mperor
himself, after sacrificing according to the ritual of Confucius,
visits a Tao-sse temple, and afterwards bows before an image of Fo in
a Buddhist chapel. ('Melanges Asiatiques de St. Petersbourg,' vol. ii.
p. 374.)"

iii. Both these estimates are exceeded by Dr. T. W. Rhys Davids
(intimating also the uncertainty of the statements, and that numbers
are no evidence of truth) in the introduction to his "Manual of
Buddhism." The Buddhists there appear as amounting in all to 500
millions:--30 millions of Southern Buddhists, in Ceylon, Burma, Siam,
Anam, and India (Jains); and 470 millions of North Buddhists, of
whom nearly 33 millions are assigned to Japan, and 414,686,974 to
the eighteen provinces of China proper. According to him, Christians
amount to about 26 per cent of mankind, Hindus to about 13,
Mohammedans to about 12 1_2, Buddhists to about 40, and Jews to about
1_2.

In regard to all these estimates, it will be observed that the immense
numbers assigned to Buddhism are made out by the multitude of Chinese
with which it is credited. Subtract Cunningham's 170 millions of
Chinese from his total of 222, and there remains only 52 millions of
Buddhists. Subtract Davids' (say) 414 1_2 millions of Chinese from his
total of 500, and there remain only 85 1_2 millions for Buddhism. Of
the numbers assigned to other countries, as well as of their whole
populations, I am in considerable doubt, excepting in the cases of
Ceylon and India; but the greatness of the estimates turns upon the
immense multitudes said to be in China. I do not know what total
population Cunningham allowed for that country, nor on what principal
he allotted 170 millions of it to Buddhism;--perhaps he halved his
estimate of the whole, whereas Berghaus and Davids allotted to it the
highest estimates that have been given of the people.

But we have no certain information of the population of China. At an
interview with the former Chinese ambassador, Kwo Sung-tao, in
Paris, in 1878, I begged him to write out for me the amount, with the
authority for it, and he assured me that it could not be done. I
have read probably almost everything that has been published on
the subject, and endeavoured by methods of my own to arrive at a
satisfactory conclusion;--without reaching a result which I can
venture to lay before the public. My impression has been that 400
millions is hardly an exaggeration.

But supposing that we had reliable returns of the whole po