. Lion and dragon in northern China. described asidols at all. Surely it would be less misleading toreserve that term for images which are regarded asgods per se and not merely as clay or wooden repre-sentations of gods. One sees a Chinese wor-shipping an image, say, of Kuan Yin. Does he regardKuan Yin as actually present before him or does hemerely regard the image as a man-made statue of hisgoddess,—an image set up as an aid to prayer or asa stimulator of the imagination or the emotions ? Theoretically, at least, he most emphatically does notbelieve that the goddess is herself before him : f
. Lion and dragon in northern China. described asidols at all. Surely it would be less misleading toreserve that term for images which are regarded asgods per se and not merely as clay or wooden repre-sentations of gods. One sees a Chinese wor-shipping an image, say, of Kuan Yin. Does he regardKuan Yin as actually present before him or does hemerely regard the image as a man-made statue of hisgoddess,—an image set up as an aid to prayer or asa stimulator of the imagination or the emotions ? Theoretically, at least, he most emphatically does notbelieve that the goddess is herself before him : for heknows perfectly well that if he walks two miles toanother temple he will find another image of the samedivinity; and that if he wishes to do so he may comeacross three or four Kuan Yins in the course ofa single days walk. On the island of Pootoo hecould see dozens in a couple of hours. Unless the 1 See Max Miillers Lectures o?i the 0?igin of Religion (1901 ed.),p. 312.* The Rev. T. Macgowan, Sidelights on Chinese Life, p.
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