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and connexion may be preserved in them, they will even supply data where it is impossible for them to be ascertained. Like the mendacious Livy, and other ancient historians, they also put orations into the mouths of their heroes, which they neither uttered nor conceived. Some writers have clothed their whole narrative in this garb, as though they wished to write a dialogue; at the same time so deep is their ingenuity, that even their mythological stories have an appearance of probability, if not of veracity. These remarks apply more especially to details having reference to their own country. When they speak of "barbarians," as they know but little about them, and their selflove is strong, their statements are not only imperfect, but marred with gross falsehood.

Biography.The Chinese call biography Singheo, or "the study of names." In this department of literature, they have a great variety of books, at the head of which, in date and estimation, stands the Lun-yu, or discourses of Confucius, before noticed. Some of their memoirs are exceedingly interesting, and throw more light on history than the works of professed historians. There is a modern biographical work called Singpoo, which consists of one hundred volumes, and comprises the lives of eminent men and women, as do our biographical dictionaries.

Works on the criminal law. Some account of the great work on criminal law among the Chinese has been already given in a previous chapter. The civil code of the present Tartar dynasty consists of two hundred and sixty-one volumes, which contain not only the existing laws, but an account of all the changes and modifications

of the law since A.D. 1644. The body of the work is divided into nine parts. The first of these parts contains all matters concerning the imperial house now reigning; the second relates to the palace and its regulations; the next six are concerning the six tribunals before described; and under the ninth, and last, are miscellaneous laws, relating to public education, etc. In the part which relates to the board of civil offices, there is a detailed list of all the appointments in the empire, the relative rank of each officer, and the rules for selecting, appointing, removing, rewarding, and punishing them.

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Works on astronomy, geography, medicine, etc. -The Chinese possess one work, published in one hundred volumes, which treats of spherical trigonometry, geometry, astronomy, and music. Of medicine, also, they possess some works, as the Chang-Seng, or long life," an essay on diet and regimen; and the famous Pun-tsaou, or "herbal." In geography, their literature is rich; and they have maps, in which every province is laid down on the spherical projection, with lines of latitude, and meridians of longitude. All these

works, however, are of very little practical utility. Notwithstanding their boasted civilization, the science of the Chinese is not many degrees superior to that of the primitive ages.

Poetry. In what rude strains the ancient poets among the Chinese sang has been mentioned in a review of the "book of Songs," included in the sacred classics. Since that age, the structure of their verse has undergone considerable improvement; and there have been eras of their history, when the art of poetry in all its various branches

-the lyric, epic, descriptive, pastoral, moral, didactic, epigrammatic, and sentimental, has been especially cultivated. The Chinese, themselves, compare its progress to the growth of a tree. "The ancient book of songs," they say, 66 may be likened to the roots; when Soolo flourished, the buds appeared; in the time of Kien-gan there was abundance of foliage; but, during the Tang dynasty, many reposed under the shade of the tree, and it yielded rich supplies of flowers and fruits."

It would require more space than our limits will allow to give specimens of every kind of Chinese poetry. Hence one example only is subjoined; which will give the reader an idea of their descriptive verse.

The style of descriptive poetry among the Chinese may be illustrated by a poem concerning the English, which was written in 1813, by one better instructed than most of his countrymen who have ventured to travel abroad. It is entitled "London," and was originally published in the Royal Asiatic Transactions, where it was printed with the Chinese text, and where the translator observed that the poem being a simple description, contains few flights of fancy, whence it was judged best to afford a literal prose translation, retaining all the hyperboles of the original.

Afar in the ocean, towards the extremities of the north-west, There is a nation, or country, called England:

The climate is frigid, and you are compelled to approach the fire:

The houses are so lofty, that you may pluck the stars!
The pious inhabitants respect the ceremonies of worship,
And the virtuous among them ever read the sacred books;
They bear a peculiar enmity towards the French nation,

The weapons of war rest not for a moment between them. Their fertile hills, adorned with the richest luxuriance, Resemble, in the outline of their summits, the arched eyebrows of a fair woman.

The inhabitants are inspired with a respect for the female sex, Who in this land correspond with the perfect features of nature; Their young maidens have cheeks resembling red blossoms, And the complexion of their beauties is like the white gem : Of old has connubial affection been highly esteemed among them,

Husband and wife delighting in mutual harmony.

Here some stanzas are omitted, after which the poet proceeds to describe the features of our great metropolis.

The two banks of the river lie to the north and south; Three bridges interrupt the stream, and form a communication: Vessels of every kind pass between the arches,

While men and horses pace among the clouds [fogs]:

A thousand masses of stone rise one above the other,
And the river flows through nine channels:

The bridge of Loyâng, which out-tops all in our empire,
Is in shape and size somewhat like these.

The towering edifices rise story above story,

In all the stateliness of splendid mansions:

Railings of iron thickly stud the sides of every entrance,
And streams from the river circulate through the walls.
The sides of each apartment are variegated with devices;
Through the windows of glass appear the scarlet hangings :
And in the street itself is presented a beautiful scene;
The congregated buildings have all the aspect of a picture.
The spacious streets are exceedingly smooth and level,
Each being crossed by others at intervals:

On either side perambulate men and women;

In the centre career along the carriages and horses :

The mingled sound of voices is heard in the shops at evening;
During winter the heaped-up snows adhere to the pathway:
Lamps are displayed at night along the street-sides,
Whose radiance twinkles like the stars of the sky.

* London, Blackfriars, and Westminster, the only bridges then existing.

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Chinese poetry presents almost every kind of stanza and mode of arrangement known among ourselves. Thus, in one of their most popular poems, the Hwa-tseen, or the flower and the leaf," there are stanzas, consisting of four or eight lines, with seven characters, and, consequently, seven syllables in each line, with every alternate line rhyming; and there are some in which every alternate syllable rhymes; and others in which the rhyme occurs at the end and in the middle of the line. Notwithstanding, the Chinese do not seem to possess a nice ear for the perception of true rhymes, which may partly arise from their not having such precise symbols or marks of sound as our alphabetic letters. In one particular, that of parallelism, Chinese poetry resembles the Hebrew; and the peculiar structure of the language renders the parallelism much more exact, as word for word is usually set in juxtaposition.

On the difficulties attending the translation of Chinese poetry, Gutzlaff remarks:-"That it is interwoven with so many strange and original metaphors and figures of speech, and contains such various allusions to history and deified heroes, that at first sight it appears a mere jargon. But when a sufficient acquaintance with these peculiarities has enabled the reader to penetrate into the spirit, a splendid vista opens, and the most sublime images present themselves before him. This, however, applies to the works of masterpoets only: the productions of numberless imitators are insipid and full of affectation. Nature presents scenes as grand and sublime in China as in any other part of the world. The most romantic spots are the abodes of poets until the

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