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47

A huge hall in front of the pagoda had been rebuilt, with interesting figures on the ridges, warriors and life-like horses instead of the conventional figures of the north. Within this hall were three great new Buddhas, and smaller figures of Ananda and Kashiapa, all made of wood, apparently camphor wood, and waiting their coats of gilt. These restorations and revivifyings are worthy of note.

Next we went through more narrow streets whose curios and embroideries made us get out and poke a bit, to the great Taoist temple in the center of the city. Here was a vast court filled with booths of all kinds, pottery, porcelain, toys, birds, food and drink. There was one great hall to the temple and in this were three very tall old gilt figures called the [[underline]] San Ching [[/underline]]. The central one was a kind of Buddha. The one on his right had a long white beard, and the one on his left was young and carried a [[underline]] ju-i [[/underline]]. Again, flanking these three, we saw the sixty divinities. These gods and their altars occupied only the center of the temple and all around the edges were shops selling pictures and scrolls of various gods and similar objects. Some were printed and some poorly painted. As it was the fifteenth of the moon there was much activity of worship. There were three or four priests, who, with their white, black-collared gowns and carefully oiled and coiled hair, looked much more trim and neat than the northern Taoists, but who had no more intelligence about their work or religion than the average priest of the sect.

Our next call was at the government school in whose grounds stood the twin pagodas, pitiful relics marking the site of what had many years before been a great temple and where now was nothing at all.

It was nearly lunch time then, for we had spent much time in seeing theplaces, and in poking in shops and buying Chinese stationary in a famous paper shop. So we took the rickshas out through city to the populous suburbs outside of the wall to the west. On the way we passed through a street where were many little shops of the cutters and sellers of the jade for which Soochow is noted.