Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 January 1875 — Chinese Worship In Sacramento. [ARTICLE]

Chinese Worship In Sacramento.

There are no Sundays wMi the Chinese. The temples devoted m their deities and worship are open all hours, and he who desires a blessing, or to make sacrifice, is not confined to any set time or season for approaching the—to him—divine presence. When one is about to engage in a business enterprise, or is sick, or desires information, such as Joss alone is able to give, recourse is had to the Temple, or Joss-house. Worship, for the sake of worship and for the love of it, or from a sense of devotion or adoration, does not constitute the chief part, if any part, of their devotion, by any means. The Chinese are intensely practical—in their intentions if not in the plan by which they put them in practice —and hence the wisdom of their Great Spirit-^Joss—is invoked often to assist the devotee in gaining the almighty dolar; and, in general, in the practical affairs in life. Form, and not spirit, distinguishes the Chinese worship, and their religion is the religion of blind chance, like their gambling. The Chinese temples are elegant and costly as compared to their abodes, but, compared to any “Melican” man’s standard, tfley are cheap and filthy affairs. In our tour of observation we inspected the two temples in which the Chinese of Sacramento worship their strange gods. It must be remembered, however, that every house has its special guardian .deity, before, whose shrine a laper and incense are ever burning. The” one first visited is built over the slough, in the midst of a lot of wash-houses, reminding a person of the quotation about the proximity of cleanliness and godlinessv The building is a rude wooden structure, and contains, as the temple proper, a single room about fifteen feet by twenty. The outer door stood invitingly open, but facing it was g wooden screen, very suggestive of a similar arrangement seen in many of the temples of Bacchus. The screen has an inscription, to which we gave the free translation, “ Walk in.” In the left corner stands a frame some six feet in height, supporting a quaint Chinese bell, the use of which is-to summon, not the worshiper to the presence of the god, but to call the attention of the latter to his duty. Aud lest perehance the god be such a great way ofl or is so sound asleep that the bell does not bring him to time, an odd-looking drum, Which is placed above the bell, is also beaten. The right-hand corner of the room is occupied by a case,,, somewhat resembling a writing-desk and book-case combined, in which sits a deity of aldermanic. form and benign countenance, before whom burns a pot of incense. The principal object of attraction is the altar, occupying, with its paraphernalia, the further end of the room and opposite to the entrance. Four deities grace the altar —three of them lords of creation, if they may be spoken of as mere men—and the fourth a representative of the softer sex. The images are abqut two feet in" height, are wood, clothed in paint aud parti-colored drapery, have, beards (except the representative of the beardless sex) and have countenances suggestive of bon vivants, which are lighted up by a pot of incense burning before them. * The costume of the idol at the right is blue, and liis left hand holds a red. ball and his right a purse. The personage next in order is “ a-wearing of thfe green,” and sports a military-looking belt about his person. The female comes next, and is dressed “ like a woman;” but her skirts do not conceal the fact that she sits in a posture which in a man would be described as cross-legged. About a yard in front of the idols isewliat may be called the front altar, or altar-rail, on which stand tapers, candlesticks and rude, dusty and shapeless bouquets of artificial flowers; and next to this is a common deal table, covered with gaudy oilcloth, for the reception of offerings of fruit, roast pig, and whatever else may be used to incline the gods to bestow a blessing, or forgive a sin, or tell “ John” how he can make a dollar. Upon the walls of the room are a few Chinese inscriptions, and overhead there is some ornamental work resembling the colored paper often put up in barber-sliops for flies to roost upon. The Chinese consult some one or more of their deities in every affair of life, from the commission of a murder to the purchase of a coat. , The abode of Joss, the chief of the Chinese gods, is near the slough. It is a Dolly Yarden of a building viewing it from the outside. It is more pretentious and is neater and more wholesome in appearance than the temple devoted to the lesser gods and goddesses. It is located on an island in the.siougli. Its entrance is through a latticed portico, in which hangs a spiral piece of punk, burning and emitting a fragrant odor. About the door leading to the main room, the Holy of Holies, are Chinese inscriptions. of which we are unable to give the meaning, hut were told they were invitations to enter, pray and be good. Entering we find.ourselves in a room about fourteen by twenty feet. Four large lanterns are suspended from the ceiling overhead, which probably serve to throw light on occasions that are to be made more than ordinarily brilliant. The walls are papered, and in places adorned with inscriptions. -The same general characteristics in arrangements that are found in the lesser temple are seen also in the Joss-house. Here, however, there are five idols or images. Joss having two upon either hand. They are much the same as. those before* described, and the great Joss himself is not distinguished by any noteworthy marks. It may be remarked, however, that he has no beard, while most of the Chinese.gods wear a full beard. Upon the wall above and partly behind the image Are specimens of Chinese fancywork, resembling on their outer surface paper wall-pockets, suel\ as are found in the abodes of “ Melican" women. A gentlemanly Chinaman who came in, and who was inclined to instruct us in Celestial things, gave these articles the name of Fah Hong. A murderous-looking weapon made of wood, resembling somewhat a sword-blade, stands point upward near the altar, as though guarding the sacred personages behind it. Upon the front altar are fine candle-sticks of massive block tin. while the table for” offerings contained a fruit offering in the shape of a pyramid of oranges with a tomato on the apex, some bouquets, several blocks of wood about four inches long and one inch thick, used in prayer, and a containing a collection of small sticks, each of which bears a number represented by a Chinese character, also used as an aid to devotion. The use of these sticks and blocks, and the general modus operandi of holding communication with Joss, was explained by our guide, but it would be impossible to quote his words and equally impossible for the general reader to understand

them fully. From the drift of his observations, however, it appears that the general Wav a suppliant approaches Joss is about like this: He brings his offering to the altar and burns a paper prayer, the bell ringing and the drum beating meanwhile to notify the deity to be on hand and attend to business. The worshiper then takes in his hands two of the blocks alluded to, and, holding them above the table, drops them. Joss by his divine power turns the blocks, and if they fall m a certain Joss wills—the petition is granted; if they fall in a certain other position the request is denied. If the request is for information upon a matter that can be answered by yes or no, then One position indicates an affirmative answer and another position means no. The numbered sticks alluded to are drawn —or one is drawn —by the worshiper, or selected by allowing a number to fall, the spirit of Joss guiding his hand in making the selection, or in picking up a fallen one, and the man then goes to an adjoining room and takes from a large collection a paper decree copied from their books —about four inches square—bearing a number corresponding to the stiek; and the decree is found generally to be exactly suited to the devout disciple’s case. It about fills the bill every time. No class of people in. the world are more sure of getting an answer to their prayers than the Chinese; and none have a more abiding faith in the efficacy of prayer. At the left of the Holy of Holies is a mall -room in which there is a low platform bearing the evidences of being a place for opium-smoking. Our Chinese lriend told us that here is where offerings are taken which are refused by Joss; but the conviction forced itself upon us that “smoke” offerings are presented here. One noticeable feature about this room is that the drum is placed in a hole in the partition, with one head protruding into the larger room, so that it may be beaten in each apartment. On the right of the main room is a small apartment in which sat a venerable, spectacled Chinaman, who, though not a priest, has a secret official character. Here the prayers and decrees, written on paper, are kept pigeon-holed, ready-made for the faithful. A small room in the rear of this apartment contains a standing idol about the size of an eight-year-old boy. It is badly battered, and seems to have been put one side for repairs or for a less seedy successor. These four rooms seemed to be about all there was to the Temple, or Joss-house, as it is called, and our description gives a view of the most notable points. And with this we dismiss the “Chinaman as a Worshiper,” it not being our purpose in this connection to enter into any explanation or discussion of the Chinese religious faith or practice. We may add in conclusion, however, that there is no officiating priest resident in this city, but on special occasions one or more come up from San Francisco. — Sacramento Record.