WESTERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE

January 21, 1874

Kiukiang is situated on the Yangtsekiang River, four hundred and fifty miles above Shanghai. It once sustained a large population, but during the memorable Chinese Rebellion was almost entirely destroyed, and at present the inhabitants probably do not exceed thirty thousand. There are between forty and fifty foreign residents; and six years ago, a fine little English Church was built in the settlement, in which religious services are held every Sabbath morning. The present staff of Methodist Episcopal missionaries numbers seven. The mission was established, November 1867, by Rev. V. C. Hart, its present superintendent. A native society of fifteen or twenty members has been formed, and, besides the daily preaching in the city, class-meeting, prayer-meeting, and Sunday-school, are regularly maintained. The interest which is manifested by the masses in the preaching of the Gospel is very encouraging.

To a missionary, newly arrived in China, every thing he sees and hears is of deep interest; and the natural scenery of the country, the personal appearance, customs, habits, etc. of the people, furnish an overburdening mass of material for his pen. In a single letter, it is impossible to satisfy but a meager share of curiosity on the part of inquisitive readers; and the narrative of a little excursion into the country will swell this article to all due proportions.

South of Kiukiang, at a distance of ten or eleven miles, a magnificent range of mountains towers above the clouds. The range is only eighteen miles long; but is from two to five thousand feet in height. Near the eastern extremity, and at a considerable elevation there stands, the temple of Kiu Fung (N..inds). A visit to this temple was planned by Brother Hart, while the Rev. Messrs. Spencer and Houghton of Bishop Harris's party, were with us, and occupied all day, September 10th. Having provided ourselves with chairs and a sufficient number of coolies, we were ready to be off at six A.M. Our company numbered seven in all, and, as our long train swept through the narrow, crooked, aromatic streets of the suburbs, we formed a rather imposing cavalcade. The fragrance of a crowded Chinese street is proverbial; and after passing through it, one knows how to appreciate "the pure, fresh air of heaven." Leaving the suburbs we soon found ourselves among the rice-fields. These fields are divided into very irregularly shaped flats, seldom exceeding half an acre in extent, and surrounded by a narrow levee of earth. Where the ground is not level, they are raised above each other in terraces, and present a very beautiful appearance. In harvesting the rice, the natives reap it with sickles, bind it in bundles like sheaves of wheat, carry it to their homes, stack it up, and thresh it out on smooth earthen floors. The ripe straw is of a yellow color, and a rice-stack looks very much like an American straw-stack. Myriads of people subsist almost exclusively on the grain, and a failure in the rice-crop is the sure precursor of a famine.

There are no public roads in this part of China, and our train moved in a single file along the crooked path which led toward the mountains. Here and there, men were plowing little patches from which the rice had been gathered, preparing the ground for a

new crop. Their plows were small, awkward, wooden structures, and a single (buffalo) cow was attached to each. These moved very leisurely over the ground, browsing constantly on the grass which had grown up among the stubbles. An hour's ride brought us to the first "station," a village of several hundred people, called Shih Li Pu. "Li" is the Chinese word for mile, and measures about nineteen hundred feet in length. "Shih Li Pu" means "a step of ten li." Here our coolies took their breakfast, while we calmly submitted to the curious gaze of the natives who crowded around.

About nine o'clock, we reached the foot of the mountain range, when we turned into a narrow gorge. A lovely stream of water came racing down over its rocky bed, here and there gathering itself into pellucid little pools, in which we could see the fish gaily swimming about. Although at a distance the mountains seemed bare, yet we found them in places covered with dense shrubbery, and occasionally with clumps of pine-trees. The rocky and precipitous sides of the gorge rose to a great height, and the path became so rugged that further chair locomotion was impracticable. Slowly we wound our way upward on foot, now and then, stopping to rest and to cool off our perspiration and at length we came to an arched stone bridge. It was a very solid structure, some thirty feet in height, leading across the ravine, and just little above was the temple of Kiu Fung. It was a moderately sized building, old and shabby, but situated in a delightfully romantic spot.

The priest, an old man with shaven head, received us coldly, and kept a close watch upon us while we were there. We crossed a stone porch; and ushered ourselves, without any ceremony into the "reception-room." It was a pleasant and cool place, with a smooth floor of earth, and well furnished with chairs, tables and lounges. Overhead a platform reached half-way across, on which sat, in complacent repose, three large idols, gray with antiquity and dust. In front of the stone porch outside, was a neat little court-yard, filled with flowers, shrubbery, and empty vases, arranged quite tastefully. In one place stood a large, smooth white tablet, covered with Chinese characters, executed in a really handsome style. In a side chamber we found a wind-mill, constructed precisely after the pattern of fanning-mills in America. We felt quite at ease in our new accommodations, and soon made the place ring with the strains of Philip Phillip's "Home of the Soul," and other Sunday-school hymns. Meanwhile, the servants set out a long table on the porch, spread a clean, white cloth, and covered it with the good things which had been prepared and brought along for the occasion. Then we arranged ourselves around it, brother Houghton returned thanks, and we proceeded with our meal as calmly and cheerfully as if we had been dining in some Methodist home in Ohio, instead of in a heathen temple in the interior of China, surrounded with a crowd of superstitious idolators curiously gazing on. Indeed, I am afraid we were really rude in the want of reverence we displayed for their gods, coolly criticising their personal appearance, and singing Christian hymns right under their noses; although, as the Chinese could not understand our English, they did not have much ground for taking offense.

After we had partaken of a hearty meal, the ladies of the party wandered off in search of flowers, and rest of us stretched ourselves on a blanket under the shade of some beautiful bamboo-trees. High ridges and tall peaks rose all around us, inviting us to climb their steep sides, and enjoy the scenery of the surrounding country from their

summits. The temptation was too strong to be resisted, and, after an hour's rest, the

ladies were called, and, having secured the services of a young priest as guide, we followed a steep, zig-zag path which brought us to the summit of a ridge perhaps fifteen hundred feet in height. Here we had a magnificent view of the smooth waters of the Poyang Lake, the city of Kiukiang, and the immense valley of the Yangtsekiang.

Returning to the temple, we took lunch; and, as it was the middle of the afternoon, we prepared for our return home. We could not refrain from joining in a parting hymn; and, with those grim idols over our heads, and evidences of superstition all around us, and a throng of idolators, among whom was the priest of the temple, looking on an listening we sang:

"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun.

Our hearts were warmed with prophetic fervor, and as we realized the mighty work which is to be accomplished before this great nation becomes one of "the kingdom of Christ," the arches of that heathen temple again rang with the strains:

"Hasten, Lord, the glorious time,

The poor priest seemed much distressed at our strange conduct: but a handsome compensation for the trouble we had given him brought a smile to his countenance. With pleasant anticipations of the time when not only this, but all other heathen temples in China, shall be transformed into sanctuaries of the Most High, and with hearts kindled with a fresh eagerness to engage in the glorious work which the Master had appointed us, we took our departure. The sun went down before we reached Shih Li Pu, and we entered Kiukiang long after night had thrown her sable garment around us. A.S.