from business during the time which he has appointed for rest, than it is to keep the command, "six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.' Ignorant as the Chinese are of the divine laws, they are of course not guilty in the same degree that those are who knowingly transgress the rules which they acknowledge to be the only true standard of moral conduct: still a heavy charge lies against the Chi nese. Multitudes of them know, and multitudes more have the means of knowing, that all their sacrifices to wood and stone, to the winds and waves, are useless; the same too they know respecting the heavy, and sometimes grievous, burdens which they bear in order to support their religions festivals. Yet, knowledge and reason notwithstanding, they obstinately follow the course in which their fathers trod, sacrificing to dumb idols and to devils the good and perfect gifts of the true God. This they do, while the poor and the needy are dying around them for want of food, and the common necessaries of life.

We are urged to make these remarks by seeing hundreds of men, women and children, destitute of food and raiment, sick and dying, on the one side, while on the other, thousands and tens of thousands are going madly after the ‘dragon boats.' Of the origin of this singular festival, we shall not now speak, hoping hereafter to give our readers a full and connected account of the Chinese religious festivals, holidays, &c. Suffice it here to remark, that the day has been fine,' and one of great noise and bustle; that the number of boats is large and they are well manned, each carrying from ten to eighty or a hundred paddles; and that the races, which commenced a few days ago, will continue for several days to come..

Saturday, 14th. Chinese fast. Governor Loo, has issued an order to the two chief magistrates of the districts of Nanhae and Pwanyu, 'commanding them to interdict the slaughter of animals and to fast for three days, to visit two of the principal temples of the city, to offer incense and pray for fair weather.' This procla mation came out this morning; no beef, pork, &c., has been seen in the markets during the day. The weather has been fair, which leads many of the people to imagine that the change from rainy to fair weather has been caused by the virtue of their rulers; to them therefore they give the praise, and not to God who sends or withholds the rains and the fruitful seasons at his pleasure.

Saturday 28th. Inundation. In the dispensations of the divine Providence, cases may occur in which the benighted pagan will seem to have cause to suppose that his rulers or his gods have power to change the course of nature: but the Most High will not give his glory to another, nor his praise to graven images. Notwithstanding the fair weather of the 14th, the aspect of the heavens was changed on the next day, and on the day following the rain came down most plentifully; and so on several succeeding days, till on the 23d and 24th; by the united influence of high tides and the rains, the water rose eighteen inches higher than it did during the dreadful inundation last August. The waters are now abating; but the damage which they have caused to the rice crop and to the mulberry trees, to houses and human life, is very great. As yet, however, we have heard but few particu lars, and must leave the subject for our next number.-Governor Loo, we hear, has just reached the provincial city, having hastened his return in consequence of

the inundation.

Peking. Lord Macartney's friend, Sung Chungtang, (old Sung) is at last laid on the shelf; and must in the course of nature soon be laid in the grave... His imperial majesty on the 6th of March last, published a vermilion mandate' containing his triennial opinion and decisions concerning the magnates of the land. The hero of Cashgar, the present show seäng, or premier of China, Changling, was first in order. His merits,' said the emperor, are far renowned beyond the city: his virtues and his heart are equal.' The cabinet minister Tracu Chinyung. has long labored with diligence, respect and zeal in the military council. He is now upwards of 80 years of age, but his spirits and strength are as usual. The ca, binet minister, Footseun, has exerted his energies for many years., He has been a pure and industrious public servant. His age is 86. His spirits are rather good. These three are lucky omens of a prosperous dynasty. (Footseun has sir.ce died.) The emperor names several others, the governors of Keängnan, Kansuh, &c., and last of all poor Sung, of whom he says; "he is now upwards of eighty years, his strength and his spirits are greatly decreased, and he is hereby ordered to retire with the rank of tootung." This is a sad falling off from the rank of ehungtang, which was his style forty years ago.

THE

CHINESE REPOSITORY.

VOL. III.JULY, 1834. No. 3.

ART. I. The Chinese classics: estimation in which they are held by the Chinese; divided into two parts, the Sze shoo and Woo king; nine subdivisions, with remarks concerning each.

Few books are so little known in Europe as the Chinese classics. Though parts of these works have been translated and paraphrased by western scholars, who have very highly extolled both the books and their authors, still these productions of the Chinese sages have never attracted general attention. The causes of this neglect are obvious; they contain so many trivial remarks, and repetitions, and tru isms, as to render them uninteresting to foreign readers. Yet no lite rary works have found so many admirers and been read by so many successive generations of men, as these classics. They have however been confined to the Chinese and to those who read their language. As soon as a boy enters school he commences learning them by heart, and many will recite book after book without understanding a word of their contents: When the tyro has performed this task, the teacher explains to him the meaning of what he has committed to memory, and the pupil forthwith becomes acquainted with the high principles of the sages. With this education the great majority of young men enter into the business of life, and soon forget the lofty maxims of the prince of letters. But whoever wishes to acquire literary rank, and participate in the government of the empire, must study with redoubled energy and perseverance the entire body of the classics. To aid him in his task he is amply furnished with commentaries as voluminous as the works of Thomas Aquinas, and not less profound and intricate. In his examinations for literary degrees, the classics furnish the themes for his essays; and he has only carefully to repeat the opinions of the most celebrated commentators in order to be sure of success. Having once gained proper testimonials of his acquirements in the study of the classics, he claims the privilege of holding office in the government, because he understands the great rules by which the CH: REP: VOL. III. 14

aucients swayed the empire. Self-interest, therefore, and veneration for the sages, combine to promote the study of these ancient writings, upon which the theory of the government is founded. In the eyes of the Chinese, nothing is more sacred than the text of their classics; it is altogether beyond the whims of criticisms, and the authority of the doctrines which they contain is never doubted. Happy would it be for Christians, if they studied with equal ardor the Holy Bible, in order to become wise unto salvation and to obtain a crown of glory in the kingdom of God. The Chinese classics, properly so called, are divided into two parts, namely the Sze shoo or Four books, aud the Woo king or Five classics. Both of these works consist of several separate treatises, upon each of which we shall at present remark very cursorily, designing hereafter to take them up separately, and to give a summary of their contents.

The Sze shoo contains four distinct treatises, and hence has derived its name, Sze shoo or Four books. The first of these, the Ta heó, is a short politico-moral discourse. Ta heo, or 'superior learning,' is at the same time both the name and the subject of the discourse; it is the summum bonum of the Chinese. In opening this book, compiled by a disciple of Confucius and containing his doctrines, we might expect to find a work like Cicero's De officiis; but we find a very different production, consisting of a few commonplace rules for the maintenance of a good government. The aspirant who would imitate the ancient princes, must first reform himself, then his family, and afterwards the state; and thus he may arrive at the summit of knowledge, and peace and plenty will pervade the whole empire. This is in other words, nosce teipsum, advice which is not to be slighted even in Europe, and which is the sure and only way to effect thorough reform. A part of the Ta heo is supposed to have been lost; and to make up this deficiency, and to prove the antiquity and correctness of the part which has been preserved, a few short sentences are cited from the more ancient classics; several of these quotations are mere rhapsodies and have little or nothing to do with the main subject. In the progress of this discourse, we are surprised to fiud so much said about renovating and polishing our nature; for if man is naturally as virtuous as Confucius represents him to be, such labor is wholly unnecessary. What is the use of precepts and admonitions when the pure and excellent nature of man, always bent on virtuous conduct, must be a sufficient guide?

Next to the Ta heo, in the Four books, is the Chung yung, or Golden medium. This work was compiled by a disciple and grandson of Confucius; and contains the doctrines of the sage. The Due medium, something inexplicable and undefined, is the highest attainment of the sage, who is here represented in his exalted character, participating with the gods in the government of the universe. His unbounded virtue, his perseverance in duty, and his great courage, elevate hiin far above a mere human being. His words and actions partake of the sublime. Of himself he is what he is; and by his own power and virtue he is constantly rising higher and higher! The

whole work seems to be a panegyric on the sage, and the beau ideal of what a true Confucianist ought to be. With much that is obscure or unmeaning, the work contains many very excellent sayings. It is a curious production of an enthusiast, who wrote in behalf of wisdom, without possessing it himself or understanding its exact meaning. The Lun yu is the third and the most prominent part of the Sze shoo. It contains the principal sayings of Confucius in dialogues with his disciples, by whom they were collected and committed to writing. The sage here appears to utter his sentiments without reserve. His actions and manners are delineated with great minuteness, and are held up as patterns for imitation. An unprejudiced European in viewing the renowned sage, would see a common mortal, possessing intelligence and acquirements superior to his countrymen, and an ardent patriot, ambitious of ruling over his nation in order to give a practical proof of the goodness of his principles, but baffled in his best efforts, and deeply affected with the vices of his contemporaries. His age was too degenerate to furnish any illustrious examples worthy of imitation. He referred therefore to the golden times of antiquity, which were long forgotten, and thence drew bis maxims, not wishing to introduce new doctrines, but only to maintain the character of a reformer. His Yaou and Shun, though doubtless real personages, he adorns with all the virtues which he thought requisite in a prince, a father, a child, a minister, and a friend. Having exhausted himself in praising those ancient chieftains, he stimulates his disciples to imitate their glorious examples, and he accepted the situation of prime minister in order to revive their virtuous government. To rule the empire according to the principles laid down by Yaou and Shun was as easy, in the opinion of Confucius, as it was to turn the finger in the palm of the hand. He believed that if the ancient theory of government was reduced to practice, all the princes which in his time divided the Chinese empire among themselves, would do homage to a virtuous emperor. Having now an excellent opportunity to verify his doctrines, he endeavored to improve the government of Loo, his native state. In his new capacity as prime minister, he had partly succeeded and was looking for great success when the neighboring states, becoming jealous of the growing power of Loo, disappointed the fond hopes of Confucius. Witnessing the prosperity which resulted from the wise administration of the sage, the rival states determined to check the power of Loo, and sent a company of dancing girls to the king of that state, who now yielded himnself up to the allurements of pleasure and became deaf to the exhortations and admonitions of his prime minister. Confucius then gladly improved the opportunity which was offered him to resign, and retiring from the cares of state, never again found so favorable an opportunity to demonstrate to the world, that to reform a nation and to rule an empire was as easy as to turn the finger in the palin of the hand! He had now the mortification of seeing, that among all his numerous disciples, there was only one who fully understood and practiced his doctrines in private; and he, alas, died at an early age.

Though thus taught by daily experience that all mankind are averse to moral rectitude, he nevertheless continually extolled the goodness of human nature.

If the sayings of Confucius have been faithfully recorded in the Lun yu, he is certainly not free from the charge of obscurity and affectation in his expressions. He studies the utmost brevity and terseness, and frequently the most profound Chinese scholars, without the aid of commentaries, are unable to comprehend the meaning of his sentences. But we must make allowances for the age and the circumstances in which he lived. Even at this day, among the Chinese, a writer can scarcely lay claim to classical taste, unless he is able to cough his thoughts in language so brief and obscure as to require the aid of a commentator to make them intelligible to the common readWe have seen Chinese scholars treat with contempt treatises on Christianity, because they were written in too plain and easy a style. This notion is deeply rooted in the minds of the Chinese, and will prove a hindrance to the introduction of Christianity, and modern science among this people.

er.

Such is the philosophy of this extraordinary person; and it clearly proves, that fallen man cannot rise to the knowledge of the Creator without the gracious assistance of his Maker. We have heard much of natural religion, but are at a loss where to look for the boasted effects of this wonderful self-existing systein. Confucius, who prizes so much the relations of human life, is very deficient in pointing ont the duties of a man to his wife. He acknowledges this to be the principal relation of human life, and is not slow to inculcate implicit obedience as the duty of the weaker sex. He does not scruple to tell mothers, wives and daughters, that they stand in the lowest place in the scale of nature; and expatiates on marriage and the ceremonies which are necessary on that occasion. 'Woman is not a free agent ;' she is an inferior, dependent being, and lives only for man. In the home of her parents the daughter is kept in retired life, and in every thing must show entire submission to her father; as a wife, her submission to her lord is boundless; as a widow, she must obey the commands of her eldest son. In thus arranging the mutual relations of the sexes, Confucius acted against the laws of nature, and inflicted a severe wound on the constitution of his country. No society can rise above semi-barbarism without the aid of woman; wherever she ceases to be a free agent, civilization necessarily remains in a low state. While Confucius was thus dogmatizing, and heaping opprobrium on inan's better half, he divorced his own wife, and wantonly severed that bond which he had declared sacred. His panegyrists strive to extenuate this egregious misdemeanor, by pretending that his desire to acquire wisdom in retirement, prompted him to this step. But is there no wisdom in woman? Does her tenderness and warm attachment exert no salutary influence on the sterner sex?

The duties which Confucius prescribes to the minister and prince in their relative stations, are less exceptionable; the advantage however is on the side of the minister, the sage having once held that