encouragement, pecuniary assistance, and, last but not least, the supply to deserving books of prefaces written with the vermilion pencil.

Confucianism was not for the moment exposed to any attacks. Roman Catholicism had been scotched by the formal expulsion of its missionaries under the edicts of 1718 and 1724, and Protestants had, so far, not entered upon the field. It was only in 1807 that the Rev. Dr. Morrison, of dictionary fame, went out to Canton; and within a year he retired for safety and the convenience of his work to Macao.

In 1820 the emperor known to us as Tao Kuang, second son of Chia Ching, succeeded to the throne. His courage had saved his father's life on the occasion of the attack on the palace in 1813, and he had been at once named heir apparent. He made a good beginning, and attempted to purify the court; but war with England, and rebellion. in various parts of the empire, darkened his reign, and little progress was made. Gradually he learned to hate foreigners, and opposed their claims; and, borrowing a saying some centuries old, he declared that he was not going to allow another man "to snore alongside of his bed."

There was, at any rate, one great Confucianist who flourished during this period, and strove, both by his own works and by the patronage he extended to others, to keep alive the Confucian spirit. Under the friendly auspices of Yuan-Yuan (1764– 1849) was produced, in a uniform edition, a col

lection of more than one hundred and eighty separate treatises on the canon by scholars of the present dynasty. This work fills one hundred and two large volumes, and was intended to be a continuation of the similar collection published in 1675. Of course, every one who is a follower of Confucius may be called a Confucianist, but a man is specially so distinguished by the Chinese if he has contributed to the enormous mass of literature which helps in any way to explain, or sets forth in glowing color and attractive form, the holy teachings of the master.

The active opposition of Commissioner Lin (17851850) to the opium trade, which precipitated the war, was a direct outcome of his careful training in the Confucian school. The question of morality and the appeal to justice which he introduced into his famous letter to the queen, asking her to put a stop to the opium trade, were both based upon the ethics of Confucius. He not only professed his firm adherence to Confucianism, but exhibited in his every-day life a lofty conception of its ideals. He is the one representative of China, during this reign, to whom all foreigners would ungrudgingly accord the title of an honest man and a true patriot.

Tao Kuang was succeeded in 1851 by his fourth son, known to us as the Emperor Hsien Fêng. The reign of the latter is particularly associated with the Tai-ping rebellion, which shook the empire to its foundations, and, but for the presence of General Gordon, would probably have succeed

ed in putting an end to the Manchu-Tartar dynasty. In one of its aspects, it was a crusade against Confucianism, organized by a small band of men who had adopted a morbid and spurious Christianity. The large following which these leaders gathered around their banner knew nothing whatever of genuine Christianity, and very little of the doctrines offered them by the soi-disant Brother of Christ, afterwards known as the Heavenly King. As matters turned out, the shock to Confucianism was a mere nothing; for, although the Heavenly King succeeded in capturing some six hundred cities in sixteen out of the eighteen provinces, so soon as the rebellion was crushed (1864) Confucianism at once and completely regained the ground it can hardly be said to have lost. It suffered most, perhaps, through the destruction of many printing establishments containing the blocks of now priceless editions of valuable works on the classics. On the other hand, it can be shown that Confucianism is sometimes extremely sensitive. It had been enacted that the Sacred Edict, mentioned above, should be publicly read to the people on the 1st and 15th of each month, at every important centre all over the empire. This practice had been allowed to fall very much into desuetude at Canton. But about the year 1850 a number of educated Chinese, taking alarm at the open activity of Protestant missionaries, actually formed themselves into a society for reading and studying the Sacred Edict among themselves.

No one, of course, could maintain that the mere study of Confucian doctrines would suffice to turn out men of high character, unless the seed were sown in minds, as Confucius said, "fit for the reception of truth." As a counterpoise to Commissioner Lin, we may cite the case of Governor Yeh, whose action in the Arrow affair led to the bombardment and capture of Canton in 1857. When sent a prisoner to Calcutta, Yeh was asked why he never read, to pass the time. "All the books which are worth reading," he replied, "I already know by heart." He was alluding to the Confucian canon, his intimate acquaintance with which had placed him high on the list of candidates for the coveted third degree. Yet this man was, as an official, little more than a blood-thirsty tyrant. He is said to have put to death, first and last, no fewer than seventy thousand Tai-ping rebels. He had also become so unwieldy from self-indulgence that, although disguised for flight, he was unable to make the necessary effort to evade his pursuers

In 1861 the emperor, who smoked opium to excess, died at Jehol, whither he had fled to escape from the English and French forces, then at the gates of Peking, and his son, Tung Chih, reigned in his stead. Coming to the throne as a mere child, the latter remained during his thirteen years of rule entirely under the guidance of the empress dowager, so that almost the first that was heard of him as an emperor was that he had fallen a victim to small-pox. He could not have learned much

good about foreigners from his Confucian tutors, one of whom openly expressed his daily and nightly longing "to sleep on their skins." Meanwhile, with the ratification of the treaty of Tientsin, a shadow fell across the path of Confucianism. Since the days of the opium war and the partial opening of China, the missionary question had gradually entered upon the acute stage in which it may be said to have remained ever since, and it had become needful to insert in the new treaty a clause protecting not only the Christian religion and its exponents, but its converts. This was, and always has been, resented by Confucianists as withdrawing the converts from their allegiance; but it is difficult to say what other arrangement could have been made. Neither can it be fairly alleged that Protestant missionaries have ever abused their opportunities.

With the close of the Tai-ping rebellion, with a settled government, and with more prosperous times generally, the production of books showed marked signs of increase. Clearly printed editions of the classics and kindred works were issued from Wu-chang, the capital of Hupeh; on execrable paper it is true, but at a price which placed them easily within reach of the masses.

In 1872 Tsêng Kuo-fan died, at the comparatively early age of sixty-one. He had worn himself out in the service of the state, first as a successful military commander and afterwards as a successful administrator. He was, further, a suc