An old carpenter had had his shop by our church in Tsicheo for twenty-seven years. He did well in business for many years until flood, disease, and two opium-smoking sons brought the family to poverty. For two years they have not been able to pay the rent, which is 40,000 cash, or about $22.00, per year. The old carpenter died a few weeks ago, and was buried in a coffin for which he had been offered 400,000 cash. This amount of money was sufficient to hire eight carpenters for a year, or pay his rent ten times over. The family could have purchased a very good coffin for one twentieth of this sum. Nevertheless they obeyed what I suppose was his request and buried him in the most expensive coffin that has been in Tsicheo for many a year.
Again, a very poor woman, a member of the church, died recently. Relatives owed her more than 30,000 cash, which is a year's wages of an ordinary laborer. She pressed them to give her even a part of the debt to relieve her distress, but they would do nothing for her. Almost the only help she had at last came from the church. It was expected that the burial expenses would have to be met by subscription also. Hence it was quite a surprise when these same relatives, who had been so indifferent to her suffering while she lived, now came and provided her with a fairly good coffin, and allowed her to be buried according to the usages of the church.
It is sad to see the lack of true religion indicated by the big funerals, with their firecrackers, drums, gongs, and cymbals; with their paper cash, images for burning, streamers and decorations. Do they think by the noise to frighten God and compel entrance of the soul into paradise? Or is it that they think to show how popular and wealthy the deceased is, and so make God afraid to shut out a man of such a wealthy and powerful family? The real reason is not difficult to discover. They desire by making a great show before the world to ward off the thought of death in their own hearts, and erect bulwarks against an accusing conscience. And the pity of it is that they so nearly realize complete success in this gross materialism.—World-Wide Missions.
