242 THE STORK CHARM. Earth, sea, and skies are subject to thy sway, And men and demons thy commands obey. There is a charm by no means uncommon, called the stork charm. It consists of a rude resemblance of the stork, with an inscription written within it. Were you to see some of these charms, you would hardly guess that the drawing of the bird was meant to represent a stork. The inscription is a sort of address, or petition, that the heavenly genii may descend quickly. In cases of illness there are many means adopted to obtain, by divination, a knowledge whether the patient will live or die; nor does a failure in the truth of the information thus obtained, appear at all to shake the faith of the credulous inquirers. Again and again they have recourse to the same means, with the same object in view. One mode of proceeding is to light candles at night, and to spread dishes of food on the table. An old hag then beats an iron drum having a leathern top, tucking up her clothes, and dancing about in all manner of grotesque forms. This is continued till by degrees the old sorceress becomes greatly excited. She gabbles with her tongue a strange jargon, opening and shutting her jaws till she foams at the mouth, reels, trembles, and falls. All at once she starts from the ground; the lights are put out, and the old hag cries out, "Our ancestor is come to share the feast." In the darkness the dishes are cleared; and when the candles are again lighted, the sorceress is ready to answer any questions which may be asked her, obtaining her knowledge, of course, from the spirits she is supposed to address. All this you know is mummery. No mortal can read futurity, Nor spirit tell, by sorceress bidden, What God of his decrees has hidden. Enough has now been said of charms and sorceries; as they have their origin in ignorance, so knowledge alone will bring them to an end. CHAPTER XXVI. CHINESE HUSBANDRY. INVENTIONS AND ARTS AND SCIENCES. Sages, Shepherds, Manufacturers, Merchants.-Chinese Custom to Encourage Agriculture.-The Scotch Ploughman.— Chinese Industry.-Prayer of the Emperor.-Gunpowder. - Mariner's Compass.— Printing.—Arts and Sciences.— Sculpture, Painting, Music, Architecture, Geometry.—A Series of Moral Paintings. As I told you a little about Chinese husbandry in describing Dane's Island, so you will not run into the error of supposing that a celestial ploughman has half a dozen sleek-skinned horses to help him, and a hopeful young chopstick to drive them. No; he has to rip up the earth with his share in a different manner; but, for all this, he makes excellent tillage. Of all influences that operate on human beings, that of necessity is the strongest ; and there is very little doubt that the high state of cultivation in which the land of the celestial empire is found, has been brought about by this influential cause. Man can do without luxuries, but he cannot dispense DIFFERENT ORDERS OF MEN. 245 with food. Industry and improvement in cultivating the earth have been induced by the natural wants of the people. It has been said that, in years gone by, the different orders of men ranked thus: first came sages, wise men who cultivated the mind; then shepherds and cattle-breeders; then manufacturers, who greatly extended human comforts; and, lastly, merchants, those who disposed of the commodities produced by the former. Of later years the shepherd has given place to the husbandman, who is able to produce from the same space of ground more than the former for the supply of human necessities. The wisest and best men that China ever produced paid great attention to agriculture; and in doing so, laid the best foundation for the peace and security of the empire, so far as its own population was concerned. Such a state of things, however, rendered the empire more helpless in a struggle with a foreign foe. The feeble resistance made by the Chinese against the British, is a proof how far behind European powers they are in the tactics of war. The following extract from a talented work called "The Fanqui in China," well describes the annual ceremony for the encouragement of agriculture: "In order to impress the minds of the populace with the importance of this branch of industry, an annual observance was instituted more than two 246 THE EMPEROR HOLDS THE PLOUGH. thousand years ago. This ceremony, which has been continued annually for many centuries, was neglected by some of the more degenerate princes, but was again revived by the third sovereign of the Mantchow dynasty, named Yong-tching. Every year, on the twenty-fourth day of the second moon, corresponding to our month of February, this ceremony takes place. The emperor himself takes a part in one of the ceremonials, while the viceroys and other grand mandarins superintend its management in the provinces. His Celestial Majesty prepares himself for it by fasting three days, and performing a great number of minor ceremonies. He then repairs to the appointed spot, which is a field set apart for the purpose in the enclosure which surrounds the Temple of the Earth, accompanied by three princes, nine presidents of the high tribunals, and forty old, and the same number of young husbandmen. When a preliminary sacrifice of the fruits of the earth has been made to the Supreme Deity, Shang-ti, the royal hand is applied to the plough, and a furrow is made of a considerable length. The princes and the mandarins follow the example, after which the field is delivered into the charge of the proper officer, who preserves the produce for the purpose of sacrifice. The sowing of the seed is preceded by a similar observance, and is then finished by the husbandmen. A ceremony in honour of the same takes place |