[Transcriber's Note: The letter o with a caronis indicated as [)o] in this text version. ]

SOME CHINESE GHOSTS

BY LAFCADIO HEARN

_Copyright_, 1887, by ROBERTS BROTHERS

 * * * * *

_To my friend_ HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL

_THE MUSICIAN_

WHO, SPEAKING THE SPEECH OF MELODY UNTO THECHILDREN OF TIEN-HIA, --UNTO THE WANDERING TSING-JIN, WHOSE SKINSHAVE THE COLOR OF GOLD, --MOVED THEM TO MAKE STRANGE SOUNDS UPON THESERPENT-BELLIED SAN-HIEN;PERSUADED THEM TO PLAY FOR ME UPON THESHRIEKING YA-HIEN;PREVAILED ON THEM TO SING ME A SONG OF THEIRNATIVE LAND, --THE SONG OF MOHLÍ-HWA, THE SONG OF THE JASMINE-FLOWER

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 * * * * *

_PREFACE_

I think that my best apology for the insignificant size of this volumeis the very character of the material composing it. In preparing thelegends I sought especially for _weird beauty_; and I could not forgetthis striking observation in Sir Walter Scott's "Essay on Imitations ofthe Ancient Ballad": "The supernatural, though appealing to certainpowerful emotions very widely and deeply sown amongst the human race, is, nevertheless, a _spring which is peculiarly apt to lose itselasticity by being too much pressed upon_. "

Those desirous to familiarize themselves with Chinese literature as awhole have had the way made smooth for them by the labors of linguistslike Julien, Pavie, Rémusat, De Rosny, Schlegel, Legge, Hervey-Saint-Denys, Williams, Biot, Giles, Wylie, Beal, and many otherSinologists. To such great explorers, indeed, the realm of Cathayanstory belongs by right of discovery and conquest; yet the humblertraveller who follows wonderingly after them into the vast andmysterious pleasure-grounds of Chinese fancy may surely be permitted tocull a few of the marvellous flowers there growing, --a self-luminous_hwa-wang_, a black lily, a phosphoric rose or two, --as souvenirs of hiscurious voyage. 

L. H. 

NEW ORLEANS, March 15, 1886. 

_CONTENTS_

THE SOUL OF THE GREAT BELL

THE STORY OF MING-Y

THE LEGEND OF TCHI-NIU

THE RETURN OF YEN-TCHIN-KING

THE TRADITION OF THE TEA-PLANT

THE TALE OF THE PORCELAIN-GOD

 * * * * *

NOTES

GLOSSARY

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The Soul of the Great Bell

 _She hath spoken, and her words still resound in his ears. _

 HAO-KHIEOU-TCHOUAN: c. Ix. 

THE SOUL OF THE GREAT BELL

The water-clock marks the hour in the _Ta-chung sz'_, --in the Tower ofthe Great Bell: now the mallet is lifted to smite the lips of themetal monster, --the vast lips inscribed with Buddhist texts from thesacred _Fa-hwa-King_, from the chapters of the holy _Ling-yen-King_!Hear the great bell responding!--how mighty her voice, thoughtongueless!--_KO-NGAI!_ All the little dragons on the high-tiltedeaves of the green roofs shiver to the tips of their gilded tailsunder that deep wave of sound; all the porcelain gargoyles tremble ontheir carven perches; all the hundred little bells of the pagodasquiver with desire to speak. _KO-NGAI!_--all the green-and-gold tilesof the temple are vibrating; the wooden goldfish above them arewrithing against the sky; the uplifted finger of Fo shakes high overthe heads of the worshippers through the blue fog of incense!_KO-NGAI!_--What a thunder tone was that! All the lacquered goblins onthe palace cornices wriggle their fire-colored tongues! And after eachhuge shock, how wondrous the multiple echo and the great golden moanand, at last, the sudden sibilant sobbing in the ears when the immensetone faints away in broken whispers of silver, --as though a womanshould whisper, "_Hiai!_" Even so the great bell hath sounded everyday for well-nigh five hundred years, --_Ko-Ngai_: first withstupendous clang, then with immeasurable moan of gold, then withsilver murmuring of "_Hiai!_" And there is not a child in all themany-colored ways of the old Chinese city who does not know the storyof the great bell, --who cannot tell you why the great bell says_Ko-Ngai_ and _Hiai_!

 * * * * *

Now, this is the story of the great bell in the Ta-chung sz', as thesame is related in the _Pe-Hiao-Tou-Choue_, written by the learnedYu-Pao-Tchen, of the City of Kwang-tchau-fu. 

Nearly five hundred years ago the Celestially August, the Son of Heaven, Yong-Lo, of the "Illustrious, " or Ming, dynasty, commanded the worthyofficial Kouan-Yu that he should have a bell made of such size that thesound thereof might be heard for one hundred _li_. And he furtherordained that the voice of the bell should be strengthened with brass, and deepened with gold, and sweetened with silver; and that the face andthe great lips of it should be graven with blessed sayings from thesacred books, and that it should be suspended in the centre of theimperial capital, to sound through all the many-colored ways of the Cityof Pe-king. 

Therefore the worthy mandarin Kouan-Yu assembled the master-moulders andthe renowned bellsmiths of the empire, and all men of great repute andcunning in foundry work; and they measured the materials for the alloy, and treated them skilfully, and prepared the moulds, the fires, theinstruments, and the monstrous melting-pot for fusing the metal. Andthey labored exceedingly, like giants, --neglecting only rest and sleepand the comforts of life; toiling both night and day in obedience toKouan-Yu, and striving in all things to do the behest of the Son ofHeaven. 

But when the metal had been cast, and the earthen mould separated fromthe glowing casting, it was discovered that, despite their great laborand ceaseless care, the result was void of worth; for the metals hadrebelled one against the other, --the gold had scorned alliance with thebrass, the silver would not mingle with the molten iron. Therefore themoulds had to be once more prepared, and the fires rekindled, and themetal remelted, and all the work tediously and toilsomely repeated. TheSon of Heaven heard, and was angry, but spake nothing. 

A second time the bell was cast, and the result was even worse. Stillthe metals obstinately refused to blend one with the other; and therewas no uniformity in the bell, and the sides of it were cracked andfissured, and the lips of it were slagged and split asunder; so that allthe labor had to be repeated even a third time, to the great dismay ofKouan-Yu. And when the Son of Heaven heard these things, he was angrierthan before; and sent his messenger to Kouan-Yu with a letter, writtenupon lemon-colored silk, and sealed with the seal of the Dragon, containing these words:--

"_From the Mighty Yong-Lo, the Sublime Tait-Sung, the Celestial andAugust, --whose reign is called 'Ming, '--to Kouan-Yu the Fuh-yin: Twicethou hast betrayed the trust we have deigned graciously to place inthee; if thou fail a third time in fulfilling our command, thy headshall be severed from thy neck. Tremble, and obey!_"

 * * * * *

Now, Kouan-Yu had a daughter of dazzling loveliness, whosename--Ko-Ngai--was ever in the mouths of poets, and whose heart was evenmore beautiful than her face. Ko-Ngai loved her father with such lovethat she had refused a hundred worthy suitors rather than make his homedesolate by her absence; and when she had seen the awful yellow missive, sealed with the Dragon-Seal, she fainted away with fear for her father'ssake. And when her senses and her strength returned to her, she couldnot rest or sleep for thinking of her parent's danger, until she hadsecretly sold some of her jewels, and with the money so obtained hadhastened to an astrologer, and paid him a great price to advise her bywhat means her father might be saved from the peril impending over him. So the astrologer made observations of the heavens, and marked theaspect of the Silver Stream (which we call the Milky Way), and examinedthe signs of the Zodiac, --the _Hwang-tao_, or Yellow Road, --andconsulted the table of the Five _Hin_, or Principles of the Universe, and the mystical books of the alchemists. And after a long silence, hemade answer to her, saying: "Gold and brass will never meet in wedlock, silver and iron never will embrace, until the flesh of a maiden bemelted in the crucible; until the blood of a virgin be mixed with themetals in their fusion. " So Ko-Ngai returned home sorrowful at heart;but she kept secret all that she had heard, and told no one what she haddone. 

 * * * * *

At last came the awful day when the third and last effort to cast thegreat bell was to be made; and Ko-Ngai, together with her waiting-woman, accompanied her father to the foundry, and they took their places upon aplatform overlooking the toiling of the moulders and the lava ofliquefied metal. All the workmen wrought their tasks in silence; therewas no sound heard but the muttering of the fires. And the mutteringdeepened into a roar like the roar of typhoons approaching, and theblood-red lake of metal slowly brightened like the vermilion of asunrise, and the vermilion was transmuted into a radiant glow of gold, and the gold whitened blindingly, like the silver face of a full moon. Then the workers ceased to feed the raving flame, and all fixed theireyes upon the eyes of Kouan-Yu; and Kouan-Yu prepared to give the signalto cast. 

But ere ever he lifted his finger, a cry caused him to turn his head;and all heard the voice of Ko-Ngai sounding sharply sweet as a bird'ssong above the great thunder of the fires, --"_For thy sake, O myFather!_" And even as she cried, she leaped into the white flood ofmetal; and the lava of the furnace roared to receive her, and spatteredmonstrous flakes of flame to the roof, and burst over the verge of theearthen crater, and cast up a whirling fountain of many-colored fires, and subsided quakingly, with lightnings and with thunders and withmutterings. 

Then the father of Ko-Ngai, wild with his grief, would have leaped inafter her, but that strong men held him back and kept firm grasp uponhim until he had fainted away and they could bear him like one dead tohis home. And the serving-woman of Ko-Ngai, dizzy and speechless forpain, stood before the furnace, still holding in her hands a shoe, atiny, dainty shoe, with embroidery of pearls and flowers, --the shoe ofher beautiful mistress that was. For she had sought to grasp Ko-Ngai bythe foot as she leaped, but had only been able to clutch the shoe, andthe pretty shoe came off in her hand; and she continued to stare at itlike one gone mad. 

But in spite of all these things, the command of the Celestial andAugust had to be obeyed, and the work of the moulders to be finished, hopeless as the result might be. Yet the glow of the metal seemed purerand whiter than before; and there was no sign of the beautiful body thathad been entombed therein. So the ponderous casting was made; and lo!when the metal had become cool, it was found that the bell was beautifulto look upon, and perfect in form, and wonderful in color above allother bells. Nor was there any trace found of the body of Ko-Ngai; forit had been totally absorbed by the precious alloy, and blended with thewell-blended brass and gold, with the intermingling of the silver andthe iron. And when they sounded the bell, its tones were found to bedeeper and mellower and mightier than the tones of any otherbell, --reaching even beyond the distance of one hundred _li_, like apealing of summer thunder; and yet also like some vast voice uttering aname, a woman's name, --the name of Ko-Ngai!

 * * * * *

And still, between each mighty stroke there is a long low moaning heard;and ever the moaning ends with a sound of sobbing and of complaining, asthough a weeping woman should murmur, "_Hiai!_" And still, when thepeople hear that great golden moan they keep silence; but when thesharp, sweet shuddering comes in the air, and the sobbing of "_Hiai!_"then, indeed, all the Chinese mothers in all the many-colored ways ofPe-king whisper to their little ones: "_Listen! that is Ko-Ngai cryingfor her shoe! That is Ko-Ngai calling for her shoe!_"

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

The Story of Ming-Y

 THE ANCIENT WORDS OF KOUEI--MASTER OF MUSICIANS IN THE COURTS OF THE EMPEROR YAO:--

 _When ye make to resound the stone melodious, the Ming-Khieou, -- When ye touch the lyre that is called Kin, or the guitar that is called Ssé, -- Accompanying their sound with song, -- Then do the grandfather and the father return; Then do the ghosts of the ancestors come to hear. _

THE STORY OF MING-Y

 _Sang the Poet Tching-Kou: "Surely the Peach-Flowers blossom over the tomb of Sië-Thao. "_

Do you ask me who she was, --the beautiful Sië-Thao? For a thousand yearsand more the trees have been whispering above her bed of stone. And thesyllables of her name come to the listener with the lisping of theleaves; with the quivering of many-fingered boughs; with the flutteringof lights and shadows; with the breath, sweet as a woman's presence, ofnumberless savage flowers, --_Sië-Thao_. But, saving the whispering ofher name, what the trees say cannot be understood; and they aloneremember the years of Sië-Thao. Something about her you might, nevertheless, learn from any of those _Kiang-kou-jin_, --those famousChinese story-tellers, who nightly narrate to listening crowds, inconsideration of a few _tsien_, the legends of the past. Somethingconcerning her you may also find in the book entitled "Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan, "which signifies in our tongue: "The Marvellous Happenings of Ancient andof Recent Times. " And perhaps of all things therein written, the mostmarvellous is this memory of Sië-Thao:--

Five hundred years ago, in the reign of the Emperor Houng-Wou, whosedynasty was _Ming_, there lived in the City of Genii, the city ofKwang-tchau-fu, a man celebrated for his learning and for his piety, named Tien-Pelou. This Tien-Pelou had one son, a beautiful boy, who forscholarship and for bodily grace and for polite accomplishments had nosuperior among the youths of his age. And his name was Ming-Y. 

Now when the lad was in his eighteenth summer, it came to pass thatPelou, his father, was appointed Inspector of Public Instruction at thecity of Tching-tou; and Ming-Y accompanied his parents thither. Near thecity of Tching-tou lived a rich man of rank, a high commissioner of thegovernment, whose name was Tchang, and who wanted to find a worthyteacher for his children. On hearing of the arrival of the new Inspectorof Public Instruction, the noble Tchang visited him to obtain advice inthis matter; and happening to meet and converse with Pelou'saccomplished son, immediately engaged Ming-Y as a private tutor for hisfamily. 

Now as the house of this Lord Tchang was situated several miles fromtown, it was deemed best that Ming-Y should abide in the house of hisemployer. Accordingly the youth made ready all things necessary for hisnew sojourn; and his parents, bidding him farewell, counselled himwisely, and cited to him the words of Lao-tseu and of the ancient sages:

"_By a beautiful face the world is filled with love; but Heaven maynever be deceived thereby. Shouldst thou behold a woman coming from theEast, look thou to the West; shouldst thou perceive a maiden approachingfrom the West, turn thine eyes to the East. _"

If Ming-Y did not heed this counsel in after days, it was only becauseof his youth and the thoughtlessness of a naturally joyous heart. 

And he departed to abide in the house of Lord Tchang, while the autumnpassed, and the winter also. 

 * * * * *

When the time of the second moon of spring was drawing near, and thathappy day which the Chinese call _Hoa-tchao_, or, "The Birthday of aHundred Flowers, " a longing came upon Ming-Y to see his parents; and heopened his heart to the good Tchang, who not only gave him thepermission he desired, but also pressed into his hand a silver gift oftwo ounces, thinking that the lad might wish to bring some littlememento to his father and mother. For it is the Chinese custom, on thefeast of Hoa-tchao, to make presents to friends and relations. 

That day all the air was drowsy with blossom perfume, and vibrant withthe droning of bees. It seemed to Ming-Y that the path he followed hadnot been trodden by any other for many long years; the grass was tallupon it; vast trees on either side interlocked their mighty andmoss-grown arms above him, beshadowing the way; but the leafyobscurities quivered with bird-song, and the deep vistas of the woodwere glorified by vapors of gold, and odorous with flower-breathings asa temple with incense. The dreamy joy of the day entered into the heartof Ming-Y; and he sat him down among the young blossoms, under thebranches swaying against the violet sky, to drink in the perfume and thelight, and to enjoy the great sweet silence. Even while thus reposing, asound caused him to turn his eyes toward a shady place where wildpeach-trees were in bloom; and he beheld a young woman, beautiful as thepinkening blossoms themselves, trying to hide among them. Though helooked for a moment only, Ming-Y could not avoid discerning theloveliness of her face, the golden purity of her complexion, and thebrightness of her long eyes, that sparkled under a pair of brows asdaintily curved as the wings of the silkworm butterfly outspread. Ming-Yat once turned his gaze away, and, rising quickly, proceeded on hisjourney. But so much embarrassed did he feel at the idea of thosecharming eyes peeping at him through the leaves, that he suffered themoney he had been carrying in his sleeve to fall, without being aware ofit. A few moments later he heard the patter of light feet running behindhim, and a woman's voice calling him by name. Turning his face in greatsurprise, he saw a comely servant-maid, who said to him, "Sir, mymistress bade me pick up and return you this silver which you droppedupon the road. " Ming-Y thanked the girl gracefully, and requested her toconvey his compliments to her mistress. Then he proceeded on his waythrough the perfumed silence, athwart the shadows that dreamed along theforgotten path, dreaming himself also, and feeling his heart beatingwith strange quickness at the thought of the beautiful being that he hadseen. 

 * * * * *

It was just such another day when Ming-Y, returning by the same path, paused once more at the spot where the gracious figure had momentarilyappeared before him. But this time he was surprised to perceive, througha long vista of immense trees, a dwelling that had previously escapedhis notice, --a country residence, not large, yet elegant to an unusualdegree. The bright blue tiles of its curved and serrated double roof, rising above the foliage, seemed to blend their color with the luminousazure of the day; the green-and-gold designs of its carven porticos wereexquisite artistic mockeries of leaves and flowers bathed in sunshine. And at the summit of terrace-steps before it, guarded by greatporcelain tortoises, Ming-Y saw standing the mistress of themansion, --the idol of his passionate fancy, --accompanied by the samewaiting-maid who had borne to her his message of gratitude. While Ming-Ylooked, he perceived that their eyes were upon him; they smiled andconversed together as if speaking about him; and, shy though he was, theyouth found courage to salute the fair one from a distance. To hisastonishment, the young servant beckoned him to approach; and opening arustic gate half veiled by trailing plants bearing crimson flowers, Ming-Y advanced along the verdant alley leading to the terrace, withmingled feelings of surprise and timid joy. As he drew near, thebeautiful lady withdrew from sight; but the maid waited at the broadsteps to receive him, and said as he ascended:

"Sir, my mistress understands you wish to thank her for the triflingservice she recently bade me do you, and requests that you will enterthe house, as she knows you already by repute, and desires to have thepleasure of bidding you good-day. "

Ming-Y entered bashfully, his feet making no sound upon a mattingelastically soft as forest moss, and found himself in areception-chamber vast, cool, and fragrant with scent of blossoms freshlygathered. A delicious quiet pervaded the mansion; shadows of flyingbirds passed over the bands of light that fell through the half-blindsof bamboo; great butterflies, with pinions of fiery color, found theirway in, to hover a moment about the painted vases, and pass out againinto the mysterious woods. And noiselessly as they, the young mistressof the mansion entered by another door, and kindly greeted the boy, wholifted his hands to his breast and bowed low in salutation. She wastaller than he had deemed her, and supplely-slender as a beauteous lily;her black hair was interwoven with the creamy blossoms of the_chu-sha-kih_; her robes of pale silk took shifting tints when shemoved, as vapors change hue with the changing of the light. 

"If I be not mistaken, " she said, when both had seated themselves afterhaving exchanged the customary formalities of politeness, "my honoredvisitor is none other than Tien-chou, surnamed Ming-Y, educator of thechildren of my respected relative, the High Commissioner Tchang. As thefamily of Lord Tchang is my family also, I cannot but consider theteacher of his children as one of my own kin. "

"Lady, " replied Ming-Y, not a little astonished, "may I dare to inquirethe name of your honored family, and to ask the relation which you holdto my noble patron?"

"The name of my poor family, " responded the comely lady, "is _Ping_, --anancient family of the city of Tching-tou. I am the daughter of a certainSië of Moun-hao; Sië is my name, likewise; and I was married to a youngman of the Ping family, whose name was Khang. By this marriage I becamerelated to your excellent patron; but my husband died soon after ourwedding, and I have chosen this solitary place to reside in during theperiod of my widowhood. "

There was a drowsy music in her voice, as of the melody of brooks, themurmurings of spring; and such a strange grace in the manner of herspeech as Ming-Y had never heard before. Yet, on learning that she was awidow, the youth would not have presumed to remain long in her presencewithout a formal invitation; and after having sipped the cup of rich teapresented to him, he arose to depart. Sië would not suffer him to go soquickly. 

"Nay, friend, " she said; "stay yet a little while in my house, I prayyou; for, should your honored patron ever learn that you had been here, and that I had not treated you as a respected guest, and regaled youeven as I would him, I know that he would be greatly angered. Remain atleast to supper. "

So Ming-Y remained, rejoicing secretly in his heart, for Sië seemed tohim the fairest and sweetest being he had ever known, and he felt thathe loved her even more than his father and his mother. And while theytalked the long shadows of the evening slowly blended into one violetdarkness; the great citron-light of the sunset faded out; and thosestarry beings that are called the Three Councillors, who preside overlife and death and the destinies of men, opened their cold bright eyesin the northern sky. Within the mansion of Sië the painted lanterns werelighted; the table was laid for the evening repast; and Ming-Y took hisplace at it, feeling little inclination to eat, and thinking only of thecharming face before him. Observing that he scarcely tasted the daintieslaid upon his plate, Sië pressed her young guest to partake of wine;and they drank several cups together. It was a purple wine, so cool thatthe cup into which it was poured became covered with vapory dew; yet itseemed to warm the veins with strange fire. To Ming-Y, as he drank, allthings became more luminous as by enchantment; the walls of the chamberappeared to recede, and the roof to heighten; the lamps glowed likestars in their chains, and the voice of Sië floated to the boy's earslike some far melody heard through the spaces of a drowsy night. Hisheart swelled; his tongue loosened; and words flitted from his lips thathe had fancied he could never dare to utter. Yet Sië sought not torestrain him; her lips gave no smile; but her long bright eyes seemed tolaugh with pleasure at his words of praise, and to return his gaze ofpassionate admiration with affectionate interest. 

"I have heard, " she said, "of your rare talent, and of your many elegantaccomplishments. I know how to sing a little, although I cannot claim topossess any musical learning; and now that I have the honor of findingmyself in the society of a musical professor, I will venture to laymodesty aside, and beg you to sing a few songs with me. I should deem itno small gratification if you would condescend to examine my musicalcompositions. "

"The honor and the gratification, dear lady, " replied Ming-Y, "will bemine; and I feel helpless to express the gratitude which the offer of sorare a favor deserves. "

The serving-maid, obedient to the summons of a little silver gong, brought in the music and retired. Ming-Y took the manuscripts, andbegan to examine them with eager delight. The paper upon which they werewritten had a pale yellow tint, and was light as a fabric of gossamer;but the characters were antiquely beautiful, as though they had beentraced by the brush of Heï-song Ché-Tchoo himself, --that divine Geniusof Ink, who is no bigger than a fly; and the signatures attached to thecompositions were the signatures of Youen-tchin, Kao-pien, andThou-mou, --mighty poets and musicians of the dynasty of Thang! Ming-Ycould not repress a scream of delight at the sight of treasures soinestimable and so unique; scarcely could he summon resolution enough topermit them to leave his hands even for a moment. "O Lady!" he cried, "these are veritably priceless things, surpassing in worth thetreasures of all kings. This indeed is the handwriting of those greatmasters who sang five hundred years before our birth. How marvellouslyit has been preserved! Is not this the wondrous ink of which it waswritten: _Po-nien-jou-chi, i-tien-jou-ki, _--'After centuries I remainfirm as stone, and the letters that I make like lacquer'? And how divinethe charm of this composition!--the song of Kao-pien, prince of poets, and Governor of Sze-tchouen five hundred years ago!"

"Kao-pien! darling Kao-pien!" murmured Sië, with a singular light in hereyes. "Kao-pien is also my favorite. Dear Ming-Y, let us chant hisverses together, to the melody of old, --the music of those grand yearswhen men were nobler and wiser than to-day. "

And their voices rose through the perfumed night like the voices of thewonder-birds, --of the Fung-hoang, --blending together in liquidsweetness. Yet a moment, and Ming-Y, overcome by the witchery of hiscompanion's voice, could only listen in speechless ecstasy, while thelights of the chamber swam dim before his sight, and tears of pleasuretrickled down his cheeks. 

So the ninth hour passed; and they continued to converse, and to drinkthe cool purple wine, and to sing the songs of the years of Thang, untilfar into the night. More than once Ming-Y thought of departing; but eachtime Sië would begin, in that silver-sweet voice of hers, so wondrous astory of the great poets of the past, and of the women whom they loved, that he became as one entranced; or she would sing for him a song sostrange that all his senses seemed to die except that of hearing. And atlast, as she paused to pledge him in a cup of wine, Ming-Y could notrestrain himself from putting his arm about her round neck and drawingher dainty head closer to him, and kissing the lips that were so muchruddier and sweeter than the wine. Then their lips separated nomore;--the night grew old, and they knew it not. 

 * * * * *

The birds awakened, the flowers opened their eyes to the rising sun, and Ming-Y found himself at last compelled to bid his lovely enchantressfarewell. Sië, accompanying him to the terrace, kissed him fondly andsaid, "Dear boy, come hither as often as you are able, --as often as yourheart whispers you to come. I know that you are not of those withoutfaith and truth, who betray secrets; yet, being so young, you might alsobe sometimes thoughtless; and I pray you never to forget that only thestars have been the witnesses of our love. Speak of it to no livingperson, dearest; and take with you this little souvenir of our happynight. "

And she presented him with an exquisite and curious little thing, --apaper-weight in likeness of a couchant lion, wrought from a jade-stoneyellow as that created by a rainbow in honor of Kong-fu-tze. Tenderlythe boy kissed the gift and the beautiful hand that gave it. "May theSpirits punish me, " he vowed, "if ever I knowingly give you cause toreproach me, sweetheart!" And they separated with mutual vows. 

That morning, on returning to the house of Lord Tchang, Ming-Y told thefirst falsehood which had ever passed his lips. He averred that hismother had requested him thenceforward to pass his nights at home, nowthat the weather had become so pleasant; for, though the way wassomewhat long, he was strong and active, and needed both air and healthyexercise. Tchang believed all Ming-Y said, and offered no objection. Accordingly the lad found himself enabled to pass all his evenings atthe house of the beautiful Sië. Each night they devoted to the samepleasures which had made their first acquaintance so charming: they sangand conversed by turns; they played at chess, --the learned game inventedby Wu-Wang, which is an imitation of war; they composed pieces of eightyrhymes upon the flowers, the trees, the clouds, the streams, the birds, the bees. But in all accomplishments Sië far excelled her youngsweetheart. Whenever they played at chess, it was always Ming-Y'sgeneral, Ming-Y's _tsiang_, who was surrounded and vanquished; when theycomposed verses, Sië's poems were ever superior to his in harmony ofword-coloring, in elegance of form, in classic loftiness of thought. And the themes they selected were always the most difficult, --those ofthe poets of the Thang dynasty; the songs they sang were also the songsof five hundred years before, --the songs of Youen-tchin, of Thou-mou, ofKao-pien above all, high poet and ruler of the province of Sze-tchouen. 

So the summer waxed and waned upon their love, and the luminous autumncame, with its vapors of phantom gold, its shadows of magical purple. 

 * * * * *

Then it unexpectedly happened that the father of Ming-Y, meeting hisson's employer at Tching-tou, was asked by him: "Why must your boycontinue to travel every evening to the city, now that the winter isapproaching? The way is long, and when he returns in the morning helooks fordone with weariness. Why not permit him to slumber in my houseduring the season of snow?" And the father of Ming-Y, greatlyastonished, responded: "Sir, my son has not visited the city, nor has hebeen to our house all this summer. I fear that he must have acquiredwicked habits, and that he passes his nights in evil company, --perhapsin gaming, or in drinking with the women of the flower-boats. " But theHigh Commissioner returned: "Nay! that is not to be thought of. I havenever found any evil in the boy, and there are no taverns norflower-boats nor any places of dissipation in our neighborhood. No doubtMing-Y has found some amiable youth of his own age with whom to spendhis evenings, and only told me an untruth for fear that I would nototherwise permit him to leave my residence. I beg that you will saynothing to him until I shall have sought to discover this mystery; andthis very evening I shall send my servant to follow after him, and towatch whither he goes. "

Pelou readily assented to this proposal, and promising to visit Tchangthe following morning, returned to his home. In the evening, when Ming-Yleft the house of Tchang, a servant followed him unobserved at adistance. But on reaching the most obscure portion of the road, the boydisappeared from sight as suddenly as though the earth had swallowedhim. After having long sought after him in vain, the domestic returnedin great bewilderment to the house, and related what had taken place. Tchang immediately sent a messenger to Pelou. 

In the mean time Ming-Y, entering the chamber of his beloved, wassurprised and deeply pained to find her in tears. "Sweetheart, " shesobbed, wreathing her arms around his neck, "we are about to beseparated forever, because of reasons which I cannot tell you. From thevery first I knew this must come to pass; and nevertheless it seemed tome for the moment so cruelly sudden a loss, so unexpected a misfortune, that I could not prevent myself from weeping! After this night we shallnever see each other again, beloved, and I know that you will not beable to forget me while you live; but I know also that you will become agreat scholar, and that honors and riches will be showered upon you, andthat some beautiful and loving woman will console you for my loss. Andnow let us speak no more of grief; but let us pass this last eveningjoyously, so that your recollection of me may not be a painful one, andthat you may remember my laughter rather than my tears. "

She brushed the bright drops away, and brought wine and music and themelodious _kin_ of seven silken strings, and would not suffer Ming-Y tospeak for one moment of the coming separation. And she sang him anancient song about the calmness of summer lakes reflecting the blue ofheaven only, and the calmness of the heart also, before the clouds ofcare and of grief and of weariness darken its little world. Soon theyforgot their sorrow in the joy of song and wine; and those last hoursseemed to Ming-Y more celestial than even the hours of their firstbliss. 

But when the yellow beauty of morning came their sadness returned, andthey wept. Once more Sië accompanied her lover to the terrace-steps; andas she kissed him farewell, she pressed into his hand a parting gift, --alittle brush-case of agate, wonderfully chiselled, and worthy the tableof a great poet. And they separated forever, shedding many tears. 

 * * * * *

Still Ming-Y could not believe it was an eternal parting. "No!" hethought, "I shall visit her tomorrow; for I cannot now live without her, and I feel assured that she cannot refuse to receive me. " Such were thethoughts that filled his mind as he reached the house of Tchang, to findhis father and his patron standing on the porch awaiting him. Ere hecould speak a word, Pelou demanded: "Son, in what place have you beenpassing your nights?"

Seeing that his falsehood had been discovered, Ming-Y dared not make anyreply, and remained abashed and silent, with bowed head, in the presenceof his father. Then Pelou, striking the boy violently with his staff, commanded him to divulge the secret; and at last, partly through fearof his parent, and partly through fear of the law which ordains that"_the son refusing to obey his father shall be punished with one hundredblows of the bamboo, _" Ming-Y faltered out the history of his love. 

Tchang changed color at the boy's tale. "Child, " exclaimed the HighCommissioner, "I have no relative of the name of Ping; I have neverheard of the woman you describe; I have never heard even of the housewhich you speak of. But I know also that you cannot dare to lie toPelou, your honored father; there is some strange delusion in all thisaffair. "

Then Ming-Y produced the gifts that Sië had given him, --the lion ofyellow jade, the brush-case of carven agate, also some originalcompositions made by the beautiful lady herself. The astonishment ofTchang was now shared by Pelou. Both observed that the brush-case ofagate and the lion of jade bore the appearance of objects that had lainburied in the earth for centuries, and were of a workmanship beyond thepower of living man to imitate; while the compositions proved to beveritable master-pieces of poetry, written in the style of the poets ofthe dynasty of Thang. 

"Friend Pelou, " cried the High Commissioner, "let us immediatelyaccompany the boy to the place where he obtained these miraculousthings, and apply the testimony of our senses to this mystery. The boyis no doubt telling the truth; yet his story passes my understanding. "And all three proceeded toward the place of the habitation of Sië. 

 * * * * *

But when they had arrived at the shadiest part of the road, where theperfumes were most sweet and the mosses were greenest, and the fruits ofthe wild peach flushed most pinkly, Ming-Y, gazing through the groves, uttered a cry of dismay. Where the azure-tiled roof had risen againstthe sky, there was now only the blue emptiness of air; where thegreen-and-gold facade had been, there was visible only the flickering ofleaves under the aureate autumn light; and where the broad terrace hadextended, could be discerned only a ruin, --a tomb so ancient, so deeplygnawed by moss, that the name graven upon it was no longer decipherable. The home of Sië had disappeared!

All suddenly the High Commissioner smote his forehead with his hand, and turning to Pelou, recited the well-known verse of the ancient poetTching-Kou:--

 "_Surely the peach-flowers blossom over the tomb of SIË-THAO. _"

"Friend Pelou, " continued Tchang, "the beauty who bewitched your son wasno other than she whose tomb stands there in ruin before us! Did she notsay she was wedded to Ping-Khang? There is no family of that name, butPing-Khang is indeed the name of a broad alley in the city near. Therewas a dark riddle in all that she said. She called herself Sië ofMoun-Hiao: there is no person of that name; there is no street of thatname; but the Chinese characters _Moun_ and _hiao_, placed together, form the character 'Kiao. ' Listen! The alley Ping-Khang, situated inthe street Kiao, was the place where dwelt the great courtesans of thedynasty of Thang! Did she not sing the songs of Kao-pien? And upon thebrush-case and the paper-weight she gave your son, are there notcharacters which read, '_Pure object of art belonging to Kao, of thecity of Pho-hai_'? That city no longer exists; but the memory ofKao-pien remains, for he was governor of the province of Sze-tchouen, and a mighty poet. And when he dwelt in the land of Chou, was not hisfavorite the beautiful wanton Sië, --Sië-Thao, unmatched for grace amongall the women of her day? It was he who made her a gift of thosemanuscripts of song; it was he who gave her those objects of rare art. Sië-Thao died not as other women die. Her limbs may have crumbled todust; yet something of her still lives in this deep wood, --her Shadowstill haunts this shadowy place. "

Tchang ceased to speak. A vague fear fell upon the three. The thin mistsof the morning made dim the distances of green, and deepened the ghostlybeauty of the woods. A faint breeze passed by, leaving a trail ofblossom-scent, --a last odor of dying flowers, --thin as that which clingsto the silk of a forgotten robe; and, as it passed, the trees seemed towhisper across the silence, "_Sië-Thao_. "

 * * * * *

Fearing greatly for his son, Pelou sent the lad away at once to thecity of Kwang-tchau-fu. And there, in after years, Ming-Y obtained highdignities and honors by reason of his talents and his learning; and hemarried the daughter of an illustrious house, by whom he became thefather of sons and daughters famous for their virtues and theiraccomplishments. Never could he forget Sië-Thao; and yet it is said thathe never spoke of her, --not even when his children begged him to tellthem the story of two beautiful objects that always lay upon hiswriting-table: a lion of yellow jade, and a brush-case of carven agate. 

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

The Legend of Tchi-Niu

 A SOUND OF GONGS, A SOUND OF SONG, --THE SONG OF THE BUILDERS BUILDING THE DWELLINGS OF THE DEAD:--

 _Khiû tchî yîng-yîng. Toû tchî hoûng-hoûng. Tch[)o] tchî tông-tông. Si[)o] liú pîng-pîng. _

THE LEGEND OF TCHI-NIU. 

In the quaint commentary accompanying the text of that holy book ofLao-tseu called _Kan-ing-p'ien_ may be found a little story so old thatthe name of the one who first told it has been forgotten for a thousandyears, yet so beautiful that it lives still in the memory of fourhundred millions of people, like a prayer that, once learned, is foreverremembered. The Chinese writer makes no mention of any city nor of anyprovince, although even in the relation of the most ancient traditionssuch an omission is rare; we are only told that the name of the hero ofthe legend was Tong-yong, and that he lived in the years of the greatdynasty of Han, some twenty centuries ago. 

 * * * * *

Tong-Yong's mother had died while he was yet an infant; and when hebecame a youth of nineteen years his father also passed away, leavinghim utterly alone in the world, and without resources of any sort; for, being a very poor man, Tong's father had put himself to great straits toeducate the lad, and had not been able to lay by even one copper coin ofhis earnings. And Tong lamented greatly to find himself so destitutethat he could not honor the memory of that good father by having thecustomary rites of burial performed, and a carven tomb erected upon apropitious site. The poor only are friends of the poor; and among allthose whom Tong knew; there was no one able to assist him in defrayingthe expenses of the funeral. In one way only could the youth obtainmoney, --by selling himself as a slave to some rich cultivator; and thishe at last decided to do. In vain his friends did their utmost todissuade him; and to no purpose did they attempt to delay theaccomplishment of his sacrifice by beguiling promises of future aid. Tong only replied that he would sell his freedom a hundred times, if itwere possible, rather than suffer his father's memory to remainunhonored even for a brief season. And furthermore, confiding in hisyouth and strength, he determined to put a high price upon hisservitude, --a price which would enable him to build a handsome tomb, butwhich it would be well-nigh impossible for him ever to repay. 

 * * * * *

Accordingly he repaired to the broad public place where slaves anddebtors were exposed for sale, and seated himself upon a bench of stone, having affixed to his shoulders a placard inscribed with the terms ofhis servitude and the list of his qualifications as a laborer. Many whoread the characters upon the placard smiled disdainfully at the priceasked, and passed on without a word; others lingered only to questionhim out of simple curiosity; some commended him with hollow praise; someopenly mocked his unselfishness, and laughed at his childish piety. Thusmany hours wearily passed, and Tong had almost despaired of finding amaster, when there rode up a high official of the province, --a graveand handsome man, lord of a thousand slaves, and owner of vast estates. Reining in his Tartar horse, the official halted to read the placard andto consider the value of the slave. He did not smile, or advise, or askany questions; but having observed the price asked, and the fine stronglimbs of the youth, purchased him without further ado, merely orderinghis attendant to pay the sum and to see that the necessary papers weremade out. 

 * * * * *

Thus Tong found himself enabled to fulfil the wish of his heart, and tohave a monument built which, although of small size, was destined todelight the eyes of all who beheld it, being designed by cunning artistsand executed by skilful sculptors. And while it was yet designed only, the pious rites were performed, the silver coin was placed in the mouthof the dead, the white lanterns were hung at the door, the holy prayerswere recited, and paper shapes of all things the departed might need inthe land of the Genii were consumed in consecrated fire. And after thegeomancers and the necromancers had chosen a burial-spot which nounlucky star could shine upon, a place of rest which no demon or dragonmight ever disturb, the beautiful _chih_ was built. Then was the phantommoney strewn along the way; the funeral procession departed from thedwelling of the dead, and with prayers and lamentation the mortalremains of Tong's good father were borne to the tomb. 

Then Tong entered as a slave into the service of his purchaser, whoallotted him a little hut to dwell in; and thither Tong carried with himthose wooden tablets, bearing the ancestral names, before which filialpiety must daily burn the incense of prayer, and perform the tenderduties of family worship. 

 * * * * *

Thrice had spring perfumed the breast of the land with flowers, andthrice had been celebrated that festival of the dead which is called_Siu-fan-ti_, and thrice had Tong swept and garnished his father's tomband presented his fivefold offering of fruits and meats. The period ofmourning had passed, yet he had not ceased to mourn for his parent. Theyears revolved with their moons, bringing him no hour of joy, no day ofhappy rest; yet he never lamented his servitude, or failed to performthe rites of ancestral worship, --until at last the fever of therice-fields laid strong hold upon him, and he could not arise from hiscouch; and his fellow-laborers thought him destined to die. There was noone to wait upon him, no one to care for his needs, inasmuch as slavesand servants were wholly busied with the duties of the household or thelabor of the fields, --all departing to toil at sunrise and returningweary only after the sundown. 

Now, while the sick youth slumbered the fitful slumber of exhaustion onesultry noon, he dreamed that a strange and beautiful woman stood by him, and bent above him and touched his forehead with the long, fine fingersof her shapely hand. And at her cool touch a weird sweet shock passedthrough him, and all his veins tingled as if thrilled by new life. Opening his eyes in wonder, he saw verily bending over him the charmingbeing of whom he had dreamed, and he knew that her lithe hand reallycaressed his throbbing forehead. But the flame of the fever was gone, adelicious coolness now penetrated every fibre of his body, and thethrill of which he had dreamed still tingled in his blood like a greatjoy. Even at the same moment the eyes of the gentle visitor met his own, and he saw they were singularly beautiful, and shone like splendid blackjewels under brows curved like the wings of the swallow. Yet their calmgaze seemed to pass through him as light through crystal; and a vagueawe came upon him, so that the question which had risen to his lipsfound no utterance. Then she, still caressing him, smiled and said: "Ihave come to restore thy strength and to be thy wife. Arise and worshipwith me. "

Her clear voice had tones melodious as a bird's song; but in her gazethere was an imperious power which Tong felt he dare not resist. Risingfrom his couch, he was astounded to find his strength wholly restored;but the cool, slender hand which held his own led him away so swiftlythat he had little time for amazement. He would have given years ofexistence for courage to speak of his misery, to declare his utterinability to maintain a wife; but something irresistible in the longdark eyes of his companion forbade him to speak; and as though hisinmost thought had been discerned by that wondrous gaze, she said tohim, in the same clear voice, "_I will provide. _" Then shame made himblush at the thought of his wretched aspect and tattered apparel; but heobserved that she also was poorly attired, like a woman of thepeople, --wearing no ornament of any sort, nor even shoes upon her feet. And before he had yet spoken to her, they came before the ancestraltablets; and there she knelt with him and prayed, and pledged him in acup of wine, --brought he knew not from whence, --and together theyworshipped Heaven and Earth. Thus she became his wife. 

 * * * * *

A mysterious marriage it seemed, for neither on that day nor at anyfuture time could Tong venture to ask his wife the name of her family, or of the place whence she came, and he could not answer any of thecurious questions which his fellow-laborers put to him concerning her;and she, moreover, never uttered a word about herself, except to saythat her name was Tchi. But although Tong had such awe of her that whileher eyes were upon him he was as one having no will of his own, he lovedher unspeakably; and the thought of his serfdom ceased to weigh upon himfrom the hour of his marriage. As through magic the little dwelling hadbecome transformed: its misery was masked with charming paperdevices, --with dainty decorations created out of nothing by that prettyjugglery of which woman only knows the secret. 

Each morning at dawn the young husband found a well-prepared and amplerepast awaiting him, and each evening also upon his return; but the wifeall day sat at her loom, weaving silk after a fashion unlike anythingwhich had ever been seen before in that province. For as she wove, thesilk flowed from the loom like a slow current of glossy gold, bearingupon its undulations strange forms of violet and crimson andjewel-green: shapes of ghostly horsemen riding upon horses, and ofphantom chariots dragon-drawn, and of standards of trailing cloud. Inevery dragon's beard glimmered the mystic pearl; in every rider's helmetsparkled the gem of rank. And each day Tchi would weave a great pieceof such figured silk; and the fame of her weaving spread abroad. Fromfar and near people thronged to see the marvellous work; and thesilk-merchants of great cities heard of it, and they sent messengers toTchi, asking her that she should weave for them and teach them hersecret. Then she wove for them, as they desired, in return for thesilver cubes which they brought her; but when they prayed her to teachthem, she laughed and said, "Assuredly I could never teach you, for noone among you has fingers like mine. " And indeed no man could discernher fingers when she wove, any more than he might behold the wings of abee vibrating in swift flight. 

 * * * * *

The seasons passed, and Tong never knew want, so well did his beautifulwife fulfil her promise, --"_I will provide_"; and the cubes of brightsilver brought by the silk-merchants were piled up higher and higher inthe great carven chest which Tchi had bought for the storage of thehousehold goods. 

One morning, at last, when Tong, having finished his repast, was aboutto depart to the fields, Tchi unexpectedly bade him remain; and openingthe great chest, she took out of it and gave him a document written inthe official characters called _li-shu_. And Tong, looking at it, criedout and leaped in his joy, for it was the certificate of hismanumission. Tchi had secretly purchased her husband's freedom with theprice of her wondrous silks!

"Thou shalt labor no more for any master, " she said, "but for thine ownsake only. And I have also bought this dwelling, with all which istherein, and the tea-fields to the south, and the mulberry groves hardby, --all of which are thine. "

Then Tong, beside himself for gratefulness, would have prostratedhimself in worship before her, but that she would not suffer it. 

 * * * * *

Thus he was made free; and prosperity came to him with his freedom; andwhatsoever he gave to the sacred earth was returned to him centupled;and his servants loved him and blessed the beautiful Tchi, so silent andyet so kindly to all about her. But the silk-loom soon remaineduntouched, for Tchi gave birth to a son, --a boy so beautiful that Tongwept with delight when he looked upon him. And thereafter the wifedevoted herself wholly to the care of the child. 

Now it soon became manifest that the boy was not less wonderful than hiswonderful mother. In the third month of his age he could speak; in theseventh month he could repeat by heart the proverbs of the sages, andrecite the holy prayers; before the eleventh month he could use thewriting-brush with skill, and copy in shapely characters the precepts ofLao-tseu. And the priests of the temples came to behold him and toconverse with him, and they marvelled at the charm of the child and thewisdom of what he said; and they blessed Tong, saying: "Surely this sonof thine is a gift from the Master of Heaven, a sign that the immortalslove thee. May thine eyes behold a hundred happy summers!"

 * * * * *

It was in the Period of the Eleventh Moon: the flowers had passed away, the perfume of the summer had flown, the winds were growing chill, andin Tong's home the evening fires were lighted. Long the husband and wifesat in the mellow glow, --he speaking much of his hopes and joys, and ofhis son that was to be so grand a man, and of many paternal projects;while she, speaking little, listened to his words, and often turned herwonderful eyes upon him with an answering smile. Never had she seemed sobeautiful before; and Tong, watching her face, marked not how the nightwaned, nor how the fire sank low, nor how the wind sang in the leaflesstrees without. 

All suddenly Tchi arose without speaking, and took his hand in hers andled him, gently as on that strange wedding-morning, to the cradle wheretheir boy slumbered, faintly smiling in his dreams. And in that momentthere came upon Tong the same strange fear that he knew when Tchi's eyeshad first met his own, --the vague fear that love and trust had calmed, but never wholly cast out, like unto the fear of the gods. And allunknowingly, like one yielding to the pressure of mighty invisiblehands, he bowed himself low before her, kneeling as to a divinity. Now, when he lifted his eyes again to her face, he closed them forthwith inawe; for she towered before him taller than any mortal woman, and therewas a glow about her as of sunbeams, and the light of her limbs shonethrough her garments. But her sweet voice came to him with all thetenderness of other hours, saying: "_Lo! my beloved, the moment has comein which I must forsake thee; for I was never of mortal born, and theInvisible may incarnate themselves for a time only. Yet I leave withthee the pledge of our love, --this fair son, who shall ever be to theeas faithful and as fond as thou thyself hast been. Know, my beloved, that I was sent to thee even by the Master of Heaven, in reward of thyfilial piety, and that I must now return to the glory of His house:I AM THE GODDESS TCHI-NIU. _"

Even as she ceased to speak, the great glow faded; and Tong, re-openinghis eyes, knew that she had passed away forever, --mysteriously as passthe winds of heaven, irrevocably as the light of a flame blown out. Yetall the doors were barred, all the windows unopened. Still the childslept, smiling in his sleep. Outside, the darkness was breaking; the skywas brightening swiftly; the night was past. With splendid majesty theEast threw open high gates of gold for the coming of the sun; and, illuminated by the glory of his coming, the vapors of morning wroughtthemselves into marvellous shapes of shifting color, --into forms weirdlybeautiful as the silken dreams woven in the loom of Tchi-Niu. 

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

The Return of Yen-Tchin-King

 _Before me ran, as a herald runneth, the Leader of the Moon; And the Spirit of the Wind followed after me, --quickening his flight. _

 LI-SAO. 

THE RETURN OF YEN-TCHIN-KING

In the thirty-eighth chapter of the holy book, _Kan-ing-p'ien_, whereinthe Recompense of Immortality is considered, may be found the legend ofYen-Tchin-King. A thousand years have passed since the passing of thegood Tchin-King; for it was in the period of the greatness of Thang thathe lived and died. 

Now, in those days when Yen-Tchin-King was Supreme Judge of one of theSix August Tribunals, one Li-hi-lié, a soldier mighty for evil, liftedthe black banner of revolt, and drew after him, as a tide ofdestruction, the millions of the northern provinces. And learning ofthese things, and knowing also that Hi-lié was the most ferocious ofmen, who respected nothing on earth save fearlessness, the Son of Heavencommanded Tchin-King that he should visit Hi-lié and strive to recallthe rebel to duty, and read unto the people who followed after him inrevolt the Emperor's letter of reproof and warning. For Tchin-King wasfamed throughout the provinces for his wisdom, his rectitude, and hisfearlessness; and the Son of Heaven believed that if Hi-lié would listento the words of any living man steadfast in loyalty and virtue, he wouldlisten to the words of Tchin-King. So Tchin-King arrayed himself in hisrobes of office, and set his house in order; and, having embraced hiswife and his children, mounted his horse and rode away alone to theroaring camp of the rebels, bearing the Emperor's letter in his bosom. "I shall return; fear not!" were his last words to the gray servant whowatched him from the terrace as he rode. 

 * * * * *

And Tchin-King at last descended from his horse, and entered into therebel camp, and, passing through that huge gathering of war, stood inthe presence of Hi-lié. High sat the rebel among his chiefs, encircledby the wave-lightning of swords and the thunders of ten thousand gongs:above him undulated the silken folds of the Black Dragon, while a vastfire rose bickering before him. Also Tchin-King saw that the tongues ofthat fire were licking human bones, and that skulls of men layblackening among the ashes. Yet he was not afraid to look upon the fire, nor into the eyes of Hi-lié; but drawing from his bosom the roll ofperfumed yellow silk upon which the words of the Emperor were written, and kissing it, he made ready to read, while the multitude becamesilent. Then, in a strong, clear voice he began:--

"_The words of the Celestial and August, the Son of Heaven, the DivineKo-Tsu-Tchin-Yao-ti, unto the rebel Li-Hi-lié and those that followhim. _"

And a roar went up like the roar of the sea, --a roar of rage, and thehideous battle-moan, like the moan of a forest in storm, --"_Hoo!hoo-oo-oo-oo!_"--and the sword-lightnings brake loose, and the thunderof the gongs moved the ground beneath the messenger's feet. But Hi-liéwaved his gilded wand, and again there was silence. "Nay!" spake therebel chief; "let the dog bark!" So Tchin-King spake on:--

"_Knowest thou not, O most rash and foolish of men, that thou leadestthe people only into the mouth of the Dragon of Destruction? Knowestthou not, also, that the people of my kingdom are the first-born of theMaster of Heaven? So it hath been written that he who doth needlesslysubject the people to wounds and death shall not be suffered by Heavento live! Thou who wouldst subvert those laws founded by thewise, --those laws in obedience to which may happiness and prosperityalone be found, --thou art committing the greatest of allcrimes, --the crime that is never forgiven!_

"_O my people, think not that I your Emperor, I your Father, seek yourdestruction. I desire only your happiness, your prosperity, yourgreatness; let not your folly provoke the severity of your CelestialParent. Follow not after madness and blind rage; hearken rather to thewise words of my messenger. _"

"_Hoo! hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo!_" roared the people, gathering fury. "_Hoo!hoo-oo-oo-oo!_"--till the mountains rolled back the cry like the rollingof a typhoon; and once more the pealing of the gongs paralyzed voice andhearing. Then Tchin-King, looking at Hi-lié, saw that he laughed, andthat the words of the letter would not again be listened to. Thereforehe read on to the end without looking about him, resolved to perform hismission in so far as lay in his power. And having read all, he wouldhave given the letter to Hi-lié; but Hi-lié would not extend his hand totake it. Therefore Tchin-King replaced it in his bosom, and folding hisarms, looked Hi-lié calmly in the face, and waited. Again Hi-lié wavedhis gilded wand; and the roaring ceased, and the booming of the gongs, until nothing save the fluttering of the Dragon-banner could be heard. Then spake Hi-lié, with an evil smile, --

"Tchin-King, O son of a dog! if thou dost not now take the oath offealty, and bow thyself before me, and salute me with the salutation ofEmperors, --even with the _luh-kao_, the triple prostration, --into thatfire thou shalt be thrown. "

But Tchin-King, turning his back upon the usurper, bowed himself amoment in worship to Heaven and Earth; and then rising suddenly, ere anyman could lay hand upon him, he leaped into the towering flame, andstood there, with folded arms, like a God. 

Then Hi-lié leaped to his feet in amazement, and shouted to his men; andthey snatched Tchin-King from the fire, and wrung the flames from hisrobes with their naked hands, and extolled him, and praised him to hisface. And even Hi-lié himself descended from his seat, and spoke fairwords to him, saying: "O Tchin-King, I see thou art indeed a brave manand true, and worthy of all honor; be seated among us, I pray thee, andpartake of whatever it is in our power to bestow!"

But Tchin-King, looking upon him unswervingly, replied in a voice clearas the voice of a great bell, --

"Never, O Hi-lié, shall I accept aught from thy hand, save death, solong as thou shalt continue in the path of wrath and folly. And nevershall it be said that Tchin-King sat him down among rebels and traitors, among murderers and robbers. "

Then Hi-lié in sudden fury, smote him with his sword; and Tchin-Kingfell to the earth and died, striving even in his death to bow his headtoward the South, --toward the place of the Emperor's palace, --toward thepresence of his beloved Master. 

 * * * * *

Even at the same hour the Son of Heaven, alone in the inner chamber ofhis palace, became aware of a Shape prostrate before his feet; and whenhe spake, the Shape arose and stood before him, and he saw that it wasTchin-King. And the Emperor would have questioned him; yet ere he couldquestion, the familiar voice spake, saying:

"Son of Heaven, the mission confided to me I have performed; and thycommand hath been accomplished to the extent of thy humble servant'sfeeble power. But even now must I depart, that I may enter the serviceof another Master. "

And looking, the Emperor perceived that the Golden Tigers upon the wallwere visible through the form of Tchin-King; and a strange coldness, like a winter wind, passed through the chamber; and the figure fadedout. Then the Emperor knew that the Master of whom his faithful servanthad spoken was none other than the Master of Heaven. 

Also at the same hour the gray servant of Tchin-King's house beheld himpassing through the apartments, smiling as he was wont to smile when hesaw that all things were as he desired. "Is it well with thee, my lord?"questioned the aged man. And a voice answered him: "It is well"; but thepresence of Tchin-King had passed away before the answer came. 

 * * * * *

So the armies of the Son of Heaven strove with the rebels. But the landwas soaked with blood and blackened with fire; and the corpses of wholepopulations were carried by the rivers to feed the fishes of the sea;and still the war prevailed through many a long red year. Then came toaid the Son of Heaven the hordes that dwell in the desolations of theWest and North, --horsemen born, a nation of wild archers, each mighty tobend a two-hundred-pound bow until the ears should meet. And as awhirlwind they came against rebellion, raining raven-feathered arrows ina storm of death; and they prevailed against Hi-lié and his people. Thenthose that survived destruction and defeat submitted, and promisedallegiance; and once more was the law of righteousness restored. ButTchin-King had been dead for many summers. 

And the Son of Heaven sent word to his victorious generals that theyshould bring back with them the bones of his faithful servant, to belaid with honor in a mausoleum erected by imperial decree. So thegenerals of the Celestial and August sought after the nameless grave andfound it, and had the earth taken up, and made ready to remove thecoffin. 

But the coffin crumbled into dust before their eyes; for the worms hadgnawed it, and the hungry earth had devoured its substance, leaving onlya phantom shell that vanished at touch of the light. And lo! as itvanished, all beheld lying there the perfect form and features of thegood Tchin-King. Corruption had not touched him, nor had the wormsdisturbed his rest, nor had the bloom of life departed from his face. And he seemed to dream only, --comely to see as upon the morning of hisbridal, and smiling as the holy images smile, with eyelids closed, inthe twilight of the great pagodas. 

Then spoke a priest, standing by the grave: "O my children, this isindeed a Sign from the Master of Heaven; in such wise do the PowersCelestial preserve them that are chosen to be numbered with theImmortals. Death may not prevail over them, neither may corruption comenigh them. Verily the blessed Tchin-King hath taken his place among thedivinities of Heaven!"

Then they bore Tchin-King back to his native place, and laid him withhighest honors in the mausoleum which the Emperor had commanded; andthere he sleeps, incorruptible forever, arrayed in his robes of state. Upon his tomb are sculptured the emblems of his greatness and his wisdomand his virtue, and the signs of his office, and the Four PreciousThings: and the monsters which are holy symbols mount giant guard instone about it; and the weird Dogs of Fo keep watch before it, as beforethe temples of the gods. 

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

The Tradition of the Tea-Plant

 SANG A CHINESE HEART FOURTEEN HUNDRED YEARS AGO:--

 _There is Somebody of whom I am thinking. Far away there is Somebody of whom I am thinking. A hundred leagues of mountains lie between us:-- Yet the same Moon shines upon us, and the passing Wind breathes upon us both. _

THE TRADITION OF THE TEA-PLANT

 "Good is the continence of the eye; Good is the continence of the ear; Good is the continence of the nostrils; Good is the continence of the tongue; Good is the continence of the body; Good is the continence of speech; Good is all. .. . "

Again the Vulture of Temptation soared to the highest heaven of hiscontemplation, bringing his soul down, down, reeling and fluttering, back to the World of Illusion. Again the memory made dizzy his thought, like the perfume of some venomous flower. Yet he had seen the bayaderefor an instant only, when passing through Kasí upon his way toChina, --to the vast empire of souls that thirsted after the refreshmentof Buddha's law, as sun-parched fields thirst for the life-giving rain. When she called him, and dropped her little gift into his mendicant'sbowl, he had indeed lifted his fan before his face, yet not quicklyenough; and the penally of that fault had followed him a thousandleagues, --pursued after him even into the strange land to which he hadcome to hear the words of the Universal Teacher. Accursed beauty! surelyframed by the Tempter of tempters, by Mara himself, for the perdition ofthe just! Wisely had Bhagavat warned his disciples: "O ye Çramanas, women are not to be looked upon! And if ye chance to meet women, ye mustnot suffer your eyes to dwell upon them; but, maintaining holy reserve, speak not to them at all. Then fail not to whisper unto your ownhearts, 'Lo, we are Çramanas, whose duty it is to remain uncontaminatedby the corruptions of this world, even as the Lotos, which suffereth novileness to cling unto its leaves, though it blossom amid the refuse ofthe wayside ditch. '" Then also came to his memory, but with a new andterrible meaning, the words of the Twentieth-and-Third of theAdmonitions:--

"Of all attachments unto objects of desire, the strongest indeed is theattachment to form. Happily, this passion is unique; for were there anyother like unto it, then to enter the Perfect Way were impossible. "

How, indeed, thus haunted by the illusion of form, was he to fulfil thevow that he had made to pass a night and a day in perfect and unbrokenmeditation? Already the night was beginning! Assuredly, for sickness ofthe soul, for fever of the spirit, there was no physic save prayer. Thesunset was swiftly fading out. He strove to pray:--

"_O the Jewel in the Lotos!_

"Even as the tortoise withdraweth its extremities into its shell, letme, O Blessed One, withdraw my senses wholly into meditation!

"_O the Jewel in the Lotos!_

"For even as rain penetrateth the broken roof of a dwelling longuninhabited, so may passion enter the soul uninhabited by meditation. 

"_O the Jewel in the Lotos!_

"Even as still water that hath deposited all its slime, so let my soul, O Tathâgata, be made pure! Give me strong power to rise above theworld, O Master, even as the wild bird rises from its marsh to followthe pathway of the Sun!

"_O the Jewel in the Lotos!_

"By day shineth the sun, by night shineth the moon; shineth also thewarrior in harness of war; shineth likewise in meditations the Çramana. But the Buddha at all times, by night or by day, shineth ever the same, illuminating the world. 

"_O the Jewel in the Lotos!_

"Let me cease, O thou Perfectly Awakened, to remain as an Ape in theWorld-forest, forever ascending and descending in search of the fruitsof folly. Swift as the twining of serpents, vast as the growth of lianasin a forest, are the all-encircling growths of the Plant of Desire. 

"_O the Jewel in the Lotos!_"

Vain his prayer, alas! vain also his invocation! The mystic meaning ofthe holy text--the sense of the Lotos, the sense of the Jewel--hadevaporated from the words, and their monotonous utterance now servedonly to lend more dangerous definition to the memory that tempted andtortured him. _O the jewel in her ear!_ What lotos-bud more dainty thanthe folded flower of flesh, with its dripping of diamond-fire! Again hesaw it, and the curve of the cheek beyond, luscious to look upon asbeautiful brown fruit. How true the Two Hundred and Eighty-Fourth verseof the Admonitions!--"So long as a man shall not have torn from hisheart even the smallest rootlet of that liana of desire which drawethhis thought toward women, even so long shall his soul remain fettered. "And there came to his mind also the Three Hundred and Forty-Fifth verseof the same blessed book, regarding fetters:

"In bonds of rope, wise teachers have said, there is no strength; nor infetters of wood, nor yet in fetters of iron. Much stronger than any ofthese is the fetter of _concern for the jewelled earrings of women_. "

"Omniscient Gotama!" he cried, --"all-seeing Tathâgata! How multiform theConsolation of Thy Word! how marvellous Thy understanding of the humanheart! Was this also one of Thy temptations?--one of the myriadillusions marshalled before Thee by Mara in that night when the earthrocked as a chariot, and the sacred trembling passed from sun to sun, from system to system, from universe to universe, from eternity toeternity?"

_O the jewel in her ear!_ The vision would not go! Nay, each time ithovered before his thought it seemed to take a warmer life, a fonderlook, a fairer form; to develop with his weakness; to gain force fromhis enervation. He saw the eyes, large, limpid, soft, and black as adeer's; the pearls in the dark hair, and the pearls in the pink mouth;the lips curling to a kiss, a flower-kiss; and a fragrance seemed tofloat to his senses, sweet, strange, soporific, --a perfume of youth, anodor of woman. Rising to his feet, with strong resolve he pronouncedagain the sacred invocation; and he recited the holy words of the_Chapter of Impermanency_:

"Gazing upon the heavens and upon the earth ye must say, _These are notpermanent_. Gazing upon the mountains and the rivers, ye must say, _These are not permanent_. Gazing upon the forms and upon the facesof exterior beings, and beholding their growth and their development, yemust say, _These are not permanent_. "

And nevertheless! how sweet illusion! The illusion of the great sun; theillusion of the shadow-casting hills; the illusion of waters, formlessand multiform; the illusion of--Nay, nay I what impious fancy! Accursedgirl! yet, yet! why should he curse her? Had she ever done aught tomerit the malediction of an ascetic? Never, never! Only her form, thememory of her, the beautiful phantom of her, the accursed phantom ofher! What was she? An illusion creating illusions, a mockery, a dream, ashadow, a vanity, a vexation of spirit! The fault, the sin, was inhimself, in his rebellious thought, in his untamed memory. Thoughmobile as water, intangible as vapor, Thought, nevertheless, may betamed by the Will, may be harnessed to the chariot of Wisdom--mustbe!--that happiness be found. And he recited the blessed verses of the"Book of the Way of the Law":--

"_All forms are only temporary. _" When this great truth is fullycomprehended by any one, then is he delivered from all pain. This is theWay of Purification. 

"_All forms are subject unto pain. _" When this great truth is fullycomprehended by any one, then is he delivered from all pain. This is theWay of Purification. 

"_All forms are without substantial reality. _" When this great truth isfully comprehended by any one, then is he delivered from all pain. Thisis the way of . .. 

_Her_ form, too, unsubstantial, unreal, an illusion only, thoughcomeliest of illusions? She had given him alms! Was the merit of thegiver illusive also, --illusive like the grace of the supple fingers thatgave? Assuredly there were mysteries in the Abhidharma impenetrable, incomprehensible!. .. It was a golden coin, stamped with the symbol of anelephant, --not more of an illusion, indeed, than the gifts of Kings tothe Buddha! Gold upon her bosom also, less fine than the gold of herskin. Naked between the silken sash and the narrow breast-corslet, heryoung waist curved glossy and pliant as a bow. Richer the silver in hervoice than in the hollow _pagals_ that made a moonlight about herankles! But her smile!--the little teeth like flower-stamens in theperfumed blossom of her mouth!

O weakness! O shame! How had the strong Charioteer of Resolve thus losthis control over the wild team of fancy! Was this languor of the Will asignal of coming peril, the peril of slumber? So strangely vivid thosefancies were, so brightly definite, as about to take visible form, tomove with factitious life, to play some unholy drama upon the stage ofdreams! "O Thou Fully Awakened!" he cried aloud, "help now thy humbledisciple to obtain the blessed wakefulness of perfect contemplation! lethim find force to fulfil his vow! suffer not Mara to prevail againsthim!" And he recited the eternal verses of the Chapter of Wakefulness:--

"_Completely and eternally awake are the disciples of Gotama!_Unceasingly, by day and night, their thoughts are fixed upon the Law. 

"_Completely and eternally awake are the disciples of Gotama!_Unceasingly, by day and night, their thoughts are fixed upon theCommunity. 

"_Completely and eternally awake are the disciples of Gotama!_Unceasingly, by day and night, their thoughts are fixed upon the Body. 

"_Completely and eternally awake are the disciples of Gotama!_Unceasingly, by day and night, their minds know the sweetness of perfectpeace. 

"_Completely and eternally awake are the disciples of Gotama!_Unceasingly, by day and night, their minds enjoy the deep peace ofmeditation. "

There came a murmur to his ears; a murmuring of many voices, smotheringthe utterances of his own, like a tumult of waters. The stars went outbefore his sight; the heavens darkened their infinities: all thingsbecame viewless, became blackness; and the great murmur deepened, likethe murmur of a rising tide; and the earth seemed to sink from beneathhim. His feet no longer touched the ground; a sense of supernaturalbuoyancy pervaded every fibre of his body: he felt himself floating inobscurity; then sinking softly, slowly, like a feather dropped from thepinnacle of a temple. Was this death? Nay, for all suddenly, astransported by the Sixth Supernatural Power, he stood again inlight, --a perfumed, sleepy light, vapory, beautiful, --that bathed themarvellous streets of some Indian city. Now the nature of the murmurbecame manifest to him; for he moved with a mighty throng, a people ofpilgrims, a nation of worshippers. But these were not of his faith; theybore upon their foreheads the smeared symbols of obscene gods! Still, hecould not escape from their midst; the mile-broad human torrent bore himirresistibly with it, as a leaf is swept by the waters of the Ganges. Rajahs were there with their trains, and princes riding upon elephants, and Brahmins robed in their vestments, and swarms of voluptuousdancing-girls, moving to chant of _kabit_ and _damâri_. But whither, whither? Out of the city into the sun they passed, between avenues ofbanyan, down colonnades of palm. But whither, whither?

Blue-distant, a mountain of carven stone appeared before them, --theTemple, lifting to heaven its wilderness of chiselled pinnacles, flinging to the sky the golden spray of its decoration. Higher it grewwith approach, the blue tones changed to gray, the outlines sharpened inthe light. Then each detail became visible: the elephants of thepedestals standing upon tortoises of rock; the great grim faces of thecapitals; the serpents and monsters writhing among the friezes; themany-headed gods of basalt in their galleries of fretted niches, tierabove tier; the pictured foulnesses, the painted lusts, the divinitiesof abomination. And, yawning in the sloping precipice of sculpture, beneath a frenzied swarming of gods and Gopia, --a beetling pyramid oflimbs and bodies interlocked, --the Gate, cavernous and shadowy as themouth of Siva, devoured the living multitude. 

The eddy of the throng whirled him with it to the vastness of theinterior. None seemed to note his yellow robe, none even to observe hispresence. Giant aisles intercrossed their heights above him; myriads ofmighty pillars, fantastically carven, filed away to invisibility behindthe yellow illumination of torch-fires. Strange images, weirdlysensuous, loomed up through haze of incense. Colossal figures, that at adistance assumed the form of elephants or garuda-birds, changed aspectwhen approached, and revealed as the secret of their design aninterplaiting of the bodies of women; while one divinity rode all themonstrous allegories, --one divinity or demon, eternally the same in therepetition of the sculptor, universally visible as thoughself-multiplied. The huge pillars themselves were symbols, figures, carnalities; the orgiastic spirit of that worship lived and writhed inthe contorted bronze of the lamps, the twisted gold of the cups, thechiselled marble of the tanks. .. . 

How far had he proceeded? He knew not; the journey among those countlesscolumns, past those armies of petrified gods, down lanes of flickeringlights, seemed longer than the voyage of a caravan, longer than hispilgrimage to China! But suddenly, inexplicably, there came a silence asof cemeteries; the living ocean seemed to have ebbed away from abouthim, to have been engulfed within abysses of subterranean architecture!He found himself alone in some strange crypt before a basin, shell-shaped and shallow, bearing in its centre a rounded column of lessthan human height, whose smooth and spherical summit was wreathed withflowers. Lamps similarly formed, and fed with oil of palm, hung aboveit. There was no other graven image, no visible divinity. Flowers ofcountless varieties lay heaped upon the pavement; they covered itssurface like a carpet, thick, soft; they exhaled their ghosts beneathhis feet. The perfume seemed to penetrate his brain, --a perfumesensuous, intoxicating, unholy; an unconquerable languor mastered hiswill, and he sank to rest upon the floral offerings. 

The sound of a tread, light as a whisper, approached through the heavystillness, with a drowsy tinkling of _pagals_, a tintinnabulation ofanklets. All suddenly he felt glide about his neck the tepidsmoothness of a woman's arm. _She, she!_ his Illusion, hisTemptation; but how transformed, transfigured!--preternatural in herloveliness, incomprehensible in her charm! Delicate as a jasmine-petalthe cheek that touched his own; deep as night, sweet as summer, theeyes that watched him. "_Heart's-thief, _" her flower-lipswhispered, --"_heart's-thief, how have I sought for thee! How have Ifound thee! Sweets I bring thee, my beloved; lips and bosom; fruit andblossom. Hast thirst? Drink from the well of mine eyes! Wouldstsacrifice? I am thine altar! Wouldst pray? I am thy God!_"

Their lips touched; her kiss seemed to change the cells of his blood toflame. For a moment Illusion triumphed; Mara prevailed!. .. With a shockof resolve the dreamer awoke in the night, --under the stars of theChinese sky. 

Only a mockery of sleep! But the vow had been violated, the sacredpurpose unfulfilled! Humiliated, penitent, but resolved, the asceticdrew from his girdle a keen knife, and with unfaltering hands severedhis eyelids from his eyes, and flung them from him. "O Thou PerfectlyAwakened!" he prayed, "thy disciple hath not been overcome save throughthe feebleness of the body; and his vow hath been renewed. Here shall helinger, without food or drink, until the moment of its fulfilment. " Andhaving assumed the hieratic posture, --seated himself with his lowerlimbs folded beneath him, and the palms of his hands upward, the rightupon the left, the left resting upon the sole of his upturned foot, --heresumed his meditation. 

 * * * * *

Dawn blushed; day brightened. The sun shortened all the shadows of theland, and lengthened them again, and sank at last upon his funeral pyreof crimson-burning cloud. Night came and glittered and passed. But Marahad tempted in vain. This time the vow had been fulfilled, the holypurpose accomplished. 

And again the sun arose to fill the World with laughter of light;flowers opened their hearts to him; birds sang their morning hymn offire worship; the deep forest trembled with delight; and far upon theplain, the eaves of many-storied temples and the peaked caps of thecity-towers caught aureate glory. Strong in the holiness of hisaccomplished vow, the Indian pilgrim arose in the morning glow. Hestarted for amazement as he lifted his hands to his eyes. What! waseverything a dream? Impossible! Yet now his eyes felt no pain; neitherwere they lidless; not even so much as one of their lashes was lacking. What marvel had been wrought? In vain he looked for the severed lidsthat he had flung upon the ground; they had mysteriously vanished. Butlo! there where he had cast them two wondrous shrubs were growing, withdainty leaflets eyelid-shaped, and snowy buds just opening to the East. 

Then, by virtue of the supernatural power acquired in that mightymeditation, it was given the holy missionary to know the secret of thatnewly created plant, --the subtle virtue of its leaves. And he named it, in the language of the nation to whom he brought the Lotos of the GoodLaw, "_TE_"; and he spake to it, saying:--

"Blessed be thou, sweet plant, beneficent, life-giving, formed by thespirit of virtuous resolve! Lo! the fame of thee shall yet spread untothe ends of the earth; and the perfume of thy life be borne unto theuttermost parts by all the winds of heaven! Verily, for all time to comemen who drink of thy sap shall find such refreshment that weariness maynot overcome them nor languor seize upon them;--neither shall they knowthe confusion of drowsiness, nor any desire for slumber in the hour ofduty or of prayer. Blessed be thou!"

 * * * * *

And still, as a mist of incense, as a smoke of universal sacrifice, perpetually ascends to heaven from all the lands of earth the pleasantvapor of TE, created for the refreshment of mankind by the power of aholy vow, the virtue of a pious atonement. 

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

The Tale of the Porcelain-God

 _It is written in the _FONG-HO-CHIN-TCH'OUEN_, that whenever the artist Thsang-Kong was in doubt, he would look into the fire of the great oven in which his vases were baking, and question the Guardian-Spirit dwelling in the flame. And the Spirit of the Oven-fires so aided him with his counsels, that the porcelains made by Thsang-Kong were indeed finer and lovelier to look upon than all other porcelains. And they were baked in the years of Khang-hí, --sacredly called Jin Houang-tí. _

THE TALE OF THE PORCELAIN-GOD

Who first of men discovered the secret of the _Kao-ling_, of the_Pe-tun-tse_, --the bones and the flesh, the skeleton and the skin, ofthe beauteous Vase? Who first discovered the virtue of the curd-whiteclay? Who first prepared the ice-pure bricks of _tun_: thegathered-hoariness of mountains that have died for age; blanched dust ofthe rocky bones and the stony flesh of sun-seeking Giants that haveceased to be? Unto whom was it first given to discover the divine art ofporcelain?

Unto Pu, once a man, now a god, before whose snowy statues bow themyriad populations enrolled in the guilds of the potteries. But theplace of his birth we know not; perhaps the tradition of it may havebeen effaced from remembrance by that awful war which in our own dayconsumed the lives of twenty millions of the Black-haired Race, andobliterated from the face of the world even the wonderful City ofPorcelain itself, --the City of King-te-chin, that of old shone like ajewel of fire in the blue mountain-girdle of Feou-liang. 

Before his time indeed the Spirit of the Furnace had being; had issuedfrom the Infinite Vitality; had become manifest as an emanation of theSupreme Tao. For Hoang-ti, nearly five thousand years ago, taught men tomake good vessels of baked clay; and in his time all potters had learnedto know the God of Oven-fires, and turned their wheels to the murmuringof prayer. But Hoang-ti had been gathered unto his fathers for thriceten hundred years before that man was born destined by the Master ofHeaven to become the Porcelain-God. 

And his divine ghost, ever hovering above the smoking and the toiling ofthe potteries, still gives power to the thought of the shaper, grace tothe genius of the designer, luminosity to the touch of the enamellist. For by his heaven-taught wisdom was the art of porcelain created; by hisinspiration were accomplished all the miracles of Thao-yu, maker of the_Kia-yu-ki_, and all the marvels made by those who followed after him;--

All the azure porcelains called _You-kouo-thien-tsing_; brilliant as amirror, thin as paper of rice, sonorous as the melodious stone _Khing_, and colored, in obedience to the mandate of the Emperor Chi-tsong, "blueas the sky is after rain, when viewed through the rifts of the clouds. "These were, indeed, the first of all porcelains, likewise called_Tchai-yao_, which no man, howsoever wicked, could find courage tobreak, for they charmed the eye like jewels of price;--

And the _Jou-yao_, second in rank among all porcelains, sometimesmocking the aspect and the sonority of bronze, sometimes blue as summerwaters, and deluding the sight with mucid appearance of thickly floatingspawn of fish;--

And the _Kouan-yao_, which are the Porcelains of Magistrates, and thirdin rank of merit among all wondrous porcelains, colored with colors ofthe morning, --skyey blueness, with the rose of a great dawn blushing andbursting through it, and long-limbed marsh-birds flying against theglow;

Also the _Ko-yao_, --fourth in rank among perfect porcelains, --of fair, faint, changing colors, like the body of a living fish, or made in thelikeness of opal substance, milk mixed with fire; the work of Sing-I, elder of the immortal brothers Tchang;

Also the _Ting-yao_, --fifth in rank among all perfect porcelains, --whiteas the mourning garments of a spouse bereaved, and beautiful with atrickling as of tears, --the porcelains sung of by the poet Son-tong-po;

Also the porcelains called _Pi-se-yao_, whose colors are called"hidden, " being alternately invisible and visible, like the tints ofice beneath the sun, --the porcelains celebrated by the far-famed singerSin-in;

Also the wondrous _Chu-yao_, --the pallid porcelains that utter amournful cry when smitten, --the porcelains chanted of by the mightychanter, Thou-chao-ling;

Also the porcelains called _Thsin-yao_, white or blue, surface-wrinkledas the face of water by the fluttering of many fins. .. . And ye can seethe fish!

Also the vases called _Tsi-hong-khi_, red as sunset after a rain; andthe _T'o-t'ai-khi_, fragile as the wings of the silkworm-moth, lighterthan the shell of an egg;

Also the _Kia-tsing_, --fair cups pearl-white when empty, yet, by someincomprehensible witchcraft of construction, seeming to swarm withpurple fish the moment they are filled with water;

Also the porcelains called _Yao-pien_, whose tints are transmuted by thealchemy of fire; for they enter blood-crimson into the heat, and changethere to lizard-green, and at last come forth azure as the cheek of thesky;

Also the _Ki-tcheou-yao_, which are all violet as a summer's night; andthe _Hing-yao_ that sparkle with the sparklings of mingled silver andsnow;

Also the _Sieouen-yao_, --some ruddy as iron in the furnace, somediaphanous and ruby-red, some granulated and yellow as the rind of anorange, some softly flushed as the skin of a peach;

Also the _Tsoui-khi-yao_, crackled and green as ancient ice is; and the_Tchou-fou-yao_, which are the Porcelains of Emperors, with dragonswriggling and snarling in gold; and those _yao_ that are pink-ribbedand have their angles serrated as the claws of crabs are;

Also the _Ou-ni-yao_, black as the pupil of the eye, and as lustrous;and the _Hou-tien-yao_, darkly yellow as the faces of men of India; andthe _Ou-kong-yao_, whose color is the dead-gold of autumn-leaves;

Also the _Long-kang-yao_, green as the seedling of a pea, but bearingalso paintings of sun-silvered cloud, and of the Dragons of Heaven;

Also the _Tching-hoa-yao_, --pictured with the amber bloom of grapes andthe verdure of vine-leaves and the blossoming of poppies, or decoratedin relief with figures of fighting crickets;

Also the _Khang-hi-nien-ts'ang-yao_, celestial azure sown with star-dustof gold; and the _Khien-long-nien-thang-yao_, splendid in sable andsilver as a fervid night that is flashed with lightnings. 

Not indeed the _Long-Ouang-yao_, --painted with the lascivious _Pi-hi_, with the obscene _Nan-niu-ssé-sie_, with the shameful _Tchun-hoa_, or"Pictures of Spring"; abominations created by command of the wickedEmperor Moutsong, though the Spirit of the Furnace hid his face and fledaway;

But all other vases of startling form and substance, magicallyarticulated, and ornamented with figures in relief, in cameo, intransparency, --the vases with orifices belled like the cups of flowers, or cleft like the bills of birds, or fanged like the jaws of serpents, or pink-lipped as the mouth of a girl; the vases flesh-colored andpurple-veined and dimpled, with ears and with earrings; the vases inlikeness of mushrooms, of lotos-flowers, of lizards, of horse-footeddragons woman-faced; the vases strangely translucid, that simulate thewhite glimmering of grains of prepared rice, that counterfeit the vaporylace-work of frost, that imitate the efflorescences of coral;--

Also the statues in porcelain of divinities: the Genius of the Hearth;the Long-pinn who are the Twelve Deities of Ink; the blessed Lao-tseu, born with silver hair; Kong-fu-tse, grasping the scroll of writtenwisdom; Kouan-in, sweetest Goddess of Mercy, standing snowy-footed uponthe heart of her golden lily; Chi-nong, the god who taught men how tocook; Fo, with long eyes closed in meditation, and lips smiling themysterious smile of Supreme Beatitude; Cheou-lao, god of Longevity, bestriding his aërial steed, the white-winged stork; Pou-t'ai, Lord ofContentment and of Wealth, obese and dreamy; and that fairest Goddess ofTalent, from whose beneficent hands eternally streams the iridescentrain of pearls. 

 * * * * *

And though many a secret of that matchless art that Pu bequeathed untomen may indeed have been forgotten and lost forever, the story of thePorcelain-God is remembered; and I doubt not that any of the aged_Jeou-yen-liao-kong_, any one of the old blind men of the greatpotteries, who sit all day grinding colors in the sun, could tell you Puwas once a humble Chinese workman, who grew to be a great artist by dintof tireless study and patience and by the inspiration of Heaven. Sofamed he became that some deemed him an alchemist, who possessed thesecret called _White-and-Yellow_, by which stones might be turned intogold; and others thought him a magician, having the ghastly power ofmurdering men with horror of nightmare, by hiding charmed effigies ofthem under the tiles of their own roofs; and others, again, averred thathe was an astrologer who had discovered the mystery of those Five Hingwhich influence all things, --those Powers that move even in the currentsof the star-drift, in the milky _Tien-ho_, or River of the Sky. Thus, atleast, the ignorant spoke of him; but even those who stood about the Sonof Heaven, those whose hearts had been strengthened by the acquisitionof wisdom, wildly praised the marvels of his handicraft, and asked eachother if there might be any imaginable form of beauty which Pu could notevoke from that beauteous substance so docile to the touch of hiscunning hand. 

And one day it came to pass that Pu sent a priceless gift to theCelestial and August: a vase imitating the substance of ore-rock, allaflame with pyritic scintillation, --a shape of glittering splendor withchameleons sprawling over it; chameleons of porcelain that shifted coloras often as the beholder changed his position. And the Emperor, wondering exceedingly at the splendor of the work, questioned theprinces and the mandarins concerning him that made it. And the princesand the mandarins answered that he was a workman named Pu, and that hewas without equal among potters, knowing secrets that seemed to havebeen inspired either by gods or by demons. Whereupon the Son of Heavensent his officers to Pu with a noble gift, and summoned him unto hispresence. 

So the humble artisan entered before the Emperor, and having performedthe supreme prostration, --thrice kneeling, and thrice nine timestouching the ground with his forehead, --awaited the command of theAugust. 

And the Emperor spake to him, saying: "Son, thy gracious gift hath foundhigh favor in our sight; and for the charm of that offering we havebestowed upon thee a reward of five thousand silver _liang_. But thricethat sum shall be awarded thee so soon as thou shalt have fulfilled ourbehest. Hearken, therefore, O matchless artificer! it is now our willthat thou make for us a vase having the tint and the aspect of livingflesh, but--mark well our desire!--_of flesh made to creep by theutterance of such words as poets utter, --flesh moved by an Idea, fleshhorripilated by a Thought!_ Obey, and answer not! We have spoken. "

 * * * * *

Now Pu was the most cunning of all the _P'ei-se-kong_, --the men whomarry colors together; of all the _Hoa-yang-kong_, who draw the shapesof vase-decoration; of all the _Hoei-sse-kong_, who paint in enamel; ofall the _T'ien-thsai-kong_, who brighten color; of all the_Chao-lou-kong_, who watch the furnace-fires and the porcelain-ovens. But he went away sorrowing from the Palace of the Son of Heaven, notwithstanding the gift of five thousand silver _liang_ which had beengiven to him. For he thought to himself: "Surely the mystery of thecomeliness of flesh, and the mystery of that by which it is moved, arethe secrets of the Supreme Tao. How shall man lend the aspect ofsentient life to dead clay? Who save the Infinite can give soul?"

Now Pu had discovered those witchcrafts of color, those surprises ofgrace, that make the art of the ceramist. He had found the secret of the_feng-hong_, the wizard flush of the Rose; of the _hoa-hong_, thedelicious incarnadine; of the mountain-green called _chan-lou_; of thepale soft yellow termed _hiao-hoang-yeou_; and of the _hoang-kin_, whichis the blazing beauty of gold. He had found those eel-tints, thoseserpent-greens, those pansy-violets, those furnace-crimsons, thosecarminates and lilacs, subtle as spirit-flame, which our enamellists ofthe Occident long sought without success to reproduce. But he trembledat the task assigned him, as he returned to the toil of his studio, saying: "How shall any miserable man render in clay the quivering offlesh to an Idea, --the inexplicable horripilation of a Thought? Shall aman venture to mock the magic of that Eternal Moulder by whose infinitepower a million suns are shapen more readily than one small jar might berounded upon my wheel?"

 * * * * *

Yet the command of the Celestial and August might never be disobeyed;and the patient workman strove with all his power to fulfil the Son ofHeaven's desire. But vainly for days, for weeks, for months, for seasonafter season, did he strive; vainly also he prayed unto the gods to aidhim; vainly he besought the Spirit of the Furnace, crying: "O thouSpirit of Fire, hear me, heed me, help me! how shall I, --a miserableman, unable to breathe into clay a living soul, --how shall I render inthis inanimate substance the aspect of flesh made to creep by theutterance of a Word, sentient to the horripilation of a Thought?"

For the Spirit of the Furnace made strange answer to him with whisperingof fire: "_Vast thy faith, weird thy prayer! Has Thought feet, that manmay perceive the trace of its passing? Canst thou measure me the blastof the Wind?_"

 * * * * *

Nevertheless, with purpose unmoved, nine-and-forty times did Pu seek tofulfil the Emperor's command; nine-and-forty times he strove to obey thebehest of the Son of Heaven. Vainly, alas! did he consume his substance;vainly did he expend his strength; vainly did he exhaust his knowledge:success smiled not upon him; and Evil visited his home, and Poverty satin his dwelling, and Misery shivered at his hearth. 

Sometimes, when the hour of trial came, it was found that the colors hadbecome strangely transmuted in the firing, or had faded into ashenpallor, or had darkened into the fuliginous hue of forest-mould. And Pu, beholding these misfortunes, made wail to the Spirit of the Furnace, praying: "O thou Spirit of Fire, how shall I render the likeness oflustrous flesh, the warm glow of living color, unless thou aid me?"

And the Spirit of the Furnace mysteriously answered him with murmuringof fire: "_Canst thou learn the art of that Infinite Enameller who hathmade beautiful the Arch of Heaven, --whose brush is Light; whose paintsare the Colors of the Evening?_"

Sometimes, again, even when the tints had not changed, after the prickedand labored surface had seemed about to quicken in the heat, to assumethe vibratility of living skin, --even at the last hour all the labor ofthe workers proved to have been wasted; for the fickle substancerebelled against their efforts, producing only crinklings grotesque asthose upon the rind of a withered fruit, or granulations like thoseupon the skin of a dead bird from which the feathers have been rudelyplucked. And Pu wept, and cried out unto the Spirit of the Furnace: "Othou Spirit of Flame, how shall I be able to imitate the thrill of fleshtouched by a Thought, unless thou wilt vouchsafe to lend me thine aid?"

And the Spirit of the Furnace mysteriously answered him with mutteringof fire: "_Canst thou give ghost unto a stone? Canst thou thrill with aThought the entrails of the granite hills?_"

Sometimes it was found that all the work indeed had not failed; for thecolor seemed good, and all faultless the matter of the vase appeared tobe, having neither crack nor wrinkling nor crinkling; but the pliantsoftness of warm skin did not meet the eye; the flesh-tinted surfaceoffered only the harsh aspect and hard glimmer of metal. All theirexquisite toil to mock the pulpiness of sentient substance had left notrace; had been brought to nought by the breath of the furnace. And Pu, in his despair, shrieked to the Spirit of the Furnace: "O thou mercilessdivinity! O thou most pitiless god!--thou whom I have worshipped withten thousand sacrifices!--for what fault hast thou abandoned me? forwhat error hast thou forsaken me? How may I, most wretched of men! everrender the aspect of flesh made to creep with the utterance of a Word, sentient to the titillation of a Thought, if thou wilt not aid me?"

And the Spirit of the Furnace made answer unto him with roaring offire: "_Canst thou divide a Soul? Nay!. .. Thy life for the life of thywork!--thy soul for the soul of thy Vase!_"

And hearing these words Pu arose with a terrible resolve swelling at hisheart, and made ready for the last and fiftieth time to fashion his workfor the oven. 

One hundred times did he sift the clay and the quartz, the _kao-ling_and the _tun_; one hundred times did he purify them in clearest water;one hundred times with tireless hands did he knead the creamy paste, mingling it at last with colors known only to himself. Then was the vaseshapen and reshapen, and touched and retouched by the hands of Pu, untilits blandness seemed to live, until it appeared to quiver and topalpitate, as with vitality from within, as with the quiver of roundedmuscle undulating beneath the integument. For the hues of life were uponit and infiltrated throughout its innermost substance, imitating thecarnation of blood-bright tissue, and the reticulated purple of theveins; and over all was laid the envelope of sun-colored _Pe-kia-ho_, the lucid and glossy enamel, half diaphanous, even like the substancethat it counterfeited, --the polished skin of a woman. Never since themaking of the world had any work comparable to this been wrought by theskill of man. 

Then Pu bade those who aided him that they should feed the furnace wellwith wood of _tcha_; but he told his resolve unto none. Yet after theoven began to glow, and he saw the work of his hands blossoming andblushing in the heat, he bowed himself before the Spirit of Flame, andmurmured: "O thou Spirit and Master of Fire, I know the truth of thywords! I know that a Soul may never be divided! Therefore my life forthe life of my work!--my soul for the soul of my Vase!"

And for nine days and for eight nights the furnaces were fed unceasinglywith wood of _tcha_; for nine days and for eight nights men watched thewondrous vase crystallizing into being, rose-lighted by the breath ofthe flame. Now upon the coming of the ninth night, Pu bade all his wearycomrades retire to, rest, for that the work was well-nigh done, and thesuccess assured. "If you find me not here at sunrise, " he said, "fearnot to take forth the vase; for I know that the task will have beenaccomplished according to the command of the August. " So they departed. 

But in that same ninth night Pu entered the flame, and yielded up hisghost in the embrace of the Spirit of the Furnace, giving his life forthe life of his work, --his soul for the soul of his Vase. 

And when the workmen came upon the tenth morning to take forth theporcelain marvel, even the bones of Pu had ceased to be; but lo! theVase lived as they looked upon it: seeming to be flesh moved by theutterance of a Word, creeping to the titillation of a Thought. Andwhenever tapped by the finger it uttered a voice and a name, --the voiceof its maker, the name of its creator: PU. 

 * * * * *

And the son of Heaven, hearing of these things, and viewing the miracleof the vase, said unto those about him: "Verily, the Impossible hathbeen wrought by the strength of faith, by the force of obedience! Yetnever was it our desire that so cruel a sacrifice should have been; wesought only to know whether the skill of the matchless artificer camefrom the Divinities or from the Demons, --from heaven or from hell. Now, indeed, we discern that Pu hath taken his place among the gods. " And theEmperor mourned exceedingly for his faithful servant. But he ordainedthat godlike honors should be paid unto the spirit of the marvellousartist, and that his memory should be revered forevermore, and thatfair statues of him should be set up in all the cities of the CelestialEmpire, and above all the toiling of the potteries, that the multitudeof workers might unceasingly call upon his name and invoke hisbenediction upon their labors. 

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

NOTES

"_The Soul of the Great Bell. _"--The story of Ko-Ngai is one of thecollection entitled _Pe-Hiao-Tou-Choue_, or "A Hundred Examples ofFilial Piety. " It is very simply told by the Chinese narrator. Thescholarly French consul, P. Dabry de Thiersant, translated and publishedin 1877 a portion of the book, including the legend of the Bell. Histranslation is enriched with a number of Chinese drawings; and there isa quaint little picture of Ko-Ngai leaping into the molten metal. 

"_The Story of Ming-Y. _"--The singular phantom-tale upon which my workis based forms the thirty-fourth story of the famous collection_Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan_, and was first translated under the title, "LaBachelière du Pays de Chu, " by the learned Gustave Schlegel, as anintroduction to his publication (accompanied by a French version) ofthe curious and obscene _Mai-yu-lang-toú-tchen-hoa-koueï_ (Leyden, 1877), which itself forms the seventh recital of the same work. Schlegel, Julien, Gardner, Birch, D'Entrecolles, Rémusat, Pavie, Olyphant, Grisebach, Hervey-Saint-Denys, and others, have given theOccidental world translations of eighteen stories from the_Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan_; namely, Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 19, 20, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, and 39. The Chinese work itself dates back tothe thirteenth century; but as it forms only a collection of the mostpopular tales of that epoch, many of the stories selected by the Chineseeditor may have had a much more ancient origin. There are forty tales inthe _Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan_. 

"_The Legend of Tchi-Niu. _"--My authority for this tale is the followinglegend from the thirty-fourth chapter of the _Kan-ing-p'ien_, or "Bookof Rewards and Punishments, "--a work attributed to Lao-tseu, whichcontains some four hundred anecdotes and traditions of the most curiouskind:--

 Tong-yong, who lived under the Han dynasty, was reduced to a state of extreme poverty. Having lost his father, he sold himself in order to obtain . .. The wherewithal to bury him and to build him a tomb. The Master of Heaven took pity on him, and sent the Goddess Tchi-Niu to him to become his wife. She wove a piece of silk for him every day until she was able to buy his freedom, after which she gave him a son, and went back to heaven. --_Julien's French Translation_, p. 119. 

Lest the reader should suppose, however, that I have drawn wholly uponmy own imagination for the details of the apparition, the cure, themarriage ceremony, etc. , I refer him to No. XCVI. Of Giles's "StrangeStories from a Chinese Studio, " entitled, "A Supernatural Wife, " inwhich he will find that my narrative is at least conformable to Chineseideas. (This story first appeared in "Harper's Bazaar, " and isrepublished here by permission. )

"_The Return of Yen-Tchin-King. _"--There may be an involuntaryanachronism in my version of this legend, which is very pithilynarrated in the _Kan-ing-p'ien_. No emperor's name is cited by thehomilist; and the date of the revolt seems to have been left wholly toconjecture. --Baber, in his "Memoirs, " mentions one of his Mongol archersas able to bend a two-hundred-pound bow until the ears met. 

"_The Tradition of the Tea-Plant. _"--My authority for this bit offolklore is the brief statement published by Bretschneider in the"Chinese Recorder" for 1871:--

 "A Japanese legend says that about A. D. 519, a Buddhist priest came to China, and, in order to dedicate his soul entirely to God, he made a vow to pass the day and night in an uninterrupted and unbroken meditation. After many years of this continual watching, he was at length so tired that he fell asleep. On awaking the following morning, he was so sorry he had broken his vow that he cut off both his eyelids and threw them upon the ground. Returning to the same place the following day he observed that each eyelid had become a shrub. This was the _tea-shrub_, unknown until that time. "

Bretschneider adds that the legend in question seems not to be known tothe Chinese; yet in view of the fact that Buddhism itself, with all itsmarvellous legends, was received by the Japanese from China, it iscertainly probable this legend had a Chinese origin, --subsequentlydisguised by Japanese chronology. My Buddhist texts were drawn fromFernand Hû's translation of the Dhammapada, and from Leon Feer'stranslation from the Thibetan of the "Sutra in Forty-two Articles. " AnOrientalist who should condescend in a rare leisure-moment to glance atmy work might also discover that I had borrowed an idea or two from theSanscrit poet, Bhâminî-Vilâsa. 

"_The Tale of the Porcelain-God. _"--The good Père D'Entrecolles, whofirst gave to Europe the secrets of Chinese porcelain-manufacture, wroteone hundred and sixty years ago:--

 "The Emperors of China are, during their lifetime, the most redoubted of divinities; and they believe that nothing should ever stand in the way of their desires. .. . 

 "It is related that once upon a time a certain Emperor insisted that some porcelains should be made for him according to a model which he gave. It was answered that the thing was simply impossible; but all such remonstrances only served to excite his desire more and more. .. . The officers charged by the demigod to supervise and hasten the work treated the workmen with great harshness. The poor wretches spent all their money, took exceeding pains, and received only blows in return. One of them, in a fit of despair, leaped into the blazing furnace, and was instantly burnt to ashes. But the porcelain that was being baked there at the time came out, they say, perfectly beautiful and to the satisfaction of the Emperor. .. . From that time, the unfortunate workman was regarded as a hero; and his image was made the idol which presides over the manufacture of porcelain. "

It appears that D'Entrecolles mistook the statue of Pou't'ai, God ofComfort, for that of the real porcelain-deity, as Jacquemart and othersobserve. This error does not, however, destroy the beauty of the myth;and there is no good reason to doubt that D'Entrecolles related it as ithad been told him by some of his Chinese friends at King-te-chin. Theresearches of Stanislas Julien and others have only tended to confirmthe trustworthiness of the Catholic missionary's statements in otherrespects; and both Julien and Salvétat, in their admirable Frenchrendering of the _King-te-chin-thao-lou_, "History of the Porcelains ofKing-te-chin" (a work which has been of the greatest service to me inthe preparation of my little story), quote from his letters atconsiderable length, and award him the highest praise as a conscientiousinvestigator. So far as I have been able to learn, D'Entrecolles remainsthe sole authority for the myth; but his affirmations in regard to othermatters have withstood the severe tests of time astonishingly well; andsince the Tai-ping rebellion destroyed King-te-chin and paralyzed itsnoble industry, the value of the French missionary's documents andtestimony has become widely recognized. In lieu of any other name forthe hero of the legend, I have been obliged to retain that of Pou, orPu, --only using it without the affix "t'ai, "--so as to distinguish itfrom the deity of comfort and repose. 

[Illustration: Decorative motif]

Glossary

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]

GLOSSARY

ABHIDHARMA. --The metaphysics of Buddhism. Buddhist literatureis classed into three great divisions, or "baskets"; the highest ofthese is the Abhidharma. .. . According to a passage in Spence Hardy's"Manual of Buddhism, " the full comprehension of the Abhidharma ispossible only for a Buddha to acquire. 

CHIH. --"House"; but especially the house of the dead, --a tomb. 

CHU-SHA-KIH. --The mandarin-orange. 

ÇRAMANA. --An ascetic; one who has subdued his senses. For aninteresting history of this term, see Burnouf, --"Introduction àl'histoire du Buddhisme Indien. "

DAMÂRI. --A peculiar chant, of somewhat licentious character, most commonly sung during the period of the Indian carnival. For anaccount, at once brief and entertaining, of Hindoo popular songs andhymns, see Garcin de Tassy, --"Chants populaires de l'Inde. "

DOGS OF FO. --The _Dog of Fo_ is one of those fabulous monstersin the sculptural representation of which Chinese art has found its mostgrotesque expression. It is really an exaggerated lion; and thesymbolical relation of the lion to Buddhism is well known. Statues ofthese mythical animals--sometimes of a grandiose and colossalexecution--are placed in pairs before the entrances of temples, palaces, and tombs, as tokens of honor, and as emblems of divine protection. 

FO. --Buddha is called _Fo_, _Fuh_, _Fuh-tu_, _Hwut_, _Fat_, invarious Chinese dialects. The name is thought to be a corruption of theHindoo _Bodh_, or "Truth, " due to the imperfect articulation of theChinese. .. . It is a curious fact that the Chinese Buddhist liturgy isSanscrit transliterated into Chinese characters, and that the priestshave lost all recollection of the antique tongue, --repeating the textswithout the least comprehension of their meaning. 

FUH-YIN. --An official holding in Chinese cities a positioncorresponding to that of mayor in the Occident. 

FUNG-HOANG. --This allegorical bird, corresponding to theArabian phoenix in some respects, is described as being five cubitshigh, having feathers of five different colors, and singing in fivemodulations. .. . The female is said to sing in imperfect tones; the malein perfect tones. The _fung-hoang_ figures largely in Chinese musicalmyths and legends. 

GOPIA (or GOPIS). --Daughters and wives of the cowherdsof Vrindavana, among whom Krishna was brought up after his incarnationas the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Krishna's amours with the shepherdesses, or Gopia, form the subject of various celebrated mystical writings, especially the _Prem-Ságar_, or "Ocean of Love" (translated by Eastwickand by others); and the sensuous _Gita-Govinda_ of the Bengalese lyricpoet Jayadeva (translated into French prose by Hippolyte Fauche, andchastely rendered into English verse by Edwin Arnold in the "Indian Songof Songs"). See also Burnouf's partial translation of the _BhagavataParana_, and Théodore Pavie's "Krichna et sa doctrine. " . .. The sametheme has inspired some of the strangest productions of Hindoo art: forexamples, see plates 65 and 66 of Moor's "Hindoo Pantheon" (edition of1861). For accounts of the erotic mysticism connected with the worshipof Krishna and the Gopia, the reader may also be referred to authoritiescited in Barth's "Religions of India"; De Tassy's "Chants populaires del'Inde"; and Lamairesse's "Poésies populaires du Sud de l'Inde. "

HAO-KHIEOU-TCHOUAN. --This celebrated Chinese novel wastranslated into French by M. Guillard d'Arcy in 1842, and appearedunder the title, "Hao-Khieou-Tchouan; ou, La Femme Accomplie. " The firsttranslation of the romance into any European tongue was a Portugueserendering; and the English version of Percy is based upon the Portuguesetext. The work is rich in poetical quotations. 

HEÏ-SONG-CHÉ-TCHOO. --"One day when the Emperor Hiuan-tsong ofthe Thang dynasty, " says the _Tao-kia-ping-yu-che_, "was at work in hisstudy, a tiny Taoist priest, no bigger than a fly, rose out of theinkstand lying upon his table, and said to him: 'I am the Genius of ink;my name is Heï-song-ché-tchoo [_Envoy of the Black Fir_]; and I havecome to tell you that whenever a true sage shall sit down to write, theTwelve Divinities of Ink [_Long-pinn_] will appear upon the surface ofthe ink he uses. '" See "L'Encre de Chine, " by Maurice Jametel. Paris. 1882. 

HOA-TCHAO. --The "Birthday of a Hundred Flowers" falls upon thefifteenth of the second spring-moon. 

JADE. --Jade, or nephrite, a variety of jasper, --called by theChinese _yuh_, --has always been highly valued by them as artisticmaterial. .. . In the "Book of Rewards and Punishments, " there is acurious legend to the effect that Confucius, after the completion of his_Hiao-King_ ("Book of Filial Piety"), having addressed himself toHeaven, a crimson rainbow fell from the sky, and changed itself at hisfeet into a piece of yellow jade. See Stanislas Julien's translation, p. 495. 

KABIT. --A poetical form much in favor with composers of Hindooreligious chants: the _kabit_ always consists of four verses. 

KAO-LING. --Literally, "the High Ridge, " and originally the nameof a hilly range which furnished the best quality of clay to theporcelain-makers. Subsequently the term applied by long custom todesignate the material itself became corrupted into the word nowfamiliar in all countries, --kaolin. In the language of the Chinesepotters, the _kaolin_, or clay, was poetically termed the "bones, " andthe _tun_, or quartz, the "flesh" of the porcelain; while the preparedbricks of the combined substances were known as _pe-tun-tse_. Bothsubstances, the infusible and the fusible, are productions of the samegeological formation, --decomposed feldspathic rock. 

KASÍ (_or_ VARANASI). --Ancient name of Benares, the "Sacred City, "believed to have been founded by the gods. It is also called "TheLotos of the World. " Barth terms it "the Jerusalem of all the sectsboth of ancient and modern India. " It still boasts two thousandshrines, and half a million images of divinities. See also Sherring's"Sacred City of the Hindoos. "

KIANG-KOU-JIN. --Literally, the "tell-old-story-men. " For a brief accountof Chinese professional story-tellers, the reader may consult Schlegel'sentertaining introduction to the _Mai-yu-lang-toú-tchen-hoa-koueï_. 

KIN. --The most perfect of Chinese musical instruments, alsocalled "the Scholar's Lute. " The word _kin_ also means "to prohibit";and this name is said to have been given to the instrument becausemusic, according to Chinese belief, "_restrains evil passions, andcorrects the human heart_. " See Williams's "Middle Kingdom. "

KOUEI. --Kouei, musician to the Emperor Yao, must have held hisoffice between 2357 and 2277 B. C. The extract selected from one of hissongs, which I have given at the beginning of the "Story of Ming-Y, " istherefore more than four thousand years old. The same chant containsanother remarkable fancy, evidencing Chinese faith in musical magic:--

 "When I smite my [_musical_] stone, -- Be it gently, be it strongly, -- Then do the fiercest beasts of prey leap high for joy. And the chiefs among the public officials do agree among themselves. "

KWANG-CHAU-FU. --Literally, "The Broad City, "--the name ofCanton. It is also called "The City of Genii. "

LÍ. --A measure of distance. The length of the _li_ has variedconsiderably in ancient and in modern times. The present is given byWilliams as ten _li_ to a league. 

LI-SAO. --"The Dissipation of Grief, " one of the most celebratedChinese poems of the classic period. It is said to have been writtenabout 314 B. C. , by Kiu-ping-youen, minister to the King of Tsou. Findinghimself the victim of a base court-intrigue, Kiu-ping wrote the _Li-Sao_as a vindication of his character, and as a rebuke to the malice of hisenemies, after which he committed suicide by drowning. .. . A fine Frenchtranslation of the _Li-Sao_ has been made by the Marquis Hervey deSaint-Denys (Paris, 1870). 

LI-SHU. --The second of the six styles of Chinese writing, foran account of which see Williams's "Middle Kingdom. " . .. According tovarious Taoist legends, the decrees of Heaven are recorded in the"Seal-character, " the oldest of all; and marks upon the bodies ofpersons killed by lightning have been interpreted as judgments writtenin it. The following extraordinary tale from the _Kan-ing-p'ien_ affordsa good example of the superstition in question:--

 Tchang-tchun was Minister of State under the reign of Hoeï-tsong, of the Song dynasty. He occupied himself wholly in weaving perfidious plots. He died in exile at Mo-tcheou. Sometime after, while the Emperor was hunting, there fell a heavy rain, which obliged him to seek shelter in a poor man's hut. The thunder rolled with violence; and the lightning killed a man, a woman, and a little boy. On the backs of the man and woman were found red characters, which could not be deciphered; but on the back of the little boy the following six words could be read, written in Tchouen (_antique_) characters: TSÉ-TCH'IN-TCHANG-TCHUN-HEOU-CHIN, --which mean: "Child of the issue of Tchang-tchun, who was a rebellious subject. "--_Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines, traduit par Stanislas Julien_, p. 446. 

PAGAL. --The ankle-ring commonly worn by Hindoo women; it isalso called _nupur_. It is hollow, and contains loose bits of metal, which tinkle when the foot is moved. 

SAN-HIEN. --A three-stringed Chinese guitar. Its belly isusually covered with snake-skin. 

SIU-FAN-TI. --Literally, "the Sweeping of the Tombs, "--the dayof the general worship of ancestors; the Chinese "All-Souls'. " It fallsin the early part of April, the period called _tsing-ming_. 

TA-CHUNG SZ'. --Literally, "Temple of the Bell. " The building atPekin so named covers probably the largest suspended bell in the world, cast in the reign of Yong-lo, about 1406 A. D. , and weighing upwards of120, 000 pounds. 

TAO. --The infinite being, or Universal Life, whence all formsproceed: Literally, "the Way, " in the sense of the First Cause. Lao-tseu uses the term in other ways; but that primal and most importantphilosophical sense which he gave to it is well explained in thecelebrated Chapter XXV. Of the _Tao-te-king_. .. . The difference betweenthe great Chinese thinker's conception of the First Cause--theUnknowable, --and the theories of other famous metaphysicians, Orientaland Occidental, is set forth with some definiteness in StanislasJulien's introduction to the _Tao-te-king_, pp. X-xv. ("Le Livre de laVoie et de la Vertu. " Paris, 1842. )

THANG. --The Dynasty of Thang, which flourished between 620 and907 A. D. , encouraged literature and art, and gave to China its mostbrilliant period. The three poets of the Thang dynasty mentioned in thesecond story flourished between 779 and 852 A. D. 

"THREE COUNCILLORS. "--Six stars of the Great-Bear constellation([Greek: ik--lm--nx]), as apparently arranged in pairs, are thus calledby the Chinese astrologers and mythologists. The three couples arefurther distinguished as the Superior Councillor, Middle Councillor, andInferior Councillor; and, together with the Genius of the NorthernHeaven, form a celestial tribunal, presiding over the duration of humanlife, and deciding the course of mortal destiny. (Note by StanislasJulien in "Le Livre des Récompenses et des Peines. ")

TIEN-HIA. --Literally, "Under-Heaven, " or "Beneath-the-Sky, "--oneof the most ancient of those many names given by the Chinese to China. The name "China" itself is never applied by the Black-haired Race totheir own country, and is supposed to have had its origin in the fame ofthe first _Tsin_ dynasty, whose founder, Tsin Chí-Houang-tí, built theGreat, or "Myriad-Mile, " Wall, twenty-two and a half degrees of latitudein length . .. See Williams regarding occurrence of the name "China" inSanscrit literature. 

TSIEN. --The well-known Chinese copper coin, with a square holein the middle for stringing, is thus named. According to quality ofmetal it takes from 900 to 1, 800 _tsien_ to make one silver dollar. 

TSING-JIN. --"Men of Tsing. " From very ancient times the Chinesehave been wont to call themselves by the names of their famousdynasties, --_Han-jin_, "the men of Han"; _Thang-jin_, "the men ofThang, " etc. _Ta Tsing Kwoh_ ("Great Pure Kingdom") is the name given bythe present dynasty to China, --according to which the people might callthemselves _Tsing-jin_, or "men of Tsing. " Williams, however, remarksthat they will not yet accept the appellation. 

VERSES (CHINESE). --The verses preceding "The Legend ofTchi-Niu" afford some remarkable examples of Chinese onomatopoeia. They occur in the sixth strophe of _Miên-miên_, which is the third chantof the first section of _Ta-ya_, the Third Book of the _Chi-King_. (SeeG. Pauthier's French version. ) Dr. Legge translates the strophe thus:--

 . .. Crowds brought the earth in baskets; they threw it with shouts into the frames; they beat it with responsive blows; they pared the walls repeatedly till they sounded strong. --_Sacred Books of the East_; Vol. III. , _The She-King_, p. 384. 

Pauthier translates the verses somewhat differently; preserving theonomatopoeia in three of the lines. _Hoûng-hoûng_ are the sounds heardin the timber-yards where the wood is being measured; from the workshopsof the builders respond the sounds of _tông-tông_; and the solid walls, when fully finished off, give out the sound of _pîng-pîng_. 

YAO. --"Porcelain. " The reader who desires detailed informationrespecting the technology, history, or legends of Chineseporcelain-manufacture should consult Stanislas Julien's admirable"Histoire de la Porcelaine Chinoise" (Paris, 1856). With some triflingexceptions, the names of the various porcelains cited in my "Tale ofthe Porcelain-God" were selected from Julien's work. Though oddlymusical and otherwise attractive in Chinese, these names lose interestby translation. The majority of them merely refer to centres ofmanufacture or famous potteries: _Chou-yao_, "porcelains of Chou";_Hong-tcheou-yao_, "porcelains of Hong-tcheou"; _Jou-yao_, "porcelainsof Jou-tcheou"; _Ting-yao_, "porcelains of Ting-tcheou"; _Ko-yao_, "porcelains of the Elder Brother [Thsang]"; _Khang-hi-nien-t'sang-yao_, "porcelains of Thsang made in the reign of Khang-hi. " Some porcelainswere distinguished by the names of dynasties, or the titles of civicoffice holders; such as the celebrated _Tch'aï-yao_, "the porcelains ofTch'aï" (which was the name of the family of the Emperor Chi-tsong); andthe _Kouan-yao_, or "Porcelains of Magistrates. " Much more rarely thenames refer directly to the material or artistic peculiarity ofporcelains, --as _Ou-ni-yao_, the "black-paste porcelains, " or_Pi-se-yao_, the "porcelains of hidden color. " The word _khi_, sometimessubstituted for _yao_ in these compound names, means "vases"; as_Jou-khi_, "vases of Jou-tcheou"; _Kouan-khi_, "vases for Magistrates. "

[Illustration: Chinese calligraphy]