CHINESE ARCHITECTURE. 691 



halls, as well as the plastic representation of divinities, the wor- 

 ship of idols, and many of their ritnal ceremonies. The Bnddhist 

 triad is replaced by an imposing triad of supreme deities called Shang 

 Ti, who preside over the jade paradise of the Taoist heavens; statues 

 of Lao Tzii and of the 8 immortals, called Pa Hsien, are posed in 

 prominent places; and there are separate shrines for the 3 star gods 

 of happiness, rank, and longevity, and for a multitude of lesser lights 

 of the faith whose name is legion. The sacrificial vases, candlesticks, 

 and incense burners, as well as the other ritual surroundings, bear 

 distinctive Taoist symbols and emblems. 



This slight sketch of Chinese architecture may be closed by a brief 

 reference to Mohammedanism, which counts in China some 25,000,000 

 adherents, so that the emperor rules as many Muslim subjects as the 

 British raj, about as many as the Sultan of Turkey and Shah of 

 Persia together. There are about 20,000 Muslim families in Peking, 

 with 11 mosques. Many of their shops and eating houses are marked 

 with the sign of the crescent, and they have almost a monopoly of cer- 

 tain trades, including drivers of carts and pack mules, horse dealers, 

 butchers, and public bath keepers. Every large city has its mosque, 

 the Chinese name of which, Li Pai Ssii, or " temple of ritual worship," 

 has been generally adopted by Protestant missionaries for their 

 churches. The most ancient Chinese mosque is that of the " Sacred 

 Souvenir '' at Canton, which is said to have been founded by Saad- 

 ibn-abu-AYaccas, maternal uncle of Mohannned, who is supposed to 

 have come to Canton to preach Islamism. This mosque was certainly 

 in existence in the ninth century, when there was an Arabian colony 

 in Canton. It was burned down in 1311, rebuilt soon after, and 

 again thoroughly restored in 1609. 



Chinese mosques resemble Buddhist temples in the fact that there 

 is nothing in their exterior to indicate the foreign origin of the 

 religion to which they belong. They are of Chinese style throughout, 

 with the exception of lines of verses from the Koran written on 

 the interior walls in Arabic script in the intervals of intricate scrolls 

 of the usual Muslim fornuda, which form the only motives of 

 decoration. The main building is divided into five naves by three 

 rows of wooden pillars, the ]\Iirhab, or wang-yu-lo, being at the end 

 of the central nave. The general impression, on entering, is one of 

 severe simplicity, contrasting strongly Avith the interior of a Buddhist 

 or Taoist temple full of gilded images and embroidered hangings. 

 The only furniture is one broad table of wood, carved in ordinary 

 Chinese style, near the entrance, on which is posed on a pedestal the 

 inevitable imperial tablet with the inscription " Wan sui wan wan 

 sui " (a myriad years, a myriad, myriad years), which is officially 

 prescribed for every temple, no matter what the faith, as a pledge 

 of the loyalty of the worshippers. An incense-burning apparatus 



