Note 114 — XV. MISS YING-NING; OR, THE LAUGHING GIRL.
Herbert Allen Giles translation
The semi-divine head of the Taoist religion, sometimes called the Master of Heaven. In his body is supposed to reside the soul of a celebrated Taoist, an ancestor of his, who actually discovered the elixir of life and became an immortal some eighteen hundred years ago. At death, the precious soul above-mentioned will take up its abode in the body of some youthful member of the family to be hereinafter revealed. Meanwhile, the present Pope makes a very respectable income from the sale of charms, by working miracles, and so forth; and only about two years ago he visited Shanghai, where he was interviewed by several foreigners. return to text