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Agriculture

(耕種)

The Chinese have pushed agriculture to a high pitch of perfection with very simple instruments of husbandry. The natural fertility of the soil, combined with the industry of the farmer, are productive of abundant crops of cereals under favourable conditions of weather. The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce has established experimental stations where efforts are being made to improve the culture of the various food products of the soil, and the Nanking Agricultural College has done much to advance modern methods of scientific farming.

The primitive Chinese plough is as ancient as the country, and is without colter or wheel, being merely a share point set in a very rude piece of bent wood, yet it answers the purpose remarkably well. It is generally harnessed to the yellow ox (牛), or to the water buffalo (水牛).

Grain culture is of such importance in the national life that the Emperor used to set the example to the people every spring by means of a ceremonial ploughing (躬耕) of “a sacred field with a highly ornamental plough kept for the purpose, the Emperor holding it while turning over three furrows, the princes five, and the high ministers nine.... A monstrous clay image of a cow is carried to the spot, containing or accompanied by hundreds of little similar images. After the field is ploughed it is broken up, and the pieces and small images are carried off by the crowd to scatter the powder on their own fields, in the hope of thereby insuring a good crop.”¹ This ceremony, also known as “meeting the spring” (迎春), or “beating the spring ox”(鞭春牛), though no longer carried out by the government officials, is still kept up in some of the country districts, where it is believed that its omission would result in disaster to the crops, and it is held at the period known as Lìchün (立春), which occurs about the 5th February, when the farmers have a holiday.

“A part of the iron of an old ploughshare is sometimes suspended on the outside of the clothing. At other times it is in a silver covering, having only a small part of the iron point projecting, or it is folded up neatly in a paper, and having been put into a small red bag, it is worn about the person.”² The object is to keep away evil spirits, to whom the sharp metal is objectionable.

Good harvests being essential to the well being of the people, the rain-bearing dragon, the sun-producing phoenix, the spirits of land and grain (社稷), the god of the soil (土神), etc., are duly propitiated by means of shrines erected in the fields. In fact a good deal of the mythology and superstition of the Chinese is bound up with the art of agriculture, which is said to have been originally taught to the people by the legendary Emperor Shén Nóng (神農), 2838–2698 B.C.

The Chinese Materia Medica (本草綱目), or Herbal, deals with 1,892 botanical and natural history species, and contains 8,160 prescriptions for medicinal use. It was the work of Lî Shízhēn (李時珍), who completed his task in 1578 after 26 years’ labour. There are also many other books on agriculture and botany, in which a wealth of detail and abundance of illustration have been recorded and transmitted from very ancient times.

Among the principle agricultural products of the country are rice, wheat, maize, gāolíang, millet, barley, oats, buckwheat, beans, peas, sesamum, rape, hemp, jute, ramie, taros, yams, sweet potatoes, marrows, and fruit of many kinds.

“The great defect in Chinese agriculture—ignorance of methods of improving the seed by selection and crossing—is a particularly serious drawback in the cultivation of rice.”³

“A Chinese family consisting of three generations could live comfortably on a piece of ground scarcely large enough to place the implements of many an American farm. There may or may not be a horse to help to till the ground; probably there will be a cow, a buffalo or a donkey. Human labour is the main source of energy, and the farmer, his wife and children all work unremittingly, bestowing individual attention to each root, almost to each stalk that grows. The ubiquitous pig, a great factor in Chinese agricultural economy, is often an inmate of house as well as of shed. . . . The water-wheel is used in farming for raising water from a running stream or pond to irrigate fields. It is made entirely of bamboo and wood, no metal being employed. It is supported by a framework of bamboo poles placed close to the bank on to which the water is to be raised. When this is taken from a stream the wheel is driven by the pressure of the water against flat pieces of wood attached to the periphery to which are also fastened bamboo tubes. These tubes fill with the water as they pass through it and as the revolution of the wheel carries them to the top they discharge into a trough from which the irrigating canals radiate. In places where the water is stationary the wheel is turned by men treading on it. Wheels of this kind are sometimes over 30 feet in diameter.”⁴

The Chinese symbol for “well”, jîng (井), is an agricultural key-word denoting fields anciently laid out along the lines of this character. Each jîng was divided into nine plots. To eight families were assigned the eight exterior plots, the one in the centre, containing a well with four roads leading to it, being reserved to be worked in common on behalf of the State. Thus China began with an equalized system of land tenure and taxation. The word for “earth” is denoted by the symbol (土), of which the upper line is the surface soil, and the lower the sub-soil or rocky substratum, while the central stroke represents the vegetation; the word “field” (田), unmistakably portrays the dykes of the rice or “paddy” fields; while the character for “man” or “male” is a combination of “power” and “field” (男), literally “labour in the fields”; the sign for “rice” (米) is a figure depicting four grains divided by the form +, expressing the separation by threshing. These derivations illustrate the vital importance of agriculture to the Chinese from time immemorial.

Alarm-staff

(警杖)

Sanskrit, Hikile or Khakhara. A staff with a leaf-like loop at the top, with jingling rings, carried by the mendicant monk to drown by its jingling all worldly sounds from the ears of the holder and to warn off small animals lest they be trod upon and killed. Buddha is said to have possessed a “pewter staff ” (錫杖), the shaft of which was made of sandalwood, and the head and rings of pewter. Sometimes a priest wears clogs with only one cross-piece instead of two to make the least possible sacrifice of creeping life.

The primary laws of Buddhism forbid the taking of animal life under any circumstances whatever. Were these laws rigidly observed, the lives of obnoxious insects, reptiles, etc., would be inviolate. They are, however, practically disregarded, except in relation to some of the larger animals, though birds are generally kindly treated by the Chinese, and considerable merit is believed to accrue to those who purchase fish, tortoises, etc., at religious festivals, and return them to their natural element.

Amber

(號拍)

Amber, which is a fossilized resin exuded in ages past by certain extinct species of pine-trees, is found in China in the Province of Yunnan, embedded in the earth. It was first mentioned in the first century A.D.

Ordinary amber is known to the Chinese by the name of 號拍 (hûpō) a term which is derived from 虎魄 (hûpō), meaning “the soul of a tiger,” the latter term originating in the old Chinese tradition that when a tiger dies its spirit enters into the ground and becomes transformed into a mineral. Hence this substance is popularly regarded as symbolic of courage, being supposed to be imbued with the qualities of that fierce animal. The variety known as “blood amber” (血拍) is chiefly used in Chinese medicine as an aphrodisiac, but here again its power is chiefly emblematic of its supposed origin.

The value of true amber depends upon the size, form, colour, and transparency of the product. There are numerous imitations made of sheep’s horn, copal, shellac, resin, celluloid and glass.

Amitabha

(阿彌陀佛)

Lit: Boundless Light. Amida Buddha. The abbreviated form of Namah Amitabha (南無阿彌陀佛), “Hear us, O Amida Buddha!” His image is often seen in the second court of the Buddhist monastery by the side of the figure of SHÂKYAMUNI BUDDHA (q. v.).

This popular Buddha came to the front early in the 5th century A.D. There are various traditions as to his origin. He is said by some to be an incarnation of the ninth son of the ancient Buddha Maha bhidjna bhibhu, by others the second son of a certain Indian of the lunar race, or again, the celestial reflex of SHÂKYAMUNI BUDDHA.

Amitabha is also known as the Impersonal Buddha. He is an object of popular devotion, and is believed to preside over the Paradise of the West, the Pure Land, into which the souls of the pious may be born, there to rest in bliss for a long age.

Amusements

(玩耍)

The principle amusements of the Chinese are of a very simple nature, and although football, tennis, and other athletic games are gradually becoming popular among the younger generation, the average individual does not usually indulge in sports which entail any considerable amount of physical exertion.

Young children may often be seen pitching coppers, fighting quails or crickets, or guessing the number of seeds in an orange.“Among their out-of-door amusements, a very common one is to play at shuttlecock with the feet. A circle of some half a dozen keep up in this manner the game between them with considerable dexterity, the thick soles of their shoes serving them in lieu of battledores, and the hand being allowed occasionally to assist.”⁵

There is scarcely any one vice to which the Chinese are so generally addicted as gambling; it prevails among rich and poor, young and old, and to the injury of all. There are various games of cards (紙牌); an ordinary pack of cards consists of 160, about 2 1/2 by 3/4 inches in size, with black backs; throwing dice (殺子), and playing dominoes (牙牌), are also extensively practised; fāntān (番灘), a gambling game played with brass cash, is common in South China; májiàng (麻將), is played with 136 dominoes called “tiles”, which take the place of playing-cards. The tiles have numbers and also suits—the winds, dragons, Chinese characters, bamboos and circles. At the beginning of the game the “tiles” are arranged in a square “court,” which has four walls, each 17 tiles long and two tiles high. The walls are built indiscriminately. The player taking the last wall breaks the square by extracting two tiles. Each player then takes 13 tiles in turn. From this point the players start making sets and sequences of tiles, as in poker. Fresh tiles are taken in turn and discarded tiles thrown into the court. Points are awarded according to the values of the tiles and the various sets and sequences made. Cāimù (猜枚), or Guess-fingers, is a regular amusement at dinner parties. The Game of Promotion (陸官圖), is a favourite with the Chinese. It is played on a board or plan representing an official career from the lowest to the highest grade, according to the imperial system. It is a kind of ludo played with four dice, the object of each player being to secure promotion over the others. Wēiqí (圍棋), or “surrounding checkers,” is played with black and white counters on a board of 324 squares, while xiàngqí (象棋), or “elephant checkers,” is a game distinctly analagous to Western chess.

“A favourite amusement is the flying of kites. They are made of paper and silk, in imitation of birds, bats, butterflies, lizards, spectacles, fish, men, and other objects; but the skill shown in flying them is more remarkable than the ingenuity displayed in their construction.”⁶ Not only boys, but grown men, take part in this amusement, and the sport sometimes consists in trying to bring down each other’s kites by dividing the strings, which are rubbed together. The ninth day of the ninth moon is a festival devoted to kite-flying all over the land. On this day the people repair to the highest piece of ground or the loftiest roofs available, and employ their time in flying kites and drinking wine in which chrysanthemum petals have been soaked. The origin of this custom has to be sought for nearly a thousand years ago. Legend has it that during the later Hàn Dynasty a certain Huán Jîng (桓景), of Rûnán (汝南), pupil of the magician Fèi Chāngfáng (費長房), was suddenly warned by the latter to betake himself with his family to a high mountain, to escape a calamity which was destined to overtake the district in which he lived. On the mountain-top he was bidden to wear a bag containing fragments of dog-wood (Evodia rutaecarpa), and to drink wine in which the petals of chrysanthemums had been soaked, to ward off evil influences. These injunctions he obeyed to the letter, and was rewarded by escaping from an overwhelming catastrophe which destroyed his flocks and herds in the plain below. In memory of this signal deliverance, people on this day go up annually to the mountains and hills in imitation of Huán Jîng. The kite-flying, which is now invariably associated with these expeditions, finds no foundation in the original fable, and was very likely suggested by the combination of circumstances, a high elevation, and a fresh autumn breeze. It is also said that kites are flown in honour of Mèng Jiā (孟嘉), 4th century, A.D., of whom it is recorded that, when his hat was blown off by the wind at a picnic, he remained quite unconscious of his loss. Kites (風事), were used as early as the 2nd century B.C. for purposes of military signalling. To some kites a kind of Aeolian harp is attached. Bamboo frames, with fire-crackers attached are sometimes sent up the string, the crackers being timed to explode on reaching the top.

Theatrical entertainments constitute a common amusement, and are often arranged by the priests for the ostensible purpose of repairing their temples (vide DRAMA).

“The general and local festivals of the Chinese are numerous, among which the first three days of the year, one or two about the middle of April to worship at the tombs, the two solstices, and the festival of dragon boats, are common days of relaxation and merry-making; only on the first, however, are the shops shut and business suspended.”⁷ (Vide ANCESTRAL WORSHIP, DRAGON, FIRE).

Ânanda

(阿難)

“A first cousin of SHÂKYAMUNI (q. v.), and born at the moment when he attained to Buddhaship. Under Buddha’s teaching, Ânanda became an Arhat, and is famous for his strong and accurate memory; and he played an important part at the first council for the formation of the Buddhist canon. The friendship between Shâkyamuni and Ânanda was very close and tender; and it is impossible to read much of what the dying Buddha said to him and of him, as related in the Mahâparinirvâna Sûtra, without being moved almost to tears. Ânanda is to reappear on earth as Buddha in another Kalpa.”⁸

Ancestral Worship

(祭祖)

A very ancient cult of the Chinese, consisting in the honours paid to the manes or departed spirits, either at the grave-side, or before the ancestral tablets set up in the house. The tablet is generally about twelve inches long and three inches wide, bearing the name and date of birth, and having a receptacle at the back, containing a paper setting forth the names of the more remote family ancestors. Incense is burnt and ceremonial offerings of food are made in honour of the dead; the worship on the hills (拜山), or at the tomb, takes place in spring and autumn.

The filial piety, which is so great a moral asset of the people, has its origin in ancestral worship. If the departed souls are not reverenced, it is believed that they will work evil upon their living kindred. “Filial piety,” said Confucius, “consists in obedience; in serving one’s parents when alive according to propriety; in burying them when dead according to propriety; and in sacrificing to them according to propriety.” The reviling of a person’s ancestors is regarded as the worst form of abusive language.

All Souls’ Day, or the Buddhist Festival of Departed Spirits, is called in Chinese Yú Lân Pén Huì (孟蘭盆會), Sanskrit, Ullambana, lit.: “the vessel to hold offerings.” It is celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th moon, chiefly for the purpose of saying masses for the solitary souls (孤魂), of those who died away from home, and have nobody to perpetuate their memories by ancestral worship. During the Festival of Tombs, qïngmíng (清明), at the end of the 2nd moon, occasion is also taken for the worship of departed spirits. This festival is also for the purpose of celebrating the spring, and was originally the time for the rekindling of the cooking fires, which were supposed to be put out for three days, when cold food (寒食), was eaten by all the people.

Ant

(媽議)

The composition of the written symbol for the ant denotes that it is the righteous (義), insect (虫), in reference to its orderly marching and subordination.

The internal arrangements of the chambered nest of earth, in which the ants maintain a perfect system of order, store their provisions, and nurture their young on the milk of the aphis, have been described by Chinese writers with considerable accuracy.

The white ant (白嬉), or termite, in its larval stage, commits great depredations upon the woodwork of buildings in South China. It is sometimes attacked and destroyed by a species of small black ant. A variety of pine-wood (眞杉木), is said to resist the ravages of white ants, and is therefore employed for the construction of the beams and joists of Chinese houses.

The ant is the emblem of virtue and patriotism, but at the same time it symbolises self-interest, and striving for filthy lucre, as evidenced in the metaphorical expression: “Ants cling to what is rank smelling” (羣織附獲), which has this significance. The Chinese people have been compared to ants, on account of the manner in which they overcome difficulties by dint of mere numbers; while they resemble these minute animals no less in their persevering and untiring industry.

Apple

(薩果)

The true apple, Malus sylvestris, is not cultivated in China; the varieties found are more akin to M. prunifolia, being handsome in appearance but of poor flavour.

The wild crab-apple M. baccata (山), is very abundant in the North. The small cherry-apple, Pyrus spectabilis (海棠), is also common.

Apple blossom is sometimes employed as a decorative motive, and is regarded as an emblem of feminine beauty. On account of the similarity in the sound of the Chinese word for “apple,” píng (藤), and “peace,” píng (平), the gift of a few apples suggests the idea of perpetual concord, and is equivalent to the greeting,“Peace be with you.”

Apricot

(杏)

Prunus armeniaca. Many varieties of apricot are grown in terraces on the hill-sides in North China. The edible kernels (杏核), take the place of almonds, which they resemble.

The fruit is an emblem of the fair sex, and the slanting eyes of Chinese beauties are often compared to the ovoid kernels.

The following lines are ascribed to Sòng Zîjïng (宋子京) A.D. 998–1061, President of the Board of Works and a celebrated author:

“The scholar has reaped the reward that is due,

And homeward returns on his wearying steed;

When the blossoming apricots come into view,

He urges his charger to bear him with speed.”

(一 色 杏 花 紅 十 里 元 歸 去 馬 上 飛)

Architecture

(建築)

“It is generally supposed that the remote ancestors of this nation, in their migration eastward, dwelt in tents: their circumstances would require such habitations; and when they became stationary, their wants would prompt them to seek some more substantial covering from the heat and the storm. But the tent was the only model before them; and that they imitated it, their houses and pagodas, built at the present day, afford abundant proof. The roof, concave on the upper side, and the verandah with its slender columns, show most distinctly the original features of the tent.”⁹

The fact that the Chinese roof is curved in its pitch, and also at the corners, is also explained by the Zhōu Lî (周禮), or “Ritual of the Zhōu Dynasty,” in the chapter on building rules, which states that the angle or pitch of the roof near the ridge should be greater than the pitch near the eaves, because the greater incline at the top enables the rain-water to flow with greater velocity, while the gentle upward slope at the bottom throws it out some distance from the wall of the house.

The first brick houses are said to have been built by the tyrant Emperor Jiè Kuí (架癸), 1818 B.C. The earliest type of brick used by the Chinese, and still used to a large extent in making houses throughout the country districts in the smaller towns, was moulded by hand between boards and sun-dried. The curved roof is constructed on wooden pillars, the spaces between which are filled in with stone or brickwork.

The original style of Chinese architecture is altogether different to that of the West. In building an ordinary house, the foundation is made by digging a shallow trench, wherein are placed a few rough-hewn stones, not laid as wedges, but filling in angles, and thus mutually supporting each other; four or more pillars of wood are then set upon, not into the mud of which the floor is to be made, standing each on a small slab of stone, thicker or thinner, if any dissimilarity in the length of the several pillars must be made up; four crossbeams make the framework on which the roof is to be laid, being of rafters and loose tiles; lastly rise walls of mud or bricks. The walls having little or no connection with the roof or the pillars, do not always follow the same line but may incline outward or inward. The roof, if a little top-heavy, as it generally is, gives a jaunty air to the pillars, and, to lend the additional support which seems so much needed, large sloping beams or buttresses are driven into the earth at each side of the house. The pillars, ceiling, and roof are then daubed with red paint, the walls plastered, and, if the purse and taste of the proprietor permit, gilded tablets inscribed with the old Chinese character, gay flowers, and grotesque monsters in paint or relief, cover the walls and cornices; altars and niches for idols being added if space will allow.

“Houses are frequently built against some hill, if there be any. Where wood is abundant, they are constructed of it, being supported by posts, between which is a kind of coarsely woven mat-work, covered with mud and then whitened with lime. The pieces of timber-work perfectly joined and exposed to view, are, so to speak, like a frame that may be taken to pieces, and transported from place to place at pleasure. When there is a scarcity of wood, the walls are constructed of bricks, mud, or stone, and the roof of gutter tiles or thatch. In the province of Kwangtung, the houses are almost all of bricks, having scarcely anything but a ground floor. In cities, many have an upper storey, or more properly a garret. They must not equal the temples in height, a thing which would expose him, who might be so daring as to attempt it, to a lawsuit, and his house to demolition. As to the interior, the apartments are badly distributed, and badly ventilated. Instead of glass there are latticed windows prettily carved and covered with silk paper. The first apartment entered is the hall for the reception of strangers, which is likewise the dining-room, and extends through the house, or the main building, if there are several edifices united. From this hall we pass on to the other apartments, which no person, not even a kinsman, can enter, unless he be a very near relative. There is no floor except in the houses of the wealthy, and no ceiling unless there be an upper storey. Seen at a distance, the better Chinese houses present a pretty appearance but the interior by no means corresponds to the outside. As they are generally of only one storey, an individual sometimes occupies as many as three contiguous buildings, and hence it is not surprising that their towns should occupy a great space. In front of the house there is always a pretty yard or court, which serves for drying rice, threshing, and divers other purposes; the rear and sides are environed with trees or bamboos, and if there are several main buildings, they are separated by inner courts.

“The temples, much higher than dwelling houses, have usually a beautiful front, supporting a stage for actors. The corners of the roof, which is sharper than that of a private edifice, are turned up in the manner of a cornice, and on the right and left of the entrance, are placed huge lions in stone, of inferior sculpture. After passing the portal, we enter a spacious court surrounded by long galleries resting upon columns. At the further extremity of this is the proper temple, where are figures in wood or stone of various colours, which, though varnished and gilded, are for the most part very hideous. Before these are set open dishes, and large vases, bearing lights and incense burnt in honour of the gods. At the side are one or two iron bells and a large drum. Besides the principal edifice, which is properly the sanctuary, there are lateral apartments where the priests lodge. A temple built against a rock, upon a hill, or in the midst of a grove, presents to the eye a very picturesque view. The Chinese erect upon certain eminences towers of many stories in height. These are of a hexagonal or octagonal shape, and much overtop the temples. Each storey supports a jutting roof, which does not so much serve to shade the gallery under it, as to contribute to the beauty of the structure. Such towers are built in the neighbourhood of cities, not at all for their defence, but to secure prosperity to the inhabitants, and to avert calamities.”¹⁰

Superstition accounts for the prejudice against two-storied buildings, or of any building dwarfing its immediate neighbours, as this deprives the humbler dwelling of Heaven’s guardianship. Height is also limited by the belief that good spirits soar through the air at a height of 100 feet, a restriction of moment only in gate temples and other buildings on city walls. Climate and the belief that good spirits blow from the south have decided the orientation of buildings with a southern aspect and windowless north walls. The abhorrence of a tortuous path, which is a characteristic of evil spirits, has given us the spirit walls which defend so many gateways. For the same reason we have the upcurved roof ridge with its dragon finials.

The most striking features in the best native buildings are the roofs and gables, with their ridges and fantastic gargoyles (龍頭), of plaster or porcelain. These gargoyles represent various creatures perched in single file on the angles of the roof, each one cast in a single piece with the tile on which it is resting. The origin of the figures is as follows:

“In the year 283 B.C. the cruel tyrant, Prince Mín, of the State of Qí, after being defeated by a combination of other states, was strung up to the end of a roof ridge and left hanging there without food or water, exposed to the burning rays of the sun until he died. In order to stigmatize his evil deeds the people of the State of Qí placed his effigy, riding a hen, on the roof of their houses. With the weight of the prince on its back, the hen could not fly down to the ground, and in order to prevent it escaping over the roof, a qíwén, a kind of dragon, was placed at the other end of the ridge. This is the fierce beast you see, with horns and bushy tail and its mouth wide open, as if to swallow Prince Mín and the hen, if they venture near him. It was not until the time of the Míng Emperor Yônglè that the other figures were added. A correct set was put together in the following order: hen, dragon, phoenix, lion, unicorn, celestial horse, qíwén. If more were required, any of the figures could be repeated, with the exception of the hen and the qíwén, but always so as to form an odd number up to eleven. The reason for this was that odd numbers come under the influence of yáng or Male Principle. However, in later times both the principle of odd numbers and the conventional arrangement of the set were departed from. In most cases the only figures that were used, between the hen and the qíwén, were those that foreigners call dogs, but which are really lions. Moreover, since the latter days of the Republic, even the hen with Prince Mín was removed from the roofs of public buildings, so as to prevent, it is said, any possible unpleasant political comparisons.”¹¹ It is a custom of the Chinese builders, on fixing the upper beam of the roof of a building, to let off fireworks and worship it, or the spirits that preside over the ground on which the house stands. To suspend a piece of red cloth, and a corn-sieve, from the upper beam, is supposed to promote felicity—the latter to cause an abundant harvest of grain during the year. Placing money beneath the base of a wall or below the threshold of a door is also done for the promotion of happiness and felicity on the building. Pine branches are affixed at the top of the scaffolding poles on which the builders stand, so that wandering spirits of the air will be deceived into the belief that they are passing over a forest, and will not adversely affect the success of the construction work, or bring bad luck on the house.

“Engraved rocks are seen in China, though the practice is not carried to the same extent as in Persia, India, and other eastern countries, to commemorate remarkable events, for the literature of the people obviates the necessity. The smoothed surface of rocks in situ are, however, engraved with characters under the direction of geomancers, when they lie in spots esteemed lucky; such characters are supposed to have some cabalistic influence upon the fortunes of the surrounding country. The pillars and door-posts of temples, and the entablatures of honorary portals are often inscribed with sentences and names; sometimes to commemorate distinguished or worthy individuals, and sometimes merely for ornament’s sake; the skill displayed in cutting these inscriptions is at times almost inimitable. The government also employs this mode of publishing their laws and regulations, just as the Romans anciently published their Twelve Tables, which are, as the officers say, to be kept in everlasting remembrance; the characters are plainly and deeply engraved upon marble, and the slab is afterwards set up in a conspicuous spot in such a manner as to preserve it from the effects of the weather.”¹²

“Memorial arches (牌樓), are scattered in great numbers over the provinces, and are erected in honour of distinguished persons, or by officers to commemorate their parents (formerly), by special favour from the Emperor. Some are put up in honour of women who have distinguished themselves for their chasity and filial duty. Permission to erect them is considered a high honour. They are placed in conspicuous places in the outskirts of towns, and in the streets before temples or near government edifices. Some of these arches are elaborately ornamented with carved work and inscriptions. Those built of stone are fastened by mortises and tenons in the same manner as the wooden ones; they seldom exceed twenty or twenty-five feet in height. The skill and taste displayed in the symmetry and carving upon some of them are very creditable.”¹³

The architecture of old Peking is full of symbolism (vide NEZHA). It has a beautiful appearance as viewed from the surrounding wall, from which can be seen an entrancing vista of temples and palaces, their curving roofs glittering with blue, green and yellow tiles, among the groves of trees with which the city abounds. The ancient capital presents a rather unique aspect from an aeroplane, from which we can observe that it is not only one city, but a veritable conglomeration or nest of cities, one packed within the other—like a Chinese puzzle. The shape of the whole collection is that of a square imposed upon a parallelogram. This square figure, in the north, consists of the Tartar or Inner City, while the adjoining parallelogram in the south contains the Chinese or Outer City. In the centre of the Tartar City is the Forbidden City, surrounded by the Imperial Palaces, which are open to the public on payment of a small fee. At one time they held many valuable treasures, most of which have since been removed by the Government. The main city and all its internal cities are each surrounded with separate battlemented walls of earth, concrete and brick.

Among the noted achievements of the Chinese are their great roads, numerous canals, and immense single-arched bridges; but above all the “Ten Thousand Li Rampart”(萬里長城), or Great Wall, which traverses high mountains, crosses deep valleys, spans broad rivers, and extends to a length of 1,500 miles.

In modern times there is a tendency among the Government Officials and the wealthy classes to conform more or less to the styles of western architecture, and factories have now been built which are turning out firebricks, stoneware piping, glazed tiles, flint line tiles, roofing tiles, drain-pipes, foundation bricks, and ordinary building bricks.

Astrology

(星命)

There is an intimate connection between geomancy, horoscopy, astronomy, and astrology, and it is difficult to determine precisely where the one begins and the other ends.

Climatic changes (風水), are said to be produced by the moral conduct of the people through the agency of the sun, moon, and stars.

The YIN and YANG (q. v.), and the FIVE ELEMENTS (q. v.), together with the EIGHT DIAGRAMS (q. v.), enter largely into Chinese astrological calculations.

The planets are classed as: shâoyïn (少陰), or Lesser Negative Influence; the fixed stars as shâoyáng (少陽), or Lesser Positive Influence; the sun, tàiyáng (太陽), Major Positive Influence; and the moon, tàiyïn (太陰), Major Negative Influence; their potency varying according to their positions in the zodiac (道), and the twelve divisions of the ecliptic (十二宮). These twelve divisions or mansions mark the twelve places at which the sun and moon come into conjunction, and each has its distinguishing name as follows:- (1) 降妻; (2) 大梁; (3) 實沉; (4) 鶴首; (5) 鶴火; (6) 鶴尾; (7) 壽星; (8) 大火; (9) 析木; (10) 星紀; (11) 元持; (12) 她譬. They are in some degree analagous to our signs of the zodiac, and also correspond to the animals and hours of the TWELVE TERRESTRIAL BRANCHES (q. v.). The zodiac is divided into 28 constellations (vide STARS).

In the computation of a fortunate time to undertake any given enterprise, a favourable combination of the eight horoscopic characters is arrived at. These eight characters are the four pairs of characters representing the year, month, day, and hour. The characters denoting the year are those of the Twelve Branches and Celestial Stems in the Chinese cycle (vide CYCLE OF SIXTY). Those denoting the month are the combinations of Branches and Stems assigned to that month (vide Table of Months under MOON), being the epoch in the annual cycle. Those denoting the day are the combinations of Branches and Stems assigned in the lunar calendar to that day, being the epoch in the lunar monthly cycle. Those denoting the hour are the combinations of Branches and Stems representing that hour (vide TWELVE TERRESTRIAL BRANCHES and TEN CELESTIAL STEMS), being the epoch in the daily solar cycle. By considering the mutual affinities of these eight characters as referred to the Yin and Yang, Five Elements, etc., the good or bad auspices of any undertaking may be determined. The same system applies to birth, death, and marriage, and in fortune-telling. The eighty cyclical characters (八字), pertaining to the time of birth, are communicated between betrothed persons and occasionally between bosom friends or sworn brothers. Chinese calendars are often made up in the style of Old Moore’s Almanac, with full directions as to omens and portents, and what undertakings can best be carried out on each particular day, all worked out by the rules of astrology.

The appearances of comets, and eclipses of the sun and moon, are believed to have a malign influence over the affairs of men.“In an astrological sense Mars symbolises fire, and rules the summer season. It is the author of punishments, and is the producer of sudden confusion. Saturn represents earth, and, when it meets Jupiter in the same ‘house,’ it portends good fortune to the empire. If, however, Saturn, with the four other planets, should appear white and round, mourning and drought are in store for the country; if red, disturbances are to be expected, and troops will take the field; if green, floods are to be looked for; if black, sickness and death will spread over the land; and if yellow, a time for prosperity is at hand. Venus represents gold, and is deemed a complacent planet, but, while in many of its phases it foretells peace and plenty, it at other times presages the movements of troops, and the disruption of the empire. If it at first looms large, and afterwards small, the national forces will be weak, and if contrarywise, they will be strong. If it appears large and extended, trouble will fall upon princes and nobles, and military expeditions, then undertaken, will begin fortunately and end with disaster; but, if it should appear compact and small, campaigns which begin in misfortune will end successfully. Mercury symbolises water, and, when seemingly of a white colour, it forecasts drought; when yellow, the crops will be scorched up; when red, soldiers will arise; and when black, floods are at hand. If it appears large and white in the East, troops beyond the frontier will disperse; if red, the Middle Kingdom will be victorious; in certain conjunctions with Venus, it portends great battles in which strangers will be victorious; and if it approaches Venus, several tens of thousands of men will meet in strife, and the men and ministers of the ruler will die.”¹⁴ (Vide also ASTRONOMY, FENG SHUI, MOON, STARS, SUN).

Astronomy

(天文)

Astronomy has from time immemorial been a favourite study with the Chinese, and the literature on the subject is extensive. Their knowledge of this science is considerable though not profound.“It has enabled them to calculate eclipses and to recognise the precession of the equinoxes, but it has left them with confused notions on subjects which are matters of common knowledge among western peoples. The earth, according to their notions, is flat, immovable, and square, measuring about 1,500 miles each way. The sun, the diameter of which is 333 miles, stands at a distance of 4,000 miles above it, but considerably below the sideral heaven, the distance of which from the earth has been found, by ‘the method of right-angled triangles, to be 81,394 li (3 li = 1 mile), 30 paces, 5 feet, 3 inches, and six-tenths of an inch! The months and seasons are determined by the revolution of Ursa Major. The tail of the constellation pointing to the east at nightfall announces the arrival of spring, pointing to the south the arrival of summer, pointing to the west the arrival of autumn, and pointing to the north the arrival of winter.”¹⁵

The Imperial Board of Astronomy (欽天監), was founded in the 13th century and joined to the Ministry of Public Instruction in 1913. Its chief function was the preparation, printing, and distribution of the calendar, which was a government monopoly. The Jesuit missionaries have done much in the development of the science of astronomy and regulation of the lunar calendar in China. The old Peking Observatory (觀星台) contains a number of bronze astronomical instruments, many of which date from the 13th century; some of these were removed by the Germans after the Boxer outbreak of 1900, and returned in 1921. (Vide also ASTROLOGY, MOON, SUN).

Axe

(斧)

Sanskrit, Parasu. The character fû (斧), axe, is said to be analogous to fû (甫), to begin, because to make any wooden article it is necessary to begin by cutting down a tree. In fashioning an axe-handle it is necessary to have another as a model; in contracting a marriage it is necessary to have a go-between; hence the axe has become symbolic of the marriage go-between.

It is one of the weapons or insignia pertaining to some of the Buddhist deities, and it is also the emblem of Lü Bān (魯班), a famous mechanic, who lived in the State of Lü about 500 B.C., and is now worshipped as the God of Carpenters.

Azalea

(杜嶋花)

“The Chinese botanists having observed that several Ericaceous and Solanaceous plants, having stamens whose anthers open by pores at the apex, are strongly narcotic, have lumped together species of Azalea, Andromeda, Rhododendron and Hyoscyamus under this heading.”¹⁶ The principal varieties are the nàoyánghuā (鬧羊花), or yángzhízhú, (羊歸獨), lit.: “goat-stupefying flower,” a species of Hyoscyamus; the Azalea procumbens or “tiger flower” (老虎花), and the Azalea pontica (杜鳴).

In the north-eastern provinces the hills are adorned with azaleas of gorgeous hue, especially in the neighbourhood of Ningpo and Wenchow. It is difficult to convey any idea of the charming aspect of these azalea-clad mountains, where on every side the eye rests on masses of flowers of dazzling brightness and surpassing beauty.

Prophylactic properties are attributed to the dried flowers of these handsome but poisonous plants, which are prescribed in rheumatism, paralysis, bronchitis, toothache, abscess, etc., on the Chinese principle that one poison must be counteracted by another.

The azalea is a great favourite, and provides a brilliant motif in painting and artistic decoration. It is an emblem of the fair sex.