which insure immortality, that is to say, an endless life upon earth. That such medicines should be fabricated is in itself sufficiently remarkable: but when we are informed, that, by some of the learned, the assertion has actually been believed, we can scarcely avoid inferring, that they have learned to very little purpose.

Music.] The Chinese know nothing of the scientific part of music, although music forms a part of all their public and religious ceremonies. They have a method of noting their gamut of five tones and two semitones, but they know nothing of key, time, or expression. They do not arrange their bands to play in parts, or to form any harmony from the union of different melodies. Their music has, therefore, been said to be entirely original, or the wreck of a style more ancient than any at present known. Noise and rapidity are the great criterions of excellence among them. Dried skin, stone, metal, baked earth, silk, wood, the bamboo, and the gourd, are the eight bodies formed, they say, by nature, to give eight distinct sounds, whence their musical instruments are divided into eight classes. 1. Drums, commonly covered with buffalo-hides, and sometimes 40 feet in circumference. 2. The king, a row of square siliceous stones strung on a reed by one angle, and struck with a stick. 3. Bells, cymbals, and gongs, made of tin, copper, and bismuth. 4. The Hiuen, a hollow egg of baked earth, with six holes to produce notes, and one for the blower. 5. Shi and kin, each of them a kind of lyre. The first is nine feet long, and often has 25 strings; the other is five feet long, and has seven strings of silk, played upon by the finger, or a small stick. A two-stringed fiddle, and different sorts of guitars, rank in this class. 6. Chú, yú, and chúng-tú; the first is a hollow bushel, struck in the inside with a hammer; the second, shaped like a tiger, emits a sound when scraped on the back with a rod; the third is a bundle of 12 pieces of wood, against which they beat time. 7. Flutes and clarionets, some of them very discordant, and others monotonous. 8. The sheng or sing, the lower part of a gourd, in which a row of pipes is fixed, with a curved and lateral one on which the performer blows. This is one of the most agreeable of the Chinese in

struments.

CHAP. V.-GOVERNMENT-LAWS-REVENUE-ARMY AND

NAVY.

THE form of Government among the Chinese is patriarchal. The emperor possesses the most unlimited power over all beneath him; he claims the title of the Father of his People, and a spirit of filial reverence for him is universally inculcated as one of the first duties and most sacred principles that can be cherished by the children of the Celestial Empire.

Emperor's Council.] The government is composed of the emperor's council, and of the great public tribunals. The emperor's council is composed of the ministers of state taken from the Colao, or first order of mandarins, of the presidents of the supreme tribunals, of their assessors and secretaries: but is never assembled unless upon affairs of the greatest importance; and, in general cases, every thing is directed by what is called the inner court, or private council of the emperor.

Public Tribunals.] There are six superior tribunals at Pekin, viz: the tribunal of Ranks and Dignities; the tribunal of Revenue; the tribunal of Forms and Ceremonies; the tribunal of Penal Law; the tribunal of Public Works; and the Military Tribunal. Each of these six supreme tribunals

has two presidents, one of whom must be a Tartar by birth; and 24 counsellors or assessors, one half of whom are Tartars, and the other half Chinese. In order to check these various tribunals, it is enacted that none of them shall have absolute authority, even in its own department, and its decisions can have no effect, without the concurrence of the other courts.

There is also a very important tribunal, called Too-tche-yuen, or tribunal of public censors, who have the inspection of the whole nation, of the emperor himself, of the supreme tribunals, of the different orders of mandarins, and of every class of citizens. Along with the chiefs of the several tribunals, they have the privilege of addressing remonstrances to the emperor himself; but it would be a capital offence in any of them to fail in showing due respect to the person of the sovereign. This tribunal sends an inspector general, called Ko-tao, to each of the six supreme tribunals, who takes no part in the deliberations of these courts, but merely observes all that passes; and, without even communicating with his colleagues, renders an account in secret to the emperor of all that he has noticed. The same tribunal likewise sends visitors, every three years, to each of the provinces; and these officers, as soon as they reach their respective destinations, are superior to the governors and mandarins, whose administrations they inspect, but whose oppressions they seldom denounce, unless when they are very flagrant and extensive. They despatch even secret visitors through all the provinces; and their inquiries are dreaded by all classes in the state.

While it is by means of the viceroys and mandarins that the emperor governs and reigns, it is by means of these different tribunals, that he knows and sees, as it were, every thing that is transacted throughout his immense empire. As the grandees and mandarins, in their different stations, have a right to a part of that reverence which is due to the sovereign from whom they derive their authority; he is careful, both for his own safety and the welfare of his subjects, that these officers be prevented from abusing their power, or acquiring too much influence over the people. He, therefore, changes them regularly every three years; obliges them to present themselves before him, both when they depart for their respective stations, and when they return; and, in order to retain a stronger hold upon their allegiance, causes their children to be educated in the imperial college of Pekin. An ancient custom of the empire also requires that they shall become their own accusers, and make confession of their faults; but as it may well be supposed, that they would be inclined to palliate and conceal whatever affected their character, in order that the emperor may know the truth, he despatches the secret inspectors from the tribunal of censors; and according to the information received from them, after personal inquiry in the district of the mandarins under examination, the emperor punishes or rewards; and, that these proceedings may have their full effect for the restraint or encouragement of others, the names of those who have been censured or approved, cashiered or promoted, are inserted in the court gazette. This absolute sovereign, in short, always vigilant, distrustful, and severe, looks into every quarter; exalts or degrades his grandees in succession; and it is upon the instability of offices, and the desire of obtaining them, that he rests his own security and that of his dominions. The policy of the Chinese emperor is to make every thing depend upon himself; to change the persons, who are in office, at his pleasure; to keep up a constant mutual jealousy among the mandarins; to take care, that no one becomes too wealthy and powerful; and to be continual

ly dividing anew the immense riches and authority, of which he has the entire disposal.

Corruption and oppression.] This plan, however, of governing the people as a family, which is the precept of Confucius, is more beautiful in theory, than practicable in reality; and, as the sovereign is unable to see every thing with his own eye, all his superintendance and vigilance are rendered unavailing, by the want of integrity in his deputies. These imperial commissaries, whose function is so formidable, who possess the authority of the emperor, who examine the conduct of the great officers, and who have the power of accusing and deposing in their hands, seldom execute their orders with due fidelity. As soon as they arrive in a province, all the mandarins hasten to wait upon them, to anticipate their wishes, and to beg their acceptance of presents. All the mandarins, intrusted with any commission from the court, are nominated by the ministry; and, as soon as their term in office is expired, they make presents to the ministers, the princes of the blood, the presidents and assessors of the tribunals, and then sit down with the rest of their gains, in full security of no inquiry being made into their administration. All complaints must pass through the principal officers, before they can reach the emperor; and these persons are all so united in interest, that no remonstrance reaches the throne without their full consent. This love of presents has always prevailed in China among the mandarins; and all the attempts of the emperors to check the practice have proved ineffectual.

Thus, with the greatest possible show of paternal regard for the good of the people, they are miserably neglected in the points most essential to their welfare; and in the times of famine, while the gazettes are full of the emperor's expressions of sympathy for his children, and of the measures adopted for the relief of the distressed districts, so many delays are practised, that the calamity is generally at an end before the imperial succour arrives. Sometimes these seasons of scarcity give rise to violent commotions, to robbery, murder, and even, it is said, to cannibalism. Then, indeed, the severity of the government is displayed, and the supreme authorities coldly calculate the necessity of putting to death a certain number of individuals, in order to restore tranquillity. "The Chinese, in short," observes the same intelligent writer, (M. De Guignes,) to whom we have already referred, "are treated in a most rigorous manner; and if they do not always complain, it is because they would gain little by doing so."—" I have lived a long time," he adds, " in China. I have traversed that vast empire in all its extent. I have every where seen the strong oppress the weak, and every man, who possessed any portion of authority, employ it to harass, to burden, to crush the people."

Causes of its permanency.] Such is the mode, in which this government, which has been so highly extolled, and whose stability has been held up as a proof of its perfection, is found to be generally administered; and how, then, are we to account for its duration and tranquillity? It is still a matter of doubt, and sufficiently open to dispute, whether the peace and permanency of the Chinese government is to be attributed to its having been originally adapted to the genius and habits of the people, or to its having completely subdued and moulded their dispositions and manners to its views and maxims.

The basis of the whole system is, the natural and unlimited authority, which a parent is understood to possess over his offspring, as long as they live; a maxim which has been industriously inculcated for ages upon the

natives of China, and which is now completely interwoven with all their earliest feelings and principles. The emperor is regarded as the common father of his people, and is accordingly invested with all that absolute dominion which a parent is considered, in that country, as necessarily possessing over his family. He is not only placed above all earthly control, but is supposed also to be of more than mortal descent. Hence he not

merely takes the title of "the Great Father," but likewise styles himself "the Son of Heaven," and "the sole Ruler of the World." He himself, too, gives the example of that submissive respect, which, as the general parent, he claims from his subjects; and, at the commencement of every new year, he prostrates himself in the presence of the empress-dowager, before he receives the prostrations of his officers and attendants. The same principle pervades all the branches of authority; and the governor of a province, a city, or any other department, is considered as the father of all who are under his immediate jurisdiction. In practice, however, as has been shown, this plausible theory is sadly defective; and the parental affection and care of the governor has rather the appearance of cruelty and oppression; while the filial duty of the governed is little better than fear, deceit, and disaffection. The very conduct of the monarch gives sufficient proof, that it is an artificial policy, rather than an arrangement of nature, by which he rules; for, in direct opposition to that confidence and delight, with which a father should appear in the midst of his family, it is the first and great maxim of state, that he should show himself as rarely as possible to his people in public, and then only, when he is invested with the utmost degree of magnificence and splendour.

The following causes have also been assigned, as perhaps contributing their share of influence to the support of the constitution. 1. The low state of civilization among the Chinese, which prevents their acquisition of enlarged views of political freedom: 2. The natural barriers of the country excluding foreign enemies, and the extreme caution of the government in admitting strangers into the empire: 3. The difficulty of making progress in the language, which keeps the body of the people in ignorance: 4. The complete religious toleration which is exercised, (with only one exception, that of Christianity,) neither prohibiting the people from embracing any sect that they choose, nor compelling them to contribute to the support of one which they dislike: and, 5. The means which are employed to inculcate sober habits, and to render individuals reserved, formal, suspicious, and unsocial, which prevent all haranguing and caballing, all conferences about political right or wrong, and all plans of opposition to the will of the government.

Chinese Court.] The following description (by Lord Macartney) of the festival on the anniversary of the emperor's birth-day, will convey to our readers a better idea of the splendour and ceremonies of the Chinese court, than any abridged view that we could attempt to give. "The 17th of September, being the emperor's birth-day, we set out for the court at three o'clock in the morning.-We reposed ourselves about two hours in a large saloon, at the entrance of the palace inclosure, where fruit, tea, warm milk, and other refreshments, were brought to us. At last, notice was given, that the festival was going to begin; and we immediately descended into the garden, where we found all the great men and mandarins in their robes of state, drawn up before the imperial pavilion. The emperor did not show himself, but remained concealed behind a screen, from whence, I presume, he could see and enjoy the ceremonies, without incon

venience or interruption. All eyes were turned to the place where his majesty was imagined to be enthroned, and seemed to express an impatience to begin the devotions of the day. Slow solemn music, muffled drums, and deep toned bells were heard at a distance. On a sudden the sounds ceased, and all was still. Again they were renewed, and then intermitted, with short pauses; during which, several persons passed backwards and forwards in the proscenium, or foreground of the tent, as if engaged in preparing some grand coup de theatre. At length the great band, both vocal and instrumental, struck up with all their powers of harmony; and instantly the whole court fell flat upon their faces before this invisible Nebuchadnezzar.—The music might be considered as a sort of birth-day ode, or state anthem, the burthen of which was, 'Bow down your heads, all ye dwellers upon the earth; bow down your heads before the great Kien-long, the great Kien-long.' And then all the dwellers upon China earth there present, except ourselves, bowed down their heads, and prostrated themselves upon the ground, at every renewal of the chorus. Indeed, in no religion, either ancient or modern, has the divinity ever been addressed, I believe, with stronger exterior marks of worship and adoration, than were this morning paid to the phantom of his Chinese majesty. Such is the mode of celebrating the emperor's anniversary festival, according to the court ritual. We saw nothing of him the whole day, nor did any of his ministers, I imagine, approach him; for they all seemed to retire at the same moment that we did."

The only companions of the emperor, in his leisure hours, are his women and eunuchs. His wives are distributed into three classes. The first class consists only of one, who has the rank of empress; the second, of two queens, and their attendants; and the third, of six queens, with their train. To these are added a hundred ladies, usually called the emperor's concubines, but forming an equally legal part of his establishment; and men of the first rank account themselves highly honoured, when their daughters are admitted into this number. Their children are all considered as branches of the imperial family; but the male issue of the first empress is generally regarded as the heir apparent to the throne, though this depends upon the will of the emperor, who has the sole right of nominating his successor, and of choosing him out of any class or family in the empire. The daughters of the sovereign are generally given in marriage to Tartar princes and officers, and rarely to a Chinese husband. The emperor's women are doomed to reside for ever within the walls of the palace; and, after his death, they are immured for life in a separate building, called the palace of chastity.

Law.] The laws of China may be arranged under the following heads, viz. the different kinds and degrees of punishment authorized by them; the principal provisions which they make in some of the most important cases; and the mode of their administration in the apprehension and trial of delinquents.

The punishments in common use are, 1. The bastonade, which is inflicted by the pantse or bamboo. This instrument consists of a lath of bamboo, about five or six feet in length, and four inches in breadth at the end which is applied to the culprit. "It is generally applied in a severe and cruel way, and it is seldom that a delinquent survives after receiving fifty blows. This instrument is in constant application, and is inflicted for the smallest offence. The more ordinary chastisements are not attended with disgrace, and are considered merely as a slight paternal correction.