WELLS WILLIAMS《The Middle Kingdom》15-18

CHAPTER XV.  INDUSTRIAL ARTS OF THE CHINESE

The superiority of the Chinese over their immediate neighbors in the enjoyments of life and in the degree of security for which individuals can look under the protection of law have their bases chiefly in the industiy of the people. Agriculture holds the first place among the branches of labor, and the honors paid to it by the annual ploughing ceremony are given from a deep sense of its importance to the public welfare ; not alone to provide a regular supply of food and labor for the population, but also to meet the wants of government by moderate taxes, and long experience of the greater ease of governing an agricultural than a mercantile or warlike community. Notwithstanding the encouragement given to tillage, many tracts of land still lie waste, some of it the most fertile in the country; partly because the people have not the skill and capital to drain and lender it productive, partly because they have not sufficient prospect of remuneration to encourage them to make the necessary outlay, and sometimes from the outrages of local banditti making it unsafe to live in secluded districts.

Landed property is held in clans or families as much as possible, and is not entailed, nor are overgrown estates frequent.

The land is all held directly from the crown, no allodial property being acknowledged ; if mesne lords existed in feudal times they are now unknown. The conditions of common tenure are the payment of an annual tax, the fee for alienation, with a money composition for personal service to the government, a charge generally incorporated into the direct tax as a kind of scutage. The proprietors of land record their names in the district and take out a hung ki, or ‘ red deed,’ which secures them in possession as long as the ground tax is paid. This sum varies according to the fertility, location, and use of the land, from $1.50 per acre for the best, down to twenty or thirty cents for unproductive or hilly fields. As the exactions for alienation oi sale of lands are high, amounting to as much as one-third of the sale price sometimes, the people accept white deeds from each other as proofs of ownership and responsibility for taxes. As many as twenty or thirty such deeds of sale occasionally accompany the original hung Ai, without which they are suspicious if not valueless. In order to keep the knowledge of the alienations of land in government offices, so that the taxes can be assured, it is customary to furnish a kl-wei, or ‘ deed-end,’ containing a note of the terms of sale and amount of tax liable on the property.

There is no other proof of ownership required ; and the simplicity and efficiency of this mode of transfer offer a striking contrast to the cumbrous rules enforced in western kingdoms. Revised codes of land laws are issued by the provincial authorities when necessary, as was done in 1846 at Canton.’

The paternal estate and houses thereon descend to the eldest son, but his brothers can remain upon it with their families, and devise their portion inperpetuo to their children, or an amicable composition can be made ; daughters never inherit, nor can an adopted son of another clan succeed. A mortgagee must enter into possession of the property and make himself responsible for the payment of the taxes ; unless explicitly stated, the land can be redeemed any time within thirty years on payment of the original sum. Sections XC. to C. of the Code contain the laws relating to this subject, some of which bear a resemblance to those established among the Hebrews, and intended to secure a similar result of retaining the land in the same clan or tribe.

» T. T. Meadows in N. C. Br. R. A. S. Transactions, Hongkong, 1848, Vol. 1

TENURE AND CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL. 3

The enclosure of recent alluvial deposits cainiot be made without the cognizance of the authorities, but the terms are not onerous; for waste hillsides and poor spots ample time is allowed for a return of the capital expended in reclaiming them before assessment is made.

The Chinese are rather gardeners than farmers, if regard be had to the small size of their grounds. They are ignorant, too, of many of those operations whereby soils naturally unfruitful are made fertile and the natural fertility sustained at the cheapest rate by proper manuring and rotation of crops ; but they make up for the disadvantages of poor implements by hard work. Their agricultural utensils are few and simple, and are probably now made similar to those used centuries ago. The broad hoe is used in soft land more than any other tool ; the weight of its large wooden blade, which is edged with iron, adds impetus to the blow. Spades, rakes, and mattocks are employed in kitchen gardening, and the plough and harrow in rice cultivation. The plough is made of wood, except the iron-edged share, which lies flat and penetrates the soil about five inches. The whole implement is so simple and rude that one would think the inventor of it was a laborer, mIio, tired of the toil of spading, called the ox to his aid and tied his shovel to a rail ;—fastening the animal at one end and guiding the other, he was so pleased with the relief that he never thought of improving it much further than to sharpen the spade to a coulter and bend the rail to a beam and handle. The harrow is a heavy stick armed with a single row of stout wooden teeth, and furnished with a framework to guide it ; or a triangular machine, with rows of iron teeth, on which the driver rides to sink it in the ooze.

The buffalo is used in rice cultivation, and the ox and ass in dry ploughing ; horses, mules, cows, and goats likewise render service to the farmer in various ways, and are often yoked in most ludicrous combinations. The team which Nieuhoff depicts of a man driving his wiie and his ass yoked to the same plough is too bad for CluTia often to present, though it has been so frequently repeated and used to point a comparison that one almost expects on landing to see half the women in the harness. It may be doubted, however, if this country can vie with some portions of Germany and Holland in the matter of mongrel teams employed on farms.

The arrangements of farriers’ shops in China are very similar to those of European countries, saving that the tools are of the simplest character. The manner of trussing up the poor beast which is to be shod would seem, however, an unnecessary exercise of caution in the case of a majority of the over-worked horses and nuiles. The animal is fastened to a frame and lifted almost entirely off the ground, while a rope twisted al>out his nose and tightened at will with a turn-stick controls the least attempt at unruliness. Iron shoes are employed in the north: in the south, where horses are little used, they are usually left nnsliod^ though the fore feet are often covered with leather shoes which lit the lioof.

METHOD OF PLANTING RICE. 5

An early rain is necessary to the preparation of rice-fields, except where water can be turned upon them. The grain is first soaked, and when it begins to swell is sown very thickly in a small plat containing licpiid manure. “When about six inches high the shoots are planted into the fields, which, from being an unsightly marsh, are in a few days transformed to fields clothed with living green. Holding the seedlings in one hand, the laborer wades through the nnid, at every step sticking into it five or six sprouts, which take root without further care ; six men can transplant two acres a day, one or two of whom are engaged in supplying the others with shoots. The amount of grahir£(j|IU2£d to sow a Chinese mao in this way is thirty-seven and one-half catties, or three hundred and thirty pounds-Wbout^two and one-halTUushels to an Jiinglish acre. The produce is on an average tenfokh Rent ofTaiid is usually paid according to the amount of the crop, the landlord paying the taxes and the tenant stocking the farm ; leases are for three, four, or seven years ; the terms vary according to the position and goodness of the soil.’

Grain is not sown broadcast, and this facilitates hoeing and weeding the fields as they require. Two crops are planted, one of which ripens after the other; maize and pulse, millet and sesamnm, or sorghum and squash are thus grown together. The plough is an efficient tool in soft soil, but a wide hoe, the blade set almost at a right angle, is the common implement in the north. Barrow describes a drill-plough in common use in the north which remarkably economizes time and seed. ” It con-Eisted of two parallel poles of wood shod at the lower extremity

‘ The amount of tribute rice sent to Peking from Kiangsu Province is 01)0,000 tons of 640 catties, or 974,400 peculs Chelikiang ” 44r),000 ” ” ” 633,000 ” Kiangsi ” 80,000 ” ” ” 112,000 ” Hupeh ” 50,000 ” ” ” 70,000 “1,789,400 “Of this the Chinese Company carried in 1875 to Tientsin. . 626,900 “Went by junks 1,162,500 «

with iron to open the furrows ; these poles were placed upon wheels; a small hopper was attached to each pole to drop the seeds into the furrow, which were covered with earth by a transverse piece of wood fixed behind, that just swept the face of the ground.”‘

The extent to which terrace cultivation has been described as common is a good instance of the way in which erroneous impressions concerning China obtain currency from accounts not exactly incorrect, perhaps, but made to convey- wrong notions by the mode of their description. The hills are terraced chiefly for rice cultivation or to retain soil which would otherwise be washed away ; and this restricts their gradation, generally speaking, to the southern and eastern provinces. Most of the hills in Kwangtung and Fuhkien are unfit for the plough except near their bases, while in the north it is unnecessary to go to great expense in terracing for a crop of cotton, wheat, or millet. Much labor has been expended in terracing, and many hillsides other -M’ise useless are thus rendered productive; but this does not mean that every hill is cut into plats, nor that the entire face of the country is one vast garden. Terracing was probably a more important feature of agriculture in Palestine in former days than it is in China. The natural terraces of the loess districts, and their extraordinary convenience as well as fertility, have already been noticed in a former chapter. These, it should however be remembered, do not occur south of the Yangzi River.

The ingenuity of the farmer is well exhiluted in the various modes he employs to insure a supply of water for his rice. In some places pools are made in level fields as reservoirs of rain, from which the water is lifted as occasion requires by well sweeps.

‘ Travels in China, London, 1804.

TERRACE CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION. 7

It is also expeditiously raised by two men holding a pail between them by ropes, and with a swinging motion rapidly dipping the water out of the tank into little furrows. A favorite plan is to use a natural brooklet and conduct it from one plat to another till it has irrigated the whole hillside. It is where such water privileges offer that the terrace cultivation is best developed, especially in the neighborhood of large cities, where the demand for provisions promises the cultivator a sure reward for his labor. The appearance of the slopes thus graduated into small ledges is beautiful; each plat is divided by a bank serving the triple purpose of fence, path, and dyke, and near which the • rills glide with refreshing lapse, turning whithersoever the master willeth. This primitive method of upland irrigation is carried out far more perfectly in China than in Switzerland, where it is better known to the generality of travelers. Water is not often wasted upon grass meadows in the former country. The food these marshy plats furnish to insects, mollusks, snakes, and birds is surprising to one who examines them for the first time.

Wheels of various sorts are also contrived to assist in this labor, some worked by cattle, some by human toil, and others carried round by the stream whose waters they elevate.j The last are very common on the banks of the rivers Siang, Ivan, Min, and their affluents, wherever the banks are convenient for this purpose.

High wheels of bamboo, firmly fixed on an axle in the bank, or on pillars driven into the bed, and furnished with buckets, pursue their stately round, and pour their earnings of two hundred and fifty or three hundred tons a day into troughs fixed at an elevation of twenty or thirty feet above the stream. The box-trough, containing an axle to be turned by two men treading the pedals, is rather a more clumsy contrivance, used for slight elevations ; the chain of paddles runs around two axles and in the trough as closely as possible, and raises the water ten or twelve feet in an equable current.

Few carts or wagons are used with animals in the southern and eastern provinces where boats are at all available, human strength supplying the means of transportation ; the implements of husbandry and the grain taken from the fields both being carried on the back of the laborer. It is not an uncommon sight about Canton to see a ploughman, when he has done his work, turn his buffalo loose and shoulder his plough, harrow, and hoe, with the harness, and carry them all home. It is when one crosses the Yangtsz’ on his way north that pack animals are met transporting goods and food in great droves ; here, too, people on carts and wheelbarrows fill the roads. On the Great Flain a sail is raised on the latter when a fair wind will heln the man to trundle it over a level way.

The Chinese manure the plant rather than the ground, both

in the seed and growing grain. The preparation of manure

from night soil, by mixing it with earth and drying it into cakes,

furnishes employment to multitudes who transport at all hours

their noisome loads through the narrow city streets. Tanks

are dug by the wayside, paila are placed in the streets and retiring

stalls opened among the dwellings, whose contents are

carried away in boats and buckets ; but it is a small compensation

for this constant pollution of the sweet breath of heaven

to know that the avails are to be by and by brought to market.

Science may yet ascertain how the benefits of this necessai-y

work can be obtained without its disgusting exposure among

the Chinese. Besides this principal ingredient of manure vats,

MANUFACTURE AND USE OF MANURES. 9

other substances are diligently collected, as liair from the bar ber’s shop, exploded tire-ci”ackers and sweepings from the streets, lime and plaster from kitchens and old buildings, soot, bones, tish and animal remains, the mud from the bottom of canals and tanks, and dung of every kind. In Kiangsu a small leaf clover {^Medleago satlva) is grown through the winter upon ridges raised in the rice-fields, and the plants pulled up in the spring and scattered over the fields to be ploughed and harrowed into the wet soil with the stubble, their decomposition furnishing large quantities of ammonia to the seedlings. Vegetable rubbish is also collected and covered with turf, and then slowly burned; the residue is a rich black earth, which is laid upon the seeds themselves when planted. The refuse left after expressing the oil from ground-nuts, beans, vegetable tallow, tea, and cabbage seeds, etc., is mixed with earth and made into cakes, to be sold to farmers. The bean-cake made in Liautung thus aids the cotton and sugar planter in Swatow with a rich compost.

The ripe grain is cut with bill-hooks and sickles, or pulled up by the roots; scythes, mowing-machines, and cradles are unknown where human arms are so plenty. Rice-straw is made into brooms and besoms; the rice is thrashed out against the side of a tub having a curtain on one side, or bound into sheaves and carried away to be stacked. The thrashing-floors about Canton are made of a mixture of sand and lime, well pounded upon an inclined surface enclosed by a curb; a little cement added in the last coat makes it impervious to the rain; with proper care it lasts many years, and is used by all the villagers for thrashing rice, peas, mustard, turnips, and other seeds, either with unshod oxen or flails. Where frost and snow come the ground requires to be repaired every season ; and each farmer usually has his own.

The cultivation of food plants forms so large a proportion of those demanding the attention of the Chinese, that excepting hemp, indigo, cotton, silk, and tea, those raised for manufacture are quite unimportant. The great cotton region is the basin of the Yangzi Jiang, where the white and yellow varieties grow side hy side. The manure used is nnul taken from the canals and spread with ashes over the ploughed fields, in which seeds are sown about the 20th of April. The seeds are planted, after sprouting, five or six in a hole, being rubbed with ashes as they are put in, and weeded out if necessary. After the winter crops have been gathered cotton-fields are easily made ready for the shoots, which, while growing, are carefully tended, thinned, hoed,

and weeded, until the flowers begin to appear about August. As

the pods begin to ripen and burst the cultivator collects them

before they fall, to clean the cotton of seeds and husks. The

weather is carefully watched, for a dry summer or a wet autumn

are alike unpropitious, and as the pods are ripening from August

to October, it is not uncommon for the crop to be partially lost.

The seeds are separated by a wheel turning two rollers, and the

cotton sold by each farmer to merchants in the towns. Some

he keeps for weaving at home ; spinning-wheels and looms

being common articles of furniture in the houses of the peasantry.

Cotton is cultivated in every province, and most of it is used where it grows. Around Peking the plant is hardly a foot high ; the bolls are cleaned for wadding to a great extent, while the woody stalks supply fuel to the poor. Minute directions are given in Sii’s EneyelojKedia of Agriculture respecting the cultivation of this plant, whose total crop clothes the millions of the Empire without depending on any other land.’

‘Fortune’s Wanderings, Cliap. XIV.; Chinese Itejjository, Vol. XVIIT., pp. 449-409.

COTTOX, HEMP, MULBEKKY, AND SUGAR. 11

Hemp is largely cultivated north of the Mei ling, and also grows in Fuhkien ; grass-cloth made from the iJulicltos htilhosus is used for sunuuer dresses. There are four plants which produce a fibre made into cloth known under this name, viz.: the Cannahis sativa, or connnon hemp, at Canton; the Bn’Jnncfia nivea, a species of nettle ; the S’ula tillarfoHay or abutilon hemp, in Chihli ; and the Hibiscus cannahinus. The coloring matter used for dyeing blue is derived from two plants, the Pohjgonuin tinctoriurii at the south, and the tlen tshig {Isatls indujotlcci) cultivated at Shanghai and Chusan. The mulberry is raised as a sluide and fruit tree in the northern provinces, where it forms a beautiful plant fifty feet high ; elsewhere the consumption of the leaves renders its culture an important branch of labor in the silk-pr(xliicing provinces. Some growers allow it to attain its natural height, others cut it down to increase the branched

and the produce of leaves. In Chelikiang it is cut in January

and deprived of its useless brandies, leaving only the outer ones,

which are trinnned into two or three points in order to force

the plant to extend itself. The trees are set out in rows twelve

feet or more apart, each tree being half that distance from its

neighbor and opposite the intervals in the parallel rows; the

interspaces are occupied with legumes or greens. The trees are

propagated by seed and by suckers, but soon losing their vigor

from being constantly sti’ipped of leaves, are then rooted up

and replaced by fresh nurslings.

Sugar is only a southern and southeastern crop. The name che^ by which it is known, is an original character, which favors the opinion that the plant is indigenous in China, and the same argument is applicable to wheat, hemp, mulberry, tea, and some of the common fruits, as the plum, pear, and orange. The canes are pressed in machines, and the juice boiled to sugar or boiled and hawked about the streets for consumption by the people. The sugar-mill consists merely of two upright cylinders, between which the cane is introduced as they turn, and the juice received into reservoirs; it is then boiled down and sent to the refiners to inidergo the necessary processes to fit it for market ; much is lost by this slovenly manufacture.

Many plants are cultivated for their oil, used in the arts or in

cooking. The seeds of two or three species of Elcococea belonging

to the Euphorbiaceous family, and the Cu/raspu/yans,

are gathered, and by pressure furnish an oil to mix with lacker

and paints, or to smear boats as a preservative against teredoes

and other insects. It is deleterious when taken into the system,

but does not appear to injure those who use or express it.

The tallow-tree {StlUiiKjia schtfera) grows over the eastern provinces ; it is a beautiful tree, resembling the aspen in its shape and foliage, and would form a valuable addition to the list of shade-trees in any country. Mr. Denny, the United States Consul at Shanghai, has recently sent a quantity of these seeds to California, where efforts are being made to grow them.

The tree has been introduced into India for its timber. The seeds grow in clusters like ivy berries, and are collected in November; when ripe the capsule divides, and falling off discovers two or three kernels covered with the pure, hard white tallow. When the tallow is to be prepared, these are picked from the stalks and put into an open wooden cylinder with a perforated bottom, in which they are well steamed over boiling water. In ten or fifteen minutes the tallow covering; the seeds becomes soft, and they are thrown into a stone mortar and gently beaten with mallets to detach it. The whole is then

sifted on a hot sieve, by which the tallow is separated from the

kernels, though containing the brown skin which envelops the

latter and presenting a dirty appearance. The tallow in this

state is enclosed in a straw cylindei”, or laid upon layers of straw

held together by iron hoops, and subjected to pressure in a rude

press, from which it runs clear in a semifluid state and soon

hardens into cakes. The candles made from it become soft in

liot weather, and are sometimes coated by dipping them in colored

wax.’ From one hundred and thirty-three pounds of nuts

is obtained some forty or fifty pounds of tallow.

The departments of floriculture and arboriculture have received

great attention, but the efforts of their promoters are directed

to producing something curious or bizarre, rather than

improving the quality of their fruits or enlarging the number

of their flowers. A common mode of multiplying specimens is

to slit the stem and insert half of it in damp earth tied around

the stalk until it has rooted, and then cutting off the whole.

Dwarfing trees or forcing them to grow in grotesque shapes

employs much time and patience. The juniper, cypress, pine,

elm, bamboo, peach, plum, and flowering-almond are selected

for this purpose ; the former is trained into the shapes of deer

or other animals, pagodas, etc., with extraordinary fidelit}’, the

eyes, tongue, or other parts being added to complete the resemblance.

‘ Fortune’ii ]\'(iii(k’ri’ii(j.s, ^. 78.

CEKKMONY OF PLOUGHING AND SPUING FESTIVAL. 13

The principle of the operation depends upon retarding the circulation of the sap by stinting the supply of water, confinino; the roots, and bendino; the branches into the desired form when young and pliable, afterwards retaining them in clieir forced position in pots, and clipping off all the vigorous shoots, until, as is the case of the cramped fee.t of women, nature gives up the contest and yields to art. Thesq^Uike the similar exhibitions in sculpture and painting, indicate the uncultivated taste of the people, who admire the fantastic and monstrous more than the natural. Some of the clumps placed in large earthen vases, consisting of bamboos, Howers, and

dwarf trees growing closely together upon a piece of rock-work,

and overshadowing the water in the vase, in which gold-fish

swim through the crevices of the stone, are beautiful specimens

of Chinese art. Without understanding the principles of an

aquarium, the people have succeeded in combining animal and

vegetable life in these elegant ornaments of their houses.

The annual ceremony of ploughing is of very ancient origin. At Peking it consists in ploughing the sacred field in the Temple of Agriculture with a highly ornamented plough kept for the purpose, the Emperor holding it while turning over three furrows, the princes five, and the high ministers nine. These furrows were, however, so short that the monarchs of the present dynasty altered the ancient rule, ploughing four furrows and returning again over the ground. The ceremony finished, the Emperor and his ministers repair to the terrace adjoining the plat, and remain till it has all been ploughed. The crop of wheat is used in idolatrous services. The rank of the actors renders the ceremony more imposing at Peking, but the people of the capital oidy know that such a performance takes place, as they are not admitted inside of the enclosure when it is observed by the Emperor and his suite. This ceremony is also required of all high officers throughout the Empire, and is attended with more or less parade in April.

In the provinces its celebration varies, and as there are two festivals coming near together connected with agriculture, one or the other of them is apt to predominate. The annual ploughing ritual is one, and the //// chan, or ‘ Eirst day of spring,’ is the other and prior in date. The prefect of every city and his subordinates on that day repair to the appointed spot outside of the walls, accompanied by music and a great procession of the citizens, carrying through the streets a paper image of the buffalo or ox, which, with the idol image worshipped at the same time, are at some places taken into his yamun. Here the whole is placed on an altar, and the officials present walk around and whip the effigy with rods before it is set on fire

and scrambled for by the people present. Besides the paper

ox, a clay one is also made and taken beyond the eastern gate,

sometimes accompanied by or holding hundreds of little images

inside ; after the ceremonies are over it is broken up, and

the pieces and small images are carried off by the crowd to

scatter the powder on their own fields, in the hope of thereby

insuring a good crop.

In Ningbo the principal features of the ceremony consist of

a solemn worship by all the local officers of a clay image of a

buffalo and an idol of a cow-herd. The prefect then ploughs a

small piece of ground, and he and his associates disperse till the

morrow, when they come together in another temple at dawn.

Here a series of prostrations and recitals of pra^’ers are performed

by the “fathers of the people” in their presence, some

of whom have no respect for the worship, Mhile others, perhaps,

evince deep reverence. As soon as it is over the clay ox is

brought out, and a procession consisting of all the officers pass

around it repeatedly, striking the body at a given signal, and

concluding the ceremony by a heavy blow on the head. The

crowd then rush in and tear the effigy to pieces, each one carrying

off a portion to strew on his fields.’

The various modes of catching and rearing fish exhibit the contrivance and skill of the Chinese quite as much as their agricultural operations. Some persons reckon that at least one tenth of the population in the prefecture of Kwangehau derive their food from the water, and necessity leads them to invent and try many ingenious ways of securing the finny tribes.

‘ PereCibot in Mem. cone, les Chinois, Tome III., p. 499. Penal Code, pp.94-106, 520. Chinese nepository, Vol. II., p. :}50 ; Vol. III., pp. 121, 231; Vol. v., p. 485. La Chine Ouverte, p 340. Foreign Mixnionari/ Chronide, Vol. XIII., p. 290. Gray’s China, Vol. II., pp. 115-117. Doolittle’s Social Life, Vol. TI., pp. 18-23. Revue de V Orient, Tome V. (1844), p. 297. Baron d’Hervey Saint-Denys, Recherchea stir VAc/ricnUure et VHorticuUitre des Ohi mis, Paris, 1850. Journal iV: C Br. R. A. Soc, No. IV., pp. 209 fif.

FISHING ANL> FISHERMEN ALONG THE COAST. 15

Xets woven of hempen thread are boiled hi a solution of gambier to preserve them from i-otting. The smacks which swarm along the coast go out in pairs, partly that the crews may afford mutual relief and protection, but chiefly to join in dragging the net. In the sliallows of rivers rows of heavy posts are driven down and nets secured to them, which are examined and changed at every tide. Those who attend these nets, more-over, attach scoops or drag-nets to their boats, so loaded that they will sink and gather the sole, ray, and other fish feeding near the bottom. Lifting-nets, twenty feet square, are suspended from poles elevated and depressed by a hawser worked by a windlass on shore ; the nets are baited with the whites of eggs spread on the meshes.

Group and Residence of Fishermen near Canton.

‘ The fishermen along the coast form an industrious, though rather turbulent community, by no means confining their enterprises to their professed business when piraty, dakoity, or marauding on shore hold out greater prospects of gain. When their boats become unseaworthy they are still considered landworthy, and are transformed into houses by setting them bodily upon a stone foundation above the reach of the tide, or breaking them up to construct rude huts.

The Fishing Cormorant.

Cormorants are trained in great numbers to capture fish in the rivers and lakes ; they will disperse at a given signal and return with their prey, but not often without the precaution of a neck-ring. A single boatman can easily oversee twelve or fifteen of these birds, and although hundreds may be out upon the water each one knows its own nuister. If one seize a fish too heavy for him alone, another comes to his assistance, and the two carry it aboard ; but such cases are very rare compared with others where the w^eak or young bird is unceremonioaisly robl)ed of its capture. When several hundreds of them fish together the scene becomes animated and noisy in the extreme. The birds themselves are fed on bean-curd and eels or fish. They lay eggs when three years old, which are often hatched under barnyard liens, and the chickens fed with eel’s blood and hash. They do not fish during the summer months. The price of a pair varies from five to eight dollars.

METHODS OF CATCHING FIRII. 17

Mussels are caught in cylindrical basket-traps attached to a single rope and drifted with the tide near the bottom. Similar traps fur catching laiul-crabs are laid along the edges of rice fields, baited with dried fish. When the receding tide leaves the river banks dry the boat peo^Tje get overboard and wade in the mud, or push themselves along on a board with one foot, in search of such things as harbor in the ooze.

In moonlight nights low, narrow shallops, provided with a wide white board fastened to the wale and floating upon the water, are anchored in still water; as the moon shines on the board the deceived fish leap out upon it or into the boat; twenty or thirty of these decoy boats can . be seen near Macao engaged in this fishery on moonlight evenings. Sometimes a boat furnished with a treadle goes up and down near the shores striking boards against its bottom and sides ; the startled fish are caught in the net dragging astern. The crews of many small boats combine to drive the fish into their nets by splashing and striking the water, or into a pool on the margin of the river at high tide, in which they are easily retained by wattles, and scooped out when the water has fallen. Divers clap sticks together under water to drive their prey into the nets set for

them, or catch them with their toes when, terrified at the noise,

they hide in the mud. Xeither fly-fishing nor angling with hook

and line is much practised ; its tedium and small returns would

be poor amends to a Chinese for the elegance of the tackle or

the science displayed in adapting the fly to the fish’s taste.

By these and other contrivances the Chinese capture the

finny tribes, and it is no surprise to hear that China contains as

many millions of people as there are days in the 3’ear when one

sees upon what a large proportion of them feed and how they

live. Their expenditure of human labor appears enormous to

those who are accustomed to the manufactories and engines of

western lands, but perhaps nothing would cause so much distress

in China as the prematui’o and inconsiderate introduction of labor-saving machines. Population is so close upon the means of production, not seldom overpassing them, that those who would be thrown out of employment would, owing to their ignorance as to the best resources and want of means to do anything by themselves, suffer and cause incalculable distress before relief and labor could be furnished them. Therere, for instance, six or seven 3’ards near Canton where logs are sawed by hand, but all of them together hardly turn out as many feet of boards as one water-wheel turning three or four saws would do. Yet the two hundred men employed in these yards would perhaps be half-starved if turned off in their present condition, even if they did not destroy their competitor; though there is every reason for believing that improvements will be introduced as soon as those wdio see their superiority are assured they can be made profitable.

The mechanical arts and implements of the Chinese partake of the same simplicity which has been remarked in their agricultural,—as if the faculty of invention or the notion of altering a thing had died with the discoverer, and he had had the best guarantee for the patent of his contrivance in the deprivation of all desire in his successors to alter it. This servility of imitation marks them in many things, but in machinery and metallurgy is chiefly owing to ignorance of the real nature of the ma*”erials they use, a knowledge which has only recently become familiar to ourselves. In the absence of superior models, it produces a degree of apathy to all improvement which strangely contrasts with their general industry and literary tastes. Simplicity of design pervades all operations, and when a machine directs in the best known manner the power of the hand which M’ields it, or aids in executing tiresome operations, its purpose is considered to be fully answered, for it was intended to assist and not to supplant human labor. Yet with all their simplicity some of them are both effectual and ingenious, and not a few are made to answer two or three ends. For example, the bellows, an oblong’ box divided into two compartments, and worked by a piston and two valves in the upper, which forces the wind into the lower part and out of the nozzle, is used by the travelling tinker as a seat when at work and a chest for his tools when his work is done ; though it does not, indeed, serve all these purposes with efliciency.

CONDITION OF THE MECHANICAL ARTS. 19

In the arts of metallurgy the Chinese have attained only to mediocrity, and on the whole do not equal the Japanese. To this deficiency may perhaps be ascribed their little progress in some other branchet^ which could not be executed without tools of peculiar size or nicety. Mines of iron, lead, copper, and zinc are worked, though the modes employed in digging the ore, preparing and smelting it, and purifying the metals have not yet been fully examined. Gold is used sparingly for ornaments, but is consumed in vast quantities for gilding; gold thread is commonly imported, and the ingots are known only as bullion. Mr. Gordon found the people in the country parts of Fuhkien quite ignorant of its value, for he could only pass doubloons for a dollar apiece, the natives having never seen them before.

The Chinese workmanship in chased, repousse, and carved work of gold and silver—baskets, card-cases, teapots, combs, etc.—is almost unequalled. Their jewelry, too, admirably exhibits the delicate filigree work which agrees so well with their genius. Flower-baskets wnth chased flowers and figures of various sorts enamelled on the outside of the open work of wire, and set with precious stones, may perhaps be regarded as the masterpiece of native art in the working of metals.

• Davis’ Chinese, Vol. II. , p. 235. Penny Cydopcedia, Art. Coppeb. Natalia Rondot, Commerce de la Chine, 1849, p. 142.

Steel is everywhere manufactured in a rude way, but the foreign importation is gradually supplying a better article. The quality of this metal made is best shown by the carvings in the hardest stones for ornaments, which have never been exceeded elsewhere. Iron is cast into thin plates and various machines of considerable size, but the largest pieces they make, viz., bells and cannon, are small compared with the shafts and steamhammers turned out abroad. Wrought iron is chiefly worked up into nails, screws, hinges, and small articles needed in daily life, though its quality is remarkably good. The jWi tung, argentan or ‘ white copper’ of the Chinese, is an alloy of copper 40.4, zinc 25.4, nickel 81.6, and iron 2.6, and occasionally a little silver; these proportions are nearly the same as German-silver. ” When in a state of ore, it is said to be powdered, mixed with charcoal dust, and placed in jars over a slow fire, the metal rising in the form of vapor in a distilling apparatus, and afterward condensed in water.” ‘ When new, this alloy appears as lustrous as silver, and is uuiTiufactured into incensejars, flower-stands for temple service, boxes, a vast variety of fancy articles, and a few household utensils not intended to be used near the fire. Puzzling specimens of work are made of it, such as teapots enclosed in chinaware and ornamented with a handle and a spout of stone, and having characters on the sides. The white copper varies a good deal in its appearance and malleability, owing probably to mixtures added after distillation.

Copper is less used than iron for culinary vessels, but will

probably increase as rapid importation diminishes the cost, for

iron rusts quickly in the southern parts. The manufactures of

gongs, cymbals and trumpets, lamps, brass-leaf for working

into the hin kwa, or tinsel-flowers used in worship, and the

copper coin of the country, consume probably four fifths of all

the copper used. The gong is employed on all occasions,

and its piercing clamor can be heard at any time of day and

night, especially if one lives near the water. It is an alloy of

twenty parts of tin with eighty of copper, and is made b}””

melting one hundred catties of hung tung, or ‘ red copper,’

with twenty-five catties of tin. The alloy is run into thin plates,

and the gongs are made by long and expert hammering until

the requisite sonorousness is obtained.

Bells and tripods are frequently cast of a large size. The

bells at Peking (mentioned in Volume I., p. 79) are peculiarly

rich in quality of tone ; they are almost invariably made without

tongues, being sounded with a mallet. The tripods for

receiving the ashes of papers consumed in worship also bear

inscriptions of a religious character ; the priests of temples containing

them take great pride in showing their ancient bells,

tripods, and other like rarities. The pieces of bronze formerly

produced under the patronage of the Emperor Ivienlung, as

incense tripods, lions, astronomical instruments, and the infinite

variety of ornaments, probably represent their highest attainments

in this branch of metallurgy for beauty and excellence.

CHINESE ATTAINMENTS IN METALLURGY. 21

The metallic mirrors, once the oidy reflectors the Chinese manufactured, are now nearly supei-seded by glass ; the alloy is like that of gongs with a little silver added. These mirrors have long been remarkable for a singular property which some of them possess of reflecting the raised characters or device on the back when held in the sun ; this is caused by their outline being traced upon the polished surface in very shallow lines, the whole plate being afterward rubbed until the lines are equally

bi;ight with the other parts, and only rendered visible by the

strongest sunlight.’ Besides the metallic articles already mentioned,

the ornamental and antique bronze and copper figures,

noticeable fur their curious forms and fine polishing and tracery,

afford the best specimens of Chinese art in imitating the human

figure. They are mostly statuettes, representing men,

gods, birds, monsters, etc., in grotesque shapes and attitudes ;

some of them are beautifully ornamented with delicate scrolls

and flowers in niello work of silver or gold wire inserted into

grooves cut in the metal.

The manufacture of glass is carried on chiefly at Canton, and its increasing use for windows, tumblers, lamps, mirrors, and other articles of household furniture, shows that the Chinese are quite ready to adopt such things from foreign countries as they find to be advantageous. The importation of broken glass for remelting has entirely ceased, but flints are carried from England for the use of glass-blowers. The furnaces are small, and from the ignorance, on the part of the workmen, of the constituents of good glass, their products are not uniform.

‘ Other and perhaps more correct explanations of this peculiarity have been given.

Foreign window glass is now brought so cheaply that the native inferior article, which distorts objects seen through it, is disappearing; colored articles and chandeliers are still made. The most finished articles which the Chinese have yet produced are ground shades for Argand lamps. Beautiful ornaments are made of the liao-ll, the old native name for a vitreous composition like strass, between glass and porcelain. Ear-rings, wristlets, snuff-bottles, jars, cups, etc., are made of it, plain, colored, and variegated, in vast variety. Some of these articles exhibit different tints in layers, each layer being ground away where it is not wanted, as in cameo carving; blue, red, and yellow are the prevailing colors. The art of producing it has been known longer than glass-making, but was invented later than that of porcelain.

The cutting and setting of hard and precious stones is carried on to some extent. Spectacles are cut and ground in lathes from crystal, smoky quartz, and a variety of rose quartz resembling the cairngorm-stone, which the Chinese call cha-tsing^ or ‘tea-stone,’ from its color. Their spectacles are not always true, and the wearer is obliged to have tliem ground away until his eyes are suited. The pebble is cut in a lathe, by a wire-saw working in its own dust, into a round shape Avitli plane edges.

When worn, the rim rests upon the cheek-bones; the frame has a hinge between the glasses, and the machine is sometimes kept on the ears by loops or weights. Foreign-shaped spectacles are supplanting these primitive optics, but the prejudice is still in favor of crystal. The cutting of diamonds is sometimes attempted, but it is not a favorite gem among the Chinese.

Diamonds and corundums are both employed to drill holes in clamping and mending broken glass and porcelain ; tumblers, jars, etc., are joined so securely in this way without cement as to hold fluids. Both these gems are used to cut glass, but another mode, not unconnnon, is to grease the place to be fractured, and slowly follow the line along by a lighted jossstick until it breaks.

Sir John Davis condensed all the important information known half a century ago concerning the materials and manufacture of porcelain in his valuable work, but great advance has since been made in a better understanding of this branch of Chinese industry. The wordj)o?’ccla/’}i is derived h’on\ p<»\’ellana, which was given to the ware by the Portuguese under the belief that it was made from the fusion of egg-shells and fish’s glue and scales to resemble the nacre of sea-shells (Cypr?ea) or porcellana. This instance of oft-hand nomenclature is like that of the Chinese calling ca,outchouc elephmifs skin horn its appearance.

MATERIALS AXD M ANrKACTUIlE OF I’OIICKLAIX. 23

M. Julien’s translation of the Klmj-teh chin Tun Luh (Paris, 1856) furnishes the native accounts of the porcelain manufactures at Kingteh chin, in Kiangsi, and adds so nmch from other sources that his work is a veritable classic in its special branch. He places the invention of porcelain between b.c. 185 and A.D, 85, and opening the first kiln, at Sinping (not far from the present centre of llonan province), under the reign of Changti of the Eastern Han dynasty. From this the manufacture gradually extended as raw materials were found in other localities, especially in Fauliang, on the eastern shores of the Poyang Lake, where the best ware is still made. A second

preface to this work, written by M. Salvetat, of the manufactory

at Sevres, gives the details of the introduction of the art

into Europe about 1722, and the subsequent improvement to

the time when European Avares far exceeded the Chinese or

Japanese for beauty. During the dreadful ravages of the Taiping

rebellion the manufactories at Kingteh were all stopped.

A very brief epitome of M. Salvetat’s paper will indicate the

ingredients of porcelain and their manipulation : Two substances

enter into all kinds of this ware ; one a strong, infusible

material which endures great heat, and the other, fusible at a

low temperature, which communicates its transparency to the

other as they together pass through the furnace. The first

of these is called Ixiolin, fi-om the name of a range of hills east

of Kingteh chin, known as Kao Lituj or ‘ High Ridge,’ a word that has been adopted in Europe as a term for all varieties of the argillaceous or feldspathic components of porcelain. The other is known as jx’h-tun-tss”, a Chinese term properly applied to the bricks of prepared silex, called tun, but now generally adopted to denote the fusible element. The discovery near Taochau fu of both of these in great purity led to the establishment of the kilns there in a.d. 583 ; and Chinese artists discriminate many varieties of each. It is apparently only since A.D. 1000, or thereabouts, that these kilns have produced the choice pieces now so highly prized.

The kaolin comes from decomposed granite, and is reduced by trituration and several washings to an impalpable powder; this last precipitate is put on cloths, one above another, and dried under slight pressure to a uniform paste ready for the furnace. The a^ka?- oi j>eh-Ui n-Uz’ are prepared in a similar manner; other workmen mix the clay and the quartz—the bones and the flesh, as they are aptly called bv the Chinese — in such proportions as the ware requires. In general, Chinese porcelain is more silicious than European, containing 70 parts of silex, 22 of alumine, G of potash and soda, with traces of lime, manganese, magnesia, and iron. Sevres ware has 58 silex, 34^ alumine, 3 alkali, and 4^ lime ; as the feldspar decreases the beauty of the ware diminishes, but its durability and usefulness increase.

To make ready the paste for the furnace, the Ijricks of both

ingredients are trodden in a large basin by buffaloes or men till

they are well mixed into a watery mass, which is then worked

and kneaded again on slate slabs in small pieces till it is delivered

into the hands of workmen to be fashioned on lathes and

frames into the desired forms and sizes. These craftsmen work

with very simple machinery, as is apparent from the rude drawings

of their operations. M. Salvetat gives high praise to their

skill in producing large jars without the aid of the machinery

used in Europe, and indicates the great use they make of their

feet in these operations — a feature of all Asiatic artisans which

attracts the traveller’s notice wherever he goes. Some of their

procedures are inferior and ruder than the Japanese potters exhibit,

but space does not allow them to be described in this

sketch.

The glazing on Chinese ware contains silex mixed with lime

and the ashes of burnt ferns, in such proportions as are found

suitable for the diiferent varieties. During the mixing of these

ingredients the ashes are mostly eliminated, and the glazing

really consists of quartz flexed by carbonate of lime. The liquid

glaze is applied to the biscuit by dipping, by aspersion, and by

washing, according to the nature of the ware ; sometimes it is

blown through a tube in a dewy shower oft repeated.

STYLES AND MATERIALS OF PORCELAIN DECORATION. 2.1

When ready for the furnace, the pieces are carried to work, men specially skilled in properly firing them, where the different sizes are placed in ovens particularly fitted to bake each kind. Large jars require a separate oven so as to adapt the fire to their size and thickness, continuing it at a uniform blast for several days. Cups and small pieces are baked one on top of another in smaller ovens, some of which are open and others closed. Coal and wood are both used for fuel. The pieces are taken from the furnaces when successfully baked, to be decorated and colored in all the various hues and pictures which have made Chinese porcelain so much sought after. Some of their ground colors of red, yellow, and green have not been equaled elsewhere ; a careful analysis indicates the presence of the

oxides of copper, cobalt, iron, lead, antimony, and manganese.

Some of the rarest and most beautiful tints seem to have been

the result of happy experiment, the knowledge of which died

with its manufacture. It is not often that the Chinese artist

adorns his plaque or jar with mythological or religious characters,

preferring to let his fancy run riot in grotesque combinations

of natural scenes, amid which, however, the unerring

instinct or tlie accumulated experience of many successive generations

seldom permit him to wander from a truly artistic

conception. The amount of labor devoted to some minute

treasure of porcelain decoration is little short of fabulous. Mr.

Matthew x\rnold”s picture of the “cunning workman” who

Pricks with vermilion some clear porcelain vase,
An emperor’s gift—at early morn lie paints,
And all day long, and when night comes, the lamp
Lights up his studious forehead and thin hands, could probably be seen scores of times in the humbler quarters of great cities in China.

Their ignorance of analytical chemistry compels them to follow a rule of thumb in the composition of their colors ; but generally they use oxide of copper for green and bluish greens, gold for reds, oxide of cobalt for blues, of antimony for yellows, and of arsenic and tin for whites. The preparation and application of these materials admit of less scope and beauty than are found on the finest European ware, and their result is more like enamelling than painting. M. Salvetat admits that the Chinese potter has excelled in producing craqii^ele ware, and certain hues, as sea-green, deep rosedon reds, and brilliant blues, which have not been equalled in Europe.

One elegant mode of ornament peculiar to them is seen in the tao-mhi(j ts3′-Vi, lit., ‘clear, bright porcelain,’ called eyelet-hole ware or grains of rice, made in the reign Kienlung. The paste is cut through by a kind of stamp which takes out enough to form the figure, in which the glaze is inserted before the piece is finally joined and ready for the kihi. When tired the glaze becomes transparent ; different patterns are frequently painted on the two surfaces, in which advantage is taken of the eyeletholes to adapt them to two sets of figures. An instance of mechanical skill is occasionally seen in their articulated vases, in which one jar is baked inside of another, the outer one being perforated so as to show off the object within; the baking of such pieces must be very difficult and uncertain.

The ware sold at Canton for foreign use is painted in that city to suit the caprice of purchasers, and during the present century has become identified abroad with Chinese art, wdiile it is really a combination of two or three styles. Its peculiarity consists in covering the dish with medallions and vignettes in bright colors, containing figures of heroes, arms, birds, etc., or scenes oti a colored or white ground. Such ware is not commonly used by the Chinese, but its manufacture is unhappily beginning to affect their national taste. This style is quite different from the well-known blue willow pattern which has long been regarded as the real CdeHtlal ware. This color does mark the common pottery and stoneware used all over the Empire by the poor, but the pattern is not so common.

It is not possible to enter here into all the niceties of this

subject, which is now attracting great attention, and has been

examined by Jacqnemart, Prime, Young, and many others.

Further researches into native and foreign books and collections

will bring out new facts, legends, and specimens, while we may

look for rare old pieces, as has been the case with the discovery

of the small perfume bottles in Egypt, as soon as full liberty is

given over all Asia to seek and dig.

Besides table furniture, porcelain statuettes and idols are common, and vases often bring extravagant prices, owing to some quality of fineness, coloring, antiquity, or shape, which native connoisseurs can only appreciate. The god of porcelain himself is usually made of this material. D’Entrecolles, in his account of the manufacture of the ware, says that this deity owes his divinity to his self-innnolation in one of the furnaces.

CHINESE BOTTLES DISCOV EKED IN EGYPT. 27

in utter despair at being able to accomplish the Emperor’s orders for the production of some vases of peculiar fineness ; the pieces which came out of the furnace after the wretch was burned pleased his Majesty so much that he deified him. Cheap stoneware is made at Shaukinii;, in Kwangtung, and many other places, some of it very pure and white.

The exportation of })orcelain has formed a very ancient branch of commerce westward, and it is not strange that specimens should occasionally be met with even at a great distance from China. The discovery of Chinese bottles in Egypt and Asia Minor, containing quotations from Chinese poets, shows that intercourse existed between the extremes of Asia in the tenth or eleventh centuries. Rosellini seems to have been the earliest to notice these relics of an ancient trade, during his researches in Egypt in 1828, when he obtained two or three. In a letter written in reply to one from Sir J. F. Davis, he states that he found one of these little bottles in a ” petit panier tissn de feuilles de palmier,” with other objects of Egyptian manufacture, in a tomb, whose date he places between b.c. 1800 and 1100. His words are, ” Ayant penetre dans un de ces trois tombeaux j’y ai trouve,” etc., which is as explicit as possible. He also adds, that many fragments of similar bottles had been offered to him by the peasants, which he had looked upon as quite modern till this discovery showed that they were real antiques.

Since then, several more have been picked up ; Dr. Abbott’s Egyptian collection in Kew York contains seventeen, all of which came from Egypt, but none, besides llosellini’s, out of a tomb directly into the hands of an Egyptologist. Layard and Cesnola bought similar bottles in Cyprus and Arban. However, one well-authenticated fact, like that of llosellini’s discovery, gives some evidence of a similar ancient origin to others precisely like it in shape, coloring, and inscriptions, for the trade between Arabia and Egypt to China has long since ceased ; but as fifty years have passed without another bottle occurring in any of the numerous tombs opened by careful and competent persons, one is inclined to think that Ttosellini’s tomb may have been twice used to bury mummies in, or that he mistook its age.

The inscriptions ;inJ style of writing of five different kinds have been engraved, and Sir Walter H. Medhnrst gives a translation of each, tracing the lines to their original authors. One of them is from AV’ ang Wai (a.d. 702-745), and reads, JSLlng

yueh sung chung chao, ‘ The bright moon shines amidst the

firs.’ A second i-eads, Chlh isai Uz’ shan chung, ‘ Only in the

midst of these mountains,’ and it dates a.d. 831-837. A third

is contracted from a line by Wei Ying-wuh (a.d. 702-795),

being part of a stanza of eight lines, as follows: IIivo lal ijta

yih nien, ‘ The flowers open, and lo, another year !

‘ A fourth

dates from a.d. 1068-1085, and is from the famous poet Su

Tung-po : Hang hioa hung sJiih 11, ‘The apricot flowers bloom

for miles around ;

‘ this is abridged from a distich in pentameter as follows:

One mass of color, the apricot flowers bloom for miles around ;

The successful graduate urges on his steed as if flying. .

Sir John Davis ascribes this inscription to a Chinese song written prior to the Christian eia, but gives no proof of so early a date, and he is probably in error. The fifth inscription is of the same date as the last ; it forms part of a quatrain by Chao Yung, and reads, Liao teh shaojhi eld, ‘ Which few, I ween, can comprehend.’

In Prime’s work on pottery he has given fac-similes of five bottles whose inscriptions are the same as those explained by Medhnrst ; his No. 142 and No. 14G is the second in this list ; his No. 143 is the first ; his 144 is the third ; and his 145 is the fifth and is different in shape from the others. The characters on the one found at Arban by Layard are written in a very cursive style.’

‘ Davis’ Sketches, Vol. II., pp. 72-84. Medhurst’s Ohinn, p. 135. Julien’s Histoire de la Porcelain Ohinow’, pp. xi-xxii. Prime’s Pottery and Porcelain^ p. 232. N. G. Br. R. A. S. Tranmctions, 1852, pp. 34-40 ; 1854, p. 93.

INSCRIPTIONS UPON THE BOTTLES. 2l3

The age and origin of these bottles has excited much inquiry, but the weight of evidence points to their having been taken to Egypt and Arabia by the Arabs who traded at Canton and Hang Zhou down to the end of the Sung dynasty in 1278. They were, as AVilkinson suggests in his Ancient Kgijpthin^, probably used by the purchasers to hold Void, to paint the eyes and eyelids of women ; their original use was probably to liokl peppermint and other oils, bandoline and tooth-powders, though

snuff is now generally carried in them, as glass bottles contain

the essences and oils seen in shops. The uniformity in size, shape,

coloring, and decoration in these bottles indicates that the

trade was rather confined to one port in China, for at present a

vast variety in all these particulars would be seen, as I ascertained

some years ago at Canton when unsuccessfully looking

in the shops for some having inscriptions like those discovered

in Egypt. Mr. Fortune found one having the same inscription

as Xo. 2, and Sir Harry Pai-kes came across three others, but

their rarity now proves the change ; and these were probably

real antiques. The latter found two other inscriptions on similar

bottles in China, whose authors lived a.d. 584 and later; and

argues against their high antiquity from the metre having been

introduced in later times. The strongest proof of their modern

origin is the material and the date of the style of writing, neither

of which could have been prior to the Han dynasty if Chinese

records are Avorth anything ; such simple lines as these five

could indeed have been handed down and adopted by later poets from lost authors, but this possibility weighs nothing against the others. The more antiquarian researches extend in Asia, however, the more shall we find that the books and inscriptions now extant do not contain the earliest dates of inventions and travels.

The cheap pottery of the Chinese resembles the Egyptian

ware in color and brittleness, but is less porous when unglazed.

Tea-kettles, pans, plates, teapots, and articles of household use,

bathing-tubs, immense jars, comparable to hogsheads, for liolding

water, fancy images, statuettes, figurines, toys, flower-pot >,

and a thousand other articles are everywhere burned from clay

and sold at extremely low prices. The jars are used in shops

to contain liquids, powders, etc. ; in gardens to keep fish, collect

rain, and receive manure and offal ; and in boats and houses for

the same purposes that barrels, ])ails, and pans are put to elsewhere.

“Water will boil sooner and a dish of vegetables be

cooked more expeditiously in one of these earthen pots than in

metal ; the caloric seems to permeate the clay almost as soon as

it is over the fire. Druni-shaped stools and garden seats, vitruvian

ornaments for balustrades, fanciful llower-pots in the shape

of buffaloes, representing the animal feeding under the shade of

a tree growing out of its body, lishes, dragons, phoinixes, and

other objects for decorating the ridges and for gargoyles are

manufactured of this ware. Flat ligures of the human form

are set into frames to represent groups of persons, or elegantly

shaped characters are arranged into sentences, both of them to

put on the walls of rooms, making altogether a great variety of

purposes to which this material is applied.

The lacquered-ware peculiar to China and Japan owes its

histre to the prepared sap of a kind of sumach {IlJius vernieifera)

cultivated in both countries for this purpose. AVood oils

are obtained from other plants, such as the C’urcas, Augia,

J^Jleococcus, and lihus semi-alatus^ and the different qualities of

lacquered-ware are owing to the use of these inferior ingredients.

The real varnish-tree is described bv De Guiiiiies as resemblini»;

the ash in its foliage and bark ; it is about tifteen feet in height,

and when seven j-ears old furnishes the sap, which is carefully

collected in the summer nights from incisions cut in the truidv.

It comes to market in tubs holding the cakes, and those who

collect it are careful to cover their faces and hands from contact

with this irritating juice as they prepare it for market. A good

yield of a thousand ti-ees in one night would be twenty pounds

avoirdupois weight of sap. The best sort is tawny rather than

white in its inspissated state, and is kept well protected from the

air by tarred paper. The body of lacquered-ware is usually seasoned

pine, well smoothed, and the grooves covered with hempen lint

or paper. A sizing of pig’s gall, often mixed with very fine

sand, makes a priming. The prepared lacquer is composed of the

sap dissolved in spring-water, adding ground-nut oil, pig’s gall,

and rice vinegar in the sunshine with broad flat brushes till it

is thoroughly mixed.

The principal object in preparing the wood is to cover it with a priming that wall receive the lac(]uer and remain impervious to changes in temperature. This preparation varies a good deal according to the quality of the ware ; it is laid on evenly, coat after coat, allowing each to dry before the next is spread.

UlANUFACTUKE OF LACQUEKED-WARE. 81

The last coating is rubbed with puiuice or the finest sandstone, finishing this priming with ;i .smooth piece of slate. When ready the piece is taken into a close room having paper lattices and shut out from any air, where it receives a coating of clear lacquer. It is then put into a dark room to dry. The operation is repeated ten or fifteen times for the best kinds. Some workmen are so sensitive to the liquid lacquer that they cannot safely do this part of the manufacture ; others go through all the processes without annoyance. Coloring matter to give the lacquer a brown hue, or to make an imitation of venturuia(or aventui’lne^ a brownish glass spangled throughout with copper filings) by mixing gold leaf, is added during these operations.

The gilding is performed by another set of workmen in a

large workshop. The figures of the design are drawn on thick

paper, which is then pricked all over to allow the powdered

chalk to fall on the table and form the outline. Anotlier

workman completes the picture by cutting the lines with a burin

or needle, and filling them with vermilion mixed in lacquer, as

tliick as needed. This afterward is covered by means of a hairpencil

with gold in leaf, or in powder laid on with a dossil ; the

gold is often mixed with fine lampblack. The proper lacquer

is seldom used otherwise than in making this ware. The Chinese

term for UiU includes this and all kinds of oils and paints,

so that some confusion arises in describing their materials.’ A beautiful fabric of lacquered-ware is made by inlaying the nacre of fresh and salt-water shells in a rough mosaic of fiowers, animals, etc., into the composition, and then varnishing it. Another highly prized kind is made by covering the wood with a coating of fine powdered cinnabar and varnish three or four lines in thickness, and then carving figures upon it in relief. The great labor necessary to produce this ware renders it expensive, and it is not now produced.

‘ N. Rondot, Commerce (le la Chine, p. 120 ; Journal Asuttique, IV. Series,Tome XI., 184y, pp. 34-05 ; Clduene Commercial Cruidc, 5th Ed., p. 134.

The oils obtained from the nuts of other trees by simple pressure and by refining them afterward are quite numerous. The details of their manufacture and application may yet furnish many new hints and processes to western arts. The oil of the Eleococcus, after pressing (according to De Guignes), is boiled with Spanish white in the proportion of one ounce to half

a pound of oil ; as it begins to thicken it is taken off and poured

into close vessels. It dissolves in turpentine and is used as a

varnish, either clear or mixed with different colors ; it defends

woodwork from injury for a long time, and forms a good painter’s

oil. Boiled with iron rust it forms a reddish brown varnish.

In order to prevent its penetrating into the wood when

used clear, and to increase the lustre, a priming of lime and

hog’s blood simmered together into a paste is previously laid on.

The manufacture of silk is original among the Chinese, as

well as those of porcelain and lacquered-ware, and in none of

these have foreigners yet succeeded in fully equalling the native

products. The notices of the cultivation of the nmlberry

and the rearing of silk-worms found in Chinese works have

been industriously collected and published by M. Julien by

order of the French government—another instance of the

intelligent care of this nation to aid one of its great industries.

The introduction by M. Beauvais indicates certain })oints

worthy of the notice of cultivators ; it has been remarked that

the hints thus obtained from Julien’s translation have been of

more value to the peoj)le employed in silk culture in France

than all that has been paid by the govei-nment for the promotion

of Chinese literature from their first outlay in tlie last century.

The earliest notice in the SJuo Kimj of silk culture occurs in the Yu Kiing. It is said the mulberry grounds were made fit for silk-worms, when speaking of the draining of Yen Chau (parts of Shantung and Cliihli), as if it was an usual culture ; other references to silk in the same book show it to have been a well-known fabric at that date (b.c. 2204). The allusion, therefore, in the Book of Odes to silks of many sorts also strengthen the notice in the Wei li’i^ which says :

Slling shi, the Empress of Hwangtl, began to rear silk-worms:

At this period Hwangti invented the art of making clotliing.

ORIGIN AND IMPOUTANCE OP^ THE SILK INDUSTRY. 33

This legend carries tlie art back to u.r. 2600, or perhaps five

centuries after the Deluge. Siling is said to have been her

birthplace, and Lui Tsu her right name ; she was deified and is

still worshipped as the goddess of silk under the name of Yuenfi.

In this act, as De Guignes observes, the Chinese resemble other

ancient nations in ascribing the invention of spinning to women,

and deifying them ; thus the Egyptian Isis, the Ljdian Arachne,

and the Gi-ecian Athene also handled the distaff. A temple

called the Sten-tsaii Tao exists in the palace grounds dedicated

to Yuenfi, wherein she is worshipped annually in April by the

Empress. The altar, grounds, sacrifices, ritual, and buildings

are all in imitation of those in the Temple of Agriculture, of

which they are a counterpart. The Book of Rites contains a

notice of the festival held in honor of weaving, which corresponds

to that of ploughing by the Emperor. ” In the last month

of spring the young Empress purified herself and offered a sacrifice to the o:oddess of silk-worms. She went into the eastern fields and collected mulberry leaves. She forbade noble dames and the ladies of statesmen adorning themselves, and excused her attendants from their sewing and embroidery, in order that they might give all their care to the rearing of silkworms.”

The present enclosure was put up by Yungching in 17-12, but its buildings are now much dilapidated. The attention of the Chinese government to this important branch of industry has been unremitted, and at this day it supplies perhaps one-half of all the gai’tnents worn by the people. In the paraphrase to the fourth maxim of the Shing Yu, it is remarked : ” In ancient times emperors ploughed the lands and empresses cultivated the mulberiy. Though the most honorable, they did not disdain to toil and labor, as examples to the whole Empire, in order to induce all the people to seek these essential supports.” One-half of the lllastrations of Agriculture and Weaving are devoted to delineating the various processes attending this manufacture ; and Julien quotes more than twenty works and authors on this subject. Among other uses to which this material is put, may be remembered, in the second chapter of this work, the burning of many thousand pieces of plain, coarse silk as part of the offerings to the gods at Peking, and in the annual sacrifices before the tablets of Confucius.

‘While the worms are growing, care is taken to keep them

undisturbed bj either noise or bright light; they are often

changed from one hurdle to another that they may have roomy

and cleanly places ; the utmost attention is paid to their condition

and feeding, and noting the right time for preparing them for

spinning cocoons. Three days are required for this, and in six

it is time to stifle the larvae and reel the silk from the cocoons; but this being usually done by other workmen, those who rear the worms enclose the cocoons in a jar buried in the ground and

lined with mats and leaves, interlaying them with salt, which

kills the pnpfe but keeps the silk supple, strong, and lustrous ;

preserved in this manner, they can be transported to any distance,

or the reeling of the silk can be delayed until convenient.

Another mode of destroying the cocoons is to spread them on

trays and expose them by twos to the steam of boiling water,

putting the upper in the place of the lower one according to

the degree of heat they are in, taking care that the chrysalides

are killed and the silk not injured. After exposure to steam the

silk can be reeled off immediately, but if placed in the jars they

must be put into warm water to dissolve the glue before the

floss can be unwound.

‘ Julien, Culturer des Muriers, 1837 ; Pauthier, Chine Moderne, p. 21; Hedde, Cat(tlo(pu’ (JcH Prodvits Serigenes, 1848, pp. 100-287; Chinese Fepos/ton/, Vol.XVIII,, pp. :K)8-;314 ; Commercial Guide, 5th Ed., p. 136 ; Mailla, Ilistoire de la Chine, Tome I., p. 24 ; Biot, Tcheon-li, passim, 1851.

REARING AND TltKATMENT OF SILK- WORMS. 85

The commission sent from France to China in 1844 to make inquiries into its industries consisted of skilled men, and their reports embody a great amount of details nowhere else to be found. The digested catalogue of the exhibits of M. Iledde at St. Etienne in 1848 contains four hundred and fifty-three articles relating to silk and mulberry alone. The amount of silk goods exported has never regained its value previous to 1854, in consequence of the destruction of skilled workmen and manufactories during the Tai-ping rebellion, and raw silk still forms the bulk of the export. The finest silk comes from Chehkiang province, and is known as tsatli,, tay-saam, and yuenhwa in commerce ; the centre of the culture is at Ilii-chau, a prefecture in the northwest of that province. The mulberry grows everywhere, and none of the provinces are without some silk, but Kwangtung, Sz’chuen, and Chehkiang furnish the best and most.

Great attention is paid in Shantung, Sz’chuen, and Kweichau

to collecting wild silk from the cocoons of worms which

feed on the ailantus, oak, and xanthoxylum. The insect is the

Attacus ei/nthia, and its food the tender leaves of the ailantus

and Quercus mongholica in Shantung, where great quantities of

durable silk is woven. It is not so lustrous as that produced by

the bombyx-worm, which feeds on the mulberry leaf, and comparatively

little is exported. The proportion of manufactured

silks sent abroad is less now than it was fifty years ago, but the

home consumption is so enormous that an annual export to

the value of nearly ninety millions of dollars has little effect

on the prices. In 1854 the price of the best raw silk was

about $330 a bale, and the expoi-t over fifty-one thousand bales ;

in 1860, the sanie sort was $550, and the export nearly eighty

thousand bales ; this increase in price was owing chiefly to disease

in the trees in Europe, though the ravages of war in both

Chehkiang and Kwangtung had destroyed much property in

this branch.

The loom in China is worked by two hands, one of whom sits on the top of the frame, where he pulls the treadles and assists in changing the various parts of the machine. The workmen imitate almost any pattern, excelling particularly in crapes, and flowered satins and damasks for oflficial dresses.

The common people wear pongee and senshaw, which they frequently dye in gambler to a dust or black color ; these fabrics

constitute most durable garments. Many of the delicate silk

tissues known in Europe are not manufactured by the Chinese,

most of their fabrics being heavy. The lo, or law, is a beautiful

article like grenadine and seldom sent abroad ; it is used

for summer robes, muscpiito curtains, festoons, and other purposes.

The English words .satin, .senshaw, and sill’ are probably

derived from the Chinese terms sz’-twan, sien-sha, and sz\

intermediately through other languages.

The skill of the Chinese in embroidery is well known, and

the demand for such work to adorn the dresses of officers

and ladies of every rank, for ornamenting purses, shoes, caps,

fans, and other appendages of the dress of both sexes, and in

working shawls, table covers, etc., for exportation, furnishes

employment to myriads of men and women. The fj’ame is

placed on pivots and the pattern marked out upon the plain

surface. There are many styles, with thread, braid, or floss,

and an infinite variety in the quality, pattern, and beauty of the

work ; it is the art of Chinese women, and every young lady is

expected to know how to do it. (3n fire screens the design appears

the same on both sides, the ends of the threads being

neatly concealed. This mode of embroidery seems also to have

been known among the Hebrews, from the expression in Deborah’s

song (Judges V. 30), “Of divers colors of needle-work

on both sides,” which Sisera’s mother vainly looked for him to

bring home as spoil for her. Books are prepared for emljroiderers

containing patterns for their imitation or combination.

The silk used is of the finest kind and colqr, gold and silver

thread being introduced to impart a lusti’e to the figures on

caps, purses, and shoes. Tassels and twisted cords for sedans

or lanterns, knobs or buttons worn on the winter caps, and elegant

fan and pipe-cases, purses or fobs, constitute only a few

of the products of their needles. Spangles are made from

brass leaves by cutting out a small ring by means of a doubleedged

stamp, which at one drive detaches from the sheet a

wheel-shaped circle ; these are flattened by a single stroke of

the hammer upon an anvil, leaving a minute hole in the centre.

Another way of making them is to bend a copper wire into a

circle and flatten it. Their own needles are very slender, and

are rapidl}’ giving way to the foreign article ; in sewing the

tailor holds it between the forefinger and thumb, pressing

against the thimble on the thumb as he pushes it into the cloth.

Our ascertaining the date of the introdnctioii of cotton as a

textile plant into China depends very nmch on the meaning of

certain words rendered eofton. by some amiotators in the Slia

King. The weight of proof is, however, strongly adverse to

this view ; but a historical notice dated about a.d. 500 plainly

COTTON-GROWING AND MANUFACTURE. 37

refers to cotton robes ; in a.d. G70 it was called by a foreign

name kih-pei, a contracted foi”m of the Sanscrit name harjya-n.

The present name of nuen-hwa^ or ‘ cotton Hower,’ was naturally

given to it from the resemblance of its seed envelope to

the silky covering of the seeds of the muh-iriien shu^ or tree

cotton {Boniba.i’), common in Southern China. It was, however,

one thing to admire cotton cloth brought as tribute, and

quite another to introduce cotton-growing into China, which

does not seem to have been attempted until the Sung dynasty.

Early in the eleventh century the plant was brought over and

cultivated in the northwestern provinces by persons from

Khoten, where it M’as grown. If this tardy adoption seems

difficult to explain, the still slower introduction of silk-growing

(in A.D. 550) into Asia Minor from Cliina, twelve centuries

after her fabrics had been seen there, is more surprising. The

opposition to cotton cultivation on the part of silk and hemp

growers was so persistent that the plant had not fairly won its

way into favor until the Yuen dynasty ; and this was owing to

a public-spirited woman, Lady Hwang, who distributed seeds

throughout Kiangnan, now the great cotton region.

The duvable cotton cloth made in the central provinces, called nankeen by foreigners, because Kanking is famous for its manufacture, is the chief produce of Chinese looms. It is now seldom sent out of the country, and the natives are even taking to the foreign fabric in its stead. Cotton seed in that part of China is sown early in June, about eighty pounds to an acre ; in a good year the produce is about two thousand pounds, diminishing to one-half in poor seasons. It is manured with liquid bean-cake, often hoed, and the bolls gathered in October, usually by each family in its own plot. The seeds are separated by passing the pods between an iron and wooden roller on a frame, which presses out the seeds and does not break them. The cleaned cotton is then bowed ready for spinning,

and the cloth is woven in sinq^le looms by the people who are

to wear it after it is dyed blue. The looms used in weaving

cotton vary from twelve to sixteen inches in M’idth ; they are simple

in their construction ; no figures are woven in cotton fabrics,

nor have the Chinese learned to print them as chintz or calico. Whether the varied articles from the west now brought into close competition with this primitive Chinese manufacture will finally captivate the consumer’s choice, and neutralize its production, depends chiefly on what can be substituted therefor. At present, such is the extent of the native crop that prices would not probably advance ten per cent, if the whole foreign importation of raw and manufactured cotton should suddenly stop. The only attempt to estimate the product has been in Kiangnan, at The Cobbler and his Movable Workshop.

twenty-eight thousand five hundred tons, a figure below rather

than above the truth.”

Leather is used to protect the felt soles of shoes and make saddles, bridles, quivers, harness, etc., but the entire consumption is small, and the leather extremely poor. Buffalo and horse-hides are tanned for sole leather, and calf-skin for upper leather to supply shoes for foreigners at the ports. Alum, saltpetre, gandjicr, and urine are the tanning materials employed, and the rapid manner in which the process is completed renders the leather both porous and tender.

‘ Journal N. G. Dr. li. A. 8. (1859); Ghinese Repository, XVIII., pp. 449-469; N. Rondot, Counnnre de In Oliiiie, 1849, p. 72; Fortune, WanderiiKja,Chap. XIV. (18.47) ; Grosier, Ilidolrc dc la Chine, Toiiiu 111., pp. 193-204.

LKATIIEK AND WOOLLEN FABRICS. 39

Cobblers go about the streets plying their trade, provided with a few bits of nankeen, silk, and yellowish sole leather with which to patch their customers’ shoes. It is no small convenience to a man, as he passes along the street, to give his old shoe to a cobbler and his ragged jacket to a seamstress, while he calls the barber to shave him as he waits for them ; and such a trio at work for a man is not an unconnnon sight.

The chief woollen fabrics produced are felts of different qualities

and rngs or carpets woven from coarse camel’s-hair yarn.

Tanned sheep-skins furnish the laboring poor in the northern

provinces with clothing, and elsewhere felt supplies them with

material for shoes, hats, and carpets. The fulling process is

not very thoroughly done, and the fabric soon disintegrates

unless protected by matting or cotton. The consumption of the

good qualities for hats is large among out-door workmen, who

prefer the doubled kind made in the shape of a hollow cycloid,

so that it can be turned inside out. Camel’s-hair rugs supply

a durable and cheap covering for the brick divans and tiled

floors in the colder districts, but the thick soles of Chinese shoes

obviate the need of additional protection to the feet. Some of

these rugs are fine specimens of art in their arrangement of patterns

and figures in colored woollen yarns, though far inferior

to the Persian. Pretty rugs are also made of dog, deer, and foxskins

sewed together in a kind of mosaic. Knitting and ornamental

works in wool are unknown, since the far more elegant

and durable embroidery in silk takes the place of these as fancy

work amoneo; dames of hioC*-h and low deiOiiee.

The subject of tea culture and the preparation of its leaf

have engaged the attention of writers among the Chinese and

Japanese ; while its effects on the human system as a beverage

have been discussed most carefully by eminent western chemists

and pathologists. Its virtue in restoring the energies of the

body and furnishing a drink of the gentlest and most salubrious

nature has been fully tested in its native land for many centuries,

and is rapidly becoming known the world over. The

following are some of the leading facts relating to the plant and

the preparation and nature of the leaf, derived from pei’sonal

observation in the country or from the writings of competent

observers.

Tea does not grow in the northern provinces of China and Japan ; its range lies between the twenty-third and thirty-fifth degrees of latitude, and reaching in longitude from Yedo to Assam. No accounts have come to us of the tea shrub being cultivated for its infusion till a.d. 350. The people in different

parts of China gave different names to the successive pickings

of the leaves, which have now become disused. Our word tea

is derived from the common sound of the character for the

pla!it at the city of Anioy, where it is tay ; at Canton and Peking

it is clta, at Shanghai dzo, at Fuhchau ta. The Russians and

Portuguese have retained the word cha, the Spanish is te or tay,

and the Italians have both te and cha. Tea is so nearly akin to

the various species of camellia that the Chinese have only one

name for alL The principal difference to the common observer

is in the thin leaf of the tea and the leathery glabrous leaf of

the beautiful Camellia Japonica. When allowed to grow they

both become high trees. The tea flower is small, single, and

y white, has no smell, and soon falls; its petals are less erect than

the camellia. The seeds are three small nuts, like filberts in

color, enclosed in a triangular shell which splits open when ripe,

with valves between the seeds. Its taste is oily and bitter. Two

species of camellia are cultivated for their oily seeds, the oil

being known as tea-oil among the natives ; it is used for lamps

and cooking. There is probably only one species of the tea

plant, and all the varieties have resulted from culture ; but the

Thea vh’idls is most cultivated. The nuts are ripe in October.

They are put in a mixture of sand and earth, dampened to keep

them fresh till spring ; they generate heat and spoil if not thus

separated. In March they are sown in a nursery, and the

thrifty shoots transplanted the next year in rows about four feet

apart. Leaves are collected when the plant is three years old,

and this process is continued annually to a greater or less extent,

according to the demand and strength, until the whole

bush becomes so weak and diseased that it is j)ulled up for firewood

to give place to a new shoot. On the average this is about

the eighth year. The plants seldom exceed three feet; most

of them ai’C half that height, straggling and full of twigs, often

covered with lichens, but well hoed and clean around their roots.

TEA CULTURE. 4J

All tea plantations are merely patches of the shrnbs cared for by small fanners, who cultivate the plants and sell the leaves to middle-men, or more often pick the crop themselves if they can afford to do so. The great plantation or farm, with its landlord and the needy laborer, each class trying to get as nmch as possible out of the other, are unknown in China ; the farmer has not there learned to employ skill, machinery, and capital all for his own advantage, but each farmstead is worked by the family, who rather emulate each other in the reputation of their tea. Tea is cultivated on the slopes or bases of hills, where the drainage is quick and the moisture unfailing. This

is of more consequence than the ingredients of the soil, but

plants so continually depauperated and stripped require rich

manure to supply their waste. In Japan the tea shrubs are

sometimes grown as a hedge around a garden lot, but such

plants are not stripped in this way. In gathering the earliest

leaves, the pickers are careful to leave enough foliage at the end

of the twigs ; and the spring rains are depended on to stimulate

the second and full crop of leaves. When these are scant or

fail the tea harvest diminishes, and the regularity of the rains

is so essential to a profitable cultivation that it will be one of

the causes of failure whei-e everything else in soil, climate, manuring,

and manufacture may be favorable.

The first gathering is the most carefully done, for it goes to make the best sorts of black and green tea ; and as the greatest part of the leaves are still undeveloped, the price must necessarily be very much higher. Such tea has a whitish down, like that on young birch leaves, and is called ijecoe, or ‘ white hair,’ and is most of it sent to England and Russia. In the last century, the green tea known as Young Ilyson was made of these

half-opened leaves picked in April and named from two words

meaning ‘ rains before.’ The second gathering varies somewhat

according to the latitude—May 15th to June, when the foliage

is fullest. This season is looked forward to by women and

children in the tea districts as their working time ; they run in

crowds to the middle-men, who have bargained for the leaves on

the plants, or apply to farmers who have not hands. The average

produce is from sixteen to twenty-two ounces of green leaves for the healthiest plants, down to ten and eight ounces. The tea when cured is about one-fifth of its first weight, and one thousand square yards will contain about three hundred and fifty plants, each two feet across. They strip the twigs in the most summary manner, and fill their baskets with healthy leaves as they pick out the sticks and yellow leaves, for they are paid

in this manner. Fifteen pounds is a good day’s work, and six to

eight cents is a day’s wages. The time for picking lasts only

ten or twelve days. There are curing houses, where families

who grow and pick their own leaves bring them for sale at the

market rate. The sorting emploj’S many hands, for it is an important

point in connection with the purity of the various descriptions,

and much care is taken by dealers, in maintaining the

quality of their lots, to have them cured carefully as well as

sorted properly.

The management of this great branch of industry exhibits some of the best features of Chinese country life. It is only over a portion of each farm that the plant is grown, and its cultivation requires but little attention compared with rice and vegetables. The most delicate kinds are looked after and cnred by priests in their secluded temples among the hills; these often have many acolytes who aid in preparing small lots to be sold at a high price.

When the leaves are brought in to the curers they are thinly spread on shallow trays to dry off all moisture by two or three hours’ exposure. Meanwhile the roasting pans are heating, and W’hen properly warmed some handfuls of leaves are thrown on them, and rapidly moved and shaken up for four or five minutes.

The leaves make a slight crackling noise, become moist and flaccid as the juice is expelled, and give off even a sensible vapor. The whole is then poured out upon the rolling table, where each workman takes up a handful and makes it into a manageable ball, which he rolls back and forth on the rattan table to get rid of the sap and moisture as the leaves are twisted. This operation chafes the hands even with great precaution.

THE MANUFACTUKE OF TEA. 43

The balls are opened and shaken out and then passed on to other workmen, who go through the same operation till they reach the headnum, who examines the leaves to see if they have become curled. When properly done, and cooled, they are returned to the iron pans, under which a low cliarcoal fire is burning in the brickwork which supports them, and there kept in motion by the hand. If they need another rolling on the table it is now given them ; an hour or more is spent in this manipung Tea.

lation, when they are dried to a dull green color, and can be

put away for sifting and sorting. This color becomes brighter

after the exposure in sifting the cured leaves through sieves of

various sizes ; they are also winnowed to separate the dust,

and afterward sorted into the various descriptions of green tea.

Finally, the finer kinds are again fired three or four times, and the coarse kinds, as Twankay, Hyson, and Hj’son Skin, once. The others furnish the Young Hyson, Gunpowder, Imperial, etc. Tea cured in this way is called luh cha^ or ‘green tea,’ by the Chinese, while the other, or black tea, is termed hung cha, or ‘red tea,’ each name being taken from the tint of the infusion.

After the fresh leaves are allowed to lie exposed to the air

on the bamboo trays over night or several hours, they are

thrown into the air and tossed about and patted till they become

soft ; a heap is made of these wilted leaves and left to

lie for an hour or more, when they have become moist and

dark in color. They are then thrown on the hot pans for

five minutes and rolled on the i-attan table, previous to exposure

out-of-doors for three or four hours on sieves, during which

time they are turned over and opened out. After this they get

a second roasting and rolling to give them their final curl. When

the charcoal fire is ready, a basket shaped something like an

hour-glass is placed endwise over it, having a sieve in the

middle on which the leaves are thinly spread. AYlien dried

five minutes in this way they undergo another rolling, and are

then thrown into a heap, nntil all the lot has passed over the

fire. When this firing is finished, the leaves are opened out

and are again tliinly spread on the sieve in the basket for a few

minutes, which finishes the drying and rolling for most of the

heap, and nuxkes the leaves a uniform black. They are now

replaced in the basket in greater mass, and pushed against its

sides by the hands in order to allow the heat to come up

through the sieve and the vapor to escape ; a basket over all

retains the heat, but the contents are turned over until perfectly

dry and the leaves become uniformly dark.

GREEN AND BLACK TEAS. 45

It will be seen frojn this that green tea retains far more of the peculiar oil and sap in tlie leaves than the black, which undergo a partial fermentation and emit a sensibly warm vapor as they lie in heaps after the first roasting. They thus become oxidized by longer contact in a warm moist state with the atmosphere, and a delicate analysis will detect lants, as hemlock, belladonna, etc., for the

apothecary’s shop.

Green teas are mostly produced in the region south of the

Yangtsz’ River and west of Kingpo among the hills as one goes

toward the Poyang Lake in Chehkiang and Xganhwui. The

black tea comes from Fuhkien in the southeast and llupeh and

Hunan in the central region ; Kwangtung and Sz’chuen provinces

produce black, green, and brick teas. While the leaves of each

species of the shrub can be cured into either green or black tea,

the workmen in one district are able, by practice, to produce

one kind in a superior style and quality ; those in another region

will do better with another kind. Soil, too, has a great influence,

as it has in grape culture, in modifying the produce. Though

the natives distinguish onl}^ these three kinds, their varieties are

far too numerous to remember, and the names are mostly unknown

in commerce.

Of black teas, the great mass is called Congou^ or the ‘ wellworked,’

a name which took the place of the Bohea of one hundred

and fifty years ago, and is now itself giving way to the term

English Breakfast tea. The finest sorts are either named from

the place of their growth, or jnore frequently have fancy appellations

in allusion to their color or form. Orange Pekoe is

named ” superior perfume ;” pure Pekoe is ” Lau-tsz’ eyebrows ;”

“carnation hair,” “red plum blossom,”” “lotus kernel,” “sparrow’s

tongue,” ” dragon’s pellet,” ” dragon’s whiskei-s,” ” autumn

dew,” ” pearl flower,” or Chilian, are other names ; Souchong

and Pouidiong refer to the modes of packing.

In the trade, teas are more commonly classified by their locality

than their names, as it is found that well-marked differences in

the style of the produce continue year after year, all ecpially

well-cured tea. These arise from diversities in soil, climate,

age, and manufacturing, and furnish materials for still further

nuiltiplying the sorts by skilfully mixing them. Thus in black

teas we have Ilunan and llupeh from two provinces, just as

Georgia uplands and Sea Island indicate two sorts of cotton ;

Ningyong, Kai-sau, Ho-hau, Sing-chune-ki, etc., and many

others, which are unknown out of Ohina, are all names of places.

One gentleman has given a list of localities, each furnishing its quota and peculiar product, amounting in all to forty-five for black and nine for green. The area of these regions is about four hundred and seventy thousand square miles.

It will have been seen already that the color of green tea, as

well as its quality, depends very much on rapid and expert drying.

When this kind is intended for home consumption soon

after it is made, the color is of little consequence ; but when the

hue influences the sale, then it is not to be overlooked by the

manufactui’er or the broker. The first tea brought to Europe

was from Fuhkien and all black ; but as the trade extended probably

some of the delicate Hyson sorts were now and then seen

at Canton, and their appearance in England and Holland appreciated

as more and more was sent. It was found, however,

to be very difficult to maintain a uniform tint. If cured too

slightly, the leaf was liable to fermentation during the voyage ;

if cured too much, it was unmarketable, which for the manufacturer

was worse yet. Chinese ingenuity was equal to the call.

Though no patent office was at hand to register the date when

coloring green tea commenced, it is probably more than one

hundred j-ears since. The three hundred and forty-two chests and

half chests wdiich were so summarily opened on board the Dartmouth,

the Eleanor, and the Beavei”, when their contents were

thrown overboard in Boston harbor, on December 16, 1773,

furnishes probably no index of the consumption of tea in New

England at that time. It was all called Bohea by John Adams,

who speaks of three cargoes, as if the vessels had nothing

else of note in their holds.

Dr. Holmes, in his ballad on the Boston Tea Party at its

centennial celebration, says in the last verse:
The waters in the rebel bay
Have kept the tea-leaf savor—
Our old North Enders in their spray
Still taste a Hyson flavor ;
And Freedom’s teacup still o’erflows
With ever fresh libations,
To cheat of slumber all her foes
And cheer the wakening nations.

COLORING GREEN TEAS, 47

It has been noticed that emigrants to Au^^tralia, who had seldom tasted green tea before leaving England, usually prefer it in their new homes, as new settlers do in tins country. The prevailing notion that green tea is cured on copper arose, no doubt, from the conclusion that real verdigris was the only source of a verdigris color, and the astringent taste confirmed the wrong idea. A more difficult question to answer is the inquiry, Why is it still believed ?

The operation of giving green tea its color is a simple one.

A quantity of Prussian blue is pulverized to a very fine powder,

and kept ready at the last roasting. Pure gypsum is

burned in the charcoal fire till it is soft and fit foi easily triturating.

Four parts are then thoroughly mixed with three parts

of Prussian blue, making a light blue powder. About five

minutes before finally taking off the dried leaves this powder

is sprinkled on them, and instantly the whole panful of two or

three pounds is turned over by the workman’s hands till a

uniform color is obtained, llis hands come out quite blue, but

the compound gives the green leaves a brighter green hue. The

quantity is not great, say about half a pound in a hundred of

tea ; and as gypsum is not a dangerous or irritating substance,,

being constantly. eaten by the Chinese, the other ingredient remains

in an almost infinitesimal degree. If foreigners preferred

yellow teas no doubt they coiild be favored, for the Chinese

are much perplexed to account for this strange predilection, as

they never drink this colored or faced tea. Turmeric root has

been detected, too, in a very few analj’ses, but probably these

were lots that needed to be refined at Canton to cover up mildew

or supply a demand. The reasons for not drinking this

tea are, however, owing more to the nature than the color of

the leaf. The kinds of green tea are fewer than the black, and

the regions producing it are less in area. Gunpowder and Imperial

are foreign-made terms ; the teas are known as siau elm

and ta chu by native dealers. The first is rolled to resemble shot

or coarse gunpowder; the other is named “sore crab’s eyes,”

“sesamura seeds,” and “pearls.” Ilyson is a corruption of yutsieny

‘ before the rains,’ and of Ili-chun, meaning ‘ flourishing

spring.’ The last is alleged to be the name of a maiden who suggested

to her father as long ago as 1700, or thereabouts, a better

mode of sorting tea, and his business increased so much as his fine Hyson became known that he gave it her name. Members of this same family are still engaged in making this same tea, and the chop, known as the Ut Yih-hing, or ‘ Li’s Extra Perfume,’ is now in market, and has maintained its reputation for nearly two hundred years. Oolong is obtained in Fuhkien—a black tea

with a green tea flavor, named Black Dragon from a story

tliat Su was struck with the fragrance of the leaf from a plant

Mdiere a black snake was found coiled. The great mart for

green tea is Twankay, in Chehkiang province.

A chop is a well-known term in the tea trade ; it is derived

from the Chinese word ehoj), or ‘ stamp’, such as an ofiicial uses,

and in the tea trade denotes a certain number of packages from

the same place, and all of the same quality. In the course of years

the uniform excellence of a certain chop, like that of a certain

vineyard, gives it a marketable value. A laAvsuit arose in 1873

between two American houses at Canton in regard to the right to

a certain chop of tea, among two brokers, each of whom claimed

to sell the genuine lot. Such chops range from fifty to one thousand

two hundred chests, averaging six hundred. English teatasters

have learned that an admixture of scented teas in common

sorts of Congou adds much to the flavor and sale. This is

not often done for native-drank tea, and is chiefly practised at

Canton. The flowers used are roses, Olea fragrans, tuberose,

orange, jasmine, gardenia, and azalea. The stems, calyx, and

other parts are carefully sorted out, so that only the petals remain.

When the tea is ready for packing, dry and warm, tlie

fresh flowers are mixed with it (forty pounds to one liundred

pounds for the orange), and left thus in a mass for twenty-four

hours ; it is then sifted and winnowed in a fanning mill till

the petals are separated. If the odor is insuflicient, the operation

may be repeated with the jasmine or orange. The proportion

of jasmine is a little more than orange ; of the azalea,

nearly half and half. The length of time required to obtain

the proper smell from these flowei-s difi’ers, and among them all

tea scented with the azalea is said to keep its perfume the longest.

The mode of scenting tea diifei-s somewhat according to the

flower itself, for the small blossom of the Qloa cannot be

separated by sifting as rose or jasmine leaves can. Tea thus

SCENTED AND ADULTERATED TEAS. 49

perfumed is sent to England as Orange Pekoe and Scented Caper.

It is mixed witli fiiu; teas ; and there is much to commend

in thus increasing tlie aroma and taste of this healthy beverage.

The Scented Caper comes in the form of round pellets, which

are made of black tea softened by sprinkling water on it until

it is pliable ; it is then tied in canvas bags and rolled with the

feet by treading on it for a good while till most of the quantity

takes this form ; as soon as perfumed it is packed for shipment.

When rolled and dried, such tea needs only a facing to make it

into Impei-ial and Gunpowder among the green teas.

The Chinese have been charo;ed with adulteratino; their tea

by mixing in other leaves with the true tea-leaf, and adding

other ingredients far vvoi-se than rose, jujube, and fern leaves,

and the cases which have been proved of lie-tea being sent off

have been applied to the entire export. The stimulus for some

of this adulteration has come from the foreigner, who desires

to get good pure tea at half its cost of manufacture. The foregoing

details will plainly show that an article which has to go

through so many hands before its infusion is poured out of the

teapot on the other side of the world, and where the only machinery

used is a fanning mill and a roasting pan, cannot be furnished

at much under twenty-five cents a pound for the common

sorts. The villanous mixture known at Shanghai as ma-hi cha^

or ‘ race-course tea,’ was the answer on the part of the native

manufacturer to the demand for cheap tea, mitil the consumers

in Great Britain protested at the deception put on them, and

its importation was prohibited. Which of the parties was most

blameworthy may be left for them to settle, but in our own

papers, of course, most of the blame rested on the tempted party.

It is not to be inferred, however, that all cheap tea is adulterated.

The process of manufacture leaves a large percentage of broken

material, which can be worked into passable tea ; the produce

of many regions has not the flavor of the finest sorts, and, as it

is with wines, will not bear so much cost in curing. The tea

brokers know this, and things equalize themselves. The dust,

the leaf ribs, and the siftings are all consumed by the poor natives,

who mix other leaves, too, with the real leaf. Tea can perhaps bear comparison with any other great staple of food in this respect ; and when we can fairly estimate the consumption of tea sent out of China and Japan at more than three hundred millions of pounds, it must be conceded that it is a very pure article—not as much, probably, as even five per cent, of false leaf.

One mode of using tea known among Tibetans and Mongols

remains to be noticed. The rich province of Sz’chuen, in the

w-estern part of China, furnishes an abundance of good tea’; much

of which is exported to Ilussia by way of Si-ngan fu and Kansuh,

to supply the inhabitants of Siberia. This brick tea is cured

by pressing the damp leaves into the form of a brick or tile,

varj’ing in size and weight, eight to twelve inches long and one

thick ; in this form it is far more easily carried than in the leaf.

In Tibet, as we have seen, it appears more as a soup than an infusion.

The brick tea is composed of coarse leaves, or of stalks moistened

by steaming over boiling water, and then pressed till dry

and hard. When used, a piece is broken off and simmered with

milk and butter and water, with a touch of vinegar or pepper.

The dish is not inviting at first, but Abbe Hue endorses its

refreshing qualities in restoring the failing energies. The pressing

and drying is assisted by sprinkling the mass with ricewater

as it is forced into the moulds. The Chinese mix other

leaves with real tea to eke it out, in districts where it is not

commonly grown, but they do not regard this as adulteration.

Willow leaves are common in such mixtures. Large caravans

cross the plateau laden with brick tea.

Packing tea is mostly done in the interior, where it is cured.

The large dry leaves frequently found inside are usually furnished

by a peculiar species of bamboo ; the lead is made into

thin sheets by pouring the melted metal on to a large square

brick, covered with several thicknesses of paper, and letting

another brick drop down instantly on it. In order to test the

honesty of the packing, the foreign merchant often walks over

the three hundred to six hundred chests which make a chop,

and selects any foui* or five he may choose for examination. If

they stand the inspection the whole is taken on their guaranty,

and are then -weighed, papered, labelled, and mottoed ready for

shipping. In all these matters the Chinese are very expert. It

INTRODUCTION OF TEA INTO EUROPE. 61

is impossible to calculate the number of persons to whom the

tea trade furnishes employment ; nor could machinery well

come into use to displace human labor.

The introduction of tea among western nations was slow at

first. Marco Polo has no notice of its use. The Dutch brought

it to Europe in 1591 according to some accounts ; but a sample

or two did not make a trade, and there would have been reference

to it if it had been used. In 1G60 Samuel Pepys writes,

September 28th : “I did send for a cup of tea (a China drink),

of which I had never drank before.” Nearly seven ^-ears after

he says : ” Home, and thei-e find my wife making of tea, a drink

which Mr. Pellin, the pothicai-y, tells her is good for her cold

and defluxions.” In 1670 the importation into England was 79

pounds ; in 1685 it was 12,070 pounds ; most of it came from

Batavia and sold for a long time between £10 and £5 a pound

weight. In 1657 Mr. Garney opened a shop in London to sell

the infusion, and paid an excise of 8d. per gallon ; the present

duty is 2s. Id. per pound, or 4^ pounds to each person in a year,

nearly all of which, as it is in Europe and elsewhere, is black

tea. In 1725 only 375,000 pounds were consumed in Great

Britain. The actual quantity now in the United Kingdom is

126,000,000 pounds, besides much on the way. The importation

into the United States is worth $18,000,000 to $19,000,000,

say 60,000,000 pounds. Russia takes more good tea than any

other nation and pays more for it, because the former overland

trade to Siberia could not afford to transport pooi- tea. The export

from Assam is now 20,000,000 pounds, but those sorts are

too strong for the public taste when used alone, and are consumed

in mixtures. Tea is a native of Assam, but its discovery

only dates from 1836 or thereabouts. It is cultivated in Java

and Brazil, but there is not much to encoui’age the manufacturer

in any country where coffee supplies a similar beverage,

and the price of labor makes it equal to the imported article.

The remarkable work on agriculture of Paul Sii, a convert to

Christianity in 1620, contains a brief account and directions for

cultivating tea. In concluding the chapter he urges the greater

use of tea as against spirits. ” Tea is of a cooling nature, and if

drunk too freely will produce exhaustion and lassitude. Country people before drinking it add ginger and salt to eoiniteract this cooling property. It is an exceedingly useful plant ; cultivate it and the benefit will be widely spread ; drink it and the animal spirits will be lively and clean. The chief rulers, lords, and

great men esteem it ; the lower people, the poor and beggarly,

will not be destitute of it ; all use it daily and like it.”

The chemical analyses which have made known to us the

components of the four or five substances used as warm beverages,

viz., tea, coffee, mate, cocoa, guarana, and kola, indicate

three constituents found in them, to which, no doubt, their virtues

are owing.

A volatile oil is observed when tea is distilled with water; about one pound conies from one hundred pounds of dried tea, possessing its peculiar aroma and flavor to a high degree. Much of it is pressed from the leaves when rolled and cured, but little as still remains, its effects upon the human system are noticeable

and sometimes powerful. Tea-tasters who continually taste the

rpiality of the various lots submitted by sample for their approval,

do so by breathing upon a handful of leaves and instantly

covering the nose, so as to get this volatile aroma as one important

test. They also examine the infusion in several diffei’ent

ways, by its taste, color, and strength. Long practice in this

business is alleged to have deleterious influence upon their nervous

systems. The other beverages we drink, as well as tea,

derive their peculiar and esteemed flavor and aroma from

chemical substances produced in them during the process of

drying and roasting; at least nothing of them can be perceived

in their natural state. Another substance in tea regarded as

the chief inducement and reward in its effect on the system is

the peculiar pi’inciple called theine. If a few finely powdered

leaves are placed on a watch-glass, covered with a paper cap

and placed on a hot plate, a white vapor slowly rises and

condenses in the cap in the form of colorless crystals. They

exist in different proportions in the different kinds of tea, from

one and one-half to five or six per cent, in green tea. Theine

lias no smell and a slightly bitter taste, and does not therefore

attract us to drink the infusion ; but the chemists tell us that

it contains nearly thirty per cent, of nitrogen. The salts in

CONSTITUENTS AM) EFFECTS OF TEA. 53

other beverages, as coffee and cocoa, likewise contain nnicli nitrogen,

and all tend to repair the waste going on in the human

system, reduce the amount of solid food necessary, diminish too

the wear and tear of the body and consequent lassitude of the

mind, and maintain the vigor of both upon a smaller amount

of food. Tea does this more pleasantly, perhaps, than any of

the others ; but it does more than they do for old people in

supplementing the impaired powers of digestion, and helping

them to maintain their flesh and uphold the system in health

longer than they otherwise would. It is no wonder, therefore,

that tea has become one of the necessaries of life ; and the

sexagenarian invalid, too poor to buy a bit of meat for her

meal, takes her pot of tea with M’liat she has, and knows that

she feels lighter, happier, and better fitted for her toil, and enjoys

life more than if she had no tea. Unconsciously she

echoes what the Chinese said centuries ago, ” Drink it, and the

animal spirits will be lively and clear.”

The third substance (which is contained in tea more than in the

other beverages mentioned) forms also an important ingredient

in l)etel-nut and gaml)ier, so extensively chewed in Southern

Asia, viz., tannin or tannic acid. This gives the astringent

taste to tea-leaves and their infusion, and is found to amount

to seventeen per cent, in well-dried l)lack tea, and much more

than that in green tea, especially the Japan leaf. The effects

of taimin are not clearly ascertained as apart from the oil

and the tlieine, but Johnston considei-s them as conducing

to the exhilarating, satisfying, and narcotic action of the beverage.

A remaining ingredient worthy of notice in tea, in common

with other food-plants, is gluten. This fornjs one-fourth of the

weight of the leaves, but in oi’der to derive the greatest good

from it which proper methods of cooking might bring out, we

must contrive a mode (»f eating the leaves. The nutritious

property of the gluten accounts for the general use of brick tea

throughout the Asiatic plateau. Hue says he drank the dish

in default of something better, for he was unaccustomed to

it, but his cameleers would often take twenty to forty cups

a day.

If the sanitary effects of tea upon the system are so great and

wholesome, its inliuence since its general introduction among

occidentals cannot be overlooked. The domestic, quiet life and

habits of the Chinese owe much of their strength to the constant

use of this beverage, for the weak infusion which they sip

allows them to spend all the time they choose at the tea-table.

If they were in the habit of sipping even their weak whiskey

in the same way, misery, poverty, quarrels, and sickness would

take the place of thrift, quiet, and industry. The general temperance

seen among them is owing to the tea nmch more than any

other cause. It has, moreover, won its way with us, till in the

present generation the associations that cluster around the teatable

form an integral part of the social life among Englishspeaking

peoples. One of the most likely means to restrict the

use of spirits among them is to substitute the use of warm

beverages of all kinds by those whose s^-stem has not become

vitiated. Tea is one of the greatest benefits to the Chinese,

Japanese, and Mongols, and its universal use, for at least fifteen

centuries, throughout their territories has proven its satisfaction

as a nervine, a stimulant, and a beverage. If one passing

through the streets of Peking, Canton, or Ohosaka, and seeing

the good-natured hilarity of the groups of laborers and loiterers

around the cha-hwan and the cha-ya of those cities, doubts

the value of tea as a harmonizer and satisfier of hmnan wants

and passions, it must be taken as a proof of his own unsatisfied

cravings.

It is a necessary of life to all classes of natives, and that its

use is not injurious is abundant!}^ evident from its general acceptance

and increasing adoption ; the pi-ejudice against the

beverage out of China may be attributed chiefly to the use of

strong green tea, which is no doubt prejudicial. If those who

have given it up on this account will adopt a weaker infusion

of black tea, general experience is proof that it will do them no

harm, and they may be sure that they will not be so likely to

be deceived by a colored article. iS’either the Chinese nor

Japanese use milk or sugar in their tea, and the peculiar taste

and aroma of the infusion is much better perceived without

those additions. Tea, when clear, cannot be drunk so strong

PREPARATION OF CASSIA AND CAMPHOR. 55

without tasting an unpleasant bitterness, which tliese diluents

partly hide.’

Among other vegetable productions whose preparation affords

employment are cassia and camphor. The cassia ti-ee

{Cinnamomuvi cassia) grows connnonly in Ivwangsi, Yunnan,

and further south ; the leading mart for all the varieties of this

spice in China is Ping-nan, in the former of tliese provinces.

The kind known as l”wei-jA, or ‘ skhiny cassia,’ affords the principal

part of that spice nsed at the west. The bark is stripped

from the twigs by running a knife along the branch and gradually

loosening it ; after it is taken off it lies a day in the sun,

when the epidermis is easily scraped off, and it is dried into the

quilled shape in which it comes to market. The immatm-e

flowers of this and two other species of Cinnamonnnn are

also collected and dried nnder the name of cassia IjiuIk^ and often

packed with the bark ; they re<|uire little or no other preparation

than simple drying. The leaves and bark of the tree

are also distilled, and furnish oil of cassia, a powerful and

pleasant oil employed by perfumers and cooks. • Few genera of

plants are more useful to man than those included under the

old name of Laurus, to which these fragrant spices of cassia

and cinnamon belong; their wood, bark, buds, seeds, flowers,

leaves, and oil are all used by the Chinese in carpentry, medicine,

perfumery, and cookery. The confusion arising from

using the term cassia for the spice instead of confining it to the

medicine {Cassia senna) has been a constant source of error.

The camphor tree {Cam])1ioi’a ojjicinarum) is another species

of Laurus, found along the southern maritime regions and Formosa,

and affords both timber and gum for exportation and domestic

use. The tree itself is large, and furnishes excellent

planks, beams, and boards. The gum is procui’ed from the

branches, roots, leaves, and chips by soaking them in water until

the liquid becomes saturated ; a gentle heat is then applied

to this solution, and the sublimed camphor received in inverted

cones made of rice-straw, from which it is detached in impure

‘Fortune’s Tea DistricU (1852); Chinme Ticpositwy, Vol. VIII., pp. 182-164, Vol. XVIII., pp. 13-18; Davis’ ChiiicHC, Vol. II., pp. 336-449; Chineim Cominercial Guide (1863), pp. 141-148 ; Ball’s Tea Vulture and Manufacture.

grains, resembling unrefined sugar in colore Grosier describes

another mode of getting it by Taking out the coagulum inspissated

from the solution into an iron dish and covering M’ith

powdered earth ; two or three layers are thus placed in the dish,

when a cover is luted on, and by a slow heat the camphor sublimes

into it in a cake. It comes to market in a crude state,

and is refined after reaching Europe. The preparation of the

gum, sawing the timber for trunks, articles of furniture, and

vessels in whole or in part, occupies great numbers of carpenters,

Bhipwrights, and boat-buildci*s. The increasing demand for

the gum and boards has caused the rapid destruction of so

many trees in Formosa that there is some ground for fear lest

they ere long be all cut off.

Many of the common ni;uii])ulations of Chinese ^vorkmen afford

good examples of their ingenious modes of attaining th©

same end which is elsewhere reached by complex machinery.

For instance, the l)aker places his fire on’ a large iron plate

worked by a crane, and swings it over a shallow pan embedded

in masonry, in* which the cakes and pastry are laid and

soon baked. The price of fuel compels its economical use

wherever it is em}>loyed ; in the forge, the kitchen, the kiln, or

the dwelling, no waste of wood or coal is seen. As an instance

in point, the mode of burning shells to lime affords a good example.

A low wall encloses a space ten or twelve feet across,

in the middle of which a hole connnunicates underneath the

wall through a passage to the pit, where the fire is urged by a fan

turned by the feet. The wood is loosely laid over tlie bottom

of the area, and the fire kindled at the orifice in the centre and

fanned into a blaze as the shells are rapidly thrown in until the

wall is filled up ; in twelve hours the shells are calcined.

Toward evening scores of villagers collect around the burning

pile, bringing their kettles of rice or vegetables to cook. The

good-humor manifested by these gi’oups of old and young is a

pleasing instance of the sociability and equality witnessed

among the lower classes of Chinese. The lime is taken out

next morning and sifted for the mason.

Handicraftsmen of every name are content with coarse-looking

tools compared with those turned out at Sheflield, but the

APPLIANCES OF CHINESK WORKMEN. 67

work prodnced by some of tliem is far from conteiriptible.

The bench of a carpenter is a low, narrow, inclined form, like a

urawing-knife fi’ame, upon which he sits to plane, groove, and

work his boards, using his feet and toes to steady them. His

augurs, bits, and gimlets are worked with a bow, but most of

the edge-tools employed by him and the blacksmith, though

similar in shape, are less convenient than our own. They are

sharpened with hones or grindstones, and also with a cold steel

like a spoke-shave, with which the edge is scraped thin. The

aptitude of Chinese workmen has often been noticed, and

Travelling Blacksmith and Equipment.

among tliem all the travelling blacksmith takes the palm for his

compendious establishment. ” T saw- a blacksmith a few days

since,” writes one observer, ” mending a pan, the arrangement

of w’hose tools was singularly compact. His fire was held in an

iron basin not unlike a coal-scuttle in shape, in the back corner

of which the mouthpiece of the bellows entered. The anvil

was a small scpiare mass of iron, not very unlike our own, placed

on a block, and a partition basket close by held the charcoal

and tools, with the old iron and other rubbish he carried. The

water to temper his iron was in an earthen pot, which just at

this time was most usefully employed iii boiling his dinner

over the forge fire After he had done the job he took off his dinner, threw the water on the fire, picked out the coals and put

them back into the basket, threw away the ashes, set the anvil

astride of the bellows, and laying the tire-pan on the basket,

slung tlie bellows on one end of his pole and the basket on the

other, and walked off.” ‘ The mode of mending holes in castiron

pans here noticed is a peculiar operation. The smith first

files the lips of the hole clean, and after heating the dish firmly

* C,

I 11 111

Itinerant Dish-nnender

places it on a tile covered with wet felt. He then pours the

liquid iron, fused in a crucible by the assistance of a flux, upon

the hole, and immediately patters it down with a dossil of felt

until it covers the edges of the pan above and below, and is

then, while cooling, hannnered until firndy fixed in its ]>lace.

Another ingenious and effectual method of mending porcelain

and all manner of crockery ware is performed by itinerant

workmen, who travel about with their workshop on their

* Chinese Repository, Vol. X., j). 473.

WOOD AND IVORY CARVING. 59

shoulders, as seen in tlio cut. By means of minute copper

clamps, even the most delicate article of China-ware may be repaired

and made to answer the purpose of a new piece ; since

no cement is used in this style of mending, it has the additional

advantage of standing innnei’sioiv in water.

The great number of craftsmen who ply their vocations in

the street, as well as the more mmierous class of hucksters

who supply food as they go from house to house, furnish mucli

to annise and interest. Each of them has a peculiar call. The

barber twangs a sort of tweezers like a long tuning-fork, the

peddler twirls a hand-drum with clappers strung on each side,

the refuse-buyer strikes a little gong, the fruiterer claps two bamboo

sticks, and the fortune-teller tinkles a gong-bell ; these, with

the varied calls and cries of beggars, cadgers, chapmen, etc., fill

the streets with a concert of strange sounds.

The delicate carving of Chinese workmen has often been described; many specimens of it are annually sent abroad. Few products of their skill are more rcnuxrkable than the balls containing ten or twelve separate spheres one within another. The manner of cutting them is ingenious. A piece of ivory or wood is first made perfectly globular, and then several conical holes are bored into it in such a manner that their apices all meet at the centre, which becomes hollow as the holes are bored into it. The sides of each having been marked with

lines to indicate the number of globes to be cut out, the w^orkman

inserts a chisel or burin with a semicircular blade, bent so

that the edge cuts the ivory, as the shaft is worked on the

pivot, at the same depth in each hole. By successively cutting

a little on the inside of each conical hole, the incisures meet,

and a sphericle is at last detached, which is now turned over

and its faces one after another brought opposite the largest

hole, and firmly secured by wedges in the other a})ertures, while

its surfaces are smoothed and carved. When the central sphere

is done, a similar tool, somewhat larger, is again introduced

into the holes, and another sphere detached and smoothed in

the same way, and then another, until the whole is completed,

each being polished and carved before the next outer one is

connnenced. It takes three or four months to complete a ball with fifteen inner globes, the price of which ranges from twenty to thirty dollars, according to the delicacy of the carving. Some writers have asserted that these curious toys were made of semi spheres nicely luted together, and they have been boiled in oil for hours in order to separate them and solve the mystery of their construction.

Fans and card-cases are carved of wood, ivory, and mother-of-pearl in alto-relievo, with an elaborateness which shows the great skill and patience of the workman, and at the same time his crude conception of drawing, the figures, houses, trees, and other objects being grouped in violation of all propriety and perspective. Beautiful ornaments are made by carving roots of plants, branches, gnarled knots, etc., into fantastic groups of birds or animals, the artist taking advantage of the natural form of his material in the arrangement of his figures. Models of pagodas, boats, and houses are entirely constructed of ivory, even to representing the ornamental roofs, the men working at the oar, and women looking from the balconies. Baskets of elegant shape are woven from ivoiy splinths; and the shopmen at Canton exhibit a variety of seals, paper-knives, chessmen, counters, combs, etc., exceeding in finish and delicacy the same kind of work found anywhere else in the world. The most

elaborate coat of arms, or complicated cypher, will also be imitated

by these skilful carvers. The national taste prefers this

style of carving on plane surfaces ; it is seen on the walls of

houses and granite slabs of fences, the woodwork of boats and

shops, and on articles of furniture. Most of it is pretty, but the

disproportion and cramped position of the figures detract from

its beauty when judged by strict rules of western art.

The manufacture of enamels and cloisonne wares has lately

received a great stimulus from their foi’eign demand. A copper

vase is formed of the desired shape by hammering and soldering,

on whose clean surface the figures to be enamelled are

etched to show where the strips of copper are to be soldered

before their interspaces are enamelled. This solder is made of

borax and silver, and melts at a higher temperature than the

enamel, which is reduced to a paste and filled into each cell of

the pattern by brushes and styles, until the whole design is

MANUFACTURE OF CLOlSONNfi, MATS, ETC. 61

gone over. Tlie various colored liao, or ingredients, are prepared

in cakes by artists who keep their composition secret, but

all the substances occur in China. The (piality of the ware

depends on the skill in mixing these cakes and fusing the colors

in a charcoal fire, into which the piece is placed ; imperfection^

and holes are covered and tilled up when it is cooled, and the

piece is again and again exposed to the fire. After the third ordeal it is ground smooth and polished on a lathe, and the brass work gilt. The specimens now made show very fine work, but their coloring hardly equals those of Kienlungs reign or still earlier in the Ming dynasty.

Fancy Carved Work.

Much inferior work has also been palmed off for that of the golden period of this art. The manufacture of mats for sails of junks and boats, floors, bedding, etc., employs thousands. A sail containing nearly four hundred square feet can be obtained for ten dollars. The rolls are largely exported, and still more extensively used in the country for covering packages for shipment. A stouter kind made of bamboo splinths serves as a material for huts, and fulfils many other purposes that are elsewhere attained by boards or canvas. Rattans are largely worked into mats, chairs, baskets, and other articles of domestic service. Several branches of manufacture have entirely grown up, or been much encouraged by the foreign trade, among which the preparation of vermilion, beating gold-leaf, cutting pearl buttons, dyeing and trimming pith-paper for artificial flowers, weaving and painting fancy window-blinds, and the preparation of sweetmeats are the principal. The beautiful vermilion exported from Canton is prepared by triturating one part of quicksilver with two of sulphur until they form a blackish powder, which is put into a crucible having an iron lid closely luted down. When the fire acts on the mixture the lid is cooled to effect the sublimation ; the deposit on the top is cinnabar and that on the sides is vermilion, according

to the Chinese ; all of them are powdered, levigated, decanted,

and dried on tiles for use in painting and pharmacy, coloring

candles and paper, and making red ink. The excellence of Chinese vermilion depends on the thoroughness of the grinding.’

‘ Compare an article by Julien in the Nouv. Journ. Asiatique, Tome V., 1830,pp. 208 ff.

PHASES OF CHINESE INDUSTRIAL LIFE. 63

It has often been said that the Chinese are so averse to change and improvement that they will obstinately adhere to their own modes, but, though slow to alter well-tried methods, such is not the case. Three new manufactures have been introduced during the present century, viz., that of glass, bronze-work, and Prussian blue. A Chinese sailor brought home the manufacture of the latter, which he had learned thoroughly in London, and the people now supply themselves. Works in bronze and brass have of late been set up, and watches and clocks are both extensively manufactured, with the exception of the springs. Fire-engines in imitation of foreign hand-engines are gradually eomino; into use. Brass cannon were made durins; the war with England in imitation of pieces taken from a wreck, and the frames of one or two vessels to be worked with wheels by men at a crank, in imitation of steamers, were found on the stocks at Ningpo Mdien the English took the place. Since then the establishment of government arsenals at Fuhchau, Shanghai, Xanking, and Tientsin has stimulated and suggested as well as taught the people many applications of machinery. Yet until they can see their Avay clear to be remunerated for their outlay, it is unwise to urge or start doubtful experiments. This was shown at Canton ten years ago when a native company was formed to spin cotton yarn by steam machinery, and when the apparatus was all ready for work the cotton flowers were quite unwilling to trust their raw cotton out of their hands. Moreover, it should be observed that few have taken the trouble to explain or show them the improvements they are supposed to be so disinclined to adopt. Ploughs have been given the farmers near Shanghai, but they would not use them, which, however, may have been as much owing to the want of a proper harness, or a little instruction regarding their use, as to a dislike to take a new article.

The general aspect of Chinese society, in an industrial point

of view, is one of its most pleasing features. The great body of

the people are obliged to engage in manual labor in order to

subsist, yet only a trifling proportion of them can be called

beggars, while still fewer possess such a degree of wealth that

they can live on its income. Property is safe enough to afford

assurance to honest toil that it shall generally reap the reward

of its labors, but if that toil prosper beyond the usual limits,

the avarice of officials and the envy of neighbors easily find a

multitude of contrivances to harass and impoverish the fortunate

man, and the laws are not executed with such strictness as to

deter them. The mechanical arts supply their wants, but having

no better models before them, nor any scientific acquaintance

with elementary principles and powers applicable to a great

number of purposes, these arts have remained stationary. The

abundance of labor must be employed, and its cheapness obviates

the necessity of finding substitutes in machinery. The adoption

of even a few things from abroad might involve so many

changes, that even those intelligent natives who saw their

advantages would hesitate in view of the momentous contingencies

of a failure. The conflict between capital and labor in its various phases and struggles is becoming more and more marked the world over as civilization advances, and the Chinese polity is destined to endure its greatest strain in adjusting their forces among its industrious millions.

Imitation is a remarkable trait in the Chinese mind, though invention is not altogether wanting; the former leads the people to rest content with what they can get along with, even at some expense of time and waste of labor, where, too, an exhibition of ingenuity and science would perhaps be accompanied with suspicion, expense, or hindrances from both neighbors and rulers.

The existence of the germ of arts and discoveries, whose development would liave brought witli them so many advantages

and pointed to still further discoveries, leads one to inquire the

reason why they were not carried out. Setting aside the view,

which may properly be taken, that the wonderful discoveries

now made in the arts by Europeans form part of God’s great

plan for the redemption of the race, the want of mutual confidence,

insecurity of property, and debasing effects of heathenism

upon the intellect will explain much of the apathy shown

toward improvement. Invention among them has rather lacked

encouragement than ceased to exist :—more than that, it has

been checked by a suspicious, despotic sway, while no stimulus

of necessity has existed to counterbalance and urge it forward,

and has been stunted by the mode and materials of education.

It was not till religious liberty and discussion arose in Europe that the inhabitants began to improve in science and arts as well as morals and good government ; and when the ennobling and expanding principles of an enlarged civilization find their way into Chinese society and mind, it may reasonably be expected that rapid advances will be made in the comforts of this life, as well as in adopting the principles and exhibiting the conduct which prove a fitness for the enjoyments of the next.

CHAPTER XVI. SCIENCE AMONG THE CHINESE

That enlargement of the mind which results from the collection and investigation of facts, or from extensive reading of books on whose statements reliance can be placed, and which leads to the cultivation of knowledge for its own sake, has no existence in China. Sir John Davis justly observes that the Chinese ” set no value on abstract science, apart from some obvious and immediate end of utility;” and he properly compares the actual state of the sciences among them with their condition in Europe previous to the adoption of the inductive mode of investigation. Even their few theories in explanation of the mysteries of nature are devoid of all fancy to make amends for want of fact and experiment, so that in reading them we are neither amused by their imagination nor instructed by their research. Perhaps the rapid advances made by Europeans, during the two past centuries, in the investigation of nature in all her departments and powers, has made us somewhat impatient of such a parade of nonsense as Chinese books exhibit.

In addition to the general inferiority of Chinese mind to European in genius and imagination, it has moreover been hampered by a language the most tedious and meagre of all tongues, and wearied with a literature abounding in tiresome repetitions and unsatisfactory theories. Under these conditions, science, whether mathematical, physical, or natural, has made few advances during the last few centuries, and is now awaiting a new impulse from abroad in all its departments.

Murray’s China (Vol. III., Chap. IV.) contains a fair account of the attainments of the Chinese in mathematics and astronomy.

The notation of the Chinese is based on the decimal principle, but as their figures are not changed in vahie by position, it is difficult to write out clearly the several steps in solving a problem.

Experiments have shown that it is easy encmgh to perform them with Chinese figures used in our way, omitting the characters for 100, 1,000, and 10,000 {2)ch, tslcn, and wan) ; but it will be long before the change will become general, even if it be desirable. Arithmetical calculations are performed with the assistance of an abacus, called a stranjxin, or ‘counting board’, which is simply a shallow case divided longitudinally by a bar and crossed by several wires ; on one side of this bar the wires bear five balls, on the other two. The five balls stand for nnits, the two balls behig each worth five units. When the

balls on any wire are taken for nnits, those next to the right

stand for tens, the thii’d for hundreds, and so on ; while those

on the left denote tenths, hundredths, etc. Simple calculations

are done on this machine with accuracy and rapidity, but as it

is only a convenient index for the progress and result of a calculation

performed in the head, if an error be made the whole

must be performed again, since the result only appears when

the sura is finished. There are three sorts of figures, partly answering

to the English, Itoman, and Arabic forms—as Seven,

VII., and T—the most connnon of which are given on page 619

of Yol. I. ; the complicated form is used for securit}- in drafts

and bills, and the abbreviated in common operations, accounts,

etc., and in setting down large amounts in a more compact form

than can be done by the other characters. This mode of notation

is employed by the Japanese and Cochinchinese, and possesses

some advantages over the method of using letters practised

by the Greeks and Romans, as well as over the counters

once employed in England, but falls far behind the Arabic system

now in general use in the west.

CHINESE MATHEMATICS. G7

Treatises on arithmetic are common, in which the simple rules are explained and illustrated by examples and questions. One of the best is the Sinan-fdh Tung T,Httng, or ‘ General Gomprehensive Arithmetic,’ in five volumes, octavo, the author of which, Cliing Yu-sz’, lived in the Ming dynasty. The Tsu-wei-shan Fang Sho ITioh, or ‘Mathematics of the Lagerstra’mia Hill Institution,’ in thirty-eight books, octavo, 182S, contains a complete course of mathematical instruction in geometry, trigonometry, mensuration, etc., together with a table of natural sines and tangents, and one of logarithmic sines, tangents, secants, etc., for every degree and minute. Both these compilations derive most of their value from the mathematical writings of the Roman Catholic missionaries ; it is stated in the latter work that “• the western scholar, John Kapier, made logarithms.”

The study of arithmetic has attracted attention among the Chinese from very early times, and the notices found in historical works indicate some treatises even extant in the Han dynasty, followed by a great number of general and particular works down to the Sung dynasty. One author of the Tang dynasty, in his problems on solid mensuration, offered one thousand taels of silver to whoever found a single word of error in the book. The Hindu processes in algebra were known to Chinese mathematicians, and are still studied, though all intellectual intercourse between the countries has long ceased. Down to the end of the Ming dynasty, these branches made slow progress.

Since foreigners have begun to apply western science, the development has been rapid. Mr. Wylie has given, in his Notes 0)1 Chinese Literature (pp. 86-104), a digested account of the most valuable native works on astronomy and mathematics. One very comprehensive work on them is the Thesaurus of Mathematics and Chronology, published by imperial order about 1750.

The knowledge of mathematics, even among learned men, is

very small, and the common people study it only as far as their

business requires ; the cumbersome notation and the little aid

such studies giv^e in the examinations doubtless discourage men

from pursuing what they seem to have no taste for as a people.’

A curious fact regarding the existence of six errors in these

tables, discovered by Bal)bage to have been perpetuated in most

of the European logarithmic tables since the publication of the

Trigonometria Artijicialis of Vlacq in 1633, proves the source

whence the Chinese derived them, and their imitative fidelity

in copying them. Chinese authors readily acknowledge the superiority of western inatlieinaticians, and generally ascribe their advances in the exact sciences to them.

‘ See Notes and Queries on C. and /., Vol. I., p. 166, and Vol. III., p. 153.

The attaiinnents made by the ancient Chinese in astronomy

are not easily understood from their scanty records, for the

mere notice of an eclipse is a very different thing from its calculation

or description. They have been examined recently

with renewed interest and care in view of the discoveries at

]S”ineveh, which have furnished so many reliable notices in

“Western Asia of early days, and may lend some rays of light

to illustrate the history and condition of Eastern Asia when

more fully studied. The Booh of liecords contains some notices

of instructions given by Yao to his astronomers Hi and IIo to

ascertain the solstices and e(|uinoxcs, to employ intercalary

months, and to tix the four seasons, in order that the husbandman might know when to commit his seed to the ground. If the time of the deluge be reckoned, according to Hales, at b.c.3155, there will be an interval of about eight centuries to the days of Yao, ];.<•. 2357 ; this would be ample time for the observation that the primitive sacred year of three hundred and sixty days in Noah’s time was wrong; also that the lunar year of about three hundred and fifty-four days was (piite as incorrect, and required additional correction, which this ancient monarch is said to have made by an intercalation of seven lunar months in nineteen years. It is remarkable, too, that the time given as the date of the commencement of the astronomical observations sent to Aristotle from Babylon by command of Alexander should be b.c. 2233, or only a few years after the death of Yao ; at that time the five additional days to complete the solar year were intercalated by the Chaldeans, and celebrated as days of festivity. Dr. Hales, who mentions this, says that many ancient nations, and also the Mexicans, had the same custom, but there are no traces of any particular observance of them by the Chinese, who, indeed, could not notice them in a lunar year.

DIVISIONS OF THE YEAR. 60

The intercalation made by Yao has continued with little variation to this day. The Romish missionaries rectified the calendar during; the i-eio;n of Kan2;hi, and have contimied its preparation since that time. The adoption of the Julian solar year of three hundred and sixty-five and one-fourth days at this remote period is far fioni certain, though the fact of its existence among nations in the west is’ mentioned hy the commentator upon the Iloolx of liecordH, who tlonrislied a.d. 1200. The attention the Chinese paid to the hniar year, and the very small difference their seven intercahitions left between the true haimonizing of the lunar and solar years (only Ih. 27m. 32s.), would not derange the calculations to a degree to attract their notice. The period of the adoption of the cycle of sixty years, called In/i-sJiiJt hwa hiah-tsz\ cannot be ascertained even with any close approach to probability. Though negative evidence is always the poorest basis on which to found a theory in any branch of knowledge, it still bears great influence in early Chinese history and science, and in no department more than astronomy. This sexagenary cycle, the Chinese assert, was contrived nearly three centuries before the time of Yao (b.c. 2637), and seems to have been perfectly arbitrary, for no explanation now exists of the reasons which induced its inventor, HuangDi, or his minister, Kao the Great, to select this number. The years have each of them a separate name, formed by taking ten characters, called shih Jicuu or ‘ ten stems,’ and joining to them twelve other characters, called the shih-‘ih c7ii, or ‘twelve branches,’ five times repeated.

These two sets of horary characters are also applied to

minutes and seconds, honrs, days, and months, signs of the

zodiac, points of the compass, etc. By giving the twelve

branches the names of as many animals and apportioning the

ten stems in couplets among the five elements, they are also

made to play an important part in divination and astrology.

The present year (1882) is the eighteenth year of the seventysixth

cycle, or the four thousand five hundred and eighteenth

since its institution ; but no trace of a serial nnmbering of the

sexagenary periods has yet been found in Chinese writings. The

application of the characters to hours and days dates from about

B.C. 1752, according to the Shu Klmj, pei’haps even before they

were combined in a cyclic arrangement. This sexagenary division

existed in India in early times, too, and is still followed

there, where it is named the Cycle of Jupiter, ” because the length of its years is measured by the passage of that phiiict, by its mean motion, through one sign of the zodiac.” liev. E. Ihirgess, in his translation of “the Surija jSuld/ianta, says that the length of Jupiter’s years is reckoned in that book at 361d.

Oh. 38m., and adds : ” It was doubtless on account of the near

coincidence of this period with the true solar year that it was

adopted as a measure of time ; but it has not been satisfactorily

ascertained, as far as we are aware, “where the cycle originated,

or what is its age, or why it was made to consist of sixty

years, including five whole revolutions of the planet.” It is

not improbable, therefore, that the cycle, the two sets of characters,

the twenty-four solar terms, witli the twelve and twentyeight

lunar mansions or zodiacal asterisms, all of which play

such an important part in Chinese astrology and astronomy,

will be found to have been derived from the Chaldeans, and not

from the Hindus, as has been confidently asserted. Though

confessedly ancient in both India and China, their adoption was

slow in its growth, while some striking similarities indicate a

common origin, and so remote that its genesis is all a mystery.

The year is lunar, but its commencement is regulated by the sun. New Year falls on the first new moon after the sun enters Aquarius, which makes it come not before January 21st nor after February lOtli. Besides the division into lunar months, the year is apportioned into twenty-four jieqi, or ‘ terms,’ of about fifteen days each, depending upon the position of the sun; these are continued on from year to year, irrespective of the intercalations, the first one commencing about February 6th, when the sun is 15° in Aquarius. Their names have reference to the season of the year and obvious changes in nature at the time they come round, as rain-vxtter, vernal-eqitifiox, spikedgrain, little-heat, etc.

The Chinese divide the zodiac(huang dao, or ‘yellow road’) into twenty-eight siu or I’ung, ‘ constellations’ or ‘lunar mansions’, but instead of an equable allotment, the signs occupy from 1° up to 31°; the Hindus arrange them nearly in spaces of 13° each. Their names and corresponding animals, with the principal stars answering to each asterism, are given in the table.

DIVISIONS OF THE ZODIAC. 71

•of one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions is given to every day in the year in perpetual rotation, consequently the same day of our week in every fourth week has the same character applied ro it. The days are numbered from the first to the last day of the month, and the months from one to twelve through the year, except the intercalaiy month, called jun yueJi y and there is also a trine division of the month into decades.’

The astronomical ideas of the common Chinese are vague and

inaccurate. Tlie knowledge contained in their own scientific

hooks has not been taught, and they still believe the earth to be

a plain surface, measuring each way about one tliousand five

hundred miles; around it the sun, moon, and stars revolve, the

first at a distance of four tliousand miles. This figure comes so

near the earth’s radius that it is reasonable to infer, with Chalmers,

that it was calculated from the different elevation of the sun

in dift’erent latitudes. The distance of the heavens from the earth

was ascertained by one observer to be 81,304 //’, and by another

subsequent to him to be 216,781 li, or about 73,000 miles; all of which indicates the lack of careful observation. The constellation of the Peh Tao, or Dipper, plays an important part in popular astronomy; the common saying is:

‘ When the handle of the Northern Peck points east at nightfall, it is spring over the land ; when it points south, it is summer ; and when west or north, it is respectively autumn and winter.’ The Dipper

has become a kind of natm-al clock from this circumstance, and

as its handle always points to the bright stars in Scorpio, these

two constellations are among the most familiar. These popular

notions must not, however, be taken as a test of what was known

in early times; it is quite as just to their scientific attainments

in this branch to give them credit (as Wjdie does) for having

known more than has come down to our days; as to deny belief

in the little that remains, because it presents some insoluble

difificulties, as Chalmers is disposed to do.

‘ Chinese Eepositorii, Vol. IX., pp. 573-584. De Giiignes’ V»i/iif/rs, Vol. II., p. 414. Chinese ChrcHtoriutthy. Legge’s Shoo Kinn, passim. Chalmers, On the Astronomy of the Ancient Chinese. Journal of the Am. Oriental Society, Vol. VI., Art. III., and Vol. VIII., Arts. I. and VII. Whitney’s Orientaland Linfjuisiie Studies, Art. XII. North China Br. R. A. S. Journal, Nos. III. and IV.

CHINESE NOTIONS OF ASTRONOMY. 73

Astronomy has been studied by the Chinese for astrological

and state pur{)oses, and their recordetl oI)servatioMS of eclipses,

comets, etc., have no small value to European astronomers and

chronologists. Mailla has collected the notices of 460 solar

eclipses, extending from n.c. 2151) to a.d. 1699, and Wylie furnishes

a careful list of 925 solar and 574 lunar eclipses, extracted

from Chinese works, observed between 2150 and a.d. 1785.

Comets have been carefully noted whenever their brilliancy has enabled them to be seen, for they are regarded as portents by the people, and their course among the stars somewhat determines their influence. A list of 373 comets mentioned in Chinese records has been published by John Williams,’ mostly extracted from Ma Twan-lin’s Antiquarian Researches, and the Shi K’i. They extend from b.c. 611 to a.d. 1621 ; the general value of these records is estimated by the learned author as entitling them to credence. The curious and intimate connection between geomancy, horoscopy, and astrology, which the Chinese suppose exists, has a powerful influence in maintaining their errors, because of its bearing on every man’s luck. Even with all the aid they have derived from Europeans, the Chinese

seem to be unable to advance in the science of astronomy, when

left to themselves, and to cling to their superstitions against

every evidence. Some clouds having on one occasion covered

the sky, so that an eclipse could not be seen, the courtiers joyfully

repaired to the Emperor to felicitate him, that Heaven,

touched by his virtues, had spared him the pain of witnessing

the “eating of the sun.” A native writer on astronomy, called

Tsinglai, who published several works under the patronage of

Yuen Yuen, the liberal-minded governor of Kwangtungin 1820,

even at that late day, ” makes the heavens to consist of ten concentric hollow spheres or envelopes; the first contains the moon’s orbit ; the second that of Mercury ; those of Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the twenty-eight constellations, follow; the ninth envelops and binds together the eight interior ones, and revolves daily ; while the tenth is the abode of the Observations of Comef.,% from b.c. Gil to a.d. 1640. Extracted from the Chinese Annuls. Loudon, 1871.

Celestial tSovereit’n, the Great Ruler, with all the ii^ods and sao’es where they enjoy eternal tranquility.” lie further says, “there are two north and two south poles, those of the equator and those of the ecliptic. The poles of the ecliptic regulate the varied machinery of the heavenly revolutions, and turn round unceasingly. The poles of the equator are the pivots of the primitive celestial body, and remain permanently unmoved.

What are called the two poles, therefore, are really not stars, but two immovable points in the north and in the south.*’ ‘ The author of this astute cosmogony studied under Europeans, and published these remarks as the fruit of his researches.

The action and reaction of the elements furnish a satisfactory

explanation to Chinese philosophers of the changes going on in

the visible universe, for no possible contingencj’ can arise which

they are not prepared to solve by their analysis of the evolution

of its powers. Through their speculations by this curious system

they have been led away from carefully recording facts and

processes, and have gone on, like a squirrel in a cage, making

no progress tow^ard the real knowledge of the elements they

treat of. The following table contains the leading elementary

correspondences which they use, but a full explanation would be out of place here.

This fanciful system is more or less received by their most intelligent mcTi ; and forms a sort of abracadabra in the hands of geomancers and future-tellers, by which, with a show of great learning, they impose on the people. The sun, moon, and planets influence sublunary events, especially the life and death of human beings, and changes in their color menace approaching calamities. Alterations in the appearance of the sun announce misfortunes to the state or its head, as revolts, famines, or the death of the Emperor; when the moon waxes red, or turns pale, men should be in awe at the unlucky times thus fore-omened.

Chinese ChrcHtoiiuitlii/, p. 391

ACTION AND UEACTIOX OF THE ELEMENTS. 75

O 5H I-:; < H P3 O a: o I— (HO !^ P P^ Q ;?;

The sun is symbolized by the figure of a raven in a circle, and the moon by a rabbit on his hind legs pounding rice in a mortar, or by a three-legged toad. The last refers to the

legend of an ancient beauty, Cliang-ngo, who drank the liquor

of imniortality and straightway ascended to the moon, where

she was transformed into a toad, still to be traced in its face.

It is a special object of worship in autumn, and moon-cakes

dedicated to it are sold at this season. All the stars are i-anged

into constellations, and an emperor is installed over them, who

resides at the north pole ; five monarchs, also, Yivc in the five

stars in Leo, where is a palace, called Wu Tl tao^ or ‘Throne of

the Five Emperors.’ In this celestial government there is also

an heir-apparent, empresses, sons and daughters, tribunals, and

the constellations receive the names of men, animals, and other

terrestrial objects. The Dipper is worshipped as the residence

of the fates, where the duration of life, and other events relating

to mankind, are measured and meted out. Doolittle’s Social

Life contains other popular notions connected with the stars,

showing the ignorance still existing, and the fears excited by

unusual phenomena among the heavenly bodies. Both heaven

and the sun are worshipped by the government in appropriate

temples on the west and east sides of Peking. The rainbow is

the product of the impure vapors ascending from the earth

meetino; those descendino; from the sun.

If their knowledge of astronomy can be criticised as being

anything but an exact science, the Chinese should not be denied

credit for a certain amount of beauty in what may be called the

romantic side of this study. In the myths and legends which

have clustered about and doubtless in many cases perverted

their observations of the stars, there are the sources of fetes

and subjects for pictorial illustration Mithout number. One of

these stories, forming the motive of a bowl decoration given

upon the opposite page, is the fable of Aquila (;^/’i’/.) and Vega,

known in Chinese and Japanese mytliX)logy as the Herdsman

and Weaver-girl. The latter, the daughter of the sun-god, was

so continually busied with her loom that her father became wor-

I’ied at her close habits and thought that by marrying her to a

neighbor, who herded cattle on the banks of the Silver Stream

of Heaven (the Milky Way), she might awake to a brighter

manner of living.

FABLE OF THE HERDSMAN AND WKAVEIt-GIRL. 77

” No sooner did the maiden become wife than her habits and character utterly changed for the worse. She became not only very merry and lively, but quite forsook loom and needle, giving up her nights and days to play and idleness; no silly lover could have been more foolish than she. The sun-king, in great wrath at all this, concluded that the husband was the cause of it and determined to separate the couple. So he ordered him to remove to the other side of the river of stars, and told him that hereafter they should meet only once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh month. To make a brids-e over the flood of stars, the sun-king called myriads of magpies, which thereupon flew together, and, making a bridge, supported the poor lover on their wnngs and backs as if it were a roadway of solid land. So bidding his weeping wife farewell, the lover husband sorrowfully crossed the River of Heaven, and all the magpies instantly flew away. But the two were separated, the one to lead his ox, the other to ply her shuttle during the long hours of the day wdth diligent toil, and the sun-king again rejoiced in his daughter’s industry.

“At last the time for their reunion drew near, and only one

fear possessed the loving wife. AVhat if it should rain ? For

the River of Heaven is always full to the brim, and one extra

di’op causes a flood which sweeps away even the bird l)ridge.

But not a drop fell ; all the heavens were clear. The magpies

flew joyfully in myriads, making a way for the tiny feet of the

httle lady. Trembling with joy, and with heart fluttering more

than the bridge of wings, she crossed the River of Heaven and

was in the arms of her husband. This she did every year.

The husband staid on his side of the river, and the wife came

to him on the magpie bridge, save on the sad occasion when it

rained. So every year the people hope for clear weather, and

the happy festival is celebrated alike by old and young.” ‘

‘ Somewhat abridged from Mr. W. E. Griffis’ Japdneae Fairy Worhl, a book which has given us the cream of a great variety of stories from Eastern won’ der-lore.

DIVISIONS OF THE DAY—THE ALMANAC. 79

These two constellations are worshipped principally by women, that they may gain cumiing in the arts of needlework and making of fancy flowers. Watermelons, fruits, vegetables, cakes, etc., are placed with incense in the reception-room, and before these offerings are performed the kneelings and knoekings in the usual wav.

The entire day is divided into twelve two-hour periods called shin., coumiencing at eleven o’clock, p.m.; each hour is further subdivided into kik, or eighths, equal to fifteen of our minutes, and receives the same characters. There are various means employed to measure time, but the people are rapidly learning to reckon its progress by watches and clocks, and follow our divisions in preference to their own. A common substitute for watches are tl/ne-sticks, long round pieces of a composition of clay and sawdust, well mixed and wound in a spiral manner; the lapse of time is indicated by its equable slow combustion from one hour mark to another, until the whole is consumed, which in the longest is not less than a week. Dials are in

common use, and frequently attached to the mariner’s compass,

by making the string which retains the cover in its place cast a

shadow on the face of it. This lesson in dialing, Davis supposes

they learned from the Jesuits. Clepsydras of various forms

were anciently employed, some of which, from their description,

were so disproportionately elegant and costly for such a

clumsy mode of noting time, that their beauty more than their

use was perhaps the principal object in preparing them.

The almanac holds an important place, its preparation having

been early taken under the special cal-e of the government,

which looks upon a present of this important publication as one

of the highest favors which it can confer on tributary vassals

or friendly nations. It is annually prepared at Peking, under

the direction of a bureau attached to the Board of Rites, and,

by making it a penal offence to issue a counterfeit or pirated

edition the governmental astrologers have monopolized the

management of the superstitions of the people in regard to the

fortunate or unlucky conjunctions of each day and hour. Besides

the cabalistic part of it, the ephemeris also contains tables

of the rising of the sun according to the latitudes of the principal

places, times of the new and full moon, the beginning

and length of the twenty -four terms, eclipses, application of the

horary characters, conjunction of the planets, etc. Two or three editions are published for the convenience of the people, the prices of which vary from three to ten cents a copy. No one ventures to be without an ahuanac, lest he be liable to the greatest misfortunes, and run the imminent hazard of undertaking important events on black-balled days. The Europeans who were employed for many years in compiling the calendar were not allowed to interfere in the astrological part ; it is to the discredit of the Chinese to aid thus in perpetuating folly and ignorance among the people, when they know that the whole system is false and absurd. Such governments as that of China, however, deem it necessary to uphold ancient superstitions, if they can thereby influence their security, or strengthen the reverence due them.

If their astronomical notions are vague, their geographical

knowledge is ridiculous. The maps of their own territories are

tolerably good, being originally drawn from actual survej’s by

nine of the Jesuits, between the years 1708-1718, and since

that time have been filled up and changed to conform to the

alterations and divisions. Their full survey’s were engraved on

copper at Paris, by order of Louis XIV., on sheets, measuring

in all over a hundred square feet, and have formed the basis of

all subsequent maps. The Chinese do not teach geography in

their schools, even of their own empire. The conimon people

have no knowledge, therefore, of the form and divisions of the

globe, and the size and position of the kingdoms of the earth.

Their common maps delineate them very erroneously, not even

excepting their own possessions in Mongolia and tli—scattering

islands, kingdoms, and continents, as they have heard of their

existence, at haphazard in various corners beyond the frontiers.

The two Americas and Africa are entirely omitted on most of

them, and England, Holland, Portugal, Goa, Lugonia, Bokhara,

Germany, France, and India, are arranged along the western

side, from north to south, in a series of islands and headlands.

The southern and eastern sides are similarly garnished by islands, as Japan, Lewchew, Formosa, Siam, Pirmah, Java, the Sulu Islands, and others, while Russia occupies the whole of the northern frontier of their Middle Kingdom.

GE0(4KAnTICAL KNOWLEDGK OF THE CHINESE. 8\

The geographical works of Tsinglai are not (juite so erroneous as his astronomical, but the uneducated peoj^lc, notwithstanding Ills efforts to teach them better, still generally suppose the earth to be an inniiense extended stationary plain. Their notions of its inhabitants are equally whimsical, and would grace the pages of Sir fJohn Mandeville. In some parts of its surface they imagine the inhabitants to he all dwarfs, who tie themselves together in bunches for fear of being carried away by the eagles; in others they are all women, who conceive by looking at their shadows ; and in a third kingdom, all the people have holes in their breasts, through which they thrust a pole, when carrying one another from place to place. Charts for the guidance of the navigator, or instruments to aid him in determining his position at sea, the Chinese are nearly or quite destitute of; they have retrograded rather than advanced in navigation, judging from the accounts of Fa-hian, Ibn Batuta, and other travellers, when their vessels frequented the ports in the Persian Gulf and on the Malabar coast, and carried on a large trade with the Archipelago. Itineraries are published, containing the distances between places on the principal thoroughfares throughout the provinces, and also lists of the ports, harbors, and islands on the coast, but nothing like sailing directions accompany the latter, nor do maps of the routes illustrate the former. Such knowledge as they have on these points is hidden away in their libraries, as the Latin and Greek classics were in European convents and castles a thousand years ago.

In the various branches of mensuration and formulae used to describe the dimensions and weight of bodies, they have reached only a practical medioci’ity. With a partial knowledge of trigonometry, and no instruments for ascertaining the heights of

objects or their distances fi’om the observer, still their lands are

well measured, and the area of lots in towns and cities accurately

ascertained. The cht/i or foot is the integer of length, but its

standard value cannot be easily ascertained. In the Chinese

Commercial Ouide^ p. 285, is a table of eighty-four observations

on this point, taken at different times and places in China, whose

extremes differ more than six inches. It is fixed by the Board

of Works at 13^ in. English, but tradesmen at Canton employ

foot measures varying from 14.625 to 14.81 in. ; according

to the tariff, it is reckoned at 14.1 in. English, and the ehang of ten chih at Z\\ yds. During the past thirty years, the tariff weights and measures have gradually obtained acceptance as the standards, and this will probably result in securing uniformity in course of time. The chih is subdivided into ten tsun or puntos, and each tsun into teny^n. The I’l is used for distances, and is usually reckoned at 1,825.55 ft. English, which gives 2.89 I’l to an English mile ; this is based on the estimate of 200 I’l to a degree, but there were only 180 li to a degree before Europeans came, which increases its length to 2,028.39 ft. or 2.6 Vi to a mile, which is nearer the common estimate. The French missionaries divided the degree into 250 li (each being then exactly 1,460.44 ft. English, or one-tenth of a French astronomical league), and also into sixty minutes and sixty seconds, to make it correspond to western notation ; this measure has not been adopted in common use. The present rulers have established

post-houses very generally, at intervals of ten li^ or about a

league. The land measures are the mao and l:’in<j ; the former

measures 6,000 square <?/«’A, or 808.6 square yaixls, and a hundred

of them make a king. Taxes are collected, land is leased,

and crops are estimated by the mao and its decimal parts ; but

examination has shown that the actual area of a inao grows less

as one goes north ; in Canton, it is about 4.76 ‘tnao to an acre,

and at Peking it is six, and even smaller.

The weights and measures of the Chinese are twenty-four in

all, and vary in their value even more than those of long measure.

The common weights are called tael^ catty^ 2i\\^^ecul by

foreigners ; their values are respectively \\ oz. av., 1|^ lb. av.,

and 1331^ lbs. av., and thus roughly correspond to the English

ounce, pound, and hundredweight. The Chinese deal in many

articles l)y weight which among western nations are sold according

to their quality—such as M’ood, silk, oil, whiskey, cloth, grain,

poultry, etc.—so that it has been humorously observed that the

Chinese sell everything by -weight, except eggs and children.

Their common measures correspond nearly to our gill, half-pint,

pint, and peck, and are used to retail rice, beans, etc. The smaller

ones are not very accurately constructed from bamboo-joints,

but the peck measure, or tec, shaped like tlie frustum of a

pyramid, must be olRcially examined and sealed before it can

MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES. SIl

be used; at Canton it contains 6^ catties weiglit, or about 1.13

gallon. The decimals of the tael, called riiace^ eamlareen, and

cash {tsitn, /an, and li), are employed in reckoning bullion,

pearls, gems, drugs, etc.; ten cash making one candareen, ten

candareens one mace, etc. The proportions between the Chinese

and American moneys and weights is such that so many

taels per pecul, or candareens per catty, is the same as so many

dollars per hundredweight, or cents per pound.’

The monetary system is arranged on the principle of weight,

and the divisions have the same names, fael, mace, candareen,

and cash. The only native coin is a copper piece called tsien,

because it originally weighed a mace ; it is thin and circular,

rather more than an inch in diameter, with a square hole in the

middle for the convenience of stringing. The obverse bears

the word ])ao, or ‘ current,’ and the name of the province in

Manchu, on each side of the square hole ; the reverse has four

words, Taulnran’j, tun’j^pno, i.e., ‘money current [during the

reign of] Taukwang.’ Mints for casting cash are established

in each provincial capital under the direction of the Board of

lievenue. The coin should consist of an alloy of copper, 50 ;

zinc, ^\\ ; lead, 6^ ; and tin, 2 ; or of equal parts of copper

and zinc ; but it has been so debased by iron and reduced in

size during the last fifty years that it does not pay to counterfeit

it. Each piece should weigh 58 grains troy, or 3.78

grammes, but most of those now in circulation are under 30

grains, and the rate of exchange varies in different parts of the

land from 900 to 1,800 for a silver dollar.

The workmen in the mint are required to remain within the

building except wdien leave of absence is obtained, but in spite

of all the efforts of government, private coinage is issued to a

great amount, and sometimes with the connivance of the mintmaster.

^ Chinese Repository, Vol. X.,p. 050; Chinese Chrestomathy ; Chinese Commercml Guide, Fifth Ed., pp. 2G5-288 ; Rondot, Commerce de la Chine, 1819.

Neither silver nor gold has ever been coined to any extent in China. In seeking for the cause of this difference from all other Asiatic nations, it seems to lie in the commercial freedom which has done so much to elevate them. The government on the one hand is not strone; enono;]i to restrain counterfeiters, and not honest enough, on the other hand, to issue pieces of uniform standard for a series of years till it has obtained the (ioniidence of its subjects. It will not receive base metal for taxes, and cannot force merchants to accept adulterated coins. As its foreign relations extend it will no doubt be

obliged to issue a better national currency in the three metals.

Attempts have been made to introduce a silver piece of the size

of a tael, and specimens were made at Shanghai in 1856. A

large coinage of native dollars was attempted in Fuhkien and

Formosa, about 1835, to pay the troops on that island. One of

them indicated that the piece was ” pure silver for current use

from the Chang-chau Commissariat ; [weight] seven mace two

candareeiis^” The other was of the same weight and purity

(417.4 grains troy), and besides the inscription in Chinese on

the obverse, and in Mancliu on the reverse, it had an etfigy of

the god of Longevity on the head and a tripod on the tail, to

authenticate its official origin. These pieces were either melted

or counterfeited to such an extent on their appearance, that they

soon disappeared.

Foreign dollars are imported in great quantities from Mexico

and San Francisco, and form the medium of trade at the open

ports. They are often stamped by the person who pays them

out, which soon destroys thein as a coin, and they are then

melted and refined to be cast into ingots of bullion, called shoes

of sijcee, from sl-s.z’ or ‘fine floss’ ; these weigh from five mace

to fifty taels, the larger pieces being stamped with the district

magistrate’s title and the date, to verify them. They are from

ninety-seven to ninety-nine per cent, pure silver, but small ingots

of ten or fifteen taels weight are less pure than the large

shoes, as they are called from their shape. Gold bullion is cast

into “bars like cakes of India-ink in shape, weighing about ten

taels, or hammered into thick leaves which can be examined but

not separated by di-iving a punch through a pile of a hundred

or more—a precaution against cheating. Large quantities are

sent abroad in this shape.

Taxes and duties are paid in sycee of ninety-eight per cent,

fineness, and licensed bankers are connected with the revenue

BANKING SYSTEM AND TAPER MONEY. 85

department to wlioni tlie proceeds are paid, and who are allowed

a small percentage for relining and becoming resjjonsible for its

purity. Dollars and ingots are counterfeited, and all classes

have them inspected by shrofs, who, by practice, are able to

decide by the sight alone npon tiie degree of alloy in a piece of

silver, though usually they employ touchstone needles to assist

them, different degrees of fineness imparting a different color to

the needle. Books are prepared as aids to the detection of counterfeit

dollars ; in these the process of manufacture is carefully

described ; some of the pieces are marvels of skill in forgery.

Chartered banking companies are unknown, for a government

warrant or charter would carry no weight with it, but

private bankers are found in all large towns. Paper money

was issued in immense quantities under the Mongol dynasty,

and its convenience is highly praised by Marco Polo, who

looked upon its emission by the Grand Khan as the highest

secret of alchemy. Polo’s ideas of this operation would please

the ‘* greenbackers ” in the United States. He says, when describing

Kublai’s purchases : ” So he buys such a quantity of

those precious things every year that his treasure is endless,

while all the while the money he pays away costs him nothing

at all. If any of those pieces of paper are spoilt the

owner cariies them to the mint, and by paying three per cent,

on the value he gets new pieces in exchange.” The total issues

of this highest secret of alchemy during Kublai’s reign of tliirtyfour

years are reckoned by Pauthier, the Yueji Annals, at equal

to $624,135,500. The Khan’s successors, however, overdid the

mamifacture, and when the people found out that they had

nothing but paper to show for all the valuables they had parted

with to the Mongols, it added strength to the rebellion of Ilungwu

(a.d. 1359), which ended in their expulsion nine years afterward.

The new dynasty was, nevertheless, obliged to issue its

notes at tirst, but the mercantile instincts of the people soon

asserted their power, and as industry revived they were superseded

about 1455. The Manchus did not issue any Governmental

paper till 1S5S, during the Tai-ping rebellion, and its circulation

was limited to the capital from the first ; seeing that even then it was known to have no basis of credit or funds.

A bank can be opened by any person or company, subject to certain laws and payments to Government, on reporting its organization. The number of these offices of deposit and emission is large in proportion to the business of a town, but their capital averages only two or three thousand taels; the number in Tientsin is stated at three hundred, at Peking it is less than four hundred, of which scores in each are mere branches. The check on over-issue of notes lies in the

control exercised by the cleai’ing-house of every city, where the

standing of each bank is known by its operations. The circulation

of the notes is limited in some cases to the street or neighborhood

wherein the establishment is situated ; often the

payee has a claim on the payer of a bill for a full day if it be

found to be counterfeit or worthless—a custom which involves

a good deal of scribbling on the back of the bill to certify the

names. Proportionally few counterfeit notes are met with, owing

nioi’e to the limited range of the bills, making it easy to ask

the bank, which recognizes its own paper by the check-tallies,

of which the register contains two or three halves printed across

the check-book. When silver is presented for exchange, the

bills are usually, in Peking, iilled up and dated as the customer

wishes while he waits for them. Their face value ranges from

one to a hundred tiao, or strings of cash, but their worth depends

on the exchange between silver and cash, and as this

fluctuates daily, the bills soon And their way home. These

notes are unknown in the southern provinces, where dollars

have long circulated; but their convenience is so great that

people are willing to run slight risks on this account. Hongkong

bills circulate on the mainland to very remote districts.

PAWNSHOPS AND POPULAR ASSOCIATIONS. 87

Banks issue circular letters of credit to travel through the Empire, and the system of remittance by drafts is as complete as in Europe ; the rates charged are high, however, and vast sums of silver are constantly on the move. The habit of pawning goods is very general, and carries its disastrous results among all classes. There are three kinds of pawnshops, and the laws regulating them are strict and equitable ; the chief evil arising from their number is the facility they give to thieves. Pawn tickets are exposed for sale in the streets, and form a curious branch of traffic. These establishments are generally very extensive, and the vast amount of goods stored in them, especially garments and jewelry, shows their universal patronage.

One pawnbroker’s warehouse at Tinghai was used by the English forces as a hospital, and accommodated between two and three hundred patients. The insecurity of commercial operations involves, of course, a high rate of interest, sometimes up to three per cent, a month, lowering according to circumstances to twelve or ten per cent, per annum. The legal pawnshops(tang ])iC) are allowed three years to redeem, and give three years’ notice of dissolution. The restrictions on selling pawned articles works injuriously to the shops, in consequence of rapid depreciation or risks to the articles. If a fire occurs on the premises the pawner claims the full amount of his pledge ; only one-half is paid if it communicates from a neighbors house.’

One characteristic feature of Chinese society cannot be omitted

in this connection, namely, its tendency to associate. It

is a fertile principle ap[)lied to every branch of life, but especially

conspicuous in all industrial operations. The people

crystallize into associations ; in the town and in the country, in

buying and in selling, in studies, in tights, and in politics, everybody

must co-operate with somebody else—women as well as

men. To belong to one or more hioui, and be identified with

its fortunes, and enlisted in its struggles, seems to be the

stimulus to activity, resulting from the democratic element in

the Chinese polity, to M’hicli we are to refer the continuity as

well as many singular features of the national character. In

trade capitalists associate to found great banks, to sell favorite

medicines, or engross leading staples ; little farmers club together

to buy an ox, pedlers to get the custom of a street, porters

to monopolize the loads in a ward, or chair-bearers to furnish

all the sedans for a town. Beggars are allotted to one or two streets by their hicul, and driven off another’s beat if they encroach. Each guild of carpenters, silknien, masons, or even of physicians and teachers, works to advance its own interests, keep its own nienibei’S in order, and defend itself against its opponents. Villagers form themselves into organizations against the wiles of powerful clans ; and unscrupulous officials are met and balked by popular unions when they least expect it. Women and mothers get up a couipany to procure a trousseau, to buy an article of dress or furniture, to pay for a son’s wedding.

‘ Ed. Biot in Journcd Asiatiqw, 1837, Tome III., p. 422, and Tome IV., pp.97, 209; Cfatime CommercM Gnklf, 1863, pp. 264-275; N. C As. Journal,No. VI , pp. 52-71 ; Yule’s Marco Polo, 1871, Vol. I., p. 378-^85; Pauthier Le Litre de M. Polo, Cap. XCV., p. 319 ; Vissering On Chinese Currency, 1877,-Chinese Reipository, Vol. XX., p. 289 ; Doolittle’s Social Life, Vol. II., pp. 138-247; Notes and Queries on C- and J., Vol. II., p. 108.

Associations are limited to a year, to a month, to a decade, according to their design. These various forms of co-operation teach the people to know each other, while they also furnish agencies for unscrupulous men to oppress and crush out their enemies, gratify their revenge, and intimidate enterprise. Nevertheless, until the people learn higher principles of morality, these habits of combining themselves bring more benefits to the whole body than evils, at the same time quickening the vitality of the mass, without which it would die out in brigandage and despair.’

‘ For an account of the money hwiii and details of their system, see M. Eug. Simon, Les Petites Societes d’Argent en Chine, N. C. Br. B. As. Soe. Journal No. v., Art. I. (1868).

MILITARY SCIENCE AND IMPLEMENTS OF WAR. 89

The theory of war has received more attention among the Chinese than its practice, and their reputation as an unwarlike people is as ancient and general among their neighbors as that of their seclusion and ingenuity. The Mongols and Manchus, Huns and Tartars, all despised the effeminate braggadocio of Chinese troops, and easily overcame them in war, but were themselves in turn conquered in times of peace. Minute directions are given in books with regard to the drilling of troops, which are seldom reduced to practice. The puerile nature of the examinations which candidates for promotion in the army pass through, proves the remains of the ancient hand-to-hand encounter, and evinces the low standard still entertained of what an officer should be. Personal courage and brawn are highly esteemed, and the prowess of ancient heroes in the battle-field is lauded in songs, and embellished in novels. The arms of the Chinese still consist of bows and arrows.

spears, matchlocks, swords, and cannon of various sizes and

lengths. The bow is used more for show in the military examinations,

than for service in battle. Rattan shields, painted

with tigers’ heads, are used on board the revenue cutters to turn

the thrust of spears, and on ceremonial occasions, when the

companies are paraded in full uniforms and equipments. The

imiform of the difterent regiments of the luh-tjin<j or ‘ native

army,’ consists of a jacket of brown, yellow, or blue, bordered

with a wide edging of another color ; the trowsers are usually

blue. The cuirass is made of quilted and doubled cotton cloth,

and covered with iron plates or brass knobs connected by copper

bands ; the helmet is iron or polished steel, sometimes inlaid,

weighing two and one-fourth pounds, and has neck and ear lappets

to protect those parts. The back of the jacket bears the

word yung, ‘ courage,’ and on the breast is painted the service

to which the corps is attached, whether to the governor, commandant,

or Emperor. The exhibition of courage among Chinese

troops is not, however, always deferred to the time when

they run away, spite of the disparaging reputation they have

obtained in this i-espect from their British conquerors—who

have, nevertheless, on more than one occasion, been led to adujire

the cool pluck of the same men when led by competent

officers.

The matchlock is of wrought iron and plain bore ; it has a

longer barrel than a musket, so long that a rest is sometimes

attached to the stock for greater ease in firing ; the match is

a cord of hemp or coir, and the pan must be uncovered with the

hand before it can be fired, which necessarily interferes with,

and almosts prevents its use in wet or windy weather. The

cannon are cast, and although not of very uniform calibre from

the mode of manufacture, are serviceable for salutes. The

ginjal ic a kind of swivel from six to fourteen feet long, resting

on a tripod ; being less liable to burst than the cannon, it is the

most effective gun the Chinese possess.

Gunpowder was probably known to the Chinese in the latter

part of the II an dynasty (a.d. 250), but its application in firearms

at that time is not so plain. The exploits of Kung-ming

in that period owe their interest to his use of gunpowder in modes like the Greek fire of the Byzantines, though the animated narratives of Lo Kwan-chung (a.d. 1300) in his History of the Three States, are not reliable history in this particular.

Grosier (Vol. VIL, pp. 176-200) has adduced the evidences proving the use of powder at or before the Christian era. The inferences that Europe obtained it from India rather than China have, however, a good deal of weight. Early Arab historians refer to it as Chinese snow and Chinese salt—a fact which only shows its eastern origin—while the Chinese comx^und term of hioo-yioh, or ‘ fire drug,’ rather indicates a foreign source than otherwise.

Mr. W. F. Mayers has searched out and collated a considerable

mass of evidence from Chinese sources bearing upon the

introduction of explosives in native warfare and ordinary life.

The conclusions of this writer point both to a foreign origin of

gunpowder in China, and a nnicli later use of the compound

among their warriors than has generally been supposed. Coming,

probably, from India or Central Asia about the fifth century

A.D. the invention, he says, ” perhaps found its way into

China in connection with the manufacture of fireworks for purposes

of diversion ; and supplanting at some unascertained

period the jiractice of producing a crepitating noise by burning

bamboos as a charm against evil spirits.” No evidence exists

of the use of gunpowder as an agent of warfare until the middle

of the twelfth century, nor did a knowledge of its propulsive

effects come to the Chinese until the reign of Yungloh, in the

fifteenth century—a thousand years after its first employment

in fire-crackers.’

Fire-arms of large size were introduced toward the end of the

Ming dynasty by foreign instructors ; ginjals and matchlocks

were known four centuries earlier in all the eastern and central

regions of Asia, but none of those people could forge or cast

large artillery, owing to their imperfect machinery. The gunpowder

is badly mixed and ti’itui-ated, though the proportions

are nearly the sauje as our own. The native arms are now

‘ JVm’th CJiina Br. Royal Aniutic iSoc. JouriMl, 1870, No. VI., Art. V. Com

pare Notes and Queries on G. and J.

INVENTION AND USE OF GUNP0\YDER. 91

rapidly giving place to foreign in the imperial army, and the

establishment of four or live arsenals under the numagement of

competent instructors, where implements of warfare of every

kind are manufactured, will, ere long, make an entire change in

Chinese weapons and tactics. Some of their brass guns were of

• enormous size and great strength, but were of little use for

practical warfare, owing to the bad carriages and rude means of

working them.

The uniforms of Chinese troops are not even calculated to

give them a iine appearance when drawn up for parade, and

no one, looking at them, can believe that men dressed in loose

jackets and trousers, with heavy shoes and bamboo caps, could

be trained to cope with western soldiers. Fans or umbrellas

are often made use of on parade to assuage the heat or protect

from the i-ain, while the chief object of these reviews is to

salute and knock head before some high officer. In order to

repress insurrection, the government has been frequently compelled

to buy off turbulent leaders with office and rewards, and

thus disorganize and scatter the enemy it could not vanquish.

But however ridiculous the army and navy of the Chinese

were half a century ago, in the isolation and ignorance which

then held them, it cannot be alleged of what has been attempted

within twenty 3’ears, and the promise of wdiat may be

done in as numy more. The following resume of the qualities

of the Chinese soldier, from experience with Col. Gordon^s

“Ever Victorious Force” during the Tai-ping insurrection will

be a, 2}roj)os of this subject to which this work cannot devote

further space. ” The old notion is pretty well got rid of, that

they are at all a cowardly people when properly paid and efticiently

led ; while the regularity and order of their habits,

whicli dispose them to peace in ordinary times, give place to a

daring bordering upon recklessness in time of war. Their intelligence

and capacity for remembering facts make them well

fitted for use in modern warfare, as do also the coolness and

calmness of their disposition. Physically they are on the

average not so strong as Europeans, but considerably more

30 than most of the other races of the East ; and on a cheap

diet of rice, vegetables, salt fish, and pork, they can go through a vast amount of fatigue, whether in a temperate climate or a tropical one, where Europeans are ill-fitted for exertion. Their wants are few; they have no caste prejudices, and hardly any appetite for intoxicating liquors. Being of a lymphatic or lymphatic-bilious temperament, they enjoy a remarkable immunity from inflannnatory disease, and the tubercular diathesis is little known amongst them.””

Their progress in real civilization is not to be fairly measured

by their attainments in war, although it has been said that the

two best general criteria of civilization among any people are

superior skill in destroying their fellow men, and the degree of

respect they pay to women. China falls far behind her place

among the nations if judged by these tests alone, and in reality

owes her present advance in numbers, industry, and wealth

mainly to her peaceful character and policy. She would have

probably presented a spectacle similar to the disunited hoi’des

of Central Asia, had her people been actuated by a warlike

spirit, for when divided into fifty or more feudal states, as was

the case in the days of Confucius, she made no progress in the

arts of life. The Manchu Emperors have endeavored to conquer

their neighbors, the Birmans and Coreans, but in both

cases had to be satisfied with the outward homage of a ]votou\

and a few articles of tribute, when a formal embassy presented

itself in Peking. The Siamese, Cochinchinese, Coreans, Tibetans,

Lewchewans, and some of the tribes of Turkestan, are

nominally vassals of the Son of Heaven, and their names remain

on the roll of feifs. The first two have ceased to tsin

hung, or send tribute, since about 1860 ; and the Lewchewans

are not likely to revisit their old quarters at Peking in any capacity

; while the others derive advantage from the facilities of

traffic which they are unwilling to give up.

‘Andrew Wilson, The ”Ever Victorious Army.” A RiHtory of the Chinese Vu»ip(.ii(/n under Lieut. -Vol.- (Jordou. London, lb08, p. 2G9.

CHINESE POLICY AND PKACTICE IN WARFARE. 93

The precepts of Confucius taught the rulers of China to conquer their neighbors by showing the excellence of a good government, for then their enemies would come and voluntarily range themselves vmder their sway; and although the kindness of the rulers of China to those fully in their power is as hypocritical as their rule is unjust, those nations who pay them this homage do it voluntarily, and experience no interference in their internal affairs. The maxims of Confucian polity, aided by the temper of the people, have had some effect, in the lapse of years, upon the nature of this quasi feudality. The weaker nations looked up to China, since they could look no higher, and their advances in just government, industry, and arts, is not a

little owing to their political intercourse during past centuries.

The Chinese Empire is a notable example of the admirable

results of a peaceful policy ; and the sincere desire of every

well-wnsher of his race doubtless is that this mighty mass of

human beings may be Christianized and elevated from their

present ignorance and weakness by a like peaceful infusion of

the true principles of good order and liberty.

Many treatises upon the art and practice of war exist, one of

which, called the Soldier’s Manual^ in eighteen chaptei’s, contains

some good directions. The lirst chapter treats of the

mode of marching, necessity of having plans of the country

through which the army is to pass, and cautions the troops

against harassing tlie people unnecessarily—not a useless admonition,

fur a body of Chinese soldiers is too often like a

swarm of locusts upon the land. The second chaj)ter teaches

the mode of buildino- bridges, the need there is of cautious explorations

in marching, and of sending out scouts ; this subject

is also continued in the next section, and directions given about

castrametation, placing sentries, and keeping the troops on the

alert, as well as under strict discipline in camp. The rest of

the book is chiefly devoted to directions for the management of

an actual battle, sending out spies beforehand, choosing positions,

and bringing the various parts of the army into action at

the best time. The hope of reward is held out to induce the

soldier to be brave, and the threats of punishment and death if

he desert or turn his back in time of battle.

‘ Chinese Eepositoi-y, Vol. XI., p. 487.

The utility of music in encouraging the soldiers and exciting them to the charge is fully appreciated, but to our notions it no more deserves the name of music tliaii the collection ol half-drilled louts in petticoats does that of an arnn’, when compared with a European force. Still, its antiquity, if nothing else, renders it a subject of great interest to the musical student, while its power over the people seems to be none the less because it is unscientific. However small their attainments in the theory and practice of music, no nation gives to this art a higher place. It was regarded by Confucius as an essential part in the government of a state, harmonizing and softening the relations between the different ranks of society, and causing them all to move on in consentaneous accord. It is remarked of the sage himself that having heard a tune in one of his ramblings, he did not know the taste of food for three weeks after—but, with all deference to the feelings of so distinguished a man, we cannot help thinking his food might have been quite as palatable without music, if it was no better then than it is at the present day. The Chinese never had anything like the musical contests among the Greeks, and their efforts have been directed to develop instrumental rather than vocal music.

The names and characters used for notes in vocal music are here given, though their real tone cannot be accurately represented by our staff. The second octave is denoted by affixing the sign jin, ‘a man,’ to the simple notes, or as shown in the second c7te, by a peculiar hooked bottom.

-^ ng Tj j: K i fL 7*; ^ fL ji: J^i^h

CHINESE MUSICAL NOTATION. 93

Barrow says that the Chinese learned this mode of writing music from Pereira, a llomaii Catholic missionary, in 1670, but its existence in Japan and Corea invalidates this statement.

There are two kinds of nmsic, known as the Southern and Northern, which differ in their character, and are readily recognized by the people. The octave in the former seems to have had only six notes, and the songs of the Miaotu and rural people in that portion of China are referable to such a gamut, while the eight-tone scale generally prevails in all theatres and more cultivated circles. Further examination by competent observers who can jot down on such a gamut the airs they hear in various regions of China, is necessary to ascertain these interesting points, which now seem to carry us back to remote antiquity, and have been noticed in other countries than China.

In writing instrumental music, marks, meaning io jmsh^Jilli^p, hool; etc., are added to denote the mode of playing the string; the two are united into very complicated combinations. For instance, in writing a tune for the lute or kin, ” each note is a chister of characters ; one denotes the string, another the stud, a third informs you in what manner the lingers of the right hand are to be used, a fourth does the same in reference to the left, a fifth tells the performer in what way he must slide the hand before or after the appropriate sound has been given, and a sixth says, perhaps, that two notes are to be struck at the same time.” These complex notes are difficult to learn and remember, therefore the Chinese usually play by the ear. This mode of notation, in addition to its complexity, must be varied by nearly every kind of instrument, inasmuch as the combinations fitted for one instrument are inapplicable to another; but music is written for only a few instruments, such as the lute and the guitar.

These notes, when simply written without directions condiined with them as described above, indicate only their pitch in a certain scale, and do not denote either the length or the absolute pitch ; they are written perpendicularly, and various marks of direction are given on the side of the column regarding the proportionate length of time in which certain notes are to be played, others to be trilled or repeated once, twice, or more times, and when the performer is to pause. Beats occur at regular intervals in some of the written tunes ; all muisic is in common time and no triple measures are used, yet time is pretty well observed in orchestras. Of harmony and counterpoint they know nothing ; the swell, diminish, flat, sharp, appogiatura, tie, and other marks which assist in giving expression to our written music, are for the most part unknown, nor are tunes set to any key. The neatness and adaptation of the European notation is better appreciated after studying the clumsy, imperfect mode which is here briefly described.’

No description can convey a true idea of Chinese vocal music, and few persons are able to imitate it when they have heard it. De Guignes says, ” It is possible to sing a Chinese song, but I think it would be very difficult to give it the proper tone without having heard it by a native, and I rather believe that no one can perfectly imitate their notes.” They seem, in some cases, to issue from the larynx and nose, the tongue, teeth, and lips having little to do with them, the modulation being made mostly with the muscles of the bronchia ; at other times, the

enunciation of the words requires a little more use of the lips

and teeth. Singing is generall}’ on a falsetto key ; and this

feature prevails throughout. Whether in the theatre or in the

street, about the house or holding the guitar or lute, both men

and women sing in this artificial tone somewhere between a

squeal and a scream, and which no western musical instrument

is able to imitate. Its character is plaintive and soft, not full

or exhibiting much compass, though when two or three females

sing together in recitative, not destitute of sweetness. Bass and

tenor are not sung by men, nor a second treble by females, and

the two performers are seldom heard together among the thousands

of street musicians who get a precarious living by their

skill in this line, as they accompany the guitar or rebeck. The

chanting in Buddhist services resembles the Ambrosian and early

Gregorian tones, and is accompanied only by striking a block

‘ Compare Dr. Jenkins in the Jmimal N. C. Br. R. A. S., Vol. V., 1868, pp.30 ff., and Rev. E. W. Syle in ib. Vol. II., 1859, p. 17G ; Pere Amiot in Mem.mnc. les CMnois, Vol. VI., pp. 1 ff.; Notes <ind Queries on C. and «/., Vol. IV.,Arts. 2 and ;}. Pt-rny Did., app. No. XIV., p. 443.

CHINESE TUNES. 97

and marking the time; the tenor voices of boys make a strong contrast to the gruff bass voices of the men in this service; some of the latter will carry their part as low as an octave below C or D in the bass, sounding most sepulchrally, like a trombone.

Three of the tunes insei’ted in Barrow’s Travels are here quoted as specimens of Chinese airs The first is the most popular, the second, conmion at Shanghai, is called Liih ixvn^ or ‘ Six Boards,’ it has a strain at the beginning and end additional to the usual form.

MOH-Ll HWA ; OR, THE JASMINE FLOWER.

^^^^xjimt^-

Hao ye to sien hva, Yu chao yu jih

How sweet this branch of fresh flower?, On the morn of the day

I W=^

e.^EiE^EfeiEi^^±^2

loh tsai ICO kia,

’twas dropped in my house ;

IVo pun tai puh chu mun,

I’ll wear it myself, yet not out of doors,

^ ^^^P 3^ W

Tui choh sien hira, ^rh loh.

But will match it with others, and make myself glad.

Hao ye to Moh-l’i hica,

Miran yuen hwa kai sho puh kwei la,

Wo pun tai tsz^ ye ta,

Tai yu kung kan hira jin ma.

How sweet this sprig of the jasmine flower!

Through the whole plat there’s none to equal it;

I myself will wear this new plucked sprig,

Though I fear all who sec it will envy me.

LUH PAN ; OK, THE SIX BOAKDS.

^

^^^^m^

^^^i^S^^^^^

^^^^^

-^-

aij=a- ^^^^^^^^

^=^ ^^^^^^s

^^^^^^^1^

STRINGED INSTRUMENTS OF MUSIC. 99

The literature on the art of music is large. One treatise on heating drums scientilically dates from ahom tne year 860 A D , and contains a list of about one hundred and twenty-nine symphonies, nuxny of which are of Indian origin Among the seventy-two instruments hriefly described in the C7unese Chrestoraathj, there are seventeen kinds of drums, from the large ones suspended in temples to assist in worship to others of lesser size and diverse shape used in war, in theatres, and in bands.

Gongs, cjnibak, tambourines, and musical vases are also described

in considerable variety ; the last consisting of a curious

arrangement of twelve cups, more or less filled with water, and

struck with rods. The Chinese are fond of the tinkling of

small pieces of sonorous glass, caused by the wind striking them

against each other as they are suspended from a frame or lamp.

The simple succession of sounds arising from striking upon a

liarmonicon, jingling these glasses together, or touching different

sized cymbals suspended in a frame, is a favorite species of

music.

The stringed instruments to be played by thrumming are not as numerous as those of percussion, but they display more science. Nothing resembling the harp or Apollo’s lyre has been observed among them. The Z///, or ‘scholar’s lute,’ is considered as the most finished, and has received more attention than any other orchestral implement ; to excel in playing it is regarded as a scholarly accomplishment. A work entitled The Lute-l*laijcr”s Easy Lesmns, in two volumes, contains explanations of one hundred and nine terms and is illustrated by twenty nine pictures of the position of the hands to aid in a full understanding of the twenty-three sets of tunes given in the second volume. This lute, it may be added, is of very ancient origin and derives its name from the word Jcin, ‘ to prohibit,’ ” because it restrains and checks evil passions and corrects the human heart.” It is a board about four feet in length and eighteen inches wide, convex above and flat beneath, where are

two holes opening into hollows. There are seven strings of silk,

which pass over a bridge near the wide end through the board,

and are tightened by nuts beneath ; they are secured on two

pegs at the smaller end. The sounding-board is divided by

thirteen studs, ” so placed that the length of the strings is

divided first into two equal parts, then into three, etc., up to

eight, with the omission of the seventh. The seven sti-ings inclose

the compass of a ninth or two-fifths, the middle one being

treated like A upon the violin, viz., as a middle string, and each

of the outer ones is tuned a fifth from it. This interval is treated like our octave in the violin, for the compass of the Idn is made up of fifths. Each of the outer strings is tuned a fourth from the alternate string within the system, so that there is a major tone, an interval tone less than a minor third, and a major tone in the fifth. The Chinese leave the interval entire, and skip the half tone, while we divide it into two unequal parts. It will therefore readily appear that the mood or character of the music of the hln must be very different from that of western instruments, so that none of them can exactly do justice to the Chinese airs. One of the peculiarities in performing on the lute is sliding the left hand fingers along the string, and the trilling and other evolutions they are made to execute.”

There are other instruments similar to the hin^ one with thirty, and another with thirteen strings, played with plectrums. The number of instruments resembling the guitar, lute, cithern, spinet, etc., is cousiderable, some with silken, others with wire strings, but none of catgut. The balloon-shaped guitar, or 2nj>c(-, has four strings arranged and secured like those of a violin; it is about three feet lung, and the unvarnished upper table has twelve frets to guide the performer. The strings are tuned at the intervals of a fourth, a major tone, and a fourth, so that the outer strings are octaves to each other; but the player generally avoids the semitones. The j’U”^ frequently accompanies the songs of strolling musicians and ballad singers. The san hlen, or ‘three-stringed guitar’, resembles a rebeck in its contour, but the neck and head is three feet long, and the body is cylindrical and hollow, usually covered with snake’s skin, upon

which the bridjire is set. The strini:;s are tuned as fourths to

each othei’, and in this respect it seems to be the counterpart of

the Grecian mercurian ; their sound is low and dull, and the

instrument is sometimes played in company with the 2n2>a.

Another kind of guitar, called yueh kin, or ‘ full moon guitar,’

has a large round belly and short neck, resembling the theorbo

or arch lute of Europe, but with only four strings, while that

had ten or more. These four strings stand in pairs that are

unisons with each other, having an interval of a fifth interposed

between the pairs. Tiie sound is smarter than that from the

pij[)a or Jiin, and it is used in lively tunes, the strings being

WIND INSTRUMENTS. 101

struck briskly witli the iniil or .a plectriiin. Similar in its construction

to the san hien is the rebeck, or two-stringed fiddle,

tlie rude appearance of which corresponds to the thin grating

sounds which issue from it. This instrument is merely a

bamboo stick thrust into a cylinder of the same material, and

having two strings fastened at one end of the stick on pegs, and

passing over a bridge on the cylinder to the other end ; they

are tuned at intervals of a fifth. The bow passes between the

two sti-ings, and as they are near each other, much of the skill

required to play it is exhibited in wielding the bow so as not to

make discord by scraping it against the wrong string while tvying

to produce a given sound. Europeans wonder how the Chinese

can be delighted with the harsh gratings of this wretched

machine, but none of their musical instruments are more popular,

and the skill they exhibit in playing it deserves a better

reward in the melody of the notes. A modification of it, called

ti kin, or ‘crowing lute,’ is made by employing a cocoanut for

the belly ; its sounds are, if anything, more dissonant.

The 1/ang hin is a kind of dulcimer, consisting of a greater or

less number of brass wires of different lengths, tuned at proper

intervals, and fastened upon a sounding-board ; it is played with

light hammers, and forms a rudimentary piano-forte, but the

sounds are very attenuated. The samj is in like manner the

embryo of the organ ; it is a hollow conical-shaped box, which

corresponds to a wind -chest, having a mouthpiece on one side,

and communicating with thirteen reeds of different lengths inserted

in the top ; some of the tubes are provided with valves,

part of them opening upward and part downward, so that some

of them sound when the breath fills the wind-box, and others

are only heard when it is sucked out and the air rushes down

the tubes to refill it. The tubes stand in groups of four, four,

three, two, around the top, and those having ventiges are placed

so that the performer can open or close them at pleasure as he

holds it. By covering the first set of holes and gently breathing

in the mouthpiece, a sweet concert of sounds is produced,

augmented to the octave and twelfth as the force of the breath

is increased. By stopping certain groups, other notes, shriller

and louder, are emitted ; and any single tube can be sounded by inhaling the wind from the wind-box and stopping the other holes. It is a simple thing and no doubt among the most ancient of musical instruments, but it possesses no scope nor means of varying the tone of the tubes. Mr. Lay thinks it to be identical in principle and form with the organ invented by Jubal ; the Chinese regard it more as a curious instrument than one possessing claims to adnuration or attention.

Their wind instruments are numerous, but most of them are

remarkable rather for clamor than sweetness or compass. The’

h icang tih^ or flute, is about twice the length of our fife, and made

of a bamboo tube neatly prepared and pierced with ten holes,

two of which ai’e placed near the end and unused, and one midway

between the enibouchuro and the six equidistant ones for the

fingers. This additional hole is covered with a thin film ; the

mouth-hole is bored about one-third of the way from the top.

Tliei’e are no keys, and the performers generally blow upon the

embouchure so violently that the sounds are shrill and harsh, but

when several of them play together the concert is more agreeable.

The congener of the flute is the iiliii tlh, or clarinet, which takes

the lead in all musical performances, as it does in western bands.

It has seven effective lioles, one of which is stopped by the thumb,

but no kej-s; the bell is of coppor and sits loose upon the end,

and the copper mouthpiece is ornamented Mith rings, and blown

through a reed. The tones produced by it are shrill and deafening,

and none of their instruments better characterize Chinese

musical taste. A smaller one, of a sweeter tone, like a flageolet,

is sometimes fitted with a singular shaped reed, so that it can be

played upon by the nose. Street musicians sometimes endeavor

to transform themselves into a travelling orchestra. One of

these peripatetic Orpheuses will fit a flageolet to his nose, sling

a small drum under one shoulder, and suspend a framework of

four small cymbals upon the breast; the man, thus accoutred,

aided by a couple of monkeys running after him, or sitting on

his head and shoulders, goes from street to street singing a ])liiintive

ditty, and accompanying his voice with his instruments,

and drawing a crowd with his moidceys.

The horn i-csenibles a trombone in principle, for the shaft is

retractible within the cylindrical copper bell, and can be lengthtup:

horn, gong, etc. 103

ened at pleasure. The sound is very grave, and in processions

its hollow booming forms a great contrast to the shrill clarinets

and cymbals. Another kind of horn, less grave, is made of a

crooked stem expanding into a small l)ell at tlie end ; the shaft

is of two parts, one drawing into the other, so that the depth of

tone can be modified. A long straight horn, resembling the

funeral pipe of the Jews, is sometimes heard on funeral occasions,

but this and the clarion, ti-umpet, and other kinds of pipes of

ancient and modern make are not common.

The Zo, or gong, is the type of Chinese music : a crashing harangue of rapid blows upon this sonorous plate, with a rattling accompaniment on small drums, and a crackling symphony of shrill notes from the clarinet and cymbal, constitute the chief features of their musical performances. The Emperor Kanghi endeavored to introduce foreign tunes and instruments among his courtiers, and the natives at Macao have heard good music from the Portuguese bands and choirs in that city from childhood, but not an instrument or a tune has been adopted by them.

It seems to be a rule in Chinese music that the gong should only vary in rapidity of strokes, while the alternations of time into agreeable intervals are left to the drums. ” This want of perception as to what is pleasing in i-hythmical succession of sounds,” Lay well observes, ” is connected with another fact—the total absence of metrical effect in national poetry. The verses contain a particular number of words and set pauses in each line, but there is nothing like an interchange of long and short sounds. Among the Greeks the fall of the smith’s hammer, the stroke of the oar, and the tread of the soldier in armor suggested some poetic measure, and their music exhibits a world of curious metres. But nothing of the sort can be heard in China, amid all the sounds and noises that salute the ear in a noisy country.” It is probable that the impracticable, monosyllabic nature of the language has contributed to this result; though the genius and temperament of the people are the chief reasons.

A Chinese orchestra or band, when in full note, strikes upon the ear of a European as a collection of the most discordant sounds, and he immediately thinks of Hogarth’s picture of the Enraged Musician, as the best likeness of its dissonance. It seems, when hearing them, as if each performer had his own tune, and was trying to distinguish himself above his competitors by his zeal and force ; but on listening carefully he will observe, amid the clangoi’, that they keep good time, one taking the octave, and the different instruments striking in with some regaj’d to parts, only, however, to confound the confusion still more because they are not tuned on the same key. Bands and orchestras are employed on occasions of marriages and funerals, theatrical exhibitions, religions or civic processions, and reception of officers, but not to a very great extent in temples or ancestral worship ; no nation makes more use of such music as they have than the Chinese. The people have an ear for music, and young men form clubs to learn and practise on various instruments and fit themselves for playing at weddings or birthday festivals. In respect to adopting foreign harmonies, which youths soon learn to appreciate when taught in mission schools, there is likely to be no competition, owing to the great differences between them. ‘

From this account of Chinese mnsic, it may be readily inferred

that it is not of such a character as to start the hearers off in a

lively dance. A sort of nnimmer or posture-making is practised

by persons attached to theatrical companies, and pantomimic

art seems to have been understood in ancient times, but the

exhibitions of it were probably as jejune as the caperings of

puppets. As acrobats the Chinese are equal to any nation, and

companies have performed in many western capitals within a

few years past. Some of their performances are highly exciting,

as throwing sharp cleavers at a man fastened to a post, till he

cannot stir without cuttinji; himself afirainst their blades, is a

common exhibition. To go through the tragedy of trying, con-

‘ Chinese as Ihey Are, Chap. VIII. Chinese Repository, Vol. VIII., pp. 30-54. Chinese Chrestouyithy, pp. 85G–3G5. Journal N. C. Br. R. A. Soc, No. II., 1859,p. 176 ; No. v., 1808, p. 30. Journal of the Asiatic Soc. of Japan, 1877, Vol.v., pp. 170-179. German Asiatic Soc. of Japan, 1876. Grosier, Description fjenerale (U la Chine, Tome VI., p. 258. Doolittle, Soricd TAfe, Vol. II., p. 216. Barrow’s Travels, pp. 313-323. Memoires cone, les Chinois, Tomes I., III.,VI., etc.; for ancient musical knowledge, the last still furnishes the best analysis yet made.

DANCING AND THE FINK ARTS. 105

delnning, and killing a boy by stabbing him in the belly is not

so connnon ; the imitation of the gasping chest and pallid death

hue are wotiderfnlly natural. Ventriloquism, writing answers

to questions asked of the spirits by means of rods moving over

a dusted table, and other black art or magical tricks have long

been known. In dancing and other forms of graceful motion

they are entirely wanting, and one would almost as soon think

of associating music and medicine as that Chinese music should

be accompanied by quadrilles and cotillons, or that men witli

shoes like pattens could lead off women with feet like hoofs

through the turns and mazes of a waltz or fandango.

Their deficiencies in music will not lead us to expect much from them in painting or sculpture, for all flow so much from the same general perception of the beautiful in sound, form, and color, that where one is deficient all are likely to be unappreciated.

This want in Chinese mind (for we are hardly at liberty to call it a defect) is, to a greater or less degree, observable in all the races of Eastern Asia, none of whom exhibit a high appreciation of the beautiful or sublime in nature or art, or have produced much which proves that their true principles were ever understood. Painting is rather behind sculpture, but neither can be said to have advanced beyond rude imitations of nature.

Even the best painters have no proper idea of perspective or

of blending light and shade, but the objects are exhibited as

much as possible on a flat surface, as if the painter drew his

picture from a balloon, and looked at the country with a vertical

sun shining above him. As might be inferred from their

deficiencies in linear drawing and landscapes, they eminently

fail in delineating the human figui-e in its right proportions,

position, and expressions, and of grouping the persons introduced

into a piece in natural attitudes. The study of the human

figure in all its proportions lias not been attended to by

painters any more than its anatomy has by surgeons. Shadows

upon portraits are considered a great defect, and in order to

avoid them a front view is usually taken. Landscapes are also

painted without shading, the remote objects being as minutely

depicted as those in the foreground, and the point of view in pieces of any size is changed for the nearer and remote pavts. There is no vanishing point to their pictures, as might be inferred from their ignorance of perspective and the true elements of art.

Representation of a Man Dreaming.

Outline drawing is a favorite style of the art, and the wealthy adorn their houses with rough sketches in ink of figures and landscapes; but the humblest of such compositions as are common in the galleries and studios of western countries have never been produced by Chinese artists. Some of their representations of abstract ideas are at least singular to us, and, like many other things brought from their country, attract notice from their oddity.

ATTAINMENTS IN DRAWING AND COLORING. 107

Their coloring is executed with great skill and accuracy—too much, indeed, in many cases, so that the painting loses something of the effect it would otherwise have from the scrupulous minuteness of the detail, though it looks well in paintings of flowers, animals, costumes, ornaments, and other single objects where this filling up is necessary to a true idea of the original. The tints of the Innnan countenance are no better done, however.

than its liueaiiieiits, aiul the lifeless opacity suggests the idea

that the artist was not called in until his patron was about to

be entombed from the sight of his soi-rowing family. The

paintings obtained at Canton may, some of them, seem to disprove

these opinions of the mediocrity attained by the artists

in that country, but the productions of the copyists in that city

are not the proper criteria of native uneducated art. Some of

them have had so nnich practice in copying foreign productions

that it has begun to cori-ect their own notions of designing.

These constitute, however, a very small proportion of

the whole, and have had no effect on national taste. The designs

to 1)0 seen on plates and bowls are, although not the best,

fairer specimens of art than the pieces sometimes procured at

Canton. The beautiful fidelity with which engravings are

copied at Canton is well seen in the paintings on ivory, especially

miniatures and figures, some of which fully equal similar

productions made elsewhere.’

As samples of Chinese illustrative art, the two adjoining

wood-cuts may be considered as quite up to the average of

their fairest achievements. The story of the first in bi-ief is as

follows: In the district of Tsungngan lived a crafty plebeian,

who, envying the good fortune of all about him, became especially

covetous of the burial ground of his district magistrate

Chu. Hoping to gain a surreptitious benefit from the

felicitous luck of the plat, he secretly buried his own tombstone

there, and at the end of several years brought suit for its

recovery. Unable to comprehend the affair, Chu repaired to

the burial spot, where indeed the geomancy of the grave was

found to be entirely in accord with the rules, but upon removing

the earth the stone of his enemy’s remote ancestry was disclosed.

‘ Compare Owen Jones, Grammnr of Ornament, Chap. XIV. , and Examples of CMiieHe Ornament (London, 18()7). Gazette des Beaux-Artu for October and November, 187:5, and January, 1874.

The Vengeance of Heaven upon the False Grave.

EXAMPLES OF CHINESE ILLUSTRATIVE ART. 109

The suit was in consequence declared against him, Chu removed his residence to the black tea country, and his envious neighbor entered in triumph upon possession of the graveyard. Not so readily, however, did the powers above condone this iniquity. One night there arose a tempest of unheard-of violence, when the thunder iuul lightning were indescribable, the hideons roar and Hash of which terrified the countiy far and near, boding no good to its wretched inhabitants. The following morning the grave was discovered in ruins, stone and epitaph uprooted, even the corpse and coffin missing. The vengeance of liea\eu had repaired tlu; injustice of man.

The illustration which depicts the tempest personified in its

full terror shows us the Lai Kttiuj, or God of Thunder, almost

the only Chinese mythological deity who is drawn with wings.

The cock’s head and claws, the hammer and chisel, representing

the splitting peal attending a flash, the circlet of fire encompassing

a number of drums to typify the reverberating thunder

and the ravages of the irresistible lightning, present a grotesque

ensemble which is quite unique even among the Vizarrerie of

oriental figures ; the somewhat juvenile attempts of the artist

to sketch the destruction and rifling of the grave are much less

notable.

Concerning the subject of the second illustration (taken, with the other, from the Sacred Edict of Kangxi), we are told that one Yuen, having conceived a violent hatred against an acquaintance, set out one morning, knife in hand, with the purpose of killing him. A venerable man sitting in a convent saw him pass, and was amazed to observe several scores of spirits closely following him, some of whom clutched his weapon, while others seemed endeavoring to delay his progress. “About A would-be Assassin followed by Spirits.

SYMBOLISM OF THE CHINESE. Ill

the space of a meal-time” the patriarch noticed Yueirs return, accompanied this time by more than a hundred spirits wearing golden caps and bearing banners raised on high. Yuen himself appeared with so happy a face, in place of his gloomy countenance of the early morning, that the old man sadly concluded that his enemy must be dead and his revenge gratified. ” When you passed this way at daybreak,” he asked, ” where were you going, and how do you return so soon ? ” ” It was owing to my quarrel with Miu,” said Y^ien, ” that made me wish to kill him. But in passing this convent door better thoughts came to me as I pondered upon the stress his wife and children would come to, and of his aged mother, none of whom had done me wrong. I determined then not to kill him, and return thus promptly

from my evil purpose.” It hardly needed the sage’s commendations

to increase the reformed murderer’s inner contentment,

imparted by the train of ghostly helpers ; he continued on his

way rejoicing. The reader may notice a pictoi-ial idea as well

as a moral not unlike those of more western countries.

The syml)olisni of the Chinese has not attracted the notice of

foreign writers as much as it deserves. It meets us everywhere—

on plates and crockery, on carpets, rugs, vases, wall

pictures, shop signs, and visiting cards. Certain animals stand

for well-understood characters in the language, and convey

their sense to the native without any confusion. Owing to the

similarity of sound, fuh denotes hat and ha_i>p\nem, and luh

stands for deer and official emolument. The cliaracter shao,

mtaning ‘longevit}’,’ is represented in many ways—an old man

leaning on his staff; a pine tree cut into the form of the character;

a tortoise, which is among the longest-lived reptiles; a

stork, supposed to be a bird which attains a great age, and a

fabulous peach which is a thousand years ripening. A dragon

and a phoenix, c^x fung-iokang, are emblems of a newly wedded

pail*, and various modes of combination are adopted to represent

marriage relations.

A rug w’ill sometimes tell a story very neatly to the eye. In the centre is the Raxtstica, or ‘hammer of Thor,’ which denotes all., and symbolizes all happiness that humanity desires. On the right is the luh, or ‘deer,’ which denotes honor and success in study, carrying the yii-‘i, or Buddhist scepter, in its mouth, meaning success in literary labors. On the left is pictured a goose, indicating domestic felicity, and two bats complete the rug, with its good wishes.

In the plate represented in the picture the central figure is clad in the ancient costume of officials bearing the insignia or baton of a minister of State. The old man, with his gourd and peach, indicates an extreme and happy old age; and the figure with the basket corresponds to the cornucopia of western emblems. The five bats symbolize the wufu, or ‘five happinesses,’ which all mankind desires— riches, longevity, sound body, love of virtue, and a peaceful end.

Symbols of Happiness and Old Age. (From a plaque.)

The visiting card and note paper often indicate in their adornments a good wish and a motto which does credit to the taste and heart of the designer. A most graceful and not nncommon way of wishing a guest good luck is to depict some happy emblem or a sentence of the language with a fortunate meaning on the bottom of his tea-cup. The characters ” May your happiness know no bounds ” frequently occur in this position, and the oft-recurring five bats or three peaches can be employed with like signification. The mandarin duck is a well understood emblem for conjugal affection ; again, a cock and hen standing on an artificial i”ock-work symbolize the pleasures of a country life. Sometimes the eight symbols peculiar to the Buddhist sect, or the pah s/’en (‘ eight genii’) indicative of their protection, are seen in the border of a plaque amid a device of running arabesques. The favorite dragon, in an infinite diversity of shapes, adorns the fiiici- qualities of cups, plates, bowls, and vases, to represent imperial grandeur, but common people are not wont to use such patterns.

PAINTING ON PITir-I’ArER AND LEAVES. 113

The brilliant paintings on pith-paper, or rice-paper as it is commonly but incorrectly called, deserve special mention for their singular delicacy and spirit. This substance, whose velvety surface contrasts so admirably with bright colors, is a delicate vegetable film, consisting of long hexagonal cells, whose length is parallel to the surface of the film, and which are filled with air when the film is in its usual state ; the peculiar softness

which so well adapts it for receiving colors is owing to tliis

structure. It is obtained from the pith of a species of Fatsia, a

plant allied to the Aralia, growing in Formosa and Yunnan, in

nuirshy districts. It is cultivated to some extent, but mostly

gathered \i\ cutting the branches of the wild plants, which resemble

the elder. This pitli forms a large item in the internal

trade of China, and is worked up into toys as well as cut into

sheets. The fragments are used to stuff pillows or fill up the

soles of shoes, or wherever a light, dry material is needed. The

largest and best sheets (ten l)y fifteen inches) are selected for

the painters at Hongkong and Canton, where many hundreds

of workmen are employed in making them. Under the direction

of foreign ladies at Amoy and elsewhere, most accurate

imitations of flowers and bouquets are now made I)y natives out

of pith-paper. The pieces are cut nearly a foot long, and the

pith is forced out by driving a stick into one end ; it is then wet

and put into bamboos, where it swells and dries straight. If

too short to furnish the i-equired breadth, several bits are pressed

together until they adhere and make one long straight piece.

The paring knife reseml)lcs a butcher’s cleaver, a thin find

sharp l)]ade, which is touched u]) on a block of iron-wood at the

last moment. The pith is pared on a square tile, having its

ends guarded by a thin strip of ])rass, on which the knife rests.

The pith is rolled over against its edge with the left hand ; the

right firmly holds it, slowly moving it leftward, as the workman

pulls and rolls the pith in the same direction, as far as the tile

allows. The pared sheet runs under the knife, and the paring

goes on until only a center three or four lines thick is left ; and this remnant the thirifty workmen use or sell for an aperient The paring resembles the operation of cutting out corks, and

produces a smooth slieet about four feet long, the first half foot

being too much grooved to be of use. The fresh sheets are

pressed in a pile, smoothed by ironing and their fractures

mended with mica. Most of the paper is trimmed into square

sheets for the makers of artificial fiowers, and sold in Formosa

at about eight cents for five hundred sheets. An India-ink outline

is first transferred l)y dampening and pressing it upon the

paper, when the ink strikes off sufliciently to enable the workman

to fill up the sketch ; one outline will serve for limning

several copies, and in large establishments the separate colors

are laid on by different workmen. The manufacture of these

paintings at Canton employs between two and three thousand

hands.

Another tissue sometimes used by the Chinese for painting,

more remarkable for its singularity than elegance, is the reticulated

nerve-work of leaves, the parenchyma of the leaf having

been removed by maceration, and the membrane filled with

isinglass. The appearance of a painting on this transparent

substance is pretty, but the colors do not retain their brilliancy.

The Chinese admire paintings on glass, and some of the moonlight

scenes or thunderstorms are good specimens of their art.

The clouds and dark parts are done with India-ink, and a dark

shade well befitting the subject is imparted to the whole scene

by underlaying it with a piece of blackish paper. Portraits and

other subjects are also done on glass, but the indifferent execution

is rendered still more conspicuous by the transparency of

the ground ; the Hindus purchase large quantities of such glass

pictures of their gods and goddesses. Looking-glasses are also

painted on the back with singular eifect by removing the quicksilver

with a steel point according to a design previously sketched, and then painting the denuded portion.

CHINESE SCULPTURE AND CARICATURE. 115

Statuary is confined (thiefiy to molding idols out of clay or cutting them from wood, and carving animals to adorn balus’ trades and temples. Idols are generally made in a sitting posture and dressed, the face and hands being the only parts of the body seen, so that no opportunity is afforded for imitating the muscles and contour of tlie figure. The hideous monsters which

guard the entrance of temples often exhibit more artistic skill

than the unmeaning images enshrined within, and some even

display much knowledge of character and proportion. Among

their best performances in statuettes are the accurate baked and

painted models of different classes of people ; Canton and Tientsin

artists excel in this branch.

Animals are sculptured in granite and cast in bronze, showing

great skill and patience in the detail work ; deformity in the

model has resulted in the production of such animals, indeed, as

were probably never beheld in any world. Images of lions,

tigers, tortoises, elephants, rams, and other animals ornament

bridges, temples, and tombs. The elephants in the long avenue

of warriors, horses, lions, etc., leading up to the tomb of the

Emperor Ilungwu at Xanking are the only tolerable representations

of their originals ; the gigantic images guarding the

tomb of Yungloh, his son, at Changping, near Peking, are

noticeable for size alone. The united effect of the elaborate

carving and grotesque ornaments seen upon the roofs, woodwork,

and pillars of buildings is not devoid of beauty, though in their

details there is a great violation of the true principles of art,

just as the expression of a face may please which still has not a

handsome feature in it. Short columns of stone or wood, surmounted by a lion, and a dragon twining around the shaft, the whole cut out of one block ; or a lion sejant with half a dozen cubs crawling over his body, are among the ornaments of temples and graves which show the taste of the people.

The Chinese have a sense of the ridiculous, and exhibit it

both in their sculpture and drawing in many ways. Lampoons,

pasquinades, and caricatures are common, nor is any pei’son

below the dragon’s throne spared by their pens or pencils, though

they prefer subjects not likely to involve the authors—as in the

one here selected from the many elicited during the war of 1840.

By far the best specimens of sculpture are their imitations of

fruits, flowers, animals, etc., cut out of many kinds of stone,

from gnarled roots of bamboo, wood, and other materials ; but

in these we admire the unwearied patience and cunning of the

workmen in making gi’otesque combinations and figures out of apparently intractable materials, and do not seek for any indications of a pni’e taste or embodiment of an exalted conception.

Inscriptions of a religions or geomantic cliai’acter are often cntnpon the faces of rocks, as was tlie case in India and Arabia,* and tlie pictnrescpie characters of the language make a pretty appearance in such situations.

Caricature of an English Foraging Party.

The small advances made in architecture have already been noticed in Chapter XIII.—a deficiency exhibited in the Iluns and other nations of the Mongolian stock long after they had settled in Europe and Western Asia ; nor was it imtil their amalgamation with the imaginative nations of Southern Europe

had changed their original character that grand performances

in architecture appeared among the latter. If the Chinese had

a model of the Parthenon or the Pantheon in their own

country, belike they would measurably imitate it in every part,

but they would erect dozens in the same fashion. Perhaps

an infusion of elegance and taste would liave been imparted to

them if the people had had frequent intercourse witii more im-

‘ Compare Job XXX., 24.

LIMITATIONS OF TIIKIll AlinilTKOTURE. 117

ainiiative nations, 1)ut wlicn tlici’c wei-c no models of this superior

kind to follow there was no likelihood of their originatihg

them. In lightei’ edifices, as ])avilions, rest-houses, kiosks,

and arbors, there is, however, a degree of taste and adaptation

that is umisual in other buildings, and (juite in keeping with

their fondness for tinsel and gilding rather than solidity and

grandeur. On this point Lay’s remark on the characteristics of

the Attic, Egyptian, Gothic, and Chinese styles is apposite.

” If we would see beauty, size, and proportion in all their excellence,

we should look for it among the models of Greece ; if

we desire something that was wild and stupendous, we should

find it in Egypt ; if grandeur with a never-sated minuteness of

decoration please us, we need look no further than to a cathedral

; and lastly, if the romantic and the old-fashioned attract

our fancy, the Chinese can point us to an exhaustless store in

the recesses of their vast Empire. A lack of science and of conception

is seen in all their luiildings, but fancy seems to have

had free license to gambol at pleasure ; and wdiat the architect

wanted in developing a scheme he made up in a redundancy of

imagination.”

The Chinese have made but little progress in investigating the principles and forces of mechanics, but have practically understood most of the common powers in the various applications of which they are capable. The lever, wheel and axle, wedge and pinion, are all known in some form or other, but the modification of the wedge in the screw is not frequent. The sheave blocks on board their vessels have only one pulley, but they understand the advantages of the windlass, and have adopted the capstain in working vessels, driving piles, raising timber, etc. They have long understood the mode of raising weights by a hooked pulley running on a rope, attached at each end to a cylinder of unequal diameters; by this contrivance, as the rope wound around the larger diameter it ran off the snuiller one, raising the weight to the amount of the difference between the circumference of the two cylinders at a very small expense of strength. The graduations of the weighing-beam indicate their acquaintance with the relations between the balance and the weight on the long and short arm of the lever, and this mode of weighing is preferred for gold, pearls, and other valuable things. The overshot water-wheel is used to turn stones for grinding wheat and set in motion pestles to hull rice and press oil from seeds, i’,nd the undershot power for raising water.

There is a great expenditure of human strength in most of their contrivances; in many, indeed, the object seems to have been rather to give a direction to this strength than to abridge it. For instance, they put a number of slings under a heavy stone and carry it off bodily on poles, in preference to making a low car to roll it away at half the expense of human power.

In other departments of science the attainments of the people are few and imperfect. Chemistry and metallui’gy are unknown as sciences, but many operations in them are performed with a considerable degree of success. Sir J, Davis gives the detail of some experiments in oxidizing quicksilver and preparation of mercurial medicines which were performed by a native in the presence and at the request of Dr. Pearson at Canton, and ” afforded a curious proof of similar results obtained by the most different and distant nations possessing very unequal scientific attainments, and bore no unfavorable testimony to Chinese shrewdness and ingenuity in the existing state of their knowledge.” ‘ The same opinion might be safely predicated of their metallurgic manipulations; the character of the work is the only index of the efficacy of the process. In bronzes they take a high place, and the delicacy of their niello work in gold and silver, upon wood as well as metal, caimot be surpassed.

‘ The Chinese, Vol. II., pp. 260-270, 28G.

IDEAS ON Till-: STKUt’TUIlE OF TIIK IIFMAN HODY. 119

This compendious review of the science of the Chinese can be brought to a close by a brief account of their theory and practice of medicine and surgery. Although they are almost as superstitious as the Hindus or North American Indians, they do not depend upon inc^antations and charms for relief in case of sickness, but resort to the prescriptions of the physician as the most reasonable and likely way to recover; mixed up, indeed, with many strange practices to assist the efficacy of the doses. These vary in every part of the Empire, and show the power of ignorance to perpetuate and strengthen the strangest superstitions where health and life are involved. Doolittle has collected many instances, and the experience of medical missionaries is uniform in this matter.

The dissection of the human hody is never attempted, though

some notions of its internal structure are taught in medical

works, which are published in many forms. Mr. Wylie notices

fifty-nine treatises of a medical and physiological character in

his Notes on Chinese Literature. They contain references to

a far greater number of authors, some of whom flourished in

the earliest days of China, and many of whose writings exhibit

good sense and sound advice amid the strangest theories. Dr.

Harland has deseril)ed the Chinese ideas of the organization of

the body and the functions of the chief viscera in a lucid manner,

and the diagram shown on p. 120 presents the popular

opinions on this subject, for whatever foreigners may have imparted

to them has not yet become generally known.

The Chinese seem to have no idea of the distinction between venous and arterial blood, nor between muscles and nerves, applying the word hin to both tendons and nerves. According to these physiologists, the brain (A) is the abode of the yln principle in its perfection, and at its base (B), where there is a reservoir of the marrow, communicates through the spine with the whole body. The larynx (C) goes through the lungs directly to the heart, expanding a little in its course, while the pharynx(D) passes over them to the stomach. The lungs («, «, r/, a^ a, a) are white, and placed in the thorax; they consist of six lobes or leaves suspended from the spine, four on one side and two on the other; sound proceeds from holes in them, and they rule the various parts of the body. The centre of the thorax (or pit of the stomach) is the seat of the breath; joy and delight emanate from it, and it cannot be injured without danger. The heart {h) lies underneath the lungs, and is the prince of the body ; thoughts proceed from it. The pericardium {<) comes from and envelops the heart and extends to the kidneys.

There are three tubes communicating from the heart to the spleen, liver, and kidneys, but no clear ideas are held as to their office. Like the pharynx, they pass through the diaphragm, which is itself connected with the spine, ribs, and bowels. The Chinese Notions of the Internal Structure of the Human Body.

/I,/?—The brain. C—Larynx. D—Pharynx. a,a,«,«,rt,

a—Lungs. 6—Heart, c—Pericardium. U—Bond of connection

with tho spleen, e—The (Esophagus. /—Boiidnf

connection with the liver, (j—Bond of connection with

the kidneys, h—The diaphragm, i—Cardiac extremity.

;—The spleen, i—The stomach. /—Omentum. »«—The

pylorus. n,n,n,n,n.v—The liver, o—The gall-blndder.

;>—The kidneys, q—The small intestines, r—The largo

intestines, s—Caput coli. i—Thc navel, m—The blad

tier. ?’—The “gate of life.”‘ sometimes iiUu-ed in the

right kidney, zo—The rectum, x, y—The urinal and

foecal passages.

liver (??, ;?, ??, 71, v, 71) io

on the right side and has

seven lobes ; the soul resides

in it, and schemes

emanate from it ; tlie

gall-bladder (0) is below

and projects npward into

it, and when the person

is angry it ascends ; courage

dwells in it ; hence

the Chinese sometimes

procure the gall-bladder

of animals, as tigers and

bears, and even of men,

especially notorious bandits

executed for their

crimes, and eat the bile

contained in them, under

the idea that it will impart

courage. The spleen

{J) lies between the stomach

and diaphragm and

assists in digestion, and

the food passes from it

into the stomach {k), aud

hence through the pylorus

{m) into the large intestines.

The omentum [l) overlies the stomach, but its office is unknown, and the mesentery and pancreas are entirely omitted.

TIIEOKIES REGARDING OSTEOLOGY AND CIRCULATION. 121

The small intestines {(j) are connected with the heart, and the urine passes through them into the bladder, separating from the food or fseces at the caput coli iV), where they divide from the larger intestines.

The large intestines (/) are connected with the lungs and

lie in the loins, having sixteen convolutions. The kidneys {j))

are attached to the spinal marrow, and resemble an egg in shape,

and the subtle genei-ative fluid is eliminated by them above to the

brain and belo\v to the spermatic cord and sacral extremity ; the

testes, called wal shin, or ‘outside kidneys,’ communicate with

them. The right kidney, or the passage from it (v), is called

the ” gate of life,” and sends forth the subtle fluid to the spermatic

vessels. The bladder (u) lies below the kidneys, and receives

the urine from the small intestines at the iliac valve.

The osteology of the frame is briefly despatched : the pelvis, skull, forearm, and leg are considered as single bones, the processes of the joints being quite dispensed with, and the whole considered merely as a kind of internal framework, on and in which the necessary fleshy parts are upheld, but with which they have not much more connection by muscles and ligaments than the post has with the pile of mud it upholds. The TaiYiYuan, or Medical College at Peking, contains a copper model of a man, about six feet high, on which are given the names of the pulses in different places ; it is pierced with many small holes. In a.d. 1027 the Emperor had two anatomical figures made to illustrate the art of acupuncture, which is still practised. The irrigation of the body with blood is rather complicated, and authors vary greatly as to the manner in which it is accomplished. Some pictures represent tubes issuing from the fingers and toes, and running up the limbs into the trunk, where the}’ are lost, or reach the heart, lungs, or some other organ as well as they can, wandering over most parts of the body in their course.

Theories are furnished in great variety to account for the nourishment of the body and the functions of the viscera, and upon their harmonious connection with each other and the five metals, colors, tastes, and planets is founded the well-being of the system; with all they hold an intimate relation, and their actions are alike built on the all-pervading functions of the yin and yang—those universal solvents in Chinese philosophy. The pulse is very carefully studied, and its condition regarded as the

Bar,

mp:dical puactice of the Chinese. 123

The practice of the Chinese is far in advance of their theory, and some of their treatises on dietetics and medical practice contain good advice, the result of experience. Dr. W. Lockhart has translated n native treatise on midwifery, in which the author, conlining himself principally to the best modes of treatment in all the stages of parturition, and dwelling brieii}’ on the reasons of things, has greatly improved upon the physiologists.

This branch of the profession is almost entirely in the hands of

women. Sui-gical operations are chietly confined to removing a

tooth, puncturing sores and tumors with needles, or trying to

reduce dislocations and reunite fractures by pressure or bandaging.

Sometimes they successfully execute more difficult

cases, as the amputation of a finger, operation for a harelip,

and insertion of false teeth. In one case of dentistry four incisor

teeth made of ivory were strung upon a piece of catgut

and secured in their place b}- tying the string to the eye-teeth ;

they were renewed quarterly, and served their purpose tolerably

M’ell. The practice of acupuncture has some good results among

the bad ones.* That of applying cauteries and caustics of various

degrees of power is more general, and sometiuies entails

shocking distress upon the patient. Cases have presented themselves

at the hosj)itals, where small sores, by the application of

escharotics, have extended until a large part of the tissue, and

even important organs, have been destroyed, the charlatan

amusing his suffering patient by promises of ultimate cure.

The moxa, or burning the fiovvers of the amaranthus upon the

skin, is attended with less injury.

‘Compare Ri’mnsat {Xoiiveau.r Melangen Asiatiqves, Tome I., pp. 358-380),

Tui-ning in of the eyelashes is a common ailment, and native practitioners attempt to cure it by everting the lid and fastening it in its place by two slips of bamboo tightly bound on, or by a pair of tweezers, until the loose fold on the edge sloughs off: the eye is, however, more frequently disfigured by this clumsy process than is the trouble remedied. Poultices made of many strange or disgusting substances are applied to injured parts, who says that the first notion of acupuncture as practised in China was brought into Europe by one Ten-Rhyue, a Dutch surgeon, at the end of the seventeenth century.

Dr. Parker mentions the case of a man who, having injured

tlie iris by a fall, was ordered by his native physician to cut a

chicken in halves, laying one portion on the eye as a cataplasm

and eating the other as an internal cure. Venesection is rarely

attempted, but leeches and cupping are employed to remove the

blood from a particular spot. Blood-letting is disapproved in

fevers, ” for,” says the Chinese reasoner, ” a fever is like a pot

boiling ; it is requisite to reduce the fire and not diminish the

liquid in the vessel if we wish to cure the patient.”

Many of the operations in cases of fracture present a strange

mixture of folly and sense, proceeding from their ideas of the

internal structure of the human body conliicting with those

which common sense and experience teach. Pere Ripa’s description

of the treatment he underwent to prevent the ill effects

of a fall will serve as an illustration. Having been thrown

from his horse and left fainting in the street, he was carried

into a house, wdiere a surgeon soon visited him. ” He made

me sit up in bed, placing near me a large basin filled with

water, in which he put a thick piece of ice to i-educe it to a

freezing point. Then stripping me to the waist, he made me

stretch my neck over the basin, while he continued for a good

while to pour the water on my neck with a cup. The pain

caused by this operation upon those nerves which take their

rise from the pia mater was so great and insufferable that it seemed to me unequalled, but he said it would stanch the blood and restore me to my senses, which was actually the case, for in a short time my sight became clear and my mind resumed its powers. He next bound my head with a band drawn tight by two men who held the ends, while he struck the intermediate parts vigorously with a piece of wood, which shook my head violently, and gave me dreadful pain. This, he said, was to set the brain, which he supposed had been displaced, and it is true that after the second operation my head felt more free.

THE PKACTICK OF CHINESE PHYSICIANS. 125

A third operation was now performed, during which he made me, still stripped to the waist, walk in the open air supported by two persons; and while thus walking he unexpectedly threw a basin of freezing cold water over my breast. As this caused me to draw my breath with great vehemence, and as my chest had been injured b)- the fall, it may easily be imagined what were my sufteriiigs under this inlliction ; but I was eonsoled by the information that if any i-ib had been dislocated,

this sudden and hard breathing would restoie it to its natui-al

position. The next ])roceeding was not less painful and extravagant.

The operator made me sit on the ground, and, assisted

by two men, held a cloth upon my mouth and nose till I was

almost suffocated. ‘ This,’ said the Chinese Esculapius, ‘ by

causing a violent heaving of the chest, will force back any rib

that may have been dislocated.’ The wound in my head not

being deep, he healed it by stuffing it with burnt cotton. He

then ordered that I should continue to walk much, supported

by two persons ; that I should not sit long, nor be allowed to

sleep till ten o’clock at night, at which time I should eat a little

thin rice soup, lie assured me that these walks in the open

air while fasting would prevent the blood from settling upon

the chest, where it might corrupt. These remedies, though

barbarous and excruciating, cured me so completely that in

seven days I was able to resume my journey.” ‘

The active daily practice of a popular Chinese doctor may be

very well illustrated from Dr. Ilobson’s description of one Ta

wang siensang, or ‘ Dr. Hhubarb,’ a medical practitioner in

Canton. This man, after prescribing for the sick at his office

until the hour of ten in the morning, would commence his rounds

” in the sedan chair carried in great haste by three or four men.

Those patients were visited first who had their names and

residences first placed in the entry book, and as the streets were

narrow and crowded, to avoid trouble in finding the house, a

copy of the doctor’s sign-board would be posted up outside the

patient’s door, so that the chairmen should be able at once to

recognize the house without delay.”

‘ Pere Ripa, Memoirs and Residence ai Peking^ translated by F. Prandi, Loudon,1844, p. G7.

The doctor being ushered into the hall, or principal room, is met with bows and salutations by the father or elder brother of the family. Tea and pipes are offered in due form, and he is requested to feel his patient’s pulse’; if a male, he sits opposite to him; if a female, afcreeii of bamboo intervenes, which is only removed in case it is requisite to see the tongue. The right hand is placed upon a book t»^ steady it, and the doctor, with much gravity and a learned look, places his three fingers upon the pulsating vessel, pressing it alternately with each finger on the inner and outer side, and then making with three fingers a steady pressure for several minutes, not with watch in hand, to note the frequency of its beats, but with a thoughtful and calculating mind, to diagnose the disease and prognosticate its issue. The fingers being removed the patient immediately stretches out the other hand, which is felt in the same manner.

Perhaps certain cpiestions are asked of the father or mother concerning the sick person, but these are usually few, as it is presumed the pulse reveals everything needful to know. Ink and paper are produced and a prescription is written out, which consists of numerous ingredients, but there are one or two of only prime importance —the rest are servants or adjuvants. They are all taken from the vegetable kingdom, and are mostly simples of little efficacy. The prescription is taken to a di-nggist to be dispensed; the prescriber seldom makes up the medicine himself, and as large doses are popular (a quid j»;yv’ J^^^), so the decoction made from the whole amounts to pints or even quarts, which are swallowed in large portions with the greatest ease; powders, boluses, pills, and electuaries are also use(). If the patient is an officer of the government or a wealthy person, the nature of the disease, prognosis, and treatment are written down for the inspection of the family ; for this the doctor’s fee is a dollar. But generally speaking, both the doctor and the patient’s friends are quite satisfied with a verbal communication; and if the man has a gift for speaking and has brass enough to use it to his advantage (both of which are seldom wanting in timeserving men), he will describe with a learned, self-satisfied air the ailment of the patient, and the number of days it will take to cure him. The fee is wrapped up in red paper, and called “golden thanks,” varying, in amount from fifteen to seventy cents or more, according to the means of the patient; the chair bearers being paid extra. The doctor returns to make another visit if invited, but not otherwise. It is more common, if the patient is not at once benefited by the prescription, to pall in another, then a third, then a fourth, and even more, until tired of physicians (for the Chinese patience is soon exhausted, and their faith by no means strong in all their doctors’ asseverations) they have, as a last resort, application made to one of the genii, or a god possessing wonderful healing powers. The result is that the patient dies or lives, not according to the treatment received, for that must be generally inefficacious, but according as his natural strength is equal to surmount the difficulties by which he is surrounded.’

‘ Dr. James Henderson in Journal of the N. C. Br. of Royal Asiatic Society,1864, No. r, p. 54.

Dr. Hobson has given an analysis of 442 medicinal agents enumerated in one of the popular dispensatories; of the whole number, 314 are vegetable, 50 mineral, and 78 animal. The author gives the name of each one, the organ it affects, its properties, and lastly the mode of its exhibition. Medicines are arranged under six heads—tonics, astringents, resolvents, purgatives, alteratives of poisonous humors, and of the blood. Among the agents employed are many strange and repulsive substances, as snake-skins, fossil bones, rhinoceros or hart’s horn shavings, silk-worm and liuinan secretions, asbestos, moths, oyster-shells, etc. Calomel, vermilion, red precipitate, minium, arsenic, plumbago, and sulphate of copper are among the metallic medicines used by physicians ; Dr. Henderson enumerates thirty three distitu’t mineral medicines. The number of apothecary shops in towns indicates the great consumption of medicine; their arrangement is like the druggist shops in the west, though instead of huge glass jars at the windows filled with bright colored liquids, and long rows of vials and decanters in glass cases, three or four branching deer’s horns are suspended from the walls, and lines of white and black gallipots cover the shelv’es. Hartshorn is reduced to a dust by filing, for exhibition in consumption. Many roots, as rhubarb, gentian, etc., are prepared by paring them into thin laminae; others are powdered in a mortar with a pestle, or triturated in a narrow iron trough in which a close-fitting wheel is worked. The use of acids and reagents is unknown, for they imply more knowledge of ciiemistry than the Chinese possess. Vegetable substances, as camphor, myrrh, ginseng, rhubarb, gentian, and a great variety of roots, leaves, seeds, and barks, are generally taken as pills or decoctions. Many valuable I’ecipes will probably be discovered in their books as soon as the terms used are accurately ascertained, and a better acquaintance with the botany and mineralogy enables the foreign student to test them intelligently.

The people sometimes cast lots as to which one of a dozen doctors they shall employ, and then scrupulously follow his directions, whatever they may be, as a departure therefrom would vitiate the sortilege. Sometimes an invalid will go to a doctor and ask for how much he will cure him, and how soon the cure can be performed. He states the diagnosis of his case, the pulse is examined, and every other symptom investigated, when the bargain is struck and a portion of the price paid. The patient then receives the suitable medicines, in quantity and variety better fitted for a horse than a man, for the doctor reasons that out of a great number it is more likely that some will prove efficacious, and the more he gets paid for the more he ought to administer. A decoction of a kettleful of simples is drunk down by the sick man, and he gives up both working and eating; if, however, at the expiration of the time specified he is not cured, he scolds his physician for an ignorant charlatan who cheats him out of his money, and seeks another, with whom he makes a similar bargain, and probably with similar results. Sagacious observance of cause and effect, symptoms and pains, gradually give a shrewd physician great power over his ignorant patients, and some of them become both rich and influential; a skillful physician is termed the “nation’s hand.”

DISEASES PREVALENT IN CHINA. 129

A regular system of fees exists among the profession, but the remuneration is as often left to tiie generosity of the patient. New medicines, pills, powders, and salves are advertised and pufPed by flaunting placards on the walls of the streets, some of them most disgustingly obscene; but the Chinese do not puff new nostrums by publishing a long list of recommendations from patients. The various ways devised by persons to dispose of their inediciiies exhibit much ingenuity. Sometimes a man, having spread a mat at the side of the street, and marshalled his gallipots and salves, will commence a hai-angne npf>n the goodness and efficacy of his preparations in loud and eloquent tones, until he has collected a crowd of hearers, some of whom he manages to persuade will he the better for taking some of his potions. He will exhibit their efficacy by first pounding his naked breast with a brick till it is livid, and then immediately healing the contusion by a lotion, having previously fortified the inner parts with a remedy; or he will cut open his tiesh and heal the wound in a few moments by a wonderful elixir, which he alone can sell. Others, more learned or more professional, erect a pavilion or awning, fluttering with signs and streamers, and quietly seat themselves under it to wait for customers; or content themselves with a flag perched on a pole setting forth the potency of their pills. Dentists make a necklace of the rotten teeth they have obtained from the jaws of their customers, and perambulate the streets with these trophies of their skill hanging around their necks like a rosary. In general, however, the Chinese enjoy good health, and when ill from colds or fevers, lie abed and suspend working and eating, which in most cases allows nature to work her own cure, whatever doses they may take. They are perhaps as long-lived as most nations, though sanatory statistics are wanting to enable us to form any indisputable conclusions t)n this head.

The classes of diseases which most prevail in China are ophthalmic,

cutaneous, and digestive ; intermittent fevers are also

connnon. The great disproportion of affections of the eye has

often attracted observation. Dr. Lockhart ascribes it partly to

the inflammation which often comes on at the commencement

of winter, and which is allowed to run its course, leaving the

organ in an ujiliealthy condition and very obnoxious to other

diseases. This inflammation is beyond the skill of the native

practitioners, and sometimes destroys the sight in a few days.

Another fruitful source of disease is the practice of the barbers

of turning the lids over and clearing their surfaces of the mucus

which may be lodged there, lie adds: ”If the person’s eyes be

examined after this process, they will be found to be very red

and irritated, and in process of time chronic conjunctivitis supervenes,

wliicli being considered proof of insutiicient cleansing,

the practice is persisted in, and the inner surface of the lid becomes

covered with granulations. In other cases it becomes

indurated like thin parchment, and the tarsal cartilages contract

and induce entropium.” Dense opacity of the cornea itself is

frequently caused by this harherous practice, or constant pain

and weeping ensues, both of which materially injure the sight,

if the patient does not lose it. The practice of cleansing the

ears in a similar way frequently results in their serious injury,

and sometimes destruction. When the ill effects of such treatment

of these delicate organs must be plain to eveiy obser\ing

person in his own case, it is strange that he should still allow the

operation to be repeated.

The physicians in charge of the missionary hospitals successfully

established at so many cities in Eastern China have

attended more to tumors, dislocations, wounds, and surgical

cases, ophthalmic and cutaneous diseases, than to common clinical

ailments. The hospitals here spoken of are little more than

dispensaries, with a room or two for extreme or peculiarly interesting

cases ; there is little visiting the natives at their own houses.

Asthma, even in boys, is common at Amoy, and consumption

at Canton and Chusan. Intermittent fevers prevail more

or less wlierever the cultivation of rice is carried on near villages

and towns. Elephantiasis is known between Shanghai and

Canton, but in the southern provinces leprosy seems to exist as

its equivalent. This loathsoma disease is regarded by the

Chinese as incurable and contagious. Lazar-houses are provided

for the residence of the infected, but as the allowance of poor

patients is insuthcient for their support, they go from street to

street soliciting alms, to the great annoyance of every one. As

soon as it appears in an individual, he is immediately separated

from liis family and driven forth an outcast, to herd with others

similarly afPected, and get his living from precarious charity.

The institution of lazarettoes is ])raisewortliy, hut they fail of

affording relief on account of the mismaiiagonient and peculation

of those who have their supervision ; and those who cannot get

DISEASES PREVALENT IN CHINA. 131

in are obliged to live in a village set apart for tliein north of

the city. Lepers can intermarry among themselves, but on

account of })overty and other causes they do not often do so,

and the hardships of their lot soon end their days. This disease

will probably exist among the Chinese until houses are

built more above the ground, better ventilation of cities and

improvement in diet are adopted, when it will disappear as it

has in Southern Europe.

Diseases of an inilammatoiy nature are not so fatal or rapid

among the Chinese as Europeans, nor do consumptions carry

off so large a proportion of the inhabitants as in the United

States. Dyspepsia has been frequently treated ; it is ascribed

by Dr. Hepburn to the abundant use of salt provisions, pickled

vegetables, and fish, irregularity in eating, opium smoking, and

immoderate use of tea ; though it nuiy be questioned whether

the two last reasons are more general and powerful at Amoy

than Canton, where dyspepsia is comparatively rare. The surgeons

at the latter place have successfully treated hundreds of

cases of stone, losing less than fifteen per cent, of all. Some of

the patients were under ten years, and a few of the calculi

weighed nearly half a pound. This malady is almost md^nown

in Xorthern China. The diseases which result from intemperate

and licentious habits are not as violent in their effects as

in countries where a greater use of animal food and higher living

render the system more susceptible to the noxious consequences

of the virus.

The existence of tumors and unnatural growths in great abundance and variety is satisfactorily accounted for by the inability of the native practitioners to remove them. Those which had a healthy growth increased until a moi-bid action supervened, and consequently sometimes grew to an enormous size. A peasant named IIu Lu went to England in 1831 to have an abdominal tumor extirpated weighing about seventy pounds; he died under the operation. No patients bear operations with more fortitude than the Chinese, and, owing to their hnnphatic temperament, they are followed with less inflammation than Is usual in European practice. CToitre is very common in the mountainous regions of the northern provinces ; Dr. Gillan estiniatcd that nearly one-sixth of the inhahitants met In the villages on the high land between Peking and Jeh ho were atflicted witli this deformity, which, however, is said not to be so considered by the vilLigers themselves.

The Asiatic cholera has been a great scourge in China, but does not often become an epidemic anywhere, though sporadic cases constantly occur. It raged at Ningpo in May, 1S20, and an intelligent native doctor informed Mr. Milne ‘ that it was computed that ten thousand persons were carried off by it in the city and department of Kingpo during the summers of 1820-23. In 1842 it prevailed at Amoy and Changchau and their vicinity ; more than a hundred deaths daily occun-ed at the former place for six or seven weeks. It raged violently at Hangchau in Chehkiang during the years 1821 and 1 822, persons dropping down dead in the streets, or dying within an hour or two after the attack ; many myriads were computed to have

fallen victims, and the native doctoi’s, finding their remedies

useless, gave up all treatment. It carried off multitudes in

Shantung and Iviangsu during the same years, and was as titful

in its progress in China as in Europe, going from one city to

another, passing by towns apparently as obnoxious as those

visited. The plague is said to have existed in KSouthern China

about the beginning of the sixteenth centui-y, but it has not

been heard of lately.

‘ Chinese llepository, Vol. XII., p. 487.

XATIVE TREATISES 0\ MKDICINE. 133

Small-pox is a terrible scath, and although the practice and utility of vaccination have been known for fifty years past at Canton, its adoption is still limited even in that city. It was introduced in 1820 by Dr. Pearson, of the East India Company’s establishment, and native assistants were fully instructed by him in the practice. Vaccination has now extended over all the Eighteen Provinces, and the government has given its sanction and assistance; it is chiefly owing to the heedlessness of the people in not availing themselves of it in time that it has, done no more to lessen the ravages of the disease. Where children were gratuitously vaccinated it was found almost impossible to induce parents to bring them ; and Mdien the children had been va(!cinated it was increasingly difficult to get them to return to allow the physician to see the result of the operation. Inoculation has long been practised by inserting a pledget in the nostrils containing the virjs; this mode is occasionally adopted in vaccination. The slovenly habits of the people, as well as insufficient protection and unwholesome food, give rise to many diseases of the skin, some of them incurable.

The science of medicine attracted very early attention, and there are numerous treatises on its various branches. But the search for the liquor of immortality and the philosopher’s stone, with careful observations on the pulse as the leading tests of diseases, have led them astray from accurate diagnosis age after affe. The common classification of diseases is under nine heads, viz., those which affect the pulse violently or feebly, those arising from cold, female and cutaneous diseases, those needing acupunetui-e, and diseases of the eyes, the mouth and its parts, and the bones. A professor of each of these classes is attached to the imperial family, who is taken from the Medical College at Peking; but he has no. greater advantages there than he could get in his own reading and practice. Xo museums of morbid or comparative anatomy exist in the country, nor are there any lectures or dissections ; and the routine which old custom has sanctioned will go on until modern practice, now rapidly taking its place, wins its way. Section CCXCYII. of the code orders that ” whenever an unskillful practitioner, in administering medicine or using the puncturing needle, proceeds contrary to the established forms, and thereby causes the death of a patient, the magistrate shall call in oilier practitioners to examine the medicine or the wound, and if it appear that the injury done was unintentional, the practitioner shall then be treated according to the statute for accidental homicides, and shall not be any longer allowed to practise medicine.

But if designedly he depart from the established forms, and deceives in his attempt to cure the malady in order to obtain property, then, according to its amount, he shall be treated as a thief; and if death ensue fmiu his malpractice, then, for having thus used medicine with intent to kill, he shall be beheaded.” ‘ This statute is seldom carried into execution, however, and the doctors are allowed to kill and cure, secundum, artem., as their patients give them the opportunity, Natural history, in its various branches of geologj, botany, zoology, etc., has received some attention, because the objects which come under it could not escape the notice of all the writers in Chinese literature. As sciences, however, none of them have an existence, and they are studied chiefly for their assistance in furnishing articles for the materia medica of the native physician. To these persons nothing comes amiss, and, like the ingredients of the bubbling, bubbling caldron of Macbetli’s witches, the stranger it is the more potent they think a dose will be ; in this particular they now act very much as the faculty did in England two centuries ago. It is to be regretted that their investigation should have taken such a direction, but the man of commanding influence has not yet arisen to direct their researches into nature and divert them from the marvelous and theoretical. On the whole, it may be said that in all departments of learning the Chinese are unscientific ; and that while they have collected a great variety of facts, invented many arts, and brought a few to a high degree of excellence, they have never pursued a single subject in a way calculated to lead them to a right understanding of it, or reached a proper classification of the information they possessed relating to it.
‘ Chinese CJirestomnthy, Chap. XVI., pp. 497-532. Asiatic Soc. Transactions, Hongkong, Art. III., 1847; No. III., 1852, Art. III. Jour. iV. C Br. R. A. Soc, No. I., 1864, and No. VI., 1809. W. Lockhart, Medical Missionary in China, 1861. Chinese Repository, passim. Porter Smitli’s Contributions to Chinese Materia Medira, Shanghai, 1871. Fliickiger & Hanbnry,Pharmacofiraphia, London, 1874. China Retieir, Vol. I., p. 176; Vol. III.,p. 224. J. Dudgoon, The Diseases of China, Glasgow, 1877; id. iu the Chinese Recorder, Vols. U., III., and IV., passim.

CHAPTER XVII. HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY OF CHINA

The history of the Chinese people has excited less attention among western scholars than it deserves, though in some respects no nation offers more claims to have its chronicles carefully and fairly examined. The belief is generally entertained that their pretensions to antiquity are extravagant and ridiculous, and incompatible with the Mosaic chronology ; that they not only make the world to have existed myriads of years, but reckon the succession of their monarchs far beyond the creation, and ascribe to them a longevity that carries its own confutation on its face. In consequence of this opinion, some have denied the credibility of native historians altogether, and the whole subject of the settlement and early progress of this ancient race has been considered beyond the reach, and almost unworthy the attempt, of sober investigation. This erroneous and hasty conclusion is gradually giving way to a careful inquiry into those histories which show that the early records of the sons of Han contain much which is worthy of credence, and much more that is highly probable. A wide field is here opened for the researches of a Gibbon or a Kiebuhr; for as long as we are destitute of a good history of China and its connections with other Asiatic nations, we shall not only be unable to form a correct opinion respecting the people, but shall lack many important data for a full illustration of the early history of the human race. It is easy to laud the early records of the Chinese to the skies, as French writers have done ; and it is quite as easy to cry them down as worthless—manufactured in after ages to please the variety of their writers. The reputation both people and records have received is owing, in some measure, to this wulue laudation and depreciation, as well as to the intrinsic merits and defects of their histories. These, however, still mostly remain in their originals, and will require the united labors of many scholars to be full}’ brought to light and made a part of the world’s library.

The enormous difficulties arising from the extent and tedious minuteness of native historians, coupled with the scarcity of translators competent or willing to undertake the labor of even such a resume of these works as will satisfy rational curiosity, are now being slowly overcome, both by Chinese and foreign students. These researches, it is to be earnestly hoped, will be rewarded by promoting a juster estimate in the minds of both classes of their relative positions among the nations of the earth.

China, like other countries, has her mythological history, and it should be separated from the more recent and received, as her own historians regard it, as the fabrication of subsequent times. She also has her ancient history, whose earliest dates and events blend confusedly with the mythological, but gradually grow more credible and distinct as they come down the stream of time to the beginning of modern history. The early accounts of every nation whose founding was anterior to the practice of making and preserving authentic records nnist necessarily be obscure and doubtful. What is applicable to the Chinese has been true of other ancient people : ” national vanity and a love of the marvelous have intiuenced them all, and furnished materials for many tales, as soon as the spirit of investigation has supplanted that appetite for wonders which marks the infancy of nations as well as of individuals.”‘ The ignorance of the ” art preservative of all arts ” will greatly explain the subsequent record of the wonderful, without supposing that the infancy of nations partook of the same traits of weakness and credulity as that of individuals. There is neither space nor time in this work to give the details concerning the history and succession of dynasties that have swayed the Middle Kingdom, for to one not specially engaged in their examination their recital is proverbially dry ; the array of uncouth names destitute of lasting interest, and the absence of the charm of association with western nations render them nnin\ iting to the general reader. Some account of the leading events and changes is all that is necessary to explain what has been elsewhere incidentally referred to.’

THE STUDY OF EARLY CHINESE HISTORY. 137

Chinese historians have endeavored to explain the creation and origin of the world around them ; but, ignorant of the sublime fact that there is one C^reator who upholds his works by the word of his power, they have invented various modes to account for it, and wearied themselves in theorizing and disputing with each other. One of them, Yangtsz’, remarks, in view of these conflicting suppositions: “Who knows the affairs of remote antiquity, since no authentic records have come down to us? He who examines these stories will find it difficult to believe them, and careful scrutiny will convince him that they are without foundation. In the primeval ages no historical records were kept. Why then, since the ancient books that described those times were burnt by Tsin, should we misrepresent those remote ages, and satisfy ourselves with vague fables? However, as everything except heaven and earth must have a cause, it is clear that they have always existed, and that cause produced all sorts of men and beings, and endowed them with their various qualities. But it must have been man who in the beginning produced all things on earth, and who may therefore be viewed as the lord, and from whom rulers derive their dignities.”

This extract is not a bad example of Chinese writers and historians ; a mixture of sense and nonsense, partially laying the foundation of a just argument, and ending with a tremendous non-se(putur, apparently satisfactory to themselves, but showing pretty conclusisely how little pains they take to gather facts and discuss their bearings. Some of these writers imagine that the world owes its existence to the retroactive agency of the dual powers yhi and yang, which first formed the outline of the universe, and were themselves influenced by

‘ Among the works which will repay perusal on this topic are Mailla’s //?’.’»’tfdre (le l<i Chwe and Pauthier’s Cliinr, in Frendi, and Du Halde’s Jl/sfnry.

translated into English ; besides the briefer compilations of Murray, (irosier,Chitzluff, Davis, and more recently of Boulger and llichthofeii, Band I.

their own creations. One of the most sensible of their aatliors says: Heaven was formless, an utter chaos ; the whole mass was nothing but confusion. Order was first produced in the pure ether, and out of it the universe came forth ; the universe produced air, and air the milky-way. When the pure male principle yang had been diluted, it formed the heavens ; the heavy and thick parts coagulated, and formed the earth. The refined particles united very soon, but the union of the thick and heavy went on slowly; therefore the heavens came into existence first, and the earth afterward.

From the subtle essence of heaven and earth, the dual principles yia and yang were formed ; from their joint operation came the four seasons, and these putting forth their energies gave birth to all the products of the earth. The warm effluence of the yang being condensed, produced fire ; and the finest parts of fire formed the sun. The cold exhalations of the yin being likewise condensed, produced water ; and the finest parts of the watery substance formed the moon. By the seminal influence of the sun and moon, came the stars.

Thus heaven was adorned with the sun, moon, and stars ; the earth also received rain, rivers, and dust.’ But this acute explanation, like the notions of Ilesiod among the Greeks, was too subtle for the common people ; they also

wanted to personify and deify these powers and operations, but

lacking the imaginative genius and fine taste of the Greeks,

their divine personages are outrageous and their ideal beings

shapeless monsters. No creator is known or imagined who,

like Brahm, lives in space, ineffable, formless ; but the first

being, Pwanku, had the herculean task to mould the chaos

which produced him and chisel out the earth that was to contain

him. One legend is that ” the dual powers were fi.xed

when the primeval chaos separated. C’haos is bubbling turbia

water, which enclosed and mingled with the dual powers, like

a chick in ovo, but when their offspring Pwanku appeared their

distinctiveness and operations were apparent. Pwdn means a

‘ basin,’ referring to the shell of the egg ; lu means ‘ solid,’ ‘ to

secure,’ intending to show how the first man Pwanku was

hatched from the chaos by the dual powers, and then settled

and exhibited the arrangement of the causes which produced

him.”

Chinese Repositoin/, Vol. III., p. 55.

CHINESE COSMOGONY. 139

The Pationalists have penetrated furthest into the Daedalian mystery of this cosniogoiiy,’ and they go on to show what Pvvanku did and how he did it. They picture him holding a chisel and niahet in his hands, splitting and fashioning vast Pwanku Chiselling Out the Universe.

‘ For the Buddhist notions of cosmography and creation, see Remusat,Melattges PoHthmneii, pp. G5-131.

masses of gvanite lioating confusedly in space. Behind the openings his powerful hand has made are seen the sun, moon, and stars, monuments of his stupendous labors; at his right hand, inseparable companions of his toils, but whose generation is left in obscurity, stand the dragon, the phoenix, and the tortoise, and sometimes the unicorn, divine types and progenitors with himself of the animal creation. His efforts were continued eighteen thousand years, and by small degrees he and his work

increased ; the heavens rose, the earth spread out and thickened,

and Pwanku grew in stature, six feet evevy day, till, his labors

done, he died for the benefit of his handiwork. His head

became mountains, his breath wind and clouds, and his voice

thunder ; his limbs were changed into the four poles, his veins

into rivers, his sinews into the undulations of the earth’s surface,

and his flesh into fields ; his beard, like Berenice’s hair,

was turned into stars, his skin and hair into herbs and trees,

and his teeth, bones, and marrow into metal?, rocks, and precious stones ; his dropping sweat increased to rain, and lastly (nascltur ridiculus mus) the insects which stuck to his body were transformed into people!

Such was Pwanku, and these Mere his works. But these grotesque myths afford none of the pleasing images and personifications of Greek fable or Egyptian symbols ; they fatigue without entertaining, and only illustrate the children imagination of their authors. Pwanku was succeeded by three rulers of monstrous forms called the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Human sovereigns, impersonations of a trinity of powers, whose traces and influences run through Chinese philosophy, religion, and politics ; their acts and characters are detailed with the utmost gravity, and more than Methusalean longevity allowed them to complete their plans. Their reigns continued eighteen thousand years (more or less according to the author quoted), during which time good government commenced, men learned to eat and drink, the sexes united, sleep was invented, and other improvements adopted. One would think, if the subjects of these wonderful beings were as long-lived, great perfection might have been attained in these and other useful arts; but the mysterious tortoise, conq)anion of Pangu, on whose carapace was written, in ta<l])olo-headed characters, the history of the anterior world, did not survive, and their record has not come doM’u. After them flourished two other niouai’chs, one of them called

MYTHS OF THE CREATION. Hi

Youchao, which means ‘having a nest’, and the other Suiren, or ‘match-man’. Whether the former invented nests for the abodes of his subjects, such as the Indians on the ()i’iuo(;o have, is not stated ; but the hitter brought down tire from heaven for them to cook with, and became a second, or rather the first, Prometheus.

These fancies are gathered from a popuhir summary of knowledge, called the Coral Forest of Ancient Matters and from the opening chapters of history Made Easy. A higher style of philosophizing is found in C’liu Ill’s disquisition, from which an extract has been given in Chapter XII. Another on Cosmogony will show that he comes no nearer to the great fact of creation than ancient western writers.

In the beginning heaven and earth were just the light and dark air. This one air revolved, grinding round and round. When it ground quickly much sediment was compressed, which, having no means of exit, coagulated and formed the earth in the center. The subtle portion of the air then became heaven and the sun, moon, and stars, which unceasingly revolve on the outside. The earth is in the center and motionless ; it is not below the center.

Heaven revolving without ceasing, day and night also revolve, and hence the earth is exactly in the centre. If heaven should stand still for one moment, then the earth must fall down ; but heaven revolves quickly, and hence much sediment is coagulated in the centre. The earth is the sediment of the air; and hence it is said, the light, piu-e air became heaven, the heavy, muddy air became earth.

At the beginning of heaven and earth, before chaos was divided, I think there were only two things—fire and water; and the sediment of the water formed the earth. When one ascends a height and looks down, the crowd of hills resemble the waves of the sea in appearance : the water just flowed like this. I know not at what period it coagulated. At first it was very soft, but afterward it coagulated and became hard. One asked whether it resembled sand thrown up by the tide ? He replied. Just so ; the coarsest sediment of the water became earth, and the purest portion of the fire became wind, thunder, lightning, sun, and stars.

Before chaos was divided, the Yin-Yang, or light-dark air, was mixed up and dark, and when it divided the centre formed an enormous and most brilliant opening, and the two ‘c or principles were established. Shao Kang-tsieh considers one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years to be a yyn, or kalpa; then, before this period of one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years there was another opening and spreading out of the world ; and before that again, there was another like the present ; so that motion and rest, light and darkness, have no beginning. As little things sha<l”>w forth great things, this may be illustrated by the revohitions of day and night.

Kang-tsieh says, Heaven rests upon form, and earth reclines upon air.

The reason why he repeats this frequently, and does not deviate from the idea, is lest people should seek some other place beyond heaven and earth. There is nothing outside heaven and earth, and hence their form has limits, while their air has no limit. Because the air is extremely condensed, therefore it can support the earth ; if it were not so the earth would fall down.’

A third belief respecting the position of the earth in the centre of the universe derives great strength in the opinion of intelligent natives from these speculations of Chn III. His theory considers the world to be a plane surface, straight, square, and large, measuring each way about 1500 miles (5600 Li), and bounded on the four sides by the four seas. The sun is estimated to be about 4,000 miles from the earth. Another calculation made it 81,394 Zi, and a third 216,T81| li.

One thing is observable in these fictions, characteristic of the Chinese at the present day : there is no hierarchy of gods brought in to rule and inhabit the world they made, no conclave on Mt. Olympus, nor judgment of the mortal soul by Osiris ; no transfer of human love and hate, passions and hopes, to the powers above ; all here is ascribed to disembodied agencies or principles, and their works are represented as moving on in quiet order. There is no religion, no imagination ; all is impassible, passionless, uninteresting. It may perhaps, be considered of itself as sensible as the Greek or Egyptian mythology, if one looks for nense in such figments ; but it has not, as in the latter countries, been explained in sublime poetry, shadowed forth in gorgeous ritual and magnificent festivals, represented in exquisite sculptures, nor preserved in faultless, inqjosing fanes and temples, filled with ideal creations. P^or this reason it appears more in its true colors, and, when compared with theirs, ” loses discountenanced and like folly shows “—at least to us, who can examine both and compare them with the truth.

Canon McClatchie’s Confucian CoKiumjoiiy, pp. 5:5-59.

CHINESE AND WESTERN CHRONOLOGY. 143

Their pure mythological history ends with the appearance of Fuh-hi, and their chronology has nothing to do with the long periods antecedent, varying from forty-five to five hundred thousand years. These periods are, however, a mere twinkling compared with the kulpas of the Hindus, whose highest era, called the Unspeakably Inexpressible, requires four million four hundred and fifty-six thousand four hundred and forty-eight cyphers following a unit to represent it. If the epoch of Fuh-hi could be ascertained with any probability by comparison with the history of other nations, or with existing remains, it would tend not a little to settle some disputed chronological points in other countries ; but the isolation of the Chinese throughout their whole existence makes it nearly impossible to weave in the events of their history with those of other nations, by comparing and verifying them with biblical, Egyptian, or Persian annals. Perhaps further investigations in the vast regions of Eastern and Central Asia may bring to light corroborative testimony as striking and unexpected as the explorations in Mosul, Persepolis, and Thebes.

The accession of Fuh- hi is placed in the Chinese annals b.c.2852,’ and with him commences the period known among them as the ” highest antiquity.” The weight of evidence which the later chronological examinations of Hales and Jackson have brought to bear against the common period of four thousand and four years prior to the Advent, is such as to cast great doubt over its authenticity, and lead to the adoption of a longer period in order to afford time for many occurrences, which otherwise would be crowded into too narrow a space. Chinese chronology, if it be allowed the least credit, strongly corroborates the results of Dr. Hales’ researches, and particularly so in the date of Fuh-hi’s accession. This is not the place to discuss the respective claims of the two eras, but by reckoning, as he does, the creation to be live thousand four hundred and eleven years, and the deluge three thousand one hundred and fifty-five years, before the Advent, we bring the commencement of ancient Chinese history three hundred and three years subsequent to the deluge, forty seven before the death of Xoah, and about three centuries before the confusion of tongues. If we suppose that the ante-

‘ Or 3322, according to Dr. Legge, whose date has been used elsewhere in this work, and has probably quite as much authority as the one above.

diliivians possessed a knowledge of the geography of the world,

and that ^’oah, regarding himself as the monarch of the whole,

divided it among his descendants before his death, there is

nothing improbable in the further supposition that the progenitors

of the black-haired race, and t)thers of the house and

lineage of Sliem, found their way from the valley of the

Euphrates across the defiles and steppes of Central Asia, to the

fertile plains of China before the end of the third diluvian century.

Whether the surface of the world was the same after the cataclysm as before does not aifect this point ; there was ample time for the multiplication of the species with the blessing promised by God, sufficient to form colonies, if there was time enough to increase to such a multitude as conspired to build the tower of Babel.

The views of Dr. Legge, that the present Chinese descend from settlers who came through Central Asia along the Tarim Valley and across the Desert into Kansuh, about b.c. 2200, and settled around the elbow of the Yellow River, under the leadership of Yao, Shun, Yu, and others, are very reasonable.

These settlers found the land at that time occupied with tribes, whom they partly merged with themselves or drove into mountain recesses in Kweichau, where some of their descendants perhaps still remain. These earlier tribes may have furnished the names and reigns prior to Yao, and the later Chinese annalists incorporated them into their own histories, taking everything in early times as of course belonging to the U imn, or ‘ ])lackliaired race.’ The lapse of a millennium between the Deluge and Yao allows plenty of time for several successive emigrations from Western and Central Asia into the inviting plains of China, which, through the want of a written language o>* the destruction of records, have come down to us in misty, doubtful legends.

THE EIGHT EARLY MONARCHS. 145

Fuli-hi and his seven successors are stated to have reigned seven hundred and forty-seven years, averaging ninety-three each. Those who follow Usher consider these monarchs to be Chinese travesties of the eight antediluvian patriarchs; and Marquis d’TTrban has gone so far as to write what he calls the Antediluvian History ^y CV/Y’/ic/, collecting all the notices history affords of their acts. The common chronology brings the delude about thirteen years after the accession of Yao and the death of Shmi (the last of the eight), b.c. 2205, or twenty-live years after the confusion of tongues. According to Hales, the last epoch is one hundred and twelve years before the call of Abraham, and these eight Chinese monarchs are therefore contemporaries of the patriai’chs who lived between Shem and Abraham, commencing with Salah and ending with Xahor.

The duration of their reigns, moreover, is such as would bear the same proportion to ages of five hundred years, which their contemporaries lived, as the present average of twenty and twenty -five years does to a life of sixty. The Assyrian tablets, deciphered by George Smith, contain a reference to the twenty eighth century b.c, as the founding of that monarchy ; which is a notice of more value as a chronological epoch than anything in Chinese annals, indeed, and may help to countenance a date that had before been regarded as mythological.

Supposing that the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, knowing from their fathers and grandfather, that the void world was before them, began to colonize almost as soon as they began to form families, three centuries would not be too long a time for some of them to settle in China, perhaps offsetting from Elam and Asshur, and other descendants of Shem in Persia. The capital of Fuh-hi slightly indicates, it may be thought, their route through Central Asia across the Desert to Kiayli kwan in Kansuh, and then down the Yellow River to the Great Plain near Kaifung. But these suppositions are only by the way, as is also the suggestion that teaching of fishing and grazing, the regulation of times and seasons, cultivation of music, and establishment of government, etc., compare well enough with the duties that might reasonably be supposed to belong to the founder of a colony and his successors, and subsequently ascribed to them as their own inventions. The long period allotted to human life at that date would allow these arts and sciences to take root and their memory to remain in popular legends until subsequent historians incorporated them into their writings. The Chinese annalists fill up the reigns of these chief?, down to the time of Yao, with a series of inventions and improvements in the arts of life and good government, sufficient to bring society to that degree of comfort and order they suppose consonant with the character of the monarchs. The earliest records of the Chinese correspond much too closely with their present character to receive full belief ; but they present an appearance of probability and naturalness not possessed by the early annals of Greece. No one contends for their credibility as history, but they are better than the Arabian Nights.

The commencement of the sexagenary cycle’ in the sixty first year of Ilwangtfs reign (or b.c. 2037), five hundred and eighteen years after the deluge, eighty-two years after the death of Arphaxad, and about that time before the confusion of tongues, is worthy of notice. The use of the ten horary characters applied to days in order to denote their chronological sequence dates from the reign of Yu in the twentieth century b.c, and there are other passages in the Shu KIikj showing similar application.

Sz’ma Tsien’s history now contains the first attempt to arrange the years in cycles of sixty; but he cannot fairly be claimed as the inventor of this system. he might almost as well be regarded as the inventor of his whole annals, for all the materials out of which he compiled them have now perished except the canonical books. The mention of the individual Xao the Great, who invented it, and the odd date of its adoption in the middle of a reign, do not weaken the alleged date of its origin in the minds of those who are inclined to take a statement of this kind on its own basis.

Three reigns, averaging eighty years’ duration, intervened between that of Huangdi and Yao, whose occupants were elected by the people, much as were Shemgar, Jephthah, and cttlier judges in Israel, and probably exercised a similar sway. The reigns and characters of Yao and Shun have been immortalized by Confucius and Mencius; whatever was their real history, those sages showed g]-eat sagacity in going back to those remote times for models and fixing upon a period neither fabulous nor certain, one which preventel alike the cavils of scepticism and the appearance of complete fabrication,

^ Journal Asiatique, Avril, 183G, p. 394.

THE DELUGE OF YAO. 147

A tremendous deluge occurred during the reign of Yao, b.c. 2293, caused, it is said, by the overflowing of the rivers in the north of China. Those who place the Xoachic dehige b.c.2348 regard this as only a different version of that event; Klaproth, who favors the Septuagint chronology, says that it is nearly synchronous with the deluge of Xisutlirus, b.c. 2297, a name derived, as is reasonably inferred by George Smith, from the Assyrian name Ilasisadra, the ancient hero who survived the deluge. The record of this catastrophe in the Shu King is hardly applicable to an overwhelming flood : ” The Emperor said. Oh! chief of the four mountains, destructive in their overthrow are the waters of the inundation. In their vast extent they embrace the mountains and overtop the hills, threatening the heavens with their floods, so that the inferior people groan and murmur. Is there a capable man to whom I can assign the correction of this calamity? ” ‘ They presented Kwan as a proper man, but he showed his inefficiency in laboring nine years without success to drain off the waters. Yao was then advised to employ Shun, who called in Yu, a son of Kwan, to his aid, and the floods were assuaged by deepening the beds of the rivers and opening new channels. These slight notices hardly comport with a flood like the Xoachic deluge, and are with much greater probability referred to an overflow or a change in the bed of the Yellow River from its present course into the Gulf of Pechele through Chihli northeast, to its recent one along the lowlands of Kiangsu. The weight of topographical evidence, combined with the strong chronological argument, the discussions in council said to have taken place regarding the disaster, and the time which elapsed before the region was drained, all pre-suppose and indicate a partial inundation, and strengthen the assumption that no traces of the Deluge exist in the histories of the Chinese. In our view of the chronology of the Bible, as compared with the Chinese, it requires a far greater constraint upon these records to bring them to refer to that event, than to suppose they allude to a local disaster not beyond the power of remedy.

‘ Legge’s Shu King^ p. 24, Hongkong, 1867.

THE RECORDS OF YAO AXD YU. 149

The series of chieftains down to the accession of Yu may here be recapitulated. The entirely fabulous period ends with Sui-jin, and legendary history commences with Fuh-ln’, who with four of his successors (Nos. 2, 3, 7, and 8) are commonly known as the Five Sovereigns, follows:

Their names and reigns are as Buflficient to have deepened the channel of a river or raised dikes to restrain it. The glorious reigns and spotless characters of these three sovereigns are looked upon by the Chinese with much the same feelings of veneration that the Jews regard their three patriarchs ; and to have had, or to have imagined, such progenitors and heroes is, to say the least, as much to their credit as the Achilles, Ulysses, and llomulus of the Greeks and Romans, A curious analogy can also be traced between the scheming Ulysses, warlike liomulus, and methodical Yao, and the

subsequent character of the three great nations they represent.

Chinese historians supply many details regarding the conduct

of Yu and Kieh Kwei, the first and last princes of the house of

Ilia, all the credible particulars of which are taken from the

Book of Records and the Bauihoo Annah. Dr. Legge candidly

weighs the arguments in respect to the eclipse mentioned in the

Y^uli C/ilng, and gives his opinion as to its authenticity, even

if it cannot yet be certainly referred to the year b.c. 2154. One

such authentic notice lends strer.gth to the reception of many

vague statements, which are more likely to be the relics of fuller

documents long since lost than the fabrications of later writers,

such as were the Decretals of Isidore in the Middle Ages. In

giving a full translation of the Bamhoo Books in the prolegomena

of the Sh u Klng^ Dr. Legge has shown one of the sources

of ancient Chinese liistory outside of that work. There were

many other works accessible to Sz’ma Tsien, nearly four centuries

before they were discovered (a.d. 279), when he wrote

his Annals. Pan Ku gives a list of the various books recovered

after the death of Tsin Chi Ilwangti, amounting in all to thirteen

thousand two hundred and nineteen volumes or chapters

contained in six huudi-ed and twenty different works. Well

does Pauthier speak of the inestimable value which a similar

catalogue of the extant literature of Greece and Pome at that

epoch (b.(\ 100) would now be.

One of the alleged records of the reign of Yu is an inscription traced on the rocks of Ivau-lau shaii, one of the peaks of Mount llano; in Ilunan, relatinjij to the inundation. It contfiins seventy-seven characters only, and Amiot, who regarded it as genuine, has given its sense as follows: The venerable Emperor said, Oli I aid and councillor! Who will help me in administiM-ing my affairs V The great and little islets (the inhabited places) even to their summits, the abodes of the beasts and birds, and all beings are widely inundated. Advise, send back the waters, and raise the dikes. For a long time, J have quite forgotten my family ; I repose on the top of the mountain Yoh-lu. By prudence and my labors, I have moved the spirits ; I know not the hours, but repose myself only in my incessant labors. The mountains Hwa, Yoh, Tai, and Ilang, have been the beginning and end of my enterprise; when my labors were completed, I offered a thanksgiving sacrifice at the solstice. My affliction has ceased ; the confusion in nature has disappeared; the deep currents coming from the south flow into the sea ; clothes can now be made, food can be prepared, all kingdoms will be at peace, and we can give ourselves to continual joy.’

Since Amiot’s time, however, further opportunities have offered

for more tliorongh inquiry into this relic by foreigners,

and the results of their researches throw much doubt upon its

authenticity, though they do not altogether destroy it. In the

Introduction to the S/iu King, Dr. Legge discusses the value

of this tablet among other early records of that reign, and

comes to the conclusipn that it is a fabrication of the Han

dynasty, if not later. The poet Han Yu (a.d. 800) gave it

wide notoriety by his verses about its location and nature ; but

when he was there he could not iind it on the peak, and cited

only a Taoist priest as having seen it. More than three centuries

afterward Chu Hi M^as equally unsuccessful, and his opinion

that it was made by the priests of that sect has had nnich

weight with his countrymen. It was not till one Ho Chi wont

to Mount Hang, about a.d. 1210, and took a copy of the inscription

from the stone then in a Taoist temple, that it was

actually seen ; and not till about 1510, that Chang Ki-wrm,

another antiquary of Hunan province, published his copy in

the form now generally accepted. In 1660 one Mao Tsangkien

again found the tablet on the summit of Kau-lau, but

reached it with nnich difficulty by the help of ladders and

hooks, and found it so broken that the inscription could not

be made out. A reduced fae-siitnle of Mao’s copy is given by

‘ Pauthier, Lit Chine, p. 53; J. Hager’s Inscription of Yv, Paris, 1802;

Legge’s Sim Kinr/, pp. G7-74 ; TrdiisdctimiH of flic X. C. Br: Ji. A. Soc, No.

v., 1809, pp. 78-84; Journal Aniaiiqiu’, 18G7, Tome X., jjp. 197-337.

THE TABLET OF YU. 161

Dr. Legge, whose translation differs from Amiot’s in some particulars.

I received the irords of i\\9 Emperor, saying, ” Ah \ Associate helper, aiding noble! The islands and islets ma/ now be aseended, thut were doors for the birds and beasts. Tou devoted your person to the great overflowings, and with the daybreak yon rose up. Long were you abroad, forgetting your family ; you lodged at the mountain’s foot as in a hall ; your wisdom schemed; your body was broken ; your heart was all in a tremble. You went and sought to produce order and settlement. At Hwa, Yoh, Tai, and Hang, by adopting the principle of dividing the tcaters, your undertakings were completed.

With the remains of a taper, you offered your pure sacrifice. There were entanglement and obstruction, being swamped, and removals. The southern river flows on its course ; for ever is the provision of food made sure ; the myriad States enjoy repose ; the beasts and birds are for ever fled away.”

The characters in which this tablet is written are of an ancient tadpole form, and so difficult to read that grave doubts exist as to their proper meaning—^and even as to which of two or three forms is the correct one. Since the copy of Mao was taken, the Manchu scholar Ivwan-wan, when Governor-General of Liang Hu in 1868, erected a stone tablet at Wu-chang, in the Pavilion of the Yellow Stork, upon the eminence overlooking the Yangtsz’. This he regarded as a true copy of the authentic Yu Pal, or ‘ Tablet of Yu.’ A fac-slmile of this tablet, and of another rubbing from a stone now existing at the foot of Mount Hang (which is alleged to be an exact reproduction of the original on its top), was published by W. H. Medhurst in the A^. C. Asiatic Society Journal for 1869. A comparison of these three will give the reader an idea of the difficulties and doubts attending the settlement of the credibility of this inscription. A living native writer quoted by Mr. Medhurst says that the earliest notice of the tablet is by Tsin Yung of the Tang dynasty, about a.d. TOO, from which he infers that the people of the time of Tung must have seen the rock and its inscription. lie regards the latter as consisting of fairy characters, utterly unreadable, and therefore all attempts to decipher them as valueless and misleading.

Amid so many conflicting opinions among native scholars, the verdict of foreigners may safely await further discoveries. and the day when competent observers can examine these localities and tablets for themselves. Without exaggerating the importance and credibility of the S/tu, K’nvj and other ancient Chinese records, they can be received as the writings of a very remote period ; and while their claims to trustworthiness would be fortified if more intimations had been given of the manner in which they were kept dniing the long period antecedent to the era of Confucius, they still deserve a more respectful consideration than some modern writers are disposed to allow them.

For instance, Davis remarks: ” Yu is described as nine cubits in height, and it is stated that the skies rained gold in those days, which certainly (as Dr. Morrison observes) lessens the credit of the history of this period.” Now, without laying too much stress upon the record, or the objections against it, this height is but little more than that of Og of Bashan, even if we adopt the present length of the cubit fourteen and one-tenth inches, English ; and if Zv’w, here called <j<)ld, be translated metal (which it can just as well be), it may be a notice of a meteoric shower of extraordinary duration. Let these venerable ‘writings be investigated in a candid, cautious manner, weighing their internal evidence, and comparing their notices of those remote periods as much as they can be with those of other nations, and they will illustrate ancient history and customs in no slight degree.

Mr. Murray has given a synopsis from Mailla of what is recorded of the Ilia dynasty, which will fairly exhibit the matter of Chinese history. It is here introduced somewhat abridged, with dates inserted.

The accession of Yu (B.C. 2205) forms a romarkable era in Chinese history.

EARLY HISTORY OF TUi: TIIA DYNASTY. 153

The throne, which hitherto liad been more or less ek’ctive, became from this period hereditary in the eldest son, with only those occasional and violent interrujitions to which every despotic government is liable. The national annals, too, assume a more regular and authentic shape, the reigns of the sovereigns being at the same time reduced to a probable duration. Yu justly acquired a lasting veneration, but it was chiefly by his labors under his two predecessors. When he himself ascended the throne, age had already overtaken him ; still the lustre of his government was supported by able councillors, till it closed with bis life at the end of seven years. Many of the grandees wished, according to former practice, to raise to the throne Pi-yih, his first minister, and a person of distinguished merit; but regard for the father, in this case, was strengthened by the excellent ijualities of his son Ki, or Ti Kf (/.<?., the Emperor Ki), and even Pi-yih insisted that the prince should be preferred (2197). Hi.s reign of nine years was only disturbed by the rebellion of a turbulent subject, and he was succeeded (2188) by his son, Tai Kang. But this youth was devoted to pleasure; music, wine, and hunting entirely engrossed his attention. The Chinese, after enduring him for twenty nine years, dethroned him (2159), and his brother, Chung Kaug, was nominated to succeed, and lield th:> reins of government for thirteen years with a vigorous liand. He was followed l / his son, Siang (2140), who, destitute of the energy his situation required, gave himself up to the advice of his minister Yeh, and was by him, in connection with his accomplice, Ilantsu, declared incapable of reigning. The usurper ruled for seven years, when he was Idlled ; and the rightful monarch collected his adherents and gave battle to Ilantsu and the son of Yeh in the endeavor to regain his throne. Siang was completely defeated, and lost both his crown and life ; the victors immediately marched to the capital, and made so general a massacre of the family that they believed the name and race of Yu to be for ever extinguished.

‘J’he Empress Min, however, managed to escape, and tied to a remote city, where she brought forth a son, called Shau Kang ; and th better to conceal his origin, she employed him as a shepherd boy to tend flocks. Reports of the existence of such a youth, and his occupation, at length reached the ears of Hantsu, who sent orders to bring him, dead or alive. The royal widow then

placed her son as under-cook in the liousehold of a neighboring governor,

where the lad soon distinguished himself by a spirit and temper so superior to

this humble station, that the master’s suspicions were roused, and obliged him

to disclose his name and birth. The officer, being devotedly attached to the

house of Yu, not only kept the secret, but watched for an opportunity to reinstate

him, and meanwhile gave him a small government in a secluded situation,

which he prudently administered. Yet he was more than thirty years

old before the governor, by engaging other chiefs in his interest, could assemble

such a force as might justify the attempt to make head against tlie usurper.

The latter hastily assembled his troops and led them to the attack, but was defeated and taken prisoner by the young prince Chu himself ; and Shau Kang, with his mother, returned with acclamations to the capital. His reign is reckoned to have been sixty-one years’ duration in the chronology of the time, which includes the usurpation of forty years of Hantsu.

The country was ably governed by Shau Kang, and also by his son, Chu(2057), who ruled for seventeen yearr: ; but the succeeding sovereigns, in many instances, abandoned themselves to indolence and pleasure, and brought the kingly name into contempt. From Hwai to Kieh Kwei, a space of two hundred and twenty-two years, between B.C. 2040 and 1818, few records remain of the nine sovereigns, whose bare names succeed each other in the annals. At length the throne was occupied by Kieh Kwei (1G18), .. prince who is represented as having, in connexion with his consort, Mei-hi, practised ‘,’very kind of violence and extortion, in order to accumulate treasure, which they spent in unbridled voluptuousness. They formed a large pond of wine, deep enough to float a boat, at which three thousand men drank at once. It was surrounded, too, by pyramids of delicate viands, which no one, however, was allowed to taste, till he had first intoxicated himself out of the lake. The drunken quarrels which ensued wer« their favorite amusempiit. In the intrrior o” the jialaci’ Die vilest orgies were celebrated, and the venerable ministers, wlio attempted to remonstrate against these excesses, were either put to deatlx or exiled. The people were at once indignant and grieved at such crimes, which threatened the downfall of the dynasty ; and the discarded statesmen put themselves under the direction of the wise I Yin, and advised Chingtang, the ablest of their number, and a descendant of Huangdi, to assume the reins of government, assuring him of their support. He with reluctance yielded to their solicitations, and assembling a force marched against Kieh Kwei, who came out to meet him at the head of a numerous army, but fled from the contest on seeing the defection of his troops, and ended his days in despicable obscurity, after occupying the throne fifty two years.’

Chinese annals are generally occupied in this way ; the Emperor and his ministers fill the whole field of historic vision; little is recorded of the condition, habits, arts, or occupations of the people, who are merely considered as attendants of the monarch, which is, in truth, a feature of the ancient records of nearly all countries and people, Monarchs controlled the chronicles of their reigns, and their own vanity, as well as their ideas of government and authority led them to represent the people as a mere background to their own stately dignity and acts.

The Shang dynasty began b.c. 1760, or about one hundred and

twenty years before the Exodus, and maintained an unequal sway

over the feudal States composing the Empire for a period of six

hundred and forty-four years. Its first monarch, Chingtang, or

Tang the Successful, is described as having paid religious worship

to Shangti, under which name, perhaps, the true God was

intended. On account of a severe drought of seven years’

duration, this monarch is reported to have prayed, saying,

” 1 the child Li presume to use a dark colored victim, and

announce to thee, O Shang-tien Ilao (‘High Heaven’s Ruler’).

I«[ow there is a great drought, and it is right I should be held

responsible for it. I do not know but that I have offended

the powers above and below.” AVith regard to his own conduct,

he blamed himself in six particulars, and his words

were not ended when the rain descended copiously.

The fragmentary records of this dynasty contained in the

Shu King are not so valuable to the student who wishes merely

‘Hugh Murray, China, Vol. I., pp. 51-55 (edition of 1843),

TIIK SIIAXa DYNASTY. 155

to learn the succession of luoiiarclis in tliose (l:ijs, as to one who

inquires what were the principles on which they ruled, wliat

were the polity, the religion, the jurisdiction, and the checks of

the Chinese government in those remote times. The regular

records of those days will never he recovered, hut the preservation

of the hist two parts of the Shic Kiiuj indicates their

existence by fair inference, and encourages those who try to reconstruct

the early annals of China to give full value even to

slight fragments. But these parts have been of great service to

the people since they were written, in teaching them by precept

and example on what the prosperity of a State was founded, and

how theii- rnlers could bring it to ruin. In these respects there

are no ancient works outside of the Bible w^ith which they can

at all be compared. The later system of examination has given

them an unparalleled intluonce in molding the national character

of the Chinese. Of the eleven chapters now remaining all are

occupied more or less with the relative duties of the prince and

rulers, enforcing on each that the w-elfare of all was bound up

with their faithfulness. One quotation will give an idea of

their instructions. ” Order your affairs by righteousness, order

your heart by propriety, so shall you transmit a grand example

to posterit3\ I have heard the saying. He who finds instructors

for himself comes to the supreme dominion ; he wlft> says that

others are not equal to himself comes to ruin. He who likes to

ask becomes enlarged ; he who uses only himself becomes small.

Oh ! he who would take care for his end must be attentive to

his beginning. There is establishment for the observers of propriety,

and overthrow for the blinded and wantonly indifPerent.

To revere and honor the way of Heaven is the way ever to

preserve the favoring regard of Heaven.” ‘

‘Part IV., Book II., Chap. IV., 8-9. •

The chronicles of the Shang dynasty, as gathered from the Bamboo Books and other later records, resemble those of the Hia in being little more than a mere succession of the names of the sovereigns, interspersed here and there with notices of some remarkable events in the natural and political world. Luxurious and despised princes alternate with vigorous and warlike ones who coiiiinaiuled respect, :uul the coiiditiunof the State measura.’ bly C’ori’espoiid.s with the character of the monarchs, the feudal barons soinetiines increasing in power and territory by encroacliiug on their neighbors, and then snitering a reduction from some new State. The names of twenty-eight princes are given, the accounts of whose reigns are indeed fuller than those of the dukes of Edom in Genesis, but their slight notices would be more interesting if the same confidence could be reposed in them.

The bad sovereigns occupy more room in these^fasti than the

good ones, the palm of wickedness being given to Chau-sin, with

whom the dynasty ended. The wars which broke out during

this dynasty were numerous, but other events also find a place,

though hardly anything which throws light on society or civilization.

Droughts, famines, and other calamities were frequent

and attended by dreadful omens and fearful sights ; this fancied

correlation between natural casualties and political convulsions

is a feature running through Chinese history, and grows out of

the peculiar position of the monarch as the vicegerent of heaven.

The people seem to have looked for control and protection

more to their local masters than to their lord paramount,

ranging themselves under their separate banners as they weve

bidden. The History Made Easy speaks of the twenty-fifth

monarch, Wu-yih (e.g. 1198), as the most wicked of them all.

” Having made his images of clay in the shape of human beings,

dignified them with the name of gods, overcome them at gambling,

and set them aside in disgrace, he then, in order to complete

his folly, made leathern bags and filled them with blood,

and sent them up into the air, exclaiming, when his arrows hit

them and the blood poured down, ‘ I have shot heaven,’ meaning,

I have killed the gods.”

The names of Chau-sin and Tan-ki are coupled w’ith those

of Kieh and Mi-hi of the Ilia dynasty, all of them synonymous

in the Chinese annals for tlie acme of cruelty and licentiousness

—as are those of Xero and Messalina in Koman history. Chausin

is said one winter’s morning to have seen a few women

walking barelegged on the banks of a stream collecting shellfish,

and ordered their legs to be cut off, that he might see the

CHAU-SIN—RISE OF TIFE ClIAU DYNASTY. 157

marrow of persons who could resist cold so fearlessly. The

heart of one of his reprovers was also hrought him, in order to

see wherein it differed from that of cowardly ministers. The

last Booh of Shang contains the vain i-emonstrance of another

of them, who tells his sovereign that his dynasty is in the condition

of one crossing a large stream who can iind neither ford

nor bank. Many acts of this natnre alienated the hearts of the

people, nntil Wan wang, the leader of a State in the northwest

of China, nnited the principal men against his misrule ; hut

dying, bequeathed his crown and power to his son, Wu wang.

He gradually gathered his forces and met Chau-sin at the head

of a great army at Muli, near the junction of the rivers Ki and

Wei, north of the Yellow River in llonan, where the defeat of

the tyrant was complete. Feeling the contempt he was held in,

and the hopeless struggle before him, he lied to his palace and

burned himself with all his treasures, like another Sardanapalus,

though his immolation (in b.o. 1122) preceded the Assyrian’s by

five centuries.

Wu wang, the martial king, the founder of the Chan dynasty,

his father. Wan wang, and his brother, Duke Chan, are among

the most distinguished men of antiquity- for their erudition,

integrity, patriotism, and inventions. AViln wang. Prince of

Chan, was prime minister to Tai-ting, the grandfather of Chausin,

but was imprisoned for his fidelity. His son obtained his

liberation, and the sayings and acts of both occupy al)()ut twenty

books in Part V. of the Shu King. Duke Chan survived his

brother to become the director and support of his nephew ; his

counsels, occupying a large part of the history, are full of wisdom

and equity. Book X. contains his warning advice about drunkenness,

which has been remarkably influential among his counti-vmen

ever since. Ko period of ancient Chinese history is mora

celebrated than that of the founding of this dynastv, chieflv

because of the high chai’acter of its leading men, who Avere

regarded by Confucius as the impersonations of everything wise

and noble. Wu wang is represented as having invoked the

assistance of Shangti in his designs, and, when he was successful,

returned thanks and offered prayers and sacrifices. He

removed the capital from the province of Honan to the present Si-ngan, in Shensi, where it remained for a long period. This prince committed a great political blnnder in dividing the Empire

into petty states, thus destroying the ancient pure monarchy,

and leaving himself only a small portion of territory and power,

which were (piite insufficient, in the hands of a weak prince, to

maintain either the state or authority due the ruling sovereign.

The number of States at one time was one hundred and twentyfive,

at another forty-one, and, in the time of Confucius, about

six hundred years after the establishment of the dynasty, fiftytwo,

some of them large kingdoms. From about b.c. 7U0 the

imperial name and power lost the allegiance and respect of the

feudal princes, and gradually became contemptible. Its nominal

sway extended over the country lying north of the ITangtsz

kiang, the regions on the south being occupied by tribes of whonj

no intelligible record has been preserved.

The duration of the three dynasties, the Ilia, Shang, and

Chau, comprises a long and obscure period in the history of the

world, extending from b.c. 2205 to 249, from the time when

Terah dwelt in (Jharran, and the sixteenth dynasty of Theban

kings ruled in Egypt, down to the reigns of Antiochus Soter

and Ptolemy Philadelphus and the ti-anslation of the Septuagint.

I.—The IliA dynasty, founded by Yu the Great, existed four

Inmdred and thirty-nine years, down to n.o. lT<!r>, under seventeen

monarchs, the records of whose reigns are veiy brief.

Among contemporary events of importance are the call of

Abraham, in the year b.c. 2003, Jacob’s flight to Mesopotamia

in 1016, Joseph’s elevation in Egypt in 1885, and his father’s

arrival in 1863.

II.—The SuANG dynasty began with Tang the Successful, and continued six hundred and forty-four years, under twenty eight sovereigns, down to b.c. 1122. This period was characterized by wars among I’ival princes, and the power of the sovereign depended chiefly upon his personal character. The principal contemporary events were the Exodus of the Israelites in 1648, their settlement in Palestine in 1608, judgeship of Othniel, 1564 ; of Deborah, 1406 ; of Gideon, 1350 ; of Sam son, 1202 ; and death of Samuel in 1122.

CREDIBILITY OF THESE EAULV RECORDS. 159

III.—The CuAU dynasty began with Wu wang, and continued for eight hundred and seventy-three years, under thirty five monarchs, down to b.c. 249, the longest of any recorded in history. The sway of many of these was little more than nominal, and the feudal States increased or diminished, according to the vigor of the monarch or the ambition of the princes.

In B.C. 770 the capital was removed from Kao, near the River Wei in Shensi, to Luoyang, in the western part of Honan; this divides the house into the Western and Eastern Chan. The contemporary events of these eight centuries are too numerous to particularize. The accession of Saul in 1110; of David, 1070 ; of Rehoboam, 990 ; taking of Troy, 1084; of Samaria, 719 ; of Jerusalem, 586 ; death of Nebuchadnezzar, 501 ; accession of Cyrus and return of the Jews, 551 ; battle of Marathon, 490 ; accession of Alexander, 235 ; etc. The conquest of Egypt by Alexander in 322 brought the thirty-first and last dynasty of her native kings to an end, the first of which had begun under Menes about b.c. 2715, or twenty-two years after the supposed accession of Shinnung.

The absence of any great remains of human labor or art

previous to the Great Wall, like the Pj’i-amids, the Temple of

Solomon, or the ruins and mounds in Syria, has led many to

doubt the credibility of these early Chinese records. They ascribe

them to the invention of the historians of the llan dynasty,

working up the scattered relics of their ancient books into a

readable nari-ative, and therefore try to bring every statement

to a critical test for which there are few facts. The analogies

between the records in the Shu King and the Aryan myths

are skilfully explained by Mr. Kingsmill by reference to the

meanings of the names of persons and places and titles, and a

connection shown which has the merit at least of ingenuity and

beauty. Almost the only actual known relic of these three

dynasties is the series of ten stone drums [sMh ktt) now in the

Confucian temple at Peking. They were discovered about a.d.

600, in the environs of the ancient capital of the Chau dynasty,

and have been kept in Peking since the year 1126. They are

irregularly shaped pillars, from eighteen to thirty-five inches

high and about twentj^-eight inches across ; the inscriptions are

much worn, but enough remains to show that they commemo rate a great hunt of Siien wang (b.c. 827) in the region where they were found.’

AmohiT the feudal States under the house of Chau, that of

Tsin, on the northwest, had long been the most powerful, occupying

nearly a iifth of the country, and its inhabitants forming

a tenth of the whole population. One of the princes, called

Chausiang wang, carried his encroachments into the acknowledged

imperial possessions, and compelled its master, Tungchau

kiun, the last monarch, to humble himself at his feet. Although,

in fact, master of the whole Empire, he did not take the title,

but left it to his son, Chwangsiang wang, who exterminated the

blood royal and ended the Chau dynasty, yet lived only three

years in possession of the supreme power.

The son carried on his father’s successes until he had reduced

all the petty States to his sway. lie then took the name of Chi

Hwangti (‘ Emperor First’) of the Tsin dynasty, and set himself

to regulate his conquests and establish his authority by securing

to his subjects a better government than had been experienced

during the feudal times. He divided the country into

thirty-six provinces, over which he placed governors, and went

throughout them all to see that no injustice was practised.

This monarch, who has been called the Napoleon of China,

was one of those extraordinary men who turn the course of

events and give an impress to subsequent ages; Ivlaproth gives

him a high ciuiracter as a prince of energy and skill, but native

historians detest his name and acts. It is recorded that at his

new capital, Ilienyang, on the banks of the Ilwai, he constructed

a palace exactly like those of all the kings who had submitted

to him, and ordered that all the precious furniture of each and

those persons who had inhabited them should be transported to it, and everything rearranged. The whole occupied an immense space, and the various parts communicated with each other by a magnificent colonnade and gallery. He made progresses through his dominions with a splendor hitherto unknown, accompanied by officials and troops from all parts, thus making

‘ Journrd of the N. C. Branch of II. A. Society, Vols. VII., p. 137 ; VIII., pp.23, 133. In the last paper, by Dr. Bnshell, translations and fac-similes of the inscriptions are givoii, with many historical uotictjs.

TSIX nil IIWANGTI, THE ‘ EMPEROK FIRST.’ IGl

the people interested in each otlier and consenting to liis sway.

He also built public edifices, opened roads and canals to facilitate

intercourse and trade between the various provinces, and

repressed the incursions of the Iluns, driving them into the wilds

of Mongolia. In order to keep them out effectually, he conceived

the idea of extending and uniting the short walls which

the princes of some of the Xortherii States had erected on their

frontier into one grand wall, stretching across the Empire from

the sea to the Desert. This gigantic undertaking was completed

in ten years (b.c. 20-i), at a vast expense in men and material,

and not until the family of its builder had been destroyed.

This mode of protecting the country, when once well begun,

probably commended itself to the nation. It is impossible, indeed,

to imagine otherwise how it could have been done, for

the people were required to supply a quota of men from each

place, feed and clothe them while at work, and continue this

expense until their portion was built. Xo monarch could have

maintained an army which could force his sul)jects against their

\vill to do such a work or carry it on to completion after his

death. It is one of the incidental proofs of a great population

that so many laborers were found. However ineffectual it was

to preserve his frontiers, it has made his name celebrated

throughout the world, and his dynasty Tsin has given its name

to China for all ages and nations.’

The vanity of the new monarch led him to endeavor to destroy

all records written anterior to his own reign, that he might

be by posterity regarded as the first Emperor of the Chinese

race. Orders were issued that every book should be burned,

and especially the writings of Confucius and Mencius, explanatory

of the /Shu King upon the feudal States of Chau, whose

remembrance he wished to blot out. This strange command

was executed to such an extent that many of the Chinese literati

believe that not a perfect copy of the classical works escaped

destruction, and the texts were only recovered by rewriting

them from the memories of old scholars, a mode of reproduction

‘ Pautliier, La Chine, pp. 30, 221 ; Mem. cone, les Chinois, Tome III., p.183.

that does not appear so singular to a Chinese as it does to ua

If the same literary tragedy should be re-enacted to-day, thousands

of persons might easily be found in China M’ho could rewrite

from memory the text and commentary of their nine

classical works. ” Nevertheless,” as Ivlaproth remarks, ” they

were not in fact all lost : for in a country where writin”: is so

connnon it was almost impossible that all the copies of works

universally respected should be destroyed, especially at a time

when the material on which they were written was very durable,

being engraved with a stylet on bamboo tablets, or traced upon

them with dark-colored varnish.” The destruction was no doubt

as neai’ly complete as possible, and not only were many works

entirely destroyed, but a shade of doubt thereby thrown over

the accuracy of others, and the records of the ancient dynasties

rendered suspicious as well as incomplete. Not only were books

sought after to be destroyed, but nearly live hundred literati

were buried alive, in order that no one might remain to reproach,

in their writings, the Emperor First with having committed

so barbarous and insane an act.

The dynasty of Qin, set up in such cruelty and blood, did not long survive the death of its founder; his son was unable to maintain his rule over the half-subdued feudal chieftains, ftnd after a nominal reign of seven years he was overcome by Liu Bang, a soldier of fortune, who, having been employed by one of the chiefs as commander of his forces, used them to support his own authority when he had taken possession of the capital. Under the name of Kautsu he became the founder of the Han dynasty, and his accession is regarded as the commencement of modern Chinese history. The number and character of its heroes and literati are superior to most other periods, and to this day the term IIa)i-ts2\ or ‘ Sons of Han,’ is one of the favorite names by which the Chinese call themselves.

THE HOUSE OF TTAN. 163

The first fourteen princes of this dynasty reigned in Shensi, but Jvwangwu removed the capital from (^hang-an to Lohyang, as was done in the Chau dynasty seven centuries b f :re, the old one being ruined. During the reign of Ping i {or ‘he ‘Emperor ]*eacc’) the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ, was boiii in Judea, a renuirkable coincidence which has often attracted notice. During the reign of Ming ti, a.d. 65, a deputation was sent to India to obtain the sacred books and authorized teachers of Buddhism, which the Emperor intended to publicly introduce into China. This faith had already widely spread among his subjects, but henceforth it became the popular belief of the Chinese and extended eastward into Japan. This

monarch and his successor, Chang ti, penetrated with their armies

as far westward as the Caspian Sea, dividing and overcoming the

various tribes on the confines of the Desert and at the foot of the

Tien shan, and extending the limits of the monarchy in that direction

farther than they are at present. The Chinese sway was

maintained with varied success until toward the third century,

and seems to have had a mollifying effect upon the nomads of

those regions. In these distant expeditions the Chinese heard of

the Romans, of whom their authors speak in the highest terms :

” Everything precious and adnnrable in all other countries,” say

they, “comes from this land. Gold and silver money is coined

there; ten of silver are worth one of gold. Their merchants

trade by sea with. Persia and India, and gain ten for one in their

traffic. They are simple and upright, and never have two prices

for their goods ; grain is sold among them very cheap, and large

sums are embarked in trade. Whenever ambassadors come to the

frontiers they are provided with carriages to travel to the capital,

and after their arrival a certain number of pieces of gold are furnished

them for their expenses.” This description, so characteristic

of the shop-keeping Chinese, may be compared to many

accounts given of the Chinese themselves by western authors.

Continuing the resume of dynasties in order

—

lY.—The TsiN dynasty is computed to end with Chwangsiang by the authors of the Illstonj Made Easy, and to have existed only three years, from b.c. 249 to 246.

Y.—The After Tsin dynasty is sometimes joined to the preceding, but Chi riwangti regarded himself as the first monarch, and began a new house, which, however, lasted only forty-four years, from b.c. 246 to 202. The connnotions in the farthest East during this period were not less destructive of life than the wars in Europe between the Carthaginians and Romans, andthe Syrians, Greeks, and Egyptians.

VL, YII. The Han and Eastern Han dynasties.—Liu Bang took the title of Han for his dynasty, after the name of his principality, and his family swayed the Middle Kingdom from B.C. 2U2 to A.D. 221, under twenty-six monarchs. The Han dynasty was the formative period of Chinese polity and institutions, and an instructive parallel can be drawn between the character and acts of the Emperors who reigned four hundred years in China, and the numerous consuls, dictators, and emperors

who governed the Roman Empire for the same period

from the time of Scipio Africanus to Ileliogabalus. The founder

of the Han is honored for having begun the system of competitive

examinations for office, and his successors. Wan ti,

Wu ti, and Ivwang-wu, developed literature, commerce, arts,

and good government to a degree unknown before anywhere in

Asia. In the West the Ilomans became tlie great vrorld power,

and the advent of Christ and establishment of His church within

its borders only, render this period the turning epoch of progress

among niankind.

The period between the overthrow of the Han dynasty, a.d.

190, and the establishment of the Eastei-n Tsin, a.d. 317, is

one of the most interesting in Chinese historj^, from the variety

of characters which the troubles of the times developed. The

distractions of this period are described in the Histori/ of the

Tliree States, but this entertaining work cannot be regarded as

much better than a historical novel. It has, however, like

Scott’s stories, impressed the events and actors of those days

upon the popular mind more than any history in the language.

VIII.—The Aftkk IIan dynasty began a.d. 211, and continned

forty-four years, under two princes, to a.d. 205. The

country was divided into three principalities, called Wei, Wu,

and Shuh. The first, under the son of Tsao Tsao, ruled the

whole northern counti’y at Lohyang. and was the most powerful

of them for about forty years. The second, under Sinn Kien,

occupied the eastern provinces, from Shantung and the Yellow River down to the mountains of Fuhkien, holding his court at Nanking. The third, under Liu Pi, is regarded as the legitimate dynasty from his affinity with the Han ; he had his capital at Chingtu fii, in Sz’chuen.

r:6sume of the dynasties. 165

IX.—The TsiN dynasty was foimded by Sz’ma Chao, a general

in the employ of llau of tlie last house, who seated himself on

the throne of his master a.d. 265, the year of the latter’s death.

His son, Sz’ma Yen, took his place and extended his power over

the whole Empire by 280. The inroads of the Huns and internal

commotions were fast ]-educing the people to barbai’ism. Four

Emperors of this house held their sway at Lohyang during iiftytwo

years, till a.d. 317. The Iluns maintained their sway in

Shensi until a.d. 352, under the designations of the Ilan and

Chau dynasties. It is related of Liu Tsung, one of this barbaric

race, that he built a great palace at Chang-an, where he gathered

a myriad of the lirst subjects of his kingdom and lived in

luxury and magnificence quite unknown before in China. Among

his attendants was a body-guard of elegantly dressed women, many of whom were good musicians, which accompanied liirn on his progresses.

X.—The Eastern Tsin is the same house as the last, but Yuen ti having moved his capital in 317 from Luoyang to Xanking, his successors are distinguished as the Eastern Tsin. Eleven princes reigned during a period of one hundred and three years, down to a.d. 420. Buddhism was the chief religion at this time, and the doctrines of Confucius were highly esteemed; “children of concubines, priests, old women, and nurses administered the government,” says the indignant annalist. At this period twelve independent and opposing kings struggled for the ascendency in China, and held their ephemeral courts in the north and west. It was at this time that Constantino moved the capital of the Roman Empire in 328, and the nations of northern Europe under Attila invaded Italy in 410.

XL—The ScNG, or Northern Song dynasty, as it is often called to distinguish it from the XXIId dynasty (a.d. 970), is the first of the four dynasties known as the JVan-peh C/iao, or ‘ South-north dynasties,’ which preceded the Sui. It was founded by Liu Yu, who commanded the armies of Tsin, and gradually subdued all the opposing States. Displeased at the weakness of his master, Xgan ti, he caused him to be strangled, and placed his brother, Kung ti, upon the throne, who, fearing a like fate, abdicated the empty crown, and Liu Yu became monarch under the name of Kaiitsu, A.n. 420. Eight princes held the throne till a.d. 479, many of them monsters of ernelty, and soon cut off, when Sian Tau-cliing, Duke of Tsi, the prime minister, recompensed them as their ancestor had those of Tsin.

XII. Qi dynasty.—The new monarch took the name of Kan ti, or ‘ High Emperor,’ bnt enjoyed his dignity only four years. Four princes succeeded him at iS’anking, the last of wdiom, Ilo ti, was besieged in his capital by a faithless minister, assisted by the pi’ince of Liang, who overthrew the dynasty a.d. 502, after a duration of twenty-three years.

XIII. Liang dynasty.—The first Emperor, Wu ti, reigned forty-eight years, and reduced most of his opponents ; his dominions are described as being mostly south of the Yangtsz’ River, the Wei ruling the regions north of it. Wu ti did much to restore literature and the study of Confucius ; envoys from India and Persia also came to his court, and his just sway allowed the land to recruit. In his latter days he was so great a devotee of Buddhism that he retired to a monastery, like Charles Y., but being persuaded to resume his crown, employed his time in teaching those doctrines to his assembled courtiers. Three successors occupied the throne, the last of whom, King ti, was killed A.D. 557, after surrendering himself, by the general of the troops, wdio then seized the crown.

XIY. Chen dynasty.—Three brothers reigned most of the time this house held its sway. During this period and that of the three preceding families, the Ilunnish kingdom of Wei ruled the northern parts of China from a.d. 380 to 534, under eleven monarchs, when it was violently separated into the Eastern and Western Wei, and a third one called Chau, which ere long destro\’ed the last AVci at (‘hang-an and occupied northwest China. It is probable that the intercoui-se between China and

other parts of Asia was more extensive and complete during

the Wei dynasty than at any other period. Its sovereigns had

preserved peaceful rehitions with their ancestral seats, and with

tlie ti-ibes beyond Lake Baikal and the Obi River to the North

Sea. Trade seems to have flourished throughout the regions

lying between the Caspian Sea and Corea, and tlie records of

this period present accounts of the State in this vast tract to be

found nowhere else. One of these works referred to by Rcnriiisat is the report of officers sent by Tai-wii during his reign to travel through his dominions (424-451) and give full accounts of them.

One of the sovereigns of Chan, Wu ti (a.d. 561-572), had given his daughter in marriage to Yang Kien, the Prince of Sui, one of his ministers, who, gradually extending his influence, took possession of the throne of his master Tsiiig ti in 580. In a few years he restored order to a distracted land by bringing the several States under his sway and reuniting all China under his hand a.d. 589, after it had been divided nearly four centuries.

THE SUI AND TANO DYNASTIES. I67

XV. Sui dynasty.—The founder of this house has left an enduring name in Chinese annals by a survey of his dominions and division of them into interdependent vhau^ klun, and hleii^ with corresponding officers, an arrangement which has ever since existed. lie patronized letters and commerce, and tried to introduce the system of caste from India. After a vigorous reign of twenty-four years he was killed by his son Yang ti, who carried on his father’s plans, and during the fourteen years of his reign extended the frontiers through the Tarim Yalley and down to the Southern Ocean. His murder by one of his generals was the signal for several ambitious men to rise, but the Prince of Tang aided the son to rule for a year or two till he was removed, thus bringing the Sui dynasty to an end after thirty-nine years, but not before its two sovereigns had taught their subjects the benefits of an undivided sway.

XYI. Tang dynasty.—This celebrated line of princes began

its sway in peace, and during the two hundred and eightj’-sevcn

years (018 to 90S) they held the throne China was probably the

most civilized country on earth ; the darkest days of the West,

when Europe was wrapped in the ignorance and degradation of

the Middle Ages, formed the brightest era of the East. They

exercised a humanizing effect on all the surrounding countries,

and led their inhabitants to see the benefits and understand the

management of a government where the laws were above the

officers. The people along the southern coast were completely

civilized and incorporated into the Chinese race, and mark the change by always calling themselves Tang Jin, or ‘ Men of

Tang/ An interesting work on the trade and condition of

China at this time is the AMihar-al-Syn oual-Hind, or ‘ Observations

on China and India,’ by two Arab travellers to those

lands in the years 851 and 878, compiled by Abu Zaid and

translated by lieinaud in 1845.’ Li Shi-mii], the son of Li Ynen

the founder of this dynasty, may be regarded as the most accomplished monarch in the Chinese annals—famed alike for his

wisdom and nobleness, his conquests and good government, his

temperance, cultivated tastes, and patronage of literary inen.

AVhile still Prince of Tang he contributed greatly to his father’s

elevation and to the extension of his sway over the regions of

Central Asia. When the house of Tang was fully acknowledged,

and the eleven rival States which had started up on the

close of the house of Sui had been overcome, the capital was

removed from Lohyang back to Chang-an, and everything done

to compose the disordered country and reunite the distracted

State under a reo-ular and vigorous administration. Feeline:

himself unequal to all the cares of his great office, Li Yuen,

known as Kau-tsu Shin Yao ti (lit. ‘ High Progenitor, the Divine Yao Emperor ‘), resigned the j^ellow in favor of his son, who took the style of Chlng hioan {‘ Pure Observer ‘) for his reign, though his posthumous title is Tai-tsung Wan-w^i ti (‘ Our Exalted Ancestor, the Literary-Martial Emperor ‘), a.d. 627, and still further extended his victorious arms. One of his first acts was to establish schools and institute a s^’^stem of literary examinations ; he ordered a complete and accurate edition of all the classics to be published under the supervision of the most learned men in the Empire, and honored the memory of Confucius with special ceremonies of respect. Extraordinary pains were taken to prepare and preserve the historical records of former days and draw up full annals of the recent dynasties; these still await the examination of western scholars.

‘ Chinese Repository, Vol. I., p. 6; Reinaud, Relations des Voyages, 2 Vols..Paris, 1845. Yule, CatJiay and the Way Thithtr, Introd., p. cii.

TAI-TSLTN(J, FOUNDER OF THE HOUSE OF TAXG. 169

lie constructed a code of laws for the direction of his high officers in their judicial functions, and made progresses through

lii.s doiniiiions to inspect the condition of the people. During

liis reign the limits of the Enipii-e were extended over all the

Turkisli tribes lying west of Kiinsuh and south of the Tien

shan as far as the Caspian Sea, which were placed nnder four

satrapies or residences, those of Kuche, Pisha or Khoten, Ilarashar,

and Kashgar, as their names are at present. West of the

last many smaller tribes submitted and rendered a partial subjection

to the Emperor, who arranged them into sixteen governments

under the management of a governor-general over theiiown

chieftains. His frontiers reached from the borders of

Persia, the Caspian Sea, and the Altai of the Kirghis steppe,

along those mountains to the north side of Gobi eastward to

the Inner Iling-an. Sogdiana and part of Khorassan, and the

regions around the llindu-kush, also obeyed him. The rulers

of Xipal and Magadha or Bahar in India sent their salutations

by their ambassadors, and the Greek Emperor Theodosius sent

an envoy to Si-ngan in 643 carrying presents of rubies and

emeralds, as did also the Persians. The IS^estorian missionaries

also presented themselves at court. Tai-tsung received them

with respect, and heard them rehearse the leading tenets of

their doctrine ; he ordered a temple to be erected at his capital,

and had some of their sacred books translated for his examination,

though there is no evidence now remaining that any portion

of the Bible was done into Chinese at this time.

Near the close of his life Tai-tsung undertook an expedition against Corea, but the conquest of that country was completed by his son after his death. A sentiment has been preserved at this time of his life which he uttered to his sons while sailing t)n the River Wei :

“‘ See, my children, the waves which lloat our fragile bark are able to submerge it in an instant ; know assuredly that the people are like the waves, and the Emperor like this fragile bark.” During his reign his life was attempted several times, once by his own son, but he was preserved from these attacks, and died after a reign of twenty-three years, deeply lamented by a grateful people. The Chinese accounts state that the foreign envoys resident at his court cut off their hair, some of them disfigured their faces, bled themselves, and sprinkled the blood around the bier in testimony of their grief.

Whatever may have been the truth in this respect, many proofs exist of the distinguished character of this monarch, and that the high reputation he enjoyed during his lifetime was a just tribute to his excellences, he will favorably compare with Akbar, Marcus Aurelius, and Kanghi, or with Charlemagne and llarun Al Ilaschid, who came to their thrones in the next century.^

Tai-tsung was succeeded by his son Kau-tsung, whose indolent imbecility appeared the more despicable after his father’s vigor, but his reign fills a large place in Chinese history, from the extraordinary career of his Empress, Wu Tsih-tien, or Wu hao(‘ Empress “Wu ‘) as she is called, who by her blandishments obtained entire control over him. The character of this woman has, no doubt, suifered much from the bad reputation native historians have given her, but enough can be gathered from their accounts to show that with all her cruelty she understood how to maintain the authority of the crown, repress foreign invasions, quell domestic sedition, and provide for the wants of the people. Introduced to the harem of Tai-tsung at the age of

fourteen, she was sent at his death to the retreat where all his

women were condemned for the rest of their days to honorable

imprisonment. While a member of the palace Kau-tsung had

been charmed with her appearance, and, having seen her atone

of the state ceremonies connected with the ancestral worship,

bi’ought her back to the palace. His queen, Wang-shi, also

favored his attentions in order to draw them off from another

rival, but Wu Tsih-tien soon (obtaining entire sway over the

moiuirch, united both women against her ; she managed to

fill the principal offices with her friends, and by a series of

manonivres supplanted each in turn and became Empress. One

means she took to excite suspicion against Wang-shi was, on

occasion of the birth of her first child, after the Empress had

visited it and before Kau-tsung came in to see his offspring, to

strangle it and charge the crime upon her Majesty, which led

to her trial, degradation, and impi-isonment, and ere long to her

death.

THE EMPRESS WU TSIH-TIEN. 171

As soon as she became Empress (in O,”),”)), Wu began gradually to assume more and more authority, until, long before the Emperor’s death in 684, she engrossed the whole management of affairs, and at his demise opeidy assumed the reins of government, which she wielded for twenty-one years with no weak hand. Her generals extended the limits of the Empire, and her officers carried into effect her orders to alleviate the miseries of the people. Her cruelty vented itself in the nnirder of all who opposed her will, even to her own sons and relatives; and her pride was rather exhibited than gratified by her assuming the titles of Queen of Heaven, Holy and Divine Ttuler, Holy Mother, and Divine Sovereign. When she was disabled by age her son, Chung-sung, supported by some of the first men of the land, asserted his claim to the throne, and by a palace conspiracy succeeded in removing her to her own apartments, where she died aged eighty-one years. Her character has been blackened in native histories and popular tales, and her conduct held up as an additional evidence of the evil of allowing women to meddle with governments.’

A race of twenty monarchs swayed the sceptre of the house

of Tang, but after the demise of the Empress Wu Tsih-tien

none of them equalled Tai-tsung, and the Tang dynasty at last

succumbed to ambitious ministers lording over its imbecile

sovereigns. In the reign of IHuen-tsung, about the year 722,

the population of the Fifteen Provinces is said to have been

52,884,818. The last three or four Em])erors exhibited the usual

marks of a declining house—eunuchs or favorites promoted by

them swayed the realm and dissipated its resources. At last,

Li TsQen-chung, a general of Chau-tsung, whom he had aided

in quelling the eunuchs in 904, rose against his master, destroyed

him, and compelled his son, Chau-siuen ti, to abdicate, a.d. 907.

XYH. After Liang dynasty.—The destruction of the famous

dynasty loosened the bonds of all government, and nine separate

kings struggled for its provinces, some of whom, as Apki

over the Kitan in the north-east, succeeded in founding kingdoms.

‘ Chinese Repository, Vol. III., p. 543 ; Canton MisceUany, No. 4, 1831, pp24Gfif.

The Prince of Liang, the new Emperor, was unable to extend his sway beyond the provinces of Honan and Shantung. After a short reign of six years lie was killed by his brother, Liang Chn-tien, who, on his part, fell under the attack of a Turkish general, and ended this dynasty, a.d. 923, after a duration of sixteen years.

XVIII. Aftek Tang dynasty.—The conqueror called himself

(Jhwang-tsung, and his dynasty Tang, as if in continuation of

that line of princes, but this mode of securing popularity was

unsuccessful. Like Pertinax, Aurelian, and others of the Roman

emperors, he was killed by his troops, who chose a successor,

and his grandson, unable to resist his enemies, burned himself

in his palace, a.d. 930, thus ending the weak dynasty after

thirteen years of struggle.

XIX. After Tsin dynasty.—The Kitan or Tartars of Liautimg, who had assisted in the overthrow of the hist dynasty, compelled the new monarch to subsidize them at his accession, A.D. 93G, by ceding to them sixteen cities in Chihli, and promising an annual tiibute of three hundred thousand pieces of silk. This disgraceful submission has ever since stigmatized Tien-fuh(‘ Heavenly Happiness’) in the eyes of native historians. IBs nephew who succeeded him is known as Chuh ti (the ‘Carried away Emperor’), and was removed in 9J:7 by those who put him on the throne, thus ending the meanest house which ever swayed the black-haired people.

XX. AFrKu Hax dynasty.—The Tartars now endeavored to subdne the whole country, but were repulsed by Liu Clii-yuen, a loyal general who assumed the yellow in 947, and called his dynasty after the renowned house of Han; he and his son held sway four years, till a.d. 951, and then were cut olf.

THE WU TAI, on FIVE DYNASTIES. 173

XXI. Afti:u Chau dynasty.—Ko Wei, the successful aspirant to the throne, maintained his seat, but died in three years, leaving his power to an adopted son, Shi-tsung, whose vigorous rule consolidated his still unsettled sway. His early death and the youth of his son decided his generals to bestow the sceptic upon the lately appointed tutor to the monarch, which closed the After Chau dynasty a.d. 900, after a brief duiation of nine years. He was honored with a title, and, like Richard ( h’omwell, allowed to live in quiet till his death in 973, a fact creditable to the new monarch. These short-lived houses between a.d. 907-9G0 are known in Chinese history as the WuDai, or ‘ Five Dynasties.’ While they stiiiggled for supremacy in the valley of the Yellow River, the regions south and west were portioned among seven houses, who ruled them in a good degree of security.

Fuhkien was held l)y the King of Min, and Kiaiignan by the King of Wu ; the regions of Sz’chuen, Xganhwui, and Kansuh were held by generals of note in the service of Tang ; another general held Kwangtung at Canton through two or three reigns; and another exercised sway at Kingchau on the Yangzi River. It is needless to mention them all. During this period Europe was distracted by the wars of the Normans and Saracens, and learning there was at a low ebb.

XXIL—SrxG dynasty began A.D. 9TU, and maintained its power

over the whole Empire for one hundred and fifty-seven years, till

A.D. 1127. The mode in which its founder, Chan Kwang-yun, was

made head of the State, reminds one of the way in which the

Pmetorian guards sometimes elevated their chiefs to the throne of

the Caisars. After the military leaders had decided upon their

future sovereign they sent messengers to announce to him his new

honor, who found him drunk, and “before he had time to reply

the yellow robe was already thrown over his person.” At the

close of his reign of seventeen years the provinces had mostly submitted to his power at Kaifnng, but the two Tartar kingdoms of

Liau and Jlia remained independent. This return to a centralized government proves the unity of the Chinese people at this time in their own limits, as well as their inability to induce their

neighbors to adopt the same system of government. The successors

of Tai-tsu of Sling had a constant struggle for existence

with their adversaries on the north and west, the Liau and Ilia,

whose recent taste of power under the last two dynasties had

shown them their opportunity. On the return of prosperity under

his brother’s reign of twenty-two years, the former institutions

and political divisions were restored throughout the southern half

of the Empire ; good government was secured, aided by able

generals and loyal ministers, and the rebels everywhere quelled.

Chin-tsung was the third sovereign, and his reign of forty-one

years is the brightest portion of the house of Sung. The kings

of Ilia in Kansuh acknowledged themselves to be his tributaries, but he bought a cowardly peace with the Liau on the north-east.

During his reign and that of his son, Tin-tsung, a violent controversy arose among the literati and officials as to the best mode of conducting the government. Some of them, as Sz’ma Kwang the historian, contended for the maintenance of the old principles of the sages. Others, of whom Wang i^gan-shi was the distinguished leader, advocated reform and change to the entire overthrow of existing institutions. For the first time in the history of China, two political parties peacefully struggled for supremacy, each content to depend on argument and truth for the victory. The contest soon grew too bitter, however, and the accession of a new monarch, Shin-tsung, enabled AVang to dispossess his opponents and manage State affairs as he pleased.

After a trial of eight or ten years the voice of the nation restored the conservatives to power, and the radicals were banished beyond the frontier. A discussion like this, involving all the cherished ideas of the Chinese, brought out deep and acute inquiry into the nature and uses of things generally, and the Avriters of this dynasty, at the head of Avhom was Cliu Hi, made a lasting impression on the national mind.

The two sons of Shin-tsung were unable to oppose the northern

hordes of Liau and Ilia, except by setting a third aspirant against

both. These were the Niu-chih or Kin,’ the ancestors of the

present Man’chus, who carried away llwui-tsung as a captive in

1125, and his son too the next year, pillaging Lohyang and

possessing themselves of the region north of the Yellow Kiver.

This closed the Northern Sung. The Kin established themselves

at Peking in 1118, whence they were driven in 1235 by Genghis

Khan, and fled back to the ancestral haunts on the Songari and

Liau Itivers,

XXIII.

—

Southern Song dynasty forms part of the preceding, for Kao-tsung, the brother of the last and ninth monarch of the weakened house of Northern Song, seeing his capital in ruins, fled to Nanking, and soon after to the beautiful city of Hangzhou on the eastern coast at the mouth of the Qiantang River.

‘ Two graves of the Kin monarchs exist on a hill west of Fangshan hien, fifty miles south-west of Peking; they were repaired by Kanghi. Dr. Busliell visited them in 1870.

THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN SUNG. 175

Nanking was pillaged by the Kin, but Ilangeliau was too far for

tliem. It gradually grew in size and strength, and became a

famous capital. Kao-tsung resigned in liG2, after a reign of

tliirty-SiX years, and survived his abdication twenty-four years.

The next Emperor was Iliao-tsung, who also resigned the yellow

to Kwang-tsung, his son, and he again yielded it to his son Ningtsung.

This last, in his distress, called the rising Mongols into his

service in 1228 to help against the Kin. The distance from the

northern frontier, wdiere the Mongols were flushed with their

successes over the Tangouth of Ilia at Kinghia in 1226, was too

far for them to aid Xing-tsung at this time. He was, however,

relieved from danger to himself, and the Mongols deferred their

intentions for a few years. From this date for about fifty years

the Sung grew weaker and weaker under the next five sovereigns,

until the last scion, Ti Ping, was drowned with some of

his courtiers, one of whom, clasping him in his arms, jumped

from the vessel, and ended their life, dignity, and dynasty together.

It had lasted one hundred and fifty-two years under nine monarchs, who showed less ability than those of Northern Song, and were all much inferior as a whole to the house of Tang. Their patronage of letters and the arts of peace was unaccompanied by the vigor of their predecessors, for they were unwilling to leave the capital and risk all at the head of their troops. It is the genius and philosophy of its scholars that has made the Sung one of the great dynasties of the Middle Kingdom.

XXIV.—The Yuan dynasty was the first foreign sway to which the Sons of IJan had submitted; their resistance to the army, which gradually overran the country, was weakened, however, by treachery and desultory tactics until the national spirit was frittered away. During the interval between the capture of Peking by Genghis and the final extinction of the Sung dynasty, the whole population had become somewhat accustomed to Mongol rule. Having no organized government of their own, these khans were content to allow the Chinese the full exercise of their own laws, if peace and taxation were duly upheld.

Kublai had had ample opportunity to learn the character of his new subjects, and after the death of Mangu khan in 1260 and his own establishment at Peking in 1261, he in fifteen years brought his vast dominions under a nietliodical sway and developed their resources more than ever. Though faihng in his attempt to eon(pier Japan, ho enlarged elsewhere his vanishing frontiei’S (hiring his life till they could neither be dehned nor governed. His patronage of merit and scholarship proves the good results of his tu*:elage in China, while the short-lived glory of his administration in other hands chielly proved what good material he

had to work with in China in comparison with his own race.’

He was a vigorous and magnificent prince, and had, moreover,

the advantage of having his acts and splendor related by Marco

Polo—a chronicler worthy of his subject. The Grand Canal,

which was deepened and lengthened during his reign, is a lasting

token of his sagacity and eidightened policy. An interesting

monument of this dynasty, erected in 1315, is the gat^

way in the Kii-yung kwan (pass) of the Great Wall north of

Peking. Upon the interior of this arch is cnt a Buddhist charm

in six different kinds of character—Mongolian, Chinese, Oigour,

antifjue Devanagari, Niu-chih, and Tibet m.”

After the Grand Khan’s death the ]^[ongols retained their power under the reign of Ching-tsung, or T’imur khan, a grandson of Kublai, and Wu-tsung, or Genesek khan,’ a nephew of the former, but their successors met with opj^osition, or were destroyed by treachery. The offices were also filled with Mongols, without any regard to the former mode of conferring rank according to literary qualifications, and the native Chinese began to be thoroughly dissatisfied with a sway in which they had no part.

The last and eleventh, named Ching-tsung, or Tohan-Timur, came to the throne at the age of thirteen, iind gave himself up to pleasure, his eunuchs and ministers dividing the possessions and offices of the Chinese among themselves and their adherents.

‘See ‘Remusa.t,’ JVbuvemix Melanges, Tomes I., p. 437; TI., pp. 64, 88, and SOOT, for a series of notices concerning the Mongol generalii and history.

‘Compare Wylie in the R. A. Sor. Join;, Vol. V. (N.S ), i>. 14; Fergusson, Hint. Ind. iind Kitxt. Airhittrtiirc, p. 708 ; YuU^^’s Polo, I., pp. ’28, 400.

^ This should be Kaishaii-kuUuk klian, caUed Kdi-mnrj in (Jhinese. Remusat, Nouveaux MelanycH, Tome II., pp. 1-4.

<iATEWAY OF THE YUEN UYNASTV, KL-YUNti KWAN, OKEAT WALL THE Sin’REMACY OF THE MONGOLS. 177

This conduct aroused his subjects, and Chu Vuen-cluing, a plebeian by birth, and formerly a i)riest, raised the standard of revolt, and finally expelled the Mongols, a.d. 136S, after a duration of eighty-nine years.’

Like most of the preceding dynasties, the new one established

itself on’ the misrule, luxury, and weakness of its predecessors;

the people submitted to a vigorous rule, as one which exhibited

the true exposition of the decrees of Heaven, and npheld its

laws and the harmony of the universe ; while a weak sovereign

plainly evinced his usurpation of the ” divine utensil ” and unfitness

for the post by tlie disorders, famines, piracies, and

insurrections which afflicted the mismanaged State, and which

were all taken by ambitious leaders as evidences of a change in

the choice of Heaven, and reasons for their carrying out the new

selection which had fallen on them. Amid all the revolutions

in China, none have been founded on principle ; they were mere

mutations of masters, attended with more or less destruction of

life, and no better appreciation of the rights of the subject or

the powers of the rulers, Xor without some knowledge of the

high obligations man owes his Maker and himself is it easy to

see whence the sustaining motive of free religious and political

institutions can be derived.

XXY. The Ming, i.e., ‘ Bright dynasty.’—The character of Hongwu, as Zhu Yuan-zhang called his reign on his accession, has been well drawn by Remusat, who accords him a high rank for the vigor and talents manifested in overcoming his enemies and cementing his power. He established his capital at banking, or the ‘ Southern Capital,’ and after a reign of thirty years transmitted the sceptre to his grandson, Kienwtin, a youth of sixteen. Yungloh, his son, dissatisfied with this arrangement, overcame his nephew and seized the crown after five years, and moved the capital back to Peking in 1403. This prince is distinguished for the code of laws framed under his auspices, which has, with some modifications and additions,

ever since remained as the basis of the administi-ation. During

the reign of Kiahtsing the Portuguese came to China, and in that

of Wanleih, about 1580, the Jesuits gai-ned an entrance into the

‘ One of the causes of their easy overthrow is stated to have been the enormous robbery of the people by the lavish issue of paper money, which at last became worthless.

country. In his time, too, the Niu-cliih, or Kin, whom Gen*

ghis liad driven away in 1235, again became numerous and

troublesome, and took possession of the northern frontiers.

The first chieftain of the Manchus who attained celebrity was

Tienming, who in 1618 published a manifesto of his designs

against the house of Ming, in which he announced to Heaven

the seven things he was bound to revenge. These consisted of

petty oppressions upon persons passing the frontiers, assisting

his enemies, violating the oath and treaty of peace entered intc

between the two rulers, and killing his envoys. The fierce nomad

had already assumed the title of Emperor, and ” vowed to celebrate the funeral of his father with the slaughter of two hundred thousand Chinese.” Tienming overran the north-eastern parts of China, and committed unsparing cruelties upon the

people of Liautung, but died in 1627, before he had satisfied

his revenge, leaving it and his army to his son Tientsung.

The Chinese army fought bravely, though unsuccessfully,

against the warlike Manchus, whose chief not only strove to

subdue, but endeavored, by promises and largesses, to win the

troops from their allegiance. The apparently audacious attempt

of this small force to subdue the Chinese was assisted by numerous

bodies of rebels, who, like wasps, sprung up in various

parts of the country, the leaders of each asserting his claims to

the throne, and all of them i-endering their common country an

easier prey to the invader. One of them, called Li Zhi-cheng, attacked Peking, and the last Emperor Hwai-tsung, feeling that he had little to hope for after the loss of his capital, and had already estranged the affections of his subjects by his ill conduct, first stabbed his daughter and then hung himself, in 1643, and ended the house of Ming, after two hundred and seventy six years. The usurper received the submission of most of the eastern provinces, but the Chinese general. Wu San-gui, in command of the army on the north, refused to acknowledge him, and, making peace with the Manchus, invoked the aid of Tsungteh in asserting the cause of the rightful claimant to the throne. This was willingly agreed to, and the united army marched to Peking and speedily entei-cd the capital, which the rebel chief had left a heap of ruins when he took away his booty. The Manchus now declared themselves the rulers of the Empire, but their chief dying, his son Shunzhi, who at the age of six succeeded his father in 16-1-t, is regarded as the Urst Emperor; his uncle, Aina-wang, ruled and reorganized the administration in his name.

TTIE :\IINrr DYNASTY. ^79

XXVI. The Qing,’ i.e. ‘ Pure dynasty.’—During the eighteen

years he sat upon the throne Shunchi and his officers subdued

most of the northern and central provinces, but the maritime

regions of the south held out against the invaders, and

one of the leaders, by means of his fleets, carried devastation

along the whole coast. The spirit of resistance was in some

parts crushed, and in others exasperated by an order for all

Chinese to adopt as a sign of submission the Tartar mode of

shaving the front of the head and braiding the hair in a long

queue. Those M’ho gave this order, as Davis remarks, must

have felt themselves very strong before venturing so far upon

the spirit of the conquered, and imposing an outward universal

badge of surrender upon all classes of the people. ” Mar.y are

the changes which may be made in despotic countries, without

the notice or even the knowledge of the larger portion of the

community ; but an entire alteration in the national costume

affects every individual equally, from the highest to the lowest,

and is perhaps of all others the most open and degrading mark

of conquest.” This order M’as resisted by many, who chose to

lose their heads rather than part with their hair, but the mandate

was gradually enforced, aud has now for about two centuries

been one of the distinguishing marks of a Chinese, though

to this day the natives of Fuhkien near the seaboard wear a

kerchief around their head to conceal it. The inhabitants of

this province and of Kwangtung held out the longest against

the invaders, and a vivid account of their capture of Canton,

Kovember 20, 1650, where the adherents of the late dynasty had

intrenched themselves, has been left us by Martini, an eyewitness.

Some time after its subjugation a brave man, Ching Chi-hmg, harassed them by his fleet ; and his son, Ching

‘ For the origin of the Manchus see Klaproth, Memoires sur VAsie, Tome I.,p. 441.

(“]iirio:-kniiir, or Koxiiiiia, molested the coast to fiicli a dcijiee

that the Emperor Kanghi, in 1665, ordered all the people to retire

three leagues inland, in order to prevent this heroic man

from reaching them. This command was generally obeyed,

and affords an instance of the singular nnxture of power and

weakness seen in many parts of Chinese legislation ; for it

might be supposed that a government which could compel its

maritime subjects to leave their houses and towns and go into

the country at great loss, might have easily armed and equipped

a fleet to have defended those towns and homes. Koxinga,

finding himself unable to make any serious impression upon

the stability of the new government, went to Formosa, drove

the Dutch out of Zealandia, and made himself master of tho

island.’

Shunchi died in 1661 and was succeeded by his son Kanghi/

who was eight years old at his accession, and remained under

guardians till he was fourteen, when he assumed the reins of

government, and swayed the power vested in his liands with a

prudence, vigor, and success that have rendered him more celebrated

than almost any other Asiatic monarch. It was in 1661

that Louis XIY. had assumed the sovereignty of France at al)out

the same age, and for fifty -four years the reigns of these two

monarchs ran paralleL During Kanghi’s unusually long reign

of sixty-one years (the longest in Chinese annals, except Taimao

of the Shang dynasty, b.c. 1637-1562), he extended his dominions

to the borders of Kokand and Badakshan on the west, and to the confines of Tibet on the south-west, simplifying the administration and consolidating his power in every part of his vast dominions. To his regulations, perhaps, are mainly owing the unity and peace which the Empire has exhibited for more than a century, and which has produced the impression abroad of the unchangeableness of Chinese institutions and character.

‘ Compare tho interesting translation from a Chinese record of the capture of Fort Zealandia, by H. E. Ilobson, Journal of JV. C. Br. /?. A. Society, Xo. XL, Art. L, 1876.

– Rimusat, Nouveaiu Mehinges, Tome II., pp. 21-44 : Bouvet, FAfe of Kany hi; Gutzlaff, Life of Kanghi.

THE MANCIIUS—THE EMPEROP. KAXOIlf. 181

This may be ascribed, chiefly, to his indefatigable application to all affairs of State, to his judgment and penetration in the choice of officers, his economy in regard to himself and liberal magnificence in everything that tended to the good of his dominions, and his sincere desire to promote the happiness of his people by a steady and vigorous execution of the laws and a continual watchfulness over the conduct of his hiirh officers. These qualities have perhaps been unduly extolled hy his foreign friends and biographers, the liomish missionaries, and if their expressions arc taken in their strictest sense, as we understand them, they do elevate him too high. lie is to be

compared not with Alfred or AVilliam III. of England, Louis IX.

or Henry TV. of France, and other European kings, hut with

other Chinese and Asiatic princes, few of whom equal him.

The principal events of his long reign are the conquest of the

Eleuths. and subjugation of several tribes lying on the north and

south of the Tien shan ; an embassy across the Kussian Possessions

in 1713 to the khan of the Tourgouth Tartars, preparatory

to their return to the Chinese territory ; the settlement of

the northern frontier between himself and the czar, of which

Gerbillon has given a full account ; the survey of the Empire by

the Romish missionaries ; and the publication of a great thesaurus

of the language. In many things he showed himself liberal toward foreigners, and the country was thrown open to their commerce for many years.

His son Yungching succeeded in 1T22, and is regarded by many natives as superior to his father. He endeavored to suppress Christianity and restore the ancient usages, which had somewhat fallen into desuetude during his father’s sway, ami generally seems to have held the sceptre to the benefit of his subjects. Yungching is regarded as an usurper, and is sr.id to have changed the figure four to fourteen on the billet of nomination, himself being the fourteenth son, and the fourth being absent in Mongolia, where he was soon after arrested and imprisoned, and subsequently died in a palace near Peking; whether he was put to death or not is uncertain. Kienlung succeeded Yungching in 1736, and proved himself no unworthy descendant of his grandfather Ivanghi ; like him he had the singular fortune to reign sixty years, and for most of that period in peace’ Some local insurrections disturbed the general trauquilliry, principally among the al)(»rigiiies in I-‘ormosa and Tvweiclian, and in an nnprovolved attack upon IJirmali his armies sustained a signal defeat and were obliged to retreat. The incursions of the Xipalese into Tibet induced the Dalai Lama to apply to him for assistance, and in doing so he contrived to establish a guardianship over the whole country, and place bodies of troops in all the important positions, so that in effect lie annexed that vast region to his Empire, but continued the lamas in the internal administration.

During his long reign Xieidnng exhausted the resources of

his Empire by building useless edifices and keeping up large

armies. lie received embassies from the liussians, Dutch, and

English, bv which the character of the (“hinese and the nature of

their country became better known to western nations. These

end)assies greatly strengthened the im|)ression on the side of the

Chinese of their superiority to all other nations, for they looked

upon them as a(;knowledgments on the })art of the governments

Avho sent them of their allegiance to the court of Peking. The

presents were regarded as tribute, the ambassadors as deputies

from their masters to acknowledge the su]’)reniacy of the Emperor,

and the requests they made for trade as rather another form

of receiving presents in return than a mutual arrangement for a

trade equally beneficial to both. Ivienlung abdicated the throne

in favor of his fifth son and retired with the title of S’fjwe/Jie

Km/peroi\ while liis son, Kiaking, had that of Enq)eror.

The character of this prince was dissolute and superstitious, and his reign of twenty- five years was much disturbed by secret combinations against the government and by insurrections* and

‘ His character and enthusiasm for literary pursuits merit, on the whole, the lines inscribed by the Roman Catholic missionaries beneath his portrait in the Memoircs cone, leu Ghinois:

Occup sans relache a touts les soins divers

D’lin gouvcrncment qu’on admire,

Le i)lus gran<l potentat qui soit dans I’univors

Et le mcillcur l(>ttr6 qui soit dans son Empire.

‘ Among the most serious of these was the revolt oP the Peh lien kiao. Zr<-tres EfHpirdcx, Tome III., pp. 201-29S, ;55;5, 879, etc. In 1789 the ladronea infested the southern coasts. //>., Tome II., p. 493.

THE llEIGNS OF KIEXLUNG AND TAUKWANG. ]83

pirates in and about the Empire. A conspiracy’ against him

broke out in tlie pahice in 1813, where he was for a time in

some danger, but was rescued by the courage of his guard and

family ; one of liis sons, Mien-ning, was designated as his successor

for liis bravery on this occasion. A fleet of about sixhundred

piratical junks, under Ching Yih and Chang Pan, infested

the coasts of Kwangtung for several years, and were at

last put down in ISIO by the provincial government taking

advantage of internal dissensions between the leaders. The

principal scene of the exploits of this fleet was the estuary of

the Pearl lliver, whose numerous harbors and chaimels afforded

shelter and escape to their vessels when pursued by the imperialists,

while the towns upon the islands were plundered and

the inhabitants killed if they resisted. The internal government

of this audacious band was ascertained by two Englishmen,

Mr. Turner and Mr. Glasspoole, who at different times fell into

their hands and were obliged to accompany them in their marauding

expeditions. To so great a height did they proceed

that the governor of Canton went to Macao to reside, and entered

into some arrangements with the Portuguese for assistance

in suppressing them. The piratical fleet was attacked and blockaded

for ten days by the combined forces, but without much

damage ; there was little prospect of overcoming them had not

rivalry between the two leaders gone so far as to result in a

severe engagement and loss on both sides. The conquered pirate

soon after made his peace with the government, and the

victor shortly afterward followed the same course. The story

of those disturbed times to this day affords a fj-equent subject

for the tales of old people in that region, and the same waters

are still infested by the ” foam of the sea,” as the Chinese term

these freebooters.

The reign of Kiaking ended in 1820; by the Emperor’s will his second son was appointed to succeed him, and took the style Taukwang. lie exhibited more energy and justice than his father, and his efl^orts purified the administration by the personal supervision taken of their leading members. His reign was marked by many local insurrections and disasters in one quarter or another of his vast dominions. A rebellion in Turkestan in 1S28 was attended with great cruelty and treachery on the part of the Chinese, and its leader, Jehangir, was murdered, in v^iolation of the most solenm promises. An insurrection in Formosa and a rising among the mountaineers of Kwangtung, in 1830-32, were put down more by money than by force, but as peace is both the end and evidence of good government in China, the authorities are not very particular how it is brought about.

The rapid increase of opium-smoking among his people led

to many efforts to restrain this vice by prohibitions, penalties,

executions, and other means, but all in vain. The Emperors

earnestness was stimulated by the death of his three eldest sons

from its use, and the falling off of the revenue by smuggling

the pernicious drug. In 1837-38 the collective opinion of the

highest officials was taken after hearing their arguments for

legalizing its importation ; it was resolved to seize the dealers in

it. The acts of Commissioner Lin resulted in the war with

Great Britain and the opening of China to an extended intercourse

with other nations. Defeated in his honest efforts to

protect his people against their bane, the Emperor still fulfilled

Ids treaty obligations, and died in 1850, just as the Tai-ping rebellion

broke out.

His fourth son succeeded him under the style of Hienfung,

but without his father’s earnestness or vigor when the State

required the highest qualities in its leader. The devastations

of the rebels laid waste the southern half of the Empire, and

their approach to Peking in 1853 was paralyzed by tioods and

want of supplies more than by the imperial troops. A second

war with Great Britain, in 1858-60, completely broke down the

seclusion of China, and at its conclusion an inglorious reign of

eleven years ended at Jeh-ho in August, 1860. His only son

succeeded to the throne at the age of five years, under the style

of Tungchi ; the government being under the control of two

Empress-regents and Prince Kung, his uncle. During his reign

of twelve years the vigor of the new authoi’ities succeeded in

completely quelling the Tai-ping rebellion, destroying the Mohammedan

rising in Yunnan and Kansidi, and opening up

diplomatic intercourse with the Treaty Powers. Just as the

IIEIGNS AND EVENTS OF RECENT YEARS. 185

Emperor l)e<;un to exercise his authoi’ity, lie died in JamuuT,

1875, without issue. The vacant “utensil” has been filled by

the appointment of his cousin, a boy of four yeai’s, whose reii^n

was styled Kwangsii. Affairs continue to be conducted by

the same regency as before, now still more conversant with the

new relations opening up with other lands. The real Enipressilowager, or Tioig Kung^ died April IS, 1881.

So far as can be judged from the imperfect data of native

historians of former days, compai’ed with the observations of

foreigners at present, there is little doubt that this enormous

population has been better governed by the Manchus than under

the princes of the Ming dynasty; there has been more vigor in

the administration of government and less palace favoritism

and intrigue in the appointment of officers, more security of

life and property from the exactions of local authorities, bands

of robbers, or processes of law ; in a word, the Manchu sway

has well developed the industry and resources of the country,

of which the population, loyalty, and content of the people are

the best evidences.

The sovereigns of the Ming and Tsing dynasties, being more

frequently mentioned in history than those of former princes,

are here given, with the length of their reigns. For convenience

of reference a table of the dynasties is appended, taken

from the author’s SijllabiG Dlctionanj of the Chinese Language.

In this list, compiled from a Chinese work (the Digest of the

Reigns of Emperors and Kings\ the Tsin and After Tsin dynasties

are joined in one (No. 4), making a total of twenty-six dynasties.’

The whole number of acknowledged sovereigns in the twentysix

dynasties, according to the recei\ned Chinese chronology,

from Yu the Great to Kwangsii, is 238, or 246 commencing with

Fuh-hi ; by including the names of some ursurpers and moribund

claimants, the first number is increased to 250. From Yu

the Great lo th-^ accession of Kwangsii (b.c. 2205 to a.d. 1875)

is 4,080 years, which gives to each dynasty a duration of 157

‘ Compare the Chinese Chronological Tables by W. P. Mayers in N. C Br. R. A. S. Journal, No. IV., Art. VIII. , 1867.

Kwoh Hiao, or Reigiiing Title.

Miao Hiao, or Temple Title.

Began ‘Length

I

to I of

I

Reign. Reign.

Contemporary Monarchs.

1. Hungwu

2. Kieiiwan. . ..

3. Yungloh . . ..

4. Hunglii

5. Siuentih

6. Chingtung .

7. Kingtai

8. Chinghwa. ..
9. Hungchi
10. Chingtih….
11. Kiahtsing. .
12. Lungking…
13. Wanleih ….
14. Taichang ..
15. Tienki
16. Tsungching
1. Shunchi’ …

.’. Kanghi

“. Yimgching .

. Kienlung . .

i. Kiaking

6. Taukwaiig..

7. Hienfuiig . .

S. Tungchi

.). Kwangsii – .

Taitsu

Kienwan ti . .

,

Taitsnng

Jintsung

Siuentsung. . .

.

Yingtsung . . .

,

Kingti ,

Hientsung . . .

,

Hiaut.suiig . . .

VVutsung

Shi’tsung

Muhtsung. …

Shintsung

Kwangtsung .

Hitsung ,

Hwaitsung. .

.

Chang hwaiigti.

Jin hwangti . .

Hien hwangti .

.

8hun hwangti.

Jui hwangti . . .

Ching hwangti .

Hien hwangti .

1368

1398

1403

1425

1426

1436

1457

1465

1488

1506

1522

1567

1573

1620

1621

1638

1644

1()62

1723

1736

1796

1821

1851

1862

1875

30

5

22

1

10

21

8

23

18

16

45

6

47

1

7

16

18

61

13

60

25

30

11

12

Tamerlane, Richard II., Robert II.

Manuel-Paleologus, Henrj’ IV. of Eng.

Jame.s I., Henry V., Martin V.

\ Amuratli II., Henry VI., Charles VII.

‘( Albert II., Cosmo de Medicis.

James II., Fred. III. of Aus., Nich. V.

Mahomet II , Edward IV., SixtuslV.

JamesIII. ,Ferd. and Isabella, Lonis XI.

Bajazet II., James IV., Henry VII.

James V., Henry VIII., Charles V.

Solyman II.,^lary, Philip II., Henry IL

yelim II., Klizabeth, Cregory 111.

James I., Henry IV., Louis XIII.

Othman II., Philip IV., Gregory XV.

Amurath IV., Charles I., Urban VIII

Innocent X., Frederick the Great.

Mahomet IV., Cromwell. Louis XIV.

Charles II., Clement IX.. Sobioskv.

Mahomet V., George II.. Lonis XV.

Osman III., George III., Clement XIV

Seiim III., Napoleon, Fred. Wm. II.

Mahmoud, George IV., Louis XVIII.

Mahmond, Victoria, Louis XVIII.

I Napoleon III., Alexander II.

Dynasty.

1. Hla

2. Shang

3. Chau

4. Tsin

r). Han

6. East Han . .,

7. After Han.

8. T.sin ,

9. East Tsin .

10. Sung

11. Tsi

12. Liang

13 Chin

14. Sui

15. Tang

16. After Liang

17. After Tang

18. After T.sin.

19. After Han.

20. After Chau

21. Sung

22. South Sung

23. Yuen

24. Ming

25. Tsing

Number of Sovereigns. Began. Ended. Duration

Seventeen, averaging 26 years to each monarch’s reign

Twenty-eight, averaging 23 years

Thirtj’- four, averaging 253.j years

Two, one reigning 37 years, the second 3 years.

Fourteen, averaging 163,., years

Twelve, averaging 16’^ years

Two, one reigning 2, the other 41 years

Four, averaging 1 4}{ years

Eleven, averaging about 9J^ years

Eight, averaging 7}£ years

Five, averaging 4% years

Four, one 48 years, and thiee together 7 years.

Five, averaging about 6 ‘ ., years

Three, one reigning 16, another 12, and another 2 years . . . :

Twenty, averaging 1 43^ years

Two. one 8 and one 7 years

Four, averaging 33^ years

Two, one 7 ami one 3 years

Two, one 3 years, another 1 year

Three, averaging 3 years

Nine, averaging 183^2 years

Nine, averaging 17 years

Nine, averaging \)% years

Sixteen, averaging 1 7 years

Eight up to 1875, averaging nearly 30 years .

.B.C.;3205 1766 1122 255 206 221 265 323 420 4791 5021 557 589 I

620 i 907 923 936 947

951 960

1127

1280

1368

1644

n.c.

1766

1122

255

206

.D. 25

231

264

322

419

478

502

556

589

619

907

923

936

946

951

960

1127

1280

1368

1644

439

644

807

40

231

196

43

57

106

58

23

54

32

30

287 16 13 10 4 9 167 153 88 276

‘ ShuiK^hi and the four fiiUowinpr monarchs are namwd in Manchu, Chidzuoldimbiikh6, Elkhetaitin, ivhowaligiisDMii tob, Abkai wekhiyekhu, and Siiichunga fungchuii, respectively.
‘^ Kwangsu was born August 14, 1871.

TABLES OF M0NARCTI3 AND DYNASTIES. ]y7

years, and to eacli moiiarcli an average of 17] years. From Wu wang’s accession to Kwangsii is 2,1>UT years, giving an avei-age of 125 years to a dynasty and 151 toeacli sovereign. From the days of Menes in Egypt, n.c. 2710 to 331, Manetlio reckons 31 dynasties and 378 kings, which is about 77 years to each family and G^ to each reign. In England the 34 sovereigns from William I. to Victoria (a.d. lOGO to 1837) averaged 22| years each; in Israel, the 23 kings from Saul to Zedekiah averaged 22 years during a monarchy of 50 7 years.

CHAPTER XVIII.  RELIGION OF THE CHINESE

As results must have their proportionate causes, one wishes to know what are the reasons for the remarkable duration of the Chinese people. Why have not their institutions fallen into decrepitude, and this race given place to others during the forty centuries it claims to have existed? Is it owing to the geographical isolation of the land, which has prevented other nations easily reaching it? Or have the language and literature unified and upheld the people whom they have taught? Or, lastly, is it a religious belief and the power of a ruling class working together which has brought about the security and freedom now seen in this thrifty, industi-ions, and practical people? Probably all these causes have conduced to this end, and our present object is to outline what seems to have been their mode of operation.

The position of their country has tended to separate them from other Asiatic races, even from very early times. It compelled them to work out their own institutions without any hints or modifying interference from abroad. They seem, in fact, to have had no neighbors of any importance until about the Christian era, up to which time they occupied chiefly the basin of the Yellow River, or the nine northern provinces as the Empire is now divided. Till about b.c.220 feudal States covered this region, and their quarrels only ended by their subjection to Tsin Chi Ilwangti, or the ‘Emperor First,’ whose strong hand molded the people as he led them to value security and yield to just laws. He thus prepared the way for the Emperors Wan ti (B.C. 179-1.50) and Wu ti (b.c. 140-86), of the Han dynasty, to consolidate, during their long reigns of twenty-nine and fifty four years, their schemes of good government.

ISOLATION OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 189

The four northern provinces all lie on the south-eastern slope of the vast plateau of Central Asia, the ascent to which is confined to a few passes, leading nj) live or six thousand feet through mountain defiles to the sterile, bleak plains of Gobi. This desolate region has always given subsistence to wandering nomads, and enough to enable traders to cross its o;i’assv M’astes. When their numbers increased they burst their borders in periodical raids, ravaging and weakening those M’hom they were too few to conquer and too ignorant to govern. The Chinese were too unwarlike to keep these tribes in subjection for long, and never themselves colonized the region, though the attempt to ward off its perpetual menace to their safety, by building the Great Wall to bar out their enemies, proves how they had learned to dread them. Yet this desert waste has proved a better defense for China against armies coming from the basin of the Tarini River than the lofty mountains on its west did to ancient Persia and modern Russia. It was easier and more inviting for the Scythians, Iluns, Mongols, and Turks successively to push their arms westward, and China thereby remained intact, even when driven within her own borders.

The western frontiers, between the Kiayil Pass in Kansuh, at the extreme end of the Great Wall, leading across the country south to the island of Hainan, are too wild and rough to be densely inhabited or easily crossed, so that the Chinese have always been unmolested in that direction. To invade the eastern sides, now so exposed, the ancients had no fleets powerful enough to attack the Middle Kingdom ; and it is only within the present century that armies carried by steam have threatened her seaboard.

The Chinese have, therefore, been shut out by their natural defenses from both the assaults and the trade of the dwellers in India, Tibet, and Central Asia, to that degree which would have materially modified their civilization. The external influences which have molded them have^ been wholly religious, acting through the persistent labors of Buddhist missionaries from India. These zealous men came and went in a ceaseless stream for ten centuries, joining the caravans entering the northwestern marts and ships trading at southern ports.

In addition to this geographical isolation, the language of the Chinese has tended still more to separate them intellectually from their fellow-men. It is not strange, indeed, that a symbolic form of writing should have arisen among them, for the Egyptians and Mexicans exhibit other fashions of ideographic writing, as well as its caprices and the difficulty of extending it. But its long-continued use by the Chinese is hardly less remarkablethan the proof it gives of their independence of other people in mental and political relations. Outside nations did not care to study Chinese books through such a medium, and its possessors had, without intending it, shut themselves out of easy interchange of thought. This shows that they could not have had much acquaintance in early times with any alphabetic writing like Sanscrit or Assyrian, for it is almost certain that, in that case, they would soon have begun to alter their ideographs into syllables and letters as the Egyptians did ; while the manifest advantages of the phonetic over the symbolic principle would have gradually insured it:j triumph. In that case, howevei”, the rivah’ies of feudal States would have resulted, as in Europe, in the formation of different languages, and perhaps prevented the growth of a great Chinese race. In Jajmi: and Corea the struggle between symbols and sounds has long existed, and two written languages, the Chinese and a derivel demotic, are now used side by side in each of those kingdoms.

Tills isolation has had its disadvantageous effects on the people thus cut off from their fellows, but the results now seen could not otherwise have been attained. Their literary teiulencies could never have attained the strength of an institution if they had been surrounded by more intelligent nations ; nor would they have tilled the land to such a degree if they had been forced to constantly defend themselves, or had imbibed the lust of conquest. Either of these conditions would probably have brought their own national life to a premature close.

ITS PEOPLE UNAFFECTED BY FOREIGN THOUGHT. 101

Isolation, however, is merely a potential factor in this question. It does not by itself account for that life nor furnish the reasons for its uniformity and endurance. These must be sought for in the moral and social teachino:s of their sages and great rulers, who have been leaders and counsellors, and in the character of the political institutions which have grown out of those teachings. A comparison of their national characteristics with those of other ancient and modern people shows four striking contrasts and deductions. The Chinese may be regarded “^ “^Xj as the only pagan nation which has maintained democratic “•^’^ -‘^- habits under a purely despotic theoiy of government. This government has respected the rights of its subjects by placing

them under the protection of law, with its sanctions and tribu- ~”-^-^-a,^;_

iials, and nuxking the sovereign amenable in the popular mind -^i-^T-,^.,.^

for the continuance of his sway to the approval of a higher ^^

Power able to punish him. Lastly, it has prevented the doniina- ^f*

tion of all feudal, hereditary, and priestly classes and interests by

making the tenure of officers of government below the throne

chiefly depend on their literary attainments. Kot a trace of

Judaistic, Assyrian, or Persian customs or dogmas appears in

Chinese books in such definite form as to suggest a western

origin. All is the indio-enous outcome of native ideas and habits.

The real religious belief and practices of a heathen people are

hard to describe intelligibly to those who have not lived among

them. Men naturally exercise much freedom of thought in such

matters, and feel the authority of their fellow-men over their

minds irksome to bear ; and though it is comparatively easy to

depict their religious ceremonies and festivals, their real belief

—that which constitutes their religion, their trust in danger and

guide in doubt, their support in sorrow and hope for future I’c

ward—is not rpiickly examined nor easily described. The want

of a well understood and acknowledged standard of doctrine,

and the degree of latitude each one allows himself in his observance

of rites or belief in dogmas, tends to confuse the inquirer

; while his own diverse views, liis imperfect knowledge,

and misapprehension of the eifect which this tenet or that ceremony

has upon the heart of the worshipper, contribute still

further to embarrass the subject. This, at least, is the case with

the Chinese, and notwithstanding what has been -written upon

their religion, no one has very satisfactorily elucidated the true

nature of their belief and the intent of their ritual. The reason

is owing partly to the indefinite ideas of the people themselves

upon the character of their ceremonies, and their consequent inability to give a clear notion of them ; partly also to the

variety of observances found in distant parts of the country, and

the discordant opinions entertained by those belonging to the

same sect ; so that what is seen in one district is sometimes

utterly unknown in the next province, and the opinions of one

man are laughed at by another.

Before proceeding with the present outline two negative featni’es of Chinese religion deserve to be noticed, which distinguish it from the faith of most other heathen nations. These are the absence of human sacrifices and the non- deification of vice. The prevalence of human offerings in almost all ages of the world, and among nations of different degrees of civilization, not only widely separated in respect of situation and power, but flourishing in ages remote from each other, and having little or no mutual influence, has often been noticed. Human sacrifices are offered to this day in some parts of Asia, Africa, and Polynesia, which the extension of Christian instruction and power has, it is to be hoped, greatly reduced and almost accomplished the extinction of; but no clear record of the sacrificial innnolation of man by his fellow, “offering the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul,” has been found in Chinese annals in such a shape as to carry the conviction that it formed part of the belief or practice of the people—although the Scythian custom of burying the servants and horses of a deceased prince or chieftain

with him was perhaps observed before the days of Confucius,

and may have been occasionally done since his time. This feature,

negative though it be, stands in strong contrast with the

appalling destruction of human life for religious reasons, still

existing among the tribes of Western and Central Africa, and

recorded as having been sanctioned among Aztecs and Egyptians,

Hindus and Carthaginians, and other ancient nations, not

excepting Syrians and Jews, Greeks and Romans.

The other, and still more remarkable trait of Chinese idolatry,

is that there is no deification of sensuality, which, in the name

of religion, could shield and countenance those licentious rites

and orgies that enervated the minds of worshippers and polluted

their hearts in so many other pagan countries. No Aphrodite

or Lakshmi occurs in the list of Chinese goddesses ; no weeping

VICE NEYEE SAXCTIFTED. 193

for Thaiiinmz, no exposure in the temple of Mylitta or obscene rites of tlie Durga-puja, have ever been required or sanctioned by Chinese priests ; no nautch girls as in Indian temples, or courtesans as at Corinth, are kept in their sacred buildings. Their speculations upon the dual powers of the yln and yang have never degenerated into the vile worship of the linya and yonl of the Hindus, or of Amun-kem, as pictured on the ruins of Thebes.

Although they are a licentious people in word and deed, the

Chinese have not endeavored to lead the votaries of pleasure,

falsely so called, further down the road of ruin, by making its

path lie through a temple and trying to sanctify its acts by pntting

them under the protection of a goddess. Nor does their

mythology teem with disgusting relations of the amours of

their deities ; on the contrary, like the Romanists, they exalt and

deify chastity and seclusion as a means of bringing the soul and

body nearer to the highest excellence. Vice is, in a great

degree, kept out of sight, as well as out of religion, and it may

be safely said tluit no such significant sign as has been uncovered

at Pompeii, with the inscription IIlc habitat felioitas, was ever

exhibited in a Chinese city.

To these traits of Cliinese character may be added the preservative features of their regard for parents and superiors and their general peaceful industry. If there be any connection between the former of these virtues and the promise attached to the fifth commandment, ” That thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,” then the long duration of the Chinese people and Empire is a stupendous monument of the good effects of even a partial obedience to the law of God, by those who only had it inscribed on their hearts and not written in their hands.

The last point in the Chinese polity which has had great nifluence in preserving it is the religious beliefs recognized by the people and rulers. There are three sects (san jiao), which are usually called Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, or Rationalism; the first is a foreign term, and vaguely denotes the belief of the literati generally, including the State religion. These three sects do not interfere with each other, however, and a man may worship at a Buddhist shrine or join in a Taoist festival while he accepts all the tenets of Confucius and worships him on State occasions ; much as a lawyer in England may attend a Quaker meeting or the Governor of a State in America may be a Methodist minister. In China there is no generic term for

religion in its usual sense. The word I’kio, which means ‘ to

teach,’ or ‘doctrines taught,’ is applied to all sects and associations

having a creed or ritual ; the ancestral worship is never

called a Mao, for everybody observes that at home just as much

as he obeys his parents ; it is a duty, not a sect.

Xo religious system has been found among the Chinese which

taught the doctrine of atonement by the shedding of blood ; an

argument in favor of their antiquity. The State religion of

China has had a remarkable history and antiquity, and, though

modified somewhat during successive dynasties, has retained its

main features during the past three thousand years. The simplicity’

and purity of this w^orship have attracted the notice of

irjany foreigners, who have disagreed on various points as to its

nature and origin. Their discussions have brought out sundry

most interesting details respecting it ; and whoever has visited

the great Altar and Temple of Heaven at Peking, where the

Emperor and his courtiers worship, must have been impressed

with its simple grandeur. What \vas the precise idea connected

svith the words tien, ‘heaven,’ and hirang tien, ‘imperial

heaven,’ as they were used in ancient times, is a very difficult

point to determine ; the worship rendered to them was probably

of a mixed sort, the material heavens being taken as the most

sublime manifestation of the power of their Maker, whose

character was then less obscured and unknown than in after

times, when it degenerated to Sabianism.

These discussions are not material to the present subject, and

it is only needful to indicate the main results. The prime idea

in this worship is that the Emperor is Tien-tsz\ or ‘ Son of

Heaven,’ the coordinate with Heaven and Earth, from whom he

directly derives his right and power to rule on earth among\

mankind, the One Man who is their vicegerent and the third of

the trinity {san tsai) of Heaven, Earth, and Man. With these

ideas of his exalted position, he claims the homage of all his

fellow-men. He cannot properly devolve on any other mortal

THE 8TATK KKLKilOX OF CIIIXA. 195

his functions of their high priest to offer the oblations on the

altars of Heaven and Earth at Peking at the two solstices, lie

is not, therefore, a despot bj mere power, as other rulers are,

but is so in the ordinance of nature, and the basis of his authority

is divine. lie is accountable personally to his two superordinate

powers for its record and result. If the people suffer from

pestilence or famine he is at fault, and must atone by prayer, sacrifice, and reformation as a disobedient son. One defect in all human governments—a sense of responsibility on the part of rulers to the God who ordains the powers that be—has thus been partly met and supplied in China. It has really been a check, too, on their tyranny and extortion; for the very books which contain this State ritual intimate the amenability of the sovereign to the Powers who appointed him to rule, and hint that the people will rise to vindicate themselves. The officials, too, all springing from the people, and knowing their feelings, hesitate to provoke a wrath which has swept away thousands of their number.

The objects of State worship are chiefly things, although persons

are also included. There are three grades of sacrifices, the

great, medlinn, and inferior, the last collectively called klun sz\

or ‘ the crowd of sacrifices.’ The objects to which the great

sacrifices are offered are only four, viz.: t’ten, the heavens or sky,

called the imperial concave expanse ; t’l, the earth, likewise

dignified with the appellation imperial ; tai Triiao, or the great

temple of ancestors, wherein the tablets of deceased monarchs

of this dynasty are placed ; and, lastly, the t^hii t-n/i, or gods of

the land and grain, the special patrons of each dynasty. The

tablets representing these four great objects are placed on an

equality by the present monarchs, which is strong presumptive

proof that by tien is now meant the material heavens.

The medium sacrifices are offered to nine objects: The sun,

or ” great light,” the moon, or ” night light,” the manes of the

emperors and kings of former dynasties, Confucius, the ancient

patrons of agriculture and silk, the gods of heaven, earth, and

the cyclic year. The first six have separate temples erected for

their worship in Peking. The inferior herd of sacrifices are

offered to the ancient patron of the healing art and the innumerable spirits of deceased pliilanthropists, eminent statesmen, martyrs to virtue, etc.; clouds, rain, wind, and tlnnider; the five celebrated mountains, four seas, and four rivers; famous hills, great watercourses, flags, triviaj, gods of cannon, gates, queen goddess of earth, the north pole, and many other things.

The State religion has been so far corrupted from its ancient simplicity, as given in the Shic King and Li K’i, as to include gods terrestrial and stellar, ghosts infernal, flags, and cannon, as well as idols and tablets, the efiigies and mementoes of deified persons.

The personages who assist the Emperor in his worship of the four superior objects, and perform most of the ceremonies, belong to the Imperial Clan and the Board of Rites; but while they go through with the ceremony, he, as pontifex maxinnis^ refuses to pay the same homage that he demands of all who approach him, and puts off these superior Powers with three kneelings and nine profound bows. When he is ill, or in his minority, these services are all forborne, for they cannot properly be done by a substitute. When he worships Heaven he wears robes of a blue color, in allusion to the sky; and when he worships earth he puts on yellow to represent the clay of this earthly clod ; so, likewise, he wears red for the sun and pale

white for the moon. The princes, nobles, and officers who assist

are clad in their usual court dresses, but no priests or women

are admitted. The worship of Yuenfi, the goddess of silk, is

alone, as we have seen, conducted by the Empress and her court.

The temple of the sun is east, and that of the moon west of the

city, and at the eqninoxes a regulus, or prince of the Impei’ial

Clan, is commissioned to perform the requisite ceremonies and

oft’er the appointed sacrifices.

The winter solstice is the great day of this State worship.

The Emperoi- goes from his palace the evening before, draM-n

by an elephant in his state car and escorted by about two thousand

grandees, princes, musicians, and attendants, down to the

Tem})le of Tlcaveii. The cortege passes out by the southern

road, reaching the Ching Yang Gate, opened only for his Majesty’s

use, and through it goes on two miles to the Tien Tan.

ile first repairs to the Chai Ktmg, or ‘ Palace of Fasting,’

WORSHIP OF IIKAVEX BY THE KMFEKOR. 197

where he prepares himself by lonely meditation for his duty;” for the idea is that if there be not pious thoughts in his mind the spirits of the unseen will not come to the sacrifice.”

To assist him he looks at a copper statue, arraj-ed like a Taoist priest, whose mouth is covered by three fingers, denoting silence, while the other hand bears a tablet inscribed with ‘ Fast three days.’ When the worship commences, and all the officiating attendants are in their places, the animals are killed, and as the odor of their burning flesh ascends to convey the sacrifice to the gods, the Emperor begins the rite, and is directed at every step by the masters of ceremonies. The worship to Heaven is at midnight, and the numerous poles around the great altar, and the fires in the furnaces shedding their glare over the marble terraces and richly dressed assembly, render this solemnity most striking.’

The hierophants in this worship of nature, so lauded by some

infidels, are required to prepare themselves for the occasion by

fasting, ablutions, change of garments, separation from their

wives and pleasurable scenes, and from the dead ; “for sickness

and death defile, while banqueting dissipates the mind and unfits

it for holding communion with the gods.” The sacrifices

consist of calves, hares, deer, sheep, or pigs, and the offerings

of silks, grain, jade, etc. Xo garlands are placed on the victim

when its life is taken, nor is the blood sprinkled on any particular

spot or article. ” The idea is that of a banquet ; and when

a sacrifice is performed to the supreme spirit of Heaven, the

honor paid is believed by the Chinese to be increased by inviting

other guests. The Emperors invite their ancestors to sit at

the banquet with Shangti. A father is to be honored as heaven,

and a mother as earth. In no way could more perfect revei’-

ence be shown than in placing a father’s tablet on the altar with

that of Shangti.” To these remarks of Dr. Edkins explanatory

of this union of the objects worshipped, it may be added that the

Emperors regard their predecessors of every dynasty as still invested

with power in Hades, and therefore invoke their blessing

and presence by sacrifice and prayers.

‘ Compare the frontispiece of Volume I. ; also ibid. , p. 76.

The statutes annex penalties of fines or blows in various degrees of punishment in case of informality or neglect, but “in these penalties there is not the least allusion to any displeasure of the things or beings worshipped ; there is nothing to be feared but man’s wrath—nothing but a forfeiture or a fine.”

Heavier chastisement, however, awaits any of the common people or the unauthorized who should presume to state their wants to high Heaven or worship these objects of imperial adoration; strangulation or banishment, according to the demerits of the case, would be their retribution. The ignob’de vulyus may worship stocks and stones in almost any form they please, but death awaits them if they attempt to join the Son of Heaven, the Vicegerent of Heaven and Earth, in his adorations to the supposed sources of his power.’

In his capacity of Vicegerent, High Priest, and Mediator between his subjects and the higher Powers, there are many points of similarity between the assumptions of the Emperor and of the Pope at Rome. The idea the Chinese have of heaven seems to be pantheistic, and in worshipping heaven, earth, and terrestrial gods they mean to include and propitiate all superior powers. If, as seems probable, the original idea of Shangti, as it can be imperfectly gleaned from early records, was that of a supreme Intelligence, it has since been lost. Of this worship, the effects in China upon the nation have been both positive and negative. One of the nearative influences has been to dwarf the State hierarchy to a complete nullity—to prevent the growth of a class which could or did use the power of the monarchy to strengthen its own hold upon the people as their religious advisers, and on the government as a necessary aid to its efiiciency.

^ Chinese ‘Repomtory, Vol. III., pp. 49-5:?. Dr. J. Edkins, Rcl/’r/innfi of China, Chap. II. ; this chapter, on Imperial Worship, gives a good account of these ceremonies.

NO STATE IIIEKARCIIY IN CHINA. 199

The High Priests of China love power and adulation too well to share this worship with their subjects, and in engrossing it entirely they have escaped the political evils of a powerful hierarchy and the people the combined oppressions of a church

Legge’s NotioriH of the Chinese concerning God and Spirits, pp. 23-36»41-43, for the forms of pra_)er used

and State. We have seen that the popular rights which are so plainly taught in the classics have been inculcated and perpetuated by the common school education ; we shall soon see, moreover, that the ancestral worship could not admit the interference of priest, altar, or sacrifice outside of the door-posts. Yet it is probable that all combined would have been too weak to resist

the seductive influence of a hierarchy in some form, if it had not

been that the Emperor himself would yield his own unapproachable

grandeur to no man. Being everything in his own person,

it is too much to expect that he is going to vacate or reduce his

prerogative, surrender his right to make or degrade gods of every

kind for his subjects to M’orship, weaken his own prestige, or mortify

the pride of his fellow-worshippers, the high ministers of

State. The chains of caste woven in India, the fetters of the Inquisition

forged in Spain, the silly rites practised by the augurs

in old Rome, or the horrid cruelties and vile worship once seen

in Egypt and Syria—in each case done under the sanction of the

State—have all been wanting along the Yellow River, and

spread none of their evils to hamper the rule of law in China.

This State religion is, therefore, a splendid and wonderful

pageant ; but it can no more be called the religion of the Chinese

than the teachings of Socrates could be termed the faith

of the Greeks. It is, however, intimately connected with the

Ju klao, or ‘ Sect of the Learned,’ commonly called Confucianists

by foreigners, because all its members and priests are

learned men who venerate the classical writings. It is somewhat

inappropriate to designate the Ju Mao a religious sect, or

regard it otherwise than as a comprehensive term for those who

adopt the writings of Confucius and Chu Hi and their disciples.

The word jtt denotes one of the literati, and was first adopted a.d. 1150, as an appellation for those who followed the speculations of Chu Hi regarding the tal I’ih, or ‘ Great Extreme.’ This author’s comments on the classics and his metaphysical writings have had greater influence on his countrymen than those of any other person except Confucius and Mencius; whose works, indeed, are received according to his explanations.

The remarks of Confucius upon religious subjects were very few ; he never taught the duty of man to any higher power than the head of the State or family, though he supposed himself commissioned by heaven to restore the doctrine and usages of the ancient kings. lie admitted that he did not understand much about the gods ; that they were beyond and above the comprehension of man ; and that the obligations of man lay I’ather in doing his duty to his relatives and society than in worshipping spirits unknown, “Not knowing even life,” said he, “how can we know death ? ” and when his disciples asked him in his last illness whom he would sacrifice to, he said he had already worshipped. Chu Hi resolved the few and obscure references to Shangti in the S/m Ivlng into pure materialism; making nature to begin with the tal I’lh, cidlcd pre7)iierjjrlnci2)e v/afe/’ui by the French, which operating upon itself resolved itself into the dual powers, the i/ln. and yM>(/.

Sir John Davis compares this production of the yin and yan^ to the masculo-feminine principle in the development of the mundane egg in the Egyptian cosmogony, and quotes an extract showing that the idea was entertained among the Hindus, and that the androgyn of Plato was only another form of this myth. The Chinese have also the notion of an egg, and that the iai k’lh was evolved from it, or acted like the process of hatching going on in it, though it may be that with them the introduction of the egg is more for the sake of illustration than as the form of the cause. Some of Chu Hi’s philosophical notions have already been quoted in Volume I.’ His system of materialism captivates his countrymen, for it is far nioi’c thoroughly worked out than any other, and allows scope for the vagaries of every individual who thinks he understands and can apply it to explain whatever phenomena come in his M-ay. Heat and cold, light and darkness, fire and water, mind and matter, every agent, power, and substance, known or supposed, are regarded as endued with these principles, which thus form a simple solution for every question.

‘ Pp. 68? ff. CaiioD McClatrhic lias made a careful iraiif^lation of Chapter XLIX. of his works, giving hi^ views on cosmogony.

THE JU KIAO, OR SECT OF THE LEARNED. 201

The infinite changes in the universe, the multiform actions and reactions in nature, and all the varied consequences seen and unseen are alike easily explained by this form of cause and effect, this ingenious theory of evolution. With regard to the existence of gods and spirits, Chu Hi affirmed that sufficient knowledge was not jiossessed to say positively that they existed, and he saw no difficulty in omitting the subject altogether—a species of agnosticism or indifferentism, therefore, which has become the creed of nearly the entire body of educated men in the Empire.

His system is also silent respecting the immortality of the soul, as well as future rewards and punishments. Virtue is rewarded and vice is punished in the individual or in his posterity on earth ; but of a separate state of existence he or his disciples do not speak.

Tn thus disposing of the existence of superior powers, the philosophers do not shut out all intelligent agencies, but have instituted a class of sages or pure-minded men of exalted intellects and simple hearts, wdio have been raised up from time to time by Heaven, Shangti, or some other power, as instructors and examples to mankind, and who therefore deserve the reverence of their fellows. The office of these shing jin, ‘perfect men’ or saints, is to expound the will of heaven and earth ; they did not so much speak their own thoughts as illustrate and settle the principles on which the world should be governed ; they were men intuitively wise without instruction, while common people must learn to be wise. Of all the saints in the calendar of the f/w Jciao Confucius is the chief ; with him are reckoned the early kings, Yao and Shun, with King Wan and his two sons Kuig AVu and Duke Chau; but China has produced no one since the “most holy teacher of ancient times” whom his proud

disciples are willing to regard his equal—Mencius being only a “number two saint.” The deceased Emperors of the reigning dynasty are canonized as its efficient and divine patrons, but a new line of monarchs would serve them as they did their predecessors, by reducing them to mere spirits. The demonolatry of the learned has gradually become so incorporated with popular superstitions that there is now little practical distinction; every one is willing to worship whatever can promise relief or afford assistance.

A student of the classical works naturally adopts theit views on these points, without supposing that they militate against worshipping his ancestors, joining the villagers in adoring the goddess of Mercy or any other Buddhistic idol, or calling in a Rationalist to write a charm. He also, on coming into office, expects to perform all the ex-officio religious ceremonies required of him, and add the worship of the Emperor to the rest.

Every magistrate is officially required to perform various idolatrous

ceremonies at the temples. The objects of worship arc

numerous, including many others besides those forming tlio

” herd of inferior sacrifices/’ and new deities are frequently made

by the Emperor, on the same principle that new saints are canonized

by the Pope. The worship of certain hills and rivers, and

of spirits supposed to preside over particular cities and districts,

has prevailed among the Chinese from ancient times, long before

the rise of Rationalism or introduction of Buddhism, and is no

doubt the origin of this official worship. In every city the

Chiny-hivcmg miao, i.e., ‘ City and Moat Temple,’ contains the

tutelar divinity of the city called Ching-hwang, with other gods,

and here on the solstices, equinoxes, new and full moons, etc.,

officers repair to sacrifice to it and to the gods of the land and

grain. Over the door of the one in Canton is written, “Right*

and wrong, truth and falsehood are blended on eai’th, but all are

most clearly distiiiguished in heaven.” C^apt. Loch thus describes

the Ching-hwang miao at Shanghai, as it stood in’ 1842: In the centre of a serpentine sheet of water there is a rocky island, and on it a large temple of two stories, litted up for the accommodation of the wealthy puhlic Pillars of carved wood support the roof, fretted groups of uncouth figures fill up the narrow spaces, while movable lattices screen the occupants from the warmth of the noonday sun. Nothing can surpass the beauty and truth to nature of the most minutely carved flowers and insects prodigally scattered over every screen and cornice. This is the central and largest temple. A number of other light aerial-looking structures of the same form are perched upon the corners of artificial rocky precipices and upon odd little islands. Light and fanciful wooden bridges connect most of these islands, and are thrown across the arms of the serpentine water, so that each secjuestered spot can be visited in turn. At a certain passage of the sun the main temple is shaded in front by a rocky eminence, tht^ large masses of which are connected with great art and propriety of taste, but in shape and adjustment most studiously grotesque.

RELKilors DCTIKS OF MAGISTRATES. 203

Trees and flowers and tufts of grass are planted where art must have been taxed to the utmost to procure them a lodgment. In another part of the garden there is a miniature wood of dwarf trees, with a dell and waterfall; the leaves, fruit, and blo.ssoms of the trees are proportionate to their size. Tortuous pathways lead to tlu> toj) of tlic artificial mountain, each turn formed with studied art to surprise and charm by offering at every point fresh views and objects. Flowers and creepers sprout out from crevices, trees hang over the jutting crags, small pavilions are seen I’roni almost every vista, while grottoes and rocky recesses, shady bowers and labyrinths, are placed to entrap the unwary, each with an appropriate motto, one inviting the wanderer to repose, another offering a secluded retreat to the philosopher.’

Official Chinese records euunierate 1560 temples dedicated to Confucius attached to the examination halls, the offerings presented in which are all eaten or used by the worshippers; there are, it is said, 02,006 pigs, rabbits, sheep, and deer, and 27,000 pieces of silk, annually offered upon their altars.^ The municipal temple is not the only one where officers worship, but, like the connnon people, they bow before whatever they think can aid them in their business or estates. It has already been stated that the duty of Chinese officers extends to the securing of genial seasons by their good administration, and consequently if bad harvests ensue or epidemics rage the fault and removal of the calamity belong to them. The expedients they resort to are both ludicrous and melancholy. In 1835 the prefect of Canton, on occasion of a distressing drousi-ht of eio;ht months, issued the following invitation, which would have better befitted a chieftain of the Sechuanas:

Pan, acting prefect of Kwangchau, issues this inviting summons. Since for a long time there has been no rain, and the prospects of drought continue, and supplications are unanswered, my heart is scorched with grief. In the whole province of Kwangtung, are there no extraordinary persons who can force the dragon to send rain V Be it known to you, all ye soldiers and people, that if there be any one, whether of this or any other province, priest or such like, who can by any craft or arts bring down abundance of rain, I respectfully request him to ascend the altar [of the dragon], and sincerely and reverently pray. And after the rain has fallen, I will liberally reward him with money and tablets to make known his merits.

‘ Events in China, p. 47. London, 1843.

– During the Han dynasty (a.d. 59) wine was drunk and sacrifices made to Confucius in the study halls. The victim offered was a dog. Biot, Eumi»ur VTmtructiou eii Chine, p. 168.

This invitation called forth a Buddhist priest as a “rain maker,” and the prefect erected an altar for him before his own office, upon which the man, armed with cymbal and wand, for three days vainly repeated his incantations from morning to night, exposed bareheaded to the hot sun, the butt of the jeering crowd. The prefect himself was lampooned by the people for his folly, the following quatrain being pasted under a copy of his invitation :

Kwangchaii’s grecat protector, the magnate Pan,
Always acting without regard to reason ;
Now prays for rain, and getting no reply,
Forthwith seeks for aid to force the dragon.

The unsuccessful eiforts of the priest did not render the calamity less grievous, and their urgent necessities led the people to resort to every expedient to force their gods to send rain. The authorities forbade the slaughter of animals, or in other words a fast was proclaimed, to keep the hot winds out of the city, the southern gate was shut, and all classes flocked to the temples. It was estimated that on one day twenty thousand persons went to a celebrated shrine of the goddess of Mercy, among whom were the Governor and Prefect and their suites, who all left their sedans and walked with the multitude. The Governor, as a last expedient, the day before rain came, intimated his intention of liberating all prisoners not charged with capital offences. As soon as the rain fell the people presented thank-offerings, and the southern gate of the city was opened, accompanied by an odd ceremony of burning off the tail of a live sow^ while the animal was held in a basket.

The officers and literati, though acknowledging the folly of

these observances, and even ridiculing the worship of senseless

blocks, still join in it. As an example of this : In 18G7 a

severe drought near Peking called forth a suggestion from a

censor that if a white tiger were sacrificed by the Emperor to

the dragon the rain would be libei-ated ; for ” it was his powerful

enemies which kept the rain-god fi’oni acting.’” Wrmsiang

was deputed to perform the rite ; rain came not many days

later. The offieci- laughed, indeed, at the fancy, yet could not

disenthrall himself from some degi-ee of belief in its efficacy.

Devotees sometimes become ii-ritated against theii- gods, and

resort to sunnnary means to force them to hear their petitions.

STATE KELIGION AND THE CLASSICS. 205

It is said that the Governor in Canton, having I’epeatedly ascended

in a time of drouglit to the temple of the god of Ilaia

dressed in his burdensome robes, through the heat of a tropical

sun, on one of his visits said : ” The god supposes I am

lying when I beseech his aid ; for how can he know, seated in

his cool niche in the temple, that the ground is parched and the

sky hot V Whereupon he ordered his attendants to put a rope

around his neck and haul his godship out of doors, that he

might see and feel the state of the weather for himself. After

his excellency had become cooled in the temple the idol was

reinstated in its shrine, and the good effects of this treatment

were deemed to be fully proved by the copious showers which

soon after fell. The Emperor himself on such occasions resorts

to unusual sacrifices, and sends his relatives and courtiers almost

daily to various temples to pray and burn incense. Imperial

patronage of the popular superstitions is sought after by the

officers in one way and another to please the people, but it does

not involve much outlay of funds.’ One connnon mode is to

solicit his Majesty for an inscription to be placed over the doorway

of a temple, or memorialize him to confer a higher title upon the god. On occasion of a victory over the rebels in Kwangtung in 1822, the shrine of a neighboring deity, supposed to have assisted in obtaining it, received a new title commemorative of the event, and a temple was built for him at the expense of government.

The combined effect of the State religion and classical writings, notwithstanding their atheism and coldness, has had some effect in keeping the people out of the swinish ditch of pollution. It is one of their prime tenets that human nature is originally virtuous, and becomes corrupt entirely by bad precept and example.

‘Klaproth cites (among many) an instance of the manner in which favorable angnries are regarded and made use of by officials. Memoiren siir l*Asu’, Tome T., p. 459.

This is taught children from their earliest years, and officers refer repeatedly to it in their exhortations to obedience; its necessary results of happiness, if carried out, are illustrated by trite comparisons drawn from common life and general experience. The Chinese seldom refer to the vengeance of tha gods or future punishment as motives for reform, but to the well-being of individuals and good order of society in this world.

Examples of this type of human perfection, fully developed, are constantly set before the people in Confucius and the ancient kings he delineates. The classical tenets require duties that carry their own arguments in their obedience, as well as afford matter of thought, while the standard books of Buddhists and Rationalists, where they do not reiterate the same obligations, are mostly filled with unprofitable speculations or solemn nonsense.

Consequently the priests of those sects had only the superstitious fear of the people to work wpon where reason was at fault, and so could not take the whole man captive ; for his reason accorded with the teaching of the classics as far as they went, and only took up with divination and supplication of higher powers where their instructions ceased. The government, therefore, being composed chiefly of such people, educated to venerate pure reason, could not be induced to take the initiatory step of patronizing a religion of such an uncertain character, and confessedly inferior in its moral sanctions to what they already possessed. The current has, more or less, always set this way, and the two other sects have been tolerated when they did not interfere with government. It is too true that the instructions of Confucius and his school are imperfect and erroneous when measured by the standard of revelation, and the people can never emerge from selfish atheism and silly superstition as long as they have nothing better; but the vagaries of the Buddhists neither satisfy the reason nor reprove vice, nor does their celibate idleness benefit society. If the former be bad, the latter is worse.

SECT OF RATIONALISTS, OR TAO KIA. 207

The sect of the nationalists, or Tao I’la^ is derived from Lautsz’, or Lau-kiun. According to the legends he was born bTc.004, in Ku, a hamlet in the kingdom of Tsu, supposed to lie in Luh-yeh hien, in the provin(!e of Ilonan. His birth was fiftyfour years before Confucius. The story is that he had white hair and eyebrows at his birth, and was carried in the womb eighty years, whence he was called Lau-tsz\ the “old boy,’ and Lau-kiun, the ‘venerable prince.’ Nothing reliable about hia early life has come down to us, but, as was the case with Hesiod, his disciples have enveloped his actions and cliaracter in a nimbus of wonders. M. Julien has given a translation of their history, dated about a.d. 350, in liis version of the Tao Teh King.

Pauthier says he was appointed librarian by the Emperor, and diligently applied himself to the study of the ancient books, becoming acquainted with all the rites and histories of former times. During his life he is repoi’ted to have journeyed west-ward, but the extent and duration of his travel are not recorded, and even its occurrence is reasonably doubted. De Guignes says he went to Ta Tsin, a country under the rule of the Romans, but he forgets that the Romans had not then even concpiered Italy ; some suppose Ta Tsin to be Judea. His only extant work, the Tao Teh King, or ‘ Canons of Reason and Virtue,’ ‘ was written in Ling-pao, in Honan, before his travels, but whether the teachings contained in it are entirely his own or were derived from hints imported from India or Persia cannot be decided. It contains only five thousand three hundred and twenty characters, divided into eighty one short chapters; the text of one edition is said to have been found in a tomb A.D. 574. It has been translated by Julien, Chalmei’s, and von Strauss. A parallel has been suggested between the sects of the Rationalists of China, the Zoroastrians of Persia, Essenes of Judea, Gnostics of the primitive church, and the eremites of the Thebaid, but a common source for their similarity—the desire of their members, after the sect had become recognized, to live without labor on the credulity of their fellowmen—explains most of the likeness, without supposing thafc their tenets were derived from each other.

‘ Perhaps this may be rendered as the Logos of Plato, as near as any dogma can be compared to it.

The teachings of Lao-zi are not unlike those of Zeno; botji recommend retirement and contemplation as the most effectual means of purifying the spiritual part of our nature, annihilating the passions, and finally returning to the bosom of Dao. His teachings on the highest subjects of human thought have furnished his countrymen ample materials for the most diverse views on these same themes according to their various fancies.

In his striving after the infinite he can only describe Dao by what it is not and delineate 71A as an ideal virtue which no man can attain to. In Chapter XXI. they are thus blended: “The visible forms of the highest Teh only proceed from Tao^ and Tao is a thing impalpable, indefinite. How indefinite! How impalpable ! And [yet] therein are forms indefinite, impalpable! and [yet] therein are things (or entities). Profound and indistinct too, and [yet] therein are essences. These essence; are profoundly real, and therein faith is found. From of old till now its name has never passed away. It gives issue to all existences at their beginnings. How [then] can I know the manner of the beginning of all existences ? I know it by this

lTa6\P

Such teachings are susceptible of almost any explanation, and Julien’s extracts from the commentaries give one some idea of their diversity, though probably much well worth reading still lies buried in their pages. The names of sixty-four commentators are known, of whom three were reigning emperors ; and their explanations have given their countrymen veiy doubtful guidance through this mystic book. To those who can compare its aspirations and dogmas with the speculations of Greek and Roman writers, the teachings of the Zendavesta, and the declarations of the Bible, the work of Lao-Zi becomes of immense interest.

His countrymen, however, to whom these great writers were all unknown, have looked upon this system of philosophy rather as the reveries of a wise man than the instructions of a practical thinker.

In Wiapter I. he tries to define tao. It is reaching after the

imknown. ” The too which can be expressed is not the eternal

tao- the name which can be named is not the etei’nal name. The

Nameless [being] is before heaven and earth ; when named it

is the mother of all things. Therefore, to be constantly passionless

is to be able to see its spiritual essence; and to be constantly

passionate is to see the forms (or limits) [of tao’\. These two

conditions are alike but have different names ; they can both be

called a mystery. The more it is examined into the moi’O

mysterious it is seen to be. It is the gate of all spiritual

things.” By the phrases “constantly passionless” and “constantly passionate ‘ are denoted non-existence and existence, according to the commentators.

THE TAO-TKir KING OF LAU-TSZ’. 209

In Chapter LXV. there is a similar striving to describe teh.

” In olden times those who practised tdo did not do so to enlighten

the people, but rather to render them simple-minded.

When the people have too mnch worldly wisdom it makes them

hard to govern. lie who encourages this worldly wisdom in

the government of a State is its misfortune ; as he who governs

without it is its blessino-. To know ario;lit these two things is to have a model State; and the constant exhibition of this ideal is what I call sublime tc/t. This sublime virtue [teh] is profound, is incommensurable, is opposed to time-serving plans. If followed it will bring about a state of general accord.”

In Chapter XX. the lonely cynic seems to utter his sad cry at

the little progress of his teachings. “All men are full of ambitious

desires, like those greedy for the stalled ox, or the high

delights of spring time. 1 alone am calm ; my affections have

not yet germinated ; I am as a new-born babe which has not yet

smiled on its mother. I am forlorn as one who has no home.

All others have and to spare, I alone am like one who has lost

all. In mind I am like a fool ; I am all in a maze. Common

people are bright enough ; I am enveloped in darkness. Common

people are sagacious enough ; I am in gloom and confusion.

I toss about as if on the sea ; I float to and fro as if I was never

to rest. Others have something they can do ; I alone am good

for nothing, and just like a lout. I am entirely solitary, differing from other men in that I glory in my Mother who nurses [all beings].”

The main object kept in view throughout this work is the inculcation of personal virtue, and Lao-zi founds his argument for its practice in the fitness of things, as he tries to prove by referring all the manifestations and laws of mind and matter to the unknown factor Dao. In Chapter IV. he attempts to embody lus struggling thoughts in these few words describing Dao:

” Tao is a void ; still if one uses it, it seems to be inexhaustible.

How profound it is ! It seems like the patriarch of all things.

It softens sharp things, loosens tangled things, harmonizes bril

liant things, and assimilates itself to worldly things of the dust.

How tranquil it is ! It seems to endure perpetually. I know

not whose son it is. It seems so have existed before T’l [or

Shangti].”

Such utterances as these carry neither comfort nor repentance to the sorrowing, sinful heart of man ; he cannot go to such an abnegation for guidance or relief in his troubles, and therefore the maxims of Lau-tsz’ have fallen on callous hearts. Another extract. Chapter XLIX., is, however, more practical ; it is not the only one which furnishes instruction of the highest character.

” The perfect man [.s/iui(/Ju)’] has no immutable sentiments of

his own, [for] he makes the mind of mankind his own. He who

is good, I would meet with goodness ; and he who is not good,

I would still also meet with goodness ; [for] teh is goodness.

He who is sincere I would meet with sincerity ; and he who is

insincere, I would still also meet with sincerity ; [for] teh is

sincerity. The perfect man dwells in the world calm and reserved,

his soul preserving the same I’cgard for all mankind.

The people all turn their eyes and ears toward him, and he regards them alike as his children.”

In order to better understand these aphorisms, they need to be read with the help of the various commentaries ; these furnish us with a better estimate of their value than any other guides. Foreign writers necessarily judge such a work by their own higher standard; as does M. Pauthier when he remarks upon the last extract : ” La sagesse humaine ne pent ctre jamais exprime des paroles plus saintes et plus profondes.” He compares Lau-tsz’ to his own countryman Rousseau—and these two had a good deal in common in their sad reflections upon the evils of the times. In another place the French author goes

even farther, and regards the vague expressions in Chapter XLH.,

“which show their derivation from the Yi/i K’in<i—viz. : ” Tao

produced one, one produced two, two produced thiee, and three

produced all things “—as the Asiatic form of the docti-ine and

procession of the Holy Trinity and the biblical idea of the reunion

of good men with their Maker I

ITS SPECULATIONS AND APHORISMS. 211

One more extract from the Tao teh K’ukj will till the space at command ; but sententious apothegms like these in Chapter XXXIII. are scattered throughout the book : ” He who knows men is wise ; [while] he who knows himself is perspicacious. He who conquers men is strong ; [while] he who conquers himself is mighty. lie who knows when he has enough is rich. He who acts energetically has a fixed purpose in view. He who does not miss his nature endures ; [while] he who deceases and still is not extinct has immortality “—referring, as the commentators agree, to the life of the soul after it leaves the body.

Such a work can hardly be accurately translated into a European language ; a perusal of all the translations enables one to appreciate this point. Some translators have missed the point of Lau-tsz’s teachings by not attending to the parallelisms running through them, where one limb of the couplet illustrates and defines the other. In conclusion, it is still true that the absence of clear exposition on the duties of men in their marital, parental, and fraternal relations ; the want of all instruction upon their obligations and rights as members of the family, the village, and the State ; and lastly, his silence upon the voice of conscience and the effects of sin upon the soul of man, show that Lau-tsz’ was more an ascetic than a philanthropist, more of a metaphysician than a humanitarian.

Mr. Samuel Johnson has indicated the high position this ancient relic holds in his examination of its tenets. ” Nothing like this book exists in Chinese literature ; nothing, so far as yet known, so lofty, so vital, so restful at the roots of strength; in structure as wonderful as in spirit ; the fixed syllabic characters, formed for visible and definite meaning, here compacted into terse aphorisms of a mystical and universal wisdom, so subtly translated out of their ordinary spheres to meet a demand for spiritual expression that it is confessedly almost impossible to render them with certainty into another tongue. … It is a book of wonderful ethical and spiritual simplicity, and deals neither in speculative cosmogony nor in popular superstitions.

It is not the speculations of an old philosopher, as Chalmers calls it. It is in practical earnest, and speaks from the heart and to the heart. Its religion resembles that of Fenelon or Thomas a ICeinpis, combined with a perceptive rationalism of which they were iu)t masters.” ‘

The historian Sima Qian relates an interview which Confucius had with LaoZi when, at the age of thirty-four (u.c. 517), he visited the capital to study the ritual of ^tate worship, at which time the latter would be eighty-seven years old. Dr. Legge gives an account of this meeting, which it is to be wished could be better known, for the account is not very certain. The legendary history amplifies it largely, but in no extravagant style, and quite consonant to their diiferent characters. Si’ma Qian makes the elder lecture the younger philosopher in the following style: “Those whom you talk about are dead, and their bones mouldered to dust ; only their words remain. When the superior man gets his time, he mounts aloft; but when the

time is against him, he moves as if his feet were entangled. I

have heard that a good merchant, though he has rich treasures

deeply stored, appears as if he were poor ; and that the superior

man whose virtue is complete is yet to outward seeming stupid.

Put away your proud air and many desires, your insinuating

habit and wild will. They are of no advantage to you. This

is all which I have to tell you.” To the reply of Confucius,

that he liad sought to get tao for twenty years, and had sought

in vain, Lau-tsz’ rejoined in a strain worthy of Diogenes, which

Chwang-tsz’ thus reports : ” If tao could be offered to men,

thei’e is no one who would not willingly offer it to his prince;

if it could be presented to men, everybody would like to present

it to his parents; if it could be announced to men, each man

woul^l gladly announce it to his brothers; if it could be handed

down to men, who would not wish to transmit it to his children ? Why theii can you not obtain it ? This is the reason. You are incapable of giving it an asyhnn in your heart.”‘

‘ Johnson, Oriental Relujions : China, pp. 862-8G5. Pautliier, La Chine, pp. 110-120. Chahuers, Speculations of the Old Plnkisopher. Julien, J^a, JAvrcde la Vote et de la Vertu, Paris, 1859 ; this last is the most scholarly work on tliia classic which has yet appeared. R. von Reinhold, Dcr TlVr/ zur Tagend, Leipzig, 1870. Victor von Strauss, Lao-TsVs Tao Te King, Ans deni ChineS’ imhen ins Deutsche ilhersetzt, Leipzig, 1870. See also Doolittle’s Vocalndanj, Vol. II., Part III. T. Watters, Lao-Tzu, A Study in Chinese Philosophy, Hongkong, 1870. Dr. Edkins in Transactions of N. C. Br. R A. S. for 1H.’)5, Art. IV. F. H. Balfour, Chiianfj 7’sze’s Divine Cktssic of Nan-hi/ d, i^ha.uii\ia.\, 1881.

INTEP.VIEW 75ETAVKEN LAU-TSZ’ AND CONFUCIUS. 213

Such speculative teachings and waiting till the times were

good were not adapted to entertain or benefit, and Confucius

understood his countrymen and his own duty nmch better than

Lau-tsz\ in doing all he could by precept and practice to show

them the excellence of what he believed to be right. The divergence

of these two great men sprung from the diiferences in

human minds in all climes and ages. The teachings of the

Tao-teh King, however, are no more responsible for the subsequent

organization and vagaries of the sect of Taoists down to

the present time than the New Testament is for the legends of

monkery or the absurdities of mystics. M. Bazin has endeavored

to show that in China there has been, from early times,

a progression from magic to mythology, from mythology to

philosophy ; and when philosophy began to crystallize into parties

and take on an organized discipline of sects, during and

after the Ilan dynasty down to the Tang, they took up the old

native mj’thology against the newly arrived Buddhists, and imitated

them by adopting Lau-tsz’ as their god and his book as the

foundation of their tenets. Previous to this period he was one

among the philosophers of the Flowery Land ; in time he has

been taken as the founder of a system of religion. If the Gnostics

had deified Lucretius and taken his poem as their text-book

the cases would have been similar.

The earliest writers on Taoism are Chwang-tsz’ and Lih-tsz’ in

the fourth century, Avho have been amplified by their followers.

It is, as Wylie well observes, diflficult to educe a well-ordered

system out of the motley chaos of modern Taoism, Mdiere the

pursuit of immortality, the conquest of the passions, a search

after the philosopher’s stone, the use of amulets, and the observance

of fasts and sacrifices before gods, are mixed with the

profound speculations of recluses upon abstruse questions of

theology and philosophy. Some of the later writers of the

Taoists discourse upon Reason in a way that would please

Brownson and befit the pages of the Dial. The teachings of

the ancient and modern transcendentalists are alike destitute of common sense and unproductive of good to their fellow-men.

‘ Legge, CMnese Classics, I. Proleg., p. C5. Julieii, Tno-te King, Int., p. xxvii.

Dr. Medlmrst quotes one of the Chinese nationalists, who praises reason in a marvelous rhapsody :
What is there superior to heaven, and from which heaven and earth sprang ? Nay, what is there superior to space and which moves in space ?

The great Tao is the parent of space, and space is the parent of heaven and

earth, and heaven and earth produced men and things. . . . The venerable

prince -(Reason) arose prior to the great original, standing at the commencement

of the mighty wonderful, and floating in the ocean of deep obscurity.

He is spontaneous and self-existing, produced before the beginning of emptiness,

commencing prior to uncaused existences, pervading all heaven and

earth, whose beginning and end no years can circumscribe.

The sectarians suppose their founder was merely an impersonation

of this power, and that he whom they call ” the venerable

prince, the origin of primary matter, the root of heaven

and earth, the occupier of infinite space, the commencement of

all things, farther back than the utmost stretch of numbers can

reach,” created the universe. They notice three incarnations

of him during the present epoch, one during the Shang dynasty,

B.C. 1407, one at the time of Confucius, and a third about A.n.

623, when a man of Shansi reported having seen an old man

who called himself Lau-kiun. Only the priests of this sect are

regarded as its members; they live in temples and small communities

with their families, cultivating the grotmd attached to the

establishment, and thus perpetuate their body ; many lead a

wandering life, and derive a pi-ecarious livelihood from the sale

of chariris and medical nostrums. They shave the sides of the

head and coil the rest of the hair in a tuft upon the crown,

thrusting a pin through it, and are I’cadily recognized by their

slate-colored robes. They study astrology and profess to have

dealhigs with spirits, their books containing a gi-eat variety of

stories of priests who have done wonderful acts by their help.

The Pastimes of the Study^ already noticed, is one of these books,

and Davis introduces a pleasant story of (^hwang and his wife

from another work.’ They long endeavored to find a beverage

‘ The Chinese, Vol. II., pp. 118-128. Wylie, Notes on Chinese Literature, p173. Giles, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, 1880.

RITES AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE TAOISTS. 210

which would insure immortality, and during the Tang dynasty

the Emperor and highest officers were carried away with their

delusions. The title of ‘ Heavenly Doctors ‘ was conferred on

them, and a superb temple erected to Lau-tsz’ in Chang-an, containing his statue ; examinations were ordered in a.d. 674, to

be held in the Tao-teh JClng, and some of the priests reached

the highest honors in the State, Since that time they have

degenerated, and are now looked upon as ignorant cheats and

designing jugglers, who are quite as willing to use their magical

powers to injure their enemies as to help those who seek their aid.

In some places the votaries of Tao, on the third day of the third month, go barefoot over ignited charcoal ; and on the anniversary of the birthday of the High Emperor of the Sombre Heavens, ” they assemble together before the temple of this imaginary being, and having made a great fire, about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, go over it barefoot, preceded by the

priests, and bearing the gods in their arms. The previous ceremonies

consist in chanting prayers, ringing bells, sprinkling holy

water, blowing horns, and brandishing swords in and over the

flames in order to subdue the demon, after which they dart

through the devouring element. They firmly assert that if they

possess a sincere mind they will not be injured by the fire, but

both priests and people get miserably burnt on these occasions.’

Yet such is the delusion, and the idea the people entertain of

the benefit of these services, that they willingly contribute large

sums to provide the sacrifices and pay the performers.” “^

This ceremony is practised in Fuhkien and at Batavia, but

is not very general, for the Chinese are the antipodes of the

Hindus in their endurance and relish for sufferingsand austerities

in the hope of obtaining future happiness. The Rationalists

worship a great variety of idols, among which ITuh-liioang

Shangtl is one of the highest ; their pantheon also includes

genii, devils, inferior spirits, and numberless other objects of worship. The Siu. Shin JTi, or ‘ Records of Researches concerning the Gods,’ contains an account of the birth of the deitj whose anniversary is celebrated as above described.

‘ Compare Escayrac de Lauture, Memoire sur la Chine, Religion, pp. 87, 102.Yule’s Mdiro Polo, Vol. I., p. 286. Also Bode’s Bokhara, p. 271, for a similai practice among the Moslems.
“^ Medliurst’s China, its Shite and Prospects, p. 168.

There was once a childless emperor called Tsingtili (‘ Pure Virtue’), who snmmoiied a large company of Tao priests to perform their rites in his behalf, and continued their worship half a year. The Empress Pao Yueh-kwang(‘ Gemmeous Moonlight’) on a night dreamed that she saw the great and eminent Lau-kiun, together with a large number of superior deities, riding in parti-colored carriages with vast resplendent banners and shaded by bright variegated umbrellas. Here was the great founder Lau-kiun sitting in a dragon carriage, and holding in his arms a young infant, whose body was entirely covered with pores, from which unbounded splendors issued, illuminating the hall of the palace with ever}’ precious color. Banners and canopies preceded Lau-kiun as he came floating along. Then was the heart of the Empress elated with joy, and reverently kneeling before him, said: “At present our monarch has no male descendants, and I wishfully beseech you for this child that he may become the sovereign of our hearts and altars. Prostrate I look up to your merciful kindness, earnestly imploring thee to commiserate and grant my request.”

He at once ausw(n’ed, ” It is my special desire to present the boy to

you ; ” whereupon she thankfully received him, and immediately returned from

the pursuit of the dream, and found herself advanced a year in pregnancy. ,

When the birth took place a resplendent light poured forth from the child’s

body, which filled the whole country with brilliant glares His entire countenance

was super-eminently beautiful, so that none became weary in beholding

him. When in childhood he possessed the clearest intelligence and compassion,

and taking the possessions of the country and the funds of the treasury,

he distributed them to the poor and afflicted, the widowers and widows, orphans

and childless, the houseless and sick, halt, deaf, blind, and lame.

Not long after this the demise of his father took place, and he succeeded to the

government ; but reflecting on the instability of life, he resigned his throne

and its cares to his ministers, and repaired to the hills of Fuming, where he gave

himself up to meditation, and being perfected in merit ascended to heaven to

enjoy eternal life. He however descended to earth again eight hundred times,

and became the companion of the common people to instruct them in his doctrines.

After that he made eight hundred more journeys, ejigaging in medical

practice and successfully curing the people ; and then another similar series,

in which he exercised universal benevolence in hades and earth, expounded

all aljstract doctrines, elucidated the spiritual literature, magnanimously promulged

tlie renovating ethics, gave glory to the widely spread merits of the

gods, assisted the nation, and saved the people. During another eight hundred

descents he exhibited ])atient suffering; though men took his life, yet he parted with his fU^sh and blood. After this he became the first of the verified golden genii, and was denominated the pure and immaculate one, self-existing, of highest intelligence.’

‘ Chinese Repository, Vol. X., p. 306.

THE SECT OF FUII, OR BUDDHISTS. 217

These figments are evidently a reprotl notion of the vagaries

of llindn theosophists, and not the teachings of Ldu-tsz’, bnt they

annise his followers, to whom his own abstruse utterances are

(juite unintelligible. The learned Confucianists laugh at their

fables, but are still so much the prey of fears as to be often

duped by them, and follow even when sure of being deceived.

The organization of the Rationalists is a regular hierarchy. It

is under the supervision of the government, which holds the

chiefs responsible for the general conduct and teachings of the

members. The head resides at Lung-hu Shan in Kiangsi, where

is a large establishment, resorted to by many votaries, and

gathering in a large ]-evenue from their offerings. When he

dies a piece of iron is cast into a well near by, and when it floats

the name of his successor is found to be written on it. By their

extravagant professions and pretences the priests of this sect

maintain their influence over a laity as ignorant and credulous

as themselves ; their power to delude will only wane with the progress of truth and Christianity. The full history of the authors, divinities, vagaries, and varied fortunes of the Nationalists has yet to be written ; when this is done it will illustrate the question King David asked six centuries before Lau-tsz’ lived: Who will show us any good ? And when his followers are able to say. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us, they will know why he failed to find La Yoie et la Yertu.’^

The most popular religious sect is that of the followers of

Full, Fo, Fat, Hwut, or Fuh-tu, as it is called in different dialects

in imitation of the Hindu word Bodh, or Truth ;” this name is

sometimes confounded with that of Fuh-hi, one of the early

rulers in Chinese history. Their tenets had been promulged in

( ‘entral Asia for centuries, and were known in Western China,

but during the long period of disorders previous to the Han dynasty they found little favor. In a.d. 65 the Emperor Mingti sent an embassy to India, in consequence—as the Chinese historians say—of having dreamed that he saw the image of a foreign god. The embassy returned in a.d. 67, bringing with it some teachers of the faith to Lohyang. One cannot tell whether it was sent at first at the suggestion of the nationalists, to seek for a wise man said to liave appeared there^ or whether, according to others, it arose from the i-emarkable expression of Confucius, already quoted, ” The people of the west have sages[or a sage].” It may have been that this mission was excited by some indistinct tidings of the advent and death of Christ, though there is no trace of such a rumor havino- reached the land of Sinim. At that epoch they might have heard of or met the Apostles in their first tours through the Roman Empire and Syria.

‘ Douglas, Taouism, London, 1879 ; this is by far the most readable account of it. Edkius, Journal of Shaiif/hai Scien. and Lit. Sor. , No. III. , 1859, pp. 309-314. Slayers, No. Ch. Br. Roij. As. Soc.,\o\. VI., 1870, pp. 31-44. Bazin, Recherrhes stir Vorifjinr, Vhistoire, et la conditutioii des ordres reli(jieu.v dans Vemjnre Chinots, Paris, 1856, p. 70. Johnson, Oriental Eelirjions : China, Part V-, pp.859-904. Nevius, C’?iina and tlie Chinese, Chap. IX., New York, 1869. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, The Chinese, p. 97, etc.
‘ Hardy enumerates fifty-six modes of writing the name. Manual, p. 354

The incidents in the life of Buddha have been enveloped in so much legendary narrative by his followers in India that the Chinese have placed his birth much too early—b.v. 1027—while the true date is n.o. 623 according to the best authorities; but when his actual mortal life is regarded as one in a series of incarnations, no surprise need be felt at these discre})ancies. He was the son of Suddhodana, king of Ivapilavastu, a city and country near Nipal, subject to the king of Magadha, now a part of Bahar. His mother, TMaj’a, or Maha-maya deva, died ten days after his birth, which, according to the legends, was accomplished without pain and acconq^anied by amazing wonders. His name was ISiddhai’ta, or the ‘ Establisher,’ until he became a Buddha, i.e.,h’nn In’ whom truth is known. The name Gotama, or Samona-Godam, is a patronymic better known in Siam than China, where another family or clan name, Sakya-muni, is more common. At the age of fifteen he was nuide heir-apparent ; at seventeen he was married to Yashodara, a Brahmin maiden of the Sakya clan, and his son Bahula was born the next year. At twenty-five he determined to become a recluse, and left his prospects and his father’s court for an abode in the forest beyond Kapilavastu, in solitary spots ” trying various methods to attain mental satisfaction, but in vain.” After five years of this ascetic life ” he came to the perception of the true condition and wants of mankind,” and began his ministry of forty-nine years. He was now a Buddha^ which is described as ” entering into a state of reverie, emitting a bright light and retieeting on the four modes of truth.”

LIFE OF GOTAMA BUDDHA. ^19

He began his preaching at Benares by discourses on the four truths, which was termed the revolving of the wheel of the law. He formed his first disciples into a connnunity, to whom he gave their rules, and when the number increased to fifty-six be sent them over the land to give instruction in \\\qfour miseries^ and carry out the system by which all his disciples were taught they could attain final happiness in nirvana. This system, which exists in full strength to this day, is founded on

monastic vows for the individual, living in spiritual communities

for the disciples, voluntary poverty and universal preaching,

Sakya-numi infused such energy into his followers that in a

few years India was covered with their communities ; and he

developed rules for instruction, employment, punishment, and

promotion, which have served ever since. His own life, after

his visit to his father in the year 586, when thirty-seven years

old, was passed mostly in delivering the sidras, or laws, thirtyfive

discourses in all ; these are reverenced by all Buddhists, and

copies are held to have moral and hygienic effects on those who

do so, and bring good luck to the family and the State. As

Sakya-muni lived long enough to see and correct the dangers of

his system, at his death, in the year 543, he was able to confer

much of his authority on his two chief disciples, Ananda and

Kashiapa, and thus hand down the organization to posterity.

The few facts here stated respecting this remarkable man are

selected from Hardy’s Manual of Buddhistn, where is given a

good digest of the Hindu writers respecting their sage. One

thing impresses the readei- of this work as a peculiarity of Sakyamuni’s

teaching, and standing in strong contrast to the Brahminic

system that followed it: it is the manner in which he has

weakened and almost destroyed the power of the unseen world

and of spiritual beings as agencies of restraint upon the heart

of man, and of assistance in seeking after good. By his system of

good works and self-denials, his followers are brought into such

close relationship with the whole creation of invisible beings, into whose presence and fellowship they can enter by their own efforts and mediation, that the moral sanctions of a Supreme Ruler and God over all are neutralized, and the sense of sin in the human conscience done away with. Its removal is put under

the control of the soul, and the degree of happiness and power

attained in the future world depends on the individual—so

many prayers, alms, austerities, and obediences result in so much

honor, power, and enjoyment in the coming infinite. The past

infinite is also made part of the conscious present, and moral

fate worked like physical attraction, innumerable causes producing

retributive results for rewards or for punishments. In such

a theology, salvation by faith is rendered impossible, and sacrifice

for sin by way of atonement useless. In this feature the

ancient worship of China and the teachings of Confucius rise

superior to Buddhism, and leave the soul of man more open to

rnoral law.

The personal life and character of Buddha presents a wonderful

exhibition of virtues, and one is not disposed to weigh the testimony

of their reality as di’awn out in Hardy’s 2LtnH((l so carefully

as to neutralize the effect; but the glowing picture oi his

good actions for his fellow-nicn given in the fervid lines of

Arnold’s JJyJd ofAsia, takes one quite into the realm of fable,

engendering the wish that the ( onfiician Analects and their matter-

of-fact details could have been imitated by the disciples of

Siddharta. In regard to both these great teachers, Confucius

and Buddha, however, one may gladly adopt Dean Stanley’s remark,

” that it is difficult for those who believe the permanent

elements of the Jewish and Christian religion to be universal

and divine, not to hail these corresponding forms of truth or

goodness elsewhere, or to recognize that the mere appearance of

such saintlike or godlike characters in other parts of the earth,

if not preparing the way for a greater manifestation, illustrates

that manifestation by showing how mighty has been the witness

borne to it even mider circumstances of such discouragement,

and even with effects inadequate to their grandeur.”‘

INFLUENCE OF BUDDHISM AMONG THE PEOPLE. 221

Buddhist priests are more numerous in China than the Tao sz’, and they obtained influence more rapidly over the people. Their demonolatry allows the incorporation of the deities and spirits of

Other religions, and goes even further, in permitting the priests

to worship the gods of other pantheons, so that they could adapt

themselves to the popular superstitions of the countries they went

to, and ingraft all the foreign divinities into their calendar they

safw fit. The Emperors at various times have, moreover, shown

great devotion to their ceremonies and doctrines, and have built

costly temples, and supported more priests than ever Jezebel

did ; but the teachings of Confucius and Mencius were too well

understood among the people to be uprooted or overridden. The

complete separation of the State religion from the worship of the

common people accounts for the remarkable freedom of belief

on religious topics. Mohammedanism and Buddhism, Taoist

ceremonies and Lama temples, are all tolerated in a certain way,

but none of them have in the least interfered with the State religion

and the autocraay of the monarch as the Son of Heaven.

They are, as every one knows, all essentially idolatrous, and the

coming struggle between these various manifestations of error

and the revealed truths and requirements of the Bible has only

begun to cast its shadow over the land. The more subtile conflict,

too, between the preaching of the Cross and faith alone in

its sacrifice for salvation, and reliance on good works, and pi-iestly

interference in every fonn, has not yet begun at all.

The power of Buddhism in China has been owing chieily to

its ability and offer to supply the lack of certainty in the popular

notions respecting a future state, and the nature of the gods

who govern man and creation. Confucius uttered no speculations

about those unseen things, and ancestral worship confined

itself to a belief in the presence of the loved ones, who were

ready to accept the homage of their children. That longing of

the soul to know something of the life beyond the grave was

measurably supplied by the teachings of Sakya-muni and his

disciples, and, as was the case with Confucius, was illustrated

and enforced by the earnest, virtuous life of their founder.

Though the sect did not receive the imperial sanction till about

A.D. 65, these teachings must have gradually grown familiar

during the previous age. The conflict of opinions which ere long

arose between the definite practical maxims of the Confucian

moralists, and the vague speculations, well-defined good works and hopeful tliongli unproved promises of future well-being, set

forth by the Hindu missionaries, has continued ever since. It

is an instructive chapter in human experience, and affords another

illustration of the impossibility of man’s answering Job’s

great question, ” But how shall num be just with God?” The

early sages opened no outlook into the blank future, offered no

hopes of life, love, happiness, or reunion of the friends gone before,

and their disciples necessarily fell back into helpless fatalism.

Buddhism said. Keep my ten connnandnients, live a life

of celibacy and contem{)lation, pray, fast, and give alms, and according

to your works you will become pure, and be rewarded

in the serene nirvana to which all life tends. But the Buddhist

priesthood had no system of schools to teach their peculiar tenets,

and, as there is only one set of books taught in the common

schools, the elevating precepts of the sages brought forth their

proper fruit in the tender mind. Poverty, idleness, and vows

made by parents in the day of adversity to dedicate a son or a

daughter to the life-long service of Buddha, still supply that

priesthood with most of its members. The majority are unable

to nnderstand their own theological literature, and far more is

known about its jieculiar tenets in Europe than among the mass

of the Chinese. Tiie CVjufucianist, in his pride of office and learning, may lidicule their mummeries, but in his hour of weakness, pain, and death he turns to them for help, for he has nowhere else to o;o. Both are ii»;norant of the life and liojht revealed in the gospels, and cry out, ” Who will show us any good ?”

If the mythology of Buddhism M’as trivial and jejune, as we

judge it after comparing it with the beautiful imagerj- and art

of Greece and Egypt, it brought in nothing that was licentious in

its rites or cruel in its sacrifices. Coming from India, where

M’orship of the gods involved the prostitution of Avomen, the

adoration of the lingam, and the sacrifice of human beings.

Buddhism was remarkably free from all revolting features. If

it had nothing to offer the Chinese higher in morals or more

exalted or true in its conception of the universe or its Maker, it

did not sanction impurity or murder, or elevate such atrocities

above the reach of law by making them sacred to the gods.

IT ENTERS INTO THEIR RELIGHOUS LIFE. 223

This last outrage of the Prince of Darkness on tlie soul of man,

so common in Western Asia, has never been known or accepted

to any great extent in the Middle Kingdom.

But, while it is true that Buddhism gave them a system of

precepts and observances that set before them just laws and high

motives for right actions, and proportionate rewards for the good

works it enjoined, it could not furnish the highest standards,

sanctions, and inducements for holy living. On becoming a

part of the people, the Buddhists soon entered into their religious

life as acknowledged teachers. They adapted their own

tenets to the national mythology, took its gods and gave it theirs,

acted as mediators and interpreters between men and gods, the

living and the dead, and shaped popular belief on all these

mysteries. The well-organized hierarchy numbered its members

by myriads, and yet history records no successful attempts on its

part to usurp political power, or place the priest above the laws.

This tendency was always checked by the literati, who really

had in the classics a higher standard of ethical philosophy than

the Buddhists, and would not be driven from their position

by imperial orders, nor coaxed by specious arguments to yield

their ground. Constant discussions on these points have served

to keep alive a spirit of inquiry and rivalry, and preserve butli

from stagnation. Though Buddhism, in its vagaries and willworship,

gave them nothing better than husks, put hypocrisy

in place of devotion, taught its own dogmas instead of truth,

and left its devotees with no sense of sin against any law, yet

its salutary inJiuence on the national life of China cannot be

denied.

The worship of ancestors and of good and bad spirits supposed

to pervade and rule this world was perfectly compatible with

the reception of Buddhism ; thus its priests gradually became the

high priests of the popular superstition, and have since remained

so. They first ingratiated themselves by making their services

useful in the indigenous ritual, and were afterwards looked upon

as necessary for its execution. They propagated their doctrines

principally by books and tracts, rather than by collecting schools

or disciples in their temples ; the quiet, indolent life they led,

apparently absorbed in books and worship, and yet not altogether estranged from the world, likewise held out charms to some people.

China is full of temples, in most of which Buddhist priests are found, hut it is not quite the true inference to suppose that all the buildings were erected or the priests hired, because the people wish to do reverence to Buddha. It is impossible to state the proportion in which Buddhist temples are found ; there are one hundred and twenty-four in Canton alone, containing idols of every name and attribute, in most of which they live and act as the assistants of whoever comes to worship.

The tenets of Buddhism require a renunciation of the world

and the observance of austerities to overcome evil passions and

fit its disciples for future happiness.’ A vow of celibacy is

taken, the priests dwelling together for mutual assistance in

attaining perfection by worship of Buddha and calling upon his

name. They shave the entire head as a token of purity, but not

the whole body, as the ancient Egyptian priests did ; they profess

to eat no animal food, wear no skin or woollen garments,

and get their living by begging, by the alms of worshippers, and

the cultivation of the grounds of the temple. Much of their

supj)ort is derived from the sale of incense sticks, gilt paper, and

candles, and from fees for services at funerals. In the great

monasteries, like the ilai-chwang sz’ at Canton, the priests perform

the whole service ; but in other temples they contrive to

gain a livelihood, and many of those better situated derive a large

})ortion of their income from entertaining strangers of wealth

and disthiction. The sale of charms, the profits of theatrical

exhibitions, the fees paid by neighborhoods for feeding hungry

ghosts on All-Souls’ day, and other incidental services performed

for the living or the dead, also furnish resources. Their largest

monasteries contain extensive libraries, and a portion of the

fraternity are well acquainted with letters, though most of them

are ignorant even of their own books. Their moral character,

as a class, is on a par with their countrymen, and nuiny of them

are respectable, intelligent, and sober-minded persons, who seem

‘ Remusat terms these tenets not inaptly “a mixture of pantheism, rationalism, and idolatry.” In Hardy {Mitinud, p. 212) we find that the Wh-Uikj xz^ to five hundred Lo-h;in is to honor five hundred rahats. In India this number seems to stand for all.

TENETS AND LITURGY OF THE BUDDHISTS. 225

to be sincerely desirous of making themselves better, if possible, by their religious observances.

The liturgy is in Sanscrit transliterated in Chinese characters with which priest and people are alike unacquainted, nor are there now any bilingual glossaries or dictionaries to explain the words. Dr. Milne, speaking of the use of unknown tongues in liturgies, remarks : ” There is something to be said in favor of those Christians who believe in the magic powers of foreign words, and who think a prayer either more acceptable to the Deity, or more suited to common edification, because the people do not generally understand it. They are not singular in this belief. Some of the Jom’s had the same opinion ; the followers of Buddha and Mohammed all cherish the same sentiment. From the chair of his holiness at Rome, and eastward through all Asia to the mountain retreats of the Yama-bus in Japan, this opinion is espoused. The bloody Druids of ancient Europe, the gymnosophists of India, the Mohammedan hatib, the Buddhists of China, the talapoins of Siam, and the bonzes of Japan, the Tlomish clerg}’, the vartabeds of the Armenian church, and the

priests of the Abyssinian and Greek communions, all entertain

the notion that the mysteries of religion will be the more revered

the less they are understood, and the devotions of the

people (performed by proxy) the more welcome in heaven for

being dressed in the garb of a foreign tongue. Thus the synagogue

and mosque, the pagan temple and Christian church, seem all to agree in ascribing marvellous efiicacy to the sounds of an unknown language ; and, as they have Jews and Mohammedans,

Abyssinians and pagans, on their side, those Christians

who plead for the use of an unknown tongue in the services of

religion have certainly the majority. That Scripture, reason,

and common sense should happen to be on the other side is indeed

a misfortune for them, but there is no help for it.”

‘

The following canon for exterminating misfortune is extracted

from the Buddhist liturgy, but it is as unintelligible to the Chinese

as it will be to the English reader. While repeating it

‘ Encyclopcedin Britannim, Art. Buddhism. TndocMnese Gleaner, Vol. III., p. 141. Chinese Repository, Vol. IX., p. 640. Yule’s Marco Polo, Vol. II., p200, and passim.

the priest strikes upon a sounding board called mu yu, or ‘wooden fish,’ sliaped somewhat like a skull, in order to mark the time of his monotonous chant: Nan-mo O-mi’-to po-ye, to-ta-kia to-ye, to-ti-ye-ta 0-mi-li-to po-kwilii, 0-mili-to, sieli-tan-po-kwaii, O-iiii-li-to, kwan-kia-lan-ti 0-mi-li-to, kwan-kia-lan-ti; kia-mi-ni kia-kia-na, chih-to-kia-li i)o-po-ho.

Similar invocations, with the name O-iivi-to’^ Full (Amida Baddha), are repeated thousands and myriads of times to attain perfection, affording a good illustration of the propriety of our Saviour’s direction, ” When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do; for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.” A plate in one Buddhistic work contains five thousand and forty-eight open dots, arranged in the shape of a pear ; each dot to be filled up when the name of Buddha has been repeated a hundred or a thousand times, and then the paper to be burned to pass into the other world to the credit of the devotee.

The Buddhists have a system of merits and demerits, of which Sir John Davis remarks that ” this method of Ixeejumj a score with heaven is as foolish and dangerous a system of morality as that of penances and indulgences in the Romish church.”

‘ 0-im-to is derived from aniiiitr, or ‘deathless.’ Hardy, Manual, p. 355.

OrPOSITIOX OF THE LITEPvATI TO BUDDHISM. 227

In this Buddhist scale of actions, to repair a road, make a bridge, or dig a well, ranks as ten ; to cure a disease, or give enough ground for a grave, as thirty ; to set on foot some useful scheme ranks still higher. On the other hand, to reprove another unjustly counts as three on the debtor side ; to level a tomb, as fifty ; to dig up a corpse, as one hundred ; to cut off a man’s male heirs, as two hundred, and so on. This notion of keeping accounts with heaven prevails among all classes of the Chinese, and the score is usually settled about the end of the year by fasting and doing chai”ital)l(‘ acts, such as making a piece of road, repairing a temple, or distributing food, to prove their repentance and benefit tlie world. Festival days are chosen by devout people to distribute alms to the poor, and on such occasions troops of beggars cluster about their doors, holding clap-dishes in their outstretched hands, while the donor stands behind the luilf-opened door dealing out rice to the chunorous crowd which he dares not trust inside.

Considerhig how few restraints this religion imposes on the

evil propensities of tlie human lieart, and how easily it provides

for the expiation of crimes, it is surprising that it has not had

as great success among the Chinese as among the Tibetans, Birmese,

and Siamese. The thorough education in the reasonable

teachings of the classics, and the want of filial duty shown by

celibates to their parents in leaving them to take care of themselves,

have had their effects in maintaining the purer but

heartless moralities of the Confucianists. The priests have

always had the better judgment of the people against them,

and being shut out by their profession from entering into society

as companions or equals, and regarded as servants to be sent for

when their services were M’anted, they can neither get nor maintain

that influence over their countrymen which would enable

them to form a party or a powerful sect. One of the officers

in the reign of Chingtih of the Ming dynasty, Wang Yang-ning,

who addressed a remonstrance to his sovereign against sending

an embassy to India to fetch thence Buddhist books and priests,

relies for his chief argument on a comparison between the precepts

and tendency of that faith and the higher doctrines of the

classics, proving to his own satisfaction that the latter contained

all the good there was in the former, without its nonsense and

evil. The opposition to Buddhism on the part of the literati has

been in fact a controversy between common sense (imperfectly

enlightened indeed) and superstitious fear; the first inclines the

person to look at the subject with reference to the principles

and practical results of the system, as exhibited in the writings

and lives of its followers, while, not having themselves anything

to look forward to beyond the grave, they are still led to entertain

some of its dogmas, because there may be something in

them after all, and they have themselves nothing better. The

result is, as Dr. Morrison has observed, ” Buddhism in China is

decried by the learned, laughed at by the profligate, yet followed

by all.”

The paraphrase and commentary on the seventh of Kanghi’s maxims against strange religions present a singular anomaly; for while the Emperor Yungching in the paraphrase decries Buddhism and Rationalism, and exalts the “orthodox doctrine,” as he terms the teachings of the classics, he was himself a daily worshipper of Buddhist idols served by the lamas.

He inveighs against selling poor children to the priests in no

measured terms, and shows the inutility and folly of repeating

the books or reciting the unintelligible charms written by the

priests, where the person never thought of performing what

was good. lie speaks against the promiscuous assemblage of

men and women at the temples, which leads to unseemly acts,

and joins in with another of his own class, who remarked, in

reference to a festival, that ” most of the worshippers are women,

who like these worshipping days, because it gives them an opportunity

to see and l)e seen in their fine clothes; and most of

the men who go there, go to amuse themselves and look at the

M’omen.’” “The sum of the whole is, these dissolute priests of

Buddha are lazy ; they will neither labor in the fields nor traffic

in the markets, and being without food and clothing, they set

to work and invent means of deceiving people.” But though

this upholder of the good old way well exhibits the follies of

these idolatrous sects, he has nothing better to present his countrymen

than ” the two living divinities placed in the family,*’

nothing to lead their thoughts beyond this world. His best

advice and consolation for their troubled and wearied souls is,

” Seek not for happiness beyond your own sphere ; perfoi-m not

an action beyond the bounds of reason ; attend solely to your

own duty ; then you will receive the protection of the gods.”

‘

The instructions of Sakya-muni himself have noM^ become so

interwoven in the additions, ritualism, and errors of his followers

during the ages since he died, that he is charged with many

things which he probably never taught. T^nlike the founders

of Islamism and Zoroastrianism, his personlil influence and identity

have been lost amid the fables which have enveloped his

acts, and the diversities of worship and doctrine baffle all explanation.

“When the patriarchs and missionaries of the sect

‘ Milne’s Sacred Edict, pp. 133-143. Chinese Bepository, Vol. I. , p. 207 ; Vol.II., p. 265.

LIMITATIONS TO ITS POWEll IN CHINA. 220

began to increase in Central Asia and Cliina after the embassy

of Ming tt, they were obliged to defend, exphiin, and develop

their tenets against the Chinese literati, and also commend them

to the observance of the i)eople. In the former region their

coiupiests were complete, and the Alotigols stdl hold to the Bnddhist

faith as completely as the Knropean nations did to popery

until the Reformation. The histoiy of Chinese Buddhism down

to the present day has not yet been folly examined, but much

has been done within the past few years by Julien, Beal, Edkins,

Watters, Neumann, Koeppen, and others to make it known.

Translations from Chinese Buddhistic travellers and moralists

liave brought out nuiny obscure opinions and unexpected events

in this branch of religious thought and missionary work, during

a period of the world’s history hitherto quite unknown to Europeans.’

The mutual forbearance exhibited by the different sects in

China is owing a good deal to apathy, for where there is nothing

to reach thei’e is little to stimulate to effort. The government

tolerates no denomination suspected of interfering with its

own inlluence, and as none of the sects have any State patronage,

none of them liokl any power to wield for persecution, and the

people soon tire of petty annoyances and unavailing invectives.

The Buddhist priesthood is perpetuated mostly by the children

given by parents who have vowed to do so in their distress, and

by others purchased for serving in large monasteries. Persons

occasionally enter late in life, weary with the vexations of thi3

world ; Mr. Milne was accpuiinted with one who had two sons

when he took the vows upon him, but gave himself no care as

to what had become of them. The only education which most

of the acolytes receive consists in memorizing the prayers in the

liturgy and reading the canonical works. A few fraternities

have tutors from whom they receive instruction.

‘See Alabaster’s Wheel of the Lair, pp. 228-241, for a well-digested Life of Buddha, from the Siamese. Beal’s Romantic History of Buddha, and Caten(( (f Buddhist Scriptures. Edkins, Chinese Buddhism, Chaps. I to VI., gives a good resume of the early progress of the faith. G. Biihler, Three Neic Edicts of A’ioka, London (Triibner).

Nunneries also exist, most of them under the patronage of the IIolj Mother, Queen of Heaven. The priests advocate their establishment as a good means of working upon the feelings of the more susceptible part of society, to whom they themselves cannot get admittance. The succession among the “sisters “is kept up by purchase and by self-consecration ; the feet of children bought young are not bandaged. The novice is not admitted to full orders till she is sixteen, though previous to this she adopts the garb of the sisterhood ; the only difference consists in the front part of the head being shaved and the hair plaited in a queue, while nuns shave the whole. It is not easy to distinguish monks from nuns as they walk the streets, for both have natural feet, wear clumsy shoes, long stockings drawn over full trousers, short jackets, and bald pates. Like her sister

in Romish countries, the Chinese nun, when her head has been

shaved—the opposite of taking the veil, though the hair of both

is sacrificed—is required to live a life of devotion and mortification,

eat vegetables, care nothing for the world, and think only

of her eternal canonization, keeping herself busy with the service

of the temple. ” Daily exercises are to be conducted by her ;

the furniture of the small sanctuary that forms a part of the

convent must be looked after and kept clean and orderly ; those

women or men who come to worship at the altars, and seek

guidance and comfort, must be cared for and assisted. “When

there is leisure the sick and the poor are to be visited ; and all

who have placed themselves nnder her special direction and

spiritual instruction have a strong claim upon her regard. That

she may live the life of seclusion and self-denial, she must vow

perpetual virginity. The thought of marriage should never

enter her head, and the society of men must be shunned. On

her death she will be swallowed up in nihility ! ” In Fuhchau

the nunneries were all summarily abolished nearly fifty years

ago by an officer who learned the dissolute lives of their inmates.

They have not since been reopened for their residence, though

this official provided husbands for most of their nuns. Such a

proceeding would have been impossible in almost any other

country, and shows the functions of Chinese officials for the

welfare of society.

BUDDHIST NUNS AND NUNNERIES. 231

Most of them are tauo-ht to read the classics as well as their

own liturgies, and a few of the sisterhood are said to be well

read in the loi*e of the country. Each nun has her own disciples

among the laity, and cultivates and extends her acquaintances as

much as she can, inasmuch as upon them her support principally

depends. Each of her patrons, whether male or female,

receives a new name from her, as she herself also did when her

head was shaven. Contributors’ names are written or engraved

in conspicuous places in the building ; casual fees or donations

go to the general expenses. Each nun also receives ten cents

when public masses are recited for those who have engaged

them. Their moral character is uniformly represented as dissolute,

but while despised for their profligacy they are dreaded for the supposed power they can exert by means of their connection with spirits. The number of nunneries in the department of Ningbo is stated to be thirty, and the sisterhood in them all to amount to upward of three hundred persons.”

The numerous points of similarity between the rites of the Buddhists and those of the Romish church early attracted attention. Abbe Hue enumerates many of them : ” The cross, the mitre, the dalmatica, the cope which the lamas wear on their journeys, or when performing some ceremony out of the temple; the service with double choirs, the psalmody, the exorcisms, the censer suspended from five chains, which you can open or close at pleasure ; the benedictions given by extending the right hand over the heads of the faithful ; the rosary, ecclesiastical celibacy, spiritual retirement, worship of the saints; the fasts, processions, litanies, and holy water—all these are analogies

between ourselves and the Buddhists.” In addition to these, the

institution of nuns, worship of relics, masses for the dead, and

burning of candles and incense, with ringing of bells during

worship, are prominent usages common to both. Their priests

alike teach a purgatory from which the soul can be released by

their prayers ; they also conduct service in a dead language, and

pretend to miracles. Lastly, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity

of Maya, the mother of Sakya-nmni, is an article taught

‘ Chinese Repository^ Vol. XIII., pp. 93-98. Doolittle’s Social Life, I., p. 253 WAn^^i Life in Chimi, pp. 134-146. Gray’s China, I., pp. 105, 131-135.

by the Mongol Buddhists, who also practise a form of infant

baptism, in which the lama dips the child three times imder the

water as he pronounces its name and j^ives it a blessing.

These mimerous and striking resemblances led the Roman

Catholic missionaries to conclude that some of them had been

derived from the papal or Syrian priests who entered China

before Xublai khan. M. Hue brings forward his hypotliesis

that Tseng Kaba, the teacher of the Buddhist reformer in Mongolia

about that time, had adopted them from some of the J2uropeans

who taught him the Christian doctrines.’ Others refer

them to St. Thomas, but Premare ascribes them to the devil,

who had thus imitated holy mother church in order to scandalize

and oppose its rites. But as Davis observes, ” To those

who admit that most of the Romish ceremonies are borrowed

directly from paganism, there is less difficulty in accounting for

the resemblance.”’ On this point it will be impossible to reach

certainty. There have probably been some tilings borrowed by

each from the other at various ages, without either knowing

from whence they came or what were their tendencies. Fergusson

shows the great probability that the monastic S3-stem,

celibacy, and ascetic good works wei’e adopted in the Eastern

church from India ; but the want of reliable records on either

side hitherto has left much to inference and conjecture.

Tlie worship is similar and equally imposing. One eye-witness

describes the scene he saw in a Buddhist temple: “There

stood foui’teen priests, seven on each side of the altar, erect,

motionless, witii clasped hands and downcast eyes, their shaven

heads and flowing gray robes adding to their solemn appearance.

The low and measured tones of the slowdy moving chant they

‘ Hue’s Trarels in Tartnry, II., p. 50. Hardy’s Mantial, p. 142. Missionary Recorder, III., pp. 142, 181. Eitel, Lectures on BnMlmm, and HnvrVmok for the Btmleut of Chinese Buddhism, Hongkong, 1870. James Fergusson, Hist. Indian and Eastern Arc7iit£ci>ire, Introduction. Remusat, Melamjei Posthumes, p. 44. Klaproth in Journal Asiatique, Tome VII. (18:51), p. 190; also Tome XT. (IV– Ser.), 1848, p. 535. Prof. E. E. Salisbiu-y in Jonrnal Am. Or. ,S<jc., Vol. I., No. II., 1844. Jour, of tlie R. As. Soc, passim. Yule’s Marco Polo, Vol. I., p. 406; also CatJuty and the Way Thithrr, II., p. 551. W. Wordsworth, The Church of Thibet and the Historical Analoyies of Buddhism and Christianity, London, 1877.

THE ROMANIST AND BUDDHIST RITUALS. 233

were singing might have awakened solemn emotions, too, and

called away the thonghts from worldly objects. Three priests

kept time with the mnsic, one beating an immense drum, another

a large iron vessel, and a thiid a wooden ball. After chanting,

they kneeled upon low stools and bowed before the colossal

image of Buddha, at the same time striking their heads upon the

ground. Then rising and facing each other, they began slowly

chanting some sentences, and rapidly increasing the music and

their utterance until both were at the climax of rapidity, they

diminished in the same way imtil they had returned to the

original measure. In the meantime, some of the number could

not restrain their curiosity, and, even M’hile chanting and counting

their beads, left their places to ask for books. The whole

service forcibly renunded me of scenes in Romish chapels ; the

shaven heads of the priests, their long robes, mock solemnity,

frequent prostrations, chantings, beads—yea, and their idol, too,

all suggested their types, or their antitypes, in the apostate

church.”‘

The expulsion of Buddhism from India, after its triumphs in the reign of Asoka, King of Majadha, was so complete that it hence forth divided into the northern and southern schools, the first taking Sanscrit and the other Pali as its sacred language. In the course of time the divergencies became fixed, and thus, without any actual schism, the Buddhists of Ceylon and Ultra Gane-es have come to differ from those of Central Asia and China. The form of Buddhism prev-ailing among the Mongols and Tibetans differs more in its state and powder than in its doctrines; it is called Shamanism, or IhiMng Jiao (‘Yellow Sect’) in Chinese, from the color of the priestly robes—a Shaman being one who has overcome all his passions ; it is a Hindu word.

‘ Foreifjn Missionary Clironide, Vol. XIV., p. 300.

– I’or his origin see Klaprotli, Memoircs stir PAsie, Tome II., p. 90. Also Remusat, 3fel((/iges Posfhi/i/irs, pp. 1-04, for some observations on this faith in a review of De Guigues’ Huns. E. Schhigintweit. BudiUiiint in Tlbi’i, with folio atlas of plates, Leipzig, 180:3. J. Summers in llie Phceniv, I., 1870, pp 9-11,

The Dalai-Lama at Il’lassa, in the great monastery of the Butala, is the pope of the religion, the abode of deity.* Mongolia swarms with lamas, and the government at Peking aids in supporting them in order to maintain its sway more easily over the tribes, though the Manclius have endeavored to supplant* the civil authority of the Dalai-Lama and banehin-erdeni, by partially aiding and gradually subdividing their power. The ritual of the Shamans, in which the leading tenets taught by the lamas are exhibited, contains their ten principal precepts, or decalogue, viz. : 1. Do not kill. 2. Do not steal. 3. Do not connnit fornication. 4. Speak not falsely. 5. Drink no wine nor eat tlesh. 6. Look not on gay silks or necklaces, use no perfumed ointment, and paint not the body. 7. Neither sing nor dance, and do no sleight of hand tricks or gymnastic acts, and go not to see or

hear them. 8. Sit not on a high large couch. 9. Do not eat out

of time. 10. Do not grasp hold of living images, gold, silver,

money, or any valuable thing.’ The book contains also twentyfour

sections of directions as to the conduct to be observed in

various places, and before different persons. When using the

sacred books the devotee must consider himself to be in the

presence of Buddha, and he is forbidden to study books of

divination, physiognomy, medicine, drawing lots, astronomy,

geography, alchemy, charms, magic, or poetry. Xo wonder the

priests are ignorant when almost every source of instruction is

thus debarred them. The number of temples scattered over

Mongolia and Tibet and the proportion of priests are far greater

than in China, and the literature is not less enormous for bulk

than are the contents of the volumes tedious and uninstructive.’

A good device for a religion of formality to economize time and

accommodate ignoi-ance is adopted by the lamas, which is to

write the pi-ayers on a piece of ])aper and fasten them to a wheel

carried round by the wind or twirled by tlie liand ; chests are

also set up in temples having prayers engraved on the outside

in large letters, and the prayer is repeated as often as the wind or the hand revolves the wheel or ohest.

‘ Annnles He la Foi, Tome IX., p. 400.

^”The dreariest literature, perhaps,” says Professor Whitney, “that was ever painfully scored down, and patiently studied, and religiously preserved “(Oriental and lyhujuixtir Stiidifn, Second Series, p. i)8). For foreign bibliographies of Buddhism the reader may be referred to L^Il/’ntoire de (Jakya-Mount, par Foucaux (ad fin ), and Otto Kistner, Buddha and Ids Doctrines : A Bdjliographical Emuiy, London, 18G’J. See also Triibuer’s Record for 1869, p513.

SHAMANISM, THE BUDDHISM OF TIBET. 235

The Buddhist temples present nuich nniformity in their arrant »-enient, and some of the monastic establishments are amono; the finest buildings in China. No cave temples are known, but caves have been turned into temples in many places, and miserable places they are for worship. On entering a Buddhist temple, one sees four colossal statnes of the Four Great Kings who are supposed to govern the continents on each side of Mount Sumeru and guard or reward the devotees who honor their Lord ; they have black, blue, red, and white faces, and usually hold a sword, guitar, nmbrella, and snake in their hands. Opposite the door is a shrine containing an image of Maitreya Buddha, or the Merciful One, a very fat, jolly personage, who is to have an avatar three thousand years hence ; images of Kwanti, the God of War, and of Wei-to, a general nnder the Four Kings, clad in armor, are often seen near the shrine. Going behind a screen, the next great hall contains a high gilded image of Sakya-muni sitting on a lotns flower, with smaller statues of Ananda and

Kashiapa on his sides ; their shrine often has standing images

of attendants. In this hall are other images or pictures of the

Eighteen Arhans, deified missionaries who propagated their

faith early in China. In the rear of these is represented some

form of Kwanyiu, the Goddess of Mercy, the popular idol of the

sects. In large temples the live hundred Arhans, placed on as

many seats, each having some distinguishing attribute, fill a large

hall. Besides these occur the disciples of Buddha listening to

his teachings, the horrible punishments of hell, and various

honored deities, sages, or local gods, so that few temples are

alike in all respects. In all of them are guest-chambers of

various sizes, refectories, study rooms, and cloisters, according to

the wants and resources of the fraternity.

The hold of the Buddhist priesthood upon the mass of Chinese

consists far more in the position they occupy in relation to the

rites performed in honor of the dead than in their tenets. This

brings us to the consideration of the real relio-ion of the Chinese,

that in which more than anything else they trust, and to which

they look for consolation and reward— the worship of deceased ancestors. The doctrines of Confucius and the ceremonial of the State religion, exhibit the speculative, intellectual dogmas of the educated literati and thinkers, who have early been taught the high ideal of tlie Princely Man set forth by their sages.

The tenets of Lau-tsz’ and the sorcery and incantations of his

followers show the mystic and marvellous part of the popular

belief. Buddhism takes hold of the connnon life of man, offers

relief in times of distress, escape from a future hell at a cheap

rate, and employment in a round of prayers, study, or work,

ending in the nirvana. But the heart of the nation reposes

more upon the rites offered at the family shiine to the two

“living divinities” who preside in the hall of ancestors than to

all the rest. This sort of family worship has been popular in

other countries, but in no part of the world has it reached the

consequence it has received in Eastern Asia ; every natural

feeling serves, indeed, to strengthen its simple cultus.

In the Shh King, whose existence, as we have already pointed

out, is coeval with Samuel or earlier, are many references to this

worship, and to certain rites connected with its royal observance.

At some festivals the dead were personated by a younger relative,

who was supposed to be taken possession of by their spirits,

and thereby became their visible image. He was placed on

higli, and the sacrificer, on appearing in the temple, asked him

to be seated at his ease, and urged him to eat, thereby to prepare

himself to receive the liomage given to the dead. When he had

done so he gave the response in their name ; the defied spirits

returned to heaven, and their personator came down from his

seat. \\\ one ode the response of the ancestors through their

personator is thus given:

What said the message from your sires ?
*’ VoGKols r.nd gifts are cleans
And all your friends, assisting you,
Bchav) with reverent mien.
‘ Most reverently you did your part,
And reverent by your side
Your son appeared. On you henceforth
Shall ceaseless blessings bide.
” What shall the ceaseless blessings be ?
That in your palace high,
For myriad years you dwell in peace,
Rich in posterity.” ‘

ANCESTRAL WORSHIP THE RELIGION OF THE FAMILY. 237

The teachings of this ancient book intimate that the protecting favor of the departed could be lost by the vile, cruel, or unjust conduct of their descendants—thus connecting ancestral worship and reward with personal character. Another ode sums up this idea in the expression, ” The mysterious empyrean is able to strengthen anything ; do not disgrace your imperial ancestors,

and it will save your posterity.” Many stories occur in

the native literature exemplifying this idea by actual experiences

of blessing and cursing, all flowing from the observance or

neglect of the required duties.

The great sages Confucius and Mencius, with the earlier rulers,

King Wan and Duke Chan, and their millions of followers, have

all upheld these sentiments, and those teachings and examples

are still as powerful as ever. In every household, a shrine, a

tablet, an oratory, or a domestic temple, according to the position

of the family, contains the simple legend of the two ancestral

names written on a slip of paper or carved on a board. Incense

is burned before it, daily or on the new and full moons ; and in

April the people everywhere gather at the family graves to

sweep them, and worship the departed around a festive sacrifice.

To the children it has all the pleasant associations of our Christmas

or Thanksgiving; and all the elder members of the family

who can do so come toorether around the tomb or in the ancestral

hall at the annual rite. Parents and children meet and bow before

the tablet, and in their simple cheer contract no associations

with temples or idols, monasteries or priests, processions, or flags

and nuisic. It is the family, and a stranger intermeddleth not

with it ; he has his own tablet to look to, and can get no good

by worshipping before that bearing the names of another family.

As the children grow up the worship of the ancestors, whom

they never saw, is exchanged for that of nearer ones who bore

and nurtured, clothed, taught, and cheered them in helpless

‘ Legge’s She Kiruj, p. 309, London, 1876.

childhood and hopeful youth, and the whole is thus rendered more

personal, vivid, and endearing. There is nothing revolting or

cruel connected with it, but everything is orderly, kind, and

simple, calculated to strengthen the family relationship, cement

the affection between brothers and sisters, and uphold habits of

filial reverence and obedience. Though the strongest motive

for this worship arises out of the belief that success in worldly

affairs depends on the support given to parental spirits in hades,

who will resent continued neglect by withholding their blessing,

yet, in the course of ages, it has intluenced Chinese character, in

promoting industry and cultivating habits of domestic care and

thrift, beyond all estimation.

It has, moreover, done much to preserve that feature of the government which grows out of the oversight of heaven as manifested to the people through their Emperor, the Son of Heaven, whom they regard as its vicegerent. The parental authority is also itself honored by that peculiar position of the monarch, and the child grows up with the habit of yielding to its injunctions, for to him the family tablet is a reality, the abode of a personal Being who exerts an influence over him that cannot be evaded, and is far more to him as an individual than any of the popular gods. Those gods are to be feared and their wrath deprecated, but the ” illustrious ones who have completed their probation ” represent love, care, and interest to the worshippers if they do not fail in their duties.

Another indirect result has been to define and elevate the position of the wife and mother. All the laws which could be framed for the protection of women would lack their force if she were not honored in the household. As there can be only one ” illustrious consort ” {liien p’l) named on the tablet, there is of course only one wife {Ul) acknowledged in the family.

There are concubines (tsieh), whose legal rights are defined and secured, and who form an integral part of the family ; but they are not admitted into the ancestral hall, and their children are reckoned with the others as Dan and Asher were in Jacob’s household.

ITS EFFECTS UPON CHINESE SOCIETY. 239

Polygamous families in China form a small proportion of the whole; and this acknowledged parity of the mother with the father, in the most sacred position she can be placed, has done much to maintain the purity and right influence of woman amid all the degradations, pollutions, and moral weakness of heathenism. It is one of the most powerful supports of good order. It may even be confidently stated that woman’s legal, social, and domestic position is as high in China as it has ever been outside of Christian culture, and as safe as it can be without the restraints of Christianity. Another benefit to the people, that of early marriages, deriv^es much of its prevalence and obligation from the fear that, if neglected, there may be no heirs left to carry on the worship at the family tomb.

The three leading results here noticed, viz., the prevention of

a priestly caste, the confirmation of parental authority in its own

sphere, and the elevation of the woman and wife to a parity

with the man and husband, do much to explain the perpetuity

of Chinese institutions. The fact that filial piety in this system

has overpassed the limit set by God in his Word, and that deceased

parents are worshipped as gods by their children, is both

true and sad. That the worship rendered to their ancestors by

the Chinese is idolatrous cannot be doubted ; and it forms one

of the subtlest phases of idolatry—essentially evil with the guisf

of goodness—ever established among men.

The prevalence of infanticide and the indifference with which

the crime is regarded may seem to militate against this view of

Chinese social character, and throw discredit on the degree of

respect and reverence paid to parents ; for how, some will ask,

can a man thus worship and venerate parents who once imbrued

their hands in his sister’s blood ? Such anomalies may be found

in the distorted minds and depraved hearts educated under the

superstitions of heathenism in every country, and the Chinese

are no exception. It is exceedingly difiicult, however, to ascertain

the extent of infanticide in China, and all the reasons which

prompt to the horrid act. Investigations have been made about

Canton, and evidence obtained to show tiiat it is comparatively

rare, and strongly discountenanced by public opinion ; though by

no means unknown, nor punished by law when done. Similar

investigations at Amoy have disclosed a fearful extent of murders

of this nature ; yet while the latter are believed, the assertions

of the former are regarded as evasions of the truth from the fear of being reproached for it or a sense of shame. The whole nation has been branded as systematic murderers of their children from the practice of the inhabitants of a portion of two provinces, who are generally regarded by their countrymen as among the most violent and poorest fraction of the whole. Sir John Barrow heard that the carts went about the streets of Peking daily to pick up dead and dying infants thrown out by their unnatural parents, but he does not mention ever having seen a single corpse in all his walks or rides about the capital.

It has now been ascertained tliat this cart contains so many dead

bodies of both sexes, that the inference by Dr. Dudgeon that

not one in a hundred was killed seems to be sustained. The

bodies of children are not as often seen in the lanes and creeks

of Canton as those of adults, and’the former are as likely to have

died natural deaths as the latter.

In Fuhkien province, especially in the departments of Tsiuenchau

and Changchau, infanticide prevails to a greater extent

than in any other part of the Empire yet examined. Mr. Abeel

extended his inquiries to forty different towns and villages lying

in the first, and found that the percentage was between seventy

and eighty down to ten, giving an average of about forty per

cent, of all girls born in those places as being murdered. In

Changchau, out of seventeen towns, the proportion lies between

one-fourth and three-tenths in some places, occasionally rising

to one-third, and in others sinking to one-fifth, making an average

of one-fourth put to death. In other departments of the

province the practice is confessed, but the pi-oportion tliought

by intelligent natives to be less, since there is less poverty and

fewer people than formerly. The examination was conducted

in as fair a inanner as ]K>ssiblo, and {K’rsoiis of all classes were

questioned as to the number of children they had killed themselves,

or knew had been killed by their relatives or neighbors.

One of eight brothers told him that only three girls were left’

among all their children, sixteen having been killed. On one

occasion he visited a small village on Anioy Island, called Bo-au,

where the whole population turned out to see him and Dr. Cnmming, the latter of whom had recently cut out a large tumor from a fellow villager, he says:

PKEVALENOE -OF INFATs’q’lCIDE IN CHINA. 241

From till’ immljor of women in tlic crowd which turned out to greet; is. we were pretty well persuaded that they were under as little restraint as the men Irom indulging their curiosity ; and upon inquiry, found it to be so. We were conducted to a small temple, when 1 had the opportunity of conversing with many who came around us. On a second visit, while addressing them, one man held up a child, and publicly acknowledged that he bad killed five c,2 the helpless beings, having pre.served but two. I thought he was jesting, but as no surprise or dissent was expressed by his neighbors, and as there was an air of simplicity and regret in the individual, there was no reason to doubt its truth. After repeating his confession he added with affecting simplicity, “It was before I heard you speak on this subject ; I did not know it was wrong; I would not do so now.” Wishing to obtain the testimony of the assembled

villagers, I put the question publicly, ” What number of female infants in this

village are destroyed at birth V ” The reply was, “More than one-half.” As

there was no discussion among them, which is not tlie case when they differ in

opinion, and as we were fully convinced from our own observation of the numerical

inequality of tlie sexes, the proportion of deatlis they gave did not

strike us as extravagant.

The reasons assigned for committing the unnatural deed are

various. Poverty is the leading cause ; the alternative being, as

the parents think, a life of infamy or slaverj”, since if they cannot

rear their offspring themselves they must sell them. The

fact of the great numbers of men who emigrate to the Archipelago

from the coast districts has no doubt also had its effect in

inducing parents to destroy daughters for v/hom they had little

expectation of finding husbands if they did rear thein. Many

who are able to support their daughters prefer to destroy them

rather than incur the expenses of their marriage, but the investigation

showed that the crime was rather less among the educated

than the ignorant, and that they had done something to dissuade

their poor neighbors from putting their girls to death. In the

adjoining departments of Chauchau and Kiaying in Kwangtung,

the people admit the practice, and, as their circumstances are

similar, it is probable that it is not much less than around Amoj’

Dr. Dudgeon, of Peking, has had very favorable opportunities

for prosecuting inquiries in that region, and has shown that the

stories formerly credited are wrong, and that most of the children

thus disposed of are born of nuns. Inquiries instituted at

Hankow by Dr. F. P. Smith, of the hospital, showed a wide

prevalence of the crime among the poor and rural population, for which he ascribes several reasons ; the proportion of the sexes is ten men to seven women.

While one of the worst features of the crime is the little degree of detestation everywhere expressed at it, vet the actual proportion is an important inquiry, and this, taking the whole nation, has been much exaggerated, chiefly from applying such facts and estimates as the preceding to the whole country. The governor of Canton once issued a dissuasive exhortation on this subject to the people, telling them that if they destroyed all their daughters they would soon have no mothers. Until investigations have been made elsewhere, it is not fair to charge all the Chinese with the atrocities of a small portion, nor to disbelieve the affirmations of the inhabitants of Canton, Ningbo, and Shanghai, and elsewhere, that they do not usually put their daughters to death, until we have overwhelming testimony that they deny and conceal what they are ashamed to confess.’

Comparing their lamentable practice with those of other and

European nations, we find, according to Hume, that “the exposure

of new-born infants was an allowed practice in almost all

the States of Greece and Rome ; even among the polite and civilized

xVthenians, the abandoning of one’s child to hunger or wild

beasts was regarded M-ithout blame or censure. This practice

was very common ; and it is not spoken of by any author of

those times with the horror it deserves, or scarcely even with

disapprobation. Plutarch, the humane, good-natured Plutarch,

mentions it as a merit in Attains, king of Pergannis, that he

murdered, or, if you will, exposed all his own children, in order

to leave his crown to the son of his brother Eumenes. It was

Solon, the most celebrated of the sages of Greece, that gave

parents permission by law to kill their children.” Aristotle

‘ Chinese Repository, Vol. XVII., p. 11, for a native essay against it; Vol.XVI., p. 513; Vol. XII., pp. 540-548.; Vol. XL, p. 508 ; Vol. VII., p. 54.

Bishop Smith’s China, p. 443. Report of Pekiny Ilospital, 1865. Dr. F. P.

Smith’s Fire Annual Reports of ITankow Hoapit/d, 1870, pp. 45-52. Doolittle,

Social Life, 11. , pp. 203-209. Notes and Queries on C. amlJ., Vol. III., pp.

156, 172. Ij infanticAde et VOeuvre de la Ste.-Enfance en Chine, par Pere G.

Palatre, Changhai. Autof/raphie. de la Mission Catholique a Vorphelinat de Tou^

se-tce, 1878. M. E. Martin, Etade Medico-Legale sur I’Infanticide et VAtorte’

ment dans VEmpire Chinois, Paris, 1872.

COMPARISON^ WITH GREECE AND ROME. 243

thought it should be encouraged by the magistrates, and Plato maintained the same inhuman doctrine. It was complained of as a great singularity that the laws of Thebes forbade the practice. In all the provinces, and especially in Italy, the crime was daily perpetrated.’

The ceremonies attendant upon the decease of a person vary

in different parts of the country, though they are not necessarily

elaborate or expensive anywhere, and all the important ones can

be performed by the poorest mourner. The inhabitants of

Fuhkien put a piece of silver in the mouth of the dying person,

and carefully cover his nose and ears. Scarcely is he dead when

they make a hole in the roof to facilitate the exit of the spirits

proceeding from his body, of which they imagine each person possesses

seven animal senses which die with him, and three souls,

one of which enters elysium and receives judgment, another abides

M’ith the tablet, and a third dwells in the tomb. In some places,

as a man approaches his last hour, the relatives come into the

room to array him in his best garments and carry him into the

main hall to breathe his life away while dressed in the costume

with which he is to appear in Hades. The popular ideas regarding

their fate vary so much that it is difficult to describe the national

faith in this respect; transmigration is more or less believed

in, but the detail of the changes the good or evil spirit undergoes

before it is absorbed in Buddha varies almost according to the

fancy of the worshipper. Those who are sent to hell pass through

every form of suffering inflicted upon them by hideous monsters,

and are at last released to wander about as houseless demons to

torment mankind, or vex themselves in the bodies of animals

and reptiles.

When the priests come the corpse is laid out upon the floor

in the principal room, and a tablet set up by its side ; a table is

near, on which are placed meats, lamps, and incense. While

the priests are reciting prayers to deliver the soul from purgatory

and hell, they occasionally call on all present to weep and

lament, and on these occasions the females of the household are

particularly clamorous in their grief, alternately uttering the

‘ Mcllvaine, Evidences of Christianity, p. 291.

most dolefiii accents, nnd then tittei’injx with some of the new

coiners. Papers having figni-es on tliein and Peter’s pence in

the form of paper money are hnrned ; white lanterns, instead of

tlie common red ones, and a slip of paper containing the name,

titles, age, etc., of the dead arc lumg at the door; a mat [)orch

is pnt np for tlie musicians and the priests.” The sonl, liaving

crossed the l)ridge leading out of hell with the aid of the priests,

gets a letter of recommendation from them to he admitted into

the western heavens.

Previous to burial a lucky place for interment, if the family

have moved away from its paternal sepulchre, must be found.

The body is coffined soon after death, arrayed in the most splendid

habiliments the family can afford ; a fan is put in one liand

and a prayer on a piece of paper in the other. The form of a

Chinese coffin resembles the trunk of a tree ; the boards are

three or four inches thick and rounded on top (from Avhence a

coffin is called ” longevity boards “), making a very substantial

case. When the corpse is put in it is laid in a bed of lime or

cotton, or covered with quicklime, and the edges of the lid are

closed with mortar in the groove so that no smell escapes; the

coffin is varnished if it is to remain in the house before burial.

The Chinese often expend large sums in the purchase and preparation of a coffin during their lifetime; the cheapest are from five to ten dollars, and upward to five hundred and even two thousand dollars, according to the materials and ornamenting. Bodies are sometimes kept in or about the house for many years and incense burned morning and evening. They are placed either on trestles near the doorway and protected by a covering in the principal hall, or in the ancestral chamber, where they remain until the fortunes of the family improve so as to enable them to bury the remains, or a lucky place is found, or until opportunity and means allow the survivors to lay them in their patrimonial sepulchre.

The lineal relatives of the deceased are informed of his death,

‘ Ball says that money is put into the month of the dead by rich people to buy favor and passage into heaven ; others affirm that the money is to make the spirit ready o? speech. The phrase “no silver to hit the mouth ” has r^ference to this custom.

FUXKIiAL CUSTO^rs AXI) (^EMEMONIES. 245

and as many as can do so repair to the liouse to condole with

and assist tlie family. The eldest son or the nearest descendant

repairs to an adjoining river or well with a bowl in his hand, and

accompanied by two relatives, to ” buy water ” with money

M’hich he carries and throws into it. Upon the way to the well

it is customary to carry lanterns—even at noon—and to make a

great wailing: with the water thus obtained he washes the

corpse before it is dressed. After the body is laid in the coffin

and before interment the sons of the deceased among the poor

are frequently sent around to the relatives and friends of the

family to solicit subscriptions to buy a grave, hire mourners, or

provide a suitable sacrifice, and it is considered a good act to

assist in such cases ; perhaps fear of the ill-will of the displeased

spirit prompts to the charity. The coffin is sometimes seized

or attached by creditors to compel the relatives to collect a sum

to release it, and instances of filial sons are mentioned who have

sold themselves into temporary or perpetual slavery in order to

raise money to bury their parents. In other cases a defaulting

tenant will retain a cofiin in the house to forestall an ejectment

for the back rent. On the day of burial an offering of cooked

provisions is laid out near the coffin. The chief mourners,

clothed in coarse white sackcloth, then approach and kneel

before it, knocking their heads up.on the ground and going

through with the full kotow ; two persons dressed in mourning

hand them incense-sticks, w^liieh are placed in jars. After the

male mourners have made their parting prostrations the females

perform the same ceremonies, and then such friends and relations

as are present ; during these observances a band of nuisic

plays. The funeral procession is formed of all these persons

—

the band, the tablets, priests, etc. In Peking, where religious

processions are prohibited, great display is made in funerals

according to the means and raidc of the deceased. The coffin

is borne on an nnwieldy bier carried by sixty-four men or moi-e

and covered by a richly embroidered catafalque, attended by

musicians, mourners, priests, etc. Sometimes the carts are covered

with white cloth and the mules wear white harness.

Burial-places are selected by geomancers, and their location

has important results on the prosperity of the living. The supposed connection between these two things has influenced the science, religion, and cnstoms of the Chinese from very early days, and nnder the name oi feng-shui, or ‘ wind and water’ rules, still contains most of their science and explains most of their superstitions. As true science extends this travestie of natural philosophy will fade away and form a subject of fascination among the people as it now does a source of terror. Every strange event is interpreted hy fung-shid, and its professors employ the doctrines of Buddhists and Taoists to enforce their

dicta, as they do their little knowledge of astronomy, medicine,

and natural science to explain them. The whole has gradually

grown into a system of geomancy, involving, however, their cosmogony,

natural philosophy, spiritualism, and biology so far as

they have these sciences. It was in the twelfth century that it

became systematized, and its influence has spread ever since.

Were it only a picturesque kaleidoscope of facts and fancies it

would be a harndess pastime ; but it now enters into every act

of life, since the human soul and body, Mdiether in this M’orld

or the next, are regarded as constantly influenced by their actions,

their relatives, and their locations. Thus the choice of a

burial-place is supposed to affect the past, present, and future,

and the fung-shui sicnsdng^ or ‘ wind and water doctors,’ know

therein how to benefit their customers and themselves.

Hcgarding all nature as a living organism and each person surrounded

by invisible beings, the Chinese try to propitiate these

essences through their departed relatives. They consider them

as restrained by their animal nature to the tomb where their

bodies lie, while the spiritual nature seeks to hover about its

old scenes and children. If a tomb is placed so that the spirit

dwelling therein is comfortable, the inference is that the deceased

will grant those who supply its wants all that the spirit

world can grant. A tomb located where no star on high or

dragon below, no breath of nature oi- malign configuration of

hills, can disturb the repose of the dead, must therefore be

lucky, and M’orth great effoi-t to secure.

The principles of geonuuicy depend nuich on two supposed

currents running through the earth, known as the dragon and

the tiger ; a propitious site has these on its left and right. A

INFLUENCE OF FUN(i-SIIUI. 247

skilful observer can detect and describe them, with the help of

the compass, direction of the watercourses, shapes of the male

and female ground, and their proportions, color of the soil, and

the permutations of the elements. The common people know

nothing of the basis on which tliis conclusion is founded, but

give their money as their faith in the priest or charlatan increases.’

At the south, uncultivated liills are selected because they are

dry and the white ants will not attack the coffin ; and a hillside

in view of water, a copse, or a ravine near a hill-top, arc all

lucky spots. At the north, where ants are unknown, the dead are

buried in fields ; but nowhere collected in graveyards in cities or

temples. The form of the grave is sometimes a simple tumulus

with a tonibstone at the head ; in the southern provinces oftener

in the shape of the Greek letter fi, or that of a huge arm-chair.

Tiie back of the supposed chair is the place for the tombstone,

while the body is interred in the seat, the sides of which are

built around with masonry and approach each other in front.

A tomb is occasionally built of stone in a substantial manner,

and carved pillars are placed at the corners, the whole often

costing thousands of dollars. The case of one necromancer

is recorded, who, after having selected a grave for a family, was

attacked with ophthalmia, and in revenge for their giving him

poisonous food which he supposed had caused the malad^^, hired

men to remove a large mass of rock near the grave, whereby its

efficacy was completely spoiled. The position is thought to be

the better if it command a good view. Some of the graves occupy

many hundred square feet, the corners being defined by

low stones bearing two characters, importing whose chih, or

‘ house,’ it is. The shapes of graves vary more at the north ;

some are conical mounds planted with shrubs or flowers, others

made of mason-work shaped like little houses, others mere

square tombs or earthly tunuili ; not a few coffins are simply left

upon the ground. It is seldom the Chinese hew graves out of

‘ Compare Dr. Edkins in the Chineie Recorder, Vol. IV., 1871-72. Fengshui; or the Rudiments of Natural Science in China, by Ernest J. Eitel, London, 1878. The CornhiU Magazine for March, 1874 Notes and Queries on C. and J., Vol. II., p. 69.

the rock or dig large vaults; their care is to make a showv

grave, and at the same time a convenient one for performing

the prescribed rites. The mausolea of emperors and grandees

occnpv vast enclosures laid out as parks and adorned with ornamental

buildings to which lead avenues of stone guardians.”

The tomb of Yungloh (a.d, 1403-1425) is reached through a

dwmos of gigantic statues nearly a mile long—two pairs each of

lions, unicoi’ns, elephants, camels, and horses, one erect, the

other couchant, and six pairs of civil and military officers; each

fio;ure is a monolith. The orii2;in of this custom can be traced

back nearly to the tenth century, but was probably known in the

Tang dynasty. Officials are allowed to erect a few statues to

become their guardians.’

AYhen the day of interment arrives, which is usually the

nearest lucky day to the third seventh after death, the friends

assemble at the house. A band of musicians accompanies the

procession, in which is also carried the ancestral tablet of the

deceased in a separate sedan, accompanied sometimes by a sacrifice

and the red tablets of the offices held by the family. The

mourners are dressed entirely in white, or wear a white fillet

ai’ound the head ; the sons of the deceased nnist put on the expression

and habiliments of woe, and the eldest one is at times

supported along the street to the grave in all the eloquence and

attitude of grief, although it may have been years since liis

father went to ” wander among the genii.” The women and

children of the family follow, and at intervals cry and wail. A

man goes ahead and scatters paper money to purchase the goodwill

of such stray spirits as are prowling about. Diiferent

figures and banners are carried according to the means and rank

of the family, which, M’ith the friends and crowd attracted by

the show, sometimes swell the train to a great length. The

grave is deep, and lime is freely mixed with the earth thrown

‘ In the Yih cliin the custodian n>i)orte(i in the Peking Oazette of January

3, 1871, that there were !)’J, (>!)() trees, mostly lir, pine, elm, etc. The people in

chart,’e of such grounds are used to girdling the timber, in order afterward to

get tlie dead trees as firewood for themselves.

-‘ Mayens in North (Jltina Jh’. Royal Asiatic Society Journal, No. XII., 1878

Doolittle, Social Life, II., p. 3;37.

CUSTOMS OF INTERMENT AND MOURNING. 249

in ; a body is never pnt into an old grave while anything remains

of the former occupant ; crackers are fired, libations

poured out, prayers recited, and finally paper models of houses,

clothes, horses, money, and everything he can possibly want in

the land of shadows (which Davis calls a loise economy) are

burned. The tablet and sacrifice are then carried back ; the

family feast on the latter or distribute it among the poor around

the door, while the former is placed in the ancestral hall. The

married daughters of the dead are not considered part of the

famil}’, and wear no mourning ; nor are they invited to their

father’s funeral.

The period of mourning for a father is nominally three years,

but actually reduced to twenty-seven months ; the persons required

to observe this are enumerated in the Code, and Sections

CLXXIX.-CLXXXI. contain the penalties for concealing

the death of a parent, or misrepresenting it, and of omitting the

proper formalities. Burning the corpse, or casting it into the

water, unfeelingly exposing it in the house longer than a year,

and making the funeral ceremony and feast an occasion of

merrymaking and indecorous meeting of males and females,

are also prohibited. For thirty days after the demise the

nearest kindred must not shave their heads nor change their

dress, but rather exhibit a slovenly, slipshod appearance, as if

grief had taken away both appetite and decorum. In the

southern districts half-mourning is bine, usually exhibited in a

pair of blue shoes and a blue silken cord woven in the queue,

instead of a red one ; grass shoes neatly made are now and then

worn. In the northern provinces white is the only mourning

color seen. The visiting cards also indicate that the time of

mourning has not passed. The expenses incurred by the rich

are great, and the priests receive large sums for masses, ten

thousand dollars being often spent. In the north still greater

expenses are incurred in buying a piece of land for a burial plot

and its glebe. Here they erect a lodge, where the keeper of the

grave lives, cultivating the land and keeping the tomb in order.’

When the Empress dies ofiicers put on mourning, take the

» Chinese Repository, Vol. IV., p. 352; Vol. II., p. 499.

buttons and fringes from their caps, stamp their seals with bhie

ink, and go through a prescribed set of ceremonies ; they must

not shave their lieads for a hundred days, nor the people for a

month. Full details of the ceremonies ordered on the occasion

of the decease of the Empress, or ” interior assistant, who for

thirteen years had held the situation of earth to lieaven,” were

published in 1833, in both Manchu and Chinese. When the

Emperor dies all his subjects let their hair grow for a hundred

days, marriages are postponed, theatres and sports disallowed,

and a ceremonial gloom and dishabille pervades the Empire.

On the morning after the death of the Emperor Tungchi, January

12, 1875, the streets of Peking presented a surprising contrast

to their usual gaiety in the removal of everything red. In

early times human beings were immolated at the obsequies of

rulers, and voluntary deaths of their attendants and women are

occasionally mentioned. De Guignes says that the Emperor

Shunchi ordered thirty persons to be immolated at the funeral

of his consort ; but Kanghi, his son, forbade four women from

sacrificing themselves on the death of his Empress.’

The hall of ancestors is found in the house of almost every

member of the family, but always in that of the eldest son. In

rich families it is a separate building ; in others a room set apart

for the purpose, and in many a mere shelf or shrine. The tablet,

or shlii chu, is a boai’d about twelve inches long and three wide,

placed upright in a block. The inscriptions on two are like the

following: “The tablet of Hwang Yung-fuh (late (1iiiig-teh),

the head of the family, who finished his probation with honor

during the Imperial Tsing dynasty, reaching a sub-magistracy.”

His wife’s reads : ” The tablet of Madame, originally of the

noble family Chin, who would have received the title of lady,

and in the Imperial Tsing dynasty became his illustrious consort.”

A receptacle is often cut in the back, containing pieces

of paper bearing the names of the higher ancestors, or other

members of the family. Incense and papers are daily burned

before them, accompanied by a bow or act of homage, forming

‘iV. C. Br. R. As. Soc. Journal, No. II., 18C5, pp. 173 ff. De Guignes’Voyages, Tome II., p. 304. ^fe)lloires cone, les Cliinois, Tome \^., pp. 346 ff Chinese and Japanese llepository for May, 1864.

THE WORSHIP OF ANCESTRAL TABLETS. 251

in fact a sort of family prayer. The tablets are ranged in

chronological order, those of the same generation being placed

in a line. When the hall is large, and the family rich, no pains

are spared to adorn it with banners and insignia of wealth and

rank, and on festival days it serves as. a convenient place for

friends to meet, or for any extraordinary famil}^ occasion. A

person residing near Macao spent aljout one thousand live hnn-

Ancestral Hall and Mode of worshipping the Tablets.

dred dollars in the erection of a hall, and on the dedication day

the female members of his family assembled with his sons and

descendants to assist in the ceremonies. The portraits of the

deceased are also suspended in the hall, but effigies or images

are not now made.

In the wood-cut adjoining, the tablets are arranged on the same level, and the sacrifice laid uu the altar before them ; the character shao, ‘longevity,’ is drawn on the wall behind. During the ceremonies fire-crackers are let off and papers burned; after it the feast is spread.

In the first part of April, one hundred and six days after the

winter solstice, during the term called Uing-ming, a general

worship of ancestors is observed. In Kwangtung this is commonly

called j?a?^’ shan, or ‘ worshipping on the hills,’ but the

general term is slu fan ti, or ‘ sweeping the tombs.’ The whole

population, men, women, and children, repair to their family

tombs, carrying a tray containing the sacrifice, libations for

offering, and candles, paper, and incense for burning, and there

go through a variety of ceremonies and prayers. The grave is

at this season repaired and swept, and at the close of the service

three pieces of turf are placed at the back and front of the

grave to retain long strips of red and white paper ; this indicates

that the accustomed rites have been performed, and these fugitive

testimonials remain fluttering in the wind long enough to

announce it to all the friends as well as enemies of the family ;

for when a grave has been neglected three 3’ears it is sometimes

dug over and the land resold. The enormous amount of litio’ation

connected with sepulchral boundaries, transfer of grave

glebes or sale of the ancient plats, injury, robberj^ and repairs

of tombs, all indicate the high importance of this kind of

property.

” Such are the harmless, if not meritorious, forms of respect

for the dead,” says Davis, ” which the Jesuits wisely tolerated

in their converts, knowing the consequences of outraging their

most cherished prejudices ; but the crowds of ignorant monks

who flocked to the breach which those scientific and able men

had opened, jealous, perhaps, of their success, brought this as a

charge against them until the point became one of sei-ious controversy

and reference to the Pope. His Holiness espoused the

bigoted and unwiser part, which led to the expulsion of the

monks of all varieties.” And elseAvhere he says the worship

paid to ancestoi-s is ” not exactly idolatrous, for they sacrifice

to the invisible spirit and not to any representation of it in the

fijijure of an idol.” This distinction is much the same as that

IDOLATRY OF THE RITES. 253

alleged by the Greek clmrcli, mIucIi disallows images but permits

gold and silver pictures having the face and hands only painted,

for Sir John Davis, himself being a Protestant, probably admits

that worship paid to any other object besides the true God is

idolatry ; and that the Chinese do trnly worship their ancestors

is evident from a prayer, such as the following, offered at the

tombs: Taukwang, 12th year, 8d moon, 1st day. I, Lin Kwang, the second son of the third generation, presnme to come before the grave of my ancestor, Lin

Kung. Revolving years have brouglit again the season of spring. Clierisliing

sentiments of veneration, I look up and sweep your tomb. Prostrate I pray

that you will come and be present, and that you will grant to your posterity

that they may be prosperous and illustrious. At this season of genial sliowers

and gentle breezes I desire to recompense the root of my existence and exert

myself sincerely. Alwaj-s grant your safe protection. My trust is in your

divine spirit. Reverently I present the five-fold sacrifice of a pig, a fowl, a

duck, a goose, and a fish ; also an offering of five plates of fruit, with libatnns

of spirituous liquors, earnestly entreating that you will come and view them.

With the most attentive respect this annunciation is presented on higli.

It is not easy to perceive, perhaps, why the Pope and the

Dominicans were so much opposed to the worship of ancestral

penates among the Chinese when they pei-formed much the

same services themselves before the images of Mary, Joseph,

Cecilia, Ignatius, and hundreds of other deified mortals; but it

is somewhat surprising that a Protestant should describe this

worship as consisting of ” harmless, if not meritorious, forms of

respect for the dead.” Mr. Fortune, too, thinlcs ” a considerable

portion of this worship springs from a higher and purer source

than a mere matter of form, and that when the Chinese periodically

visit the tombs of their fathers to worship and pay respect

to their memory, they indulge in the pleasing reflection that

when they themselves are no more their graves will not be neglected

or forgotten,” This feeling does actuate them, but there

can be no dispute, one would think, about its idolatrous character.

The Chinese who have embraced the doctrines of the Xew

Testament, and who may be supposed qualified to judge of their

own acts and feelings, regard the rites as superstitious and sinful.

It is a form of worship, indeed, which presents fewer revolting features than most systems of false religion—consisting merely of pouring out libations and burning paper and candles at the grave, and tlien a family meeting at a social feast, with a few simple prostrations and petitions. No bacchanalian companies of men and women run riot over the hills, as in the Eleusinian mysteries, nor are obscene rites practised in the house ; all is pleasant, decorous, and harmonious. The junior members of the family come from a distance, sometimes two or three hundred miles, to observe it, and the family meeting on this occasion is looked forward to by all with much the same feelings that Christmas is in Old England or Thanksgiving in New England.

Brothers and sisters, cousins and other relatives join in the worship and feast, and it is this pleasant reunion of dear ones, perhaps the most favorable to the cementing of family affection to be found in heathen society, which constitutes nnich of its power and will present such an obstacle to the reception of the Gospel and removal of the “two divinities” from the house.

The funeral ceremonies here described are performed by sons

for their parents, especially for the father ; but there are few or

no ceremonies aiul little expense for infants, unmarried children,

concubines, or slaves. These are coffined and buried without

parade in the family sepulchre ; the poor sometimes tie them up

in mats and boards and lay them in the fields to shock the eyes

and noses of all who pass. The nnmici{)al authorities of Canton

issued orders to the people in 1S82 to bring such bodies as had

no place of burial to the potter’s field, where they M’ould l)e

interred at public expense; societies, moreover, exist in all the

large cities whose object is to bury poor people. In some pai’ts

the body is wrapped in cloth or coffined and laid in graveyards

on the surface of the ground. When one dies far away from

home the coffin is often lodged in lamrmnis, or public depositories

maintained by societies, where they remain many years.

Few acts during the war of 1841 irritated the people about

Canton against the English more than forcing open the coffins

found in these mausolea and mutilating the corpses. One building

contained hundreds of coffins ffom which, when ojiened, a

pimgent aromatic smell was perceptible, while the features of

the corpses presented a dried appearance. One traveller tells a

story of his guide, when he was condncthig him over the hills

DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 255

in Hupeb, ordering him to conceal his blue e^^es by putting on

green spectacles as they were approaching some houses, and

describes his surprise at finding them all filled with coflins

arranged in an orderly manner. Graves are not enclosed ; cattle

pasture among them and paths lead over and through them.

Tombstones are usually made of granite and their inscriptions

soon become defaced. Epitaphs are short, giving the name of

the dynasty, his place of birth, number of his generation in the

family, and his temple name. Laudatory expressions are rare,

and quotations from the classics or stanzas of poetry to convey

a sentiment entirely unknown. The corpses of ofiiceis who die

at their stations are carried to their paternal tombs, sometimes

at public expense. Tlie Emperor, in some instances, orders the

funeral rites of distinguished statesmen to be defi-ayed. This

was done during the war with England in the cases of Commissioner

Yukien and General Hailing, who burned himself at

Chinkiang fu.’

Besides these funeral rites and religious ceremonies to their

departed ancestors the Chinese have an almost infinite variety

of superstitious practices, most of which are of a deprecatorv

character, growing out of their belief in demons and genii who

trouble or help people. It may be said that most of their religious

acts performed in temples are intended to avert misfortune

i-ather than supplicate blessings. In oi-der to ward off malignant

influences amulets are worn and charms hung up, such as moneyswords

made of coins of different monarchs strung together in

the form of a dagger; leaves of the sweet-flag {Aco/-us) and Artemisia

tied in a bundle, or a sprig of peach-blossoms ; the first

is placed near beds, the latter over the lintel, to drive aM’ay demons.

A man also collects a cash or two from each of his

friends and gets a lock made which he hangs to his son’s neck

in order to lock him to life and make the subscribers surety for

‘ Chinese Repository, Vol. XVIII., pp. 363-384. Doolittle, Socinl Life, II., pp. 45-48. M. T. Yates, Ancestral Worship, Mism»ini-y Conference (of 1867), p. 367 Johnson, Oi-ienUd Bclif/ions : China, pp. 693-708. Gray’s China, I.,pp. 320-328. China Reiiew,Yo\. IV., p. 296. P. D. de Thiersant, La Piete Filiule en ChinCf Paris, 1877. E. Faber in the Chinese Recorder, Vol. IX., pp.’J29, 401.

his safety ; adult females also wear a neck lock for the same

purpose. Charms are common. One bears the inscription,

” May you get the three viamjs and the nine Jik’es; ” another,

” To obtain long eyebrowed longevity.” The three manijn are

man}’^ years of happiness and life and many sons. Old brass

mirrors to cure mad people are hung up by the rich in their

halls, and figures or representations of the unicorn, of gourds,

Buddhist Priests.

tigers’ claws, or the eight diagrams, are worn to insure good

fortune or ward off sickness, fire, or fright. Stones or pieces

of metal with short sentences cut upon them are almost always

found suspended or tied al)out the persons of children and

M’omen, which are supposed to have great efficacy in preventing

evil. The rich pay large sums for rare objects to promote thifl

end.

CHARMS AND AMULETS. 257

In addition to their employment in tlic worship and burial of

the dead and cultivation of glebe lands (some of which are very

extensive’), priests resort to many expedients to increase their

incomes, few of which have the improvement of their countrymen

as a ruling motive. Some go around the streets collecting

printed or written paper in baskets, to burn them lest the venerable

names of Confucius or Buddha be defiled ; others obtain a

few pennies by writing inscriptions and charms on doors ; and

many in rural places get a good living off the lands owned by

their temples. The priests of both sects are under the control

of officials recognized by and amenable to the authorities, so that

the vicious and unprincipled among them are soon restrained.

The Buddhists issue small books, called Girdle Classics, containing

prayers addressed to the deity under whose protection

the person has phiced himself. Spells are made in great variety,

some of them to be worn or pasted up in the house, while others

are written on leaves, paper, or cloth, and burned, and their

ashes thrown into a liquid for the patient or child to drink.

These spells are sold by Rationalists, and consist of characters,

like /^/A (‘ happiness ”) or shao (‘ longevity ‘), fancifully combined.

The god of doors, of the North Pole, Pwanku, the heavenly astronomer,

the god of thunder and lightning, or typhoons, the god

of medicine, demigods and genii of almost every name and

power, are all invoked, and some of them by all persons. In

shops the word shin is put up in a shrine and incense placed

before it, all objects of fear and worship being included under

this general term. The threshold is peculiarly sacred, and incense-

sticks are lighted morning and evening at its side.”*

The Chinese dread wandering and hungry ghosts of wicked

men, and the priests are hired to celebrate a mass called ta tsiao,

to appease these disturbers of human happiness, which, in its

general purport, corresponds to All Souls’ Day, and from its

splendor and the general interest taken in its success is very popular.

The streets at Canton are covered with awnings, and

^Lettres EclififinUs, Tome ITT., p. 33.

‘^LettreH E’l/fmiti’s, Tome IV., p. 310—where other ceremonies of the TaoistS; to ward o’H pestilence, are described.

festoons of cheap silk, of brilliant colors, are hung across and

along the streets. Chandeliers of glass are suspended at short

intervals, alternating with small trays, on which j^aper figures in

various attitudes, intended to illustrate some well-known scene

in history, amuse the spectators. At night the glare of a thousand

lamps shining through niyriads of lustres lights up the

whole scene in a gorgeous manner. The priests erect a staging

somewhere in the vicinit}’^, for the rehearsal of prayers to Yen

iiHouj (Yama or Pluto), and display tables covered with eatables

for the hungry ghosts to feed on. Their acolytes mark the time

when the half-starved ghosts, who have no childi-en or friends

to care for them, rush in and shoulder the viands, which they

carry off for their year’s supply. Bands of music chime in from

tiuie to time, to refresh these hungry spirits with the dulcet

tones they once heard ; for the Chinese, judging their gods by

themselves, provide what is pleasing to those who pay for the

entertainment, as well as to those who are supposed to be benefited

by it. After the services are performed the crowd carry

off what is left, but when this is permitted the priests sometimes

cheat them with merely a cover of food on the tops of the

baskets, the bottoms being filled with shavings.

Another festival in August is connected with this, called .shau

i, or ‘ burning clothes,’ at which pieces of paper folded in the

form of garments are burned for the use of the suffering ghosts,

with a large quantity of what maybe properly caWcdJiat money,

paper ingots which become valuable chiefly when they are

burned. Paper houses with proper furniture, and puppets to

represent household servants, are likewise made. IMedhurst adds

that ” writings are drawn up and signed in the presence of witnesses

to certify the conveyance of the property, stipulating

that on its arrival in hades it sliall be duly made over to the individuals

specified in the bond ; the houses, servants, clothes,

money and all are then burned with the bond, the worshippers

feeling confident that their friends obtain the benefit of what

they have sent them.” Thus ” they make a covenant with the

grave, and with hell they are at agreement.” This festival, like

all others, is attended with feasting and nmsic. In order still

further to provide for childless ghosts, their ancestral tablets are

FESTIVALS FOR WANDERING GHOSTS. 259

collected in temples and placed together in a room set apart for

the purpose, called irio sz’ tan, or ‘orbate temple,’ and a man

hired to attend and burn incense before them. The sensationa

which arise on going into a room of this sort, and seeing one or

two hundred small wooden tablets standing in regular array, and

knowing that each one, or each pair, is like the silent tombstone

of an extinct family, are such as no hall full of staring idols can

ever inspire. The tablets look old, discolored, and broken, covered

with dust and black with smoke, so that the gilded characters

are obscured, and one cannot behold them long in their

silence and forgetfulness without almost feeling as if spirits still

hovered around them. All these ghosts are supposed to be propitiated by the sacrifices on All Souls’ Day.

The patronage given to idolatry and superstition is constant

and general among all classes, and thousands of persons get their

livelihood by shrewdly availing themselves of the fears of their

countrymen. The peepul, j)^^-^’^ {Fimi.s rdigiosa) at the south

and the Sophora at the north, w’itli perhaps other aged trees,

are worshipped for long life.’ Special efforts are made from

time to time to build or repair a temple or pagoda, in order to

insure or recall prosperity to a place, and large sums are subscribed

by the devout. A case occurred in 1843, which illustrates

this spirit. One of the English officers brought an image

of Wa-kvxing, the god of fire, from Chinkiang fu, which he

presented as a curiosity to a lady in Macao. It remained in her

house several months, and on the breaking up of the establishment,

previous to a return to India, it was exposed for sale at

auction with the furniturb. A large crowd collected, and the

attention of the Chinese was attracted to this image, wdiich they

examined carefully to see if it had the genuine marks of its ordination

upon it ; for no image is supposed to be properly an

object of worship until the spirit has been inaugurated into it

by the prescribed ceremonies. Having satisfied themselves, the

idol was purchased for thirty dollars by two or three zealous

‘ Compare C. F. Koeppen, Die Relujwn des Buddha, Berlin, 1857, who describes the peepul (Bodhi) tree—the “symbol of the spread and growth of the Buddhist church “—in India. E. Bernouf, Introduction a Vhistoire du Buddhisme Indien, Paris, 1844. Notes and Queries on C. and J., Vol. III., p. 100.

persons, and carried off in trininpli to a shop and respectfully

installed in a room cleared for the purpose. A public meeting

was shortly after called, and resolutions passed to improve the

propitious opportunity to obtain and preserve the protecting

power of so potent a deity, by erecting a pavilion where he

would have a respectable lodgment and receive due worship.

A subsci’iption was thereupon started, some of its advocates putting

down fifty and others thirty dollars, until about one thousand

two hundred dollars were raised, with which a small lot was

purchased on the island west of Macao, and a pavilion or tenr

pie erected where Wa-hwang was enshrined with pompous

parade amid theatrical exhibitions, and a man hired to keep

him and his domicile in good order.

No people are more enslaved by fear of the unknown than the Chinese, and none resort more frequently to sortilege to ascertain whether an enterprise will be successful or a proposed remedy avail to cure. This desire actuates all classes, and thousands and myriads of persons take advantage of it to their own profit. The tables of fortune-tellers and the shops of geomancers are met at street corners, and a strong inducement to repair to the temples is to cast lots as to the success of the prayers offered. One way of divining is to hold a bamboo root cut in

halves, resembling in size and color a common potato, and let it

drop as the petition is put up. Sometimes the worshipper drops

it many times, in order to see if a majority of trials will not be

favorable, and when disappointed the first time not unfrequently

tries again, if mayhap he can force the gods to be more propitious.

The devotee may determine himself what position of the blocks

shall be deemed auspicious, but usually one face up and one doAvn

is regarded as pi-omising. The countenances of worshippers as

they leave the shrines, some beaming with hope and resolutioii

to succeed, and others, notwithstanding their repeated knocking^

and divinings, going away Avith vexation and gloom written on

their faces at the ol)duracy of the gods and sadness of tlieir prospects,

offer a study not less melancholy than instructive. ” Such

is the weakness of mortals : they dread, even aftei- mature reflection,

to undertake a project, and then entei- blindly upon it

at a chance after consultin<r chance itself as blind.”’

SORTILEGE AND FOHTrXK-TELLING, 2G1

The fortune-tellers also consult fate by means of bamboo slips bearing certain characters, as the sixty-four diagrams, titles of poetical responses, or lists of names, etc. The applicant* comes up to the table and states his desire ; he wishes to know whether it will be fair weather, which of a dozen doctors shall be selected to cure his child, what sex an unborn infant will be, where his stolen property is, or any other matter. Selecting a slip, the diviner dissects the character into its component parts, or in some other way, and writes the parts upon a board lying before him, joining to them the time, the names of the person, live planets, colors, viscera, and other heterogeneous things, and from them all, putting on a most cabalistic, sapient look, educes a sentence which contains the required answer.

Consulting a Fortune-teller.

The man receives it as confidently as if he had entered the

sybil’s cave and heard her voice, pays his fee, and goes away.

Others, less shrewd, refer to books in which the required answ^er

is contained in a sort of equivocal delphian distich. The Chinese

method of sortilege is not far different from that practised by the

ancient Romans. ” The lots preserved at Preneste were slips

of oak with ancient characters engraved on them. They were

shaken up together by a boy, and one of them was drawn for the

person who consulted the oracle. They remind us of the Runic

staves. Similar divining lots Avere found in other places.” *

‘ Niebuhr, History of Rome, Vol. I., p. 246. See, further, Doolitlle’s Sncia).

Life, Vol. II., Chap. IV. Gray’s China, Chap. XII. Prof. Douglas, China,

Chap. XV.

The purchase of a building lot, and especially the selection

of a grave, involve much expense, sortilege, and inquiry.

When a succession of misfortunes comes upon a family, they

will sometimes disinter all their relatives and bury them in a

new place to remov’e the ill luck. I’efore a house is built a

written prayer is tied to a pole stuck in the ground, petitioning

for good luck, that no evil spirits may arise from beneath ;

when the ridge-pole is laid another prayer is pasted on and

charms hunc; to it to insure the building against fire ; and

lastly, when the house is done it is dedicated to some patron,

and petitions offered for its safety. Prayers are sometimes offered

according to forms, at others the suppliant himself speaks.

Two middle-aged women, attended by a maid-servant, were once

found opposite (^anton in the fields among the graves. They

had placed a small paper shrine upon a tomb near the pathway,

and one of them was kneeling before it, her lips moving in

prayer ; there was nothing in the shrine, but over it M’as written

the most common petition known in China, “Ask and ye

shall receive.”

Answers are looked for in various \vays. A man was once

met at dusk repairing a lonely grave before which candles were

burning and plates of rice and cups of spirits arranged. lie

knelt, and knocking his head began to repeat some words in a

half audible manner, when he M-as asked if the spirits of his

ancestors heard his supplications. At the instant a slight puff

of air blew the candles, when he replied, ” Yes; see, they have

come; don’t interrupt me.” Contingent vows are often made,

and useful acts performed in case the answer be favorable. A

sick man in Macao once made a vow that if he recovered he

would repave a bad piece of road—which he actually performed,

aided a little by his neighboi-s ; but it Mas deemed eminently

unlucky that a toper who was somewhat flustered, passing soon

after, should fall into the public well. Persons sometimes insult

the gods, spit at them or whip them, or even break the

ancestral tablets, in their vexation at having been deluded

into foolish deeds or misled by divination. Legends are told

of the vengeance which has followed such impiety, as well r$

the rewards attending a different course; and tlio Kanyinc

WORSHIPPEIJS AT W AYSIDK SIIlilNKS, 263

Pien^ or ‘ Tlook of Rewards and Punishments,’ has strengtliened

tliese :«entiinents by its stories of the results of human

acts.

The worship of street divinities is not altogether municipal

;

some of the shrines in Canton are resorted to so much by

women as to obstruct the patli. The unsocial character of

heathenism is observable at such places and in temples ; however

great the crowd may be, each one worships b}’ himself as

much as if no one else were present. Altars are erected in

fields, on which a smooth stone is placed, where offerings are

presented and libations poured out to secure a good crop. Few

farmers omit all worship in the spring to the gods of the land

and grain ; and some go further and present a thanksgiving

after harvest. Temples are open night and da}’, and in towns

are the resort of crowds of idle fellows. Worshippers go on

with their devotions amid all the hubbub, strike the druin

and bell to arouse the god, burn paper prayers, and knock their

heads upon the ground to implore his blessing, and then retire.

The Chinese collectively spend enormous sums in their idolatry,

though they are more economical of time and money than

the Hindus. Rich families give much for the services of

priests, papers, candles, etc., at the interment of their friends,

but when a large sacrifice is provided none goes to the priests,

who are prohibited meat. The aggregate outlay to the whole

people is very large, made up of repairs of temples, purchasing

idols, petty costs, such as incense-sticks, candles, paper, etc.,

charms and larger sacrifices prepared from time to time. The

sum cannot of course be ascertained, but if the daily expenditure

of each person be estimated at one-third of a cent, or four

cash, the total will exceed four hundred millions of dollars per

annum, and this estimate is more likely to be under than over

the mark, owing to the universality and constancy of the daily

service,

This brief sketch of Chinese religious character will be incomplete without some notice of the benevolent institutions found among them. Good acts are required as proofs of sincerity; the classics teach benevolence, and the religious books

of the Buddhists JTiculcate coiiipassioii to the poor and relief of

tlie sick. I’rivate alms of rice or clothes are fre(|uently given,

and tlie modes of collecting the poor-tax are very direct and

economical, bringing the lionseholders into some intercourse

with the beggars in their neighborhoods, but offering no rewards

to tramps and idlers. A retreat for poor aged and infirni

or blind people is situated near the east side of Canton, the expenses

of which are stated at about seven thousand dollars, but

the number of persons relieved is not mentioned. The pecuhition

and bad faith of the managci-s vitiate many of these institutions,

and indispose the charitable to ]iatronize them. La.-

zarettos are established in all large towns in Southern China,

where a large entrance fee will secure a comfortable living for

these outcasts to the end of their days ; the prevalence of the

disease leads everybody to aid the measures taken to restrict its

ravages. A full account of the report issued by the directors

of a long-established foundling hospital in Shanghai is given

in the Ckinese Repository (Vol. XIY.), and shows the methodical

character of the people, and that no pi-iests ai-e joined in

its management. In the report full credit is given to the benefactors,

and an appeal made for funds to cany it on, as it is

nearly out of supplies. A^arious modes of raising money are

proposed, and arguments are brought forward to induce people

to give, all in the same manner as is common with charitable

institutions in western lands, as its closing paragraph shows: If, for the extension of kindness to our fellow creatures, and to those poor .ind destitute who have no father and mother, all the good and benevolent would daily give one cash (n^rn of a<l()llai), it would V)e sufficient for the maintenance of the foundlings one day. Let no one consider a.small good unmeritorious, nor a small subscription as of no avail. Either you may induce others to subscribe by the vernal breeze from your month, or you may nourish the blade of benevolence in the field of happiness, or cherish the already sprouting bud. Thus by taking advantage of opportunities as they present tliemfielves, and using your endeavors to accomplish your object, you may immeas’ urably benefit and extend the institution.

The deaths are reported as being nearly one-half of the admissions,

and the number of inmates about one hmidred and thirty

in all. The details of the receipts and expenditures are given

BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS IN CHINA. 265

at the end of the report in a business-like manner. The annual

disbursement was about one thousand live hundred and fifty dollar:^,

and the receipts from all sources more than that, so that a

balance of five thousand dollars is reported on hand, four-fifths

of whicli was derived fi-om interest on subscriptions invested

and on wares from pawnbrokers.

Similar establishments are found in all large towns, some of

them partly supported by the government. That in Canton

was founded in 1698, and contains accommodations for three

liundred children, wliose annual support was reckoned at three

thousand five hundred dollars in 1833, at which date the money

was filched from foreigners by a tax on their ships. These hospitals

seem to be of modei’u origin, less than two centuries old,

and may have been imitated from or suggested by the Roman

Catholics. Candida, a distinguished convert about 1710, did

much to establish them and show the excellence of the religion

she professed. Mr. Milne, who visited one at IS^ingpo, says,

after entering the court : ” A number of coarse-looking women

were peeping through the lattice at us, with squallababies at

their breasts and squalid boys and girls at their heels ; these

Nvomen are the nurses, and these children are the foundlings,

each woman having two or three to look after. But I have

rarely beheld such a collection of filthy, nnwashen, ragged

brats. There are at present between sixty and seventy children,

the boys on one side, the girls on the other. Boys remain here

till the age of fourteen, when they are hired out or adopted ;

girls stay till sixteen, when they are betrothed as wives or taken

as concubines or servants. It is supported by the rental of lands

and houses, and by an annual tax of thirty-six stone or shiJi

(about five hundred pounds) of rice from each district in the department.”

In large towns other voluntary societies are found, having

for their object the relief of suffering, which ought to be mentioned,

as the Chinese have not been fairly credited with what

they do in this line. Humane societies for restoring life to persons

rescued from the water, and providing coflins if they are

dead, exist along the riverine towns. Associations to give decent

interment to the poor in a public potter’s field are found in large cities, where gi-atiiitons vaccination is often given to all who apply. Soup-kitchens are constantly opened as cold weather comes on, and houses prepared for vagrants and outcasts who have been suddenly reduced. Societies for the relief of indigent and virtuous widows are of long standing, and a kind of savings bank for the purpose of aiding a man to get married or to bury his parent exists among the people.’

Charity is a virtue which thrives poorly in the selfish soil of

heathenism, but even badly managed establishments like these

are praiseworthy, and promise something better when higher

teachings shall have been engrafted into the public mind. The

government is obliged to expend large sums almost every year

for relieving the necessities of the starving and the distressed,

and strong calls are made on the rich to give to these objects.

During the great famine in 1877-78 in the north-eastern provinces,

the common hal)its of industry, thrift, and order were

united with these practices of voluntary benevolence among the

people, and aided greatly in enabling those who distributed

food and money to reach the greatest number possible with the

means. The sufferers had already learned that violence and

robbery would only increase their miseries and liasten their

end.

The general condition of religion among the Chinese is effete;

and the stately formalities of im])eri:d worship, the doctrines of

Confucius, the ceremonies of the Buddhists, the sorceries of the

Rationalists, alike fail to comfort and instruct. But the fear of

evil spirits and the worship of ancestoi’s, the two beliefs which

hold all ranks and abilities in their thrall, are still strong ; and

the principal sway the two sects exert is owing to the connection

of their priests M’ith the ceremonies of burial. Each

has exerted its greatest possible power over the })eople, but

all have failed to impart present happiness or assure future

joy to their votaries. Confucianism is cold and unsatisfactoiy

to the affectionate, the anguished, or the in(]uiring mind, and

the transcendentalism of Rationalism or the vagaries of Bud’

^Chineae Reponitary, Vol. XTV., pp. 177-195. Lockhart, Medical Missionary

in China, Cliapter II., Lundoii, 18()1.

SECRET SOCIETIES. 267

dhisin are a little worse. All classes are the prey of unfounded

fears and superstitions, and dwell in a mist of ignorance and

error which the light of true religion and knowledge alone can

dissipate.

Besides the two leading idolatrous sects, there are also many

comhinations existing among the people, partly religious and

partly political, one of which, the Plh-lien Mao, or the Triad

Society, has already been mentioned in Chapter VIII. The

Wan klang, or ‘ Incense-burning sect,’ is also denounced in the

Sacred Commands, but has not been mentioned in late times.

The Triad Society is comparativelj’ peaceful throughout China

Proper in overt acts, the members of the auxiliai’y societies contenting

themselves with keeping alive the spirit of resistance to

the Manchus, getting new members, and countenancing one

another in their opposition ; but in Siam, Singapore, Malacca,

and the Archipelago, it has become a powerful body, and great

cruelties are committed on those who refuse to join. The members

are admitted with formalities bearing strong resemblance to

those of the Freemasons, and the professed objects of the society

are the same. The novice swears before an idol to maintain

inviolate secrecy, and stands under naked swords while

taking the oath, which is then read to him ; he afterward cuts

off a cock’s head, the usual form of swearing among all Chinese,

intimating that a like fate awaits him if treacherous. There

are countersigns known among the members, consisting of grips

and motions of the fingers. Such is the secrecy of their operations

in Cliina, however, that very little is known of their numbers,

internal organization, or character ; the dislike of their

machinations is the best security against their ultimate success.

Local delusions, caused by some sharp-witted fellow, now and

then arise in one part and another of the country, but they are

speedily put down or dissipate of themselves. There has transpired

not an item of news concerning any of these seditious

organizations since the suppression of the Tai-ping rebellion in

1868. None of them are allowed to erect temples or make a

public exhibition or procession, and exhortations are from time

to time issued by the magistrates against them ; while the penalties

annexed to the statute against all illegal associations give the rulers great power to crush whatever they may deem suspicious or treasonable.’

The introduction of Islamism into China was so gradual that

it is not easy to state the date or manner. The trade between

China and ports lying on the Arabian Sea early attracted its

adherents (called Ilwai-hwul I’lao) to the Middle Kingdom,

and as long ago as the Tang dynasty its missionaries came to

the seaports, especially of Canton and Hangchau. They likewise

formed a large portion of the caravans which went to and

fro through Central Asia, and seem to have been received without

resistance, if not with favor, until they grew by natural

increase to be a large and an integral })art of the population.

Mosques were built, schools taught, pilgi’iuuiges made, books

printed, and converts allowed to exercise their rites without

serious hindrance almost from the first. The two great features

of the faith—the existence of one only true God and the M-ickedness

of idolatry—have not been kept hidden ; but, though

promulgated, the}’ have not been accepted outside of the sect

and have not made the least impression upon the State religion.

The reasons for this are not far to seek. The jigid rule that

the Koran must not be translated has kept this book out of

reach of the literati, and the faithful could not even appeal to

it in support of their belief, for not one in thousands know how

to read it. The Chinese naturally neither could nor would

learn Arabic, and there was no sword hanging over them, as

was the case in Persia, to force them into Moslem ranks. The

simplicity of the State religion and ancestral worship gave very

little handle to icronoclasts to declaim against polytheism and

idolatry. The })rohibition of pork to all true believers seemed

a senseless injunction among a frugal people which depended

largely on swine for meat and had never felt any the worse,

bodily or mentall}’, from its use. The inhibition of wine, moreover,

was needless among so temperate a race as the Chinese.

Those who liked to keep Fridays or other days as fasts, ])ractisG

circumcision as a symbol of faith, and worship in a temple with<

‘ Compare the Chinese ‘Repository, Vol. XVIII., p. 281.

MOHAMMEDANISM IN CHINA. 269

out images, could do so if tliey chose ; but they must obey the

laws of the laud and honor the Eni})ei-or as good subjects. They

luive done so, and, generally speaking, have never been molested

on account of their beliefs. Their chief strength lies in the

northern part. The recent struggle in the north-western provinces,

which cost so many lives, began almost wholly at the instigation

of Turk or Tartar sectaries, and was a simple trial of

strength as to who should rule. While cities and towns in

Kansuh occupied by them were destroyed (in lSGO-73), the two

liundred thousand Moslems in Peking remained perfectly quiet

and were unmolested by the authorities.

Some hold office, and pass through the examinations to obtain

it, most of them being military men. In their mosques they exliibit

a tablet with the customary ascription of reverence to the

Emperor, but place the Prophet’s name behind. They have no

images or other tablets in the mosques, but suspend scrolls referring

to the tenets of the faith. The Plain Pagoda in Canton

was built during the Tang dynasty and called ‘ Remember-the-

Iloly Temple ; ‘ it is one hundred and sixty-five cubits high ; it

was built by foreigners, who used to go to the top during the

fifth and sixth moons at dawn and pray to a golden weathercock

there, crying out in a loud voice. These notices are taken from

the native Tojxxjraphij, where also is reference to the tomb of

a maternal uncle of IMohammed buried north of the city. The

mosques throughout China are similar in their arrangement and

resemble temples in many respects, the large arches and inscriptions

in Arabic on the walls forming the chief peculiarities.

Arabic is studied under great difficulties by the mollahs, and

few of the faithful can read or speak it, contenting themselves

with observing its ritual relating to circumcision, abstinence

from pork, and idolatry. So fai- as can be seen, their worship

of the true God under the name of Chu^ or Lord, has not had

the least influence on the polytheism of the nation or in elevating

the tone of morals. A well-digested summaiy of their

tenets has been published at Canton by an unknown author

under the title of True Coinineids on the Correct Doctrine, in

two volumes, pp. 240, 1801. Ko restrictions have been laid on

this sect by the government during the present dynasty; the struggle which continued during the last twenty years between them was simply a question of dominion, not of religion.

Mr. Milne visited the mosque in Ningbo and made the acquaintance

of the mollah. “lie is a man about forty-five years

of age, of a remarkably benign and intelligent countenance and

{gentlemanly bearing. His native place is Shantung, but his

ancestors came from Medina, lie readily reads the Arabic

scriptures and talks that language fluently, but can neither read

nor write Chinese, which is somewhat surprising considering he

can talk it well, was liorn in China, and is a minister of religion

among the Chinese. His supporters number between twenty

and thirty families, and one or two of his adherents are officers.

He took me into the place of worship which adjoins his apartments.

A flight of steps leads into a room, covered with a plain

roof, on either side of which lay a mass of dusty furniture and

agricultural implements ; the pillars are ornamented with sentences

out of the Koran. Facing you is an ornamented pair of

small doors hung upon the wall, within which the sacred seat is

supposed to lie, and on one side is a convenient bookcase containing

their scriptures. He showed me his usual officiating

dress—a white robe with a painted tui-ban—but he never wears

this costume except at service, appearing hi the Chinese habit at

other times. They have a weekly day of rest, which falls on

our Thursday. On asking if I might be permitted to attend any

of their services, he replied that if their adherents had business

on that day they did not trouble themselves to attend. The

stronghold of his religion is in Ilangchau fu, where are several

mosques, but the low state of Moluunmedanism seemed to

dampen liis spirits. Happening to see near the entrance a

tablet similar to that found in every other temple, with the

inscription, ‘The Enq)eror, ever-living, maybe live forever!’

I asked him how he could allow such a blasphemous monument

to stand in a spot which he regarded as consecrated to the worship

of Aloha, as he styles the true God. He protested he did

not and never could worship it, and pointed to the low })lace

given it as evidence of this, and added that it was only for the

sake of expediency it was allowed lodgment in the building, for

if they wei-e ever charged with disloyalty by the enemies of

JEWS IN CHINA. 271

their faith they could appeal to it ! His reigning desire was to

make a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he inquired particularly respecting

the price of a passage.” ‘

Since the introduction of steamers great numbers of pilgrims

visit Mecca, who cannot fail to extend the knowledge of western

lands as they return among their people. The Mohammedan

inhabitants of Turkestan and 111 are distinguished into three

classes by the color and shape of their turbans ; one has red and

another white sugar-loaf, tlie third the common iirab turban.

The number throughout the region north of the Yangtsz’ liiver

cannot be stated, but it probably exceeds ten millions. In

some places they form a third of the population ; a missionary

in Sz’chuen reckons eighty thousand living in one of its

cities.”

The existence of Jews in China has long been known, but

the information possessed relative to their past number, condition,

and residences is very imperfect. They were once numbered

by thousands, and are supposed by Mr. Finn to have

belonged to the restoration from Chaldea, as they had portions

of Malachi and Zechariah, adopted the era of Seleucus, and

had many rabbinical customs. They probably entered China

through the north-western route, and there is no good reason

for rejecting their own date, during the llan dynasty. Witliin

the last three centuries all have lived in Kaifung, the capital

of Honan, wherever they may have lived in earlier days. Marco

Polo just mentions their existence at (^and)aluc, as do John of

Montecorvino and Marignolli about the same time, and Ibn

Batuta at an earlier date. In the Chinese annals of the Mongol

dynasty the Jews are first referred to in 1329, and again

in 135-1, when they were invited to Peking in the decline of

its power to join the army of the Imperialists, They are styled

Shic-htvuh, or Jehudi, and must have been numerous enough

‘ Compare Milne’s Life in China, p. 96, London, 1857.

‘ Chtnem Repository, Vols. XIII., p. ;i’2 ; XX., pp. 77-84; II., p. 250. De

Guignes, Voyar/ex d Pekinf/, Tome II., p. 08. Gray, China, I., pp. 137-142.

Edkins, IMirjion.H in China, Chap. XV. Annules de la Foi, II., p. 245. Ret

uaud, Relation des Voyages d la Chine.«

to make them worth noticing with Aloluunmedans, and their help in men and means implored ; hut no hint is given of their places of ahode. Further research into Chinese histories may disclose other notices of their existence.

The Jews were early known hy the term of Tiao-Jcin hiaOj

or the ‘ sect which pulls out the sinew.’ Do Guignes says they

are also called Laa-niao Iltoul-tsz\ or ‘ Mohammedans with

Blue Caps,’ because they wore a blue cap in the synagogue ; but

this latter must be a local name. The first description of this

colony was written by the Jesuit Gozani, about the year 1700,

and shows that the Tsing-cMn sz\ or ‘ Pure and True Temple,’

Avas then a large establisliment consisting of four separate

courts, various buildings enclosed for residence, worship, and

work. The Li-jpai ss\ or Synagogue, measured about sixty

by forty feet, having a portico with a double row of four columns

before it. In the centre of the room, between the I’ows of pillars,

is the throne of Moses, a magnificent and elevated chair

with an embroidered cushion, upon which they place the book

of the law while it is read.

This account of Gozani remained as the latest information

until Bishop Smith sent two native Christians from Shanghai

to Kaifung to learn the present condition of the Jews. They

were ignorant of llebi-ew, but had been instructed hoM^ to copy

the letters, and did their work very creditably, bringing away

with them some portions of the Old Testament wi-itten on

vellum-like paper of an old date. The synagogue had suffered

during the great inundation of 18-fi>, and the colony of two

hundred individuals was found in abject poverty, ignorance, and

dejection. Not on6 of them knew a word of Hebrew, and

many of their buildings had been sold for the matei’ials to support

their lives.

In February, ISGG, Rev. W. A. P. Mai’tin, President of the

Tung-wun Kwan at Peking, visited Kaifung, and learned that

during the interval of fifteen years they had become still more

imj)overished. Having learned from the mollah of a mosque

where they lived, he ” passed through streets crowded Mith curious

spectators to an open square, in the centre of wliich there

stood a solitary stone. On one side was an inscription connnemTHEIR

MISEUAHLK CONDITION. 273

orating the erection of the synagogue in a.d. 11S3, and on the

other of its rebuilding in 14SS. . . . ‘Are there among

you any of tlie family of Israel ‘(‘ J inquired. ‘ I am one,’ responded

a young man, whose face corroborated his assertion ; and

then another and another stepped forth, until I saw before me

representatives of six of the seven families into which the

colony is divided. There, on that melancholy spot where

the very foundations of the synagogue had been torn from

tlie ground, and there no longer I’emained one stone upon

another, they confessed, with shame and grief, that their lioly

and beautiful house had been demolished by their own hands.

It had long been, they said, in a ruinous condition ; they had

no money to make repairs. They liad lost all knowledge of

the sacred tongue ; the traditions of the fathers were no longer

handed down, and their ritual worship had ceased to be observed.

They had at last yielded to the pressure of necessity,

and disposed of the timbers and stones of the venerable edifice

to obtain relief for their bodily wants.”

They estimated their number at between thi-ee hundred

and four hundred persons, all of them poor, and, now that

the centre of attraction had disappeared, likely to become dispersed

and lost. The entrance tablet in gilt characters, stating

that the building was “Israel’s Possession,” had been

placed in a mosque, and some of the colony had entered its

worship.

Since that date one of their own race, now Bishop Schereschewsky,

of Shanghai, has also visited them, but the literati

of the city refused to allow him to remain among them. A

company of the colony came up to Peking about twelve

years ago, but, finding that no money was to be obtained

for their support, ere long went back. It is probable that in

a few years their unity will be so desti-oyed in the removal

of their synagogue that they will be quite mingled with their

countrymen. One or two are now Buddhist priests, others

are literary graduates, and all of them are ignorant of their

peculiar rites and festivals. Like the Mohammedans, they

have never translated their sacred books into Chinese ; but

during their long existence in China they have remained indeed, as Dr. Martin says, like “a rock rent from the sidea of Mount Zion by some great national catastrophe, and projected into the central Plain of China, which has stood there while the centm-ies rolled by, sublime in its antiquity and solitude.”

‘> CUnese liepository, Vol. XX., pp. 4:^6-466. Yule’s Marco Polo, 1871, Vol.I., p. 809. Cathay, pp. 225, 341, 497. James Finn, Jews in Cliina, 1843. Bp.Smith, Mission of Inquiry to Jeics at Kai-funy, 1851. Dr. Martin, The Chinese,N. Y., 1881. Journal of Royal Geog. Soc, London, Vol. XXVII., p. 297.Versuch einer Geschkhtc der JiuJen in Sina, nelisf P. J. Kof/ler^s Rschreibung ihrer ?ieiligen Bucher, herausg. von C. G. von Murr, Halle, 180G. Milne,Life in China, p. 403.