RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g LETTERS FROM CHINA 1835-36 Editor's note. The extracts that follow from three of the surviving letters of James Calder Stewart are reproduced here with the kind permission of Mrs. Christopher Shorland of Warfield, Berks., through the kind offices of Mrs. David Dunkerley of Hong Kong. Both these ladies are descendants of the Herschel side of the family. It has not been possible with the limited research aids available in Hong Kong to ascertain the writer's dates of birth and death or more details of his life. These will have to await my next leave in Britain and will, I hope, form the subject of a later Note. James Calder Stewart was the son of Alexander Stewart, D.D., Minister of the Canongate Church, Edinburgh, and his wife, Emilia Calder, daughter of the Revd. Charles Calder of Urquhart. Mrs. Shorland advises that reference to other family letters produces little information about James Stewart. Before going to Canton, where he was apparently in business, he seems to have been in India; a letter written to Sir John Herschel dated L'Epéronnière, 13 October 1837, speaks of his being “still invited to return to India”. According to Mrs. Shorland, an uncle, James Calder, had a business in Calcutta, and it may be presumed that James Stewart found a position with him there. James' brother, Duncan, was also connected with the firm in some capacity. It is likely that Stewart's Canton post was obtained through the Calder connection, or was an extension of the Calder business. Mrs. Shorland states that after his return from China, he was appointed Assistant to the Commissioner of the New Poor Law Bill under Professor Jones 'at not less than £500 per annum'. He married later and had three children. The "Herschel" mentioned in the letters is Sir John Frederick William Herschel (1791 - 1871), the astronomer, 1st baronet, and only child of Sir William Herschel (1738 - 1832), also famous as an astronomer. Sir John was married to Stewart's sister, Margaret Brodie Stewart (1810-1884). In 1835-36, when the letters were written, and between 1834-1838, Herschel was at the Cape of Good Hope, to which he had gone on a private project to survey the heavens of the Southern Hemisphere. The prime interest of the extracts taken from these few letters is the view they give of the life and mind of one of the British merchants resident in Canton and Macau and the restrictions ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1972 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h 182 Co-location of deities KEITH STEVENS In Fukienese temples in Singapore and Malaya, the T'ai Sui images are often seen with Hsuan Tien Ta Ti (***) or with the Goddess of Mercy (##). In Cantonese and Amoy temples there, the T'ai Sui images are occasionally to be seen with the medical deities Lu Tung Pin (†) or Hua To ($) and in one temple with T'ai Shang Lao Chün (LB). In another Fukienese temple in Singapore a triad occupying the centre altar was said by the temple keeper to be three of the Nine Emperors (g). Two were positively identified, one as the second brother of the main deity Chiu Hwang ( ). He is black skinned, bare footed, with one foot on a fire wheel, has protruding eyes, black beard, and his hair is wound into a top knot. His two arms are at his side, otherwise he is very similar to Fa Chu Kung (✯✯2). The second identified image is on the right of the main deity, and he is, without doubt, Wang Tien Kung (1A). The third unidentified image on the left of the main deity could easily be T'ai Sui. He is black faced and bearded, a standing general in armour, holding a bell in his left hand and a sword in his right; he has three eyes, ear tufts of hair, and wears a Taoist crown. In one Fukienese temple in Taipei, Yin Ch'iao was seen together with Ch'ü Kung Chen Jen (AA). (Plate 19) In North China in Kalgan his second brother Yin Hung ( *) is a special deity said to save people from the "fifteen bad deaths". He sits on the opposite side of the central deity, the Jade Emperor (11), from Yin Ch'iao. Both brothers are naked and, surprisingly, have claws, beaks and wings. Grootaers10 says that Yin Ch'iao is never to be seen except as an attendant to the Jade Emperor. It would appear that either the local god maker in Kalgan did not know the identification features of Yin Ch'iao and has confused him with the Thunder God; or that there is a local legend which we do not know about; or thirdly that Grootaers misidentified the two attendants of the Jade Emperor. C. B. Day bought a hand-painted scroll in Hangchow, depicting five Buddhist figures and six Taoist ones. This pantheon chart included T'ai Sui Ti Chün ( *#*#) together with the San Kuan 10 W. A. Grootaers, Rural Temples around Hsüan Hua (Folklore Studies vol. 10). ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1977 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/np198x23n ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY HONG KONG BRANCH MEMBERSHIP LIST Patron: His Excellency Sir Murray MacLehose, K.C.M.G., M.B.E. HONORARY MEMBERS: BLACK, Sir Robert, K.C.M.G., O.B.E. CRANMER-BYNG, Prof. J. L., M.C., M.A. LAWRY, R. E., O.B.E., F.R.G.S. MacLEHOSE, Sir Murray, G.C.M.G., K.C.V.O. O'HARA, Mrs. Margaret TOPLEY, Dr. Marjorie, B.Sc. Econ., Ph.D. + - Mapleton House, Ashampsted Common, nr. Reading, Berks., England. 190, Glengrove Ave., W., Toronto 12, Canada. Government House, Hong Kong. The British Council, Easey Commercial Building 20/Fl., 253-261 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong. 10, Mount Kellet Road, The Peak, Hong Kong. The list is of the members as of Dec. 31, 1977. Page 255 Page 256 should be revised to meet the exact format requirement as follows: ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY HONG KONG BRANCH MEMBERSHIP LIST Patron: His Excellency Sir Murray MacLehose, K.C.M.G., M.B.E. HONORARY MEMBERS: BLACK, Sir Robert, K.C.M.G., O.B.E. CRANMER-BYNG, Prof. J. L., M.C., M.A. LAWRY, R. E., O.B.E., F.R.G.S. MacLEHOSE, Sir Murray, G.C.M.G., K.C.V.O. O'HARA, Mrs. Margaret TOPLEY, Dr. Marjorie, B.Sc. Econ., Ph.D. + - Mapleton House, Ashampsted Common, nr. Reading, Berks., England. 190, Glengrove Ave., W., Toronto 12, Canada. Government House, Hong Kong. The British Council, Easey Commercial Building 20/Fl., 253-261 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong. 10, Mount Kellet Road, The Peak, Hong Kong. The list is of the members as of Dec. 31, 1977. Page 255 Page 256 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 254 OVERSEAS LIFE MEMBERS ACORNE, Capt. Michael J., 505 Broadway, PETALUMA, California 94952, U.S.A. ARMERDING, Mr. Ludwig E., P.O. Box 1349, HONOLULU, Hawaii 96807, U.S.A. BAKER, Dr. Hugh D. R., BLACK, Sir Robert, Mapleton House, Ashampsted Common, Nr READING, Berks, ENGLAND. BLAKER, Mr. D. J. R., 80 Eaton Square, LONDON, S.W.1. ENGLAND. CAPLAN, Mr. Michael, c/o School of Oriental & African Studies, Malet Street, London, W.C1 ENGLAND. 3 Margalit Street, Haifa, ISRAEL. BAKER, Mr. William E., Old Quarry, Blackberry Road, Felcourt, EAST GRINSTEAD, Sussex RH19 2LH, ENGLAND. BALL, Mr. John M., Thanya Building, 11th Floor, 62 Silom Road, P.O. Box 1923, BANGKOK, THAILAND. BARNETT, Mr. K. M. A., "Bishops Nympton", Devonshire Avenue, AMERSHAM, Bucks, ENGLAND. BENNISON, Mr. Larry L., Honam Oil Refinery Co. Ltd, C.P.O. Box 2467, SEOUL, KOREA. BERTUCCIOLI, Dr. Giuliano, Lungotevers Delle Navi 30, ROME, ITALY, BLACKMORE, Mr. Michael, "Baytrees", Padleigh Hill, BATH, BA2 9DW, Somerset, ENGLAND. CLARKE, Rev. Cyril S., "Farthings", Highlands Avenue, UCKFIELD, Sussex, TN22 5TD., U.K., COCKELL, Miss June V., 1 Compton Court, Upper Edgeborough Road, GUILDFORD, Surrey, UNITED KINGDOM. COLLIN, Mr. P. H., 31 Teddington Park, TEDDINGTON, Middlesex, UNITED KINGDOM. COSTANTINI, Dr. Giulio, Via del Tiglio, 13, 6900 LUGANO, SWITZERLAND. COSTANTINI, Mrs. G., Via del Tiglio, 13, 6900 LUGANO, SWITZERLAND. CRANMER-BYNG, Prof. J. L., M.C., 190 Glengrove Avenue W., TORONTO, 12, CANADA. CUMMING, Mrs. Dorothy M., Orchard Cottage, Inveresk Village, By Musselburgh, EAST LOTHIAN, EH21 7TE, SCOTLAND. U.K. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 OVERSEAS LIFE MEMBERS DUNCANSON, Mr. J. D., 26 Leinster Mews, LONDON, W.2., UNITED KINGDOM. EWING, Miss E., 25 The Meadows, Old Portsmouth Road, GUILDFORD, Surrey, UNITED KINGDOM. FABER, Mrs. G. A. G., Inveroak, West End Lane, STOKE POGES, Bucks, UNITED KINGDOM. FAWCETT, Mr. B. C., c/o Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., Queen's Road Central, G.P.O. Box 64, HONG KONG, FEHL, Prof. Noah E.. 685 Shawnee Drive, NASHVILLE, Tennessee 37205, U.S.A. FRASER, Mr. A. P., 11 Thorkill Gardens, Thames Ditton, Surrey KT7 QUP, UNITED KINGDOM. GALVIN, Mr. J. A. T., Loughlinstown House Co., Dublin, IRELAND. GEORGE, Mr. T. J. B., c/o Foreign & Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, LONDON, SWIA 2AH., UNITED KINGDOM, GIEDROYC, Mr. Michal J, H., 31 Richmond Way, Fetcham, Surrey, UNITED KINGDOM. HARDEN, Mr. Guy T. Jr., The Manor House, Old Bosham, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 8HS. UNITED KINGDOM, HAYDON, Mr. E. S., Old Castle Farm, Buckland St. Mary, Somerset, UNITED KINGDOM. HENSMAN, Prof. Bertha, c/o St. Anne's College, Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM, HILSDALE, Mrs. K. H., 1105 Armada Drive, Pasadena, California 91103, U.S.A. HOWARTH, Mr. Richard, 1585 Inlet Ct., Reston, Virginia 22090, U.S.A. HUGHES, Mrs. Marion, c/o C. V. Starr & Co. Inc., 102 Maiden Lane, New York, N.Y. 10005, U.S.A. HURT, Miss Evelyn Joyce, Woodlands School, Woodlands Drive, Scarborough, Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM, IRETON, Mrs. Polly Hogue, P.O. Box 362, Langley, Washington, 98260, U.S.A. JOHNSTON, Mr. James J., P.O. Box 5, Marshall. Arkansas 72650, U.S.A. JORDAN, Dr. David K., Dept. of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037, U.S.A. KIDD, Mr. S. T., Windy Brow, Gardeners Lane, Upper Basildon, Reading, Berks, UNITED KINGDOM, Page 255 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v 188 to become restless spirits is well known. Soldiers who died in battle or in remote garrisons obviously belong to this category. Denied a proper funeral and those rites through which families regularly acknowledged their debt to the dead, spirits became restive. But no Chinese source claims that they expressed their grievances through baying dogs and, apt as the metaphor may be, it is probably not Chinese. The text goes on to mention the use of branches and charms12 which seems appropriate in this context. Roaming spirits often turned malevolent and the wood of certain trees had long been held to possess apotropaic powers. Even the length of the branches originally had a magical significance but the measurements given here are garbled and meaningless. Thus, short as it is, P.3106, cannot be dismissed, as B. Laufer once said, of another divinatory manuscript, as an “ungrateful and unpleasant subject of research”14. Not only does it reveal new aspects of traditional Chinese lore but it may also serve to illustrate how possibly alien material was adapted and incorporated into Chinese folklore. N° of Column 1. 2. 3. 4. TRANSLATION OF P.3106 Omens .. on a well or a stove, there will be a water or fire disaster. If a dog howls or barks it bodes ill for the master of the house, ? a trip. If a dog howls in a doorway it bodes ill; there will be deaths. A dog. + disasters. If a dog howls on the ceremonial platform it bodes ill for the eldest son. A dog howls. + .... a room, it bodes ill for women. If a dog first howls and then growls, misfortune will inevitably follow. If a dog howls at the sky, family ruin will inevitably follow. If a dog howls at the foot of a wall. • : Page 210 Page 211 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 282 well attended. Regrettably, I do not think that this cemetery is often visited. On leaving, I noticed large, white rose bushes in flower near the steps on the Chinese side, which I thought brought that final symbolic touch. I wanted to visit this cemetery as my family and I have had connections with China for many years, from the birth of my maternal grandmother. In paying respects at this cemetery, I was also thinking of and paying respects to the fallen of the British Chinese Labour Corps in other cemeteries in Flanders. NOTES 1. Dan Waters, The Chinese Labour Corps in the First World War: Labourers Buried in France, HKBRASJ Vol. 35, p. 199 2. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission HQ, 2, Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 7DX, U.K. Page 315 Page 316 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2000 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n 124 Hong, was a special deity said to save people from the 'fifteen bad deaths.' Images of both Yin Hong and Yin Jiao flanked that of the Jade Emperor on the latter's altar. The brothers were portrayed, rather surprisingly, sitting naked and with claws, beaks and wings. Grootaers writing about the Kalgan district of northern China, said that Yin Jiao was never seen on altars except as an attendant of the Jade Emperor. In a small folk religion temple at the roadside in Kuala Selangor an image of Taisui has a tiger sitting beside him and when asked the reason for this the temple custodian explained that Taisui keeps a tight control over the tiger who would otherwise eat people's luck. A similar image, holding a bell in his right hand and with a pair of tigers, stands on the Taisui altar in a temple in Cholon [Saigon]. In Ningbo in the 1890s the Gods of Time, of the year, months, days and hours were, according to one missionary, all represented with long black moustaches, and with the central one seated beneath a triple scarlet umbrella richly embroidered in gold representing the highest emblem of authority. Sixty images [presumably Taisui, though the observer did not actually spell it out] ranged down the side walls of the Temple of the Three Emperors in the Native City in Shanghai in 1906, with twenty-six on one side and thirty-four on the other. Paper 'shoes' representing silver sycee [money] were burnt as offerings. Other images of Taisui have been referred to in all parts of China by western travellers in groups of sixty. One traveller, Grainger, noted all sixty in one temple in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in 1921, were worshipped for rain and called 'The Spirits of the Rain Dragon of the Year' [Dangnian Xingyu Longshen]. The Legend of Taisui 19 18 The story of Yin Jiao begins with him being born a lump of formless flesh which so horrified his father, King Zhou E, that he ordered it to be abandoned outside the city walls. The lump was recognised as an immortal, the caul split open and the child removed. Cared for by a hermit he was brought up and nursed by one of the Eight Immortals, He Xiangu. When he came of age he was told about his birth and about ================================================================================