254 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. XV. 
this ' te le' and ^fung shwuy,' or soothsaying from the 
influence of the earth's local modalities, get large 
moneys by the trade ; but as they do not agree amongst 
themselves, the people are fain to ask counsel of a 
stranger." 
In my travels in the south of China I often came 
upon graves in the most retired places amongst the 
hills ; they were all more or less of the same form, 
namely, a half- circle cut out of the hill-side, having the 
body interred behind it. Sometimes, indeed generally, 
there were several of these half-circles with a succession 
of terraces in front of the grave ; and in the burying- 
places of the more wealthy the semicircles were built of 
brick or stone, and on a more extensive scale. In the 
centre of the semicircle, and of course near the body, 
the grave-stone is placed with its inscription. M. Gal- 
lery, an excellent Chinese scholar, informed me that 
these inscriptions are always of the most simple kind, 
merely stating the name of the deceased, that he died in 
such a dynasty, in such a year. This is the plain and 
unflattering tale which the Chinese tombstone tells. 
In some instances — I cannot tell if in all — after the 
body has decayed, the bones are dug up and carefully put 
into earthenware vessels, which are then placed on the 
hill-side above ground. These, as well as the graves, are 
visited at stated times by the relatives. They go first to 
the grave of the patriarch, or father of the tribe, and 
then to those of the other members of the family in 
rotation, where they perform their devotions, and offer 
incense. They afterwards dine together when the cere- 
monies are over. 
