Association took place on the evening of the 16th at the house of Rey. G. S. Owen, De. Dudgenn in the chair, to hear a paper from Dr. Edkins on the Chinese ideas of the future state.
The Doctor's essay bristled with facts from Chinese Buddhist books, The contribution was an attempt to show the Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist views of the question, he lecturer dwelt priucipally upon the dogmas of the latter religion in relation to. the future state we were favoured with a learned disquisi tion on the origin of the Western Heaven, and facts were adduced to show the bearing of the Buddhist upon the Christian doctrine of Paradise, The meeting point of fluence of the latter upon the former was through missionaries to Persia, and the ings of Zoroaster. That the Buddhist idea was borrowed from the Christian has not however been conclusively proved.
s0, one would expect to find traces of greater resemblance. Buddhism largely spread through Asia after the preaching of this new doctrine of the Western Paradise, A lively and interesting di cussion ensued afterwards, The meetin; was largely attended by missionaries an others. Dr. Martin made an. excellent speech—the best perhaps we have ever heard from him. This was his first appearance in public since his return, an wwe all hail his presence once more among tus asa most valuable literary as well as social acquisition, Mr. Wherry made also a good speech, taking up the present views of the people in regard tothe doctrine, whom he divided into tree classes—(1) the stics—put chil-tao (2) the aunihilationists—san Tigo and (3) the trausmigeationists—t'o sheng. One or two speakers referred to the existence of ancestral worship as proof of belief in the future state; one speaker 1 of ancestral ship altogether and wholly selfish. As another observed, it still did not disprove the belief. Me. Owen made a ood speech, and among other things observed that the belief in the future existence and the immortality of the soul were two different ideas and the Chinese curtainly failed to grasp this latter idea. The Chairman took up the popular side of the question, and showed from the ceremonies attending the faneral obsequies that according to the Chinese there were no children in thei heave 8 a cold plice—that the road thy dark, that the wants of ill positions in that world were identical wih those of this world—tea, cash, toand opiam-pipes, ete., being pineed in the collins, That all aimed at being officials, and as a superstitious notion caning from the other world he mentioned that the last placed in the coffin was the cause of the peculiar blue mark which is all but universal on the lower portion of the backs of children, Among the other speakers were Mr, Lovsof Tientsin, Messrs, Auent, Brereton, Meech and Whi 17th October.
The last garden party at Sie Robert Hart's for the season took place Jast Wednesday, when a photograph of the group was taken as a sonvenic of these We lear it reported that after all Mrs, Russell Youny may come to Peking for the winter, This indicates an improves
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.