ciples of Lautsz' discourse upon Reason in a way that would befit the pages of the Dial, and the teachings of the ancient and modern transcendentalists are alike destitute of common sense and unproductive of good to their fellow-men. Dr. Medhurst quotes one of the Chinese Rationalists, who praises reason in a most rapturous rhapsody:

"What is there superior to heaven, and from which heaven and earth sprang? Nay, what is there superior to space and which moves in space? The great Tau is the parent of space, and space is the parent of heaven and earth, and heaven and earth produced men and things." "The venerable prince (Reason) arose prior to the great original, standing at the commencement of the mighty wonderful, and floating in the ocean of deep obscurity. He is spontaneous and self-existing, produced before the beginning of emptiness, commencing prior to uncaused existences, pervading all heaven and earth, whose beginning and end no years can circumscribe."

The sectarians suppose their founder was merely an impersonation of this power, and that he whom they call "the venerable prince, the origin of primary matter, the root of heaven and earth, the occupier of infinite space, the commencement of all things, further back than the utmost stretch of numbers can reach, created the universe." They notice three incarnations of him during the present epoch, one during the Shang dynasty, B. c. 1407, one at the time of Confucius, and a third about A. D. 623, when a man of Shansí reported having seen an old man, who called himself Laukiun. Only the priests of this sect are regarded as its members; they live in temples and small communities with their families, cultivating the ground attached to the establishment, and thus perpetuate their body; many lead a wandering life, and derive a precarious livelihood from the sale of charms and medical nostrums. They shave the sides of the head, and coil the rest of the hair in a tuft upon the crown, thrusting a pin through it; and are moreover recognised by their slate colored robes. They study astrology, and profess to have dealings with spirits, and their books contain a great variety of stories of priests who have done wonderful acts by their help; the Pastimes of the Study, already noticed, is one of these books, and Davis introduces a pleasant story of Chwang and his wife from another work. They long endeavored to find a beverage which * The Chinese, Vol. II., pp. 113-128.

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would insure longevity or immortality, and during the Tang dynasty, the emperor and highest officers were carried away with the delusion. The title of Heavenly Doctors was conferred on them, and a superb temple erected to Laukiun, containing his statue; examinations were ordered in A. D. 674, to be held in his Memoir on Reason, and some of the priests reached the highest honors in the state. Since that time they have degenerated, and are now looked upon as ignorant cheats and designing jugglers, who are quite as willing to use their magical powers to injure their enemies as to help those who seek their aid.

In some places, the votaries of Tau on the third day of the third month go barefoot over ignited charcoal; and on the anniversary of the birthday of the High Emperor of the Sombre Heavens, "they assemble together before the temple of this imaginary being, and having made a great fire, about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, go over it barefoot, preceded by the priests, and bearing the gods in their arms. The previous ceremonies consist in chanting prayers, ringing bells, sprinkling holy water, blowing horns, and brandishing swords in and over the flames in order to subdue the demon, after which they dart through the devouring element. They firmly assert that if they possess a sincere mind, they will not be injured by the fire, but both priests and people get miserably burnt on these occasions. Yet such is the delusion, and the idea the people entertain of the benefit

of these services, that they willingly contribute large sums to provide the sacrifices and pay the performers."*

This ceremony is practised in Fukhien and at Batavia, but is not very general, for the Chinese are the antipodes of the Hindus in their endurance and relish for such sufferings and austerities. The Rationalists worship a great variety of idols, among which Yuh-hwang Shangti is one of the highest; their pantheon also includes genii, devils, inferior spirits, and numberless other objects of worship. The Siu Shin Kí, or Records of Researches concerning the Gods, contains an account of the birth of the deity whose anniversary is celebrated as above described.

"There was once a childless emperor called Tsingtih, i. e. Pure Virtue, who summoned a large company of Tau priests to perform their rites in his behalf, and continued their worship half a year. The empress Pau Yueh-kwang, i. e. Gemmeous Moonlight, on a night dreamed that she saw the great and eminent Laukiun, together with a large number of superior deities, riding in particolored carriages with vast resplendent banners and shaded by bright variegated umbrellas. Here was the great founder Laukiun sitting in a dragon carriage, and holding in his arms a young infant, whose body was entirely covered with pores, from which unbounded splendors issued, illuminating the hall of the palace with every precious color. Banners and canopies preceded Laukiun as he came floating along. Then was the heart of the empress elated with joy, and reverently kneeling before him, said, 'At present our monarch has no male descendants, and I wishfully beseech you for this child, that he may become the sovereign of our hearts and altars. Prostrate I look up to your merciful kindness, earnestly imploring thee to commiserate and grant my request.' He at once answered, 'It is my special desire to present the boy to you;' whereupon she thankfully received him, and immediately returned from the pursuit of the dream, and found herself advanced a year in pregnancy. When the birth took place, a resplendent light poured forth from the child's body, which filled the whole country with brilliant glare. His entire countenance was super-eminently beautiful, so that none became weary in beholding him. When in childhood, he possessed the clearest intelligence and compassion, and taking the possessions of the country and the funds of the treasury, he distributed them to the poor and afflicted, the widowers and widows, orphans and childless, the houseless and sick, halt, deaf, blind, and lame.

"Not long after this, the demise of his father took place, and he succeeded to the government; but reflecting on the instability of life, he resigned his throne and its cares to his ministers, and repaired to the

* Medhurst's China, its State and Prospects, p. 168.

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hills of Puming, where he gave himself up to meditation, and being perfected in merit ascended to heaven to enjoy eternal life. He however descended to earth again eight hundred times, and became the companion of the common people to instruct them in his doctrines. After that he made eight hundred more journeys, engaging in medical practice, and successfully curing the people; and then another similar series, in which he exercised universal benevolence in hades and earth, expounded all abstract doctrines, elucidated the spiritual literature, magnanimously promulged the renovating ethics, gave glory to the widely spread merits of the gods, assisted the nation, and saved the people. During another eight hundred descents, he exhibited patient suffering, though men took his life, yet he parted with his flesh and blood. After this he became the first of the verified golden genii, and was denominated the pure and immaculate one, self-existing, of highest intelligence."*

These figments, which seem to be merely a transcript of the vagaries of the Hindu theosophists, and not the teachings of Lautsz,' still amuse his followers. The learned Confucianists laugh at their fables, but are still so much the prey of fears as to be often duped by them, and follow even when sure of being deceived.

The most popular religious sect is the Budhists, or the followers of Fuh, Fo, Făt, or Fuh-tu, whose tenets were introduced into China about A. D. 66, by means of an embassy sent to the west at the suggestion of the Rationalists, to seek for a wise man said to have appeared there; according to others, it arose from a remarkable expression of Confucius, "The people of the west have sages, or a sage." It may have been that this mission was excited by some indistinct tidings of the advent and death of Christ, though there is no trace of such a rumor having reached the land of Sinim: the Christian, however, is naturally led to speculate upon the results which might have followed if these men had been led, like the magians, to the land of Judea, and had returned with the knowledge of Him whom to know aright is life eternal. Many data have been collected by the industry of oriental scholars from Budhist books, relating to the rise and progress of this sect, and the leading features of its faith.

Budha is supposed to have been a human being, though some say he was the last avatar of Vishnu, who brought himself by contemplation to a state of purity and perfection, and spent his life in teaching his doctrines, which were received with such * Chinese Repository, Vol. X., p. 306.

success, that at his death, about B. c. 950, at the age of eighty, they had spread over all India. His name was Sarvarthasidda, and his father Suddhodana was king of Magadha in Bahar; he was during his life complimented by the titles Sakya-sinha and Sakya-muni, i. e. the "lion" or "devotee" of the race Sakya; and towards the end of his days was called Budha or the Sage. Gaudama, by which he is known in Siam and Birmah, appears to have been a patronymic; it has also been changed in the former tongue into Sommona-codom, i. e. the "ascetic Gaudama." This superstition, the least revolting and impure of the false religions which have deluded and afflicted mankind, has also reckoned the greatest number of devotees, if the entire population of the countries where it is known be included. Ceylon, Tibet, Siam, and Burmah, are the countries where it holds the least divided sway; but Cochinchina, China, Mongolia, Manchuria, Corea, Lewchew, and Japan, all contain more or less of its adherents and priests, though they cannot be called Budhist countries with the same strictness the first four are. In China, no one is called a Budhist except the priests and nuns, and the same is true in Japan and Lewchew, and probably in Corea, in all of which Budhism has no support from government, though approved by many officers.

Budhist priests are more numerous in China than the Tau sz', and they obtained influence more rapidly over the people. Their demonolatry allows the incorporation of the deities and spirits of other religions, and goes even further, in permitting the priests to worship the gods of other pantheons, so that they could adapt themselves to the popular superstitions of the countries they went to, and ingraft all the foreign spirits into their calendar they saw' fit. They had a good entrance into China through imperial favor, and as their rites presented nothing cruel or revolting, and their tenets held out promises of happiness hereafter, of which Confucius said nothing, the people naturally looked upon them with favor. The worship of the manes of ancestors, of spirits supposed to pervade and rule this world, and every superior power, was perfectly compatible with the reception of Budhism; and thus its priests gradually became the high priests of the popular superstition, and have since remained so. They first ingratiated themselves by making their services useful in the indigenous ritual, and were afterwards looked upon as necessary for its exe