Whether this most ancient empire among men will long continue in its stability and integrity, can only be matter of conjecture, but certain it is, the Chinese are greatly dissatisfied, and not without reason, at the imperious tone now openly assumed by the Tartars; and though they are obliged to cringe and submit, in order to rise to any distinction in the state, yet they unanimously load them with
"Curses, not loud, but deep, mouth-honour, breath[33]."
Whenever the dismemberment or dislocation of this great machine shall take place, either by a rebellion or revolution, it must be at the expence of many millions of lives. For, as is well observed by Lord Macartney, "A sudden transition from slavery to freedom, from dependence to authority, can seldom be borne with moderation or discretion. Every change in the state of man ought to be gentle and gradual, otherwise it is commonly dangerous to himself, and intolerable to others. A due preparation may be as necessary for liberty, as for inoculation of the small-pox, which, like liberty, is future health but, without due preparation, is almost certain destruction. Thus then the Chinese, if not led to emancipation by degrees, but let loose on a burst of enthusiasm, would probably fall into all the excesses of folly, suffer all the paroxysms of madness, and be found as unfit for the enjoyment of rational freedom, as the French and the negroes."
CHAP. VIII.
Conjectures on the Origin of the Chinese.—Their Religious
Sects,—Tenets,—and Ceremonies.
Embassy departs from Pekin, and is lodged in a Temple.—Colony from Egypt not necessary to be supposed, in order to account for Egyptian Mythology in China.—Opinions concerning Chinese Origin.—Observations on the Heights of Tartary.—Probably the Resting-place of the Ark of Noah.—Ancients ignorant of the Chinese.—Seres.—First known Intercourse of Foreigners with China.—Jews.—Budhists.—Nestorians.—Mahomedans.—Roman Catholics.—Quarrels of the Jesuits and Dominicans.—Religion of Confucius.—Attached to the Prediction of future Events.—Notions entertained by him of a future State.—Of the Deity.—Doctrine not unlike that of the Stoics.—Ceremonies in Honour of his Memory led to Idolatry.—Misrepresentations of the Missionaries with regard to the Religion of the Chinese.—The Tao-tze or Sons of Immortals.—Their Beverage of Life.—The Disciples of Fo or Budhists.—Comparison of some of the Hindu, Greek, Egyptian, and Chinese Deities.—The Lotos or Nelumbium.—Story of Osiris and Isis, and the Isia compared with the Imperial Ceremony of Ploughing.—Women visit the Temples.—Practical Part of Chinese Religion.—Funeral Obsequies.—Feast of Lanterns.—Obeisance to the Emperor performed in Temples leads to Idolatry.—Primitive Religion lost or corrupted.—Summary of Chinese Religion.
The suspicious and watchful conduct of the Chinese government towards strangers was ill suited to the free and independent spirit of Britons. Confined within the limits of their hotel, the populous capital of China was to them little better than a desert. It was, therefore, less painful to be obliged to quit a place which they could consider in no other light than as an honourable prison, and to take leave of a people, whose general character seemed to be strongly marked with pride, meanness, and ignorance. After having passed some time in a nation, where every petty officer is a tyrant, and every man a slave, how doubly precious do the blessings of that true liberty appear, which our happy constitution affords to every one the means of enjoying at home; where property is secured from violence, and where the life of the meanest subject is equally protected with that of the prince. Let those visionary men, who amuse themselves in building Utopian governments, and those who, from real or fancied injury or neglect, feel the chagrin of disappointment, visit other countries, and experience how justice is administered in other nations; they will then be taught to confess that real liberty exists only in Great Britain—in that happy island where, to use the expression of an eminent writer on the laws of nations[34], "an enlightened piety in the people is the firmest support of lawful authority; and in the sovereign's breast, it is the pledge of the people's safety, and excites their confidence."
Impressed with such sentiments, on the evening of the 7th of October I rode through the streets of Pekin, for the last time, in company with Mr. Maxwell. We were quite alone, not a single Chinese servant, nor soldier, nor officer to conduct us; yet we had no difficulty in finding our way. We passed through the broad streets of this capital from one extremity to the other without the least molestation, or, indeed, the least notice. We could not forbear remarking the extraordinary contrast, that the two greatest cities in the world exhibited at this hour of the day. In the public streets of Pekin, after five or six o'clock in the evening, scarcely a human creature is seen to move, but they abound with dogs and swine. All its inhabitants, having finished the business of the day, are now retired to their respective homes to eat their rice and, agreeably with the custom of their great Emperor, which to them is a law, to lie down with the setting sun; at which time in London, the crowd is so great, from Hyde Park corner to Mile End, as to interrupt each other. In Pekin, from the moment the day begins to dawn, the buzz and the bustle of the populace is like that of a swarm of bees; whilst, on the contrary, the streets of London at an early hour in the morning are nearly deserted. At eight in the evening, even in summer, the gates of Pekin are shut, and the keys sent to the governor, after which they cannot be opened on any consideration.
The Embassador and the rest of the suite, with the soldiers, servants and musicians had, several hours before us, set out in a sort of procession, in which an officer of government on horseback took the lead, with the letter of the Emperor of China to the King of England slung across his shoulders, in a wooden case covered with yellow silk. At a late hour in the night, we joined the rest of the party in the suburbs of Tong-tchoo-foo, where we were once more lodged among the gods of the nation, in a temple that was consecrated to the patronizing deity of the city. There are no inns in any part of this vast empire; or, to speak more correctly (for there are resting-places), no inhabited and furnished houses where, in consideration of paying a certain sum of money, a traveller may purchase the refreshments of comfortable rest, and of allaying the calls of hunger. The state of society admits of no such accommodation, and much less such as, in many countries, proceeds from a spirit of disinterested hospitality; on the contrary, in this country, they invariably shut their doors against a stranger. What they call inns are mean hovels, consisting of bare walls where, perhaps, a traveller may procure his cup of tea for a piece of copper money, and permission to pass the night; but this is the extent of the comforts which such places hold out. The practice indeed of travelling by land is so rare, except occasionally in those parts of the country which admit not the convenience of inland navigations, or at such times when these are frozen up, that the profits which might arise from the entertainment of passengers could not support a house of decent accommodation. The officers of state invariably make life of the conveniences which the temples offer, as being superior to any other which the country affords; and the priests, well knowing how vain it would be to resist, or remonstrate, patiently submit, and resign the temporary use of their apartments without a murmur.