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 THE 
 
 FALL OF THE NAN SOUNG : 
 
 ^ €alt of tije 
 
 MOGUL CONQUEST OF CHINA. 
 
 A. L. LYMBURNER. 
 
 N THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SAUNDERS AND GTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. 
 
 1846.
 
 L385-f 
 V. X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The literature of all European nations is rich in 
 works upon the Chinese emj^ire, but they are 
 either too bulky for the general reader's time, 
 or too ditficult to be obtained, even by most of 
 those who have the leisure to peruse them ; 
 and though some works of travellers exist, of 
 less dimensions, and more easy of access, yet 
 the information of most such is necessarily 
 meagre, on account of their size, and they 
 frequently betray the prejudice and ill-feeling 
 naturally excited in men who enter a country 
 where they are regarded and treated more as 
 spies and prisoners than visitors or guests. 
 
 I have sought to supply this deficiency, and 
 to produce a work that might be read alike 
 bv the common novel reader and the student.
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 The former, however, I fear, will complaiu that 
 my work is tedious ; the latter, I hope, will be 
 more considerate, as he will find in the following 
 pages information collected from a variety of 
 sources, at the exj^ense of considerable time and 
 labour, which I have weaved into a tale of fiction, 
 the principal characters of which are historical. 
 
 Though the period I have selected for my 
 story — that of the conquest of the Chinese 
 empire by the Moguls in the latter half of the 
 thirteenth century — may appear as too remote to 
 permit of the manners of a people of the present 
 day being illustrated in the persons of their 
 sires so many generations back, yet the reader 
 must recollect that the customs and ideas of the 
 celestial empire exist, at present, the same as in 
 the remotest antiquity, and that the Chinese 
 consider any variation from the habits of their 
 ancestors as being a most dread impiety. 
 
 I will also take the opportunity that the 
 preface affords me, of explaining that I do not 
 wish it to be implied that all Chinese ladies are 
 as deeply read and fitted for abstruse discourse 
 as I have drawn Luseynah and Linp)eytsin — on 
 the contrary, their character is generally indo- 
 lent and inactive ; but the ojiportunitv that a
 
 PREFACE. VU 
 
 departure from this description afforded me to 
 introduce many topics -which I considered as 
 interesting, I hope will be my apology. I have 
 also to beg pardon for the abruptness with 
 which my story may appear to terminate, as it 
 is my intention, should this meet with the 
 approval of the pubhc, to publish a sequel. 
 
 It will also be necessary that I give here an 
 historical summary, which I will endeavour to 
 render as short as possible. 
 
 In the tenth century, the Chinese empire was 
 divided between two dynasties — the Pehan, who 
 reigned in the northern, and the Tcheyu, who 
 reigned in the southern provinces. 
 
 The emperor of the Tcheyu died, leaving an 
 infant son. Immediately upon hearing this 
 event, the Pehan and Kitans (vide Note 63) put 
 themselves in motion, thinking the moment 
 favourable for their aggressions. To counteract 
 their designs, a general of the name of Tchao 
 Kouang was dispatched by the ministers of the 
 Tcheyu against them. He had already signahzed 
 himself, and attached to his person the affec- 
 tions alike of officers and soldiers. 
 i\.s this general quitted Caifong-fu, the capital of 
 the Tcheyu, the populace, assembled to witness
 
 Vm PREFACE. 
 
 his departure, gave utterance to seditious cries, 
 repeating that he who could so worthily com- 
 mand the army should be raised to the throne. 
 This disposition of the lower orders was con- 
 firmed by superstition ; a skilful astrologer 
 causing them either to see, or imagine they saw, 
 two suns in the heavens, one of which eclipsed 
 the light of the other, from which he deduced 
 that the divine powers were favourable to the 
 revolutionary project. 
 
 Tchao Kouang had pitched his camp for the 
 night, and retired to rest, when he was awakened 
 by the superior officers of his army, who en- 
 tered his tent with drawn swords, and, with 
 menaces, compelled him to assume the yellow 
 habit, which, in China, indicates the wearer either 
 to be an aspirant to or possessor of the imperial 
 dignity. 
 
 The revolution was quietly effected in the 
 city, about the same time as in the camp, the 
 deposed monarch being created Prince of 
 Tching, and having a revenue assigned him. 
 
 Tchao Kouang, with the yellow habit, as is 
 the custom with Chinese emperors, assumed 
 another name, Taitsou, by which he is known in 
 the imperial annals, and his dynasty he de-
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 nominated Soung, or Song : it numbered eighteen 
 monarclis, and a rule of three hundred and 
 nineteen years, dating its foundation in the 
 year 960. 
 
 The dynasty of the Soung is divided into 
 two branches — that of the Pe Soung, and that 
 of the Nan Soung. The first, signifying the 
 northern Soung, includes a succession of nine 
 emperors ; the second, signifying the southern 
 Soung, is thus called, because the nine sovereigns 
 that also composed this line, invariably had 
 their capital in what is regarded as the southern 
 portion of the empire. The first emperor of 
 the Nan Soung was Chao-tsong or Kao-tsong, 
 who began to reign a.d. 1127. 
 
 In 1259, by the death of his brother, Mangu, 
 third successor of Genghis, Kublai, known by 
 the Chinese under the names of Houpelai and 
 Chitsu, became chief of the Moguls, at which 
 period he was engaged in the conquest of the 
 Chinese province of Honan, and the invasion of 
 that of Kiangnan. 
 
 It was at this juncture that Kyatsetao, who 
 figures in the following pages, was first called 
 to high of&ce by the Chinese emperor, Lytsoug. 
 He was sent, at the head of the troops, to
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 oppose the Tatars — ^a task for which he was 
 utterly incapable. In a paroxysm of fear at 
 beholding his army daily decimated by the 
 sword and by desertion, he offered terms to 
 Kublai, which the latter at first refused, but at 
 last accepted, upon learning that his brother, 
 Artigbogha, was aspiring to his throne. It was 
 stipulated that the Chinese emperor should 
 recognise himself as a subject of the Moguls, 
 paying to these an annual tribute in silk and 
 gold, and that the river Yantse-kiang should be 
 regarded as the boundary of the two empires. 
 
 The terms of the treaty having been ratified 
 by both parties, Kublai returned to the north ; 
 but Kyatsetao, with true Chinese duplicity, 
 having attacked and killed some few of the Mogul 
 rear- guard, represented to his own court that he 
 had gained a great and complete victory, averring 
 his own conduct and valour to have driven the 
 Tatars out of the empire, closely concealing the 
 infamous treaty he had made ; and lest it 
 should be divulged, he caused an ambassador of 
 the Mogul monarch to be seized and detained. 
 
 On the death of Lytsong, Kyatsetao con- 
 tinued to enjoy the same degree of influence 
 as ever under his successor, Tutsong, w^ho as- 
 cended the throne a.d. 1265.
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 By the year 1270, an individual of the name 
 of Ahama, the very counterj^art of Kyatsetao for 
 avarice, debauchery, and other vices, had risen 
 to considerable power at the Mogul court ; but 
 there was this dijBference between the con- 
 temporaries — Ahama had continually to fear the 
 vigilance of an active monarch, Kyatsetao had 
 no peril but the usual one of courtly intrigue ; 
 for Tutsong was averse to business, and left 
 everything at the disposal of his prime 
 minister. 
 
 The period I have selected for the opening of 
 my tale is the commencement of the year 1274. 
 The constitution of Tutsong, exhausted by a life 
 dedicated to debauchery, is broken to such a 
 degree that his death is shortly expected ; 
 Kyatsetao is scheming to retain his j^ower, and 
 perhaps to advance to greater; whilst the Moguls, 
 under the command of Chinsau Beyan — or, as 
 the Chinese j^ronounce it, Peyen — begin their 
 serious efforts for the conquest of the Chinese 
 empire. 
 
 Throughout my tale, I have adopted the 
 present appellation by which towns &c. are 
 distinguished, for were I to employ the 
 geographical terms of the Soung dynasty, my 
 readers, in a map of the present celestial em-
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 pire, would vainly seek the places I might 
 name. 
 
 With this I conclude, begging my readers to 
 accept the result of many years' toil with feehngs 
 of generosity towards a young author, who 
 appears before them in the difficult character of 
 an illustrator of the customs of a country en- 
 tirely new to works of fiction, with the design 
 of rendering his countrymen intimately ac- 
 quainted with a most distant and strange people. 
 
 London, November^ 184'
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Vol. I. p. 32, reference for " De Guignes, ii. 264," read " De 
 Guignes, ii. 464." 
 
 — p. 118, reference for " Du Halde, i. 107," read '* Du 
 
 Halde, i. 109." 
 
 — p. 189, for " Oruang-nganka," read " Ouang-nganka." 
 
 Vol II. p. 20, for " all other its proud insignia," read " all its 
 other proud insignia." 
 
 Vol. III. p. 3, for " Nai-yuen," read " Nui-yuen." 
 
 — p. 105, reference for " Maillanoc," read " Mailla." 
 
 — p. 207, for " Longkong," read " Louy Kong."
 
 THE 
 
 FALL OF THE NAN SOUNG. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The sombre grey of early dawn passed from 
 the heavens, and morning shed around her clear 
 and glassy light. The hard blue firmament ap- 
 peared unchequered, save by a few light, fleecy 
 clouds, and girt by a broad rich belt of crimson. 
 The mountains, that during the night had re- 
 sembled, from the wintry vests they bore, pale 
 gigantic shadows reflected upon the horizon, 
 now caught the young sun's rays, and blushed 
 a roseate hue. The mists rose slowly and 
 heavily from the valleys, and, hovering in the air, 
 seemed loath to quit their resting-places ; and, 
 whilst they eddied round, or rolled mass upon 
 mass, writhing in a myriad of fantastic contor- 
 tions, changing their shades with each new posi- 
 tion, the solitary Chinese enthusiast, or magi- 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 *4 THE FALL OF 
 
 cian, beheld, legible, a language, traced by each 
 new vapory form or varied colour, that alike 
 predicted the destinies of kingdoms or the fate 
 of the wearied wayfarer,* and woe to the unfor- 
 tunate traveller whose limbs became sensible of 
 fatigue as he traversed the long valley, or rather 
 succession of mountain passes, we are about to 
 describe, as they appeared in the month of 
 January, 1274. 
 
 Although the valley was free from snow, the 
 mountains on its either hand were not, and 
 deeper it lay in proportion as these ascended ; 
 whilst huge granite crags, jutting frequently 
 forth, betokened that the surface it covered was 
 such as to defy the labour of, perhaps, the most 
 agricultural nation that exists/ From these 
 the eye of the beholder might turn with plea- 
 sure to where somewhat of a more congenial soil 
 had permitted the cunning of the husbandman 
 to prevail over the dispositions of nature, and, 
 gazing eastward, might rest with wonder upon 
 some one of the many mountains that appeared 
 in that direction, their slopes levelled into suc- 
 cessive plains, the almost perpendicular sides of 
 which were supported by thick and massy 
 walls.f These fields, rising like Babylon's 
 famous gardens, resembled from their regu- 
 
 * Vide Bartoli, p. 61. 
 t Vide Staunton, De Guignes, and other travellers.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 3 
 
 larity, a flight of steps, but of monster size, and 
 fancy might easily conceive them as intended 
 to bear the feet of some being from the other 
 worlds. Such works, however, as these were 
 rare, and only constructed where the depth of 
 the soil and the vicinity of water facilitated their 
 creation. Generally the '' Granite Mountains," 
 by their inhospitable aspect, seemed to present 
 an impenetrable frontier to Chekiang from the 
 southern portion of its confining provinces of 
 Kiangnan and Kiangsy, whilst the roving tiger 
 and lurking bandit gave them a reputation of 
 terror and disgrace that bade the unaccom- 
 panied traveller tremble as he stole through 
 their gloomy passes or crossed their desolate 
 crests. 
 
 A rude track wound across this mountain 
 range, all that remained of the magnificent road 
 constructed under the auspices of former em- 
 perors. Many and deep were the ruts into 
 which it was worn, and frequent were the water- 
 courses, now blocked with snow, that intersected 
 its course ; yet, even in this state, it was the 
 only direct means of communication between 
 Yencheyu-fu and Nanchang-fu : the former a 
 district town of the first order^ in the province 
 of Chekiang ; the latter, capital of that of Ki- 
 angsy ; but, to those, for whom time was not an 
 object, and who preferred a long and tedious 
 B 2
 
 4 THE FALL OF 
 
 conveyance by water to a shorter but more 
 perilous journey by land, there was the river 
 Chentan-Kiang, that, winding to the south-east, 
 was navigable to within a short distance of the 
 town of Kansanhien, from whence it was sepa- 
 rated by a short mountain transit, and near 
 where the river Sing-Chang-ho becomes of suffi- 
 cient depth to support light passage-barges, 
 that, descending with the current, enter the 
 Po-Yang lake, on the south-western bank of 
 which stands Nanchang-fu. 
 
 For some miles after quitting Yencheyu-fu, 
 the path followed the course of the stream, on 
 through the valley of Kienly, until it reached 
 the gorge in the Fuchung Mountains, where 
 that vale commences. Here, where the perils 
 of the journey might be considered as begin- 
 ning, in former and more peaceful times, devo- 
 tion or avarice had erected a little idol fane 
 to the god of thunder, and to each of the in- 
 ferior deities whose power was supposed to ex- 
 tend over the various difficulties and dangers 
 that embarrass or beset a traveller; and most 
 rash would he have been considered who had 
 ventured to pursue his journey without propi- 
 tiating the deity and the minor powers, both by 
 his prayers and offerings. 
 
 At present, the temple was deserted alike by 
 priests and by divinity. The latter had been
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 5 
 
 purloined for the trifling value of the image ; 
 the forraer, unable to live upon their diminished 
 revenues, occasioned by the paucity of travellers 
 who now ventured upon the road, had fled to 
 join the bandits of the hills. 
 
 At this point, the path commenced to ascend, 
 at times winding in tortuous mazes through 
 forests of pine, now climbing ravines where the 
 loose stones rolled from beneath the feet, dash- 
 ing down a height that made the head swim of 
 those who gazed down at the precipitous descent, 
 and now crossing mountain ridges where the 
 traveller sunk knee-deep in newly-drifted snow, 
 or walked with pain over the sharply-pointed 
 spikes of ice. Tall piles of stones, placed at 
 regular intervals, intimated its direction, as fruit- 
 trees would have done in a more genial cli- 
 mate.* 
 
 In a valley, formed and protected by the 
 double crest with which one of the mountains 
 was crowned, and that was crossed by the road, 
 stood one of those public post-houses termed 
 by the Chinese Cong-Chaan, built by the go- 
 vernment for the accommodation of those who 
 might be unfortunate enough to travel on its 
 account, and also as a relay for its couriers 
 employed in the transmission of intelligence, 
 
 I * Vide De Guignes, i. 343. M. Polo. Marsden, 372.
 
 6 THE FALL OF 
 
 dispatches, decrees, &c., to and from the pro- 
 Yinces. 
 
 Though local tribunals subject to the sur- 
 veillance of the grand one of public works^ are 
 specially charged with their maintenance and 
 regulation, yet the general character of these 
 buildings is one of squalid wretchedness.* Nor 
 did this one, constructed on the heights of the 
 " Granite Mountains," and designed as a refuge 
 for the guests of the government from the sud- 
 den tempests and inclement weather that pre- 
 vailed among their recesses, conciliate in a 
 peculiar degree the traveller's gratitude for such 
 provident shelter. It was as uninviting as any 
 of its fellows, and, for misery of appearance, 
 might have served as the model on which to 
 erect all others. 
 
 Within an enclosure, entered by a gate con- 
 sisting of triple doors, appeared a quadrangular 
 building of a single story. The plaster of mud, 
 that had covered the walls, had fallen away in 
 many places, and through frequent cracks and 
 crevices, into the most retired of the apartments, 
 would have passed the keen cold air, but for the 
 precaution the guardians of the place had taken 
 to stop each gap with straw of the millet grain. f 
 The quality of the present visitors conciliated 
 
 ♦ Vide Da Halde, ii. 53. 
 f Holcus sorghum ; in Chinese, Kow-leang.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 7 
 
 superior attentions, and this was further testified 
 in the fact of the windows, that long had ceased 
 to distinguish between wind and Hght, having 
 their defects remedied by hangings of matting. 
 
 Without the enclosure, fires had been kindled, 
 around which, during the hours of night, had 
 gathered a shivering guard, and which had 
 served the double purpose of scaring the tiger, 
 that, emboldened by the inclemency of the 
 season, might otherwise have ventured into 
 dangerous proximity, and of intimating to the 
 prowling robber that the watch was upon the 
 alert. These, since the first intimation of the 
 dawn, had been permitted, from want of fuel, to 
 become nearly extinguished, and were now but 
 circles of black and smoking embers ; whilst, 
 from the same period, echo had ceased to repeat 
 the harsh sounds with which the sentinel inti- 
 mated to his superior that he faithfully observed 
 his watch and ward, by striking together, at re- 
 gular intervals, two pieces of bamboo. 
 
 On either side of the entrance gate rose a 
 lofty pole, crossed at acute angles by a small rod 
 of bamboo, from whence fluttered a green silk 
 flag of triangular form, ornamented with a deep 
 border of crimson. A short distance in ad- 
 vance of the Cong-Chaan itseK were placed two 
 other staffs, one of which sustained a party- 
 coloured lamp, emblematic of the dignity of those
 
 « THE FALL OF 
 
 who reposed within; the other was surmounted 
 by a tablet, after the fashion of the Chinese 
 screens which ornament our drawing-rooms, 
 and termed Cangho, and on it was traced a long 
 inscription, detailing the titles and rank of the 
 travellers, and the imperial exhortation to every 
 one to treat them with respect and attention, 
 and commands to all magistrates &c. to furnish 
 them whatever they might require.* 
 
 It was day, though the sun had not as yet 
 made its appearance above the hills, when an 
 official, who bore the title of '' Guardian of the 
 day and night," quitted the post-house, and ad- 
 vanced to a small tambour, that, transfixed by 
 a wooden stake, firmly planted in the ground, 
 was placed some yards in advance of the build- 
 ing. Five times, with a wooden mallet he car- 
 ried in his hands, he struck the instrument, in- 
 timating that the fifth and last watch of the 
 night had expired. t 
 
 As these dull and heavy sounds rolled down 
 the valley, they seemed to have possessed some 
 magic influence, for the silent and desolate 
 vicinity of the Cong-Chaan immediately be- 
 came animated, and, sudden as the transition of 
 a dream, the scene one of bustle and activity. 
 Soldiers, clad in their long loose robes, hur- 
 ried in various directions, and intermingling 
 
 * Vide Duhalde, ii. 16. f De Guignes, ii. 426.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 9 
 
 with them appeared domestics and attendants, 
 the richness of whose apparel betokened the 
 wealth and dignity of those whom they served. 
 
 A period of time equivalent to the eighth of 
 a Chinese hour, or the quarter of one of our 
 own,* had elapsed before the '' Guardian of the 
 day and night" again made his appearance. In 
 his left hand he carried, suspended to a chain, 
 a plate of metal curved at the lower part, and 
 denominated a loo, or, in the Canton commercial 
 language, a gong. On this he struck with a 
 small wooden hammer, and produced sounds 
 so loud and grating as would certainly have 
 affected any auditor, so nigh and not so inured 
 to those sounds as himself, with a temporary 
 deafness. 
 
 When this uproar had ceased, it became evi- 
 dent, from the preparations around, that it was 
 intended to announce the approaching dej)arture 
 of the travellers. In the rear of the Cong- 
 Chaan lay a long low building, roofless and 
 windowless, and which in other days had served 
 as stabling for two score of horses ; but those 
 were times when a line of posts extended along 
 every high road of the empire,* and when, at dis- 
 tances of from twenty to thirty miles, relays of 
 riders were ever ready to mount and to convey 
 dispatches whither they were bid, travelling in- 
 cessantly night and day. 
 
 b3
 
 10 THE FALL OF 
 
 Until at present, by the guards around and 
 by the vigilant watch observed, that building, 
 or rather ruin, would appear to contain prisoners 
 of importance. The door -was opened, and the 
 captives came forth, a score of miserable and 
 dejected creatures.® 
 
 They were the poorest of their caste, for all 
 who could afford the trifling sum wherewith to 
 bribe the officer who had the direction of the 
 corvee, had procured themselves exemption. 
 Escape they would on the first opportunity that 
 presented itself; and, fully acquainted with their 
 incUnation to desert, their employers watched 
 them narrowly ; for others to supply their place 
 could not have been procured nearer than the 
 town of Yencheyu-fu, that lay a long day's jour- 
 ney behind. 
 
 A handful of rice, that but ill allayed their 
 hunger, and worse prepared them for the fresh 
 fatigue they had to undergo, had been dis- 
 tributed to each, and now they came forth, 
 famished and wearied, to recommence another 
 day of unrequited toil. Some wore caps of fur, 
 but these were few. The majority had round 
 conical hats of plaited straw. Over a shirt of 
 quilted stuff they wore a species of caftan that 
 once had either been blue or pink ; long loose 
 trowsers of nankeen descended to their ankles, 
 whilst the feet of some were cased in large
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 11 
 
 coarse shoes, and those of others defended by 
 wisps of straw. 
 
 Under the escort of a guard, they were 
 marched round to the entrance of the post- 
 house, where their burdens already awaited 
 them. Here, one half being told off and pro- 
 vided with canes of bamboo, they proceeded to 
 adjust the various parcels, that principally con- 
 sisted of the bedding, furniture, and other 
 necessaries, with which travellers in many 
 countries, and especially those of the celestial 
 empire, deem it advisable to provide themselves. 
 
 Meanwhile, two nuankiao, or " females' sedan- 
 chairs," had been brought round to the same 
 spot. Larger somewhat than our own, one 
 was covered with a drapery of green silk, the 
 colour appropriated to the chairs of people of 
 distinction,* and ornamented below the roof 
 with a border of yellow, the imperial shade. 
 At each of the four corners was a miniature 
 minaret, to which was attached a tuft of the 
 red hair of the Thibet cow. In the same descrip- 
 tion of point, and with a larger tuft, terminated 
 the sloping roof. The other was constructed 
 of bamboo, with the sides of lattice-work, of the 
 same material, and, more simple in its decora- 
 tions, proclaimed itself destined for the at- 
 
 * Vide Ellis, p. 82.
 
 12 THE FALL OF 
 
 tendant or companion of the occupant of the 
 former. 
 
 Again the loo sounded, this time three 
 separate and regular strokes, which, in China, 
 is the number adoj)ted for all kinds of honorary 
 salutes, and as each one hurried to the post 
 he had to occupy during the journey, upon the 
 step of the Cong-Chaan appeared a mandarin,' 
 whose costume, without the parasol of red silk 
 held over him by an attendant, announced him 
 as being of superior rank. 
 
 His hat was of fur, and projected before and 
 behind ; a collar of rich sable was round his 
 neck ; a long robe of violet colour, ornamented 
 with figures of the four-clawed dragon, de- 
 scended to his feet ; over this was another, lined 
 with fox-skin, and trimmed with ermine, that 
 reached to below the knee. On his breast, 
 upon a square ground of satin, was emblazoned 
 a kong-tsio, or peacock. A belt, chequered 
 with little squares,^ and fastened with a golden 
 buckle, indicating he belonged to the third 
 order of mandarins, girded him round the waist, 
 its long ends hanging pendent to the ground. 
 To his left side were attached a purse for his 
 chopsticks, and two pouches, that each con- 
 tained a handkerchief, one being destined for 
 the use of his face and the other of his hands. 
 Boots of leather, that just appeared below his
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 13 
 
 long robe, with thick soles of paper, completed 
 his accoutrements. 
 
 His figure was large and corpulent ; from his 
 chin hung a short black beard, cultivated to a 
 point. His face was broad, and the general 
 expression of his countenance was indicative of 
 selfishness and stolidity ; but the latter was 
 somewhat counteracted by the cunning twinkle 
 of his little, oblique-situated eyes. 
 
 At the present moment, as he ran his eye 
 along the j^rocession, that had already fallen 
 into order and waited the signal to proceed, he 
 seemed to. be labouring under considerable 
 mental exasperation ; and good reason he had, 
 for it was a cruel change for him, accustomed 
 to every luxury, to pass a winter's night in a 
 room in which the only furniture was a broken 
 chair and dilapidated table, whilst the deficiency 
 of the door, long since broken up for fire-wood, 
 had been remedied by hanging a woollen cloth 
 before the entrance. His glance traversed 
 round, and rested at length upon the Cong- 
 Chaan and the very portion of the building he 
 had himself occupied. As it did so, he mut- 
 tered a threat that intimated the fiercest of 
 accusations before the Cong-pou — " court of 
 the public works," — and which would envelop in 
 one common disgrace every member of the 
 Y-tchuen-tao — " local tribunal of the j)ost."
 
 14 THE FALL OF 
 
 He was not, however, permitted to remain 
 long meditating his plans of vengeance, for the 
 sound of approaching footsteps caused him to 
 move a couple of paces to the right, whilst an 
 attendant, clad in a j)elisse of fox- skin, opened 
 a double parasol of green silk, bordered with 
 yellow fringe, stationing himself on the left of 
 the entrance, at which two females now ap- 
 peared. 
 
 One, owing to the mission she was engaged 
 upon, was of high rank f her long dress of 
 purple silk trailed upon the ground, concealing 
 feet not of the diminutive form that a severe 
 Chinese critic of beauty would have admired ; 
 the sleeves, fitting tightly to the arm, gradually 
 enlarged at the wrists, and terminated below 
 the fingers in the form of a horse-shoe, (for 
 the Chinese, contrary to our notion of a be- 
 coming female costume, proscribe the exposure 
 of any part of the person excepting the face ;) 
 this robe was bordered with a deep black 
 trimming ; over this, and reaching midway 
 below the knee, was a vest of figured green, 
 lined with martin fur, and with large, ample 
 sleeves, that hung from the shoulder to below 
 the wrists ; over this was a jacket of fur, without 
 sleeves, and which buttoned in a sloping direc- 
 tion, from the right shoulder to the point in 
 which it terminated at the waist ; the collar of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 15 
 
 this was high ; and round the upper portion of 
 the throat it had left exposed was hound a white 
 handkerchief, fastened by an ivory ring, in which 
 ghstened a fine ruby ; on her head she wore a 
 round cap of sable fur, crowned with a crimson 
 tassel ; upon the turn of the forehead, appeared 
 the peak of that favourite head-dress of Chinese 
 ladies, which, under the name of Queen of Scots' 
 cap, was once a fashionable coiffure among 
 our own fair dames, and from which hung pen- 
 dent a j^sQ-rl of considerable size and great 
 beauty. Her eyes were small, and full of the 
 soft, languishing expression the Chinese admire 
 so ; her brows were small, and delicately curved, 
 such as a j^oet of her country has described 
 to resemble a young leaf of the willow ; her 
 complexion was fair, nor required the cosmetic 
 aid of the '' white earth," found on the moun- 
 tain Nieu-Shan, an assistance to their charms, 
 of which many of her countrywomen are not so 
 reserved.* Her lips seemed sculptured of coral, 
 and the tint of a damask rose to be transferred 
 to her cheek. 
 
 Crossing her hands upon her breast, the 
 lady, with a slight inclination, returned the 
 profound salutation of the mandarin, and en- 
 tered her chair, that was immediately raised by 
 
 * Vide Mar. Martiuii. Thev. rel. part 3, p. .59.
 
 IG THE FALL OF 
 
 eight porters. One half that number bore the 
 one into which her companion entered, and 
 whose costume resembled the one we have 
 described, much, we fear, to the impatience of 
 any but a female reader, differing alone with 
 regard to colour. 
 
 It was droll to observe, as he recovered his 
 erect posture, the change that came over the 
 countenance of the mandarin, that from ex- 
 pressing the most entire courtly deference and 
 respect, became suddenly indicative of inef- 
 fable horror and disgust, for his eye fell upon 
 a tall and large-boned horse, whose ungainly 
 figure, whilst it promised strength, possessed 
 neither grace nor agility. Two attendants led 
 the animal to its rider by a bridle of broad 
 satin riband. The saddle was high-pommelled, 
 and covered with a handsome cloth, worked in 
 silver. Of the same metal were both stirrups 
 and bit, and from the poitrel hung two silver 
 chains, to which were attached tassels of the 
 red hair of the wild cow of Thibet. 
 
 The mandarin's dislike to equestrian exer- 
 cise did not arise from mere prejudice, but 
 from physical inconvenience, occasioned by his 
 previous day's feats, and which had rendered 
 him sensitively uneasy, whether he sat or was 
 in motion. He had flattered himself that the 
 animal, owing to sundry mishaps of the pre-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 17 
 
 ceding day, would have been unable to continue 
 its journey, but there stood the beast, with as 
 much animation in its lustreless eyes as ever it 
 had possessed. During the night, had that 
 steed been stolen or even slain, the culprit had 
 found in its owner a lenient judge. As it was, 
 there was no escape from the infliction ; for a 
 mandarin specially appointed by the empress- 
 consort to accompany her envoy would not dare 
 to proceed on foot clad in his official robes, and 
 no conveyance was to be procured. With a 
 sigh of submission to so hard a fate, he placed 
 his foot into the stirrup that was held for him, 
 and with a wince seated himself in the saddle. 
 
 The central door of the three lateral ones, of 
 which consisted the entrance, and never opened 
 but to jDermit the passage of highly-honoured 
 guests, now gave egress to the party. First 
 came about thirty individuals with flags and 
 various instruments of music, then executioners 
 bearing in their hands rods of bamboo, chains, 
 and instruments of torture, emblematic of the 
 power possessed by the travellers. These were 
 immediately followed by attendants distinguished 
 from their comrades by red hats of cylindrical 
 form, and who, though no one was within sight 
 or hearing, save their own procession, yet con- 
 tinually proclaimed the rank of their employers. 
 After these, came the Cangho, and other tablet
 
 18 THE FALL OF 
 
 bearers, and then appeared a couple of standards 
 of the same shape and colour as those already 
 described, and which preceded the first sedan, 
 by the side of which was borne a parasol re- 
 sembling that unfolded when the lady entered 
 her chair. Immediately after that of the latter's 
 companion, came a score of soldiers, marching 
 in four files, but whose long dresses gave them 
 such an unmilitary appearance, that the arms 
 they bore could not counteract the impression. 
 Over a white robe of cotton that descended 
 below the knee, they wore a shorter dress of 
 the same material, and of a deep blue, bordered 
 with a red and yellow stripe, and lined with 
 pink. Thin plates of steel were attached to 
 this by means of a copper nail, clenched on 
 the under side, over a piece of leather, their 
 necks being defended by a cloth of the same 
 material, that fell over their shoulders. On 
 their breasts was a lozenge-shaped piece of 
 yellow satin, bearing the name Of the ofiicer 
 the wearer obeyed, and the company in which 
 he served. Their helmets were of steel, and 
 bore, for crest, a spear head, two spans in 
 length, to which was attached a tassel of red 
 hair, whilst a quiver with a dozen arrows was 
 borne on the left shoulder. To the right side 
 was suspended a bow, in a case ornamented with 
 various colours, and from the left hung a large
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 19 
 
 sabre, in a red scabbard, with the point behind,^" 
 indicative that the present service might require 
 its use. 
 
 After these came the tablet and parasol 
 bearers of the mandarin, who then appeared 
 himself, his horse being led by two attendants, 
 not from any fear that he would indulge in any 
 wild freaks or antics, but from the modesty of 
 its rider, who cared not to conceal that he was 
 perfectly ignorant of the art to guide him. The 
 procession was closed by the porters with the 
 baggage of the party, intermingled with pike- 
 men, whose costumes were less showy than 
 those we have described, and it quitted the 
 precincts of the Cong-Chaan in a better state 
 than the sorry plight in which it had arrived 
 the preceding evening.
 
 20 THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 " De sorte qu'on peut dire que le gouvernement Chinois ne 
 subsiste gueres que par I'exercice du baton." 
 
 Du Halde, ii. 134. 
 
 The road descended, and, after some hours, the 
 travellers reached the valley that separates the 
 *' granite mountains " from the Cutien range. 
 It was well cultivated, and dotted in every direc- 
 tion by the neat white dwellings of its husband- 
 men. The party here halted for a few minutes, 
 whilst a peasant was seized and dragged to the 
 mandarin, at the side of whose horse he was 
 rudely compelled to kneel. 
 
 Without noticing the shrinking and trembling 
 creature, the mandarin inquired — 
 
 " Tell me, fellow, know you where the 
 * master of excellent wisdom' has chosen his 
 dwelling ? Know you where the learned 
 Pechunty has elected his residence among the
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 21 
 
 hills, and where, inspired by seclusion from the 
 vain noises and affairs of men and the world, 
 he meditates upon the five moral principles," 
 and the three virtues ?"^^ May be, from the 
 uneasy movement the speaker made in his 
 saddle, tliis exordium upon the advantages of 
 seclusion was dictated as much by a sensitive 
 objection to equestrian exercise, as by admira- 
 tion for the philosophic efiects of solitude. 
 
 The peasant, accustomed but to the patois of 
 his native hills, which, though less corrupt than 
 that of many other portions of the empire, yet 
 rendered it difficult for him to comprehend the 
 purer language of his interrogator, and who, 
 further, had all his faculties confused by finding 
 himself thus in presence of one whom he 
 deemed might be equal to the emperor, or a 
 viceroy at least, felt his tongue cling to his 
 mouth, and every limb to be palsied with terror, 
 for he felt assured that he knelt before one who 
 possessed a power, of which he would im- 
 mediately avail himself, upon the first trans- 
 gression on his part, to inflict punishment that 
 would jeopardize his life. 
 
 The mandarin, with considerable impatience 
 and choler, repeated his question : the peasant 
 still continued silent, trembling more violently 
 than at first. 
 
 " Art thou a dumb dog that thou dost not
 
 22 THE FALL OF 
 
 reply?" exclaimed the irritated mandarin. "I 
 will answer for tliee that thy tongue is loud 
 enough when heaven^' condescends to accept 
 the contribution of thy unworthy gains towards 
 the defence of the empire. Since, then, thou 
 wilt not bark from resj)ect or duty towards thy 
 rulers, thou shalt howl from the effects of 
 merited chastisement. You desire, base man, 
 to avoid yielding your services; but I can 
 exercise my power. We are not yet in the 
 season of spring."^* 
 
 This threat only served still further to un- 
 nerve the peasant, whilst the mandarin, accus- 
 tomed to immediate and implicit obedience, and 
 whose temper was already exasperated by 
 other circumstances, found such obstinate dis- 
 obedience to his desires too much for his en- 
 durance. 
 
 The official made a signal with his hand. 
 The unfortunate peasant was cast upon his face, 
 an executioner seating himself upon his 
 shoulders, whilst another held his legs : the 
 two bamboo-bearers, who had headed the pro- 
 cession, placed themselves, with uplifted canes, 
 one on either side of the prostrated culprit. 
 The mandarin took a number of small sticks 
 from a pouch in his saddle, and threw them 
 upon the ground. One of the rod-bearers 
 raised and counted them, then, describing with
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 23 
 
 Ms weapon a circle round his head, struck -with 
 all his force upon the upper part of the peasant's 
 thighs. A yell of pain followed the blow, which 
 neither disconcerted the energies of him who 
 inflicted, nor the equanimity of him who com- 
 manded the punishment. The executioners 
 continued to strike alternately, until the number 
 of blows intimated by the sticks had been com- 
 pleted. The sufferer was then forced upon his 
 knees, and, in abject terms, thanked the man- 
 darin for the paternal correction administered 
 to him. His words were, however, unheeded 
 by him to whom they were addressed, who now 
 directed that an individual who stood in a respect- 
 ful attitude some paces distant from the road, 
 should be conducted to him. 
 
 He was a man clad in the ordinary winter 
 costume of the better class of Chinese farmers 
 — in a large round hat and loose vest of dyed 
 rabbit-skin, the latter reaching to the waist; 
 together with trowsers of blue quilted cotton, 
 that hung to the ankle, where they were joined 
 by gaiters that fell over the instep, his feet 
 being cased in stout shoes. His countenance, 
 as is usual with the Chinese, was remarkable for 
 prominent cheek-bones and large mouth, the 
 upper hp of which was decorated with a long 
 moustache, whilst his dark olive complexion 
 would have led one to believe that it had been
 
 24 THE FALL OF 
 
 tinged by a stronger and more southern sun 
 than that which warmed the Cutien valleys. 
 
 Led towards the mandarin, he sunk upon his 
 knees when he had approached within a resjDect- 
 ful distance, and having touched the ground 
 with his forehead, submissively folded his arms 
 u23on his breast. Scarcely deigning him a look, 
 the official repeated to him the questions that 
 had been attended with such disagreeable results 
 to the unfortunate peasant. 
 
 " Ta-lao-ye, great lord," replied the kneeling 
 individual, " we are a people whose minds 
 have never been illumined by the lights of 
 study. Words in our mouths are like un- 
 polished gems in the hands of those who be 
 ignorant of the art to give them lustre. Perhaps 
 my lord inquires for the dwelling of the sage 
 termed in these parts ' the cunning master ?' " 
 
 '' thou little man of dulness ! — thy spirit 
 can no more quit these mountains, that confine 
 alike thy view and thy understanding, than the 
 worm its dung-heap ! Know that the empress, 
 whose august consort's race has existed for ten 
 thousand years, ^^ has deemed it fit to honour 
 the intelligence that resides in the learned 
 Pechunty, and has conferred upon him the title 
 of ' master of excellent wisdom.' If thou wilt 
 point out the path to those who bear the im- 
 perial tablet, and if thy duty be performed with
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 25 
 
 fidelity, thy face shall be of the happy shade of 
 yellow, and abundant felicity shall be written 
 upon thy countenance."^^ 
 
 " Tlie slave who breathes in the dust before 
 the face of my lord obeys his will ! but might he 
 be permitted to speak with the unfortunate man 
 ■who has fallen under the displeasure of Tajin, the 
 great man, and who, as he serves in my house, 
 might inform my women of the j^rosperous en - 
 counter my Fong-chui^^ has procured me." 
 
 The permission was accorded, and rising from 
 his slavish posture, the newly-constituted guide 
 approached the peasant, who lay wounded and 
 writhing by the side of the road, and not a little 
 surprised at the step he had just advanced in 
 life, in being promoted to the rank of servant 
 to the most dreaded bandit chief of the hills, 
 for such was the profession and rank of the per- 
 sonage who now muttered something in his ear. 
 Had the mandarin not been too supercilious to 
 regard the object for the present maimed by 
 his severity, and, at the same time, availed him- 
 self of the knowledge of physiognomy for which 
 his countrymen are generally celebrated, — he 
 would have perceived an expression indicative 
 of pleasure at the prospect of gratified revenge, 
 the passion that, with dissimulation, forms the 
 prominent feature in Chinese character, that 
 had bid him look warily to his own security. 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 THE FALL OF 
 
 The party, under the guidance of our new ac- 
 quaintance, recommenced its journey, still fol- 
 lowing the high road. Leaving on their right 
 the walls and pagodas of Kai-hoa-hien, with the 
 little lake of Peyhiai, or of "white crabs," they 
 presently re-entered a wild and mountainous 
 country, wooded with pine-trees, and enhvened, 
 but rarely, with the hamlet or hovel of the 
 peasant. 
 
 After ascending with difficulty a steep hill, 
 they beheld before them a long winding descent, 
 down which the path conducted, to re -ascend a 
 steeper and opposite one. Descending this last, 
 several forms might be observed, the rapidity of 
 whose motion declared them to be horsemen. 
 The keen eye of the guide had been the first to 
 distinguish, and uneasily he continued to watch 
 them for a few minutes. At length he had 
 satisfied himself as to whom they were, a dis- 
 covery that seemed anything but to please him, 
 if a momentary and hasty frown, and his teeth 
 pressed against his lips, could be regarded as 
 indicative of his sentiments. Eapidly deter- 
 mining upon the line of conduct he had to 
 pursue, he addressed himself to the two 
 soldiers, one of whom accompanied him on 
 either side. 
 
 " What would I not give," he said, " to pos- 
 sess a portion of that courage which renders
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 27 
 
 you SO intrepidly cool at the approach of a 
 dauger that fills me with terror." 
 
 The guards, surprised by this abrupt an- 
 nouncement, seemed much less flattered at the 
 encomium bestowed upon their courage than 
 alarmed by the insinuation of an approaching 
 peril to themselves. This emotion, however, 
 was but momentary, and one replied — 
 
 " The soldiers who follow the folds of the 
 red flag bordered with yellow, and on whom the 
 late emperor bestowed the title of ' guards of 
 invincible courage,' are not to be dismayed by 
 the mere shadows or probabilities of danger. 
 My good man, you have never stood with arrows 
 flying over your head thick as swallows in 
 autumn. What fear you ? Dost think the 
 mountains are going to close upon us ?" 
 
 With an afiectation of extreme timidity, the 
 guide replied — 
 
 " Be not angry with me, my masters, for I am 
 a weak man, into whose soul fear readily pene- 
 trates. I am alarmed perhaps without reason, 
 since your invincible courage is more than suffi- 
 cient to defend alike yourselves and your slave ; 
 yet much I fear that the hour was evil in which 
 I quitted my home, and malevolent were the in- 
 fluences of my fortune." 
 
 The guard, with as much indifference as his un- 
 easiness would permit him to assume, observed — 
 c 2
 
 28 THE FALL OF 
 
 ''Man of dark words, one must be a very 
 Shinjin, a born saint, to comprehend you. 
 Hearken to me. I know you of the hills have 
 but a bad name. Your tongues, before even 
 your heads are crowned with the cap of man- 
 hood,^® become blistered by the falsehoods that 
 they utter, as though the milk ye sucked from 
 your mothers had been sap of the varnish tree.^' 
 Tell me what mean you, or the sticks shall play 
 as nimbly upon your back for having said too 
 much as they did upon your servant for having 
 said too little." 
 
 It might have been terror at the threat he 
 heard that rendered the countenance of the 
 guide for a moment of a more swarthy hue, or 
 it might have been the effects of jDassion diflB- 
 cultly restrained. Whichever it was, it did not 
 hinder him from replying, in a calm tone — 
 
 " Your words open my mouth as did those of 
 the magician, when he commanded all the shell- 
 fish, that inhabit the waters which gird Haynan, 
 to cast their pearls upon the shore. My eye has 
 been fixed u2:)on the road, as it climbs like a 
 vine over the hill before us, and I beheld robber- 
 birds perched upon its branches, ready to pounce 
 upon its fruit." 
 
 The eye of the soldier ran incredulously over 
 the hill, examining, however, attentively those 
 portions of the road its inequalities presented to
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 29 
 
 view ; but a cypress-wood concealing from him 
 the party whose appearance had so discomposed 
 the guide, he was led to suspect the latter's 
 alarm to be false, and probably assumed with 
 a design of terrifying him. Directing his com- 
 panion to keep strict watch, whilst, stepping to 
 the side of the road, he awaited the aj^proach 
 of the mandarin, whom he saluted, kneeling on 
 the ground and touching the earth with his 
 forehead. 
 
 One of the attendants who led the horse of 
 the official drew the latter's attention to the 
 prostrate soldier, who, on being inquired his 
 object, stated his complaint, describing the 
 guide as a seditious individual who was spread- 
 ing groundless and yet dangerous alarm among 
 his comrades. 
 
 The mandarin, as he heard this charge, ordered 
 a halt, and commanded that the accused should 
 be brought before him, whom he thus addressed : 
 
 " Foolish man, what things are these I hear ? 
 Hast thou not heard the proverb of the people, 
 that says, ' The bird that flieth in the air seek- 
 eth food for its young; the fish whose scales 
 sparkle on the water chaseth its prey, or fleeth 
 from an enemy ; it is the fool alone who openeth 
 his mouth or who acteth without purpose' ? 
 What didst thou seek in repeating words of a 
 pernicious meaning among my people ? Answer
 
 30 THE FALL OF 
 
 me truly, thou little man, and forget not the 
 punishment that has overtaken thy slave. "' 
 
 With an abashed and timid air, the guide 
 replied — 
 
 '' Pardon, my lord, the reptile who lies in the 
 dust amid your illustrious horse's feet. Your 
 slave was terrified when he saw before him a 
 company of riders, whom he knew to be barba- 
 rian horsemen of the north. He is but a cul- 
 tivator of the earth, and trembled as a worm 
 that beholds the foot that shall crush it pendent 
 above its head." 
 
 The mandarin, in spite of his endeavours to 
 conceal the emotion, was evidently alarmed, and 
 turning in his saddle, he deigned to look upon 
 his kneeling informant, and in a less haughty 
 tone than it was customary for him to assume, 
 he said — 
 
 " This is strange intelligence. The waters of 
 the Yantse-kiang^° flow between the rude bands 
 of the north and the children of the empire. 
 They cannot have passed the barrier that con- 
 fines the celestial dominion from regions subject 
 to the rule of rapine, violence, and ignorance. 
 Thou, little man," he continued, in a re-assured 
 tone of voice, for his arguments had been ad- 
 dressed as much to himself as to his auditor, 
 " thou hast endeavoured to deceive the envoys 
 of Heaven, and it is my duty to visit thee with 
 chastisement."
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 31 
 
 The mandarin had placed his hand into his 
 pouch; the executioners stood ready, awaiting 
 the expected signal, when the guide, with a 
 sudden movement that nearly flung upon the 
 ground the one whose hand was raised to grasp 
 his shoulder, sprang upon his feet, and stretch- 
 ing his arm in the direction of the road, he 
 pointed to where, at the distance of a quarter of 
 a mile, seven horsemen might be observed — 
 
 " Behold, my lord," he exclaimed, *' behold if 
 the words of your slave be false ! Yonder are 
 the first, the van of the locust swarm that fol- 
 lows." 
 
 Almost as soon as seen, an intervening object 
 had excluded the horsemen from sight, thus 
 saving the guide fi'om the certain contradiction 
 that a scrutiny of the strangers' appearance 
 had procured him, and from the punishment 
 that his breach of etiquette, in rising unhid 
 from his '' attitude of res23ect," and the sten- 
 torian voice in which he had just spoken, had 
 alone been sufficient to award him. 
 
 The mandarin, whose courage was limited to 
 the perfect indifference with which he regarded 
 the infliction of the bastinade, trembled at the 
 idea of falling into the power of those who 
 might for amusement retort upon him the 
 severities he had so often dispensed with callous 
 indifference. To a subaltern military officer he
 
 32 THE FALL OF 
 
 gave some confused orders, but his directions, 
 badly understood, were worse obeyed. 
 
 A panic fear seized the small band of soldiers. 
 The porters, released from the vigilance of 
 their guard, cast down their burdens, and fled. 
 The attendants, one by one, skulked off; and 
 then, as the horses' feet became audible, the 
 military, divesting themselves of their accoutre- 
 ments, most readily laid aside, rushed into the 
 thickets that bordered the road, whilst the man- 
 darin, in an agony of fear, dismounting without 
 assistance, bowed with his head to the ground, 
 in the direction of the supposed hostile 
 squadron. 
 
 Scarcely had the official placed himself in 
 this position, when, turning the corner of a 
 rock, the horsemen appeared. 
 
 In advance, rode a young man, clad in the 
 winter costume of a yeouky,* or commander of 
 a thousand men, a rank equivalent to that of 
 colonel. As his glance fell upon the scene, a 
 smile at the ludicrous aspect it j^resented crossed 
 his countenance. Bales, weapons, and ensigns 
 of civil dignity encumbered the road, on which 
 was extended a mandarin, whose costume pro- 
 claimed him to be a president of one of the 
 subaltern tribunals dependent upon the '* Court 
 
 • De Guignes, ii. 264.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 33 
 
 of Rites ;" and, sole sentry over all, appeared 
 a female, armed with a bow ; a shaft being fitted 
 to the string and drawn to its head, was pointed 
 in the direction of himself and followers. This 
 was the companion to the lady, a noble Corean 
 by birth, and who had taken her weapon from 
 the ground, upon which it had been cast by 
 some fugitive coward. As her glance fell upon 
 the small crimson banner bordered with yellow 
 fringe, that was affixed to a small staff, borne 
 at the back of one of the young officer's fol- 
 lowers, she became conscious of the folly of the 
 alarm, and with a hasty movement, discharged 
 her arrow into the thicket, and re-entered her 
 chair. 
 
 At once comprehending the cause of the 
 confusion, the officer, with considerable effort, 
 banishing from his countenance its expression 
 of mirth, dismounted, and saluting as he passed 
 the chairs of the ladies, placed himself before 
 the prostrate official, in an attitude as humble 
 as that of the last. 
 
 The mandarin, fully impressed with his fears, 
 had imagined he heard the footsteps of his 
 executioner approaching, and that the latter 
 must be standing over him, poising his sabre, 
 preparatory to inflicting the blow that was to 
 separate for ever all connexion between his 
 head and his shoulders. In a paroxysm of 
 c3
 
 34 THE FALL OF 
 
 terror, he clasped the back of his neck with his 
 hands, and exclaimed — 
 
 " Merciful man, have pity upon me ! In- 
 jure not my body by the separation of its 
 members. Oh, great Yan-ti-Kiun,^^ Mntendant 
 spirit of the water,' deliver me I My garments 
 are precious ; but if you steep them in my 
 blood, they will no longer be of value. Con- 
 duct me to your chieftain of chiefs, that I 
 may kiss the dust before him. Spirit of the 
 hearth, thou hast betrayed me — for thou didst 
 promise me pros^^erity upon my journey when 
 I cast before thee the ' sticks of fate ! ' " — In 
 this strain he continued for some minutes, 
 alternately invoking the assistance of Heaven, 
 the clemency of his imaginary executioner, and 
 inveighing against the treachery of his penates. 
 
 The officer aj^peared richly to enjoy the dis- 
 tress of the mandarin, by whose behaviour he 
 was fully consoled for any insolence he might 
 have experienced from his civil compeers, who 
 ever affect to treat with disdain their military 
 brethren. Meanwhile, his entertainer felt his 
 courage increase as the dreaded blow was de- 
 layed, and perhaps thinking that a suppliant 
 glance in the face of the supposed executioner 
 might confirm the last in the wavering inclina- 
 tion towards mercy he appeared to possess, he 
 gently raised his head. His surprise may be
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 36 
 
 iDiagined, when he beheld, in place of a fero- 
 cious Tatar^ standing over him with a bared 
 sabre in hand, an officer of the imperial guards, 
 rendering him, in posture, the fullest testimony 
 of respect, but on whose countenance was le- 
 gibly traced the convulsive efforts of repressed 
 laughter. 
 
 This was, indeed, a terrible moment for the 
 unfortunate official. He, a president of one of 
 the Rites' tribunals, had lain prostrate before 
 a mere military officer for a period of time his 
 terror had considerably magnified. He, a man- 
 darin of the third order, had betrayed, to an 
 infinitely inferior officer, his belief in the gods 
 worshipped by the Laotsy^^ — had rendered him- 
 self an object of ridicule to one whose j^rofes- 
 sion he had ever afl'ected to despise. Almost 
 livid with rage, he rose, his movement being 
 imitated by the officer, whom he thus ad- 
 dressed : 
 
 " The ancients considered deliberation as 
 alike necessary to every age and profession, 
 and admitted no one who was precipitate in his 
 conduct to rise to posts of dignity, however 
 subordinate. The proverb says. When the ex- 
 cellent fruit, the tsese, is fit to be presented at 
 a repast, men know it by its golden colour ; 
 when a man becomes capable of holding em- 
 ployment, he is known by his gravity."
 
 36 THE FALL OF 
 
 The officer, with a 2:)enitential air, replied — 
 " I have listened to your reproof with the re- 
 spect of a son to his father. My conduct was 
 indiscreet ; yet I acted in obedience to circum- 
 stances. By the road-side, some short distance 
 hence, stood a man in the garb of a moun- 
 taineer, who bade me hasten on, as a flock had 
 chosen a wolf for its shepherd. Upon inquiring 
 farther, he informed me, that an imperial le- 
 gate, whom I salute, bearing to his master a 
 tablet, traced by the vermilion brush,^* was ex- 
 posed to the machinations of a chief of thieves, 
 ipho was simulating the character of an honest 
 guide. As the same man told me, without 
 nesitation, whence I came and whither I went, 
 I recognised that he must needs serve a most 
 clever philosopher, and credited his story. The 
 case brooked no delay, and I speeded, as my 
 duty required, to save the fleece from the hands 
 of the spoiler." 
 
 The ire of the mandarin during this recital 
 had had sufficient time to cool. Further to 
 have betrayed his irritation would only have 
 afforded greater cause of triumph for the indi- 
 vidual to whom he had exposed himself; and 
 whilst he made an inward resolution to procure 
 the officer's disgrace, in return for his own 
 humiliation, he again addressed him in a some- 
 what softened tone —
 
 THE NAN SOUNQ. 37 
 
 •* Your intention was more commendable 
 than the mode in which it was executed. Pre- 
 cipitation in all matters is indecorous. When 
 Tyen would refresh the fields, it squeezes the 
 clouds, and not rends them above the spot it 
 would favour. Surely your instructors were 
 not so ignorant as to neglect instilling into your 
 mind that the youth who would prosper must 
 needs observe the disposition of nature. Where 
 she acts with order, innumerable are the bene- 
 fits that result to man ; but when the usual 
 course of j)henomena be neglected, then follow 
 inundations which scatter the eggs of fi.sh that 
 produce locust swarms,^^ and ten thousand 
 other scourges which afflict the people and 
 their governors." 
 
 " I prove myself each day the more unworthy 
 of their instructions. Surely the influences 
 that presided at my birth were most malignant," 
 said the officer ; but there was a sly, satirical 
 smile that hovered about the corners of his 
 mouth somewhat contradictory of his remorse- 
 ful tones. 
 
 The mandarin was too much occupied with 
 other subjects to examine, at the present 
 moment, the physiognomy of his new ac- 
 quaintance. With a rueful face, he regarded 
 first the chairs of the ladies, and then the 
 various packages that encumbered the road.
 
 38 THE FALL OF 
 
 Heaving a sigh, he exclaimed, in tones that 
 denoted a sUght access of spleen — 
 
 ** Surely you have slept last under a dwelling 
 whose Fong-chui is most unfortunate, and with 
 this curse upon you, you must needs cross my 
 path. Unlucky day destined for such an en- 
 counter ! Yesterday, I quitted Yencheyu-fu 
 with guards, attendants, and baggage-porters. 
 Behold, they have all been dispersed by your 
 inconsiderate rashness ! They raised a cry 
 that the northern barbarians were upon the 
 road — and such you appeared, from the in- 
 temperate speed at which you approached — and 
 each one fled, rapidly as a vessel glides over the 
 water just after it has descended one of the 
 locks of the Chaohing canal ^^ My horse, 
 whose character is too excitable to be a 
 decorous beast, or worthily bear upon his back 
 the president of the astrological tribunal" — 
 here he regarded his steed that was snuffing 
 the snow by the road- side with a ferocious look 
 — " became so restive as to cast me upon the 
 ground, where, as I lay, partially stunned, my 
 tongue, being released from the restraint of my 
 judgment, uttered a string of words that I do 
 not now recollect." 
 
 The officer, as in duty bound, gratefully 
 bowed his thanks to the mandarin for con- 
 descending to relate him this tale, and he who 
 told it continued —
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 39 
 
 " What misfortune has overtaken me ! Here 
 I must remain, to perish from cold, or by. the 
 olaws of some tiger, or under the knife of a 
 robber ; for I cannot travel, like a thief at night, 
 without tablet or ensign, bearers or guards. 
 The Lady Luseynah and the Princess Linpeytsin 
 ^vill perisli among the mountains, and I be 
 responsible I Oh, Oulintse ! " he continued, 
 pressing his clenched hands u^Don his breast, 
 " what adversity has been prepared for you !" 
 
 The officer, perlia2')s, more desirous of render- 
 ing service to ladies of rank than of extricating 
 from embarrassment one whom wounded pride 
 must assuredly have rendered an enemy, pro- 
 posed, as the mandarin concluded, to recall the 
 fugitives by means of the loo, which its guardian 
 had left behind. The mandarin eagerly as- 
 sented, and the instrument being struck with 
 vigour, in a short time the greater part of the 
 soldiery and many of the attendants had re- 
 turned — not so, however, the porters and the 
 guide. 
 
 By these, the scattered baggage was collected 
 into one spot, where it was left under a guard ; 
 and, with a diminished train, our travellers 
 again proceeded on their way, the chairs of the 
 ladies being carried by some of the soldiers. 
 
 The mandarin had remounted, and, feeling 
 his confidence restored at beholding himself
 
 40 THE FALL OF 
 
 attended by a numerous train, he was enabled 
 to cogitate upon the sj)ite that his heart had 
 conceived against the causer of the late con- 
 fusion, and, as the commencement of a series of 
 annoyances he promised himself to indulge in, 
 he avoided giving the officer the permission 
 without which he could not mount his horse, 
 and further directed him to act as guide to 
 where he had met the man whose information 
 had occasioned the speed with which he had 
 advanced to meet the party.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 4 J 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 " If you can look into the seeds of time. 
 And say which grain will grow, and which will not, 
 Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear 
 Your favours nor your hate.'' 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
 At the distance of about a league, a path 
 quitted the road that our travellers have so long 
 pursued, and entering the pine-wood that 
 bordered it, seemed to lead to the innermost 
 recesses of the hills. Along this, kind reader, 
 again behold our party advancing. 
 
 Preceded by their respective ensigns of 
 dignity, the lady and her companion, as well as 
 the mandarin, were on foot, for the track was 
 too narrow to admit of the chairs of the first, 
 and too steep and insecure for the horse of the 
 last, or the nerves of its rider. At a respectful 
 distance in the rear appeared the officer, fol- 
 lowed by his httle trooj:*, alike dismounted ; and,
 
 42 THE FALL OF 
 
 in advance of all, acting as guide, was one of 
 those creatures such as the superstition of all 
 countries and ages have pictured as the familiar 
 attendants on those who play upon its credulity. 
 It was of human figure, but dwarfish stature. 
 For garment, it wore a goat- skin, through which 
 its arms were thrust; its hair was white, and 
 descended in long tresses over the shoulders, 
 being confined round the head by an iron fillet, 
 furnished with sharp points ; its features were 
 hideously ugly, and well calculated to inspire 
 terror. The same individual who had accosted 
 the young officer had awaited the travellers by 
 the side of the road, and, without being 
 questioned, had directed them to follow the 
 footsteps of their strange conductor. 
 
 We have already described the companion of 
 the lady as a Corean. She was grand-daughter 
 of that Linyen who, when Ouang-tchang had 
 restored to his brother, Ouang-tchi, at the 
 dictation of the MoguP^ arms, the sceptre of the 
 Corea he had vainly snatched, had retired to 
 the mountains, and there, proclaiming himself 
 sovereign, had endeavoured to assert the 
 national independence. Betrayed by his ad- 
 herents, and oppressed by the Tatar strength, 
 he fell, involving in his disgrace the whole of 
 his family, every member of which was pro- 
 scribed, and all those who were unable to con-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 43 
 
 ceal themselves or escajie became victims of 
 the cruel ordinance.* His grandson, Linouty, 
 at the head of the last few who remained 
 faithful to their country, had, with his sister, 
 fled on board a small fleet. Having placed her 
 in safety at the Chinese court, he had returned 
 to ravage those maritime j^rovinces that had 
 acknowledged the Tatar sway. 
 
 Grateful for the kind reception policy had 
 accorded her, and for the distinction with which 
 she was treated, as well as animated by hatred 
 of the Mogul name, Linpeytsin would have 
 sacrificed her life, if such an offering could have 
 secured to her protectors their tottering throne. 
 Ennobled by the title of " lady of the empire," 
 she had had assigned to her as her residence 
 the palace of Luseufu, with whose daughter, 
 Luseynah, she was soon most intimate ; and 
 when the last had been entrusted by the 
 Empress Siei-chi, who was alarmed at the de- 
 caying health of her consort, with the com- 
 mission of consulting a famous magician as to 
 the destiny that awaited the empire, she had 
 determined and obtained permission to accom- 
 pany her friend. 
 
 For some distance, the two had proceeded 
 without exchanging a word : the thoughts of 
 
 * Vide De Mailla, ix. 313.
 
 44 THE FALL OF 
 
 the one were occupied with the duty she had to 
 perform — the mountain scenery awoke in the 
 other the memory of those fastnesses she had 
 seen defended by the courage of her family. At 
 last, the thought that possessed her found 
 utterance, and, addressing her companion, she 
 said, in that language void of conventional 
 restraint she in part owed to her early education 
 among those who, striving for the freedom of a 
 land, disdained voluntary slavery with the lip, 
 and in part to that confidence we feel but once, 
 and that in early youth, when conversing with 
 those we love — 
 
 " Luseynah, cast your eyes over these hills, 
 and behold the citadels around which the 
 northern robbers might lay, as the waves 
 besiege the rocks upon the shore. From yon 
 pinnacle of granite the stones would roll down 
 upon an assailant with more effect than the balls 
 you discharge from your machines of powder.-® 
 That wall is too lofty for a ladder to scale its 
 summit, too solid to dread the puny pebbles 
 that might be hurled against it, and its founda- 
 tions are dug too deep by the hand of nature 
 for man to burrow beneath them. Behold, 
 sister, the materials with which to build up a 
 shattered power, and the weapons to defend it ! 
 A young empire might shelter itself among the 
 towers of the phoenix.^^ The inhabitants of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 45 
 
 these regions are wild and warlike — few, I 
 admit — but sufl&cient to hurl back to the 
 ' regions of might'^" the swarm of monsters it 
 has gulped upon the land of heaven. For it is 
 not whilst the floods rage that men hurry to 
 rejDair their broken dikes. Whilst the waters 
 are abroad they conduct their flocks to the hills, 
 but when their waves have passed to the ocean, 
 then the rivers are confined within their 
 channels, that the negligence or treachery of 
 their wardens alone can permit them again to 
 exceed." 
 
 The Chinese gazed with an exjDression of 
 gratified admiration upon her companion, seem- 
 ing to have caught a portion of the enthusiasm 
 that animated the large and deeply blue eyes of 
 the Corean. Her father, too, was a patriot, but 
 one whose views were of a less selfish nature 
 than those of Linyen. He desired his country 
 to be free, that the government might be placed 
 upon a footing to render its laws respected, and 
 the peojjle submitted to them hapj^y, but not 
 that he might erect a new tyranny by the de- 
 struction of a present domination. 
 
 *' May it be," she said, " the will of Tyen, that, 
 if the monarch whose line has existed ten 
 thousand years must fly for shelter to the hills, 
 he may find them as impregnable as you, my 
 sister, predict; but rather would I see all the
 
 46 THE FALL OF 
 
 peojDle of the land bordered by the four oceans'^ 
 hastening round the throne of their sovereign, 
 as bees in their time of swarming round the 
 person of their chief, that their numbers might 
 cover the earth, as when the ants migrate in 
 summer, and that their countenances, inspired 
 by valour, might be as terrible to be gazed upon 
 as the gods of punishment described by the 
 Hoshang, priests of Fo.^^ Would that all men 
 of vicious principles and ambitious souls were 
 driven from the council, so that the virtue of 
 the soldiers, receiving a just reward, might be 
 encouraged to drive forth from the land the 
 coursers whose hoofs have covered it with 
 ruins ! 
 
 " Ah, sister !" the Corean replied, in a melan- 
 choly tone, " you ever speak like an enthusiast. 
 You know not the bitter ingratitude of men. As 
 strange dogs, they snarl at the hand that be- 
 stows a crust. You imagine it requires but the 
 injunction of the son of heaven to his subjects 
 to see these last crowd round to avenge and to 
 defend him. Know that they would obey the 
 summons to plunder a defeated and flying 
 enemy ; but to peril either person or substance, 
 there must be some more selfish inducement 
 than the simple incentive of gratitude. I have 
 seen the very slaves my grandsire fed plot to 
 betray him ; and think you that the herd of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 47 
 
 your people will be more obedient to their duty 
 than was mine ? Sister, these are the argu- 
 ments wherewith your rulers deceive themselves. 
 They must not trust the safety of the empire to 
 the inclination of the peoiDle, but to resources 
 that they can command at their pleasure." 
 
 As the Corean ceased, a silence of some 
 minutes ensued, which the same sj^eaker broke, 
 as, with an exclamation of surprise, she said, 
 referring to the guide, whose agility was as 
 remarkable as his form was uncouth — 
 
 " Sister, didst thou observe the creature's 
 leap ? From a rock fashioned like a sabre he 
 has passed to one pointed as a spear. His feet 
 are bare, yet he is no more incommoded than if 
 he trod on velvet. Surely his master must have 
 bathed them in the charmed streams of my 
 country, that our ancients say have the power 
 of converting every object into stone that is 
 dipped in their waters. How terrible must be 
 the power of a magician who confers such gifts 
 upon his meanest slave! Sister, feel you not 
 fear as you approach him?" 
 
 " My father," the Chinese replied, " has taught 
 me to despise the pretensions of those who affect 
 to arrest in their course the natural laws. 
 Their action is obedient to causes too remote 
 for even the combined learning of ten thousand
 
 48 THE FALL OF 
 
 sages to penetrate the mystery under which 
 they he concealed. But Tyen has placed it in 
 the power of the learned to read the future ; not 
 through his acquaintance with magic spells, 
 but simply by the exercise of his practised 
 reasoning faculties.^^ It is for this I respect 
 him whom we proceed to visit ; and I would, 
 sister, that you had less faith in these idle 
 dreams that resemble those into which the fol- 
 lowers of Laotsy have converted the merciful 
 truth their master confided to them." 
 
 *' Oh, Luseynah,'' the Corean rejoined, '' speak 
 not thus. My heart trembles to hear you utter 
 words that, if the spirits of the air or yon 
 familiar were to convey to their master, might 
 cause him to open the hidden caverns around, 
 and deliver you to the hideous Yen. Doubt 
 not, sister, the power that can be obtained by 
 the knowledge of a charm or talisman. Your 
 sages themselves admit that every river, moun- 
 tain, their towns, their sepulchres, that every 
 creation of their hands, is under the influence 
 of potent genii.^* These rule over men; but 
 there are secrets that can reduce them to the 
 rank of slaves, and which are mastered by the 
 recluse, favoured in his researches by celestial 
 intelligences. Then he acquires the elixirs by 
 which life can be extended for ages beyond its
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 49 
 
 ordinary span, the means to fix the fluid silver," 
 and change it into a sohd mass of metal. The 
 birds relate to him the wonders of other lands 
 that they cross in their annual flights. The 
 knowledge of one secret begets another, as the 
 yang-choo, the banian tree, casts from its 
 branches roots that, arrived at maturity, produce 
 another progeny similar to their parent. Then 
 the great Author of all separates the purified 
 spirit from the dust it animated, endows it with 
 an ethereal being, that is visible at times to the 
 human eye, when it darts, during night, from 
 mansion to mansion of its vast abode under the 
 form of a passing meteor. The sophistry of 
 your sages would fain discredit the existence of 
 every science but what they possess themselves, 
 and, blinded by their vanity, they conceive 
 themselves so elevated above their fellows as to 
 have reached a degree of excellence none can 
 excel." 
 
 The Chinese was about to reply, when a sud- 
 den turning in the road presented a narrow 
 pathway between two hills, overhung by an 
 enormous mass of rock. Through this passage 
 the guide advanced, making signs that he should 
 be followed. The party obeyed, and entered 
 the short and apparently dangerous defile, from 
 which they gladly emerged ; and scarcely had 
 they done so, before the threatening rock rolled 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 THE FALL OF 
 
 down, and, with a shock at which the earth 
 around trembled, wedged itself into the opening. 
 The travellers found themselves to be stand- 
 ing in a square area of considerable size, that on 
 every side was enclosed by mountains, so uni- 
 formly perpendicular, that a beholder might 
 easily have suspected them chiselled by human 
 labour. In the centre, springing from the soft 
 moss with which the whole valley was carpeted, 
 appeared a Paouta, or pagoda, as the lofty and 
 graceful towers with which the Chinese are so 
 fond of ornamenting their landscapes have been 
 termed by Europeans. Its figure was octagon, 
 and composed of nine stories, that gradually, as 
 they ascended, decreased in size. The base- 
 ment one had a circumference of some fifty feet, 
 and was about twenty-five in height. Each 
 story had a projecting roof, coloured of an 
 orange shade, that was hung round with bells 
 and curved upwards at the angles, and at each 
 of which was a dragon with distended jaws. 
 Pillars of a red hue supported each roof, con- 
 trasting with the rich gilding of the walls, whilst 
 the cornices were enscribed with characters of 
 the Niao-ky-tchouen, or " impression of birds' 
 feet," the most ancient but one of all the Chi- 
 nese modes of writing,^^ and so extremely diflB- 
 cult, that few are able to master its comprehen- 
 sion. Above the last stage was a mast forty
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 61 
 
 feet in height, surmounted by an iron vase, and 
 supported by four chains that descended each 
 to a corner of its sloping roof. 
 
 As no door appeared, the mandarin — who had 
 now recovered from the nervous sensation he 
 had experienced at seeing the exit from the 
 valley closed by the fallen rock, and from the 
 dread with which he had first viewed his elfin- 
 like conductor — began to have serious designs of 
 interrogating this last, by means of his bamboo- 
 bearers, concerning the entrance to the magi- 
 cian's dwelHng, for such he knew, by the in- 
 structions he had received, was the fabric before 
 him ; but as often as he was about to utter the 
 command, he caught the keen grey eyes of the 
 strange little being fixed upon him, and he 
 averted his own, in terror and disgust, from con- 
 templating that hideously deformed counte- 
 nance, and the malicious expression with which 
 it was animated. 
 
 As if satisfied with the manner in which he 
 had cowed the official, the dwarf now thrice 
 made the tour of the tower, uttering strange 
 cries and performing uncouth gestures. As he 
 completed the last round, he cast himself upon 
 the ground, in a posture variously imagined by 
 the spectators as either to facilitate the communi- 
 cation of a signal, the performance of an en- 
 chantment, or the utterance of a prayer. 
 D 2
 
 62 THE FALL OF 
 
 By whichever of these he was actuated it 
 matters not. His object was accomphshed, and 
 he leapt from the earth with a bound of which 
 no other form than his was capable, uttering a 
 loud shrill cry resembling that of a peacock. 
 Immediately a thin pale vapour oozed from the 
 ground, from beneath which seemed to issue 
 unearthly sounds, and then slowly the pagoda 
 began to revolve upon its centre,^' whilst the 
 whole of its bells chimed together in a musical 
 if not a harmonious concert — a sight well cal- 
 culated to surprise or to alarm those who were 
 not acquainted with the machinery that effected 
 its revolutions. 
 
 Again the dwarfish guide made three circuits 
 of the building, but in a contrary direction to 
 the one of its gyrations. Again he extended 
 himself upon the earth; again he leapt into 
 the air, uttering a still shriller and louder cry 
 than before. The agency that had put the 
 tower in motion gradually ceased its effects, 
 until the pagoda stood at rest; its bells were 
 silent ; the subterranean noises were no longer 
 heard ; and the vapours, dispelled by the wind, 
 had once more revealed the graceful fabric. 
 
 The unfortunate mandarin had gazed at first 
 with amazement upon what he regarded as the 
 effects of surprising supernatural power; but 
 when he found the earth rocking beneath him.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 53 
 
 as though by the motion of some infernal 
 machinery, inspired by terror, he turned his 
 face towards the north, the quarter of the 
 heavens, according to the tenets of Laotsy, the 
 most sacred during the season of winter,* and 
 falhng jorostrate, he proceeded to offer the most 
 magnificent bribes, not only to the spirit who 
 presides over that portion of the compass, but 
 also to every other who would assist him in his 
 present predicament. Finding all again to be 
 silent, he rose from his devotions, and then, to his 
 pleasure and surprise, he found the guide had dis- 
 appeared, and he beheld in the tower, completely 
 occupying one of the faces of the lowest story, two 
 yellow folding doors. Towards these he would 
 immediately have advanced, but for a cry of sur- 
 prise that escaped from those around him, and 
 directing his gaze whither the eyes of all were 
 turned, he beheld, slowly rising from the vase 
 that crowned the mast in which the pagoda ter- 
 minated, a small ball of flame, that gradually 
 expanded into the shape of an honorary tablet 
 that bore the name of Luseynah, the titles she 
 inherited by courtesy from her father, and those 
 she enjoyed on account of her present mission. 
 Below these appeared the characters that ex- 
 pressed " The door of the golden tower will obey 
 
 ♦ Vide Rec. et Peines, p. 485.
 
 54 THE FALL OF 
 
 the behest of her who bears the imperial man- 
 date." 
 
 Two other fiery globes intimated the same 
 permission to the mandarin and to the Corean 
 princess. A fourth ball ascended, more brilliant 
 than the others, and which bore the following 
 inscription : — " Tkanghia, son of Tkang-chi-kia, 
 the viceroy of Kiangsy, who acts with wisdom 
 and moderation himself, commander of a 
 thousand men, and who dares, for the sake of 
 virtue, to tear the whiskers from the tiger's face ; 
 for him the doors of the ' golden tower' shall 
 open with honour. Let him also enter." 
 
 As this met his eye, behold a new source of 
 uneasiness to the unlucky mandarin. If what 
 he read were true, and he saw no reason to 
 doubt its accuracy, he had behaved most insult- 
 ingly to the son of one of the highest mandarins 
 in the empire, and one of the chiefs of that vast 
 faction in the state, formed as much by envy as 
 suspicion of the almost sovereign power the 
 chief minister, Kyatsetao, had procured for him- 
 self. Should the young officer inform his father 
 of the way in which he had been treated, and 
 should the cabal of the last be victorious in its 
 intrigue, he foresaw for himself a humiliating 
 disgrace. Anxious to repair the impolicy of 
 his conduct, he advanced towards the object of 
 his present fears, and to whom, with folded
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 55 
 
 arms, he made a profound salutation, and then 
 said : — 
 
 *' I am quite unprepared for the felicitous 
 encounter my fortune has procured me; but 
 none but a genius would have sought for the 
 precious necklace of jade^ amid the filth of the 
 sewer. I am a man raised in the state above 
 my capacity ; my eyes examine but the surface 
 of things. I had never thought to find among 
 the solitary mountains the son of the dragon of 
 virtue, and my bowels are devoured with vexa- 
 tion that, by leaving me in ignorance of your 
 quality, you have caused me to be guilty of 
 indecorum towards you, of disrespect to your 
 father's name, and forgetfulness of my own 
 duties." 
 
 An expression of pleased vanity passed over 
 the countenance of Tkanghia when he beheld, 
 thus humbled before him, the individual who 
 had offended him. Making a salute propor- 
 tionately respectful to the one he had himself 
 received, he replied : — 
 
 " It would not become the peacock to display 
 its gaudy plumage in the presence of the Fung- 
 hoang.* What vanity should I not have been 
 guilty of to have said before Oulintse, president 
 of the Louko, the astrological tribunal,t Behold 
 the worm Tkanghia." 
 
 * Vide Note 29. f Vide Note 3.
 
 56 THE FALL OF 
 
 "Your modesty," replied OuliDtse, "is equal 
 to your good sense, and I shall have gi'eat 
 pleasure in entering the ' golden tower' in com- 
 pany with one of such talents as yourself." 
 
 As the mandarin said this, he advanced 
 towards the pagoda, the doors of which ap- 
 peared to open of themselves to permit the en- 
 trance of the two ladies, himself, and Tkanghia, 
 and were then closed with considerable force by 
 the same mysterious agency. 
 
 For some minutes the party were involved 
 in the deepest obscurity, but suddenly the dark- 
 ness was dispelled by the seemingly spontaneous 
 ignition of a touch of resinous wood, and the 
 crimson glare of its light displayed a balustrade 
 that in part surrounded a cavernous opening in 
 the earth, descended by a flight of spiral stairs, 
 of which only the topmost were visible, the 
 others being entirely lost in the gloom. As the 
 party prosecuted its descent, lights of the same 
 nature as the first burst forth, but ever, when 
 passed, were as suddenly extinguished as ignited, 
 and the last score of steps were accomplished 
 with considerable care amid comj^lete darkness. 
 
 They now found themselves in a small cavern 
 that was dimly lighted by two lanterns sus- 
 pended from the stalactites with which the roof 
 was hung, but otherwise destitute of every article 
 of furniture, whilst its air was so damp and
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 67 
 
 heavy as to oppress the lungs of those who in- 
 spired it. 
 
 As his eye became accustomed to the gloom, 
 Ouliutse discovered, seated upon the ground, 
 with its malicious eyes glaring full upon him, 
 the elfin guide, whom he now^ felt assured must 
 be one of the chief councillors of Yenouang,^' 
 prince of the maledictory spirits. But pre- 
 sently, his impatience getting the better of his 
 awe, he directed Tkanghia to inquire why the 
 master of the place delayed his appearance, feel- 
 ing himself too much embarrassed for such a 
 task — firstly, from not knowing the rank of the 
 supposed spirit, whom he might ofiend if not 
 sufficiently respectful, — and secondly, from fear 
 of wounding his own dignity should he employ 
 terms of too courteous a nature. 
 
 " Slave," said the young officer, " your master 
 seems not to be over-mindful of his duty. Must 
 an imperial mandate await him before he deigns 
 its reception ?" 
 
 The eyes of the guide rolled towards the 
 speaker, but perceiving that the last was not to 
 be daunted by their expression, he replied, in a 
 shrill tone of voice, " The drum that is un- 
 struck emits no sound. The dog obeys the 
 voice and sign, and not the thought that is 
 buried in the bosom of its master. Call upon 
 him of whom you speak. He is away in the 
 D 3
 
 58 THE FALL OF 
 
 ocean of sand ;^° but your summons may be 
 whispered, for the hearing of his famiUars is as 
 subtle as their mode of communicating your 
 commands is speedy." 
 
 " Your master will be summoned," rejoined 
 Tkanghia, " when his hospitality to an imperial 
 envoy and the daughter of a mandarin of the 
 first class shall have been testified in a more 
 respectful manner. The representative of the 
 empress-consort may not receive an insolent 
 astrologer as an equal does an equal. Let the 
 desert of Chamo detain him until he learn the 
 ceremonious deference due from an inferior to 
 a superior." 
 
 Oulintse trembled as he heard this bold 
 speech ; but the individual to whom it was ad- 
 dressed replied, without other regard to its 
 nature than a short laugh of defiance, '' My 
 master's guests furnish their apartment at their 
 pleasure. Bid seats come to you in the name 
 of the lord of the ' golden tower,' and you will 
 be obeyed." 
 
 Tkanghia did as desired ; and then, to the sur- 
 prise of all, from a dark corner of the cavern, 
 four seats appeared to advance, unassisted by any 
 visible impulse. Luseyuah and her companion 
 being seated, Oulintse ensconced himself among 
 the soft cushions of the chair that had so intelli- 
 gently presented itself for his convenience, but
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 59 
 
 not before, with an urbanity that was in reality 
 forced, he desired the mihtary officer to do the 
 same. The last, as the laws of etiquette re- 
 quired, thrice declined the permission, and only 
 upon its fourth repetition consented to avail 
 himself of the mandarin's politeness. 
 
 Being seated, Tkanghia, in a loud tone, com- 
 manded the appearance of the master of the 
 " golden tower." Scarcely had the last echo of 
 his voice died away, before were heard, as though 
 proceeding from the very centre of the cave, the 
 subdued notes of that species of music" that 
 with the Chinese is held to imply submission. 
 After a few minutes, this had ceased, and given 
 place to the performance, by the same invisible 
 musicians, of a loud, solemn air, that is supposed 
 to indicate honour. 
 
 This last had also ceased ; and then, as 
 simultaneously as though a gleam of lightning 
 had passed across, a vast number of torches 
 blazed, and were extinguished. A second time 
 they momentarily lighted the cavern, but at the 
 third they continued ignited, shedding a deep 
 crimson hue around, that the prisms of the 
 stalactites reflected with the rainbow's variance 
 of shade. 
 
 As soon as the eye, dazzled by the sudden 
 brilliancy of the illumination, recovered its 
 power, a tall man was observed standing in the
 
 60 THE FALL OF 
 
 centre of the cave. Over a long dress of white 
 linen, that trailed upon the ground, he wore a 
 second, somewhat shorter, of a green stujff, with 
 loose sleeves that hung to the elbow, leaving 
 the rest of the arm exj)osed. A deep border of 
 a yellow colour extended round this robe. His 
 hair was gathered in a knot behind, and fitting 
 tightly to the head was a netting of red silk ; 
 his arms were folded submissively across his 
 breast, upon which his chin was bowed. 
 
 Luseynah, after a few minutes, having first 
 respectfully saluted it, took from the hands of 
 the Corean a small gilded box, that she held on 
 a level with her head, but in such a manner 
 that her long sleeves fell over and concealed 
 her hands. " The empress," she said, " whose 
 consort rules over the land contained by the 
 four oceans, hearing of the fame of the sage of 
 the stony hills, has conferred upon him the 
 title of ' master of excellent wisdom.' Receive 
 with due respect the Pai-pyen, tablet of honour, 
 the characters of which were traced by the ver- 
 milion brush." 
 
 The magician mutely made three profound 
 inclinations ; and at a wave of his hand, a small 
 table moved of itself opposite to the lady, upon 
 which this last deposited the gilded box, for 
 Chinese etiquette forbids that a woman should 
 either give into or receive anything directly
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 61 
 
 from the hands of a man.* The magician, 
 ere he touched the precious gift, bowed before 
 it, and struck the earth once with his forehead ; 
 then, taking the box in his hands, he bore it, 
 raised above his head, to another table, upon 
 which was a small censor containing fire, upon 
 which he cast some incense, as he placed the 
 box before it. Again he knelt, and this time 
 his brow was thrice lain in the dust. He then 
 assumed the attitude in which he had lirst ap- 
 peared, and speaking in a low but yet distinct 
 tone, he said, " When the sun casts his rays 
 over the hills, it is that he may reanimate some 
 flower drooping from the malignant influences 
 of night. The flower is grateful, and exhales 
 its odours in the direction of its benefactor. 
 Can the words of one whose dwelling is in the 
 oasis, among peaches and limpid streams,^^ be 
 useful unto the source of all honour and pros- 
 perity ? " 
 
 " The mistress of the empire," Luseynah re- 
 plied, " would fain inquire if the Yantse-kiang 
 be a barrier that the northern hordes are per- 
 mitted to pass ? Hath Tyen-chiu, the lord of 
 heaven, ordained that the bands of the wild 
 horsemen shall invade the south ? " 
 
 " For three months," replied the astrologer, 
 
 * Du Halde, ii. 77.
 
 62 THE FALL OF 
 
 '* the disks of both sun and moon have been 
 surrounded by a pale mist, as though with a 
 garment of mourning. The vapours have risen 
 in a golden mass from the valleys, but ^s-hen 
 they gained the summit of the mountains, a 
 black cloud came from the north, and they 
 were scattered south, east, and west. It is four 
 thousand lee to the mountain Tseku ; yet I 
 have heard the stone tambour, that crowns its 
 summit, roll its alarm along the valleys ; and 
 sages have said, as often as it be struck by 
 other than by mortal hands, it is a certain omen 
 ofwar.*^ The first day of the first moon was 
 marked by the raging of a fierce and unexpected 
 storm. The barbarians are therefore again to 
 assault the kingdom that is situate in the centre 
 of the universe." 
 
 ** Shall the standard of the five-clawed dragon 
 be lain in the dust before the tents of felt ? " 
 Luseynah inquired. 
 
 " Have not the rains been withholden from 
 the fields?" the astrologer rejoined. "The 
 ancient books have said, a long drought predicts 
 the machinations of a traitor against the em- 
 pire ;** and as the bank that be undermined by 
 the floods must fall, so the empire whose 
 councils are directed by the treachery of an 
 ambitious noble must perish. The yellow 
 dragon will be chained."
 
 THE NAN SODNG. 63 
 
 " Aud who," Luseyuah inquired, " is the 
 traitor who, raising his eyes to the sun, can 
 drag that himinary into the pit wherein he must 
 sink himself ? " 
 
 " Science," repHed the astrologer, " instructs 
 one to read the prophetic signs with which 
 nature intimates to the sage events about to 
 occur, but she spelleth not the names of indi- 
 viduals. This one has his heart inflated by 
 vanity, like to the presumptuous insect, that, 
 mounted on the tusk of an elephant, imagined 
 itself sovereign of the universe ; but he shall 
 fall, aud find himself less than a grain of dust." 
 
 " Which of the barbarian chiefs," Luseynah 
 again inquired, '' shall grasp the sceptre of 
 jade?" * 
 
 The magician was about to reply; but the 
 prediction required of him was arrested upon 
 his lips by Tkanghia, who impetuously ex- 
 claimed — 
 
 " Seek not, envoy of Heaven, the name of 
 the dog who may vanquish the dragon, but 
 desire his form to be presented to our eyes, so 
 that I might seek him among his followers, and 
 cleave him with my sabre." 
 
 '' Younger son of a wise father," said the 
 magician, in the same cold tone of voice as ever, 
 " dost thou think thy sabre could reach whom 
 
 * Vide Note 38.
 
 64 THE FALL OF 
 
 the fates protect ? Look to thine own destiny 
 — it is written in white characters. The lAanet 
 of night, the goddess of love/'* hath hid thy 
 heart languish for the small white hand, the 
 brows arched like her own crescent, and the 
 delicate form ; but Yuelaou^^ has not tied the 
 knot by which thou mayest be united with the 
 object whose beauty hath inflamed thee. The 
 wise hunter," the speaker continued, addressing 
 Luseynah, " pursues not the chase himself — 
 he waits until his dogs have run down the prey, 
 when he arrives with his poised spear. Behold 
 the commander who leads the armies of the 
 Mogul; but, like the bee, he heaps up his honey 
 for another, and that his own liege sovereign ! " 
 As the magician ceased speaking, he waved 
 his hand. The torches were instantly extin- 
 guished, whilst on the opposite wall a faint 
 light became visible,*' that gradually expanded 
 into a large circle. Within, at first, a23peared 
 some indistinct and shadowy figures, that, as 
 they assumed more definite shapes, presented 
 themselves as an imperial commander-in-chief, 
 surrounded by his principal officers. Their 
 weapons were in their hands ; and from the 
 expression of their countenances, they seemed 
 to be uttering words of a menacing and con- 
 temptuous import ; but presently, as though 
 impelled by some mighty blast, they were
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 66 
 
 driven, struggling, out of the luminous circle, 
 that was entered, at the opposite side to that 
 by which they quitted it, by a solitary horse- 
 man, clad, as Tkanghia immediately recognised, 
 in the costume of a Mogul general, and whose 
 head had the peculiarity of being entirely 
 covered with eyes, that seemed endowed with 
 incessant vigilance. This figure vanished from 
 the sight as those preceding it had appeared. 
 
 The magician was now gone ; and the 
 cavern, lighted but by the two small lanterns, 
 presented the same aspect as previous to the 
 conjuration of its possessor. 
 
 " Oh, master," exclaimed Tkanghia, " re- 
 turn, and tell me the name of the man I have 
 just beheld." 
 
 " Thou hast seen the man with a hundred 
 eyes," replied a voice that seemed weak from 
 distance. 
 
 '* Tell me," said Luseynah : " can the celes- 
 tial empire alone be reduced by such a man as 
 this ? " 
 
 " None but the man with a hundred eyes can 
 bind the dragon," replied the voice, fainter and 
 more distant than before. 
 
 " Sister," exclaimed the Corean, in a joyous 
 and exultant tone, " the destinies are favour- 
 able to us. Though in the north they be great 
 magicians,*® yet where could they find a man
 
 66 THE FALL OF 
 
 like to the one we have seen ? He must needs 
 be a spirit or a genius, and such a one would 
 never consent to serve an ignorant Mogul. The 
 ethereal intelligences would never array them- 
 selves on the side of barbarians against the fair 
 land of the Eastern Aurora." * 
 
 The Chinese, though not so superstitious, 
 was more credulous than her companion. The 
 ethical philosophy in which she had been edu- 
 cated had taught her to despise pretenders to 
 supernatural power ; but whilst it denied one 
 folly it more strenuously advocated another ; 
 and she would have considered it as both im- 
 pious and immoral to doubt the certain accom- 
 plishment of any prophecy calculated upon the 
 principles dictated by the ancient sages of her 
 country. Hence she was far from sharing the 
 exultation of Linpeytsin, feeling assured, that 
 however strange, Heaven would ever create a 
 man capable of fulfilling its decrees. She re- 
 plied not to the exclamation of her friend ; and 
 leading the way, the party ascended the stairs 
 in silence, passing out by the doors of the 
 tower, which opened to permit their egress in 
 the same way as they had their entrance. 
 
 * Vide Note 31.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG 67 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 A FEW minutes before the reappearance of their 
 superiors, those who had remained without the 
 tower had been surprised at beholding a portion 
 of the mountain wall, that bounded the area in 
 which the pagoda stood, and on the same side 
 through which they had entered, roll back of 
 itself, as though it had been but a curtain. 
 Through this opening the travellers now passed, 
 encountering at its entrance their former guide, 
 who, shaking his long thin arms admonish - 
 ingly at them, cried — 
 
 " There be wolves upon the path. Let the 
 archers take their bows from their cases. Let 
 the spears be poised, and the points of the 
 sabres look backwards. The robbers have mus- 
 tered in the valley." 
 
 As he concluded his laconic advice, the 
 dwarf vaulted lightly upon a rock a few feet 
 above him, behind which he disappeared.
 
 68 THE FALL OF 
 
 The information he gave was not neglected ; 
 and the mandarin, Oulintse, most condescend- 
 ingly delegated to Tkanghia full authority to 
 dispose of the party as he should deem fit. The 
 young officer made rapidly some few changes 
 in the order of the march, that was now re- 
 sumed with all due caution. 
 
 *' Luseynah," said the Corean, " yonder 
 mandarin of war would he a tiger among the 
 invaders of the empire. I have learnt to dis- 
 tinguish the bold eye that can guide the flight 
 of an arrow, and the form that is adapted to 
 wield a sabre." 
 
 " It would seem that he had bestowed but 
 little care upon the principles of conduct pre- 
 scribed by the Lyking.*^ His behaviour is 
 sadly deficient in ceremony," replied Luseynah, 
 whom the observations of her companion had 
 recalled from a deep and confused reverie. 
 
 *' Truly has the passionless philosophy of 
 your fathers entered into your soul," rejoined 
 the Corean. " There are but few of your 
 military mandarins whose hearts are so cast of 
 iron as that of yonder Yeouky. Do you re- 
 member when all our people fled, crying that 
 the robbers of the north were upon us ? Though 
 a woman, it then became me to undertake a 
 man's part, I seized a bow, and fitted a shaft 
 to the string. Though the arrow was drawn to
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 69 
 
 its head, and the shghtest movement of my 
 hand had launched it at his hosom, yet neither 
 his brow quivered, nor his cheek blanched. I 
 saw the strange mistake our people had made. 
 A smile was upon his lips, and, angry at what 
 might seem as my childish fear, I let my arrow 
 fly into the thicket." 
 
 " This," said Luseynah, " is but the courage 
 the ' perfect master' ^° has described as pertain- 
 ing to the people of the north : it delights in 
 adorning its cuirass with laurel, and is proud of 
 its contempt of death. "^^ 
 
 " But," resumed the Corean, " did you not 
 observe him in the cavern ? He spoke to the 
 magician as though he were himself master of 
 that abode of wonders ! How well he sat his 
 small white horse ! I know its race, sister, for 
 I have seen others like to it when my grandsire 
 held his court : it has been bred among the 
 mountains of the Miaotsy.^^ Didst ever hear, 
 Luseynah, the strange stories they tell of the 
 horses of that people ? They say there are 
 some that can clamber up a precipice as a fly 
 crawls over the glazed surface of a cabinet, or 
 gallop with sure foot down the steepest descent, 
 and pass at a bound from one mountain summit 
 to another." 
 
 " These things I have heard," replied the 
 Chinese ; " but little is the faith I put in such
 
 70 THE FALL OF 
 
 supernatural relations, which are told by those 
 who are vain of the applause of a credulous and 
 ignorant auditory." 
 
 '' How sadly terrified the learned president 
 of the Louko appears," the Corean observed, 
 referring to Oulintse. " You would have 
 smiled, sister, in spite of your gravity, to have 
 seen him grovelling in the dust when he ought 
 to have been handling his sabre, or to have 
 heard his cowardly prayer when he should have 
 disposed those with him to battle ! Now, were 
 these robbers to place an arrow in his robe, 
 as the women ornament their hair with a 
 golden pin, I doubt not but that his little soul 
 would pass out by his mouth, and, though un- 
 scathed, the sight of the barb would be his 
 death !" 
 
 The Chinese did not reply, and the Corean, 
 perceiving her disinclination for conversation, 
 became also silent. 
 
 The travellers had now reached the spot 
 where the chairs of the ladies and the horses of 
 the party had been left. The first entered their 
 carriages. Oulintse, Tkanghia, and the latter's 
 troop, again crossed their saddles, and warily 
 continued their journey towards the scene of 
 the morning's confusion, and where their lug- 
 gage had been left, but without encountering 
 the smallest sign that indicated the neighbour-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 71 
 
 hood of the gentry whose molestation they had 
 been led to expect. 
 
 The alarm of the dwarf had, however, not 
 been false, and some fifty as great rogues as had 
 ever escaped the retribution of the laws for 
 many a misdeed, were now gathered round the 
 small entrenchment, where a half score of 
 guards, but under the command of one of 
 Tkanghia's veterans, defended the luggage en- 
 trusted to their care with an obstinacy that 
 rendered their panic of the morning almost un- 
 accountable, and caused their assailants to 
 imagine the prey they coveted to be proj^ortion- 
 ately valuable to the difiiculty they encountered 
 in seizing it. 
 
 The robbers had already made two attacks, 
 but their arms, ofiensive and defensive, as well 
 as their valour, being far inferior to those of 
 their opponents, their assaults had failed, and, 
 safely ensconced among the bushes and behind 
 the rocks, they amused themselves by en- 
 deavouring to terrify the garrison into surrender 
 with an occasional yell, and valiantly clashing 
 their weapons together. 
 
 Meanwhile, their chief went round exhorting 
 his associates to another and more resolute 
 attack. He was a well-made man, clad in the 
 garments of one of the beleagured party, who, 
 when flying from imaginary Tatars, had found
 
 72 THE FALL OF 
 
 himself in the presence of an actual bandit, 
 who, commiserating the impediments he sus- 
 tained in his flight from his accoutrements, had 
 kindly appropriated these last. 
 
 Obedient to the directions of their leader, the 
 band made another assault simultaneously upon 
 every side of the entrenchment ; but their re- 
 cej^tion was far from being encouraging, and 
 their disinclination for the hard blows with 
 which they were welcomed w^as further in- 
 creased by the sound of horses' feet that ap- 
 proached their rear. In another instant, 
 Tkanghiawas upon the scene of action, and few 
 of the cowardly miscreants seemed inclined to 
 provoke an application of the mace, weighing 
 some thirty pounds, he wielded in his right 
 hand. Alone, their chief advanced to the 
 encounter of the intruder, but a single blow 
 from the weapon of the last had shattered his 
 uplifted sabre, and had done the same for his 
 skull, but for the interposition of the steel cap 
 that encased his head. As it was, he fell 
 senseless to the ground, in which state his 
 hands and feet were expeditiously secured, and 
 himself bound to the back of one of his mounted 
 captarers. 
 
 The mandarin, who arrived a few minutes 
 after the termination of the skirmish, recognised, 
 as he gazed upon the pale features of the
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 73 
 
 prisoner, bis quondam guide of the morning, 
 and addressing Tkanghia in a tone of consider- 
 able satisfaction, be said — 
 
 •' Son of a mandarin, your conduc-t has been 
 -worthy the representative of your father ! but, 
 the proverb says, the young of the eagle will 
 ever become, like their parent, guests of the 
 clouds. A well regulated son resembles his 
 father, as a wing-feather of the j)hoenix does its 
 fellow. You yielded not to your own impulses, 
 but following my more matured councils, have 
 taken a wolf in the toils. As striking off the head 
 destroys the body, so securing a chief of robbers 
 is equal in importance to making prisoners the 
 whole of his gang, who surely must consist of 
 three hundred men. The ancient laws constitute 
 whoever is sufficiently fortunate to accomplish 
 such a feat an inspector of the empire.* But 
 the brightness of my star shall not render yours 
 obscure. I shall make a just representation of 
 the resolution and courage you have displayed, 
 so that though I receive taels of silver, this 
 shall not cause you to be rewarded with mere 
 goose-eye coins.*^ 
 
 * Rec et peines, p. 171. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 74 THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 The bustling throng that at later hours usually 
 crowded the streets of Hancheyu-fii, although 
 the morning was past its earliest blush, had not 
 yet made its appearance. Being winter, the 
 wealthier burghers, in whom prosperity had en- 
 gendered luxury and indolence, preferred press- 
 ing their silken cushions, stuffed with cotton, to 
 adventuring forth, before the sun had tempered 
 the keenness of the atmosphere, in pursuit of 
 their various occupations ; whilst of the poorer 
 classes, consisting of porters, public carriage- 
 drivers, perambulating artisans, &c., some few 
 had begun to bestir themselves, but the greater 
 number still reposed upon their coarse beds of 
 matting, stretched upon stoves heated to an 
 agreeable warmth,^* and which they were loath
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 76 
 
 to leave for the uncertain chance of employ- 
 ment. 
 
 The streets were, however, far from being 
 deserted, and especially the grand and principal 
 one, down which, since the moment when at 
 sunrise the city gates were opened, market-carts 
 had been incessantly rolling, laden with meat 
 and game of every description, with vegetables 
 rare and common to the season ; in fine, with 
 the 2^1'ovisions for a metropolis containing up- 
 wards of two millions of souls. Sach was the 
 population of a town that not a century and a 
 half before had been ravaged by a Tatar army,* 
 and since that period had frequently suffered 
 from the effects of fires, one of which alone had 
 consumed two thirds of the whole city : yet still 
 it boasted itself, as now, a terrestrial paradise. f 
 Its inhabitants pretended to enumerate the 
 almost countless bridges that crossed its canals, 
 as amounting to ten thousand. | The residence of 
 the court, the entrepot of nearly all the commerce 
 of the empire; the wealth that circulated, or 
 was hoarded within its walls, was incalculable ; 
 and the silks of its looms, its brocades woven 
 with gold and silver thread, its satins and 
 velvets, were exj^orted to the farthest Ind, and 
 
 * Vide De Mailla, viii. 493. f Vide Davis, Sketches. 
 
 + Vide Bartoli, 107. 
 
 E 2
 
 76 THE FALL OF 
 
 monarchs disdained not to wear or to admire 
 the cunning devices of its workmen in ivory, 
 precious woods, metals, or in gems, wLich wer^^ 
 unequalled by any rival manufacturing city of 
 the emj^ire. 
 
 The main street threaded, in its length from 
 ■wall to wall, ten market-places. The area of 
 each was square, and somewhat better than two- 
 thirds of a mile in circuit.* In these, tents and 
 awnings already were erected, beneath which the 
 provision-venders placed themselves with their 
 commodities, so that each of the markets bore 
 not a bad resemblance to the encampment of 
 some fortunate army of hunters. 
 
 Standing in the centre of one of these 
 market-places, a glance down the central street 
 of the city presented at once almost every di- 
 versity of building that exists between the palace 
 of the highest mandarin and the hovel of the 
 peasant. 
 
 A long wall of blue -coloured bricks, termed in 
 Chinese the "wall of respect,"t entered by triple 
 gates, jealously concealed from the curiosity of 
 the vulgar the dwellings of the first, or, at least, 
 permitted the public but to behold the sloping 
 roof covered with blue tiles and the summit of 
 the red pillars that supported it, and, in the 
 
 * Vide M. Polo, 513, 516. f Vide etaun. ii. 121.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 77 
 
 distance, the tops of the pines and of the other 
 evergreen trees that ornamented the garden. 
 Occasionally, where the great conflagration of 
 seventy years before had raged, many a broad 
 strip of land lay unclaimed by the builder; 
 and here, modestly retiring from the causeway, 
 upon which no window gazed, was the white 
 and humble cot of the husbandman. The 
 houses of the tradesmen, or rather artisans, for 
 the first resided almost wholly in the different 
 market-squares, were situated together in clus- 
 ters. But few of these w^ere more than one 
 story in height, and many had double roofs ; a 
 style of architecture, peculiarly Chinese, that is 
 at once picturesque and singular. 
 
 The street itself was broad, in this respect 
 differing from the other thoroughfares of the 
 city, which were narrow, so as to exclude the 
 inconvenient heats of the summer. On either 
 side was a pavement of broad stone flags about 
 ten paces in width, and bordered by gutters 
 that conveyed into the neighbouring canals the 
 rain water that at certain seasons of the year 
 falls in floods over all the southern provinces of 
 China. In the centre was a gravelled road for 
 carriages, the dust arising from which was 
 allayed by the showers that a vast number of 
 water carts spread over it, for this purpose em- 
 ployed by the government.
 
 78 THE FALL OF 
 
 With a further description of the market- 
 squares we will not, at present, trouble the 
 reader, with the exception of observing that the 
 passenger who entered any one of them beheld 
 alike to his right and left a long wall, above 
 which appeared the summits of the civil and 
 criminal tribunals that each presided over, a 
 sej^arate quarter of the city, throughout which 
 they maintained the police, and were further 
 charged, each in its own square, with the 
 preservation of order and the detection of illegal 
 proceedings during the markets held every 
 alternate day. 
 
 For a moment, let us quit the gradually 
 thronging square, and proceed to a rather re- 
 mote portion of the town. Behold before us a 
 long high wall. The guards and the ensigns at 
 the gate seem to jDroclaim it as belonging to an 
 honoured and a powerful functionary. We cross 
 two courts that possess nothing to fix the at- 
 tention ; but now we enter the third, and how 
 curious and busy is the scene. 
 
 Shops filled with toys and curiosities of 
 various descriptions, butchers' shambles, eating- 
 rooms, from whence proceeds the savoury odour 
 of the most j^rized Chinese dishes. It seems a 
 mimic representation of the spot we have just 
 quitted. As we gaze around, we may fancy our- 
 selves in the centre of some religious and social
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 79 
 
 community, so orderly and peacefully everything 
 is conducted. And, perhaps, they are penitents ; 
 those unhappy creatures chained by their wrists, 
 their waists, and ancles, who, in a gloomy cell of 
 yonder quarter of the building, lie side by side, 
 further restrained from motion by heavy billets 
 of wood placed across their thighs. 
 
 As we passed the outer wall, we paused not 
 to examine the large hole with which it is 
 breached. That, reader, is termed '' the hole 
 of infamy," and through it is the only passage 
 for the bodies of those who unfortunately die 
 within the prison,^ for such is the building we 
 have visited. 
 
 The market in the court-yard is held by the 
 prisoners, part of whom drive a thriving trade 
 by retailing articles of provision, for the regular 
 rations are too scanty for the sustenance of such 
 as the angry laws condemn to incarceration, 
 and part maintain themselves by the sale of 
 such trifles as their ingenuity can fashion with 
 the poor tools that precaution permits them to 
 use. Our supposed penitents are criminals 
 suffering for some high misdemeanour, whom 
 poverty precludes from bribing the commisera- 
 tion of their jailors, and who are partially liber- 
 ated from their bonds a few hours in the day, 
 
 * Vide Du Halde, ii. 132.
 
 80 THE FALL OF 
 
 that they may procure, with the labour of their 
 hands, the means of purchasing the quantity of 
 rice necessary to sustain their miserable hves. 
 So averse is Chinese pohcy to permit, or in the 
 remotest degree encourage, the existence of idle 
 burdens upon the state. 
 
 An individual under the escort of a guard 
 quits the prison. His head is closely shaven 
 and bandaged, as though from the effects of a 
 recent wound. From his neck hangs pendent 
 a heavy log of wood, the weight of which his 
 hands sustain — thanks to a douceur previously 
 slipped into the hand of the chief of his con- 
 ductors. 
 
 The way of the prisoner is directed towards 
 the tribunal situated in one of the pubhc 
 squares. The left one of the trij)le doors is that 
 through which he passes, for at present he is 
 but accused ; the less honourable one to the 
 right gives egress to the convicted. At either 
 side of the entrance are small towers, in which 
 are musicians, whose duty it is to sound their 
 instrument as often as the Chi-fu, or magis- 
 trate, enters or quits his tribunal, as well 
 as on the appearance of any distinguished 
 visitor ; and in its rear is an extensive court, 
 paved with stone flags, and surrounded by a 
 colonnade. In this, in a kneeling posture, the 
 meaner suppliants for justice await their turn of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 81 
 
 admission into the saloon of audience, whilst 
 the richer are sheltered from sun and rain in 
 yonder hall, that is entered after the court is 
 passed. This being crossed, a second court ap- 
 pears, at the extremity of which is the ofl&ce of 
 the mandarin, erected upon a platform, raised 
 about three feet above the level of the ground, 
 that is ascended by as many steps. 
 
 Upon each of these the prisoner is made to 
 kneel, and then, having crossed the gallery that 
 surrounds the facade of the building, he enters 
 the Tang, or saloon of justice. 
 
 It was a long hall nearly destitute of furni- 
 ture. The walls shone brightly with varnish, 
 and were ostentatiously, if not usefully, orna- 
 mented with moral sentences, principally ex- 
 tracted from the ancient books, which alike inti- 
 mated to the official the duties he had to ob- 
 serve, and exhorted those who might be brought 
 before him to reform their conduct, or instructed 
 them in what they had to observe for the future. 
 A double row of red- stained pillars supported 
 the roof, but, in place of the capitals that usually 
 adorn that portion of architecture with us, on 
 either side jutted forth curved arms of wood, 
 upon which rested a slight beam with its ex- 
 tremities fashioned in like manner, that in its 
 turn supported another similar to itself, and 
 thus continued until the hfth or sixth was in- 
 E 3
 
 82 THE FALL OF 
 
 serted in the fretted ceiling, pleasing the eye by 
 their elegant apj^earance, but dismaying the 
 nerves by their seeming fragility. 
 
 Seated in a bamboo chair, before a large low 
 table, apjDcared the Chi-fu, whose magisterial 
 duties consisted in the administration of justice, 
 in inquiring concerning the cause of sudden and 
 suspicious deaths, and in the superintendence 
 of the police of his quarter of the city. Close 
 on his left was his confidential adviser, whose 
 accent betrayed him as being a native of Chao- 
 hing-fu, the town of all China most noted for 
 the legal proficiency of its inhabitants.* A little 
 behind to the right was placed a secretary, with 
 his ink-stone, paper, and brushes before him, 
 and further back appeared attendants and exe- 
 cutioners, the last bearing rods of bamboo and 
 other instruments of punishment or of torture. 
 
 The prisoner, with his hands crossed upon 
 his breast, waited upon his knees, whilst a case 
 that occupied the magistrate was disposed of. It 
 was a charge brought by a poor peasant against 
 a wealthy proprietor, in which the latter, by the 
 evidence adduced, stood pretty well convicted of 
 having fraudulently destroyed some deeds re- 
 lating to the sale of a small proj^erty. The 
 witnesses on the part of the prosecutor were 
 
 * Vide Mar. Martin ii, Thev. rel.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 83 
 
 honest people of his own rank in life, yet not 
 only the judge's councillor, but the Chi-fu him- 
 self, frequently interrupted them, reviling them 
 as rogues, and threatening them with punish- 
 ment. Those on the part of the defendants be- 
 longed to that class of gentry who swarm about 
 almost every Chinese tribunal, and whose testi- 
 mony, for a trifling pittance, can be procured to 
 substantiate any case an unprincipled employer 
 may be desirous of sustaining. These last were 
 highly lauded by the judge, as being fearless 
 men in defending the cause of virtue, and for 
 their disinterested support of a maligned and 
 honest man. Honest the Chi-fu knew the ac- 
 cused to be, as far as regarded the metallic 
 purity of twenty ounces of silver he had received 
 from him/^ 
 
 The case had already consumed more time 
 than suited the pleasure of the judge, and be- 
 sides, a mandarin of rank was waiting its con- 
 clusion to present evidence against the prisoner 
 who had just been conducted to the tribunal. 
 He, therefore, proceeded at once to terminate 
 the trial by giving as his decision — " That the 
 accuser, for having presented a false and scan- 
 dalous charge, should receive fifty blows, and 
 the defendant, for not having proved his con- 
 duct to be clear as the noon-day sun, should re- 
 ceive twenty, and further, under threat of a
 
 84 THE FALL OF 
 
 far severer punishment, the first was never to 
 harass the second with a repetition of his mali- 
 cious and unjustifiable prosecution." 
 
 The roguish proprietor, as he heard the sen- 
 tence, with a profound salutation towards the 
 judge quitted the tribunal, and a stout indi- 
 vidual, who had already received his fee, ad- 
 vanced from behind the crowd of attendants to 
 suffer the punishment to which he who retired 
 had been condemned. The Chi-fu, though per- 
 fectly aware of what had taken place, allowed, 
 without interference, the suppositious culprit to 
 be extended upon the ground. The last, as the 
 executioner poised his bamboo rod in the air, 
 raised his hand and extended two fingers. The 
 officer quietly shook his head, and described a 
 circle with his weapon. The two other fingers 
 were then unclosed. The official hesitated, but 
 did not ai^pear satisfied. The whole hand was 
 then opened, signifying that a slight flagellation 
 would be rewarded with twenty-five tchen, a sum 
 equivalent to about seven pence-halfi^enny. The 
 rod ascended, and, from the cry that followed, 
 seemed to have been dealt with strength and 
 precision. The punishment continued, every 
 blow being accompanied by what appeared as 
 very natural expressions of pain; but there 
 were lew present who were not well convinced 
 tliat each shriek of suffering was feigned, and
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 85 
 
 that the dexterous executioner was striking 
 the ground with the point of his cane on the 
 other side of the noisy patient. The farce was 
 at length conchided, and the fictitious criminal, 
 having rendered the judge the customary 
 thanks, returned to his place, ready again to 
 undergo the same for any rich culprit who would 
 reward his personification.* 
 
 Diflerently it fared with the unfortunate 
 peasant, whose friends removed him in a state of 
 insensibility from the saloon of justice, and, to 
 cure him of his wounds, it cost him all that re- 
 mained of the little hoard he had scraped toge- 
 ther by frugal but useless industry. 
 
 But let us return to the prisoner whom we 
 beheld conducted to this hall of iniquity. In 
 him, perhaps, the reader has already recognised 
 the bandit chief made captive in the last chapter, 
 and who was now placed facing the Chi-fu. 
 
 The principal witness against him was Tkang- 
 hia, the military officer who had been so instru- 
 mental in his apprehension, and who, during 
 the previous investigation, had been seated a 
 short distance from the magistrate, indignant, 
 it is true, at the injustice he witnessed, but, 
 being powerless to remedy it, he had wisely re- 
 strained his emotions of disgust. At the invi- 
 
 * Vide De Guignes, iii. 115.
 
 86 THE FALL OF 
 
 tation of the Chi-fu, who was anxious to obhge 
 by his civihty the son of a powerful mandarin, 
 Tkanghia seated himself on the left of the 
 official, who then signified to his councillor to 
 commence the examination. 
 
 "Wretched thief!" said the lawyer, ''tell his 
 excellency your miserable name/' 
 
 " The name of my family," the robber replied, 
 " is Kao, my own is Kaohe. Those who love 
 me give me the patronymic of the ' daring ;' 
 those who fear me call me the * unchained bear 
 of the north.' " 
 
 " At what profession do you labour ?" pursued 
 the same interrogator. 
 
 " You named it yourself when first you defiled 
 your tongue," the prisoner sulkily replied. 
 
 " Insolent dog ! to whelp thus in my pre- 
 sence !" the judge exclaimed, his face becoming 
 crimson with passion. 
 
 " And who forbids the wolf to howl at the 
 fox ?" Kaohe rejoined. 
 
 The Ohi-fu was too exasperated to reply, but 
 cast a handful of small sticks upon the ground, 
 and in an instant the robber was laid prostrate, 
 whilst a score of blows were dealt him, which he 
 received in silence, and with admirable en- 
 durance. 
 
 " Be cautioned, thou intemperate man, and 
 bridle thy inclination to disrespect ! Exasperate
 
 THE NANG SOUNG. 87 
 
 not his Excellency the Chi-fu, for on his report 
 depends whether in the bamboo -cage you be 
 conveyed to the scenes of your evil doings, 
 where your head will be separated from your 
 body and fixed upon a pole, and left to the gaze of 
 all who pass, or whether you be strangled — a 
 mode of death each one must prefer who is 
 animated by the smallest spark of morality," 
 observed the lawyer, when the prisoner had 
 been placed upou his knees, and who, con- 
 tinuing his examination, said — '' You had com- 
 panions in your evil deeds ?" 
 
 " Many," the bandit replied. 
 
 " And know you," the lawyer pursued, in as 
 insinuating a tone as he could assume, " the 
 dwellings of these insane and ill-instructed 
 people ?" 
 
 " As the eagle knows its eyrie — as the 
 needle ever pointeth truly towards the south,"^ 
 answered Kaohe. 
 
 " Then it is your duty to guide the emissaries 
 of heaven among them, that they may become 
 instructed in the moral principles and the 
 virtues of which they are at present ignorant, 
 and be rendered useful members of that society 
 from which they are at present estranged." 
 
 A smile of incredulity crossed the counte- 
 nance of the robber chief, that intimated to the 
 lawyer he had fathomed his design of appre-
 
 88 THE FALL OF 
 
 bending for j^unishment the gang of which he 
 was the leader, ahhough attempted to be con- 
 cealed under such liberal sentiments, and he 
 replied, sarcastically — 
 
 '' My friends, my master, are unworthy of so 
 much attention ; you know how vainly they 
 would seek to imitate the brightness of conduct 
 so resplendent in yourself! Permit them to 
 remain in peace, nor fruitlessly cast away your 
 care upon a land so desert and so irreclaim- 
 able." 
 
 '' Will you be contumacious as well as inso- 
 lent?" said the judge, hastily. " Keply with 
 truth, or the kia-chuen^^ shall squeeze thy feet 
 to powder !" 
 
 " Which would my master desire to discover ?" 
 the prisoner replied. 
 
 *' All — the whole of your wretched gang." 
 
 " They are many," observed the robber. 
 
 " How great does not this render the dis- 
 grace of the presiding mandarin ! How widely 
 different was the policy of the dynasty of Tsin 
 from that of the Han, yet how many imitate Chi- 
 Hoang-ty,^ and, for their own narrow designs, 
 keep the people in ignorance of their duties !" 
 said the Chi-fu, with a rather hypocritical 
 shudder at the wilful neglect of the public 
 morals that some officials could be guilty of. 
 " Weak man," he continued, " seek not to evade
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 89 
 
 me with wily answers ! Wilt thou discover the 
 retreats of thy comrades ?" 
 
 " Treachery is not the part a robber is accus- 
 tomed to enact," replied Kaohe. " I remember 
 that the master of the school I attended as a 
 child, when repeating sentences of the sages, 
 used to say, ' So long as the heavens and the 
 earth preserve their respective jolaces, all is well 
 and in order. Men should not adventure out 
 of the sphere of action for which they were 
 destined." Your slave therefore says, let the 
 robber preserve his faith towards his comrades, 
 since the betrayal of their trusts alone is the 
 j^rovince of the mandarins." 
 
 This rude speech had cost the prisoner, on 
 the spot, the infliction of some severe torture 
 but for the 02:)portune interference of Tkanghia, 
 who, with the natural antipathy there exists in 
 China between the military and the civil services, 
 was delighted at beholding a mandarin of the 
 last braved and insulted by harsh truths on his 
 very seat of judgment. 
 
 The young officer, concealing the glee he 
 felt, addressed himself to the excited official — 
 
 '* Surely the man is mad ! Will you, sir, per- 
 mit me to address some few questions to him ? 
 I have been accustomed to deal with men like 
 this." 
 
 The Chi-fu assented, for that morning he had
 
 90 THE FALL OF 
 
 received an intimation from our friend Oulintse 
 to the effect that that mandarin would feel 
 highly pleased, and cause it to redound to the 
 judge's profit, if the latter could succeed in 
 wringing from the captured robber information 
 that might lead to the apj^rehension of his 
 band ; for so modestly had the oiB&cial related 
 his adventures among the mountains, that 
 many believed him to be, and more affected 
 to consider him, a very tiger of war ; and many 
 young aspirants to office, having no better way 
 of bringing themselves into notice, had already 
 laboured at the composition of sundry pamphlets, 
 wherein they clearly proved the great loss the 
 state had already sustained by not having placed 
 the courageous Oulintse at the head of its armies ; 
 and how, to ensure future and eternal victories, 
 it was only necessary to confide to him the 
 military command. But, fortunately for the 
 country, those who had the direction of affairs 
 possessed sundry doubts as to the abilities of 
 the 2^resident of the Louko, and what was still 
 harsher, they refused him the promotion to 
 which he conceived himself entitled, on the 
 grounds that the ancient statute by which he 
 claimed, specified the arrest of three hundred 
 robbers, and not of their single chief. 
 
 Tkanghia immediately availed himself of the 
 permission, and, addressing the prisoner, said —
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 91 
 
 " Inconsiderate man, show respect to the 
 representative of heaven ! Reply to his excel- 
 lency and say, where are your misguided com- 
 panions to be found ?" 
 
 " Where," replied the robber, with somewhat 
 more of courtesy in his tone, " you vanquished 
 me by the strength of your arm and the 
 weight of your mace." 
 
 " Will you conduct an officer and his attend- 
 ants to the spot where they he concealed ?" con- 
 tinued Tkanghia. 
 
 '' You know the path, and might adventure 
 in safety," replied Kaohe ; " for the knaves, 
 since they fled before you, will fear your 
 presence as does the mariner the dark, heavy 
 clouds, edged with the brightness of the light- 
 ning, that forebode the approach of the tafang, 
 (the typhoon. )^^ But," continued the robber, 
 who had perceived some signal made him by 
 one of the guards in the rear of the judge, and 
 who, as if it communicated some intelligence 
 that inspired him with confidence, now spoke 
 with the insolence of language he had j3artially, 
 and with difficulty, restrained before — *' but if 
 yonder son of a woman who was conducted 
 without a lantern to the home of her paramour 
 — if he whose mother was known to all men as 
 the heat of the noonday sun — if he were to bid 
 me guide him where my people are to be found.
 
 92 THE FALL OF 
 
 as he pat his foot among the hills, I would nail 
 his ears to my bow, to drive off the influence of 
 the evil eye ! I would cut his body into ten 
 thousand pieces, and would write upon his fore- 
 head, behold how Kaohe executes his vengeance 
 upon him who has struck him !" 
 
 *' Vile, abominable atum ! do you dare insult 
 so outrageously the majesty of heaven?" ex- 
 claimed the equally enraged and astounded 
 Chi-fu, for never before had man, much less a 
 prisoner entirely in his power, addressed even 
 the shadow of such language to him. " Ho ! 
 bearers of the kia-chuen ! — let us see if this man 
 will utter such things when his feet be fitted in 
 your slippers of torture !" 
 
 The prisoner was again extended upon the 
 ground, and an executioner was proceeding to 
 insert his foot into a machine of bamboo that, 
 closing by means of a screw, had the power of 
 crushing the ankle of any refractory prisoner, 
 when the torture was arrested by Tkanghia, 
 who addressed the Chi-fu in a deferential tone. 
 
 " Excellent magistrate, it ill becomes you to 
 be thus irritated with one so unworthy of your 
 indignation. Spare this weak man — his in- 
 tellect is troubled." 
 
 " Is the majestv of heaven, represented in 
 my person, to be outraged by such a one as 
 this, whose father's corpse surely has passed
 
 THE NAN SOUNG, 98 
 
 through the ' hole of infamy ? ' "* cried the 
 Chifii. " Withdraw your request, son of the 
 admirable Tkang-chi-kia, for I am loth to be 
 ungi'acious, and refuse it." 
 
 *' Eecollect, Chi-fu ! " replied Tkanghia, 
 ** the admirable precept of Confutse : be lenient 
 in the correction of others, nor punish the re- 
 fractory immoderately. t I will myself become 
 responsible that the tongue of this man shall 
 no longer proffer violence." 
 
 As Tkanghia uttered this, the swarthy cheek 
 of Kaohe reddened, bat it was so by a blush of 
 gratitude, for he knew that the kia-chuen was 
 an instrument that would have rendered him a 
 cripple for life but for such opportune inter- 
 ference. 
 
 The Chi-fu was about to reply, when the 
 music from the towers at the entrance- gate was 
 heard ; and in a few moments, he (Tkanghia) 
 and whoever else was seated, rose to pay re- 
 spect to an order that a heussier of the criminal 
 tribunal bore in his hands, elevated above his 
 head, which w^as enclosed in a tube of bamboo, 
 wrapped in yellow silk. 
 
 The judge, having saluted the document, 
 read, with considerable vexation, the direction 
 it contained, to transfer the prisoner Kaohe to 
 
 ♦ Vide p. 79. f Vide Pros. Intorcetta. in Thev.
 
 94 THE FALL OF 
 
 the bearer. Turning to Tkanghia, he commu- 
 nicated to him the intelHgence, at which the 
 young officer was considerably surprised, but 
 who simply observed, '* It is the will of heaven, 
 and must be obeyed." 
 
 The prisoner was conducted away; but before 
 he quitted the tribunal, he turned and addressed 
 Tkanghia. *' The sun of your excellency has 
 burst unexpectedly upon me, and as Kaohe 
 lives, he will testify his gratitude."
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 95 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 " What find I here, 
 Fair Portia's counterfeit? What demigod 
 Hath come so near creation ? Move these eyes ? 
 Or whether, riding on the balls of mine. 
 Seem they in motion ? Here are sever'd lips, 
 Parted with sugar breath ; so sweet a bar 
 Should sever such sweet friends." 
 
 Merchant of Venice. 
 
 The principal market square of Hancheyu-fu 
 was, even at the time of a traveller who visited 
 it at a later period than the date of our tale, 
 adorned with upwards of three hundred tri- 
 umphal arches.* Their style of architecture was 
 more resembling the Gothic school than any 
 of the others with which Europeans are ac- 
 quainted. f They were constructed occasion- 
 ally of wood, but most frequently of stone, and 
 were ornamented with triple roofs, and around 
 pillars, cornices, and friezes,^** was rich sculp - 
 
 ♦ Martinius Martinii. Thev. f Bartoli, 107.
 
 96 THE FALL OF 
 
 ture, representing grotesque figures, fruits, 
 flowers, and leaves. The sculpture of some 
 pierced the masonry, causing the fabric to re- 
 semble some massy lace-work. Most had been 
 erected by vanity, many by flattery, and a few 
 were dedicated to names of merit. Above the 
 central arch, for each consisted of three, was 
 generallvablue stone tablet, that bore inscribed 
 the name and titles of the individual to whose 
 honour it had been consecrated ; and over this, 
 at the second story, was a similar tablet, that 
 recorded the name and period of the emjieror's 
 reign in which it had been erected. 
 
 The shops around the square displayed mer- 
 chandise of every description, from the little 
 shed, where the light wine of the country, ex- 
 tracted from rice, was disposed of to a succes- 
 sion of thirsty customers — to the warehouse, 
 where coffins might be purchased at prices 
 varying from a few shillings to some hundred 
 pounds. Whilst medicinal drugs, cosmetics, 
 porcelain, silken stuffs, pearls, and precious 
 stones, with every other object that luxury had 
 rendered a necessity, or caprice could suggest 
 the desire of acquisition, were there, inviting 
 customers to their respective repositories. 
 Every building was two stories high, with a 
 facade gaily painted, whilst banners of different 
 colours floated before each entrance.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 97 
 
 The market itself was no worse provided. 
 Indej^endent of vast quantities of game and 
 wild fowl, more fish from the river Chentan- 
 kiang was exposed for sale than a stranger 
 would have conceived it possible for the town 
 to consume, if he judged of its population by a 
 mere hasty glance, that seemed to present 
 nothing but houses surrounded by vast gar- 
 dens, and if he were farther unacquainted with 
 the fact of how often whole generations in China 
 -continue to inhabit the partitioned dwelling of 
 their common parent.* Beside the goat-pens 
 juight be seen long bars, to which were attached 
 •d number of small but well-fattened dogs, com- 
 paratively an expensive dish, whilst glutinous 
 swallows'-nests, bears' paws, and deer's sinews, 
 etc., presented to the eyes of a Chinese epicure 
 everything wherewith to furnish the most luxu- 
 rious repast. 
 
 Nor were the duties of religion forgotten ; 
 for many were the stalls covered with white 
 linen, in which were sold the little sheets of 
 silvered paper and sticks of odorous wood that 
 it is the custom of the Chinese to burn on cer- 
 tain occasions before their divinities. We can- 
 not venture to state the profits of these mer- 
 chants ; but their commodities were exposed to 
 
 * Staun. ii. 109. 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 THE FALL OF 
 
 a people whose purse-strings were accustomed 
 to be drawn at the solicitations of religious im- 
 postors. The good people of Hancheyu-fu 
 maintained in their city and its environs fifteen 
 thousand monks or priests. 
 
 The confusion of the scene may be imagined 
 when the reader learns that, within the square, 
 upwards of forty thousand human tongues* 
 were discoursing, joking, or wrangling together, 
 and each, for the sake of procuring a hearing, 
 endeavoured to pitch its tone a key higher than 
 that of its rivals. In that number was also 
 included a numerous swarm of itinerant artizans, 
 who, with their implements under their arms, 
 either singly or in company, perambulated 
 about, screeching, at the summit of their voices, 
 the different professions they exercised, and the 
 l^articular merits with which they were endowed. 
 But by far the most original of all these wan- 
 dering workmen were the water-carriers and 
 barbers. The first, by the S2:)ecies of freemasonry 
 that existed among them — those who were dulv 
 of the j)rofession corresponding with each other 
 by signs, and uniting their forces whenever it 
 was necessary to chastise an intruder upon their 
 rights of monopoly ; the second, by their gi'o- 
 tesque appearance, as, sounding a bell in their 
 
 * M. Polo, p. 514.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 99 
 
 left hand, they steadied with the other a burden 
 they bore upon their shoulders, consisting of a 
 seat, a pan with fire, linen, and a razor-case, 
 and when they discovered a patient, proceeding 
 at once to operations w^ith the most perfect in- 
 difierence as to whether it was in the centre of 
 the market or in some retired corner. They 
 plaited and arranged the long hair that the 
 Chinese, previous to their conquest by the 
 Manchours, ever ^Yore gathered in a knot at 
 the back of their heads, under a net of silk or 
 horse-hair, shaved the beard, curved the eye- 
 brows, cleansed the ears, pulled the arms, and 
 rubbed the shoulders, all for a sum very little 
 more than a halfpenny. 
 
 In one direction a merchant weighs out with 
 scrupulous exactness the rice he has damj^ed 
 that very morning. Surely the fate of his neigh- 
 bour, who was detected but a short time since 
 committing the same fraud, and was condemned 
 to wear the kia,* or the canguey, as the Euro- 
 peans have called it, might assure him that 
 such illicit gains are small, and certain but of 
 punishment. No such thoughts disturb his 
 equanimity, for the lynx eyes of the officers of 
 the market tribunal have been dazzled by the 
 bxightness of some few taels of silver, and Jus- 
 
 * Vide Staun. laws, p. 12. Barrow, p. 378, writes Tcha. 
 ¥ 2
 
 100 THE FALL OF 
 
 tice most resolutely tightens the bandage upon 
 her brow, as she passes the spot where she has 
 most need to cast it from her. 
 
 He to whom we have referred, as having 
 attracted towards himself, for the same act of 
 knavery, the inquisitorial observations of the 
 police, had been sentenced to wear, for the 
 space of three months, and that, too, in the 
 centre of the scene of his dishonesty, a certain 
 decoration that particularly distinguishes the 
 Chinese chevaliers d Industrie. At present, he 
 is lying with his stomach on the ground. His 
 head and one of his hands are passed through 
 an instrument, termed by the Euroj^eans, who 
 have borrowed the word from the Portuguese, 
 canguey, composed of two heavy wooden bars, 
 and weighing near two hundred weight. Across 
 the lock is bound a piece of paper, bearing the 
 seals of the judge before whom he was con- 
 victed, and inscribed with his crime and sentence. 
 Although condemned to bear this in an upright 
 position, the guard who accompanies him has 
 permitted him to assume his present reclining 
 attitude. It is curious to see the droll effrontery 
 that pervades his countenance, and the perfect 
 indifference with which he turns in his mouth 
 his quid of betel, and the ease with which he 
 addresses his friends, or to hear the polite re- 
 marks he makes upon tlie feet of the female 
 si aves" who pass before him.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 101 
 
 For a moment the noisy hubbub was hushed, 
 as the lieavy clash of a whip and a long howl 
 of suffering rang through the market-place, and 
 the attention of the busy crowd was for a 
 moment drawn to an unfortunate monk of one 
 of the severest convents, naked, with the excep- 
 tion of a cloth around his loins, and dragging 
 after him a heavy iron chain that was attached 
 to his neck, from whence the blood was flowing. 
 Beside him came a stalwart brother of the same 
 order, who wielded, with effect, a whip of rhi- 
 noceros' hide, each time the sufferer endeavoured 
 to ease the pain he endured, by placing his hand 
 upon the instrument of his punishment. Ere 
 he can be relieved, he must collect for the use 
 of his convent, whose moral code he is supposed 
 to have infringed by certain irregularities with 
 regard to the fairer sex, the sum of thirty 
 taels. 
 
 Before long, the superstition of the by- 
 standers, and the pity of the women, whose 
 seductions he had vainly thought he could defy, 
 when he pronounced his oath of celibacy, had 
 furnished him the required ransom, and he 
 returned to his monastic home, carrying with 
 him the amount he had so well earned; and 
 many charitable persons imagined he must have 
 been totally reformed, and that the example of 
 his punishment was capable of reclaiming any 
 who were inclined to err as he had done. But
 
 102 THE FALL OF 
 
 much we fear the convent walls that night were 
 witnesses of a feast more laical than ecclesiasti- 
 cal. The presence there of voluptuous eyes, of 
 damask cheeks, and of heads decorated with 
 camellia flowers, should have condemned to 
 the same hard penance each holy friar of that 
 fraternity. 
 
 Mounted on an ass, and seated across a 
 saddle covered with rich satin fringed with 
 silver, passed through the crowd an unfortunate 
 fiUe de joie. She was led by her avaricious 
 master, who proclaimed in a loud voice her 
 various and most pleasing accomplishments, but 
 with a disgusting freedom of tone that in a less, 
 theoretically, moral nation than the Chinese, 
 had procured the old wretch acquaintance with 
 the treadmill, pillory, or galleys. Her dress, 
 raised by her position considerably above her 
 ankle, displayed a foot of so diminutive a size, 
 that it might have been regarded as an actual 
 deformity. The instep and leg were covered 
 with a species of gaiter, and her face was 
 shrouded by a veil that hung in ample folds 
 from the crown of her head to her shoulders.* 
 
 One individual alone seemed to thread the 
 throng without being particularly occupied in 
 any of the pursuits of those around him. He 
 was clad as a merchant of the northern pro- 
 
 * Vide Thev.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. J 03 
 
 vinces, in garments of valuable fur. Occa- 
 sionally he would purchase some trifling article, 
 or dispute, as though solely for the sake of con- 
 versation, the value of another; but ever his 
 object seemed to be to procure information con- 
 cerning the mode in which the government was 
 regarded by its subjects. Wherever he could 
 provoke an observation that implied discontent, 
 the incautious utterer was immediately rewarded 
 by a price more than double that he would have 
 demanded, whilst the staunch loyal tradesman 
 listened to some sneering remark that either 
 excited his terror from its seditious nature, or 
 directed his attention to an entirely new train of 
 thought. 
 
 He had thus proceeded for some time, and so 
 attentively was he engaged noting in his mind 
 every word he heard whose nature was such as he 
 was in search of, that he had not observed him- 
 self to be an object of attention to one of the 
 eunuchs of the palace, who re-crossed his path 
 several times, severely scrutinising his features. 
 
 The rank of him who was spying the stranger 
 was that of a purveyor to the palace, and his 
 duty was to attend each market, and purchase 
 for the imperial pleasure whatever objects were 
 presented for sale most rare or strange. His 
 presence, however, did not appear as very ac- 
 ceptable to the possessors of such articles, who
 
 104 THE FALL OF 
 
 hurriedly concealed their commodities when it 
 was possible, for too often they bad to surrender 
 them for a price arbitrarily fixed by the par- 
 chaser, and enforced by the bamboo. 
 
 The eunuch, as though satisfied as to the 
 identity of the merchant, turned and dismissed 
 the two slaves or servants, who followed him 
 with large paniers, and then, brushing by the 
 former, whispered in his ear, in the Kitan Tatar 
 tongue — 
 
 " Moho Niyan, thou art known. Follow me, 
 if you would hear things so strange you will 
 imagine them to be from another planet." 
 
 The stranger thrust his right hand up the 
 sleeve of his left arm, and grasped the hilt of a 
 poignard he carried there, but his alarm seemed 
 to give way to contempt as his eye fell upon the 
 despised creature who had addressed him. With 
 a seemingly unoccupied air he trod in the foot- 
 steps of the official by whom he had so unac- 
 countably been discovered, and who, quitting 
 the market, by the most retired streets, wended 
 his way to the western quarter of the city, 
 wherein were situate the imperial palace and 
 gardens. 
 
 Arrived at the wall of the last, the guide made 
 for a small yellow door, which, having waited 
 till the stranger had joined him, he struck 
 thrice with a wooden hammer. The signal was
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 106 
 
 obeyed, and another creature of the same clas 
 as he who had given it, but armed to the teeth 
 having opened the private postern, admitted 
 them into the imperial gardens. Crossing rapidly 
 a soft lawn of turf, the eunuch conducted his 
 companion into a thickly-planted grove, and 
 there, breathing more freely than he had for 
 some minutes past, he said, in that weak and 
 puerile voice that distinguishes such as he, and 
 which, as it proceeds from one whose counte- 
 nance is apparently furrowed by the lapse of 
 many years, disgusts the hearer — ^ 
 
 " Behold, you are now where no man may 
 tread but the son of heaven, even were he vir- 
 tuous as Siu-kong-hi.^^ But, with me, you are 
 in safety, and we may now unlock the secrets of 
 our souls. You, Moho Niyan, are as his right 
 hand to Ahama, the minister of Kublai's trea- 
 sury. Have I not discovered you bravely ?" 
 
 "That may become a subject of discussion 
 hereafter, when I learn your object in bringing 
 me here, thou but half man !" rejoined the Tatar, 
 for such he was, although Chinese by birth, in 
 right of several generations ; for no man, if one 
 amid his ancestors be tainted with foreign blood, 
 can ever inscribe himself a native of the celestial 
 empire, and the stranger was descended from 
 the Kitan royal family.*^^ His fathers, for nigh 
 a century and a half, had been reduced to the 
 f3
 
 106 THE FALL OF 
 
 rank of vassals by the Niutky, but when the 
 power of the Moguls became predominant in 
 Asia, together with the greater part of his nation, 
 he had revolted from the Niutky,^'' and now, as 
 this people had been reduced by the victorious 
 hands of the Moguls, perceiving it impossible to 
 assert the independence of his country, he had 
 taken service with the conqueror. 
 
 " It ill becomes the chained dog to attempt 
 roaring like a lion," said the eunuch, angrily. 
 "Place your confidence in your posterity, and 
 you may become father of a robber horde, or 
 perhaps your sons may be so felicitous as to 
 become slaves to a nation of slaves." 
 
 The Kitan smiled at the angry burst of the 
 eunuch, to which he replied — 
 
 " All this I could have listened to in the 
 public square. Your oratory might have sur- 
 prised, but such undisguised speech from the 
 mouth of a sexless being would have filled the 
 crowd with astonishment. Surely, you have not 
 conducted me hither that we may mutually heap 
 dust upon each other ?" 
 
 This speech, though not the most courteous 
 that could have been uttered, had the effect of 
 apparently soothing the excited feelings of the 
 eunuch, whose dubious situation, with regard to 
 the order he should hold in creation, was con- 
 tinually exposing him to the insults of the pow-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. ]07 
 
 erful, whilst the riches he had amassed, and 
 the pohtical influence he had obtained, rendered 
 him an object of envious hate to the less for- 
 tunate. 
 
 " Moho Niyan," he said, "you have the ad- 
 vantage over me. My tongue is like the hand 
 that profters worthless goose-eye coins — yours 
 like that which distributes taels of silver. I have 
 acted like an untutored child. Let us not, by 
 cavilling dissensions, destroy the harmonious 
 union that should exist between us. We equally 
 waste our words when you revile me as being 
 condemned for ever to a childless state, or when 
 I remind you that, though of royal descent, you 
 must serve the usurpers of your father's rights. 
 Let us now discuss the object that induced me 
 to conduct you hither. Hancheyu-fu holds you 
 within its walls, not that you may taste its lux- 
 urious pleasures, but that you may conclude the 
 treacherous treaty Kyatsetao has proposed to 
 your court." 
 
 " Before I satisfy your curiosity," replied the 
 Tatar, whose expression of countenance de- 
 noted surprise, " tell me how came you, to 
 whom I am a stranger, to be so well acquainted 
 with my race and name ?" 
 
 The eunuch smiled as he answered, but it 
 rather appeared as an hysterical contortion of 
 his countenance than an emotion of mirth.
 
 108 THE FALL OF 
 
 '' The priests of Laotsy teach that the spirits, 
 spies upon our misdeeds®^ for the god of re- 
 tributive punishment; are ever present with us, 
 in the desert, on the mountain, or on the ocean 
 — nay, that they even reside in the very members 
 of our body ! If deities be thus anxious to 
 execute their vengeance upon every poor, weak 
 mortal who may incur their displeasure, so as 
 to watch the innermost recesses of our bosoms, 
 continually to maintain sentries over the region 
 of the stomach, where ideas contrary to virtue 
 first are created, — if omnipotence be thus vin- 
 dictive, how must that man feel towards him by 
 whom he was reduced to the degrading situa- 
 tion of a creature like myself? Cannot you 
 conceive how such a one would watch, with a 
 vulture's eye, each movement of the tiger- 
 hearted perpetrator of the outrage by which he 
 suffered ? Each step of his I spy, ready, when 
 the moment comes, to hurl him down the 
 precipice, along the giddy edge of which he 
 fancies he securely steps ! But I am not to be 
 satisfied with his simple prostration. I must 
 behold him expire amid torments of disappoint- 
 ment and shame I — and, if I could but add agony, 
 I would offer ten thousand sheets of gilded 
 paper to the Yen that I might attach him but 
 for an hour to the brazen column of Takia !^ 
 The details of the purport of your mission,
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 109 
 
 and a portrait of your person, were transmitted 
 to me li'om the court of the north. You were 
 expected by my emissaries at the pubHc hotels, 
 where foreign merchants usually repose them- 
 selves — but vainly, for my enemy had lodged 
 you in the private apartments of his own palace. 
 To-day I discovered you by your resemblance 
 to this." And the speaker drew from his sleeve 
 a small portrait that he placed in the hands of 
 the Tatar, who, after gazing upon it a few 
 moments, jocosely said — 
 
 " It is well for us warriors that we have other 
 occupations than to regard ourselves in the re- 
 flections of a mirror, or else we should learn 
 that the earth obeys but ill-favoured conquerors. 
 I doubt me much whether my countenance be 
 of such delicate hue, or my features of so mild 
 a cast, as to permit my passing unquestioned 
 the civic portal guard. ^^ Much I owe to my 
 cangho, the gift of your minister. But," he 
 continued, in a more serious tone, " if these be 
 your sentiments towards my host, it would be 
 highly impolitic for me to entrust you with any 
 of our mutual secrets." 
 
 " I will first show that I merit it, before I again 
 demand your confidence," rejoined the eunuch. 
 '' Does not Mouyang-tse, grandson of thatMou- 
 holi,^^ who, whilst Genghis yet bore the name of 
 Temujin, helped to sustain a cloth, for a whole
 
 110 THE FALL OF 
 
 night above the head of the way-bewildered chief 
 — does not the youth accomjoany you ? and does 
 not Kublai love him as Genghis did his grand - 
 sire ?" The Tatar bowed assent, and the other 
 continued : — " Now hear the design of him 
 who unites the head of a fox and the bowels of a 
 wolf. As you return, his creatures are to beset 
 you on the road, and to deal death to all ! The 
 mind of your imperial master will be fiercely 
 exasperated by the death of the lad he loved — a 
 crime its wily author will attribute to his own 
 sovereign. He then conceives that the court of 
 the north will lend him, for its own vengeance, 
 such a force, that, without further difficulty, he 
 may grasp the sceptre of jade he covets, render- 
 ing himself and the central flower of the uni- 
 verse vassals of the power whose assistance shall 
 exalt him." 
 
 Passion at the tale of premeditated treachery 
 he heard exposed, for an instant lighted the 
 eye of the Kitan, but a moment's reflection 
 restored the equilibrium of his mind, and he 
 said — 
 
 " Though the watch-dog bays, it is not always 
 a reason that the slumbering troof> should arise 
 to repel an enemy. Give me, if you can, some 
 token that may teach me to j)lace reliance upon 
 your strange mtelligence." 
 
 " Behold !" said the eunuch, as he produced
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. Ill 
 
 an agate ring from his sleeve, and presented it 
 to the Tatar, who immediately compared it, with 
 unfeigned surprise, with another he took from 
 his hat. After some minutes' attentive examina- 
 tion, he exclaimed — 
 
 " By the three roads disembodied spirits 
 tread,^^ but this is passing strange ! Your ring 
 resembles mine as closely as does the figure of 
 the stag the image reflected upon the water 
 from which it drinks, yet this has never left 
 my custody an instant. I would have de- 
 fied the most cunning of your jewellers to 
 have executed such a work. My eyes see 
 shadows!" 
 
 '' Kyatsetao," the eunuch pursued, " pro- 
 cured this before you had quitted the north. My 
 spies about him have purloined it from its 
 secret repository. Having caused you and 
 those with you to be slain, by the aid of this he 
 designs forging a document with terms more 
 favourable to himself than those you will accord, 
 to which he supposes your court will accede, to 
 maintain its honour, implicated in sustaining 
 the pledges of its emissary." 
 
 " Most strange is this intelligence," said the 
 Tatar. " Yet," he continued, after pondering a 
 few minutes, " you are vindictive against the 
 prime minister of the south, and may now be 
 deceiving me."
 
 112 THE FALL OF 
 
 " Be confident, for I will speedily convince 
 you of each movement of this wily adder. Has 
 he ever admitted to you that it was upon his 
 assurances of safety that Haoking, ambassador 
 from the court of the north, ventured to cross 
 the border ? and yet it is he who has detained 
 that worthy envoy a close prisoner for fourteen 
 years, denying him all access to the court, lest 
 the infamy of his treaty of Vouchang be divulged, 
 whilst he falsely represented to your sovereign 
 that the outrage had been perpetrated by the 
 son of heaven !" 
 
 *' Ay, in truth, the mists are dispelled — the 
 chase is in view !" cried the Tatar. " This ex- 
 plains it all — the excuses he made not to pro- 
 cure me an interview with Haoking — his refusal 
 to trace any document acknowledging the 
 treaty of Vouchang !" 
 
 *' His ambition is dismayed at nought of 
 treason. Haoking found but a prison — you 
 will a tomb !" observed the eunuch. 
 
 " The character of this man," muttered the 
 Tatar, '' likens him to a spirit of the desert:* 
 the traveller hath not more to dread from the 
 deceptions of the one than from the treason of 
 the other. Malignant serpent of Shansee ! one 
 must bear, not a few grains of musk, but an 
 
 ♦ Vide voL ii. chap. 10, pp. 1, 2.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. IJo 
 
 entire bag, to counteract his venomous activity !^° 
 Yet," he continued, in a louder tone, " what is 
 vour object in warning me of this traitor's 
 falsehoods ?" 
 
 " That," the eunuch replied, '* your sovereign 
 may assist me in the execution of my vengeance, 
 and not be the sj^ort of an assassin. To pro- 
 cure the maid to whom I was aflBanced, 
 Kyatsetao slew my father, and made me what I 
 am. One thought alone possesses me, and that 
 is — to compass his destruction ! It is alone 
 urgent danger from without that can turn the 
 whitened eyes'^ of the son of heaven upon him — 
 until then, his seat cannot be shook. Your 
 sovereign covets gold ; your immediate superior, 
 Ahama, loves the face of beauty : either may 
 satisfy their wishes without having recourse to a 
 traitor. Let the Moguls pour their forces into 
 the south that Kyatsetao shall be entrusted to 
 defend. The mandarins, disgusted with him, 
 or jealous of his power, will ill second his 
 ill-contrived schemes. Defeated in the field, 
 his disgrace will give such effect to the cabal 
 that seeks his destruction, that his life must be 
 forfeited. The treasures of Chekiang would 
 alone be a mountain of wealth for the invader, 
 and in the daughter of Luseufu your chief 
 minister would find an object worthy of his de-
 
 114 THE FALL OF 
 
 sires. Transmit this document to the councils 
 of the first ; it contains the details of the riches 
 of the province, and also the names of the 
 principal military mandarins, who would betray 
 their trusts the instant Kyatsetao appeared at 
 the head of the army. To the second, that he 
 may favour our project, cause this portrait to 
 be presented ; it is but an indifferent likeness 
 of Luseynah, daughter of a minister of the em- 
 pire." 
 
 '' This day my courier shall quit for the 
 north, and bear these to their destinations," 
 replied the Kitan, who then continued, as 
 he gazed ujoon the portrait — " yet it is most 
 unwillingly I part with such a face of beauty. 
 Surely your land cannot boast of many dames 
 who resemble this. The very sight of such 
 fruit excites in one's heart rebellious thoughts 
 of plucking it. But what say I ? Has the 
 dog become envious of the morsel intended for 
 its master ?" 
 
 After a few more words of conversation, in 
 which the eunuch urged the Tatar to as rapid 
 a departure from the city as possible, the 
 former conducted the latter to the gate which 
 had given him entrance. Through this the 
 Kitan passed, and his companion, return- 
 ing to the scene of the late conference, mused.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. J 115 
 
 with considerable gratification, over the success 
 that had attended his scheme, and the clever 
 falsehood by which he had crumbled away 
 the steps that his arch enemy had conceived 
 would elevate him to a throne. We will leave 
 him to his meditations, and pursue the thread 
 of our narrative to where it leads us to associa- 
 tion with humbler characters.
 
 1 1 6 THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 About the same period as the eunuch and the 
 Kitan quitted the market square, it was entered 
 by a mandarin of inferior rank, whose title was 
 that of " inspector of the market." His duty 
 was to observe if the weights and measures 
 •were of the legal standard, and if the provisions 
 exposed for sale were good and fresh ; and was 
 further accompanied by a couple of rod-bearers 
 — for he had authority to inflict upon any con- 
 tumacious offender a punishment not exceed- 
 ing twenty blows. His office, if in hands that 
 knew how to wield the arbitrary power with which 
 they were armed, was both lucrative and to be 
 dreaded, of which the sales-people seemed to be 
 well aware, by the obsequious attentions they 
 paid him as he passed, although his absurdly 
 pompous step and supercilious air proclaimed 
 him as new to his office.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 117 
 
 A numerous and vociferous crowd had col- 
 lected around an old man who, with the assist- 
 ance of the bystanders, had just seized an in- 
 dividual attempting to pass for sohd silver 
 some leaden ingots but covered with that 
 precious metal ; and, like all crowds, though the 
 majority were as great rogues as would be met 
 with during many a long day's journey, it was 
 highly indignant with the culprit for his offence, 
 and anxious for his punishment. 
 
 The mandarin made his way without difficulty 
 through the crowd, that opened respectfully to 
 give him passage, and directed the accuser to 
 state his charge, without condescending to look 
 at either party ; but a sudden exclamation of 
 the prisoner caused him to regard the last, be- 
 tween whom and his judge a momentary glance 
 of intelligence passed, and then all other signs 
 of previous acquaintance were concealed. 
 
 The plaintiff stated his case ; the defendant 
 replied, denying with effrontery each assertion 
 of the first. The official decided in his favour, 
 and condemned the accuser to receive a score of 
 blows. When this chastisement had been in- 
 flicted, the mandarin received, with as much 
 modesty as though they were merited, the 
 thanks of the individual beaten, who averred 
 that he felt honoured and flattered by this 
 punishment, since it manifested tlie especial
 
 118 THE FALL OF 
 
 interest in his morals experienced by a mandarin 
 of such superior capacity. 
 
 Having spoken something to one of his at- 
 tendants, who, immediately after, whispered 
 to the rogue who had so fortunately escaped 
 the infliction he merited, the mandarin crossed 
 the square, directing his way to one of the shops 
 with which we have already said it was sur- 
 rounded. Before the door was a pole as lofty 
 as the house, from whence waved a flag marked 
 with red and blue chequers, and which was 
 further ornamented with ribands and streamers. 
 On either side of this was a board painted blue, 
 and about four feet in height. On one was in- 
 scribed, according to police regulations, the 
 number of the occupants of the house, together 
 with their names and ages • on the other, the 
 profession of its chief tenant, with a list of 
 his most attractive merchandize ; and at the 
 bottom the two words Pou hou, that in- 
 vited every one to j^lace confidence in the 
 dealer's integrity, as they signify "he will not 
 cheat you."* 
 
 The ofiicial entered the shop, and cast his 
 eye, it may be somewhat covetously, upon the 
 divers works of its owner's craft, that were dis- 
 played upon beautifully varnished tables : 
 
 * Vide Du Halde, vol. i. p. 107.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 119 
 
 curiously carved tortoise-shell, ivory, and ebony, 
 vied with precious trinkets of coral, amber, and 
 of stones. Independently of many objects of 
 luxury, there "were not a few that were also of 
 utility — as chop-sticks, signet-rings, and others 
 adapted for costume — as pins for the hair, 
 bracelets, and earrings. 
 
 Before him, with body bent nearly double, 
 and with arms so curved that the points of his 
 fingers touched, apjieared the merchant, owner 
 of all these riches. Over a long dress of blue 
 stuff, he wore a pelisse lined with skin, and 
 bound with far at the wrists and collar. His 
 hair was confined within a net ; his whiskers 
 were closely shaven, and a broad separation 
 divided his long moustache. 
 
 The customer or visitor, whichever he might 
 be, seemed, most unaccountably, highly amused 
 with the reception he met with, and, whilst he 
 regarded the reverent posture of the merchant, 
 a most unequivocal smile was spread upon his 
 countenance. At last, as though tired of his 
 mirth, he perfectly electrified the other as he 
 said — 
 
 " So, Kaopingte, thou avaricious wretch, 
 Tyen has been kinder to me, whom thou didst 
 drive from thy door, than to thee, who didst re- 
 fuse thy orphan cousin the smallest pittance." 
 
 Had the earth opened at his feet, the mer-
 
 120 THE FALL OF 
 
 chant could not have testified more unfeigned 
 surprise and confusion. He appeared perfectly 
 uncertain how to conduct himself. He seemed 
 both to be under the influence of fear and 
 galled by the reminiscence of some past occur- 
 rence. Presently, however, as he recovered 
 from the first emotions the unexpected visit 
 had caused him, he performed the lowliest 
 salute of an inferior to a superior. As he arose, 
 the official continued — 
 
 " Kaopingte, we will converse together in 
 thy saloon destined for study and retreat. To 
 revive past recollections will be more pleasing 
 than for me to u^ijbraid you for your neglect in 
 practising the social laws." 
 
 The speaker uttered this last in so loud a tone 
 of voice, that it seemed specially designed for the 
 edification of his attendants, whom he then 
 directly addressed, bidding them await him in 
 the square ; and then he entered the merchant's 
 retired apartment. 
 
 It was a small room, with walls of painted and 
 varnished panels. On a table were implements 
 for writing, and a sanpan,^^ or mathematical 
 instrument, consisting of various coloured beads, 
 strung upon files of wire. The door was not 
 inelegantly carved, and the windows looked into 
 a court ornamented with vases of flowers, and 
 with a small fountain in its centre, stocked with 
 gold fish.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 121 
 
 The merchant, having closed the door, con- 
 tinued for some minutes to regard his visitor, 
 who seeming to consider himself perfectly at 
 home, had appropriated a pipe that stood in 
 a corner of the room, filled it with tobacco that 
 lay in a bag beside it, and, procuring a light 
 from a tinder-box, which most of his country- 
 men carry about them, without ceremony, had 
 seated himself cross-legged — a posture, accord- 
 ing to Chinese ideas, most perfectly inde- 
 corous, that is, if assumed otherwise than in 
 private. At last he recovered sufficient com- 
 mand of himself to address the mandarin, now 
 luxuriously engaged in creating a cloud of 
 smoke. 
 
 " Surely," he said, '* my eyes behold a 
 shadow. You cannot be my father's brother's 
 child. You are not Kaohe ? '' 
 
 " The same," replied the smoker, who was 
 indeed our old friend the robber-chief. 
 
 " Truly, I imagined you had perished. How 
 come you to be here, and wearing the insignia 
 of command ? " said the merchant, who had 
 now recovered his self-possession, and had seated 
 himself opposite to his cousin. 
 
 " The valuable pearl," replied the robber, 
 with much complacency, " is hidden at the 
 bottom of the ocean, enclosed within a stony 
 casket, and guarded by one so jealous of his 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 THE FALL OF 
 
 charge, that he never quits the depths of the 
 water ; yet the diver discovers the treasure. 
 Though the rock of Siumi be twenty thousand 
 miles below the sea, as the sages of our province 
 say, behind which the sun is nightly chained,* 
 yet the adverse powers can retain him but a 
 short time — he bursts his bonds, and re-appears 
 upon an opposite side of the earth to that where 
 his guardians await him. My merits were long 
 hidden ; but the discriminating eye of the 
 minister who supports the heavens has dis- 
 covered a gem amid the turbid waters of the 
 slough of the common people." 
 
 " In truth, your star has been felicitous/' 
 observed the merchant, with somewhat of jea- 
 lousy in his tone. " But did you not serve me 
 ill, when you carried off from me the vessel 
 laden with a rich cargo of silk that I had pur- 
 posed sending to the isles of the east ? " 
 
 " But, cousin, did you not serve me worse," 
 rejoined Kaohe, " when, after employing me 
 from sunrise to sunset in damping your spices, 
 that they might weigh the heavier, in mingling 
 flax with your silk, in adulterating your cam- 
 phor, in manufacturing hams for sale to foreign 
 mariners out of parchment, earth, and wood, — 
 in doing a hundred acts contrary to the laws 
 
 * Vide Bartoli, 285.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 123 
 
 established for the regulation of the universe, — 
 when, after all this labour, my only supper was 
 blows ? Cousin, the wise laws of the empire 
 discourage legal dissensions among relatives ; 
 and even though so young, such was my regard 
 for the ordinances of our sages, that, to avoid 
 the scandal of a family quarrel, I seized the 
 vessel for the salary you should have paid me, 
 and for the paternal inheritance for which you 
 had to account to me." 
 
 *' Hear him ! " exclaimed the merchant. 
 " Salary, forsooth ! Whither went the box of 
 pearls I lost ? I forgave you that. Inherit- 
 ance ! — I had more than twice paid its amount 
 in cancelling the debts you made in betting 
 upon the Java fighting-cocks." 
 
 " Kaopingte," said the official, in rather a 
 solemn tone, taking his pipe from his mouth, 
 and emitting a long whiff of smoke, " be not a 
 hypocrite, for there are none present you can 
 deceive. You know the proverb : the hypocrite 
 cannot conceal his defects either from the evil 
 or the virtuous." You had placed me before 
 the magistrate for those same pearls ; but that 
 I had stolen them, at first, it is true, for you ; 
 but as my own necessities pressed, I converted 
 them into means of meeting my own wants. If 
 you paid my debts, it was because you could 
 find no one so useful to you as myself. Let 
 g2
 
 124 THE FALL OF 
 
 US, however, cease these recriminations, and 
 mutually relate the fortune we have enjoyed 
 since our separation." 
 
 " Mine has been, like the season of spring, 
 rain and sunshine," replied the merchant. 
 " After you left me, my affairs prospered but 
 ill. My enemies, who were jealous of my pros- 
 perity, accused me before the Chi-fu, and vile 
 men triumphed over me. What wealth I had 
 amassed, was only sufficient to purchase my 
 venal judge's sanction to my voluntary exile 
 from Focheyu-fa. I came to Hancheyu-fu, 
 where my knowledge of the jeweller's craft 
 brought me into repute. I married a widow, 
 who, as she had been favoured by the goddess 
 Kouangin'^* in her first espousals, was absolute 
 mistress of the property her lord died possessed 
 of.* I now emj^loy near forty workmen, have 
 the best business in the city, am a Tisiang, or 
 responsible head of ten families. A few days 
 past, I cut a ring for one of the principal eu- 
 nuchs about the palace. The work was difficult, 
 for I had to carve, from a sketch given me, cha- 
 racters of a barbarous tongue, and thus have 
 hopes soon to see my name in the city guide,'^ 
 as jeweller to the palace." 
 
 " Thy prosperity astonishes me," Kaohe re- 
 
 * Du Halde, ii. 122.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 125 
 
 plied, as bis cousin concluded his relation. 
 " You know I was but ill-contented witb tbe 
 fare I received from you ; and wben I bebeld 
 tbe stout and richly-laden vessel you were about 
 to entrust to tbe dog seamen of Quantong, I told 
 my indignation and design to some of my ac- 
 quaintances, men of my own province ofFokien 
 and of my own clan. They joined with me, 
 and the rich junk became ours. We disposed 
 of the cargo among the isles ; and then, as we 
 found it was more convenient and profitable, 
 we shipped fresh goods from every vessel we 
 could encounter." 
 
 " Ah, cousin," pursued the speaker, warming 
 in his discourse, " those were joyous days ; 
 when, laden with booty, procured by our own 
 valour, we retired to some quiet nook, and 
 passed our time in pleasure. When this was 
 gone, we made for channels frequented by lazy 
 junks. Our sails of matting caught the wind, 
 and brought us up with the fugitive, or during 
 the night, our long sweeps laid us under the 
 counter of those that might have resisted. A 
 rush, a cry, sometimes a blow, and the prey 
 was ours. Here was wealth more rapidly accu- 
 mulated than by your slow and uncertain mode 
 of commerce. At last, the barbarian kings of 
 the islands, who found their revenues diminished, 
 fitted out an armament against us. Away we
 
 126 THE FALL OF 
 
 fled from the isles whose foundations are coral, 
 the sweet odour of whose spices the breezes 
 waft ten lee across the waters, and made for 
 Tyen-tso,* India. At first, we found but poor 
 fishermen, from whom we procured but little ; 
 but presently we met with vessels of different 
 form from those you have seen. Gold, gauzes 
 tissued with the precious metals, gems, — in- 
 estimable wealth was ours. To procure it, 
 however, was difficult, for the foreign mariners 
 fought well ; and then there were other gentry, 
 like ourselves, who hunted in packs, and en- 
 closed their prey as fish are taken in the net.^^ 
 These were spitefully jealous of our interfer- 
 ence with their profits, and inhospitably drove 
 us from their coasts. We then made for the 
 land of the Hoey, the Mahometans. Here we 
 found spices, myrrh, and white cloths, but not 
 such wealth as on the coast of Ind. One day, 
 after I had disposed of a cargo in one of the 
 islands, with but small profit, (for its inhabitants 
 are poor, and can only give dried fish and 
 slaves,) Iwas returning discontented to my vessel, 
 when I refused alms to one of the old villanous 
 sorceresses with whom the island abounds," 
 who for this pronounced a curse upon me. I 
 heeded it not, and proposed to my comrades 
 that we should return to our first cruising 
 * Vide De Guignes.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 127 
 
 grounds. They assented, and we left the shores 
 of sand. Our voyage was prosperous, until the 
 blue mountains of Hainan lay before us. Then 
 we beheld the rolling fish of the ocean — the 
 porpoise — gambolling on the water, and betray- 
 ing his joy at an aj^proaching storm. The Ta- 
 fung* gathered its forces in the north-east. 
 Two hours it remained stationary, whilst the 
 dark, cloudy mass continued to increase. We 
 were in sight of the shore, and flattered our- 
 selves we should be in safety within a retired 
 bay. But before we could reach it, the storm 
 was in motion, and rushed upon us with the 
 speed of the lightning it nursed within its 
 bosom. The winds leaped upon us from each 
 of the eight points of the compass, and had a 
 conflict above our heads so fierce, that the 
 waters seemed terrified into a calm. After 
 raging for half a day, its fury was spent, and 
 the storm of the heavens past ; but then the 
 waves arose with foaming and mountainous 
 crests, dashing over our vessel, that sucked in 
 the water from twenty leaks. Those were three 
 dread hours of peril ; and, finally, myself and 
 three companions were all that escaped that 
 wreck, landing beggars upon the island of the 
 southern sea. 
 
 " Three months we continued there, unti' 
 * Vide Note 59.
 
 128 THE FALL OF 
 
 rescued by a junk of our own townspeople, re- 
 turning from the ports of India. From being 
 passengers we soon became masters, and had 
 re-commenced our cruisings off the coast of 
 Fokien, w^hen the imperial admiral, with seven 
 war-junks, bore down upon us. So long as I 
 could make the poltroons fight, we kept the 
 dragon at bay ; but, at last, they cast down their 
 arms, and I swam on shore. 
 
 " Here I soon became chief of a band of ma- 
 rauders, and established my head-quarters many 
 lee inland, among the Granite Hills. At last, how- 
 ever, it was my fortune to be captured ; but I con- 
 veyed an intimation of my situation to the first 
 minister, Kyatsetao. But his assistance was tardy; 
 and before it could have arrived, the shape of 
 my feet would have been disfigured, but for the 
 interposition of the dragon who had captured 
 me, for I imagined myself secure, and reviled 
 the Chi-fu. Cousin, the cheek of Kaohe turned 
 red when he received an obligation he was 
 unable to acknowledge. But we men of Fokien 
 can recollect our gratitude : with us the senti- 
 ment is not evanescent, and I will yet present 
 the bracelets of jade.'® The minister, whom I 
 have served, protecting his couriers across the 
 hills, as he knew my abilities, felt assured I 
 should be of further service to him, and at 
 last released me from the claws that the tiger
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 129 
 
 had fixed into me, and created me an in- 
 spector of the market. Cousin, you should have 
 seen how I astonished the vile people by the 
 distinguished airs I assumed. I walked as 
 though all my ancestors, for ten generations, 
 had been councillors of state. My hat was 
 placed genteely upon my head. were it 
 summer, and I would show you how I can 
 manage my fan ! The idea is intuitive, for I 
 was never taught by a master.^ Before the 
 month is out, every rogue within my jurisdiction 
 shall have refunded to me the money of which 
 he has cheated the public, to the detriment of 
 the practice of morality." 
 
 As Kaohe delivered himself of the energetic 
 resolution he had come to for the repression of 
 vice, he resumed his nearly-extinguished pipe, 
 and puffed out the smoke with renewed ardour, 
 as he mentally contemplated the emoluments that 
 would accrue to himself from his zeal for virtue. 
 
 '* Wonderful !" exclaimed the jeweller. " How 
 often you must have experienced terror amid 
 the waters of the ocean ! How often you must 
 have feared lest your vessel should be dashed to 
 pieces as breaks the precious porcelain of an- 
 cient manufacture ! How could you so long 
 trust to a slender vessel that it would resist the 
 force of the waves, Tyen itself has placed as a 
 boundary to the kingdom of its sons ?'' 
 o3
 
 130 THE FALL OF 
 
 " Did you never hear the proverb of our pro- 
 vince ?" inquired the other. " ' The vessel that 
 floats upon the water is as paper, but her sea- 
 men are as iron.' " 
 
 " You ever were of daring and of quick parts. 
 Dost remember when the charitable merchant 
 gave you tea to distribute during the summer, 
 and ginger-water during the winter ?*° Dost re- 
 collect how you made every passenger pay for a 
 draught, as if you kept a road- side tavern ?" 
 said the jeweller, in a tone of admiration. 
 
 "That was but poorly managed," replied 
 Kaohe. " The man with weak intellect dis- 
 covered me at my trade, and had me beaten." 
 
 "True, cousin ; but the burning of his house 
 about his ears was punishment enough for him. 
 How pleasant it is that both our fortunes have 
 been so propitious !" 
 
 " The reason is soon explained," replied 
 Kaohe. " We either followed the natural bent 
 of our inclinations. When our fathers bid our 
 infant hands select the lot of life, I chose the 
 arms, you the commercial balance.®^ But how 
 stand you with your neighbours ? My authority 
 is small, but might be used advantageously for 
 us both." 
 
 " My prosperity ever attracts towards me the 
 animosity of my less fortunate rivals," observed 
 the other. " The sister of my wife became a
 
 THE NAN SOUNG, 181 
 
 widow, and, because she sought an asylum 
 under my roof, her false relatives aver she 
 carried with her a treasure of one hundred 
 pounds' weight of silver, and, further, they have 
 persecuted me before the tribunal ; that, how- 
 ever, has decided in my favour. This judgment 
 they declare to be venal, and that it is their 
 intention to appeal to the superior courts. 
 Behold, cousin, the reward that disinterested 
 charity meets with." 
 
 '*Bah!" ejaculated Kaohe, as he ejected a 
 volume of smoke from his mouth. "Bah! Do 
 you think, Kaopingte, I know you not ? You 
 would not preserve the life of a fly that fell into 
 your cup, but for fear lest it should defile your 
 drink. What will you give me to reward my 
 services, if I assist you in casting into the sea 
 these serpents that threaten to bite your right 
 hand ?" 
 
 " I would place before your lordship a purse 
 containing six ounces of silver." 
 
 ''Too little by half !" replied the virtuously 
 energetic official. 
 
 " Between relatives there never should be 
 discourse upon such a subject. It shall be 
 twelve ounces of pure silver, such as that in 
 which the government receives its taxes," said the 
 merchant, somewhat anxiously, for he feared lest 
 an increased demand would be made upon him.
 
 132 THE FALL OF 
 
 The official seemed to ponder in his own 
 mind whether he should accept the proffered 
 bribe, and at last observed, to the great relief 
 of his cousin — 
 
 " I will consent to receive this tribute offered 
 to my talents and affection. Tell me who are 
 these scandalous people ?" 
 
 *' One is a butcher, who resides in a stall at 
 a corner of the square." 
 
 '•' Then I will ruin his business for him. I 
 will represent to the Chihien that many sudden 
 deaths have occurred in the quarter. That the 
 spirits are offended at the slaughter of so many 
 innocent animals, and must be pacified by its 
 ceasing for a time. He must then, according to 
 the laws, order the closing of all the shambles,^ 
 and it will be my duty to observe that this wretch 
 obeys the edict." 
 
 *' Another is a spice-seller." 
 
 *'He, surely, mingles deleterious drugs with 
 his commodities. I will myself accuse him, and 
 produce samples of the poisonous articles he 
 sells." 
 
 " The third is a fish- seller." 
 
 " I will find witnesses to prove he has in- 
 stigated fishermen to cast their nets into the 
 sacred bay of the lake Sihu. His disregard of 
 the charitable ordinance that forbids taking fish 
 from that portion of the water, protected by im-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 133 
 
 perial edict, and by religion,* will procure him 
 some condign punishment." 
 
 " Cousin, thy comprehension is lucid as thy 
 resolutions are rapid and admirable," said the 
 well-pleased merchant. " In three days, some 
 of my friends have condescended to partake of 
 my hospitality. Might I reckon you as one of 
 the most honoured of my guests ?" 
 
 '* Your attention overwhelms me," Kaohe re- 
 plied, regarding the emptied bowl of his pipe. 
 " But I fear I might seem as wanting in many 
 of the ceremonious observances that your fas- 
 tidious people delight in, as this bowl is of the 
 fragrant weed." 
 
 " Fear not," said the merchant. " They who 
 will be with me are unaccustomed to the mighty 
 airs of the great. If you exceed in anything, 
 your scrupulous exactness will excite their ad- 
 miration ; if you fail, they will imagine you dis- 
 dain the observance of details before low people 
 like themselves. Maintain yourself with per- 
 fect disregard of their opinion, and fear not but 
 that they will consider you as a scrupulous ob- 
 server of the rites." 
 
 '' The traveller," said Kaohe, " who would 
 proceed on a long journey, prepares himself for 
 the difficulties he will have to encounter; I, 
 
 * Vide Bartoli, 788.
 
 J 34 THE FALL OF 
 
 who mean to procure at least the silver seals,®' 
 must accustom myself to the observances pre- 
 scribed by the rites. I shall watch the mouth 
 of every mandarin, and, catching each maxim 
 they proffer, treasure them hke precious pearls, 
 that I shall adapt to the adornment of my own 
 person. Porcelain, whose age be three cycles, 
 I will venerate, and to each scrap of paper,** 
 upon which characters have been traced for 
 more than four hundred years, I will be ready 
 to perform the kotow. As the excellent regula- 
 tions of the empire prescribe, I shall ever mani- 
 fest the most entire respect for everything that 
 savours of antiquity, and that remounts the 
 stream of time towards the ages of virtue, ex- 
 cepting- " And Kaohe paused, fixing his eyes 
 
 with a cunning leer upon his cousin. 
 
 "Excepting what?" inquired the jeweller. 
 
 " Excepting," replied Kaohe, with a wink, most 
 familiar and unofficial — " excepting for a Pao 
 teou.®^ Cousin," he continued, rising from his 
 seat, and re-cloaking his countenance with 
 gravity, " could you delight my heart with the 
 loan of a tael of silver, retaining, as a pledge, 
 the twelve you owe me for the assistance I am 
 about to render you ?" 
 
 Kaopingte's countenance assumed a rather 
 blank expression as he heard this request. 
 
 " Son of my father's brother," he observed,
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 136 
 
 " all that T have is yours, but, such is the evil 
 influence of my Fongchui that I have only one 
 ounce of silver in my coffer." 
 
 *' I," said Kaolie, with great tranquillity, 
 " have not even a goose-eye coin. Therefore 
 your generosity must tax itself for the half of 
 that tael." 
 
 Afraid to refuse, lest he should lose his rela- 
 tive's good offices, Kaopingte proceeded to open 
 a long box, bright with varnish, and painted in 
 the Chinese style ; from this he took out an 
 ivory balance, sustained towards one extremity 
 by a piece of silver wire, and also a pair of steel 
 nippers. 
 
 With these last the merchant cut some pieces 
 of silver from off an ingot of that metal, his 
 cousin holding the scales in which it was 
 weighed, so that the balance might have full 
 play. The weight being exact, Kaohe dropped 
 the silver into a purse he carried at his side, 
 and took leave of the jeweller, who made him a 
 lowly salaam. 
 
 Keturning the salutation of his cousin, with a 
 movement of his left arm, Kaohe quitted the 
 latter's dwelling, and proceeded about the 
 market in the execution of his duties. Karely 
 had so active an officer trod the square. The 
 greater part of the weights and measures were 
 subjected to a rigorous examination, and woe to
 
 136 
 
 THE FALL OF 
 
 him who was avariciously slow in opening his 
 purse-strings. A general alarm seized every 
 dealer in the market. Numbers who suffered 
 declared themselves ignorant for what fraud 
 they were punished, yet none dared to murmur. 
 If the justice of the mandarin was impugned, 
 it was only secretly in the breasts of those who 
 doubted the correctness of his decisions.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 137 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 In a retired apartment of his palace, prettily 
 ornamented with vases of artificial flowers, sat 
 the haughty and ambitious Kyatsetao, who then, 
 to the ruin of his country, ruled the destinies of 
 China. His dress was a long robe of purple 
 silk, ornamented on either breast with the figure 
 of the five-clawed dragon. His eyes were small 
 and grey, and, either from natural vivacity or 
 habit of distrust, were constantly in motion. 
 Slight lines of wrinkles marked his forehead, 
 but they seemed rather to have been traced by 
 irritability of temper than to be indications of 
 either thought or daring ; and, though his mouth 
 was firmly closed, the ceding of the upper to 
 the lower lip betrayed more pride than resolu- 
 tion. 
 
 The minister had been reading a placard, 
 directed to the emperor, and inimical to himself,
 
 138 THE FALL OF 
 
 and which, Hke all others of the same descrip- 
 tion, he had arrested in its course. He now 
 cast it from him, as though disgusted with its 
 fanatic aflfectation of patriotic zeal, for it was 
 from one whom he well knew was actuated far 
 more by feelings of personal rancour against 
 himself than desirous of the public good ; and, 
 as he did so, he entered another name upon a 
 scroll of white paper that already contained a 
 long list of individuals who had, in various 
 modes, incurred his displeasure, and which he 
 regarded, for a few moments, with a sullen and 
 vindictive expression. 
 
 " Another !" he muttered, as he deposited the 
 roll, that reminded him of his unrequited debts 
 of vengeance, in a box beautifully ornamented 
 and varnished, and fastened with a key he 
 carried attached to his signet ring. '' Another ! 
 How many dogs nightly bay the moon ; yet it 
 shall never fall into their clamorous jaws. 
 Traitor, ambitious and incompetent minister, 
 assassin of the people, disregarder of the laws 
 of ceremony ! He calls me this. He, an in- 
 grate, envious of my post ; his coffers filled with 
 wealth, wrung from the people by violence and 
 the corrupt administration of his duties! He, 
 who forgets his position as an inferior, and pre- 
 sumes to dictate to his prince, who avails him- 
 self of the privilege accorded to a mandarin of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 139 
 
 rank to libel him in whom his sovereign places 
 confidence ! He pretends that T neglect the ob- 
 servance of the laws of decorum. Hypocrite ! 
 Dost imagine thy prosperity is as a castle with 
 walls of iron, or that thou art firm as those 
 islands I have heard exist in the ocean, un- 
 shaken by the tempest of waters round them ? 
 Entirely hast thou forgotten the fate that, 
 ten years back, overtook the presumption of 
 Yeli, and his colleague Liaokoue. Thou shalt 
 join them in exile among the harsh mountains 
 of Fokien. They were members of the imperial 
 council, and thou art but governor of a city." 
 
 " It is well," he continued, " that I discovered 
 this adder would show its fangs. I might 
 otherwise have entrusted him with some of the 
 designs of my bosom. Yet strange it is, that 
 as I advance to power, these denunciations in- 
 crease in venom. The meridian sun should be- 
 hold no shadow, yet, as I approach my height 
 of glory, all that is below me assumes a darker 
 hue. The very ladder that bears me shakes 
 with its burden — ay, and maybe crumbles. 
 My spies inform me that the emissary of the 
 Tatar court has held private conference with the 
 eunuch Tkin Koan, and that, too, in the im- 
 perial gardens. When two influential planets, 
 say the astrologers, are in conjunction, some- 
 what is menaced that the wise should predict.
 
 J 40 THE FALL OF 
 
 Tkin Koan, he was a lad when his father died 
 for presumptuously opposing my desires. This 
 he may forget ; but every contemptuous epithet 
 he hears, or glance he observes, must remind 
 him I was his mutilator. Dreaming of the 
 power I would grasp, I have permitted myself 
 to be dazzled, and when I regarded affairs more 
 humble, the motes danced before my eyes, and 
 obscured my vision. It was indiscretion to 
 permit his obtaining employment about the 
 palace ; it was entire want of sense that has per- 
 mitted him to obtain authority. 
 
 *' What meant this conference ? Evil, surely, 
 to me. The Tatar has immediately, and, as he 
 thought, secretly dispatched a courier to the 
 north, and has abruptly announced his own 
 design of instant departure. Yet he has pro- 
 mised me assistance from his master, so that I 
 may mount the steps of the dragon throne. 
 These ready concessions, however, are more 
 than suspicious ; but, coupled with this inter- 
 view, the evil is certain. Maybe my enemies, 
 who would dare all to hurl me from my seat, 
 have conceived some counter-plot, and may seek 
 to crush me with the very materials I had hoped 
 would build my throne. Would that I could 
 seize the private papers of the envoy without ap- 
 pearing to infringe the respect with which it is 
 my interest to treat him, in case his instructions
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 141 
 
 are not such as I suspect. If favourable to me, 
 I could still forward them to the north ; if other- 
 wise, destroy them." 
 
 In this strain he continued until his medita- 
 tions were interrupted by the entrance of a 
 domestic, who, having first prostrated himself 
 upon the ground, announced, as he rose upon 
 his knees, that a lady was desirous of being per- 
 mitted to approach the person of the man- 
 darin. 
 
 '' Comes she in a sedan of pink stuff borne 
 by two porters ?" the minister inquired. 
 
 The servant having replied in the affirmative, 
 Kyatsetao directed that the visitor should be 
 admitted, and, in a few minutes, a well-dressed 
 female was alone with the minister, who was as 
 much reproached by his enemies for his de- 
 bauchery as for his ambition. Her hair was 
 adorned with artificial flowers, and gathered in 
 a knot behind, and, so smooth and shining had 
 it been rendered by the use of unguents, that, 
 at a short distance, it might easily be imagined 
 she wore a casket of polished ebony. A long 
 robe of rose-coloured silk, fastening over to the 
 left breast, and girded round the waist by a sash 
 of satin, betrayed a slender and an elegant 
 shape. Her sleeves were short, terminating at 
 the knuckles, so as to display hands that were 
 small, but somewhat bronzed in shade, and
 
 142 THE FALL OF 
 
 rather disgustingly ornamented, according to 
 European ideas, with very long nails. Her 
 cheeks were painted of a bright carnation, 
 whilst a deep crimson spot stained the centre 
 of her lower lip. She saluted the mandarin, 
 and the latter, as he motioned her to be seated 
 on a pile of cushions, said — 
 
 '' Ah ! Leeyunnian, my maid of pleasure, fair 
 habitant of the regions where bloom the flowers 
 and fruit that deck the votaries of love, my en- 
 trails had been devoured with the fire of expecta- 
 tion in awaiting you !" 
 
 " The emissary of love was tardy," replied the 
 female. " I received the note of your com- 
 mands but lately." 
 
 "How true," the minister rejoined, "is the 
 proverb that says — ' Who relieth upon himself 
 speedily shall accomplish all things, but heavy 
 is the step, dull the eye, and deaf the hearing 
 of those whom we employ to accomplish the 
 desires of our soul.' Pearl of my heart, I will 
 so correct my lazy envoy, that another time he 
 shall fly with the speed tradition accords to the 
 famous horse Ki." 
 
 " The slave is unworthy of your indignation. 
 The phoenix is indifferent with regard to the 
 worm that crawls upon the earth beneath it. 
 Thou, who art as a dragon, and graspest at the 
 sceptre of jade, and the bonnet of pendent pearls
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 143 
 
 and rubies, must regard with indifference the 
 dust thy breath could drive to the extremity of 
 the earth." 
 
 LeejTinnian accompanied her words with an 
 amorous glance towards the minister, which she 
 quickly withdrew as she encountered his well- 
 pleased gaze, before which she sunk her eyes 
 upon the ground, as though confused and 
 awed. 
 
 " Maiden, thy eloquence is superior to that of 
 Ouang-nganka,®^ the minister of Chintsong. The 
 bird, as tradition relates, grateful to him who 
 preserved it, returned to its benefactor with 
 precious bracelets of inestimable value. Thou 
 hast saved me from soiling myself by the chas- 
 tisement of a low-born wretch, and I will testify 
 my gratitude, according to my limited capa- 
 city." 
 
 As Kyatsetao uttered this, he opened a ja- 
 panned cabinet, from which he took a pair of 
 earrings cut out of rock crystal, objects in them- 
 selves of no great value, but, in China, the 
 worth of a present is not calculated by what it 
 cost, but by the rank of the donor; thus a 
 simple embroidered purse that has hung at the 
 belt of the emperor, is more esteemed, if pre- 
 sented from his hands, than the jewel one of 
 inferior rank might offer to his superior. 
 
 The female, whose manners appeared rather
 
 144 THE FALL OF 
 
 unrestrained by the severer injunctions of the 
 ceremonial laws, received the present from the 
 hand of the mandarin, who seated himself upon 
 a cushion at her side. 
 
 ''When they glitter before thine eyes," he 
 said, in reply to her expression of thanks, ''let 
 them remind you how purely my heart is united 
 to yours. " But," he continued, changing his 
 tone, " silken is the thread by which Yuelaou 
 unites those over whom he has influence. The 
 struggle of a heart, offended at disobedience, 
 easily will break the slender bond." 
 
 " Oh, threaten not so dread a calamity !" ex- 
 claimed the lady, with feigned alarm. " May 
 my guardian spirit be so strengthened by the 
 good influences of my fortune as ever to drive 
 from our flower-wreathed intercourse the demons 
 of discord and confusion !" 
 
 " Loved one," Kyatsetao replied, " the 
 powers of heaven can effect much upon our 
 fortunes, but our actions must obey the im- 
 pulses the spirits impart to them, or else their 
 exertions on our behalf were vain. Though 
 most precious gems rained down upon the tra- 
 veller, his evil fate accomplished his destiny, 
 by rendering him unwilling to unclose his 
 hands and grasp the treasure that lay around." 
 
 " How," inquired Leeyunnian, " can a 
 woman render weak service to the first Colao
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 145 
 
 of the empire ? Would the president of the 
 imperial council avail himself of the assistance 
 of a reed ? Let the lord of my actions, how- 
 ever, lean upon the blade of grass that, in his 
 hands, may become a cane of bamboo. It was 
 but an essence, a disembodied spirit, that, as 
 ancient story relates, knitted the grass®^ that 
 entangled, as though in a net, the foeman of 
 the man it would serve. Can Leeyunnian be 
 of service to her lord ? " 
 
 '' Jewel of my heart," replied the minister, 
 " your affectionate simplicity is to my love as 
 oil to the flames — it renders you more beautiful, 
 and heats my bosom with devouring affection. 
 Nought in nature is powerless ; for though the 
 thread be slender, it sustains the spider that 
 manufactures it. Nought is valueless ; for even 
 the coarse silk of the wild worm of Shantong* 
 can be spun into strings, for the according of 
 musical instruments, when in the hands of those 
 who know the art." 
 
 " Then let your Leeyunnian be wild silk in 
 the hands of her lord," said the lady, the eager- 
 ness of her countenance betokening she felt 
 somewhat of woman's curiosity. 
 
 " How beauteous thy slender figure will ap- 
 pear when clad in a robe of yellow I When my 
 
 * Vide Du Halde, ii. 207, 208. 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 THE FALL OF 
 
 hand has clasped the sceptre of jade, thou shalt 
 sit upon my right, the first of my queens, and 
 wilt be her my heart shall esteem the most of 
 any woman in the empire ; and thy honour will 
 only be obscured, not eclipsed, by that of the 
 legitimate empress. When I purchased thee 
 from the trader of Yancheyu-fu,®^ to administer 
 to my pleasures, I dared not hope I should find 
 thee as dutiful as a daughter to her mother. 
 So did thy accomplishments sway my heart, 
 that to remove thee from the jealousy of my 
 other women, I made thee sole mistress of a 
 luxurious retreat, where I might pass the hours 
 in thy company, undisturbed by feminine re- 
 proaches. There thou hast ever been faithful 
 to me, as a virtuous woman should be to her 
 lord. But now thou must open a small corner 
 of thy heart — and let it not be larger than the 
 chamber in which reposes the seed of the straw- 
 berry — and in it, for a short time, receive the 
 image of a stranger." 
 
 " How sad it is for me to listen to such a 
 command !" replied Leeyunnian, in a tone of 
 displeasure. " To obey it, I must forget the 
 injunction of the sage — a woman should be as 
 jealous of her honour as of the most precious 
 of her husband's property. My mind became 
 united to thee as readily as the stream reflects 
 the image of the pine ; but it would resist.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 147 
 
 harder than iron-wood, an attempt to impress 
 another form upon it." 
 
 " When the heart is directed towards ohe- 
 dience, impressions are transplanted into it 
 raji^idly as intelhgence of a northern invasion 
 passes into the south, transmitted from watch- 
 tower to watch-tower,"®^ rejoined Kyatsetao. 
 " Hear me. There has arrived within the city 
 a certain Tkanghia, son of Tkangchikia, viceroy 
 of Kiangsy, and who himself enjoys the rank of 
 Yeouky, or commander of a thousand men. 
 He is a youth of courage and of determination, 
 who, though his father be my bitter opponent, 
 I might win through your agency. But his pre- 
 sent mission is one that threatens peril to my- 
 self and adherents ; and to turn him from the 
 prosecution of his scheme you must employ all 
 your arts. He has sped hither, bringing accu- 
 sations from several of his colleagues against 
 the governor of Nanhang-fu, whose j^i'oject of 
 accepting my signet, and renouncing allegiance 
 to the incapable dynasty of the Soung, has 
 transpired. His father being absent, he has 
 not found one who would dare loresent his 
 placard ; but he is of an impetuous character, 
 and might strike the tambour before the palace,^" 
 which would assure the arrival of his missive to 
 the hands of the emperor. You must seek him 
 out, and so involve bim in the shackles of plea-
 
 148 THE FALL OF 
 
 sure, that he shall be unable to proceed with 
 the object he considers enjoined by duty — you 
 must tame the fury of the bear of Petchely with 
 the aroma of the peach-blossom."* 
 
 " But, my lord, perhaps he may prove wilder 
 than the ducks of the north, that cunningly fly 
 the nets spread to imprison them." 
 
 " Of that be not alarmed," rejoined the 
 minister, gallantly, and with a glance of admi- 
 ration. " Had the king of Tsi j30ssessed but 
 one like you, he would not have required a 
 whole brigade of damsels to seduce the king of 
 Lu/' t 
 
 Maybe Leeyunnian felt no very great repug- 
 nance to the task she was desired to undertake, 
 and that she only feigned the objections she 
 now uttered in reply, both on the score of pro- 
 priety, and as to the difficulty she would ex- 
 perience in assigning to any other than Kyat- 
 setao the smallest portion of the heart she 
 averred he so entirely possessed ; but the mi- 
 nister, with the aid of specious arguments and 
 reiterated commands, at last procured her com- 
 pliance, and, in testimony of his satisfaction, 
 imprinted a kiss upon her cheek. 
 
 * Vide Note 42. f Vide Note 50.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 149 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A RANGE of wooded mountains encloses the lake 
 Sihu on the west, and, washed by the waters on 
 one side, on the other, is bounded by a large 
 and well-paved road, bordered by double files 
 of fruit trees. Along this journeys the traveller, 
 proceeding towards the north, from the city of 
 Hancheyu-fu, and who wishes to travel more 
 expeditiously than by the waters of the lazy 
 canal that serves to connect the city with the 
 Yantse Kiang. 
 
 Midway up one of the hills that started, 
 nearly barren, from the road- side, might be 
 discerned, by the aid of the moonlight, a 
 large clump of pine and cypress, which, by the 
 Chinese, are specially dedicated to scenes of 
 sadness and of death. In the centre of the 
 miniature grove appeared a wall, about five feet 
 in height, of horse-shoe form, and fronting the
 
 150 THE FALL OF 
 
 entrance were two stone tablets. One was in- 
 scribed with the name and family of some noble 
 lady, the other bore nine verses of j^oetry, dedi- 
 cated to her praise, each line consisting of but 
 two characters, yet expressing a complete idea. 
 Within the enclosure, upon a small tumulus, 
 was a rather low building of blue marble, with 
 a projecting roof, that curved upwards at its 
 angles. Around were several figures of female 
 slaves, rudely sculptured in wood, and each in 
 a jDOsture denoting respect. 
 
 This was the tomb of the wife of Tkangchikia, 
 one of the first mandarins of the empire, and 
 father of a character we have already introduced 
 to the reader. It had not been built in so 
 lonely a spot on account of the beauty of the 
 site, nor because its tranquillity seemed to adapt 
 it best to the abode of death, but in accordance 
 with a superstition that regulates the selection 
 of sepulchres for every class of people in the 
 empire^ that can aff'ord the attendant expenses. 
 
 In China, it is universally credited, that the 
 great dragon, the prince of felicity, inhabits the 
 hills and mountains, and other prominent por- 
 tions of the earth, and that nothing is so con- 
 ducive to the ha^^piness of a corpse as reposing 
 where is situate the head, heart, or tail of this 
 imaginative animal. There are a number of 
 priests, mostly of the sect of Laotsy, who entirely
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 151 
 
 devote themselves to the discovery of such 
 favoured sj^ots ; and as, previous to the declara- 
 tion of the success of their divinations, they 
 most frequently come to an understanding with 
 the possessor of the fortunate site, their decisions 
 are of great advantage to themselves, and con- 
 siderably augment the funeral expenses.* 
 
 Forth from the entrance to the tomb gleamed 
 the red glare of a pine-wood torch, and, issuing 
 from the same, might be distinguished voices ; 
 but their tone was far from being that of sad- 
 ness, and the sounds they uttered seemed far 
 different from the lamentations that friends 
 usually utter over departed objects of affection. 
 
 The small chamber of the sepulchre was cir- 
 cular, and situated exactly above the dead, who 
 slept in a vault in the centre of the tumulus. 
 The floor was of a species of mastich. On one 
 of the walls was an inscription, and in front of 
 this was a small stone altar, on which a brazier 
 usually stood, that the visitor might burn in- 
 cense and silvered j)aper in honour of the 
 defunct. At present, this had been removed, 
 and in its place appeared two earthenware jugs, 
 that apparently contained something stronger 
 than the simple element, from the flushed faces 
 of two individuals who sat beside them, and 
 
 * Vide De Guignes, ii. 369.
 
 152 THE FALL OF 
 
 who occasionally tasted of their contents with 
 great seeming satisfaction. Both w^ere armed, 
 and either, for greater convenience, had divested 
 himself of quiver, how, and sabre, which lay- 
 deposited at their owners' sides. 
 
 '* I tell thee, Nansanjin," said one, in reply 
 to some observation of the other, '' thou art a 
 vile poltroon if thou creditest such tales ! I 
 tell thee it is false as the assertion of our rulers 
 that ours is the only kingdom of the universe ! 
 I have seen the world, and know that it is only 
 the people of Ind who can raise a tempest and 
 excite the people of the air : the Tatar dogmen 
 can do as much of this as their horses !" 
 
 " This may have been your instruction, 
 Kaohe," rejoined, in rather a sullen tone, he 
 who had been addressed ; " but I have been 
 taught to believe differently to this. Poltroon 
 or not, I never yet was overcome by a silken 
 mandarin ; and I tell thee again, these Moguls 
 inherit from the Hiongnu®* the power of obscur 
 ing the air, so as to destroy their enemies in 
 the dark ;* and I do not half like belaying 
 these Tatars, for if their familiar spirits give 
 them intimation of our design, they may as 
 suddenly withdraw the moon's light as I close 
 my hand, and hurl down such a storm of hail- 
 stones as will destroy us !" 
 
 * Vide Note 48.
 
 THE NAN SOQNG. 153 
 
 " It was well for you," Kaohe replied — for it was 
 indeed that gentleman, engaged in a somewhat 
 similar occupation to that which first pj:ocured 
 us his acquaintance — " it was well for you I 
 found an eagle's beak where I expected to en- 
 counter but a hare's foot, and that when I 
 thought myself feeling a lamb's forehead in 
 search of its horns, I was, in fact, thrusting my 
 hand into the tiger's maw. If that same silken 
 master had not secured me, I had never become 
 inspector of the market — and I can tell thee, 
 Nansanjin, it is an admirable post ; in five days 
 I have made fifty taels of silver ; and had I 
 not been inspector of the market, how wouldst 
 thou have escaped from the money-dealer ? 
 The hand of destiny is strong — never revile the 
 decrees it has inscribed, durable as sculpture 
 upon brass." The speaker, as he uttered this 
 apophthegm, replenished his porcelain mug. 
 
 '* Leave that," the other replied, " I have 
 thanked thee for thy assistance, and, between 
 old friends, so small a service should not give 
 rise to so long a talk. But I tell thee, Kaohe, 
 I do not like the expedition we are engaged 
 upon. Ngankiey and the others should have 
 been here long since, and, by ourselves, we 
 cannot stop five Tatars. It were a different 
 thing were they but traders ; then a loud voice 
 would bid them cast their merchandize on 
 H 3
 
 154 THE FALL OF 
 
 the ground, an easy booty. And then their 
 sorcery ! I tell thee, Kaohe, I do not like it." 
 
 " Surely, Nansanjin, thy pulse must have 
 ceased to beat at sight of the bright rays re- 
 flected from silver ingots. Dost remember the 
 fine reward I told thee of, that the minister, 
 Kyatsetao, will pay, if we succeed in securing 
 the papers of these northern dogs ? By all the 
 spirits! if thou likest it not, thou need est not 
 share in the venture ; — there will be more to 
 divide among those who have courage to spit in 
 the face of either man or demon, and who, with 
 mace or sabre, would encounter Takoung him- 
 self, the first and prince of warriors. Drink, 
 man, more of the fire-spirit — the distilled rice- 
 wine : it has endowed me with such a valour, 
 that I would not fear launching an arrow at the 
 god of thunder !" 
 
 " These great employers, when they require 
 assistance, promise much, but maintain their 
 word in little," replied the other. '' Now, tell me 
 — how wilt thou act if Ngankiey and the troop of 
 which thou wast formerly captain do not arrive ?" 
 
 " Perform our duty without them," rejoined 
 Kaohe. " There are twelve barbed arrows in 
 thy quiver; thou surely couldst make three 
 render me the salute of the kotow with their 
 faces on the earth, whilst I wield my sabre to 
 the dismay of the others."
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 155 
 
 " TJiy plan is hazardous, and, I fear, difficult 
 of accomplishment," replied he "who has always 
 been addressed as Nansanjin. Whilst he spoke, 
 footsteps were heard approaching, and either of 
 the two companions hurriedly grasped his 
 weapons ; hut their fears were soon allayed by 
 the ajDpearance of a man armed like themselves, 
 and whom Kaohe addressed in rather an angry 
 tone. 
 
 " Ngankiey, thou art tardy ; thou shouldst 
 have been here before the moon had cast a 
 shadow, and now her light has crept into the 
 lowest crevices of the hills. Hadst thou not 
 come, I had won all by myself, and thou shouldst 
 not have had a tchen."* 
 
 " Have patience, my superior," replied the 
 new comer, in a tone of deference. " The path 
 \vas difficult to find, and we twice wandered 
 from the way." 
 
 " Who is with you ?" Kaohe inquired, and 
 then continued, when the other had repeated a 
 catalogue of some half-score names — " Enough 
 of them ! All good men to stop a hare, but 
 not one of them would look ujDon a tiger's 
 whisker. Now, down with you to the road. 
 Put a couple of scouts out, on towards the city. 
 In half an hour you may expect them. They 
 
 * Vide Note 53.
 
 156 THE FALL OF 
 
 are five in number, and mounted. They have 
 a pass for midnight through the gates. Let me 
 know as soon as they be discovered." 
 
 The other, having rephed that he would faith- 
 fully obey these directions, retired, and Kaohe 
 addressed his comrade — 
 
 " Now, Nansanjin, you must behave like a 
 man of valour, or assuredly you must quit my 
 service, for no poltroon can have me for 
 master." 
 
 " I will obey thee in all things ; but who is 
 callable of facing the invincible powers of 
 sorcery ? Who possess knowledge in that art 
 can destroy their foe before he fits an arrow to 
 the string." 
 
 " Fear not," Kaohe replied, and he took 
 from underneath his vest a piece of sea-horse 
 tooth. " See this : I purchased it from a sor- 
 cerer of Ind. Whoever bears it can never 
 suffer from any species of wound.^^ Carry it 
 for the night, and neither man nor spirit can 
 effect anything against you." 
 
 *' Can such a charm reside in so ill-looking a 
 piece of ivory ?" inquired Nansanjin, and then 
 continued, as he placed it upon his breast — " It 
 must possess great powers, truly, since it has 
 carried you through so many hazardous ad- 
 ventures. I now could face all the power of 
 the Yen, the spirits of evil !"
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 157 
 
 " I wish they would assault us !" exclaimed 
 Kaohe, rising, and somewhat excited by the 
 frequent potations he had imbibed. " Come, 
 Nansanjin — I am weary of this delay. Suppose 
 we examine Avhat dresses and treasure are left 
 under the charge of the mute guardian below ?" 
 And he struck the earth with his foot as he 
 spoke. 
 
 The Chinese, previous to the dynasty of the 
 Yuen or Moguls, had the custom of interring 
 wealth, sometimes very considerable, with their 
 dead ; but the practice has since been generally 
 discontinued,^^ except in the case of royal inter- 
 ments. Hence the ancient history of the 
 empire relates, not unfrequent, instances of 
 violations of the sepulchres by ministers and 
 monarchs desirous of rehlhng their exhausted 
 treasuries. 
 
 It was some minutes before Nansanjin could 
 sufficiently recover from the horror the proposal 
 of Kaohe had occasioned him, so as to reply — 
 
 " Be silent ! Have you no fear lest your 
 sacrilegious words irritate the great dragon, and, 
 trembling with passion, he hurl the mountain 
 upon us ? The dead are sacred : the offerings 
 of sorrowing friends to their manes are under 
 the protection of the spirits. I tremble " 
 
 " Man without discrimination!" cried Kaohe, 
 '• it is but little you care to take the robe from
 
 158 THE FALL OF 
 
 off the back of the living, but yet, when a rich 
 treasure, guarded but by the dead, is offered 
 you, you tremble at the thoughts of making it 
 your own ! Think you the spirits take more 
 interest in the fate of the dead than of those 
 who survive ? Search for something with 
 which I can remove this, and we will make it a 
 fortunate night for us both." As he spoke, he 
 attempted, but in vain, to thrust his sabre into 
 the strong cement of hme and sand that formed 
 the floor. 
 
 " I dare not tempt the wrath of the spirits. 
 Though the night be serene, the god of thunder 
 will cast upon us his bolt, if you continue 
 to imagine such a crime." 
 
 '' Shall my servant discourse with me when I 
 command ?" Kaohe exclaimed. " Seek," he 
 continued, making a threatening motion with 
 his weapon — " seek from the old superintendent 
 of the place, whom we bound, some instrument 
 with which to open this earth; as my sabre 
 strikes upon it, it seems as rock. Hasten — we 
 shall have much labour here, and small time to 
 do it in." 
 
 Nansanjin, wisely considering that further 
 hesitation, in obeying the orders of his com- 
 panion, would be far more probable to bring his 
 neck into contact with the blade, now being 
 menacingly flourished at him, than to render the
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 159 
 
 guardian spirits of the tomb efficaciously pro- 
 pitious towards himself, proceeded as he was 
 desired, and ]3resently returned with implements 
 wherewith to break the earth. These he pre- 
 sented to Kaohe, but not without betraying 
 sundry symptoms of trepidation at thus being 
 rendered accessory to the only action he still 
 considered as a crime. But the purposed 
 violator of the tomb, to his great relief, re- 
 leased him from being personally culpable, 
 for he directed him to await without, to pre- 
 vent his being surprised in the midst of his 
 labours. 
 
 For some time, continuous and heavy blows 
 informed the trembling and superstitious sentinel 
 that his comrade j^ersevered in his intent, and 
 then the sounds ceased for a few moments, 
 w^hilst the workman refreshed himself from the 
 contents of the earthen vessels. Again Kaohe 
 returned to his occupation ; but his progress 
 was small, and, somewhat fatigued by the 
 violence of the exercise, he had reseated him- 
 self upon the ground, when Nansanjin entered, 
 exclaiming, in a tone of affright — 
 
 " Fly, Kaohe ! the spirits are abroad ! — 
 they are advancing hither in a numerous troop ! 
 Thy obstinacy has ruined us both ! Surely we 
 shall be condemned to pass ten thousand 
 vears in the chamber of infuriated animals.
 
 160 THE FALL OF 
 
 who will be for ever tearing without devour- 
 ing us !" 
 
 " Peace, thou man of but little courage !" 
 cried Kaohe, interru23ting the other's expres- 
 sions of alarm, and catalogue of the punish- 
 ments he conceived awaited him. " The bee 
 that is taken in the web of the spider, were it 
 to use its sting more and cry less, its escape 
 would be more probable. On with your 
 weajoons, and let us to the encounter of this 
 demon host. We shall soon see if an arrow 
 be not as efficacious against a spirit as a con- 
 tumacious traveller." 
 
 As the speaker thus expressed himself, he 
 resumed his arms, and i^roceeding to the 
 entrance of the tomb, gazed down the road, 
 whither, at the distance of half a mile, a 
 numerous company of torch-bearers were ap- 
 proaching. Whilst he was occujoied in examin- 
 ing them, Ngankiey approached, and at once 
 explained who the strangers were, by describing 
 them as a party of mourners who were proceed- 
 ing to visit the tomb of some noble relative, 
 and further expressed it as his oj^inion that 
 the sepulclire within the boundary of which 
 they stood themselves at present, was the one 
 the strangers meant to visit. 
 
 " It is as bad to stop these men of grief," 
 observed Kaohe, '' as to dine with a native of
 
 THE NAN SOUXG. 16 I 
 
 Kiangsy — with the last you get but heaps of 
 dried bones, covered with scraj^s of meat ;* the 
 first are as mean in their robes of white hnen 
 and girdles of cord." 
 
 " Were we to raise a tribute from these," ob- 
 served Ngankiey, " the richer prize we expect 
 might be rendered cautious of encountering us." 
 
 " A mandarin's lamps are borne in front. 
 Know you who sheds the more bitter tears as 
 nearest relative ?" inquired Kaohe. 
 
 " My superior," replied Ngankiey, " it is 
 Tkanghia, son of a powerful mandarin." 
 
 " Tkanghia !" exclaimed Kaohe. " By the 
 god of the sea ! I had rather, Nansanjin, have 
 brained you a score of times than have done 
 this towards him to whom I am indebted for the 
 very power of flying before him ! Curse the 
 wine, and curse you, Nansanjin !" 
 
 The latter individual did not reply, but 
 quietly followed his superior as the latter trod 
 down the hill, whilst he inwardly congratulated 
 himself that the alternative Kaohe mentioned 
 was not likely to be placed before him again. 
 
 * Vide Thev. Mar. Martinii.
 
 162 THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 " I little thought, when first the rein 
 I slacked upon the banks of Seine, 
 That highland eagles e'er should feed 
 On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed ! 
 Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, 
 That costs thy life, my gallant grey !" 
 
 Scott's "■ Lady of the Lake'^ 
 
 Slowly advanced the procession of mourners 
 along the road. All its members were clad in 
 white, excepting those who brought up the 
 rear, and who, as the unsettled nature of the 
 time required, were completely armed. First 
 came men bearing, upon canes of bamboo, 
 female figures carved in wood, and habited in 
 gala dresses, who represented either real or 
 imagined friends of the deceased, who were 
 thus supposed to render the last a ceremonious 
 visit. Then appeared two lanterns of blue
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 163 
 
 gauze, indicative that one of mandarin rank 
 was among those who sorrowed. Torch- 
 bearers came next, and, mingled with these, 
 were others who bore earthen saucers, in which 
 they continually burnt perfumes. Some musi- 
 cians followed, and among the instruments 
 mostly in vogue was a species of trumpet. 
 Though no funeral ceremony is ever complete 
 without them, yet the profession of such as 
 play this instrument is regarded as infamous, 
 and they never can attain to any civil rank. 
 Most probably, this regulation has been enacted 
 by one who has had some bright reverie dis- 
 turbed by their long and lugubrious notes. 
 Immediately after these came Tkanghia, dressed 
 in a long white linen robe, with a cap of the 
 same, and white shoes, and who now, as he 
 ajjproached the tomb of his mother, leant upon 
 a stick, and affected to walk with difficulty. 
 Behind him came the armed party we have re- 
 ferred to, and who closed the procession. 
 
 The different members of the sad cortege, 
 having entered the walled enclosure, arranged 
 themselves to the right and left, whilst Tkanghia 
 advanced towards the entrance of the tomb, ac- 
 companied by two domestics, one of whom ap 
 peared to sup^oort his drooping and sorrowing 
 frame, and the other followed a short distance 
 behind. In spite of his absorbing grief, the
 
 IGt THE FALL OF 
 
 mourner seemed, by the glances he cast around, 
 to be in expectation of encountering some one, 
 and even an exclamation of surprise escaped 
 his lips as the individual did not appear. He 
 had nearly reached the funereal building, vrhen 
 his course was arrested by the utterance of 
 sundry strange cries, and forth from the shadow 
 cast by the tomb rolled a strange - look- 
 ing object. Surprise for a moment caused 
 Tkanghia to forget his attitude of sorrow, that 
 he speedily resumed as he recognised the 
 guardian of his mother's sepulchre tied up in a 
 sort of ball. 
 
 The bonds of this individual being loosened, 
 he rose upon his feet, his long grey dress and 
 shaven head proclaiming him to be a j^riest of 
 Fo or Buddha ; whilst the life of mortification 
 and of abstinence he had professed, seemed to 
 have had a most salutary influence upon his 
 health, for his body was as corpulent, his face 
 as round, and his double chin vibrated with the 
 motion of his head, as notably as that of any 
 jolly friar we have ever encountered. 
 
 Having prostrated himself at the feet of 
 Tkanghia, the monk arose, and proceeded to 
 relate to the former how he had happened to 
 be in the situation from which he had just been 
 liberated. 
 
 " My lord," he said, in a voice that trembled
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 165 
 
 between cold, anger, and terror, "I had laid out 
 the feast for the sjiirit of your lady mother — 
 there was the best rice wiue of Yancheyu-fu, 
 oranges of Quantoug, and the silver- grained 
 rice of Kienkang-fu — and then betook myself to 
 prayer. I had told seven of the ivory beads of 
 my chaplet, when suddenly two demons ap- 
 peared. The face of one was scarred with fire, 
 and the nose of the other was as the trunk of 
 an elephant ; and, writhing about like a serpent, 
 it seized me round the body and cast me on the 
 ground, where my hands and feet were bound, 
 after which I was hurled out of the chamber of 
 the tomb. 
 
 " Presently, my lord, they had devoured the 
 repast your slave had prepared," continued the 
 Buddhist, ''and one came and demanded from me 
 more wine. I was compelled to indicate to him 
 the little store where I keep my offerings. This 
 he rifled ; and they recommenced their infernal 
 festival, in spite of all the conjuratioDS and in- 
 cantations I muttered, for I could not sj)eak 
 aloud the words of power, as my mouth was 
 gagged. But my lord knows that words sel- 
 dom induce a mortal foe to fly, and still less 
 effect have they upon the demons, unless a 
 sword charmed by those who possess the know- 
 ledge be wielded against them. When they had 
 devoured the feast, and uttered many insulting
 
 166 THE FALL OF 
 
 expressions towards the name inscribed upon 
 the ' dwelHng of the spirit/ they demanded 
 from me implements to open the ground ; and 
 then I knew it was their intention to despoil of 
 the riches given by respectful affection her who 
 was as a j)hoenix of virtue, and as a dragon of 
 her sex. I refused ; but the demon blew upon 
 my body, and I was immediately conveyed 
 through the air to the s^^ot where lay the few 
 tools with which I cultivate my garden. When 
 I had thus unwillingly discovered to him what 
 he sought, he struck me with his foot, and back 
 again I was whirled to where I was when you, 
 my lord, arrived. Had I not been bound, I 
 had driven them back to their nine-chambered 
 mansion, their infernal dwelling, by means of a 
 powerful exorcism that had shook the moun- 
 tain, and pierced them as with a thousand darts ; 
 but the precaution they had taken compelled 
 me to remain inactive, whilst they were en- 
 deavouring to exhmne the body of the sainted 
 ladv. Though motionless, I was not quite a 
 passive spectator, for I bit some of the ground, 
 and, holding it between my teeth, repeated a 
 charm that converted the earth into rock, and 
 rendered their labours vain. Whilst they were 
 cursing the resistance their imjolements met 
 with, the great dragon arrived, mounted on a 
 flash of lightning. A dreadful combat ensued ;
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 167 
 
 and by the aid of the incantations I pronounced 
 on the part of the ' prince of fehcity/ he was 
 enabled to overcome his opponents, one of 
 whom he carried away in either of his hinder 
 claws a few minutes before the arrival of my 
 lord, Yeouky, commander of a thousand men 
 of the imperial guard, and worthy son of the 
 high and noble mandarin his father." 
 
 It is doubtful whether Kaohe would have re- 
 cognised himself as the hero of the tale so ima- 
 ginatively told by the priest, and during the 
 recital of which Tkanghia had been exceedingly 
 impatient. But it would have been highly in- 
 decorous for him to have displayed any such 
 ebullition of temper ; scarcely should his grief 
 permit him to comprehend the words addressed 
 to him. But an impetuous disposition, educated 
 in a cainp, is not best adapted to the severe 
 observances prescribed by etiquette ; and this 
 the young officer illustrated, by rather uncere- 
 moniously pushing the bowing monk aside, 
 and advancing with a firmer step towards the 
 entrance of his mother's tomb than was alto- 
 gether seemly in one whose parent had been 
 deposited in the earth but for the period of five 
 years. 
 
 Twice before he entered the small chamber, 
 Tkanghia bowed to the ground, and seven 
 times he repeated the lowly salute upon the
 
 368 THE FALL OF 
 
 threshold ; and then, as he rose, he cast his 
 eye upon the imj^lements lying around, whilst 
 his flushed face and clenched hand intimated 
 he would have wreaked a hasty but full ven- 
 ,geance, upon him who had dared to insult his 
 mother's grave, were the offender in his power. 
 
 The priest followed the young officer, mut- 
 tering either a prayer for the repose of her who 
 lay below, or some charm by which the spirits, 
 who had ventured to disturb her rest, might be 
 deterred from repeating their visit. He then 
 replaced the brazier upon the altar, having first 
 put into it some fire, and made a lowly obei- 
 sance before the stone tablet affixed in the 
 wall, termed by the Chinese the Chin-tchu, or 
 " dwelling of the spirit." 
 
 Tkanghia, who, whilst the priest had been 
 thus engaged, had remained standing with his 
 arms folded upon his breast and his head bent, 
 now knelt, and commenced a kind of prayer 
 and invocation to the spirit of his mother. 
 
 "Mother," he said, " of an unworthy son; 
 parent, honoured in thy present abode by 
 spirits for thy practice of the moral laws and 
 of the virtues ; whilst, in thy mortal state, thou 
 wast treated with ingratitude by him on whom 
 thou didst bestow life ; my self-accusing tongue 
 is unable to proffer the words that admit my 
 moral debasement and my neglect of the sage's
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 169 
 
 injunctions, that the respect of a son towards 
 his mother should be as the obedience of the 
 universe to the laws of Tyen. Tkanghia, when 
 thou hast so often disobeyed the minor injunc- 
 tions of thy parent," he continued, addressing 
 himself, " how couldst thou ever hope to render 
 thyself worthy of receiving the commands of 
 the son of heaven ? If thou wert not mindful 
 of thy duties as a son, how couldst thou ever 
 become a father of the people, and instruct 
 those committed to thy care in the obedience 
 that they owe to their rulers as children to their 
 parents? My heart, howhast thou been de- 
 ceived by presumptuous folly ! My judgment, 
 how hast thou been obscured by impetuosity 
 and want of discretion ! 
 
 " Cast upon the fire," pursued the speaker, 
 addressing the priest, " the gilded paper and 
 the sticks of decayed aloe-wood." He was 
 obeyed ; and soon an odour pervaded the 
 chamber, rather more powerful than pleasant, 
 whilst Tkanghia resumed his discourse ; 
 
 " Mother, may my prayers and regrets ascend 
 to thee on the wings of this sweet perfume! 
 Intercede for the prosperity of thy son with the 
 mother of the heavens,^* and let the decree 
 bearing my forgiveness for my acts of disobe- 
 dience be forwarded to all the spirits, so that I 
 may recover the felicity I had forfeited. Mother, 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 THE FALL OF 
 
 my soul represents thee, irritated at my offences, 
 dreadful as the mountain Tseleu. Thy frown- 
 ing brow threatens me, Hke overhanging rocks, 
 with destruction ; from thine eye gleams the 
 lightning of wrath ; thy mouth is as the en- 
 trance to the cavern that conducts to the demon 
 of punishment ; round thy feet writhe poisonous 
 serpents ; and in the locks of thy hair, I behold 
 nestling the vultures of remorse. Mother, I 
 behold thee, now, touched with my repentance, 
 and thou seemest bright as Kinshan, the golden 
 island, that springs from the waters of the 
 Yantse-kiang. Thou art crowned with flowers ; 
 the residence of power and of honour is upon 
 thy breast, the dwellings of ancient sages, that 
 thou sustainest, promise knowledge, wealth, and 
 fame. The streams that gush down thy sides 
 are a numerous posterity, whose renown re- 
 flects honour upon their parent ; and the mur- 
 mur of the waves, as the * son of the ocean ' * 
 flows past, is the grateful tribute of a wisely- 
 governed and contented people. 
 
 ** Mother, excellent in wisdom as was Tsaota- 
 kou,®* assist me. Shall I strike the audience- 
 drumf at the entrance to the imperial palace, so 
 as to present the accusing placard against 
 Fanouen, the Governor of Nanchang-fu ? Shall 
 
 ♦ Vide Note 20. f Vide Note 90.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 171 
 
 I do this, and be honoured, or shall I be 
 punished for indiscreet folly ?" 
 
 Tkanghia now rose from his kneeling posture, 
 and having burnt some gilt paper, and cast a 
 handful of odorous powder into the brasier, he 
 directed the priest to produce the *' sticks of 
 fate." 
 
 The last, whilst the officer had been reciting 
 his prayer, had been busily engaged repeating 
 his own. In a monotonous, drawling tone, he 
 pronounced between his teeth some not very 
 intelligible words, occasionally bowing his head 
 and turning to the right and left, and number- 
 ing every prayer he concluded by moving one 
 of the beads of his chaplet, and crying, in a loud 
 tone, " Omata !" He now placed in the hands 
 of Tkanghia a wooden cup, filled with small 
 sticks, inscribed, or rather numbered, with small 
 characters. The officer, having addressed his 
 mother, and besought her to give a favourable 
 reply, shook the cup until one of the sticks had 
 fallen out. The priest regarded the marks 
 upon it ; and opening a book, referred to a 
 page they indicated. He then read aloud, in a 
 solemn tone — 
 
 *'The sower scattereth the seed, but horse- 
 men shall tread down the harvest." 
 
 Again Tkanghia, after having addressed his 
 mother, shook the cup, and again was the reply 
 T 2
 
 172 THE FALL OF 
 
 as unfavourable as before. A third time the con- 
 sultant of the unaccommodating oracle prepared 
 to toss the cup, but first he made an harangue, 
 partly remorseful and partly angry, to the spirit 
 of his parent, and the priest read — 
 
 '* The ship is buffeted by the winds and broken 
 by the waves, yet may it reach its port." 
 
 Though this response was somewhat equivo- 
 cal, yet Tkanghia appeared contented with its 
 nature, and, prostrating himself upon the earth, 
 thanked her to whom he considered himself in- 
 debted for the favourable omen. His prayer 
 being terminated, he rose, and, after the per- 
 formance of several very low bows, quitted the 
 chamber. 
 
 The procession was formed, and slowly de- 
 scended the hill. It had nearly reached the 
 road, when its progress was arrested by not very 
 distant cries for assistance, and presently the 
 sound of horses' feet, urged to their most rapid 
 pace, were heard approaching. The horseman 
 arrested his steed, dismounted, and, ascending 
 the slope, as though possessed by terror, rushed 
 towards the mourners, and, in hurried tones, 
 demanded protection from some real or imagined 
 pursuer. 
 
 Tkanghia advanced to meet him, and said, 
 as the other, a young man habited in the cos- 
 tume of a domestic, seized him by his dress —
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 173 
 
 " Wherefore, young man, do you create such 
 disturbance ? See you not that we be those 
 who grieve before the tablet of the departed, 
 who have been weeping and tearing our souls 
 with sorrow before the * dwelling of the spirit ?' " 
 
 " Save me !" rejoined the stranger, with an 
 accent that proclaimed him to be a foreigner — 
 *' save me ! The wolves are upon my track. 
 Moho Niyan, the friend, the instructor of my 
 youth, has fallen pierced by an arrow. T beheld 
 the light of the torches, and fled to them for 
 protection. Accord to me, as my people would 
 to you, the hosjDitality of the buckler," 
 
 " Thou art a barbarian of the north," observed 
 Tkanghia, as he withdrew his robe from the 
 other's grasp. " How hast thou dared to ven- 
 ture upon the celestial territory ? The demons 
 have justly punished your temerity." 
 
 The suppliant rose, whilst the moon betrayed 
 a flush that spread over his countenance, and he 
 replied — 
 
 " Which of the nine tails of the snow-banner^^ 
 is spread by a breeze that rises in a country 
 where the Moguls are not masters ? It is ye 
 who are ignorant rebels, for vainly flattering 
 yourselves you can refuse obedience to the 
 ordinances of destiny." 
 
 As the speaker delivered himself of this 
 rather intemperate outbreak, Tkanghia regarded
 
 174 THE FALL OF 
 
 him with attention, and when the first had con- 
 cluded, the latter inquired, in a tone that ex- 
 pressed alike doubt, pleasure, and surprise — 
 
 '' Surely my delighted eyes do not behold 
 Mouyangtse ? Surely I do not gaze upon him 
 with whom I made an oath of brotherhood when 
 fighting on the border, and he, with the indig- 
 nation of youth, had informed me of a treacher- 
 ous plot for my assassination ?" 
 
 The young Tatar gazed for a few moments 
 upon him who spoke, and then exclaimed — 
 
 " Tkanghia, my brother by the pledge we in- 
 terchanged — what joy ! I lose this night the 
 friend of my early years that I may meet him 
 who is as the son of my father. Place thy 
 hands upon my shoulders whilst I salute thee, 
 touching thy forehead and left side." 
 
 The Chinese complied, and then observed — 
 
 " But, my brother, wherefore do I see you 
 here ? Know you not that the savage animals 
 never approach the fold from friendship to the 
 shepherd ?" 
 
 " I came in obedience to the commands of 
 our sovereign, and at the invitation of one of 
 your grandees." 
 
 " Of the empire ! ' muttered Tkanghia. " None 
 but the perfidious and ambitious Kyatsetao pos- 
 sesses the power. He alone has the authority
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 176 
 
 and will to open the dykes, and give entrance 
 to the torrent of the north; and he hopes that 
 his dwelling will float like straw on the surface 
 of the water, but he heeds not the words of the 
 sage — * The palace that treason erects is a heap 
 of ruins, and its chambers are haunted by the 
 fiend of disappointment.'" He then continued, 
 addressing the Tatar — "Are you approaching 
 with respect the capital of the south, or are you 
 quitting with regret the capital whose decrees 
 rule the universe ?" 
 
 " It was midnight," replied Mouyangtse, -'when 
 we saluted the north, and left behind the walls 
 of the pleasant city. But hasten with me, my 
 brother, to where I beheld my friends fall under 
 the weapons of robbers. Though Moho Niyan 
 dropped from his saddle, yet timely assistance 
 may arrest his spirit on its course towards the 
 dwelling of the shades." 
 
 Tkanghia immediately complied with the re- 
 quest of his adopted brother, and, divesting 
 himself of his mourning habit, appeared in the 
 dress that distinguished his military rank. 
 Having girded on his weapons, that an attendant 
 carried, he directed the soldiers who brought up 
 the rear of the procession to accompany him. 
 Then, as he proceeded by the side of Mou- 
 yangtse, he said —
 
 17G THE FALL OF 
 
 '* When, ill the regions of the south, the ele- 
 phant and rhinoceros encounter, they die face to 
 face. How came you to fly before some midnight 
 robbers ? When the waters of the ocean rise 
 against the stars, the rivers do not desert the 
 salt waves, though their combat with the winds 
 be tremendous ; then how came your post 
 emj)ty when your friends were beleaguered ?" 
 
 *' Tkanghia," replied the Tatar, and his cheek 
 was crimson and his lip trembled, " charge me 
 not with deserting him I had defended as long 
 as my arm was as iron in strength and my eye 
 like the hawk's in singling my prey ; but the 
 express commands of the instructor of my youth 
 enjoined the contrary. He knew of the treachery 
 the evil spirit had designed, and confided to my 
 care the papers he was well aware the traitor 
 desired to seize. With these I was to fly di- 
 rectly, if there were the least appearance of their 
 being wrested from us, for my garb was calcu- 
 lated to remove suspicion that I was their bearer. 
 Our enemies attacked us more suddenly than 
 we expected, and near all my comrades dropt at 
 the first discharge of their arrows, that fell thick 
 as snow. Then I urged my steed, that, though 
 wounded, generously exerted its strength to 
 bear me on. I felt his step faltering beneath 
 me as I beheld torches on the hill, and, fearful
 
 THE x\AN SOUNG. 177 
 
 for the charge confided to me, I dismounted, 
 and liurried to demand succour."' 
 
 " My thoughts were formed without judgment, 
 and uttered without reflection," said Tkanghia, 
 making amends for his rather injurious observa- 
 tion. x\t this instant they perceived an object 
 lying at a short distance on the road, which, on 
 nearer approach, proved to be the Tatar's horse. 
 The animal, exhausted by the loss of blood 
 occasioned by its wound, yet made an ineffectual 
 effort to rise as it recognised its master's foot- 
 step. Mouyangtse placed his hand upon its 
 forehead, and addressed it in an affectionate and 
 confidential tone — 
 
 " Friend of the heir of my father's house, how 
 fares it with thee ? Ganst thou never more 
 bear me over the lone desert, or, with me on 
 thy back, breast the swollen torrents of spring '■ 
 Shall thy feet no more trample the bodies of my 
 foemen, numerous as ants, beneath thy hoof? 
 Shall thy neigh no more strike terror into the 
 squadrons of my enemies ? Wilt thou desert the 
 tents amid which thou wast foaled, and seek a 
 tomb in a foreign soil ?" 
 
 The animal fixed its large and expressive eye 
 upon the countenance of the speaker, who con- 
 tinued, as he took from his girdle a short and 
 heavy knife —
 
 178 THE FALL OF 
 
 " Thou art silent, my horse ; thou dost not 
 reply to me as on the day when I first mounted 
 thee, and rode with my father to fight the rebel- 
 lious Mirkats. Thine hour is come, and I must 
 quit thee ; but neither wolf nor passing stranger 
 shall liberate thy spirit. This is a task reserved 
 alone for the master thou hast served. Flinch 
 not- Die with the same courage as thou hast 
 lived. I will offer incense on our domestic altar 
 that thy spirit may be permitted to animate the 
 bosom of some, as yet unborn, chief of mv own 
 race, so that we may again together meet our 
 foes." 
 
 As the Tatar concluded, he plunged his 
 weapon into the breast of his horse, a lock of 
 whose long mane he cut off". A part of this he 
 placed within his vest, and the rest he scattered 
 towards the cardinal points, an offering to the 
 spirits of those quarters to befriend its soul on 
 the journey he supj^osed it to be about to under- 
 take, and perhajDS also as a bribe to those stern 
 judges whom he had been taught to believe 
 presided over the allotment of fleshly dwellings 
 to disembodied spirits. 
 
 The Tatar, with Tkanghia, and the followers 
 of the latter, now proceeded whither he had left 
 his human companions, but to these no assist- 
 ance could be of avail, except the friendly act 
 of casting a garment over each of their lifeless
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 179 
 
 and rifled bodies, for Kaohe and his comrades 
 had robbed them of every article of dress. As 
 soon as Mouyangtse's first paroxysm of rage 
 and grief had subsided, Tkanghia prevailed 
 upon him to return to the city, promising to 
 procure him some safer mode of regaining his 
 country than that he had intended to pursue.
 
 ISO THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The most popular festival of the Chinese, the 
 anniversary of the new year, had arrived, that 
 in the celestial empire dates its birth about the 
 beginning of our February, or, in more astro- 
 nomical phrase, when the sun enters the sign 
 of Aquarius, for this reason termed in Chinese, 
 " Leychiun," or '' the birth of spring." A 
 stranger, who had observed the penurious fru- 
 gality of the lower orders, and the entire want 
 of liberality in the higher, had been, if quite 
 unprepared and suddenly introduced to the 
 scene, perfectly amazed at the heedless expendi- 
 ture of every class during that festival. 
 
 It is at this period of the year, superstition 
 has persuaded ignorant credulity that the spirits, 
 dispensers of favourable and malignant fortune, 
 are most active in scattering their influences. 
 Not a family, under any pretence whatever.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 181 
 
 would think of admitting into the strictly do- 
 mestic circle of its hearth even a relative on the 
 eventful eve preceding the fete,* lest the in- 
 truder should share a portion of the prosperity 
 intended but for themselves, whilst the evil 
 genii are driven from their doors by the exposi- 
 tion, at the portal, of the household divinity, or 
 the exhibition of some charm peculiarly disa- 
 greeable to them. 
 
 The festival of the new year is an universal 
 holiday for the empire, from the barge-trackers 
 to the highest mandarin. All the public offices 
 are closed, and the seals of each tribunal en- 
 closed in some strong chest. Hence the festival 
 is frequently termed " the closing of the seals. "f 
 During the period that it lasts, the whole empire 
 is occupied with games, feasts, and spectacles. 
 For months, j^-evious to its arrival, peasant, 
 merchant, artisan, and mandarin, endeavours, 
 each in his own way, to procure money to meet 
 the extraordinary expenses of the season. Tt is 
 now that creditors ferret out their debtors ; it is 
 now that these last are in hiding to avoid pay- 
 ing the demands of the first. The beggar re- 
 deems for a day the better suit of clothes he 
 left in the hands of the money-lender twelve 
 months before, paying for the loan an interest 
 of some twenty per cent. It is now that visits, 
 * Vide Du Ha'.dc, ii. 96. f Ibid. 95.
 
 182 THE FALL OF 
 
 rather of ceremony than of affection, are made; 
 it is now that aUiances are formed or renewed ; 
 it is now that enemies and friends who have 
 quarrelled reconcile their differences. The ad- 
 vent of the fete is regarded with pleasure ; its 
 presence is an intoxicated moment of joy, and, 
 when past, it leaves behind many an empty 
 purse, but few regret that they have partici- 
 pated in its general and varied gaities. 
 
 It was midday when the barge of a mandarin 
 entered upon the waters of the lake Sihu, by 
 the channel at its north-eastern point. This 
 channel conducts the supei-fluous waters of the 
 Sihu around the walls of the city, and feeds the 
 canals that meander in every direction within the 
 town, bearing upon their bosom such numbers of 
 barges and other vessels, each the residence of 
 one or more families, that the population on the 
 water was computed as equalling that of the city. 
 The vessel's prow was high and curved, and being 
 intended but for the navigation of the canals 
 and of the lake, was unprovided with any de- 
 scription of sail. The cabin built upon the 
 deck extended, from within a few feet of the 
 stern, nearly the whole length of the vessel. 
 The central part was occupied by a saloon, 
 rising six feet above the deck, and with a flat 
 roof, whilst those of its two wings, situated fore 
 and aft, were gilded and curved. The panels
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 183 
 
 were all richly carved, and brightly painted and 
 varnished, whilst the windows were of thin 
 laminae of oyster-shell. At the stern was a 
 double umbrella of red silk, ornamented with 
 the device of the five-clawed dragon, and over 
 the projecting roof was a banner and tablet, the 
 latter announcing that the chief passenger was 
 Kyatsetao, j^ri^^^ minister of the empire, toge- 
 ther with many other titles and dignities. 
 
 The barge slowly advanced along the varie- 
 gated shore, impelled by the long poles of its 
 crew, who laboured upon the gangways erected 
 for them over the vessel's sides, and was now 
 abreast of the mountain Tsesing, that bears 
 upon its summit a temple and pagoda, to which 
 is attached a long tradition, of a youth who fled 
 from the honours his application to study had 
 procured him, and here dedicated himself to the 
 life of a recluse, who reclaimed to the paths of 
 virtue the bandits who infested the country, 
 tamed the ferocity of the tigers that inhabited 
 the wild recesses of the hills, and, by his sanctity, 
 extinguished a fire that threatened to destroy 
 the monastery that sheltered himself and fellow- 
 devotees. The vessel approached the shore, 
 where stood the palace of a mandarin some 
 hundred yards distant from the lake, with which 
 it was connected by a canal, and along which 
 the barge now proceeded.
 
 184 THE FALL OF 
 
 The vessel was made fast by a grapnel to 
 the shore, and an attendant disembarked, bear- 
 ing in his hands a visiting-card of red paper, 
 sprinkled with golden flowers, and folded like a 
 fan, with the name and titles of the visitor in- 
 scribed on the last plait. 
 
 After the lapse of some minutes, the servant 
 returned with another similarly -fashioned paper, 
 and which intimated that the master of the 
 dwelling esteemed himself exalted as the stars, 
 by the honour done him, which he considered 
 as flattering him too much. 
 
 Having received this, Kyatsetao passed from 
 his barge uj^on the bank, and entered an open 
 chair that had already been disembarked, and 
 which was raised and borne by eight porters, 
 whilst preceding him, carried by two men, w^ere 
 his seals of office in a gilded box. As he ap- 
 proached the trijDle doors of the entrance, the 
 minister read inscribed upon the wall, " The 
 residence of the contemjolator of virtue," and 
 below, in freshly- carved characters, was the fol- 
 lowing — "The valorous enforcer of the insti- 
 tutes of morality." As he perused the last, a 
 smile crossed his countenance, but whatever 
 was the thought that excited his risibility, it 
 remained buried in his bosom. 
 
 The minister, having passed through the 
 central gate, entered a spacious court, in which
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 185 
 
 was a pond of water, and a flock of some fifty or 
 sixty cranes. These last, as they are suj)posed 
 to live to a great age, are occasionally kept by 
 the rich and superstitious Chinese, who con- 
 sider that the influences which dispense lon- 
 gevity are thus brought into close contact with 
 themselves, and may, either designedly or by 
 accident, confer upon them the desired boon of 
 length of life. On the opposite side of the court 
 appeared a second wall and gateway, and by it, 
 standing between his parasol, fan, and screen- 
 bearers, was our friend Oulintse, habited in a 
 long robe of blue silk, over which he wore a 
 shorter one of a violet colour that descended to 
 the knee. On his head was a round hat, orna- 
 mented with a fringe of floss silk, stained 
 crimson. 
 
 As the minister approached the mandarin of 
 the rites' tribunal, the latter 25laced himself in 
 an attitude that indicated that he was about to 
 perform the most submissive of the salutations 
 prescribed by the law of ceremonies, but Kyat- 
 setao, wdth a most condescending and urbane 
 smile, said — 
 
 "Use me not as a stranger." 
 
 Oulintse then wished to kneel whilst his 
 visitor passed, but the latter declined such 
 civility. After this, a scene of ^^antomimic 
 action ensued, during which Oulintse succes-
 
 186 THE FALL OF 
 
 sively attempted to pass through the right and 
 then the left of the lateral doors, but, at last, 
 consented to accept the high honour Kyatsetao 
 conferred upon him by intimating he was to pass 
 through the central one, at the side of his chair. 
 
 The gateway through which Kyatsetao had 
 just passed gave entrance to a second court, 
 in which several musicians and domestics, bear- 
 ing parasols and tablets of welcome, were drawn 
 up, and saluted him as he passed, and which 
 was farther populated by a number of tortoises 
 of a very diminutive species, which by the Chi- 
 nese are also supposed to enjoy the benevolent 
 guardianship of the genius of longevity. At the 
 entrance into the third and last court, the whole 
 of the preceding ceremonies were repeated, with 
 the addition of a slight effort on the part of 
 Kyatsetao to descend from his chair, but this, of 
 course, Oulintse opposed. 
 
 The minister now entered the last court, 
 stocked with various animals of the stag kind, 
 for the sect of Laotsy, to which the owner of the 
 palace was addicted, strictly forbids not only the 
 destruction, but even the terrifying of the 
 smallest insect. Hence the followers of that 
 creed, to procure favour with the superior 
 powers, generally take under their protection 
 some animal that has been destined for the 
 shambles.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 187 
 
 The palace was long and low, surrounded by 
 a colonnade of wooden pillars stained red, with 
 a curved roof and blue tiles, and its general 
 effect upon the eye of an European would 
 neither have caused him to regard it as grand nor 
 rich, from the costliness of the materials ; but 
 still its proportions, its singularity and sim- 
 plicity, scarcely would have failed to please him. 
 It was erected upon a platform, raised some feet 
 above the level of the court, and ascended by a 
 few steps. Here Oulintse redoubled his at- 
 tempts at manifesting respect to his visitor's 
 rank, whilst the latter proportionately increased 
 his condescension in declining the ceremonies 
 the other sought to perform, and never did the 
 mandarin of the rites experience a prouder sen- 
 sation than when the first minister of the empire 
 crossed his threshold, and saluted the gigantic 
 idol that, with uplifted club, stood sentry on the 
 right hand, ready to crush the S2:iirits of malig- 
 nant influence, should these last attempt to 
 enter the mansion that he was daily incensed 
 and perfumed to secure from their evil presence. 
 " Tsin tajin, thou art welcome, my great lord," 
 said the overjoyed mandarin, saluting his guest 
 with a lowly obeisance. " Thy presence confers 
 prosperity on my little dwelling. Truly this is 
 a yellow day— a day of riches and of haj^piness 
 for Oulintse."
 
 188 THE FALL OF 
 
 ** President of the Louko, it is ever a happy 
 day for man when the sun and some potent 
 planet of good influence are in conjunction. 
 May our conference be of utility to the empire !" 
 
 *' May Heaven so ordain it, Sientsin, my elder 
 in years ! " said Oulintse, who conducted his 
 guest across a vast entrance-hall, paved and 
 surrounded by a gallery, into the saloon of re- 
 ception. This last was a room of an oblong 
 figure ; the walls were of wooden panels, painted 
 and varnished, as, likewise, were the beams 
 that crossed the ceiling, that were carved and 
 fretted by a tasteful chisel, and to which were 
 suspended lamps of gauze and horn, painted 
 with the figures of birds, flowers, and insects. 
 Upon several tables were placed vases, contain- 
 ing dwarf-trees,^'' that had been stunted in their 
 growth by the ingenuity of the Chinese gar- 
 dener. Lemons, pines, and oaks were there, 
 scarce two feet in height, yet their stems seemed 
 ancient, and were covered with moss, and worm- 
 eaten. 
 
 On one side of the room was a table, covered 
 with a red cloth. On this, the box containing 
 the official seals was deposited ; on the oppo- 
 site side were two seats, one somewhat higher 
 and more handsomely ornamented than the 
 other. To this, Oulintse conducted his guest, 
 having first officiously dusted it with his long
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 189 
 
 sleeve. Kyatsetao now desired his host to 
 avail himself of the convenience of the other 
 chair. This, Oulintse, at first, modestly de- 
 clined, but on the minister's re^^etition of the 
 command, he placed himself in the seat, accord- 
 ing to the most rigid form of etiquette. His 
 feet, perfectly straight and j^arallel, were placed 
 equidistant from each other and the chair. His 
 hands were rested upon his knees, and his body 
 maintained in the most erect posture possible. 
 
 After the lapse of about two minutes, Oulintse 
 observed, in his blandest tones, " The health 
 of my elder in years is excellent, I trust ? Good 
 fortune appears painted upon his visage. May 
 he command all the prosperous influences of the 
 new year ! " 
 
 "My fortune has been most propitious. Pre- 
 sident of the Louko, I read in your physiognomy 
 that much honour has befallen you of late, but 
 that much more is in store. I felicitate you 
 upon your prosperity. May you find the new 
 year equally prosperous at the twelfth as in the 
 first month ! " 
 
 " How dare I credit such things ? '" replied 
 Oulintse. " Your tongue is musical as the 
 small bells of the pagoda of Nanking. Master 
 of oratory, you excel Oruang-nganka.* I veil 
 my eyes with my hands, for I cannot gaze 
 
 * Vide Note 86.
 
 190 THE FALL OF 
 
 upon the talent that dazzles even the imperial 
 council." 
 
 Kyatsetao was a vain man ; and, well pleased 
 with this piece of flattery, he said — 
 
 "Small is thy sphere, Oulintse ; but thy 
 talents fit thee for higher rank. The ancients 
 have justly written, ' Seek for deep water where 
 the banks be narrow.' Many men, approaching 
 by their genius to the em^^eror, Chun,^® are 
 confined within the straitened paths of humble 
 life. We have heard of the courage you mani- 
 fested in capturing the daring bandit of the 
 ' Granite hills.' " 
 
 At this instant, servants entered, bearing tea 
 upon a tray, which they presented first to 
 Kyatsetao, and then to their master. The latter, 
 rising from his seat, and making a profound 
 salutation, raised the cup, which he held in 
 both hands, slowly, to a level with his lips, and 
 then drank its contents without disturbing a 
 muscle of his face. The visitor was a little 
 less ceremonious ; but before he drained his 
 cup, he mingled with the draught a small quan- 
 tity of the ashes of a certain plant considered 
 as an antidote to all species of poison. Having 
 returned his cup, he observed — 
 
 *' President of the Louko, we have matters 
 to discuss to which it were better to have none 
 others, save the spirit of the hearth, as auditor."
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 191 
 
 " Would not the mighty minister, who now 
 honours my humble dwelling, partake further 
 of the celestial beverage ? The water is from 
 Nuihiang,* and with it is the plant of Kin- 
 cheyu,t both notable for their miraculous powers 
 in preserving life. The herb my own astrologer 
 culled ; and he assures me that every draught 
 it impregnates with its virtue will add to life a 
 period of five years, especially if, when taken, 
 alms be given to some deserving sage." 
 
 " How fortunate are you in the possession of 
 so worthy an object of charity. I suppose your 
 excellent astrologer himself grasps the coin 
 that drops from your liberal hand ? " replied 
 Kyatsetao, ironically. 
 
 Ouhntse did not observe the banter of his 
 guest, to whom he proceeded to give an account 
 of the various qualifications of his astrologer, 
 in which he boasted of the latter's acquaintance 
 with the stars, his knowledge as an alchemist, 
 and, last of all, concluded with a high encomium 
 upon his abilities in prescribing the Cong-fou, 
 the posture charm.^ 
 
 Kyatsetao smiled maliciously, and said, whilst 
 his eye rested on the protuberant paunch of the 
 president of the Louko — 
 
 " May your excellency never have to assume 
 the posture that deprives evil dreams of their 
 * Vide Thev. Mar. Martinii. f Ibid.
 
 192 THE FALL OF 
 
 power to visit your couch. For myself, I do 
 not think my talents are worthy of being pre- 
 served by supernatural means beyond the hour 
 destiny has allotted for their dissolution." 
 
 Oulintse oflfered some rather fulsome com- 
 phments in reply that were well received by his 
 guest, and then rising, conducted the latter into 
 his more private apartments. As Kyatsetao 
 proceeded, he complimented his host on the 
 taste with which he had decorated the rooms 
 through which they passed ; and having ex- 
 pressed a desire to behold the antiquities, for 
 the possession of which the president of the 
 Louko was famed, the latter, highly pleased, 
 introduced him to his gallery, and proudly 
 ciceroned his guest, displaying to him all his 
 hoarded wealth of curiosities. The first object 
 to which he drew attention was a series of coins 
 and medals, some of copper, but by far the 
 greater number of a base alloy, so friable as to 
 break immediately, if dropped upon the ground, 
 and which, commencing with the dynasty of 
 Cheyu, were continued chronologically down to 
 the last issues of the mint. Many of those of 
 ancient date showed considerable cunning in 
 the coiner's art. Some were of the form of a 
 sabre, others of a fish's tail ; these were covered 
 with the characters of some long-forgotten 
 writing : others bore the impression of a horse.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 193 
 
 in the act of galloping, or that of a tortoise, or 
 of a dragon.* There were also several foreign 
 coins that had entered the empire, either im- 
 ported throngh the frontier towns of the west 
 or the eastern sea-ports. f Vases were there, 
 alike of metal and of porcelain. Some were of 
 the most grotesque and the strangest forms ; 
 others, beautiful pieces of workmanship, repre- 
 senting various birds, beasts, and flowers. One 
 was of a monkey, that, with one hand, clasped 
 the trunk of a tree, and with the other grasped 
 the wings of a butterfly, painted with the rich 
 and various colours that distinguish that insect 
 in the south of China, and of that rare and 
 splendid species that ever, when caught, must 
 be ^oresented to the emperor.^ This specimen 
 of ancient porcelain was carefully preserved 
 within a rosewood box ; and so precious did 
 its owner esteem it, that he permitted none to 
 remove the dust that might settle upon it, save 
 himself, and then used but a brush composed 
 of the soft feathers of a bird that inhabits the 
 mountains of Yunnan. Next were autographs, 
 gummed upon thin boards of the orange-tree, 
 that had been traced by imperial and noble 
 hands, as well as by the retired recluse, and also 
 
 * Vide Ilager, des. des. medailles, 26, 33. 
 t \'ide Du Ualde, ii. 165. + Ibid. i. 29. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 THE FALL OF 
 
 fac-similes of the writings of different celebrated 
 personages, in wood, bronze, and stone, together 
 with several of the hollowed stones on which 
 sages had rubbed their ink. Remnants of, and 
 entire musical instruments, that in their time 
 had been touched by poetic, philosophic, and 
 noble hands, next claimed attention ; and, last 
 of all, were old copies of still more ancient 
 works, some perfect and many mutilated. But 
 the object by far most prized was contained in 
 a box of precious scented wood, which Oulintse 
 first saluted before he dared to open. The trea- 
 sure it displayed was an old and stained page, 
 glued upon a wooden tablet, and as the pre- 
 sident of the Louko raised it, in token of re- 
 spect, above his head, and presented it to the 
 gaze of his visitor, he said, in a triumphant 
 tone — 
 
 " Behold the only existing remnant of the 
 Sanfen I* — the most ancient historical record 
 of the empire, and supposed Ijy all sages and 
 literati to be entirely lost — the only leaf that 
 exists between the ' four seas ' of the work that 
 treated of the history of three of our earliest 
 emperors — Fohi, Chinnong, andHoangty. My 
 astrologer indicated to me the tomb where it 
 was concealed, and thus 1 became master of a 
 
 * Vide De Mailla. pref.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 195 
 
 treasure, the j^ossession of which the sou of 
 heaven might envy me." 
 
 " Truly," rephed Kyatsetao, who, to please 
 his host, had resj^ectfully saluted the page as 
 soou as made aware to what hook it appertained 
 — " truly you have an ohject, precious as a 
 feather of the hird Funghoaug ; but beware, 
 lest your prize be as the book, Chintsong'*^" be- 
 lieved to have fallen from the heavens, and 
 which he afterwards discovered to be forged 
 and false, full of pernicious doctrines." 
 
 '* Minister who supporteth heaven," rejoined 
 Oulintse, annoyed at the incredulity his guest 
 expressed, " he who believes all shall learn 
 much folly ; but he who discredits his eyes and 
 ears in all things, can never master the trutlis 
 of learning. Know, that my astrologer, who is 
 learned in the ancient characters, has deciphered 
 this page, and finds it exactly to correspond 
 with what the traditions, preserved by the sages, 
 say should have been its contents." And then, 
 to punish his visitor for his disbelief in the 
 authenticity of the document, he hastily re- 
 placed it in its rejDOsitory, after which he led 
 the way to his private study, which was entered 
 through a round portal, or " door of felicity," 
 thus called, because esteemed of the form most 
 potent in preventing the entrance of evil 
 K 2
 
 196 THE FALL OF 
 
 spirits,* and for defending from their influences 
 the superstitions inhabitant. On the opposite 
 side of the apartment was a small low door, 
 and Oulintse i)ointed to it, saying, "Before my 
 ears be gratified by the converse of my elder, 
 shall we render homage in sight of the imperial 
 presence ? " 
 
 The brow of Kyatsetao darkened, for he 
 could ill brook the idea of unnecessarily 
 humbling himself even in the real, much less 
 the supposed presence of his sovereign. But 
 it was not yet the time to betray his ambitious 
 designs, and he was compelled to assent to his 
 host's proposal, whilst he recognised, in this act 
 of the latter, the retaliation for the discredit 
 with which he had treated the historical docu- 
 ment. 
 
 It was a small closet into which Oulintse 
 conducted his visitor. On the wall, opposite to 
 the entrance, was a tablet that bore inscribed 
 the name of the reigning emperor, before which 
 was an altar sustaining a brazier that contained 
 fire. 
 
 Kyatsetao and his host crossed the small 
 chamber, and approached the altar with as much 
 ceremony as though the last were a throne, 
 occupied by the emperor in person, and without 
 
 * Vide De Guignes, ii. ISO.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 197 
 
 raising their eyes to regard the characters that 
 expressed the august name of their sovereign. 
 Thrice they halted, and, sinking on their knees, 
 struck the earth with their foreheads. As they 
 stood by the lowest of the three steps, on the 
 summit of which was the altar, nine times 
 together they lifted their joined palms above 
 their heads, and slowly bent their bodies, till their 
 foreheads nearly touched the ground. These 
 reverences completed, with the due delibera- 
 tion etiquette prescribed, Kyatsetao, and then 
 Oulintse, cast into the brazier incense from a 
 rich and ancient vase of porcelain ; then they 
 both retreated, with their faces turned towards 
 the curling smoke, repeating the same cere- 
 monies they had observed on entry. 
 
 Having re-entered the study, Kyatsetao, to 
 make his peace with his host, 2:)assed some 
 minutes in pretended ecstatic admiration of the 
 coffin, placed upon gilded settles, that the 
 president of the Louko had prepared for his 
 mortal remains. Such is the curious incon- 
 sistency of the Chinese, Most things white, on 
 account of this being the shade of mourning, 
 Oulintse most studiously removed from offending 
 his sight, yet the very object death might select 
 as his crest he kept ever beside him, displaying 
 it alone to his most favoured and honoured 
 visitors. By the side of the coffin was a vase of
 
 198 THE FALL OF 
 
 metal, in which he alike deposited the clippings 
 of his beard, the cuttings of his hair, and the 
 jDarings of his nails, so that every portion of 
 himself might be placed in the tomb together. 
 
 After bestowing many and high encomiums 
 upon this strange article of furniture, Kyatsetao 
 seated himself in a large and cushioned chair, 
 placed upon a square piece of red carpet. He 
 then, addressing his host, said — 
 
 *' Oulintse, let us forget, for a time, the 
 weight of ceremony. The great master, Con- 
 futse, at times, with his favourite disciples, 
 diverted himself familiarly, playing ujoon the 
 instrument of sounding stones. ^°^ Thus be it 
 with us, though our converse be serious, and 
 upon affairs of state." 
 
 '' All in the house are yours, and as slaves 
 obey your will," replied OuUntse, seating him- 
 self; and then continued — '"Would not the 
 president of the imperial council consult his 
 ease by placing his feet in the shppers formed 
 of the skin of unborn lambs that lay by his 
 side ? They are soft as the down of a ripe peach." 
 
 This Kyatsetao declined, and after the lapse 
 of a few minutes, he addressed the president of 
 the Louko. 
 
 " When there is union between the sun and 
 the rain, so that each accomphshes its duty 
 with order, the calculations of the husbandmen
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 199 
 
 are rendered correct ; when there is union 
 between the high ministers of the empire and 
 the inferior, its councils are prosperous. Surely 
 Oulintse must have observed that the order of the 
 universe has been perplexed ? He must have seen 
 that the troops are cowardly, the generals faith- 
 less, and most of the mandarins have become 
 disobedient, forgetting the injunctions of the 
 sage, ' Let the stars revolve in their spheres, 
 the rivers observe their channels, the people be 
 obedient, and the lesser mandarins be respect- 
 ful towards their superiors, so that all creation 
 shall proceed with regularity and concord.' " 
 
 " Could I remain blind to these evils, when 
 they are pointed out to my observation by the 
 clearness of your intelligence ?" 
 
 " Have you never endeavoured to compre- 
 hend their origin ?" Kyatsetao inquired, whilst 
 his tone betrayed a trifling anxiety. 
 
 " I have not had the presumption to 
 attempt things above my capacity; yet some- 
 times, when my mind was emboldened, I 
 ascribed such evils to the remissness of the 
 censors, in not advising the emperor of his 
 faults, to the avarice and ill- conduct of the 
 lesser mandarins, and to the neglect of the ob- 
 servances inculcated by the followers of Laotsy, 
 which, under preceding reigns, have been so 
 highlv honoured." 
 
 An exclamation denoting impatience escaped
 
 200 THE FALL OF 
 
 from the lips of the minister, but restraining 
 the unceremonious speech he had nearly uttered, 
 he said — 
 
 " Truly, there exist these disorders, but 
 have you never discovered the unwholesome 
 root from which they spring ? Have you not 
 observed how many interfere with the culture of 
 the garden of heaven ? Creatures that nature can 
 neither recognise as men nor women, either 
 from ambition, avarice, or malignancy, are de- 
 sirous of culling for themselves, or destroying 
 each flower and fruit, in place of tending these 
 with care, and bringing them to maturity. 
 Hence the empire is filled with disloyalty ; 
 parental affection has almost disappeared, and 
 inferiors no longer regard their superiors with 
 respect/* 
 
 '' My post is humble, and it would not be 
 seemly in me to raise my eyes to the dwelling 
 of the Funghoang, the imperial throne. I 
 know not what passes in the yellow palace," 
 replied Oulintse, who, however, well compre- 
 hended to what his visitor referred, but, with 
 Chinese circumspection, left him the full task of 
 explanation. 
 
 " Men ignorant of the mode to govern ac- 
 cording to the rules of reason, and appointed, 
 through the cabals of these, to fill all posts of 
 honour," continued Kyatsetao, " whilst those
 
 THE NA.N SOUNG. 201 
 
 who, by their talents, should approach the hall 
 of the dragon, the coancil- chamber, are made to 
 bow their heads before unworthy men, who thus 
 pass above them. President of the Louko, for 
 your valour in apprehending the bandit of the 
 * granite hills, ' you would have been created, 
 but for the misrepresentations of these, in- 
 spector of the river Chentan-kiang." 
 
 " It is the eunuchs, surely. May they fall 
 under the displeasure of Heaven ! — may their 
 bodies be dragged through the ' hole of infamy !'* 
 — may they be separated limb from limb, so that 
 no two parts of their bodies may have a common 
 sepulchre ! — they, who can never comprehend 
 the affection of parents to their children, how 
 dare they presume to appoint who should be 
 as parents to the people !" 
 
 Kyatsetao could scarce restrain a smile as he 
 beheld the success of his diplomacy, and when 
 Oulintse had exhausted a catalogue of impreca- 
 tions and injurious epithets upon the eunuchs, 
 he resumed his discourse — 
 
 •'* President of the Louko, you must have 
 perceived how these creatures, pertaining to 
 neither sex, conduct themselves with effrontery : 
 they adopt as their children, and advance to 
 power, the most vulgar and vile of the people. 
 
 * Vide page 79. 
 
 k3
 
 202 THE FALL OF 
 
 Though incapable of enjoying the pleasures of 
 love, they maintain, merely from pride and 
 luxury, numbers of beautiful women, who, im- 
 mured in their harems, can never become 
 mothers of subjects to the empire. Their 
 houses are built like fortresses, and excel the 
 royal palaces in magnificence, being adorned 
 with costly furniture, and enclosing in their re- 
 tired chambers wealth, in gold and gems, that is 
 inestimable.* Thus the empire suffers at their 
 hands the evils of misgovernment, the diminu- 
 tion of its population, and the secretion of 
 wealth that should pay its meritorious officers." 
 
 " I seem to listen to Fouyue,'"^ the excellent 
 minister of Caotsong," said Oulintse, filling up 
 the pause Kyatsetao made. The latter con- 
 tinued — 
 
 " When the barbarians menace the frontiers, 
 the troops are united to oppose them ; when 
 the empire is threatened with disaster by the 
 cabals of some miserable wretches, the members 
 of the government must act in concert to 
 destroy their evil designs. Oulintse, you must 
 join me in defeating the views of these ambitious 
 and misguided creatures. You will be honoured 
 as Miaofou,^°^who removed from the councils of 
 Chaotsong the infamous swarm of eunuchs 
 
 * Vide De Mailla, iii 470.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 203 
 
 which, by then' continued buzzing around him, 
 prevented him from hearing the prayers of 
 his people. It was the chief eunuch, Tkin- 
 koan, who procured the appointment of the 
 present inspector of the river Chentan-kiaug, 
 but in his fall he drags with him all his 
 creatures. It is a rich post, and shall be yours."' 
 
 *' Your confidence honours and flatters me," 
 Oulintse observed. "I am ambitious of the 
 credit Miaofou procured himself as destroyer of 
 the eunuchs, but I fear to indulge in presump- 
 tuous thoughts, lest, like him, I become guilty 
 of sedition." 
 
 Kyatsetao was momentarily confused by this 
 thrust, which told against his own ambition ; 
 but, speedily recovering himself, he replied — 
 
 " May all the spirits defend us from erring 
 as he did ! My object is perfectly loyal and 
 patriotic. Surely they who hunt the tiger may 
 clothe themselves in the spoils of their ferocious 
 prey ?" 
 
 *'Laotsy has written," rejoined Oulintse, 
 '' 'Seek not your own benefit by the injury of 
 others.' "* 
 
 '*Nor should we infringe the injunctions of 
 the sage. We seek not to injure those miserable 
 creatures, but to rescue the empire from the 
 
 * Recompences et Peines, p. 245,
 
 204 
 
 THE FALL OF 
 
 evils with which they menace it. Has not the 
 master Tao* also written that it is a crime to 
 perceive faults and not to assist in their cor- 
 rection ?"t 
 
 " I am a reed in your hands ; dispose of me 
 as you j^lease," said Oulintse, his mind reverting 
 to the emoluments that the inspectorship of the 
 river would insure him, the which diverted his 
 thoughts from the punishments the professors 
 of his creed taught as awaiting the political 
 caballer. 
 
 "When you would arrest the course of a 
 river, it is necessary to stop the springs that 
 supply it with water. The eunuchs are sup- 
 ported by their union with a party of foolish men, 
 jealous of the authority my poor abilities have 
 procured me. When the last are overwhelmed, 
 the first cannot resist by themselves. Luseufu, 
 one of my colleagues in the council, is a chief 
 of this alliance so hurtful to the empire. He 
 must be enveloped by some well-contrived ac- 
 cusation." 
 
 " Luseufu is the private enemy of your 
 superior excellence." 
 
 " Private animosity would never incite me to 
 imagine the abasement of any one," rei:)lied Ky- 
 atsetao, in a haughty tone. 
 
 * Vide Note 23. f Vide Rcc. et Peines, p. 214.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 205 
 
 '' I have ill explained myself to my elder iu 
 years," observed Oulintse, hurriedly, palliating 
 his remark. " Lnseufu deserves degradation for 
 allowing his bosom to become a nestling-place 
 for the evil demons of envy." 
 
 " His post being empty, who is so worthy to 
 fill it as the president of the Louko ?" said 
 Kyatsetao, seeming to accept the excuse, though 
 he carefully remembered the affront. 
 
 " I listen to the overrating of my abilities," 
 Oulintse modestly replied. 
 
 " To insure us success, it is necessary that 
 you compose the accusation. I will undertake 
 that it reaches the imjoerial presence." 
 
 " I will obey," rejoined Oulintse. 
 
 " Remember," continued the minister, " the 
 injunction of the sage : ' In the tongue of the 
 philosoplier there is salvation. Discretion abides 
 between the teeth of the wise, but the mouth of 
 the fool is noisy as the eighteen cataracts of 
 Shiapatan.*^ The dog that barks much bites 
 but little.' Until we be able to strike our blow, 
 even the presiding genius of the heart must 
 be ignorant of what the head contemplates." 
 
 A smirking air of complacent modesty passed 
 over the countenance of Oulintse as he ob- 
 served — 
 
 "It is true my understanding is weak, and 
 my memory is not comparable to that of
 
 206 THE FALL OF 
 
 the chief minister, but still I have read the 
 Tchon g-yong : ' Water springs not from the 
 earth in drops. What is weak and subtle may 
 not be made manifest. The perfect man is 
 able to guard his own secret.' "* 
 
 The object of his visit being obtained, Kyat- 
 setao rose from his seat. As he did so, he 
 said — 
 
 ''President of the Louko, I will cause one of 
 my attendants to present you a small box, but 
 of rare antiquity, having been in the family of 
 Kya two hundred years." 
 
 *' My lord, it is a precious pearl. I am un- 
 worthy to touch it," replied Oulintse, but whose 
 countenance indicated the pleasure he experi- 
 enced at the prospect of possessing an object so 
 valuable in the eyes of a Chinese antiquary, and 
 honourable on account of the donor. 
 
 *' It is a thing of but small value. Merely a 
 token of my admiration of your abilities. Accept 
 it, and let there be no ceremony between us." 
 
 '' My lord is obeyed," replied Oulintse, who 
 accompanied his guest to his barge, uttering a 
 profusion of civilities in gratitude for the dis- 
 tinguished visit that had honoured him. 
 
 As Kyatsetao entered his barge, a paper was 
 
 ♦ Vide Thev. Pros.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 207 
 
 put iuto his bauds. It was a list of presents, 
 all, or a part, of which Oiilintse offered for his 
 acceptance or selection. Having placed a mark 
 before a few of the least valuable, an attendant 
 begged the minister not to wait to receive them, 
 as his master would cause them to be presented 
 at his palace. But the fact was. that Oulintse 
 did not possess one tiling contained in the list, 
 and it was necessary for him to purchase before 
 he could give them away.
 
 208 THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Great was the bustle that pervaded the house 
 of the jeweller Kaopingte as the hour for the 
 reception of his guests apjoroached. With a 
 long bamboo cane in his hand, he liberally be- 
 stowed corrections upon every side. His ser- 
 vants, whenever he was in sight, hurried about 
 with the utmost alacrity, but whenever his back 
 was turned, they mutually rubbed their shoulders, 
 and abused their master in a most consolatory 
 manner; whilst every little article — thanks to 
 the confusion — that they could purloin, was care- 
 fully i^ut aside, to compensate for the blows they 
 had received. 
 
 The second of the invitations^*'^ had already 
 been sent out. The hour of evening approached, 
 and Kao^^ingte began to feel alarmed that he 
 would be unable to invite his friends before the 
 latest period good breeding allowed should be 
 arrived.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 209 
 
 In the saloon where he was to receive his 
 guests, and in the hall of entertainment, his 
 wife, surrounded by her females, hobbled about 
 upon her heels — for the curious custom of de- 
 forming the feet, to render them diminutive, 
 deprives most Chinese women of the power to 
 walk with steadiness — and she screamed, scolded, 
 and flogged as much as her good husband. 
 
 At last, but not before the hour of sunset 
 had arrived, everything was arranged as the 
 merchant desired, and immediately a number of 
 red sheets of paper, folded in narrow plaits, 
 were placed in the hands of male slaves. Out- 
 side they bore the superscn2:>tion of the address, 
 and within, after the enumeration of all the 
 names and titles of the person to whom they 
 were directed, were the characters that ex- 
 pressed, "I have prepared wine, fruit, and rice, 
 and await the illumination of your presence." 
 
 The guests, who had for some time been in 
 expectation of the summons, rapidly arrived. 
 The first to make his appearance was Kaohe, in 
 his full dress as inspector of the market, accom- 
 panied by Nansanjin in the costume of his ser- 
 vant, and the few minutes that preceded the 
 arrival of the other convives were spent by the 
 merchant in instructing his cousin in the con- 
 duct he was to pursue. How profitable these 
 lessons were we shall presently see.
 
 210 THE FALL OF 
 
 The guests being assembled in the saloon of 
 reception, were then conducted, one by one, 
 according to their ranks — for even the trades in 
 China have their ceremonious laws of prece- 
 dence — into the hall of entertainment, by their 
 bowing and obsequious host. 
 
 The room into which they entered was pret- 
 tily furnished, and ornamented with real and 
 artificial flowers placed in vases of porcelain. 
 The windows were of oiled pajoer ; but it was 
 already dark, and the obstacle they opposed to 
 the admission of the light was not observed. At 
 one end of the room was a handsome buffet, 
 adorned with flowers, fruits, drinking- vessels, 
 and other festal furniture, and across a corner 
 was erected a silken screen, from behind which 
 the ladies of the house were to witness the pro- 
 ceedings. Across the opposite side extended a 
 curtain. Twelve tables were arranged along the 
 ajDartment, in two lines, and were ornamented 
 with dishes of minced meats, raised in a pyra- 
 midal form, and garnished with lemons, on 
 the peel of which were inscribed characters that 
 incited the reader to indulge in the pleasure of 
 the table. 
 
 The assembled company, in all sixteen per- 
 sons, stood in a line facing the buffet, from 
 which Kaopingte took a porcelain cup, filled 
 with rice wine, and, sustaining it by a saucer of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 211 
 
 tlie same material, he advanced into the centre 
 of the room ; here, raising it in both his hands, 
 he made a lowly reverence to his guests, and 
 then retreated to the upper part of the room, 
 where, having first raised cup, hands, and eyes to 
 heaven, as though invoking a benediction, he 
 cast the contents of the vessel upon the ground. 
 
 Kaopingte now directed a servant to bring 
 him another cup of wine, and, with this in his 
 hands, made a reverence before Kaohe, and then 
 deposited it upon the table destined for the last. 
 Kaohe, in his turn, demanded a cup, and en- 
 deavoured to place it upon the table of his host ; 
 but this the latter not permitting, a long cere- 
 mony of mutual bowing ensued. This courteous 
 contest being concluded, the merchant took from 
 a servant two ivory sticks, ornamented with gold, 
 which he placed parallel together by the side 
 of the cup of wine, and then endeavoured to 
 perform the same ceremony with each of his 
 guests, but this none of the last w^ould permit. 
 
 Considerable time had been thus consumed, 
 when Kaopingte, taking his cousin by his hand, 
 conducted him, apparently reluctantly, to the 
 seat of honour, a straight high-backed chair of 
 bamboo, covered with a rich silken cloth., 
 sprinkled with silver flowers, and to which he 
 doubly had right — first, from being a stranger to 
 all present, excepting his entertainer, and also
 
 212 THE FALL OF 
 
 on account of his superior rank. The other 
 guests, with somewhat less ceremony, were in 
 their turns conducted to their seats, where 
 the majority were accommodated with separate 
 tables. 
 
 Whilst Kaopingte had been bowing, compli- 
 menting, and handing his guests about, his 
 cousin was guilty of a dreadful breach of eti- 
 quette. Kaohe had come prepared for a ho7id 
 fide dinner. He had fasted long, and had 
 gnawing him a most woefully sharp appetite. 
 The ceremonies that were proceeding seemed to 
 him interminably long. He began to play with 
 his chop-sticks, scratching figures upon the 
 varnished table. His hand approached the dish 
 that stood beside him, and he eyed ravenously 
 the small pieces of mutton with which it was 
 piled. Unconsciously the ivory sticks closed 
 upon a scrajo of meat, and still more uncon- 
 sciously the said scrap was conveyed to his 
 mouth. Once having touched the Kubicon, the 
 inspector of the market was not inclined to dally 
 upon its brink. With the use of his ivory sticks 
 he did not appear very conversant; besides, it 
 was but a poor way to supply his hungry 
 stomach, so, dropping them upon the table, he 
 conveyed first one handful, and then a second, 
 of the contents of the dishes, intended but for 
 ornament, into his capacious mouth.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 213 
 
 The merchant had taken his seat, the lowest 
 and most humhle of all, and had turned to give 
 directions for the entry of the first course, when 
 he heheld his " intendant of the feast" — for the 
 Chinese engage masters of the ceremonies to 
 direct their dinners as we do our balls — stand- 
 ing, with open mouth and staring eye, the 
 picture of astonishment. Following the direc- 
 tion of his gaze, Kaopingte beheld his cousin 
 draining the cup of welcome — a most heinous 
 breach of etiquette. But with ready wit he pal- 
 liated the other's gauclierie, and, raising his own 
 cup, he said — 
 
 " Most illustrious inspector of oar market, I 
 accept your challenge, though your condescen- 
 sion in drinking with one of my inferior stamp 
 overwhelms me with confusion. May you ever 
 be prosperous !" he continued, drinking. 
 
 " The bottom is dry — there is nothing left," 
 observed Kaohe, as he nodded to his cousin, 
 and inverted his cup to prove his words — an 
 action somewhat indecorous, and only observed 
 by Chinese topers at a drinking bout. 
 
 " How vour excellency continually reminds 
 me of my inferiority," said Kaopingte, imitating 
 his guest. " ' When one lieth in the road, one's 
 garments must be soiled,' says the proverb. 
 But your grace is too good thus to demean him- 
 self by observing the vulgar actions of people 
 like nr-self."
 
 214 THE FALL OF 
 
 At this instant, servants entered, bearing the 
 first dish of the first course — a soup, made out 
 of the swallows' nests found in Java and Co- 
 chinchina, eggs, and rice-cakes. A plate of 
 this was placed before every guest, together with 
 a small porcelain cup, holding about the third of 
 a wine-glass, and filled with rice wine. The 
 master of the ceremonies, who had by this re- 
 covered from his surprise, said, in a loud tone, 
 " Gentlemen, raise your cups. Gentlemen, 
 drink. Gentlemen, be seated." And the guests, 
 having slightly inclined their cups, to show 
 that nothing remained within, sat themselves 
 down. 
 
 After the lapse of about a minute, the master 
 of the ceremonies was again heard, and thrice 
 repeated the welcome word " Tsin," that may 
 be rendered, " Gentlemen, I invite you to par- 
 take of the feast;" and then, by the aid of 
 small shallow saucers, in place of spoons, the 
 soup rapidly disappeared. 
 
 At a signal from the master of the ceremonies, 
 the empty plates were removed, and whilst they 
 were being replaced, boys went round with 
 bowls of candied fruits, or of onions and other 
 vegetables preserved in vinegar. This first 
 course consisted of eight dishes, that were 
 served in succession, and the most prized amid 
 them was one of sharks' fins, and another of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 215 
 
 the fat tail of the sheep of Petchely. Each 
 swam iu a thick gravy, and every dish was 
 garnished with hard boiled eggs and slices of 
 lemon. During the first jiart of the entertain- 
 ment, the guests were mostly silent. The 
 drinking was regulated by the master of the 
 ceremonies, much to the regret of Kaohe, who 
 detested cheating his hps with the few drops 
 his cup would hold. 
 
 As the last dish was removed, that had con- 
 sisted of a great delicacy — the hinder paws of a 
 bear, cooked in a rich spice sauce — from behind 
 the curtain that stretched across the lower part 
 of the room, appeared half a dozen comedians, 
 magnificently dressed, who saluted the company, 
 touching the ground with their foreheads. 
 The principal, holding in his hands two long 
 lists, one of the tragedies, the other of the 
 comedies his troop was capable of jDcrforming, 
 advanced to Kaohe, before whom he made a 
 lowly reverence, tendering him the rolls he 
 held. Kaohe modestly declined selecting a play, 
 and directed the comedian to his next neigh- 
 bour. The last was equally polite, so that the 
 manager, having made the circuit of the guests, 
 returned once more to Kaohe. 
 
 The inspector of the market vainly en- 
 deavoured to recollect the performance his 
 cousin had previously desired him to select, and
 
 216 THE FALL OF 
 
 his scholastic learning did not permit him to 
 remedy the defect of his memory, for he was 
 unahle to read one of the many titles before 
 him. His fellow guests were impatient to hear 
 his choice. He remembered his relative's ad- 
 vice to observe a bold bearing, and, calling to 
 mind one of the plays he had seen performed in 
 his native city, he said, returning the catalogues 
 with a look of contempt, as though not ap- 
 proving of anything they contained — 
 
 " Little man, know yon the laughable 
 comedy termed ' Kao, the Merry Eogue' ? — he 
 who cheated the gods, tricked the police, and 
 finally managed, by forging the name of his 
 holy brother, to get called into heaven, and be 
 ranked among the immortals." 
 
 The whole of the guests, no less than the 
 comedians, stared at this strange request, for 
 nothing could be ruder than to select a play 
 where even one of the characters bore the same 
 name as any one present. But the command 
 had been given, and the actor had nothing but 
 to obey. Whilst prejDarations were made for 
 the commencement of the performance, the 
 guests followed their entertainer into another 
 room, where tea was served, and here Kaopingte 
 took the opportunity of addressing his cousin 
 privately. 
 
 " Kaohe, thou hast rendered me an object of
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 217 
 
 ridicule : the children in the streets will point 
 their fingers, and say, * Behold the man who 
 has the plays performed in his house that treat 
 the name of his ancestors with scorn !' Cousin, 
 my fathers were good men, and will doubtless 
 take care of themselves, wherever they be at 
 present ; so that it is not for them I care — I 
 grieve for the loss of respectability I suffer by 
 treating them without due resjoect. The people 
 of the city are very severe in their observances 
 of the five moral laws, and if this folly of thine 
 become spoken of, I may lose many of my best 
 customers, and even embroil myself with the 
 mandarins of my quarter." 
 
 '' Kaopingte, with thy abominable ceremonies 
 thou didst so delay the dinner, I near had 
 famished. With thy detestable little cups, than 
 which the hollow of my hand will hold more, 
 thou hast rendered me thirsty as the sands of 
 the sea. You have injured my health, and I 
 have done your name no good. We now are 
 equal. Give me a larger cup, and let me, in- 
 stead of that slow rogue, the intendant of the 
 feast, cry the moment to drink, and you shall 
 hear no more of the play." 
 
 The jeweller accepted the terms, and turned 
 to address another of his guests. After the 
 lapse of some minutes, the party re-entered the 
 saloon of entertainment. 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 THE FALL OF 
 
 During their absence, the curtain had been 
 removed, and displayed a stage erected a few 
 feet above the level of the floor, -whilst, at the 
 other end of the room were congregated a 
 number of friends and neighbours, invited or 
 permitted to behold the exhibition. 
 
 At the first burst of the music, Kaohe arose, 
 and exclaimed, " Men with understandings of 
 wood and talents of iron, do you dare thus to 
 trifle with me and this excellent company ? Do 
 you call this the introduction to the performance 
 I desired ? " 
 
 The actors and orchestra were immediately 
 silent. The rich merchant, about to receive 
 into his arms a supposititious child ; the latter, 
 a huge man with an oddly painted nose, had 
 the verses glued upon his lips, in which he was 
 to thank his faithless spouse in a paternal strain 
 of comic rhapsody, and, together with the rest 
 of his company, trembled lest the rebuke of the 
 mandarin should be followed by a fatherly cor- 
 rection from the bamboo. 
 
 He who had presented the lists of the per- 
 formances advanced uneasily to the inspector 
 of the market, and the latter said, in an angry 
 tone — 
 
 " Have you dared, vile man, to misapprehend 
 me ? Do you insult the worthy individual who 
 has engaged yout services, by falsely giving
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 219 
 
 one play for another ? Do you think we are 
 barbarians, and without judgment ? " 
 
 " Pardon, my lord !" said the trembling actor, 
 prostrating himself upon the ground. 
 
 " Thou art unworthy of correction," said 
 Kaohe, casting upon him a contemptuous look. 
 " Exhibit, followers of an infamous profession, 
 some feats of agility, since you are incapable of 
 exciting a tear or a smile by the representations 
 of either tragedy or comedy, and are unworthy 
 of uttering a single sublime truth of reason or 
 morality." 
 
 The actor returned to his comrades, and with 
 these commenced a juggling exhibition, in 
 which strength and dexterity by turns claimed 
 attention, but which it will be needless for us 
 to describe ; and the merchant, in a set speech, 
 requested his cousin, who had been provided 
 with a porcelain goblet, to undertake the direc- 
 tion of the drinking, which he did with so much 
 zeal, that before the servants had placed upon 
 the tables the third dish of the second course, 
 the guests had considerably improved in loqua- 
 city. The reserve and restraint of ceremonv 
 thawed as jar succeeded jar of warm rice wine ; 
 and conversation flowed with increasing free- 
 dom as the new president of the feast caused 
 cup after cu]) to be drained. 
 
 " In the emperor reside all the powers of the 
 l2
 
 220 THE FALL OF 
 
 universe ! " said one of the guests, who had 
 just distinguished himself at the examination, 
 and procured the title of Kiujin,'^'^ and who was 
 habited in the peculiar costume of his new 
 dignity — a long robe, of a brown colour, with a 
 blue border.* '' Lightning is in his frown, 
 thunder in his angry voice. The mandarins 
 are his spy-spirits, whom he despatches to re- 
 w^ard and punish men. The grandeur and 
 ceremony that surround him, to prevent the 
 approach of the vulgar, are like to the four 
 oceans that gird the empire, to forbid the intru- 
 sion of barbarians, who are as desirous of tread- 
 ing upon its territory as our sages, by the prac- 
 tice of virtue, to merit immortality. His hands, 
 that dispense honour and rewards, are like to 
 
 fertilizing streams " 
 
 " Excuse me, gentle sir," said Kaohe, inter- 
 rupting him, " but I have conversed with 
 mariners who voyage to distant shores, and 
 they inform me those miserable barbarians are 
 as contented with their countries as we are with 
 our own ; and, ignorant wretches, no more de- 
 sire to behold the flower that blooms in the 
 centre of the universe than does the lily, that 
 blossoms on the still water of the lake, to mount 
 to the craggy and barren top of the mountain 
 Tseleu." 
 
 ♦ Vide Du Halde, ii. 257.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 221 
 
 '' The God of heaven is exceedingly merciful," 
 observed the prior of a convent of Hoshang, 
 priests of Fo, but of one of the milder orders, 
 who abstain from meat but on certain days. 
 Scoffers of his creed — and such there be in all 
 countries, who love to deride the ministers of a 
 religion in which they do not believe — asserted 
 that those days of mortification were less often 
 observed than the canons of the order directed. 
 Whether this were scandalous or not, we can- 
 not decide ; but if the reader be particularly 
 curious, we can assure him this had not been 
 one of the prior's fast-days. " The God of 
 heaven is exceedingly merciful ; and though, 
 when he created the universe, he had intended 
 to dispense all his blessings to his own favoured 
 land, yet, labouring as he did at the hour of 
 midnight,* many fell from his hands, and, in 
 the obscurity, a few were scattered among the 
 islands of the ocean. Thus is it the miserable 
 inhabitants of those far regions have their lives 
 rendered endurable. To the Tatars, fell the gift 
 of herds and flocks, of martin-fur and ermine ; 
 to the inhabitants of the islands of the rising 
 sun, Japan,t were pink pearls| and gold ; to the 
 islands of the east, were precious spices, cam- 
 
 * Vide De Guignes, ii. 3.59. 
 t Sin, Gepen — from Ge, the sun, and Pen, rising. — De Mail, 
 ix. 304. 
 
 X Vide M. Polo.
 
 222 THE FALL OF 
 
 phor, and drugs ; whilst the Kiaochi, people 
 whose toes cross each other — the Cochin-Chinese 
 — have the swallows'- nests, with which our 
 liberal host has this day regaled his fortunate 
 guests." 
 
 '' Master of sanctity," said Kaohe, addressing 
 the last speaker, " your reasoning would he 
 excellent, but that these people possess rice, 
 silk, cotton, and garments of every description, 
 as plentifully as the inhabitants of the land of 
 heaven." 
 
 " Impossible I " ejaculated the priest. 
 
 " Impossible ! " reiterated the company ; 
 whilst the Kiujin, proud of the learning by which 
 he had just procured himself distinction, looked 
 with contempt upon the bold asserter of so 
 daring a falsehood, and in his heart would 
 dearly have loved to punish so unreasonable 
 and immoral an affirmation as that any nation 
 could be equally well off with the one to which 
 he belonged. 
 
 " ' Impossible ' is a hard word, and though 
 difficult for the doctor luin-tchin^"'^ to put in 
 practice, yet it does not exist for the creative 
 powers of nature," observed the man of learn- 
 ing, sententiously. " Nature could have blessed 
 other lands as she has that of heaven, but she 
 failed to do so, because the minds of foreigners 
 are ignorant and presumptuous."
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 223 
 
 The modest and enlightened speaker gazed 
 round upon his fellow guests, and received with 
 much complacency their unanimous approba- 
 tion, excepting that of Kaohe, who repHed, in 
 rather an angry tone — 
 
 " Who was the doctor luin-tchin, and what 
 difficulty he had in practising the word ' im- 
 possible,' I care not ; but this you may learn, 
 in one day's counting, from sunset to sunrise, 
 you would not enumerate the rice-junks that 
 lie in the harbour of Foucheyu. The islands 
 of the east send you their superfluous provisions, 
 as the peasant casts his refuse to the hogs." 
 
 If in an assembly of most bigoted religionists 
 some atheist were boldly to advance his opinions, 
 he would not be regarded for his impiety with 
 greater horror than was Kaohe for this speech, 
 and which was still more unpalatable as con- 
 taining a fact that was undeniable. A warm 
 dispute seemed on the point of taking place, 
 when one of the guests, a physician^"^ of the 
 sect of Laotsy, spoke, with the intention of re- 
 conciling the parties — 
 
 " As one man meeteth his death by water, so 
 another is slain by fire. The operations of for- 
 tune are different, though the results she effects 
 are ever the same. This maxim of the sages 
 may equally apply to nations in general as to 
 man separately. If other nations be more for-
 
 234 THE FALL OF 
 
 tunate in the possession of larger rice-tracts, 
 where is there a government so perfect as ours ? 
 In the countries of the barbarians, population 
 languishes, for all rational laws are wanting, 
 and the cultivators are not sufficient to consume 
 their superabundant harvests. With us, owing 
 to virtuous legislation, the people increase as 
 maggots breed in a fat carcass. Besides, do we 
 not supply foreign nations with tea, silk, porce- 
 lain, rhubarb, and ten thousand other articles, 
 which, were we to withhold one day, the whole 
 of their unfortunate inhabitants must perish, 
 whilst the small quantity of grain they furnish 
 would not provide the empire with one break- 
 fast ?" 
 
 " Though an official of the government," 
 said Kaohe, resolutely persevering in his opi- 
 nions, " yet I have seen among foreign nations 
 many laws to be admired. Cousin," he con- 
 tinued, addressing his relative, '' were a thou- 
 sand taels of silver owing you by one unwilling 
 to pay, how would you recover your debt ? " 
 
 " By calling in the executioners of justice — 
 by taking my debtor before the tribunal, where 
 the bamboo would be awarded him if refractory." 
 
 " But if he gained the ear of the judge by 
 a specious tale, and the gift of fifty taels, what 
 would you do then ? " 
 
 '* Men at times are venal," moralized Kao-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 225 
 
 pingte. '' I should then have to make my 
 present ofa hundred taels." 
 
 *' Then hsten to the law that exists in a 
 country of India," said Kaohe. " When the 
 creditor has sought his money in vain, he traces 
 a circle, at the first opportunity, round his 
 debtor ; and in it the last must remain, till he 
 satisfies the other. To quit the circle is imme- 
 diate death. To this law, my eyes beheld the king 
 of the country subjected,* though he owns a 
 palace of gold, and has ten thousand elephants." 
 
 '' Unfortunate is that sovereign, who, by the 
 remissness of his ministers, in advising him of 
 the duties he neglects, is reduced to submit to 
 degradation. Ill must the kingdom be governed 
 where such things be ! " said the Kiujin, in a 
 tone of commiseration. 
 
 " Unfortunate is that king who doeth justice 
 to his creditors only from dread of the law, and 
 not from fear of religion and respect for virtue. 
 Unhappy, since he never can have heard that 
 saying of the saint — ' If you pay not your debts 
 living, you must when dead.' ]^ Miserable must 
 that people be who have never studied the holy 
 law of Fo !" observed the priest, with religious en- 
 thusiasm, elevating his hands and eyes to heaven. 
 
 A rather disrespectful reply, alike with regard 
 to government, censors, and priests of Fo, was 
 
 • Vide M. Polo, 638-9. 
 L 3
 
 226 THE FALL OF 
 
 on the lips of Kaohe, but it was arrested by 
 the general movement of the company, in ac- 
 cordance with the invitation of their host, to 
 return to the saloon of reception, and partake 
 of tea ; for the second course, consisting, like 
 the first, of eight dishes, was terminated. Having 
 refreshed themselves, the party re-entered the 
 dining-hall, and sat down to the first dish of 
 the last course. 
 
 Kaohe having drank a cup to his host, called 
 to his worthy servant, Nansanjin. The latter 
 approached his master, bearing in his hands a 
 porcelain goblet, containing a number of red 
 paper purses, filled with small coins. Raising 
 the vase in his hands, the inspector said — 
 
 " Accept, I pray you, cousin, this present for 
 the servants, who have attended upon me so 
 well and faithfully." As he concluded, Nan- 
 sanjin advanced towards Kaopingte, to whom he 
 endeavoured to present the vase his master had 
 returned him. 
 
 *' You flatter me too much, my great sir," 
 said the host, declining the gift with a motion 
 of his hand. " The uncivil conduct of my ser- 
 vants is more deserving of the bastinade than 
 of so noble a present." 
 
 " Cousin, they have served me well. The 
 rogues have positively made me eat until I can 
 contain no more. Behold, yourself." In j^roof 
 of his assertion, he rose, and patted his stomach,
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 227 
 
 that he endeavoured to render as protuheraut 
 as possible. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the surprise of the 
 guests as they beheld the committal of this 
 action. The merchant, confused by such con- 
 duct, accepted without further ceremony the 
 present offered to his servants. 
 
 The consternation of the guests being some- 
 what abated, they each in their turn made an 
 offering to their host for the attendants, which 
 Kaopingte, with apparent reluctance, always ac- 
 cepted ; as he did so, covering his face with his 
 fan, to indicate the bashfulness that assailed him 
 at witnessing his guests thus acknowledge their 
 content at the manner with which he had treated 
 them : for in China, to praise any meat or drink 
 upon the table is an uncourteous act, as it admits 
 the supposition that these could be indifferent. 
 
 Whilst this was proceeding, Kaohe amused 
 himself by drinking, and as the last present was 
 accepted, directed the company to empty a cup 
 in honour of their host. When this was ac- 
 complished, he directed the cups to be refilled, 
 and the company to drink to each other. The 
 guests were rather astonished at this rapid 
 manner of disposing of the rice wine ; and the 
 Kiujin, who was the boldest, because his literary 
 rank secured him from the indignation of the 
 president of the feast, in case his interference 
 should excite the latter's anger, observed —
 
 228 THE FALL OF 
 
 " Noble sir, the sage has said, ' Why should 
 the man of ten thousand taels, who is rich, — 
 why should he tempt the strong waters ? ' Why 
 should a man gifted wdth intelligence swallow 
 the twentieth cup ? " 
 
 " Talk not to me of sages/' replied Kaohe. 
 " He only is a sage who, by drinking, renders 
 the future still more impenetrable, and buries 
 the past in oblivion." 
 
 " But the great master, Confutse, has said — 
 ' Happy is the sovereign who possesses a 
 minister capable of predicting the future,' " ob- 
 served the Kiujin, in a tone of voice that in- 
 timated he esteemed his own reading in no 
 moderate degree. 
 
 " And hear," rejoined Kaohe, " the words 
 that were uttered by as great a master as Con- 
 futse, in his own way, and a better boon com- 
 panion : ' Veil the future by the fumes of ^ine, 
 or it will only present to you sons to be mar- 
 ried, sepulchres to be bought, impositions of 
 merchants, villanies of the imperial wolves,'*" 
 and priests proving false to their vows.' I think 
 with him ; and were I on the dragon-throne, 
 would make all my ministers, before they opened 
 their mouths to discuss with me affairs of busi- 
 ness, drink ten glasses of distilled rice wine. 
 Then I should not be told, ' Sire, you have 
 purchased all the women of Yanchevu, and
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 229 
 
 there will be no money to pay the troops 1' ' Sire, 
 you pass your time in the harem, and with the 
 jar of wine beside you; Tyen will be punishing 
 such neglect of business by earthquakes, inun- 
 dations, and famines ! ' ' Sire, the taxes have 
 been increased until the people are discontented ; 
 there will be revolts and confusion in the em- 
 pire ! ' No, none of this would be told me. 
 The mandarins should all be made drunk, so 
 that they might not be able to arrange their 
 ideas to defraud the revenue. Thus there 
 would be no necessity for extra taxes. The 
 people would be contented, because not vexed 
 by their governors ; and Tyen be pleased at 
 sight of such general happiness. And all 
 this good would be efiected by repealing the 
 law that prohibits the mandarins from drinking 
 wine before entering their tribunals,* for then 
 they would not be able to compose a venal 
 judgment; for the proverb says, 'Winemaketh 
 the tongue speak truth.' I should not be vexed, 
 the people would not be grieved, and the 
 government would proceed orderly as the 
 universe." 
 
 Kaohe vainly looked round to gather a single 
 look of approbation. All his auditors seemed 
 too overwhelmed with astonishment at the rela- 
 tion of so entirely a new mode of policy. The 
 * Vide De Guignee, ilu 111.
 
 230 THE FALL OF 
 
 doctor of medicine was the first to recover him- - 
 self, and said — 
 
 " What then would become of the wise ordi- 
 nances of Laotsy, that prohibit all excesses ?'' 
 
 " I would do without them." 
 
 " How, then, would you maintain order in 
 the universe, if the wise ordinances of sainted 
 men are to be disregarded ? Vices would then 
 swarm upon the earth, and all social morality 
 would be dissolved," observed the doctor. 
 
 '* Give more wine, and no man will think of 
 crime." 
 
 " But the land must be cultivated. Were the 
 peasants also to be inebriated, from whence 
 would you procure the rice to be fermented into 
 wine ?" 
 
 '' From foreign nations." 
 
 " But without labour, your wealth would be 
 shortly exhausted, and there would be nothing 
 to give the barbarian merchants for their 
 grain." 
 
 " And you would never be one of my ministers, 
 for you would everberepeatiug your ill-omened 
 predictions I Drink, that you may never en- 
 deavour to penetrate the disasters futurity con- 
 ceals." 
 
 A dispute had meanwhile been proceeding 
 between theKiujin and the priest, that now ran 
 somewhat high.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 231 
 
 " Master of sanctity," said the man of letters, 
 " man at his hirth is little better than a brute 
 animal, but he becomes a divinity by education. 
 By obtaining a correct knowledge of the 
 canonical works, so as fully to comprehend the 
 five moral obligations, as well as the practice of 
 the three virtues, by studying the laws of rational 
 government, and by mastering the science of 
 history, he renders himself worthy of being se- 
 lected as one of the supports of heaven." 
 
 " But it was not for the mere enjoyment of 
 mundane honoiu-s that man was created," re- 
 joined the priest. " Tyen had created two 
 places — one of infinite torture, and the other of 
 immeasurable pleasure ; and to procure inhabi- 
 tants for these regions, constructed the earth, 
 and peopled it with creatures animated by a 
 principle equally virtuous and evil; and by 
 whichever a man allows himself to be influenced, 
 that must be his portion at his decease. To 
 one of these places he must repair, and accord- 
 ing as his actions have been more or less evil or 
 good, so must he receive, for a greater or less 
 number of years, punishments or rewards pro- 
 portioned to his conduct. He then is born 
 afresh. Those who have been good, animate 
 some human foetus, and are born as men ; those 
 who have been evil, are born under the form of 
 beasts, in which state they will have greater
 
 232 THE FALL OF 
 
 difficulty in selecting a virtuous line of conduct, 
 because thw neart of brutes is naturally fierce 
 and ungovernable. From time to time, to con- 
 firm men in their virtue, Fos or saints appear, 
 and woe unto those whose hearts are too proud 
 to accept their doctrines ! For ten successive 
 generations they must be born as tigers, and, 
 during every interval, that will consist of a 
 thousand years each, they will reside in hell, 
 tormented ten thousand difi'erent ways !" 
 
 '' Such are the dreams of folly in which the 
 false sects"^ indulge, " rephed the Kiujin. 
 *' They are as the echo of the drum, without the 
 instrument being struck ; as the glitter of 
 silver, but not of the substance of metal. 
 Virtue is a principle, a part of the creating 
 deity,^*^ and is diffused throughout our frames ; 
 when these cease to exist, the essence returns 
 to the being from whence it emanated."' The 
 man whose virtue is developed by education 
 receives his reward by being advanced to 
 honours and dignities ; he whose virtue, by the 
 neglect of his parents or his own ill-fortune, has 
 not been cultivated, is punished by not leaving 
 a name that may decorate the ancestral hall of 
 his family." 
 
 *' Too much thought is dedicated to the pur- 
 suit of earthly vanities, and thus the honour 
 of Fo is diminished," replied the priest.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 233 
 
 " Too much !" exclaimed the Kiajin. •' Were 
 all the emj^ire to dedicate itself to study, man 
 would obtain the most perfect reason — if, as the 
 great Yao"* said, he observed due precautions 
 against being betrayed by the inclinations and 
 affections of his heart for sensible things, and 
 against the obscuring of his judgment by 
 vanity."* 
 
 " Surely, sir," said the doctor, joining in the 
 conversation, " there must be an evil, as well as 
 a virtuous essence inherent in man ; otherwise, 
 how would you account for the natural inclina- 
 tion to malice and evil by which all are affected, 
 and particularly the servants of one's house ? 
 A few days since, mine conceived the horrible 
 idea of strangling me with nightmare, and with 
 that design, they carved my image in wood, 
 drove copper nails into every part, and con- 
 cealed it under the tiles of my house. f The 
 indigestion I had was terrible, and I was near 
 destroyed by the phantoms to whom I was de- 
 voted by this diabolical act of sorcery. Fortu- 
 nately, I was able to prevail against them by 
 certain conjurations I had learned to repeat for 
 the practice of my profession, and, waking, could 
 detect and punish the wretched conspirators." 
 
 " Had your slaves been better instructed, 
 
 ♦ Vide Du Halde, ii. 279. f ^^^- et peines, 345.
 
 234 THE FALL OF 
 
 they would never have been guilty of so 
 atrocious a design, for Tchuhi has written, * The 
 true end of study is the attainment of virtue ;'* 
 therefore vice must be the child of ignorance. 
 They knew not the precept of the master sage, 
 Confutse, ' Do not unto others what you would 
 not they should do unto you.' "^ Chun, though 
 humbly born, was preferred to the empire by 
 Yao, for his knowledge, that comprehended 
 alike the sciences of history and government, 
 with the more hidden secrets of nature. Tsinchi- 
 hoangty, for his persecutions of literature, has 
 his name despised by the boy who has scarcely 
 commenced his study of the simple characters 
 
 of writing. The barbarian people " 
 
 " Tsinchi-hoangty," exclaimed Kaohe, some- 
 what unceremoniously interrupting the Kiujin's 
 discourse, " was a mighty emperor. Thus much 
 I know of history : he finished building the 
 great wall, that no Tatar hordes had ever passed 
 but for the cowardice and dissensions of your 
 literary mandarins. The noblest canals and 
 roads are his work. The Hiongnu, who 
 menaced the subjugation of the empire, were 
 driven back to the north, and never before or 
 since has a more powerful prince occupied the 
 dragon-throne. If he burned books, it was be- 
 
 * Vide Du Halde, ii. 266.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 236 
 
 cause they contained what seditiously incited 
 rebelhon against the state ; and if he buried 
 many of the obstinate Hterati alive, it was 
 because they refused obedience to the edicts 
 traced by the vermilion brush. I respect 
 Tsinchi-hoangty, and salute his memory." 
 
 As Kaohe concluded, he poured a few drops 
 of wine upon the table, and then conveyed the 
 cup to his mouth, which it quitted requiring to 
 be refilled. 
 
 '* The doctor, who restoreth health, is right," 
 observed the priest, resuming the discourse, for 
 no one cared to reply to Kaohe. " There are 
 two spirits, one of evil, the other of good. 
 May it ever be our fortune to select the last; 
 though the sage has said, * Easier is it to take 
 a tiger by its whiskers, than for the vicious man 
 to combat his propensities.' Yet, sometimes 
 the natural inclination may be vanquished by 
 the assistance of one's guardian spirit." 
 
 " Spirits," rejoined the Kiujin, " have no 
 existence save, master of sanctity, in the fanci- 
 ful dreams of some sects like yours. In the 
 heavens there inhabits but the creating power ; 
 in the air, but birds ; on the earth, man and 
 beasts ; below it, metals ; and in the waters, 
 fish." 
 
 ** But," observed the priest, *' the master of 
 perfect wisdom, Confutse himself, has said —
 
 236 
 
 THE FALL OF 
 
 ' Respect the spirits of heaven, of the earth, of 
 the springs and of the mountains.' Alas ! how 
 the presumption of learning blindeth the under- 
 standing." 
 
 *' The ancient passage you have quoted has 
 been translated by incompetent people. The 
 master of perfect wisdom said, ' Respect the 
 spirit creator^^^ of the heaven, of the earth, of 
 the springs, and of the mountains. Alas ! how 
 avarice and the desire to gain a livelihood by 
 indolence will cause men to pervert the most 
 respectful truths," replied the Kiujin. 
 
 *' How can the impious ever hope for success 
 at the examinations ? Often must they bow 
 their head at the door of the dragon,""' re- 
 torted the priest, referring, by liis last expres- 
 sion, to an unfortunate failure of his opj^onent, 
 when the latter first endeavoured to pass his 
 examination. 
 
 The Kiujin turned pale, but did not reply. 
 In after years, when secretary to a powerful 
 Tatar of the Mogul dynasty, he availed himself 
 of his credit with his employer to suppress that 
 prior's monastery : so long can the Chinese re- 
 member his debt of vengeance. 
 
 The entertainment was at an end, and the 
 guests departed, but not until the performance 
 of many a ceremonious bow and courtesy. As 
 Kaohe stepped into his chair, he struck his foot
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 237 
 
 against a bowl. TurDing to his servant, be 
 said — 
 
 " Nansanjin, how comes this ? A bowl of 
 wine had been pleasant, but what have you given 
 me here ?" 
 
 "Hist!" replied the other, speaking in a 
 whisper. " It contains the presents of the 
 guests. I watched where they put the red 
 paper purses, and took the coins, putting in 
 their places small pieces of chalk. It was a 
 clever trick, was it not ?" 
 
 *' Very clever," said Kaohe, who had taken in 
 his hand some of the supposed coins. " But 
 some one's sword has been better than your 
 distaff; for see, these coins are but morsels of 
 broken jDorcelain !" 
 
 •' Curse the villain who has robbed me !" ex- 
 claimed Nansanjin. '' I filled the bowl one-half 
 with copper money. It must have been that 
 shaven rogue, the prior's servant. I suspected 
 he saw me, but never thought he would have 
 talent to cheat me thus. Oh, master, thou art 
 a mandarin, and mayst give the wretch condign 
 punishment !" 
 
 "Recollect," said Kaohe, " that if the basti- 
 nade fall upon his shoulders, yours must also 
 ache. You have been outwitted ; so be silent, 
 and let the bearers proceed."
 
 238 THE FALL OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 It was within an hour of evening as one of the 
 light- covered carriages, in which the citizens of 
 Hancheyu-fu loved to divert themselves, passed 
 out of the south-eastern gate of the city, min- 
 gling with the carts that were either proceeding 
 to or returning from the river Chentan-kiang, 
 laden with the cargoes of innumerable ship- 
 ping. 
 
 The river lay at about two miles from the 
 gate, and along that distance were two unbroken 
 files of various descriptions of vehicles, the most 
 part drawn by oxen. 
 
 The carriage of which we speak was drawn 
 by two horses, harnessed with cordage. It was 
 high from the ground, and without springs, 
 and defended its occupants from the sun and 
 weather by a covering of leather. Within was 
 the military officer, Tkanghia, and the Tatar,
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 239 
 
 Moiiyangtse ; the former without the orna- 
 ments of his rank, the latter disguised as a 
 Chinese mariner. 
 
 The first was conducting the other to a vessel 
 by which he might escape, after having kept 
 him concealed for several days from the rigorous 
 search instituted by Kyatsetao, as soon as in- 
 formed that one of his intended victims had 
 escaped his murderous emissaries. 
 
 " In the name of the spirits of the desert, but 
 my patience is as sorely vexed by the slow pace 
 at which we proceed as my bones are pained by 
 the rude shakes we meet with, from which not 
 even these cushions save me," said Mouyangtse. 
 
 '' Though equally anxious with yourself for the 
 termination of our journey," replied Tkanghia, 
 *' yet I feel not so hastily inclined as to curse 
 the object of our delay. In it I behold part of 
 the wealth and resources of my country. They 
 who are with us on the road are bearing cargoes 
 to the vessels anchored in the river that these 
 will transport to foreign countries, gladdening 
 the hearts of barbarians with the possession of 
 riches their climates do not produce, or the in- 
 genuity of their w^orkmen cannot imitate, thus 
 putting each of the four corners of the universe 
 under obligations to us. They who meet us 
 upon the road are laden with some trifling ob- 
 jects of luxury Tyen has withheld from the soil
 
 240 THE FALL OF 
 
 of the empire. Thus we fulfil the injunction of 
 the sage, to give much, and receive but Httle in 
 return. Tyen, that dehghteth in hberahty, re- 
 wardeth this commerce ; so that numbers of 
 famihes, which would otherwise experience want, 
 are able to maintain themselves decently and 
 with honour." 
 
 '' Yet your rulers have forbidden the exten- 
 sion of this liberal conduct to the nations of the 
 north. They have even forbidden trade with 
 their former subjects, and whoever dwelleth 
 above the waters of the yellow river." 
 
 '' True ; but these provinces are filled with 
 sedition, and in the possession of rebels." 
 
 " Eebels ! Not so," said Mouyangtse, hastily. 
 " The banner of snow has never been furled 
 before that of the dragon." 
 
 " I could not dispute with you," replied 
 Tkanghia, smiling, *' for you would not admit the 
 claim of the empire to universal dominion. You 
 would listen with contempt if I told you that, 
 as the vault of heaven encloses the universe, so 
 the dominion of the son of heaven extends over 
 the earth ; and as, at times, the order of the 
 universe is disturbed by comets, earthquakes, 
 droughts, and other strange phenomena, so, on 
 the earth, barbarians, rendered presumptuous 
 by a little favourable fortune, refuse obedience 
 to authority, rebel, and are guilty often thousand 
 extravagances, even to that of declaring them-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 241 
 
 selves equal with the occupant of the dragon 
 throne." 
 
 " I have heard our hunters say that the wiliest 
 of birds is the wild goose,"^ because its yearly 
 migrations make it acquainted with all the arts 
 of the fowler, till it learns to avoid the arrows of 
 the north and the nets of the south. Surely 
 they speak truth when they add — ' Travel open- 
 eth the eyes and extendeth the understanding.' 
 Whilst I resided at the court of the north, I 
 never believed there was a nation so vain as to 
 consider itself superior to the mighty force that 
 obeyed my sovereign ; but since I have jour- 
 neyed, I have learned that, though the heavens 
 contain but one sun, the earth is broad enough 
 to form many a mighty kingdom." 
 
 '•Reason hangs upon your lips, my brother," 
 said Tkanghia. *' But it is not of its multitude 
 of warriors, of the strength of its infantry, and 
 fleetness of its cavalry, that the kingdom form- 
 ing the centre of the universe is proud. Its 
 delight is in the excellence of its government, 
 conducted according to the institutions of sage 
 monarchs ; in the happiness of its people, ren- 
 dered contented by the virtue of its rulers. The 
 valour of the people of the empire does not con- 
 sist in imitating the ferocious beasts ; their 
 courage is that of the virtuous citizen."* 
 
 • Vide Note 51. 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 THE FALL OF 
 
 *' Such courage, even if it can be so called, 
 can render a people but rich and impotent. The 
 first excites the cupidity of their neighbours ; 
 the second renders them an easy conquest. 
 Were we residing in one vast monastery, believe 
 me, my brother, such valour might prepare us 
 for entering paradise, but, as we are, it prepares 
 but chains and robbery." 
 
 "Not so; for the valour of the just citizen 
 awes others into respect : such was the feehng 
 that overcame Pikiai, the ruler of the Hoeihe."^ 
 The emperor, to reward his services, had sent 
 him a daughter in marriage. The presumptuous 
 barbarian wished to receive his spouse seated. 
 Liyu, the chief of the embassy that conducted 
 the princess, indignant at his conduct, rebuked 
 him for such pride. The sovereign, surprised 
 at hearing virtue so boldly advocated, descended 
 from his throne, and received the princess with 
 all due ceremony."* 
 
 ''Believe me," rejoined Mouyangtse, ''sup- 
 posing a man's heart to be extensive as the 
 abyss Choubi Siagar,^^'' and filled with virtue, 
 resplendent as the flaming glasses that compose 
 the sun,^^^ he would not arrest the passage of 
 a single detachment of the northern emperor's 
 horsemen, when he had uttered the command, 
 ' Forward !' " 
 
 * De Maiila, vi. 276.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 243 
 
 "I will admit that over the majority of your 
 hordes the sway of virtue might be small. But 
 who would take fish from the ocean, provides 
 himself with baits and nets. The sage who 
 presented himself to subdue the rebellious spirit 
 of the northern tribes must have wealth to re- 
 ward their fidelity and power to reduce the more 
 obstinate by fear of punishment." 
 
 "Not all the wealth of Oukir Edlektski'^ 
 would buy their fidelity ; and if, like the men of 
 Moun Outou/^^ they could live a thousand years 
 without pain or suffering, they would rather 
 forfeit their birthright than fail in their duty to 
 their prince." 
 
 At this instant, the carriage halted, and 
 Tkanghia and his companion descended. As 
 they stood by the bank of the river — at this spot 
 near thiee miles across — it was a sight that flat- 
 tered the vanity of the Chinese. The tide was 
 down, and the water about half a mile from 
 where they stood, but the whole of the interme- 
 diate space was alive with light carts, drawn by 
 bullocks, employed in loading and unloading 
 the numerous vessels that floated on the stream. 
 Behind were the tall, blue, and embattled walls 
 of the city ; the road, with its two long files of 
 vehicles ; and around were numbers of larger 
 carts, into which the lighter ones transported 
 the goods they had just disembarked, and from 
 M 2
 
 244 THE FALL OF 
 
 which they received the cargoes of the various 
 vessels preparing for departure. 
 
 Having entered one of these small carts, 
 Tkanghia gave the driver his direction. The 
 last, with a loud halloo, set the small bullocks 
 that drew it off in a gallop, and away they 
 dashed, jolting their employers in a way that 
 threatened to dislocate each joint. 
 
 Arrived at the brink of the water, Tkanghia 
 and the Tatar descended. The former waved in 
 the air a piece of red silk at the end of a stick. 
 The signal was perceived by a vessel that lay 
 ready to depart, and a small boat left its side, and 
 rapidly approached where the two friends stood. 
 
 " Truly," said Mouyangtse, '' but I feel sad at 
 the thoughts of quitting thy city, though death 
 to me dwells within its walls. Tkanghia, I love 
 thee as I loved the noble horse the traitors 
 slew the night of our encounter." 
 
 •' Calamity, says the sage, tempers the mind 
 as fire does steel. Let us hope that we may derive 
 benefit from this pain of separation," replied 
 Tkanghia. 
 
 " I do not understand you, Tkanghia. There 
 is a mystery in your tone. But this alters not 
 my gratitude ; and the prayer of my heart is, that 
 heaven may reward you for the generous man- 
 ner in which you have assisted me, which has 
 not been less liberal than that of Sakji Mouni,
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 245 
 
 when, under the form of a hare, he encountered 
 the bewildered and famished traveller in the 
 woods."*^* 
 
 Tkanghia was silent some moments, and then 
 he said — 
 
 *' Mouyangtse, I restore you the life you chi- 
 valrously preserved to me. Though now, that 
 we are on the eve of parting, I tell thee, great 
 has been the conflict between my duty, as a 
 citizen, and my affection, as an adopted brother. 
 A proclamation was published, declaring that a 
 Tatar emissary lurked within the city, offering 
 vast rewards for his betrayal, and threatening 
 death for his concealment. You know how 
 much I have heeded one or the other. But 
 often I felt my resolution fail me when I 
 thought that, by freeing you, I was guilty of 
 treachery to my native country." 
 
 A flush passed over the countenance of the 
 Tatar. '* Tkanghia," he said, '' you shall never 
 blush that a weakness for me has betrayed you 
 into the committal of an action you deem im- 
 proper as a citizen. Stand from before me, so 
 that I may proclaim my name aloud. Yon 
 guards will seek to arrest me ; and I can die 
 worthy of my birth, with foes on every side, and 
 without leaving cause of regret to a single friend : 
 You shall never have to prefer an accusation 
 against yourself on my account."
 
 246 THE FALL OF 
 
 " Be silent," said Tkanghia, as he seized the 
 other by his arm, and drew forth a knife. '' Be 
 silent, or the instant you have uttered one word 
 of such import, I bathe your dress with my 
 blood ! " 
 
 "Would you become an object of contempt 
 to your own self ? " inquired the Tatar. 
 
 " You may save me that, by a promise never 
 to reveal, nor use to the detriment of the em- 
 pire, whatever information you may have ac- 
 quired. The violent death and robbery of the 
 principal of his embassy will furnish you a ready 
 excuse for not returning to your sovereign with 
 any of the knowledge he wishes to possess." 
 
 " Mouyangtse can save the honour of his 
 friend without prevaricating to his sovereign," 
 replied the Tatar, proudly. 
 
 " I am satisfied," said the Chinese. " Fare- 
 well," he continued, as he placed a bundle in 
 the other's hands ; for the boat, in which his 
 friend was to embark, had touched the shore. 
 " Farewell ; in this are fifty taels of silver, to 
 supply your wants, and a more befitting costume 
 than the one you now wear." 
 
 ''Farewell, my brother," replied the Tatar. 
 " May heaven grant me an opportunity of re- 
 paying the obligation." As he concluded, he 
 entered the boat, and was rowed towards the 
 vessel, whilst Tkanghia was rapidly jolted to
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 247 
 
 the river's bank; a carriage conveyed him to 
 the city gate, where he left it, proceeding on 
 foot, not wishing to be traced to his home, in 
 case the driver might have obtained an idea as 
 to who was his other passenger, and be incHned 
 to betray him to the pohce. 
 
 It was the fifteenth day of the month of Feb- 
 ruary, on the first of which month, we have 
 already said, the Chinese year commences. It 
 was the eve of another great festival, that of 
 *' Lanterns," when, according to the tales of tra- 
 vellers, all China is illuminated. Fireworks 
 and lamps blaze, and petards stun the ear in 
 every street, and in every road, or decorate the 
 meanest hovel. 
 
 Various are the tales related to account for 
 the origin of this fete. Some say, that a high 
 mandarin, in ancient times, had a daughter on 
 whom he doted; a young lady much given to the 
 indulgence of love-sick fancies and moonlight 
 walks. One evening, by accident, she fell into 
 a stream, by the bank of which she had de- 
 lighted to wander. The sad intelligence was 
 conveyed to her father, who immediately flew to 
 the spot, accompanied by all his servants, bear- 
 ing torches and lanterns; the neighbours and 
 people of the country, by whom he was beloved 
 for his just and lenient rule, flocked to join in 
 the search, and soon all around was illuminated
 
 248 THE FALL OF 
 
 with innumerable lights. The mandarin reco- 
 vered his daughter, but lifeless ; and the people, 
 whom the accident had brought together, and 
 caused to spend an active night, were so pleased, 
 as to determine annually to commemorate the 
 event; partly to honour their governor, and 
 partly as a diversion to themselves : soon, so 
 handsome a festival became imitated by the sur- 
 rounding provinces, until its observance spread 
 all over the empire * 
 
 Another story relates, that a voluptuous em- 
 peror, whose whole time was devoted to the dis- 
 covery of new pleasures, at last became dis- 
 gusted at perceiving his inventions for the day 
 too soon interrupted by the arrival of night, and 
 those of the night too soon revealed by the 
 arrival of day : annoyed that his talent could 
 not contrive a pleasure for the darkness and 
 the light, he retired, in disgust, to the interior 
 of his palace. Hither he was followed by one 
 of his best loved women, who counselled him 
 to construct a building, such that the diurnal 
 changes might not be observable within. The 
 monarch followed her advice, the palace was 
 built, and lighted by myriads of ever-burning 
 lamps. On the orgies held within, the sun 
 never cast a ray, nor shed the moon a beam, 
 
 * Vide De Guignes, ii. 372.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 249 
 
 until its recesses were invaded by an infuriate 
 people, driven into rebellion by the ill conduct 
 of their unrestrained governors and by the enor- 
 mous contributions levied upon them to support 
 the debauchery of their sovereign. Whichever 
 be the true relation of these, judge thou, oh, 
 reader. Thus much we can assure thee, history 
 relates that the emperor Jouetsong, in the early 
 part of the eighth century, j^^rmitted that a 
 great number of lanterns should be lighted on 
 the fifteenth day of the first moon. A subse- 
 quent emperor permitted the fete to be con- 
 tinued four days, of one of which it was after- 
 wards shorn.* 
 
 Tkanghia amused himself wandering about, 
 and felt delighted as a child that has, for the 
 first time, escaped from the thraldom of its 
 nursery, as he passed amid the joyous crowds, 
 mingling in their diversion : His situation was 
 so entirely novel ; the peojole around, supposing 
 him one of themselves, laughed and joked 
 without restraint, and he laughed with them. 
 It seemed as though he had returned to his 
 days of boyhood ; to those times, when in 
 a public concourse, ceremony had not sealed 
 his lips against a smile. Perhaps, until the 
 hour of his death, he never felt the balmy hap- 
 
 * Vide De Gaignes, ii. 372—3. 
 M 3
 
 250 THE FALL OF 
 
 piness of that eve. United with those around 
 by sympathetic excitement, he admired the fire- 
 works that crawled up the wall, assuming the 
 shape and figure of a vine, even to the pendent 
 and purj^le fruit, the green colour of its leaves, 
 and dark shade of its stem ; and then, as it burst 
 into a shower of fire, joined in the shrill cry of 
 alarm, and yet of pleasure, with which the dense 
 crowd fell back. He gazed with admiration at 
 the various coloured lamps that were hung in 
 festoons, or, so as to form strange devices; or 
 at some monster lantern, within which some 
 party supped; whilst, for the amusement of 
 those without, figures of animals and birds, that 
 were moved artistically by strings, imitated, 
 upon its transparent panels, the motions of 
 their prototypes. 
 
 But excitement such as that which possessed 
 him soon passes ; and Tkanghia wended his way 
 towards his home, as midnight was near; he 
 was about to enter by one of the lateral doors, 
 when, from the shadow of the wall, that, in China, 
 ever surrounds the houses of the mandarins, 
 emerged a youth, bearing a lantern in his hands, 
 that he had previously shaded with his dress : 
 having assured himself, by the aid of its light, 
 that he beheld whom he sought, he saluted 
 Tkanghia, and said : 
 
 " Noble sir, it is long that I have been await-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 251 
 
 ing your arrival, that my eyes might be gratified 
 with beholdiug one jDossessed of your excellenl 
 quahties ; and further, that I might fulfil the 
 commission with which I am entrusted by my 
 gentle mistress." 
 
 '' Who is thy mistress, boy, and what is thy 
 commission ? " 
 
 " My mistress is unknown to you. Her charge 
 is expressed in this," replied the lad, as he placed 
 a note of red paper in the hands of Tkanghia. 
 
 The officer ran his eye over the superscrip- 
 tion, and having opened the missal, read the 
 following: 
 
 " Valiant sir, though contrary to the laws of 
 ceremony and decorum, being a female, I ven- 
 ture to invite you to honour my unworthy dwell- 
 ing. Who can control the tempest ? Who can 
 curb the furies of a passionate love ? The re- 
 nown of your courageous acts has penetrated to 
 my ears, for from what lowly nook can the light 
 of the sun be excluded ? I burn with the de- 
 sire of beholding a hero equal in valour to Kouo- 
 tsae,*^^ wise as Hokouaug/^^ the virtuous minis- 
 ter. Condescend not to reply with the brush, 
 that in your hands would be demeaned by trac- 
 ing idle words for a woman's eye ; but say unto 
 my servant, when I may expect the illumination 
 of your presence." 
 
 Tkanghia hesitated a moment, but the hot
 
 252 THE FALL OF 
 
 blood of youth drowned the counsels of rigid 
 virtue, and he inquired where dwelt the lady 
 who had honoured him. 
 
 " In the street of pleasure, where resound the 
 ornaments Ko.^^' I will be there myself to 
 conduct you." 
 
 " Ah ! it is then but an affair of a willow 
 drooping for lost modesty, and of flowers that 
 have lost their bloom," observed Tkanghia, 
 rather contemptuously. After a short pause, he 
 continued — '' Yes, I will come at mid-day ;" and 
 then, without further observation, he entered 
 his door. 
 
 " Two hours have I waited here, and you give 
 me nothing, avaricious animal ; not the smallest 
 guerdon," muttered the messenger; and then 
 continued, as he menaced with his fist in the 
 direction whither the officer had retired, whilst, 
 with his other hand he concealed the hght of 
 his lantern, so that his attitude might not be 
 observed. " So, proud fool, you make a diffi- 
 culty of coming, but if my mistress' arts fail 
 her not, you will break your heart to leave her 
 presence, even as you speak contemptuously of 
 apjDearing before her. Wave your wings ; fly 
 whilst you may : T have seen, young as I am, 
 braver moths than you singed in the flame." 
 Some steps approached, and entering the sha- 
 dov^r of the wall, the speaker hurried away.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 253 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Leeyunnian had completed her toilette, and 
 entered her saloon of reception, in expectation 
 of her visitor's arrival, who, in accordance with 
 the direction of her master, Kyatsetao, she was 
 to seduce. 
 
 The light entered through Tvdndows of oiled 
 paper, and traversing large silk curtains with 
 rich borders, cast a voluptuous shade around. In 
 the centre of the apartment was a square fauteuil 
 of soft cushions, covered with purple satin, orna- 
 mented with figures of birds and beasts, worked 
 in yellow silk. Tables of rosewood were arranged 
 around, covered with different curiosities; one 
 was a model of considerable value, representing 
 a marriage. In each of the corners was a high 
 stand of bamboo. Two supported vases con- 
 taining live fish ; whilst, on the others, were plates 
 •with lemons of Houkuang, known by the name
 
 264 THE FALL OF 
 
 of idol's fingers, from four protuberances that 
 they bear,* and which pervaded all around with 
 an agreeable odour. The upper part of the room 
 was ]3artitioned off by a screen : at the lower 
 end, upon an ivory perch, was one of those par- 
 roquets of Java, so universally admired and 
 sought for throughout the Indies : its breast 
 and throat w^ere of a lively red; its back ap- 
 peared as though covered with a plate of gold ; 
 its wings were of a mingled green and blue, and 
 beneath were of a rich carnation. 
 
 Leeyunnian, satisfied with the disposition of 
 her apartment, advanced to her beautiful pet, 
 which she released from the gilt chain that bound 
 him to his perch ; the bird, stepping upon its 
 mistress' arm, began to caress her in an affec- 
 tionate and familiar guise, and then in a shrill 
 voice repeated many of the sentences it had 
 learnt. 
 
 " No, not these to-day," said Leeyunnian, re- 
 turning the parroquet's caresses. " Learn now — 
 I but wish to dwell alone with Tkanghia, and cull 
 the flowers of pleasure, though contrary to the 
 laws of ceremony." 
 
 The bird soon acquired its lesson, that it con- 
 tinued to repeat when returned to its perch; 
 whilst its mistress, taking from her sleeve a 
 
 * Vide Thev. Mar. Martiuii.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 256 
 
 small plate of polished metal, a composition of 
 copper and zinc,* regarded the reflection of her- 
 self it presented. Whilst she is thus occupied, 
 we will take the opportunity of describing her 
 costume. Of the lady herself we have already 
 spoken, when she visited Kyatsetao. 
 
 A robe of rose-coloured satin, figured with 
 flowers, and having long and large sleeves, 
 reached to within about a span of her ancle. 
 The shoe, actually speaking, covered but the 
 side of the foot, and was of blue leather upon 
 wooden heels ; at the back was yellow riband, 
 that permitted the heel to protrude, and the in- 
 step and front of the foot were bound with silken 
 bands. A species of gaiter encased the leg down 
 to the ancle, ornamented behind, with a fringe 
 of red silk. On her head she wore the figure of 
 the bird Funghoang, whose extended wings 
 reached forwards and embraced her temples ; 
 its long tail standing out behind; whilst the beak 
 and neck hung below her eyes, and being jointed, 
 shook with every motion ; the feet were fastened 
 in the hair, serving instead of pins, to retain it 
 in the fashion of a knot. 
 
 The lady was satisfied with her scrutiny, and 
 replacing her mirror, seated herself upon the 
 fauteuil. Drawing near to herself a small table, 
 
 * Vide Barrow, 306.
 
 256 THE FALL OF 
 
 with brushes, ink-stone, and paper upon it, she 
 proceeded to trace some characters with consi- 
 derable care; as she concluded, she glanced 
 complacently at the result of her labour, and 
 still more so, upon her own reflection in the 
 mirror, that she again gazed upon. 
 
 " It will be strange," she said, speaking to 
 herself, " if, possessing the five accomplishments 
 of writing, drawing, playing, dancing, and sing- 
 ing,* I should not be able to overcome the heart 
 of this stone bear ; and if my three attractions, 
 of complexion, figure, and diminutive feet, 
 should not be sufficient to inebriate this rigid 
 moralist, till his senses shall all be bound in 
 my closed hand ! He flatters himself he can 
 traverse the path of my person's lord ; that his 
 will is sufficient to take from me the rank of se- 
 cond queen, that the first minister, Kyatsetao, 
 has vowed I shall possess. Presumption ! but 
 thy vanity shall surely be chained." 
 
 Leeyunnian continued in her reverie, at 
 times exulting at the triumph she expected her 
 charms would procure her, and at times giving 
 vent to the pleasures she experienced at the pros- 
 pect of reducing one who had threatened to be- 
 come an opponent to her ambitious hopes. At 
 this moment, the arrival of her expected visitor 
 
 * Vide Cir. de Craie, p. 1.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 267 
 
 ■was announced, and hastily rising from her seat, 
 she retired behind the screens. 
 
 After the lapse of a few minutes, Tkanghia, 
 accompanied by a servant, entered the apart- 
 ment, at the beauty and richness of which his 
 countenance indicated surprise, but hastily con- 
 trolling this sensation, he seated himself in one 
 of the straight, high backed chairs of bamboo, 
 provided with a porcelain seat, but at this sea- 
 son of the year covered with a red cloth, and 
 addressing the servant, said : 
 
 " Does your lady know that I am arrived ? 
 Surely she does not pretend to observe the same 
 ceremony as though she were a princess of the 
 empire?" 
 
 '* My lady," replied the servant, *' has long 
 been awaiting your arrival; at your entry she 
 performed the salutation from behind the 
 screens." 
 
 "Behind the screens?" inquired Tkanghia, 
 with surprise, " surely I did not expect such ce- 
 remony." 
 
 " Sir," observed the servant, *' you have de- 
 ceived yourself with regard to my mistress, think 
 not that a lady must necessarily be vile because 
 regardless of the more stringent laws of cere- 
 mony. My mistress is the widow of one who 
 was a respectable merchant." 
 
 Tkanghia rose and bowed in the direction of the
 
 268 THE FALL OF 
 
 screens, as soon as informed that his adventure 
 was not with one of the easy nymphs with whom 
 Hancheyu-fuwas famed as abounding. "Madam," 
 said the young officer, '*I lay at your feet ten 
 thousand excuses for my rudeness of behaviour, 
 and as many thanks for the honour of the invita- 
 tion with which you flattered your servant." 
 
 Leeyunnian had, meanwhile, been examining 
 her guest through the interstices of the screen. 
 He was young, well-made, robust of figure, easy 
 and graceful in his attitudes, and in every re- 
 spect calculated to please a lady's eye. Well 
 contented with the person of him with whom 
 she was to play at love, she now replied, " Va- 
 liant sir, it is not for me to listen to such senti- 
 ments; it is I who am overwhelmed with con- 
 fusion; I am devoured with two conflicting 
 sentiments. Shame tinges my cheek when I 
 consider I have disregarded the laws of pro- 
 priety, whilst happiness renders my heart faint, 
 as I behold the hero to whom, in my soul, I had 
 erected an altar as to a tutelary spirit." 
 
 *' Madam," replied Tkanghia, *' your civility 
 is so great as to de^Drive me of the power of 
 reply." 
 
 " I pray you," said the lady, after a pause of 
 a few moments — "I pray you to be seated." 
 
 "Madam," replied Tkanghia, "I perceive from 
 the direction of your voice, that you are stand-
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 269 
 
 ing to do me honour. I cannot be guilty of an 
 act denoting so entire a want of politeness as to 
 seat myself before you." 
 
 " I seat myself, and pray you also to conde- 
 scend to accept the accommodation of the sofa." 
 
 Tkanghia expressed his thanks, and proceeded 
 towards the seat, as he did so, his eye fell on 
 the table and the paper upon which his hostess 
 had written. Taking it in his hands, he said, " I 
 perceive, madam, that you are a poetess ; your 
 brush traces the character gracefully as" 
 
 " Eead it not. It is unworthy of your notice," 
 exclaimed the lady, who hastily made a move- 
 ment from her seat, impelled, perhaps, by that 
 modest timidity of first authorship, when the 
 writer bashfully wishes, and yet dreads lest his 
 compositions find a reader. By some means, 
 she quite unintentionally overturned the screens. 
 As these fell, Tkanghia raised his eyes from the 
 paper, and turned them upon his hostess, who, 
 ashamed of her impetuosity, stood covering her 
 face with her hands. 
 
 A silence of some moments now occurred ; 
 until the lady, as though recovering from her 
 confusion, removed her hands, disclosing to her 
 visitor features that completed the triumph her 
 figure had already nearly 2:)rocured her. With 
 seeming timidity, she said, " Oh, sir, of what 
 rudeness have I not been guilty ! The fear lest
 
 260 THE FALL OF 
 
 my unworthy comj^ositions should hetray me to 
 the censures of your severe and capable criti- 
 cism, has caused me to be guilty of another 
 breach of the laws of etiquette. I call my ser- 
 vants to replace these screens" 
 
 "I beseech you not," said Tkanghia, inter- 
 rupting her; "whatever happens is fated from 
 above. Tyen never can be accessory to an act 
 that is evil; hence, it is not improper that, 
 since those hated screens have fallen, they should 
 not be replaced." 
 
 " Here, sir, all things obey you, as my heart 
 beats in responsive echo to the sound of your 
 voice," replied Leeyunnian, directing a glance 
 at Tkanghia, and then rapidly sinking her eyes 
 in timid confusion upon the ground. 
 
 Great power do those glances possess, and 
 this Tkanghia had to confess, for his blood 
 seemed to have received some new impulse, and 
 every pulse in his body beat with renewed 
 vigour. 
 
 '' Madam," he said, making some steps 
 towards his hostess, " the kindness of your 
 acquiescence fills my soul with gratitude, and, 
 though I am not a genius to reward, as the 
 story relates, my benefactor with precious brace- 
 lets of jade, as a man I place my heart at your 
 disposal, the only offering in my power to 
 make."
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 261 
 
 " Dare I listen to such things," Leeyunnian 
 rejoined, fixing her eyes more firmly upon the 
 ground, to conceal the expression of triumph 
 that animated them. *' Your words," she con- 
 tinued, '' are those of flattery ; yet so sweet is 
 their expression to my ear, I would embrace 
 them had they form, Kecline, I beseech you, 
 sir, upon the sofa, whilst your slave, Leeyun- 
 nian, lays at your feet." 
 
 '' This I never would permit,'' said Tkanghia. 
 "Fair lady, by the condescending words you 
 have addressed me, I beg you to take the higher 
 seat, whilst I occupy the lower." 
 
 "Your servant obeys your command," said 
 Leeyunnian, who seated herself upon the fau- 
 teuil, whilst Tkanghia placed himself upon a 
 cushion at her feet. The first now rang a small 
 silver hand-bell, and servants entered with re- 
 freshments, consisting of tea, sweetmeats, and 
 preserved fruits. Whilst the servants were in 
 the room, the lady and her guest exchanged 
 but some complimentary expressions, but when 
 these had retired, the former said — 
 
 " I know not how to palhate the strange ap- 
 pearance that my conduct must present, save 
 that the winds of spring, though dedicated to 
 love, and though they unfold the young buds, 
 yet are, at times, fierce and ungovernable. 
 Tkanghia, I was married young to an old rich
 
 262 THE FALL OF 
 
 merchant, by the second form of marriage.*^ I 
 loved him respectfully, as a daughter should her 
 sire, and was grateful, when, at the decease of 
 his first wife, he united himself legitimately to 
 me, and placed me over his household. He 
 died, and I was yet in my three years of mourn- 
 ing, and it was when proceeding to my hus- 
 band's tomb that I beheld you. Your noble 
 form first pleased me ; but, when I heard of the 
 valiant deeds you had performed upon the 
 frontier, when my informants related that, by 
 your fellow- ofiicers, you were regarded for your 
 rigid attentions to your duty, as a resurrection 
 of the general Yofei,^^^ my heart was quite sub- 
 dued. I confess it, covering my face with my 
 hands, for I feel the blush of shame, at so un- 
 feminine a declaration, mantling on my cheek." 
 
 " As a widow, you are mistress of your own 
 actions," observed Tkanghia. 
 
 " True," continued Leeyunnian ; '' but, whilst 
 the law grants this freedom to a widow who has 
 borne a male child, yet custom prohibits her 
 from ever again feeling the flame of love. 
 Emissaries, that I kept about you, soon dis- 
 covered for me your object in the city, and I 
 trembled for your safety, when informed you 
 designed accusing a governor of the first class, 
 and one of the creatures of the chief minister, 
 Kyatsetao. To dissuade you from such an act.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 263 
 
 I determined to forget all womanly delicacy, 
 and, contrary to the laws of ceremony, procure 
 with yoLi a personal interview; for what mes- 
 senger could I employ who would use such 
 warm words of dissuasion as I thought I could 
 have summoned to my lips, or what brush 
 could have traced my ideas on paper ? If I 
 saw you in my house, I feared for your reputa- 
 tion, for no man, a rigid observer of the rites, 
 gazes upon a woman of honest morals, or who, 
 by her situation, at least, should be so. Hence 
 I hired this house in the courtezan's quarter, 
 where, visiting me, your fame would not be 
 injured, for, in the neighbourhood, the liveried 
 servants of mandarins of all ranks may be seen 
 waiting for their masters, alike during the day 
 as during the night." 
 
 Leeyunnian paused, and Tkanghia exclaimed, 
 with warmth — 
 
 " Beloved lady, the interest you manifest in 
 my welfare has rendered me a happiness so 
 comj^lete that, at present, there is nothing I 
 could desire — nay, not even if all the pleasures 
 of the paradise that the priests of Fo allot to 
 their votaries were spread before me, would I 
 prefer one." 
 
 '•'Would that I could experience the same," 
 replied Leeyunnian. " Joyful I feel at sit- 
 ting in your presence, but sad when I consider
 
 264 THE FALL OF 
 
 the clangers your stubborn observance of what 
 you consider your duty exposes you to." 
 
 " My intention may be perilous, but Tyen 
 will applaud and second my loyal design. 
 Though the boldness of my conduct be equal to 
 that of Kouyen/^° yet Heaven shall commend 
 me." 
 
 ''Alas! history has many other tales. The 
 enthusiastic zeal of Lieoutao was rewarded with 
 death. Oh, wherefore be ambitious of a zealot's 
 renown !" 
 
 " Sweet lady, it pains me to grieve you, but 
 my duty must be accomplished." 
 
 "At least, wait for happier times, when the 
 mind of the emperor shall be disabused from 
 the present influence that ambitious men ex- 
 ercise over him. You cannot yourself present 
 an accusation. How do you design procuring 
 your tablet to be presented ?" 
 
 " I shall strike upon the drum at the entrance 
 to the Dragon Palace, and thus procure an 
 audience with the sovereign of the universe." 
 
 " If the emperor, misled by evil men, should 
 deem your accusation frivolous, an ignominious 
 death is certain to await you." 
 
 " But I shall have fulfilled my duty." 
 
 "Have you with you your accusation?" in- 
 quired Leeyunnian. "I have studied all the 
 various descriptions of composition, and, forgive
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 265 
 
 my iDresumption, perhaps I might correct some 
 hasty expression that Mould be indecorous, 
 for such tablets should be dignified, and 
 breathe alone desire for the public welfare, and 
 not apjDcar dictated by passion and personal 
 rancour." 
 
 " Lady, after my mother, to you I shall always 
 feel the greatest debt of gratitude," replied 
 Tkanghia, taking his accusation, that was folded 
 in a yellow envelope, from beneath his vest. 
 The excellence of your conversation assures me 
 you are fully capable of correcting the faults 
 that impetuosity of zeal may have hurried me 
 into committing." 
 
 Leeyunnian unfolded the packet, and read 
 its contents, suggesting, as she proceeded, 
 some trivial alterations, to which Tkanghia 
 immediately assented, more to please his fair 
 critic than from feeling particularly struck 
 with their utility. As she concluded, she 
 said, placing the accusation on the sofa at her 
 side — 
 
 "Tkanghia, your object has been courage- 
 ously virtuous ; but I fear these are days when 
 the good dwell like goats among tigers : if, by 
 a movement, they draw the attention of the 
 savage animals upon them, they are lost, for 
 who is to defend them ?" 
 
 " It is not the consequences that you suggest, 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 THE FALL OF 
 
 for all these I had weighed, and had encouraged 
 my soul to encounter, that now shakes the reso- 
 lution I had formed, and which I considered 
 strong as the vault of heaven. But your words 
 are wondrous gentle. They have as much 
 power to persuade as the magnet to attract," 
 said Tkanghia, gazing upon the countenance of 
 his hostess. 
 
 " Yet," replied the latter, " they seem not to 
 have the power you ascribe to them. Your 
 resolution points not towards the south, the 
 region of security and quiet, but directs you 
 towards the north, in which direction, if you 
 proceed, you enter a land of confusion and 
 danger." 
 
 '' And I will pass through it, as did Pantchao,^^^ 
 with honour and advantage to the empire.'' 
 
 '' But upon Pantchao were turned the ap- 
 proving eyes of his sovereign, and with him 
 were forces that the evil-disposed dared not to 
 gaze upon. You would gather the juice of the 
 varnish tree with unprotected hands. I tremble 
 when I perceive you, prophetically, disgraced for 
 your imprudence." 
 
 As she spoke, Leeyunnian covered her face 
 with her hands, whilst a stifled sob denoted that 
 she wept. 
 
 " Lady," said Tkanghia, as he leant his right 
 arm upon the sofa, and with his left removed
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 267 
 
 and retained one of her hands — " lady, your sor- 
 row affects me, even to make me desire I were 
 bhnd. I am stupified. I scarce comprehend 
 how my fortune has rendered bright for me so 
 rich a gem. Each of those tears I Tahie more 
 than precious pearls, though admirable as that 
 the governor of Koue-yang presented to his 
 wealth-despising monarch."^^ 
 
 " Tkanghia, they are shed for you — not from 
 affectation ; for Tyen is my witness how often 
 I invoke the spirits to your protection, when 
 none are by but yonder bird." 
 
 As Leeyunnian spoke, she raised the hand 
 she had free in the direction of the perroquet ; 
 and the bird, that comprehended the signal, 
 cried, as it had been instructed — 
 
 " I but wish to dwell alone with Tkanghia, and 
 cull the flowers of pleasure, though contrary to 
 the laws of ceremony." 
 
 " Traitor bird !" the lady exclaimed — " is this 
 your gratitude to your mistress ? Do you re- 
 ward her benefits, by betraying the secrets she 
 shared with you ?" 
 
 '' Scold not the bird," said Tkanghia, kissing 
 the hand he held, " since he thus confirms one 
 of the sweetest truths to which my ears have 
 ever listed." 
 
 " Thou shalt die, ingrate ! Another sun 
 shall not behold thy traitorous existence !" the 
 N 2
 
 268 THE FALL OF 
 
 lady continued, heedless of her visitor's inter- 
 position. 
 
 " Not so," said Tkanghia, caressing the hand 
 he held with renewed warmth. *' Be the words 
 of the bird fulfilled ! Let us dwell among the 
 flowers." 
 
 " It can never be — it is impossible," replied 
 Leeyunnian, firmly, but with sorrow in her tone, 
 and disengaging her hand. '' Go, Tkanghia — 
 rush headlong to destruction ! As you quit my 
 dwelling, my own hands shall terminate an 
 existence of which I am tired. People never 
 shall say of me — ' Behold her who loved a pre- 
 sumptuous youth ! He quitted her, with the 
 mad notion of being able to uproot the moun- 
 tain Cheelong — of being able to oppose the 
 current of the Yantse-kiang ! He preferred an 
 accusation. Whom he accused, crushed him as 
 an elephant treads upon a fly ! ' ',' 
 
 "But w^hy forbode me such ill-success ? I 
 have confidence in the saying of the sage: 
 ' Whatever is founded upon or connected with 
 truth must succeed and exist ; whilst it is that 
 which is not directed nor sustained by her, that 
 falls and crumbles.' '^^ Unite the favourable 
 influences of your fortune with mine, and I 
 shall be successful." 
 
 " It cannot be." 
 
 " It must be," said Tkanghia, with ardour.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 269 
 
 " At beholding us devoted to the happiness of 
 love, the benificent genii, who delight to behold 
 joyful the heart of man, would favour my enter- 
 prise." 
 
 '' For the same reason the malevolent would 
 oppose it," rejoined Leeyunnian, rising from 
 her seat. '' Tkanghia," she continued, " fare- 
 well ! My last act will be to offer incense for 
 your success." 
 
 " Tyen !" exclaimed the young officer, '' how 
 have I offended you, that you render my happi- 
 ness, that I considered firm as the universe, 
 mocking as a shadow ? Wherefore leave me, 
 Leeyunnian ? Let us devote ourselves to plea- 
 sure. Summon comedians, musicians — let your 
 slaves dance — we will have mirth ! " 
 
 *' It would be but for an hour. I should then 
 behold you disgraced — hear your memory re- 
 viled, and find myself in my misery scorned 
 by all. Without one to protect me, I should 
 be as the pepper-plant deprived of its support ; 
 I should sink to earth, and be trampled on by 
 the vilest of the people." 
 
 *' And what assures you of all this evil ? " 
 inquired Tkanghia, in a wavering tone. 
 
 " The knowledge of your enemy's power — 
 your resolution to present the accusation. We 
 now must part," replied Leeyunnian, whilst the 
 expression of her countenance was as keenly
 
 270 THE FALL OF 
 
 anxious as that of a gambler who watches a 
 high throw ; but the die was favourable to her ; 
 and Tkanghia, after having stood some moments 
 irresolute, exclaimed — 
 
 *' The accusation ! Then thus perish the 
 obstacle to my happiness and your content ! " 
 As he spoke, he tore his accusation into a hun- 
 dred pieces.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 271 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 Of all the modes by which a j^eople that elects 
 itself a desj)otic master have sought to secure 
 themselves from the tyrannical abuse of the 
 power they confer, none have been more extra- 
 ordinary, or perhaps more efficacious, than that 
 of the Chinese, in the institution of a tribunal 
 of censors, who, in case the monarch be inclined 
 to depart from the observances of the constitu- 
 tion, are, by the duties of their office, compelled 
 instantly to inform him of the same, by a re- 
 spectful but firm remonstrance. Nor are they 
 to be deterred from the execution of this task 
 through fear of the brutality of a tyrant ; for 
 there certainly is no employment on the globe 
 that so immediately inspires those upon whom 
 it is conferred with an heroic magnanimity to 
 perform their duty as that of a Chinese censor ; 
 and for any ill consequences that may attend
 
 273 THE FALL OF 
 
 their reproofs, they are amply compensated by 
 having their names consecrated in the page of 
 history as patriotic martyrs ;* and seldom does 
 the history of the celestial empire relate an in- 
 stance of a monarch who has disregarded or 
 dared to enforce silence upon these monitors, 
 and yet retained his sceptre tranquilly. But 
 that for which the emperor is powerless, his 
 grandees are capable of effecting ; and frequently 
 the intrigues of some unconscionable minister 
 have more power to defeat these representations 
 than the will of the monarch to whom they are 
 addressed. t 
 
 In common with the censors, the ministers and 
 highest officers of the state have also the right 
 to i^resent similar accusations to the sovereign — 
 a power, however, that they more frequently use 
 to inform against each other than to reprehend 
 the conduct of their emj)eror. Though it has 
 not unfrequently happened that a monarch has 
 thus been made acquainted with the crimes of 
 some one of his officers who has, in consequence, 
 received condign punishment, yet more often 
 this privilege has been made the instrument of 
 a cabal, to procure some object of their own, 
 generally the condemnation of a political oppo- 
 nent. In secrecy, one or more accusations 
 
 * Vide Du Halde, i. 12L + Ibid.
 
 THE NAN SOUNO. 273 
 
 are prepared and presented, and the emperor, 
 without much inquh'y, generally banishes the 
 accused, or, if the charge be light, confers upon 
 him some inferior employment in the provinces. 
 When this last happens, the disgrace of the 
 culprit is usually but short. His friends unite, 
 and accuse his enemies, in turn, and, with their 
 fall, he returns to favour. Such is the history 
 of most of the ministerial political revolutions 
 of China. 
 
 We have already said that the power of Ky- 
 atsetao had excited the distrust and envy of a 
 considerable portion of the officials of the em- 
 pire. Among them, highest in rank, was Lii- 
 seufu, a member of the imperial council. With 
 the design of overawing the malcontents, the 
 chief minister had, as we have seen, prevailed 
 upon Oulintse to dictate an accusation against 
 Luseufu. The charge was supported with all 
 the weight of Kyatsetao's influence, and Lu- 
 seufu was committed to prison, to be tried on 
 a capital accusation ; for though punishments in 
 goods and person are at the pleasure of the 
 emperor, that of death can only be awarded 
 after a full trial, the judges being generally 
 special commissioners selected from the supreme 
 tribunals. 
 
 In China, the prisons are of the most miser- 
 able description. The jailers, however, like 
 N 3
 
 274 THE FALL OF 
 
 most subaltern or superior ofl&cers of the em- 
 pire, are open to bribery, and the wealthy may 
 thus soften the rigours of their incarceration. 
 But woe unto the wretch whose poverty cannot 
 afford his Cerberus a sop, or who is persecuted 
 by some p)owerful and rancorous enemy ! In 
 the last case, not only the luxuries to which he 
 has been accustomed are denied him, but even 
 the necessaries are so scantily supplied, that 
 it becomes almost a wonder that life should 
 continue its fellowship with the clay. Hence 
 the merit many of the Chinese monarchs have 
 attributed to themselves, when they or their 
 nation having suffered from some vicissitude, 
 they have sought to appease heaven, whom 
 they considered as irritated against the empire, 
 by opening all the prison-doors in their do- 
 mains. 
 
 With heavy chains attached to his feet and 
 round his waist, the ex-councillor sat in his 
 wretched cell, with no other occupation than to 
 count the time as it passed ; and how tedious 
 and interminable appear the hours that a pri- 
 soner enumerates ! Many days had elapsed 
 since he had seen the face of any of his fellows, 
 save that of his jailer, who, with the usual arro- 
 gance of the vulgar towards their superiors when 
 in misfortune, took delight in increasing the 
 miseries of his prisoner's situation. Of all jailers,
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 275 
 
 Chinese are, jDerhai^s, the worst, on account of 
 then' authority being great; for though com- 
 missioners appointed by the government visit 
 the prisons to observe that they be guilty of no 
 abuse of their power, yet it is not difficult to 
 delude these visitors ; and further, in China, 
 the profession of a jailer being regarded and 
 treated as infamous, its members are necessarily 
 affected with a cynical hatred against those en- 
 trusted to their guardianship. 
 
 The friends of the prisoner politicly ab- 
 stained from any open manifestation of sym- 
 pathy, for such conduct would only have s'erved 
 as a pretext to involve them in the same 
 charges. To have openly undertaken his de- 
 fence would have been dangerous ; and to 
 have sought to overthrow, by a present effort, 
 the power of Kyatsetao, would have been 
 equally perilous, and more certainly futile. 
 
 Yet in his imprisonment he is not so com- 
 pletely deserted, for the chief jailer is at this 
 moment engaged in examining an order for 
 the admittance of a visitor, borne by one whose 
 countenance indicates him to be an eunuch, and 
 costume, as being high in employment about 
 the palace. In a few minutes, the door of the 
 cell was opened, and the visitor entered, being 
 announced by the jailer, who immediately 
 withdrew, as a purveyor to the palace, and by
 
 27G THE FALL OF 
 
 name Tkinkoan. Though a stranger to the 
 prisoner, he is not so to our reader. 
 
 In a tone that denoted ahke surprise and 
 contempt — for the grandees ever have detested 
 the eunuchs, ahke for the many evils the empire 
 has experienced through their agency, and also 
 from jealousy at beholding others arrive at the 
 possession of the honours -they covet for them- 
 selves — Luseufu addressed his visitor: 
 
 " Though my adverse fortune has procured 
 me disgrace from the son of heaven, surely it 
 cannot have condemned me to suffer the humilia- 
 tion that one, neither man nor animal, should 
 come to insult over me !" 
 
 " The sages," replied the eunuch, " from whom 
 you pretend to have acquired the philosophy that 
 you extol higher than the stars, forbid insulting 
 any one on account of their personal defects ; 
 and much less should you our unfortunate race, 
 who have been mutilated for the service of your 
 sovereign, not with our consent, but mostly by 
 the avarice of our parents, whilst a few, hke 
 myself, have been rendered what we are through 
 the brutal abuse of their authority by the mem- 
 bers of your own class." 
 
 " Such thmgs could not be," replied Luseufu. 
 " There are mandarins in all the provinces to 
 defend the people." 
 
 " And yet, councillor of the empire, it is as I
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 277 
 
 say. You have been guilty of no crime, yet 
 you are here, and may probably be strangled 
 upon the scaffold. You are in the capital of the 
 empire, and may appeal to the fountain of all 
 justice, after the emperor — the criminal tribunal. 
 Why has your illustrious pen been silent ?" 
 
 " It would have been useless. My enemy is 
 too powerful." 
 
 " And think you that a simple mandarin of 
 the provinces would have more 2:)0wer to protect 
 a man of the people from the injustice of one 
 possessed of high authority, than the Hingpou, 
 the criminal tribunal, has to preserve an im- 
 perial councillor from a false accusation ?" 
 
 " Whilst my head contributed to support 
 heaven, whilst my councils gave their feeble 
 sujoport to the government, I thought such 
 things impossible : I now can credit them," 
 Luseufu replied. 
 
 -' The story of the wrongs I endured is short : 
 would Luseufu listen to their recital ? I have 
 to communicate afterwards that which renders a 
 confidence necessary between us." 
 
 " If the imperial purveyor would speak, the 
 stone walls would not be his only auditors.'" 
 
 " My father/' said the eunuch, " was a 
 literary candidate, but not meeting with such 
 complete success as to warrant him expecting 
 an immediate and high apppintment, he per-
 
 278 THE FALL OF 
 
 ceived that fate had not assigned him a lofty- 
 place amid the stars, and contented himself 
 with the rank of Kiujin, and devoted himself to 
 give instruction to some youths of good family. 
 Whilst thus occupied, he formed acquaint- 
 ance with a merchant, and their friendship was 
 cemented hy the latter's gratitude for some ex- 
 cellent advice my father gave him as to the 
 prosecution of a lawsuit in which he was en- 
 gaged. My parent was a strict observer of the 
 laws : he therefore married as soon as he was 
 able to support a wife. It so happened that 
 my mother and the merchant's wife found 
 themselves pregnant at the same time, and 
 their respective husbands mutually agreed that 
 if the children should be of different sexes, they 
 should be united, and, in pledge, divided 
 between them the tunics they wore. The pro- 
 ject seemed favoured by Tyen. I was born, 
 and the merchant's child proved to be a 
 daughter. I was naturally -endowed with quick 
 parts, and soon excelled all my competitors in 
 the school, and I was told that my betrothed — 
 for I never once beheld her — also excelled in 
 beauty of face and person all the other maids 
 of our government. 
 
 *' I passed my examination for my student's 
 degree with considerable credit," pursued the 
 eunuch, " and, in a short time, intended to
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 279 
 
 present myself at the concourse in the provincial 
 capita], to strive for that of master; but, pre- 
 viously to my proceeding thither, my father de- 
 sired that my marriage should be completed. 
 
 " The astrologer was consulted, and the for- 
 tunate hour was named. Musicians and at- 
 tendants were hired, and the next day I w^as to 
 have received my betrothed. A powerful man- 
 darin was passing through the town, and having 
 observed the preparations for our marriage, in- 
 quired concerning my intended sjjouse. Her 
 description pleased him, and, dissolute and de- 
 bauched, he determined to possess her. He 
 made offers to the merchant that pleased his 
 avarice too well for him not to consent to 
 break the nuptial contract, but my father was 
 stubborn in his observance of the laws, and re- 
 fused to yield. He was imprisoned for dis- 
 respect to his superiors, and beaten until he 
 died, but not before I had been mutilated in his 
 presence. I was ill — a long time ill ; and well 
 I wished I had, too, joined my ashes to those of 
 my father. As it was, I lived for vengeance — 
 and upon whom you may be able to divine." 
 
 " In all the empire, Kyatsetao alone would be 
 capable of this !" cried Luseufu, with indigna- 
 tion in his tone. 
 
 " It was he," the eunuch continued. '• But, 
 minister, now that you have heard my stoi^,
 
 280 THE FALL OF 
 
 and learned how tiger-like is the heart of this 
 fiend, I had expected to see you alarmed on 
 your own account for the enmity he bears you, 
 or for the empire that his ambition menaces." 
 
 *' The doctrines of the immutable centre 
 have taught me," replied Luseufu, " that the 
 sage should ever be tranquil, for he is always at 
 the disposal of Tyen." ^^^ 
 
 '* To whom all thanks be uttered, and in- 
 cense offered ! — for surely it was by its assistance 
 that I succeeded in thwarting a treasonable 
 correspondence my arch enemy had entered 
 into with the Tatar chief." 
 
 '' Dared he such treason ? Wherefore have 
 you not accused the hideous traitor ?" 
 
 '' Of what avail would the unsupported ac- 
 cusation of an eunuch have been ? No, coun- 
 cillor, I did better ; I disappointed his hopes of 
 procuring assistance from the barbarians, and now 
 can give you full information of the domestic 
 treason that he still prosecutes, conceiving his 
 own strength sufficient to effect his designs." 
 
 '' My heart grows sick at the prospect of such 
 depravity," observed Luseufu, covering his face 
 with his hands. " Oh, when can the people be 
 happy, if its mothers give birth to such tigers ! 
 — when can the empire be powerful, when such 
 wretches approach its sovereign !" 
 
 " Noble Luseufu " the eunuch continued.
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 281 
 
 after a short jDause, " it has not been with a 
 vain desire of procuring myself commiseration 
 that I have sought your presence, but from an 
 excellent desire of conferring a mighty benefit 
 upon the empire. Are you capable of listening 
 to the abominable project this wolf-hearted man 
 has conceived ?" 
 
 '* Proceed. As the eye that frequently gazes 
 down a precipice ceases, at length, to shrink at 
 the profound and dreadful chasm, so, from what 
 you have already related, I am becoming ac- 
 customed to contemplate infinite wickedness 
 with more tranquillity." 
 
 " Listen, then. The arch traitor has con- 
 ceived the idea of deposing the son of heaven, 
 and ascending himself the steps of the dragon 
 throne. To aff'ect this, he has leagued himself 
 with the Pelienkia.^^ On the first of the new 
 moon, I know for certain that his j^eople will 
 meet at a house in the suburbs ; he will probably 
 meet them there, and the ofiicers of justice might 
 surjorise them all." 
 
 " Impossible !" cried Luseufu. '' Had such 
 a thought risen in his heart, the spirits, who 
 watch the bosoms of men, had strangled it ere 
 it reached the brain." 
 
 '* Tyen," replied the eunuch, " reserves the 
 punishment of the wicked until its own time. 
 They walk like men among the mountain paths
 
 282 THE FALL OF 
 
 of Shensee : rocks are suspended over their 
 heads — the ground is hollow upon which they 
 tread ; hut without the Divine permission, the 
 first cannot fall, nor the other give way, how- 
 ever virtuous men may labour for their per- 
 dition, but a child's hand is sufficient to topple 
 down the mass when the culprit's hour is 
 arrived." 
 
 " Eunuch, the words of your breath are im- 
 bued with truth; they are such as your class 
 seldom utter. Yea, his crimes have merited 
 some especial chastisement, as did Ou-y,^^^ who 
 was struck by the thunderbolts of Tyen, in 
 revenge for his many cruelties and impieties. 
 How have the spirits favoured the advancement 
 of this man, whose nature is so fearfully de- 
 praved !" 
 
 *' The souls of his ancestors have long re- 
 joiced at his prosperity, but now they must 
 tremble, for the ink that has traced his accusa- 
 tion is already dry." 
 
 " Ay, the accusation ; — but how to convey it ?" 
 inquired Luseufu. " His nets are spread around 
 the sleeping dragon, and entangle whoever 
 approaches to disturb its rest." 
 
 ''Place your signature to this. Your friends, 
 when they know its importance, will easily pro- 
 cure it attention in the proper quarters," replied 
 Tkinkoan, unfolding a paper that the other 
 read and seemed to approve, for he said —
 
 THE NAN SOUNG. 283 
 
 " The writing is excellent ; but the proverb 
 says, * The fish that is wise flies when the net is 
 dropped into the water.' The wretch may find 
 means to defeat your design." 
 
 " The man who gazes in the heavens beholds 
 all its stars at once, but when his gaze is 
 directed towards one alone, the others may fall 
 from their spheres, and he not perceive it. If 
 the monster with bowels of stone had not his 
 attention directed to one fly that seeks to break 
 his web, he would perceive the others that 
 labour in another part. In the city, there 
 arrived a certain Tkanghia, son of Tkangchikia, 
 viceroy of Kiangsy. The young man bears with 
 him an accusation against the governor of Nan- 
 chang, a creature of the prime minister. The 
 last, fearful lest the young man strike upon the 
 palace audience-drum, has caused him to be 
 inveigled into forgetfulness of his duty by some 
 of his women. He is thus occupied, and we may 
 proceed without fear." 
 
 " Excellent is thy plan," Luseufu replied. 
 *' I am content to place my signature, but my 
 seal is wanting." 
 
 '* Write an order for your daughter, the 
 Lady Luseynah, to deliver it to me. It shall 
 be in your possession before the night." 
 
 *' Be it so," said Luseufu, and he wrote as the 
 other required ; the eunuch, having carefully 
 concealed the paper, observed —
 
 284 THE FALL OF THE NAN SOUNG. 
 
 " I now must away, to weave these threads 
 into a cord of strength. All those who are to 
 assist us must be prepared to act together. 
 May your health be preserved !" 
 
 " May your councils prosper !" said Luseufu, 
 returning the eunuch's salutation as well as he 
 was able on account of his chains ; and the last 
 passed through the doorway, that again was 
 closed upon the prisoner.
 
 NOTES TO VOL. L 
 
 Note 1, p. 2 — " The most agi-icultural nation that exists.' 
 — In no nation has agriculture been possessed of the continued 
 benevolence of the government for so long a period as in China, 
 where, since the eai'liest ages, it has been regarded as the purest, 
 most abundant, and inexhaustible source of riches for a state. 
 Its professors are honoured, being ranked superior to either 
 merchants or aitizans, and inferior only to the literati, (Amiot, 
 V. 40; Barrow, 397;) and its profession is dignified, nay, 
 almost sanctified, by the annual celebration of a festival in its 
 honour ; whilst every year some of its members, whose conduct 
 merits such advancement, are promoted to the rank of honorary 
 mandarins, (Grosier, v. 217,) and such as neglect their fields, 
 forfeit them to the crown, (Staunton, ii. 450.) Yet, with all 
 this encouragement, the Chinese are more industrious than in- 
 genious agiiculturists, (Barrow, 566 and 569.) The land is 
 usually parcelled out into small holdings, of a size that permits 
 the farmer during a prosperous year alone to support his family 
 and pay his rent and the government tax, (Grosier, v. 164.) 
 All that labour can effect for their fields is done ; these are most 
 carefully weeded, (Staunton, ii. 44;) and few farmers are more 
 indefatigable than the Chinese in adapting the soO to the nature 
 of the plant they desire to rear, by the judicious application of 
 a variety of manures, or by the construction of machines to
 
 286 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 inigate their lands, so necessan^ in the southern portion of the 
 empire, where rice is the staple commodity, as corn and millet 
 are in the northern, (Du Halde, ii. 05.) 
 
 Note 2, p. 3 — "A district to-wn of the first order." — Each 
 of the Chinese provinces is divided into a certain number of 
 jurisdictions, termed Fu, from which depend others of less ex- 
 tent, termed CheNTi, and these again ai'e divided into Hien. The 
 same as in England, we say counties, boroughs, and parishes. 
 The governor of a Fu is termed Chifu; of a Cheyu, Chicheyu; 
 and of a Hien, Chihien, (Du Halde.) 
 
 Note 8, p. 6 — " Though local tribunals, subject to the sur- 
 veillance of the grand one of public works." — The entire adminis- 
 trative power of the Chinese empire is apportioned to various 
 tribunals, the highest of which bears the name of Nuiyuen. 
 It is the grand council of the empire, and is composed of the 
 Colao, (see note 7,) and the presidents and secretaries of all the 
 tribunals, (Du Halde, ii. 23.) It is but rarely assembled, (Gro- 
 sier, V. 29.) Inferior to this is the Hanlin, or private council 
 of the emperor, that consists of the Colao. Its president is 
 termed Cheousian, (Grosier, v. 12.) Its power is but delibera- 
 tive. To facilitate the expedition of public business, six tribu- 
 nals were created by the Chinese in the earliest ages of their 
 empire, each of which, to the present day, has continued to exe- 
 cute its duty, being assisted by various subaltern courts. Each 
 in its own department, has the examination of the memorials, 
 &c., directed to the emperor, previous to their presentation, to 
 which they ascribe their approval or dissent, having of them- 
 selves no power beyond that of the initiative, the executive being 
 with the emperor, (Bartoli, 91.) To each of these tribunals an 
 assessor is annexed, one of the court of censors, who merely 
 watches the proceedings on the part of the emperor, having a 
 deliberative power, but no vote, (Du Halde, ii. 26.) The order 
 and duties of these tribunals is as follows : — 1st. The Lipou, or 
 tribunal of mandarins, is a species of civil inquisition, whose 
 attention is constantly fixed upon the mandarins, (Grosier, v. 
 30,) whose conduct it reports to the emperor, (Du Halde, ii. 23, ">
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 287 
 
 and so vigilant ai-e its members, and so perverse the mandaiins, 
 that in one year alone, four thousand of the latter were degraded 
 and otherwise punished, (Bai-toli, 10-4.) This tribunal has the 
 appointment to all civil magistratures, subject to the emperor's 
 approval. 2nd. The Hopou, or treasury : it has the superintend- 
 ence of all that concerns the finances, (Du Halde, ii. 24,) as 
 well as the coinage, (Grosier, v. 31.) 3rd. The L}-pou : tri- 
 bunal of rites or ceremonies, concerning which it regulates 
 everything. It has the superintendence of all the religions tole- 
 rated in the empire, and of the scholastic examinations, (De 
 Guignes, ii. 446.) One of the subaltern courts attached to this 
 tribunal is called the Kin-tien-kien, or mathematical tribunal ; 
 from which depend two others, — the Liko, that predicts eclipses, 
 observes the movements of the stai-s &c. ; and the Louko, that has 
 the composition of the calendai-, wherein the lucky and unlucky 
 days ai"e calculated, and other astrological researches, (Du Halde, 
 i. 119.) 4th. Pingpou, the tribunal of arms : it has the ap- 
 pointment of all military officers, and the superintendence of 
 their examinations, together with the care of the fortresses and 
 magazines, (De Guignes, ii. 440.) 5th. Hingpou, the criminal 
 tribunal : it has the superintendence of all that concerns the ad- 
 ministration of justice. 6th. Kongpou, tribunal of public works : 
 it has the care of all bridges, roads, river and canal dikes, as 
 well as of the naval department and the post, (Du Halde, ii. 25.) 
 Independent of these tribunals, and more dreaded than any of 
 them, is the court of the public censors ; whose duty is the most 
 inquisitorial, alike with regard to the lowest mandarin, or the 
 emperor himself. Usually being men of probity and courage, 
 they fear not to reprove the latter, in the boldest terms, when his 
 conduct merits their reproaches, (Amiot, Mem. iv. 95 ; Grosier, 
 V. 30 ;) and, to detect the former, besides certain periodical visit- 
 ations, some of the members of this court traverse the empire 
 in disgniise ; mingling with the people, they become aci^uainted 
 with the complaints of the last against their governors, whose 
 courts they enter, and to whose decisions they listen ; and, 
 jrhen a case of injustice requires promptly to be remedied, they 
 throw off their disguise, compel the culpable magistrate to de-
 
 288 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 scend from liis seat, and punish him, if they consider it necessarj-, 
 with the utmost rigour of the law, (Bartoli, 104; Du Halde, ii. 
 40.) Inferior to these is the Tsong-gin-fou, or tribunal of 
 princes, (De Guignes, ii. 447). It is composed of princes of 
 the blood. Its duties are to register the births and deaths of all 
 the lineal and collateral descendants of the royal family, of whom 
 it is the only judge, (Grosier, v. 37). Besides these, there are 
 several other tribunals, or courts, of which the tribunal of his- 
 tory is the most peculiar. It is composed of the most learned 
 men of the empire, and has the committal to paper of all the deeds 
 and discourses of the reigning emperor. It was founded by Ho- 
 angty, 2695 B.C. (De MaiUa, i. 19.) 
 
 Note 4, p. 9 — " Or the quarter of one of our own." — The 
 Chinese di\ide their day but into twelve parts ; their first hour 
 commences at our eleven, p.m. (De Guignes, ii. 425.) 
 
 Note 5, p. 9 — " A line of posts extended along every high- 
 road of the empire." — The Chinese post is a monopoly of the 
 government. None but its messengers, envoys, or guests, being 
 permitted to employ it, (Du Halde, ii. 57.) Authorities diflfer 
 upon the distances of the relays; I follow M. Polo, (362,) in 
 whose time there were four hundred horses at each station, 
 (Ibid.) The ambassadors of Shah Eokh to the celestial empire 
 relate, that at each post-house they were furnished with four 
 hundred and fifty horses, asses, and mules, (Thev. rel.) The 
 Chinese coiiriers, upon emergent occasions, will travel fifty 
 leagues a day, (De Guignes, ii. 223.) Between the post-houses 
 there are stations for foot couriers. 
 
 Note 6, p. 10 — "A score of miserable and dejected creatures." 
 — Throughout China, manual labour is chiefly employed, both 
 from the low rate of its remuneration, (Staunton, ii. 451,) 
 and from the encouragement given to its employment by the 
 government, that is averse to mechanical contrivances ; that, 
 by diminishing the demand for its assistance, would throw a 
 number of idle hands upon the state, (Barrow, 512.) It is 
 human feet that most often tread the pulp and paste for the
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 289 
 
 manufacturer of porcelain, (Series of Chinese Views in the 
 Pitti Libraiy.) The machines for the irrigation of the fields 
 are seldom worked otherwise than by the hand of the labourer ; 
 whilst, in some portions of the emjnre, men and women usurp 
 the places of the cattle at the plough, (Staunton, ii. 362. j 
 But it is upon the canals, that cross and intersect the empire 
 at ever}' point, that the employment of human labour is really 
 great. Barges and vessels of all sizes ai"e tracked solely by 
 gangs of men, and when mountains intervene, porters bear 
 over the loftiest crests alike the weightiest bales of merchandise 
 and the most feminine looking pai-cel. Among these barge 
 trackers and porters, including those who pursue their avoca- 
 tions in the cities, a species of monopolising fraternity exists, 
 (Davis, For. Union, 99,) in pai-t sanctioned by the government, 
 that in return, as often as it requires them, receives their unwil- 
 ling services gratuitously, or for a mere nominal remuneration, 
 frequently withheld by the dishonest avarice of those entrusted 
 to distribute it, (De Guignes, i. 273.) 
 
 Note 7, p. 12 — " Appeared a mandarin." — In China there 
 exists scarcely such a distinction as that of an hereditary nobi- 
 lity, excepting as regards the family of Confucius, (Vide Note 
 oO.) All posts, all honours, are supposed to be obtained solely 
 through the meritorious literary deserts of the possessor. The 
 candidate for civil dignity, who has passed his examination suc- 
 cessfully, (Vide Note 100,) is sure of promotion; and, accord- 
 ingly as he has distinguished himself, he is preferred to one of 
 the nine orders of nobility, that Europeans, from a corruption of 
 the Portuguese word, Mandar, to send, or to command, (Bartoli, 
 102,) have denominated mandarins, and whom the Chinese call 
 Moutsai, pastor and governor, (Du Halde, ii. 263 ;) Lao-ye, 
 lord; Ta-Lao-ye, great lord; Ta-jin, great man, (De Guignes, ii. 
 4'i7.) The authority of the mandarin is very extensive; he is 
 the representative of the emperor, a position that commands 
 for him the greatest respect. His post imposes upon him 
 the duties not alone of distributing justice, but also of dis- 
 covering and punishing the wicked, and of rewarding and pro- 
 tecting the good, of alleviating the sufferings and supplying the 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 wants of the people. He should foresee and either avert or di- 
 minish the ill effects of every misfortune that menaces his dis- 
 trict. He is personally responsible for the crimes that are com- 
 mitted (De Guignes, ii. 456,) and the disturbances that occur 
 there ; the first being supposed to originate in the ignorance of 
 the people concerning their duties, in wliich it is his province 
 to instruct them ; the second are supposed to be occasioned 
 either by his tyranny or inattention. Each month, the superior 
 governors have to send an exact account of all that occurs within 
 their jurisdictions to the court, (Bartoli, 103.) Their retention 
 of office is limited to three years, at the termination of which 
 period they have to present themselves at the court, and render 
 a faithful account of all their acts, (Bartoli, lOi,) as well of 
 their faults as of their \irtues, (Amiot, iv. 1.32.) This relation 
 is compared with the private information in the hands of the 
 government, and, according to their merits, the mandarins are 
 either advanced or degraded. The mandarins, usually, spring 
 from one of the inferior classes of the people, from the agricul- 
 turists, artisans, or merchants, (Amiot, iv. 313,) and to which, 
 experience has shown, their descendants usually return at the 
 third generation, (Amiot, iv. 314.) Owing to this origin of their 
 governors, the Cliinese might have expected better treatment 
 from them, but the policy of the celestial government has been 
 to destroy, as much as possible, all unity of feeling between its 
 officers and the people : never does it permit the first to rule 
 over the district of their birth, (Bartoli, 104,) or to be in a situa- 
 tion where one relative would be subordinate to another, (Du 
 Halde, ii. 38,) or even to contract marriage with parties resident 
 in his jurisdiction. The young mandarin soon becomes imbued 
 with the vanity of those around him, and seeks, by the harsh- 
 ness with which he treats his former equals, to forget himself, 
 and conceal from his new associates the obscurity of his birth. 
 The highest of the mandarins are the Colao. 
 
 Note 8, p. 12 — "A belt chequered with little squares." — 
 II y a pareillement de la distinction afiectee aux ceintures qu'ils 
 portent (mandarins). Autrefois avant que les Chinois eussent 
 pris I'habit Tartare, elles etoient divisees en petits carreaux
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 291 
 
 et s'attachoient par devant avec de grandes agraffes, faites de 
 comes de buffle, de rhinoceros, &c., (Du Halde ii. 29.) At the 
 present moment, yellow and red belts ai-e particularly distinctive 
 of the lineal and collateral descendants of the imperial family. 
 The distinction of a button in the hat is, I believe, an invention 
 of the present djuasty. 
 
 Note 9, p. 14 — " One, owing to the mission she was engaged 
 upon, was of high rank." — With the Chinese, the commis- 
 sion of present office fixes the immediate rank, (Ellis, 103,) so 
 envoys, employed by the emperor, enjoy a temporary exaltation 
 over even viceroys. 
 
 Note 10, p. 19 — " With the point behind." — Travellers 
 differ much in their statements as to how the Chinese wear their 
 swords. I believe I am correct, when I say that the Chinese 
 military carry the points of their swords forwai-d, when merely 
 employed as paa-t of some ceremony, but when on active service, 
 the hilt is placed more commodiously for the hand. Thus says 
 De Guignes, iii. 18. 
 
 Note 11, p. 21 — " The five moral principles." — " Ilia 
 quinque, sunt princeps et subditus, inter quos aequitas, pater et 
 filius, inter quos amor, maritus et uxor, inter quos diversitas, 
 frater natu major et minor, inter quos subordinatio, amicus et 
 amicus, inter quos fides intercedit," (Noel, Kit. et Cer. p. 57.) 
 
 Note 12, p. 21 — " The three \-irtues." — " Qui ergo haec tria 
 ad prudentiam, pietatem, fortitudinem probe spectantia calet." 
 (Noel, Kit. et Cer. p. 58.) 
 
 Note 13, p. 22 — " Heaven." — Heaven is a term frequently 
 employed by the Chinese to signify their government, which they 
 consider, by its preservation of social order, by the rewards it 
 accords to virtue, and the chastisements with which it visits vice, 
 &c., sensibly to imitate the acts of a di\-ine providence, one of 
 the names of which is also Tyen — heaven. To avoid the am- 
 biguity that a confused use of these terms would occasion, when 
 ever they occur in the course of this nai-rative, Tyen must be 
 understood as signifying the divine power, and heaven as the 
 
 O 2
 
 292 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 government. It may be as weU, also, to observe that the Chris- 
 tian missionaries have had most severe disputes as to the signi- 
 fication of the term Tyen ; some asserting it to be the visible 
 heavens deified ; and others, that it is a name of God, with 
 reference to his attributes of omnipresence, by enveloping all 
 creation, of preserver of life, on account of the fecundating 
 showers that descend from above, and of supreme power, on 
 account of the vast height of the spheres above the world, 
 (Bartoli.) 
 
 Note 14, p. 22 — "We are not yet in the season of spring." — 
 " Depuis qu'on commence a labourer les terres, ce qui se fait 
 vers le milieu du printemps jusqu'au temps de la recolte, il n'est 
 pas permis aux mandarins d'inquieter les paysans," (Du 
 Halde, ii. 15.) 
 
 Note 15, p. 24 — " Whose august consort's race has existed 
 for ten thousand years." — The courtly appellation of the em- 
 peror is Ouangsai, or, as the missionaries wiite it, Van- 
 soui, which signifies ten thousand years. (See Du Halde, 
 i. 532.) 
 
 Note 1G, p. 25 — " Abundant felicity shall be written upon 
 thy countenance." — The earliest Chinese sages having averred 
 that a man's character was discernible in his countenance, his 
 walk, &c. This doctrine became soon perverted by knavery 
 and credulity, and many of the Chinese, especially those who 
 profess the tenets of Laotsy, believe that a man's fate is also 
 legible in his countenance, (Eecom. et Peines, p. 84,) from the 
 expression of which they predict good or evil fortune, (Blanche 
 et Bleue, 46.) 
 
 Note 17, p. 25 — "Fong-chui." — This is a very generally 
 received superstition among the Chinese. The Fong-chui, wind 
 and water, is properly the influence of situation. Its power ex- 
 tends over all edifices, and especially sepulchres, and the Chi- 
 nese believe that all success in life depends upon procuring 
 their progenitors a tomb of which the Fong-chui is propitious, 
 '* De ce Fong-chouy dependent le bonheur et le malheur 
 de la vie," ( De Guignes, 357.) "Si tels et tels ont plus
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 293 
 
 d'esprit et de talents, s'ils sont eleves de bonne lieure au grade 
 de docteur, s'ils piu-vienuent a des mandiriuats distingnes, &c., 
 ce u'est point, selou eux, a leur probite qu'ils en sont redevable 
 mais uniquemeut a un heureux Fon-cboui," (Grosier, iv. 4b3.) 
 
 Note 18, p. 28 — "Cap of manhood." — Tbe Chinese law- 
 givers " ont meme prevTi le moment ou ils (children) doivent, 
 pour la premiere fois, porter un bonnet," (Grosier, v. 315.) 
 Previous to the Manchour conquest, the Chinese under fifteen 
 years of age shaved their heads, excepting a lock upon their 
 crowns ; from this period, until they attained the age of twenty, 
 the hair was allowed to grow, and fall down the shoulders ; 
 " quel di poi de' venti anni, nel quale si aggroppano i capegli e 
 prendon la rete, e fra lor solennissimo, e si festeggia con vu 
 sontuoso conuito," (Bartoli, 23.) 
 
 Note 19, p. 28 — "Varnish tree." — Resembles in appearance 
 an ash. From its sap the Chinese manufacture their varnish, 
 incisions are made into the trunk of the tree, the depth of the 
 bark, and the sap, that flows only during the night, is caught in 
 shells. The labourers who collect it are obliged to observe 
 every precaution, such as covering their faces with cloths and 
 their bodies with skins, or exposure to its malignant exhala- 
 tions would produce a most fearful eruption, generally fatal, 
 (Grosier, ii. 333-U.) 
 
 Note 20, p. 30 — " Yantse-kiang." — Is the southernmost of 
 the two great rivers that traverse China from west to east. Its 
 sources are among the mountains of Turfan, about tbe 33rd 
 degree of lat. At ninety miles from its mouth, it is a league in 
 breadth. It signifies in English, " the son of the ocean," (De 
 Guignes, ii. 197.) 
 
 Note 21, p. 34 — " Yan-ti-kiun." — The spirit who delivers 
 from danger. He presides over the waters, (Eec. et Peines, 
 p. 11.) 
 
 Note 22, p. 3o — " Tatar." — The Tatars were a tribe of Mogul 
 affinity, ( Klaproth Mem. Rel. i. 402 ; Haiton in Bergeron, p. 26,) 
 the historical records concerning whom are but scanty. They were
 
 294 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 descended from Bonrte Tchina— see Note 27, (D'olissonHis. des 
 Mon.) ; but, tliough tliey were distiuguislied by the name of 
 Sou Mogul, (Pet. de la Croix, His. de Gen. p. 16,) yet tliey 
 were not of the Niroun, or pure Mogul race — see Note 27 (Ibid, 
 p. 7-17.) In A.D. 824, tbey were subject to a tribe of tbe 
 Moho, but, being attacked by the Kitans, tbey were dispersed. 
 A part of the horde fied into Tanguth, to whom, about sixty 
 years afterwards, a large track of land was assigned to the 
 north of the province of Shansee, where they were succes- 
 sively subject to the Chinese empire, the Kitans, and the Kin, 
 (Tab. His. 155-6.) They do not appear to have been on 
 the best terms with the other Mogul tribes, and under their 
 chief, Temnjin, they received from Yesukai, chief of the Yeka 
 Moguls, (Pet. de la Croix, His. de Gen. i. 16,) a most severe 
 defeat, (Gau. His. vol. i. p. 2.) It was from this people the 
 term Tartar was, in all probability, derived, so eiToneously, both 
 historically and orthographically, applied by most writers, until 
 the last and present century, not only to those tribes who ac- 
 companied the Moguls in their conquests of the thirteenth 
 century, but also to all the people descended from, or similar in 
 habits to the nomade tribes of Asia, the misapplication origi- 
 nating in the analogy of the words Tatar and Tartai-us. Thus 
 Louis of France is reported to have said — " Quia superveniant 
 ipsi, vel nos ipsos, quos vocamus Tartaros, ad suas Tartereas 
 sedes, unde exierunt, retrudemus, (Paris. Mat. 747.) According 
 to Eubruquis, great numbers of Tatars accompanied the Moguls 
 in their expeditions, (Bergeron, 37,) which, together with the 
 reason assigned, may account for the teim Tartar being generally 
 adopted to designate the Moguls, and, in fact, Klapr., (Mem. 
 Eel. i. 473,) observes — " On ne peut plus douter que les denomi- 
 nations Mongol et Tatar ne soient synonymes." In this sense 
 I have frequently used the word Tatar, so as to avoid the tau- 
 tology of frequently repeating the one Mogul. 
 
 Note 23, p. 35— "Laotsy." — Several religions or creeds 
 exist in China, tolerated, but no ways favoured, by the govern- 
 ment, that alone recognises the Confucian philosophy. Laokium, 
 founder of the sect of the Laotsy, was born B.C. 603, (Grosier,
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 295 
 
 iv. 435,) being immaciilately conceived by his mother through 
 the sole impression of the vivifying virtue of the heaven and the 
 eai-th, (Ibid. 430.) He was born with white hair, on which 
 account he was called Laotse the infant old man, (Grosier, iv. 436.) 
 He was early distinguished for his application to study, (Ibid.) 
 He is said to have mounted to heaven on a black buffalo, 
 (Rec. et Peiues, vi.) He died B.C. 5-23, (Ibid, v.) The philo- 
 sophy he inculcated was, the necessity of obtaining a complete 
 master.- over the passions and every sentiment, excepting charity^ 
 which was to extend its benevolence even to the brute creation ; 
 that it was vain to reflect upon the past or to be solicitous con- 
 cerning the future ; that a true sage is he who enjoys the fleet- 
 ing moments as they pass, who lives with moderation, free fi-om 
 every excess, and devoid of care, (Staun. ii. 350 ; De Guignes, 
 ii. 330.) According to Laokium, Tao is the principle of heaven 
 and earth, the mother of all that exists, and is omniscient and 
 incomprehensible, (De Guignes, ii. 329.) He admitted the ex- 
 istence of inferior divinities, (Ibid. 330.) This philosophy, that 
 somewhat approaches the Epicurean, was soon perverted. As 
 a perfectly tranquil state of the mind is unattainable by most 
 men, owing to the terrors of death, the Laotsy set to work to dis - 
 cover an elixir of immortality, and, as life was nothing 
 without the means of enjoying it, the philosopher's stone was 
 comprehended in their researches, and soon the sect became 
 devoted to all the extravagances of magic. They acknowledge 
 the existence of a pai-adise, inhabited by men become im- 
 mortals, abounding with all species of indolent delights, (Amiot. 
 Mem. i. 100.) The priests of this sect bear the name 
 of Taotsy, and Tao is frequently applied to signify their 
 creed. 
 
 Note 24, p. 30 — " The vermilion brush." — All edicts ema 
 nating from the emperor, as well as his signature to all docu- 
 ments, are always traced with red paint, (Ellis, 422.) 
 
 Note 25, p. 37 — " The eggs of fish that produce the locust 
 swarms." — " Lorsque les inondations sont suivies d'une annee 
 de graode secheresse, 11 pretend que les oeufs des poissons, qui
 
 296 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 se sout repandus sur la terre, venant a eclorre par la chaleur, 
 produisent cette multitude pro^iigieuse dinsectes," (Du Halde, 
 ii. 67.) 
 
 Note 26, p. 38 — " Rapidly as a vessel glides over the water 
 just after it has descended one of the locks of the Chaohing 
 canal." — Tlie Chinese canal navigation " is not managed by 
 locks or flood-gates; but a dam is made across the extremity of 
 the upper canal, by means of a strong and well-compacted wall, 
 the top of which is level with the surface of the upper water. 
 A beam of wood is laid on the upper edge of the wall, which is 
 rounded off towards the water. Beyond the wall, a sloping plane 
 of stone-work, extends to the lower canal, in the fonn of a glacis, 
 with an inclination of about forty five degrees, and descending 
 neai- ten feet in perpendiculai- depth." — " In passingfrom the upper 
 to the lower canal, the vessel is lifted over the cross beams, and 
 slides down by its own gi-avity," (Staun.ii. 450-1.) The impetus 
 that is thus communicated to it urges the vessel along the water, 
 as a " trait d'arbaletre," (Du Halde, i. 34.) 
 
 Note 27, p. 42 — " Mogul." — The Moguls originally resided 
 in a range of mountains that would appear to have been very 
 productive of iron ore, if their traditions are in the least worthy 
 of credit ; from these they descended under a leader of the name 
 of Bourte Tchina, (D'ohsson, His. des Mon. p. 23.) The 
 eighth descendant of Bonrte Tchina left a widow, Alancoua, 
 who miraculously conceived three sons, the descendants of 
 whom are termed Niroun, or pure-blooded, whilst those 
 tribes who could only call Bourte their ancestor, were 
 called Dirliglieu. The Mogul tribes, though their power was 
 muAi weakened by civil discord, yet, a. d. 1135, were of 
 sufficient importance to excite the jealousy of Holoma, em- 
 peror of the Kin, (De Mailla, viii. 518,) who declared war 
 against them, but with such ill-success, that, a.d. 1147, he 
 was compelled to sue for peace, (Ibid. 545.J Genghis Khan, 
 at the commencement of the 13th century, uniting under his 
 command all the Mogul tribes, oven-an Asia, and threatened all 
 Europe, where the people he commanded were believed to be of
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 297 
 
 Jewish origin, (Paiis. Mat. 732,) to proceed from Tartarus, to 
 be monsters rather tljan men, and as drinking and devouring 
 human blood and flesh, (Ibid. 7ol'2.) The Moguls in the 
 12th century inhabited the country south-east of the lake 
 Baikal, that, with tlie exception of some fertile spots, such as the 
 valleys of the Chilok andTschikoi, (Pal. iv. 3G4,) was generally 
 arid and mountainous, the cold being so intense, as, even in the 
 month of May, to destroy both the bii-ds and cattle that were 
 exposed to its rigour, (Ibid. 2U0.) 
 
 Note 28, p. 44—" Machines of powder." — Nothing sur- 
 prised the Portuguese more, at the commencement of their 
 traffic with the Chinese, than to find the last in possession of 
 artillery. " El uso de eUa era en el mucho mas antiguo que 
 en los de Europa," (Men. 97.) Cannon first were employed by 
 the Chinese about the Christian era, (Amiot. Mem. viii. 331.) 
 It does not again appear, with any certainty, that the Cliinese 
 employed cannon until their wars with the Kin and the Moguls, 
 in the loth century, (De Guignes, iii. 33.) When the 
 Manchours invaded China, in the 17th century, the dynasty of 
 the Ming was obliged to have resource to a Jesuit, Adam 
 Schaal, to cast their cannon. Another missionary, F. Verbiest, 
 did the same for the Manchours, when masters of the celestial 
 empire, (Gro. vii. 178.) 
 
 Note 29, p. 44 — " Phoenix." — The Chinese believe in the 
 existence of a bird of great beauty, of whose species there exists 
 but one, that inhabits the crest of some lofty mountain. The 
 Chinese term it Fung-hoang. " C'est un oiseau tres-rare ou 
 plutot fabuleux, a peu pres comme notre phenix," (Du Halde, 
 i. 279.) Its appearance is the presage of a lucky reign, (Ibid. ) 
 
 Note 30, p. 45 — " Regions of night." — It would appear 
 from M. Polo, (Mars. ed. 74o,) the Chinese designated the more 
 northern parts of Siberia the regions of darkness. 
 
 Note 31, p. 40 — "Bordered by the four oceans." — One of 
 the names by which the Chinese designate their empire is Zhuhai 
 — the four seas ; probaldy derived from the period when the Chinese 
 empire was bounded by the Caspian on the west, and had the 
 
 3
 
 29 d NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 lake Baikal ou its north. Tlie word " China" is unknown in 
 the celestial empire, and has been applied to it by Europeans, 
 who received it from the Malays, by whom the celestial empire 
 is termed Tsin, or Chin. The Chinese empire always bears, as 
 a temporaiy name, that of the ruling dynasty, (Klaproth, Mem, 
 Eel. iii. 2(J9 ;) Tchon-koue, kingdom of the centre, is the 
 name the Chinese most affect, (Gro. i. 1.) It is also called 
 Chung-hoa, flower of the centre, (Thev. Mar. Martini,) and 
 Chintan, the Eastern Aurora, (Klaproth, Mem. Rel. iii. 268.) 
 
 Note 32, p. 46 — " Priests of Fo." — The brother of the 
 emperor Minty, of the Han djoiasty, having heard that a famous 
 spirit named Fo resided in India, prevailed upon his august 
 relative to send in search of him. An embassy was accordingly 
 despatched, that returned with two priests and some representa- 
 tions of the god Fo, painted upon cloth. This occurred a.d. 
 65. There are other relations concerning the introduction of 
 tliis divinity into China. (See Du Halde, ii. 323. — Amiot, v. 
 59.) Fo was conceived, owing to his mother dreaming of a 
 white elephant, (Gro. iv. 446.) At the age of seventeen, he 
 mai-ried three wives, whom he deserted at nineteen, and retired to 
 live in a solitary place, in company with four philosophers, (Ibid.) 
 When about to die, Fo declared to his disciples that he had always 
 spoken metaphorically, and that his real doctrine was — " Qu'il n'y 
 a point d' autre principe de toutes choses que le vide et le neant : 
 c'est du neant que tout est sorti, c'est au neant que tout doit 
 retourner et c'est la qu'aboutissent toutes nos esperances,' 
 (Ibid. 448.) Owing to this, his disciples became divided ; part 
 adhering to the doctrines he had preached during his early life, 
 and part accepting those of his dying moments, (Ibid. 450.) 
 The last, being distinguished by the term of " interior doctrine," 
 teaches an utter disregard of all that is sacred or social, (Ibid. 
 451.) The first is called the exterior doctrine. It admits 
 future rewards and punishments ; maintains that Fo appeared to 
 save men, and to expiate their sins, (Ibid. 453;) forbids 
 murder, theft, adultery, lying, and drinking, (Ibid. ;) and 
 advocates the metempsychosis. The priests of this creed are 
 termed Hosliangs, and by the Europeans, Bonzes. They live
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 299 
 
 some iu solitude, but generally iu commuuities, and usually profess 
 entire abstinence from women, meat, iish, or wine, (De Guignes, 
 ii. 308.) Tbey wear cliaplets suspended to their necks; and in 
 other ways imitate the ceremonies and obsenances of the church 
 of Rome, to an extent that excited to a terrible pitch the wrath 
 of the early missionaiies. They practise all manner of con- 
 trivances to provoke the chai'ity of the public, (Gro. iv. 461.) 
 Though frequently employed by the superstitious Chinese, yet 
 their profession is so despised, that, to perpetuate its mysteries, 
 they ai"e obliged to purchase children, and educate them in theii* 
 craft. Tliis is owing to the Chinese principle, that every man's 
 labour is the property of his country, and that no one has a right 
 to Uve slothfully upon the public, (De Guignes, ii. 369.) 
 
 Note 33, p. 48 — " By the exercise of his practised reasoning 
 faculties." — *'Vir autem summa veritate praeditus ad futura 
 conjicienda, non Olas divinandi ai'tes, sed rectam rationem qua 
 impendentia et bona et mala longe certius praecognovit," (Noel, 
 Lib. Clas. Sin. p. 64.) 
 
 Note 34, p. 48 — " Under the influence of potent genii." — 
 The doctrines of Confucius, or, more correctly speaking, the 
 ancient moral doctrines that he restored, are so interwoven with 
 the dogmas of the Chinese government, as to be inseparable 
 the one from the other. This the reader must himself observe 
 throughout the course of this work. My space does not permit 
 me to enter very diffusely upon this subject. Suffice it to say, 
 that the Confucian theolog}- professes to be the moral-political 
 code of the earlier ages, that the Chinese regard as being those 
 of purity. It is frequently sublime ; but from its interference 
 with domestic arrangements, to a European it would appear 
 ceremonious, galling, and offensive. It supposes the world to 
 be under the government of genii, subordinate to Shangty, who 
 is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and creator of all things ; 
 who in the exercise of his power is pure, holy, and impartial. 
 He mercifully delays issuing his decrees against the wicked 
 until the very last moment, but, once pronounced, these must be 
 executed, (Du Halde, ii. 314; ) and that all public calamities, 
 such as irregularities in the seasons, &c., are warnings given to
 
 300 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 men that tliey may repeut in time, and con-ect tlieir vitiated 
 customs, (Gro. iv. 3G9.) It maintains that religion is the 
 souree of all good, (Ibid. 375,) and that filial piety is the source 
 of all \irtiie, (Amiot, iv. 30.) Confucius never sought to 
 penetrate the mysteries of nature. His doctrines are without 
 subtilty on points of belief, whilst he seeks to inspire fear and 
 gratitude in the hearts of man for the Creator of all, (Du Halde, 
 ii. 320. ) It is principally owing to the existence of the tribunal 
 of rites that the Confucian philosophy has maintained itself 
 until the present in its ancient and integi-al purity, (Gro. iv. 
 393.) 
 
 Note 35, p. 49 — " Fix the fluid silver." — One great object 
 of research with the priests of the Laotsy, is to discover the 
 means of converting quicksilver into solid silver, (Bartoli.) 
 
 Note 36, p. 50 — " Chinese modes of writing." — The very 
 earliest Chinese employed cords to assist their recollection of 
 circumstances ; in these they tied knots, the size and dis- 
 tances of which determined the sense, (De Mailla, i. 4.) Sub- 
 sequently, the emperor Fohi composed the Koua, a set of tri- 
 grammes and hexagi*ammes, entire or broken. Under the em- 
 peror Hoangty, a certain Tsang-hie imagined a species of writing 
 from observing the impressions made by birds' feet upon the 
 sand, which he tenned Niao-ky-tchoen, (De Guignes, ii. 384.) 
 The Chinese continued for many centuries to improve this dis- 
 covery, until they adopted their present characters, that are ideo- 
 graphical, (Kla. Trois Roy. 20,) or rather a collection of arbitrary 
 signs, the meaning of which is recognised by convention, 
 (Barrow, 245,) as our numerals, musical notes, algebraical 
 signs, (Sec. The Chinese viiite vertically, and from the right to 
 the left. Their chai'acters amount to about 80,000 ; a know- 
 ledge, however, of 10,000 is sufficient to enable the student to 
 read most Chinese works, (Gro. vi. 15.) 
 
 Note 37, p. 52 — " The pagoda began to revolve upon its 
 centre." — The Persian ambassadors from Shah Eokh ( Thev. 
 Col.) describe a revolving tower they saw, 180 feet high. " Sous 
 I'edifice, il y a dans une cave, un essieu de fer, qui regne depuis 
 le has jusqu'au haut, de maniere que le bout d'en has pose sur
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 301 
 
 une assise de fer et I'autre toiiche aii haut du toit et avec peu 
 de force, en faisant mouvoir de fer dans la cave, tout ce grand 
 edifice se met en mouvement." 
 
 Note 38, p. 55 — " Jade." — Is a species of agate, or jasper, 
 much prized by the Chinese, who call it Yu, or Ju, and 
 by them the word is employed to signify anything rare 
 and precious; as "the sceptre of jade," is the emperor's 
 sceptre, &c. 
 
 Note 39, p. 57 — " Yenouang." — He is correctly the Chinese 
 Pluto, or Minos, (Du Halde, iii. 25.) 
 
 Note 40, p. 58 — " The ocean of sand." — " Chamo, mer de 
 sable, nom du grand desert au nord-ouestde la Chine," (Die. des 
 Villes Chinois.) 
 
 Note 41, p. 59 — "Music." — The Chinese regard Tcho- 
 youg, who preceded Fohi, as the inventor of their music, 
 (Choukiug, Gau. 319.) Their legends relate extravagant tales 
 of the excellence of their ancient musio. It has, however, much 
 deteriorated in modern times ; and a Chinese performance of 
 the present day would seem to consider itself excellent in 
 proportion to the quantity of noise produced, (Barrow, 314.) 
 The Chinese, as did the Pythagoreans, principally esteem music 
 on account of its supposed aid in elevating the mind and in- 
 culcating virtue, (Chouking, Gau. 320.) Every act of cere- 
 mony has some peculiar air, that is distinguished by an appro- 
 priate name. 
 
 Note 42, p. 61 — " Peaches and limpid streams." — " Un 
 philosophe, pour se soustraire a la persecution, s'etoit retire dans 
 un desert ou il ne trouva qu'une source d'eau vive et des pe- 
 chers, de la vient I'expression, tao-yuene, pecher et source, pour 
 siguifier la solitude du sage," (Grosier, vi. 45.) The peach- 
 blossom is also considered to be emblematic of lovers. 
 
 Note 43, p. 02 — " Omen of war." — " Pres de Fokiang est la 
 montagne Xecu, qui se uomme ainsi, a cause d'un tambour de 
 pierre : les Chinois disent qu'ils out remarque, que lots qu'il fait
 
 302 NOTES TO VOL. 1. 
 
 de bruit, c'est un presage qu'ils doivent avoir giierre," (Tliev, 
 Mar.) 
 
 Note 44, p. 62 — "Along draught predicts the machinations 
 of a traitor against the empire." — " Se nella quinta luna il sole 
 scurrera per eclissi, i confini del regno saran danneggiati dalle 
 correrie de barbaii : Se 1' aria tutto improwiso si turbera segno 
 ^, che i Tai'tari vengono ad assalire la Cina. Se averra un lungo 
 6 continuato sereno, senza ne pioggia ne nuvoli, indubitamente, 
 alcuno sciagurato macchina contro il re," (Bai'toti.) 
 
 Note 45, p. 64 — " The goddess of love." — " Tchang ngo (la 
 lune personnifiee) est la deese de I'amour," (Cir. de Craie, 108.) 
 
 Note 46, p. 64 — " Yue laou." — " The old man of the moon, 
 the Chinese god of mai-riage, who ties together, with an in^-isible 
 silken thread, all predestined couples," (For. Union, ii. 103.) Ac- 
 cording to the Chinese, marriages are destined ages before the birth 
 of the parties concerned. Han wen's, in the tale Blanche et Blue, 
 was detennined five hundred years before his birth. 
 
 Note 47, p. 64 — " A faint light became visible." — The Chi- 
 nese, though generally ignorant of all that concerns the science 
 of optics, yet, at an early date, would appear to have discovered 
 the effects that may be produced by the employment of plane and 
 concave miiTors ; this knowledge would seem to have been con- 
 fined to the priests of Laotsy, who must have availed themselves 
 uf its assistance to perfoi*m those magical invocations of the dead 
 and absent, so frequently mentioned in Chinese history: as 
 Han-outy, who was made to see the phantom of one of his queens. 
 The Chinese employ convex and concave lenses to assist their 
 sight, and for setting fire to combustible objects. The single 
 microscope is in common use with them, (Barrow, 341 3.) 
 
 Note 48, p. 6-5 — " Though in the north they be great magi- 
 cians." — Alike Europeans and Asiatics, astonished at the rapid 
 successes of the Moguls, ascribed the fortune of the last to their 
 knowledge of magic. The Chinese believed their redoubtable 
 enemies could see as well by night as by day, (De Mailla, viii. 
 518.) A Persian historian relates, that Tulu, when he invaded 
 the estates of the Kin, defeated the army of the last by causing
 
 NOTES TO VOL. T, 303 
 
 his magicians to excite, in the middle of summer, a storm of 
 snow and rain, and to render the air cold as in the depth of 
 winter, (D'Ohsson, His. ii. 614-15.) Schottus, p. f)0, Mag. Uni. 
 says : " Tartiu'orum aliqui, (^ui ultra Grazauense regnum habi- 
 tant, incantationibus sopra modum sunt dcditi, quibus caligines, 
 aliasque tempestates soepius excitant, hoc que modo hostes fre- 
 quenter profligant." 
 
 Note 49, p. 68 — " Lyking." — One of the five works that the 
 Chinese term Ouking, or books of the " common and immutable 
 doctrine." They consist : — 1st. Of the Y king, or book of changes , 
 written by the emperor Fohi, in a chai-acter now not understood. 
 '2nd. The Chou king, is a compendium, by Confucius, of the 
 earliest Chinese history : it principally contains dialogues and 
 discourses, that inculcate virtue or the principles of good govern- 
 ments. :3rd. The Chi king, the book of songs, is a collection, 
 by Confucius, of 311 pieces of ancient poetry. 4th. The Tchun 
 tsieou, the spring and autumn : a history, by Confucius, of the 
 kingdom of Lou, 5th. The Lyking, book of rites : a compilation 
 of the laws, ceremonies, and maxims, restored and uttered by 
 Confucius, collected by his disciples. Besides these five King, 
 there are four other works of inferior consideration, but still re- 
 garded by the Chinese with gi-eat respect, termed Sse chou. They 
 are : — 1st, The Tahio, or science of adults, treats of the conduct 
 men ought to pursue : it was composed by Confucius, and ex- 
 plained by one of his disciples. 2nd, The Tchon yon, or the 
 just centre, is a definition of virtue, and treats of moral and po- 
 litical science. 3rd. The Lunyu, the book of sentences, is a 
 compilation of the maxims of Confucius. 4th. The book of 
 Mentsee, treats of the rules a good government should observe. 
 
 Note 50, p. 69 — " The perfect master." — One of the titles 
 of Confucius. This philosopher, according to Chinese genea- 
 logists, descended from the emperor Hoangty, (De Mailla, ii. 
 180.) At the period of his birth the Chinese empire was all 
 confusion, being divided into a number of small states, each of 
 which was almost independent of the emperor, Confucius was 
 born in the principality of Lou, the present province of Shan-
 
 304 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 tong, B.C. 552, (DeMailla, ii. 180-1.) Confucius is the Latinised 
 name of the philosopher, who is called by his countrymen, most 
 commonly, Congfutse. At a very early age he dedicated him- 
 self to study, and by the prince of Lou, was raised to an inferior 
 mandarinate. He subsequently quitted his country for a short 
 time, and on his returning to it, was created minister of state, 
 B.C. 497, (De Mailla, ii. 209.) In this situation, his example 
 and severity so reformed the manners of the state, and the wis- 
 dom of liis government so increased its power, that the prince 
 of Tsi became jealous of such prosperity, and to destroy the in- 
 fluence of Confucius over the prince of Lou, he presented the 
 last a number of most beautiful women, learned in all the ways 
 of captivation : the arts of these syrens were more powerful than 
 the influence of philosophy: the prince of Lou fell into the 
 snare, and devoting his whole time to these pleasing strangers, 
 he neglected all public business, and Confucius in disgust, 
 quitted the court, (De Mailla, ii. 209-10.) He now wandered 
 about, sometimes in danger of his life and in extreme want, 
 and at others, caressed and flattered by the princes of the states 
 he visited. He died 479 B.C., aged seventy-three years. The 
 moral power this philosopher obtained has endured for up- 
 wards of 2300 years ; his name is still regarded with almost 
 religious veneration, (Grosier, -\ii. 409.) In every city there is 
 a building where the literati assemble on an appointed day, to 
 perform certain ceremonies in his honour. One of his descend- 
 ants is always honoured by a title. The morality he taught, or 
 rather restored, is that of the ancient Chinese, (Grosier, vii. 
 414.) 
 
 Note 51, p. 69 — " Is proud of its contempt of death." — Tsulu, 
 fortitudinis bellicae amator, rogavit magistrum suum, Confu- 
 cium, ut explicaret, quid esset fortitudo *? Cui Confucius qnam- 
 nam, inquit, fortitudinem quaeris et intelligis ? Au'^trinae ? an 
 Boreoe gentis ? an vestram discipulorum ac sapientiae cultorem 
 fortitudinem ? Fortitudo qua Austrina gens ceteris horainibus 
 antecellit, hoec est ; longa benignitate et mansueta longanimitate 
 in hominibus docendis, excellere ; a^ceptas injurias quamtumvis 
 injustas et graves molli patientia sustinere, &c. Jam vero for-
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 305 
 
 titudo, qua Borea gens ceteris hominibus antecellit, hoc est 
 tnuiquille uti lancea, acinace, casside, thorace tanquam molli ad 
 quiescendum calcitra ; nee si mori oporteat, iillo modo pigeie, 
 &c. Vir itaque sapiens non in eo quo alios, sed in eo quo seip- 
 sum vincat, suam fortitudiuem collocat, &c. (Noel, Rit. et Cer. 
 Sin. 47.) 
 
 Note 52, p. 09 — " Miaotsj-." — These ai-e a people scattered 
 ainoug the mountsun fastnesses of the Chinese provinces of 
 Setchueu, Kuacheyu, Houkuang, and Quangsi. They form a 
 number of small states, and are each surrounded by a cordon of 
 forts, to prevent them establishing communications with each 
 other. Some are perfectly independent, being governed by their 
 own chiefs, and others profess a nominal allegiance to the Chi- 
 nese. Their horses are much renowned. It is said, that they can 
 giillop down the steepest declivities, &c. (Du Halde, i. 55-61.) 
 
 Note 53, p. 73 — " Goose-eye coins." — The Chinese have 
 no stamped gold or silver coin. The first metal is exchanged in 
 commerce, as precious jewels with us ; the second passes cur- 
 rent in the shape of lumps, generally about an ounce in weight, 
 by the Chinese termed leang, and by the Portuguese and other 
 Europeans, tael. To make up an intermediate sum, pieces are 
 clipped off of the weight required, by strong nii)pers, (Du Halde, 
 ii. 104.) In 1700 e.g., copper coin was first stamped, or rather 
 cast, (DeGuignes, iii. 230.) At present, the Chinese have a copper 
 coin of base alloy, four parts lead to six copper, which are pierced 
 through their centre, and strung together by hundreds, (Du 
 Halde, ii. 164.) They are termed tchen, and value three-tenths 
 of a farthing, (BaiTow, 86 ;) one thousand of them value a tael. 
 (De Guignes, iii. 233.) To enable the government to command 
 the value of these coins in circulation, it has monopolized the 
 possession of all the copper in the empire, of which it is alone 
 tlie legal purchaser, and it punishes with forty blows, whoever 
 buys or sells or conceals that metal in their house, (Staun. 
 Laws, 124.) To counterfeit this coin, is death by strangula- 
 tion, (Ibid. 307.) During the dynasty of the Soung, a coin 
 appeoi'ed, termed " goose-eye," on account of its diminutive size.
 
 306 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 One thousand purchased a man a sufficiency of rice for a day's 
 consumption, (Du Halde, ii. 165.) 
 
 Note 54, p. 74 — " Stoves heated to an agreeable warmth." 
 — This is rather a habit of the northern than of the southern 
 provinces : these stoves are heated by fossil coal, that is found 
 in considerable quantities among the mountains in the vicinity 
 of Pekin; it is crumbled into dust, and mingled with earth, 
 in which state it burns without emitting any flame. Collieries 
 also exist in the mountains separating the pro^inces of Kiangsy 
 and Quantong, (Barrow, 595.) 
 
 Note 55, p. 83 — " Twenty ounces of silver he had received 
 from him." — Nor was the Chifu more venal than the generality 
 of his fellows. A strange anomaly exists in the Chinese ad- 
 ministration : ■with the design of rendering the decisions of its 
 judges impartial, the last are separated from their relatives, &c., 
 but yet they are permitted to receive presents from the parties 
 who litigate before them ; and, as their salaries are small, these 
 gifts, in harsher tenns, become bribes : when the litigants ai-e 
 equally rich and liberal, it is possible that an impartial verdict 
 may be given ; but, when the purses are unequal, the longest 
 most often cai-ries the day, (Staunton, ii. 495-6.) 
 
 Note 56, p. 87 — " As the needle ever point^th truly towards 
 the south." — The knowledge of the polarity of the magnetic 
 needle is very ancient in China. The box that contains the 
 Chinese compass is frequently large enough to admit of its rim 
 being di\ided into twenty or thirty concentric cu'cles, containing 
 various characters, representing a compendium of the astro- 
 nomical (perhaps more properly, astrological) knowledge of the 
 Chinese, (Bai-row, 62.) The Chinese divide the cai'd of their 
 compass into eight principal points, and each of these is sub- 
 divided into three others. The needle is about thi-ee quarters 
 of an inch long, (Ibid. 40,) is poised with great nicety, and is 
 remarkably sensible, (Staunton, 441.) The Chinese consider 
 that the needle points to the south, (Ibid. 445.) 
 
 Note 57, p. 88 — " Kia-chuen." — An instrument of torture 
 that is applied to the feet of men ; that for the women is applied
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 307 
 
 to the fingers. The Chinese law authorizes the infliction of tor- 
 ture upon all, excepting tliose who have attained their seventieth 
 year, such as he under fifteen, or those who he afflicted with any 
 infirmity or disease, (Staun. Fun. Laws, 441-2.) 
 
 Note 58, p. 88 — " Chi Hoang-ty." — Second emperor of the 
 dynasty of Tsin, though really but the son of a merchant, whose 
 concubine his reputed father married, when pregnant. At his 
 accession, the empire was divided into seven principalities, all 
 of which he conquered. To protect his states from the Hiongnu 
 Tatars, he completed the wall that at present exists, and then 
 drove that people, with an ai-my of 300,000 men, away from his 
 northern frontier. To deprive the literati of the power of annoy- 
 ing him by the repetition of ancient precepts, and the conquered 
 states of their recollections of independence, he ordered the 
 destruction of all books, excepting those that treated of the his- 
 tory of the Tsin family, of medicine, divination, and agriculture. 
 Four hundi'ed and sixty literati were buried alive for opposition 
 to this ordinance. He died e.g. 210, (De Mailla, ii. 309-405.) 
 
 Note 59, p. 91 — " Tafung, or Typhon." — Some fanciful 
 etymologists derive the word Tafung from the Greek Tvcpiov, or 
 the Egyptian Typhon. It is, in fact, a Chinese compound word, 
 consisting of ta, gi-eat, and fuug, wind, and is applied to signify 
 a storm that afflicts the Chinese seas, (Ban-ow, 34.) 
 
 Note 60, p. 95 — " Cornices and friezes." — Properly speaking, 
 the Chinese have no cornices, and their friezes are of a height 
 to shock an European eye, though it pleases the celestials, as 
 giving more room for ornament and inscription, (Du Halde, 
 i. 31.) 
 
 Note 61, p. 100 — "Slaves." — The Chinese law recognises iu 
 every man a right to sell his services for any length of time he 
 pleases, and allows the same power to a father, with regard to 
 his children. Chinese slavery is a very mild species of servitude, 
 (Staun. Laws, 293,) whilst the slave conducts himself properly; 
 but if he use abusive language to his master, or strike the latter, he 
 is punished with death, (Ibid. 356, 33H.) No slave can intermarry 
 with a free person, (Ibid. 119.) A slave, his master consenting,
 
 308 NOTES TO VOL. T. 
 
 may purchase Ms liberty, (Grosier,v. 218,) and he recovers it at 
 the expiratiou of twenty years, if his conduct has been unim- 
 peachable, (Staun. ii. 493.) The cliildren of slaves are the 
 property of the master, with whose childi-en they ai-e educated, 
 (Grosier, v. 219.) 
 
 Note 62, p. 105 — " Siu-kong-hi." — "Unhomme de Tchang- 
 tcheou, nomme Siu-kong-hi, remplissait au tribunal la charge de 
 grefl&er. 11 etait humble et reserve, rempli de severite pour 
 lui-meme et d'indulgence pour les autres. Un chef militaire, 
 nomme Ouki, ayant ete vaincu, craignait d'etre puni de mort ; 
 il voulut prier Sui-kong-hi d'interceder pour lui. Mais comma 
 il etait sans fortune et qu'il ne pouvait lui ofFrir des presens pro- 
 portionnes au service qu'il sollicitait, il I'invit a venir diner chez 
 lui. II ordonna a sa femme de I'exciter a boire, et s'esquiva, 
 afin de les laisser tous deux ensemble. Sa femme, qui etait 
 douee d'une rare beaute, s'etant approchee de lui d'un air cares- 
 sant, Siu-kong-hi dechira le pan de son habit, par laquelle elle 
 le retenait, et s'enfuit," (Eec. et Peines, p. 30-7.) 
 
 Note 63, p. 105 — " Kitan." — This people, according to Kla- 
 proth, (Mem. Rel. iii. 259,) were of Mogul-Tongusian race ; 
 according to D'ohsson, they were of the same race as the 
 Kin and Manchours, and inhabited the country to the north- 
 east of the Corea, ( i. 113.) In 440, they were vassals of a people 
 called Goei, (Kla. Tab. His. 87.) As early as a.d. 533, this 
 people made inroads into China, (De Mailla, v. 393.) They 
 were subsequently subject to the Turks, and, in 611, sent tribute 
 to the Chinese, whose vassals they continued to be, excepting 
 some occasional revolts, (Kla. Tab. His. 88,) until their chief, 
 Apaki, or Yelieou, (D'ohsson,) or Ye-liu-Apaoki, (De Mailla,) 
 rebelled a.b. 907, and, in the space of ten years, conquered all 
 the countiy extending westward as far as Cashgar, eastward 
 to the ocean, northward to the Baikal lake, and southward 
 north-east of China, (Kla. Tab. His. 89.) His son rendered 
 the empire of China tributary, (D'ohsson His. i. 115,) of which 
 this people would have become absolute masters, but for the 
 rise and fortune of the Soung dynasty. In 937, the Kitans
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 809 
 
 adopted the terra Leao, iron, to signify their dynasty, (Ibid.) 
 They also imitated the usages and ceremonies of the Chinese, 
 (Ibid.) The miu'tial spirit of the people, and the energj- of its 
 chiefs becoming corrupted, their monarchy was destroyed by 
 the Kin, or Niutky, a.d. 1123, (D'ohsson, i. 116.) They as- 
 sisted the Moguls against the last, one of their chiefs revolting 
 at the head of 100,000 men, in 1211, (Gaub. His. 16.) The 
 term Kitay, or Cathay, applied to signify the north of China, is 
 derived from the occupation of that part of the celestial empire 
 by this people, a branch of whom founded the kingdom of Cara 
 Kitay, that was destroyed by the Moguls. 
 
 Note 64, p. 106 — " Niutky." — They are also called Nutche 
 andNutchin, (Gaub. His. 87.) They were successively subject to 
 the Chinese, a people called Phoutai, and the Kitans, (Ibid. 90 ;) 
 against the last they revolted, under their cliief, Akouta, or 
 Agouta, who, A.D. 1115, assumed the title of emperor, (Kla. Tab. 
 His. 90.) Upon the destruction of the Kitan power, they in- 
 vaded the Chinese provinces, possessing themselves of those of 
 Shantong, Petchely, Honan, and Shausee ; they were masters 
 also of the country north of Ortus, and of Leaotong, and all the 
 territory as far as the Seghalien, Kerlon, and Tula rivers, paid 
 them tribute, (Gaub. His., note, 87.) In 1147, the Moguls 
 began to trouble their prosperity; and, in 1234, that people 
 destroyed the Niutky state, (Kla. Tab. His. 91,) the Chinese, with 
 a blind policy, assisting to hasten their downfall. They assumed 
 the term Kin, or gold, to designate their dynasty. They adopted 
 Chinese manners and customs, (Gaub. His. 87.) They are the 
 progenitors of the present Manchours. 
 
 Note 6r), p. 108 — " The brazen column of Takia." — Takia 
 was concubine of the last emperor of the Cheyu dynasty. She 
 is regarded as the Chinese Venus ; and to her is attributed the 
 invention of the small (rather deformed) feet the Chinese ladies 
 consider so beautiful. The cruelties in which she indulged, and 
 in which she caused her imperial lover to participate, are almost 
 incredible. Among other torments, she caused the victims of 
 her barbarity to be attached to a brazen column, thirty feet high
 
 810 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 and twelve in cii-cuit. It was hollow, and filled with fire. (Du 
 Halde, ii. 137.) 
 
 Note 66, p. 108 — " Spirits, spies upon our misdeeds." — 
 These spirits day and night traverse the universe, and observe the 
 crimes men commit, (Rec. et Peines, 11.) " II y a encore trois 
 esprits, appeles Sanchi, qui resident au dedans de notre corps," 
 (Ibid. 15.) 
 
 Note 67, p. 109 — "Civic portal guai-d." — "II y a aux portes 
 de chaque ville une bonne gai-de, qui examine tons ceux qui y 
 entrent; pour peu que quelque chose de singulier rende un 
 homme suspect ; ou que sa physiognomic, son air, ou son accent, 
 fassent juger qu'il est etranger on I'aiTete sur I'heure," (Du 
 Halde, ii. 50.) 
 
 Note 68, p. 109 — " Mouholi." — He was one of the gi-eatest 
 generals of the Moguls, of great personal courage and an ex 
 cellent archer. The adventure referred to -was after one of 
 Genghis' eaiiy actions, when he was defeated by a people called 
 Kieliei, (De Mailla, ix. 18-19.) He was one of those -whom the 
 Mogul chief called his " four generals," (Gaubil. His. 6.) 
 
 Note 69, p. Ill — "The three roads disembodied spirits 
 tread." — " Un grand nombre d'autres (Burkhans, saints) de- 
 meurent au ciel ; un chemin d'or y conduit les hommes par 
 dessus une haute montagne, au dessus de laquelle est une nouee 
 de jaspe. Un chemin d' argent est sous le chemin d'or ; il mene 
 au lever du soleil ; habite par Abida, qui y jouit d'une tran- 
 quiUite parfaite. Au-dessous de celui-ci est un chemin de cuivre, 
 qui conduit a la residence de trente trois esprits aeriens bien- 
 faisans," (Pallas, i. 546.) 
 
 Note 70, p. 113 — "To counteract his venomous activity." — 
 The woodcutters on the mountains of Shansee, to protect them- 
 selves against the serpents that infest the woods, carry about 
 with them a few grains of musk. The musk-animal is termed by 
 the Chinese, Hiang-tchang-tse, or " odorous goat." The Chi- 
 nese say that it feeds upon the flesh of these serpents, which it 
 fascinates by its smell, (Du Halde, ii. 154.) 
 
 Note 71, p. 113 — "Whitened eyes." — " Faire des yeux
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 311 
 
 blancs, c'est-a-dire, montrer le blanc de ses yeux, faire une 
 mauvaise accueil a quelqu'un," (Cir. de Craie, xv.) White is 
 the Chinese colour of mouniiug and misfortune. " Faire des 
 yeux noirs, montrer sa prunelle noii-e ; faire un bon accueil," 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 Note 7'2, p. 1*20 — " Sanpan." — This instrument is arranged 
 upon the order of the Arabic numerals. The beads in the first 
 column to the right represent units ; the others have a decimal 
 progression from right to left, (Staun. ii. 95.) It was in use 
 with the earliest inhabitants of China, whilst they were almost 
 in a barbai-ous state, (Du Halde, ii. 293.) 
 
 Note 73, p. 123 — " Either from the evil or the virtuous." — 
 " Non licet igitur dicere quod in solitario cordis mei penetrali 
 versatur nemo est qui videat, occultissimus enim et minimus 
 intimi cordis nostri affectus, sive rectus sive pravus, statim ita 
 se se exterius prodit, ut adstantes eum videre et indigitare 
 valeant," (Noel, Lib. Clas., 18.) 
 
 Note 74, p. 124: — " Kouangin." — A celebrated Chinese god- 
 dess, represented holding an infant in her arms. She is invoked 
 by sterile women, (Du Halde, ii. 200.) 
 
 Note 75, p. 124 — " City guide." — The " red book" is not 
 unknown to the Chinese, as the following passage of Du Halde, 
 i. 114, proves : " On vend meme un livre qui enseigue les quar- 
 tiers, les places, les rues, et la demeure de toutes les personnes 
 publiques." This must not be confounded with the " Coiut 
 Gazette." 
 
 Note 7G, p. 12G — "Enclosed their prey, as fish are taken in 
 the net." — The following description of the manoeuvres practised 
 by the pirates off the coast of Malabar, in the thirteenth century, 
 may not be uninteresting to the reader : — " In order that no 
 ship may escape them, they anchor their vessels at the distance 
 of five miles from each other. Upon a trader's appearing in sight 
 of one of them, a signal is made by fire or by smoke, when they 
 all draw closer together, and capture the vessel as she attempts 
 to pass," (M. Polo, 687.)
 
 812 NOTES TO VOL. T. 
 
 Note 77, p. 12G — " Sorceresses with whom the island 
 ahounds." — The island referred to is that of Socotra, a rendez- 
 vous of pirates in the thirteenth centuiy, where they disposed of 
 their booty. Its inhabitants could " cause the sea to become 
 calm, and, at their will, rain tempests, and occasion ship- 
 wrecks," &c. (M. Polo, 702.) 
 
 Note 78, p. 128 — " Present the bracelets of jade." — A com- 
 mon allegorical expression of the Chinese, derived from the fol- 
 lowing : — " Yang-pao, qui ^ivait sous les Han, etait d'un naturel 
 tendre et compatissant. A I'age de neuf ans, lorsqu'il se pro- 
 menait sur le mont Hoa-chan, il vit tomber a ses pieds un petit 
 oiseau jaune, qu'un oiseau de proie avait blesse cruellemeni. 
 II etait deja assiege par un moltitude de fourmis, qui se prepa- 
 raient a le devorer. Yang-pao le prit, lui fit un nid de son bon- 
 net et le rapporta dans sa maison, ou 11 le noiu-rit pendant cent 
 jours, avec les soins les plus assidus. Au bout de ce temps, 
 I'oiseau se trouva parfaitement retabli. Un jour 11 se changea 
 en un jeune homme, vetu de jaune, qui donna a Yang-pao quatre 
 bracelets en jade blanc," (Cir. de Craie, 112.) 
 
 Note 79, p. 129 — " I was never taught by a master." — A 
 Chinese author observes that an ignorant preceptor is tolerable, 
 because he, at least, will teach, " a se donner dans la demarche, 
 dans le tour du bonnet, et dans le manege de I'evantail, un petit 
 air de politesse Chinois auqiiel ou distingue les etudians," (Du 
 Halde, ii. 265.) 
 
 Note 80, p. 130 — " During the winter." — " En ete des per- 
 sonnes charitables ont des gens a leurs gages qui donnent gra- 
 tuitement du the aux pauvres voyageurs ; et I'hiver, de I'eau 
 ou Ton a fait infuser du gingembre," (Du Halde, ii. .52.) 
 
 Note 81, p. 130 — " You the commercial balance." — The 
 Chinese, to discover the inclination of their children, as soon as 
 ever they can move their hands, " mettent devaut eux un livre. 
 uae balance, ou des armes ; et selon le choix que fait I'enfant, 
 ils jugent qu'il est ne pour I'etude, ou pour commerce, ou pour 
 la guerre," (Du Halde, ii. 265.) 
 
 Note 82, p. 132—" Order the closing of all the shambles." —
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 313 
 
 " Ainsi lorsqu'il arrive de ces sortes de calamitez, aussitot le 
 mandarin fait afficher par toutes des ordonuances, qui prescriveiit 
 uu jeune general : il est defendu an bouchers et aiix traiteurs de 
 vendre de la viande, sous des peines giieves," (Du Halde, ii. 32.) 
 
 Note 83, p. 134 — " Silver seals." — The emperor's seal is of 
 the stone called jade, is eight fingers broad, and is square. The 
 seals of the princes are gold ; those of the highest mandarins and 
 viceroys axe silver; whilst the officials of inferior degree have 
 theirs of copper or lead, (Du Halde. ii. 13.) 
 
 Note X-i, p. 134 — " To each scrap of paper," &c. — The great 
 respect the Chinese entertain or affect to entertain for scraps of 
 paper, upon which the writing is ancient, is frequently testified 
 in the work, " Eec. et Peines." Du Halde, ii. 228, observes, 
 " Souvent il arrive que les menuisiers et les ma9ons n'osent pas 
 dechirer une feiiille imprimee, que se trouve collee sur le mur 
 ou sur le bois. " 
 
 Note 85, p. 134 — " Pao teou." — Ahead dress in use among 
 Chinese elderly ladies, to conceal their baldness. It signifies 
 " envelope for the head," (Du Halde, ii. 81.) 
 
 Note 86, p. 143 — " Ouang-nganka." — A Chinese whose 
 genius preceded that of his countrymen. He dared to propose 
 some innovations. He was a good orator. His gi-eat objects 
 were, that the customs usually levied at the gates should be 
 abolished, and that they should be collected in the markets ; 
 that the poor agriculturists should be assisted by the government 
 with loans of seed, to be returned with a small interest after 
 harvest, and to fix the value of money. He was bitterly opposed 
 by the literati of the old school, (Vide De Mailla.) 
 
 Note 87, p. 145 — " Disembodied spirit that knitted the gi-ass." 
 — Wou-tsee, pere de Weiko, avait une concubine. Etant tombe 
 malade, il appela son fils, Weiko, et lui dit : Je desire qu'apres 
 ma mort tu maries cette concubine. Le fils, obeissant aux 
 volontes de son pere, maria la concubine. Quelques temps 
 apres, Weiko, faisant la guerre dans le pays da Fouchi, aper9ut 
 un vieillard qui nouait I'herbe d'un bout du chemin a I'autre 
 pour arreter Tou-hoei, qui le poursuivit. Tou-hoei s'embar- 
 VOL. I. P
 
 314 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 rassa les pieds et tomba. Weiko n'eut pas de peine a le taire 
 prisonniere. La nuit suivante, U vit en songe un vieillard qui 
 lui dit : Je suis pere de la femme que vous avez mariee. J'ai 
 voulut vous recompenser pour avoir fidelement suivi les demiers 
 volontes de votre pere, (Cir. de Craie, 112.) This expression of 
 " knitting the gi-ass " is also very common with the Chinese. 
 
 Note 88, p. 14:6 — " Yancheyu-fu." — This town is the Paris 
 of the celestial empire. In the seventeenth century, it contained 
 2,000,000 of inhabitants, (Du Halde, i. 69.) There are many 
 here, " qui font mestier d'acheter de petites filles, de les nourrir 
 et elever delicatement, de leur apprendre a chanter, et surtout 
 a jouer des instrumens, a faire des vers, &c., puis les revendent 
 bien cher aux gi ands Seigneurs, qui s'en servent de concubines," 
 (Thev. Mar. Martinii.) 
 
 Note 89, p. 147 — " Watch-tower to watch-tower." — " On 
 trouve a I'ordiuaire de demie heue en demie lieue des guerites ou 
 Ton pose des sentinelles, elles se font des signaux, la nuit par des 
 feux qu'elles allument au haut de la gu^iite, ou par des drapaux 
 qu'elles suspendeut durant le jour." These towers were usuaDy of 
 turf or earth, square, aud twelve feet high, (Du Halde, i. 72 — 3.) 
 
 Note 90, p. 147 — " The tambour before the palace." — This 
 is an observance that dates from the emperor Yu, (Du Halde, 
 i. 290. ) A drum is also placed at every magistrate's door, to 
 secure attention to the appeals of the people. " Such appeals, 
 however, (and they lie gradatim from the lowest tribunal up to 
 the emperor himself,) are always attended with great hazard, as 
 they subject the appellant to severe punishment, should his case 
 be deemed frivolous or inadmissible," (Davis. For. Union, i. 114.) 
 
 Note 91, p. 152 — " Hiong-nu." — A people who were known to 
 the first Chinese dynasty under the name of Hiun-yu. They were 
 subsequently called Hiong-nu, that signifies in Chinese, "detest- 
 able slaves." They made frequent incursions into China, (Kla. 
 Tab. His. 103.) Chin-hoangtygave them a severe defeat, 216 B.C. ; 
 but they soon recovered from this check, and rose to great power, 
 141 B.C. They were again defeated by the Chinese, who drove 
 them two hundred leagues from their frontiers, and besides this, 
 entered into a federative league with all the neighbouring princes
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 315 
 
 to their prejudice, (Ibid. 105.) In 52 B.C. they submitted to 
 the Chinese, (Ibid. 106,) whom they continued to serve, ex- 
 cepting some occasional revohs, until the division of their power 
 into the northern and southern Hiong-nu. The former of these 
 were destroyed by the latter, a.d. 92. The southern Hiong-nu 
 were destroyed a.d. 216, by a people called Sienpy, (Kla. Tab. 
 His. 111.) The northern Hiong-nu are the progenitors of the 
 Huns, (De Guignes, i. 2, page 289, and foil.) 
 
 Note 92, p. 156 — " Whoever bears it can never siiffer from 
 any species of wound." — Some Portuguese, after having taken 
 a Malabar vessel, found the body of the captain pierced with 
 sword-cuts and musket-shots, but not a drop of blood flowed 
 from his wounds until a small sea-horse bone had been removed 
 from his neck — " Dans I'hopital royal de Goa, qui est sous la 
 direction des peres de notre compagnie, on garde une de ces 
 dents, qui fait voir tons les jours une experience aussi surpre- 
 nante,' (as the above,) (IVf. Bojti, Jesuit, in Thev.) 
 
 Note 93, p. 157 — " The practice has since been generally dis- 
 continued." — That it is not entii-ely so, we find by Du Halde : 
 " II s'en trouve qui ouvrent les sepulchres pour d^rober des 
 joyaux on des habits precieux," (ii. 125.) 
 
 Note 94, p. 109 — " Mother of the heavens." — She is also 
 called Holy Mother, Queen of Heaven. She is goddess of 
 peace and power, (Barrow, 467.) 
 
 Note 95, p. 170 — " Tsao-ta-kou." — She was sister of the 
 illustrious general, Pan-tchao. She flourished at the end of the 
 first and beginning of the second century after Clirist. She was 
 a woman of great penetration, and one of the most learned of 
 her age. She corrected, at the emperor's own command, an 
 historical work one of her brothers had, dying, left incomplete, 
 (De Mailla, pre. 28, 29.) 
 
 Note 96, p. 17.3 — " Snow banner." — Genghis adopted a 
 white flag with nine tails, (Klaproth, Mem. Eel. i. 183.) 
 
 Note 97, p. 188 — " Dwarf trees." — The mode by which the 
 Chinese procure these curiosities of the vegetable kingdom is 
 described, (Staun. i. 430.)
 
 316 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 Note 98, p. 190 — "Chun." — One of the most famous and 
 ancient emperors of China ; he was born 2327, b.c. (De Guignes, 
 i. 7.) He was as remarkable for his filial piety as for his 
 talents : he was by turn agiiculturist, fisherman, and potter, 
 (Ibid. 8.) The emperor Yao, to try his capacity, gave him his two 
 daughters in mai-riage, (Ibid. 10,) and afterwaids created him 
 minister, and declared him heir to the empke, (Ibid. 13.) 
 
 Note 99, p. 191 — " Cong-fou, the posture charm." — Certain 
 Taotsy pretend to cure all infinnities and afflictions by making 
 the patient assume a variety of strange positions. The posture 
 to which Kyatsetao aftei'wards refers, would require the patient 
 to sit on the ground and embrace the soles of his feet with his 
 hands, (Amiot, Mem. iv. 441 — 446.) 
 
 Note 100, p. 195 — " The book Chin-tsong." — This monarch 
 declared, that in his sleep a spiiit had promised him a celestial 
 book, which was found as indicated. It was full of the reveries 
 of the Taotsy, and enjoyed, for a time, considerable favour, (See 
 De MaiUa, viii. 162.) 
 
 Note 101, p. 198 — "Instrument of sounding stones." — A 
 musical instrument much in vogue among the ancient, and still 
 in use among the modern Chinese. It is composed of a pecu- 
 liarly sonorous description of stone, that is suspended by one of 
 its angles to a piece of wood, (De Mailla, i. 93.) It was to this 
 instmment, Kouei, appointed superintendent of music by Chun, 
 refen-ed, when he boasted : " WTien I touch the stone, the ani- 
 mals of every species jump with joy, and excite each other to 
 the dance," (De Mailla, i. 93.) 
 
 Note 102, p. 202 — " Fouyue." — Caotsong, of the Kang dy- 
 nasty, refused to enter upon the discharge of public afi'airs until 
 such time as he could discover a man for minister, such as the 
 lord of Heaven had shown him in a dream. The portrait of the 
 man was painted, and sent all through the empire. At last, Fou- 
 yue was found, who exactly con-espouded : he was then a mason ; 
 he was named piime minister, and owing to his wisdom and in- 
 telligence, and being seconded by the emperor, the empire be- 
 came as flourishing as in its most prosperous days, (De Mailla, 
 i. 214—221.)
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 317 
 
 Note 103, p. 202 — " Miaofou." — An officer of Chaotsong, of 
 the Soung dyuasty, who became disgusted at the power the 
 eunuchs had assumed. He formed a conspiracy with some 
 oihei-s to put the eunuchs to death, and most of those unfortu- 
 nate creatures perished. His success rendered him insolent, 
 and he required Chaotsong to abdicate in favour of his sou, 
 which he did: this revolution was not accepted by the other 
 grandees ; many of whom took up arms to deliver the emperor 
 from the power of the mutineers, who, becoming aliu-med, re- 
 placed the monai-ch on his throne. The loyal mandarins were 
 not content ^vith this : they assembled troops ; attacked and de- 
 feated Miaofou, who fled, but he was apprehended and executed, 
 A.D. 1129, (De MaiUa, viii. 475 — 484.) 
 
 Note 104, p. 205 — "Cataracts of Shiapatan." — "On the 
 3rd of November, we approached that part of the river, which, 
 on account of the numerous shipwrecks that have happened there, 
 is held in no small degree of dread by the Chinese. They call 
 it Sheepatan, or the eighteen cataracts, which are torrents formed 
 by ledges of rock running across the bed of the river," (Barrow, 
 536.) 
 
 Note 105, p. 208 — " The second of the invitations." — In 
 China it is the custom to give three invitations to an entertain- 
 ment: — The first, the day before; the second, on the morning 
 of the day ; and the third, when the host is prepared for the re 
 ception of his guests, (Du Halde, ii. 111.) 
 
 Note 106, p. 220 — " Kiujin." — At certain periods, an officer 
 appointed by the government, appears in each Fu, (Vide Note 2,) 
 and examines all the literary aspirants. Those who pass, take 
 the degree of Sieou-tsai, equivalent to our bachelor : these Sieou- 
 tsai are obliged to continue the prosecution of their studies, and 
 attend the triennial examinations held in the capital of each pro- 
 vince, where the degree of Kiujin, equivalent to our licentiate, 
 is conferred upon the successful. These can remain in this 
 rank if they please ; but the more talented and ambitious proceed 
 to the capital of the empire, where they are examined, fonnerly 
 it was in the emperor's presence, and those who pass, obtain the 
 degree of Tsin-sse, doctor, (Du Halde, ii. 251 — 257.) 
 
 p 2
 
 318 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 Note 107, p. 2"22 — " luiu-tchin." — A physician tvLo cured 
 a literato gratuitously. Some time afterwards, he was sleeping 
 at bis patient's house, when the wife of the latter came to his 
 room ; he, however, repulsed her, saying, " It is impossible ! It 
 is impossible!" The lady with difficulty desisted from her im- 
 portunities, not before the doctor was very nearly yielding. 
 When he left the house, he wrote upon the table, " The words, 
 'It is impossible,' are very difficult to put in i)ractice," (Rec. et 
 Peines, 109.) 
 
 Note 108, p. 223 — " Physician." — In China, the profession 
 of medicine is followed by two classes : first, by the priests of 
 the two creeds of Laotsy and of Fo, whose inactice consists in the 
 observance of certain ceremonies, by which they undertake to 
 dislodge the evil spirit that affects the sick ; secondly, by a class 
 in whom the profession is hereditary, (Bartoli, 62,) and though 
 they thus procure the benefit of the experience of many genera- 
 tions, their knowledge is at a very low ebb. They have no 
 schools of medicine, and it is by following their fathers, or by 
 binding themselves apprentices to some practitioner, that they 
 acquire any knowledge of their art. The profession is not, as in 
 Europe, divided into several branches, for here the same indi- 
 vidual practises medicine, pharmacy, and surgery, (Grosier, vi. 
 244.) Surgery is a science with which they are almost totally 
 unacquainted ; anatomy being as much prohibited by the laws 
 as by popular prejudice, (Grosier, vi. 187.) The Chinese reme- 
 dies are but vsimples, (Ibid. 192.) The great secret of a Chinese 
 physician's art is to comprehend thoroughly the various states 
 of the pulse, which they feel in all parts of the body, sometimes 
 for an hour together, till they satisfy themselves, and are able 
 to inform their patient of eveiy symptom of the disorder he suf- 
 fers from, the length of time he has been aflFected, and the cause 
 of the malady, and the period required to effect a cure, (Ibid. 
 198.) The Chinese physicians aie paid by the job ; when not 
 so, they are suspected of sometimes lengthening out the sick- 
 nesses of their richer patients, to increase the amount of their 
 fees, (Rec. et Peines, 190.) 
 
 Note 109, p. 225 — " Youmust when deal." — " According to
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 319 
 
 the sectai-ians of Laotsy and of Fo, debtors who do not satisfy 
 their creditors, will, after death, be born in the shape of some 
 animal, subject to the last, and woi-k their accounts out," (Rec. 
 et Peiues, 333-4.) 
 
 Note 1 10, p. ti'^S — " Imperial wolves." — The mandiuins are 
 frequently distinguished by the epithets of wolves and tigers. 
 
 Note 111, p. 23'2 — "The fidse sects." — A term the literati 
 employ to designate the sects that diflfer from themselves, (Du 
 Halde, ii. 207.) 
 
 Note 11'2, p. 232 — "A pai-t of the creating deity." — "Au 
 reste ce qu'on entend par la raison est proprement I'attribut du 
 Tien — dans le Tien, cela s'appelle raison, dans Thonime, on le 
 nomme vertu ou talens," (Du Halde, ii. 277.) " Enim ista 
 recte vivendi forma sit unicuique homini a Cffilo infusa, illique 
 intima et connaturalis," (Noel, Lib. Clas, 49.) 
 
 Note 113, p. 232 — "From whence it emanated." — "Aura 
 vitalis est clara spiritus producentis mauifestatio — cadaver tu- 
 mulo illatum postquam putrefactum est, resolvitur in terram 
 agrestem; vitalis autem illius se prodeus resplendet, reveren- 
 tiamque ac timorem simul inspirat," (Noel, Kit. et Cer. 21.) 
 
 Note 114, p. 233 — "Yao," — Was born 2357 B.C.: he was 
 created emperor at sixteen yeai-s of age ; during his reign a deluge 
 covered great part of the empire. He instituted divine sacri- 
 fices, and determined the weights and measures, and the calendar. 
 He died at the age of 102, (De Guignes, i. 2 — 2.5.) He is one 
 of the monarchs to whom the Chinese love to ref r. 
 
 Note 115, p. 234 — " Should do unto you." — " Quod tibi nou 
 vis fieri, alteri ne feceris," (Noel, Lib. Clas. 49.) 
 
 Note 116, p. 230 — " Spirit creator" &c. — From this obser- 
 vation of the Kiujin, we are inclined to believe that he belonged 
 to the sect of Jukiao, who are accused by some of atheism, and 
 by others of deism. They took their rise in the year 1070, when 
 some Chinese savans, to explain some passages of the King, 
 (Vide Note 49,) proceeded to preach the successive destruction 
 and renovation of the world for eternity, in periods of 129,600
 
 320 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 years. They deny all supernatural cauess, (De Guignes, 
 345—8.) 
 
 Note 117, p. 236 — " Bow their head at the door of the dragon." 
 — A Chinese expression, that signifies to fail at the examina 
 tions, (Cir. de Craie, xix.) 
 
 Note 118, p. 241 — "Wild goose." — I believe it is the same 
 with the " Anas falcata" of PaUas, and " Anas nobilis" of Davis ; 
 vide " The Sorrows of Han." 
 
 Note 119, p. 242 — " Hoeihe." — A people who rose into 
 great power during the latter half of the eighth century. They 
 were destroyed by the Kitans, (Vide De Mailla, De Guignes, 
 His. des. Huns.) 
 
 Note 120, p. 242 — " Choubi Siagar." — Was an abyss, ac- 
 cording to the Calmucks, 6,116,000 leagues in depth and ex- 
 tent, that existed previous to the creation. Some gilded clouds 
 arose from it, assembled, and fell in a rain which produced an 
 immense sea. On this sea was formed a foam that resembled 
 milk, from which all living creatures were formed, alike gods 
 and men. A storm arose, and a column, called Soumer Oola, 
 appeared rising out of this ocean. It was 2000 leagues in 
 circumference, and round it all the worlds revolve. This 
 column has four faces : one of sUver ; another, azure ; a third, 
 gold ; a fourth, deep red. The periodical revolutions of the day 
 depend upon this column. With the Aurora, the sun's rays 
 strike the silver face; at midday, the azure, Sec. At night, the 
 luminary retires behind it, (Pallas, i. 535 — 6.) 
 
 Note 121, p. 242 — " That compose the sun." — " Ik disent" 
 (Calmucks) " que le soleil est compose de verre et de feu." 
 The moon they suppose to be glass and water, (Pallas, i. 536.) 
 
 Note 122, p. 243—" Oukir Edlekstski." — One of the five 
 great worlds that revolve round the column Soumer Oola. It 
 "n'est habite que par des vaches," (Pallas, i. 537.) The reader 
 must recollect that the Tatars count their wealth but by their 
 flocks. 
 
 Note 123, p. 243 — " Moun Outou." — Is another of the 
 worlds that revolve around the great column. '• II est peuple
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 321 
 
 par des hommes qui, quoique sans ames, vivent inille ans. saiis 
 ^tre sujet a aucune maladie," (Pallas, i. 537.) 
 
 Note 124, p. 245 — " Traveller in the woods." — " Les legendes 
 rapportent que lorsque Sakji Mouni habitoit le corps d'un lievre, 
 il rencontra un homme qui mouroit de faira, et que ce dieu eut 
 I'honnetete de se laisser prendre. L'esprit tutclaire de la terre, 
 satisfait de cette belle action, pla9a aussitot la figure d'un lievre 
 dans la lune pour en cterniser la memoire," (Pallas, i. 547.) 
 
 Note 125, p. 251 — " Kouo-tsae." — A famous general of the 
 Tang dynasty, whose name was so much dreaded by the enemies 
 of the empire, that they fled at his sole approach. He was 
 appointed governor of the empire. For thirty years he com- 
 manded the troops during times of great commotion, and he 
 was, for that period, always victorious ; his fidelity was never 
 suspected, and during it, he never committed one act of injus- 
 tice, (De Mailla, vi. 295-319.) 
 
 Note 12G, p. 251 — "Hokouang." — He flourished in the 
 century preceding Christ. He was of irreproachable conduct ; 
 incapable of giving bad counsel, and zealous for the glory of the 
 state. His daughter was wife, or rather concubine, of the emperor 
 Hansiuenty. His Avife, anxious to make her daughter empress, 
 caused the legitimate empress to be poisoned. Hokouang, when 
 he learned this crime, became so afi'ected, that he died of grief, 
 (De Mailla, iii. 9U— 122.) 
 
 Note 127, p. 252 — " The ornaments Ko." — These are orna- 
 ments of jasper or jade, attached to the poitrels of the horses of 
 the wealthy Chinese, (Cir. de Craie. 107.) By this name the 
 street where the prostitutes reside is distinguished, from its 
 being most frequented by the rich. 
 
 Note 128, p. 262 — " The second fonn of marriage." The 
 
 Chinese law permits a man to have but one legitimate wife. He 
 can have others, but there is little ceremony required to be ob- 
 served in espousing these, and less in dismissing or sePing 
 them. 
 
 Note 129, p. 262 — "Yofei." — A valiant general of the
 
 322 NOTES TO VOL. I. 
 
 Soung dynasty, famous for his victories over the Kin, who 
 refused to make peace with the empire unless he were sacrificed. 
 He was most falsely accused of treason, and assassinated in 
 prison, (Vide De Mailla.) 
 
 Note 130, p. 264 — " Kouyen." — An officer of the emperor 
 Kouang-outy, a.d. 32, The emperor having determined, con- 
 trary to his advice, to proceed in person against a rebel, on the 
 day of departure, he stopped the royal chariot, and cut the reins 
 with his sabre. The emperor commended his zeal, (De Mailla, 
 iii. 311.) 
 
 Note 131, p. 264 — " Lieou-tao." — One of the grandees of 
 the court of Hanlingty, an emperor entirely swayed by the per- 
 nicious councils of eunuchs ; into whose presence Lieou-tao 
 penetrated, and boldly warned him of the disaffected state of the 
 empire, and besought him to dismiss the eunuchs. Hanlingty, 
 irritated bv his boldness, ordered that he should be put to death, 
 (De MaUla, iii. 519—20.) 
 
 Note ]32, p. 266 — " Pantchao." — A general of the dynasty 
 of the Han, of great resolution and valour. After a series of 
 very rai-ely equalled military successes, he conquered, for his 
 master, all the countrj' as far as the Caspian, a.d. 94, (De 
 MaiUa, iii. 397.) 
 
 Note 133, p. 267 — "Wealth- despising monarch." — Le gou- 
 verneur de Koue-yang, ayant trouve uue perle d'une grosseur 
 extraordinaire, voulut faire sa cour a I'empereur, (Hanchunty,) 
 en la lui envoyait. Ce prince la refusa ; disant qu'il ne devoit 
 point s'occuper de ce qui ne pouvait servir qu'a entretenir le 
 luxe et la vanite, (De Mailla, iii. 42-5.) 
 
 Note 134, p. 268 — " That falls and crumbles." — " Omnis 
 enim res, quae ad veritatis metam prius derigitur, feliciter sta- 
 bilitur ; quae non derigitur, infiliciter labitur," (Noel, Lib. 
 Clas. 60.) 
 
 Note 135, p. 280 — "At the disposal of Tyen." — Confucius, 
 during his wanderings, was sometimes in peiil of his Mfe. On 
 one occasion, he very naiTOwly escaped ; and he observed to his
 
 NOTES TO VOL. I. 323 
 
 disciples, who were surprised at the coolness he manifested, after 
 encountering such peril — "Ki See-ma-hoangty, ni tout autre, ne 
 sauroieut me nuire qu'autaut que ce meme ciel, auquel j'obeis, le 
 leur perraettra," (Amiot, Mem. xii. 310.) " Idcirca sapiens in 
 qua^'is vitee couditione semper tranquillus vivit, quia unam Coeli 
 providentiam expectat," (Noel, Lib. Clas. 50.) 
 
 Note ISO, p. '281 — " Pelienkia." — A secret society, whose ob- 
 ject is to overthrow existing institutions. The punishment ac- 
 corded by Chinese laws to such as belong to it, is the same as 
 that to leaders of corrupt and impious sects, (Staun. Laws, 175.) 
 
 Note 137, p. 282 — " Ou-y." — Emperor of the dynasty of 
 Kang, a fierce monster, and famous for his impieties. He was 
 struck by lightning, 1195 B.C. (De Mailla, i. 227-8.) 
 
 END OF VOL. L 
 
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