Show THE WORSHIP OF JOSS t DIT INTERIOR BRion OP OF A CHINESE CHURCH il IN N NEW YORK CITY there are two houses of worship here in new york they are called joss houses though what gave rise to the word joss is not known k own it is not a chinese word and englise is pre baly a birth el at the pigeon english dialect the word meaning god in chinese is quong ceesay gong in the two joss houses douses as in every other one all over the world he to is pictured as the central point of attraction hanging banging as the picture does behind the altar it is painted with more or less magnificence and represents a man of ideal beauty I 1 according to chinese standards in the prime of life on either side of this picture in all joss houses bouses hang bang portraits of the great powers of the universe one as the destructive represented by a hideous soldier armed to the teeth the other is the ideal productive woman bearing in her arms a sack of gold and quantities of flour and grain III inthe the two josik JOSH houses bouses in new york the th central pictures are about six feet by four in dimension and artistically executed ARE ABE maintained to the maintenance of these joss houses bouses all the wealthy chinese and many of the poorer subscribe with more or less liberality every one will take a flyer to in fan faa tan or a lottery and pocket his bis gains or losses without scruple and no one is bound by occidental notions of chanti chastity they are very pious and devoted in men en according to the tenets of their creed they hey officiate at the simple ceremonies cere onles which obtain in these two temples without pay unless the worshiper pro tracts his devotions high priest ali ah moy said the other day A man can say all the bragers he be needs to say in a minute if he prolongs the matter he B is simply what you would call in english a pharisee and a hypocrite for luxuries of this kind we make a charge add aad so if a man remains before the altar more than a minute he must pay for fortha the privilege one minute costs him nothing the second costs him twenty five cents the third fita cents and d the fourth 1 the men 2 and so an on in regular ratio I 1 what the worshiper does is interesting although it is so brief entering the joss house he distributes a quantity of joss sticks which lie he has pur chased outside there are six little bowls of sand in which he be sticks them 5 four are in front of the al tarone is under a table in the corner and the sixth is on a table or stone in another corner in each he be puts six sticks or a multiple of six according to the fervency of his bis religious notions six is a sacred number among this people the first bowl represents devotion tue tae second the past of the worshiper the third his future the fourth the him and his bis relatives and trie tirl ids eods the one under the table goes for luck and the last for his bis domestic relations having placed and ignited these sticks he kneels upon the prayer cloth which is spread before the altar aud mere makes twelve ions A translated all this is done quickly as has been stated but the ostentatious will remain i idling prayers from the books of the Chin chinese eee classics bumping the their ir forc foreheads heads on the ground and acting the pharisee a part the short prayer |