for the difference of education, he considers that the aptitude of a Hottentot in acquiring and combining ideas, and his powers of imitation, are not less than those of a Chinese.

Ranks.] The people of China may be arranged under seven general classes: the Mandarins or officers of the state, the military, men of learning, priests, husbandmen, merchants, and artisans. The term Mandarin

is a Portuguese word, unknown to the Chinese, but applied by the Jesuit missionaries to those in authority generally. Of Mandarins, the degrees are numerous, both in the civil and military service; but it would be tedious and unprofitable to enter into any detail regarding these, or the different badges by which they are distinguished. Honours are not hereditary in China, with the exception of those held by the descendants of Confucius and Mencius, and those possessed by the Princes of the Blood Royal. There may be said to be no middle class of men in China. If an individual, by trade or industry in his profession, should accumulate riches, he is obliged to enjoy them as much in private as possible, for the commanding officer of the district would find little difficulty in bringing him within the pale of the sumptuary laws, and in laying his property under confisca

tion.

Dress.] The chief part of the Chinese dress, like that of many eastern nations, consists of a long robe which reaches almost to the ground: the sleeves, which at the shoulders are wide, and which become straiter at the wrist, cover almost the whole of the hand. This robe is folded one part over another, and fastened on the right side by several buttons of gold or silver. Over the robe is worn a girdle of silk, of which the ends generally extend to the knees. In a sheath suspended from the girdle, are a knife and a pair of small sticks which are used as forks. Their shirts are short and wide; they are made of different kinds of cloth, though generally of cotton, and are sometimes prevented from adhering to the skin, by a silken net which is worn under them. Their drawers which are wide, are made sometimes of linen, sometimes of cotton; but in winter such as can afford it, have them lined with fur. When the weather is warm, the neck is bare; but when cold, it is covered with a collar, or necklace, made of silk or fur, and fastened to the upper garment. In winter, the people of rank in the north line the whole upper garment with fur. Others must be contented, to preserve appearances, by having fur trimmings. On the long robe, a kind of upper garment is sometimes worn, of which the sleeves are very wide but short. The Chinese are by no means a cleanly people, either in their persons or dress. They seldom change their under garments for the purpose of washing them; never employ the bath, either cold or warm; make no use of soap, and scarcely ever wash their bodies; and even the interior wrappers of the ladies' feet, are allowed to remain as long as they will hold together. They carry no pocket-handkerchiefs; but wipe their dirty hands upon the sleeves of their gowns, and blow their noses into small pieces of paper, which their attendants have at hand for the purpose. They sleep at night, huddled up under a coverlid, nearly in the same clothes which they wear through the day; a circumstance which, together with their general filthiness, is productive of an abundant tribe of vermin, which the highest officers of the empire will not hesitate to call their attendants, even in public, to take from their necks, when they are troublesome; and which, when caught, they very composedly put between their teeth.

Almost the only innovation which the Tartars, when they conquered

China, were able to introduce, was in the wearing of the hair. The Chinese had been accustomed to preserve it with great care; the Tartars obliged them to cut off the greater part of it. They now wear only a lock upon the crown, plaited into a long tail something like the lash of a whip, and extending below the waist sometimes to the calf of the leg. The covering of the head is generally in the form of an inverted cone. The outside is of cane, wrought in a fanciful manner, and the inside is lined with satin. On the top, which terminates in a point, is generally worn a tuft of red hair. This head-dress, though common, is not universal, since the Chinese have hats of many different shapes. Sometimes they are in form like a bell, and sometimes with very broad brims, and a small shallow space for the head. Those of the upper ranks never go abroad without boots, made sometimes of cotton, but more generally of satin, or some other kind of silk, except when they ride, and then they have them made of pliant leather. When at home, they wear slippers of silk. The slippers of the common people are of black cotton cloth. No inhabitant of China reckons himself completely dressed without his fan.

The different ranks in China are distinguished by different ornaments, and different dresses. The royal colour is yellow. The different classes of mandarins are distinguished by knobs, or buttons of different colours, worn in the cap. The cap is white, lined with red. The peculiar ornaments appropriated to different ranks, cannot be assumed by one of a different rank, without subjecting the offender to a severe punishment. White is the colour of mourning in China.

The dress of the women among the lower orders differs little from that of the men. A cotton frock, tawdry coloured trowsers, drawn tight by the calf of the leg, to show off an overgrown ankle, swathed round with party-coloured bandages, and a dwarfish foot, ornamented with embroidery, are the principal articles in the female dress, which are decorated with artificial flowers, &c. according to the taste and circumstances of the wearer. Paints are used universally. The teeth are tinged green and yellow; and the nails, among the higher classes, kept unpared till they often reach a length of 12 inches. Bamboo sheathes are used to preserve them. The desire of appearing agreeable has nowhere forced upon human beings a custom more preposterous, than that adopted by the Chinese ladies, of making their feet as little as possible. A female child is no sooner born, than her feet are tightly wrapped up, so as to prevent them from attaining their natural magnitude. At different periods these bandages are renewed, till, by continued torture, the foot is effectually confined to the fashionable size. The shoe of a full grown lady of quality, is often not more than four inches in length, and less than two in breadth. Instead of walking, she hobbles with an awkward and painful motion, so that a Chinese beauty is what in other countries would be called a cripple.

The laws of China prohibit the dressing of children in silks and furs. The head cannot be covered, till the individual be of a certain age. The assumption of the cap, like that of the toga among the Romans, is accompanied with considerable ceremony. The person is informed that now he has assumed the dress of a man, that he ceases to be a boy, and that he ought, therefore, to distinguish himself by his actions, as well as by the manly habit.

Houses.] The Chinese have not received their rules of architecture from any other nation. Their structures are totally unlike to any thing in Europe. To him who has formed his taste by the orders established in

the Western world, their buildings, no doubt, appear fantastic; but they must be confessed to have a species of beauty peculiar to themselves, and of which it would be difficult to give a precise idea. Such an idea may be most advantageously acquired from representations of Chinese architecture. The buildings of the Chinese, both public and private, are of wood, and when intended for dwelling houses have rarely more than one floor. For both these circumstances the same causes have been assigned. The frequent earthquakes make low houses, built of the lightest materials, the most eligible. The extreme dampness of the climate, joined to the warmth of the southern and the cold of the northern provinces, make houses built of stones at all times inconvenient, and on some occasions uninhabitable. From some buildings still remaining, it appears that houses of many floors were formerly in use, but they have long yielded to the more convenient dwellings of one floor. The houses of the middle and lower classes are generally much crowded. A multitude of small apartments are separated from each other by slight partitions, or by mats. Each of these apartments is inhabited by what, in Europe, would be called a distinct family. The whole building is surrounded by a wall six or seven feet in height, within which dwells a Chinese family, often consisting of three generations, with all their wives and children. If the population in China, therefore, were estimated from the number of houses, the calculation must be made on principles different from those common in Europe. Except in cities, the houses are seldom collected in groups. They are scattered about the country in unconnected situations. They are said to exhibit a neat and cleanly appearance. Each house has a separate apartment, in which the whole inhabitants eat.

Marriages.] In China polygamy is not absolutely forbidden: but decency, good sense, and sometimes poverty, confine by far the greater part to one wife. The desire of issue, particularly of male issue, sometimes prompts him who despairs of having children by his first wife, to take a second, who, when he has attained his wishes, is generally dismissed. But though a man cannot, with propriety, have more han one wife, he is allowed to have several concubines, a privilege, from the abuse of which, the poverty of the generality of the people is a sufficient preventive. Besides the condition of a concubine is so disagreeable, that few are willing to dispose of their daughters for that purpose. They are in complete subjection to the lawful wife. They serve her on all occasions. Their children are accounted hers, and address her alone as their mother. Marriage cannot, in several cases, be legally contracted. If the woman be formerly betrothed, the marriage is void. If the female, who has been represented as being beautiful, appear to be in reality ugly, the contract is not binding. No mandarin can marry the relation of a family belonging to the province which he governs. No marriage can be consummated, while any of the parties are in mourning, or under the pressure of a severe misfortune. Two brothers cannot be married to two sisters, nor can a widower give his son to the daughter of that widow whom he may choose for his own wife. The women are closely confined, not being permitted to converse with any of the male sex, unless some of their nearest relations. He, therefore, who is in quest of a wife, is never permitted to see his mistress. He trusts entirely to the information of a female mediator, who reports the character and the possessions of the intended spouse In Europe, a lover, when employed in the praise of his mistress, is often accused of describing imaginary charms. If ever an unmarried inhabitant of China attempt any

thing like love-poetry, he must be literally guilty of the same fault. When the sum has been settled which the bridegroom is to pay for the bride, every preliminary is supposed to be adjusted. When the fixed day of consummation arrives, the bridegroom places himself at his gate, dressed in his gayest apparel. He there waits the arrival of the bride, who approaches locked up in a close palanquin, of which a faithful domestic carries the key. It is delivered to the impatient bridegroom, who, it may be supposed, with considerable agitation, proceeds to open the door of the palanquin, and to find his hopes and his wishes confirmed or disappointed. If the female answers not the picture which his imagination has been taught to form, and if he be able and willing to pay her parents a sum equal to the price already given for her, he shuts the door and sends her back without ceremony. If he conceives that he has reason to be satisfied with his bargain, he makes the bride descend. To display the gentility of her feet, she totters into his mansion; and the scene is concluded with that festivity, which, on such occasions, is common in all countries. The recluse life of

a Chinese woman does not terminate with her marriage. She is still secluded from the conversation of all but her domestics. The husband who strictly observes the ceremonial law, has in his house, at least, two apartments, the most remote for his wife, the other for himself. She must not quit her apartment without some urgent reason. It is even indecent for the husband too frequently to intrude upon her privacy.

A man may

Divorce is allowed in China for several causes, of which some, in Europe, would be accounted very frivolous. Adultery subjects the party not only to be divorced, but to be put to death. divorce his wife if he appear to have any rational cause to be jealous of her. Mutual dislike, or incompatibility of temper, authorize a man to put away his wife. Even loquacity is, in the book of ceremonies, reckoned an offence sufficient to subject her to that punishment. The prevalence of such a law in Europe would probably silence many a fair orator. If a woman however, has lost her parents or former husband, and has mourned for them three years, she becomes a privileged person, and cannot be divorced for any of these slight causes. The woman who absconds from her husband, if she can be recovered, becomes his slave. The female sex, however, is not without its privileges. If a husband abandons his wife for the space of three years, by laying her case before a mandarin, she may be authorized to take another husband. When the law gives a husband so much power over his wife, nothing is more likely than that, in many instances, it will be abused. The wives, accordingly, are often kept in the greatest subjection; are forced to wait behind their husbands while they eat at table, and to perform all the drudgery of a menial

servant.

Marriage of the Dead.] In the interior province of Shansi, if two friends happen to lose, the one a son and the other a daughter, unburied at the same period of time, which is not unfrequent, since they frequently keep the bodies at home for a year or two, then the parents agree to marry them. They send the usual presents with much ceremony and music; after which the two coffins are placed together, and the wedding dances celebrated before them. These ceremonies performed, they are then laid in the same tomb; and the families are thenceforward considered as related.

Births.] The birth of a son is a season of great rejoicing. As soon as born, he receives his ming, i. e. little or infantine name; but girls enjoy

no such honour, being called simply first, second, third, &c. according to seniority. At the age of twenty, he receives his tsa, or manly name. There is also a common surname borne by every individual of the family. None of the Chinese rules of good-breeding are more precise than those which regulate the use of names. The emperor has various names for various occasions, such as the imperial name, the year name, the posthumous name, &c. The imperial name of the reigning emperor is Tao-kwang, 'the light of reason.' The Chinese cannot be freed from the charge of female infanticide; but travellers have greatly exaggerated the extent of this crime. Early marriages are constantly encouraged by the parents, and almost enforced by religion, so that many engage in the conjugal state without the power or prospect of maintaining a family. When such is the case, the parents sometimes are tempted to expose their female offspring in public places, that they may have a chance for maintenance, by being found by those officers whom government has appointed for this purpose. This cause of the exposure of children exists in Europe, and we may expect, that in China, where the population is so great, and where subsistence is so precarious, it must operate still more powerfully. To this cause of exposing children, another must be added. In several of the provinces of China, the bonzes, or priests, under the influence of a fanatic cruelty, by them called religion, have persuaded their ignorant votaries, that to throw their children into a river, is to perform an acceptable service to the deity of the stream-a superstition not peculiar to the Chinese. The whole number of children, however, found in rivers and upon the highways, have not been exposed alive. Owing to the expensive nature of Chinese funerals, the parents frequently dispose of them in that manner after they are dead, knowing that they will be interred at the public expense.

Education.] In no country is the connexion between parents and children more close, or the subordination of the latter to the former more complete. A father is accountable for many of the crimes of his children, from a supposition that he might have prevented them. A son continues a minor during his father's lifetime. He is liable to all his father's debts, except such as are contracted by gaming. An adopted son is under the same subjection to his nominal father. If we may believe the writers who have given an account of China, the education of youth is an object of particular attention. The Chinese have been said to put in practice that which only to have proposed has subjected several European philosophers to ridicule. In the higher classes, the education of a child commences with the birth. At six, he is taught the most common numbers, and the names of the principal parts of the universe. He is removed from his sisters at seven, and is no longer suffered to enjoy their company. At eight, he commences the study of the rules of politeness a study which in China is not the least laborious. At nine, he is expected to be master of the kalendar, and at ten, he is despatched to a public school, where, till he be thirteen, he is employed in initiating himself in the arts of reading and writing. At thirteen, he commences the study of music, and at this time, in former ages, commenced the repetition of the moral precepts, which were all in verse, a custom of which the sages of the nation now lament the loss. At fifteen, the youth commences the practice of the manly exercises. He mounts on horseback, and acquires dexterity in the use of the bow and arrow. At twenty, he receives the cap of manhood, is allowed to change his cotton garments for others