Dispatches from China: Letters and Diaries of Stuart & Hummel families

經文緯武 The civil and the military the warp 經 (laylines) and woof 緯 (cross lines) of life.

崇實黜華 Reverence the real and dispel the unreal.

處世莫如為善好 傳家惟有讀書高

鋤禾日當午 汗滴禾下土 誰知盤中飧 粒粒皆辛苦

敬勝者吉 The reverent conquerers are the happy ones

惟大英雄能本色 是真名士自風流 On [?] schools of Liu [Yung?]

前事不忘, 後事之師也 by not forgetting past events, you can use them as guides in subsequent events - Giles Dict. 9909

春雨夏雲秋[俽?]月 詩普字 文章

See Giles Dict. Biographical No. 2254 for "good matching of a couplet.

詩歌杜甫其三句　 樂奏周南第一章

On the portals of a ruined temple :The ancient monastery without a light depends on the man to light it. The mountain gate temple without a lock depends on the clouds to seal it.

The path that leads to the ruined temple is overrun with gay flowers. But from within there [names?] the chant of priests mentally intoxicated with the Sacred Bodies.

On the gates of a school Enlarge your knowledge and subdue yourself To know one'self is true knowledge, and to conquer oneself is real strength.

On the door of a chapel When we preach the Gospel we do not differentiate between Chinese and foreign When we [discuss?] Truth we make no distinction between East and West.

窮經安有息肩日　 學道方為絕項人 In Sian Episcopal School

經多世事朐[?]潤　 閱書人情眼界寬

一上一上又一上　 一上上在樓頂上　 舉頭惟見白雲低　 萬里江山只一望 — Li Po.

An intimate friend of a lawyer in Peking sent the following couplet scrolls to his friend lawyer, whose profession in the past was always despised in China. The lawyer [?] the scrolls laughingly, in his study. 高等乞丐　High[tened?] beggar 有業游民　A tramp with a trade The latter phrase a variation of the common 無業游民.

室雅何須大　 花香不在多 I think this is from 鄭板橋

草因地暖春先翠　 燕為花忙墓不歸　 鄭板橋

可憐無定河邊骨　 猶是春閨夢裡人

A Buddhist priest said:- 身是菩提樹，心如明鏡台　 時時勤佛拭，莫使有塵埃

A non-Buddhist replied as follows 菩提本非樹，明鏡也非台　 本來原無物，何處染塵埃

Carved on [wode?] panel over doorway of a humble courtyard above our Mill in Yü-[tao?]-bo. 勤儉成家 "Industry and Frugality will establish a Family

泰來店 ([hu?] p'i ch'i t'ai lai at Liang Kuo Ch'ang) Flourishing [illegible] 悅來店 (進者悅遠者來) In at which the near are pleased, and the distant come. Near sumer palae.

為善最樂　 讀書便佳 On a front door in Peking To do good is my greatest joy To study books my great accomplishment.

電達中外　 [報?]分漢英 On Fenchow telegraph office by gate.

寶珠玉不如寶善　 友富貴莫若友德 On door next to large school.

敬神如神在　 虔誠聖有靈 The couplet on paper in front R.F. [Johute's?] temple.

事惟能省思長定　 人到無求品自高　 Written by Li Yuan [?] in [?] [stop?].

松竹梅蘭古　 琴棋書畫圖 In Nanking

直蹟搜秦漢　 [各?]家聚普唐

讀勝賢書　 行仁義事

積善人家生貴子　 讀書堂內出賢人　 Most common couplet in Fenchow

欲上天堂應遵十條誡命　 要逃墜獄當究兩部[?]經　 The above on main door of C.I.M. church 孝義 near Fenchow.

The iron replica of a temple incense ash receiver above North gate of the city is dated AD. 1572. 15 li S-W of city is 桑棗坡　 which originally was written 喪子 坡 (Grief over the son slope but was changed because of superstitious fear of [word?] 喪 to Mulberry + Date Slape even tho there are no traces now of mulberry trees. The people of the village took us to a shelf on the hill 2 li North to a place called 離兒坡 (taking leave of Son village). Here we were shown a tomb under a peach tree, which had a stone which was indecipherable except for 2 or 3 characters which gave no clue to any meaning. The stone was not an old one. The village of Sang Tsao P'o is known in Fenchow city by the old name Sang Tzu P'o and is so pronounced.

This evidence of place names together with the name of 相子垣 (family 想子垣, and the place 2 li from Loa Cheng called 大相里村 (Great Longing[?] Village) where 卜上 is said to have taught in the 卜 山書院, and the well know phrase 西河之痛, all seem to point to the fact that the grave on Li Er P'o may indeed be the grave of Tzu Hsia's son, at whose death he wept himself blind.

The T'se Yuan dictionary is said to

contain the phrase 西河之痛

T'ai Yuan [?] was known as 北京 (Northern Capital) under the T'ang Dynasty - H.A. Giles

The name 恒 occurs as a surname in K'ang Hsi dictionary. At time of Ch'u 國 there was a farmers doctor named 恒德公 (2nd c. B.C.)

On 木橋街 Street East suburb near the little east gate is a 三仙 miao dedicated it is said to 卜子憂，段干木田子方．

Chinese face past 空前絕後 no connections with past or future - without ancestors or descendants cf. their gestures cf 前人 and 後人 cf. phrases, 從前，後來，後世， 上禮拜，下禮拜，前天， 後天，＂降至今日 down to this time". Poem by Ch'en Tzu Ang T'ang Dynasty (see Fletcher) 前不見古人　 後不見來人　 cf. also old saying 前人作，後人傳　 former men acted, after generations handed down.

Fenchow mentioned in Shu Ching [as?] walled [in?] 376 B.C. Sung Chih Wen, poet, native of Fenchow, Giles says 陽 means north of a river 汾陽 then means the country north of that river. The 陽 side of a hill is the south side.

汾王之甥 the niece of king Fen, a 歷王 of the Chou dynasty, who was so called from the river near which he lived after which he lived after which he was driven from the throne - Giles 3518

汾酒 spirits a wine made at [Fenchaoln?] in Shansi - Giles

汾陽王 prince of Fen Yang a petty ruler under the T'ang dynasty who had a great number of descendants name 郭子儀

汾陽點頭 he lived AD 697-781 (may you be like) Fen Yang losing his head - who had so many children he could not recall their names ie. may you have a numerous progeny!

The Nestorian Monument mentions 汾陽 as follows "When the Duke Kuo Tzu-i, a secretary of state and viceroy of the Fen-Yang province, was first appointed to the charge of the military operations in the Northern Regions (750 AD) the Emperor Su Tsung ordered him (I-ssee a Nestorian priest, named [?] who obtained official power) to accompany the Duke to his command, altho so intimate with the Duke as to be admitted into his sleeping tent, yet so strictly and respectfully did he (I-Ssee) behave that he made no difference between himself and others on the march. He proved himself to be "claw and tusk" to the Duke; and "ear and eye" to the army".

Original city of Fenchow built by Chin Kung 15 li from present site near village of Kung Ts'un. Cun ancient name Hsi Ch'eng Hsien meaning Marching[?] City may give clue to removal to present location. Removal to present E. suburb was completed by 207AD City of Hsi He Chen outgrew its walls and a new city was started in 1341 AD. In the south suburb is a temple to Kuo Tzu I Hung Wu two [?] lived in Fenchow used little arched gateway in North suburb to go to their fields. Outside north gate of Mi Chih Hsien is a large tablet recording that Kuo Tzu I repulsed Mongol invaders to this point before turning back.

In village of 大向善村 out side of West Gate Fenchow about 3 li is a temple with oldest wooden piler I have yet seen. It is dated 1320 大元廷祐六年 十月 ch'u 一日. The characters are 仙 姑之殿. The same temple has another piler dated 1395 Hung Wu 27 yr 7 mo, ch'u 一日. The inscription on it is 天龍土地.

In rafters of a house in Chen Ch'üan Pu Shensi hangs an account [?] on which is written 和合[?]. From the [?] also hang 2 bags of grain (small), a chicken head, and two chop [sticks?] crossed - put up on [?] of building the house.

The city of Huai Yuan 懷遠 Shensi on the Great Wall (was called 橫山縣) means "Thinking of the Distant".

Outside west gate of Mi Chih [Hsian] 米脂 Shensi is a temple to Kuo Tzu I and a tablet on which is written 乙卯七月七日唐郭 汾陽王七夕逢織女處，知 米脂縣事張題 (1855).

Carved on the natural stone above the Kuo Tzu I temple mentioned above are the characters 大富貴亦壽考 refering to 汾陽王 shoes of good magistrates are left in cages in gate of city walls of Hsiao I, Sui Te. Chnice of Shansi & Shensi wear red cloth for good luck.

Temple (Confucian) at 清澗縣 Shensi has large image of Confucius with his tablet in front. The Ch'eng Huang Miao of same city has a large wooden abacus in temple portico hung as a pien.

The two sons of Hung Wu who lived in Fenchow were 慶成王 and 水和王. It is said that they introduced into Shansi the urinals at the two ends of gables on roofs of Chinese houses in Shansi - these are said to occur only in the Palace in Peking and in Shansi, where the people freely copied the architecture of these princes who lived at Fenchow.

Near north gate is 仙槐 Miao. It has a huai tree formerly apparently dead, which revived and is still growing. In the old trunk is a knot shaped like a human head & face. The temple keeper said that formerly the leaves of the tree did not drop in winter, but that now they fall, because lately the spirit had left the tree. On a tablet of Wan Si is also fancy writing ascribed to 甫山.

At a temple on the hill across the river from Cheng Yang Hsien a Ning Hsiang is a stone table of the Mongol dynasty which calls China 大蒙古國

Li Tzu Ch'eng at close of 明 period crossed Yellow River at Chün Tu devastated Taihu on the fifth month and 13th day. Those who left east gate of Tai Yuan and those who took refuge in the KuanTi Miao at Taihu were spared, the rest killed to this day on the above date the people at Taihu go to the Kwanti Temple and the Taiyuan people go out of the East gate of Tai yuan, in memory of that day. This is a kind of Shansi Passover Feast.

In Fenchow Ch'eng Huang Miao is a large tablet dated 7th yr of 嘉裕 Chia Yu on 1062 A.D. - Sung dynasty. Oldest I have seen in city hall.