china's place in ancient history : A PKAGMENT, 101 



strong drink among the people took place in this reign. It is 

 related than when the emperor tasted the newly discovered 

 spirit he declared that " this drink will be the canse of the 

 greatest trouble in the empire," that he caused Y-tih, its 

 discoverer, to be banished, and that down to the present day 

 the name of the latter is reprobated. Duke Chan strongly 

 condemned its use, his address on the subject, B.C. 1120, being 

 the oldest "temperance speech" on record, not excepting 

 the words of Solomon in the Proverbs* (B.C. 1015-975). Like 

 many others subsequently dehvered, it had little if any result. 

 From the death of Yu, B.C. 2197, to the extinction B.C. 1765 

 of the dynasty he had founded, sixteen mouarchs occupied 

 the imperial throne, of whom history relates that " individually 

 they were tyrants, seekers after pleasure, and as a con- 

 sequence hated by their subjects." The chief events within 

 the four centuries so comprised may be enumerated thus : 

 Kebellions by " Barons "; remonstrances by the people ; 

 depositions ; mistrust and contentions between feudatory 

 chiefs : an occasional interval of happy rule, and awakening 

 content among the people, to be followed by a repetition of 

 occurrences of the nature already enumerated. An amiable 

 and unsuspecting monarch,! against the warnings of his 

 father was betrayed into placing an unjustifiable degree of 

 power and confidence inthe hands of a designing minister^ ; a 

 revolution, successful for the time being, was brought about 

 by the latter, a period of close upon half a century having 

 to transpire before legitimate sovereignty was re-established, 

 scenes of bloodshed and of cruelty having prevailed the 

 while, and for some years thereafter ; indeed it is recorded 

 that nearly a century after the rebellion in question abuses 

 which had then arisen were not then eradicated. Then 

 came a period including five reigns, during which prosperity 

 and happiness prevailed, to be followed in its turn by one 



5. Minister of Public "Works. 



6. Minister of State Lands. 



7. Minister of Ceremonies and Rites. 



8. Minister of Music. 



9. Public Censure. (Pauthier, p. 42.) 



* Four centuries before the date of Solomon, namely, about b.c. 1452, 

 the Five Books of Moses were written. In them various allusions occur 

 alike to the use and abuse of strong drinks, namely, Levit. x, 9; 

 Numbers vi, 3 ; Deut. xiv, 26 ; xxix, 6 ; Prov. xx, 1. 



t Namely, Te Seang, B.C. 2146-2118. 



I I.e., in the reign of Te Chou, B.C. 2057-2040, 



