There are no priests of
Confucius; and this is a good thing.
All the religions of China are bad, but of the three the religion of
Confucius is the least foolish.
There can be no doubt which of the three religions of China is the least
absurd.
The religion of Taou teaches men to act like mad-men.
The religion of Buddha teaches them to act like idiots.
The religion of Confucius teaches them to act like wise men, but without
souls.
THE EMPEROR.--There is no emperor in the world who has as many subjects
as the Emperor of China: he has six times as many as the Emperor of
Russia.
Neither is it possible for any man to be more honored than this emperor;
for he is worshipped by his people like a god. He is called "The Son of
Heaven," and "Ten Thousand Years;" yet he dies like every other child of
earth. His sign is the dragon, and this is painted on his flags, a fit
sign for one who, like Satan, makes himself a god.
Yet the emperor is also styled "Father of his people," and to show that
he feels like a father, when there is a famine or plague in the land, he
shuts himself up in his palace to grieve for his people; and by this
means he gets the love of his subjects.
Once a year, too, this great emperor tries to encourage his people to be
industrious by ploughing part of a field and sowing a little corn; and
the empress sets an example to the women, by going once a year to feed
silk worms and to wind the balls of silk.
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