Page 37 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

RELIGION.
9
emperor ; the vacant throne, or yellow screen, are equally
with his actual
worshipped presence ; an imperial despatch is
received in the with of incense and
provinces offerings prostra-
tion towards Peking, while no the
looking person may pass
outer gate of the palace on horseback, or in any vehicle. The
of the Chinese Government is submission to
great principle
to the as father of the nation, and
parental authority, emperor
to the individual as head of his family. From this springs the
custom of ancestral worship, which has ever been inculcated
by their philosophers and upheld by each successive dynasty,
until, by long use, the rites offered at the family shrine have
become the mainstay of the people, who believe the spirits of
those who loved them to be the power most likely to protect
"
and them. The "Hall of Ancestors be a mere
prosper may
shelf or shrine, a room set for the purpose or a
apart separate
to the means of the
building, according family. A tablet,
about twelve inches and three called
long inches wide, is
shin chii, or house of the spirit, having the name and date of
birth carved in the wood, while in a at the back
receptacle is
placed a paper, giving the names of the higher ancestors of
the These tablets are in
family. ranged chronological order,
and before them incense and papers are burned daily, the
members of the family rendering homage in the usual way.
About April, the pai shan, or " worshipping at the hills," is
observed, when men, women, and children alike visit their
and libations, with candles,
family tombs, carrying offerings
and incense for there to offer their
papers, burning, prayers
with the prescribed ceremonies ; the graves are repaired, and
of red and white back and front, held
long strips paper placed
down of turf, to show that the accustomed rites
by pieces
have been The Jesuits these
duly performed. considering
observances harmless, tolerated them in their converts ; but the
other Koman Catholic missionaries who arrived later, jealous,
to the who decided
perhaps, of their success, complained pope,
against the Jesuits, which led to the expulsion of the monks of
all varieties.