THE MIDDLE KINGDOM. CHAPTER I. General Divisions and Features of the Empire. THE possessions of the ruling dynasty of China,—that portion of the Asiatic continent which is usually called by geographers the CHINESE EMPIRE,-form one of the most extensive dominions ever swayed by a single power in any age, or any part of the world. Comprising within its limits every variety of soil and climate; watered by large rivers, which serve not only to irrigate and drain it, but, by means of their size and the course of their tributaries, also afford unusual facilities for intercommunication, it produces within its own borders everything necessary for the comfort, support, and delight of its inhabitants; who have depended very slightly upon the assistance of other climes and nations for satisfying their own wants. Its civilization has been developed under its own institutions; its government has been modelled without knowledge or reference to that of any other kingdom; its literature has borrowed nothing from the genius or research of the scholars of other lands; its language is unique in its symbols, its structure, and its antiquity; and its people are remarkable for their industry, peacefulness, numbers, and peculiar habits. The examination of such a people, and so extensive a country, can hardly fail of being both instructive and entertaining; and if rightly pursued, lead to a stronger conviction of the need of the precepts and sanctions of the Bible to the highest development of mankind, in their personal, social, and political relations in this world, as well as to their individual happiness in another. It is to be hoped, too, that at this day in the world's history, there are many more than formerly, who desire to learn the condition and wants of others, not entirely for their own amusement and congratulation at their superior knowledge and advantages, but also to do their fellow-men good, and impart to them liberally of the gifts they themselves enjoy. Those who desire to do this, will find that few families of mankind are more worthy of their greatest efforts than those comprised within the limits of the Chinese Empire; while none stand in more need of the purifying, ennobling, and invigorating principles of our holy religion to develope and enforce their own theories of social improvement. The origin of the name China, by which the most ancient and important part of the present empire is known abroad, has given rise to some discussion. The people themselves have now no such name for their country, nor is there much evidence that they ever did apply the term to the whole land. The most probable account ascribes its origin to the family of Tsin, whose chief first obtained complete sway, about B. c. 250, over all the other feudal principalities in the land, and whose exploits rendered him famous in India, Persia, and other Asiatic states. This family had, however, long been famous in Chinese history, and previous to this subjugation, had made itself widely known, not only in China, but in other countries. Its territories lay in the north-western parts of the empire, and according to Visdelou, who has carefully examined the subject, the family was illustrious by its nobility and power. "Its founder was Tayé, son of the emperor Chuen Hu. It existed in great splendor more than a thousand years ago, and was only inferior to the royal - dignity. Feitsz', a prince of this family, had the superintendence of the stud of the emperor Hiau-wang, and as a mark of favor his majesty conferred on him the sovereignty of the city of Tsinchau in mesne tenure, with the title of sub-tributary king. One hundred and twenty-two years afterwards (about B. c. 770), Siangkwan, petit roi of Tsinchau (having by his bravery revenged the insults offered to the emperor Ping by the Tartars, who slew his father Yu), was created king in full tenure, and without limitation or exception. The same monarch, abandoning Sí-ngan fu, the capital of his empire, to transport his seat to Lohyang (now called Honan fu), rendered him master of the large province of Shensí, which had composed the proper kingdom of the emperor. He thus became very powerful, but though his for tune changed, he did not change his title, retaining always that of the city of Tsinchau, which had been the foundation of his elevation. The kingdom of Tsin soon became celebrated, and being the place of the first arrival of the people from the western countries, it seems probable that those who saw no more of China than the realm of Tsin, extended this name to all the rest; and called the whole empire Tsin or Chin."* This extract refers to periods long before the dethronement of the family of Chau by princes of Tsin; and it is plain, that the position of this principality, contiguous to the desert, and holding the passes leading from the valley of the Yarkand across the desert eastward to China, renders the supposition of the learned Jesuit highly probable. The possession of the old imperial capital would strengthen this idea in the minds of the traders resorting to China from the west; and when the same family did obtain paramount sway over the whole empire, and its head render himself so celebrated wherever the country was known by his conquests over Tungking, Annam, and the neighboring countries, by his cruelty over the literati, and by building the Great Wall, the name Tsin was still more widely diffused, and regarded as the name of the country. The Malays, Hindus, Persians, Arabians, and other nations of Asia, have known the country or its people by no other terms than Jin, Chin, Sin, Sinæ, Tzinista, or others similar. These investigations derive additional importance from the light they throw upon the prophecy in Isaiah xlix., 12, and the aid they give in determining what country is intended by the "land of Sinim," and what people are there specifically pointed out, as finally to be brought into the pale of the church.† The Chinese have many names to designate themselves and the land they inhabit. One of the most ancient is Tien Hia, meaning Beneath the Sky, and denoting the World; another, almost as ancient, is Sz' Hai, i. e. [all within] the Four Seas; a third, now more common than either, is Chung Kwoh, or Middle Kingdom, given to it from an idea that it is situated in the centre of the earth; Chung Kwoh jin, or men of the Middle Kingdom, denotes the Chinese. All these names indicate the vanity and the ignorance of the people respecting their geographical position and their rank among the nations, but they have not been alone in this foible; the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, all had * D'Herbelot, Bibliothèque Orient., tome IV., p. 8. + Chinese Repository, Vol. XIII., page 113, passim. terms for their possessions which intimated their own ideas of their superiority; while, too, the area of none of those monarchies, in their widest extent, greatly exceeded that of China Proper. The family of Tsin also established the custom, since continued, of calling the country by the name of the dynasty then reigning; but, while the brief duration of that house of only forty-four years was not long enough to give it much currency or favor among the people, succeeding dynasties, by their talents and prowess, imparted their own as permanent appellations to the people and country. The terms Han-jin and Han-tsz' (i. e. men of Han or sons of Han) are now in common use by the people to denote themselves; the last also means a "brave man." Tang-jin, or Men of Tang, is quite as frequently heard among the natives; and the phrase Tang Shan, or Hills of Tang, denotes the whole country. The Han dynasty sat upon the throne from B. c. 202 to A. D. 220; and the Tang from A. D. 620 to 907; their sway is regarded by the Chinese as the most glorious periods of their national history. The present dynasty Tsing calls the empire Ta Tsing Kwoh, or Great Pure Kingdom; but the people themselves have refused the corresponding term of Tsing-jin, or Men of Tsing. Klaproth must therefore have been misinformed when he says the Chinese call themselves Tsing-jin; it is not unlikely, however, that the Manchus and Mongols so designate themselves, and he perhaps inferred from this that the Chinese do so too. The empire is also sometimes Tsing Chau, i. e. [land of the] Pure Dynasty, by metonymy for the family which rules it. The term so frequently heard in western countries for China,-the Celestial Empire, is derived from Tien Chau, i. e. Heavenly Dynasty; meaning the kingdom which the dynasty appointed by heaven rules over; but the term Celestials, for the people of that kingdom, is entirely of foreign manufacture, and their language could with difficulty be made to express such a patronymic. Besides the common terms Han-jin and Tang-jin to denote the people, they have some others of a descriptive nature. The phrase Lí Min, or Black-haired Race, is a common appellation; the expressions Hwa Yen, the Flowery Language, and Chung Hwa Kwoh, the Middle Flowery Kingdom, are also frequently used for the written language and the country; because the Chinese consider themselves to be among the most polished and civilized of all nations,—which is the sense of hwa in these phrases. The LIMITS OF THE COUNTRY. phrase Nui Tí, or Inner Land, is often employed to distinguish it from countries beyond their borders, which constitute the desolate and barbarous regions of the earth. Hwa Hia (the Glorious Hia) is another ancient term for China, the Hia dynasty being the first which sat on the throne; but these, and a few others like them, are not in common use among the people. The present ruling dynasty has extended the limits of the empire far beyond what they were under former princes, and its dimensions and limits are given by McCulloch from careful examinations of many maps. The peninsula of Luichau, in the province of Kwangtung, the most southerly portion of its continental dominions, is in lat. 20° N.; but if the island of Hainan be included, the most southern point will be the bay of Yulin, in lat. 18° 10′ N. The most northerly portion is the north-eastern part of Manchuria, lying on the Russian frontier, in lat. 56° 10' N., along the range of the Outer Hing-an or Yablonoi mountains. This boundary is nearly as far north as the utmost north-eastern corner above the mouth of the Amour river, in lat. 56° 30′ N., and long. 143° 30′ E. The island of Sagalien or Tarakai is included among the possessions of the present dynasty on the largest maps of the empire, but it is very doubtful whether the Chinese have any officers there, or exercise the least sway over the inhabitants. If it be included, Cape Patience, in lat. 48° 10' N., and long. 144° 50′ E., will be the most eastern point of the empire. The western frontier is not well defined, but Cashgar is the largest town of importance on that side; it lies in the province of Ílí, in long. 73° 55′ E.; but the western bend of the Belur tag, in long. 70° E., is usually regarded as the frontier between China and the states of Kokand and the Kirghís stepp. The longest line which can be drawn in it from the south-western part of Ílí bordering on Kokand north-easterly to the sea of Okhotsk, is 3350 miles; its greatest breadth is 2100 miles from the Outer Hing-an south-westerly to the peninsula of Luichau. The length is about seventy-seven degrees of longitude, and the breadth about forty of latitude. The area of this vast region is estimated by McCulloch, after the most careful examination, at 5,300,000 sq. m., and this is evidently much nearer the truth than the usual sum of 3,010,400 sq. m. The form of the empire approaches a rectangle. It is bounded on the east and south-east by various arms and portions of the Pacific ocean, called on European maps sea of Okhotsk, gulf |