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Sacred Instructions of the Ta Tsing Emperors.
Nov.
This monarch having been an usurper, and driven his brother from the throne, great dissension reigued on that account amongst his family, and he therefore wrote a very elaborate treatise upon har- mony. Another sermon dwells upon the art of choosing suitable men for the various offices, a third speaks about the rewards due to veterans, and a fourth treats upon the love of the people. The latter contains regulations respecting the support of the aged, and the suc- cor of the needy in times of calamity. Three other volumes contain instructions to ministers; some suggestions for avoiding punishment, and for the encouragement of agriculture contain nothing new. An essay however upon the improvement of manners is on many ac- counts remarkable. It places the solution of this great problem in the hands of the Tribunal of Rites, and in fact makes a reformation of life a mechanical process. There is also much said about the minor virtues, such as economy, in which soldiers are very defective. Kanghe had given in gratuities to the eight standards, more than five millions of taels in cash, in order to enable the warriors to buy a little property, but they spent the whole, and remained as poor as ever, to the great regret of the generous donor. Amongst the dege- nerate practices of the age was pugilismo, against which the emperor very gravely inveighs, and exhorts his people to introduce more manly sports, superior to the amusements of loitering vagabonds.
Yungching's attention was likewise directed towards the preserva- tion of the canals, and the proper construction of locks. He was frequently obliged to remit the taxes to the people, and takes great credit to himself for having done so. He urges the erection of large granaries and the accumulation of all kind of stores, in order to aid in times of dearth. Being himself of economical habits, he hoarded not only grain, but collected valuables to au enormnous amount.
The monarch is loud in his praises of the true patriots, wao fought for the country's glory. He promises to give them solid proofs of his high consideration of merit. 'Your names,' says he, 'shall be transmitted to the latest posterity by whole races of noblemen; your sons shall be promoted to the highest offices in the state; you shall be patterns for the whole nation. Such are the prospects he holds out to all patriots and true lovers of their country. And here we close our review, for we do not possess the discourses of the three other emperors who succeeded him.
In no work that we have read, is the whole theory of the Chinese government so painly laid down, as in these volumes. There is more freedom of speech, a greater expansion of thought, and a more
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