es, however, of later days proceeded to interpret the
term in the sense of the Absolute, the First Cause, and finally as
One, in whose obliterating unity all seemingly opposed conditions of
time and space were indistinguishably blended. This One, the source of
human life, was placed beyond the limits of the visible universe; and
for human life to return thither at death and to enjoy immortality, it
was only necessary to refine away all corporeal grossness by following
the doctrines of Lao Tz[)u]. By and by, this One came to be regarded
as a fixed point of dazzling luminosity in remote ether, around which
circled for ever and ever, in the supremest glory of motion, the souls
of those who had left the slough of humanity behind them. These
transcendental notions were entirely corrupted at a very early date by
the introduction of belief in an elixir of life, and later still by
the practice of alchemistic experiments. Opposed by Buddhism, which
next laid a claim for a share in the profits of popular patronage,
Taoism rapidly underwent a radical transformation. It became a
religion, borrowing certain ceremonial, vestments, liturgies, the idea
of a hell, arrangement of temples, &c., from its rival; which rival
was not slow in returning the compliment. As Chu Hsi said, "Buddhism
stole the best features of Taoism; Taoism stole the worst features of
Buddhism. It is as though one took a jewel from the other, and the
loser recouped the loss with a stone." At the present day there is not
much to choose between the two religions, which flourish peaceably
together. As to their temples, priests and ceremonial, it takes an
expert to distinguish one from the other.

Buddhism.

There is no trustworthy information as to the exact date at which
Buddhism first reached China. It is related that the emperor Ming Ti
(A.D. 58-76) had a dream in which a golden man appeared to him, and
this mysterious visitant was interpreted by the emperor's brother to
be none other than Sh[=a]kyamuni Buddha, the far-famed divinity of the
West. This shows that Buddhism must then have been known to the
Chinese, at any rate by hearsay. The earliest alleged appearance of
Buddhism in China dates from 217 B.C., when certain Shamans who came
to proselytize were seized and thrown into prison. They escaped
through the miraculous intervention of a golden man, who came to them
in the middle of the