-
Articles/Ads
Article FREEMASONRY IN CHINA. Page 1 of 2 Article FREEMASONRY IN CHINA. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In China.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA .
A MOST interesting paper , by Bro . Herbert A . Giles W . M . Ionic , No . 1781 , was read before that Lodge on 1 st June 1880 , and has since , by permission of the District G . Master of Hong Kong , been published in book form . The title is , perhaps , a little misleading , in the sense , at least , that it does not treat of Masonry as now established in
China , bnt of a system which existed in that country ages ago , and which certainly justifies the opinion that something analogous to our Freemasonry was established there at a period very remote from the present . So interesting is it that we have thought it worth while to give an outline of the points which are especially referred to .
Bro . Giles first of all notes that , if by Freemasonry is meant the system now in vogue among western nations , with its ritual of doubtful date , its signs , constitutions , & c , then it certainly does not exist at the present time , and never has existed amon g this people . But if it " points
to that higher and more ethereal scheme of morality , veiled in allegory , and illustrated by symbols drawn from operative Masonry , which was initiated in pre-historic times , when the human race , emerging gradually from savagery and barbarism , first turned to contemplate the wondrous
works of the Great Architect of the Universe , and began to recognise the mutual obligations subsisting between man and man , " then he thinks it will be found that a kind of Masonic system undoubtedly existed in days long anterior to the Christian era . Thus , says Bro . Giles , " from time
immemorial we find the square and compasses used by Chinese writers , either together or separately , to symbolise precisely the same phases of conduct as in our own system of Freemasonry . " The order , however , is reversed , priority being given to the compasses . Other Masonic tools and
appliances are similarly used , the earliest passage within Bro . Giles ' s knowledge , which illustrates this statement , being in the Book of History , in which , in an account of a military exhibition , occurs the passage , " Ye officers of
Government , apply the compasses , " while in another part a magistrate is spoken of as " the man of the level , " or " the level man . " This book , we are told , extends over a period from the twenty-fourth to the seventh century B . C . Even if we take the latter period we note that curious Masonic
expressions were in vogue in the written language over seven centuries before the advent of Christ ; but as the authenticit y of the Book is not in question , this gives a far higher antiquit y to Masonry than has ever been claimed for it . J-n making this latter assertion the writer is so far in error
that enthusiasts as to the antiquity of Masonry , take us hack to the days of Adam and Eve for the origin of Freemasonry , though how sensible men could have advanced so strange a theory , in sober seriousness and in the sense in ¦ which they do advance it , is beyond ordinary comprehension .
Greater authorities still than tlie "Book of History " ^ e certain quotations the author makes , one from the -discourses of the great Philosopher Confucius , and the others from the works of his great disciple Mcncius , who ived two centuries later . In the former caseit seems
, wnen recounting his own degrees of moral progress in lte i the Master tells us that only at seventy years of age c ° nld he venture to follow the inclinations of liis heart without
fear of ' transgressing the limits of the square . ' " The Inscription of the passages in Mcncius is still moro curious , -or there he says , " we are taught that just as the most m ghl y skilled artificers are unable , without the aid of the
Freemasonry In China.
square and compasses , to produce perfect rectangles or perfect circles , so must all men apply their tools figuratively to their lives , and the level and marking-lino besides , if they would walk in the straight and even paths
of wisdom and keep themselves within tho bounds of honour and virtue . " In support he instances three passages from as many different Books by this celebrated writer , namely , Books IV , VI , and VII , respectively . We quote them in their order of sequence : —
( 1 . ) The Compasses and the Square aro the embodiment of the rectangular and tho round , jnst as the prophets of old wero tho em . bodiment of the due relationship between man and man . ( 2 . ) A Master Mason , in teaching his Apprentices , makes use of the Compasses and the Square . Ye who ore engaged in the pursuit of wisdom must also make use of the Compass and the Square .
( 3 . ) A carpenter or a carriage-builder may give a man the Compasses and the Square , but he cannot necessarily make him a skilful workman . These are curious , but equally so is a quotation or translation from " a famous canonical work , commonly
known to foreigners as the Great Learning , the actual authorship of which is a moot point among scholars , though it is admitted on all sides that the text dates from between three and five hundred years before Christ . " In this passage , which inculcates
"that a man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should do to him , " it is laid down that "this is called the principle of acting on the square . " Descending to a later period , Bro . Giles makes reference to the Sacred Edict , " a number of moral maxims addressed
to the people by the second Emperor of the reigning dynasty ( 1661-1723 ) , and expanded by the third Emperor , his son . Herein it is laid down that filial piety and fraternal love should be the chief objects in the moral education of children , and that those virtues must be taught by example
as well as precept , so that" the wisdom of our sons may ripen day by day , and they may walk within the limits prescribed by the compasses and the square . " A further point of great value is that " the proverbial philosophy of China teems with allusions of this kind , so that when
the Amoy Masonic Hall was erected , no difficulty was experienced iu finding mottoes for inscription on either side of the entrance door to the Lodge , and accordingly the meaning of those which were inscribed on the respective sides were as follow , namely : — That on the right— " The holy doctrine" —which in a
footnote we are told is " Confucianism "— " in its education of mankind makes use of the Compasses and the Square . " That on the left— " The genius of the sage in the administration of affairs takes the form of the rectangular or
the round . But these figurative expressions are to be found not only in the written language , but also in all the colloquial dialects in vogue at the present date . Thus in every day talk one " who has no ' square and compasses , '" or does
not understand them , is " oblivions of all moral and social obligations , and totally unfit for any society of men who prize honour and virtue above the external advantages of
rank and fortune . ' " The " Cash , " the one and only com current in China , being circular aud having a square hole pierced in it , is considered by the people as " the most perfect svmbol of a perfect man . "
Passing on to the " point within a circle , ' the author says the Chinese have this very symbol , " which is nothing more nor less than the ancient form of the character of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In China.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA .
A MOST interesting paper , by Bro . Herbert A . Giles W . M . Ionic , No . 1781 , was read before that Lodge on 1 st June 1880 , and has since , by permission of the District G . Master of Hong Kong , been published in book form . The title is , perhaps , a little misleading , in the sense , at least , that it does not treat of Masonry as now established in
China , bnt of a system which existed in that country ages ago , and which certainly justifies the opinion that something analogous to our Freemasonry was established there at a period very remote from the present . So interesting is it that we have thought it worth while to give an outline of the points which are especially referred to .
Bro . Giles first of all notes that , if by Freemasonry is meant the system now in vogue among western nations , with its ritual of doubtful date , its signs , constitutions , & c , then it certainly does not exist at the present time , and never has existed amon g this people . But if it " points
to that higher and more ethereal scheme of morality , veiled in allegory , and illustrated by symbols drawn from operative Masonry , which was initiated in pre-historic times , when the human race , emerging gradually from savagery and barbarism , first turned to contemplate the wondrous
works of the Great Architect of the Universe , and began to recognise the mutual obligations subsisting between man and man , " then he thinks it will be found that a kind of Masonic system undoubtedly existed in days long anterior to the Christian era . Thus , says Bro . Giles , " from time
immemorial we find the square and compasses used by Chinese writers , either together or separately , to symbolise precisely the same phases of conduct as in our own system of Freemasonry . " The order , however , is reversed , priority being given to the compasses . Other Masonic tools and
appliances are similarly used , the earliest passage within Bro . Giles ' s knowledge , which illustrates this statement , being in the Book of History , in which , in an account of a military exhibition , occurs the passage , " Ye officers of
Government , apply the compasses , " while in another part a magistrate is spoken of as " the man of the level , " or " the level man . " This book , we are told , extends over a period from the twenty-fourth to the seventh century B . C . Even if we take the latter period we note that curious Masonic
expressions were in vogue in the written language over seven centuries before the advent of Christ ; but as the authenticit y of the Book is not in question , this gives a far higher antiquit y to Masonry than has ever been claimed for it . J-n making this latter assertion the writer is so far in error
that enthusiasts as to the antiquity of Masonry , take us hack to the days of Adam and Eve for the origin of Freemasonry , though how sensible men could have advanced so strange a theory , in sober seriousness and in the sense in ¦ which they do advance it , is beyond ordinary comprehension .
Greater authorities still than tlie "Book of History " ^ e certain quotations the author makes , one from the -discourses of the great Philosopher Confucius , and the others from the works of his great disciple Mcncius , who ived two centuries later . In the former caseit seems
, wnen recounting his own degrees of moral progress in lte i the Master tells us that only at seventy years of age c ° nld he venture to follow the inclinations of liis heart without
fear of ' transgressing the limits of the square . ' " The Inscription of the passages in Mcncius is still moro curious , -or there he says , " we are taught that just as the most m ghl y skilled artificers are unable , without the aid of the
Freemasonry In China.
square and compasses , to produce perfect rectangles or perfect circles , so must all men apply their tools figuratively to their lives , and the level and marking-lino besides , if they would walk in the straight and even paths
of wisdom and keep themselves within tho bounds of honour and virtue . " In support he instances three passages from as many different Books by this celebrated writer , namely , Books IV , VI , and VII , respectively . We quote them in their order of sequence : —
( 1 . ) The Compasses and the Square aro the embodiment of the rectangular and tho round , jnst as the prophets of old wero tho em . bodiment of the due relationship between man and man . ( 2 . ) A Master Mason , in teaching his Apprentices , makes use of the Compasses and the Square . Ye who ore engaged in the pursuit of wisdom must also make use of the Compass and the Square .
( 3 . ) A carpenter or a carriage-builder may give a man the Compasses and the Square , but he cannot necessarily make him a skilful workman . These are curious , but equally so is a quotation or translation from " a famous canonical work , commonly
known to foreigners as the Great Learning , the actual authorship of which is a moot point among scholars , though it is admitted on all sides that the text dates from between three and five hundred years before Christ . " In this passage , which inculcates
"that a man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should do to him , " it is laid down that "this is called the principle of acting on the square . " Descending to a later period , Bro . Giles makes reference to the Sacred Edict , " a number of moral maxims addressed
to the people by the second Emperor of the reigning dynasty ( 1661-1723 ) , and expanded by the third Emperor , his son . Herein it is laid down that filial piety and fraternal love should be the chief objects in the moral education of children , and that those virtues must be taught by example
as well as precept , so that" the wisdom of our sons may ripen day by day , and they may walk within the limits prescribed by the compasses and the square . " A further point of great value is that " the proverbial philosophy of China teems with allusions of this kind , so that when
the Amoy Masonic Hall was erected , no difficulty was experienced iu finding mottoes for inscription on either side of the entrance door to the Lodge , and accordingly the meaning of those which were inscribed on the respective sides were as follow , namely : — That on the right— " The holy doctrine" —which in a
footnote we are told is " Confucianism "— " in its education of mankind makes use of the Compasses and the Square . " That on the left— " The genius of the sage in the administration of affairs takes the form of the rectangular or
the round . But these figurative expressions are to be found not only in the written language , but also in all the colloquial dialects in vogue at the present date . Thus in every day talk one " who has no ' square and compasses , '" or does
not understand them , is " oblivions of all moral and social obligations , and totally unfit for any society of men who prize honour and virtue above the external advantages of
rank and fortune . ' " The " Cash , " the one and only com current in China , being circular aud having a square hole pierced in it , is considered by the people as " the most perfect svmbol of a perfect man . "
Passing on to the " point within a circle , ' the author says the Chinese have this very symbol , " which is nothing more nor less than the ancient form of the character of