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Article THE GENERAL HISTORY OF CHINA: ← Page 3 of 3
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The General History Of China:
be terrified either by punishments or death , when the prince deviated from the rules of a wise administration . -Besides , the tranquility of the Empire depends intirely upon the application of the prince to see the laws put in execution ; for such is the genitis of the Chinese , that if either the Emperor or his council were net steady , and attentive to the conduct of those who have . authority the
over people , the viceroys and the mandarins , who are at a distance from the court , would govern the people as they pleased , and become so many petty tyrants in the provinces , and equity would soon be banished from the tribunals ; upon which the people , who are infinite in China " , finding themselves ill used and oppressedwould begin to cabal and murmurwhich would soon be '
, , followed by a general revolt in a province ; the rising of one province , might , in a short time , communicate itself to the adjoining provinces , and the' whole empire be in a flame in an instant ; for it is the character of this nation , that if the first seeds of rebellion are not immediatel y stifled by authority , in a short time they produce the most dangerous' revolutions : There have been divers '
examples of this in China , which have taught the emperors that their authority is no longer secure than theirindefatigable watchfulness renders it so , and than they tread in the steps of the great princes that have preceded them . ! One of the most considerable ensigns of the imperial authority is that of the Seals of the Empirewhich are lied to authorise all
, app public acts , and all the decisions of the tribunals of the empire ; the Emperor ' s seal is near ei ght inches square , and is of a very fine jasper , which is a precious stone hi ghly esteemed in China , and none " but the Emperor is allowed to use it ; it is called Yu che , and is taken out of the mountain Yn yu chan , that is , the mountain of the , agate seal .
The Chinese relate several fables concerning this mountain , and among others , that formerly the Fong boaug having appeared on this mountiiin rested upon an unhewn stone , and that a skilful lapidary having broke it in pieces found tin ' s famous stone of which the seal of the empire is made : this bird called Fong hoang is the phcehix of China , and is according to them the bird of prosperity , and the
forerunner of the golden age : but it has no other existence than what is found in their books , and the chimerical painting that is made of it . The honorary seals that are given to the princes are of gold ; those ' of viceroys , great mandarins or magistrates of the first order , are of silver ; those of the inferior mandarins or magistrates are either of brass or lead ; they are larger or lesser according to the dignity of the
magistrates ; the characters of the seals , since the Tartars have - been in China , are both Chinese and Tartarian , the officers and ma- ; gistrates being both Chinese and Tartars . When the Emperor sends visitors into the provinces to examine the conduct of the governors and particular magistrates , he gives a seal to each of them , and when the seals are worn out they must send notice of it to the tribunals , . who send them new ones , and take back the old ones . [ To be continuedA
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The General History Of China:
be terrified either by punishments or death , when the prince deviated from the rules of a wise administration . -Besides , the tranquility of the Empire depends intirely upon the application of the prince to see the laws put in execution ; for such is the genitis of the Chinese , that if either the Emperor or his council were net steady , and attentive to the conduct of those who have . authority the
over people , the viceroys and the mandarins , who are at a distance from the court , would govern the people as they pleased , and become so many petty tyrants in the provinces , and equity would soon be banished from the tribunals ; upon which the people , who are infinite in China " , finding themselves ill used and oppressedwould begin to cabal and murmurwhich would soon be '
, , followed by a general revolt in a province ; the rising of one province , might , in a short time , communicate itself to the adjoining provinces , and the' whole empire be in a flame in an instant ; for it is the character of this nation , that if the first seeds of rebellion are not immediatel y stifled by authority , in a short time they produce the most dangerous' revolutions : There have been divers '
examples of this in China , which have taught the emperors that their authority is no longer secure than theirindefatigable watchfulness renders it so , and than they tread in the steps of the great princes that have preceded them . ! One of the most considerable ensigns of the imperial authority is that of the Seals of the Empirewhich are lied to authorise all
, app public acts , and all the decisions of the tribunals of the empire ; the Emperor ' s seal is near ei ght inches square , and is of a very fine jasper , which is a precious stone hi ghly esteemed in China , and none " but the Emperor is allowed to use it ; it is called Yu che , and is taken out of the mountain Yn yu chan , that is , the mountain of the , agate seal .
The Chinese relate several fables concerning this mountain , and among others , that formerly the Fong boaug having appeared on this mountiiin rested upon an unhewn stone , and that a skilful lapidary having broke it in pieces found tin ' s famous stone of which the seal of the empire is made : this bird called Fong hoang is the phcehix of China , and is according to them the bird of prosperity , and the
forerunner of the golden age : but it has no other existence than what is found in their books , and the chimerical painting that is made of it . The honorary seals that are given to the princes are of gold ; those ' of viceroys , great mandarins or magistrates of the first order , are of silver ; those of the inferior mandarins or magistrates are either of brass or lead ; they are larger or lesser according to the dignity of the
magistrates ; the characters of the seals , since the Tartars have - been in China , are both Chinese and Tartarian , the officers and ma- ; gistrates being both Chinese and Tartars . When the Emperor sends visitors into the provinces to examine the conduct of the governors and particular magistrates , he gives a seal to each of them , and when the seals are worn out they must send notice of it to the tribunals , . who send them new ones , and take back the old ones . [ To be continuedA