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EAST ASIA.
Buddhism was introduced into Lu-chu about 1,000 years ago ;
but the natives
seem to trouble themselves very little with religious
matters. The priests (bodzes)
or to eat
are not respected or esteemed in society ; they are not allowed to marry
meat ;
few people associate with them, and even the children turn from them in
ridicule. Captain Basil Hall remarks on the total absence of anything in the least
degree resembling a religious ceremony: "The bodzes kept the temple clean
swept and took care of the walks and hedges, and this appeared to be their only
employment.
" is Polygamy not allowed in Lu-chu, and the King is the only person permitted
by law to have concubines. They invariably spoke with horror of the Chinese
practice, and were much gratified on learning that the English customs in this
respect were similar to those of Lu-chu. The women are not treated so well as we
were led to expect from the mildness of character in the men. The upper classes
of women are confined a good deal to their houses, and the lower orders perform
much of the hard work of husbandry. When they are met out of doors by the men
they take no notice of one another, whatever may be the degree of relationship
subsisting between them.
"
They appear to have no money, and from all we could see or hear, they are
even ignorant of its use. Though we were incessantly trying to make out what
their medium of exchange was, we could never learn anything distinct upon the
subject, nor could they be made to comprehend our questions about money. We
saw no arms of any kind, and the natives always declared they had none. Their
behaviour on seeing a musket fired certainly implied an ignorance of fire-arms.
In one place we saw a spear which looked like a warlike weapon ;
but we had every
reason to believe that it was used for the sole purpose of catching fish. They looked
at our swords and cutlasses and at the Malay creeses and spears with great surprise.
But the chiefs carried little case-knives in the folds of their robes, and the lower
orders had a larger knife, but these were always of some immediate practical utility,
and were not worn for defence nor as ornaments. They denied having any know-
ledge of war either by experience or by tradition.
" We never saw any punishment inflicted at Lu-chu. A tap with a fan or an
angry look was the severest chastisement ever resorted to, as far as we could
discover. In giving orders the chiefs were mild though firm, and the people always
obeyed with cheerfulness. There seemed to be great respect and confidence on the
one hand, and much consideration and kind feeling on the other. During our
intercourse with these people there did not occur one instance of theft. They were
all permitted to come on board indiscriminately ;
to go into the cabins, store-rooms,
and wherever they liked, unattended. Yet there was not a single article taken
away, though many hundreds of people were daily admitted, and allowed to
examine whatever they pleased.
" The loose native robe was generally made of cotton in a great variety of colours.
It opened in front, but the edges overlapped and were concealed by the folds sa as
to make it difficult to say whether or not the robe was continued all round. The
sleeves were about three feet wide, and round the middle was a belt about four or