Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-11-06

and laws have endured for centuries
we come to ask what is the form o
) its government, and what the princi-
), pie fits social .organizatian? The
exterior form is hereditary monar-
chg. W.
: The prominent, and it may be said.
almost the only principle Of government
is the paternal relation-the Emperor
| is called the father of his people, and
the idea ofthe paternal relation runs
through alIthe habits, laws, and Gus
toms of the people. 1t is fiction
Notwithstanding, but beautiful one.---
The radical in the social organization
of the Chinese is veneration of parents.
Annual offerings are made at the
graves of their ancestors, and children
are most relentless!y punished by their
parents for any disrespect shown
to them. The government CON
sists of the sovereign; cabinet coun-
| Gil; council of the army; the great gem
eral council; six supreme boards frev-
enue, rights, &C., council for the Tar.
tars; council for the general inspection
of officers; the high Court of Appeals;
council for examination of candidates
for public Offices; of the governors,
I &c. of provinces and the army
The sovereign power is Of re-
ligious as we'll as e political charac-
( ter.
The officers of government are be-
! slowed upon merit, intellectual and
moral-they are not hereditary. There
are but few titular families, and they
are among the Tartars they however,
enjoy no especial privilege. Scholars
constitute tie first rank in the empire.
After passing the examinations, which
are most strict, the most merltoriouS
are appointed to the inferior offices
of government employ, destined
through good behaviour to rise to the
highest in the gift of the government.
In China an official is punished by de-
ts's' asineA him from his rank. In this
country, IN our navy r,ss .-.~.------z-,-.
ease IS different. Ifanofiicer behaves
badly he is suspended with or without
! pay, &C., but an officer is never degra-
! ded, as for Instance, from a captain
! to midshipman. In China this is the
4 mode of punishment, IT is the universal
4 tenure of office. And man has to
commence anew, eligible again to the
highest Offices, if he conducts well.
Public opinion is as much regarded
in China as in Great Britain, or the
United States, Newspapers abound,
! and are read as much as in this coun-
try. The Chinese have theirred book,
as we have our blue book. Pamphlets,
Iabored arguments are published as
with US, and in farther analogy, peri
/ odical addresses are made by the SOY
ereign to the people, which, however:
inculcates morals as well as politics.
The stated agricultural festivals are
a great feature with the Chirese-it j;
at these times that the Emperor drives
1 the plough before his whole Court, ar
example to his subjects. The works
of Confucius are read by all, anc
their influence on the public mind is
unbounded. They publish as much
and as cheaply,as in the United States
and the people read and write as gen
orally as they do in this country
Their language, which was at frs
hieroglyphic, has become one Of ar
: bitrary signs, but not letters-ther'
there is no alphabet, but each separat.
/ sign stands for particular idea; there
are $4,000 characters in their diction
, airy. and from this it may be inferred
what an immense labor it is to learr
) their language, it is which convert!
China into one great school. Ora
! language differs in different provinces,
but the written language is the sans
throughout China. The written Ian
guage bears the same relation to the
oral languages of the provinces, as ths
) Arabic numerals do to the various Ian
guage of Europe. When person.
! from differen provinces cannot compre-
bend each other, they resort to writing
or making figures in the air. Thi'
language giving unity to the people
\ laws, &C., has done every thing fol
} the stability Of the government. The
manners Of the Chinese are eminentl,
courteous, but ladies donot mingle in
their public assemblies.
4 The prevalent religion is worship
of ancestors, through specific religion
such as Boodhism, Lamahism, Ma
homedanism, &c., are tolerate. All
1important events by the Chinese are
cs.s.. by registrations, burning q
IRE works. r4anle food Of this
Chinese, is rec. In the us-1-~s;on J
{ their tables and furniture Of their nor