FOUNDERS AND DURATION OF THE CHAU DYNASTY.

211

cords of whose reigns are very brief. Among the contemporary events of importance are the call of Abraham, in the year B. C. 2093, Jacob's flight to Mesopotamia in 1916, Joseph's elevation in Egypt in 1885, and his father's arrival in 1863.

II. The SHANG Dynasty began with Chingtang, and continued 644 years, under twenty-eight sovereigns, down to B. c. 1122. This period was characterized by wars among rival princes, and the power of the sovereign depended chiefly upon his personal character. The principal contemporary events were the Exodus of the Israelites in 1648, their settlement in Palestine in 1608, judgeship of Othniel, 1564, of Deborah, 1406, of Gideon, 1359, of Samson, 1202, and death of Samuel in 1122.

III. The CHAU Dynasty began with Wu wang, and continued for 873 years, under thirty-five monarchs, down to B. c. 249, the longest of any recorded in history. The sway of many of these was little more than nominal, and the feudal states increased or diminished according to the vigor of the monarch, or the ambition of the princes. The contemporary events of these eight centuries are too numerous to particularize. The accession of Saul in 1110; of David, 1070; of Rehoboam, 990; taking of Samaria, 719; of Jerusalem, 586; death of Nebuchadnezzar, 561; accession of Cyrus, and return of the Jews, 551; battle of Marathon, 490; accession of Alexander, 235, &c. The conquest of Egypt by Alexander in 322, brought the 31st and last dynasty of her kings to an end, the first of which had begun under Menes about B. c. 2715, or 22 years after Shinnung began to reign.

Among the feudal states under the house of Chau, that of Tsin on the north-west had long been the most powerful, occupying nearly a fifth of the country, and its inhabitants forming a tenth of the whole population. One of the princes, called Chausiang wang, carried his encroachments into the acknowledged imperial possessions, and compelled its master, Tungchau kiun, the last monarch, to humble himself at his feet. Although, in fact, master of the whole empire, he did not take the title, but left it to his son Chwangsiang wang, who exterminated the blood royal, and ended the Chau dynasty, yet lived only three years in possession of the supreme power.

The son carried on his father's successes until he had reduced all the petty states to his sway. He then took the name of Chí hwangtí (i. e. First emperor) of the Tsin dynasty, and set him

self to regulate his conquests and establish his authority by securing to his subjects a better government than had been experienced during the feudal times. He divided the country into 36 provinces, over which he placed governors, and went throughout them all to see that no injustice was practised.

This monarch, who has been called the Napoleon of China, was one of those extraordinary men who turn the course of events, and give an impress to subsequent ages; Klaproth gives him a high character as a prince of energy and skill, but the native historians detest his name and acts. It is recorded that at his new capital, Hienyang, on the banks of the Hwai, he constructed a palace exactly like those of all the kings who had submitted to him, and ordered that all the precious furniture of each, and those persons who had inhabited them, should be transported to it, and everything rearranged. The whole occupied an immense space, and the various parts communicated with each other by a magnificent colonnade and gallery. He made progresses through his dominions with a splendor hitherto unknown, built public edifices, opened roads and canals to facilitate intercourse and trade between the various provinces, and repressed the incursions of the Huns, driving them into the wilds of Mongolia. In order to keep them out effectually, he conceived the idea of extending and uniting the walls which the princes of some of the northern states had erected on their frontier into one grand wall, stretching across the empire from the sea to the desert. This gigantic undertaking was completed in ten years, but not until his family had been destroyed, from which it may be inferred, that this mode of protecting the country commended itself to the nation, which joined heartily in it, and that this stupendous work was not forced out of the labor of unwilling subjects; whether it was so or not, it has made the name of Chí hwangtí celebrated throughout the world, however ineffectual it was to preserve his frontiers.

The vanity of the new monarch led him to endeavor to destroy all records written anterior to his own reign, that he might be by posterity regarded as the first emperor of the Chinese race. Orders were issued that every book should be burned, and especially the writings of Confucius and Mencius, upon the feudal states of Chau, whose remembrance he wished to blot out. This strange command was executed to such an extent that many of

TSIN, THE BUILDER OF THE GREAT WALI..

213

the Chinese literati believe that not a perfect copy of the classical works escaped destruction, and the texts were only recorded by rewriting them from the memories of old scholars, a mode of reproduction that does not appear so singular to a Chinese as it does to us; and, perhaps, if the same literary tragedy should be reënacted, thousands of persons could easily be found in China who could rewrite from memory the text and commentary of their nine classical works. "Nevertheless," as Klaproth remarks, "they were not in fact all lost; for, in a country where writing is so common, it was almost impossible that all the copies of works universally respected should be destroyed, especially, at a time when the material on which they were written was very durable, being engraved with a stylet on bamboo tablets, or traced upon them with dark colored varnish." The destruction was no doubt as nearly complete as possible, and not only were many works entirely destroyed, but a shade of doubt thereby thrown over the accuracy of others, and the records of the ancient dynasties rendered suspicious as well as incomplete. Not only were the books sought after to be destroyed, but nearly five hundred literati were buried alive, in order that no one might remain to reproach, in their writings, the First Emperor with having committed so barbarous and insane an act.

The dynasty of Tsin, founded in such cruelty and blood, did not long survive the death of Chí hwangtí, for his son was unable to maintain his rule over the half subdued feudal chieftains, and after a nominal reign of seven years, he was overcome by Liu Pang, a soldier of fortune, who, having been employed by one of the chiefs as commander of his forces, used them to support his own authority when he had taken possession of the capital. Under the name of Kautsu, he became the founder of the Han dynasty, and his accession is regarded as the commencement of modern Chinese history. The number and character of its heroes and literati are superior to most other periods, and to this day the term son of Han is one of the favorite names by which the Chinese call themselves.

The first fourteen princes of this dynasty reigned in Shensí, but Kwangwu removed the capital to Lohyang in Honan, for which reason he and his successors are called the Eastern Han dynasty. During the reign of Ping tí (or the emperor Peace), the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ was born in Judea, a

remarkable coincidence which has often attracted notice. During the reign of Ming tí, a. D. 65, a deputation was sent westward to India, where they found the doctrines and disciples of Budha, which they brought to China, and by their means disseminated and maintained this faith in the popular belief of the Chinese, and spread it eastward into Japan. This monarch and his successor, Chang tí, penetrated with their armies as far westward as the Caspian sea, dividing and overcoming the various tribes on the confines of the desert, and at the foot of the Celestial Mts., and extending the limits of the monarchy in that direction further than they are at present. The Chinese sway was maintained with varied success until towards the third century, and seems to have had a mollifying effect upon the nomads of those regions. In these distant expeditions the Chinese heard of the Romans, of whom their authors speak in the highest terms: "Everything precious and admirable in all other countries," say they, “comes from this land. Gold and silver money is coined there; ten of silver are worth one of gold. Their merchants trade by sea with Persia and India, and gain ten for one in their traffic. They are simple and upright, and never have two prices for their goods; grain is sold among them very cheap, and large sums are embarked in trade. Whenever ambassadors come to the frontiers they are provided with carriages to travel to the capital, and after their arrival, a certain number of pieces of gold are furnished them for their expenses." This description, so charac teristic of the shopkeeping Chinese, reminds one of the accounts given of the Chinese themselves by some western authors. Klaproth thinks that intercourse was maintained between the two governments and their subjects until the eleventh century.

The period between the overthrow of the Han dynasty, A. D. 190, and the establishment of the Eastern Tsin, A. D. 317, is one of the most interesting in Chinese history, from the variety of characters which the troubles of the times developed. The distractions of this period are described in the History of the Three States, but this entertaining work cannot be regarded as much better than a historical novel. The bare mention of the succession of dynasties, and the names of sovereigns, unless connected with events of interest, is too brief to afford much entertainment, while the recital of the strifes attending the overthrow of one family and the establishment of another, the

SUCCESSION FROM THE FOURTH TO THE NINTH DYNASTIES. 215

names and actions of the leaders in these turmoils, and the detail of their defeats and successes, are not subjects of such interest that many wish to burden their memories with them. A very brief recital of their succession will therefore be sufficient for reference.

IV. The TSIN Dynasty is computed to end with Chwangsiang by the authors of the History Made Easy, and to have existed only three years, from B. c. 249 to 246.

V. The AFTER TSIN Dynasty is sometimes joined to the preceding, but Chí hwangtí regarded himself as the First monarch, and began a new house, which, however, lasted only forty-four years, from B. c. 246 to 202. The commotions in the furthest East during this period were not less destructive of life than the wars in Europe between the Carthaginians and Romans, and the Syrians, Greeks, and Egyptians.

VI, VII. The HAN and EASTERN HAN dynasties. Liu Pang took the title of Han for his dynasty, after the name of his principality, and his family swayed the Middle Kingdom from B. c. 202 to A. D. 221, under twenty-six monarchs. The removal of the capital to Lohyang is assigned as the reason of the division into two dynasties. During this bright period of Chinese history, the consolidation of the western world under the Roman emperors, and their conquests in Europe, Africa, and Asia, with the advent of Christ and establishment of his church, render the period of great interest to the general historian.

VIII. The AFTER HAN Dynasty began A. D. 211, and continued 44 years under two princes to A. D. 265. The country was divided into three principalities, called Wei, Wu, and Shuh; the first comprised all northern China, and was the most powerful; the second held the present region of Chehkiang and part of Kiangsu, and the prince of the third had his capital at Chingtu fu in Sz'chuen.

IX. The TSIN Dynasty was founded by a general in the employ of Hau of the last house, and seated himself on the throne of his master, A. D. 265; he possessed only the western and southern part of the country, and waged continual war with the Huns and petty states which still opposed his sway. Four emperors of this house held their sway at Lohyang during 52 years, till A. D. 317. The Huns maintained their sway in Shensí, until A. D. 352, under the name of the Chau dynasty.