468 ANNUAL REGISTER, 
Few. Chinefe are faid to carry 
the objects to be obtained by their 
devotion beyond the benefits of 
this life. Yet. the religion of Fo 
profeffes the doctrine of the tranf- 
migration of fouls, and promifes 
happinefs to the people on condi- 
tions which were, no doubt, origi- 
nally intended to confift in the per- 
formance of moral duties; but in 
lieu of which are too frequently 
fubftituted thofe of contributions 
towards the erection or repair of 
temples, the maintenance of priefts, 
and a ftrict attention to particular 
obfervances. The negleét of thefe 
is announced as punifhable, by the 
fouls of the defaulters paffing’ into 
the bodies of the meaneft animals, 
in whom the fufferings are to be 
proportioned to the tranfgreffions 
conimitted in the human form. 
While the embaffy remained at 
‘Tong-choo-foo, fome of the Englith 
zentle men were fupplied with horfes 
to ride about the neighbourhood. 
‘The animals are ftrong, bony, and 
many of them {potted as regularly 
asa leopard *, The riders met feve- 
ral Chinefe on horfeback, who a- 
lighted, on approaching, in civility 
to the ftrangers. . As China is the 
prototype of fafhions and cuftoms 
to neighbouring countries, this cuf- 
tom has been extended to other 
parts of the eaft; and, in the fame 
inanner, the yellow colour, which 
js the favourite’ diftin@ion’ of the 
Emperor of China, is equally affect- 
ed by every fovereign in the eaftern 
part ‘of Affa. 
The houfes of the peabsits are 
{cattered about, inftead of being 
united into villages. “They are clean 
and comfortable; and without fenc- 
£797 
es, gates, or other apparent precau- 
tion againft thieves or wild beafts. 
The wives of the peafantry cultivate 
filk-worms, and fpin cotton ; and 
women are almoft the fole weavers 
throughout the empire. Yet few 
of them fail to injure their aétive 
powers’ by facrificing (in imitation 
of females of fuperior rank) to the 
prejudice in favour of little feet. 
Notwithftanding all the merit 
of thefe helpmates to their hufbands, 
the latter arrogate an extraordinary 
dominion over them, and hold them 
at fuch a diftance, as not always to 
allow them to fit at table ; behind 
which, in fuch cafe, they attend as 
handmaids. This dominion is tem- 
pered, indeed, by the maxims of 
mild conduét in the different rela- 
tions of life, inculcated from early 
childhood amongft the loweft, as 
well as higheft ‘claffes of fociety. 
The old perfons of a family live ge- 
nerally with the young. The for- 
mer ferve to moderate any occa- 
fional impetuofity, violence, or paf- 
fion of the latter. The influence 
of age over youth is fupported by 
the fentiments of nature, by the 
habit of obedience, by the precepts 
of morality engrafted in the law of 
the land, and by the unremitted po- 
licy and ‘honeft- arts of parents to 
that effeét. They who are paft la- 
bour deal out the rules which they 
had learned, and the wifdom which 
experience ‘taught them, to thofe, 
who are rifing to manhood, or to 
ihofé lately arrived at it. Plain 
fentences of morals are written up 
in the common hall, where the male 
branches of the family affemble. 
Some one, at leaft, is capable of 
reading them to the reft. In almoft 
“ %* Beans, and the finer kind of firaw cut fmall, compofe a great proportion of tive 
food for horfes, 
‘“« e 
every 
