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Rh. Throughout its development, however, Buddhism has exercised a potent influence in Korean affairs, which continued until the close of the last dynasty. The power of the bonzes at one time controlled the Court and nullified

AN ALTAR-PIECE

the decrees of the monarch. During its pristine supremacy it became the strongest and most formidable factor in the education of the country. It wielded unlimited and unrestricted power, while it guided the political and social revolutions of the period. Great respect is still shown to the tenets of Buddhism in Korea. New monasteries and temples are in process of construction—the Buddhist priests of Japan and Korea making common cause against the activities of Western missionaries. The Emperor has also shown himself interested in the propagation of this faith, and, with Lady Om, he has given large sums to the restoration of certain dilapidated temples without the city. All things