Canton, (China,) Oct. 19, 1831.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,--In the first letter, I told you something
about the situation and the vast population of China, and the
three religious sects into which the people are divided. In this
letter I propose to give you a short account of their temples,
priests, priestesses, and idols.

Idol temples are very different from meeting-houses. I have
visited a good many of these temples, in and about Canton and
Macao. There is very little, if any, difference between the
temples of the Buddha and the Taon sects. Those which I have seen
are brick, and usually firm and well built. A common village
temple occupies about half an acre of ground, enclosed by a wall
twelve or fifteen feet high, and consists of several houses for
the priests, a number of small rooms and niches for the idols,
and an open court and alleys. Some of the temples are large,
including within their outer wall three or four acres, having
beautiful trees and gardens, and sometimes a furnace, in which
the dead bodies of priests are burnt, and also a kind of tomb,
filled with urns, in which their ashes are afterwards deposited.
These are more than thirteen hundred idol temples in the province
of Canton; and, at the same rate of reckoning, there will be, in
the eighteen provinces into which China is divided, more than
twenty-three thousand idol temples.

I have never visited any of the temples dedicated to Confucius.
They are, it is said, distinguished from those of Buddha and Taon,
by their dignified simplicity, the exclusion of images from all
the principal halls, and by substituting, in their stead,
commemorative tablets, bearing the names of Confucius and his
most distinguished disciples.

Priests are numerous. One temple in Peking has, it is said,
eight hundred priests. One which I have visited, near Canton,
has more than one hundred and fifty. Those of Buddha shave their
heads perfectly bald. They usually appear dressed in a large grey
gown, with sleeves often a full yard wide. They live principally
on vegetables; they eat no meat, are not allowed to marry, are
idle, and, except by persons of their own sect, utterly
disrespected. The priests of the Taon sect shave their heads,
except a spot about the size of a man's hand, of which the crown
of the head is the centre. This, indeed, every Chinese does. Every
man and every boy must have his head shaved, as a mark of
submission to the Emperor. This has been the custom for almost
two hundred years. But, while the common people braid their hair
into a "long tail," which hangs down to their heels, the priests
of Taon fold theirs up in a knot on the top of the head. When they
appear in public, they usually wear a yellow robe. They eat flesh,
and are permitted to marry. No priest of either sect ever teaches
in public and but seldom in private. They spend much of their time
in devotions, which are nothing but "vain repetitions," saying
over and over again the same words, as fast as they can, hundreds
and thousands of times. They are sometimes called to pray for the
dead, and sometimes to go in funeral processions.

Persons may become priests at any age they please; they are
usually, however, dedicated to the service when quite young, even
in infancy. A few days ago, in the streets, I saw a lad only eight
or ten years old, all dressed up in his priestly robes. There are
no priests belonging to the Confucian sect.

Priestesses are more wicked, but not so numerous as priests.
There are three sorts of these poor miserable creatures. Those
that belong to the sects of Buddha and Taon wear a peculiar kind
of dress. Those of the Buddha sect shave their heads, and the
people of Canton call them "women padres." Those of third sort
form a kind of sisterhood, live wholly on vegetables, and dress
like other women. These are all very wicked, ugly people. They
pretend to sing songs to the gods, and drive away demons. There
are other old women, still worse, if possible, than these; such
as witches, conjurers, and necromancers. They pretend to hold
intercourse with the dead, and give responses to their living
kindred, telling them that their dead friends are in great
distress for want of food and clothing. Many of the deluded people
believe them, and, by these lies and tricks, they contrive to get
food and clothing for themselves.

Idols, in China, are numerous beyond all calculation. These
idols are to be seen every where; in ships, in boats, houses, in
temples, shops, streets, fields, on the hills, and in the vallies,
and along the banks of all the rivers and canals. Some of these
idols are very large, huge monsters, several feet high. Some of
them are made of wood, some are stone, some are earthen, others
are brass, iron, &c. &c. They are most commonly made somewhat in
the likeness of men; but sometimes they are like beasts, and
birds, and creeping things. There are places where these godsare manufactured and sold just as people make and sell chairs,
tables, &c. I am going to send a parcel of them to the Society
of Inquiry respecting Missions, at the Theological Seminary,
Andover, where if you wish, you can go and see them.

Adieu, dear children. May the Lord, in great mercy, keep you from
all sin, and make you happy in this life and in that which is to
come. Remembering you often in my prayers,

I remain, your true friend,
E.C. BRIDGMAN.

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