and impartial Judgment ; and those who have resided long in the country, and know them well, have ar- rived at very different conclusions. M. Hue asserts that they are * destitute of religious feeling and be- liefs,' * skeptical and indifferent to everything that concerns the moral side of man,' * their whole lives but materialism put in action ;' but * all this,' says Mr. Meadows (7%e Chinete and their Rebellions, Lond. 1856), * is baseless calumny of the higher life of a great por- tion of the human race.' He admits, indeed, that these charges are true of the mass of the Chinese, just as they are true of the English, French, and Americans ; but as among these there is a large amount of generoa- ' ity and right feeling, and also * a minority higher in nature, actuated by higher motives, aiming at higher aims,' so also, he maintains, is there among the Chi- nese a similar right feeling, and a like minority who live a higher life than the people generally. The Chi- nese are, as a race, unwarlike, fond of peace and do- mestic order, capable of a high degree of organization and lobal self-government, sober, industrious, prac- tical, unimaginative, literary, and deeply imbued mth the mercantile spirit. It is to be observed that the in- habitants of China Proper are essentially one people, the differences, except in dialect, being hardly more marked than between the Northumbrian peasant and
I. Population, Umges, etc. ^The total population of China Proper was 871 millions in 1815, 896 millions in 1852, and is at present estimated at 410 or 420 millions.
This vast population has an ancient and peculiar civ- ilization. The Chinese are generally classed in the Mongolian variety of the human race. '* A tawny or ptrchment-colored skin, black hair, lank and coarse, a thin beard, oblique eyes, and high cheek-bones, are the principal characteristics of the race. Of the general chaiactar of the Chinese, it is not easy to form a iair
Map of China Proper.
the Cornish miner. The south-eastern Chinese — the people of Kwang-tung, Fuh-keen, and the south of Che-keang — are the most restless and enterprising in all the eighteen provinces, and may be regarded as the Anglo-Saxons of Asia. In the mountainous districts of the four south-eastern provinces of China, but prin- cipally in Kwang-se, are certain tribes who maintain a rude independence, wear a peculiar dress, and are descended from the aboriginal inhabitants of China. Of these the Meaou-tze are the best known.
CHINA
248
CHINA
** Women hold a Twy inferior potitkm, and tre l^e better than slaves. Polygamy is not recognised by law, bat secondary wiyes are common, especially when the first proves barren. In£uitlcide, though regarded as a crime, is nndonbtedly practised to some extent, as is proved by edicto issued against it. BCllne (Ijfs m Cfma) denies its prevalence [bat DooUttle (vol. U, ch. viii) abandantly confirms it]. Parents possess almost unlimited authority over their children. The inter- coarse of the Chinese with each other, especially in the upper classes, is regulated by a tedious and elabonte etiquette ; hideed, they are the slaves of custom, and everytUng is done by precedent 'A Chinaman,* says Mr. Oliphant, 'has wonderful command of feature ; he generally looks most pleased when he has least reason to be so, and maintains an expression of imperturbable politeness and amiability when he is secretly regret- ting devoutly that he cannot bastinado you to death.' The Le-King, or Book of Rites, regulates Chinese man- ners, and is one cause of their unchangeableness, for here they are stereotyped and handed down fh>m age to age. The ceremonial usages of China have been estimated at 8000, and one of the tribunals at Pekin— the Board of Bites— b diarged with their interpreta- tion.
** In everything that relates to death and sepulture, the customs of the Chinese are singular. They meet their last enemy with apparent unconcern ; bu^ while their future state troubles them little, they regard the quality of their coffins as of vital importance, and fre- quently provide them during their lifetime ; indeed, a coffin is reckoned a most acceptable present, and is fluently g^ven by children to their parents. Edu- catbn, as tl^ high road to official emplojrment, to rank, wealth, and influence, is eagerly sought by all classes. Literary proficiency (confined, however, to the ancient ' classics* of the country) commands everywhere re- spect and consideration, and primary instruction pene- trates to tlie remotest villages. Self-supporting day- schools are universal throughout the country, and the office of teacher is followed by a great number of the literati. Government provides state examiners, but does not otherwise assist in the education of the peo- ple" (Chambers, Enqfchpadiaj s. v.). The best mod- em account of the customs and religious usages of the Chinese is given^ Doolittle's SocicU Life ^the Chi- neee (N. T., Harper and Brothers, 1865, 2 vols. 12mo). See also Oliphant, Narrative of the Earl of Elgin* $ Mittiom to QlUna and Ja^pan (N. T., Harper and Broth- ers, 1859, 8vo).
There is a general impression that the cUmale of China is specially insalubrious. That this is not so may be seen from the following statement, condensed from the Chkuee RepotUory (vol. xvi, p. 12 sq.) : " From the commencement of Fit>testant missions in China, by the Rev. Dr. Morrison, A.D. 1807 to 1847, a period of forty years, eighijf-nx missionaries had entered this field. Daring that time twelve died, and twentjf^kree retired from the worlc Of those who died, one had lived twenty-seven years in the field, anotlier sixteen years, two for eight years, and the rest for shorter pe- riods. Thus, on an average, during forty years, the number of deaths among the Protestant missionaries was at the rate qfone in tkreeyears. Of those who re- tired from the work, some engaged in other depart- ments of labor in China ; some returned, for various reasons, to their native land, and others were obliged, in consequence of ill health, to leave the field. Forty- one of the eighty-six are still in China. Of these, one has been more than thirty years in the field, and stBl enjoys excellent health. Other^have been here for twenty, ten, and five years, accoramg to the time they entered the work. We have not the means for mak- ing an extensive comparison, but we think these sta- tistics will compare fkvorably with those of any body of ministers in America or England. It should also remembered, that as China has only recently been