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Illustrations of Men and Things in China
ALG
lities he possesses, or is expected to possess, are described in terms of studied elegance and evident amplitude. To the praise is joined an exhortation more and more to cultivate such habits as becoine & man; and it then concludes by saying that this roll is to make known to all what the emperor is graciously pleased to think of his subjects' good conduct. The style is eulogistic and affects magnificence, but not more perhaps than may be found in the diplornas of western col. leges, or in the inscriptions with which our monumental records are decorated. But in the second or third paragraphs we have sonie- thing, for which an equivalent is scarcely to be found among us, whe- ther our dwelling be on the eastern or western side of the Atlantic, which is, a public testimonial in favor of the wife, ranging side by side with her husband's. The lady has her share in the diplomacy, where- in she is commended for all those virtues which best become her sex and station, and is encouraged to persevere in their culture in the most forceful and charming phrases that language can suggest. It seems to be taken for granted that to perfect the character of a wise and sober man the possession of a good wife is essential. The influence, either for good or for evil, which a wife generally exerts over her hus- band, is no secret to the observer of mankind; nor has it escaped the wisest of men, when, in an elaborate encomium upon a prudent wife, he thus describes the effect which her good conduct has upon her partner: He is known in the gates when he sitteth among the nobles.
ART. IV. Illustrations of men and things in China: popular opi
nions and proverbs, relating to times and seasons, &c., with explanatory notes.
1. When a sage appears, the Yellow river becomes clear; when a prefect refuses bribes, the Yue gem appears.
"The Yellow river, according to the Classic, becomes clear once in five hundred years, which is a sign that a sage has appeared, or is to do so.- The Yuegein occurs on the seashore in Fuchau tù in Fukien, enve- joped in a mist, and has only appeared once, when Sung Yuyuen was prefect, who was famed for integrity and justice.
When one gets what is useless to him, he is like one who has obtained a field of stones; when one attains a high literary degree, he is said to have landed on the shores of reason