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Sacred Instructions of the Ta Tsing Emperors.
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Nov.
diffuse. What shall we then say about the terse Shoo King, and the far famed She King, abounding in repetitions? What about the mi- nute Le Ke, the unintelligible Yih King, on the title page of which ought to be written, noli me tangere? Add to these the skeleton of Chun Tsew, the Lun Yu, the Ta Heó, and Chung Yung as classical patterns. We are perfectly aware that these are barbarian notions, and that an outcry will be raised against such sweeping remarks; still they will, on close examination, be found true. Further dis- cussion of this topic, however, would carry us into a different direc- tion than we were going to take, and we shall therefore waive it.
The great emperors of China, are not like other monarchs, who sit quietly on the throne to enjoy themselves, leaving the instruction of their subjects to a host of teachers, and taking no actual share in the same. No, they in turn become schoolmasters and preachers, for the benefit of their children, the people. The Shing Yu, trans- Jated into English by Dr. Milne, may be considered as a specimen of Kanghe's eloquence; but this work, intended for the nation at large, sinks into insignificance, when compared with the Shing Heun, now before us.
Here in this great work, you find sermons from all the Mantchou einperors, full and lucid upon all subjects; but not being intended for the eyes of the vulgar, the diction is puzzling, and many passages are intelligible only to the Hanlin. From Cæsar down to Frederic the Great, we have never before heard that kings and em perors systematically schooled their officers, and gave them regular tasks to learn, in order to improve them in the art of governing; but this is actually the case in China-thus evincing its superior claim to civilization. True, the ancient kings did the same; yet their dis- courses were exceedingly short, but think of this work now before us; we ourselves possess seventy volumes, and this is scarcely a third part of the whole. Every year additions are made; and could we by chance get a sight of the supplement of 1840, what splendid and touching passages might be found, upon the art of subjecting barba- rians, and ruling with undisputed sway! How should we see the jus- tice and truth and mercy of the celestial empire. lauded to the sky! Despairing, however, of obtaining a sight of this supplement, we must „be content with what we have, though we can only glance at the miscellaneous contents of these volumes. If they are in the posses- sion of any other foreigner, we are ignorant of the fact, and should they ever have been mentioned in any learned periodical, we have never seen the passage, and must therefore not be accused of relating old stories.
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