CHINESE BUDDHISM. 



533 



memorized text from the " classics " ; but in matters of general 

 interest they are often the merest children in knowledge. They 

 are recruited from all classes of society, but most generally from 

 the so-called literary class. They are strictly celibates, and are 

 vegetarians in living. Priests are exempt from the law which 

 requires every other male Chinaman to wear the crown-locks 

 braided in a queue, while the rest of the head is smoothly 

 shaved. 



Formerly the custom of scalp-taking in the event of conquest 

 was observed by the Tartars and Chinese (from whom the cus- 

 tom was handed down through their successors in this country, 

 he Indians) ; but when the Tartars subjugated China they issued 

 a decree that all who would shave their scalps, except the scalp- 

 locks, in token of subjection, and wear that in a braided queue, to 

 be ready to be removed if emergency should arise, would have 

 their lives spared. It is not recorded how many refused to accept 

 the conditions, but the queue on the head of every Chinaman to- 

 day is the flag of truce, as it were, and by it he is counted loyal 

 to his conquerors ; but the priests were exempted from this rule, 

 owing, no doubt, to the custom already in vogue among them of 

 shaving the head clean as a mark of humility. 



The priests live in the temples, having no other home. The 

 temples are located in the most inaccessible places in mountains 

 and on islands, and often cover acres of land. They are void of 

 architectural beauty or effect, and consist of a main auditorium, 

 with a succession of sheds attached, windowless and plain. The 

 main room is furnished with an altar, on which is placed an im- 

 age, generally of wood, of Buddha, sitting upon an imitation 

 lotus leaf, and on either side of this image are other images of 

 lesser lights in the calendar of saints who are supposed to be 

 especially celebrated in Buddhist annals. In front of these fig- 

 ures incense-sticks burn day and night. These are made of dried 

 aromatic wood reduced to fine powder and mixed into paste with 

 oil and then put on splinters of dry wood, the lower end of which 

 is stuck into a vase of sand and the upper end lighted, which burns 

 slowly without a blaze, the curling, slender volume of smoke shed- 

 ding forth an odor which counteracts the damp, musty smells of 

 the old stone walls and sunless rooms. 



The sheds attached serve as living-rooms for the priests and 

 as guest-chambers for pilgrims and travelers. 



At intervals around the walls of the audience-room stand the 

 images of other saints in the calendar, which includes eighteen 

 or more principal characters. These are not intended to repre- 

 sent deities, as many people suppose, but simply symbolize and 

 preserve the memories of the men who figured prominently in 

 the past history of the religion. They are supposed to represent 



