A cycle of Cathay, or, China, south and north . g, and died of base of the monument is belted with tableaux in low re-lief, representing the birth, death, and spiritual struggles ofthe saint. To the Mongols it is an object of great venera-tion, and they always perform a koto before it, hanginghandkerchiefs on it in sign of special prayer or vow, althoughit covers only the fallen mantle of his saintship, his body hav-ing been carried back to Tibet. The religion of the lamas is Buddhism of a corrupt type,and prevails in Tibet and Mongolia. Its leading tenet is thereincarnation of Bu
A cycle of Cathay, or, China, south and north . g, and died of base of the monument is belted with tableaux in low re-lief, representing the birth, death, and spiritual struggles ofthe saint. To the Mongols it is an object of great venera-tion, and they always perform a koto before it, hanginghandkerchiefs on it in sign of special prayer or vow, althoughit covers only the fallen mantle of his saintship, his body hav-ing been carried back to Tibet. The religion of the lamas is Buddhism of a corrupt type,and prevails in Tibet and Mongolia. Its leading tenet is thereincarnation of Buddhist divinities in the person of those who 248 A CYCLE OF CATHAY are destined to exercise spiritual or civil power—a doctrineunknown to the orthodox. As its prayers are made by machi-nery, turned by wind or water as well as by hand, you wouldhardly expect it to exert an influence for good ; yet it seems tohave made the Mongols less savage than the bloodthirsty fol-lowers of Genghis Khan, though it has not made them chaste,clean, or LAMA PRIEST, PRAYER WHEEL, AND IDOLS. The Great Bell, four or five miles farther on, is one of thewonders of the world. Cast about five centuries ago by orderof Yunglo, the first Chinese emperor who fixed his throne inPeking, it weighs fifty-three and a half tons, and is coveredwithin and without with extracts from the Buddhist canon. GREAT WALL AND SACRED PLACES 249 Why it was made here, and. why it has remained in retirement,it might require a knowledge of astrology to unriddle. Thereis, however, a greater bell between heaven and earth, that ofMoscow, weighing eighty tons—a fact that may please the prideof some Christians. Connected with this Chinese monster isa touching legend, which I thus render: As a bee builds up her waxen cell,Was built the mould for the giant bell;Carved and pressed and polished wellBy the masters cunning hand. Twice has he lost the toil of years;And now he waits with anxious fearsThe junction of propitious sp
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