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0249 Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2
Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2 / Page 249 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000042
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AND THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.   489

receive food and clothing from pious foundations attached to the temple. Between the other gates there are similar es-

tablishments ; there is to be seen (for instance) a hospital

for the sick, a kitchen for dressing their food, quarters for the physicians, and others for the servants. I was assured

that old folks who had not strength to work for a livelihood were maintained and clothed there ; and that a like provision was made for destitute widows and orphans. This temple was built by a King of China, who bequeathed this city and the villages and gardens attached, as a pious endowment for this establishment. His portrait is to be seen in the temple, and the Chinese go and worship it.'

In one of the quarters of this great city is the city of the Mahomedans, where they have their cathedral mosque, convent, and bazar ; they have also a Kazi and a Shaikh, for in each of the cities of China you find always a Shaikh of Islam, who decides finally every matter concerning Mahomedans, as well as a Kazi to administer justice. I took up my quarters with Auhaduddin of Sinj6r, one of the worthiest, as he is one of the richest, of men. My stay with him lasted fourteen days, during which presents from the kazi and the other Mahomedans flowed in upon me incessantly. Every day they used to have a fresh entertainment, to which they went in pretty little boats of some ten cubits in length, with people on board to sing.

Beyond this city of Sin-ul-Sin there are no other cities, whether of infidels or Musulmans. Between it and the

1 Canton has undergone many changes, and no temple now appears to correspond precisely with that described. It was however perhaps that called Kwa'ng-heaou-tze (Temple of Glory and Filial Duty), near what is now the N.W. corner of the city. It was built about A.D. 250, and has been often restored. It possesses about 3,500 acres of land for the support of its inmates. There is a retreat for poor aged infirm and blind people called Yangtséguen, which stands outside the walls east of the city, but neither this nor the other charitable institutions appear to be of old date, nor do there seem to be any such now attached to the temples (see Chinese Repository, vol. ii, p. 145 seq.).