the character of the times in which those personages lived who are referred to in this volume, and to know what portion of the world they lived in, it will not be necessary to bring down the history to a later period than that when Confucius and his principal disciples were upon the stage; and in order to present a more complete view of those times, we have transferred from the volumes of Dr. Legge his description of the "Ancient Empire of China."

THE ANCIENT EMPIRE OF CHINA.

ENTRANCE OF THE CHINESE INTO CHINA-OTHER EARLY SETTLERS-GROWTH OF THE TRIBE INTO A NATIONRELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS-FORM AND ISSUES OF THE GOVERNMENT.

ABOUT two thousand years before our Christian era, the Chinese tribe first appeared in the country where it has since increased so greatly. It then occupied a small extent of territory, on the east and north of the Hothe more southern portion of the present province of Shan-se. As its course continued to be directed to the east and south, (though after it crossed the Ho it proceeded to extend itself westward as well) we may conIclude that it had come into China from the northwest. Believing that we have in the tenth chapter of the Book of Genesis some hints, not to be called in question, of the way in which the whole earth was overspread by the families of the sons of Noah, I suppose that the family, or collection of families-the tribe-which has since grown into the most numerous of the nations, began to move eastward, from the regions between the Black and

Caspian Scas, not long after the confusion of tongues. Going on, between the Atlantic range of mountains on the north, and the Tauric range, with its continuations, on the south, but keeping to the sunny and more attractive south as much as it could, the tribe found itself, at the time I have mentioned, between 40° and 45° N. L., moving parallel with the Yellow River in the most northern portion of its course. It determined to follow the stream, turned south with it, and moved along its eastern bank, making settlements where the country promised most advantages, till it was stopped by the river ceasing its southward flow, and turning again towards the east. Thus the present Shan-se was the cradle of the Chinese empire. The tribe dwelt there for a brief space, consolidating its strength under the rule of chieftains who held their position by their personal qualities more than by any privileges of hereditary descent; and then gradually forced its way east, west, and south, conflicting with the physical difficulties of the country, and prevailing over the opposition of ruder and less numerous neighbors.

Neighbors? Yes. The arrival of the Chinese tribe had been anticipated by others. These may have left the original seat of our infant race in the West earlier than it; or they may have left it at the same time. If they did so, the wave of emigration had broken in its progress. Some portions had separated from the main body, and found their way into the present province of Shan-se; and others, pursuing the same direction with it, but moving with more celerity, had then been pushed forward, by its advance, towards the sea, and subsequently along the seaboard, trying to make good a position for themselves among the mountains and along the streams

of the country. We are not to suppose that the land was peopled by these tribes. They were not then living under any settled government, nor were they afterwards able to form a union of their forces, which could cope with the growing power of the larger people. They were scattered here and there over the region north of the Ho, gradually extending southward toward the Këang. Hostilities were constantly breaking out between them and the Chinese, over whom they might gain, once and again, temporary advantages. They increased in their degree, as well as those, and were far from being entirely subdued at the end of the Chow dynasty. Remnants of them still exist in a state of semi-independence in the southwestern parts of the empire. Amid the struggles for the supreme power which arose when one dynasty gave place to another, and the constant contentions which prevailed among the States into which the empire was divided, the princes readily formed alliances with the chiefs of these wilder tribes. They were of great assistance to King Woo in his conflict with the last sovereign of the dynasty of Shang. In the speech which he delivered to his forces before the decisive battle in the wild of Muh, he addressed the "men of Yung, Shuh, Këang, Maou, Wei, Loo, Pang, and Poh," in addition to his own captains, and the rulers of friendly States. We are told that the wild tribes of the south and north, as well as the people of the great and flowery region, followed, and were consenting with him.

Edward Biot calls attention to the designation of the early Chinese tribe or colony as "the black-haired people," saying that they were doubtless so named in opposition to the different or mixed color of the hair of the

indigenous race. But I cannot admit any "indigenous race,”—any race that did not come from the same original center of the world's population as the Chinese themselves. The wild tribes of which we read in the Shoo and Chinese history, were, no doubt, black-haired, as all the remnants of them are at the present day. If we must seek an explanation for the name of “black-haired people," as given to the early Chinese, I should say that its origin was anterior to their entrance into China, and that it was employed to distinguish them from other descendants of Noah, from whom they separated, and who, while they journeyed to the east, moved in an opposite and westward direction.

It was to their greater civilization, and the various elements of strength flowing from it, that the Chinese owed their superiority over other early settlers in the country. They were able, in virtue of this, to subdue the land and replenish it, while the ruder tribes were gradually pushed into corners, and finally were nearly all absorbed and lost in the prevailing race. The black-haired people brought

with them habits of settled labor. Their wealth did not consist, like that of nomads, in their herds and flocks. Shun's governors of provinces in the Shoo are called Pastors, or Herdsmen ; and Mencius speaks of princes generally as "Pastors of men;" but pastoral allusions are very few in the literature of China. The people could never have been a tribe of shepherds. They displayed, immediately on their settlement, an acquaintance with the arts of agriculture and weaving. The cultiva- · tion of grain to obtain the staff of life, and of flax to supply clothing, at once received their attention. They knew, also, the value of the silkworm, and planted the