Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1843-05-02
FtOm the Madisonian.
CHINA.
Arts and Science5.

The Chinese, il has been said, have no
conception Of what is beautiful in Wri-
ting, regularity in architecture, or natural
in painting; and yet, in gardening aud
planning their grounds, exhibit the true
sublime and beautiful. They perform
ell the operations of arithmetic with
pEodigious quickness, but differently from
Europeons. Till the latter came among |
them, il is said, they were ignorant of
Mathematics; had no proper apparatus Tor
aStroDomic Il observations; and the meta
physical learning, which existed among
them, was confined 10 their philosophers.
They understood printing before the
Europeans; their method was block prln-
ing, by cutting the characters on blocks
ofWood. They had almanacs stamped
from plates or blocks, many centuries
before printing was discovered IR Eu-
rope. But for their astronomical calcu'
atoms, they are said TO have been indebt'
ed 10 foreigners whom they invited 10 rc-
side among them. They justly claim
the invention Of gunpowder perhaps; but
it 10 doubted whether they ever used 1t
with FIRE arms, before it was applied tol
this purp ose in Europe: though il is said
they made use Of it against Ganghis
Kahn and Tamerlaus; yet, We think, TO
very little purpose. Certainly, their late
war with England shows that they are
more than century behind her in the
use Of fire arms and gunpOwder. II is
said, however, that in their conflict with
Genghis Kahn and Tamerlane, their Np>
plieatiOn Of the use Of gunpowder was con-
6ned to artillery; as they were confess
edly altogether unscquainted with the
use of small arms. The invasion oil
Genghis Kahn was in 1909, when he
conquered several Of the Northern Pro-
vinces Of China, in spite Of their gun
powder. II was more than conlu
Ty after this before gunpowder was
known TO the Europ cans. Swartz, q
monk Of Cologne. is said first TO have
invented il in 1880, and, at The same
time, he invented great guns TO use il
with: but the first time that heavy ord'
nance was used in battle by the English
was on the field'of Cressy, in l346, wbeT
Edward III. had four Peices Of cannon
which gained him the battle, with the
slaughter of 900 French, amOnl
whom was the King Of Bohemia. Can
non were used in l347 at the seige q
Calais; first 10 Denmark in 1853; frs
at sea, by Venice against GenOa,in 1877
first used in Spain in l406; but with a
the pretension Of the ChIsese, we suc
pect they we're about the last nation
adopt their use. We acknowledge thei
excellence in artificial fireworks; 70
they are almost as well known over th'
world as their Teas. A word more il
their praise on the present head and WI
dismiss it. Their industry in cultivalinl
their fields, making Canals, levellinl
mountains, raising gardens, and naviga
ting their junks and boats, is highly ex
emplary. Perhaps no nation in the
world exceeds them in industry. The
story of the old lady, who was found Gil
ing an iron bar into a needle. is at th'
same time . type Of their industry, ant
their backwardness in the progress o
the useful arts. II this, indeed, be tn
Oldest nation Of the earth. as there
strong reason 10 believe, it is melanchol
to reflect how little light Of knOwledg
they have shed for the benefit Of Othe
nations, and how aVerse and incapable O
receiving any from them. IdOlairy, in
deed, seems to brood over ignorance an
barbarism; while Christianity has bee
the pioneer to knowledge and civiIizu
ton; promoting at the same time the
temporal and eternal condition Of man-
eleVatng the genius and the soul.
Manufacturer aad Commerce.
China is 90 happily situated, and pro
duces snCh aysiety Of materials "a
manufactures, ii may be said to
the native land Of industry, but in man
cases Il is without taste or elegance
though carried on with great art an
neatness. They fabriCa.e paper fror
the bark of bamboo and other trees, q
we'll as Of cotton, but not comparable I
the European for the purpose Of eithe
writing or printing. In the manufacture
OF former, we believe the French ex
eel oil other nations. The China in
is veil known in Europe, and said 10 be
composition Of animal glue and lamp
black. There ls one manufacture
however, in which they for long tim
excelled ell nations, namely In Spscle
ofearthen ware called China, or Tathe
porcelain, which was long known TO the
Europeans and brought immense sums to
China, but il is now said TO be far exN
celled by European artists; yet we are ia.
clined to believe, that II is only in the
perfection Of the figures and cOloring,
not in the transparency and durability Of
The ware. The SeVres porcelain Of
France undoubtedly excels that Of China
in the beauty Of the cOloring, but Il is
questionable whether it be superior to | /
II any other respect. The other princi
81 manufactures Of China a of silks
go ea4tnn Tha Chinas .o.:-,