nasties of Hea and Shang is attributed to the wickedness of their last emperors. After a long array of feeble princes there suddenly appear on the throne men of gigantic physical strength, the most daring insolence, and the wildest debaucheries, having neither piety nor truth; and in contrast with them are princes whose fathers have for several generations been attracting general notice by their righteousness and benevolence. When heaven and men can no longer bear the iniquity of the tyrants, the standard of revolt is raised, and the empire speedily comes under a new rule. These accounts are no doubt much exaggerated and embellished. Kee and Show

were not such monsters of vice, nor were T'ang and Woo such prodigies of virtue. More likely is it that the earlier dynasties died out, like that of Chow, from sheer exhaustion, and that their last sovereigns were weaklings like king Nau, rather than tyrants.

The practice of polygamy, which was as old as Yaou, was a constant source of disorder. A favorite concubine plays a conspicuous part in the downfall of the dynasties of Shang and Hea, and another signalizes a calamitous epoch in that of Chow. In the various States this system was ever giving rise to jealousies, factions, usurpations, and abominations which cannot be told. No nation where polygamy exists can long be prosperous or powerful. In a feudal empire its operation must be peculiarly disastrous.

The teachings of Confucius in the Chow dynasty could not arrest the progress of degeneracy and dissolution in a single State. His inculcation of the relations of society, and the duties belonging to them, had no power. His eulogies of the ancient sages were only the

worse.

lighting up in the political firmament of so many suns which communicated no heat. Things waxed worse and The pictures which Mencius draws of the misery of his times are frightful. What he auspiced from the doctrines and labors of his master never came to pass. The ancient feudal empire was extinguished amid universal anarchy, in seas of blood.

The character and achievements of the founder of the Ts'in dynasty have not yet received from historians the attention which they deserye. He destroyed the feudal system of China, and introduced in its room the modern despotic empire, which has now lasted rather more than 2,000 years.

The ancient empire of China passed away, having been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Under the system of rule which superseded it, the boundaries of the empire have been grandly extended, and the people have gradually increased. Now, however, it would seem to be likewise approaching its end. It would not have endured so long but for the position of the country at the extremity of the Asiatic continent. Its neighbors were not more powerful than itself, and they were less civilized. Once and again the country has been overrun and subjugated by the descendants of the tribes which. disputed the possession of the soil with its earliest colonists; but it has subdued them in its turn by its greater cultivation, and they have become more Chinese than the Chinese themselves. The changes of dynasty since the end of the old empire, or classical period, have not been revolutions, but only substitutions of one set of rulers for another. In the present century, new relations have arisen between China and the rest of the

world. Christian nations of the West have come into rude contact with it. In vain did it fall back on the tradition of the "Middle State," and proclaim its right to their homage. The prestige of its greatness has vanished before a few ships of war, and the presence of a few thousand soldiers. The despotic empire will shortly pass away as the feudal one did, but with less "hideous ruin and combustion." It is needless to speculate on the probabilities of the future. God will be his own interpreter. China, separated from the rest of the world, and without the light of revelation, has played its part, and brought forth its lesson, which will not, I trust, be long without their fitting exposition. Whether it is to be a dependent or independent nation in the future, to be broken up, or remain united, the first condition to happiness and prosperity is humility on the part of its scholars and rulers. Till they are brought to look at their own history and their sages, falsely so called, according to a true estimate, and to cease from their blind admiration of them, there is no hope for the country.

goed

LIFE OF CONFUCIUS.

Confucius, as a sage and religious teacher, is regarded by his countrymen as the greatest man China has produced. He was unquestionably an extraordinary man, remarkable in the influence he exercised over his countrymen when alive, and the still greater influence he has ever since exercised by his writings. Confucius was born about five hundred and forty-nine years before Christ, in the Kingdom of Loo, a portion of northeastern China, nearly corresponding with the modern province of Shan-tung. At that time China was divided

into nine independent States, and it was not till three centuries later that it was united into one kingdom. From his earliest years, Confucius was distinguished by an eager pursuit of knowledge. From his father, who was prime minister of the State in which he lived, he inherited a taste for political studies; but being left an orphan when still but a child, he was educated for the most part in retirement by his mother Ching and his grandfather Coum-tse. The anecdotes which are related of his boyhood tend to show that he was distinguished by those qualities most highly esteemed by his coun

trymen, and afterwards most strictly enforced by himself -a profound reverence for his parents and ancestors, and for the teaching of the ancient sages. "Coum-tse, his grandfather," says one of his biographers, “was one day sitting absorbed in a melancholy reverie, in the course of which he fetched several deep sighs. The child observing him, after some time approached, and with many bows and formal reverences, spoke thus: 'If I may presume, without violating the respect I owe you, sir, to inquire into the cause of your grief, I would gladly do so. Perhaps you fear that I who am descended from you may reflect discredit on your memory by failing to imitate your virtues.' His grandfather, surprised, asked him where he had learned to speak so wisely. From yourself, sir,' he replied; 'I listen attentively to your words, and I have often heard you say that a son who does not imitate the virtues of his ancestors deserves not to bear their name.""

The position which his father had held in the State seems to have inspired Confucius at an early age with a desire to distinguish himself in moral and political studies, and prompted him to investigate the early history of his country. He labored zealously to fit himself for filling offices of high political trust; and in his endeavors to mas er the learning of the early sages he was ably assisted by his grandfather. He married at nineteen years of age, and is said to have divorced his wife a few years afterwards, when she had given birth to a son, that he might devote himself without interruption to study; but owing to the general contempt of women in the East, the subject is only slightly alluded to by his biographers.