The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-06-26
China.

China. ..,-.-..,,,..rs.s -
It's we'll for men to travel, as they may
thereby divest their minds Of narrow views
and contracted notions, and whilst learning
70 appreciate foreign nations, learn also
that their own country is not superior in
all respects to every other one in the world.
Mr.. BuRL1NGANE, in a recent speech, said
of the Chinese: @i@ 2' 81
"That is q great and noble people. II
has all the elements of splendid nation
atty. 1t has the most numerous people on
the face Of the globe it is the most no.
mogeueous people in the world; its Ian
guage is spoken by more human beings
than any other in the world, and it is writ
ten in the rock :; it is a country where there
is a greater unifcation of thought than any
other country in the world it is country
where the maxims of the great sages, COM
ing down memorized, have permeated the
whole people until their knowledge is rather
an instinct than an requirement. 1t Is a
people loyal while living, and whose
last prayer when dying is to sleep
in the sacred soil of their fathers.
1t is land Of scholars and of schools
land of books, from the smallest psmphiet
up to the encyclopedias Of 5000 volumes.
1t is land, sir, as you have SAID, where the
privileges are common, 1t IS land wlthout
caste, for they destroyed their feudal sys-
TEN two thousand one hundred years ago,
and they built up their great structure OF
civilization on the great idea that the people
are the source of power. applause That
idea was uttered by Menchius two thousand
three hundred years ago, and it was OLD
when he uttered it. The power flows forth
from that people into practical government
through the cooperative system, and they
make scholarship test Of merit"
The book of Monsieur Hue, written some
years ago, gives perhaps the most reliable
account of the Chinese that can be found in
our language. The, few years which have
elapsed since that book was written need not
betaken into consideration for the Chinese
are much the same now that they were
thousand years ago. NJ. Hue lived in that
country fifteen years, and travelled III
state over large portion of it. Mr.. BUR-
LISGAME corroborates what he says In re-
gard to the character Of Chinese lnstltu-
tions. NJ. Hue, however, if we mistake
not, represents the people as great lars
and as unbelievers in any religion,
whatever they may profess. he cites
instances in which the people, by force OF
public opinion, compelled unpopular Off
:. GERS to resign their places and give way to
others more acceptable. He even tells OF
popular elections held to choose what we III
this country would term county or munich
pal officers. NJ. Hue says-what one might
we'll suppose of people who have so many
learned men amongst them-that the CHI
nese do not call their empire the Central
Kingdom because they suppose it to be i'll
the centre of the world but that on the
contrary, one of the chief divisions Of the
country, perhaps that in which the seat OF
government is located, is called the Cen
trail Kingdom because it is in the middle
of the empire, just as we in this country
distinguish North Carolina from South
Carolina. .....
One of the most remarkable statements III
NJ. HuC's book is that in the whole Chinese
empire there is no such officer as "man
+ DARN that is, that there is no such wore
in the Chinese language. The word is sup
posed to have been invented by the Portu
guese, and to have come through that Ian
guage into the English. Its root is, doubt
less, the Latin word &C mandare."
M. Hue tells of Chinese boy picking
1Bup :, cat and looking into its eyes to set
- whether the stiir had reached its meridaI
height, giving as philosophical reason to-
the singular action that streak o. ugh.
across the cats eye runs down to mer
limo at that hour. He tells many othe
amusing experiences in that country, ON
of which has often been repeated in ou
newspapers without giving him the credi
Of the story. 1t was of jackass in hi!
train that annoyed him every morning by
its sonorous braying. The Chinese driver
said he could easily stop that annoyance
that the ass would not bray unless it coulC
first straighten out Its tail, and that he
would the next morning hang q weight t.
that appendage; which he did, says NJ
Hue, and thereby entirely stopped thu
braying.
As the papers are now full of accounts
of dinners given and speeches made il
honor of our Chinese guests, and public at
tention is drawn to the wonderful country
they represent, NJ. HUGS book ought to bt
brought out in new edition. We are in
clined to think that even Mr.. BURL1NGAMt
does not know IS much Of the Chinese a.
did its distinguished author. a
A Mastery Paper.