428 Voyage of the Novara. 



tween tlie walls and the river, in wliicli all matters in dispute 

 between mercantile men are adjusted, and in conjunction 

 with which is a temple in honour of the goddess of the seas 

 (Tien-Mu). In the centre of the council-room is a large ele- 

 gantly-shaped iron pan (Schang-Lu), in which the merchants 

 and seamen frequenting the hall burn slips of paper, on 

 which are written the wishes of those making their offerings. 

 Also money, fruit, &c., are here sacrificed, and Chinese 

 mariners, whose "junks" have come unscathed through a 

 storm, or have been preserved, make their thank-offerings in 

 the shape of elegant little models of their ships, which are 

 placed in various parts of the building. This hall was 

 founded in 1270 by the Sung dynasty, on a site where cer- 

 tain Chinese believed they had observed that the tumultuous 

 tide of the Whampoa river gradually lost its violence, as it 

 approached the spot, a phenomenon which to them seemed 

 of marvellous significance. Under the Yuen and Mui dynas- 

 ties the temple was repeatedly plundered and burnt to the 

 ground, but was rebuilt through the influence of a Tao-priest. 

 In 1735, an imperial edict ordered the observance of certain 

 religious ceremonies from time to time, an example which 

 has been followed to the present day. 



Directly facing the goddess of the sea (called also Kwan- 

 Yin, Queen of Heaven),* who is represented by a life-size 



* We occasionally saw the Queen of Heaven (K wan-Yin) represented with a child 

 in her arms, and have in our possession a piece of carved work representing such a 

 group, which we purchased in a shop at Shanghai. This elegant figure seems to be 



