Note 62 — Chapter XXXII

There are three religions systems prevailing in China, and tolerated by the government—viz., those of Confucius, of Laoutze, and of Budha. The two former were contemporaries, and flourished about five hundred years before the Christian era. That of Budha was introduced from India, very soon after the beginning of our era, and gained such hold among the common people of China, that it is now the general superstition of all the lower classes, and its showy temples and gilded images abound throughout the land. Confucius, on the other hand, was simply a political and moral philosopher, and in his temples no images are found; but he was a politician, and was employed in the public service, long before he became a moralist.

Laoutze was a contemplative enthusiast, who taught the cultivation of reason, abstraction from the world, self-denial, &c.; and then wandered into the absurdities of magic arts and demoniac possessions. Nevertheless, he is said to have had some glimmerings of a future state. His followers are in the present day called the sect of Taou.

The Budhism of China probably differs little from that of India; the daily prayers are repeated in a language of which the priests do not understand a syllable. In the temple are the three huge Budhas—the Past, the Present, and the Future; with a Goddess of Mercy, a God of War, a God of Wealth, and others. There is, in front of the altar, a large bronze cauldron, for burning gilt paper; and a huge drum and a bell, to awaken the especial attention of the god. Such are the temples of Pooto.

In cases of extreme emergency, as during the prevalence of great drought and threatened famine, the Emperor orders prayers to be offered up in the temples of all the three sects, for a cessation of the evil. But the Confucian is the system of religion to which the Emperor and his court adhere.