《中国人的性格》第二十六章 多元信仰（上）

《中国人的性格》是美国传教士阿瑟·史密斯（明恩溥）基于1872年赴华传教期间的社会观察撰写的著作，首版英文名《Chinese Characteristics》于19世纪末问世，。作者在华生活逾五十年，书中融合人类学视角与传教士立场，记录了晚清民众的性格特征与文化形态。

全书以27个主题章节剖析中国人行为模式，包含“保全面子”“省吃俭用”等生活哲学，以及“漠视精确”“因循守旧”等社会现象。通过对比西方工业文明，着重探讨东方特有的生存韧性，如环境适应力与疼痛耐受性。书中案例多源自山东乡村生活经历，涉及衣食住行、孝悌观念等主题，部分结论因宗教立场存在视角争议。该著作开创西方研究中国国民性先河，被译成多国文字，成为近代中西文化互鉴的重要文本。

第二十六章 多元信仰（上）

儒教，作为一种思想体系，是中华民族最伟大的智力成就之一，而儒家经典对于西方读者来说，又十分枯燥乏味。不过，仅仅仔细地阅读，只能得到皮毛的印象，不思考其影响，简直永远不可能了解它们。中华民族是世界上最伟大的民族，“其有记载的历史一直可以追溯到传说中的远古，她是世界上唯一没有异化或崩溃的古老民族，也从未被任何民族，从她自古生存的那片土地上驱逐出去。”一切都仍是那样古老。对这一空前绝后的事实，我们该如何解释呢？中国人口之众多，在世界上无与伦比，他们自从开天辟地以来就居住在中华大地上，直到今天。到底是一种什么样的神秘力量在支撑着这个古老的民族？在所有的民族都必然走向衰落、灭亡的宇宙命运面前，中华民族为什么成了一个例外，一直保持着如此顽强的生命力？

所有对此作过彻底调查的学者一致认为，其他民族依靠物质力量生存，而中华民族依靠的是道德力量。一位学习历史的人或善于观察的旅行家，只要了解人的本性，无不对中华民族奇迹般的道德约束力肃然起敬，这种约束力从古至今都发挥着巨大的作用。威廉姆斯博士说：“儒教对中华民族在追求理想人格，善良人性方面的影响，无论作何评价，都不过分，它所描绘的极高的道德标准对后世产生了不可估量的影响，以至于整个民族都要接受这一标准的评判。”莱格博士说：“儒教在作为人的责任方面的精彩教诲，实在令人赞叹，它所推崇的四个方面的教诲——文质彬彬、谨守道德律令、关注精神、诚实，其中有三个方面是和摩西律法及福音书教诲是一致的，以此为标准建立的世界，必将是一个美好的世界。”

中国经典中，完全没有使人堕落的描写，这一点经常有人指出，它是中国经典最伟大的特征之一，也是与印度、希腊、罗马经典最主要的区别之一。梅杜斯先生说：“无论是古代的，还是现代的，没有任何一个民族拥有如此圣洁庄严的作品，里面完全没有放荡的描写和粗鲁的语言。整部书没有一句话或注释不能在英国任何一个家庭中大声朗诵。在其他所有非基督教国家，偶像崇拜都是与人的牺牲及堕落的神圣化联系在一起，并伴随着狂欢放荡的仪式。可在中国，所有的这一切，都找不到半点踪影。”

皇帝就自己的统治直接向上天负责；民心振奋要比统治者的精神更为重要；统治者应该德才兼备，其统治也应该以美德为基础；人与人之间五种关系的复杂理论；己所不欲，勿施于人——所有这些观念像山峰一样，从普通的中国思想中脱颖而出，也吸引了所有观察家的注意。在即将结束对中国人的论述时，我们想重点强调一下儒家思想体系的优点，只有真正理解了这些优点，我们才能真正地理解中国人。它们使中国人具备了一种服从道德的卓绝能力。每年的文官考试，都是就这些经典出题，因此，中国人的思想统一，也达到了不可思议的地步，每一位候选者都把政府的稳定当成自己成功的前提，这无疑就是中华民族繁衍至今的首要因素。

中国人是否确实信仰过上帝，一直是个相当令人感兴趣的问题。那些严格考察过中国典籍的人向我们保证，学者们倾向于肯定回答。而另一些自称具有独立判断能力的人则持否定态度。即使中国人确曾认识到真正的上帝，那些观念也全被遗忘了，犹如一枚古币，上面的文字早已被积存的斑斑锈迹遮盖了。对于提问者，这一问题可能非常重要，但对我们目前的研究来说，完全可以不考虑。我们目前所关注的既不是历史问题，也不是理论问题，而是现实问题，也就是说，中国人和他们的神之间到底存在着一种什么样的关系？

通过一些实例，我们不难追溯古代英雄和杰出人物从受尊敬到被纪念、再到被崇拜的各个阶段。中国所有的神几乎都是死去的人，祖先崇拜，在某种意义上，可以证明所有的死人都是神，在皇帝的恩准下，各地不断为生前就闻名遐迩的人物建庙立祠。随着时间的流逝，很难说其中没有人会成为整个民族的神，不管怎样，作为一个民族，中国人是多神论者。

认为人都有崇拜自然的倾向，这只是陈辞滥调。人们认为那些不可抗拒的未知力量有感觉，因而便把它们拟人化，并加以崇拜，所以风神庙、雷神庙等等随处可见。北极星也是人们长期崇拜的对象。北京还有与皇帝崇拜有关的日坛与月坛。有些地方，对太阳的崇拜成了一种有规律的朝拜。二月的某一天被定为太阳的“生日”。这天一大早，村民们就起身东行，去迎接太阳；傍晚时分，再转身向西，护送太阳踏上归程。一年中对太阳的朝拜这时就算结束了。

自然崇拜中最平常的是崇拜树，在某些省（例如河南的西北部），经常可以见到大小几百棵树，都挂着小旗子，标明此树为何神居所。有时即使没有这种外在的标志，人们仍会笃信不疑。如果破旧的草屋前长着一棵遒劲的老树，简直可以肯定，树的主人一定不敢砍伐，因为中间住着神灵。

皇帝经常被认为是唯一有权祭天的人。祭祀大典独特而有趣，由皇帝一人独自在大坛上举行。但对于全体中国人来说，他们自己不祭祀大地，也是一个新闻。每家朝南的正墙上都设有一个小小的神龛，有些地方称为天地龛。大多数中国人证实，他们举行的祭祀活动（祖先崇拜除外）只在初一或十五举行，向大地祭拜或上供，有时是在新年伊始。祭祀时，没有祷告，过一会儿，供品就被撤下，或像其他祭祀一样，全部吃掉。这时，人们祭祀的是什么呢？有时，他们说是“天和地”，有时又说是“天”，也称为“老天爷”。后一种称呼经常使人们认为，中国人确实感觉到一个人格神。可是当你知道，这个假想的“存在物”经常与另一个被称为“土地婆”的神相匹配时，这个推断就带来了严重的问题。有些地方，有六有十九祭祀“老天爷”的风俗，因为这一天是他的生日。向给“老天爷”定生日的人追问：“老天爷”的父亲是谁，他的生辰八字是多少，完全是多余的，因为他们对此也一无所知。很难使一个普通的中国人理解这些问题的实际意义。他只是接受传统，做梦也不想提这些乱七八糟的问题。我们很少遇到一个中国人，除了知道“老天爷”掌管”气候和收成之外，还能知道他的身世与品质。“老天爷”这个同在中国广泛流传，似乎表明他具有人格，但是，就我们所知，人们既没有为他建庙，也没有为他塑像，对他的祭祀和对“天与地”的祭祀也没什么不同，似乎都是未经解释而保留下来的。

中国典籍中经常用“天”这个词来表示人的观念和意志，但有时这两方面的涵义都没有。当我们看“天即道”的注解时，感到其意义已模糊到了极点。这个词在古代富有歧义，在日常生活中也一直非常含混。一个一向祭天的人，被强烈要求回答“天”是何意时，他经常回答说，就是头上那蓝蓝的天空。这表明，他的崇拜是与崇拜自然力量相一致的，只不过有的崇拜个体，有的崇拜群体而已。他们所信仰的，用爱默生的话说，是“萧萧细雨，萋萋芳草”，他们是泛神论者。这种缺乏明确涵义的人格化，正是中国“苍天”崇拜的致命缺陷。

中国上层社会流行的似乎纯粹是无神论，这与下层百姓的多神论、泛神论形成了鲜明的对比。从那些对此颇有研究的人提供的证据中，从无数的表面现象和“前定可能性”中，我们不能不得出如下结论：世界上没有任何一个有教养的、文明人团体像儒家学者那样是彻底的不可知论者和无神论者。＊“前定可能性”指的是宋代唯物主义注释家对知识界的著名影响，中国经典的注释家、大学问家朱熹则是绝对的权威，任何对他的观念的怀疑都被视为异端邪说。他的注释不仅是唯物主义的，而且就我们理解，也是彻头彻尾的无神论，它的影响遮蔽了原有经典的教诲。

黄河从陕西和山西的深山峻岭中流出后，继续向东奔流数百里，注入大海。多少年来，它曾数次改道，跨越六、七个纬度，从扬子江口流至渤海口。但它流经哪里，哪里哀鸿遍野，留下一片不毛的沙丘。宋代的注释家带来的唯物主义洪流冲击着中国思想的大河，情形与黄河别无

＊梅杜斯先生指出，任何一位思想前后一贯的儒家学者都是一个彻底的无神论者，但人类的本性很少有绝对的。一致性，不少儒家学者也信神，或者以为自己信神。二致。它泛滥了达七百年之久，留下的只是一片无神论的荒漠，再也不能为这个民族的灵魂提供任何有益的食粮了。道教退化成降妖捉怪的妖术，它曾从佛教中汲取大量的营养，以弥补自己的先天不足。佛教的引入是用以满足儒教无法满足的人的先天需求。它们的教育方式彼此影响，都产生了很大的变动。任何一个提供行善途径的机构都会得到人们的赞助，假如他手头上碰巧有点积蓄，或者认为赞助与某些行为一样高尚的话。任何在某一方面似乎对人有利的神灵都会受到人们的垂青，就像个偶尔需要伞的人，遇到了一家伞店。一个英国人买伞，绝不会去问伞是何时发明，何时开始普遍应用的，中国人对自己崇拜的神也同样不过问其家世、经历。

经常有些学术讲座探讨中国有多少佛教徒和道教徒。我们认为，这个问题就像探讨在联合王国有多少人抽十便士一包的香烟、多少人吃菜豆。谁想抽十便士一包的香烟，又能弄到，谁就抽；谁想吃菜豆，又能买起，就吃好了。中国的两种“教义”与此相同。谁想请和尚做法事，又能付得起钱，就去请和尚，他也因此就成了“佛教徒”。如果他想请道士，他也同样可以去请，这也会使他成“道教徒”。如果他既请了和尚，又请了道士，那也无关紧要，人们可以说他既是“佛教徒”，又是“道教徒”。因此，一个人可以同时是儒教徒、佛教徒和道教徒，这并没有什么不和谐的。佛教融合了道教，道教融合了儒教，最后儒教又融合了佛教与道教，因此，“三教合一”。

中国人同他们的“三教”之间的真正关系可以用盎格鲁一撒克逊人同他们的语言间的关系来说明。他们在描述自己的语言构成时说：“撒克逊语、诺曼底语和丹麦语就是我们的语言。”即使可以确定我们的祖先为谁，我们的血管中流动的撒克逊人和丹麦人的血液的比例并不能影响我们对语词的选择，它只受思维习惯和我们所期望的用途影响。学者会使用大量的拉丁词语，混杂着很多丹麦语。而农民则主要使用朴素的撒克逊语。但二者都以撒克逊语为基础，其他语言只是补充。在中国，儒教是基础，所有的中国人都是儒教教徒，所有的英国人都是撒克逊人。佛教和道教的观念、用语和教规对儒教产生的影响，随环境的变化而变化。但是对于中国人来说，“三教”融合而成的仪式中，并没有什么不和谐或矛盾的地方，就跟我们在同一句话中使用了来源于不同民族的词汇一样。

两种不同形式的信仰常常是互相排斥的，让中国人相信这一点，并不容易。他们不懂什么是逻辑矛盾，也很少关心。他们本能地学会了一种调和不同命题的技巧。对于两个本质不相容的命题之间的关系，他们可以置之不理，强行把它们扯到一起。他们所接受的思维训练，也为融合不同形式的信仰作了充分的准备，就像液体可以通过内渗和外渗相互融合一样。他们已把这种“信仰亲和”推到了逻辑消亡的境地，即使告诉他们这一点，他们也不会明白，而且也无人可使他们理解。

教义的机械融合有两个非常显著的特点。第一是与中国人天生的喜欢秩序的本能相违背。中国人喜欢秩序，闻名遐迩，官阶的精心划分可以鲜明地体现这一点。帝国的所有官员，分为九品，每品都有严格的身份标志和权限。但是中国的神灵世界却找不到这等级森严的秩序，若问中国人“玉皇大帝”和“如来佛”谁权力大，简直是白费口舌。即使在“万神殿”中，诸神排列的秩序也是偶然的。暂时的，经常交换不定。中国人的精神世界中，权威的地位也不固定，这种十足的混乱状态，如果出现在地球上，一定是个无政府主义的世界。在供奉孔子、老子和如来佛的“三教堂”，排列秩序问题仍很突出。尊者位于中间，我们认为，这个位置应归孔子，如果不是他——既然他不信神——就应该是老子。可以肯定，这个问题在过去一直令人们争论不休，但在我们听到的所有的争论中，总是佛祖受惠，尽管他是个外来户。

另一个重要特征即是中国所有的信仰都把人的道德本质贬得极低，犹如假货币顶替了真货币。儒教高尚的箴言一点也不能使人们消除对于道教经常提到的妖魔鬼怪的恐惧。人们常说，世界上没有任何文明民族比中国人更迷信、更轻信的了，这也确实不假。富有的商人和知识渊博的学者竟然每个月都要花两天时间祭拜狐狸，黄鼠狼、刺谓、蛇和老鼠，它们被标在一张纸上，又被称为“大仙”，据说它们甚至可以左右人的命运。

数年前，中国一位著名的官员曾跪在一条被当成水神的大蛇面前，据说该神是前朝的一位官员，他曾奇迹般地制服过泛滥的黄河。在洪水泛滥时，将蛇当成神加以崇拜的现象十分普遍。在离黄河较远的地方，人们会不分青红皂白把一条生活在旱地的普通的蛇当做神。如果河水退去，为纪念神恩，人们会做出一些非常富有戏剧性的事件来，他们把蛇放在盘子上，抬进庙里或其他公共场合，县官和其他官吏每天都去烧香磕头。在离黄河近的地方，河神一般认为就是水神，但在稍远的内地，战神关帝则被当成雨神，有时，这二者会被大慈大悲的观世音代替。在中国人眼里，这似乎并不是非理性的，因为他们从不考虑本质融合的前提，即使告诉他们其中的荒谬，他们也不能理解。

我们还经常注意到与求雨有关的另一个古怪而又极有意味的事实。在中国名著《西游记》中，有一个主要角色是一只从石头里诞生的猴子，后来渐渐演化成了人，很多地方将这个想像之物当成雨神来崇拜，以便排除河神和战神。中国人从来就分不清真实与虚构，还有什么例子能比这更具说服力？在西方人的观念中，原因与结果相互关联。但是中国人向一只并不存在的猴子求雨，他们的因果观念是怎样的呢？我们无论如何也捉摸不透。

中国人对神有各种各样的描述，他们是如何对待这些神的呢？这个问题有两个答案：崇拜与忽视。中国人每年在香烛、纸钱上要花多少钱，经常有人作出估计。这种估计当然是先把某个地区当成一个样本，计算出确切的数字，再以此推算帝国的其他地区，没有什么比这种所谓的“统计”更不精确了，就像有人统计一大片蚊子，“数累了，接着就开始估计”。

把中华帝国当成一个整体下结论，很容易犯错误。中国人到庙里拜神就是个突出的例子。从广州登陆的旅行者，看到庙里香客如云，烟雾缭绕，会认为中国人是世界上最盲目崇拜的民族之一。假如让他先别急着下结论，等他游览了帝国的另一端再说。他会发现，大量的庙宇早已荒颓无人，大部分时间，包括初一、十五也没人进香，甚至在上香最盛行的时间——春节，也可能没人进去。他会发现成千上万被人们遗忘的古庙，尽管偶尔有人做些修复，但已无人知道它们修于何时，为何而修了。他会发现，一块方圆数百里、人口稠密的地方，找不到一个教士，无论道士，还是和尚。在有些地方的庙里，他一般看不到妇女，孩子从小到大，没有人教导他们皈依神的必要性。在帝国的其他地方，情况则截然不同，表面的崇拜仪式渗透到人们日常生活的一举一动中。

中国的宗教势力可以和造成夏威夷群岛的火山相比。在夏威夷最北部和最西部的岛屿上，很久以前，火山就死亡了，昔日的残破不堪的火山口现在已长满了茂盛的草木。但在东南部的岛屿上，大火仍然在熊熊燃烧，不时地从岛中传来剧烈的地震。在中国最古老的地区，也最少有人烧香拜佛，而在中国文明最辉煌时仍处于野蛮状态的地区，偶像崇拜却极为盛行。这些表面现象最容易产生误导，在没有进一步充分调查之前，很可能会被赋予言过其实的意义。

孔子曾说：“敬鬼神而远之”，他的现代门徒也因此认为，对中国五花八门的众神敬而远之是最明智的。与蒙古人、日本人相比，中国人相对没有宗教偏见。在一些庙宇的门楣上，我们还经常看到古老的格言：“敬神如神在”。以“如”字来传达模棱两可的含义，完全是中国人的本能使然。下面这一流行的说法，表现得更具体： 敬神如神来，

可来可不来。 敬神如神在， 不敬神 不怪。

比敬而远之更进一步的是仪式崇拜，它有一定的程序和方法，这样做的目的，无非想获得外在的利益。

若说中国人似乎与神圣感毫不相干，也仅仅是一种礼貌的表述。我们已经认识到，中国人所有的信仰，要么是常规的仪式，要么是交易一一供给神多少就得到神的多少恩赐，对“老天爷”的崇拜最能表现这一本质。问一个中国人，为什么要定期祭拜“老天爷”，他会告诉你：“因为我们从他那里得到粮食和衣服。”即使他对“老天爷”的存在茫然无知，仍会按仪式照行不误。祖先们这样，他也这样做，至于是否有用，“谁知道呢？”

这种对待宗教仪式的态度是浅薄的。在一些被人遗忘的庙宇的门柱上，我们经常可以看到一副具有讽刺意味的对联，较能说明这一点：

古庙无僧风扫地 空室有情月作灯

中国人崇拜神，仿佛西方人参加保险。一般人认为，“最好相信神存在”。也就是说，他们不存在，相信了也没害处；假如确实存在，又被人忽略了，他们可能会生气、报复。人们认为神和人一样，也受一定动机的支配，有句俗语说，一个羊头（作供品）可换来一切。那些没有特殊可以赐给人的神，例如“三圣”，常常是穷神，而观世音菩萨和关帝则既尊贵又富有。

中国人对神的崇拜不仅仅建立在纯粹假设的基础上：信神“有益无害”，而且走到了令我们难以理解的地步。他们经常说：“信，就有，不信，就没有。”也似乎认为确是如此。这种表述方式（很难称为思维方式），就像一个中国人说：“相信皇帝存在，就存在；不相信，就不存在。”这样类比，中国人很乐于接受，可他们自己就好像不能通过一定的推理认识到这一点。

英文原版：

XXVI. POLYTHEISM，PANTHEISM，ATHEISM

CONFUCIANISM,as a system of thought,is among the most remarkable intellectual achievements of the race. It is true that the Western reader cannot escape a feeling that much of what he finds in the Confucian Classics is jejune. But it is not merely by perusing them that we are to receive our most forcible impressions of what the Chinese Classics are and have been,but by contemplating their effects.Here is the Chinese race,by far the mightiest aggregation of human beings in any one nation on earth,"with a written history ex- tending as far back as that of any other which the world has known,the only nation that has throughout retained its nation- ality,and has never been ousted from the land where it first appeared,"existing,for aught that appears,in much the same way as in hoary antiquity.What is the explanation of this unexampled fact? By what means has this incomputable mass of human beings,dwelling on the Chinese plains from the dawn of history until now,been controlled,and how is it that they appear to be an exception to the universal law of the decay and death of nations ?

Those who have investigated this subject most thoroughly are united in declaring that this result is due to the fact that, whereas other nations have depended upon physical force,the Chinese have depended upon moral forces.No student of history,no observant traveller who knows human nature,can fail to be impressed,to the point of deep awe,with the thought of the marvellous restraining power which Chinese morality has exerted upon the race from the earliest times until now. "It would be hard to overestimate,"says Dr.Williams,"the influence of Confucius in his ideal princely scholar,and the power for good over his race which this conception has ever since exerted.The immeasurable influence in after-ages of the character thus portrayed proves how lofty was his own standard,and the national conscience has ever since assented to the justice of the portrait.”"The teaching of Confucian- ism on human duty,"says Dr.Legge,"is wonderful and ad- mirable.It is not perfect,indeed.But on the last three of the four things which Confucius delighted to teach—letters,ethics,devotion of soul,and truthfulness—his utterances are in harmony both with the Law and the Gospel.A world ordered by them would be a beautiful world.”

The entire freedom of the Chinese classical works from any- thing which could debase the mind of the readers is a most important characteristic which has been often pointed out,and which is in the greatest possible contrast to the literatures of India,Greece,and Rome."No people,"says Mr.Meadows, "whether of ancient or modern times,has possessed a sacred literature so completely exempt as the Chinese from licentious descriptions,and from every offensive expression.There is not a single sentence in the whole of the Sacred Books and their annotations that may not be read aloud in any family circle in England.Again,in every other non-Christian coun- try,idolatry has been associated with human sacrifices and with the deification of vice,accompanied by licentious rites and orgies. Not a sign of all this exists in China.”

The direct personal responsibility of the Emperor to heaven for the quality of his rule;the exaltation of the people as of more importance than the rulers;the doctrine that the vir- tuous and able should be the rulers,and that their rule must be based upon virtue;the comprehensive theory of the five relations of men to each other;the doctrine that no one should do to another what he would not have that other do to him—these points have stood out like mountain-peaks from the general level of Chinese thought,and have attracted the attention of all observers.In closing what we have to say of the Chinese,we wish to place emphasis upon the moral excellences of the Confucian system,for it is only by putting those excellences in their true light that we can hope to arrive at any just comprehension of the Chinese people.Those excellences have made the Chinese pre-eminently amenable to moral forces. The employment of the classical writings in the civil service examinations for successive ages has unified the minds of the people to a marvellous degree,and the powerful motives thus brought into play,leading every candi- date for a degree to hope for the stability of the government as a prerequisite to his own success,has doubtless been a principal factor in the perpetuation of the Chinese people to this present time.

Whether the Chinese ever did have a knowledge of one true God is indeed a point of considerable interest.Those who have examined most critically the classical writings of the Chinese assure us that the weight of scholarship is upon the side of the affirmative.By others who have a claim to an independent judgment,this proposition is altogether denied. If the Chinese ever did recognise the true God,that knowl- edge has certainly been most effectually lost,like an inscrip- tion on an ancient coin now covered with the accumulated rust of millenniums.To us the question seems to be of very much less practical concern than some would make it,and for our present purposes it may be altogether ignored. What concerns us in our present inquiry is neither a historical nor a theoretical matter,but a practical one,to wit,What is the relation which exists between the Chinese and their divinities?

It is in some cases not difficult to trace the stages by which the heroes and worthies of antiquity from being honoured came to be commemorated,and from being merely commem- orated came to be worshipped.All the gods of China may be said to have been dead men,and by the rite of ancestral worship it may be affirmed that in a sense all the dead men of China are gods.Temples are constantly erected by the consent of the Emperor,to men who while living had in vari- ous ways distinguished themselves.It is impossible to say that any one of these men may not in the slow evolution of ages rise to the highest place among the national divinities. There can be no doubt whatever that as a nation the Chinese are polytheistic.

That there is a tendency in man towards the worship of nature is a mere truism.The recognition of irresistible and unknown forces leads to their personification and to external acts of adoration,based upon the supposition that these forces are sentient. Thus temples to the gods of wind,thunder,etc., abound. The north star is an object of constant worship. There are temples to the sun and to the moon in Peking,in connection with the Imperial worship,but in some regions the worship of the sun is a regular act of routine on the part of the people in general,on a day in the second month which they designate as his“birthday.”Early in the morning the villagers go out to the east to meet the sun,and in the even- ing they go out towards the west to escort him on his way. This ends the worship of the sun for a year.

An exceedingly common manifestation of this nature-wor- ship is in the reverence for trees,which in some provinces(as, for example,in northwestern Honan)is so exceedingly com- mon that one may pass hundreds of trees of all sizes,each of them hung with bannerets indicating that it is the abode of some spirit.Even when there is no external symbol of wor- ship,the superstition exists in full force. If a fine old tree is seen standing in front of a wretched hovel,it is morally certain that the owner of the tree dare not cut it down on account of the divinity within.

It is often supposed that the Emperor is the only individual in the Empire who has the prerogative of worshipping heaven. The very singular and interesting ceremonies which are per- formed in the Temple of Heaven by the Emperor in person are no doubt unique.But it would be news to the people of China as a whole that they do not and must not worship heaven and earth each for themselves. The houses often have a small shrine in the front wall facing the south,and in some regions this is called the shrine to heaven and earth. Multitudes of Chinese will testify that the only act of religious worship which they ever perform (aside from ancestral rites) is a prostration and an offering to heaven and earth on the first and fifteenth of each moon,or,in some cases,on the be- ginning of each new year.No prayer is uttered,and after a time the offering is removed,and,as in other cases,eaten. What is it that at such times the people worship?Sometimes they affirm that the object of worship is“heaven and earth.” Sometimes they say that it is"heaven,"and again they call it“the old man of the sky.”The latter term often leads to an impression that the Chinese do have a real perception of a personal deity.But when it is ascertained that this supposed "person”is frequently matched by another called“grand- mother earth,"the value of the inference is open to serious question.In some places it is customary to offer worship to this“old man of the sky”on the nineteenth of the sixth moon,as that is his“birthday.”But among a people who assign a"birthday"to the sun,it is superfluous to inquire who was the father of"the old man of the sky,"or when he was born,for on matters of this sort there is absolutely no opinion at all.It is dificult to make an ordinary Chinese understand that such questions have any practical bearing. He takes the tradition as he finds it,and never dreams of raising any inquiries upon this point or any other.We have seldom met any Chinese who had an intelligible theory with regard to the antecedents or qualities of"the old man of the sky,"except that he is supposed to regulate the weather,and hence the crops. The wide currency among the Chinese people of this term,hinting at a personality,to whom,however,so far as we know,no temples are erected,of whom no image is made,and to whom no worship distinct from that to “heaven and earth”is offered,seems to remain thus far un- explained.

The word“heaven”is often used in the Chinese Classics in such a way as to convey the idea of personality and will. But it is likewise employed in a manner which suggests very little of either,and when we read in the commentary that "heaven is a principle,"we feel that the vagueness of the term is at its maximum.To this ambiguity in classical use corresponds the looseness of meaning given to it in everyday life. The man who has been worshipping heaven,upon being pressed to know what he means by"heaven,"will frequently reply that it is the blue expanse above.His worship is there- fore in harmony with that of him who worships the powers of nature,either individually or collectively. His creed may be described in Emersonian phrase as“one with the blowing clover and the falling rain.”In other words,he is a panthe- ist. This lack of any definite sense of personality is a fatal flaw in the Chinese worship of"heaven."

The polytheism and pantheism of the lower classes of Chi- nese are matched in the upper classes by what appears to be pure atheism. From the testimony of those who know most on this point,from the abundant surface indications,and from antecedent probability,we have no difficulty in concluding that there never was on this earth a body of educated and cultivated men so thoroughly agnostic and atheistic as the mass of Confucian scholars.*The phrase“antecedent prob- ability"refers to the known influence which has been exerted over the literati of China by the materialistic commentators of the Sung Dynasty.The authority of Chu Hsi,the learned expounder of the Chinese Classics,has been so overwhelming that to question any of his views has long been regarded as heresy.The effect has been to overlay the teachings of the Classics with an interpretation which is not only materialistic, but which,so far as we understand it,is totally atheistic.

After the Yellow River emerges from the mountains of Shansi and Shensi,it continues its way for hundreds of miles to the sea.In successive ages it has taken many different routes,ranging through six or seven degrees of latitude,from the mouth of the Yang-tse-Kiang to that of the Peiho.But wherever it has flowed it has carried ruin,and has left be- hind it a barren waste of sand. Not unlike this has been the materialistic current introduced by the commentators of the Sung Dynasty into the stream of Chinese thought,a current which,having flowed unchecked for seven centuries,has left behind it a moral waste of atheistic sand,incapable of sup- porting the spiritual life of a nation.Taoism has degener- ated into a system of incantations against evil spirits.It has largely borrowed from Buddhism to supplement its own in- nate deficiencies. Buddhism was itself introduced to provide for those inherent wants in the nature of man which Confu- cianism did little or nothing to satisfy. Each of these forms of instruction has been greatly modified by the others.Any kind of organisation which offers a method of practising virtue will be patronised by those who happen to be disposed to lay up a little merit,and to whom this avenue appears as good as any other.Any kind of a divinity which seems adapted to exert a favourable influence in any given direction will be patronised,just as a man who happens to need a new um- brella goes to some shop where they keep such goods for sale. To inquire into the antecedents of the divinity who is thus worshipped,no more occurs to a Chinese than it would occur to an Englishman who wanted the umbrella to satisfy himself as to the origin of umbrellas,and when they first came into general use.

It is not uncommon to meet with learned disquisitions upon the question as to the number of Buddhists and Taoists in China. In our view this question is exactly paralleled by an inquiry into the number of persons in the United Kingdom who use ten-penny nails as compared with the number of those who eat string-beans. Any one who wants to use a ten-penny nail will do so if he can obtain it,and those who like string-beans and can afford to buy them will presump- tively consume them.The case is not different in China as regards the two most prominent“doctrines.”Any Chinese who wants the services of a Buddhist priest,and who can afford to pay for them,will hire the priest,and thus be“a Buddhist.”If he wants a Taoist priest,he will in like man- ner call him,and this makes him“a Taoist.” It is of no consequence to the Chinese which of the two he employs,and he will not improbably call them both at once,and thus be at once“a Buddhist”and“a Taoist.” Thus the same indi- vidual is at once a Confucianist,a Buddhist,and a Taoist,and with no sense of incongruity.Buddhism swallowed Taoism, Taoism swallowed Confucianism,but at last the latter swallowed both Buddhism and Taoism together,and thus“the three religions are one!”

The practical relation of the Chinese to their“three relig- ions”may be illustrated by the relations of an Anglo-Saxon to the materials of which his language is composed:"Saxon and Norman and Dane are we;"but even were it possible to de- termine our remote origin,the choice of our words would not be influenced in the smallest degree by the extent to which we may happen to have Saxon or Norman blood in our veins. Our selection of words will be determined by our mental hab- its,and by the use to which we wish to put the words.The scholar will use many Latin words,with liberal admixture of the Norman,while the farmer will use mostly plain Saxon terms. But in either case the Saxon is the base,to which the other stocks are but additions.In China Confucianism is the base, and all Chinese are Confucianists,as all English are Saxons. To what extent Buddhist or Taoist ideas,phraseology,and practices may be superimposed upon this base,will be deter- mined by circumstances.But to the Chinese there is no more incongruity or contradiction in the combination of the"three religions"in one ceremony,than there is to our thought in the interweaving of words of diverse national origin in the same sentence.

It is always dificult to make a Chinese perceive that two forms of belief are mutually exclusive.He knows nothing about logical contradictories,and cares even less.He has learned by instinct the art of reconciling propositions which are inherently irreconcilable,by violently affirming each of them,paying no heed whatever to their mutual relations.He is thus prepared by all his intellectual training to allow the most incongruous forms of belief to unite,as fluids mingle by endosmosis and exosmosis. He has carried“intellectual hospitality"to the point of logical suicide,but he does not know it,and cannot be made to understand it when he is told.

Two results of this mechanical union of creeds are very noteworthy.The first is the violence done to the innate in- stinct of order,an instinct for which the Chinese are espe- cially distinguished,which is conspicuously displayed in the elaborate machinery of the carefully graded ranks of officials, from the first to the ninth,each marked by its own badge, and having its own special limitations.Something analogous to this might certainly have been looked for in the Chinese pantheon,but nothing of the sort is found.It is vain to in- quire of a Chinese which divinity is supposed to be the greater, the“Pearly Emperor"or Buddha.Even in the"Temple-to- all-the-gods"the order is merely arbitrary and accidental,and subject to constant variations. There is no regular gradua- tion of authority in the spirit world of the Chinese,but such utter confusion as,if found on earth,would be equivalent to chronic anarchy,This state of things is seen in a still more conspicuous manner in the“Halls of the Three Religions,” where the images of Confucius,of Buddha,and of Laotze are displayed in a close harmony.The post of honour is in the centre,and this we should expect to be conceded to Confucius,or if not to him—since he made no claim of any kind to divinity—then to Laotze.There is good reason to think that this question of precedence has been in by-gone days the occasion of acrimonious disputes,but in nearly all the instances of which we happen to have heard,it has been settled in favour of Buddha,albeit a foreigner!

Another significant result of the union of all beliefs in China, found in any of the creeds.This is in accordance with a law akin to that by which a baser currency invariably displaces that which is better.All the lofty maxims of Confucianism have been wholly ineffective in guarding the Confucianists from fear of the goblins and devils which figure so largely in Taoism. It has often been remarked,and with every appear- ance of truth,that there is no other civilised nation in exist- ence which is under such bondage to superstition and credu- lity as the Chinese.Wealthy merchants and learned scholars are not ashamed to be seen,on the two days of the month set apart for that purpose,worshipping the fox,the weasel, the hedgehog,the snake,and the rat,all of which in printed placards are styled“Their Excellencies,”and are thought to have an important effect on human destiny.

It is not many years since the most prominent statesman in China fell on his knees before a water-snake which some one had been pleased to represent as an embodiment of the god of floods,supposed to be the incarnation of an official of a former dynasty,whose success in dealing with brimming rivers was held to be miraculous. This habit of worshipping a snake,alleged to be a god,whenever floods devastate China appears to be a general one. In districts at a distance from a river,any ordinary land-serpent will pass as a god and“no questions asked."If the waters subside,extensive theatrical performances may be held in honour of the god who has granted this boon,to wit,the snake,which is placed on a tray in a temple or other public place for the purpose.The Dis- trict Magistrate,and all other officers,go there every day to prostrate themselves and to burn incense to the divinity.A river-god is generally regarded as the rain-god in regions ad- jacent to waterways,but at a little distance in the interior,the god of war,Kuan Ti,is much more likely to be worshipped for the same purpose;but sometimes both are supplanted by the goddess of mercy.To a Chinese this does not seem at all irrational,for his mind is free from all presumptions as to the unity of nature,and it is very hard for him to appreciate the absurdity,even when it is demonstrated to him.

In connection with these prayers for rain,another curioug and most significant fact has often been brought to our notice. In the famous Chinese novel called"Travels to the West," one of the principal characters was originally a monkey hatched from a stone,and by slow degrees of evolution developed into a man.In some places this imaginary being is worshipped as a rain-god,to the exclusion of both the river-god and the god of war.No instance could put in a clearer light than this the total lack in China of any dividing line between the real and the fictitious. To a Western mind causes and effects are cor- relative. What may be the intuitions of cause and effect in the mind of a Chinese who prays to a non-existent monkey to induce a fall of rain,we are not able to conjecture.

The gods of the Chinese being of this heterogeneous descrip- tion,it is of importance to inquire what the Chinese do with them.To this question there are two answers:they worship them,and they neglect them.It is not very uncommon to meet with estimates of the amount which the whole Chinese nation expends for incense,paper money, etc.,in the course of a year. Such estimates are of course based upon a calcu- lation of the apparent facts in some special district,which is taken as a unit,and then used as a multiplier for all the other districts of the Empire.Nothing can be more precarious than so-called"statistics"of this sort,which have literally no more validity than that census of a cloud of mosquitoes which was taken by a man who“counted until he was tired,and then estimated.”

There is very little which one can be safe in predicating of the Chinese Empire as a whole.Of this truth the worship in Chinese temples is a conspicuous example. The traveller who lands in Canton,and who perceives the clouds of smoke arising from the incessant offerings to the divinities most pop- ular there,will conclude that the Chinese are among the most idolatrous people in the world. But let him restrain his judg- ment until he has visited the other end of the Empire,and he wil find multitudes of the temples neglected,absolutely un- visited except on the first and fifteenth of the moon,in many cases not then,and perhaps not even at the New-Year,when, if ever,the Chinese instinct of worship prevails.He will find hundreds of thousands of temples the remote origin of which is totally lost in antiquity,and which are occasionally repaired, but of which the people can give no account and for which they have no regard.He will find hundreds of square miles of populous territory in which there is to be seen scarcely a single priest,either Taoist or Buddhist. In these regions he will generally find no women in the temples,and the children allowed to grow up without the smallest instruction as to the necessity of propitiating the gods.In other parts of China the condition of things is totally different,and the external rites of idolatry are interwoven into the smallest details of the life of each separate day.

The religious forces of Chinese society may be compared to the volcanic forces which have built up the Hawaiian Islands. In the most northern and western members of the group the volcanoes have for ages been extinct,and their sites marked only by broken-down crater-pits now covered with luxuriant vegetation.But on the southeastern member of the group the fires are still in active operation,and continue at intervals to shake the island from centre to circumference. In some of the oldest parts of China there is the least attention paid to temple worship,and in some of the provinces which at the time of China's greatest glory were wild and barbarous re- gions,idolatry is most flourishing.But it is easy to be misled by surface indications such as these. It is quite possible that they may pass for more than they are worth,and before well- grounded inferences can be safely drawn the subject requires much fuller investigation than it has as yet received.

To"reverence the gods,but to keep at a distance from them,"was the advice of Confucius.It is not strange,there- fore,that his followers at the present day consider respectful neglect to be the most prudent treatment for the multitudinous and incongruous divinities in the Chinese pantheon.When contrasted with the Mongols or the Japanese,the Chinese people are felt to be comparatively free from the bias of re- ligion. It is common to see over the doors of temples the classical expression,"Worship the gods as if they were pres- ent.”The popular instinct has taken at its true value the uncertainty conveyed in the words“as if,”and has embodied them in current sayings which accurately express the state of mind of the mass of the people:

"Worship the gods as if the gods were there,

But if you worship not,the gods don't care.”

One step beyond respectful neglect of the gods is ceremonial reverence,which consists in performing a certain routine in a certain way,with no other thought than that of securing cer- tain external results by so doing.

The idea of solemnity appears to be foreign to the Chinese mind.We do not know how to speak of it without express- ing an idea of what is merely decorum.All Chinese worship of Chinese divinities,of which we have ever been cognisant, has appeared to be either routine ceremonial,or else a mere matter of barter—so much worship for so much benefit. When“the old man of the sky”is spoken of as a being,and to be reverenced,the uniform presentation of this aspect,to the exclusion of all others,shows in a most decisive manner what the worship really is.“Because we have our food and clothes from him,"is the reply when a Chinese is asked why he makes periodical prostrations to this“person.”Even when the individual has no definite opinions as to the real existence of such a being,this does not prevent his confornity to the rite.The ancients did so,and he does as they did. Whether it is of any use“who knows?”

This habit of looking at religious ceremonial from a super- ficial standpoint is well illustrated in a couplet which is some- times posted,in a semi-satirical sense,upon the pillars of a neglected shrine:

"When the temple has no priest,the wind sweeps the floor; If the building is without a light,the moon acts as lamp.”

The gods are worshipped,just as in Western lands an in- surance policy is taken out,because it is the safer way."It is better to believe that the gods exist,"says the popular say- ing,"than to believe that they do not exist;"that is,if they do not exist at all,there is no harm done;whereas if they do exist,and are neglected,they may be angry and revengeful. The gods are supposed to be actuated by the motives which are known to actuate men.It is a proverb that one who has a sheep's head (for a temple offering)can get whatever he desires,and also that those divinities,such as the“Three Pure Ones,"who have nothing special to bestow,will always be poor,while the goddess of mercy and the god of war will be the ones honoured and enriched.

Not only do the Chinese base the argument for the worship of the gods upon the strictly hypothetical foundation,"it can do no harm,and it may do some good,"but they go a step farther,into a region where it is totally impossible for an Oc- cidental mind to follow them.They often say and appear to think,“If you believe in them,then there really are gods; but if you do not believe in them,then there are none!”This mode of speech (a mode of thought it can scarcely be called) resembles that of a Chinese who should say:“If you believe in the Emperor,then there is one;but if you do not believe in one,then there is no Emperor."When this analogy is pointed out,the Chinese are ready enough to admit it,but they do not appear to perceive it for themselves by any necessary process.