66 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 



obstinate questionings concerning the unseen world, which will arise 

 in the heart of man. Even Taoism, while it affected a form of reli- 

 gious devotion, was tied to the ills of physical existence. Buddhism 

 alone has given to the people whatever they possess of religious 

 speculation. To its Heart of Pity, which sees in every sentient 

 being the manifestation of an immaterial and immortal existence, 

 must be attributed the humility, politeness and charitable disposi- 

 tion for which the Chinese are justly praised. 



But, great as have been these benefits, they have not been pur- 

 chased without cost. To purchase real happiness at the price of 

 individuality, as in the Buddist Nirvana, and to view^ the present life 

 as a stage of retribution for the sins of a previous existence, is to 

 extinguish all energy and personality from the character of a people 

 already too void of spiritual activity. 



Such are the leading phases of thought which for centuries have 

 been solidifying the Chinese national mind, and which have resulted 

 in ingraining the following tendencies in the national character : 



1. Fatalism in the practical affairs of life. 



2. Impersonality in the intellectual life. 



3. Lack of imagination in the emotional life. 



Volumes might be written to illustrate how the Chinaman feels 

 himself hemmed in, and his free personality limited by his environ- 

 ment. But a single illustration must suffice, the superstition termed 

 feng shiii, or wind or water. By these are meant certain spiritual 

 forces which are supposed to belong to and influence every locality 

 relative to its occupants. So fixed is this idea that it is no uncom- 

 mon thing to find one neighbor taking proceedings against his fellow 

 for having influenced for evil the local spirits. For instance, Mr. 

 Halcombe relates a circumstance in which a certain American official 

 was prevented from erecting chimneys on his residence for fear of 

 disturbing the local genii. 



The impersonality of the intellectual life of the Chinese is visible 

 in every department of thought. The very language furnishes a 

 perpetual illustration, by the depreciative terms which are used in 

 speaking of the first person, in fact in many of the dialects there is 

 a lack of any definite term for the ego or first person. Again in 

 their poetry the absence of personification is a marked characteristic. 

 In their fine arts the same feature is perceptible. Chinese painting 



