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Article THE GENERAL HISTORY OF CHINA: ← Page 2 of 3 →
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The General History Of China:
his lawful wife , and whom he had declared heir to the crown , but afterwards suspected his fidelity : it was surprising to see him , who had been almost equal to the Emperor , now loaded with irons ; his children and principal officers were involved in the same fate , and the public gazettes were immediately filled with manifesto ' s , by which the Emperor informed his subjects of the reasons which
had obliged him to act after that manner . The sentences of the courts of judicature are of no force till ratified by the Emperor , but those that proceed immediately from the Emperor are perpetual and irrevocable , and the viceroys are obliged to have them registered , and published immediately in all places of their jurisdiction . The power of the prince is not limited to the living
only , but extends also over the dead ; for the Emperor , to recompense their personal merit , or that of their descendants , gives honourable titles to their memory which extend to all their family . The Chinese have this general notion of government , that a state is a large family , and that a prince ought to have the same affection for his subjects as a parent has for his childrenhe being
, the common father to them all , and they judge of him according as he observes this rule ; if well he is hig hly praised and valued , but if otherwise he is treated with the utmost contemp t ; for the Chinese say , why bath the Tien placed him on the throne ? Is it not to be ourparent ? and therefore he ought not to make himself feared , but in proportion as be deserves to be loved for his goodness and virtue : their
books are full of these maxims . The Chinese Emperors , in order to preserve this reputation , are continually busied in enquiringvinto . the state of the Empire , and affect a paternal care of their people , especially whenever any of the provinces are afflicted with calamities ; the Emperor then shuts himself up in his palace , keeps fast , deprives himself of all pleasures , and publishes decrees to ease that province of the usual taxes ; he
affects also to be mightily grieved at the miseries of his people , saying , that he laments nig ht and day for their misfortune , that it wounds bis heart , and that all bis thought ' s are employed to make them happy . In short , he makes use of a multitude of " such expressions to give his subjects proof of his tender affection towards them . The reigning Emperor has orderedthat whenever any of the provinces are
, threatened with a calamity a courier shall immediately be sent to him to inform him of it , that he may take measures to appease the anger of Tien . Notwithstanding the great power with which the Emperor is invested , the law allows the mandarins , whenever he commits any faults in his administrationto represent them to him in an humble
, manner , and to lay before him the inconveniences which they may occasion in the government ; and if he should have no regard to their representations , but punish the mandarin for so doing , the suffering mandarin would receive from the people the highest encomiums , and his name would be rendered immortal : ,, there have been several of these publick martyrs in China , who could not
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The General History Of China:
his lawful wife , and whom he had declared heir to the crown , but afterwards suspected his fidelity : it was surprising to see him , who had been almost equal to the Emperor , now loaded with irons ; his children and principal officers were involved in the same fate , and the public gazettes were immediately filled with manifesto ' s , by which the Emperor informed his subjects of the reasons which
had obliged him to act after that manner . The sentences of the courts of judicature are of no force till ratified by the Emperor , but those that proceed immediately from the Emperor are perpetual and irrevocable , and the viceroys are obliged to have them registered , and published immediately in all places of their jurisdiction . The power of the prince is not limited to the living
only , but extends also over the dead ; for the Emperor , to recompense their personal merit , or that of their descendants , gives honourable titles to their memory which extend to all their family . The Chinese have this general notion of government , that a state is a large family , and that a prince ought to have the same affection for his subjects as a parent has for his childrenhe being
, the common father to them all , and they judge of him according as he observes this rule ; if well he is hig hly praised and valued , but if otherwise he is treated with the utmost contemp t ; for the Chinese say , why bath the Tien placed him on the throne ? Is it not to be ourparent ? and therefore he ought not to make himself feared , but in proportion as be deserves to be loved for his goodness and virtue : their
books are full of these maxims . The Chinese Emperors , in order to preserve this reputation , are continually busied in enquiringvinto . the state of the Empire , and affect a paternal care of their people , especially whenever any of the provinces are afflicted with calamities ; the Emperor then shuts himself up in his palace , keeps fast , deprives himself of all pleasures , and publishes decrees to ease that province of the usual taxes ; he
affects also to be mightily grieved at the miseries of his people , saying , that he laments nig ht and day for their misfortune , that it wounds bis heart , and that all bis thought ' s are employed to make them happy . In short , he makes use of a multitude of " such expressions to give his subjects proof of his tender affection towards them . The reigning Emperor has orderedthat whenever any of the provinces are
, threatened with a calamity a courier shall immediately be sent to him to inform him of it , that he may take measures to appease the anger of Tien . Notwithstanding the great power with which the Emperor is invested , the law allows the mandarins , whenever he commits any faults in his administrationto represent them to him in an humble
, manner , and to lay before him the inconveniences which they may occasion in the government ; and if he should have no regard to their representations , but punish the mandarin for so doing , the suffering mandarin would receive from the people the highest encomiums , and his name would be rendered immortal : ,, there have been several of these publick martyrs in China , who could not