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THE JOSS-HOUSE, CHINESE IMMIGRATION AND CHINESE THEOLOGY

In Chinatown--Conception of God--The Joss House--Chinese Mottoes--The
Joss a Chinaman--Greek and Egyptian Ideas of God--Different Types of
Madonnas--Chinese Worship and Machine Prayers--The Joss-House and
the Christian Church--Chinese Immigration--Chinamen in the United
States--A Plague Spot--Fire Crackers and Incense Sticks--The Lion and
the Hen--The Man with Tears of Blood--Filial Piety--The Joss--Origin
of the World--Creation of Man--Spirits of the Dead--Ancestral
Rites--The Chinese Emperor--What Might Have Been--The Hand of God.

Our study of Chinatown and the civilisation of the country of the
Yellow Dragon, as seen in the City of the Golden Gate, has thus far
brought us in contact with the social and business life of the Chinese
and their amusements; but we are now to visit one of their temples of
worship, the Joss-House. And here the real man will be revealed; for
it is in religious services and ceremonies and beliefs that we get a
true knowledge of a race or a nation. The conception of God which you
have is the key to your character. If your views of Deity are low and
ignoble you will not achieve any greatness in the world; but if on the
other hand you invest the Being Whom you worship with noble attributes
and look upon Him as just and holy, a God of mercy and judgment, your
breast will be animated with grand thoughts and lofty ideals will
impel you to the performance of heroic deeds. The word Joss, which we
use for a Chinese idol or god, seems to be derived from the Portugese,
Dios, or rather it is the Pidgin English of Dios. A Joss-House then is
a Chinese idol or god-house. We are now standing before such a place
of worship. This is on the corner of Kearney and Pine Streets, and
is built of brick, and as we look up we see that it is three stories
high. There is a marble slab over the entrance with an inscription
which tells us that this building is the Sze-Yap Asylum. Let us enter.
The lower story, we find, is given up to business of one kind or
another connected with the Sze-Yap Immigration Society. This, we note,
is richly adorned with valuable tapestries and silken hangings, and
the rich colours attract the eye at once. If you wish to sit down you
can, and enjoy the novelty of the scene. For here are easy chairs
which invite you to rest. In your inspection of the place you venture
to peer into the room back of this, and you perceive at once