4 58 C H 
himfelf up, and acquired by clofe application a profound 
knowledge of hiftory and of ancient ceremonies. He 
died at Ou in an advanced age. The principal work he 
left to his dilciples is the book Tao-te, which is a collec¬ 
tion of five thoufand lentences. The morality of this 
philofopher has a relemblance to the doctrines of Epicu¬ 
rus. It cor.lifts principally in banilhing vehement de¬ 
fires, and fuppreflinlg thole impetuous paifions, capable 
of dilturbing the peace and tranquility of the foul. 
But the dilciples' of this philofopher afterwards changed 
the doftrine which he had left them. As that pafiive 
if ate and perfeft tranquillity of mind to which they en¬ 
deavoured to attain, was continually difturbed and inter¬ 
rupted by the fear of death, they declared that it was 
pollible to difcover a compofition from which a drink 
might be made that would render mankind immortal. 
Thisabfurd idea led them to the ftudy of chemiftry, af¬ 
terwards to fearch for the philofopher’s ftone, till at 
length they gave themfelves up to all wild extravagan¬ 
cies of magic. 
The defire and hope of avoiding death by the difcovery 
of fo valuable a liquor, gained a number of profelytes to 
this new left; wealthy individuals, efpeciaily tiiofe of 
the female lex, Ihewed the greateft eagernefs to be in- 
ftrufted in the doff rine of the dilciples of Lao-tfe. Ma¬ 
gical praffices, the invocation of fpirits, and the foretell¬ 
ing future events by divination, made rapid progrefs 
throughout all the provinces of the empire. The credu¬ 
lity of fome of the emperors gave an air of importance 
lo the fchifm, and the court was filled with an innumera¬ 
ble train of thefe impolfors, who were now honoured 
with the dirtinguilhed title of tien-Jfe —celeftial doctors. 
Vou-ti, fifth emperor of the dynafty of the Han, lliewed 
n pafiionate defire for the ftudy of thefe rnyfteries. 
Death had deprived him of a favourite miftrefs, whom he 
.ardently loved, and one of thefe impolfors, Tao-fle, 
found means, by incantations, fo to work on his imagi¬ 
nation as to give him a fancied fight of the woman whom 
he fo tenderly loved ; and this fancied apparition at¬ 
tached him more and more to the extravagant notions of 
the new fe£f. Grieved at this infatuation, one of the 
■grandees of the empire, being in the emperor’s prelence 
when the myfterious beverage was brought him, ludden- 
ly feized the cup, and drank up the whole liquor. En¬ 
raged at this aft, the monarch caufed him to be arrefted, 
and gave orders for putting him to death. “ Your order 
is of no avail,” faid the courtier, without any emotion; 
cl it is not in your power to deprive me of life, lince I 
have now rendered mylelf immortal: however, if I am 
frill fubject to the power of death, your majelty owes me 
much obligation, fince you mult thereby be convinced, 
that this liquor lias Xiot that virtue which is attributed 
to it, and that thefe impolfors deceive you.” This an- 
iwer faved the courtier’s life, but it did not reform the 
monarch. He often drank the liquor of immortality; 
but his health began to decline, and, after being made 
lenfible of ids mortality, he died, ladly deploring his 
own foliy and credulity. 
The death of this emperor did not retard the progrefs 
of the fecf. Temples, confecrated to fpirits, reared their 
idol heads in every corner of the empire; and two of 
the moll celebrated of the Tao-fle were authorifed to 
maintain public worfliip there, after the form which had 
been appointed for them. They likewife dillributed and 
fold to the people fmall images, upon which were repre- 
fented that immenfe crowd, both of men and fpirits, 
with which they had peopled the heavens, and which 
they named Sien-gin —Immortals. Thefe were worlhip- 
ped as fo many diftinff deities, independent of the Su¬ 
preme Befog: in like mariner feveral of the ancient 
kings were metamorpholed .into gods, and alio invoked. 
Under the Tang, this l’uperfi ; on Hill continued. The 
founder of that dynafty erefted and confecrated a mag¬ 
nificent temple to Lao-tfe himfelf; and another emperor 
of the lame family caufed the ftatue of this philofopher 
I N A, 
to be placed with great pomp and folemnity in his pa¬ 
lace. The prielts Tao-fle therefore inereafed in number, 
and became more powerful under the dynafty of Song. 
Every fraud and deceit that cunning could lugged, or 
ingenuity invent, were employed by thele impolfors, to 
increafe the reputation of their dodfrine, and to infatuate 
themfelves into the confidence of princes. On a dark 
night, they fufpended, at one of the gates of the impe¬ 
rial city, a book full of myftic characters, and magical fi¬ 
gures. At break of day, they lent notice to the empe¬ 
ror of the hidden appearance of this book, and publicly 
declared that it had fallen from heaven. The credulous 
monarch, followed by a numerous train, immediately re¬ 
paired, on foot, to the fpot, in order to take pofleflion of 
the precious volume; and, having received it into his 
hands, in the molt refpedlful manner, he carried it in 
triumph to his palace, and Quit it up in a golden box. 
The eighth emperor of the lame dynafty'carried his fu- 
perftitious veneration for a favourite Tao-fle fo far, that 
he publicly ordered him to be worlhipped under the 
name of Chang-ti. Until that epoch, the molt zealous 
partifans of Lao-tfe had always referved this name for 
the Supreme Being only. This impiety therefore Shock¬ 
ed and difgufted the whole fages of the nation ; yet no 
decree was made againft them. 
The Toa-fle, at prefent, offer up three different victims 
to the fpirit which they invoke ; a hog, a fowl, and a filh. 
The ceremonies which they ule in their incantations are 
various, according to the imagination and addrefs of the 
perfon who praCtiles them. Some drive a ftiarp flake into 
the earth ; others trace out fantaftical figures on paper, 
and accompany each ltroke of the pencil with grimaces 
and horrible cries, and others make a hideous and fright¬ 
ful noife with kettles and fmall drums. A great num¬ 
ber of thefe Tao-lfe now pretend to be fortune-tellers. 
The chief of them is inverted by government with the 
dignity of grand mandarin, and refides in a town of the 
province of Kiang-(i, where he inhabits a fumptuous pa¬ 
lace. The fuperltiticus confidence repofed in him by 
the vulgar attrafts an immenle concourfe of people, who 
flock thither from every part of the empire : fome to 
feek a cure for their difeafes ; others, to confult refpecl- 
ing what may befal them, and to get an infight into fu¬ 
turity. 
The feCl of the god Foe, or Fo, is ftiii more perni¬ 
cious, and much wider dirfufed throughout China, than 
the preceding. It came originally from India. The 
doftors Tao-lfe had promifed to a prince of the Tchou, 
and brother of the emperor Ming-ti, to make him enter 
into communion with fpirits. This credulous and lu- 
perftitious prince, having heard of a celebrated fpirit in 
India, named Fo, prevailed on his brother to lend an 
embafly to this foreign deity. The officer who was 
charged with this commifiion let out, accompanied by a 
train of feventeen perfons. When he arrived at the 
place of his deftination, he found only two Cha-men, or 
votaries of Fo, whom,, not willing to fail in his errand, 
he carried with him to China. He coile&ed, at the 
•fame time, feveral images of Fo, or Boudha, painted on 
fine chintz, with forty-two chapters ol the canonical 
books of the Indians, which he placed, together with 
the images, upon a white horfe. This embaiiy returned 
to the imperial city in the eighth year of the reign of 
Ming-ti, and the fixty-fifth of the Chriftian era. Thus 
was the doftrine and worfliip of Fo fir It introduced into 
the Chinefe empire; and thefe ceremonies feem to be the 
principal traces of Indian cuftoms in China, brought in 
lupport of Sir William Jones’s opinion, that China was 
peopled by the Hindoos. - 
We have no certain knowledge of the origin of this 
pretended god Fo ; but his followers relate that he was 
born in one of the kingdoms ot India, fituated near the 
line, and that his father was a king. They affure us that 
his mother, who was named Mo-ye, brought him into the 
world by the left fide, and that foe expired foon after her 
delivery; 
