Volume 1

The Chinese Empire illustrated : being a series of views from original sketches, displaying the scenery, architecture, social habits etc. of that ancient and exclusive nation / by Thomas Allom ; with historical and descriptive letterpress by G.N. Wright. The work will also contain a succinct account of the history of China : a narrative of British connexion with that nation, the opium war of 1840, and full details of the causes and events of the present war.

  • Thomas Allom
Date:
[1858?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Chinese Empire illustrated : being a series of views from original sketches, displaying the scenery, architecture, social habits etc. of that ancient and exclusive nation / by Thomas Allom ; with historical and descriptive letterpress by G.N. Wright. The work will also contain a succinct account of the history of China : a narrative of British connexion with that nation, the opium war of 1840, and full details of the causes and events of the present war. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ]82 CHINA ILLUSTRATED. ALTAR-PIECE IN THE GREAT TEMPLE, TIN6-HAI. “ Such are thy creeds, O man I when thou art given To thy own fearful nature—false and stem ! What were we now, but that all-pitying Heaven Sent us a holier, purer faith to'learn ?— Type of its message came the white-winged dove— What is the Christian’s creed?—Faith, Hope, and Love.” This singular production, which is a legitimate specimen of neither painting nor sculpture, but a combination of both, discloses, in some degree, the origin of Bhuddism, or exposes the motley character of the worship that now degrades the Chinese nation. It consists of a quantity of massive carved wood-work intermixed with stucco, all in alto-relievo, gaudily coloured and profusely gilt. The principal figure is a female, sup- ported by a dolphin that swims breast-high through the waves, with an infant rising from her breast, a lotus-flower in her right hand, and a nimbus encircling her head. The cell, or recess, in which she is located, represents a grotto of rock-work, on the projecting angles of which little figures are placed, all appearing to supplicate or respect the deity of the waters. On one cliff is a soldier, on another a sailor; an agriculturist occupies a bold prominence, and a king with his mortal crown on, extends his suppli- cating hands towards this patron of the helpless. From the monarch to the mendicant none seem to be exempt from the necessity of appeal to her wooden majesty. A large table or platform in front is covered with little images of various shapes, and with pastiles, and perfumes, and joss-sticks, the accompaniments of every altar of Bhuddism. It is immediately in front of this high altar that the devotees beat their foreheads against the pavement, to the measured tones of a monstrous drum, the loud vibrations of a huge gong, or the dulcet sounds of a great silver bell. No temple in China is more celebrated for its wealth or magnitude, more admired for the elegance of its architecture, or more frequented from the supposed sanctity of its relics, than the Yun-stzoo-stzee. It is not only the greatest in Chusan, but in all China; and while no relaxation of those inhospitable laws, that closed their ports against the foreigner, was permitted in other instances, leave to visit this noble temple has always been granted to Barbarians; but, however grateful the traveller may be for the privilege, it is more than probable that his thanks are due to ostentation rather than hospitality. Fo is the presiding deity over this vast assemblage of idols and curiosities, but the furniture of his temples resembles that of the Immortals; in both, a group resembling the lady and child occurs. Poo-sa, Shing-'moo, Teen-how-neang, and Kuan-yin, all differ in certain minute particulars, but all agree in the general signification of “ Queen of Heaven.” Over the entrances to the temples of the Immortals, the following dedicatory