“A wonderful hero from beyond the seas, the fame of whose deserving loyalty reaches round the world, has sprinkled China with his azure blood.”
“A happy seat among the clouds,” (the ancient name of Sung Kiang means ‘among the clouds’) “and Temples standing for a thousand Springs, make known to all his faithful heart.”
Arthur D. Coulter, an American mining engineer, recently visited the temple and shrine of Frederick Townsend Ward and described the scene as follows:
“Toward the eastern end of the walled city stands one of the most beautiful pagodas to be found anywhere in the Orient. It is perfectly preserved, and overlooks the country for many miles. Passing toward the eastern gate and crossing the mouth of the canal which follows the city wall by an arched bridge—one of those typical stone bridges, finely cut and very old, which span the canal—the way leads toward the military grounds, at the present time occupied by a considerable force of Chinese soldiers, and it is in the vicinity of this fort that Ward’s resting-place is located and where his shrine is built. The place seems to have been fittingly selected by the Chinese to give a military setting to this memorial of their military saviour. A wide path along the bank of the canal leads by the beautiful bamboo groves a distance of about three hundred yards from the walled city to the soldiers’ compound. The temple proper is situated within a hundred feet of the outer walls of the fort. It is built on a plot of ground which has been maintained as an open park. In accordance with the Chinese idea of filial piety a grave must be maintained above ground. In almost all instances among the better classes the receiving vaults are built of brick or stone and covered with tiling, and these are maintained for many years, the obligation being handed down from father to son.
“The temple compound which has been dedicated to Ward stands within four walls built of brick. These walls are about ten feet in height and well preserved. The area is about one hundred feet square. At the main entrance of the compound is built the caretaker’s house. He, with his wife and family, are maintained by the Chinese Government as they have been since the building of the shrine. Immediately after passing through the caretaker’s rooms, one comes into an open courtyard facing the temple proper, which is built across the middle of the hollow square formed by the enclosure walls. Entrance to the temple proper is through three doors, which, when open, leave the shrine or altar exposed to view from the outside. This is in accordance with the prevailing arrangement of temples throughout the Empire.
“The altar stands about ten feet removed from the door which it faces, and is about six feet wide by ten feet high. Across from this altar is a space paved with brick throughout, in a very good state of preservation and well kept. The most important decorations are the tablet and the writing in Chinese which adorn the sides and top of the altar. On the top of the altar may be seen the braziers for the burning of joss and incense by the Taos priests. The attendance upon the temple by the Mandarins and Officials of Mandatories from the Chinese Government has been maintained since the building of the shrine. They are commanded to appear there during each month for worship. Immediately behind is a door leading out to what may be correctly termed the graveyard. This is an open space surrounded on the one side by the walls of the temple and on the other three sides by the walls of the compound already described. In the central background, away from the temple, is located the mound where Ward’s remains were placed. Behind this mound, and on both sides, extending out to the side walls, the ground is covered with a thick growth of young bamboo trees, making a very beautiful setting for the grave.
“The memory of Ward is held sacred to this day by those with whom or with whose fathers he was closely associated. He had endeared himself to the Taotai and the Chinese people principally through his military career and his more personal relations with Shanghai. The full significance of Ward’s martyrdom for the Chinese people has not been forgotten to this day by this class of Chinese.”
FOOTNOTES:
[47] This sketch of the life of Frederick Townsend Ward is taken for the most part, from the Essex Institute Historical Collections, Vol. XLIV, Jan. 1908, to which Hon. Robert S. Rantoul contributed a most complete and authoritative account of General Ward’s family history and achievements. Mr. Rantoul included also the Chinese decrees, and other documentary material which are made use of as Chapter XXX of this book, and the author desires to make clear his obligations, both to the researches and literary labor of Mr. Rantoul and to the Essex Institute for permission to make use of this material as properly belonging in a record of the deeds of the Salem men of seafaring stock and training.
[48] The Middle Kingdom, by S. Wells Williams.