Preaching Destruction and the Forty Days and Forty Nights' Fast the following notes were found anion the payers of the late Rev, R. A. Whiteside, who was murdered by brigands in Szechuan on August 14. They cast a curious light on the state of mind and general unvest in West China.
To-day, the 13th of the 6th moon, July 26, is the birthday of Kuan Fu-tze, a noted warrior of the time of the Five Kingdoms. The legend is that to-day he sharpens his sword, and if in so doing the water splashes over (i.e. if it rains) there will be further fighting and unrest. If however no water is splashed, then the omen is good with prospects of peace. In this province—this festival is the occasion of the annual meetings of the Secret Societies (Long-Gowned Brotherhood) when all members are to meet together, and renew their oath of allegiance to the To Patze or Head of the Society. It is also the occasion of swearing in new members. The penalty for absence without reasonable cause is a heavy fine or, worse.
Some time ago I called attention to a society called T'ong Shan Hui as being very strong in this district. More recently still ancther society has. been making great headway. A man named T'ang Huan-chang is.propagating the amalgamation of the Six Churches, Luh Chiao T'ong Th, viz, Buddhist, Taoist, Mohammedan, Confucian, Cat-hohe and Protestant, but in so doing he is establishing a Seventh Church of which he proclaims himself the Head (Ch'ih Chiao Hui). They are flooding the province with literature, tracts and books, some with a high literary style for consumption by scholars, others in the simple © language (peh hua) to appeal to the masses. The man T'ang must be a very clever man.
He predicts most terrible happenings for the 8th Moon (September 11) when. two-thirds of the people of the earth will be destroyed. The "calamities predicted follow largely the lines of Matt. XXIV, though considerably exaggerated. So closely does he follow this passage that one would not be surprised to hear that he was a renegade Church member. He seems to have a very large following through his system; but has had a setback in this neighbourhood. Large and enthusiastic gatherings have been held in several places, and many new members have been enrolled. Among his tenets is a new exposition of our Lord's Fast of forty days and forty nights, which Mr. Tang says the Christians have never rightly understood. What Jesus really meant to show was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.