[124] Such as are from time to time bestowed upon virtuous widows and wives, filial sons and daughters, and others. These consist of some laudatory scroll or tablet, and are much prized by the family of the recipient.
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[125] See [note 119] to last story.
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[126] Probably the Illicium religiosum is meant.
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[127] See No. XII., [note 87].
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[128] The common application of the term “same-year-men,” is to persons who have graduated at the same time.
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[129] This is by no means an uncommon form of charity. During the temporary distress at Canton, in the summer of 1877, large tubs of gruel were to be seen standing at convenient points, ready for any poor person who might wish to stay his hunger. It is thus, and by similar acts of benevolence, such as building bridges, repairing roads, etc., etc., that the wealthy Chinaman strives to maintain an advantageous balance in his record of good and evil.
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[130] It may be necessary here to remind the reader that Chan’s spirit is speaking from Chu’s body.
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[131] We shall come by and by to a story illustrative of this extraordinary belief.
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[132] The summum bonum of many a Chinese woman.
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[133] Chinese silver, called sycee (from the Cantonese sai see “fine silk;” because, if pure, it may be drawn out under the application of heat into fine silk threads), is cast in the form of “shoes,” weighing from one to one hundred ounces. Paper imitations of these are burnt for the use of the spirits in the world below. The sharp edges of a “shoe” of sycee are caused by the mould containing the molten silver being gently shaken until the metal has set, with a view to secure uniform fineness throughout the lump.
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