CHAP. V.
Manners and Amusements of the Court—Reception of Embassadors.—Character
and private Life of the Emperor—His Eunuchs and Women.
General Character of the Court—Of the buildings about the Palace—Lord Macartney's Account of his Introduction—Of the Celebration of the Emperor's Anniversary Festival—Of a Puppet-Shew—Comedy and Pantomime—Wrestling—Conjuring and Fire-Works—Reception and Entertainment of the Dutch Embassadors from a Manuscript Journal—Observations on the State of the Chinese Stage—Extraordinary Scene in one of their Dramas—Gross and indelicate Exhibitions—Sketch of Kien-Long's Life and Character—Kills his Son by an unlucky Blow—conceives himself immortal—Influence of the Eunuchs at the Tartar Conquest—their present State and Offices—Emperor's Wife, Queens, and Concubines—How disposed of at his Death.
CHAP. VI.
Language.—Literature, and the fine Arts.—Sciences.—Mechanics, and Medicine.
Opinion of the Chinese Language being hieroglyphical erroneous.—Doctor Hager's mistakes.—Etymological Comparisons fallacious.—Examples of.—Nature of the Chinese written Character.—Difficulty and Ambiguity of.—Curious Mistake of an eminent Antiquarian.—Mode of acquiring the Character.—Oral Language.—Mantchoo Tartar Alphabet.—Chinese Literature.—Astronomy.—Chronology.—Cycle of sixty Years.—Geography.—Arithmetic.—Chemical Arts.—Cannon and Gunpowder.—Distillation.—Potteries.—Silk Manufactures.—Ivory.—Bamboo.—Paper.—Ink.—Printing.—Mechanics.—Music.—Painting.—Sculpture.—Architecture.—Hotel of the English Embassador in Pekin.—The Great Wall.—The Grand Canal.—Bridges.—Cemeteries.—Natural Philosophy.—Medicine.—Chinese Pharmacopoeia.—Quacks.—Contagious Fevers.—Small-pox.—Opthalmia.—Venereal Disease.—Midwifery.—Surgery.—Doctor Gregory's Opinion of their Medical Knowledge.—Sir William Jones's Opinion of their general Character.