The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-28 00:00:00

GEOLOGY.

The greater part of China Proper is a large basin,
through which flow two mighty rivers, whose deposits form
huge alluvial beds, covered with exuberant vegetation,
but not affording any geological exhibition ; but in the
north-cast nart of the empire, amidst the mountains of
Pe-ling and: Tcin-ling, in the province of Kan-suh and
Ch large deposits of anthracite coal are found, and
usei as fuel by the people, who pound it with water to
desulphurize it, and dry it in the form of cakes. In the
Loung Mountains are burning wells of ignited naptha.
In the province of Pe-tchi-li very fine marble is found.
On the borders of the province of Ngan-hoe and Tehe
Kiang, and south of the Yang-tse-Kiang, is the deposit of
poreelai., clay, from whence it is quarried and carried over
the empire. *A
chain of granite hills runs through the pro-
vince of Kwan-tung, Fub-keen, and Tchc-Kiang, and
amitist these bills the tea tree grows in the greatest abut,
dance, _oid lapis lazuli, porphyry, and jasper are found ; at
the soucce of the Si- Kiang are many lead mines, and on
the high road from Canton to Pekin, from Hong-ting to
Nan- Yc ng there runs an extensive coal field. Copper,
tutenague. or white metal. mercury, and silver are plentiful
in the province of Yun-Nan, gold and ruby mines yield
large r&ti trns in the province of Sze-chuen ; and did not
the tyrunrw of the Tartar rulers hinder the efficient work-
ing of the mines, China could export large quantities of
silver, gal.], and precious stones. Iron is found in most
of the maintains of the Northern provinces. Mercury in
the form of cinnabar abounds in Chan.si. From this
mineral ti to Chinese make their beautiful vermillion co-
lour. Ea rthquakes occur in the South, and volcanic erup-
tions are :laid to take place in the hills of the western
frontier.

RELIGION, MANNERS, &c.
This country has no established religion. No creed is
made a matter of state, except the abstract belief in the
existenc,o of a Supreme Being, end of the Emperor as
ii sole vicegerent on ( arth. As to every other creed and
rite, tile natiou adopts any or none, as it may judge expe•
dieht. 'The learned generally affect indifference on the
subject. Many of the people, however, have adopted the
religion of the sect of Boodh (who pronounce B I:ke F,
Fob) which prevails in all the neighbouring regions of
Birmah, Siam, and Cochin China. But the creed cf
the Chinese is not pure I.luhdhism. The ancient
religion of the Chinese, and of all the Tartar and Mon-
gool races of Central Asia, and perhaps in early ages of
the whole world, was that of Shahmaanism. or the ~vership
of the shades of their ancestors ; and the forms of this most
ancient religion still linger mingled with the rites of
Boodh, and is the ieligious ceremonial of the Chinese. The
Emperor, who is sovereign Pontiff, annually cff...rs sacri-
fices at the tombs of his ancestors, and during great
tfrenghts, floods, or national calamities, he, ministers in
the temples, and by his mediation endeavours to propitiate
the anger of the gods. Confucius, who flourished in the
year s.c. 472,taught no religion, properly speaking, and may
he regarded rather as the founder of a system of moral phi-
Ineephy than of religion. The prevailing forms of religion
of‘the country were introduced into China about 600 years
after Confucius, that is about the year 100 of the Christian
era. The priests neither preach nor teach—they do no-
thing but perform ceremonies, offer sacrifices, and recite
prayers. They sell in the temples books and tracts, ex-
horting the people to the performance of relative duties ;
not to cat float), to repeat often the 1121110 of Blodli, and
to attend to many superstitious observances. They gene-
r~lly live in monasteries, and tiev.er marry. There are
also nunneries for unmarried women. The Chinese ap-
pear to have little veneration for their temples, as nothing
is more common than to see people drinking tea, or par-
taking of other refresibments,,in „church," while the little
estr
athmelinioios,-
asrafidbtuornhiengatulneda
pieces of sweet-
trile of their god.
"nelT'lingerwewuare
of p iests in the emoire. The sect of Tao-Tse, a
r
ula-,,,pC. of m., Cooraci, and a I,ctiter front Boodh,
nd the fiillow CI s of
r, very ittlavr"s, a , the
Lama have temples scattered the
been omen protected by the Em
hills. This sect has
od
has gained grea
pow, a, through their priest
•and the choice of the
fl•i-nec Thittet and Mongolia,
• persrin worshipped as the
Grand Lama, who is a livis.,
. incarnation of God by 60,000,000 people, is either made by
the Emperor, or sanetimied by his representative at the Celan
byeshe Pope
of Lassa. The Jesuit Missionaries sent
• eded in prosjtisin; a
from Rome in the year 1575, succeeded
and
le ee number of Chinese, and front their ability
r,, at thc ourt
sci-
entific attainments, acquired great influence
litice of
of Pekin but as they meddled with the
formed
the Empire, a combination of the Mandarins was
against them, and an edict issued by the Emperor, forbid-
ding
any profession of the Catholic faitb under pain of
death. A few of the Catholics escaped, but some thou-
sands were put to death. The criminal imprudence of the
Jesuits has retarded the promulgation of the Gospel of
Christ amongst the Chinese, as the Courts of Pekin view
all attempts to convect the Chinese as endeavours to obtain
political power -
and so late as the year 1812, an edict was
issued against Christianity. Notwithstanding tbeie per-
sOCUtio4sl SUN thousands of the stet of the Cross (as the