1842.
Portrait of Fuhí
173
nese themselves call elegant and refined in manners, Europeans might, and often do, pronounce coarse and barbarous. Hence, as we are compelled to infer the quality of the soil from its productions, and the inclination of the earth's surface from the course of the rivers; so, in like manner, we must derive our ideas of the character of the inhabitants from their institutions, civil, social, and religious, and from the productions of their hands and their genius.
From the foreigners now resident in Chekiáng we hope to receive valuable information, as well regarding the character and man- ners of the people, as respecting the productions of their soil and their manufactories. Our pages will always be open for original communi- cations; and faithful descriptions, especially of men and things in those parts hitherto but little frequented by foreigners, will surely be acceptable to all our readers.
ART. VII. Portrait of Fuhi, the first of the Five Sovereigns, whose reign commenced two thousand eight hundred and fifty- 1100 years before Christ.
Yucháu and
IMMEDIATELY after the Three Sovereigns, whose portraits were given in the last number, some authors introduce two other monarchs, whose names are
Sui-jin. Next in the series, all agree in placing Fuhí, or, with the name more fully written,
Tái Háu Fuhi, the Great Illustrious Fuhí, who was born in the province of Shensí. He was renowned for his virtues; and hence the appellations Great and Illustrious were given to him. He built his capital in the province of Hònán, in the depart- ment of Kaifung, its modern capital. And it is there, on the banks of the Yellow river, that the Chinese look for the site of that first set- tlement, from whence have sprung all the successive dynasties and all the countless multitudes of the black-haired people, which, during a period of forty-seven centuries, have ruled and cultivated the hills and vallies of the celestial empire. But if the time of Fuhr's ap- pearance on earth be correctly indicated, and the commenceineut of his reign be placed 2852 B. c., he must of course have lived an- terior to the deluge of Noah; and consequently at a period when there may have been no Hwáng hò to overflow its banks, and distress the peaceful inhabitants of the land.