comes what ordinary mortals call death; and the pure being closes his
eyes, to awake forthwith in his original glory from the sleep which
mortals call life.

For many centuries Buddhism and Taoism were in bitter antagonism.
Sometimes the court was Buddhist, sometimes Taoist; first one faith was
suppressed altogether, then the other; in A.D. 574 both were abolished
in deference to Confucianism, which, however, no emperor has ever dared
to interfere with seriously. At present, all the "three religions"
flourish happily side by side.

The Chinese believe firmly in the existence of spirits, which they
classify simply as good and evil. They do not trouble their heads much
about the former, but they are terribly afraid of the latter. Hideous
devils infest dark corners, and lie in wait to injure unfortunate
passers-by, often for no cause whatever. The spirits of persons who have
been wronged are especially dreaded by those who have done the wrong.
A man who has been defrauded of money will commit suicide, usually by
poison, at the door of the wrongdoer, who will thereby first fall into
the hands of the authorities, and if he escapes in that quarter,
will still have to count with the injured ghost of his victim. A
daughter-in-law will drown or hang herself to get free from, and also to
avenge, the tyranny or cruelty of her husband's mother. These acts lead
at once to family feuds, which sometimes end in bloodshed; more often in
money compensation; and the known risk of such contingencies operates as
a wholesome check upon aggressive treatment of the weak by the strong.

Divination and fortune-telling have always played a conspicuous part in
ordinary Chinese life. Wise men, of the magician type, sit at stalls
in street and market-place, ready for a small fee to advise those