china's place in ancient history : A FRAGMENT. 105 



towns and cities, and supjDorted by comnmnities, thus insti- 

 tuting a Poor Law, such as still continues in operation. 



It was while the eightli monarch* of this line was on the 

 throne that mention was for the first time made in Chinese 

 history of the Tartar tribes of the desert situated north-west 

 of China, who, ethnically related to themselves, were thence- 

 forward to be sources of trouble to them. Then also it was 

 that on account of repeated and frequent inundations of 

 Shensi by the Yellow River, it was deemed advisable to 

 remove tlie imperial capital from that province and establish 

 it first in Honan, then in Pe-cheli, upon the site of the modern 

 Peking.f 



Somewhere about this period the Shepherd kings are con- 

 sidered to have invaded Lower Egypt, namely, about B.C. 

 2233-1800 ; the duration of their rule to have continued 260 

 years ; various other dates are however assigned to the former 

 event, but that now given may suffice for present purposes of 

 comparison with reference to the second Chinese dynasty. 



During the same period the birth took place of Isaac (B.C. 

 189(i) ; of Esau and Jacob (B.C. 1836); Josephf was sold by 

 his brethreu into Egypt ; his family, then a nomadic tribe, 

 settled in the laud of Goshen, he himself became minister to 

 Amosis or Thotmosis, the then reigning Pharaoh, and by his 

 foresight preserved the country from famine during the seven 

 years of sterility. § 



It was during the reign of the Chinese monarch Wae-jin, 

 B.C. 1549-1534, that disaffection which for some time previous 

 had been gradually rising with regard to the order and man- 

 ner of succession to the imperial throne culminated ; brother 

 had succeeded brother to the detriment of sons of deceased 

 rulers, so that sovereign power was looked upon less as a here- 

 ditary right than as a prize to be won by the ambition of 

 members of the Royal Family among themselves, constant 

 wars being the accompaniments of such conditions. Through 

 several successive reigns civil war of that kind continued, while 

 rebellions among tributaries further disturbed the empire. 

 By way of compromise the ministers of state in the year B.C. 

 1433 elected their own nominee|[ as emperor. But the result 



* Chung Ting, b.c. 1562 to 1549. 



t And so remained till the reign of Pwan Kong, B.C. 1401-1373. 



I Joseph sold, B.C. 1730 (Haycln). 



§ From B.C. 1708 to 1702 ; Gen. xli, 54 ; xlvii, 13-26. 



II Namely, Naknang, fifteenth emperor. 



