576 " >fONTHLY REVIEW OF LrTEttATUHE. 



there be any rebellious children who oppose, beat, or degrade, their parents, 

 they shall be punished in like manner. If ye people indeed know the reno- 

 vating principle, then fear and obey the imperial will, nor look on this as 

 empty declamation. For now, according to this case of Teng-chen, wherever 

 there are the like I resolve to condemn them, and from my heart strictly: 

 charge you to beware. I instruct the magistrates of every province severely^ 

 to vi'arn the heads of families and elders of villages, and on the 2d and 16tb' 

 of every month to read the Sacred Institutions, in order to show the import--- 

 ance of the relations of life, that persons may not rebel against their parents 

 — -for I intend to render the empire filial.' This was addressed to a population 

 estimated commonly at 300,000,000. 



" It is the business of the first of the ' Four Books ' of Confucius to in- 

 culcate, that from the knowledge and government of oneself must proceed 

 the proper economy and government of a family ; from the government of 

 a family, that of a province and of a kingdom. The Emperor is called the 

 father of the empire ; the Viceroy, of the province over which he presides ; 

 and the mandarin, of the city which he governs; and the father of every 

 family is the absolute and responsible ruler of his own household. Social 

 peace and order being deemed the one thing needful, this object is very steadi- 

 ly and consistently pursued. The system derives some of its efficacy from 

 the habitual and universal inculcation of obedience and deference, in unbroken 

 series, from one end of society to the other ; beginning in the relation of 

 children to their parents, continuing through that of the young to the aged, 

 of the uneducated to the educated, and terminating in that of the people to 

 their rulers. 



" The great wealth of the empire, the cheerful and indefatigable industry 

 of the people, and their unconquerable attachment to their country, are all 

 of them circumstances which prove that, if the Government is jealous in 

 guarding its rights, it is not altogether ignorant or unmindful of its duties. 

 We are no unqualified admirers of the Chinese system, but would willingly 

 explain, if possible, some of the causes which tend to the production of 

 results whose existence nobody pretends to deny. In practice there is of 

 course a great deal of inevitable abuse, but upon the whole, and with relation 

 to ultimate effects, the machine works well ; and we repeat that the surest 

 proofs of this are apparent on the very face of the most cheerfully indus- 

 trious and orderly, and the most wealthy, nation of Asia. It may be observed 

 that we make great account of the circumstance of cheerful industry ; because 

 this characteristic, which is the first to strike all visitors of China, is the best 

 proof in the world that the people possess their full share of the results of 

 their own labour. Men do not toil either willingly or effectively for hard 

 masters. 



" It is deserving of remark that the general prosperity and peace of China 

 has been very much promoted by the diffusion of intelligence and education 

 through the lower classes. Among the countless millions that constitute the 

 empire, almost every man can read and write sufficiently for the ordinary 

 purposes of life, and a respectable share of these acquirements goes low down 

 in the scale of society. Of the sixteen discourses which are periodically 

 read to the people, the eighth inculcates the necessity of a general acquaint- 

 ance with the penal laws, which are printed purposely in a cheap shape. 

 They argue that, as men cannot properly be punished for what they do not 

 know, so likewise they will be less liable to incur the penalty if they are 

 made duly acquainted with the prohibition. This seems a very necessary 

 branch of what has been called 'preventive justice, upon every principle of 

 reason, of humanity, and of sound policy, preferable in all respects to 

 punishing justice.' " 



At page 261, respecting Infanticide, Mr. Davis has the following judicious 

 remarks : — 



" One important circumstance has very naturally rendered this people 

 obnoxious to severe censure — the infanticide of female children. The pre- 



