hiire ? and, Is the ^j^ ■jS^ sze fob [teacher), still alive ? they said, We who belong to this religion, are the only people who live here, and our teacher is now no more ; our temple, is all ruined, and we are nearly starved. We asked them. Are there any who can read the Hebrew character ? they waid. Formerly there were soma who could, but now all have been scattered abroad, and there is not one now who can read it. They said also, A teacher of our religion sent us two lettfers some time ago ; you bring your letter to-morrow that we may see, if it is the same as his hand-writing.* Whereupon we took our leave, and returned to our inn. The Jewish synagogue at K'hae-fung- fob, resembles a Chinese temple, with ornamenta, &c., * In this remark they made alluisiou to a letter, which we told them we had brought from a Hebrew gentleman residing at Shanghae. 25 and many Chinese characters are written there, by the front, and above the doors. Dec. 10. Tuesday. To-day, about 8 o' clock in the morn- ing, we went to the temple of the Jews, to do our appointed duty. At the first entrance, before the door, there were two stone liona with pedestals, and some charactera-to pojqj, npt,- the nam e of the temple (^ ^ J^ JC8.'Mag^h*B.dTet] the space within the gate was inhabited by the profusHors of Judaiam, who lived in a sort of pavilion, with a mat and straw-roof ; on each side of this, there was a small gate, at one of which the people went in and out at leisure, or during tiie time of service, the other one being choked up with mud. Over the second entraiico were written the ciiaracterd, ^ ;^ ^ ^ King wei haou t'heen, (Veneraie Heaven) ; tiiia inclosure was also inhabited by the Jewish people ; on the right side of it, there was a stone tablet, engraved with ancient and raoderw Chinese letters ; after which was placed the ^ jf^ pae fang, or ornamental gate- way, with a round white marble table in front of it ; in front of the pae-fang, was written j|§ fiih, happiness, and below it pg a§, ^ ^ Hng t'hung woo miih, tiie mind holding com- munion with Heaven. On each side of the pae-fang, there wore various apartments, some of which were broken down ; on the back of the pae-fang, there were written the characters, ^K ^ ^ ^ K'hin jo haou t'heen, (Reverently accord with the expansive Heavens) ; below these, on the ground, Btonts flower-pots and tripods were placed ; after passing which, we came to the third court, where we saw a marble railing, with steps on each side; having entered which, the temple itself ap- peared, with two stone lions in front. Finding that the front door of the temple was shut, we tried to open it but could not, when several of the professors came up, and entered into con- versation with us, questioning us about our object ; so we told them we came from a distance to bring a letter ; they then let us see two letters, one from a rabbi, * and the other from * This was probably the letter forwarded to them ia ). 815, bj Dr. Morrison, 26 Mr. Layloa, Consul at Amoy, requefting tliem to send sofh Hebrew tracts ; it was written half in Chinese and half ii Hebrew* They tolti us also, tliat they hud been uearl; starved, since their temple .had been neglected ; and that_th£i congregation consisted now of only seven clans (or ^Hsin-gs viz. ^Cbaou, ^ Kaou, ^ Le, ^^Shlh, ^Kin^ t^^m^M-Cj^I"';^*^!^^^^^"' °f ''i^ iTrieii were "acquainte with letters. After conversing some time with them, one of the mea opened the door for us, so we took advantagi of the opportunity, to go in and examine the sacred place the men told U3, that several strangers had before tiied t( enter, but they would not allow them to do so, becau3( many of them were merely pretended professors of ihcii religion ; but finding that we had been sent fay some o their own people, and had a letter in their own character they allowed us to see tlie place. The following notes will give some idea of the interior. Directly behind th( front door, stands a bench, about six feet from which there is a long stand for candles,, similar to those usually placed before the idols, in Chinese. temi)les ; immediately in connection with this, there is a table, in the centre ol which is placed an earthenware incense vessel, having a wooden candlestick at each end. In the centre of the edifice stands something resembling a pulpit ; behind which there is another table, having two candlesticks and an earthen- ware incense vessel ; and after, that, the Wan-guy-pae, or Ein- I^eror's tablet, placed on a large table in a shrine, inscribed with the customary formula, ^ J^ ^ "^T^i^^ ^ ^^^Ta ts'hing hwang te wan sdy, wan suy, wan wan siiy, " May the Man-chow, (or reigning dynasty), retain the imperial sway through myriads and myriads, and ten thou- sand myriads of years." Above the Wan-suy-pae, is a Hebrew inscription : 27 Hear O Israel ! JEHOVAH our God is one JEHOVAH. BLtssed be the name of his glorious kingdom^ for ever and ever. INext to this^ is the ^ ^ ^ ^ Ta mlng wan siiy, or the imperial tablet for the Ming dynasty, having before it a small table, with two candlesticks and an incense vessel ; the Ta-mlng-wan-eiiy is written in Chinese, but scarcely to be seen, on account of the temple itself being so dark ; on each side of the Ta-ming-wan-siiy, there is a tripod, just at the back of the pillars. Behind the Ta-ming-wan-siiy, is a cell, in which are deposited 7C SoC I ' 1^ T'heen king shth urh tung, the twelve tubes contaiiiiag the divine law ; before this, there is a door or ornamental frame (j|P f§ pae low), at the front of which is written in Hebrew letters, — Ineffable is his name, for JBHO VAHis the God of gods. In front of the sacred cell, a little on each side, there is a high tripod for burning paper that has had writing on it. To the right and left of tiie principal cell, there are two other cells with Hebrew characters inside : each of whic h bears the following inscription, surmounted by two gilt circles : — in:) n^ ni-Q KaMON. SHKMESH.t Hear O Israel ! JEHOVAH our God is one .TEHOVAH. Blessed be the name of his glorious kingdom, for ever and ever. * This word Bich't, which we render ineffable, appears to be of Persian erigin. f Shemesh and Kamon are the names of two angjis. In front of the left hand cell, there is a table, with a stone tablet, engraven in Chiiieae, ^ ^ ^ Che keaou fang, the hall of perfect instruction ; before this there is an incense tripod, but no candlesticks ; the tablet is, however, broken in two. Before the right hand cell, stands another stone on a table, on which is a Hebrew inscription.* While engaged in copying the above, before I had quite finished the sentence, a man of the name of -^ K'heaou, who had attained a literary degree, came and drove me unceremo- niously out of the temple, telling me to be careful of what I was doing. I civilly inquired his surname, in order to pacify him ; but he would not listen to me, and ordered me immedi- ately out of the temple, telling the men to ehut the door, and let no man come in any more. After the men had shut the door, he told them, that the two men which had come thither were not of the same religion as they were ; and added, raising his voice, they are sent from the English Mission- aries to examine our establishment, and you must not let them come here any more. After the man had gone, one of the professors, named ^ ^ ^ Chaou-Kin-ching, came to our inn, and told us all about what K'heaou had said. Finding ourselves thus shut out from the temple, wo re- quested him lo procure for us a copy of all the inscriptions, and also such of the Hebrew books as might be attaina- ble, desiring at the same time to enter into some negotiation for the purchase of the rolls of the law. He said, I cannot get the rolls, but can give you some of the small books, at the same time giving us one which he had with him. In the evening when he came to visit us, we asked him, What do you call your religion 1 He said, Formerly we had the name of ^ ^ ^ T'lieen.chiih-keaou, Indian religion ; but now the priests have changed it into ^| ^ ^ T'heaou-kin- keaou, the religion of those who pluck the sinew ; because, everything that we eat, whether mutton, beef or fowl, must have the sinews (aken out; and because, formerly the Jews at * For this inscription, see note at the end of the Journal. 29 K'hae-fung-foo came into a tumult with the Cliinese, therefore the priest altered the riame of the religion to the one above- mentioned. Some persons are lijjely to mistake the sound ^ ^#t T'een-chuh-keaou, for ^ ^ ^ T'ecn-chob-keadu ; 80 when we heard the sounds, we asked him to write down the three characters, whereupon he wrote ^^^T'een- chiSh-keaou ; then we understood that he meant the religion of India, and not the religion of the Lord of heaven, (or the Roman Catholic religion). The letter which we brought from the Jews at Shanghae was leceived by this same Chaou-Kin- ching. We asked him, Are there any who can read Hebrew t He said, Not one now among the residents is able to read it, although formerly there were some ; he said also, that our tetter very much resembled those which they had received before, and had the same kind of envelope ; but their letters had seals, and ours none. The temple, with the Wan-suy- pae and all the sacred furniture, face the east, so that the w^orsliippers during service, have to turn their faces towards the west, which is also in the direction of Jerusalem. The priest, when going to perform service, wears a blue head-dress and blue shoes ,* but the congregation are not allowed to go in with their shoes, nor the women with their head-napkins. Before entering the holy place, they all have to wash their bodies, both men and women ; on the two sides of the temple, there are baths and wells, in which they wash ; and after making themselves clean they enter the holy place. T^he Jews at^^ne^futigaJJaoLAEgLJ^ 4ftte«]aarry wi lh heath ens and Mohammedans, neither are theyallosEfidto njarry two wigga-^f-they-ajiSjfo rbidden to e& tj^j^^J^Sj ^ ta tsae), as also to mix withjthe_MohamBaedans^ hut^jhejfjixfl- required to be"'sJncnnjthg.Qbservance oftheirrelig^iori^ani to k^Sjg^^he'iaBbalh holy. Some of the materials of the houses round the synagogue, such as bricks, tiles, woods, &c., have been sold by the profebsors to supply the wants of their fami- lies ; we heard that the Emperor had refused to rebuild the temple, until all was rotten and come to nought ; so that (he 30 temple must remain in its present state, until the Emper issues a command to repair or rebuild it ; for tliis the pt feasors were waiting with earnest expectation, that the time rebuilding might not be delayed, else they would be etarve They told us, that some of them daily lifted up their beai and prayed to Heaven, because since the temple was ne lected, many had gone astray ; but now having heard that tv men from a distance were come, bringing a letter, they we willing to receive it, and wished to follow the old religion their own priest (:^ ^(^ '}^ laou sze fob), and thus be reco ciled with Heaven ; ilieir speech and conduct, as it seemed us, was very sincere. We heard also, that whenever ar one was known lo belong to the Jewish religion, they we soon despised and became poor ; xrati© of theChinese won malie friends with them, and they were treated as outM^sfe-i the common people. Many^oX. those who jprofessed„the _ san religion^ did so in secret and not openly. lest they should I despised also. This was the case with the Mohammedans K'hae-fung-fob, who never knew what day of the week, was ; when asked, they could only answer, five days mal one week, and that is all. The temple of the Jews wi called by the profeesors — ' ^M ^ .^ ^'^ ^^^ ^o nee,* " tl joyful inheritance conferred Isy the Great One;" but thei four characters were not written over the door of the tempi (perhaps they had them inscribed somewhere else); son people said, they were given by the Emperor, and therefo they kept them in secret, and gave out the name of the ten P^*"^^-^^..^..X?^'!''"g'chin she (true andjure^ ^^^J£^ '^'^iiiS^,^^?.£^JhSumme, by_ ^wj^ich the Mo^har^^^^^ ^'te|-fil??-f°'^ '^^^^^^ '•''eir templer' The Mohammedans K'hae-fung.foolTaToTilTieir sign-boards |b| |e| Hwuy-hwui and written on a pointed kind of wine-pot, they had the tv Chinese characters ^ Tsing, pure, and .^ Chin, true ; as v * We have given the literal meaning of the Chinese characters, b It IS possible the three first may have been originally intended mere as phonetic symbols, to express the Hebrew word ' Israel' : in whi( case it would read, " The inheritance of Israel." 31 frequently saw among the streets and shops, when we passed by the (^ jj^ ^ Poo-clifng-sze) Treasurer's office. Dec. 11. Wednesday. The day was very dull in the inoruing, and. in tlie afternoon it rained ; the streets of Pcen- leang, or K'hae-fung-foo, were so n)uddy and miry, even in the fine weather, that new shoes conld not be used ;* all the streets were designed for carts, and sedans were scarcely to he seen therein ; if the rich people wished to go about, they always rode on carts or mules, and asses conld scarcely- be Seen throughout the city. Dec. 13. Friday. Yesternight we had great fear and trou- ble, on account of the Jews who came to our inn to visit us ; in the inn we had many of the Canton men who sold opium, and some Sze-chuen men belonging to one of the magis- trates' offices, who overheard that we were talking with the Jews about our and their religioti. As soon as the Jews had gone, we went to bed, and about 11 al. night, we heard them talking loudly about our business ; there were in one room three people, one of wliom said, I will accuse them to the dis- trict magistrate, saying ; that these two men are come froiTi Shanghae, and are friends of the foreigners; that they talked last night with the ^5 J-t^^ T'eaou-kin-keaou (Jewish) peo- ple, about ^ T'heen, J;;.*^ Sliang-te and ^ ^ T'lieen- chob. Their religiorijAjmJ.,Jhe eame as ours (MgliaHftmedanB), butohfijLcome hither .as spies and breakers jjLxlie-kw ; we will certainly "bring them to the magistrate, and get them beaten, and put in jail ; by doing which, they will be obliged to give out some money. So they wrote down the accusation pefper, j^ A ^ J^li t^ ^ M li Tszb jin lag tsze, chaou yaou chwang p'heen, '* these people are come hi- ther to excite and deceive, &c."- That whole night we could not sleep, for pondering upon this matter ; I told my friend, we had belter remove to-morrow to another inn, * Chinese dress shoes are made of cotton, with white rims round the soles ; consequently they are not adapted for wet weather and muddy roads. 32 for if we do not remove from hence, we shall fall inlo their snare; so we continued that whola night, with our hearts quaking with fear and consternation, not knowing what evil would come upon us. Early in the morn- ing, before any body about the inn was up, we packed up all our goods, and waking the inn-keeper, told him that we were going to remove to another place ; for last night we could not sleep at all, for hearing those tliree men consulting together, to accuse us to the magis- trate, saying that we came hither as sjiies aud breakers of tlie law ; but indeed we came not without proof, as others did; this was our proof (shewing him at the same time our book), you may read this and see whether we are without proof or not ; and let those three men see also, let them have the witness in themselves, that we came here not as spies, as did the Canton men, who were indeed breakers of the law. After talking thus with the keeper of the inn, we went out to look out for an inn for ourselves ; and tha same day we removed. We. found almost every inn had Canton men, traders in opium, but we did not make friends with them ; they always stared at us, on our going out and coming in, as if we were going to catch them or rob them. The banks of the Yellow River were heaped up with mud, about 16 feet in depth and 12 feet in breadth ; on the banks they put heaps of fine sand, and on the other side, between the river and the lake, they planted willow trees ; those heaps of sand looked from afar like city walls, of a yellow colour ; on the lower banks they planted various kinds of trees ; by the lake side there were many straw houses, and some of them were in the centre of the lake, and some over- whelmed. All along the way that we travelled, from Wang- kea-ying to Ho-nan, we saw people planting cabbages and ground-nuts.* The women of the northern country (from * In planting ground-nuts, they first lay some seeds on the surface of the ground, after which they take a sieve containing sand, which they shake over the seeds till they are covered ; in a few months the young sprouts shoot up. 33 Kaou-kea-wan to the district city of T'hang-san), as far as our observation went, never dressed tbiemselves properly, nor made themselves look clean and fresh, like the women of Keang,nan and Keang-soo provinces ; their hair was always uncombed, and instead of dressing it, they covered their heads with a piece of a black napkin, while some of the dishevelled hairs were just pushed in, in order to conceal their slovenliness; their dress was not very long, coming down only to about four inches below the knees, without & petticoat, such as is worn by the women of other parts. Dec. 16. On our homeward journey from K'hae-fung-foo, we sailed down the Yellow River ; the distance from the city to the bank of the Yellow River is about 10 miles ; the road being sandy and sometimes watery. No vegetables are to be seen on the way, neither cultivated fields. The fol- lowing day, nothing occurred worthy of notice. On the 18th, we reached Lew-kea-k'how, (see p. 21), where we stayed for the night. Having left this, and travelled on the 19th about 12 miles, we came to an anchorage for the night, in compa- ny with six other boats ; but while taking our rest, we were suddenly aroused by the watchmen beating their gongs, and screaming out to give the alarm, saying that there were robbers at hand ; upon hearing which, the boatmen were instantly on the alert, arming themselves with various kinds of weapons, such as boat-hooks, bamboo poles and any portable object they could avail themselves of. The robbers, who were six in number and well armed, seeing that we were prepared to act on the defensive, seemed to think, that it was most advisable to make a retreat, and accordingly left us to finish our night's repose unmolested. On the 20th we pursued our journey along the course of the Yellow River, without coming to any place of impo rtance. On the 2l8t, we had hoped to have reached Taeu-chow (see p. 19,) before night, but our boat having been hindered con- siderably during the day, by having a quantity of incense to 34 transport to the district city of ^j^Seaou-heen,* we were obliged to come to anchor for the night, within about fourteen miles of Tseu-chow. The day following, our boat which was partly freighted with alum and bamboo slips, discharged that part of the cargo, and reached ^ '}}] Tseu-chow f about 11 o' clock in the morning, where we remained all that day and night. The next day, the 23d, when we had passed the pre- fecture of Tseu-chow, and had nearly reached Shwang-kow, (see p. 19), about 2 o' clock in the afternoon, we observed two pirate boats keeping near to us, each boat containing about 50 men, carrying muskets, swords, spears and bows, wr-iiiing till the sun set ; the pirate boats' distance from ours, was about half a mile, so near that our hearts began to fail at that critical moment, and we were at our wits' end to know what to do ; for having nothing in the boat, except bamboos, wood- en poles and spades, we should have made but a sorry figure with these, in fighting against the pirates ; we thought within ourselves, that we should certainly be deprived of our goods, have nothing left to cover ourselves, and even be plundered of our small stock of cash. But at that moment when my heart failed, and my body was trembling with fear, then I found that my God whom I served was present with me, to comfort and save me from the hands of wicked men ; then my heart received strength, so I felt that I should not be delivered into their hands. " My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." After a few hours, th.e pirate. boats seeing a larger boat behind us, containing about' 70 or 80 people while ours carried about 60, crossed over to the other side, and we saw no more of them. Having passed Shwang- kow, the next day we arrived at the district city of ^ ^ * Seaou-heen is situated in the prefecture of Tseu-chow, Lat 34 12. N. Long. 117. 13. 21. E. t Tseu-chow is a prefecture of Kean^-nan province, .situated in Lat. 34. 15. 8. N. Long. 117. 25. 30. E. 35 il^ Suh-tseen-heen,* which we entered, observing over the eastern gate, the inscription ^ ^ p^ Yang-ch'hun-mun, and over the western, ^'^'^f^ Chin-hwang-mun ; these two gates are less than a le distance from each other. The most crowded place about this city is outside the east gate ; inside it is very quiet indeed, and so with the west gate. The whole of this city stands on ground level with the sur- face of the Yellow River. We observed that Suh-tseen had no north gate, only three gales; on enquiring of the people respecting the north gate, we were informed in reply, that the north gate of Siih-tseen was in the district of Paou- ying, where it is called ^Mi^ ^ Heun-fung-nan-iae. (Seepage 15.)-[- Our boat having now reached the terminus of its journey, we were detained for some time engaging another, and finally agreed for a small boat to take us to ^ ilj> i^ T'heen.ain- pa, which place we reached abont 5 fe'clock in the morning of the 26th. From this to Ts'hing-keang-p'hoo is only about a mile and a half, so we walked over there in the morning, and took our passage in the public boat to Ohin.keang-foo, where we arrived on the morning of the 29th. From this to Shanghae, nothing particular occurred worthy of being added to what has alieady been stated in the outset, of our journey. After some delays consequent upon contrary w.inds and other causes, we reached Shanghae on the 8th of January, about 10 o'clock at night, having been absent altogether fifty-five days. * Suh-tseen is a district city in the prefecture of Tseu-chow, Lat. 34. 0. 50. N. Long. 118. 3 1. 21. E. f This was an allusion to a local tradition. 36 ^ J^ote. The following is the inscription referred to on page 28. Unfsrtunately, the abrupt ejection of our deputation from the sanc- tuary, leaves us in the ^ark as to the termination of the lower line. According to the account given by T'heen-sang, there were three or four words more to complete it. ' niT^D ^rmi x\^^':i V l>f \^^ *<^ ^n 1x11:5 mr\ l>« ^^^^ Who is he that is above all outgoings ? Even JEHOVAH, JEHOVAH the most high. The sacred incense, which the elders only offer up at the. Feast of Weeks, on the second day of the month Sivan. Sfc. SfC. Sfc. We have thought it best to give the inscriptions exactly the same as they have been represented by T'heen-sang, without attempting any correction or alteration ; as we have reason to place confidence in the exactitude of his transcription. The occurrence of the second Aleph in the word ./^/aiOT on the front of the Pae-fang, will present little difficulty to those femiliar with the interchange of gutturals in the oriental dialects. The passage before us is more obscure, and we give it to the public as we find it, unwilling that the least relic of antiquity should be lost, which might serve to throw light on the origin and history of this interesting section of the chosen people. In hazarding the above translation, which appears to us to approach the meaning of the text, we invite the correction of those who are more deeply initiated into these matters. We have taken the third line to be cliiefly Persian, as we are fully warranted in doing, from the fact that the books in their possession contain many Persian words. In so doing, we have followed the example of De Sacy, Tychsen and others. We give the transcript of those words which we suppose to be Persian, in the Persian character. 115 116 MAP OF THE ROUTii FROM SHANGHAE TO K'AE FUNG-FOO. , -«-«-»• , 117 118 119 JOURNAL OP TSEANG YUNG-CHE, FROM SHAMGH^E TO TS'HING-KEANG-P'HOO , WITH NOTICES OF ANTIQUITIES MliT WITH ON THE WAV. A. D. 1850. Nov. 15. Friday. We left San-maou-ko near the city of Shanghae, at 8 o' clock ; wind North. At 6 o' clock, stopped for the night at ^ ^ Hwang-too, where we went on shore and distributed tracts. « Nov. 16. Leaving Hwang-too at 4 o' clock in the morn- ing, we reached J^ \l\ Kwan-san at 1 o'clock ; went ashore to distribute books in the suburbs, leaving our boat at ^^ »W ^ Sze-ma-kwan. At 4 p. m. passed P'^ ^Wei-ting, about 12 English miles distant from Kwan-san. The wind being favourable, we did not stop here. At 7, reached the ^Ch'ang gateof §^ /H Soo-chow, where we stopped for the night. From Wei-ting to Soo-chow is about 50. le. 17. Sabbath. At 6 o' clock in the morning, entered the Ch'hang gate and distributed books. Set ant again at 9. Wind south-east. At half past 11, reached "^ ^ ^ Heu- shoo-kwan, 20 le from Soo-chow. At 8 p. m. we ntopped for the night at ^ ^ Woo-seth, outside the north gate. This is 63 le from Heu-shoo-kwan. 18. At 6 o'clock in the morning, w.hile it was raining fast, went on shore, entered the north gate and distributed boo'ks. At 9, sef out again, but on account of a high north wind, were obliged to anchor the boat at /]> ^ [Jj Seaou-kin-saa. Walked up to the Hwan-tsuy-how (a temple), and saw in the hall of " The mother who bestows posterity on the childless," an inscription ; for which, see T'een-saDg's journ- al, page 4. At half past 11, again anchored the boat, and went to ^ [JLf Hwuy-san ; beneath the hill was a fountain issuing from a stone dragon's mouth. On the hill there is an ancient pagoda and the Hwuy springs. The water of these 38 springs makes excellent wine. We walked to the garden of the Tsing family, in which there are temples, water pavilions and ornamental rocks in abundance, looking very picturesque and beautiful. We then continued our walk to the Hwuy- san temple ; over it was an inscription, '• the first of all the hills in Keang-nan." Passing a small stone bridge, we came to the King of heaven's temple. Going behind it, after pass- ing anotlier stone bridge, we ascended a stone terrace, on which was an imperial monumental stone. Behind this was the temple door ; it was closed, so that we could not enter ; on the monument were some verses written by Keen Jung. (See T'heen-sang's journal, page 5.) 19. At half past 2 in the morning, we left Hwuy-san, and passed '^ jj\ jfrp Ch'hang-chow-foo at half past 12. This is distant from Woo-seih 90 le. Along the banks of the river here there are thirty-one monuments dedicated to women famed for their virtues ; these all belong to J^ as ^ Woo-tsin-heen.* At half past 6 p. m. we stopped for the night at § ^ Leu-ching, 65 le from Ch'hang-chow. 20. At 4 o' clock in the morning^ we proceeded from Leu- ching while it was raining heavily, to 77" ^ ^^ Tan-yang- heen, 40 le, and stopped the boat near the house of my relatives. After a few hours delay, we again set out, while it rained fast, wind north, and reached 5^ ^ ^ Chang- kwan-too at 5 o' clock, 50 le farther upon our route. Nov. 21. Wind north, raining fast. We left Chang- kwan-too at 5 a.m. and on reaching ^^^Sin-fung- chiu, we distributed books. At 8 p. m. we arrived at ^/I jfj Chin-keang-foo. Here the grand canal crosses the 7^ "T* yX Yang-tsze-keang ; the passage at this point is 20 le, (or 6 English miles in width) ; the stream itself throe miles. 22. At half past 3 in the morning, we set out to cross the Yang-tsze-keang, but were delayed for some time by boats jammed together. We passed several islands, ^ |1| Swan- san, ^ (Jj Yin-san, and Chaou-kwan lying on ibis side the * Woo-tsin is a district city of Ch'hang-chow-foo, Lat. 31. 50. 36. N. Long. 119. 52. 47. E. 39 stream ; ^ (Jj Kin.san in the centre, a celebrated seat of Buddhism, with ^ |JL( Seang-san and ^^ [Jj Tseaou-san two rocks facing each other. We reached the roadstead of ^ ;^j»| Kwa-chow on the opposite side of the river at half past 8. Here it ceased blowing, and the waves wore still. At half past 12, we passed Kaou-miri-sze, a large temple, 30 le from the Kwa-cliow roadstead. Within the temple precincts was a house fer tlie Emperor's use on his progress- es, and an old pagoda. In (he 27th year of Taou-kwniig (a. d. 1847), the pagoda was struck and burnt by lis^Iitning in a storm. At half past 4 p. m. we reached 1^ fW Yang- chow, and stopped at the Ts'iiaon water-gate, 40 le from tlie jgj ■^^ Kaou-mm temple. Tlie stream is here very rapid. 23. At 7 in the morning, we proceeded to the -^^^ Tseu- ning gate ; walked into the city along the Tso-wei street to the '^ ^ ^ Paou-chih-t'hang. a hospital for the main- tenance of children. Within the first entrance were boys of 13 or 14 years, at school. Passing through the second door, there were boys of 8 or 9 years, in side apartments. Further in were the sick children. There was also a resident transactor of business and collector of subscriptions, named Keangrshow-min. On the south side of the street, there was also a free school for preparing boys, to graduate, and enter on the higher kinds of trade. We also visited a large parade ground; all round it were tea shops; after mid-day, this is the scene of great bustle. At half past 10, we left Yang-chow, the wind being south, and after sailing 45 le, reached -^P 'fQ ^ Shaou-pih-chin at half past 5 in the evening. For 10 le the canal had been as wide as the great river, but here it narrowed considerably. Nov. 24. Sabbath. At half past 3 in the morning we left Shaou-pih, wind south-east. At 12, the wind become so strong that we could not proceed ; we therefore stopped at i^ ffiP fn Kaou-yew-chow, at the imperial pier ; at this point the bauk of the river is higher than the wall of a city. 25. The wind being sfill high, we did not proceed. 40 Walking into the city, we saw over the entrance to the Ghing-hwang temple, an inscription; for a copy of which, see T'heen-sang's journal, page 14. 26. At 5 o' clock in the morning we left the imperial pier, and at half past 4 p. m. reached ^ 7jC ^ Fan-shwuy-chin, 80 le from Kaou-yew. The canal here is 12 feet higher that the fields on each side. 27. Setting out at 5. we reached j^ ^ ^ Hwae-gnan- foo at 9 p. M. a distance of 120 le. The sides of the canal for the whole way arc banked up with earth, like a mound for fortification, and fringed with willows ; there are besides heaps of turf and stone, and sheds for workmen, prepared at the expense of the imperial treasury, ready for use when the state of the river may require il. 28. At half past 8 in the morning, we reached Hwae- kwan, 20 le from Hwae-gnan-foo. The first part of the journal ends here, our travellers having arrived at the banks of the Yellow Elver. The rest of their journey was performed in one of the rude carriages, drawn by mules, that are used in tbe northern parts of the country, and their route lay west- ward along the south bank of the river. They here leave the grand canal and the Peking route, which crosses the Yellow River at 1(W iM- im Ts'hing-keang-p'hoo, and enter on a poor and thinly- populated district. PBOM TS'HING-KEAJSTG-POO TO K'H^E-FUNG-FOO. Nov. 28. At 11 o' clock, a. m. we arrived at Ts'ing-keang- p'hoo. At 12, we anchored our boat on the south bant Mule carriages can be obtained at this city, without crossing the Yellow River to 3E ^ ^ Wang-kea-ying for the pur- pose ; but as the charge for hiring them is much higher, and as it would require about two days to procure the cart, we concluded to cross to the northern bank of the river. After returning to the south side of the Yellow River, our course would be to the north-west without deviation, along a continuous earthen emb-ankment, formed by humaa labour, at great expense to the imperial treasury. At half past 12, we 41 hired a small mule cart, stowed our baggage in it, and pro- ceeded to where the cannl enters the Yellow River ; hiring a ferry boat, we went over the passage, a distance of five le. On the way, there were small carriages, buffalo-carts, and foot- passengers without number, going and returning. The ferry is difficult to cross ; light goods are taken in small carts ; heavy goods are drawn by oxen ; in hiring a cart, the con- tract may be made for either two or three mules. The pro- prietor of the cart-warehouse is called in the local dialect, Tang-kwei (he who presides at the counter) ; th". driver is addressed, Tang-lcea (master) ; the passengers must be very careful not to treat him lightly. At 2 p. m. we reached 3E ^ s WaniJ-kea-yin on the noiili bank ; in hiring a cart, we iiad great difficulty in coming to an agreement about the price. Nov. 29. At 7 o' clock a. m. we left Wang-kea-yin, and after travelling 10 le, reached ^^ P^ Yang-kea-tsuy ; here we again crossed the Yellow River, and proceeded along tlie embankment; four or five le south of the embank- ment, is the ^ '^ Hung-tsih lake. The natural banks of the river are of sand and covered with willows ; there are a few thatched cottages ; the bank can be sown with wheat, but in summer it becomes part of the river. Along the side of the embankment for several hundred le, there is a thick plantation of willows. That tree not fearing water is easily planted and readily grows. All along the embank., ment are seen heaps of turf, and sheds for workmen. At 4 p. M. we reached jSi ^ T^ Kaou-kea-wan, after tra- veiling 38 lo; this village belongs to the district of 4^b 7J^ Taou-yuen ; the people are very poor, and rice comparatively as dear as pearls ; its price is regulated by the amount ot devastation produced by the inundations of the river. Nov. 30. At 4 o' clock in the morning, we started from Kaou-kea-wan, and on reaching ^ ^ pf Le-kea-k'how, 20 le farther on, descended from the einbankment to the plain below. After proceeding 10 le, we remounted the embank- F 42 ment, and when we had fravellrd twelve le more along a very bad' road, reached 4^^ "^ i^ Taou-yuen-heen. This district city can neitlier be called city nor ev;ii town with propriety ; the shops are small, llie houses few and thatched with straw ; not one in a thousand has a tiled roof. How different from /X ^ Keang-soo province, all over- spread with villages. Before, there is the '^ '^ Hiing-tsih lake, and just behind, (he Yellow River : so that it might well be named the water kingdom. Only four or five le from Taou-yuen. been, below the southern embankment, the whole population for more than 40 le are in the midst of wati^r. At 5 p. M., we reached 7^ iffi]^ f^ Yang-ho-chin, after tra- velling 70 le ; this town has tiled houses and shops of a large size, and is very much superior to Taou-yuen-heen. The rice here is like the coarse rice of Keang-soo. The town belongs to the district of '(g 5^ Siih-tseen ; the price of rice is here also regulated by the occurrence, or non-occur- rence of floods ; this year it is 40 cash a catty. Dec. 1. Sabbath. At half past 4 o' clock in the morning, we set out from Yang-ho. and on reaching the lOth military station from that place, 4 la distant, descended from the em- bankment, and continued on the plain road for 40 le to J ^ ^ Wang.kea-t£eih, where we dined. This Tseih (^ Tseih is a place where traders come on fixed days, and hold a market) is very small ; shops there, are none ; they live on rice-water and cakes made of flour. At half past 4 p. m. we reached ^ tF ^ Kaon- tso- tseih, 30 le distant from Wadg-kea-tseih. It is in the district of |^^^Suy_ ning-been, prefecture of j^ fW Tseu-chow, and has a large popula,tioa, being equal to towns in Keang-soo of the same rank. But the houses are mostly thatched, and the diet of the people is nothing better than millet-broth and wheaten bread. Dec, 2. At 4 o' clock in the morning, we proceeded 40 le *° fll ^ ^ Lung-kea-tseih ; here there are only 10 or 20 iwwMliuf liviii^ ill liuiu-iii/.tl Ltm"^i.S| uaveilLi'n liiuiinji do tnoi.ti 43 than stay tlieir appeiite at such places. At 2 p. m. we passed ^ ^ -H Hwang-l ^ Peen-leang, or K'hae-fung-fob, and the synagogue was built in the tJc Siing dynasty, as stated in the inscri Rtioa-foatid on "the-taWetZ^hose who introduced it, brought with them five kinds of variegated cotton, and foreign cloth of five different colours, as tribute to the Emperor. At first, the professors of Judaism amounted to 70 families, but when K'hae-fung- fob was invested, in the beginning of the present dynasty, the professors fled in various directions ; and afterwards the clans of ^ Chaou, j^ Kaou, ^ U, ^ Shih, ^ Kin, ^ Chang and 3cl Gae, again entered the city, and were called the -fc ^ IbJ "^ Tseih sing hwuy tsze, Mohammedans of the seven clans. The family of j^ Chaou was originally called ^ Yen, but because one of its members had attained high rank, and became skilled in archery and horsemanship, 51 ihe Emperor bestowed especial favour on him, and changed his surname to ^^ Chaou. In their religion, the Jews have three kinds of office-bearers ; the Rabbi, the Sinew-extractor, and the Propag_ator ^f_doclrines. Whenever the day arrives for honouring the sacred writings, the disciples must all bathe in the place appointed for that purpose, after which they may enter the synagogue. The Rabbi then takes his seat on an elevated position, with a large red satin umbrella held over him. This umbrella is slill preserved in the syna- gogue. When they bow down to worship, ahey face tlie west, and in calling upon God, in the Chinese language, they use the. word ^ T'heen, Heaven. On the 8th Chinese moon, and the 24th day, they hold a great festival, (corres- ix)nding to September or October), whichoaperhaps^thi! Feast of Tab6rnttcl«»^^calleiJ?J. them the ^ ^ '^_Chuen;:king- lieg, the " Festival for perambulating round the sacred writ- ings," because they then walk in solemn procession round the hall of the temple. The reason of the present neglect of the Jewish religion is, because for these fifty years, there has been no one to instruct the professors in the knowledge of the fifty-three sections of the Divine classic, and in the twenty-seven letters of the Jewish alphabet. The Rabbi is Called V^ B^iJ Mwan-la, or Mullah. ACCOUNT OF THE SYNAGOGUE, AND ITS INSCRIPTIONS. The synagogue lies towards the west, and faces the east. In front of the first inclosure, there is a large door, about seven feet wide, and ten feet high, with a smaller door on each side ; the wall in front bends outwards at each end, is ten feet high and twenty broad, covered over with round tiles of a green colour. Opposite the front door there is a small pool, and a couple of stone lions. Over the front door is the following inscription : — 52 THE TEMPLE OP TRUTH AND PURITY. After passing over the first inclosure, we come to the second; in front of which there are also three doors, each about nine feet high, and seven feet broad, covered over with yellow tiles ; in the centre is a horizontal tablet, with the following inscription : — . %^M Venerate HEAVEN. On the right side of the tablet are some small characters, in- timating that the tablet was erected on a fortunate day in the last month of Spring, in the 9th year of J^ Efi K'hang-he, corresponding to the 46th year of the 72d cycle (a. d. 1670). On the left side of the tablet are some more small characters, intimating that the tablet was reverently inscribed by M^ ^^R ^ Chaoq Chaou-tbw, who was a literary graduate and ma- gistrate of the district of ^ ^ E-leang, iu the province of ^ ■^ Yfin-nan (Lat. 24. 58. N. Long. 114. 13. E.). Within the door of the second inclosure, there is a ^ tfc pae fang, or ornamental gateway, about fifteen feet high covered over with green tiles, having wooden pillars, resting on stone pedestals ; on the top of the gatewav, there is an upright tablet, painted red, inscribed with a large character, IS? surmounied by a smaller one ^ been, denoting to offer up. This tablet is said to have been erected by ^ J^ ^ Gae Ching-^nfT, on a fortunate day, in the 9th month of the 2d year of ^ ^ Kea-k'hing, of the present dynasty (a. D. 1797). In front of the gateway, there is* also a horizontal tablet, inscribed with the words — 53 THE INTELLIGENT MIND PENETRATING TO THAT WHICH IS PROFOUND AND DISTANT. * Erected on a fortnuate day, in the 3d month of the 15th year of )ll^ ^/pt Shun-che (a. d. 1658). At the back of the gate- way, is another horizontal tablet, inscribed with — REVERENTLY COMPLY WITH HEAVEN, f To the right and left of the ornamental gateway, there are two pavilions, covered over with common tiles, of a square form, and about 15 feet high. Each pavilion contains a marble tablet with a long inscription, but the entrance, to both is so blocked up with rubbish, that it is impossible to gain admission through the usual door-way. Tseang Yung- che, however, succeeded in inducing one of the professors, named Chaou, to effect an entrance through holes in the Walls, and by means of candles, he obtained suflScient light to enable him to copy the whole, which was the work of several days. These interesting inscriptions ale here pre- sented to the reader in the original, with a translation. * The phrase here translated " profound and distant," occurs in the Book of Odes, in the sense just given ; it is generally taken by the Chinese, however, to signify Heaven. f This phrase occurs in the first Book of the Shoo-king, where it forms part of an address made by the Fjmperor Yaou, to his astrono- mers He and Ho, telling them " in reverent accordance with (the motions of) the expansive Heavens, to arrange (by numbers) and represent (by instruments) the revolutions of the sun, moon and stars." (See Medhurst's Shoo-king, page 2). The inseription above quoted, however, does not seem to have been put up with an astronomical view, and should most probably be rendered as referring to the Ruling Power above. 34 g. -di. Hit m -ft ]^ ^ ^. #. M i: ^ ff ^ ;j^ ft ^ 1^ Mi 7C it ^ mi # ^ ]^ tw* ~r ^ m ^ it If 1M: 1^ + ^ ;i H ;^ Z ^ ^ ^ m TTC yi^r m m If. M p«i m #> ii i^ # m it ^n ^ m ^.^ M ± 0. H# :i ^ A it ;<: Jg #, ^ 4» m ^ ^ M ^ If z. m. m z z u If If If ^ it If I ^f. ■TiSE? Till' M A ^ m M m n ^ B M a A z 3E 3L '^^ m X ^ eg ym ■^i W ^ ^ ^ ^^, fffi> 'W, rfn # ^ ^ M "ffj m m. n z- M ^ W ^^ i^ .^^ ^ m T - # ^. ^U yi f^ # K ^ X W %\\ ^ ^ T ^. Z. M — • A. in 5i^ - :^ ^ ^ B.M 7-<^> X if ^ ^ T ft ;S Sf . rfa ^. »fa ^ m ^ &^ ^ U m ■^ 0. m ^ /If m m ant- nflP n z m, M ^CL\ ^ ^ m ^ jil. M ^ # >5^ 51 i^^ /H =fT ic. ^. ;5=^ iL ^ Ji It :^ ^. ^ g Ji iM ^ M ^. # ^ iia it i$, m mm Ji ^ ^ ^ ^\ ;^ W ^ tr ^ It m. % ^ ^t if if ;^ m ij&^ ^ ^ m m z 'M^ m m 55 # A. --• -^ /it i\ Z 'RS: ^> rflJ m ills % z %. m "^ # i. tt^ ^ ^ itl: i^ ^. It # ^ MiJ ;S ^>5^ m ^ H ^> i^ ^. flpf g ;2: M ^ 4^ © # # ill J^ z z m ^ z ^ + T - ■tfi. JL>Jl ^ # Iff Per M. m m m :k ^ z t -J 'Ui^ A # A 0. m W Z :^ z m i^ ^ Z M> ^ n ^ ^ :# ^h tt ^ i^. fflf ^B M ft m^ A ^ ^;f m % m ii. ^ m m m M m m z H itb 1? zm =T^ "B f# :i, ^ i: R| ^ it. ;S ^ * ^ -t itl: -t. ^. lis 9 m A. M ^A M n 57 THE RECORD OF THE TEMPLE, EftECTED IN HONOUR OF ETERNAL REASON AND THE SACRED WRfTIiNGS. It lias been saiJ, that the sacred writings are for the pur- pose of embodyinij; Eternal Reasotr,* and that Eternal Rea- son is for the purfiose of communicating the sacred writings. What is Eternal Reason? The principle which is in daily- use and constant practice ; and which has been generally followed out by men of ancient and modern times. It is present in every thing, and the same in all seasons ; in fact, there is no place in which Eternal Reason does not reside. But Eternal Reason without the sacred writings cannot be preserved ; and the sacred writings without Eternal Rea- son cannot, be carried out into action ; for men get into con- fusion, 'and do not know whither they are going, until they are carried away by foolish schemes and strange devices ; hence the doctrines of the Sages have been handed in the six classics, ill order to convey the knowledge to future gene- rations, and to extend its benefits to the most distant period. With respect to — ' ^ |^ ^ ^ Yih sze 16 nee keaou, * The word in the original ^^ Taou, corresponds to the Logos of the Greeks, and is used in this and the- following inscription, as if with reference to some exalted being, equal to Heaven (God). The Jews about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, had very exalted notions of the Memrai Jah, the word of the Lord, of which we think we can discover traces in these inscriptions. See Smith's Scripture Testimony, vol. 1, page 517, 529. H 58 the religion taught in the Happy Establishment conferred by the Great One, * we find on enquiry, that its first an- cestor |5b}" life A-tan (Adc\m) came originally from ^ ^ T'heen-chiih (India), and that during liie ^ Chow slate f the sacred writings were in existence. The sacred writings, embodying Eternal Reason, consist of fifty-three sections. The principles therein contained are very abstruse, and the Eternal Reason therein revealed is very mysterious, being treated with the same veneration as Heaven (God). The founder, of this religion is foj ^ ^ '^ A-woo-lo- han (Abraham), who is considered the first teacher of it. Then came "j^ ^ May-she (Moses), who established the law, and handed down the sacred writings. Afier his time, during the '^ Han dynasty (from b. c. 200 to a. d. 226), this religion entered China. In the first year of [ ^ ffi Lung-hing, of the ^1^ Sung dynasty, (a. d. 1164), a synagogue was built at ^p Peen, (or K'hae-fung-foo). In the 16ih year of ^ 7C Che-yuen, of the yC Yuen dynasty, (a. d. 1296), the old temple was rebuilc, as a place in which the sacred writings might be deposited with veneration. Those who practice this religion are to be found in other places besides f|> Peen (or K'hae-fung-foo) ; but wherever they are met with, throughout the whole world, they all without exception honour the sacred writmgs, and venerate Eternal Reason. The characters in which the sacred writings are penned, differ indeed frorn those employed in the books of the learned in China, but if we trace their principles up to their origin, we shall find that they are originally none other than the Eternal Reason, which is commonly followed * Or the religion of Israel. |- By the Chow state here, is not meant the Chow dynasty, which flourished from b. o. 1113 to B. c. 242, but the petty kingdom of that name, which was founded by ^ K'he, or J0 ^ How-tseih, spoken of in the days of Shun (b. c. 2254), as the superintendant of agriculture, (see translation of the Shoo-king, page 30, 335). .^ ^J Kung-lew, a descendant of How-tseih (b. 0. 1817), afterwards cou- fiolidated the kingdom in the western part of China (See translation of the Shoo-king, page 347) ; and a subsequent descendant (b, C, 1351), assumed the name of Chow (Ibid 357). 39 by mankind. Hence it is, that when Eternal Reason is followed by rulers and subjects, rulers will be respectful, and subjects faithful ; when Eternal Reason is followed by [)art:nts and cliildren, parents will he kind, and children filial; wlien Eternal Reason is followed by elder and younger brothers, the former will be friendly, and the latter reverential ; when Eternal Reason is followed by husbands and wives, husbands will be harmonious, and wives obedient ; when Eternal Reason is followed by friends and companions, then they will severally become faithful and sincere. In Eternal Reason, there is notliing greater than benevolence and rectitude, and in following it out, men naturally display the feeling of compassion and a sense of shame ; in Eternal Reason, there is nothing greater than propriety and wisdom, and in following it out, men naturally exhibit the feeling of respect and a sense of recti- tude. When Eternal Reason is followed in fasting and abstinence, men necessarily feel reverential and awe-struck ; when Eternal Reason is followed out in sacrificing to ances- tors, men necessarily feel filial and sincere'; when Eter- nal Reason is followed in Divine worship, men bless and praise high Heaven (God), the producer and nourisher ef the myriad of things, wiiile in their demeanour and carriage, they consider sincerity and respect as the one thing needful. With respect to widows and or|)hans, the poor and the destitute, together with the sick and maimed, the deaf and dumb, these must all be relieved and assisted, that they may not utterly fail. When poor men wish to marry and have not the means, or when such wish to inter their relatives, and are not able to accomplish it, the necessary expenses for such murft be duly provided. Only let those who are mourning for their friends carefully avoid rich viands and intoxicating liquors, and those who are conducting funeral ceremonies not be emulous of external pomp. Let them in the first place avoid complying with superstitious customs ; and in the second place, not make molten or graven images, but in everything follow the ceremonies that have been in- 60 troduced from India. Let there be no false weiglUs and mea- sures employed in trade, with the view of defrauding others. Looking around U3, on the professors of this religion, we find that there are some who strive for literary honours, aiming to exalt their parents and distinguish themselves ; there are some who engage in government employ, both at court and in the provinces, seeking to serve their prince and benefit the people ; while some defend the country and resist the enemy ; thus displaying their patriotism by their faithful conduct ; there are others again, who in private stations cultivate personal virtue, and diffuse their influence over a whole region : others there are who plough the waste lands, sustaining their share of the public burthens ; and others who attend to mechani- cal arts, doing their part towards supporting the state; or who follow mercantile pursuits, and thus gather in profit from every quarter ; but all of them should venerate the command of Heaven (God), obey the royal laws, attend to the five constant virtues, observe the duties of the human rela- tions, reverently follow the customs of their ancestors, be filial towards their parents, respectful to their superiors, harmoni- ous among their neiglibours, and friendly with their associ- ates, teaching iheir children and descendants, thus laying up a store of good works, while they repress trifling animosities, in order to'complete great affairs ; the main idea of all the pro- hibitions and commands consists in attending to these things. This in fact is the great object set forth in the sacred writings, and the daily and constant duties inculcated by Eternal Rea- son. Thus the command of Heaven (God) influencing vir- tuous nature, is by this means carried out to perfection ; the religion which inculcates obedience to Eternal Reason is by this means entered upon ; and the virtues of benevolence, rectitude propriety and wisdom are by this means maintained. Those, however, who attempt to repreaentHim by images, or to depict Him in pictures, do but vainly occupy themselves with empty ceremonies, alarming and stupifying men's eyes and ears, indulging in the speculations of false religionists, and shewing themselves unworthy of imitation. But those who 61 honour and obey the Sacred writings, know the origin of all things ; and that the Eternal word and the Sacred writings mutually sustain each other in stating from whence men sprang. From the beginning of the world our first father Adam handed the doctrine down to [J^ fflE ^ g^ A-woo-lo- han (Abraham) ; Abraham handed it down to J^ y§, "^ ^^ E-3ze-h6-kih (Isaac) ; Isaac lianded it down to ^ BWf ^ ^ Ya-ho-keue-wiih (Jacob) ; Jacob handed it down to the twelve patriarchs ; and the twelve patriarchs handed it down to -Q '^ May-she (Moses) ; Moses lianded it down to p^f P5f If^ A-ho-leen (Aaron) ; Aaron handed it down to^ ^ "j^ Yuesiih-wo (Joshua); and Joshua handed it down lo^^ "^ P*'J Ye-tsze-la (Ezra) ; by whom the doctrines of the holy religion were first sent abroad, and the letters of the ^i§ ^ Yew-t'hae, Jewish nation first made plain. All those who profess this religion, aim at the practice of goodness and avoid the commission of vice, morning and evening perform- ing their devotions, and witii a sincere mind cultivating personal virtues. They practice fasting and abstinence on the prescribed days, and bring eating and drinking under proper regulations. They make the Sacred writings their study and their rule, obeying and believing them in every particular ; then may they expect that the blessing of Hea- ven will abundantly descend, and the favour of Providence be unfailingly cotiferred ; every individual obtaining the credit of virtuous conduct, and every family experiencing the happiness of Divine protection. In this way perhaps our professors will not fail of carrying out the religion handed down by their ancestors, nor will they neglect the cere- monies which they are bound to observe. We have engraved this on a tablet, placed in the synago- gue, to be handed down to distant ages, that future genera- tions may carefully consider it. This ttiblet was erected by the families j^ Yen, ^ Lfe, J^ KaoUj ^ Chaou, ^ Kin, 'f^ E and ^ Chang, at the rebuilding of the synagogue, in the first month of Autumn, in the 7th year of IE iM Ching-tih, of the ^ Ming dy nasty, (a. d. 1511). 62 m ^ m % «. §i « '1^ M :^ m ^ ^ id-^ a jfc # ^ m ^ ir w. ^ i^ H# ^ ^ tr II m ^ w< if M ^> ?^. ^ p ^ # m # ^> ^ ^, :M. ^. la ^ ^ ^rlJ ^ ^ n ^ ^ M li. ^ 'It ft M DcS m m M. m n m -Hi. JR. z m m « ft ■Hi. # Z ■di. S ^ -tii> 1^ 10 -tii. in # # -Hi. ^ m :t #. -Hi. Wc ^ m z # 11 -Hi. 110 m in -Hi^ ^. ^ m. ^£ ^ 7^ 1?. It. :^ #. A li it ^ ft m 4- ^ -Hi. i: ;S li Wa # # pg. ¥. :^ 1 -Hi. ^ 1 ^ it :& ^ m ^ it ^- m. -Hi, M m ^ m -Hi. ^ it -Hi, ^ it ± it -Hi. Z p ^ rfli ^ m # 75r ^, m m n m m r M % Mi vJ4- N^ jj. JH ia TfJ -^.Sr ^^^ Lis. U Z A ;^ il. t^ t. MS. z ^ m ^ - ^ ;|i ^ it n. n. #. ;^ ^ M ii ft pT # m m « ^ ^ ^FT. M — ^ # Wii ^ ^ TC ;Ui^ — ', ^ ^^ ^ ^ ±. VS^ ^. ^ M M # iE ^ ^ ^ ffij ;!i ^ ^ ^ n ^.^ m ^ IE ffi jii !i ^ H % ffi ^ ^ it FI W> H ffij ^1 - m jE ir ii5 II z m i^ ^o 't ® m if. A ^ m 'M ^ :^ # ^ ^ ^ M M /ilif 7lt\ -=F- 64 m m n, ^ B ii ^. -tit. ^ m if .111. ^> M *; < f m f i ^. m w 65 m # — 1^ m m ^ Hi. ^^ * m + ^ m ^ - m m fp )ii iif. ^ "t ^ + * :^. ^ ^ M ^^ i^ A f ^t m ^ M ^ M^ .^ ^ m. m m A i^ ^ ^ Ji A n ^ 5??. ift ^ i i fij Hi m ^ JE^ 'It S S 5 ^, ^ M ^ M :^ it Jt ^! ii 5l # ^ g ii M!J ^ 4S. iii m ^ m m m. bUI # ^ ^ i ^ ■^ ^, ^ m, :m ^ m ^ M 1^ \^ M i; ^ Vo ¥ # 0. '^"^ ^> ^' ^'^ ^. ^ ^^. :=• ^M B g 7K m m m m ±^m w m ^ ^ ^^> t5 f :^ M :^ m ^ M u-^ ^ ^ ^ ^. m m m ^ u ^ ^'i ^Jt +?. ^ ^®- ^ Kij # ^ — M M # fi ^ ^ — ^ ^ -^ nP. ^ « #> t^ #. ^ ^ A M ex> ¥ If # X 2X ft' ii i^ ^ ^ 3^1 ^^ H ?t it ^H ^ #. ^ ^^ # ^ M fi5. itt^> ^ m A w ^^. ^ j^' Ml B itb ^ f ^ S i i:^rL @ * # ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ i ^ ft ill # # ^ ^ + -^ "t^. M ^' ^ ^1 ^ 0^ f fl?. ^ ^. ^ 7-K m % m z M. m n ^M it f ^ m m:n - ^ ^^ S' i -^ ^ it ^ ^± ^; «p. M M ^ #^ - ±» 66 A ^ 1^ ^ * Wn |a jw ^ :^ # # a ^ # # A ^^ ^. it .W ^ E ^. ¥ tt il m ^ m m m m iK ^ Ji H ^ ife, A li ^ llE il ^ « 4> M ^ n m ^ m. ^ z :^ m m ± |i it fi s W ^ ^ ;g; ^ # ± ^&- Z n M m >C> W ^ iiis, $a ^n ^» :^ li H :! ^ :^ Z Z Z ^ Wl ^ «. :l. ^ it :&. m m ^. "^ ^K ^ ^ 1^ :t # # 5^ :^ ffl. ^ :^ liig ^ S :5- ^» ^. ;^ M # A m yf M 3S. m Mm ^ M # ^. m 5e ;^ ^ H :i ®. 4^ iti 67 A TABLET RKOORDtNG THE REBUILDING OP THE TEMPLE OF TRUTH AND PURITY. I^ ^ ^ 1?^ A-woO-lo-han (Abraham), the patriarch *ho founded — " ^ ^ ^ Yih-sze-lo-nee, the religion of ths joyful inheritance conferred by the Great One,* was thi nineteenth descendant from ^ "^ Pwan-koo, or |J^ ^ A- tan (Adam). From the beginning of the world, the paivi archs have handed down the precept, that we must not mak? images and similitudes, and that we must not worship ^ip 'P' shin-kwei, superior and inferior spirits ; for neither car. images and similitudes protect, nor superior and inferior spirits afford us aid. The patriarch thiniting upon He.i"en (God), the pure and ethereal Being who dwells on high, of every vice, and reverently performing every vinue. Every seventh day, we observe a holy rest, which when terminated begins anew ; as it is said, in the Book of Diagrams : " The good man in the practice of virtue, ap[)rehends lest tiie time should prove too short." At each of the four sriasons, we lay ourselves under a seven days' resiraiiii., in remembrance of the trials endured by our ancestors ; by which means, we venerate our predecessors and reward our progenitors ; we also abstain entirely from food during a whole day, when we reverently pray to Heaven (God), repent of our former faults, and practice anew the duties of each day. The Book of Diagrams also says, " When the wind and thunder prevail, the good man thinks of what virtues he shall practice, and if he has any errors, he reforms them." Thus our religious system has been handed down, and communicated from one to another. It came ori- ginally from India (^ ^ T'heen-chiih) ; those who intro- duced it in obedience to the Divine commands were seventy clans, viz. those of "^ Yen,^ 1,k, ^ Gae, ^ Kaou, ^ Mah, ^ Ghaou, ^ Kin, ^ Chow, ^ Chang, ;5' Shih» 9^ Hwang, ^ Nee, J^ Tab, Q"Pli», )M ^^'^00 Sze-ta rebuilt the ancient temple of Truth and Purity,* which was situated in the J^ rfi" ^ T'hob- she-lsze street, on the south-east side ; on each side the area of the temple extended 350 feet. When the first Em- peror of the ^ Ming dynasty (a. d. 1390) established his throne and pacified the people of the empire, all those who came under the civilizing influence of our country were pre- sented with ground, on which they might dwell quietly, and profess their religion without molestation, in order to manifest a feeling of sympathyzing benevojence, which views all alike. But as this temple required some one to look after its con- cerns, there were appomted for that jiurpose ^ |^ Le Chlng, ^ ^ L^ Shih, f^ ^ ^ Yen Pm5r-io6,;5t i^ Gae King, ^ >^ Chow Gan, ^|^ Le Kung, &c. who were them- selves upright and intelligent men, mid able to admonish others, having attained the title of '/^ ^S[ Mwan.la (Mullah). So that up to this tirne,,the sacred vestments, ceremonies and n^usicj are all maintained according to the prescribed pattern, and every word and action is conformed to the ancient rule ; every man therefore keeps the laws, and knows how to reverence Heaven (Gpd), and respect the patriarchs, being faithful to the prince, and filial to parents, all in con- sequence of the efforts of these teachers, j^ gl^ Yen Ching, who was skilled in medicine, in the 19th year of ^'C ^ Yiing-16 (a. p. 1417), received the imperial commands com- municated through ^ 1^ ^ J Ghow-foo-Ting-wang, to preserit incense in the temple of Truth and Purity, which was then repaired ; about the same time also, there was received the imperial tablet of the Ming dynasty, to be * This is about 126 years subsequent to the former date, hence the Woo Sze-ta mentioned here must have been a different person from the one previQUsly mentioned. 72 erected in the temple. In the 21st year of ^ |^ Yung-lo (a. d. 1422), the above-named officer reported, that he liad executed some trust reposed in him; whereupon the Em- peror changed his surnaiiie to ^ Chaou, and conferred upon him an embioidered garment, and a title of dignity, elevating him to be a magistrate in ^ /JL Ohe-iceang province. In the 10th year of IE j^ Ciu'ng-t'hung (a. d. 1465), ^ ^ Le Yung, and some others rebuilt the three rooms in front of the synagogue. It appears that in the 5th year of ^ jljg T'lieen-shdn (a. d. 1349), the Yellow River had inundated the synagogue, but the foundations were still preserved ; whereupon ^p^ v^ Gae Kfng, and others petitioned to be allowed to restore it to its original form, and through the chief magistrate of the prefecture, received an order from tite Treasurer of Honan province, granting that it might be done in conformity with the old form of the Temple of Truth and Purity that had existed in the time of,^ yC Che-yu6n (a. d. 1290); where- upon ^p ^ Le Yfmg provided the funds, and the whole was made quite new. During the reign of ^ -ft^ Ching- hwa (a. d. 1470), J^ f^ Kaou Keen provided the funds for repairing the three rooms at the bade of the synagogue. He also deposited therein three volumes of the sacred writ- ings. Such is the history of the front and back rooms of the synogogue. During the reign of ^ J|^ T'heen-shiin (a. d. 1440), :^ ^ Sliih Pin, ^ 1^ Kaou Keen and ^ Ba Chang Heuen, had brought fiora the professors of this reli- gion at Ningpo, one volume of the sacred writings ; while ® iS -^ Chaou Yi'ng-ching, of iSingpo, sent another volume of the Divine word, which was presented to the synagogue at yf» ^ Peen-leang, or K'hae.fung-foo. His younger brother ]^ Ying also provided funds, and in the 2nd year of ^i> '/^f Hung-che (a. d. 1488) strengthened the foundations of the synagogue. ^^ Ying with myself ^ Chung, entrusted to ^ ^ Chaou Tsun the setting up of the present tablet; j^ ^ l^lj Yen Too-la had already fixed the foundation of the building, - and commenoed the work ; 73 towards the completion of which, all the families contributed; and thus provided the sacred implements and furniture connected with the cells for depositing the sacred writings, causing the whole synagogue to be painted and ornamented, and put into a complete repair. For I conceive that the three religions of China have each their respective temples, and severally honour the founders of their faiih ; among the literati, there is the temple of ;;;^ ^, Ta-clijng, Great Perfection, dedicated to Cotifuciiis ; among the Bud- dhists, there 19 the temple of ^ ^ Shfug-yang, the Sacred Countenance, dedicated 10 j^ ^ Ne-ino,v (Buddha) ' and among the Taouists, there is the temple of 3S ^ Yuh-hwang. So also in the True and Pure religion there is the temple of — ' ^ ^| ^ Yih-sze-l6-nee,, tiie joyful inheritance conferred by ilie Great One, * erected to the honour of ^ ^ Hwang-t'heen, the Great Heaven (or God). Aliliougli our religion agrees in many respects with the religion of the literati, from which it differs in a slight de- gree, yet the main design of it is nothing more than reverence for Heaven, and veneration for ancestors, fidelity to the piince, and obedience to parents, just that which is inculca- ted in the five human relations, the five constant virtue* with the three principal connections of life. It is to be observed, however, that people merely know that in the tem- ple of Truth and Purity ceremonies are performed, where we reverence Heaven, and worship towards no visible object ; but they do not know that the great origin of Eternal Reason comes from Heaven (God), and that what has beea handed down from of old to the present day, must not be falsified.. Although our religion enjoins worship thus ear- nestly, we do not render it merely with the view of securing happiness to our«eIves, but seeing that we have received the fkvours of the prince, and enjoyed the emoluments conferred by him, we carry to the utmost our sincerity in worship with the view of manifesting fideliiy to our prince, and gra- * Yih-sze-lo is perhaps the Chinese mode of expressing Israel. J 74 litude to our country. Thus we pray that the Emperor's rule may be exteudeJ to myriads of yeaid, and that the im- perial dynasty may be firmly established ; as long as heaven and earth endure, may there be favourable winds and seasonable showers, with the mutual enjoyment of tranquillity. We have engraven these our ideas on the im- perishable marble, that they may be handed down to the latest generation. Composed by a promoted literary graduate of the prefecture of K'hae-fung-foo, named ;^ ^ Kin-chung ; inscribed by a literary graduate of purchased rank, belonging to the district of ^ :^ Tseang-foo, named gf j^ Tsaou-tsb; and engrav- en by a literary graduate of purchased rank, belonging to the prefecture of K'hae-fung-foo, named 'j^ '^ Foo-joo. Ereci.ed on a fortunate day, in the middle of summer, in the 2nd year of ^ Vo Hung-che (a. d. 1488), in the 46th year of the 70th cycle, by a disciple of the religion of Truth and Purity. In the third inclosure stands the synagogue, which con- sists of three apartments before, and three behind, thrown in- to one large hall. The roof is divided into two, and exhibits the four corners of the front and buck range of apartments distinct. It is covered with round tiles of a green colour. The front series of apartments is provided on the three sides with long varnished windows, based ou stone railings. Tlie back series of apartments is surrounded on the three sides by walls. The two series of apartments together constitute a hall, eighty feet deep and fifty feet wide. According to the statement of the professors, the synagogue is called — ' ^^ ^ ^ ^ Yih sze 18 nee teen, which may be rendered either " The hall of the joyful inheritance conferred by the Great One," or " The synagogue of the children of Israel." In front of the synagogue is a terrace, fifty feet by forty, once surrounded on its three sides by a stone balustrade, which is 75 now in ruins. On the teriacft is one small stone vase and three larger ones, engraven all over vifith (he flowers and leaves of the water-lily (nelumbiura) ; one of the vases con- tains a Iree made of coral, and the oiher three, some arlificial rocks. On the right and left is placed a pair of moderately- sized etone lions. In front of the terrace is a hexagonal iron vase, inclosing a smaller one, and bearing an inscription, in small characters, intimating tliat it was made for the syna- gogue on a fortunate day, in the 3d month of spring, in ihe time of ^ M Wan-leih, (a. d. 1572). In front of the first seiics of apariments of (lie synarroL'Us, there is a while tablet wiih black characters, beaiinsr tlie following inscriplion : — TO THE LORD OF THE RRLIGION OF TRUTH AND PURITY. Written by "/JC^^ Shin.tseuen, of ^ ^ Hwa-iing, (a dis- trict either in ^ '^X. Sung-ktiang, in the province, of KSang- 800, Lat. 30. N. Long. 120. 53. 34. E., or in 2p ^ Ping, leang, in the province of Kan-siih, Lat. 35. 18. N. Long. ]06. 35. E.), in the latter end of summer, in the 4th year of the reign of J^ E£ Kang-he, (a. d. 168S). Before the second series of apartments of the pynagogue, there is in the centre a white tablet, with the following in- scrij)tioii :— M^'^ THIS RKLIGION IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH HEAVFN, THB TRUE (or THE TRUE GOd). This tablet was indited by 3E j^ Wang-yuen, the assis- tant of the depiiiy intendant of K'liae-fung-foo, in the pro- vince of Honan ; er^'cted on a fortunate dny^ in the begin- ning of winter, in the 14th year of )lj^ /pj Shun-che's reign (a. d. 1657). On the left of the second series of apartments of the syna- gogue is another insiription, as follows : — 76 IN OBEDIENCE TO HEAVEN, PROCLAIMING RKFORMATION. This tablet was indited by ^ '^ ^ Kob Han-ffih. of W ^ Tsi'n-yang, now called ^ ^ Keaou-ching, a dis- trict in the prefecture of ;^ j^T'hae-yuen, in the province of Shan-se, (Lat. 37. 36. N. Long. 112. 6. E.), on a fortunate day, in the beginning of winter, in the last year of the reign of ili Vn Shdn-chS (a. d. 1662). On the right of the second series of apartments of the Bynagogue, is a third inscription, as follows : — venerate heaven and pray for the country. This tablet was indited l)y f^ "^ Seih Sth, the prefect of K'hae-fung-foo ; erected in the second month of winter, in the 14ih year of the reign of )||^ '/^ Shun-chg (a. d. 1567). Inside the great hall of the synagogue is a tablet, with the following inscription : — '.w m s THE MOST HOLY PLACE. On two of the pillars between the long windows, outside the great hall, is a small couplet, containing an antithetical sentence, as follows : — ^ ^Emu mr- m m^ ^ ^ m ^ Sliih tih t'heen te keun ts'hin sze, piih yugn taou lib ching loo, Sew tsae jin e le ehe sin, peen ahe shing been yuen t'how. If you acknowledge heaven, earth, prince, parent and teacher you will not be far from the correct road to reason and virtue. If you cultivate the duties of benevolence, righteousness, pro- priety, wisdom and truth, you have just hit upon the first principle of sages and pliilosophers. 77 On two of the pillars between the windows, inside the great iiall, is another couplet, written in black characters on a while ground, as follows : — Yang chen tsaou hwa I'heen, kan piih k'he kung k'he ki'ng. Fob pae ch'hang sang cliob, tsze e kee t'he kee sin. When looking up, you contemplate the all-creating Heaven (God), dare you withhold your reverenct and awe ? When looking down, you worship the ev^r-livmg Lord, you ought to nutintain puriiy of body and mind. Reverently indited and written by the literary graduate ^ i^ ^ CliaouTso-mei. In the great hail, attached to the two principal pillars, there is a couplet in black characters, as follows : — ±ZM.^ Tsze Nyii-rDO chen hwa e lae, se cliiih chung ling, k'hew sang' t'lieen sang te, 'sang jin che ptin. Yew A-ld k'hae tsung urh how, chung hwa yen keaou, tih heo joo, heo shih, heo taou che tseiien. From the time of Nyu-wo, when the beatiteous creation sprung into being, up to the present time, western India has had men of natural talent, who have enquired into the great original that produced heaven, earth and man. From the time of Abraham, when our religion was first esta- blished, and ever afterwards, the central land (China) has diffused instruction, and obtained the knowledge of the whole system propagated by Confucius, Buddha and Taou. On the second series of large pillars, there is a couplet, ao follows : — 78 Yew puh che seang, woo pull lun heu, taou kang tsae yew woo che wae. Le tsze tsun t'een, e wel fa teob, sin cliang (sun le e che seen. His [)resence is not impeded by visible form, his absence does not imply an empty void; for Eternal Reason is un- bounded by the limits of existence or non-existence. Wor.-ihip consists in honouiing Heaven, and righteousness in imitating ancestors ; but the human mind must have been in being, before either worship or righteousness could have been practiced. ^ Ift ^ Gae She-ijh, a professor of this religion, after making his ablutions, reverently inscribed the above. On tlie large pillars of the interior part of the large ball, there is a long couplet, as follows :— Tily t'hae k'iiung e je chen Ian, too wang mlng seang. Sob se t'hob urh k'hang she yo, tub shbw ts'hing chin. Before the wide empyreal, we burn the fragrant incense, without the slightest reference to name or form. Tracing our religion up to the western world, we resist our evil desires, and alone maintain truth and purity. In front of the teaclier's chair (Moses' seat), which is on an elevation of three feet, there is a large incense fable, and a large square table behind it, upon which is the Ernperor's tablet, inscribed in golden letters : — i^ "ST "S* ^ "Sr ^ "ST P?i © -^ -JU Ta ts'liing hwang te, wan suy, wan suy, wan wan suy. May the Emperors of the Great Ts'hing (Tartar) dynasty reign for myriads and myriads of years, with ten thousand myriads of years. At tlie back of the inner part of the large hall, there is an incense table, upon wliich there is an iron incense-pot, a 79 candlestick, with a pair of Iron vases ; the vases are provided with rings. On each side of the incense table, there are two large iron vases, five feet high ; in the middle of the table is a shrine, containing the imperial tablet of tlie Ming dynasty. Above ttie vases, there are tablets inscribed with the Jewish character, painted black on a red ground, about one foot and a half long, and half a foot broad. Behind the imperial tablet, there is a wooden frame- work, like a door-way, the trans- verse beam of which is painted green, and ihe pillars red, about nine feet high, and eight feet wide. In the inner'part of,the great hall, on the second series of pillars, there is a couplet, inscribed as follows : — Te mi'og yue ming yue tan, yin chiili liwang hwang, yang jo chaou lin che yew hth. Shun koo wei hing wei is'hin:^, tsze tan neaou neaou, aiih tseang fang lee che yin sew. Te's (i. e. Shang-te, or God's)* decrees may be called clear and bright, and so while the silver candlesticks give forth their splendour, we look up as if we saw the glory of his august presence. The Divine blessing is fragrant and pure, and so while the * The word Te is evidently used here for Shang-te, in the sense of God, as it is a quotation from the Book of Odes, from the section called Pan, where some complaints are brought against Le-wang, who by his tyrannical conduct, had induced Shang-te (or Godj to reverse his usual course, and bring down calamities on the people ; hence the poet says, " Shang-te (or God) has reversed (his usual course of proceeding), and caused the lower peo- ple to be exceedingly pained," &c., (see Theology of the Chinese, page 223). The last sentence of the ode from which the quotation is made, runs thus : " Fear the wrath of Heaven (God), and do not dare to trifle ; dread Heaven's changes, and do not venture on irregularity ; Heaven may be called clear, he sees you wherever you go ; Heaven may he deemed bright, he follows you in all your wanderings." In the above extracts, the words T'heen, Heaven, Shang-le, and Te, are used synonymously, in the sense of God. 80 . red sandal-wood sends up its fumea, we ndore as if we felt the adoriii"? of his excellent majrsty. The disciple ^ R^ ^ Chaoii Yang-tow, after perform- ing his ablutions, reverently composed the above. Behind the frame-work resembling a door-way, is the hexagonal shrine, containing the sacred writings, on all sides of wliish, there are little doors ; the inside is beauti. fully painted, and contains the twelve tubes, in which the rolls of the law are deposited. The tubes are painted and gilded, of a cylindrical form, about two feet or more ia height. The law is written on white sheep-skins, in the Hebrew character ; and on the pillars near the shrine ia a couplet, written in Chinese, as follows : — Tsob tah cliing I'heen ki'nsr t'heen, yin urh neen tsob Sang naiig che sba keae sha, so e tsun sang. Our first ancestor received his religion from Heaven, and honoured Heaven alone, which feeling we carry out to the venerating of our forefathers. The living one prohibited killing and forbade murder, to shew his regard to human life. Reverently indited by )^ ^ Shin Tseugn, of H ^ Hwa-ting district. A little in the rear of the shrine containing the sacred writings:, there are two smaller shrines, one on each side, containing tablets, written in the Jewish character; over the right shrine, there is a small slab of azure coloured stone, containing the words^ — THE HALL OF THE MOST EXCELLENT RELIGION. In front of each shrine, there is a square table. Outside the synagogue, there are two, separate halla, one 81 oil eacli side, appareiiily designed for the rece|jlioii of guests ; over one is a tablet, inscribed with the words — THI5 HALL OF THB BIlrGHT MIRROR, accompanied by a couplet, as follows : — ■ T'heen king woo shih san keuen, k'how sung sin wei, chiih hwang too yu kung ko6. Shing tsze urh shIh tseih mob, kea yii ho6 heabu, yuen shay tseih e ling chang. The divine w.ritings are fifty-three in number ; * these we recite in our mouths, and meditate on in our minds ; praying that the imperial domain may be firmly established. The sacred letters are twenty-seven \ in all ; these we teach in our families, and display in our dwellings ; hoping that the interests of the country may continually prosper. On each side of the synagogue, there is a range of build- ings, and on each side of the terrace, another range of side apartments; in front of the latter range of apartments, on the north side, is a fane, facing the east, dedicated to the fore- fathers of the seven clans already mentioned ; but it is all fallen into ruins. Some of the materials are also disposed * The Pentateuch is divided in our common Hebrew Bihles into fifty-four sections ; but on enquiring of some Jews who came from Persia, it apoears that according to their reckoning there are fitlj- three, the Masoretic fifty second and fifty third sections being com- bined in one, which is read during the week of the Feast of Taber- nacles. f The Hebrew letters are generally said to be twenty-two in num- ber, reckoning Sin and Shin as one. The Jews of Persia, however, by rating the final Kaph, Mem, Nun, Pe, and Tsadi, as sepaiate letters, make twenty-seven of them. Our travellers not being aware of this, and having with them a Hebrew alphabet as their guide, contended with the Jews at K'hae-fung-foo, that they were mistaken ; the Jews, however, held to their opinion, and neither of the parties were able to convince the other. 82 of. The synagogue h cieled with varni^iliid boards, and the pillars are all painted. The floor is |)aved with flat siones, but some hare been taken away and sold by the professors of Judaism ; in the middle of (he synajios^ue where the Emperor's tablet and Mose^' seat are -deposiied, there is a ra;=dil floor, made of planks, about one foot higher than the rest of the floor. In the year 1849, on the 1st day of the 2nd month (Febru- ary 1st), corresponding to the 20th day of the 12ih moon of' the Chinese year, the Consul at Amoy, Mr. Layton, sent, a letter to the synagogue of the Jews at K'bae-fung-foo, which was received four months afterwards. This letter was merely one of compliment, containing a request for soma Jewish books. It was also -accompanied by one in the Hebrew character. , .