206 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



taxes in advance, but heavy taxes were also collected at least once 

 a year after that. Soldiers often helped themselves to the food and 

 other possessions of the people, and were frequently billeted in homes, 

 paying nothing for the privilege. They often took possession of 

 temples and used them as barracks without paying any rent, often 

 removing the idols and allowing no worship inside. The people gen- 

 erally disapproved, but they could do nothing about it. In Chengtu 

 34 temples were used as military barracks. 



Fourth in number in Chengtu were the temples occupied by chari- 



FiG. 10. — Classification of Chengtu temples ac- 

 cording to the amount of worship. 



table organizations. During the war the number of orphans and 

 lost or cast-away children increased greatly, and temples where 

 "warphans" were cared for were many. There were also temples 

 occupied by beggars and by very poor old people. A total of 32 tem- 

 ples were used by charitable organizations. 



Twenty-six temples were used as police stations. The police were 

 glad to get possession of a temple, for the buildings and the rooms 

 were large and convenient. They generally chose temples that were 

 strategically located so that they could move around the city quickly 

 and conveniently in an emergency. 



Seventh in number were the temples used by public officers. Gen- 

 erally their offices were not very large, and the temples could also 

 be used for worship or for other purposes. 



