“Buddhism came to fill this vacancy. Individual faith in God, with a rational mode of worship to accompany it, could not be a result of the religious teaching which preceded it in China, nor were they inculcated by it. In Buddhism, the Chinese found objects to adore of mysterious grandeur, and richly endowed with the attributes of wisdom and benevolence. The appeal thus made to their religious faith was strengthened by a pompous form of worship. Processions and the ringing of bells, fumes of sweet-smelling incense, prayers, chanting and musical instruments were their aids to devotion. No wonder that these additions should prove welcome to the religious susceptibilities of a nation which had hitherto been restricted within the bounds of a system almost exclusively moral, and which discouraged the worship of God by the mass of the people. “How Taoism meets certain other wants which the other two systems fail to gratify, we will now show by an illustration: It was a cold morning in January, when a missionary walked, on one occasion, to a temple near the west gate of Shanghai. There is a medical divinity much honored, who resides in this temple, to heal, as his worshipers think, the ailments of those who pray to him. The Taoist priest in charge addressed the foreign visitor with a somewhat unexpected exhortation: ‘You come to our country giving us good advice; now let me address a little to you. Your religion does not meet the requirements of the people. When they worship, they wish to know whether they can grow rich, and recover from disease; but in the case of believing in Jesus, there are no benefits of this kind to be looked for.’ He pointed to the little image, representing some physician of a former dynasty, sitting in its shrine in a dim light, just visible through the opening of the curtains. ‘See,’ said he, ‘here is the god, ready to tell the believing devotee what medicine he needs, and to guarantee its healing effect. Look at the inscriptions fixed on the roof above and on each side of the shrine. They describe his marvel-working power.’ He was asked who placed those tablets there. ‘They are,’ he replied, ‘the offerings of persons cured by this divinity.’ In the Central Kingdom, the setting of the tablets in the temples by individuals is customary, and they are intended to commemorate benefits received from the divinities to whom they are dedicated. A visitor from a village in the country, at a distance of some miles, now appeared, and went through the usual ceremonies. He was asked, ‘Why do you not consult a physician? This idol is dead wood. It cannot see or hear. Why apply to it?’ The devotee answered with great simplicity, ‘I do not know what my disease is; how, then, can I apply to a physician? It is on this account that I ask the god. He will heal me. I have come a long way on purpose. His fame is very widely spread.’ He was again asked, ‘Will you not go to the foreign free hospital?’ He answered, ‘It is