THE EMPEROR OF CHINA.

67

"The August Lofty One," and Tien-Tsz-"The Son of Heaven." He exercises supreme control over the whole empire, because Heaven has empowered and required him to do so. His patriarchal character, while it confers on him absolute sovereignty, imposes also the obligation to treat his people with leniency, sympathy, and love. He lives in unapproachable grandeur, and is never seen except by members of his own family and high state officers. "Nothing is omitted which can add to the dignity and sacredness of his person or character. Almost every thing used by him or in his service is tabooed from the common people, and distinguished by some peculiar mark or color, so as to keep up the impression of awe with which he is regarded, and which is so powerful an auxiliary to his throne. The outward gate of the palace must always be passed on foot, and the paved entrance-walk leading up to it can only be used by him. The vacant throne, or even a screen of yellow silk thrown over a chair, is worshiped equally with his actual presence, and a dispatch is received in the provinces with incense and prostration."*

The throne is not strictly and necessarily hereditary, though the son of the Emperor generally succeeds to it. The Emperor appoints his successor, but it is supposed that, in doing so, he will have supreme regard for the best good of his subjects, and will be governed by the will of Heaven, indicated by the conferring of regal gifts, and by providential circumstances pointing out the individual whom Heaven has chosen.

In governing so large a realm it is found necessary for the Emperor to delegate his authority to numerous officers, who are regarded as his agents and representatives in carrying out the imperial will. What they do the Emperor does through them. The recognized patriarchal character of the government is seen in the familiar expressions of the people, particularly at times when they consider themselves injured or aggrieved by their officers, when they are apt to say—" A strange way for parents to treat their children."

* Williams's "Middle Kingdom."

The government of China is constituted as follows:

1. "The Cabinet* consists of four principal and two joint assistant chancellors, half of them Manchus and half Chinese. Their duties, according to the imperial statutes, are to deliberate on the government of the empire, proclaim abroad the imperial pleasure, regulate the canons of State, together with the whole administration of the balance of power, thus aiding the Emperor in directing the affairs of State." Subordinate to these six chancellors are six grades of officers, amounting in all to upward of two hundred persons. The first chancellor in the list acts as premier.

2. "The General Council is composed of princes of the blood, chancellors of the Cabinet, the presidents and vice-presidents of the Six Boards, and chief officers of all the other courts in the capital. Its duties are to write imperial edicts and decisions, and determine such things as are of importance to the army and nation, in order to aid the sovereign in regulating the machinery of affairs." It is principally by means of this council that the Emperor and his immediate advisers become acquainted with and control those who are engaged in different departments of the government at the capital and in the provinces.

"The principal executive bodies in the capital under these two councils are the Luh-pu, or Six Boards, which are departments of long standing in the government, having been modelled on much the same plan during the ancient dynasties. At the head of each board are two presidents, called Shangshu, and four vice-presidents, called Shi-lang, alternately a Tartar and a Chinese; and over three of them-those of revenue, war, and punishment-are placed superintendents, who are frequently members of the Cabinet. Sometimes the president of one board is superintendent of another. There are

* Most of the contents of the few pages which immediately follow are abridged from Williams's "Middle Kingdom," and the quotations are also from the same author. Persons who wish to obtain minute and reliable information about China should possess themselves of this truly invaluable work.

three subordinate grades of officers in each board, who may be called directors, under-secretaries, and controllers, with a great number of minor clerks, and their appropriate departments for conducting the details of the general and peculiar business coming under the cognizance of the board, the whole being arranged and subordinated in the most business-like style. The details of all the departments in the general and

provincial governments are regulated to the minutest matter in the same manner. For instance, each board has a different style of envelope in which to send its dispatches, and the papers in the offices are filed away in them."

The following sentence from Mr. Meadows's book-"The Rebellions of China"-will give the reader his views with reference to the business-like and methodical character of the

Chinese mind and institutions:

"As, however, all public busi

ness is, as a general rule, more methodically and systematically conducted in China than in England, so we find," etc.

3. "The first of the Six Boards is the Board of Civil Office, which regulates the distribution of officers over the empire. Its business is divided into four kinds, attended to by four different bureaus.

4. "The Board of Revenue attends to the census, the levying and collecting of duties, and the public granaries, etc. It is divided into fourteen departments.

5. "The Board of Rites has for its object the determining of rites and ceremonies for state occasions, and for the intercourse of officers in the provinces. Subordinate to this is a Board of Music."

The other three boards are the Board of War, the Board of Punishment, and the Board of Public Works.

9. "The Court of the Government of Foreigners, or the colonial office, has reference to colonies and dependencies, and intercourse with foreign nations.

10. "The Censorate is intrusted with the duty of exposing errors and crimes in every department of the government, and sometimes censors do not shrink from the dangerous task of criticising or exposing the conduct of the Emperor himself. Special censors are placed over each board, and also over provincial officers.

11. "The Court of Representation receives memorials and appeals from the provinces and presents them before the Cabi

net.

12. "The Court of Judicature has the duty of adjusting all the different courts in the empire, and forms the nearest approach to a Supreme Court, though the cases brought before it are mostly criminal. When the crimes involve life, this court, with the Court of Representation and Censorate, unite to form one court; and if the judges are not unanimous in their decisions they must report their reasons to the Emperor, who will pass judgment upon them.

THE CHINESE CODE.

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13. "The Imperial Academy is intrusted with the duty of drawing up governmental documents, histories, and other works. Its chief officers take the lead of the various classes, and excite their exertions to advance in learning, in order to prepare them for employments and fit them for attending upon the sovereign. Its chief officers are two presidents, or senior members, who are usually appointed for life after a long course of study. . . . . Subordinate to the two senior members are four grades of officers, five in each grade, together with an unlimited number of senior graduates, each forming a sort of college, whose duties are to prepare all works published under governmental sanction. These persons are subject from time to time to fresh examinations, and are liable to lose their degrees, or be altogether dismissed from office, if found faulty or deficient." It is regarded as a high distinction by the Chinese to be a member of this academy, and its objects, organization, and high literary character reflect great honor on the Chinese gov

ernment.

It is impossible to descend into detail in speaking of the provincial governments, or even to mention individually the many classes of officers of different grades who are commissioned and sent from the capital to the provinces and territories. The whole business of the government is thoroughly and effectively systematized, and its influence is felt in every remote city, hamlet, and family. Records are kept of all matters of importance. The Pekin Gazette is published daily, giving an account of the transactions of the General Council and other important matters of State.

As the Constitution of the government has been long since fixed on a basis laid thousands of years ago, so the laws of China, which form the basis of the present code, originated with the writer Li-Kwei, who lived about 2000 years ago. Additions, alterations, and improvements have been made from that time to this. These laws are now classified into General, Civil, Fiscal, Ritual, Military, and Criminal. They were republished in 1830 in twenty-eight volumes, the whole being di