of Medicine, and temples are erected to his honour in all the provinces of China. There are four in the capital— one near the Jesuit Observatory, called the Lü Kung T'ang, close by the shrine built in commemoration of the great Jesuit, Adam Schaal, by the Emperor Shun Chih; one just outside the Front Gate, called the Lü Tsû Tien; and two others, both of which are known as Lü Tsû T'sz. There is also a sanctuary dedicated to him in the Temple of the White Cloud, the great stronghold of Taoism, outside the western wall. On the whole, we should say that Lü Tsû succeeded in acquiring far more fame as a soothsayer and mystic than he would have done had he contented himself with less transcendental studies and risen to be a humble magistrate. There are people in the world not unlike him now; and though we do not suppose that future generations will canonise Madame Blavatsky, or build temples to her coadjutor the quondam editor of the Hong-Kong Daily Press, both persons enjoy an amount of fame, or notoriety, that would never have fallen to their share had they stuck to more commonplace pursuits. Spiritualists and mystery-mongers flourish to-day much as they did in China a thousand years ago; and, albeit that comparisons are odious, we cannot help remarking that they do not seem to have improved. There is often a grubbiness about the finger-nails of professional mediums, and a certain shakiness about the proper use of the eighth letter of the alphabet, which go far towards counteracting the effect upon one's mind of their most astonishing performances; whereas our old friend of the T'ang dynasty was a person of undeniable erudition and most cultured tastes, and could lay claim, besides, to a very high position in the philosophic school he joined. Jargon as his poetry upon the "Cultivation of the Pure Essence" may sound to us to-day, it repreIsented to the scholars of his time a distinct and fashionable phase—or craze-of philosophy and speculation, to the pursuit of which many eminent and pure men devoted their entire lives, and which exercised a profound influence upon more than one Emperor of China. CHAPTER XIII. THE PEACH AND ITS LEGENDS. THE peach-gardens of China are a fair sight in all the glory of their springtide bloom, when the trees are laden with blossoms of delicate pink and white and the air sweetened with their rich fragrance. The Chinese, in celebrating their admiration for flowers, give a high place to the blossoms of fruit, which English poets appear generally rather to ignore. Bouquets in English houses do not include these beautiful specimens of nature, which are so favourite an ornament in the libraries and reception-rooms of well-to-do Chinese. The peach is held in special honour in the so-called Flowery Land, and much attention is paid to its cultivation. There are three sorts of peach-trees grown in China-the dwarf, the shrub, and the full-sized tree. Of these the dwarf-peach is perhaps the most highly prized in point of beauty and perfume. It is remarkable for the size, wealth, and colour of its blossoms, and is divided by Chinese florists into eighteen different species. It does not fructify, and is valued only for its peculiarity of form and the rich fragrance of its flowers. The shrub-peach grows to the height of four or five feet, and is much found in the imperial gardens, where it is placed, with that true eye to effect characteristic of the Chinese, on the margins of pools and the K acclivities of those effective pieces of rockwork which form so prominent a feature in artificial landscapes. The coup d'œil formed by these masses of peach, apricot, and wild cherry, all in fullest and softest bloom, has been justly called enchanting, and must be seen to be appreciated. Peach-trees also form a very beautiful feature of many natural landscapes in China, and were celebrated during the Sung dynasty by the great historian Ssu-ma Kuang, who in some charming verses described the eye of the spectator as being guided by a colossal garland of peach-blossoms, connecting the numerous villages that were dotted over the spreading plains of Lo-yang. The neighbourhood of the Hsi-hu, or Western Lake, near Hangchow, was famous for its wealth of peach-trees, and the greatest care has always been bestowed upon their cultivation. The fruit of the full-sized tree is handsome, though somewhat poor in flavour. Its shape is varied, some specimens being fully spherical, others prolate, others a curiously oblate spheroid -called by foreigners "flat" peaches-while others again are pointed and even hooked. The same diversity prevails in the colour of the pulp, the fruits varying from white and pale green to rich ruby, orange-yellow, and marbled tints. The peach is said to have reached China in the first instance from Persia, Thibet, Samarcand, and Hami, and to have existed here at any rate for upward of two thousand years. The Emperor Wu Ti of the Han dynasty was presented by his courtiers with a number of foreign seedlings for his garden; the belles lettres of all the great dynasties abound in allusions, poetical and otherwise, to the beauty of its flowers, while histories record the fact that peach-trees or their fruit formed part of the tribute brought to the capital of China by ambassadors from abroad. It would be deemed curious by those who have studied native literature and systems of thought if the peach had not been laid under contribution by the poets and mystics of the country. As a fact, it plays a prominent part in both poetry and philosophy. By some writers it is regarded as an emblem of longevity and marriage. Of course this does not mean that it is the only emblem of either which exists. Longevity is also symbolised by the stork, and conjugal harmony by the music of lutes and bells, the strings of a guitar, and other figures of a like fanciful description. It is the well-known Ode on the Princess's Marriage in the Book of Poetry, according to Dr. Legge's translation, which seems to have originated the metaphor that has been so great a favourite ever since: "Graceful and young the peach-tree stands; Chamber and house she'll order right." The Taoists, too, attribute occult virtues to the peach. Mr. Mayers, quoting from the Huang Ti Shu, or books of the imperial magician known as the Yellow Emperor, himself a disciple of the still more mystical Kuang Ch'êng-tzu, tells us that on one occasion two brothers, named respectively T'u Yu and Yu Liu, who had power over disembodied spirits, passed the ghostly legions in review beneath a peach-tree, and having bound all those who worked evil against mankind with scarlet withes, threw them as food to tigers. In memory of this it was customary for officials on the last day of the year to have figures cut in peachwood mounted upon reeds, and to paint the likeness of a |