dividing between them nearly a fifth part of the whole habitable globe,
each about a tenth, exhibit a singular difference with regard to
political circumstances. One century ago Russia was but just emerging
from a state of barbarism, and in a century hence, in all human
probability, she will make a conspicuous figure among European nations,
both in arts and arms. Two thousand years ago China was civilized to the
same degree, or nearly so, that she is at present. The governments were
both arbitrary, and the people were slaves. The natural genius of the
Russian, cramped perhaps in some degree by his frozen climate, is less
susceptible of improvement than that of the Chinese. Whence then, it may
be asked, proceeds the very great difference in the progressive
improvement of the two nations? principally, I should suppose, from the
two following reasons. Russia invites and encourages foreigners to
instruct her subjects in arts, sciences, and manufactures. China, from a
spirit of pride and self-importance, as well as from jealousy, rejects
and expels them. The language of Russia is easily acquired, and her
subjects as easily learn those of other countries, whilst that of China
is so difficult, or their method of learning it so defective, as to
require the study of half the life of man to fit him for any of the
ordinary employments of the state, and they have no knowledge of any
language but their own. The one is in a state of youthful vigour,
advancing daily in strength and knowledge; the other is worn out with
old age and disease, and under its present state of existence is not
likely to advance in any kind of improvement.
To the principle of universal obedience the Chinese government has added
another, which is well calculated to satisfy the public mind: the first
honours and the highest offices are open to the very lowest of the
people. It admits of no hereditary nobility; at least none with
exclusive privileges. As a mark of the Sovereign's favour a distinction
will sometimes descend in a family, but, as it confers no power nor
privilege nor emolument, it soon wears out. All dignities may be
considered as merely personal; the princes of the blood, even, sink
gradually into the common mass, unless their talents and their
application be sufficient to qualify them for office, independent of
which there can be neither rank nor honours, and very little if any
distinction, not even in the imperial family, beyond the third
generation. On public days the Emperor, at a single glance, can
distinguish the rank of each of the many thousand courtiers that are
assembled on such occasions by their dress of ceremony. The civilians
have a bird, and the military a tyger, embroidered on the breast and
back of their upper robe; and their several ranks are pointed out by
different coloured globes, mounted on a pivot on the top of the cap or
bonnet. The Emperor has also two orders of distinction, which are
conferred by him alone, as marks of particular favour; the order of the
yellow vest and of the peacock's feather.
The influence that, in nations of Europe, is derived from birth,
fortune, and character, is of no weight in the Chinese government. The
most learned, and I have already explained how far the term extends,
provided he be not of notorious bad character, is sure to be employed;
though under the present Tartar government, the Chinese complain that
they never arrive at the highest rank till they are advanced in years.
Learning alone, by the strict maxims of state, leads to office, and
office to distinction. Property, without learning, has little weight,
and confers no distinction, except in some corrupt provincial
governments, where the external marks of office are sold, as in Canton.
Hence property is not so much an object of the laws in China as
elsewhere, and consequently has not the same security. In the
governments of Europe, property seldom fails to command influence and to
force dependence: in China, the man of property is afraid to own it, and
all the enjoyments it procures him are stolen.
Sometimes, indeed, the highest appointments in the state are conferred,
as it happens elsewhere, by some favourable accident, or by the caprice
of the monarch. A striking instance of this kind was displayed in the
person of _Ho-tchung-tang_, the last prime minister of the late
_Kien-long_. This man, a Tartar, happened to be placed on guard in the
palace, where his youth and comely countenance struck the Emperor so
forcibly in passing, that he sent for him to the presence; and finding
him equally agreeable in his conversation and manners, he raised him
rapidly, but gradually, from the situation of a common soldier, to the
highest station in the empire. Such sudden changes, from a state of
nothingness to the summit of power, have frequently been observed to be
attended with consequences no less fatal to the man so elevated, than
pernicious to the public: and thus it happened to this favourite
minister. During the life of his old master, over whom, in his later
years, he is said to have possessed an unbounded influence, he availed
himself of the means that offered, by every species of fraud and
extortion, by tyranny and oppression, to amass such immense wealth in
gold, silver, pearls, and immoveable property, that his acquisitions
were generally allowed to have exceeded those of any single individual,
that the history of the country had made known. His pride and haughty
demeanour had rendered him so obnoxious to the royal family that, at the
time we were in Pekin, it was generally supposed, he had made up his
mind to die with the old Emperor, for which event he had always at hand
a dose of poison, not chusing to stand the severe investigation which he
was well aware the succeeding prince would direct to be made into his
ministerial conduct. It seems, however, when that event actually
happened, the love of life, and the hope of escaping, prevailed on him
to change his purpose and to stand the hazard of a trial. Of the crimes
and enormities laid to his charge he was found, or rather he was said to
have pleaded, guilty. The vast wealth he had extorted from others was
confiscated to the crown, and he was condemned to suffer an ignominious
death[28].
[28] The circumstances attending the downfal of this minister are
curious, and shew, in its true light, the despotic nature of the Chinese
government, notwithstanding their salutary laws. The new Emperor,
determined on his ruin, makes a public declaration wherein, after
apologizing for not abstaining agreeably to the laws of the empire from
all acts of innovation, for the space of three years after his father's
death, he observes, that the crimes and excesses of _Ho-tchung-tang_ are
of so horrid a nature, as to preclude him from acting towards him with
any pity or indulgence. He then exhibits about twenty articles of
accusation against him, the principal of which are,
_Contumacy_ towards his father (the late Emperor) by riding on horseback
to the very door of the hall of audience at _Yuen-min-yuen_.
_Audacity_, under pretence of lameness, in causing himself to be carried
to and from the palace through the door set apart for the Emperor.
_Scandalous behaviour_, in taking away the virgins of the palace, and
appropriating them to his own use.
_Pride and insolence_, in countermanding his (the new Emperor's) order,
for all the princes of Tartary to be summoned to Pekin, those who had
not had the small-pox excepted, to assist at the funeral of his father,
and by issuing a new one, in which _none_ were excepted.
_Bribery and partiality_, in selling and giving away appointments of
weight to persons totally unqualified to fill them.
_Arrogance_, in making use of the wood _Nan-moo_ (cedar) in his house,
which is destined exclusively for royal palaces; and in building a house
and gardens in the style and manner of those belonging to the Emperor.
For having in his possession more than two hundred strings of pearls,
and an immense quantity of jewels and precious stones, which his rank
did not allow him to wear, and among which was a pearl of such wonderful
magnitude, that the Emperor himself had no equal to it.
For having in gold and silver alone, which has been already discovered
and confiscated, the amount, at least, of ten million taels (about
3,300,000_l._ sterling).
One article is singularly curious. For having been guilty of the deepest
treachery in informing him (the new Emperor) of his father's intention
to abdicate the government in his (the new Emperor's) favour, _one day_
before his father made it public, thinking by such means to gain his
favour and affection!
After enumerating the several articles of accusation, the Emperor
states, that this minister being interrogated by a Tartar prince on
several points, had confessed the whole to be true, and, therefore,
without further evidence, he commands the presidents and members of the
several courts in Pekin, the viceroys of provinces, and governors of
cities, on these articles of accusation being laid before them, to pass
a proper sentence on the said _Ho-tchung-tang_. According to the
majority, he was condemned to be beheaded; but as a peculiar act of
grace and benevolence on the part of the Emperor, this sentence was
mitigated to that of his being allowed to be his own executioner. A
silken cord being sent as an intimation of this mark of the Emperor's
favour, he caused himself to be strangled by some of his attendants.
Who could escape when the Emperor of China is himself the accuser? It
will readily occur, from the fate of _Ho-tchung-tang_, that there is not
that line of independence drawn between the executive and juridical
authority, which the ingenious author of the Spirit of Laws has clearly
proved to be the grand foundation of a just, legal, and efficient
security of the life and property of the subject. In fact, in all state
crimes, the Emperor becomes both the accuser and the judge. In the case
of _Ho-tchung-tang_ he may likewise be said to have been the only
evidence.
But _Ho-tchung-tang_, if guilty of inordinate ambition, or acts of
injustice, is far from being the only instance of such conduct in men
thus raised from humble situations. The officers of government in
general, though intended by the constitution as a kind of barrier
between the prince and the people, are the greatest oppressors of the
latter, who have seldom any means of redress, or of conveying their
complaints to the Imperial ear. There is no middle class of men in
China: men whose property and ideas of independence give them weight in
the part of the country where they reside; and whose influence and
interest are considered as not below the notice of the government. In
fact, there are no other than the governors and the governed. If a man,
by trade, or industry in his profession, has accumulated riches, he can
enjoy them only in private. He dares not, by having a grander house, or
finer clothes, to let his neighbour perceive that he is richer than
himself, lest he should betray him to the commanding officer of the
district, who would find no difficulty in bringing him within the pale
of the sumptuary laws, and in laying his property under confiscation.
Sometimes, indeed, the extortions that the officers practise upon the
people, as in the case of _Ho-tchung-tang_, meet the hand of justice.
Other magistrates keep a steady eye upon their proceedings, and, in
proper time, transmit the necessary information to court. Spies also are
detached from court into the provinces, under the name of inspectors.
Jealous of each other, they let no opportunity slip of making
unfavourable reports to their superiors. Notwithstanding which, with all
the precautions taken by government in favour of the subject, the latter
finds himself most dreadfully oppressed. It is true, for very slight
offences preferred against men in office, the court directs a public
reprimand in the official Gazette; for those of a more serious nature,
degradation from rank; and every officer so degraded is under the
necessity of proclaiming his own disgrace in all his public orders; not
only to put him in mind of his past conduct, but likewise to shew the
people how watchful the eye of government is over the actions of its
servants. The last stage of public degradation, which amounts to a
sentence of infamy, is an order to superintend the preparation of the
Emperor's tomb, which implies that the person so sentenced is more fit
to be employed among the dead than the living. _Tchang-ta-gin_, the late
viceroy of Canton, was condemned to this degrading service[29].
[29] Among the various customs of China, particularized in the accounts
of the two Mahomedan travellers in the ninth century, this remarkable
one is noticed, affording, with the rest, equally singular and peculiar
to this nation, an proof of the authenticity of these two relations.
The viceroy of a province can remain in that office no longer than three
years, lest he might obtain an undue influence. No servant of the crown
can form a family alliance in the place where he commands, nor obtain an
office of importance in the city or town wherein he was born. Yet with
these, and other precautions, there is still little security for the
subject. He has no voice whatsoever in the government, either directly
or by representation; and the only satisfaction he possibly can receive
for injuries done to him, and that is merely of a negative kind, is the
degradation or the removal of the man in power, who had been his
oppressor, and who perhaps may be replaced by another equally bad.
The ingenious Mr. Pauw has observed, that China is entirely governed by
the whip and the bamboo. To these he might have added the yearly
calendar and the Pekin Gazette, both of which, as engines in the hands
of government, contribute very materially to assist its operations. By
the circulation of the first is kept alive the observance of certain
superstitions which it is, apparently, the study of government to
encourage. The second is a vehicle for conveying into every corner of
the empire the virtues and the fatherly kindness of the reigning
sovereign, shewn by punishing the officers of his government, not only
for what they have done amiss, but for what they may have omitted to do.
Thus, if a famine has desolated any of the provinces, the principal
officers are degraded for not having taken the proper precautions
against it. This paper, in the shape of a small pamphlet, is published
every second day. The missionaries have pretended that immediate death
would be the consequence of inserting a falsehood in the Imperial
Gazette. Yet it is famous for describing battles that were never fought,
and for announcing victories that were never gained. The truth of this
observation appears from several proclamations of _Kaung-shee_, _Tchien
Long_, and the present Emperor, warning the generals on distant stations
from making false reports, and from killing thousands and ten thousands
of the enemy, sometimes even when no engagement had taken place[30]. The
reverend gentlemen only mean to say, that the editor would be punished
if he ventured to insert any thing not sent to him officially by the
government.
[30] The words of _Kaung-shee's_ proclamation, repeated by _Kia-king_,
are: "At present when an army is sent on any military service, every
report that is made of its operations, contains an account of a victory,
of rebels dispersed at the first encounter, driven from their stations,
killed, and wounded, to a great amount, or to the amount of some
thousands, or, in short, that the rebels slain were innumerable."
_Pekin Gazette, 31st July, 1800._
The press in China is as free as in England, and the profession of
printing open to every one, which is a singular circumstance, and
perhaps the only instance of the kind, in a despotic government. It has
usually been supposed that, in free countries only where every person is
equally under the protection, and equally liable to the penalties, of
the law, the liberty of the press could be cherished; and that it was a
thing next to impossible, that power, founded on error and supported by
oppression, could long be maintained where the press was free. It was
the press that in Europe effected the ruin of priestly power, by
dispelling the clouds that had long obscured the rays of truth; and by
opening a free access to the doctrines of that religion which, of all
others, is best calculated for the promotion of individual happiness and
public virtue[31].
[31] When the art of printing was first introduced into England, and
carried on in Westminster Abbey, a shrewd churchman is said to have
observed to the Abbot of Westminster, "If you don't take care to destroy
that machine, it will very soon destroy your trade." He saw at a single
glance of the press, the downfal of priestly dominion in the general
diffusion of knowledge that would be occasioned by it, and had the rest
of the clergy been equally clear-sighted, it is probable the dark ages
of superstition and ignorance had still continued, or at least had been
greatly protracted.
In China the liberty of the press seems to excite no apprehensions in
the government. The summary mode of punishing any breach of good morals,
without the formality of a trial, makes a positive prohibition against
printing unnecessary, being itself sufficient to restrain the
licentiousness of the press. The printer, the vender, and the reader of
any libellous publication, are all equally liable to be flogged with the
bamboo. Few, I suppose, would be hardy enough to print reflexions on the
conduct of government, or its principal officers, as such publications
would be attended with certain ruin. Yet, notwithstanding all the
dangers to which the printing profession is liable, daily papers are
published in the capital, circulating, something like our own, private
anecdotes, domestic occurrences, public notices of sales, and the
wonderful virtues of quack medicines. We were told that, in one of these
papers, the Portuguese missionary mentioned in Mr. Grammont's letter got
a paragraph inserted, purporting the great neglect of the English in
having brought no presents for the princes of the blood, nor for the
Emperor's ministers. This false and malicious paragraph was said to be
followed by another, insinuating that those for the Emperor were common
articles of little value. Another pretended to give a catalogue of them,
and included an elephant about the size of a rat, giants, dwarfs,
wishing pillows, and such like nonsense. These, however, and other
publications, were industriously kept from our sight. Under the
generous idea of being the Emperor's guests, we were not allowed to
purchase any thing. He alone was to supply our wants, but his officers
took the liberty of judging what these wants should consist in.
It is a singular phenomenon in the history of nations, how the
government of an empire, of such vast magnitude as that of China, should
have preserved its stability without any material change, for more than
two thousand years; for, dropping their pretensions to an extravagant
antiquity, for which however they have some grounds, there can be no
doubt they were pretty much in the same state, regulated by the same
laws, and under the same form of government as they now are, four
hundred years before the birth of Christ, about which time their
renowned philosopher flourished, whose works are still held in the
highest reputation. They contain indeed all the maxims on which their
government is still grounded, and all the rules by which the different
stations of life take their moral conduct; and the monarchy is supposed
to have been established two thousand years before his time.
If the test of a good government be made to depend on the length of its
continuance, unshaken and unchanged by revolutions, China may certainly
be allowed to rank the first among civilized nations. But, whether good
or bad, it has possessed the art of moulding the multitude to its own
shape in a manner unprecedented in the annals of the world. Various
accidents, improved by policy, seem to have led to its durability.
Among these the natural barriers of the country, excluding any foreign
enemy, are not to be reckoned as the least favourable; whilst the
extreme caution of the government in admitting strangers kept the world
in ignorance, for many ages, of the existence even of the most
extensive, powerful, and populous empire among men. Secluded thus from
all intercourse with the rest of the world, it had time and leizure to
mould its own subjects into the shape it wished them to retain; and the
event has sufficiently proved its knowledge in this respect.
A number of fortunate circumstances, seldom combined in the same
country, have contributed to the preservation of internal tranquillity
in China. The language is of a nature well calculated to keep the mass
of the people in a state of ignorance. They are neither prohibited from
embracing any religion of which they may make a choice, nor coerced to
contribute towards the support of one they do not approve. The pains
that have been taken to inculcate sober habits, to destroy mutual
confidence, and render every man reserved and suspicious of his
neighbour, could not fail to put an end to social intercourse. No
meetings were held, even for convivial purposes, beyond the family
circle, and these only at the festival of new year. Those kind of
turbulent assemblies, where real or imagined grievances are discussed
with all the rancour and violence that malicious insinuations against
government, added to the effects of intoxicating draughts, too
frequently inspire, never happen among the Chinese. Contented in having
no voice in the government, it has never occurred to them that they have
any rights[32]: and they certainly enjoy none but what are liable to be
invaded and trampled on, whenever the sovereign, or any of his
representatives, from interest, malice, or caprice, think fit to
exercise the power that is within their grasp. The doctrine of employing
resistence against oppression, applied to the people and the government,
is so contrary to every sentiment of the former, that the latter has
little to fear on that score.
[32] When the mischievous doctrines of _Tom Paine_, expounded in his
"Rights of Man," were translated into various languages, and
industriously attempted to be propagated among the eastern nations, by
means of French emissaries; when one of those assiduous disturbers of
the peace of mankind had actually succeeded in furnishing the Seiks with
an abstract of this precious work in their own language, he next turned
his attention to the vast empire of China, a glorious theatre for those
zealous cosmopolites to play their parts in, if they could once contrive
to suit their drama to the taste of the people. The experiment, however,
failed of success. The golden opinions of _Tom Paine_ could not be
transfused into the Chinese language; and these unfortunate people
understood no other but their own; so that three hundred and
thirty-three millions were doomed to remain in ignorance and misery on
account of their language being incapable of conveying the enlightened
doctrines of _Tom Paine_.