The Buddhist liturgies have been written out in Chinese characters which reproduce the sounds of the original Indian language, and these the priests learn by heart without understanding a word of their meaning.

The box with the dead man in it is now hoisted to the top of a funeral pyre, which has been well drenched with oil, and set alight; and when the fire has burnt out, the ashes are reverently collected and placed in an urn, which is finally deposited in a mausoleum kept for that purpose.
Life is remarkably safe in China.

No man can be executed until his name has been submitted to the emperor, which of course means to his ministers at the capital.

The Chinese, however, being, as has been so often stated, an eminently practical people, understand that certain cases admit of no delay; and to prevent the inevitable lynching of such criminals as kidnappers, rebels, and others, caught red-handed, high officials are entrusted with the power of life and death, which they can put into immediate operation, always taking upon themselves full responsibility for their acts.

The essential is to allay any excitement of the populace, and to preserve the public peace.
In the general administration of the law great latitude is allowed, and injustice is rarely inflicted by a too literal interpretation of the Code.