1610, the work of which was superb. There were also two bronze elephants, reported to be of the Chow Dynasty, and a table of that same era of dark red-wood. “On the west side are two temples; one in front, in honor of the father of Confucius, ... and one behind, in honor of his mother.... On the east side are temples to his five ancestors, and a large block of marble, whereon is a genealogical tree, giving all the branches of his family.... The building behind the grand temple is the temple in honor of his wife, in which was only a tablet and no image. The second temple behind that contained four tablets, erected by K’ang-he in his honor, one character on each, and the interpretation was: ‘The perspicuous teacher of 10,000 kingdoms.’ Here also are three pictures of the sage on marble; one an old man, full-length, rather dim, having no date; the second smaller, with seal characters on the side; the third and best, giving only his head and shoulders. These varied somewhat but were substantially alike. All of them have the mouth or lips open and front teeth exposed, and the full contemplative eyes. Immediately behind these are engravings on marble, illustrating all the chief incidents of his life, with appropriate explanations at the side. Of these there were altogether 120 slabs, which are built into the wall. “The image of Confucius does not stand alone, but is surrounded by images of his principal disciples, while in a hall at the back of that dedicated to him are ranged those of his ancestors. Occasionally different emperors have visited his tomb in Shantung, at which times the imperial pilgrims have worshiped with extraordinary solemnity at his shrine in the adjoining temple. K’ang-he, the most celebrated both as a ruler and a scholar of the emperors of the present dynasty, went on such a pilgrimage, and ‘set the example of kneeling thrice and each time lying his forehead thrice in the dust before the image of the sage.’ “In the eighteen provinces there are 1,500 temples dedicated to his worship, where on the first and fifteenth days of each moon, sacrificial services are performed before him, and once in the spring and autumn the local officials go in state to take part in acts of specially solemn worship. According to the _Shing meaou che_, or ‘History of the Temples of the Sage,’ as many as six bullocks, 27,000 pigs, 5,800 sheep, 2,800 deer and 2,700 hares are sacrificed on these occasions, and at the same time 27,600 pieces of silk are offered on his shrine.” We have before mentioned the examination of candidates for civil service in the classics. It will be of interest now to give more in detail on these examinations. EXAMINATIONS IN THE SACRED BOOKS.