It is acknowledged on all hands that Buddhism is now passing through a crisis, and it is a question of life or death. It is a well-known fact that there is now in the Buddhist ranks a state of tumultuous disorder and a great amount of bitter feeling. These difficulties and divisions have arisen on account of a difference of views in regard to educational methods, and also the fact that the priesthood has failed to keep pace with the general intelligence of the nation. An association has been formed for the purpose of arbitration and otherwise assisting in the settlement of religious dissensions, but there is little prospect of its success.

There have been pretended reformers in later years, who have caused some excitement in religious circles for a time, but they soon sank out of notice. A young scholar named Inouye Enrio is now trying to arouse interest in the study of Buddhistic philosophy, but his efforts have not had the least effect in giving vitality to the religion. One of the Buddhist writers asks in despair, "Is there not a single true follower of Buddha among the 200,000 priests in Japan?" Nobody seems to question that a reformation is required, but the difficulty is, there does not seem to be any priest equal to the task. In fact it is only a question of time when the so-called "Light of Asia" will be supplanted by the "Light of the World."

Buddhism Awake in Japan.

BY REV. W. T. A. BARBER, M.A.

He who visits Japan after seeing China must be exceedingly struck with the educational and national fever everywhere evidenced, in contrast with the lotus eating, "always-afternoon " repose of the larger empire. Nor is the spectacle so entirely one for admiration of the Japanese as might at first sight seem natural. There is, after all, something that arouses respect in the stolid firmness with which, as a whole, China, viewing the tempting fruit of Western learning, yet refuses to pluck and eat until she is thoroughly convinced of its wholesomeness. Such stolidity, though vexatious to the soul of those who would like her rapidly to "take her place in line with the nations of the world," may be taken as an earnest of the thoroughness with which the waters of the new system will be allowed to infiltrate till Chinese soil be thoroughly fertilized. In Japan high farming is being carried on with a very rapid change of crop, and one fears exhaustion of the soil; in China the fallow land of ages still waits, sturdily preserved by the mountains of hoary prejudice, until the day when a new agriculture shall exploit its rich resources. The oft-repeated simile, that the Japanese are the French, and the Chinese the Anglo-Saxons of the East, appears in the first case to be absolutely, in the second partially, correct, and may sum up our view of the present and future of the two nations.

417

Perhaps there is no department in the national life where the contrast of progress and repose is more marked than in that of religion. Japan owes its secular and sacred literature, Confucian ethics, and Buddhist religion to China; yet, while in China the Buddhist priesthood is a byword for illiteracy and sordid greed, in Japan the Bonzes are thoroughly participant in the awakening mental life. In China the priest will mechanically continue his Sanskrit prayers while he turns to watch the foreign sightseer, and will reach him a candle from the altar for his cigar, without sense of incongruity; in Japan the intelligent, foreign-dressed young gentleman, with a diamond ring on his finger and gold-stopping in his teeth, will not hesitate to remove his shoes, bow, and put up his prayers before a temple shrine. Externally, at any rate, the reverence is higher in the progressive country, notwithstanding the agnosticism that largely follows in the wake of Western learning.

Perhaps there is no more significant emblem of the hold of Buddhism as a living creed on the mind of the living generation of Japanese than the great temple being built by a single sect in Kyoto, the old capital of the empire, at a cost of nearly a million and a half pounds sterling. When it was found that no ropes or cables of ordinary manufacture were strong enough to raise into place the huge pillars supporting the magnificent carved roof, the faithful, both men and women, came forward with offerings of their own hair, and from these were made hundreds of feet of cable, strong, enough for the purpose required. The pillars are now in situ, but the unbroken cables remain coiled up in memoriam. Significant, too, are the huge collecting boxes, ten feet long, four feet broad, and four feet high, which call forth a smile from the wandering Methodist. It is only fair to remember that the ordinary coin of the poor needs twenty of itself to come up to an English penny.

The sect here referred to is one of eleven main divisions of the Buddhist cult in Japan. One of these, a sort of Protestant form, allows its clergy to marry, discountenances vegetarianism, and numbers among its priests some who were educated at Oxford, under Max Müller. Such characteristics justify respectful attention to its tenets, but the amateur observer is hard put to it to grasp the points of metaphysical distinction which separate the Eastern creeds. There is a species of justification by faith in Protestant Buddhism which gives a surface resemblance to Christianity. It is but a surface resemblance. The believing utterance, a single time, of Amita Buddha's name (the O mi tu fu of China) secures salvation; the multiplied reiterations in which the Eastern delights, are so many utterances of thanks for the salvation thus secured. The salvation thus secured differs in toto from the Christian idea of salvation from sin, and such a casual view as

420

The Capital of Korea and Its People.

BY REV. H. LOOMIS.

SEOUL means the court or seal of the king. It is said to be the largest and most important city in the country. Most of the nobles live here, at least a portion of the year. It contains within the walls and suburbs about two hundred and eighty thousand inhabitants. It is twenty-six miles distant from the port of Chemulpo by the ordinary road, and eighty miles by the Han or Seoul River.

The city is located in a well-drained basin formed by mountains on the north and south, and sloping gradually toward the east. The wall around the city is eight miles in length, and runs in an unbroken line over the surrounding hills or mountains, and is of an average height of twenty feet on the outside. There are four principal gates, which are shut every evening at eight o'clock in the winter, and at nine o'clock in the summer. They are reopened at one o'clock in the morning, and during the interval they are opened to no one but high officials.

The city side of the south mountain is covered

HOME OF A KOREAN PEASANT.

with pines, and is a popular and refreshing resort during the heat of summer. The other mountain sides are generally rough and barren, or covered with grass only.

There are three principal streets-one running from the east gate to the west one, cutting the second at right angles from the great south gate, and a third leading from the first up to the palace. These streets are of good width, and with a hard and smooth surface. The other thoroughfares are narrow, rough, and often very filthy.

With the exception of a few two-storied houses in the center of the city, the buildings are of one story, and not more than eight or nine feet high. The chimneys at the sides of the houses open into the streets, and when the evening fires are kindled the smoke renders traveling very disagreeable, and sometimes almost impossible.

Private houses have small, paper-covered windows fronting on the streets, which answer also as doors. The families live huddled together in an atmosphere of smoke and foul air, with not the slightest

sign of comfort. It would seem from their small rooms and utter want of ventilation that the Koreans are exceptions to the occidental races, and are not dependent for health upon a proper supply of air and light. They sleep on the floor in the closecrowded rooms, with only a wooden pillow and no bedding whatever.

The dwellings of the noblemen and officials are detached and surrounded by high walls, which are entered from the street by large wooden gates. The foreigners, including the missionaries, live in houses of this class, which are altered to suit their tastes, and made very neat and comfortable. Around them are grassy lawns, with various kinds of trees, shrubs, and flowers. The peculiarly beautiful landscape gardening so common in Japan is not found in Korea.

The houses are built by laying isolated foundations of pounded stone, in which are set large stone uprights at intervals of eight feet. The framework of large timbers is built up upon these several foundations, and is filled in with a network of sticks tied together. This is plastered over, first with mud and afterward with mortar. If it is to be a stone house, stones are tied in this mud to the network, having the smooth side out. The roof is made of tile or, among the poor classes, a thatching of straw. The house is built around a court, with perhaps another set of buildings, entirely secluded, for the female members of the family.

The living rooms which are to be heated are usually eight feet square, with sliding doors, so that several rooms may be thrown into one. The large reception rooms, which are not expected to be warmed, have board floors, well oiled, and windows over the whole of one side, so that they can be thrown up and the room made open to the court.

The small rooms are warmed by the very ingenious and fuel-saving kang. This is made by building a system of shallow flues where the floor is to be. These flues begin at a large fireplace, and end in a deep trench at the other end of the house, into which the soot falls. This trench is connected with a chimney, which may be a tile affair, running up the wall, a broad trough, or a handsome tall chimney of fancily cut brick, situated some ten feet from the house, and connected with the kang by a continuation under ground.

The flues are covered with large, flat slabs of limestone from two to four inches in thickness. These are in turn very evenly covered over with mortar, forming the floor, upon which is placed the very superior oiled paper, which is a good substitute for European oilcloth and answers the purpose better.

The rooms are papered inside with white or colored paper, but articles of furniture or ornament are very rare. The fireplace is so arranged that the family cooking may be done thereon, and the smoke

and heat from the necessary cooking fire heats these large stones so that they remain warm till the time for the next meal. The heat is dry and comfortable, and the people do not seem to be greatly troubled with colds.

The foreigners very generally use stones in addition to the kang. One great objection to the use of the latter is the high price of wood, as coal from Japan is cheaper than the native fuel. The natives economize their fuel by living in very small rooms and using only a small fire of grass.

The food of the foreign population is mostly imported. Beef, fowl, fish, game, rice, beans, a few vegetables, and some fruit in season make up the list of what the native market affords. There is plenty of pork, but it is not good unless properly fed. One great objection to the use of beef is that the diseased and worn-out animals are usually taken for food. A change has taken place in this respect, and better beef is now to be obtained.

The climate has only been tested a couple of years or so by foreigners. Aside from the rainy season it seems a most delightful, dry, equable climate, which has led to its being recommended as a temporary resort for persons suffering from throat and lung troubles. The cold weather begins to come on in September, and by the last of the month fires are necessary in the evening, while midday is quite hot.

It continues in this way, each week being a little colder than the preceding, until about the middle or later part of December, when cold weather comes in force. The river is frozen over so that large carts heavily loaded with a few tons of goods may pass over on the ice. From this on the thermometer (at Seoul) does not vary much, but remains from eight to twelve degrees above zero, Fahrenheit, for some two months or two months and a half.

About the first of Mareh strong southwesterly winds take the place of the northeaster, and snow and ice begin to disappear. Spring comes on as does autumn in a very gradual manner. The proverbial showers of April follow the winds of March in most perfect order. Then come two months of very dry weather, growing warmer each week till in the midIdle of June it seems about as hot as it can get. Showers follow until about the middle of July, when the rainy season sets in.

This continues until about September 1, when fair weather comes again. During the rainy season the stream which winds through the city becomes a raging torrent, sweeping away the mass of filth that has collected within its dry sandy bed during the whole year.

The soil consists mostly of a porous granite sand washed down from the mountains, and these deluges leave the streets in a very bad condition. The city was first laid out with streets from twenty to two hundred feet wide. Along either side of these

421

streets an open drain was left with sufficient fall to allow of the carrying away of water and filth to the large stream which acts as a main sewer. There were also some covered stone drains constructed, but only a few of these remain in good condition at present.

The public wells of the city are placed along the streets where the drains run just above and very near, and of course the water is tainted with the filth. But there are springs of good water on the mountain sides within the walls, and men make a business of supplying water from these. The foreigners depend largely upon wells within their own compounds, and great care is used in boiling and filtering the water. The health of the foreign community thus far has been remarkably good. The habits of the people are very uncleanly. Bathing is practiced by the poor, who take a bath in summer to cool off. Bath tubs are unknown at Seoul.

The women dress much after the European custom, with short, loose jackets or waists, light sleeves, and a long skirt. When out of doors they wear over their heads green mantillas, which cover the face, and leave only the eyes to be seen. They wear silver and jade rings on their fingers, and long hairpins, but other jewelry is quite uncommon. The hair is worn parted in front, and gathered in a knot on the back of the head, or in thick plaits projecting over the forehead.

The native food consists of rice, beans, fish, vegetables, and a little meat for the poor. The better classes eat a great deal of beef, pork, fowl, fish, game, and dog. Dogs are eaten very commonly by all classes, and the flesh is considered valuable in a medicinal way. They also eat a great many hot peppers and other condiments. They are enormous eaters, and do not masticate their food any more than is absolutely necessary. The drink of the people is water. They have but little tea, which is generally used as a medicine. They make a clear and strong spirit from barley resembling alcohol, which will produce drunkenness after European fashion. They do not seem to understand the use of grapes in the manufacture of wine. Their grapes are large and good, but somewhat scarce and costly.

The streets of Seoul by day present a very lively appearance. The bulk of the people, however, are mere idlers, strolling about and absolutely doing nothing but smoking their long pipes and talking. The use of tobacco seems to be a luxury indulged in by both males and females of all classes. It is rare to see a Korean without the long pipe and usually engaged in smoking. But few carts are to be seen in the street, and but few signs of trade. In the two-storied buildings in the center of the city the merchants are usually busy with their silk and cotton goods, but at the small stores and booths there are but few customers.