Part 31

"The policy of Asia is totally opposite. There the prince regards the place of his nativity as an accident of mere indifference. If the parent root be good, he thinks it will flourish in every soil, and perhaps acquire fresh vigour from transplantation. It is not locality, but his own cast and family; it is not the country where he drew his breath, but the stock from which he sprung; it is not the scenery of the theatre, but the spirit of the drama, that engages his attention and occupies his thoughts. A series of two hundred years, in the succession of eight or ten monarchs, did not change the Mogul into a Hindoo, nor has a century and a half made _Tchien-Lung_ a Chinese. He remains, at this hour, in all his maxims of policy, as true a Tartar as any of his ancestors."

Whether this most ancient empire among men will long continue in its stability and integrity, can only be matter of conjecture, but certain it is, the Chinese are greatly dissatisfied, and not without reason, at the imperious tone now openly assumed by the Tartars; and though they are obliged to cringe and submit, in order to rise to any distinction in the state, yet they unanimously load them with

"Curses, not loud, but deep, mouth-honour, breath[33]."

[33] The last accounts, indeed, that have been received from China, are rather of an alarming nature. A very serious rebellion had broken out in the western provinces, which had extended to that of Canton, the object of which was the overthrow of the Tartar government. It was known for some years past, as I before observed, that certain secret societies were forming in the different provinces, who corresponded together by unknown signs, agreed upon by convention, but they were not considered to be of that extent as to cause any uneasiness to the government. It appears, however, that not fewer than forty thousand men had assembled in arms in the province of Canton, at the head of whom was a man of the family of the last Chinese Emperor, who had assumed the Imperial Yellow. These rebels, it seems, are considerably encouraged in their cause by a prophesy, which is current among the people, that the present Tartar dynasty shall be overturned in the year 1804. The existence of such a prophecy may be more dangerous to the Tartar government than the arms of the rebels, by assisting to bring about its own accomplishment.

Whenever the dismemberment or dislocation of this great machine shall take place, either by a rebellion or revolution, it must be at the expence of many millions of lives. For, as is well observed by Lord Macartney, "A sudden transition from slavery to freedom, from dependence to authority, can seldom be borne with moderation or discretion. Every change in the state of man ought to be gentle and gradual, otherwise it is commonly dangerous to himself, and intolerable to others. A due preparation may be as necessary for liberty, as for inoculation of the small-pox, which, like liberty, is future health but, without due preparation, is almost certain destruction. Thus then the Chinese, if not led to emancipation by degrees, but let loose on a burst of enthusiasm, would probably fall into all the excesses of folly, suffer all the paroxysms of madness, and be found as unfit for the enjoyment of rational freedom, as the French and the negroes."

CHAP. VIII.

Conjectures on the Origin of the Chinese.--Their Religious Sects,--Tenets,--and Ceremonies.

_Embassy departs from Pekin, and is lodged in a Temple.--Colony from Egypt not necessary to be supposed, in order to account for Egyptian Mythology in China.--Opinions concerning Chinese Origin.--Observations on the Heights of Tartary.--Probably the Resting-place of the Ark of Noah.--Ancients ignorant of the Chinese.--Seres.--First known Intercourse of Foreigners with China.--Jews.--Budhists.--Nestorians. --Mahomedans.--Roman Catholics.--Quarrels of the Jesuits and Dominicans. --Religion of Confucius.--Attached to the Prediction of future Events. --Notions entertained by him of a future State.--Of the Deity.--Doctrine not unlike that of the Stoics.--Ceremonies in Honour of his Memory led to Idolatry.--Misrepresentations of the Missionaries with regard to the Religion of the Chinese.--The_ Tao-tze _or_ Sons of Immortals.--_Their Beverage of Life.--The Disciples of_ Fo _or Budhists.--Comparison of some of the Hindu, Greek, Egyptian, and Chinese Deities.--The_ Lotos _or_ Nelumbium.--_Story of_ Osiris _and_ Isis, _and the_ Isia _compared with the Imperial Ceremony of Ploughing.--Women visit the Temples.--Practical Part of Chinese Religion.--Funeral Obsequies.--Feast of Lanterns.--Obeisance to the Emperor performed in Temples leads to Idolatry.--Primitive Religion lost or corrupted.--Summary of Chinese Religion._

The suspicious and watchful conduct of the Chinese government towards strangers was ill suited to the free and independent spirit of Britons. Confined within the limits of their hotel, the populous capital of China was to them little better than a desert. It was, therefore, less painful to be obliged to quit a place which they could consider in no other light than as an honourable prison, and to take leave of a people, whose general character seemed to be strongly marked with pride, meanness, and ignorance. After having passed some time in a nation, where every petty officer is a tyrant, and every man a slave, how doubly precious do the blessings of that true liberty appear, which our happy constitution affords to every one the means of enjoying at home; where property is secured from violence, and where the life of the meanest subject is equally protected with that of the prince. Let those visionary men, who amuse themselves in building Utopian governments, and those who, from real or fancied injury or neglect, feel the chagrin of disappointment, visit other countries, and experience how justice is administered in other nations; they will then be taught to confess that real liberty exists only in Great Britain--in that happy island where, to use the expression of an eminent writer on the laws of nations[34], "an enlightened piety in the people is the firmest support of lawful authority; and in the sovereign's breast, it is the pledge of the people's safety, and excites their confidence."

[34] Vattel.

Impressed with such sentiments, on the evening of the 7th of October I rode through the streets of Pekin, for the last time, in company with Mr. Maxwell. We were quite alone, not a single Chinese servant, nor soldier, nor officer to conduct us; yet we had no difficulty in finding our way. We passed through the broad streets of this capital from one extremity to the other without the least molestation, or, indeed, the least notice. We could not forbear remarking the extraordinary contrast, that the two greatest cities in the world exhibited at this hour of the day. In the public streets of Pekin, after five or six o'clock in the evening, scarcely a human creature is seen to move, but they abound with dogs and swine. All its inhabitants, having finished the business of the day, are now retired to their respective homes to eat their rice and, agreeably with the custom of their great Emperor, which to them is a law, to lie down with the setting sun; at which time in London, the crowd is so great, from Hyde Park corner to Mile End, as to interrupt each other. In Pekin, from the moment the day begins to dawn, the buzz and the bustle of the populace is like that of a swarm of bees; whilst, on the contrary, the streets of London at an early hour in the morning are nearly deserted. At eight in the evening, even in summer, the gates of Pekin are shut, and the keys sent to the governor, after which they cannot be opened on any consideration.

The Embassador and the rest of the suite, with the soldiers, servants and musicians had, several hours before us, set out in a sort of procession, in which an officer of government on horseback took the lead, with the letter of the Emperor of China to the King of England slung across his shoulders, in a wooden case covered with yellow silk. At a late hour in the night, we joined the rest of the party in the suburbs of _Tong-tchoo-foo_, where we were once more lodged among the gods of the nation, in a temple that was consecrated to the patronizing deity of the city. There are no inns in any part of this vast empire; or, to speak more correctly (for there are resting-places), no inhabited and furnished houses where, in consideration of paying a certain sum of money, a traveller may purchase the refreshments of comfortable rest, and of allaying the calls of hunger. The state of society admits of no such accommodation, and much less such as, in many countries, proceeds from a spirit of disinterested hospitality; on the contrary, in this country, they invariably shut their doors against a stranger. What they call inns are mean hovels, consisting of bare walls where, perhaps, a traveller may procure his cup of tea for a piece of copper money, and permission to pass the night; but this is the extent of the comforts which such places hold out. The practice indeed of travelling by land is so rare, except occasionally in those parts of the country which admit not the convenience of inland navigations, or at such times when these are frozen up, that the profits which might arise from the entertainment of passengers could not support a house of decent accommodation. The officers of state invariably make life of the conveniences which the temples offer, as being superior to any other which the country affords; and the priests, well knowing how vain it would be to resist, or remonstrate, patiently submit, and resign the temporary use of their apartments without a murmur.

In most countries of the civilized world, the buildings appropriated for religious worship and the repositories of their gods, are generally held sacred. In the monasteries of those parts of Europe, where inns are not to be found, the apartments of the monks are sometimes resorted to by travellers, but in China the very _sanctum sanctorum_ is invaded. Every corner is indiscriminately occupied by men in power, if they should require it. Sometimes, also, the whole building is made a common place of resort for vagrants and idlers, where gamblers mix with gods, and priests with pick-pockets. In justice, however, it must be observed, that the priests of the two popular religions which predominate in the country shew no inclination to encourage, by joining in, the vicious practices of the rabble; but having no pay nor emolument from government, and being rather tolerated than supported, they are obliged to submit to and to overlook abuses of this nature, and even to allow the profane practices of the rabble in the very hours of their devotion. Yet there is a decency of behaviour, a sort of pride and dignity in the deportment of a Chinese priest, that readily distinguish him from the vulgar. The calumnies, which some of the Roman Catholic missionaries have so industriously circulated against them, seem to have no foundation in truth. The near resemblance of their dress and holy rites to those of their own faith was so mortifying a circumstance, that none of the missionaries I conversed with could speak with temper of the priests of China. I could not even prevail on our interpreter of the _propaganda fide_, who still manifested a predilection for the customs of his country in every other respect, to step into the temple where the altar was placed; nor could he be induced, by any persuasion, to give or to ask an explanation of their mysterious doctrines.

There is no subject, perhaps, on which a traveller ought to speak with less confidence, than on the religious opinions of the people he may chance to visit, in countries out of Europe, especially when those opinions are grounded on a very remote antiquity. The allegorical allusions in which they might originally have been involved, the various changes they may since have undergone, the ceremonies and types under which they are still exhibited, in their modern dress, render them so wholly unintelligible that, although they may have been founded in truth and reason, they now appear absurd and ridiculous; equally inexplicable by the people themselves who profess them, as by those who are utter strangers. The various modes, indeed, under which the Creator and Ruler of the Universe is recognised by various nations, all tending to one point, but setting out in very different directions, can only be understood and reconciled by a thorough knowledge of the language, the history, and the habits of the people; of their origin and connections with other nations; and, even after such knowledge has been obtained, it is no easy task to separate fable from metaphor, and truth from fiction. For these reasons, the religion of China appears to be fully as obscure and inexplicable as that of almost any other of the oriental nations. The language of the country, added to the jealousy of the government in admitting foreigners, have thrown almost insuperable obstacles in the way of clearing up this intricate subject; and those few, who only have had opportunities of overcoming these difficulties, were unfortunately men of that class, whose opinions were so warped by the prejudices imbibed with the tenets of their own religion, that the accounts given by them are not always to be depended upon. As I have already observed, they cannot bring themselves to speak or to write of the priests of China with any degree of temper or moderation.

It would be presumptuous in me to suppose, for a moment, that I am qualified to remove the veil of darkness that covers the popular religion of China. But as, in the practice of this religion, it is impossible not to discover a common origin with the systems of other nations in ancient times, it may not be improper to introduce a few remarks on the subject, and to enquire if history will enable us to point out, in what manner they might have received or communicated the superstitions and metaphysical ideas that seem to prevail among them. The obvious coincidence between some parts of the mythological doctrines of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, with those of China, induced the learned Monsieur de Guignes and many of the Jesuits to infer, that a colony from Egypt, at some remote period, had passed into China. This however does not appear probable. The Chinese are not a mixed but a distinct race of men; and their countenance has nothing of the ancient Egyptian in it. Nor indeed is it necessary to suppose any such connection, in order to explain the vestiges of Egyptian mythology that may appear in their temples. We are informed by history that when Alexander marched into India, about three centuries before the birth of Christ, many learned Greeks accompanied him on this memorable expedition; and we are further informed that, two centuries after this period when the persecutions and cruelties of Ptolemy Physcon expelled great numbers of learned and pious Greeks and Egyptians from the city of Alexandria, they travelled eastward in search of an asylum among the Persians and the Indians; so that there is nothing extraordinary in meeting with Greek and Egyptian superstitions among nations of the East; even where no vestige of their language remains. For it may be observed that, whenever colonies emigrate from their own country and settle among strangers, they are much more apt to lose their native language, than their religious dogmas and superstitious notions. Necessity indeed may compel them to adopt the language of the new country into which they have emigrated, but any compulsive measures to draw them to another religion serve only to strengthen them in their own. The French refugees at the Cape of Good Hope totally lost their language in less than seventy years; and, singular as it may appear, I met with a deserter from one of the Scotch regiments, on the borders of the Kaffer country, who had so far forgot his language, in the course of about three years, that he was not able to make himself intelligible by it. Many languages, we know, have totally been lost, and others so changed as scarcely to preserve any traces of their original form[35].

[35] This consideration on the transient nature of languages, and especially of those whose fleeting sounds have never been fixed by any graphic invention, makes it the more surprizing how Lord Kames, in his sketch on the origin and progress of American nations, after observing that no passage by land had been discovered between America and the old world, should have given it as his opinion, that an enquiry, much more decisive at to the former being peopled by the latter, might be pursued, by ascertaining whether the same language be spoken by the inhabitants on the two sides of the strait that divides the northern regions of America from Kamskatka. And that, after finding this not to be the case, he should conclude that the former could not have been peopled by the latter. Had not Lord Kames written upon a system of a separate and local creation, pre-established in his own mind, he would unquestionably have laid more stress upon a resemblance in their physical characters, in their superstitions and religious notions, than on similarity of language; which, among the many acquirements of the human species, or of human institution, is not the least liable to change by a change of situation, especially where no written character has been employed to fix it. His Lordship's conclusion is the more extraordinary, as he had already observed that the resemblance between them was perfect in every other respect.

Mr. Bailly, with some other learned and ingenious men, was of opinion, that many fragments of the old and absurd fables of China are discoverable in the ancient history of the Hindus, from the birth of _Fo-shee_, the founder of the empire (_Fo-hi_, as the French write the word,) until the introduction of Budha, or Fo. Like the Hindus, it is true, they have always shewn a remarkable predilection for the number _nine_. Confucius calls it the most perfect of numbers. But the Scythians, or Tartars, have also considered this as a sacred number. It is true, likewise, they resemble some of the Indian nations, in the observance of solstitial and equinoxial sacrifices; in making offerings to the manes of their ancestors; in the dread of leaving no offspring behind them, to pay the customary obsequies to their memory; in observing eight cardinal or principal points of the world; in the division of the Zodiac, and in a variety of other coincidences, which the learned Mr. Bryant accounts for by supposing the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Indians, to be derived from one common stock, and that some of these people carried their religion and their learning into China. No proof however is adduced, either by him or others, of such a communication; and an assertion directly the contrary might have been made with equal plausibility.

That the Chinese do not owe their origin to the same stock, their physical character is of itself a sufficient proof. The small eye, rounded at the extremity next the nose, instead of being angular, as is the case in that of Europeans, its oblique instead of horizontal position, and the flat and broad root of the nose, are features or characters entirely distinct from the Hindu, the Greek, or the Roman; and belong more properly to the natives of that vast extent of country, which was known to the ancients by the name of Scythia, and, in modern times, by that of Tartary. There is scarcely in nature two of the human species that differ more widely than a Chinese and a Hindu, setting aside the difference of colour, which however modern enquiries have determined to have little or no relation to climate, but rather to some original formation of the different species. The Mantchoo, and indeed all the other Tartar tribes bordering upon China, are scarcely distinguishable from the Chinese. The same colour, except in a few instances as I have elsewhere observed, the same eyes, and general turn of the countenance prevail, on the continent of Asia, from the tropic of Cancer to the Frozen Ocean[36]. The peninsula of Malacca, and the vast multitude of islands spread over the eastern seas, and inhabited by the Malays, as well as those of Japan and Lieou-kieou, have clearly been peopled from the same common stock. The first race of people to the northward of Hindostan, that possess the Tartar countenance, so different from that of the Hindus, are the inhabitants of Bootan. "The _Booteeas_," says Captain Turner, "have invariably black hair, which it is their fashion to cut short to the head. The eye is a very remarkable feature of the face; small, black, with long pointed corners[37], as though stretched and extended by artificial means. Their eye-lashes are so thin as to be scarcely perceptible, and the eye-brow is but slightly shaded. Below the eyes is the broadest part of the face, which is rather flat, and narrows from the cheek-bones to the chin; a character of countenance appearing first to take its rise among the Tartar tribes, but is by far more strongly marked in the Chinese."

[36] It is sufficiently remarkable, that the Emperor _Kaung-shee_, in giving, by public edict, some account to his subjects of the different nations of Asia and Europe, should make the following observation. "To the southward of the _Cossack_ country a horde of _Hoo-tse_ (Turks) is established, who are descended from the same stock with _Yuen-tay-tse_, formerly Emperors of China."

[37] The _exterior_ angles are here meant which, in the Chinese also, are extended in the same or a greater proportion than the _interior_ ones are rounded off.

The heights of Tartary, bulging out beyond the general surface of the globe, have been considered, indeed, by many as the cradle of the human species, or still more emphatically, and perhaps more properly, as _the foundery of the human race_. This opinion did not arise solely from the vast multitudes of people corresponding with the Tartar character, that are spread over every part of the eastern world, and who in countless swarms once overran all Europe, but was grounded on a supposition, that the whole surface of the globe, or the greater part of it, has at one time been submerged in water, and that Tartary was the last to be covered, and the first that was uncovered; and the place from whence, of course, a new set of creatures were forged as in a workshop, from some remnant of the old stock, to be the germs of future nations.