The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 2, September, 1851Various
History
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 2, September, 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
"They have no other synagogue but this, in the capital of the province
of Ho-Nan. I perceived in it no altar, nor any other furniture, but
the chair of Moses, with a censer, a long table, and large
chandeliers, in which were placed candles made of tallow. This
synagogue has some resemblance to our European churches; it is divided
into three aisles; that in the middle is occupied by the table of
incense, the chair of Moses, the painting, and the tabernacles already
mentioned, in which are preserved the thirteen copies of the
Pentateuch. These tabernacles are constructed in the form of an arch,
and the middle aisle is like the choir of the synagogue; the two
others are set apart as places of prayer, and for the adoration of the
Supreme Being. Within the building there is a passage which runs quite
round.
"As there formerly were, and still are, among them Bachelors and
_Kien-sens_, which is a degree different from that of a Bachelor, I
took the liberty of asking them if they rendered homage to Confucius;
they replied that they honored him in the same manner as the rest of
the literati, and that they assisted them in solemn ceremonies, which
are performed in halls dedicated to their great men. They added, that
in spring and autumn they practised certain rites in honor of their
ancestors, according to the manner of Chinese, in the hall next to
their synagogue; that they did not present them the flesh of hogs, but
of other animals; that in other ceremonies they were contented with
offering them porcelain dishes filled with dainties and sweetmeats,
which they accompanied with perfumes and profound reverences or
prostrations. I asked them, likewise, if in their houses or Hall of
Ancestors, they had tablets in honor of their departed relations; they
replied that they used neither tablets, images, nor any thing else,
but only a few censers. We must, however, except their mandarins, for
whom alone they place in the Hall of Ancestors a tablet inscribed with
their name and rank."
Father Gozani adds, that "these Jews, in their inscriptions, call
their law the Law of Israel, _Yselals-Kiao_, which they name also
_Kon-Kiao_, Ancient Law; _Tien-Kiao_, Law of God, and _Tien-Kin-Kiao_,
to signify that they abstain from blood, and cut the nerves and veins
of the animals they kill, in order that the blood may flow more easily
from them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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