[1] Monsieur (I beg his pardon) Citoyen Charpentier Cossigny.

[2] This expression alludes to the ancient opinion that China was surrounded by the sea, and that the rest of the world was made up of islands. Yet though they now possess a tolerable notion of geography, such is their inveterate adherence to ancient opinion, that they prefer retaining the most absurd errors, rather than change one single sentiment or expression that Confucius has written.

[3] The expence occasioned to the court of China by the British embassy, will be stated in a subsequent chapter.

[4] In the very next page (202) he however corrects himself, by observing that either the Chinese or Malays navigated as far as Madagascar.

[5] If any argument were wanting to prove the originality of the magnetic needle as used in China, the circumstance of their having ingrafted upon it their most ancient and favourite mythology, their cycles, constellations, elements, and, in short, an abstract of all their astronomical or astrological science, is quite sufficient to settle that point. Those who are acquainted with the Chinese character will not readily admit that their long established superstitions should be found incorporated on an instrument of barbarian invention.

[6] Plin. lib. xvii. cap. 3.

[7] I should not have taken notice of this odious vice, had not the truth of its existence in China been doubted by some, and attributed by others to a wrong cause. Professing to describe the people as I found them, I must endeavour to draw a faithful picture, neither attempting to palliate their vices, nor to exaggerate their virtues.

[8] Adam's Roman Antiquities.

[9] Mr. Torreen.

[10] Linn. Systema NaturÆ.

[11] See Gibbon, under Emperor Justinian; and Menagiana, in which is given the translation of a very extraordinary passage from Procopius.

[12] T. Calpurnius.

[13] Duke of Buckingham. See the notes on this character in Shakespear's Henry VIII. Act. i, Scene 2.

[14] For the curiosity of those who may be inclined to speculate in etymological comparisons between the Chinese and other languages, I here subjoin a short list of words in the former, expressing some of the most striking objects in the creation, a few subjects of natural history, and of such articles as from their general use are familiar to most nations, these being of all others the most likely to have retained their primitive names. The orthography I have used is that of the English language.

I must observe, however, for the information of these philologists, that scarcely two provinces in China have the same oral language. The officers and their attendants who came with us from the capital could converse only with the boatmen of the southern provinces, through the medium of an interpreter. The character of the language is universal, but the name or sound of the character is arbitrary. If a convention of sounds could have been settled like a convention of marks, one would suppose that a commercial intercourse would have effected it, at least in the numeral sounds, that must necessarily be interchanged from place to place and myriads of times repeated from one corner of the empire to the other. Let us compare then the numerals of Pekin with those of Canton, the two greatest cities in China.

If then, in this highly civilized empire, the oral language of the northern part differs so widely from the southern that, in numerous instances, by none of the etymological tricks[15] can they be brought to bear any kind of analogy; if the very word which in Pekin implies the number one, be used in Canton to express two, how very absurd and ludicrous must these learned and laboured dissertations appear, that would assign an oriental origin to all our modern languages?

[15] Such as the addition, deduction, mutation, and transposition of letters, or even syllables. Thus Mr. Webbe thinks that the derivation of the Greek ???? a woman, from the Chinese na-gin, is self-evident.

[16] By Mr. Pauw.

[17] That the Chinese method, however, is defective, may be inferred from the circumstance of the present Sir George Staunton having not only acquired, in little more than twelve months, and at the age of twelve years, such a number of words and phraseology as to make himself understood, and to understand others on common topics of conversation, but he also learned to write the characters with such facility and accuracy, that all the diplomatic papers of the Embassy addressed to the Chinese government were copied by him (the Chinese themselves being afraid to let papers of so unusual a style appear in their own hand-writing) in so neat and expeditious a manner as to occasion great astonishment. It may be observed, however, that few youths of his age possess the talents, the attention, and the general information with which he was endowed.

[18] The invention, in Europe, is usually attributed to one Schwartz, a German Monk, about the year 1354, which, however, is very doubtful, as there is every reason to believe that cannon was made use of at the battle of Cressy, which happened in the year 1346. And Mariana, in his account of the siege of Algeziras by the Spaniards, in the year 1342, or 1343, as quoted by Bishop Watson, observes, "that the Moors very much annoyed the Christians with their iron shot;" and he further adds, that "this is the first mention made in history of the use of gunpowder and ball." It is therefore extremely probable, that the first introduction of gunpowder into Europe was by some Mahomedans from the eastward, and that Schwartz was not the inventor, although he might perhaps have been the first publisher of the discovery.

[19] I am aware that those laboured pieces, of Italian make, of ivory cut into landscapes, with houses, trees, and figures, sometimes so small as to be comprehended within the compass of a ring, may be quoted against me; but the work of a solitary and secluded monk to beguile the weary hours, is not to be brought in competition with that of a common Chinese artist, by which he earns his livelihood.

[20] Mr. Dutens.

[21] A bridge with ninety-one arches will be noticed in a subsequent chapter.

[22] Sir William Jones.

[23] It is called the Ta-tchin Leu-Lee, the laws and institutes under the dynasty Ta-tchin, which is the name assumed by the present family on the throne.

[24] Various accidents having happened at different times to Chinese subjects in the port of Canton, which have generally led to disagreeable discussions with the Chinese government, the supercargoes of the East India Company thought proper, on a late occasion of a person being wounded by a shot from a British ship of war, to make application for an extract from the criminal code of laws relating to homicide, in order to have the same translated into English, and made public. This extract consisted of the following articles:

In this clear and decisive manner are punishments awarded for every class of crimes committed in society; and it was communicated to the English factory from the viceroy, that on no consideration was it left in the breast of the judge to extenuate or to exaggerate the sentence, whatever might be the rank, character, or station of the delinquent.

[25] The following law case, which is literally translated, from a volume of reports of trials, published in the present reign of Kia-King, and with which I have been favoured by a friend (who was himself the translator), will serve to shew the mode of proceeding in criminal matters of the provincial courts of judicature. The circumstances of the transaction appear to have been enquired into fairly and impartially, and no pains spared to ascertain the exact degree of criminality. Being given to me about the time when the trial took place of Smith, for the murder of the supposed Hammersmith ghost, I was forcibly struck with the remarkable coincidence of the two cases, and with the almost identical defence set up by the Chinese and the English prisoners, and on that account it excited more interest than perhaps it might otherwise be considered to be entitled to.

At a criminal court held in the province of Fo-kien, upon an indictment for shooting, and mortally wounding a relation; setting forth, that She-fo-pao, native of the city of Fo-ngan-sien, did fire a gun, and by mischance, wound Vang-yung-man, so that he died thereof.

The case was originally reported, as follows, by Vu-se-Kung, sub-viceroy of the province of Fo-kien:

The accused She-fo-pao, and the deceased Vang-yung-man, were of different families, but connected by marriage, were well known to each other, and there had always been a good understanding between them.

In the course of the first moon, of the 25th year of Kien-long, She-fo-pao cultivated a farm on the brow of a hill belonging to Chin-se-kien, and which lay in the vicinity of certain lands cultivated by Vang-yung-man and Vang-ky-hao, inasmuch as that the fields of Vang-yung-man lay on the left of those of She-fo-pao, which were in the center, and those of Vang-ky-hao on the right side of the declivity of the hill. It occurred that on the 7th day of the 9th moon of the same year, She-fo-pao observing the corn in his fields to be nearly ripe, was apprehensive that thieves might find an opportunity of stealing the grain; and being aware, at the same time, of the danger which existed on those hills from wolves and tygers, armed himself with a musquet, and went that night alone to the spot, in order to watch the corn, and seated himself in a convenient place on the side of the hill. It happened that Vang-ky-hao went that day to the house of Vang-yung-man, in order that they might go together to keep watch over the corn in their respective fields. However Vang-yung-tong the elder brother of Vang-yung-man, conceiving it to be yet early, detained them to drink tea, and smoke tobacco until the second watch[26] of the night, when they parted from him, and proceeded on their expedition, provided with large sticks for defence.

Vang-ky-hao having occasion to stop for a short time upon the road, the other Vang-yung-man went on before, until he reached the boundary of the fields watched by She-fo-pao.

She-fo-pao, on hearing a rustling noise among the corn, and perceiving the shadow of a person through the obscurity of the night, immediately hailed him, but the wind blowing very fresh, he did not hear any reply. She-fo-pao then took alarm, on the suspicion that the sound proceeded from thieves, or else from wild beasts, and lighting the match-lock, which he held in his hand, fired it off, in order to repel the invaders whoever they might be.

Vang-yung-man was wounded by the shot in the head, cheeks, neck, and shoulder, and instantly fell to the ground. Vang-ky-hao hearing the explosion, hastened forward, and called aloud to enquire who had fired the gun. The other heard the voice, and going to the place from whence it proceeded, then learned whom he had wounded by the mischance. The wounds of Vang-yung-man being mortal, he expired after a very short interval of time had elapsed.

She-fo-pao, being repeatedly examined by the magistrate, acknowledged the fact without reserve, and, upon the strictest investigation and enquiry being entered upon, deposed, That it was really during the obscurity of the night that he had ascended the hill, in order to watch the corn, and on hearing a noise proceed from a quarter of the field that was extremely dark, and in which the shadow of some person was discernable, he had called out, but received no answer:—That the suspicion then arose in his mind, that they were either thieves or wild beasts, and alarmed him for the security of his person, being then entirely alone, he therefore fired the gun to repel the danger, and wounded Vang-yung-man by mischance, so that he afterwards died.

That he, the deponent, was not actuated by any other motive or intention on this occasion, nor desirous of causing the death of an individual. The relations of the deceased being then examined, give a corresponding evidence, and raised no doubts in other respects to the truth of the above deposition. In consideration, therefore, hereof it appears that, although She-fo-pao is guilty of homicide by gun-firing, yet, since he was upon the watch over the fields, in the darkness of the night, and perceived the shadow of a man, whom he hailed, and from whom he received no answer, and had in consequence apprehended the approach of thieves or wild beasts, to prevent which, he fired the gun that occasioned the wounds whereof the man is now dead—It follows, that there did not exist any premeditated intention of murder.—The act of which She-fo-pao stands convicted may be, therefore, ranked under the article of homicide committed in an affray, and the sentence accordingly is, to be strangled upon the next ensuing general execution or gaol delivery.

The above report being transmitted to the supreme criminal tribunal at Pekin,—They rejoin,

That, on investigation of the laws we find it ordained, that homicide by gun-firing shall receive a sentence conformable to the law against intentional murder; and that the law against intentional murder gives a sentence of decapitation on the next ensuing public execution, or gaol delivery. It is likewise found to be ordained by law, that whoever shall unwarily draw a bow, and shoot an arrow towards fields or tenements, so that any person unperceived therein shall be wounded, and die therefrom, the offender shall receive a hundred blows with the bamboo, and be banished to the distance of three thousands lys (near a thousand miles).

In the case now before us, She-fo-pao, being armed with a musquet, goes to watch the corn, hears a noise in the fields, and calls aloud, but, receiving no answer, suspects it to proceed from thieves or wild beasts, and fires the gun, by which Vang-yung-man was wounded, and is now dead. But in the deposition given in by the defendant, the declaration that he saw the shadow of some person does not accord with the suspicion afterwards expressed, that the noise arose from wild beasts. If, in truth, he distinguished traces of a man, at the time of his calling out, notwithstanding that the violence of the wind prevented his hearing the reply, She-fo-pao had ocular proof of the reality of the person from the shadow he had seen. Continuing our investigation, we have further to notice, that when She-fo-pao took his station in order to guard the middle ground, Vang-yung-man was engaged in watching his fields in a similar manner, and would have occasion to go near the limits of the middle ground in his way to his own farm, and which could not be far removed from the path leading to the middle ground; on which account it behoved She-fo-pao to hail the person repeatedly, previous to the firing of the gun, whose effect would be instantaneous, and occasion the death of the unknown person from whom the sound proceeded.

She-fo-pao not having repeatedly hailed the person from whom the noise had arisen to disturb him, and proceeding to the last extremity upon the first impulse or alarm, are grounds for suspecting that there exists a fallacy and disguise in the testimony given in this affair, in which case, a sentence conformable to the law against homicide, committed in an affray, would afford a punishment unequal and inadequate to the possible aggravation of the offence.

On the other hand, it would appear, in confirmation of his statement, that these fields were, according to the custom of the neighbouring villages, understood to be guarded at that time in a the manner aforesaid, and that circumstance proving true, the accident that followed might still be considered solely as the effect of apprehension of wild beasts by night, inducing the accused to fire towards fields or tenements, so as to wound a man mortally by the mischance.

Should a strict examination admit of this interpretation of the offence, the sentence may be awarded according to the law, immediately applicable to the subject, and not in conformity with the law against homicide committed in an affray. As the life or death of the offender rests on the preference to be shewn towards either of those expositions of the case, it is resolved to hold any immediate decision as premature, and we issue our directions to the said sub-viceroy to revise the prior decision; and, with the assistance of a renewed investigation, finally to determine and report to us the sentence which he may conceive most agreeable to the spirit of our laws.

After a second investigation, and reconsideration of the affair, the sub-viceroy sent in the following report to the supreme tribunal: Pursuant to the order for revisal issued by the supreme criminal tribunal, She-fo-pao has been again examined at the bar, and deposes, That on hearing a noise in the corn fields, he conceived it to proceed from thieves, and called out in consequence, but, receiving no answer, and finding the noise gradually to approach him, he then suspected it to have arisen from a wolf or tyger; and, in the alarm thus excited for his personal safety, had fired the gun, by which Vang-yung-man had been mortally wounded; That, since the event happened in the second watch of the night, after the moon had set, and while clouds obscured the faint light of the stars, it was really a moment of impenetrable darkness; and that it was only at the distance of a few paces that he distinguished the approach of the sound that had alarmed him, but, in fact, had never seen any shadow or traces whatsoever; That he had perceived any traces or shadow of that description, he would not have ceased to call out, though he had failed to receive an answer the first time, nor would he have had the temerity to fire the gun, and render himself guilty of murder.

That, on the preceding examination, the severity and rigour of the enquiry regarding the grounds upon which he suspected the approach of thieves, so as to induce him to fire, had overcome him with fear, being a countryman unused to similar proceedings, and produced the apparent incongruity in his deposition, but that the true meaning and intent was to express his absolute uncertainty whether the alarm arose from thieves or wild beasts and nothing farther, and that from such deposition he had never intentionally swerved in the course of the investigation.

According, therefore, to the amendment suggested by the supreme tribunal, it appears indeed, that when the noise was first perceived in the fields, She-fo-pao had called out, and on being prevented by the wind from hearing a reply, had taken alarm as aforesaid.

And whereas it was likewise deposed by She-fo-pao, That the grain being ripe at that season, the stems were exceeding high and strong, so as to render it difficult to walk amongst them, it seems that Vang-yung-man, in walking through the corn, had produced a rustling noise very audible to She-fo-pao, who was sitting on the declivity of the hill, and in a direction in which the wind favoured the progress of the sound; but when the latter called out, the wind, on the contrary, prevented him from being heard, and consequently from receiving an answer; this mischance, therefore, gave rise to his suspicion of the approach of wild beasts, which appears to have been the sole and undisguised motive for firing the gun.

This statement of facts being narrowly investigated, in compliance with the supreme tribunal's order for revisal, may be confided in as accurate, and worthy of credit; the result, therefore, is that the offender during the darkness of the night, and under the apprehension of the approach of a wolf or tyger, had fired a musquet in a spot frequented by men, and had mortally wounded a man by the mischance, which corresponds with the law suggested in the order for revisal issued by the supreme tribunal; namely, that law against an offender who should unwarily draw a bow and shoot an arrow towards fields or tenements, so that any person unperceived therein should be wounded and die therefrom.

The prior decision, conformably to the law against homicide committed in an affray, subsequent investigation does not confirm; and She-fo-pao is, therefore, only punishable with banishment.

This second report being received by the supreme criminal tribunal, they declare that,

The sentence having been altered on a revision by the sub-viceroy, and rendered conformable to the law, which ordains that, whoever shall unwarily draw a bow and shoot an arrow towards fields or tenements, so that any person unperceived therein may be wounded, and die therefrom, the offender shall receive a hundred blows with the bamboo, and suffer banishment to the distance of 3000 lys.

We confirm the sentence of a hundred blows of the bamboo, and banishment to the distance of 3000 lys; and further prescribe, that ten ounces of silver (3l. 6s. 3d.) shall be paid by the offender to the relations of the deceased for the expences of burial.

The sentence, being thus pronounced on the 19th day of the 5th moon, of the 27th year of Kien-Long, received the Imperial sanction on the 21st day of the same moon, in the following words: Pursuant to sentence be this obeyed.

[26] Each watch is two hours, and the second watch begins at eleven o'clock.

[27] A debtor is released when it appears that the whole of his property has been given up for the use of his creditors.

[28] The circumstances attending the downfal of this minister are curious, and shew, in its true light, the despotic nature of the Chinese government, notwithstanding their salutary laws. The new Emperor, determined on his ruin, makes a public declaration wherein, after apologizing for not abstaining agreeably to the laws of the empire from all acts of innovation, for the space of three years after his father's death, he observes, that the crimes and excesses of Ho-tchung-tang are of so horrid a nature, as to preclude him from acting towards him with any pity or indulgence. He then exhibits about twenty articles of accusation against him, the principal of which are,

Contumacy towards his father (the late Emperor) by riding on horseback to the very door of the hall of audience at Yuen-min-yuen.

Audacity, under pretence of lameness, in causing himself to be carried to and from the palace through the door set apart for the Emperor.

Scandalous behaviour, in taking away the virgins of the palace, and appropriating them to his own use.

Pride and insolence, in countermanding his (the new Emperor's) order, for all the princes of Tartary to be summoned to Pekin, those who had not had the small-pox excepted, to assist at the funeral of his father, and by issuing a new one, in which none were excepted.

Bribery and partiality, in selling and giving away appointments of weight to persons totally unqualified to fill them.

Arrogance, in making use of the wood Nan-moo (cedar) in his house, which is destined exclusively for royal palaces; and in building a house and gardens in the style and manner of those belonging to the Emperor.

For having in his possession more than two hundred strings of pearls, and an immense quantity of jewels and precious stones, which his rank did not allow him to wear, and among which was a pearl of such wonderful magnitude, that the Emperor himself had no equal to it.

For having in gold and silver alone, which has been already discovered and confiscated, the amount, at least, of ten million taels (about 3,300,000l. sterling).

One article is singularly curious. For having been guilty of the deepest treachery in informing him (the new Emperor) of his father's intention to abdicate the government in his (the new Emperor's) favour, one day before his father made it public, thinking by such means to gain his favour and affection!

After enumerating the several articles of accusation, the Emperor states, that this minister being interrogated by a Tartar prince on several points, had confessed the whole to be true, and, therefore, without further evidence, he commands the presidents and members of the several courts in Pekin, the viceroys of provinces, and governors of cities, on these articles of accusation being laid before them, to pass a proper sentence on the said Ho-tchung-tang. According to the majority, he was condemned to be beheaded; but as a peculiar act of grace and benevolence on the part of the Emperor, this sentence was mitigated to that of his being allowed to be his own executioner. A silken cord being sent as an intimation of this mark of the Emperor's favour, he caused himself to be strangled by some of his attendants.

Who could escape when the Emperor of China is himself the accuser? It will readily occur, from the fate of Ho-tchung-tang, that there is not that line of independence drawn between the executive and juridical authority, which the ingenious author of the Spirit of Laws has clearly proved to be the grand foundation of a just, legal, and efficient security of the life and property of the subject. In fact, in all state crimes, the Emperor becomes both the accuser and the judge. In the case of Ho-tchung-tang he may likewise be said to have been the only evidence.

[29] Among the various customs of China, particularized in the accounts of the two Mahomedan travellers in the ninth century, this remarkable one is noticed, affording, with the rest, equally singular and peculiar to this nation, an proof of the authenticity of these two relations.

[30] The words of Kaung-shee's proclamation, repeated by Kia-king, are: "At present when an army is sent on any military service, every report that is made of its operations, contains an account of a victory, of rebels dispersed at the first encounter, driven from their stations, killed, and wounded, to a great amount, or to the amount of some thousands, or, in short, that the rebels slain were innumerable."

[31] When the art of printing was first introduced into England, and carried on in Westminster Abbey, a shrewd churchman is said to have observed to the Abbot of Westminster, "If you don't take care to destroy that machine, it will very soon destroy your trade." He saw at a single glance of the press, the downfal of priestly dominion in the general diffusion of knowledge that would be occasioned by it, and had the rest of the clergy been equally clear-sighted, it is probable the dark ages of superstition and ignorance had still continued, or at least had been greatly protracted.

[32] When the mischievous doctrines of Tom Paine, expounded in his "Rights of Man," were translated into various languages, and industriously attempted to be propagated among the eastern nations, by means of French emissaries; when one of those assiduous disturbers of the peace of mankind had actually succeeded in furnishing the Seiks with an abstract of this precious work in their own language, he next turned his attention to the vast empire of China, a glorious theatre for those zealous cosmopolites to play their parts in, if they could once contrive to suit their drama to the taste of the people. The experiment, however, failed of success. The golden opinions of Tom Paine could not be transfused into the Chinese language; and these unfortunate people understood no other but their own; so that three hundred and thirty-three millions were doomed to remain in ignorance and misery on account of their language being incapable of conveying the enlightened doctrines of Tom Paine.

[33] The last accounts, indeed, that have been received from China, are rather of an alarming nature. A very serious rebellion had broken out in the western provinces, which had extended to that of Canton, the object of which was the overthrow of the Tartar government. It was known for some years past, as I before observed, that certain secret societies were forming in the different provinces, who corresponded together by unknown signs, agreed upon by convention, but they were not considered to be of that extent as to cause any uneasiness to the government. It appears, however, that not fewer than forty thousand men had assembled in arms in the province of Canton, at the head of whom was a man of the family of the last Chinese Emperor, who had assumed the Imperial Yellow. These rebels, it seems, are considerably encouraged in their cause by a prophesy, which is current among the people, that the present Tartar dynasty shall be overturned in the year 1804. The existence of such a prophecy may be more dangerous to the Tartar government than the arms of the rebels, by assisting to bring about its own accomplishment.

[34] Vattel.

[35] This consideration on the transient nature of languages, and especially of those whose fleeting sounds have never been fixed by any graphic invention, makes it the more surprizing how Lord Kames, in his sketch on the origin and progress of American nations, after observing that no passage by land had been discovered between America and the old world, should have given it as his opinion, that an enquiry, much more decisive at to the former being peopled by the latter, might be pursued, by ascertaining whether the same language be spoken by the inhabitants on the two sides of the strait that divides the northern regions of America from Kamskatka. And that, after finding this not to be the case, he should conclude that the former could not have been peopled by the latter. Had not Lord Kames written upon a system of a separate and local creation, pre-established in his own mind, he would unquestionably have laid more stress upon a resemblance in their physical characters, in their superstitions and religious notions, than on similarity of language; which, among the many acquirements of the human species, or of human institution, is not the least liable to change by a change of situation, especially where no written character has been employed to fix it. His Lordship's conclusion is the more extraordinary, as he had already observed that the resemblance between them was perfect in every other respect.

[36] It is sufficiently remarkable, that the Emperor Kaung-shee, in giving, by public edict, some account to his subjects of the different nations of Asia and Europe, should make the following observation. "To the southward of the Cossack country a horde of Hoo-tse (Turks) is established, who are descended from the same stock with Yuen-tay-tse, formerly Emperors of China."

[37] The exterior angles are here meant which, in the Chinese also, are extended in the same or a greater proportion than the interior ones are rounded off.

[38] As a corroborating proof of the Chinese being of Scythic origin, it may be observed, that the adjunct character Shee (to the family name Foo) is composed of a sheep, rice, an arrow, and the conjunctive character also, from whence may be inferred that he united the occupations of shepherd, agriculturist, and warrior.

[39] The Shoo-king.

[40] Ptolemy, the Geographer, places Serica adjoining to Scythia, extra Imaum, corresponding with Cashgar, Tangut, and Kitai, countries famous for the cultivation of the cotton plant. It would seem, indeed, from all the passages which occur in ancient authors concerning the Seres, that cotton was the substance alluded to, rather than silk, and that these people were not the present Chinese, but the Tartars of Kitai.

Horace makes the Seres expert in drawing the bow, a weapon in the use of which the Scythians were always famous.

It certainly cannot be inferred that by the Seres, in any of the above quotations, was meant the same people as the present Chinese; on the contrary, the probability is that it did not allude to this nation, and that the ancients had not the least knowledge of its existence. It appears from another passage in Pliny, that the best iron in the world was in Sericum, and that the Seres exported it with their cloths and skins. The iron of the Chinese, as I have had occasion to observe, is remarkably bad, and all their articles of peltry are imported.

[41] All our enquiries, in passing the city of Hang-tchoo-foo, were fruitless with regard to these Israelites. We had hitherto entertained a hope of being able to procure, in the course of our journey, a copy of this ancient monument of the Jewish history, which the late Doctor Geddes considered as very desirable to compare with those already in Europe; but the hasty manner in which we travelled, and the repugnance shewn by our conducting officers, Chou and Van excepted, who had little power or influence in the provinces, to enter into any of our views that might appear to occasion delay, prevented the fulfilment of those hopes. It were much to be wished, that the reverend missionaries would so far lay aside their antipathy against opinions, not exactly coinciding with their own, and enter into such a correspondence with the Jews, as would obtain from them, which they are no doubt possessed of, an account of the progress made by the Chinese in civilization and arts, since their first settling in that country, and of other particulars noted down by them. The circumstance of their carrying with them their code of laws, and the history of their tribes, is a sufficient proof that they understood a written language which there can be no doubt, they would use the utmost caution not to lose. Such an account would be more authentic than the Chinese annals, the best of which abound in hyperbole, and contain facts so disguised in metaphor, that it is no easy matter to extract from them the simple truth. At all events, the comparison of the two histories would serve to verify each other.

[42] In the year 1785, Kien Long liberated, by a public edict, twelve missionaries out of prison, who, being detected in privately seducing the Chinese from the religion and customs of the country, had been condemned to perpetual imprisonment. This edict, of which I procured a copy in Pekin, does great honour to the humane and benevolent mind of the Emperor. After stating their crime, apprehension, and trial, he observes, "Had they made known their arrival to the officers of government, they might have proceeded to the capital and found protection. But as transgressors of the law, which forbids the entrance of strangers, they have stolen into the country, and secretly endeavoured to multiply converts to their way of thinking, it became my duty to oppose a conduct so deceitful, and to put a stop to the progress of seduction. Justly as they were found to deserve the punishment to which they have been condemned, touched, nevertheless, with compassion for their imprudence, it was not without injury to my feelings that I ratified the sentence. But recollecting afterwards that they were strangers—strangers perhaps ignorant of the laws of my empire, my compassion increased for them, and humanity suffers on account of their long confinement. I will, therefore, and command that these twelve strangers be set at liberty."

[43] The government even grants licences to certain persons, under the abused name of astronomers, who pretend to predict events, and cast out evil spirits by a charm, consisting of some character written by them, according to the supposed prevailing planet. The national almanack, not less minute in its predictions than those of Francis Moore or Vincent Wing, or even Partridge, points out the changes of the weather in every month, with the lucky and unlucky days for undertaking most of the important concerns of life. And that the fallacy of these is not detected, may afford less matter for surprize, on recollection that, in the wise and enlightened countries of Europe, and among very intelligent people, the state of the weather is pretended to be predicted by the phases of the moon, that is to say, they will prognosticate a change of weather to happen at the new moon, or the first quarter, or the full, or the last quarter, or, at all events, three days before, or three days after one or other of these periods; so that the predictor has, at the least, eight and twenty days out of a lunar revolution, in favour of his prediction being right, and the whole lunation is only twenty-nine and a half. He has also another great advantage: the accidental coincidence of one single prophecy with the event, establishes his fame for ever, whilst his blunders are either overlooked, or considered only as those of the person, and not the defect of the science.

[44] And which, together with their pernicious practices and infamous pamphlets, addressed chiefly to youth of both sexes, it may be added, have done more mischief than "plague, pestilence, or famine." Among the numerous societies that have been formed for the amendment of public morals and the suppression of vice, it is surprizing that no plan has been thought of for the suppression of impudent quacks.

[45] Thus among the inscriptions written over the doors of Temples, some are dedicated

Another has

[46] Poo-sa comprehends a class of superintending deities inferior to those of Fo, who are consulted on trivial occasions, and the ordinary affairs of life. Of course the greater number of temples are called by the general name of Poo-sa miau, temple of Poo-sa. The name implies all-helping. The character poo signifies support, and sa has the character of plant for its root or key united to that of preservation; the plant-preserving, or plant-supporting deity; from whence it may perhaps be concluded, that Poo-sa is the offspring of the Holy Mother of whom I am about to speak.

[47] The character shing is compounded of ear, mouth, and ruler or king, intending perhaps to express the faculty of hearing all that ear has heard and mouth uttered.

[48] By Mr. Pauw.

[49] Captain Turner found the name of the Lotos inscribed over most of the temples in Bootan and Thibet, and Colonel Symes, in the account of his embassy to the kingdom of Ava, which with Pegu, Aracan, and Laos, now constitute the Birman empire, describes the people as Budhists or of the sect of Fo; indeed their customs and appearance, as well as their religion, seem to indicate a Chinese or Tartar origin.

[50] No festivals, perhaps, were so universally adopted and so far extended, as those in honour of Isis. They not only found their way into every part of the East, but from Greece they were also received by the Romans, and from these they passed into Gaul. It has even been conjectured, that the modern name of Paris has its derivation from a temple that was dedicated to this goddess, ?a?a ?s??, not very distant from this ancient capital of Gaul. The city arms are a ship, which Isis was depicted to hold in her hand, as the patroness of navigation. In fact, a statue of Isis[51] is said to have been preserved with great care in the church of Saint Germain until the beginning of the sixteenth century, when the zeal of a bigotted cardinal caused it to be demolished as an unsanctified relick of pagan superstition.

[51] EncyclopÉdie des Connoissances Humaines.

[52] The present Emperor shewed his gratitude for his prayers having been heard, by granting in a public edict an additional title to the temple in which they were offered.

"The gracious protecting temple of the king of the dragons, on the mountain of Yu-chun, has on every occasion of drought proved favourable to our prayers offered up there for rain, as duly observed on our sacred registers. From the summer solstice of the present year, a great want of rain has been experienced, on which account we were induced, on the 17th of this moon, to offer up our prayers and sacrifices in person at the said temple. During the very same day, a fall of small rain or dew was observed, and, on the day following, the country was relieved by frequent and copious showers. This further proof of efficacy in granting our requests, augments our veneration and, in testimony whereof, we direct that the temple of the propitious divinity shall receive an additional title, and be styled on all future occasions,

"The gracious in protecting, and efficacious in preserving, the temple of the king of the dragons.

[53] From a passage in the manuscript journal of a Chinese who accompanied the Dutch embassy it would appear, that the art of embalming the dead was once known and practiced in this country. He observes, that at Ou tebÉ there is a temple or pagoda inhabited by a number of priests, who shew the body of a very ancient bonze, prepared in such a manner, and filled with such ingredients, that it does not decay, but remains perfectly entire. He is dressed in his robes of ceremony, and in his hand he holds a machine which was invented by him for cleaning rice.

[54] For the convenience of collecting and distributing the taxes raised in kind, the districts, and cities within them, are divided into three classes, distinguished by the adjuncts foo, tchoo, shien. The shien is answerable to the tchoo; the tchoo to the foo; and the foo to the board of revenue in the capital.

[55] The Far et mica salis were parts of most of the Roman sacrifices, and salt, in particular, was held in such veneration, and in such general use, that when any one obtained a salary or pension, he was said to have got his Salarium, or something to procure his salt, in the same sense, as we say, to get one's bread, and a common expression in India, denoting service, is, I eat the salt of such a one, and the Dutch in speaking of a dependent say, he owes his salt to such a one. These coincidences of opinion, or custom, among remote nations, however difficult they may be to explain, are nevertheless extremely interesting and are on that account here noticed.

[56] I infer that such is not the practice in China, from the manner in which the Dutch Embassadors were conveyed to and from the capital in the middle of winter. The inconveniences they suffered on this occasion are such as can scarcely be conceived to have happened in a civilized country. The perusal of the manuscript journal I have elsewhere noticed conveyed to my mind the idea of a country dreary and desolate, and of a people indigent and distressed; without humanity, and without hospitality. They travelled in little bamboo chairs, carried by four men, who were generally so weak and tottering that they could not go through the day's journey, but were obliged, frequently, in the middle of the night, to halt in an open uninhabited part of the country, where not a hovel of any description was to be met with to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather. And it most commonly happened, that the lodgings appointed for their reception, at the different stages were in such a miserable condition, admitting on every side the wind, rain, or snow, that they generally preferred taking a little rest in their bamboo chairs. They were surprized to find so few cities, towns, or villages in their route, and not less surprized at the ruinous condition in which these few appeared to be. Near the capital a whole city exhibited only a mass of ruins. In many places they found the country under water, and the mud hovels completely melted down. Sometimes they passed extensive wastes, where not a trace was visible of any kind of cultivation, nor a single dwelling occurred in the distance of eight or ten English miles. And it was not before they had crossed the Yellow River that they perceived the marks of wheel-carriages imprinted on the roads, which were so little travelled upon that they could with difficulty be traced. Here they met old men and young women travelling in wheelbarrows; and litters carried by asses, one being fixed between the poles before, and one behind. The rivers had no bridges over them; and such as were too deep to be forded, they were under the necessity of crossing on rafts of bamboo. In short, before they arrived at the capital, the fatigue and hardships they had undergone considerably impaired their health, and the condition of their clothing was such as to excite the compassion of the mandarines, who made them a present of twenty sheep-skin jackets, dressed with the wool upon them; which, like the Hottentots, they wore inwards. One of these gentlemen assured me, that having satisfied his curiosity, no earthly consideration should tempt him to undertake a second journey by land to the capital; for that he believed the whole world could not furnish a like picture of desolation and misery. What a contrast is here exhibited to the ease and convenience with which our journey was made! But the whole treatment of the Dutch embassy seems to have been proportioned to the degree of importance which the Chinese attached to the political condition of this nation.

[57] It may be observed of almost all the writings of the missionaries concerning China, that virtues of so trifling a nature as hardly to deserve the name, have met their unqualified praise, whilst enormous vices have either been palliated or passed over in silence.

[58] The water-wheels still used in Syria differ only from those of China, by having loose buckets suspended at the circumference, instead of fixed tubes. "The wheels of Hama," says Volney, "are thirty-two feet in diameter. Troughs are fastened to the circumference, and so disposed as to fall in the river, and when they reach the vertex of the wheel, discharge the water into a reservoir."

[59] The simple boiling of the water indeed contributes greatly to the quick deposition of earthy particles, which may have been one cause of the universal practice of drinking every thing warm in China. They were surprised to see our soldiers and servants drinking the water of the Pei-ho cold, and told them it was very bad for the stomach and bowels. This complaint, in fact, attacked almost all the inferior part of the embassy, which Doctor Gillan did not hesitate to ascribe to the great impurity of the water. But the Chinese argued the point with the Doctor with regard to taking it cold, asking him why all the fluids of the body were warm, if nature had intended us to drink water and other liquids in a cold state! They seemed to have forgotten that all the warm-blooded animals, except man, must necessarily drink cold water.

[60] As these teas however were purchased by Chinese, I have no doubt they reserved to themselves a very large profit on the commission, for it is scarcely possible that this article, the growth and produce of the middle provinces, should bear a price so far beyond what the very best sells for in London.

[61] An old Frenchman (Cossigny) but a disciple of the new school, has found out that the Chinese are in possession of a new science, the existence of which was not even suspected by the enlightened nations of Europe. As he has the merit of making this wonderful discovery, it is but fair to announce it in his own words: "Je pense que nous devrions prendre chez eux (les Chinois) les premiers elements de la spermatologie, science toute nouvelle pour l'Europe, science qui intÉresse l'humanitÉ en gÉnÉral, en lui procurant des jouissances qui l'attachent À son existence, en entretenant la santÉ et la vigeur, en rÉparant l'abus des excÈs, en contribuant À l'augmentation de la population. Il feroit digne de la sollicitude des gouvernemens de s'occuper des recherches qui pourroient donner des connoissances sur une science À peine soupÇonnÉe des peuples ÉclairÉs de l'Europe." He then announces his knowledge in preparing "des petites pastilles qui sont aphrodisiaques et qui conviennent sur-tout aux veillards, et À ceux qui ont fait des excÈs:" and he concludes with the mortifying intelligence that he is not permitted to reveal the important secret, "qui intÉresse l'humanitÉ en general."

[62] In the tenth volume of a very extensive agricultural work, is detailed the whole process of cultivating the cotton from the seed to the web. The author observes, "The cotton in its raw state affords a light and pleasant lining for clothes; the seed yields an oil, which, being expressed from them, the remainder is serviceable as manure; the capsules or pods, being hard and woody, are used for firing, and the leaves afford nourishment to cattle, so that every part of the vegetable may be appropriated to some useful purpose.

"The soil most favourable to this plant is a white sand, with a small proportion of clay or loam. The plant affects an elevated open situation, and cannot endure low marshy grounds.

"After all the cotton pods are gathered, the remaining stems and branches should be cleared away without loss of time, and the ground carefully ploughed up, to expose a new surface to the air and renew the vigour of the soil.

"When the plough has passed through the ground three times, the earth should be raked level, that the wind may not raise or dry up any part of it.

"——When there is an abundance of manure, it may be laid on previous to the use of the plough, but if it be scarce, &c. it will be preferable to apply it to the soil at the time of sowing the seed.

"The manure should be old and well prepared, and among the best ingredients for the purpose, is the refuse of vegetable substances, from which an oil has been expressed.

"In the southern provinces the cotton plant will last for two or three years, but to the northward the seed must be sown annually."

The author then enumerates nine distinct varieties and their comparative qualities; after which he proceeds to the choice of seed, under which head he observes, that if the seed be steeped in water, in which eels have been boiled, the plant will resist the attack of insects. He then describes the three methods of broadcast, drilling, and dibbling, and gives a decided preference of the last, though it be the most laborious.

"The ground being well prepared, holes are to be made at the distance of a cubit from each other, and the lines a cubit apart. A little water is first to be poured in, and then four or five seeds, after which each hole is to be covered with a mixture of soil and manure, and firmly trodden down with the foot. In the other methods a roller is to be used."

The next process is weeding, loosening, and breaking fine the earth.—He then observes, "After the plants have attained some degree of strength and size, the most advanced and perfect plant should be selected and all the rest rooted out, for if two or more be suffered to rise together, they will increase in height without giving lateral shoots; the leaves will be large and luxuriant, but the pods will be few." He next proceeds to the pruning of the plants to make them bear copiously—gathering the pods—preparing and spinning the wool—weaving the cloth.—This abridged account I have given to shew, that they are not deficient in writings of this kind.

[63] See the plate facing page 37.

[64] The East India Company pays from thirteen to sixty tales per pecul for their teas; some tea of a higher price is purchased by individuals, but seldom or ever by the Company. A tale is six shillings and eight-pence, and a pecul is one hundred and thirty-three pounds and one third.

[65] The measurement annexed to each of the fifteen ancient provinces was taken from the maps that were constructed by a very laborious and, as far as we had an opportunity of comparing them with the country, a very accurate survey, which employed the Jesuits ten years. I do not pretend to say that the areas, as I have given them in the table, are mathematically correct, but the dimensions were taken with as much care as was deemed necessary for the purpose, from maps drawn on a large scale, of which a very beautiful manuscript copy is now in his Majesty's library at Buckingham-house, made by a Chinese, having all the names written in Chinese and Tartar characters.

[66] One of the streets in the suburbs of Canton is emphatically called Squeeze-gut-alley, which is so narrow that every gentleman in the Company's service does not find it quite convenient to pass.

[67] The great advantage of a potatoe crop, as I before observed, is the certainty of its success. Were a general failure of this root to take place, as sometimes happens to crops of rice, Ireland, in its present state, would experience all the horrors that attend a famine in some of the provinces of China.

[68] In the Canton jargon, second chop Englishmen; and even this distinction the Americans, I understand, have nearly forfeited in the minds of the Chinese.

[69] There are several good manuscript Chinese dictionaries in England; one of which is under publication by Doctor Montucci; who, I understand from good authority, by many years of indefatigable application, had succeeded in writing the characters with great neatness and accuracy; and is well qualified in other respects for the undertaking, in which, it is to be hoped, he may meet with suitable encouragement.

[70] This was written at the close of the year 1803.

[71] The Lord Viscount Melville.