364 CHINA. 



who die at the monastery are burnt. The whole institution is 

 more or less in decay ; the monks do not act up to the rules 

 of their order. 



Chinese are especially tasteful in arranging flower decora- 

 tions. At a Chinese dinner at which I was present, and which 

 was most hospitably arranged for us by Mr. R. Rowitt, one of 

 the Hong Kong merchants, the entire walls of the room in 

 which the entertainment took place were covered with most 

 beautiful flowers set in tasteful patterns in a backing of 

 moss. 



The dining-table was closely packed with dishes of most 

 varied kinds, tastefully ornamented and arranged. There 

 were absolutely no bare spaces, a display of profusion being 

 evidently intended. I was astonished to find as a condiment 

 in the sauce of some stewed pigeons, specimens of the well- 

 known but curious Cordyceps sinensis. This is a fungus which 

 attacks and kills the caterpillars of certain moths ; the fungus 

 penetrates the tissues of the living larva, and after the latter 

 has buried itself in the ground in order to assume the pupa 

 state, the fungus throws out above ground a long stem from 

 the dead body of the larva. 



The dried dead caterpillar, with the fungus outgrowth at- 

 tached, is one of the many Chinese delicacies which, while 

 they seem so strange to us, are generally prized, because, in 

 addition to their gastronomic qualities, they are credited with 

 exercising certain invigorating medicinal effects. The cater- 

 pillars are sold tied up in small bundles, and the article is 

 called " the summer grass of the winter worm." 



It is the fashion to decry Chinese delicacies as especially 

 nasty, and the well-known eggs, which are pickled and buried 

 for years before being eaten, are always cited as instances of 

 especially disgusting food ; but after all this is more a matter 

 of education and prejudice on the part of the foreign observer, 

 than any real diff"erence of habit in the Chinaman. English- 

 men are apt to forget that their countrymen habitually prefer 

 to eat game and cheese in a state of decomposition, and the 

 latter often when swarming with maggots, and in a condition 

 such that it would possibly sicken a Chinaman to look at it. 

 Nearly all races fancy some form of food in a state of decom- 

 position, and no doubt regard that particular food when in 

 that condition as we do cheese, as simply "ripe." 



Some of the popular prejudices with regard to Chinese 

 customs are hardly to be comprehended. When I was a child, 

 the one fact I learnt about Chinamen was that they wore 

 pigtails, and I was led to regard that as an extraordinary and 

 peculiar form of hairdressing ; yet the very same fashion had 



