The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1845-11-01
Vol. xI., No. 2sl-tyhoie No. 4I53.
Chsna and lhe Chinese, by the Hon. Caleb
Cushing.


Newbuyport one in Boston, and one in Salem-on
the character and policy of China and the Chinese
We sent a special reporter to attend them, and the
following is full and exclusive report of Mr.. C.'s
remarks al each lecture, which We have thrown
into one
THE LECTURE.
Before commencing my remarks upon the subject of
the Chinese Empire must at the outset beg you
feel disappointed if you find my observations some what
rambling and desultory. From the nature Of the sub
ect the infinite variety of details connected with il the
immense field of observation the great interest aud inn
portance Of the topics am expected to touch, must
cessarily be, in a measure, superficial Rhetorical
ment and eloquent defamation are likewise out of my
power plain statement of facts and a few of the ma
ny observations they naturally would elicit will be all
that il in my power to offer To American or Euro
pean for the first time into the midst of Chinese So
cety every thing contrary 10 his established
usaees Not only does he find him eli at the annodes
geographically speaking, but equally with respect to
manners, customs and morals The thronging M yriads
everywhere around-thelr strange costume--the mces
SAINT clash OF gongs-the unks with sailsthe carts
on shore driven by sails well the craft the
ter-every thing combines to make OF, to him
the utmost novelty And the particular his obser
walton, the is he struck with the total dssimary
from all he before has witnessed. Does he look at the
pilot directing the vessel under his charge he finds the
directing point of the compass at the south instead OF
the north pole; does he receive letter he finds the wT
ting running in lines from top to bottom instead OF hor
2onally and to be read from right TO left instead OF left
TO right The language too he perceives to be ideogra
phic instead of alphabetc that is the characters of
themselves represent distinct ideas whereas with his
own language combination OF characters is resorted to
before an idea is conveyed. family mourning for the
death of relative dresses in white instead of black
shuecock play ed with the feet the saucer placed
in the cup, instead OF the cup the shoes
polished it'll whitening and not backing; their ladies
compress and dstort the feetours the waist the upper
side of the head shaved not the lower in their books
the leaves cut and trimmed in binding on the back
instead OF the front; in swimming, the hands and
moved up and down, instead of sideways: the
cavalry are armed with the bow and arrow the in
fontry with the matchbox; colonel of dragons
horseback at the head of his troops may seen fan
ming himself very zealousy and fourishing his fan in
stead OF sword men fly kites rather than the boys
theirs carry their infants the back rather than the
breast; all the todaen the rivers oome sub
stitue for cockps and horse the Chinese fight
main with two crickets in a bowl friend accosts
you in the street and instead of shaking your hand
he shakes his own at you. Besides all these
ernal differences, the stranger finds that nobility and
forfeiture ui blood go upward instead of downward,
that one be enoblea degraded affects his father and
his SON. his ancestors and not his descendants The
various extraordinary appearances and customs will at
first most iorclbly and uoicrousy strike the foreigner
but he must take very different and more serious view
othe topic submitted TO him otherwise hewll do much
injustice TO great and polished people The porcelain the
tea the silks of nina have rendered her familiar
our but few have adequate idea of the supendous
reality othat empire. We of America receiving
language, and many OF ideas from Europe, speak OF
ourselves We and brethren in Europe the
eldest nay the only great collection of civilized men
the globe. Every thing we regard from this point
OF view, and things beyond the horson of sight
TO us as not existing History to us is complete if il
be history; to the Greeks Romans are the an
Glen our usages are cvlihaton-Europe to is the
world Theologians have fallen into a similar error
They speak OF the Hebrews if they small tribe in
of Palestine, deriving their origin from one
older nation the Chaldee and their the
Egyptians the great original primitive people of
worldheir language the root of all others their
books the exclusive record of the history OF Asia Ac.
cordingy talk Familiarity in all our histories of the
first voyages TO the East Indies discoveries as il the
teempg millions OF India and China hid, did
exist until wandering Italian merchant Portuguese
navigator had found his way the darkness Europe
into the comparative enlgent light OF Asia But fact
nearly all modern arts had their day in China
ries since Her civil cation arts literature and language
are OF the highest antiquity and longest DURATION
From her we have derived to say nothing of tea
gunpoWdcr, the mariners compass, silk, porcelain,
paper printing, Doth with blocks and movable
types newspapers, bank notes and paper money!
All these things are of modern with us-not SC
with them. The language of Conucius, the contempt
rary OF erodous is yet the vernacular tongue of the
Chinese-and IN snort do not know OF anything now
possessed by except the steam engine which they
did not possess anterior TO history While fathers
skinclad barbarians rowing in the woods of Br.
taic, Germany and Norway, thousands OF years ago
China was populous empire of polished men, clad il
silk, living in cities, having colleges of education FIRE.
quentng crowded theatres, drinking from porcelain
pa 9shng books and engossng all the chief arts of ci
WHEATON Just as 1t now is in Europe ami America OuI
word China is Portuguese, and like the Latin Sna il
unknown in the country itself as designation of the
land 1t is supposed to be derived from the Tsin ynas
comparatively modern since, in the 18th century the
name was Cathary, we learn from Columbus anG
others Their own names are three in number
TIA tsing-frequently lated " Great Pure"
Chung kwoh-" Central Land 9"
Chung.hwa-" Central Fowery"
These are sometimes combined into
Ta-tsing Chung kwoh- -" Central Land of the Great
Pure"
This last is the true political designation Of China
while Nos and are the literary and No. the popu.
lar names The error of ranslatng these appelatons
givos them an air of straDgeness The Chinese is a pri
mitive language and of all the words sgnf
cant; these are proper and should be used as
such-to translate them is as if an Enolshman should
speak OF Sir Mark vetch Lord Mayor OF Strength in
stead OF Marcus Cicero Consul of Rome. The
Chinese Empire, as Europe has known it for
ly i've hundred years consists of two great
menviz the Chinese, who inhab eighteen provinces
OF China proper and the Tartars divided into hanchus
Nnha nd ntIa ravt
vast interior country called lii Add to these ls Tibet
under the protection of China and End Tributary re-
gions influenced more or less by the Chinese govern
mont such as Corea, Cochin China Siam, SC The 20
pulaon exclusive of merely tributary states by the
census OF the Chinese, is put down at $50 o00-bu
this disputed simply because it large and the
is reduced conecturay to 600 by foreign
ers Yet this is without good reason, may under
stand by view OF the circumstances of the case, and
comparison OF the territory manners and customs of the
Chinese with those of other nations The immense
thtongs OF people everywhere presenting themselves
the eye all extremely industrou us making the coun
try appear one vast beehive antnest Let us consi
derthat two crops per produced in the popu
lous regions OF China proper whereas here ana in Flu
rope but is raised We consequently must produce
food for tw elve months in six besides tho nrovis;o e.,
cattle in winter, and occupy much of our space in
ITS storage till wanted for consumption. II is not SO with
them That there are beasts Of burden in Southern
China to consume food which might use Horses
are unknown except in small numbers for the troops
there are no cows no sheep, only very few buia
Ices for the plough All transportation is either on ca
has ana MYERS or on the backs OF men, and men also
employ ed to draw the canal boats the country and
carry the SEDAN chalnS winch used in the cities
That there forests, occupying vast extents
that might be devoted to cultivation That there
broad highways for carriages nothing but
narrow f)opaths for and animals, and that thus the
wholeIurlace OF the country can be and is cultivated
almost like garden-except the grounds reserved for
burials That the women labor much rs the men
hat the people very abstemous living upon almost
nothing and eating almost every thing the shape o
iood-the very poor consuming cats, rats, mice dogs
and IN TACT every thing that has life. As illustration
OF the cheapnes Of subsistence here mention that
hired servants for five dollars a month thev 6n5ino
Themselves and feeding rice and FISH. That there il
large aud constant importation OF beadsus into China
Ihat articles OF food in the tropics far produc
1--WE IMAM with us as for example the yield OF the banana
10 hat OF wheat IS 1873 to and to that OF the potato
tout most productive vegetable Is to That there
IS an immense emigration from China Manila TO Dor
nee 10 Java TO singapore and 10 all the Asac islands
on water RATS, in boats, &C. winch form streets and
Whoie oleS on me rivers That the laws and usages OF
NINA promote IN he very highest possible degree the
progress oil population And final y that the Chinese