214 HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY. 



warn him in case his inclinations lead him to do anything contrary to law ; 

 but they are often compelled to pay with their lives for their love of truth. 

 The people are oppressed in the harshest manner, and are not suffered to 

 become enlightened, a prohibition the more easily enforced as the country 

 is kept closed against foreigners, intercourse with whom is thus rendered 

 very difficult. It is possible that a change is at hand in China, in conse- 

 quence of the greater facilities of commerce obtained by the English 

 through their fortunate victories ; for many of the weaknesses of the 

 empire are now lai3 bare, new avenues to the people obtained by force or 

 purchase, and thus the contact of foreign nations with the Chinese is 

 rendered possible. Chinese civilization, which has been stationary for 

 thousands of years, will very quickly feel foreign influence, and will not 

 be able much longer to resist the English. 



History does not show with precision how mental cultivation amongst 

 the Chinese stopped suddenly in its glorious rise. An ancient account 

 says : " In a large mountain range in the interior of Asia there lived once 

 upon a time a model people very rich in experience and knowledge. 

 When this nation could acquire no more new learning between their own 

 mountains, they all left the country, and wandered forth towards the north 

 and south, towards the east and west. The oldest and wisest, who stood 

 together by a natural predilection, did not intend to wander far, and found 

 rest in China. The aborigines approached in troops in order to acquire 

 knowledge from them ; the wise men instructed all comers, and dispensed 

 sciences and arts with full hands until they knew nothing more to teach. 

 The natives now departed, and for the patriarchs nothing remained but to 

 lie down and die. But as there were no descendants of these wise men, no 

 one was capable of making advances in the cultivation of the sciences and 

 arts, and thus nothing new was ever added to the stock of knowledge 

 brought by the patriarchs." 



The Chinese give another reason for their stationary condition. Accord- 

 ing to their chroniclers, China was first, and for a period of an unmea- 

 surable number of years, ruled by gods, called Trin-Hoan-Shi. It is 

 conceivable that these god-regents were able to instruct their subjects in 

 many different arts, both useful and acceptable. But as feelings of tedium 

 and discontent now frequently arise in Europe when a government has 

 hardly seen fifty years, it cannot be made a matter of blame to the Chinese 

 that a dynasty which had enjoyed the rule for several millions of years 

 finally became obnoxious to the people. The nation came to a quick reso- 

 lution and deposed the eternal sovereigns, who out of revenge took with 

 them all finished and unfinished projects of reform, so that the Chinese 

 were compelled to remain exactly where they had been standing. 



History, which rejects such traditions, records no progress among the 

 Chinese during many centuries. They have been found to be familiar 

 with many things the proper use of which they were obliged to learn from 

 the Europeans. Flavio Gioja of Amalfi invented his compass about four 

 thousand years later than the Chinese. As early as 2600 years before the 

 Christian era, the " Yellow Emperor" possessed a carriage, on the top of 

 386 



