Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Moon type" in English language version.
Wayside Notes.
This is written in the court of the Home for Indigent Old People while my companions, who speak the Ningpo colloquial, are talking to the inmates. Many are blind or have eyes little better than blind. The diligence with which a large proportion of them recite prayers is quite noticeable. The same men in charge of this Home have also the trust of a fund to loan out without interest to poor men who can give good security. Many can thus do business who otherwise could not.
I found an English missionary who in 1874 taught a young blind man in a short time to read the colloquial of Ningpo written with the letters of Moon's system for the blind. At that time Ningpo had the Gospel of Luke in two large volumes of the Moon's system embossed. This blind man was boarded in the family of a teacher in the missionary's compound, but for some reason he went off and the labour appeared to be lost. This missionary returns to England in a little while, when I hope he will gather information and interest others about the blind in China. A Swiss missionary here used to give out notices by placards over the city that at such a time he would give a feast and money to the blind people who came. He thus tried to gather statistics about them and do them a favour. He was here too short a time to accomplish so much in teaching them as he hoped to do. He used a point system. The Moon's system employed was like the recently brought out Mark in Moon's raised letter Romanized mandarin without tone marks. Mr. Hudson Taylor, who had to do with getting the embossed Luke in Ningpo fifteen years ago, and the embossed Mark in Mandarin does not think that tone marks are necessary. The well known and long used Ningpo Romanized vernacular has not now nor never has had any tone marks. Aspirates, however, are distinguished. When people sing hymns it is not likely that they pay attention to tones in their enunciation. They read the Romanized books, however, correctly, because of the well understood connection of sense. We did not use tone marks in the tangible point system used at Hankow.
At a mosque to-day the interesting information was given me of the "Sect who pluck out the sinew" at Cliang-sha Fu in Hunan province. We must find out what it means. My informant professed to be the Ah-hung of the Ningpo mosque, whose home originally was Chi-nan Fu but who for twenty years had been here and at Hangchow. He had forgotten that to-day was juh ma, i.e., Friday, the Moslem's worship-day. This little colony and mosque are spoken of in "The Middle Kingdom." The Ah-hung brought out an Arabic New Testament in his possession. He says that at Hangchow are some families of the Kwan Ch'uan-kiao, i.e., the patriarchal sect. A missionary here as long ago as 1852 found men in Ningpo from the West of China, who were worshippers of one only God, but denied being Moslems or Christians.
J. Crossett.
