The Whig creed. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1845-1846, 1845-12-06
CHINA AND THE CHINESE.

ing's lectures, on the subject of China:
"To an European or an American, said
the lecturer, just landed in China, every
thing appears strange. He finds himself
not only al the antipodes, physically speak
ing, but at the antipodes in moral sense.
He sees around him countless myriads of
men in strange garb, and with general
appearance unlike TO all that 10 which he
has heretofore been accustomed. He OBJ
serves the most studied uniformity among
the various classes, and the progress of ev-
Re ry thing which fails under his observation
so slow and so UNMARRIED, strikes him in sim
gular contrast with our own changing man.
ners and locomotive speed. A. thousand
things admnnish him that he IS in a strange
land. He hears the constant sounding Of
gOngs, be observes innumsrabie boats on
the rivers, the dwelling places Of millions
of Chinese-carts moved on land by sails,
as we'll as bdats on the water. If the pilot
looks TO the compass TO direct his course on
the deep, he looks 10 the pointing of the
South pole,-ii he receives a letter he will
| find it written in lines running from top TO
bottom OF the sheet. reading from right 10
! left. with the date al the bottom of The let
ter-no alphabet being used but idiographic
characters. The mourning, instead of he
ing black, as with Us. is white. with the Chi
nese-the shoe even is whitehead with some
substance, TO correspond with other por-
tons of the dress He sees the saucer pIa-
ced on the cup, instead of the cup on the
saucer-shuttlecock PLAYED with the feet
instead of the hands-ladies' feet compress
sed, instead ofthe waists-leave of book
Il
son swimming strikes his hands vertically
and not horizontally-the top of the head
shaved--and when a friend meets you in
the street. he does not shake yoar hand, but
shakes his hands at you-the infantry arm
ed with matchlocks, the cavalry with the
bow and arrow-and Colonel at the head
of his regiment not unfrequently brandish-
ing pan instead of sword. He will not
only note these exterior forms of difference.
but will learn that nobility is not inherited
from the father by the son--good deeds re-.
fecting back upon a remote ancestry. Cor
ruption of blood from crimes committed,
affects ancestors long since dead and gone,
though il discs not necessarily affect posteri-
ty.
China had for ages cultivated the arts
literature and the sciences. The language
Of Confucius, the contemporary of Herodo-
tus, is now the vernacular tongue of this
great people. The discovery of gunpow
der and of the mariners compass, the manu-
iacture of silks and porcelains, the inven
ton OF the printing press, and even the cir
culation OF bank notes, had their dav in
China, centuries ago. The lecturer did no
know of any thing that was not possessed
" 10 Chinese q ha
Europe, except the steam engine.
1t has been estimated that China contains
, population of 100000, 900 souls, by man,
this estimate is doubted, but those wht
doubt concede population of 25O. 900 900
, deducting ad libtum from the census taker
by the Chinese themselves A slight analv
! sis of the facts of the case will put an en-,
: TO all speculation. One will see in Chin;
e a vast multitude Of human beings, all &C
|. tive and industrious. A comparison of tn,
r territory of China, its climate, its laws. Gus
! toms and habits of the people. with thos,
e of other nations. will convince one that tn,
S empire IS the seat of vast population.
j. portion of China lies on the tropics, wher
l. two crops are easily produced everv sea
S son. No beasts of burden are to be see,
Il in Southern China. All transportation
if carried. on the canals, or on the backs O
4 men. The boats on the canals are tracke;
J, hv men--no horses are to De seen, exscep
what are in use for the Tartar cavalry, AM
n but few buffaloes, which are used for plough
" ing some peculiar soils. These facts prov
e thar the country is capable of supporting
g dense population. 1t is not the case i
II China as in this country-they have not Il
IT produce in one crop sufficient to last then
IT the year ronnd, or to sustain beasts of bul
e den, that consume as much as men of tn
d agricultural products of the country. TIL
d land is of one entire cultivated garden. e1
cept the large grounds left for the burial {
the dead. These facts would leave no.hln
Of TO deduct from the estimation of the Oh
IS nese as to their own population. But ther
:. are others. The abstemiousness of tn
Chinese is one. They eat cats, rats. dog
N &c. There is an immense emigration cor
lie stantly going forth. In Southern Chin
ot there are more productible articles OF frui
II than in almost any other section of Ii
=. globe. eve understood Mr.. Gushing
q say that the banana produces as l33 TO
l. Of our wheat, and ID to of our potato.)
N TIE rr,r,.oont onI - ~ ho !,