C CH'I CH I China. HINA, a country of Asia, situated on the most buried alive, lest, from their memories, they should China. It is bounded commit to writing, something of the true memoirs of Boundaries , on the porth by. Tartary; from which it is divided, the empire. The inaccuracy of the Chinese annals is extent, &e. partly by a prodigious wall of 1500 miles in length, complained of even by their most respected author Con- . and partly by bigh, craggy, and inaccessible mountains. fucius bimself; who also affirms, that before bis time China. of Tartary. China proper contains 15 provinces, exclu- the middle heaven, &c. According to some of their great wall, though under the same dominion. Their cyclic characters by which they determine the place of The reigns of these four emperors make up one of any other. Every nation is inclined to assume too sensible people acknowledge as the founder of their ty. high an antiquity to itself; but the Chinese carry theirs empire. thing said of the first; for though we hare but just their bistory is deservedly contemned by every rational age, the people dwelt in caves, or perched upon trees Why their person. What contributes more to the uncertainty of as it were in nests. Of the third ki we hear nothing ; history is the Chinese history is, that neither we, nor they them- and in the fourtlı, it seems matters had been still worse, * uncer- selves, have any thing but fragments of their ancient as we are told that men were then only tanght to re historical books; for, about 213 years before Christ, tire into the hollows of rocks. Of the filth and sixth + A gan every me lain. China. 6 Fabulous gan to leave their caves and dwell in houses, and were taught to prepare clothes, &c. Tchine-fang, the first monarch of the eighth ki, taught his subjects to take off the hair from skins with rollers of wood, and cover themselves with the skins so prepared. He taught them also to make a kind of web of their hair, to serve as a covering to their heads against rain. They obey. ed his orders with joy, and he called his subjects people clothed with skins. His reign lasted 350 years; that of one of his successors, also, named Yeou-tsao-chi, lasted more than 300; and his family continued for 12 or 18,000 years. But what is very surprising, all these thousands and millions of years had elapsed without mankind's having any knowledge of fire. This was not discovered till towards the close of this period, by one Souigine. After so useful a discovery, he taught the people to dress their victuals; whereas before they had devoured the flesh of animals quite raw. drunk their blood, and swallowed even their hair and feathers. He is also said to have been the inventor of fishing, letters, &c. In the ninth period, we find the invention, or at least the origin of letters, attributed to one Tsang-hie, who received them from a divine tortoise that carried them on his shell, and delivered them into the hands of Tsang-hie. During this period also, music, money, carriages, merchandise, commerce, &c. were invented. There are various calculations of the length of these ki or periods. Some make the time from Puan-ku to Confucius, who flourished about 479 years before Christ, to contain 279,000 years; others, 2,276,000; some, 2,759,860 years; others, 3,276,000; and some no less than 96,961,740 years. These extravagant accounts are by some thought history ex- to contain obscure and imperfect hints concerning the plained. cosmogony and creation of the world, &c. Puon-ku, the first emperor, they think, represents eternity preceding the duration of the world. The succeeding ones, Tiene-hoang, Ti-hoang, and Gine-hoang, they imagine, signify the creation of the heavens and earth, and the formation of man. The ten ki or ages, nine of which preceded Fo-hi, mean the ten generations. preceding Noah. This may very possibly be the case; for about 500 years before Christ, some Jews travelled into China, who might have made the Mosaic writings known there. 7 Reign of Fo-hi. What we have now related, contains the substance of that part of the Chinese history which is entirely fabulous. After the nine ki or 66 ages" already taken notice of, the tenth commenced with Fo-hi; and the history, though still very dark, obscure and fabulous, begins to grow somewhat more consistent and intelligible. Fo-hi was born in the province of Shensi. His mother walking upon the bank of a lake in that province, saw a very large print of a man's foot in the sand there; and, being surrounded with an iris or rainbow, became impregnated. The child was named Fo-hi; and, when he grew up, was by his countrymen elected king, on account of his superior merit, and styled Tyen-tse, that is, "the son of heaven." He invented the eight qua, or symbols, consisting of three lines each, which, differently combined, formed 64 characters that were made use of to express every thing. To give these the greater credit, he pretended that he had seen them inscribed on the back of a dragonhorse (an animal shaped like a horse, with the wings and scales of a dragon), which arose from the bottom of a lake. Having gained great reputation among his countrymen by this prodigy, he is said to have created mandarins or officers, under the name of dragons. Hence we may assign a reason why the emperors of China always carry a dragon in their banners. He also instituted marriage, invented music, &c. Having established a prime minister, he divided the government of his dominions among four mandarins, and died after a reign of 115 years. Chi 8 9 After Fo-hi followed a succession of emperors, of Miracu whom nothing remarkable is recorded, except that in solstice the reign of Yau, the seventh after Fohi, the sun did not set for ten days, so that the Chinese were afraid of a general conflagration. This event the compilers of the Universal History take to be the same with that Hypoth mentioned in the book of Joshua, when the sun and concern moon stood still for about the space of a day. Fo-hi this sel they will have to be the same with Noah. They ima- and Fo gine, that after the deluge this patriarch remained some time with his descendants; but on their wicked combination to build the tower of Babel, he separated himself from them with as many as he could persuade to go along with him; and that, still travelling eastward, he at last entered the fertile country of China, and laid the foundation of that vast empire. But, leaving these fabulous and conjectural times, we shall proceed to give some account of that part of the Chinese history which may be more certainly depended on. As the Chinese, contrary to the practice of almost all nations, have never sought to conquer other countries, but rather to improve and content themselves with their own, their history for many ages furnishes nothing remarkable. The whole of their emperors, abstracting from those who are said to have reigned in the fabulous times, are comprehended in 22 dynasties, mentioned in the following table. 16 1368 21. Ming, 22. Tsing, 1645 China. 10 Incursions tars. This table is formed according to the accounts of the Jesuit Du Halde, and is commonly reckoned to be the most authentic; but according to the above-mentioned hypothesis of the compilers of the Universal History, who make Yau cotemporary with Joshua, the dynasty of Hya did not commence till the year before Christ 1357; and to accommodate the history to their hypothesis, great alterations must be made in the duration of the dynasties. The most interesting particulars of the Chinese hiof the Tar- story relate only to the incursions of the Tartars, who at last conquered the whole empire, and who still continue to hold the sovereignty; though by transferring the seat of the empire to Peking, aud adopting the Chinese language, manners, &c. Tartary would seem rather to have been conquered by China, than China by Tartary. These incursions are said to have begun very early; even in the time of the emperor Shun, successor to Yau above mentioned, in whose reign the miraculous solstice happened. At this time, the Tartars were repulsed, and obliged to retire into their own territories. From time to time, however, they continued to threaten the empire with invasions, and the northern provinces were often actually ravaged by the Tartars in the neighbourhood. About the year before Christ 213, Shi-whang-ti, having fully subdued all the princes, or kings as they were called, of the different provinces, became emperor of China with unlimited power. He divided the whole empire into 36 provinces; and finding the northern part of his dominions much incommoded by the invasions of the neighbouring barbarians, he sent a formidable army against them, which drove them far beyond the boundaries of Great wall China. To prevent their return, he built the famous wall already mentioned, which separates China from Tartary. After this, being elated with his Own ploits, he formed a design of making posterity believe that he himself had been the first Chinese emperor that ever sat on the throne. For this purpose, he or dered all the historical writings to be burnt, and caused many of the learned to be put to death, as already mentioned. built. 12 Kitan Tar ex. What effect the great wall for some time had in tars settle preventing the invasions of the Tartars, we are not in China. told; but in the tenth century of the Christian era, those of Kitan or Lyau got a footing in China. The Kitan were a people of eastern Tartary, who dwelt to the north and north-east of the province of Pecheli in China, particularly in that of Lyau-tong, lying without the great wall. These people having subdued the country between Korea and Kashgar, became much more troublesome to the. Chinese than all the other Tartars. Their empire commenced about the year 916, in the fourth year of Mo-ti-kyan-ti, second emperor of the 14th Chinese dynasty called Hew-Lyang. In 946, Mingt-song, second emperor of the 15th dynasty, being dead, Sheking-tang his son-in-law rebelled against Mingt-song, his son and successor, whom he deprived of his crown and life. This he accomplished by means of an army of 50,000 men furnished by the Kitan. Fi-ti, the son of Mingt-song, being unable to resist the usurper, fled to the city Ghey-chew; where shutting himself up with his family and all his valuable effects, he set fire to the palace, and was burnt to ashes. On his death, Sheking-tang assumed the title of emperor; founded the 16th dynasty; and changed China. his name to that of Kaut-su. But the Kitan general refusing to acknowledge him, he was obliged to purchase a peace by yielding up to the Tartars 16 cities in the province of Pecheli, besides a yearly present of 300,000 pieces of silk. This submission served only to inflame the avarice and ambition of the Kitan. In 959, they broke the treaty when least expected, and invaded the empire afresh. Tsi-vang, the emperor at that time, opposed them with a formidable army; but through the treach ery of his general Lyew-chi-ywen, the Tartars were allowed to take him prisoner. On this, Tsi-vang was glad to recover his liberty, by accepting of a small principality; while the traitor became emperor of all China, and, changing his name to Kaut-su, founded the 17th dynasty. The Tartars, in the mean time, ravaged all the northern provinces without opposition, and then marched into the southern. But being here stopped by some bodies of Chinese troops, the general thought proper to retire with his booty into Tartary. In 962, Kaut-su-dying, was succeeded by his son In-ti. The youth of this prince gave an opportunity to the eunuchs to raise commotions; especially as the army was employed at a distance in repelling the invasions of the Tartars. This army was commanded by Ko-ghey, who defeated the enemy in several battles, and thus restored peace to the northern provinces. In the mean time, In-ti was slain by his eunuchs, and the empress placed his brother on the throne but Ko-ghey returning in triumph, was saluted emperor by his victorious army; and the empress being unable to support the rights of her son, was obliged to submit, while Ko-ghey, assuming the name of Tay-tsu, founded the 18th dynasty. Nine years after this, however, the grandees of the empire, setting aside Kong-ti, the third in succession from Taytsu, on account of his non-age, proclaimed his guardian, named Chau-quang-yu, emperor; who assuming the name of Kau-tsu, founded the 19th dynasty, called Song or Tsong. Under this monarch the empire began to recover itself; but the Kitan still continued their incursions. The successors of Kau-tsu opposed them with various success; but at last, in 978, the barbarians became so strong as to lay siege to a considerable city. Taytsong, successor to Kau-tsu, detached 300 soldiers, each carrying a light in his hand, against them in the nighttime, with orders to approach as near as possible to the Tartar camp. The barbarians imagining, by the number of lights, that the whole Chinese army was at hand, immediately fled, and, falling into the ambuscades laid for them by the Chinese general, were almost all cut to pieces. This check, however, did not long put a stop to the ravages of the Kitan. In the year 999, they laid siege to a city in the province of Pecheli; but Chingtsong, successor to Tay-tsong, came upon them with his army so suddenly, that they betook themselves to flight. The emperor was advised to take advantage of their consternation, and recover the country which had been yielded to them; but instead of pursuing his victory, he bought a peace by consenting to pay annually 100,000 tael (about 34,000l.), and 200,000 pieces of silk. The youth and pacific disposition of A 2 Jin-tsong, 13 However, a who as : China. Jin-tsong, successor to Ching-tsong, revived the cou. Along that she had been divorced, they left hier behind. Chin: rage of the Kitan; and, in 1035, war would have This proved the means of saving the empire ; for by but without effect. Ili-tsong the Kin monarch, in the Kitan dri. From this time the Kitan remained in peaceable pos- mean time, endeavoured to gain the esteem of his van out by session of their Chinese dominions till the year 1117. Chinese subjects by paying a regard to their learning the eastern Tartars; Whey-tsong, at that time emperor, being able nei- and learned men, and honouring the memory of Conther to bear their ravages, nor by himself to put a fucius. Some time after he advanced to Nanking, stop to them, resolved upon a remedy which at last from whence Kau-tsong bad retired, and took it: but, proved worse than the disease. This was to call in receiving advice that Yo-si, general of the Song, or the Nu-che, Nyu-che, or Eastern Tartars, to destroy southern Chinese, was advancing by long marches to the kingdom of the Kitan. From this he was dissua- the relief of that city, they set fire to the palace, and 17 ded by the king of Korea, and most of his own niini- retired northward. Yo-si arrived time Progres sters; but, disregarding their salutary advice, be join- enough to fall upon their rear-guard, which suffered the Kin ed his forces to those of the No-che. The Kitan were very much ; and from this time the Kin never dared checked thien everywhere defeated; and at last reduced to to cross the river Kyang. In a few years afterwards such extremity, that those who remained were forced the Chinese emperor submitted to become tributary to to leave their country, and fly to the mountains of the the Kin, and concluded a peace with them upon very 14 west. dishonourable terms. This submission, however, was Thus the empire of the Kitan was totally destroyed, of little avail : for, in 1163, the Tartars broke the sume the but nothing to the advantage of the Chinese ; for the peace, and, invading the southern province with a forname of Kin, and Tartar general, elated with his conquest, gave the midable army, took the city of Yang-chew. The in vade name of Kin to his new dominion, assumed the title of king, having approached the river Kyang, near its China. emperor, and began to think of aggrandizing him- mouth, where it is widest as well as most rapid, com- the tsong was weak enough to go in person to hold a se- whole army, he was seized with fear, and made pro13 cond conference; but, on bis arrival , was immediate- posals of peace, which were rejected. In 1212, the They take ly seized by the Tartar. He was kept prisoner un- Mogul generals forced the great wall; or, according forced 1 the empe- der a strong guard during the remaining part of his to some writers, had one of the gates treacherously Jeng bi: cor prison- life ; and ended his days in 1126, in the desert of opened to them, to the north of Shansi ; and made in-kban. Shamo, having nominated his eldest son Kin-tsong to cursions as far as Peking, the capital of the Kin ensucceed him. pire. At the same time the province of Lyau-tong Kin-tsong began his reign with putting to death six was almost totally reduced by several Kitan lords who ministers of state, who had betrayed his father into bad joined Jenghiz-khan ; several strong places were the bands of the Kin Tartars. The barbarians in taken, and an army of 300,000 Kin defeated by the the meantime pursued their conquests without oppo. Moguls. In autumn they laid siege to the city of sition. They crossed the Whang-ho, or Yellow river, Tay-tong-fu ; where, although the governor Hujaku wliich a handful of troops might have prevented; and fled, yet Jenghiz-khan niet with considerable resist marching directly towards the imperial city, took and Having lost a vast number of men, and being Imperial plundered it. Then seizing the emperor and his con- himself wounded by an arrow, be was obliged to raise city and sort, they carried them away captives: but many of the siege and retire into Tartary; after which the Kin another the priucipal lords, and several of the ministers, prefer- retook several cities. The next year, liowever, Jenemperor ring death to such an ignominious bondage, killed them- ghiz-kban re-entered China; retook the cities which taken. selves. The Kin. being informied by the empres3 ihe Kin bad reduced the year before ; and overthrew IS 19 Great er. ܪ ance. 26 |