64 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 80 



China, was published in the supplementary papers of the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society in 1886. He vividly described his impressions of Mt. 

 Omei : 



The plain begins to break up into hills a few miles below Mei-chou. Some 

 hours before reaching that point my attention had been attracted to a dim but 

 sharp-edged object rising high above the southwestern horizon, which I took 

 to be a cloud; but at last noticing that its profile did not change, I pointed it 

 out to a boatman, who replied with a certain contempt. " Don't you know 

 Mt. Omei when you see it ? " From the point where I first caught sight of it, 

 its distance was more than fifty miles. There must be something in the con- 

 ditions of its position which greatly exaggerates its size, for when it is seen 

 across the level country from the edge of which it rises, the mind at once refuses 

 to believe that any mountain can be so high. How it looks from a nearer point 

 of view I cannot affirm, for I have ascended it, travelled all round it, and 

 three times passed close under it, without ever seeing it again, as it was always 

 clothed in mist. Perhaps the mirage of the wide plain lends it an illusive 

 majesty which is enhanced by its remarkable outline. Its undulating ridge 

 gradually rises to the summit at the southern end, where, from its highest 

 knoll, it is suddenly cut sheer down to the level earth — or nearly so, for the 

 lower fourth part was hidden by clouds — forming a precipice, or, it may be, 

 a series of precipices, which it is disagreeable to think of.^ 



Mt. Omei is visible on clear days from distant parts of the province. 

 Clear mountain streams, waterfalls, rugged limestone cliffs, forests 

 of evergreen trees, natural caves, and a precipice six thousand feet 

 high and almost pependicular make this mountain one of the most 

 beautiful in the world. Little wonder that it is sacred and is the 

 religious center of millions of people, a mecca to which pilgrims go 

 from all over China and from Tibet. 



These illustrations are sufficient to show that in Szechuan there is 

 a tendency to erect temples and shrines in places whose natural 

 beauty or strangeness arouse feelings of awe and wonder; that such 

 places often become sacred, the seat of superhuman power ; and that 

 magnificent mountains which stand out prominently in the landscape 

 and possess exceptional beauty or marvellous scenery are apt to 

 become sacred. 



IX. THE GODS IN SZECHUAN PROVINCE 



The study of the gods in China is not a simple task. While some 

 are primarily Buddhist and others Taoist, many of them are found in 

 both Buddhist and Taoist Temples. Distinct, clearcut classifications 

 are nearly impossible. One god may have several functions. Amitabha 

 is a god of compassion who also protects from demons and gives 



* Baber, E. Colborne, Travels and Researches in the Interior of China, 

 Royal Geographical Society, Vol. i, 1886, page 30. 



