CO885-6 — Page 437

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TPELNC.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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of his mother. On the cast are three buildings. The first is in honour of the classics, and the other two are in honour of his ancestors. In the court in front of these two buildings are a tablet on which is engraved the genealogical tree of the family of Confucius, but which is so affected by age that it is not possible to obtain from it satisfactory rubbings; the well used by Confucius; and a pillar marking the site of the spot where the Confucian Classics were found in the wall of the house formerly inhabited by Confucius, having been hidden there to save them from the general hurning of books ordered in B.c. 213 by the first Emperor Shih Huang Ti.

After our interesting inspection of the temple we lunched with the Duke, who prepared both for Captain Barnes and myself a special feast as a sign of respect. At Captain Barnes's table sat two descendants of Confucius, one of the 72nd generation who has grandsons and great-grandsons living, the Magistrate of the city, and Mr. 1, one of the deputies of the Governor who had accompanied us. At the table at which I was entertained sat the Duke, Mr. Chao and Mr. Lo, two of the deputies, and my Chinese secretary,

The Duke made a most genial host. He asked me to accept the glass goblet out of which I drank as a memento of the feast, and hoped that I would send him copies of the photographs we had taken. He said that he had seen Europeans before, but that I was the first to whom he had ever spoken; that he had been twice to Peking, and intends to go there again shortly with his brother. The object of the visit is to arrange a second marriage for the Duke, who recently lost his wife. In the middle of the feast the Duke presented me with an address written in his own hand thanking me for my address to Confucius, and for the tablet which I had sent to him.

I attach a translation of the address. He expressed a wish to possess a picture of His Majesty the King. In reply I proposed the health of the Duke, referring to the moral influence of the teachings of his great ancestor, and thanked him for his great kindness shown to us since our arrival at Ch'u Fou and wished him long life, happiness, and a continuous line of distinguished descendants.

In the afternoon we went to the tomb of Confucius, which is situated to the north of the city, and is distant from it about a mile and a half. Wo were met by K'ung Hsiang in and another descendant of Confucius, The approach to the tomb is through a fine avenue lined with cypress trees, symbolical of the immortality of the fame of the sage, and leads up to the gates of the cemetery which covers a large area of ground, thickly wooded with trees of large size and great age.

After passing through the entrance the road, which is lined with pillars inscribed by various Emperors, winds to the west until a brook called the Chu Shui, "the Red Water," is reached. This brook is crossed by three bridges, the centre one of which leads to an avenue of trees, one of which is the famous tree planted by Tzu Kung, one of the most distinguished of Confucius' disciples. At the end of the avenue are six stone figures, four of animals, and two of men, sixteen feet in height, which are immediately in front of a hall containing an incense table, in which the ceremonies in honour of Confucius are performed. This ball opens by four folding doors into the enclosure, in which are three mounds, marking the last resting place of the sage, his son, and his grandson.

The grave of Confucius is a mound about 30 feet in height and one hundred in circumference, covered with trees and brushwood. In front of it are a stone uru and altar, and a tombstone with the following inscription in seal characters:— "The most holy ancient sage, the Prince of Culture."

To the west of the tomb is a small building erected on the spot where Tzu Kung, the beloved disciple of the sage, mourned for his master six years.

To the cast of Confucius' tomb is the grave of his son, and to the south-east that of his grandson. Both are high mounds with stone urus and pillars, and in front of the grave of the grandson are two colossal stone figures. The tombstones hear the following inscriptions in ordinary characters:-"The tomb of the Marquis of Ssu Shui" (the title by which the son is known to posterity).

"The tomb of the Transmitter of the Sacred Sage, of the State of I" (the title by which the grandson is known to posterity).

From the tomb of Confucius we went to visit the temple of Chon Kung, the Duke of Chou, who died in n.c. 1105. He is one of the most famous characters in the ancient history of China, and was mainly instrumental in establishing the dynasty of Chou, which ruled over China froni B.C. 1122 to B.c. 255, by acting as

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Prime Minister to Wu Wang, the founder of that dynasty, who was his elder brother. "He drew up a legal code, purified the morals of the people, and devoted himself wholly to the welfare of the State. He was so energetic that he could hardly take a bath without rushing forth several times in the middle of it, holding his long wet hair in his hand, to consult with some official on matters of public importance. Tradition also assigns to him the invention of a wonderful south- pointing chariot, which he devised in order to assist some tribute-bearing envoys from Tongking back to their own country; and on the strength of this the discovery of the mariners' compass has been loosely credited to the Chinese."

The temple, which is in a bad state of repair, stands in extensive grounds which are well wooded. In the main hall is a figure of Chou Kung seated, and also a figure called Chin Jên, with a lock round its neck, which is intended to represent the virtues of silence.

In the grounds is a fine tablet erected by the Emperor K’ienlung (A.D. 1736- 1796), in honour of Chou Kung,

We next visited a temple dedicated to Yen Hui (B.c. 514-483), the favourite disciple of Confucius, whose splendid reputation is attributed to his close connection with the sage, on which account the great historian of China likens him to a fly which travels far and fast by clinging to the tail of a courser.

The temple is contained in spacious and thickly wooded grounds, one of the trees being a very fine specimen of a silver pine over 150 feet in height. The chief hall is similar to that in the temple of Confucius, only smaller, being supported inside by teak pillars and outside by pillars of marble, beautifully carved. Inside the hall is a statue of Yen Hui. Other buildings within the grounds are erected to the father, brother and wife of Yen.

A well used by Yen is shown. The tablets presented by various Emperors are very numerous. A tablet in a pavilion marks the site of Yen's dwelling. We had the pleasure of meeting the present representative of the family who enjoys the hereditary title of Wu Ching Po Shih with fourth rank.

On Tuesday, the 12th of May, we set out from Ch'u Fou for Tsou Hsien, the city in which the philosopher Mencius (B.c. 372-289) was born.

On our way we visited the graves of the father and mother of Mencius, which are situated in a beautifully wooded cemetery in which are buried many of the descendants of Mencius, The cemetery is distant about 25 li from Ch'u Fou.

Mencius having lost his father early, was brought up by his mother, whose name is a household word in China, and who has been styled "The Cornelia of China." She lived in three different places on her son's account. "At first she moved to a dwelling near a cemetery, the result being that the boy began to reproduce in play the solemn scenes which were constantly enacted before his eyes. His mother accordingly removed to another house near the market place, and before long her son forgot all about funerals and played at buying and selling goods. Once more his mother disapproved, and again changed her dwelling; this time to a house near a college, where he soon began to imitate the ceremonial observances in which the students were instructed, to the great joy and satisfaction of his mother." In the cemetery we met a descendant of Mencius of the 69th generation, who was photographed in front of the grave of his ancestors.

The tomb of Mencius himself lies to the south-east of that of his mother, at a listance of about seven miles. It is approached by a fine avenue of trees, and is situated on a hill thickly wooded which can be seen for many miles. A temple for the purpose of worship which is in a bad state of repair faces the tomb, which, like that of Confucius, is a high mound covered with trees and brushwood. The tombstone bears the inscription. "The grave of Mencius, the second Holy One," (Confucius being the first),

On nearing Tsou Hsien we were met at the east gate of the city by soldiers, red umbrella bearers, and gong beaters, who formed into a procession and conducted us into the city, where we were met by the District Magistrate, who had prepared very comfortable quarters for us.

After a rest we visited the temple of Mencius. We were received by the present representative of the family, who, like the lineal descendant of Yen Hui, enjoys the hereditary title of Wu Ching Po Shih, and who belongs to the 74th generation, by his uncle and the District Magistrate.

The present representative of Mencius is the younger brother of the former representative, who died without issue a few years ago, and is aged twenty-eight.

14578

C

Enclosure 7 (p. 29).