36 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. them no unity. They are scattered groups of summer-houses and low cottages, with a portico in front; but I may say a little more on this subject in another place. The Chinese-I speak not of their rulersappear to be, among themselves, a mild, reasonable, and friendly people. Far from being self-willed and boisterous, they seem to give way with a good grace to what appears to be just and right, unwilling to be obstinate in points where reason is against them. Age is reverenced by them: their parents are honoured, and their poor relations acknowledged and assisted. They are both docile and industrious; but this is the bright side of their character. I must now rub a burnt cork over their faces. I cannot help it; justice is justice all the world over. There is a great deal of outside in the character of the Chinese. Under a specious appearance, they have much insincerity; and often, where etiquette and seeming kindness abound, the heart is hollow as a drum. The law of the land has more influence than conscience over their actions; they are distrustful, jealous, and envious, selfish, coldblooded, and barbarously cruel. Nor is this to be wondered at: we ought not to expect "grapes from thorns, nor figs from thistles." Let us look for a moment at the Chinese nation steadily. First, we have, without the sanctities of a Sabbath day, a false religion, full of darkness, NO SABBATH IN CHINA. 37 confusion, and absurdity, inundating the land from one end to the other with idols. Next, we have a tyrannous and grinding government, the head of which, the Emperor, has absolute power over the liberty and lives of more than three hundred million human beings: then come the courts of law, wherein abound deception, frauds, lying, bribery, and injustice; add to which, debased morals and depraved practices everywhere prevail. Among the mass of the people, poverty renders them reckless; familiarity with cruelty makes them hardhearted. The female sex is held in low estimation, and degraded; and infanticide, or exposure of infants, though not so common as it has been represented to be, is practised among them. The Chinese, as I said, have no Sabbath. When such a state of things shall bring forth a virtuous race of beings, we may reasonably expect the "Ethiope to change his skin, and the leopard his spots." Who that is born in Britain can look at this picture without fondly turning to his native land, and exclaiming,— "England! with all thy faults I love thee still!" For myself, with a thankful heart, I could cry out, over and over again, " Old England for ever!" Having said so much that is unfavourable to the Chinese character, let me relate an anecdote of a Chinese merchant, which is highly creditable to him. Were such instances of gratitude and generosity more common than they are in every country of 38 CHINESE GRATITUDE AND GENEROSITY. the world, they would redound to the honour of mankind. "An English merchant, of the name of C-, resided many years at Canton and Macao, where a sudden reverse of fortune reduced him from a state of affluence to the greatest necessity. A Chinese merchant, named Chinqua, to whom he had formerly rendered service, gratefully offered him an immediate loan of ten thousand dollars, which the gentleman accepted, and gave his bond for the amount; this the Chinese immediately threw into the fire, saying, 'When you, my friend, first came to China, I was a poor man; you took me by the hand, and, assisting my honest endeavours, made me rich. Our destiny is now reversed. I see you poor, while I am blessed with affluence.' The bystanders had snatched the bond from the flames: the gentleman, sensibly affected by such generosity, pressed his Chinese friend to take the security, which he did, and then effectually destroyed it. The disciple of Confucius, beholding the increased distress it occasioned, said he would accept of his watch, or any little valuable, as a memorial of their friendship. The gentleman immediately presented his watch, and Chinqua in return gave him an old iron-seal, saying, 'Take this seal; it is one I have long used, and possesses no intrinsic value; but as you are going to India to look after your outstanding concerns, should fortune further persecute you, draw upon HOMAGE TO A GENEROUS HEATHEN. 39 me for any further sum of money you may stand in need of: sign it with your own hand, and seal it with this signet, and I will pay the money. Grateful and generous heathen! a Christian offers thee the homage of the heart; and while he contemplates his own purer faith and thine exalted deeds, blushes to think that Christian lands should furnish so few instances of thy superior virtue. It may be that thou art above the stars; but if still an inhabitant of the earth,— 66 Pilgrim on land, or roamer of the sea, CHAPTER V. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORY OF CHINA. Chinese Nation one of the oldest of the World.-Fabulous Accounts of the Chinese.-Pwan-koo, the first Man.—TëenHwang-she. Te-Hwang-she.- Jin-Hwang-she. Yew— chaou-she and Suy-jin-she.-The Three Emperors.-The Five Sovereigns.-Yu draws off the Waters of the Deluge. LET us now have a few points and pickings from the history of China, so far as regards the rulers of the empire. The Chinese tell us, but we are not obliged to believe them, that they were a flourishing people ages and ages before the time of Adam. The Bible account of the world makes it about six thousand years old, but this is not enough for the sleek-headed Solons of Canton and Pekin, and so they go back eighty or ninety thousand years more. If you are disposed to follow them do, but, as for myself, I have no inclination. The account given by Moses of the creation of the world, is the only one deserving of credit, and if the ancient Chinese had been content to shave their heads and plat their tails, instead of handing down to posterity stories that have little or no |