wishes-if need be in a new treaty throughout. Notwithstanding what has happened, we do not regard so desirable an object as impracticable, while it is one worthy of effort. Here is the case. The general government concedes the right of entrance within the gates of Canton, but puts in a proviso that it shall not be carried into effect until the people are more under control; while at the same time, it makes no effort to bring the minds of the people to see the reasonableness of this concession. The people on their part revive their plans of resistance, as soon as the effort of April, 1847, shows that the other party are in earnest in the proposition; and their alarms are increased by the survey made of part of Honam, supposing that they are immediately to be dispossessed of a portion of their land. For two years the designs of the foreigners form the topic of popular debate, not among a reasonable community, it should be added, but among an ignorant, ill-disposed, class; and as the time of fulfilling the stipulation draws near, the citizens, covertly encouraged doubtless by the local rulers, arm themselves in defence, as they suppose, of their capital about to be wrested from them. The central government does not interfere, as it would in the West, and as it ought to do here, but neither does it retract the concession of 1846; that still remains, and the manner in which it has been virtually set aside by subordinates, offers a good reason for repairing to the capital. In making these remarks, we are not endeavoring to uphold the conduct of Sü, who is acting counter to the best interests of his country; nor are we trying to find excuses for the foolish opposition of the Cantonese to a privilege that in itself is worth but little; but we wish to ascertain if there has really been such an infringement of plain, express, treaty rights as to call for the attack of Canton to carry them out-though we are not sure it must not come to that before the end. That the spirit of all the treaties has been violated by the people of this city, we freely admit; their very first articles provide for peace and security to person and property, and that we have not; yet Canton is not China, and we know the citizens of Amoy and Shanghai have no sympathy with those living here. We agree with the remark of a correspondent of the China Mail, who signs himself Forfer, that "their present cause of offence is not so great as to call for the destruction of their city;" and with his conclusion that such a step would not be necessary for the credit of the British nation. And it was to seek for some reasons which would justify such a view that we have gone over the whole matter, which we now leave to the judgment of our readers, who have the entire facts so far as we know them, and can make their own conclusions.

The number of executions during the present month has been 28, nearly equaling those of last month, and if the present administration long continues in power, the people of the Two Kwang provinces will long remember its bloody rule. One case of judicial murder has excited not a little remark among the people, and is in fact such an atrocious deed as might naturally arouse indig. nation. Li Tsiangking, a graduate of low rank in the township of Shangchuen sz' in the district of Sinning was informed against by a personal enemy, and arrested on the charge of traitorous and seditious conduct, and it is reported that a letter written by him to Hongkong was intercepted. He was brought to Canton with some of his relatives, and so much interest was felt in his behalf that a party of gentry from his town came forward to testify to his correct conduct. The governor, however, not only executed him, but confined them in prison. He has published an edict in reference to the case, as if he felt it necessary to say something, in which he declares this L to be a heartless miscreant, a mover of sedition, to whom the silly people gave heed, one whose crimes could only be expiated by his blood; and who had moreover confessed his wickedness, and whose own writing testified against him. He concludes his mandate to the people not to listen to such specious words, lest they be involved in a like dreadful end, by exhorting fathers to warn their children, and brothers to command their juniors, that every body attend to his own business lest he be entangled in the net of the law; "we love you as our own children, and hate the bad as our personal enemies; our eyes and ears see and hear everything, so that no one escapes us; no, not if he flies to the mountain recesses or the marshy wilds, or hides himself in the obscurest villages and remotest regions"

THE

CHINESE REPOSITORY.

VOL. XVIII.-JULY, 1849.-No. 7.

ART. 1. Life and Times of Confucius: notices of his ancestors, and of the time, place and circumstances of his birth. Selected from the Annals and Genealogy of the Sage, and other Chinese works By way of introduction to the study of the life and times of Confucius, we have already stated some facts designed to show in what estimation he is now held by the rulers and people of China, and have drawn the attention of our readers to the Annals and Genealogy of their "most holy sage." We will now proceed to sketch the history of the Confucian family prior to his birth, and will then add the principal facts which we find on record concerning the time, place, and circumstances of that event. As far as practicable, we shall avoid the repetition of such details as we have already given, taking care at the same time not to omit any that are essential to a full exhibition of the character of this deified nortal. With the vagaries of pagan fancy we shall have as little to do as we can, restricting ourselves to such particulars as soberminded Chinese receive as authentic facts. If we may venture upon the comparison, what we find written by inspired men, regarding our Savior's birth and lineage, we know to be true; but far otherwise is it with respect to Confucius. We would guard equally against the two extremes, either of placing too high or too low an estimate on the Chinese record of facts. In the present case, it will be remembered that the facts, of which we are about to review the record, transpired more than twenty-four centuries ago, and we suppose we may justly claim for it the same degree of credibility and authenticity that can he claimed for any other pagan record of equal 43

VOL. XVIII. NO. VII

antiquity. It would be no difficult task to extend this article; a few short paragraphs, however, will suffice, and for fuller details we must refer the Chinese student to the originals from which we draw the materials for our sketch, as the Shu King, the Kángkien I Chí; and the Annals and Genealogy of the sage, noticed on page 254.

The biographers of Confucius nake this distinction between him and other "holy ones," or sages. The concerns of the latter terminate with their life, but the concerns, the influences, of "the most holy one," are boundless after this life. They do not refer here, at all, to the soul's immortality, but only to the influences that are perpetuated among the generations of those who live on the earth,-the only state of being of which the literati of China have, or profess to have, any knowledge.

With regard to his origin, the biographers of Confucius do not derive it from heaven, or from any of their other divinities; nor do they claim for him any very remarkable lineage. Unusual phenomena attended his birth, and from childhood he possessed something like intuitive knowledge; but in other respects they look upon him, in this stage of his being, as no way differing from other mortals.

They trace back the line of his ancestors to the earliest era of their authentic history-to the time of Yau, who, according to the best chronology we can compare it with, must have been contemporary with the immediate ancestors of Abraham. Among those who assisted Yau in the administration of his government, there was a brother of that monarch, whose name was Kich; he was the Minister of instruction. This man is the reputed progenitor of the Confucian family. Regarding his literary attainments we shall not stop to inquire. Yáu knew well the character of his ministers, and was pleased to intrust the business of education to Kieh, and to assign to him the government of one of his small states called Sháng.

It was there, in the state Sháng, and in the sixteenth generationcounting from and including the monarch Yáu-that the founder of the Shing dynasty was born. This was the celebrated Chingt'áng, who, in the year B. C. 1766, established his powers on the ruins of the Hii family. Chingt áng is ranked by the Chinese among their most illustrious sages and sovereigns. They always speak of him as remarkable for both wisdom and benevolence. His kindness was

The

extended to the brute creation and even to inanimate nature. laws he ordained were simple and easy, and his deportment was gentle and paternal. The father of Chingting was Kungkié, the fourteenth monarch of the Hi dynasty, and after him there were three

other emperors. Thus the line is continued down to the close of the Hiá dynasty, through nineteen generations. The Shang dynasty, commencing with Chingtáng, presents a still longer line of monarchs, and terminates with the infamous Chausin, in the twentyeighth generation.

The ancestral line of the Confucian family here takes a new direction. Chausin appeared like an evil star, and his wicked conduct hastened his own ruin, and scattered the imperial family. Kítsz', an uncle of the monarch, taking with him some of the sacred implements from the ancestral temple, fled to Corea, whose inhabitants, even to this day, claim him as their great progenitor. Another member of the imperial family, named Weitsz', the elder brother of Chausin, fled to a neighboring state Chau, also carrying with him from the temple of ancestors some of the sacred utensils, with a view of continuing there the sacrificial rites due to his ancestors.

Ac

The prince of Chau, learning from Weitsz, the particulars of Chausin's wicked conduct, determined to avenge the national wrongs. cordingly he made war upon him, gained the supremacy, and established a new dynasty-the illustrious Chau. In order that sacrificial servi ces might be continued, suitable to sustain the honor of the fallen family the new inonarch immediately conferred on one of the sons of the late emperor the territory of Chauko. But on the death of the new monarch, this son with others, raised the standard of rebellion. They were soon overcome, and the leader, an infamous son of a vile father. deposed, and the care of the sacrificial rites, with which he had been charged, given to the faithful and worthy Weitsz, who was installed governor over the state Sung. This honor, with its emoluments, was conferred on Weitsz' to enable him, with becoming propriety, to continue the celebration of the sacrificial services due to the ancestors of this ancient famtly.

In the Sung state, commencing with Weitsz', the line of succession is continued on to the tenth generation, till the time of Kung Fúkiá. In consequence of hostilities between one of the neighboring states and Kung Fuhkiá, his son fled to Lú, and became a citizen of that state. This son's name was Muhkinfú, and for the designation of his family i. e. for his surname, he selected the single charac ter Kung, borne by the Confucian family to the present day.

In the Lú state, commencing with K'ung Muhkinfú the line is continued on to the fifth generation, to Shuhliáng called also Kieh, a hero renowned for his strength and prowess He was

the father of Confucius. Thus counting from the great progenitor of the family to the father of Confucius, we have.

1st, down to the end of the Hiá family nineteen generations; 2d, down to the end of the Sháng family, twenty-eight generations; 3d, in the Sung state, ending with K'ung Fuhkiá, ten generations; 4th, in the Lú state, ending with K'ung Shuhliáng, five generations. According to Chinese historians we thus have sixty-two generation, commencing with Kieh and ending with Kieh or K'ung Shuhliáng, and extending the line of the family through a period of more than eighteen hundred years.

The twenty-third monarch of the Chau dynasty was Ling-wáng, whose reign commenced B. c. 571. Under this monarch Kieh, the father of Confucius, held the rank of minister, and the office of chief magis. trate in the department of Tsau. For his first wife he married a lady of his native state, who belonged to the family Shí. By this lady he had nine children, all daughters. By a concubine he had also one son, called Mangpí, and sometimes Pehpí. and Pehní. This was a feeble child, with diseased feet, and was not considered by his father as worthy to bear up the line of succes sion. Kieh, therefore, sought a second wife in the Yen resident in a neighboring hamlet.

family,

Having called before him his three daughters, the master of the family, Mr. Yen, thus addressed them: "The governor of Tsau, whose father and grandfather have both held the office of minister of state, is the descendant of an ancient sage, the sovereign Chingtáng; in stature he is ten cubits (6 ft. 10 inches), and in martial strength he excels all other men. I am very desirous of having him for my son-in-law. Although he is far advanced in years, and possesses a grave disposition, there is yet no reason to doubt that he will prove himself a worthy husband. Which of you three, my daughters, is now willing to become his consort? To this address, the two elder gave no reply; the youngest, Miss Chingts i, advancing said; "In this matter I can only act according to my father's directions: why inquire of us?" The father replied: "You, my child, are the one who is able to become his spouse." Accordingly the matter was concluded, Mr. Yen at once complying with the solicitations of the hoary suitor, and the fair damsel, Miss Chingtsi, was given to him in marriage.

The husband was now in his sixty-fifth year, and both he and his young consort were equally anxious to secure the birth of a son—a worthy heir. In this state of mind they together repaired to a hilly region distant about sixty i south-east from Kiuhfau. Of five