The ancestral tablet is to be found in every home. It is a small strip of wood, set into a wooden base, usually painted red and bearing a gilt inscription to show its purpose. These tablets are the household gods, and are worshiped daily. Twice each year religious sacrifices are offered by all faithful Chinese believers at the graves of their ancestors. These sacrifices are intended to provide for all the needs of the ancestors, and so food of various kinds and pieces of silk for clothing are placed before their tombs. After a short time the spirits are supposed to have used all the food they desire, and then the thrifty Chinaman, with his never failing economy, sets out the baked meats, the rice, and the wine, to furnish forth a feast for his family!

While it is true that the Chinese are nearly all believers in Confucius, a great mass of the people are, at the same time, worshipers of Buddha, whose temples, large and small, are to be found in all parts of the country. Many of these temples are in a most dilapidated condition, but they are open day and night, and priests are always in attendance.

The form of worship is very simple. The worshiper buys of the priest a few sticks of incense. These he lights and places before the image of Buddha, and then prostrates himself three times before the idol, each time knocking his forehead three times upon the floor, while the priest sounds a gong or beats upon a drum to wake up the god.

Two hundred miles to the north of Hong-Kong is Amoy, another port of considerable importance and one of the first opened to foreign commerce.

Between Amoy and Shanghai are many cities. The most important of these are Foo Chow and Ningpo. These are situated, as are all the other ports of China, not on the coast, but several miles up a river.

Foo Chow is on the Min River, a picturesque stream which in some respects resembles the Hudson River. Hills and mountains rise from the river banks and the scenery is beautiful.

The commerce of Foo Chow is large, the most important export being tea.

It is one of the cleanest cities along the whole Chinese coast; and this is no small praise, considering the usual conditions existing in the cities of China.

CHAPTER XIV.

SOME CURIOUS CUSTOMS.

WE have traveled far enough in the "Celestial Empire" to have learned that the customs and manners of the Chinese are, in nearly every particular, the reverse of our own.

In all the outward forms of politeness the Chinese are carefully trained. All classes of people, from the rich mandarins engaged in matters of state ceremony to the ragged beggars along the streets, are mindful of every one of the ancient forms of politeness. It will be of interest to note some of these curious customs.

When Chinese friends meet, instead of shaking hands

with each other, as is our custom, each shakes his own hands. In China no one carries a cane unless he is aged or very infirm. To see men carrying singing birds in cages is a common sight throughout China. The Chinese devote time and patience to the training of these pet birds, and teach them many curious tricks. An American removes his hat as a mark of respect, but a Chinaman keeps his head covered for the same purpose. To remove one's hat in the presence of a superior would be a serious breach of Chinese etiquette. There is nothing to correspond to our ideas of social life, since men and women are not expected to appear together in public. A Chinese gentleman would under no circumstances ride in the same carriage with his wife. Women never go shopping, but all articles they may wish to purchase are taken to their homes for their selection.

It is impossible for the Chinese to understand some of our ideas of pleasure, and many things we do must appear as strange to them as their customs do to us. It is related of the first Chinese minister to the United States, that, on attending a reception in Washington where dancing was a part of the entertainment, he watched the dancers for some time in astonishment, and then asked: "Why do they do all that hard work? Can they not afford to hire people to do it for them?"

The relations between China and foreign nations have frequently been disturbed because of some blunder committed by the foreigners. The Chinese, especially those holding official positions, insist upon the observance of the most minute forms of ceremony, and are

careful not to pay higher honors to a foreign official than would be shown to a native official of the same rank.

An amusing illustration of the difficulties of this system occurred some years ago in Canton. The main entrance to government offices in China is provided with three doors: a central door, large and imposing, and on either side of this door a smaller one of ordinary dimensions. By the rules of ceremony in China, the central door is to be opened to admit only officials equal in rank to the Chinese official in charge of the office. The viceroy at Canton refused to admit the consuls of foreign nations through the central door to his office, and for several years they had no interviews with him. The consuls protested that, although of a rank below that of viceroy, it would be an insult to the dignity of the nations they represented if they entered by any other than the central door. After much discussion and correspondence, delaying the transaction of business for years, the viceroy finally yielded the point.

In the same manner much of the ceremony attending an audience with the emperor has been modified, until now the representatives of foreign governments are expected to make three profound bows only, as they approach His Imperial Majesty, instead of kneeling three times and knocking the forehead upon the floor nine times, which is the rule for Chinese officials and even princes of the royal line.

It would seem a very simple matter to accept a cup of tea from a Chinese acquaintance, but to do so properly requires a knowledge of these rigid forms of eti

quette. An interesting story is told of an American who called upon a Chinese official to secure permission to visit some place in that district. Of course it was important that no mistake in proper ceremony should be made, and the American was on the alert to make a good impression.

The Chinese official received him with formal politeness and ordered a servant to bring tea. Taking a cup in both hands the official presented it to his guest. Supposing it would be proper to drink the tea at once, the American did so, only to discover that a serious mistake had been made. The Chinese official would not even listen to the request he wished to make, and dismissed him without ceremony.

The American had committed two offenses in the eyes of his host, and by so doing had lost all claim upon his favor. In the first place, he should have stood before his host when receiving the cup of tea, and then should have waited until urged to drink it. He should have known, too, that this would be the signal for his departure, and that the official considered the interview at an end.

Like everything else in China, the dress of every official is regulated by law. On a certain day there appears in the Peking Gazette a simple announcement something like this: "The emperor has put on his summer hat." This is all; but now throughout the empire comes a change. Every official must lay aside his fur-lined robes and put on his summer clothing. To be sure the climate of Peking differs very much from that of Canton, but this does not change the law.