New Forces in Old China: An Inevitable AwakeningBrown, Arthur Judson
History
New Forces in Old China: An Inevitable Awakening
Brown, Arthur Judson
China -- Commerce; China -- Foreign relations; China -- Politics and government; Missions -- China
The famous cemetery is in three parts. The outer is said to
be fifteen miles in circumference and is the burial-place of all
who bear the honoured name of Confucius. Within, there is
a smaller enclosure of about ten acres, which is the family burial
place of the dukes who are lineal descendants of Confucius,
mighty men who rank with the proudest governors of provinces.
Within this second enclosure, is the Most Holy Cemetery itself,
a plot of about two acres, shaded like the others by fine old
cedars and cypresses. Here are only three graves, marked by
huge mounds under which lie the dust of Confucius, his son
and his grandson. That of the Sage, we estimated to be
twenty-five feet high and 250 feet in circumference. In front
of it is a stone monument about fifteen feet high, four feet wide
and sixteen inches thick. Lying prone before that is another
stone of nearly the same size supported by a heavy stone
pedestal. There is no name, but on the upright monument are
Chinese characters which Dr. Charles Johnson, my travelling
companion, translated: ``The Acme of Perfection and Learning-
Promoting King,'' or more freely--``The Most Illustrious
Sage and Princely Teacher.''
Uncut grass and weeds grew rankly upon the mounds and all
over the cemetery, giving everything an unkempt appearance.
One species is said to grow nowhere else in China and to have
such magical power in interpreting truth that if a leaf is laid
upon an abstruse passage of Confucius, the meaning will immediately
become clear. There are several small buildings in
the enclosure, but dust and decay reign in all, for there is no
merit in repairing a building that some one else has erected.
As with his house, the Chinese will spend money freely to build
a temple, but after that he does nothing. So even in the most
sacred places, arches and walls and columns are usually crumbling,
grounds are dirty and pavement stones out of place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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