CHINA. 



223 



jr. means of a minister narr.cd Tchao-lng, who gave his 

 ' sovereign the most wicked counsels. His wife Moey- 

 |G6 ' kee also ruled him at her pleasure, and led him into num- 

 berlt-89 extravagances. He built magnificent palaces, 

 the apartments of which were adorned with ivory and pre- 

 cious stoni-s, in which he ehut himself up, regardless of 

 hi* duties as a sovereign, and abandoned himself to the 

 grossest debaucheries. A prince cf the name of Tching- 

 tang, who ventured to remonstrate with him upon his 

 unworthy conduct, was cast into prison ; but being af- 

 terwards liberated, and joined by Tchong-koo, one of 

 the ministers of Kie, they attacked this Chinese Sardana- 

 palus, in his royal brothel, which he named " the palace 

 of the night," and, having driven him from the throne, 

 established 



The Second Imperial Dynasty, 

 CHANG. 



Before Christ, 



ccond dy- Tching-tang .... 17G6 



a X- Tay-kia 1753 



Oo, or Oo-ting . . 1720 



Tay keng 1691 



Siao-kia 166 



Yong kee 1649 



Tay-voo 16:57 



Tchong-ting ... - I'-i-' 



Ooay-gin ...... 1549 



Before Chrjjt. 



Ho-tan kia 1534 



Tsoo-ee 1.525 



Tsoo sin 150G 



Quo, or Oo kia . . 1190 



Tsoo-ting 1465 



Nan kcng 1433 



Van kia 1408 



Poen-keng 1401 



who gave to the dynasty 

 the name of 



Ys-. 



Siao sin 1373 Keng-ting 1219 



Siao ee 13.52 Voo-ee 1198 



Voo-ting 1324 Tay -ting 1194 



Tsoo keng 1265 Tce-ee 1191 



Tsoo-kia 1258 Sheoo-sin 11.51 



Sin sin 



Of this dynasty, the Shoo-king contains only three or 

 four events ; and the duration of the respective reigns 

 have been conjectured by writers, posterior even to Se- 

 ma tsien, who lived about a century before the birth of 

 Christ. Its whole history is full of uncertainty, and its 

 continuance is fixed by one historian, at 496; by another, 

 at GOO ; and, by a third, at 645 >c,irs. The Shoo-king 

 gives the same account of Tching-tang, as of the other 

 founders of the Chinese dynasties, namely, that he per- 

 suaded his soldiers to assist turn in dethroning the reign- 

 ing family, by pretending to have authority from heaven 

 to take arms. After his victor)-, however, he became 

 very apprehensive, that posterity would condemn his con- 

 duct ; but one of his ministers named Tchong-hoey, in a 

 long addroo, which is all that the Shoo-king records of 

 his history, ucceeded in di . p. -lliri.^ his fears. It is rela- 

 ud of him, by other historians, that he fixed the begin- 

 ing of the year at the 12th moon, which falls in winter ; 

 that he made use of chariots drawn by white horses with 

 black heads ; that he sacrificed white oxen, and formed 

 the caK-nrhr called Kca-yu ; that he afterwards visited 

 his eastern frontiers, and charged his great men to go- 

 vern the people faithfully, and that he bestowed certain 

 districts upon the d< Ascendants of Yu, and other virtu- 

 out characters. D'.iring a season of scarcity, he shaved 

 hii head, cut his nails, and went to a high place, where 

 he addressed his prayer to heaven in these words : " Is 

 it because the empire is not well governed, or because my 

 palaces are too magnificent, or bee iuse my women are 

 too much addicted to luxury, or because I am too much 



inclined to listen to flatterers, that no rain is allowed to 

 fall ?" Immediately after this supplication, the clouds 

 gathered, and rain fell in abundance. Tching-tang upon 

 the occasion composed a piece of music, and caused an 

 inscription to be engraved upon all the vessels of which 

 he made use, to this effect : " Corrcctyourself, cease not 

 to correct yourself." 



In the first year of the reign of Tay kia, according to 

 the Shoo-king, the minister Ee-in offered a sacrifice to 

 Tcliing-tang ; presented the new king in the temple of 

 his ancestors ; pronounced the eulogium of the deceased 

 sovereign, and gave instructions to his successor. He 

 shewed him that, in proportion as the family of Hia 

 followed the dictates of right reason, they were 'pi os- 

 perous and happy, but were overwhelmed with calami- 

 ties as soon as they forsook the path of virtue ; that 

 their ruin occasioned the elevation of the family of Shang, 

 and that Tching tang, by the destruction of tyranny, 

 and the exercise of clemency, both established his own 

 authority and gained the love of his people. Tay-kia 

 proving inattentive to these advices, Ee-in, in order to 

 preserve him from the company of viscious persons, caused 

 a palace to be built at Tong, where ,the tomb of Tching- 

 tang was erected, conveyed the young prince thither, 

 where he improved so much under his care, that at ths 

 :iatk'n of the third year of mourning, he clothed 

 him in the royal robes, and brought him back to Po, 

 where he addressed him again in public, and received 

 from him, in reply, a full profession of his reformation. 



At the accession of Tay-voo to the throne, a remarka- 

 ble prodigy is said to have taken place. A mulberry 

 tree, and another of the name of Ko, sprung up in the 

 palace, ar.d grew so rapidly in the course of one day, 

 that a man was not able to grasp them in his arms. Tay- 

 voo, in great alarm, consulted one of his ministers, Ee- 

 tche, who exhorted him to become virtuous ; and the 

 prince, having followed his advice, the trees immediately 

 died. The family of Chang recovered its ancient splen- 

 dour, and distant nations, to the number of sixteen, 

 sent embassies to Tayboo, in testimony of their esteem. 

 As a reward for his virtue, says the Shoo king, he 

 reigned 75 years. 



Poen-keng, upon ascending the throne, proposed to 

 remove his court to Yn ; but he experienced great op- 

 position from the people, who refused to follow him. 

 Upon this occasion, the Shoo-king relates, that he as- 

 sembled the most mutinous, reasoned them into obedi- 

 ence, and instructed his subjects in general in their re- 

 spective duties. The whole story is worthy of notice 

 in this view, that it furnishes a proof, from the Chinese 

 annals themselves, that their empire, supposing it to have 

 existed at this distant period, was of very limited extent, 

 and more like an ambulatory tribe under their chief, 

 than a powerful or numerous people, provided with mag- 

 nificent palaces and well built cities. 



Voo-ting, named also Kao-tsong, mourned for his fa- 

 ther three years, and preserved a profound silence during 

 all that time, leaving the care of the government to 

 Kan-pan. But, as he persisted in his retreat and taci- 

 turnity, his nobles represented to him that a king ought 

 to issue his orders, and apply himself to the business of the 

 state. The prince replied in a written communication, 

 that he kept silence from a dread of being unable to imi- 

 tate the virtue of his predecessors ; but that, while lie 

 was meditating upon the law, the Tee had shewn him 

 in a dream a minister who would apeak for him. A 

 painting of this person, says the Shoo king, was made by 

 the direction of Voo-ting, and a general search was made 

 for t,he reality. After much enquiry, a person named 



