to be a proficient in the art. The books most in esteem in China are those attributed to Confucius. These are the Five King or 'Doctrines ;' the Ta Hio, or 'Grand Science; the Chong Yong, or 'Unchanging Medium; the Yun Lu, or Book of Maxims;' the Hiao King, or Filial Reverence;' the Sias Hio, or School of Children;' and an historical work, called the Chun-Tsieu. There is a gazette published at Pe-king; and the press of China is free, that is, it is not subject to preliminary censorship; but its after responsibility is abundantly severe. As a proof of its freedom, Whang-see-heou a doctor of physic, in 1779, published a book, in which he predicted the death of the reigning emperor, and spoke with some disrespect of Kang-Hi, who had been dead above sixty years. For this outrage he was sentenced to be cut into ten thousand pieces; but the emperor, out of his great clemency, pardoned the prediction regarding himself; and the poor author, for his disrespectful mention of Kang-Hi, was only beheaded.10 The uniform testimony, indeed, of all Europeans who have visited China,

9 The following is a verbal translation of his celebrated Ode on Tea, which has been painted on all the tea-pots of the empire:

"On a slow fire set a tripod, whose colour and texture show its long use; fill it with clear snow water; boil it as long as would be necessary to turn fish white and cray-fish red; throw it upon the delicate leaves of choice tea, in a cup of yooe (a particular sort of porcelain). Let it remain as long as the vapour rises in a cloud, and leaves only a thin mist floating on the surface. At your ease drink this precious liquor, which will chase away the five causes of trouble. We can taste and feel, but not describe, the state of repose produced by a liquor thus prepared."

10 The dangers attending authorship in China are strikingly illustrated by the fate of Whang-see-heou, whose crime is thus set forth in the report of his judges :

"We find," say they, 1st, "That he has presumed to meddle with the great Dictionary of Kang-hi; having made an abridgment of it, in which he has had the audacity to contradict some passages of that excellent and authentic work. 2d, In the preface of his abridgment, we have seen with horror, that he has dared to write the little names (that is, the primitive family names) of Confucius, and even of your Majesty-a temerity, a want of respect, which has made us shudder. 3d, In the genealogy of his family and his poetry, he has asserted that he is descended from the Whang-tee.

"When asked why he had dared to meddle with the great Dictionary of Kang-hi, he replied-That Dictionary is very voluminous and inconvenient. I have made an abridgment which is less cumbersome and expensive.

"Being questioned how he could have the audacity to write, in the preface to this Dictionary, the little names of the emperors of the reigning dynasty, he answered-I know that it is unlawful to pronounce the little names of the emperors. I introduced them into my Dictionary merely that young people might know what those names were, and not to be liable to use them by mistake. I have, however, acknowledged my error, by reprinting my Dictionary, and omitting what was amiss.

"We replied, that the little names of the Emperor and of Confucius were known to the whole empire. He protested that he had long been ignorant of them; and that he had not known them himself till he was thirty years old, when he saw them for the first time in the hall where the literati compose their pieces in order to obtain degrees. "When asked how he dared to assert that he was descended from the Whang-tee, he said, It was a vanity that came into my head; I wanted to make people believe I was somebody."

If there were in these three charges any thing really reprehensible, according to the broad principles of universal morality, it was the fabrication of an illustrious genealogy. This imposture, censurable in any case, might have been designed to make dupes, and perhaps to form a party; but the judges of Whang-see-heou attached less importance to this charge than to the other two. They declared the author guilty of high treason on the first charge, and pronounced this sentence:

"According to the laws of the empire, this crime ought to be rigorously punished. The criminal shall be cut in pieces, his goods confiscated, and his children and relatives above the age of sixteen years put to death. His wives, his concubines, and his children, under sixteen, shall be exiled and given as slaves to some grandee of the empire."

The Sovereign was graciously pleased to mitigate the severity of the sentence, in an edict, to this effect:

As

"I favour Whang-see-heou in regard to the nature of his punishment. He shall not be cut in pieces. and shall only have his head cut off. I forgive his relatives. to his sons, let them be reserved for the great execution in autumn. Let the sentence be executed in its other points-such is my pleasure."

prove that the freedom of the press there is a mere shadow; and such a thing as a bold patriotic writer, who would expose or resist any tyrannical abuse, is in China unknown.

In China learning has its livery: those who have taken the lowest degree wear a blue gown, with a black border round it, and a pewter or silver bird on the top of their cap; those who have taken the second degree are distinguished by a dark-coloured gown with a blue border, and wear a gold or copper-gilt bird in their cap; while the first degree is denoted by a rich and precious girdle.

Arts and Sciences.]

The Chinese are far behind in the sciences; al

though in the manual arts they discover skill and ingenuity.

Astronomy.] In astronomy they pretend to have made some discoveries at a remote period; but such pretensions are false. Observations, it is true, of the heavenly bodies, appear to have been recorded by them at a very early age; but they were followed up by no inferences, and led to no results. Even to this day, they suppose the earth to be a square body, fixed in the centre of a hollow sphere, to the surface of which the stars are attached. An astronomical board has long existed in China; but its sole business is to make a national almanack, and point out the lucky and unlucky days; the prediction of eclipses or other astronomical phenomena having never been attempted by the Chinese. The tables of the time of sun-rise, new and full moon, &c. are always intrusted to a European. Their year is lunar, and consists of 354 days; but an additional month is intercalated in the third, sixth, ninth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth, and nineteenth year of a cycle, containing nineteen. The first month begins with the new moon, after the sun enters Aquarius. The months have 29

and 30 days alternately. The day of 12 hours begins at 11 o'clock at night, according to our reckoning, and each division of it is equal to two hours of solar time. The night is also subdivided into five watches, which vary in length with the season. Each hour, as well as every year, has its peculiar name. Astrology appears to have almost a universal prevalence, a circumstance which fully authorizes us to conclude, that correct notions of astronomy are very uncommon. Instead of labouring to rectify the ideas of the people in this respect, the court, that is, the most learned men of the nation, by acting from the same principles, rather assist in confirming the error. The emperor always avoids engaging in any public business when an eclipse approaches. Hs pretends to humble himself for his faults, and asks of his people such advice as may enable him to amend his conduct. When such is the practice of the most learned in the nation, the minds of the uninformed cannot be supposed to possess true notions.

Architecture.] The architecture of the Chinese is remarkable for its airiness and singularity. Some of their pagodas are from 80 to 160 feet in height, and have as many as nine stories, although the greater number have only two or three stories. Their triumphal arches are numerous, but neither very high nor well-proportioned. Ornamented vaults of various shapes and sizes, and a series of terraces, within the highest of which the corpse is deposited, are some of the expedients they adopt in order to soothe the spirits of the deceased. Their bridges are elegant, and some of them of great magnitude, but few of them solid or durable.

Great Wall. The great wall which separates China from Tartary is the most remarkable architectural monument of China. A large bulwark or pile of stones thrown up on the edge of the Yellow sea, in lat. 40° 2′ 30′′ N. and long. 3° 22′ 6′′ E. of Peking, forms one extremity of this vast work,

from which it proceeds westward, with various curvatures, to lat. 39° 48′ N. and 17° 37′ W. of Peking, thus making 21 degrees of longitude, including, with its windings, a length of about 1,500 miles. It passes through valleys and over mountains, and is carried over streams by means of arches. In some places it is only a simple rampart; in others it has foundations of granite, and is built of brick and mortar. There are gates in it at intervals, strongly fortified and garrisoned. The building of it is said to have been commenced, B.C. 215, to prevent the incursions of the neighbouring barbarians; and it was probably the work of several generations. Its height is various, from 15 to 30 feet high, and its breadth would permit six horsemen to ride abreast of it. It is calculated that the materials of which it is composed would be sufficient to erect all the dwelling-houses in England and Scotland.

Arithmetic.] The Chinese are entirely ignorant of geometry and algebra; but they are ready and rapid in arithmetical calculations, although their results are obtained only by means of a reckoning-table, something like the abacus of the Romans. It consists of a board, about a foot long and half a foot broad, inclosed by a border about an inch and a half deep, and divided into two unequal parts by a transverse partition of the same depth and breadth. On eight or ten wires, crossing this partition, balls are strung, two in the smaller or upper division of the board, five in the larger or lower; each of the first set stands for five, and each of the other for a unit; and by pushing one of the upper balls to the edge of the board as often as five is added to the number found, they can very conveniently keep the tens and units distinct, and calculate with much ease and expedition. Their numerals bear some resemblance to those of the Romans.

Optics.] In optics the Chinese know the use of lenses and manufactured spectacles, and burning glasses of crystal, though they know nothing of the principles of the science.

Chemistry.] Some of the practical parts of chemistry have been common to the Chinese for ages; but in this, as in other sciences, they are mere artists, and never seek to discover the simplest principle of those processes that are known to them.

Medicine.] The medical knowledge of the Chinese is said to be truly despicable. Anatomy must be unknown, since dissection is considered more as the business of a butcher, than of a philosopher. Setting bones, replacing a dislocated joint, bleeding by scarification, or puncturing with a silver needle, and burning tow made of the leaves of wormwood on the part affected, are nearly the sum total of Chinese surgery. Should a surgeon in China open the vein of his patient, and should the patient in a short time afterwards die, whatever might be the cause of his death, the surgeon would be exposed to the danger of losing his own life. Their medicines consist chiefly of herbs, which are said to be administered with very little skill. In midwifery, their knowledge appears to be somewhat greater; but no man is allowed to practise that art. Books of instruction are drawn up for the women, showing the state of pregnant women at various periods, and giving directions for the treatment of a great variety of The vaccine inoculation has lately been introduced by the British. Quacks, who abound in countries where medical knowledge has arrived at considerable perfection, must be more numerous where that kind of knowledge remains imperfect. In China, however, the presumption of the quacks is still greater than in Europe. In the latter, the most valuable of their drugs only cure every disease. In the former, there are specifics

cases.