The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1869-09-17
China and the Chinese.

Herodotus, who has been called the fi,ther
of history, travelled in Egypt about 45o b.
C. He studied Its monuments, bearing
the names OF kings who were rs distaut
from his time as he Is from ours,-monu-
ments which even then belongedto to gray
antiquity. But the kings who erected
those monuments were posterior TO the
founders of tho Chinese Empire. Porce-
lain vessels, with Chinese notices on them,
have been found in those ancient tombs,
in shape, material and appearance pre-
cisely like those which are made In China
to-day and Roselini believes them to
have been imported from China by kings
contemporary with Moses or before him.
This nation and its institutions have out
lasted everything. The ancient Bactrian
and Assryian kingdoms, the Persian mon
archy, Greece and Rome, have all risen,
flourished, and fallen.-and China contin-
ues still the same. The dynasty has been
occasionally but the laws, customs, insti-
tutions, all that makes national life, have
continued. The authentic history ofChina
commenced some 5000 years before Christ,
and thousand years in this history Is like
a century in that of any other people.
The oral language of China has continued
the same that 1t is now for rthirty centuries.
The great wall bounding the empire on
the north, which Is 1910 miles long, and
twenty feet eigh, with towers every few
hundred yards,-which crosses mountain
ridges, dcsccnds into valleys and Is carried
over ridges and arches,-was built 200
years before Christ, probably to repel
those fierce tribes who, after inffcctual OF
tempts to conquer China, travelled west
ward till thcy appeared on the borders Of
Europe five hundred years later, and un-
der the name of Huns, assisted In the
downfall of the Roman Empire. All
China was intcrsectod with canals Mt n pe-
riod when none existed in Europe. The
great canal, like the great wall, Is unri-
vailed by any similar existing work. 1t is
twice tho length of the Erie canal, Is from
two hundred to thousand feet wide, and
has enormous banks built of solid granite
along great part of Its course. One of
the important mechanical inventions of
modern Europe is tho artesian well.
That sunk at Grenoblew as long supposed
to be the deepest in the world, going down
eighteen hundred feet. One at St Louis
in the United States, has since bccn drill
cd to depth, as has recently been stated.
of more than four thousand. But in
China these wells are found in tens of
thousands, sunk at very remote periods to
obtain salt water. The method used by
the Chinese from immemorial time has
recently been adopted instead of our own,
rs being much more simple and economi-
cal. The Chinese have been long nc
quainted with the circulation of the blood !;
they inoculated for smallpox in the tenth
century and about the same time they
invented printing. Their bronze money
was made as early as 100 b. c., and its
form has not changed since the Christian
era. The mariners compass, gunpowder
and the art of printing were made known
to Europe through stories told by mis-
sionarics who, coasting the shores of the
Celestial Empire in Chinese junks, saw a
little box containing magnetized needle
called Ting -nan-Tchen, or ''needle which
points to the south" They also noticed
terrible machines used by the armies In
China called Hopao or fire-guns, into
which was put an inhamable powder,
which produced noise like thunder, and
projected stones and pieces Of iron with
irresistible force. Father Hue, in his
christianity in China" says that "the
Europeans who penetrated into China
were no less struck with the libraries Of
the Chinese than their artillery. They
were astonished at the sight of tho ele-
CANT books printed rapidly upon n plant,
silky paper by means Of wooden blocks.
The first edition of the classical works
printed in China appeared in 95S, FIVE
hundred years before the invention Of
Guttenburg. The missionaries had, doubt
less, often been busted in their converts
with the laborious work Of copying man
uscript books, and the simple Chinese me-
thod of printing must have particularly
attracted their attention. Many other
marvellous productions were noticed, such
rs silk, porcelain, playing-car'ls, spocta-
clcs. and other products of art and indus
try unknown to Europe. They brought
back these new ideas to Europe "and
from that timc," says Abel Remusat, 1.-THE
West began to hold in due esteem the
most beautiful, the most populous, and
the most anciently civilized of all the four
quarters of the world. The arts, the reli-
gious faith, and the languages OF It's peo-
pie, were studied and 1t was even pro-
posed tr establish profcssorship for the
Tartar language in the University Of Par
is. The world seemed to open towards
the east geography made immense strides
and ardor for discovery opened n new
vent for the adventurous spirit of tho Ei-
ropeans. AS our own hemisphere became
better known, the idea of another ceased
10 appear wholly improbable paradox
and in seeking the Zipanson OF Marco
Polo, Christopher Columbus discovered
the new world.-J. FREEMAN CLARKE, in
A,iantic Monthly.
In "a certain school district in Iowa resides
. few ultra Democrats; likewise colored
man and wife who have several children.
m n N A n