0|arn$U Untoetaitg ffiihratg CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 Cornell University Library DS 706.G65 The history of all nations :the portion 3 1924 007 025 970 XI Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924007025970 HE HISTORY OF ALL NATIONS by S. G. GOODRICH The portion relating to China and the Chinese hrnken and bound herewith THE CHARLES W. WA50N COLLECTION CLEVSIAND: 1919 Wl7^4 CONTENTS Tartary . , . .376 The Mogul Entire '. 415 Thibet .... 428 China .... 436 Corea .... 48.5 A HISTORY OF ALL NATIONS, PROM THE EARLIEST PERIODS TO THE PRESENT TIME; OB, UNIVERSAL HISTORY: IN WHICH THE HISTOEY OF EVERY NATION, ANCIENT AND MODERN, IS SEPARATELY GIVEN. KLTTSmATED BT 70 STTLOGBAPHIG MAPS, AND 700 EXGIIAVING& BY S. G. GOODRICH, AUTHOR OF THE "PICTOEIAL GBOGEAPHY OF THE WOELD," "PAELEY'S CABINET LIBEAEY" "PAELEY'S TALES," &o. &o. AUBUEN: PUBLISHED BY DERBY AND MILLER. CINCINNATI: H. "W. DEEBY & CO. , 1852. ^ , , - STEKEOTYPED AT THE BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. KSAPP & PECK, PErSIEBS, ATTBUKir. I Y 1 lanBV'lKiU %'« /«« 1^ I 1 "^ ,' CONTENTS. |Partl)ia. Chap. J.05. Rise of the Parthian Empire — The Arsaoidae — Invasion of Crassus 370 Chap. 196> Defeat of Crassus — Parthian Conquests, 371 Chap. 197. Decline and Fall of the Parthian Empire — Government — Military Strength, &c^ 373 Chap. 198. Hxrcania — SoaDiAit.?^BACTEiANA, &c. — Historical and Descriptive Sketches — Soy thia — Sarmatia — Serica 374 Chap. 199. Preliminary View of Tartabt in Genebal. — Divisions — Trihes — Historical Topics, 376 Chap. 300. Independent Taetaby. — Physical Geog- raphy — The Kirghis and Cossaclts — Kokan — Khiva — The Turcomans — Bokhara — The Uzbecks— Balkh — Koondooz 377 Chap. 301. Early Traditions of Independent Tartary — Scythians — Manners — Massagetse — Cyrus, &q., 380 Chap. 303. Chinese Tabtaky, — Divisions and Physical Geography — Cities — Soongaiia — Cashgar — Kalmucks — Mongolia — Kalkas — Manchoos, 382 Chap. 303. The Alano-Gothio or Blond Races. — The Oosun — Cashgar — Goths — Ancient Kirghis — Alans . — Indo-Germans of Central Asia — Khotan, 386 Chap. 304. The Hunnic and Finnic Races 390 Chap. 305. The Tungouse Race — Y-liu — Moo-ky — KU- tans — Ju-tchin, Kin, or Altoun Khan — Chy-goei, 391 Chap. 306. The Ancient Turkish Race, or Hioongnoo, . . . 393 Chap. 307. The Turkish Race, continued — The Thoukhiu, or Toorks — The Hoei he, or Ouigoors, 396 Chap. 308. The Mongol and Tartar Race and Empires, . . . 398 Chap. 309. The Sons of Zingis — Octal, his Successor — Baton's Conquests and Kingdom of Kipzak — Anecdotes of further Conquests in China — Yelu, the good Minister — Kayuk — Mangou — Kublai, 402 Chap. 310. Mongol Chinese Emperors — Manchoo Tartar Emperors — Grand Hunting Expedition — Kipzak Empire — Zagatai Empire — Mongol Persian Empire, ., 404 Chap. 311. Tamerlane — His Birth, Childhood, Education, and Early Exploits, 407 Chap. 313. Tamerlane's Conquests, Government, Death,.. 408 Chap. 313. General Views of Tartary, 412 ©he jHofltil (gmpiri^, Chap. 314. The Mogul Empire — Baber — Humaioon — Shore — Selim — Death of Humaioon, 415 Chap. 315. Acbar — Byram — The Ayeen Acberry — Je- hanghire — Noor Mahl — Shah Jehan — Aurungzebe, 418 Chap. 316. Aurungzebe — Acbar II. — Aulum — The Sikhs — Jehander — Nadir — Aulum II. — The Mahrattas — Gholam Khadur — Scindia 422 Chap. 317. General Views — Military Affairs — Divisions — Cities — Education — The Household and Domestic Hab- its of the Grand Mogul — The Seraglio — The Painting Gallery — Public Fights of Animals — Machines — Pen- sions — Festivals — Marriages — Hunting and Hawking — Fairs — Weighing the King, 425 Chap. 318. Geographical Survey — Divisions — Character — Country, &c., 428 Chap. 219. History of Thibet— Early Thibetans— "Wars — Empire — Conquest by China, ; 429 Chap. 230. Religion — Buddhism, Lamaism, Shamanism, or the Religion of Fo — Its History and Doctrines 432 Chap. 321. Introduction — Geographical Sketch 436 Chap. 333. Preliminary Remarks on China— "The Fabu- lous Period of Chinese History — The Three Emperors — The Five Emperors, 43C Chap. 333. The Hea and Tang Dynasties, 44C Chap. 334. The Dynasties of Tcheou, Tsin, Han, Heou Han, Tein-ou-ti, and Song — Confucius, 441 Chap. 335. The Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Dynasties 444 Chap. 336. Incursions of the Tartars, and other Incidents, 445 Chap. 327. The Tartar Sway and Present Dynasty 448 Chap. 228. The Present Dynasty, continued — Recent History 449 Chap. 229. The War continued — Peace 452 Chap. 230. General Views — Introduction of Christianity into China 454 Chap. 331. General Views, continued — Opium Trade,.... 457 Chap. 333. Extent of the Empire — Divisions and Chief Cities — Government, 459 Chap. 333. Chinese Language 462 Chap. 234. Chinese Literature, 464 Chap. 235. Arts and Inventions — Great Wall — Canal,... 468 Chap. 236. Religion — Its Rites and Ceremonies — Joss- houses, Idols, &c., 471 Chap. 237. Character of the Chinese — Their Institutions, 474 lapan. Chap. 338. Geographical View — Early Annals — Yoritomo — Taiko — Gongin, 477 Chap. 339. Tsouna — Conspiracy — Tsounayosi assassinat- ed — Yosimoone — Intercourse with Foreigners — General Views, 479 Chap. 340. General Description — Historical Sketch, 485 ;3lfgl)amBtan. Idoocljiatan. ■ Snita, or ^inbostan. Chap. 346. Geographical Description,.... Chap. 347. Early History of Hindostan— Extravagant Chronology of the Hindoos — Character of their Early Tra- ditions and Records...... Chap. 348. Northern Origin of the Hindoos — The Brah- mins — The Maha-Rajah Dynasty — Reign of Feros-ra — Sinkol — Conquest of India by Bacchus — Rama's Monkey Army — Conquests of Sesostris — Expedition of Scylax — Conquests of Darius Hystaspes, >.. . Chap. 349. Invasion of India by Alexander of Macedon — Capture of Massaga and Aomos — Defeat of Poms — Re- treat of Alexander — Beign of Sandracottus — The King- dom of Magadha — Embassy of Damaichus, Chap. 241. Origin of the Afghans — The Persian and Hin- i doo Dominion, 487 ' Chap. 343. Afghan Independence — The British Invasion, 488 j Chap. 243. Government — Inhabitants — Cities — Reli- gion, &c., of Afghanistan ., 489 [ Chap. 344. Agriculture, Trade, Literature, Manners, Dress, . Amusements, &c., of the Afghans 491 Qhap. 345. Ancient Gedrosia — The Modem Belooches,.. 492 497 498 500;: 8 CONTENTS. Chap. !i50« Beign of Yicriuna^tya — Embassy of Forus to Augustv^ — Strabo's Account of Musican — The Temple of Taxila — Usurpations of the Brahmin — Bise of Buddhism — The Kingdom of Kinoge — Maldeo^ — Expulsion of the Buddhists 502 Chap. 251. Modem History of Hindostan ^ Mahmood of Ghismi— The Gaurs— ThePatans— The Seids— Zingis Khan — Timour. — Baber — A6bar, 504 Chap. 253. Jehanghire — Aurungzebe — Splendor of the Mogul Empire — The Old "Woriian's War — Shah AUum — Mahomed Shah — Invasion of Nadir Shah — Decline of the Mogul Empire 506 Chap. 253. The Pobtuqtjese ik India. — Discoveries ot Vascode Gamarr^Conquests of Alboquerque-T— Foundation of Goa — Conquest of Malacca — Splendor otOrmuz — De- cline of the Portuguese Empire in India 509 Chap. 254. The Dutch in India. — Heemskerk's Voyage — Settlement of the Moluccas, Java, Ceylon — Decline of the Dutch Empire in India. The Sfaniakds in India. — Dispute respecting the Moluccas — The Pope's Division of the new Discoveries — The Philippines — Manilla. The Danes in India. — Tranquebar — Serampore 510 Chap. 255. The British in India. — Description of Ben- gal — The English East India Company — Catastrophe of the Black Hole — Exploits of Clive — Grants of the Mogul, 512 Chap. 256. Administration of Warren Hastings — Tlie Bohillas — Confusion of Political Affairs in India — Im- peachment and Trial of Hastings 513 Chap. 257. Settlement of Madras — Bise of Hyder Ali — Devastation of the Camatic — Death of Hyder — Beign and i Overthrow of Tippoo Saib — Origin and Conquests of the Mahrattas — Their Subjection by the British — Modification of the Charter of the East India Company — Conquest of Scinde, 515 Chap. 258. Origin of the Sikhs — Beformation of Hindoo- ism preached by Nanak— The Gooroos — Persecution of the Sikhs by the Mahometans — Gooroo Goriad — Bevolu- tion in Northern India — Fluctuations in the Fortunes of the Sikhs — Establishment of the Afghan Dominions — Supremacy of the Sikhs in the Punjaub — Tlie Sikh Con- stitution — BeighofEunjeet Singh r- War with the British — Battles of Chillianwallah and Goojerat — Annexation of the Punjaub to the British Dominions, 518 Chap. 259. Description and History of Cashmere — Ne- paul — Subjection of the Hindoos — Character of the Brit- ish Conquests — Submissive temper of the Hindoos — Gov- ernment of British India — ^Ancient Government of the Moguls — Their Military System...... '... 520 Chap. 260. Population — Cities and Towns in India — Calcutta-^ Delhi — Surat — Lahore — TJmritsir — Poonah — Bombay — Madras,. 522 Chap. 261. Beligion of the Hindoos — Brahma — The Avatars — Extravagance of the Hindoo Mythology — In- ferior Deities — Beligious Ceremonies ^Festivals — Jug- gernaut — Devotees — Fakirs — The Metempsychosis 524 Chap. 262. Education, Marriage'Si; Agriculture, Manufac- tures, and Ship-Building of the Hindoos, . . . i • 527 tJHAP. 263. Commerce, Architecture, Painting, Music, &c., of the Hindoos, 629 Chap. 264. Language, Literature, &o., of the Hindoos,... 631 Chap. 265. Food, Dress, Travelling, Manners, Customs, and Character of the Hindoos, : ••• 532 Chap. 266. Description of Geyloni — Settlement of the Portuguese in the Island— The Dutch — The British — Description of the Cingalese — Cities, &c., of Ceylon, 538 Jartljcr Iniia. Chap. 267. Description of Farther India. — Bukmah. — Early History of the Burmese — Wars with the Peguans — Bise of Alompra ■ — Independence of Burmah established — Death of Alompra — Beign of Shenbu - Yen, 640 Chap. 268. Wars with the Siamese — Beign of Mendera- gyee — Nun-Sun — War with the British — Present State of Burmah, .• 641 Chap. 269. Population, Military Strength, Cities, Govern- ment, Laws, &c., of Burmah, . I.. * 543 Chap. 270. Manufactures, Commerce, Agriculture, Archi- tecture, Amnsements, Education; Language, Literature; Food, Dress, Manners, Customs, and Classes of the Bur- mese, : •• 645 Chap. 271. Siam. — Origin of the Siamese — Warswiththe Burmese and Peguans — Administration of Constantino Phaloon — Establishment of the Present Dynasty— Popu- lation, &o., of the Kingdom,; 648 Chap. 272. Peou. — The Pegnan Kings— The War of the Idol — Adventures of the Portuguese Pereyra^ Subjuga- tion of Pegu by the Burmese, 550 Chap. 273. Cochin China, on Anam — ToNauiN — Cam- bodia—Laos, 551 Chap. 374. Malacca. — Origin of the Malays — Tradition at Celebes — Emigration of the Malays from Sumatra — Character of the Nation — City of Malacca, 663 2lsiatic JUnseia: Sibma. Chap. 375. Extent — Siberia — Physical Aspect — Native Tribes — Bussian Divisions — People — Commerce — His- tory, 556 Chap. 276. General View op Asia. — Origin of Lan- guage — Government — Arts, Science, Beligion — Past Condition of Asia — Its future Prospects, 660 BACTEIANA. 375 Sogdiana, or Transoxiana, became a part of the Greek state of Bactria, when the rest of that kingdom submitted to Parthia, 143 B. C. Sogdiana being occupied by the Yuetchi, from the borders of China, and allies of it, became the nucleus of that Indo-Scythi- an kingdom, which was enlarged till, in A. D. 232, it stretched from the Caspian nearly to the Ganges. In 425, it was an important part Hi the Yeta or Getse empire. In 565, it formed a part of the vast Turk- ish empire. In 632, under the Arabic name of Ma- warannahar, " between rivers," and the Chinese name Yang, it became the most western kingdoip dependent on China, a part of the empire of the Shang dynasty. In 865, we find Sogdiana a part of the immense em- pire of the Abbasside khalifs ; then of the Samanides, in 912 ; in 1000, of the Hoei hoo, or Ouigoors ; in 1125, of the Kara Kitai ; in 1226, of the Mongols ; m 1368, of the Zagatai empire ; In 1404, the seat of the capital of Tamerlane ; in 1479, the kingdom of Mawaranna- har ; in 1725, divided between the khanat of Bokhara, and the kingdom of Kharism ; at present divided batween the khans of Bokhara, Khiva, and the Kirghis. Such is a specimen of the changes which the states of Independent Tartary have undergone. It would be futile and tedious to follow out the details. A notice of the capital, Samarcand, is given in the history of Tamerlane. Parthia forms the subject of another chap- ter. Khiva, Tashkent, the Kirghis, &c., are noticed in the geographical introduction to Tartary. We need only further remark, that in the middle ages, Sogdiana became famous, under the Arabic name of Sogd, for its great fertility and cultivation. The territory around Samarcand, the capital, in par- ticular, the Arabian geographers describe as a terres- trial paradise. The rich valley of Sogd presented so great an abundance of exquisite grapes, melons, pears, and apples, that they were exported to Persia, and even to Hindostan. Bactkiana, now forming that part of Independent Tartary called Koondooz, was one of the richest satra- pies of the Persian empire of Darius Hystaspes ; it was on the great highway between Russia, Tartary, and China on one side — India, Persia, and Western Asia on the other. At the remotest period, this centre of the com- merce of the continent is said to have been illumined by a mild civilization. The Orientals call its capital (Bactra, Zariaspe, Balkh) the " mother of cities," and consider it the most ancient on earth. Near the only pass through the formidable Hindoo Koosh Mountains, which divide Central from Southern Asia, this site, or one in its neighborhood, must ever be the location of a great emporium of trade. In 254 B. C, Bactriana broke away from the Seleucide empire, and, under Theodotus I., became the nucleus of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. This state was ruled by Greeks, with whom the wise foresight of Alexander colonized it, settling them in the cities which he built here to secure the trade of the northern and eastern Oriental world. History has left us very little infor- mation concerning this once powerful kingdom ; and it is only by the help of a few coins, laboriously com- pared with some scant and scattered notices in Oriental literature, that we can form an idea of it. At its great- est extent, — say in 210 B.C., — we find it bounded on the south-east by the most easterly of the five rivers that form the Indus ; on the east by Mount Imaus, separating it from Khotan ; north by the Jaxartes and Aral ; west by Parthia, then a small kingdom on the south-east corner of the Caspian ; south and south-east by a curved line from the corner of this kingdom to the junction of the five rivers to form the Indus, sep- arating it from the Seleucide empire. The annals of Bactriana are briefly these : Theod- otus I., who ruled also over Sogdiana, shook off the sway of Antiochus II. in 254 B. C. In 243, hia son and successor, Theodotus II., made -a treaty of peace and alliance with the Parthian king Arsaces II. ; but lost his throne to Euthydemug of Magnesia, in 221. Antiochus the Great attacked this prince after the Par- thian war was ended ; but made peace with him, on the Bactrian king's reducing his military establishment by giving up his elephants. A marriage, too, between his son Demetrius and the daughter of Antiochus was agreed upon. Demetrius was king of a part of India, but it is not certain if of Bactria also. Menander suc- ceeded him, and extended his conquests to Serica ; but over these territories his sway was transient. Eucratidas succeeded in 181 ; under him, Bactria is said to have acquired its greatest extent. He was, however, murdered by one of his sons, probably Eucra- tidas : this person, having obtained the throne, instigated Demetrius II., king of Syria, to attack, in conjunction with himself, the Parthian kingdom, under Arsaces VI. But Arsaces resisted victoriously, and obtained the chief part of the Bactrian territory. The nations of Middle Asia now overran the northern part, Sogdiana, as al- ready noticed in the account of that satrapy. Upon this the Bactrian kingdom became, as such, extinct ; and Bactria itself, with the other countries on this side the Oxus, became a part of the Parthian empire. Of that division of Bactriana north of the Oxus, we have already given the history, under the head of Sogdi- ana. The part immediately south of the Oxus formed a portion successively of the Indo-Scythian, Sassa- nide, Ommiade, and Abbasside empires. In A. D. 865, the west part formed part of a kingdom of Tha- herians, while the east belonged to the Abbassides. In 912, it was all included, together with Sogdiana, under the Sassanide empire, which extended from the Caspian to the Indus, and from the Persian Gulf to the Jeixartes. In 1000, we find Bactriana a part of the Ghaznevide kingdom, which, in 1125, had surrendered a portion of it to the Kara kitai, and another to the Seljukian empire. It was then all swallowed up in the empire of Zingis, and on the dissolution of that, fell to the Persian-Mongol empire, and after some other changes, to the empire of Tamerlane. Since then, it has passed to the khans of Khorasan, and then a part to the kings of Persia, and part to the Afghan kingdom. These two powers seem now to share an influence over it ; though it may be deemed independ- ent, under its own khans and the Turcoman vagabonds. The countries whose history we have just given, be- longed to what was anciently called Scythia, and now bears the name of Tartary. Scythia, indeed, included all the northern portions of Asia and Europe, until the name of Sarmatia was given to the European division. The country called Serica was on the remote bor- ders of Scythia, and is supposed to have been some part of China. It was the country which first produced silk ; and its capital. Sera, seems to have been the western capital of China — Si ngan foo, or near it. The silk trade with Serica was very active at an early date. Having given these general notices of what belongs to the ancient history of Tartary, we proceed to the general history of that country. 376 GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF TARTARY. People of Western Tartary — Kirghl: CHAPTER CXCIX. Preliminary View of Tabtart in General — Divisions — Tribes — Historical Topics. Tartaky,* known to the ancients under the name of Scythia, and the original seat of the Huns, the Turks, the Mongols, and many other tribes, includes about a third of Asia, embracing the vast region between Persia, Thibet, China, and Corea, on the south, and Siberia on the north. Most of this region is very elevated, and possesses, therefore, a clear, cold climate, severe in the northern and extreme eastern parts, while in the south-west is found one of the finest climates on the face of the earth. No portion of this wide and varied expanse of country seems to have the exuberant rank- ness of fertility which much of our western lands may boast ; though the extreme east, upon a still virgin soil, exhibits a wild luxuriance of shrub and forest, well worthy of a denser and more civilized population. The soil, in fact, varies from rich river bottoms and plains — which shoot up grass taller than a man, where there is moisture — tothe broad fields of ice and snow, or the numerous ridges of lofty mountains, and the shifting sands and bare rocks of extensive deserts, which have never been, and will never be, shaded with a single green leaf. Next to the long and lofty mountain ranges which bound it on the north and south, and divide it into eastand west in unequal portions, or intersect longitudinally its larger eastern mass, Tartary is characterized by broad ahd high table lands. These stretch — an ocean of ver- dure — generally from east to west, and have given to the majority of the inhabitants that pastoral and wandering * Independent Tartaky is oecupied by a great number of Tartar tribes, forming seve^l independent states. The usual divisions are as foUows : Turcomania, or the country of the Turcomans, in the south-west ; Turkistan proper, in the east ; Vsbekistan, in the south. Branches of these tribes are, however, scattered about in different parts of the country. The chief states are the khanats of Great Bucharia, Khiva, and Kokan ; the-«maUer states are Kissar, Balkh, &c. Chinese Taetaky is divided into ilanchooria, in the east j Mongolia, near the middle ; Soongaria, Little Bucharia, and Little Thibet, in the west ; Thibet being at the south-west. This vast region lies nearly in the latitude of oui Middle States and New England. People of Eastern Tartaiy — Mongols and Kalmucks. character which they have ever borne. Most of them, indeed, as the earliest historical notices describe them, still wander, during winter, over these plains, which are then watered by streams and springs. In summer, they are obliged to retire into the valleys of the moun- tains, where they can enjoy a pure, fresh atmosphere, and where the grass is not dried up by the burning winds of the steppes, as the illimitable plains are ctilled. If a horde, or tribe, oversteps its usual limits, and advances straight on, then happens a veritable migra- tion : the neighbor tribe, if itself nomadic, either joins the migratory one, and swells the tide of invasion, or, if settled, repels force by force, or succumbs. This latter is the ordinary event ; for as the nomadic inva- der carries all his property and household with him, and every adult male is a warrior — it almost invariably con- quers its more highly civilized opponent, who can sel- dom bring every man into the field, and is always dis- tracted with fears for property and family. These few and simple facts, which have so often changed the power and position of the Tartar tribes, are, indeed, an epit- ome of the history of this large portion of Asia for thousands of years. Though Tartary, at the present day, is usually divided into two distinct portions — Independent Tartary — and Chinese Tartary — yet, as the whole territory has for ages borne one general title and character, and as history frequently blends its various tribes in one common course of events, we propose to embrace the whole in one view, so far as may be practicable, giving, however, to each of the prominent races a distinct notice. Restless nomads, as the Tartaric nations mostly are, following, with their flocks and herds, the course of, rivers, seeking new pasture grounds when the old no longer yield sufficient feed — and thus living in a per- petual state of migration ; yet, as this migration ordi- narily keeps within certain limits, we are enabled to give the present political divisions of the country with some degree of distinctness. On the extreme east is Manchooria — entirely un- known to the ancients — whose earliest inhabitants! seem to have been such rude tribes as the present Tungouse of Siberia. These, early mingled with an-' other Siberian tribe, the Mongols, and became the INDEPENDENT TARTAKT. 377 Manchoos, who went forth as conquerors, and gave its present dynasty to the Chinese empire. Next west is Mongolia, equally unknown to the ancients, and also deriving its name from another con- quering tribe, who, at a still earlier period, founded the Mongol empire — the widest ever known. Western Mongolia is sometime^called Kalmookia, from its ruling tribe, the Eleuts,OT Kalmucks, from Siberia, who held it in the last century. This country was vaguely known to the ancients, and classical writ- ers represent it as the end of the earth. Here they placed their Scythia beyond Imam, of which they named but one tribe, the Issidons, with their capital near Lake Lop ; and Jbeyond it was their Serica, or Western China. In the northern part of Kalmookia, was Soongaria, also named from a Siberian Tartar tribe, who became powerful there. In the fifteenth century, Kalmookia was shared between the Ouirat horde on the north, the kingdoms of Cashgar and Khamil, or Hami, in the middle, and Khotan on the south, with capitals of the same names. The three last, taken together, have also borne the indef- inite names of Tangoot, Turkestan, and Littk Bucharia. A little earlier, in Tamerlane's time, all these formed the empire of the Ouigoors of Bishbalik, with the capital of that name, also called Ooroomtsi. Previously, the country was held by the descendants of Zingis, in whose empire it was merged, in the twelfth century. Kalmookia now forms a part of the Chinese empire, under the names Peloo in the north, and Nanloo in the south. West of the Beloor Mountains, the Imaus of the ancients, we find on our maps. Independent Tartary, so called because its tribes are subject neither to China nor Russia. This was the Scythia this side the Imaus, of classical writers, who had still another Scythia, called Scythia Sarmatica, which was the extension into Central Europe of the Asiatic plains, forming the level mass of European Russia. It was called Scythia, be- cause its .people were of similar origin and habits with their Asiatic brethren of the same name. The present political divisions of this part of Tar- tary, to wit, the Kirghis country on the north, Khiva, Bokhara, and Kokan in the middle, Turcomania, Balkh, and Koondooz on the south, will be more particularly described hereafter, as also their former occupants. Some of the kingdoms, however, occupying the south portion of this interesting region, to wit, Sogdiana, Hyrcania, Bactriana, and Parthia, as forming the con- necting link between ancient and modern, classic and Oriental history, have already been treated in chapters immediately previous to this. These details seem in- tricate from the nature of the subject ; but, as the his- tory of this region is one of great interest and impor- tance, we deem it essential to introduce them. The history of Tartary, then, will embrace the following topics, viz., Scythia and its modern occu- pants, the Kirghis, or Asiatic Cossacks, with a sketch of the other modern states of Independent Tartary, such as Kokan, Bokhara, Badakshan, Balkh, Koon- dooz, Khiva, and Turcomania. These states are most conveniently treated of in connection with this our geo- graphical view, with which, also, we shall connect no- tices of the Usbecks, Kalmucks, and Manchoos. Next we treat of the Alan-Goths, or Indo-Germanic tribes, who gave us our ancestry in part ; then of the ancient Tungouse, early conquerors of China ; then of the 48 ancient Turks, the most renowned of the Tartar tribes, and most widely spread. These having become merged in the vast Mongol empire, that colossal power, with its divisions on the death of Zingis, and its sequel, the empire of Tamerlane, form our next topics ; and the history of Tartary will be concluded with some general views, as usual. CHAPTER CO. Independent Tartary — Physical Geography — The Kirghis and Cossacks — Kokan — Khiva — The, Turcomans — Bokhara — The Usbecks — Balkh — Koondooz. The country bounded on the south by the Paropa- misan range of North Persia, on the west by the Caspian and Volga, or Ural, on the north by the frozen regions of Siberia, and on the east by Thibet and Mongolia, is a region of the greatest possible variety of surface, soil, and climate. It is variously called Touran, Independent Tartary, Turkestan, Western Tartary — and embraces an extent of somewhat less than five hundred thousand square miles, with a popu- lation of seven millions. Mountains capped with eternal snows are here contrasted with plains of burning sand, or broad, level steppes, without visible boundary, covered with coarse bent; here are frozen wastes and rough alpine valleys by the . side of charmingly undulating champaigns ; vales, lovely as paradise, and salt plains, given over to perpetual desolation 5 rocky aridity and exuberant fertility ; romantic lakes bordered by perennial ver- dure, and broad salt seas environed by vast marshy flats ; wide and copious rivers ; regions watered by numerous and perennial streams ; and the thirsty beds of rivulets, whose scanty thread of water is soon dis- sipated in hopeless deserts. There is little forest, but the soil on the margin of the streams is fertile. Here, grain and the vine re- mind one of the best portions of our Middle States ; there, rice, cotton, and even the sugar-cane carry the fancy towards the " sunny south." This, then, is the appropriate nursery of mankind, and these infinitely varied repositories of great Nature have cradled na- tions not a few ; indeed, some, with much probabil- ity, place in these regions the primeval abode of our race, whence it descended west, south, east, and north, to people the world ! The north half of Independent Tartary is occupied by the Kirghis steppes on the east and west, supported by mountains — and between them a desert of sand. The shore of the Caspian is mostly a long and gloomy chain of arid downs and rocks. North of Bokhara is , a desert of sand, as also between Khiva and Persia. Some rivers are lost in sands in the Kirghis country, which is not well known. The Jaxartes (Sir, or Sihon,) rises in the lofty Mustag range, and flows in a north- westerly course of five or six hundred miles, by Ko- kan, Kojend, Tashkend, and Otrar, into the north-east corner of Lake Aral, or the Sea of Eagles — a square body of water, saltish, and abounding in sturgeon and other fish, and also in seals. Into its south-western cor- ner flows the Oxus, Amoo, or Jihon, whicfc rises in a high valley of the Beloor Mountains, and, in a course of nine hundred miles or more, somewhat parallel with the Jaxartes, flows by Badakshan, Termed, Khiva, or Ourgounge, and not far from Balkh. Koondooz 378 KIRGHIS—KOK AN— KHIVA. and Fyzabad are near it, on mountain branches ; Sam- arcand and Bokhara are upon a branch coming in on the north. At Termed it issues from the mountains by a defile one hundred feet wide, the sublime horrors of which cause it to be named the " Lion's Throat."' A low range of mountains divides Tartary from the steppe of Ischim and the provinces of Omsk and Tobolsk. 'On the east. Lake Balkash and the Taba- gatai range, connecting the Altai and the Beloor, to- gether with the lofty Beloor and Mustag, — connecting the Thianchan, or Celestial, and the Himmaleh Moun- tains, — separate Independent from Chmese Tartary. These ranges are very little known. The Kirghis Cossacks, who inhabit the country called by their name, are, as is elsewhere intimated, derived from tribes who dwelt on the Upper Yenisei, and afterwards mingled with the ancient Turks, whose language they adopted. They are a fine race, with Tartar but not Mongol features, flat noses, small eyes — yet not oblique — good complexion, high cheek bones, and a cheerful look. Some of them display the stout forms of the Turks ; others the tall proportions of their Haka ancestry. Frugal and peaceful, they enjoy a long and healthy old age : intermittent fevers, colds, and asthma are their chief diseases. Happy in their freedom, they live on mutton and milk ; without being bloodthirsty or quarrelsome, they are arrant plunderers, pillaging, with great address, all the neighboring countries. Hence Russia is obliged to defend her frontier by a chain of strong forts, and even to distribute presents and pensions among the chiefs, and allow them to take a toll of ten or twelve rubles for each camel coming in the caravans to Orenburg. They delight in carrying off" the Kalmuck women, who are said to retain the charms of youth longer than their own. They are very friendly to each other, and are served by slaves they have kidnapped. They wear wide drawers, pointed boots, and conical caps ; the men shave their heads, the women dress theirs with heron's necks, so placed as to look like horns. Lances and matchlocks, discharged with white powder, are their arms ; they are fond of games, exercises, and horse-racing, being valorous and ferocious horsemen. At funerals, horse-races are held, and the heir dis- tributes slaves, camels, horses, magnificent harness, and other prizes among the victors. Strict Mahometans, they are allowed several wives, but each has her separate tent. Their tents are of felt, larger and neater than those of the Kalmucks, and often accommodating twenty persons. Hitherto plun- der has given them foreign luxuries, but they are begin- ning to purchase them in exchange for furs, hides, and felt. Many of the tribes of the Great Horde, which ranges to the east and south, on the frontiers of Cash- gar and Kokan, have abandoned their roving habits, and settled down to agriculture and the town life. Among the high valleys, some fifty thousand are still very wild. Those about Lake Aral, and thence to the Caspian, are entirely pastoral. This race makes a fine mounted soldiery, and, as such, has traversed Europe in the armies of the czar. The Parisians once saw, with chagrin, these rough troopers encamped in the gardens of the Tuileries, and flaunting their horse-tails beneath the shades of the Champs Elysees. Russia appoints a nominal khan for the lesser horde, on the banks of the Ural, Caspian, and Aral ; but his power depends on his wealth and personal qualities. The heads of clans and old men constitute-the national assembly. The Kirghis were converted to Mahometanism from Shamanism about the beginning of the seventeenth century. They occupy the place of the Kipzaks, who were also subdued by Tamerlane. In 1742, a horde of the Kipzaks, (called Kara Kalpaks and Kara Kipzaks,) of fifteen thousand families, were almost annihilated by the Kirghis, for seeking the protection, of the " White Czar," or Russia. Some Kara Kalpaks are still upon the Jaxartes ; they continue the agricul- tural and pastoral life, and have a fixed place for their winter cabins, but their summer ones are movable. They use cattle for the saddlg and draught, practise several trades, and sell knives, muskets, sabres, cook- ing pots, and gunpowder. The khanat of Kokan is under a mild, beneficent, and peaceful government, and its territory, lying along the middle course of the Jaxartes, is as well cultivated as that of Bokhara. Here is found Tashkent, an ancient city, a favorite with Tamerlane, and still con- taining one hundred thousand people and three hun- dred and twenty mosques. Here is but three months' winter ; and peaches, vines, wheat, cotton, and silk reward the industry of its people. Kokan, in a fruit- ful and well-watered plain, is a modern town, which, from a small village, has risen to be the capital, numbering fifty thousand people and three hundred mosques. Kogend was a favorite residence of Tamer- lane, and has now twenty-five thousand people. Its situation is delightful, and its inhabitants are deemed the most learned and polite of the Tartars. On the north-east side of the river, near this spot, Alex- ander founded Alexandria, at the extreme north- ern limit of his empire, to control the Massagetse and Scythians, and form an emporium for the trade of Tartary. Margilan and Ush are two fine cities ; the latter has reclaimed a part of the Kirghis, on . whose frontier it is placed, and they are peaceably settled around it. Kokan is the ancient Fergana, of which Baber, the founder of the empire of the Grand Moguls of India, was the hereditary prince. The Usbeck Aralians, on the plains about Lake Aral, have a town, or rather winter encampment, fourteen miles in circumference, defended by an earthen rampart, twelve Russian ells in height. There are other similar towns. I Khiva, lately taken possession of by Russia, was found to hold, in common with Bokhara, some two hun-^ dred thousand Persians and fifteen thousand Russians. Its people are addicted to gluttony and kidnapping; man-stealing is their chief source of wealth. The terri- tory, fifty miles broad and extending two hundred miles along the Oxus, not far from Lake Aral, is watered chiefly by canals, and insulated from the civilized world by surrounding deserts. Of its three hundred thousand families, but one third are settled ; the rest are nomadic and predatory, usually roaming, under the name of Turcomans, through their wide deserts, in a state of wild independence, under hereditary chiefs — but ever ready to join any standard, either of their own sovereign or of revolted Persian chiefs, which promises adven- ture and booty. They now make petty»marauding expeditions into Persia, especially Khorasan, in which they carry oflT every portable thing of value, taking the inhabitants themselves to perpetual bondage in the heart of their deserts. Here was the seat of the Usbeck khans of Kharism, THE TURCOMANS — THE XISBECKS. 379 n in the early part of the last century : previously it formed a part of the kingdom of Mawarannahar, which included Bokhara, and was itself a fragment of Tam- erlane's empire. When conquered by Zingis, it was the seat of the empire of Kharism, whose fate, under the chivalrlc but unfortunate Jelaleddin and his father, is elsewhere detailed. Its capital weis at Ourgounge, a little north of Khiva. This dynasty was founded by a Turkish slave in 1097, and destroyed by Zingis in 1231. It was previously a principality between the Oxus and Caspian, with the Gaznevide empire on the south, both of them fragments of the Samanide em- pire, from the Jaxartes to South Persia, which flour- ished in A. D. 912, and»long after. In 710, the faith of Mahomet was preached in the mosque of Kharism, and this was the first country of Tartary converted to Islam. The khan, whose capital, Khiva, the Rus- sians lately entered in triumph, is now in alliance, offensive and defensive, with the czar, and ready to forward his vast views in Asia, The city of Khiva, surrounded with a ditch, clay wall, and rampart, has three gates, a castle, thirty mosques, a college, and ten thousand people. The neighborhood is filled with orchards, vineyards, and populous villages. The citizens have more natural genius than other Tartars, are fond of poetry and music ; and it is said that " there seems to be a mu- sical cadence in the very cries of the infants." The Khivans cultivate their grounds carefully, raise silk- worms, and make coarse stuffs of cotton and of silk, and mixtures of the two. They are woven by the women in the houses. Their caravans carry to Oren- burg wheat, raw cotton, silk and cotton stuffs, robes embroidered with gold, lamb-skins, &c. In return, ihey get European manufactures from the Russians, and horses, cattle, and sheep from the Turcomans. Khiva is, besides, a great slave market. Its annual for- eign trade amounts to several hundred thousand dollars. The. Turcomans inhabit all the eastern coast of the Caspian, and are divided into two parties — the Man- gishlak — near a fine harbor on the north — of three thousand families ; and the Astrabad, on the south, of twelve thousand families. They are more swarthy, smaller in size, but more square in the limbs than other Tartars ; live in tents and caves, and are rude shep- herds and plunderers. Their hordes are under Kir- ghis chiefs. They wear a coarse camels-hair cloth, and raise a little' grain and rice, with melons and cucumbers. They live in felt tents, and dress in a mixed Tartar and Persian costume. Their chiefs have little aulliority. These ferocious and wild people have insinuated themselves into every part of Persia, Syria, and Asia Minor, where they may be seen in small parties, like the gypsies in Europe, picking up a pre- carious livelihood between the cities, and pasturing the vacant spots of soil, which abound in the Turkish and Persian empires. Their incursions have nearly de- populated North Persia, and rendered vide regions, once productive and populous, a desolate waste. It is elsewhere remarked, that the Turkish dynasty origi- nated with Turcoman soldiers of fortune ; and this rude race, under Oussun Hassan, founded an empire, which was called the Bayandporian, or that " of the Turco- mans of the White Sheep,", and which^ at the end of the fifteenth century, stretched from the Caspian to the Euphrates, and from Asia Minor to Beloochistan. Here were the Euthalites, or White Huns, (A. D. 425 ;) and farther south the Thaherian kingdom, in 865 ; and previous to the Christian era, the kingdoms of Hyrcania and Parthia, as has been stated in a former chapter. Bokhara seems at present the most powerful of these independent khanats. Its history is detailed elsewhere. It need only be added here, that its king, by dividing and mixmg the various tribes, and keeping the great men from all employments likely to strengthen their hereditary influence, and also by an affectation of superior sanctity, has gained such an ascendency over the Tartars as causes him to be courted by Rus- sia, England, and Persia. He is also an Usbeck, the predominant race in these regions, a sketch of whose history and government may here be appropriately given : their personal appearance and habits are else- where described. The Usbecks first crossed the Jaxartes about the be- ginning of the sixteenth century, and pouring down on the possessions of Tamerlane's descendants, soon drove them from Bokhara, Kharism, (Kowaresm, Cho- rasmia,) and Fergana. They are of the great Turkish race, as elsewhere noticed. Their division into tribes has no relation to the government ; and there are no separate jurisdictions or assemblies, even in the wan- dering hordes : the country is divided into districts and sub-districts, under officers appointed by the sovereign, who collect the revenue and dispense justice. The heads of villages are appointed by the king, at the recommendation of the wealthy. In the army every thmg depends on his appointments. In Bokhara, the men are said to be arranged in messes of ten each, who have a tent, a boiler, and a camel among them. In Bokhara and Fergana, at least, there is no trace of a popular government, and scarcely any of aristocracy. The Usbecks, having, doubtless, few native institu- tions, adopted, on their conversion, the Mahometan law in all its details, both in public and private. The revenue is collected exactly as prescribed in the Koran, and one tenth is applied to alms. Justice is adminis- tered by the same rule ; and the use of wine and tobacco is as strictly forbidden, and almost as severely punished, as fraud and robbery. The king of Bok- hara's title is Commander of the Faithful. Part of every day he teaches religion ; most of the night ho spends in prayers and vigils. He reads prayers in his mosque, and fimeral service for the poor. Bokhara city has colleges fitted to hold sixty to six hundred pupils each, with professors paid by the king or by private donations. It is, indeed, said to have eighty colleges, built of stone, with forty to three hundred pupils each, and a lecturer, who, as well as the students, is paid by funds. It has one hundred and fifty thousand people. For commerce its accom- modations are numerous ; it abounds in caravanserais, where merchants of all nations meet with encourage- ment. Though the prince and the, people are strictly orthodox Mussulmans, they fully tdferate all reli- gions ; they, however, put apostates to Christianity to death. The towns-people, or Tajiks, meaning tributaries, elsewhere noticed, seem to be a higher race. They lead a frugal life, living on rice, wheat, millet, and above all, fruits, such as melons, grapes, and apples, using much sesamum oil ; tea flavored with anise, and grape juice, are the favorite drinks ; and they intoxi- cate themselves with opium. Their clothes are mostly of silk and furs ; the long robes of the women exhibit wide and varied plaitings ; their hair is braided with 380 INDEPENDENT TARTAEY— TRADITI ONS . pearls. As the seat of empire of Tamerlane, to whose capital of Samarcand came ambassadors of all na- tions, this famed region is elsewhere described. Bok- hara now contains one to two and a half millions of people, a large proportion of them farmers or towns- people. The most of these, as over all Independent Tartary, Cashgar, and Cabul, are Tajiks, or Tadshiks. The military force equals twenty thousand horse, four thousand infantry, and fifty thousand militia. The king's troops make forays, or chepaos, over the vast plains of Khorasan, often riding several hundred miles without intermission, so as to arrive by night near the town to be attacked. Watching the moment when the gates are opened, early in the morning, to let the people forth to their field labors, they rush in, fire the place, kill all who resist, and carry the rest into slavery. The prince connives at this, because the Persians are heretics. His own territory is well governed, peaceful, and flourishing. Cultivation is only limited by want of water. Much trade is carried on with India, Persia, and especially Russia. From Astralcan come two annual caravans, by way of Orenburg, of four thousand or five thousand camels each ; and these often encounter dreadful hardships in crossing the deserts. Sometimes the astonishing number of thirty thousand persons is found in a caravan. Metals, arms, cutlery, cloths, &c., are imported, against ex- ports of silk, cotton, hides, rubies, and turquoises. Balkh and its territory have been frequently an ap- pendage of the Afghan kingdom, or Cabul. The city is described with Bactriana, whose capital it was, in a previous chapter ; where also the various events of this territory are detailed. Here, after the fall of the Greek kingdom, was the rendezvous of the Roman trade with China, before the caravans entered upon the dreaded wastes of Tartary. This trade was monopolized by the Parthians. They got the raw silk from China, and then manufactured it, dyed it, ami exported it to the Ro- mans, who at last sent an embassy by sea, A. D. 165, to secure this article. The Chinese had the greatest respect for the equity and greatness of the ' Romans, whose empire they therefore called " Great China." The khan of Koondooz, who is said to com- mand twenty thousand horse, has lately made himself j formidable by his active and vigorous policy, whicli has rendered him master of several mountain districts he has even taken and sacked Balkh. Ancient Scythians. CHAPTER CCI. Early Traditions of Independent Tartary — Scythians — Manners and Customs — Mas- sagetcE, — Cyrus — Tomyris. Next to the scanty and indistinct notices in the first chapters of the Bible, supposed to refer to the south- eastern part of Independent Tartary, are recorded the somewhat similar traditions of the Zendavesta, the Bible of the early Persians, which here places its Eeriene Veedjoo, or paradise of beatitude — the earliest abode of their nation — the people of the Good Deity, and of the golden age. Then come, perhaps equally ancient, the Hindoo accounts, m their Bible, of Mount Meru, the blest abode of the gods, placed in this storied region. Lastly, this is by some deemed to be the locality of the classical traditions as to the Hyper- borei, people of an early golden age, who " feed on sweet and fragrant herbs, amid verdant and grassy pastures, and drinlc ambrosial dew — divine potation : all resplendent alike in coeval youth, a placid serenity forever smiles on their brows, and lightens in their eyes — the consequence of a just temperament of mind and disposition, both in the parents and in the -sons, disposing them to do what is just, and to speak what is wise. Neither diseases nor wasting old age infest this holy people ; but without labor, without war, they con- tinue to live happily, and.to escape the vengeance of the cruel Nemesis," — that is, destiny. Thus sang Orpheus, the earliest, and Pindar, the most sublime, of the classical poets. It seems to be the fact, that in these wide and varied regions, men have always been found in every stage of progress, from the godlike sage to the grovel- ling cannibal — every variety of condition, from the gentleman of leisure, surrounded by all the luxuries, elegances, and appliances of art, learning, and science, to the vagabond savage, burrowing in the snow in MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE SCYTHIANS. 381 winter, and in summer contending with the beasts of the wild for his bloody and uncooked meal. The classical writers called Independent Tartary Scythia this side the Imaus. The Scythians are described by them as resembling other restless, no- madic people, with some peculiarities. Their laws were not numerous, as their justice, temperance, sim- plicity of life, and contempt of rich§6, precluded the necessity of public rewards or punishments. They conveyed their families about in covered wagons, drawn by oxen or horses, and large enough for their housekeeping. Flocks were their chief wealth. Gold, silver, diamonds, and other luxuries were de- spised. Some tribes were so fierce as even to feast on vanquished enemies. Others, when a father, mother, or near relative was attacked by any disorder which would render his life miserable, feasted on the body ; and the sick person deemed this a more honorable burial than to be devoured by worms. Wander- ing over a wide extent of country, but not tilling it, they claimed no property of land ; they held in abhor- rence and scorn the confinement of a fixed habitation — roaming perpetually with their families and herds from pasture to pasture. Not to steal from each other was almost their only law. Their ingenuity was chiefly employed in fabricq.ting arms, and sheltering them^ selves from the cold with the furs of animals. While this condition of society offered little temptation to an invader, it rendered a vagabond people very prone to the invasion of other nations. This frugal and robust people were extremely pro- lific — '■ another cause of their migrations. War was singularly their delight, and mercy and humanity were alien to their warfare. The funerals of their monarchs are thus described : The dead body was deposited in a large square, upon a bed encompassed with spears, and covered with timber. A canopy was then spread over the monument, and the favorite concubines, head cook, groom, waiter, and messenger, with some horses, were strangled, and deposited beneath it, for the ser- vice of their deceased sovereign. Some golden cups, and other necessary utensils, were also placed in the va- cant spaces, and the earth was thrown upon the whole so as to form a high mound, or artificial mountain. At the expiration of the year, fifty young Scythians of quality, with an equal number of horses, were strangled, their bowels taken out, and their bodies stuffed with straw ; the bodies of the men were fas- tened upon their horses by an iron stake, and the horses were set upon semicircular boards, and placed at a convenient distance from each other, round the monument. They sacrificed every hundredth prisoner to Mars ; stripped off his skin, boiled the flesh, threw part of it before the altar, and distributed the rest among the worshippers. Dreaded by all around them, they took great pains to keep up a warlike temper. Thus they drank the blood of the first captive taken, and present- ed the heads of the slain to their king. They were in the habit of flaying the vanquished, covering their quivers, &c., and decking their bodies with- the dressed and tanned skins, or hanging them at their horses bridles, where they served both as napkins and trophies : the skulls often became drinking cups. To cross a river, they sewed corks into a water-tight skin, laid upon this float their saddle and weapons, and getting upon it, seized the tail of the horse, which drew them safe over. One of their customs was the covenant of friendship, by which two or more persons bound themselves., under the severest penalties, to be faithful to each other till death. Pouring some wine into an earthen vessel, and mingling their own blood with it, the par- ties dipped the points of their weapons into the mix- ture, and uttered dreadful imprecations against the party that should prove unfaithful. Taking each a draught of the liquor, they desired the bystanders, also, to ptedge them, and witness the solemn engagement. As we have stated, the habits of the Scythians rendered them very prone to invasions; and these invasions, from the multitudes which moved together — carrying along in their vortex tribe after tribe, with which they came in contact — were sometimes very ex- tensive. Generally, however, they were like a devastat- ing storm, transient in their nature and effects. Not so, however, the first extensive one upon record — that which desolated Egypt about two thousand years before the Christian era. These Scythians, called Hykshos, or shepherd kings, then held that kingdom under their tyrannous sway for two hundred and sixty years. They destroyed nearly every vestige of the early and high civilization of the country, overturned the temples till scarce one stone was left upon another, and massacred the priests, the men of science, and the literati. Every individual whose education or position made him a mark for their brutal instinct of destruction, was mur- dered or driven off into the wilds of Nubia and the upper Nile. The first definite historical notices we have of West- ern Tartary are from Herodotus, who derived them from the Greek merchants, and from his own Oriental travels. For most of the details of the ancient history of this region, we are indebted to Greek authors. The intercourse of China with Western Tartary did not begin till a later period — about 126 B. C, from which time Chinese writers are chiefly relied upon for the history of the numerous changes which have happened in this portion of Asia. In 624 B. C, the ferocious Scythians, under their king Madyes, broke the power of the victorious Medes as we have stated in the history of Media, and overran a great part of what might then be called the civil- ized world. They extended their ravages into Asia Minor and Palestine, to the very borders of Egypt ; but were bought off from despoiling that wealthy and flourishing kingdom by Psammatichus, who gave them an immense treasure, on condition they would return. During a calamitous period of twenty-eight years, those regions of Syria, Asia Minor, &c., exhibited a melan- choly spectacle. The open country was every where exposed to pillage, and strongly fortified cities could alone resist the attacks of the invaders. They' held the greater part of Asia in subjection for the period above named. At the end of this time, Cyaxares resolved to attempt their destruction by stratagem. He accord-- ingly invited the greatest part of them to a general feast, which was given in every family, when each host intox- icated his guest, and a massacre ensued, which deliv- ered the kingdom from a long and cruel bondage. What became of those who survived the massacre is not recorded. It is supposed that many of them sub- mitted to Cyaxares ; that others enlisted in t^ie service of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that the greater division returned into Scythia. On their arrival, they found that their wives had taken their slaves for husbands ; that a numerous offspring was the fruit of this commerce ; arid that it 382 CYRUS — TOMYRIS — CHINESE TARTARY. was necessary to fight before they could regain their ancient territories. Some skirmishes ensued, and victory seemed to hover over the rebels, till, at length, one of the Scythian lords observed that it was incom- patible with their dignity to fight with slaves as equals, and therefore urged his companions to fall upon them with whips. This advice was accepted, and attended with complete success ; for the slavish reb- els were struck with such a panic, says the ancient story, that they threw down their arms and fled. After this victory, the Scythians enjoyed a long and uninterrupted peace. Previous to 500 B. C, many of these tribes were driven west of the Volga, into Southern Russia, by the Massagetse, or Alans, who, at an early period, were found just north of the Paropamisan range. These Massagetse had weapons of brass, instead of iron, and their armor was ornamented with gold. When a man became aged, his relatives sacrificed him to their god, together with a number of animals ; then, boiling the flesh of all together, they served it round, and each partook of the repast. A Massagete congratulated himself on this living tomb — the honor of being thus devoted to his god, and feasted on by his friends ! They worshipped the sun alone, and besides men, sac- rificed horses to it. Having no agriculture, they lived on fish, milk, and flesh. We have already identified them with the Alans. This region is now occupied by the Kirghis hordes, described in the previous chapter. It was in a battle with the Massagetse, that the great Cyrus, king of Persia, was slain. He made two expeditions against them — one on the east side of the Caspian and Aral, where he built Cy- ropolis, on the Jaxartes, and another on the west of the Caspian, in which he lost his life. He had sent ambassadors to Tomyris, the queen of the Massagetse, asking her hand in marriage ; but the Scythian queen, well aware that the king was more anxious for the crown of the Massagetse than the possession of her own person, interdicted his entrance into her territories. Cyrus, therefore, marched openly against the Massa- getse, and began to construct a bridge over the Arax- es. While he was thus employed, Tomyris sent an ambassador, recommending him to desist from his enterprise ; but adding, that if he still persisted in his design, the Scythian forces would retire a three days' march, from the river, and thus allow him an op- portunity of crossing without the aid of a bridge. When once on the opposite side of the river, he could then try his strength with her subjects. Or, if he did not like this plan, he might withdraw his own army a similar distance from the river, and the Massagetse would then cross over into the Persian territories, and contend with him there. Cyrus, accordingly, advanced one day's march into their territory, and then, leaving his camp full of pro- visions and wine, and his worst troops in charge of it, he returned with his best to the banks of the river. What he had foreseen took place. The Massagetse came with the third part of their entire force, under the queen's son, attacked the Persian camp, cut to pieces the troops stationed there, and then banqueted on the abundant stores which they found in the camp, and drank to excess of the wine. Cyrus, returning on a sudden, surprised them, slew many, and took many more prisoners, among whom was the queen's son, who, on becoming sober, killed himself from mortifi- cation. Tomyris, soon after, assembling all her forces. engaged in battle with Cyrus, whom she totally defeated. The Persian monarch himself was slain. The queen's treatment of his body is related in the history of Persia. In the time of Darius Hystaspes, when the Persian empire was at its greatest extent, its northern bound- ary was the Jaxartes, the south shore of Aral Lake, and a line du3 west from its southernmost point to the Caspian Sea. Along or near this boundary was a line of cities to defend the empire from the in- cursions of the fierce and restless Scythians, of whom the Massagetse hordes, or Alans, were all along this northern border. Between this line and the Paropamisus mountain were three satrapies of the Per- sian empire, in 500 B. C. viz.: on the east, Sogdiana and Bactriana ; on the west, Hyrcania, forming with Parthia one satrapy ; north of the latter satrapy wan- dered, in the sandy wastes of Kliievan, (Khiva,) a mixed multitude of nomadic tribes, who served in the Persian armies, and paid tribute according to circum- stances. Hyrcania, at the south-east corner of the (Caspian, was a rough, mountainous country, imprac- ticable for horses, and abounding in wild beasts : though more fertile, it was no better cultivated than Parthia, which was a rude and confined district. In- deed, Parthia was one of the poorest satrapies of the empire : hence the Persian monarchs, with their innumerable suite, were obliged to traverse it rapidly, for it would not feed them. As its rough horsemen came forth from this rugged home to rule Western Asia, we have devoted to Parthia a separate article ; and as Bactriana was soon swallowed up in Parthia, its history, with that of Sogdiana, is appended to the same article. CHAPTER ecu. Chinese Tartart. — Divisions and Physical Geography — Cities — Soongaria — Cash- gar — Kalmucks — Mongolia — Kalkas — Manchoos. This immense expanse of territory is divided, in nearly the whole of its length, by the Thianchan, or Celestial Mountains, said to be very lofty — some of them twenty thousand feet high. The region north of these is destitute of towns ; that on the south is occupied chiefly by the favored country of Cashgar on the west, and the great Desert of Cobi extending over two thirds of the rest. A few towns are found on the north, between the desert and the mountains, on the great route of Chinese trade to the west. Chinese Tartary, as an appendage to the Chinese em- pire, in this extended sense, is divided by the Chinese government into nineteen provinces, of which five belong to Thibet ; four to Soongaria ; four to Little Bucharia, or Nanloo ; three to Mongolia, and three to Manchooria. SooNGAKiA, or Peloo. This region, called by the Chinese, Thianclian Peloo, or " Province north of the Celestial Mountains," is divided into four gov- ernments ; that of Hi in the middle, Kour-karavossoo and Tarbagatai on the east, and the Booroot countiy^ filled with Kirghis tribes, on the west. Soongaria is apparently a very elevated basin, having lofty moun- tains on its south, and an alpine region, embosoming Lake Saizan, on the north-east, in one of the most rigorous climates of the old continent. On the west is a range little known, supposed to interpose between it and the Kirghis steppe. Some say, however, that NANLOO — TURFAN — CASHGAE — YARKAND. 383 .he mountain plains are unobstructed by any transverse ridge of great elevation. Some half dozen large alpine lakes occupy smaller basins, and are fed by considerable rivers. Of these lakes, the Balkash is the farthest west, and is said to be a walk of fifteen days in circumference. In these secluded valleys, as in mountain cradles, were nursed several tribes who have gone fortli*to extensive con- quests, and whose historical legends point to the storied shores of the Hi River and Balkash Lake, as may be seen in our chapters upon the several races of Tartary. The Songars, a tribe of Kalmucks, attracted by ex- uberant pasture, fixed their seat in the Hi, and here pastured their immense droves of horses, and fat-tailed sheep, with some horned cattle and camels. At the base of Mount Ulugh also spreads an ocean of ver- dure, which arrested the admiring gaze of the con- quering Tamerlane, from the mountain's summit. Amid the sublime solitudes of the Mustag, connected with the Imaus or Belor range, the glaciers give forth streams which form the Jaxartes, or fall into the moun- tain lake Temoortoo, south of Balkash. Little Btichakia, Nanloo, or the South Province, includes countries which have borne several names ; as, Cashgar, Turkestan, &c. The Kuen lun Mountains separate it from Thibet, and on the east it has the province of Kansoo — belonging to China Proper — which is of very irregular shape, one extremity stretching between Soongaria and Nanloo, so far as to include Ooroomtsi, the other dovetailing into the north- west corner of China Proper. The south-east part of Nanloo is mostly occupied by a part of the great sandy desert of Cobi. In the north-eastern part are Khamil, Pidjan, Tur- fan, Jooldooz, Karacbar, Kourourgle, Koutche, and Aksou — towns none of which are much off the route from the west to China, across which the beacon fires, lighted at proper distances, telegraph despatches be- tween the extreme western posts of the Chinese gov- ernment and the capital, Pekin. Ooroomtsi was formerly the seat of empire under the name of Bich- halik, which name it gave to the state. Hami, a small canton surrounded by deserts, also once gave its name to a kingdom. Its climate is very warm in summer ; its soil produces scarcely any thing but melons and grapes — the former particularly excellent, so that they are preserved during winter, and served up at the table of the emperor of China. The coun- try also contains agate and diamond quarries. The people, strong and large, are Mahometans, well clothed and fed. Marco Polo describes them as merry and good-natured savages, idolatrous, rich in products, and much employed in singing and dancing. A strange custom exists among them, regarded as a precept of religion, to give up to a traveller, who desires a lodging, house, wife, and family ; in fact, installing the stranger in all the privileges of the head of the household, the host quitting the Jiouse, and going through the city in quest of aught that can amuse or gratify his guest. Nor does he reoccupy the house till the stranger is gone. This reminds us of similar Babylonish cus- toms — all, perhaps, adopted to entice a concourse of strangers, and thus encourage trade. Some peculiar customs prevail in this region, such as embalming the dead with spices, till the astrologer determines a lucky hour for the burial. Painted images of men, women, cattle, money, &c., are lodged in the tomb, to be useful in the other world — a relic, probably, of early barbarism, when slaves, horses, and even wives, were actually killed and buried, to pass with the deceased into the next world, to serve him there. _ Turfan is a large and strong city, capital of a con- siderable country, governed by a branch of the royal family of Cashgar. Tangqot, on the north-western frontier of China, was a powerful empire of uncertain extent, but probably included the north-west of China, the Sifan country on its western frontier, and much of Thibet and Cashgar. Koko nor, or the Blue Lake, — its modern name, — is famous in Chinese history ; and one of their departments, at the present day, is styled the Mongols of Koko nor ; the other, lying south-west, and also separating the south-eastern frontier of Nanloo from China, is that of the Mongols of Khor, Cashgar occupies the wide plain forming the west part of Nanloo. In beauty and fertility, it is the gar- den of Tartary, rivalling the finest tracts of Southern Europe. Watered by numerous streams, its carefully cultivated fields yield large crops of grain, and its fruits are peculiarly excellent. Four of its streams, uniting from all points of the compass, form the Tarim, which runs directly east, into Lake Lop. Khotan was an independent kingdom of importance. The vine and silkworm flourish here, and it has marble and jasper so beautifully variegated with leaves and flowers, as to be much sought for in China, so that it forms a profitable article of export and exchange. Previous to the Christian era. Buddhism was planted at Khotan, and the story of its infancy is so like a primitive myth, that some suppbse it originated here. This and Mahometanism are equally tolerated under Chinese sway. Aksou, the capital of an extensive district, subject to Cashgar, is the seat of an active commerce, and several caravan routes, in various directions, pass through it. Yarkand is perhaps the most interesting town of all Asia. It speedily revived, after its destruction by a grandson of Tamerlane, and now has fifty thousand peo- ple. Its situation, indeed, seems to insure its continu- ance as the centre of the inland trade of Asia — a grand medium of communication between the east and the west, the north and the south, of that great continent. It is accordingly a place of immense resort, and filled with numerous caravanserais for the reception of strangers. A handsome street runs the whole length of the city, entirely filled with shops and warehouses, which are kept by the Chinese, who sit on benches in front. There are also many colleges. The country around is unrivalled, particularly for its finely watered gardens and the excellence of its fruits. Cashgar is a handsome and ancient city, the seat of government, apd has considerable trade. The language of this fine country is chiefly Turkish, but the origin of its people is unknown. The dress of the men is bound by a girdle, and goes no lower than the calf of the leg ; that of the women is similar, who also wear long earrings and pendants, like the women of Thibet ; their hair is equally divided into long tresses, and adorned with ribbons ; and they dye their nails with henna juice. Both sexes wear long, drawers, and boots of Eussia leather ; the head dress is like the Turkish. The houses are mostly of stone, and decorated with furniture of Chinese manufacture. Tea is the general beverage of the country, but it is taken with milk, butter, and salt, in the manner of the other nations of Central Asia. The women are pur- 384 CHINESE CONQUEST — THE KALMUCKS. chased ; hence handsome girls are a source of wealth to their parents. These countries being Mahometan, magistrates of that faith administer justice and carry on all the internal affairs of the province ; but Chinese military officers col- lect its revenue and provide for its defence. Strangers seem not so rigidly excluded here as at other parts of the frontier. The boundary line, however, is guarded by a chain of military posts, at which every package brought is carefully examined, and permits are then given to proceed to Cashgar and Yarkand, where light duties are required. The Chinese, as we have stated, first had connection with these distant countries about the year 126 B. C. Then, in consequence of the resolution of the emperor Woo ti to weaken the power and punish the outrages of &e Hiooflg noo, (or Turks, against whom the wall had been built m 214,) a Chinese general was sent to the Yue tchi, in Transoxiana, who had been driven there by the Turks, from the frontiers of China, in 165 B. C. The general was taken by the Turks, and kept prisoner for ten years, but found means to escape to the Yue tchi, and remained with them more than a year. On his return, he was again taken prisoner, but finally got back to China after thirteen years' absence. The result of his representations was a Chinese con- quest of Cashgar, in 108 B. C, and a confederation of the western tribes against the overbearing Turks. They were thus kept in check on the west while the Chinese gradually broke their power in the east, till on a division of their nation, in A. D. 46, one portion sub- mitted to China. Though afterwards weakened by civil wars, political relations were maintained with the west, and the emperors of the Goei dynasty, of North China, received embassies from time to time from this re- gion. The Chinese expedition and its consequences made their nation known to the west, and a silk trade commenced. That able general. Pan tchao, after nearly thirty years of fighting and negotiating, sub- dued all the country south of the Celestial Mountains, pushed the Chinese conquests to the Caspian, and in A. D. 102, had sent to China, as hostages or state prisoners, the presumptive heirs of fifty crowns that he had conquered. He even meditated the conquest of the Eoman empire, but was discouraged by repre- sentations from the Persians of the dangers and difl[i- oulties of the enterprise. This Chinese supremacy was maintained in the west till the beginning of the third century, after which it was confined to tributary embassies. It was partially lost in the fifth century, when the empire of the Getae included Cashgar. It afterwards returned to China, passed under the Thibetan empire in the seventh century, and under that of the Ouigoors in the ninth ; in the twelfth century it was shared between the em- pire of the Kara kitai, the kings of Khotan, and other sovereignties, till, in the thirteenth, all were swallowed up in the empire of Zingis ; after which, Nanloo, or most of it, fell, successively, to the Zagatai, Bichbalik, and Ouigoor empires ; then, at the end of the fifteenth jcentury, it was divided into the kingdoms of Cashgar, Khotan, Hamil, &c. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Nanloo formed the southern half of the Kalmuck Eleut empire, though, since 1779, it has acknowledged subjection to the Chinese again, who now hold it ; and such is the wisdom of their government, that the inhabitants are very much attached to it, and would defend its author- ity cheerfully with life and fortune. The ruling nation is the Kalmuck, and we may here notice the history and condition of that Mongol peo- ple who now extend themselves over both Peloo and Nanloo, which have hence been called Kalmookia, or included in Mongolia, by some geographers. Its sur- face is equal to all France, Spain, and Italy, and it has the same latitude with them and with our California and Oregon. It is estimated to have two hundred thousand Kalmuck families. The Kalmucks are generally of a middling height, more of them being, however, under than over the ordinaiy stature. Left to nature from in- fancy, their bodies are universally well made, and their limbs free. In the Kalmuck countenance the angle of the eye is directed obliquely downward to the nose, the eyebrows are black and thin, the interior ends of the arches which they form are low, the nose is flat and broad at the point, the cheek bones prominent, the head and face very round, the ears large and promi- nent. Their teeth preserve their beauty and whiteness to an advanced age. Their skin, naturally white, assumes a brownish yellow from exposure to the sun in summer, and cabin smoke in winter. Many of the women have a handsome figure and white complexion, the effect of which is increased by their fine black hair. The acuteness of the senses of smell, hearing, and sight, surpasses what we should conceive possible. They perceive, by the smell, the smoke of a camp, hear the neighing of a horse, and distinguish a minute object in their immense plains, at an astonishing distance. The Kalmucks have three orders of society — the no- bility, whom they call " white bones," the common people, slaves, called " black bones," and the clergy, freemen, descending from both. The noble ladies are called "white flesh," and the women of the lower orders " black flesh." Their genealogies, of which they are tenacious, are reckoned by the " bones," or male line, not the " flesh," or female. The subjects of each chief form an ooloos, which is divided into imaks of two hundred and fifty to three hundred families each, commanded by a nobleman. All the men must appear on horseback when summoned for military ser- vice by the chief, who sends back thos^ unfit for war. Lances, sabres, bows, firearms are their weapons ; and they wear a coat of mail, formed of rings, of that kind called chain-armor, such as was used in Europe in the fifteenth century. Their religion is the lamaic, an account of which will be found in the description of Thibet. Of all nations they are most under the do- minion of their priests, who are not ashamed to descend to conjuring and jugglery, to increase their power ; in fact, no affair can be undertaken without them. They levy a handsome tribute, live in luxury, and though enjoined celibacy, have a right to a singular license in the house of a hostess whenever they travel, which is not seldom. The Kalmucks are fond of society, hospitable, and dress like the Poles ; the common people are clothed in sheep-skins and felt. In summer, the girls go with the neck bare down to the girdle ; the men shave their heads, except a single tuft ; the women let the hair hang loose till the age of twelve, when they collect it in braids surrounding the head ; when married, they let it hang over the shoulders in two divisions. Their dwellings are a circular frame of hurdles, covered with a top of felt, proof, against snow and rain. Hunting, tending flocks, and building tents, are deemed, besides THE KALMUCKS. 385 war, the only occupations worthy of a free son of the desert. Domestic labors fall to the women, who also pitch and strike the tents, and saddle and bring out the horses. As to agricultural labors, the ruggedness of the climate, and the too general aridity of the soil, thwart the wise efforts of the Chinese to change the Kalmuck nomad — who loves his rude and roving life — into the quiet and taxable farmer* Their drink is mare's milk, which, though its alkaline taste is disa- greeable to Europeans, they prefer to cow's milk. Indeed, after standing a while in clean vessels, it ac- quires an acid, vinous, and very agreeable taste. By allowing it to ferment a little further, it is made into a slightly spirituous liquor, called araka by the Kalmucks, and koumis in Tartar, and prevalent tiiroughout Tar- tary. Their language is sonorous, harmonious, and poet- ical. Their affecting romances and epic poems par- take of the sombre magnificence of parts of their country. The rocks, torrents, and meteors of Ossianic poetry figure here with legends and miracles, as wild and absurd as were ever coined in the brain of a Hindoo. Their bards recite from memory, surrounded by atten- tive and enraptured audiences. They have a Mongolic and an Indian alphabet, the latter used in their magical incantations. They call themselves "Four Brothers," meaning their four allied nations of Sifans, on the west frontier of China, having fifty thousand families ; Songars, near Lake Balkash, with thirty thousand ; the Torgots, who, after living on the steppe of Astrakan, in some seventy thousand families, returned in 1770 to their original country, on the east of Lake Saisan ; and lastly, the Derbites. In addition to these nomad tribes, the towns of Kalmookia are inhabited by Bu- chanans, Chinese, stationary Kalmucks, and a mixed people, descended from the ancient denizens of these regions. In the end of the seventeenth century, they had made themselves completely the ruling people, and masters of all Central Tartary, including, as we have seen, both Cashgar and Khotan. Being attacked, how- ever, by the Mongols, their rivals, confederated with the whole force of the Chinese empire, they were unable to sustain the unequal contest, which ended in the subjection of all to China. The Mongols, though sharing this subjection, were preeminent ; the Kal- mucks, not liking to endure this double servitude, re- moved into Asiatic Russia. The beneficence of the Chinese sway, however, has enticed them back, so that more than a million now occupy their original seats. About the Lake Koko nor, the cradle of the Chinese nation, three thousand years before the Christian era, and along the sources of her two great rivers,, are found Mongol tribes of the Eleut and Sifan hordes, ! already alluded to, as included in the province of Koko nor ; south-west of these is the province of Khor katchi, also containing Mongols. Of these obscure mountain regions little is known, and we pass to a survey of Mongolia, across the province of Kansou, already described as belonging to China Proper, and stretching far to the north-west into the heart of Tar- tary, some miles beyond the Celestial Mountains. Mongolia. The southern half of the Mongolia of our maps is occupied by Kansou, a province of China Prop- er ; east;of it is the government of the Eleut Kalmucks ; east of that, the country of the Karagol, or Shara Mon- gols. North x)f these is the country of the Kalkas 49 Mongols, next to the Hottentots, the dirtiest and ugliest of our race : it is bounded north-west and north by the Russian provinces of Tomsk, Yeniseisk, and Irkutsk , south-west by Peloo and Kansoo; south by Kansoo, Eleut, and Karagol ; east by Saghalien oula, the north- ern government of Manchooria. Much of this north- ern region is covered with rank and luxuriant pastures ; the nomads, split into petty tribes, acknowledge sub- jection to China, who, however, it is said, can neither exact tribute, nor maintain garrisons here, nor prevent these tribes from warring with each other. It requires little more of any of these three provinces than absti- nence from aggressive incursions upon Chinese territory. If a war threatens to be serious and extensive, how- ever, China levies a large force, and compejs the bellig- erents to come to terms. She also pays a small salary to the chiefs, who receive investiture from the emperor, and occasionally a wife of the royal family ; but are expected to make their visits regularly, with presents, at the imperial court, that they may be duly watched. The general character, religion, and habits of the Kalkas are similar to those of the Kalmucks, already described. Like the other Mongols, they are rough, roaming, warlike ; but in domestic intercourse, frank, cheerful, and hospitable. Their main pride is in the management of their horses, in which they are wonderfully dexterous. They prefer their own swift, hardy, and serviceable nags to the larger and heavier Turkish horses — high and raw-boned. They train them to stop in their fleetest career, and to face, without flinching, the fiercest beasts of the forest. These remarks, indeed, will apply to all the nomadic Mongols. The Mongols proper have flat noses, small, oblique eyes, thick lips, short chins, scanty beards, large ears, and black hair, which sets off their reddish-brown or yellow complexions. More civilized than the Kal- mucks, from their long residence in China, they are more tractable, hospitable, and addicted to pleasure. The women are industrious, cheerful, and more pro- lific than the Russians. Their religious books arc written in the language of Tangoot, or Thibet, and every imak — two hundred and fifty or three hundred families — has a schoolmaster. The priests enjoy great consideration. Polygamy is allowed, but uncommon. They marry very young, emd the women bring to their husbands a portion in cattle or sheep. They light their fires in the middle of their tents; and in the deserts cow-dung is used as fuel. The tents of the nobility are hung with silk stuffs in the inside, and the floors covered with Persian carpets. The tents of the common people are made of a kmd of felt. Tin, silver, and porcelain vessels are used in the houses of the great. In some places, small temples are erected, round which are built modern houses. There are no cities in this wide region. Karako- rum, the seat of the Mongol empire, was built of earth and wood ; its very site is disputed. The camp of i Oorga, twd hundred and twenty miles from Kiachta, j has become a town ; its temples, the houses of the , priests, and the house of the Chinese viceroy, are tlio only wooden edifices; the rest are tents. Maimatchiii, | opposite Kiachta, is the seat of trade with Russia, and \ at certain stated seasons presents quite a busy scene, and a very interesting one ; for here are gathered the representatives of Russia, Siberia, Chma, Thibet, and all Tartary, to exchange tea, porcelain, silk, cotton, rhubarb, tobacco, and fancy articles, for furs, skins, ! 386 MONGOLIA— MANCHOORI A. coarse cloths, cattle, and glass. Each town is sur- rounded by its separate fortification, in the midst of a high plain, with lofty granite peaks, rising on every side around it. Forts built on the pinnacles of opposite mountains mark the boundaries of the two mighty empires. Maimatchin is crowded with Chinese merchants, who entertain the Russians very hospitably ; but on the tolling of a bell at sunset, every Russian must hastily quit the Chinese soil. The countries of Mongolia nearest ttie Chinese wall, have a climate like that of Germany ; and their chiefs present themselves at the court of China as its humblest vassals. At Gehol are seen aspens, elms, hazels, and walnut trees, and on the mountains, stunted oaks and pines. This place is the summer residence of the emperor of China, and contains, in the midst of a col- lection of huts, a spacious palace, extensive and mag- nificent gardens, and some pagodas or temples. The middle of the country, like much of that of Kalmookia, is extensively occupied by deserts. There are meadows along the banks of its rivers, however, where the small Mongolian horses wander in large droves, and the wild jiggetai comes to take his rapid meal in the pasture. Russian travellers, who have here crossed the Desert of Cobi, — said to be two thousand miles in length and four hundred brj?ad, — occupied a month in traversing it, and describe it as covered with short, thin grass, which, however, supports vast herds of cattle, owing, perhaps, to the saline quality of the soil. There are numerous brackish springs and lakes, the water of which is so little desirable, that a single pure spring tasted like champagne. For some twenty miles beyond the wall, a shifting and sinking sand, cov- ered with beautiful and valuable pebbles, formed itself into waves some twenty feet high, like the similar sands of the African and Arabian deserts. When the pastures begin to fail, all the Mongol tribes strike their tents ; and this takes place ten to fifteen times a year. In summer, their progress is northward, in winter southward. The flocks, men, women, and children, form a regular procession, fol- lowed by the young women singing cheering songs. The amiisements of these wandering and happy tribes are horse-races, in which even the young women ex- cel, archery, wrestling, pantomime, and songs of love adventures, performed by girls to the accompaniment of violin and flute. Manchookia remains now to be surveyed. This the Chinese divide into three governments' — that of Sagha- lien oula comprehends its northern two thirds, and the large island of Saghalien, and has a capital of the same name, in latitude 50°, upon the Amoor, which is navi- gable for steamboats fifteen hundred miles. On its south is Kara gol, a Mongol country, and the government of Kirin, with a capital of the same name, Kirin oula, in aDout latitude 44°. The other government, or province, is Ching king, which has a capital of the same name, formerly called Moukden, the summer residence of former emperors. This fine province, which has usu- ally followed the fortunes of China Proper, which it resembles in careful culture, is bounded on the north-east by Kirin, on the north-west by Karagol, on the south-west by Petchelee, its gulf, and the Yellow Sea, and on the south-east by Corea, from which the Yaloo River separates it. The Manchoos, or Mandshurs, are a rather rude people, tall and robust, with a peculiar language, of excessive smoothness and unrivalled copiousness, especially in the nicely expressive inflections of its verbs ; in which last respect it rivals the Turkish, and surpasses the classical languages. Very different fVom the immense and naked plains of Tartary, the surface of Manchooria consists of rugged and broken mountain ranges, covered with thick forests, and separated by fertile valleys, whose recesses are filled with wild beasts. It presents, therefore, a picture of what Europe was in primitive times. Ginseng, the universal medicine, grows on the mountain sides. Its shores are covered with magnificent forests, whose inhabitants are few and secluded, mostly independent fishermen, though, farther inland, wheat is raised in favored spots, and oats are extensively cultivated. The very few towns are inhabited by Chinese chiefly, who are defended by Tartar garrisons. The Amoor abounds with the finest fish, especially the sturgeon, in match- less perfection. Could it become a Russian river, it would be the avenue of trade to Siberia and Mongolia, and, as it became populous and civilized, would be a valuable commercial neighbor to our Oregon and California brethren. The natives are of a mild and amiable disposition. To the north of the Amoor, they are chiefly Siberian hunters, who take vast numbers of fur-bearing animals, especially sables. The people of Saghalien Island — if it is one — more resemble the Japanese, with whom is their chief intercourse. They are mild, peaceable, and generous. The history of the early races of Manchooria is given in a subsequent chapter, containing the descrip- tion and history of the Tungouse, apparently the aborigines of this country. The Manchoos, who ap- pear to be a mixed race, are more robust in figure, but have less expressive countenances than the Chi- nese. Before the twelfth century, they subjugated the Kitans, to whom they had previously been vassals, and who inhabited Ching king; in 1115, they invaded the north of China, founding the Kin, or " Golden " dynasty. Dispossessed by the Mongols, they returned to their wild mountains, whence they issued afresh in 1640, under the name of Manchoos, to conquer Mon- golia and all China, — which still yields them an obedience, mingled with hatred, it is said, and inter- rupted by partial rebellions. They may now be deemed the most advanced in civilization of the three great nations of Central Asia, in consequence of con- nection with China, especially since a late emperor ordered the best Chinese books to be translated into the Manchoo^, This, the most perfect and learned of the Tartar idioms, is said to resemble the Indo-Ger- manic family of tongues, and may be the one destined by divine Providence to introduce the best of our European ideas to the hundreds of millions of China — a glorious enterprise, which might be deemed hopeless through the clumsy, unplastic, and objective Chinese language. CHAPTER CCIIL The Alano-Gothic or Blond Races. — The Oosun — Cashgar — Goths — Ancient Kir- ghis — Alans — Indo- Germans of Central Asia — Khotan. At the Christian era, the population of all the coun- tries situated north of the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, the Oxus, and the Paropamisus Mountains, were com- THE BLOND RACES. 387 posed almost entirely of tribes called Indo-Germans, Alan-Goths, or the Blond Baces, who spoke lan- guages most of whose roots are still found in the Sanscrit, the Persian, the Teutonic, Slavic, and other idioms belonging to the same stock. Already, at a very remote period, these people had crossed the Don, and extended themselves to the north- ern banks of the Danube. Tl*y formed several nations which it is no longer possible properly to dis- tinguish, one from another. Tribes of this same race were anciently spread as far as the confines of China, and north to the Altai Mountains ; they were dispersed among the Turkish and Thibetan hordes. The Par- thians, Bactrians, Sogdians, Kharasmians, Getie, Mas- sagetBB, Alans, Aorses, Roxolans, Jazyges, and a great many others, all belonged to this grand stock. Some feeble historical indications, a comparison of languages, ancient traditions concealed in the Hindoo mythology, and even some physiological data as to the tribes of East Asia, give rise to the presumption that the centre of this part of the world was occupied, at a very remote epoch, by the ancestors of all the Indo- Germanic people. An event whose causes we know not, dispersed this race toward the south, toward the west, and even toward the east and the north. One of these nations, speaking Sanscrit, descended the Himmaleh, spread over the plains of Hindostan, whence it chased the Malay and Negro races, or blended with them, and finished its conquests with Ceylon. Another portion, going west, seems to have followed the Jihon and the Sir, spread itself thence to the south-west, in Persia, and on the north-west toward the Volga and Don, whence it entered Europe. These migrations appear to have been several times repeated, and at epochs quite distant one from another ; at least, this is the best way of explaining the diversity apparent among the nations and languages called Indo-German. Their eastern migration is evident from the exist- ence of a blond, or fair-haired people, with blue eyes, — the Oosun — which, in the third century before the Christian era, dwelt on the confines of China. It may be presumed also, from the great number of Indo- Germanic roots which are met with in the Turkish and Mongol idioms, and still more in the Tungouse and Manchoo ; which latter is like German. There exist even now, also, among the Manchoos, near tlie Soon- gari and the Oosoori tribes, a great number of indi- viduals with blond hair and blue eyes. As to the northern migration of this same race, we find a people of similar traits dwelling, even down to a very recent epoch, upon the upper Irtish, Obi, and Yenisei rivers. These tribes became blended, at a later date, with a Turkish nation, forming the Kirghis, among whom blue or green eyes and red hair are not uncommon. The Oosun are first noticed in the third century B. C, as commingled with the Yue tchi, on the north- western confines of China Proper. They differed entirely from their neighbor's in personal appearance, and Chinese writers describe them as having blue eyes, a red beard, and much resembling the species of large ape, " from which they descend." When the Yue tchi were driven from this region, (Kan tcheoo. Sou tcheoo, and Cha tcheoo,) by the Hioong noo, in 165 B. C, the Oosun followed them to their new residence in Soon- garia, pushed them westward, and took their country. Their chief lived in the town of Redvale, on Red or Salt Lake, south of Lake Balkash. They counted one hundred and twent^ thousand families, six hundred and thirty thousand mdividuals, and one hundred and eighty-eight thousand eight hundred soldiers. They seem to have attained a degree of civilization ; their two great generals were called Daroo. In this country formerly lived the Sai, of the same race. It is a beautiful plain, covered with excellent pasture for cattle, the chief^ wealth of these nomads. The climate was cold, and rains frequent ; their moun- tains were covered witli firs and larches. Their man- ners and customs were similar to those of the Hioong noo ; they raised many horses, of which a rich man among them would have four or five thousand. It was a hard, wicked people, faithless and inclined to pillage. This character gave it a great ascendency over its neighbors. Chinese history speaks of their princes down to the year 2 B. C. In the fouith century A. D., the Sian pi drove them from their country towards the west and north-west, a part moved into the region of tlie upper Jaxartes and Transoxiana, and a part into the south part of the Kirghis steppe, near the Irtish. In 619, they became subject to the Turks, with whom they seem to have blended. Cashgar was also inhabited by a blue-eyed and fair- haired nation. It produced grains, rice, red sugar cane peculiar to Central Asia, cotton, sUk, iron, copper, and orpiment. After being tributary to the Hioong noo, it was subjected to China nearly a hundred years B. C. About A. D. 120, the Yue tchi deposed its king : his subjects embraced Buddhism. The king wore on his cap a golden lion, which was changed every year. When it submitted to the ancient Turks, Cashgar counted twelve great and some dozens of small cities. In the seventh century, it sent tribute to China ; in 677, was invaded by the Thibetans, and remained under them till near the middle of the tentli century, when it became again tributary to China. The Houte, or Khoute, perhaps a detached tribe of Goths, was to the north-east of Sogdiana, and west of the Oosun country. The people were nomadic, had excellent horses, and counted two thousand soldiers. The country abounded in the zibeline martens. They were conquered by the Hioong noo, in 177 B. C. In the first half of the third century A. D., the Chinese had some political dealings with them. Another blond or red nation with blue eyes was the Ting ling, — " ancients," " elders," — north of the Oo- sun and Sogdiana, and touching tlie west shore of Lake Baikal. Three centuries before the Christian era, they were reduced by the Hioong noo ; with whom, in 65 B. C, they began a three years' war. In the latter half of the second century B. C, a part of the Ting ling, living on the borders of the Obi and Irtish, were con- quered by the Sian pi, but did not long submit. Since A. D. 507, when the Jooi jooi took back from them their own country, the Ting ling are often named in Chinese history. In the couree of centuries, they be- came insensibly merged in the Kirghis. The Kian kuen, — called, later, Hakas, and finally Ki li ki szu, the Chinese way of pronouncing the word, — or Kirghis, were a tall race, with red hair, white face, and the pupil of the eye green. They were found on the upper course of tiie Yenisei, and east of it, till it meets the Angara. As before remarked, their tribes were mingled with those of the Ting ling. Black hair was considered among them as of ill omen ; and black eyes indicated the descendants of Li ling, a-Chmese general, from whom their kmgs origmated, who, m 97 388 THE ALANS. B. C, having joined the Hioong noo, was by them made king of the Kian kuen. They numbered some hundreds of thousands, out of whom twenty-four thou- sand chosen troops could be drawn. Few males, but many females, were born among them. The nation was proud and haughty ; the men were very courageous : they tattooed figures upon their hands ; and the women marked their necks after marriage : both sexes wore earrings. Men and women lived undistinguished together, and hence arose much libertinism. Their country was full of marshes in summer, and covered with snow in winter. The cold continued for a long time, so .that the great rivers froze to one half their depth.* As the Chinese say that the Hakas, or ancient Kirghis, had the same language as the Turks, and also that they intermarried with the Turks, it happened, doubtless, as in many other cases, that this Indo-Germanic nation lost its mother tongue, and adopted the Turkish or Extern Ouigoor. Like all the Turkish race, like the Mongols, Manchoos, Japanese, and Thibetans, the Hakas had a cycle of twelve years, and each year bore the name of an animal ; thus — rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, ape, hen, dog, swine.t The Hakas country was of great extent. In A. D. 648, having learned that the Hoei he had submitted to China, they also sent ambassadors with tribute, and the chief himself went and was well received in China. The emperor rated his as a jurisdiction of the first order, created him commandant of the guards on the left, and placed him under a Chinese generalissimo, giving him the office of provincial governor. Thus die Chinese ranged under their sway most of the principalities of Middle Asia. In 709, the emperor received presents from the Hakas, remarking that they were his relations, alluding to Li ling, before men- tioned. In 759, they were entirely defeated by the Hoei hoc, and cut off from China. They then received the name Hakas — yellow or red face — from their con- querors. In 846, they mastered the Hoei hoo empire, but not long after the Khotan drove them back into political nullity, and they are not spoken of again in history till, under the name of Kirghis, they submitted to Zingis Khan. The Alans are called Yan thsai by the Chinese, when they first became acquainted with them, at the time they sent a political expedition into the west, about 120 B. C. They are the same as the Massa- * East of tlie Hakas were three Turkish hordes, who had many excellent horses, and Kved in birch bark huts. They had sleds, which they pushed with great swiftness on the ice by means of a crooked stick, one shove with which would send them a hundred paces. They pillaged by night, and often kidnapped and enslaved the Hakas. t Of the Hakas we are told, that they lived on horse flesh and mare's milk, the king alone eating food made of flour and rice. Their musical instruments were the transverse flute, drum, Chinese organ, straight flute, cymbals, and little bells. They amused themselves with combats of animals, and rope- dancinc. Their rich people were very fond of garments adorned with marten skins. The lower class were clothed in skins, and went bareheaded ; the king wore a cap of marten fur in winter, in summer a pointed one of gold filagree ; his subjects wore caps of white felt, and a sabre, with a hone to sharpen it, at their belts ; the women clothed themselves in cloth, serge, brocade, and other silk tissues, bought of Arab mer- chants, who came to Koutsk, east by north of Cashgar, and to Ooroomtsi, in latitude 444°, on the east-north-east. Their chief had his camp in the Blue or Little Altai Moun- tains, and it was surrounded with palisades. His tents were getEB, with whom Cyrus, king of Persia, fought, and were found in his day, 530 B. C, round two thirds of Lake Aral, to the Caspian. Their country was two hundred and fifty to three hundred miles north-west of Sogdiana, near a " great marsh, without banks," as.the Chinese describe it, probably the Caspian Sea, which once united with Lake Aral, as surmised in the geographical notices in a previous page. They num- bered a hundred thousand archers, and resembled, in manners, customs, and dress, the people of Sogdiana. In the first and second century of our era, the Yan thsai were named A-lan-na : they were then subject to the Sogdians, and lived in towns. Their climate was hot, and not variable : many and lofty pines were found in their country, and the white grass. In the first half of the third century, the Chinese call them A Ian, and they then bordered on the Ro- man empire upon their west ; that is, they had already extended to the Eastern Caucasus. Their country was rich in domestic animals and martens. The people were nomadic, lived near a salt and marshy sea, and had thrown off the yoke of the Sogdians. From 435 to 480, they were called Sout, and had frequent rela- tions with the emperors of Northern China. They had excellent horses, cattle, sheep, and, with other kinds of fruits, a great quantity of raisins, with which they made a delicious wine : they harvested crops of a cereal plant, called ta ho — perhaps the djogan widely spread in Central Asia — which grew one Chinese fathom high. The country was divided into several petty principalities, and counted more than four hun- dred walled towns. Anciently, say the Chinese histo- rians, the Hioong noo killed their king and took the country. Formerly the Sout merchants carried on a large commerce with Liang, a Chinese kingdom in the west of Chensi, but having committed violent acts, they were treated as banditti, and arrested, but re- deemed in 452 — 465. After 565, the Chinese do not mention them. A Greek writer, in the last years of Augustus, the Roman emperor, first of the western writers, men- tions the Alains. He calls them powerful, and counts the number of their horses. They then lived on the Sea of Azof and Black Sea, between the Don and the Dnieper, in the ancient country of the Roxolans and Jazyges, whom they pushed more to the west. There was an eastern branch, which remained east of the, Volga and north of the Caspian, much more power- ful than the others, and enriched by a large com- of felt, and larger than those of his people. His subjects paid him taxes in furs of the; marten and gray squirrel. Six ranks of officers administered his government. They had letters resembling the Runic, indicating intercourse between Central Asia and Northern Europe ; and sent, in the ninth century, for Chinese books and calendars. These facts, and their luxury, show more civilization than we should expect. The Hakas offered sacrifices to the genii who preside over rivers and prairies. In funerals they went thrice round the corpse, howling, and then burnt it : the bones were kept for a year, and then buried ; and friends went from time to time, to weep for the dead, upon their graves. Nuptial presents consisted in horses and sheep j sometimes by the hundreds and thousands. Their laws were extremely severe, and death was the ordinary punishment. If a robber's father was living, the head of his executed son was hung round his neck for life. In winter, they covered their huts with bark. Their til- lage furnished millet, wheat, and barley : they ground their meal and flour with a hand null, or a pestle and mortar ; and made cakes and spirits. Horses were their chief wealth, and they had them very large and strong : they had also numer- ous camels, sheep, &t-tailed sheep, and cattle. OHIGIN OF THE SELJUKIAN TURKS. 389 merce.* In fact, they stretched, in time, from the Don to the Jaxartes. In the second century, the Alans, living in the vast countries between the Don and the Dnieper, attacked the Eomans in the neighborhood of the Danube, prob- ably through the plains of Moldavia, for the other roads were shut and well guarded. In the third cen- tury, the Goths began to sprea(fthemselves in the Alan country : being of the same stock, they allied themselves with the Alans, and accompanied them on their warlike expeditions. After the fall of the Gothic empire, a part of the Alans made common cause with the Vandals, and followed them, in their western mi- grations, as far as into Spain and Africa, where, after a while, the two people could not be distinguished. Meanwhile the great mass of the Alans retired to the east of the Don, where it was increased by the union with it of several nations, whose names disappear in the sequel. Thus reenforced, the Alaijs had their fly- ing encampments in the country between the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azof, and as far as the Bosphorus, and, like their ancestors, the Massagetse, commenced invading the northern provinces of the Persian empire. The first mention of the Asiatic Alans is under Ves- pasian ; they then came from Hyrcania, and entered Media, by the Caspian gates. Under Tiberius, they are known as inhabitants of Eastern Caucasus : thence they ceased not to make their forays into Persia, whose monarch asked Vespasian's help against them. Under Hadrian they devastated the Eoman prov- inces, and the prefect of Cappadocia wrote a memoir on the tactics to be observed against the Alans. Al- bania is named from them, and the Albanians are the same people, and their name is the same ; to Albania alone can be applied what the Chinese say of their grains, wines, the fertility of their country, and its numerous walled towns. The Ossetes of Caucasus, A. D. 948, are the same people, and the Arab writers call the Caucasian pass of Dairann, " the Alan gate." The Alans were the first nation exposed to the fury of the Hunnic invasion, towards the end of the fourth century : they were defeated, but soon joined their invaders with good will, and the two nations turned their arms against the Goths, who succumbed. Then " In the latter half of the fourth century, the historian, Ammianus Marcellinua, tells ua that the Sauromatos d-welt be- tween the Danube and Don, beyond which axe the Alaina — a name gradually adopted from their conquerors by many of the conquered tribes. Among them are the Neures, inhabiting the middle of the land, and crowded by the ice of the north ; next the Vidimes and warlike Gelons, savages — clothing them- selves and caparisoning their horses with skins flayed &ora their enemies ; then the Agathyrses, who paint the body and hair blue, with smaller or larger spots, according to their class ; next the Melanchlenes and Anthropophagi, who live on hu- man flesh, and hence all their neighbors keep at a distance. On the other side, eastwardly, are the Alains, who spread among numerous Asiatic nations, even to the Ganges. In fact, these nomadic nations overran a vast space. In the course of time, all these people have received the name of Alains, or Alans, beause they are similar in manners, ferocity, and mode of warfare. Describing them further, he says, they have neither houses nor the use of the plough. They live on flesh and many kinds of food made of milk. They are continually seated on wagons covered with mats made of bark. When they arrive where there is grass, they halt, and arrange their wagons in a circle ; they then take their repast like wild beasts. They roll about these wagons like movable cities, for they contain all their possessions ; it is in these that both men and women dwell ; their children are born, nursed, and bred up in them, for they are their perpetual abode ; and wherever nothing could resist the impetuosity with which the Huns took possession of half Europe. Since this epoch, history knows no other Alans than those who, settled in the Caucasus, have ceased to play a con- spicuous part in the aifairs of nations. In Central Asia, — the ancient Scythia beyond the Imaus — the desert has now enlarged its bounds at the expense of countries where were anciently popu- lous cities and a happy people ; where once were plains smiling with a rich harvest, nothing now is seen but the hunter chasing the wild camel over the sands of the wilderness. The first inhabitants of Central Asia known to history were of the Indo-Germanic stock. The earliest notice of this blond race, in these regions, is at Khotan. In this secluded country, the Sanscrit, or a cognate language, was spoken previous to the Christian era : so that here appears to have been a Hindoo colony. The Buddhist religion even then flourished here, and probably spread hence among the nomads of Asia. The environs of Khotan were covered with convents, where the Buddhists of the East went to search the sacred books and traditions of their creed, long before this religion penetrated into Thibet. It was principally by Cashmere that the inhabitants of Khotan kept up their intercoui-se with India ; they had imitated the letters, laws, and literature of this country. This imitation had polished them at a very early date, and had modified their manners and language, which differed from that of their neighbors. They honored Buddha to such a degree, and were so attached to his law, that they had more than a hundred convents, in which lived more than five thousand monks : all were devoted tc the study of their law and their mysteries. The first relations that the Chinese had with Khotan, were at the end of the second century B. C. The king of the country then resided in the western city ; this numbered twenty-three hundred houses, and nine- teen thousand three hundred people, and but twenty- four hundred select troops. There was a prime min- ister, a general of the right wing, and one of the left, two captains of cavalry, a commandant of the western, and one of the eastern city. Khotan has always been celebrated for the great quantity of Oriental jade which they go, they regard the wagon as the house in which they were born, their birthplace. On a march, they cause their larger animals and sheep to precede the wagons ; but they pay the most particular attention to their horses, for they prefer these before every thing. With them the country is always verdant, and sprinkled with groves and fruit trees ; so that they have no need to carry forage and provisions : this is caused by the humidity of the soil, and the great number of rivers which water it. AU are under military discipline, and are good soldiers. Almost all are handsome and taU. They have hair rather blond ; their eyes, though terrible, have sweetness. Being lightly armed, they march rapidly. They are like the Huns, but less rude and better clothed. They enact their robberies on the Black Sea, as well as on the confines of Armenia and Media. The perils of war have as great a charm for the Alans, as repose for men of a tranquU character. He who dies m battle is deemed happy ; he who dies by age or accident is despised and insulted. A man slain in battle is their most glorious object of veneration. They keep as trophies the scalps of their enemies, and make of their skins harness for their horses. They have neither temples nor holy places, but fix a naked sword in the groxmd, and worship it. They predict the future by willow rods. Anciently they knew no servitude : ail were deemed of noble blood. They elect for judges those who have made themselves famous in war. 390 THE HUNS AND FINNS. its rivers roll down. This stone still makes the chief object of the commerce of this country, for it is very much sought after, being highly valued by the Chinese and the neighboring people. In A. D. 73, when Pantchao was named by China as generalissimo and commandant of the western confederated countries, the king of Khotan submitted himself. There were at that time eighty-three thousand inhabitants in the capital, and thirty thousand soldiers. Some time before this, the prince of Yarkand, becoming powerful, had subjugated Khotan ; but the immediate predecessor of the prince of Khotan, who became a vas- sal of China, revolted, and this latter himself destroyed the power of the prince of Yarkand, and gave back to his country its ancient splendor. Thirteen states to the north-west, as far as Cashgar, recognized his authority. About the same time, the king of the environs of Lake Lop began to be powerful. Ever since, these two states have been the keys of the southern route which conducts from the Beloor Mountains to China. Since this time, also, the princes of Khotan and the other states of Central Asia have always obeyed the Chinese, the Turkish nations, the Thibetans, or what- ever people was dominant in those vast regions be- tween the Himmaleh and Altai Mountains. Buddhism was the prevailing religion, till the Hoei hoo Turks conquered the country, and introduced Islamism. It appears, nevertheless, that the worship of Buddha, preserved itself for a long time after, and did not cease entirely, except under the successor of Zingis Khan in Turkestan. CHAPTER CCIV. The Hunnic and Finnic Races. The history of the Huns and Finns does not properly belong to the annals of Tartary, except as they were pushed westward by Tartar tribes, who occupied their place. We shall therefore dismiss them with but a slight notice here, referring the reader to the history of Hungary for farther details. Next west of the Mongols, or Tartars, a Siberian tribe, dwelling about Lake Baikal, as already noticed, came the Samoiede races. These were driven north, or occupied, with the Ting ling, as ancestors of the Klrghis, the upper course of the Yenisei. West of these Samoiedes and ancient Kirghis, were the Orien- tal Finns, or Huns. They occupied the steppe of Ischim, the Irtish and its tributaries, the southern por- tion of the Ural Mountains, and the Ural River, com- ing down to the Caspian. This was in the sixth cen- tury B. C. Immediately to the south were the Massa- getae, or Alans. This strange race, the Huns, is described with all the exaggerated coloring of fear and disgust by those who were contemporary with its first irruptions into Europe ; and it is the less to be wondered at, as the barbarians they had hitherto seen were of the Indo- Germanic race, resembling the Europeans. The Huns had small eyes, flat noses, big heads, and a yellow or very brown complexion. The mothers had the habit of flattening their childrens' noses as soon as they were bom, and gashing their cheeks. These natural and artificial elements of ugliness were exag- gerated by European writers into the most hideous oictures of deformity — each author endeavoring to eclipse his predecessor in the description of the dreaded and hated race. Their mode of life was like that of most savages. They ate nothing cooked, and were acquainted with no kind of seasoning. They lived on raw roots, or the flesh of animals a little deadened by being placed between the saddle and the back of the horse. They never handled the plough : the prisoners they took in war cultivated their lands, and took care of their flocks Before their arrival in Europe, they had never inhab- ited either houses or cabins : every walled enclosure appeared to them a sepulchre ; they did not think themselves safe under a roof. Accustomed from infancy to suffer cold, hunger, and thirst, they frequently changed their abode, or rather had none, but wandered in the mountains and the forests, followed by their numerous herds, and trans- porting with them all their family in wagons drawn by oxen. Shut up in these, their women occupied themselves in spinning or sewing garments for their husbands, and in nursing their infants. They dressed themselves in marten skins, which they permitted to decay upon their bodies, without ever taking them off. They wore a cap, buckskin gaiters, and a shoe so shapeless and clumsy that it hindered them from walking, and was unfit for fighting on foot. They scarcely ever quitted their horses, which were small and hideous, but agile and indefatigable. They passed days and nights upon these animals, sometimes mounted astride, sometimes sideways : they dismount- ed neither to eat nor drink ; and, when overtaken by sleep, dropping upon the neck of the animal, they slept there profoundly. The national council was held on horseback. They threw themselves upon the enemy, uttering frightful cries ; if they found too much resistance, they dis- persed immediately, and returned with the quickness of thought, piercing through and overthrowing every thing on their passage. Their arrows were armed with pointed bones, • as hard and as murderous as steel ; they shot them, with as much adroitness as force, at full speed, and even in flying. For hand to hand fighting, they held in one hand a cimeter, and in the other a net, in which they endeavored to entangle the enemy. One of their families had the exclusive privilege of first striking the foe. Their women feared neither wounds nor death ; and often, after a defeat, women might be found among the dead and wounded. The barbarism of these people was so deeply rooted, that, for nearly a hundred years after their arrival in Europe, they had no idea of the art of writing, and sent only verbal propositions to the princes with whom they treated. But, the Hioong noo being dispossessed on the east, — as is related more fully in a subsequent chapter — a portion of them crowded upon the Huns, and, in the second century, took their place,* forcing the Huns over the Ural, into Europe, and upon the Alans — who however, after crowding them to the north, along the * This fact, indistinctly known, has probably ^induced many, misled by a fancied resemblance in the name's Hioong noo and Huns, to suppose that the Hioong noo are the terrible people, who, under the name of Huns, devastated Europe. But the names are of different meaning, and there was little resemblance in the features or habits of the two races ; the Hioong noo being Turks, as is shown in the history of the Turkish race, given in a subsequent chapter. Possibly some of them might have mingled with the Huns, and this would partially reconcile the two views. THE TUNGOUSE— YrLIU — MOO-KY. 391 Upper Volga, mingled with them. The united nations spread the Hunnic, or Avar, empire, in the early part of the fifth century of our era, as far as the Danuhe on the west, and Lake Aral on the east. The Finns are now found toward Finland. Part of the Lower Volge^, and a line drawn south by west from its west- ernmost bend, separated the Avar empire from that of the Thoukhiu, or ancient Turks,^ A. D. 565. In 679, the Khazar empire, of Finnic or Hunnish origin, beginning with an obscure tribe just north of Caucasus, in the latter half of the second century, spread itself west to the Bog, north to the Finns, and east to Lake Aral, where it was coterminous with the Chinese and Arabian empires. In 745, it was bounded on the east by the Volga ; and, in 1000 A. D., nearly all of this was occupied by the grand duchy of Russia. Mingled with other tribes, the Huns originated the modern Hungarians, to whose country they gave name. We perceive, then, that the countries about the Ural are the gate by which the nomads of Middle Asia have made their irruptions into Europe. Their enter- prises were more or less considerable or fortunate. Oftentimes, tribes came from the east, stopped on the road for one or more centuries, and did not quit, for generations, the lands, which afforded them fat pastur- age and abundance of animals of chase. Thus these Asiatic wanderers, settling awhile in the fertile plains of the Ural, blended themselves with the Finnish tribes they found there, who probably extended as far south as the Black Sea. These mixtures produced new languages and new nations, which, remained in the country they had adopted, or, pushed by other people coming from the east, advanced towards Europe. Here we have, in a few words, the history of the great migration of nations, which began to be felt, for the first time, by the civilized states of Europe in the passage of the Huns, in A. D. 376. These latter, passing the Sea of Azof and the Don, fell upon the nations of Indo-Ger- manic origin, who occupied the country situated to the north of the Black Sea as far as the Danube. These fugitives, thrown one upon another, spread themselves over the provinces of the Roman empire, changed its face, and from the chaos thus induced has gradually sprung, in all its still developing propor- tions, the fair structure of European civilization. CHAPTER CCV. 1100B.C.toA,D.1234. The Tungouse Race — Y-liu — Moo-ky — Khitans — Ju-tchin, Kin, or Altoun Khan — Chy-goei. The Tungouse, or, as the Chinese call them, Toong- hoo, that is, " eastern barbarians," although they have so long led a wandering life, without forming either great states or powerful empires, have never passed, on the west, the chain of the Khinggan Moun- tains, under the meridian of 120°. From these moun- tains their original seat extended to the Sea of Japan, and occupied the country now called Manchooria, watered by the Amoor River and its branches. Eleven hundred years before the Christian era, the southern part of this country was known to the Chi- nese, and called by its present name, Su-chin, or, as the Mongols and Manchoos pronounce it, Dzurtchit. Its inhabitants brought to China arrows made of the hoo wood, and arrow-heads of hard stone. For a thousand years this intercourse was uninterrupted : then their name, had changed to Y-liu, under which name they sent to the emperors of Northern China, about A. D. 263, a tribute consisting of arrows, stone arrow-heads, bows, cuirasses, and marten skins. The country is very cold, and so mountainous that one cannot ride there either on horseback or in carriages. They sowed the five sorts of grain, raised cattle and horses, and made their garments of hempen cloth. The red yu stones and zibeline marten skins were found among them. These Y-liu had neither princes nor chiefs : their villages, situated in forests and on mountains, were governed by elders. They lived in subterranean caverns ; those of the rich were deeper than others. They fed many swine, and ate them for food ; the skin served them for clothing. In winter, they greased themselves with the fat of animals, the better to endure the cold ; in summer, they went naked, except a piece of cloth round the middle. Their smell was offensive, for they never washed, and lived in the greatest filth. They had no writing ; their word was their bond. They used baskets for seats. They trampled on their meat with their feet before eating it ; if it was frozen, they sat upon it to thaw it. Neither salt nor iron were found in. their country ; for salt they used leached- ashes. They all dressed the hair in tresses : he who wished to contract marriage adorned the head of the female who pleased him with birds' feathers, and paid the dowry. Young people, strong and robust, were alone esteemed among this people, who despised the aged. The dead were interred in the fields on the day of their death ; they were placed in a little bier made of boards : a hog was killed and placed on the grave, as food for the deceased. They were of a- wicked and cruel character, and had no compassion on their fellow- men. At the death of a father or mother, the children did not weep, regarding tears as a sign of cowardly weakness. Thieves were killed, whether the value of the article stolen were more or less. Their weapons were the bow and arrow, and their armor, cuirasses made of skins and covered with bones. They were good archers, and used very strong bows, four feet long. Their arrows, twenty inches long, were armed with poisoned heads, made of a very hard green stone. These rendered them formidable to their neighbors. But they never made conquests, and remained in peaceable possession of their own country. Mote to the west dwelt, A. D. 500, another Tungouse tribe, the Moo-ky, on the Soongari River. Each village had its chief, but they were not united in one nation. They were brave and warlike, and the most powerful among the " eastern barbarians." Their dialect differed from that of their neighbors, whom they constantly harassed, and inspired with extreme fear. They lived on mountains, and along streams. Their country was poor and damp : they surrounded their dwellings with little mounds of beaten earth, and lived in subterranean excavations, to which they descended by a ladder. They had neither cattle nor sheep, but they raised horses ; they cultivated wheat, some other grains, and pulse. The water of their country was saltish, and the salt showed itself in efflorescence, even on the bark of the trees ; they had also salt lakes. 392 THE KHI-TAN, JU-TCHIN, AND CHT-GOEI TEIBES , This people had many swine ; they made spirit of gram, and loved to intoxicate themselves with it At marriage, the bride had cloth garments, and the bride- groom a dress of swine-skin, and a tiger's or leop- ard s tail tied, to his head. The Moo-ky were excel- lent archers, and great hunters ; they compounded the poison for their arrows in the seventh or eighth month; It was so active that its vapor, during preparation, would kill. When their relatives died in spring, they buried them on heights, and built a little house over the grave, to preserve it from rain and jnoisture ; as to those who died in autumn or winter, they used the corpses to allure martens, and thus caught many. In the commencement of the seventh century, the Chinese emperor united the seven hordes of this people ; and at the end of the same century we find them founding a powerful kingdom, which compre- hended ^part of Corea, and was civilized, having the use of letters, and a regular form of government. This kingdom ended in 925, when it fell under the power of the Khi-tan, another Tungouse tribe. These latter had been driven from their own country by the Chinese, but returned, and frequently invaded China, but were sometimes tributary to it. In 553, they in- vaded it, and a hundred thousand of them were made prisoners, and as many cattle taken from them. After this, they became subject to the Turks, except ten thousand families, who retired into Corea. Passing through similar and various fortunes, now revolting from the Chinese, now subject to the Turks, the Khi-tan were civilized by their rulers, who estab- lished magistrates, and introduced notched sticks for writing ; they also gradually learned how to fatten cattle, thus enriching themselves, and acquired the art of forging iron and casting metals. They extended their frontiers, built cities, and fortified them with ram- parts and palisades. They devoted themselves also to the culture of silk and hemp, and to weaving. The Khi-tan attained an extensive empire ; and a legend is told of the founder of it, which resembles those frequently told, in Asiatic story, of great men, and reminding us also of the Roman tale about Ser- vius TuUius. The founder of the famous Khi-tan dynasty of Liao was A-pao-khi. His mother, the king's wife, dreamed that a sun fell into her bosom ; and when A-pao-khi was born, the house appeared surrounded with a ^ivine light, and was perfumed with an exquisite odor. At his birth, he was of the size of an infant three years old, and was able to creep. His mother, wondering at these prodigies, secreted him, and' brought him up very carefully. At the end of three months, he stood alone ; at the age of one. year he could talk, and predicted the future. He pretended to be surrounded with supernatural beings, who served him as guards. Being created viceroy, with power to make war and peace, after subjecting the neighboring hordes, he made incursions into China, and succeeded (A. D. 907) to his benefactor, who willed him the imperial dignity. With astonishing rapidity, he extended his conquests to the sea-shore on the east, Cashgar on the west, and Lake Baikal on the north — while, on the south, the north-east part of China was included under his sway, as well as a great part of Corea. He held his court at Pe-kin, arid, proud of his conquests, took the name of Hmang-ti, that is, August Emperor. His successors became so powerful, that they, in a man- cer disposed of the throne of China. They reigned two centuries, and their kingdom was overthrown by their rebellious subjects, the Ju-tchin. The manners and customs of the Ju-tchin resem- bled those of their ancestors of the same name, tho Su-chin. They were brave and expert archers. Knowing how to counterfeit the cry of the deer, they collected them thus into one place, to kill them more easily ; they fed on their flesh, and made an intoxi- cating beverage of hind's milk. They had many beasts of chase in their territory, which was on the east of the Soongari River — wild boars, wild oxen, asses, and excellent horses. They rode oxen and mules. During rain, they wrapped themselves in raw hides. Their little houses were covered with birch bark. The Ju-tchin were governed by different chiefs ; one of them, a native of Corea, became rich and power- ful ; his successors contributed to polish their subjects and to unite them in one nation. One of them, find- ing himself at the head of all their hordes, revolted against the Khi-tan, or Liao, to whom he was subject, beat them in several battles, took from them a large extent of country, and in 1115 was proclaimed em- peror. He gave the name of Kin — that is. Golden — to his dynasty. The Chinese employed them to destroy the Liao, whom they overcame ; and being thus intro- duced into the country, they were loath to quit it, and, in fact, took possession of the whole north of China, as far as the Hoang-ho, driving the emperor to the south. The Chinese have frequently, by their imprudence, thus invited in strangers, and given themselves mas- ters. The Ju-tchin thus became masters of the east- ern part of Asia, from the Amoor, Tula, and Ork- hon to the Hoang-ho, — holding, also, the province of Honan, south of the last named river, and several cities beside. It was not till 1119 that they had writ- ten characters, at which time they adopted those of the Khi-tan ; what these were is not known. This Kin dynasty, called Altoun Khan, by Arabic writers, lasted till A. D. 1234, when it was destroyed by Zingis Khan. The last branch of the Tungouse race, known to the Chinese, from whom alone we have these accounts, is that which they named Chy-goei. It consisted of several hordes, who had no common bond, and no princes. A feeble and poor people, it had been sub- ject to the Turks, and was of the same origin as the Khi-tan ; the most southerly lived at some distance north of them, and in the neighborhood of the banks of the Non. Their country was scantily fertile, very moist, and clothed with grass and forests, which harbored beasts of the chase. It was desolated by clouds of gnats. The inhabitants lived in subterranean excavations. Dressed like the Khi-tan, the Chy-goei, like them, shaved the head. Like the Turks, they had felt tents, on wagons. They crossed rivers on' rafts and skin boats. They tackled oxen to their carts, and made themselves cabins covered with coarse mats. Instead of felt, they put a bundle of grass under the saddle of their horses : cords served them for bridles. They slept on hog-skins. Little bits of wood, arranged in a certain order, reminded them of things they wished to remember. Their climate was very cold. They had no sheep, and but few horses ; but swine and cattle were common. They intoxicated themselves with a kind of spirit which they knew how to make. Mar- riages were contracted by the bride paying a dowry to the family of the bridegroom. Widows could not THE TURKISH RACE. 39S marfy again. Mourning was worn three months for the rich. Having no iron in their country, they ob- tained it of the Coreans. The southern Chy-g6ei numbered twenty-five hordes. Ten days north of them, the northern Chy-goei formed nine hordes : they lived eastwardly from Lake Baikal, in an excessively cold country, where much snow falls, and were obliged tO use sledges. In \^ter, they retired to the caves of the mountains : theylived by fishing, and made their garments of the skins of fish. Zibelines and other kinds of martens abounded among them ; they wore caps of badger and fox skins. From the nine hordes hamed above, descended the Tungouse tribes that at present inhabit Eastern Siberia ; they are subject to Russia. CHAPTER CCVI. 3200 B. C. to A, S. 460. Hie Ancient Turkish Race, or Hioong noo. The Turkish race was called Hioong noo in ancient times, and differs from the Mongols, Kalmucks, and other Tartars, in having a whiter complexion, European features, a taller stature, and a more commanding air. We propose to treat here of the earlier history of this renowned people, and its transactions in Tartary : the history of that more modern branch of it which settled in Turkey, has already been given. Of all the nations of the interior of Asia, the Turk- ish is the most numerous. Next to the Indo-Germanic race — treated of in a previous chapter — it is the widest spread of the old world. At the present day, its dwellings are scattered from the Adriatic Sea, in Eu- rope, to the mouth of the Lena, on the Arctic Ocean. It appears that, after the Deluge, its ancestors de- scended from the snowy mountains of Tangnou and the Great Altai, whence they soon dispersed themselves to the north-east and south-west, settling chiefly to (he north of the Chan-si and Chen-si provinces of China, near Mount In-chan. These barbarians lived chiefly on the produce of their herds, and led a wandering life, following the courses of the rivers, in quest of pasturage. Some tribes, addicted to agriculture, had more fixed set- tlements, and lands whose limits were established. They were ignorant of the art of writing ; their word was a sure guaranty of their contracts. From the most tender age, their children were exercised for hunting and war. They were made to ride on sheep, and taught to shoot at birds and mice with little arrows. As they grew talter, they hunted foxes and hares, whose flesh they ate. At a later age, when able to manage stronger bows, they received a cuirass and a saddle-horse : war then became their chief business. Their arms were the bow, arrows, the sword, and the lance. When successful, these people advanced ; if fortune did not favor them, they sounded a retreat, not regarding flight as having any thing shameful in it. On this account, they were but the more formidable ; for ordinarily tiiey returned briskly to the charge, attacking with new vigor and spirit. The agility of their horses was of great advantage in this mode of combat, and regular troops found it very difficult to resist them. Often the innunierable swarms of thejr horsemen, pursued too closely, dispersed themselves in the deserts, Jike the dust driven by the wind ; and their enemies, enticed and led forward into these frightful 60 solitudes, perished wreWfcedly. The warrior who could carry off the body of his comrade slain by his side in battle, became his heir, and obtained possession of all his property. These people were very desirous of prisoners, and made the most of the captives they could take, who, in fact, composed their dhief wealth : they employted them m guarding their studs of horses and herds of cattle. They were rude and gross, showing no respect to parents or superiore. Many of their traits, in fact, remind us of a similar if not a Cognate nation, described by the prophet Habakkuk, in 600 B.C. They fed on the flesh of their cattle, v^hose skins served them for dresses and banners ; the young peo- ple ate the best morsels, and the old were obliged to content themselves with what was left them ; for, like air barbarians, the ancient Turks valued none but vigorous men, and despised those whose forces were diminished by age. After the death of the father, the sons often espoused the wives he left ; and in case of a brother's death, the survivors married his wives. The name of an individual did not pass to his descend- ants : thus the use of family names was unknown among them. The domestic animals, next to captives their chief riches, were cattle, sheep, horses, camels, asses, several different species of mules, and also wild horses and asses.* Northern China has been, from the earliest antiquity, exposed to the incursions of people of this race ; and these raids or forays were frequent in proportion to the feebleness of the emperors. Previous to 1200 B. C, their power was not very formidable, as they were not united under one chief, and it was balanced by the Tungouse on the east, and the Yue tchi on the west. But at about that period, a prince of the imperial family of China, having retired among them, founded an em- pire ; which, however, did not become powerful till 200 B. C. At about this time, they overcame the Sian-pi and Oo-hooan, noticed hereafter, extended their power far to the west, and ravaged tlie northern provmces of China. The Chinese, in 214, had united various walls of petty kingdoms into the K'esent con- tinuous great wall, to repel these barbarians. In 200 B. C, the founder of the Han dynasty marched against them with a numerous army ; but, being surrounded, he was obliged to employ a stratagem, and sent a beauti- ful girl to the chief of the Hioong noo, as they were then called, who persuaded him to make peace. After devastating Chan-si, they went back to their own land, laden with immense booty, and the Chinese emperor returned to his capital. Notwithstanding the treaty, however, the Hioong * The general name for the nomads of South Mongolia, among the Chinese, was Ti, which means great wild staff, and is supposed to allude to the use of the reindeer ; others say it means dog race. ■ Another name, used hy the Chinese as edrly as 2200 B. C, to designate the Turks, is Chan- joung, " barbarian mountaineers ; " it was afterwards extend- ed to certain Thibetan teibes. Under the first Chinese dynasty, the Turks were called Hiuniyu; under the third, about 1000 B. C, it was Hian-yu; fciaUy, under the Thsin and Han dynasties, they were called Hioong-noo; this means " detestable , slaves," and seems to be an intentional corruption of the primitiTe name, to express the usual horror of settled agriculturists to wandering nomads — a dislike well earned, since such restless, plundering borderers have always been, and are, their greatest bane. As early as the patriarch Joseph's time, we fiiid nomadic shepherds were " an abomina- tion" to" the weU-ordered and industrious communities of the Egyptians. This Chinese name has nothing to do with the Huns, as has been shown. 394 THE HIOONG NOO. noo, naturally restless and greedy of pillage, returned the next year, and violated the Chinese territory. The emperor dissembled ; the hostile chief, Me-the, became daily more powerful ; the Chinese minister, who knew his wickedness and bad faith, despaired of gaining him by reason or binding him by treaties. One of his counsellors, therefore, advised him to induce Me-the to take a daughter of the emperor to wife, suggesting that if he had by her a son whp should inherit his throne, his mother would inspire him with sentiments favorable to the Chinese, and the nation might become civilized. It was hoped also that the ties of relation- ship would bind him to the emperor. Kao-hooang-ti, the emperor, adopted this sagacious advice, and his daughter was the first Chinese princess who was thus, for political reasons, married to a foreign potentate. In after times, the precedent has often been followed, and it is the present mode of curbing the Tartar sub- jects of China. But as the infantas of China found themselves very unhappily situated in barbarous coun- tries, far from fashionable life and the amusements of a court, among rude nomads who obeyed the sceptre of their husbands, girls of the palace were often substi- tuted instead of the real daughters of the emperor. The alliance thus concluded between the two sover- eigns, Kao-hooang-ti and Me-the, had, in fact, very happy effects for China ; the incursions of the Turks became Isss frequent, and the peace of the frontiers was rarely disturbed. To protect the northern prov- inces from the insults of these barbarians, the Chinese had established in them military colonies, which were strong enough to resist the first shock. After the emperor's death, the invasions re-com- menced, and the peace of the frontiers was often broken, till, in 141 B. C, the emperor Hiao-woo-ti, with the design of avenging repeated insults, and de- stroying the power of the enemy, or at least so weak- ening it as to render it harmless to China, combated them so vigorously, that he drove them six hundred miles or more from his northern boundary ; and further, in order to form a connection with the tribes west of the Hioong noo, their natural enemies, he took posses- sion of the region to the west of Chen-si. He divided the district into four parts, and built cities in it as well as in his northern conquests, garrisoned them with a formidable army, and established Chinese colonies, designed to civilize the barbarous inhabitants in their vicinity.* To accomplish his purposes the sooner, he sent one of his counsellors into the west, to contract an alliance with the Yue tchi, a people hereafter noticed — and other nations disposed to sustain a war against the common enemy. Although this embassy, which took place 126 B. C, did not attain all the ends proposed, it yet con- tributed a great deal to render the interior of Asia more familiar to the Chinese, and made way for the establishment of the power which they exercised, at a later date, in the countries situated north of Thibet, and beyond the Jaxartes, or Sihon. The Chinese, thus becoming acquainted with the • These proceedings strongly remind us of the similar policy, a century and a half sooner, of the Grecian conqueror, Alexander, in establishing miUtary colonies, with commercial cities, throughout Northern and Eastern Persia, Bactria, «sc., to effect the same purposes for his own empire against the gimilar rovers of Western Asia. Egyptian conquerors had done the same, long befbre, both in Asia and Africa ; and Bussia is doing it now. condition of the vast territories of tlie Hioong noo, and that of the countries whence they drew their principal forces, and especially their wealth and arms, resolved to take these possessions from them. The success of their first expedition, 101 B. C, against the Ta-ooan kingdom, was not brilliant; but in the second, they besieged the capital, caused its king to be given up, cut off his head, and put another king in his place. These victories contributed very, much to confirm the other kmgs in their obedience, and obliged those who had not hitherto submitted to declare themselves vas- sals of China. The emperor even gave his daughter in marriage to the king of the Oo-sun, a nation noticed in a previous chapter, to draw closer the bonds of alliance. He now established in the centre of Asia, near the present Khamil, or Hami, in about 44° of latitude and 94° of longitude, the seat of a military government. The generalissimo, who resided here, had under his surveillance thirty-six kingdoms, whose monarchs had received investiture at the hands of the Chinese em- peror, with the seal which marked the fact and the dignity. This federal system, established to the detri- ment of the Hioong noo, had all the success anticipated from it ; it contributed in a powerful degree to over- throw their dominion : nevertheless the bravery of this people sustained the nation yet a long time, and it was often fortunate in its wars with the Chinese, though it knew not how to avail itself of its successes. We have dwelt the longer on the above particulars because they give us the simple elements of Chinese and Tartar history — the key to much of Asiatic story, and many centuries of changes. The reader will not fail to be reminded by some of the circumstances of the intercourse between the civilized Pharaohs and the nomad patriarchs, at the other extreme of Asia — a his- tory familiar to our childhood ; of Mehemet Ali and the Arabs, in our own times. To avoid monotony, our subsequent narrative of the Hioong noo must be more briefly sketched. In the year 72 B. C, the king of the Oo-sun implored the help of the emperor against a tribe of the Hioong noo, who had seized a part of his estates. An army of sixty thousand men was sent to his relief. Com- manded by five generals, it entered the hostile territory at five different points at once. On their side, the Oo-sun attacked the enemy, who were every where beaten and overthrown. Their chief, however, mak- ing one more effort, armed a body of ten thousand cavalry, with which he entered the territory of the Oo-sun ; but, when he wished to return, there fell so great a body of snow, that almost all his men and his herds perished with cold and starvation. At the same time, the Tingling, a people north of the Oo-sun, in Southern Siberia, profiting by the weakness of the Hioong noo, attacked them from the north, while the Oo-sun became their assailants on the west, the Oo- hooan on the east, and the Chinese on the south. The Hioong noo lost, on this occasion, multitudes of their people, and vast numbers of their cattie and other animals. This terrible disaster was followed by a great mor- tality, which obliged the people to disperse themselves,; multitudes who escaped these two scourges perished by a cruel famine. So many woes considerably en- feebled the empire of the Hioong noo. The neigh- boring kingdoms seized the moment to throw off their yoke. They themselves thought only of peace, the more necessary as there were several disputants for CONQUESTS OF THE CHINESE. 395 the succession , to the throne. Five competitors ap- peared at once ; the regult was a very bloody civil war, which reduced this wretched people to the ex- treme of misery. These national calamities finally forced one of their chiefs, Hoo han sie, to submit himself to the Chinese. He sat out on his march, in 52 B. C, to meet the emperor, then at one of 1^ palaces, near Tchang ngan, or Si ngan foo. Guards and an officer were sent forward to meet and escort the Turkish monarch. He was received with distinguished honors, and considerable presents were made him ; he obtained permission to settle himself, with his subjects, on the north of the province of Chen-si. The emperor caused him to be conducted back to his dominions, and gave him auxiliary troops to subdue the rebels who disturbed his states. Presently the other chieftains followed his example, and declared themselves vassals of China. All were well received, and the imperial court was secretly delighted with the discord that reigned among its natural enemies. Nevertheless, the chief who had first submitted found means to rid him- self of all his competitors ; and, after reestablishing peace among his subjects, he revisited China, to pay his court to the emperor, who gave him a Chinese princess in marriage. His successors long kept up a good undferstanding with China, and hostages answered for their fidelity. In A. D. 9, Wang mang having usurped the impe- rial throne, the Hioong noo, and severaf other kingdoms of Central Asia, — ancient allies of China, — threw oflT their allegiance, declaring their independence, or joining the Hioong noo. Wang mang, with the de- sign to deliver his provinces from the incursions of the latter, had collected immense magazines of warlike stores. He then took the field with an army of three hundred thousand men, and, in A. D. 11, penetrated, by ten different routes, into the very centre of the enemy's country, and advanced as far as the Ting ling. All the empire of the Hioong noo was subdued, and Wang mang divided it among the fifteen sons and grandsons of Hoo han sie, of whom one became head of the nation. The Hioong noo, however, not long after, com- menced and continued their annoyances, and, united with the Sian pi and Oo hooan, regained their ancient power. In A. D. 46, the empire was anew divided into factions. For several years, their country had been desolated by great numbers of insects, which devoured the pasturage and the crops ; a great drought finished the destruction of what these creatures left. The famine which ensued was but a prelude to all the misfortunes about to befall this people. The Hioong noo, heretofore so haughty, fearing the Chinese would attack them, now begged for peace. The Sian pi and Oo hooan, their ancient subjects, fell upon them, and drove them farther north, making them abandon to their conquerors all they possessed to the south of the DeSert of Cobi. One of two competitors for the throne secretly sent to China a map or description of the Hioong noo country, asking to be acknowledged a vassal. . His opponent, getting wind of it, resolved to assassinate him ; but the other assembled the eight hordfes which he governed, declared himself chief, and took the old name of Hoo han sie, which his succes- sors retained, as the Roman emperors, successors of Cfflsar, did his. He reigned on the borders of China, and over the southern division of the Hioong noo, which thws became divided into two kingdoms, one southern, the other northern. The southern kingdom, remained on good terms with China, and was charged to repress the incursions of the other kingdom, and of the Sian pi. The north- ern kingdom, although endangered by the discontent of many of its tribes, continued to annoy China, which saw no other means to defend itself, than to undertake the famous expedition to the west in A. D. 72, re- counted elsewhere, in the history of Thibet. This struck a terrible blow at the power of the northern Hioong noo, whose king found himself obliged to solicit the friendship of the emperor, and obtained, in A. I). 84, permission for his subjects to come to traffic with the western frontiers of the empire. This aroused the jealousy of their bitter enemies, the southern Hioong noo, who fell upon them by surprise, and car- ried off almost all their cattle and animals. The Oo hooan and Sian pi, the people of Central Asia, and the Ting ling, attacked them on all sides, obliging them to retire farther and farther to the north-west. Their king was killed in a bloody battle with the Sian pi, who pushed the enemy so vigorously, that fifty-eight hordes- of them threw themselves on the protection of China, imploring to become its vassals. The Chinese dominion having been established in Little Bijcharia, on the west, in A. D. 89, a Chinese general defeated the Hioong noo in that quarter, obliging eighty-one of their hordes to declare them- selves vapsals of China. The following year, he took the city of Khamil, and obliged the king of the Ouigoors to give him his son as a hostage. After this, the Hioong noo no longer dared to appear in arms ; they demanded peace, and sent an ambassador to ren- der homage to the emperor, who sent an officer to the frontier to receive him. Scarcely was he departed, when an envoy of the southern Hioong noo arrived at court, to demand help against the northern. Eegard- less of good faith, the emperor granted their request ; and, joining his troops with the southern Hioong noo, the allied army gained a complete victory over the northern foe. On learning of this defeat, the em- peror, resolving to follow it up by their complete de- struction, levied a formidable army, which, advancing to the sources of the Irtish, entirely dispersed the nation, their king being killed in the rout, A. D. 90, 91, 92. The remnants of the nation, reuniting, marched for Sogdiana, but were obliged to stop on the north of Khueithsu, or Koutche, where they settled for some time, under the name of Yue pan. Later, they went to the north-west, and, under the same name, inhabited both sides of the mountains which bound the steppe of Ischim on the south. In 448, they sent an embassy to the Goei, to invite them to attack the Jouan Jouan on the east, while they themselves at- tacked them on the west. After this, the Yue pan are lost to history, becoming mingled, probably, with other Turkish people. "Some other feeble fragments of the Hioong noo remained. The Sian pi established themselves in their country by force, and subjected more than a hundred thousand of them ; these, to obtain better terms, amal- gamated entirely with their conquerors, who date their greatness from this time. The southern Hioong noo remained quiet for some time ; but, in A. D. 109, when a frightful famine desolated China, their king deemed it a fitting opportunity to master at least a part of it. But the Chinese rallied, and beat him completely, 396 THE THOUKHITT. so that he was obliged to come and ask pardon, and renew his allegiance. Profiting by a similar disaster, in A. D. 155, thejr attempted to unite with a "thibetan tribe, on the west frodtler, to throw Off the yoke. The Chinese general of the border managed to prevent this, cut off all communications, joined the Thibetan troops to his own, and subjugated the Hioong noo. After this, they were sometimes subject, and sometimes at War with China. Finally, the founder of the Goei dynasty, in 216, held their kst king prisoner in China, abolished hip title, and set another ruler over his people. A part were dispersed on the northern frontiers, and had blended themselves with the natives. They were divided into six cantons, each cortimanded by a chief of their nation. In the sequel, twenty thousand families, who remained in their old country, came to submit themselves to China ; they livted peace- ably during the reign of the Goei dynasty, whose emperors had become very powerful, and governed *ith firmness. The northern part of China, and chiefly the cantons Chan si and Petehyli, enclosed by the double wall, had Been loiig inhabited by Hioong noo families, mingled with Chinese. Bad policy had placed them there ; for it fa,cilitated their acquisition of a part of the territory of the empire. In fact, these Hioong noo, now be- come numerous and exactly acquainted with the aiffairs of China, profited by its divisions in the fourth century, and established here their kingdom of Han, or the first Tchao, which lasted from 308 to 329. Its princes had their court in Chan si ; they were very powerful, gave a fatal blow to the imperial dynasty of Tsin, pillaged Lo Yang, and took the emperor prisoner. 0ne of their generals, rebelling successfully, formed a petty state. Several generals submitted them- selves to him, and recognized him as their sover- eign. He destroyed the dynasty of his masters, and founded the second dynasty, Tchao, which subsisted till 351. Another of this race aggrandized himself among the Sian pi, and even took the Chinese capital, Tdhang ngan, and here declared himself emperor in 418 ; but his power was short lived. The last state possessed by a prince of the Hioong noo was Calkd Northern Liang, and rose through the subjection of th6 Ouigoor, in 439. This was put down by the Jeou jan in 460. The nation, dispersed, thenceforth, through- out all Asia, lost its name, and was in part confounded with other people of different origin. CHAPTER CCVII. E. C. 460 to A. I). 1857. The Turkish Race, continued — The Thou- khiu, or Toorks — The Uoei he, or Ouigoor s. Some relics of the Hioong nOo, chased from the kingdom of Northern Liang, had retired to the north, and dwelt probably on Lake Balkash. They were there destroyed by a neighboring nation, which, ac- cording to the fabulous tradition preserved by the Chinese, exterminated them, without distinction of age or sex. There remained but one mdividual, a boy ten years old, whofee life the enemy spared through compassion, contenting themselves with cutting off his hands and his feet. The child di^gged himself to a great swamp, where he lay concealed. A she wolf took care of him, ntirsed him, and shared her prey with him. PerSfecuted by their enemies, they were carried by a supernatural being to the east of the lake, and took refuge in a cave of a mountain, to the north- West of the Ouigoor country. Having traversed the cavern, they came out upon a fertile plain, more than sixty miles in circumference, and there the wolf became the mother of ten boys. These, on growing up, car- ried off women, and took, each of them, a distinct family name. Assena, (wolf,) being endowed with a greater capacity than the rest, became chief of the little tribe, which increased rapidly. To preserve the meniory of their origin, he placed heads of wolv.es at the top of his standards. This legend much resembles that told of the origin of the Mongols, and of the family of Zingis Khan. Perhaps Zingis was descended from Turkish princes, who ruled the Mongols ; oi; tlie story of Zingis may be borrowed from this fabulous tradition of the origin of the Turkish princes. The tribe of Assena, having considerably increased, left the plain, vi'hich had become too narrow to contain it, and dispersed itself in the valleys of the Altai,. ot " gold " Mountains. The princes established their res- idence at the foot of a mountain, which had the form of a helmet. This piece of armor was called, in their language, thoukhiu, and it is froin this that the nation borrowed the name it has ever since borne, that is, Turk, pronounced Toork — the name this famous nation bears in the west, corrupted by Chinese pronuiipiation into Thoukhiu. The Thoukhiu Turks were subject to the Jepu jan; they excelled in forging weapons and armor. Toward the end of the dynasty of the Goei, their chief called himself Thoumen ; hp combated the Kao tche Turks, and utterly defeated them. Puffed up by this success, he sent an embassy to China. In 546, he had the effrontery to demand in marriage a daughter of the khan of the Jeou jan. This prince, who regarded the Thoukhiu as his slaves, was surprised iJiat the chief 6f a people whose sole employ Was working at forges, should dare to ask of him a princess of his blood. He drove the envoys of Thommen, with disgrace, from his presence. Thoumen, still more angry than the khan, caused his o&cers to "be killed, broke off all trade with him, and tnmed to the emperor of the Goei, who gave him a Chinese princess. He then declared war on the Jeou jan, and defeated them in several battles : their khan killed himself in despaii;,! Thoutaen took, in 552, the title of kakhan, and caused himself to be called U khan. Thus was formed the empire of the Thoukhiu Turks, one of the most ex- tensive of those that have existed in Central Asia. These people made frequent incursions into China and Persia, and sent ambassadors to the Constantinopoli'tan empe- rors. Thoumen's successor crushed the Jeou jan, and transttiitted the empire to a brother, Bizabool, — writ- ten Bisabules by the Greeks, and Ti theoo poo K by the Chinese. He was brave, cruel, and warlikej and dis- persed the relics of the Jeou jan. He subjugated all the country from the Sfea of Japan to the Caspian,, and from China and Thibet, on the south, to beyond Lake Baikal, on the north. He established a stable, and vy^ell-organized government, and thus gave con- sistence to his empire. Under the reign of this prince, Disabules, the Turks had fegular intercourse and diplomatic relations with Constantinople, as has been stated. The object of their, first embassy, in 632, was to request the emperors to THE OU I GOOES. 397 refuse lapds tfl iixet, ^3fW% who ha.cl fled into Europe ftom undeir the "f urkjsh sceptxe. This same year, a prince of the Sogdiflps, also subject to the Turks, was djp'swed by tkepi to send .an embassy to Nushirvjan, kwg of Persia,, tp oh*^in of hii^i permission to sell silk tQ, th? Mede^ The embassy foiled in it^ object, as d^^ £|.lso another sent by Disabules himself, to request an alliance. This lattei; embassy wcto joll poisoned hy tjie tersia^s; and thus originated the ill feeling which hs^s ever since existed between the Turks and PsfsiaflSr In th? '^yar which now broke out between thp Persians and Turks, the fornier sent to China to aslf the Chipese to make a diversion in their favor by attacking the Turks on the extreme east, Upon this, the Turkish sovereign sought to strengthen himself by alliance with the Greek emperors, and sent the Sogdian prince to Constantinople. He traversed steep mountains covered with snow, plains, forests, ajld swamps, crossed the Caucasus, and at last reached the capital. Here he was received witli distinguished honors, and, in 569, the emperor, Justin II., sent a return embassy, which found. Disabules encamped in a valley of the Golden ]\fountj Altai. The rponarch dwelt in a tent pkeed on wheels, after the national f^hion. Justin's messenger now accompanied the Tydlfish king in his march against Persia, and on the, way had his audience of leave, and received a present of a Kirghis slave. The brother of Disabules succeeded him in 572, and became still more powerful d).an he. The Chinese dynasties of Northern China exhausted their treasuries in presents, to prevent him frona rnaking incursions into their territories. He introduced Buddhism among his people, brmging its priests and books from China, and building several temples and convents. Under his successor, the Turkish empire was divided into four parts ; but Ohapolio, whose residence was on the Toula, h^d &e preeminence among the khans. The wife of this prince was a Chinese princess, of a dynasty which had just been dethroned in China. Chapolio, at the earnest solicitations of his wife, at- tempted to avenge her relatives upon the reigning Chinese dynasty, the Soul. But, on invading the king- dom, he was defeated, and put to flight. His army suffered for provisions, and the plague carried off a great number of his men. Meanwhile the Chinese fomented ; dissensions in his empire, and detached two powerful khans from his allegiance, who declared themselves vassals of Phina. In 586, Chapolio was obliged to follow their example. Under Chapolio's successors, the Chinese, still profit- ing by the interna^ troubles among th^ Turjcs, attacked the khan, defeated him, and carried him prisoner to China, in 639, The Ouigoor tribe ^profited by the weakness of their sovereigns to found a new empire, and, in 744, had completely destroyed the authority of the eastern Turks. China exercised great power over the western Turks, who, however, after several vicis- situdes fell also under the power of the Ouigoors, in the latter half of the eighth century. As the Ouigoor tribe was (the last of the ancient Tuddsh tlribes that rose to empire, a brief notice of its fortunes will close this part of our subject. Origi- nating on She IwaaiBrs of the Dridion, the Ouigoors spread west to th© sources of the Irtish. That which has made them most famous is their ailphabet, which they derived fiwa .the Syriac, prababVy through ihfe NeStoman jOhristians of Syria, who would seem to have extended their apostolje labors, at a veiy early period, over Central Asia. Pn^ spbordinate tribe of the Oiiigoofs, tlie Gouz, settled sputh of the Celestial ftfountains, some pf them a^ ea^ly as in the second century B- C., a^d renpunced the noniadic life. They lived about ^hamil and Turfan, and in 640 were subjugated by the Chinese. Turfan, their capital, was callpd Sitckeeu, or City W«st, by their conquerors, whp placed here a military chief and civil tribunals. It passed next under the sway of thp Ouigoor empire, after which it became independent, but only to fall into the hands of the Khitan, whose empire yielded tp Zingis, in 1209. In the tenth century, there were in this Ouigoor capital, situated in the very heart of Central Asia, some fifty Buddhist temples, most of them built by Chinese emperors. In them were preserved the Bud- dhist scriptures and several Chinese works. Public libraries also existed, in which, among other writipgs, were to be found the edicts of the emperors. Here were also temples of the religion of Manes, priests of Persia, followers of Zoroaster and other sectaries, each observing his own ritual of worship. The language was Ouigoor, and they had annals, which the learned Arabs were in the habit of consultmg. Thus their civilization was made up of minglpd elements — Chi- nese, Indian, and Occidental. The other and principal branch of the Ouigoor nation led a nomadic life, pasturing with its numerous herds the countiy to the north of the Celestial Moun- tains, and between the green banks of the Irtish and Orkhon. This branch was called in the third century Kao tche, that is, " high wagons," probably because the whbels of its tent-carts were higher than those of other Turkish tribes. They claimed a legendary origin similar to that of the Turks — from a wolf : hence they imitated, it was said, in their drawling utterance, the bowlings of those disagreeable animals. The Kao tche were a barbarous and cruel people ^ they thought of nothing but pillage ; in their wars with their neighbors, they observed no military rule ; flight had no dishonor with them ; they were ignorant of the laws of hospitality, and in sitting down, crouched on their haunches like animals, placing their hands on their knees. They knew not the use of wheat nor of spirits. When they took a wife, they paid her dowry in cattle or horses, seeking to distinguish themselves by the number given- The day on which the husband received his future spouse into his house, the men and women assembled, regaling themselves with clotted mare's milk, and roast meat ; the master of the house invited the poor and the passers-by to sit down at the door, and all drank till the end of the day. The Kao tche never washed themselves. They re- joiced in lightning and thunder, and when the lightning struck, they uttered frightful cries, shot their arrows t&ward the sky, quitted their camp, and transported it elsewhere. The following year, when their horses were well fattened, they returned to the place in great num- bers, and made a ditch in which they burnt a ram : the sorcerers then executed their conjuring tricks. For the rest, their manners and customs resembled those of the Pther Turkish tribes. Little by little they multij>lied, and extended to the south : becoming qu^e powerful, they made incursions upon the Jeon jan and Goei. An etnperor of the lat- ter apnroached their dwellings, defeated them again and again, plundered all their hordes, took more than 398 THE MONGOL RACE. fifty thousand prisoners, and drove off a million head of cattle and two hundred thousand wagons. Afterwards, having vanquished the Jeou jan, he sent troops against several hands of Kao tche, who were encamped on the east, and forced a large number of their families to recognize his authority. He made them remove to the south of the great desert, and placed them on the frontiers of China, where they became agriculturists. At the beginning of the seventh century, the Kao tche adopted the name of Goei he, which was that of one of their chief hordes. In 606, the Turks subjugated them, despoiled them of all their wealth, and as a security against their resentment, assembled their principal chiefs, and put to death a great number of them. The Goei he revolted, defeated the Turks, and on the destruction of the latter power, became the preponderant nation of Central Asia. In 629, they sent an embassy to the emperor of China, and soon after declared themselves vassals of the Thang dynasty of that empire. In the seventh century, the most westerly of the Goei he reached the frontiers of the Roman empire, while the most easterly pastured the luxuriant banks of the Amoor river, which runs into the Pacific Ocean. Intercourse with China, its presents, and the plun- der drawn thence, corrupted the primitive simplicity of the Goei he, or Hoei he, as they were now called. One of their princes, abandoning the ancient manners, built magnificent palaces, and clothed his wives with superb dresses. This displeased his people, and occa- sioned his death. An usurper mounted the throne, and demanded the daughter of the emperor in marriage, which the latter was inclined to refuse, but finally gave him, on the representation of his prime minister, that the Chinese cavalry needed to be mounted anew, and horses were to be procured only of the Hoei he. He further advised his emperor to make alliance also with the king of Yunnan, with the Arabian khalif, and with the kings of Hindostan, who might all aid him in destroying the colossal power of the Thibetans. Asia, we ought to remark, was divided, at this period, A. D. 787, into six great empires: on the east that of China, governed by the Thang dynasty ; on the south, the kingdom of Yunnan, which, inde- pendently of that Chinese province, comprehended also a great part of Farther India ; then the kingdom of Maghada, the most powerful of those of Interior Hindostan ; on the west, the empire of the khalifs ; in the middle of Asia, that of the Thibetans, still en- larging ; and on the north, that of the Hoei he, or Oui- goors, which extended to the Caspian, and recognized the supremacy of China. As the Thibetans and Arabs were continually at war, it was the interest of the Chinese to be on good terms with the khalifs, so as better to repel the Thibetans, who were continually invading the empire. The kakhan of the Hoei he received a Chinese prin- cess for his wife, and treated her with all imaginable respect. He protnised troops against the Thibetans, and had leave to call the name of his nation Hoei hoo. His death, and that of his son and successor, delayed the promised troops ; but his grandson, on ascend- ing the throne next, sent an army to the -help of a Chinese fortress, besieged by the Thibetans, but could not raise the siege. Then all that the Chi- nese had possessed in Central Asia, except the Hoei- hoo country, fell under the power of the Thi- betans. In 791, the kakhan of the Hoei hoo defeated them in Chen si, and sent the prisoners to the emperor. But the power of the Thibetans still increased, while that of the Hoei hoo continually diminished. In 840, the Hakas, ancestors of the Kirghis of our day, had become powerful. Their chief camp was north of where Turfan stands, and of the Celestial Mountains. At this time, their prince, at the head of one hundred thousand cavalry, atta6ked the Hoei hoo, killed their chief, and dispersed the nation, a good part of whom came to the frontiers of Chen si, and put themselves under the protection of the emperor. In 848, the Hakas entirely dispersed the nation. But, in 1001, we find a king of the Hoei hoo sending an embassy to China, arid that his kingdom contained more than a hundred petty principalities. It was bounded east by the upper branches of the Hoang-ho, and west by the Celestial Mountains. The ever-increasing power of the Khi tan forced the Hoei hoo to retire insensibly to the west, and tliey thus lost the position they had occupied on the frontiers of China. They, however, maintained themselves at Cha tcheou, — in about latitude 39°, longitude 94°, — and therQabouts, till, in 1257, they submitted to the Mongols. These call them Ouigoor, their true name, which, as we have seen, has been corrupted by the Chinese into Oui-ke, or Goei he, Hoei he, and Hoei hoo. Zingis Khan. CHAPTER CCYIII. A D, 1000 to 1226. The Mongol or Tartar Race and Empires. Nearly all the nations of the middle and north of Asia, and some, indeed, of North America, have what the geographer calls Mongolian features ; but the his- torian is obliged to confine the name of Mongol race to those communities derived from the same stock as that of the Mongols of our day. These are the Kal- kasand Sharra — that is, Black and Yellow — Mongols, the Kalmucks, and a nation in Siberia, the Booriats. The Mongols are often called Tartars, and, indeed, the name of Tartars is often applied to the inhabitants of any part of Tartary. : • Eveii as far down as A. D. 1000, we find Mongofe " still dwelling about Lake Baikal, northerly, from the EAELY HISTORY OP ZINGIS KHAN. 399 Angara on the west, to the Baourian Mountains on the east, about two thirds of the circuit of the lake. Three small communities of them are also found farther south, at that period, one of them within the Chinese wall. The Mongols were originally a tribe of the nation of Tatars proper,* or, as it has been Corrupted, Tar- tars. They spread themselves south and east of Lake Baikal, and between the rivers forming the Upper Amoor. Even in Zingis Khan's time, they numbered but about four hundred thousand tents. After his time, many nations, who had previously despised it, adopted the name he had made illustrious. The most ancient mention of this name is by the Chinese histo- rians, and in the tenth century of our era. The name Mongol, in the language of Mongolia, means " brave and proud." A portion of the Mongol Tartars retired into the mountains of Inchan, where the Hoang-ho bends farthest north, and into Tangoot. It retained the name of Tartar, spread itself, and was soon known to the Chinese. A Chinese general took refuge among this people in 880 ; three years after this, he- reentered China, at the head of an army composed of Tartar troops, and defeated the rebel who had driven him from his country. He afterward settled himself and his Tartars in the north of the province of Chan si, where they lived on the produce of their animals, which were chiefly horses. Their compatriots out- side the wall kept on good terms with several Chinese dynasties for a long time, sending embassies and tribute. After having been successively subject to the latter Tang dynasty, and to the Khitkn, they became vassals of the Kin empire. This empire in- cluded Northern China', and the country toward the Selinga and Amoor, in the twelfth and early part of the thirteenth centuries. Thirteen of the Mongol hordes, — thirty or forty thousand families, — subjected to this empire, obeyed the father of Zingis Khan ; but, on his death, two thirds of them refused to obey the son, then thirteen years old. He fought them, and reduced them to their allegiance. This was the first exploit of Zingis, destined, one day, so rapidly to conquer five or six millions of square miles of territory. But, though this * This name, Tartar, like the name Mongol, has been un- warrantably extended, and confounded with that of Turks. The reason is, that, when the son of Zingis conquered the . north-west of Asia and the north-east of Europe, it was filled with Turkish tribes ; their conquerors were Tartars, that is, Mongols. But the armies these conquerors brought from the interior of Asia no longer existed ; even the Mongol khans appointed over the khanata of Kazan, Astrakan, and the Cri- mea, no longer used the Tartar language, and were surround- ed by Turkish soldiers. Yet these kianats, after they sub- mitted to Russia, were called Tatar, and their language too. But ask a so-called Tartar of Kazan, or Astrakan, of the pres- ent day, if he is a Tartar, and he will tell you no ; he will call the idiom he speaks Turk, and not Tartar; Remember- ing that his ancestors were once subjugated by the Mongols, or Tartars, he regards the latter name as an insult, as much as if you should caU him a robber or a pirate. The first mention of Tartars in C!hinese history is in A. D. 880, and their name is pronounced Ta ta, or Ta dshi. These were a tribe of the Mohos, mentioned in a previous chapter, but was dispersed by the Khitans, in 824, 'and became mingled with that Tungouse people. Possibly, the northern Mohos were ancestors of the Mongols, wMle the southern were ancestors of different Tungouse tribes, which, later, formed the Ju tchin, from whom are derived the Manchoos of the present day. exploit gained him fame, respect, and influence, he was afterwards obliged to seek assistance from the great khan of the empire, who was under obligations to his father. The khan, in gratitude to his father, and esteem for Zingis, then called Temugin, reinstated him in his paternal dominions, and gave him his daughter in marriage. Tefmugin had been educated with the greatest atten- tion, and the care of his childhood was confided to a very able minister. He was well versed in all the exerpises which belong to a Tartar education. He could shoot his arrow or strike his lance with unerring aim, either when advancing or retreating, — in full career or at rest. He could endure hunger, thirst, fatigue, cold, and pain. He managed his fierce and heavy war-horse, or his light and impetuous courser, with such consummate skill, by word, or look, or touch, that man and beast seemed but one animal, swayed by one common will. Having gained some military successes for his father-in-law, his high favor at the court excited jeal- ousies both in his family and in the empire. He bad further rendered himself unpopular by inducing the khan to assume more authority than the subject princes could willingly accede to. The princes therefore rose against the khan, and defeated him in battle ; but his son-in-law replaced him on the throne, by winning for him a brilliant victory. This victory was tarnished, however, by cruelty ; for Temugin scalded seventy of his enemies to death, by flinging them alive into seventy caldrons of boiling water. Envy and revenge did not cease their machinations, but at last means were found to render his father-in-law jealous of so famous a son. Temugin, after exhaust- ing every conciliatory method, thought himself obliged to build up a party of his own, in self-defence. Re- course was at last had to arms, the khan was slain, and Temugin, after some further struggles with his ene- mies, one by one, succeeded to the empire. He was now forty years old, and, wishing to secure himself in his extensive dominions, by legitimating his authority, he convoked all the princes of his empire at Karakorum, his capital — in latitude 47° — to do him homage. They all met here on the appointed day, clothed in white. Advancing into the midst, with the diadem upon his brow, Temugin seated himself upon his throne, and received the congratulations and good wishes of the khans and princes. They then confirmed him and his descendants in the sovereignty of the Mongol empire, declaring themselves and their de- scendants divested of all rights. After some further victories, he renewed the cere- monial in a still more simple and signal manner. Standing on a plain mound of turf, near the banks of the Selinga, he harangued the assembled princes with an eloquence natural to him, and then sat down on a piece of black felt which was spread upon the earth. This felt was revered for a long time afterwards as a sacred national relic. An appointed orator then addressed him in these words : " However great your power, from God you hold it : He will prosper you if you govern justly : if you abuse your authority, you will have become black as this felt, a wretch and an out- cast." Seven khans then respectfully assisted him to rise, conducted him to his throve, and proclaimed him lord of the Mongol empire. A relative, a saint and prophet, naked, like the marabouts of the present .day,' approached. " I 400 ZINGIS KHAN. come," said he, "with God's order that you hence- forth take the name of Zingis Khan," that is " greatest khan of khans. " * The Mongols ratified this name with extravagant joy, and considering it as a divine title to the conquest of the world, looked on opposing nations as enemies of God. Thus early was the intoxicating cup of power drugged with fanaticism! Nothing now was impossible to Zingis. By a rapid succession of victories, he found himself, in the year 1226, master of a broad belt of the world reach- ing from Corea to Hungary .t We have space for but a few of the most interesting incidents of his con- quests. The sovereign of North China, the Kin empire, had demanded of him the same tribute as had been paid by the princes whom Zingis had dethroned. Irri- tated by the demand, he poured his well-disciplined armies across the wall, undeterred by fortifications, though ignorant of the arts of siege, routed the Chinese, desolated the country, and amassed immense spoils. Cities and royal residences fell into his hands, often unexpectedly. Dissensions arose among the Chi- nese nobles, who deserted or betrayed their emperor, and he was slain. Thus, in the space of five years, this most warlike and powerful of the nations was subdued, as far as the middle mountains. | (A. D. 1214.) On the west, Zingis had determined to make the territories of the mighty sultan of Kharasm his boundary. The conqueror made a treaty to that efiect with this sovereign, though the sultan was rather ungracious. But the sultan's enemy, the kha- lif of Bagdad, desirous of engaging Zingis against him, sent a messenger to the Mongol khan, upon whose shaven crown was tattooed his message, now * " Brethren," said he, " I have seen a vision. The great God of heaven, on his flaming throne, surrounded by the Spirits on high, sat in judgment on the nations of the earth. Sentence was pronounced, and he gave the dominion of the world to our chief Temudsin, whom he appointed Zingis Khan, or Universal Sovereign." The Mongols then held up their hands, and swore to follow Temudsin, the Zingis Khan, in all his enterprises. (A. D. 1206.) — Muller. Zingis pro- mulgated at this time his famous civil and military code of regulations for his empire, under the sanction of monotheism, and in perfect toleration of all religions. He also, subse- quently, caused the best Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and Thi- betan books to be translated into Mongol, which must have had a powerful tendency to elevate his people above their ancestral barbarism. t The Pacific Ocean, Corea, and the relics of the Kin em- pire, which he had crowded across the Hoang-ho (in its old channel) into the north-cast corner of China, limited his em- pire on the east. On the south, it had the Chinese empire of the Song, from which it was separated by the Peling Mountains ; the Kuen lun Mountains, separating it from Thibet ; the west branch of the Indus to 32° ; Beloochistan ; the little kingdoms of Pars, about Shiraz, and Irak Araby, along the Eijphrates and Tigris; the Caucasus, Black Sea, and Danube to the Preuth. On the west, his empire was bounded by the small districts of the attabegs of Irak, of Armenia, Georgia, and Caucasus, and the Carpathian Mountains, separating it from lihe king- dom of Hungary | on the north, by a line from the Carpa- thian Mountains drawn to include the junction of the Kama and Volga, leaving beyond it the grand duchies of Kiew and Wladimir,— thence, the deeply waving northern line of his empire crossed the Ural, excluding the steppe of Isohijn, then trended just north of Lake BaikiO, excluding most of Sibe- ria, to meet the Pacific in latitude 86°, where it had the Chy gSei (all but the southerti division) to the ttorth. This was a wider reahn than Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, or Roman conqueror ever knew 1 On the banks of the Orkhon, Onon, and Selinga, the loyal or "golden horde" exhibited the contrast of simplicity and greatheSii. Roasted sheep and mare's milk were flieir frugal banquet; yet in one day were distributed five. huaarea wagon overgrown with hair. On causing his head to be shaved, the document appeared, and Zingis sent for answer that he would quarrel with the sultan on the first opportunity. He added also the rernark, with full experience of its truth, that " between two great contiguous empires, a cause -of quarrel will not long be wanting." Nor was it : the sultan's subjects plundered some Tartar merchants, and the empires made great prep- arations for war. Zingis collected seven hundred thousand men, and, ordering recruits to be raised throughout the empire and sent after him, advanced upon the enemy. During this march, he disciplined and regulated his army in the most efficient manner, and gave the following despotic general orders : " If a soldier fly without having fought, whatever the dan- ger or resistance, he shall die ; if from a company of ten, any one or more shall separate, he or they shall die without mercy ; if any of the company see their comrades engaged, and do not try to succor or rescue them, they shall die." The sultan of Kharasm was master of Great Bucha- ria, Kharasm, Persia, Persian Irak, and much of India. On his side he marched an army of half a million ; but should these be destroyed, he .could not recruit them again, for Armenia and Georgia, his tributaries, took this occasion to relieve themselves of tribute, Egypt and Syria were desolated by the crusaders, and the khalif who held Arabian Irak, Chaldea, and the three Arabias, was his personal enemy: finally, the Seljuks of Asia Minor and the Greek emperors were at war with each other, and could give him no assist- ance. This great contest has been already alluded to. loads of gold and silver. Tlie great dukes of Russia, the sultans of Iconium, the kings of Georgia and Armenia, the emirs of Persia, and various other potentates of Europe and Asia, were obliged to take the long journey to the royal vil- lage of Karakotum, in person, or by their ambassadors, in or- der to retain their thrones, or even their lives ! J Gibbon gives the following account of this conquest: " His ancestors had been the tributaries of the Chinese em- perors, and Temugin himself had been disgraced by a title of honor and servitude. The court of Pekin was astonished by an embassy from its former vassal, who, in the tome of the king of nations, exacted the tribute and obedience which he had paid. A haughty answer disguised their secret appre- hensions; and their fears were soon justified by the march of innumerable squadrons, who pierced on all sides the feeble rampart of the great wall. Ninety cities were starved or ^ stormed by the Mongols. Ten only escaped. And Zingis, from a knowledge of the filial piety of the Chinese, covered his vanguard with their captive parents — an unworthy, and by degrees a fruitless abuse of the virtue erf his enemies. His invasion was supported by the revolt of a hundred thousand Khitans, who guarded the frontier. Yet he listened to a treaty, and a princess of China, three thousand horses, five hundred youths, and as many virgins, and a tribute of gold and silk, were the price of his retreat. " In his second expedition, he compelled the Chinese em- peror to retire beyond the Yellow River, to a more southern and eastern residence. The siege of Pekin (a capital some furlongs south-east of the present) was long and laborious The inhabitants were reduced by famine to decimate and de- vourtheir fellow Jcitizems. When their ammunition Was spe334 they discharged ingots of gold and silver &om their engiaesf but the Mongols introduced a mine to the centre of the eapitali and the oonflagration of the palace burned above thirty days." After the Mongols had subdued the northern provinces, & was seriously, in calm, deliberate council, proposed to exter- minate all the inhabitants of that populous cotmfxy, that the vacant land might be con*erted to the pasture of cattle. Such was the purbUiid barbarism of these stupid devastators. The design was given up upon the suggestion, by a patriotis mandarin, that the country, left as it was, wduld yield a far larger revenue to the conquerors in rioe, silk,' and taxes. DEATH OP ZINQIS. 401 The destructive conqueror rushed on all parts of Kharasm at once. Ono hundred and sixty thousand Kharasmia^s were skin in the first battle. Like a de- vouring conflagration, the invaders swept from city to city, leaving behind them only heaps of cinders. A body of Chinese engineers, skilled in mechanics, and perhaps acquainted with the use of gunp^vder, assisted the destroyer. Samarcand,Balkh,3 Couackt { Uibeeki ^ aiid V TurcomanaJ Kirghi* , Bukhari, "S Usbecka, I and ^ ■ ( Klr^his DsbeckB., ^Zasfttid I Mong'oli, < Montis I Kharuml- L au Kin^om of ) Mawaraniiahr \ Feraiani Ehoraaan . fMongoU, '^ ^ Turks, [.Pergana.. l^KoimuekiJ (Kinjfdom of •\ n«rft, J Miiwarftnnahr I Badak. 1 orlraiiaox-r ■Unaodl^T* J Uolor ^BadakBhan Kbanati of Bok- hara, ..Kipzak empire Kipzah empire.' $ Kipzak and "i Mongoli of Per- ' * \ Zagatai ..Two kingdoms Empire of Ttanur/afu Zavat&i empire-t ..Zagattd empire Kirshii, '^ fTliB OuStaf Kamiucki, I . .] tribes, Chinese, and [ 1 Kingdom Mixed iribes J V.of C^hg>ir Ancient Peraiai or Bukhara, Turks, Kalmucks, Chinese, Mongoli fKalkas, l Sharas, ^.Kalmucki Eleut Empire. Kin^oms of C ashlar, of Khoun, OiilvQor Bishbalitc empire, tributary __ Tamerlane J i(c [i ■ytof Zagata! empire Zaeatai emi^irej •••.. anu Eleut tritiea Kdm. ofKaidon ( Oui^or \ trilMa Kdm. of Ilami empire {Empires Kara-kltni and Ghizne ■}^ Empire ol Hoei-hoo n Ghizne I emplrej Fins. rSasaan- "^ lite em- y Lpire / fSasaan- 1 CKnm-tdlal "l i empire V KirgbiB and other irlboa . ' Kam-klbd. . , , * Kirghis tribes . (Kingdom* i of KnotHn . I'Ouigoor i Icdm. and i, tribes , < Ouigoor. t, empire 5^ Chinese empire of ' the I'hang dynasty TEmpire ol rKhitnn or < Kin, or Al- < Liao em* {, toun Khan V. P>'e \ Chy Goel*^ land Muk- } J by tribes J 'Huna,Alansi and Masta* .gei*. •White Huns and Yuetchi, Bactriani am) 3o^ dians. Sogdlans and far- ' .tbiaiis. 'Teta em- pire, and Vuetcbi, or Indo* Scythians; Baclrian empire; and Par- thian enb> 'Joiian- Jouftu and ol)BCurQ tribes. Nations at ti mea in alliance or tributary to Cliina. Various .kingdoms. Oouan- * i Jouan. i Tungoua We have thus given the history of Tartary with some minuteness of detail, because this wide region has been at all times the great nursery of nations — the armory of divine Providence, whence were drawn the weap- ons for the destruction of corrupt, worn-out, or imbe- cile nations — the great store house of materials for the reconstruction of new empires, nations, or commu- nities, who should carry forward the progress of the human race to higher and still higher standards of character, activity, and usefulness. Here originated the destroyers of the African, Assyrian, Indian, Grecian, Roman, and Chinese civilizations, and the regenerators of China, Hindostan, Persia, and Europe. Here we perceive, at one view, nations in all stages of progress, from the savage to the Christian. It is particularly interesting to behold here the prototypes of the In- dians of the United States, whose manners bear so . strong a resemblance to those of the ancient and pres- ent ruder tribes of Tartary. Looking forward into the future, we may anticipate the time when, through Russian power, European civilization shall be extend- ed to Eastern and Northern Tartary, and, through the channels of trade, pervade all the countries lying be- tween the empire of the czar and the vast Oriental possessions of the English. Our own frontier, too, has been removed two thousand miles nearer to Asia, and the power of steam has shortened the distance one half to Siberia, Tartary, Japan, and China. With the coming age, then, what a glorious field for American enterprise may we not anticipate will be opened upon the western shores of the Pacific, to our brethren of that part of our empire which lies on the eastern shores of that boundless sea ! Placed as we are, the central nation between the two populous and wealthy extremes of the old world, the relations of our coun- try, we may readily perceive, are attaining a breadth and grandeur capable of tasking the mightiest intellect and the widest philanthropy. * THE GRAND MOGULS— BABEK. 416 €^t ffinpl f m^iirt CHAPTER CCXiy. A. B. 1413 to 15SS. The Mogul Empire — Baber — Humaioon — Shere — Selim — Death of flumaioon. Dttring the fifteenth century, a brilliant offset from the widely-scattered fragments of the Tartar empires transplanted itself upon the genial soil of Hindostan, occupying very nearly the whole peninsula. Here it long attracted the admiring gaze of the Western world for its grandeur, magnificence, and power ; at a time, too, when all eyes were turned to India and the " gorgeous East," by the maritime discoveries and nautical enterprises of Portugal and Spain. This empire, the best consolidated, best regulated, and most politically perfect of all those the Tartars ever founded, was called the Empire of the Grand Moguls, because its rulers were descended from a Mongol, or Mogul,* ancestry, and appointed Moguls to office. In .a similar manner, the Turks now have power over Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor, as the ruling caste. The empire was, in fact, so isolated — in position, date, and character — from the empires already described, that it forms a history by itself, of which we shall treat in the following chapters. Tamerlane's influence in India did not immediately disappear after his conquest of it ; but the kingdom he founded there soon became thoroughly disorganized. Chizu, in 1413, held the throne in Tamerlane's name, but really exercised the sovereign power himself. He brought the kingdom into a degree of order and dig- nity. But, after him, it gradually declined, under five or six kings, till the time of Ibrahim II. During his reign Speared one of the most extraordinary men the history of India exhibits — Baler, who contested the throne with him. • As Moguh was, and has continued to be, the name by which the rulers of. India were first called in Europe, we use it hereafter instead of Mongols. Baber was the son of the sovereign of two kingdoms in Western Tartary, called Fergana and Indija. This sovereign was great-great-grandson of Tamerlane. He called Baber to the throne at the age of twelve, and the history of this prince's youth is extremely ro- mantic. At his father's death, which happened soon after, Baber's uncles besieged the capital, to take it from him ; but a pestilence broke up their army. Hav- ing subdued several rebellious governors, the boy king took Samarcand ; but as he would not allow his army to pillage it, half of them deserted him and went over to his brother, who usurped the throne, while Samar- cand itself revolted. Only forty horsemen remained with Baber. He was now fourteen. With unconquer- able buoyancy he set himself to making friends, and in two years was again a king. His retaking of Samarcand, at the age of sixteen, is a singular instance of audacity and good fortune. From desertion and other causes, he found, on ap- proaching the city, that he had but two hundred and forty men. Yet he boldly entered the place at dusk, and went to the house of a friendly chief; but, finding little encouragement, he fled from the city amidst the uproar the news of his arrival had caused. Encour- aged by a dream, he came back at midnight, with a few followers, and sent them to scale a low part of the wall, by the aid of a hook rope. They did so unper- ceived, and, passing round, opened the gates, after killing the guard. The party now ran through the streets, shouting, " Baber I Baber ! " His friends, little dreaming that his force was so small, flocked to his standard ; and, though there were thousands of soldiers in the city, under the orders of an able and enterprising Usbeck governor, Baber became master of Samarcmid a second time. Here he was besieged for four months, and sent to his kinsman for help in vain : at last, he fled from the city at midnight, with a hundred follow-' ers, throneless and homeless. 416 BABEK — HIS FOKTUNES — HIS DEATH. When twenty years old, finding himself at the court of a certain prince, he said to him, " I have long been the football of fortune, and like a piece on a chess-board, moved from place to place, vagrajit as the moon irf the sky, restless as a stone on the beach. Give me now your friendly advice ; my own resolves have been unsuccessful." He was advised to push his fortune in Cabul, then in a state of anarchy. Baber sat out immediately, and in two years was firmly seated on the throne of that kingdom, where he made himself much beloved by his unwearied care and ex- tensive benevolence to his people on the occasion of a destructive earthquake. But it was not long before he was shut out ,of his capital by a revolt, and deserted by most of his army. He, however, boldly advanced, with five hundred men, against the usurper, who was at the head of twelve thousand'troops, and challenged him to single combat. This was declined. He then challenged five of his chiefs, one by one, and slew them. The soldiers of the enemy then declared they would not fight against such a hero, but joined him, and carried the usurper back in chains to the capital, where he was forgiven. Baber took Samar- cand again, and Bokhara, but did not keep them long. With the example of Tamerlane and the wealth of Hindostan before his eyes, the distracted state of that country invited Baber, now in his thirty-sixth year, to its invasion ; and he had acquired the only quality his youth lacked — generalship. Ibrahim II., empe- ror of India, was able and energetic, but unpopular with his people for his cruelty, and hated by his nobles for his arrogance. In several paitial invasions, and victories, (1514 to 1523,) Baber showed himself magnanimous, even to traitorous foes ; but in one in- stance, conforming to the sanguinary custom of the Tartars, he was guilty of putting his prisoners to death. At last, fifty miles from Delhi, Ibrahim met him with one hundred thousand horsemen and one thouseuid elephants. Baber had only thirteen thousand horse ; but he marshalled them so well, that the unwieldy mass of the enemy was put to flight, with great slaugh- ter, and Baber found himself emperor of Hindostan. The allegiance of the princes was easily assured to the victor ; indeed, there was no public spirit left. Ac- cording to an Oriental author, it was then " no shame to fly, no infamy to betray, no breach of honor to mur- der, and no scandal to change parties." As to the mass of the people themselves, a change of governors was generally but a change of oppressors, and there was a chance that a new tyrant might be of a better disposition than the old one ; so that they generally looked forward to a conquest of their country with about as much hope as fear : indeed, the idea of patri- otism is said not to exist in the Hindoo mind. Baber distributed the immense riches of the treasury of Delhi wholly among his nobles and troops, his sub- jects in Cabul, and his other territories, and in charities, "reserving not a single dinar to himself" But his difficulties were not ended. The native princes com- bined together, and assembled a large army : one of his own Afghan chiefs deserted to them, with the forces under his command. Provisions were scarce in Ba- ber's army ; the heat of the climate was daily killing the men ; and, more than all, his chiefs begged him to return to Cabul. Acting somewhat as the English king Henry V. did in France, under similar circumstances, Baber issued a proclamation, announcing his own determination to remain in India, but giving leave to return, to whoever preferred " safety to glory, ignoble ease to the manly toils and dangere of war." He added, that after these had left his ranks, he should then have about him only tliose " whose valor would reflect honor on themselves, and glory on their king and country." The chiefs, ashataed, smote their breasts, and swore never to for- sake him. Many of the influential natives, too," who had hitlierto kept aloof, or opposed him, thinking he would b]at pillage the country and quit it, like Tamer- lane, — now joined him. After some reverses, however, his chiefs in council still advised a partial retreat. Baber fixed his eyes discontentedly on the ground, then sternly asked, " What would the world say of a king, who, from fear of death, abandoned such a kingdom .' The voice of gloiy," continued he, " is loud in my ear, and forbids me to disgrace my name by giving up what my arms have with so much .difficulty acquired. But as Death is at last unavoidable, let us rather meet him with honor, face to face, than shrink back to gain a few years of a miserable and ignominious existence ; for what can we inherit, but fame, beyond the limits of the grave .' " The whole assembly, as if inspired with one soul, cried out at once, " War ! war ! " The force of his opponents, led by a claimant to the throne, amounted to more than one hundred thousand : the number of his own army was small. The battle ■ that followed, was well contested. The Indians' left brigade drove back the right brigade of the Moguls, but were thernselves driven back by the next brigade. The Indians then surrounded the Moguls, who, forming into a solid circle, resisted, without yielding an inch, till the enemy were weary. Baber, seeing the decisive moment had come, now placed himself at the head of the central brigade, and rushing " like a lion from the forest," as the native historian expresses it, drove all before him, and, in spite of a most obstinate and bloody resistance, put the whole Indian army to flight. Baber died in 1530, at the age of forty-nine. His brilliant character forcibly reminds us of the knights paladins of chivalry. Judged by the standard of that age, we see much about him that is admirable and pleasing. He was brave to imprudence, and merciful to a fault, and thus endangered, not unfrequently, his own safety. " He so often pardoned ingratitude and treason, that he seemed to make a principle of return- ing good for evil."- Though stained with a massacre, in one instance, yet this was the common practice with Mahometan conquerors, and he does not appear to have been blood- thirsty or cruel, like them. Those who were about him were ever eager for plunder, but he often retarded his own success by checking their ruthless appetites ; yet he ever shared with them freely what wealth he had. Once, when a certain fort was taken, the soldiers en- tered at the gate, and began an indiscriminate pillage : he rode amongst them, and restrained them by his voice, and by actual force ; thus saving the honor of the commandant's family and his noble library. Though nurtured and living amid scenes of violence, he still had time and taste to cultivate his mind, and heart to honor literature in others. During a sickness of eight months, not long before his death, he whiled away the tedium of confinement by composing a poem in honor of one of the saints. He was master also of the art of music, and wrote annals of his ware, in a style of great elegance and spirit. HCMAIOON— SHEEE- *_ -gELIM. 417 The following anecdote is told of his sense of justice, and it also shows his policy in encouraging commerce. When he was prince of Fergana, in West Tartary, a rich caravan of Chitta and China, which was cross- ing the mountams, was buried in the snow. He had all the goods well taken care of, and sent messengers to China for the owners. On the arrivaLof the owners, or their representatives, at the end oi two years, he entertained them hospitably, and gave them all their goods, not even accepting a present, or payment of expenses. In person, Baber was a little above the middle height, well made, and vigorous. His habits were luxurious ; though once, on the occasion of his last great battle, he vowed never more to drink wine, should he gain the victory. He improved the public roads, built rest- ing-places for travellers, had the country meetsured in order to tax it equitably, and planted extensive gferdens. Humaioon, the son of Baber, succeeded to a preca- rious sovereignty. He was of quiet tastes, an astrono- mer and astrologer, preferring to be an observer rather than an actor. He fitted up seven reception halls, dedicated to as many different celestial bodies : he received his military officers in the hall of Mars, his judicial in that of Mercury, whilst ambassadors, poets, and travellers were accommodated in the hall of the Moon. Rather than quarrel with his brother, Camiran, he gave him up the Punjaub, the country on ! the five rivers which form the Indus. But his most I formidable enemy was an Afghan regent called Shere, j " the lion," who received this name from his having I killed an enormous tiger in presence of his king. ; Shere entertained the idea of driving the Moguls from India by uniting the Patans, or Afghans, with the j natives. Dining one day with Humaioon, his plate was unprovided with a knife ; whereupon he drew out his dagger and carved his meat. Humaioon observed, " That Afghan is not to be disconcerted with trifles ; he is likely to be a great man." Shere, thinking he had been betrayed, withdrew, and opposed the empe- ror in arms. Humaioon was unable to drive him from his fortress, being occupied with the king of Guzerat, who had com- menced hostilities. To complete his perplexities, a conspiracy was formed to place another of Tamerlane's family on the throne. His vigor and skill soon over- came the king of Guzerat, and he displayed, in several instances, all his father's nobleness o'f character and brilliant courage. At one time, he would not attack the king at advantage, because the latter was engaged in holy warfare — that is, besieging infidels. A romantic exploit, in taking the king's treasure fort, is related of Humaioon, which would have made the chivalrous heart of his father leap for joy. The emperor, having dis- covered that the fortress was supplied with daily pro- vision through a wood, which covered a part of it, visited the place in disguise. He then came to the wood atmidnight, with three hundred men, all provided with iron spikes : these they fixed in the wall, and ascended by them. Before sunrise, the whole were within the walls ; and on their displaying a signal to the army outside, a general Eissault was commenced. Meanwhile, Humaioon and his three hundred fought their way, step by step, to one of the gates, which they opened, and thus immediately gained the fort. Recalled to Agra by the treason of his brothers, whom he had in vain warned against disunion, which would inevitably deprive the Tamerlane family of the throne, Humaiooft was returning to his capital. On his way he was met by Shere, with a numerous army, who cunningly detained him with negotiations, till the armies had been allowed to mingle together, ■and then, basely attacking the unprepared emperor, gained a complete victory, and eompelled him to fly. His brothers now gathered round the emperor, who might have retained his throne but for the desertion of one of them, Camiran, which occasioned a second defeat from Shere. He now fled, without a throne or home. Hindal, another brother, deserted him ; frequent plots were laid to betray him and deliver him up to Shere, and he was reduced to great straits. During this time, his son, the famous Acbar, was bom. Camiran took this son from him, and drove Humaioon to Khorasan ; thence he went to the Persian court, where he was received in the" noblest manner. Shere was now sovereign of India. He tooTc the title of shah, and busied himself in improving his dominions — but his character is stained with treachery. He reduced the power of the governors, and regulated the finances and the military. He built caravanserais at eveTy stage from the Indus to Bengal, and dug a well at every two miles. He reared magnificent mosques, planted rows of trees along the high roads, and established horse posts for the quicker conveyance of intelligence. He devoted one fourth part of his time to administering justice, a fourth to the care of his army, a fourth to worship, and a fourth to rest and recreation. Such was the public security, that, says the native historian, " travellers and merchants, throw- ing down their goods, composed themselves to sleep, without fear, upon the highway." Shere was killed by accident, in 1545, after a reign of five years. Selim, his son, succeeded to the throne, and reigned quietly, after subduing with difficulty the usual rebel- lion. He appears to have been, on the whole, an able and moderate prince. He displayed a taste for mag- nificence in building, and erected an intermediate cara- vanserai between those his father built. He died in 1553. The kingdom was now again plunged into dis- order, and Humaioon was entreated by some parties to resume his authority. Humaioon, having excited the sympathy of the sister of the Persian shah, and some of his nobles, was allowed a troop of ten thousand horse to recover Cabul from his brothers. His chief obstacle to success was Camiran, whom no treaty cduld bind, and no kindness or generosity improve. On one occasion, this wretch exposed Acbar, his own nephew, Humaioon's son, upon the wall, to deter the father from an assault ; but being told that if harm happened to Acbar every soul in Cabul should die, he gave up the miserable design. Camiran soon after fell into his brother's power, who, in spite of all the mis- chief endured from him, received him with kindness and respect, only to be repaid, however, at the first opportunity, with perfidy of the blackest kind. Hin- dal supported Humaioon nobly, and died in his service. At length, Camiran having fallen again into Hu- maioon's power, all the Mogul chiefs demanded his death for his repeated crimes : this demand was denied them by the king, and a revolt had nearly resulted from the refusal. Humaioon at length agreed, reluc- tantly, that, to prevent further mischief, Camiran should be blinded by means of antimony. A few days after, the king went to see his blinded brother. Camiran rose to meet him, exclaiming, " The glory of the king will not be diminished by visiting the unfortunate." Hur 418 DEATH OP HUMAIOON— ACCESSION OF ACBAR. maioon burst into tears, and wept bitterly, although Camiran endeavored to console him by aclmowledging the justice of his punishment. Requesting leave to proceed to Mecca, to expiate his crimes, this restless man there spent his last days. When Humaioon was invited back to India, having no army fit for the undertsdcing, he fell into a profoimd melancholy. But his chiefs, making out some favor- able omens to act on his mind through his superstition, he consented to cross the Indus with a small force, and took Lahore. His vizier defeated one army sent to oppose him ; his son Acbar overcame another, of eighty thousand horse, many elephants, and a large train of artillery. The Moguls were so animated by the behavior of the young hero, says the Oriental his- torian, that they seemed even to forget that they were mortal men. The victorious Humaioon reentered Delhi, as em- peror, in 1554, but died, the next year, from a fall. The circumstances were these : one evening, he walked out upon the terrace of the library, and sat down there for some time, to enjoy the fresh air. When he began to descend the steps of the stair from the terrace, the crier of the mOsque, according to custom, proclaimed the time of prayers. The emperor, conformably to the practice of those of his religion, stood still, and repeated the creed, — he then sat down till the proclamation was ended. When he was going to rise, he supported himself upon a staff, which unfortunately slipped upon the marble step, and the king fell head- long from the top to the bottom of the stairs. About sunset, on the fourth day after, " his soul took her flight to paradise," says the Persian historian, who gives us the above narration. He afterwards sums up the character of Humaioon, in one phrase — " Had he been a worse man, he would have been a greater monarch." Tlie Kmpeior, Acbar, CHAPTER CCXV. A. D.1S59 tolSSS. Acbar — Byram — The Ayeen Acherry — Je- hanghire — Noor Mahl — Shah Jehan — Aiirungzebe. Acbar, the Louis XIV. of the Mogul empire, was only in his fourteenth year when he succeeded his father, who had appointed his vizier, Byram, regent. Several highly popular measures favorably introduced the new reign ; such as prohibiting the usual exaction of presents from the farmers, allowing all goods to pass toll free, and the abolition of the practice of press- ing laborers to the wars. Himu, vizier of one who' held power during Humai- oon's absence, on hearing of his death, marched to Delhi, and through the imprudence and cowardice of its governor, captured it. Acbar, seeing such a portion of empire rent from him, called Byram, addressed him by the name of father, and placed the entire management of aifairs in his hands. As Himu's force was five times greater than Acbar's, the council of war of the latter advised a retreat to Cabul. This Byram opposed, and was so heartily seconded by the boy, Acbar, that the chiefs, delighted with the the young king, unanimously lives and fortunes were at his gallant alacrity of cried out that their disposal. The armies met near Delhi, and the Moguls received the troops of elephants so resolutely and skilfully — galling them with arrows, lances, and javelins — that they became unmanageable, and did as much harm to friends as foes. Himu, on a huge elephant, pushed' four thousand horse into the very heart of the Mogul army. Being wounded in the eye, he pulled out the arrow, and with it the eye, and, though thus horribly' wounded, continued the battle. Through the treacher- ' ous cowardice of his driver, who, to save himself, pointed out his master, Himu was taken prisoner, and conducted to Acbar's presence. Byram told the king it would be a good action to kill " that infidel " with his' own hand. Acbar drew his sword, but, bursting into tears, only laid it on Himu's shoulder. The minister; sternly reproving this untimely clemency, — a weak-, ness or generosity which had been the ruin of the emperor's family, — beheaded the prisoner at a blow. This imperious disposition of the prime minister, and his severity, soon created dissensiotas between Byram and his emperor, and resulted in the banishment of the faithftil vizier, who then turned all his thoughts to PBOSPEBOirS REIGN OP ACBAB. 419 rebellion. But he now exhibited the most pitiable weakness and irresolution; for he had swerved from duty. He was soon defeated by Aobar's generals, and sent a slave to represent his wretched condition to the emperor, and implore mercy. It was now that the greatness of soul of Acbar manifested itself. He received him with marked kindnes^ and distinction. This met the nobler part of his repentant vizier's nature : he burst into tears, and threw himself at the foot of the throne. Acbar, stretching his hand to him, commanded him to rise, and replacing him at the head of the princes, thus addressed him : " If the lord Byram loves a mili- tary life, he shall have the government of Calpi and Chinderi, in which he may exercise his martial genius ; if he chooses rather to remain at court, our favor shall not be wanting to the great benefactor of our family ; but should devotion engage the soul of Byram to per- form a pilgrimage to Mecca, he shall be escorted in a manner suitable to his dignity." Byram chose the last offer, but on his way to the holy city, was basely as- sassinated by the son of an Afghan chief whom he had slain in battle. Thus died a brave warrior and enlight- ened statesman, whose inhumanity, partially the re- sult of natural severity of disposition, was doubtless confirmed to a principle by repeated experience of the unfortunate effects of the clemency of the sover- eigns he served. In pursuance of his purpose to recover the ancient limits of the empire, Acbar conquered the Deccan. He was also repeatedly engaged in wars with rebels. Two things are noticeable in his military character — rapidity and decision of attack, before the ene- my could collect or concentrate his strength ; also personal courage and audacity, even to imprudence. For instance, the governor of Guzerat was besieged ; the speedy march of a large army was impracticable, on account of the season. Acbar hurried to the be- • leaguered city, with but three thousand horse and three hundred camels, travelling eighty miles per day. Crossing the river, so as to put jetreat out of the question, he was attacked by an array of seven thou- sand horse. His little band, feelifig that their empe- ror was sharing their danger^ and had risked his life and empire on their valor, fought with superhuman bravery, and repulsed the enemy. In the eagerness of pursuit, Acbar was left with but two hundred horse- men, on a rising ground. A large body of fresh sol- diers of the enemy suddenly marched upon the little party. It wels one of those moments when men win or lose all by their conduct. Acbar charged at once upon the enemy, who re- treated in the greatest haste, thinking that the whole of the emperor's troops must, of course, be coming up on the other side of the hill to support the attack. Other instances are noted, when he would risk his life in the thickest of the fight, like a common trooper. His good fortune and valor, which brought him tri- umphantly out of every danger, added to the une- qualled vigor and skill of his government during a long reign of fifty-one years, impressed his subjects with an idea that his powers of -mind and body were supernatui-al. Acbar's reign indeed has, not inappropriately, been called the Golden Age of India. He was one of the best and wisest sovereigns that ever adorned or digni- fied a throne. In a work — the Ayeen Acberry, the "Mirror of Acbar," — written under the immediate direction of the emperor, by his distinguished literary vizier and friend, Abul Fazil, is detailed the comprehen- sive and excellent system of administration which he put in practice. These " Institutes " show him to have been, preeminently, a statesman. Besides a great amount of financial and statistical matter, and saga- cious observations upon men, politics, and govern- ment, the " Mirror " furnishes the regulations of the dif- ferent departments, and the domestic economy of the empire, — from the collecting of the revenues and the care of the army, down to the stipends of the ladies of the harem, the daily food of the king's camels, and the mode of serving up his dinner. With respect to Acbar's personal habits — he spent the greatest part of the night in business, and in lis- tening to the discourses of philosophers and historians, whom he delighted to collect around him. About three hours before day, musicians were introduced, who performed vocal and instrumental music. After that an hour was spent by his majesty in silent prayer. Just before ■ daybreak, people of all ranks were in attendance, waiting the emperor's appearance. Be- side the opportunities of audience regularly afforded to all, the emperor occasionally appeared at a window, when petitions might be offered to him without any intervention whatever. He abolished the immemorial custom^ of prostration. He took but one meal daily, and that so simple, that for months he did not taste animal food. He slept but little, and that chiefly in the forenoon and evening. His principles of government were, to gain and secure the hearts of all ; to prevent not only all injus- tice, but all delay of justice ; to be tolerant in religion — and it is said he never even laughed at or ridiculed any sect ; and to be sparing of the lives of offenders. The whole country was divided into provinces, the governors of which were changed every three years. Taxes must be demanded in an " affable " manner, and the collector is to consider himself " the immedi- ate friend of the husbandman," and to lend him money when he needs it, to be repaid at a favorable time. His remarks on the administration of justice are pecu- liarly admirable, for their clear, searching, and im- partial character. Acbar removed a great number of vexatious and injurious taxes, substituting one broad, equitable levy upon the land of the country, which he procured to be carefully measured, and the tax fixed. He re- mitted the navigation duties, and reduced those on manufactories. The coin was enhanced in value by improving its fineness. Literature and the arts were never betjer encouraged, and the education of the people was made more universal, and its quality incal- culably improved. He was not only the first man of the empire in station, but in accomplishments, intel- lect, and virtue. He possessed that rare and fortunate combination of qualities for rule, remarks an author, by which he was enabled not only to project, or to appreciate when others had projected, some of the loftiest principles of government, but to carry them himself into practice by his practical skill, and by an unwearied and personally laborious attention to the details. Jehanghire, that is, " lord of the world," was the title chosen by Selim, the son of Acbar. This prince ascended the throne at his father's death, in A. D. 1606. The assumption of so arrogant a title betrays the weakness of the man — a character sufficiently dis- 420 JEHANGHIBB— CHAJA AIASS AND HIS DAUGHTER. played in the sequel. The nobles attempted to place Jehanghire's son on the throne ; but the resiilt was the execution of many of them, and the confinement of the king's son. One of the first acts of the king in- volved his whole life in remorse. The romantic story is thus told : — A poor Tartar, named Chaja Aiass, whose imagi- nation had been kindled by the reports of Indian mag- nificence, left his native country, in the hope of better- ing his fortunes in that land of promise. His whole property consisted of a sorry horse, and a very small sum of money, which had proceeded from the sale of his other effects. Placing his wife upon the horse, he walked by her side. Their scanty pittance of money was soon exhausted ; they had even subsisted for some days upon charity — when they arrived on the skirts of the great solitudes which separate Tartary from the Mogul dominions. No house was there to cover them from the inclemency of the weather, no hand to relieve their wants : to return, was certain misery ; to proceed, apparent destruction. They had fasted three days. In this distressing situation, the wife of Chaja Aiass gave birth to a daughter. They tarried for some hours, in the vain hope that travellers might pass that way ; but they were disappointed : human feet seldom tread these deserts. The sun declined apace ; they feared the approach of night ; the place was the haunt of wild beasts ; and should they escape these, they must die of hunger. In this extremity, Aiass, having placed his wife on the horse, found himself so much exhausted that he could scarcely move. To carry the child was impossible ; the mother could not even maintain herself upon the horse. A long contest began between humanity and necessity ; the latter prevailed, and they agreed to expose the child on the highway. The infant, covered with leaves, was placed under a tree, and the disconsolate parents proceeded in tears. As long as the tree, at the foot of which the child was lying, remained in sight, they persevered in their resolution ; but when that disap- peared, the heart of the mother failed her, and she refused to proceed without her babe. The father re- turned, and beheld, with horror, an enormous black snake coiled above and around the infant. His cry of anguish alarmed the reptile, which slowly uncoiled itself, and glided away, leaving the destined victim unhurt. This almost miraculous preservation instilled fresh hope and energy into the hearts of the parents : they struggled on, and at last were relieved by some other travellers. They reached the court of the Grand Mo- gul, and Aiass was admitted into the service of an omrah, or prince. Hero he soon attracted attention by his abilities, and was at last noticed by the em- peror, Acbar, who gradually raised him to high favor and distinction. The daughter, who had been bom in the desert, received the name of Mher-ul-Nissa, or the " sun of women." She had some right to the appellation, for in beauty she excelled all the ladies of the East. She was educated with the utmost care ; in music, dancing, poetry, and painting, she had no equal among her sex. Her disposition was volatile ; her wit lively and satirical ; her spirit lofty and uncontrolled. Selim, the prince royal, afterwards called Jehan- ghire, paid a visit one day to her father. When the public entertainment was over, when all except the principal guests were withdrawn, and wine was brought on the table, the ladies, according to custom. were introduced in their veils. The ambitibn of Mher-ul- Nissa aspired to a conquest of the prince. She sang — he was in raptures ; she danced — he could hardly be restrained in his place. Her stature, her shape, her gait, had raised his ideas of her beauty to the highest pitch. When his eyes seemed to devour her, she, as by accident, dropped her veil, and shone upon him at once with all her charms. The confusion, which she could well feign on the occasion, heightened the beauty of her face. Her timid eye fell, by stealth, upon the prince, and kindled his soul into love. He was silent for the remaining part of the evening ; she endeavored to confirm, by her wit, the conquest which the charms of her person had made. Selim, bewildered with his passion, knew not what course to pursue. Mher-ul-Nissa had been betrothed by her father to Shere Afkun, a Turcomanian noble- man of great renown. Selim applied to his father, Acbar, who sternly refused to commit a piece of injustice, though in favor of the heir' to the throne. The prince retired abashed, and Mher-ul-Nissa became the wife of Shere Afkun. But Acbar died ; Jehanghire was raised to the throne, and, giving way to the dictates of his passion, the husband of the woman whom he coveted was murdered by his order.* No obstacle now interposed ; but, apparently smitten with remorse at the baseness of his crime, the emperor refused even to see the object of it, and she lived for four years neglected in his harem. Here she was so scantily provided for, that she was compelled to exert the accomplishments she possessed in needlework and painting, for a liveli- hood, and her productions became objects of general desire and admiration. The emperor's curiosity was at length aroused; * Before resolving to murder Shere outright, the emperor had taken several disgraceful methods of accomplishing his purpose, aU of which failed. At one time, he ordered the haunt of an enormous tiger to be explored, and appointed a day for hunting. Shere was invited to the hunt. He was quite unsuspicious of the sinister designs of the king, espe- cially as Jehanghire had received him with favor at court, and conferred upon him new honors. Having, according to the Tartar custom, surrounded the place which the monster frequented, for many mUfes, the hunters began to move towards the centre from all sides. The tiger was roused ; his roaring was heard, and the emperor hastened to the scene of action. The nobles being assembled, Jehanghire eaUed aloud, "Who among you will advance singly and attack this tiger ? " They looked on one another in silence ; then aU eyes turned upon Shere Afkun. He seemed not to under- stand their meaning. At length, three omrahs started from the circle, and, sacrificing fear to shame, fell at the emperor's feet, and begged permission to try their strength, singly, against the formidable animal. The pride of Shere Afkun arose. He had imagined that none durst attempt a deed so dangerous. He hoped that, after the refusal of the nobles, the honor of the enterprise would devolve on him. Afraid of losing his former renown, he offered to attack the tiger unarmed. The monarch made a show of dissuading him from the rash enterprise ; but, secretly delighted, yielded, at last, with a well-feigned reluctance. Astonishment was painted in every face ; every tongue was silent. After a long and obstinate struggle with the tiger, the intrepid warrior prevailed ; and, though mangled with wounds himself, the monster was at last laid dead at his feet. Thus the emperor was foUed in his base attempt, and the feme of Shere increased. After several other covert attempts on his life, the king at last sent assassins, who, attacking Shere on the highway, succeeded in despatching him with many bullets and arrows, though not till after he had killed six omrahs and several of their soldiers. NOOB, MAHL — EQUITABLE GOVERNMENT OP SHAH JEHAN. 421 he visited her, and trom that moment Noor Mahl — that is, " light of the harem," for such was the name she assumed — exercised the most unbounded sway- over his mind. Chaja Aiass was raised to the- distin- guished position of vizier, and his two sons, brothers of the sultana, Noor Mahl, were made omrahs ; and what is equally extraordinary and gratifying, they all filled with honor the posts they occupied. The affairs of the empire were never better Conducted than under Chaja Aiass : his administration is still looked upon as one of the few luminous spots in the dark history of Indian domestic government. Several European embassies, having commercial objects, arrived at the court duringJehanghire's reign. But, although these were received with great favor, the vacillating disposition of the sovereign — now granting their requests, and now withholding them again, or changing the condition of his grants, at the wish of his nobles — caused tliem all to eventuate in disappointment. After the death of her father, who had held her haughty and imperious disposition under some control, Noor Mahl plotted to place on the throne the emperor's youngest son, who had married her daughter by her first husband, the omrah. Her brother, Asipli Jan, was vizier ; with qualities scarce inferior to his father. Shah Jehan, the emperor's third son, and eventually his successor, was Noor Mahl's, most determined oppo- nent. This man had murdered his brother Chusero, and, to escape the emperor's resentment, took up arms against his father ; but he was unsuccessful, principally through the abilities of MoJidbet, a noble-minded, heroic spirit, general to the emperor. The empress hated this general, of course, and endeavored to ruin him with the emperor, who seems himself to have properly appreciated his character and services. Through Noor Mahl's influence, Mohabet was now summoned to court ; but he took the precaution to bring as an escort five thousand devoted rajpoots. He was ignominiously refused an audience till certain al- .eged peculations were accounted for. His son-in-law, sent to the emperor to protest Mohabet's devotedness to his sovereign, and to explain matters, was sent back stripped and cruelly bastinadoed. Seeing that decisive measures were called for, Mohabet planned a bold scheme. The imperial army had to cross the Jhylum : when the greater part had passed to the other side, Mohabet galloped with two thousand horse to the bridge, destroyed it, left a body of his determined friends to prevent the return of the troops across the river, and, appearing in the emperor's tent with a countenance pale but determined, secured the person af Jehanghire. Every attempt, on the part of the army under Asiph Jan, to recross the river to the assistance of the sover- ' eign, was resisted, and with great slaughter, by Mohd- bet's few but resolute troops; Noor Mahl herself, the author of all the mischief, who had already crossed the river, was half frenzied at the success of the general's manoeuvre: she rushed into the water, emptied with her own hand three quivers of arrows, had three successive drivers killed on the back of her elephant, and thus inflamed to a high pitch the courage of the soldiers. But Mohabet crossed the river, and drove all before him. He ultimately obtained possession of Noor Mahl's person, who was accused by him of high treason and other crimes, and an order obtained for her execution. She begged to see Jehanghire once more, and, on being admitted to his presence, stood before him in silence. Jehanghire burst into tears. " Will you not spare this woman, Mohabet ? " he said, at length. " See how she weeps." " It is not for the emperor qf the Mo- guls to ask in vain," was the reply, and Noor Mahl was instantly set at liberty. The loyal Mohabet now restored to the emperor all authority, and dismissed his guards. But the sultana was base enough to demand his death, and, on the refusal of her request, sought to assassinate him. Warned of her intentions by the emperor, Mohabet fled, and was proclaimed a traitor, and a price set on his head. Of a lofty and fearless character, he now decided on a most extraordinary step. Disguising him- self, he went to the camp of Asiph Jan, the brother of his mortal enemy, and succeeded in obtainmg an inter- view. Appreciating his mercy to his sister, and his present generous confidence, Asiph received him in his arms., and took him to a secret apartment. " Purvez, the elder of the princes, is virtuous and my friend," said Moha- bet ; " but we must not exchange one feeble sovereign for another. I have fought Shah Jehan, and know his merit : though his ambition acknowledges no restraint of nature or justice, his vigor will prevent intestine disorder, and give power to the laws." Asiph con- curred cordially in these views ; but their schemes were rendered unnecessary by the death of Purvez and Jehanghire, which occurred shortly after, A. D. 1628. A measure of unequalled atrocity secured Shah Jehan from competitors to the throne. This was the murder, by him, of every other male descendant of the house of Baber, except his own four sons, Dara, Sujah, Aurungzebe, and Morad. Asiph was made vizier, and Mohibet commander-in-chief. Lodi, a descendant of the Patan emperors, and who had formerly fought against Shah Jehan, was now his chief enemy, but surrendered himself on condition of receiving a prov- ince. Being sent for to court, shortly after, he was received wifli such studied insult, that he shed tears and fainted away — strange effect on so brave a man ! He again rebelled unsuccessfully, and perished in de- spair, having attacked, with but thirty followers, a con- siderable body of the enemy, in order to procure " an honorable death." The emperor exhibited the most indecent joy at his decease — a compliment to his for- midable abilities and courage. Some troubles occurred at this time in the Deccan, but were soon quieted. During Shah Jehan's reign, his numerous subjects enjoyed tranquillity and happiness such as had rarely been enjoyed in that part of the globe. His governors were closely watched, and brought to strict account, and his reign is celebrated for the strict execution of the laws. The collection of the revenue, with which the comfort of the subject is so much connected, was even better managed than in Acbar's time. To Shah Jehan India is indebted for some of its noblest archi- tectural structures. He built, for his own residence, Jehanpoor, a city near Delhi, and erected a palace, said to be one of the finest in the world. The mauso- leum of his favorite jqueen, Noor Jehan, is one hun- dred and ninety yards square, on an elevated terrace, in the midst of a beautiful garden. It is built of white marble, inlaid with precious stones. The illness of Shah Jehan encouraged his sons to strike for the empire. The most dangerous among them was Aurungzebe, a m^ of craft, courage, and energy. He professed to be deeply religious, and 422 REIGN OF AURUNGZEBE. anxious to restore the purity of the Moslem worship, which, to conciliate the Hindoos, had become wisely- tolerant. He cajoled his brother Morad, inducing him to place money and forces at his disposal. He suc- ceeded also in attaching to his fortunes the immensely wealthy emir of the prince of Golconda. Dora, the eldest son of Shah Jehan, being called to administer the government for his father, whose illness incapaci- tated him for its functions, commenced his administra- tion by forbidding his brothers to approach the palace, on pain of death. The brothers broke out into open rebel- lion ; the hostile armies met, and a stoutly contested battle ensued. During the engagement, one of Dara's captains deserted his sovereign, and went over to Aurungzebe with thirty thousand men, thus securing the victory to that prmce. Aurungzebe now got possession of his father's per- son, and kept him in captivity the rest of his life. The father had previously endeavored to inveigle his son into the harem of the citadel of Agra, where he had stationed some powerful Tartar women, ready to fall upon and crush him. Morad, too, found himself a hopeless and helpless captive. Sujah was driven from the country, and basely killed by the king of Arakan, with whom he had taken refuge. Dara, after enduring every hardship, was treacherously betrayed to Aurung- zebe, who had him paraded about the streets of Delhi on a miserable, fil&y-looking elephant, habited in a dirty cloth. At this lamentable sight, piercing shrieks, and cries of distress, as if some great calamity had befallen themselves, were heard from men, women, and children, on every hand. This popular commisera- tion sealed the fate of the wretched Dara, who was murdered by his brother. Morad, not long after, shared the same fate. These family dissensions, arising from the want of a fixed rule of succession, indicate a declining empire. Shah Jehan, by murdering his relatives, struck the first blow at Mogul sovereignty. Aurungzebe, by similar atrocity, shook it to its very centre. The prin- ciple became established, that on the death of an em- peror, " there was no place of safety but the throne, the steps to which must be the dead bodies of unsuc- cessful competitors ; '' and these victims were generally the nearest relatives of the aspirant to sovereignty. CHAPTER CCXVI. A. S. 1659 to 1803. Aurungzebe — Acbar II. — Aulum — The Sikhs — Jehander — Nadir — Aulum II. — The Mahrattas — Gholam Khadur — Sdndia. Atjrtjngzebe's character seems to have undergone a remarkable change for the better, when he found himself undisputed master of the empire. He treated his father with all attention and respect, consistent with his captivity. Wishing to adorn the throne with some of Shah Jehan's jewels, the emperor sent to ask them of his father, who told him that hammers were ready to pound the jewels into dust, if there were any more importunity for them. " Let him keep his jewels," replied the emperor ; " nay, let him command those of Aurungzebe." This remark being repeated to Shah Jehan, he sent a ^mber of the gems he had refused, saying, " Take these, which I am destined to wear no more ; wear them with dignity, and, by your own renown, make some amends to your family for their misfortunes." When this was repeated to the enlJ)eror, he burst into tears. Aurungzebe. Another event gave occasion for the display of the ready sagacity of Aurungzebe. A wealthy old woman, by her liberalities, had collected around her a vast crowd of religious mendicants, — fakirs, — who, having been successful in several enterprises beyond their expectations, were easily persuaded by their female chief that she had charmed their lives against death by powerful enchantments. Some twenty thousand of the fakirs, having been collected, and thus fortified by fanaticism, entertained the wild scheme of usurping the throne. Instead of despising this enemy, Aurungzebe, a reli- gious knave himself, pretended to get up, by his in- cantations, a counter charm of greater potency, which he wrote with his own hands upon little slips of paper, and had his soldiers fasten them on the tops of spears, borne before the several divisions of the army. The mystic power was confided in by the soldiers, who fought the enemy with heroism, and the fakirs were cut to pieces. This story is more fully given in our history of Hindostan. Aurungzebe died in 1707, at the age of ninety-four, after reigning forty-eight years, over about eighty mil- lions of people. His revenue is said to have equalled four or five hundred millions of dollars. The poisoned chalice of filial ingratitude and rebellion he had made his father drink of, was proffered to his own lips by his son, Acbar XL, who caused him much and deserved an- guish. His personal habits were regular, pure, and simple. " Of his domestic administration it is impos- sible to speak too highly : it was liberal, enlightened, and just." Under his rule, the Mogul empire is said to have reached its highest grandeur and dignity; though, at his death, the symptoms of inherent weak' ness became but too apparent. Aurungzebe's latter hours were imbittered by re- morse : may we not hope they were elevated by repent- ance .' A passage in one of his letters to his son, writ- ten in the prospect of death, is exceedingly impressive. " Old age has arrived," he says, " weakness subdues me, and strength has forsaken all my limbs. I came a stranger into this world, and a stranger! depart. I MAHOMED— DELHI SACKED BY NADIR SHAH. 423 • --, ; who had helped to elevate h^, and died. Two other emperors reigned, one five, the other three, months. Mahomed then cam*} to the throne. He was weak and devoted to luxury : instead, therefore, of opposing a bold front to^the Mahrattas, now rapidly rising to a considerable pswer, he bought peace with these marauders, by paying them a fourth of his resources ; and with a weakfess still more fatal, finding it troublesome to collects this fourth, he gave the ruthless Mahrattas leave to collect it in their own rough fashion; thus abandonirfg his people to the spoiler. . The disorganized state ':>{ the country, under its weak and worthless rulers, h^d before opened India to Tamerlane's plundering inroad, preparing the way for Mogul power. So Nadir Shah's similar invasion opened the way for British rule in India. This Nadir Shah, who has been noticed in another place, was, according to some, a common laborer ; according to others, he was the son of a shepherd in Khoreisan, and by selling his father's sheep, obtained money and hired a band of robbers. He now took service under the son of the sophi of Persia, who desired to recover his throne from an Afghan usurper, whom Nadir overthrew. He then put out his employ- er's eyes, and caused himself to be proclaimed king of Persia, in 1736. He marched upon the Afghans ; and afterwards into Hindostan, where he gained pos- session of Delhi, through the treachery of Mahomed's officers, who were rewarded by the following speech of Nadir, exhibiting a singular medley of the monarch, the ruffian, and the fanatic. " Are not you both most tingrateful villains to your king and country, who, after possessing such wealth and dignities, call me from my own dominion to ruin them and yourselves } But I will scourge you with all my wrath, which is the vengeance of God." A Persian seized a pigeon-seller's basket, who cried out that Nadir had ordered a general pillage. The streets of Delhi were soon filled with an excited pop- ulace ; the Persian was set upon ; a report spread that Nadir was dead ; before nightfall, two thousand Per- sians had been slain. Nadir was shot at himself. This incident unchained the tiger, and the consequence was, a general massacre, in which, before two o'clock, one hundred thousand of the Delhi people were killed — men, women, and children upon the same bloody heaps. During this dreadful scene, the king of Persia sat in the mosque. None but his slaves dared to come near him, for his countenance was dark and terrible. At length, the unfortunate emperor, Mahomed, attended by a number of his chief omrahs, ventured to approach him with downcast eyes. The omrahs who preceded Mahomed bowed down their foreheads to the ground. Nadir asked them, sternly, what they wanted. They cried out with one voice, " Spare the city." Mahomed said not a word, but the tears flowed fast from his eyes. The tyrant, for once touched with pity, sheathed his sword, and said, " For the sake of the prince Mahomedj I forgive." In a few minutes, so instantaneous was the efTect of his orders, every thing was calm in the city. But the pillaging was now to begin ; and its amount is variously estimated at from one hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifly millions of dollars; During its continuance, the gates were shut, and the populace reduced to famine. Tucki, an actor, was playing be- fore Nadir, and so delighted him that the shah prom- ised him whatever reward he should ask. Falling on his knees, the noble Tucki cried out, " king, com- know nothing of myself, what I am, or for what I am destined. The instant which passed in power hath left only sorrow behind it. I have not been sufficiently the guardian and protector of the empire. My valu- able time has been passed vainly. I had a patron in my own dwelling, [conscience,] but his glorious light was not seen by my dim vision." In the third year of this reign, a dreadful famine desolated India, producing most appalling scenes of suffering. The emperor immediately remitted the rents of the land and other taxes. He bought corn where it was most plentiful, and sold it at reduced prices where it was the least so. The means for doing this were furnished from his own treasury, which had grown rich under his economical and able manage- ment, and which he opened for the benefit of the peo- ple without limit. An historian of the Grand Moguls well remarks, that it is a most extraordinary, but at the same time consoling and gratifying fact, that men like Shere, Shah Jehan, and Aurungzebe, all of them stained with execrable crimes, committed in the pur- suit of power, should, when their objects were attained, be so justly famous for the vigor, skill, and impartial- ity of their administrations. The remaining history of the Mogul empire is but the melancholy record of one miserable struggle after another for the imperial sway, among the descendants of its noble founders, while the empire itself was con- tinually becoming less and less worth the contest. After the usual quarrel of the sons of the emperor, at his death, for the throne. Shah Aulum — his two brothers being severally defeated and slain — suc- ceeded his father, Aurungzebe. He had to contend with a new power, the Sikhs, whose descendants, after a space of more than one hundred and thirty years, are now (1849) struggling vigorously for in- dependence against the British power in India.* Shah Aulum reigned but five years, and died in A. D. 1712, leaving behind him the reputation of an accomplished, liberal, and humane prince. Of the four sons of Shah Aulum, the eldest gained the throne for a few months, through a distinguished general of his grandfather, and called himself Jehan- der Shah. His chief adviser was a concubine, one of the impure class of public dancers, and he was frequently seen near Delhi, walking with such aban- doned females. His nephew, Feroksere, seized the throne, after defeating and killing his uncle. He slaughtered, without compunction, every person in his power from whom he could apprehend any possible danger. He was dethroned, after six years, by one * The origin of the Sikha is thus stated : In Baber's time, Nanek, the beautiful son of a merchant, having attracted the attention of a dervis, was taken home by him and educated in Islamism. The youth selected for himself, from time to ^ime, in the course of his studies, such doctrines, expressions,! and sentiments as suited him, and the result was a book, written in a very elegant style, called Korrint. This, by degrees, became the text-book of a sect, which, under a military organization, rose to empire, imder the name of Sikhs ; but they seem latterly to have given up their religious pre- tensions. Rejecting, as he did, much of the absurdities of the two great religions of India, Mahometanism and Hin- dooism, and preserving some of the good of both, Nanek had many followers. After his death, nine chiefs successively governed the body of the Sikhs, who lived very peaceably and inoffensively. But in Aurungzebe's leign, one of the chiefs -was put to death, and another banished. The Sikhs now carried rapine and slaughter among the Moguls, but were checked by Shah Allium, though not destroyed. Their histoij' is given in a subsequent chapter. 424 ATJLUM n. — GHOLAM KHADTJR. mand the gates to fc^ opened, that the poor may not perish." The requesf was granted, and the blessings of his fellow-creaturej-were the priceless reward of the actor's benevoler"!!? Nadir quitted Delji, having taken the provinces between Persia and^indostan from Mahomed, and given him some good advice. The emperor died in 1747, after reigning thirty years. Ahmed, his eldest son, succeeded ; and dliring his reign he lost, to the rising Afghan power, the north-western provinces, Moultan and Lahore. The Mahriltas and Rohillas, too, were very troublesome. At laS';, a rebel seized Delhi, and put out Ahmed's eyes, set^pig up another emperor, Aulum- geer II. The Sikhs now rose into importance ; and the Afghans marched to the very gates of Delhi, which were opened to them, and the city was again at the mercy of an enemy. The emperor had sunk so low, that he begged the Afghan chief, Abdallah, not to leave him to the mercy of his own vizier, the rebel who had put out Ahmed's eyes. Aulumgeer fell into the wretch's hands, however, and was assassinated, in A. D. 1759. The Mahrattas now attempted, by one bold stroke, to seize the empire ; but Abdallah, the Afghan, being again on Indian territory, met their army of one hun- dred and forty thousand horse, commanded by their best generals, and after a contest of almost unexampled severity, at Paniput, (A. D. 1760,) obtained the victo- ry — only a few of the army and three of the generals escaping. Abdallah gave the sovereignty to Aulum II., who was never really master of his dominions, and experienced a great variety of the most cruel disasters. The next half century offers to the historian of India a perplexed chronicle of violent revolutions, occa- sioned by the various chiefs who successively 'rose to more or less power, and their contests with Great Britain. The story, however, of the last revolution that occurred to the Moguls of India, previous to their becoming pensioners of Great Britain, is both inter- esting and instructive — interesting as a picture of Orientalism, instructive as an example of the insta- bility of human grandeur, and the precarious state of despotic governments. The author of this revolution was Gholam Khadur, disinherited by his father, and driven from his presence, for vice and crime. Shah Aulum II., or Allum, the king of Delhi, and last of the Moguls, took him under his protection, treated him as his own son, and conferred on him the second title in the kingdom — emir of emirs. He lived with the king, and raised a body of about eight thousand troops of his own countrymen, the Moguls, which he commanded. Gholam Khadur was of a passionate temper, haughty, cruel, ungrate- ful, and debauched. In the latter part of the year 1788, the king had formed suspicions that- some of the neighboring rajahs would attempt the conquest of his territories. This was confirmed by the approach of a large army toward his capital, commanded by a chief named Ismael, and assisted by the warlike Mahratta sovereign, Scindia. Gholam reassured his king, who was discouraged at the array of his formidable enemies ; he urged him to march out, give his troops a supply of monejj, and he would lay his head on the enemy's being repulsed. On the king's reply that he had no money, Gholam offered to advance enough. " Only head the army," said he : " the presence of the monarch is half the battle." The king seemed to consent, and requested Gholam to assemble the army, pay their arrears, and inform them of his purpose to lead them in person. Great, therefore, was Gholam's astonishment, when, the next day, he intercepted a letter from the king to Scindia, the hostile chief, desiring him to make all haste and destroy Gholam ; " for," said the letter, " he urges me to act against my wishes, and oppose you." On this discovery, Gholam marched out with his troops, crossed the Jumna, and encamped on the other side, opposite the fort of Delhi, the residence of the king. He then sent the king the intercepted letter, asking him if such conduct did not merit the loss of his throne. After a few days' siege, Gholam carried the fort : entering the palace in arms, he flew to the king's chamber, insulted the old man in the most barbarous manner, knocked him down, and kneeling on his breast, dug out one of his eyes with his knife, ordering a ser- vant of the king to thrust out the other I He then gave up the palace to pillage, and, going to the zenana, where the king's women resided, insulted the ladies, and tore their jewels from their noses, ears, and limbs. As he had lived with the king, he was well acquainted with the different places where bis treasures were hid ; he dug up the floor of the king's own bed- room, and found there two chests containing in specie one hundred and twenty thousand gold mohurs, — near- ly a million of dollars, — which he took, and vast sums besides. To get at the hidden jewels of the women, he practised a nefarious trick, of the meanest kind. He ordered that the king's ladies and daughters should come and pay their respects to him, promising to free those who could best please him by their dress and appearance. The innocent, unthinking women brought out their jewels, and adorned themselves in their richest attire, to please this savage. Gholam ordered them to be conveyed into a hall, where he had provided ordinary dresses for them : these dresses he made them put on, by the assistance of eunuchs, and, taking possession of their rich dresses and jewels, sent the women home to lament their own credulous vanity, and curse his treachery. He did not stop here, but insulted the princes by making them dance and sing. The most beautiful of the king's daughters, Mobaruok ul Moolk, was brought to the tyrant, but she stabbed herself, rather than submit her person to him. Scindia, the Mahratta chief, soon after this, came to the king's assistance, ostensibly, but his real purpose was to make the remnant of the Mogul empire his prey. Gholam fled, and took refuge in the fort of Agra, a large city, one hundred and fifty miles south of Delhi. Here Scindia's troops besieged him, and he, perceiving that he must be taken if he tarried, took advantage of a dark night, stuffed his saddle with a large stock of precious stones, and with a few fol- lowers fled toward Persia. Unluckily for him, the wretch fell from his horse on the second night of his flight : by this means a party of horsemen, which had been sent in pursuit, came up with him, and took him prisoner. He was brought to Scindia, who, after ex- posing him some time in irons, and some time in a cage, ordered his ears, his nose, his hands, and his feet to be cut off, and his eyes taken out, in which state he was allowed to expire ! Scindia seized on the kingdom he came to protect ; and all that was left to Shah Allum, the nominal em- peror, was the city of Delhi, with a small district around it, where, deprived even of sight, he remained an empty shadow of royalty. In the early part of EXTENT OF THE MOGUL EMPIEE — ITS MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. 426 the present century, (A. D. 1803,) the British neition took under their immediate sovereignty Agra and Delhi, pensioning off the king of Delhi, the last representa- tive of a mighty race. Thus terminated the empire of the Grand Moguls in India ; though the name King of Delhi is still given to. the lineal descendant of the Grand Mogul — a pensioner of the British government — who resides at Delhi. • CHAPTER CCXVII. General Views — Military Affairs — Divisions — Cities — Education^— The Household and Domestic Habits of the Grand Moguls The Seraglio — The Painting Gallery — Public Fights of Animals — Machines — Pensions — Festivals — Marriages — Hunt- ing and Hawking — Fairs — Weighing the King. The Mogul empire, in 1725, included all of India from Afghanistan, or Candahar, Beloochistan, and Sindh, to Assam and Arakan, and from Badakshan, Siapouch, Thibet, and Nepaul, to the ocean, except the Malabar coast, and the triangular territory south of the Gavery. From Cabul, the chief town in the extreme north-west, to Pondicherry, in the south-east, the distance is nearly eighteen hundred miles, or as far as from Bangor, in Maine, to the capital of Texas. Its width from north-east to south-west varied from seven hundred to fourteen hundred miles ; in all about one million square miles, with from eighty to ninety mil- lions of inhabitants. Aurungzebe's treasury was sup- posed to equal four or five hundred millions of dollars. The regular annual revenue of Acbar, from twelve fifteenths of the empire, was about ninety millions of Sicca rupees, or forty-five to fifty millions of dollars. The military establishment was under fixed and regular pay, and the nicest discipline and regulations. It was a maxim of Acbar, which he carried into every department of his concerns, that " true greatness gives attention to the minuHce of business, as well as to cap- ital affairs." In this, and some other things. Napoleon seems to have imitated him. The militia, or Zemin- dary troops, numbered, says the " Mirror of Acbar," •four millions four hundred thousand. Some of the cavalry had their horses marked, and a description taken in writing of the persons of the men, and these troopers took rank of the others. Their pay was from seven to eleven dollars a month. Every thing that regarded the horses, their feeding, classification, menage, &c., was minutely regulated. The Moguls had a body of fifty thousand of these horsemen, near the seat of government. The ele- phants, of which there were seventeen or eighteen hundred, were divided also into seven kinds, and the details of their feeding, care, the pay of their keepers, &c., were regulated with the utmost exactness. The yearly allowance to each elephant was from three and a half dollars to more than sixteen and a half dollars. The officers were commanders of ten, and so up to ten thousand ; their commands increasing by hundreds 'from four hundred to five thousand, below that by fifties and twenty-fives, and below ninety, by tens. Many of the commanders of above five thousand men were the king's sons. There were sixty-six of these bodies of five thousand. The captains of one hundred were of eleven ranks, and paid accordingly, from five hundred to seven hundred rupees, or about two hundred and fifty to three hundred aad fifty dollars per month. Every commander had, also, half as many infantry as cav- alry : of the infantry one fourth were bundookchean, that is, " matchlock-men," the rest archers, except a few who were carpenters, blacksmiths, water-carriers, and pioneers. The trooper supplied his own horse on entering the service ; afterward, in case of accident, the government supplied it, and took half its value out of the pay by quarterly stoppages. This may suffice as a specimen of these curious and minute regulations recorded in the " Mirror of Acbar," already mentioned. The whole army was divided into twelve divisions : each division did a year's duty in rotation. A body of twelve thousand hundookcheau, was always employed about the royal person. A thou- sand porters guarded the palace, who were paid from two dollars and three quarters to seven dollars and a half per month. Another thousand gaarded its environs. Several thousand bearers, some of whom could carry enormous weights, did service at the palace. Another thousand men were employed as spies, couriers, and errand men, and also in nice and difficult undertakings. Besides all these, were the gladiators, performers of feats, wrestlers, and the slaves. As Acbar " did not approve of giving these unfortunate men the opprobrious name of slaves," they were called ^' dependants." They were of five kinds — infidels taken in battle, and bought and sold as common slaves ; those who of themselves submitted to bondage; children bom of slaves; thieves,. become the slaves of the owners of the goods they had stolen ; and fifthly, persons sold for the price of blood — that is, for homicide. The daily pay of these was from one and a quarter cents to fifty cents. They were formed into divisions, Eind committed to the care of skilful persons, to be instructed in various arts and occupations. " His majesty," adds the " Mirror," " out of his hu- manity and discernment, promotes these and other inferior classes of people, according to their merits ; so that it is not uncommon to see a foot soldier raised to the dignity of an omrah of the empire." It is said that the emperor had a body-guard of Arab women, who were extremely well disciplined, and never quitted the seraglio : amongst them were estab- lished all the different degrees of rank which obtained among the men. Besides the army at Delhi, there was always a very considerable one at Agra, the other capital. Exclusive of these, the smallest village had two horse and six foot soldiers, who acted as the police, or spies of government, and sent an account of what- ever was transacted. Every town had a garrison. In a word, each of the rajahs, who were so many petty chiefs, or feudatories of the empire, always, in later times, supported a numerous body of troops ready to march.* One of them kept on foot, in the early part * The military force was thus distributed : Bengal, 23,000 cavalry and 800,000 infantry j Bahar, 11,000 and 4S01O00'; AUahabad, 11,000 and 238,000 ; Oude, 7,j600 and 168,000 ; Agra, 60,000 and 677,000 ; Malwah, 281,000 and 68,000 ; Guzerat, 67,000 and 9,000 ; Ajmeer, 86,000 and 347,000 ; La- hore, 64,000 and 426,000 ; Moultan, 14,000 and 166,000 ; Cashmere, 6,000 and 93,000. These are not all the troops, — Ayeen Adbeny. 426 PUBLIC SCHOOLS— BRANCHES TAUGHT. of the last century, an army of fifty thousand cavalry and two hundred thousand infantry. The emperor maintained five hundred elephants : his arsenals con- tained an immense quantity of ammunition. Acbar's empire was divided into fifteen soobahs, or viceroyalties, with each its sooiahdar, or viceroy, viz. : Allahabad, Agra, Oude, Ajmeer, Ahmedabad, Bahar, Bengal, Delhi, Cabul, Lahore, Moultan, Malwa, Be- rar, Khandees, and Ahmednagur. The first twelve of these were subdivided into one hundred and five sircars, or provinces, and two thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven kusbahs, townships, or counties. Bemaina of an Observatoiy at Delhi. It is said there are more than a score of cities, in Hindostan, which bear, in their decay, the evidence that they were once royal capitals. Delhi, one of the capitals of the Grand Moguls, was formed of the old city with its walls, the new city at a short dis- tance, and the space between, enclosed by two walls. Here, in Tamerlane's time, was the splendid " Palace of the thousand columns," built by a famous Indian king. But the present Delhi is at another place, and was founded by Acbar, whose structures are noticed in our history of Hindostan. It once extended twenty miles, and a French writer, in the last century, estima- ted its inhabitants at one million seven hundred thou- sand. The imperial palace is of red granite, of tasteful architecture, one thousand yards long by six hundred broad, and cost more than five millions of dollars. The stables will hold ten thousand horses. There are besides many relics of ancient grandeur. Agra was made the seat of the empire by Acbar, and a most magnificent city. He here built his pal- ace, a " fort of red stone, the like of which no traveller has ever beheld." " It contains above five hundred stone buildings, of surprising construction, in the Ben- gal, Guzerat, and other styles ; and the artificers have decorated them with beautiful paintings. At the east- ern gate are carved, in stone, two elephants, with their riders, of exquisite workmanship." This fortified pal- ace is still to be seen, extending in a crescent shape along the river side. On the opposite bank were the four gardens — a monument of Humaioon's magnifi- cence. At Agra also is the mosque of Acbar, said to be more splendid than that of Solyman at Constantino- ple ; also the mosque of Aurungzebe, with its hundred columns ; besides other monuments of former greatness. The following were Acbar's " regulations for teach- ing in the public schools. The boys are first taught to read the letters of the Persian alphabet separately, with the different accents, or marks of pronunciation • and his majesty has ordered that as soon as they have a perfect knowledge of the alphabet, which is gener- ally acquired in two days, they shall be exercised in combinations of two letters ; and after they have learnt those for a week, there is given to them a short line of prose or verse, containing a religious or moral senti- ment, wherein those combinations continually occur. They must strive to read this themselves, with a little occasional assistance from the teacher. " For some days the master proceeds with teaching a new hemistich or distich ; and in a very short time the boys learn to read with fluency. The teacher gives the young scholar four exercises daily, viz. : the alphabet, the combinations, a new hemistich or distich, and a repetition of what he had read before. By this method, what used to take up years is now accomplished in a few months, to the astonishment of every one. "The sciences are taught in the following order: morality, arithmetic, accounts, agriculture, geometry, longimetry, astronomy, geomancy, economics, the art of government, physic, logic, natural philosophy, ab- stract mathematics, divinity, and history. Every individual is educated according to his circumstances or particular views of life. From these regulations, the schools, adds Abul Fazil, have obtained a new form, and the colleges are become the lights and ornaments of the empire." A great number of religions prevailed in the empire of the Grand Moguls, the chief of which were the Brahminic and Buddhist, described in the history of Hindostan and Thibet ; the Mahometan, described under Arabia ; and the Parsee, or Gheber, described under the history of Persia. Supernatural powers were claimed for the emperor Acbar, who was in real- ity a man of profound intelligence, and liberal in his religious views, as may be seen in our history of Hin- dostan. The most compendious method of conveying an idea of the complicated domestic machinery of the vast establishment of the Mogul court, is to enumerate the heads under which the " Mirror of Acbar " records the various regulations he adopted. Here minute directions are found written for the household, royal treasuries, jewel office, mint, coins, seraglio, equipages for journeys, encampments of the army, illuminations, ensigns of royalty, royal seals, water coolers, kitchen, lent days, prices of provisions, printing, perfume office, flowers, wardrobe, shawls ; prices of manufactures ; library and calligraphic rooms, painting gallery ; ar- mory, weapons and armor — of which some eighty different kinds are enumerated — artillery, firearms and their manufacture ; elephant stables and their attend- ance, one hundred and one elephants for his majesty's ■: riding, horse stables, horse bazaars, camel stables, ox ;] stables, mules ; manner in which his majesty spends his time, times of admission to the royal presence, forms of salutation ; spiritual guidance, including mir- acles — such as breathing on persons, to cure them, and into cups of water, to endow them with virtue, &o. ; religious discipline ; musters, that of elephants on Sat- urday, when they were most minutely examined ; that of horses, on Sunday ; of camels, mules, and oxen, on Monday; of soldiers, on Tuesday ; the meeting of the council, on Wednesday ; public administration of jus- tice, on Thursday ; relaxation in the harem, on Friday; damage to animals, regulations for the public fights of animals, regulations for buildings. SEEAGLIO — FESTIVALS, FAIRS, GAMES. 427 Among other things are also the regulations of festi- vals, alms, weighing the royal person, holidays, mar- riages, hunting, hawking,- games, tribute and taxes, division of lands, revenues, collections, settlements ; also instructions to the viceroy, to the commissioners for pronouncing sentence, to the judges, the chief of police, the collectors of revenues, the registrars and the treasurers. The scope of this HiSbry affords room for a particular notice of but a few of these matters. The seraglio was an enclosure of such immense extent as to contain a separate room for every one of the women, whose number exceeded five thousand. They were divided into companies, and a proper employment assigned to each individual. Over each of these companies a woman was appointed as duenna, and one was selected for the command of the whole, that the affairs of the harem might be conducted with the same regularity and good government as the other departments of the state. Every lady received a salary equal to her merit — from one thousand six hundred and ten to one thousand and twenty-eight rupees per month. At the grand gate was an ofRcer to take account of the receipts and expenditures of the harem, in money and goods. When any lady wanted any thing, she applied to the treasurer of the harem ; and he, regulating the requisition according to the stipend of the lady, sent a memorandum to the officer at the gate, who transmitted it to the treasurer of the king's palace, who paid the money. The inside of the harem was guarded by women, and about the gate of the royal apartments were placed the most confidential. Immediately on the out- side of the gate, watched the eunuchs of the harem, and at a proper distance were stationed the rajpoots, beyond whom were the porters of the gates, and, on the outside of the enclosure, the omrahs ; the " detached " and other troops mounted guard according to their rank. If the beguins, or wives of the omrahs, or other women of fashion, wished to pay their compliments, they notified it outside, and their request was sent in, in writing, to the officers of the palace, after which they were permitted to enter the harem : some had leave to make a visit of a month. The monarch collected, in a kin(i of painting gal- lery, a number of artists, who might vie with each other in thei« productions. Every week the superin- tendents brought to his majesty the performance of each artist ; and, in proportion to their merits, they were honored with premiums, and their salaries increased. A list of eighteen eminent artists is given in the " Mirror." Much attention was paid to the illu- mination of manuscripts — which was brought to a high degree of perfection — and also to the edges and bind- ing. By command of the emperor, portraits were made of all the principal officers of the court, which, being bound up together, formed a thick volume, " wherein the past are kept in lively remembrance, and the present are insured immortality." Public spectacles were encouraged " as a means of bringing together people of all ranks, who, by partak- ing in the general diversion, may become acquainted, and enter into friendship and good fellowship with each other." In the public fights of animals, deer were pitted against each other; they were classified, registered, and their qualities betted on- Buffaloes, bulls, rams, goats, and cocks were also pitted. The fights came off at night, on the fourteenth day of the moon, in the front of the palace. The deer were regularly trained, and wild ones constantly added to the herds. The emperor was the inventor of several useful machines ; of one for polishing muskets ; of a cart containing a corn-mill, which was worked by the motion of the carriage ; of a carriage with several apart- ments and a hot bath, all drawn by a single elephant, extremely useful and refreshing on a journey ; also several hydraulic machines, some of which were so adjusted that a single ox would at once draw water out of two wells, and at the same time turn a millstone. Pensions were given, in money and land, for subsist- ence, to the learned and their scholars ; to those who had retired from the world ; to the needy who were not able to help themselves ; also to the descendants of great families fallen into decay, who, from false shame, did not follow any occupation for support. The ancient festivals were rejected, or continued, as the king directed. After establishing a festival, he endeavored to make it of the greatest possible use, embracing every occasion of distributing largesses. With this view, he adopted the ancient Persian festivals of Giamschid and others, which were used as the means of bestowing donations. There was the new year fes- tival, on the first of March, for nineteen days, during which immense sums of money and valuable articles were distributed ; the kettle-drum was beat every three hours, accompanied by musical instruments. For three successive nights there were illuminations and fireworks. There was also a festival for each month. The merchants' wives held fairs on the ninth day after the festivals, and here the women of quality pur- chased. The monarch attended these fairs in disguise. Afterwards, there were fairs for the men. These the king attended, and any one might then have free access to him, and the wronged receive justice. There was a curious custom of weighing the king twice a year — once on his birthday, against various articles, twelve times ; and these were then given away. The princes were also weighed on their birth- days, and the things in the opposite balance distrib- uted. Birds were let fly on these occasions, and animals were given away, the number cdtresponding to the years of the prince. In marriages, the emperor made the consent of the bride and bridegroom equally necessary with that of their parents. He disapproved of the marriage of par- ties of different sects in religion, or of ill-assorted dispositions; he held it sinful that mere children should marry, — as is sometimes the custom in the East, — because it would make discord ; that persons of near affinity should intermarry, and that excessive marriage gifts or settlements should be made. He also disapproved of polygamy. The customs in the celebra- tion of marriage varied in different parts of the empire. The Hindoos had several games of ball, at which the emperor was very expert, especially in those which were played on horseback. Other games, and among them cards, are enumerated, as in use. In the hunting expeditions, the "detached" soldiery surrounded the spot that contained the game ; at the distance of eight or ten miles from this was the sta- tion of the kour, or king's suite, and beyond that were the omrah, or commander-in-chief, and others of rank ; the whole being enclosed by the guards. In the enclosure that contained the game some principal omrahs and servants moved about gently in quest of 428 THIBET — GEOGEAPHICAL DESCEIPTION. sport, and when they discovered any, pointed it out to his majesty. Sometimes the lion was caught in a trap baited with a kid, for which he entered it, and the door was made to shut upon him. Sometimes straw was made sticky with some glutinous Substance, and a sheep fastened near, in coming to get which the lion's claws became entangled, and he was rendered harmless, and taken. Sometimes a man was mounted on a large buffalo, and caused him to toss the lion till he was killed. Several instances are enumerated of Acbar's killing lions, in hunting, with his own hand. The mode of hunting elephants was very curious. Leopards were taken in a pitfall, with a spring-door. They were tamed and trained to hunt. Acbar had one which used to follow him about, without collar or chain, like a dog. A thousand hunting leopards accompanied the emperor to the chase, each with its attendant. Some were carried to the field on horses or mules, others on carriages or in palanquins. Sometimes they showed the leopard the game, and he crept along from his con- cealment, and caught it. Sometimes he was put in a covert, or behind a screen, and the deer frightened toward him, when he sprang out, and seized it. Dogs were also used, and deer taught to hunt deer, by putting a slip-noose on the horns of a lame animal, by which the wild one was entangled. Sometimes four hundred people hunted together; oxen were taught to act as stalking-horses, and moved so as to conceal the hunters, till the deer were come up with. In hunting the wild buffalo, the tame female was used as a decoy ; sometimes the buffaloes were driven from the water into snares, on the bank. Six kinds of hawks were used in hunting. The fal- coners were generally from Cashmere. Upon the whole, it may be remarked, in closing this notice of the empire of the Grand Moguls, that Hindostan seems never to have been happier than under the vigorous but well-meaning, orderly, and generally benign, administrations of Acbar and Au- rungzebe. Cjiikt. CHAPTER CCXVIII. Geographical Survey — Divisions — Charac- ter — Country, Sfc. The secluded country of Thibet is the Switzerland of Asia — on a scale commensurate with the compara- tive size of Asia and Europe. Her Alps are the mighty Himmaleh on the south, the Belur and Mus- tag on the north-west, and the Kuenlun on the north. The passes of the Himmaleh are guarded by the Chinese and the obstacles of nature. It is difficult to breathe the rarefied air of these terrific heights. No army could penetrate into the country, without expo- sure to destruction, even before meeting an enemy. The only beast of burden in these regions is the sheep, which clanfbers where no other animal than the goat can find a footing. The adventurous traveller must stop, every few steps, to take breath ; blood often starts from his mouth, eyes, and nose, and the pain some- times amounts to agony. " On reaching the highest point," says a traveller over one of these passes, " the country looked like Lanarkshire, in Scotland, and, had there been heather instead of stone and brown grass, it would have resembled a Highland moor. The view, more ex- tensive than beautiful, was cloudless. Right in front stretched a dreary plain, shrubless, treeless, and house- less, terminated, along its whole northern side, at about twenty miles off, by a low range of rounded brown hills, utterly without tree or jutting rock, but very much broken into ravines and perpendicular faces. Trav- ellers were passing over the plain, to and from the pass, with loaded sheep ; but no cattle were visible at pasture." Such is the scene presented in looking over this mountain wall from the Niti pass, leading to Boo- tan, and inaccessible, by reason of cold and snow, during eight months of the year. Of the north- eastern extremity, European travellers have caught some faint glimpses ; but, on the whole, these regions are almost unknown to Europeans. The Chinese government divides Thibet into five provinces, viz., Kam, on the east, which contains the sources of the Irawaddy and Cambodjia, and lies south of the Koko-nor Mongols ; Ouei, containing Lassa, the residence of the grand lama, and the spiritual capital of Tartary, bounded south by the Sanpoo, or Burrampooter ; Thsang, having Nepaul and part of Assam on the south, and the Khor Katchi Mongols on the north ; Ngari, with the commercial emporium of Ladak for its capital, and the Punjaub, west ; and Balti, a triangular province, with Cashmere and Ca- bul, south-west, Nanloo north-east, and Ngari south- east. Thibet has many lakes, some of considerable size, to several of which Hindoo pilgrims resort, as to the holiest spots of earth. Lake Palti is a kind of ditch, five miles broad, surrounding an island two miles in diameter. The largest lake, Terkiri, is seventy by twenty-five miles ; it is in the north-e|st corner of Ouei. Some sixteen kinds of quadrupeds are found wild, among which are the musk-deer, three kinds of jerboas, two species of fox, the hare, yak, ox, and the argali sheep. The beautiful fur, beneath the long hair of the Thibet goat, the smallest and most beauti- ful of the goat species, furnishes the material for the famous Cashmere shawls. The tail of the yak, a flowing mass of glossy, waving hair, is a considerable article of trade, of very ancient use as a brush for dispersing insects, and is often represented as a royal emblem on Persian and Egyptian monuments. Gold is found nearly pure, in the form of dust, and some- times in pieces of large size. Copper, lead, cinnabar, and borax, are also part of the resources of this prim- itive country, which, notwithstanding serious obstacles, carries on considerable commerce with Hindostan, China, and Russia. Crude borax, gold, shawl-woot, and sheep-skins, are exchanged for woollens, cottons, silks, tobacco, spices, toys, tea, and porcelain. According to official Chinese geography, the whole of Thibet contains sixteen towns. Lassa, the capital, POLTGAMY— DRESS— THE KIANG. 429 the Rome of Central Asia, is in a large plain, in Ouei : it is a small city, but its houses are of stone, and are very spacious and lofty. It is inhabited chiefly bj merchants and artisans. In the surround- ing plain are twenty-two temples, all richly adorned ; and seven miles east of the capital is the " holy moun- tain," or Pootala, the " Vatican " of the Grand Lama. His temple-palace is said to be three hundred and sixty-seven feet high, to contain ten thousand apart- ments, filled .with images in gold and silver, and to have its roof richly gilded. Its exterior is decorated with numberless pyramid^ of gold and silver. The state apartments are at the top of the edifice, which is seven stories high. Numerous priests and monks are maintained at the expense of government, and by presents which they receive. The Chinese have their military commander and civil governor at Lassa. The villages and mon- asteries, it may here be remarked, are generally situated about half way up the insulated rocks which diversify the table plain of Thibet. The rock above shelters from the cold blasts; that below offers channels to carry off the melted snow, while in the heart of the rock are excavated granaries and magazines. Gertope is the chief market of the shawl-wool ; it is rather a camp than a town, consisting merely of black tents made of blankets fastened to stakes by ropes of hair, and adorned at the tops with flags formed of shreds of colored, silk and cloth. It is in the midst of a vast plain, scattered about upon which may be con- tinually seen some forty thousand sheep, goats, and yaks. Ladak is the seat of a considerable trade, being the place of transit for the caravans which traverse both sides of the valley of the Indus, from Thibet, Hin- dostan, and Cabul. The people of this region held themselves independent of China, till she assigned it to the Grand Lama, out of respect to whom they abstain from the marauding habits which they previously prac- tised, but require that all the shawl-wool exported to Cashmere shall pass by the Ladak route. The Thibetans are of a mild temper and frank man- ners : the men are stout, and have something of the Mongol aspect : the complexion of the women is brown, enlivened by a mixture of fresh red. Their amuse- ments are chiefly chess, which they thoroughly under- stand, and the pageantries of a splendid worship. Polygamy of a singular kind exists ; all the brothers of a family having the same wife, chosen by the eldest. Marriages are not solemnized by the priests, nor are they attended with much ceremony : if the lover's pro- posals are approved by the parents of the female, they proceed with their daughter to the house of their intended son-in-law — the friends and acquaintances of the parties forming the marriage train. Three days are passed in the amusements of dancing and music, and when these have elap-sed, the marriage is consid- ered as concluded. The Thibetans are temperate, and even abstemious : their chief beverage is the tea-porridge of Tartary, a kind of pap of flour, salt, butter, and tea leaves. An old traveller says that they have substituted the drinking out of die skulls of their masters for their ancient and abominable custom of eating their relatives who died of old age ; but this needs confirmation. The national dress is of thick woollen cloth, and pre- pared sheep-skins, with the fleece turned inwards : the religious orders wear a vest of woollen with red sleeves, a large mantle resembling a plaid, with a kilt and a pair of huge boots : silks and furs are worn by the rich. A fine white silken scarf is an invariable present on occasions of ceremony, accompanied by a complimen- tary letter. The ordinary buildings are very rude, and quite unornamented, consisting of rough stones with- out cement ; but the religious edifices, uniting palace temple, and monastery, display extraordinary splendor. CHAPTER CCXIX. 3000 B. C. to A. S. 1849. History of Thibet — Early Thibetans — Wars — Empire — Conquest by China. Thirty centuries before the Christian era, when the first Chinese colonies descended from the Kuenlun Mountains, which separate Thibet from Tartary, they found the Sanmiao, a Thibetan people, inhabiting the banks of the Liang River, which runs through the prov- ince of Hoo kooang into Lake Toong ting, in Central China. Even in times of a still higher antiquity, Thi- betan communities seem to have occupied the western part of China as far south as the Nan ling Mountains and as far east as the province of Honan. The Sanmiao were driven by the above-mentioned Chinese colonies into the mountains around Lake Kokonor, west of the provinces of Chensi and Szutchooan. Indeed, they long occupied the west part of the former province, which was not brought under the Chinese dominion till the second century B. C. The descendants of the Sanmiao received the name of Kiang from the Chinese — a name they afterwards applied to the whole Thibetan race. They led a nomadic life, and had numerous flocks ; they also cul- tivated portions of land, but the produce was not con- siderable. Their manners and customs were the same as those of the barbarians of the north : they lived in complete anarchy, and knew no other law or right than that of the strongest Hence their country bore the name, among the Chinese, of Land of Demoiis, or Western Barbarians. Like all the rest of the Thibetans, the Kiang pre- tended to be descended from a leirge species of ape, and the people of the country still gloty in this origin, and boast of being the most ancient of die human race. Middle Thibet is still called Ape Land, and a writer who lived long among the Mongols declares that the features of the Thibetans much resemble those of the ape, especially the countenances of the old men, sent as religious missionaries, who traverse Mongolia in every direction. These vaunt their apish parentage, and are quite pleased with what might seem the ugliness of their faces. The Kiang were often at war with China during the first two dynasties ; but when, in 1125 B. C, Wouwang overthrew the Chang dynasty, their chief furnished him auxiliaries. Yet for more than a century they sent no embassy to China, although vassals. Hence, about the middle of the tenth century, the emperor attacked and defeated them; since which time they ceased not to discjuiet the frontier, till effectually checked or driven off, about 2^0 B. C. In the third century B. C, a Thibetan tribe, called the Yuetchi, mingled with a blond race called the Oosun, both leading a nomad life, and rich in cattle, mhabited the country between the snowy ridge of 430 EASTERN THIBETANS— THE DZAN-PHOO. Nan chan, the upper tributaries of the Hoang-ho, and the little river Boolanger, in about latitude 40°. These people the Hioong noo attacked and subjugated in 201 B. C., and again in 165, when the prmce of the Yue- tchi was slain, and his antagonist took his skull and had it made into a drinking-cup, which he used on grand occasions. A part of the dispersed Yuetchi returned to the south of the Nan chan, which separated their primeval abode from Thibet, driving out the Kiang : here they received the name of Little Yuetchi. The other por- tion of the nation, much more numerous, and called the Great Yuetchi, escaped toward the north-west, and encamped on the banks of the Hi, which runs into Lake Balkash. It expelled from their country the Szu, who retired into Transoxiana, where they attacked the Greek Bactrians, and destroyed their empire. After having sojourned in their new countiy some years, the Yuetchi wore joined by their old neighbors, the Oosun, who had escaped into the Hi country, to avoid the vexations of the Hioong noo. The Oosun then pushed the Yuetchi to the westward, and forced them to cross the Jaxartes, where they took possession of Transoxiana, and founded a powerful empire, which lasted several centuries. To the west it was coter- minous with that of the Asi or Parthians. In the course of time, the Yuetchi conquered Cabul, Canda- har, and all the countries on both banks of the Indus. The ancients knew them under the name of Indo- Scythians. In the year 126 B. C, the Chinese sent to induce them to attack, on the west, the Hioong noo — irrecon- cilable enemies of the Yuetchi ; but these latter pre- ferred the conquest of the fertile provinces of Parthia and Sinde, A chief of one of the five hordes of the nation, having put to death the chiefs of the other hordes, in 80 B. C, declared himself king of the nation, and obliged it to adopt the name of his own horde. He invaded Parthia, took Cabul, and his son ravaged Sinde. This power now went on increasing. At the end of the second century A. D., its capital was situated near where Khiva now is. Six hundred miles eastward was its other capital. Some time after, one of their kings again invaded Sinde with a large army, and also took five principalities north of Candahar.* In the fifth century, the Yuetchi declined through the aggrandizement of the Sassanides of Persia on one side, and of the Jeoo jan of Tartary on the other. A portion of them had spread east as far as the Altai and Khotan, and bore the name of Ye-ta. These be- came powerful about A. D. 400, extended themselves west, and had their principal camp south of the Oxus. In their capital, (probably Bamian,) which was square, and three miles in circumference, was the royal palace, and many Buddhist temples, richly gilded. Their manners were the same as those of the an- * The Yuetchi had at this time chariots drawn by two or four oxen. About 430 A. D., a Yuetchi merchant' came to the court of the emperor of China, and proposed to manu- facture glass of different colors — an article hitherto obtained from the west, and at a very high price. Under his direction, the proper mineral to make it of was found m the mountains, and the merchant succeeded in making very beautiful colored glass. The emperor employed him to construct of this sub- stance a spacious hall, which would contain a hundred persons. "When done, it was so magnificent and resplendent, that it might have been deemed the work of genu. From this time glass ware became cheaper in China. cient Turks : they were nomads, and followed, with their cattle, the course of rivers and meadows, lived under felt tents, and had different encampments for summer and for winter. The nation was fierce, brave, and warlike. It subjugated all its neighboring com- munities east of the Caspian, and in Transoxiana, and even ruled at Khotan. Between the fifth and sixth centuries, the nation sent an embassy to China. Its language differed from that of all the other barbarians. In the seventh century, the Ye-ta became tributary to the Turks, and were confined to Sogdiana. The Thibetans of the east founded several obscure kingdoms, generally wresting them from the power of China ; all of these, however, fell at last under Chi- nese rule. About A. D. 556, during serious troubles in China, one of these kings became quite powerful, and took the titie of Dzan-phoo, that is, " born of the spirit of heaven," or " hero chief." The ordinary resi- dence of this ruler was on the stream which runs near Lassa. Though they had small towns, the people mostly preferred to encamp near the towns, under felt tents. The subject tribes on their frontier were nomads. Their ordinary nourishment was milk, beef, mutton, and roasted grains : they never ate horses or asses. Their garments were made of felt and woollen cloths, which they manufactured themselves. When an in- dividual died, horses and oxen were killed upon his tomb, and interred with him. They had no writing, but used notched sticks and knotted strings to register what they wished to recollect. Every year they re- newed the oath of allegiance to their king, called the little oath, on which occasion they sacrificed dogs and asses. Every three years, also, the little oath was taken, and men, horses, oxen, and asses were sacri- ficed. They began the year at the period of the ma- turity of grain. In 590, the Dzan-phoo extended his kingdom, which reached on the south-west to the frontier of the Brahm- ins, or India. The capital was at Lassa. Having obtained some idea of the religion of Buddha, he sent his prime minister into India, in 632, to study there the doctrine in all its purity. Under him the power of the Thibetans increased greatiy : this caused them to be much feared, and gave them a great preponderance in Central Asia. They could easily set on foot an army of some hundred thousands of well-disciplined troops. Nothing, then, could be more flattering to the Chinese emperor than the proposition of their chief, by an embassy, in 634, to acknowledge himself the vassal of China. Four years after, the emperor sent an ambassador to the chief to keep up the good understanding. But on the chief's asking his daughter in marriage, the emperor refused her to him. This incensed the chief, for Turkish kings had already been thus honored. Much enraged, therefore, he led his army to the fron- tiers, and sent to the Chinese court rich presents, under pretext of his future marriage with the princess ; but the emperor's only answer was, the appointment of an op- posing force along his frontier. The armies met, the Thibetan chief was defeated, but obtained peace and the hand of the emperor's daughter, A. D. 641. In 649, he defeated the king of Middle Hindostan, or Bahar. We next find the Chinese emperor interposing between the Dzan-phoo and another king, whom that chief had defeated ; but, on the submission of the former, recalling his troops. The Dzan-phoo then WARS BETWEEN THE THIBETANS AND CHINESE. 431 turned his arms in another direction, and his kingdom became quite extensive, so that the emperor thought it necessary to send an army and governor-general to assert his power over the four military districts of the Dzan-phoo, namely, Koutche, Khotan, Karachar, and Casligar. But the Chinese generals quarrelling, two bodies of their troops were cut off in detail, near the Lake Kokonor. • Thus the Thibetan power went on increasing. The Turks endeavored to embroil them with the Chi- nese, but did not succeed, though at last the emperor, in consequence of their ceaseless incursions, sent, in 678, an army of one hundred and eighty thousand men, and gave them battle near the lake. The Chi- nese were defeated, but their opponents gained nothing. On the death of the Dzan-phoo, during a regency, the emperor sent a general ostensibly to pay his respects to the regent, but with secret orders to fall upon the Thibetans at unawares. The general, however, wrote back that all were on their guard, and nothing was done. Several cantons of Western China had fallen into the hands of the Thibetans, who possessed as far as the Celestial Mountains north, to the Himmaleh south, and to the BeluT Mountains west. Suddenly the Chinese combined with the eastern Turks, and drove the Thi- betans from their four northern districts, above named. The regent, afflicted at these reverses, thought the best mode of recovering his lost provinces was, to ask a Chinese princess for his young prince in marriage. The empress Woo-heoo, who then governed China, without returning a definite promise, endeavored to ascertain the condition of the Thibetans, and the terms they offered : the regent proposed that the imperial troops should evacuate the four chief provinces above named, and that a country should be fixed upon for each one of the ten Thibetan hordes, and that each horde should have its independent chief. The em- press decided to yield the terms asked for ; but, in return, demanded the cession of the Kokonor prov- ince, which would round off the Chinese territory. The parties, however, could not come to terms, and hostilities continued. In 702, the Dzan-phoo, having come of age, dis- trusted the good regent Khinling, and put to death many of his adherents and relations ; upon which Khin- ling was so much grieved that he committed suicide. Several officers devoted to him passed over to China, and offered their services to the empress, who accepted them. Notwithstanding this desertion, the Dzan-phoo sent an army, which pillaged the Chinese frontier, but was beaten back. He then sent an embassy ; but his proposals of peace were rejected, and the plundering incursions continued, to the great damage of the fron- tier ; so that the Chinese were obliged to keep up a large standing army to defend it. The next year, the Dzan-phoo sent an embassy to ask again of the empress a princess of the blood royal. He carried a thousand horses and two thousand ounces of gold, as presents. While this was going on, the southern provinces of the Thibetans revolted, and the Dzan-phoo led an army against them. He defeated them, but lost his life in the action. His son, seven years old, succeeded him, to whom a Chinese princess was promised ; but, as he demanded a considerable province for her dowry, the alliance did not take place. Consequently, in 714, a Thibetan army of a hundred thousand men ravaged the Chinese frontier ; and sim- ilar depredations were renewed every year. The land of Fergana, too, on the extreme west of the empire, was taken from the Chinese, and its king was obliged to seek safety in China. The Thibetans were at this time in alliance with the Arabs on their southern border, who were then warring in Mawarannahr. They had even Arab troops in their armies. The following year, the Turks, who were at war with China, induced the khalif of the Arabs and the Dzaniphoo of the Thibetans to aid them with their troops in attacking the countries in Central Asia, subject to China. The allies besieged two cities in the country of Cashgar ; but the Chinese, aided by other Turkish hordes, were enabled to raise the siege. In 722, the Thibetans attacked the kingdom of the Little Bolor, whose king asked help of a Chinese governor, and the Thibetans were ultimately defeated. After this check, they did not venture, for some years, to annoy the frontiers of the empire ; but in 727, they began again to be troublesome. Similar events succeeded each other, with various success on both sides. The Chinese were not able to subdue this brave and restless people, and the result of the enterprises against them was, to render them only the more proud and insolent. In 729, the Chi- nese took one of their cities, which was deemed im- pregnable, and, carrying war into the enemy's coun- try, laid it waste for more than three hundred miles. The Dzan-phoo asked for peace and a princess : both were granted, and the frontier troops were withdrawn. But war was renewed because the Dzan-phoo kept up a war which the Chinese had desired him to desist from. The success was various. A rebellion pre- vented the emperor from punishing his invaders. China was ruled by a eunuch, who did nothing. The Thibetans took the Chinese capital, a city of West China, afterwards called Singan. The emperor fled : the enemy pillaged the city, burned the palace, and proclaimed another emperor. Nevertheless, at the approach of a Chinese army, they abandoned the city, and returned into their own country, loaded with an immense booty. A. D. 763. A prince of Turkish origin excited a new revolt in China the next year, and, leaguing with the Thibetans and Turks, raised a formidable army, and invaded the north-western provinces. His death caused disunion among the allies, of which the Chinese took advantage, detached the Turks from the league, and employed them to combat the Thibetan army, which was entirely defeated. The Turks (Hoei he) took vast numbers of prisoners, and carried off all the booty the Thibet- ans had taken from the Chinese the year before. It is not necessary to recount the trains of similar events which followed : it is sufficient to state tliat, in 821, a peace was concluded between the Thibetans and Chinese on a solid basis, and a stone monument, commemorating it, was erected in the middle of Lassa, on which the treaty was engraven. This monument is still to be seen in the enclosure of the great temple. But this did not hinder a renewal of wars, the result of which was, that, in 866, the power of the Thibetans, which had dominated in Central Asia for more than four hundred years, was almost entirely destroyed. Their northern territories were taken by the Ouigoors, their south-eastern by the kings of Yunnan. But the fatal blow was the establishment of the kingdom of Hia in the north-west of China. In 1015, the nation 432 RELIGION OF THE THIBETANS. appears again on the page of history, sending an em- bassy to China against the Hia. After various ex- ternal disasters and internal troubles, the Thibetans, wearied with dissensions, recognized the sovereignty ofChinainll25. Zingis, the Mongol conqueror, seems to have estab- lished the spiritual power of the grand lama, as we have elsewhere stated ; and his present title, it is sup- posed, originated at that time. Zingis does not appear to have interfered at all with the domestic administra- tion of the temporal affairs of this kingdom. But, though in a manner independent of Zingis, Thibet became tributary to Kublai Khan. During the Ming dynas- ty, in the fourteenth century, it was an independent kingdom again, and so continued down to the conquest of China by the Manchoos, who also subjugated Thi- bet, except the western part, previous to A. D. 1725. In the latter part of the last century, the king of Ne paul, tempted by the report of the wealth of its tem- plesj and especially that of Pootala, marched an army into Thibet from the south, and, after an obstinate war, compelled the lama to purchase peace by an ample tribute. » The Chinese emperor, looking upon the lama as his spiritual father, sent an army, of seventy thousand men into Thibet, in 1791, who, notwithstanding a vigorous resistance, drove the Nepaulese troops back across the mountains^ The emperor now assumed the civil sway of the country, leaving the lama his spiritual jurisdiction. The Chinese still rule Thibet with a mild sway, leaving all the ecclesiastical institu- tions undisturbed, and in full possession of their ample endowments ; the tribute, conveyed by an annua, embassy to Pekin, is extremely moderate. Temple-palace of Teshoo Lomboo, near Jikadze, in Eastern Thibet. CHAPTER CCXX. Religion — Buddhism, Lamaism, Shaman- ism, or the Religion of Fo — Its History and Doctrines. The religion of Thibet is that generally known under the title of Buddhism, or Boodhism, from Buddha, or Boodh, its founder. It is called Lamaism, from the Grand Lama, its sovereign head in Thibet ; in Tartary, mixed with fetishism, it is called Shamanism ; in China, philosophized, it becomes the religion of Fo. It prevails over more minds than any other religious system in the world ; and is remarkable for combining external rites and manifestations with metaphysical dogmas. Thus it maintains, on the one hand, that man, by self-con- templation, can become so exalted as to be absorbed into the Deity — and this is the highest end of a relig- ious life : on the other, it teaches that God, or Buddha, becomes incarnate in the Grand Lama, and that divine emanations fill the priesthood ; while the grossest and coarsest idolatry is practised by the great mass of the people. It is, doubtless, this adaptation to opposite classes of minds — the dreamy mystic and the. formal materialist — that has largely contributed to its ex- tension. The word lama signifies one who shows the way, applied to spiritual concerns. All the priests, who are exceedingly numerous, are lamas, but they are of va- rious degrees. The Grand Lama is at th6 head. He resides in a magnificent temple at Pootala, nearLassa, the capital of Thibet. He is deemed the Buddha, the Fo, the Deity himself, residing, however, in the form of a man. When the human body of the lama dies, the priests, guided by certain signs, and proceeding according to established forms, point out the child into whose body Buddha shall go, and there Buddha becomes accordingly installed. Thus the perpetual miracle of a god on earth is sustained. Such is the institution of the grand lama. This dignitary has no direct temporal power ; but he is the head of the Buddhist cilurch over all Asia, as the pope of Rome is the head of the Catholic church liuoughout the world. So exalted is he, in the eyes of his more ig- norant worshippers, that, it is said, a divine odor is exhaled from his body, flowers spring up from his footsteps, and, at his bidding, parqhed deserts are re- freshed with flowing rivulets. Even his excrements are used as amulets, it being believed that they have the power to cure diseases ! ' Out of this being, so full of divinity, flows an PRIESTS— RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. 433 emanation to ten superior lamas, called kootooktoos. These are also divine, and constitute subordinate spiritual heads of the nations of Tartary, &c. They are perpetuated in the same way as the grand lama. When a kootooktoo dies, the supreme pontiff indir cates the infant body into which the spirit shall go. When the grand lama has thus decided, the oldest lamas — that is, priests — in the coiAtry are sent to examine the infant, and verify the fact of its selection. In 1729, an installation of the Mongolian kootook- too took place at Ourga, his capital. Just after sun- rise, the principal temple was decorated, and the idol of the saint Abucha, to whom lamas address prayers for long life, was placed opposite the entrance. On the left was erected a throne, adorned with precious stones and rbh stuffs. There were present the sister of the deceased kootooktoo, the three chief khans of Mongolia, and the deputies or proxies of the Chinese emperor, and of the grand lama ; the new kootook- too's father, the three khans of the Kalkas, and several other Mongols of distinction. The number of lamas assembled was twenty-six thousand, and that of the people, above one hundred thousand. First, two hundred lances with gilt points, and adorned with bronze figures of wild beasts, were brought out and placed in two rows before the door ; and a line was formed of two hundred Mongols, with drums and large brass trumpets. Six lamas then came forth, bearing the sister of the deceased kootook- too, and followed by the khans, the principal govern- ors, and all the other persons of distinction, arrayed in splendid costumes. The procession moved in silence to the tent of the new kootooktoo, which was the residence of his father, a Mongol prince. An hour afterward, the new kootooktoo appeared, conducted by the principal grandees and senior lamas, who held him by the hand and under the arms. They placed him upon a horse, magnificently caparisoned, whose bridle was held by a priest of high rank on (jne side, and the senior lama on the other* When the kootooktoo came out of the tent, the lamas chant- ed hymns to his honor, accompanied by the instru- ments, while the nobles and the people bowed pro- foundly, and raised their hands toward heaven. The procession halted in front of six richly adorned tents, in an enclosure before the temple. The lamas took the kootooktoo from his horse with the greatest , respect, and led him into the enclosure. The elder lamas then took him into the temple, into which the sister of the former kootooktoo — now received as his own sister — and all the grandees likewise entered. The envoy or proxy of the grand lama then seated him on the throne ; and -the proxy of the emperor announced to the people the order of his master to pay the kootooktoo the honors due to his rank. Hereupon, the whole assembly prostrated themselves three times. The bells used by the priests were now placed before the little lama, omitting the one the former kootooktoo used. " Why have you not brought my usual bell .' " said the child. On hearing these words, the khans, governors, lamas, and all the people shouted, " It is our real high priest ; it fe our kootooktoo ! " He then blessed his sister, the grandees and lamas, and afterwards the people during the evening. Early the next day, the emperor's deputy brought rich pres- ents, and presenting them with the greatest respect, solicited, m the name of the emperor, the kootook- too's protection over his reign and the empire. The child laid his hands on the deputy's head, and gave the blessing asked for, and then blessed the lamas and people. Presents were brought him, also, from the grandees and others, on the two following days. For seventeen days the fete was kept up, with prize wres- tling, by several hundred wrestlers on a side ; horse- racing, by nearly four thousand horses, — a thousand and more at once ; and archery, in which more than three hundred archers contended. Prizes were then distributed, and names of honor, such as " Lion," " Strong Elephant," &c., were given to the victors. Beside the kootooktoos, there are multitudes of ordinary priests spread over all countries where tho Buddhist religion prevails, thronging around the tem- ples, occupied in religious services, begging, or per- forming fanatical or monkish feats and fasts : they abound especially in China and Farther India. In Thi- bet, eighty-four thousand priests are supported by the government. The temple of the grand lama, at Lassa, is three hundred and sixty-seven feet high, and has ten thousand rooms. On the plains around are twenty-two other temples, some of enormous extent. These edi- fices are thronged with priests : twenty thousand are in attendance upon the grand lama. Vast numbers of pilgrims come to him from distant countries every year. He is never seen, except in a remote and secret part of his temple ; here, surrounded by lamps, he seems absorbed in religious reverie. He never speaks, or gives a sign of respect, even to princes. With an air of sublime indifference, he lays his hand on their heads, and this is regarded as an inestimable privilege. In 1783, an English embassy went to Thibet, where they saw the lama of Teshoo Lomboo, who seems to have been a kootooktoo. He was a child eighteen months old, and officiating as lama, performed his part with " surprising propriety.'' The temple at this place is described, as of vast extent and magnificence. It appears that, in Thibet, the priests are the aristocracy, holding the wealth of the country in their possession. The leading people adopt tlte-clerical profession, as being the road to honor ana riches ; the laity con- stitute the lower classes. The priests are enjoined to celibacy, and marriage is therefore esteemed not only irregular, but vulgar. I There seem to be rich revenues connected with the temples, many of which are filled with gold, silver, and jewels ; beside all this, the Jamas of every degree receive numerous presents, some of them sent by kings and princes to the grand lama and the kootook- toos, and of great cost and value. The monks of Thibet, who live on the borders of India, are said to be a dirty, good-humored class, who do not scruple to engage in trade. In the great central establishments, there is more dignity ; the deportment of the superi- ors is humane, obliging, and unassuming ; that of the inferiors, respectful and proper. The religious ser- vices consist of loud music, in which the priests are trained to raise their voices to a stentorian pitch, accompanied by drums, trumpets, cymbals, hautboys, and every sonorous instrument capable of making a noise. A favorite devotional practice is gazing on a wheel with painted letters, made to revolve rapidly by the hand. It is singular, that while the Hindoos pay religious veneration to certain lakes and snowy peaks of Thibet, particularly Manasarouara Lake, and Mount Chumularee, the Thibetans haye many Hin- doo idols in their temples, and make devout pilgrim- 43-1, DOCTRINES OP THE BUDDHISTS. ages to Indian shrines, particularly at Benares, Jugger- naut, and Laput. Thibetan literature, which contains learning of great antiquity, is exciting some interest in Europe at present, and perhaps may, upon further investiga- tion, help to solve some of the problems of the early history of our race. Buddhism, especially, from the fact that it is the most extended religion in the world, has attracted the special attention of the learned. It is believed that the whole system, after laborious research, is now brought within our reach. Its exter- nal characteristics, were long since made known, by the Catholic missionaries, who, in penetrating into Central Asia, were astonished to find a religion in many respects like their own. Beside the Grand Lama, who greatly resembles the pope, they found patriarchs charged with the spiritual government of provinces, a council of superior lamas, who unite in conclave to elect the supreme pontiff, and whose insig- nia even resembled those of cardinals ; convents of monks and nuns ; prayers for the dead, auricular con- fession, the intercession of saints, fasting, kissing the feet, litanies, processions, holy water, bells, candles, &c. Some of the priests were scandalized to see that the divinities presiding over the rites and cere- monies, were the coarse and disgusting idols of the heathen they came to convert. One of the religious books of Buddha lays down the following moral propositions : — Sins are the ten black, five mortal, five near, and four heavy sins, and the three vices. The black sins are divided into sins by actions, words, and thoughts ; by actions, as murder, robbery with violence and im- pure actions ; by words, as lying, threatening, calum- ny, and idle discourse ; by tiioughts, as envy, hatred, and evil imaginations. The ten following virtues are to be practised : to pardon the condemned, or save any one's life ; to ob- serve cleanliness ; to speak politely ; to speak the truth ; to preach and preserve peace ; to follow the precepts contained in the sacred books ; to be con- tented with one's station ; to assist one's neighbors ; and, tenth, to believe in remuneration, that is, in the punishment of evil and the reward of virtue. The mortal sins are assassination of one's parents, superiors, conquerors, khoubilgans, or regenerated persons ; and exciting discord among priests. The five near sins are, throwing down the subourgans — chapels in the shape of pyramidal columns — causing the death of a hermit, attacking his reputation, seizing on the presents made to the priests, wickedly shedding the blood of regenerated persons, or saints devoted to the service of the temple. The four heavy sins are each subdivided into four degrees, which are, 1. Sins that tend to total perdition, such as plots against the saints ; 2. Sins arising from contempt, such as depreciating the merit of others, refusing to listen to the truth, contempt of the lamas ; 3. Sins arising from blasphemy, such as criticizing the true religion, taking the defence of the ten black sins, being guilty of the five mortal sins, &c. Such are some of the practical forms and doctrines of this system ; its origin and theory deserve more particular notice. " Buddhism," says Professor Salis- bury, " is an offshoot of the Indian mind, not in the fresh days of its prime, but when the stock had ap- parently become too massive to be thoroughly ani- mated — too firmly incased to burst forth with young life. Thus it germinated, and grew with widening shade, like its emblem, the banian-tree, planting nur- series of its own branches, till it has been firmly rooted in the minds of not less than four hundred millions of the human race." * Its history, as it may be gathered from books of the Buddhists themselves, not only of India, but also of China, Thibet, and Mongolia, refers to Central India as the first seat of the system ; and its doctrines, so far as they are understood, have evidently grown out of brahminism. Its mythology, too, is that of the Hindoos, in its principal features. A quickening of moral feeling against the I^anthe- ism of the brahmins, may be said to lie at the foun- dation of Buddhism. The tendency of brahmin philosophy was to confound the Deity with the works of his creation ; though it taught the existence of a divine principle pervading all nature, yet in practice it made the creation itself, as God, the highest object of worship, rather than a life-giving being, essen- tially separate from visible realities and ideas of the mind ; moral distinctions were consequently obliter- ated. But that sense of responsibility which clings to man could not be entirely destroyed ; and, in proportion as it reasserted its authority, the notion of the identity of God and nature was necessarily dissipated, opening the way 'to a new idea of the Deity. Such was the force of long-established opinion, however, identifying the Deity with objects cognizable by the senses, — thus making him a mere aggregate of ideal forms, — that there was a sort of necessity, in opposing Pantheism, to deny all attributes to God — to conceive of simple, abstract existence as the highest Being. In Buddhist language, God was Soobhava, that is, self-immanent substance, while all inferior existences are mere illu- sions, except so far as ideal forms are endowed with reality by the presence of the Deity. All action, purpose, feeling, thought, having been thus abstracted from the idea of Deity, the highest human attainment is," of course, an imitation of this state — a similar sublimation of existence above all qualities. This is the Nirvana of the' Buddhists — the religious exalta- tion to which the devout aspire. Their religious history of the world is curious. A fatality, it is said, having occasioned the development of self-immanent substance, the first emanation was Intelligence, or Buddha, together with vyater, which elements combined have given origin to all existing things. A Buddha state is the last state at which man arrives in the progress of perfection, before reaching the goal of Nirvana. But the idea of Buddha, as a teacher of mankind, is founded upon a supposed per- petual and invariable rotation of great kalpas, or series of ages. In each of these, — the series of which begins at an indefinite point of past time, — after an age of corruption, degradation, and decay, one of restoration has succeeded. This restoration has occurred more or less frequently ; and in each case the first Emanation or Intelligence has become imbodied among men, in order to promote the disentanglement of human spirits from the vortex of illusion, by the effulgence of its original light. The round of ages making a great kalpa had been already completed, according to the Buddhists, eleven time's at the commencement of the present kalpa, and * See Professor Salisbury's Memoir on the History of Bud- dhism, in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, voL i. SPREAD OF BUDDHISM. 436 Buddha had as often been incarnate. Since the pres- ent series of ages began its revolution, Buddha has appeared, it is said, four times, and last in the person of Sakya-muni, or the Sakya Saint, called, also, Cha- kiamouni, Shigemooni, and Godama — and who has given the law to the existing age. This Buddha, ac- cording to Chinese and Japanese authorities, was born in 1029 B. C, and died in 950. Olfier calculations fix his death at 1522 B. C. The Ceylonese, Bir- mans, and Assamese date it at 543 B. C. Sakya was of the Kshattrya, or warrior caste, being the son of a prince who ruled over a small, independ- ent kingdom, in the north-west corner of Oude, on the edge of the Himmaleh range, at a place called the Yellow Dwelling. Hence, probably. Buddhism obtains its title of the yellow religion. Sakya's personal apostleship appears to have extended over all Cen- tral India, and his religion was espoused by many of the kings. At Shrasvati, in Oude, a rich householder is said to have erected several large buildings in a grove, inviting Buddha and his disciples to reside there. Here, it seems, he spent twenty-three years, and composed the Aphorisms, one of the three parts of the Buddhist Bible. In 543 B. C, the chief succes- sor of Buddha convened a council, at the capital of Maghada, of a certain number of the clerical order supposed to be most advanced in the doctrines, and they added the other two parts of the Buddhist Bible — the " Prescription concerning Moral Conduct," and the " Appended Law." There have lately been discovered in Nepaul, and sent to Europe, the Sanscrit originals of these three books of their Bible, viz., the Sutra, the Vinaya, and the Abhidarma ; or " Fundamental Texts," " Disci- jline," and " Metaphysics." It is said to be demon- strated that the greater part of the books held sacred by the Buddhists of Thibet, Tartary, and China, are but translations from these. Asoka, king of Magadha, was the great patron of Buddhism, and is said to have erected eighty-four thousand stupas, or topes. These are a sort of shrines or relic-depositories, built in the shape of a bubble, with a bead at the top — because it is said Buddha was wont to compare life to a water-bubble. Soon after — 241 B. C.,the seventeenth year of Asoka's reign, at the end of the third grand ecclesiastical council — be- gan the great age of Buddhist missions. Propagandists were now sent, by the head of the mendicant frater- nity, into Cashmere and its dependencies ; into the Western Himmalehs ; to the Mahratta country, in the south-west part of Hindostan, where were erected those vast monumental structures of Buddhism — the cave-temples in Salsette, Ellora, &c. Missionaries of this religion also made proselytes in Ceylon, in the western nations, particularly the empire of Antiochus, and probably in Egypt ; also in the cold plains north of the Himmaleh, inhabited by " monsters," as the brahmins called foreigners. From Ceylon, Buddhism spread to Farther India, and even beyond. In A. D. 418, five priests brought it to Japan, from Candahar ; and, in the sixth century, " idols, idol carvers, and priests, again came " to Japan, " from several countries beyond sea." In A. D. 495, the patriarch of the Indian Buddhists transferred his seat to China, and the succession was no longer continued in India. From the middle of the fifth century, indeed. Buddhism began to be overpow- ered in India and in the Indus country ; and its profes- sion was not tolerated in Hindostan after the seventh century, when brahminism succeeded in expelling this, its formidable antagonist, from the country. The king or dzanphoo of Thibet, having had some notions of the religion of Buddha, sent his prime min- ister Sambouoda, to India, in A. D. 632, there to study the doctrine of Sakya-muni, in all its purity. Eetum- ing to Thibet, this minister composed two kinds of characters proper to write the language of the country. His master, Srongdsan, the king, then caused to be built at his capital, Lassa, the chief temple of the religion he had just adopted. Another authority adds that the establishment of Buddhism on a firm footing in Thibet, seems to date from about the middle of the seventh century, (A. D. 639 — 641,) when the above Srongdsan married two princesses, the one of China, and the other of Nepaul, who each brought with them, to the Thibetan court, large collections of Buddhist books, as well as images of Buddha. A commission was appointed of an Indian pundit, twoNepaulese teachers, one Chinese, and one Thibetan, to translate the books of doctrine and the ritual, and thus the " sun of the religion was made to rise upon the dark land of Thibet." The whole collection of the Thibetan Buddhist books consists of the Kahgyur, or Gandjour, a " Translation of Com- mandments," embracing one hundred volumes — some say one hundred and eight — and the Stahgyur, in two hundred and twenty-five volumes. Yet that development of Buddhism, which seems to have been peculiar to Thibet, called Lamaism, was re- served for a later age. Under the Mongol, Zingis Khan, in the thirteenth century, temporal and spiritual power were first united in the person of the recog- nized head of the clerical order of the Buddhists, on his elevation to the rank of a sub-king in Thibet, then included in the nominal empire of- the Mongols. A Mongol author says, that " Zingis sent an ambas- sador to the head lama with the following order : Be thou the lama to adore me now and in future. I wiU become master and provider of the alms-gifts, and make the rites of the religion a part of the state es- tablishment: to this end have I exempted the clergy of Thibet from taxation." Thus the religious reverence of the nation was shrewdly availed of as best adapted to sway the popular will, and the spiritual authority was made to subserve the interests of the empire, by union with a temporal power based upon it. After the middle of the thirteenth century, when Buddhism had extensively spread among the Mongols themselves, a grandson of Zingis made the grand lama of Thibet " king of the doctrine in the three lands," that is, grand lama or patriarch of the religion of Buddha for the whole empire : and at the same time this spiritual chief of the Buddhist religion was treated as having the prerogative of dispensing temporal power by consecration ; just as the sovereigns of Europe, before the reformation, were accustomed to receive their crowns and the unction of royalty at the hands of the Roman pontiff. Under the dynasties which succeeded the brief period of the Mongol empire, there seems to have been an increased parade of veneration for the Buddhist patriarchs, while at the same time less power was in their hands. Under these circumstances, the ecclesiastical system reached that acme of absurdity, the lama worship, which first became loiown to Eu- ropeans through tlie Jesuit missionaries. It would therefore seem that Buddhism, originating 436 BENEFITS OF BUDDHISM — CHINA. in Hindostan, spread thence to other countries ; that the patriarch of the religion dwelt in India, whence he transferred his seat to China. At a later date, it became established in Thibet, where it continues to the present . day ; though, in the course of ages, through the juggles of priestcraft and the policy of princes, it has assumed its present form. Its rites and ceremonies differ in different countries, and, blended with other superstitions, its spirit is often modified. For these varieties of Buddhism we must refer the reader to the notices of China, Tartaiy, Farther India, &c. In general. Buddhism inculcates good moral pre- cepts ; but its whole history and present condition afford melfmcholy evidence of the duplicity of priests and princes, and the ignorance and gullibility of the masses. At the present day, this mighty institution is a machine by which kings and chiefs sustain their thrones, and by which, through the aid and coopera- tion of the priests, they are able to perpetuate their despotisms. The connection between church and state is clear, for the emperor of China has at his court a fcootooktoo, or nuncio of the grand lama, and in 1820, claimed the privilege of naming the child into whom a new kootooktoo was to pass. The shameless trick of passing off a man as God, in the case of the grand lama, and teaching the people to worship him as such, is explained by the fact that the priests, who perform the juggle, thereby secure to themselves wealth, power, and homage ; that such a system is upheld by mon- archs, is accounted for by considering that in this way they maintain their dynasties, which give them the place and privileges of divinity. However the mind is shocked by this view, we must not indulge contempt toward these Asiatic nations, for it is to be remembered that during the middle ages, and down to the reforma- tion — nay, even in some degree at a later day — similar practices have prevailed in Christendom. And further — it is believed that Buddhism, in spite of its abuses and corruptions, has benefited the ruder nations of Asia, among whom it has prevailed, inas- much as it has taken the place of a mischievous sys- tem. Brahminism is fatalism ; it virtually takes away man's individuality and responsibility ; Buddhism gives him both. This, with other causes, has con- tributed to extend this faith. In India, the brahmins were a priestly aristocracy, who held the king entirely in the power of their caste. Buddhism broke down the caste system — always fatal to progress and im- provement. It originated with a man of the soldier CEiste, and would naturally be embraced by kings who wished to free themselves from priestcraft. By its greater sympathy with individual man, and by teaching him his personal responsibility and capacity for im- provement and progress, and giving every one a motive and an opportunity to rise — even to the priesthood — it elevated the masses. These would become the natural allies of the king in reducing the power of the priestly aristocracy — as in Europe the masses joined the kings in putting down the military aristocracy. Beside political reasons, there are also moral ones, which may assist in accounting for the progress of Buddhism. The sympathy for individual man, induced the Buddhist missionaries to interest themselves for foreigners, who were called " barbarians" and " mon- sters" by the Brahmins. The rude tribes of Asia felt this fellowship, and it conciliated affection to Bud- dhism, contrasted as it was with the " haughty, unsym- pathizing, and despiteful spirit" of Brahminism, and other creeds. A maxim of Buddhism was, " whatever misery is in the world is caused by selfishness ; what- ever happiness there is, has arisen from a wish for the welfare of others" — a truly Christian principle, which could not fail to commend itself to the hearts of mil- lions, especially in the lower walks of life. €^m. Scene in China. House. Boat. Fort, Srldge. Ships. Pagoda. CHAPTER CCXXI. Introduction — Geographical Sketch. The Chinese Empire is the most populous in the world, its inhabitants being estimated at two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty millions — form- ing about one third part of the population of the globe. Its extent is five million four hundred thousand square miles, or twice that of the United States. It consists of China Proper, with several dependent countries — Chinese Tariary, Thibet, Corea, and a number of islands lying along the coast. We have already given the history of Tartary. which is occupied by numerous nations and tribeS; most of which belong to the Mongolian race, and there- fore have a general resemblance to the Chinese, who CHINA, ITS BOUNDARIES, CLIMATE, SOIL. 437 are also of the Mong&l stock ; but they are altogether more rude and uncivilized than the Chinese. We have also given a distinct account of Thibet, and thbugh the pfeople there are Mongolians, they are as little pol- ished as the inhabitants of Tartary. Corea has only a nominal dependence upon China, and we have given it a separate notiSfe : its people, however, are physically assimilated to the Chinese, though less polished, and less advanced in arts, knowledge, and refine- ment. China Proper contains about one fourth part of the territory of the empire, and three fourths of the population. It is the portion which embraces that peculiar nation, so dif- ferent from all others, called Chinese. It presents topics of great interest, and merits a particular and distinct notice. China Proper is bounded on the north by Tartary, and the Yellow Sea ; east by the Pacific Ocean ; south by the China Sea, Laos, and Anam ; and west by Thibet. It is gen- erally an uneven plain, though crossed by two ranges of mountains, the Peling range in the north, and the Meling range in the south. The two chief rivers are the Hoang- ho, — also called the Yellow River, its waters being dis- colored by the yellow earth, along its banks, — and the Yang-tse-Kiang. Both take their rise in Thibet. The first is one thousand eight hundred Eind fifty miles long, and the last, two thousand miles. The Island of Hainan lies upon the southern coast, about eight miles from the main land. It is one hun- dred and fifty niiles long and seventy-five broad, and is quite populous. A part of the people are subject to China, and a part remain independent. It produces gold, lapis lazuli, and various valuable and curious woods. Formosa,* or Tai-wan, lies in the China Sea, sixty miles from the coast. It is two hundred and forty miles long and sixty wide. It is traversed by a range of mountains twelve thousand feet high, the tops oif which are covered with snow the greater part of the year. Several peaks are volcanic. The climate of this island is temperate, but the seas around are among the most tempestuous in the world, being visited by typhoons, whirlwinds, and waterspouts. Earth- quakes are frequent and violent. The soil is fertile, and parts are highly cultivated, yielding grain and various fruits. The Chinese, who occupy only the western part, first settled here in 1662, reducing the natives to a tributary state. They are about six hun- dred thousand in number ; the aborigines occupy the eastern part of the island: they are of a slender make, and resemble both the Malays and Chinese. The Loo Choo Islands, lying to the north-west of Formosa, are thirty-six in number, about four hundred miles from the main land. The soil and climate are fine, and the people are remarkable for their kind, * The Island of Formosa is associated in most minds with the imposture of George Psalmanaser. He was bom about 1679,, and being weU educated, probably by the Jesuits, he hecame a ^jv^ndering pUgrim, sometimes pretending to be a Japanese, and sometimes a Formosan. After various adven- tures, he went to London, and being patronized by Bishop Compton, passed himself off as a native of Formosa. He played his^pait admirably; and such was his ingenuity, that he wrote a grammar of the Formosan language, and actually translated the Ohuich Catechism into this fabricated tongue ! He was weU received by literary men, and was 'regarded as a gfehtle, and hospitable manners. The Ia:nguage is a dialect of the Japanese. The climate of China is cold at the north, the winters at Pekin being attended with deep snows and severe frosts. To the south, it is hot. Lying in the same latitude as the United States, and embracing nearly the same extent upon the Pacific as our country does upon the Atlantic, the seasons and temperature are remark- ably similar. The soil of China is various, though generally fertile : the whole is under industrious and skilful cultivation, and yields abundant crops. It pro- duces all the fruits common to ti'opical and temperate latitudes. Camphor and cinnamon-trees grow in the fields and gardens. Ten Garden. ■ The tea shrub,t or tree, grows wild in fields and hedges, but is improved by cultivation. It rises to the model of piety and learning. The cheat was finaUy detected and Psalmanaser sank into obscurity. He, however, was an able writer, and found employment as such. He seemed deeply to repent his imposition, and enjoyed, to a certain extent, the sympathy and respect of several distinguished men. t The origin of this plant is given by the Japanese in the following legend. A missionary, named Darma, visited China about 516 B. C. As he was one day doing penance, he fell asleep. As a punishment for his weakness, he cut off his eyebrows, and threw them upon the ground. From these the tea plant immediately sprung up ! 438 POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF CHINA— GOVERNMENT. Height of four and six feet. It is generally grown in gardens of no great extent. The leaves are gathered by families, and sold to merchants who trade in the article. This is a peculiar product of China, and is the great staple of the country. Sixty millions of pounds are annually sent to Europe and America, be- side what is used in Asia. Rice is more generally grown in China than any other part of the world : it constitutes the chief bread stuff of the people. The silkworm is cultivated in China, and here silk is said to have been first manufactured. The insects of China are exceedingly various and brilliant ; among Butterflies. them are numerous beetles and butterflies, some of great size, and others of extraordinary brilliancy. The wild animals of China are little known ; the cattle are the humped species of India ; one kind is not larger than a hog. Camels and elephants do not appear to be in use, and there are few horses. The pigs are prover- bially small. The political divisions of the Chinese empire are as follows : China Proper, Manchooria, Mongolia, Thi- bet, Bootan, Little Bucharia, Soongaria, and the islands already mentioned. Chiha' 'Proper is divided into nineteen provinces.* * 1. Pe-tohe-li is the most northern province. The country consists of an extensive plain. The climate is severe in winter. Grrain is produced in large quantities. In this province is Pekin, the capital of the empire. 2. Chang-tung has for its capital Tsi-nan-foo. 3. Kiang-BU contains many large towns, of which Nankin is the principal. 4. Ngan-hoei has Ngan-king, on the Yang-tse-Kiang, for its capital. 5. Ho-nan is rich in grain. Its capital is Khai-fong-foo, near the Hoang-ho. 6. Hoo-pe is in the centre of China, and is exceedingly populous and fertile. Wu-tchang-foo, on the Yangtse Kiang, is one of the largest inland towns of the country. 7. Che-kiang, produces abundance of silk, rice, and grain. Its capital is Hang-tcheou-foo, on the River Tsien-tong-kiang. 8. Kiang-si is well cultivated, producing cotton, sugar, indigo, silk, with extensive manufactures of china ware. Nan-tchang-foo is the capital. The history of China represents the early inhabitants of this country as divided into numberless savage tribes : they were gradually civilized by their emperors, and for ages have been in advance of other Eastern nations m the arts of life. They had numerous strug- gles with the Tartars, Thibetans, and Coreans, but their dominion over them has now been established for centuries. In the year A. D. 1644, China was con- quered by the Manchoos, and the reigning family have since been of this stock. A large number of Man- choos are settled in China, and many of the leading officers of the government are of this Tartar blood. Head of a Chinese. Though the Tartars and Chinese are different nations, still, being both of the Mongol race, they bear a general resemblance in their features, and the two nations have readily assimilated under the same government. 9. Hoo-nan is rich in minerals. Its capital, Tchang-cha- foo, is a large city on the Heng Kiang. 10. Fokian, on the coast opposite Formosa, has extensive plantations of tea. The capital is Fu-tcheou-foo. 11. Quang-tun contains the city of Canton. 12. Quang-si is a mountainous district, with Kuei-ling- foo for its capital. 13. Kuei-tcheou is the most mountainous province of Chi- na, being crossed by the Nan-ling range. 14. Yun-nau is the south-western province, bordering on Cochin China. 16. Se-tchu-an, the largest of the provinces, is fertile, popu- lous, and encircled by mountains. Its. capital is on an island formed by the River Min-kiang. 16. Chen-si is mountainous, with fertile valleys. Its capi- tal, Si-ngan-foo, the ancient capital of China, is nearly as large as Pekin. 17. Shan-si is mountainous, yet studded with villages and towns.'j,.Tai-tong-foo, one of the principal cities, is near the great wall, and is strongly fortified. 18. Kan-si, the north-western province, is mountainous, many of the peaks being covered with snow. The capital, Lan-tcheou, is on the Hoang-ho. 19. The province of Leao-tong, or Moukden, extends along the shores of the Yellow Sea. It formerly belonged to Man- chooria. The capital is Moukden, or Fung-thian-foo, where are the tombs of the kings of the present Manchoo dynasty of the empire. EXAGGERATED ANTIQUITY OF THE CHINESE. 439 CHAPTER CCXXII. Preliminary Remarks on China — The Fabu- lous Period of Chinese History — The Three Emperors — The Five Emperors. China, in its history, its institutions, and its people, presents very peculiar and interestin^eatures. It has many claims upon the attention of the world, both in view of the past and the present. Its situation at this day is full of import, and the prospect as to the future is not without hope. So far as the merchant and the missionary may obtain access to its people, and the opportunity of intercourse with other nations shall by this means be enjoyed, changes of an important char- acter may be expected to take place in institutions of an immemorial date. The Chinese empire is the oldest now existing on the earth. It has survived those changes which have affected and at last destroyed every other nation dis- tinguished in ancient history — Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Those have had their decline and fall, while this people appear to have existed apart as a distinct family almost from the era of the dispersion at Babel. The present European nations are but a people of yesterday, compared with the Chinese, in respect to duration. At a period as early as the date of Thebes in Egypt, this nation had reached a settled form of government and a high state of civilization, from which if they have not materially advanced, they'have at least not receded. We do not, of course, admit the extravagant claims, which have been set up for them, of an antiquity exceeding by many thousand years the period of the Mosaic date of the creation. The Chinese, like other old nations, have a fabulous period. They do not themselves believe in such an antiquity. Their more authentic records come within the period embraced in sacred chronology, at least if we allow the Samaritan computation. The Chinese is also the most populous nation now dwelling on the globe. Surprising as is the long line of their historic records, the extent of their population is a subject of still greater wonder. That a third part of tlie human race should be found within the limits of one empire, and that not by any means .the largest in territorial extent, is an anomaly in history. The most populous of the European nations dwindle mto insig- nificance by the side of the three hundred or three hundred and fifty millions of China. They are truly a world by themselves. The account of their numbers is taken from government records, and, though we should be obliged to allow something to national pride, their substantial accuracy must still be admitted. The Chinese, also, are the most civilized nation of the East. For thousands of years, learning and the arts have flourished there, and though in general they fall short of the nations professing Christianity, yet their attainments are respectable, and, considering their secluded situation, even surprising. In a. few par- ticulars they probably excel all the rest of msinkind. The degree of perfection by which they are distin- guished in some of their arts, appears to have been reached in an early period of their history. These obvious peculiarities respecting the Chinese people entitle them to notice, especially as they have been placed, of late years, in an interesting situation before the moral and political world, as the antagonists of British power, and as having yielded to it so far as to submit to a degree of intercourse — before inter- dicted — with other nations. Such a people, so aft- cient, so numerous, and so advanced in civilization and knowledge, even from antiquity, may be excused, if not justified, in their assumption of superiority in many respects over all nations of the west, — especially as, during so many ages of their history, they have had contact only with nations of barbarians and in- feriors. The origin of the Chinese, like that of other Asiatic nations, is lost in the depths of the most remote anti- quity. They have a fabulous chronology, similar to that of the Hindoos, and equally extravagant. It in- cludes dynasties of monarchs each of which held the sceptre during eighteen thousand years ; but after this, their lives dwindled to so narrow a span, that the reigns of nine monarchs are comprehended in forty-five thou- sand six hundred years. The ten ages which elapsed from Tan-kou, or Pan-kwo, the first man, to Confucius, are computed by some of their writers to comprise ninety-six millions of years. It is proper, however, to state, that the Chinese treat their own fabulous records with contempt. The first da wn of authentic history com- mences with Fo-hi, in the year 2989 before Christ — a period which accords sufficiently with the best estab- lished chronologies. Even after this date, the Chinese annals are tinged by fable, and it is not till the acces- sion of Yu, of the Hea dynasty, that reigns of the ordinary duration indicate that their narrative is at length placed on a solid basis. Choo-foo-tsze, or Confucius, the greatest historian of China, gives an account of the Chinese monarchs dur- ing a period of two thousand five hundred and sixty- two years, which is new to the English reader. It includes their history from the time of Fo-hi, the founder of the empire, to the close of the Hea dynasty. Due allowance must be made for that portion of it which is obviously founded on tradition. The early Chinese, to whom these annals refer, were not, how- ever, the first people of China, but they displaced the tribes they found here. The empire indubitably had its origin in the north part of China, not long after the deluge of Noah. Bands of colonists came down from the Kuenlun Mountains, and subjugated or extermi- nated the barbarous races, one after another. Some relics "of these indigenous tribes are preserved in the mountains of Western China, where they bear the name of Miao, and are probably of the same race as the aboriginal Thibetans.* We do not deem it neces- sary here to go into these obscure and confused de- tails, but proceed to folKw the history after it assumes a methodical shape. When the Chinese first settled in the province of Chen-si, they are said to have been almost complete savages. They were strangers to all the arts, to every form of social union, and to every idea which could raise the man above the brute. But the means by which they were initiated in the useful arts, and gradually rose to that measure of improvement which gave them so distinguished a place among the Oriental nations, form the chief theme of their early history. In this retrospect, the most remarkable circumstance is, that the prince is commemorated as the sole in- ventor and teacher of every science and craft — from * EJaproth. — See further, at the beginning of the second chapter of the history of Thibet. 440 THE HEA AND TANG DYNASTIES. astronomy to agriculture, from preparing the machin- ery of war to manufacturing musical instruments. Although it is impossible, in these representations, not to suspect some disposition to flatter the throne, yet it really appears, by recent observations among the chiefs, both of Africa and the South Sea Islands, that sovereigns, in this early stage of society, take the lead in many concerns tvhich are afterwards advantageously left to the zeal or ingenuity of private individuals. As the narrative becomes more modern, we find the monarch employing such of his subjects as he con- siders best qualified, to preside over the different branches of national economy. In remote times, however, it is obvious that China was not governed upon those despotic principles which afterward acqmied so complete an ascendency. There is nowhere, indeed, any trace of republican institutions in that country ; but in all the early suc- cessions, the crown is represented as purely elective. On the death of the reigning prince, the people assem- bled and chose the person whom they judged best fitted to succeed him, and who was usually a minister, not a son, of the deceased monarch. The three first emperors of China were Fo-hi, Shin-nung, and Hwang. Fo-hi is spoken of as teaching the people how to catch fish, and to cultivate the soil. He also made the first step towards the invention of writing, called the Pa-hwa ; yet this consisted merely in the formation of the kov,a, which comprised eight lines varying in length, and imitated from those which appear on the back of a dragon. These lines, being arranged into clusters of two and two, in connection vith knotted cords, formed sixty-four combinations, capable of expressing that number of ideas. This work has been an object of the deepest veneration among the Chinese, who believe it to possess such a spiritual and mysterious virtue as to contain the germ of all things. Even the great Confucius made it the subject of an elaborate commentary ; and yet its whole merit seems to consist in being the first approach to an art of such vast importance as literary composition. It is stated by Chinese historians that Fo-hi reigned one hundred and fifteen years. Shin-nUng, or the divine Nung, we are told, made himself acquainted with the five kinds of grain, and all kinds of shrubs and vegetables, especially those of a medicinal nature. He fitted a tree so as to make a plough, and taught the people agriculture, as well as the healing art. He reigned, as is stated, one hundred and forty years. Shin-nung is said to have been succeeded by seven sovereigns, whose united reigns make three hundreiJ and eighty years. This period Confucius considers doubtful. If these years be deducted from the reign, of Fo-hi, the Chinese histoiy may be said to com- mence no earlier than 2989 B. C. It is, doubtless, not so remote even as that era. Hwang was remarkable as a child, and grew up distinguished for his wisdom. He improved the method of recording events adopted by Fo-hi, by the inven- tion of written characters. One Chinese writer ob- serves, that all modern written characters may be traced to those invented by this emperor. During his reign it was that the phenomena of the heavenly bodies were recorded ; their revolutions calculated ; the prin- ciples of arithmetic explained ; a standard for weights and measures fixed, which, with slight alterations, exist to the present day ; the popular music corrected, and the people instructed by the empress in rearing the silkworm, and in weaving cloth for garments. Hwang reigned, according to historians, one hundred years. He was illustrious by his greatness and virtues. We now come to the period of the Five Emperors. Of the first four of these little is recorded. They were represented as exceedingly virtuous, except Che- she, the last, who was deposed on account of crime and incapacity. Tang-yaou, (2330. B.C.,) brother of the preceding emperor, was only sixteen years old when he took his place. According to the ancient record, he possessed great talents and benevolence. Every twelfth year he visited his several states ; and, during these visits, if the widow or destitute came and complained of cold and hunger, he relieved them, saying, " I too have been hungiy and cold." Through such acts of kindness, he secured the unbounded af- fections of his people. Yu-shun, his son, was called to assist in the government before his father's death. It was under his superintendence that the people were addressed on popular subjects, and several of the principles of Chinese morality were established and developed, viz., that the conduct of the father should be just and correct, of the mother, kind and merciful ; that friendship should exist between elder brothers, — even though by different mothers ; — that younger brothers should be respectful and courteous to their elder brothers, and that children should be dutiful. " Here was laid the foundation of that permanent order of things which has continued to this day, and has distinguished the Chinese from all other people. Filial piety and reverence for superiors have been from that time the key-stone of the Chinese constitu- tion, and its essential conservative principle." Tang- yaou died in the seventy-third year of his reign. His character is summed up thus : " Though rich, he was not proud ; dignified, yet not self-important. Though attired in royal robes and his carriages drawn with white horses, and though his mansion was adorned with carved work, his table was spread with plain dishes, and he would not listen to lewd songs. His son died in the forty-eighth year of his reign. As a prince, he is recorded to have loved the lives of his people, and disliked the putting of any one to death." OHAPTER CCXXIII. 2169 to 1110 B. C. The Hea and Tang Dynasties. How-YU was now called to ascend the throne. This was near the period when the Egyptian monarchy is supposed to have been founded by Menes, or Misraim, 2188 B. C. According to some accounts, the Hea dynasty is, in fact, the first in Chinese history,* Dur- * Chinese history records an inundation of the rivers, which, in 2293 B. C, devastated chiefly the northern prov- inces: this deluge is almost of the same date as that of Ty- phon, or Xisuthrus, which was 2297 B. C. At this epoch, the. history seems to put off the marvellous, and merit more coniidence in respect to facts, without being more exact as to dates. Yu, whose merit, and especially the signal service he performed in drawing off the waters of the inundation, had called him to the throne, became the founder of the Hea dynasty, which commenced twenty-two centuries B. C, and continued for four hundred and forty years', finishing in 1767. The Chang succeeded, reigning six hundred and forty-four years, till 1123 B. C. The absence of facts, in the history of these two dynasties, confirms the truth of the annals, for the ima^ation was not resorted to, as in miany early histo- ries : it is another mark, also, of that dry spirit of exactness which characterizes the Chinese. — Klaproth. THE TANG DYNASTY. 441 ing the reign of How-yu, the Le-ko wine vj^s invented. The emperor foresaw in its agreeable flow the dcmor- ahzation of his people, if permitted to indulge in it. He therefore prohibited its importation. We are ttJld that it was in reference chiefly to the example of this monarch, that the present emperor of China was led to observe, with tears in his eyes, that he could not meet his august father after death, tlliless the vice of opium smoking were eradicated. If Yu, at this early period, would not allow the importation of an intoxi- cating liquor, with what propriety could he, the present emperor, permit the importation of twenty-seven thousand chests of opium, by which his subjects were stupefied and degraded, and his laws rendered nuga- tory ? How-yu was a great proficient in astronomy, astrology, and agriculture. On the latter subject he wrote a work, in which he taught his subjects how to improve their lands, by manuring, levelling, and drain- ing. How-yu died before he had completed the eighteenth year of his reign. Three emperors followed, whose reigns were short, amounting together to only fifty-one years, during which two or three wars were waged with rebellious officers. How-seung succeeded, in 2091 B. C. This prince was raised to the throne by the Se-ang famity and the nobles. He warred in two instances with foreigners. He was put to death, in the twenty-eighth year of his reign, by a chieftain named Han-tsuh. His son Sliaou-kang was then proclaimed emperor. This prince established the government upon the best models of his predecessors. He died in the sixty-first year of his reign, greatly venerated, and was succeeded by his son How-choo, 2042 B. C. This prince distin- guished himself in war, and, as a general, was a worthy descendant of the immortal How-yu, the founder of the dynasty. He was followed by ten emperors, till the establishment of another dynasty in 1767 B. C. Little is said of these sovereigns in history. Their reigns in general were not long. The last, Hoio-kwei, fell into great excesses. The power of the Hea dy- nasty, it is said, declined through neglect of the god- dess Ceres. The ancient worthies were much more wise in an attention to agriculture, by means of which they caused the country to prosper, and obtained the love of their people. How-kwei died in the fifty- second year of his reign, execrated by his subjects. In this dynasty happened an eclipse, in regard to which the Chinese records affirm that Hi and Ho, who pre- sided over the department of the mathematics, were put to death, because they had not foretold and inserted it in the epheraeris of that year — a neglect which was then a capital offetice. Chin Tang, that is, Duke Tang, was the founder of the Tang, or Shang, dynasty. He became displeased with the conduct of his sovereign, withdrew to his own capital, and, at length, declared himself independ- ent. In view of his virtues, the people elevated him to the sovereignty. He is said to have had the most excellent qualities. His modesty was almost unparal- leled: he was the only person in the empire who thought he was unfit for so important a trust. He was often on the point bf resigning his crown, but his no- bles would not consent. Tay-we was one of his suc- cessors. This prince, being once terrified by a pr»digy, which made him apprehensive of a revolution, re- ceived the following impressive lesson from his minis- ter : " Virtue has the power of triumphing over pre- 56 sages. If you govern your subjects with equity, you will be beyond the reach of misfortune." Vuthing, another prince of the second dynasty, passed the whole of his three years of mourning for his father in a house near the tomb, imploring Heaven to bless him with such virtues as were suitable to his station. When the term was expired, he returned to his palace, where he saw, in a dream, a man repre- sented to him by Heaven as his future prime minister, whose features were so strongly impressed upon his mind, that he drew an exact portrait of them, and caused the man to be sought for. Such a person was found in the condition of an obscure mason, working in a village, whence, by the emperor's command, he was brought to court. Being questioned on a variety 6f points concerning government, the virtues of a sover- eign, and the reciprocal duties of princes and subjects, he returned answers marked with so much wisdom as excited the admiration of the hearers. The emperor constituted him his prime minister. The new favorite, in his administration of government, astonished the empire by his knowledge and prudence. This dynasty continued through six hundred and fifty-six years, under thirty emperors. Like the Hea dynasty, it was terminated by the vices of the last of them. It was under the dominion of this line of sov- ereigns, that the eastern foreigners are spoken of as exceedingly troublesome, and as compelling the impe- rial court to retire to the centre of thfe empire. The period which has been described above, is deemed the classical portion of Chinese history, and a familiar acquaintance with it has long been crasid ered an essential proof of Chinese scholarship. T3on- tinually, therefore, referred to by their poets and ora- tors, .the records of these early reigns starhped^ no doubt, to a considerable extent, the character of sub- sequent events. It is by a reference to this period, when both prince and people felt bound to practise virtue, and enforce the laws, that the anger of Heaven might be averted, that the Chinese explain the origin of the terij^ Celestial Empire. The mild, paternal government of the ancient sovereigns of China was called celestial, because the principles upon which they governed were received from Heaven, or were, at least, believed to be in accordance with the will of Heaven. In this view, the Chinese are less arrogant and absurd, perhaps, than we are apt to suppose them. It is only parallel with our practice in calling ourselves a Christian nation. That the Chinese should exult in their annals, and such annals, is at least a pardonable weakness. The successful warrior is not a favorite in their history. To this day, the Chinese rank the civil much higher than the military service. CHAPTER CCXXIV. mOE.C. toA.S. 479. The Dynasties of Tcheou, Tsin, Han, Heou Han, Tein-ou-ti, and Song — Confudus. After the Tang dynasty succeeded that of Tcheou, commencing 1110 years B. C, and ending 246 B.C.* * Tcheou, or Wen-wang, by hia virtues had united all the parties opposed to the tyrannical emperor, Chew-sin, who was led into numerous debaucheries and cruelties by his favorite mistress, Ta-H. But Wen-wang died, leaving the deliverance 442 CONFUCIXJS. I It constitutes the third, and includes thirty-five em- perors. Chaus, the fourth emperor of this dynasty, is ■ said to have heen excessively fond of hunting. In pursuit of that sport, he did incalculable damage to the crops of his subjects. Their remonstrances being unheeded, they determined to destroy him. For this purpose, as he was wont to pass a large river, on his return from the chase, in a boat which waited for him, they caused one to be built of such construction as to break in pieces before it could reach the opposite shore. Entering this boat, he and his attendants soon went to the bottom. Livang, the tenth prince of this dynasty, acted in such a tyrannical manner, that he stood in awe of the remarks of his subjects, and actually prohibited them from conversing together in public ; nothing bemg seen but men, formerly friendly, endeavoring to shun each other, and walking in mournful solitude, with their eyes fixed on the ground. _ One of his min- isters had the boldness to tell him that he was not placed upon the throne to make his subjects miserable ; that it was not easy ta stop the tongues of men ; and that the silence which he had imposed upon them was more dread^l and dangerous than the liberty which they had exercised of complaining. This tyrannical edict was not long endured ; the pdbple, driven to despair, rushed upon the palace, and murdered the whole of the reigning family, except the king himself and his youngest son. In a short time, the enraged multitude insisted upon the young prince being delivered up to them, and the minister, to spare the royal infant, gave them his own son, to be brutally murdered in his stead. It is related of another, emperor of this dynasty, that he was in the habit of giving orders^ whenever his army perceived lighted fires, that they should take up arms and hasten to him. In one of these alarms, observing that his favorite mistress was greatly enter- tained by the proceeding, he frequently repeated the signal for her amusement, as also to witness the vexa- tion of the soldiery at having taken such unnecessary trouble. The consequences may be foreseen. On a subsequent occasion of real importance, the soldiers, having been so often deceived, neglected a signal of alarm, while the enemy penetrated to the monarch's tent and slew him. Confucius instructing his Disciples. It was in the reign of Ling-te, during this dynasty, (549 B. C.,) that Confucius, the celebrated moralist, philosopher, and lawgiver, was born. He was evi- dently a man of great knowledge, and of extensive wisdom, and was beloved on account of his virtues. He rendered signal service to his country by his moral of his country to be completed by his noble son, Wou-wang, ■who gained one great battie, — the battle of liberty, — causing the tyrant to flee to his palace, to which he set fire, and per- ished in the flames. Wou-wang, however, though he restored happiness to his country, committed a mistake, long fatal to the peace of China. He destroyed the ancient form of pure monarchy, and substituted for it a species of feudal system. The &st foimders of the Chinese empire consisted of but about a hundred equal families ; and while' the Indo- Germanic race, spread over Europe, divided itself^ as it still aoes every where, into hereditary castes, superior one to the other, and even preserving this superiority hereditarily, and without the possession of any domain whatever — the Chi- nese race is composed of families perfectly equal among themselves, and recognizing no other dominion than that of the reigning flynasty, to which liiey are submitted in the most absolute :manner. Whilst Europeans accord legitimacy to maxims, and possessed much influence even with kings, as well as with his countrymen in general. He died in the seventy-third year of his age. The fourth dynasty, called Tsin, was a short one of forty-three years, terminating 203 B. C, and in- cluding four sovereigns. It was, however, signalized sovereigns, even after the loss of their thrones, power in China is regarded only as a possession de facto, and each new power which elevates itself is legal at the instant when the occupation of the empire is achieved. Legitimacy ceases, too, when tyranny becomes insupportable. Confuciua, Men- cius, and all the ancient Chinese philosophers, affirm and es- tablish the right of subjects to deliver themselves from op- pression by regicide. But Wou-wang shared the country among his generals, and kept for his own family but a com- paratively small proportion ; hence came the division of the empire into so many petty principalities and independent kingdoms, which, large and small, were, in the time of Cyrus, (S30 B. C) very numerous. These petty princes were en- gaged*in perpetual wars, like the dukes and counts at France, before the king gained complete ascendency over h:s nomiiiial vassals. — Klaproth, THE HAN DYNASTY. 443 by several important events. The celebrated great wall of China, which still astonishes those that behold it, was finished by one of the emperors, named Tsin-che-hwang- te, about the year 214 B. C. Extending fifteen hundred miles in length, it separates China from its northern neighbors, and was erected to protect the country from their incursions. It was about this period when the Chinese first adopted their famodf law of non-inter- course, by which all foreigners are prohibited passing the frontier, or even landing on the coast. This law is erroneously supposed by some to have been directed wholly against the English, or against other modern European nations generally ; whereas it has been in force upwards of two thousand years ; and instead of taking oflfence at the Chinese, for not abandoning at once one of the fundamental rules of their ancient policy, we ought rather to commend them, while retaining the rule in modern times, for permitting foreigners to use the port of Canton. Tsin-che-hwang-te suppressed the tributary king- doms, and reduced them to their former state of prov- inces. Elated with success, he became ambitious of being thought the first sovereign of China. With this view — according to some authorities — he ordered all the historical writings and public records. to be burnt, and many of the learned men to be burnt alive, that past events might not be transmitted to posterity. It would seem, however, that he was not able to obliter- ate all the monuments of by-gone ages.* * The events of this dynasty are thus represented by other authorities : At the end of the third century before the Chris- tian era, China, divided into petty kingdoms, was a prey to wars and disorders which were ever on the increase. Its south- ern part, south of the Nan-ling Mountains, was occupied by another race — barbarians. Seven sovereignties had been formed in the bosom of China ; among these, that of Tsin was the most powerful, having a fifth of the surface and a tenth of the population of China. Its king managed to subdue all his rivals j and, dying in 251, his son succeeded him, but died a few days after, leaving his own son to reign ; his son, Tsin-che-hwanff-te, may be regarded as the true founder of the Tsin dynasty, a dynasty which has given to China the name it bears among the natives of the West. He ascended the throne at the age of thirteen, and became one of the greatest of the Chinese emperors, reigning over an extent of temtory almost equal to that of China Proper at the present day. This he divided into thirty^sii provinces, besides four tributaries, which he conquered, south of the Southern Mountains. The imperial capital was at Hiang- yang, near Si-ngan, on the opposite side of the Ouei River. The emperor embellished this capital with magnificence, and caused to be built hero palaces exactly resembling all the royal residences of the sovereigns he had conquered — a truly Chinese idea ! He ordered that the precious furniture, which decorated each of these palaces, should be removed to its counterpart, and that the persons who dwelt in and about each particular palace, to minister to the wants or pleasures of its master, should also be transported to the new palace, there to occupy similar oifices. These buildings, in such varied styles and taste, occupied an immense extent of coun- try along the banks of the Ouei. They communicated to- gether by a magnificent colonnade, which extended around them, and formed a vast and superb gallery, where one could be protected from the weather at all seasons. His progresses through the empire exhibited a pomp hitherto unknown. He every where constructed edifices of grandeur or public utility ; broad and convenient roads, and well-tended canals facilitated intercourse and commerce, which now revived under the auspices of peace, after such long wars. For ages northern Cluna had been exposed to the ravages of the nomads, now called the Hioong-noo : these he chastised with an army of three hundred thousand men, and exterminated them, or drove them far beyond the distant mountains of their country, with no wish to return. After The_^iA dynasty, which commenced about two hun- dred years before the Christian era, terminated in the year A. D. 221. It is called the dynasty of Han, and lasted four hundred and twenty-four years, under twenty emperors. The head of this dynasty yas. Lieu-pang, a soldier, magnanimous, humane, and gen- erous, a citizen of one of the three kingdoms of China. After seventeen pitched battles with a rival rebel, and overcoming the last emperor, he ascended the throne, united the whole empire, and took the name of Kao- Tsou, or Kao-hwang-te. This monarch reigned with clemency a^d moderation. He was one of the few who governed for themselves. Under the rest, the eunuchs enjoyed a great degree of authority, which they always abused. In his reign, paper, ink, and hair pencils — the last still used in China instead of pens — were invented, according to some ; others, as we have seen, assign them a date a little earlier. Vuti, or Wouti, one of the princes of this family, was an eminent encourager of learning, and ordered the morality of Confucius to be taught in the public schools.t He, however, fell under the power of a strong delusion, in endeavoring to discover a liquor which would make him immortal. His reign was somewhat prolonged, and was signalized by many heroic exploits in wars with the Tartars. Besides . subjugating many tribes of the Hioong-noo, he estab- lished colonies north-west of China, built cities, and gave military governors to his newly acquired prov- Bubduing the southern barbarians to the sea-shore, he put all the lazy, idle vagabonds of his empire, to the number of five hundred thousand, into fortresses, and obliged them to oc- cupy themselves in useful labors. Previous to this time, the princes of the three northern kingdoms of Tsin, Tchao, and Yen, had constructed walls against the Hioong-noo: Tsin-che-hwang-te undertook to unite these several walls into a single one, which should stretch &om the westernmost province of Chensi, as far as to the eastern ocean. He assembled for this vast purpose an immense number of laborers, and placed them under the supervision of several bodies of troops. He was then in the thirty-third year of his reign, (214 B. C. ;) but he had not the satisfaction of seeing this work completed, which lasted ten years, and was hot finished till after the extinction of his dynasty. After so many public undertakings, he might have looked for gratitude j but he was constantly annoyed with the revolts of the grandees, who aimed to bring back the feudal system, with all its evils. Out of patience with the quotations and repre- sentations importunately urged on him as to their rights and wrongs, their privileges and prerogatives, he commanded all the ancient historical books to be burnt, and especially those by Confucius, who had lived three hundred years before. These orders were rigorously executed. This destruction the lit- erati have never pardoned, and consequently the character of the reformer has been maliciously blackened in the Chinese annals. His general, Moung-thian, however, made some lit- tle amends for this irreparable loss, by the discovery of paper and the pencil. Before this the characters had been engraved, with a style, on tablets of bamboo, or were traced upon it with varnish of a deep color. An easier mode of forming the letters was also introduced. This emperor's whole fam- ily perished by the hand of a factious assassin — a sad example of the ingratitude of the people toward great men, who have served them and rendered their country illustrious. — Klap- roth. t The lapse of time had buried in oblivion the ancient feudal system of the Tcheou ; so that the emperors of the Han dynasty could, without risk to the centralization of the sovereignty, order a search for the books which had ap- peared so dangerous to the Tsin. The most careful per- quisitions were then made throughout the empire, and con- siderable fragments of the ancient works were recovered, and even entire books. It was wi|h these materials, and with the help of an old man who knew the Chou-king by heart, 444 HAN AND OTHER DYNASTIES inces of Central Asia. In 108, the Ouigbor Turks and Little Bucharia were subjugated, and his armies pushed into the Kirghis country. He gained four signal victories over the Tartars, and drove them far bejiond the wall, or reduced them to submission ; thence he carried his successful arms into the king- doms of Pegu, Siam, Cambodia, and Bengal, and then divided them among his generals and officers, who had assisted in the war. His sagacious policy of con- federating the nations of Western Tartary against the Hi- oong-noo has been detailed in our history of the ancient Turks. It was in A. D. 102, that Panchao extended the Chinese sway as far west as the Caspian, and sent to China the heirs presumptive to the crowns of more than fifty kingdoms he had subdued for his emperor. In the reign of Houon-te, an embassy came from Rome, in A. D. 166, from An-tun — as the Chinese called the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — king of Ta-thsin, or Great China, as they denominated the Roman empire. The embassy came by way of Ton- quin : others followed during this dynasty. Ling-te, a sovereign of this dynasty, is said to have caused all the wise maxims of the ancient emperors, contained in five classical books, to be engraved on tables of marble, and publicly exposed at the entrance of the academy. Under his reign, several factions arose, one of which was denominated the Yellow Caps, and made itself master of the empire, which in the -end led to its dismemberment. The sixth dynasty was a short one of fifty-four years, ending A. D. '265. It is called the dynasty of Heou-Han. It began with a prince descended from Lieu-pang, and ended with his grandson. This young prince was endowed with great ardor and courage. He sustained for some time his father's tottering throne, during attacks from every quarter. At length, as affairs were verging to a fatal crisis, and the feeble emperor was still hesitating what measures to pursue, he felt impelled to expostulate with him, saying, "There is no time for deliberation ; this is the decisive moment; resolve either to conquer, or die with arms in your hand and the crown on your head." The emperor still refusing to fight, the son,. in his mortification and grief, retired to the hall of his ancestors, slew his wife, and then himself, while the emperor tamely surren- dered to Song-chou, his rival. China at this time was divided into three empires, under the three branches of the dynasty of Han. The various parts terminated at different periods. Under the se»enpres'sed. This proved, however, to be only a suspension a£ the efforts of the missionaries, for many of the priests found means to return to their fields of labor. Things continued in this state till, in 1785, a decree was passed which afforded the Christians some mitigation of their evils, particularly in Pekin. During the present century, the mission has been in a low and declining state ; yet, on two or three occa- sions at least, it has drawn forth the severe animadver- sions of the government ; once in 1805, again in 1811, and a third time in 1815. The number belonging to the Roman missions in China is not easily ascer- tained. But, on a map of missions presented in 1810. to the governing bishop of Macao, the number of European bishops, assistant bishops, and missionaries is put down at more than thirty ; that of native preachers at eighty ; and of Chinese Christians at over two hundred thousand. Thus Christianity has a partial toleration in China — the Catholic priests frequently adopting the Buddhist rites and ceremonies, and min- gling them with their own. The Chinese, like maoy other heathen nations, in recent times, have been permitted to share in the labors of Protestant missionaries. Since the war with Great Britain, the country has been more particularly open to these efforts. In Canton, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions have one sta- tion, three missionaries, and five others as helpers. In Amoy, they have one station, three missionaries, and two others as assistants. In Fuh-chan, the same so- ciety has one station, five missionaries, and three others* to aid them. Laudable efforts have been made in modem times to translate the Bible into the Chinese language. This has been done chiefly by Protestants. The e^orts of the Romanists have been limited, it is believed, to parts of the New Testament. Among the principal persons engaged in this enterprise, the names of Morrison, Milne, and Marshman, are well known. But owing to the great peculiarity of the language, imperfect acquaintance with it, and other causes, these versions are not by any means correct and satisfactory. Ef- forts are msScing at the present time to supply the pre- vious deficiency, if possible, in this interesting depart- ment of evangelization, by a combination of the learn- ing and talents of the various missionaries from Protestant Christendom, now in China. CHAPTER CCXXXI. General Views, continued — Opium Trade. The character and extent of the opium trade in Chma, together with the consequences which have 458 THE OPIUM TRADE. grown out of it in recent times, give to its history a peculiar interest; of this we shall therefore present a brief outline. By the laws of China for nearly fifty years, the importation of opium had been prohibited ; yet it had been extensively cultivated, under the direction and monopoly of the East India Company, and systemati- cally smuggled into China. While it was a violation of all laws, it also produced the most baleful effects. It corrupted the morals and destroyed the lives of the inhabitants. But the emperor at length made a vigor- ous effort to put an end to the nefarious traffic ; and in March, 1839, the English merchants at, Canton were compelled by the Chinese authorities to surrender their smuggled opium to the amount of twenty thousand two hundred and eighty-three chests, valued, at cost prices, at about ten million of dollars ; and it was destroyed by the order of Lin, the Chinese commissioner. In consequence of this event, a series of hostile transactions took place at Canton ; several warlike ex- peditions sailed from England ; and a war was com- menced and carried on, which resulted in the submission of the government of China to the conditions imposed by the British power, as we have related. The object of these hostilities, as stated by Lord John Russell, was, " first, to obtain reparation for the insults and injuries offered to her majesty's superintendent and her majesty's subjects by the Chinese government ; second, to obtain for the merchants trading with China an indemnification for the loss of their property, incurred by threats of violence offered by persons under the direction of the Chinese government; and third, to obtain a security that persons and property, in future, trading with China shall be protected from insuU or injury, and that their trade and commerce shall be maintained on a proper footing." Whatever disguises may be thrown over it, however, the wax against China was the direct con- sequence of the smuggling of opium by the British. Had the Chinese set the laws of England at defiance, in a similar manner, it is quite certain that confisca- tion of property alone would not have been the extent of the punishment. As opium is the most powerful of narcotics, and at the same time one of the most valuable of all medi- cines, it is employed in a great variety of cases. Its use, however, otherwise than as a medicine, is attended with effects similar to those of the intemperate use of ardent spirits. Its habitual or excessive use is said to be more deleterious than the latter. It is a remark dictated most probably by an intimate knowledge of the subject, that " There is no slavery on earth to be named with the bondage which opium casts upon its victim. There is scarcely one known instance of escape from its toils, when once they have fairly enveloped a man." The countries in which opium is most used are Turkey, Persia, Arabia, and China. But its greatest consumption is in China and the surrounding countries, where the habit of smoking it is very common, and attended with the most deplorable consequences. In Mahometan countries, it is used as a substitute for ihtoxicating liquors, the use of which is prohibited by the Koran. No market on the globe is equal to that of Canton for this drug, which has been introduced since the year 1796, in violation of the laws of China, wholly by smuggling. The quantity consumed yearly is immense. It is computed that, in the year 1837, it amounted to four million and eighty thousand pounds. The far greater part of this article is grown and pre- pared in India, and, as before intimated, is a monopoly of the wealthy and powerful East India Company. The revenue derived by this company from the trade amounted, in the year 1837, to two million five hundred and thirty -nine thousand five hundred and thirty pounds. When the sales have been effected at Bombay and Calcutta, the opium is shipped on board vessels ex- pressly fitted out for the trade, which proceed imme- dia,tely for China. They are called clippers, and are remarkable for their beauty and sailing qualities. " Arrived on the coast, they deliver their cargo into a class of vessels called receiving ships, which are al- ways anchored at the station of Lintin, or the adjacent anchorages of Capsingmoon, or Cumsingmoon, situated within the Bocca Tigris, at the mouth ofthe Canton River. " As the importation is expressly forbidden by the Chinese government, it has now to be smuggled clan- destinely into tlie country. For this purpose, native smuggling boats are employed, which are well manned and armed. Orders from Canton are given to them, with which they proceed to the receiving ships, and the opium is delivered to their charge. It is taken out of the chests, examined and, after being packed in con- venient parcels, arranged in readiness to be easily car- ried off in case of pursuit. This is the usual way in which the importation is effected; but some portion is also taken up to Whampoa occasionally, and a certain number of chests is disposed of along the coast to the northward. Collision with the authorities rarely takes place, as fees are regularly paid, for connivance, to the officers of the imperial preventive squadron. Indeed, it is not unfrequent for the custom-house officers them- selves to be engaged in the smuggling trade, and gov- ernment boats have been observed taking in a cargo of opium in the open face of day. " When arrived at the city of Canton, the opium passes into the hands of the native brokers or melters, who subject it to a process by which the crude article is reduced to a watery extract. The Chinese designate the varieties of Indian opium by the names of black earth, white skin, and red skin, which severally fetch about eight hundred, six hundred, and four hundred dollars a chest." It is not known at what period the use of opium com- menced in China, but there is reason to believe that its growth and preparation have been known to the Chi- nese themselves for ages. Up to the year 1780, the Portuguese supplied the Chinese with foreign opium ; after that period, the English trade in the article commenced, by the establishment of a depot for the sale of the drug to the southward of Macao. But towards the end of the last century, as we have seen, the importation was entirely prohibited, and in 179&, persons found guilty of smoking opium were punished with the pillory and bamboo. But notwithstanding the strong denunciations on paper, the illicit trade went on; the East India Company took the preparation of the opium into their own hands,' formed the whole of the produce, and sold it annually at Calcutta by auction to the highest bidder. A large quantity of opium if made in China ■ itself, where the cultivation of the poppy, though nominally prohibited, has not been prevented. In various provinces of India, the article is grown under a system of compulsory labor, for the exclu- sive benefit of ffie " Honorable East India Company." Various decrees were passed, of great^-aeventyv-^ , enacting even the penalty of death against those caught trading in the drug. These decrees were, however, CHIEF CITIES OF CHINA. 459 but little, if at all, attended to by the Chinese them- selves, and were negligently enforced by the authorities. The Rev. Mr. Medhurst, an exemplary missionary, who has most justly and .ably protested against the iniquitous trade in opium, quite confirms the opinion that the chief blame, as to the confirmed use of the poison, rests with the Chinese themselves. Mr. Med- hurst says that, in fact, opium i#not only regularly introduced, but openly sold, in all parts of China. Notwithstanding the prohibition, opium shops are as plentiful, in some towns of China, as gin shops are in England. The sign of these receptacles is a bamboo screen, hanging before the door, which is a certain intimation that the slave of intemperance may be there gratified. Into these shops all classes of persons continually flock, from the pampered official to the abject menial. No one makes a secret of the business or the prac- tice ; and, though the officers of the government are loud in denouncing the indulgence in public, they privately wink at what is patronized by their own ex- ample, or subservient to their own interests. It is a well-known circumstance, that the government officers come regularly on board the receiving ships at Lintin, and demand so many dollars per chest for conniving at smuggling ; while it is currently reported that even the viceroy of Canton receives a very respectable con- sideration for winking at these illicit transactions. The military and naval officers sometimes get up a sham fight, in order that they may have to report their vigi- lance and strictness at Pekin; and when the smug- glers are remiss in paying the accustomed bribes, they now and then seize a boat or two, to keep them reg- ular and submissive. CHAPTER CCXXXII. Extent of the Empire — Divisions and Chief Cities — Government. China Propek, as we have stated, is a large, com- pact country, lying on the eastern side of Asia, ex- tending from about 21° to 41° of north latitude, and measuring, in extreme length, from north to south, about twelve hundred geographical miles, with an average breadth somewhat less than the length. The capital of the whole empire of China is Pekin, Gate of Fekin. situated in a very fertile plain, twenty leagues distant from the great wall. It is, for the most part, the resi- dence of the emperor, and bus palace is in the portion of it called the Tartar City. Pekin is surrounded by a wall fifty feet high, and so broad, that mounted sentinels are placed upon it. The gates, which are nine in number, make an imposing appearance, by reason of their vast height. Most of the streets are constructed in a direct line, the breadth of the largest being one hundred and twenty feet broad, and their .length above two miles. In front, the houses make an insignificant appear- ance, being mostly low, and with only a ground floor. Few have two stories ; still they are often a good deal ornamented with gilded sculptures, and the doors of the rich are often of aromatic wood, richly carved. The imperial palace is the most remarkable of the buildings in this great city, more, however, on account of the number of its regularly disposed structures, courts, and gardens, than the beauty of its architec- ture. Pekin is estimated to contain one million five hundred thousand inhabitants. Nankin is a large city, containing some half mil- lion of inhabitants, but, for some period past, has not been in a flourishing condition. It was the royal resi- dence, until the fifteenth century ; now a large portion of the area within the ancient walls is depopulated. Much of this desolation may, no doubt, be ascribed to the ravages of the Tartar conquests ; but a large part of it arises from another cause, and that is, the slender construction of the public edifices. The col- umns are, in most cases, of wood, and necessarily subject to decay. The nine-storied buildings, called pagodas, being of good solid beech wood, are almost the only permanent edifices. That which is built of porcelain, is famous for its cost and beauty. Canton is a large city, containing, with its suburbs, nearly a million of inhabitants. It is the largest port in China, and the only one that ha,s been much fre- quented by Europeans. The city wall is more than five miles in extent, with delightful walks around it. There are many handsome buildings in 'Canton, as also great numbers of triumphal arches, and temples, well stocked with images. There are often five thou- sand trading vessels lying before the city. A numbei of other large towns exist in China, containing several- ly an immense population. The original plan of the Chinese government was patriarchal. Obedience to the father of each family was enforced in the most rigorous manner, and the emperor was considered as the father of the whole. Every father was absolute in his. own family, and might inflict any punishment short of death ; and every mandarin of a district had the power of life and death over all its members, though the emperor's approbation was requisite to the infliction of a capital sentence. Since the invasion of the Tar- tars, the government is called an absolute monarchy, though its great fundamental principles have been preserved from the beginning. The system of government, as now pursued, is, on the whole, favorable to the industry of the people, and the idea that population in China presses upon the means of subsistence to the extent once supposed, is an entire delusion. The working classes are con- tented, and the rights of property are respected ; and there exists in China, as in some Christian countries, a large and wealthy middle class. Qhinose servants are 460 GOVEBNMENT AND LAWS OF THE CHINESE. found as faithful and trustworthy as those of otlier Avell-regulated countries ; and, among merchants, in- stances are on record of some who have risked their lives to fulfil their engagements. In seaport towns, however, like Macao and Canton, as in similar large towns of Christian nations, some portion of the popula- tion will, of course, as human nature is at present, exist in a more or less disorderly and demoralized state. Their police appear not to be wanting in vigilance, and the administration of justice is prompt and efficient. The despotic character of the government is tem- pered somewhat by the influence of public opinion. There are some curious practical anomalies, which seem hardly suitable to a despotism. The people, in some instances, hold public meetings, by advertise- ment, for the express purpose of addressing the magis- trate, and this without being punished. But they pro- ceed sometimes farther — placarding and lampoon- ing — though, of course, anonymously — obnoxious public officers. It may be added, that the censorship of the press — that usual concomitant of despotism — is unknown in China. It has no other limitations than those which the interests of social peace and order seem to render necessary. If these are endangered; the process of the government, as might be expected, is very summary. Under their form of government, connected with education, the Chinese have become a most good- humored as well as peaceable people. Of the sixteen lectures periodically delivered to the people — lectures found in the book of Sacred Institutions — the second is " on union and concord among kindred ; " the third " on concord and agreement among neighbors ; " the ninth "on mutual forbearance;" the sixteenth "on reconciling animosities." From the influence of these instructions has arisen, perhaps, their characteristic timidity, which is accompanied by its natural associ- ates — the devices of cunning and fraud. The Chinese have acquired a more than common horror of political disorder. From having lived so much in peace, they become, in some sort, a nation of conservatives. They have among them maxims which strongly show their turn of mind on this subject ; as, for instance, " Better be a dog in peace, than a man in anarchy," " The worst of men are fondest of change and commotion." It has been remarked that no in- stance has ever occurred among the Chinese of an attempt to change the form of that pure monarchy which is founded on patriarchal authority, or derived from it. In most instances of commotions or revolu- tions among them, the sole object has been the destruc- tion of a tyrant ; or, when the country was divided into several states, the acquisition of universal power by the chief of one of them. Distinction and rank arise almost entirely from educated talent, and the choice of officjal persons, with a very few exceptions, is determined by this. The country, therefore, is as ably governed as it could be, under the circumstances. " The official aristocracy," who are the real aristocracy of the country, " content with their solid rank and power, aim at no external display : on the contrary, a certain affectation, on their part, of patriarchal simplicity operates as a sumptuary law, and gives a corresponding tone to the habits of the people." In respect to the actual machinery of the govern- ment, it may be remarked that the emperor is wor- shipped with divine honors, and with the attribute of omnipresence, throughout the empire. He is styled the " Son of Heaven," the " Ten Thousand Years." As the people worship the -emperor, so the emperor worships Heaven. He himself uses occasionally a term of afl^ected humility, as the " Imperfect Man;" but every device of state is used to keep up, by habit, the impression of awe. As an instance of these de- vices, it is stated that no person whatever can pass before the outer gate of the palace, in any vehicle or liJn horseback, and also that an imperial despatch is received in the provinces with offerings and prostration, the performers looking toward Pekin. The sovereign of China has the absolute disposal of the succession, and he may go out of his own family if he pleases, for an heir. This right has descended from time immemorial. The imperial authority or sanction to all public acts is conveyed by the impres- sion of a very large seal ; and any particular directions or remarks by the emperor himself are added in red, commonly called " the vermilion pencil." As high- priest of the empire, he alone, with his immediate representatives, sacrifices in the government temples, with victims and incense. The sovereign's principal ministers form the nuy-Jco or " interior council cham'ber," and the chief council lors are four in number — two Tartars and two Chi nese. The two former always take the precedence. Below these are a number of assessors, who, together with them, constitute the great council of state. The Loo-poo, or six boards for the direction of government business in detail, are — 1. The board of official ap- pointments, which takes cognizance of the conduct of all civil officers ; 2. The board of revenue, which regulates all fiscal matters ; 3. The board of rites and ceremonies ; 4. The military board ; 5. The su- preme court of criminal jurisdiction ; 6. The board of public works. These have under them all subordi- nate offices. The provinces are placed under the principal charge of a governor, or, where two provinces are united, of a general governor. The separate cities and districts of each province are under the charge of their re- spective magistrates, who take their rank from the cities they govern. The total number of civil magis- trates throughout China has been estimated at fourteen thousand. The criminal code of China is a very efficient en- gine for the control of its vast and densely thronged population. It has its obvious defects in compelling the performance of certain relative duties, its minute attention to trifles, and especially the relentless cruelty and injustice which mark all its provisions against the crime of treason. These and a few similar features show its inferiority to the codes of most civilized Christian countries ; but, in other respects, it is well adapted to the character and -Circumstances of the people for whose use it is fratned. In China, cases of high treason are excepted from all the provisions of indulgence or safety to the criminal, which are al- lowed in other, capital offences. This absence of pro- tection is to be paralleled only by the barbarity of the punishment — the innocent family of the culprit being consigned to destruction. In 1803, an attempt was made to take the life,.of the emperor, by a smgle as- sassin. He was condemned to death by a lingering process, and his sons, being of tender age, were stran- gled ! Except in the crime of treason, there is not PUNISHMENTS— THE MILITARY, THEIR DRESS AND WEAPONS. 461 much to be complained of as to the caprice or cruelty which is exercised toward criminals. The most general instrument of punishment is the bamboo, whose dimensions are exactly defined by law, as also the number of the blows. The next punish- ment is the cangue, which has been called the wooden collar, being a species of walkino>illory, in which the prisoner is ps^raded, with his olrence inscribed upon it. After this comes exile, either temporary or for life, either to a limited distance into the country or beyond the Chinese frontier. The three capital punishments are, 1. Strangulation ; 2. For greater crimes, decollation ; 3. For the greatest crimes, as treason, parricide, sacrilege, &c., that mode of execu- tion called lyng-chy — "a disgraceful and lingering death." I M- Chinese Encampment. All the military of the empire are under the man- agement of their proper tribunal, or board, at Pekin. But the power of this board is jealously checked by a dependence on some of the Others, as the funds must be supplied by the board of revenue, and the materiel of the army by the board of public works. The faith- ful Tartar troops are ranged under the eight standards, viz., the yellow, white, red, and blue, together with each of these colors bordered by one of the others. The Chinese troops are distinguished by the green flag. Each of the Tartar standards is said to consist of ten thousand men, constituting a standing army of eighty thousand men. There is, in addition, the local militia scattered through the provinces ; but this, as we gather from accounts, is such a ragged and undisci- plined rout, as to be wholly insignificant in regular warfare. Including this militia, the whole number of ' Soldiers on pay, throughout the empire, has been esti- mated at seven hundred thousand, of which the largest portion are fixed to their native districts — following thair ordinary private pursuits. The clothing and defensive armor of the military are, in part, a jacket of blue, turned up with red, or red bordered with white. The cap is either of ratan or strips of bamboo painted, having a conical shape, and well suited to ward off a blow. Some few are defended by an uncouth quilted armor of cloth, studded with metal buttons, which descends in a long petticoat. The helmet is of iron, in the shape of an inverted funnel, having a point at the top, to which a bunch of silk or horsehair is attached. The principal arms of the cavalry are bows and arrows, the bow being of elastic wood and horn com- bined, with a string of strongly twisted sUk. Their swords are generally ill made, and their matchlopks they consider as a weapon inferior to the bow and arrow. Some are furnished with shields constructed of ratan, turned spirally round a centre. The use of artillery in China is of modern date, although the knowledge of gunpowder is very ancient. The highest military rank is that of a Tseang-keun, Tar- tar general, one of whom is charged with the care of the regular troops in the province of Canton. This post can never be filled by a Chinese, but secondary com- 462 CHINESE LANGUAGE. »nands may. Below these are subordinate officers of every grade. CHAPTER CCXXXIII. Chinese Language. The Chinese language is a medium for the commu- nica^n of thought unlike all others, and yet very inter"ting to the philologist, general scholar, and Christian. It has long been a conceded fact, that its study is beset with peculiar difficulties. The complete mastery of the spoken language has been regarded by many as an impossibility. It is, however, gratifying to know that many persons are at present diligently and earnestly engaged in the study, and time will show how far the opinion above expressed is founded in truth. , The peculiar difficulty of the spoken language of China, it is said, is not in the sounds, or in the arbi- trary combinations of the language ; neither is it in the want of helps ; for dictionaries, vocabularies, and easy lessons abound, and, what is more important than all books, the living voices of thousands of pure Chinese are at the service of the learner. " The chief cause of failure, says Mr. Pohlraan,* is to be found in the want of proper attention to the aspirates and tones of the language." A notation of the various forms which the same word may assume, illustrates the importance of the aspirates and tones, as well as the great peculiarity of this language. The monosyllable pang, for example, may be uttered at Amoy in ten different ways, and a distinct meaning is conveyed by each mode of enun- ciation. We need not put down the various marks to denote the aspirates and tones, but may observe that, according as this word is marked and pronounced, it means to help, a bee, to hind, to spin, to let go, corpu- lent, a room, a sail, a club, or a seam. Such and so different are its meanings. And this is not an ex- treme case. In the Canton dialect, the number of modifications employed in pronouncing a single word, is twelve. This arises from its having more tones than any other yet known to foreigners' and strangers. It is very important to pay due attention to the use of the aspirate, inasmuch as ignorance or mistake on this point will expose one to ridiculous or even worse blunders. " On a certain occasion, Mr. Pohlman wished to ask a person whether he drank wine, the Chinese word for which is tsen ; but instead of employing the proper term, he used fsen, which means a hand. By inserting the aspirate, he had inquired of his friend whether he ate his hands or not. In another instance, when visiting a Chinese family, he found the females in mourning, and, upon inquiry, ascertained that their grandmother was dead. Desiroiis of obtaining information in regard to the custom of preserving the dead, so common in China, he attempted to ask them whether the corpse had been buried ; but he received no answer, save a stare of astonishment. On repeat- ing the question, looks of displeasure succeeded those of wonder and surprise. And it was only by mutual signs and explanation, that he discovered a most unfor- tunate mistake. Instead of using tdi, which means to • " Obstacles to the Acquisition of the Chinese Language," condensed from an Essay written on the subject by Mr. Pohlman-, and published in the Missionary Herald. hury, he had employed fdi, signifying to kill. He had repeatedly asked these mourners, therefore, if they had killed their grandmother ! " But serious as the difficulty is in regard to the as- pirates, it is as nothing when compared with the obsta- cles which grow out of the systeni of intonation. The difficulty is not capable of full illustration by writing. The living voice is needed to present a complete idea of it: Still an approximation towards it can be made by written communication, sufficient for all ordinary purposes. Though little attention, it seems, has been bestowed on the subject, the fact of the existence of the " tones " was early known. They were distinctly stated and brought to view in Chinese books. The highest authoi'ity on this point is the great Imperial Dictionary, made by order of Kang-hi, second emperor of the present dynasty, which was published at the beginning of the last century. The following stanza is used to explain the powers of the four tones of the court dialect : — " The even tone travels on a level road, neither elevated nor depressed. n The high tone exclaims aloud, being fierce, violent, and strong. The departing tone is distinct and clear, gruffly travelling to a distance. The entering tone is short and contracted, being hastily gath- ered up." Some, desiring to avoid the perplexity of the tones, have tried, in their career of study, to get along without them, but have met with no success. A gen- tleman now in China began in this way : he acquired a good stock of words, and on a certain occasion, made special preparation to deliver a sermon. Upon the close of the exercises, one of the audience — a Chinese — remarked to him, " I know very well what you meant to say ; but you did not say it." His at- tention was awakened by this remark, and he com- menced a diligent search for the defect. He ascer- tained it to be his neglect of the intonations, and from that time, putting forth every effort to master the diffi- culty, he is now one of the most successful preachers in the language. An instance or two may be mentioned by way of illus- tration, in the experience of Mr. Meadows, interpreter to the British consulate at Canton. " In making out a report to the superintendent of customs, of the export cargo of a ship about to leave, he took the English manifest, and read aloud the various articles, in Chinese, to a clerk sitting by him with his writing implements. The last species of goods, of a very large cargo, happened to be vitrified ware. But he gave the wrong intonation ; whereupon the Chinese instantly lifted up his hands from the paper, and looked at him with surprise, and only stared the more as the words were repeated ; and with good reason, for he was, in fact, deliberately and distinctly announcing that the large and very valuable cargo just enumerated had been all burnt up, such being the only meaning of the words he uttered ! " On another occasion, he said something to a Chi- nese about earnest money, as he supposed. As the man did not seem to understand him, he repeated the words ; upon which he' thrust' forward his head, and listened attentively ; and the louder he spoke, the nearer the Chinese came, anxiously turning one side of the head to him, to catch the sound. In fact, in- stead of saying ting chHen, ' bargain money,' he was CHINESE LANGUAGE. 463 shouting Cing chiin, tHng chien, ' do you hear ? do you hear.' " Mr. Pohlman once fell into an amusing error in consequence of supposing that the intonation was not universal among the different dialects. It occurred when he had occasion to use a dialect of the interior of Canton province, spoken by the emigrants in the Island of Borneo. In the late %ar with China, news of the preliminaries of a treaty of peace had arrived. This gentleman had a Chinese school, and being desir- ous of telling them the good news, he assembled the scholars, to whom he made known the chief articles of the proposed treaty. It was his intention to be peculiarly explicit in one part, the main article of the compact, and that was the opening of the five ports for trade and unrestricted intercourse. It was not long before a deputation from the school came to him to inquire what was the meaning of the Chinese em- . peror in giving five hatchets to the English, and what the queen of England was going to do with them. By the use of the Malay language, he was made to see, for the first time, that instead of saying pdo than, " trading ports," he had said poo than, "■ hatchets." The truth is, the system of intonation forms an in- separable part of the Chinese language. No native of any province or district ever speaks without using the tones ; and there is no dialect in existence which has not some, if not all, of the eight tones. What puzzles many is, that while the Chinese all speak with the tones peculiar to their native dialects, a vast majority do not know that such a thing as a tone exists. This is owing to the fact that the tones are acquired in infancy, as soon as the child begins to utter sounds ; and nice distinc- tions of words and intonations are never analyzed, or thought of. The tone is part and parcel of the word itself. Hence no word or phrase can be considered as acquired, unless we can speak it in its proper tone. Little children utter the tones with a clearness and distinctness which are remarkable. The poorest peo- ple, equally with the rich and learned, invariably pay the minutest regard to them ; so that a real native never makes the slightest mistake, even in the hurried conversation of common life. The small number of different syllables, as compared with other languages used by mankind, is a striking feature of the Chinese. In Morrison's Syllabic Dic- tionary, the whole number is only four hundred and eleven. Should the aspirated syllables be considered as distinct, there are still but five hundred and thirty-three. The possibility that such a tongue can answer the same purpose as the most copious polysyllabic lan- guages of the West, may well constitute a subject of jnquiiy. It has been insisted on by some that the Chinese vocabulary is utterly insufficient for the pur- posed of communication. It has even been asserted that, in order to convey ideas in conversation, — such is the imperfection of the language, — the Chinese are obliged to mark out with their fingers, or with a stick in the air, the figure^ of their written characters. This, if we recollect afight, was the representation in the Edinburgh Review some years since. It is put forth by another, that every thing beyond the range of sight is difficult to .be described by them, and is not readily understood. All such opinions, however, and all like them, the better informed know to be incorrect. According to the author so frequently referred to — in actual life, the people do fully understand one another. No difficulty exists in holding converse on any common topic of life. The Chinese monosyllable awakens ideas and perceptions, as well as the grammatical forms of our own idioms. Moreover, the spoken language is more copious than the written ; the oral sounds in the Can- ton dialect numbering about six hundred and ninety, and in the Amoy dialect eight hundred and sixty-six. Still foreigners have no adequate medium as yet for the communication of thought. The simple Chinese syllables can be multiplied only by the tones. These the native Chinese are brought up to understand and speak ; but, with a foreign learner, it is a very different affair. As it is not the intention, in this article, to give les- sons in respect to this language, but merely to men- tion some of its curiosities, or peculiarities, any at- tempt to make these tones intelligible would be out of place. It needs only to be remarked that the Chinese tones are modifications of sound in the same word, and that there is nothing like them in the Western world. They do not consist in any alteration of the vowel sounds ; for a in the word pang, " to help," re- tains the sound of a in father through all the tones. Neither is the consonant modified ; for, in words which contain only vowel sounds, the tones are as distinct as in those beginning and terminating with a consonant. Nor is the quick or the slow enunciatioii of a word intended, or loudness, or lowness. But the tones are produced by the rising, falling, or non-alteration of the sound, as is done with us in learning the octave. So nice a matter are these tones, that the smallest mistake may destroy the gravity of hearers, in a most seriously intended discourse. Mr. Pohlman says, " Af- ter studying the language at Amoy several months, I attempted to preach. In a solemn exhortation to the audience, at the close of my discourse, I intended to hold up the example of Christ, and urge all to be fol- lowers of him. After the service, one of the hearers pointed out a ridiculous mistake. By a slight varia- tion in the tone of a certain word, a person is made to say ' goat,' instead of ' example.' In my closing remarks, the audience were solemnly urged to come and follow a ' goat,' when the design was to invite them to follow the 'example' of Jesus." It may be added to what has above been said on this subject, that the difficulty of acquiring the language by foreigners has done vastly more than " the great wall " to preserve the Chinese in their exclusiveness, hostile to international intercourse, and for many centuries almost entirely sealed up from the influences of Christianity, and the knowledge of the West. It may be affirmed, with confidence, that no foreigner, at present, can venture, to set himself up as a " master of Chinese." Though some are fluent in the colloquial language, yet few are able to write Chinese with any tolerable degree of facility. Versions of the Bible have been rnade by Morrison, Milne, Marshman, and others, and great praise is due to these translators. They did well, because they did what they could ;• but they were only pioneers in the study of this wonder- ful tongue. Their versions are all exceedingly imper- fect, and necessarily so, by reason of the limited extent of their knowledge. A plan is now in operation to produce a new ver- sion of the Scriptures, by the united labors of all the Protestant missionaries in that country : somewhat after the manner, we should think, adopted by tho English translators of the Bible under King James. 464 CHINESE LITERATURE. CHAPTER CCXXXIV. Chinese Literature. As in many other arts, so in that of printing, the Chinese preceded the Europeans. Their first material for writing consisted of thin slices of bamboo ; but about the first century of the Christian era, they made paper of a pulp of silk, or cotton, immersed in water, according to the present method. Their modern paper is fine and delicate, but so spongy as to be used only on one side. In writing, they employ the hair pencil and the well-known Indian ink. In the tenth century, the art of printing was invented, though not by movable types, which have never been used by the Chinese. Their process is as follows : the sentence or page is written distinctly on paper, and then pasted upon a thin block of wood. The engraver, following the direction of the letters, cuts through them into the wood, which is thus so indented that a sheet laid over and pressed upon it, receives the impression of the characters. Thus every word and page of a book is engraved, as in the case of copperplate en- graving with us. Though the process is less expedi- tious than ours, with movable types, still, as labor is extremely cheap in China, printing is by no means dear, and books are abundant. The great extent to which they are read, may be inferred from a few facts in regard to the Chinese language. The roots, or original characters, of this, are two hundred and fourteen in number. These were at first pictures of the objects they represented ;. but in the course of time, they have ceased to have any great resemblance to their original form, and may, there- fore, be considered as arbitrary signs of thought. The language of the Chinese is made up by the combina- tions of these two hundred and fourteen characters, just as various numbers are expressed by the different combinations of the Arabic figures, 1,2, 3, 4, 5, &c. It appears, also, that this language, when printed, is understood by the inhabitants of Japan, Corea, Cochin China, and Loo Choo, who could by no means hold oral converse with a Chinese. This fact may be un- derstood by considering that if an Italian wishes to convey to you the idea of twenty-two, you will readily understand him if he will write 22 ; though you will by no means comprehend his words for the same — venti-due. We thus see that, so far as Europe is con- cerned, in respect to numerals, the figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., are a universal language ; for though they have different names among different nations, they convey to all precisely the same ideas. It is in the same way that the written language of China is common to a vast population, who yet speak as difierently as the Italians, French, and English. From the earliest ages, literature has held a high place in China. " The literati," says Dr. Morrison, " are the gentry, the magistrates, the governors, the negotiators, the ministers, of China." The absence of hereditary rank, and even of any class possessing great riches, leaves the field entirely open to this spe- cies of distinction. When the parent exhorts his child to attend to his lessons, he can tell him with truth that he may thus become a powerful mandarin, and one of the first personages in the state. From these causes, a degree of veneration is attached even to the humblest objects connected with the art of writing. Paper, pen- cil, ink, and the marble on which this last is dissolved, are called the four precious things ; and the manufac- ture of them is considered a liberal occupation. A passage in a recently translated drama strikingly ex- presses the brilliant career supposed to be opened to a village schoolmaster, as compared even with that of a prosperous merchant. " If you are successful in trade, from a little money you make much ; but if you study letters, your plebeian garments are changed for a sol- dier's gown. If you compare the two, how much superior is the literary life to that of the merchant or tradesman! When you shall have acquired celebrity, men will vie with each other in their admiration of you ; over your head will be carried the round um- brella ; before your horse will be marshalled the two files of attendants. Think of the toil of those who traffic, and you will see the difference." Despite the honor thus paid to men of letters, Chi- nese literature does not hold a high rank when com- pared with our own. It, however, may well claim our attention. It appears that the great works of the empire are usually composed by associated members of the Han-lin Board, under the authority, and printed at the expense, of government. These consist chiefly of histories, dictionaries of the language, and compen- diums of arts and sciences, or encyclopedias. The authors thus employed are, of course, possessed of suitable materials and abundant leisure, and are not obliged to gratify the impatience, or court the taste, of the public. Perhaps, however, the very circumstance of writing under command, and the dread of censure from the emperor and his agents, though they may guard against palpable errors, will paralyze the powers of invention and the flights of genius. The career of authorship, however, is open to every individual ; works are not even subjected to any previous censor- ship ; but a prompt and severe punishment awaits the authors of those which contain any thing offensive to the government. The principal subjects of Chinese literature are, 1. Philosophy, including whatever is taught of the- ology and general physics ; 2. History ; 3. The Drama ; and, 4. Novels. In the first and most important of these departments, the Chinese refer always to one work, — the Y-King, also called Ye-King, Yih-King, and U-king, — as the most ancient and valuable treasure. Language seems to sink under the panegyrics which they lavish upon it, representing it as the fountain and centre of all their knowledge. According to Kang-hi, who studiously adopted Chinese ideas on these subjects, the Y-King contains all things. Fo-hi, Chin-nong, Hoang-ti, Yao, and Chun are ruled by it. The occult virtue, and the operations, of Heaven and man, are all comprised in the Y-king. Our respect for this mighty prodiiction is, however, not a little lessened, when we leant that it was comprised in eight half-legible lines, discovered by two sages on the backs of a dragon and a tortoise ! Taking advantage of the national superstition, Confu- cius wrote an elaborate commentary upon the Y-King, which was received by the nation with the deepest respect, and was incorporated with the original work, of which it has ever since been considered as an essential part. It was said to " form the wings on which the Y-king would fly down to posterity." It is probably the only part of real value ; for though it bears, to a great extent, the general character of incomprehensibility which belongs to the original, it is interspersed with some useful and beautiful maxims. CHINESE LITERATURE. 465 The following quotations are derived from, this com- mentary : — " To improye from day to day is a great virtue. He who in study advances a step every day, has not lost his time and his years. " The path of heaven is simple and clear ; but the path of the sage is made only with effort and perseverance. "It is the sage alone who know^^ow to advance or to recede ; to preserve or to see destroyed, without losing his tranquillity : it is only the sage who can do so. " A virtuous man, in the midst of difficulties, vrill adhere to his virtuous purpose, even to loss of life." Beside the Y-King, the Chinese reckon three other ancient books, or king, which rank with it, and are held in almost equal veneration. These are the Shoo- King, or Chou-King, a collection of historical docu- ments edited by Confucius ; the Shi-King, or Chi-King, a compilation of ancient poems, formed also by Con- fucius ; and the Li-ki, or Ly-ki, which treats of pro- priety in dress, demeanor, conversation, and the ordi- nary conduct of life. In the Li-ki are concentrated the ideas and maxims of the ancient Chinese regard- ing morals and behavior ; and it has probably con- tributed more towards forming their character, during the last two thousand years, than all the other classics united. Confucius * was bom in the year 549 B. C, and is justly considered the greatest of Chinese philosophers. His works are to this day held in the highest rev- erence, and constitute the most cherished portion of Chinese literature. Their practical portion consists chiefly in maxims which inculcate the virtues of jus- tice, patience, mercy, prudence, and fortitude, and, above all, obedience to superiors. Filial piety, and the diity of submission to magistracy, were his favor- ite themes of commendation. On the whole, his works furnish a pure code of morals, founded in the good of mankind, without reference to a future state. We have not space to notice the numerous works of philosophers which have appeared since the age of Confucius, nor can we enter into details respecting several other topics of interest. In regard to medi- * This greatest of Chinese philosophers was born in the petty kingdom of XA. The Chinese, in their embellishment of his history, tell us that his birth was attended with heavenly music, filling the air ; that two dragons were seen winding over the roof, and that five characters were observed on his breast, declaring him to be " the maker of a rule for settling the world." He was left an orphan at an early age, and though poor and unknown, attracted attention from the gravity of his manners and his attention to study. At the age of twenty-four, he lost his mother, and, wishing to mourn for her the customary period of three years, resigned an office he held under the government, and devoted himself to study. Becoming convinced that the social virtues were best culti- vated by an observance of the ancient usages of the country, he resolved to devote his life to their permanent establish- ment in China. He established schools wherein to teach his philosophy to such pupils as would go forth and spread his doctrines through the empire. He passed much time in trav- elling and visiting the courts of the various petty princes, in company with his disciples. Like Aristotle, he used to teach them while walking, deriving instruction from what they saw ; and he seldom omitted to improve an occasion for pointing a moraL As he advanced in age and in reputation, his house at L6 became a sort of lyoeum, open to every one who wished to receive instruction. His manner of teaching was, to allow his disciples or others to come and go when they pleased, asking his opinion on such points, either in morals, politics, history, or literature, as they wished to have explained. He gave them liberty to choose their subject, and then discoursed upon it. iVom these conversations, treasured up by his disciples, they afterwards comxiosed the Lun YQ, now one of the Four Books. His disciples numbered some three cine, though the Chinese were familiar with the circu- lation of the blood about sixteen centuries before it was known in Europe, and though inoculation for the small-pox was practised by them some hundred years before it was adopted in Christendom — it would seem that they are ignorant of anatomy, and that their medical practice is mingled with the most absurd jugglery. History has been cultivated by the Chinese with great assiduity, and they possess several works of high repute among themselves. That which is entitled Shoo-King, edited by Confucius, contains the early annals of the empire, and is held in a degree of esteem almost amounting to reverence. To this we may add, that there are several works on government, including the codes of laws established by the empire. Poetry is pursued with ardor, and is held in high esteem by the Chinese ; yet their works, having dif- ferent objects for comparison and illustration from ours, and different trains of association, can hardly be highly relished by us. Instead of the Alps or the Apennines, the grandeur of mountain scenery is suggested to the Chinese by the Kuen-lun and the Tan-yu chains, which, though probably more elevated, do not convey to the ear the same lofty ideas. For the rose and the violet, we have the flower Ian, and the herb yu-lu. Instead of the dove, the wild goose portrays to Chinese fancy the image of a tender and faithful lover. It would appear that Chinese verse is not destitute of harmony, and that rh5ane is often used, sometimes even to an extent of sixteen consecutive lines. The following extracts from the Shi-king afford a good specimen of the more ancient poetry : — "The bland south wind breathes upon and cherishes the sap of these plants ; hence the grove flourishes, and appears to rise anew. But our mother is distressed with labor and care. " The bland south wind cherishes, by breathing on them, the woods of this grove. Our mother excels in prudence and understanding, but we are men of no estimation. " The cool fountain, bursting forth, waters the lower part thousand ; a select portion of whom attached themselves to his person, lived with him, and followed him wherever he went, and to them he intrusted the promulgation of his doctrines. The prince of L6 dying, Confucius was invited to court by his son. The entire management of the state was soon com- mitted to his hands. Under his direction, the prosperity of the kingdom was such, that the neighboring states took the alarm ; and the prince of Tsi, by intrigues and plots, to which the young prince of Ld was induced to become privy, forced Confucius to leave his native land, and retire into another state. For sixteen years he continued to write and discourse, and at the expiration of this period, returned to his own country, where he devoted biiTiaplf to polishing and completing his works. Toward the end of his life, when he had finished the revision of the " Five Classra," he, with great solemnity, dedicated them to Heaven. Chinese pictures, rep- resenting this scene, portray the sage in an attitude of sup- plication, and a rainbow descending from the sky upon the book, while his scholars stand around in admiring wonder. In his seventy-third year, a few days before his death, Con- fucius, leaning upon his sta£^ tottered about the house, ex- claiming, — " The great monntain is broken ! The strong beam is thrown down ! The wise man is decayed ! " Seven days after, he died. His favorite pupil, Tszkung, mourned for him six years in a shed, erected by the side ^ his grave, and then returned home. In every district in the empire, there is a temple dedicated to his memory, and in- cense is burnt every monring and evening before his name, which is suspended in every school-house. 466 CHINESE POETBT. of the region Tsun. We are seven sons, whose mother is oppressed by various cares and labors. " Sweetly, tunefully, and with unbroken voice, sings the Eaffi'on-bird, hoang-niao. We seven sons afford no assistance to our parent." There is some pathos in this complaint of broken friendship : — "The soft and gentle wind brings rain along with it. I and thou were sharers in labor and in poverty ; then you cher- ished me in your bosom ; now, having become happy, you have left me, and are lost to me. " The wind is soft and gentle ; yet when it blows over the tops of the mountains, every plant withers, every tree is dried up. You forget my virtues, and think only of trifling complaints against me." The epithalamia, celebrating the marriage of princes, are among the gayest pieces in this collection. The picture of a perfect beauty, drawn three thousand years ago, is illustrated by images very different from those which would occur to a European fancy. " The great lady is of lofty stature, and wears splendid robes beneath others of a dark color. She is the daughter of the king of Tsi ; she marries the king of Onei ; the king of Hing has married her elder sister ; the Prince Tari-Kong has married the younger. " Her hands are like a budding and tender plant ; the skin of her face resembles well-prepared fat. Her neck is like one of the worms Tsion and Tsi. Her teeth are like the kernels of the gourd. Her eyebrows resemble the light filaments of newly-formed silk. She smiles most sweetly, and her laugh is agreeable. The pupU of her eye is black, and how well are the white and black distinguished ! " The following invitation to decent gayety is given at the entrance of the new year — a grand period of Chinese festival : — " Now the crickets have crept into the house ; now the end of the year approaches ; let us indulge in gayety, lest the sun and moon should seem to have finished their course in vain ; but amid our joy let there be no offence against the rules of moderation. Nothing should transgress the proper bound. Duty must stUl be remembered. Sweet is pleasure, but it must be conjoined with virtue. The good man, in the midst of his joy, keeps a strict watch over lumself." The disorders of a drunken party are not ill por- trayed in the following passage : — " The guests sit down at first with great politeness, treat- ing each other with mutual respect : thus they continue till overcome with wine. They then forget all modesty and propriety, — run dancing backward and forward. They raise wild and senseless shouts, overturn the most precious cups, dance in sport, and, as they dance, their feet slide from beneath them ; their cap, inverted, becomes loosely attached to the head, and seems about to fall off; while their body bends this way and that, and they can scarcely stand : still they madly dance. Some run wildly away, amid tumultu- ous good wishes from the rest ; others remain, and infringe the laws of virtue. It is well to indulge in wine ; but mod- eration must be carefully observed." The modem compositions, though not held in the same veneration, appear to display a considerable improvement. They are still, indeed, only short effu- sions, composed of mingled reflection and imagery ; but these two elements are more naturally and inti- mately blended, and exhibited in a more poetical form. Mr. Davis has furnished us with some specimens of this school. The following is marked by peculiarly bold and lofty imagery : — " See the fine variegated peaks of yon mountain, connected hke the fingers of the hand. And rising up firom the south, as a wall, midway to heaven. At night, it would pluck, from the inverted concave, the stars of the milky way ; Ijnring the day, it explores the zenith, and plays with the clouds. The rain has ceased, and the shining summits are apparent in the void expanse. The moon is up, and looks like a bright pearl over the ex- panded palm. One might imagine that the Great Spirit had stretched forth an arm From afar, &om beyond the sea, and was numbering the nations." The picture of a clever but reckless profligate is drawn with some force in the following lines : — " The paths of trouble heedlessly he braves. Now shines a wit, and now a madman raves. His outward form by nature's bounty dressed, Foul weeds usurped the wilderness, his breast ; And bred in tumult, ignorant of rule. He hated letters — an accomplished fool. In act depraved, contaminate in mind, Strange had he feared the censures of mankind. Titles and wealth to him no joys impart ; By penury pinched, he sank beneath the smart. O wretch ! to flee the good thy fate intends ! O, hopeless to thy country and thy friends ! In usclessness the first beneath the sky. And cursed, in sinning, with supremacy. Minions of pride and luxury, lend an ear. And shun Ms follies, if his fate ye fear." The following poem was written by a Chinese who paid a visit to London about the year 1813. It was written in his native tongue, and addressed to his countrymen. The translation is furnished by Mr. Davis. LONDON. " Afar in the ocean, towards the extremities of the north- west. There is a nation, or country, called England. The cUme is frigid, and you are compelled to approach fire. The houses are so lofty that you may pluck the stars. The pious inhabitants respect the ceremonies of worship. And the virtuous among them ever read the sacred books. They bear a peculiar enmity towards the French nation ; The weapons of war rest not for a moment between them. " Their fertile hills, adorned with the richest luxuriance. Resemble, in the outline of their summits, the arched eye- brow of a fair woman. The inhabitants are inspired with a respect for the female sex, Who, in this land, correspond with the perfect features of nature. Their young maidens have cheeks resembling red blossoms. And the complexion of their beauties is like the white gem. Of old has connubial affection been highly esteemed among them. Husband and wife delighting in mutual harmony. " In the summer evenings, throu'gh the hamlets and gardens beyond the town, Crowds of walkers ramble without number. The grass is allowed to grow as a provision for horses. And enclosures of wooden rails form pastures for cattle. The harvest is gathered in with the singing of songs The loiterers roam in search of flowers without end. And call to each other to return in good time, Lest the foggy clouds bewilder and detain them. " The two banks of the river lie to the north and south j Three bridges interrupt the stream, and form a communica- tion ; Vessels of every kind pass between the arches, While men and horses pace among the clouds. A thousand masses of stone rise one above the other. And the river flows through nine channels : The bridge of Loyang, which out-tops all in our empire. Is in shape and size somewhat like these." In works of fiction Chinese literature abounds. These are, for the most part, short tales, without point or moral, and might seem designed rather for children than adult readers. Among this class of publications, CHINESE LITERATURE. 467 we may notice the Tsze Pun Yu, which is a Chinese collection of tales, romances, fahles, &c. It contains no less than seven hundred tales, the titles of some of them being, Ghost of a Fortune-Teller, a Stolen Thunderbolt, the Literary Fox advising Men to become Fairies, Elves begging Fish, the Man with Three Heads, the Devil turned Watchmaker, a Pig acting the Priest of Taou, the Bhchanted Town, the Ass of a Mahometan Lady, a Demon bearing Chil- dren, Vulcan's Toys, &c. The following is a trans- lation from this work, made by a youth at Canton, who was studying the Chinese language ; and will afford a specimen of a Chinese book of " small talk." The Sagacious Pig. — " In the district of Suhchow, in Keangnan, a man was murdered, and his hody thrown into a well. One of the officers, having long sought in vain for the murderer, was riding by the well one day, when a pig came before his horse, and set up a most bitter cry. His attendants not being able to drive the pig away, the officer said to them, ' What does the pig want ? ' whereupon the pig kneeled before him, and made the hm-tou. The officer then bade his attendants to follow the pig, which immedi- ately rose up and led them to a house ; and, entering the door, crawled under a bed, and began rooting up the ground, and continued doing so until he had uncovered a bloody knife. The attendants immediately seized the master of the nouse, who, on examination, proved to be the murderer. " The villagers, having deliberated on the case, took the pig, and supported him in one of the temples of Buddha. Visitors came frequently to see him, and gave mojjey for his support, saying, ' Such a sagacious pig deserves to be re- warded.' After more than ten years, he died, and the priests of the temple, having procured for him a coffin, buried him with due formality." The drama, as might be expected, constitutes a pop- ular form, of Chinese literature, though it labors under great imperfections, and is not regularly exhibited on any public theatre. Its professors are merely invited to private houses, and paid for each performance. The sovereign himself does not bestow any patronage on the art, beyend hiring the best actors, when he wishes to enjoy their wit or talents. No entertainment, however, given by the prince, or any great man, is considered complete without a dramatic exhibition ; and every spacious dwelling, and even the principal inns, have a large hall set apart for the purpose. Among less opulent individuals, a subscription is occa- sionally made, to bear in common the expense of a play. It is reckoned that several hundred companies find employment in Pekin ; and along the rivers and great canals, numerous strolling parties live in barges. A troop usually consists.of eight or ten persons, mostly slaves of the manager, who accordingly occupy a very mean place in public estimation. To purchase a free child for the purpose of educating him as an actor, is punished by a hundred strokes of the bamboo ; and no free female is allowed to many into that class. To this contempt for the performers, as well £is to the low standard of the drama among the Chmese, who seem to view it merely as the amusement of an idle hour, may be ascribed the depressed state in which it continues to exist. The dramatic poet has liberty and employment, but he has not honor, which seems quite as necessary for the production of any thing great in the arts. Scenery and stage effect, which indeed the places of performance would render very difficult to produce, are never attempted. A theatre can at any time be erected in two hours : a platform of boards is elevated, six or seven feet from the ground, on posts of bamboo ; three sidlb are hung with curtains of cot- ton cloth, while the front is left open to the audience. Under these humiliating circumstances, there do not seem to have arisen any great names, to which the Chinese people can refer with pride, as national dram- atists. Numerous pieces have, however, been pro- duced, particularly under the dynasty of the Tang. A collection has been formed of one hundred and ninety-nine volumes, from which are selected a hun- dred plays, supposed to comprehend the flower of this class of productions. Of these, only five have been translated — namely, two tragedies, the Orphan of Tchao, by Father Premare, and the Sorrows of Han, by Mr. Davis ; and three comedies, the Heir in his Old Age, by the latter gentleman, the Circle of Chalk, by M. Stanislas Julien, and the Intrigues of a Waiting- Maid, by M. Bazin. This certainly is but a small portion of so great a mass ; y«t, as it consists of fa- vorite productions chosen by judicious translators, the Chinese drama will not, probably, have cause to com- plain of being judged a,ccording to such specimens. On perusing even the best of these compositions, we at once discover that the dialogue is nearly as rude and inartificial as the scenery. Instead of allowing char- acters and events to be developed in the progress of the piece, each performer, on his first entry, addresses the audience, and informs them who and what he is, what remarkable deeds he has performed, and what are his. present views and intentions. On these occa- sions, he speaks completely in the style of a third per- son, stating, without veil or palliation, the most enor- mous crimes, either committed or contemplated. The unities, which have been considered so essential to a classic drama, are completely trampled under foot ; and even the license, as to time and place, to which Shakspeare has accustomed a British audience, is far exceeded. The Orphan of Tchao is born in the first act, and before the end of the drama figures as a grown man. In the Circle of Chalk, a young lady, in one scene, receives and accepts proposals of marriage ; in the next, she appears with a daughter aged five years. The tragedies labor under a much more serious defect, in the absence of impassioned and poetic dialogue. The performer, in the most critical and trying moments, makes no attempt to express his sorrows in correspond- ing language. Action alone is employed, which affords a genuine, indeed, though not very dramatic indication of the depth of his feelings. The hero, in the most tragic scenes, strangles himself, or stabs his enemy, with the same coolness as if he had been sitting down to table. In concluding our view of Chinese literature, we feel constrained to remark, tliat it is chiefly valuable as throwing light upon the character of tlie most populous nation on the globe, and not on account of any impor- tant materials which it can directly contribute to our stores of thought. There is scarcely a fact in science, a passage in philosophy, an illustration in poetry, or plot in a play, to be found in the whole circle of Chinese books, which, if rendered into English, would serve to benefit our own literature. We cannot but feel, in spite of the great antiquity of the nation, not- withstanding the practical wisdom displayed in govern- ment, and the ingenuity evinced in the arts, that, in all the higher qualities of the intellect, the Chinese are an inferior people. 468 INVENTIONS OF THE CHINESE. Tbe Great Wall of China. CHAPTER CCXXXY. Arts and Inventions — Great Wall — Canal. Th^ee of the most important inventions or discov- eries of modern times — so considered in Europe — had doubtless their origin in China. These are the art of printing, the composition of gunpovi'der, and the magnetic compass. It is certain that the art of print- ing was practised in China during the tenth century of our era. The mode of operation there is different from ours, but the main principle is the same. From various causes, their books are cheaper than those of Europe, three or four volumes of any ordinary work, of the octavo size and shape, being had for a sum equivalent to fifty cents. The paper which they use is of different qualities, being manufactured from vari- ous materials — from rice-straw, the inner bark of a species of moms, from bamboo, and also from cotton. Their invention of paper dates from A. D. 95. That which is called Indian ink, in this country, is what the Chinese use in writing, and is of their own manu- facture. The application of gunpowder to firearms was probably derived from the West, however ancient may have been its discovery among the Chinese. In gun- nery, they have always acknowledged their great infe- riority to Europeans. As to priority of invention in the case of the magnetic compass, there can be little hesi- tation in ascribing it to the Chinese, for it is noticed in their annals as early as A. D. 1117. The mariner's compass being in use among the Arabs about the year 1242, it was doubtless communicated to them either directly or indirectly by the Chinese, and by this means became known in Europe durmg the crusades. The ingenuity of the Chinese is conspicuously dis- played in the simple modes by which they contrive to abridge labor, in their arts and manufactures, and occasionally to avail themselves of a mechanical advantage, without the aid of scientific knowledge. Says Dr Abeel, " Chance led me to the shop of a blacksmith — the manufacturer of various iron instru- ments, from a sword to a hoe. This man well under- stood the modifying properties of heat, and took the fullest advantage of them, in all the practical con- cerns of his business. He was forming a reaping- hook at the time of my visit. A large pair of shears having one blade fixed in a heavy block of wood, and the other furnished with a long handle to serve as a lever, stood beside him. Bringing a piece of metal, of the necessary dimensions, from the "forge, at a white heat, he placed it between the blades of this instrument, and cut it into shape with equal ease and despatch." The Chinese possess considerable skill in various branches of the manufacture of metals. They have the art of casting iron into very thin plates, and of repairing vessels constructed of these, by means of a small furnace and blow-pipe, which are carried about by itinerant workmen. Their wrought-iron work is not so neat as that of the English, but is very efficient. In the ornamental processes of carving wood, ivory, and other substances, the people of China greatly excel the rest of the world. Their skill and industry are not less shown in cutting the hardest materials, as exem- plified in their snufT-bottles of agate and rock crystal. These are hollowed into perfect bottles of about two inches in length, through the openings in the neck, not a quarter of an inch in diameter. What is still more wonderful, the crystal bottles are inscribed on the inside with minute characters, so as to be read through the transparent substance ! The two principal manufactures of China — those of silk and porcelain — might alone serve to give thie Chinese a high rank among the nations of the world. Their originality in these articles has never been con- tested. The invention of these is carried by tradition into the mythological periods. Their care of the silk- worm, which furnishes the material of their silk man- ufactures, is very exact and methodical, but cannot here be detailed. The Chinese particularly excel in the fabrication of damasks and flowered satins. No FINE ARTS AMONG THE CHINESE. 4t)9 perfect imitation of their crape has ever yet been made ; and they manufacture a species of washing silk, called, at Canton,^owg'ee, whose softness increases by use. In regard to the porcelain of China, it is indisputa- bly the oi'iginal from which the similar manufactures of Europe were borrowed. The first porcelain fur- nace of which account is given, %as in Keang-sy, the same province where it is now principally made. This was about the commencement of the seventh century of our era. Of the substances of which this manu- facture is made, and the process of making it, we can- not speak in this succinct outline. It is a most beautiful invention ; the better kinds have not yet been surpassed in respect to substance., but as regards the painting and gildiqg, they must yield precedence to the productions of Europe. As relates to the fine arts, they doubtless do not greatly excel, in the European sense. In this depart- ment of mental effort, some allowances are always to be made for the peculiarities of national taste, which is generally admitted to be a most capricious thing. The arts of drawing and painting do not rank so high among the Chinese as among Europeans. They have, therefore, met with less encouragement and made less progress. In works which do not require a scientific adherence to the laws of perspective, they sometimes succeed admirably. Insects, birds, fruits, and flowers, are very beautifully painted, and the splendor and variety of their colors surpass all that is known in the West. One thing in European art tliey do not fully enter into, and that is shading ; they stoutly object to the introduction of shadows in painting. Mr. Barrow states, that " when several portraits, by the best Euro- pean artists, intended as presents to the emperor, were exposed to view, the mandarins, observing the variety of tints occasioned by the light and shade, asked whether the originals had the right and left sides of the figure of different colors ! " The wood-cuts in Chinese books are, for the most part, executed almost entirely in outline. These are occasionally very spirited, as well as true to life. The drawings on which they place the chief value among themselves, are in water colors and Indian ink, sketched, in a very slight man- ner, either upon fine paper or silk. In sculpture, the Chinese are extremely defective, which could scarcely fail to be the case, in view of their policy of discountenancing luxury, the want of encouragement at home, and their ignorance of the efforts of other nations in this art. Their sculptured figures in stone ar^ altogether unooutii in form and proportion ; but this deficiency is in some degree made up by a very considerable share of skill in modelling with soft materials. Their gods are always represented in modelled clay. The Chinese music, as an art, cannot take rank with that of Europeans. Their gamut is imperfect, and they have no idea of semitones. There is never more than one melody, however great the number of per- formers. As Confucius frequently speaks of music, its antiquity will not be denied ; and the encouragement which he gives to its cultivation might have been expected, in the course of time, to produce something better than the imperfect art existing there at this day. Certain characters are used to express the names of the notes in their extremely limited scale. The number of their musical instruments is very large. They consist of different species of lutes and guitars; several flutes and other wind instruments; an indifferent fiddle of three strings ; a sort of har- monicon with wires, touched with two slender slips of bamboo; systems of bells, and pieces of sonorous metals, and drums covered with the skins of snakes. They string their instruments with silk and wire, in the room of catgut. Many of the people have a ready ear for music, though accompanied by bad national taste. • Chinese architecture is entirely different from that Cbinese Buildings. of any other coiintry. The general form of the houses is that of a tent ; those of the lower classes are slight, small, and of little cost. All are formed on the model of the primitive Tartar dwellings; but even in . the J poles, streamers, and flags — to be in the midst of a great cities, a traveller might fancy himself — from the low houses, with carved, overhanging roofs, uninter- rupted by a single chimney, and from the pillars, 470 GKEAT "WALL — IMPERIAL CANAL. large encampment. The fronts of the shops are covered with varnish and gilding, and painted in brilliant colors. The streets of Canton, and of most of the cities, are extremely narrow, admitting only three or four foot passengers abreast ; but the principal thoroughfares of Pekin are fully one hundred feet in width. The rooms, — even those occupied by the emperor — are small and little ornamented. The Dutch embassy was once received by him in an apartment only ten feet square. There are, however, a number of large halls, like gal- leries, for feasting and public occasions, which are very splendid. The maritime operations of the Chinese are con- fined to the eastern coast of Asia, and the adjacent The Emperor's Barge. islands. The ships are clumsy, and the vessels called junks are ill fitted for extended voyages upon the ocean. On the rivers, there are numerous barges, some of which are for the conveyance of tribute and the rev- enue service, while others, for personal accommodation, are fitted up with great expense and display of orna- ment. There are also a few armed vessels to suppress smuggling and piracy, but nothing which can be called a navy. The emperor's barge is magnificent. At an early period of the Chinese history, the Tar- tars became troublesome neighbors, making frequent hostile incursions into the territories of the empire. As they were a much more warlike people than the Chinese, they were greatly to be dreaded. To pre- vent their invasions, an extensive and impregnable wall was built on the northern frontier. This work has been regarded as one of the wonders of the world, and, except the pyramids of Egypt, may be considered as the most ancient monument of human labor now extant. The era of its erection was about two cen- turies before the Christian era. This wall bounds the whole north of China, along the frontiers of three provinces, extending fifteen hundred miles from the sea to the western province of Shensi, and far into Tartary. In order to obtain a sufficient number of workmen for so vast an under- taking, the emperor ordered that every third laboring man throughout the empire should be compelled to enter his service ; and they were required to labor like slaves, without receiving any remuneration beyond a bare supply of food. It was carried ov6r the ridges of the highest hills, descended into the deepest valleys, crossed upon arches over rivers, and was doubled in important passes, being, moreover, supplied with strong towers or bastions, at distances of about one hundred yards. One of the most elevated ridges crossed by the wall is five thousand feet above the level of the sea. It far surpasses the sum total of all other works of the kind, and proved a useful barrier against the Tartars, until the power of Zingis Khan overthrew the empire. The body of the wall consists of an earthen mound, retained on each side by a wall of masoniy and brick, of the most solid construction, and terraced by a plat- form of square bricks. • The total average height, including a parapet of five feet, is twenty feet, on a foundation of stone projecting two feet under the brick work, and varying, in elevation, from two feet or more, according to the level of the ground. The wall, at the base, is twenty-five feet thick, narrowing, at the platform, to fifteen. The towers are forty-five feet at the base, diminishing to thirty at the top ; they are about thirty-seven feet in the entire height. The emperors of the Ming dynasty built an additional inner wall near to Pekin, on the west, enclosing a portion of the province between itself and the great wall. The latter is now in ruins, in various places. The Imperial Canal is likewise a great work of art, and, for the purposes of internal commerce, renders the Chinese almost independent of coast navigation. The canal was principally the work of Kublai Khan, and his immediate successors of the Yuen race. . It forms a direct communication by water between Pekin and Canton, the two extreme points of the empire. In A. D. 1306, the canal was described as extending from Pekin to Khinsai, or Quinsay, and Zeytoon ; as navigated by ships, and forty days' jour- ney in length. It is further mentioned that, when the ships arrive at the sluices, they are raised up, what- ever be their size, by means of machines, and are then let down on the other side into the water. This, it is said, is the practice, at the present day. ; . Tl^ canal was formed by turning the waters of some of the lakes into artificial channels, which were made to communicate with the rivers — many branches ex- tending to towns which were not in their course. One hijridred and seventy thousand men were employed for years in the construction of this great work. For real utility, it far surpasses the great wall, being, at this moment, of the utmost benefit to the Chinese, whose inland trade would not be extensive without it, as the means of land carriage are scanty, and both tedious and expensive. One principal merit of this great work was, that it answered the purpose of drain- ing large tracts of marshy but fertile land, which, till then, had been quite useless, but were thus rendered fit for cultivation. RELIGION OF THE CHINESE. 471 Tien-tan, or the Imperial Joss at Fekln. Religion ■ CHAPTER CCXXXVI. ■ Its Rites and Ceremonies — ^oss- houses, Idols, Sfc. In the several stages through which the Chinese advanced from barbarism to civilization, they seem to have admitted the existence of a Supreme Being, whose almighty power they recognized, and to whom a national worship was addressed. In early times — besides offerings to Heaven — national sacrifices were presented to the mountains, for their influ- ences, and to the powers or gods supposed to pre- side over the earth, for luxuriant crops, and even to the deities of woods, rivers, &c. The Supreme Being whom the ancient Chinese adored passed under the name of Chang-ti, or Tien. Their worship was by prayer and thanks^ving, without any mixture of idol- atrous practices. The Chinese, like other nations, in their religion, were divided into different sects. About the year 560 of the Christian era, one of the Leang dynasty greatly interested himself in introducing Buddhism, and this is now the religion of at least one half of the inhabitants of China ; but here it has no connection with the government. No creed is made a matter of state except the recognition of the existence of a Supreme Being, and of the emperor as his sole vice- gerent on earth. As to every other opinion *nd rite, the people adopt any or none, as they may judge ex- pedient. The learned, indeed, generally affect indif- ference upon the subject, and limit themselves to the above simple belief, joined to a supferstitious reverence for ancestry, and for the ancient sages of the empire. 472 THE IMPEKIAL JOSS. The people, however, require some more sensible objects of worship, and the vacant place has been chiefly occupied by the sect of Fo, — essentially the same with that above mentioned, which rules in Thi- bet, and has spread thence through all the neighboring regions of Tartary. It appears here, as well as there, with its doctrine of transmigration, its numerous im- ages, its monastic institutions, its bells and beads, its noisy music, and its peculiar dress ; all giving it such a resemblance to the Catholic worship, that the mis- sionaries of the church of Rome formerly filled their journals with lamentations on the impossibility of distinguishing between the two. Although jealous, in general, of every foreign system, the Tartar dynasties have been inclined to protect this religion of foreign origin. The same favor has not been extended to Christianity, which has repeatedly made some progress. The precise religious faith of the common Chinese may be gathered from the following conversation, recently held by Dr. Abeel, with a person in that country : — " When you are very ill, what do you do .? " Ans. " We pray to Buddha for recovery." "But when you find yourself fast failing, and most likely to die, what do you then ? " Ans. " We vow to Buddha to bum quantities of gold paper, if he will restore us." " But when you are certain you cannot recover, what then ? " Ans. " Why, then there is nothing to be done." " Do you never pray, after the conviction that you must die takes possession of your minds ? " Ans. " No ; there is then nothing to pray for." " But do you never pray for the future happiness of your souls > " Ans. " No ; we know nothing of the future state of our souls." " Do you believe \n their immortality ? " Ans. " Yes ; but whither they wander, and what they become, we cannot tell ; here all is dark, dark ! " Practically, however, at the bottom of the Buddhist creed, as well as of every other which has influenced extensively the human mind in unevangelized coun- tries, will be found the same dim conviction of spme superior being or beings taking cognizance of human actions, and rewarding the good and punishing the bad in a future life. It is said that priests of " no religion " are a class much esteemed in China. They are gen- erally poor, uncleanly in their habits, and lead a men- dicant kind of life. The temples of Buddha, called joss-houses, are numerous, and filled with images. These, with the rites and ceremonies, strongly remind one of the Catholic churches in Europe. Processions, badges of dignity, prayers for the dead, fasting, intercession of saints, litanies, bells, beads, burning tapers, incense, are parts of the worship. Some of the images are of gigantic magnitude. The Catholic missionaries often go into the Buddhist temples, and, presenting the cru- cifix, persuade the people to adopt their god, using the Buddhist rites, at least for a time and in part. Thus many Chinese are supposed to be converted. The common religious buildings are mostly low, but exten- sive, and crowded with priests and beggars. The pagodas are lofty religious temples ; the name, in China, is taas. Some of them are very magnifi- cent. One, at Conan, is a building five hundred and ninety by two hundred and fifty feet, surrounded by cells for bonzes, or priests. In the centre, there are three towers, each thirty-three feet square. At Nan- kin, there is a very celebrated taas, or pagoda, of porcelain ; it is of an octagon form, and is two hun- dred and ten feet high. One, at Tong-Tshang-feu, is of marble, covered with porcelain. The Imperial Joss, or chief idol of the Celestial Empire, is the most revered idol in China ; it is desig- nated Tien-tan, or the Eminence of Heaven. The next idol in importance is the Tee-tan, or Eminence of the Earth. The former is known as the imperial, being the one to which the emperor and chief grandees offer their sacrifices : the middle and lower classes worship the latter deity. The temples at Pekin are adorned with all the magnificence of architecture ; and, when the emperor is about to offer sacrifice, the greatest pomp and solemnity is observed. Previous to the intended ceremony, the monarch, and all the grandees who are entitled to assist, prepare themselves, during three days, by retirement, fasting, and continence. No public audiences are given, and no tribunals are open. Marriages, funerals, and en- tertainments of every kind are prohibited ; and no person is permitted to eat either flesh or fish. On the appointed day, the sovereign appears in the utmost possible splendor, surrounded with princes and officers of state, and attended by every circumstance demon- strative of a triumph. Every thing in the temple cor- responds in magnificence with the appearance of the emperor. The utensils are all of gold, and never ap- plied to any other purpose, while even the musical instruments are of uncommon size, and also reserved for such uncommon occasions. But, while the monarch never displays greater external grandeur and state than during these processions, he never exhibits greater personal humility {ind dejection than during the time of sacrifice, prostrating himself on the earth, rolling himself in the dust, speaking of himself to the Chang- ti in terms of the utmost debasement, and apparently assuming so much magnificence of appearance and attendance only to testify, in a more striking manner, the infinite distance between the highest human dignity and the majesty of the Supreme Being. It is upon the buildings of their great idols that the Chinese bestow most cost, and in which they are most whimsically extravagant. They reckon about four hundred and eighty of these temples of first rank, adorned with every thing curious, and filled with an incredible number of idols, before which hang lamps continually burning. The whole are supposed to be served by three hundred and fifty thousand bonzes, or priests. The temples, or joss-houses, as they are commonly called, are generally one story high, but they are often of immense extent. They are decorated with artificial flowers, embroidered hangings, curtains, and fringes. One of these temples situated on the north-eastern side of the suburbs of tlie city of Canton, makes a splendid appearance. It is four stories high, has a fine cupola, with many out-houses and galleries. This grand edifice was formerly a palace belonging to the Wangtai, or king of the province of Canton, before the Tartars conquered China, and who was then an independent prince. Before the principal gate of the temple, two large images, one on either side, are placed. Each of them is about twelve feet high; both have spears and lances in their hands. This gate leads through a large paved court into the temple, by a few stone steps. The lower part of the joss-house is built IDQLS OF THE CHINESE— CONFUCIUS. 4.7.? with fine hewn stone, but the upper part is wholly of timber. In the lower hall are images of various sizes, and of different dignities, all finely gilt, and kept exceedingly clean by the priests. The lesser images are placed in corners of the wall, and one of a larger size in the open space of the hall. In the centre is placed the large god, who sits in a lazy posture, with his heels drawn up to his thighs, almost naked — par- ticularly his breast and abdomen — and leaning on a large cushion. He is ten times larger than an ordinary man, very corpulent, of a merry countenance, and all over gilt. Up stairs are a great many images of men and women, deified for brave and virtuous actions. The idols of the temples are, sometimes, represent- atives of various genii, or guardian spirits, whose re- spective attributes are expressed by certain emblems connected with their statues. Thus a sabre announces the god of war ; a guitar, the god of music ; a globe, the spirit of heaven. Some of these images are fre- quently thirty, fifty, sixty, and even eighty feet in height, with a multitude of hands and arms. One of the most stupendous in China is a goddess of the class of Poosa, which signifies all-helping, or plant-preserving, and is apparently a personification of nature. She is represented sometimes with four heads, and forty or fifty arms, each of the heads being directed toward one of the cardinal points, and each of the arms holding some useful production of the earth ; each arm, also, often supports a number of smaller arras, while the head is covered with a group of smaller heads. One of these images is ninety feet high, with four heads and forty-four arms. The divin- ities in the interior of the temples are of smaller pro- portions, and in various postures ; sometimes alone, and at other times surrounded by a number of inferior idols ; some with the heads of animals, others with horns on the forehead ; some reclining, as at rest, others seated cross-legged upon flowers or cars ; but all of them represented in a state of great corpulency, which the Chinese regard as an honorable quality. The idol Fo is seated upon a nelumbo flower, a spe- cies of water-lily. The goddess of lightning stands erect, with two circles of fire in her hand, and a poniard at her girdle. The spirit of fire walks upon burning wheels, and holds a lance and a circle. The goddess of all things, named Teoo-moo, with eight arms, is seated in a chariot, drawn by seven black hogs. The goddess Shing-moo, or holy mother, the most ancient and revered of all the female deities — whose character implies universal understanding, or, more literally, " the faculty of knowing all that ear has heard, or mouth has uttered " — was considered by the Catholic missionaries as a shocking resemblance of their holy Virgin. Her statue is generally repre- sented with a glory round the head, and a child in her hand or on her knee, holding a flower of the lien-hoa, (nelumbo,) or placed upon a leaf of that plant. T?here are divinities, in short, of all possible shapes, and so numerous, that one pagoda, on the Lake See- hoo, contains five hundred of them within its walls. In almost every city, there is a temple dedicated to Confucius, as a tutelary spirit, in which either his statue or picture is preserved. Besides these temples, numerous small chapels are to be seen in the country and villages, dediG.ated to the different spirits presiding over the land, the water, the mountains, &c. ; but fre- quently, instead of a temple, there is merely a stone placed upright at the foot of a tree or bamboo bush, 60 with the name of the>tutelary divinity engraved upon it ; a few paper flowers are added by way of ornament. Idols are held in more or less estimation, according to the favors which they are supposed to bestow upon their votaries ; and when, after repeated applications, their suit is not granted, they abandon the spirit of .that temple, as a god without power — or, perhaps, pull down the edifice, and leave the statues exposed in the open air. Numbers of joss-houses are thus seen in ruins, their bells resting on the ground, their monstrous idols lying unsheltered, and their bonzes wandering in, quest of alms, or a more fortunate asylum. Sometimes the fallen deity is treated with the utmost indignity and contempt. " Thou dog of a spirit ! " the enraged votaries will cry, " we lodge thee in a commodious joss-house ; thou art well fed, well gilt, and receiyest abundance of incense ; and yet, after all the care bestowed upon thee, thou art ungrateful enough to refuse us necessary things ! " Then, tying the idol with cords, they drag it through a kenijel, and bespatter it with filth. But should they happen,' during this scene of vengeance, to obtain, or to fancy they have obtained, their object, then they carry back the insulted divinity to its place with great ceremony, wash it with care, prostrate themselves before it, ac- knowledge their rashness, supplicate forgiveness, and promise to gild it again upon condition that what is past be forgotten. Sometimes, those who have found all their gifts and worship unavailing, have brought the idol and its bonzes to a solemn trial before the mandarins, and procured the divinity to be dismissed as useless, and its priests to be punished as impostors. While a large portion of the Chinese are followers of Buddhism, the doctrines of Confucius exert a great and controlling influence, especially through the higher classes. Of him and his system we have given a suf- ficient account. His doctrines constitute rather a bgdy of philosophy, in the department of morals and poli- tics, than any particular religious persuasion. It was the principal endeavor of this sage to correct the vices which had crept into the state, and to restore the influ- ence of those maxims which had been derived from the ancient kings, as Yao and Chun. Among his moral doctrines are noticed some which have obtained the universal assent of mankind. He taught men *'to treat others according to the treatment which they them- selves would desire at their hands," and " to guard their secret thoughts " as the source and origin of action. But, like other schemes of philosophy, or religion, merely human, there is much to condemn in the prin- ciples of the Chinese moral, teacher. To so gre^t and mischievous an extent did he carry his inoulcatioii of filial duty, that he enjoined it on a son not to live under the same heaven with the slayer of his father, or, in other words, to enforce the law of retaliation, and put him to death. The absolute authority of the emperor is founded on this principle, as being the father of his people, and possessing all the rights, of a father. It would seem, from the history of the Qhinese people, that no pagan philosopher or teacher has influ- enced a larger portion of the great human family,, or met with a more unmixed veneration, than Confuqius. Of Tien, or Heaven, the Chinese sometimes speak as of the Supreme Being, who pervades the universe, and awards moral retribution ; and it is in the same sense that the emperor is called the " Son of Heaven:" Ai other times, they apply the word to the visible sky only. The gods appear to hold by no means an 474 CUEIOUS INSTANCES OF FRAUD — DRESS. undivided supremacy ; the saints, or sages, seem to be of at least equal importance. Confucius admitted that he did not know much respecting the gods, and, on this account, preferred being silent upon the subject. Though the sages of the country did not claim for themselves an equality with the gods, yet they speak of each other in a style that seems, to us, like blasphemy. A general aspect of materialism pertains to the Chi- nese philosophy or religion, and yet it is difficult to peruse their sentiments regarding tien, or heaven, with- out the persuasion that they ascribe to it most of the attributes of a supreme governing intelligence. CHAPTER CCXXXVII. Character of the Chinese — Their Institutions. It is believed that the Chinese, in general, have been under-estimated, on the ground of their moral attributes. The people of Canton have been too readily taken as the representatives of the nation at large. Such, doubtless, cannot be a correct criterion ; as the peculiar phase of character at a seaport, where the action of whatever is vicious in the national tem- per is strongest, is not to be supposed applicable to a whole nation, in the immense variety of its circum- stances. The current notion that foreigners come exclusively for their own benefit, paying little respect to the Chinese, would naturally inspire the natives of Canton with no remarkable feelings of courtesy, hon- esty, or good faith. The ingenuity of the Chinese is doubtless too often exercised for the purposes of fraud. Sometimes a per- son buys a capon, as he thinks, but finds afterward that he has only the skin of the bird, which has been so ingeniously filled, that the deception is not discov- ered until it is prepared for being dressed. They also make counterfeit hams. These are made of pieces of wood cut in the form of a ham, and coated over with a certain kind of earth, which is covered with hog's skin, and the whole is so ingeniously arranged, that a knife is necessary to detect the fraud. A gen- tleman travelling in China, a few years ago, bought some chickens, the feathers of which were curiously curled. In a few days, he observed that the feathers were straight, and that the chickens were of the most common sort. The man who owned them had curled the feathers of the whole brood a little while before he sold them. We are told that it is customary to write upon the sign, " Here no one is cheated " — a pretty good evidence that fraud is common, if not general. We must not, however, draw unjust inferences from these facts. Innumerable modes of small cheating are found in all countries. In judging of a nation, we must look at the good as well as the bad. Even at Canton, where the influences are debasing, favorable specimens of the Chinese character have appeared. The following is an instance : A considerable mer- chant had some dealings with an American trader, who attempted to quit the port without discharging his debt, and would have succeeded but for the spirit and activity of a young officer of one of the British ves- sels'. He boarded the American vessel, when upon the point of sailing, and by his remonstrances, or other- wise, prevailed on the American to makfe a satisfactory arrangement with his creditor. In acknowledgment for this service, the merchant pur- chased from the young officer, in his several successive voyages to China, on very favorable terms, the whole of his commercial adventure. He might thus have been considered to fulfil any ordinary claim upon his gratitude ; but he went further than this. After some years, he expressed his surprise to the officer, that he had not yet obtained the command of a ship. The other replied, that it was a lucrative post, which could be obtained only by purchase, and at an expense of some thousand pounds — a sum wholly out of his power to raise. The Chinese merchant said he would remove that difficulty, and immediately gave him a draft for the amount, to be repaid at his convenience. The officer died on his passage home, and the draft was never presented ; but it was drawn on a house of great respectability, and would have been duly honored.* Though the Chinese have systematically excluded foreigners from their country, the prying eye of curi- osity has discovered most of their peculiarities, and whh these the world at large have been made ac- quainted. Every one is familiar with their dress, per- sonal appearance, and the aspect of their houses, from the drawings on their porcelain. Their complexion is olive, their hair black and straight, and their eyes small, and, like all of the Mongolian family, set obliquely to the nose. The dress consists of short, full trousers, a short shirt, and over all a loose, flowing robe. The materials are silk or cotton, according to the condition of the wearer. The hair of the men is shaven, except behind, where it is braided in two long cues. A fan is a, necessary article in the hand of male and female. The dress of the Chinese dandy is composed of crapes and silks of great price ; his feet are covered with high-heeled boots of the most beautiful Nankin satin, and his legs are encased in gaiters, richly em- broidered and reaching to the knee. Add to this, an acorn-shaped cap of the latest taste, an elegant pipe, richly ornamented, in which burns the purest tobacco of the Fokien, an English wat6h, a toothpick suspend- ed to a button by a string of pearls, a Nankin fan, ex- haling the perfume of the tcholane, — a Chinese flower, — and you will have an exact idea of a fashion- able Chinese. This being, like dandies of all times and all coun- tries, is seriously occupied with trifles. He belongs either to the Snail Club or the Cricket Club. Like the ancient Romans, the Chinese train quails, which are quarrelsome birds, to be intrepid duellists ; and their combats form a source of great amusement. In imitation of the rich, the poorer Chiiiese place at the bottom of an earthen basin two field crickets ; these insects are excited and provoked until they grow angry, attack each other, and the narrow field of battle is soon strewed with their claws, antennae, and corse- lets — the spectators seeming to experience the most lively sensations of delight. The general amusements of the Chinese are great- ly diversified ; but we have not space for details. The government is despotic, and rules by fear. Pa- rents exercise the most unlimited sway over their chil- dren, and a son is a minor during the life of the father. The husband does not see his wife till she is sent to his harem in a palanquin : if she does not please him, he * The ChineBe, by John F. Davis, Esq, IMITATIVENESS — IXFANTICIDE, 475 may send her back. Divorces are easily obtained, and loquacity is sufficient to cause a wife to be sent home to her parents. The chief beauty of a woman is small feet, and these are bandaged from childhood, to insure this desirable charm. The national character of the Chinese is marked with quietness, industry, order, and regularity — -qualities which a despotic government seeks always to foster. Filial respect seems to be conspicuous. A general good humor and courtesy reign in their aspect and Scene in China. behavior. Even when they accidentally come into col- lision with each other, the extrication is effected with- out any of that noise, and exchange of turbulent and abusive language, which are commonly witnessed on such occasions in European cities. Flagrant crimes and open violations of the laws are by no means com- mon. The attachments of kindred are exchanged and cherished with peculiar force, particularly toward parents and ancestry in general. The support of the aged and infirm is inculcated as a sacred duty, which appears to be very strictly fulfilled. It is surely a phenomenon in national economy, that, in a country so eminently populous, and so straitened for food, there should be neither begging nor pauperism. The wants of the most destitute are relieved within the circle of their family and kindred. It is said to be customary that a whole family, for several generations, with all its members, married and unmarried, live under one roof, and with only two apartments, one for sleeping, and the other for eating — a fact which im- plies a great degree of tranquillity and harmony of temper. Among the other peculiar traits of the Chinese, their artisans are celebrated for imitation. The fol- lowing anecdote is illustrative of this. Toward the close of the last tfentury, an officer of an English ship, that lay off Canton, sent ashore, to a native, an order for a dozen pair of trousers, to be made of the nankin for which China has been so long famed. The Chi- nese artisan required a pattern — he could not make any thing without a pattern : so a pair of trousers was sent, at his request, the same having been mended by a patch at the knee. In due time, the twelve pairs are sent on board, of a fabric of great beauty of quality, but every pair bearing, like an heraldic badge, the oi)- noxious patch on oce knee, exactly copied, stitch for stitch, in a style that reflected the highest credit on the mechanical skill of the workman, and for the difficult execution of which, an extra charge was made upoii the purse of the exasperated owner — who, however, had no alternative but to pay vhe bill ! That the Chinese have an inordinate self-love, and a prevalent contempt of other nations, seems to be admitted by every observer, as it is apparent, also, in their governmental acts and manifestoes. These feelings, though they take their rise from the impor- tant advantages which they certainly possess — more especially in comparison with the adjoining countries, — are fostered by ignorance, and artfully enhanced, in the minds- ofi the common people, by the influ- ence of the mandarins. A timid, miserable policy has led the latter to consider it their interest to in- crease the national dislike of foreigners. The most dangerous accusation against a native Chmese is, that of being subject, in any way, to foreign in- fluence. The distribution of wealth is more equal in China than in most other countries. Where extreme des- titution is felt, it arises solely from the unusual degree in which the population is made to press upon the means of subsistence. Poverty is deemed no reproach in China. Station derived from personal merit, and the claims of venerable old age, are the two things which command the most respect. An em- peror once rose from his seat to pay respect to an inferior officer of more than a century in age, who came to do homage to his sovereign. The crime of infanticide has been frequently charged upon the Chinese, but probably with no just ground, at least to the extent supposed. No doubt that in occasional instances of female births, infanti- cide takes place ; but these cases are said to occur only in the chief cities, and amid a crowded popula- tion, where the means of subsistence seem to be effectually denied. In general, the Chinese are pecu- liarly fond of their children ; and the attachment seems to be reciprocated. This people, in their physical characteristics, as in other qualities, are generally superior to the nations which border on therri. The freedom of their dress giyes a development to their limbs that renders many of them models for a statuary. The healthiness 476 ■WOMEN — POLYGAMY— CAUSES OF DIVOKCE. of the climate also produces its effect. The exist- I ence, at any time, of that terrible scourge, the chol- I era, in China Proper, seems to be doubted — at least, ; its effects have not been seriously noticed. In France, I the idea has obtained, that the Chinese have been exempted from this disease by the consumption of tea, in w^hich, almost of course, they indulge more than all other nations. Chinese Flower Seller. The personal appearance of the women is affected by a most unaccountable taste for the mutilation of their feet. The practice is said to have commenced about the end of the ninth century of our era. As it militates against every notion of physical beauty, the idea conveyed, doubtless, is exemption from labor ; or, in other words, gentility. The female, thus crip- pled, cannot work ; and the appearance of helpless- ness, and the tottering gait induced by the mutilation, are subjects of admiration with the people. The Chinese custom, so ridiculous to us, is, however, less pernicious than the fashionable practice of compressing the waist, with our modern ladies. The possessor of hereditary rank, without merit, has little for which to congratulate himself. The descendants of the emperors are among the most un- happy, idle, vicious, and trifling of the community, although their nominal rank is maintained. Occa- sionally, they become involved in abject povetty. One of the British embassies had a specimen of their con- duct and manners, as well as of the little ceremony with which they are occasionally treated. When they crowded, with a childish and rude curiosity, upon the English party, the principal person among the man- darins seized a whip ; and, not satisfied with the appli- cation of that alone, actually kicked out the im- perial mob. The impartial distribution — with few exceptions — of state offices and magistracies to all who give evideftce of superior learning or talent, without regard to birth or wealth, lies probably at the founda- tion of the greatness and prosperity of the empire. The intercourse of social life in China resembles that of most Asiatic countries. Where women are confined to their homes, or to the company of their . own sex, domestic life exhibits few of its peculiar charms. It is generally cold, formal, and encumbered with onerous ceremonies, which have been transmitted from time immemorial. Occasionally, however, these bonds are broken, and there is a correspondent degree of convivial freedom. Notwithstanding the general disadvantages on the side of the sex in China, in common with other Orien- tal countries, its respectability is, in some degree, preserved by a certain extent of authority allowed to widows over their sons ; and also by the homage which these are required to pay to their mothers. The ladies of the better classes are instructed in embroidering, as well as painting on silk ; and music is, of course, a favorite accomplishment. They are not often pro- ficients, in letters ; but, in some instances, they have become renowned for their poetic compositions. The opinion that polygamy exists universally, in China, is incorrect. It is not strictly true that their laws sanction polygamy at all, though they permit concubinage. A Chinese can have but one tsy, or wife, properly so denominated. She is distinguished by a title, espoused with ceremonies, and chosen from a rank in life totally different from his tsie, or hand- maids, of whom he may have what number he pleases. The offspring of the latter, however, possess many of the rights of legitimacy. A woman, on marriage, assumes her husband's surname. Marriage between all persons of the same surname being unlawful, this law must consequently include all descendants of the male branch forever ; and, as in so immense a popu- lation there are less than two hundred surnames throughout the empire, the embarrassments that arise from such a cause must be considerable. The grounds of divorce, which are seven, are, some of them, amusing. The first is barrenness : the others are adultery, disobedience to the husband's parents, talkativeness, thieving, ill temper, and invet- erate infirmities. Any of these, however, may be set aside by three circumstances — the wife having mourned for her husband's parents ; the family, since marriage, having acquired wealth ; and the wife hav- ing no parents to receive her back. It is, in all cases, disreputable for a widow to marry again, and in some cases — especially with those of a particular rank — it is illegal. The marriage ceremonies are too numerous and complex to admit of description here. The birth of a son is, of course, an occasion of great rejoicing ; the family, or surname, is first given, and then the ' milk-name,' which is generally some diminutive of endearment. A month after the event, the relations and friends, between them, send the child a silver plate, on which are engraved the three words, ' Long-life, honors, felicity.' The boy is trained in behavior and ceremonies from his earliest child- hood ; and, at four or five, he commences reading. The importance of general education was known so long since in China, that a work, written before the Christian era, speaks of the ' ancient system of instruc- tion,' which required that every town and village, down to only a few families, should have a common school. The wealthy Chinese employ private teach- ers, and others send their sons to day schools, which are so well attended that the fees paid by each boy are extremely small. In large towns, there are even- ing schools, of which those who are obliged to labor through the day avail themselves. Of all the subjects of their care, there are none which the Chinese so religiously attend to, as the tombs of their ancestors, as they conceive that any GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF JAPAN. * 477 neglect is sure to be followed by worldly misfortune. It is here that they manifest " a religious sense," which is hardly shown towards their gods. Theii: ceremonies, connected with the treatment of the dead, are of a striking character, but we have not space for details. Aiccording to the ritual, the original and strict period of mourning is thre^years for a parent ; but this is commonly reduced, in practice, to twenty- seven months. Full three years must elapse, from the death of a parent, before the children can marry. The colors of mourning are white and dull gray, or ash, with round buttons of crystal or glass, in lieu of gilt ones. A pleasing, anecdote, in relation to filial piety, is related of a youth named Ouang- Ouei- Yuen. Having lost his mother, who was all that was dear to him, he passed the three years of mourning in a hut ; and em- ployed himself, in his retirement, in composing verses in honor of his parent, which are quoted "by the Chinese as models of sentiment and tenderness. The period of his mourning having elapsed, he returned to his former residence, but did not forget his filial affec- tion. H]s mother had always expressed great appre- hension of thunder, and, when it was stormy, always requested her son not to leave her. Therefore, as soon as he heard a storm coming on, he hastened to his mother's grave, saying softly to her, " I am here, mother ! " The disposal of paternal property, by will, is re- stricted to the legal heirs. The eldest son has a double portion ; or, more correctly speaking, perhaps, the property may be said to descend to the eldest son, in trust, for all the younger brothers. Over these he has considerable authority. They commonly live together, and club their shares, liy which means, fam- ilies in this over-peopled country are more easily sup- ported than they otherwise would be. The constant e.xhortations, in the book of Sacred Edicts, point to this usage and the necessity for it, as they relate to the preservation pf union and concord among kindred and their families. ^iijian. View in Japan. CHAPTER CCXXXVIII. 660 B. C. to A. 0. 1616. Geographical View — Early Annals — Yori- tomo — Taiko — Gongin. Japan is an insular empire, occupying four large and five smaller islands, which stretch more than a thousand miles along the eastern coast of Asia — from Corea nearly to Kamtschatka. It derives its name from the Chinese, in whose language Japan means " Country of the Eising Sun." With the Corean and Manchoorian coast, the Japanese islands enclose the Sea of Japan, which is six hundred miles across in its widest part. The names of the largest islands are Niphon, Kiusiu, Sikokf, Jesso, and the Kurile Islands. iNiption Besides these, there are a great many small islands clustering along the coasts. The shores are often lashed by stormy seas ; on the east, they front the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean, whose force is unbroken by any island for fifty degrees. Niphon is the largest of the islands, and contains both the civil and ecclesiastical capitals. The Japanese name for their empire, Akitsoo-no-sima, Isle of the Dragon-Fly, is derived from a fancied resemblance to that ii^ct in the shape of this, the main island of their archipelago. Niphon is said to be eight hundred miles long, and fifty to two hundred broad ; Kiusiu is one hundred and fifty miles by one hundred and twenty ; Sikokf, ninety by fifty. We are very little acquainted with the geographical 478 EARLY HISTORY OF JAPAN. divisions of Japan, and, with one or two exceptions, we know little more of its cities than their names. The physical aspect of the country is bold, varied, abrupt, and striking, presenting an infinite variety of generally pleasing landscapes. The mountains are rugged, and contain active volcanoes. Some of them are said to have their tops crowned with perpetual snow. This empire lies under the same parallels of lati- tude as Morocco, Madeira, Spain, and our own United States. It is, therefore, enriched with the plants of both the warm and the temperate climates ; some tropical productions, also, flourish on its soil. The climate varies from extreme heat in summer to ex- treme cold in winter, and this variety stimulates the energies of the people. The high mountains of the interior, however, and the constant neighborhood of the sea, which every where sends up its bays far in- land, tend to modify both extremes, producing a healthy atmosphere, generally favorable to bodily and mental activity. The surface of the country is estimated to equal in area that of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The soil is well cultivated, and supports a population variously reckoned at from thirty to fifty millions. This population is distributed into some sixty- two principalities, ruled by chiefs who are vassals of the civil emperor, called the djogoon or cubo, whose authority is absolute. The Japanese are a homogeneous race, of middling stature, well formed, easy in their gestures, hardy, honorable, independent, brave, and energetic. Their complexion is yellowish brown or pale white, but fair as that of Europeans in ladies not exposed to the sun. The head is large, the neck short ; J;he eyebrows are high, and the eyes oblong, small, and sunken ; the nose is broad and " snubby," and the hair black, thick, and glossy. A true Japanese prides himself upon his politeness, courtesy, and strict conformity to the eti- quette of polished life. The primitive origin of the Japanese, like that of all the ancient nations, is lost in the night of fable, or, at least, is recorded in such mythical language that we cannot comprehend it. Japanese traditions say they were ruled for more than a million of years by seven celestial spirits. After that, mortal emperors ruled for fifteen thousand years, till 660 B. C, when the true historical period begins. At this date. Sin mou, that is, the " divine warrior," a Chinese chieftain, passed over to Corea, with numer- ous followers, and thence to Japan. He was probably an exile, driven from China by the civil wars which we know to have distracted the empire at that time. This adventurer subdued the native Japanese, and established a government of which he was the soldier- king and kingly priest ; he was called the da-i-ri, that is, " foreign conqueror," and became a spiritual autocrat. This event occurred about one hundred years after the founding of Rome, in Europe. After this invasion, several other Chinese colonies came over. One of them was composed of three hundred couple of young people, sent across the sea by the Chinese emperor, to search for the " panacea which confers immortality." The colony laiHed in Japan, in 209 B. C, and settled there, never to return. This ancient mingling of the Chinese with the Japanese, shows itself in the similarities observed between the- civilizations of these two nations, and in the multitude of Chinese words introduced into the Japanese lan- guage. The Japanese count but seventeen dairis down to A. D. 400, a period of one thousand and sixty years ; but this is an evident error, as it would give each dairi a reign of sixty -two years, which is quite too long. In earlier times, these king-gods were obliged every morning to remain seated on the throne, for some hours, immovable, with the crown on the head, — else, it was supposed, the empire would fall to ruins ; but as this task was found fatiguing, the discovery was made that if the crown itself were placed upon the throne, it would answer every purpose, and keep the state together quite as well. The custom of placing the crown upon the throne was therefore substituted for the more ancient practice. The dairis laid claim, not indeed to divine attributes, but to a descent from the early celestial rulers ; and they, as "sons of heaven," and ministers of the deity, continued long to exercise over Japan a mingled civil and ecclesiastical sway. It appears probable, however, that their power over the greater f)art was little more than spiritual, and that its varied districts were held by civil princes in almost independent possession. The dairis, as they sunk into voluptuous indolence, committed to the hands of the djogoon, or cuio — the general or commander-in-chief — that military power which can with such difficulty be prevented from becoming per- manent. This, in the course of time, gave rise to a complete revolution in the political situation of Japan. A succession of brave and able cubos found means to reduce all the petty princes under subjection to the general government, and at the same time to monopo- lize the supreme direction of affairs. The profound veneration, however, entertained by the nation for the dairi, and the sacred character with which they sup- posed him to be invested, rendered it impossible that he should be wholly superseded. He still enjoyed ample revenues to maintain his dignity, with an abso- lute control over all spiritual concerns, leaving the solid and temporal power to the cubo. This dignitary has ever since maintained it without interruption on the part of the dairi, and by a course of severe and determined measures, has held all the formerly in- dependent princes in a state of complete vassalage. In the early annals of Japan, we find a civil war recorded in 471 B. C. ; and a dreadful volcanic erup- tion in 285. In A. D. 201, the first empress reigned. She was a woman of masculine energy, and if is told of her that she conquered Corea, leading her armies in person. She also established relays of posts, in Japan, as early as A. D. 250. Her son distinguished himself by his bravery. He stands just upon the con- fines of true history, in the twilight which separates it from fable. He became the Japanese god of war, Fatsman, and is said to have lived one hundred and seventy years, of which he reigned eighty-seven. Yoritomo, a descendant of the fifty-sixth dairi, was elected commander-in-chief of the empire in A. D. 1 185, and afterwards cubo, in 1 192 — the period at which Richard CcBur de Lion sat on the throne of England. The authority of the dairi was from this date more and more weakened, under the successors of Yoritomo. It received the last blow under Gongin, the first cubo of the dynasty still reigning, who came into power in 1598.* The consent of the dairi was indeed still * There have been four dynasties of cubos — that of COREA — GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 485 There are three forms of religion prevalent in Japan — the Sinto religion, that of Buddha, and the doctrine of Confucius. Sintoism, while acknowledg- ing a Supreme Being, is founded on the worship, in connection with him, of genii, saints, or subordinate gods, from whom the dairi is supposed to be descended. The genii, or kami, are the souls of the virtuous who have ascended to heaven ; in tl^jir honor are erected temples, in which are placed the symbols of the deity, consisting of strips of paper attached to a piece of wood ; these symbols are also kept in the houses, and before these are offered the daily prayers to the kamis. The domestic chapels are also adorned with flowers and green branches ; and t^o lamps, a cup of tea and another of wine, are placed before them. Some animals are also venerated as sacred to the kamis. Festivals and pilgrimages form the chief part of the cheerful rites. The sacrifices, offered at certain sea- sons, consist of rice-cakes, eggs, &c. The centre of pilgrimages is the temple at Isje, where is seen no image, but simply a looking-glass. Buddhism was introduced into Japan from Corea, and in many cases Female Bonze. is so fer mingled with the religion of Sinto, that the same temples serve for both, and accommodate the images of the kamis, together with those of the Buddhist gods. The priests of Buddha in Japan are called homes ; they are numerous, comprising both males and females. They are under a vow of celibacy, and there are here, as m other Buddhist countries, lEirge convents for both sexes. The doctrine of Confucius has also been brought into the country, and has many followers. Beside these, there are philoso- phers, who reject the absurdities of the popular creed, and seem to possess a refined system of metaphysics, containing exalted notions of the Deity and of ethics. There is much that is masculine and original in the Japanese character, of which pride and cruelty in punishments — relics of barbarism — seem to be the worst features. Though, when loaded with injuries, the Japanese utters no reproachful or vehement expression in return, yet his pride is deep, rancorous, and invinci- ble ; and the poniard, inseparable from his person, is the instrument of vengeance, when the offender least ex- pects it ; or is sheathed in his own bosom, in case ven- geance is beyond his reach. This pride runs through all classes, but rises to the highest pitch among the great, leading them to display an extravagant pomp in their retinue and establishment, and to despise every thing in the nature of industry and mercantile employ- ment. Forced often to bend beneath a stern, uncom- promising, and powerful government, they are impelled to suicide — the refuge of fallen and vanquished pride. Self-murder here, like duelling among the Western nations, seems to be the point of honor among the great. The national character is indeed strongly contrasted with that which generally prevails in Asia. Instead of a tame, quiet, orderly, servile disposition, making them the prepared and ready subjects of despotism, the people have a character marked by energy, independ ence, arid a lofty sense of honor. Although said to make good subjects, even to the severe government under which they live, they yet retain an impatience of control, and a force of public opinion, which ren- ders it impossible for any ruler wantonly to tyrannize over them. Instead of that mean, artful, and truckling disposition, so general among Asiatics, their manners are distinguished by a manly frankness, and all their proceedings by honor and good faith. The prominent feature of their character, indeed, is good sense. They are habitually kind and good humored, and carry their ideas of the ties of friendship to what the trading na- tions of the West would deem a romantic extreme. To serve and defend a friend in every peril, and to meet torture and death rather than betray him, is con- sidered a duty from which nothing can dispense'. Cnrta. CHAPTER CCXL. General Description — Historical Sketch. CoEEA is a large peninsula on the eastern coast of Asia, surrounded on the east by the Sea of Japan, on the south by the Straits of Corea, — which divide it from the Japanese island Kiou-Siou, — and on the west by the Hoang-Hai, or Yellow Sea, which separates it from China Proper. It extends from south to north, from 34° to 40° north latitude, or about four hundred and twenty miles ; but the countries north of the penin- sula, as far as 43°, are also subject to the sovereign of Corea — so that the whole country from south to north may be seven hundred and sixty miles. Its width, lying between 124° and 134° east longitude, varies from one hundred to two hundred miles. Its area may be about ninety thousand square miles, or somewhat more than the Island of Great Britain. The seas around Corea are dotted with islands, with high, rocky shores : some of them are inhabited. Corea is a very cold country for its latitude. For four months, the northern rivers are covered with ice, and barley alone is cultivated along their banks. Even the river near King-ki-tao freezes so hard that car- 486 GENEBAL VIE-W OF COE.EA— EAELY HISTORY. riages pass over the ice. In summer, the heat appears not to be great. On the eastern ooasts, fogs are fre- quent; La Perouse compared them in density with those along the coasts of Labrador. Rice is extensively cultivated on the peninsula, as well as cotton and silk, which are employed in the fabrics of the country, and exported in the man- ufactured state. Hemp is also cultivated, and, in the northern district, ginseng is gathered. Tobacco is raised all over the country. Horses and cattle are plentiful on the mountain pastures. The former, which are small, are exported to China. In the northern districts, the sable and other animals furnish furs. The royal . tiger, which is a native of the country, is covered with a longer and closer hair than in Bengal. On the eastern coast, whales are numerous. It seems that Corea is rich in minerals : gold, silver, iron, salt, and coals are noticed in the Chinese geographies. The inhabitants, who are of the Mongol race, re- semble the Chinese and Japanese ; but they are taller and stouter. Among them are some whose appear- ance seems to indicate a different origin. They speak a language different from the Chinese and Manchoo, though it contains many Chinese words. They have also, a different mode of writing ; though the Chi- nese characters are in general use among the upper classes.*. In manner and civilization, they much re- semble the Chinese, and are likewise Buddhists. Edu- cation is highly valued, especially among the upper classes. They seem to have a rich literature of their own ; but their language is very imperfectly known in Europe.. The valleys appear to be well peopled ; we are, however, so little acquainted with the interior, that hitherto no one has ventured to give an estimate of the population. King-ki-tao, the capital, which is a few miles north of a considerable river, Han-Kiang, appears to be a large place, and is said to possess a respectable library, of which one of the brothers of the king is chief librarian. The mouth of the River Tsing-Kiang, — between 34° and 35°, — on the western coast, is said to have a very spacious harbor. Fushan, or Chosan, is a bay on the south-eastern extremity of the peniiisula, opposite .the Japanese island of Tsu-sima, at the innermost recess of which the town of King-tsheou is built, which carries on an active trade with Japan, and is the only place to which the Japanese are permitted to come. In industry, the Coreans do not appear to be much inferior to the Chinese and Japanese. They mainly excel in the manufacture of cotton cloth and cotton paper ; both of which are brought, in great quantities, to Pekin. Other manufactured articles, which are exported, are silk goods, plain and embroidered, and mats. They have attained considerable skill in work- ing iron, as swords are sent, with other articles, to the emperor of China as tribute. No country is less accessible to Europeans than Corea. They are not permitted to remain, even a few days, on any part of the coast. It is not well known what is the reason of this policy ; but it seems that the mutual jealousy of the neighboring Chinese and Japanese holds the king in great subjection. The commerce of the country is accordingly limited to Qhina and Japan ; and even with these countries it is restricted in a very strange way. No maritime inter- course is allowed between China and Corea, but all commerce is carried on by means of the narrow road which leads along the sea to the town of Fang-hoan, in Leao-tong But as this road traverses the wide district which, by order of the Chinese emperor must remain uninhabited, and has hence become the haunt of numberless ferocious animals — the passage is much dreaded by travellers. Commerce, therefore, is prin- cipally carried on in winter, when the shallow Hoang- Hai is covered with ice along its shores, which are more favorable to the transport of goods than the bad mountain roads. Beside the above-mentioned manu- factured goods, gold, silver, iron, rice, fruits, oil, and some other articles are brought by this road to Pekin. We do not know what the Coreans take in return to their country. The commercial intercourse between Corea and Japan is limited to that between the Island of Tsu-sima and the Bay of Chosan, and is carried on by Japanese merchants, who have their warehouses at each place. They import sapan-wood, pepper, alum, and the skins of deer, buffaloes, and goats, with the manufactured articles of Japan, and those brought by the Dutch from Europe : they take, in return, the manufactures of Corea, and a few other articles, especially ginseng. The earliest people of Corea were the Sianpi, a race some of whose branches were very powerful about the middle of the third century B. C. Four centuries after, one of their chiefs united the tribes, polished them, and became master of an empire four- teen hundred leagues in extent. In A. D. 200 to 400 the race had founded four petty kingdoms in Northern China. But all the western Sianpi became lost throfigh the preponderance of the Turkish race. The Sianpi of Corea lived in North Corea, 1100 B. C. ; and became amalgamated with another popu- lation, in the south part of the peninsula, who were probably of Japanese origin, as they resembled that people in mode of life, manners, and dress. The Chinese historians relate that Kitsu, a relative of the last emperor of the Chang dynasty, had been shut up in prison by that prince, whose conduct he did not approve. Wouwang, who had usurped the throne of Chang, and who knew the merit of Kitsu, wished to make him his prime minister. But Kitsu answered him courageously, that having up to this time served the dynasty of Chang, from whom his family had received all its lustre, he could never pass into the service of him who had destroyed it, notwithstanding his great qualities. Wouwang, far from- disapproving these generous sentiments, thought himself much obliged, and made Kitsu king of North-western Corea, in 1122 B. C. Kitsu went over to this country, gave laws to his new subjects, and civilized them. The names and deeds of his successors are unknown : they reigned till the petty kings of Yan subjugated them. On the destruction of the Tsin dynasty, many Chinese emi- grated to Corea ; the emperor subjugated the northern half in A. D. 110, and again in 668. Several petty kingdoms existed in Corea, sometimes independent, sometimes subject to Japan or to China. One of these lasted till 934, As the Coreans were civilized by the Chinese, they adopted the Chinese character ; and it was not till A. D. 374, that a syllabary was invented for the sounds of the Corean language. The Buddhist religion was introduced in most of the kingdoms, from 372 to 384 ; in one, not till A. D. 528. Without going into further details, we may remark PHYSICAL FEATURES OF AFGHANISTAN. that Corea has been subdued by the Japanese, Man- choos, and the Chiaese, in succession ; the last alone have maintained their ascendency. The kings of Corea, like the other vassals of the empire, send to Pekin an annual tribute and ambassadors, who are not received with much distinction. It is said tribute is also paid to Japan ; but, if so, it is probably for the southern provinces only. ^ The Corean king appears to be absolute in his own country. He has a splendid court, and a numerous 487 seraglio. Beside large revenues, and three months' labor, annually, from his subjects, he has a tenth of all produce, taken in kind. The nobles, in their feudal districts, exercise a very oppressive power. The numerous soldiery are armed with muskets, bows, and whips. The ships of war are better than those of the Chinese ; they have cannon and fire- pots. It is said the army amounts to half a million of men, and the navy to over two hundred vessels of war. IfgframMiiii, CHAPTER CCXLI. A. D. 68S to 1708. Origin of the Afghans — The Per- sian and Hindoo Dominion. Afghanistan, or the country of the Af- ghans, a part of the ancient Aria or Ariana, is bounded north by the Hindoo Koosh Moun- tains and Independent Tartary, east by Hin- dostan, south by Beloochistan, and west by Persia. It is a mountainous country, inter- sected by valleys and wide plains. Many parts are covered with thick forests of pine and wild olive-trees. Others are bare and sterile, or merely afford a scanty pasture to the flocks which are reared on them. The great chain of the Hindoo Koosh forms the characteristic feature of this country. It rises from the lower regions in four distinct ranges. The lowest is clothed with forests of oak, pine, wild olive, and a variety of other trees, including almost every species of fruit, and many of the most valuable herbs and flowers in the richest profusion. The sides are furrowed with multitudes of glens and valleys, each watered by its own little stream. The lower parts of this ridge are carefully cultivated. The second range is still more densely wooded, except toward the top. The third is comparatively naked. The fourth constitutes a range of the stu- pendous Himmaleh system, and soars alofl: in bold masses or spire-like peaks, crowned with perpetual snow. Such is the clear- ness of the .atmosphere, that the ridges and hollows of these mountains may be dis- cerned at the distance of two hundred and fifty miles. The extent of Afghanistan is three hundred thousand square miles ; the population six millions. The political divisions of Afghanistan are uncertain and variable. Afghanistan proper is said to he divided into seven provinces. Seistan, or Segistan, is an extensive territory, but is mostly a desert, and the towns are small. The provinces are governed by khans, or chiefs. The king of Afgha- nistan has but a limited authority. The Afghans are a very ancient and peculia,r peo- ple. Their origin is obscure, though they believe themselves descended from the ancient Hebr'dws. In APGHANISZA.N anflL BELOOCBIST&H & a Persian history, they are said to owe their name to Afghan, the son of Eremia, the son of Saul, king of Israel, whose posterity, being carried away at the time of the captivity, was settled by the conqueror in the Mountains of Ghori, Cabul, Candahar, and Ghizni. There is no sufficient proof, however, of the truth of this genealogy. The Greek writers gave to this coun- try the names Paropamisus, Aria, Arachosia, and Drangiana. Of the early inhabitants they knew very little, and of their history nothing. It is probable that Alexander passed through the northern part of the 488 THE AFGHANS UNDER PERSIA AND HIND OSTAN— INDEPENDENT. Afghan territory on his march to India, but we possess no very certain accounts in relation to this matter. Previous to this time, the country belonged to Persia, and afterwards to the Grmco-Bactrian Kingdom, and still later to Parthia. The name of Afghan is not recognized by the na- tives of this country, but is applied to them by their Persian neighbors. Their proper name is Pooshtana, in the p\\iYa.i Fushtanneh. By the Hindoos they are denominated Paitans, Patans, or Pmtans. They are perhaps of Arabian parentage, and, like those people, are divided into tribes. Those of Soor and Lodi, from both of whom kings have issued, are mentioned in the Eastern histories as owing their extraction to the union of an Arab chief with the daughter of an Afghan leader, A. D. 682. Ferishta, the Persian historian, mentions the Afghans as having withstood the progress of the Saracens in the early ages of Mahometan con- quest. In the ninth century, they were subject to the Persian rulers of the house of Saman ; and though Sultan Mahmood of Ghizni sprang from another race, his power, and the mighty empire of which his capital was the centre, were undoubtedly maintained in a great measure by the hardy troqps of the Afghan Mountains. The dynasty of Mahmood was crushed by the vic- torious invasions of the Mongols, under Zingis Khan and Timour, and this country was comprehended, with Hindostan, in what was called the Mogul empire. The city of Cabul, in Afghanistan, became a Mogul capital, and was a favorite residence of Baber, one of the greatest monarchs of that race. When the Mogul empire fell to pieces, the hardy Afghan moun- taineers were not slow in reasserting their independ- ence. But although the Afghan tribes have given birth to the founders of many powerful dynasties, the individual sovereigns have seldom been contented to fix their residence in their native land. Thus the Ghonees, the Ghiljees, and Lodees, as they rose into power, turned their arms to the eastward, and erected their thrones in the capital of Hindostan. Accord- ingly, Afghanistan has seldom been more than a prov- ince or appendage to some neighboring empire, and though the mountainous nature of the country, and the brave and independent spirit of the people, have often opposed formidable obstacles in the wa,y of the most powerful invaders, yet theije has pot been a con- queror of Central Asia, by whom the countiy has not been overrun and reduced at least to a nominal and temporary obedience. Afehanistan was long divided between the monarchs of Persia and Hindostan ; but the inhabitants were always turbulent and dangerous subjects. The tribes of Ghiljee and Abdallce became subjects of Persia in the time of Abbas the Great, in the early part of the seventeenth century. Tlie tranquillity established by the liberal policy of Abbas was of short duration, and his successors were involved in constant disputes and wars with the sovereigns of Hindostan respecting the Afghans. These people were generally able to main- tain a considerable degree of independence by balan- cing between these two powerful states. At last, pro- voked by the tyranny of the Persian viceroy Georgeen Khan, they broke out into open rebellion, and, under the guidance of a brave and artful chief, named Meer Vaiz, they put the hated viceroy to death, and gained possession of the fortress of Candahar, before any sus- picion of insurrection had gone abroad. CHAPTER CCXLII. A. S. 1708 tp 1842. Afghan Independence — The British Invasion. The independence of the Afghans being thus once more asserted, Meer Vaiz proceeded to strengthen him- self by every means, while the feeble and imbecile Per- sian court attempted to restore their authority by nego- tiation. But the insurgents were emboldened by a series of military successes, and Meer Vaiz, having made himself master of his native province of Candahar, assumed the ensigns of royalty, A. D. 1708. He cherished hopes of attaining to still greater power, but he died before his plans could be carried into execu- tion. He left two sons, the elder of whom was but eighteen years of age. In consequence of their youth, the government was placed in the hands of their uncle, Meer Abdollah. He was a man of timid and irreso- lute character ; hnt Mahmood, the e]der son of Meer Vaiz, possessed that fierce spirit which is suitable to a leader of barbarians. Mahmood soon discovered that a general feeling of disaffection toward his uncle prevailed throughout the country, and he could not help regarding him as the usurper of his birthright. Trusting to this feeling for his justification, he collected a band of his adherents, seized the palace, entered the chamber of Meer Ab- dollah, and with his own hand put him to death. His friends immediately hailed him as king. The royal music sounded,* and the assembled chiefs, after deliberating on the conduct of the deceased, acknowl- edged the justice of his fate, and proclaimed Mahmood sovereign of Candahar. The troubles which afflicted Persia gave Mahmood ample leisure, not only to secure himself in power, but to mature the plans of his father ; and accordingly he determined to invade Persia. In the history of that country, we have given an account of the success of the invasion, and of the subsequent death of Mahmood. He was succeeded by his cousin Ashruff, the son of Meer Abdollah. Under him, the Afghans were expelled from Persia by Nadir Shah, as we have already related. When that monarch was assassinated, in 1747, an op- portunity was offered for throwing off" the yoke, which had been imposed upon the Afghans by the conquests of Nadir. Accordingly, an Afghan chief, named Ahmed Khan, took possession of Candahar, and hav- ing the good fortune to intercept an escort-of treasure which was proceeding from Hindostan to the Persian coast, he was enabled to strengthen himself sufficiently to assume the ensigns of royalty, in October, 1747. He proved an able sovereign. The most effectual means which he employed for consolidating the discord- ant mass of the Afghan tribes, was foreign conquest, thereby at once giving employment to their military genius, and gratifying their love of plunder. Hindos- tan, at once rich and weak, was the most attractive object, and Ahmed immediately invaded that country. At the battle of Paniput, he broke the power of the Mahrattas, who were about to seize the fallen sceptre * The privilege of having certain kinds of music is, in most Asiatic countries, carefully preserved. DiflTerent high ranks are designated by the instruments and the number of musi- cians which they are permitted to have. A royal band is a peculiar body, and is called upon to perform on all great oc- casions. The loss of an instrument belonging to such a band, in battle, is deemed of as much importance as the loss of a Toyai Btandaid would be in Europe.